Advertise on podcast: Happy Hour with John Gaskins

Sometimes you have to zag when others zig.    The Happy Hour host did a lot of zagging last weekend. When most college football fans found Saturday to be the day — not just for this season but maybe in years — to sit on the couch and soak in several glorious barnburners and upsets, the host was on Interstate 90, watching SDSU's loss at UND on his phone while the Minnesota and Wisconsin countryside went by through the windshield (don't worry, he was the passenger).   It was all in the spirit of a last-second adventure to Green Bay for a Packers game at Lambeau Field, something the host nor his spouse, a Cowboys fan, had ever experienced. So what better day to cross off a sports bucket list item than on a 60-degree Mid-October afternoon with leaves bursting into golden yellow, bright orange, and crimson red all over the Upper Midwest?   No better day. Just one problem: No tickets and no hotel rooms booked when the couple woke up on Saturday morning in Sioux Falls, eight hours away from Green Bay.   So, how did they end up with row 7, 50-yard-line tickets for under $300 apiece — a steal, considering secondary ticket market websites listed seats like that for $1,000+ on gameday?    They zagged. Hear how. Listen carefully, and you might just get some sound advice for last-minute, anxiety-ridden ticket scores in your future.   Also, did Lambeau live up to its top shelf tailgating reputation? Listen carefully, and you'll have a guide to the perfect Lambeau experience.   Sit back and enjoy story time with Uncle John and Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer, who, as always, joined for a Thirsty Thursday Football Forecast, this time from Gibs Sports Bar on the east side of Sioux Falls.   After recounting the trip to football nirvana, the two do what this weekly show is intended: thoroughly preview and predict results of upcoming weekend football games of local interest like:   * South Dakota's Top 10 showdown in the DakotaDome with North Dakota, fresh off its biggest-ever FCS win, taking down then-No. 1 South Dakota State   * SDSU's bounce-back game on Hobo Day as a 30-point favorite over MVFC cellar dweller Murray State   * Iowa at Minnesota, with the Floyd of Rosedale pig trophy eagerly awaiting whoever gets to 20 points first (or closest to 20 points)   As Keith Jackson would say, "Let's see how high the feathers fly!"

Forecast!

Have the Jacks cracked?   Oh, sure, South Dakota State's facade of unstoppable offense and impenetrable defense splintered at least somewhat in the 21-10 loss at North Dakota last Saturday.   The shake-up came one game before SDSU's 2025 crumbling, when the 7-0 Jackrabbits were stampeded by No. 1 and now gone-from-FCS North Dakota State 38-7.   Does this squad appear to be more like the bunch that fell apart and lost three more consecutive games before gluing together a playoff-clinching win at UND and nuking New Hampshire in the first round, only to be mauled at Montana in the Round of 16?   Or is 2026 still headed to Nashville, where it very much appeared in the 5-1 start, with the lone blemish being a four-quarter cage fight at Northwestern, who is now in the FBS Top 25?   Of course, the correct answer is: Who knows? We'll find out.   But that's no fun, and Happy Hour is supposed to be fun. So the Happy Hour host and his weekly "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast co-host and Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer dive into SDSU's current state, which includes a more probing examination of what to look for in Saturday's Hobo Day game against Murray State than there would be had the Jacks left Grand Forks 8-0.   It's a road show for Zim, who joins from Brookings following SDSU hoops (and other sports) media day. Other topics:   * The 30th Anniversary of Jim Mora's second most-famous rant   * USD's latest big game in the DakotaDome, this time against those soaring Hawks from UND   * Are the Minnesota Vikings 5-0 or Fraud-and-Oh?   * Any big headlines out of the Media Day from SDSU men's or women's hoops? Will there be anything to ad-Meyer in First Bank & Trust Arena?

