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!
Lebanon, TN- We like to point out success of college players we see the make the current year’s Super Bowl. Many we see in action make it to the top of their profession each season. The ultimate goal for all players targets the Super Bowl! Between the Patriot and the Seahawks, we’ve seen some of their best players perform and reach that highest mark. We also enjoy perusing through photos we’ve shot over the years. Many we’ve captured during a key performance or big game in their collegiate pasts. With that, we post some of the best players who’ve reached that goal. Fun to have seen them during the course of this great, unique adventure of ours!
Super Defensive Patriots
K’lavon Chiasson makes stop here against Oklahoma in LSU’s 63-28 semi-final blowout. They moved on to capture the National Championship in 2019.S Dell Pettus (1) moves in for a Duke fumble for Troy in the 2022 Birmingham Bowl. The Trojans fell to the Blue Devils after their HC Jon Sumrall left Troy to take over at Tulane. After successfully leading the Green Wave to the CFP, Sumrall moves on to take over the Florida Gators.SMU CB Charles Woods (middle) moves in to break up this East Carolina pass in the Mustang’s 31-10 win in Greenville, NC. SMU went 11-3 to win the American Athletic Title. The following year, they joined the ACC and went on to play in the first round of the CFP at Penn State.NC State DT Corey Durden (48) in pursuit of Wake Forest QB John Wohlford in a 45-42 loss in a great ACC battle in 2021.
Super Patriots on Offense
Penn State OT Caedan Wallace (73) opening a hole for Nick Singleton. The Lions lost this one to eventual National Champs Michigan in 2023.WR Demario Douglas accelerates for a big gain against Louisiana at a home game in Lynchburg in 2021. He and QB Malik Willis made it to the pros. However, they fell to the Ragin Cajuns in this one, 42-14.
Super Seahawks on Defense
Texas DT Byron Murphy II (90) fights off Baylor Bear blocker here in 2022 Longhorn victory in a 38-27 comeback to finish the regular season at 8-4.Auburn LB Derick Hall (29) fights through Penn State blockers in a loss at home in 2022. Super tailgate party with Tiger and Lion fans together before this one on “the Plain.”Hot pursuit of a UCLA RB by USC LB Uchenna Nwosu (42) and fellow Trojans in 28-23 victory over their archrival in 2017. Took more and clearer pictures of UCLA cheerleaders during this game in the LA Coliseum.LB Tyrice Knight (10 in white) in pursuit of Jacksonville State QB Zion Turner. The Miners opened on the road in a 17-14 loss in 2023. For Seattle, Knight primarily plays a back-up role for Ernest Jones. We saw Jones play for South Carolina in 2020 but did not record any good pics of him.
Super Seattle Secondary
No. 27 DB Julian Love here in action in 2016. He played his sophomore season for Notre Dame against Stanford in South Bend. The Irish fell to The Cardinal that day, 17-10, to finish 4-8. A win in the Super Bowl for the Seahawks would be his 15th win this season.Cincinnati DB Coby Bryant (8) reads UCF QB Dillon Gabriel in this 2020 covid-shortened season. His Bearcats triumphed, 36-33, here in Orlando to finish the regular season, 9-0. They fell to Georgia, 24-21, in the Peach Bowl.South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori (21) seen here in 2022 in a 24-14 win over Kentucky. In 2024, we saw him play for an even tougher Gamecock defense during a 28-7 win over Vanderbilt. A year later, he starts for the Seahawks going into the Super Bowl.
Seattle Super Offense
QB Sam Darnold (14) led USC to the 28-23 win over crosstown rival UCLA in 2017. We figured him the better prospect in this one despite Bruin QB Josh Rosen out passing him 461 to 264. Darnold inspired his team to victory. From USC, he went to the Jets, to the Vikings and in his first year with the Seahawks, to the Super Bowl. Houston Cougar OT Josh Jones (74) blocks up front against Navy in his team’s 49-36 win in Annapolis. The Cougars finished 8-4 to go to the Armed Forces Bowl where they lost big to Army, 70-14.Iowa OT Mason Richman (78) seen here against Kentucky in the 2022 Music City Bowl in a 21-0 victory. Can’t say that the Hawkeye offense impressed us. They took a 14-0 lead with two pick-sixes. But Richman must have learned something since as the Seahawks move on to the Super Bowl with a very potent offense and defense.Michigan TE AJ Barner (89) trails teammate Blake Corum for a long run against Penn State in their 24-15 win on the road to a 15-0 record and the CFP championship in 2023. The Seahawks will not finish undefeated this year, but Barner, who plays in many three-TE formations, may be on his way to his second national championship in three years!
Missing in Photos Action
In addition to missing out on any photos of LB Ernest Jones in action, some other notable Super Bowl LX participants we watched did not make our photo files. In particular. RB Kenneth Walker III of Seattle evaded us. We didn’t see him play for Michigan State, but he scored a touchdown for Wake Forest against Louisville in 2019 when our one-game scoring record was set. The Cardinals defeated the Demon Deacons, 62-59, in regulation.
From a New England perspective, we missed out on some big plays by RB TreVeyon Henderson in Ohio State’s 44-31 win over Penn State in 2022. The Buckeyes scored 28 points in the fourth period to overcome a Lions lead that day. PSU held the OSU running game in check until then when Henderson broke off a 41-yard TD run. Following a later turnover by PSU, he ran it in again from the seven. That season, the Buckeyes lost their last two games to Michigan and Georgia to finish 11-2. In 2024, with Henderson, Ohio State went 15-0 and defeated Notre Dame in the CFP final, 34-23. A Super Bowl win by the Patriots on February 7 will put Henderson on National Champions in two consecutive seasons!
Read about our last 45 years of college football history!!
Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. 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. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some memories you encountered with us.
Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”
