New Mexico State 11/13/10

I still have not totally recovered from the Fresno State game! We had those Bulldog wannabees right where we wanted and just could not execute at the right times. I just have to let it go! That does not mean it still does not hurt. When you get beat by a pussycat it takes time to heal. Darn, I hate to lose! Move on “College Football Dad” there is another game to get ready for. On the road we go to New Mexico State. This road monkey we’re carrying across the country is getting very heavy! Can we leave this monkey in Las Cruses, NM? I am sure the Aggies can supply a new home for it! I hate to lose more than anybody, but the girls at New Mexico State are taking their WAC losing streak to new heights. I ran across this article about a flier that stated the New Mexico State girls were on strike until the football team won. I will let your imagination run wild on what they were giving up until they won. HaHa! I find it quite interesting that three colleges have Pistol Pete as their mascot; Oklahoma St., Wyoming and New Mexico State. In 2005 New Mexico State's Pistol Pete had his pistol taken away and now he just carries a lasso. He now goes by Pete. How stupid is that? Now instead of shooting his water gun he is going to calf rope you! Watch out kids, Pete is on the loose! HaHa! Matt said he has had a great week of practice as well as the whole team. The intensity has been high! He said they have practiced a lot of placement kicks to different areas of the field. He told me not to be surprised if they did a few different things on kickoffs. I told him that nothing would really surprise me because Coach Dooley took care of that last year. Matt said that everyone was upbeat and they were ready to get on the road and take care of business. Matt was looking forward to visiting with Robert Clay #28 for New Mexico State after the game. They played against each other in high school. They got to know each other when they played on the HEB All-star team their senior year. They have stayed in touch and followed each other’s progress in college. Matt did call after they got checked in to the hotel in El Paso. He sat between Phillip Livas and Lyle Fitte on the plane and said they were a hoot. He said that he saw the Mexico/US border on their way to the hotel. They had a team dinner and a movie to go to before lights out! My game day is here and I have to finish some travel biz stuff, but that does not mean that I do not have ESPN Game Day on in the background. I live for Football Saturday! It feels weird not being outside with a grill and a tent looking at Joe Aillet Stadium. Early afternoon Janet (wife) and I met her Mom & Dad (Meggie & Papaw) and her Aunt & Uncle (David & Barbara) for a pre game meal at Gloria's in The Village at Fairview. The adult beverages were good and cold. My game watching party would be with ESPN3. This will be my first game this year to watch on ESPN3. My extra pairs of drawers are on and I decided to change up my adult beverage choice and go with beer. Full Sails Amber to be exact. I needed to do something different to help get this road monkey off of our backs. The kick is away and here we go! Three quick plays and we punt. What is that? Did that just happen? The Aggies get the ball and after 9 plays settle for a 26 yard FG. This was not the start I was looking for. Maybe the beer thing is a bad idea! We get the ball back and run some Ray Holley and there it is, a TD pass to Andrew Guillot. Matt connects with the PAT and I feel better. The Aggies go three and out and they have to punt. Six plays later Lennon Creer puts it in the end zone and Matt connects on another PAT. Let's keep this going! We get the ball back with a Chad Boyd interception and the Bulldogs are on the move. The first quarter comes to an end with the Bulldogs up 14 - 3. We start the 2nd quarter off with an incomplete pass and it is 4th down. Matt come out and nails a 47 yard FG. Wow! He made great contact with the ball! There was no doubt when he hit it! Awesome Matt! New Mexico State gets the ball and drives down field with 10 plays and scores a TD. Not good! We both exchange punts on the next two possessions. Tech gets the ball back at the 7:31 mark and we run 9 plays with Ross Jenkins scoring on a 7 yard run! Matt connects on the PAT and the 2nd half comes to an end with the bulldogs up 24 - 10. I can breathe a little now. The 3rd quarter did not go as I expected it to. We did have an awesome interception by Javontay Crowe, but we throw a pick 6 and Matt missed a 44 yard FG. He made good contact with it and by Matt's reaction he thought it had to have been close. The refs said no good! I hate my computer right now. I normally pace during these games and that is what I am going to start doing. I am done with the beer and it is time to