At a level of college football where NIL resources aren't nearly as high as the Power Four leagues and parity is supposedly greater, weird things are happening to the "haves" of the FCS.   Preseason No. 1 Montana State lost at 0-4 Idaho.   Preseason No. 2 Montana has lost three times, twice to FCS teams, and the Griz appear allergic to defense.   Preseason No. 3 South Dakota State rose to No. 1 for exactly a week before North Dakota smothered the Jackrabbits. They had been in the driver's seat for a Top 2 playoff spot and home field advantage through the championship game.   That same UND team had lost at Northern Iowa, which was predicted third-to-last in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.    And on and on and on, just like the litany of upsets and poll plummets in the FBS.   How do we make sense of this? More importantly, which of the elite teams that have stumbled should we expect to see still standing in the FCS semifinals and maybe even in Nashville for the championship game?   Former Montana All-American receiver Samuel Akem hosts a daily FCS show, aptly named The Samuel Akem Show, and joined the Happy Hour host to break down some of these matters, plus:   * If South Dakota beats the Fighting Hawks in Vermillion on Saturday, have the Coyotes stiff-armed their way into contention?    * How seriously should we take Youngstown State, Illinois State, and current No. 1 Tarleton State?   * What is up with Chase Mason completing just 52 percent of his passes, and how much of a red flag is that for the Jackrabbits' title hopes?   After the chat with Sam, Happy Hour clears the stage for the final two unreleased conversations from Summit League basketball Media Day on Oct. 6:     Mark Turgeon - Kansas City men   After 476 wins and taking three different teams to the NCAA Tournament, Turgeon stepped away from the pressures of Big Ten coaching at ever-demanding Maryland in 2021 at the age of 56.   With plenty of money in the bank and nothing left to prove, Turgeon mostly smelled the roses for the last five years in what most would classify as retirement.   But he was ready for one more adventure. Or, in more pessimistic terms, renewed torture of coaching in the NIL/portal era, this time at a forgotten place buried in a major sports and college basketball market. Why on Earth did he choose Kansas City (formerly Missouri-Kansas City or UMKC) which has floundered in the low-major Summit League for years?   Turgeon answered that question and shared plenty of stories from a career full of more than just brushes with some of the biggest names in the game — coaching Allen Iverson, coaching for Larry Brown, coaching against Tom Izzo and Tim Miles, and playing for the Kansas Jayhawks in the days of the legendary old Big Eight when legends like Brown, Johnny Orr (Iowa State), Billy Tubbs (Oklahoma), and Norm Stewart (Missouri) roamed the sidelines and stirred the pot with each other.   Johnny Tauer - St. Thomas men   Unlike Turgeon, Tauer has spent the last three decades in one spot — playing and coaching at the well-funded private school in St. Thomas since 1991.   What kept him there? What, to him, have been the most compelling changes to the sport and its players over those 35 years?    Of course, NIL and the portal have changed everything, so how has Tauer processed and adjusted to the fact that players don't stick around four or five years like they used to?   Also, how have the Tommies made the first Div. III to Div. I transition in the history of the sport look so easy?    Refreshingly candid yet easy to listen to, Tauer takes a seat on the therapeutic davenport of coaching anxiety and joy.

After 476 wins and taking three different teams to the NCAA Tournament, Turgeon stepped away from the pressures of Big Ten coaching at ever-demanding Maryland in 2021 at the age of 56.   With plenty of money in the bank and nothing left to prove, Turgeon mostly smelled the roses for the last five years in what most would classify as retirement.   But he was ready for one more adventure. Or, in more pessimistic terms, renewed torture of coaching in the NIL/portal era, this time at a forgotten place buried in a major sports and college basketball market. Why on Earth did he choose Kansas City (formerly Missouri-Kansas City or UMKC) which has floundered in the low-major Summit League for years?   Turgeon answered that question and shared plenty of stories from a career full of more than just brushes with some of the biggest names in the game — coaching Allen Iverson, coaching for Larry Brown, coaching against Tom Izzo and Tim Miles, and playing for the Kansas Jayhawks in the days of the legendary old Big Eight when legends like Brown, Johnny Orr (Iowa State), Billy Tubbs (Oklahoma), and Norm Stewart (Missouri) roamed the sidelines and stirred the pot with each other.

