Seen 'em all – 133 FBS teams in action. Three new members to be added the next two years. All divisions: 712 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.
Murfreesboro, TN – For the sake of time, this finished in thrilling fashion and Middle Tennessee won, 32-25. The game started just before 9 pm. The 3-hour delay came after much rain and thunder boomers. I woke up to leave Durham NC at 5:15 am that morning. Plane left late, of course. Got back to HQs after 9:30 am. Worked on reports for our two previous games.
Headed out to a pregame meal in Murfreesboro with St. Laurie to catch up on action at Sam’s Sports Grill. Got to Red Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus in time to find people already waiting under cover for inclement weather. Teams came out at 6 pm to stretch. Emergency alerts announced went right back in. Everybody sought cover. We sat in the MTSU Coliseum until after 7:30. The band entertainment turned out to be pretty boring.
Outside, too went to take notes. Didn’t come prepared for foul, wet weather. Stayed, watched, we saw. No time to report the details. Got home past midnight. Need to do other things on Sunday. Packed and planned for 7-hour drive on Monday To Tallahassee.. Taking a rain-check on writing about this one.
Middle Tennessee cheerleaders of previous seasons.
On to Tallahassee. MTSU plays four more games on our slate this season. We will write more then. Looking forward to Boston College at Florida State on Monday night. Hopefully, we’ll be back on the ball Tuesday night!
Durham, NC – The Duke Blue Devils recorded eight sacks, and its first team defense held the FCS Elon Phoenix to merely 86 total yards and no points. Duke’s second team defense allowed 54 yards and a field goal in the final two minutes of play. Until then, the Blue Devil defense dominated under New HC Manny Diaz to win, 26-3. The new HC served as former Defensive Coordinator at Penn State the last two seasons.
The “Manny” of the Hour (in white shirt): the Duke Blue Devils introduce their new Head Coach, Manny Diaz to his first Game Day at Wallace Wade Stadium. Our first game here, too!
Offensively, the Blue Devils struggled behind their vaunted, Texas transfer Maalik Murphy at quarterback. He missed many open targets and threw one interception despite completing 26 of 40 for 291 yards and two TDs. Many passes sailed over or past open targets. To Elon’s credit, their defense hit hard and kept the Blue Devil offense in check for most to the game.
Blue Devils score first, but start slowly
Murphy’s first drive as a starting college QB began from the 25. It resulted in a 32-yard FG by Tom Pelino, his first of two this evening. Pressure against Elon came early and often from Duke’s defensive front. Multiple sacks of Phoenix QB Matthew Downing came from their entire front seven, but DE Vincent Anthony downed him for key losses twice. They held Downing to 11 completions for only 72 yards. The entire unit reordered 16 tackles for losses while holding the Phoenix to 30 rushing yards. Guest Game Analyst Joe Massimilla and I noted the Phoenix averaged 1.7 yards per play before the second teams scrimmaged at the end.
Elon punter Jeff Yurk punted magnificently to keep the Blue Devils out of better-than-expected position. On seven kicks, he averaged 51.9 yards. Three fell inside the 20, and he boomed one for 60 yards. Midway through the second period, Joe stated, “This doesn’t seem like a 3-0 game. Duke should be winning by much more.” Despite their backs to the wall and no offense generated to overcome the Duke D, they allowed yards but no Blue Devils’ TDs. Combined with Murphy’s errant passes, they held Duke to 59 rushing yards.
A familiar scene at Wallace Wade this evening: a Blue Devil tackle for loss and pressure on Downing (12).
Devils’ details
In the second quarter, it even looked like the Blue Devils caught a break on a bad snap to Yurk. They took over at the Elon 45. However, stingy Elon held. They took the ball back over on downs at their own 28. The Phoenix offense failed to deliver, however, as PK Jack Berkowitz’s 49-yard FG attempt bounced back off the crossbar. With 1:44 left in the first half, the Elon scoring failure seemed to spark a flame under the Blue Devil offense. Murphy finally connected on a long pass play for 55 yards to Eli Pancol to the EU seven. From there, Jacquez Moore swept around the left end for a score to put Duke up, 10-0 at the half.
RB Jacquez Moore sweeps left for seven-yard TD near the end of the first half for a 10-0 Duke lead.
To begin the second half, the home team started the second half same as the first. Pelino converted from 42 for three more and a 13-0 lead. After exchanging three punts, and Elon losing four yards on consecutive drives, the Blue Devils took over at their 49. A 47-yard pass from Murphy to Jordan Moore put the Devils on the Elon one. There, he connected with TE Jeremiah Hasley for the score. A two-point conversion pass failed.
Duke QB Maalik Murphy lofts a long pass to Jordan Moore that sets up a third quarter score.
Fight to the finish
Behind 19-0, Elon lost four yards once again before punting. Defensively, they still held Duke in check. They forced a turnover on downs and DB Caleb Curtain picked a Murphy pass at the Duke 45. Of course, the Blue Devil defense allowed the Phoenix to go nowhere and forced a turnover on downs as well. They took over from their 37. They drove to the EU seven where Murphy connected with Eli Pancol for the score to make it, 26-0. Thereafter, clean uniforms came in to play and with fourteen seconds left, Elon avoided the shutout, 26-3.
Blue Devil cheerleaders had a lot to smile about this evening. We plan to see them and their team two more times this season – once more here and another time on the road.
Nobody asked, but…
I’m not a coach but a great fan, and student, of college football. Joe and I had ongoing conversations about what we saw. Granted, Elon football at the FCS level does not have the funds to compete with Group of Four teams regularly. Talent recruited is not equal. However, as a coaching staff, you need to give your players tools to challenge as best they can. The Phoenix defense stepped up to the challenge in our view. Offensively, the play calling was unimaginative. Basic running plays and short passes – sometimes successful if thrown quickly. QB Downing was constantly under pressure. Sometimes staying on the ground seemed more effective, but eventually fizzled. They never used the runs to set up passes.
Maybe I oversimplify things. It just seemed no strategy came to light to use “play-action.” I would think that some of these plays would already be in a team’s portfolio. Fake the hand-off, make the line hesitate, relieve the pressure and find open receivers. Nothing like that ever happened. There seemed to be a solution, but there was not strategy for this situation at all. I couldn’t understand that.
Not only did Rushawn Baker pick up positive yards on this play for the Phoenix, but a first down as well. More of this with some play action would have been nice to see from an offensive perspective for Elon.
Extra points
Duke travels to play Northwestern (1-0) at their temporary home stadium somewhere near Evanston, Illinois next Saturday. Last season, Duke whipped them, 38-14. Elon (0-1) returns to Durham on the road to face the North Carolina Central Eagles at nearby O’Kelly Riddick Stadium. Yesterday’s attendance, our first game ever at Wallace Wade Stadium on the Duke campus, totaled 18,466. We will return there again to see Duke play Florida State on October 18. However, we see the Blue Devils play again before that on September 21. They make an unusual Power Four visit to Murfreesboro against Middle Tennessee State where we have a season ticket package. Speaking of which, that is where we head next. MTSU opens there Saturday against Tennessee Tech.
Luck with Blue Devils
First, our trek to Durham met with clouds, rain and thunder. When I met GGA Joe Massimilla at his home, he spouted, “Where’d this coming from?” It hadn’t had rain in the area in weeks. The showers arrived unexpectedly. Nothing reported on our cell phones prior. On our way over to Wallace Wade together, the rain subsided. On the beautiful Duke campus, we found to our astonishment, actual “free” general parking. We took the shuttle bus from there closer to the stadium. We had yet to come upon the greatest “luck” of all.
Not the best of pictures, but it shows one aspect of Wallace Wade that Joe noted did not change since he’d been here: the distance of the visitor locker rooms from the stadium. It probably gives the Blue Devils a five-minute advantage during halftime meetings.
We had to ask directions to find the main ticket office. Joe hadn’t been to a game there in 20 years when his kids were in grade school. Much had been changed and upgraded. Joe was even shocked to find that paper tickets were no longer available. I was shocked at that. One reason I decided not to buy in advance for this one was to avoid those overpriced fees. I was even ready to pay cash, but I never found out if that was an option.
Thanks Josh!
As we joined a very short line for tickets, Joe and I were approached by a Blue Devils fan who asked if we needed tickets. In this day of advanced technology wiping out paper tickets, I never experienced being approach by someone with tickets available. It turned out that Josh Toman had several tickets he couldn’t use because some friends and family members weren’t available because they attended a high school game. He asked for no money and was happy if someone would use them. I’ve had that happen a few times. I’ve felt the same way – somebody can use these. I hate to see extras go to waste. I provided him my email, and Joe and I had two tickets thanks to Josh for this game.
Of course, he made sure we were rooting for his Blue Devils. Of course, I turned my Wake Forest hat on backwards and smiled, “Sure.” I didn’t explain that I wore that this evening in case it rained. My “collegefootballfan.com” hat has been battered through the last five-six years and it’s time to be replaced. I have to update the “130” count any way. Also, my WFU buddy Bug had recently told me, referring to his Deacs, “Nobody hates us!” Probably because of all those lean years of Wake Forest football. This evening, I figured the WFU hat wouldn’t offend the denizens of Wallace Wade Stadium.
Go Duke Blue Devils, this evening
Funny thing, my cell battery was low, so I told Joe let’s just go right in. We toured around a little and headed into the stadium to check our seats. We entered our gate and kept going down and down to the tenth row – on the 50-yard-line! I fumbled around with my light jacket in case of rain and transferred camera, pencils, notepad and phone etc. between it and all my pockets for recording this adventure. As doing that at my new-found seat, I heard someone behind me at field level yell, “Steve!” Who the heck from Duke here knew me? There, walking behind the bench was Josh. At first, I didn’t recognize him. He had this big smile on his face and we exchanged waves. As you can see from the photos here, we had great seats! Unbelievable.
