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Saturday, January 13, 2024

Bye Bye Baby, Baby Bye Bye

 

The end: It seems like just last weekend I was having a heat stroke during zero week at Jacksonville State in obscene temperatures. And now, the end is here with the final game of the season in the books. The Michigan Wolverines behind a stifling defense bested the Washington Huskies in Houston Monday to win the 2023 season National Championship. Michigan proved that keeping a team mostly together for three to four years paid off. It goes without saying that they had incredible leadership from their upperclassmen and excellent coaches. Unfortunately, I did not make it to any postseason game this year as life happened.


Here is a recap of my season:

  • 14 D1A college games attended

  • 6 first-time schools, 8 repeats with one new stadium (CSU)

  • 1 high school game


Next season so far:

  • Zero Week - Eastern Illinois at Illinois

  • Labor Day - Lafayette at Buffalo, Ohio at Syracuse

  • 9/28 - Oklahoma at Auburn

  • Appalachian State home game

  • Family Weekend in October - Colorado

  • 11/23 - Alabama at Oklahoma

  • 12/7 - Army vs. Navy 

  • The rest will be scheduled as conference schedules unveil, but I am looking at Tennessee, MTSU, East Carolina, UTSA and Rice


Bieber: I know this won’t be popular with some of my audience, but this week’s winner is Michael Penix Jr. (MPJ) for his antics before, during and after the Natty. First of all, the attire he arrived in with his look-at-me Elton John shades and assassin’s balaclava that he continued to warm up in was alien like. During the game, he became a drama queen in the fourth quarter when it was apparent that UW would lose. By grabbing every part of his body and wincing after each play, he was essentially stating, ”I’m hurt and that’s why we are losing.” No doubt he took some hits, but so did a lot of other people that night, including his more severely injured running back Dillon Johnson who gritted the game out with three lower body injuries. Then after the game, MPJ had an assortment of rags draped over his head covering his face under his helmet as he sauntered off the field — again saying, “Look at me even though you can’t really see me.” For a six-year super senior, he showed a lack of maturity the entire time whilst in Houston. And yes, Houston, UW did have a problem in the vessel of their QB1. It pains me to award the Beibs to him as I have been a fan of Penix (oh yeah, pronounced “Penn Ex”) since his days at Indiana. MPJ, you did not win that sought after Natty, but take pride in your new bieberware and good luck at the next level.


The invisible man .....all night long

Ginger: We all learned this week that the GOAT of CFB coaches, Nick Saban decided to retire after perhaps one of his best coaching jobs ever this season. Much of what I ranted about last week are some of the things that weighed on his decision to exit stage left from the game. College football has lost a huge asset and a pillar of its community. Even if you had “Bama fatigue” over the last 15 years, you can’t disagree that he did it the right way, unlike some unnamed others in the Bieber HOF. He won seven Nattys, six while at Bama, and countless SEC titles. His accomplishments will probably never again be matched with the way the game has changed (refer to last week’s rant) https://dantailgate.blogspot.com/2024/01/post-seasons-greetings.html . Through the years, I saw Nick do his magic live in three national championships and a handful or two of regular season games. This past season when I was in Tuscaloosa for the LSU game, I saw him on the sideline in person and realized the end may be near. My respect for his accomplishments grew that night. He will be missed by the CFB world, but he gets to take his Ginger hardware with him into his golden years and keep on singing Dixieland Delight!

The two GOATS


The off-season: Mrs. Tailgate and I will be splitting our time between Florida and Cali getting rested and ready for the 2024 season. I will continue to work on the Tailgate Connect business, which had a record year this season, and I thank those of you who helped make it happen.  With that, I bid adieu for the next seven months.

Click on link: https://youtu.be/PgWyvnBHyOw?si=G0OsFworKZy9iJUC 



Happy Tailgating!



