While a lot of folks regularly tune in to watch programs like Purdue and Georgia, there was little reason for the casual college football fan to pay attention to a game between Division II Colorado Mesa and FCS San Diego on Saturday.
But this matchup featured what might be the coolest and weirdest highlight of the 2023 season so far.
Here’s what happened: On a third-and-8 situation inside the red zone, Colorado Mesa tried a trick play that seemed to be going horribly wrong. The Mavericks’ quarterback handed off to the running back, who was then supposed to flip the ball to a wide receiver running a reverse. But a San Diego defender busted into the backfield and hit the running back during the toss, causing the ball to fumble to the turf.
That’s when freshman left tackle Cooper Mumford stepped in to save the day.
Mumford – who is listed at 6’4 and 275 pounds – scooped the ball up behind the line of scrimmage, scrambled a bit to his left and threw a nine-yard strike to Keenan Brown for the first touchdown of the day. It was totally legal and totally awesome.
This marked the second consecutive week that we had a truly beautiful wacky sequence of events emerge from a college football game in the lower ranks. Last week, we were treated to that incredibly strange finish between Virginia State and Norfolk State.
It’s another reminder that we should enjoy the whole hog of this sport, from the JUCO ranks all the way up to the Power Five.
Consistent with his goal of tapping into the state of Indiana’s talent pool, [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] has struck again.
Although the news was made known June 1, Notre Dame finally announced the addition of Indianapolis native and former Seton Hall forward [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag]. This marks the fourth player with Indiana roots on the Irish’s roster, joining [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag], [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] and [autotag]Logan Imes[/autotag]. The program hasn’t had this many players from the Hoosier State on their roster since the 2015-16 season.
In Davis’ lone season with the Pirates, he averaged 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds over 32 games. He started twice and achieved his season scoring high of 11 points during his first collegiate game against Monmouth. He also had 10 points and seven rebounds in a win over Division II Lincoln.
Davis becomes the 11th player on the 2023-24 roster and the fourth forward for a program that continues to be guard-heavy. Here’s hoping Shrewsberry and his staff can add one more big before the season tips off.
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The committee also introduced two other rule changes. If a penalty is accepted at the end of the first or third quarter, it will be enforced at the start of the next quarter instead of on an untimed down. Also, back-to-back timeouts no longer can be called during the same dead ball.
Many college football fans probably won’t like the new first-down rule. But with the pitch clock doing its job of cutting out dead time in MLB, speeding things up is becoming a trend in sports. Besides, are you really a fan of three-and-a-half hour games? Think about it.
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Notre Dame will have a chance at game action before the competition begins in earnest next week. On this Halloween, the Irish will welcome Truman State of Division II to the Purcell Pavilion for their only exhibition game on the schedule.If you’re in the South Bend area and aren’t interested in the holiday or just need a break from it, this game might be the perfect thing to focus on.
Even though the outcome of this game is a foregone conclusion, the Bulldogs surely must be honored to have the chance to come to South Bend and play a women’s basketball blue blood. That surely is the case for any school below the Division I level because the opportunity doesn’t always come along very often. The players will have a story they can tell their children and grandchildren, and a few of them just might be able to brag that they scored on [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag].
“You can play professionally and play Division II,” her coach told her, noting the number of NFL players who make it.
There was a time when Kiira Riihijarvi thought she might need an upgrade from her Division II digs. Ultimately, she wanted one thing: a better place to practice. Head coach Missey Jones, who runs the program at the University of Tampa, delivered on that request and Riihijarvi wound up staying five years, winning 12 times and earning a master’s degree in entrepreneurship.
“You can play professionally and play Division II,” Jones told her, noting the number of NFL players who make it from small schools.
It didn’t take long for Riihijarvi, 25, to prove Jones’ point. In her first full season on the Epson Tour, the Finnish player finished fourth on the money list to earn her LPGA card for 2023. She won once and placed in the top five in each of her last three starts.
“I very much enjoyed my time in Division II,” Riihijarvi told Golfweek. “Whenever I started college, I wasn’t the best player. It gave me the space to compete and play and keep getting better. I think it’s a very good option that a lot of people don’t think about.”