Another benefit of the seats Josh gave us – we got to meet Duke’s “Hard Hat Guys.” Matt, in the foreground here, told us they’d been to every Blue Devil game, home and away, except for two since 2014. Nice guys, maybe we will catch up at a future game as well.
You never know who you’ll meet at these games. Like Josh, we’ve met so many other great people randomly at college games over the years. It’s what really makes this adventure going to all these games for so many years an incredible journey! It’s really been worth all the time, money and effort spent to do this. Enjoy these tales in my book, Fifty years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly! Warning: It’s mostly about the Good and the Fun.
-ed. by Steve Koreivo Member of Football Writers Association of America
Winston-Salem, NC – After sitting out his team’s first offensive series, QB Hank Bachmeier earned his place as starter for the Demon Deacons. Michael Kern preceded him with a three-and-out. Thereafter, Bachmeier passed for 263 yards and three touchdowns to put the Deacons past the Aggies in openers for both teams, 45-13. WR Taylor Morin performed as his top receiver with six receptions for 100 yards.
However, Morin turned Wake Forest’s momentum early in the third period with his exciting 73-yard punt return to lead, 24-10. He cut all the way across the field from the right sideline and set sail along the left to cross the goal line. On the next Deacon possession, Bachmeier connected with Morin for 51-yard pass to the Aggie 22. With that, Bachmeier’s five-yard TD pass to diving Horatio Fields built the Wake lead, 31-10.
Taylor Morin (2) electrifies Demon Deacon fans as he finished 73-yard punt return for a 24-10 lead early in the third.
Bachmeier leads Deacs to the end
Later in the third, the Demon Deacs capped a 90-yard drive with Bachmeier’s four-yard scoring pass to Horatio Fields. NC A&T broke the Wake scoring string with Andrew Brown’s 51-yard FG for the Aggies to get 13 on the scoreboard. Bachmeier played to the end. RB Tate Carney closed out the final score to 45-13 with a two-yard TD run. Demond Claibourne led the Deac running attack with 17 carries for 135 yards. He scored the game’s first TD on a seven-yard run to finish Bachmeier’s first drive under center.
Kenji Christian and Wesley Graves tallied 121 and 70 rushing yards respectively for A&T. Christian’s 21-yard score in the first and Brown’s 38-yard FG early in the second gave the Aggies an early 10-7 lead. Once Bachmeier found his rhythm on offense, the Deacs started to control. They led at the half, 17-10, before Morin’s explosion. Junior S Nick Anderson led the Demon Deac defense in tackles with 14, nine solo. Guest Game Analysts Jim “Bug” (Wake Forest) and Courtenay Harton noted that Anderson made their team as a walk-on. He played soccer in high school. Never played football prior to playing for the Deacs.
QB Hank Bachmeier leaves the pocket for one of his few rushing attempts in Friday night’s game.
Extra points
Wake hosts ACC foe Virginia next week in another night game at Truist Field. NC A&T hosts the Winston-Salem Rams in nearby Greensboro before their first Colonial Atlantic game against Delaware. Collegefootballfan.com would continue its first weekend ACC road trip to see Duke host Elon on Friday night.
Before Taylor Morin’s big punt return, “Bug” insisted he is “fearless.” Every time he fields a punt, he’s ready to catch it and go! Exciting punt returns ahead this season for Wake Forest fans.
Regarding QB Hank Bachmeier, we saw him perform last season for Louisiana Tech in a loss, 31-23. Wake Forest gives him more weapons to work with than LT. Friday night, we saw him run the Wake Run-pass option more like Sam Hartmann did two years ago than the QBs we saw face Florida State last year.
North Carolina A&T Marching Machine and Dance Line perform at halftime at Truist Field.
The NC A&T “Marching Machine” and Wake Forest’s Old Gold and Black performed together at halftime. The Machine impressed on its won and seemed to be the crowd favorite – loud and entertaining with their danced moves.
“Oh, here’s to Wake Forest!”
As their fight song starts… Their Deacons won their 12th game of 14 I’ve attended. Granted, A&T did not give them the challenges that many other squads witnessed did. However, I found that my dedication to the Wake Forest program paid off nicely. Bug’s buddy and fellow Wake alum “Goober” provided his ticket for me since he had hip surgery ten days ago. Hope he’s recovering well. At our pregame tailgate in the shadow of Truist Field, Earl Beasley (with 47 WFU nicknames) introduced Bug, his wife Courtenay and me to Mike Brown. Mike just happened to have tickets available for each of us in the Tower. Seats on the 50-yard line in the Flow Lexus Club atop the stadium. Great seats as guests of Wake Forest fandom! Can’t thank all involved enough.
Wake Forest HC Dave Clawson (in white shirt) returns to his sideline after meeting with his team. We first saw him coach Fordham in the FCS playoffs against Northeastern in 2002.
It talking with Mike near the end of the game, he noted that RB Tate Carney who scored is his neighbor. Tate’s brother Cade also played FB for the Deacons during the past few years. Mike mentions that their father pays HC Dave Clawson with the highest compliment a coach could ever have. He said he was told if there is any coach a parent wants their son playing college football for, Dave Clawson is your man!
Attended Wake Forest 45-13 win over NC A&T on Friday and Duke’s 26-3 victory over Elon last night. Updating both game reviews. Please check back soon for some fun reports. We will be at Middle Tennessee vs. Tennessee Tech this evening. All should be published by late Sunday afternoon. Come back and check us out. Added bonus: attending Boston College at Florida State on Monday night. Hope to have that entry in on Tuesday evening. Enjoy your Saturday of college football, and come and let us tell you about our fun game experiences!
And of course, please check out our book by clicking on the cover on right to read about this unique, life-long adventure!
-ed. by Steve Koreivo, Member of College Football Writes of America Association
Despite just two minutes of a strong gusting wind, it was a beautiful day to attend a game in Albuquerque for our first time last week for our Week 0 opener of 2024.
Alburquerque, New Mexico – Bronco Mendenhall’s New Mexico head coaching debut started out with a dominant lead. However, Montana State scored three TDs in the last period to prevail, 35-31. His Lobos led early in the second half, 31-14, thanks to two defensive scores. In the end, the same defense could not come up with the big stops when needed. Total yards by both teams tell this story. The Football Bowl Subdivision (FCS) Bobcats outgained the FBS Lobos, 567 yards to 324.
Despite just two minutes of a strong gusting wind, it was a beautiful day to attend a game in Albuquerque for our first time.
Exciting Bobcat comeback
Montana State took advantage of a misfired New Mexico 36-yard FG somewhat affected by a sudden, brief swirling windstorm that may have affected Luke Drzewicki’s attempt that went wind left. He connected on an earlier boot in the first period from 45 yards. The winds knocked over a video camera with tripod off the roof of the home side press box. It dangled by its wires for several minutes after the winds came through. With 13:59 remaining in the fourth, Bobcat QB Tommy Mellot raced 15 yards to finish the 80-yard drive to cut the lead, 31-21.
RB Adam Jones races ahead of New Mexico defenders on way to 93-yard TD run.
Once again New Mexico’s next drive resulted with Drzewicki’s boot from 42 going wide. The Lobo defense kept the pressure on the Bobcats, and they exchanged punts. A well-executed Lobo punt caught by their coverage team put Montana State back on their seven with 5:12 left to play. Montana State RB Adam Jones (17 carries for 167 yards, TD) issued an immediate response to that. On a sweep around left end, he raced 93 yards for a score to trail suddenly, 31-28. Only 4:35 remained.
Bitter ending for New Mexico
In front of 17,314 avid, hungry New Mexico fans, the home team moved the ball out to their 42. On third and eight they went for the first down to run out the clock. Devon Dampier’s pass glanced off the shoulder pad of his receiver who had covered the needed yardage. As a result of course, New Mexico punted. A holding call on the return put Montana State back on their 32 with 1:59 left on the game clock.
Montana State WR Lonyatta Alexander Jr. (2) takes a Mellot pass to the New Mexico 32 in the final drive.
Mellot connected with WR Lonyatta Alexander for a 37-yard pass play to the Lobo 32. Alexander caught another for five more. Next, he hooked up with Jones who stepped out at the 20 to stop the clock. He followed with another strike to Ty McCullouch to the four. RB Scottre Humphrey (19 carries, 140 yards, TD) took it in for the first and only lead for the Bobcats with ten seconds left. The visiting Montana State contingent across the way celebrated a great come back victory on the road with their team. With hopes running high early in this one, dejected UNM fans could only look for better things to come under their new head coach later this season.
Extra points
New Mexico (0-1) travels to play Arizona, a new member of the Big XII. Montana State returns to FCS play at Utah Tech. They aim to play for this year’s Big Sky championship.
Two halves of two defenses
New Mexico started off to a 17-0 lead looking dominant in their first game under Mendenhall. The first score came on defense. LB Jayden Hall sacked Mellot and forced a fumble. S Christian Ellis returned it for a 41-yard score. After Drzewicki’s 45-yarder rang true to end the first quarter score, the Lobo offense kept things going. A 68-yard drive ended with Dempier (18 of 26, 171 yards, TD pass) connecting with TE Trace Bruckler for a 17-yard TD.
New Mexico TE Trace Bruckler hauls in five-yard TD pass from Devon Dempier for early 17-0 Lobo lead.
Montana State whittled the UNM lead to three. Mellot threw TD passes on the next two Bobcat drives. He connected with TE Ryan Schlepp for a five-yard TD pass and with McCullouch for 17. Dempier extended the first half advantage to 24-14 punctuating a 75-yard drive with a 24-yard TD run.
The Lobo defense opened the second half scoring as well. CB Noah Avinger scooped up another Mellot fumble and returned if for a 13-yard score. After that though, the Montana defense stepped in to shut down the New Mexico offense. Linebackers McCade O’Reilly and Danny Uluilakepa led with 10 and nine tackles respectively for the Bobcats.
