Ohana

All signs were pointing to an Illini win. My hotel room in Chicago on Thursday night after Big Ten Basketball Media Days was room #217. And then – and this is very important – while waiting for my train from Chicago to East Lansing, I was able to get my favorite table at the Amtrak Business Class Lounge in Chicago. That pretty much guarantees a win.

THEN, this morning, as my friend John and I pulled into the lot to set up the tailgate, we approached the entrance and saw a lot of cars. The parking pass we had was for the surface lot in front of the parking garage (move of a loop road) and also the parking garage itself. Was there still room to park around the loop road or would we have to go into the garage? The officer scanned the parking pass and said "you guys got the last spot."

We're going to win.

We parked in that final spot but I wasn't sure if it was actually the final spot. There was a different sign in front of that space than the others. Every other space had "pass required" sign and that space said "this space is reserved 24 hours per day." Maybe there's another "the last spot" that the cop was referencing? John stayed with the car in the spot while I walked around the loop to see if there was another "last spot" open somewhere. There wasn't. That was our spot.

As I walked, I saw one Illini tent surrounded by green and white:

And as I walked past the tent on my way back to the car, Kalani and Erica Muragin said hello from underneath the tent. They were the orange in the sea of green. Kalani told me to set up our tent next to their tent (that's our tent there in the background above - I took that picture a few hours later as everything started to fill up) and that set the backdrop for our day. Our tiny little tailgate set up next to their massive tailgate.

A view from our end. Craig has the scout:

The Muragin family lives in Michigan. Mason played at De La Salle in the Detroit area (and won two state titles) so when the Illini are playing in East Lansing less than two hours away, yes, they're going to have a tailgate with 50+ people. Of course they are. And they made shirts.

You already know what was on the shirts. That's where this story really begins. They made shirts that said "Muragin" and "18" on the back and on the front, "Ohana." Here's the design again:

Why "Ohana?" It's Hawaiian for "family." The Muragin family is originally from Hawaii, eventually moving to the mainland (Kalani Muragin played football at Central Michigan). But their Hawaiian heritage is still very important, so "Ohana" became the t-shirt choice. Here's the definition I found online:

Ohana translates literally to family, but it carries a much deeper, broader meaning. While it includes parents, children, and blood relatives, ʻohana also encompasses extended family, close friends, neighbors, coworkers, and chosen community members.

See where we're headed here? It's obvious now, right?

Mason Muragin has been here four years now. He tore his ACL and missed the entire season in 2024 and he missed parts of the 2023 season with injuries. Upon returning from the ACL, he played in two games last year and has now entered the regular rotation in his fourth season. It was a very long road to today, and when you talk to his dad about it, you can see how happy it makes him to see his boy finally out there running around, healthy and making plays.

It's because of this that they got the group of 50 together to watch Mason today. This is the closest that their son will play to their Michigan home, and so everyone from former coaches to former teammates to grandparents were invited. Our tailgate on the end? Seven of us huddled around a little table drinking a few beers. Their tailgate? OHANA.

When I went over to take a picture of that "Ohana" shirt draped over a chair, I had one of those "writer thoughts": what if Mason makes the winning play today? What if, in front of 50 members of his family (sorry, OHANA), he makes a play and they all get to celebrate with him after the game?

Wait, who is that forcing the early throw on the final play?

Can you imagine the sound in their corner of the stands? Can you imagine the feeling for a mother and father to invite 50 people and then for that to happen? College football remains the absolute greatest thing on earth.

Why did I focus my postgame content on the vitriol online? Because it couldn't be any more opposite from what I was experiencing in person. In front of me, a bunch of fans, many who are parents of players, living and dying with this game. On my screens, a contest to make the greatest negative declaration about what Michigan State tying the game after we led by 17 means for the future of everything. In front of my eyes, an extended Illini famILLy that is best described by the word "Ohana." Hidden behind devices, all of these declarative statements about how the win means nothing because we've established that we're the worst team in the conference.

We returned to the tailgate and Kalani Muragin lit the 'I'. And then we basked in its orange glow in the center of an entire field of Michigan State tailgates that had packed up and gone home. There we were, smack dab in the middle of their campus, with this thing turned up to 11:

I'm a guy who is holding that thing over my head in my Twitter avatar. I exist to extol the wonders of these teams. My goal in life is to be the most prolific Illini efangelist on the planet. A devoted fanbassador at your service.

And when I get to perform those duties next to an Illini tailgate who are all gathered to celebrate one player, I can't remove the smile from my face. The Muragin family welcomed us in, fed us, and helped us break down. They lived out the word on their shirts. Their son is a card-carrying famILLy member, and they invited us over to share in the joy of his day.

After we packed up, John and I hit the road and headed to the hotel. I told John that I had asked them about "Ohana" and how it meant "family." And as we're discussing that, I interrupt something John was saying by blurting out "you've got to be kidding me." I grabbed my phone and took this blurry picture of a billboard we were about to pass:

Eat. Drink. Unlimited options. That was pretty much their entire tailgate. A tailgate held on the day their son got a QBH to end the game. Three seasons watching him struggle through injury rehab (and having to wait his turn because Gabe Jacas was in front of him) and now 50 family members get to cheer him from the stands and then hug him afterwards.