Friday, January 5, 2024

Post Season's Greetings

 With 41 bowl games already played, we await only the Natty on January 8th in Houston to witness the highest level of college football. Additionally, the FCS ship is on Sunday, January 7th in Frisco, TX will be played between Montana and South Dakota State. Aside from two terrific playoff games, the overall bowl season was an unmitigated disaster for college football (more on that below). In the first CFP semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Michigan and Jim Harbaugh took down Nick Saban and mighty Alabama in a game ending with a goal line stop in OT. In the Sugar Bowl, Washington defeated Texas in a game that was closer in score than it should have been. Thus, Michigan and Washington will play for the grand honors in Houston’s NRG stadium on Monday night.


Around the country: Other bowl games of note included the Cotton Bowl played at Jerry World on December 29th with Mizzou taking down “The” Ohio State Buckeyes 14-3. This win meant a lot to the Mizzou faithful as they outnumbered the Buckeye fans by a significant margin. Additionally, this was Tailgate Connect’s largest tailgate to date hosted by the VIP Ultimate Tailgate team at the Boiling Tails restaurant across from the stadium. The Nerds of Northwestern finished a remarkable season by upsetting the mighty Utes of Utah 14-7 in the Las Vegas Bowl. This was remarkable considering the off-season turmoil the program endured. In the bowl where the winning team’s coach gets a giant container of Mayo dumped on him (Duke’s Mayo), WVU bested North Carolina 30-10. 


Okie State rebounded from the Big 12 Championship beatdown at the hands of Texas to take down Texas A&M 31-23 in the Texas Bowl played in Houston. Kansas State, without QB1 portal boy Will Howard (way to abandon your team, bro), still had enough juice to beat the Wolfpack of NC State 28-19 in, wait for it … the Pop Tart Bowl. The Fighting Irish, playing without opt-out pretty boy QB1 Sam Hartman, destroyed Oregon State 40-0 who also played without their portal boy and QB1 DJ Ukulele. The Maryland Terps, also without their opt-out/portal combo QB1 “Little Tua,” put a beat down on Auburn 31-13. In the Fiesta Bowl, Oregon annihilated Liberty Biberty 45-6. In a rare occurrence amongst today’s superstars, the much heralded Oregon senior QB1 Bo Nix stood by his team and played brilliantly in the game to boot.


No Bieber this week — instead you get a soapbox special I’m calling, “If I were the commissioner of college football”: With all of the players leaving their teams for the mythical transfer portal combined with “opt-outs”, college football was down over 1,600 players for the bowl season. Combine those numbers with coaches departing before bowl games, we had what amounts to spring games played away from home campuses. The transfer portal, filled with butt hurt feelings and NIL dollars, has rapidly spiraled out of control and is ruining this once great and pure game beyond repair. One can look at the outcome of the Georgia vs. Florida State Orange Bowl game where the Noles only had two starters from the regular season still around to suit up for the match. Final score UGA 63, FSU 3. The portal is equivalent to free agency now in college sports. Consider this: Even professional sports don’t allow for free agency until a set period after the final whistle has blown on the last game of the postseason. I can’t fault anyone for chasing a dollar as I am a full blown capitalist. However, there needs to be some riot control provisions in place to bring structure and integrity back into this once great game called college football. So, please humor me and allow me to make my case for what I would do to address this issue (Oh, and don’t even get me started on conference realignment):


Commissioner DFT

All high school recruiting shall be frozen from the last regular season game (not conference championship) until the day after the Natty.


No coaches shall leave their teams unless they are terminated until after the Natty. They will remain with and continue coaching their team through their bowl game, assuming they are in one.


Transfer portal will not open until after the Natty for a period of two weeks.


Any player leaving his team via portal or opt out before their bowl game will forfeit that fall semester scholly and the proportionate amount of NIL dollars they have received.


Student athletes will only be allowed to use the portal one time during their college career. If they transfer a second time, they will have to sit out a year as was required in the past.