New Mexico CB Noah Avinger (1) races to scoop fumble to return for a 35-14 Lobo lead with over 13 minutes left in third quarter.
Collegefootballfan.com numbers climb
Our trip to Albuquerque marked our first to UNM’s University Stadium and our first game in the state of New Mexico. Though only our 82 FBS stadium, we’ve attended college football games in 180 overall. New Mexico became the 38th state we’ve attended a game in. For a small crowd, the New Mexico stands were fired up for the win. Bronco Mendenhall looks to start this program on a winning track as he’s done at BYU and Virginia in the past.
St. Laurie attended the game with me this weekend. We enjoyed visiting the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center and Museum. For dinner we enjoyed the Flock of Moons Microbrewery in downtown. They had some great beers and some a nice variety of foods to order from restaurants right on the same block. On Sunday, we visited Santa Fe to eat and tour the International Folk Art Museum. I liked it. I was basically a very colorful toy collection.
Pueblo Indians performed their traditional Eagle Dance at halftime. Maybe it will bring the New Mexico Lobos good luck in a few weeks when they play Auburn. War Eagle!
Three FCS teams* and two new FBS venues for us
Four games with three more FCS squads on our docket starting this Thursday: NC A&T* at Wake Forest; Elon* at Duke on Friday will be our first game at Wallace Wade Stadium; and Saturday night we return to Tennessee to see FCS Tennessee Tech* at Middle Tennessee’s Red Foley Stadium. None of the three FCS teams play at the level of Montana State. However, one of these three could possibly be an upset.
Our big game for Week One comes on Monday night. For the first time, we go to Doak Campbell Stadium to see Florida State (0-1) at home. Off their opening 24-21 last second loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin, we were looking for just as tough a game coming up against Boston College. They start this season under new HC Bill O’Brien and with experienced starting QB Thomas Castellanos, a run/pass threat. One BC source tells us that Eagle players are already griping about O’Brien’s preseason camp! A good sign they are ready to play against somebody else.
-ed. by Steve Koreivo Member of Football Writers Association of America
Montana State players celebrate with their fans at UNM’s University Stadium after the last-minute victory.
Lebanon, TN – Here we report on the five “best among the rest” of the remaining FBS programs on our slate this year including CFP contenders. With some new, recent information we’ve received, some impending developments may bump a team or two from our current schedule. Significant opportunities to see a few more Top 25 teams may come to light to replace these contests. However, we will do our best to hold on to spots to attend games with current CFP contenders already slated if possible.
For now, these stand as the best of the rest of the teams we plan to see play in 2024. Some actually threaten to compete for College Football Playoff (CFP) contention. Several can pursue the opportunity for the fifth of conference championships eligible for an automatic playoff position among the top five conferences. A Group of Five champ mixes in with the Power Four champs for now. We strongly believe some of the best we will see can lay claim as CFP contenders for that fifth playoff spot. Read below to find out who these legitimate contenders are.
August 29 – Wake Forest vs. North Carolina A&T: getting back on track with the Deacs!
As one of our traditional favorites to visit annually with our good friend Jim “Bugaluga” Harton, we squeezed their opener in here against lowly FCS NC A&T, 1-10 a year ago. The Demon Deacs look to right themselves from last year’s tumble to 4-8. Prior to that, HC Dave Clawson led WFU to seven straight bowl games. In addition, we saw them lose to Florida State last season, 41-16. This ruined my Wake Forest nickname of “11 and almost oh Koreivo” among my extended Wake Forest, tailgate friends.
Florida State was on cruise control when we saw them with QB Jordan Travis last season. He started the Seminoles on a 75-yard scoring drive on their first series against Wake Forest.
Since 1979, the Deacs traipsed to an undefeated record of 9-0 under my watch until they lost to Louisville in OT, 62-59, in 2019. Deac fans exclaimed that no one had ever seen the Deacs play nine times and never seen them lose! After that blemish on my record, my name was adjusted to “almost oh.” Since, they defeated NC State, 45-42, when I attended in ’21. Next year, Bugaluga and Courtenay came to Nashville. We watched The Deacs beat Vandy, 45-25, to update my WFU monicker. However, FSU laid a heavy loss on my unbelievable mark last year.
We have our priorities in store for 2024
Of course, Wake Forest will not be among CFP contenders for Group of Five (G5) CFP bid. We prefer to see them play comparable Atlantic Coast Conference teams. Though we looked for a better opponent this season to get back on a Deacon roll again, our schedule left us with little flexibility but to attend the Wake opener. I needed to assure that October 26 would “officially” be recognized as collegefootballfan.com’s 700th game! For this “special” season, I had to schedule 18 NCAA football games during the first eight weeks of this season. That’s the plan now. I pray it stays intact!
Last season, QB Hank Bachmeier didn’t impress when he and his Louisiana Tech Bulldogs fell to MTSU. However, he may have a better opportunity this year under center with the Demon Deacons.
Determined Deacons
The Deacs look to get better at QB since the loss of Sam Hartman to Notre Dame. Last year, they could not come up with an effective signal caller to replace him. For 2024, it looks like transfer Hank Bachmeier from Louisiana Tech steps for the task. Can’t say he impressed us much in Tech’s loss to Middle Tennessee last year when we saw the Bulldogs fall, 31-23. Under Clawson, maybe he will come around with some better weapons for Bachmeier from his arsenal. WR Donovan Greene returns from injury and second leading receiver Taylor Morin returns. Desmond Claibourne and Tate Carney return at RB. Adept TE Cameron Hite comes back, and three return to start on the O-line.
Eight defensive starters including DE Jasheen Davis with seven sacks return. With veterans and some experienced transfers, they could improve at linebacker and in the secondary.
Demon Deacon Season Ahead
FCS North Carolina A&T won’t be much of a test to open 2024. They struggled as a new member of the Colonial Athletic Association in 2023. Wake will also pick up their next three contests at home against Virgina, Ole Miss and Louisiana. Clemson visiting Truist Field on October 12 will be a true barrier again having lost 15-straight to these Tigers. Late in the season, with Miami and North Carolina slated back-to-back on the road, they’ll pose typical challenges to the Demon Deacons. We don’t forecast their 2024 record as being best among our rest, but we do see them rebounding to a winning record. Most likely, they will need to win one of these later games to get back to a bowl again. We will try to catch them against a better team in 2025 to get our history headed back in the right direction.
September 19 – Appalachian State vs. South Alabama: Big Sun Belt Battle in Boone
Appalachian State has become a great favorite of ours. We return to Boone, NC on this Thursday night to see them take on Sun Belt foe South Alabama. Known for their famous 34-32 upset over Michigan at the Big House in 2007, we admire them most for their toughness and grittiness. With them, our history goes back to 2001 in their 38-24 loss at Georgia Southern in the FCS playoffs.
Appalachian State plays stingy defense in night games at Kidd Brewer to earn the right among teams we’ll see to play as CFP contenders. Shown here in 30-27 upset against Coastal Carolina in 2021, expecting same tough D this year against South Alabama.
At Kidd Brewer Stadium on a cold, snowy day in early November 2014, we welcomed them as a first-year FBS member. They won with a 41-0 trouncing of Georgia State, another inaugural FBS member that season. In a subsequent night game in 2021, we watched them stun undefeated Coast Carolina, 30-27. Last season, we watched them hang with Troy, but they eventually fell, 49-23, in the Sun Belt championship game. This season, they definitely appear among the best of our rest to challenge for a bid as CFP contenders with a possible SBC title.
Key components return for Mountaineers
HC Shawn Clark, a former Appy lineman from ’94-’96, brings them into his fifth season with a 35-18 record. QB Joey Aguilar returns with 3,757 passing yards, 33 TDs and ten INTs. Four RBs come into this season with over 300 yards gained in 2024. Six WRs and TE Eli Wilson all gained at least 350 yards through the air last season. Among plenty of targets for the Mountaineers, Kaeden Robinson led all with 905 yards and ten scores. One starter returns to the OLine in Junior Thorton Gentry. He’ll be joined by experienced transfers from Virginia Tech, Georgia and USC as well with some other Mountaineer linemen looking to crack the starting lineup in front.
The defense returns six starters including Junior DE Shawn Collins and DT Markus Clark. OLB Nate Johnson brought pressure from outside last year. S Jordan Favors snagged four enemy passes.
Definitely among CFP contenders on our slate this year
We will see them face South Alabama under their new HC Major Applewhite. The Mountaineer defense should be ready. The ASU fans at Kidd Brewer Stadium will be pumped for this one creating a fun atmosphere this evening. The Mountaineer crowd gets rowdy for night games as we witnessed in their 2021 upset over Coastal Carolina.
Clemson hosts Appy on September 7. Liberty, 13-1 from a year ago, comes to Kidd Brewer the week after our visit. At Marshall, at Louisiana, and at Coastal this season present formidable SBC matchups. However, the Mountaineers have always stepped up against challenges as seen in the past. This year should be no different.
October 3 – Texas State at Troy: Bobcats going for broke this year
Under new HC G.J. Kinne, the TXST Bobcats improved to 8-5 last season for its first 8-win season since 2008. Under Kinne, who took FCS Incarnate Word to the FCS Semifinals where they lost to North Dakota State in 2022, the Bobcats will definitely contend for the Sun Belt title this season. Texas State and fellow SBC foe Appalachian State do not meet in regular season play in 2024. The top two Sun Belt teams we will see may meet for the title at the higher seed’s stadium. Texas State returns nine starters on offense and eight on D. We watched them defeat South Alabama in their final regular season game a year ago, 52-44. They continued on to defeat Rice in the First Responder Bowl, 45-21.
