The Sickos Synopsis - Our Weekly 1920s style Old-Timey Recap for Week 9- Featuring FIU/La Tech, UConn/BC, Michigan St/Michigan, Pitt/UNC, New Mexico State/UMass, Miami(FL)/UVA and MTSU/UTEP

Here at the Sickos Committee, we really love the Old-Timey newspaper headlines from college football games from the 1920s and earlier. We wanted to do a weekly recap of some randomly decided Sickos games in this Old-Timey style of writing for the fun of it. Just try to imagine an old school news reporter reading this aloud to you on an old transistor radio. Here are the headlines for Week 9.

Oct. 28th - Miami, FL.

Louisiana Tech landed in Miami to face FIU in The Cage on a Friday night. Louisiana Tech turned to 3rd string quarterback Landry Lyddy to lead the team due to two other banged up Bulldogs QBs. Louisiana Tech leapt out to a 17-7 lead led by Lyddy’s legs and a crafty Marquis Crosby run for a 29 yard touchdown. FIU fought back and answered with a touchdown drive to slice the lead to 17-14. On the ensuing kickoff, feisty FIU carefully kicked a sly and sneaky shortened kickoff and a Panthers player plucked the pigskin out of the air recovering the onside kick. Fired up FIU scored a touchdown two plays later to take the lead 21-17. A Topsy-turvy second half took place and the Bulldogs and Panthers found themselves tied at 27 and heading into overtime. Louisiana Tech tip toed in for a timely touchdown taking a 34-27 lead. FIU fought back, finding the end zone to tangle the score at 34-34. To Double Overtime where the Panthers pounded the battered and bruised Bulldogs for a 42-34 lead. The plucky Panthers stopped languished Louisiana Tech on their drive to cap off the Double Overtime victory. 

FIU 42 - Louisiana Tech 34 (2 OT).

Oct. 29th - Charlottesville, VA

The harangued Hurricanes hurried to Charlottesville, Virginia to clash with the Cavaliers of Virginia in an ACC Coastal confrontation. The Canes starting QB was sidelined with the injury and turned to their 2nd string signal caller to manage the Miami offense. The two teams tangled and tussled with their offenses finding absolutely no success whatsoever. Punt after punt after punt after punt after pounded the playing surface to the tune of ten straight combined punts to start the contest. The Canes carefully carried and climbed crossing into Cavs territory to convert a 38 yard field goal as the clock expired taking a 3-0 lead into halftime. The Cavaliers came out of the half clawing and combating the hardened Hurricane’s defense and kicked a 27 yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3. The two teams toiled and tripped over themselves offensively until Virginia found another field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Canes had one final chance to either clinch or tie the tussle. The moribund Miami offense mounted a meticulous and methodical drive to kick a tying field goal as time expired. The Cavs and Canes found their way into overtime. Both offenses couldn’t muster any movement on each of their possessions in overtime but both converted fortunate field goals to send the game into double overtime. In double overtime, it was like deja vu all over again and the Cavs and Canes counted kicks to send the game into triple overtime. In triple overtime, the rules and regulations change meaning both teams would get one shot at a two point conversion play. Both Miami and Virginia couldn’t cash in their chances, leaving the game knotted at 12-12 heading to quadruple overtime. The Cavaliers chance went begging, while the Canes backup QB quickly careened to the corner and defiantly dove into the endzone to cash in the game winning two point conversion. The clutch Canes came away with a wondrous win without a touchdown!

Miami (FL) 14 - Virginia 12 (4OT)

Oct 29th - Ann Arbor, MI

On a cold day in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1898 two teams met seeking to determine who was the best football team in the great State of Michigan. Those teams, the University of Michigan and Michigan Agricultural College battled out a hard-fought game ending in a 39-0 shutout win for the Wolverines. Fast forward over a century and these two teams are still battling out on the gridiron now seeking to take possession of the Paul Bunyan Trophy, a wooden trophy showcasing the dominance of one school over the other for the next year. This year’s contest contains conference combatants that are determined to win this trophy this year. In the previous game the Spartans stole the trophy in what would be the only blemish on the best season for the Michigan Wolverines in quite some time! Seeking a revenge game, the Michigan Men menaced and maimed the offense of the Spartans for four quarters. The game’s scoring began with a field goal from the Wolverines that ended the stalemate with a 3-0 score. Immediately after that Sparty, as the Michigan State team is called, took the ball 75 yards in 6 plays and put their only points on the board with an exciting 26-yard pass from Payton Thorne to Keon Coleman who leapt over a Wolverine defender to haul in the pass. Taking their precious lead seriously the Spartans stood stout separating their opponent from the scoring for 8 plays before the Wolverines put the ball over the line for six. This score ended the threat from Sparty. From that point, the Ann Arbor assault continued putting on 19 more points that the East Lansing players stood no chance of stopping. This secured the trophy for the Wolverines and an 8-0 record on the season. 

