Happy Hour with John Gaskins

It doesn't take long for a football season to cause pain for players, coaches, fans, and even the media.

Well, more psychological and emotional pain for coaches and fans. The media? It just so happens that Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer is dealing with his own physical pain currently, which he describes in leading off Thursday's Happy Hour, his weekly "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast with the Happy Hour host.
 
But mostly, they talk football. It is a violent sport. And after spending eight months salivating and speculating about how certain players and teams will perform, the reality of that violence kicks in earlier for some than others.
 
Here in South Dakota, that's the case for Chase Mason, the senior SDSU quarterback whose knee brace and "sprain" will keep him out at least one game and who knows how many more. 
 
The Jackrabbits are already about to find out how well Josh Holst keeps the ship afloat—or sails it full steam ahead—after taking the QB1 reps for a week.
 
Happy Hour, Zimmer, and KSFL-TV's Zach Borg have spent plenty of time and depth on this topic all week and you can find all the Jackrabbit Football stories about it here.
 
While Jacks fans' spirits are perhaps wounded, they are certainly far from alone. In the NFL, several dynamic QB1s have already been knocked out:
 
Jaxson Dart (knee)
Jaden Daniels (elbow)
Sam Darnold (glute)
Kyler Murray (concussion)
Caleb Williams (hamstring)
Caleb Williams' backup (concussion)
 
Ouch!
 
USD has not suffered such a harsh reality. Coyote fans — and media, and anyone who watches football and sees him — are enjoying four games of magic from freshman Austyn Modrzewski. 
 
In this Happy Hour, Zim gives his own perspective on Mason's injury and how the Jackrabbits can sustain their high level of play if they won't have him beyond Saturday's game against Eastern Illinois, in which they are a 34-point favorite.
 
Zim also weighs in on the regional if not national buzz for Modrzewski, who has fallen out of the sky like a video game playmaking meteor. He at least needs a nickname. And, so, we found one. For now.
 
For now. Two words Zim wants to cling to more than thinking about "later," as in where Modrzewski will play college football next year as a sophomore. He wrote about this in a recent column and expounds in this conversation.
 
Finally, there's only three words to say about the Minnesota Vikings:

Two and "oh."
 
Well, OK, there are more words than that. What does Zim — a pessimist about the Vikings' playoff chances before the season started — think about them now?

We get it. 

We all waited eight months for the games to begin. They began, and mnost of you just want to watch the games, hear your sports talk hosts to talk about the games, and perhaps leave periphery topics on the back burner for the offseason. Topics like:
 
* Will the Jacks and Yotes go the FBS sooner than later, or ever?
 
* Will the meteor crash of Austyn Modrzewski, or any high-performing FCS player with eligibility to burn beyond '26, automatically lead to an FBS NIL cash grab? Or, will Modrzewski end up like Chase Mason and stay put?
 
You want to hear about what's happening right now. Cue Van Halen. (Well, Van Hagar.)
 
Happy Hour has, indeed, brought those topics up since the games began. Why? Because when you watch the games, your brain tends to wander to those topics, if only because the Jacks, Yotes, and their quarterbacks have played so well. And perhaps you'd like to hear hosts and experts weigh on those topics, if only in passing. 
 
But on Wednesday's show with veteran FCS writer and podcaster Sam Herder, Happy Hour stayed within the lines of the games while going to places like:
 
* How well would the Jacks and Yotes perform in the FBS right now, specifically the Mountain West conference North Dakota State appears to be a favorite to win in its first year? 
 
* Is Modrzewski already looking like a Jerry Rice Award winner or even Walter Payton Award winner right now?
 
* Who is the best team in the FCS right now?
 
* Does USD appear to have the goods to beat an ego-bruised and desparate Youngstown State team and Beau Brungard right now... and would that change Saturday if the "heart and soul" of the Coyotes, linebacker Gabe Hardman, was kept out with his knee injury?
 
Herder answers those questions and more.
 
Then, time to hear from Beau Brungard—in an interview from MVFC Media Day before the season. He describes his football journey that has been so very... Youngstown, including the decision to turn down (we think) some FBS NIL cash grabs to stay for games like last Saturday in Brookings and this Saturday against the Yotes.
 
Wednesday's show starts with a new angle on the Chase Mason injury saga:
 
Don't you dare blame offensive coordinator Eric Eidsness for this. Judging by the interwebs, many Jacks fans are.
 
The show ends with the host and video producer Cordell Wright, a die-hard Vikings fan, wrapping their brains around a 2-0 start and whether the squad looks like a more stout NFC North title contender and playoff team right now. 
 
One of these men is high on the Vikes. The other is not convinced.

Video producer Cordell and the Happy Hour host discuss the suprising-to-most 2-0 start of the Vikings and how much this boosts their chances of reaching the playoffs, competing for the NFC North title, and even being a team that could reach the.... well, let's not say that yet.

Eidsness is not to blame for Mason injury... and the Coyotes have what could be a big injury vs. Youngstown State

Sam Herder (FCS analyst) on SDSU without Mason, Modrzewski's early theatrics, USD vs Youngstown, Montana schools, FCS vs G6 and more