Breaking Bad in the ABQ

Yo Byotch!

The state of New Mexico is known for many things, but college football would not be at the top of the list. The state of New Mexico has a certain mysticism to it. It is the home of Roswell, New Mexico, where aliens invaded 70 years ago and now occupy positions of importance throughout our world’s governments. It is also the same land where Lucas McCain as The Rifleman took on all comers and always won his shootouts. More recently, the city of Albuquerque is where the popular series Breaking Bad took place. In fact, there are RV and bus tours throughout the city that take fans of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman to many of the locations that were featured in Breaking Bad. The landscape outside of the city is majestic with big, blue skies, a mesa to the west and the Caspian Mountains to the east. Most notably, I spent the first night of my honeymoon at Kirtland AFB many setting moons ago.

 

Current World Leader from Roswell, NM

He kept the rifraff out of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico is a big part of the city as it is home to over 22,000 students. The campus has a largely southwestern flare to its architecture honoring the Native American and Hispanic cultures that are significant in the land of enrichment. University stadium resides on the southern end of campus. It was built in 1960 and currently has a capacity of 42,000. It is a horseshoe structure with a beautiful football training facility in the south end zone. The Lobos (Spanish for “wolf,” for you knuckleheads) are better known for basketball and play their home games in an arena simply known as The Pit. As far as notable football players go, there’s Don Perkins who played RB for the Dallas Cowboys in the 60s, and more recently,  Brian Urlacher — a monster of a man. Brian used to go to my barber but is now president of the Chicago chapter of the hair club for men. What a sellout.

 

The watering holes of the mystical ABQ

The Lobos hosted the Miners from the University of Texas El Paso “UTEP” for a 6 p.m. game. But prior to the game itself,  there were rituals that needed to be performed, as is customary. Friday night I had happy hour on the swanky rooftop bar of the Hotel Chaco while watching the sun set into the western mesa. Saturday’s pregame began with a few breakfast beverages and an introduction to a peanut butter and jelly shot at Bourbon and Boots in downtown ABQ. Then I was off to a trendy craft beer spot called Differential Brewery close to campus. After the proper hydration rituals were complete, I wandered over to the main tailgate lot on the east side of the stadium. Let’s just say I was underwhelmed with the tailgate scene that lacked both tailgaters and energy. Maybe it was the heat that was in the high 80s or the waft of weed that has everyone in the ABQ on a constant mellow, but something was missing. I did find my way to the alumni tailgate tent and fit right in as an old-timer. Rudy’s BBQ catered the event, so naturally I acted like I belonged and was fed like a ranch hand on Yellowstone while I listened in on stories of former teammates reminiscing about their glory days.

New Mexico was coming off a big loss to their Mountain West Conference bully the Boise State Broncos. UTEP had just squeaked out a win against their neighbor from Las Cruces, NM, the New Mexico State Aggies. UTEP plays in the Conference USA. The Lobos are led by versatile QB Miles Kendrick who hails from Valley Christian High in San Jose, CA. The stadium was less than half full with most of the fans sitting on the west side to avoid the late afternoon sun during the first half. Interestingly enough, the traveling UTEP marching band was larger and louder than the home Lobos’ band. For the most part, the fans' energy was on par with what I witnessed in the tailgate lot. The student section was only a few hundred strong in numbers.  However, after big plays or scores, a loud wolf howl would sound throughout the stadium  while fans made a wolf-like figure with their hands.

 

The low key University Stadium

As far as the on-field action went, the Lobos jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set that they stretched  to 20 by halftime. Kendrick controlled a balanced offensive attack, and the Lobos defense performed the “bend don’t break” methodology to perfection. Miners QB Gavin Hardison threw for 299 yards but was wildly inconsistent throughout the game. The Miners could not dig themselves out of the hole they created in the second half as each team added another touchdown. Final score: Lobos 27, Miners 10.

Around the country – Who has ever had a more memorable start to their season than the Appalachian State Mountaineers? In week one, they scored 40 fourth quarter points to still lose in regulation to North Carolina 63-60. Then last week, the nation witnessed the Mountaineers go into Bryant College Station, TX, and slay Goliath in the form of the highly-rated Texas A&M Aggies. In fact, ESPN loved it so much they awarded College Gameday to App State for the first time ever this past Saturday. The town of Boone, NC, went absolute bonkers with this news and pulled out all the stops to give the Gameday crew a hearty welcome. Then the miracle in Boone happened on Saturday night. Facing the Troy State Trojans, App State found themselves down by two with a few seconds on the clock. App State QB1 Chase Brice heaved the pigskin 53 yards in the air with a hope and a prayer, and it was answered. The ball was tipped near the goal line and grabbed out of the air by Wide Receiver Christian Horn who calmly ran it in for the game-winning score. Mayhem ensued, fans rushed the field, animals were sacrificed, moonshine was distilled, and babies were made that night in Boone, NC. Out west, UW behind Indiana transfer QB Michael Pendix put a hurting on Michigan State. Arizona eked out a victory over FCS champion North Dakota State. Big Ten power Penn State traveled to Auburn and promptly caged the War Eagles in a one-sided contest. UGA annihilated South Carolina and helped reaffirm that Spencer Rattler is still … not good. In the ACC, NC State proved to be an inhospitable host to the visiting Texas Tech Red Raiders by applying a 27-13 win on them. In the Big 12, Brent Venables took the Sooners to Lincoln, NE, for the storied rivalry game with the Cornhuskers. After a slow start, and falling behind 7-0, the Sooners ran off 49 unanswered points before bringing in the second team in the third quarter. Get this everyone: Kansas is 3-0 after topping Houston by 18.

