MACtion Season Is Upon Us, Mike Gundy Keeps Bedlam Alive, Nebraska's Maisie Boesiger Stands Out & More
My belly is full of Twix, Starburst and pumpkin beers, but that's not going to stop us from celebrating post-Halloween MACtion and the much smaller midsection of Nebraska volleyball defensive specialist, Maisie Boesiger.
But that's not all. In between rifling through the kids' bite size Snickers (you couldn't spring for the full size, neighbor?) and discarding all the 3 Musketeers bars - I'm doing my kids a favor - we'll take this Nightcaps ride through Bedlam where the Boz and Mike Gundy (he's a man, he's 40 ya know!) exchange fightin' words and...saliva.
Before all that, ask yourself: Does anyone really like Baby Ruth candy bars? No way, right? They were scattered all over the place last night, basically left for dead. Who out there is opting for a Baby Ruth when you've got things like Butterfingers, Snickers, Twix and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups readily available?
Maybe we should consider MHGA - Make Halloween Great Again. The first step, nix Baby Ruth bars. And while we're at it, go ahead and toss Milky Way's to the side too. Let's play the hits moving forward.
Print the orange hats!
We've Got Wednesday Night MACtion!
If you thought Halloween was going to be the best night of the work week, I've got a pleasant surprise for you. We've got not one, but two games of MAC football tonight.
Talk about tasty.
Mid-week MAC games always entertain. These interconference tilts seem to consistently come down to the wire, some coach is usually wearing shorts on the sidelines as snow flurries fall and the nation inevitably becomes captivated by an oversized kicking specialized wearing an unusual number.
And I'm not exaggerating about those flurries. Enter last night's MACtion between Northern Illinois and Central Michigan...
MACtion was once (and probably still is) good enough for Antonio Brown's crazy ass (shout out Central Michigan), so you know it's good enough for us.
And let's not bury the lede. Wednesday MACtion is, most importantly, an opportunity to double down on those Monday Night Football bets that didn't go your way and win the mortgage back.
Tonight, we've got Ball State visiting Bowling Green. The Falcons of BGSU are 5.5 point home favorites (per PointsBet) and they're getting my money. I put zero thought into it, but they're at home and winners of two-straight. So take my money.
Famous Ball State alumni: David Letterman.
"Getsome #MACtion" tonight in the form of a double dose! (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images).
The Letterman-Meyer Bowl is merely an appetizer to the main course: Kent State visiting neighboring Akron (the schools are separated by 15 miles). It's basically Duke-North Carolina...
When these teams meet, they do so for the right to take home (cue Darius Rucker) the Wagon Wheel trophy. The trophy was introduced in 1946 and per the Akron Beacon Journal, is supposedly a wheel that belonged to someone from Akron that a Kent representative essentially stole. But the details are murky at best. It's blue and gold (the colors of both teams) and tonight, will be awarded to whichever team can find a way to secure their second win of the season.
Can Kent State bring home the Wagon Wheel trophy tonight? (Photo by David Dermer/Diamond Images/Getty Images).
Not exactly the Little Brown Jug. But for a Wednesday night in October, it'll do.
Both Akron and Kent State are 1-7 overall and 0-4 in the MAC. And that's exactly what makes MACtion so exciting. A pair of teams playing for a wagon wheel on a weeknight with their seasons already down the drain and pride on the line.
I'll be watching. And betting.
PointsBet has the Golden Flashes of KSU getting 3.5 on the road. And that's where I'm putting my money. No idea why, but they've only lost five straight while the Zips have suffered six consecutive losses. So give me the fighting Julian Edelman's.
*Side note, I grew up about 40 minutes away from each school. When someone told you they went to Kent State, the immediate reply is always: "Kent Read, Kent Write, Kent State." But the place throws a hell of a Halloween party every year.
For the record:
Famous Kent State alumni: Nick f'n Saban
Famous Akron alumni: Jason Taylor - who played for Saban with the Dolphins.
Not Into MACtion? How About Nebraska Volleyball?
Maybe you're some kind of nerd who doesn't enjoy midweek football or degenerate gambling. If that's the case, I've got some volleyball for you. But not just any volleyball. We've got a Wednesday look a top-ranked Nebraska. The Huskers are undefeated and earlier this season had more than 90,000 fans on hand inside of the football stadium to watch the ladies defeat Omaha.
One would think that at least a portion of those 90,000 fans were on hand to get a glimpse at Husker sophomore Maisie Boesiger.
As anyone with an Instagram account can attest, Boesiger is worth the price of admission.
