Week 12 recap (The wet & cold weekend)

It was a wild weekend with many games decided in the final minutes, and we’ll talk about them in a few minutes. But first we must address the controversial issue of the Tailgate’s planned trifecta weekend. As fans all over the world now know and the blogosphere is abuzz, the trifecta became a deuce as the Tailgate was flagged for failing to convert for the three. After two night games in the great wet & cold Northwest, the executive committee of the Tailgate thought it more prudent to not take on the third game of the weekend in Provo, UT with a forecasted winter wonderland looming there. I come to you my readers on bended knee, humbled an begging for forgiveness for not being able to complete the feat. And if you can’t find it in your heart to forgive me..then the hell with you…at least I went to 2 games this weekend!

Game 1 was Thursday night in Seattle as the Washington Huskies took on UCLA in their Senior night in a stadium “Black Out”. Ever since the days when Don James paid for the best talent to come to UW I have been fascinated with their stadium. It is only 1 of 2 College Football Stadiums in the country where you can take the ferry to as it sits on Lake Washington. With the setting of boats moored outside the south end zone and Mt. Rainier looming in the background, it is perhaps one of the most beautiful settings in America for the world’s greatest game. But, being that it was a night game and in the rain, my visual sensories were limited to the confines of the interior of Husky Stadium. Although open ended and adorned with a track, it is perhaps one of the loudest stadiums I have been too. Great energy in the crowd which was aided by the Huskies thrashing the Bruins in a game where the referees had more yardage attributed to them then the Bruin Noffense. Final score UW 24 -7. No tailgating before the game as we were rushed to get to the game by kickoff. Tablegating after the game took place at Roasters Sports Bar in Burien, WA.

Game 2 took place Friday night in Boise, ID for the WAC rivalry of the BSU Broncos and the Fresno Bulldogs. Although the weather was foul, the Tailgate was game for a late afternoon of trunkgating and lot wandering. I rediscovered a true Mark May Fan Club sign (See above) and a Pig who never saw it coming (also see above). The fans were fired up for this rivalry game. Despite the weather, the game was sold out with a loud and thunderous fan base watching a dominating performance by the mighty Broncos. It was not only the 51 points they submitted to the scoreboard, it was the stifling defense that limited the Dogs to less than 150 total yards and no points. The Bronco’s were attired in a new all orange getup that seemed to work out well for them. The game was intended to be an orange out but with the temperature dropping to the 30’s it became a snuggie fest of all colors. The Tailgate was accompanied on the trip by brother “Radio” (He likes football) and Tailgate Tony from the Yard. As Tony summed it up best with 9 minutes left and the score 44 -0 and his toes and nose blackened with frost bite “Hey Dan, are you ready to go”? He relayed to me later that he was met with a cold stare as we remained to the bitter end (Pun intended). It was also great to see my daughter again and visit my favorite haunts in Boise.

Around the Diamond…I mean horn as 2 games were played in the cozy confines of Wrigley and the House that The Boss built. Illinois ran one way aplenty against a High IQ Northwestern squad that could not solve for Mr. Leshoure as he racked up 317 one way yards. The Irish out maneuvered a game Army Team and put up an in impenetrable front that Army could not breach. In other games, Oklahoma State and OU both won in convincing fashion as they gear up for the Bedlam showdown at T- Boone Stadium next weekend. College Gameday will be in Stillwater for that big showdown. Bo “The Nose” Pelini not only lost the game in College Station but lost his composure doing his best Bobby Knight impersonation and is being reprimanded by Dean Wormer. Stanford Axed the Golden Bears in a blowout in the Canyon. For the third time in a row, the Mighty Trojans fell in Corvallis to a fired up Beaver squad. Les Miles, you have lived your ninth life for the last time escaping with a win over a poor Ole Miss Squad led by Felonomious Masoli. The Mullets of Arkansas pulled a tight one out over the MSU Bulldogs. VA Tech has won 9 straight after the disastrous start to the season and have captured the ACC Coastal division crown with its beat down of the U! The Noles did not fear The Turtle and Shell lacked (hahaha) them in College park. The Big Ten is still all knotted up at the top as MSU and OSU escaped with wins at the end of the game and Wisconsin put up big numbers in The Big House. Nevada routed NMSU in a tune up for the big showdown with Boise next weekend. The Tailgate will be in attendance in Reno Friday night for the big battle.

