Andy & Ari On3 - Alabama’s CYBERSECURITY for Michigan? | Bill O’Brien said WHAT to Jalen Milroe? | CFP Picks!

Episode Date: December 29, 2023

Alabama and Michigan have arrived in California, and they had some interesting things to say. We get an update from the Senior Bowl and make our picks for New Years' Six Games!(0:00-4:54) Intro - Isaiah Bond at Rose Bowl Media Days(4:55-10:23) Jalen Milroe Sounds Off(10:24-27:12) Clayton Sayfie from the Wolverine Joins(27:13-43:42) Jim Nagy from the Reese's Senior Bowl Joins(43:43-46:04) J.D. Pickell joins to Pick Games(46:05-51:54) Cotton Bowl: Missouri vs Ohio State (51:55-56:06) Peach Bowl: Ole Miss vs Penn State(56:07-1:00:21) Orange Bowl: Georgia vs Florida State(1:00:22-1:05:13) Fiesta Bowl: Liberty vs Oregon(1:05:14-1:09:38) CFP - Rose Bowl: Alabama vs Michigan(1:09:39-1:14:18) CFP - Sugar Bowl: Texas vs Washington(1:14:19-1:15:56) ConclusionThank you to Gametime for sponsoring today's show! Bowl Season is HERE - don't miss your chance to watch your favorite team. Download the Gametime App and enter code: STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Last Minute Tickets, Lowest Prices, Guaranteed.Today's show is also sponsored by PrizePicks, the easiest way to play daily fantasy. All first time users that deposit and use the promo code ANDY will receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100. If you deposit $100, PrizePicks will give you $100. If you deposit $50, PrizePicks will give you $50.Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/ANDYAlabama receiver Isaiah Bond dropped an interesting nugget Thursday about the Crimson Tide’s preparation for Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Bond said Alabama players were not allowed to watch practice video on their individual tablets — just with their teammates and position coaches at the team facility. This was in response to a question about whether he’d followed the news of the Michigan signal-stealing investigation during the season.Also on Thursday, Crimson Tide QB Jalen Milroe revealed that former Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien told Milroe he should switch positions. That revelation came on a day Milroe and first-year Times offensive coordinator Tommy Rees discussed the evolution of their relationship during a season that started rocky for both and has improved dramatically over the past two months.Clayton Sayfie of The Wolverine joins Andy to talk about Alabama’s cybersecurity measures. Plus, Clayton and Andy break down the critical line-of-scrimmage matchups in a game where both teams have scary defensive lines and offensive lines that have struggled at times this season.Later, Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy joins Andy to preview some of the best players in this final full weekend of college football. Nagy breaks down Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. against the Texas secondary and the Washington offensive line against the Texas defensive line in the Sugar Bowl. Nagy also discusses some of the players who have already committed to the Senior Bowl — including cult hero Iowa punter Tory Taylor.Finally, Andy and J.D. Pickell pick all the New Year’s Six and College Football Playoff games against the spread.Want to watch the show instead? Head on over to YouTube! https://youtube.com/live/6xxJrRcHc-0

Welcome to Andy Staples on three and we got some good old-fashioned intrigue heading into the college football playoff. That's right. I'm out here in LA getting ready to cover the Rose Bowl Alabama and Michigan players were in for interviews on Thursday and well somebody said something interesting I know what you're thinking with these two programs they pretty much tell them not to say anything interesting and most everyone complied but Alabama receiver Isaiah Bond dropped a little nugget that became a whole thing how closely did you follow the whole science standard saga of that kind of mission was engulfed in all year and how that all transpired. Say that one more time? How much did you pay attention to the sign-stealing saga that Michigan had to deal with all year and the impact it had on college football

and maybe their team? I mean, yeah, the sign-stealing, I mean, I heard about it. I really paid too much attention to it. I mean, obviously, that's in the past. I mean, the catapult system that's in the past. I mean, we obviously, the catapult system that they, I guess they was taking signs from was, they made it down anyways for the playoffs because of that. So honestly, I mean, we get on the field, they're gonna have to play us anyways. So all that sign stealing is not gonna help them.

Say more about the catapult. What was that? It's basically like the app will record, like film off or practice and stuff like that. And it was like, I guess like looking at other people's like Play calls like their hands and those like the first eight games or something like that So we wasn't able to like we was able to watch film with the team But like personally we can't watch film because like I don't know some reason with Michigan stealing signs But I'm not really too keyed in on that Yeah, our coach told us that um

Probably a week ago before we was like right before about to come here, like getting prepared for Michigan. Yeah. Yeah, we're not allowed to. I don't think he was supposed to tell us that. So here's how this works. When all these teams take tons of video of their own practices so they can examine everything and coach different things and say, fix this, do this differently. They review it after every practice and before each new practice to make sure they're optimizing what they're doing.