Ohana. Great word.

Can't wait to be around it again.

-> The biggest takeaways from this game, for me, were the individual plays from guys who maybe haven't had a chance to shine yet this season. I'll make a list:

• We have to start with Michael Clayton II, of course. Only 18 years old (he turns 19 in December which means... he was born three weeks before the 2008 Rose Bowl). For a true freshman to come in and replace an injured starter and then go 6-8 for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns including the game-winner in overtime, my God what a debut.
• When Brayden Trimble went out of the game for a bit, it was Illinois State transfer Eddie Kasper who came in to replace him. He only had one catch for 7 yards but that first down catch set up the field goal just before the half.
• James Finley made a great tackle on that kickoff return, pinning Michigan State very deep. That's the kind of tackle that gets you looks in the defensive rotation soon.
• James Kreutz 15 tackles. That was... a step forward.
• Murphy Clement kickoff return. It was great to see both of the Clement brothers talking to their parents afterwards. Mom wears a Hudson jersey and dad wears a Murphy jersey. Hudson had 105 receiving yards (and the winning touchdown) and Murphy grabbed that tricky kickoff and returned it out to the 25 when I was afraid we were about to get pinned at the 10.

These are the things I look for during a college football game. I always want to see players having a moment, however small that moment may be. Lots of new faces having moments in this one.

-> I'm gutted for Katin Houser breaking his hand tackling the DB who picked him off. It's October 11th now as I write this, and the last game of the season is November 28th, so... his season (and college career) might be over?

Just crazy that he and Jayshon Platt might never connect on the football field. After spring practices I expected to see 60 passes thrown to Platt this fall. And now, when Platt returns for the Oregon game, Houser won't be the QB.

I do expect to see both freshman (Carson Boyd and Michael Clayton II) get snaps in the final half of the season. Boyd's speed is going to be a weapon and there will be plays designed specifically for him (like that one keeper in this game). And then, once teams think they have it figured out that we'll run once Boyd is in the game, we'll let him throw it around a bit.

Two weeks to prep the two freshmen and then... it's all them the second half of the season.

-> Pat Fitzgerald is a silly fool. I wrote about his act in 2009 and here it is 2026 and I'm writing about his act again. The whole "toss the clipboard and flip someone the bird" thing feels like something he practiced in the mirror.

How is this act still a thing in 2026? No one finds it to be genuine, Patrick.

-> I've seen a lot of talk about the fumble that Michigan State might have actually recovered (I haven't seen a good replay on that one) and that the offsides on the kickoff that wasn't really offsides (that one was rendered moot by us going for it on fourth down on the ensuing series and handing them the ball at the 33). But the call where I feel like we got really lucky was the penalty on the two point conversion.

Maybe there's a good replay (I just tried to find one) that shows it was really PI on that play. But I didn't see PI on the replay they showed on the screen at the game. And we got to try again for the two point conversion, convert it, and push the score out to a 14 point lead instead of a 12 point lead.

That was kind of important later.

-> Really wish we could have fallen on that Michigan State fumble at our two yard line. That could have ended the game right there and would have prevented overtime.

-> I was so encouraged by the defense in the first half and discouraged by the defense in the second half. Just when I was ready to declare a corner turned, we turned back into a pumpkin.

We've seen little snippets of good in the last few weeks. We saw a whole half of good in this one. But then the "we just can't get a third or fourth down stop" returned once again and almost cost us the game. So hard to see the other team get the ball and know they're probably going to score on both of their final two drives.

-> I'd like to think the magnet towards "5-6 going into the Northwestern game" that we've discussed is still there, but I'm just not sure it's still our destiny if Houser is out for the year. Pick any college football team out there and tell me how you feel about them if their starting QB is out for the rest of the year. Missouri's "can we make the playoff" dream would be over. Wisconsin's resurgence would be done. Mississippi State might not win another game.

It's just so hard for a couple freshmen to hold up from game to game. I loved what we saw from Clayton here, but putting him in is going to shrink the playbook significantly. It's just so much to ask of an 18 year-old kid. I'm excited to see what he can do, and if I'm honest, it feels like home to be watching a young quarterback with hopes for a big future, but I fully understand that it probably means we can't get to 6-6.

-> I don't want to end on that point because I'm still on a high. It's 3:12 am EDT and I'm still so excited from today. It was a true "this is why I do this" day.

I go on the road and I bring this 'I' with me because I want to light it in the middle of someone else's campus. I felt so honored to be invited to tailgate with the Muragin family and to observe their love for their son up close. And I love that I now have this "overtime? we've got this" feeling since Bielema teams always seem prepared for OT (the quick strike to Clement reminded you of the quick strike to Pat Bryant in the 2024 Nebraska game, right?).

You might have been angry tonight and you might have thrown things at your TV when we let a 14-point fourth quarter lead slip away. I understand what it might have looked like on your television.

Just know that in person, watching through parents' eyes, this game was so amazing. That celebration as the team all ran on the field like fifth-graders to celebrate the final play?

Ohana.