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!

R&R

 This past weekend was all about rest & recovery before the approaching storm of six straight weekends with a game and tailgate. I was also able to recapture part of that lost bronzing I acquired over the summer with shirtless walks on the beach while scaring the hell out of sunbathers. Well, it is almost Halloween, right? A good chunk of the weekend I was able to work the remote in our Florida bungalow, and I am happy to report it still functions to perfection. We also spent part of the day watching CFB at Boshamps Oyster House in Destin.

Catching SEC action at Boshamps

Around the country: Penn State at Ohio State turned out to be a very ugly offensive affair as neither team looked particularly adept on that side of the ball. Ohio State and Cryan Ryan Day scored a 20-12 victory. Alabama was able to enjoy those victory cigars by completely outplaying Tennessee in the second half after forgetting to show up in the first. Final tally, Bama 34, Rocky Top 20. Duke played Florida State close until late in the third quarter when Florida State started overpowering the scrappy Blue Devils. Duke’s starting QB Riley Leonard played for the first time after his ankle injury he suffered against Notre Dame a month ago. Unfortunately he re-injured that same ankle in the third quarter. The Noles earned a 38-20 win. Utah owned USC, once again beating them in the Coliseum 34-32. Oklahoma fans do not miss Benedict Riley or crying Caleb one bit. Speaking of Oklahoma, they narrowly escaped an upset at the hands of UCF by scoring 31 to their 29. Texas also avoided an upset by winning 31-24 over Houston. However, Texas QB1 Quinn Ewers suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him off the field for a few weeks. The Washington Huskies and star QB Michael Penix were lucky to get the W over lowly Arizona State. If not for a pick six thrown by the Sun Devils’ QB late in the game, UW might be a one-loss team now. How about those Wahoos from Virginia knocking off Drake Maye and previously unbeaten North Carolina? In celebration, UVA sportswriter Whitey White was seen leading the crowd streaking through the quad. Air Force remains perfect on their season by sinking Navy 17-6 in Annapolis. 

Brady's Navy Tailgate

Stan Fitzwater making his first appearance on DFT supporting WVU

Jamie Newton rocking the Penn State pants in Columbus

Tori Santa Maria Geauxing strong at Death Valley

Bieber: This week’s award goes to perennial Bieberite, ESPN. This time it’s for sending ESPN Gameday to cover “The” Ohio State for the 59th time since its inception. This is not an exaggeration, it is a fact. 24 of those visits have been in Columbus and the other 35 on the road. The next most visited school is Alabama. Outside of the state of Ohio, most people don’t give a sloth’s fecal cake about the Buckeyes. In fact, most college football fans despise them and think the majority of their fans are some of the most obnoxious, cocky creatures you will encounter. We, the college football fans, want to see a new school every week, and there isn’t anything you can say or show about Ohio State that is remotely interesting. We are also sick of your love affair with Cryan Ryan Day. Just because Herbie was a QB back in the day there (and not even a very good one) does not mean you have to keep appeasing him every year with a trip home. My advice: Take the Bieber hardware and go visit other schools we have not seen yet. 

Last week’s Bieber vote winner:Was Mrs.Tailgate for her “expensive taste in tickets”. I apologize for the technical issues in the vote setup. We will do better next time.

Ginger: We have co-winners this week. #1 LSU for painting their end zones in camo to honor their opponent, Army. #2 Oklahoma coaches for wearing pink in honor of breast cancer awareness, which is near and dear to my heart.

Next up: I am heading back to Jacksonville for the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” at the Florida-Georgia game with my high school crew. If you receive a call in the middle of the night for bail, please answer it!

Happy Tailgating!

The Collapse in Colorado

 

Perhaps it was the effect of the solar eclipse this weekend, but I believe I witnessed two of the biggest collapses in all my time of going to college football games. Mrs. Tailgate and #1 daughter joined me on another trip to Boulder for #3’s Family Weekend. Game time for the Buffs was 8:20 p.m. on Friday night against the lowly Stanford Cardinal. Pregaming took place at the Chateau featuring street tacos and libations prior to wandering to a myriad of other parties. 

Pregaming on the Hill in Boulder and some game action.

