Seen 'em all – 136 FBS teams in action! In 2025, we added both the CFP Championship game, Indiana 27 Miami 21 and the FCS Championship, Montana State 35 Illinois State 34. We've now attended 740 games since 1979. Please order and review our book on Amazon.com: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly to enjoy this great, unique lifetime adventure. We look forward to the 2026 season!
Manchester, NH – For the night cap of our DIII/D2 New England Double-header, the Hawks of St. Anselm’s defeated their Granite State rivals Ravens of Franklin pierce, 21-0. The Hawks led in early in the second, 7-0. The turning point took place when Raven QB Parker had to be carried off the field with a leg injury. He never returned. Despite this, credit the FPU defense with keeping the game close. They blocked a field goal and made a goal line stand.
St. Anslem QB Drew Forkner threw for 191 yards and a TD. Alternate QB Ronan Noke carried the ball over twice for scores. Forkner’s pass went 20 yards to Domingo Meade for a score, Anthony Almeida of the Hawks led all rushers on the day with 86 yards on 18 carries. This was out first trip ever to At. Anselm’s Grappone Stadium. Nice bucolic trip from Vermont to New Hampshire. Saw a lot of dried out riverbeds exposing large stones due to the lack of rain in New England. Not as colorful this Fall as usual as told by locals
At the stadium, I ran into the typical technology issues – buying a ticket digitally. Needed to add credit card and personal information into my mobile phone to buy one ticket. Something so simple is now so complicated. People were helpful and understanding as I’m an old, tech-challenged senior citizen now. Got it done. Got a chair-backed seat in a nice small school venue. However, I miss paper tickets and actual programs with rosters I can read and collect. Don’t get me started on the benefits of A.I. Dread it.
St. Anslem’s gets quick break
Franklin Pierce took the first kickoff. On their second play, they fumbled the ball away. DB Thomas Hoffman recovered on the Raven 35. Two plays later, Ronan Noke took it in from five tor the 7-0 Hawk lead. Later in the period, Franklin Pierced fumbled again at the St. Anselm 11. The Hawks took over on their 10.
Franklin Pierce WR Kameron Massey enroute to 27-yard gain in first quarter on a pass from Adrian Parker who left with a leg injury in the second.
Into the second period they drove into scoring position. However, the Ravens blocked Michael Guarnieri’s 43-yard FG attempt and took over on their 29. On this subsequent possession, Raven QB Aidan Parker got carried off the field. Keving Leal (7 of 18, 70 yards, 2 INTs) replaced him. He looked inexperienced. FPU punted from its 29.
Starting from the 28, Forkner moved the Hawks down field mostly through the air to the Raven 20. There, he connected with Meade. They widened the lead 14-0 with 8:28 left in the half. Leal started the next FPU with a no-huddle, but they couldn’t sustain it. At the 20, St. Anselm’s took over on downs. SAU moved the ball for a fourth and two at the 28. Forkner picked up four for a first, A sack by Geno Fachetti and a holding call moved the Hawks back. Eventually they got back to the 29. With one second left, Guarieni’s field goal attempt went wide as the first half came to a close.
Franklin PierceRaven defense trips up St. Anselm RB Jake Croce for short gain in the second period.
Defenses battle to keep game close
It looked like St. Anselm’s fumbled the ball away to open the second half. However, the call was surprisingly reversed for an incomplete forward pass. Franklin Pierce started its next possession on the 29. DB Dev Lee picked off a Leal pass to put St. Anselm’s back in business on their 34. They drove all the way to the FPU six. The Hawks tried to crack through the line on four consecutive plays: 3 yards, 1 yard, no yards and then, -2. Goal line stand by the Ravens. The defense kept them in this game while their offense endured a learning curve with an inexperienced quarterback.
In the final period, the Ravens punted away again for their 16. The Raven defense recovered a hawk fumble at the 20. Of course, they went nowhere from there. Funny thing at this point: a St. Anslem fan nearby commented, “Our defense is keeping us in this game.” If he hadn’t noticed, the Franklin Pierce D did exactly that as well.
Franklin Pierce defense halts St. Anselm’s leading rusher Anthony Almeida (25) for a goal line stand for a two-yard loss on fourth down.
Sure enough, sack by Hawk LB Nick Darling. The two teams exchanged the ball again on an interception, two fumbles on the same play, and an eventual turnover on downs by Franklin Pierce. This started the next Hawk drive at the Raven 33. Ayden Jones’ run to the 15 followed by an FPU personal foul put the Hawks at the eight. Franklin Pierce stiffened. On third and goal, Noke came in to finish the drive to extend the lead to 21-0 with 1:54 left. St. Anselm’s moved on to 4-2, 3-1 and Franklin Pierce fell to 3-3, 2-2 respectively. Both teams compete in the D2 NorthEast 10 Conference.
Coming up in Week Eight
St. Anselm’s’ remains home at the friendly confines of Grappone Stadium next week to take on NE 10 foe Assumption (0-5, 0-4). Franklin Pierce heads back on the road to farther reaches in Frankfort, Kentucky. There, they meet the Thorobreds of Kentucky State (5-2, 5-1), a member of The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic association.
St. Anselm’s cheerleaders will be back at Grappone Stadium on Saturday at 1 pm to cheer their Hawks on against winless Assumption.
For Collegefootballfan.com: A tribute and on to see FBS Team # 136
The following Tuesday, we attended Arkansas State at South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. However, that’s not the only reason we want to visit Mobile. We intend to pay tribute to our late, great friend and all-time San Diego State Aztec fan and Alum, Tom Ables. He served aboard the USS Alabama in the US Navy in WWII. Since his discharge after the war, starting in 1946, he attended 788 SDSU games up until the week before he passed away at the age of 91 in 2017. Have to go down and visit his old engine room on board his ship. He visited his old station at the Battleship Memorial he went on board to visit it again when his Aztecs played at South Alabama in 2016. Looking forward to that visit.
After Mobile, we travel north from there to add the University Delaware as team # 136 in Jacksonville, Alabama against those “copy-cat” Gamecocks as my South Carolina grad daughter refers to them. And on Saturday, we’ll be at Auburn for some SEC action when the AU Tigers host the Missouri Tigers currently ranked no. 14 in the nation. With our friends the Murrens and many of their still close college friends and family, we’ll be cheering for their Auburn Tigers to spring the upset.
Finishing up136 teams – there’s a lot of history to share on how this was done
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen almost every FBS team play over the years!
Heading down to Mobile, Alabama after this weekend to literally check out the Big Guns.
Castleton, VT – We at Collegefootballfan.com achieved our goal of attending a game in our 43rd state, but it came at the expense of witnessing a very non-competitive game as The Captains of CNU dominated from kick-off. They dominated through the end of the game to spank the Spartans (2-4), 69-7. Christopher Newport (5-0, 2-0), now ranked No. 17 in DIII, totaled 495 yards to the Spartans 194. The led at halftime, 35-0. RB Gunner White led the Captains’ rushing attack with 13 carries for 115 yards and three TDs. Drevyon Tharrington and Zavier Kennedy each carried the ball in for two scores and ran for 68 and 52 yards respectively.
Christopher Newport QB Connor Barry managed the game well and got dominant blocking up front to pass for two TDs and 135 yards on 10 completions on 14 attempts. DE Connor Estrella create havoc right from the start with six tackles including 2.5 tackles for losses for -7 yards. He also played aggressively early to attract flags from officials, but the Spartans could never gain any advantage.
Christopher Newport RB Gunner White carries the ball into the end zone for his first of three touchdowns against Vermont State – Castleton.
Spartans flashed one spark
Spartan HC Tyler Higley resorted to some trickery early after trailing early in the game with some trickery with razzle-dazzle plays and revers options an the like with no success. Their initial first down of the game came on a successful “tush-push.” Of course, it fell far short of creating any challenge against the dominant Christopher Newport squad.
The one bright spot for Castleton can on a 92-yard burst through left tackle and down the sideline for RB Anthony Anderson for a touchdown as Castleton trailed 42-0 in the third. The run made up most of his 104 yards rushing and the Spartans 145 overall.
Vermont CSU TE Brody Tyburski lunges ahead short of a first down against Christopher Newport.
Observations from denizens of the good old days
Guest Game Analyst and friend of many years Dave Headden (Ohio Wesleyan) joined us on a beautiful New England day in the rustic setting of Castleton at Wolk Stadium on the CSU campus. Sitting behind the Spartan bench, we admired the support of the CSU fans who encouraged their team despite the beating they took from the dominant Christopher Newport Captains. We also watched a Castleton Assistant coach methodically take players aside and work on their techniques and psyche very calmly over the course of the game. We agreed that if we were coaching, neither of us could be that way. We’d be somewhat more animated to push some buttons along the sideline. Definitely a generation gap when it comes to our perception of how things should have been handled. Different times now. Probably, consider us dinosaurs.
CNU Defensive lineman Connor Estrella (89) takes down Spartan RB Joel Davidson for a loss in the first period.
Dave no longer considers himself “D-3 Dave“
Dave enjoys attending small college games regularly. Even brought me a program from the game he attended to see the Alma mater, Juniata College, in their win this season over Allegheny. The “Eagles” won their first two but now have fallen to 2-4. Dave now plans to venture out to more FBS games. He attended the U-Dub 24-20 win at Maryland the week before this and enjoyed the atmosphere at the Terrapins’ Byrd Stadium. He now considers the possibility of heading out to Bloomington, Indiana to see how real the Hoosiers are. We may get together for another game somewhere this season.
