Saturday, November 8, 2014

Big Deal in the Desert

Perhaps the marquee attraction in college football today is at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., where the No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils (7-1) host the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1). Each school is hoping a victory will help boost them to a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Some thoughts and musings about today's matchup at 12:30 PT:

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 3-0, and comes off a 37-34 victory over ASU in Arlington, Tex., last season.
- The first meeting between the two schools was on Oct. 10, 1998. The Irish, led by 193 combined rushing yards by Joey Goodspeed (109) and Autry Denson (84), prevailed 28-9.
- Which leads to a trivia question: Name the Notre Dame quarterback at the time (pictured below). The answer is at the bottom of this post.


- All told, Notre Dame has an all-time record of 2-3 in games played at Sun Devil Stadium. They are 1-3 in Fiesta Bowls played at the site.
- Notre Dame won the 1988 National Championship on Sun Devil Stadium turf, beating West Virginia, 34-21, on Jan. 2, 1989.
- Arizona State's passing attack ranks 22nd in the nation, with 291.1 yards per game.
- Notre Dame's pass offense is positioned just a few slots lower (26th), with 288.9 yards per game.
- In a 49-39 win over Navy on Nov. 1, Notre Dame senior quarterback Everett Golson became the first player in Irish history to rush for three touchdowns and pass for three touchdowns in the same game.

Trivia question answer: Jarious Jackson.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Quiz Time: Brady vs. Manning XVI

It's been a while since the last Sports Trivia Buff blog post, but we're back and turning up the volume real quick. Today marks the 16th head-to-head matchup between quarterbacking greats Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. How well do you know this rivalry? (Mouse over each Answer area to reveal the answers.)




1. Which QB has the most wins in this series?


Answer: Brady leads the series with 10 wins, while Manning owns five triumphs.


2. Of their 15 head-to-head match-ups, which QB is the only one to throw for 400 yards in a game?


Answer: Manning's 400-yard effort in the 2013 AFC Championship game (Jan. 19, 2014) stands as the only 400-yard performance in the series.


3. Which player has thrown more touchdown passes in the three weeks prior to today's game?


Answer: Brady has accounted for 12 touchdown tosses, while Manning has posted 10 for Denver.


4. Among active players, Manning and Brady rank first and second, respectively, in most wins by a starting quarterback during the regular season. Which current quarterback ranks third?


Answer: Drew Brees, with 113 wins, is third behind Manning (173) and Brady (154).