Move over Idalia

 

The sunshine state!

What has now become a tradition for the last 10 years, I was once again joined by my college friend known as Tubby for a trifecta Labor Day weekend. We were also joined throughout the weekend by another college friend, Sparky Pomeroy, and our buddies the Butcher and Ouzie. When planning a three day weekend for football games in September, it’s probably best not to do it in a state known for high humidity and heat this time of the year. That said, after all the sweating throughout the weekend, I am proud to announce that I too can now wear skinny jeans. The weekend commenced 24 hours after hurricane Idalia packed a heavy punch through north Florida.

Our first stop was Orlando to watch the University of Central Florida take on the Golden Flashes of Kent state. UCF is the newest member of the Big 12 and one of the largest schools in the country with 68,000 of students. The stadium is known as the bounce house because the fans like to bounce up and down and make the place rock. We were treated to an amazing halftime performance by the marching band who did a tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire. We also saw the SpaceX launch during the second half of the game. 

The game itself was mostly a one-sided affair, dominated by the golden knights of UCF. Although Kent State showed some grit in the first half, by the second half the superior talent, speed and conditioning of the golden knights was very apparent. Kent State players appeared to be running in quicksand against the much faster UCF squad. UCF won by a commanding score of 56-6.

Game one, let us not forget that UCF was the self proclaimed national champions in 2017. Bottom right is the spaceX launch we saw.

On Friday, we linked up with the aforementioned Sparky and Ouzie for the University of Miami versus Miami of Ohio battle in Miami, FL. After throwing up our tailgate tent, tables, grills, music and beer pong tables, we grilled some beer brats and hotdogs, accompanied by amazing sides and desserts. A good portion of the tailgate was spent standing under the tent as the heavens opened up on us and dumped a large quantity of H2O onto the area. We were treated to some thunder and lightning, and the game was delayed for 30 minutes.

Hunkering down under the tent during the storm. Winners of the Tailgate Connect drawing, and a sparsely attended Hurricanes home game.

The University of Miami is a member of the ACC and plays its home games at Hard Rock Stadium, which is 15 miles away from campus and also serves as the home field for the Miami Dolphins. While it’s a perfect NFL stadium, it’s the antithesis of perfection for a college atmosphere. Miami of Florida was clearly the better team throughout the night in the very cavernous stadium. It’s hard to tell whether they’ve improved or we’re just playing lesser competition. Final score of this match was Miami, FL 38, Miami, OH 3.

Game three on Saturday placed us in the picturesque town of Boca Raton, Florida, on the campus of Florida Atlantic University. It was a beautiful afternoon for a tailgate. We grilled burgers infused with blue cheese and bacon followed by two pans of chicken wings, totaling 100 in all. The Tailgate Connect tent was going full force with a special drawing and lots of interest from fellow tailgaters. An ample number of Yuenglings were consumed without any effect due to the sweat factor. 

FAU plays on Schnellenberger field at FAU stadium. Built in 2011, the on-campus venue seats 30,000 fans. The opponent on the day was Monmouth from New Jersey who plays at the FCS level. FAU was known for its Cinderella story this past year when they reached the final four in basketball. In the past they have been coached by Howard Schnellenberger and Lane Kiffin. The current coach is former Texas head honcho Tom “put your hands in your pits” Herman. FAU QB Casey Thompson also played for Herman at Texas. The game turned out to be the third blowout of the weekend we witnessed. FAU prevailed in the contest with a tally of 42 to Monmouth’s 20. We finished off a great weekend with a visit to a cigar bar complemented by a nice glass of neat whiskey. Then it was a nine hour drive back to my crib in NW Florida on Sunday morning. But prior to my departure on Sunday, I toured the Lynn University (formerly Marymount) campus where my two oldest siblings matriculated from many decades ago.

My doppleganger the Owl, portable beer pong getting another workout and the cozy FAU Stadium.

The victory cigars!