move to the box. The 3rd quarter comes to an end with Tech up 24 -17. We start the 4th quarter off with an 11 play drive and Matt boots a 21 yard FG. That gives a little breathing room, but we need more. The Aggies come back with a 12 play drive and connect with a 31 yard FG. This is way too close and I think I am going to stand on the patio and watch my computer from outside. We take the kick off and 3 plays later it is Phillip Livas to the house for a 62 yard TD. Matt kicks the PAT and this patio thing just might be working! Matt kicks off and it is a sky left and we recover the fumble. I guess this was one of those position kicks he told me about earlier in the week. Six plays later and Phillip Livas scores again! Woo Hoo! Matt kicks the PAT and I am no longer in need of oxygen. Matt kicks off again and it is a squib right and it goes out of the end zone. I cannot say that I have ever seen a squib go out of the end zone. It looks like to me they are playing keep away from Taveon Rogers. Tech holds the Aggies and the 4th quarter comes to an end with Tech winning 41 - 20! I am doing the patio dance! The road monkeys are dead! We finally win on the road! On a short note, ESPN3 sucks! I hope I have enough box wine to celebrate with. This is awesome! The whole team played great. We had our moments, but in the end we showed how much heart and determination these young men had! I wanted to take a moment and say a prayer for Chad Boyd and his family. Chad was injured during the game and he was taken to a local hospital. Chad and the Boyd family my thoughts and prayers are with you! I am mentally exhausted. I really do not like watching games on the computer. This was an incredible win and I am very proud of the team and the coaching staff. I am so happy for Andrew Guillot scoring his first touchdown! I know there will be many more. I want to give a shout out to Ryan Allen. He had 5 punts for a 43 yard average and 4 of them inside the 20! I also want to give a shout out to Robert Clay #28 on New Mexico State. I watched him play in high school and he got his first start tonight. Great game Robert and 108 yards on our defense is pretty stout. I have a very special shout out to my niece Mikayla! She plays for the Liberty Hill Panthers 7th grade basketball “A Team” and they won their first tournament of the year. Way to go Mikayla! We are very proud of you! I am going to save my final shout out for Dan "The Equipment Man" Matthiesen and the entire equipment staff. They re-painted all of the helmets and those babies were shinning! They did look good! The equipment staff and the training staff do so much behind the scenes to get this team ready for battle. I thank you for all that you do. I did talk to Matt after the game and he was pretty excited with the win. He said he kicked the crap out of the 47 yard FG and the sweet spot was nailed. He said that the 44 yard FG was close and he hates kicking on fields that have high school height goal posts. He said if he gets good height on the ball it is hard for the refs to tell if it is close to the post. I asked him about his last two kicks and he said that CD and CT told him to put it in open space and keep it away from Rogers. He was shocked as well that the squib right went out of the end zone. Matt also said the special teams coach from New Mexico State came up to him after the game and told him that he had made huge gains in the weight room from last year and he really kicked the ball well. Matt thought it was neat that a coach from the other team would make those comments. He did get to visit with Robert Clay for a few minutes before heading to the locker room. Matt said on one of the kick returns that he was heading down field on, that after the play was over that Robert was jumping up and down saying "There is Matt Nelson, There is Matt Nelson" Matt thought it was hilarious! It was a great team win and he could not wait to get back to Ruston. Winning on the road is tough, but now that the monkey is staying in Las Cruses, we have no more excuses this year! Just take one game at a time! We play San Jose St. on the 27th. They are 1 -9 with their only win over Southern Utah. They play Hawaii this weekend. They have a mascot who wears feathers on its head and carries a spear. That is enough on San Jose St. for now! Just a quick side note on Chad Boyd. He was released from the hospital and was able to fly home with the team. We are very thankful for this news! The Thanksgiving holidays are next on my list of things to do. I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday! I hope your turkey stays moist and your pies warm your bellies! Please be safe in your travels and make sure you save room for seconds! I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. I would be honored if you would share my stories with other college football fans! It is such a blast to follow Matt Nelson through his eyes and the Bulldog team! I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. I don’t intend to hurt anyone, but I am very passionate about La Tech Football! Everything I say comes from my heart! I am just a College Football Fan! Don’t forget to listen to my friends at Tech Nation Radio every week. The photo’s are courtesy of Gantt Graham and La Tech Athletics. May your Football Season be filled with many Football Victories, Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel Your Way! If you know anyone who needs help with their travel plans just let me know. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

