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!
Nashville, TN – The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and No. 1 and perennial powerhouse North Dakota State visited Tennessee State and picked up right where it left off against the Tigers for a 59-3 victory. Last year in Fargo ND, they entertained the Tigers to the tune of 56-3. At Nissan Stadium, the Bison scored on every first half possession to lead 45-0 at the half. As for Tennessee State in the first half, they never converted a first down. In addition, they never much advanced beyond their 25-yardline.
As Guest Game Analyst Al Tatum and I left midway through the third quarter, we saw TSU pick up two consecutive first downs. On the way out on a TV monitor, we saw against the NDSU second team defense. The game turned out to be more one-sided than hoped for. An even bigger disappointment came for the two of us. The Tennessee State Aristocrat of Bands did not perform on the field at halftime. They played from their lonely, end zone seats!
North Dakota State Bison couldn’t be stopped
Tennessee State deferred the ball until the second half and North Dakota State went right to work with QB Cole Payton calling signals. Their first two possessions resulted in a 10-yard TD scamper and eight-yarder by RB Barika Kpeenu to cap drives of 71 and 80 yards. Before the end of the first, Eli Ozick put up a 22-tard FG to lead, 17-0. Before the second, FS Taylen Eady recovered a fumble at the Tennessee State 35. A Bison fan nearby exclaimed, “Tennessee State hasn’t gotten past the 40!” In reality, the 25.
North Dakota State RB Barika Kpeenu starts the slaughter with his first of three touchdowns against the TSU Tigers.
Five plays later, Kpeenu scored his third TD – from six yards out this time. TSU punted away again from its 13. Cole Payton connected with TE Reis Kessel for 41 yards. DJ Scott ran it in from five yards out for North Dakota State to lead, 31-0. First-year Tennessee State HC Reggie Barlow inserted QB Byron McNair for Johnathan Palmer. Progress – TSU got out to their 28. On McNair’s second pass attempt, LB Donovan Woolen leaped high to pick off his pass. He returned it 34 yards for a North Dakota State TD. Once again, the Tigers punted from their 25. With 1:21 left in the second quarter, Coleman connected with Raja Nelson. They finished off a 67-yard drive with a three-yard TD pass.
Bison DE Toby Anene displays one play to show how QB Jonathan Palmer couldn’t lead the Tigers past their 25-yard line.
We hope to avoid this the rest of the season
Didn’t we see this last week in Eugene, Oregon? In our 714th game, the Ducks gave up three to the Bobcats as time expired at intermission to lead, 38-3. This first half expired even worse at 45-0. To disappoint Al and me even more, The Tennessee State Aristocrat Band stayed in the stands. They entertained the 8,569 in attendance, mostly clad in Bison Green and Gold, in cavernous Nissan Stadium. Al and I figured to make an exit sometime in the third, and we did. The final score of this game marked the second highest margin of victory ever attended in a non-FBS football game. In our Milestones, our top game remains going back to 1987 by one point. Holy Cross’s 63-6 victory over Lehigh at old Taylor Stadium in Bethlehem, PA still holds at a 57-point differential.
Kpeenu (8) and QB Cole Payton (9) get ready to widen the North Dakota State lead late in the second to 45-0.
A tour of the TSU campus and yesteryear
Al, a retired police officer at TSU, drove us over to the campus a few miles away to give me a tour. We saw the Tigers’ former home field, Hale Stadium. Empty and relegated as a practice facility, it struck me that today’s crowd of 8,569 would have been perfect for this venue. And on the large sprawling, picturesque campus with very few students around enjoying it on a nice afternoon, playing home games there could not only stir more interest to the football program, but the campus could use some more life and school spirit. Maybe the draw of football games back on campus with the Band of Aristocrats and the student body of 10,000 would draw more interest and school spirit to the campus.
To bus players, students, and spirit organizations away from campus on a fall, Saturday afternoon just seems disheartening. Playing games downtown at the big pro stadium just takes away the energy of an important aspect of student life from a college campus. Surely, there are advantages and disadvantages to the school for different reasons playing on campus or downtown. Too bad whatever the weight is has swayed for the FCS football program to get somewhat lost in the shuffle of college life at Tennessee State. Maybe it didn’t work well with games at Hale in the past for some reason. However, school spirit and youthful energy seem to disperse in the atmosphere at a big stadium built for professional football.
The sound from the Band of the Aristocrats came oot loud and strong, but note the members marching in place at their seats. Also note the energetic dancers (in red) sitting still before each gets up one at a time for a dance routine. Where’s the energy? Where’s the spirit? Drum Line, it wasn’t.
WEEK THREE: Bison and Tigers both play at home
FCS No. 1 North Dakota State (2-0) heads home after opening with two games on the road. In Fargo, they host another non-conference team from the Big South/OVC, the SE Missouri State Red Hawks (1-1). We will see the Red Hawks later this season at No 20 Tennessee Tech. As far as NDSU, they look to keep rolling along to find their way back to Nashville to play once again for the FCS Championship to be held at First Bank Stadium on January 5. Tennessee State (1-1) will return to Nissan to face Alabama A&M (1-1), fresh off a 41-31 victory over Alcorn State (1-1).
For Collegefootballfan.com: A D-III / FCS double-header
In Collegefootballfan.com action, for old times’ sake, we start off with a D-III bout. We’ll head to Sewanee, Tennessee to see the Sewanee Tigers (1-0). Also known as The University of the South, the Tigers host the Brevard Tornados (0-1). Looking forward to going with my Planet Fitness friend David Oakley. He played for the Tigers in the late ’70 under Tennessee Hall of Fame Coach Shirley Majors.
David can’t remember wearing a face mask in those days, so a visit back to his alma mater may stir some memories from him. At the time, the school only had males. Times have changed there since. We’ll see what else he notices. His Tigers won big last week over the Bethany Bison, 41-6. Brevard fell to Kentucky Christian, 41-21. We look forward to the 1 pm CT start to this one to get enough time to head up to Clarksville, TN to see our second game for the nightcap.
In another FCS match-up, we head the Fortera Stadium, home of the Austin Peay Governors (1-1). Thus far, the APSU record comes against two FBS foes. They defeated Middle Tennessee in their opener at MTSU, 34-14. Last Saturday, they gave the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs more than they expected in a lightning delayed contest in Athens, Georgia. In the fourth period, the Bulldogs stopped them a with goal line stand at the one. Then, they proceeded 99 yards to score to at the end to settle for a 28-6 win. Coach Jeff Faris was proud of his team’s effort. Morehead of the Pioneer League comes to Fortera with a 1-1 record. They fell at Illinois State last week, 41-13.
Austin Peay cheerleaders “chase the Lion” along with their football team. AT APSU, we’ve seen spirited crowds.
Check out our tales as we roll along in 46th season!
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.
In WEEK ONE, Oregon deflected a punt and blocked a punt for a 31-0 first half lead. MSU PK Miles Sansted nailed this field goal to give the Bobcats their first three, but look at the effort by this Oregon special teamer to block it!
Week One – A “Pedestrian” start to the future of college football
After this WEEK One, I spoke with my long-term Penn State buddy, John Massimilla, to get his assessment of the Nittany Lions in their opener. Together, we’ll be seeing them host Oregon in a key Big Ten battle in Happy Valley on September 27. He described the PSU running game as “pedestrian.” Despite the Nittany Lions dominating the Nevada Wolf Pack, 48-11, their top-notch running game churned out only 135 yards. All- Big Ten/Preseason All-Americans Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 62 yards on16 carries. They scored three TDs: Allen on two one-yard runs and Singleton picked up 12 of his 19 on a touchdown jaunt. These two are playing behind a big, solid, experienced offensive line. John’s analysis concerns me.
It sounds like no fire, hustle, intensity. All those intangibles, fans would look for in the opening day of any season. It sounds like this team went through motions. I blame this on non-conference scheduling – not only by Penn State, but by many teams. In their next two games, the Lions host Florida International and then FCS Villanova. Then, they face a bye week before the big, meaningful game against Oregon. I don’t care what James Franklin thinks. A team should be challenged early after months of practice and planning. This kind of slate may cause any team to become lethargic over the next month. I would hope coaches recruit the best talent they can, to compete against the best. That’s how to win championships.
Teams need a spark to kick-off the anticipation of the season
When the Lions played as Independent, years ago and even in the Big Ten, they played the likes of Alabama, Texas, Miami and Nebraska early before the balance of their schedule. Most then competed as Eastern Independents during those years. Early games like this geared the players and fans up for their entire season. The Lions should be going out of their way to play a natural rival like Pitt or another Power Four program in their first month They easily won this game and will do the same most likely in the next two. At least the Ducks meet Other Power programs like Oklahoma State and Oregon State, not powers pr se, but team seeking talent for the same level of competition. Which team will be more tested before the September 27th meeting.
And in WEEK ONE this doesn’t just pertain to Penn State, of course
Look at all the non-competitive scores in wins by other Power Four schools in WEEK One over inferior competition. Examples: Missouri 61 Central Arkansas 6; Kansas 46 Wagner 7; Pitt 61 Duquesne 9; Boston College 66 Fordham 10; Arkansas 52 Alabama A&M 7; Florida 55 LIU 7; USC 73 Missouri State 13; Texas Tech 67 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7; BYU 69 Portland State 0. These games aren’t about competition! They’ve become glorified practices with uniforms, cheerleaders and bands with television coverage. What’s the sense?
Make these Spring games and avoid them from being considered in the final rankings. At least players get to block and tackle players from other schools. That is all most WEEK One games have become. The argument is always more money for the lesser programs. In the past, I’ve said this, and I’ll say it again: Play another more competitive opponent and give the windfall profits to your “favorite FCS” program.
Frustrated fans
It doesn’t make sense that fans want to pay money to attend these games. Nick Saban used to complain that Alabama students left Crimson Tide games by halftime to party elsewhere. Why? The outcome was determined by then. Another friend texted me in Oregon to say he was watching the Navy game against FCS VMI. However, he said nobody could be seen in the stands besides the Brigade of Midshipmen. Navy is no perennial power, of course, but real fans who speculate an overwhelming outcome don’t want to waste money to watch a 52-7 debacle. The Academy sent numerous promotions weeks before this game. As a Blue and Gold Member, I receive all their promotions online. Navy fans would rather wait to see their team compete for a hard-fought victory, especially against the likes of Notre Dame. Maybe all fandoms don’t feel the same.
One of the most competitive WEEK One games we ever attended: August 31, 2019; Boston College35 Virginia Tech 28.
The Future of College Football?
Weekly, posts released display Power Four schools announcing their future non-conference schedules for the next few years. More often than not, against several FCS programs or some Group of Five programs. Already, they’re racking up automatic wins toward bowl eligibility. What has to really be questioned, if there is truly a move to consolidate the SEC, Big Ten, Notre Dame and a few other Power Four outliers into two major conferences, with all that TV money and a quest for separate entity amongst the self-proclaimed-powers-that-be, do they still need to play against inferior competition to bloat their records?
With all the money and NIL contracts, they entice the best talent among 136 FBS programs already – a huge disparity of talent among at least 13,600 college football players. And they seek teams with talent less than the 136 playing, supposedly, for the same national title? They should split into four regional divisions, play full schedules amongst themselves and have the top four-eight compete in their own play-off for a championship.
Changes underway?
If this does happen, hopefully this leads to a split where that Top 40-50 programs compete just among each other as Super Conferences. Then, the programs remaining from Group of Fives, left-out Power Four members and maybe a few stronger FCS programs now form the “new Football Bowl Subdivision.” With about 90 teams playing in the new FBS, keep the competition amongst each other and play for a separate national championship. Just like some forms of FCS, D-2 and D-3 would remain intact. It could stir more interest from fans of these programs and the media.
