Morning Box Score: College Football Returns, Irish Win In Dublin, Cubs, Sox Lose
By Tim Bearden in News on Sep 2, 2012 2:45PM
The weather threatened but the only thing that rained on the Cubs' parade was the Giants. Justin Germano started for the Cubs and gave up four runs in the first inning. Germano (2-5) got caught in a two outs, bases loaded scenario and choked—he hit Hector Sanchez and forced in the first run of the inning. The Giants' next at bat resulted in Xavier Nady hitting a three-run double, his first for the Giants. David DeJesus tried breathing life into the Cubs in the third inning with a two-run homer, but the Cubbies couldn't get much else going.
Tigers 5, White Sox 1
The White Sox dropped the second game of a three game series against the Tigers. Francisco Liriano, recently acquired for the Sox, started and gave up four hits, three runs, seven bases on balls and three errors in four innings of work. Liriano was charged with Delmon Young's run at the top of the fifth after giving up a triple to the Tigers left fielder. Orlando Hudson tried to start a ninth inning rally with a triple, driving in Paul Konerko, but he was stranded on base. The Tigers are now one game back from the lead in the division.
The Irish fought strong in Dublin on Saturday as they beat Navy. Notre Dame dominated the entire game, averaging two touchdowns a quarter and embarrassing the military academy with a score of 50-10. Stephon Tuitt ran back a fumble for a 77-yard touchdown, Notre Dame's longest since 1985 and the third-longest in school history. Notre Dame also rushed for 293 yards and five touchdowns with the help of Theo Riddick and George Atkinson, who each had two TDs.
The Wildcats won a nail-biter in their season opener over the Orangemen of New York. Venric Mark energized Northwestern with an 82-yard punt return for a TD to take the lead 7-6. From there it was a see-saw battle with Northwestern's backup quarterback Trevor Siemian coming out on top. Siemian drilled a 9-yard touchdown pass after marching down field 75 yards in 10 plays with 44 seconds left to help the Wildcats edge out Syracuse in New York.
Illinois 24, Western Michigan 7
If anyone had questions about Tim Beckman going into Saturday's game he answered them--and with gusto. The Illini dominated the field on both offense and defense, and looking like the team former coach Ron Zook recruited but couldn't coach. The team went 4-0 at the beginning of last season and lost six straight after that. Nathan Scheelhaase threw a 64-yard touchdown pass 1:40 into the game to wide-out Ryan Lankford to take the early lead. The Illini led 17-0 in the first half and the defense picked off the Western Michigan offense twice in the half. Scheelhaase left the game in the third with an ankle injury, which halted the offense, but the defense was strong and held off the pass-happy Broncos for the 24-7 win.
The city was filled with yellow and black as the Hawkeyes took on Northern Illinois at Soldier Field Saturday night. Northern showed strong again to start the season after winning the Mid-American conference last year. Jordan Lynch, the new starting quarterback for the Huskies, passed for only 54 yards, but ran for 119, including a 73 yard TD run in the third to give Northern a 17-9 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes weren't quite done yet though, and outscored the Huskies 9-0 in the fourth for a come from behind win.