Seen 'em all – 133 FBS teams in action. Three new members to be added the next two years. All divisions: 706 games attended since 1979! Get my new book now available on Amazon.com in Kindle and in Paperback: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly! Follow our 31-game schedule in 2024.
It’s that time of year again to show Collegefootballfan.com’s Top offensive players seen in action! We’ve done our scouting having attended 44 NCAA football games over the last three seasons. Would’ve been over 20 more if not for Covid-19 restrictions in 2020. Only got to attend three, but witnessed pro talent among six squads in action. We note many of the players we’ve seen rank right up at the top of the upcoming draft. Based on what we saw for ourselves, we don’t agree with all the soothsayers have to say. They watch highlight films. We watch entire games in person. Already, we envision some of their top picks as flops. Hopefully, our photo files contain some more glimpses of a few gems we picked out on our own. Take a look for your enjoyment.
We take great pride in seeing so many teams with great talent. During 2022 in particular, just among Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, and Clemson on our schedule, we saw a lot of pro prospects. We enjoy watching not only what players will be selected and when on April 27-29, but we also look forward to which one’s go forward to have fantastic pro careers. Always fun to say, “we remember when…”
Check for updates until 2023 draft for both our top offensive players and defensive prospects entering the draft on our respective pages. Among all our file photos, we may come across more after out initial reviews. Six months and four days until our 44th season kicks off on August 26.
Quarterback prospects
If we were selecting a QB as our first 2023 draft choice, It would definitely be Bryce Young (9) of Alabama. Seen here engineering a 55-0 win over Utah State early in 2022.Purdue Boilermaker QB Aidan O’Connell threw for 7,202 yards and 50 TDs the past two seasons. We look for him to go in the middle rounds of the 2023 pro draft.Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker (5) put together to good years in 2021 and 2022. An injury cut short his 2023 season. The pros will be carefully reviewing his health status before selecting him in the middle of this year’s draft.Houston’s Clayton Tune led the Cougars completing 67.7% of his passes for 7,620 yards and 70 scores while throwing only 10 INTs the past two seasons. He will be a good pickup as an understudy in the 2023 pro draft. here he is seen throwing against a tough Cincinnati secondary in the 2022 AAC championship game.In the 2023 pro draft, Kentucky QB Will Levis (above center) is highly touted by Mel Kiper, Jr. among others. He played terribly here against Georgia in a 16-6 loss where his play made the difference. He was beaten out by Sean Clifford at Penn State before transferring to Kentucky. He opted out for the 2022 Music City Bowl where his team lost to Iowa, 21-0. We don’t see what others see. There are better QBs that should be selected ahead of him in this year’s draft.
Working title: Fifty years of Tales from the Tailgate: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly of College Football, 1972-2022 (and beyond)
“College football—what better way to spend an autumn afternoon?” That catch-phrase of ABC’s Chris Schenkel during the 1960’s always stirs memories of growing up watching NCAA football on television every fall Saturday afternoon. As a kid, I would tune into the games to not only witness the exciting action on the field, but to experience emotions from the sights and sounds surrounding the games – fight songs, drumbeats, school colors, cheerleaders, card sections, chants, feisty mascots, and passionate crowds – and I wanted to experience all of that in person someday.
After graduation from college in 1979, I’d eventually see half of the big-time teams play before the 2000 college football season began. As usual, I perused team schedules to check out what games I wanted to attend during the upcoming season. I realized that I could possibly see nine new teams I hadn’t seen before. After that, 50 more Division 1A teams remained to be seen in person.
Could such an unimagined goal be possible “to see ‘em all”? Could I actually get to see every 1A team play in person at least once in my lifetime? This was something that I’d love to do. It wouldn’t be easy based on time, some extra travel, growing responsibilities, and of course, money.
Granted, I would be focused on only one, sometimes two games on a Saturday or over a weekend, causing me to miss many televised games. For my passion, however, I’d be living and breathing the excitement, traditions, and atmosphere of at least one game being played somewhere. I’d read about avid baseball fans making trips to see as many Major and Minor League teams play in as many venues as possible on a tour across the country during the summer. Of course, limited to games played generally on Saturdays over four months, I couldn’t complete this objective in one season. Who could?
By no means did I have access to a private or corporate jet. Not in my wildest dreams would anyone want to hire me to cover college football for major some media outlet. Who would hire a business major whose college football experience comprised of the following: one season of 150-lb football where I never made weight; a season of transfer ineligibility spent running on a scout-team offense for a D-3 program (my frosh cohorts and I called ourselves, “Scout-team All-Americans” to offset the three days a week against the first-team defense); a year recovering from an ACL and menial meniscus injury self-inflicted during a spring, club lacrosse game ( I was elected team captain because I probably clobbered everybody in practice at last once); coming back from that injury in the best shape of my life two football seasons later; and eventually walking into the coaching staff meeting to say “screw this” after a scrimmage against Millersville State my senior year (my parting words were, “This ain’t Notre Dame!). I could not say I was a college football player, but I was definitely a college football “practicer”.
Though this vision to see ‘em all might take years, I knew doing this out of sheer desire would be an experience to savor. Also in 2000, with a wife and two young kids, I’d have to figure out how I could get them to buy into my plan cutting into quality, family time, and the household budget.
Also, realize my endeavor wasn’t to make it to every stadium across the country from my native New Jersey. That would be divorce no matter how saintly my wife may be. I had to pick and choose my games with a time-constrained plan in place. In addition to that, I was obligated to earn a living Monday-Friday.
Now in 2023 settling into retirement, looking back I wouldn’t have done this any other way. This turned out to be challenging enough, and I wanted to do this for my own personal enjoyment. Employment doing this would remove the fun and add pressure. To paraphrase that Navy ad campaign from years ago, “I didn’t need another job, I wanted an adventure.”
I developed plans looking at future schedules. Where and when could I drive to a particular game? There would be costs. How much? Could I afford to fly in some cases? Could I visit with friends, or find low-cost hotels? Could I get friends to travel with me, or go by myself? I desired to get this done, but I also wanted to have fun while doing it. Some close to me had doubts. Of course, I couldn’t have continued my “goal”, or maybe I should say “habit”, over the years without the blessings my wife. St. Laurie, as some refer to her, became the patron saint of college football widows.
For more than fifty years, attending college football games in person has provided me with memorable, fun-filled, rewarding experiences. Being able to share these “adventures” with other college football fans makes it all even more fun. This book starts fifty years ago on this surreal trip. It starts as a junior in high school and continues after retirement in a 42-year career as a Purchasing professional. Update: my ultimate college tailgate travel tour to see ‘em all continues into 2023 and beyond! Up to 676 games attended in all. It’s not over. The journey continues.
Regarding this adventure, some readers may find it dismal that I saw the majority of teams play for the first time against the likes primarily of Penn State, Army, Navy, or Rutgers. Others may think that I “cheated” by attending games at a close, neutral site like The Meadowlands. In those earliest years reported, travel was bound based on my starting salary. Earning $12,000 in 1979, my entertainment budget determined where I could afford to go and how much I could spend.
Of course, my football-focused budget called for tickets, beer, gas, parking, food, beer, and my just-developing game program library. Of course, that salary also financed a non-football budget. It paid for necessities like apartment rent, beer, utilities, a car payment, softball travels, groceries, and beer. Sometimes, I could actually afford to go out on a date. However, I’ve attended another 250+ games since writing the first book published in 2011. As the salary grew along with frequent flier points for business travel, my horizons for football travel expanded. I’ve now attended games at 78 FBS stadiums; 170 in all including neutral sites and lower division venues.
Later games played by many teams seen play the first time offered more significance than the original games attended. Rather than write another full story about another game attended, instead I include a “Fast Forward” epilogue to original chapters where I highlight that particular team’s sightings to closer, present-day experiences (Example: LSU’s first-game chapter reports a loss in 1981 to Notre Dame. In 2018, I watched QB Joe Burrow and LSU riddle Oklahoma, 63-28, at the CFP Peach Bowl on their way to the National Championship). I report that in the LSU chapter’s “Fast Forward.”
On the other hand, things are changing in college football. For better or for worse? I address that in these chapters. Back in the 80’s, SMU football got shut down for two years with the “Death Penalty” for illegal payments to student-athletes. Now, the NCAA instituted a policy titled “Name, Image, and Likeness” (NIL) supposedly for the benefits of athletes to make money in what is now basically becoming a major industry, literally of football factories. Many deemed policies to compensate athletes were necessary to cover living expenses.
Instead, this is becoming a “monster”. Schools now solicit contributions from supporters to be matched by corporate sponsors to raise NIL funds to entice the best talent. Was this the intent of the NIL policy? How is this different than what SMU did in the 80s to shut its program down? The NCAA, an “academic” institution, seems to have put little thought into any of this. I address issues like this as the “Ugly” in college football.
Back to the “Good” and the “Fun” of my book. In some cases, your favorite teams may have ended up on the “short-end” of the initial chapter. I have to say though that in most of those cases, I came up with a silver lining to shed a more positive light on your team’s personal history with me. But, consider this book follows a historical adventure on one fan’s passion to “see ‘em all.” It’s an adventure over time and distance.
I have two favorite teams (Penn State and Navy), but I didn’t commit to see them play every weekend. I wanted to visit different places, see different teams, enjoy unique game atmospheres, witness specific traditions, meet fans of different schools, travel different routes. Maybe you would’ve liked doing this yourself someday, but since you couldn’t, take this long, fun, unique journey along with me.
With my relocation from NJ to Tennessee for retirement, there comes a “bucket list”. It assures I will see games at venues still yet to be attended. Hopefully, this will not only draw people to my blog, collegefootballfan.com, but also provide me experiences for another book idea.
I have one outside the realm of seeing every team play, but it’s still based on my life-long experiences following college football. This updated edition of my original book offers a perspective of 50 years and many different places to enjoy a college football game on a fall, Saturday afternoon, or now even on a weekday night. Come along for a fun, interesting, unique ride.