Unlike Turgeon, Tauer has spent the last three decades in one spot — playing and coaching at the well-funded private school in St. Thomas since 1991.   What kept him there? What, to him, have been the most compelling changes to the sport and its players over those 35 years?    Of course, NIL and the portal have changed everything, so how has Tauer processed and adjusted to the fact that players don't stick around four or five years like they used to?   Also, how have the Tommies made the first Div. III to Div. I transition in the history of the sport look so easy?    Refreshingly candid yet easy to listen to, Tauer takes a seat on the therapeutic davenport of coaching anxiety and joy.

At a level of college football where NIL resources aren't nearly as high as the Power Four leagues and parity is supposedly greater, weird things are happening to the "haves" of the FCS.   Preseason No. 1 Montana State lost at 0-4 Idaho.   Preseason No. 2 Montana has lost three times, twice to FCS teams, and the Griz appear allergic to defense.   Preseason No. 3 South Dakota State rose to No. 1 for exactly a week before North Dakota smothered the Jackrabbits. They had been in the driver's seat for a Top 2 playoff spot and home field advantage through the championship game.   That same UND team had lost at Northern Iowa, which was predicted third-to-last in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.    And on and on and on, just like the litany of upsets and poll plummets in the FBS.   How do we make sense of this? More importantly, which of the elite teams that have stumbled should we expect to see still standing in the FCS semifinals and maybe even in Nashville for the championship game?   Former Montana All-American receiver Samuel Akem hosts a daily FCS show, aptly named The Samuel Akem Show, and joined the Happy Hour host to break down some of these matters, plus:   * If South Dakota beats the Fighting Hawks in Vermillion on Saturday, have the Coyotes stiff-armed their way into contention?    * How seriously should we take Youngstown State, Illinois State, and current No. 1 Tarleton State?   * What is up with Chase Mason completing just 52 percent of his passes, and how much of a red flag is that for the Jackrabbits' title hopes?   After the chat with Sam, Happy Hour clears the stage for the final two unreleased conversations from Summit League basketball Media Day on Oct. 6:

In his return back from a month on the injury shelf, South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason completed 14 of 33 passes for 169 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Saturday's 21-10 loss at North Dakota.   What accounts for that 42 percent completion percentage, plus Mason's 52 percent rate — an almost-staggeringly low number for a passer of Mason's caliber in the modern day game — in his five starts this season for the Jackrabbits?   If only Happy Hour had a regular analyst on the show who is also SDSU's TV analyst, who possesses a keen eye for quarterback play as a former record-setting national championship quarterback at USF, who has coached and analyzed quarterbacks professionally for over 20 years — from the youth level at Sanford Sports Academy (with Mason among his former clients) to two of the best University of Sioux Falls quarterbacks of all time (Chad Cavender and Lorenzo Brown, who, with Riggs as their QB coach and Kalen DeBoer as head coach won a combined three national titles in four years) — and some of the best Indoor Football League professional QBs of all time.   Oh, wait, we do!   Kurtiss Riggs joins us every week to break down these sorts of matters and on Tuesday pinpointed some of the passes Mason is misfiring and how much of the struggles are on Mason. How much does play-calling factor in and what can be done to better get the senior "in rhythm?"   Of course, maybe UND's top five defense and a deafening atmosphere in the Alerus Center contributed to the struggles as well.    News flash: The Fighting Hawks are now ranked No. 6 in the country and once again imposed their will on a defeated opponent. Riggs handicaps UND's ability to contend for a national title, but before that, he dives into its chances of sweeping the South Dakota teams on Saturday when the Hawks take on USD in Vermillion.   The Jacks' loss in Grand Forks was just one of a bevy of upsets all over the college football landscape.   No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Notre Dame lost last-minute bangers on the road. Kalen DeBoer's Crimson Tide never really found their footing in a loss at Tennessee.   Sure, this speaks to the parity of Power Four football, driven by NIL and the transfer portal. So what does Riggs feel the recently-approved expansion of the College Football Playoff field to 24 teams will do for a program like DeBoer's Alabama?   The discussion starts with a new opening ritual on Riggs' weekly appearance — "What Are You Doing?" This week, the question goes to Matt Rhule, who when asked why the Huskers blew back-to-back fourth quarter leads against Indiana and Oregon said, in part, "I ain't the one out there playing."    After the Riggs chat, Happy Hour brings back its conversation with UND coach Eric Schmidt from Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Day in July.   A linebacker on the 2001 Div. II national championship team — the only squad to accomplish that feat in UND history — Schmidt explains the meaning of being the head coach of the program he played and also spent several years as an assistant coach before hopping on the Kalen DeBoer train to Southern Illinois and eventually Fresno State and Washington, only to circle back to Grand Forks before last season.   Schmidt describes what it was like to be around DeBoer and what he learned from the Milbank native when DeBoer was offensive coordinator at SIU, then head coach at FSU and Washington.   The Mandan, N.D., native also reflects on UND's five losses by five points or less in his rookie campaign last season, and what he learned from those heartbreakers in hopes to break through in 2026.   (Indeed, as we saw Saturday, he learned and applied, although the Fighting Hawks did not have to sweat out a one-score game against the Jackrabbits.)   The chat ends with Schmidt revealing his Happy Hour cocktail of choice.    (Hint: Tap the Rockies.)

