Happy Hour with John Gaskins

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

From MVFC Media Day in July... Beau Brungard on this football journey to the Walter Payton Award... and back to Youngstown (Re-release)