Texas State - 11/10/12

I am not sure I have totally recovered from the UTSA game. I had mixed emotions going into the game and I think I am still mixed up. I pulled the ultimate no no in college football and that was leaving the stands before the game was over and taking my emotions and let them take me away from what was the most important thing and that was to be there to support Matt and the Bulldog football team. I am ashamed of myself and after several sleepless nights I have decided to turn my leaf from the back to the front. I am turning over a new leaf and I will be there for Matt and this team no matter what happens. I did not say the leaf thing would be pretty, but I had to do it. I will stand proud through thick and thin and we will do this together. I know I let Matt Nelson down along with my family and all of our friends.

I promise you will see a new CFD and I apologize to those who my actions affected. Wow! Can you believe we are 8 -1? This is fantastic and I am very proud of the fight, determination and the never give up attitude that this team has. It is now time for me to get my mind right for the want-a-be hill country Bobcats. Texas State is stuck right in the middle of Austin and San Antonio. Matt has kicked in Bobcat stadium before in a high school playoff game. They are one of the biggest party schools in the nation. My understanding is that some of the professors teach class during the keg parties and even help float the keg. That sounds like some great learning material as they earn their degree. :)

We have a lot of family and a lot of new family coming to the game. Since Matt and Kasie's announced engagement we have new family members who live in the San Antonio area who will be joining our tailgate. Matt and Tyler have several friends who have graduated from Texas State who will be joining us as well. I have not tailgated at Texas State before so this will be uncharted waters. It should be a blast. I spoke with Matt several times this week. After several film sessions with CT it looks like they have found a few tweaks that needed to be made. There were just a couple of things that Matt was doing different from the beginning of the season. When you kick as many PAT's and kickoffs that Matt has sometimes you need a tune-up.

Matt said the little adjustments made all the difference in the world. He has kicked the ball well with team and when charting with CT. He sounded pretty excited. He said the team is excited about the Texas State game and knows they have to take one game at a time. Nothing else matters except the game at hand. You take care of business and move on. They did work on some kicks down the middle, but for the most part they were still focused on the left corner. They worked on squib kicks and sky kicks along with a few on-sides kicks. He said you never know what schemes they will show us. Matt said he was pretty excited that Tyler (older brother) was going to bring some Torchy's Taco's for some of the guys at the hotel in Austin on Friday night.

We loaded the suburban and started our journey to San Marcos Friday morning. Janet's brother (Mike) had told us about this Chinese resturant that served awesome hamburgers in Waco that we needed to try. The place is called Kitok and it is a hole in the wall resturant in a rough looking part of town, but we went in anyway. We had the lip locker burger and oriental fries and I was very impressed. I am not saying it is the best burger I have ever had, but it was pretty darn good. We were actually staying in Schertz which is in between San Antonio and New Braunfels. Janet's parents were staying there as well. Once we hit Schertz we had to make a Spec's run to load up the ice chest with a few craft beers.

We unloaded at the hotel and met Janet's parents and then it was red/white wine time. After dinner at Garcia's it was time to wind down with some college football and get ready for Saturday. We all met for breakfast and then headed to my favorite HEB to grab some more groceries before we headed up to San Marcos. We had a meeting time of 10:45 in San Marcos so we could all caravan into the parking lot together. On the way up we stopped at Buc-ee's for Ice and $2.99 gas and we ran into Kasie, Heidi (Kasie's mom), Todd (Kasie's step dad) and Bodean (friend). We got to visit for a few minutes before heading to our meeting spot. Bodean was dressed in a full attire officials uniform. It was pretty cool.

We met at exit 206 off of I-35. Tyler was already there with a couple of his friends. Then Heidi's sister (Cindy & CJ) pulled up. Janet's brother (Mike & Melynda) were next and then it was Todd's mom & dad (Todd & Martha). It looks like all that were meeting for the caravan have arrived and it was time to head to the stadium. Were they had us park we were about a 5 to 10 minute walk to the stadium. The weather was great and it was time to setup. Once everything was setup and unloaded it was time to partake in an adult beverage. Everyone had brought snacks and goodies. We had drunk gummy bears, wings of many flavors, bacon wrapped smokies, Meggie's famous cheese ball, jalapeno cheddar summer sausage, desserts and many other things to nibble on.