However, the other thing that needs to happen is the initiation of contractual agreements for players to commit to their programs under contract. The move is underway to narrow the portal to ten days in January every year. Believe it when you see it. However, player commitments to play for a school and work toward an education become the most critical for the survival of college football.
The Collegefootbalfan.com 42
Here’s a new feature of Steveo’s Salvos. Each week, we will update the records and rankings of teams we will see play this season no matter what level of play they compete in. The “42” represents the number of all NCAA teams we will see play on the college gridiron in 2025. For now, we’ll continue to refer to the Power Five as such until we see what actually happens with the new proposed Pacific-?? Athletic Conference. Here’s our update following WEEK One:
Power Five
Group of Five (or Six)
Football Championship Subdivision
Division III
Check out our tales as we move forward into 46th season!
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.
Corvallis, OR – In the night cap of our Oregon, FBS Double-Header, we traveled to Corvallis to watch the Cal-Berkeley Bears open against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. Of special interest to us, we wanted to observe OSU’s QB Maalik Murphy. Last season, we saw him quarterback Duke to three wins. Originally transferring from Texas to Duke, Murphy possessed at reputation for being a ‘big arm” QB. Despite the yards and success, we never noted the big arm that many tout him for. He primarily threw short out passes to receivers. He rarely launched accurate, long balls. We looked forward to seeing if his skills under a new staff and new program would allow him to do so. Based on last season’s seven TD passes and 11 INTs achieved by OSU QBs, the Beavers sought improvement in this area.
Cal-Berkeley Frosh QB impressed us more
The Golden Bears featured eight new transfers starting on offense. In particular, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele surprised us at starting QB moving in ahead of Ohio State transfer Devin Brown. The lefty looked polished and calm for a first-time starter. Cal-Berkeley’s first possession got extended after a fourth down punt by a penalty. At 11:23 into the game, he connected with TE Mason Mini for a nine-yard TD pass. Murphy and company lost five yards on their first series to punt from the 20. Sagapolutele started his team from his 13. He finished his second drive with another TD pass. This time he connected with WR Trond Grizzell for a 32-yard score. Oregon State’s next series turned the ball over on downs at Cal-Berkeley’s 38.
Cal-Berkeley RB Brandon High, Jr (5) takes hand off from QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (8) for a short run on team’s first drive. Beaver CB Sailasa Vadrawale III (8) moves in for the stop.
Murphy hits the bench in second period
The Beavers finally put up three points with 9:32 in the second with Caleb Ojeda’s 52-yard FG. Later, a pass break-up forced Cal-Berkeley to punt from the 50. It put OSU back on their 10-yard line. Murphy remained on the bench while Gabarri Johnson stepped in. Beaver HC Trent Bray may have been getting Murphy to settle in, or maybe he wanted to see what his other transfer QB could do. Wasn’t much. Murphy returned to play in the next series. However, a fumble by TE Bryce Caufield turned the ball over to Cal-Berkeley at their 41. Following a time-out with 0:01 remaining in the half, Abram Murray booted a 49-yard FG. The Bears took the lead into halftime, 17-3.
Cal-Berkeley RB LJ Johnson knifes through Beaver defense a first quarter gain.LB Dexter Foster (7) begins to wrap him up.
Waiting for the Big Arm to be displayed
Oregon State lost eight yards on their opening possession in the third and punted from the 18. Cal-Berkeley took over at the Beaver’s 40. Sagapolutele connected with wide open TE Landon Morris on the left side for a three-yard TD pass. Trailing 24-3, we waited to see OSU let Murphy open up and throw the long ball to get back into this game. From the 16, he finally did – too far and offline for an incomplete pass. Not even close to his intended receiver, Trent Walker. The Beavers settled into a short passing game – six yards, seven, eleven, five and four to get to the 49. Next, two catch-and-runs of 19 and 29 yards put them at the Cal-Berkeley three. Anthony Hankerson ran it in for a two-yard TD. A conversion for two points failed. The Golden Bears led, 24-9, heading into the final period. With 0:08 left in the quarter, they punted the ball back to the Beavers.
Cal-Berkeley TE Landon Morris (81) hauls in Sagapolutele’s third TD pass of the day to extend the lead in the third, 24-3.
Beavers go out with a whimper, not a bang
Cal’s punt started the Beavers from their one-yard line. Two runs and three short passes got them out to the 20. It was time to put that Big Arm to work with just over 12 minutes to play. Murphy looked for a receiver down field. However, CB Hezekiah Masses jumped his pass and returned the ball 41 yards to the OSU 2. One play later, Brandon High, Jr took it in for the Cal-Berkeley score. The game was basically over. On his ensuing possession, Murphy led the Beavers on a 78-yard scoring drive with him carrying the ball over from three. Only a 28-yard pass and a roughing penalty on the play to get to the eight can be considered as anything close to a “big arm.” Another two-point conversion failed. Cal-Berkeley closed the evening’s score with Chase Meyer’s 23-yard field goal to win, 34-15.
OSU QB Maalik Murphy (6) at bottom right watched his two-point pass attempt knocked away for the first of two failed conversions in this game.
Big Arm overhyped
Maalik Murphy does not possess the big arm others have hyped. Oregon State brought him in to erase the paltry seven TD/11 INT team QB stat from a year ago. In his Beaver debut, he started this season with 0 TDs and one INT. Maybe Johnson or Devin Brown will get more reps in upcoming games. We envision Murphy leaving OSU after this season for his fourth program. He will probably extend his collegiate career as long as he can because he does not have the arm strength nor accuracy to perform at the professional level. If he can win more games collegiately, it will be based on managing a short passing game strategy with a balanced running attack and a defense that can hold the opponents to low scores. This doesn’t look achievable at OSU this year based on what we witnessed Saturday night.
Next for WEEK 2
Oregon State hosts Fresno State who will be joining them in the new PAC-12(?) or whatever they will call the realigned conference in 2026. The Bulldogs (1-1) defeated Georgia Southern last Saturday, 42-14. Cal-Berkeley will host FCS Texas Southern of the SWAC who lost to Prairie View, 22-21. Golden Bear QB Sagapolutele impressed completing 20 of 30 passes for 234 yards and three TDS. No interceptions. Trond Grizzell caught five passes for 83 yards and a score. Sagapolutele could be the key to Golden Bear success this season.
We at collegefootballfan.com step back down to the top of the FCS and a game close to home. We anticipate it being one-sided. No. 1 North Dakota State (1-0) visits Tennessee State (1-0) in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. NDSU defeated The Citadel in their opener, 38-0. The Bison have dominated FCS football for years. We expect to see them in Nashville again later this season when the championship battle will take place at First Bank Stadium, refurbished home of Vanderbilt Commodore football. Tennessee State defeated Norh Carolina A&T in their opener, 24-21. Last season, NDSU defeated TSU in Fargo, ND, 56-3. We look forward to seeing the TSU Tigers Marching Band!
Perennial FCS contender North Dakota State comes to Nashville early this season on our 2025 college football schedule when they play Tennessee State at Nissan Stadium. The Bison can come back to play for at the 2025 title when the championship game will be played at Vanderbilt Stadium on January 5.
Collegefootballfan.com milestones
At the conclusion of this past weekend, we have now attended games at 100 of 136 FBS stadiums. The state of Oregon hosted both games to become our 42nd that we have seen a game played in. Reser Stadium turned out to be a good, clean comfortable venue to watch a game in. Good concessions and we found parking available at a local Marriage Counseling facility. That’s a first for us. We will continue to build on these numbers during the course of our 2025 season.
Reser Stadium, Home of OSU football. They should call it “Reser Dam- Home of the Beavers.” Gives it a little more passion to defend their home.
Check out our tales as we move forward into 46th season!
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.
Eugene, OR – With new QB Dante Moore in his first U of O start, the Oregon Ducks scored 17 points on their first three possessions. Defensively, held the FCS runners-up from last season, Montana State, to three-and-outs on their first three possessions. Despite the great Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) reputation of Montana State football, Oregon and other top 25 programs just have so many advantages now with NIL money and open transfer portals. The talent disparity among 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams alone is substantial enough. The Duck dominated leading 38-3 at halftime and went on to win in the opener for both, 59-13. Granted, Oregon loaded with talent, displayed its superiority. On the other hand, Montana State, who we saw win their opener last season over FBS New Mexico, 35-31, displayed poor blocking and tackling capabilities early and never recovered.
Collegefootballfan.com moves the chains
Not only did this contest mark our 714th (“Babe Ruthian” number) game since 1979 , but Oregon’s Autzen Stadium became the 99th FBS venue we’ve attended. In addition, the state of Oregon became the 42nd (Washington, D.C. included) that we’ve seen a game played in. Due to distance from our original home in New Jersey, this contest became our third Oregon Duck encounter. Others include vs. PSU in 1995 Rose Bowl loss, 38-20; last year’s 16-13 win over U. of Wisconsin in Madison, WI). Regarding Montana State, as stated, last year was our first seeing the Bobcats. A home game at Bozeman looms for us in the future. We need to add the state of Montana to that particular goal of ours.
Unlike their mascot before the game, the Oregon Ducks did not lose their heads playing the Montana State Bobcats.
Oregon Ducks off to flying start
Montana State deferred the opening coin toss to kick off to Oregon. First mistake but probably didn’t matter. The Oregon Ducks started from their 26 and drove the length of the field. RB Jayden Limar swept around left end for an 11-yard TD three minutes and three seconds into the game. Montana State picked up five yards after the ensuing kickoff and punted. Duck Jeremiah McClellan deflected the punt out of bounds to start the Oregon Ducks from the MSU 40. QB Dante Moore connected with TE Kenyon Sadiq on a short route in the left flat. He bounced easily off a poor tackling defender and raced the ball into the end zone for a 20-yard scoring play.
Once again, the Bobcats punted after a three-and-out. This time, the Ducks did not just deflect the punt, they blocked It. Oregon took over at the Montana State 10. Give credit to the Bobcat defense here. They held to force the Oregon Ducks to a 23-yard FG by Atticus Sappington. The subsequent MSU possession resulted in a turnover on downs. U of O stopped a fourth and one run on their 40 to take possession once again. They gained ten yards before the period ended. leading, 17-0.
TE Kenyon Sadiq enroute to the end zone after shaking off a feeble tackle to put the Oregon Ducks up, 14-0.
Blow-out city unfolds before our eyes
Oregon had driven to the 30 to start the second. At the 11:08 mark, Jordon Davison ran it in from two for a 24-0 lead with 11:08 left in the first half. The next Bobcat possession resulted in no yards. Another punt (unblocked) put the Oregon Ducks at the MSU 49. With 4:34 left, RB Noah Whittington scored from the one. Montana State finally showed some life primarily with completions to WR Taco Dowler (12 receptions for 107 yards). From 42 yards out, Myles Sansted put MSU on the board trailing, 31-3, with 1:03 to play in the half.
Revised rule regarding Blow-outs
At this point, if the Oregon Ducks score again before the half, I’ve seen enough. Sure enough, the home team drove once again. WR Malik Benson did the damage hauling in an 11-yard pass from Moore, and I decided, time to go. To attain the initial goal to see every team play at least once, the self-imposed rule required to stay to the very end. No more. A blow-out is a blow-out. The second half becomes a waste of time – try-outs or game experience for the non-staters. Better things to do. Today, I had to walk 40 minutes back to the car parked off campus in case of a quick escape if necessary. To get to the nightcap in Corvallis, no idea what to expect about this trip – first time in Oregon for any reason ever.
Oregon Duck RB Noah Whittington scores from the one to extend the lead 31-0 late in the second quarter.
Finishing touches by Oregon Ducks
Not that I stayed, but the Oregon Ducks continued to dominate the Bobcats on a hot sunny day. Sansted opened the scoring in the third for Montana State with another 42-yard FG. Dante Moore capped a 70-yard drive with his third TD pass of the game to WR Gary Bryant. Davison scored again at the end of a 65-yard drive to make the score 52-6 at the end of three. In the fourth, Davison scored his third rushing TD of the day with only six carries for 26 yards. Montana State closed out the final score with an Adam Jones two-yard run with over two minutes left to play. At 59-13, we were already on the road to Corvallis.
