Rice - 9/15/12

Wow! I am finally recovering from the U of H game. That was a long game! I think I have a few flat spots on my back side though. Those benches were hard or maybe it was extra weight that I need to lose creating those flat spots. I was very impressed with our offense and the consistency we had. I am concerned with our defense and we need to improve greatly during practice this week. We don't want to be in a slug fest going toe to toe on every offensive possession. When we get up we need to keep the pressure on them defensively so our offense can go and blow without someone always breathing down our necks.

I will give our defense another week and I hope to see improvement. I know we have the talent to dominate and I hope our coaches get the schemes down pat. I am looking forward to the Rice game. Matt was very honored that his picture is on the Rice ticket. That is way too cool! Onward to Rice we go. Is this white rice, brown rice or wild rice? I am not sure, but how do you come up with a school name of Rice? This is a vegetable not a school. I need to check this Rice thing out. It looks like Rice was founded in 1891 by American business tycoon William Marsh Rice as the

William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement for Letters, Science and Art. Letters, really? Rice was poisoned in a conspiracy: Rice's lawyer prepared a false will in which he would be the benefactor. However, the lawyer was convicted and the school did not open until 1912. In 1960 The Rice Institute was formally re designated as Rice University. I guess all of that makes since. I was going to call a personal foul if the school was named after a vegetable. All kidding aside Rice is a very elite school with very high academics. I talked to Matt everyday this week.

He was kicking the ball very well. His leg felt great and was very excited to be back at home playing at the Joe. He said that the emotions of the team were running high and the seniors have really taken over as the leaders of the team. He did tell me that he was selected the special teams player of the week for the Houston game. Congratulations Matt Nelson! I thought that was pretty cool. He said that David & Josh have been doing great with the snap and hold and that all of their timing is pretty spot on. They have a slick fake on the books if the timing is right and a few crazy on-sides as well.

Your timing and the surprise factor has got to be perfect for any of those to work. Just kick it! If you are on Twitter check out @FakeMattNelson. Whoever is doing this is awesome! We made our way over to Ruston Friday afternoon. My parents had already arrived the day before. Once we made our way into Ruston we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and headed over to Matt's house to load up the tail gate stuff. I have more stuff this year than I did last year. I told myself I was going to cut back, but I guess I did not listen. We got the tents, grills and tables setup and let everything else in the suburban. There was a chance of rain overnight and I did not want everything to get soaked.

Now it was time to open an adult beverage and get the festivities rolling. What awesome weather! I just hope the rain stays away. Mr. Harper stopped by for a few minutes and we got to visit with him for a little while. That was awesome. After a few more adult beverages we loaded up and headed to WOW for a few wings. They have the biggest wings! I think those things are on steroids. They are pretty darn good! We make our way back to the hotel to watch a little college football and cap the night off with a nice bottle of red wine. I will sleep well tonight. Before I know it 6:00 AM is upon me and college game day is about to begin.

I dug out my lucky green drawers and I was ready. Everyone got ready and we pulled out of the hotel at 7:23 AM, iced up the coolers and headed to the Joe. We unloaded everything and got the tailgate area setup. Its really here! College Game Day at The Joe! The bloody mary's are poured and this weather is amazing. The flat top is heated, the bacon is sizzling and the eggs are just about right. Breakfast tacos were on the menu this morning. Man, those things are good. We had a phone call from Dan "The Man" Matthiesen who is now on the equipment staff at Georgia State.

He always came by for breakfast and he wanted to know when it would be ready. Dan you are awesome and best of luck at Georgia State! Most of our tailgate neighbors have arrived. We got to visit with Andrew and Lisa. Then Bradly, Bryan and Dusty all stopped by. It is awesome to be able to hang out with them. I finally got the flat top cleaned up and put back in the suburban. We are trying to keep more things in the suburban in case we get a down pour. I think it is time for one more bloody mary. Our menu today would consist of teriyaki infused pork loin sliders served on these

cool pretzel rolls covered with cheesy green chile sauce and a loaded baked potato salad. We also had bacon wrapped meatballs and pulled pork stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon. The grill is lit and the cooking begins. Alaskan Amber is my grill beer of choice to start out with. Mr. Harper drove up and dropped off his ice chest and the Bobby and Julie arrive at their tailgate spot right next to ours. Then Mr. Hamm came by. It is just like old times. This is just awesome! Dave and Jane came by and visited as well as the Garlands. Ross the awesome owner of Maxwell's Market came by to see what we were cooking.

Then he came back to make a presentation to my dad. Last year when Bradly was selling the La Tech magnetic bracelets my dad paid for Ross's as he did not have is wallet with him. So Ross paid my dad back with a framed $20 bill and a autograph! How cool is that? Wow! We have met so many great people. The cooking begins and the beer is flowing. My wife and mom have done a super job setting up the tailgate area and keeping things flowing. Many thanks! Janet's mom and dad arrive and Uncle David arrives shortly after. It is so cool to have so many family members and friends here to support Matt and this football team.

The pork is done and resting, the cheesy green chile sauce is simmering and the peppers and meatballs are next up on the grill.One tradition that we always do before everyone eats is to make a sampler plate for a few of our tailgate neighbors to sample. Janet is the sample runner. Bradly's group had wings and burgers and Ross had red beans and rice with andouille stuffed mini pork chops. We are surrounded by many great cooks. The dinner bell has sounded and the feast is on. I must say it was pretty tasty. The dishes are cleaned and we here the seirns as the team has arrived. We make our way over to watch them walk in the stadium.