Kinne builds to make TXST best of our rest for 2024 and for his future
A big switch looms for the Bobcats this season. Starting QB TJ Finley transferred to Western Kentucky. We saw him play for both Auburn and TXST in recent years. In his place steps Sun Belt Player of the Year, Jordan McCloud of James Madison. Like it or not, welcome to NIL/transfer heaven in 2024. For the Dukes, in 2023 with 68% accuracy, he threw for 3,657 yards and 35 TDs. Kinne, who played QB at Tulsa and for several NFL teams, also attracted QB talent from Baylor in RJ Martinez and a highly touted Texas high-schooler, Brad Jackson. If Kinne moves somewhere else after this season, look for Jackson to transfer with him. He didn’t look to recruit adequate back-up just for 2024.
RB Ismail Mahdi returns with 1,331 rushing yards along with ten TDs. Leading WR Joey Hobert (895 yards, eight TDs) and Cole Wilson (747 yards, eight) come back as mainstays of a loaded receiving corps. Kinne’s offense throws the ball to everybody. Three starters return for the Oline, and Kinne loaded up on more blocking protection through the portal.
Bobcat RB Jahmyl Jeter takes the ball over from the one for a 21-0 first quarter lead over Soth Alabama in 2023. However, USA got back into reach later to fall short, 52-44. HC GJ Kinne hopes he brought on more defensive talent to prevent slips like this in 2024.
Can’t let Arkansas State put up 77 on them again
With eight defensive starters from last season who finished No. 2 in the nation in tackles for losses with 108, they return DE Ben Bell who recorded six. LB Alonzo Edwards gets help supposedly from key transfers from UTEP, Louisiana-Monroe and Florida. The secondary loaded up as well. Despite their returning experience on D, they allowed 33 ppg last season. We saw USA tally 44 only to lose last season, but Arkansas State routed TXST, 77-31. Now, Kinne looks not only to avoid losses, but even close, high-scoring games. He needs a defense that will give him some significant margins to display to pollsters some dominance. His Bobcats will go all out to capture the Sun Belt title this year to become not only the best of our rest, but they will probably be our best CFP contenders among all teams in the G5.
Texas State seems raring to go. We plan to attend their sixth game slated at Troy this season and possibly their season finale at South Alabama. Both are night games on the road. They will definitely be in the mix for the Sun Belt. Appy State and JMU are not on this year’s slate.
Optimism for a CFP contender in San Marcos
UTSA will be an early season non-conference toughie and possibly one of several American Athletic Conference CFP contenders. Also, a win over Power Four Arizona State could be a feather in TXST’s caps for CFP consideration it they win the conference. A home game on October 29 against Louisiana who they’ve fallen to in their previous 11 meetings, looks to be their greatest SBC challenge among all conference games. It should be an exciting season for the hungry Bobcat fans in San Marcos!
November 9 – Liberty at Middle Tennessee: Flames may have already flickered out
Liberty finished 13-0 last season until they met Power Four Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl and got slammed, 45-6. We watched them fight off Western Kentucky on the road last season with a powerful rushing performance, 45-29. This year, we will see them visit Middle Tennessee (4-8) following a close 42-35 win against them at home last season.
HC Jamey Chadwell gets the benefit of Junior Kaiden Salter returning at quarterback. He pitched for 2,876 yards last season and 32 TDs. Tossed only eight INTs. Ignore the six points Oregon allowed them in the bowl. They averaged 40.9 ppg until then. Repeat of last year? They led the nation in rushing last season with 4,106 yards averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Leading rusher Quinton Cooley returns. He netted 1,401 yards and carried the ball in for 16 scores. Salter netted 1,186 yards and 12 rushing TDs. Four of their top five receivers from last year have to be compensated for. Two team C-USA linemen return on offense, C Gordon White and RT Xavior Gray. They reload at other positions as necessary that should have them up to par against similar competition they met last season.
Liberty rambled for 323 yards on 54 carries a year ago to defeat Western Kentucky. Their rushing attack will be just a potent in 2024.
LU could benefit from a schedule adjustment
Eight starters return for a defense that allowed 22.3 ppg until Oregon basically doubled that at the Fiesta. This team looks to be possibly stronger than last season. On the flip side, its schedule looks no stronger. Again, no Power Fours appear on their slate. The toughest non-conference they face will be at Appalachian State at night in Week 6. No other foes on their slate seem to approach as CFP contenders this season. That will be a great challenge for them to overcome. Jacksonville State on October 30 and WKU on November 23 look to be their biggest obstacles to repeat for the C-USA championship.
However, if Liberty runs the regular season table once again, surely this schedule will be scrutinized closely if another Group of Five (G5) finishes with as good a mark against comparable or even better G5 competition to make the FBS playoff in 2024 (read Texas State and about some of the MAC teams on our slate who are legitimate CFP contenders). The head-to-head clash with Appalachian State will determine both teams’ CFP consideration that evening. Other squads from other G5 conferences may have more favorable credentials this season as opposed to an undefeated C-USA winner.
November 30 – Coast Carolina at Georgia State: Too far out to call it at this point
This Coastal Carolina Chanticleers’ game appears on the final week of college football’s regular season. We considered this game primarily for proximity to the TXST at South Alabama contest we will attend the Friday after Thanksgiving. It offered us a link to also visit the USS Alabama in Mobile before heading to Atlanta. The GSU home at Center Parc Stadium offered a chance to add another FBS venue to our goal to add more such stadiums to our current number. Not sure, at this point, if there will be any implications regarding the Sun Belt championship. This may not even happen for us, however, as we may have a better opportunity on what’s known as “rivalry weekend.”
Transfer portal mayhem
HC Tim Beck brings in 66 new players this season. That’s a lot of transfers. Is this truly a key to success as written earlier? By the time we watch the Chants play, a lot of projected starters may not have that same status by then. They finished 8-5 in 2023. Projected starting QB Noah King from Michigan State started five games for the Spartans last year for a 2-3 record before he roamed the sideline thereafter. Wide receivers arrive in Conway, SC with little experience. Three starters return for the Oline which could be their biggest plus. Defensively, they welcome back six starters, but they lost most of their key stoppers. This looks like a trial-and-error team-building strategy.
A night game against Appy State on November 7 this season could be another loss for Coastal as it turned out to be for highly-touted QB Grayson McCall and company in 2021.
The schedule doesn’t look overwhelming which will be to their benefit. Most likely, their success will rely on the performances of many transfers. Deciding games to success: a tough non-conference game ahead finds Jacksonville State on the road in their opener; a trip to SBC foe James Madison on a Thursday night; a visit from Louisiana the week after; and Appy at home for a tough SBC battle on November 7. CCU looms as a best of our rest, but it most likely falls short of a CFP contender bid this season.
Collegefootballfan.com priorities at play here
We will determine if we still have interest in our current season finale at Georgia State to add that new venue. If we come up with a game much better between some bigger FBS rivals, we will find chances to visit Center Parc Stadium for a more competitive game during a subsequent season. Too many questions here for us to put Coastal among the top CFP contenders this season. Lots of time to contemplate between now and November 30.
Ed. by Steve Koreivo Member of Football Writers Association of America
Please buy and review my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Tales are about just about every Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team when I saw them play for the first time as well as at least one significant game that I attended for each FBS program over the past 50 years. It’s a unique story. Enjoy!
Lebanon, TN – Eight teams on this year’s slate will meet head-to-head in games we will attend in what we’ll call our “probably too early game predictions.” Thus far, collegefootallfan.com has presented previews of 26 teams we’ll see play in 2024. Among these, we reported on 11 playing under new Head Coaches; seven among preseason Top 25 contenders; and eight others meeting in MACtion games. With these four clashes occurring early in the season, we’ll have covered 34 of the 41 teams we plan to see in action this year.
September 7 – Tulsa at Arkansas State: Red Wolves bring experience, but can they stay focused?
For our first trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas, we see Butch Jones in his fourth season with the Red Wolves as Head Coach. At 6-7 last season, they’ll welcome Tulsa from the American Athletic (AAC). The Golden Hurricane under HC Ken Wilson, in his second year after Indiana, comes in after a 4-8 mark in 2023.
Jones’s fourth year should display a positive impact from recruiting efforts. His Red Wolves return 10 starters on offense and six on D. Soph Jaylon Raynor returns as a QB with experience and solid skills at ASU. He and two top RBs return with combined rushing yards of 1,671 yards and 18 TDs. Corey Rucker and Courtney Jackson come back as their leading pass catchers from a year ago. Key returnees on the Oline and several transfers give the Red Wolves a massive front. Experience abounds up front on defense and in their linebacking corps. S Trevian Thomas led the team in tackles with 91 and posted two INTs.
Tulsa’s Wilson hasn’t been able to load up as quickly in his shorter recruiting process. However, the Golden Hurricane shows progress at QB with redshirt freshman Kirk Franics returning. He improved the Tulsa passing game last year. Top two RBs Anthony Watkins and Bill Jackson return as does leading receiver, Kamdyn Benjamin. He and TE Ethan Hall become primary targets. The O-line returns only one experienced player. Newcomers will have to step up quickly in their second game against the experienced ASU defense.
With only four starters coming back on defense, the Hurricane will have its hands full with an ASU offense looking to peak going into a game the week after at Michigan. Experience and depth from new transfers on the Red Wolves defensive line should give them the dominance they need over the Golden Hurricane offense to win this one. In our first of too early game predictions, the Red Wolves get the edge. If they focus too much though on their trip to Ann Arbor the following week, a possibility looms that Tulsa can remain in this game. Hopefully the home crowd gives ASU an edge to offset that attitude.
September 14 – BYU at Wyoming; Cowboys on the rise
This too early game prediction sets up as a non-conference between the two former Mountain West (MWC) rivals. Now in the Big XII, the Cougars look to ramp up into full conference play after meeting the Cowboys in Laramie. BYU HC Kalani Sitake looks for improvements at QB where former Baylor QB Gerry Bohanon battles Jake Retzlaff to start. A stable of RBs will need to improve over last year. Six major receiving targets return from last year’s 5-7 squad. Unlike BYU teams of the past, however, last year the Cougars averaged only 205 yard per game through the air. Chase Roberts led all receivers last season with 573 yards and five TDs. C Connor Pay leads the offensive blocking up front with more experience around him than last year with several newcomers.
