2024 – Best Of List
Top 5 Games of 2024
5. Georgia Southern 26 – Coastal Carolina 6
Georgia Southern started this game hot and made the Chanticleers play catch up the entire time. It started with the Eagles scoring a field goal on their first possession. After a quick Coastal Carolina three-and-out, Georgia Southern hit quick with a touchdown to take a 10-0 lead.
The only other scores in the first half were field goals by both teams to give the Eagles a 13-3 lead going into the break. The third quarter was slow. The Chanticleers scored the only points on a field goal to go into the fourth quarter at 13-6.
In the fourth quarter things fell apart more for Coastal Carolina then worked better for Georgia Southern. On the Chanticleers final four possessions they had a fumble, an interception, a turnover on downs, and a second interception. There is no chance to come back and win with all of those turnovers.
Georgia Southern turned all of those turnovers into thirteen fourth quarter points. This easily put the game away and led to the fans filing out of the stands early.
Final: Georgia Southern 26 – Coastal Carolina 6
4. Toledo 38 – UMass 23
It took a while for things to get going in this ball game. Between both teams the first seven possessions all ended in three and outs. This made it a pretty dull first quarter.
The Rockets finally got the scoring going on their last position of the first quarter. After a quarterback run for the first first-down of the game, Tucket Gleason threw for a forty-yard touchdown to Jerjuan Newton.
The second quarter was a lot more exciting. The highlight was after UMass tied the game up at ten. Jaquez Stuart ran the ensuing kickoff back 98-yards to retake the lead at 17-10. UMass finished the half to bring the score to 17-13.
The Minutemen tacked on an additional field goal to bring the score to 17-16 in the third. Finally, Toledo started to put some distance between them with two consecutives touchdowns going into the fourth quarter. UMass tried to keep things close but Toledo was able to hold off for the win.
Final: Toledo 38 – UMass 23
3. Cincinnati 27 – Miami (OH) 16
This was the 128th meeting of these two teams as they play for the Victory Bell. Miami pulled off an upset in Cincinnati last season, so you know the Bearcats were ready to avenge that loss.
The game started off slowly. Miami had a great first drive only to be intercepted in the end zone. After a couple punts, Cincinnati finally got on the board first with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead into the second quarter.
Miami tied it at three on the next possession. Another Miami turnover, this time a fumble at the Miami three-yard line, led to Cincinnati getting a touchdown and a 10-3 lead at the half. The Bearcats took the opening kick for a touchdown as well for a two-possession lead.
Finally, Miami put a strong drive together. Brett Gabbert threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Virgil and the Redhawks were right back in it.
Cincinnati would put the game away early in the fourth. On the first play of a drive, Evan Pryor ran 65-yards for a touchdown to go back up two scores, 24-10. Miami was able to bring it back to 27-16 on a touchdown midway through the fourth, but it was not enough.
Final: Cincinnati 27 – Miami (OH) 16
2. #5 Georgia 30 – #1 Texas 15
This game started off as a defensive battle. In fact, Texas picked off Carson Beck twice in the first quarter. Unfortunately, they were not able to cash that in. The Longhorns had a three and out after the first interception and a Quinn Ewers fumble on the second.
That fumble recovery is what it took to get the Georgia offense going. The Bulldogs scored on four straight possessions to take a 20-0 lead. At that point late in the second quarter, Ewers was pulled for Arch Manning. This did not do much for the Texas offense. Georgia got one more field goal to end the half up 23-0.
Texas finally got something together to start the second half with Ewers back in at quarterback. They got their first score of the game on their first drive to pull within 23-7. Then, the controversy came into play.
On third and ten, Carson Beck through an interception that was brought back to the 9-yard line. A pass interference penalty was called on the play that was a little sketchy. So much so that that Texas student section started throwing bottle on the field causing a delay. During the long delay the referees decided to pick up the flag and award the ball to Texas. The Longhorns would get a touchdown and two-point conversion and suddenly it was 23-15.