I see Matt all decked out with a Tech tie. I give him a big hug and told him I loved him and go have some fun. His game face was on and you can just tell. We head back to the tailgate area for a few more adult beverages and Mr. Rust has arrived. It was awesome to get to visit with him again. It's about 5:00 so I head in to catch a little of Matt's warm ups. He looks like he is kicking the ball well. I am so ready for this game to start. Let's kick some Rice butt! Let the games begin and let's get this party started. Matt kicks off into the end zone and we have another touch back. Rice runs 3 plays and punts. Tech takes over on our 23 and on the 2nd play CC hits QP on a 65 yard bomb. Matt connects on the PAT and just like that Tech is up 7 - 0. Matt kicks off into the endzone for another touch back. Rice runs 7 plays and has to punt. Tech takes over at our 21 yard line and runs 11 plays and scores on a 14 yard pass from CC to HL. Matt connects on the PAT and we our up 14 - 0. Matt kicks off to the end zone and rice brings it out and is smacked at the 14 yard line. Rice runs 3 plays and fumbles. Tech recovers at the Rice 23 yard line. Tech runs 3 plays and CC connects with MW for another touchdown. Matt connects on the PAT. We are slapped with a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty and Matt will kickoff from the 20 yard line. That is going to hurt. Matt kicks off and we stop rice on the 24 yard line. Now that is what I am talking about.

That is just like having a touch back. Rice runs 3 plays and punts. Tech runs 4 plays and we fumble into the end zone and Rice takes over at the 20 yard line. Rice runs 3 plays and the 1st quarter comes to an end with Tech up 21 - 0. This is fun! The 2nd quarter starts with Rice running 8 plays and puts it in the end zone for a touchdown. Rice kicks off and Tech runs 10 plays as KD scampers in from 1 yard out and Matt connects on the PAT. Rice is penalized with a personal foul so Matt will kick off from the 50 yard line. They attempt an on-sides kick and Rice recovers at the 34 yard line. Rice runs 4 plays and fumbles the ball. Tech recovers at our 44 yard line. We run 3 plays and RA punts the ball and we down it at the 6 yard line. Rice runs 5 plays and scores a touchdown. Tech takes the ball at the 25 yard line and runs 8 plays as KD runs it in from 8 yards out. Matt connects on the PAT and Tech is up 35 - 14. Wow! Matt kicks off and we pin Rice at their 20 yard line. Rice runs 6 plays and connects on a 57 yard FG. Very Nice! The half comes to an end with Tech up 35 - 17. Looks like it is going to be another long game with all of the points being scored.

Tech starts the 3rd quarter with a 12 play drive as CC connects with QP for a 12 yard score. Matt connects on the PAT. Wow! Matt kicks off and we stop Rice at the 18 yard line. Rice runs 17 plays and scores. The PAT is no good! Tech runs 5 plays and RA comes into punt. Rice runs 4 plays as the 3rd quarter comes to an end. Rice starts the 4th quarter running 1 play and they punt. Tech takes over at our 50 yard line and we run 4 plays as KD scoots in from 9 yards out. Matt connects on the PAT and we our up 49 - 23. Double Wow! Matt kicks off with another touch back. Rice runs 15 plays and scores a touchdown. Rice attempts an on-sides kick and we recover at the Rice 47 yard line. Tech runs 8 plays as HL scores from 6 yards out. Matt connects on the PAT. Tech is now up 56 - 30. Matt kicks off and we stop Rice at the 21 yard line. Rice runs 11 plays and scores. They attempt another on-sides kick and we recover at the Rice 47 yard line. We run 3 plays as the time expires in the 4th quarter. Tech wins 56 - 37. What a game! Our offense looks awesome, our special teams cover team was spectacular and our defense played better. This is incredible! In the last 2 weeks we just took down the entire city of Houston. This calls for a Happy Dance! Don't watch as I have clue what I am doing. We make our way over to the field house and visit with Matt.

He was very excited with the win. He said he hit the ball well and he had one PAT that got tipped. He had several kids come up and get his autograph. There was one kid who brought Matt a bulldog to sign and he wanted him to sign it on his foot. I thought that was pretty cool. We let Matt go shower as we made our way back to the tailgate spot for a few adult beverages as we celebrate this victory. Matt & Kasie came over to the tailgate to visit with everyone. Some of our tailgate neighbors were still there and they got Matt to sign their game tickets. We loaded up as much as we could in the suburban and left the rest to take down in the morning. It was pretty late but we were starved and Matt wanted to eat something. We made our way to El Jarrito and they were gracious enough to let us in at 11:00. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel to catch up on all of the football action from the day. My mom and dad got an early start as they had an 11 hour drive back to Florida.

We met Matt at his house to unload what we already had loaded and he helped us take the tents down and unload the 2nd load. Matt had to go to church so we headed back to North Dallas around 10:30. Wow what a weekend! We are so blessed to get to do this. Illinois is up next. I don't know much about them except they are in the Big Ten. Dick Butkus and Red Grange played there.They have some crazy game day traditions. They do some sort of Block I's card stunts in the student section. The crowd gets into it when the cards create and orange and blue foaming beer mug and everyone hollers "chug, chug, chug" as it empties. Really? That is crazy! I feel good about this game and I think Tech will come away with a victory. I will end my Rice journey here.

What a blast it was and we are so blessed to have the honor to watch Matt and this 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!