Any schools caught tampering with other schools players will be severely fined and will not be allowed to participate in the postseason. Public shaming in the town square might be in order too.


Under no circumstances will any student athlete be allowed to have more than five years of eligibility. Military service is the only exception on a case by case basis. No more seven-year-wonders.


Oh, and ESPN shall not be permitted to control the narrative on college football or the playoff selection 🙂.


There, so it is written, so it shall be done! 


Ginger: The Texas State Bobcats. The Cats played Rice in the First Responder Bowl in Dallas, TX, at SMU’s Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Two points of badassery: 1) the Bobcats stayed almost entirely intact with no portal departures or opt-outs. This bowl game meant something to them and to their fans. They ended up winning the game over the studious Rice Owls by a sizable margin of victory, 45-21. 2) The stadium ran out of beer in the third quarter. It is believed that the rabid Texas State fans were responsible for this draining of the golden beverage. This is an impressive feat and deserves to be rewarded. So, for those two reasons, I award the coveted Ginger to the Texas State team and their fan base. Well done,  Bobcat nation!


Next up: I will be on the couch for the two Nattys this weekend, being served libations and snacks by my adoring harem.


Tuesday, December 5, 2023

The Table is Set

 My plans this past weekend were altered, and thus I did not make the trek to Arlington, TX, for the Big 12 Championship Game.

And so, just like that, the 2023 college football regular season has come to an end. The die is cast, and there is one deserving team that’s left on the outside looking in. Many of us without a dog in the fight were looking for even more chaos than what ensued this past weekend. With Alabama knocking off two-time reigning national champion Georgia, this opened the door for some good old-fashioned controversy. 


Florida State went into the ACC Championship Game undefeated against a two-loss Louisville team. It was believed that they needed to win big and win pretty to secure their spot in the final four. The reason being that they would be without Heisman-hopeful quarterback Jordan Travis who broke his leg two weeks ago. They would be led by a freshman QB, as their number two was also out due to concussion protocol. The Seminole’s defense was up for the challenge as they shut down the Cardinal’s offense. However, the Nole’s offense was equally as inept as Louisville’s on the night. The Noles won, but didn’t win convincingly enough for the committee to not slide Alabama into the fourth playoff spot, which is exactly what happened.


The College Football Playoff will feature the aforementioned Alabama Crimson Tide taking on the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl on January 1. In the other semifinal, Texas will square off against the University of Washington in the New Orleans Sugar Bowl on January 1. Next year with the playoff expanding, we won’t have these controversies, right?


In conference championship news (that mattered), Michigan, Washington and Texas dispatched their opponents to secure their conference trophies and invites to the playoff. In the Big Ten final, Michigan shut out Iowon’t 26-0. The Texas Longhorns in their final Big 12 ship, playing in a sea of two shades of orange in Jerry World, annihilated the Cowpokes from Stillwater 49-21. And the Huskies of UW clawed out their second victory of the year over the Ducks from Eugene 34-31 to secure the final PAC 12 championship trophy.


Other conference champions:
AAC -. SMU
CONUSA -. Liberty, Liberty, Liberty ♯♯♯
MAC - Miami Ohio
MWC -  Boise State
Sun Belt - Troy


Bieber: FSU fans would say the 13-person CFP committee is well deserving this week — and they may very well be. But let me point out something even more bothersome to me: Have you noticed that “the rise” in football pants is analogous to the rise of mini skirts in the 1960s? Players' pants no longer have knee pads or material covering their knees. In fact, Mrs. Tailgate inquired the other day, ”Why are those players wearing shorts?” It is almost a contest now to see how high up they can wear their pants. Larry Bird in his short shorts of the 80s would be proud to endorse. However, with no knee pads, more bone bruises and other types of knee injuries are probably more prevalent now than they were before this latest fashion statement. So this week, we awarded the trophy for the first time ever to a clothing fad! Hey pants, stick the trophy in a pair of football pants, you won't be covering up much of it, so all can still enjoy.


