Week 2 - Cheez whiz is the bomb!

Tailgate update

We got Beaver Fever!

Greetings Tailgaters! So the Tailgate jumped on an early morning flight to Portland to attend a tailgate and game in Corvallis on the campus of Oregon State. We streamed down I-5 from the PDX airport to Corvallis in a caravan that looked like the great exodus only each car either was decked out in Beaver orange and black or Duck green and yellow (Oregon also had a home game Saturday). But before the game, we partook in the traditional ritual called “Tailgating”. I was joined again by veteran Tailgater West Point Wiggins and OSU alum and diehard fan Randy “I bleed orange” Choi. Wiggins being a former Quartermaster Officer was tasked with securing provisions for the gate. Apparently he raided the local commissary the night before and had his rental car stuffed to the gills with enough provisions to feed the freshman dorms in Corvallis. Included in the haul were a grill, table, cooler and an assortment of meats, chips, etc. Well done Captain Wiggins! Beverages were provided by our local chaperone Randy with an assortment of local Oregon brews. We put the grill together in record time, fired it up and charred some burgers and brats; literally I charred some of these meats beyond recognition. Oh yeah, one ingredient we used today that will be a staple in all future tailgates was cheez whiz! We put it on the brats, the burgers, the chips, even mixed it with some of the brew! We are having a yard sale this AM at our hotel parking lot on all the left over goodies. Anyone want a grill?

The Grill Master charring to order!

Cheez Whiz is the healthy alternative to fresh cheese, just ask West Point Wiggins!

Dan inside Beaver "Reser" Stadium at OSU

Tickets were acquired from that same guy who is at every game in every city at every venue, $50 for row 1, 50 yard line. Not bad at all if you don’t mind standing most of the game. But what a perspective you get being at hit level! This was a new chapter in the childhood classic of The Wind and The Willow with Bucky the Badger meeting a new friend, Benny the Beaver. The atmosphere on campus was electric with the fans doing an “Orange Out”. Being a contrarian I wore a black OSU T-shirt. The young OSU defense swarmed all over Heisman candidate Montee Ball and abused the massive O-line of the corn fed Badgers. Coach “Curly Bielema of Wisconsin was heard asking himself “hey Moe, what do we do? Gnuk gnuk gnuk, hey you wise guy! But in this case Moe must have been former Offensive Coordinator Paul Christ who is now coaching the Pitt Panthers and was nowhere to be found. So Curly had no answers to solve the dominant DAM Beaver defense. By the end of the DAM battle, the Beavers chewed up the Badgers and pulled off a major upset besting UW 10-7. Three local De La Salle boys all played key roles for the Beavers including D-line phenom Dylan Wynn. Yes I know, you want to know if we stormed the field with the students.  To find out the answer, see the pictures at the bottom.

  

Seperated at birth!

Around the country - I will not mention any D-1 schools that played D1AA Schools unless they lost like Colorado & Colorado State did (Rocky Mountain Low)! More on this topic below. Friday night’s battle at Promontory Point for the Romney Cup pitted the Utes (not youth’s Mr. Pesci) against the upstart Aggies from Ute State. As was the case last year, this was another classic Friday night battle ending in OT with the Aggies topping the Utes for the first time in 15 years. Students stormed the field and I would have too if I were there. State Penn’s inexperienced Ficken Kicker missed 4 Ficken field goals as the UVA Cavs swash buckled a win over the kittens and the Kicken Ficken! Coach O’Brien was overheard by a reporter as he stormed off the field “I am going to strangle that Ficken Kicker! It’s better than what their old D coordinator would want to do, right Tickle Monster? Mizzou and Texas A&M were rudely welcomed to the SEC. Nice move Mizzou for mouthing off before the game. How does that “old man football” taste now? In the battle of the Hawkeye State, the Cyclones blew away their better known neighbors from Iowa City. MSU scalped the Chippewas and the question of “Where have you gone Mr. Robinson” was answered with a redemption performance in a Wolverine win over Air Force in the Big House. C Thomas Howell and Patrick Swayze can still be heard yelling “Wolverines” from the mountaintop after the win. Charlie Weiss gets eaten by Rice, huh? Welcome back Coach Front Butt! UCLA and the PAC 12 had a big day overall. Under new Management in the Rose Bowl, this is a different Bruin team. As Carrie Underwood states “ There’s not enough rain in Oklahoma, to wash the sins away” of the Cowpokes performance in Tucson. Is Rich Rod back for real this time? John L Smith, Coach of the Razorbacks filed for bankruptcy this past week. After losing to UL Monroe on Saturday, the University of Arkansas also filed for bankruptcy! That’s for my boy from the Village. In the Brainiac Bowls, Stanford proved more than Lucky in trouncing Duke and the Wildcats from Northwestern out engineered the Commodores from Vandy. They should have a Smart School trophy like the Military Academy’s Commander in Chief trophy. We could call it the Nerdmander and Geek Cup. Washington, at least you could have put up a respectable performance in Baton Rouge. Sark, you ought to be embarrassed. Even the Honey Badger in the stands thought you played like you didn’t care. Bama rolling over Western Kentucky in a tune up for next week’s match up in Fayetteville. And lastly, the shine of the emerald isle was clearly worn off in the Irish’s lackluster performance versus the Purdue Boilermakers. And did we really have to see Tommy Reese again?

Local boy Dylan Wynn firing up the crowd in Corvallis



Ficken Kicker!

 Okay, I need pictures and guest tailgate stories from any of you going to games (especially the next 2 weeks). I need them by 6 PM Pacific on Sunday evenings. Also, for anyone interested, I wear an  XXL T- shirt. Keep those team t shirts coming. I would like to have one from every D-1 school, so your donations are appreciated. Contact me in the comments section below, select e-mail and I will send you my mailing address. It is good luck when I wear these shirts on game day. New shirts only, no used ones please!

Heisman Watch – I may have to rewrite the bulk of the pre season Heisman hopefuls poll with the exception of Matt Barkley who threw six TD’s yesterday against a hapless Orange Defense in leading SC to its second win of the season. Send me your thoughts on who to include.

Gripe of the week – D1 Schools playing D1 AA schools or other lower division schools early season. I understand the economic reasons of doing this. I know some schools were left with few choices after conference realignment left them with voids in the schedule. This is college football’s version of a TARP bailout. I respect all levels of College football, but you play at a different level based on your abilities and potential, not to mention size, speed, facilities, illegal money, etc.. D1 A should always beat D1 AA in theory. Even you diehard fans who may be initially offended by my position have to admit that getting up for these games is as much fun as watching your spouse drain the bank account on Black Friday. Let’s look at Savannah State the last two weeks, losing 84-0 to Ok State and Mother Nature showing mercy on them in Tallahassee by shortening the game at a mere 55 -0 score. Seriously Clarke? You may have earned a nice paycheck for your school, but you probably lost a number of players to injuries, not to mention losing your dignity in the process as well. At a minimum, D1 schools should only play the best sub division programs. So if you were wondering why I didn’t give a shout out to your school this week, now you know.

Prayers go out to the Tulane player who suffered a spinal injury yesterday. Also special prayers to OU faithful fan “Uncle Roy” who is going through some very serious health issues.

The next two weeks the Tailgate will be relegated to Tailgate HQ and will be hosting several backyard Tailgates.

Happy Tailgating!

Clearly another red solo cup monet at the postgame tailgate.

OSU Students storm the field...

...and so does Dan!

Live feed from the field..I did get a little sideways on Staurday.