But also, I have concerns about the future of this great American institution going forward. Will it change for the worse? Will it adapt for the better? I inquire for the benefit of us fans, not for players, schools, coaches, or media networks (too many TV timeouts we have to sit through). After recording fifty years as an avid fan of college football, I will summarize and address my hopes, concerns, and ideas as to where it all goes in the future. And please continue track all of my progress to “see ‘em all” on my website,www.collegefootballfan.com. In addition to my history, game reviews, and season previews, I write editorials in posts titled “Steveo’s Salvos”. Enjoy and ponder.
We watched QB Jalen Hurts (2) of the Eagles lead Bama to a CFP win over Washington in 2017. Then we saw him sit the bench when Taglavoilia led The Tide past the Sooners in the CFP in 2018. Look who’s winning at the next level.Penn State’s Miles Sanders (24) bursts through Maryland Terrapin line for a gain in the Nittany Lions 38-3 win one season after he replaced Saquon Barkley as top RB in Happy Valley.He now soars with the Eagles.James Madison Safety Raven Greene breaks up pass intended for South Dakota State Jack Rabbit TE Dallas Goedert in 2016 FCS playoffs. JMU got the best of SDSU in the FCS, 51-16, but Goedert made it to the Eagles and a second Super Bowl since.Wisconsin LB TJ Edwards (#53) stops Penn State QB Trace McSorely behind the line of scrimmage on 2018.He’ll be called on to do the same against QB Patrick Mahomes on February 12 in Glendale, Arizona.Alabama WRDavonta Smith hauls in Tua Tagovailoa’s fourth TD pass of CFP game against Oklahoma in 2018. The former Heisman winner continues to shine with former Bama QB Jalen Hurts for the Eagles. Old DominionMonarchWR Zach Pascal hauled in game-winning TD pass for 35-34 victory in Norfolk, VA over Charlotte in 2017.Auburn RT Jack Driscoll (71) protects QB Jarrett Stidham tossing a 74-yard bomb against Purdue in the 2018 Music City Bowl. Auburn destroyed the Boilermakers taking a 56-7 halftime lead. Expect the Eagles and Chiefs to come down to the last minute in Arizona.Tulane Green Wave DE Patrick Johnson (7) stands his ground to cover Navy option play in 2019. Johnson converted to Linebacker with Philly. Navy won in a comeback, 41-38. Johnson was battle-tested before joining the Eagles. Another Eagle LB got tested against Navy. In the AAC 2017 championship, Haason Reddick (7) of Temple won a title in this one and looks to win another against the Chiefs.Middle Tennessee S Reed Blankenship chases down WR Jerreth Sterns of Western Kentucky in 2021. WKU triumphed over the Blue Raiders in this one. Both signed as undrafted free agents in 2022. Sterns looks to still play with the LA Rams. Blankenship got called in to some Eagle games late in the season and performed impressively to earn a spot on the Super Bowl roster.
Rutgers RB Isaiah Pacheco (1) fights for yardage against Boston College in 2019. Now he’s a key RB as a rookie for the Chiefs heading into the Super Bowl. Georgia Tech’s Harrison Butker , now with the Chiefs, kicked a 35-yard field goal with 54 seconds left to tie FSU, 16-16, in 2015. Tech went on to win this game on the return of a missed FG to pull the upset on the final play. We hope this year’s Super Bowl is as exciting!S Brian Cook (6) roamed the secondary for the Cincinnati Bearcats last season in the AAC Championship. Now he’ll be covering receivers against the Eagles in the Super Bowl.Kentucky OT Darian Kinnard, 2021 Consensus All American, looked likely to move to OG in the NFL. At 6’5″ 322 lbs., he posted 46 starts, 39 in row for Kentucky. Seen here vs. South Carolina in 2020, the Chiefs selected him to protect Patrick Mahomes in Round 5.S Justin Reid of Stanford (8) seen here against Cal in 2016 joined brother Eric of the 49ers at the next level. However, he’ll be playing for the Chiefs now in the Super Bowl this season.Opposite Auburn RT Jack Driscoll (71) now with the Eagles protects LT Auburn LT Prince Tega Wanogho (76) of the Chiefs for QB Jarrett Stidham tossing a 74-yard bomb to Darius Slayton against Purdue in the 2018 Music City Bowl.S Juan Thornhill (21) of Virginia in a crushing 49-7 Military Bowl loss against Navy in 2017. That won’t happen to the Chiefs against the Eagles on February 12.
Despite the 2022 season ending in an overwhelming lop-sided, CFP blow-out, Collegefootballfan.com enjoyed its 43rd year attending 21 games in person. Congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs (15-0) proving that they deserved the national championship this season. A great balance of talent and coaching on offense and defense under HC Kirby Scott put the Dawgs up where they belonged. Collegefootballfan.com got to see them play in one of their few struggles this season as they bested the Kentucky Wildcats on November 19, 16-6.
In the annals of our history, they are the 13th FBS champ we witnessed during their title run. We always seek the best games in competition. We did not attend the CFP finale in Las Angeles, but TCU disappointed many us in not challenging the Bulldogs as we hoped they could. A great season, 2022 finished with a “whimper” and not a “bang” for most college fans.
Our season overall provided us the opportunity to attend games played by eight FBS teams that finished in the Top 25. In addition, four other squads landed in the category of “Others receiving votes”. We did not see one team play in ESPN’s Bottom Ten! Probably a first for us. Among the final rankings, we watched these seven programs play during the 2022 season: No. 4 Ohio State, 44-31 win at Penn State; No. 5 Alabama a 55-0 win over Utah State; No. 7 Penn State wins at Purdue, 35-31, and at Auburn, 41-12; No. 13 Clemson win over Louisville, 31-16; No. 19 Troy at Western Kentucky, 34-27; No. 23 South Carolina win at Kentucky, 24-14; and No. 25 Texas win over Baylor, 38-27.
In our 2022 opportunity to see No. 1 Georgia, Bulldog RB Kenny McIntosh led his team with 143 yards against Kentucky in their 16-6 win.
Close, but no final rankings in 2022
Among others receiving votes, these teams held their own: UTSA fell out of the Top 25 losing their Cure Bowl Game to Troy, but we saw them defeat Middle Tennessee, 35-17; Iowa shut out Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, 21-0; Louisville defeated a 9-3 James Madison squad in its first FBS season, 34-10; and as mentioned, Purdue fell at home to PSU in their home opener in a close one.
Oh those end of season Overtimes!
As for two FCS games we attended, all four schools finished with solid seasons. After we saw Samford beat SE Louisiana in a playoff game in OT, the Bulldogs finished at No. 7 and the Lions came in at No. 19. We saw Austin Peay knock of Eastern Kentucky, 31-20 in an early ASUN contest. Both received votes but fell outside the FCS Top 25.
In two other games ending in very competitive OTs we attended, we witnessed two extremes. As expected in their 123rd meeting, Army and Navy played in a familiar, defensive onslaught. The contest spilled into overtime for the first time in history. Army forced a Navy fumble at the one before kicking a field goal on their next possession to win, 20-17. At the Liberty Bowl in a comeback shoot-out between Arkansas and Kansas, in the third OT, the Razorbacks converted on their two-point conversion. A halfback option pass misfired for the Jayhawks and Arkansas took home the Trophy with a 55-53 win. “Wow!” was the best way to summarize that game.
Arkansas cheerleaders had lots to be happy about after the 2022 overtime Liberty Bowl win!
Top Performances of 2022
Seeing many games (21) among many different teams (33) this season makes it difficult to put together our own All-American team. What we’ve decided to do instead this season is to just recognize Top Performances of each game. We don’t even call this a Most Valuable Player list. For each game, we recognize at least one player, players from either team, players from offense, defense, or special teams.
Game 636: Penn State – DB Joey Porter, JR, 8 tackles, 3 break-ups, tight coverage – TE Brenton Strange, 2 catches, 77 yards, 1 TD; Purdue – WR Charlie Jones, 12 catches, 153 yards, 1 TD
Game 637: Alabama – QB Bryce Young, 18 for 28 passing, 195 yards, 5 TDs, 100 yards rushing, 1 TD – LB Will Anderson – 5 tackles, 1 TFL; Utah State
Game 638: Wake Forest – QB Sam Hartman, 18 for 27, 300 yards, 4 TDs; Vanderbilt – QB AJ Swann 8 for 11, 124 yards, 2 TDs, late in game
Game 639: Penn State – RB Nick Singleton, 10 for 124 yards, 2 TDs, long 54-yard TD – S Ji’Yar Brown, 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 Int return for 27 yards; Auburn
We watched PSU win two on the road in 2022. We plan to see them at Illinois in 2023 for our first trip to Champagne.
Game 640: Austin Peay – QB Mike Diliello, 17 for 33, 172 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 15 carries for 181 yards, 3 TDs; Eastern Kentucky – QB Parker McKinney, 21 for 36, 213 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 116 yards rushing
Game 641: UTSA – QB Frank Harris, 27 for 36, 4141 yards, 2 TDs passing, 2 TDS rushing. 3 INTs; Middle Tennessee – QB Chase Cunningham, 35 for 56, 368 yards, 1 TD
Game 642: Troy – WR Tez Johnson, 6 catches, 105 yards, 1 TD, 1 TD option pass for 10-yard TD; Western Kentucky – QB Austin Reed, 39 for 56, 406 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Game 643: South Carolina – RB Marshall Lloyd, 22 for 110 yards, 1 TD, 22 for 110 yards, 1 TD – PK Mitch Jeter, 32 -yard FG, 5 kickoffs for touchbacks – DT Tonka Hemingway, 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 TFLs, Fumble recovery to set up first TD; Kentucky
Game 644: Western Kentucky – QB Austin Reed, 32 for 49, 278 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT: Middle Tennessee
Between Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee, next season we plan to attend more games with both as CUSA has a new mid-week television package.
