Sixty-Three in Provo, and the Trivia Team Wins a Round
Cleveland State63
BYU21
- Game
- 2028 Week 4
- Site
- Away
- Result
- Win
- Record
- 4-0
Vikings 63, BYU 21. In Provo. Four and oh!
Forty-two points of daylight on the road, in the mountains, against a program that doesn’t lose at home very often. I watched it at Big Stan’s, and by halftime Stan had turned off the slicer again, which, if you’ve been reading this column, you know only happens on special occasions. Gerald came in for ham. Stan said, “Gerald. Sit.” Gerald sat.
I’ll tell you what I saw: a team that doesn’t celebrate touchdowns anymore. They just jog back to the sideline like they’ve been there. Because they have. Four years of Hocker, folks, and the kid plays like he’s bored of being great. Big Stan says that’s what champions look like. I’m not saying the C-word. Stan said it. Write that down. Stan said it, not me.
Leo Reyes came over to watch the second half with me after his Lakers practice, still in his pads, and during a commercial he asked me if I’d ever seen a team this good. I thought about it for a long time. I said, “Not yet, buddy.” He said, “What do you mean, yet?” I said, “Ask me in January.” I’ve been spending too much time with Kenny.
Five pierogi. Gerald gets one.
Sixty-three points. On the road. In Provo. I’d say I’m speechless, but Marlene has asked me to file two hundred words, so I’ll find some.
The Vikings beat BYU by forty-two in a building that’s hard to win in. They’re four and oh. The offense is scoring like it has a quota, and the defense, which I’ve doubted for four years, has given up fourteen, nineteen, twenty-eight and twenty-one. That’s not a defense that wins games. It’s a defense that doesn’t lose them, and with this offense, that’s enough.
Breaking news from the Lantern Room: Regression to the Mean won a round at trivia this week. One round. Sports. I answered every question. Nadia rang the bell behind the bar, the one she rings for birthdays and engagements. The whole bar applauded. We still finished last overall. But we won a round. The plaque has a sticky note on it now: “Except Sports.”
Back and forth
Stan said the C-word, Kenny.
Stan says a lot of things. He also named a sandwich after a freshman.
You won a trivia round!
Sports. Obviously. It’s the only category where my anxiety is useful.
Forty-two points of daylight in Provo, Gerald sitting on command, and a sticky note that reads “Except Sports” on the most consistent plaque in Ohio City.
Split Decision is fiction. Mickey Bridges, Ken Hogmanes and The Lakefront Ledger are invented; the games and scores are not.