 

Bieber – A mostly Bieberless weekend I must admit, other than the classless act by the ASU AD firing Coach Herm Edwards on the field immediately following the game.

 

Ginger – The town of Boone, NC, and Appalachian State University. The spirit this combo has shown all year needs to be recognized in the form of the prestigious Ginger Badass award. Last night’s storming of the field after their Hail Mary win over Troy was nothing less than epic. The previous Saturday night, the town of Boone went berserk in celebrating the team’s win at Texas A&M 1,000 miles away. The icing on the cake was how the town lined up to receive ESPN College Gameday. Country Star Luke Combs, an APP State alumnus, was the guest picker and was quite entertaining. The visit to App State also gave ESPN Gameday the shot in the arm it needed, as the program has become stale as of late. Love the spirit of the Mountaineer nation.

 

Next up – DFT will mostly be grounded the next few weekends as we pack up our California home and say goodbye to our Danville friends. My next scheduled game is Family Weekend at CU Boulder on 10/15 

 

Happy Tailgating!!!

 

DFT Labor of Love

 

Well, I survived another Labor Day trifecta of tailgates and games at three universities I got to visit for the first time. A few additional firsts during this annual ritual: banana pudding moonshine, a tailgate host in a kilt, “tealgating,” and a young man attempting to hit 60 college games this year! When this trip was scheduled, the highlight was to see three QBs that are on the Davey O’Brien watch list. As luck would not have it, two of the three QBs were injured and did not suit up for the game. As always, my wingman for this annual ritual was my college buddy, Tubby Devine.

Game one:

First stop was at Wake Forest University for their matchup against FCS opponent VMI. Wake Forest is in the City of Winston Salem, NC, most notable for Reynolds Plantation, the home of the original American tobacco king. We linked up with my high school buddy Tony Pifer and his beautiful bride Edna. They put together a fine tailgate for us with a main course of smoked chicken wings. Our tailgating neighbors invited us over to sample the aforementioned banana pudding moonshine. Talk about dangerous! 

 

The Pifers threw out a mean pregame spread

"Wakegating" with banana pudding moonshine!

 

Wake Forest All American QB Sam Hartman did not suit up as he is battling an undisclosed illness/injury that the school has been mum about. The rumor is possible blood clots. We at the Tailgate wish him well and a speedy recovery. 

Wake Forest is one of the smallest power five schools in the country with an undergrad enrollment of 5,400 students. The stadium now called Truist Field holds approximately 31,000 fans and is the smallest amongst all the Power Five schools. Nevertheless, it is a fine piece of architectural genius! There were ample beer stands throughout the facility which was a huge plus as it was warm … and we were thirsty. As far as the game went, it was basically a snooze with Wake dominating all facets. VMI was scrappy but clearly outmanned and outgunned. Final score: Wake Forest 44-10. We made it back to the hotel to watch the final quarter of the Backyard Brawl where Tony’s WVU Mountaineers lost to their old rival Pitt in a close match.

 

Taking in Truist Field at Wake Forest

Game two:

We said goodbye to the Pifers and traveled 90 miles to the Queen City of Charlotte for the University of North Carolina Charlotte “UNCC” 49ers match against another FCS opponent, William & Mary. Our hotel was literally on campus, so post game transportation or the threat of a DUI were stricken from the equation. 

We were hosted by Rob Dibble’s Normbulance tailgate at the entrance to gate #2 of the stadium. Why Normbulance, you ask? Well, Norm is the Charlotte mascot, and a green and white ambulance is the centerpiece of their tailgate. Not only is Rob the host of this lively tailgate, he is one of 10 people responsible for bringing football to UNCC. In 2005 he and the other nine people forced the issue with the administration, and eight years later they had a team. 