All of this in 2023 goes into the cloud and they have these cloud-based systems where teams store their video. And what he seems to be saying is Alabama said, no, no cloud here. We're not putting our practice footage in the cloud. If you want to watch it, you have to be at the facility. So never thought we'd use the term air gapped in a college football preview, but here we are. And that's a computer that's not connected to the internet in any way. I don't know if that's exactly what they're doing, but it does sound like they were trying to keep that stuff off the cloud

in case prying eyes might be prying. So there you go. Michigan, you may be upset about that. If you're a Michigan fan, the accusation, the temerity. But you hear about this for two months and you're probably going to do something about it. So knowing how Nick Saban operates and how detail oriented he is, this is probably yet another precaution. But he also probably got on Isaiah Bond for revealing this little piece of information to the wider world. That's probably not something that Alabama wanted out there.

But there you go. And if you want more motivation for Michigan, you've seen the Wolverines use this whole saga as motivation since it started. Now would be a time where they could take this as motivation and say hey we don't we don't need this to beat you and Alabama is saying it doesn't matter you still got to beat us on the field that's what Isaiah Bond said we'll find out we'll talk a little more about this with Clayton Safey from the Wolverine who's here with me in California this is not going to go away this is going to be a theme going into the game and I I know the Michigan fans are tired of it. Don't want to hear about it anymore. It's going to follow them the entire season. So if they, if they win and go to the national title game, it will still be a topic.

I'm sorry about that, but this is just one more reminder of all that stuff that happened before and how they got here. We'll see what happens in the game but i don't know that this would have made any difference alabama probably could have kept its practice footage in the cloud probably wouldn't have mattered but now everybody can go into the game feeling like they did everything possible to make sure nobody has an edge that they shouldn't have so we shall see and yeah we've heard from Terry on Arnold. What's like to get your ass chewed by Nick Saban. I think Isaiah Bond is going to have a really good story about that come game day.

But some more interesting nuggets from Alabama players. Jalen Milrow, the quarterback, really interesting conversation with him and with Tommy Reese, their offensive coordinator about the evolution of Alabama's offense over the season, but also about their own relationship. And it's a fascinating relationship between these two. Tommy Reese is a really young offensive coordinator. He's in his early 30s. He was the starting quarterback at Notre Dame in the 2010s.

He, like Jalen Milrow earlier this season, got benched, found his way back in the starting lineup. He's been through a lot of this. He's been through the kind of pressure that you're under as Alabama starting quarterback. I think a Notre Dame starting quarterback in the social media age, that probably feels a lot like being the Alabama quarterback in the social media age. I don't know that there are a lot of coordinators or quarterbacks coaches who can identify with that. It's a pretty unique situation. And so it feels like these two really get along. And obviously Tommy Reese has learned to call plays for Jalen Milrow. Jalen Milrow has figured out what works best for him in this offense. And you've seen that develop as the years gone on. But very interesting thing that Jalen Milrow said

about previous offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, who's now with the New England Patriots. He meant no words. Someone asked Jalen Milrow a different, probably a question that expected a little bit different answer, but got something really interesting. Is there a moment where someone wanted you to play a different position or something you kind of said no i'm a quarterback shoot you know all my life even when i was in college shoot my own offensive coordinator bill

o'brien told me i shouldn't play quarterback so you know there's a lot of things i can you know have motivation on and that is something i have motivation from that is some serious motivation from bill o'brien who remember when he's alabama's offensive coordinator he has been the houston texans head coach he has been penn state's head coach he has been the new england patriots offensive coordinator he's been all of those things before he becomes alabama's offensive coordinator and so have that guy telling you you shouldn't be playing quarterback. Yeah, that doesn't feel great. And it did not sit well with Jalen Milrow.

Now, follow-up question to that got an even better response from Milrow. What was your reaction to Bill O'Brien telling you that you shouldn't play quarterback? Do you remember how you felt when he said that? How would you feel if I told you you suck? Probably wouldn't like it. Okay, then. So that's exactly how I felt. You know what I'm saying?

So, like, biggest thing for me, be true to myself and, you know, stay the same. You know, nothing changed about me. The only thing that changed me was I had the opportunity and I seized it. And so, for me, you know, the biggest thing was just stay true to myself and, you know, add a bigger purpose to anyone's opinion. Is there a position he wanted you to play or said you should be this position or that position? I mean, he told me a bunch of bits that I could have switched to,

but look where I'm at right now. So, you know what I'm saying? So who gets the last laugh? What an answer! Who gets the last laugh what an answer who gets the last laugh indeed look at the position he's in right now he's exactly right he stuck it out he believed in himself and this is a guy who i think at the beginning of the season you would look at him and say okay this is not an nfl quarterback but as the season has gone on you're like okay we'll

see what happens with another year of season. Cause he's coming back for 2024, but Jalen Monroe has a chance right now to help his team win a national title. You know, they're two wins away from a national title and just what a great story. And he's a lot of fun to root for just like jj mccarthy for michigan both these guys are really enjoyable to watch their personalities are great and then with milrow he and terry on arnold the alabama cornerback they have a basically a brand that they've created called lank and it stands for let all the naysayers know and when you hear that story it it really drives it home. So perhaps that will drive some sales at the Lank pop-up shop in Pasadena prior to the Rose Bowl.

