Happy Hour with John Gaskins

At first, the Key to the City game wasn't treated quite like a blood-thirsty, gotta-have-it rivalry by one of the two teams involved in the two block tangle. Then one day, the coach of that team showed up to practice and literally saw signs that suggested it truly was "Game On" and this one meant more than all the others. This was a few years into the modern-day Augie-USF showdown that started in 2012 with the Cougars' new Division II and NSIC membership. It's just one story Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer loves to tell about this 13-part saga that started with an electric bang off the foot of USF kicker Braden Wieking in overtime in 2012 that went through the uprights at Kirkeby Over Stadium and sent the visiting side full of purple into pandemonium. That is still Zim's favorite, but he writes about all of them in this Key to the City game article and he shared more during his weekly "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast with the Happy Hour host from Gateway Lounge in Sioux Falls. The two also break down the state of both teams and how they'll match up in KTC 14. The backyard brawl — well, we'll be South Dakota nice and call this a backyard battle — is always one of the Games of the Year on the state football slate, and Saturday's matchup appears to be a humdinger if only because both teams are 3-2 and desperate to keep any playoff hopes alive by winning. But Augie-USF may not be the game of the week in South Dakota on Saturday because FCS No. 2 South Dakota State visits No. 10 Illinois State. Which remark made unprompted by Jacks coach Dan Jackson on Monday's Happy Hour raised Zim's eyebrows? Is Josh Holst ready and capable of passing well enough should SDSU's nation-best running game not be enough to beat the Redbirds on its own? No. 13 USD comes home to host Indiana State on Dakota Days. Considering the momentum of both teams — the Yotes' fourth-quarter collapse at Youngstown State and the Sycamores scaring No. 5 UND down the stretch — this doesn't feel as sure-fire of a win as it did before the season, and especially a week ago, for the Coyotes. How alarming should the performance at Youngstown State be and how much of a national championship contender should USD still be considered? There's also five minutes of 3-0 Minnesota Vikings talk that sounds more like 0-3 Minnesota Vikings talk, plus a wrap on the J.J. McCarthy era in Minneapolis. Before all this, the hosts enjoy looking back on the "I Still Got It" game on Monday night from former Vikings quarterback Case Keenum, now 38 and slinging for the Chicago Bears. What are Zim and the Happy Hour hosts' middle-aged "I still got it" moments? But to lead off the show, the Gen X hosts pay tribute to their "Dead Guy of the Week" and a guilty pleasure must-see TV show from the early 90's by asking... "Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?"

It's hard to believe, but there actually is one college sports rivalry in America that pits two schools closer in proximity than the two blocks separating Augustana and the University of Sioux Falls. Most people don't know where those schools are, but D2Football.com's Matt Witwicki does. He can also rattle off the key players, strengths, stats and situations of all 14 NSIC teams, if not most of the best teams in the country. Chances are, no living soul has a more vivid memory of the details of all 13 prior (modern day) Augie-USF "Key to the City" football games than Tom Frederick, the Voice of the University of Sioux Falls. He called all 13 and will be on the mic again Saturday in Augie's Kirkeby-Over Stadium for the 14th. This is why these two men — friends and co-hosts of the "NSIC Weekly" podcast and YouTube show — are the perfect guests to set the table for a special one-hour "Key to the City Show" on Happy Hour. And so they did in a thorough and enjoyable chat together with the Happy Hour host from Gibs Sports Bar. What makes this rivalry unique beyond its proximity? Again, the two best people to ask that question are here to answer it. Witwicki and Frederick provide insight into both 3-2 teams as they clash in desperation to keep their playoff hopes alive. Each team is coming off a close loss on Saturday, which also leaves them both hungry and maybe a little angry. But to get an even better sense of the vibes within the walls of both the Cougars and the Vikings, the head coaches each sit down with the Happy Hour host to preview the game. USF's Jim Glogowski (Coach Glo) Yes, "Coach Glo" is well aware of his 0-3 record in the Key to the City game. That fact comes with the extra pain of last year's 29-28 loss in which Augie completed a 19-point second half comeback by scoring and converting a two-point try in the final minute. Glogowski opened the vein of that loss — which kept the Coo, who finished 7-4, out of the playoffs — and how it plays into Saturday's showdown. USF's loss at home to No. 3 Minnesota State last week was not as painful, but literally fumbling away a chance to drive and tie the Mavericks in the final few minutes left a mark. What is the mark of this 3-2 squad, which captured overtime wins in each of its two previous games before MSU? Equally important are the injuries defining the Cougars' current state. Their top six experienced receivers and a few key defensive players were all unavailable for the MSU game. Will any of them return for a game where both sides of the ball could use all the help they can get to combat the NSIC's top offense? Regardless, how can USF pull off what many would consider a mild upset? Augustana's Jerry Olszewski "Coach OJ" lost five of his first six Key to the City games, but his teams have beaten USF three consecutive times. It is difficult to imagine anything sweeter than last year's thrilling comeback, which saw true freshman quarterback Rich Lucero Jr. make his first start after Gunnar Hensley was hurt the week before. This year, Hensley is healthy and leading the nation in Div. II passing, by far, with nearly 2,000 passing yards. Besides excellent targets in Klayton Sattler and D.J. Page, what has Hensley done to elevate an already sublime passing game this season? The Vikings are a shootout team, with 42-37 as the average score of their games, ranking them first in offense and last in defense statistically in the NSIC. That juggernaut offense will face a USF defense that ranks third in the league and will likely return a couple of key players who were unable to take part in the Coo's upset bid against No. 3 Minnesota State last week. OJ breaks down his keys to the Key to the City game. He also takes us back to the bus ride after Augie's 42-41 overtime loss at Winona State last week and the locker room during a nearly two-hour lightning delay at Minnesota-Duluth in this season's second game. The Vikings led 23-22 with under five minutes left in the contest and could have chosen to get on the bus and go home with a victory. OJ decided to play it out and the Vikings lost. Hear what went into that decision and what it meant for the season.

