Could Notre Dame MISS The CFP? Championship Weekend Preview | Others Receiving Votes

All right.

Welcome back to Others receiving Votes.

It's a, a minty fresh edition if you're watching us on YouTube.

We've got Brian with a bright green background and we've got Gene in his green Augusta quarter zip, looking jaunty.

It was British Openware, I think the last show and we're, we're moving through all the majors .

Is that what we're doing?

Yeah, yeah, plus it's kind of Christmassy and I got the tree up .

Oh yeah, you do.

You got a nice little tree.

Excellent.

All right, yeah, we're in the spirit here.

What we're really, what I really wanna find out is any of us gonna take the, uh , the Penn State job?

Who wants it?

Either of you.

Somebody, how much does it pay?

More than this podcast pays.

I would recommend taking it if it's offered.

Uh, we will discuss that flaming garbage barge of a coaching search.

Uh, also on this week's show, the, uh, playoffs weekly TV show somehow keeps getting worse.

Uh, we offer our own 12 playoff teams with a twist.

An extended spin around the coaching carousel, a nod to three notable signing day stories, are commenters commenting on comments?

Segment from Facebook, yeah, and our winners in steak dinners picks championship week edition and Cautionary tale about alcohol use.

Stay tuned for that one.

But, gentlemen, let's start with the, uh, with the playoffs because it's time.

We've been talking about it all season and now it is basically at hand.

Selection Sunday will happen uh after this, a couple of days after this show and before our next show.

So, uh, we will be back actually for a live, not live, but a, a quick reaction Sunday afternoon.

So be, be ready for that one as well.

But, uh, guys, college football is a renowned incubator of bad ideas.

And in my opinion, one of the worst was the brainstorm of having a TV show for 5 straight weeks with incremental updates to the selection committee's rankings, none of which actually matter.

Only the last rankings matter.

This serves only one purpose to make everybody mad and to expose the inconsistencies in the committee's thinking and to undercut the committee's credibility.

So Tuesday night might have been the silliest one yet.

Just to briefly recap there, the biggest news was Alabama moving up one spot, Notre Dame moving down one spot in their relation to who's on the bubble.

Notre Dame is now the most on the bubble team at number 10.

Alabama is number 9.

And when Hunter Uczek was asked about this, the selection committee chairman, He gave credit to Alabama for their impressive victory over Auburn.

Auburn's no good.

Auburn is 5 and 7.

He said Auburn's been very tough at home this year.

No, actually, Auburn hasn't been.

Auburn is winless in SEC home games, including a 10 to 3 loss to Kentucky, who is terrible.

So, slight inconsistency there.

If he had just said, we kind of now think Alabama's better than Notre Dame, that might have been better than just making stuff up as he was going along.

Anyway.

Well, the coaches and ADs and the politicians now have started politicking.

We've got Ron DeSantiss weighing in, uh, in favor of Miami, who's on the outside looking in.

Uh, we, we want to take a look just at the overall situation here, and you guys tell me who is in the most trouble or got the biggest boost coming into the final weekend.

Brian, go ahead and lead us off here.

Oh, I, I, I think it's the ACC, you know, look, their, their highest ranked team right now is, is number 12 Miami.

That's the, the, the highest at-large candidate that they have in the league.

Uh, and, and obviously, the, the, the big news, I think that outside of you, you're saying that the swap there in the committee's top 25.

Was the fact that, uh, look, you, you got number 17 Virginia playing an unranked 5 loss Duke team that now has to worry about the fact that James Madison is ranked in the top 25.

You have certainly the winner of the American is gonna get that group of 5 bid number 1.

So I, the ACC is in very real danger of missing out completely on the playoffs.

You know, I, I think that, that was my biggest takeaway from the, from the rankings is that, uh, Jim Phillips is gonna be sweating out Selection Sunday, and especially so if Duke ends up winning.

They're in Charlotte.

And look, yes, the, the who's won the, won the first meeting this year.

Uh, I, I think we can all safely say that Duke has not been completely impressive.

They, they've had their moments this year, but, uh, they haven't beaten anybody with an, uh, an over 500 record in ACC play.

So, this is a very concerning thing, I think if you're, you're in ACC territory going into this final weekend because you are one upset away from completely missing the playoffs.

And I think that's unfathomable to some, some people, but it's a very real possibility right now.

And, and I, I, I think that that's concerning if, if you're anybody associated with ACC football, much less they're in the, uh, conference office there in Charlotte.

As for the, as for the biggest boost, I, I think it's probably gonna be Ole Miss.

I mean, how many weeks have we been talking about how, how will that Lane Kiffin situation, Impact Ole Miss's seating.

And it seems like from, from Tuesday's ranking, not at all.

You know, they, they keep talking about not having data points and all this of not having their, their coaches around .

And it seems like Ole Miss is gonna have the party ready to go, uh, in a couple of weeks they're on, uh, outside of the Grove because they're gonna get a home game.

I think that was the other big takeaway for me and probably the biggest boost out of Tuesday's rankings.

40, you're, you're gonna kill me, man.

What, so I'm just preparing you right now.

I'm preparing the, the.

The most entity that's in trouble is me and the committee, me, because I actually like the weekly show.

Oh no.

All right.

And all you were gonna do if they didn't have the weekly show, you were gonna talk about how there's no transparency in this process.

So I'll take clumsy.

Uh, in, in dire need of media training, transparency.

Uh, and have the weekly show.

I don't need the weekly show.

Uh, you know, I, I wouldn't, you know, shed a tear if it went away, but I don't mind it.

And, and I think even though it's, it's in increments, and it can be painful to watch and listen to and try to understand, at least there is some attempt at transparency, which I appreciate.

As for Hunter Uricek, I give him some grace because he was parachuted into this on-camera position.

You know, midway through this process, and clearly, he's not cut out for the TV part of it, and, and it shows.

But I, I, I do appreciate his attempt in a very difficult situation.

Um, As far as, uh, you know, again, being put in a difficult position, I do not envy this committee, uh, this weekend after these games, especially if we get the kind of chaos and madness that is possible.

I think they're gonna have a really difficult job, and I do not envy that.

As far as the boost, I , I'm with Brian.

Um, I, I've sort of said all along on this podcast that I, I hoped that the committee would not penalize.

Ole Miss for what was happening, the silliness that was happening off the field.

And so I'm gratified that it didn't do that, that it rewarded Ole Miss and those players for what they accomplished on the field and let Ole Miss be.

In fact, I think they, what, they bumped them up a spot, didn't they?

So, uh, I think they recognized the team that Ole Miss is.

I give them credit for that.

And, uh, so I'm with Brian.

Yeah, biggest boost.

You like the TV show.

I don't mind the TV show.

All right.

But I do like seeing you hit the red line this early in the morning.

Well, yeah, they, they get me going, that's for sure.

That, that my, my, the problem to me is just, I, I get what you're saying about transparency, and we're in the media, we should be in favor of transparency, right?

Uh, uh.

If they could explain it, it would help.

If they could actually, you know, coherently, logically.

Either that or just don't explain.

I don't, I don't know which.

And I think we might have talked about this earlier, you know, put a camera in there, whatever, you know, if there, if there's something that would let us see them sensibly deliberate this stuff.

You know, if you think what a, talk about a credibility boost when the ACC let us watch and listen to the replay Center uh review.