The game — or the Colorado collapse or Deion’s debacle or the failure on the Flatirons as we now know it — is quite simple: The Buffs stormed out to a 29-0 halftime lead. Most people thought the game was over. Many left the stadium and viewers across the country flipped their TVs off. When they awoke on Saturday morning, they saw that Stanford came back and won 46-43 in double OT. How did this happen, you ask? Stanford made a few simple halftime adjustments and Colorado never countered them. Deion and his staff were out coached. 

On Saturday, I ventured up to Fort Collins to watch the Boise State Broncos take on the home team Colorado State in a Mountain West Conference matchup. The last time I went to a CSU game was 19 years ago at the genesis of my DFT quest at the old Hughes Stadium. It was game three of a three-game weekend with my brother when I decided I wanted to go to a home game at every Division 1A stadium. And 19 years later, I made my return. But this time to their new on-campus stadium, Canvas Stadium. For pregame activities I was joined by Luke Lorick and Dave The Viking. We successfully moochgated at the alumni tailgate and dined on a nice BBQ dinner. The stadium is a beautiful 36,000 seat facility built in 2017 with great views of the mountains to the northwest. The house was packed and full of excitement for this homecoming matchup. CSU had never beaten Boise State. 

CSU with Duff Man and the Viking

Much like Colorado the night before, Boise jumped out to a commanding 17-0 halftime lead. With a little over four minutes remaining in the ball game, Boise was on top 30-10. Then their collapse began as CSU scored two quick touchdowns to narrow the gap to six points. On CSU’s final possession, QB1 Brayden Nicolosi heaved a 33-yard hail Mary that was batted down only to be caught by wide receiver Dallin Holker before the ball hit the ground to tie the game. CSU converted the extra point to seal the win, and those who were left in the stadium stormed the field.

Around the country: In the game of the week, we witnessed another coaching blunder by cocky Coach Dan Lanning of Oregon. With a narrow lead and less than two minutes to go, Lanning decided to go for it on fourth down instead of punting the ball and pinning their opponent, the Washington Huskies, deep in their own territory. The play failed, UW got the ball back and scored the game-winning touchdown for a 36-33 victory. The fighting Irish exposed all the holes in the veneer that is the Lincoln Riley-led USC football program with a resounding 48-20 drubbing. Down in Knoxville, TN, the Vols sailed away with a 20-13 win over the Texas A&M Aggies. In ACC action, one week after knocking off the Fighting Irish, Louisville had a meltdown losing to the underdog Pitt Panthers by a score of 38-31. In Big Ten action, Sparty appeared to be righting their ship by racing out to a 24-6 lead over Rutgers by the end of the third quarter. It appears as though they forgot to show up for the final set as Rutgers ran off 21 straight points and a 27-24 win. In Stillwater, Okie State came from behind to top Kansas 39-32. Perhaps the new Group of Five darling is James Madison as they improved to 6-0 by pounding Georgia Southern 41-13. Too bad they are not yet eligible for a post-season bowl game.

Dusty Johnson & Big Orange Tailgate in Knoxville. Dan Lusk and his Vol Navy College Football Club

South Dakota Coyotes Homecoming Bus, The Duncans at UW and two felons at the JMU game.

Bieber: You get to vote this week as the candidates are: Deion for the Buffs’ collapse, Coach Dan Lanning for poor decision-making in the Oregon loss, Boise State Coach Andy Avalos for squandering a 20-point lead late in the fourth quarter, and last but not least, my beloved Mrs. Tailgate for paying $482 for her ticket when mine was only $100 and a better seat.

Click below to vote:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfO2Gq5pFfe6aKe2CBSM3EN6e6_jXbfeiwMnQxgHkRwpWq5pw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Ginger: Ginger has taken this week off.

Next week: Beach time back in Florida on the white, sugary sands of 30A. In two weeks, I will return to Jacksonville for the Florida - Georgia rivalry game.

Happy tailgating!

Ground Control

 Best laid plans don’t always come to fruition. As such, my planned outing to the Montana at UC Davis game did not happen due to unforeseen circumstances.  Devastated as I was, I took solace on my couch with the remote and a days worth of games to watch.