The wide-open bowl has one mezzanine level leading to stairs going down and stairs going up. Going up, you start in around row 40. Then it’s a long way up to row 82. Many Oregon fans, like me were not regulars sitting in that area. Probably had gotten tickets from others online who figured saving their climbs for more critical Big Ten encounters. Few fans this day in Section 36 were familiar with the long ascent. A lot of people came up huffing and puffing or a little dizzy. Some even carried young children or grandchildren who couldn’t lift their legs high enough. Long hike up for all ages. Work out on those stair masters for Autzen ascending.
Didn’t want to even venture going down. At some point in that climb, it would be nice to have another level to break the ascent and offer services not too far below. Luckily, I keep in pretty good shape, but the stair climbing can be a challenge for many. Make sure you make a pit stop prior to taking your seat because it’s long trek back down and back up again. Can’t imagine walking up all those steps on a cold day and bundled up in layers. Oregon fans must be avid mountain climbers to sit in those upper seats.
Autzen Stadium – a long climb up and back down.
Buyers beware
Returning to my car parked off campus a 30-minute walk away, tickets were issued on my rental and many others on the parking site that we had prepaid. Like others I met there before the game, we had purchased parking passes on the StubHub website. Fishy though, the address I was given by an affiliate, Park Whiz, was in a two-car driveway across the street. Others had questions like I had as they had prepaid as well. No attendant there two hours prior to kick-off, but there happened to be one wondering the lot when we returned with a ticket pad.
The big office building adjacent seemed vacant. Only significant parking lot around the neighborhood. Many people came from out of town, both Oregon and Montana State fans. Only response we got regarding our complaint was to e-mail the address on the back requesting $50-$100 more depending on when you respond. I’m addressing this through StubHub who’s insisting on feedback with many messages I have from them. They will hear alright. I was wary on the way to Corvallis – different issue there that will also be addressed as arrangements are made through this Park Whiz group. Be aware of them. I would not use their service at all based on what happened parking near both university campuses in Oregon.
Corvallis parking issue
Later, again through StubHub/Park Whiz, I had an issue at Corvallis for the Oregon State game. The directions for my prepaid lot brought me to a desolate, free public parking lot. I have a bone to pick with StubHub on both counts. Double check any “parking deals” with StubHub. I am going to question them about their relationship with Park Whiz who arranged both. Charged me and requested the plate number to confirm my acceptance. Now a third party wants to charge me even more I’m fighting both. Heads up!
College Football Week 2 Coming up
Oregon hosts Oklahoma State (3-9 in 2024) next week. The Oregon Ducks and the Penn State Nittany Lions will collide before us in State College on September 27. Neither will be challenged in their three games before they meet. Most likely, they will start focusing on that date well before they play. It will be a critical, early Big Ten brouhaha!
Oregon Duck QB Dante Moore runs out of bounds during a first quarter scoring drive. We look forward to seeing the Ducks meet the Penn State Nittany Lions in State College on September 27.
Montana State steps back into their world of reality
Next week at home, they play against FCS South Dakota State, another perennial power at that level. Without QB Tommy Mellot who graduated from MSU last season after starting for four years and now playing for the Las Vegas Raiders, they will find out if they can still compete at the FCS level or not. As well as the Bobcats compete at the FCS level, the Oregon Ducks play at a much higher level.
The FBS New Mexico Lobos we saw the Bobcats beat last season, play nowhere near the No. 7 Oregon Duck level. Basically, the FBS teams no longer recruit many high school players. Now, they open the portal and take any player they want from another program at any level. Do these players even have to go through the transfer process that other students do for academic acceptance? It doesn’t seem to be part of the process anymore. Students play a sport. That’s all that seems to matter now.
Our next game, a nightcap
We at collegefootballfan.com left Eugene and motored about 50 minutes north to attend California at Oregon State. It will be our second game in Oregon, of course, and another new venue to see a football game – primary reasons we planned for this weekend. Look for our California vs. Oregon State wrap Tuesday night. Even though retired, still had to enjoy Labor Day with some working friends.
Check out our tales of yesteryear as we start up our 46th season! Unbelievable?
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.
Eugene, Oregon – On Saturday, August 30, we hit the Oregon Trial for our first time starting with Montana State Bobcats at Oregon Ducks. The TV scheduling couldn’t have worked out better for us than this! Following this game kicking off at 1 pm Pacific Time, we venture 48 miles north from OU’s Autzen Stadium to Oregon State’s Reser Stadium in Corvalis. In our 7:30 pm nightcap, the OSU Beavers host their former PAC-12 rival, the California Golden Bears, now in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Universities now take the lead to confuse our sense of geographic reality through conference realignments. Heading west to the Pacific Ocean to see an Atlantic Coast Conference team. Unbelievable.
A first for collegefootballfan.com in our 714th game
For us, we always revered the number “714” for Babe Ruth’s HR prowess. For Collegefootballfan.com, we display some prowess marking our first adventure ever of any kind in “The Beaver State” and beyond. We add the state of Oregon as our 42nd to ever attend a game in. The two stadiums this Saturday will become our 99th and 100th FBS stadiums attended among the 136 venues playing at this level today. Montana State (15-1 in 2024) will be visiting Eugene as the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) runner-up from a year ago. Like last year, we will be seeing the Bobcats open their season on the road against an FBS program. Last season, MSU pulled a late, 35-31, upset over New Mexico. The No. 3 Ducks (13-1 a year ago), seek to again win The Big Ten and grab a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) for the national title.
Montana State players celebrate with their fans at UNM’s University Stadium after the last-minute 35-31 victory to open our 2024 season. They will play in front of us again in Oregon.
Our Montana State and Oregon Histories
Both are short and sweet. The Bobcats won the only game as mentioned when we saw them last season at New Mexico. One personal note regarding an MSU connection. Former Bobcat HC Rob Ash coached the program there from 2007-2018 to a record of 70-38. He won three Big Sky championships in Bozeman and led them into four FCS playoffs. Twice, his team made it as far as the quarterfinals. Prior to this, from 1980-88, a year after I graduated from D3 Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA, he coached the then Indians to a 56-31-3 record before moving on to Drake. In 1980, I watched him coach my Juniata buddies in a game at CW Post in Greenvale, NY. CW Post prevailed, 28-10. Since then, CW Post upgraded to the FCS now known as the LIU Post Sharks of the Northeast Conference.
Compliments of Kermit the Frog, I saw the Oregon Ducks play Penn State in the 1995 Rose Bowl. You can read this story in my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.The Ducks stand 1-1 in the annals of Collegefootballfan.com history as we didn’t see them play again until last season. At Wisconsin, they held off the Badgers to a 16-13 win. They finished the regular season at 12-0 before defeating Penn State in the Big Ten Championship, 45-37. Like the other three CFP teams with byes in the first round, they fell in the next round. Eventual champion Ohio State dominated them, 41-21.
Bobcats’ huge hole to fill
Montana State returns some key talent after their great season a year ago. However, the biggest void to fill comes at quarterback. Last year’s starter, Tommy Mellott, moved on to the next level selected by the Las Vegas Raiders. Under HC Brent Vigen the last four years, MSU with Mellott at QB, went 33-8. He completed 63.7% of his passes. He threw for 6,016 yards and ran for 3,517. Fifty-five passes and 43 runs resulted in touchdowns. He threw only eight INTs. Pretty big shoes to fill for sure. As of this writing, JR Chance Wilson probably has an early start as his replacement. Among others, Grant Vigen, son of Brent, joins the roster as a freshman.
Bobcat RB Adam Jones looks for room here for short gain. He would follow this up on the left side for a 93-yard touchdown jaunt against New Mexico.
Despite the graduation of Mellot, the Bobcats loom as favorites once again to win the Big Sky championship in 2025. RB Adam Jones returns with 1,172 rushing yards and 14 TDS from a year ago. WR and punt returned Taco Dowler caught 38 passes for 597 yards and 11 TDS. OL Tilan Fleischman and DL Kenneth Eiden IV return as preseason All-Big Sky first team selections.
Oregon up for the FBS hunt once again
HC Dan Lanning’s team also lost well-travelled, Heisman candidate QB Dillon Gabriel (3,857 passing yards, 30 TDs and 6 INTs) from last season. To replace him, Dante Moore, a UCLA transfer who joined OU last season steps in. He’ll reap the benefit of having eight returning starters around him. Defensively, the Ducks return six starters. At RB, Noah Whittingham replaces Jordan James who went to the SF 49ers last year as the number four draft pick overall. Whittingham trudged for 540 yards and six TDs and looks to be the key cog for OU in the rushing department. WR Evan Stewart and TE Kenyon Sadiq return as leading receivers as key targets for Moore. Four starters from their OL moved on including two first round picks. Transfers from reputable programs step in, but they will be learning to work together for the first time.
Defensively, Oregon returns Key EDGE rushers in Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti. ILB Bryce Boettcher returns as leading tackler, and Ole Miss transfer Jadon Canady reinforces the BUs. However, they lost four starting DBS, although two transfers join in from other Big Ten schools. It’s hard to bet against all that Nike money financing all that talent in Eugene.
Oregon EDGE Teitum Tuioti (44) in pursuit versus Wisconsin in 2024.
Banking on Oregon
Despite losses at key positions for the Ducks, this program just seems to have too much momentum in this new NIL / transfer portal age to step down too much. A great FCS Bobcat program, but with a totally new QB filling in for a lot of Tommy Mellot’s production over the past four years, it seems like a steeper learning curve for the Bobcats. Both teams will have the same issue.
However, under these circumstances, we’ll look for this game to get off to a slow start for both teams. A home game for OU itching to get back into the CFP should give them the advantage here. We look for them to gain momentum in the second half. Both teams will face lesser non-conference foes and stiffer competition against conference foes thereafter. Development during the early learning curves should right both of them to challenge for titles in their respective conferences after this one.
The other Oregon Duck EDGE, Matayo Uiagalelei (10) mixes it up against the Wisconsin Badgers in OU’s 16-13 win.
On the Oregon Trail
As we head out to Eugene and on to Corvalis for the night cap, we won’t have much time for any stops along the way. We’ll have to study some more about opportunities to find out what’s going on before and between these games. Looking for an adventurous day during our first visit to Oregon. This game should get off to a slow start but big finish for the Ducks over the Bobcats.
Look for our preview next Monday. Happy Labor Day!
Since we have a full day of football with two games on Saturday followed by a long flight arriving home Sunday evening, our Game Reviews probably won’t hit the web until Monday night. We’ll provide you with our game updates after enjoying your Labor Day parades, BBQ’s and family outings before settling into more college football on TV to finish the nice, long holiday weekend. Great start into football season!
Click on the title of buy 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 page and get your copy today! As you’ve read here, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years and please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure to see every FBS team play over the years!
Game 2: California Golden Bears at Oregon State, 7:30 pm PT
Corvalis, Oregon – When catch California at Oregon State for our second of two FBS games on this day. Last time we did this came back in 2021. On that Saturday, we recorded our first two games in the state of Utah. At our early afternoon game in Logan, Utah State defeated Hawaii in a Mountain West contest, 51-31. The Aggies of USU finished their season ranked No. 24. Afterward, we trekked down I-15 to Provo. There, we attended a game determined to be Virginia Coach Bronco Mendenhall’s final season. As an appropriate farewell, he brought his Virginia Cavaliers to Provo to face his former charges, the Cougars of BYU.