Fresno State 11/6/10

It seems like the Boise St. game has lingered on forever. We had so many what ifs in that game. We had blind zebra's, a prison inmate on the loose and a WAC Commissioner who graduated as a smurf! When you have all of that going against us it made the task at hand impossible! Boy Karl should be handcuffed, painted blue and strapped to a jack-ass dressed in a referee's uniform! Come on Boy Karl, your love for the Broke Back Mountain Broncos was shown to the nation in HD! You have to be so proud! All I can tell you is that I am ready for a home game. I am ready to serve up some home cookin'! We are given another 10 day week and I know our coaches will be scheming! November is upon us and not only is it “No Shave November” it is "The Battle of the Bone" No Shave November? Really? My research tells me that this is a tradition at some colleges in November where the man does not shave his facial hairs and the ladies do not shave their leg hairs (not good). I wonder what the winner gets. A big can of Nair? Sounds like everyone is getting ready for furry winter! HaHa! In New York "The Battle of the Bone" is a wing eating contest, but in our neck of the woods it is the "Big Dawg Battle" Fresno State, how can you even claim to be a Bulldog anyway? Your mascot looks like a cross promotional ad for a Friskies commercial. Do you bring your liter box to the games? You should be ashamed to have a cat named Timeout as you mascot! You are not a real Bulldog! Matt had a few bumps and bruises from the prison inmate ambush to heal from, but more importantly he was getting ready for Fresno State. After practice Saturday Matt & Kasie (Matt's girlfriend) made their way to Dallas for a quick visit to our new pad in the North Dallas area. We made pizza and watched college football into the wee hours of the night. It was a blast listening to Matt watch a game. We found some cheap tickets online and went to see Jacksonville play Dallas in the Space Ship from Mars on Sunday! We got there early so Matt could watch Josh go through his warm ups. Josh is really kicking the ball well. It was pretty weird to see Josh and Chris Boniol down on the field together. One as a current player and one as a kicking coach! It was like a La Tech kicker’s reunion except they were missing Matt Stover. Matt did run into Melissa (Josh's wife) and got to visit with her before the game started. Josh had a lot of family at the game. It was a good game and Jacksonville came out on top. Matt & Kasie decided to stay Sunday night and get up early Monday morning to head back to Ruston. Matt had weights at 11:00 AM. It was a short visit, but a great visit! I talked to Matt several times during the week. Practice was going extremely well. The team is hungry for a win! He said he kicked very well when kicking live with the team. The ball was making a good popping sound off of his foot and he was getting great height on all of his kicks. The special teams had a couple of new stunts that they might run if Fresno State lined up a certain way. The special team’s game is way too complicated for me. There are way too many options! I guess that is why I am a bleacher coach. I am not exactly sure, but Matt did say they were going to stay in Shreveport on Friday night. My tailgate preparation started on Wednesday. I had 5 gallons of chili to make. Our menu consisted of chili, chili dogs, Frito pies; lamb chops (for my uncle Glenn) and soft baked pretzels before the game. There would be pork tenderloin sliders, more chili dogs and grilled smores after the game! We have family coming in from Kansas City, Dallas, Houston (Surprise) and from Florida (The Villages). The guest list consisted of Pat & Bob (aunt/uncle), Glenn & Suzi (aunt/uncle), Scott & David (cousin’s husbands) John & Carol (mom/dad) T-Bone (family friend), Cathy, Wes, Parker & Peyton (sister's family), The Gunell's (family friends of 5), David & Barbara (Janet's aunt/uncle) Kaeley (Barbara's granddaughter) and Meggie (Janet's mom). I don't think I am missing anyone. Wow! That is a lot of people! That makes 24 with Janet & I