Six starters come back on defense; three in the secondary. They remain among the six leading tacklers in 2024. Sitake seeks improvement on the defensive front. LB Ben Bywater returns from an injury and Jack Kelly, Jr. transferred from Weber State to strengthen the linebacker positions.
QB Gerry Bohanon (11), listed as Junior at Baylor in 2021, started against Texas State. We could see him again play QB for BYU in 2024.
Best of our early game predictions
We missed out on recognizing Wyoming Head Coach Jay Sawvel as a first-year HC with the Cowboys. He served as their DC from 2019-22. Junior QB Evan Svoboda starred in brief appearances in the past. RB Harrison Waylee netted 947 rushing yards and five TDs last season. To get the offense clicking in the early part of 2024, depth and experience return up front to help accelerate the upcoming learning curve in the Cowboy back field.
Wyoming’s defensive line will be among the strongest in the Mountain West. Seven returnees on defense return under Sawvel who was their DC last season to provide consistency. Safety’s Wyett Ekeler and Issac White return from strong Junior seasons.
Wyoming’s experience with two games under their belts by this time will have them focused on a run at the MWC title with a game against Boise late in the season. They’ll have some impetus here having lost to the Cougars in their previous nine meetings. Craig Bohl retired from Wyoming with this program on the rise and leaving his son Aaron, the previous LB Coach, as Sawvel’s new DC. In this too early game prediction, this should be a close, hard-fought game. We’ll give the Cowboys the edge with their defense against an offense still seeking early season cohesion. It also seems that Craig Bohl put the Cowboys in the right direction, and Sawvell aims to continue his legacy.
September 28 – Navy at Alabama-Birmingham: Navy ball control and pressure will decide this one
In our first conference clash that’s not a season opener, the Mids of Navy travel to meet the UAB Blazers in an American Athletic (AAC) game. Both seek to improve back to winning ways. Last year, Navy defeated UAB, 31-6, finishing 5-7. The Blazers, under first-year HC Trent Dilfer of NFL fame, went 4-8.
The Mids plan to revert back to developing a more run-oriented game. New OC Drew Cronic teaches a hybrid Wing-T attack with triple option and run-pass options. A too early game prediction here: Navy can only be better at QB this season. Junior Blake Horvath steps in to start and Soph Braxton Woodson, who we witnessed lead Navy to a 14-0 win over Charlotte, backs him up. FB Alex Tecza returns as leading rusher. Slot back Eli Heidenreich led in rushing and receiving from that position. He will be called upon often in this new offensive scheme. In Navy’s favor, five starters return on the offensive line.
Navy defensive keys
Defensively, LB Colin Ramos returns with 110 tackles posted a year ago. Rayuan Lane and DeShaun Peele each picked four passes in the secondary. The Mids come off a critical AAC home game against contender Memphis the week before. Air Force, who they normally got a bye before in previous years, will be a road game in Colorado Springs the week after. Trap game impact for Navy here.
In this year’s too early game predictions, we saw two of these teams meet at the end of 2021. In a close one on a cold, windy December day, UAB defeated BYU in the Independence Bowl at Shreveport, LA, 31-28.
Question marks for both teams to be answered
UAB enters 2024 with HC Trent Dilfer looking to improve upon his first 4-8 season in the FBS. QB Jacob Zeno passed for 3,126 yards and 20 TDs. Isaiah Jacobs and redshirt-Freshman Lee Beebe will be called upon to fill in for rushing yards gained by top performers in 2024. A WR among several has to step up. Bryce Damous returns as a solid TE. UAB considers themselves deeper on the line, but it’s still too early to tell for early game predictions here.
Defensively, only four starters return on defense. Transfers supposedly add strength. However, when one reads “transfers,” does that rely imply improvement? When players transfer from Indiana, Georgia Tech and Purdue with a handful of tackles in only a few games played, does that indicate you’ve strengthened a team? Again, in all preseason analysis, success is too questionable in early game predictions.
Navy’s defense held the Blazers to six points last season. We always question the Navy secondary regarding speed. The academies have to maintain possession generally and need to prevent opponent offenses from quick-strike scoring. With three games under their belts, will Navy have good rhythm by now with their new offense?
“If’s” to be answered
Dilfer’s team will also play with three games behind them including at Arkansas two weeks prior. Can Navy bring pressure to the UAB passing game? If they can, the secondary will take on the UAB receivers. If not, they will be challenged. Will Horvath master the new offense effectively as Navy did in previous years, they will keep UAB’s offense off the field and will hold their own. A lot of “ifs” in this one. Either way, a close game looms in the end. We will also see USNA play once again four weeks later. In our 700th game, they will face top-five Notre Dame in the New Jersey Meadowlands.
Navy LB Phil Ramos (44) and DB Mbiti Williams (7) return to bolster the Navy defense in 2024. Shown here in their 14-0 win over Charlotte last season, the aptly dressed man on the sideline for post-game practice is Charlotte HC Bill Poggi.
October 4 – Jacksonville State at Kennesaw State – JSU welcomes KSU to FBS
Our fourth game to complete our too early game predictions looks too easy to forecast. Jacksonville State returns from its initial season of FBS/C-USA season competition with a mark of 9-4 (6-2 in C-USA play). They held their own against mid-level and lower competition. HC Rich Rodriguez, following a successful career at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona, leads the Gamecocks into Year 3. With skillful recruiting in the transfer portal and QB Logan Smothers, one of two starters from 2024 returning from injury, Jacksonville expects to challenge for Conference-USA supremacy.
Jacksonville State HC Rich Rodriguez confers with QB Zion Webb in last year’s opening 17-14 win at home against UTEP.
Owls take a flying leap
Kennesaw enters its first season in FBS/C-USA play. We attend this Friday night game conveniently scheduled between two other games to attend to add Fifth Third Bank Stadium to our FBS Stadium objective. HC Brian Bohanon leads the Owls into his tenth season with a 71-23 record. Inexperienced at QB, three players including his son vie to start with only 11 pass attempts among them. In the meantime, the offense adapts in a second year running the pistol option offense. Nine starters return on defense, but last season’s opposition in a 3-6 year posted wins again three D-2 programs. Big adjustments lie ahead to the FBS and C-USA level this season every week. The question is, will “Rich Rod” and team show any mercy against a program that defeated them three of four times as FCS teams?
-ed. by Steve Koreivo Member of the Football Writers Association of America
Please buy and review my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Tales are about just about every Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team when I saw them play for the first time as well as at least one significant game that I attended for each team program over the past 50 years. It’s a unique story. Enjoy!
Lebanon, TN – Sports Illustratedreleases its “Swimsuit” edition annually during the freezing doldrums of cold winter months. SI warms things up for the anticipated beach season. So, we’ve decided to fire fans up anticipating the cooling effects of Autumn with our end of summer College Football Cheerleading Edition. These photos we’ve taken have graced our Game Reviews primarily in 2016-2017. They look as good now as they did then. We feature some of our favorite cheerleader memories here!
We look forward to capturing more school spirit along the sidelines at games this upcoming season. Many venues on our slate this year we’ll attend for the very first time. Enjoy our Cheerleading Edition as we approach two weeks from our “Week 0” kickoff of 2024. We look forward to seeing who’s along the sidelines as well as who’s playing on the gridiron. With that in mind, look for a few more season previews here before the start of our 2024 season.
Twirlers and Dance Teams make our Cheerleading Edition 2024 as well
Baylor Cheerleader Uniforms of Green and Gold appeared at a lively 49-38 win for the Bears over North Carolina in the Russel Athletic Bowl played in Orlando, Florida in 2014!Tennessee twirlers performed during halftime in the Outback Bowl a few days later in Tampa. Their Vols trounced the Northwestern Wildcats, 45-6. We’ve attended seven UT bowl games over the course of this fantastic voyage.The Delaware State Hornets Dance Team performed before the new First State rivalry.They kicked off against in-state foe Delaware for the opener for both Football Championship Subdivision schools in 2016.The Delaware Fighting Blue Hens dominated this one, 56-14. In 2025, they will join the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Conference-USA.
East Coast Cheerleading squads are hip. Check out their styles!
Rutgers Cheerleaders shake pom-poms at 2016 game at High Point Solutions Stadium in 37-28 win against New Mexico in 2016. This year, the UNM Lobos will open our season for us in Albuquerque. On August 24, they play the strong FCS Montana State Bobcats.South Florida lost to Temple, 46-30, at The Linc in Philly in 2016. However, a couple of their pictures won them a few spots in our 2024 College Cheerleader Edition. They could smile after this season as their USF Bulls finished the season ranked No. 19 in the country.Speaking of Temple Cheerleading, we always enjoy their performances with the band during halftime shows at The Linc. Here, all smiles for their Owls against the Midshipmen at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in a 34-10 victory. Here, they cheered them on to the American Athletic Championship in 2016.In their standard Cheerleader Uniforms, these Pitt girls withstood a freezing-cold day in late December. Their Panthers fell, 31-24, to the Northwestern Wildcats in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.Tough Ladies!
The Midwest Farmers’ Daughters look better than just alright!
In 2016, collegefootballfan.com attended the Notre Dame-Stanford game in South Bend.We had a chance to meet Irish Cheerleaders on a tour the day before. Good thing! If you read my book, you’ll see we had an obstructed view from where we sat during ND’s loss to Stanford that Saturday (photo taken by William T. Serafin). We made it to the Music City Bowl in 2016 to see the Nebraska Cornhusker Cheerleading squad lead their fans to root against the Tennessee Volunteers. Their Huskers fell to the Vols, 38-24.
