I was looking forward to today to get me over the general malaise that had overcome me from Gary Bettman ringing the executioner's death knell on this year's hockey season. On this day, I turned to both my alma mater, the NC State Wolfpack and my new found, girlfriend-led loyalty to Gainesville's Florida Gators. Hopes were pretty high for NC State, having been only two weeks removed from their win over #3 (and Gators rivals) Florida State and their amazing victory over the unamazing Maryland Terrapins after a huge defensive stop by the player of the game, the left goal post.
The game started basically as expected with NC State delivering an underwhelming performance against the Tar Heels of UNC, allowing 15 points in the span of 102 seconds. NC State refused to give up and they put themselves on top 28-25 to end the half. After one more TD in the 3rd quarter, it looked like the Pack was putting the game out of reach. However, I've lived in and watched Maryland and North Carolina area sports. I know all too well that a win is never guaranteed, not even in the final 60 seconds (the Miracle Minute still echoes in the recesses of my College Park memories). Carolina scored ten unanswered points, tying it up at 35 all with 2:09 to go. For most teams, this would mean overtime. For State, this was the grand opportunity to disappoint fans in the worst way possible. After Carolina fed of the surge of the tie, the Pack punted to Giovani Bernard, half Barry Sanders, half Devin Hester, and half cheetah (using UNC math). He returned the punt for a touchdown, after which the Tar Heels sea salted the wound with a two point conversion. It was time to turn my attention to my lady's Gators.
The Gators game picked up where the Wolfpack game left off. Dropped passes, missed tackles, a higher turnover rate than a McDonald's. The over-under for this game was 46, meaning analysts were predicting a pretty high scoring game, not West Virginia-Baylor levels, but still a fairly well-lit scoreboard. After the first half, the score was 7-6 in favor of the Georgia Bulldogs, a match that was lovingly described as a sixty minute game of bloopers by my lady Gator's mom. The field goal strategy implemented by Florida seemed to be paying off dividends, but ultimately, the 90th/91st, I mean the 90th meeting between the two schools was put away by Aaron Murray on a 45-yard touchdown after the refs ruled the Gators had only five yards to convert on a crucial play.
This weekend can only look up.
The game started basically as expected with NC State delivering an underwhelming performance against the Tar Heels of UNC, allowing 15 points in the span of 102 seconds. NC State refused to give up and they put themselves on top 28-25 to end the half. After one more TD in the 3rd quarter, it looked like the Pack was putting the game out of reach. However, I've lived in and watched Maryland and North Carolina area sports. I know all too well that a win is never guaranteed, not even in the final 60 seconds (the Miracle Minute still echoes in the recesses of my College Park memories). Carolina scored ten unanswered points, tying it up at 35 all with 2:09 to go. For most teams, this would mean overtime. For State, this was the grand opportunity to disappoint fans in the worst way possible. After Carolina fed of the surge of the tie, the Pack punted to Giovani Bernard, half Barry Sanders, half Devin Hester, and half cheetah (using UNC math). He returned the punt for a touchdown, after which the Tar Heels sea salted the wound with a two point conversion. It was time to turn my attention to my lady's Gators.
The Gators game picked up where the Wolfpack game left off. Dropped passes, missed tackles, a higher turnover rate than a McDonald's. The over-under for this game was 46, meaning analysts were predicting a pretty high scoring game, not West Virginia-Baylor levels, but still a fairly well-lit scoreboard. After the first half, the score was 7-6 in favor of the Georgia Bulldogs, a match that was lovingly described as a sixty minute game of bloopers by my lady Gator's mom. The field goal strategy implemented by Florida seemed to be paying off dividends, but ultimately, the 90th/91st, I mean the 90th meeting between the two schools was put away by Aaron Murray on a 45-yard touchdown after the refs ruled the Gators had only five yards to convert on a crucial play.
This weekend can only look up.
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