Notre Dame: 2018 Citrus Bowl Champions

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Notre Dame receiver Miles Boykin lived up to Brian Kelly's expectations.

The Fighting Irish's head coach told the junior during a practice leading up to Monday's Citrus Bowl game against LSU that Boykin was going to win the MVP trophy.

Boykin made not only one of the top plays of this bowl season but one of the more memorable catches in Notre Dame bowl history. He made a dynamic one-handed grab and raced down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown with 1:28 remaining to give the 14th-ranked Fighting Irish a 21-17 victory over No. 16 LSU.

The win by Notre Dame (10-3) is its first in a New Year's Day bowl since the 1994 Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M and snaps a nine-game skid in January postseason games.

"He looked at me like I had two heads. But I felt like he had a chance," said Kelly about his prediction. "He's got the ability, if we could get him the football. And Ian got him the football and Miles made a great individual play and, lo and behold, I've got the MVP sitting next to me."

Boykin had only nine catches for 151 yards and a TD coming into the game, but he got his first start after starters Chase Claypool (shoulder injury) and Kevin Stephenson (suspension) were ruled out.

Boykin showed off his wide-catch radius on what proved to be the game-winning play. On first-and-10 from the Irish 45, Ian Book lofted a pass up the right sideline that Boykin was able to snag with his right hand at the LSU 33, eluding corner Donte Jackson. Boykin then broke a tackle attempt by Donte Jackson at the LSU 26 before finding a clear path to the end zone.

"Ian put it in place where only I could reach it," said Boykin, who finished with three receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. "It was a great pass and I was just lucky enough to pull it down on one hand. I've got pretty big hands."

LSU coach Ed Orgeron said that Boykin made a great grab but lamented his defense's other struggles on the play.

"We had our best cover guy on him (Jackson) but he's a big receiver," he said after the Tigers finished the season 9-4. "We had two guys on him and missed the tackle. That's what I'm mostly disappointed with."

Book entered the game in the second quarter after Brandon Wimbush struggled moving the offense. The sophomore was 14 of 19 for 164 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

Book's first touchdown came early in the fourth quarter. With Notre Dame trailing 14-6, he found Michael Young in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard score. Josh Adams then scored on a two-point conversion to tie it.

"It was an awesome opportunity, such a surreal moment that last play with Miles," Book said. "We knew it was going to be a close game. We just had to stay composed and do what we have been doing since January."

The game lacked drama the first three quarters. It was scoreless until four seconds remained in the first half when a Justin Yoon 46-yard field goal gave Notre Dame a 3-0 halftime lead.

LSU's Danny Etling was 19 of 33 for 229 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns to Derrius Guice. Guice, who was the MVP of last year's game, had 98 yards on 21 carries.

THE TAKEAWAY

Notre Dame: Kelly joins Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz as the only Fighting Irish coaches to have three double-digit win seasons at the school.

LSU: Guice, who said after the game that he hasn't made a decision on whether to leave early for the NFL draft, joins Charles Alexander, Dalton Hilliard, Kevin Faulk and Leonard Fournette as the only players in school history to rush for more than 3,000 yards. He has 3,065 yards in 36 games.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

The Tigers had it twice on the Irish 1 and managed just three points. In the second quarter they had fourth-and-goal before being called for a false start which resulted in a missed 22-yard field goal by Connor Culp.

In the fourth quarter a Guice 2-yard reception put the Tigers in another fourth-and-goal at the 1. Orgeron decided to go for the 3-point lead and a Jack Gonsoulin 17-yard field goal, which gave the Tigers a 17-14 lead.

"We shot ourselves in the foot too many times," Etling said. "We executed pretty well every possession, but made one or two bad plays, false starts that put us five yards back and all the sudden we're in a tougher situation."

TOUGH DAY FOR ADAMS


Adams, who came into the game averaging 115.5 yards per game, was held to 44 yards on 15 carries. In three of the Irish's last four games he was held to under 50 yards.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: The Irish open next season with a home game against Michigan on Sept. 1. During spring practices, Kelly will have to replace three starters on an offensive line that was considered the nation's best.