Yeah, good point.

Like, oh, these people know what they're doing and they're, they're thinking about it, you know, competently.

That might help us understand this thing too.

Now, you know, yes, OK, there may be some level of chilling effect on people speaking openly and maybe the camera isn't on all the time, but some, if we could do this, we could have, I guess I'm arguing both sides here, guys, no transparency, just put out the rankings on the last day or more transparency and let us in the room to a degree.

So, those would, I guess, be , be my uh thoughts on, on that.

I, you know, as far as the biggest boost, biggest in trouble, I think I, I, I said, I, I think they took care of Alabama.

I'm not, I'm not sure Alabama shouldn't already be ahead of Notre Dame, you know, I mean, like, that may just be where they should have been, but to use a shaky victory.

Over a bad team as the reason to put them ahead.

So I, you know, good for Alabama, potentially bad for Notre Dame, and I still feel bad for Miami, which I, I think probably should be ahead of Notre Dame.

They have the same record, they beat them head to head, and head to head should matter more than it sometimes does.

That's another one of these, this is a classic college sports thing where like, We, we got this protocol, and it says if the two teams are not close enough together, we can't compare them head to head.

They're two spots apart.

We saw them play each other on the field.

They have the same record, then we're, well, because they're two spots apart.

If they were one spot apart, we could.

If they were 3, you know, like, to me, you're tying yourself in knots.

This is like the NCAA rulebook of you can have a bagel, but you can't have cream cheese.

It, it, it, I think.

People overthink some of these things, and we'll see how that turns out.

I still think it's possible.

Look, if BYU almost certainly, which is between Notre Dame and Miami, is going up or down, right?

They're gonna win and get in, in which case, it's kind of moot for Notre Dame, probably.

But uh if they lose and move back, and then you can compare the head to head, Miami is here and Notre Dame is next to them, then maybe they change their mind.

But then, Boy, if you've waited all year for a technicality basically to matter.

To, to your point, Pat, if, uh, your check did say that there was a very spirited debate about Bama and Notre Dame, and I, I guess I would have liked to have heard what were the specific.

Back and forth relative to those two teams.

That would have been helpful to simply say, yeah, there's a lot of, um, A lot of conflict in the room about those two in that, in that topic.

OK, that helps, but what exactly is, is the disagreement about?

So, to, to your point, I think that would have been very helpful, and I don't think that would have divulged any state secrets, and I don't think it would have, uh, compromised, uh.

Uh, the integrity of, of the committee at all to just tell us what, what's the issue?

What's the problem?

What's the debate there?

Yeah, I'm with you.

And, uh, and that's another, that goes back to your point actually about your check being in a completely thankless position.

First of all, yes, he was a battlefield promotion for lack of a better term, uh, when Mac Rhodes was dismissed basically from Baylor, he was the committee chairman, you know, they go out of the bullpen and say, you get out there.

Um, and didn't even have sufficient warm-up time.

And then a couple of other factors there.

He's been hiring a head coach, so he's kind of busy in his day job, right?

Then the third thing is these, um, The, you know, these playoffs, these 2 days, if I, I don't know if you guys have done any of the mock selections, whether it's for football or for basketball, but it's 2 days of intense number crunching and comparisons and minutia and incremental stuff.

And you come out of there and your head's kind of spinning, and you're just like, oh what, Notre Dame, gosh, yeah, we talked about Notre Dame, Miami, like 7 hours ago.

What was, what exactly was the, was, you know, I mean, to have to try to recall that, I mean, maybe you should think ahead and take some notes or something, but still, it's a very difficult position to be in.

So, we're not here to kill Hunter Uricek, not, not at this moment.

Not at this moment.

OK, yeah, you know, we'll save that for Sunday.

Don't worry.

Yeah, well, yeah, right, right.

We reserve the right to come back and kill anybody.

Um, all right, uh, also, uh, along the lines of the playoff here, this is a good, this is a Geno idea.

I liked it.

Construct our own top 12 teams.

You throw out this, the playoff protocol.

You don't have to have automatic bids, or if you want more automatic bids, whatever.

Uh, make, build your own bracket, which we encourage all our listeners to do at home.

Have fun.

Uh, nothing could be more fun than building a college football bracket, could it?

But it's a 12-teamer for now.

I don't wanna get emails from, well, here's a great 48 team idea that I've been working on.

No offense, Tony Petitti .

Yeah, 11 automatic bids for the Big 10, please.

Um, anyway, all right, uh, Gino.

Can you give us your 12-team model?

OK, so, my 12-team model is based on the idea of who are the 12 best teams right now.

It's kind of the, uh, uh Marcus Freeman, uh, theory, uh, Steve Sarkisian theory, and, and slash, who would I least like to play, kind of idea.

And so, #1, some of these obviously aren't going to be surprises.

Number #1, Ohio State, complete dud, obviously .

Indiana, as you've said many times, Pat, that they are the story of the year.

They might be the story of the last 2 years in college football.

They're #2.

Georgia, not flawless, but just tough as hell, resilient, find a way.

Oregon, 4.

I think they're sort of a Georgia junior, you know, they, they have found a way and they do it with toughness and physicality.

Number 5, Texas Tech.

Uh, if you want to talk about a return on investment, uh, the Red Raiders are it as far as, uh, pouring in that, that portal and NIL money.

Number 6, I have Ole Miss.

Uh, as I said before, I think the committee did the right thing, uh, by not penalizing, um, Ole Miss for, uh, Kiffin, uh, going to LSU.

Uh, and we'll talk about this Charlie Weiss thing later.

Uh, number 7, Texas A&M.

Uh, yes, they got exposed by Texas, but, um, I , I think their body of work, uh, merits being number 7.

And number 8, I have Notre Dame.

And, um, and yes, I know the two early losses, A&M and Miami.

But I think if you objectively just look at, uh, the level of play in Notre Dame, I, I think they're one of the better teams in, in this entire bracket, and I have them at 8.

I don't have them on a bubble.

Number 9, Oklahoma.

Uh, I'm so sick and tired of hearing, oh, you's offense is so shaky, and I don't know if they deserve to be in.

Have you watched their defense, by the way?

Why doesn't that count as much as, uh, as an offense?

Um, if you can't score, you can't beat them, and, and teams are having trouble scoring against them.

So, um, I got Oklahoma 9.

Uh, I have Alabama 10, with the caveat that unless they get boat raced by Georgia, I, I think they're safe as a kitten.

Um, number 11, I, I have Miami.

And I have Miami for the same reason I have Notre Dame in there, is they have recovered from their, from their stumbles, their losses.

And again, if you look at the way they're playing, I think they're worthy of being in this playoff.

And then number 12, Humor me just for a moment.

I kind of have like a three-way BYU Vandy, Texas debate going on.

If BYU beats Texas Tech, then all this is a moot point, they're in.

Uh, but right now, I would have Vandy, uh, ahead of BYU in, in my top 1213.

But I have Texas ahead of either one of those.

And yes, I know there's the horrific, uh, loss at Florida, and, and, and they have the extra uh defeat, and I, I get it.

But they beat uh Oklahoma, they beat Vandy, they beat Texas A&M.

And they had the stones to open up their season at Ohio State and played them tougher than anybody has played them the whole season.

So yes, they lost that game, but I give them credit for, for going there and doing it and playing them as well as anybody else has played them.

