Seen 'em all – 136 FBS teams of 138 in action! Now, we're up to 743 games since 1979. Miami at Wake Forest on 9/18. D2 Anderson at Tusculum on 9/19. Capture our unique, fun, life-long adventure in my book on Amazon.com: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Click on our 2026 Schedule below to follow us to exciting games, fun travels, frank insights, and stars of tomorrow in games we'll attend this season!
Nashville, TN – Vanderbilt HC Clark Lea started Sr QB Blaze Berlowitz for the Commodores’ first two possessions. Deadlocked 0-0 with Delaware halfway through the first, he inserted his top recruit, freshman Jared Curtis at quarterback. Curtis is a local Nashville resident that Lea recruited, steered away from Georgia. On his first play at the UD 41, RB Makhilyn Young bolted 20 yards up the middle. Two plays later, Cutis zipped the ball for a 31 completion to Jayvontay Connor at the Blue Hen eight. Guest Game Analyst (GGA) Greg Kopnaza (former New Haven U. OT) and I looked at each other. Curtis impressed us with a very strong arm. He completed the drive with a one-yard run to put Vanderbilt up, 7-0.
Delaware QB Nick Minicucci struggled in his first two series. Both times, he attempted to pass on third and long. Vandy’s defense brought everybody at him to force punts. In addition to many hurries, the Commodores recorded six sacks and 11 tackles for losses on the day.
All day long, Delaware QB Nick Minicucci faced relentless third down pressure from Vanderbilt’s front seven.
Curtis: Vanderbilt QB of the future
To start the very next series, his pass got tipped high into the air. Vandy DE Michael Capers intercepted. Curtis entered again. With the ball at the Delaware 26, he fired a 17-yard pass down the middle again to Connor. From the nine, Sedrick Alexander took it over as the first quarter ended. Vanderbilt in command, 14-0.
Vanderbilt RB Sedrick Alexander breaks through for nine-yard touchdown tun to cap first quarter score.
Delaware turns things around the second
Minicucci led his team to the Vanderbilt 20 aided by a 57-yard catch and run by Da’wain Lofton. On third and three at the 20, Minicucci’s pass fell incomplete as he took a hard shot from LB Bryan Longwell. He grasped his lower right arm as a trainer escorted him off the field. From 30 yards out, Tucker Smack converted a field goal to put UD on the board to trail, 14-3. On the ensuing series, the Blue Hens sacked Curtis for a loss that forced a punt. UD started from their 35. In place of Minicucci, soph Braden Street stepped in under center.
Later in the period, the Blue Hen defense stopped Vandy. They turned the ball over on downs at their 18. HC Ryan Carty decided to let RB Jo Silver get the Delaware running game going. Carrying the ball for several good gains, UD drove to the Vanderbilt 41. Streeter let loose a pass to Lofton for a 33-yard completion to the eight. From the one on fourth and goal, a direct snap to RB Viron Ellison resulted in a Blue Hen TD to close the score, 14-10.
Jayvontay Connor with reception on Vandy’s second period scoring drive.
So many plays in such little time
With 1:56 left in the first half, Berlowitz replaced Curtis. Over 40 seconds, he completed three passes before he fumbled the ball away. LB Gavin Moul recovered to set Delaware up from their 46. At the Vandy 44, UD punted back to start VU from their 16. Two incomplete passes and a one-yard run by Berlowitz burned off only five seconds. Vandy went back into punt formation. However, Delaware’s Bryon Graves broke through VU blockers, and leapt high for a block. The ball bounced back up into his arms, and he recovered it for a TD. Suddenly, the half ended with the Blue Hens in the lead, 17-14. Delaware fans chanted, “Let’s go Hens! Let’s go Hens,” as players headed to their locker rooms.
Delaware RB Jo Silver picks up yardage during second period TD drive.
Sideline activity before the second half
At halftime, we noticed four pairs of Delaware players throwing passes along the sidelines. Starting QB Nick Minicucci tossed among them. He seemed to be throwing gingerly. He rubbed his right forearm every once in a while. Looked like he still felt some discomfort in his throwing arm.
With UD fans sitting nearby, we discussed if Carty would bring him back in or continue with Streeter. We agreed the Blue Hens seemed to have built some confidence and momentum with Streeter ( 4 of 5, 58 yards) playing late in the first half. GGA Greg noted that Jo Silver had effectively run the ball on several simple plays that Vanderbilt didn’t stop. He ran for 109 yards on 16 carries by the end of the game.
Clark Lea made Vanderbilt’s QB decision
To start the second half, Lea brought Curtis back in. The Commodores started from their thirty. Curtis drilled one pass directly in front of us that glanced off his receiver’s hands. I turned to Greg and said, “I couldn’t see that ball at all!” He can really throw hard and on the mark. On a third and ten from the 30, he showed great touch as he connected with Junior Sherril on a beautiful, over-the-shoulder pass down the left sideline for 35 yards. He immediately commenced again with Sherril for 15 more. Next, he followed up with Conner on a 12-yarder. Calling a QB draw from the two, Curtis took it in to regain the Vanderbilt lead, 21-17.
Vanderbilt regains control
With Minicucci back in at QB for Delaware, the Blue Hen game plan reverted back to the same as in the first period. On third down, Vandy sacked him and forced a punt. With a very slow, seemingly methodical punt attempt, VU copied UD from the first half and blocked it. Austin Howard recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Vandy extended its lead, 28-17.
A 12-yard sack of Minicucci on third down by S CJ Heard once again forced a UD punt. Starting from his 40, Curtis drove the team for a score. He connected on a 19-yard TD pass to Walter Taylor to lead going into the fourth, 35-14.
Jared Curtis carries ball in for Commodores’ first score of the second half.
Delaware fought back, but squandered big chances in the Fourth
Minicucci got the Hens moving with 15 minutes left to play. Smack put up three from 40 yards out at the 11:35 mark. The Blue Hens’ defense held Vanderbilt on its next possession. They took the ball back to start from the 20. Minicucci connected with RB Kaderris Roberts for 31 yards. Two plays later, he connected with Lofton (4 catches, 142 yards, 1 TD) for a 43-yard catch and run for a TD. Now, 6:37 remained. The Blue Hens were within striking distance, trailing 35-26.
Shades of lessons learned from James Franklin
We saw some stirring along the Delaware sideline. Greg blurted out, “Go for one!” I had to agree. Twice in late game situations at Penn State, I witnessed James Franklin make this mistake. Trailing late by nine, if your team puts up the PAT, you’re still within one scoring drive. If you go for two and make it – great! However, if you fail, you take the wind right out of your team sails. With time winding down, you need two possessions to score with the time left instead of just one! JF’s team did the latter in two big games attended in State College against Michigan and Oregon. Made big differences in if he could have stayed at PSU. Of course, he’s gone now! Needless to say, UD’s two-pointer failed with an incomplete pass.
UD attempted an onsides kick. Great strategy with a high bounce down field that was almost recovered by UD. The execution just came up short. Vanderbilt took over at their 43. Curtis moved the Commodores down to the UD 21. There, Delaware took over on downs. Three misfires by Minicucci followed by pass interference gave the Hens a first down. His next pass was picked by CB Jayden Daniels. The final score stood in Vanderbilt’s favor, 35-26. Had HC Ryan Carty elected to go for one and made it, the Hens could have still been in the game with time remaining. Either way with the onsides kick, it still would have made for a much more exciting finish with the final result determined in the waning minutes.
Blue Hen WR Sean Wilson with leaping catch from QB Braden Streeter along sideline in first half scoring drive.
Week Three ahead for Vanderbilt and Delaware
The Commodores (2-0) host their third non-conference foe next weekend in NC State (1-1). The Wolf Pack got clocked by No. 25 Virginia in their opener, but romped over FCS Richmond last week, 73-0. The UR Spiders now compete in the Patriot League. Greg predicts that Vanderbilt will not win in the SEC this year. I predict that Jared Curtis will continue to excel. With him stirring a pretty skilled offense, the Dores can defeat the likes of Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi State.
Delaware hosts Coastal Carolina (1-1) of the Sun Belt. The Chanticleers fell to West Virginia, 31-24, and like NC State, they romped over a Patriot League team, Fordham. We plan to see the Blue Hens come back to our area for a Tuesday night CUSA meeting at Western Kentucky on October 27. The contest could impact the conference title game.
Week Three games # 744 and # 745 ahead for us
Collegefootballfan.com heads to Winston-Salem, NC this Friday night to see No. 5 Miami (2-0) face the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (2-0). Neither has won a game of significance. However, the Canes come into town with offensive firepower. Transfer QB Darian Mensah from Tulane joins talent returning from last season in WR Malachi Toney and RB Mark Fletcher.
Wake relies on some outstanding returnees on defense. They will find out more about their transfer QB Gio Lopez who fell to the Deacs when we saw him last season playing for UNC. The Deacs have hopes he will succeed with their OC Rob Ezell whom excelled with two seasons ago at South Alabama.
On Saturday along our route home, we will take in an afternoon D-2 contest. The Anderson Trojans of South Carloina (2-1) will visit the Tusculum Pioneers (2-1) in Greeneville, Tennessee in a South Atlantic Conference clash. Look forward to some interesting D-2 action in a nice setting.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Capture some memories
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Lebanon, TN – Does anyone believe that the PCSA (Protect College Sports Act) will resolve FBS issues soon after Congress returns from their current break? Please don’t hold your breath. Whatever time voters put into considering these issues, they’ve surely found confounding obstacles. We see the biggest as how they satisfy constituents in each of their respective states. Does representation from Texas consider what’s good for the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Texas Longhorns, Texas Aggies, and Houston Cougars? Possibly, but how do they cast a vote which may benefit the big budget teams only?
Texas State legislators must also consider the impact regarding other lesser FBS members in the Lone Star. They have to consider North Texas, Sam Houston State, Texas State, and UTEP. Also, are there concerns they will impact the private institutions like Baylor, Rice, SMU and TCU? Oil money goes to those schools. Consider the same for other states with similar FBS membership dilemmas: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia and other states which may now aspire to the highest level in the FBS. Some might be tempted to join now because of proposed media payouts in the future.
For FBS openers, we prefer attending games as we did in September 2021 and 2022 when we saw Penn State and Auburn play one another than against teams among the Group of Six or FCS.
Not every state has a big dog in this FBS fight
How will states supporting with Group of Six members only weigh in (Massachusetts, Nevada)? Some of the highest teams in some states play at the Football Championship Subdivision level (Idaho, Montana, South Dakota)? Vermont’s biggest program, Castleton State, plays D-3 Football. Alaska has no team. How do they vote? Should they?
Much debate and political considerations lie ahead. Will this ever change from where College Sports find themselves today? Again, refer to my article where I propose to divide the FBS into two separate entities. The distinction between the two is imperative to make PCSA work for the good for all current FBS programs. Until such change takes place, this mess remains for a long time.