and that will put a few butts in the seats! We loaded up the suburban Thursday night and hit the road to Ruston early Friday morning after we boarded the dogs. After a few stops along the way we roll into Ruston around 12:30 PM. We checked into the Fairfield Inn and iced the coolers down. My parents, T-Bone and my aunts & uncles have been in Shreveport since Wednesday. You know when you are retired you have an urge to gamble! We met Matt at Johnny's Pizza around 1:30 for a quick lunch before he had to report to the field house. My aunt Pat and uncle Bob had been to the bookstore and had several bags of La Tech goodies. Their granddaughter Sierra is a big Matt fan and he signed a shirt and a hat for them to take back to her in Kansas City. The pizza was really good! Uncle Bob, thanks for lunch! After a fattening lunch we headed over to the stadium and set our tents, tables, grill and chairs up for tomorrow. It makes it really nice to get this part already taken care of and many thanks to the La Tech Police for keeping an eye on all of the tailgaters stuff during the night. It was going to be fun time in Shreveport tonight. We were celebrating my aunt Suzi's birthday and my cousin’s daughter Kelsey who plays for UMKC (University of Missouri Kansas City) was playing Centenary in volleyball tonight. This was going to be my first college volleyball game and I was pretty stoked. It was a great match and UMKC won 3 matches to 0. Kelsey played awesome! Great spikes, great blocks and amazing serves! Their team was staying in Shreveport for the night so Kelsey got to go to dinner with us as we celebrated aunt Suzi's birthday. Happy Birthday Suzi! We made it back to Ruston around midnight and game day was already here. We loaded everyone up and landed at tailgate spot 52 at 8:30 AM. It was a very brisk morning and it was the perfect temperature for a day of food and football! After about 30 minutes of additional setup we are good to party. The bloody mary's are made and the grill is lit. Chili is warming in the pot and the bowls are waiting! About 10:30 some of the family starts to arrive. Mr. Hamm, Mr. Rust, Mr. Garland and Mr. Harper came by to visit as well. We did find out that my aunt Pat and Mr. Harper were born in the same year and on the same day. What a small world we live in. Mr. Harper, thanks for all of the water! Bobby & Julie were making jambalaya today. Bobby had this incredible jambalaya pot/burner that he was cooking in. He even had a stainless steel paddle! Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is one of these please! Bradley, Dusty and Bryan made fried fish and chips. The fish was fried to perfection and was awesome! Thanks for sharing! You guys are awesome! John (dad) and Flip agreed at the last home game that they would each bring a bottle of wine for a few of us to sample before the game. No one was disappointed as they showed up with a bottle of Caymus and a bottle of Nickel & Nickel. The bottles were gently opened, then poured and we swirled, sniffed, toasted and sampled these amazing wines! Thanks to John & Flip for sharing! I finally got to sample Bobby's jambalaya and it was incredible. The rice and flavor were perfect! I was in jambalaya heaven! You are an amazing cook Bobby and I am fortunate that I get to watch! The chili is hot, the foot longs are on the grill, the Frito's are in the bowl, the lamb chops are searing, the beer is flowing and the soft baked pretzels are warm! Finally food is served! About damm time! You made everyone wait forever! The tailgate grub was pretty good! What a great day for football! The weather is great and spending time with the family is even greater! We hear the sirens and the team is arriving. We make are way over to tailgate alley and get to see Matt before he heads into the stadium. As always his game face is on! After a few more beers it is time to head into the stadium. We need to bottle this weather! We take the opening kickoff and in six plays we hit pay dirt. Ross to Taulib and Matt connects on the PAT. Fresno St. fumbles on their first possession and we take advantage with a little trickery as Richie hits Ross for a 42 yard scamper. Ross fumbled at the goal line and Taulib recovers. Matt connects on the PAT and we are up 14 -0! Do you believe? Fresno answers with a TD and the score is 14 - 7. We take the ball and march down to the Fresno St. 27 where we are faced with a 4th down. CF decides to go for it and we fail. When you are within the range of your kicker you go for the points. IMO this is a momentum killer when you are sniffing the red zone and you do not execute and come away with some points! Fresno St. connects on a 49 yard field goal and the half comes to an end with La Tech up 14 - 10. Our 2nd quarter consisted of 6 plays for a total of 15 yards on two possessions. How