Friday Night College Hockey
Based on a trip to see his dad’s and brothers’ alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute play back in 2013, Friday night brought me back to the campus to see RPI’s D-1 Hockey team open the season. It was a first for me. I know the NHL players perform stick-work and passing at a much higher level, but the college players raced continuously up and down the ice at high speeds. Lots of action. Fun to watch. The Engineers fell to the Miami (Ohio) Red Hawks, 4-3.
Added a Friday night college hockey game to our Saturday football double-header where we watched Miami (o) defeat RPI in nearby Troy, NY.
Also on Friday, spent the afternoon at Lake George on a beautiful fall afternoon while the town closed off the street for a Columbus weekend block party. Maybe it’s worth another trip in the future to get Saint Laurie to come with me. Even if she doesn’t want to join me at a football game. Middlebury College plays more competitively among other D-III schools in New England. Got to say that no TV timeouts make for a better attendance opportunity. Seconds after a touchdown, they tee the ball up for the kick-off. Nobody holding a pole with red LED numbers counting down three minutes and 25 seconds to resume play. Love it! Also got a nice whiff of cool autumn air and some colors on the trees. That’s how we grew up playing in the local school yards and watching high school football as kids.
A noon time kickoff put us on the road again for a two-and-a-half-hour trip to our next game in Manchester, NH. Great timing. Enjoyable weekend. Disappointing lack of a competitive football game. The 62-point margin comes in second to only our game in 2004 when we saw Virginia Tech whip Western Michigan, 63-0. Among non-FBS contests, this result topped out our existing record. Our record in that case held since 1987 when Holy Cross with Heisman candidate Gordie Lockbaum defeated Lehigh in old Taylor Stadium in Bethlehem, PA, 63-6.
Vermont- CSU cheerleaders did not have much to cheer for neither early nor often as The Christopher Newport Captains beat their Spartans by the widest margin of victory, 62 points, that we ever witnessed in a non-FBS football game.
Coming up – a Night Cap in New Hampshire!
We left Castleton to get to Manchester by 6 pm to attend our only D-2 game this regular season. We added two new teams and a new venue when we entered Grappone Stadium to see the St. Anselm Hawks (3-2) host the Franklin Pierce Ravens (3-2) in a NorthEast-10 conference game.
As for Castleton State, The College of New Jersey (4-1,1-1) comes calling on them next. The Christopher Newport Captains travel to Kean College (1-4, 0-2) in Union, NJ for another New Jersey Athletic Conference clash. Dave and I discussed the possibility of him attending the NJAC collision course game on November 8 between now No. 17 Christopher Newport and the No. 5 Salisbury Sea Gulls in Newport News, VA. The Captains and the Sea Gulls will battle for the conference title and automatic bid to the DIII playoff. Maybe both will qualify as they dominate this conference.
Finishing up136 teams – there’s a lot of history to share on how this was done
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen almost every FBS team play over the years!
Murfreesboro, TN – In a Conference USA meeting, new member Missouri State (3-3, 1-1) defeated the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (1-5,0-2). With 4:19 left to play, Yousef Obeid’s 29-yard field goal grabbed the lead, and the Bears earned their first CUSA victory, 22-20. MTSU PK Jacob Hathaway attempted a 50-yarder on fourth down with 1:05 remaining, but it sailed wide left. The game finished evenly matched statistically. The teams remained close during its entirety, but critical penalties and miscues came from both squads throughout the evening.
Missouri State Kicker’s impact
Despite Obeid’s game-winner among his three field goals, he was erratic on other plays. His kick to open the game went out of bounds starting MTSU on the 35. The Blue Raider drive finished with Hathaway’s 45-yard FG to draw first blood. Neither team scored after that in the first. Heading into the second, Mo State got within FG range, but Obeid’s boot landed wide right. An errant snap from the shotgun went way over the head of MTSU QB Nick Vattiato. Missouri State recovered at the Raiders’ 24. Frosh QB Deuce Baliey ran to the left pylon for a five-yard TD to take a 6-3 lead. Obeid missed the point after.
Missouri State LB Jalen Brooks recovers loose football for the Bears to set up another Obeid field goal.
Middle Tennessee took the lead back on its ensuing drive of 82 yards. Vattiato hauled a long 52-yard scoring pass to WR Cam’ron Lacy who beat the secondary badly to go ahead, 10-6. Missouri State came right back with a 79-yard scoring drive. Bailey connected with Ronnell Johnson on a spot pass to the right corner of the end zone for the TD. Obeid converted the PAT this time. Both kickers posted scores before the first half expired, but not without controversy.
Obeid booted a 40-yarder with 1:05 left. On that drive, however, the Bears seemingly scored on a 69-yard TD pass to Tristian Gardner. After turning on his wide-open reception, he lost his balance, and his knee touched the ground at the 27 of MTSU. Hathaway finished the first-half scoring with a 41-yard FG as time expired with Missouri State up, 16-13. Fun game to watch in person if not for all the 3:25 TV time-outs!
“Head Coach Obvious” and future Head Coach potential
On the videoboard at the end of halftime, the sideline reporter asked MTSU Coach what his team had to do better to turn things around in the second half. “We have to play better, that’s all,” is all HC Derek Mason had to say. Seemed pretty obvious from our perspective in the stands, but how did he intend to do that? Not very eloquent for a guy who coached at Vanderbilt and worked on the SEC Network. Was he going to scour the transfer portal to add 40 more players on his roster from other programs since last year? That doesn’t seem to be helping, having started this season with one win thus far. Have to say this though: give credit to his QB Nick Vattiato.
Since 2001 when we moved to Middle Tennessee, we’ve seen Vattiato play for MTSU every season. So rare that any QB has stayed at the same program for five years as he now plays as a graduate student in these volatile and tempting days of NILs and transfer portals. Always considered him a tough and resourceful quarterback in games under stressful conditions we’ve seen him play. In the past, he played more as a run-pass option style QB.
Tonight, he played the role more of a pocket passer. Good leadership skills witnessed, but standing in at 6′ and 212 lbs., we don’t see him as playing pro ball. Not that he couldn’t if someone gave him a chance. However, his positive attributes may send him on a successful coaching career somewhere. Surely, he’s learned a lot during his five years playing and leading the struggling Blue Raiders. He’s faced adversity and stands up to it well.
Blue Raider QB Nick Vattiato (11) watches his receiver on a completed pass against Missouri State.
Missouri State starts to roll before…
On one play any way, the first of the second half. Bailey connected with Ramone Green Jr. for a 76-yard pass from the Mo State 12 to the MTSU 12. Once again though, they had to rely on Obeid’s foot for a 25-yard FG. The Bear defense stepped up halting the next Blue Raider drive on their 38 taking it back over on downs. Later in the period, Missouri State’s punter dropped the snap on a punt to turn the ball over on downs to MTSU on their 49. Once again, the Bear defense stiffened up to take over on downs on their 42. Mo State led 19-13 heading into Q4. MTSU started the period with a fitst and ten at the MSU 39.
Missouri State mistake
The Bears held tight until they literally held tight in the wrong place. The defense stopped the Raiders on several plays to halt the home team’s drive, but a face masks penalty gave MTSU new life at the 11 with a first and ten. Vattiato tossed a nine-yard TD pass to Cam’ron Lacy to put MTSU in the lead for the second time this evening, 20-19 with 9:12 to play. Missouri State started their next drive with a return to their 32.
A sack set them back for a third and 14 at the MTSU 39. CB De’Arre McDonald broke up a TD pass in the end zone to give the Bears a fourth down at the 12. Obeid trotted in and regained the lead 22-20 to give Missouri State the lead. The score stood as Hathaway’s kick from 50 went wide left. Adding our 135th FBS team (of 136) seen since 1979, the Bears won its first FBS conference game to go to 3-3, 1-1. Despite mistakes along the way, both teams persisted. This was a good, competitive game to attend. Better than 59-13 or 63-10 scores as witnessed previously this season. Glad to enjoy this one despite the records and non-rankings.
Missouri State QB Deuce Bailey (16), a freshman, looks down field for an open man. He completed 16 of 31 passes for 278 yards and a TD. He also carried one over from five.
Next Up!
Both Conference USA squads resume play for TV on Wednesday, October 22. MTSU ventures to play at Delaware, soon to be our 136th and final FBS team “to see ’em all.” As a matter of fact, we will see UD play at Jacksonville State next Wednesday night. We “add” the Fighting Blue Hens to our goal to “see ’em all” despite seeing them play 21 times for a record of 14-7, both at home and on the road. One victory included a win over FBS Navy in Annapolis. Next week, we finalize our count of all 136 teams with Delaware. Eventually, we’ll go back to a game at Delaware Stadium to “add” to our list of FBS venues. Missouri State travels west to New Mexico State for another Conference USA battle.
For collegefootballfan.com: A weekend in New England for Football, not Fall Foliage
There are no FBS teams in the state of Vermont, but with goal to see a game in all 50 states (well, that includes D.C. not Alaska), on Saturday, we attend Vermont State – Castleton (2-2, 0-1) hosting Christpher Newport University (4-0, 1-0) of Newport News, Virginia in get this – a New Jersey Athletic Conference game. The CNU Captains rank No. 21 in D-III and average 44.2 points per game. They defeated previously ranked No. 13 Susquehanna, 41-27. We hope the Castleton State Spartans will throw up some kid of resistance like in that movie, Sparta 300.
With a noon kick-off to start, we will plan to attend a second game that evening in New England. Originally considering another D3 game, Bates at Tufts, we came up with a competitive D-2 game closer to Castleton. At 6 pm, we venture to Manchester, NH to see a Northeast 10 contest with the Franklin Pierce Ravens (3-2, 3-1) visiting the St. Anselm Hawks (3-2, 3-1). With this addition, we now see all four divisions of NCAA football play this season. FPU fell in a close game to D-2 power Slippery Rock to begin the 2025 season. Of three wins, St. Anselm beat the Pace Setters, a conference foe twice. Guess it’s difficult to get other teams to visit up in Rindge, NH.