Around the country: This year's Red River Shootout was perhaps one of the best ever out of the 119 meetings in this storied rivalry. Both teams came in undefeated and ranked. The Sooners were embarrassed last year in this rivalry game by losing 49-0. With revenge on their minds and a much improved team, the Sooners punched hard early and often. Texas was equal to the task and punched back throughout the game as momentum seemed to shift constantly. In the end, the Sooners led by QB Dillon Gabriel mounted a game-winning drive to seal a 34-30 victory. Elsewhere, Miami dropped from the ranks of the undefeated at the hands of Georgia Tech on a last-second touchdown. (More on this outcome later.) If anyone was doubting whether UGA should still be top dog, those doubts were laid to rest as the Dawgs destroyed the previously undefeated Cats from Kentucky with a final tally of 51-13. Out west in the LA Coliseum, Caleb Superman Williams led USC to a triple OT victory over the University of Arizona. In the Big Ten, Michigan improved to 6-0, sinking PJ Fleck and his Gopher boat. In “Group of Five” action, last week’s darling Fresno State went down in defeat at the hands of the Cowboys from Laramie, Wyoming, 24-19. 

Clockwise from Top Left - The Bolt Boyz at Red River, Colonel Holter and his crew at Iowa, Captain Dan Lusk winning the tailgate at Minnesota and a Yeti sighting in Boise

Bieber: As promised, here’s more on that Georgia Tech victory. Miami had possession of the ball and was leading the game 20-17 with just over 30 seconds left on the clock. All they had to do was take a knee, run the clock out and go celebrate like 99.999% of teams typically do. But Miami head ball coach Mario “Two Hands” Cristobal misplaced his thinking cap and decided to run the ball instead of taking a knee and running the clock out. Mr. Murphy reared his ugly head and created a fumble, which Georgia Tech recovered. They would throw the ball twice down field and score on the second one on a blown coverage by the Miami defensive backfield, securing the upset victory. Coach Cristobal, next time look into your crystal ball so you can better predict your future before you do something so Bieberish! For now, your shiny Bieber hardware will have to do.

Ginger: The Hawkeye Wave. I have mentioned this one before, but it is always worth drawing attention to this tradition. I was reminded of it again yesterday when my buddy attended the Purdue at Iowa game and sent me a picture of the fans waving to the children in the hospital windows next to the stadium. I had the honor of being at the first Hawkeye Wave ever that was performed on Labor Day weekend, 2017. I remember getting a chill up my spine at how touching this gesture was and what it must mean to the kids. Many of these kids are fighting battles against very severe illnesses, and something like this goes a long way in improving their spirits. The children’s hospital rises from the east like a phoenix above Kinnick Stadium on the campus of the University of Iowa. At the end of the first quarter, all the kids and their families gather at the windows of the hospital. The 70,000 fans in the stadium all stand and wave in unison to the kids. This truly is one of the most moving experiences you will ever have at a college football game. It goes without saying that this is beyond badass and worthy of multiple Ginger awards!

The Hawkeye Wave!

Next up: Heading back to Boulder for Family Weekend and a Friday night matchup in the now winter temps of the Rocky Mountains. This is only two weeks after I was playing drinking games outside in my dad shorts. There is a possibility I will also head up to Fort Collins for Colorado State’s Saturday night game against the Boise State Broncos.

Happy Tailgating!

Prime Time Rise n Shine!

We coming!

 The DFT Express returned to Boulder for my sixth game at CU. The occasion this time was Dad’s Weekend for #3’s sorority. Friday night was low key, but I finally had the famous fried chicken dinner at The Post in Boulder. With a 10 a.m. Mountain Time kickoff, this meant an early start for our pregame festivities. #3 and her roomies at “The Chateau” threw an epic pregame breakfast tailgate consisting of bottomless mimosas and my patented eggolini breakfast concoction. Mother Nature provided us with a chamber of commerce day: blue skies, temps in the 70s, and the spectacular Flatirons as our backdrop.

The gang at "The Chateau" for an early morning tailgate.

