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| Trunkgating |
Baylor is a
private Baptist institution that was founded in 1845 in Waco, TX. Student
population is approximately 17,000. The Baylor Bears play in the Big 12
conference and have been a force to be reckoned with in the past decade. In
recent months, Baylor is best known for the black eye the school has suffered
as charges of a program spiraling out of control surfaced and the head coach
Art Briles and school president Ken Starr were forced to resign. Many recruits
and players de-committed or transferred as it appeared the hammer would
eventually fall in the form of costly sanctions. Even with these distractions
and losses, there is still a plethora of talent on this team as Baylor has
risen in the past decade as perhaps the best program in the state. Famous
alumni include former Heisman Trophy winner RG III and Hall of Famer Mike
“Pants Dropper” Singletary.
For us, the main event at Baylor would be seeing McLane
Stadium on the Brazos River that was opened in 2014. This magnificent college
cathedral seats 45,000 and is connected to campus by a foot bridge. It has a gargantuan
state of the art video board that I found myself watching more than the live
action. At the onset of the game, we witnessed a Baylor tradition where
thousands of freshman clad in yellow shirts storm the field from end zone to
end zone before sitting in the student section. We also learned the hand sign
that represents a “Bear Claw”. The Baylor saying of choice is “Sic' em Bears”!
There were rumors that Chip and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper were spotted in
the upper concourse. I did not verify this sighting.
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| Mclane Stadium panoramic view inside.... |
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| ...and out |
The game
itself was more or less over during warmups. We sat in the lower bowl north end
zone and were able to see the mismatch up close and personal. Northwestern
State is an FCS (D1 AA) school coming off a losing season. Games like this
should not be played. The size and speed differences were akin to a varsity
squad beating up the freshman team. Baylor is now coached by former Wake Forest
coach Jim Grobe who agreed to come in and steady the ship for this year. Also,
returning to lead the team on the field is QB Seth Russel who had a serious
neck injury last season. The Bears
scored early and often as they raced out to a 48-0 halftime lead. By the middle
of the third period with a score of double nickels to zip, we departed for
College Station, TX for part 2 of our weekend. Final score Baylor 55 -7.
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| DFT crew planting the flag with the Major and cohort Dennis |
Upon rolling
into College Station, home of Texas A&M and checking into our five star
lodgings at the Super 8, Colonel Doug led us on a 2 mile forced road march to
Kyle Field to witness the Midnight Yell. Quite a spectacle to see once if you
go as a visitor. I emphasize just once like the Parade of Roses. The 5 male
Yell Leaders teach the crowd hand signals and cheers and noises to make for all
game situations. They accompany this with corny inside humor. It made sense
during the game but we felt like it was a skit from Hee-Haw watching the
practice session. Following the Yell, off we went to our first of many stops at
World of Beers for a few late night snacks and refreshments to dissect what we
just saw.
Texas
A&M is a massive school in both acreage and student population of over
64,000. Those that do not attend there refer to it as a cult. Those that
graduate from there look after their own like no other. The football program
has a rich tradition going back a century or so. In 2012 they bolted the Big 12
conference for the vaunted SEC and have fared well over their first four
campaigns. Most notable recent alumni is the mercurial Bieberite Johnny Manziel
and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller of the Broncos. Aside from these two, there are
too many pros and HOFers to rattle off in this write up. Kyle field is a
massive facility and outstanding on every level. It seats a little over 100,000
but with spacious seats and plenty of leg room it felt like the biggest stadium in the country.
A&M has arguably the most tradition rich fan
base in the nation. The 12th Man began in 1922 for them and has
taken on several different versions throughout time. The singing of the Eyes of
Texas and the Aggie chant and whoop are heard constantly throughout the game.
Each active class has a verbal noise to make as well. The saying “Gig'em” (not
giggity) basically means beat em.
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| Gig'em! |
Additionally, the Tailgate tents were set up in
multiple green areas around the campus. We unexpectedly partook in someone’s
tailgate post game. Thanks for the ribs.
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| The Corp of Cadets |
A late wake
up Saturday morning had us scrambling to get our game day outfits on and out
the door. First stop back at WoB for a wake-up call in the form of an uber-spicy Bloody Mary. We participated in
another road march in the sweltering heat to the institution that is “The Dixie
Chicken” across from the main campus gate in the bar district of College
Station. We were told to hydrate due to the extreme heat so we followed orders. Convinced we could survive the heat we along
with 100,000 of our new closest friends made or way into Kyle Filed to watch
one of the eight marquis games of the weekend (more on that later).