Game 646: Ohio State – WR Marvin Harrison, JR, 10 catches for 185 yards, long 37 – LB JT Tuimoloau, 6 tackles, 2 sacks, INT for TD; LB Tommy Eichenberg, 15 tackles; Penn State – WR Parker Washington, 11 catches, 179 yards, 1 TD
Game 648: Clemson – RB Will Shipley, 19 for 97, 1 TD run, hurdle for score – RB Phil Mafah, 10 for 106 yards, 1 TD: Louisville
Game 649: Georgia – RB Kenny McIntosh, 19 for 143 yards, 1 TD; Kentucky
UGA returns with a defense that Kirby Smart will continue to build. We’ll have to see if we can get them on our slate in 2023.
Game 650: Texas – BiJuan Robinson, 29 for 198, 2 TDs – RB Roschon Johnson, 13 for 77 yards, 2 TDs: Baylor
Game 651: Louisiana – QB Chandler Fields, 16 for 26, 187 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; Texas State – RB Lincoln Pare, 28 for 221 yards 1 TD, 56-yd run and 67-yd TD run
Game 652: Stamford – QB Quincy Crittendom, 26 for 40, 314 yards, 4 TDs, 20 carries for 94 yards, winning TD run in OT; SE Louisiana – QB Cephus Johnson III – 19 for 30, 173 yards, 1 INT, 15 carries for 123 yards, 3 TDs
Game 653: Army DL Austin Hill, forced fumble at goal line in OT; Isaiah Morris blocked punt and DB Jabril Williams returned for 31-yard TD before halftime; Navy
Navy and Army meet for their 124th edition next year, first time ever in Boston. We’ll be there!
Game 654: Arkansas – QB KJ Jefferson, 19 for 29, 287 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 14 carries for 130 yards, 2 TDs; Kansas – QB Jalon Daniels, 37 for 55, 544 yards, 5 TD passes, 2 INT, 14 for 21 rushing, 1 TD, 4 Liberty Bowl records
Game 655: Iowa – DB Xavier Nwampka, 7 tackles, 52-yard TD return – DB Dejean Cooper, 8 tackles, 14-yard TD return; Kentucky
Offseason “booked”
With over 200 more games and eleven new FBS teams added since we published Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all, we’ve decided it’s time to update our adventures. We’ll update the old with the newest. The new edition will have new titles and be marketed differently than the original. We’ve got some publishing experience to help us so we hope top to expand our exposure and reach more fans beyond many of the faithful followers we have already. We hope to be getting it out by the middle of 2023 well before the upcoming season starts. Look for updates here for this and other offseason news. We’re already starting to piece together next season’s slate.
Looking forward to next season when our new and improved book based our updated adventures since last publication will be out!
TCU championship couldn’t be better for college football
If TCU, unranked in the preseason polls, bests Georgia this Monday night, it could not be a better scenario for college football. It sends out a message that a champion does not necessarily come from among the elite, FBS “blue-bloods”. With transfer portals as uncontrolled as they are now, look what is happening already. Three players from heralded Alabama head through the portal to play at Fort Worth for TCU next season.
Despite TCU HC Sonny Dykes comments implying if they are not good enough to play at Alabama, how can they play for us? His comment needs to be considered. On the other hand, players opting through the portal and maybe even players coming right out of high school realize they don’t want to sit on the bench on a stacked roster. Maybe opportunities in college football exist beyond Georgia, Ohio’s State, Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, USC, etc. We believe both the portal and the NIL policies need adjusting, but this realization could possibly spread the talent as opposed to continuing the monopolization of a few. Wishful thinking perhaps on our part, but we think it defeats the alternative. Go Horned Frogs!
For College Football Playoff Championship – Go TCU Horned Frogs!
History lesson for us
We like to leave a late date each season open for a chance to see competitive TBA, playoff game at the levels below FBS play. This policy paid off well this season when we watched Samford defeat SE Louisiana in Round Two of the FCS in OT, 48-42. The mastermind of the victory, Samford HC Chris Hatcher, effectively replaced his injured starting QB of the year with his back-up, Quincey Crittendom. Crittendom led his team to the thrilling victory. For Coach Hatcher, he recorded his 172nd career victory as HC among four schools. His record now stands at 51-38 with his Stamford Bulldogs.
It turns out, however, that Coach Hatcher influenced the careers of the two college football coaches leading their teams into Sofi Stadium Monday night. He lived with TCU’s Sonny Dykes for three years, and later, Kirby Smart coached for him as an assistant. Hatcher and Dykes coached together at Kentucky on Hal Mumme’s staff. After that, Hatcher returned to his alma mater, D2 Valdosta State where he had won the Harlon Hill award as QB, as Head Coach. The Harlon Hill Award equals the Heisman at the D2 level. Hatcher hired Kirby Smart after graduation from Georgia as his secondary coach. During their two seasons together, the Blazers finished 22-3. They won the Gulf Southern Conference both seasons and went into the D2 playoffs. A year after Smart’s exit, Valdosta won the D2 championship.
Chris Hatcher’s Samford Bulldogs play on a surface named for Hall of Fame Head Coach Bobby Bowden. He has great coaching ties from the past to the present.
We’ve seen our history repeat itself
Read the story here about Hatcher’s history with Dykes and Smart. Over 40 years of history here at collegefootballfan.com, this is the type of story we cherish. We’ve seen instances like this where we remember seeing a particular player, and years later, we find out more about their success as life goes on. This one definitely intrigues us!
All’s fair in college football and war
In 2019, President Trump pushed for a bill allowing players of the three major military academies to become eligible to play professional sports if given the opportunity. All Cadets and Midshipman are obligated to a minimum of five years of service in the military right after graduation. In this case, a bill was to be passed allowing graduates to defer their military service if they pursued professional sports careers. The benefits intended to allow qualified athletes to pursue professional sports careers and to allow the academies athletic programs to compete for top athletes. Especially, to enhance their football programs. A bill recently revoked this 2019 ruling stating that only athletes enrolled after June 30, 2021 could pursue this option.
Highest and only pick ever from West Point
The issue came into focus only a few weeks ago. Already, players at Army, Navy, and Air Force had already sought to play with that opportunity in mind a couple years ago. In one particular case, Army LB Andre Carter II, stands out as a potential first-round draft pick in 2023. His family protested to Congress and the issue came to the forefront of a recent debate. The overall omnibus bill needed to be signed by the President. New language cleared the way for exceptions in the graduating classes of the three academies. The bill was signed.
Carter seems to be a lock for this year’s draft, but don’t be surprised if a player for two from Air Force finds their way in later. If not drafted, it sounds like opportunities can still come to military academy athletes through free agent signings. The academies’ priorities remain to develop military leaders first and foremost. Cadets and Mids are obligated to graduate after two years at these schools or face a $400k payout. In this day and age though, what agent couldn’t envision paying that off to free up a college football player for his commission on today’s NFL salaries? Not sure if this will ever happen again to a player at one of these military institutions, but the door seems to be open.
Navy defense did its job shown here stropping Army QB Cade Ballard in this year’s Army-Navy game. Players from both teams will continue playing defense for us and not NFL teams in the future.
Coach leads lesson in lacking loyalty
We used to respect Luke Fickell, HC of the Cincinnati Bearkats until right before bowl season. It seemed that the players’ arguments for pay-to-play, NIL compensation, and portal policies stemmed from issues with coaches capabilities to leave a program at any time. We could argue that many of these coaches came out of school and made minimal salaries to start. Read the article linked in our story about Hatcher, Smart, and Dykes and how these guys all struggled before successful college football coaching careers. Then realize, many others like them never even get beyond that point. They seek employment outside of football. College players today are now making significantly more than what coaches ever made to start with.
What bothers us about Fickell? He led Cincinnati to a 9-3 season, and they received an invitation to play in the Fenway Wasabi Bowl in Boston against Louisville. Fickell signs a contract to go to Wisconsin. Good for him. However, he decides he’s going to coach the Badgers in their bowl game instead of sticking with the team he recruited and developed. They lost humbly to the Cardinals, 21-7. This isn’t right in any respect.
Nippert Stadium erupts for post-game celebration of the American Athletic Conference title and the anticipated bid to play for the CFP championship in 2021! Former HC Luke Fickell should have remained to get the Bearcats a bowl win this year as well!
Action speaks louder than his words
These Cincy players had more rights to play under the leadership of the guy who brought them together bringing success to the program as well as to him. He leaves Cincy players to play with a skeleton coaching crew instead of leading them to the height of their final season together, especially players who made it to the College Football Playoff a year ago. That looked pretty darn good on Fickell’s resume. They showed loyalty to him, and they mutually shared success. He should not have abandoned those players who brought him that success to go see what lie ahead of him in Wisconsin. That shows that the only loyalty he had lied with himself. Poor example whenever he needs his future players to stay. He can’t ever teach “loyalty”. He absolutely defied it, sorry to say.
OC Carousel at Western Kentucky reloads
HC Ty Helton of Western Kentucky seems to have problem hanging on to good offensive coordinators, but he may have a good handle on the carousel that seems to have started there. In 2021 finishing 9-5 with a Boca Raton Bowl win over Appy State, QB Bailey Zappe under OC Zach Kittley threw for 62 TDs and 5,967 yards. He set a season record and led the FBS in both categories. Zappe got drafted by the New England Patriots. Kittley joined first-year HC Joey McGuire as his OC at Texas Tech.
In 2022, QB Austin Reed under new WKU OC Ben Arbuckle led the nation in passing again for the Hilltoppers with 4,744 yards and 40 TD passes. Again, the Toppers finished 9-5, and they walloped South Alabama in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Having led college football in passing this season, WKU’s QB Austin Reed has the Toppers headed in he right direction despite the departure of OC Ben Arbuckle.
A coach with vision
Reed returns next season, but Arbuckle took an offer at Washington State. Have no fear for the Toppers. Helton’s staff consisted of three OCs this season including Josh Crawford and Zach Lankford. Seems he’s got a successful system and knows how to develop a pipeline. We look forward to seeing what the Toppers will do next season. More on Conference USA later.
