Happy Hour with John Gaskins

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.

Dan Jackson on EIU win, Holst, Mason's status, RB distribution, stats, and Illinois State

Hawkeyes' Rock Rapids receiver is hero of wildest CFB finish of the season... and poetic justice in the Big House

Matt Vitzthum on USD's loss at YSU, Modrzewski's 3 turnovers, how 3 key defensive injuries impact Yotes