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| Bruin faithful "Bieber" Maddalon with the crew |
The opponent
on the day was the UCLA Bruins out of the PAC 12 and their wunderkind QB, Mr.
Humble himself Josh Rosen. Although UCLA was ranked higher, A&M was
slightly favored. The action saw both teams battle back and forth. A&M led by Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight
took a 10-9 lead into the locker room at the half. In the third quarter it
appeared the boys from Cali were melting in the Texas heat as the Aggies scored
two more touchdowns to extend the lead to 15. However in true Ali “rope a dope” fashion, the
Bruins came off the turf with multiple counter punches to tie the game up and
take the battle into overtime. In OT, the Aggies scored and the Bruins didn’t
thus giving the home crowd more to celebrate about. We too felt the celebration
needed to continue and so after several stops we dined at the WoB again catching
all the late games on the big screen.
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| The Fighting Aggie Marching Band |
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| The spectacular Kyle Field |
Day 3
started as day 2 did and then we made the 90 mile trek to witness our Anchor
game of the weekend. Two of CFB’s blue bloods were meeting up as the Notre Dame
Fighting Irish were visiting the University of Texas Long Horns in Austin. Both
schools steeped in tradition and history would be battling for the second year
in a row.
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| Goodbye World of Beers and College Station |
Stubbs BBQ
on 8th street was hosting a Notre Dame Tailgate so we opted to
partake in their pre- game soiree. After
a few more Shiner Bocks we cattle called into Darrel Royal Stadium for a night
to be remembered. In last year’s game in South Bend, UT forgot to bring their
team as the Irish boat raced them all the way back to Lake Travis. Memorial
Stadium seats over 103,000 but with tight quarters, it felt much smaller than
A&M’s Kyle Field. As a father of a
student at University of Oklahoma (Texas’s natural rival), I had a hard time
absorbing the sea of burnt orange and the “hook em horns” shouts. Texas has
several traditions but since one of them ends with the words “OU
sucks”, I did not think them very clever.
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| Tailgate at Stubbs BBQ |
Both coaches
opted to platoon 2 QBS during the game. Notre Dame with Deshone Kizer, scored
very quickly to take a 7-0 lead. The Horns struck back repeatedly behind QB’s
Tyrone Swoopes “There it is” on the ground and Shane Buechele in the air. Notre
Dame fared well with Kizer but went backwards when Malik Zaire was running the
show. Texas had a 31-14 lead midway through the third before the Irish opted to
stick with the productive Kizer. With the luck of the Irish, ND battled back to
take a 35 -31 lead. Late into the 4th quarter, with the Horns
feeling energized by their largest crowd in history, they scored on a 19 yard
run to take the lead. However, the Eyes of Texas looked down upon the Irish and
ensured the game would continue when ND blocked the PAT and returned it 90 yard
for 2 points.
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| Say what? |
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| Darrel K. Royal Memorial Stadium |
In the first
overtime, Texas and Notre Dame both scored touchdowns. In the second overtime
the Irish were held to a field goal and on a performance like Vince Young, Tyrone Swoopes’s scored his third TD of the
game as the Horns pulled off the upset. Final score Texas 50-47. These Irish eyes
were left once again crying. Thus we fled to 6th street to drown our
sorrows and take in the post- game chaotic scene. All in all, we saw two of the
top three games of the weekend and had a trip to remember.
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| DFT flag planted on 6th street in Austin. |
Around the Country (marquis games):
In perhaps
the strongest week one ever, we witnessed eight games with ranked teams
squaring off. Alabama destroyed USC in the most impressive beat down of the
weekend at Jerry World. In one of the most exciting games, Wisconsin led by De
La Salle’s Bart Houston shocked LSU at Lambeau field. Georgia knocked off North Carolina, Houston
upsets our Oklahoma Sooners, Clemson Tigers clawed out a win over the Auburn
Tigers and Florida State takes down the Rebels of Ole Miss. Lastly, DFT/Eagle
Tailgaters made the trek to Dublin Ireland only to watch their BC Eagles lose a
close one to Georgia Tech.
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| The Eagle Tailgaters in Dublin Ireland! |
Bieber Award
Next Week – DFT and crew will be at the San
Jose State game versus Portland State. For those in the Bay Area, please join
us for an easy tailgate.
Happy Tailgating!
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