The Cougars and Cavs went at it hard with the home team winning, 66-49. BYU finished the season at No. 19. Funny though. It did not turn out to be Mendenhall’s’ final season as a collegiate HC after all. Matter of fact, we saw him start up again in his return debut in 2024 as new HC for the University of New Mexico. After a 5-7 improvement at UNM last season, Mendenhall left for – of all schools – Utah State! Oh, what a tangled web we weave! And we seem to get entangled without even trying.
Bronco Mendenhall bade farewell to college coaching when we saw him lead his Virginia Cavaliers against his former team, Brigham Young. in 2021. Three years later, we saw him making his coaching debut leading New Mexico in its opener in 2024.
We plan to get back to Provo eventually to see a day game there to enjoy the impressive scenery surrounding Lavelle Edwards Stadium. Of course, we plan to pull it off by attending a Utah Ute home game in Salt Lake City afterward for our first game there! Timing is everything.
Four games with Cal and OSU in all; almost five
Combined, we’ve seen these two programs play four times. The Golden Bears participated in three. Our first came in late 2001, as the game was postponed until the final week of that season due to the horrific attacks on the World Tade Center on September 11. Read about my personal experiences regarding trips before and after 9-11 from Atlanta and to the West Coast for a game a few weeks later in my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.
In that final game of 2011, Cal avoided a winless season defeating Rutgers, 20-10. In 2007, my 12-year-old son Eric and I saw them defeat Air Force in a thrilling game at the Armed Forces Services Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, 42-36. It was one of four bowl games we attended in Texas in five days. Finally in 2016, I attended a game at Berkeley compliments of a Stanford friend, Karen Croft, who refuses to step foot on her rival’s campus ever. In the Big Game, the No. 12 Cardinal defeated the Golden Bears, 45-31.
We last watched California Golden Bears splay in “The Big Game” at home against Stanford in the 119th edition of their rivalry.
Cross Country challenges from and to Oregon football games
Regarding Oregon State, in September 2002, they came all the way out to Philadelphia to meet Temple at historic Franklin Field, home venue of the University of Pennsylvania. With Juniata friend and former trainer for our football team, Ned Ehrlich, we watched 6′-5″ Beaver QB Derek Anderson and team crush the Owls, 35-3. Anderson went to the NFL for a few years. Ned stayed around the NFL much longer, as a Lawyer. In 2008, I was on my way to see Oregon State at Penn State. While crossing the Delaware River into PA from New Jersey, a bolt in the wheel well of my recently purchased, pre-certified Malibu let loose and locked up my front wheels. With my then 13-year-old son, got towed, gave the dealership “hell” and missed the game. Never had another problem with the car after repairs, thankfully.
Funny thing, with my son Eric once again, another road trip to see a team from Oregon got waylaid by a car problem. With Eric strapped into a back seat at the age of 5, we hopped on to the Jersey Turnpike in November 2000 on our way to see Portland State at Delaware in an 1AA playoff game. After the Ford Escort stalled in a toll booth, we got it pushed off to the side and towed back home for service. UD won the game we missed, 49-14. Hope we don’t run into any car problems on our Oregon Trail this season.
California Golden Bears face mass exodus
Last season, the Golden Bears won six games for the second year in a row. They played their best with Fernando Mendoza at QB. After a season with 3,004 yards and 16 TDs starting the first ten games, he jumped ship for a better opportunity supposedly. We will see him play in another game this season for Indiana. Enter Devin Brown, a QB from an overloaded but talented Ohio State Buckeye QB contingency. He performed primarily as a running QB at Columbus the last two years. The question is, how good will the new players around him be? Certainly, HC Justin Wilcox in his ninth season here starts from scratch to build an offense in 2025.
Since last season, Wilcox’s roster basically fled from Berkeley. Only WR Trond Grizzell returns among the top 12 receivers from a season ago. As for their top ten rushers, none also no longer play for the Bears. Three experienced offensive linemen replace open spots upfront. Several transfers look to step in, but will they mesh in time to play as one unit early this season? In addition, Cal hired Bryan Harsin to take over as OC. Previously, he coached at Boise before getting booted from Auburn as HC. A lot of meshing needs to occur in summer camp to have this offense ready for this game. Last season, the Golden Bears had the Beavers number evidently, as indicated by their 44-7 thrashing at Berkeley.
Bear question marks in secondary
Defensively, eight experienced staters return. Several transfers among them will need to step up. MLB Cade Uluave returns from last season as the second leading tackler with 71 stops. DE Aidan Keanaaina and DT Nate Burrell contributed upfront for the Bears last season. The secondary will be looking for good coordination among transfers from Florida International, James Madison and Montana. Should be interesting to see how well this team full of players who have never worked together before will perform in their first game together.
QB Maalik Murphy, Oregon State – Deja vu
Last year, we witnessed the improvement of Duke football under new HC Many Diaz, his defense, and QB Maalik Murphy – transfer from Texas. We head 2,400 miles west early this year, and once again, Maalik Murphy shows up at QB. With a reputation as a strong-armed quarterback, we never witnessed that in the three wins we watched Murphy perform in last season. He threw for 2,933 yards, 16 TDs and 13 INTs for the Blue Devils. However, his penchant seemed relegated to a very short passing game. “Big arm” to us means one has the arm to go long effectively. We never saw that. Will this change at Oregon State under HC Trent Bray and OC Ryan Gunderson?
They will be depending on Murphy to turn around a passing game. Last season, OSU totaled only seven TD passes and 11 INTs. Should be attainable, but will they show that Murphy has the capability to put up the long ball more often? WRs Trent Walker and Darrius Clemons return as primary targets gaining 901 and 292 yards respectively. Both led the team in TD receptions recording only two each.
Murphy lofts a long pass to set up a third quarter score against Elon last season. We also saw him in wins at middle Tennessee and in Duke’s first win over Florida State in 22 years.
Oregon State seeks defensive strength upfront
The Beavers (5-7 in 2024) welcome back RB Anthnony Hankerson who ran for 1,113 tough yards and 15 scores. Upfront, only C Van Wells returns, and the transfers coming in alongside him possess little experience. Defensively, leading tackler Skyler Thomas returns at SS. LBs Nikko Taylor and Dexter Foster finished third and fifth overall. Some newcomers need to step up. Others transferring in need to make stops before their secondary gets called on to lead in making tackles.
Down to the final minute or the final mistake
Both teams seem to bring back comparable experience in the numbers of returnees and transfers. The defenses will be ahead of the offenses in this game. Both O-Lines undergo major personnel changes, and this determines how the game will be won. Whoever blocks better upfront will have the advantage. However, with experience at the skill positions surrounding Murphy, we see the Beavers possessing the edge at home.
The vocal OSU fans have a solid reputation for filling 35,000-seat Reser Stadium to the hilt. Against a former PAC-12 rival they meet for the 78th time, they seek revenge following last season’s 44-7 loss at Memorial Stadium. Key Golden Bear players from last season moved on during the off-season. Devin Brown and company will have lot of on-the-job-training to figure out how the Bears can work together offensively. Brown will not have the skill sets surrounding him he had at Ohio State. It should be a fun and competitive meeting. However, we expect it to be filled with mistakes by both squads in the opener for both.
In case you didn’t read Oregon vs. Montana State above: Happy Labor Day!
Since we have a full day of football with two games on Saturday followed by a long flight arriving home Sunday evening, our Game Reviews probably won’t hit the web until Monday night. We’ll provide you with our game updates after enjoying your Labor Day parades, BBQ’s and family outings before settling into more college football on TV to finish the nice, long holiday weekend. Great start into football season!
Check out our tales of yesteryear as we start up our 46th season! Unbelievable?
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.
Bowling Green, KY – After an expectedly shaky opening start, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers totaled 501 yards on offense and overcame a 24-20 deficit in the second half to defeat Sam Houston State, 41-24. Not only did we witness the opener for both, but they collided in their first Conference USA game of the season. WKU QB Maverick McIvor debuted throwing for 401 yards and three TDs. The 25-year-old senior transfer from Abilene Christian also took it in from the four to cap the scoring for the day. His prime target, WR Matthew Henry, grabbed seven strikes for 148 yards and a diving TD to put up the first score. Freshman Marvin Parrish also gained 58 yards through the air and caught a TD. He led Western Kentucky in rushing with 52 yards.
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers charge into Houchens Industries – LT Smith Stadium to start up our 46th season of this great adventure!
Longo Learning Curve at SHSU
For Sam Houston State, this game marked the first game under new HC Phil Longo. Last season, we attended Oregon at Wisconsin. Longo, then offensive coordinator under Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell, was fired the Monday after the 16-13 Badger loss. As a pass-oriented offensive coach, he looks to convert the run-oriented offense at Sam Houston to his style with players relearning the system. Bearkat QB Hunter Watson finished with mixed results regarding the transition. He completed 19 of 30 for 209 yards and tossed one INT. On the other hand, he ran for 91 yards, 55 of them on a keeper up the middle.
Sluggish but close first half
Western Kentucky drove 87 yards on its second possession. The highlight came on McIvor’s pass to Matthew Henry with a beautiful diving, twisting catch at the right-near pylon. It opened our 2025 scoring at Collegefootballfan.com’s 713th game. The Bearkats got on the board next with RJ Lopez’s 40- yard FG to end the first quarter down, 10-3. Guest Game Analyst Allen Tantum (US Air Force vet of 22 years) noted the Bearkats penchant for trying to run left against the Hilltoppers. But the WKU defense would not yield to that side.
WR Matthew Henry makes diving, twisting catch for first Western Kentucky score.
SHSU finally found a hole right up the middle on Watson’s 55-yard jaunt. Once past the line of scrimmage, nothing but a wide-open field ahead. Right after that, Western Kentucky pieced together a 75-yard drive. La’Vell Wright took it over from the one. A 23-yard hard-fought reception by WR K.D. Hutchinson put the Toppers there. Later in the second, Western Kentucky got into position for John Cannon to attempt two FGs. He nailed both – the first from 49 and the second from 42. The Hilltoppers seemed in control at the half leading, 20-10. Momentum building for the visiting Bearkats?
Western Kentucky halftime celebrations
Western Kentucky introduced teammates and family members of deceased players from the 1979 national runner-up 1-AA football team. Under HC Jimmy Feix, the Hilltoppers finished 11-2 and tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 6-1 record. In the Camellia Bowl for the 1AA championship, they fell to Northern Michigan, 16-14. The playing field at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium is named in his honor. During his 16-year career in Bowling Green, his teams won 106 games. WKU’s Big Red Marching Band also celebrated its 100th anniversary playing songs of the past from Elvis and others before him in their tribute.
The WKU Dance Team was excited about the opening game celebration.
Bearkats bounce back to start second half
Sam Houston State came out smoking on its first possession to start the second. Alton McCaskill soared downfield for 52 yards to the two. From there, he took it over to get the ‘Kats within seven of the Hilltoppers. Next possession, Western Kentucky’s subsequent drive ended abruptly. A reception but a lost fumble resulted in a scoop-and-score by Bearkat DE Jamair Diaz. He raced 43 yards unchallenged to suddenly put Sam Houston up, 24-20. Seemingly unphased, the veteran WKU quarterback led his team back with an 87-yard drive. In this game, like other in the past, we sometimes wonder why kick returners challenge from deep in the end zone when the can get the ball automatically on the 25.
Sam Houston QB Hunter Watson sails past the WKU defense for 55-yard TD demonstrating his running skills honed in the past under former HC KC Keeler.
A key pass play from McIvor to Henry again for 37 yards put Western Kentucky at the SHSU nine. On a wheel left pass to KD Hutchinson, the Toppers retook the lead, 27-24. The defense held the Bearkats to punt from their 38 and a start again from their 13. This time, McIvor connected with WR Moussa Barry for 48 yards to the 22. Once again, McIvor finished off a scoring drive with his 22-yard pass to Marvis Parrish to widen the lead, 34-24. The score stood going into the last quarter.