Tale of two QBs
In April of 2018, collegefootballfan.com attended the Penn State blue and white game. A major competition unfolded at QB between Sean Clifford and Will Levis. Clifford eventually won the starting position. James Franklin called on Levis for several games, but also played him at various position to catch and carry the ball. In 2019, we saw him used effectively in their win at Maryland in PSU’s 59-0 win. Clifford started at QB, of course.
Levis eventually transferred to Kentucky where he achieved a successful season in 2021. Mel Kiper, Jr. put him on a pedestal in early 2022. Clifford had his share of ups and downs including a leg injury that set him back in 2021. In 2022, we watched both perform. Clifford had a great comeback win against Purdue. The Nittany Lions also dominated Auburn with him at QB in their 41-12 win. However, he struggled against Ohio State with three INTs and a fumble. The Lions even led with 9:46 left to play. Clifford’s turnovers though outweighed his 371 yards passing and three TDs in the 44-31 loss.
We see what Kiper doesn’t
As for Levis, an injury kept him out when we saw his Wildcats fall to South Carolina, 24-14. However, he played in U of K’s 16-6 loss against No. 1 Georgia. His performance was a letdown (20 for 31 passing, 206 yards, one TD, one INT). In the first half, he missed a wide open WR Barrion Brown on a second and one for a long gain into Georgia territory, Levis also lofted a pass far short of his receiver in the end zone. DB Kelee Ringo who was beaten picked it off. On another first period drive, it ended as a three-and -out. Levis threw and Ill-advised pass to the flat completed for no gain on third down. In a showcase game that the Wildcats could have pulled off for a win with their staunch defense this day, Levis played poorly.
Should they play or should they go?
Both Penn State (11-2) and Kentucky (7-6) went on to bowl games. Clifford, in his sixth and final year, played. In the Lions 35-21 Rose Bowl Victory over No. 8 Utah, he completed 16 of 21 for 279 yards and two TDs. Levis opted out as the Wildcats fell to Iowa in the Music City, 21-0. Had he played, Levis could have displayed his talents against a tough Iowa offense instead. Levis can rest on Mel Kiper’s laurels all he wants, but in our draft, we’d take Sean Clifford over Will Levis any day.
We couldn’t see what Kiper saw in either Jake Lockler nor Malik Willis when we watched them play in person for Washington and Liberty respectively during their college football careers. Based on Levis’s performance at UK, we ask the same.
QB Sean Clifford tosses a spot pass to Parker Washington (3) in 35-31 win over Purdue to open the 2021 college football season for PSU.
Power Five vs Group of Five
We followed bowls featuring these two FBS categories against one another. We clamor for more of these to be played. Our proposal calls for a selection committee for bowl games to address this in our previous Salvo. In the end, the Group took three of the five meetings. The Group took the biggest prize of all when Tulane (12-2) of the American Athletic rocked No USC of the PAC 12 in the final four minutes of the Cotton Bowl, 46-45.
We want more bowls pitting the Group against Power, a possible misnomer. Tulane should end up in the Top Ten in the final poll. Teams No. 7-10 and No. 12 all lost. Florida State and Oregon State beat unranked 6-6 squads Oklahoma and Florida respectively. Fresno dropped Washington State and Air Force beat Baylor in the Texas cold. Louisville dumped Cincy without Fickell on the sideline as reported earlier. We have to admit that Duke surprised us with their win over UCF.
An old saying to remember
The Florida State and Oregon State bowls would have been much more interesting if these two could have squared off with No. 24 Troy and No. 25 UTSA who played in the Cure Bowl with identical 11-2 records. “Experts” could say the loss by either Power in such games could be chalked up to apathy. However, maybe the “Powers” need to learn they don’t deserve such “elitism” to begin with. As my old high school coach liked to quote (and yours too probably), “They put their pads on one leg at a time, just like everybody else.”
In the last college football game we attended this year between a Power Five and a Group of Five team, we saw Louisville defeat James Madison, a first-year FBS program, 24-10.
Awakening to the rising SunBelt
We’re glad to hear that QB Grayson McCall of Coastal Carolina pulled back out of the transfer portal and returns to play for the Chanticleers in 2023. The Chants had a good thing going with him under center. An injury against Southern Miss knocked him out for the rest of the season. At 9-1 when he went down, CC got hammered by JMU, 12-2 Troy, and East Carolina in the TicketSmart Bowl. They ended up 9-4. HC Jamey Chadwell announced he’s left for Liberty joining C-USA. CCU hired Tim Beck, OC at NC State, to take over the CCU football program after Chadwell’s departure. Having successfully coached Wolfpack QB Devin Leary, surely, he pitched his experience to McCall to get him to reconsider transferring.
The SunBelt improves as an up-and-coming competitive conference. Troy, South Alabama, Marshall, and newcomer James Madison all displayed improved prowess this season. Apply State and Louisiana took steps back, but they still showed toughness and talent this past year. We look for Texas State under new HC GJ Kinne from FCS Incarnate Word to make an impression with revitalized offense in coming years. The former Tulsa and Philadelphia Eagle QB with ties at Houston Baptist where Western Kentucky coaches and QBs such as Bailey Zappe came from will develop a passing attack to even rival McCall and Coastal. Look for fun and excitement throughout this conference in the very near future.
Looking back at this season, we rate Troy’s maroon and black uniforms as the best we’d seen in 2022 among the 32 teams.
Conference USA makes our day playing more night games
In 2023, Conference USA loses several members to the American Athletic. UTSA, North Texas, UAB, and Charlotte fill AAC voids left behind as Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF join the Big XII. From the Group to the Power Five, these moves strengthen our position regarding the two FBS “subdivisions”. Stepping into Conference USA come Independents Liberty with new HC Chadwell and improving New Mexico State under HC Jerry Kill. From the FCS come Sam Houston State, FCS champs during the 2020 Spring season and perennial power Jacksonville State (AL). Current SHS HC KC Keeler also won a national championship at Delaware. Jax State comes off a 9-2 season under HC Rich Rodriguez. He’s known for his 172 victories including stints at WVU, Michigan and Arizona. FCS Kennesaw State joins in 2024.
What has collegefootballfan.com excited for the 2023 season comes with the new TV contract for CUSA midweek games similar to MACtion games. Among the remaining five CUSA teams are favorite locals Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Florida International, Louisiana Tech, and UTEP also stay. All teams will host games for four weeks in October to be played Tuesday-Thursday nights. With MTSU and WKU within an hour drive from our Tennessee HQs, we can bolster our schedule with some good Conference USA games! We can’t wait to start piecing together out 2023 slate with mid-week night games and possibly some new FBS newcomers. The conference changes work to our advantage to keep up by adding new teams to total all 134 in the next few years.
MTSU QB Chase Cunningham looks down field on a comeback drive attempt against UTSA. We look forward to attending a few more night games at MTSU’s Floyd Stadium in 2023.
Please check out our book!
Ed. by Steve Koreivo, Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all! If you like our stories, read all our tales when we saw all 120 FBS teams (at the time of publication) play for the first time. We now offer at two for one deal.
For the purchase of one copy of my book online and a submittal of your review of it to Amazon.com, I will send you a personally autographed soft-covered copy for free, postage included (for US residents only).
Please go to my book’s Amazon page linked here: https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Tailgate-whos…/dp/1463416865 This will be limited to 40 new submittals that can be monitored on my Amazon page. Currently, there are 24 reviews in total. When you submit a review, please email your shipping address to sjk_cff@hotmail.com. Also let me know who you want any message addressed to and who your or their favorite college football team might be so a message can be presented it to your particular liking (ex: “Go Navy!”).
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Why does the college football season have to end? Time to start planning next year’s schedule.
Nashville, TN – Anticipated to be a low scoring “offensive” struggle, collegefootballfan.com witnessed what we expected. “No-offense” Iowa (8-5) shut out the Kentucky Wildcats (7-6,) 21-0, without QB Will Levis and RB Chris Rodriguez. Both opted out to save their bodies. Despite predicting the low-scoring Music City affair, to everyone’s surprise, the Hawkeyes’ defense outscored its own offense.
Rare Music City highlights
Iowa put up 21 points, all in the second period. The quarter featured the four main highlights of the entire game. After a futile first period with the Wildcats punting four times and the Hawkeyes punting twice and turning the ball over on downs, Iowa put together a scoring drive. Frosh QB Joe Labas, making his first start, connected on two consecutive passes. The first went 27 yards with TE Sam LaPorta fighting his way through several tacklers. The next came on a 15-yard TD pass to TE Luke Lachey who dove in for the score.
At the end of Q1, Hawkeye players participate in a game day tradition waving back to patients at Iowa Children’s Hospital in Iowa City from Music City Bowl on TV.
Kentucky frosh QB Destin Wade tried to go long on the next series. However, DB Xavier Nwankpa picked it and returned the ball 52 yards for a TD to increase the Hawkeye lead, 14-0. Late in the second, Destin tossed another pass picked off by DB Cooper Dejean who promptly returned it 14 yards for another pick-six. The Hawkeyes led at the half, 21-0. The second half wallowed in futility. Neither team generated any scoring threats for the balance of this contest.
DB Xavier Nwankpa (1) starts celebration in end zone after returning INT 52 yards for 14-0 Hawkeye lead in 2nd quarter of Music City Bowl.
Futile 2022 finale followed our “Big Bang”
To put things into perspective, Iowa’s return yardage on the interceptions totaled 66 yards. Iowa’s offense rushed for 67 yards. Kentucky rushed for 68. QB Joe Labas debuted passing for 14 receptions for 139 yards and a TD. Destin and fellow U of K QB Deuce Hogan combined for 22 of 37 passing for 117 yards. The combined offensive production for the two teams combined for 396 yards. On Wednesday at the Liberty Bowl we attended, Arkansas and Kansas combined for 1,274 yards in the Razorback’s 55-53 OT win.