World Golf Hall of Famers Hollis Stacy and Peggy Kirk Bell were early examples of Division II players making a mark as both hailed from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. More recent Division II players who have reached the LPGA include Sandra Changkija from Nova Southeastern and Florida Southern’s Jackie Stoelting.
“The grass is greener where you water it,” said Jones.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYjtm9mvg4A/?hl=en
There are two golf courses in Oulu, Finland, where Riihijarvi took up the game at a junior clinic at Virpiniemi Golf Club at age 9. Golf has exploded in Finland, she said, since the COVID-19 pandemic. Where Riihijarvi lives in the northern part of the country, the golf season lasts about five months.
The desire to play golf year-round led her to the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia. Riihijarvi’s brother, Paavo, went with her to Rome to play soccer. Jones had a player from Sweden who attended Darlington, and when she got word about Riihijarvi, Jones asked a friend who coached high school golf in Georgia to give her a scouting report.
Word came back: “Oh, she’s going to be a player.”
Riihijarvi, who averaged 78 at the time and was just learning to speak English, went down for a visit and liked what she saw.
Xiaowen Yin of China (from left), Gabriella Then of USA, Yan Liu of China, Kiira Riihijarvi of Finland, Linnea Strom of Sweden, Gina Kim of USA, Celine Borge of Norway, Grace Kim of Australia and Hyo Joon Jang of Republic of Korea celebrate receiving their LPGA cards during the card ceremony following the final round of the Epson Tour Championship at the Champions course at LPGA International on October 09, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Jones started the program from scratch at Tampa in 2010, and in 2017, Riihijarvi became the first player in Spartans history to earn a bid to the NCAA South Super Regional, which she won. Before she even left the parking lot at regionals, Riihijarvi vowed to come back with her team, which she did in 2019.
After the pandemic cut Tampa’s promising 2020 season short, Riihijarvi didn’t like the idea of her college career ending so abruptly. She decided to come back for a fifth season, with the goal of leading her team to its first NCAA Championship appearance.
With organized practices only held three times a week, Riihijarvi could set additional practices around her own specific goals. She came back sophomore year with a golf swing that could produce different ball-flights. There was a drive and a focus that bled into the rest of the team. Back home, she won multiple national amateur titles.
“There’s an inner something in her that’s different,” said Jones.
Riihijarvi led the Spartans to their first NCAA regional title in the spring of 2021, earning a spot in the national championship. Riihijarvi was named NCAA Division II National Player for a second consecutive year.
“I think I just kept getting better every year,” said Riihijarvi, who in four years cut nearly six strokes off her average. This weekend, Riihijarvi will work as an assistant coach for her alma mater at the Rollins Invitational.
Clockwise: Kiira Riihijarvi, Emily Montagnino, Emilie Bjorge, Sophia Cadavid, Heather Kipness, and head coach Missey Jones (courtesy photo)
Riihijarvi’s first LPGA event of the 2023 season won’t come until late March. She’s currently enjoying some well-earned time away from practice.
Jones talks a lot about the way the 5-foot-11-inch Riihijarvi walks – like a person who knows where she’s going. Assured, but never arrogant.
“People were going to buy into her work ethic, or they weren’t,” said Jones. Either way, it wasn’t going to impact Riihijarvi and her keen attention to detail.
Riihijarvi heads to the LPGA a prolific winner. She also has the added benefit of a player who has paved the way in Matilda Castren. Last year, Castren became the first player from Finland to win on the LPGA. She was also a key player in Europe’s 2021 Solheim Cup victory, going 3-1-0. A supportive Castren has already offered to help.
“I do think it’s a skill,” said Riihijarvi of winning. “It’s something you have to learn.”
Riihijarvi left Division II with an advanced degree in that, too.
Bumped to the losers bracket of the Maui Invitational, Notre Dame appeared to struggle to find motivation to beat Chaminade of Division II. At some points in the first half, it appeared the Silverswords might deal the Irish perhaps the most humiliating defeat in program history. Instead, the Irish came out hot after halftime and won, 90-64. They now will play Texas A&M in the fifth-place game of the tournament.