Just as it was looking to be a ball game again, the Bulldogs went on an 11-play, 89-yard drive to score a touchdown early in the fourth to extend the lead to 30-15. Texas had a couple more changes but were not able to score again leading to the final score.
Final: Georgia 30 – Texas 15
1. #21 South Carolina 34 – #23 Missouri 30
It took a while for the game to get cranked up, but once it did it was one of the most exciting games that I have been a part of on the journey.
In the first quarter, Missouri started the scoring with a field goal before South Carolina went right down the field and scored to take a 7-3 lead. An additional field goal by Missouri made the score 7-6 after one.
The second quarter was pretty silent throughout. South Carolina final put some fireworks in play towards the end of the half. The Gamecocks scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes and took a strong 21-6 lead into the half.
Missouri had the only score in the third, pulling within 21-12 on a touchdown and missed two-point conversion. The Tigers also scored twice early in the fourth quarter and took a 22-21 lead. South Carolina finally answered back scoring and taking a 27-22 lead when they also missed a two-point conversion.
There was still a lot more excitement to come. Missouri drove the length of the field and scored a touchdown with 1:10 remaining and took a 30-27 lead. The Gamecocks needed a field goal to tie, but ended up making it all the way to the end zone with 15 seconds remaining to win the game 34-30.
Final: South Carolina 34 – Missouri 30
Top 5 Stadiums of 2024
5. Toledo
It was a perfect day for a football game. It was 61 degrees at the 3:30 ET kickoff and mostly cloudy. The stadium was about 70% full for this contest.
The stadium was set up a single-level horseshoe with a small second deck on the east side. There was a field house in the north end zone with a medium sized video board rising above it. During the pre-game warm-ups they had the Allstate net up covering the board up which covered up parts of the display.
The student section was in the south end zone. They were handing out jerseys to the students and it was very disorganized. The students lined up along almost the entire east sideline to get one and it made it hard to walk through. They must have been there thirty minutes before they started handing them out.
There was nothing fancy about the concession areas. They did have a couple of tents for Chick Fil A and Maumee Brewing, but other than that all the stands just had normal concessions. As always, I appreciated that they sold bottled soda instead of fountain drinks.
4. Miami (OH)
Unlike the Toledo game, the weather was hot and sunny for this game. The temperature at the Noon kickoff was already in the lower 80s and moved into the upper 80s as the game went on. Being in the sun made it quite uncomfortable.
The stadium was a smaller stadium. They only had a single tier of seats along both sidelines. No seats were along the end zones. On the North side was a large field house and a large scoreboard rose above the South side.
As with other recent stadiums, all the concession stands around the stadium sold normal stadium food. There were many food trucks along the concourses, however. Some were additional Miami owned trucks, but others were from locals. The local trucks included East Coast Eats, Maw Maw Creole Kitchen, and El Cardenal Taqueria.
Since this was a local rivalry game, it appeared to be a sellout. It was a late arriving crowd, so it took until about halfway through the first-quarter for everyone to show up.
3. Coastal Carolina
Brooks Stadium, like a lot of the other buildings on the Coastal Carolina campus, looks brand new. It has been a FBS school for only a few years.
The stadium was a smaller one. There was a one-tier horseshoe format for seating. The two sidelines did have a second tier. There was a medium-sized video board in the south end zone. There were runner boards between the tiers on the west side of the stadium.
For this game the Chanticleers did a military appreciation day. One of the things this included was pregame where they had a military motorcycle group come out on the field. The team then came out through the middle of the bikes.
From a concession standpoint, there was mostly just the regular concession stands. There was one area where they sold Chick Fil A. There were also a couple of food trucks, one for Bojangles and one for Mr. Softee ice cream that was popular with the kids.