He wears short shorts.......


Ginger: In a world of me, me, me, and “I am taking my talents to (insert your favorite school here),” it is refreshing to see a young man who is a contrarian to his generation. Utah State starting quarterback Levi Williams is walking away from college football to take a shot at becoming a Navy Seal to serve his country. After leading his team with a five-touchdown game two weeks ago, and making them bowl eligible, Levi made the surprising announcement. The 6’5, 230 pound QB had at least one more year of eligibility remaining. Instead, he stated that he felt it more important to serve his country that he loves deeply. We salute your move here Levi and wish you the best in your courageous endeavors. Ginger up, Sailor!


Next up: I hope to make at least one bowl game and possibly the FCS Natty in Frisco, TX. I will update you all here when I make the call.

Happy Tailgating!

Monday, November 27, 2023

Wacky Wilvawee Weekend!


In what is known as rivalry weekend, the two days following turkey day did not disappoint this year. We will get to the games in a moment, but first the narcissist in me must discuss what the hell I did this weekend. (Also, you are correct. I failed again last week to send out an article. This is a possible Bieber infraction.).


For the tenth time since 2001, I made my way to “The Farm” in Palo Alto for the Notre Dame/Stanford game. It took me three and a half hours from our new place in Cali to get there with the Thanksgiving traffic. Naturally, I passed the time listening to many of the exciting games on ESPN radio. Once in Palo Alto, I linked up with my old neighbor Drubaca at the patio bar for a quick beer and loaded tater tots. Then we embarked on a brisk one mile walk to meet the Harkin clan from Donegal, Ireland in the Masters Grove for a few more pops. 


Notre Dame owns "The Farm" once again!


As is customary, more than half the stadium was filled with Notre Dame fans sporting their green colors and a healthy glow from their tailgates. After several first quarter turnovers that put Notre Dame in a brief hole, the Irish dominated play for the next two plus quarters, rolling to a 56-23 smackdown of the lowly Cardinal. Notre Dame’s offense was led by Jerome Bettis’ Clone, Audric Estime, who ran for 238 yards and four touchdowns. I also finally got to see Sam Hartman play live after several failed attempts since tracking his career from his high school days on the Netflix series QB1. Oh, and what would a Stanford game be without me ranting about how disgusting and vile that joke of a so-called scatter band is? They remain an absolute disgrace to a very integral part of college football. The drive home was much shorter with no nighttime traffic and another helping of Thanksgiving dinner awaiting me.


Around the country: In a weekend full of close rivalry games, it depends on your personal loyalties  as to which game was the best — but there was definitely no shortage of exciting matchups. In what is called “The Game,'' we saw Ryan “Charmin” Day lose once again to a Michigan team whose head coach was in timeout. My sister stated that Ryan Day looks like he kicks dogs. This most likely eliminates the overrated Buckeyes from playoff contention and possibly cryin Ryan from his current employment status. The only thing that makes me happier is watching Lincoln Riley lose (sorry SC friends).




In the Iron Bowl, Alabama pulled off what will now be called the “Milroe Miracle.” Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe threw a 40 yard strike to the corner of the end zone to his stud receiver Isaiah Bond for a come-from-behind 27-24 win over their hated rival Auburn. The #1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs struggled in the game known as “Good Old Fashioned Hate” against the Nerds from Georgia Tech. The Dawgs squeaked by with a 31-23 victory, their 29th straight.


 In the Apple Cup, it took a late field goal for the Huskies to narrowly secure another win to remain undefeated on the season. Final score UW 24, WSU 21. In the Civil War, Oregon easily bested Oregon State 31-7. After losing, OSU head coach Jonathan Smith pulled a Lincoln Riley and bolted for Michigan State. In the Commonwealth Cup, Kentucky knocked off Louiville, eliminating any outside chance they had at crashing the playoffs. Florida State, playing without injured all world QB1 Travis Hunter, managed to come from behind and beat their in-state rival Florida 24-15. Arizona capped off their best regular season in a decade with a crushing defeat of Arizona State in the Territorial Cup. In Group of Five action, Liberty ended their regular season 12-0 with a win over UTEP, and Tulane finished their campaign with an 11-1 record and possibly a top 20 ranking. Finally, FCS, D2 and D3 playoffs also got underway this weekend.


