I’m going to be honest. Like a lot of people in the lovely state of Iowa, I can’t give you too much of a recap on what happened in Week 3. While I occasionally would glance at the 11 a.m. games, the whole day went off the rails at 3 pm. The CyHawk game got going, then it stopped, then it started again, then it stopped for A WHILE, and then it started again and effectively took over the 3pm-9:30pm time slot. From what I gathered, mostly everything went about according to plan in the other games, with no real surprises. So that’s all in the past and all we can do is look forward!
Game Day Sangria
Week 4 is the start of conference scheduling for most of the world, but the morning schedule still stays pretty weak. There’s some heavy hitters playing, but they’re largely taking on duds. LSU is heading to Nashville for a game with Vanderbilt. Tennessee takes on Florida, and the Vols need a big win in the worst sort of way. Alabama hosts Southern Mississippi in a non-conference game that will surely be a blowout.
However, back in the midwest, Michigan heads to Camp Randall to face the Wisconsin Badgers in a Top 15 matchup that will be huge for the winner.
What You’ll Need: 32 oz. apple juice or cider, 1 bottle of white wine, 12 oz. hard apple cider, 12 oz. ginger ale
The recipe here is simple. Take all the above ingredients and mix them together in a pitcher or bowl just like those days of Jungle Juice in the dorms. Serve into individual glasses over ice, adding apple slices or lemon wedges if you’d like to add some fresh flavor and garnish!
Spiked Arnold Palmer
The afternoon is when the fun really starts to get kicked into gear. Two games that aren’t featuring great teams but could be interesting to watch are Louisville vs. Florida State and West Virginia vs. Kansas. These four teams came in with mixed expectations this year, and the first few weeks haven’t given us any definitive answers, which means these games will likely get weird.
The marquee event is Auburn taking on Texas A&M. Auburn opened the season with a big win over Oregon. The Aggies rolled last week after mostly keeping number 1 Clemson in check the week before. There will be plenty of fireworks and both will really need that SEC West win.
Spiked Arnold Palmers aren’t necessarily a new idea. We’ve all added a good pour of vodka into a traditional Arnie Palmer, but these splashed on the scene a couple years ago. While an absolutely perfect summer drink, it carries into the fall just as well. A smooth flavor that just feels refreshing from beginning to end!
Taco Sliders
We’ve got some pretty good action when the sun starts to go down. Oregon is heading to Palo Alto to battle Stanford. While this seems like it should be a fairly easy victory for the Ducks, there’s always those weird little hiccup games for the top teams in the Pac-12. Oklahoma State is also looking to take down Texas and a win against the Longhorns would be a huge catapult forward for OSU to start the conference season. The big boy of the evening is Notre Dame vs. Georgia. The Irish will be trying to cash in on the Top 10 expectations that they’ve been letting everyone down with for the last decade, but this year will be different, right? The Fighting Irish are ranked 7th coming into the matchup, while the Bulldogs are ranked 3rd. It should be a wildly entertaining game, and Go Dawgs!
What You’ll Need: 1 lb. ground beef, taco seasoning, sour cream, Mexican shredded cheese, slider buns, tomatoes and peppers as you like, 1 stick of butter, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
As you can see by the not-entirely-professional photgraph, I finally remembered to photograph my own food this week! This recipe was super simply and quite tasty. It makes 12 sliders and is perfect for you and a few friends to share. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then start by greasing a pan and cutting your slider buns in half, placing the bottom halves on the pan. Next, put a layer of sour cream on top of the bottom buns, getting a nice even layer across them all. Brown the ground beef in a pan and season as you normally would for regular tacos. After the beef is cooked, sprinkle it over the bottom buns and top the beef with a nice thick layer of shredded cheese. Add any tomatoes or peppers over the top of the cheese, and then cover it all with the top bun halves. Finish by melting a stick of butter and mixing in a good shake of onion powder, garlic powder and crushed red pepper. pour the butter over the top of the rolls. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and put them in the oven for 10 minutes. Take them out, cut up and enjoy!
That’s it for Week 4! We’re about a quarter of the way through the season so take it all in because it always seems to fly by. There’s certainly fun to be had this weekend, so whether you’re heading to games and tailgating or staying in your living room and playing Armchair Quarterback I hope you all have a great time and stay safe. As always, I hope your favorite teams win (except you Notre Dame)!