Western Kentucky applies finishing touches
WKU’s Cole Maynard boomed a 71-yard punt to put SHSU back on its four to head into the fourth. The drive did not last long. DB Jaylen Lewis intercepted a Watson pass to put the Toppers at the Sam Houston 19. With 10:17 left to play, at the four McIvor bounced through the middle for the final score of the game. Following two punts and two turnovers on downs by both teams, Sam Houston started to move the football starting from their 33. They drove to the Western Kentucky nine. A sack and a few short gains later, Sam Houston turned the ball over on downs once more. WKU won the opener to seal its first victory and first CUSA win of the season, 41-24.
WR KD Hutchinson catches ball to set up Western Kentucky’s second TD of the victory.
WEEK 2 coming up next Saturday
Western Kentucky will host FCS Northern Alabama. Sam Houston returns home to take on a good UNLV program. We at Collegefootballfan.com head west to attend our first two games in the state of Oregon. The 1 pm PT start kicks off in Eugene where the Oregon Ducks welcome FCS No. 2 Montana State. In our night cap, we drive over to Corvalis to see the Oregon State Beavers play the California Golden Bears. Looking forward to our trip that will add our 99th and 100th of FBS stadiums to attend. The state of Oregon becomes our 42nd that we’ll visit to see a college football game.
Check out our tales of yesteryear as we start up our 46th season! Unbelievable?
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.
The Hilltopper cheerleaders had much to cheer about in the home opener. They look forward to more cheer the rest of the season starting with North Alabama next week.
Lebanon, TN – Up until now, we have provided notes and insight of all games we plan to attend for Week Numbers 1-5. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves with insight and predictions for the balance of our regular season. With our first game only one day away to start Week 0 of College Football in 2025, we’d like to just provide some highlights of other games we plan to see. Subject to change of course, but we generally stay on track. Included here, we explain to you where, why, and how come we chose to attend these particular games. Also, we try to pass along some other interesting tidbits.
Don’t forget, to endure this weekly adventure every year, we don’t have enough time nor money (though much more than when we started doing this in 1979) to see the biggest games every time. We leave that up to the TV programmers. For our entertainment and enjoyment, based on those aforementioned fundamental resources, we try to see the most competitive or most interesting match-ups based on time, travel, and money available. We may choose games based on proximity, tradition, a rivalry, a new place to go, old friends to catch up with, a great tailgate venue available, or maybe some side trip of interest.
In WEEK 6, Navy hosts Air Force in their early October rivalry for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
Our inspiration to do this started in the 60’s!
Read on to enjoy this lifelong adventure with others and myself. Fun times and good football ahead. As the late, great broadcaster for College Football on ABC Sports, Chris Schenkel, always used to say, “College Football: what better way to spend an Autumn afternoon?” Of course, his mantra started long before the NCAA started playing games most weekday nights as well. As you can see, weekdays have provided us with many new opportunities now between Saturdays.
Goals include seeing a game at every major (FBS) venue and at least one game in every state. To date, we’ve attended games in 98 FBS stadiums. Among all NCAA college football divisions, total venues attended currently stand at 193 in all. Among 49 states and Washington, DC, we only need to see games in nine more states (no teams in Alaska if you weren’t aware). We’re making some progress on that this year, but not in a hurry. Just enjoying the adventure as we find new opportunities to consider.
WEEK 6 – Maybe two back EAST
Definitely attending Air Force at Navy at 12 noon on Saturday to start the annual round-robin among the three major academies for the fierce competitions for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. We will see Navy and Air Force battle for this hardware for the eighth time since this tradition started in 1974. The Mids won big last season, 34-7, in Colorado Springs. They return a potent offensive attack laden with seniors this year. Air Force shows up with an inexperienced QB. Air Force leads this series, 34-23. Never know what can happen. In our history, Navy’s record is 44-44. Air Force stands at 7-6 in our book. Great rivalry featuring tremendous flyovers!
Each time Navy and Air Force meet, they exchange “prisoners.” Other schools may refer to these as “exchange students.” These prisoners take spirited abuse leading up to these games. In WEEK 6, this game starts the competition for the C-I-C Trophy coveted by both.
Delaware a possible Friday night feature
The Fighting Blue Hens enter ConferenceUSA/FBS play this Year. Delaware Stadium sits a little over an hour’s drive from Annapolis. Meeting USNA alum for Saturday’s game, no plans in place for Friday evening yet. They host Western Kentucky that evening. Look forward to how they fare in their first year of FBS play under fourth-year HC Ryan Carty who played QB for UD back in 2003-06. In our record book, Delaware is 14-7. Of course, all games attended came under their FCS realm. This could be the first time we see them as an FBS competitor. To be honest, we hate to see them leave the FCS.
WEEK 7 serves up three games – Southern fried and New England style
On Wednesday, we’ll stick close to home. Missouri State, like Delaware, starts it inaugural season in ConferenceUSA/FBS against Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro. We know little about the Bears aside moving up from the Missouri Valley Conference with a record of 8-4. Lost to powers Montana, North Dakota State and South Dakota State a year ago. As for their opponent, MTSU, they struggled under new HC Derek Mason to 3-9 last season. Always admired tough QB Nick Vittiato though the last three seasons. Tough, hard runner, good arm, and fights and leads through pressure to the end. Mason calls on many transfers to step up for the Raiders this year. Many did not start regularly at their previous schools.
D-3 Weekend puts us in our 43rd state
As mentioned, a primary goal of ours calls for us to attend a game in every state where NCAA college football exists. In Vermont, only three college football programs exist. All compete at the D-3 level. So, we decided to finally take our shot this season to finally attend a game in the Green Mountain State. Funny thing, we settled on the Castleton State Spartans (3-7, 2-7) a year ago who were axed from the Massachusetts Athletic Conference. The New Jersey Athletic Conference welcomed them this season as an Associate member to play football. On October 11, we will attend this contest game at noon when they host the Chrisopher Newport Captains (7-3, 9-1) visiting from Newport News, Virginia. They are also a member of the NJAC.
A Saturday D-3 Double-Header
Our Guest game analyst this weekend is David Headden. Dave is a D-3 maven. He loves attending the small school games religiously. In 2013, he accompanied me to the Norwich-RPI game. His father and brothers graduated from RPI. He attended Ohio Wesleyan – true D-3 pedigree.
After the game at Castleton concludes, Dave and I follow up to observe a D-3 bonus. We’re catching another D-3 game 7 pm that evening. Amazingly, most schools in New England have bye weeks that Saturday. However, we found a game in Medford, Massachusetts featuring two New England Small College Athletic Conference teams. The Bates Bobcats of Lewiston, Maine visit the Tufts Jumbos. Don’t know much about either, though Bates comes off a 2-7 season. Tufts played to a 7-2 mark last season. In 2026, the champion of this conference will qualify for the D-3 playoffs for the first time.
More than just D-3 football this weekend
In addition to a D-3 double header, as mentioned, we seek other opportunities when we travel to games. We have two other side trips planned this weekend. On Friday afternoon after arriving in Albany, NY, we will visit the Lake George area. That evening, we venture to nearby Troy for a D-1 ice hockey game with Miami of Ohio visiting RPI. On Sunday, most likely I’ll visit my sister Mary Kay who hosted my first game of this journey at her alma mater, the University of Rhode Island. She and her husband, Gunther, still reside in the Ocean State.
No, we’re not seeing Alabama play at all this week. Or even at all during the regular season. It just so happens the TV programmers selected two games of interest to us on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a third is one that keeps a friendship going that started over 45 years ago. Of course, all three hosts play football in Alabama. On Monday, Arkansas State goes to Mobile to take on South Alabama in a Sun Belt clash. The ASU Red Wolves are 1-1 in our history. We saw them play in our first game ever in Arkansas last season (A razorback game is still a must-see, of course). They defeated Tulsa, 28-24, in Jonesboro on their way to a record of 8-5. Along the way, they also defeated South Alabama there, 18-16. The Jaguars finished 7-6. Respectively, the two programs have records of 1-1 and 1-2 when we attend.
Then there is the USS Alabama
A big driver for us to see a game again in Mobile is to visit the USS Alabama Memorial. Our late, great friend Tom Ables, the greatest fan ever of San Diego State sports served aboard the battleship during WWII. For those hearing about him for the first time, Tom became a great friend who shared many stories attending 788 Aztec football games since he decommissioned from the US Navy. We desired to visit Battleship Memorial Park when we had a chance to see another South Alabama game. They honored Tom at a halftime game there several years ago when his Aztecs played the Jaguars. We look forward to paying him tribute once again.
Late SDSU Super Fan Tom Ables striking his football pose in 2014. Our first game in WEEK 8 will be our tribute to him when we visit his WWII Battleship USS Alabama in Mobile.
Delaware – first or second time?
Not sure if we will see Delaware host Western Kentucky on October 3 as previously mentioned. However, if we don’t get to add them then as our 135th FBS team, we’ll add them this evening as our 136th. We just won’t be able to record Delaware Stadium as a new FBS venue as all games we’ve attended there thus far, they played as an FCS program. Last season, we watched the JSU Gamecocks annihilate Western Kentucky, 52-12, here at JSU Stadium for the CUSA Championship. Jacksonville lost HC Rich Rodriguez back to WVU with a lot of transfers who followed him from last season’s 9-5 championship squad. Only four starters return from last year’s team. UD may have shot at this one. JSU stands 4-0 among their games we’ve attended
Celebrating 47 years with our Auburn connection
War Eagle! We attended our first Auburn game before this avocation turned into this crazy, lifelong adventure. I met my long-time friend Charlie Murren in 1978 working out at The Lakeland Hills YMCA in Mountain Lakes, NJ while at home from college – Charlie at Auburn, me at Juniata. In 1978, while on a fall, trimester break at JC, I got down to Auburn for a fun time down “on the Plain” for a football weekend.
Georgia’s Bulldogs came calling and left for the only tie-score ever attended at the FBS (Division 1) level, 22-22. Our friendship continues since going to games and meeting up outside the season as well. Charlie met his wife Lynda at AU, and two of his four kids graduated from there as well. Over the years, Charlie’s been able to invite me to some memorable games. I’m also in contact often with one of his AU roommates, Rick Selak. He, living in Memphis, and I have gone to several games together the last few years as well.
Once again, we will get together for another Auburn game and tailgate when the Tigers host Missouri on October 18. Of course, this will be a great tailgate party with Charlie and all his fellow Auburn classmates who try to get together now most years, even at road games. This event is so good, even my wife “Saint Laurie” attends as she and Lynda have become good friends. The Auburn Tigers started the season ranked, but they have already dropped out. Missouri, too. Just shows not every SEC team can get ranked. In our history, Auburn is 6-9-1. The Missouri Tigers come in at 4-2. Last season, the teams respectively finished 5-7, 3-6 and 10-3, 7-3. Missouri defeated Auburn in Columbia, 21-17. This game should be good, but the tailgate should be even better!
Here poses a contingent of Nittany Lion fans attending the tailgate at Auburn in 2022. This year, we finish WEEK 8 with Missouri at Auburn. Note C.A. Murren with the Auburn hat over my shoulder on right.
WEEK 9: Two games, two new venues
A Thursday/Saturday combo features South Alabama in another Sun Belt battle on a weekday night. This time, we catch them at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium. Who spells “Park” with a c instead of a k? Georgia State, for one. The only time we saw these Panthers play came up against Appalachian State. Not only do they stand 0-1 in our annals, they also haven’t scored yet. ASU trounced them, 44-0, in 2013, the year both programs joined the FBS. Most memorable, laughable play ever recorded was witnessed that day. Click here to buy my book Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly to read all about it.