FBS Encounters of the Worst Kind
The controversial last-second 13-12 win by Michigan over Western Michigan shows the ruthlessness of keeping Group of Six teams out of the CFP. Boise State, another CFP G6 contender gave No. 2 Oregon a run for its money falling, 34-27. However, let’s look at the bigger picture of what a waste of time Week One offers among FBS Powers: Georgia 63-Tennessee State 3, Penn State 45-Marshall 0, Tennessee 56-Furman 9, Texas 59-TX State 7, Iowa 40-NIU 0, Kansas State 71-Nicholls State 3, Texas A&M 50-Missouri State 0, Virginia Tech 73-VMI 3, Mississippi State 66-UL Monroe 13, Maryland 62-Hampton 0, BYU 63-Utah Tech 7, Arizona State 70-Morgan State 7, and the wins over cupcakes continued throughout. And what about Miami this past Thursday? 77-7 over FCS Florida A&M? Come on! Why bother? What’s the sense of matching up a highly recruited team against a program that has no chance whatsoever? Teams should only play others that at least have similar financial resources.
Group of Six squads hammered FCS teams. FCS clobbered D-2’s. Admittedly, some teams lost badly to comparably valued competition at their own level (i.e. LSU 51-Clemson 10). That’s just a fate of good vs. poor chemistry: recruiting, development, coaching, investments, confidence, etc.
Last season, we began with FCS Montana State at Oregon. Eventual FBS No. 4 Oregon defeated eventual FCS No. 1 Montana State. The final score of 59-13 demonstrates the disparity of big budgets over much smaller budgets.
Too much about the money
We know why these lop-sided games exist. Winners get a victory that gets them to a bowl if they go 5-6 the rest of the season. Losers get “big bucks.” However, that’s a relative term. Big bucks don’t help the lesser climb up to the next level in the long term. Even a one-million-dollar payout probably helps them survive another season. The winners noted above all earn revenues well over $100 million annually. As for the losers, most of them earn half of that and lower every year. Another reason could be that it allows bettors to take big risks on wagering on huge spreads. How else would these games offer any actual entertainment?
CollegeFootballFan.com offers Solutions
Rather than allowing teams to intentionally water down schedules, particularly early in the season before conference play, consider realignment plans published previously here to avoid such blow-outs. Our proposal gives all teams schedules against comparable competition in their 12-game schedules. Start by basically dividing the FBS into two separate entities based on annual revenues. Next, considering geography and traditions, organize eight divisions of eight teams each at the highest level. These are comprised basically from the current Power Four conferences.
The second level consists primarily of eight divisions of nine teams each from the Groups of Six. This level plays eight other division members while the first plays seven. All non-division foes slated come only from other divisions at the same level. A few crossovers may be considered for the continuation of traditional rivalries, such as Oregon vs. Oregon State and Washington vs. Washington State to name two. In the end, both divisions resume the CFP within their two respective alignments.
With our proposed FBS realignment into eight divisions of eight teams each, the rivalry between Illinois and Indiana, for instance, would continue annually based on geography and tradition.
Giving schools and fans more of the best from the existing FBS
Would you rather see Western Michigan play in a lesser bowl as we could under today’s scenario? And seeing Boise get knocked out in round one or two by some Power Four earning a lot more revenue? Are these worth watching? Or, would you rather see WMU and Boise seeded in a CFP along with other teams from the American, CUSA, MWC, and Sun Belt as well as their current respective conferences, the MAC and PAC-12? More significant games to be played and better competition among them. Fewer players would opt-out, too. CFP games offer more meaning for championships at two competitive levels now. For more details, click here!
Week Two: Delaware at Vanderbilt
Our 743rd game since 1979 this week features SEC Vanderbilt hosting CUSA Delaware. Vandy (1-0) defeated FCS Austin Peay last week, 28-9. HC Clark Lea moves forward with a two-quarterback system. He continues with returner Blaze Berlowitz who backed up Diego Pavia the last two seasons lifting the Commodores up from the lower depths of the SEC. They finished 10-3 last season. Frosh Jared Curtis who Vandy recruited from under the power of Georgia will see playing time for his future development. The Dores return two key targets for both signal-callers in WR Junior Sherrill and TE Cole Spence. Seven key defenders return. Their strength lies in the middle as a formidable run defense. Questions remain about their pass game defense improving from last season.
Commodore football success and excitement started right here with No. 2, quarterback Diego Pavia. Will Vanderbilt football continue to win this year without him?
The Fighting Blue Hens ready for a shoot-out
In their second season as an FBS member, the Blue Hens (1-0) return QB Nick Minicucci who led the attack leading CUSA in total offense and passing yards. They came in second with total points scored. Seven starters return on offense with three on the O-line and TE Elijah Sessoms. WR Sean Wilson, their top pass catcher returns as do their top four rushers with Jo Silver leading the way.
On the defensive side, last season UD ranked among the lowest of CUSA defenses. HC Ryan Carty will rely on experienced sophomores from last season and LB Gavin Moul who finished third in CUSA in tackles up front. Defensive leader S KT Seay returns with a reinforced secondary built through the transfer portal. Last week, UD manhandled FCS Merrimack, 44-7.
Our prediction
Delaware, with a long, proud winning tradition from D-3 years through the FCS, seeks a benchmark win at the FBS level. We think this is it. As a 20-point underdog, they will take offense to that against the Commodores. With a returning, starting QB and key playmakers returning, they have an advantage. In a shoot-out, we envision the Blue Hens in the right place at the right time to win this game that will be decided late in the game. Both offenses can put up large points on the scoreboard, but whoever steps up on defense will determine the winner. Blue Hens have a bigger incentive here.
In Delaware’s first season in the FBS, we watched them fall to Jacksonville State, 38-25. QB Nick Minicucci returns to play against Vanderbilt in Week Two.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Capture some memories
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Nashville, TN – As time expired in regulation, Lucas Carneiro booted a 48-yard FG for Ole Miss to defeat the Louisville Cardinals in the Music City Classic, 41-38. Despite an exciting game late in the third until final whistle, both teams struggled greatly in the opener for both. Errant snaps, overthrown passes, costly penalties (142 yards on 17 flags in total), questionable play calling, poor clock management, wasted time-outs, and costly turnovers marked most of this eventual, down-to-the wire game. Chalk it up to some pre-game jitters? Maybe, but mental mistakes by players and coaches continued throughout this game.
Action heats up late
The excitement at Nissan Stadium ratcheted up in the final 2:22 of the third period. Louisville QB Lincoln Kienholz finally moved his team on a 41-yard breakaway run to the Ole Miss 32. Carson Hilbert nailed a 45-yard FG to then trail, 17-16. Ole Miss countered on its next possession. Heisman QB candidate Trinidad Chambliss connected with WR Deuce Alexander on an over-the-shoulder spiral for a 62-yard touchdown. Earlier in the period, the two connected from the same distance to gain a 17-13 advantage.
Louisville QB Lincoln Kienholz (3) bolts 41 yards in third to get things going against Ole Miss.
Ole Miss penalties and belated LU strategy
To note some sloppiness of this game though, officials penalized Ole Miss on the PAT for delay of game and a false start. It resulted in a rare, 30-yard extra point. Louisville retaliated on its very next drive. Kienholz connected with a wide-open Tre Richardson, also for a 62-yard score. Sixteen seconds remained in the period. Following the score, HC Jeff Brohm called his second time-out of the half to call for a two-point conversion. Aren’t two-point plays part of the pre-determined strategy before one becomes necessary? It paid off with a slant left pass to LaWayne McCoy to tie, 24-24. However, wasted time-outs would cost LU opportunities later in this game.
Ole Miss Momentum while Lacy sits
Ole Miss maintained their offensive momentum to start the fourth. Chambliss connected with TE Caleb Odom for a 35-yard score. A sack of Kienholz by DE Kam Franklin forced Louisville to punt from its ten. Mahki Frazier took over the running duties of Lacy at this point. Lacy applied ice to his knee while sitting of the sideline after gaining 61 rushing yards and 19 passing. Carneiro attempted a 61-yard FG that missed. A blatant roughing the kicker call ensued to the chagrin of the Cardinal faithful among the 57,390 in attendance.
Ole Miss resumed their drive at the LU 25. At the five, Chambliss (21 for 36 passing, 336 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; rushing 9 for 60, 1 TD) took the snap in the shotgun and ran it right up the middle to extend the lead, 38-24. Officials assessed two penalties against Louisville on the play. One for unsportsmanlike and another for roughing the kicker.
Mississippi DE Kam Hamilton sacks Keinholz for a loss. The Cardinal punt from the ten led to another Rebel scoring drive to lead, 24-16, in the third quarter.
Louisville comes back
With only one time-out remaining, the Cardinals scored at 4:42 mark on Kienholz’s 54-yard pass to McCoy to get back into it, 38-31. McCoy made a beautiful spin move along the sideline to avoid a tackle and stay in bounds to race into the end zone. Of note in this game, numerous passing plays called for the right-handed Kienholz to roll left and throw against his body. Passes did not connect at all. Finally, he got to display his accuracy rolling to his right.
Cardinal WR LaWayne McCoy (7) spins to his right for a 54-yard TD to cut the Rebels’ lead, 38-31.
Louisville forced Ole Miss to punt after a three-and out from its 31. The Cardinals started from their 23. Kienholz (18 for 29, 307 yards, 2 TDs) connected with TE Jaleel Skinner to the 48. Next, he connected with Richardson short of the first but followed up with four-yard rush. He connected with RB Issac Brown out of the backfield for a 32-yard gain to the seven. Two plays later, he ran it in from there. Brohm called for the one-point conversion. They knotted to score, 38-38, with 1:28 left on the clock.
Heisman moments for Ole Miss quarterback?
Following the touchback, Chambliss went right back to work. He picked up 15 yards on a pass to Alexander. Next, he ran for four. Then, he connected with Odom for an 18-yard pickup. Chambliss stopped the clock with a spike, rushed for three, and handed off to Frazier to put Ole Miss at the Louisville 35. From there, Carneiro put the game away with his 48-yarder as time expired.
Exciting finish to a game where both teams shot themselves in the foot way too many times. The game was exciting, but not very pretty. Hard to imagine either team moving up or down in the upcoming poll, but eleven more contests follow to allow them to improve.
Ole Miss PK Lucas Carneiro nails a 48-yard field goal as time expires to win, 41-38.
Coming up in Week Two
Louisville (0-1) will host the FCS Villanova Wildcats (1-1), now a member of The Patriot League. Ole Miss (1-0) hosts Charlotte (0-1) of the American Athletic. They fell in their opener against FCS The Citadel last Saturday, 43-41, in three OTs.
We at Collegefootballfan.com stay in Nashville for our next game. This time, we head to Vanderbilt’s First Bank Stadium to see the Commodores who defeated FCS Austin Peay, 28-9, last Saturday. In that game, QB Blaze Berlowitz started for Vandy, and new Frosh QB Jared Curtis saw some on action completing 7 of 9 passes for 60 yards. Both take over for Diego Pavia who had a good two-year stint for the Commodores, 11-2, a year ago.