We were cooking jambalaya (Ms. Toni's recipe) with the help of Bobby Cockrell in my new 4 gallon jambalaya pot. I was going in naked on this as I have never cooked in this pot nor have I cooked this much. I was game for it though. I am pretty sure we can pull this off. I did have to use a phone a friend card because the amount of liquids were the key to success. I called Bobby who tailgates next to us in Ruston and he was driving back to Shreveport from New Orleans. We talked about it for a bit and then he called one of his son's who was at home and he took a picture of his recipe with the liquid measurements on it a sent the photo to my phone. That was a life saver! Some of Tyler's friends (Ramsey, Dennis, Josh and Whitney) all showed up.

This was going to be awesome. It was a blast getting to visit with everyone and it looks like this family new and old can party with the best of them. I started the fire so we could get the pot hot. Martha was my sous chef and we started off by browning off the chicken, then the sausage and then the veggies. Once that was done we added the other ingredients and threw everything back in the pot with what I hope was the right amount of liquid for 4 pounds of rice. Once we got it to a rolling boil we added the rice. We need the rice to crack or we will have crunchy or mushy rice. Once the rice was added we brought it back to a rolling boil, turned the heat down and prayed that it was all going to work out. After a few more beers it was time to take a peek and I about fainted.

It looked pretty sweet. I tested the rice and it was just perfect. I guess if you follow instructions you can do something correct. The dinner bell wrung, the french bread is sliced and dinner was served. Based on the returns for additional bowls I took it that it must taste pretty good. We had a few more guests show up (Mike Mill's family,  Cade Glasgow and his dad, my sister (Cathy) and her family David & Barbara and Joe & Julie Trevino) and it was good to visit with them before we headed into the stadium. This is the first time that I had been back in the stadium since they made all of the upgrades with the suites and I was very impressed. Wow! La Tech has a lot of people here and the wind is blowing like crazy. Let's get this game started.

Matt kicks off and it is a touch back. Texas State runs 10 plays and scores a TD. Tech takes the ball on our 24 yard line and run 12 plays as CC hits RPS for a TD pass and Matt connects on the PAT. The score is tied 7 - 7. Matt kicks off and we have another touch back. Texas State runs 5 plays and connects on a 55 yard bomb and scores a TD. I am not liking this! Tech takes the ball on our 25 yard line and run 4 plays as RA comes in to punt. Texas State runs 3 plays and punts. Tech takes over at our 44 yard line and runs 9 plays as CC hits KD on a 14 yard pass for a TD. Matt connects on the PAT and we are tied 14 - 14. Matt kicks off to the goal line and Texas State runs it back for 65 yards to our 35 yard line. What just happened? Texas State runs 2 plays and the 1st quarter comes to an end.

Way too close! Texas State runs 2 plays and scores a TD. What are we doing? Tech takes the kick off at our 25 yard line and we run 10 plays as KD takes it in from 4 yards out and Matt connects on the PAT. The score is tied 21 - 21. Texas State starts from their 23 yard line and runs 3 plays and they have to punt. Tech takes the ball on our 45 yard line and runs 7 plays as KD takes it in from 1 yard out. Matt connects on the PAT and Tech is up 28 - 21. Matt kicks off and Texas State starts from their 42 yard line and runs 4 plays and scores on a 47 yard pass play. The PAT is blocked. Tech takes the kick off and runs 10 plays as KD takes it in from 13 yards out for a TD. Matt comes in for the PAT and the snap is way to high to attempt a kick and Matt blocks as David runs.

