When Irish Eyes Have Fomo!

 As I wrote last week, I was supposed to be in South Bend this past weekend for the Notre Dame-Michigan State game. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I remain on the injured reserve and had to stay at the DFT headquarters, where I'll be for the next month. That being said, my crew continued on with the journey and had a great time, some of it even at my expense. As such, I have nominated myself for the Bieber Award for not being able to make the trek.

The Dons of Danville and my son in laws at TD Jesus.

DF Beebs!

I have also decided this will be my last article until I can get back out in the tailgate lots across the country, so the weekly DFT recaps will be paused for at least the next 4 weeks. If all goes well, I will be at Mrs. Tailgate's alma mater, Oklahoma State, for homecoming on October 24th. My next write-up would be Sunday, October 25th.

Around the Country (World)

The Union Jack Game - ASU v Kansas: For the first time ever, an American FBS level college football game was played in England. Arizona State got the best of Kansas in an entertaining match on the pitch, with a final score of 24 to 17.

Carolina Bowl: In the matchup between Dabo and Belicheck, with multiple weather delays, Clemson came out with a 28 to 20 win in Death Valley, SC.

ND v MSU: In the game I was supposed to attend in South Bend, Michigan State put up a respectable fight against a more talented Notre Dame team. Notre Dame, led by All-American quarterback CJ Carr, came away with a 27 to 10 win. It was the first time in 9 years these two schools had played, after playing every year for over 80 years in a storied rivalry.

Part of the crew and our Stay Puft Tailgate Host at Notre Dame

Fireball boys repping Tailgate Connect at ND Tailgate

Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte: Virginia and West Virginia met in Charlotte, NC, and the Mountaineers won 38 to 27. I still don't get why anybody would pick up a gallon jug of that mayo and start chugging it. When I watch that video, I almost give back to the community myself.

WVU Super fan Stan before burning couches in Morgantown!

LSU v Ole Miss: Game of the week, and the reunion in Oxford with Lane Kiffin. Ole Miss came out on fire in the first half and took a big lead. The talented LSU squad started clawing back in the second half. Ole Miss took the go-ahead lead on a Trinidad Chambliss touchdown pass and denied Sam Leavitt a chance to answer by intercepting his pass in the end zone. Final tally: Ole Miss 32, LSU 24. The Ole Miss faithful could not have been happier to see their arch villain and former coach Lane Kiffin go down in defeat in Oxford.

Brave Buffs fan gating at Northwestern in the elements!

Bieber: See the opening paragraph. However, a close second was the NC State QB, who only needed to run out the clock and take a safety in their game against Vanderbilt. For some inexplicable reason, he decided to scramble around in the end zone, fumbled the ball, and Vanderbilt recovered it for the winning touchdown.

Next Up: More PT and time in the recliner! See you next month when I have new things to write about!

Happy Tailgating!

Week 2 - God Bless America

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, it was rewarding to see the tributes across the college football landscape commemorating the tragic events of 9/11/2001. In a nation that often seems divided, for the most part we all come together on this hallowed, somber occasion.

Once again, I was kept off the active roster due to my slower-than-expected recovery from last month's total knee replacement. I did not make it to the local JUCO game to see the 47-year-old player on the visiting team. That being said, I filled the void in my life by watching ample action on the big screen from Thursday at 4 PM Pacific until midnight Pacific on Saturday, including a Friday night pizza watch party at HQ with family. My sister-in-law was visiting from Maryland, and I forced her to sit and watch Saturday's action with me. She immediately became a Ginger candidate for that heroic effort.

Ginger Candidate

Around the Country

Perhaps the biggest shocker of the weekend took place in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The number two team in the country, the Oregon Ducks, traveled to Stillwater for what appeared on paper to be an easy victory, seeing as the Cowpokes had been defeated the previous week by the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. However, first-year coach Eric Morris of Oklahoma State dialed up an amazing game plan in all facets of the game. Oklahoma State ended the day on top 39-31.

In a personally disappointing outcome for me, the number 11 Oklahoma Sooners traveled to Michigan for what also appeared to be an easy victory after Michigan had been awarded a win the previous week against Western Michigan. Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham clearly outcoached Oklahoma and stifled their offense all afternoon, resulting in a 17-10 win in the Big House.

In one of the greatest comebacks of the year, deep in the heart of Texas, the Texas Longhorns found themselves down 23-3 to the Ohio State Buckeyes at the start of the fourth quarter. Ohio State clearly looked like the best team in the country for almost three quarters. And then something happened. Arch Manning and the Texas offense woke up, and some critical mistakes by that dog-kicking coach Ryan Day allowed Texas to come all the way back and take a one-point lead with less than 30 seconds left. The Longhorns won 24-23. All right...all right ...all right!

Tailgate Connect's Texas Tailgate in action!

Maybe why they ....um....choked?