Donnelly sibs at Navy 0n 11/15

Conference championships for next weekend:

The Final Pac 12 Ship:  Oregon vs. Washington

SEC:  UGA vs. Bama
Big 12:  Texas vs. Okie State

Big Ten:  Michigan vs. Iowon’t

ACC:  FSU vs. Louisville

AAC:  Tulane vs. SMU

MWC: Boise vs. UNLV
Sun Belt: App State vs. Troy

CUSA: Liberty vs. New Mexico State

MAC: Miami-Ohio vs. Toledo


Bieber award: … Can you guess? Once again the award goes to perennial Bieberite, the Stanford Band and their lame mascot for not entertaining or amusing me. Simply put, in the harshest of terms, they suck. No talent, no humor, no respect. In fact, they are so bad, I am going to make them crawl the length of a muddy football field to obtain their latest Bieber trophy and then crawl back to their mansions in Woodside and Atherton, CA, to put it on their mantle. Honorable mention goes to all those who bailed on joining me at Stanford.


Ginger award: Goes to Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel for playing on Friday after getting hurt the previous weekend and being listed as doubtful. Not only did he play, but he threw for 400 yards, three touchdowns and even ran one in leading the Sooners to a 69-45 shootout over TCU. Do you think the Sooner fans miss Caleb now? Look at these comparative stats:




Well done DG, and come back for one more year please!

Next up: I am off to Arlington, TX, to catch the Big 12 Championship and attend a tailgate sponsored by Tailgate Connect®. It will be hard being in a sea of all that awful orange, but I consider it a mission of mercy and charity to kick off the Christmas season.



Happy Tailgating!


Monday, November 13, 2023

Tiger Bait

 I will start off by begging for your forgiveness for not getting an article out last week. This is my first miss of the season. I did attend two games in one day in the great state of Alabama that Saturday (11/4) at UAB and the University of Alabama. Forrest Gump would have been proud of all my running around. Check out pictures below from the missed weekend.

Clockwise from top left- Utah Pig Bus Tailgaters, BC Pops & Peg enjoying the win at Cuse, The Duncan boys on opposite sides at USC/UW game and Friends of Frank Tailgate at Rutgers pre gaming!

Rollllllllllllll Tide Rolll!

This past weekend had me once again traversing the highways of the Deep South to make my third SEC matchup in as many weeks. This time, my trusty F-150 pointed me due west on Interstate 10 and took me the five hours for my third trip to Baton Rouge, LA. The purpose of the trip was to visit three of our stellar tailgates that we at Tailgate Connect offer at LSU. The Tigers were hosting the Florida Gators, and the game, of course, would be played at night in Death Valley — which is the only way to see a game there. This meant that most LSU tailgates would be well underway by 8 a.m. and folks would have their glow on by noon. As I have mentioned before, LSU is consistently one of the top tailgate experiences every year.

I arrived at 1 p.m. and started the day with our newest Tailgate,The Krewe of Damn Strong. While new to Tailgate Connect, this tailgate has been around 20 years and is run by Stephen Cannon and his family and friends. I was treated to some of the most amazing tailgate food I have ever had: Alligator sausage, meatballs, boudin, alligator piquante over a bed of noodles … Oh, and let’s not forget the stellar bread pudding. All of this was washed down with a swig of homemade moonshine, giving this tailgate a real bayou feel. 


The Damn Strong Tailgate bringing the you in Bayou! 