Iowa punted eight times, Kentucky ten. Both teams turned over the ball on downs twice. This game was not a defensive battle. On the contrary, the Music City opponents displayed offensive ineptitude. The two DBs who scored for the Hawkeyes made eight and seven tackles respectively. Dejean won Music City Bowl MVP honors. Attending our seventh Music City Bowl, attendance dwindled by far. We bought our tickets in advance. We had hoped to see a decent matchup preceding the two CFP semis to be televised after.
Music City Bowl MVP Cooper DeJean (3) makes one of his eight stops. He also returned a pick six for the Hawkeyes’ third and final score of the second period and of the game
Looking ahead in the Music City
The Music City Bowl got short-changed with thee two participants after last year’s 48-45 win by Purdue over Tennessee. With a potential, multi-billion dollar, enclosed stadium to be built in place of Nissan Stadium, Nashville expects to be hosting the eventual national championship game here in the future. Hope we’ll be around to see it, or at least rent out our home for a weekend. Super Bowls and Final Fours figure into Nashville’s plan as well, we hear.
Next Up!
On September 2, 2023, the Hawkeyes will host Utah State in their opener, and Kentucky will host Ball State. We’ll be a week ahead of them when Vanderbilt hosts Hawaii on Week 0 on Saturday, August 26. On September 2, we will attend Tennessee’s season opener at Nissan Stadium versus Virginia. However, between now and then, check us out here for our 2022 Season Summary, our NFL pre- draft analysis of players we’ve seen, 2023 schedule building updates, and for other offseason college football happenings.
The second half was a game played between the 25-yard lines as shown here. Iowa stops Kentucky WR Tayvion Robinson (9) for short gain.
Please check out our book deal below!
Ed. by Steve Koreivo, Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all! If you like our stories, read all our tales when we saw all 120 FBS teams (at the time of publication) play for the first time. We now offer at two for one deal.
For the purchase of one copy of my book online and a submittal of your review of it to Amazon.com, I will send you a personally autographed soft-covered copy for free, postage included (for US residents only).
Please go to my book’s Amazon page linked here: https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Tailgate-whos…/dp/1463416865 This will be limited to 40 new submittals that can be monitored on my Amazon page. Currently, there are 24 reviews in total. When you submit a review, please email your shipping address to sjk_cff@hotmail.com. Also, please let me know who you want any message addressed to and who your or their favorite college football team might be so a message can be presented it to your particular liking (ex: “Go Navy!”).
I appreciate your support. Please submit just a few sentences, and please be honest with your reviews. I will learn from all comments as I am considering writing another college football anthology in the future. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy this one. Thanks.
Happy New Year!
Iowa cheerleaders enjoyed their team’s eighth victory of the season in Nashville, The Music City!
Memphis, TN – Arkansas (7-6) led Kansas by 25 with four minutes left in Q3 of Liberty Bowl 2022, but the Jayhawks (6-7) tied the score at the end of regulation. The teams exchanged 15 points each in the first two OTs. However, the Razorbacks scored on their first two-point conversion in the third OT on a run by Rashad Dubinion (20 carries, 112 yards, two TDs). Kansas RB Jason Bean flipped an errant option pass despite appearing to have room ahead to take the ball in himself. The Razorbacks took the bowl victory, 55-53. At the end of regulation in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 52,847 attended pretty evenly between both schools, all I could say was, “Wow!” Guest Game Analyst Rick Selleck (Auburn grad/fan) conferred, “That about sums I up!”
Arkansas RB AJ Green dashes for 20-yard TD in 2nd quarter of AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
Kansas QB Jalon Daniels set four Liberty Bowl records. He set marks for passing yards (544), completions (37), TD passes (5), and scores (6). However, the strong-armed junior QB struggled early with accuracy. Arkansas interceptions and a muffed kick-off return allowed the Razorbacks to build its lead early. These resulted in its commanding 38-13 lead late in the third. Rick and I thought KU HC Lance Leipold premature in his decision to go for a two-point conversion. Kansas failed on their second score late in the second period. In retrospect, it probably cost the Jayhawks later.
Jayhawk RB Ky Thomas receives pass from Jalen Daniels for early Kansas lead in Q1, 7-3, but it didn’t last long.
Leipold’s leadership
However, we’ve admired him since his days at D-3 UW-Whitewater and at Buffalo. His uncanny coaching capabilities to build teams kept these Jayhawks fighting back through the end of this great game. What a comeback! Despite early setbacks, his team played unfazed. From our view point in the end zone, the Jayhawk receivers found seams on most pass plays.
Razorback QB KJ Jefferson and RB Dubinion took advantage of early turnovers and field position to give Arkansas a commanding lead. It sparked their large fan based to start their “SEC” chant. I still don’t understand why fans of these schools don’t focus on their individual team’s success. Auburn Rick had an explanation from a historical perspective. At that point, the Jayhawks played even more inspired football.
Kansas HC Lance Leipold makes point to official along the sideline. We first saw Leipold coach Wisconsin-Whitewater in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl against Mt. Union in 2006 for the D3 championship. He won six national titles at UW-W.
Kansas’ comeback!
With 3:15 left in the third quarter, Kansas scored on Ky Thomas’s two-yard run. The five-play, 86-yard drive was highlighted by Daniel’s 45-yard pass to Luke Grimm ( 10 catches, 167 yards, one TD) to the Arkansas 26. On their subsequent possession entering the final period, Kansas added three on Owen Piepergerdes 36-yard FG.
KU QB Jalen Daniels picks up yardage on fourth quarter TD drive that got the Jayhawks within eight points late in the game.
Trailing 38-23, the Jayhawks turned the ball over on downs to the Hogs at their 21 with 3:52 left to play. On this Razorback drove, KU spent two time-outs. On a second and eleven, on a completed pass down to the Jayhawks 30, DB Marvin Grant knocked the ball loose from Matt Landers’ grasp. KU’s Cobee Bryant scooped the ball and returned it to the Arkansas 48. Driven down to the ten, Daniels connected with Doug Emilien for a score to close the gap, 38-30. The play of the comeback occurred on KU’s onsides kick. It skipped among several Razorbacks. KU S Kenny Logan recovered to give the Jayhawks the ball on the 50. Rarely with five players on each side of the ball on an onsides do we see an intended recovery. “Execution,” said Rick. May have been facetious, but what else can one say?
Kansas Safety Kenny Logan (1) recovers onsides kick leading to game-tying drive in regulation.
Liberty Bowl final countdown
Daniels connected again with Grimm for 34 yards to the 16. Following a delay of game, Daniels connected with Grimm at the goal line for a 21-yard score. WR Lawrence Arnold (eight catches for 119 yards) hauled in a two-point conversion at the back of the end zone with 41 seconds before heading into OT. With three time-out left starting from the 25, HC Sam Pittman’s team didn’t show any sense of urgency. They never got within range of a field goal. An illegal substitution penalty by KU even gave the Hogs a few more yards. They could only run the ball out of bounds at the Jayhawks 38 as time expired. Overtime!
WR Lawrence Arnold (2) shocks Arkansas secondary with catch for two-point conversion to tie the score in the Liberty Bowl, 38-38.
First OT and second OT
In the first OT, on fourth and goal at the two, Daniels hit TE Jared Casey in the flat for a two-yard score. The Jayhawks took a 45-38 lead, their first since a 7-3 lead in Q1. Arkansas tied it up on two plays as Dubinion ran it in from the six. To start the second round of OT, Jefferson burst for a 20-yard TD run. Addling pressure on the Jayhawks, he connected with Jaeden Wilson for the gutsy two-point conversion to retake the lead, 53-45. Daniels ran it in from the two on the ensuing Kansas possession. On the two-point conversion, he got stopped short as he dove to the goal line. We noted a wide-open receiver in the right corner before he dove.
Liberty Bowl over. No! Flag! It happened so quickly. DB Quincey McAdoo, who intercepted to set up a scoring drive early in the first, got called for targeting and ejected. Here’s where GGA Rick and I had a disagreement. He couldn’t believe the refs would make that call on a final, decisive game play. My thought is that officials have made those calls all year, and not that I agree with most as far as the intention. They always get reviewed for safety reasons and intent. Why stop during this critical situation?
They didn’t show the replay on the video board. A local fan wearing a Memphis ball cap said a friend texted him that it was evident. Later he showed us the replay on this phone. It looked clearly like leading into the helmet. The call stood. KU got the ball at the one, and Casey caught the pass for two to tie.
To the two-point conversions
Moving to the far end of the field from us for the two-point conversions, Dubinion took it over for Arkansas. We watched KU’s play unfold with Bean sprinting to the right appearing to be trending toward the pylon when he suddenly shot-putted the ball far over a receiver’s head. He was open, but the path ahead of him looked to be the right move from our long view. Now game over. You just hate to see a game like this end with a flub instead of a great defensive play in this case. Arkansas won, 55-53, in a great, memorable game in the 64th Liberty Bowl.
Razorback fans go hog-wild for their team’s 55-53 Liberty Bowl victory!
Next up!
We attend our 655th game and our final game of 2022 to end another fantastic Collegefootballfan.com season on Saturday. The Liberty Bowl was similar to last year’s Music City Bowl that went down to the wire with Purdue defeating Tennessee, 48-45. We anticipate this year’s Music City to be very anti-climactic. It could be close, but we expect a very low score.
Iowa who’s shown little offense but singy defense will play Kentucky (7-5) without the services of QB Will Levis who opted out. If any QB needed an opportunity to show the pros what he can do, he is it. Kentucky’s defense is stout. We saw U of K fall to Georgia, 16-6, this year. Three bad passes by Levis kept the Wildcats from scoring opportunities on three different drives early in that game. The defense held UGA to its lowest score of the season. After this one, we look forward to settling in somewhere to watch the two CFP semi-finals. Happy New Year everybody!
Please check out our book!