In the annual Cy-Hawk game in the state of Iowa, the Iowa Hawkeyes narrowly defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 16-13. It is nice to see the stability Iowa has with Kirk Ferentz in his 28th season as the head ball coach for the Hawkeyes.

The Cal Bears traveled to the Dome in Syracuse and delivered new coach Tosh Lupoi his first victory as Cal's head honcho. Cal played a physical game that has not been seen in those blue and gold uniforms in some time. They repeatedly put hard hits on former Notre Dame QB Steve Angeli and escaped the 'Cuse with a 21-18 win.

The reigning FCS champion Montana State Bobcats traveled to Reno, Nevada, and knocked off the FBS Nevada Wolf Pack 20-7.

Two ex Cal Poly players pre gaming at SJSU

Bieber & Ginger Awards

In an unprecedented announcement, for the first time ever the same incident will be awarded both the Bieber and Ginger Awards. I must clarify that there are two sides to this one. The incident took place when Oklahoma State knocked off the mighty Ducks of Oregon in Stillwater. After the game the fans stormed the field, which I absolutely love. It is part of college football and should never be quelled. In addition to storming the field, they tore the goal posts down, carried them from the stadium to Theta Pond on campus and dumped them in. Good job, students. In my view that is exactly what you should do after a monumental victory. Therefore, you students who participated win my Ginger Award for your heroic efforts.

On the other side of the coin, the Big 12, in its infinite wisdom, decided to fine Oklahoma State $50,000 for not adhering to the no-storming-the-field rule it has implemented. That would be all well and good, except the Big 12 has not been consistent in this ruling, handing out fines to some schools while letting others slide for the exact same infraction. Because the powers that be at the Big 12 first wanted to dampen some fun, and then did it inconsistently, they can now hug their new Bieber Trophy, which will sit in the foyer of Big 12 headquarters.

Chaos in Stillwater!

Next Up

I had organized the big Danville DFT trip to South Bend for the weekend. Due to not being cleared by the DFT team physicians, I unfortunately have to miss the trip and the other upcoming games over the next few weekends. In fact, there is a very good chance I will not make it to a live game for five more weeks, when we go to Stillwater for Mrs. Tailgate's homecoming weekend. Maybe they will throw me in the Theta pond for my punishment if missing 1/2 the season!

Happy Tailgating! 

week One and the Weak One!

Week 1 in college football typically symbolizes the greatest time of the year for me, even beyond Thanksgiving and Christmas. What you have to understand is we have games starting on Thursday and going all the way through Monday night — that is five days of college football nirvana. I typically participate by attending three games and tailgates, minimum, over that stretch. It's also the time when I dress up in costume for one of the games. Last year my buddy Tubby and I recreated the famous characters from Caddyshack. This year's plan had been to go to the University at Buffalo on Thursday night and Syracuse University on Saturday, with a stop in Cooperstown for the Baseball Hall of Fame in between. Unfortunately, since I am still not on the active roster, we had to punt on that plan. So for the second week in a row, I found myself back in the recliner once again.

In addition to this being Week 1, the first Saturday in September is also National Tailgating Day, founded by my buddy and tailgating cohort Luke Lorick from Tailgating Challenge. Luke and my other colleague Joe Rogers spent the entire weekend in Baton Rouge celebrating National Tailgating Day.

Around The Country

Games of interest to me always involve Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Boise State, Colorado, and Army. So naturally, I watched all of those games along with some of the marquee games for the weekend. Those games included:

CFB's Favorite Polygamist!

Clemson at LSU — This game became unwatchable midway through the first quarter, as it was evident that LSU was just so much better than Clemson. It is sad to see how far Clemson has fallen from its greatness of just a few short years ago. LSU and college football's favorite villain, Lane Kiffin, easily picked up the victory with a 51-10 final score.

Western Michigan at Michigan — The entire country is now talking about Western Michigan getting robbed against Michigan when the refs put one second back on the clock after it was clear the game should have been declared over. This gave Michigan a final chance at a 47-yard Hail Mary, which they threw and caught for the winning touchdown. It's pretty funny to see 100,000 people storm the field in the Big House for defeating Western Michigan out of the MAC. I like Michigan and have nothing against them, but there is nothing that will convince me Western Michigan wasn't robbed of their victory.

Baylor at Auburn — Auburn made a game-saving goal-line tackle on Baylor's two-point conversion attempt as the Bears went for the win rather than settle for the tie. DJ Lagway's pass to his tight end was poorly thrown, and the defender came up and made a Ken Houston-type tackle before the receiver could reach the end zone. Auburn won 14-13.

Louisville at Ole Miss —The Cardinals gave the favored Rebels all they could handle until Heisman hopeful and 7th year senior Trinidad Chambliss bailed his club out for a game winning drive resulting in a field goal and a 41-38 victory.

Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin — The feisty Badgers battled the mighty Irish tough in the first half at Lambeau Field. However, the superior team wore them down in the second half and won going away by a score of 41-13.

