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Whitworth a 10-tradition underdog to St. John’s

Posted by Vince

Nov. 25, 2006 8:29 a.m. • 0 comments

WHITWORTH, VANDALS, COLLEGE FOOTBALL

On the field, there are a lot of similarities between the Pirates and their second-round NCAA Division III football playoff opponent St. John’s. Both teams have double digits in wins, both have an exceptional quarterback and both play tough defense.

Off the field, there is no comparison, as John Blanchette’s story today points out. Heck, Whitworth coach John Tully just hopes to be around at 80, not still coaching like St. John’s head man John Gagliardi. And the Johnnies have four national titles to their credit, the Pirates none.

But it doesn’t matter when the two teams take the frozen Pine Bowl turf today (noon; 1230-AM). They’ll start even and the winner will move on to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

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Speaking of winning, that’s the only goal the Idaho Vandals have today (2 p.m.; 790-AM, 1080-AM) when they host San Jose State.

UI is 4-7 overall, but 3-4 in Western Athletic Conference play, so a win would give them a .500 conference season. You can find more at Jim Meehan’s blog.

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Alexis Serna’s 40-yard field goal in a pouring rain gave Oregon State a 30-28 win over archrival Oregon on Friday, and probably clinched third in the Pac-10 for the Beavers.