And I think if you ask the smart guys in Vegas, uh, what the lines would be if it was BYU Texas or Vandy, Texas, I think Texas would be favored in either one of those games.

But so let's have at it.

This is a Dick Vitale bracket of 64, but it's really 66.

No, I said Texas is my 12th team.

OK, but I'm hearing you talking like 1314.

Well, OK, all right, 12 there, Texas, 12.

You happy?

All right, Texas 12 with the possibility of BYU BYU knocking them out.

Yes, BYU wins and it's gonna be hard to argue for Texas in that, in that instance.

Brian, have at it.

All right, well, I, I think we're, we're pretty much in agreement in terms of 1-2 with Ohio State and Indiana, two elite teams out of the Big 10, and, and we'll see what, uh, what happens on Saturday there in Indianapolis .

But you know, I think everybody pretty safely has those as, as the top two.

I, I, I've got Texas Tech at number 3.

I, I think just the, the way they play, the dominance that they've had.

Uh, yes, you can, you know, debate their schedule in the Big 12 all you want, but, but I think with those offensive and defensive lines, especially if Barry Morton is healthy, I, I think that is a threat to actually, Uh, not only make a semifinal, but, uh, potentially get to the national title game as well, depending on their path this year.

So I, I would put Texas Tech 3 and then Oregon right behind them.

I think, uh, you know, your, your mention of, uh, Oregon as Georgia Junior might delight some folks there in Eugene.

It might, uh, might, uh, wrinkle some feathers there in, in Dan Lanning's camp a little bit, uh, given the comparisons to his old, uh, his old haunt there.

But, uh, I, I think Oregon, uh, especially if they're healthy, you know, that, that, that to me is the one thing about the Ducks this year.

If they can get some wide receivers back, if they can get a little bit healthier on defense, uh, I, I think that the time off will really give them a boost, and I think they are capable at, at the high end of winning the national title this year.

I've got Georgia right behind them and followed by Ole Miss.

Uh, obviously, those two teams, I saw them up in, up close in person in, in that shootout they had in Athens.

So I got Georgia and then Ole Miss.

We'll, we'll see what happens, uh, you know, on, on Saturday, certainly with the Bulldogs.

I got Texas A&M after that, uh, I, I think they are still capable and, and with that pass rush with Cassius Howell, and all the guys that they have on offense, the, the playmakers they have, this is still a dangerous team.

I think everybody, uh, might, uh, might be putting a little too much stock in that rivalry game against Texas, uh, because I still think Texas A&M has what it takes to, uh, you know, win a couple of games in the, in the, in the playoffs.

And then I've got Miami ahead of Notre Dame.

Which, uh, you know, I, I think it's, it's, uh, important to keep in mind that we, we actually have results of these two teams, uh, that, that seems to, to be forgotten.

And, and I think Miami, the, the way they've improved these last couple of weeks too.

I mean, they're blowing teams out.

They're taking care of business.

This is a Miami team.

You don't want to see that defensive line coming at you, you know, with those two guys coming off the edge.

You got, uh, you know, uh, baby Jesus there, uh, in terms of, uh, Malachi Tony, one of the most dangerous playmakers in the, in the country.

I think Carson Beckett, an experienced.

quarter.

Exactly.

Oh, yes, absolutely.

Uh, you got Carson Beck who's an experienced quarterback in these type of games and these type of situations.

So I got Miami safely in, followed by Notre Dame.

Then I've got, uh, a, a triumphant of, uh, SEC teams.

I do not have BYU.

I've got Alabama, then Vandy, and then Oklahoma as the last team in.

Um, yeah, I think you're, you're right, Gino.

I mean, that, that Oklahoma defense almost not getting the credit that they deserve because that's one of the best units, I, I think, in the country right now.

You know, with what they can throw at you, Bretton Venables, he's been in these types of situations.

He's been in playoff games before.

He, you know, with, with a couple of weeks to prepare, uh, for an opponent, um, you know, you, you better be prepared for getting some things thrown at your quarterback that you're not gonna expect.

And they've got the guys, they, they've got playmakers in that defense that can change the games.

And, and we've seen this in the last couple of weeks.

I, I do have Oklahoma ahead of BYU, but, uh, it, it is a debate.

I think they're at the bottom, but, uh, that, that's my top 12 at least.

So I did I hear this correctly?

Nobody has a group of 5 teams in there.

No.

Nobody.

Nope.

Haters, haters, unbelievable.

Well, best teams, buddy.

That's your protocol.

Guess what mine would be?

OK, I'll love this.

OK, 9 automatic bids.

Every FBS conference champion gets in the tournament, 3 at large.

How about that one?

Is that vodka you're drinking in that?

That's how the NCAA basketball tournament runs.

That's how the baseball tournament runs.

That's how the volleyball tournament runs, etc.

Softball, win your conference championship in Division One.

Get into the championship playoff.

Now, look.

I, that would create a lot of probably pretty bad games in the, uh, in the opening round, and that would be the killer Phil, there's a million reasons, TV would laugh me out of the room.

But if I'm talking to college leaders about, do you want this to be an inclusive tournament or not, that's what I would say.

Assuming we're not gonna do that, right?

Assuming that is not going to happen.

I still, I want at least one group of 5 champion in my tournament.

So, I am going to have one, and right now, it's, it's the champion of the Americans, either North Texas or it's Tulane.

I, I think Tulane could win in the battle of coaches who are headed elsewhere , which we'll get to in a minute.

Um, but so I'm, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna, I'm gonna not.

Die on the hill of 9 automatic bids.

Uh, I, so I would go like this.

Obviously, Ohio State, Indiana 12, yes.

Uh, I'm gonna go Georgia 3.

I think the SEC is the best league and they are the best team in it.

I'm fine with Texas Tech as a close 4 and Oregon 5.

I'll stick with Miami or Mississippi at 6.

I'm sorry about Texas A&M.

I, I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt because of the schedule that they played within the league.

Uh, very, very easy.

Auburn, losing record, Mississippi State losing record, Florida losing record, Arkansas losing record.

LSU unimpressive winning record, Missouri, meh , South Carolina, losing record.

So, I am dropping Texas A&M from uh where everybody else has them.

I'm putting them below Oklahoma, Alabama, Miami, and Notre Dame.

I'll put them ahead of Notre Dame, cause they did beat them.

Although, again, that, that was a dropped extra point hold that allowed them to win the game.

They may have won in overtime, but Uh, I, I would not give them, you know, say that they were the better team necessarily that day.

So, that gets me to 11, I believe, and it includes Miami because the ACC should have a team in there.

They have one of the top teams.

Their own protocol is stupid, and so Miami isn't getting to play for the championship.

But then I've got my group of 5 champion in there as well.

I'll continue the, uh, stumping for 9 automatic bids at another, another juncture.

Can you imagine, uh, Georgia, I mean, we'll talk about this later, but, uh, Georgia, Miami, Carson Beck, oh, that would be tasty.

Yeah, we've got some potential storylines out there.

I mean, I would kind of love to see Indiana play Miami and Fernando Mendoza to say, I was right here in your backyard.

You wouldn't have had to pay me 3 million or whatever you paid Carson Beck, and I'm better than he is.

Uh, anyway, lots and lots more to talk about there, but, uh, as the playoff, uh, drama unfolds through the weekend , we'll be watching.