MTSU RB and Game MVP Jekail Middlebrook lunges through the line for a gain. The sophomore picked up 93 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 19 yards this evening.
Six games in a ten-day stretch
By the way, if you’re paying attention, we have a lot of games on our 2025 Schedule right now in mid-October. We saw Missouri State at MTSU last night. We have two games on Saturday in New England as mentioned. The following Tuesday, we will attend Arkansas State at South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. However, that’s not the only reason we want to visit Mobile.
We intend to pay tribute to our late, great friend and all-time San Diego State Aztec fan and Alum, Tom Ables. He served aboard the USS Alabama in the US Navy in WWII. Since his discharge after the war, starting in 1946, he attended 786 SDSU games up until the week before he passed away at the age of 91 in 2017. Have to go down and visit his old engine room on board that he visited at the Battleship Memorial he went to visit it again himself when his Aztecs played at South Alabama in 2016.
After Mobile, we travel north to add Delaware as team # 136 in Jacksonville. And on Saturday, we’ll be at Auburn for some SEC action when the AU Tigers host the Missouri Tigers currently ranked no. 14 in the nation. With our friends the Murrens and many of their still close college friends and family, we’ll be cheering for their Auburn Tigers to spring the upset.
Talk about 136 teams, there’s a lot of history to share on how this was done
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen almost every FBS team play over the years!
The Middle Tennessee Dance Team performs during one of the many three-minute and 25 second TV time-outs. We just don’t understand why the time-outs have to show another two minutes and 25 seconds worth of insurance commercials.
Annapolis, MD – In the first of three games for football supremacy among the three US military academies, the Midshipmen of Navy scored a field goal with 6:47 to play before stopping a Falcon drive to win a hard-fought battle, 34-31. Unlike many games played between these fierce archrivals, this contest featured an unlikely passing game instead of one between two teams oriented for running attacks. Navy came into this game as the leading rush offense in the nation. The Midshipmen (5-0) averaged 352.3 yards per game coming in. In this one, Navy rushed for only180 yards. QB Blake Horvath picked up 130 of those and ran for a TD among his 17 carries. However, he also completed 20 of 26 passes for 339 yards and three TDs. On the receiving end, Slotback Eli Heidenreich hauled in all three scores from 19, 60, and 80 yards out among 243 receiving yards.
Midshipmen QB Blake Horvath picks up yards on a second quarter drive to set up a tie in the first half.
Falcons fought toe-to-toe with the Midshipmen
Air Force (1-4) came into this rivalry as a 13.5-point underdog. The Falcons took offense to that right from the beginning. They took a 10-3 lead in the second period based on QB Liam Szarka’s seven-yard run to cap a 75-yard drive in the first followed by Jacob Medina’s 39-yard FG in the second period. Like Horvath, Szarka led the Air Force in both rushing and passing. He outrushed Horvath with 25 carries for 152 yards and two TDs. Passing, he targeted TE Bruin Fleischman six times for 166 of his 212 passing yards. He also tossed a 53-yard bomb to WR Jonah Dawson for a late score. For both teams, the receivers beat the secondaries consistently for wide-open, long pass receptions.
Air Force TE Bruin Fleischmann (88) got open for big gains and scores against the Navy secondary to keep pace with the Mids.
Both teams lack great quickness and speed in their respective secondaries. It seems difficult for academy teams to consistently come up with good, top-notch FBS defensive backs. Although during the past few seasons, Midshipmen Safety Rayaun Lane III demonstrated his talents in the Navy secondary to become the first player from that position to be drafted by the NFL. In the sixth round, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected him at No. 200. He made the 53-man roster and plays regularly now on special teams where he also starred at Navy.
No early blow-out between these two rivals
After Air Force took the early lead in the second period, the Midshipmen and Falcons stayed neck and neck tying the score four more times. Most scores came on quick strikes. On two consecutive drives, Navy tied the score on Horvath’s first TD pass to Heidenreich for 19 yards. Then with 4:02 left in the second, they connected again for 80 yards for a 17-10 lead heading into halftime. On a bright, hot sunny day, many among the 37,517 in attendance sought shade and liquid replenishment under the stands of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. That included collegefootbalfan.com Guest Game Analysts Steve Maloney (USNA ’78) and his wife Liz along with long-time GGA Frank Lorito. Steve and Liz were glad to be back after having seen Air Force win here with us in 2023, 17-6. Frank came up from Delaware where he’s now retired, and we checked out the Guiness Open Gate Brewery in Halethorpe, Maryland the night before. He also contacted his brother-in-law Joe who introduced us to some new USNA grads/fans to enjoy a great tailgate with in the Stadium’s Gold Lot
Soph QB Liam Szarka led the Falcons effectively all day to challenge heavily favored Navy in this rivalry played for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
A fight to the finish for The Commander-in-Chief’s Hardware
To start the second half, Air Force put together a 70-yard drive for a one-yard TD run by Szarka to knot the score, 17-17. A key play came on a 37-yard pass to Fleischman to set the Falcons up at the Navy 13. On the ensuing kickoff, Navy return man Isaiah Bryant’s feet went out from under him to start the Midshipmen from their three. Eight plays later, Horvath dashed through the line and around Air Force defenders for a 59-yard TD run to regain the lead. The game continued 24-17 with the Midshipmen leading into the fourth quarter, but the Falcons threatened on a third and nine at the Navy 18 as the third ended. To start fourth, Szarka led Fleischman with an 18-yard spiral in the left corner of the end zone to tie the score once again at 24-24.
Navy responded quickly. Bryant’s 21-yard kick return started the next drive from their 29. The Midshipmen moved to the 40. From there, Horvath went long for a scoring strike of 60 yards with Heidenreich to extend the USNA lead by seven once again. However, the Falcons did not give up either. With 10:59 left to play in regulation, Szarka hit Dawson with his 53-yard scoring pass to even it up for the fourth time, 31-31.
Midshipmen Head Coach Brian Newberry (kneeling with beard) watches his defense battle in a closer game than expected. He’ll need to work on some improvements as four ranked teams lie ahead on the Navy schedule.
Turnover time
Navy’s ensuing drive started from its 23. The Midshipmen drove to the Falcon 12 where they faced a fourth down and one. However, a false start, one of about five for Navy today, unusual for the Mids as pointed out by GGA Mike Malinack (USNA ’78) after the game, set them back. Nathan Kirkwood who opened the scoring with a 39-yard boot in the first was called on by HC Brian Newberry to put up three once again. His 34-yarder sailed through with 6:47 left to play. Plenty of time remained for Air Force to drive to put up another seven to take a lead on its next possession. On top of that, the Falcons still had three time-outs.
After the kickoff went into the end zone, Air Force started from the 25. Szarka started to work the clock with handoffs and short passes. Two fell incomplete to stop the clock. The Falcons crossed midfield to the 47 for a third and nine. Official reports say Szarka fumbled on the next play, but what we witnessed was an attempted pass knocked down by the Navy defensive line and a diving catch by number 96, NG Landon Robinson, for an interception. Navy took over with 3:07 to play at the Falcon 49. However, Air Force still possessed its three time-outs.
Clock management takes over
Before the two-minute time-out, Navy gained a first down. Air Force called its remaining time-outs with hopes to regain possession. On a fourth and one at the Falcon 30, Horvath completed an eight -yard pass to Jackson Guiterez for the first down. All time-outs had been used. Navy went into its victory formation and came away with a well-earned victory, 34-31, to assure its opportunity to win its second straight Commander-in-Chief Trophy when the play Army on December 13. Collegefootballfan.com will be there.
For Navy, they will be playing for their 18th C-I-C championship award. Since its inception since 1972, Air Force has taken the award 22 times and Army won it nine times. Whenever each team has won one of the three games in the annual round-about competition, it remains in the possession of the last outright winner in the latest series.
The Navy secondary will have to make good coverage plays like this one to be successful for any shot at the American Conference title this season.
Historical updates
Among our 720 games attended to date, this was our eighth game featuring Navy vs. Air Force. Navy now leads our series, 5-3. Our last two games attended back in 2021 and 2023 were won by Air Force. Prior to that, Navy won three straight in 2015-17-19. Back in 1991, Air Force ruined the 500th game played by Navy, 42-7. All games attended except for one were attended at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. First game attended came in 1975 as a member of the Brigade of Midshipmen at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. The Mids shut out “the Zoomies,” 17-0. They went on to win their second Commander-in-Chief Trophy by defeating Army also, 30-6. In our record book, Navy’s record now stands at 45-44 overall. Air Force’s record stands at 7-7. We’ve seen both play against Army and in bowl games.
We still have two games featuring the Midshipmen later this season. On November 8, we travel to South Bend, Indiana to see them play at No. 21 Notre Dame. On December 13, we will see them take on Army for our 20th edition in Baltimore. We may consider a bowl game depending on time and distance, once any bids come along to the Mids.
WEEK Seven Coming up!
Navy (5-0, 2-0) heads up to Philly for its third American Conference game vs. Temple (3-2, 1-0). No slouch here against the Owls under their first-year HC Casey Keeler who’s had a successful had coaching career at lower levels and winning FCS national championships at Delaware and at Sam Houston State. USNA has another home game against Florida Atlantic. After that, three Top 25 teams loom for the Midshipmen among four they will face in November with a current combined record of 18-3. High seas ahead for Navy football. Air Force (1-4, 0-3) heads to play UNLV (5-0, 1-0) to try to shake things up in the Mountain West.
