Repeat! Repeat!

Nope...I haven't abandoned my "shoulda-woulda-coulda" NCAA Division 1-A football playoffs, where I run a 24-team field through Dave Koch Sports' Action! PC Football game.

Something special happened with the 2022 playoffs...and here goes:

FIRST ROUND (seeding in parentheses): Clemson (9) 31, Toledo (24) 7/Kansas State (16) 34, Oregon State (17) 15/Washington (13) 52, UCLA (20) 28/Alabama (12) 27, Cincinnati (21) 19/Florida State (19) 52, South Alabama (14) 30/Tennessee (11) 42, Coastal Carolina (22) 21/Oregon (18) 45, Utah (15) 30/Penn State (10) 41, Fresno State (23) 21

SECOND ROUND: Michigan (1) 38, Clemson 21/Kansas State 42, Troy (8) 21/Washington 49, USC (5) 35/Alabama 44, Ohio State (4) 41/Tulane (6) 48, Florida State 45/TCU (3) 50, Tennessee 35/Oregon 52, UTSA (7) 28/Georgia (2) 31, Penn State 24

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Michigan 34, Kansas State 32/Alabama 59, Washington 31/TCU 49, Tulane 27/Georgia 31, Oregon 14

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Michigan 44, Alabama 28/Georgia 44, TCU 33

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Michigan 55, Georgia 49 (2 OT)

PLAYOFF MVP: Michigan RB Blake Corum

HIGHLIGHTS: FIRST ROUND- Will Shipley's 174 rushing yards and two TDs help Tigers ground Rockets; Wildcats' 335 rushing yards and seven sacks doom Beavers; five TD tosses by Michael Penix Jr. (on 26-34-385 passing) let Huskies advance over Bruins; Jahmyr Gibbs' five-yard TD run with 4:53 to go in third quarter wins it for Crimson Tide; Seminoles outgain Jaguars, 626-329 (484 yards belong to FSU's Jordan Travis); Hendon Hooker runs for 199 yards and four TDs (and throws for 349 yards and two scores) to lift Volunteers; Bo Nix throws for three scores and runs for another three to awaken Ducks after they trail Utes, 10-0; Kaytron Allen's three ground scores lead Nittany Lions to victory.

SECOND ROUND- Wolverines boot Tigers out on J.J. McCarthy's two rush TDs and two air TDs; Wildcats score 35 unanswered points after spotting Sun Belt's Trojans a 7-0 lead; Huskies' two fourth-quarter TDs oust Pac-12's Trojans in a game where Penix and USC's Caleb Williams fire four air scores apiece; Will Reichard's 53-yard field goal with no time left in the fourth quarter sidelines Buckeyes; Valentino Ambrosio boots the game winner from 34 yards out with 56 ticks to go in the fourth to lift Green Wave; Max Duggan's five TD runs (25 trips for 154 yards- twice as many ground yards as Vols) team up with Horned Frogs' eight sacks of Hooker to send Vols home; Nix' three TD passes and three TD runs foil Roadrunners; Stetson Bennett (two TD passes) and Kenny McIntosh (two TD runs) key Bulldogs' second-half comeback.

QUARTERFINAL ROUND- Corum's third TD and Donovan Edwards' second one lift Wolverines...who thwart a K-State two-point conversion try that would've tied the game with 50 seconds to play in regulation; Tide's Bryce Young outdoes Penix by running for three scores and throwing for another three (and going 23-24-313 in the air department); Frogs' strong defense (seven sacks) and Duggan's strong running (two TDs by land and two by air) overcome Green Wave; Bennett's three air scores (and rush TD) shoot down Ducks.

SEMIFINAL ROUND- McCarthy throws for three TDs and runs for another to let Wolverines advance; Bennett accounts for six scores (throws for three and runs for three) to set up a rematch of the 2021 title test.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME- Bennett and McIntosh help Dawgs rack up a 35-21 lead with 12:28 left in the fourth...but McCarthy and Corum lead Wolverines' comeback. Makari Paige's 34-yard scoop-and-score gives Michigan its first lead...but Bennett's 28-yard TD toss to Ladd McConkey (and the PAT) force overtime. Corum's eight-yard TD run makes Michigan the first team to win back-to-back "shoulda-coulda-woulda" D-1-A playoffs since USC in 2003-04.

Can't wait to find out if the Wolverines pulled off a three-peat in 2023!

The countdown is over

I needed to let you know that, due to a bunch of personal issues (most of them job-related, some related to finances, some even church-related), I've decided to stop holding the Ragtime to Riches Festival. The continuing pandemic sure hasn't helped, as it wiped out what would've been the 2020 and 2021 R to R events. Still...I'm thankful for everyone who attended the festival since its 2005 inception, and I'm thankful for every performer who did the festival. Haven't dropped music for good, because I'm still going to the Pink Poodle Steakhouse in Crescent, IA to perform on the last Sunday of the month. (Hope to see you there!)