Ed. by Steve Koreivo, Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all! If you like our stories, read all our tales when we saw all 120 FBS teams (at the time of publication) play for the first time. We now offer at two for one deal.
For the purchase of one copy of my book online and a submittal of your review of it to Amazon.com, I will send you a personally autographed soft-covered copy for free, postage included (for US residents only).
Please go to my book’s Amazon page linked here: https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Tailgate-whos…/dp/1463416865 This will be limited to 40 new submittals that can be monitored on my Amazon page. Currently, there are 24 reviews in total. When you submit a review, please email your shipping address to sjk_cff@hotmail.com. Also let me know who you want any message addressed to and who your or their favorite college football team might be so a message can be presented it to your particular liking (ex: “Go Navy!”).
I appreciate your support. A few sentences are all that are needed. Please be honest with your reviews. I will learn from all comments as I am considering writing another college football anthology in the future. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy this one. Thanks.
Happy New Year!
Arkansas cheerleaders had lots to be happy about after the overtime Liberty Bowl win!
Last week we spoke about our disappointment in the Cure Bowl match-up between two Group of Five conference champs. UTSA (11-3) and Troy (12-2) met in that one. Definitely, this contest pitted two very good football teams in the first bowl week of 2022. Our disappointment lies in the fact that we would like to have seen both take on Power Five teams instead. We believe such games would show that the Group of Five is not that far removed from most of the teams among the SEC, Big Ten, Big XII, ACC, and Pac-12.
Regretfully among 43 postseason games, only five feature teams from these two categories play one another. Three have been played already. The Group of Five holds the upper hand already. They’ve triumphed two wins to one. Fresno beat Washington State and Air Force defeated Baylor for the “Group”, and Louisville won over Cincinnati for the “Power”. Duke will take on Central Florida in the Military and USC meets Tulane in the Cotton. We look forward to both.
Troy QB Jarret Doege (9) completes his first pass for first down to WR Tez Johnson (15). After this throw, he was rarely seen standing against WKU as depicted here! Doege transferred from WKU to Troy ten days before Week Zero.
How about these?
Instead of 9-3 Florida State against 6-6 Oklahoma, how about the Seminoles against 11-2 UTSA. Or, how about 9-3 Oregon State playing 11-2 Troy instead of 6-6 Florida? Let the Sooner and Gator fans go watch their teams in a game against each other for nothing but pride. How about 9-4 Central Florida taking on 7-5 Oklahoma State instead of the Cowboys taking on 6-6 Wisconsin?
If Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall didn’t go down with an injury late in the season before losing its final two, how about a better Coastal Carolina at 9-3 against Kentucky 7-6 instead of ECU. A shame is that 9-3 James Madison is sitting out. Some weird rule determined “no first year in FBS bowl rule”. Let’s see what they could do against 7-5 Iowa with a tough defense? Fans would like to see more of these rare match-ups. Two lower level Power Fives going against one another mimics an exhibition game.
Cold wave amongst cold shoulders
Glad we decided to sit at home and watch games on TV this week. Good timing rather than sit in the freezing cold weather starting to come in all over the country. We’ll be at games in Memphis and Nashville next week where weather will warm up. However, rain is forecasted for the Music City next Saturday for the already dreary Kentucky-Iowa game. However, we give the players a lot of credit for some their great performances despite few fans in the stands. Remember when bowls convened on holiday weekends and their fans looked forward to going away somewhere? They traveled to see their favorite team celebrate the end of a GREAT season playing a game that meant something!
Georgia Safety Kelee Ringo hauled in this underthrown pass by Kentucky QB Will Levis. Levis missed two other wide-open Wildcat receivers in early drives against the Bulldogs that could have made a difference in this 16-6 UK loss.
Let’s start the 12-team FBS playoffs next year and recapture that before 2024! We look forward to student bodies and avid fans back in the stands, bands playing rousing fight songs, and cheerleaders leading the student bodies getting fired up! On television, now all you hear are players yelling at one another on the field or a few fans in the stands close to the press-box. Depressing seeing so many empty, cold bleacher seats throughout various stadiums. The bowl in the Bahamas attracted a few close friends and family members on short notice from Alabama and Ohio. College football just isn’t what it was without college “spirit”. Now spirit relies on turned-up, excited broadcaster voices with echoes from within the stadia off empty aluminum seats.
Signing overhype
The media tries to make such a big deal about high school kids de-committing from one school for another during the recruiting process. They like to highlight press conferences. An 18-year old feigning one hat and replacing it suddenly for another isn’t original anymore. First of all, get used to de-commitments. Loyalty went out the window. All of this NIL stuff is getting out of hand. Millions of dollars for college students for their name, image, and likeness. So many kids in the past started off the same way without the benefit of the NIL. Eventually, they fell into oblivion on the bench due to overhype of regretfully, injury.
Secondly, a year from now, the kids that go on to whatever school they choose will probably be reported in the transfer portal and seeking another school. Either because someone offered them more money, a coach dissed him, or because they didn’t start any games. Coaches always seek somebody else to play every position better. If you pay attention to this stuff in the media, your head will spin off. If you think that particular player is going play for your school for the next three years, good luck! In three years, he’ll be off to the pros.
Others now will now make so much money off just their potential because of the NIL, never graduate, possibly transfer once or twice at least, and you will probably never hear of them again. If a player has any fiduciary capabilities, he’ll be retired before he ever graduates Great work if you can get an NIL deal when you go to college. What a system! Over-paid coaches still coach or possibly lose their job. Seems like over-paid student athletes don’t even have to play.
Former Clemson QB DJ Uigalalei (5) crosses the goal line for a 7-0 Tiger lead over Louisville. He will not play against Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. He opted through the transfer portal and looks to play for the Oregon State Beavers next season.
Bowl game observations
Regarding what Deion Sanders did for HBCU’s in his two-year career at Jackson State, please fill me in on what did for any other program besides his JSU Bulldogs. By the way, as a heavy favorite, he lost both Celebration Bowl games his team made it to. Will his son QB Shedeur Sanders and WR/DB Travis Hunter go to Colorado for a year and then consider the transfer portal? How long will Deion remain at Colorado?
Western Kentucky HC Ty Helton convinced QB Austin Reed to exit the portal consideration and stay. He did. Already a D2 transfer from a national champion, West Florida, in his first season at WKU, he followed in the footsteps of Bailey Zappe, former Hilltopper QB now with New England who set NCAA passing records for yardage and TDs in one year with the coaching staff there. This year, Reed threw for over 4,000 yards, second best in the nation finishing 9-5 and beating South Alabama easily in another Group of Five bowl game. Why should he even consider another program? One more year in the right system , he’ll have such a distinct resume that even Mel Kiper, Jr. can’t be wrong regarding his potential.
Watched QB Austin Reed (16) n this win over Middle Tennessee. In 2019, he led D-2 West Florida to the national championship. He returns to WKU next season to challenge Bailey Zappe’s passing records set in 2021 for the Hilltoppers.
Self-serving bowl?
Found it very difficult to listen to the Jimmy Kimmel bowl broadcast. We muted it as we couldn’t take the self-promotion of the game’s namesake we never pay any attention to. Already know he’s not guy we would want to hang out with over drinks and eats at a tailgate party. All about him -boring.
Dial up the transfer portal
During the Toledo-Liberty Boca-Raton game, the broadcaster did their jobs promoting the strengths of the two teams defenses. What we saw, despite what stats say, that the two QBs made for one of the most inept QB matchups we’d ever seen. Toledo’s Soph QB Dequan Finn sat out a series supposedly injured early . While he sat the sideline, his sub came in and finally put points on the board on a very efficient drive leading to a field goal. The Rockets seemed to have life. Finn came back in the next series much to our surprise. The edge seemed to come off despite winning the game, 21-19.
Liberty’s frosh QB Kaidon Salter showed little knack for following through on any plays to set up deceptions for future plays as the game progressed. He would hand-off and just stand still. Granted the HC Hugh Freese left for Auburn, but you’d think coaches remaining could still coach. Both could use new QBs.
Creighton soars with Eagles
Eastern Michigan HC Chris Creighton is a HC to keep an eye on for upcoming opportunities. His Eagles manhandled San Jose State overcoming a 13-0 deficit sparked by an extra point return for two to defeat the Spartans, 41-27. He’s taken a very drown trodden program the last nine years to a 46-71 record with its first bowl win in 35 years. Consider his first two season after taking over this lackluster program went 4-20 the first two seasons. Since, its record is 44-41. The Eagles have gone to five bowl games the last seven years under him. Creighton looks to be program builder. He should start gaining more recognition with his climbing Eagles.
Baylor froze, literally. Air Force is good, but the Bears seemed to cower in the cold air nearby in Fort Worth. The Falcons probably had the benefit of some survival course training all cadets at USAFA get exposure to. Pardon the pun.
Gotta have “Hartman”
Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman played and led his Demon Deacons (8-5) to a win over Missouri, 27-17 ( the SEC is 0-2 in bowl play thus far – SEC! SEC!). He overcame serious medical issues this season. He didn’t opt out “to wait for the draft.” If we drafted for a pro team, we’d take him any day over Kentucky’s QB Will Levis. If anybody needs to prove himself to the pros, it’s this QB. We saw him against Georgia in his team’s 16-6 loss. His accuracy prevented a Wildcat upset within reach that day. Don’t go by what Mel Kiper, Jr. says. This guy needed to show what he’s made of against a good Iowa defense. He opted out. He relies on hearsay, not actions. Hartman has guts.
Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman picks up yards on a run against Vanderbilt after sitting out previous week’s opener in 2022 due to major medical issues. He leads QBs entering the 2023 draft in “guts”.