The 2 point conversion is no good. I don't need this to happen. Matt kicks off and Texas State runs 6 plays and scores a TD. We are tied 34 - 34. This is not supposed to be happening. Tech takes the ball on our 25 yard line and we run 4 plays as CC hits DJB on a 49 yard bomb for a TD. Matt connects on the PAT. Matt kicks off and Texas State runs 3 plays and attempts a 56 yard FG and it is no good. The 1st half comes to an end with Tech up 41 - 34. That is a lot of 1st half points. I think we might need a new defensive scheme for the 2nd half. Tech takes the kickoff as we start on our 25 yard line and we run 14 plays as KD takes it in from 16 yards out for a TD. Matt connects on the PAT and Tech is up 48 - 34. Now that is what I talking about.

Matt kicks off and Texas State runs 11 plays and fails on a 4th down attempt. Tech takes over on our 11 yard line as we run 5 plays and RA comes in to punt. Texas State starts at their 30 yard line and runs 4 plays and scores a TD. Tech is up 48 - 41. There is way too much time left for this to be happening. Tech takes the kick off and runs 3 plays and RA comes in to punt. Texas State runs 5 plays and the 3rd quarter comes to an end. Texas State starts the 4th quarter and runs 1 play and scores a TD. The game is now tied 48 - 48. We can not let the home team back in this game! Tech takes the kickoff and runs 6 plays as RH takes it in from 6 yards out and Matt Nelson connects on the PAT.

Tech is now up 55 - 48. Matt kicks off for another touch back and Texas State will start on their 25 yard line. Texas State runs 3 plays and has to punt. Tech runs 3 plays and RA has to punt. Texas State runs 3 plays and has to punt. Tech takes over on their 15 yard line and runs 11 plays as CC runs it in from 1 yard out. Matt connects on the PAT and Tech is now up 62 - 48. We are now at a combined 110 points. That is crazy! Matt kicks off for another touch back. Texas State runs 12 plays and scores a TD. Tech takes the kickoff and takes a knee on 3 plays and we escape 62 - 55. What a game for our offense, but we need to look at our defensive schemes. Our coaches did not watch film on Texas State prior to us playing them from the looks of the score.

I know a win is a win and that is what goes in the standings. If we keep letting teams run all over us we are going to have problems in future games. We made our way over to the buses and waited for Matt and the team to come out. I gave Matt a hug and told him I was very proud of him. He gave his mom a game ball. Matt just broke Josh Scobee's all time scoring record for kickers at La Tech. Josh's record was 339 points and Matt finished the night off with 8 points in the game and 342 career points. He needs 3 points in the Utah State game to become La Tech's all time leading scorer. Who would of ever thought that would of happened! He had lots of necks to hug as we had over 40 people there to watch the game. We got to talk to RH and VC. They are great guys! I talked to Matt about the failed 2 point conversion and he said he never could of kicked it so he just tried to find someone to block. He said it should go in the stats as a failed 2 point conversion and not a missed PAT since he never attempted a kick. I told him that as stupid as the WAC officials are that you will probably get a missed PAT. He said the wind was blowing so many different directions.

It was very tough to kick out there. He said the student section talked a lot of smack as he kicked that direction. We had a text from Kasie and it looks like our tailgate spot was missing many items. We told Matt goodbye as he had to get on the bus and made our way over to the tailgate spot. As we were walking back we stopped at the porta potty and sitting there on the ground was a nice crisp $100 bill. We inspected it a little closer and sure enough it was real. It was my lucky day! Once we got to the tailgate spot we noticed how many things we were missing. My entire ice chest with beer was missing. Janet's dad's ice chest was missing along with a couple of chairs. Kasie's mom was missing their reclining chairs and the ice chest that was in their truck had everything taken along with several 1/2 gallons of booze.

This is just crazy! I am so used to leaving stuff out in Ruston that I do not even think twice about putting stuff up when we tailgate at other stadiums. It looks like someone drove by with a truck and just loaded up. It is very sad that these things happen, but what are you going to do except smile and look forward to tomorrow. We loaded up the rest of our items and visited with Tyler for a bit before we headed back to the hotel. I was in need of a glass of red wine and I needed to go back through the game in my head. We met Janet's mom for breakfast and then loaded up and headed back to Austin. What a weekend with family and friends and what a game. Yes, it is another W! A tough W, but a W.

