Bedlam on Baltic Avenue: Jan 1, 2021

FFXIV: Ever And Ever

#FFXIV #aobuta #italodisco

West Virginia: 2020 Liberty Bowl Champions

Costly offensive mistakes left West Virginia trailing Army 14-10 at halftime in Thursday’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Desperate to get things turned around, the Mountaineer coaches decided to make a change at quarterback.

Out went Jarret Doege, who had started the past 13 games for WVU, and in came Austin Kendall, the man Doege had replaced late in the 2019 season.

“The decision was kind of a combined decision between Sean Reagan, our quarterbacks coach, and Gerad Parker, our offense coordinator, and myself,” explained West Virginia head coach Neal Brown of the choice at halftime to make the change at QB. “Jarret has played very, very well all year, but for whatever reason, he didn’t see it (against Army).”

Doege completed 15 of 25 passes for 159 yards in the first half, but threw a bad interception when West Virginia was moving into Army territory in the first quarter. Then shortly before halftime, with the Mountaineers in front 10-7 and looking for more, the junior quarterback took a sack deep in his own end that also resulted in a fumble. The Black Knights turned that turnover into a TD and a 14-10 advantage two plays and seven yards later.

“Army did a really nice job of mixing it up, and we had two uncharacteristically bad turnovers,” noted Brown. “The interception was a play that really hurt us. And then we got the ball back after the fumble, and I didn’t think our response was very good there.”

Get all of our print editions with your subscription today!

Kendall came on in relief of Doege but not until the Black Knights had built a 21-10 lead by taking the first possession of the second half 73 yards in 13 plays for another touchdown.

“We decided we were going to start Austin in the second half,” stated Brown. “I think it should be noted he had practiced really well during bowl prep. Really for about the last six weeks, he has practiced well and we have confidence in him.

“I thought he came in in relief and did a nice job,’ WVU’s second-year coach said. “We had some drops, and that’s kind of plagued us throughout the year, but we made the plays we needed to.”

Those plays included a couple of lengthy Mountaineer marches that wound up in end zone via Kendall passes.

“Honestly, we work with both quarterbacks, so whoever is in the game, we don’t really take offense to whoever’s in the game,” said WVU senior receiver T.J. Simmons, who had a TD catch from each QB on Thursday. “We just want, as receivers, to do a good job and be where we are supposed to be and on time. If we do that, we know the quarterback is going to get to us things that they can do.”

Kendall’s 20-yard throw to Simmons with 5:10 left to play proved to be the game winner in West Virginia’s 24-21 victory Thursday in Memphis.

“He does a good job, and he knows when to use his feet. That just comes with experience,” Simmons said of the senior quarterback, who transferred to WVU in 2019 from Oklahoma. “There was one play where he pulled it. It was supposed to be a screen pass, but he took off and picked up a yard or two, and one play he was scrambling in the backfield and, and got back to the line of scrimmage. He does a good job of just using his feet and using his instincts to make plays on the field.”

Though Kendall had previously played in just one game during the 2020 season, completing three of six passes for 43 yards in WVU’s blowout of Eastern Kentucky in the opener, he certainly isn’t new to the quarterback position. He was West Virginia’s starting QB for the first nine games of 2019, completing 187 of 304 passes for 1,989 yards along the way.

Doege ultimately moved in front of Kendall on the quarterback depth chart, at least until Thursday when WVU was desperate for a spark. That’s when the Mountaineers turned to the Waxhaw, North Carolina, native who coolly, calmly came to the rescue.

“I really think I’m more excited for Austin than he is,” smiled Simmons. “He does a good job of just being a good man, a good teammate.

“He comes to work every day. He puts in extra work, regardless if he’s the starting quarterback or not.

“When (the coaches) came through and told us that (Kendall) was going to be the one leading us through the game in the second half, I was excited,” added Simmons. “I felt like with this man in his last game, he should get some time on the field. When he got in there and made some plays, it felt like last year. It was just natural with us. He was just making plays again.”

Kendall completed eight of his 17 passes in the second half for 121 yards. Two of them went for touchdowns, and none wound up in the hands of the Black Knights. That allowed the Mountaineers to leave Memphis with the AutoZone Liberty Bowl championship trophy.

Ball State: 2020 Arizona Bowl Champions

TUCSON, Ariz. -- In a memorable football season that almost didn't happen, Ball State finished it by making history. The Cardinals scored 27 first-quarter points and cruised the rest of the afternoon to capture the first bowl victory in school history, a 34-13 win over AP No. 19 San Jose State in the Arizona Bowl.

The bowl win caps a seven-game winning streak for the Cardinals that featured a conference title and put this team among the greatest in school history. In the strangest of years, Ball State was at its best. And the Cardinals brought their best effort on the biggest stage of the season, a nationally-televised bowl appearance against an undefeated, ranked team.

"I'm so proud of our football team and the effort that's been put in week in and week out," head coach Mike Neu said. "It's high-character men doing things the right way. We got here because of hard work. We embraced the underdog role, and we came out with a purpose. We wanted to seize the moment, and we've done that. Playing on this stage, on CBS, we wanted to put our best brand of football on the field, and our guys earned it."

