We waited eight months. Eight months without meaningful football, only for the football gods to apparently decide that one ending wasn’t enough for Michigan and Western Michigan. Why end the game once when you can end it twice? Episode 289 of The…
College football fans have never had a problem forming an opinion. The final whistle blows and within seconds the internet has decided your quarterback is a Heisman winner, your coach needs to be fired, the officials are corrupt, and whatever happe…
There are certain weekends on the sports calendar that just feel different. Opening Day. The first Thursday night of the NFL season. The first real weekend of March Madness. And then there is the first full weekend of college football. I don't ca…
Football season is officially close enough that every prediction feels reasonable, every fan thinks their team fixed everything in the offseason, and every fantasy roster looks like a championship team. At least until the games actually start. Epi…
Six years. When Niko and I first sat in his kitchen trying to figure out what the hell we were going to call this show, I don't think either of us could have realistically pictured Episode 286. We definitely couldn't have pictured everything that w…
Sometimes the schedule writes the show for you. Episode 285 of Far End of the Bench was technically supposed to fall right around our seven-year anniversary. Seven years since Niko and I sat down in his apartment, came up with the name Far End of t…
Sometimes taking a week off is exactly what you need. We took one in the middle of the summer, came back, and suddenly there was enough chaos for about three episodes. LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er. Oklahoma City decided to play with Stan Kr…
There comes a time in every successful season when the journey changes. The opponent no longer sees your name on the schedule and wonders whether it belongs on the same field. It studies your weaknesses, memorizes your mistakes and spends the entir…
There are only 32 starting quarterback jobs in the NFL. That sounds simple until you really sit with it. Thirty-two. That is not just a depth chart number. That is a career-defining reality. Every quarterback in the league is ei…
The World Cup is over, and I am not handling it well. For more than a month, there was always a game on. I could wake up, turn on the television and watch countries that may not even agree on where their borders are try to kick each other into inte…
Charlotte reminded everyone champions can bleed. Rice reminded everyone they're still champions. By Frankie "The Horn" Calderón There is an interesting thing that happens when greatness becomes routine. People stop appreciating…
There are 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Ask any fan, coach, or general manager, and they'll tell you it's the hardest position in sports. Every throw is dissected. Every loss lands on your shoulders. Every contract is debated. Every intercep…
There are bad performances. There are disappointing performances. Then there is building an entire UFC card around the return of Conor McGregor—only for the biggest star in company history to throw approximately one-and-a-half kicks, collapse with…
The final score said UTSA 38, Charlotte 17. Another victory. Another conference opponent dismissed. Another Saturday added to a winning streak that has now reached 21 consecutive games. And somehow, everybody walked away angry. The players look…
No. 8 UTSA survives three turnovers and its sloppiest performance in two years, defeating Charlotte 38–17 behind Wayshawn Parker and a resilient defense. The scoreboard says No. 8 UTSA defeated Charlotte 38–17. The scoreboard als…
There are certain episodes that feel like just another week of sports talk, and then there are episodes where you can feel the show stepping into a new room. Episode 281 of The Far End of the Bench was one of those rooms. For the first time, FEOTB…
Eighty-seven points do not stay in the box score. They travel. They sit in the film room. They echo through winter workouts. They show up in the middle of spring practice when nobody says the number out loud, but everybody knows what it means. The…
Colorado State walked into San Antonio carrying confidence, memory, and an undefeated record. They left carrying a lesson. Last season in Fort Collins, CSU was one of the only teams in the Stonewall Merritt era that made UTSA feel mortal. Before t…
There has been a lot of talk this week about receipts. Colorado State is bringing a receipt. Colorado State remembers Fort Collins. Colorado State remembers pushing UTSA harder than almost anybody did during the Roadrunners’ national championship c…
By Frankie “The Horn” Calderón | 94.3 The Bird The Scare Happened in Fort Collins. The Answer Comes in San Antonio. Bird Nation, some college football games do not need hatred to matter. They do not need a rivalry trophy.They do not need decades …
By Frankie “The Horn” Calderón — 94.3 The Bird Austin was supposed to be the place where the story slowed down. That was the idea. The burnt orange. The tower. The money. The crowd. The name across the chest. The belief that every football progra…
The summer was supposed to be quiet. That was the lie. Every year we hit this stretch where people act like the sports calendar is about to go into vacation mode. The NBA Finals end. The Stanley Cup gets handed out. The NFL is in the “everyone loo…
By Frankie “The Horn” Calderón — 94.3 The Bird There are games that test your record. There are games that test your ranking. And then there are games that test whether the whole state is finally ready to say your name first. That is what waits …
By Frankie “The Horn” Calderón — 94.3 The Bird Texas does not have to respect UTSA. Not yet. Not because of Baylor. Not because of Texas State. Not because of a ranking beside the Roadrunners’ name. Not because of a national championship banner h…