Back to the FCS
For Saturday’s entertainment, we head east about 50 miles to Cookeville the see the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles play at home for the first time. We saw them play briefly in and rain-delayed, late-night game at Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro where they fell, 32-25. They’ll host the SE Missouri State Red Hawks in the last season Tech will compete in the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference. Effective next July, the Golden Eagles join the Southern Conference where they can play in-state rivals Chattanooga and East Tennessee State. Last season the Red Hawks (9-4, 6-2) defeated the Eagles (7-5, 6-2), 34-3. The AFCA Coaches Poll selected Tennessee Tech as Preseason No. 23 for 2025.
WEEK 10 – maybe two, but definitely one for a road trip
On Wednesday evening. Middle Tennessee hosts Jacksonville State in a CUSA contest. As mentioned previously, the atmosphere at MTSU’s Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium doesn’t stir the senses. If the MTSU team shows little improvement over last season’s 3-9 record, little interest persists. Jacksonville dominated them the last two years. Under new, first-time HC Charlie Kelly, the JSU Gamecocks may be rebuilding. Not sure after the rigorous travel schedule of the last two weeks if we’ll want to go to this one. We’ll wait and see.
As for Saturday, we’ll be heading west to Arkansas. For the first time, we will visit the hostile confines of Ronald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The Razorbacks will host Mississippi State, not your top-of-the-line SEC game, but we’re due to get out there to see the Razorbacks at home. Also, last time we saw these two meet, it turned out to be great game! This reciprocates our first and only visit to Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium in November 2004. On that overcast day, the Bulldogs fell to the Razorbacks, 24-21. MSU attempted a short field goal late in the third to tie only for Arkansas to block it into the hands of DB Pierre Brown. With his over the shoulder catch, he raced 76 yards to give his Razorbacks a 10-point lead to clinch the victory. Hopefully, this game turns out to be as exciting.
Another hot time for Pittman at home?
Arkansas split their four games we’ve attended. The last was another exciting finish in their 55-53 overtime, Liberty Bowl win over Kansas in 2022. Mississippi State still seeks a win with us in attendance at 0-3. Arkansas HC Sam Pittman always seems to be on the hot seat and will be again trying to climb up in the SEC standings. He relies on QB Taylen Green returning and playing under former Arkansas HC, now OC, Bobby Petrino. Six starters return on defense and like many other programs, they hope for big things from transfers. They finished 7-6 last season with another Liberty Bowl win over Texas Tech. They destroyed Mississippi State in 2024, 58-25
State went 2-10 last season under first-year HC Jeff Lebby who came to Starkville from Oklahoma as OC. Blake Shapen returns at QB after suffering an injury after four games that sidelined him the rest of the year. Lebby looks to fill in with more talent through the transfer portal, but who knows how effective that will be? With wins last year only against FCS Eastern Kentucky and everybody’s patsy, UMASS, they probably have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the SEC. We just hope they step it up at Arkansas this late in the season. With our trip to Arkansas, that leaves only Oklahoma and Texas A&M as our two remaining SEC venues to visit.
Among games on our 2025 schedule, we finally get to see the Arkansas Razorbacks and their cheerleaders host a game in Fayetteville for our first time on WEEK 10..
WEEK 11 – Hopefully better than last year
For our 700th game tailgate last season, our celebration at The NJ Meadowlands turned out to be letdown as far as the game result. Notre Dame belted Navy, 52-14. Not so much the final score, but the Fighting Irish didn’t so much dominate the Midshipman. Instead, Navy mistakes gave the Irish plenty of easy opportunities to score. Misplays and mental mistakes by USNA turned into turnovers and poor field position on the big stage coming in undefeated as did the Irish. The Navy football team did not play up to its standards despite being a lesser team talent-wise. Of course, Notre Dame went on to fall in the CFP championship game to Ohio State, 34-23. Afterward, Navy floundered at Rice (some controversy regarding a new field surface and shoes at that one) and Tulane. However, they finished strong defeating archrival Army and then Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl.
This year for the first time, we will see this series continue in South Bend. Notre Dame will not have an experienced QB returning this season. CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey will both get their chances to see action this season. However, the running attack remains strong and stable with Jerimiyah Love back after 1,125 yards and 17 scores a year ago. Their Oline totals 54 starts together. Defensively, seven starters return and even more experience beyond them. MLB Drayk Bowen led the returnees in tackles with 68. SS Adon Shuler made 49 stops and picked off three passes.
Strength in Navy veterans
As for Navy, they come into this game with chips on their shoulders with a solid group of offensive starters from that 10-3 team from a year ago. QB Blake Horvath provides more passing capability than many of his predecessor past decades. He threw for 1,353 yards and 13 TDs in 2024 while leading in rushing yards of 1,246 and 17 scores. FB Alex Tecza ran for 576 yards and eight TDs. Slotback Eric Heidenreich ran for 444 and three TDs while catching 39 passes for 671 yards and six scores. Young, but big, linemen fill in three spots upfront. Landon Robinson returns at NT and Luke Parris at DE led up front with 68 tackles.
Naval History
We will see this – longest intersectional rivalry in college football – for the ninth time. Notre Dame won eight of the nine. They dominate the series overall, but they continue to play as a tribute to the US Navy who invested money into the school to keep it running financially during WWII. For Navy, it’s the biggest pay day every year after Army, and the “rivalry” helps the football recruiting at USNA. Navy’s only win in our experience came at The Meadowland in 2010, 35-17.
Saw some other close ones including our first in 1974. Navy led heading into the final period, 6-0. Irish pulled out the win late, 14-6. Led late, great Irish HC Ara Parseghian in his decision to eventually retire and end his coaching career. We don’t expect Navy to win this year either, but along with 12 friends from all walks of life joining us, we expect to see the Mids play a much better game this season in South Bend.
In our history, Navy stands 44-44. After Penn State, they’re number two in the total amount of games seen. Since relocating to Tennessee, we try to get to Annapolis once a year. We also caught games in recent years at Memphis, Charlotte and at UAB. Notre Dame’s record is 17-7. Last season, we saw them as mentioned against Navy and in the win over Penne State in the CFP Orange Bowl. Last time in South Bend, we saw them fall to Stanford, 17-10, in 2016. We look forward to going to the Linebacker Inn again and to tailgating all day at South Bend for what will be a 7: 00 pm EST kickoff.
For WEEK 11, some tailgaters from last season’s Game 700 will join us In South Bend for what we hope is a better game between Notre Dame and Navy.
WEEK 12 Oh! Our Wake Forest tradition continues
Since I befriended Jim Harton, a Wake Forest grad and fellow employee at our company gym before retirement, I’m basically invited to see his Deacs play to uphold a tradition which I’ve fallen down on recent years. When we first met, our conversation fell on the fact that I’d seen his alma mater, Wake Forest, play six football games and win them all! “Dang! Nobody’s ever seen Wake play that many games and win them all!” In 2016, I got invited down to Winston-Salem where given the honorary nickname among his fellow alum of “Six and Oh Koreivo!” In the win over Louisville that day, my WFU nickname became “Seven and Oh Koreivo.” I got up to “Eight” with a win over Texas A&M in the Belk Bowl. The following year, however, my streak came to a difficult ending with 62-59 down-to-the-wire loss against Louisville.
No regrets or loss of respect from my Demon Deacon friends. They revised my nickname to “Eight and Almost Oh. ‘” Well, a bad loss to Florida State in 2023 and a win over FCS North Carolina A&T with a12-2 mark since still has me referred to as “Almost Oh.” I now try to make it to 13 wins this season in Winston-Salem. North Carolina comes to town with new HC Bill Belichick and his pretty, young girlfriend. I welcome the challenge.
Wake’s new HC Jake Dickert takes over after success at Washington State. Transfers followed him, of course. Looking forward to the tradition of wining with the Deacs no matter who they play. A win here over Belichick and his Tar Heels and would be wonderful achievement for both Dickert and “13 and Almost Oh” to say the least. UNC comes in at 4-2 under our watch. “Oh, here’s to Wake Forest” – Almost once again!
Our 2025 schedule isn’t complete if we don’t get to catch-up with Jim”Bugaluga” Harton and his Demon Deacon die-hards. We see them host North Carolina and Bill Belichick at Truist Field in Winston-Salem on November 15. Hoping to remain “Almost Oh!”
WEEK 13 Staying local
Moving to the Nashville area, I initially wrote off going to Vanderbilt games nearby. Suddenly, QB Diego Paiva arrived through the portal from New Mexico State of all places, and the Commodores under fourth-year HC Clark Lea became more interesting. Hell, Vanderbilt beat Alabama last year! We’ll probably be catching Paiva’s final game in Nashville. It should be an interesting one. They host Kentucky. Neither one should overwhelm the other. In our book Vandy is 1-6. The only win ever came in 2008 with my 12-year-old son, Eric, to attend the Music City Bowl – my future town of retirement. They clipped Boston College, 16-14. Lost five straight on my watch since. Maybe local comedian Nate Bargatze will MC this one as he did at last year’s homecoming when South Carolina came to town. He can add some laughs.
Kentucky hasn’t fared much better at 2-5 over our visits. Vandy comes into this year after a 7-6 season. Kentucky posted a record of 4-8. In preseason SEC coaches’ polls, both are only ahead of Mississippi State in the SEC. Maybe they will be both better, but even if not, they should be competitive against one another. Like Vandy, the Wildcats QB Zach Calzada transferred in from FCS Incarnate Word after stints at Texas A&M and Auburn. HC Mark Stoops enters his 13th season with the Wildcats. Bad luck for him? Last season, Vanderbilt prevailed against UK, 20-13. The Wildcats have defeated the Commodores the last four times they visited Nashville. Not as easy to win with Paiva under center for the ‘Dores. Whether Bargatze shows up or not, this could be an entertaining event. For both, a win could be a bowl invitation.
WEEK 14 – Up in the air for now
Our Thanksgiving Family traditions have changed the last few years. Instead of New England festivities, visitations and finding BC or NCAA playoff games in the colder climes, there seems to be fewer choices. The past few years with children moving to warmer climates, Texas and Texas State games fell conveniently on to our slates after Thursday. Now for the time being, we look to be heading to Florida.
As grandparents now, someday we’ll be hosting in Tennessee, but I somehow doubt it. They have excused now like work, kids, travel, money, etc. Someday based on family ties, we may get to see Florida vs. Florida State in the Sunshine State. For this year, however, it looks like our only option comes Rice at South Florida. Last season, we ventured to Utah at Central Florida in Orlando. Been to Raymond James Stadium for Outback Bowls in the past, but not as a South Florida home game.
Only seen Rice once at home in Houston to see them and Hawaii both play for the first time in 2002. The visiting Rainbow Warriors triumphed, 33-28. Rice, another 0-1 team in our history, will play the USF Bulls, who’ve struggled in our games at 1-5. Their lone victory came at Syracuse in 2011, 37-17. All other losses came in venues in the northeast – at UConn, Rutgers (2), Temple, and Navy. Now both members of the American Athletic, this regular season finale could be a dud. Last year, with a record of 7-6, USF defeated no teams with a winning record except for San Jose State, also 7-6, in a bowl (or “consolation game” as we like to call post-season games like these between mediocre teams). One of USF’s six losses came against Rice (4-8) in their season finale 35-28.
The Owls play this year under their new HC Scott Abell who comes from FCS Davidson College. He favors running the option. We saw his team in action last season when we watched his Wildcats blast the Stetson Hatters, 70-48. We’ll keep an eye on Scott to see if this game’s possibly worth attending. If anything, at least we’ll hopefully get out of the house savor the sunny weather as cold November sets in north of us.
We always like to feature this picture of USF cheerleaders “sneaking” back into the Temple game at Lincoln Finacial. Another reason to see the Bulls at home in WEEK 14. One of our favorite cheer squads of all time.