I then made my way to our second and third tailgates, two long-time affiliate hosts of ours, where we had over 100 customers in attendance . KOCKA and Bayou Bandits are the names. At KOCKA, I spent time with a group of 10 customers from the Boston area that were doing a guys trip in Louisiana. At the Bayou Bandits tailgate, I met a group of 12 folks who were down from Canada and having the time of their lives. We also had a bachelor party and a group of 12 guys who all went to high school together in Danville, CA, back in the last 1970s. Through it all, the Abita beer kept flowing at the Bayou Bandits party.


Bayou Bandits and KOCKA Tailgates at LSU.

Stephen, the host of the Damn Strong tailgate was beyond generous and even provided me with a ticket to the game. Way better price than what Mrs.Tailgate paid for that Colorado ticket last month :). Kickoff was at 6:30 p.m., so the 102,000 fans started making their way into Death Valley to take their seats while another 100,000 continued partying outside the stadium. I also was given a free gameday program (which are rare by the way) from the program stand guy. It must’ve been my charm or the stupid look on my face, not sure which.


LSU entered the game toting a 6-3 record,with Florida sitting at 5-4. LSU was led by one of the most dynamic players college football has seen in some time, QB1 Jaden Daniels, while Florida was captained by Wisconsin transfer QB Graham Mertz. If you have not seen Daniels play in person, you are missing out on one of the all-time greats IMHO. He did not disappoint on the night as he set a record as the only QB to throw for over 350 yards while also running for 235. The game teetered back and forth until midway through the third quarter when LSU and Daniels swung the momentum fully in the Tigers’ favor. After falling behind 28-24 early in the third, LSU ran off 28 points to Florida’s seven for a 52-35 swamp beating. If Daniels is not a Heisman finalist, I will call out the Heisman committee for being as corrupt as the Nobel Peace Prize committee. To top off an awesome game, the massive LSU marching band treated us to a patriotic Veterans Day halftime tribute.

Military halftime tribute by the marching band


Around the Country:  Michigan, absent Coach Harbaugh passed their first real test of the year by beating the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. Out west, Oregon held on for a close win over Benedict Riley and the USC Trojans. Rumors are swirling that Lincoln is already looking to leave to protect himself when Caleb moves on to the NFL and leaves him completely exposed. (Can you tell I am still bitter about how he did Oklahoma?). In the Big 12, we witnessed Oklahoma righting their rocking ship by running wild all over the WVU Mountaineers. In the ACC, Florida State stayed perfect by scalping their in-state and conference rival, the University of Miami. I must also give the SEC a second mention as it is hard to ignore how well Georgia has been playing, winning their 27th straight game by blowing out Ole Miss 52-17. In Group of Five action, San Jose State upset Fresno State by showing them the way out of San Jose, 42-18. In Division 2 action, Frostburg State finished their season with a big win over Fairmont State completing a 7-3 campaign.


Bieber: Although there must be enough evidence that will prove Coach Harbaugh was complicit to some degree in the now notorious sign stealing scandal, he has not been officially charged. This did not stop the knee-jerk Big Ten administration from bowing to the whining of the other Big Ten schools to have ole mom pants suspended. Once upon a time in America, one was not convicted and punished until officially proven guilty. I suppose the paste eaters in the Big Ten admin skipped their classes in civics as they took it upon themselves, in an unconstitutional manner, to suspend Harbaugh from coaching on Saturdays for the rest of the season. This was not even sanctioned by the NCAA or Dean Wormer at Faber. In the words of Otter from Delta Tau Chi, “Isn’t this an indictment of our entire American society? We’re not going to sit here and listen to you bad mouth the United States of America!” Well, Big Ten administration, you might not have the backing of John Belushi and the rest of the Animal House, but you do have some nice, shiny new Bieberware!


Ginger: This goes to my new friend and chairman of the Damn Strong tailgate Stephen Cannon for the amazing amount of work and pride he puts into his tailgate along with his Krewe. Here is a brief video of just a snippet of what goes into his preparation each Saturday for an LSU home game:


Next Up:  We have the Donnelly Family and Friends Tailgate for the “Causeway Classic'' at UC Davis as they host crosstown rival Sacramento State. The tailgate will be underway by 9 a.m. with a noon kickoff.