It's late September and some things are getting weird in the 2026 football season. Northern Iowa, a bottom-3 pick in the MVFC and an 18-point underdog, beat No. 3 Illinois State. Iowa — a pillar of stone age offense — managed to pass its way 91 yards down the field in less than two minutes to beat Michigan, with the final two passes totaling 45 yards in 16 seconds. The Raiders are 3-0 for the first time in five years. The Huskers are 4-0 for the first time in 10 years. The Vikings are 3-0, which isn't out-of-this-world weird, but they've also parted ways with the only quarterback they ever drafted among the Top 10 picks... and it only took 10 starts for them to trade J.J. McCarthy... for a fifth round pick. How do we make sense of all this? 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 and Louisville QB Lincoln Kienholz among his former clients) to two of the best University of Sioux Falls quarterbacks of all time (besides Riggs: 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, Happy Hour does have someone like that. His name is Kurtiss Riggs, who is also a veteran color analyst for TV and radio broadcasts of high school football. He has his thoughts on all those late September oddities, plus: * How equipped is SDSU to beat Illinois State without Chase Mason at quarterback? * What is backup Josh Holst's issues on passing misfires? * Who is the best SDSU running back? * Just how good are the 605 Hogs? * Was USD's loss at Youngstown State as much about defensive injuries and fatigue from a brutally hard-hitting game at Boise State as much as anything? * What does he make of quarterback Austyn Modrzewski's three-turnover game in Youngstown? And we can't discuss the weekend of football without mentioning the Dallas Cowboys' buffoonery in Brazil.

South Dakota State won its game 42-7 on Saturday. USD lost 47-28. Many factors contributed to those contrasting results. The Jacks were at home, while the Yotes made a one-time-zone trek for the second consecutive week. The Jacks thumped a 1-3 Eastern Michigan team playing under a new head coach and a new quarterback. The Yotes trailed only 23-21 through three quarters before an avalanche hit them in the fourth. They were facing the No. 11 Penguins, who are well-established under seventh-year coach Doug Phillips and 2025 Walter Payton Award quarterback Beau Brungard. SDSU had a healthy lineup, save for quarterback Chase Mason and reserve running back Ramon McKinney. USD was without three of its best defensive players — one at each level — while former All-America running back Charles Pierre Jr. has been hobbled. Despite these differences, the Jacks' and Yotes' head coaches made similar big-picture remarks after the game: Both Dan Jackson and Matt Vitzthum said they didn't have their teams properly ready to play. Neither team showed enough energy out of the gate. Jackson used the word "juice," Vitzthum mentioned "swag." These remarks led the Happy Hour host to ask the head coaches about those comments and plenty of other aspects of their teams' latest performances. Plus, a look into this Saturday's opponents: No. 2 SDSU at No. 10 Illinois State in a massive MVFC matchup, and No. 13 USD's home game with Indiana State. Among the topics with Jackson: * The status of quarterback Chase Mason, who missed the EIU game with a knee sprain * The continued passing struggles of Mason's backup Josh Holst * How running back carry distribution is decided. The Jacks had three backs rush for at least 80 yards on 9-14 carries against the Panthers, and all had long touchdown runs behind the behemoth "605 Hogs" offensive line * Illinois State's three-quarterback system and what to watch for with each signal caller. Among the topics with Vitzthum: * How much did fatigue and injuries suffered from the loss at Boise State the week before carry into a fourth quarter when the wheels came off for USD? * What went behind the two interceptions and one fumble of freshman quarterback Austyn Modrzewski, who was mostly sensational through the first four games. How is he handling the role of both leader and now being a target of defenses primed not to be burned by him? * What is the injury status of linebacker Gabe Hardman, defensive lineman John Starman, and defensive back R.J. Stewart— all key components to USD's success? * Has pain and injury slowed down former All-American running back Charles Pierre Jr., whose carries and yardages have been limited the last two games? * What does Indiana State's offense do that should present USD's defense some major issues if things go to form from the last few games? But first, the Happy Hour host, a well-known Huskers fan, gives the Hawkeyes their due after heroics from one of the Sioux Falls area's very own to beat Michigan on the last play.