We hadn't won at UNO since 1996, and everyone was sure to remind us of that leading up to last Saturday's game, especially the media. But we went into hostile territory and won in convincing fashion, 42-0.

Our offensive line and our defense dominated all game. Our defense scored two touchdowns and created four turnovers. All day our offensive line was creating holes for our running backs or protecting myself and Blake. I want to commend Reid Kirby, Tom Pestock, Matt Nelson, Jeremy Davis, Jason Wiseman and Dane Wardenburg on how well they played. They make everyone else's job on our offense much easier, especially mine.

I personally thought I played a solid game. Statistically, I didn't have my best game of the season, but I'm not going to complain because all that matters is that we got the win. I expected us to win, but I didn't expect us to win the way that we did because UNO had not lost a game at home for a couple of years now let alone lost by that much. It felt really good to get a win in Omaha.

This week is another highly anticipated game against Pitt State at Arrowhead Stadium. This is the 7th Fall Classic at Arrowhead, and my 5th since I've been at Northwest. I feel like Pitt and UNO are our biggest rivals since they have had the most success against us since I've been at Northwest.

Last year's game was my most memorable against Pitt because I finished the game at QB and we won 37-34 in overtime. Not many D2 football teams/players get a chance to play a game at a place like Arrowhead Stadium in front of 20,000-plus fans so I feel pretty fortunate to have this opportunity. I'm sure there will be a great crowd considering we are both ranked in the top 10. Hopefully we'll give the crowd another good showing.

We definitely need to get off to a good start this week and play consistently throughout. If we take care of the football and our defense plays like they have been, we will have nothing to complain about after the game. I think the key to our success will be how we practice this week. Last week was our best week of practice this season, and it showed in our performance against UNO. We need to continue practicing well in order for us to play well.

See ya next week,

Ozzy #12

It was certainly satisfying to hold the "Old Hickory Stick" when Saturday's game at Truman was over. By no means did I think we'd win in such convincing fashion (49-0) nor did I imagine playing just one series in the second half. But our defense played extremely well in pitching a shutout and offensively we scored on six straight possessions after struggling out of the gates.

The surprising thing about the way the game turned out was that in recent years when we've played a rivalry game at Truman, the games have been close no matter what the teams looked like on paper, and this year we both looked even.

For me personally, Saturday's game was special. The thing that I was most proud of was that I threw a touchdown pass to Raphael Robinson, Abe Qaoud and Kendall Wright.

The four of us have a special bond because we all came to Northwest the same year. My first experience playing with these three was on scout team when we were freshmen. At times Saturday against Truman, it felt like it was four years ago playing on the scout team.

Ralph looked like he did four years ago when he made a catch over the middle that only he could reach with his long arms.

Abe looked a little faster than his usual self on his touchdown catch and showed off his feet by making a guy miss to get in the end zone.

Kendall has changed a little bit since his freshman year. After he scored his touchdown, he didn't pull out a piece of paper with his signature on it like he did four years ago to our senior outside linebacker and team captain, Troy Tysdahl, after he juked him out of his shoes.

Saturday night was so much fun for me and the rest of our team. We finally played well as a team, and it showed in the final score.

This week we travel to Omaha to play UNO. I've been looking forward to this game since last year when we squandered a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter to them.

This could be the most physical game we play all year. UNO is one of the few teams in college football that has more rushing yards than passing yards. Every time we play at UNO they sell out their stadium, which holds somewhere around 12,000 people, so it will be a great atmosphere.

Another reason why I'm looking forward to this game is because I have a ton of family that live either in Omaha or within an hour of city limits. My hometown, Harlan, Iowa, is only a 60-minute drive so there will be a lot of friendly faces in the crowd.

We will have to practice better than we have all year to prepare ourselves to play the best that we can on Saturday. If we do this, we can't ask for anything more.

See ya next week,

Ozzy #12

After I threw an interception that got returned for a touchdown, we were down 35-27 to Mo West late in the 3rd quarter. At that moment I felt terrible for making a bad throw, but knew I couldn't worry about it because I had to move on to the next play otherwise we wouldn't have had a chance to come back and win.

I am too competitive of a person to let an interception returned for a touchdown discourage me from going back onto the field to make plays. I hooked up with Abe Qaoud on the next drive for the game-tying touchdown. It was his first TD since two seasons ago. I was really happy for him because he's worked so hard to get back to where he was before the fire.