do you do this? We trade punches in the 3rd quarter as we both score a TD. The 3rd quarter comes to an end with the La Tech up 21 - 17. Four fingers are up as we get ready to start the 4th quarter. Before I can blink, Fresno St. scores 16 points with two touchdowns, a field goal and a missed PAT. Tell me this is not happening! Fresno St. kicks off to us at the 4:10 mark and it is “Saturday Night Livas” to the house and a Matt PAT! I don't think Phillip was even touched. I think we have a chance. We hold them to a punt and oh no it is intercepted and Fresno St. runs it up the gut for another TD. We take the kick off at the 2:20 mark and score a quick TD. It is a high snap and the PAT is blocked. Penetration is a bad word when you are on offense. We had no blocks last year and this year we have had 2! Maybe we need to move back a half yard or so! We still are in this, but it is going to take a recovery on an on-sides kick to get the ball back with only 1:12 left in the game. The kick is made and it is a bunt kick! Why do you do a bunt kick on an obvious on-sides kick? Everyone knows what you are going to do. If I were the coach I would of called a spike right of left! I guess that is why I am in the bleachers! The ball goes 8 yards and the ball touches a Fresno St. player almost at the same time Matt gets to the ball. Matt has the ball at the bottom of the pile and the scrum is on. When the dust settles Fresno St. has the ball and runs the clock out for a 40 - 34 victory! I am exhausted and speechless! This game was there for the taking! Most of the family made their way over to the locker room area to visit with Matt and take some photos. I am sure he will not be a happy camper! I have to get the grill lit and I really, really need a beer! The family all made it back over to the tailgate area and shortly thereafter Matt made it over. He was a great guest of honor, but you could tell he wanted to scream! I did not ask him much. He had a pretty good scraping on his left arm. Matt said that once the ball touched the Fresno St. player he grabbed the ball and it got clawed away from him under the pile. He said you do not want to know what happens under there and he promises that if he is in that position again that no one will get the ball away from him! You could tell he was pretty upset with how the game ended. Pork tenderloin sliders, foot long dogs and grilled smores are served. Wow this has been a long day! The thing that stands out to me the most was that this team never quit or gave up. They played to the bitter end! Even though we came up short on the stick I still love the heart and the desire of this team! I will go to war with all of these guys! Our night comes to an end and I my back is stiff and I need a glass of red wine! I want to thank all of the family and friends who made their way into Ruston this weekend from many parts of the United States. We are so blessed and the support of Matt and La Tech has been incredible! Please have safe travels back to your homes! I want to give a special shout out to John & Carol (mom & dad) for making 4 home games and 1 away game this year all the way from The Villages, FL. Many thanks for all of the support! My 2nd shout out goes to Matt Nelson. He was officially named to the ESPN Academic All District Team for District 6. District 6 consists of D1/1AA schools in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. This now makes him eligible for the ESPN Academic All American award! Matt is not only dedicated to his craft on the field, he is also dedicated to his grades. We are all proud of all of your accomplishments Matt! Thanks for taking us on your journey! Sunday morning gets here faster than I anticipated. Janet & I load all of the tailgate stuff into the suburban and get ready to head back to Dallas. Matt stops by and we load him up with the leftover food. He was on his way to breakdown film before he headed to church. I don't know that much about New Mexico St. They are 2 -7 and have wins against New Mexico and San Jose St. This will be the 3rd Aggie team we have played this year. They have a kick returner who is averaging 28.4 yards on 30 kick returns. I was looking at their fight song and it reads like they already are going to lose. That is hilarious! New Mexico St. Fight Song: Aggies, Oh Aggies! The hills send back the cry, we’re here to do or die! Aggies, Oh Aggies! We’ll win this game or know the reason why! And if we win this game, we’ll buy a keg of booze, and we’ll drink it to the Aggies ‘till we wobble in our shoes! I know that there is no guarantee for a win, but we need to get the road game monkey off of our back! We need to take one game at a time! I predict the bulldogs will score at will and will score often. Best of luck in Las Cruces Bulldogs! Go kick some Aggie tail! I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. It is such a blast to follow Matt Nelson through his eyes and the Bulldog team! I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. I don’t intend to hurt anyone, but I am very passionate about La Tech Football! Everything I say comes from my heart! I am just a College Football Fan! Don’t forget to listen to my friends at Tech Nation Radio every week. May your Football Season be filled with many Football Victories, Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel Your Way! If you know anyone who needs help with their travel plans just let me know. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

