Fresh off calling the IFL championship on CBS, Riggs digs into SDSU and USD opening games (plus Mark Gronowski and Kalen DeBoer), while Hart chats about recent USF re-branding and issues facing D2 schools   It is finally game week for local and regional high school and college football, and there is nobody better to help kick off a fresh season than veteran prep and college TV analyst Kurtiss Riggs, the 11-time league champion former coach of the Sioux Falls Storm and three-time national championship assistant coach with current Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer at the University of Sioux Falls. Fresh off calling the Indoor Football League championship game for CBS — Yes, the CBS, the network not just the CBS Sports Network — Riggs sinks his teeth into the wildly intriguing opening matchups for both South Dakota State and South Dakota. The FCS No. 3-ranked Jackrabbits host No. 15 Sacramento State on Saturday, with both squads trotting out new head coaches, new coaching staffs, and a cavalcade of new players via the transfer portal. So, what exactly can we expect, especially from SDSU's new starting quarterback, Chase Mason, who has undeniably supreme physical talent but has not played a full game as a starting signal caller in six years, back to his junior year in high school? Meanwhile, No. 4 South Dakota opens 2025 at FBS No. 22 Iowa State, who impressively finished a 24-21 prize fight win over No. 17 Kansas State in Ireland on Saturday. What does Riggs make of the Cyclones' performance and how does it translate to the matchup against the Coyotes, including the fatigue ISU players will feel after the 8,000 miles round-trip of flying? What kind of upset threat can USD mount, with its own litany of transfer replacements but also with a guiding light in senior quarterback in Aidan Bouman, a former Cyclone with plenty to prove against his former team and NFL scouts?   Plus, a glimpse into the "Washington State Jackrabbits," led by former SDSU coach Jimmy Rogers, who brought his staff and 16 players with him to the Palouse. The Cougars, who play Idaho on national television late Saturday, have shut down practices to the media after reported inner-team practice scuffles. Speaking of former Jacks, quarterback Mark Gronowski is Iowa's "Million Dollar Man" (or $2 Million Man, depending on who you believe). What should we expect of the former Walter Payton Award winner in the stacked Big Ten, and in what way will life be more different and difficult for him compared to the FCS? Then, there's No. 8 Alabama, led by Riggs' best friend and former USF teammate Kalen DeBoer, who starts his second season on the road at Florida State. Why should there be reason for the Crimson Tide to improve after their first four-loss season in 17 years?  Finally, how much more secure should the Minnesota Vikings feel about their QB2 situation now that they dumped Sam Howell and made room for North Dakota State legend Carson Wentz, who joins his sixth NFL team in six years? After Kurtiss, a chat with the man who now leads the athletic department of both his and DeBoer's alma mater. Death. Taxes. A winning season for USF football. These are some of the inevitable truths about life, at least the last 30 years, during which the Cougars have had only one non-winning record. That was two years ago in the first season of current coach Jim Glogowski, whose second squad last season turned the 3-8 record upside down to 8-3. The 2025 squad is picked to finish fifth out of 14 teams and kicks off the season at Black Hills State on Thursday. With a new season comes renewed excitement at USF, whose football tradition no doubt owns a lion's share of the school's identity and brand for the last three decades.  But a couple components of that brand received a shake-up over the summer. The Coo has a brand new logo and a new apparel deal with Nike after years with Under Armour. It is part of a second year athletic director Jon Hart's larger vision of keeping the small, private school competitive and on the cutting edge in a Div. II and Northern Sun conference landscape full of competitors with much larger enrollments and budgets. In an extended sit-down with Happy Hour host John Gaskins, Hart dives into that vision, which includes the navigation of NIL deals. Yes, they exist in D2, as well. Hart also gives a glimpse into how USF hopes to spruce up athletic facilities, and why USF decided to partner with Forum Communications — which owns Sioux Falls Live and oversees Happy Hour with John Gaskins — to bring Cougar home football and basketball games to the brand new Midwest Sports+ app. Hart also delivers his assessment of Glogowski and both 17-year head basketball coaches Chris Johnson and Travis Traphagen. Also, a tribute to 27-year Voice of the Coo Tom Frederick, who joined Happy Hour last week and announced he'll be back on the mic for USF football games this autumn but is stepping away from calling both men's and women's basketball. Gaskins will take over the USF hoops role and call all men's and women's home games.

Ver todos los episodios