Another close battle in the making
The Dores will host the Fighting Blue Hens of Delaware (1-0) in their second year of play in the FBS as a member of Conference USA. They defeated FCS Merrimack in their home opener, 42-7, on August 27. QB Nick Minicucci led UD with 330 passing yards, two TDs, and one INT while completing 20 of 36 passes. The Blue Hens went 7-6 in their inaugural FBS season. We envision another exciting finish in this one between two hungry FBS programs looking for greater respect.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Capture some memories
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss (6) pitches out to RB JT Lindsey in place of Kewan Lacy who had to sit out. Chambliss’s stats in this one keep him in the mix for the Heisman.
Tallahassee, Florida – RBs Ousmane Kromah and Samuel Singleton, Jr. returned to play for the Florida State Seminoles this season. They led the way for their team to win their season opener over New Mexico State. In this case, so much for FSU transfers. QB Ashton Daniels transferred from Auburn. He had a decent game, but flaws in his game cause concerns against tougher foes the Seminoles will face in upcoming weeks. Texas transfer RB Tres Wisner carried four times for 34 yards late in the game. Seems like Head Coach Mike Norvell wants to see how to work with his three backs together to start the season.
Kromah, a sophomore, rushed for 115 yards on 14 carries and scored a TD. Singleton, a junior, rushed for 42 yards and a score. He also caught four passes for 54 yards and another score. His kick returns for 68 total yards included one for 46. It launched FSU’s score to seal the victory.
New Mexico State finds success through the air
The Aggies, with Furman transfer Trey Hedden at QB, put together a long drive to start the game. Despite controlling the ball for 6:47 into the game, this series ended in an INT in the end zone by CB Quindarrius Jones. Hedden would expose more of the Florida State defense during subsequent series. The Seminoles ensuing drive resulted in Gabe Panikowski’s 34-yard FG to head into the second quarter leading, 3-0. However, a long Florida State drive had placed the Noles at the NMSU four as the period ended.
Daniels completed the drive with a four-yard run to increase the FSU lead, 10-0. New Mexico State, a 31-point underdog coming in, went right to work. On three consecutive series, Hedden completed long passes on third and long situations. The first went to WR Brodie Malone-Bradford (6 catches, 96 yards, TD) and the second to WR TK King. The final one sailed for a 33-yard, diving touchdown catch to wide-open Malone-Bradford. It put the Aggies back within three.
Aggie WR Brodie Malone-Bradford (6) completes diving TD catch against Florida State in second quarter.
Defenses step up before next score
NMSU stopped a Florida State drive with an INT by S Nick Sessions. The Nole defense forced a punt two plays after a ten-yard sack by LB Mikai Gbayor. Starting from their 42, Florida State drove to the four. With 36 seconds remaining in the half, Daniels rolled right to connect with Singleton directly in front of him with a short pass for a TD. The Noles led going int to the locker rooms, 17-7.
Aggies battle back, but Noles maintain distance
Led by LB Sone Aupiu with eight tackles including two for losses, New Mexico State forced a Florida State punt. Starting from the eleven, Hedden (26 for 42, 272 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) mixed up passes and runs well to get to the Nole 21. There, Ilya Uvaydov converted from 38 yards to trail, 17-10.
Once again, a score awoke the FSU offense. Singleton got things started with a 46-yard kickoff return to the 49. Daniels completed a pass to his key receiver Duce Robinson (3 catches for 50 yards). After that, Singleton and Kromah ran the ball on each snap. Singleton took it over from two the lead, 24-10.
Florida State O-line plows through New Mexico State to put RB Nick Singleton in tor two-yards to lead, 24-10, at the end of three.
Florida State finishes with highs and lows
The Aggies started the fourth on third a nine from their 3. Jones made a great pass break-up to force a punt. FSU started from its 13. Immediately, Kromah broke through for a 52-yard jaunt to the Aggie 35. The Aggies tightened up. They forced the Noles into a Pankowski field goal from 40 yards. With 10:41 remaining, the outcome wasn’t in doubt.
However, the Aggies used the time left to show the 65,915 in attendance at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium to cast some doubt about success in upcoming games. Next Monday, ACC power No. 19 SMU comes calling with QB Kevin Jennings. In seven plays, the Aggies covered 75 yards.
Hedden completed five passes to three receivers. The last went 34 yards to wide-open, once again, King (7 catches, 78 yards, TD) to narrow the margin, 27-17. The Noles had trouble with a New Mexico State offense led by a former FCS QB under little pressure. They left many wide-open receivers for easy receptions. What adjustments will be made before SMU’s visit followed by a trip to No. 13 Alabama?
WR TK King speeds past FSU defenders on his way to the end zone exposing the secondary play that the Seminoles need to correct before next Monday’s game against SMU back here in Doak Campbell Stadium.
Final analysis for Florida State in 2026
Florida State scored on their final possession of the game. Wisner went on display with four runs and a reception to get the Noles to the 26. Daniels completed a pass to WR Jayvon Boggs to the one. Kromah came back in to score to put the icing on the cake this evening, 34-17. Florida State will savor the win for now, but it needs to learn from some mistakes in pass coverage to stop two top teams during the next two weeks.
The Seminole pass rush has to improve. Despite the performances by Singleton and Kromah, blocking up front has to improve. Daniels looks slow on his pass release, though a nice double pump helped Boggs get clear on his catch. With two extra days to practice this week and already under intense pressure, Head Coach Mike Norvell needs to accelerate on improvements. Evidently, his hot seat is in flames when dedicated Nole fans met at tailgates adjacent to Doak Campbell, in the Club Lounge, and in the stadium club seating area already refer to “our next coach” – without even using a name. They just know that they expect somebody “special.”
What we expect to see in 2023
As noted, Florida State faces early key games for their season success and Coach Norvell’s job during the next two weeks. Beyond another winnable game at home versus Central Arkansas, the schedule challenges the Seminoles, no doubt. Get this road on the “hot seat”: Virginia, at Louisville, at Miami and two weeks later, Clemson. Sorry for Mike Norvell, he may be cooked by then.
Hoping that these Florida State cheerleaders will have more to be happy about than what we anticipate for the rest or their team’s season. Hopefully there will be some unexpected surprises.
As for the New Mexico State Aggies
They should look good at home in Las Cruces next week against D-2 Mercyhurst out of Erie, Pennsylvania. Next, they travel to Hawaii followed by a visit at home from archrival New Mexico. As a ConferenceUSA member, tough games loom ahead with Western Kentucky, Jacksonville State, and Delaware all at home. Other games look winnable. With Hedden at QB and a few other additions like RB James Jones from Delaware State melding together behind a decent offensive line, they can possibly help HC Tony Sanchez to a winning record and a shot at the CUSA title.
We’ll skip next Saturday for a game on Sunday!
A plan for D-3 game Saturday fell through and we have several key games on the tube we want to scout for future references. Penn State hosts Marshall, Auburn vs. Baylor, and Tulane at Duke among others, we will see play. Other teams on our 2026 schedule such as Texas State and Western Michigan take in top contenders Texas and Michigan. We will see how they hold up.
Associated Press No. 9 vs. No. 24
On Sunday, we drive over to Nissan Stadium to see No. 9 Ole miss play No. 24 Louisville. Both squads bring top QBs and top RBs to what should be an exciting game. The Rebels start under Lane Kiffin replacement Pete Golding, winner of two CFP games a year ago. His offense features QB Trinidad Chambliss, 297.6 yards per game last year in total offense. RB Kewan Lacy returns with 1,567 rushing yards and 24 TDs.
Louisville HC Jeff Brohm returns in his fourth year with high hopes on QB Lincoln Kienholz. After waiting in line to play at Ohio State behind Julian Saylin, he transferred to pitch now for the Cardinals. Sophomore RB Issac Brown returns with 1,173 yards and seven TDs. Both offenses will be primed to go against defenses filling in a lot of lots with transfers. We expect to see a high-scoring battle in this Music City Classic!
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Capture some memories
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
In a fitting ceremony, former Seminole place kicker, Sebastian Janikowski (1997-99) had his jersey number retired. He is the only college PK to win the Lou Groza Award twice. He will be inducted into the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame. We saw him as a member of 1998 FSU team that defeated Texas A&M, 23-14, in the annual Kick-off Classic.
Lebanon, TN – Of 28 Head Coaching changes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) since last season, we’ll attend games featuring at least 12 new coaches leading teams for the first time. In addition, several begin this season sitting on the proverbial “hot-seat.” A few risk entering that most unwanted “portal” all coaches hope to avoid. NILs and player transfers complicate recruiting and team building more than ever before. College coaching becomes more of a challenge to many, requiring more time spent on activities primarily more than actually coaching. At this point, some even seek “safe” alternatives to coach the pros.
Since last season, several teams we watched lost former head coaches. Based on our experience, the most intriguing opportunity led us to preview not only the coaching change regarding Penn State in particular, but also regarding their game vs. USC on October 10 at Beaver Stadium. Now an official “white-out.” Matt Campbbell steps in at State College. Across the field, USC’s Lincoln Riley needs to get his Trojans on track to the CFP. After five years, he still needs to show his current, antsy fan base that they hired the head coach they needed. We also share our projected impact of James Franklin moving on to Virginia Tech. Click here to review this in our previous report. Below, we continue on to further intriguing head coaching changes we will witness in-person this season.
Mike Norvell starts his season with pants on fire
Following the last two seasons winning only two and five wins respectively, Florida State Head Coach Mike Norvell probably feels more heat than any other. The downward spiral of Seminole Nation followed at the end of 2023. A 13-0 regular season followed QB Jordan Travis’s tragic, season-ending injury. It resulted in a hasty denial to the CFP. Next came massive player losses via the transfer portal. Consequently, Georgia blew them away, 63-3, in the CapitalOne Orange Bowl. Doesn’t seem fair. This head coach had begun to redirect the Seminole program in the right direction. Now, he sits on an intense hot spot today.
Mike Norvell’s head coaching at FSU took the Seminoles to 13-0 in 2022, shown here in a win at Wake Forest. QB Jordan Travis who rolls out here suffered a leg injury late in the season. It halted FSU’s run to the CFP.
Doesn’t look too promising for Norvell over the course of the entire season. However, in Week 0 of 2026, we start with his team hosting New Mexico State under HC Tony Sanchez. In his first two seasons at Las Cruces, Sanchez’s record equals Norvell’s 7-17 record. Prior to taking over the Aggies in the post-Diego Pavia era, he struggled as head coach at UNLV to a 20-40 record. With minimal quarterback experience for the Aggies entering 2026, this looks like a winnable opener for FSU.
Tough road ahead for Norvell
A week later, the Seminoles climb back into reality. SMU, ranked at No. 19 in Associated Press Top 20, comes to Tallahassee to be followed by a battle at vengeful Alabama. The Tide looks to extract revenge after falling to the Noles last season, 31-17. After a visit from Central Arkansas, Norvell’s seat will be aglow from then on against ACC competition. Things look bright for Norvell in 2026, but not in a positive way.