The Cardinals (7-1) jumped on the Mountain West champ SJSU (7-1) early, scoring twice in the first five minutes of the game and four touchdowns in the opening 14 minutes. Cornerback Antonio Phillips started the scoring in the game's first possession, taking an interception 53 yards for a touchdown. The lead grew to 13-0 after the Cardinals capitalized on a short punt. BSU took over at the 50 and scored again quickly, with Will Jones punching it into the end zone on a 3-yard run. Tye Evans later added a 3-yard TD run of his own to make it a 20-0 game. On another short field after a Nic Jones blocked punt, Drew Plitt scored on a quarterback sneak to give the Cards a 27-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Cardinals defensive unit turned in its greatest effort, picking off four passes and nearly a fifth on a play that was overturned. San Jose State managed just 69 yards on the ground and was 1-for-11 on third downs, as Ball State protected its early lead with swarming defense.

"The defense was unbelievable from start to finish," Neu said.

Yo'Heinz Tyler caught four passes for 113 yards and scored BSU's fifth and final touchdown, a 48-yard catch from Plitt. Jones led the Cards with 89 yards rushing on 22 carries, as the Cardinals pounded the ball for 189 yards on the ground before kneeling in victory formation. Plitt finished with an efficient 12-for-19 day for 217 yards and touchdowns passing and rushing.

The Arizona Bowl defensive player of the game was safety Bryce Cosby who had one interception, and nearly another one, plus a team-high nine tackles. Brett Anderson II and Jimmy Daw had the other two picks. Plitt was named offensive player of the game.

"We knew we had the opportunity to do something special here. We bought in as a team," Cosby said. "We could've gotten complacent after the conference championship win, but the coaches did a great job keeping us locked in. We came out and executed. I love these guys, and I'm proud of the way we played."

"All season we kept saying, 'The job's not finished.' Well, the job is now finished," Neu said. "We are so excited to bring a bowl win back to Muncie, Indiana."

Mississippi State: 2020 Armed Forces Bowl Champions

While Mississippi State defeated No. 24 Tulsa, 28–26, on Thursday afternoon, the final seconds of the Armed Forces Bowl saw a violent brawl take place between the two teams.

The teams met on the field following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Mississippi State, which came during a late onside kick from Tulsa. Players from both teams congregated on two distinct sides when a Mississippi State player punched a Tulsa player.

That punch led to a spiral of players from both sides scrapping with each other, and Bulldogs wide receiver Malik Heath kicked Tulsa senior safety Tieneal Martin.

Tyler Horka of The Clarion Ledger reported that Heath posted an Instagram video praising himself for the act and joked about it with his teammates in the locker room.

Then, according to a tweet posted by Heath, he felt like he was defending himself during the brawl.

As the brawl continued down the field, players continued to punch and hit each other.

Tulsa sophomore safety Kendarin Ray was helped off the field after being injured during the postgame brawl. It is not certain what started the brawl.

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach said in a postgame interview on ESPN that he was not exactly sure what caused the brawl.

"There was something before the game, too," Leach said.

When asked what Leach would say to his players following the brawl, Leach said, "don't do it anymore".

"It is dumb and the root of it's dumb no matter what the root of it is," Leach said. "The root of it is dumb and the continuation of it is dumb. Now where the dumb started, I'm not entirely sure. It was some of that going back and forth in the game. This is a football game, we are not going to tear cloth and I am not going to lose my mind over it."

Tulsa and its conference, the AAC, later said they would review the incident.

"We take this incident very seriously and will respond appropriately after the review is complete," Tulsa said in a statement.

AAC commissioner Mike Aresco added: "We will work with the University of Tulsa to conduct a thorough review of the altercation pursuant to our Conference Code of Sportsmanship process and expect that the university will respond accordingly."

The incident marks the biggest postgame bowl fight since the infamous Miami Beach Bowl brawl that took place in 2014 when Memphis and BYU played against each other.

With the victory, Mississippi State (4-7) earned its fourth win of the 2020 season and its 14th bowl win in school history.

FFXIV: Come Back And Do It.

#FFXIV #Heavensturn

BoBA ISML 2020 Predictions: Diamond Match Day 3

ARENA 1 Shirai Kuroko [[Misaka Mikoto]]

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 2 Izumi Sagiri [[Yūki Asuna]]

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 3 Isshiki Iroha [[Sakurajima Mai]]

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 4 [[Tōsaka Rin]] Saber

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 5 Saten Ruiko [[Hayasaka Ai]]

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 6 Shiro [[Kafū Chino]]

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 7 Akiyama Mio [[Schwi Dola]]

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 8 [[Shinomiya Kaguya]] Makise Kurisu

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 9 [[Yukinoshita Yukino]] Shokuhō Misaki

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 10 [[Shiina Mashiro]] Nishimiya Shōko

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 11 [[Yuigahama Yui]] Fujiwara Chika

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 12 [[Takanashi Rikka]] Aoyama Nanami

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 13 [[Megumin]] Emilia

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 14 [[Amano Hina]] Index L. Prohibitorum

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 15 Tomori Nao [[Sawamura Spencer Eriri]]

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 16 Kasumigaoka Utaha [[Tokisaki Kurumi]]

by >=300
Over/Under: 8000
Over

ARENA 17 [[Riku Dola]] Satō Kazuma