Gripe of the week – I have been waiting for this one all season but with the Notre Dame/USC game next weekend the time is upon me to blast the biggest weasel to ever coach college football – I am speaking of one Cheat Carroll, AKA Pete the Weasel or Hollywood Pete formerly of USC. Yes Pete Carroll, you who benefited from Reggie Bush and all the other highly compensated players to grace the SC campus over the last decade. Yes the same Pete Carroll who claimed not to know that the hammer was about to fall and ran like a rat out of glue trap before he was stuck in it. You can blame Mike Garret, and there is some truth there, but your legacy is tarnished forever because you were the CEO of the mighty Trojan Juggernaut of the first decade of the 2000’s that turned out to be to good to be true. In my world, a real man will go down with his ship and be the last one off the battlefield. In your weasly world you were the first to run and now your program is headed for 40 years of wandering in the desert. You left your Joshua in charge, who is an easy target for the Tailgate based on his past transgressions. But none of Boy Lane’s activities compare to what you have done to a storied program. You are a weasel, a coward, a wuss, Pop from Rice Krispies, and a person that would run from battle. I would not want you backing me up in a bar room brawl because you would be hiding under a table in your skirt sipping your umbrella drink. I could never see someone like a Joe Pa, Bobby Bowden or Bear Bryant run like you did Forrest Carroll. I hope the Seattle fans ultimately see through your disguise and kick you to the curb Cheaty Boy!

RIP Rob Lytle, star RB of the Michigan Wolverines in the 70’s who passed away last night.

Next weekend the tailgate will make the drive up to Reno for the Boise – Nevada showdown. Should Boise win, there is no doubt they will pass TCU in the BCS. I also predict that Auburn will fall to Bama in the Iron Bowl.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Tailgating!

Week 11 Recap

Scam Newton – Should we be surprised that this amazing talent rises like the phoenix out of nowhere in the South? Or as a wise man or inebriated friend once told me, “nothing is ever as it seems to be”. I am not taking a position on the events and clouds accumulating around our boy Scam, as I still believe he is the most exciting player in CFB and a rare talent that does not come along every year. But character issues seem to always come back to haunt those labeled as such. Randy Moss, Pacman Jones, Ben Roethlisberger to name a few. In this case, can a tiger really change his stripes? Time will tell, but enjoy watching him this year as he will surely now be playing for more than $180k next year on Sunday’s. That being said, I can’t remember a player so singularly dominant in college football in my lifetime. Yes, there have been many greats but not one like Scam who can take over a game all by himself. Newton’s Laws of Physics tell us that a man 6 ft 6, 235 lb’s should not have the speed, grace and skill of the one they call Scam. And to think it only cost the CFB Gods $180 large. What a bargain, they should do this more often. He has the chance to change the QB position at the next level and turn his million dollar smile into $ millions in dough.