2024 proposal: Playoff games, Bowl games, and consolation games
We categorize post-season matchups between mediocre teams (6-7 wins) as “consolation” games, not “bowl” games. We hope the NCAA would take some of the luster off these teams who consider themselves “bowl” teams despite being among 80 schools with very mediocre seasons playing for accolades associating themselves among the best teams competing over the course of the season. Starting in 2024, at least fans will be able to discern a teams’ status between a “bowl team” and “playoff team”. Now, when a team says we have three playoff teams on our schedule, it will far outweigh a team who declares “we play seven bowl teams next year.” The meaning “bowl team” won’t be the same as it is now. That take the luster off the bowl status that it currently implies.
To categorize Playoff, Bowl, and Consolation games, we propose that team records based on total wins separate the pools of teams to be assigned to a bowl or consolation game after the twelve CFP teams are selected. As we proposed in the past, eliminate contractual relationships between a specific bowl game and two conferences. Instead, based on payouts by each bowl, highest to lowest, establish a selection order of bowls to be assigned in order. Then similar the the NCAA selection for the basketball tournament, establish a committee to select two teams to compete in each bowl from the two remaining categories depicted here after the CFP participants have been selected.
Ponder this
Example of our proposed process: 80 teams qualify among the 134 future FBS teams to play in the post season. The playoff selections bring the Bowl/Consolation teams down to 68. The 68 teams are ranked in order by their total wins. Looking at records of teams remaining after the four going to the CFP this year (UGA, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State), five teams have 11 wins this season. From among Clemson, Troy, Tulane, USC, and UTSA, the committee would pick four of these to play in the two highest paying bowls.
The remaining team gets added to the next pool and has to be the first selected to play a team with 10 wins. This year includes Penn State, South Alabama, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington. This same process continues through nine-game winners and then through eight-game winners. Once the selections are down to seven-win teams, the games are considered consolation games.
Might as well let every team have chance to play a game. Teams can opt out due to excessive injuries, changes in coaches, no interest, etc. When there’s not enough bowl/consolation sites available, “flip a coin” to determine which of the lower seeds would host a game. This allows lower-win schools to get some extended practice time like the winningest teams get every year, if they want the opportunity. It also pits two lesser schools whose fans perceive playing against a team they could possibly beat after a low-win season. This year could be Every game is televise throughout the season to begin with. Let them all play! That’s what the current “bowl” season trends to. Four teams with 1-11 records among Colorado, UMASS, Northwestern, and South Florida this year could be paired off to get another game and more practice.
Penn State QB Sean Clifford (14) unleashes toward WR Parker Washington against Purdue. He also takes the high road to display his talent against Utah in the Rose Bowl instead of opting out in his final season for the Nittany Lions.
Our 2022 bowl teams roll
Nine teams we watched play this season have mustered a bowl record of 6-3 through Christmas Day! Two of those losses came against two other teams we saw play this season. Troy beat UTSA in the Cure Bowl and Houston defeated Louisiana in the Independence Bowl. Louisville, Western Kentucky, Wake Forest and Middle Tennessee all came up winners. Only Baylor fell on a freezing, cold night not far from their campus in Waco, TX to Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth..
Ten more teams on our 2022 slate play in upcoming bowls. Among them, No. 1 Georgia plays No. 4 Ohio State at the Peach Bowl CFP Semi-final. Utah State, Texas, South Carolina, Clemson, Kentucky, Alabama, Purdue, and Penn State return to bowl action against teams we did not see play this year. Enjoy the rest of Bowl season!
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Ed. by Steve Koreivo, Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all! If you like our stories, read all our tales when we saw all 120 FBS teams (at the time of publication) play for the first time. Or, start thinking Christmas gifts for your favorite college football fans! We also encourage you and whoever you buy for to submit a review for us. Please click on the title or copy of the cover on our right sidebar to go to our Amazon page to buy and review. Thanks!
Purdue cheerleaders supported their Boilermakers to an 8-5 season. Now they follow their team to the Citrus bowl to face 9-4 LSU.
During this first bowl week of 2022, we reviewed our bowl schedule. We made a decision to cut back from three bowl games to two. The announcement of East Carolina (7-5) against Coastal Carolina (9-3) would not be worth the time spent. Chanticleer QB Grayson McCall went down to an injury in Week Eleven. After that, James Madison clobbered them, 44-7, in their last game. In the Sun Belt Championship a week later, Troy took them down, 45-26. The Chants aren’t the same without McCall at QB. Since then, McCall announced he’s going into transfer portal.
Evidently, he thinks he can pick up more NIL money elsewhere while showing the pros what he can do against a higher level of competition. For us, we don’t see a competitive TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. We’ll pass. We’ll stick with the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis where 6-6 Kansas will clash with 6-6 Arkansas.
QB Grayson McCall (with football) of Coastal Carolina seen here in loss at Appy State in 2021. He no longer looks for Chant receivers. Now he looks for another team to play for.
After that, we committed to the dud in Music City. There, Iowa with no offense meets Kentucky with opt-outs on offense including QB Will Levis. If anybody needs a good bowl game to help his draft value, it’s Kiper’s favorite, Levis. We saw the Wildcats lose to South Carolina in Week Seven, 24-14. Levis sat out with an injury and Frosh QB Kaiya Sheron started. The UK offensive performance struggled to say the least.
Satterfield Bowl in blustery Boston in First Bowl Week 2022
Former HC Scott Satterfield of Louisville sat on the hot seat going into 2022. Instead, he led his Cardinals to a 7-5 record. In First Bowl week 2022, Louisville heads to Boston to take on 9-3 Cincinnati in the Fenway Wasabi Bowl. The Bearcats former HC Luke Fickell resigned at the end of their season to take over downtrodden Wisconsin. As a matter of fact, he and most of his Cincy staff will be coaching the Badgers in the upcoming Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Oklahoma State. There needs to be some rules against this.
Stepping in for Cincinnati – Satterfield. We don’t think he’s coaching in this, but it doesn’t get much crazier than this. Coach’s former team and future team meet in a bowl this same season. All we can say is we will never be crazy enough to venture to Boston to attend a bowl game at Fenway Park. The opponents share the same sideline. What a reward! 33 degrees forecasted there. Maybe snow. We’ll never go!
Louisville TE Isaac Martin carries over a scored against James Madison in this year’s win. Next season, the LU offense will be throwing under new HC Jeff Brohm. The former Cardinal QB comes in from Purdue.
UIW’s GJ Kinne to take over at Texas State
It didn’t take Texas State long to get a commitment from HC GJ Kinne of incarnate Word. He’ll transfer from San António to San Marcos for the 2023 season. We give Kinne and TSU credit for allowing Kinne to continue to coach the Cardinals while still competing in the FCS playoffs. Kinne, a former Tulsa QB who eventually played as a back-up in the NFL has what the Bobcat program wanted. His resume includes head coaching experience, longtime Texas football connections, and winning ways.
With family connections at TSU, we look forward to seeing Kinne make the Bobcats more competitive in the Sun Belt. He’ll bring a pass-oriented strategy with him that has averaged 51.5 ppg this season at UIW. They just lost the FCS semi-final game to powerhouse North Dakota State, 35-32. Looks like fun times ahead for a TSU program. Hopefully, they get into the mix to compete for prime FBS talent in the Lone Star State.
Cure Bowl – good cause and a message for change
The Cure Bowl on Friday pitted two great 2022 champions from Group of Five conferences. No. 24 Troy defeated No. 25 UTSA, 18-12. The proceeds from Cure Bowl benefit cancer research – a tremendous benefactor. To us though, the match-up also indicates another “cure” to improve college football. Instead of seeing these two very good football teams coming in from the Group of Five rated at No. 24 and No. 25 play one another, let’s add some spice to bowl season. Let’s give the Group of Five teams like these opportunities to show they can be competitive with Power Five teams in general.
We prefer to see these two matched up against two Power Five opponents. Wouldn’t it be more exciting to see the top teams from the Group of Five play at least a third or fourth-ranked team among the Power Fives? The problem comes from bowl contracts pre-arranging match-ups limited between two Power Five conferences. Boring. No. four SEC vs No. three Big Ten or No. five ACC vs No. 5 Big Twelve. Bowl committees try to draw fan bases from big schools to come to their cities. UTSA has 35,000 students. Troy State, 16,000. Plus, alumni, of course. The Cure Bowl filled a Friday afternoon TV slot to start the bowl season. Why not invite these two later on for some prime-time action against Power Five teams?
We saw the Troy Trojans embroiled in a game of “smash-mouth” football in their 34-27 win over Western Kentucky this year. Turned out to be their second of 11 straight wins after defeating UTSA, 18-12, in Friday’s Cure Bowl. Troy wore our favorite uniforms this year, too.
Playoffs help, but…
Of course, we hope to see the new playoff format with twelve teams improve some of these match-ups. However, would No, 24 and No. 25 get a shot at playing in one of these games? If not, we propose that some other major bowls open up their invitation process to invite top teams remaining among all conferences rather than limited to members of two specific conferences. This “cure” would add more interest and incite more competitiveness among all 134 FBS (or more) teams.
Refs almost bumble Bahamas Bowl
Did you see what we saw in the first game of First Bowl week of 2022? Unless someone in the media made note of it since, it seemed to get swept under the rug In UAB’s 24-20 win over Miami (OH). The last play ended with the RedHawks nearly pulling off the win on the last play. What we saw on the previous play, the UAB Dragons got penalized for a facemask to gain 15 more yards. When we watched the replay, the only facemask we saw was by the Miami QB as the UAB defender took him out of bounds. The refs should have walked off 15 yards against Miami, not UAB. Did anyone else see it that way? Glad the RedHawks didn’t win with the advantage of an errant call by the refs.
Internal Navy battle
Hard for us to weigh in on this, until more facts come out regarding the firing of HC Ken Niumatalolo after the loss to Army. A faction of Navy fans calls for the dismissal of Navy AD Chet Gladchuk. They insist he handled the situation disrespectfully for one thing. Many also point out the disadvantages Niumatalolo had relative to the other academies after Covid-19. Others may know more than we do regarding this, so we’ll wait for things to shake out. As most know, the coach did a great job with winning records and a 6-5 bowl record to start. However, since the Covid-19 season where he admittedly did not have his team game ready at the start of the season, he’s recorded an 11-23 record since.
