And Now, The End Is Near ♭♯♮

And so, the table is set for this year’s college football playoff. Alabama not only upset Georgia; they thoroughly dominated them on both sides of the ball. And by doing so they earned the #1 seed and will face Cincinnati in one semifinal, and Georgia will face the Wolverines of Michigan in the other big game. Cincinnati, after going 13-0, is the first non-Power Five team to make the CFP, and Michigan is dancing for the first time since the inception of the four-team bracket eight years ago.

I had to get my final fix in and made my way through the Caldecott tunnel Saturday evening to watch USC take on Cal in a meaningless makeup game. We stopped in for a quick beer at a USC players’ parents tailgate to say hello to the parents of USC tight end and Ginger recipient Erik Kormmenhoek. Erik played his final collegiate game on this chilly evening in Strawberry Canyon. Unfortunately for Erik, the Cal Bears won this game by a score of 24-14. USC brought its band with them who clearly outperformed the Cal marching band throughout the contest. And,yes, the USC song girls were lovely as always. Kudos to the Cal student section who must have known I was there last night as they showed up in force versus the pathetic showing six weeks ago that I witnessed.

 

 Around the Country - Conference Championship recap:

ACC - Pitt defeats Wake Forest 45-21
AAC - Cincy over Houston 35-20 

 
Big 12 - Baylor squeaks by Oklahoma State 21-16

 
Big Ten - Michigan dominates Iowa 42-3 
Conference USA - UTSA tops Western Kentucky 49-41
MAC - NIU pulls out a win over Kent State 41-23
Mountain West - Utah State embarrasses San Diego State 46-13
Pac 12 - Utah throttles Oregon for the second time in three weeks 38-10
SEC - Bama knocks off UGA 41-24. (Bryce Young has my vote for Heisman!)
Sun Belt - Louisiana and Billy Napier get the win over App State 24-16

Bieber - At the time of last week’s article going to press, we had just learned of Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly’s news that he was departing for LSU. What we didn't know were all the classless details surrounding this move. With Notre Dame being one of the five true blue bloods of college football, one would question Kelly’s motives in wanting to leave such a coveted position. Notre Dame had just wrapped up an 11-1 season and had a legitimate shot at making the college football playoffs. Any normal leader would be thrilled with this potential opportunity. Brian Kelly is no normal leader. Twelve years ago, he did the exact same thing to Cincinnati when he left them immediately for Notre Dame despite his team getting into a then BCS bowl game against Florida. It was classless then and it is equally classless this time. Allegedly, when Kelly flew back to South Bend to address his team (after the news was out), he parked in the Notre Dame head coach’s spot. After his cowardly two-minute meeting with his team, he returned to his car and found a $60 ticket on his windshield, stating the spot was reserved for the head coach of Notre Dame football. To prove his true phoniness, apparently this Massachusetts-born and Midwestern-groomed man developed a deep Southern accent overnight. He addressed the LSU basketball crowd with a beautifully perfected Southern drawl. The meme factory was hard at work with that news. Coach Kelly, we hope a gator chases you into your new plantation in the bayou. Enjoy the Bieberware!

Ginger - To my buddy CK who donated two tickets and a parking pass to me for last night’s Cal game. You have done me this solid several times through the years, and I am greatly appreciative. I will sponsor a beer call for you over Christmas as a token of my gratitude.

Next Up - I will be taking a break from live games for the time being. I will be watching Army vs. Navy this year on my new YouTube TV subscription. There is a possibility I will go to the FCS championship in Frisco, Texas, on January 7 as my only other game this season. I finished the regular season with 16 college games, eight of which were first time stadiums, one NFL game, and one high school game. I will do my next write-up after the semifinals are played in four weeks.

Happy Tailgating!