For collegefootballfan.com: Two goals – Add Team # 135 and North to Vermont
On Wednesday night, we commute to Murfreesboro where Middle Tennessee State (1-4, 0-1) hosts the Missouri State Bears (2-3, 0-1) in a Conference USA clash. New to the FBS, we add the Bears as our 135th FBS team of the 136. There are no FBS teams in the state of Vermont, but with goal to see a game in all 50 states (well, that includes D.C. not Alaska), on Saturday, we attend Vermont State – Castleton (2-2, 0-1) hosting Christpher Newport University (4-0, 1-0) of Newport News, Virginia in get this – a New Jersey Athletic Conference game. The CNU Captains rank No. 21 in D-III and average 44.2 points per game. They defeated previously ranked Susquehanna, 41-27.
With a noon kick-off, we will plan to attend a second game that evening in New England. Originally considering another D3 game, Bates at Tufts, we came up with a competitive D-2 game closer to Castleton. At 6 pm, we venture to Rindge, NH to see a Northeast 10 contest with the Franklin Pierce Ravens (3-2, 3-1) visiting the St. Anselm Hawks (3-2, 3-1). With this addition, we now see all four divisions of NCAA football play this season.
Read about our previous games played by Midshipmen and Falcons!
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen every (well 134) FBS team play over the years! Two newest to be added later this season including Missouri State on Wednesday, October 8 after next weekend.
State College, PA- In front of a fired-up, Happy Valley crowd of 111,015 clad mostly in white, the now No. 2 Oregon Ducks fended off a late rally when Penn State knotted the score 17-17 with 0:30 left in regulation. The Nittany Lions scored on a Kaytron Allen four-yard run to take the lead in OT1. Jamari Johnson caught a two-yard TD pass from Dante Moore to tie, 24-24. In OT 2, Oregon scored quickly. A 25-yard scoring pass to Gary Bryant, Jr. took the lead 30-24 as a two-point conversion failed.
For Moore, the pass marked his third TD through the air this evening. Penn State’s ensuing possession resulted in Drew Allars’ pass interception. Thrown into a crowd of Duck defenders, DB Dillon Thieneman picked it off to seal the Ducks win. Oregon (5-0, 2-0) recorded their 23 straight regular season victory and their 12th against no losses all-time in Big Ten play.
Penn State defense closes in on Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq (18) on early drive.
Nothing new from the Lions
After Penn State (3-1, 0-1) won three straight one-sided non-conference games to start this season, Guest Game Analyst John Massimilla and I looked for the Lions to release their strong running attack with more power and deception with their dynamic one-two punch. We also looked for more passes aimed at the three new transfers playing WR this season. We witnessed little progress. A little did appeared eventually, but too late. The Oregon defense held the PSU offense to 189 yards in total offense just prior to their 62-yard scoring drive to tie the score.
QB Drew Allar completed only 14 of 25 passes for 137 yards and the two TDs at end of regulation. Like last year’s CFP loss to Notre Dame we attended, his final drive for victory ended with a poorly thrown interception. We understood that the hire of DC Jim Knowles from Ohio State should benefit the returning QB to help identify some areas to improve upon. Reluctantly for the Lions, we did not see changes we had hoped to see.
Oregon QB Dante Moore (5) picks up big yards on Duck drive for first field goal to tie score, 3-3.
Little learned in three “blow-outs”
Penn State’s offensive scheme still shows little deception in looking off receivers or running play-action passes. For a team whose HC started QB at D-2 East Stroudsburg State for several years, you’d think such fundamentals could be identified as options or improvements to running this offense. Transfer WR Trebor Pena caught two passes for 16 yards among the three portal transfers raved about by Franklin. Troy transfer Devonte Ross hauled in Allar’s two late TD passes among four for 48 yards in this contest. Last year at Troy in 11 games, he caught 76 passes for 1,043 yards and 11 TDs. As of now, he has nine receptions for 125 yards and three TDs in four games at PSU. So much for all the bluster. What took so long for Franklin and OC Andy Kotelnicki to finally get him involved later against Oregon?
Oregon stepped up against Penn State
As for the running game, the Ducks held the Nittany Lions’ duo of Allen and Singleton to 18 yards in the first half. In the end, only 139 for the entire game. LB Bryce Boettcher led Oregon with 12 tackles. Dante Moore connected on 29 of 39 in the passing department with three TDs and no INTs. Dierre Hill rushed for 82 yards on 10 carries, and Dekorion Moore latched on to 12 passes for 89 yards. Defensively for the Lions, stellar performances came from LB Amare Campbell with 15 tackles and S Zakee Wheatley with ten.
Oregon WR Gary Bryant (2) on the way for a 25-yard catch and run in OT2 to put Oregon up, 30-24.
Next in WEEK Six
Oregon heads back to Eugene for a second straight Big Ten Top Ten clash. The No. 2 Oregon Ducks will host No. 8 Indiana. No. 7 PSU heads west to the Rose Bowl to face struggling UCLA (0-5, 0-2). If the Lions have any shot at this years’ College Football Playoff, James Franklin needs to reassess his game plans quickly. His 4-17 record against Top Ten opponents needs to improve when the Lions meet No. 1 Ohio State on November 1 and Indiana at home a week later.
Against the Buckeyes, his record stands at 1-9 with his only win back in 2016. As for Indiana at home, even 115,000+ in Beaver Stadium guarantees him no assurance of victory. He better “pull all the stops” in his next three games at UCLA, vs. Northwestern and at Iowa to prepare his team to play as they need to against foes in the Top Ten that his teams struggle with. With this talent at Penn State, three losses this season seemed unimaginable. In his post-game press conference, Franklin probably rightly put the blame on himself. Hopefully, he has identified necessary changes and will be able to expose his “game-coaching prowess” many wait for.
Penn State TE Khalil Dinkins (16) stares down Oregon S Dillon Thieneman on the eventual PSU scoring drive to tie the game at the end of regulation. Thieneman (31) intercepted Drew Allar’s pass to seal the Oregon Duck victory in OT2.
Another undefeated team on our docket next week
We at collegefootballfan.com go to Navy-Marines Corps Memorial Stadium to see the Midshipmen of Navy (4-0) host archrival Air Force (1-3). It’s the first leg in the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for annual supremacy in Academy football. The Mids return a core of offensive fire power from a year ago. QB Blake Horvath, FB Alex Tecza and Slotbacks Eli Heidenreich and Brandon Chapman return from their 10-3 finish in 2024. The Air Force Falcons defeated FCS Bucknell in their opener. In their three subsequent Mountain West games, they gave up at least 44 points in each. The Mids are intensely focused on winning the C-I-C Trophy once again over this and their other archrival.
And our tales keep rolling along, but catch our 45 previous seasons of games!
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen every (well 134) FBS team play over the years! Two newest to be added later this season including Missouri State on Wednesday, October 8 after next weekend.
Penn State’s traditional, intimidating “white out!” did not deter the Ducks from winning. Time for James Franklin and staff to find other means to defeat visitors in The Top Ten!
Lebanon, TN – Collegefootballfan.com tries at best every season to select and attend as many competitive games as possible, but this year has started out as our season of “blow-outs.” We’ve attended our share over the years, but never so many in such a short span like this season. Of six games attended thus far, three have been settled by 46 points or more. Even the three closer games finished closer that they really were. In all cases, the losers scored more points after the winners had the results well in hand. Generally, non-starters replaced the winning line-ups in each contest.
In addition, in WEEK Three we avoided one game we envisioned as a sure romp and decided to avoid it. In that FCS action, UT Chattanooga annihilated the Stetson Hatters, 63-0. We decided to replace it with another game that evening, but the logistical timing didn’t work out. Glad it didn’t because the outcome of the alternative was not worth attending either. Austin Peay enjoyed a blow-out over Morehead State, 56-7. To be clear, both Stetson and Morehead both belong to the Pioneer League. This is a non-scholarship football conference. They might be better aligned playing the likes of D-3 Brevard and Sewanee who we saw in action earlier that particular day.
TE Kenyon Sadiq enroute to the end zone after shaking off a feeble tackle to put the Oregon Ducks up, 14-0 in their 59-13 romp over Montana State of the FCS.
How can College football negate Blow-outs?
Blow-outs have and will always exist. They happen – key injuries, bad-timing, seasonal momentum, multiple mistakes, or just plain, superior talent can lead to such debacles. Consider that last reason. With an inequitable balance of talent among 263 different college football teams, a widening talent imbalance adds to the growing number of blow-outs based on purpose and design. Among 263 college football programs among the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Football Championship Subdivision, evidently great disparities in playing talents exist. Yet, the larger, more heavily, financed schools compete against most of the others for basically the same particular national championship. Of course, that basically comes against 135 other FBS Schools. However, many also schedule any one of the 128 other FCS programs on any open Saturday.
FBS members need wins for rankings to be eligible for bowl game money or now, for College Football Play-off money. To use an analogy considering another major sport – professional baseball. For comparison’s sake, we’re considering not only major league teams, but also the professionals playing in today’s minor league systems. The 30 major league teams own 206 other affiliates comprised of professional players. The best of the best baseball players, you would say. Not only from the United States but from around the world. If you took all 236 teams in this system to play for a common championship and teams could make their own schedules, let’s consider what the competition would be like.
The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers would be playing teams like the Everett (WA) Aquasox (High-A Mariners) and the Hickory (NC) Crawdads (Single A Rangers) among others. Who has the higher payroll, bigger stadium, more profitable TV contract and therefore the best players? Like college football the talent is concentrated at the top. Yet, this would dilute the competition in baseball just like the NCAA is doing to ‘”major” college football today. Pairing the likes of these teams on the fields of play makes no sense. Everyone knows the outcome before the two of these teams even show up at the stadium. This has to end in college football to avoid the growing number of subsidized Blow-outs.