But for now, the other news that has just overwhelmed the week, it's been a bonkers week in the hiring market.

9 power conference jobs filled, and as of this taping, 8:00 a.m. Thursday, Eastern time, none of them are Penn State, which opened in early October.

Brian, what the hell is going on there and why can't Penn State get a coach?

51 days for uh Pat Kraft there, you know, 50, 51 day search.

I, I don't know if I've necessarily would have expected that, uh, for Penn State when they uh moved to dismiss James Franklin, but, um, you know, kind of the case of, I, I mean, I, I think they've probably gotten $100 million worth of, uh, contract extensions from other head coaches and other schools at this point, uh, given their, their, their walk around, uh, you know, the, the, the conference at this point in terms of, uh, They've talked to Jeff Brum, you know, they, they've talked to, obviously, the Kelani Satake story was, uh, hot and heavy earlier this week.

So, uh, they, they've talked to a lot of candidates and it seems like they've, they've gotten close with a couple of others and then they'll back out, you know, and, and I think that's number one, the nature of, of college coaching searches in, in general, uh, nowadays is especially at these high-profile positions.

Uh, you end up talking to somebody and they, all right, you think, all right, we're, we're gonna get a commitment and then boom, they sign an extension.

With their current school to stay because it's probably easier for a lot of these coaches to keep building, getting the additional resources with their own school, uh , you know, a place they know versus a place they don't in Penn State.

And, uh, I, I think if you're Pat Kraft, you're in serious trouble at this point, you know, and they can still land a good candidate.

And I think that the, the search itself is going to be difficult to overcome and spin.

Pat Kraft in terms of this, how it's been meandering at this point, but you can still land a Matt Campbell, which would be a great fit there in State College.

And, and, and a big, I, I think that would be, uh, worthy of selling to the fan base moving forward.

I think you can go out and get a Dan Mullen if you want.

There, there are still enough good candidates, but Penn State needs to move pretty quickly after this weekend at the very least, after.

This weekend because I, I don't think, uh, promoting Terry Smith, the interim coach is going to do much of anything for, for that fan base.

Might help some boosters and it might help Pat Kraft with some of the boosters in terms of, uh, promoting the interim guy.

But if you're saying that we're going to make this, this big change and we're going to dismiss James Franklin after starting the year preseason, you know, #1 or #2, depending on, on who you talk to, and we're gonna end up at the end of the year with, with , with the interim coach getting promoted.

That is a cause for concern, I think not only for, for Pat Kraft's job, but, uh, for Penn State in general moving forward.

And, um, it's tough.

It's, it's a high-profile position, high-profile search, but this is, this is what happens sometimes when you do not have a clear plan going in and you're not able to execute that, uh, in a pretty crazy coaching market, market.

What do you think, Pat?

Uh, I mean, I think it's a debacle, uh, you know, that this, this has been, clearly, there, there's been some miscalculations, some misreads, maybe some misrepresentation by some coaches of Yale, take your job, and then, oh no, I'm not taking it.

I don't know.

But clearly, You don't fire a guy who's won 70% of his games, and then, you know, end up maybe white knuckling your way down to the interim coach who was not even a coordinator.

That's clearly a sign things have gone wrong.

I agree with Brian that they can still get a good coach.

I, I, you know, and that's where a little bit of deep breathing for the fan base that is just losing its mind, you know, comes into play.

I, I bring this one up several times, uh, in the past, but Rick Pitino was like the 4th choice at Kentucky, and ended up being an impossibly big home run.

So, these things can happen.

You can whiff, whiff, whiff, and then crush it.

Uh, who's it going to be?

I, I don't know.

I think, I do think Matt Campbell would be an excellent choice.

I was thinking, as this thing kept going on and on and on and names weren't coming out, and then Sataki is like, oh, OK, they were waiting on somebody who's still playing.

And then I thought, but after that, OK, do they have somebody else in the back pocket who's still playing?

No, we're going back to Jeff Brummel's season's over.

That's a clear sign that you're on like plan D at this point.

So, it's not going well, but it doesn't have to end badly, I would say.

Who do you think was their first choice?

Who do you think Kraft thought he was gonna be able to get?

Signetti would be my guess, um, but, you know, what did he base that on?

Has he gotten some signals to that extent or not?

I don't know, but, I mean, I think he should have been the first choice.

I think he fits perfectly, um, and the fact that Cignetti re-upped with Indiana fairly quickly thereafter, so, you know, I'm not sure he was ever that interested.

Well , Pat, you mentioned, uh, Pitino, and I'll, I'll, I'll go you another one, a guy that we're all familiar with.

Do you remember um who Duke hired, uh, with an, I think he was 8 and 18 record, uh, from Army.

Yeah, yeah, Mike, and, and I, I don't think he was their very first choice, or at least there was a debate about it, and, and he came in there.

I mean, it's a bad comparison in a way, but it's a segue for, uh, my little, uh Pat Forty-like rant here, um.

There's a guy at West Point named Jeff Monken.

I've said it a million times.

I'm gonna say it 1,001.

Um, this guy would be great for Penn State.

He would be great for a lot of different programs, and this is not one of his better Army teams this year, and yet he's squeezed out, well, I believe they're bowl eligible now, right?

Um, you know , the.

He does a great job.

And if you look at, uh, and I would say the same about Brian Newberry, uh, echoing what, uh, Rick Newheiser said earlier this week, um, you know, all these, uh, American coaches got, got new gigs this year, and, uh, this past week, in fact, and, and they deserved it.

They, they really find jobs.

But meanwhile, guys like Monken and Newberry, nobody kicks the tires on them.

And they have to compete with no NIL, no portal, no super crazy, beautiful facilities, no, I, and, and yet they win, and they win every year, and they do it under tougher circumstances than most programs.

And if you look at what Monken has done there and what he's built at West Point and his record under those circumstances, The only 2 and 3 and 4 stars at West Point are generals.

I mean, they're not players, and, and yet, he's able to put together these teams on an annual basis.

They were the Joe Moore Award winners.

I think last year, that offensive line, I mean, Uh, talk about overachieving.

So, if I'm Pat Kraft, I'm talking to a guy like Monckton, I'm talking to a guy like Newberry, and I'm saying, to hell with what the perception might be that they, they run the ball and they run the option.

They have to.

They don't have I, I mean, they don't have the classic dropback quarterback.

Horvath is, is the exception, and Navy, but, uh, generally speaking, those are not the kind of quarterbacks they get.

But can they adjust?

Absolutely.

So, uh, uh, now, if you want to stay within the Big 10, if, if Pat Kraft says, I need a guy with experience in the Big 10, then go after somebody like PJ Fleck and, and, and make a run at him.

But I, I agree with you , Pat, and Brian, that Just exhale that you'll be able to make a good hire.

Don't make a panic hire right now.

Yeah, so much of this to me seems to smack of we've, we've got to win the press conference, i.e., that's the AD.

The fans, we've got to win the social media argument.

We've got to be able to go on and say our new coach is better than your coach.

You don't know.

I mean, just hire a good coach, yeah.

And I, I love the idea of somebody hiring Jeff Monken.

I mean, I think he's phenomenal, and he would not show up and say, we're gonna throw the ball 4 times a game.