I just want to take a moment and thank everyone who came to the game to support this Bulldog team and the awesome support of Matt. Words can not express our gratitude. We are so blessed with amazing family, amazing new family and amazing friends. Thank You! I am so glad that Tyler got to go to the game and that we got to hang out together. It was amazing! I am very proud of this football team and this amazing journey they are taking me. Next week we play Utah State. They are the Blue Aggies from another mother. This will be our 3rd Aggie team to play us this year. That has to be some kind of record. They are a very good football team and we are going to have our hands full with their QB if he runs a lot. It will also be Senior Day. This is a day that will be filled with emotions for sure.

I am not sure I really want this day to come, but these seniors and Matt deserve everything that they have done. It is an amazing group of young men who I will never forget. I am not sure what I am going to do when I know Matt has kicked his last kick at Joe Aillet stadium. I guess I will just have to wait until that moment. I have a good friend of mine Jeremy Lee and his wife coming to the game from Dothan and look forward to spending some time with them. My parents will be coming back in from Florida as well. I will leave the Texas State game alone. I promise that I will not let my emotions get the best of me and I will enjoy this amazing journey. Matt you rock my world! No let's go kick some Blue Aggie rear end! What a blast it is and we are so blessed to have the honor to watch Matt Nelson and this La Tech football team. I appreciate all of those who are following my journey.

I can't wait to share my thoughts with everyone as the season goes on. It is such a blast to follow Matt Nelson through his eyes and this Bulldog team. I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are at that time and sometimes I get a little carried away. I am very passionate about La Tech football. I am just a College Football Fan and I love College Football! Until our paths cross again have a blessed week! College Football Dad!

UTSA - 11/3/12

My head has been spinning out of control all week! I am not sure what I witnessed during the NMS game. In my mind I would call it a Perfect Storm. The Perfect Storm is an expression that describes an event where a Rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically. I saw a sputtering offense, a two headed defense and a kicking game that was not normal. Those 3 events caused the Perfect Storm for me. Yes, I know we won and a win is a win no matter how it is done. I understand that and yes this team is rolling forward towards a magical season. As a La Tech Football Fan and a College Football Dad I hurt when everything is not perfect! Alright CFD your rant time is up. No more negative thoughts as it is time to move on.

Positive thoughts are on the way. Can you believe we are 7 - 1? These guys never give up no matter what situations they are presented. I am very proud and excited for all of you. It is time for me to get my mind right for these Roadrunners. UTSA is on tap next and we have a herd coming to the game. I don't mean that in a bad way, but we do have a lot of family coming to the game. I am not sure what to expect from UTSA as they are a brand new football program in to year #2 of actually playing football. Their head coach (Larry Coker) has a national championship under his belt with Miami. Looks like another team waiting on a butt whooping as we move forward to achieving our goals. I spoke with Matt a couple times during the week.

You could tell he was upset with his performance against NMS. I needed to stay positive for him even though I don't understand how it happened. This is one game and we learn from it and we get ready for the next challenge. I told him everyday we are presented with challenges and these learning opportunities are what makes us stronger in life. Matt is very strong and his faith will guide him moving forward. He said they worked on some different kickoffs along with the pin kick to the left side of the hash. He watched a lot of film this week. They continued to work on various on-sides kicks along with PAT's and FG's with the team. He said the team is focused on UTSA and they had a great game plan in place.

We started our journey to Ruston Friday afternoon. My parents (John & Carol), my aunt (Donna) and my cousin (Heather) and her family (Rob, Mackenzie & Mikaela) all made their way over from Florida and we met them at the hotel. It was so awesome to see them as it has been way too many years since we have all been together. Then we all headed to Matt's house and loaded all of the tailgate stuff up and then headed to the tailgate spot to setup.  We got all of the tents and tables setup. Mr. Harper stopped by to visit for awhile and Mr. Garland stopped by to drop off some just picked off of the tree satsumas. They are part of the mandarin family and they were amazing. Thanks so much for bringing them to us.