Cal-Berkeley RB LJ Johnson knifes through Beaver defense a first quarter gain. CAl, with nine transfers starting on offense ripped teh Oregon State Beavers, 34-15. OSU stands winless now at 0-4.
It’s not ending
Instead, it continues. Schools with the big budgets ensconced from major television contracts, “the haves,” approach other schools, “the have-nots,” to come to their stadiums to play against them for a significant monetary hand-out. In essence, an easy win to come play in front of a larger crowd the invited visitors will seldom experience again. For proof, just watch the trailers at the bottom of your TV screen especially in the early season when pre-game betting information rolls along. Not only are the odds heavily in favor of the home team generally, but the percentages of the “probability” to win generally indicate many forecasts over 90% chance to win. Ridiculous! This is what college football is supposed to be all about? What about more favorable chances for each side to win? In general, and not only in classroom experience, but all of college life should be about learning. Not about being stomped for someone else’s financial benefit.
Changes ahead finally
Good to see that the SEC finally agreed to play a ninth conference game. They also agree to play one Power Four outside of conference. Good to see the ACC added another conference game committed to each team playing at least ten FBS teams, too. However, for the sake of the best competition among all teams in college football, we prefer more steps in this direction. We continue to hear rumors that the SEC and Big Ten along with other prominent programs will eventually branch off out of the NCAA and start some brand of their own for college football. If that’s the case, it doesn’t seem like they want to stop taking advantage of playing “Have-nots” to incur more future blow- outs. In 2026, SEC teams still have FCS opponents North Alabama, Arkansas- Pine Bluff and Austin Peay among others on their slates.
Hopefully, FCS matchups will be FBS games of the past. Some may argue that the FCS schools need games against the FBS for their budgetary requirements. We propose that if the FBS teams all get on board and all play within the competition playing for the same championship, a fund can be set up from the proceeds of these additional games against FBS schools and distributed by the NCAA equally among all the FCS programs. In this way, FCS programs get a share and an equal revenue stream for all from the FBS teams. Even better, they don’t have to suffer humbling losses, and we fans don’t have to watch or attend games where we basically know that the final result is a foregone conclusion.
Brevard RB Zion Fauntleroy-McDaniel on a long run to set up his team’s final score of the day in the Tornados’ 26-14 win over Sewanee in this DIII game. We enjoy competition at any level when teams play comparable programs.
Other industries call this practice “continuous improvement.”
In addition, we envision another step toward improvement. Break the FBS into two separate championships football subdivisions. One should consist of the 48 or so top football programs based on their budgets. The balance of the teams, basically now the Group of Six, then competes for a separate championship. In the end, all schools compete on equitable talent levels playing amongst themselves. More playoffs, another champion, fewer meaningless bowl games, better competition on the gridiron and a lot less blow-outs! All sounds too good to be true.
Even the limit of the transfer portal window presents a step in the right direction. The next, and perhaps greatest improvement, will come in the form of playing contracts – longer term commitments of players to teams. We’ll see, but step by step, we will see college football become more competitive for more teams than it ever was as the sport continued to bring on more teams to the current FBS level.
For Penn State against Oregon this weekend, this is what we hope not to see – James Franklin not jacking up his team during a critical drive. He has to get a big lead early, or it could come down to some critical play-calling in the end. For the Lions, we hope they avoid a close one here. A blow-out for right now is unimaginable.
Collegefootballfan.com 40 Week Two Records and Rankings
Power Five
2025 – The Collegefootallfan.com 42
Power 5
Record
Rank
Our Game
Date
Result
Next
Arkansas
2-2
Mississippi State
Nov. 1
Auburn
3-1
Missouri
Oct. 18
California
3-1
at Oregon State
Aug. 30
W 34-15
Illinois
3-1
23
at Indiana
Sept. 20
L 63-10
Indiana
4-0
11
Illinios
Sept. 20
W 63-10
Kentucky
2-1
at Vanderbilt
Nov. 22
Mississippi State
4-0
at Arkansas
Nov. 1
Missouri
4-0
20
at Auburn
Oct. 18
North Carolina
2-2
at Wake Forest
Nov. 15
Notre Dame
1-2
22
Navy
Nov. 8
Oregon
4-0
6
Montana State
Aug. 30
W 59-13
Penn State
Oregon State
0-4
California
Aug. 30
L 34-15
Penn State
4-0
3
Oregon
Sept. 27
Vanderbilt
4-0
18
Kentucky
Nov. 22
Wake Forest
2-1
North Carolina
Nov. 15
Group of Five (or Six)
Group of 5
Record
Rank
Our Game
Date
Result
Next
Air Force
1-2
at Navy
Oct. 4
Arkansas State
1-3
at South Alabama
Oct. 14
Army
1-2
Navy (Balt)
Dec. 13
Delaware
3-1
at Jack St.
Oct. 15
Georgia State
1-3
South Alabama
Oct. 23
Jacksonville State
2-2
Delaware
Oct. 15
Missouri State
2-2
at MTSU
Oct. 8
MTSU
1-3
Missouri State
Oct. 8
Navy
3-0
Air Force
Oct. 4
at ND
Rice
3-1
at South Florida
Nov. 29
Sam Houston
0-4
at Western Kentucky
Aug. 23
L 41-24
South Alabama
1-2
Arkansas State
Oct. 14
at GA State
South Florida
3-1
18
Rice
Nov. 29
Western Kentucky
3-1
Sam Houston
Aug. 23
W 41-24
Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
FCS
Record
Rank
Our Game
Date
Result
Next
Montana State
2-2
6
at Oregon
Aug. 30
L 59-13
North Dakota State
4-0
1
at Tennessee State
Sept. 6
W 59-3
SE Missouri State
1-3
at Tennessee Tech
Oct. 25
Tennessee State
1-2
North Dakota State
Sept. 6
L 59-3
Tennessee Tech
4-0
11
SE Missouri State
Oct. 25
Division III
D-III
Record
Rank
Our Game
Date
Result
Next
Bates
1-1
at Tufts
Oct. 11
Brevard
2-1
at Sewanee
Sept. 13
W 26-14
Christopher Newport
2-0
at Castleton State
Oct. 11
Sewanee
2-1
Brevard
Sept. 13
L 26-14
Tufts
2-0
Bates
Oct. 11
VT State – Castleton
2-1
Christopher Newport
Oct. 11
And our tales keep rolling along, but catch our 45 previous seasons of games!
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen every (well 134) FBS team play over the years!Two newest to be added later this season.
Edited by and photos taken by Steve Koreivo – Member of Football Writers Associatio
Bloomington, IN – In what headlined as a significant early, Big Ten clash for 2025 resulted in a well-coached, efficient No. 10 Indiana Hoosier team (4-0. 1-0) dominating Illinois, 63-10. Indiana came on strong as advertised, but overhyped Illinois showed major weaknesses not indicative of preseason publications reporting. Some dubbed the return of offensive lineman opting out of the NFL draft to come back to challenge for the Big Ten Title. Some mentioned the starting O-line as top candidate for the Joe Moore Award, worthy of the top offensive line in college football.
Far from it, they allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown, gave up seven sacks and led a rushing attack gaining only two net yards. Maybe they opted out of the draft to make some quick NIL cash before college graduation. Many fans we speak with agree, the NIL component has changed the face of college sports qualifying as amateurism.
In addition to the Illini’s exposed weakness on offense, defensively, their tackling in the open field and their inept pass coverage resulted in long a critical Hoosier gains all night long. Missed tackles occurred on multiple big gains. Indiana completed many sideline, slant passes that the Illini coaching staff never figured how to stop. IU QB Carlos Mendoza took advantage completing 21 of 23 passes for 267 yards and five TDs. WR Elijah Surrat caught nine such for 92 yards and two TDs. Omar Cooper, Jr. snagged six for 78 yards and a score. RB Khobie Martin picked up 107 rushing yards and two TDs on 12 carries. Kaelan Black added to the team’s 312 rushing yards. He carried ten times for 89 yards and a TD for the Indiana onslaught.
Indiana WR Elijah Sarratt (13) takes in one of his nine receptions as he did many others – on a flag pattern to the outside.
Despite early mistake, Illinois looked ready to make this a game
After the exchange of punts by both teams, the Illini set up once again to punt away from their 33. However, punter Keelan Crimmins took his time in booting it away. D’Angelo Bonds blocked it for Indiana and scooped it up at the 11 for a 7-0 Hoosier lead. On the third play of Illinois’ next possession, WR Collin Dixon caught a ball down field near a falling defender. He raced 59 yards to even up the score. It looked like this would be the seesaw battle many anticipated. Our Guest Games Analyst (GGA) Dave Hickman (Illinois/NIU alum and 82nd Airborne vet) especially looked forward to it. However, the Illini efficiency witnessed on this series didn’t last. Three of their next four series in the first half lasted for three plays and one for four. All resulted in punts.
Indiana DB halts another three-and-out Illini possession early in the game to force another punt that led to a Hoosier touchdown.
Illini can’t stop Hoosiers
In between, Indiana possessions resulted in touchdown drives of 75, 69, and 67 yards. Omar Cooper, Jr. caught an 11-yard pass. TE Riley Nowakowski hauled in a pass for 43-yard score. Lastly, Elijah Sarratt scored on the end of a nine-yard Mendoza pass. The best Illinois could muster before halftime came with an eight-play series. It resulted with David Olano’s 46-yard FG to close the first half, 35-10, Indiana. For halftime festivities, the Hoosier marching band performed, and an impressive Drone Light show hovered above IU’s Memorial Stadium.
The Drone Light show displayed the IU logo along with other animated features that hovered over Memorial Stadium at halftime.
