Game day for the Augustana football team started off with a 7:00 a.m. breakfast on campus this past Saturday. Following our traditional pre-game breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham from the cafeteria we loaded the buses and set out for Decatur, Illinois to take on Millikin University. The ride that usually offers nothing but corn and farm houses took a turn for the better with the shifting of seasons as all the leaves were in the midst of changing colors.

For any sports fanatic, fall has to be the best time of the year. The cool air simply smells like football and throughout most of the week some sort of game can been seen. Let’s not forget the excitement that surrounds the baseball playoffs and World Series that comes hand in hand with fall. Speaking of which, though the odds of me jumping on the White Sox bandwagon are about the same as me starting over Reggie Bush this Saturday for USC, I must tip my hat to Ozzie Guillen’s squad and their success as of yet. You have to admire how hard they play and how they feed off of each other’s energy.

They have captured the essence of sports which derives from the chilling atmosphere fall creates. There is nothing that compares to the feeling you get while stepping onto the field under the blue skies of fall while smelling barbeque from distant tailgaters. That is all I could think of while we traveled to take on the Big Blue and as we arrived in Decatur at 11:15, kickoff could not have come soon enough.

Things got rolling early as we jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead thanks to a stingy defense and a grinding offense. Walking off the field after the first half we found a shaded area right outside the stadium and stayed there for halftime rather than piling into the crowded locker room. It was quite an interesting experience, one a division I football player would never even come close to experiencing as fans of both teams passed close by the entire time. The game ended with us coming out on top by a score of 23-0 as we improved to 6-1 overall.

After the game I was able to hang out with a few players from the Millikin team because my good friend Max Warner plays for them. It was a great experience talking CCIW football with guys I had just lined up against. It was a unique experience hearing them talk about the same things my teammates and I talk about, just from a different perspective.

This Saturday we play host to Elmhurst College who just came off of a tough seven point defeat from North Central College (12th in the nation). As conference play comes to a close we realize that from week to week, it is a one game season. No game is more important than the one in front of us as we take on the Bluejays this Saturday. One slip up could cost us our season and we take that into consideration as we walk out to practice every day.

There are always a few extra activities going on surrounding homecoming week, and this year’s homecoming was no exception. We were fortunate enough to have former Notre Dame head football coach, Jerry Faust speak on campus and attend a Thursday afternoon practice.

Having a man who once held such a prestigious position address the team after our practice was quite an honor. He handed our program plenty of genuine compliments and it was a thrill to see him get fired up as he stressed to us the importance of team ball. I was impressed with the amount of knowledge he had of our program from over the years and it was flattering to hear him say that he would be following us in the paper in the following weeks. We were fortunate enough to have had the experience of meeting Coach Faust as it was a positive note heading into Week 8 as we took on Illinois Wesleyan University.

The Titans came to Rock Island with a 1-4 record, but records are thrown out the window bearing in mind the tradition this game has held throughout the years. Though Augustana has won 18 of the last 24 meetings, including the last four contests, Coach Barnes was quick to remind us that Wesleyan is the only school in our conference that still has the edge over us in the overall win-loss column.

As the defense played well again, the game broke open in the second half as fullback Mike Guzman tied a school record when he made his way to the end zone from 97 yards out. The final score was 41-15 as the senior class walked away knowing they were one of a few Augie classes that had never lost to IWU.

This Saturday we head down to Decatur to take on the Big Blue of Millikin. I have been looking forward to this game because one, they are a tough team with plenty of athletes, and two, one of my good friends from high school plays for them. Max Warner, our high school quarterback has found himself on the other side of the ball at Millikin and since then there has been plenty of good natured trash talk.

As a team we look forward to the challenge Millikin brings us this Saturday as every game from here on out is our biggest game yet. There is no doubt this will be a hard fought game on both sides of the ball. Just hope no flags get thrown if I meet Max on the field.

Barry Bottino of the Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake, Ill., writes about one of our Insiders, Augustana’s J.J. McDowell, and about McDowell’s Insider writings.