The one thing that seemed a little over the top was the pricing for parking. It cost $25 to park in once of the campus parking lots that was still a hefty hike to the stadium. From what I read it was the first year that they started charging for this lot and it seemed like an excessive cost. Where the campus sits makes it hard to find any non-campus parking though.
2. Texas
Because this was such an anticipated game and such a large stadium to begin with, it made it hard to go around and take as many pregame pictures as usual. There was an attendance of over 105,000, the largest in stadium history.
My seat was in the upper section, which means I had to take a large set of escalators to get to the top of the stadium. Once I got there, the first thing I noticed was how steep the upper deck was. As someone scared of heights is spooked me a little. Luckily, after other people started filling in, I felt a lot better.
The lower part of the section was a bowl shape. In the south end zone was the large longhorn shaped tunnel the team came out of. The upper deck was a horseshoe shape leaving the south side open. The video board at least once was, if not still, the largest college football board in the country. There were also banner video boards between the two decks
There were huge pregame activities outside the stadium before the gates opened. This was probably the biggest pregame bash I have seen in person. On the north side of the stadium, they had Smokey’s Midway, which had a lot of things for kids like a Ferris wheel and a small zipline. They also had dozens of food trucks with food items and beer for sale.
They also had the team walk in through the area on the way to the stadium. This made it really hard to walkaround for a while. The gates opened right after the team walk so that made it a little hard to get to the gates to get into the stadium.
The big highlight with the stadium festivities was the drone show at the end of the third quarter. They had a large set of multicolored drones rise in two areas of the sky. They were able to create Bevo, a Longhorn hand symbol, and the Texas flag. There were even had fireworks come out of Bevo’s nose to make it look like he was blowing steam.
1. South Carolina
Williams-Brice Stadium is located a couple miles south of the campus near the fairgrounds in Columbia. As usual, this is always a negative to me as it makes it hard to enjoy the campus atmosphere on game day. It also means most students had to take buses to the game.
With the Gamecocks being one of the hottest teams in the country the crowd showed up though. This was definitely a sellout. And everyone was loud as well. This was definitely one of the most exciting games I have been to from an atmosphere perspective.
The stadium is a double decker horseshoe setup. In the north endzone there was as single deck with a large videoboard rising above the stands. This was also where the student section was located. There were video boards located between the two tiers. Shrubs also lined up around the field on three sides.
There were several different concessions located around the stadium. Along with the normal food, there was Big Dippers Chicken, Billy G’s Carolina BBQ, and Little Caesar’s pizza. The food prices were higher here than most college stadiums I have been to recently.
Finally, there was a large park located to the west side of the stadium where they had food trucks, games, sports radio, live music, and a big screen where they showed other games. This was a festive area, especially because there were not many other places to go before the game.
Top 5 Campuses of 2024
5. Miami (OH)
Oxford, Ohio, is the definition of a college town. There was very little to do in town other than visit the University. It is very prominent as you drive into town and it spans a large area.
The one thing about the campus is that a lot of the buildings looked alike. That led to the campus not having a lot of charm. Nothing really stood out to me looking back on my visit there.
There was one thing that I like and that was the signs in front of each building. It had the name of the building plus the year that building was built. It was interesting to see some building from back in the 1960s sitting next to other buildings built within the last ten years.
The prettiest building on campus was probably alumni hall. It has a balcony on the upper level and a small dome on top that made it stand out from the other buildings on campus.
4. Coastal Carolina
The Coastal Carolina campus is in an interesting location. Although it is considered to be in Conway, but it’s really about halfway between Conway and Myrtle Beach. It officially became as a stand-alone university in 1993, after originally being founded as a community college in 1954.
Because it is a newer university, a majority of the building on campus are much newer. There are pros and cons to that. On one side, everything looks new. With that, though, everything looks the same. There were not any buildings that stood out as special.
With that said, the grounds of the campus were beautiful. They had many fountains across the area. There was also a nice creek going through the middle of campus where people could sit and relax with a couple of food trucks around as well so people could eat lunch.