Around the horn – Thank you Notre Dame for finally beating a ranked team and doing so in dominating fashion. This win does not bode well for TCU as Utah was its signature win…and now that signature is somewhat illegible. If Notre Dame can beat Army at Yankee stadium they will be bowl eligible…wake up the echoes!! They say that there is no such thing as a moral victory and there is no column that counts MV’s, but Cal did a number on Oregon last night that was nothing short of amazing. Holding Oregon to one offensive touchdown and losing by 2 because your kicker crop dusted before his kick and moved away from it to avoid the pungent odor and was called for illegal motion? The defensive scheme used by the bears is a blueprint for the Ducks upcoming opponents. In the other big games of the afternoon both Penn State and Georgia forgot that you actually have to play two half’s to win a game. Wisconsin, what did Indiana do to deserve you rolling up 83 on them? You were still passing for scores when you were up 40…Really? Fear the Turtle Wahoo’s from Virginia…the Fridge is back. TCU, you need to stop celebrating your Utah win and realize you still had a game to play. I think the events of this weekend will cost you in the polls. Don’t look now but VA Tech has reeled off 8 straight wins and sits atop the ACC. Will the urban lovers please finally take Florida out of the top 25…the Ole Ball Coach “pitched it around a bit” and took a major gator bite out of your hide in Gainesville. Has anyone located the Texas Longhorn team that played in last year’s National Championship game? Mike Gundy, who is a man and is at least FORTY!! could not find them in Austin as the Cowboy Orange corralled the Longhorn Orange and finally got that monkey off their back. Brandon Weedon, OSU’s QB has the tools to play at the next level as he is leading the nation in TD tosses and is also almost Forty!!!. Our boy Vontaze Burfect was at it again ringing up another game changing unsportsmanlike penalty for ASU resulting in another loss. For those of you still watching late at night, Nevada beat Fresno in a thriller out in the San Joaquin Valley. Does anyone else think that Coach Pat Hill actually looks like Fresno’s Mascot? All three Service Academies’ are bowl eligible for the first time since 96. Navy and Army had wins over MAC conference foes building each team up for the big game in December. I salute you!

The Tailgate was parked at home on Saturday in advance of the big hall pass for next weekend. Nonetheless, I was able to visit the new University of Minnesota Football stadium during my travels on Tuesday. Quite impressive, now they just need a product to match the facility. Radio and my sister and brother n law contributed a tailgate pic form the Navy CMU game (See above).

Gripe of The Week - The BCS (Barely Credible System or Buncha Crap System or Big Cheat System..I could do this all day but will stop). When we look at all other College sports including football in the lower divisions, they all have a postseason playoff system. This allows many teams to be in the hunt for the National Title after the regular season. Here we are on November 13^TH rendering 118 out of the 120 D-1 A schools irrelevant for the rest of the season. If the top two BCS teams win out then no other undefeated or 1 loss teams have a season that is worth anything. We are allowing a flawed system to remain because of tradition and conference money. I would argue that by holding a 16 team playoff during the month of December that more money would be generated than all the BCS bowls combined. And the commitment of the fan base would be much more than the loyal throngs of the 2 teams who are anointed by this flawed system. The greatest post season set up is NCAA hoops tournament. The whole country is tuned in for the better part of the tournament. College football has a great build up throughout the season but always ends with a whimper in December as most teams play in irrelevant bowls and two teams alone play for the gold. Perhaps we could emulate a Tea Party movement and invoke change in the way the CFB is governed!

Next week I will embark on my fourth “Trifecta College Football Weekend”. We will start in Seattle on Thursday night as UCLA visits the University of Washington. A quick trip over to Boise for the Friday night game against Fresneck State. The Tailgate Concludes the trifecta on Saturday in Provo Utah to watch New Mexico take on the Cougars. Can I buy beer in Utah? We will work in some tailgating at each location!

Happy tailgating!

Week 10 Recap

And now it is down to 4 teams that could compete for the BCS National Championship. Much to the demise of Craig James, Mark May and Brent Musberger, Bama and Oklahoma will not creep back into “The Conversation”. IMHO Auburn will lose at least 1 game if not 2. This leaves a real possibility for a TCU or Boise to represent the underclass of college football in the BCS Championship. Let’s not overlook the fact that Oregon still has its civil war to play on December 4^Th as well.