Around the country: Coach Prime in Colorado shocked the world by knocking off TCU in Fort Worth. Brian Kelly and his family got scalped by the Seminoles in Mickie world. Penn State took a bite out of the mountaineers in Happy Valley. Are the Sooners back as they put up 73 points against Butch “Sergeant Carter” Jones and the Arkansas State pigskin squad?  The soon to be PAC 12 or now known as the Tupac go 12 and 0 for the first time ever on opening weekend. In the battle for the Carolinas, the north beat the south in Charlotte. On Monday night the nation witnessed the unthinkable: Duke not only beat Clemson but absolutely destroyed them. Isn’t Duke supposed to be just a basketball school? The Gators were eaten alive by the Utes on Thursday in SLC.

Ryan Lufkin and the Utah Pig Bus crew grilling up some gator!

The Kernans at the Hampden Sydney opener.

Bieber:- Although LSU coach Brian Kelly should be in contention this week for stating that they were going to beat the crap out of Florida State, he is not the winner. This week’s Bieber is a collective. It is anyone — specifically sports commentators, but also college football fans — who after one week declares somebody is a Heisman candidate. I get so nauseated at hearing so-and-so (who had one great game during the week) is all of a sudden a front runner for the Heisman. Settle down folks, it’s a long season and one game does not make a person a legend. Let the season play out and see if that person that played so great in week one plays great for the next 12 weeks. Then you can pop off all you want about who is a contender or front runner for the Heisman. Until then, all you got is this Bieber award, which you can treasure for the rest of your life!

Ginger: My #3 for flying into the lion’s den of Fort Worth to root on her beloved CU Buffaloes against TCU. The abuse she must have braved by jilted Horn Frog fans must have been unbearable as she stood tall in the saddle (actually she is only 5’2) with great pride.  Way to be a badass, little one.I will see you in three weeks for Dad’s Weekend. Get those beer funnels warmed up for me.

Next up: There is a very strong possibility I will drive over to Tallahassee for Florida State’s Saturday night game against Southern Mississippi.

Happy Tailgating!

Where in the world is Jacksonville State?

Welcome back to another season of indulging me in my quest to go to a game and pregame celebration at all division 1A schools! My apologies for not doing my traditional preseason primer — life has been very busy and I failed in delivering one. That being said, we already kicked off the tailgating season at Jacksonville State this past Saturday for zero week action. Jacksonville State has been a very successful program playing at the division 1AA level for many years. This is their first season jumping up to division 1A, joining the Conference USA. Given that their name is Jacksonville State, I’d always assumed the school was located in Jacksonville, FL. Much to my surprise, when I looked at the school website, I found out it is located in Jacksonville, AL! It’s a good thing my Magellan skills kicked in, and I figured this out in advance of making the trek.

In addition to moving up to the highest level of competition, Jax State is coached by Rich Rodriguez (Rich Rod), former head coach of WVU, Michigan and Arizona. The mascot is Cocky the Gamecock and their slogan is “fear the beak.” I can relate given the shape of my nose. The picturesque campus sits in NE Alabama with a beautiful mountain backdrop. The school has approximately 11,000 future taxpayers enrolled in studies. The football team plays their games in Burgess Snow Field, JSU stadium, which was originally built in 1947 and has seats for 24,000 fans. The stadium is in the midst of a substantial renovation to make it better suited for the big time. 

This past weekend, the Gamecocks hosted the Miners from UTEP on what turned out to be the hottest game I’ve ever attended with temps on the field hitting 130 degrees. I accomplished a first by consuming more water than beer on the day as the sweat was pouring off me like Victoria Falls.

Mrs. Tailgate and I were joined by my high school buddies Dr. Alabama Al Rector and Tony Pifer and their wives Tracey and Edna. We set up an excellent tailgate under the trees in the general tailgating lot to get a little extra shade. The menu consisted of pulled pork sandwiches, chicken wings, potato salad, deviled eggs, tomato/mozzarella/basil skewers and many other snacks. We broke out my brand new RYOBI bucket top mister to cool things down, blared tailgate tunes, told embarrassing stories to the wives and even played beer pong on my new portable game stand. The Gamecock player walk from the bus to the stadium went right past our tailgate tent and was led by a section of their famed marching band known as the Southerners. As we were breaking down our tailgate, we were introduced to a Jax State super fan named Murray who was escaping his official duties with his wife’s soiree. He told us many historical facts about the campus and program and even gave us three free tickets to the game.

