Happy Hour with John Gaskins

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.

USF's Jim Glogowski on "Key to the City" rivalry, last year's nightmare, slew of injuries, matchups with Augie

Augie coach Jerry Olszewski on Key to the City Week: Vikings start, Duluth dilemma, Gunnar Hensley, defense, USF matchup

"Wit" and Tom size up Augustana and USF's Saturday showdown and regale about the unique city rivalry.

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.