Ole Misses’ Golding golden, for now
This “new” replacement resumes his head coaching duties with little negativity. Pete Golding took over at Ole Miss after Lane Kiffin’s early departure last season to take over at LSU (note the new “Kiffin rule” as part of the Protect College Sports Act proposal). Golding coached the Rebels in victories against Tulane and Georgia in CFP games last season. Eventually, his team exited falling to runner-up Miami, 31-27. QB Trinidad Chamblis returns for a fifth year of eligibility. He made a great transition to starter in 2025 from D-2 Ferris State. RB Kewan Lacy returns with 1,567 yards and 24 TDs from last season.
We will be in attendance when No. 9 Ole Miss meets No. 24 Louisville under 3rd year HC Jeff Brohm (28-12 in three years, 9-4 in 2025). They’ll clash in the Music City Classic on Labor Day in Nashville. Brohm looks to Ohio State transfer QB Lincoln Kienholz to lead his offense effectively as starter. At Ohio State the past two years, he sat behind QBs Will Howard and Julian Sayin. Junior RB Issac Brown returns to Mississippi as another top rusher in the FBS. Should be an interesting and challenging opener for both teams in Nissan Stadium.
Week 4: Weekend of head coaching question marks
During the weekend of September 25-26, we head to Birmingham, Alabama. There, the struggling University of Alabama-Birmingham hosts Navy who relished an impressive 11-2 season under HC Brian Newberry in 2025. On Friday evening, the UAB Blazers performs under head coach Alex Mortensen. UAB promoted its former OC midway last season. He replaced fired former successful, Lipscomb Academy (Nashville, TN) coach and Super Bowl QB Trent Dilfer. The Blazers finished 4-8 overall, 2-4 under Mortensen.
The pressure mounts already on this program. The Blazers were revived from discontinuation in 2018 by an avid alumni and fan base. They seek to regain their fairly successful football program. Not a lot of optimism for the Blazers this season. Three defensive transfers followed their new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham from 1-12 Oklahoma State. Blazer fans crave a fast fix. Doesn’t look possible this season. Only two starters return on offense; none on defense. Transfers will fill in many open spots. Mortensen has to demonstrate some fast development to improve. RB Rod Robinson II, a Georgia transfer, could bring some power to the UAB running attack.
For Navy: Steady as she goes
As for visiting Navy at UAB, Head Coach Brian Newberry will rely on Senior QB Braxton Woodson. He needs to step up and replace stalwart QB Blake Horvath who led Navy in passing and rushing before graduating last spring. Woodson will have ample experience on his O-line to provide protection and open holes. However, two pro RB prospects emerged at Navy in Eli Henrickson and Alex Tecza. Pittsburgh area natives, both now practice in training camp with the Steelers. New skill players will have to replace both three-year starters at USNA.
Newberry, a defensive guru, will rely heavily on returning defensive experience and the program’s capability to develop new skill players annually. Military academies do not accept players from the transfer portal. Once beyond their second season, players (as do all academy students) commit to becoming Naval and Marine Corps officers upon graduation. So, many who enter USNA’s football program and remain into their junior year focus full speed ahead. They commit to play football into their senior season.
Midshipmen Head Coach Brian Newberry (with beard, kneeling) watches his defense battle in a closer game than expected last season against archrival Air Force. Navy prevailed, 34-31.
Big head coaching shoes to fill when Southern Miss visits Tulane
On Saturday in New Orleans following Navy at UAB, we will attend a Tulane game at Yulman Stadium for the first time. The 2025 No. 18 Green Wave (11-3), after a season jumping into the CFP, hosts Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles improved from 1-11 to 7-6 last season under first-year head coach Charles Huff. However, with that success, Memphis hired him away. He absconded with a large group of stellar players the Golden Eagles could have banked on this season.
Only one starter remains from last year under new HC Blake Anderson. He remained after working as the offensive coordinator under Huff, a former assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama. We’d seen Anderson previously coach at Utah State. We witnessed his Aggies defeat Hawaii in 2021, 51-31, on the way to an 11-3 season. A year later, we saw Alabama shellack the Aggies, 55-0, on his way to first of two 6-7 seasons. Anderson has a lot of rebuilding ahead of him before making the Eagles competitive again, but it most likely will not be this year.
Topsy-turvy Tulane
Will Hall also steps up at Tulane from OC to head coach. He replaces Jon Sumrall after leading the Green Wave to a 20-8 record the previous two seasons. He surfed the Green Wave to two American Athletic Conference championships and their first bid ever as the Group of Six representative to last year’s CFP. For Hall, Sumrall didn’t leave the cupboard as empty as did Huff at Southern Miss. Hall’s priority focuses on replacing QB Jake Retzlaff. The running game and receiving corps return some key staters. The O-line sought transfers. Depth on defense returns from last season. If Hall fills in at QB adequately, the momentum built by former head coaches Willie Fritz and Sumrall should make Tulane a viable challenger once again in the American Athletic.
Auburn takes new head coaching rout; hires South Florida’s Alex Golesh
The American Athletics’ success as a Group of Six Conference bodes well as a head coaching breeding ground for Power Four programs. In Auburn’s case, the Tigers not only gain a winning head coach who rebuilt South Florida the last three season, but they lured away staff members and 13 Bull transfers, most from a very potent offense. QB Bynum Brown leads the way. Last season he passed for 3,158 yards and ran for 1.008. Key receivers Chas Nimrod, Keshaun Singleton and Jeremiah Koger followed. They join AU RB Jeremiah Cobb who posted 959 rushing yards last year.
Defensively, the Tigers retain defensive coordinator DJ Durkin. Auburn considered him to replace ousted HC Hugh Freeze after three seasons. All-SEC LB Xavier Atkins returns to lead a defense to improve mostly from 47 other transfers Golesh landed. S Eric Winters and CB Rayshawn Pleasant add experience to Durkin’s schemes. Auburn hopes Golesh turns things around “on the Plain” just like he accomplished at USF. He turned around the Bulls record of 4-49 prior to his arrival to 23-16 in his three years.
Is Golesh that “Smart?”
Not sure how quickly he will turn things around for Auburn. He faces a tough task on our slate this season. On October 17th, in our 750th game since 1979, the Tigers take on long-time SEC rival and AP No. 3 Georgia in Athens. Of course, there’s no head coaching slouch on the other sideline. Kirby Smart kicks off his 11th season “between the hedges.” His mark of 117-21 including National Championships in 2021 and 2022 sets the standard for active FBS coaches.
Georgia HC Kirby Smart observes a play against Kentucky in his team’s close 16-6 victory at Lexington in 2022. He coached them to their second straight national championship.
North Texas State Mean Green now Lean Green
Finishing 24th in the nation last season with a 12-2 record, the Mean Green of North Texas State came up short of a CFP bid. They fell, 34-21, to Tulane for the AAC 2026 title. However, they led the FBS with 512.4 yards per game on offense and in scoring with 45.1 points per game. Their future remained bright. Then, Big XII bottom feeder Oklahoma State (1-12) came calling. They swooped in to abscond HC Eric Morris. Again, a Power Four program stole away with another American Athletic head coach.
Similar to other attacks from above, the 1-12 Cowboys left new NTSU HC Neal Brown, OC arriving from Texas, with absolutely no starters on offense. Stalwart Mean Green offensive players, now OSU Cowboys, include QB Drew Mestemaker (4,379 yards, 34 TDs), WR Wyatt Young (1,264 yards, 10 TDs) and RB Caleb Hawkins (1,457 yards, 23 TDs). In front of them, four offensive linemen from NTSU prep to block up front for them at T. Boone Pickens Stadium. Interesting to see how a potent American Athletic offense will face up against some staunch Big XII defenses. We never considered Big XII defenses dominant in the past until we watch Texas Tech challenge Oregon in the CFP Orange Bowl last year. Let’s see what Eric Morris has in store.
While the Mean Green offense thrived last year, their defense struggled. Aforementioned South Florida put up 63 points in NTSU’s one regular season loss. They allowed 381.9 yards and 26.5 points per game. They ranked 130th in rushing yards allowing 215.7 per game. This resulted in some close wins over run-oriented teams in 2026. HC Brown reached out to upgrade this year’s defense. He hired former Baylor DC Matt Powledge. He brings some Baylor Bears with him to start bolstering a struggling defense.
Mean Green head coaching goes from balanced to ground attack
North Texas will have much to do ahead. The team returns no starters on either side of the football. Bad for the offense, but maybe good for the defense. Brown brings his reputation as a run-oriented offensive strategist. He previously served as Troy head coach (35-16) and at West Virginia (37-36) for a total of ten years. With several inexperienced QBs on this season’s roster, until Brown settles on his definitive starter. It probably makes sense he relies on a running attack to restart his Mean Green first edition.
His version may have a tough challenge when we see them face the Midshipmen in Annapolis at the USNA Homecoming on October 24th. Navy returns a strong nucleus of defensive talent, probably the most of any American Athletic defense this season. Of course, on offense they will rely on reloading with talent waiting in the wings to replace their two top RBs now at the Pittsburgh Steeler preseason camp.
At Kentucky, Will Stein steps up for first head coaching stint
Kentucky sought some excitement to replace HC Mark Stoops after thirteen years leading the Wildcats. His program emphasized the run resulting in a Wildcat record of 72-80. Looking to bolster an exciting new-look offensive style, U of K brought back Kentucky native, Louisville graduate, former Cardinal QB and Oregon Duck OC Will Stein all the way from Eugene, Oregon. There, he served the past three seasons as Oregon’s offensive coordinator under the highly successful HC, Dan Lanning. With Stein as OC, the Ducks rolled to a record of 38-6. Quite impressive. In our history, we saw him coach seven games (6-1) as OC, both at UTSA and Oregon.
HC Dan Lanning’s Ducks have been dominant with Will Stein at OC. Can Stein bring that same effective skill sets to Lexington in the near future?
Right move to start: hired Texas A&M DC Jay Bateman
Stein, 36 years-old, who totally focused on offense during his career, hired away DC Jay Bateman with two years at Texas A&M under Mike Elko. In total,12 years as DC altogether, he worked his way up through better programs. Reports indicate that Stein will give Bateman a long leash. He hopes his knowledge and experiences can improve the Wildcat defense. Stein can continue to do what he does best. He will run the offense as he also takes on new duties developing his strategies with new experiences as first time HC.
His three years at Oregon had to be essential for his head coaching career. Now, he’s making the most of it. Some preseason publications allude to hopes of a result similar to Indiana. Unlike Curt Cignetti, however, Stein brings few players like Cignetti did from his former James Madison program. AP No. 2 Oregon players tended to stay with their successful head coach, Dan Lanning. Remaining intact, they expect to challenge for the CFP championship of 2026.
Stein builds in short-term for long-term
Certainly, Stein will face early struggles. He made a nice portal snag of Ken Minchey, a third-year QB at Notre Dame. Last season, he fell in behind Soph QB CJ Carr in tight competition. The All-Stater from Hendersonville, Tennessee will get his starting shot to make his move to finally demonstrate his QB skills. Like many other programs in this NIL/wide-open transfer portal era, Stein will be piecing together top talent and skill sets from other programs. He looks to bring U of K back from two consecutive losing seasons. Challenges loom ahead.