WEEK 15 Conference Championships or FCS playoffs
Regular season with one exception is over and conference division winners or first place against second place foes pair up to play for better bowl bids this weekend. On Friday night, we go back to Jacksonville, Alabama for the CUSA championship. On Saturday, we will have no idea where the Sun Belt nor American Athletic title games will be played. That’s because the home field advantage goes to the first-place team. If not too far from Jacksonville, we will drive there. If not achievable, we’ll be looking for a playoff among FCS, D-2 and D-3 options if they fall within a few hours’ drive of our Friday night venue. Good luck to us!
WEEK 16 Greatest rivalry in all of College Football+
We’re back in the saddle with our Navy contribution for this season since we’re no longer in range to opt for season tickets in Annapolis. We will be at our 19th Army Navy game. In our games, Navy leads this series 10-8. This year, the rivals play at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. You know who we’re rooting for. This season, we will see Navy vs. Air Force and at Notre Dame as mentioned. Last season, 10-3 Navy defeated 12-2 Army at Landover, MD, 31-13. Both teams will be competitive in the American Athletic once again this season. There is even a chance that they may meet the week before in the title game for the AAC. If so, the question is where and if so, can we get there wherever it may be?
A win in that one for either team can actually offer a bid into the CFP as the Group of Five representative. The original and possibly second game between the two in December will be played for Pride, Tradition and REVENGE. That would be different and awfully appealing to millions of Americans. That would also be amazing to attend. If the first game becomes reality, there is still no way that this meeting will be insignificant to either. What a game this would be. Greatest rivalry!
When these two teams both have losing records, they still draw one of the Top Ten TV college football audiences each year. If these two meet back-to-back weekends, both could eclipse Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, Texas-Oklahoma, USC-UCLA or any other game. People sometimes tell us; this is the one game they watch every year. Many have family ties to the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. USNA grads serve in the Marines as well as the US Navy. For our sake, we look forward to attending another great game in this historic rivalry. Heading into the 126th edition, Navy leads the series 63–55–7.
If you’ve enjoyed stories about our football adventures above, read more below
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 page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Also, based on what you read 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 FBS team play over the years!
WEEK 16 between Army and Navy ends with the alma maters sung by both the Corps of Cadets and the Brigade of Midshipmen. The Winner closes out the entire regular season of College Football by singing last. What could be more fitting?
State College, PA- On WEEK 5, we attend Oregon at Penn State at newly refurbished Beaver Stadium. This is our most anticipated game of the 2025 regular season. For the annals of our history, this visit becomes our 120th Penn State game. This season and this game in particular mark the potential sendoff of the Nittany Lions to their first national championship since 1986. PSU ranks second in most pre-season polls to Texas. The Ducks start the preseason in the Associated Press poll at No. 5. With our great friend, PSU alum and die-hard Nittany Lion fan, John Massimilla, who we’ve seen PSU games with for 45 years now, we look forward to seeing the Lions play the Ducks for a second time. Last time, saw them battle in the 1995 Rose Bowl. Penn State prevailed, 38-20
Like that game, we hope to see the Lions remain undefeated. Penn State finished that season 12-0. Without a true College Football Playoff (CFP) back then, the pollsters awarded the championship to the other undefeated team that season, Nebraska. Different circumstance this time, of course. We expect both teams to enter Happy Valley undefeated. We’ll have seen the Ducks in their opener against Montana State. The week before this game, they will host in-state rival Oregon State.
White-out!!!
The Lions have a bye week the prior Saturday after meeting Nevada, Florida International and FCS Villanova – all at home. At this home game, the intensity ramps up! Penn State hosts Oregon in a traditional “White-out!” As at any such White-out confrontation, we anticipate a very long day of pregame tailgating, a close game to the end, a slow-to-empty parking lot exit and a late arrival home into the wee hours of the morning.
Penn State fans, students and the Blue Band got ready for a loud and first time White out at the College Football Playoffs! It will be much more intense when Oregon shows up this year.
Our Oregon history
Compliments of Kermit the Frog. As mentioned, we saw the Oregon Ducks play Penn State in the 1995 Rose Bowl. You can read this story in my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. The Ducks stand 1-1 in the annals of Collegefootballfan.com history. We didn’t see them play again until last season. At Wisconsin, they held off the Badgers to a 16-13 win. They finished the regular season at 12-0 before defeating Penn State in the Big Ten Championship, 45-37. Like the other three CFP teams with byes in the first round, they fell in the next round. Eventual champion Ohio State dominated them, 41-21. OSU defeated Notre Dame in the CFP Championship. The Irish defeated the Lions at the semi-final in the Orange Bowl we attended, 27-24
Oregon up for the FBS hunt once again
HC Dan Lanning’s team lost well-travelled, Heisman candidate QB Dillon Gabriel (3,857 passing yards, 30 TDs and 6 INTs) from last season. To replace him, Dante Moore, a UCLA transfer who joined OU last season steps in. He’ll reap the benefit of having eight returning starters around him. Defensively, the Ducks return six starters. At RB, Noah Whittingham replaces Jordan James who went to the SF 49ers last year as the number four draft pick overall. Whittingham trudged for 540 yards and six TDs. He looks to be the key cog for OU in the rushing department. WR Evan Stewart and TE Kenyon Sadiq return as leading receivers as key targets for Moore. Four starters from their OL moved on including two first round picks. Transfers from reputable programs step in. They’ll probably establish the Ducks as a pretty formidable team by the time they visit Penn State.
Oregon Duck QB Dillon Gabriel (9) tries to elude Badger defenders in second half trailing, 13-6. Penn State should put up more points in the first half than Wisconsin did.
“D” stands for Defense and Ducks
Defensively, Oregon returns Key EDGE rushers in Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti. ILB Bryce Boettcher returns as leading tackler, and Ole Miss transfer Jadon Canady reinforces the BUs. However, they lost four starting DBs, although two transfers join in from other Big Ten schools. It’s hard to bet against all that Nike money financing all that talent in Eugene. Last season in a night game at Wisconsin, the Ducks played unphased against a very boisterous crowd that evening. However, the Badgers possessed little firepower to challenge a tough Oregon defense.
QB Allar returns, but we recommend some “tweaking”
Despite the Big Ten championship loss to the Ducks last season, the Nittany Lions posted 37 points against the tough Oregon defense. Success for the Lions on offense this season centers on the improvement of senior QB Drew Allar. Though statistically dominant with his passing stats of 66.5%, 3,327 yards, 24 TDs and 8 INTs, we believe his coaching staff needs to make two significant changes to his game to help him to play even better.
The hire of Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State should be helpful in providing James Franklin with input we think will help substantially having beaten PSU in the past. Allar tends to focus on his primary receiver rather that look off to give his receivers more room with such deception. Secondly, the offense doesn’t take enough advantage of the great running game they possess to utilize more play action. Freeze the opposing secondaries more. If the coaching staff worked on this in the off-season, the Lions will be even better on offense and Allar will dominate.
Penn State RB Nick Singleton (10) runs hard against Michigan in 2023.
Penn State returns with formidable offense
The Penn State running game reputation already persists. Nick Singleton led in rushing last year with 1,099 yards and 12 TDs. Kaytron Allen provides the second of the one-two backfield punch with 1,108 yards and eight TDs. In front of them opening holes charge seven war horses with starting experience. Second Team All-Big Ten OG Olaivega Ioane leads the way. Most of the 300+ pounders started 16 games last season. The graduation of Tyler Warren loses a degree of production at TE. Khali Dinkins returns after six starts. The Lions also seem to have a revolving door now at that position into the pros.
The wide receiver position warranted the greatest needs for OC Andy Kotelnicki’s offense. James Franklin scoured the transfer portal to add three experienced players to step right in. Kyron Hudson came across the country from USC with 462 yards. Devonte Ross showed up from Troy with 1,043 yards recorded. Trebor Pena comes from Syracuse with 941 yards for the Orange. Kotelnicki’s receiving corps impressed us when we saw his Kansas squad in an exciting 55-53 Liberty Bowl loss against Arkansas in 2022. With improvements as mentioned previously regarding Allar, this could be the most fun, passing team we have ever witnessed at Penn State.
Another season at Linebacker U.
Despite that Linebacking reputation, the Nittany Lions look strong overall. Six starters return on defense along with a wealth of talent at other positions. DE Dani Dennis-Sutton and DT Zane Durant will be returning with 42 stops each to their credit. Dennis-Sutton recorded 8.5 sacks. LBs Tony Rojas and Dominic Deluca return to uphold that stellar reputation. Both had three pick-offs in addition to hard hits a year ago. UNC transfer Amare Campbell adds more depth to an already strong contingent of backers. The secondary features CB AJ Harris with 48 tackles. FS Zakee Wheatley comes back as the leading tackler with 96 a year ago along with three INTs. Most likely, he’ll be joined by SS King Mack who took a one-year hiatus to Alabama. Under new DC Jim Knowles, this defense can be even stronger. Last year, the Lions allowed 17 points per game.
What we expect if…
In front of 110,000 fans fired-up from a full day of tailgating, this White-out Crowd will be intimidating for Oregon. As visitors, they withstood the night game we attended in front of an excited Wisconsin crowd a year ago, but this will be amplified. On top of that, the Nittany Lions let Dillon Gabriel throw effectively against them at a neutral site. The Lions and their fans will be amped about that. Last season in that game, the Lions played some catch-up. If we see adjustments made as prescribed previously, Allar should get this offense going early. If not, the Lions may set themselves up for an upset.
For Penn State, this is what we hope not to see – James Franklin not jacking up his team during a critical drive like seen here against Michigan in a 24-15 loss in 2023.
James Franklin needs to lead
In the past, we’ve seen Michigan and Ohio State come in for White-outs and win. The Oregon program is definitely on par with both under HC Dan Lanning. If Oregon hangs close which they may do, our only concern from this perspective is James Franklin. As much as he can recruit among the best, in close game situations, we have to question some of his decision-making processes.
If the Lions can extend a lead entering the final period, the denizens of Happy Valley can rejoice late that evening. If it’s close, we hope Franklin steps up to lead his team to inspire them to victory in a tough situation. The Nittany Lions seem to have everything going for them in the right direction heading into this game. We expect to see them win by more than a TD. However, like other PSU fans, we may be biting our nails if the game is close going into the final period.
Read about the last time we saw Penn State and Oregon Clash and other Tales
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 page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Also, based on what you read 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 FBS team play over the years!
Bloomington, IN – When we relocated to Tennessee in 2021 and looked at new, closer travel opportunities to attend games, an Indiana Hoosier home got shoved to the bottom of our priorities. In 2024, Curt Cignetti leaves James Madison and brings along quite a few former FCS Dukes to Bloomington. In the biggest surprise of the season, Indiana plays in the College Football Playoff in Year One. “Who’d have thunk it?” as they say. For many years, Indiana University rarely played a game of significance in college football. These Hoosiers didn’t play for Bobby Knight.
With so little at stake for Indiana football over the years, we’ve seen them play only four times. In a shocker, their first appearance on our slate back in November 1993 featured some significance. The Hoosiers ambled into State College, PA to face the Nittany Lions playing in their inaugural season of Big Ten membership. Not only was Indiana 7-1, 4-1 at that point, they were even ranked ahead of Joe Paterno’s team, 5-2, 3-2. The Lions fell the previous two weeks to Michigan and to Ohio State, of course. This contest turned out to be good and exciting. Penn State prevailed, 38-31, in the end.
Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. (9) seen in action for Indiana in 33-31 win over Western Kentucky in 2021. After a 2-10 season, he took the portal to UDUB. From there, he went early in the 2024 draft.
Whose your Indiana Hoosiers?
Two of three subsequent Indiana games we attended provided some significance to the annals of our history. PSU blew them out, 38-17, in 2008. After that, however, the Hoosiers won big in September 2012 introducing UMASS to the FBS in Foxboro, MA. They crushed the Minutemen on the positive side of a 45-6 score. In 2021, they played in a close battle in our first game at Western Kentucky after our relocation to Tennessee, 33-31. Overall, they appeared before us in three competitive games for a 2-2 record. Now, we have reason to travel to Bloomington, Indiana in 2025 to actually see them truly host a game of significance.
