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We all know about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, but there’s an amendment now: the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and the puzzlement of uncertainty.

The UMD Bulldogs found a new level of frustration in a wrenching 21-17 loss to Minnesota State-Mankato in a game that saw the Bulldogs -- who don’t lose at home -- and Mavericks playing the biggest, most intense, and most entertaining game either team will play all season. At home, before a Malosky Stadium crowd of 5,723, UMD played very well, but avoided beating the Mavericks because of a pair of bizarre sequences. You decide which was the most unusual.

In the span of less than two and a half minutes, overlapping from the end of the third quarter and 23 seconds into the fourth, UMD -- which doesn’t turn the ball over - turned the ball over to the Mavericks three times, with two fumbles and an interception. Against an MSU-Mankato team that didn’t turn the ball over once the entire game, that seemed crushing, but the plucky Bulldogs overcame such urges to implode from the Maverick-induced series of misplays, and found themselves in position to score the winning touchdown in the final minute of the game, with a first and goal at the 5.

After a couple of failed plays, UMD may have set another record with 41 seconds showing by running three consecutive third-down-and-goal attempts, scoring an apparent touchdown on the second of those. However, the Bulldogs -- who don’t commit many penalties -- were called for two game-stealing penalties in a row, at precisely the same time in the game, and wound up on the losing end of one of the most frustrating finishes in school history.

Just when the Bulldogs appeared to have snatched victory from the proverbial jaws of defeat, they ended up having their victory snatched from their jaws, even as a gleeful celebration was ignited by the players and their 5,723 fans.

It was painful.

ESKO-MARSHALL SLUG IT OUT

Those rollicking peaks and valleys of emotion happen every Friday, of course, on assorted high school football fields throughout the area. If you had stopped by Marshall’s field on top of the hill for the Esko-Marshall game last Friday afternoon, you would have seen enough twists and turns for the whole weekend. Or at least until Saturday night’s UMD game. And, of course, we also had that pair of Sunday afternoon stunners by the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.

In the NFL, it is apparent that parity has reached the point where nothing is certain. A winless Minnesota Vikings team can finally get a home game and take on a winless Cleveland Browns team, that was not only winless but pretty hopeless, having shocked the NFL by trading away Trent Richardson, their highly regarded running back, and starting No. 3 quarterback Brian Hoyer, a former Michigan State player getting his second start in the NFL.

I have been a critic of how Vikings coach Leslie Frazier chose to prepare his team for the season by not letting the top offensive players establish any rhythm in preseason games, but I also can see the potential of this team with its impressive defense, improved offense, and the redoubtable Adrian Peterson carrying the ball. I picked the Vikings to win by three touchdowns. You could look it up. The Browns came to the Metrodome and played less than great, but still better than the Vikings, who misfired all day. Christian Ponder, the struggling quarterback, played quite well, I thought, scrambling and passing. Still, we have to hand it to the Browns. Down and nearly out, they pulled off a couple of my favorite tricks -- a fake punt for a first down, and fake field goal for a touchdown. In the stratified and stuffy confines of the NFL, it’s good to see a team willing to try trick plays.

Punter Spencer Lanning was involved in both. As the holder on placekicks, he read a trick play during a field goal formation at the 11. Tight end Jordan Cameron ran onto the field with the hasty field goal unit, but he stayed at the sideline. The plan is, if Lanning spots Cameron uncovered, go for it, and he stood up and passed to Lanning for a touchdown.

The other play had Lanning back to punt on fourth and 1 at the Browns 38. Defensive back Josh Aubrey was lined up to block, and the snap went to Aubrey, who raced 34 yards through a surprised Vikings defense.
So it was the Cleveland Browns who went down the field and scored the late touchdown, then smothered Ponder on a last-play sack that finished a 31-27 shocker.

That leaves the Vikings 0-4 and off to London, for some reason. The NFL, in its arrogance, seems to believe that folks in Europe are just frantic waiting for pro football -- pro American football. Perhaps the NFL powers are unaware that the craze for football in England and Europe is for European football -- soccer. So the Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, two once-proud franchises, have been scheduled to play a Vikings home game in London Sunday. So long home-field advantage, so long spirit and community appeal. Oh well, those two once-proud franchises are both 0-4, so maybe it will do them good to get out of earshot of the fans‘ wrath.

If you’re a Green Bay Packers fan, last Sunday was no better. The Packers went to Cincinnati and gave the Bengals a 14-0 lead, then stormed back for a 30-14 blowout lead. Thirty unanswered points is pretty decisive in the NFL, but not this year. The Bengals  had an answer those 30 unanswered points by responding with 20 unanswered points of their own, to win 34-30.