He would show up and say, we're gonna run an offense that fits our personnel, and if we get good passing personnel, we're throwing the ball.

So, uh, we'll see.

Keep a candle lit in the window for Penn State, hopefully they get somebody.

But, uh, this is a very interesting dynamic to me, guys, uh.

In terms of coach movement going into the playoffs.

It's not just Lane Kiffin, OK?

There could be two head coaches who are heading elsewhere, but staying at their current schools for the playoffs.

It could be if both Bob Chesney and James Madison get in, and whoever wins the American Conference cause both those coaches are leaving.

Uh, there are definitely 4 offensive coordinators in that situation.

We've got Uh, Will Stein from Oregon who's headed to Kentucky.

We've got Colin Klein of Texas A&M who is headed to, uh, Kansas State.

We have, um, Uh, help me out here.

Uh, Hartline, Brian Hartline, Ohio State, who's headed to South Florida, and Charlie Weiss Junior, who is going to go back to LSU but is on loan, I guess you would say, from Ole Miss, uh .

Given all that, I still think, I wonder if there could have been a way for Ole Miss to work it out with Lane Kiffin.

Now, the more stuff that has come out, the worse it looks for Lane, you know, about how much he may or may not be misrepresenting things.

Certainly, there is at least a vicious uh difference of opinion about what the facts are surrounding his departure.

But I still think what would have given Ole Miss the best chance to win in the playoffs would be having Lane Kiffin.

Maybe now, after all the stuff we've seen, it's no longer the case, but I would have loved to have seen that be able to work out like it's working out everywhere else.

We just named off six other situations where somebody's gonna be able to keep coaching in their position before they leave.

I, you know, the, the thing people, but it's a rival, it's in the conference.

He'd be stealing their players, he'd be stealing their coaches.

To me, those are honestly secondary situations.

Those are secondary concerns to the primary concern of let's go try to win a national championship.

That's what I wanna see, give Ole Miss the best chance to do something you haven't done since the 1960s.

Try to win a championship here and now.

And I think your best coaching staff is one that has Lane Kiffin on it.

He didn't, he's not the only one that's gone.

They've got uh at least a couple of position coaches, too, that are at LSU and not coming back.

So, I, I, I hate the way things have worked out.

Lane Kiffin is maybe the least sympathetic character imaginable.

I called him oily in my column.

I, I stand by that.

I just think he's, he's very, he's very much the kind of guy that, that is out for himself.

But I think he would have been out for himself to win a national championship in this playoffs.

Have at me, fellas.

Well, uh, I was, I'm with you, Pat.

Um, I think that they could have figured out a way to all hold their noses and, and make this work.

My only reservation was or only requirement was that the players had to be on board with this.

And now it appears that that really, at, at the very least, there is a fractured.

Um, uh, relationship between some members of that team, uh, specifically the leadership council of that team, and, and Kiffin.

So, if that's the case, then it probably doesn't work.

But in a perfect world, I, I think it was entirely possible and, and could have been done had it been handled a little better.

This idea of, if he comes there, he'll steal the players, he'll steal the staff, it's so ridiculous.

Guess what?

James Franklin hasn't been on the Penn State campus for, you know, weeks and weeks and weeks.

He just took 10 of Penn State's, um, uh, high school commitments with him to Virginia Tech.

So, this idea that it only happens if, if you're there, that you're gonna be able to get their players, it's just ridiculous.

And the idea of it would be an infomercial for LSU, I don't get that either.

The bottom line is, as you said, what gives them the best chance to win a college football playoff game, and I think it's with Lane Kiffin on the sideline.

Ole Miss made another determination.

I respect that, but I, I, I'm with you.

I, I think it could have worked if that team had been on board.

I think the optics were just untenable, you know, for, for Keith Carter, the AD there, for, for the school administration, just to have Lane around and, and honestly, probably being more of a distraction there in Oxford than he would be if he was at Baton Rouge at this point.

I, I mean, everything we, we've seen right now is Lane is about Lane.

And so you, you think that's gonna change, uh, if, if he were back in charge.

Of a playoff team.

I, I, I don't think so.

I, I think to me, what this also says is, man, there's a lot of pressure on Pete Golding right now.

A ton of pressure.

And, and Pat, I know we talked about this on our Tuesday live show, but you're talking about hosting a playoff game there in Oxford, and whether it's against an ACC opponent, maybe it's a, you know, James Madison or the American opponent, if you're that sexy.

That is a ton of pressure to win that game if you're Pete Golden.

Here, here you go.

You're, you're a first-time head coach.

Your, your first game is gonna be in the college football playoff now.

And you have to win.

Like there's no doubt about that.

You know, you want to talk about souring yourself to an entire fan base, uh, but, you know, by halftime, if you will, um, you know, go ahead and go ahead and struggle in that first half, uh, against your, your playoff opponent in the first round.

That, that's gonna be a tough position for Pete Goldman.

And that to me is probably the, the biggest thing if, if you're Ole Miss is now, now, not only have you made it awkward with with Your former coach, you made it a little bit awkward with, with your current coach too.

And, uh, I, I get why they, they swiftly moved.

Let's, let's, let's turn it over to Pete Golding and say, all right, it's your program.

We'll have some some continuity from, from last year into this year.

It'll keep some of the players around.

I'm sure on defense in particular, that Lane Kiffin might have thought about taking with him to LSU, but at this point, uh, it's a tough situation.

Situation all around, but it's not like Ole Miss is, is, uh, you know, uh, profiles encouraged here in terms of, uh, doing what they've done and, uh, making this, this change at this point.

And I think it's gonna be tough, difficult for all parties involved, uh, come that, that Friday or Saturday, uh, the first round, uh, what are we gonna be talking about?

We're gonna be talking about Lane Kiffin not being there, you know, that, that's gonna be an overriding theme, uh, hanging over that game whenever it takes place.

And I, I think that's, that's something that Ole Miss is gonna have to live with at this point.

Everybody's made their bed and, uh, now we're, now we're lying in it.

Well, the, the most strategic thing I think Ole Miss has done in the last week was to cancel the Pete Golding introductory press conference because we know what that was gonna be, 30 questions about Lane Kiffin and about what the hell happened.

They still haven't, nobody from Keith Carter did a, an Ole Miss friendly, uh, radio or podcast interview, but other than that, nobody, I don't believe has stood in and actually answered questions about this other than Kiffin.

In Baton Rouge.

But, uh, you know, the, the, the full promotion of Pete Golding to full-time head coach.

Wow, uh, that smacked of we need to win the divorce right now with the rebound marriage.

So we'll see how that goes.

Um, what, yeah, one thing real quick though, I, I don't think Pete Golding is gonna take, uh, the heat for this if Ole Miss loses.

I think Lane Kiffin is going to be the villain no matter what.

It's, if, if they, if Ole Miss wins that first playoff game, it's gonna be, see, we didn't need Lane Kiffin.

So he's a loser in that regard.

And if they lose, it's gonna be, this is Lane Kiffin's fault.

We were put in this position.

Pete Golding was put in this impossible position.

We hate Lane Kiffin even more.

So, either way, I think Kiffin is gonna be the loser on this.

Yeah, no doubt about it.

And that is one of the hilarious things about these sort of situations, kind of like when Brian Kelly left Notre Dame.

You hear how much, oh, he's a terrible person.

We've never liked him.