These guys have done a good job figuring out how to use NIL to connect with this. And for Milrow, this is basically his life story printed on those T-shirts. So it's been really interesting to watch him develop through the year and he's he's talked a lot but he he saved this little detail and you you can kind of tell he was glad to get that off his chest that that the there's a little living well is the best revenge but he didn't have a problem saying you know what what? This guy didn't believe in me. He was a naysayer. Well, I'm letting all the naysayers know.

Cannot wait to see Jalen Milrow line up against that incredible Michigan defense on Monday in the Rose Bowl, and this just adds another layer to it, just as what Isaiah Bond said about Alabama taking cybersecurity measures and precautions adds another layer to this game. Let's talk now to Clayton Safey from the Wolverine about what's going on with Alabama and Michigan and the sign-stealing scandal that never will go away. It's two guys in rocking chairs talking to Rose Bowl. Clayton Safey from the Wolverine. We found a really nice spot down here.

It's classy. At the old media hotel. It's very Instagrammable. We've got the old Rose Bowl poster. We've got some roses. I may steal a rose. Don't do it. You have to earn the rose.

True. You have to win your way to the rose. I can't do that. I'm a media member. That's true. That is true. Well, we are recording this, and it is going into the cloud, so our producer can put it into the show.

So fortunately, you guys don't play for Alabama, so you can watch this anywhere. You don't have to go to the Alabama facility or Alabama's team hotel to watch this clayton that was the uh the the blow up yeah someone cracked mini blow up yeah isaiah bond cracked talked about some of the precautions they're taking and you know you've been covering this science stealing situation all season you've seen it with other teams too is it is it interesting to you how different teams have handled this information yeah and a lot of them they don't go into a lot of detail and i

think again isaiah bond probably wasn't supposed to right he said too much um but you know that happens sometimes i don't blame him obviously but yeah a lot of these teams have really just more talked about the signs and how they're mixing things up. And Nick Saban talked about that, I think, a week or two ago when he met with the media down in Tuscaloosa. But how they're going to, you know, they do that typically. He said it's no big deal, you know, whatever. Well, it sounds like they're not watching film individually. They have to watch them in groups at the facility. And then Tommy Reese got asked about it.

No one really else wanted to comment. But yeah. Now, what I would assume with this is the proprietary stuff like your own practice video that sort of thing i would i would think if they want to watch michigan's defense they can they can do that as much as it has that film everybody has that exactly but yeah keeping stuff out of the cloud and look in this day and age i it's interesting to me because you think about how much information and until all of this blew up i never thought about that how much information each until all of this blew up, I never thought about that.

How much information each college football program puts into the cloud in general. Right. It's it's crazy. And you hear about catapult as kind of that system that everybody uses. And then, you know, there are rumors and Twitter accounts saying, well, this team has this cat. They got their film off the catapult and they hacked it. You know, who knows what's real or what's not, but the videos of these interviews that were done here today, if, if we media members want to access them, we go through catapult. Everything runs through catapult. Yeah. And that's also the system where they have the, the wearables that

tell you how fast the people are on the GPS data and and all that so if you wanted to get paranoid about it you could get very very paranoid about this stuff right you could and i think you know nick saban's a guy who you know is ultra competitive wants to get an edge any way he can wants to protect you know the edges they may have in any way and jim harbaugh is kind of the same way so i mean it doesn't surprise me necessarily it's just something i didn't i didn't really think about coming down i just didn't think an alabama player would crack that's that's really the the part that i'm more amusing than anything else because that they are very controlled and what they say michigan's the same way you you didn't expect you came into this expecting everybody to

just coach speak you know give 110 one play at a time and i got a little bit of little juice do you remember the quinn and williams when when he almost said that what did he say something about kyler murray but yes he doesn't think he's all that i was standing there and then he just he froze it was like someone zapped him yeah from remote it's still one of my favorite it's one of my favorite moments it was yeah that was the Orange Bowl after the 2018 season. And yeah, I remember that. Have you gone up against any quarterback that slightly resembles Kyler Murray? No, I don't feel like I have going against a quarterback slightly resembling Kyler Murray.

But I feel like Kyler Murray is not way above. What's that? No, I'm good. It was like someone had zapped him with an electric shock. Saban. Oh. Yeah. Well, yeah, Saban not actually pressing the button.