The Irish (3-1) led by as much as eight in the first half but later trailed by four after the Silverswords (2-2) went on a 7-0 run. A Blake Wesley layup as time expired in the frame put the Irish up three, and that tiny margin left everyone wonder what would happen in the second half. What happened was the Irish decided to quit messing around, and they scored 21 points to open the half as part of a 23-0 run that put the game out of reach. It allowed Mike Brey to empty his bench for the final couple of minutes.
All five Irish starters scored in double figures. They were led by Dane Goodwin, who had a game-high 17 points. Nate Laszewski achieved a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds. In another sign of what could be a great freshman season, Blake Wesley scored 14 points coming off the bench.
Notre Dame found itself playing in the best quarterfinal game at this year’s Maui Invitational in Las Vegas. With the Irish locked in a tight battle with St. Mary’s from the opening tip, it was inevitable that this game would come down to the wire. That’s exactly what happened, and it didn’t go the Irish’s way as they lost, 62-59. As a result, they fall into the losers bracket and will face Chaminade of Division II in their next game.
The Irish (2-1) held a 58-57 lead with under a minute to play when Dan Fotu hit a big 3-pointer to put the Gaels (5-0) back in front. Trey Wertz, who had made the free throws to give the Irish what turned out to be their final lead, then made a critical error when he stepped out of bounds on a drive.
After Tommy Kuhse missed the front end of a one-and-one, Cormac Ryan was fouled with seven seconds left. He split the free throws, forcing the Irish to foul Kuhse again. This time, Kuhse made both free throws, though the Irish still had a chance to send the game to overtime with a 3. Ryan was unable to hit a buzzer-beating shot from there, and that was it for the Irish’s Maui Invitational title hopes.
Fotu led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting over 22 minutes. Kuhse chipped in 14 points.
Ryan was the Irish’s top scorer with 16 points, including three 3-pointers. Paul Atkinson Jr. scored 13 on 6-of-9 shooting, and Dane Goodwin scored 10.
Adam Rittenberg has taken all 130 head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision and ranked them as players. Brian Kelly comes in at 85th on the list. Before you throw up your hands and say that’s too low, remember that Kelly attended a school that only had a club football team at the time. Assumption in Worcester, Massachusetts has since fielded a team that competes in Division II.
Kelly was a memorable player for Assumption. His 314 tackles were a program record. He also earned a pair of all-league honors and was a captain. Clearly, his leadership skills were evident at a young age.
Rittenberg ranks former Notre Dame player and current Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz at 98th on the list. The son of Lou Holtz, he played 11 games for the Irish in 1986 after playing two years at Holy Cross. mostly playing on special teams and also servicing as a backup receiver. He carried the ball once that season and gained a single yard on that attempt.
The Wonder Boys made program history at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens by taking home national hardware for the first time.
Arkansas Tech became a first-time winner of the NCAA Division II National Championship last week, knocking off Georgia Southwestern in the medal match play final at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
The Wonder Boys took the No. 2 spot on the match-play bracket after a 48-over total for 54 holes that left them behind only Indianapolis.
In the first round, Arkansas Tech knocked off Central Missouri by a 3-0 margin, winning the first three matches out.
In the semifinals, Arkansas Tech took on West Florida. The Wonder Boys again won the first two matches, but Francois Jacobs, in the No. 3 spot, brought in a 75 that tied West Florida’s Felipe Garces Garzon and earned his team half a point. Andrew Jacobs brought in the winning point in the anchor match against Alejandro Restrepo.
College football returns on Saturday night with an FCS matchup between Austin Peay and Central Arkansas. How to watch and BetMGM odds.
College football is back! Well at least for the FCS with Austin Peay and Central Arkansas set to kick off on Saturday night. This is the first college athletic even that has been seen on television in five months. Despite where or not you know anything about these teams, it is still exciting to see.
Each and every week the Longhorns Wire staff will make game picks for each game on the weekend. Mostly the Power Five conference games but we are starting with the kickoff game in the FCS.
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