Fear the beak! The Taikgate couple and my cool new toy in action!

clockwise from the left - Cocky, beer pong, our TG Queen of the day and part of our amazing chow.

Ladies & sweaty men

Once in the stadium, all the fans sat on the south side, while the students and band were located in the east end zone. The north side was under construction with the bleachers already stripped out. Thanks to the extreme temperature and humidity, we continued to down water as fast as we could get it. The Gamecocks drew first blood with a field goal in Q1 and added a touchdown to take a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. The Miners were able to punch one in right before the half to close the gap to three points. In the third quarter, the Gamecocks ran another score in from the seven yard line. The Miners would make it interesting in the fourth quarter by putting another seven on the board with a 32 yard pass play. But the Gamecocks would ultimately hold onto the lead and walk away with a 17-14 win in their inaugural game at the D1A level. More impressive than the game itself was the 500+ member Southerners marching band. They put on a halftime performance that rivaled any SEC or Big Ten marching band.

Inside the sweatbox -   a stadium being transformed

Around the globe: Notre Dame would sink the Navy in Dublin, Ireland, 42-3 in the marquee match of the day. Meanwhile, the Trojans dominated the Spartans in a Roman battle in the LA coliseum. San Diego State nudged Ohio University, and Vandy got the best of Hawaii.

Bieber: The winner is the soon to be former PAC 12 for disintegrating before our eyes over the past two months. How could this happen to one of the most storied conferences in collegiate athletics? First, we saw USC and UCLA announce after last season they would bolt for the Big Ten. UW and Oregon followed suit earlier this summer with Colorado, Utah and the two Arizona schools bolting for the Big 12. Stanford and Cal are in discussions with the ACC, which only leaves WSU and Oregon State to fend for themselves. Let’s take into consideration that this move is for all sports, not just football. This makes zero sense for kids in non-revenue sports spending a chunk of their school year traveling coast to coast for events and games watched by a handful of parents and family. The state of college sports is rapidly becoming unrecognizable. And for this, the PAC 12 will at least retain the coveted Bieber hardware.

Ginger: This award goes to our tailgate crew this past Saturday for being brave enough to tailgate and sit through an entire game in outlandish weather conditions. 

Next up: My annual Labor Day trifecta with co-pilot

 Tubby and several other buddies. Thursday we’ll be in Orlando for the UCF home opener against Kent State. Friday you will find us in Miami for the battle of Miamis. And Saturday for the finale, we will be in Boca Raton for FAU’s opener when they face Monmouth.

Happy Tailgating!

Short N Sweet

My typical evening view on 30 A for my nightly beach walk

The 2022 season, for all its epic moments, had one of the most unceremonious conclusions to any season that I can recall in my time on this planet earth. Ten days after two amazing semifinal games that saw Georgia and TCU advance to the cotillion ball of college football, the proverbial turd in the punch bowl was served up. Georgia absolutely annihilated a TCU team that simply did not look like they wanted to be there, by a score of 65-7. Georgia is now competing with Alabama as the “it” team of college football after winning back-to-back natties.

My college football travels this season were the lightest in thirteen years (other than the 2020 covid season). I only attended 10 games, six of which were first-time campus venues for me and one new neutral site venue for the Florida-Georgia game. When I started this quest in 2004 to attend all D1A stadiums, there were only 117 of them. God willing, I had hoped to hit that number next year. However, the goalposts continue to be moved back by the NCAA as two more teams have been added for next season, bringing the new total to 134 D1A schools. Between the added teams and my penchant for repeating fun schools and visiting lower division teams, this has become one long, extended journey. If all goes to plan,  Most likely I will finish my climb in November of 2025 at the University of Hawaii with a massive Lua tailgate. You are all invited, of course!