Right. Though he probably, like, he has the button that closes the door in the office. I'm pretty sure he has the zapping button and probably a trap door somewhere oh I bet yeah absolutely well this is this is much more fun than I thought the this interview session was going to be but the the Michigan players I did enjoy not not with you I knew that was going to be fun oh I think okay yeah but the the michigan players got into detail on the uh the beat the beat georgia drill which is called now or well it was called for a minute it's the beat ohio drill it's the the beat bama drill i guess they're calling it now but it's basically the inside run drill they

do and it's kind of taking on these mythical proportions but it was fun hearing them talk about it because as somebody who's been through some of those inside seven on seven drills it is the nastiest portion of any football practice yeah and it's i think beat ohio is the nine on seven um so you have all the run fits if you're in the run game it's you know it's you know a stacked box and basically trying to do that and then i think the beat georgia drill now beat bama drill is something very similar loud music playing those guys getting it going i will say I think we can talk about it too obviously but you know one of the things that Michigan may be challenged with in this game is more the speed of Alabama rather than you know and then obviously Alabama's got the size and the physicality they've got all that too that to match that maybe and then some against Michigan but the speed is something that came up a lot with a lot

of these Michigan guys too and you know they're confident in their ability, I think. But it's definitely going to be something that plays a part in this game. Well, I think it's what people get confused about with the whole idea of SEC speed. Like, the skill position players everywhere are fast. Like, the skill position players in the Big Ten, the SEC, the ACC, the Pac-12, the Big 12, they're all fast. Right. It's when you get the giant linemen who move very fast too that said your guy kenneth grant that's right the fastest lineman in this game the fastest 300

pounder in this game plays for michigan yeah kenneth grant and and um you know i forget who said it earlier or today well it was jesse mentor and he wasn't here a few years ago when michigan played alabama and you and i talked about this a week or two ago. But the one position or one area Michigan has grown in since these two teams played in the Citrus Bowl to kick off 2020 is the defensive line. And particularly having the type of athletes, you know, maybe not as many as Georgia or Alabama, but having some of those types of athletes. And Kenneth Grant's one of them. Chris Jenkins, I think, could hang in that category. Mason Graham, who we talked to today, is right up there

and much tougher, faster, more physical, and has better technique than maybe you would guess by just watching him walk around. But Michigan has those types of guys. It's just, are they going to match up with the speed? Are they going to be able to maybe break tendency a little bit and catch them off guard? I think both of these teams have very well-equipped defensive lines.

They've got a bunch of future NFL players on their defensive line. I think both offensive lines are the area of concern because you saw it with Alabama, especially early in the season, where they were very susceptible on the edges. If you had a good edge rusher, you could get home. Now they've changed their play calling a little bit to let Jalen Milrow move around a little bit uh to to let jaylen milrow move around a little more because he was walking himself into sacks at times but michigan

late season you know we'll go to the penn state game where they basically abandoned the pass because they were struggling to protect yeah and now you're down zach's inter too so it was the guy carson barnhart who was struggling at right tackles now you're right guard um trente jones likely again he started in the iowa game likely to start at right tackle so it's something you know i've watched a lot of alabama over the last few weeks and i mean dallas turner chris brasswell uh 92 can't pronounce his name at the time a boy you got it um you know they're they're as good as it gets uh you know dallas turner todd mcshay was saying he's his number one defensive prospect right now. And then you have the corners too.

So Alabama may be able to commit more towards the run. So Michigan has not run blocked all that well, especially getting to the second level this season. It's something you wouldn't expect. It's been more the pass. It's been more running when they've needed to. Short yardage, they're fantastic. But overall, from a down-to-down

basis it's not been the run game that it has been the last two years so now with zinter out and facing probably the best front you faced this year i mean penn state probably up there but i would take this one from alabama especially the guys on the line of scrimmage it's going to be a big challenge for the michigan offense line at the same time and michigan's got waves a guy that'll guys that'll rotate in on the d line and try to give these guys fits but you know i watched some alabama early on caden proctor with some issues but lately he's been much better lately the entire offense line has been much better i know you've pointed out the way they've schemed that up with yeah they're helping a lot more with caden proctor although don't like you go back to georgia game he

doesn't need as much help right as he did Tommy Reese talked today to the Alabama offensive coordinator. He said for Caden Proctor, the light came on after the Arkansas game. That game was a nightmare for him. He was just whipped time and time again. Arkansas had a 6'7", 290-pound edge rusher who was just being you know, being a grown man basically against a freshman. And even if you're, you know, even when you're 340 pounds at 18, that's right. He's 360. You're still 18. You're still 18 for sure. And there were, there was a play 11 from

Georgia, a Walker, you know, gets past them and I know they blitz so it's kind of might even be the the identifying what's coming and and all that um that could be an issue and i think michigan with the way they line up their edges pretty wide will be a different look that he's going to have to face when you're you're bigger i mean it's easier to kind of swallow guys up like that but you also may not move as fast so i think that's something you know michigan again we were talking to jc latham over there about how many edge guys Michigan is going to rotate in. So you're facing a different guy every play.

