ONU Homecoming

Last Saturday we went to Homecoming at Ohio Northern. The Polar Bears won their game 28 - 0 over Marietta. The boys enjoyed some football, cotton candy and rides. Here are some pics from the day.

It's Time for Some Recognition

It seems, at least in the last several years, that the OAC (Ohio Athletic Conference) needs a little bit of recognition when it comes to Division III football. Out of ten conference teams, four of them are in the national division III top 25...with number one Mount Union, in our conference.

For some of these other schools it's easier to be ranked higher when you don't have to play a Mt. Union or a Capital, etc.

Northern won again today against the Blue Streaks of John Carroll 23 - 13. Way to go, guys!!

Let's hope Michigan fares as well against Penn State.

What?!

The day started out relatively well....Marshall showed up in force against WVU and did a pretty good job even though they didn't come out with the win.

Ohio Northern beating Millikin at the half with a score of 14 - 0 but then I lost my internet connection and couldn't listen to them on the Bear any more. Now that I'm back online I can't find out what happened as they still have the half-time score up. Update: Just heard the score on the Bear...the score was a big 42 - 0. Way to go Bears!!

But the big disappointment today hands down has to be Michigan WHAT ARE THEY DOING?! Last week was bad enough, but I chalked it up to the fact that they usually don't do that well in their first games. But today it's like they're on vacation. Come on guys, let's go. Hoping the second half will be better.

It's That Season Again!

I'm so excited...it's football season again! Although last week's game for the Wolverines looked more like a high school team playing a college team, I am hopeful that they will redeem themselves against the Ducks tomorrow. Hopefully more folks will show up tomorrow than just Mike Hart.

Ohio Northern begins its season at home against Millikin, Illinois. The cool thing about tomorrow's game (other than the fact the Polar Bears are playing, of course) is that 100% of the money from ticket sales will go to help the areas impacted by the recent flooding in northwest Ohio. It was quite disturbing to see Findlay look like a river ran down Main Street. So it'll be fun and a great way to raise money for a good cause.

Finally, the "big game", WVU at Marshall. Now I have to admit growing up in northwest Ohio I had never heard of Marshall until I came down here...and I really didn't get the whole fan thing until I started looking deeper into the history of the football program especially in the 70s. But now with the knowledge that I have gained I must say I'm a Marshall fan. 'Course two of the guys in this house I think will be rooting the other way. Hopefully my youngest will be on "my side" he's at least going to dress like it.

May the best teams win tomorrow (the ones I'm rooting for!)

Oh Man, Not the Jets!

I didn't think I'd ever say this, but it looks like I may be rooting for the Jets this year. While I was looking at the Northern website to get the email address of one of my former math professors who lives in Findlay I checked out the ONU athletics page.

From time to time we have had players from Northern who have made it to the pros. Stacey Hairston was the first one I knew...he was 2 years older than I was and when he graduated, he got an offer to play for the Browns. He played almost every week until he got hurt. Jamal Robertson is now playing for the Atlanta Falcons after playing for the 49ers and the Carolina Panthers.

This year, Jason Trusnik has signed as a free agent with the Jets. He'll be playing as a linebacker and will wear the number 48. Throughout his career as a Polar Bear, Jason racked up 43 sacks, and 85 tackles for a loss. He got to play in the Aztec Bowl last December leading Team USA to a victory...in that game alone he had 8 tackles, 2 sacks and was named one of the co-captains.

So, even though I'm not a big Jets fan (which could be a risky thing to say here in Herd country) I'm going to start watching those games. Congratulations, Jason. Have a great season!

A Little Super Bowl Trivia

Every year at Super Bowl time, I bore my friends and family with a trivial fact about the Super Bowl. There is a key element of the game that if it were missing the game wouldn't even really take place. What is it? The football. One fact that I learned especially when I was in college at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. Did you know that all the footballs for the Super Bowl are hand made at the Wilson factory in Ada, Ohio.

So, without those people in Ada, we wouldn't have the key element of the game tonight. Now you all know...just be prepared, next year at this time I may feel compelled to remind you of this little fact again.

What Has Happened to the Bears?!

The season started pretty good...they were nationally ranked 9th. We knew that the big game would be against Mt. Union who once again was nationally ranked 1st. But we had beaten them last year and stopped their record breaking winning streak. I was excited, even ESPN mentioned the game on their pre-game show. I thought another upset might be at hand, but they beat us 49 - 7. Our rating fell to like 12th.

It was with that loss that the Polar Bears seemed to lose their steam big time. The next week was homecoming. The Bears hosted number 4 Capital. It was a good game, but the Bears came up short losing 10 - 17...thus dropping to 20th place nationally.

This week ONU traveled to Marietta. It seems that the losses from the past 2 weeks still have their hold. Marietta won 16 - 6. We've dropped to 3 - 3 for the Ohio Atheletic Conference...this game was for 4th place in our conference.

The numbers are there for the possessions and the yardage, but it seems as though no matter how far we get, we just can't score.

Next week we play Baldwin Wallace there. Come on guys, lets get back in the game and finish the season with some passion and wins.