Time out Saturday

This Saturday consisted of me being in College Football Jail. This time, the timeout was self-imposed and not Mrs. Tailgate initiated. Original plans called for a group of us to go to the Laney Junior college game and attempt to get ourselves on the Netflix series Last Chance U. Laney and their opponent are so bad this season that we opted to scrap those plans and call a homegating audible for Saturday. We of course would make a giant pot of chili with all the  trimmings and share it with friends  We did however get to attend one of the more exciting high school games I have seen in some time on Friday night. Our Monte Vista Mustangs sought and attained revenge against our cross-town rival San Ramon Valley by winning  on a field goal with four seconds left in the NCS playoffs. And yes, I did storm the field with the other kids. Next up for the Mustangs…….the #10 team in the country, the De La Salle Spartans.

Friday Night Lights in Danville, the Stangs celebrate the big win, Mrs. Tailgate storming the field and #3 cheering them on

Around the country – College Gameday traveled to Waco, TX for the battle of the Big 12 with one loss OU visiting the undefeated Baylor Bears. This game was also the ABC game of the week. Baylor Jumped all over OU from the opening bell all the way up until intermission, at one point leading by as many as 25 points. The score was 31-10 and Baylor dominated all facets of the game. Then the ghost of Bud Wilkinson must have entered the Sooner locker room at halftime and given them one helleuva speech. OU was a completely different team in the second half, having their way on offense and bottling up the Bear offense that was so fluid in the first set. The Sooners ran off 24 unanswered points to go up on Baylor and hold the lead for an improbable 34-31 come from way behind win.  Most likely these two teams will meet next month for the Big 12 championship. 

Jalen living the dream with my girl Maria Taylor

Elsewhere in the Big 12 Iowa State kicked a game ending field goal to make the Horns go down again. In the SEC, UGA traveled to the Plains to take on WAR Damn Eagle of Auburn. After taking a 21-0 lead, the Dawgs held on for a 21-14 win twice denying Auburn on potential game tying drives. In Stark Vegas, MS, the nation witnessed the final play of Tua’s career as the Bama QB dislocated his hip. In the Big Ten, undefeated Minnesota traveled to Iowa City still on a high from knocking off Penn State last week. Perhaps they left some of the emotion back in Minneapolis as the Hawkeyes were able to take the Gophers down severely damaging their chances of making the college football playoffs. In the ACC, Louisville continues to have an impressive season with a win over NC State making them bowl eligible. In the Pac 12 a resurgent Oregon State wins a squeaker over ASU in Corvallis 35-31. Navy suffered a bombardment in South Bend at the hands of the Irish dropping their second game of the year. Boise, Memphis and App State all notched victories keeping their New Years Six Bowl hopes alive as the top Group of Five teams. Last, my Alma mater, the Frostburg State Bobcats completed their inaugural season at the Division 2 level by going 8-3. This is after decades of playing at division III level of the NCAA.

The Bolt/Munding clan travel to Wco from Norman for the game of the week

Sammy G,out kicking the coverage at Cal, the Brothers Donnelly at West Point, Frostburg Classmates Billy Burton and Sandi Bodmer Almond

Bieber – Co-Biebers this week go to Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and Colin Kaepernick, who is unemployed. By now, we have all seen what Garrett did Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In a fit of rage, he ripped off the helmet of Steeler QB Mason Rudolph and then swung and connected with the top of Rudolph’s head. A melee ensued. Garrett has now been suspended for the rest of the season and perhaps more time off and possible criminal charges. Garrett is the Browns best player so this will hurt well beyond his own pocketbook. The other Ass Hat of the week, Colin “I want back in the NFL” Kaepernick begged for and was granted a workout by the NFL at the Atlanta Falcons facility this past Saturday. Apparently 28 teams were sending representatives to the workout. From the onset of the invite by the NFL, it was clear that Kaepernick and his camp had no interest in a legit tryout. The real reason was so Kaepernick could film another commercial for Nike. The NFL acquiesced to most of his demands all the way up until two hours before go time. This is when Camp Kaepernick decided  not go to the Falcons camp as designated by the NFL. Yet instead, he went to some high school in Atlanta and decided to YouTube his workout with people he chose to throw to. Oh, and his Nike people were there too.  Only eight teams ended up sending representatives. To make matters worse, he wore a shirt displaying the words Kunta Kinte insinuating he was a slave for the NFL. Steven A Smith of ESPN was so disgusted he said Kap’s stated desire of returning to the NFL is over. He wants to be a martyr, not a football player. Kaepernick has no interest in doing anything other than making misinformed public stances on issues he has does not have the full story on. This is not a political blog, so we will leave it there, but he screwed the pooch on his chances. So, both Mr. Garrett and Kaepernick may not be playing football anytime soon, but they will be marveling at their Bieber hardware.

Ginger - Colorado State running back Josh Griffin. Josh happens to be a 33 year-old active duty combat veteran in the Army. He has been assigned to Special Forces and Ranger units in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is attending Colorado State, completing a program within the confines of the ROTC department. While stationed at Fort Carson, CO, he was invited to a tryout at Colorado State University. It had been 13 years since he put the pads on as a high school senior. He was getting plenty of looks from colleges that year and then he tore his hamstring and was a forgotten man. After a year of attending college, he went to work for Uncle Sam. Through persistence, he joined the team last season as a practice squad player while sorting out his NCAA eligibility. This year, he is the senior statesmen on the team referred to as Pops by his teammates. Although he does not see much playing time, the kids look up to him and marvel at his physical condition. He is living his dream while also unselfishly serving his country. Sergeant Griffin, for your persistence and patriotism, you are a true badass and have the distinguished honor of being our Ginger awardee this week.

Next Week – I am heading to Lubbock, TX as the Kansas State Wildcats will be visiting the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This will be another first-time venue for me. I will be joined by daughter #2 and other relatives for the festivities

Happy Tailgating!