Michigan probably tried to keep them off guard with a lot of the twists they use, a lot of the stunts. So, I mean, the O-lines in this game could determine who wins. Well, I'm going to break tendency because I don't want to say that the O-line determines everything. But for Michigan, I do think J.j mccarthy his mobility is going to matter and i know he's looked somewhat limited at the end of the season it looked like he had something going on with a knee but he's not had a month off yeah and a healthy jj mccarthy i feel

like is a very different quarterback because he is capable of moving around he's capable of making some of those mistakes go away. He is, and you saw that in the beginning of the year, and then they would kind of dial back a lot of the design run stuff to try to keep him upright, keep him clean, not use it when they don't have to. I think that could play a part in this game too, not just his ability to extend the plays and throw it on field.

Honestly, too, some of his better plays have been when there's a breakdown in offensive line protection. Jalen Milrow too. Yeah, Jalen Milrow too, absolutely. But going back to the design run thing, watching that Auburn game against Alabama and what Auburn did, Hugh Freeze, give him a ton of credit for what they did with their offensive game plan.

They complete six passes in that game from the quarterback spot. Michigan fans familiar with Peyton Thorne, former Michigan State quarterback. Absolutely, and you wouldn't think that that would be some sort of blueprint that they're looking at going into a college football playoff. Michigan's got to do a bunch of other stuff. They also got to stick with what they do, but I think they can do some of what Auburn did in the design run game for J.J. McCarthy.

They've held it back all year. You'd see it a couple times here and there, but this is a time where you break it out last year they didn't do that against tcu until the second half and it worked it's a big regret and it worked uh really well against that defense you gotta you gotta use that uh i think this game's also going to come down to a lot of third and shorts third and mediums for michigan and whether or not you can stay on the field because alabama is going to stay on the field with Millrell probably. But then again, it's a key for them too. So it's another cliche, third down red zone, but there's so much that goes into it. But that's the thing.

I mean, these are two really good teams. The talent is pretty close. I mean, it comes down to the cliche stuff, whether, whether we like it or not, it really does come down to, can you convert your third and shorts? Can you stay out of bad down and distances i i mean that's the thing that alabama struggled with early in the season is we talked about you know whether it was the line play or or even milrow and a lot of it like hearing the alabama reporters ask tommy reese the questions today because they don't get to talk to him all year and so hearing him talk about the evolution of the play calling he's done a great job it is really different than the beginning of the season it is and and again like obviously some people watching alabama fans and you and whatever have watched more than me but kind of

going through their games and watching four or five full games throughout the year what they've done to build this offense around jalen milrow has been super impressive and one thing i noticed especially late in the year is when the game is on the line, when a drive is on the line, in those third down red zone situations, they're putting the ball in number four's hands. So Michigan's got to know that. And a lot of running quarterbacks, that's the case, where you kind of know a draw is coming at certain points,

but sometimes it's frustrating because you can't stop it because you've got to cover everybody else too. So it's going to come down to, I think, what quarterback plays better too. I mean, again, that's another cliche. It's interesting because I think the average person is looking at these matchups and going, oh, the Quinn Ewers-Michael Penix Jr. matchup is the quarterback matchup that we really want to see. In Alabama and Michigan, it's the trenches.

Listen, these are two of the swaggiest quarterbacks you will ever meet, Jalen Milrow and J.J. McCarthy. I would like to hear them just talk to each other for about 30 minutes two of the swaggiest quarterbacks you will ever meet jaylen milrow and jj mccarthy like i would like to hear them just talk to each other for about 30 minutes because i bet they would have a fascinating conversation great personalities yeah i mean that was the first time i've you know got to uh listen to jaylen milrow in person and everything and see him walk in the room and you know he definitely has the swag there jj you know is kind of that that confident and like super nice but you know he's got that that there's an edge to jj yeah you is kind of that that confident and like super nice but you know he's got that

that there's an edge to jj yeah you can definitely see that when he talked and and i think i feel like that's come out more in his interviews since all of the signal stealing stuff and uh because he he's sort of embraced the michigan versus everybody you feel like he's kind of protecting you know what the program is he knows harbaugh can't say certain things and the coaches so the things they can say you know i think jj has been a great voice for them and i mean he's not a captain but he is he's up you know he's as big of a leader on this team as it gets well i i cannot wait to see those two get it on on monday and and listen that line of scrimmage is going to be so much fun because it is sometimes you have a situation where one O-line is clearly better than the other one. D-line is clearly better than the other.