Illini offered little historical significance
Like Indiana, we’ve not had much impetus to attend many Illinois games. Penn State introduced them to us as our Team # 62 in 2000 (remember Y2K?). The Lions thrashed them 39-25 when both teams finished dismal seasons with five wins each. Ten years later, the Illini returned the favor in State College with a 33-13 upset at the PSU Homecoming. In 2009, Illinois introduced us to the Ohio State “Horseshoe” during a cold rain where they got drubbed, 30-0, by the eventual Rose Bowl champ. Their last game we attended came at Memorial Stadium on their campus in Champaign, Illinois in 2023. There Penn State, with soph QB Drew Allar, defeated them 30-13.
Tales of two coaches
We’ve seen both coaches lead their previous programs in games in prior seasons. Three years ago, we watched Curt Cignetti lead James Madsion into FBS play at Louisville. His JMU Dukes fell to the Cardinals, 34-10. It was the third loss for the Dukes in their inaugural FBS season on the way to an 8-3 record.
Illini HC Bret Bielema’s first game with us goes all the way back to 2008 when he coached Wisconsin at Michigan State in East Lansing, Michigan. The Badgers fell to the Spartans on a game-winning field goal as time expired. Bielema played a significant part in that loss as he spent a time-out on MSU’s final possession when he could have let the clock continue to run out. Live and learn, but that lingers as a tough way for any coach to lose. He left Wisconsin for Arkansas in 2013, and from there became an assistant to Nick Saban at Alabama. He returned to coach the Illini in the Big Ten once again in 2021.
In the last college football game we attended between a Power Five and a Group of Five team in 2022 , we saw Louisville defeat James Madison, a first-yi ear FBS program coached by Cignetti, 24-10.
AP Preseason Poll: No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 16 Illinois
Unusual to say the least. Rarely does the Big Ten feature a match-up between two top 25 teams on the very first week of conference play. Think: Ohio State vs. Michigan. Both coaches bring in teams after strong seasons with some prolific starters returning from within or transferring in since last season. Indiana finished 11-2 last year, tied for second place with Penn State for second with a Big Ten mark of 8-1. Many observers will say that their two losses to Ohio State (38-15) and to Notre Dame in the CFP (27-17) indicated how weak their regular season slate was. They averaged 41 points per game on offense while the defense allowed only 16 on average.
The Illini come off a 10-3 record with losses at Penn State, at Oregon and against Minnesota. They stunned a good South Carolina team, 27-17, in the Citrus Bowl. They averaged 28 points per game on offense and allowed 22 ppg on defense. Indiana and Illinois did not meet last season. However, the Hoosiers triumphed by three in their last two meetings – 45-42 at Champaign in 2023. They posted another close win, 23-20, in Bloomington the season before. An indication of another battle we’ll see this year? We hope so!
Statue University of Illinois’ iconic football legend Red Grange memorialized outside of Memorial Stadium.
Indiana: open portal keeps Hoosiers aloft
QB Kurtis Roarke entered from Ohio U. a season ago and moved on to the pros since. Cignetti found Fernando Mendoza from Cal well-equipped to replace him. He threw for 3004 yards, 16 TDs and six INTs in his second year as a starter in Berkeley. Two leading targets return to IU from last season. WR Elijah Surrat (53 catches for 957 yards and eight TDs) and Omar Cooper ( 28/594/7) look to challenge this year’s slate of Big Ten secondaries. At TE comes double-transferee Holden Staes via Tennessee after Notre Dame. At RB, the portal sucked in Roman Hemby from Maryland. In 38 starts, he rushed for 2,347 yards. Four experienced OL will see action including Pat Coogan who started 26 games for the Fighting Irish.
Seven defenders return on the other side of the ball for Indiana
MLB Aidan Fisher led the Hoosiers in tackles with 118. SS Amare Ferrel came up with 49 stops and four picks. DE (called STUD in IU terminology) Mikail Kamara recorded 47 tackles and 10 sacks applying tremendous pressure. CB De’Angelo Ponds, All-Sunbelt 2nd team at JMU in 2023 returns with 55 tackles and three INTs for the Hoosiers. They allowed 17.6 ppg last year, but their slate didn’t present too many noteworthy offenses. Illinois, Oregon and Penn State will test them this season.
Illini on the rise
Bielema’s fourth season at Illinois last year resulted in his best record at 10-3. With QB Luke Altmyer returning, confidence rises to improve upon last season. With Altmyer at a 60.8% completion rate, 2,717 yards and 22 TDs through the air and six INTs, the Illini feel they can only get better. His offensive line stays intact for great protection and solid skill players provide him a dangerous arsenal of weapons. Typically, the Illini feature a few top NFL OL prospects. Bielema lays claim that only former Alabama HC Nick Saban sent more offensive lineman to the NFL over the years than he did. The line will be among the top choices for the Joe Moore Award this year. College football bestows it on the best offensive line annually.
The backfield returns Aidan Laughery (601 yards, four TDs) and Kaden Feagin (314 yards and three TDs) ranked 2nd and 3rd among U of ILL rushers last season. Feagin started as the top back last season, but he sustained an injury after five games to sideline him the balance of the season. At wide receiver, Hudson Clement, WVU’s top receiver, joins a potent duo of Hank Beatty and Collin Dixon averaging 14.7 yards per reception. Four other transfers will vie for playing time in the receiving corps.
In 2022, Penn State brought the pressure to Altmyer. He will rely on a strongly fortified front to keep the IU pressure off him in this game.
Nine starters return on defense. OLB Gabe Jacas made Third Team All-American with 74 tackles including eight sacks. Their linebacking corps looks solid. First team Big 10 LB Xavier Scott returns with 49 tackles and four INTs. Dylan Rosiek and James Kreutz reset as the numbers three and four tacklers from last season’s team. Safeties Matt Bailey and Miles Scott have played in 69 games to combine for 227 tackles and eight INTs. All four secondary starters come back with full seasons of starting experience. Unlike a lot of other programs, this defense grew together within this program.
Great game ahead
Heading into their Big Ten opener, Indiana won’t be tested among ODU, 2-10 Kennesaw State under a new HC and FCS Indiana State beforehand. However, these games will allow them time to adjust to get all the new transfers playing on the same page. It seems like Curt Cignetti has the experience to do this once again. The Illini non-conference includes FCS Western Illinois, Duke and Western Michigan. Duke’s defense under Manny Diaz will be a good test for the Illini offensive potency. A challenge here could help strengthen them for this conflict.
We expect both squads coming into this one at 3-0. Both will have skilled talent returning including experienced QBs which ensures to make this a great early season battle. Assuredly, this game will get settled late the final period. Like that last two meetings, the final margin comes down to withing three points. Indiana has the home field advantage, but after last year’s success and plethora of returning starters among the Illini, is that a significant advantage?
Early season success starts with experienced quarterbacks
We saw Altmyer against Penn State in 2022, and reports indicate he’s improved. Mendoza also has a lot of experienced talent around him that should gel by then. This is a tough call. Cignetti? Bret Bielema? After deep thought, Illinois comes in more motivated as this team is already unified. Some players opted out of the NFL draft to play one more season together. In their first Big Ten game of the season, they see this as a stepping stone to win the conference title. Indiana had its shot last year. The Illini know that and won’t let the Hoosiers stand in their way. With great motivation, look for Illinois to win this in a tight, hard-fought, down to the wire battle. at Indiana’s Memorial Stadium. For our first time there, can’t wait!
Once again, a friendly and informative reminder
Click on the title of buy 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 page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Also, based on what you read 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 FBS team play over the years!
Clarksville, TN – Decided to take a U-turn north after our Saturday afternoon game to attend the 6 pm game at Fortera Stadium featuring Morehead State at Austin Peay. Originally, as planned in our previous preview, we planned to attend Stetson at UT Chattanooga after our venture to Sewanee. After further review, the game between the Hatters and the Moccasin doesn’t look competitive. That’s what we generally look for. If anything, that match-up provided us primarily with convenience to see two games in one day.
Last season, we saw the Hatters for the first time in a 70-48 loss at Davidson. Overall, they finished 2-9 and 0-7 in the Pioneer League. The Pioneer League plays as the only Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference without athletic scholarships. Hatter wins came over two NAIA teams, and they open with two more this season. UTC (7-5, 5-3 in 2024) competes as a solid program in the competitive Southern Conference. For our purposes, attending this game no longer interests us.
Stetson (in white) came back to make it close in the third period, but ‘five straight TDs by Davidson made the final score our highest in non-FBS competition with 118 points.
Good experiences at Austin Peay
Collegefootballfan.com has visited Fortera Stadium several times since relocating to Tennessee on 2021. Leaving Sewanee to get to Clarksville by 6 pm will be a challenge, but it should result in us seeing a more competitive game. 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.
Former Austin Peay HC Scotty Walden brought a lot of fun and spirit to the Governor’s program before he left to take over at UTEP before 2024.
Governors of preseason distinction
Unlike Stetson, Austin Peay opens against FBS programs at Middle Tennessee followed by Georgia. So, we expect them to have at least one loss before meeting Morehead. A preseason UAC Coaches Poll predicts they will finish sixth in conference play this season. Three Governors earned placement on the UAC Coaches Preseason All-Conference Team. DB Ellis Ellis, Jr. (that’s not a typo) made 26 tackles, three INTs and six pass break-ups to gain recognition. OL Chandler Kirton 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.
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. He picked up 480 yards and four TDs rushing. He threw for 2,354 yards, 15 TDs and seven INTs. WR Jaden Barnes returns as his 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
Like Stetson, the Morehead 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 Austin Peay, though in an 11-team conference, PL coaches select Morehead to finish sixth. Also, 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.
Austin Peay vs. Morehead State looks entertaining
Under second-year head coaches 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. This game should be a fight late into the game. We’re glad we found this opportunity to find a much more competitive game than we initially planned.
Austin Peay cheerleaders lead their fans in their chant, “Let’s Go Peay!”
Morehead to honor Alumnus QB Phil Simms
Morehead pays tribute to one of its greatest players of all-time on October 18. Prior to the game against the Marist (NY) Red Foxes, MSU will rename its Jayne Stadium in honor of Phil Simms. The New York Giant Super Bowl-winning QB and long-time television game analyst will be on-hand for the fitting ceremony. As we’ve witnessed many times before, you never know when you’ll see such great players make their marks early in their illustrious careers.
Collegefootballfan.com slate starts moving on up!
As stated in previous previews, we started the early season with cash flow in mind while seeking mostly interesting, “small school” match-ups on our docket. Late September, we start making our moves with two critical and exciting Big Ten clashes. Before noting the preseason rankings in parenthesis below, we always refuse to consider coaches polls. Coaches have interest in their own team only and the next team they will play. They should anyway. Voting for future opponents only bolsters their own team’s ranking. Not that we agree with the media either, but here we’ll utilize the traditional rankings of The Associated Press (AP) Poll.
Our next preview takes us to see Illinois (16) at Indiana (10). Our first game in Bloomington because, to be honest, they never played any games of significance there until HC Curt Cignetti arrived. Next, Oregon (3) at Penn State (5). The pundits just put too much emphasis on previous season results in their polling methodology as far as we’re concerned. However, they should have more time to analyze many teams than do head football coaches focused on developing, recruiting, analyzing transfer portals, game-planning, fundraising, media interacting and their upcoming opponent.
And a friendly and informative reminder
Click on the title of buy 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 page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Also, based on what you read 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 FBS team play over the years!
Our upcoming schedule heats up with two teams that battled at the Orange Bowl in the 2024 College Football Playoff semi-final. Will Notre Dame and Penn State return in to play one another again in the 2025 CFP edition?
