Tailgate Talk: Week 1

By Noah

Kenyon College (0-0, 0-0 NCAC) at Sewanee: The University of the South (0-0, 0-0 SAA)

Hardee-McGee Field at Harris Stadium, Sewanee, Tennessee.

2 p.m.

Know the Enemy

Nickname: Tigers.

All-Time Record vs. Kenyon: 6-0.

Current Steak: 6- Sewanee.

Location: Sewanee, Tennessee.

Enrollment: 1,620.

Most Popular Majors: Social Sciences, English Language and Literature/Letters and Biological and Biomedical Sciences.

Campus Architectural Style: Gothic, making Sewanee (founded 33 years after Kenyon) a really cute imitation of our own campus; they even claim to be “the only school that resembles Hogwarts”, though we at Gambier Gameday beg to differ.

Favorite TV Show: Hell on Wheels, staring Anson Mount ’95.

When Last They Met

Despite racking up more all-purpose yards than their opponent, Kenyon struggled to hold on to the ball and come up with points in the redzone, falling to the Tigers 41-12 in the fourth game of their 1966 campaign. Jr. QB Jeff Jones ’67 led the Kenyon offense with 242 passing yards and two TDs, but a 21-point 4^th quarter from Sewanee put the game out of reach in the end. You can find The Sewanee Purple’s write-up of the game in this edition of the school newspaper.

In 1949, Sewanee and Kenyon made headlines in the college football world when Kenyon President Gordon Keith Chalmers cancelled Kenyon’s scheduled game against Sewanee, citing Sewanee’s refusal to join the Lords for a proposed postgame meal between the two teams. Knowing that Sewanee had refused to attend the postgame meal because Kenyon had two black players on its roster, President Chalmers sensed hostility from the Sewanee squad and cancelled the game in order to avoid any acts of “wanton brutality” which all-white southern teams were notorious for perpetuating against opposing black players. Click here for a more detailed account of the affair and its place in the history of race and college football.

By the Numbers

49- Years since Kenyon and Sewanee last met on the gridiron.

17- Returning starters for the Kenyon Lords.

Players to Watch

Kenyon Jr. WR #11 Jibri McLean

One of Sr. Co-Captain QB #13 Jake Bates’ primary targets in 2013, McLean finished his freshman season with 30 receptions, 408 yards and two TDs before being sidelined for the 2014 season due to injury. After a year away from the gridiron, McLean will no doubt be ready to make his presence known against the Tigers Saturday afternoon.

Sewanee Sr. DB #24 Alex Kops

Finishing the 2014 season with 63 total tackles, Kops was a beast in the Sewanee secondary last year, garnering Second-Team All-SAA honors at the conclusion of the season. Look for Kops to try and snuff out Bates and the rest of Kenyon’s offensive attack.