The O-lines are both the ones you worry about in this one. The D-lines are both the ones that scare you in this one. Right. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. It is. I'm excited. We've got a couple more days of coverage here, but it is going to be insanely fun uh on monday clayton safey not afraid to put this in the cloud you can watch it anywhere you want that's me and clayton safey sitting in some rocking chairs and

that's a pretty good setup anytime you do an interview in a rocking chair it is the way to go i highly highly, highly, highly recommend. You know what else I recommend? Game time. Download that game time app. Use your promo code STAPLES. Get $20 off your first purchase. The easiest, most effective, least stressful way to get last minute tickets. Do you want to go to the Rose Bowl?

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with game time. Now we talk to one of our friends who we've seen quite a bit this season jim naggy from the senior bowl is going to join us to help preview these games because this is a guy who gets very excited about games like this because as a former scout and a guy who now brings the best senior players into the senior bowl to get prepared for the nfl. He is watching with the scout's eye and he loves these good on good games and there's about to be a whole bunch of them. So let's talk to Jim about some of these matchups that are coming up. We are joined now by our friend Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Reese's Senior Bowl. And Jim, I am excited to talk to you because we've talked throughout this season and you know going into big games you've been you know really amped up to see good on good there's a lot

of good on good coming up with these new year's six bowl games and with the college football playoff i i guess we should start with who are you most excited to watch here these next few days well we could go game for game andy and just uh pick out a prospect but but no i'm excited uh you know to see some of the the texas washington game there's some really good matchups you know troy fatanu the left tackle for washington rosengarden the right tackle i mean you're going to be going up against a front with a bunch of great texas players i mean that front with, you know, Tavondre Sweat and Byron Murphy, our two senior bowl guys we have committed

and are good players. And then you got Alfred Collins and you got Barron Sorrells. I mean, that's a true, that's a big time front four. So that's a fun matchup. But again, we could go game to game. I'm excited to see the Bama guys, Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell

up against that Michigan offensive line. So there's some really good trench matches, matchups this weekend's games. Yeah. So I'm in California. I'm covering that Rose Bowl and Dallas Turner's name has been brought up a lot. And I realize, you know, in the NFL circles, his stock has been very high all along, but what is it about him that makes him so special I would say the athlete you know when you're doing Will Anderson last year for last year's draft I mean you kept seeing 15 on the other side and it was just you know the get off the bend I mean Will's a great player I'm not saying I'm not comparing the two guys as football players because Will Anderson is an unbelievable

football player as you know with all your connections in Tuscaloosa, his makeup was off the charts. But just athletically, some of the movement stuff, some of the counter stuff that he's going to be capable of, Dallas Turner is just a really high-end athlete. So you mentioned that Sugar Bowl, the interior guys at Texas. Mike Penix Jr. playing against this defense. I mean, we've seen him play against Oregon where they were coming after him quite a bit, and it didn't seem to faze him at all. How excited are you to see him against a very good secondary with a decent pass rush too?

And it's a great point. I don't think Texas secondary gets enough credit. There's some really good players in that back end, too. You know, we got Jadae Barron coming to the senior bowl and there's they got three or four other guys that are going to get drafted or, you know, be in a camp at least. So a lot of NFL talent back there. It is going to be a good a good showcase for Michael Penix because you would expect this Texas front to be able to get some push. And it's one thing, you know, it's one thing to avoid some outside pressure and be able to step up and maneuver the pocket. But it's a whole different thing when that pressure is coming in your face, right? I think that's the goal of any defensive coordinator is to get some gut pressure and get the guy in the move a little bit, kind of

move him off that spot. And so I think we'll see that. As good as Washington's offensive line is, and they won the Joe Moore Award, deservedly so. It's a really good offensive line. They've done a great job with that group. But they're going to get home up the middle. I mean, you can't hold Byron Murphy and Tavondre Sweat and check the entire game. So I think the NFL folks will want to see that. So how do you evaluate a quarterback when he has that loaded of a receiving core? And I think we've talked about this with Alabama quarterbacks, with Ohio State quarterbacks of recent vintage, where their top three receivers are better than any of the other team's receivers, period. How do you adjust when you're evaluating for that? Well, usually with good receivers, you know, there's a lot of run after catch, you know, going back to that Alabama group with

Jalen Waddell and Judy and Ruggs and those guys. I mean, they do so much after the catch. So you obviously strip that away. And you really just focus on the anticipation and the decision making and the accuracy. And again, there's a lot of pitch and catch throws that from an NFL evaluator standpoint, you can just throw those reps out. I mean, they're not even I mean, you could look at an entire game and maybe only 15 percent of the throws are really evaluative. So you're just looking for when when there is a tape when there is a tape window, you know, in the ability to anticipate and put the ball on the mark. So you can't take that away from these guys, that they have good players to throw to. You can't ding them for that.