 

Last Trip To The Farm

 

Tailgate at the Farm

The Co- hosts

With a week full of momentous occasions for the DFT family (baptism of grandson, Mrs. Tailgate’s birthday, Thanksgiving and our anniversary), I was accused of prioritizing Saturday’s tailgate and game over all. The accusations may have some merit to them. Sadly, after going to Notre Dame games at Stanford in Palo Alto (The Farm) for the last 20 years, this past Saturday was my swan song. If you are going to go out, you might as well go out in style. I took that advice, and along with my co-host Irish Mike Iorio (the Italian), we organized our largest and best tailgate to date. We had 70+ people attend this epic event. The menu consisted of tri tip sandwiches, beer brats, sausage bread, charcuterie boards, mac n cheese, cheesy potatoes, all kinds of desserts and snacks, many other tasty morsels, and of course, a wide array of adult beverages. The setting for this soiree took place in the Stanford arboretum under the sunny, blue California skies with temperatures reaching into the 70s. The music blared, the satellite TV broadcasted other games across the country, and tailgate games were played. The only downside was that four hours of tailgating was too short as all were having a great time. The vast majority of fans celebrating in true tailgate fashion throughout the arboretum were Notre Dame fans. This is one of the few times when Stanford comes alive for college football.

#startemyoung

Many of our crew departed for their cozy domiciles after the tailgate, but more than half of us made it into the game. The Irish, as expected, thoroughly dominated the Stanford Cardinals in all aspects of play and won convincingly. Irish QB Jack Coan threw for 345 yards with nine of those completions going to his beast of a tight end Michael Mayer. The stingy Notre Dame defense held Stanford’s offense to 220 yards and two touchdowns. Final tally had Notre Dame on top 45-14. As usual, the Stanford nerd band thoroughly sucked and were booed at their woke attempt at humor during halftime. Worst band and mascot in all of college football bar none. In fact, both are in the Bieber hall of fame.

 

Around the Country - The nation watched as “Mom Pants” Harbaugh and the Wolverines of Michigan shocked the Ohio State Buckeyes by beating them for the first time in nine years. This upset knocked the Buckeyes out of the college football playoffs. Michigan will face Iowa next Saturday for the Big Ten title with a great shot of making the playoffs. In the SEC, Alabama won a four-overtime thriller in the Iron Bowl, defeating in-state rival Auburn. The win secured a spot for the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship against UGA this Saturday. Oklahoma State bested in-state rival Oklahoma in the Bedlam game. In the process, they knocked the Sooners out of playoff contention and improved their own chances. The Cowpokes will play Baylor for the Big 12 honors on Saturday. The Pac-12 final this Friday night in Vegas will match the Ducks against the Utes in a rematch game from two weeks ago when the Ducks were knocked out of their spot in the playoffs. In the ACC, Wake Forest will play Pitt on Saturday for the ACC crown in a battle between two great QBs: Sam Hartman of Wake and Pitt’s Kenny Pickett. Cincinnati remains unbeaten after topping East Carolina. They will face off against Houston on Saturday and try to become the first non-Power Five team to reach the college football playoffs.

Eagle Tailgaters braving the cold at Bawstun College!

 

Bieber - Lincoln Riley. How dare you do the Kevin Durant move and leave the state of Oklahoma for a California team? It’s not just that you are leaving one of the five true, blue blood teams for another (which is Notre Dame's sworn enemy), it’s that you quit on the team some time ago. It became apparent after the benching of Spencer Rattler that you lost focus and drive. Your deal with the Trojans has obviously been in the works for some time as your lack of interest in OU football culminated with an ass kicking at the hands of Baylor and a loss to little brother Okie State in the past three weeks. You could not figure out a simple zone defense in the second half against OSU and gave up a two score lead, letting your team down. Maybe you were butt hurt over having your hand forced in the benching of Rattler. If so, you need to growacet, and be a man … like Mike Gundy who is a man and is now 55! In a time when most people are leaving communist Cali for free states like Oklahoma, you go all contrarian and do the opposite. Well Stinkin Lincoln, I wish you high taxes, long, frustrating commutes in traffic, lack of freedom and Lebron James’s tears upon you. Please find a nice spot in your new Hollyweird mansion for your Bieber hardware. 

Benedict Bieber Riley

Ginger - Goes to all the fans who storm the field in defiance of the six feet apart BS. This past weekend students from Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, and NC State stormed their fields after meaningful wins. Washington State fans stormed their rival Washington's home field after their Apple Cup win. I love to see the field storming as it is an exercise in freedom but also a big part of keeping college football special. In my estimation, this is truly badass and needs a sprinkling of ginger recognition.

Next Up - I was going to wrap it up after last weekend, but I may make my way back to Bezerkeley as Cal hosts USC in a meaningless game Saturday night at 8 p.m. that was postponed a few weeks back. There are several local kids on each team I am interested in supporting.

Late breaking news - Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly announced he is leaving for LSU. I can’t take any more!

Happy Tailgating!