Ah, you know, they're, they're just now, everything bad thing about Kiffin's coming out.

Well, you put up with him for six years.

When he was winning games for you, you tolerated it.

Yeah, funny how that works.

OK.

It's time for our segment sponsored by Facebook.

Commenters commenting on comments.

Uh, the comments here, we gathered them from Fans on their Facebook groups, uh, producer Kent does a nice job of coming up with a variety of topics, uh, some good questions, some slightly unhinged people.

We got a, we got a mix of them here.

So, we're gonna each just handle one of them, and then, uh, and then we'll, we'll see where this goes.

But Marcus asks, and Brian, I want you to take this one.

Marcus, why is it assumed That BYU is out if they don't beat Texas Tech, but Bama is considered a lock if they lose to Georgia.

I don't get it.

Well, I don't, I don't think, uh, you know, taking this in, in two parts, I'm not 100% convinced that Bama is , is, is in for sure if they do end up losing to Georgia.

If they get blown out, I, I think the door is certainly open given the at-large field, given some of the questions the committee faces this year that Uh, you know, it's not 100% certain that that they are.

Despite the resume, despite the wins, I'm not 100% locked in saying, all right, Alabama's gonna be in even with the loss.

If it's close, yeah, sure, things might change.

Um, as for BYU, I mean, we've heard the committee and the committee chair discuss, really both chairs discuss BOYU simply just not being on the kind of same plane.

As Alabama and Notre Dame.

This this this week , uh, Hunter Yzek said, uh, that the, the committee was split in terms of Alabama and Notre Dame.

So we, we're kind of seeing there, there's a separation there in terms of the tiers.

So I think that explains why BYU has, uh, kind of entered into this winner in, uh, type of situation there in the Big 12 title game.

OK.

Very good, good explanation.

Uh, Beth asks, can Miami and Texas agree to play each other this week to help their resumes?

Would that be legal?

No, Beth, it would not be legal.

Absolutely not.

I mean, you could, theoretically, look, uh, midpoint, can we, can we resurrect Legion Field in Birmingham and have them meet there and play?

Maybe, but probably, probably, probably not.

Um, moving on from there, besides, they don't need another chance to Help their resumes, they had their chances.

Olivia asks, Gino, answer this one.

Olivia, why did Penn State fire James Franklin without a real plan for who would take the job?

This is ridiculous.

We've touched on this to a degree, but give us your thoughts on why they fired James Franklin when they did.

Well, we've talked about that after the firing.

I mean, it just had reached a point of no return.

There was a um Uh, crisis of confidence, uh, with that fan base.

Um, and it, it seemed, uh, at a point where it just couldn't be repaired.

Uh, the narrative had been, uh, carved in stone.

James Franklin can't win the big games, and now he can't win the little games.

And so, let's move on, and we'll get a head start on everybody else.

And what's that, that famous Mike Tyson line about Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.

Well, when, let's say Kurt Signnetti said no, uh, or let's say, uh, there was pushback against the idea of hiring Matt Rhule, or most recently Jeff Bromm or Sataki, well, there's Pat Kraft getting punched in the face over and over and over again, and that's where we are.

He's living the Mike Tyson nightmare.

Uh, but as we mentioned, just take it easy.

Don't make a panic hire.

There are still candidates out there.

One of them is not going to be Mike Tomlin, by the way, uh, even though Ben Roethlisberger threw him out there, Tomlin, uh, said, there's not a, a donor check, a booster check big enough to get him to, to, uh, coach in college, so you can forget about Tomlin.

But there are still a lot of interesting and qualified candidates out there.

But as Pat said, don't worry about winning the , the press conference.

Just hire a good coach.

Uh, Mike Tomlin's name has come up several times for several jobs, and he's always just swatted that down.

He's like, no, I am not a college coach.

No, yeah, uh, last question here.

Facebook commenters commenting on comments.

Bryce, will the Heisman be decided Saturday night in Indianapolis?

I'm gonna be there.

Ohio State, Indiana, phenomenal 1 versus 2 matchup.

I'm gonna say no, though, because you've got to factor in Diego Pavia, who might actually be the favorite at this point, the way he finished the season.

Fernando Mendoza against Julian Sean is an outstanding matchup, and both those guys will be in New York.

I'll say that now.

There, there's no way they're not Heisman finalists.

One of them might still win.

And if one of them lights it up Saturday night, that could decide it, it could, and it's great to have the last impression, especially in a high profile game against a good opponent.

I think more likely, Both quarterbacks struggle a little bit in this game, because they're playing really good defenses.

I don't wanna be, if I'm Fernando Mendoza, holy moly, I mean, you're just trying to hoping you can get to 17 points against Ohio State.

So, I will say that the Heisman is on the line, but I'm not sure it will be decided Saturday night.

All right guys, uh, one more topic before we, uh, get down to winners and steak dinners, tragic situation there.

Do we have to, um, but hey, do you remember National Signing Day?

Vaguely.

What is that again?

Yeah, it used to be in February, right?

And everybody got excited about it and everybody got up at 7 a.m. to hear about the fax machine cranking up and the commitments rolling in and oh my gosh, the teams were winning national championships on signing day, even though it never happened 4 years later, but I It's been marginalized by the portal and where it's misplaced in the calendar, but Wednesday was the start of the signing period, and there were 3 news items.

Uh, of note here.

The first, we'll go through these pretty quickly, but the first.

Five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, Nashville Christian School, number 3 player in the senior class according to 24/7 sports.

He was committed to Georgia and he flipped to Vanderbilt.

Vandy just got one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.

Gino, big deal or a blip?

Big deal.

Big deal.

First of all, Georgia doesn't usually lose those kind of battles.

Georgia usually wins those kind of battles.

They usually flip others.

Second, um, he's an in-state kid, so they kept him here.

I was at the, uh, uh, Vandy, Tennessee game, and Vandy now has all the sort of national momentum.

I mean, they beat Tennessee and it wasn't, it was decisive, uh, at Neyland Stadium.

So, um, I think very significant from a perception standpoint.

Again, 5 star sounds great.

We'll see how he develops and if his skills transition to, to the college game and if he's successful, but from a perception standpoint, yeah, I think significant.

All right.

Question for Brian here.

USC landed the nation's number one class.

The first non-SEC team to do it, according to 24/7, since 2008.

That's incredible.

Uh, Brian , are the Trojans capital B back?

Uh, no, uh, very simply, no.

You know, I, you know, it's, it's one thing to, to count on some freshmen and have a couple of impact playmakers and, you know, good signs of progress there for Lincoln Riley for sure in Los Angeles, especially given that he didn't seem to have any interest his first couple of years there.

In terms of using that USC brand and actually recruiting, uh, these high-level athletes, but good signs of, of things, you know, riding the ship, if you will, there with the Trojans in, in, in LA, but you got to stack these classes, class after class after class, if you really want to compete, not just in the Big 10, but for the national titles that link.

And Riley was hired to do.

So, it, it's not necessarily a sign that they're back, but I, I think good signs of progress, if you will, uh, to land this #1 class.

Plus, you know, I think for the Big 10, uh, nice, nice little feather in your cap too, uh, given, uh, the recruiting dominance that we've seen out of the SEC to have, have a number 1 class, uh, in, in the country for sure.

Yeah, I love the diversity of it.

You know what?

Great.