And the Northern Cheerleading teams warm their stadiums up all night
Penn Staters showed up with Blue and White pride in the 2017 opener against in-state rival Pitt to revive the discontinued rivalry. They cheered their Nittany Lions on to a victory, 33-14.You don’t see it on these girls’ faces, but this game was played on a scorching hot day. Navy Cheerleaders led the Gold side of Navy-Marine Corps Stadium to cheer against the Cincinatti Bearcats for a 42-32 win in 2017.In the same game to our left on the Gold side in Annapolis, Cincinnati Bearcat fans followed their Cheerleaders against the Mids in the tough loss under first-year Head Coach Luke Fickell. In 2024, we’ll see him coach his Wisconsin Badgers against the highly-ranked Oregon Ducks. Looking to our first “Fifth Quarter” celebration there!
And the Southern Cheerleading with the way they talk…
At a pregame rally in 2018 adjacent to Wake Forest’s Truist Stadium, The Demon Deacons Cheerleaders amped their fans up prior to a 42-32 victory over Heisman winner Lamar Jackson of the Louisville Cardinals.On the road at Virginia’s Scott Stadium in 2017, Georgia Tech’s squad roused their Yellow Jacket fans to no avail, but we saw an exciting 40-36 win by the Cavaliers in a driving rainstorm.On a dreary day, we saw the Coastal Carolina Chanticleer squad cheer their team in a losing cause against Georgia Southern on their home turf in Brooks Stadium located in Conway, SC. You can see they did, however, brighten things up.
Do “we wish they all could be California girls?” We prefer to enjoy the Cheerleading talent wherever we go!
At our first big rivalry game at the Las Angeles Coliseum between USC and UCLA in 2017, the Bruin Cheerleaders gave us plenty to cheer about most of the game as they performed directly below us. To their disappointment, their team didn’t give them much to get excited about as they fell to the hated, crosstown, rival Trojans that evening, 28-23.We have to throw out one more shot of the California girls of UCLA since we took so many of them for some reason.We’ll wrap this edition up as these South Florida Bull Cheerleaders snuck away under the TV camera crew, but they couldn’t escape our keen eyes from our seats among us real fans!
ed. by Steve Koreivo – Member of Football Writers Association of America
Unless noted otherwise, all photos here have been taken by Steve Koreivo
Lebanon, TN – Having invested well for retirement and moving to Tennessee gives us plenty of time and puts us in proximity to seeing good MACtion clashes this season. With games televised over November weekday evenings, we can combine multiple games within two evenings to travel and build our resume’ attending competitive games and visiting new venues – in sync with our already great adventure. We look forward to some close, hard-fought battles.
MACtion competitively balanced?
In his College Football ’24 Preview, Phil Steele quotes Ball State HC Mike Neu. “He told me there is not so much difference from top to middle of the MAC (Mid-American Conference).” Well, we plan to find out. It gives us first-hand looks to see some teams that will eventually be playing in early December bowls – good for evaluating teams in those bowl pools we enter after the regular season! Through MACtion in person, we hope to have our finger on the pulse of this conference.
Below, we present our slate of MACtion games in chronological order. As a conference, with fewer games we’ve attended than most others, we will also report on our vivid memories of the Mid-Americans whose membership has basically remained intact over the years.
The Mid-American Conference remains as the conference that looms with the most stadiums left for us to visit. Last season, we visited the tribute to “The Cradle of Coaches” at Miami in Oxford, Ohio for our first week attending two MACtion games.
October 12: Ohio U at Central Michigan; Big Chippewa Tailgate Party
We begin with a Saturday game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, home of the Chippewas. We’ll enjoy our first game there with a good friend and former work colleague Mike Meyer and his family. Mike, his wife, Mother, kids and friends all attended CMU. Annually, they plan a big tailgate party there once every season. Mike invited St. Laurie and I to attend this game with about 40 die-hard Chippewa fans. We look forward to this!
Heading into the sixth game of their season following games at Illinois and home against San Diego State, we see the Chips play in their second MACtion game of the year hosting Ohio U. The Bobcats finished 10-3 a year ago. They defeated Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl and defeated CMU 34-20. The Chips will actually have chips on their shoulders for this one after the Bobcats upset them last season.
Central Michigan hopes to see some improvement at QB with Iowa transfer Joey Labas. Hard to imagine a QB from Iowa over the last few years being a solid selection to turn a program around. Soph Bert Emanuel will have to be ready to step in after two starts last season. Maybe both will improve under HC Jim McElwain, formerly at Colorado State and Floria. Top RBs from 2023 in Marion Lukes and Myles Bailey return. They were also among the top five receivers following Tyson Davis and Jesse Prewitt with 30 and 31 snags respectively. The OLine brings back three starters. The team needs to ramp up their 23.3 points per game (ppg). Defense returns six starters from their 5–7-mark last season led by three LBs – Donte Kent, Justin Whiteside and Dokata Cochran.
Bobcat momentum?
Ohio U. HC Tim Albin rebuilds with only two returning starters on offense and four on “D.” Junior Parker Novarro probably starts at QB. He led the Bobcats to a 41-25 victory over Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Only RB Ricky Hunt returns in the backfield, and Anthony Tyus of Northwestern transferred in. On defense, they build around two starting safeties in Austin Brawley and Adonis Williams. Albin has led OU to 10-win seasons the past two years after an initial record of 3-9. This season will attest to his recruiting and developmental program with a lot of new players stepping up.
In over 45 years, we have seen both teams play only once. We saw CMU toppled by Syracuse, 41-17, in the Carrier Dome in 1999. In 2005, we welcomed Ohio as our 100th team with a 34-20 win over our 101st team Buffalo in Amsterdam, NY. The Bobcats played then under their first-year HC Frank Solich.
Over the years there were opportunities to see Toledo and Bowling Green play against some top-rated FBS teams. Instead, we waited to see them play one another for some great MACtion! Patience paid off with a hard-fought 32-31 win by the Toledo Rockets.
November 5 (Election Day) – Miami (O.) at Ball State kicks off our weeknight MACtion
Senior QB Brett Gabbert (1,635 passing yards, 14 TDs, five INTs) keys their drive to win a second MAC title. He suffered an injury ending his season against Toledo in the title game. Kenny Tracy returns as their top back who will be relied on to replace Rashod Amos’s 1075 yards and 13 TDs. The Top D among MACtion teams a year ago held opponents to 15.9 points per game. Returning Senior LBs Matt Sapolek and Ty Wise return with 144 and 122 tackles respectively. This year, the Redhawks start off at Northwestern, vs. Cincinnati and at Notre Dame. They will have four MAC games under their belt against teams we will see play before they meet Ball State who they defeated at home last season, 17-15. Like BSU HC Mike Neu stated, there’s not much different from top to middle among MACtion teams.
Where does Neu see his Cardinals?
Question is, does Neu see his team among the upper echelon here? Ball State finished 4-8 a year ago with close losses against Toledo and Bowling Green as well as Miami. However, with six starters returning on offense and only one returning on defense, Neu definitely has his work cut out for him going into his ninth season at Ball State.
QB Kadin Semonza returns as a redshirt freshman after only three starts. Four returning OL starters will be a strength for these Cardinals. The top RB looks to be Indiana transfer Charles Spegal (71 rushing yards in ’23). Top receiver Qian Magwood comes back to lead a passing attack that averaged only 18.3 ppg in 2023. LB Kente Newson who led in tackles with 81 returns. This year’s Cardinal crew of transfers includes several D-III players vying for starting positions on defense. Will much defensive improvement be derived with one starter returning that allowed 24 ppg last year?
Miami of Ohio stands at 2-1 in our history with last year’s win and a 14-13 win over Army at West Point in 1998. They fell to Temple, 24-21, in a Thursday night game at The Linc in 2011. Ball State fell hard on a blistering, hot day at Boston College in 2003, 53-29. However, we also saw them under HC Pete Lembo defeat the Cadets of West Point at Michie Stadium, 30-22, in 2012.
The Redhawks leading tackler from last season, Matt Salopek, returns for his Senior season to lead this tough Miami defense once again.
November 6: Northern Illinois at Western Michigan; Broncos have some making up to do in Kalamazoo
Our November MACtion action continues the very next night at Western Michigan’s Waldo Stadium to check off another FBS stadium toward this crazy goal. We were wondering where Waldo was. Northern Illinois returns 30 seniors under their HC Thomas Hammock. Games at Notre Dame and NC State precede our visit. One of three QBs could be starting for the Huskies by the time we hopefully see them. However, three top RBs from last season’s 7-6 team return including 1st Team MACtion RB Antario Brown. He rushed for 1,296 yards and ten TDs. Two leading pass catchers, Trayvon Rudolph and Grayson Barnes, come back with 951 yards and seven TDs between them. Four experienced linemen return up front for this O to take the pressure off the new Husky QB. Eight starters return on defense. DE Rashein Thomas and LB Jaden Dolphin tallied 72 and 61 tackles respectively.
Northern Illinois – Their future and our past
NIU could challenge for the MAC title this season. Toledo, Miami and CMU appear on their slate after this meeting against WMU. In our first NIU game in 2004, we watched the Huskies lose to a good Ralph Friedgen-coached Maryland team on the road, 23-20, despite the Huskies losing their starting QB in that game. They went on to a 9-3 record. We actually got to attend a game at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb in 2018 for a night game on a business trip out that way. They defeated Toledo, 38-15, on a cold night in front of a sparse crowd. We’ll prepare for MACtion weather traveling by car this season with all our winter gear packed!
In 2018, we attended our first weekday night MACtion at NIU. DE Sutton Smith (15) in pursuit of Toledo’s Eli Peters, recorded a sack, a big hurry, a blocked punt, and a touchdown this evening.
Woe to Western Michigan
The Broncos not only lost the only game we ever saw them play in, but they hold our record for the biggest trouncing we ever witnessed. They fell to Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, 63-0, in 2004 on their first of ten straight losses that season. In addition, I actually got dumped on as well. We don’t anticipate a repeat of that happening this fall at Waldo in Kalamazoo. HC Lance Taylor’s Broncos come off their second season together with a 4-8 record.
