The Bears and the Bees - Week 9

As promised in last week’s write-up, I did in fact tailgate with a real-life seal: my longtime buddy Davey Seals from my old hometown of Danville! Sorry to disappoint you all that were looking for an entertaining circus seal or a badass navy seal, he is neither!  I linked up with Davey Friday afternoon and we headed to the campus of Sacramento State University to watch the Hornets take on the number-four–ranked Montana Grizzlies in the FCS. 

We chose to tailgate in the Montana parking lot to avoid the lingering aroma from the other lot, where plenty of young people were letting certain aromas fill the air. We wanted to stay awake for the game.

I pre cooked New York–style sausages (way better than Johnsonville) https://newyorkstylesausage.com/ with Coors Banquet and onions on Thursday night and let them marinate in the fridge. We fired up the grill and browned them and dined on them, fresh guacamole, salsa, chips, a few cold beers, homemade brownies and some delicious Blanton’s bourbon. The Montana faithful travel well — there were several thousand of them in attendance and very passionate about their Griz.

"Davy" Seals and DFT taking in the day Sac State.

Sacramento State came into the game as the underdog with a 4-3 record and Montana was 7-0. Both are members of the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies had their hands full in the first half, as the Hornets gave them everything they could. It made for a thrilling, back-and-forth battle, with Montana holding a narrow 28-21 lead at halftime. We kept wondering why the stadium was so packed with young people and why that same familiar aroma lingered. Turns out there was a rap concert after the game that drew an unusually large crowd.

During the game, the Sacramento State chancellor was booed by his own fan base. He had been, pun intended, “poking the bear” since the offseason, claiming his Hornets were the superior program over Montana. He even called the Grizzlies “pandas,” prompting his fans to chant, “You got panda’d!” Not exactly a victory in PR.

In the second half, the superior Grizzlies leaned on the Hornets, pulling away with a final score of 49-28 and returning to missoula victorious.

---

Around the country:

• ACC: The Virginia Cavaliers continue to impress, edging Bill Belichick–led UNC Tar Heels 17-16 in overtime. In the words of Belicheck’s young girl toy, “you came up a few inches short Billy”.

  

  So much in common!

  
  
  
  

• Big 12: Houston had no problem and dominated Arizona State from start to finish in Tempe, winning 24-16. A slight upset as the SUn Devils was ranked and the Cougars weren't.
  
  

• Big Ten: In a mild upset on Lake Washington, the unranked UW Huskies out ran the 23rd-ranked Illinois Illini 42-25.

  

  Bill doing Bill things

  
  
  
  

• SEC:QB1 Diego Pavia backed up his brashness, leading Vanderbilt to a 17-10 win over Missouri. In the ABC game of the week, Texas A&M and their Gig ’em faithful stunned LSU 49-25 in Death Valley, leaving Coach Brian Kelly more purple faced then usual.

  

  
  

• Group of Five: In a heavyweight clash, the Memphis Tigers bested the USF 34-31 Bulls at the hallowed Liberty Bowl.
  
  

---

Bieber Award:

This week’s trophy goes to the Big 12 Conference, which has officially outlawed one of college football’s most beloved fan traditions — the Texas Tech tortilla toss. It began in the early 1990s when a rabid fan tossed a tortilla before kickoff to celebrate the team’s “wrap-’em-up” defense. For decades, thousands of fans launched flying flour missiles skyward, a West Texas snowstorm of school pride and harmless fun.

But the No Fun League struck. In a Bierberesque move, the Big 12 voted 15-1 to ban tossing tortillas onto the field. The penalty? A warning for the first offense, a 15-yard penalty for the third, and potential fines large enough to buy Lubbock’s entire tortilla supply. Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt was the lone holdout:

So, the Big 12 earns the Bieber this week for smothering one of the last pure, silly, uniquely college-football traditions. Nobody got hurt, nobody was offended, and for over thirty years, those tortillas soared. The toss may be dead, but the Bieber award is alive and well in your trophy case.

Let the kid's toss!!!

Ginger Award:

This week, the Ginger goes to Army football player Larry Pickett Jr., who proved heroism isn’t measured in yards or touchdowns. After a normal night out with his dad, Pickett spotted a car smashed into a utility pole — and starting to catch fire. Most of us would have called 911. Not Larry. He and his dad ran straight in, pulled the driver to safety, and got out seconds before the car erupted in flames. Larry shrugged it off: “That’s just who the Army is.” Coach Jeff Monken called it what it was: a life-saving act of courage. No stats, no highlight reel — just pure, unfiltered heroism. For that, Larry Pickett Jr. is this week’s Ginger Award winner.

Heroic actions!

Next Up: I’ll be returning to the Linc in Philly to this time catch a Temple home game with two of my siblings checking that one off the list. It is unfathomable to me that we are already entering week 10!

Happy Tailgating!