Happy Tailgating!

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Dawgs bite harder than gators!

 This past weekend was my annual boys’ trip with my high school crew from Seneca Valley in Germantown, Maryland. We chose “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party'' in Jacksonville, Florida, as our excuse to reconvene. Of course, this is the neutral site location of the annual matchup between the universities of Florida and Georgia. There were seven of us coming in from different parts of the country. We rented a spectacular house in Ponte Vedra situated right on the beach. The same coming of age stories were retold all weekend, only more legendary than the last time they were spun. Ample beers, whiskeys, and cigars were enjoyed on the deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. And massive gourmet meals were cooked up by accomplished chef Brian, one of our crew members. 


As for game day itself, through a myriad of miscues and missteps, we found ourselves not going into the stadium after taking in several hours of the pregame atmosphere in the surrounding area. Yes, this is Bieber-worthy on paper, but there are mitigating circumstances that were in play here. Instead, we loaded up and headed back to Chubby’s sports bar in Ponte Vedra and watched several key matchups on TV. Georgia thoroughly dominated the action from the mid-first quarter on, scoring at will and holding Florida’s offense in check. Final score Georgia 43, Florida 20.


The Magnifcant Seven rides again!

Around the country: It pains me to write these words, but my beloved Sooners lost in a stunner in Lawrence, Kansas, to a much improved Jayhawk team. Rock Chalk Jayhawk, I suppose. Oregon thoroughly dominated Utah in the best contest of the day in the soon to be defunct PAC 12. In ACC action, Louisville skunked Duke 23-0 and kept its playoff hopes alive. Since Michigan didn’t play, no cheating was discovered in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Northwestern quietly won its fourth game of the season, knocking off Maryland. Air Force remains perfect by besting Colorado State in the snow in Fort Collins. In FCS action, South Dakota State demolished South Dakota, further solidifying their top ranking in the FCS.

The Bolt/Munding clan braving it in Lawrence, KS.

 Disillusioned USC fan Major Rodrick adopting Baylor as his go to team


Bieber: If you haven’t heard the name Connor Stalions by now, you are probably living under a rock. The aforementioned Mr. Stalions is the member of the University of Michigan coaching staff that is at the center of the cheating scandal that has rocked the college football world. I will summarize the narcissist's actions here: Apparently, he was attending the games of future opponents and sitting across from the coaches to learn their play calling signals. In turn, these signals were used on game day against those opponents by the Michigan coaching staff, with Coach Harbaugh possibly being implicated. The analytics purportedly show that the Michigan defense is much stingier against teams they had signals for versus those they didn’t, or the teams that were onto their shenanigans. Furthermore, in Stewie Griffin/Ted Kazinski fashion, Stalions wrote a 600 page manifesto on how he would one day run Michigan football. He had been planning this since the age of 15 and he is now 28 years old, so let’s just say he has been playing the long game. Mr. Stalions has been suspended for the time being and will probably be dismissed; however, he will always have his newfound Bieber hardware!



Ginger: Third-year Holy Cross quarterback Joe Pesansky got his first start Saturday after waiting patiently the past two and half seasons for his shot. He did not disappoint as he led the Crusaders to a 49-47 victory over Patriot League foe Fordham. Young Pesansky absolutely lit it up with 337 yards in the air and three touchdowns. Proud grandpa Mitch Chaney sent the stat line as he is a loyal DFTer. Way to go, Joe, and enjoy your Ginger “badass” award for absolutely tearing it up in your first career start.

Crusader QB1 Pesansky celebrating the win!


Next up: Off Saturday morning to the University of Alabama Birmingham for their game against FAU, followed by a night game in Tuscaloosa between Alabama and LSU.

Happy Tailgating!