The campus was also fairly self-contained. There were no roads going through campus, which is one thing I always look for. The athletic facilities are also all on campus, which means they are easy for students to access.
3. Toledo
The University of Toledo was a large campus with a lot of open spaces. Being founded in 1872, there was a lot of history around the area.
The main open area was Centennial Mall. This gave a great view of the major part of the campus. It also led to the student union including a beautiful fountain in front.
In other parts of the campus, the front of University Hall was gorgeous. It had a large clock tower sprawling up above the campus. Next to that, Libby Hall is one of the oldest buildings on campus and had an authentic feel to it. It is the main building perspective students start at, which I think is a great choice.
Across the Ottawa river is the South part of campus. This is the area where all the athletic facilities reside, including the Glass Bowl where the football game took place.
Overall, this was a beautiful campus and one that was fun to walk through. Since there were no roads through the main part of campus it made it peaceful to walk through.
2. Texas
The University of Texas is a huge university located right in downtown Austin. As usual, campuses in that type of atmosphere are not my favorite. There were very few green areas to enjoy.
The one part of campus that was really pretty was the area around the Littlefield fountain and the UT Tower. The tower is famous for being lit up at various times of the year although it is currently going through renovations. This is the area the College Gameday was setting up as well, so it was bustling with activity while I was there.
The one thing I appreciated was having all of the athletic fields close to campus. In places like this it’s easy to have things located far away. Everything was in walking distance for students who lived on campus. This makes it easy to walk around to everything that you needed.
1. South Carolina
Just like for Texas, the South Carolina campus is also in downtown. The difference was the bulk of the campus in Columbia was it was mostly insulated from the city around it. That made it feel much more like a true college campus.
Another interesting thing about the campus was the building style. They had a colonial style to them that made them very unique. They didn’t have the boring feel that a lot of campus building sometime give.
The main part of campus was known as the horseshoe. As the name describes, it was a large green space that had a pathway along each side, and they came together at the visitor’s center. There were several people out getting their Senior pictures taken on the beautiful day.
An International Festival was also going on near the Student Union. There were many different groups from multiple countries with food and music going with a lot of students visiting the area.
Top 5 Attractions of 2024
5. Bullock Texas State History Museum – Austin, TX
Also in downtown Austin is the Bullock Texas State History Museum. It is a very large museum that was very well kept. It was a fun museum to visit although there were a couple large elementary school tours to stay away from while there.
The first floor of the museum focused on the ancient history of the state. It started with some of the Native Americans that originally lived in the areas. There was also focus on the original Europeans, mostly Spanish and French, that came to the area through the Gulf of Mexico.
On the second floor the focus shifted more to how Texas became a state. There was a lot of time spent on how the relationship between Mexico and the United States ebbed and flowed through the years. Also, the impact of Texas in the Civil War was looked at, as well.
Finally, the third floor focused on Texas today. Some areas focused on the industries, such as oil, that Texas has a large hand in. Entertainment and sports based out of Texas had an area of its own. NASA also had a large hand in how Texas STEM is in play today.
4. Congaree National Park – South Carolina
I was not aware that South Carolina had a National Park, but sure enough they have one. Congaree National Park is located about twenty miles southeast of Columbia. It makes it an easy drive from the city and a great place to get out into nature and to do some hiking.
The first thing to know about this national park is that there aren’t any great mountains, waterfalls or other natural monuments that makes it a must-see park. On the other side, however, there weren’t very many people at this park which made the hiking a lot more peaceful.
The main hiking area was a wooden boardwalk that started from the visitor’s center. There was a ranger at the front along with a bulletin board to inform folks that part of the boardwalk was closed due to damage from a storm. They recommended a path to take to get in the most hiking.
The boardwalk was well maintained. Once you got to the end of the boardwalk there were two or three other paths you could take to go deeper into the forest. All of the paths were easy to track and well-marked as well.
