The Rubber Match Goes to Cleveland, and the Ribbon Goes Home
Cleveland State48
Miami (OH)42
- Game
- 2029 CFP Quarterfinal
- Site
- Neutral site
- Result
- Win
- Record
- 12-3
VIKINGS 48, MIAMI (OH) 42. WE WON THE FIGHT.
Third time’s the charm, folks. Third time’s the everything. The RedHawks beat us in October, beat us for the Big 12 title, and in the playoff quarterfinals, when it mattered most, our guys found six more points than they did. Six! A touchdown! The exact margin they beat us by in the title game, handed right back.
Donna wore the cape. Neutral site. She said, “It’s not home, Michael, so it might work.” It worked. She’s four and oh in non-home games against the RedHawks now, and I’m going to have her declared a national treasure.
Nadia texted Kenny, and Kenny showed me, so I’m allowed to tell you: “Bring my ribbon back. Then keep it. You earned it. Again.” Folks, that’s a woman who loves her team and respects ours, and if Miami (OH) has more fans like that, God bless Oxford.
Semifinal next. Georgia. A rematch of last year’s championship game.
Five pierogi. One for Nadia, delivered to the Lantern Room.
Six points. In the rubber match. The Vikings won the third game of a trilogy against a team that beat them twice and won the Big 12. That’s not a win; it’s a story, and I’m going to have to write a better word than “fine” for it.
I returned the ribbon. Nadia was waiting at the bar Tuesday with two glasses already poured. She took the ribbon, looked at it, tied it back on the “WE’LL SEE” trophy, and then untied it and handed it back to me. “Keep it,” she said. “I’ll get it next year.” We clinked. The whole bar applauded again, which I’ve decided is a Tuesday tradition now.
Here’s my analysis, and I’ll be precise: the Vikings beat the Big 12 champion in a playoff game. They’re in the national semifinal for the second straight year, against Georgia, the team they beat for the title last January. And Ohio is on the other side of the bracket, winning everything. Bridget’s “see you in January” text is starting to look like a scheduling confirmation.
Teresa made soup before the game and a pie after it. Different flavors for different outcomes. She’d made both. She plans for everything. That’s why she’s good at her job and why I’m good with her.
Back and forth
The rubber match is ours, Kenny!
And the ribbon is mine again. On loan from a woman who’s better at sportsmanship than any of us.
Georgia next!
And then, maybe, Athens. Everybody’s been telling us all year.
The trilogy goes to Cleveland by six, Donna’s cape stays undefeated away from home, and a green ribbon changes hands for the last time this season.
Split Decision is fiction. Mickey Bridges, Ken Hogmanes and The Lakefront Ledger are invented; the games and scores are not.