After watching my Oklahoma Sooners on TV Saturday morning, I jumped in the family truckster and raced westbound on I-80 to Davis, CA, for the 73rd edition of the Causeway Classic. UC Davis and Sacramento State are a mere 20 miles apart, separated by a stretch of causeway on I-80. Davis leads the all-time series with 48 wins to Sac State’s 23. Both schools are members of the Big Sky Conference at the FCS (D1-AA) level. Eight years ago, I attended this classic for the first — and until now, only — time and witnessed one of the purest college football games I’ve ever seen.
With a 1:00 PM kickoff, I unfortunately missed the tailgate with some of the Aggie Tailgaters. They taunted me with their group picture below, fully aware I missed the soirée. The stadium was over capacity and there was electricity in the air as both teams battled for a spot in the FCS playoffs, which would be announced on Sunday.
 |
| The Aggie Tailgaters showing me what I missed out on! |
Both teams entered the day fighting for position in the 24-team bracket. Davis came in at 7–3, while Sac State sat at 7–4. The game itself was nothing short of epic, with multiple lead changes and momentum swings. Davis jumped out to a 14–0 lead, only to allow two quick scores to the visiting Hornets. The Aggies added a field goal late in the half to take a slim lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, the Hornets came out buzzing and scored two touchdowns — with one missed PAT — to take a 27–17 lead into the fourth. Davis answered with two more touchdowns and held on to win 34–30, securing a gritty victory and a spot in the FCS playoffs.
Side note: Monte Vista High School grad and former Cal Bear Nate Rutchena delivered a monster game with twelve tackles at middle linebacker for UC Davis.
 |
| Rutchena having a monster game, who doesn't like free grog, the Weisbrods babysitting me. |
Around the Country
SEC
While most of the conference essentially took the week off playing cupcakes, the Tigers from Columbia, MO made the trek to Norman, reigniting an old Big 8 rivalry. It was a defensive slugfest as the Sooners bottled up Mizzou All-American running back Ahmad Hardy, holding him to 57 yards a week after his record-breaking performance. Mizzou’s defense was also up for the challenge, limiting Oklahoma’s struggling offense for a second straight week. The Sooners managed to be just a bit better and more opportunistic, grinding out a tough 17–6 win.
ACC
Georgia Tech played itself out of a playoff spot by being upset at home by the Pitt Panthers. Before mounting two comeback attempts, they found themselves down 28–0 browns. Pitt won the contest 42–28.
Big Ten
USC vs. Oregon — a mini Pac-12 revival game. ESPN College GameDay once again made the trek to one of its five favorite spots in Eugene. Oregon was favored, Oregon won, USC lost. For me, this is like reporting on the outcome of a battle between Al-Qaeda and ISIS. USC now essentially has no shot at making the 12-team CFP. In a somewhat somber note, UCLA played its final home game at the storied Rose Bowl. They will be playing in So Fi stadium starting next fall.
 |
| Lil John and his crew reveling one last time at the Rose Bowl |
Big 12
In a tight game in Cincinnati, BYU — behind the Bachmeier brothers — edged out the Bearcats in a physical matchup, assuring the Cougars a spot in the conference championship game.
Group of Five
James Madison squeaked by the Cougars from Wazzu, improving their chances of becoming the Group of Five representative in the CFP.
Traditional Rivalry Games
The Game – Yale upset Harvard.
The Rivalry – Lafayette defeated Lehigh.
The Brawl of the Wild – Montana State bested Montana.
The Big Game – Stanford destroyed Cal, and Cal subsequently fired their coach.
My Alma Mater
Frostburg State won its first-round game in the Division II playoffs against Johnson C. Smith.
Bieber Award
UAB — or UABieber — takes this week’s award for an incident that isn’t funny, but is certainly Bieber-worthy. UAB freshman Daniel Mincey allegedly stabbed two teammates during team breakfast several hours before the Blazers’ final home game of the year against USF. The two players are in stable condition in a Birmingham hospital — where, as we know, they love the Governor.
Mincey, instead of enjoying a good training-table breakfast with his teammates, is now enjoying some delicious state-issued cuisine while sporting an orange jumpsuit. The motive remains undisclosed, but let’s assume his teammates rejected his overtures for what was on their plates, so he took matters into his own hands and went full slasher. Maybe he should switch to Sanka?
In addition to the shackles around his wrists and ankles, he now gets some new Bieber hardware he can show off to his new cellies.
Ginger Award
Rice University earns the Ginger Award for its creative attempt to boost attendance in its game against North Texas by giving out free beer to students 21 and over. Their usual student turnout is around 800 per game, and while the gimmick helped, it didn’t exactly create a stampede. A total of only 1,246 free beers were handed out.
Students were limited to one beer at a time but could jump back in line as quickly as they could chug. I give Rice credit for the effort — but the students? Almost Bieber-worthy for consuming such a paltry amount of free beer. Heck, one of my backyard parties with 20 good friends could crush that volume easily.
So Rice, you’ll now have a Ginger statue in your very bleak trophy case — a 12-ounce bronzed beer can!
 |
| A great idea wasted on nerds! |
Next Up
No games fall within a reasonable time or distance for me next weekend. So between my Clark Griswold Christmas light duty, I’ll be catching a number of key games from DFT West Coast HQ.
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Tailgating!