Well, and Pennix, it seems like the ball's just on the money every single time. That's the part that amazes me. Even against the best defenses he played, it was just right in there. Well, and it's down the field, and it's the trajectory of the ball and the catchable ball. And I saw that at the Manning camp a couple summers ago. I mean, you see these guys throw live. You can get a really good sense for who's throwing a catchable ball,

who's throwing a heavy ball. And that's what Mike does probably better than anyone in the class. I mean, this is a great class now. But Mike's quick strike ability to hit those plays down the field, I mean, that's his calling card, man. So if you're an NFL offense that really likes to push it vertically, I mean, this is your guy. His down-the-field accuracy is a lot better than a lot of guys' intermediate accuracy.

So let's talk about some of the guys that have committed to the senior bowl already that you guys have announced i before we started recording i mentioned one of them and uh this is this is one for the college football sickos this guy has been a star for a few years i was tory taylor the best player at iowa perhaps one of the best player well definitely one of the best players. Well, definitely one of the best players in the Big Ten. But this is a punter who is a weapon. And he's had to be, right? Yeah, exactly.

Someone that was at the – I was talking to a scout that was at the Iowa Senior Day, and they were saying when they introduced Torrey, he got a bigger ovation than anybody and he was and he was the and he was the punter um so yeah he's he's taken on a little bit of folk hero status uh which is cool i mean and he's an aussie right so he's an older guy he's an aussie uh we had steve wischnowski from the 49ers in the game like my my second or third year here at the senior bowl um i don't know what it is about these Aussie guys, man. Like they're great dudes.

They're cool guys. So we're excited to have them down here. People have – I've seen people comment online, like why would you even bring the Iowa punter? Like what more can he – what more does that kid have to show? Yeah, what can he show? But he's trying to get drafted in like the third round here instead of the usual punter spot.

Right. So, you know, it was a career achievement award you know he put in his miles got in he got in all the kicks but uh but no he'll have a great week down here we're excited to get him down those those specialist guys there's it's a good group i mean tory's won um but i think i think you know usually in a good year we have you know three or four of our guys drafted um and i think this year i think i think all four of the guys we brought to kick and punt will get drafted. Another guy I'm excited about because I'm watching him all season.

And I think the wider college football world woke up to Braden Fisk during the ACC championship game, watching him dominate for Florida State against Louisville. He's a Western Michigan transfer, defensive tackle. Probably not exactly what you're looking for from a measurable standpoint as a DT but then you get him on the field and he's an animal he is an animal uh I was actually talking with an NFL guy about him this morning um and about that you know Florida State defense and he was like man I think the best player on the whole defense is is the fisky kid and I said well there is a guy named Jared Burse, right? He's pretty good too.

But, but you know, you said Braden was at Western Michigan last year and he's, we're going to reunite him with one of his ex teammates, Marshawn Nealon from Western Michigan who almost went to Colorado and played for coach prime this fall. But, but no getting back to Braden Fisk. I mean, he is a, yeah, you want to pigeonhole him as like this, you know, undersized like white try try-hard, plugger, defensive tackle. The guy is super disruptive. He can really run. That's the thing. We've talked about maybe even playing him at some fallback here at the Senior Bowl.

What he is, it started to show up in that ACC Championship game. I think he had the three sacks. There was some paper production there, but going back over the course of the season, he's truly one of those guys that creates for people around him. Like he blows stuff up. He's super disruptive with his get off and then like creates this chaos and then guys clean up around him. You know, like again, usually you see a guy like him, you're like, oh, he's the cleanup guy. They're like, no, he's actually the guy that they're cleaning up after. So really a cool player. And I told him when we spoke that, you know, like, man, bring that same intensity to practice. Like we need tone setters during our game, during our game week to really, to keep practices, you know, really spirited. And he's

like, I got you. I got you, Jim. I'll, I'll make sure I do that. So we're excited to get him here for sure. So my favorite part of senior bowl practices when I watch them is the one-on-one pass protection drills. I'm looking at your edge rushers. You've got Adisa Isaac from Penn State, Darius Robinson from Missouri. And I know there's other ones on the way. McKinley Jackson from Texas A&M. And then the offensive tackle group like Christian Jones from Texas. Like what matchup are you most excited to see either, you know, on the interior or tackle versus edge guy? There are some great ones.