It was now that time again for that adult beverage. Some of our group went to the pep rally and some stayed at the tailgate spot and just enjoyed the environment that we were surrounded with. After a few more adult beverages we headed over to the Log Cabin and got to visit with everyone as we had an awesome meal. We made our way back over to the hotel and visited some more as we capped the night off with an awesome bottle of red wine. Our morning started off early as the game against UTSA would kickoff at 3:00 PM. Janet and I hit the tailgate spot at 7:30 AM and started setting up everything before everyone started arriving. On our menu we were cooking fajitas on the flat top along with caramelized onions and peppers.

We had all of the fixings along with queso so you could either go the fajita route or the fajita nacho route. The Bloody Mary's and other adult beverages were flowing. The onions and peppers are sliced and chilling. Mr. Harper arrived and dropped off an ice chest full of beer and water. It is always awesome visiting with him. My dad took Heather and her group up to the tech tam shop and bought shirts for the game. The next thing I know is Mr. Hamm shows up and he is carrying a 4 gallon jambalaya pot with a stand. He said this is for you! I said you have to be kidding me. He said you need to careful what you wish for in your blog. I was blown away. I did not know what to say! Tears! I gave Mr. Hamm a big hug and told him how grateful I was.

This is so awesome and I still can not believe it. It looks like it is going with me to the Texas State game. Janet's parents (Bob & Margaret) and my sister (Cathy) and her family (Wes, Parker & Peyton) along with a couple of Parker's friends all showed up. Today is Cathy's birthday and I am not sure how old she is but she is getting closer to my age! HaHa! It was time to get the grub on the flat top. I was going to cook the fajitas first and then wrap them in foil and then cook the onions and peppers. Everything is sliced and diced and it is waiting to be consumed. Bobby had arrived earlier and he was going to make fish tacos. He was grilling tilapia and wrapping it with a fresh made corn tortilla's from Chimi V's all topped off with two different slaw's.

Bobby is very good when it comes to food and is super creative. Janet's uncle David arrives up an the adult beverages are still flowing. The fajitas look like they are a bit hit. We knew we were going to cook quesadilla's after the game so we decided to bag up all of the left over meat and onions and put it in the cooler. We picked up a few things as we heard the band start playing and that only meant one thing. The team would be arriving very shortly. We headed over to tailgate alley and waited. Normally Matt is in front but he was a little ways back this time. I got a big hug from VC and then a big hug from Matt. Next it was a big hug from RH. These guys are awesome. We made our way back over to the tents for some final cleanup as most of the family would head in.

I watched Matt warm up some from the gate. As I went back to lock the suburban up Flip showed up at Bobby's tailgate with a bottle of Caymus in hand and we had a nice little toast before the game. Thank you Flip! That is awesome wine. I made my way over to the stadium and found my seat. It is time to get this thing started. Here we go! UTSA kicks off and we start at our 38 yard line. Tech runs 6 plays as CC hits RPS on a 1 yard pass play for a TD. Matt comes in and connects on the PAT. Matt kicks off and we stop UTSA on their 20 yard line. UTSA runs 7 plays and scores on a 33 yard bomb and tie the score 7 - 7. Tech takes the kickoff as KD runs 62 yards on the return and then UTSA gets a 15 yard penalty slapped on top of that.

Tech starts this drive at the UTSA 18 yard line as KD runs it in for a 2 yard TD on the 2nd play of the drive. Matt comes in and connects on the PAT. Matt kicks off and we stop UTSA at their 15 yard line. UTSA runs 7 plays and connects on another 57 yard bomb and the score is tied up at 14 - 14. What is going on? They can not get that open. Tech takes the kickoff and we start the drive on our 26 yard line and run 3 plays as RA comes in and connects on a beauty. We down the ball on the UTSA 5 yard line. Just awesome RA! UTSA runs 4 plays and has to punt. Tech take over at our 36 yard line and run 4 plays as we go for it on 4th and 1 and come up short. UTSA takes over at our 45 yard line and run 1 play as the 1st quarter comes to an end. Wow!