LSU: The Tigers will have to replace six starters on offense, including Etling and likely Guice, leading into the Sept. 1 opener against Miami in Dallas.

See You Next Week, Azusa Pacific!

GLENDORA >> Azusa Pacific University began Saturday in search of a championship. The Cougars may have earned a bit more at Citrus College.

They also made a pretty big statement for inclusion in next month’s NCAA Division II playoffs.

Andrew Elffers threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns and the Cougars forced four turnovers en route to a 44-7 victory over Central Washington to clinch their third Great Northwest Athletic Conference football title in four seasons.

Weston Carr also had nine receptions for 189 yards and four touchdowns for APU (8-1, 7-0), ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division II and No. 6 in Super Region Three. The Cougars, who equaled a Division II record with three interception returns for touchdowns last week, had three picks on Saturday to raise their season total to 21, which ranks near the top of Division II.

Central Washington, ranked No. 7 in the region, slipped to 5-3 and 4-2.

“It’s just great to get the title,” APU coach Victor Santa Cruz said. “We work hard to get every championship that’s possible. To be able to celebrate our third title in four years says a lot to what the coaches do, the school and the effort our kids give, not just this season, but all the way back to January. Our kids have had vision. They made the sacrifices and I’m just glad they get the fruit (from that commitment).”

APU pretty much clinched the title during the first two quarters, scoring on five of its first eight possessions for a 31-0 lead at halftime.

The game turned following consecutive Central Washington turnovers during the middle of the first quarter. APU, which took a 3-0 lead on its first drive with a 30-yard field goal by Jamie Cacciatore, used both miscues to extend the advantage to 17-0.

C.J. Broussard, who had both interceptions in the first half, returned the first inside the Wildcat’s 20 before Elffers tossed 12 yards to Carr for a 10-0 lead at 4:39.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Broussard said. “We knew we had to do what we do. (Tonight) was just the product of hard work and great coaching.”

Elffers, after the Cougars recovered a Central Washington fumble on the kickoff on the Wildcats’ 23, followed with a 10-yard pass to Brandon Jackson to setup Aaron Baltazar’s 1-yard run for a 17-0 lead at 2:39.

Elffers then capped the scoring in the first half with second-quarter touchdown passes of 27 yards to Carr and 12 to Ethan Zeidler for a 31-0 advantage.

He made it 37-0 with a 23-yard pass to Carr in the third quarter. Carr had a 45-yard TD reception from Chad Jeffries in the fourth quarter.

“Passing-wise, we knew we had to come out aggressive,” Carr said. “We knew we had to be perfect on the outside, and really just execute the whole game.”

Azusa Nakano in Azusa Pacific? Why not?

http://bongaboi.tumblr.com/post/152317875675/azusa-pacificzip

Wait A Minute, This Isn't Azusa Community College!

Back in the day, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and the University of California at Davis flew the flag for college football in California at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II level. Cal Poly did win a national championship at that level, back in 1980, so they have reached the pinnacle before. UC Davis came close, finishing runners-up with Ken O'Brien leading the way and in their last few years under Bob Biggs, they made the semifinals only to lose to Bloomsburg.

Nowadays, there are just two teams representing the great football-rich state of California at the Division II level. There's the old standby, the Lumberjacks of Humboldt State, the pride of Northern California. And then...there's Azusa Pacific University, the Cougars, under the tutelage of a former Hawaii Rainbow Warrior in Victor Santa Cruz, soon to be the winningest head coach at the school and the longest-tenured coach at the school, an inter-denominational Christian institution.

Before APU went D2, they were dominating the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the NAIA. They, along with now fellow-D2 side Simon Fraser, were the most complete athletics program at that level and they currently have the most Director's Cup at eight. That is a mark that will not be eclipsed for quite some time. The success of Azusa Pacific at the NAIA level meant that they needed to move up to be competitive and bring in better quality recruits. It was Santa Cruz that led the Cougar football program to Division II. Prior to Santa Cruz's arrival, Azusa Pacific won a national championship in 1998.