NIU blanked them last season, 24-0, holding WMU to 206 yards of total offense. Bronco returning experience includes four starters on offense and eight on defense. QB Hayden Wolff improved their offense last season after starting halfway through the season adding 211 more yards per game on average. Soph Jalen Buckley returns at RB with 1003 yards and ten TDs a year ago. WR Kenneth Womack led WMU with 76 receptions, but WR Anthony Sambucci found the end zone more times with five scores.
Two keys for Bronco success in 2024
Four top tacklers return with each garnering between 65-75 stops. Among them, returning senior LB Damari Roberson broke up six passes and picked a pass. S Tate Hollock broke up five and intercepted twice. The defense is key for any Bronco challenge to claim the MACtion title. It seems wide open. The Broncos could be ready to make a move. After opening at Wisconsin and Ohio State, their slate looks very favorable to get to the title game. After they face NIU, their biggest MACtion challenges come in games at Bowling Green and at Central Michigan the next two weeks. Their biggest factor could be for Wolff to stay healthy at QB and to demonstrate continuous improvement over the course of the season. We will get a whiff of their direction against the NIU Huskies this evening.
November 12: CMU at Toledo; Two games in Ohio in two nights
We will see the Chippewas play for the second time in 2024 MACtion. This time, they’ll visit Toledo at the Glass Bowl for our first visit there. We’ve seen the Rockets (and Buffalo Bulls) play the most games among all Mid-American Conference teams thus far –four each. However, TU comes away with the most wins. In 2000, we saw them defeat Navy in Annapolis on a wind-swept day, 35-14. In 2011, they defeated Air Force in Washington DC at the Military Bowl in an exciting game to the wire, 42-41. Last season, we saw them defeat archrival Bowling Green in a 32-31 comeback victory. Only loss came at NIU mentioned previously.
At this stage of the 2024 MAC season, whoever remains healthiest and demonstrates good QB play among all these contenders will probably decide the outcome. Will the Chippewas still be relying on Joey Labas at QB, or will they have replaced him by now based on his effectiveness? How well does his replacement perform?
Toledo 2024
Rocket HC Jason Candle welcomes eight starters back. He’ll rely on QB Tucker Gleason to step in full-time to compensate for the transfer of last season’s QB surprise, Dequann Finn. RB Jacquez Stuart returns with 604 rushing yards and six TDs. Four top receivers return with 18 TD catches among them, but four new transfers come in to block upfront with little experience. Big learning curve, but in November, they may have jelled quite a bit as a unit. The Rocket defense is considered its strength with MLB Daniel Bolden, S Maxon Hook, DT Darius Hook and S Emmanuel McNeil Warren solidifying this unit right up the middle.
A game against Mississippi State will be a barometer early in Week 3. Their MACtion opener at home versus Miami and later at home against archrival BGSU, will be their biggest tests before we see them play. They can get a leg up for a title shot early in a very wide-open conference this season.
One thing for sure when it comes to MACtion on November evenings, dress warm!
November 13: Eastern Michigan at Ohio U – November MACtion in the other FBS Athens
We’ll add Ohio U’s Peden Stadium in Athens as our fifth Mid-American venue attended this year. Among the MAC, that will bring us up to nine of twelve stadiums attended. Only Akron, Eastern Michigan and Kent visits remain. Overall, this season, we will add 11 or 12 new FBS campus stadiums in the end. With possibly 99 in total at season’s end, about 36 remain on our Bucket List. Plenty of travels still ahead. It’s a moving target though. How many other programs are going to join the FBS with all the money being thrown at these schools? The bubble has to burst at some point.
The Ohio Bobcat’s experience should be bolstered by the time we see them again with ten games under their belts. The EMU Eagles will only be on our slate for the second time. In 2002, we watched EMU get blasted by Maryland in Byrd Stadium, 45-3. And it wasn’t even that close. At our upcoming game against OU, we look forward to seeing this team in action under their venerable HC Chris Creighton.
Fly Eagles! Fly!
Despite his 52-68 recorded over ten seasons in Ypsilanti, he’s brought respect to a very beleaguered program. In eight seasons prior to his arrival, the Eagles won only 20 games. Their only bowl appearance ever was in the 1987 California Bowl. Despite the expansion of post season college football games, Creighton has gotten the Eagles into six bowls in the past eight seasons. In most seasons prior, Eagle teams were well below the .500 mark. He’s done great things for this program. They generally hold their own now against the lower half of the MAC. However, they’ve pulled some stunning upsets under Creighton over the years. He can always do more.
Like Ohio, EMU looks to find improvements under new QBs from elsewhere. Creighton brought in Cole Snyder who played for three seasons at Buffalo and Drew Viotto from Minnesota to compete with him. At RB, Delbert Mimms from NC State and Dontae McMillian from FCS Weber State with 1,683 yards over four years should jump-start the Eagle running attack. Creighton also relies on five new transfers to add depth to his receiving corps. Transfers shore up the two returning OL starters in 2024. Lots of question marks and team-building ahead for this EMU offense.
Creighton is Key
Seven starters return on defense led by NT Peyton Price and DE Justin Jefferson. JT Killen from Coastal Carolina steps in to replace a big void where the best players on defense a year ago played at Linebacker. S Quentavius Scandrett and Daquan White who totaled 9 pass break-ups will lead a good secondary. The key to the success of this team though will once again fall on its HC Chris Creighton. His capabilities to pull talent together quickly and effectively will most likely keep this team around the bowl eligible mark.
Tough sledding out of conference begins at Washington followed by Jacksonville State the following week. Miami and the week before the Ohio game, Toledo visits Ypsilanti to be the greatest MAC challenges Eastern will face. Our final MACtion game of the season will leave a few games left for each squad to determine the two top teams that will play for the conference title. Most likely we will see one, but possibly to both of these teams during the month of November. It’s something we really look forward to attending these games to witness great competition among teams close in talent to one another.
Though we won’t see them in MACtion this season, look for Bowling Green to be right in the thick of this year’s MAC title race as well.
-by Steve Koreivo, ed. Member of Football Writers Association of America
Lebanon, TN – Despite Collegefootballfan.com’s multiple goals to 1.) attend as many competitive games as possible; 2.) to venture to 50 remaining FBS stadiums on our bucket list; and 3.) to continue seeing every FBS team including new additions play once, we still get to see seven Top Teams play this season. We do our best to plan our schedule annually within our budgets and travel plans to see as many teams play as possible. As a result of this year’s plan with an additional goal to assure a particular game as our 700th game on October 26, we’ve slated at least seven top teams ranked among various 25-team polls.
We saw Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy lead the National Champion Michigan Wolverines over Penn State in 2023. The clash featured the game between the two highest rated top teams we attended last season.
In two games, we see two preseason Top 25s (including two Top Tens) square off against one another. Two others take on an up-and-coming conference foe with a lot of returning starters and a new head coach with an outstanding reputation. Two of our top teams slated will be playing home games on our schedule for our first time after 45 years. Bucket List! Finally, another plays in our 700th game ever. It will be a rematch of a rivalry attended 50 years ago before we officially started this endeavor back in 1979.
Here are the seven top-ranked teams cited in various preseason polls with opportunities to earn bids in the first College Football Playoff (CFP) 12-team format to determine the national championship.
The Badgers start their second season under Head Coach Luke Fickell. Previously at Cincinnati, he took over a 4-8 team in 2017. Two season later, he guided the Bearcats to an 11-2 record and a Military bowl victory. With 15 starters back, can he achieve a similar record at Wisconsin following a 7-6 record?
After a year under Fickell, two experienced QBs vie as the starter. Braelyn Locke returns after three starts, and Miami transfer Tyle Van Dyke comes in with starting experience. RB Chris Mellusi returns and Tawee Walker joins him form Oklahoma. Depth returns to the O-line. Two top pass catchers return in Will Pauling and Bryson green. Eight starters on defense return including leading tacklers from las year with S Hunter Wohler and MLB Jake Chaney. CB Ricardo Hallman picked of seven INTs las season.
Alabama, at USC, Penn State and Oregon take on the Badgers. We visit Camp Randall for the first time. Wisconsin will host preseason Top Ten selection and Big Ten newcomer Oregon on November 16. It would be great to see a Badger win here for our a very festive time at our first Fifth Quarter experience ever for our first game attended in Madison!
Like Badger RB Jonathan Taylor shown eluding Penn State with an early TD jaunt in 2018, we will finally catch up to see Wisconsin play a game at Camp Randall this season.
Virginia Tech may have the QB to earn a spot among the Top Teams of 2024
Expectations reverberate high in Blacksburg under third-year HC Brett Pry (former Penn State Defensive Coordinator). He improved the Hokies in his second season from 3-8 to 7-6. Optimism reins finishing last season on a 5-2 tear. It included a 41-20 win over Tulane in the Military Bowl (Green Wave QB Mike Pratt opted out making a significant difference in that one).
The Hokies welcome back 11 starters on offense and 10 on defense. The key to success rests on the Jr. QB Kyron Jones who passed for 2,085 yards (17 TDs/3 INTs) and rushed for 818 yards and five scores. He became the starter in the third game last year. RB Bhayshul Tuten returns with 863 yards and 10 touchdowns. Among six returning receivers, Da’Quan Felton led all with 667 yards and eight TDs. K John Love converted 22 of 24 FGs in 2023. Six of their eight leading tacklers from last season will start. OLB Keli Lawson garnered 80 tackles and six pass break-ups. DE Antwuan Powell-Ryland led the D with nine sacks.
We will visit Blacksburg to see the Hokies host ACC foe Boston College on Thursday night, October 17. Prior to that, their biggest challenge comes at Miami (F.) also ranked highly among preseason top teams on September 27.