Next fall, the goal is to hit at least 15 first-time venues, several repeats and a bowl game or two. I am also tentatively planning on attending the Notre Dame vs. Navy game in Dublin, Ireland. If that happens, I may join the ranks of a very select group of people who have seen a regular season college football game on three continents (Australia in 2016). Other candidates for next season include Miami, FAU, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana Monroe, Southern Miss, UAB, East Carolina, Appalachian State, UTEP, New Mexico State, Georgia State, EMU and WMU. Once all conference schedules are released, I’ll officially put out a tentative DFT schedule.

End of year Bieber - TCU for failing to get off the bus and play the game at SoFi Stadium for the Natty. No doubt UGA had better talent and should have won the game. However, when you are playing against better competition, you have to bring a higher energy level than your opponent and not make your odds worse with countless mental errors. I think mirrors should have been put under the noses of the TCU team and coaching staff to see if they were still breathing and alive during the game. Everyone loves a great underdog story, but unfortunately this one did not play out like a Disney theatrical. No Natty hardware for the Horned Frogs, but a nice Bieber statue will reside within the ring of honor in Fort Worth.

Ginger - To my daughter Erin for being such a professional proofreader and copywriter for me the past few seasons. I can always count on her to make suggestions for the jumbled thoughts I put on paper that make my recaps infinitely better. She has been an amazing addition to team DFT, and I am grateful for her stellar work. I will buy her an ice cream to show my gratitude!

Next up - Seven months of other hobbies and going back and forth between the Cali and Florida DFT Headquarters. Have a great off season and see y'all in the fall.

Happ Tailgating!

United As One

 And so my regular season has come to an end once again with only a glimmer of hope on the horizon for attending a bowl or playoff game this postseason. If this is the end of the road, what better way than to conclude the season by attending the annual Army Navy game in its rightful home of Philadelphia, PA. This was my first time back since 2018 after making seven of the previous nine games. It was not the usual large tailgate run by Ray Carlucci and the Jersey Boys of Cliffside Park. Nonetheless, we made up for those who were missing this year with added enthusiasm, a fighting spirit … and a few extra libations.

DFT Banner once more at Army Navy

Friday night we darkened the doorstep of Moriarty's Irish pub in downtown Philly. They serve wings that are so large they must be from a pterodactyl and are consistently voted best chicken wings in town. On Saturday at 0900 hours, our tailgate consisted of my brother Brian, aka Mr. Struggles, and his wife Lor Scoot along with Lagarius and Michelle Buckley. We had drop-ins from a number of friends throughout the day and linked up with the tailgate right next to ours. The pregame menu consisted of apple cider mimosas, grilled breakfast sandwiches, potatoes and an assortment of foods too healthy for me. The post-game tailgate featured Brian’s signature old bay chicken wings accompanied by a few cold natty bo’s. The weather was sunny and crisp, which is perfect football weather IMHO. 

Clockwise top starting top left: The Buckleys, the brothers Donnelly and the field of battle

Starting clockwise from top left: Buck and Jake Oxendine, Billy Chakwin, Naval Al doing a flag folding ceremony with me and KP Augustine.

Sister in Law Lor Scoot leading us in a toast!

I have written a number of times over the past years about this epic event. And it’s not always about the on-field product of the overachievers on each team. It’s about the pageantry surrounding the game. The cadets and Midshipmen who ”march on” to the stadium, The Navy jets flyover, the Army helicopter flyover, the parachute teams and the overall feeling of patriotism of America united as one! The kids from each academy make this event special as they truly are the best and brightest America has to offer (next to Frostburg State)!

Pre game pageantry

The game went down as a first. Army and Navy battled to a 10-10 tie in regulation with each defense doing its part to prevent the other from any major advancements. This would be the first overtime game in the series history. Caveat: Overtime has only been around since 1996 in college football. Navy did out gain the Army on the ground by a two to one margin, but Army had also completed one pass to none for the Navy. In OT, each team would score on their first play to knot the score at 17. On Navy’s second possession, running back Anton Hall Jr. would unfortunately cough the ball up while attempting to score a touchdown. Army took over and eventually kicked a game winning 39 yard field goal. On another first, the cadets stormed the field to celebrate with their team. The four security guards were outnumbered by 500 to one. While they initially tried to prevent the field rushing, they soon recognized the matter was hopeless. And off to the post game tailgate for us it was.