And if, if they've finally gotten their act together out there at USC, the sport is better off for it, although it'd really be better off for it if there were a Pac-12 for them to win, but that's a whole other matter.

All right, our third, uh, signing day storyline, I will handle this one.

I love this.

Temple signed a punter named Luke Sword.

Why are we talking about a Temple punter?

Good question.

Has the greatest bio I've seen in this class.

He sneezes when he goes out in the sun, sure, and he can drink a full Sprite without burping.

Of course.

Clearly a very interesting young man.

Not all our punters have to come from Australia, gentlemen.

We can go to Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

And get Luke Sword , allergic to the sun, you'd be perfect in the Midwest, but still, Pennsylvania Temple close enough.

Uh, he's going to lead Temple, I think, to national prominence.

I don't think there's any doubt about it.

They are going to be national title contenders with Luke Sord.

Who dares to disagree with me?

Well, I, I'll say this, Luke is a brilliant, uh, marketer of himself on the, uh, NIL age.

He has now secured a copper tone.

Uh, uh, endorsement, and it, it's only a matter of time until Sprite comes after him.

So, uh, congrats, uh, Luke, brilliant on your part .

Absolutely.

I, I do remember the other kicker.

I love kickers because they, they, they're often unafraid to be weirdos.

Um, I'm trying to remember now the name of the guy.

He's been a, no, Colton Boomer.

He's been a good college kicker, Central Florida, signed with them, and in his high school yearbook, his, uh, It's like little tagline, and that was.

Kicking bombs and kissing moms.

So he showed up with a little bit of a, uh, a swagger at UCF and he's had a good college career.

So I'm, I'm gonna be watching Luke Sword, watching him kicking bombs.

Hopefully not kissing moms, but, you know, to each his own.

Uh, all right, winners of steak dinners our weekly picks.

It's, it's a disaster.

It's a debacle.

Brian Fisher is now running away from Gene and I, especially me.

Uh, laughing as we recede in the rearview.

He's 39 and 32 after a 4 and 1 week.

Wow, congrats.

Yeah, Geno's 36-36.

The bear at least has him at 500, and I'm 34 and 37.

Can't pick anything out of a lineup.

It's pitiful.

But we've got championship games here.

Not many to pick, so luck of the week, we may actually both take the same thing.

We'll see, for the three of us.

Um , but we're gonna start with the Big 10, 1 versus 2.

Touched on it briefly.

Ohio State number 1, giving 4.5 in Lucas Oil Stadium against Indiana, the last 2 undefeated teams in the country.

There will only be 1 after this game.

Uh, Regardless of that, vis a vis the spread, I'm covering the game, so I'll make the pick there.

I'm gonna take Ohio State.

Uh, I love Indiana.

I love everything about Indiana, but Ohio State, complete team, no weaknesses that I can see.

And Just really hard to score against, and they lean on you and lean on you and lean on you as games go along.

That may be a 3-point game going into the 4th quarter and end up a 10-point game, or at least a touchdown.

So I'm gonna take the Buckeyes and the 4.5. Give the 4.5. I'm stunned.

I thought for sure you're gonna take IU in this one.

And now I'm depressed because I'm also taking Ohio State, uh, the only team in the FBS who hasn't given up, I think they've given up less than 100 points, that defense this year, which is incredible.

And now they're going against uh IU offense that has scored the 2nd most in the country, 532 points, averaging around 44 points a game.

But I trust Ohio State's defense more than I trust an offense, and I think it's I think Ohio State's a tier above everybody else.

I'm with you.

I'll take Ohio State and give the points.

Well, go ahead and lock it up as well.

I will go with the Buckeyes.

You know, I think you look back at, at, uh, Indiana's season and as, as much as we like this team itself, you look back at the two games that they played at least close or or struggled at times in, uh, going to Penn State and then Iowa.

Well, you know what, those front sevens for both those teams, I think we're able to get a little bit of pressure on Fernando Mendoza.

You talk about Ohio State, you're talking about one of the best front sevens in the country.

And, uh, that's a big reason why that defense is so good.

You have the chess piece of Caleb Downs.

I, I think, uh, it's gonna be pretty tough for the Hoosiers to score.

They, they will find some ways for sure with Kurt Cignettti probably eyeing this game, uh, with, with 23 weeks' worth of prep, uh, given that, uh, they had an off week in in Purdue, uh, to, to lead up into this game.

So that they will find some ways to score, but not score enough and I think, uh, the Buckeyes do end up covering that 4.5. All right, we're all on Ohio State there.

SEC game.

Another great matchup, not the freshest matchup, but still always fascinating when Alabama plays Georgia.

Uh, the tide is getting 2.5. Despite the fact they've won like 7 out of the last 8 against the Bulldogs, Brian, where are you going on that one?

Oh, go ahead and give me Alabama, uh, reluctantly, I guess.

Just, uh, given, given all the matchup trends on this one, you gotta think, uh, Georgia gets something at some point, but this is the Kirby Hecks, you know, it seems like, uh, he, he just wilts when, uh, Alabama is on that opposite sideline, and I think the Explosive playmakers.

You saw it in the Ole Miss game.

They were kind of able to go up and down the field on that Georgia defense a little bit.

I think Alabama will have some things saved up.

And look, Kaylin Deboer in these big-time moment games, you know, he seems to have something saved up.

You know, whether it's a 4th-down play or something.

So if he's getting 2.5 points, I, I think he can end up, uh, covering that number there in the dome.

Go ahead, Pat.

Uh, I'm, I'm going on the tide as well because all the reasons, uh, Brian mentioned, I just, I've seen it too many times.

I, I'm not picking Georgia until I have seen them beat Alabama.

I think Georgia is better, but not when they play the tide.

Kirby, something, something gets sideways, so I'm taking the houndstooth.

Well, let me just remind you, the Bama, they're gonna be shy one starting defensive lineman.

Uh, running back Jam Miller is questionable.

Josh Cuevas is questionable.

And you're gonna say, so that might make me change my mind, but I will remind you that, uh , Cuevas didn't have a huge game against Georgia, uh, the first time around.

Uh, Miller didn't have a huge game against Georgia the first time around.

That was Ty Simpson, and that was their ability.

To, uh, convert 3rd-down plays.

Uh, De Boer is 2-0 against, uh, Bama and Kirby , and Kirby is 1-7 against Bama.

And so, I'm, I'm with you, Pat, until I see it, I'm gonna take Bama.

Yeah, there we go.

I, I'm watching here producer Kent, who writes down the picks in the Google Doc as we go.

He was, he was waiting because Geno's throwing some.

Some, uh, misdirection at him before, but so far Ohio State, we're all down Bama.

Let's, let's see if we can shake it up here a little bit.

Texas Tech laying 12.5 against BYU in the Big 12 title game Saturday at noon.

Gene, what do you think?

Tech beat them by 22 the last time and it didn't seem that close and they, they forced turnovers.

They made a true freshman look like a true freshman.

Uh, they bottled up that running game.

Um, I think it will be closer, but I still think Texas Tech covers.

Yeah, I think this is probably close for, you know, 223 quarters, you know, that seems to be the kind of MO when, when Texas Tech does play one of these top tier teams in the Big 12, but they are, they are the taking care of business team this season.

Like they have taken care of business, you, you know, they have the overdrive, yeah, I mean they, they have, they have, uh, you know, when, when it is.