In the NAIA, due to their location, the Cougars punched above their weight for years, facing teams from the NCAA and NAIA and inflicting some impressive victories over powerhouse teams. Recently, they have stabilized in form as an affiliate emmber of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, or GNAC, winning conference titles in 2013 and 2014.

Azusa Pacific also won the NCCAA National Championship in 2013, called the Victory Bowl. The NCCAA stands for National Christian College Athletic Association. During that time, APU was ineligible to qualify for the postseason in spite of winning their conference due to their transition process. 2013 was the last year of APU's three-year transition period and they were completely out of place in that game because they were too good for the Panthers. It was men against boys. (As of this writing, Greenville are 2-6 this season.)

That goes back to my addressing of the talent level of this Azusa Pacific team. It's comparable to any solid junior college side. Think Mount San Antonio, but at a four-year level. Indeed, some transfer on this team are from nearby Mt. SAC, who slammed my Long Beach City College Vikings a few days ago, so there are some good programs in the Foothill Valley. Most players are from California, with a few good ones coming out of state.

And one reason why Azusa Pacific is great at football is their home stadium. Citrus College is next door, in the city of Glendora. Citrus Stadium is a 10,000 seat venue used by the Citrus Owls, who are a junior college side, and Azusa Pacific jointly. So scheduling games has to be agreed on by both institutions. Thus, if Citrus is playing at the stadium, Azusa in on the road, and vice versa. But there are some cases where both teams play at the same stadium on the same day. For example, on the weekend of Oct. 15, Citrus played during the day and Azusa Pacific played during the night. The Owls lost to Antelope Valley, the Cougars thrashed Humboldt State. It's, literally, a match made in heaven...relatively speaking.

And they have a solid assistant coach in Jackie Slater. A Hall of Famer, Matthew's dad, the father of a New England Patriot who's been a Pro Bowler like his Dad, an LA Ram to the core...his presence is worth the price of admission...which is $12. Combined with a Metro Day Pass and municipal bus fare, that's about $21 for transportation and admission and with pregame meal...$30. So it's a good deal.

And another thing: Azusa Pacific's record, currently 7-1 with a 6-0 conference record, is miles better than USC, or UCLA, or a whole lot of other local colleges in the area. Compare that to the big schools. USC, 4-3, cheapest tickets at $45. UCLA, 3-5, cheapest tickets, $33. Why should anyone pay more to see a below-average major college football team that won't play in the Rose Bowl and might not even go bowling, when they can instead that the Gold Line to APU/Citrus College Station, walk through APU's East Campus, the expansive Citrus College parking lot, and watch decent quality football from a side that know how to maintain good form and could be making the playoffs?

Remember, this is essentially Mt. SAC as a Division II team, based on the quality of players, based on the makeup, the coaching staff, and the desire to embrace the overall experience that one can get at Azusa Pacific. That is a good deal. A bargain. The best deal in town. Their logo might look similar to Air Force's block logo, but block logo identities these days seem to hold their own. Just ask Notre Dame.

One day, APU will get so good, and earn so much in the payout and donations and money flowing in from their support networks, that they will be competing with an old football rival in the University of San Diego in sports other than football in the West Coast Conference. I mean, that's the logical choice, because most of the member schools are from California and are Christian schools. Plus, there is the romantic oppotunity to face BYU on a constant basis. How about that.

Of course, this might mean that Citrus Stadium will have to be renovated and revamped to be up to NCAA Division I FCS standards, and it might be a cost-prohibitive move. But with all of their athletic successes and their brand being promoted on the up and up, I can't see why APU can't get big enough to play football in the Pioneer Football League with San Diego while play in the West Coast Conference in other sports. That rivalry is going to become an annual game and it should be a highly touted match with a lot of postseason implications, local pride and so on.