From Mighty Oregon to head coaching “so-so” Kentucky
His biggest adjustment will be his move from a superior talent base at powerful Oregon to a lower echelon Power Four program. In Lexington, his coaching staff’s skills will have to develop the inherent talent to compete at a higher level than it has been. He and his newly formed staff need to enhance that talent in the beginning. Personnel improvements on display must become evident to attract better recruits in the future.
Despite Stein’s great won-loss records as OC at previous stops, wins we witnessed did not all come based on superior offense. A 16-13 win at Wisconsin in 2024 resulted in UW firing OC Phil Longo the day after. Last year’s 30-24 win over Penn State came in two OT’s – well played but not dominant. The 23-0 win over Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl came against a very inept offense that couldn’t keep the Duck offense off the field. Tech’s solid defense basically kept them in check. On the other hand, their offense couldn’t move the ball and played poorly. We won’t consider the 56-22 loss to Indiana as a blemish here. The Hoosiers were just unstoppable by then.
Know who else was unstoppable last season? Indiana’s Red Steppers! They made it to Miami, too.
Kentucky at Tennessee: no high Kentucky expectations here
On November 7, collegefootallfan.com will attend a game at Neyland Stadium for the first time since we relocated to the Volunteer State five years ago. Scheduling conflicts and expensive, after-market ticket prices kept us away until this season. This will be only our second time there in our history. A friend’s daughter enters her senior year at UT, so it’s cause for a tailgate celebration. Luckily, we found the right prices at the right time.
We will figure out how the Wildcats will make out leading into this game with earlier dates vs. Alabama, at A&M, vs. LSU and at Oklahoma. Since 2001, the Wildcats have only defeated the Vols in three of the previous 26 meetings. Last win in this annual series occurred in 2020 at Lexington. The last time the Wildcats won at Neyland occurred back in 1984. Now, we understand why this SEC game doubles a Tennessee Homecoming. We don’t envision either streak ending this season with Will Stein taking over. It will take a few years for the Cats to get up to speed with the Vols. We may go back to Lexington again for future clashes if we see Stein improve the program as he intends to.
New PAC-12 game features two diverse head coaching changes
We will venture to the state of Washington on November 14 to attend our first game ever in the Evergreen State. First-year head coach Kirby Moore, Boise State grad and brother of former Bronco QB Kellen Moore, now HC with the New Orleans Saints, makes his debut with the Washington State Cougars. We saw the two brothers play for BSU in their 2010 season opener in a 33-30 win over Virginia Tech in Landover, Maryland. Kirby served as OC at Missouri the past three seasons for HC Eliah Drinkwitz. The Tigers amassed a record of 29-10. Kirby Moore’s offense averaged 30.6 points per game.
WAZU will host Colorado State under their new Head Coach Jim Mora. CSU took an entirely different route in their head coaching change. They went deep on experience. Mora holds a ten-year collegiate career record of 73-53. In six years at UCLA, he left a final record of 46-30. In the past four year, he improved a downtrodden Connecticut program. He led them to a mark of 27-23. The last two seasons, as an FBS independent, Mora led the Huskies to nine wins in each and to two Fenway Bowls. Prior to college head coaching, he ran the Alanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks over four seasons accumulating a record of 31-33.
PAC-12 collision course?
Moore’s first priority requires a new starting QB. His best options come from FCS UC Davis transfer Caden Pinnick. He arrives as Big Sky Freshman of the Year from a strong conference. UC Davis finished 9-4. Owen Eshelman also returns as a redshirt freshman. Experienced protection returns upfront for the Cougar’s. Their running game from a year ago returns three good backs who combined for 1,006 yards and five TDs. Kirby Vorhees led all with 598 yards. WR Tony Freeman returns with 590 yards and three TDs.
Transfers will be called upon to replace six starters on defense who bolted to Iowa State with their former HC Jimmy Rogers. The Cougar offense could be solid if either QB plays up to expectations. However, the success of a winning season depends on the development of the defense relying on many new players. Moore will rely on new DC Trent Bray. He steps in following two seasons as defensive coordinator and two as head coach at Oregon State. We saw the Beavers fall in their first of ten games vs. California in their opener last season. For WAZU’s stake, we hope he arrives as the better DC he was when OSU won 18 games compared to the seven wins as head coach.
Hopefully, Trent Bray will do a better job as DC at Washington State than he did at head coaching at Oregon State last year. Cal with QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele downed his OSU Beavers, 31-9, last season.
Mora’s moves
CSU’s roster seems similar to Washington State’s. Experienced transfers from the portal on the line, experienced players at skill positions, but little QB experience. UConn transfer Mel Bown who led the Huskies with 925 rushing yards the last two seasons will be called on as primary runner. UConn transfer WR Jackson Harper and returning WR Tommy Maher provide talent for the passing attack. QB options come in Hauss Henry who played five games last season for 1-12 Oklahoma State. The other comes is K’saan Farrar who started one game for UConn in 2026. Former UConn QB Coach Pryce Tracy will be called upon to initiate an explosive offense similar to one he and Mora coached at UConn. It requires a capable Run-Pass Option QB that relies on a strong running game to the outside.
Mora’s DC Tyson Summers returns to CSU after taking over for fired HC Jay Norvell. Injuries decimated the Ram defense last season. LB Oumar Diomande follows Mora from UConn as a key to his new Ram defense. He led UConn in tackles last season as did FCS Montana transfer LB Cale Otlewski. Six defensive linemen return. Six transfers bulk them up to be a primary strength for CSU this season. Four transfers join the secondary to bring more experience. Mora’s transfers look like they strengthened a defense that suffered excessive injures last season. This unit could bring them success, but quarterback success seems to be key to make the Rams competitive.
A little Collegefootballfan.com history and an FCS side trip
A few personal notes here. In our history, Colorado State won both games we saw them play. They defeated Colorado in the 2006 Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver, 14-10. In 2023, they defeated Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, 31-23. In the annals of our history, Washington State stands 1-1. At Notre Dame, in their 2003 season opener, we saw them fall in overtime on a field goal, 29-26. In 2015 at Rutgers, in typical Mike Leach fashion, the late, great head coach avoided punting the entire game to take a hard-fought, fun and sometimes sloppy 37-34 victory.
Regarding our future, prior to this game to be played 7 pm PT in Pullman, we plan to attend a 1 pm game a short drive away at the Kibbe Dome in Moscow, Idaho. FCS Idaho hosts tough Big Sky foe, UC Davis. We’ll see how UCD compensated for their loss of QB Caden Pinnick to Washington State. Click here for our entire 2026 schedule.
Aforementioned Memphis
As noted previously, Charles Huff left Southern Miss behind for Memphis. He took a core of Golden Eagle talent with him to compete for the American Athletic title. Memphis finished last season at 8-5. Arkansas (2-10) lured away HC Ryan Satterfield (50-25 over six seasons) and Memphis took Huff. With Huff came a group of solid defensive players among 17 Golden Eagles that left replacement HC Blake Anderson scrambling at the other “SMU.” LB Mike Montgomery (105 tackles) and S Ian Foster transferred as key All-AAC player take-aways to Memphis’s D. DE J’Mond Tapp, transfer from Texas but originally All-Sun Belt at Southern Miss returns. The Tiger DC Lance Guidry, former defensive analyst at LSU, looks to develop talent around Montgomery to solidify his new defense.
Huff will rely on new OC Kevin Decker, of late from Old Dominion, to develop two QBs with little FBS experience. Marcus Stokes comes from D2 West Florida as a Harlon Hill Trophy candidate for Top D2 player. Air Noland transferred from South Carolina where he played in only two games. Transfer RBs from Southern Miss, Cincinnati and Colorado fall into the emerging backfield. Dallen Hayden gained 1,185 yards in four seasons between Ohio State and Colorado. Huff coached Marshall to the Sun Belt title in 2024. He turned one-win Southern Miss around last season. Memphis hasn’t won the AAC title since 2019. Memphis hired Huff to bring back the championship.
Key conference battle for many seasons
We will see the Tigers visit Navy in what could be another key AAC battle on November 21. We’ve seen these two visit one another in the past. We witnessed a few good battles which decided the championship between the two. A lot of good football remains be to played before then. From our experience, we know these two fight hard whenever they meet. We travel to Annapolis a second time this season figuring that this game could be for all the AAC marbles.
Navy and Memphis tangled in one of their classic battles at Annapolis in 2018. The Mids beat the Tigers, 22-21.
More American Athletic action before getting off the head coaching carousel
Our head coaching carousel concludes on November 28 (possibly the day before on Friday after Thanksgiving Day). After Turkey Day with family living in Orlando, heading over to Tampa for the game between Tulane at South Florida. It will be USF’s final game at Raymond James Stadium. In 2027, the start playing in a new on-campus facility. Above, we reported on Will Hall taking over for topsy-turvy Tulane. Regarding South Florida, Alex Golesh left USF behind with a 9-4 record to leave the AAC for Auburn in the SEC. He took the brunt of his very good offense with him. So, what did South Florida do?
USF hired Brain Hartline with no prior head coaching experience. However, Hartline comes from Ohio State. There, he had heavy influence as OC, recruiting and developing some of the best WR talents moving on to the NFL (i.e. Jaxon-Smith Nnjigba, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, to name a few). Through the busy transfer portal, he lured WR Bryson Rogers from OSU along with several others from other Power Four programs. Think they’re any good? To spread the ball around, LSU QB Michael Van Buren, Jr. joins him (player to be named later in the Joe Burrow transfer of 2019?).
Defense, defense!
Hartline hired DC Josh Aldridge who mentored East Carolina as same last season. The Pirates led the American Athletic in total defense. They allowed 348.8 yards per game and only 20.3 points per game. You already know there were well-coached teams in the AAC. Also, USF defeated Boise State and Florida last season. Of course, much of the offense went elsewhere. Defensive lineman CJ Hicks of Ohio State comes in with 44 games under his belt. Other transfers need to step up. Safety Tavin Ward returns to lead a secondary full of transfers from P4 programs. Like many teams in the AAC, Hartline puts together a puzzle of new pieces to come up with the best combination of players to vie for a pretty wide-open conference title. Should be a fun year in the AAC. We get to see seven programs in action.
Only Navy among the ones in this article returns their head coach. The other missing is Army. The Cadets have been under the head coaching of Jeff Monken there for ten years now. Of course, we’ll be there for the final regular season game of the year when Army meets Navy in The Meadowlands on December 12. Despite both belonging to the AAC, this traditional season ending for both does not impact the final conference standings.
Famous last words on some other 2026 head coaching changes
Here’s our impressions based on programs and coaches seen the last few years:
Oregon State – JaMarcus Shepherd (Alabama Assistant HC) – if he relies on Malik Murphy at QB, he’s doomed. Over-rated “big-arm.” Unimpressive at Duke in 3 games we saw. Worse in game vs. Cal last year.
Middle Tennessee – Derek Mason on “hot seat.” Rode coat tails of James Franklin recruits at Vanderbilt. 6-18 in two years at MTSU. Program lacks energy. New MTSU president hired after this year will replace him.