Actor Rob Riggle is Wisconsin Coach Luke Fickle

Upsets

UMass over Rutgers — Thursday night's result was perhaps one of the most shocking upsets we will see all season. To put it in perspective, UMass had not won a game in its last 16 contests. Last year their point differential was -346. Rutgers came into the game with high expectations as a 26-point favorite. As we all know now, the Minutemen pulled their own Tea Party in Piscataway and rode out of there with a decisive 37-21 victory.

Colorado over Georgia Tech — The Fighting Prime Times from Boulder traveled to Atlanta and got revenge on a favored Georgia Tech squad after last year's loss to them in Boulder. It's good to see Coach Prime smiling again and looking relatively healthy after last year's disaster season. I still think they need to unretire his son's jersey for having one okay year. :)

FCS and Lower Divisions

A shout-out to my adopted team near my homestead in Florida, the University of West Florida Argonauts. For the second week in a row, they have upset another top-25 FCS school, this time knocking off No. 24 Central Arkansas decisively. What's most impressive is that this is the Argos' first year in the FCS.

Bieber — A Lot of Bieber Behavior This Week

The continuing saga of the courts and Lane Kiffin. Kiffin's first season in Baton Rouge has turned into a law school clinic. LSU has been rostering players who already signed NFL contracts, and the SEC responded by suing LSU in U.S. District Court in Alabama, alleging the university is violating the league's First Amendment right of expressive association by ignoring conference rules that prohibit signing and playing former NFL players. The suit names the LSU board of supervisors, president Wade Rousse, AD Verge Ausberry, and Kiffin himself. Meanwhile, a Louisiana judge issued a preliminary injunction against the NCAA the night before LSU had to submit its 105-man roster, clearing the way for LSU to list some former NFL players. The names include former Ole Miss starters Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, both of whom played for Kiffin last year in Oxford. Kiffin swears he's not orchestrating any of it, telling reporters "These kids made these decisions on their own with attorneys" and pointing to similar cases in South Carolina, Texas, and California. Sure, Lane. Sure.

The TCU locker-room assault. This one is ugly. TCU receiver Dozie Ezukanma was hospitalized for three days with a brain bleed, a concussion, and other injuries after being assaulted in the locker room by then-teammate Jacob Fields on Aug. 13. Fields, a decorated Louisiana Tech transfer, was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. According to the affidavit, Ezukanma was looking at his phone when Fields struck him, and the victim believed it was because he'd been outplaying Fields in practice the day before. Fields walked up and struck him in the forehead with a closed fist, and when Ezukanma fell, kicked him in the head. It took nearly two hours for a member of TCU's staff to get Ezukanma to the emergency room. Coach Sonny Dykes' response? "Look, you got 110 football players. I mean, things happen sometimes." Things happen? A kid nearly died, Sonny.

UNC's general manager is out. Michael Lombardi, Bill Belichick's top aide, resigned as GM after being on paid leave since late July following a human resources complaint filed by a former front-office employee. Lawyers investigating the program have questioned people about allegations involving defensive coordinator Steve Belichick and, separately, about a possible sexual relationship between at least one employee and at least one player. Investigators have also asked witnesses about Lombardi's role in hiring and firing decisions regarding female and minority staffers. Remember, UNC paid Lombardi $1.5 million a year, making him the highest-paid GM among public universities — for a team that went 4-8. The school says the investigation continues even with him gone.

The Big Ten's magic second. See above in the game recap. Nothing to see here, folks. Just a MAC school that got a historic win taken off the board by a half-second of "clock sync." The Big Ten went into full CYA mode, trying to convince the world of the Emperor's New Clothes.

Ginger — Danny Okoye's 9/11 Tribute

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation honors the legacy of those lost on 9/11 and supports injured veterans and first responders. Oklahoma edge rusher Danny Okoye is channeling his breakout season into a cause bigger than football. The Tulsa native pledged to donate money to the foundation for every tackle, sack, and interception he records during the 2026 campaign — a powerful way to honor the heroes remembered on September 11 while using his elite athleticism for meaningful change. It's the kind of character-driven initiative that defines the best of college football's student-athletes. (Source: Fox News)

Okoye's charitable spirit extends well beyond this season. He was named Oklahoma's representative to the 2025 SEC Football Community Service Team in recognition of his charitable efforts over two seasons with the Sooners, and his mission statement says it all: "My greatest impact isn't measured in sacks or stats — it's measured in service." As Okoye looks to finally unleash his considerable talent on the SEC this fall, after patiently waiting his first two seasons, he's proving that the most important stats in life aren't always found in a box score.

Bonus

Top 5 NFL Tailgates, co-written by yours truly, in this fall's Tailgater Magazine. Go to page 52. https://cloud.3dissue.com/96043/96462/113567/TailgaterFall2026/index.html

Next Up

If I am up for it, I will attend a local JUCO game at Sierra College to see a 47-year-old defensive end take the gridiron next Saturday… and plenty more time in the recliner!

Happy Tailgating!