(On Jan. 27, 2007, Qaoud suffered serious burns and a fractured eye socket, bruised lung, separated shoulder and rib fractures in an apartment fire. He had six surgeries. Qaoud played last season but he didn't catch a touchdown pass.)

It just so happened that we got the ball back and Abe and I hooked up again for a TD to take the lead 42-35.

I lived above Abe in an apartment this summer so it was like we were basically roommates. We spent a lot of time together between workouts and just hanging out. I don't remember Abe missing one 7-on-7 session this summer, and he is starting to see the benefits of his hard work. Abe is like a coach on the field. He knows our offense really well and understands where to find the holes in the defense.

I was really proud of the way our team came through the game with a win. We turned the ball over four times, and it seemed like we were always fighting from behind. The older guys and I tried to keep putting positive thoughts in everyone's head throughout the game. It was almost like we were willing it to happen. We just kept saying we're going to win this. Our defense played pretty well. They really only gave up 3 TD's because the offense set up two of them.

This week we go to Truman State. It's another rivalry game for us. The winner gets the "Old Hickory Stick," which is the oldest traveling trophy in all of D-2. I'm looking forward to this game because it's a great opportunity for us to go on the road against a solid team and come away with a win.

It's going to be extremely important for us to play well from start to finish. Each year since I've been at Northwest, we've struggled at Truman. It's a tough place to play, and it seems like they play twice as well at home as they do on the road. Another reason why it's an important game for us is because it's our first road game of the season. This will set the tone for the next four weeks as we have four road games in a row. Hopefully on Saturday after the game we will be dipping the hickory stick in green paint.

See ya next week,

Ozzy #12

We got our first win of the season against Southwest Baptist on Saturday. The score was 63-28, but it was a closer game than it seemed. I was proud of the way we finished the first half with a touchdown, and how we opened up the second half by scoring on our first four possessions. Our team responded well from last week's performance against ACU. The defense made the adjustments they needed to and really did a good job of slowing down Baptist's offense.

I personally had a solid game, and so did our other QB, Blake Bolles. I thought he did a great job of running the offense when he was out there. Every time he was on the field we scored a touchdown. It's nice to know that if something were to happen to me we would be in good hands (not that I am planning on something happening).

This week we have Mo West. For those of you that don't know much about Mo West, I'll take this time to fill you in on our rivalry. Even though we haven't lost to them since 2003, they are still one of our biggest rivals. Year in and year out they put together a solid team that's always competing for a playoff berth.

My first experience with this rivalry was when I redshirted in 2004. That year Josh Lamberson was our starting quarterback and broke his hip against them, which dramatically decreased our chances of winning a national title. Even though Josh Mathews did a great job filling in for Lambo, he couldn't bring the same things to the table that Lambo did. So even though they didn't beat us that year, they had something to do with us not winning the national title.

Mo West plays us tough every year and I'm sure this year will be no exception. We need to play well from the start and be consistent throughout the game. As of now the only tickets left for the game are standing room only, so Bearcat Stadium will be packed. Hopefully we'll give the fans a good showing.

See ya next week,

Ozzy #12

The season didn't get off to the start that we wanted. It was disappointing to lose 44-27 to Abilene Christian in front of such a great crowd at Bearcat Stadium. There are some positives that we can take from the game though. I thought offensively we moved the ball on ACU very well, but we shot ourselves in the foot numerous times in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. After watching the film, the biggest thing our coaches pointed out to us is that we need to be more consistent with everything we do. I know that our defense was disappointed with how they played, but offensively we can help our defense out more. We don't always have to score, but if we would sustain more drives that would give them more time to rest. Everyone knows that the fresher a defense is the better they will be.

This week we were focused more on correcting our mistakes from the last game more so than anything else. Practice went well this week, and hopefully when we play Southwest Baptist on Saturday we will be much improved. The biggest thing about the game this weekend is we can't look at the score from last year and expect that it will happen again. Last week Baptist had Southeast Missouri State, which is a D1 FCS school, on the ropes and lost in overtime so we need to come out ready to play. I don't think Coach T will have to motivate us that much considering the loss we just had. Hopefully we come out and take the game from the start and get the young guys a lot of playing time.

See ya next week,

Ozzy #12