Arkansas – Ryan Silverfield (former Memphis HC) – Saw him go 2-0 defeating Navy and Iowa State in Liberty Bowl. Just don’t see him taking a 2-10 program in the SEC to a much higher level.
And highlighting some of the bigger moves and shakes
LSU – Lane Kiffin (former Ole Miss HC) – Lots of NIL money. No excuses!
North Carolina – Bill Belichick on “hot seat.” Getting old. Should go enjoy retirement with his girlfriend. Give UNC a chance.
Penn State – Matt Cambell (former Iowa State HC) – Click link here
Virginia Tech – James Franklin (former PSU HC) – Natural salesman. Weak in player development and key game execution. 4-21 vs. Top Ten at PSU. Best win at Vandy came in 2013 against 8-5 Georgia. Virginia Tech fans will be disappointed. Click link here.
Florida – Jon Sumrall (former Troy and Tulane HC) – saw him coach Troy twice. Once in Sun Belt Championship game. No let up at Tulane. Best hire among all teams. He will take Florida far in the next couple of years.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Lebanon, TN – As we approach our 47th season that starts two weeks from this Saturday, we follow up as promised with our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 3. On July 29, we published our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 1followed by Edition 2. Hopefully, we can all agree it’s something that fans attending games in-person all enjoy as an essential part of the game. Cheerleaders carry on the traditions of college football. They also remind us that the college game exists for the young at heart!
Fans watching from home can change channels to watch other games. Or, they watch the same insurance commercials they wanted to avoid on the previous network’s break. They can run to the fridge or hit the head. Though we tolerate way too many breaks-in-the-action as ticket-buying fans, we absolutely enjoy observing sideline entertainment to fill the voids. As the late, great ABC broadcaster Chris Schenkle espoused back in the 60s: “College football! What better way to enjoy a Saturday afternoon?”
2026 Cheerleader Edition 3 appears after 1 and 2 to prepare us for more of College Football Fun
We have photographed plenty of game action over many past seasons in 42 states. We look forward to seeing more spirited activities along the sidelines everywhere to be recorded for our future game reviews and for future Collegefootballfan.com College Cheerleader editions! More such highlights will be captured among 30 games we plan to attend in 2026. Since we’ve already seen 136 FBS schools and many among the FCS as well, we finally figured the best order to present our Collegefootballfan.com 2026 Cheerleader Edition 2 and I. It makes sense to present our cheerleader photos alphabetically by school.
We’ve chosen the best of the best we’ve photographed for most of the schools seen the past 47 years. Some schools we’ve seen play many times. Some we witnessed only one or two times. We reminisce about our many game memories and throw in some thoughts for future plans in our captions. Most likely, you’ll just enjoy perusing our historic sideline, pictorial, collection of many fantastic Cheerleaders entertaining for their fans’ enjoyment! Let the games begin, but we have one more collection of features to follow Cheerleader Editon 3. Then it’s time to get ready for some head-knocking!
Cheerleader Squads 50-54: Even the losers can smile sometimes
We start Cheerleader Edition 3 with a pregame U. of Penn rally at Franklin Field in Philly (oldest D1 venue in college football since 1895) prior to Yale game in 2018. The Bulldogs defeated the Quakers, 23-10. They tied at 3-4 in the Ivy for fourth place.“The Midwest farmers’ daughters (Purdue) really make you feel alright.” And Penn State brought the east coast girls who were “hip.” The No. 7 Lions edged the Boilermakers that night in 2022, 35-31.The Rutgers Cheerleaders brought out the best of the Scarlet Knights in their 2019 opener burning UMASS, 48-21. After that, their team only beat Liberty to finish 2-10, 0-9 in The Big Ten. Too bad for our Jersey Girls!Another FCS squad made it big-time in our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 3. No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana visited No. 7 Samford in Homewood, Alabama for an opening round game in December 2022. This squad had much to cheer about right up until the end. Their team came up just short in a 48-42 thriller!South Alabama’s Jaguar pom-pom squad added to our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 3 sideline festivities here in 2025 at home in Mobile, Alabama for a Sun Belt fight against Arkansas State. The Red Wolves won with a late score to go home as winners, 15-14.
Cheerleader Edition 3, Nos. 55-59: three birds flew to victory; two Oranges squeezed in defeat
In October 2022, the South Carolina Gamecock Cheerleaders enjoyed themselves at Kentucky. Their No. 23 team defeated the Wildcats, 24-18.Syracuse Cheerleaders in end zone action against Notre Dame in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Ten years already? Seems like yesterday. Great tailgate bus trip / party. Their Orangemen gave up a lot of points that day to the Fighting Irish and lost, 50-33. Temple cheerleaders always perform well with their Owls Marching Band. Had to consider several TU marching photos for 2026 Cheerleader Edition 3. So did their football team perform well at “The Linc” this evening in 2018 defeating Tulsa in American Athletic action, 31-17.Tennessee Cheerleaders rolled with the colder temps at last season’s Music City Bowl in Nashville. However, the Fighting Illini of Illinois defeated their Vols, 30-28.Earlier in October last season when warmer in the Volunteer State, we ventured to Tennessee Tech in Cookeville for our first time. Tech finished No. 7 in the FCS. Here, they defeated SE Missouri State, 42-23. Hopefully, the TTU Eagles get an FCS bid this season so we can see another game in Cookeville.
Travels across the country, time and football history
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Appreciate your feedback!
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Speaking of other Tennessee teams, we bring Middle Tennessee back on to our slate next season when they host improved Kennesaw State in a Wednesday night Conference USA match. Hope the Blue Raiders football program will improve.
Lebanon, TN – Of 28 head coach changes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) since last season, we will see at least 12 lead new teams in action during their first season. In addition, we’ll see several this season already sitting on the proverbial “hot-seat.” This season, a few others risk entering that most unwanted “portal.” NILs and player transfers complicate recruiting and team-building more than ever before for the college coaching community. At this point, some even seek “safety” coaching in the pros.
Last season, we watched several teams play that lost their former head coaches since. In a subsequent article, we’ll provide our insights and perspectives on these. We made observations at games we attended in the past. Among them, we witnessed some of these new mentors in action previously. From this experience, the most intriguing opportunity leads to preview the coaching change not only regarding Penn State in particular, but regarding their game vs. USC on October 10 at Beaver Stadium. In addition, we consider the impact of James Franklin moving on to Virginia Tech.
Our perspectives on Penn State’s coach change
Having attended 120 Nittany Lion games since 1979 including 25 coached by James Franklin since 2015, a close perception focused on this situation. I also confided in my great, long-time friend and PSU alumnus, John Massimilla. He’s had season tickets since the early 80s. I join him on most occasions to State College. Among Franklin’s mark of 104-45 while at Happy Valley, his record in our presence together came up 18-7. Early on, Franklin defeated both Michigan and Ohio State once. In subsequent years, he lost every time to both Big Ten powerhouses. His possessed coaching talents and he lacked others that became more obvious.
James Franklin is an eloquent communicator, natural salesman, effective public relations rep and a good talent recruiter. All are necessary in this age of leading a college football program at to the highest level. Therein lie his greatest strengths. He presents himself well to the media to defend his strategies and decisions. Franklin communicates how good his players are. He expounds on how successful his recruiting process is. Generally positive, the head coach sometimes exalts the extreme even when times are not going his program’s way.
Evident strengths
As a natural salesman, he sells his program well to get players he wants to come play for him. He does the same to fill in coaching voids when they open up, or when he determines someone else can fit his program better. He can articulate to the media why his team won; why its’s successful; and why it failed to some extent, though rarely to his fault. Before eventual, consistent losses to other Top Ten programs, he convinced school administrators to award him a $40 million buy-out. In the end for Penn State, thankfully, that was renegotiated.
Note lower photo on cover of East Stroudsburg vs Southern Connecticut D-2 game program in 1994. James Franklin (9) started as QB for ESU. For South Conn, future New England Patriot Joe Andruzzi played OT in several Super Bowl wins.
With strengths come weaknesses with any Head Coach
Despite all this, when it came to communications on the field, especially in critical, game-time situations, we watched him fail to step up. He started at quarterback in 1994-95 for East Stroudsburg State where he set 23 records. Having seen him play quarterback for the Warriors in 1994 in a 15-10 win over Southern Connecticut State, expectations came to have outstanding game-time leadership capabilities as a head coach. As head coach at Vanderbilt, he finished 24-15 which brought significant improvement to the Commodores.
To the contrary, in tough times, he stood standing outside his team meeting along the sideline quietly with arms folded in critical situations. I noted this in losses to Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon in his final season. He seemed oblivious to taking charge of his team when necessary. A friend in Nashville who worked security at some games, confirmed he did the same there.
Penn State Head Coach James Franklin stands outside his team huddle in fourth period of 24-15 loss to Michigan in 2023. U of M went on to win the national championship.
The anti-Saban?
When Nick Saban coached on several occasions at Alabama games we attended, in similar situations he might be in some player’s face. He might be conferring with a group of players. He might be discussing strategies with staff members. During such crucial situations, he ususally seemed most animated. Circling his team on the sideline, he’d interject something to someone at any instant to provide whatever input he felt necessary. His team and staff witnessed who was in charge, listened to him, and responded. Not the same at PSU.
Franklin’s faults
Franklin either decided this wasn’t his place as head coach, or he did not know how to be involved under pressure. The latter makes no sense. He stood apart from his team during sideline meetings when they seemed in most need of his leadership, support or guidance. He at least needed to demonstrate how much he cared in tight games. Weakness appeared in instances when his team needed to feel the strength and enthusiasm of their Head Coach. Will he change at Virginia Tech, or will this continue to be his style?
Noted as an experienced college quarterback, Franklin lacked in developing QB talent as a head coach. The last three seasons, Drew Allar rarely looked off his primary receivers to deceive defensive backs. Defenses could read him easily and caused difficulties in tight coverage in crucial situations. Notre Dame did in the final minutes of the 2024 CFP Semi-final in the CapitalOne Orange Bowl. They ended Penn State’s final drive with an interception to win. It always seemed that one critical weakness or mistake made a difference for PSU in a big game.
Not a critical moment, but you can tell Head Coach Nick Saban leads the way here for The Crimson Tide in 2022.
Internal communications?
Surprisingly, his last defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, hired from Ohio State, evidently did not point this out to Franklin when he arrived. Perhaps Franklin’s listening skills don’t match his speaking skills. Maybe Allar wasn’t as coachable as others were led to believe. It will be interesting to see how and if the Pittsburgh Steelers help him improve at the next level.
With the powerful running attack Head Coach Franklin’s Nittany Lions possessed, Franklin’s offense rarely set up any play action passes. Certain situations that seemed ripe for such calls. This disappointed. Either he didn’t consider this as an effective strategy, or he didn’t support his coaching staff in such execution. I’m not a coach. However, as an observer of 740 college games since 1979, I felt this strategy provided timely options to lend a plain vanilla offense some necessary deception.