Boesiger is in her second season with Big Red and by the looks of things, gives Husker nation plenty to cheer about.
Boesiger is part of the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images).
Bedlam With The Boz
From one former Big 12 school we go to another soon-to-be-former Big 12 school, Oklahoma. If you haven't heard, the Sooners are SEC bound, meaning this weekend's Bedlam - where Oklahoma State and Oklahoma meet for the 118th time - is the last meeting for the foreseeable future.
Unless the schools join other conferences (that never happens in college football) or each have cancellations within their schedules on the same date, it would appear the soonest the rivalry can be renewed is 2031. To give the current finale some extra legs, former sooner Brian Bosworth and former Cowboy and current OK State coach, Mike Gundy, got into a war or words ahead of Saturday's tilt.
As one would expect from Bosworth, who starred in the cinematic classic Stone Cold, and Gundy, who takes being a man super serious, the exchange did not disappoint.
If DVD's were still a thing, their exchange, and the subsequent build up to the game would have straight-to-DVD movie written all over it. And that's not a bad thing.
Who wouldn't want to watch more of this?
We're talking spitting in faces, whooping ass, ALL CAPS replies! This is college football. I mean, it's not MACtion, but it's pretty awesome in its own right.
Gundy's now 56, has a mullet and played quarterback. Bosworth is 58, played linebacker and got popped for 'roids. So despite being older, I'm siding with The Boz should a second face-to-face meeting go down. The only thing that could change my mind is if Gundy showed up in a 34 Raiders jersey. Then all bets are off.
Who are you putting your money on? Let me know if you're siding with The Boz or Mike Gundy and why. Hit me on X, @OhioAF or email me, anthony.farris@outkick.com.
Speaking Of Fights, Let's Check Out High School Hoops
Over in California, the locals took their (non-Halloween) masks off just long enough to fire off some punches. Actually, just one person - a referee - fired off punches, but you get the picture.
It all went down in Corona, Calif. on Oct. 21.
See, Newsome tried to warn you guys about corona in Cali!
At some point in the second half, witnesses claim Oak Hills head coach Rob Alexander got upset with referee Brandon Knapper over his officiating ... and an argument ensued.
In a clip we obtained of the game, 26-year-old Knapper -- a former college basketball player at West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky and Cal State San Bernardino -- can be seen approaching Alexander near Oak Hills' bench and briefly talking to him ... before unleashing his fist on the coach's face.
Insane video of the in-game knockout is below:
Knapper, 26, played college hoops at West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky and Cal State San Bernardino. From the looks of the video, he may have also dabbled in boxing.
Hold Onto Your Beers!
If you happened to be listening to the Jazz - Nuggets game on Monday...well, you need some new hobbies. That said, if you were for some reason tuned into game 4 of 82 for each squad, you at least got to experience some unorthodox dead air, thanks to a beer!
Allow me to explain.
Utah's radio team was unable to start the broadcast on time because some suds got in the way of the audio board. And for those that don't know, electronics and liquids generally don't mix. Unless you're at an EDM concert in which case, anything goes.
Anyways, Jazz broadcaster David Locke tweeted just prior to the game that a fan's brew caused a delay in the game's broadcast.
Seems like a premeditated spill from a Nuggets fan if you ask me. Start the investigation!
Better yet, take care of your beers. You know those things aren't cheap, especially in arenas. And double especially in Biden's America. Thanks JB!
Take notes from this hero:
Not Scared, Try Harder
You know what's worse than a failed scare attempt? Failing to scare someone while on live tv. That's the awkwardness that took place during a broadcast from a Sacramento ABC affiliate earlier this week.
A pair of hosts attempted to scare each other on air as their share came to a close. For one of the hosts it worked, the other, not so much.
Watch till the end.
Matt George (in the red tie) seamlessly dropping a "not even close," without breaking stride, is the coolest thing to hit Sac Town since Jason "white chocolate" Williams. Look him up, kids!
And props to both anchors. Love the energy here. This is the kind of unscripted content we need from news stations. Screw the buttoned up approach, let's have a laugh and (at least one) scare. If MACtion is ever need of a couple of fill-in broadcasters, Sacramento's finest gets my vote.
Hit The Exits!
You all know what time it is. The lights are on, the bar is playing Semisonic's Closing Time and the Uber's on its way. We're out of time until next Wednesday. Until then, enjoy the treats!
*Nightcaps publishes at roughly 4pm Monday through Friday.
Follow along on X: @OhioAF