Chase Problems

College football is a favorite American spectator sport, so a differential equations project involving football is almost guaranteed to generate student interest. It's especially popular here at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where Husker football is a tradition. The following is a classic chase problem in differential equations posed as a final seconds cliff-hanger. I first learned of this classic problem (and have adapted it from) Johnston and Mathews [19911; see also Simmons [19911.