Rivalry Weekend

L 2 R, Maddalon, Campbell, Zoe, Maureen, Mihailo, Dan, Ashley , Mike, Amy

The moniker of “Soft Californians” was on full display this Saturday as our tailgate of originally 50 people dwindled to a mere dirty dozen due to a few sprinkles and sub 50-degree weather. Not only was our tailgate a reflection of the softness, but the Stanford stadium for the Notre Dame game had less than 20,000 people in attendance. Most were rooting for Notre Dame. Regardless of the size, we had a feast of egg and bacon sandwiches prepared on my new 3-in-1 breakfast station, Italian Chili, meats and cheeses, bloody Mary and Mimosa bars and an assortment of fresh fruit. Tents and heaters kept the elements at bay as it only lightly rained for an hour. For the Dirty dozen that showed up, you have my undue respect! This was my 9th time attending this game since 2001 having only missed the 2017 game. Most of the years we have been with the Iorios for the event.

The fellas, Maddalon terrorizing the kids, Amy and Maureen

The Panoviches, the kids, our Bloody Mary Sponsors, and the obligatory shot ski

The chicken dance, the Campbells, crazy Alan manning the bar, lucky socks

Alan & Amy, the fellas talking shop

Dan & Mike as the architects, my breakfast station and the ladies

Notre Dame was gunning for its third straight 10-win season while Stanford is mired in their worst season in the David Shaw era. However, in the first third of the game the script was flipped. Stanford dominated the action as the Cardinal (a tree that a dog urinates on) stormed out to a 17-7 lead. And then the gravitational forces rotated. The tide turned in a big way as Notre Dame QB Ian Book started finding All World Receiver Chase Claypool for a few scores and a runaway performance. Notre Dame would run off 38 more points to Stanford’s 7 for a final score of 45-24.

Empty Stanford stadium

Around the Country, Rivalry Games

Auburn bested Alabama 48-45 in the Iron Bowl, knocking the Tide out of the playoffs for the first time since the four-team format was created in 2014. Oklahoma took care of little brother Oklahoma State in the Bedlam Series game, keeping their chances alive to make the playoffs. In “The Game” in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh got bullied again by the Buckeyes which raised more questions about his future. Wisconsin beat Minnesota in the snow to not only win Paul Bunyan’s axe but also a spot in the Big Ten championship game. Elsewhere in rivalry games:

·       The Governor’s Cup – Kentucky takes down Louisville 45-13

·       The Egg Bowl – Mississippi State 21- Ole Miss 20 (Ole Piss, more on this later)

·       The Palmetto Bowl - Clemson destroyed the other USC 38-7

·       The Commonwealth Cup – Virginia beat VA Tech 39 -30 to advance to the ACC Championship game

·       The Apple Cup – UW topped Wazzu 31-13

·       The Civil War – The Ducks scored 24 and the Beavers 10

·       Clean Old-Fashioned Hate –  UGA annihilated GA Tech 52-7

·       Sunshine Showdown –  Florida beat Florida State 40 -17

·       Territorial Cup –  The Sun Devils torched the Wildcats 24-14

Bieber – In a game filled with sheer hatred for one another, the Egg Bowl which pits Mississippi State against Ole Miss, has a history of getting testy at times. With seconds to go, Ole Miss found themselves down by seven points. They engineered a drive resulting in a touchdown pass from QB Matt Corral to Elijah Moore to make the game a 21-20 contest with an extra point still pending. In his celebration after scoring, Moore crawled on all fours to the back of the end zone and raised his leg mimicking a dog taking a leak. Immediately, the referees threw a flag at him for unsportsmanlike behavior. This moved the PAT back 15 yards. No longer a chip shot, the Ole Miss kicker lined up his kick and pulled it wide right resulting in a 1-point loss. The loss was not the kickers fault, the result lies squarely on the shoulders of the peeing dog Elijah Moore. This has to be one of the biggest bone-headed on-field acts that I can recall with a meaningful game on the line. Young Elijah, you lost the game for your team. You lost the Egg Bowl. You lost the respect of Ole Miss Nation. Your coach was fired after the loss. However, you won a Bieber award and a new name for your team, Ole Piss!

Unemployment Report –

·       Matt Luke out as HC at Ole Miss

·       Charlie Strong out as HC at USF

·       Texas fired its OC and DC

·       Barry Odom ousted from Mizzou

·       Clay Helton rumored to be fired to make room for Urban Meyer at USC

·       Steve Addazio bounced out at BC

·       Chad Morris out at Arkansas

·       Willie Taggart fired from Florida State

·       Chris Ash sacked at Rutgers

·       Bob Davie took a knee for New Mexico

·       Tony Sanchez makes no more bets for UNLV

Next Week -  I will be attending a wedding on Saturday while watching Conference championship games on my phone at the reception! In two weeks, I will return to the city of brotherly love for the Army-Navy game. It is always a special event as we tailgate with people from all stages of my life.

Happy tailgating!