College Football Corner: Navy and Virginia win, while Vandy is dandy

Dave Preston is an AP Top voter Read his rankings here College football s moving month wrapped up this past weekend with six FBS schools entering November unbeaten and a slew of teams we did not see in August contending for the College Football Playoff More sports stories Alex Ovechkin plays his th encounter for the Capitals but goal No will have to wait Virginia residents conquer the Marine Corps Marathon Washington football legend Joe Jacoby moves to next round of Hall of Fame consideration Virginia is one of them and the Cavaliers crazy life continues to keep them in the contender category Navy and James Madison are also in control of their respective roads to conference championship games and probable playoff berths as the last automatic qualifier Nationally the biggest surprise this season is Vanderbilt once called the Harvard of the South or the SEC s smart school Vandy has been great in baseball two national championships in five College World Series appearances this century occasionally stimulating in basketball and an afterthought in football Last year they posted their first winning season in over a decade and powered their way into the Top Ten for the first time since We ve seen Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia turn Virginia Tech every which way but loose in consecutive seasons and on Saturday Pavia and his group posted their second straight supremacy over a ranked foe when they topped No Missouri - They still have ranked foes in Texas and Tennessee on their November slate but right now the Nashville campus is buzzing about more than country music and bachelorette parties Virginia Tech - - ACC came back from their bye showing more rest than rust rallying from points down at halftime to take Cal into overtime Then it became the Kyron Drones show as the Hokies quarterback ran and then threw for a touchdown in the extra sessions before running for the two-point conversion in a - double overtime win The win keeps bowl eligibility from don t be ridiculous territory even though three of their four November games will be against ranked foes Hokie Highlights Kyron Drones rushed for yards and two touchdowns while passing for yards and three scores Marcellous Hawkins ran for gaining eight yards per carry Kemari Copeland notched a sack on the first play from scrimmage and finished with three sacks on the night The defense also held Cal s running backs to yards rushing and the Golden Bears to - on third down Hokie Humblings The pass defense earned a C- coughing up completions of and yards twice Ten penalties for yards almost cost them this time Next Saturday against No Louisville - at p m on the CW Virginia - - ACC has been living on the edge for the last month A double-overtime win over Florida State indicated everyone that they weren t an ACC pretender and then an overtime supremacy at Louisville to let folks know they might certainly be a contender Last week s two-point mastery over Washington State punched their postseason ticket and Saturday s - overtime win at North Carolina might be sending the Cavalier faithful out to buy lottery tickets Instead of a fourth-down incompletion an overtime touchdown or a late safety it was a failed two-point conversion by the Tar Heels that keeps U Va unbeaten in conference play Cavalier Congrats The defense held UNC to - on third down and posted three takeaways with Kam Robinson credited for half a sack while making tackles Daniel Sparks averaged yards per punt Cavalier Concerns Four of their six first half drives were three-and-out and they weren t helped by a running back rotation that was held to yards on carries The offensive line allowed six sacks Next Saturday at - Cal Navy - - AAC was facing questions surrounding a defense that allowed points in consecutive games and things did not begin well against Florida Atlantic as the Owls reached the end zone on their first possession moving the ball yards on plays But it would be the defense that would make the difference in a - win for the Mids who turned three takeaways into points and also held FAU to field goals twice in the red zone before mop-up time in the fourth quarter and a point lead Navy controls its path to the American Conference Championship Match and potentially the playoff while also posting its best start since Midshipman Medals Blake Horvath continues his dark horse Heisman candidacy by rushing for yards and four touchdowns while the nation s best ground tournament gained on the afternoon Linebacker Coleman Cauley forced and recovered a fumble while notching an interception to set up a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns Midshipman Miscues The offense misfired mid-game failing on three straight fourth down attempts while also losing a fumble in that stretch The defense may have held FAU to - on third down but the Owls converted all seven fourth down attempts And the defense that had been stout for three and a half quarters coughed up three touchdowns in the final six minutes of regulation Next Saturday at noon on the road against - North Texas Source