Boise St. 10/26/10

The week we have been anticipating is finally here except they gave us a 10 day week! When you play a top 10 nationally ranked team it is always good to have a few extra days to put in the right game plan. I know all of the Tech coaches will have great game plans called and cannot wait to see it all played out on the field! I was hoping to go to this game since La Tech will not be going back to Boise anytime soon, but when you are trying to start a new business those special trips will have to remain on hold! After 2 straight wins I am pretty excited about going into Boise. I always try to uncover some dirt on the team we are playing and the only thing I could come up with was this stupid Blue turf! Why would you want to do this? Boise AD Gene Blaymeier thought they needed some notoriety and in 1986 the Smurf Turf was introduced to the world. Chris Berman of ESPN calls it the "Blue Plastic Tundra" There are 3 colleges with colored turf. Besides Boise St. University of New Haven has a blue field and Eastern Washington has a red field. There are also 3 high schools that have colored fields as well. There is this crazy myth that, mistaking the blue field for a large body of water, birds have flown into the blue turf and to their deaths. Although Broncos coach Chris Peterson claimed to have found a dead duck on the field in 2009, the origin of the duck on the field has never been confirmed. Now that is funny right there! I talked to Matt many times during the 10 day gap between games. They had a couple of days off and then it was back to practice and meetings as usual. Matt went over with me a few pieces of the special team’s game plan that CT wanted to put in place for Boise St. I was really not sure what to think about it, but all I knew was I would need a few more boxes of red wine this week than my normal allotment and a few extra pairs of drawers on standby. Matt said that when they introduced the new game plan during live practice that everyone was blown away. Matt was super stoked about it and I was still trying to understand why! Matt said that all of the practices were intense and the team was really fired up and could not wait to get to Boise. They were confident with their game plans for the offense, defense and special teams and they had nothing but defeating Boise on their minds! If you have not read it, Patrick Walsh (Louisiana Tech Media Relations) wrote an awesome article on Chris Boniol. Check it out when you have a few minutes. Having a Saturday free of La Tech football gave Janet (wife) and I the opportunity to drive down to Huntsville, TX to watch my nephew (Parker Johnson) play football. He plays on the Vikings which is a senior league team (5th grade) out of The Woodlands, TX. He is a stud football player and plays tight end, fullback, defensive end and defensive back! You got it; he plays on both sides of the ball and plays every play. We left Saturday around noon and made it in time to watch him warm up and then it was game time. Parker played awesome with several tackles and a fumble recovery. I witnessed something at the game that I have never seen before. My brother-n-law (Wes) was on the chain gang and he was keeping up and doing a real good job. Then I see a referee huddle on the sidelines and he got kicked off of the chains in the 2nd quarter for telling the ref that a player on the other team was holding. The ref booted him from the chains! It was quite humorous! The Vikings won the game in the last seconds with touchdown to defeat Huntsville 19 - 18. Parker, you played a great game! I talked to Matt for a few minutes Monday morning after he finished his class. He was packing up and heading to the field house. Then it was off to the airport. They touched down in Boise right around 4:00. I thought they might have done a walk through on the blue turf, but they went directly to the hotel. They had a team dinner and then broke out to position meetings. Tuesday was a work day and I needed to be working, but I could not think about anything except the game. I thought about setting one of the tents up and sit under it for a while, but that