The main part of the park was all swamp land. Because of that there were not many animals to see. However, there were a lot of different types of birds that you could here. Just stopping from time to time to listen to the birds made the hike a lot more fun as well.
3. National Museum of the US Air Force – Dayton, OH
With Dayton being known as the city of flight, it made sense for the US Air Force Museum to be located there. The first thing you notice as you walk in is how huge the museum was. I spent about three hours walking through and by the end I was actually rushing a little bit. If you visit, make sure you bring a good pair of walking shoes.
What I appreciated most was how organized the museum is. It is separated into four separate hangers. The first section covered the start of the Air Force through World War II. The next covered Korea and Vietnam. The third had aircraft from the Cold War period. Finally, the last section covered Presidential planes and space.
There were several exhibits that were amazing to see in person. The first was the Memphis Belle from World War II. It is known as being the most famous bomber used during the war. During the war, a bomber was scheduled to fly 25 missions. If it survived all 25, they were able to return home. The Memphis Belle was one of the few bombers that was able to succeed in that mission.
In the Cold War section, there was a B2 bomber. It is the only B2 that is on display today. The plane was gigantic. It has a wingspan of 172 feet.
Finally, one thing I really enjoyed walking through were the Presidential planes. They had a total of four aircraft that were all at one time Air Force One. These were planes that went all the way back to Roosevelt. The main plane was the SAM 26000, which was used by eight different presidents.
I have been to many aircraft museums over the years, but this one was my favorite. Again, the fact they had everything so organized is what made it special and easy to take everything in.
2. Brookgreen Gardens – Myrtle Beach, SC
When I heard of Brookgreen Gardens, located a bit south of Myrtle Beach, I thought it would be just like any normal botanical gardens I have visited in the past. It ended up being a great place to visit and walk around. It made sense why this place was voted one of the top ten botanical gardens in the country.
First off, the place is huge. You a pay a fee as you drive in and the ticket is good for a week if you wanted to make multiple visits out of it.
The main attraction is the statue garden in the main area of the park. There were many marble statues throughout and they were all amazing pieces. In total, between the sculptures and the other art pieces, there are over 2,000 pieces in the collection.
On top of the statue garden, there is also a small zoo that is part of the facility. It is not something you would go out of your way to see by itself, but it is a nice part of the gardens. They had a petting zoo area, a couple aviaries, and some otters that were at play as well.
This was a place that I would definitely spend more time at if I could. Especially on a day with beautiful weather, this would be a fun place to walk around and enjoy the fresh air.
1. Toledo Zoo – Toledo, OH
The Toledo Zoo was a pretty large facility for a city of its size. It is located on both sides of a major road, with a bridge connecting the two sections.
Both the primate area and the ape areas were the most fun to watch. There were a couple orangutans that were playing and chasing each other all across their habitat. With the apes, the male was just sitting in the corner but after a few minutes walked across and banged hard on the glass as everyone was watching the mother with a baby.
There was also a large aquarium in the zoo. Within there were a few stations where you could touch various marine life like stingrays. This zoo probably also had the largest crocodile I have ever seen!
The one thing that seemed a little strange was the section for the National History Museum. They had some exhibits around history, but it was also where they kept the reptiles and insects. Without any signs about that, it seems like a section that people would miss if they were only interested in seeing the animals.
Top 5 Restaurants of 2024
5. G & R Tavern – Waldo, OH
G & R Tavern is located in the small town of Waldo, Ohio, approximately 45 minutes north of Columbus. When trying to find a unique place to eat on my drive up to Toledo, this place stuck out as having a famous fried bologna sandwich. After reading some positive reviews I decided to give it a shot.
The restaurant is exactly what you would expect from a small, yet popular, joint. Very busy with a lot of locals that all knew each other. I was able to sneak into a seat at the bar pretty easily though there was a wait for tables.