The Tailgate called an audible and went to the Stanford – Arizona game. In attendance were Jr. Tailgaters Grace and Erin learning the art form from the old pro. Although we received a delay of game penalty for a requested stop at Starbucks by the girls (Cost us 30 minutes of prime tailgating time), the feast was the best of the year. We cooked a tri tip, homemade tailgate jambalaya and corn on the cob on the grill in the grove of the Stanford campus. I even ran the battery down listening to ESPN radio in the car until it died and required a jump from fellow tailgaters. The game itself was a dominating performance by Stanford over an uninspired Wildcat team boasting one of the best defenses in the country. Can you say exposed? Andrew Luck continues to impress me as the best NFL QB prospect in CFB. But help me understand something; 2 top 15 teams playing, beautiful stadium, great weather, Rose Bowl berth at stake and 15,000 empty seats!!!!!!! Stanford fans you need to come out and support this team. The Harbaugh era will not last unless this changes.

Congratulations Joe Pa on win number 400! You are in a class by yourself and don’t listen to your doubters (Right, you probably can’t hear them anyway). In the game of the day, someone finally decided to play defense in triple overtime as Illinois was stopped by Big Blue on their two point conversion attempt. Final score 67 -65. And Michigan’s defensive coordinator was the former Syracuse Head Coach who did such a good job in the carrier dome he was shown the door. My boy C2 Illinois native, married to a Michigan girl, can still be heard pouting and whining that he wuz wronged! Kansas scoring 35 points in the 4^th quarter to overcome Colorado. Dan Hawkins maybe you will be Michigan’s next defensive coordinator? Oklahoma State putting a double nickle on Baylor was as impressive a win as they have all year. Congrats to the boyz in the bayou for getting their first win against the devil hizelf (So sez Mama Boucher and not talking bout Vicki Valencourt!!!) Nick Satan. TCU and Boise continue their quest for the perfect seasons by pounding quality opponents (even if Mark May and the haters don't agree). Kellen Moore throwing for 500+ yards has inserted himself right back in the Heisman race. Auburn, playing Chattanooga is not what the voters are looking for. Oregon continues to plow its opponents in the 2^nd half. You deserve the #1 ranking....for now. Major props to the Air Force Falcons for winning the Commander n Chief trophy with your win over Army. Ricky Dobbs and Navy took their frustration of losing to Duke last week out on East Carolina and rolled up a record 76 points. The ole ball coach in South Carolina, what has happened to your team that you teased us with? Hey guess what? Notre Dame did not lose yesterday…..oh right they had a bye. Texas, it is to the point where it is no fun to pick on you anymore. Last but not least, my favorite roid boy Vontaze Burfict cost his team a victory over SC and Lame Kiffin. After SC came up short on third down with less than 3 minutes left, Burfict decided to take a cheap shot on a defenseless player giving SC an automatic first down and ultimately the go ahead score. Dennis Erickson, the father of modern thuggery even looked disgusted.

Gripe of the week – This week I turn my attention on the pompous righteous ASS that is Craig James. He runs a close second to Mark May in the world of public opinion. He who had a hand in bringing down two major college programs in the state of Texas. Yes, two schools , that's right. SMU as a player in the 80’s as part of the famed "Pony Express" that resulted in the school getting the death penalty and TTU for coddling his moron son last year and getting Vince Gill…I mean Mike Leach fired. You have so much hate for the West and Boise State that you look like the “unbiased” Keith Olberman on MSNBC on election night spewing hatred for the Tea Party movement. If there are any doubts, tune into the BCS selection show each Sunday on ESPN. Craig you are so pure and perfect we all aspire to be just like you. No worries because your unlikeabilty index will put you in the ranks of the unemployed some day.

Next week the Tailgate location is undecided. Two weeks until the big trifecta weekend with brother Radio, when we go to UW, Boise and BYU for a triple header weekend of college football!!!

R.I.P. Nick Bell of Mississippi State.

Happy Tailgating!