When it comes to blowing out opponents when, when they need to blow out an opponents, man, do they do that.

And so I think, uh, you know, it's not necessarily a runaway, this one, for 3 quarters, but, uh, they, in the 4th quarter, they, they really pull away.

I think they end up covering that number against BYU there in Arlington and , uh, getting a well-deserved and, and very expensive title there in the Big 12.

Yeah, but I, I'm going with you too.

I like, I'm a full believer in what Texas Tech has done this year , and I did watch a lot of the game against BYU and that was a mismatch.

It could have been worse if Texas Tech didn't stall in the red zone repeatedly and kick a bunch of field goals, field goals, yeah, yeah.

So, uh, I, I'm sure, look, BYU will be better prepared.

You're always better when you, when you've lost and you're playing a rematch.

Here's what we need to do better.

Here were our weaknesses.

But uh there were too many weaknesses to fix, I think, especially if your head coach has been talking to Penn State in the lead up to this game.

So, I'm taking the Red Raiders there as well.

This is boring, boys, we're all picking the same people.

But let's see if that changes here, Virginia.

Giving 3.5 to Duke in an ACC title game that basically, that you're never gonna find a league office rooting harder for one team than you will here.

Sorry, Duke, but they want Virginia to win and the ACC to have a member in the playoffs.

Uh, again, Cavaliers giving 3.5. Brian, what do you got?

Give me the who's, you know, I, I think that, you know, number one, a great moment for Tony Elliott if they were able to get this, this over the line and to win an ACC championship, given what the program has been through the last couple of years, uh, given how he's kind of struggled as, as a head coach until this year, uh, really, you know, a , a testament to turning things around.

Uh, they're in Charlottesville.

I, I think that Duke can play things a little bit closer.

Darian Mensa did not play well in that initial meeting between these two teams, had a couple of turnovers.

I think he will be better, uh, there in Charlotte, and, and Duke will, will make this one at least, uh, sweat it out in the ACC office down the street, uh, for, for at least a couple of quarters, but, uh, give me Virginia to cover the 3.5 at the end.

Line opened at 2.5, now it's up at 3.5, but I'm still gonna take UVA.

I'm good with it.

I still remember UVA beat them at Duke and beat them pretty soundly, I think all things considered.

So, uh, I don't know why that would change in a neutral field.

So, I'll take, um, I'll take UVA and, and, uh, the ACC can rest easy.

Yeah, I'm, I, I'm surprised at the line.

That was a 17-point game in Durham.

Uh, certainly, as Brian pointed out, Darian Mensa can play better this time around.

And Virginia has had some defensive injuries.

Cam Robinson, linebacker is out for the season, but I think Virginia is just flat the better team, uh, and should be able to cover that one.

And Jim Phillips rests easy when the ACC is in the playoffs.

All right, luck of the week.

Who has one?

Well, we should let Mr.

1st place go, right?

Well, you know, you know, we, we only have a number of limited options, you know, this week if, if we're not picking the, the, the 5 power conference games that, uh, we, we just did.

But look, I'm, I'm gonna go to Conference USA because I know Geno loves me going down there.

Kennesaw State given 2.5 points against Jacksonville State Conference USA championship game.

The Gamecocks won the.

The first meeting between these two, just a couple of weeks ago, 35, 26.

So, you know, and they, and they are hosting.

But this is a program in Kennesaw State founded just 10 years ago.

Incredible season really for both Jerry Mack, the, the coach there with the Owls, and Charles Kelly, but I think the Owls get the job done and they cover the 2.5 and and win Conference USA.

I don't even know if I can follow that.

You have to.

Uh, James Madison is a 23.5 point favorite over Troy on Friday night.

I'll, I'll take JMU all day on that.

I know that's a lot of points, but, uh, I think JMU is a lot of team, and, uh, they certainly have something to play for, so I'm going with them.

Yeah, that's one of those situations where there's no taking the foot off the uh gas uh there.

If they get up and get rolling, they're gonna try to keep rolling, I think.

Uh, all right, I'm going to the Mac, little action, and less because I truly believe this, then I think it's a cool story that I wanted to bring up, and the hell, I'm in last place, what does it matter?

So, uh, but I'm taking Miami, Ohio, and the 2.5 points against Western Michigan.

I started looking into this a little bit in the 40-yard dash.

Uh , Chuck Morton has been the coach at Miami of Ohio forever, right?

He came there from Notre Dame, he was a Brian Kelly assistant.

I am sure he and other people thought, well, you go in there for a couple of years and then you get a Big 10 job or whatever, you know, you move on.

He's Been there for 12 years, started slowly, has kept incrementally creeping forward, creeping forward, creeping forward.

Now in the 3rd straight MAC title game.

And If they win, for the first time in his 12-year career, he will have a winning record.

He's now up to 72-72.

It has been this uphill climb.

He started, he was 5-19 his first two years.

And then, he's had to kind of just piece it together.

It's been a good fit for him there.

It's a place Woody Hayes, Bo Schembeckler, Eric Parsigian, great coaches on and on and on.

He's won the most games of anybody there, been there the longest.

So, I am uh hoping for Chuck Martin's sake, he gets to 73 and 72, and the Red Hawks cover the 2.5 there.

All right, guys, we got one more story to get to.

A little bit longer show , but there's been a lot to cover, and we cannot go without talking about this.

Ashland, Virginia, AP.

The masked burglar broke into the closed Virginia liquor store early on Saturday and hit the bottom shelf where the scotch and whiskey were stored.

The bandit was something of a nocturnal menace.

Bottles were smashed.

A ceiling tile collapsed, and alcohol pooled on the floor.

The suspect acted like an animal because, in fact, he's a raccoon.

Raccoon breaking and entering in a liquor store and getting drunk, and I thought showing some decorum actually went into the bathroom to pass out.

They got a picture of the critter in there, it's like legs splayed, face down, not dead, and apparently not seriously hurt, but Uh, definitely smashed, uh, on the floor, and then there's pictures of the bottles.

I mean, this, this, this critter got into a lot of stuff.

He went on a bender on the, uh, floor of the liquor store here.

Uh, my theory, gentlemen, Virginia fan, so excited about the way this season has gone, that the raccoon just went out and went crazy and got blottoed.

What do you think?

Is there a chance that this raccoon is actually, raccoon is actually a Virginia fan?

I, I can add an update to this story.

Uh, uh, I saw it earlier on The Wire.

Uh, the raccoon now is at the Betty Ford Center, uh, receiving, um, a specialized treatment.

So, you know, you know, uh, thoughts and prayers for the raccoon.

I will, I will say that the photograph of, of the, the raccoon just sprayed down on the floor.

I mean, that, that's, that's an iconic image at this point.

Yes, that, that could be a lot of Virginia fans in Charlotte if they win or if they lose or they lose.

Yeah, yeah, they might be, there might be a lot of splayed raccoon Virginia fans, uh, there.

But all right, guys, that's clearly, it's, that's enough of this show.

Um, thanks everybody for Uh, tuning in, checking us out.

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Uh, leave us a review if you want, subscribe.

We will be back again.

I've mentioned this at the beginning, Sunday for a quick reaction show to the bracket once it comes out.

So look for that.

But in the meantime, have a great weekend.

We'll talk to you later.