would not work since I no longer have a yard. I am not waiting any longer! I open a beer and turn on ESPNU! This is much better. Now I am getting my mind right! After a few adult beverages I need to get the game food rolling. Our menu was quite simple with queso, tacos, margaritas and box wine. Sort of a private tailgate since it was just going to be Janet (wife) and me. I logged on to the live chat with Patrick Walsh so I could follow what was going on during pre-game. If you ever have the chance to do this there are quite a few folks who like to chat while watching the game live on TV. It was really very cool. Thanks Patrick for sending me the link. You do an awesome job keeping us informed through social media! My glass is in hand, clock shows 7:00, the TV is tuned to ESPN2 and it is game time. It looks like Tech is going to kick off. Matt on the Smurf Turf, oh my! The kick is away with good hang time down to the 5 yard line. That was great special team’s coverage. It looks like there is some wind, but I can’t tell for sure without really being there. Boise St. stalls on their first possession with a missed field goal and La Tech takes over. That is the first time this year the Boise St. has not scored on their opening possession. Great job defense! Our first possession we go 4 and out. Boise St. gets the ball back and in 6 plays they score. Tech gets the ball back and after a series of rush and pass plays we hit pay dirt and tie the score 7 - 7 at the 3:39 mark in the first quarter. I think I know what is coming next, but I don't truly know and yes it is the on-sides kick right and we recover. Oh know there is a flag for offsides. What a great kick and recovery! CD got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called and we are kicking off from the 12. CD, I am all for giving the refs crap! Especially these sorry WAC refs! Props to you for taking a stance! To be honest I have never seen a kickoff from the 12. Can you see the other goal post from there? The kick is away and the next thing I know Boise St. has run it back 54 yards. Janet (wife) hollers, where was Matt? Next thing she says is he must have got hit. I was watching the run and not the left side of the TV. Since I am on the live chat I got to see Patrick's comment that Nelson was limping off of the field on the live chat! Note to self: Dumb-ass, you do have a DVR and you are recording the game! Have you ever heard of the rewind button? Good now I feel much better! Janet (wife) sent a text message to Dan "The Equipment Man" and he confirmed that Matt got attacked by a Boise St. head hunter and he smoked Matt from his backside. I know football is a very tough hard hitting sport, but a cheap shot like that is uncalled for no matter whom it is! Dan did say that Matt was limping pretty well, but he was kicking into the net on the sidelines. Boise St. would score 3 times to make the score 28 - 7 at halftime! I am concerned about Matt! I am concerned about all of the non holding calls that these awesome WAC refs are making! Benson should not be allowed to require refs to wear blinders when Boise St. is playing. It is so obvious that this is the case. Dan shoots Janet (wife) a message that they are going to give Matt a couple of shots in his left hip to help with the pain. Matt is tough, I just hope he does not do further damage if there is real damage. I really don't know! We receive the kick opening the 3rd quarter and run 14 plays with an awesome pass from Ross to Phillip! Matt is in for the PAT and it is no good! I knew when there was no skip through on his finish that is was going to be pushed right. It was almost like his plant leg froze as he was kicking through the ball! I wonder if the pain shots have caused numbness in the left hip. I really don’t know, but it was not the normal Matt follow through. I know his critics are going to rub salt in his wounds on this one. That is just the way it is in sports. You have fans who are liker’s and you have fans who are haters! I knew what most of the kickoffs were supposed to be, but was not sure of the sequence. The kick is away and it is the sky left! It is muffed by Boise St. and La Tech recovers. Woo Hoo! Let's put this baby in the end zone! We run 7 plays and the ball goes back to Boise St. This was our chance to stick the knife in a little. The 3rd quarter comes to an end with Boise St. up 42 - 13! On our next 2 possessions in the 4th quarter we get inside the 5 and give the ball back to Boise St. We had no choice but to go for these 4th downs. I just wish we could have put the ball in the end-zone! We score at the 1:21 mark and I hope Matt can plant through the pain. PAT is good! Matt makes a good spike right and we almost come up with the ball. Boise St. runs the clock out and wins the game 49 - 20! Oh the non holding calls, the