The Dean's List

By Jacob E. Osterhout

Pat White hasn't had the season he'd envisioned, but against Louisville on Saturday he ran for an impressive 200 yards and three touchdowns. Jim Owens/Icon SMI

Welcome to this week's manifestation of The Dean's List, where we're recommending Jessica Simpson's masterpiece, Major Movie Star, as a holiday present for the whole family. Sure, the film went straight to DVD in the United States, but it topped the box office in Russia, which is a sure sign of greatness.

The Honor Roll

• Pat White has had a disappointing year so far, at least by Pat White standards. Entering the season, White was projected as a Heisman frontrunner, but while he has played decently, he's struggled to live up to the billing of "best player in college football" and hasn't even matched last season's impressive numbers. That was not the case on Saturday against Louisville, though. White ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers to a 35-21 victory. White has now rushed for 4,292 yards for his career, a new NCAA record. In the win over Louisville, he also set the Big East record for career touchdowns with 98. Not bad for a quarterback who, at one point this season, struggled to assert himself in losses to East Carolina and Colorado.

• According to Google, the definition of "messiah" is "any expected deliverer." That's appropriate for Messiah College, which delivered its second straight double-overtime victory on Sunday to advance to the D-III NCAA men's soccer Final Four. The Falcons not only beat Christopher Newport 2-1, they did it in dramatic fashion. Trailing 1-0 and playing two men down, Messiah scored with exactly one minute remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime. Then, in the second overtime, Ben Pezon scored in the 103rd minutes to win the game for the Falcons. The victory over Christopher Newport came one day after Messiah beat previously unbeaten Montclair State in double overtime. Here's the big question: If God is on your team and you still play with 11 players, don't you have too many players on the field?

• The big winner in Lubbock, TX, on Thursday night was Offense. I capitalize for effect. Texas Tech hoops beat the East Central Tigers 167-115 in the Legends Classic, scoring 90 points in the second half alone. And it wasn't just a few players putting up big numbers. Texas Tech had ten players score in double figures, while six East Central players notched double-digit point totals. The scoring was so balanced that no player on either team scored over 19 points. Of course, opposing teams putting up gaudy numbers has become a disconcerting pattern for East Central. Two days after the Texas Tech game, the Tigers allowed Texas-San Antonio to set six school records in a 136-68 route. Safe to say, even East Central's defense is offensive.

• Field Hockey seems to be all about repetition. On Sunday, Maryland rallied from two goals down to beat Wake Forest 4-2 and win its third NCAA field hockey national championship in four years. That very same afternoon, Bowdoin topped Tufts 3-2 in double overtime and claimed its second-consecutive NCAA Division III field hockey national championship. Parity seems to be currently lacking in college field hockey, creative mascots are not. The Maryland Terrapins and Bowdoin Polar Bears are easily the best mascot-combo to have won NCAA national championships in the same sport since the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Salisbury Seagulls did it back in 2004.

• Buffalo doesn't win easily. The Bulls scored 20 points in the fourth quarter on Saturday to send their game against Bowling Green into the first of two overtimes. And, as has been the case all season long, Buffalo prevailed in the end, winning 40-34 and capturing its first MAC East championship and a guaranteed bowl bid. The latest victory is one of many near escapes for Turner Gill's squad. The Bulls beat Temple back in September on a Hail Mary catch in the end zone as time expired. Then they beat Army in overtime and Akron in quadruple overtime. The win over Bowling Green was the fourth overtime game Buffalo has played this season and the third in a row the team has won. All these close calls seem to have turned Gill into something of a believer. "I just thank God, I thank God," Gill said after Buffalo's latest victory. "A favor was done here, no question about it."