Week 9 recap (Road block Saturday)

Week 9 Recap (Roadblock Saturday)

I’d like to thank Mizzou and Sparty for participating in this year’s chase for the BCS championship game. Better luck next year! And then there were 5 undefeated and Bama lurking with one loss. Nebraska and Danville’s own Roy Helu JR putting a serious beat down on previously unbeaten Missouri making a statement to not forget about them when all is said and done. Mark Dantonio most likely had chest pains after the beat down that the children of the corn from Iowa City put on his Spartans. Perhaps in one of the best statement games of the weekend the Quack Attack from Eugene migrating south to crap all over the Trojans? This was a tough game for me as I was forced to root for Lane Kiffin and the Men of Troy in order to keep my hopes alive for a Boise BCS Championship appearance. I liken it to having to root for the ole USSR in Olympic competition in order for the USA to be in a better position for the Gold! (Spooky how the colors match too) And Lane, on key what did you do? You let me down and your Dad’s defense was like Iraq defending Kuwait in Gulf War I. Oh wait, I hear a serenade from Big SMO and the boys from UT again for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YIDgc1APmI

La Michael James has made the Heisman race a two man show between him and Cam Newton who also had another great performance on Saturday. Dennard was the best in September, Cam owned October; let’s see who represents in November. As much as I would like to see Kellen Moore win this, these guys (including Mr. James) are in a completely different class.

At the Tailgate, which was conducted indoors due to inclement weather, we feasted on Buffalo Wild Wings and Pilsner watching countless games and the World Series. OK State rebounded with a nice win over the Bill Snyder’s in Manhattan, KS, Puke stealing one from Navy had to make my Brother Brian ill. Army breaking out the Camo uni’s for a thumping of VMI now stand at 5-3. Maryland now sitting at 6-2 and reaching bowl eligibility. Nice turnaround coach Fridge! Notre Dame, tough week all around for you and Coach Kelly. I can’t say much more on it but it hurts to watch right now. Cal, you still have the Big Game to play for so don’t give up completely. Speaking of which Andrew had more Luck than Jake did in the battle of the top 2 NFL QB prospects. Mr. Luck you will be making a nice paycheck next year at the next level! Jake, you made a mistake. You would have been the number 1 pick this year had you come out early as advised. Mac Brown was spotted climbing the Tower on The Austin Campus after going down to the Baylor Bears. Oh how the mighty have fallen deep in the heart. TCU, A&M, SMU and Baylor all on the rise and the Horns and the Tubberville Raiders (Do you miss me now sez Coach Leach aka Vince Gill’s twin?) on the fall. Congrats Jo Pa on win number 399. WVA, do you want Rich Rod back yet? He will be seeking employment in 5 weeks. Did the Harbaugh’s put their house on the market in Palo Alto? Perhaps one of the best unheralded teams in the Country is the Utes from SLC. Coach Winnigham has his team playing at a high level with TCU coming in next week in the battle of the unbeatens. I am excited to watch this one as I think these are two of the best coached teams you will find in CFB D-1. Did anyone notice that Syracuse is quietly putting an excellent season together? Maybe if they didn’t play in a dome where they also play hoops more people would care.

One Eyed Willy update – Brother Bill informed the Tailgate that when One Eyed Willy was 5 years he looked directly into a solar eclipse testing out his superhuman X ray vision. Didn’t work out so well for him. So thus the mystery of the origin of the nickname is now solved.

Gripe of the week – Empty Seats – When I watch a nationally televised game and see empty seats it burns me. Last night watching the 24^th ranked Nevada Wolfpack play in front of a half empty stadium I was boiled. Even contemplated hopping on a flight to Reno and jump in the stadium to fill some seats (Except I was stuck in my chair with a plate of wings and a jar of Pilsner). I understand when your team is horrible, but so many stadiums this year are not selling out. I even chastised my daughter for not attending the Boise State game on Tuesday night. CFB is the number one revenue sport in NCAA sports Let’s keep it that way by filling up those seats and keep these programs going.

Next Week DB&G will reopen for the Boise/Hawaii game with a possibility of going mobile to Palo Alto for the Cats/Tree showdown for the Roses. Stay tuned on that one.

Happy Tailgating!