In his return back from a month on the injury shelf, South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason completed 14 of 33 passes for 169 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Saturday's 21-10 loss at North Dakota.   What accounts for that 42 percent completion percentage, plus Mason's 52 percent rate — an almost-staggeringly low number for a passer of Mason's caliber in the modern day game — in his five starts this season for the Jackrabbits?   If only Happy Hour had a regular analyst on the show who is also SDSU's TV analyst, who possesses a keen eye for quarterback play as a former record-setting national championship quarterback at USF, who has coached and analyzed quarterbacks professionally for over 20 years — from the youth level at Sanford Sports Academy (with Mason among his former clients) to two of the best University of Sioux Falls quarterbacks of all time (Chad Cavender and Lorenzo Brown, who, with Riggs as their QB coach and Kalen DeBoer as head coach won a combined three national titles in four years) — and some of the best Indoor Football League professional QBs of all time.   Oh, wait, we do!   Kurtiss Riggs joins us every week to break down these sorts of matters and on Tuesday pinpointed some of the passes Mason is misfiring and how much of the struggles are on Mason. How much does play-calling factor in and what can be done to better get the senior "in rhythm?"   Of course, maybe UND's top five defense and a deafening atmosphere in the Alerus Center contributed to the struggles as well.    News flash: The Fighting Hawks are now ranked No. 6 in the country and once again imposed their will on a defeated opponent. Riggs handicaps UND's ability to contend for a national title, but before that, he dives into its chances of sweeping the South Dakota teams on Saturday when the Hawks take on USD in Vermillion.   The Jacks' loss in Grand Forks was just one of a bevy of upsets all over the college football landscape.   No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Notre Dame lost last-minute bangers on the road. Kalen DeBoer's Crimson Tide never really found their footing in a loss at Tennessee.   Sure, this speaks to the parity of Power Four football, driven by NIL and the transfer portal. So what does Riggs feel the recently-approved expansion of the College Football Playoff field to 24 teams will do for a program like DeBoer's Alabama?   The discussion starts with a new opening ritual on Riggs' weekly appearance — "What Are You Doing?" This week, the question goes to Matt Rhule, who when asked why the Huskers blew back-to-back fourth quarter leads against Indiana and Oregon said, in part, "I ain't the one out there playing."