That is all I can say. UTSA starts the 2nd quarter and runs 8 plays and fails on their 4th down attempt and Tech takes over at our 11 yard line and runs 3 plays as CC hits QP on a 79 yard bomb for a TD. Matt comes in and connects on the PAT and Tech is up 21 - 14. Here we go! Matt kicks off and we stop UTSA at their 21 yard line. UTSA runs 4 plays and has to punt. Tech takes over at our 1 yard line and we run 9 plays as Matt comes in for a 36 yard FG and based on my camera lens and Matt's reaction it is not good. What is happening? I am going to puke. This can't be. I sit here for a second and I know his pain has to be worse than mine. I decided I needed to do something that I have never done at a Tech game.

Right or wrong I did it. I went to the tailgate spot and I sat on the ice chest so I could see the score board. My wife is going kill me, but I needed to change things up. The next thing I see is that Tech scores and as the half come to an end the score is 27 - 14. I guess we missed the PAT. My whole body went numb. This is not Matt. Why is this happening? I get so worked up and I know better. I knew Matt would start the 3rd quarter kicking off and I could see by the scoreboard that UTSA was starting at their 20 yard line. After about 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter UTSA scores and Tech is now up 27 - 21. Tech took the kickoff and after about 4 minutes off of the clock Tech scores and it looks like Matt's PAT is good as the score is Tech 34 - 21.

I am not sure why the kickoff is taking so long but I did hear from a radio playing close by that Matt Nelson is kicking off from the tunnel as we were kicking off from the 5 yard line. How does that happen? We must of had some major penalties. We exchanged a few punts as the 3rd quarter comes to an end. I see that it is 3rd down as we start the 3rd quarter. It is 4th down at the UTSA 5 yard line and I see the ball go through the uprights. It looks like Matt has connected on a FG. Way to go Matt! Tech is now up 37 - 21. The kickoff looks high and UTSA starts at their 25 yard line. After about 3 minutes UTSA scores a TD and looks like they fail on a 2 point attempt and the score is now Tech 37 - 27.

Janet's dad had come over to the tailgate spot with about 10 minutes left in the game. One of the gentlemen who was in a tailgate spot close to us brought over a radio so I could listen to the broadcast. I am not sure how many plays were run but Matt comes in to kick a 37 yard FG and UTSA runs into Matt and the penalty gives Tech a first down. I am not sure if he is hurt or not. I sure hope he is not. We run 3 plays and Matt comes in for a FG and the next thing I hear is it is a fake and DG just threw a TD pass to ML and then the PAT is good. Oh my! Tech is now up 44 to 27. I am feeling a little better about the game, but I feel horrible sitting in the parking lot. This is not fair for Matt. He needs me more than ever right now.

The scoreboard shows UTSA starting at their 12 yard line and after about 4 minutes they turn the ball over on 4th down. Tech takes over at the UTSA 49 yard line and after about 2 minutes KD runs it in and Matt connects on the PAT. Tech is up 51 - 27. Matt kicks off and UTSA runs 1 play and the game comes to an end. Tech wins 51 - 27. Holy cow! That is so awesome for this team! I gave the gentleman's radio back and opened a beer and I fought back tears tears. How can a CFD leave the stadium and watch from the parking lot? It is just not right and you should be ashamed of yourself. Matt does not even know and how are you going to tell what you did. How are you going to face your family? Man, my emotions are out of balance!

We decided to cook after the game so I needed to focus my attention to that. We all normally go up to the field house to see Matt, but Janet's mom said she would come directly over after the game and help get things going. The rest of the family started showing up and then I see Matt and his mom walking towards the tailgate area. I had a lump in my throat. Matt walked right up to me and dropped his bag and gave me a huge hug. I did not want to let go. I kissed him on the neck and told him that I loved him and that we would get through this together. There were several friends and fans that came by and told Matt that they were still proud of him and they know that he will bounce back and they have all the confidence in the world in him.

