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Rick boasted his way through the cooking process, saying that no other Master came close to achieving the type of complexity that his dish achieve. Too bad, however, that the roasted octopus in his egg in a hole dish was so chewy. Jason calls eating the dish “a workout,” though Jay admits that every other component of the dish was executed well.

Kelly asks Jason if any of the six dishes were in the gold medal range and he politely responds that he was pleased with everything he ate. “There were certainly a lot of good silvers,” Jay fills in for him.

It’s time to score and I’m betting that my favorite chef left in the competition, Susan, will bring home the bacon.

Tony gets 3 ½ stars (which he bitches about, saying that Jay didn’t “get” the dish and calling his score “unfair"). Rick gets 3 for his tough octopus, Jonathan gets 3 ½, Marcus gets 3 - which leaves Susan feeling nervous because everyone’s scores are so low. Not to worry, my dear, because you got 4 ½ stars!! W00t! I’m thrilled.

The only one who can beat her is Susur and he ends up with 4 stars. He’s not happy – he has yet to win a Quickfire Challenge.

But his disappointment can’t mute Susan’s excitement. She’s beaming as a result of her win.

For the Elimination Challenge, the Masters will be tailgating at a USC football game (my boyfriend, a UCLA grad, immediately starts booing). We’ve seen this many times before, most notably in Season 4 when Dale edged out Stephanie for the win. Rick is excited about cooking for a tailgate, saying he loves the environment. Jonathan is looking forward to cooking on a grill. Susur is confused because he’s never been to a football game, much less a tailgate.

Susan, of course, gets a HUGE advantage. She’s given a USC baseball cap and USC football jersey to wear at the tailgate. Knowing the Trojan fans of LA, this will win her many points.

Then, Kelly announces that the game they’re cooking for is USC’s homecoming football game against the STANFORD CARDINAL!!! OMG!!! As a Stanford grad, I immediately start whooping it up. As any Pac-10 football fan knows, last November, Stanford absolutely ROCKED the USC football team in the Coliseum, winning 55-21 and handing USC their worst home loss since 1966. Stanford’s total was also the most points ever scored against the USC Trojan football team in the history of their school. GO CARDINAL!

The Masters head off to Whole Foods to get ingredients, with Rick boasting again at how well he’s going to do in this challenge. Then, as he approaches the meat counter, he’s perturbed by the fact that Marcus seems to be buying up all of the chicken legs, which he needed for his dish. More trash talking from Rick ensues.

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