We’ve punched another week out of the season’s schedule. Week 10 featured some good football, but not a whole lot of shake up. A few games showed us some teams maybe are better than we thought or maybe just exactly what we thought they were.
Clemson was favored by almost 6 touchdowns and covered it healthily, winning by 61 goddamned points. 61. SIXTY. ONE. Michigan beat the brakes off of Penn State which I don’t think was necessarily expected. So maybe Michigan is for real this year. Alabama took it to LSU as we all expected. Oklahoma continues to show that defense isn’t their specialty, but Kyler Murray continues to be much more than just a baseball player. Nebraska is kind of back? Or OSU is still giving up big plays. Little column A, little column B. Wazzu snuck another one out to keep the Pac-12 in the playoff convo. Florida got absolutely pummeled by Missouri which is hilarious and somehow still expected. Auburn won against Texas A&M and still brings Gus Malzahn’s job into question. That’s a very basic run down of some of the top teams – which is all we needed really. So lets launch into the new stuff!
Vitamin C Brew
The morning games are pretty solid this week which will create a wonderful warm up to what should be an absolutely wild afternoon. Ohio State heads north to take on Michigan State in a #10 vs #18 matchup. Ohio State rebounded from their Purdue loss to come down the wire in a win over Nebraska. This would be a perfect time for the Spartans to snag a win at home and slide themselves into second place in the division. South Carolina heads to The Swamp to face the Florida Gators, who, as I noted, just got whooped. Florida only fell 4 spots to #15 in the most recent ranking. The Gamecocks are only 6 point dogs so this could get very interesting. Wisconsin heads to Happy Valley to take on Penn State and they need a win against a good team very badly. The Big Ten West is a shootout right now and a loss this weekend might be the dagger in the Badgers’ heart.
What You’ll Need: Gin, Beer, Orange juice
This drink is a bit of a twist on a drink some of you may already know (and should if you’ve read all of these the last 2 years [winky emoji]). Similar to a Lunchbox, this is a great way to kick off your tailgating morning! Fill a glass with ice and pour in a shot of gin. Pour in the beer of your variety (light beers or lagers work the best) leaving a small amount of room at the top to finish off with a decent splash of orange juice for color and flavor!
Cranberry Crush
Alright let’s get into the nitty gritty of the week, folks. This is where we hit the nitro button and either freak out or have a ton of fun. Bama hosts Mississippi State, who is #16 this week, but what’s it matter? Bama by a million. Next, Michigan gets a chance to really steam roll their win against PSU last week by taking it easy this week and beating Rutgers by 35. Iowa has a big game at Northwestern this week. This game has a huge impact on the Big Ten West standings. Northwestern can fall back into a tie with 1 or 2 others teams with a loss, or take a step towards locking it up with a win. Iowa obviously would love to have another win (who wouldn’t?) and be building that bowl resume.
Iowa State takes on Baylor and if the Cyclones and hold off the Bears, that glimmer of hope of making the Big 12 Championship shines a bit brighter. Washington State continues their playoff trek by heading to Colorado. The wins haven’t been easy, or pretty for the Cougars, but the most important thing is that they keep coming. We also have Bedlam!!! Oklahoma State heads up to Norman to take on big bad Kyler Murray and the Sooners. Oklahoma is favored by damn near 3 tuddy’s in this one and I don’t think that’ll be too outrageous of an outcome. OSU gives up some big plays (I’m talking Oklahoma State, not Ohio State, but what’s the difference amirite?) and as I observed up close and personal in Ames this year, Oklahoma has some very talented kids playing football. And when those guys come out, they have some still very good kids behind them.
What You’ll Need: Spiced Rum, Cranberry juice, Ginger beer
A nice drink for the cooler temperatures heading our way brings flavor and booze and what more could you want? Fill your tailgate Thermos with ice and pour in 2 shots of spiced rum. Add in about the same amount of cranberry juice (DISCLAIMER: the recipe calls for natural cranberry juice warning that concentrate or cocktail can be much more sweet). Finally top off with ginger beer, stir and enjoy!
Orange Hot Chocolate
Don’t worry folks! We’ve already discussed a ton of fun, but the games ain’t over yet! The night could have a bunch of exciting football. Maybe not exciting games, but exciting football nonetheless. Auburn is ranked! And they head to Georgia to take on the Bulldogs for a #24 vs #5 matchup. I’m not sure Auburn is going to be able to keep up with this and I’m sure they’ll have some flash in the pan moments to showcase SEC Speed, but Georgia should handle this pretty well.
Florida State heads to South Bend to take on the #3 Fightin’ Irish. As you may have learned, I’m not a fan of that Notre Dame team and I don’t think the Seminoles will be the ones to bring this season to a screeching halt, but we can all dream. Clemson heads north to take on Boston College for a 2 vs 17 matchup and after what I saw last week I think they only team that stands a chance against the buzzsaw that is the Clemson Tigers is Alabama, and maybe the Los Angeles Rams.
What You’ll Need: Hot Chocolate, orange brandy (Grand Marnier), orange bitters (optional)
Let’s use that Thermos again because it’s gonna be cold as shit out there when the sun goes down. Use whatever is your preferred form of hot chocolate, whether it be instant mix, boiled out and made in a pan or bought from a concession stand. Simply add in a double shot of Grand Marnier for an orange flavor boost. If you’re enjoying at home, top with whipped cream and orange zest!
SHOT OF THE WEEK!!!
After this week, a few teams might be a bit sour about the way things play out so we’re going with Lemon Drops! This is also very simple, to the point that you literally can’t mess it up. All you need is Citron vodka (maybe triple sec, we’ll get to that), lemons and sugar. Simply pour chilled Citron vodka into a shot glass (mix with 2 parts vodka 1 part triple sec if you’d like, this has never been my way to do things tho) and chase the shot with a sugar coated lemon slice! Down the hatch we go!
That’s all for week 11! This one should really be a lot of fun all day long so make sure you get a good night of sleep on Friday to prepare yourself for this! As always, stay safe, stay hydrated and now definitely stay warm! Until I see you next week, I hope your favorite team wins!
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