Enter Matt Campbell
Coming from a historically lower echelon Big 12 program at Iowa State, from 2016-2015, Mount Union grad Campbell led the Cyclones to a record of 72-55. Coming from a ten-time national championship D-III program and leaving behind a 35-15 record as head coach at Toledo, he learned how to lead and how to win. His Cyclones impressed at the Liberty Bowl despite a 36-26 loss we attended in 2023. Soph QB Rocco Becht calling signals then follows him to State College after two more years of experience and a 26-13 record.
We see this head coach hire by Penn State as not bringing “Mohammed to mountain.” We see it as “bringing the Mountain to Mohammed.” He brings record of 4-5 against Top Ten Teams as opposed to Franklin’s record of 4-21. With the resources and reputation Penn State supplies, we think Campbell will make his mark in 2026 and grow successfully from there. This year’s schedule is not as demanding as the Nittany Lions have faced in previous seasons. Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana and Iowa don’t face the Nittany Lions in 2026 regular season.
Soph QB Rocco Becht (3) leads Matt Campbell’s Iowa State offense against Memphis here in the 2023 Liberty Bowl. He’ll start for the Nittany Lions as a grad student under Campbell this season.
Could Penn State put USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley in a “hot seat?”
Lincoln Riley sports a 35-18 record at USC. After his initial 12-2 season there in 2021, he took the Trojans to the Cotton Bowl. They lost, 46-4, to Tulane. Since then, his team has not gotten close to the CFP. While 55-10 previously at Oklahoma, his Sooners fell in big bowl games and in playoffs. They allowed many points in each. They lost the 2017 Rose Bowl to Georgia, 54-48. We saw them fall in two consecutive CFP Semifinals in 2018 and 2019. At the 2018 CapitalOne Orange Bowl, Alabama dominated the Sooners, 45-34. At the 2019 Chick-Fil-A Peach, LSU destroyed them, 63-28. Notice how many points Riley’s team allowed against highly-ranked teams? During his Big 12 career, his teams won with offense, but like many Big XII foes, this conference struggled defensively. What has he learned?
Former Head Coach hired as DC
Well, this season USC achieved recognition. Riley recruited the top-rated overall class among all 138 FBS programs. More notably, Riley hired former TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson as his defensive coordinator. Patterson’s Horned Frog developed a reputation for stalwart defenses over the years. With the best freshman class in 2026 and a highly successful DC, along with his high-capacity offense returning, this could be USC’s year to get make the CFP. Will Patterson upgrade the defense Lincoln Riley needs?
Mid-season match-up challenge for both
Penn State will offer USC its first challenge on the road following two games hosting Oregon and Washington. It doesn’t look like Fox Sports will make this matchup an early season “white-out” to the chagrin of the denizens of Happy Valley. It measures up as the Lions biggest challenge at home this season under Matt Campbell. This game and a remaining slate against Oregon, Washington, Ohio State and at Indiana could slide Head Coach Riley into a hot seat this year. Patterson seems to be his safety net if the Trojan defense steps up. This will be a key, Big Ten game for both programs and their coaches. Campbell looks to prove his worth in a must-win for the home crowd. Riley, coming off a strong off-season, looks to move his program to CFP contention as anticipated since his hiring five years ago.
Halftime stats for Oklahoma vs LSU CFP semi-final in 2019 Peach Bowl. Note OU’s defensive performance against Joe Burrows-led offense.
As for James Franklin…
A lot of optimism came to Blacksburg with the hire of Franklin and his hire of former Hokie HC Brent Pry as his defensive coordinator. Their first four games look winnable. They look like the kind of schedule Franklin would put together himself to start at Penn State – Maryland, a weak FCS school, a G6 school depleted by the portal, and 2-10 P4 program. After that, the schedule ramps up against coaches that match up well against Franklin. Mental mistakes and inferior game strategy will inhibit his early process. Recruiting will help him in the future. However, those big-game lapses will continue to haunt him as long as he coaches at Tech. No doubt he can improve over Pry’s 3-9 season a year ago.
HC James Franklin didn’t change his ways since the previous photo above against Michigan. Shown here in late huddle against Oregon last season in 30-24, two-OT loss. At left, he looks out into the distance while his team huddles with assistants. We assume he’ll do the same at Virginia Tech.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Lebanon, TN – As we approach our 47th season that starts three weeks from this Saturday, we follow up as promised with our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 2. On July 29, we published our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 1. Hopefully, we can all agree it’s something that fans attending games in-person all enjoy as an essential part of the game. Cheerleaders carry on the traditions of college football. They also remind us that the college game exists for the young at heart!
Fans watching from home can change channels to watch other games. Or, they watch the same insurance commercials they wanted to avoid on the previous network break. They can run to the Fridge or hit the head. Though we tolerate way too many breaks-in-the-action as ticket-buying fans, we absolutely enjoy observing sideline entertainment to fill the voids. As the late, great ABC broadcaster Chris Schenkle espoused back in the 60s and 70s: “College football! What better way to enjoy a Saturday afternoon?”
Our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 2 and I prepare us for a Fun Fall of College Football
We have photographed plenty of action over many past seasons in 43 states. We look forward to seeing more spirited activities along the sidelines everywhere to be recorded for our future game reviews and for future Collegefootballfan.com College Cheerleader editions! More sideline highlights will be captured among 30 games we plan to attend. Since we’ve already seen 136 FBS schools and many among the FCS as well, we finally figured the best order to present our Collegefootballfan.com 2026 Cheerleader Edition 2 and I. It makes sense to present our cheerleader photos alphabetically by school.
We’ve chosen the best of the best we’ve photographed for most of the schools seen the past 47 years. Some schools we’ve seen play many times. Some we witnessed only one or two times. We reminisce about our many game memories and throw in some thoughts for future plans in our captions. Most likely, you’ll just enjoy perusing our historic sideline, pictorial, collection of many fantastic Cheerleaders entertaining for their fans’ enjoyment! Let the games begin!
Teams 29 through 33: Two National Champs!
We start 2026 Cheerleader Edition 2 with the Red Steppers from 2025 National Champion Indiana. We would see the Hoosiers win three times during this season including the CFP title win over Miami. No. 19 IU demonstrated their direction with a dominant win over No. 9 Illinois, 63-10 in Week Five. The Red Steppers led us to Atlanta and Miami for Indiana’s unexpected CFP run!In 2022, the Iowa Cheerleaders entertained much better than the two offenses playing in the Music City Bowl. Their Hawkeye defense scored with two pick sixes to defeat Kentucky, 21-0.In 2022, James Madsion cheerleaders appear happy to travel with their Dukes on the road against Louisville in their first FBS season. JMU fell to the Cardinals, 24-10, for their third loss in an 8-3 season. Of course, in 2025, they won the Sun Belt and earned a CFP bid.For our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 2, the Kentucky Wildcat cheering squad came out in their traditional “Blues” this evening in 2022. Afterward, they would be singing the “Blues.” U of K fell in an SEC clash against the South Carolina Gamecocks, 24-18, at home in Lexington.LSU Cheerleaders showed up in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome with a lot of exuberance on December 28, 2019. It paid off! QB Joe Burrow led their Tigers to a smashing 63-28 CFP semifinal victory over Oklahoma. And the score wasn’t really that close!The Tigers (15-0) defeated Clemson in the CFP title game, 42-25.
Squads 34 – 40: Seven M’s: MMMM-MMM GOOD – despite the weather!
Long Sleeve sweatshirts in August 2018? Can only be FCS Maine Cheerleaders in an evening opener against New Hampshire. Their Black Bears won big at home in Orono, 35-7, on their way to a 9-4 record. Their hockey team opened a few weeks later. We wonder how they’d dress in Maine at an indoor skating rink that time of year.In contrast to Maine in August, this is how Maryland Terrapin Cheerleaders dressed for the Music City Bowl in Nashville on December 30, 2023! They stayed warm as their team moved out to a quick, hot start to defeat Auburn in this one, 31-13.UMASS Cheerleaders look comfy here in the sun in a game hosted in Amherst on November 3, 2018. During three OTs and in the dark, the temperatures dropped into the 30’s. UMASS defeated Liberty to tie our highest scoring game total ever by the same score of 62-59!The Memphis Tiger Cheerleaders entertained vs. Navy in 2021 as they were walking in Memphis, but higher than 10-feet off of Beale. They beat Navy, 35-17. We’ll see the Tigers and Midshipmen again in another key AAC battle on November 21 in Annapolis.Our 2026 Cheerleader Edition shows that weekday night MACtion contests require cold weather gear like this in Oxford, Ohio. In 2023, their Red Hawks weathered the cold against the Buffalo Bulls this evening, 23-10.Sorry Michigan Maize and Blue, but this is the best I can do! When one business friend at BASF, Mike Meyer, a CMU graduate, asked me if our associate, Dave Imrick, ever told me he was a Michigan cheerleader, I couldn’t resist this! With Daveick, left, we put together some Friday meetings in Southfield so we could attend Michigan vs. Penn State at the Big House back in 2009! Great day. We tailgated with of his Cheerleader friends. PSU prevailed, 35-10!Middle Tennessee Cheerleaders and the Marching Band always keep up their great spirit despite paltry crowds in recent years. We hope the football program brings back some new excitement! The Blue Raiders host the Kennesaw State Owls on October 28.
2026 Cheerleader Edition 2: Squads 41-45 offer some Close Encounters
In 2013, we visited Ole Miss for the first time and had a great time at “The Grove!” It’s taken us too long to get back. We chanted “Hotty Toddy” and toasted with many Rebel fans. These Ole Miss Cheerleaders cheered their team to an exciting 27-24 win over LSU. We’ll see Mississippi take on Louisville on September 6, but we got to start thinking about getting back to “The Grove.”We always enjoy our traditional visits to The Naval Academy in Annapolis. Last season, we watched with these USNA Cheerleaders as the Mids defeated Air Force in their first of two wins for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, 34-31. We’ll return to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial twice this season. We will also see Navy at UAB and vs. Army for the big one in The Meadowlands.Ten years ago, we traveled to the Music City Bowl in Nashville to see Nebraska the last time we saw them in action. Tennessee defeated the Huskers, 38-24. For the first time, we travel to Lincoln from Nashville to see the Huskers host a game at Memorial Stadium at home in Lincoln for the first time on October 3rd. They host Maryland in a Big Ten meeting.Our 2026 Cheerleader Edition 2 features the 2024 New Mexico Lobo cheerleaders. Our first visit ever to Albuquerque. UNM lost to FCS power Montana State, 35-31. Their 5-7 record spurred Utah State to hire away HC Bronco Mendenhall. In 2025, UNM followed up with a 9-4 record under former Idaho HC Jason Eck. The Lobos also defeated Bronco and USU.Why the Notre Dame Dance Team let us in their picture before the 2016 game against Stanford, I’ll never figure. The Irish lost, 17-10, to the No. 12 Cardinal, and RB Christian McCaffery didn’t play due to injury. ND finished 4-8. They must have felt sorry for us visiting that weekend!
