The Colorado School of Mines Football team travelled to Nebraska to take on No. 21 Chadron State in the snow in the final matchup of the season. Unfortunately for the Orediggers, the final result was 20-14 in Chadron’s favor, but in a year plagued with injuries, Mines ended up with a respectable 6-5 record.
The No. 19 Colorado School of Mines Men’s Soccer Team took on No. 13 Incarnate Word in the second round of the NCAA Division II soccer tournament. The two teams faced off earlier in the season with Mines earning the 3-2 victory back in September. Saturday, with a mixture of snow and rain falling for most of the match, the Cardinals of Incarnate Word earned a bit of revenge, coming out on the winning side of a 4-2 contest to move on to face Regis in the third round of the tourney.
As the old adage goes, “That’s why they play the games.” Alabama had just vanquished their great nemesis. They were unbeaten and seemingly unstoppable and the remainder of this season had an air of inevitability to it. Alabama would finish number one, and someone else would take a desperate shot at dethroning the Tide for the crystal ball. Then along came Southeastern Conference newcomer Texas A&M. The Aggies had been respectable this season, but fell short in the second half in their two games against elite competition. Still, A&M had overachieved its expectations significantly this season and was ranked fifteenth going into the game. The Aggies executed their up-tempo spread offense to perfection in the first half, taking a stunning 20-0 lead on the home-standing Tide. Alabama was forced to play catch-up, which they have rarely been forced to do, and the transition to a comeback-oriented passing game was one that Alabama could not make. They pulled to within three points, but A. J. McCarron threw an interception on fourth-and-goal from the two yard line late in the fourth quarter to seal Alabama’s fate. McCarron threw two interceptions in this game after avoiding throwing any over the entire season so far. Suddenly, one year after featuring both participants in the BCS title game, the SEC is unlikely to get even one entrant. Instead, Kansas State will move up to the top spot in the BCS, with Oregon close behind. If the Wildcats reach the national title game, they will do it despite a preseason ranking of 22, the lowest of the BCS era for a championship participant, eclipsing even the record of Cam Newton’s Auburn team. Kansas State truly came out of nowhere this season.
With the upcoming holiday season students can’t wait to get a break from school and pig out on a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Some are going home, some are skiing, and some are just hanging out in Golden. This week, Minds at Mines asked, “What are your plans for Thanksgiving?”
It started with the emergence of the iMac in 1998 and the iPod in 2001. Suddenly there were these chic, stylish, and functional computers on the market. More than that, Apple, a then struggling manufacturer of mundane computers, started receiving global attention for its product. Apple’s share price then was about $28.00 per share. If you fast forward to today, the share price is $550.00, they are constantly in the news with their patent infringement lawsuit, and their stock is the highest volume traded daily.
By the time the election ended, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and the PACs that supported them spent a total of $2 billion to buy the votes of the American people. To put that into perspective, that is enough to fund the education of about 16,000 people at Mines.
According to the electoral results published by the Associated Press, Barack Obama remains president of the United States. Obama claimed 303 electoral college votes over Republican challenger Governor Mitt Romney’s 206 electoral college votes. President Obama also received 50.5% of the popular vote, followed by Romney at 48.02%, and Governor Gary Johnson of the Libertarian party at .96%. Obama won the following states:
With A-Basin, Copper, and Loveland Ski Resorts already open (and many more right around the corner), the Colorado School of Mines Ski Team is ramping up for their season! The club is one of the four co-ed sports offered through Club Sports at Mines, with 10 men and 9 women on the team. This gender ratio is the highest in the club’s history, contributing to the largest team seen in several years. The team competes in both Slalom and Giant Slalom races at Loveland, Powderhorn, Telluride, and Winter Park in January and February.
This November, men and women around the country will be participating in Movember, an event to raise awareness for men’s health issues. At Mines, there will be a best mustache and best beard competition for the men and a best knitted mustache contest for women. Registration happened on November 1, but it is still possible to register late by speaking to Travis Smith in the Student Activities Office or Brandon Samter in the International Student and Scholar Services office with a freshly shaved face. Prizes have yet to be determined.
This weekend provided drama in game after game, as each of the four undefeated teams at the top of college football received their sternest test of the season so far. Oregon and Kansas State emerged with comfortable victories in the end, while Alabama and Notre Dame had narrow escapes. We learned a lot about the major contenders, while they only increased their distance from the rest of the pack.