Thanks for all of your support Mr. Harper, Mr. Hamm, Mr. Garland, Mr Cockrell and Ms. Toni! It was so awesome to see and it really means a lot. It is times like these that the tough get better and grow from adversity. We got the quesadilla's on the flat top. We even had hot dogs going for the kids. It was awesome to have all of the family there. It was my sisters birthday and my mom had made a cake. We all got to sing happy birthday to her. It was cool that we could celebrate it with her and a La Tech victory. After all the food was gone we decided to go ahead and take down all of the tailgate stuff and take it back to Matt's since we had 3 vehicles. Everybody pitched in and everything is loaded as we head back to Matt's house.

Everyone starts unloading and in about 20 minutes everything is put up. RPS had his family there and they were cooking in the backyard so we hung out with them for awhile. I did talk to Matt for a few minutes and he that there is something little either with his approach or shoulders. He is going to watch film as early as he can and get this thing back to where he as at when the season started. He did tell me that DG (his holder) held him up in the air against the wall at half time and in DG's words said "Look at me! You know what you can do! You know what you are capable of! Stay focused and visualize! Everyone in this locker room believes in you! Just go do it! You are not out there on an island all by yourself! Do you hear me?" I was blown away and I think it hit home with Matt. Matt told me he will get to the bottom of it and he will get it fixed. I am proud of this team and I love these guys and we will get through this.

We have the opportunities in front of us to do something really special. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. It had been a long day. I wanted to thank all of the family members who made the journey over to watch the game. My cousin and her family drove 14 1/2 hours to come to the game. My parents and aunt drove 12 1/2 hours, my sister and Janet's parents drove 5 hours and her aunt and uncle drove 4 hours. It is so awesome and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We met Matt for breakfast Sunday morning at the Waffle House before he went to church. He did not talk much, but it was great to spend a few minutes with him before he headed to North Dallas. The drive gave me time to reflect on the game and to come up with a way to be a better dad and to quit letting my football emotions get in the way. This is a great win Bulldogs. We are one step closer to achieving our goals. I am very proud of you all. I did talk to Matt after he and CT watched film. They went back and watched the Virginia film and compared it to the last 2 games and he said he has been standing too upright during his approach and this was causing his shoulders not to be square at the target when he kicked the ball. He said this is the tune-up he needed and could not wait to get back on the field and get back to the basics that he started the season with. I was excited to hear the news. I have to move my attention to the Texas State game in San Marcos. We have about 40 family and friends attending the game and the coolest thing about this game is that my oldest son Tyler is going to get to see his first game of the year in person. He is a huge Matt Nelson fan! His weekends are Wednesday & Thursday, so traveling on the weekends to Ruston did not happen this year. He was able to get Friday & Saturday off so he will be able to go visit Matt at the hotel in Austin Friday night and then join us for tailgating on Saturday. Several members from Kasie's (Matt's fiance) family will be attending the tailgating/game as well. It should be awesome! Texas State's stadium is pretty cool.

Matt played a high school playoff game there his senior season. I know when I was in high school that they were called Southwest Texas State and they were one of the best party schools to go to. It should be a great game and I look forward to seeing everyone there. I will leave UTSA here. I promise to keep my emotions in check and enjoy the journey. Matt you rock in my world! Now let's go make some Bobcat stew! What a blast it is and we are so blessed to have the honor to watch Matt Nelson and this La Tech football team. I appreciate all of those who are following my journey. I can't wait to share my thoughts with everyone as the season goes on. It is such a blast to follow Matt Nelson through his eyes and this Bulldog football team. I write from the bottom of my heart and what my feelings are at that time and sometimes I get carried away. I am very passionate about La Tech Football! I am just a College Football Fan and I Love College Football! Until our paths cross again have a blessed week! College Football Dad!