For the time being, Azusa Pacific University should enjoy settling down in NCAA Division II and shouldn't rush moving up to Division I. Stability and consistency in terms of winning form must take priority first. I am confident that when I head to the campus on Nov. 5 (contingent on tickets being available on Nov. 4, the day my card recharges), I will be enlightened by the quality of football from Azusa Pacific. By this point, unless the Wildcats of Central Washington (who also won a national title as an NAIA school back in 1995) have something to say about is this weekend, the Cougars are preparing for the playoffs as conference champions and I will enjoy the Wolves of Western Oregon receiving a heartfellt lesson in how to play proper football by the book.

I was in Azusa months ago, riding the Metro Gold Line to the city via the then-new Foothill Extension for the very first time, filming the entire ride from Downtown Los Angeles to APU/Citrus College both ways, uploaded it to YouTube, following it up with a first-time ride to Santa Monica on the Expo Line, soon to be the western portion of the revamped Gold Line. Now, I get to ride this same Gold Line, soon to be the north extension of the Blue Line to Long Beach for real, this time with a purpose. It may be one bus and three trains now, but in a few years, it will only be one bus and one train to get to an Azusa Pacific Cougars football game. (They're better than the other similarly-colored Cougar football team too, as of this writing. Slightly.)

But, yep, as much as I like to tout junior college football in the Golden State...this is NOT Azusa Community College.

Across The River

#sliceoflife #LAGalaxy #AFL #NRL #AFLGF #NRLGF #PSG

Two Women And A Mare

Two Women And A Mare, a set on Flickr.

I'm just a bachelor
I'm looking for a partner
Someone who knows how to ride
Without even falling off

Gotta be compatible
Takes me to my limits
Girl when I break you off
I promise that you won't want to get off

If your horny, Let's do it
Ride it, My Pony
My saddle's waiting
Come and jump on it

If your horny, Let's do it
Ride it, My Pony
My saddle's waiting
Come and jump on it

Sitting here flossing
Peeping your steelo
Just once if I have the chance
The things I will do to you
You and your body
Every single portion
Send chills up and down your spine
Juices flowing down your thigh

If your horny, Let's do it
Ride it, My Pony
My saddle's waiting
Come and jump on it

If your horny, Let's do it
Ride it, My Pony
My saddle's waiting
Come and jump on it

If we're gonna get nasty, Baby
First we'll show & tell
Till I reach your ponytail
Lurk all over and through you baby
Until I reach your stream
You'll be on my jockey team

If your horny, Let's do it
Ride it, My Pony
My saddle's waiting
Come and jump on it

If your horny, Let's do it
Ride it, My Pony
My saddle's waiting
Come and jump on it...

Life Looks Better In Spring.

Time changes everything, even you and I have changed

The rain the winters bring has made us fade away

I still remember everything, that old December, the fears, the cold

I really wonder how you feel on these nights, all alone

I hope someday you'll see me

I hope someday you'll spot me in the crowd

Take my hand and kiss me

I hope someday you'll say my name out loud

(Tell me) Tell me about your feelings, tell me about your stories

Look into my eyes and come on closer, make me immortal with a kiss

(Tell me) Tell me about your feelings, tell me about your stories

We know it's over, so tell me it's over and life will be better in spring

Time changes everything, but this feeling, it still remains

The sweetness of the lips I kissed will always be the same

I hope someday you'll see me

I hope someday you'll spot me in the crowd

Smile and say you miss me

I hope someday you'll say my name out loud

(Tell me) Tell me about your feelings, tell me about your stories

Look into my eyes and come on closer, make me immortal with a kiss

(Tell me) Tell me about your feelings, tell me about your stories

We know it's over, so tell me it's over and life will be better in spring

(Tell me) Tell me about your feelings, tell me about your stories

Look into my eyes and come on closer, make me immortal with a kiss

(Tell me) Tell me about your feelings, tell me about your stories

We know it's over, so tell me it's over and life will be better in spring.

-Nasos Lambrianides & Melis Konstantinou