Colorado St. Game Thundering Herd Tailgate Report

There was actually a bit of concern around the ol’ Thundering Herd message board about the home opener against Colorado State, in fact, some were actually scared. Posters cited worries about injuries, the inexperience of the young wide receivers and offensive line, and the lack rhythm on offense that was present throughout a good portion of the season opening game against VaTech as potential stumbling blocks.

The Thundering Herd tailgate crew had an entirely different dilemma, and the questions were many. “Do we have enough food for 120 hungry herders? Perhaps more importantly, do we have enough BEER? How much water should we bring? How about ice; who’s bringing ice?”

The home opener can be extremely difficult for a young football team, as it can be for an experienced bunch of tailgaters as well. While there were certainly doubts, both the team and Herd allayed all concerns.

All that concern produced a score of USC 49, CSU 0. Likewise, the Herd posted some impressive numbers: Carne asada consumed 50 lbs, Tailgate food leftover 0.

"No question, we bit off more than we could chew," said CSU coach Sonny Lubick. "There's really nothing more we can say except USC is a great team." Herders would go on to echo Lubick’s sentiments by stating “We definitely chewed everything we brought.”

Matt Leinart is not the only one with impressive weapons at his disposal. In the likes of the Molinas and the Springers the Herd has its own share of 5 star talent.

"Obviously, we came ready to play," said senior linebacker Matt Grootegoed, who had two of USC's four interceptions. "We wanted to make a statement." Not be outdone, the Herd came ready to eat, polishing off 50 lbs of top sirloin carne asada meat (Palomilla), along with about 300 tortillas and enough salsa to float a small boat, as well as about six lbs of onions and cilantro, three extra large sheets of sweet cornbread, 12 lbs of corn relish, and beer…lots and lots of beer.

“It was a nice evening," said Trojans coach Pete Carroll. "We haven't climbed any mountains yet, but this was a good, sharp win. We took (CSU) very seriously and the result shows that..." As did the Herd, PC.

[Note: Several people at the tailgate asked for the corn relish recipe, so here it is.]

Thundering Herd Corn Sambal

2 lbs frozen sweet corn
½ red onion (diced)
½ roasted red pepper (choped)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 tbl minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
4-8 dashes Tabasco
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
½ cup lime juice (3-4 limes)
2-3 chipotle chilies w/ adobo sauce (reduce or omit if too spicy)
2 tbl sugar
¼ cup chopped cilantro