Of course, the bologna sandwich was the ticket for the day. I ordered mine with cheese. The sandwich came with a gigantic piece of sliced onion that covered the entire sandwich as well as sweet pickles. I also ordered a side of curly fries.
The sandwich lived up to the hype. The bologna itself was sliced thick; a lot more than you would get on a normal sandwich you grew up eating at home. Having the onion cover the entire sandwich guaranteed you would get a piece with every bite.
A lot of times, it is the small-town places that offer the best food, and this tavern was a great example of that theory. Would definitely recommend.
4. Mr. Friendly’s – Columbia, SC
On the flip side of the Southern cuisine spectrum was Mr. Friendly’s. A more upscale restaurant located just a few blocks from the South Carolina campus. When you walked in, they had art work all around the restaurant that you could go online and purchase if interested.
Here I went with the peach mustard BBQ glazed salmon. It came with a side of grits and a choice of succotash or slaw. Since, I had never tried succotash before that’s what I decided to try.
It was a good choice. I really liked the ingredients that were mixed together. The fish was also very well cooked. There were peach slices and chutney that topped it that was also a nice fit.
The only part of the meal that wasn’t great were the grits, but that is more of a personal preference. Although, if I mixed it in with the fish and succotash it made it a lot better. I think by itself the butter taste just overwhelmed.
This was easily the best restaurant that I visited in the Columbia area on my trip.
3. Bodega – Oxford, OH
Bodega is a small deli right in the middle of downtown Oxford. They had a wide variety of sandwiches to choose from all made fresh to order. They also have many deli salads to try as well.
My choice was the Papa D. It had capicola, prosciutto, and hard salami as the meats. On top of that it came with provolone, basil pesto, lettuce, red onion, and Italian dressing. (No tomato for me.) It came along with a bag of chips.
Not kidding, this was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. The meat was plentiful and piled high. The bread was soft and made it easy to bite into. Plus, the topping added to the flavor of it all.
If I lived in the Oxford area, I would likely visit this sandwich place once a week. I can almost guarantee this will be on my list of favorite restaurants at the end of the season.
2. Matt’s El Rancho – Austin, TX
The first thing I noticed as driving to Matt’s El Rancho is how large their parking lot was and how full it was. My first instinct was there would be a long wait. Luckily, there was no wait and I was able to get right to a seat. It was a large restaurant including a very large outdoor patio.
The menu was extensive which it made it hard to choose what to go with. They also had a nice lunch menu to select from. Ultimately, I went with the Beef Combination lunch. This came with a beef enchilada and beef taco along with rice and beans.
While waiting for my meal, the salsa that was served with the chips was top notch. It had good heat, but it also had a lot of flavor. I definitely put this onto the rice as well once lunch came.
The meal was all about the beef enchilada. This was probably one of my favorite beef enchiladas ever. The Chile con Carne on top was perfect and they put a hardy helping of cheese on top. The taco was good as well, but if I came back, I would likely order the foot-long beef enchilada instead just so I could get more of that Chile con Carne.
1. Tony Packo’s – Toledo, OH
Tony Packo’s is one of the restaurants that is famous in Toledo. The thing to keep in mind is there are multiple locations, but the original location on Front Street is the one that you should visit.
A lot of famous people have visited over the years. They all sign hot dog buns that are hung all around the restaurant.
For my meal I went with the hot dog platter. This came with a Hungarian hot dog that was topped with mustard, diced onions, and hot dog sauce. It also came with a cup of chili and a side. I chose the German potato salad.
The chili came out first and it was great. The chili was thick and not overly spicy. It was also topped with diced onion and cheese. It came with oyster crackers on the side as well.
The hot dog was also perfectly cooked. It had a perfect amount of sauce which covered the entire dog. The German potato salad was not the best I’ve ever had, but still tasted good and had that nice vinegar taste I enjoy.
It would be interesting to try some of the other locations that are more of a fast-food model to see if the taste holds there. But the original location was a huge win and probably my favorite meal of the entire trip.