The first two years, the 49ers played at the FCS level and then promptly moved to the FBS level. The cathedral, Jerry Richardson Stadium, is a 15,000+ seat venue that meets the FBS minimum requirements for number of butts. It is designed to build capacity, and in fact, they are looking at adding 20,000 seats in the south side in the next few years. I was ecstatic to find plenty of beer stands and Bojangles chicken throughout the stadium concourse. 

 

Bet on your shot!

Host Rob Dibble in the lower left

 

Pick axe....like a shot ski!

This was the second game in a row where the Star QB was sitting out due to injuries. Chris Cox, who had an amazing 2021 season, was banged up in Charlotte's opening loss to FAMU the week prior. Thus, he did not suit up for the game. The first half of the game was exciting with both teams battling back and forth to a 17-17 halftime score. Charlotte came out of the locker room with a quick TD to take the lead. However, they would not score again, and Bill ‘n Mary added 24 more points to the board for a 41-24 victory. The game decided, it was time to head back to the hotel bar for a nightcap.

 

He broke his hand messing with his face diaper!

 Game three:

 

After catching the first half of ESPN’s now politicized College Gameday on Saturday morning, we made the three hour trek to Conway, SC, for the Coastal Carolina/Army battle. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers began their football journey 20 seasons ago as an FCS school until the 2017 season when they jumped up to D1A. Brooks Stadium sits in the middle of campus and holds 21,000. Ironically, it is named after the former chairman of Hooters! Given some of the local entertainment, this is not surprising. 

This was the first time I ever “Tealgated” in homage to the host team’s primary color of teal. We joined up with some of my family, Patsy, Barney, Judy and Sean, and their friends, Mitch Chaney USMA class of 72 and his wife Barb. We had an amazing tailgate of chicken wings, pasta salad, burgers, dogs, numerous snacks and cold beer to combat the humidity. We were all supporting the Army Black Knights but have immense respect for the Coastal program. 

 

 

Tealgating!

 

Nothing better than pregaming with family!

 After breaking down our tailgate, we force road marched approximately one mile to the stadium for the third 7 p.m. kickoff of our weekend. By far, this was the best game of our trifecta. Coastal was led by the highly touted Senior QB Grayson McCall who did play on this night. The Chanticleers were favored, but it is never easy to stop the Army ground game. In addition to the Black Knights’ ground attack, they threw for two long passes including one touchdown. The squads would fire back and forth at each other all night until the team in teal pulled away midway through the fourth quarter. Coastal came out victorious over the rugged Army team by a score of 38-28. McCall threw for three touchdowns on the night in addition to running one in for six. 

Around The Country:

In notable action, Ohio State bested the Fighting Irish 21-10. LSU got chopped down by a much improved Seminole team from Tallahassee. The Tigers scored a potential game-tying touchdown as time expired only to have their extra point blocked. Brian Kelly’s Irish eyes were not smiling. (Can you tell I am still just a wee bit angry about his departure from South Bend?) The resurgent Florida Gators took down the Pac-12’s top ranked Utah Utes in a nailbiter that ended 29-26 in the swamp. In perhaps the wackiest game of all time, the Appalachian State Mountaineers scored 40 points in the fourth quarter only to still lose to the in-state Goliath North Carolina Tarheels. Old Dominion once again knocked off VA Tech in the commonwealth of Virginia, which happened five seasons ago as well. Blowout of the weekend goes to defending national champion Georgia who declared open season and shot down the Ducks of Oregon 49-3.

The Maddalon Tailgate at UNR

Roscoe Ross entertaining #2 and Squatch at the OU tailgate

Bieber:

 All World Texas Freshman QB Quinn Ewers won his first start as the Longhorns new signal caller. The Longhorns defeated cupcake U in a snoozer. But that’s not the real news. The real news is what happened to the boy’s porche during the game. Apparently, since daddy’s car didn’t come fully equipped with proper parking passes for certain locations, the mighty Quinn got ticketed $200. Wherever he parked his “legal” vehicle, he had the wrong or no parking permit in his window. This cost his daddy two Benjamins to pay off. I am sure the Quinster will be able to pay him back with his NIL proceeds or his trust fund shekels in due time. If he gets desperate enough, he can also sell his new Bieber hardware and use the proceeds to pay daddy back.

Ginger:  Ginger goes to young Ben Chase who we met at the UNCC Tailgate. Ben has promptly quit his job and will live out of his van for the next four months. Why would he do that, you ask? Duh! He is attempting to go to 60 college football games across the country. The current record is 50. He will also become an ambassador for Tailgate Connect™. We offered up Ben plenty of encouragement and hope he makes it through. There are 16 weeks in the season for him to tackle this feat. That means on average, he will need to hit four games per week unless he also accomplishes some of this through bowl games. Good luck on your adventure, Ben!

Next Week:  DFT will be beachgating at Dune Allen Beach off 30A. Next game will be on 9/17 when the University of New Mexico takes on UTEP in the ABQ.

v