Second half, same as the first
In the second half, the first three Illini possessions resulted in punts after three-and-outs. On the fourth possession, they drove for five plays before Amere Ferrell’s interception (we were on our way out as it started to rain near the end of a very non-competitive game). In the meantime, Indiana continued to score at will. Black capped a 75-yard drive with a 40-yard run. Sarratt caught Mendoza’s fifth TD pass of the game from five yards out. In the final period, Martin scored his two TDs from 31 and eight yards to polish off drives of 69 and 67 yards. Indiana had humbled the Illini, 63-10.
Though literally No. 19 defeated No, 9, it’s difficult to hail this as an upset. The better team definitely won. Preseason hype vaulted the Illini into the Top Ten. Their first three victories against inferior competition did not prove this. Same could be said for the Hoosier’s early schedule, but they will also be called out on greater challenges ahead. We suppose Illinois will set a record now for furthest drop in the Associated Press poll ever (fell 14 spots from No. 9 to 23).
Sarratt (13) throws a block down field to clear the way for TE Riley Nowakowski’s (37) 43-yard catch and run for second period score.
New “friends” in Bloomington, IN
Having had frustrating experiences with online prepaid parking previously at the two games attended in Oregon earlier this season (got our money refunded on both accounts with much online debate), we hesitated to do the same going to Bloomington for the first time. All lots around Memorial Stadium we found to be prepaid and basically full. A church lot remained closed until 4:30 and Dave thought we should wait and somehow get into that despite a long line to evolve. Problem: we had a cooler of beer to get started on. So, we sat in snarled traffic near the stadium for a bit. we asked people for suggestions and took guesses at where we would find a space somewhere within stadium walking distance. We eliminated any garage options as we found out none allowed tailgating.
“Seek and ye shall find”
Dave was particularly frustrated, but I forged on knowing that we would fine something, somewhere. Somehow, I figure through the grace of God, I always do! On 11th Avenue a few signs posted in one driveway finally loomed ahead of us. Some resourceful students must live here, we figured. We turned into a lot with a beer-pong game being played by IU students on a permanent, built-in table. These guys had no idea about the parking, but from the porch of the house came another IU student who resided there, Sam.
He welcomed us and two spaces off the street, we got our convenient $40 spot. We set up our chairs and to drink our beers for about three hours before heading down the street to witness the eventual slaughter. Sam and his friends were cordial, and Dave and I admired them for their resourcefulness. Enjoyed seeing that in these young guys.
Indiana University’s two-time National Dance Championship Team, the Red Steppers, performed with the IU Marching band.
Amateur parking attendants
Later, they said they were heading down to the game and assured us the car was safe there. Maybe we’d see them later. We agreed to take care of their remaining spot if anybody else came along. A little while later, a pick-up truck with a father and his young son pulled up. We helped them park in the tight spot, and they gave us the money. We were happy to catch up with Sam and his friends returning after the game to hand the money over. It was great meeting all the students who lived there. Nice kids and happy to have met such outgoing, friendly IU students.
The Donald of Indiana
We sat next to a die-hard Hoosier fan above the game in section 111 named Donald. He first prodded me regarding my point-and-shoot camera “like his parents used to have.” I hate taking pictures with my phone. What can I say? He gave me a lot of great insight expressing the changes witnessed at Memorial Stadium for this game – our first time here.
First of all, we witnessed the first time in years, probably since his parents went to school at IU, when the majority of the fans this evening wore Indiana colors. Typically, he said, IU tickets generally got scoffed up by other Big Ten fans to see their team come and beat IU. Not so tonight. Also, this season, Indiana brought back mascot Hoosier the Bison who was phased out years before. The revived mascot re-introduced himself at the season opener this year. He parachuted down from a Helicopter and landed for bullseye on the Indiana logo on the 50-yard line. From there, he sprinted directly to the far end of the field into the tunnel. Finally, he re-emerged on his blazing motorcycle which he also arrived on tonight. Pretty impressive. Hoosier the Bison must have joined special ops after IU phased him out.
Bison the Hoosier shown on the IU videoboard here returned to bring back more spirit to the Indiana football program. The fans love him already!
Donald and all Indiana fans admire HC Curt Cignetti
Donald told of how HC Curt Cignetti has changed the entire attitude of Indiana football. He just wants to beat everybody and beat them bad. No mercy as displayed on the foe as seen tonight. He insisted that even with a 35-10 lead at the half, Cignetti went into the locker room broiling about the play that put Illinois into position to make their field goal. Almost sounds like a former, successful IU basketball coach who led the Hoosier’s program to the top. He pointed the out the many James Madsion transfers Cignetti brought with him and how they all turned this program around together. He’s got a top defensive recruit visiting Bloomington for his second time, Times are changing for the better for Indiana football.
Now, Donald and all the IU fans enjoy becoming competitive after many years of struggling. From our personal perspective, in the past year since we went on a river cruise in Europe and even today’s experience on 11th Avenue, we’ve met many great, nice people from the state of Indiana. We wish them and their football team all great success. That is until they come visit Happy Valley on November 8 when they meet with our favorite Nittany Lions football team.
Our season continues…
Unbelievable! Next Saturday, Illinois hosts USC in Fox Sports Big Noon Game!!! Can’t someone at Fox call an audible on that one after the Illini’s performance against Indiana? I even hate to say this: Not a Rutgers fan, switch with BTN to put RU vs Minnesota on that show. At least, they’ll catch the NY metro television market. No one from Illinois will be watching the original game slated. Indiana heads out to Iowa (3-1, 1-0) ) who just defeated RU last Friday night, 38-28. As Donald pointed out to us, the Iowa game stands as one of three critical road trips for the Hoosiers. The others being at Oregon and at Penn State.
Speaking of Oregon and Penn State, that is where we’re taking our trip to next Saturday when the Ducks visit the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. The keys to victory will be if PSU can take at least a two-touchdown lead onto the final period. That would indicate that their defense should be up to the task of keeping the high-scoring Oregon offense in check. If not, the Ducks will have an advantage because we don’t see James Franklin having the capability to make good decisions in a tight ball game down to the wire. Either way, this should be a battle, nothing like we saw back in Bloomington
Some historical updates
At our 718th game, IU’s Memorial Stadium becomes our 101st
Memorial became our 101st FBS Stadium we’ve ever attended, 197th college football venue overall. Thirty -five more FBS Stadiums lie ahead as do seven more states to visit to attend a college game. Our Hoosier record stands now at 3-2 with other wins over UMass and Western Kentucky. Both losses at Penn State. Illinois struggles in our presences at 1-5. Conference games attended now at 253. Check out all our Collegefootballfan.com records and achievements and key memoires by clicking here on Milestones.
And our tales keep rolling along but catch our 45 previous seasons of games!
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen every (well 134) FBS team play over the years!Two newest to be added later this season.
According to our new IU contact Donald, the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium is changing. Fans show their enthusiasm before kickoff. The Cream and Crimson could not be swallowed up by Illini Orange and Blue at this contest.
Bloomington, IN – Today, our season really takes off as we go to one of the biggest FBS games of the day- Illinois (3-0) at Indiana (3-0). We apologize as a virus hit our computer this past week and knocked us offline for a few days, but we’re raring to go! Neither team has really been tested as that’s the ways schools schedule now. In this game featuring experiences QBs with experienced casts, we expect this game te be hard-fought. Luke Altmayer leads his Fighting Illini as one of the few returning QBs coming back to lead his team from a year ago. So, the Illini show more cohesive ness than most Indiana racks up big points against lesser competition with Fernando Mendoza, transfer from Cal, under center.
Look for our on-hand game review by Sunday night. First time ever at Bloomington for a football game. New experiences for us as well as many other Hoosier fans to see a game of significances at IU’s Memorial Stadium. Illinois HC Bret Bielema always bring a surprise to his games – good or bad. Expecting the same today. Curt Cignetti has masterminded an Indiana turn-around on the gridiron here in two seasons. A lot on the line for both teams today for a Big Ten title and a possible CFP bid. Can’t wait for kickoff at 7:30 EST tonight.
Sewanee, TN- The Brevard College Tornados used a diverse attack utilizing three RBs to run for 205 yards in all, and QB Ethan Beamish threw for 115 yards to upend the Sewanee Tigers, 26-10. Defensively, the Tornados held the Tigers to 271 total yards. The Tigers looked to gain yards effectively early to their Tight End. As the game went on, they tended to avoid that strategy as noted by our Guest Game Analys and SU Alum David Oakley (SU class of ’69). Between two QBs, Cam Beasley and Jacorin Thomas, the Tigers could find no offensive solutions to overcome Brevard College. Both QBs completed six passes each for 59 and 53 yards respectively.
Sewanee QB Jacorin Thomas fires a pass to TE Cooper Alford in first quarter action. The Tigers moved the ball within field goal range on this drive. They never attempted many more passes to their tight end against Brevard.
For Collegefootballfan.com, we attended this game to enjoy the memories of our own college football experience attending a game at the D-3 level. In this game, we watched a game at a new stadium at a somewhat historic school, Sewanee, also known as the University of the South. In a historical sense, and you wouldn’t know by the pictures here, that Sewanee was a charter member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in the 1930s.
Our Sewanee alum Guest Game Analyst (GGA)
Attending today came a former alum and Sewanee football player, David Oakley, who’s now a friend from our local gym. We took the opportunity to savor a game together at the DIII level, and with a friend we could share some common memories with. Next week, we step back into the big-time. This was a nice break, however, to watch the guys who play as hard at the lowest level of NCAA football, mainly for just the love of this great game.
Brevard College Tornados line up to watch the coin toss. Not as big or as fast as the FBS nor FCS squads we normally see, but they play this game with as much heart.