Michigan 29 - Michigan State 7

Oct. 29th - Chapel Hill, NC

The defending Atlantic Coastal Conference champions come from Pittsburgh, PA. Representing the University of Pittsburgh the Panther provide positive progression proving proper Pennsylvania football is known throughout the land. Seeking to defend their 2021 title PITT has comes into the upstart University of North Carolina Tarheels’ home stadium seeking to upset the #21 ranked team in the Nation who sits atop the Coastal Division coming into the contest. Determined to show their steely resolve the Panthers took the first drive of the game into the endzone taking a 7-0 lead silencing hometown crowd. After a pair of punts, the Tarheels struck paydirt with a beautiful 16-yard pass from Drake Maye, tying the game. The rest of the first half went the way of Panther invaders, with two more scoring drives that left the contest at 17-7 before the Tarheels got back on the board with a touchdown cutting the score to 14-17. From here the game gained ground gorging a great gregarious offense where each team sought to gain control as the bout of ACC teams spiraled into madness. The teams traded scores but the UNC offense, clad in their Carolina Blue, took the advantage scoring twice to PITT’s one finally taking the game into their own hands. PITT looking to reassert themselves, fumbled on a spectacular hit by the Tarheel defense, stuck to the ground as if having Tar on those Heels, stealing a possession from the Panthers and using that to get another touchdown on the board. Now cooking with gas the Tarheel defense forces another punt and takes the ball back across the goal line, pushing their prodigious pile of points providing a palindroming of the score. 

UNC 42 - PITT 24 

Oct. 29th - Amherst, MA

The New Mexico State Aggies advanced to Amherst, Massachusetts to take on the Mighty Minutemen of UMass. The Aggies hoped to get their first road win in over 1,489 days. UMass didn’t want to make it easy for the Aggies to end that long streak. The Minutemen marched down McGuirk Alumni Stadium’s field and found a field goal then followed it up with a forceful touchdown to take a 10-0 lead on the awestruck Aggies. The Aggies found a field goal to minimize the Minutemen’s lead to 10-3. New Mexico State then changed their quarterback to the backup Diego Pavia. They quickly captured a timely touchdown to tie things up at 10-10. UMass found another field goal to take a slim 13-10 lead into halftime. The Aggies arose from halftime and began to brutally battle the Minutemen. The New Mexico State second-stringer scampered all over the field, putting the Aggies in an advantageous scoreboard situation 16-13. The Minutemen attempted to masterfully mount a comeback but they were met by angry Aggie defenders at every twist and turn. The speedy second stringer strung together a nifty eight play and 88 yard drive ending in a pretty Pavia pass to put the contest out of UMass’ reach. The Aggies ended their agonizingly long road win drought and danced the night away in Aggies style in Amherst. 

New Mexico State 23 - UMass 13.

Oct 29th - El Paso, TX

This season has taken numerous twists and turns through eight weeks. The teams in this match-up exemplify this better than any other. The UTEP Miners are a far-flung team on the western border of the Lone Star State. Rounding out Conference USA the Miners make magical moves on the football field exciting the people of El Paso, TX. On the other sideline stand the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. Hailing from Murfreesboro, TN the Blue Raiders have vacillated wildly in their game outcomes taking brutal losses and beautiful victories. Tonight, these two teams both come into the game seeking to get one game closer to bowl eligibility. The Blue Raiders in their first drive take the ball down field and kick a field goal to take quick lead. The next three drives in this game were pretty punctual properly placed punts keeping each team pinned in their side of the fifty. However, the MTSU men take the initiative and blocked Miners second punt attempt and on the ensuing drive score the first touchdown of the game, securing a 10-0 lead. Seeing a two-possession hole before them the Miners of UTEP clad in all orange wearing terrific throwback “Texas Western” uniforms, put together a field goal drive cutting the lead to 10-3. The next five drives end in a possession change including a fumble drive from MTSU. Before the end of the half Texas Western put together an odyssey of a 14-play 83-yard journey that pays off in a touchdown for the Miners. The second half brings out fast play and hard hits with UTEP throwing an interception on their second drive of the second half that leads to a MTSU touchdown. This proved to be the decisive downs deciding the contest, putting the Blue Raiders ahead for good over the Miners. The Men from Murfreesboro on their last productive drive throw a 75-yard bomb to end the scoring of the game, grasping victory in the Sun Bowl. 

MTSU 24 - UTEP - 13

Oct. 29th - East Hartford, CT

The Boston College Eagles eagerly exited Chestnut Hill and found their way to East Hartford to take on UConn. Boston College had never lost to the horrendous Huskies in their previous 14 meetings. However, this was a new and improved UConn, under their new Head Coach Jim Mora Jr, who had the Husky faithful believing this would be the day they’d finally beat the boys from BC. The Huskies had become hard-nosed especially on the defensive side of the ball. UConn crept out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter but BC cut the lead down to 10-3 at halftime. In the second half, the Huskies harassed and haunted the BC QB. The Huskies intercepted the Eagles three times and forced two timely fumbles. The UConn daring defenders dashed the Boston College offense’s hopes by forcing a final fumble and finding a game sealing field goal to take a 13-3 lead. The Huskies hopes of making a bowl game were buoyed by the win leaving them 4-5 on the season with three games to go. Can they reach their UConn utopia?? 

UConn 13 - Boston College 3.