2026 Cheerleader Edition 2 from Sea to Shining Sea
Old Dominion Monarch cheerleaders fired up their fans when we ventured to Norfolk to see them host Marshall during their first FBS season in 2015. The result wasn’t so pretty though as The No. 23 Thundering Herd crushed ODU, 56-14.Oregon Duck Cheerleaders prepare to greet their team into Autzen Stadium for their 2025 season opener at home against FCS power Montana State. Unlike New Mexico in our 2025 season opener, Oregon crushed the eventual FCS champions, 59-13.A few hours after the Oregon game, we took a short drive to Corvallis where the Oregon State Beavers hosted the Cal Bears. In the second game we ever attended in Oregon, the Cal Bears showed no mercy in their 34-15 victory. OSU finished a disheartening 2-12 for their fans.Speaking of Oregon, Penn State Cheerleaders got the Beaver Stadium fans up for a traditional “White-out” last season. Oregon foiled the evening with a 30-24 win in two OTs. It marked the beginning of the end of HC James Franklin’s career in Happy Valley.Pitt Cheerleaders visited “The House that Ruth Built” in 2016 to encourage their Panthers against Northwestern in The Pinstripe Bowl. However, the Wildcats out clawed the Panthers in this one, 31-24.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Our next preview analyzes the many coaching changes we will witness over the course of 2026. Among the 28 FBS games that we will attend, at least 12 teams will be performing with new head coaches. Teams we saw last season fired the old and hired new coaches. Several on our slate enter 2026 on the Hot seat! We will share our expectations among those we will see or have seen since the changes made last season.
Spadora on Sports Podcast Interview with Steve Koreivo of Collegefootballfan.com
College football analyst Steve Koreivo gives Spadora the details of his unique blueprint to structure a 24-team College Football Playoff (CFP) by restructuring the entire Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) by proposing to divide the division into two tiers, “FBS-I” and “FBS-II,” featuring 64 programs in the top tier playing specialized regional schedules. To accommodate the larger bracket without adding games to the calendar, Koreivo’s plan eliminates traditional conference championship games in favor of a uniform “Tie-Breaker Week”. This system ensures parity and clear on-field results, ultimately qualifying the top three teams from eight newly aligned regions to compete for the national title.
Read more details regarding our “two” 24-Team CFP Proposals
My goal persists on making college football more competitive, fun and interesting for players, schools and fans of this great sport. 138 FBS programs exist today. Do all have shot at playing for one national championship? Of course not! The current system eliminates over seventy teams among the Group of Six teams before the season even starts. The Power Four already manipulates the system to their advantage. Read how my plans work to make college football more entertaining and exciting than it is today.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Lebanon, TN – As we approach our 2026 season that starts one month from today, before we delve into aspects all fans can agree on or disagree with, we present our 2026 Cheerleader Edition I. We can all agree that it’s something that fans attending games in-person all enjoy as an essential part of the game. Cheerleaders carry on the traditions of college football. They also remind us that the college game exists for the young at heart!
Fans watching from home can change channels to watch other games. Or, they watch the same insurance commercials they wanted to avoid on the previous network break. They can run to the Fridge or hit the head. Though we tolerate way too many breaks-in-the-action as ticket-buying fans, we absolutely enjoy observing sideline entertainment to fill the voids instead. As the late, great ABC broadcaster Chris Schenkle espoused back in the 60s and 70s: “College football! What better way to enjoy a Saturday afternoon?”
Talk, talk, talk…we want action!
In the next few weeks, we will offer preseason insight for games we will attend, teams we will see, and key players and coaches we look forward to keeping an eye on. The intricacies of preseason predictions and expectations of the upcoming season, not only ours but those of others, derive from opinions, guesses and hopes. Over-hyped media marketing departments who offer too much airtime can and will be challenged by many. They certainly stir the interest to follow this great sport, but in reality, what do they all really know? So, before we get into some of our preseason analysis over the next few weeks that can be criticized, considered or ignored, let’s focus on something college football fans can all agree on that we can enjoy together. Let’s admire the spirit of the lovely ladies cheering their teams on through thick and thin along the sidelines.
Our 2026 Cheerleader Edition I prepares us for a Fun Fall of College Football
We have photographed plenty of action over many past seasons in 43 states. We look forward to seeing more spirited activities along the sidelines everywhere to be recorded for our future game reviews and for future Collegefootballfan.com College Cheerleader editions! We will capture more sideline highlights among 30 games we plan to attend. Since we’ve seen 136 FBS schools and many among the FCS as well, we finally figured the best order to present our Collegefootballfan.com 2026 Cheerleader Edition I. It makes sense to present alphabetically by school.
We’ve chosen the best of the best pictures we’ve photographed for most of the schools seen the past 47 years. Some schools we’ve seen play many times. Some we witnessed only one or two times. We reminisce about our many game memories and throw in some thoughts for future plans in our captions. Most likely, you’ll just enjoy perusing our historic sideline, pictorial, collection of many fantastic Cheerleaders entertaining for their fans’ enjoyment! Let the games begin!
Teams one through five: Into the Wild Blue Yonder and Over Hill and Over Dale
TheAir Force Academy Dance Team performed in the parking lot prior their exciting win, 35-28, over Utah State in 2015. We visited Colorado Springs for our first and only time.Also, against Utah State but in 2022, we watched Alabama destroy the Aggies in Tuscaloosa, 55-0, our first and only time there also. It made The Crimson Tide Cheerleaders very happy!Appalachian State battled Troy in the 2023 Sun Belt Championship game. They fell, 49-23. Trojan HC Jon Sumrall takes over in Florida in 2026. The Gators hired a great new head coach!Arkansas cheerleaders had lots to be happy about after the 2022, three-overtime, Liberty Bowl win over Kansas, 55-53. They still looked pretty even in sweats!Army West Point’s cheer squad gathers before traditional Air Force game in our 2026 Cheerleader Edition I back in 2016. Fired up before this one, but they fell against their second biggest rival, 31-12, at home in Michie Stadium.
Teams six through eleven: From the Music City to Shuffling off to Buffalo
You think the Auburn Tiger mascot, Aubie, attracted the wrath of this Auburn Cheerleader? You should have seen what AU did to Purdue in the meantime. They destroyed the Boilermakers in the 2018 Music City Bowl in Nashville, 63-14! We left at the half and enjoyed better action on Broadway with Auburn friends.Austin Peay enters 2026 Cheerleader Edition I here as our first FCS school. The Governors’ cheer squad performs during their team’s 31-20 win over Eastern Kentucky at home in Clarksville, Tennessee.These Baylor Bear Cheerleaders performed at the Happiest Place on Earth during the 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando. Their team beat North Carolina, 49-38. Running backs played in place of injured QBs the entire game and won without throwing a pass.Boston College joins our 2026 Cheerleader Edition I in 2019 at The Birthplace of College Football, New Brunswick, NJ. They whooped it up with their Eagles defeating the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, 30-16.Brigham Young women perform during a big, 66-49 win for their 19th-ranked Cougars over Virginia in 2021. We plan to return to Lavelle Edwards Stadium in Provo in the future to capture more picturesque scenery surrounding the stadium as well as who’s within.In 2016, Buffalo Bulls Cheerleaders flipped over their 23-20 OT upset over Army at home in Broadview Stadium in Amherst, NY.
Our 2026 Cheerleader Editon I continues: Cincinnati to The First State
Cincinnati Bearcat cheerleaders strut their stuff during their team’s 35-20 win over Houston in the American Athletic Conference championship of 2021. The Bearcats went on to play in the CFP semi-final where they lost to Alabama, 27-6. They finished 13-1.This one very astute Clemson Cheerleader made our day making eye contact with our camera as her Tigers defeated Louisville, 31-16, at Memorial Stadium in 2022. Fellow Juniata alumni Dave Bender, Roger Arnold and I attended compliments of Dave’s brother Dick, who retired this past year as a long-time, assistant basketball coach of the Tigers.The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers didn’t let us down in our first and only game at Brooks Stadium in Conway, SC. The Chants belted the Georgia Southern Eagles, 28-17, at home in 2017. They posed a warm welcome to add to our 2026 Cheerleader Edition I! Would also love to get back to attend a game near Myrtle Beach eventually when the weather and water are still warm.Before last season when Delaware joined the FBS, they competed as a top FCS program in the Colonial Athletic Conference. In Newark, Delaware in 2018, their ladies cheered them on as they defeated Elon in a key FCS game, 28-16. In 2026, we’ll watch the Fighting Blue Hens play Vanderbilt in Nashville on September 12.In 2016, the Delaware State Dance Team performs in the inaugural First State Game against sister school University of Delaware. DSU joins our 2026 Cheerleader Edition I as our first Historically Black College/University (HBCU). The Fighting Blue Hens trounced the Hornets, 56-14. DSU never defeated UD since and probably never will. UD moved up to the FBS.
Wrapping up 2026 Cheerleader Edition I, but Edition II on the way
These girls enjoyed a great 2024 for the Duke football program. This opening evening in August they defeated FCS Elon, 26-3. In October, we watched them beat Middle Tennessee on the road, 45-17. In October in Durham, they defeated Florida State under our watch, 23-16, for the first time in 22 years! Under HC Manny Diaz, they finished 9-4. You Go, Girls!To finish a disappointing 4-8 season, in 2025 we watched the Gators put away archrival FSU (5-8), 40-21, in the season finale for both teams. The Gator cheering squad didn’t let up that night! We believe they have a lot to look forward to in 2026 with new HC Jon Sumrall at the helm.The Florida State Seminole Dance Team started their 2024 season opener with high kicks following a 13-1 season. It ended with too many transfers and a 63-3 drubbing by Georgia in the Orange Bowl. This evening got 2024 off to a horrendous start with a 28-13 loss against BC at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. They finished the season with a record of 2-10. HC Mike Norvell sits on a hot seat this season. We’ll see the Noles open at home on August 29 hosting New Mexico State. It may get hotter in Tallahassee than we initially expected.In 2017, we followed Georgia Tech to Virginia’s Scott Stadium in Charlottesville for our first and only time. Despite Tech’s 40-36 loss in the rain, unlike the drenched GT cheering squad, my son Eric and I sat in the very last row of Scott. Only the last few rows in the stadium were covered by an aluminum awning. Sometimes it pays to buy tickets in the cheap seats. It did here!The Houston Cougars defeated Tulsa, 41-26, this Thursday night in 2018 at TDECU Stadium while on a business trip in Texas. They won four of their first five games and then their next four. However, they lost their last four of five games. They suffered a 70-14 beat down by 11-2 Army in the Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth. The Cougarettes made the evening very entertaining. Fun game atmosphere at TDECU!Go when you can.
More pictures on the way!
Note we’ve only gotten up to “H” in our 2026 Cheerleader Edition I! We’ve displayed lot of pulchritude (look it up) here already. We have a lot more to offer. Would you rather see more or read about stats and season predictions that will be somewhat intelligently thought out? But most likely wrong. As my grandmother used to say, “That’s the way the ball bounces!” And in football, that’s not just a cliche’. We’ll have some more to say about the upcoming season, but we enjoy sharing some of the fun at football games enjoyed for decades. 2026 Cheerleader Editon II arrives in a few more days. A few more editions will follow that!
Enjoy our captions? Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. By the way, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book.
Please buy your copy today, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!