Beautiful day and setting to watch a college football game
The Tornados put seven on the scoreboard on their first possession. They drove 78 yards as second-team QB Colson Sigler carried it in from the two. With Thomas at QB for Sewanee, two completions to TE Cooper Alford for 19 yards and another to Dyer Barnes for 12 put the Tigers in field goal range. Levi Dorsey came through with three points from 37. We looked forward to a see-saw battle at this point. Instead, both defenses forced punts midway through the second period.
Brevard College WR Jack Spotz gets down close to the goal line to set up a two-yard TD run on the Tornados’ first possession.
Brevard takes control
At the Tornado 32, the Tigers went for a first down on fourth and short. Brevard stopped them cold and took over from there. They drove 54 yards on nine plays and Hayden Vandegriff extended the lead 10-3 with a 35-yard FG. The Tornado defense held the Tigers to a three-and out at the Sewanee 15. A short punt started Brevard on offense at the SU 39. RB Jaiden Deaton (88 yards, TD) rambled 21 yards to the four. From there, he took it in to go into the half with a 17-3 lead for the visitors from North Carolina.
Sewanee Women’s SAA Conference champion Lacrosse team adorns the field at halftime.
Tiger backs to the wall
Brevard’s first possession in the second half resulted in a punt putting Sewanee back on their 11. The Tigers could not move against the strong Tornado defense. The Tornados maintained good field position and Sam Vargas boomed a 60-yard punt to start SU, this time on the one. On the first attempt for breathing room, DL James Laycock made the stop in the end zone for a safety. Laycock dominated at the line today with six tackles, four tackles for loss and two QB sacks. Now he extended the Brevard College lead, 19-3, in the third.
Brevard kept up the pressure all day to hold Sewanee to 271 yards in total offense.
Brevard Tornados still in control
Once again, Sewanee had to punt from its own 12 after a three-and-out. Brevard took over at the SU 48. Zion Fauntleroy-McDaniel (88 rushing yards, TD) sailed 18 yards around right end to put the Tornados up, 26-3. Sewanee finally put together a 65-yard drive with Cam Beasley running it in from the six with 10:17 remaining. David and I gave SU a chance to show us a fight to the finish. They forced a Brevard punt. However, their ensuing drive resulted in a fumble with Brevard starting at their 46. No comeback in the making here. That closed the final score for us at 26-10. David and I headed out for a few cold beers at our tailgate on a nice but hot, sunny day at his alma mater.
Brevard College RB Zion Fauntleroy-McDaniel on a long run to set up his team’s final score of the day.
The good old days
David reminisced about his dad leaving him at the gates of Sewanee back in the 60’s and telling him, “You’re on your own from now on.” David was the first in his family to go to college. His Dad went back home to go back to work. He reminisced about his first beer back in the 60s at the Smokehouse Lodge we passed coming off I-65. He said as long as you could afford it, you could buy it no matter what your age. When he attended Sewanee back then, it was men only. Women matriculated a few years later. Beer was a necessity.
Regarding football, he played tailback in the old Single Wing formation. The ball was snapped directly back to the tailback. The other three backs lined up generally to one side of the tailback. He wasn’t big, but his Tennessee Hall of Fame Head Coach Shirley Majors figured he was good enough and quick enough to handle the position. In those days, Sewanee played schools like Washington & Lee, Randolph Macon, Rhodes, Cumberland and Hampden-Sydney among others. Most still play D-3.
The Sewanee campus scene
Like me, he had to look up Brevard to find out it was just south of Ashville, NC. We tailgated near the well-manicured Sewanee baseball stadium. There was also a goat pasture nearby. The school had an agricultural department and some of the crops grown on campus were served at the school cafeteria when David attended. Beautiful, wooded campus. The school still has about 1,200 students in all, now with women, of course. Hopefully we can get out there again next year as his Tigers start to win some more football games. We hope HC Andy McCollum can lead the Tigers to their first winning record in 25 years!
Sewanee Purple Lot tailgating adjacent to Hardee-McGee Field.
WEEK Four coming up and moving back up
Brevard (1-1) heads back to its Ives-Lemel Family Field to host D-2 Erskine College for the first time. Located in Due West, South Carolina, Erskine is a member of the new Conference Carolinas. Eight hundred students attend Erskine. Thereafter, the remainder of the BC slate turns to it seven-game USA South Atlantic Conference. Sewanee heads to Rocky Mount, NC to take on the NC Wesleyan Fighting Bishops. Their schedule then starts to heat up in the Southern Athletic Assocation. Both Brevard and Sewanee’s conferences compete for bids in the DIII playoffs in late November.
We at collegefootballfan.com had planned to try to get to the Morehead State at Austin Peay game at 6 pm following the game in Sewanee. It didn’t’ make sense logistically nor logically from our perspective. Thinking more clearly now, aborted the idea after a few beers at our tailgate. Game started too early to even get there in the first half for us. Just as well, APSU blew out the MSU Eagles 56-7.
As a Pioneer League team, the Eagles and other members play without scholarships. We avoided the Stetson (Pioneer member) vs. UT Chattanooga last night also based on seeing them play another Pioneer member, Davidson, the year before. Without scholarships, teams in this FCS conference are close to DIII status. Saturday night, UT Chattanooga beat Stetson in similar fashion, 63-0. Most of the Pioneer League scores Saturday indicated big losses to other non-conference FCS opponents. We have to remember that in the future.
Back to the “big time” next week
However, we step back into Football Bowl Subdivision play next Saturday night with a big one. We head up to Bloomington, Indiana where the No. 19 Indiana Hoosiers host the No. 9 Fighting Illini of Illinois in a Big Ten clash. This should be a blast to start up the first many great competitive games through the end of our regular season before playoffs and bowl games. Follow us and check out the rest of our schedule by clicking here.
And our tales keep rolling along but catch our 45 previous seasons of games!
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen every (well 134) FBS team play over the years!Two newest to be added later this season.
Sewanee, TN – WEEK TWO starts with Brevard at Sewanee, you ask? Who? What? Why? I reach back into my Division-3 roots as a graduate of Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA. Like the previous week, made a decision to keep costs down early for more enticing trips to big games later in the season. No game tickets on sale for this one. However, a $20 parking fee provides a tailgate spot and a seat at Hardee-McGee Field. Also, works well for a good opportunity to consolidate two local games into one Saturday.
In addition, my Guest Game Analyst (GGA) this week actually played for Sewanee in the late 60’s. David Oakley, I refer to call him “our social director” at my gym, convinced me to join his fantasy football league called GymFriends+. Because of my inability to focus much on pro games, I reciprocated to invite him to see his struggling alma mater play for his first time in years. He returns back on campus this Saturday to join me. Hopefully, the atmosphere that day will conjure up some of his football memories. Maybe his mind will clear during our WEEK Two. Playing halfback at Sewanee, he doesn’t remember wearing a face mask!
A brief Sewanee football History
From 1934-1939, Sewanee played as a charter member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). During those seasons, they won only 16 games. None came against any SEC programs of today. The University of the South left the conference to later bounce around among several conference. Today, even at the D-3 level, they still clamor for success. The Tigers enjoyed their last winning season in 2000 with a record of 6-4. For more about Sewanee football history, click here. In 1899, they defeated Alabama, Georgia and Texas among others and within about a week.
Sewanee 1899- best of all time?
Sewanee: Committed to turn football around
Fed up with losing, to get back on track in 2022, The University of the South hired Andy McCollum as its new HC. McCollum coached Middle Tennesse in nearby Murfreesboro from 1999-2005 leading the Blue Raiders into Division 1A football (now the FBS). We happened to add MTSU as our 64th major football program in 2000 when they visited the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT. McCollum’s team blasted the Huskies, our 65th team added that day, 66-10.
McCollum took over a Sewanee Tiger program that won two games during the previous four seasons before his arrival. He now holds a record of 5-15 after his first two. So, progress has been made. Last season, the offense averaged 20.7 ppg while the defense allowed 30 ppg. They finished 2-8 overall and 1-6 in the Southern Athletic Association. Good news indicates that his passing and rushing leader, QB Alcorin Thomas returns for his junior season. Second leading rusher, Dawson White, returns as a sophomore. Also, his leading wide receiver, Dyer Barnes and his leading TE Cooper Alford both come back to SU as juniors. The Tigers stated out on the right foot last week defeating Bethany of West Virginia, 41-6.
Meet the Brevard College Tornados
HC Bill Khayat took over the Brevard program in 2017 that had only one winning season ever prior to his hire. Since then, the Tornados have mounted a record of 42-32. In his third season, his team finished 8-2 including a Bowl win over Carnegie-Mellon. Since then, his teams have challenged for first place in the USA South Atlantic Conference annually. Amazingly for a school of 713 students in Brevard about 35 miles south of Ashville, NC, at least 113 players make up the football roster (15% of all Brevard students). Reportedly, more make up a JV roster. Last season, the Tornados finished 6-3 and 5-2 in conference play.
Brevard looks to rebound
On offense, QB Ethan Beamish returns with 2,093 passing yards and 25 TDs for an offense that averaged 36 ppg. Leading rushers and receivers have moved on. USA Southern Division recognized Beamish as their second team QB last season. At LB, Baylee Ramey returns after earning Honorable Mention and leading the Tornados in tackles. Seniors and graduate students led many stats on both sides of the football for Brevard last season. Many starters from last year need to be replaced. Coach Khayat will invite a lot of competition for open spots in this year’s starting lineup. In their opener last Saturday at Kentucky Christian, the result indicated changes remain ahead. The Tornados fell, 41-20.