To us, he and the program seemed to lack the energy and enthusiasm before Covid. We admit, we disliked the AD’s move previously overstepping Niumatalolo to fire the OC Jasper Irvin. Coach Ken went to his defense to get Green reinstated as QB coach. To that, we see that as being a major weakness in Annapolis the last few years. There are two sides to every story. We think someone, particularly the Superintendent of USNA, needs to have a sit-down with the parties involved to get this cleared up. There’s no way Navy can be successful without the triple option to compete at the FBS level. Hopefully, recruiting continues with the existing staff to get the players they need. In the meantime, the administration needs to sort out the football leadership situation quickly.
In First Bowl Week 2022, is there a possibility of Navy HC Ken Niumatatolo returning? Many Navy fans hope so.
Coach search by Juniata Alma Mater dear
We had a great conversation with Juniata AD Nikki Ayers, class of ’06, regarding JC’s search for a new football coach after a disastrous 2022 season. Nikki took the position several months ago after being at Claremont Mudd Scripps as Associate Athletic Director for the D3 school on California. She heads a team of a dozen other people associated with the school from President James Troha, to National Champion Women’s Volleyball Coach Heather Pavlik, to academic department heads, former players, and student athletes among them. She’s had close to 100 applications to consider thus far. The search team is focused on head coaching experience, leadership capabilities for both football and life, and the development of a better strategic recruiting strategy. Not there the last time the previous coach was selected, there was no recollection of how that decision was finalized. However, she says there will be more transparency now.
We wish her the best in coming up with better leadership for a program whose players basically make up over 15% of the student male population at the school. With legacies at D3 Juniata such as late, great NFL HC Chuck Knox, former late, HC Walt Nadzak, the inaugural 1973 Stagg Bowl team (despite losing), and a 1956 Tangerine Bowl among many great teams, Juniata deserves to have a competitive team back on the playing field.
The Alma Mater, Juniata College, played in the first Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. Late HC Walt Nadzak sits at center in front row.
Landmark, Ho!
In 2023, we hope to see a fresh start in the newly formed Landmark Conference. It consists of seven schools comprised of both current Centennial members and some new foes. The new conference will get an automatic bid to the D3 playoffs. The Landmark also signed an agreement with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference for two post season bowl to be known as the Chesapeake Classic. Two non-D3 playoff participants from each conference will square of in No. 1 vs No. 2 games. We look forward to seeing who the next coach will be at JC, and we look forward to rebuilding the Eagles into a competitive D3 program.
Championship Season in First Bowl week 2022
North Central of Illinois (14-0) held off Mount Union (13-1) to win the D3 Football Championship in the Stagg Bowl played in Annapolis, Maryland Friday night, 28-21. The Cardinals took a 21-0 lead with 14:46 left in the game. However, the Purple Raiders got back to within seven on their next two possessions. The Cards scored again with 1:24 left. The Raiders countered again with 00:30 left to settle this score in an exciting final period. For North Central, they claimed their second championship in three years. They played in front of only 3,231 fans. Too bad. These teams play their hearts out just as much at the FBS teams do.
D2 today, Colorado School of Mines vs Ferris State of Michigan in McKinney, Texas
FCS teams determined in First Bowl Week 2022
North Dakota State (12-2) claimed half the final bracket last night with a 35-32 win over Incarnate Word (12-2). Today, No. 1 seed South Dakota State (12-1) takes on No. 4 Montana State (12-1). The winner of this takes on NDSU on January 8 at Frisco, Texas. We may have to think about capping off our season there this season. Check back with us for our Second Bowl Week 2022!
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Ed. by Steve Koreivo, Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all! If you like our stories, read all our tales when we saw all 120 FBS teams (at the time of publication) play for the first time. Or, start thinking Christmas gifts for your favorite college football fans! We also encourage you and whoever you buy for to submit a review for us. Please click on the title or copy of the cover on our right sidebar to go to our Amazon page to buy and review. Thanks!
The Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State (7-5) will be sending Season’s Greetings from the Hawaii when the play San Diego State (7-5) on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas!
Philadelphia – In what was expected to be a hard-hitting, low scoring slugfest, Army’s Cadets came away with a 20-17 victory over their archrival Midshipmen of Navy. With a blocked punt for a TD in regulation and the benefit of a fumble recovery at the one-yard line in the second OT, the Cadets came away with the points they needed to win in this hard-fought scrimmage.
Early in the second period, the Mids drew first blood with Bijan Nichol’s 44-yard FG. Later in the period, DB Isaiah Morris blocked Navy’s punt and CB Jabril Williams returned it 31 yards for a Cadet TD with 1:06 before halftime. Army led, 7-3.
Navy’s defense did its job shown here stropping Army QB Cade Ballard (18) who rushed for only 23 yards on eight carries and completed two of ten passes for 28 yards.
Cadets and Mids fighting to the finish
Navy (4-8) outgained the Cadets (6-6) on the ground 259 yards to 125. QB Xavier Arline topped all runners with 102 yards on 28 carries. Teammate Anton Hall, Jr. gained 99 yards on seven carries including a 77-yard TD burst to give the Mids a 10-7 lead in the third quarter. The score held until 1:53 remained in the final period when Army’s Quinn Maretzki booted a 39-yard FG. Two series earlier, the Cadets forced the Midshipmen to punt on a three and out from their own five. Army took over from their 46 to drive to the Navy 20 to tie it with Maretzki’s kick.
Army RB Tyrell Robinson stopped by Navy CB Adam Walker II (25) on late game drive to tie score at 10-10.
A first in Army Navy History
With the stage set 10-10 at the end of regulation, the Cadets and Midshipman played their first OT after 122 meetings. Army struck like their Lightning Division. RB Markel Johnson raced around the left side for a 25-yard score, the Army offenses’ first TD of the game. Navy retaliated with stealth. On their first and only pass of the entire game, Arline lofted a 25-yard TD pass to wide-open Maquel Haywood to tie 17-17 on their first play of the OT.
To start the second OT, Navy went to offense first. On six running plays, the Mids got to the three for a second and goal and called time-out. Next, Hall took the handoff, went left, lunged toward the goal line, but before he could reach the ball across, DL Austin Hill forced a fumble recovered by Darius Richards. Navy got shut down. Starting over at the 25, Army focused on keeping the ball between the hashmarks. From 39 yards out, Maretzki made good to finalize the 20-17 victory for the Cadets.
Navy FB Anton Hall Jr dives into end zone without ball as Army recovers football at the one to take over for final game-winning kick.
End of an era, regrettably
Navy still leads the series 62-54-7, but Army has won five of the last seven games. Ten of those 62 Navy wins against the Cadets came under HC Ken Niumatalolo. Disappointingly, he’s seen his last. The very dedicated Navy coach leaves with the most wins ever at USNA with a 109-83 record. However, his last winning season came in 2019 at 11-2.
The Midshipman have gone 11-23 since. He leaves USNA with a 10-5 record against Army and at 7-7 versus Air Force. In our opinion, once Covid-19 hit, he seemed to lose his focus and enthusiasm for running this program. Before that, he seemed to be the right fit for Midshipmen playing football. Sorry to see him go after watching him coach over most of these seasons. Regretfully, it seems like the program needs re-energizing. He leaves Navy football with lot of great memories and victories. We hope someone else can build on what he had continued after the departure of his predecessor, Paul Johnson.
Navy HC Ken Niumatalolo, far right, hovers close to his team during a time-out in what turned out to be his final game coaching the Midshipmen against the Cadets of West Point and any other Navy football foe.
Next up! Bowl Season
Neither Army nor Navy goes to bowl games. Both wait till next year. As for collegefootballfan.com, we’ve decided to pare our bowls games from three to two. With Coastal Carolina and East Carolina heading for the TicketSmarter Bowl in Birmingham, we now say, “no”. After CCU lost Senior star QB Grayson McCall, they can’t compete as well. They got smoked by James Madison, 44-7, and then by Troy in the Sunbelt Championship game, 45-26. The Chanticleers aren’t the same without him.
Our final two for 2022
We await some personal developments, but we do plan to head for the Liberty Bowl in Memphis where Kansas (6-6) will meet Arkansas (6-6). Big fans of KU HC lance Leipold, we look forward to seeing the Jay Hawks play. We have not seen that team play since 1993 when they fell to eventual national champion, Florida State, 42-0. They met to start the season at the Kick-off Classic in The Meadowlands. This matchup 39 years later looks to be a good game.
Already, we committed to the Music City Bowl. Have to say, we regret seeing Iowa (7-5) getting the Big Ten invite. That team has no offense. They will face Kentucky who has a very good defense though we saw them lose to South Carolina and Georgia already this year. We expect some scoring from the Wildcats to outgun anything the Hawkeyes have to offer. With that game penned on our slate, we will finish this season with our 655th game. More Salvos to come weekly though. Stay in touch.
Collegefootballfan.com enjoyed a tailgate prior the the game with friends from Second Company USNA Class of ’78 – Mike Malinack, John Semcken, Wil Kramer, Dennis Viera, Alden “Rock” Williams, Rick Yasky, Yours truly, Mark Miller, and Vinny Bellezza. Rock organized our tailgate very well. Vinny and Frank Scarpa (not pictured) did a great job cooking egg sandwiches, sausage and peppers, breakfast strombolis, and a shrimp boil!Great time with great friends!A few toasts were given.
Please check out our book!
Ed. by Steve Koreivo, Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all! If you like our stories, read all our tales when we saw all 120 FBS teams (at the time of publication) play for the first time. Or, start thinking Christmas gifts for your favorite college football fans! We also encourage you and whoever you buy for to submit a review for us. Please click on the title or copy of the cover on our right sidebar to go to our Amazon page to buy and review. Thanks!
This Texas State Strutters’ picture is here to make up for that last picture. Merry Christmas!