The previous weekend, I attended the Sun Belt Conference championship where Troy University hosted the Chanticleers from Coastal Carolina university. This was my second time attending a game at Troy in a one month period. The highlight was the Yankee Jambalaya I made and contributed to a communal tailgate. The concoction consisted of chicken, shrimp, spicy sausage, onion, rice and a whole lot of seasoning and flavors. It paired amazingly well with cold yuengling. The game was less interesting than the food. It was a massacre from the onset as Troy brought the energy and Coastal could not find the answer on that dreary, wet, early December day in southern Alabama. Troy captured the Sun Belt Conference ship with a convincing score of 45-26. And in reality, it wasn’t even that close. 

Even the Grinch likes the Troy band!

Around the country - With USC getting upset by a physical Utah squad, the door opened for Ohio State to sneak back into the four-team college football playoff where they will play number one ranked Georgia in the semifinal. On the other side of the bracket, Michigan will face TCU from the Big 12, despite TCU losing their conference championship game to Kansas State. All other bowl games are opportunities for players to showcase their skills for next year or for the pro scouts. Otherwise, there is not a whole lot of meaning these days as so many star players will opt out of the game and coaches will depart for greener pastures.

The Zeisings pre gaming for the MWC championship in Boise.

Bieber - The drunk guy in our row at the Army Navy game who proclaimed the lady sitting in front of him was not pretty enough to sit there. His comments were nearly responded to with severe violence by the lady and her male friends. We helped diffuse the situation and the inebriated one was escorted out of our section — and hopefully the stadium. He may not even remember the game or the tailgate, but he will have his new Bieber hardware to enjoy.

Ginger - Back in September we lost a friend way too young who was a huge part of our past Army Navy weekends. Sincerely one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, Mikey Carlucci went to be with the Lord. His smiling face, keeping his brother in check, helping with the breakfast cooking … He will be sorely missed going forward. Mikey, you were and will always be one helluva great guy. With that, we honor you with this week’s Ginger award along with the silent toast I held for you Saturday

Next up - Most likely my season is over now. I will enjoy watching those meaningless bowl games and the four-team playoff.

Happy Tailgating!

Never Leave Your Brother Behind

This weekend was one of those hallowed football trips I look forward to every year with my brother, Brian, who was there with me 18 years ago when I started my dft cfb quest. Every season, we connect for a weekend of college football at stadiums we have not previously been to. This year, I purchased tickets for the Thursday night Tulane home game and the Saturday Southern Miss home game. Hotels booked, social plans secured, down time activities planned … it turned out it’s that time of the month for my brother, and he had to pull the ripcord on the trip and call an audible at the last second. More on this later, of course.

Tulane University is a private institution that sits in the middle of the city of New Orleans with a student body of about 14,000. Tulane’s Yulman stadium was built on campus almost a decade ago. Before that, the team played its home games in the miserable Superdome for the previous four decades. Yulman can provide seats for 30,000 fans and is a hidden gem of an autumn cathedral. Prior to their years in the Pooperdump, Tulane played their home games in Tulane Stadium on campus, which was also home of the iconic Sugar Bowl game. A little fun fact about Tulane is that they were an original member of the SEC and played in the conference from 1933-1966. They are currently  part of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and are in the midst of a very strong season with an 8-2 record. Famous alumni include Matt Forte, Tommy Mason and Shaun King.

Despite my brother ghosting me, I would not be alone as I was able to meet up with our old friend, “Coach” Travis Carter, who I last tailgated with eight years ago at Louisiana Lafayette. Serendipitously, Brian’s absence turned into my gain as Coach Carter invited me to join their party bus full of 35 beer-guzzling Cajuns. $40 for all the beer, fresh sandwiches and transport to and from the stadium. Travis’s nephews Randy and Robbie were in tow as well, and we all shared tales of our favorite venues and tailgates throughout the busgating event. I was also able to reconnect with Ben Chase at the game who we met over Labor Day at the beginning of his record-setting college football journey. Ben set out to see 70 college football games this year. The Tulane game was #50, and he was the recipient of Brian’s vacated ticket. When we met Ben on Labor Day, he was full of energy, vigor and enthusiasm. I teased him in Tulane that he’d aged 20 years and was a walking zombie at this point. He is closing in on this amazing feat and he will get rich off of this. He too was disappointed in my brother Brian.