After WEEK Two – Sewanee hosts Brevard at historic Hardee-McGee Field. We don’t expect the fall foliage seen here yet, but we look forward to Tigers and Tornados tangling on the field! (photo from d3football.com file)
WEEK Two: Family Day at Sewanee’s Hardee-McGee Field
Throw out last year’s records. Seems like this could be a fun and competitive football game to watch between these D-3 programs in a non-conference battle for both. Development of new players and strategies by both coaching staffs will weigh heavily in this game. McCollum and Khayat both look to get their teams on a winning track early in 2025. And hopefully, bringing our GGA back to his alma mater on Family Day will stir some memories with some stories about Dave’s “glory days” at Sewanee.
Collegefootballfan.com looks forward to attending this game without TV time-outs and instant replay delays – just flat-out football. We figure this game gets over in time to put us on the road to an FCS game a couple of hours away. Morehead State visits Ausin Peay in Clarksville, TN. The Eagles and Governors kickoff at 6 pm. Even if a little late, we hope to see some good FCS football.
WEEK Two: Austin Peay Rises
Former HC Scotty Walden brought intensity. spirit and energy to the APSU program before taking over as Head Coach at UTEP in 2024. Under Walden, we saw the Governors go 3-2. New HC Jeff Faris comes into his second year with the Governors following a 4-8 season, 3-5 in the new United Athletic Conference (UAC). Walden took a lot of Austin Peay talent with him to El Paso. Faris gleaned much of his coaching experience at Duke under David Cutcliffe as OC and QB coach.
Austin Peay opened against FBS programs at Middle Tennessee and followed at No. 4 Georgia. On WEEK One, they handed the MTSU Blue Raiders a 34-14 loss in Murfreesboro. In WEEK Two, they made the mighty No. 4 SEC Bulldogs struggle to a 28-6 win. This Weeks’ FCS Coaches poll vaulted them to NO. 23 in the Top 25. A preseason UAC Coaches Poll predicted they will finish sixth in conference play this season. Things are looking up for the Governors.
Ready to soar over Eagles?
We’ll look for three Governors who earned placement on the UAC Coaches Preseason All-Conference Team. DB Ellis Ellis, Jr. (that’s not a typo) made 11tackles (8 solo) and recovered a fumble against the Bulldogs. OL Chandler Kirton has logged three solid seasons to be noticed at APSU. PK Carson Smith impressed on 13 of 20 FGs including his longest from 56 yards in 2024. Last week, he booted field goals of 42 and 43 yards in front of 93,000 at Sanford Stadium.
Facade of Austin Peay’s Fortera Stadium in 2021. We hear it has a lobby now. Hopefully , we can get time to check it out.
Building around his quarterback
Coach Faris developed QBs at Duke. He continues a work-in-progress here. QB Austin Smith led all Governor rushers last season in addition to stellar performances in the passing game. However, Chris Smith, a redshirt Soph, took over in WEEK Zero of this season. He’s completed 27 0f 43 tosses for 293 yards, two TDs and an INT. Thus far in two games, the Governors average only 97.5 yards per game. WR Jaden Barnes returns as a favorite target snagging 58 passes for 1,083 yards and nine TDs. Defensively, DB Jarden Lyles led the team in 96 tackles and an INT. Austin Peay will be looking for more aggressive play from its defensive front.
Morehead moving ahead
The Morehead State Eagles play in the Pioneer League. In 2024 under first-year HC Jason Woodman, they finished 7-5,5-3. Woodman cut his coaching teeth at LSU under Nick Saban and Les Miles. He coached successfully for ten seasons at Fairmount State (WV), a D-2 program in the Mountain East Conference. Morehead appears on our schedule here for the first time. Like the Governors, the Morehead offense will be built around their returning QB, Carter Cravens.
Cravens career thus far totals 4,013 passing yards and 24 TDs. The Pioneer League Coaches selected him as preseason All-Conference QB. Among other All-Conference selections, they named WR Ryan Upp with his 42 grabs for 573 yards and five TDs. On defense, LB Luke Bauer garnered 50 tackles in 2024 including 12 for losses and 4.5 sacks. Among other returnees, Issac Stopke leads RBs with his 290 yards and three TDs. Defensively, Matthew McClelland recorded 109 stops, four INTs, and four pass break-ups.
Eagles downed against FCS Cardinals
Against Illinois State last Saturday, the Eagles (1-1) got stomped, 41-13. They started with the first score, but trailed at the half, 17-6. Cravens completed 14 of 28 passes for 134 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Stopke gained 86 yards on 13 carries. ISU added ten points in the third. After Cravens connected with Montez Green for a 14-yard TD pass, ISU scored two more TDs to finalize the score.
The Austin Peay Governors may look to tip-toe past the Morehead State Eagles, but their offense needs to get a ground game going. MSU isn’t UGA, but…
Austin Peay vs. Morehead State looks entertaining
Rebuilding at the FCS level, both squads look to develop their rosters before their respective conference slates begin. Both teams seek improvement from returning players and seek to find talent to move up to step in where needed. With Austin Peay’s performance at Georgia last week, the Governors may have gain some confidence and will be looking to demonstrate that this Saturday. We hope we found this opportunity to find a much more competitive game than we initially planned (Stetson U. at UT Chattanooga).
Austin Peay cheerleaders lead their fans in their chant, “Let’s Go Peay!”
Looking ahead to Big Ten Coaching concerns
In upcoming games after WEEK Three, we step up into two weekends of critical Big Ten Battles. On September 20, we see No. 9 Illinois visit No. 22 Indiana for our first trip ever to Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN. Aside from Duke last week against the Illini to some extent, neither B1G program has been challenged. Respectively, they face Indiana State and Western Michigan this week. On September 27, a big one in State College, PA. No. 4 Oregon (2-0) has won games on a combined score of 128-16. Maybe they will find a challenge at Northwestern (1-1) this week or in state rival Oregon State (0-2) the following week. We tend to doubt it.
Seen this Act before
No. 2 Penn State (2-0) on the other hand dominated two foes easily, 76-11. No doubt, FCS Villanova presents no roadblock this weekend before the Nittany Lions have bye week leading up to Oregon. Last week, we questioned the readiness of players teams prepped to meet superior teams after month of early season dominance. Today, we pose the question: are the coaches ready to meet the challenge of coaching games that will be tight? Dan Lanning’s squad defeated James Franklin’s in the Big Ten championship last season, 45-37. With Franklin’s rep for not displaying any profound coaching prowess in any big game, we have a pretty good idea which way will go – White-out or no White-out!
Thus far, Oregon HC Dan Lanning’s Ducks have been dominating. How will his team perform in tight games ahead?
Collegefootballfan.com 42 Week Two Records and Rankings
Power Five
2025 – The Collegefootallfan.com 42
Power 5
Record
Rank
Our Game
Date
Result
Next
Arkansas
2-0
Mississippi State
Nov. 1
Auburn
2-0
24
Missouri
Oct. 18
California
2-0
at Oregon State
Aug. 30
W 34-15
Illinois
2-0
9
at Indiana
Sept. 20
Indiana
2-0
22
Illinios
Sept. 20
Kentucky
1-1
at Vanderbilt
Nov. 22
Mississippi State
2-0
at Arkansas
Nov. 1
Missouri
2-0
25
at Auburn
Oct. 18
North Carolina
1-1
at Wake Forest
Nov. 15
Notre Dame
0-1
8
Navy
Nov. 8
Oregon
2-0
4
Montana State
Aug. 30
W 59-13
Penn State
Oregon State
0-2
California
Aug. 30
L 34-15
Penn State
2-0
2
Oregon
Sept. 27
Vanderbilt
2-0
Kentucky
Nov. 22
Wake Forest
2-1
North Carolina
Nov. 15
Group of Five (or Six)
Group of 5
Record
Rank
Our Game
Date
Result
Next
Air Force
1-0
at Navy
Oct. 4
Arkansas State
1-1
at South Alabama
Oct. 14
Army
1-1
Navy (Balt)
Dec. 13
Delaware
1-1
at Jack St.
Oct. 15
Georgia State
0-2
South Alabama
Oct. 23
Jacksonville State
1-1
Delaware
Oct. 15
Missouri State
1-1
at MTSU
Oct. 8
MTSU
0-2
Missouri State
Oct. 8
Navy
2-0
Air Force
Oct. 4
at ND
Rice
1-1
at South Florida
Nov. 29
Sam Houston
0-2
at Western Kentucky
Aug. 23
L 41-24
South Alabama
1-1
Arkansas State
Oct. 14
at GA State
South Florida
2-0
18
Rice
Nov. 29
Western Kentucky
2-1
Sam Houston
Aug. 23
W 41-24
Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
FCS
Record
Rank
Our Game
Date
Result
Next
Austin Peay
1-1
23
Morehead State
Sept. 13
Montana State
0-1
6
at Oregon
Aug. 30
L 59-13
Morehead State
1-1
at Austin Peay
Sept. 13
North Dakota State
2-0
1
at Tennessee State
Sept. 6
W 59-3
SE Missouri State
at Tennessee Tech
Oct. 25
Tennessee State
1-1
North Dakota State
Sept. 6
L 59-3
Tennessee Tech
1-0
16
SE Missouri State
Oct. 25
Division III
D-III
Record
Rank
Our Game
Date
Result
Next
Bates
at Tufts
Oct. 11
Brevard
0-1
at Sewanee
Sept. 13
Christopher Newport
1-0
at Castleton State
Oct. 11
Sewanee
1-0
Brevard
Sept. 13
Tufts
Bates
Oct. 11
VT State – Castleton
1-0
Christopher Newport
Oct. 11
And our tales keep rolling along, but catch our 45 previous seasons of games!
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen every (well 134) FBS team play over the years!Two newest to be added later this season.
For Penn State, this is what we hope not to see – James Franklin not jacking up his team during a critical drive lie seen here against Michigan in a 24-15 loss in 2023.
