Friday Night Lights Episode 2.11 Jumping the Gun

At home, Smash is pummeled with recruiter visits, and they all want immediate verbal commitments. His new girlfriend Noel negotiates right along with him, as his mother Corinna is unhappily relegated to the background. She tells Smash to get his head back in school. At the Taylors, Julie wakes up hung over, trying to hide it when her father knocks. He apologizes for trusting Riggins, and if he so much as looks at Julie at school, she is to tell Taylor.

Taylor finds Riggins sleeping in the locker room, and yells at him to clear out. Although Shelly has been totally annoying Tami and Taylor, everyone's excited to hear that she's passed her real estate exam. Shelly suggests putting in a phone line that she can share with Julie when she starts work. When Taylor looks as if he's gonna blow, Tami promises they can discuss it later.

Riggins returns home to find a delinquency notice on the door. The house is trashed and Billy is nowhere to be seen. An Oklahoma recruiter accosts Corinna in the market, offering to arrange a job and a new home for her. Tami comes to the rescue, telling the recruiter to step away. In the parking lot, Corinna tells Tami that Noel has Smash's head spinning. Tami doesn't like Noel either, but reassures Corinna that Smash is a good boy, who's taking responsibility for his future in the best way he knows how.

Julie goes to Riggins' house to apologize for not correcting Taylor's mistaken impressions about the night when he kicked Riggins out, and for saving her from Riley. On the eve of the big game with the Lions, who have been sharing the gym, Taylor invited Coach Dickes out for a beer, only to be coldly rebuffed. In the hall, the Lions' QB1 Chip taunts Smash. Chip's going to TMU. Smash fires back that he's going to Alabama.

At home, Taylor prepares for the big game when Tami smashes in, at the end of her rope with Shelly. She asks him to talk to Smash, since Noel is a bad influence, and Smash has no male role model. Shelly butts in, having broken the hair dryer. Riggins gets off the phone with the mortgage company when he spies Jackie packing up. She broke up with Billy when he lost his job, because she can't handle two mortgages. She apologizes, and hopes Riggins and Billy can patch things up.

Shelly tapes over one of Taylor's important game tapes, and he blows a fuse, asking her when she's moving out. He immediately states that he didn't mean it to come out like that, but she gets the picture. Smash brings Noel to his meeting with Taylor, suggesting that maybe he hasn't heard from TMU because Taylor bailed on them. Taylor explains that if Smash chooses Alabama, he'll probably spend his first few years off the field. Smash should be patient, read the fine print, and listen to his mother.

Tami comes home to find a taxi waiting for Shelly, who explains that Taylor asked her to leave, so she's going to a motel. Tami tries to stop her, but Shelly claims that it's for the best. Later, Tami tells Taylor that in the future, if he's going to kick one of her family members out, talk to her first. Riggins finds Billy sitting on the lawn outside their house, having lost his keys. Billy apologizes for getting together with Jackie and hurting Riggins. The brothers clink beers. Now all they need is $2000 for the mortgage.

Before the game, Taylor apologizes to Tami for flying off the handle with Shelly. Tami admits that there's nothing she hates worse than hurting her sister, but it will be nice to have their house back. But what will they do with Gracie while they're both at work? Taylor reminds her that Gracie is their gift, not their burden. Julie insists on talking to Taylor on the way out, explaining that she was drinking the other night and Riggins tried to help her. Nothing happened, and it's not his fault.

The football game between the Lions and the Panthers is an old-fashioned shoot-out. With about a minute left in the game, the Panthers are at 4th and 8. Taylor calls a time-out. Dickes feels sure of Taylor's next move, but fails to predict Saracen passing to Riggins for a touchdown run. When all seems lost, Dickes runs onto the field and tackles Riggins himself. The refs call the game due to coach interference.

After the game, Taylor confronts Dickes in the locker room, demanding that he apologize to the players and the school, who have done everything possible to help him and his team. Dickes admits his wife has three months to live, and he doesn't have a game plan for that. He's not using it as an excuse, and he agrees with Taylor, he needs to apologize, especially to Riggins. Now that he won't be coaching, he's not sure what he's going to do.

After the game, Riggins and Billy knock on Guy's door. It's open, so they go in to pick up the rest of Riggins' stuff. On the way downstairs, Riggins knocks a gun off the banister, and finds a pile of cash - enough to cover the mortgage. Billy tells him to put it back. The next day, Tami meets Shelly for coffee. Shelly's looking for an apartment in Dallas, resolved to get her life together.

At home, Riggins is counting up the money left over from the mortgage payment, when there's a knock on the door. Billy's relieved to see it's Taylor, who has come to apologize to Riggins for kicking him out, and thank him for protecting his daughter. In a diner crowded with celebrating footballers, a TMU recruiter offers Smash a four-year scholarship, and promises a shot at the pros for a verbal agreement. Announcing to the room that it's always been his dream to play for TMU, Smash shakes hands then runs home to tell his mom.

At home, Taylor has a talk with Julie. He's extremely disappointed that she lied to everyone - angry so much it hurts. She's too young to drink. After he and Julie sort it out, they'll all sit down. He knows that people makes mistakes, and he'll always love her. They finish up as Tami enters, and the happy family decides to make popcorn for movie night. Smash presents his mother with the good news about TMU, a bouquet of roses, and they share a joyful hug.