Bus gating in Nawlins!

The legendary Coach Travis Carter

The Tulane Green Wave are having an amazing season and came into the contest with a record of 8-2 and a shot at the AAC championship game. Their foe would be the silver spoon trust fund babies from SMU who had a record of 6-4. SMU is led by former Oklahoma QB Tanner Mordecai who has been stellar for the team from Dallas. But first, I must give my nod of approval to the stadium concessionaires as there were beer stands every 10 feet with multiple choices of flavors, drafts and cans. Of course, I was told five years ago by an assistant AD at Tulane, “Dan, this is New Orleans. We serve beer in our churches.” So with that wisdom, I should not have been so surprised. I also had the best stadium hot dogs I can recall. We upgraded our seats and moved from the end zone to the 37 yard line, 10 rows up behind the SMU bench.

 

With Ben Chase on his 50th game of the season.

An uncanny resemblance with coach Carter and his nephews

Tulane jumped out to a commanding 21-0 first quarter lead. It was apparent they were way faster than their Mustang opponents. The Green Wave defense was constantly in Mordecai’s grill, forcing him into multiple turnovers. Each team would add a touchdown in the second quarter for a halftime score of 28-7. The second half saw more Green Wave dominance as they would rack up over 300 yards on the ground for the night. Tulane thoroughly dominated the match and won by a final tally of 59-24. Back to the party bus for the ride home. 

After every score, the fans chanted this 100 year old diddy

Had Brian joined me as he promised, we were going to see Arch Manning’s high school playoff game Friday night (the surprise I mentioned in last week’s write-up) then make the trip to Hattiesburg for the Saturday game at Southern Mississippi. I elected to return to my new home on the redneck riviera as I do not particularly enjoy doing my quest solo.

Around the Country - All top five ranked teams were unexpectedly put to the test . Tennessee would see their chances of crashing the dance go down in flames at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia, SC. The Gamecocks were led by another former Oklahoma QB, the cocky Spencer rattler, who threw for six touchdowns on the night. Michigan and TCU needed last-second, heroic field goals to squeak by with their respective wins over Illinois and Baylor to remain unbeaten. The Ohio State nearly lost in College Park, MD, to the feisty Terps, and Georgia would struggle offensively in Lexington against the Wildcats before securing their win. In the battle of LA, the traitorous Lincoln Riley and USC would best Chip Kelly and UCLA in a high-scoring affair. USC remains in the hunt for a berth in the college football playoff if they beat Notre Dame and win the Pac 12 championship game in two weeks. In South Bend in a blizzard, Notre Dame put up four squared to Boston College’s donut hole in the battle of the Catholics. I did win a bottle of wine on that bet for ND covering the point spread. As for the Bedlam game in Norman, Oklahoma’s offense showed up for exactly one quarter and relied on their defense to hold off their little brother from Stillwater with a final score of 28-13. 

Go Irish!

The Olsons pre-gaming at Bedlam.

The Panos suffering through another Northwestern defeat.

Bieber - The aforementioned Brian Donnelly for not timing his cramps properly and bailing on me last minute. If that wasn’t egregious enough, it was reported that on that very night he was to be at the Tulane game, he was seen stuffing his face at a restaurant in Frederick, MD. To add insult to injury, on Saturday when he should have been at the Southern Miss game with me, he was spotted at a division two game at Shepherd College with his enabler Legarius Buckley. After consulting with the DFT chairwoman of the board (my sister Patsy), it was agreed that an unprecedented DOUBLE BIEBER would be awarded to our brother Brian for his unacceptable treasonous actions. Here is Brian after learning of his new major award:

Double Beebs!

Next Up - Either the SEC championship in Atlanta or the Sun Belt Conference championship which will either be in Troy, Alabama, or Mobile at South Alabama on December 3. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happy Tailgating!