In his return back from a month on the injury shelf, South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason completed 14 of 33 passes for 169 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Saturday's 21-10 loss at North Dakota.   What accounts for that 42 percent completion percentage, plus Mason's 52 percent rate — an almost-staggeringly low number for a passer of Mason's caliber in the modern day game — in his five starts this season for the Jackrabbits?   If only Happy Hour had a regular analyst on the show who is also SDSU's TV analyst, who possesses a keen eye for quarterback play as a former record-setting national championship quarterback at USF, who has coached and analyzed quarterbacks professionally for over 20 years — from the youth level at Sanford Sports Academy (with Mason among his former clients) to two of the best University of Sioux Falls quarterbacks of all time (Chad Cavender and Lorenzo Brown, who, with Riggs as their QB coach and Kalen DeBoer as head coach won a combined three national titles in four years) — and some of the best Indoor Football League professional QBs of all time.   Oh, wait, we do!   Kurtiss Riggs joins us every week to break down these sorts of matters and on Tuesday pinpointed some of the passes Mason is misfiring and how much of the struggles are on Mason. How much does play-calling factor in and what can be done to better get the senior "in rhythm?"   Of course, maybe UND's top five defense and a deafening atmosphere in the Alerus Center contributed to the struggles as well.    News flash: The Fighting Hawks are now ranked No. 6 in the country and once again imposed their will on a defeated opponent. Riggs handicaps UND's ability to contend for a national title, but before that, he dives into its chances of sweeping the South Dakota teams on Saturday when the Hawks take on USD in Vermillion.   The Jacks' loss in Grand Forks was just one of a bevy of upsets all over the college football landscape.   No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Notre Dame lost last-minute bangers on the road. Kalen DeBoer's Crimson Tide never really found their footing in a loss at Tennessee.   Sure, this speaks to the parity of Power Four football, driven by NIL and the transfer portal. So what does Riggs feel the recently-approved expansion of the College Football Playoff field to 24 teams will do for a program like DeBoer's Alabama?   The discussion starts with a new opening ritual on Riggs' weekly appearance — "What Are You Doing?" This week, the question goes to Matt Rhule, who when asked why the Huskers blew back-to-back fourth quarter leads against Indiana and Oregon said, in part, "I ain't the one out there playing."

And along came UND.   The Fighting Hawks played like the desperate and hungry team head coach Eric Schmidt demanded of them against then-No. 1 South Dakota State, beating the Jackrabbits wire-to-wire 21-10 on Saturday.   For that, UND earned a No. 6 FCS national ranking in the STATS Perform Top 25.    Now, the Hawks head to Vermillion to face the other Top 10 team from South Dakota, No 8 USD.   Both the Jackrabbits and Coyotes head coaches had a lot to say about UND in their weekly appearances on Monday's Happy Hour.   SDSU's Dan Jackson opened up about what went wrong in Grand Forks, particularly on offense, where rhythm was hard to find in the deafening confines of the Alerus Center.   Was rust an issue for quarterback Chase Mason in his first game back from a month-long injury? Why did the run game never pop outside of James Basinger's third quarter 63-yard touchdown, the only TD of SDSU's day?   How well did the Jacks defense respond to UND quarterback Jerry Kaminski, who most did not expect to play after an injury that knocked him out of the previous week's game at Northern Iowa?   Kaminski, as always, made explosive plays with his arm and winning plays with his feet.   How does USD intend to stop him?   Matt Vitzthum answered that and other questions about the Hawks, including the challenge of moving on the Hawks' stifling defensive line that gobbled up the Jacks' rushing attack and is enjoying the return of pass rushing beast Lance Rucker.   USD quarterback Austyn Modrzewski appears to be up for that challenge, even after a wobbly interception to open up the Yotes' 48-20 win at Murray State.   The decorated freshman responded with aplomb after that, and did so without the service of All-American running back Charles Pierre Jr., who was an unexpected scratch.    Why didn't Pierre play and what is his status for Saturday's Top 10 showdown in the DakotaDome?    Also, what has gone into the emerging play of receiver Brayden White and season-long dominance of linebacker Wade Abrams?   Vitzthum illuminates all that after an opening remark about the officiating in Murray.    Before the coaches, the Happy Hour host turns back to last week's viral (in FCS and G6 circles) remark from Jackson, who said his Jackrabbits would compete "at the top" of the Mountain West Conference in the FBS, where North Dakota State resides.   Does a convincing loss at UND mean Jackson's comments were off base and out of touch?   In a word, no. Find out why.

Host John Gaskins goes back to the remark that blew up all over social media last week and why Jackson is still right.

Matt Vitzthum on win at Murray, Pierre health update, Top 10 showdown at home vs UND

Dan Jackson's thorough breakdown of UND loss and how Jacks learn from it

Forecast! SDSU-UND, USD-Murray, MVFC, Top 5 HS tilt previews and picks with Trent Singer from Orion Pub!