missed PAT, the pass coverage and the red zone execution, why did you do us that way? We had them back peddling in so many ways! Matt called and talked to his mom (Janet) before they boarded the buses to the airport. He was pretty sore and his head was a little foggy! He said #5 blew him up out of nowhere! He tried to get up and he said to himself, I might not be getting up real soon, but I am not letting the trainers help me off the field! Matt said the missed PAT was solely on him and the pain that shot down his plant leg at the time his left foot hit the ground caused him to open his right hip up. This pushed the ball to more to the right than he expected! He did not say a whole lot about the game overall except they had a great game plan across the board and things just did not go their way. I hope the wind blows downhill so they get back to Ruston faster! Way too many emotional highs and lows for me. I never have liked roller coasters! I hate to lose, but I love the direction this team is going! My hand goes out to this team and the coaching staff! The effort and the heart you showed tonight are going to take this program to the next level in many ways. Most of the family and friends have watched the video of the cheap hit on Matt applied by #5 of Boise St! I hope our AD gets a copy to Benson. I don't know if it will happen or not, but I can tell if we did something like that we would have players suspended before we arrived back in to Ruston! #5 circled back around the kickoff coverage and was on one mission and that was to take out La Tech's kicker! Coach Peterson you should be real proud! Go to ESPN3 and watch the kickoff from the 12 yard line at the 3:40 mark in the 1st quarter. Then you will see how this pre calculated ambush took place! Talked to Matt on Wednesday AM and he had to report to the trainers at 2:30. Keith told him he most likely had a hip pointer and a possible concussion. The team did not practice on Thursday and they would resume practice on Friday. As I stated before I hate all roller coasters, especially the emotional ones! I guess that is what makes college football the ultimate sport. We get do all of these crazy things as fans to support our team and at the end of the day we still love everyone of those players! Take one game at a time! We have 4 games left and all 4 games are possible wins! A good game plan and execution on the field will have us bowling! I want to give a shout out to Adam McGuirt the Director of LTAC and Zach Williams and Marshall Loeffler at the ticket office. These guys (other staff as well) do so much behind the scenes to make everything so easy for all of us! Thanks so much for everything that you do! The Battle of the Bone is staring us in the face. Fresno St. ventures into Ruston on Saturday, November 6th. What that dog doesn't know is that there is only one dog allowed in Ruston! Fresno St. comes in with a 5 - 2 record with losses to Mississippi and Hawaii. This is going to be a tough game, but with our fans and the way we play at home I feel very confident that our coaching staff will have this team very prepared and on point! Fresno St. has some offensive weapons and one those is junior kicker Kevin Goessling. He is 11 – 13 on FG’s and 29 – 29 on PAT’s for the year. On kickoffs he is averaging 63 yards with 5 touch backs and 4 kicks out of bounds. He is also a Lou Groza semi-finalist. Field position is going to be the key for this game along with play execution! Our kickoffs, punts and coverages are going to help set the tone for the game and might be one of the determining factors. Halloween is in the air, so please be safe out on the streets and I hope you get every candy flavor you ever wanted! I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. On a side note I want to congratulate the Texas Rangers for making it to the World Series! They might be down in the series, but there is still a lot of baseball to be played! Go Rangers! It is such a blast to follow Matt through his eyes and the Bulldog team! I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are at that moment. I don’t intend to ruffle any feathers or hurt anyone, but I am very passionate about La Tech Football! Everything I say comes from beneath my feathers! I am just a College Football Fan! Some of the photos are courtesy of La Tech Sports Pix and were taken by the world famous photographer Tom Morris. Other photos were courtesy of Dan “The Equipment Man” Matthiesen and Gantt Graham. Thanks for sharing! Don’t forget to listen to my friends at Tech Nation Radio every week. May your Football Season be filled with many Football Victories, Sunny Smiles, Sandy Dreams and Travel Your Way! If you know anyone who needs help with their travel plans just let me know. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!