After our early morning tailgate, we made the trek over to beautiful Folsom Field on campus. A new vibe was in the air in Boulder, courtesy of Coach Prime and the excitement he has brought to the Rocky Mountains. Prior to kickoff, we were treated to an air-force flyover and Ralphie the buffalo running the field. The stadium was packed for the Buffs’ matchup against #7 USC and their sleaze ball coach Lincoln Riley. There were a decent number of Trojan fans in the house; however, they were overshadowed by the Buff faithful all wearing white for a daytime whiteout. Each team had a number of celebrities on their respective sidelines amping up the intensity of the game.

In the first half, USC Heisman trophy winner and QB1 Caleb Williams owned the Buffs’ D and had his way by throwing for four touchdowns. The Buffs were without their star two-way player Travis Hunter once again as well as starting safety Shilo Sanders. Williams made sure to exploit the holes their absences left. Colorado seemed to be a step behind but showed more life than they did the week before when they got throttled by the Oregon Ducks. This gave the home team fans some hope that the game was not out of reach yet. The two teams headed into the locker room for a halftime break with USC up 34-14.

For the halftime show, we were treated by the CU band as they performed hits from many of the big concerts that have been played at Folsom Field over the last 50 years. Ralphie of course ran again to commence the second half. 

In the second half, the Buffs made a miraculous comeback led by their QB1 Shedeur Sanders. In fact, Shedeur led the Buffs to four touchdown drives and 27 second half points with 1:43 seconds left on the clock. Aside from  half the students leaving in the third quarter, the buzz in the stadium increased with each Colorado possession. The game came down to an onside kick attempt by Colorado that was recovered easily by USC. With no timeouts to stop the clock, USC simply snapped the ball and took a knee three times to end the game. Final score USC 48, Colorado 41. Caleb WIliams threw for 403 yards and six touchdowns, and his opposite Shedeur Sanders threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns. Apparently there were over thirty NFL scouts on site to watch these two future NFLers. NostraDANus did predict a one score game, so please hit me up before your next draft king's bet.

Beautiful Folsom Field with my beautiful #3!

After departing the stadium, we made the half mile trek back to the Chateau for drinking games on the front lawn the rest of the afternoon. 

Post game festivities

Around the country: Both Oklahoma and Texas each tuned up for next week by dispatching their opponents with ease. Ole Miss won in a shootout with LSU by a score of 55-49 in Oxford. Notre Dame recaptured their magic by beating Duke on a game-winning touchdown with less than a minute on the clock. Maryland improved to 5-0 by beating Indiana handily behind little Tua. And our current “Group of Five” darling Fresno State improved their record to 5-0 by defeating the Wolfpack from Nevada. 

#2, Squatch and friends enjoying another Sooner beat down.

Bieber: This week’s Bieber goes to Louisiana Tech’s Brevin Randle for one of the dirtiest actions seen on the field this century. Randle, a defensive player for LT, was captured on video shoving an injured UTEP lineman into the ground as the lineman was laying on his stomach. Well that wasn’t very nice, but what he did next was far outside the lines of competition. Randle stood up and then stomped down on the defensive player's head leaving him in agonizing pain. Unbelievably, the referees did not see this as there was no penalty called. However, it did not go unnoticed as Randle has now been suspended from the team — hopefully for good. Randle may not have shoulder pads and cleats to strap on any time soon, but he can take pride in owning his first Bieber.

Classless act

Ginger: This week’s winner is Notre Dame QB1 Sam Hartman. After Hartman led his Irish to a stunning drive late in the fourth quarter to give his team the lead, Duke had another chance as there were still 31 seconds left on the game clock. Duke’s QB Riley Leonard, who carried the Blue Devils to two second half touchdowns, was badly injured on the second play of the drive and turned the ball over to seal the game for Notre Dame. Leonard was helped off the field into the injury tent on the sideline. During the postgame on-field interviews, Hartman was filmed waiting outside the injury tent for several minutes to check on his opponent. Leonard finally came out on crutches and Hartman was seen walking up to him and giving him the bro hug before trotting off the field. I have liked this kid since I first saw him as a 17-year-old high school star on Netflix’s QB1 series. This act of true sportsmanship just made me like and respect him even more. For this Slinging Sammy, you win this weekend’s Ginger award for being such a badass.

Classy act

Next up: Off to UC Davis as they take on the Montana Grizzlies. 

Happy Tailgating!