Tusk to Tail: A top goal for early games is to begin serving cocktails by 7:30 a.m.

What a fun game last week against Ole Miss. I thought the fight the Hogs showed would eventually go their way when it was all said and done, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Looking at the remainder of the schedule, you don’t see many games the Hogs should be expected to lose, other than Alabama.

I think the Hogs can outscore Auburn this week. I’m just not sure we have enough defense left to stop them. This is looking to me like it could be another barn burner, let’s just hope it is their (Au)barn getting torched.

Unfortunately, we will all have to get up early again to watch it. The TV cartel in Bristol gave the Hogs the 11 a.m. game yet again. The weather looks pretty good. It will be a cool start to the morning, but warming to a pleasant 66 degrees by the end of the game. Most of the stadium will be in the sun for most if not all of the game, so don’t forget your hats and sunscreen.

Be prepared. With the early kick, 65,000 plus people will be trying to get to the stadium around 9 a.m. Leave earlier than you think unless you want to be sitting in your car trying to park while the rest of us are pouring a breakfast cocktail and noshing on the goodies. That goes for you central Arkansas folks too. Interstate 40 is hit and miss with road construction, so you have been warned. Lastly along those lines, keep in mind the campus parking police will begin blocking and controlling access to campus four hours before kickoff. If you don’t have a pass, you will not be permitted onto campus or at least near the stadium after 7 a.m.

For Tusk to Tail, that means an extra early morning. We will get the trailer mostly loaded on Friday night so all we need to do is grab some ice on Saturday morning. I hope to be unloading around 6:30 so we can be pouring a cocktail by 7:30.

It’s not all bad with early kickoffs. We generally set up a little less gear under the tent. We will take fewer chairs, fewer coolers, and no real décor. We will have a few generators, but just one TV and even that might be the TV we travel with to road games. It’s all about keeping it simple and saving time.

The food and drink options are nice for the early games, at least once a year. We’ll serve lots of breakfast casseroles, breakfast sandwiches, pastries and bacon. I’ll load in some prosecco for mimosas and set up a nice spread for a Bloody Mary bar.

We do not have any Auburn fans visiting that we know of, but I think with the smaller crowd we might invite a few in if we see any wandering around. They have already announced another early kickoff for the UAPB game next week in Little Rock, and then the Hogs have a week off. Let’s just hope that the Hogs can win this game and we can catch a break for the Mississippi State game time.

Go Hogs, Beat Tigers!

Editor’s note: Now in its 10th year, Tusk to Tail is the sport of tailgating as organized, performed and perfected by a group of Hog fans who have been tailgating together sober and otherwise for more than a decade. The primary focus of Tusk to Tail will be to follow the Hogs through the fans’ perspective with their insightful, irreverent, smart-alecky and sometimes practical style. The diehards may also be followed on their Facebook page. Or follow the crew on Twitter and Instagram, all @TuskToTail.