Florida State ranked high with many new transfers, but a tough slate ahead
Though Florida State finished last season as ACC champs at 13-0 before the 63-3 Orange Bowl opt-out debacle against Georgia, HC Mike Norvell had to muster in some significant talent to plug some major holes. His reputation precedes him as an effective recruiter. However, the question remains if he can pull his units together quickly on both sides of the football to start the season effectively? The Seminoles open against Geogia Tech in Dublin, Ireland on August 24. Then, we will see them host Boston College on Labor Day evening, September 2.
DJ Uiagalelei steps in at QB from Oregon State after three years at Clemson. We watched him lead the Tigers against Louisville for a 31-16 win. He started the game with an 11-yard run on the opening drive for the early lead and connected on a slant pass in the second period for a touchdown. He finished 19 for 27, 185 yards and one TD. RB Lawrence Toafili gained 469 yards and scored four TDS for FSU in 2023. Roydell Williams transferred here from Alabama after four seasons to bolster the running attack. WR Malik Benton also joins from Bama after two years there. DE Marvin Jones arrived from Geogia with one start a year ago. DJ Lundy remains at MLB where he had 54 tackles last season.
We will see Florida State face an experienced Boston College team under their new HC Bill O’Brien in the visitors’ season opener. FSU’s opener in Ireland should give them time to make any early, necessary adjustments. BC returns eight starters on offense and eight on defense as well. FSU defeated the BC Eagles last season, 31-29. This will be a good test early on Labor Day against a 7-6 squad with a returning QB. This contest should be a good indicator with so many new, but experienced, players to see where the ‘Noles are headed in 2024. Games with Memphis, at SMU, Clemson, at Miami (F.), at Notre Dame and Florida pose more top teams on a tough schedule ahead for the ‘Noles in 2024.
RB Trey Benson showed pass-catching skills out of the backfield for Florida State here against Wake Forest in 2023. Like many Seminoles from that team, he moved on, but many feel FSU will be in the hunt for the new CFP format in 2024.
We will see the Fighting Irish play for the first time under third-year HC Marcus Freeman. Last time we attended a Notre Dame game, it came in 2016 when we saw (though with an obstructed view) them fall to Stanford at home. Last time we attended a game with them against Navy in the Meadowlands in 2010, the Mids bested them under then Irish HC Charlie Weiss, 35-17. It was the last time the Mids won in this series going into its 97th year. Our most memorable of the seven games we’ve witnessed in this series though came 50 years ago.
At Veterans’ Stadium in Philadelphia, I was a member of the Brigade of Midshipmen. The heavily-favored Irish scored two TDs in the fourth period to overcome a 6-0 Navy lead to win, 14-6. The late, great Hall of Fame HC Ara Parseghian attributed that close win to his imminent retirement a year later. For more details, please order my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good the Fun and the Ugly about this game and other fantastic memories of great games played by every Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team.
College football changes significantly now compared to back then with the advent of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money and wide-open transfer portals. The Naval Academy, and Military and Air Force academies, reap the football benefits of neither. If not for the traditional, significant payday for Navy football, it’s difficult to imagine this rivalry lasting. From a historical perspective, this is Collegefootballfan.com’s 700th game since 1979 – a celebratory, big tailgate!
This season’s Fighting Irish slate is lighter than usual. They visit Texas A&M in their opener; entertain Florida State two weeks after our game; and finish the season with their other more significant intersectional rivalry in USC at the LA Coliseum. Freeman reloads at QB with former Duke phenom Riley Leonard. The O-Line returns two starters, but potential pro prospects fill in for the others. Defensively, nine starters return including Second Team All-American Howard Cross and First Team All-American S Xavier Watts. If the Irish hold off their three top team opponents this season, look for them to head into the new CFP format with a 12-0 record.
Penn State looks to improve game strategy and execution
As do many other Nittany Lion fans, we feel the Lions performance relies heavily on the game day leadership of HC James Franklin. He thrives on attaining talent. However, he has to overcome his 4-16 game day performances against the likes of Ohio State and Michigan. We witnessed the 24-15 fall of the Lions to Michigan last season. The Wolverines don’t show up on the PSU schedule this year. So, we will be at the battle against pre-season No. 2 Ohio State at Beaver Stadium on November 2.
PSU returns ten starters on their outstanding offense. They will look for improved play from Jr. QB Drew Allar (2,631 yards, 25 TDs, 2 INTs). We hope that this season under new OC Andy Kotelnicki (from Kansas), he will break Allar’s habit of telegraphing his passes to a singular target on any given pass play. They will also require some explosive plays from Jr. RBs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton who combined for 1,654 yards and 14 TDs a year ago. Respectively, however, their longest runs went for only 17 and 24 yards. TE Tyler Warren returns as leading receiver with 34 snags and seven TDs. A lot of improvement will be necessary from a young, inexperienced receiving corps.
Tom Allen, former HC at Indiana, replaces Manny Diaz as defensive coordinator. He needs to pull together a young but talented defense that returns only three starters. Preseason All American Abdul Carter moves from LB to DE. S Kevin Winston and MLB Kobe King return to lead what reports indicate should still be an outstanding defense. We hope to see an improved team on offense that can defeat USC and Wisconsin on the road in the two games prior to Ohio State in Happy Valley. The Lions appear among everybody’s top teams to earn a CFP game this year. We will see what James Franklin can do to get the most out of the outstanding talent he has recruited to State College on this particular game day.
It’s one thing to delegate to your assistants during a time-out, but does it make sense for PSU Head Coach James Franklin not to work with his players regarding a critical time-out as shown here in the third period of last year’s 24-15 loss against Michigan?
From Pac-12 to Big Ten, Oregon remains among top teams
HC Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks move on to the Big Ten with huge expectations. To earn that, they will get to challenge two traditional contenders in their inaugural Big Ten season. They will host Ohio State on October 12. Later, they visit Michigan at the Big House on November 2. As reported earlier, we will attend their game against another formidable Big Ten defense in Wisconsin on November 16.
The Ducks, like Notre Dame, insert another experienced QB in Dillon Gabriel who transferred in from Oklahoma this year. We saw him perform for Central Florida in 2020 in a 36-33 loss to Cincinnati in Orlando in a key American Athletic contest. Last season, Oregon averaged 501 yards and 38.8 ppg with now graduated QB Bo Nix. Top WR Tez Johnson returns with 86 receptions for 1,182 yards and ten TDs. Oregon’s offense could be even more lethal with Gabriel.
On the other hand, Big Ten defenses could be more formidable than what they faced in the PAC-12. Nine defensive starters return to Eugene, and transfers from Kansas State and Ole Miss should shore up the secondary. The Badgers will probably pose the third toughest defense the Ducks face this season. Could this contest in cold Madison on November 16 possibly become a defensive struggle? We look forward to it either way.
In 2020, QB Dillon Gabriel started for Central Florida in this 36-33 loss we attended against Cincinnati. Four seasons later, we’ll see him play for his third college team from coast to coast, Oregon.
By all accounts, with seven starters returning on offense and nine on defense, many first and second team All-Americans, with the latest HC Ryan Day has recruited through the transfer portal, the Buckeyes seem to be stocked up at every position in talent. Everybody selects them or Georgia as the last team standing at the end of the 2024 season. Games at Oregon and at Penn State will be most challenging. Possibly Iowa and definitely archrival Michigan at home will be season-determining contests.
At QB, experienced Will Howard from Kansas State steps in to play under new OC Chip Kelly after his stints as HC at Oregon and UCLA. All-American RB Treyveon Henderson returns as rush leader with 926 yards and 11 scores. WR Emeka Egubaka replaces Marvin Harrison as his top target. Nine starters return on their stalwart defense that allowed only 11.2 ppg. All- American DT Tyleik Willams and DE JT Tuimoloau return to lead the defensive charge. Day brought in another potential All-American S Caleb downs from Alabama to join Denzel Burke to an already solid secondary.
With their games against Iowa and at Oregon in their rear-view mirror, we will see them invade Beaver Stadium on November 2 where the Lions haven’t beaten them since 2016, 24-21. We’ll see what James Franklin brings to this game against the Buckeyes who he has to improve upon with his 1-9 record against them. Despite his overall record of 88-39 in Happy Valley, this is the mark that puts him in a hot seat.
In 2016, Penn State defeated Ohio State, 24-21. As much as times have changed since then, this remains a major Big Ten clash every season despite the Buckeyes’ domination since. It also has ramifications for top teams for the first 12-team CFP format in 2024.
Best if BestTop Teams guaranteed: The Capital One Orange Bowl
With bowl games becoming more numerous, less significant to ticket-buying fans, primarily between mediocre teams and less entertaining due to opt-outs by key players, we decided to do fewer of these. Instead, we will now focus on a game or two that count toward the National Championship.
With four Capital One Orange Bowls attended in the past, we’ve continued to support that. We can take advantage of early notifications we traditionally enjoyed seeing CFP matches or a New Year’s Six contest. We will do this in 2024 to witness two of the final four top teams battle in Miami Lakes to get to the championship in Atlanta. In the future, we could consider another Peach Bowl in Atlanta as well.
We will still consider some non-CFP bowls based on proximity to reduce costs to attend a CFP game and to seek games that look competitive between the invitees. For our purposes, the Liberty Bowl, Music City and Birmingham will always be under consideration. Others that fall within budget, time constraints, competitiveness and team interests, we will take all these factors into account.
More previews to come
As our first game approaches on August 24, we have covered nine teams who enter the season under a new Head Coach and these seven top teams on our regular season slate. Look for previews of remaining Power Four teams we will see. We also plan to see interesting bunch of teams from the Group of Five. With weekday games, we have more opportunities now than ever before to add more teams play on their home fields this season. It wasn’t intended, but it looks like we will shatter our record of 27 games attended during 2017. Check out our tentative 2024 schedule right here! Can’t wait to get started!
edited by Steve Koreivo -member of Football Writers Association of America
In 2016, we attended CapitalOne Orange Bowl won by Clemson over Oklahoma, 37-17. Who will we see at the 2024 semi-final game to move on to Atlanta?