I would say, you know, Leatu Latu from UCLA right now. Oh, yeah. You know, he's being projected to be somewhere in that first round. You know, think about this. He could be on that Washington football team. You his greatest season as Washington has had he could be on that front opposite Draylon Trice right now but he had the neck injury and they they shut him down and UCLA cleared him and and he's been a stud he's he's really the most skilled rusher in this draft we talked about Dallas Turner in the athleticism. You know,

Latu's a little different. He's a very, very skilled guy. So to go against this group of tackles, whether it be Troy Furtano from Washington, Patrick Paul from Houston, just trying to go through that list, some really, really good tackles. Tyler Guyton from Oklahoma, I think he's going to blow everyone away. You know, I think there's a lot of Oluf Bishanu, Joe Altalk right now, and there should be. They're great players. But if you talk about ceilings of this year's tackle class, I think Tyler Guyton's got the highest ceiling. I mean, he does things on tape that even those two other guys don't do

athletically. So big week for him. That would be a great one, Latu and Tyler Guyton. We talked about Tyler Guyton on the show the other day. I was, I was telling everybody you're going to be hearing his name over and over and over again for the next four months. I just remember Gabe Eichert, who's a friend of mine. He played center at Oklahoma and works in the media in Oklahoma city,

Norman area. And he said the first words out of his mouth about Tyler Guyton, freak show. And like, was a tight end at TCU. Like, this guy is potentially one of the more athletic tackles we've seen in a long time. In a long, yeah, in a long time. And, again, his tape was super easy to do over the summer. I mean, that's the nice part about the Senior Bowl evaluation. Like, once you get to a point where like, Oh, they're good enough to good enough for us to invite.

You don't really have to keep going that, that far. Yeah. He just does things like a smaller man. I mean, his ability to play at the second level and get out in space. I mean, he runs, he moves, he slides like a smaller guy. And, and to me, you know, he's playing on the right side for Oklahoma and the guy. So he kind of reminded me athletically and right side players, Tyron Smith. Coming out of USC, Tyron's been kind of a multiple-time all-pro for the Dallas Cowboys. That's the kind of ceiling that Tyler Gatton has.

If it all clicks, and I think it's going to click, we're talking about a pro-ball, all-pro level player. I cannot wait to see it. Very excited. I know you're waiting to watch these games these next few days, Jim, and we'll get back together afterward and then see how everybody did and see, see who else is coming to the game. Cause I know there's some big names out there that you guys were waiting to reel in after bowl season.

Yeah, we're sitting on some big ones, Andy. We got some commitments then the guys don't want us to announce till after they get down to bowls, which totally respect, totally get. But Monday is going to be Monday is going to be dicey. It's a house divided here in Mobile. My wife is a Bama grad. So we you know, a lot of people have reached out like, hey, you guys want to watch the game. And I'm like, I am not going to be the only Michigan person in a house full of Bama fans like that. That is not happening. That's going to it's going to be my wife and our kids. And if Michigan, you know, loses or however that thing falls, we're not going to have any outside influences.

So congrats that you're out there. I mean, that should be an awesome setting for that game. I'm jealous. Enjoy it, man. And yeah, I look forward to talking in a couple of weeks. I cannot wait. I will text you some pictures pregame. Thank you so much, Jim. Love it. Thanks, Andy. That's Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Reese's Senior Bowl. He's going to be a very, very busy man because once these games end, you'll see some of the biggest names committing to the Senior Bowl. You will then see the practice week itself with the scouts and all of them descending on Mobile. We'll be there too. So we will get a good bird's eye view of all of those guys as they get ready,

and we'll talk to them as they are leaving college football. We'll do some college football exit interviews as well. But next up, we got to pick some of the biggest games. J.D. Piquel, my tag team partner at On3, going to join us to pick the New Year's Six games and the college football playoff games. But first, we're going to talk about PrizePix, the most fun daily fantasy app on the internet. Download the PrizePix app today. Use the code ANDY, and they will match your first deposit up to $100. Then you can just start having fun. So I just put down a PrizePix play on some of the New Year's Six games.

So you know how I feel about this. I like rooting for people. I don't like rooting against people. So on PrizePix, you pick your squares, and it could be college football, NFL, NBA. It'll be a player and then a statistical measure. So this player will score this many touchdowns. This player will score this many points. This player will grab this many rebounds.

And you pick at least two squares, and then you decide how much you want to put down. I am rooting for, not against, Quinshawn Judkins, the Ole Miss running back. They're playing Penn State in the Peach Bowl. 0.5 rushing touchdowns. I went more. Brady Cook, the Missouri quarterback, they're playing Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. 1.5 passing, rushing, or receiving in case there's a trick play. Touchdowns. I picked more. Devin Brown. Devin Brown is starting for the Buckeyes against Missouri. This feels like an audition where Devin Brown can say, hey, look, I know you're in the portal. I know you're looking at other quarterbacks. Kyle McCord's gone. I'm your guy. I'm your QB1 for 2024.

We saw this with Miller Moss in the USC Louisville Holiday Bowl. So Devin Brown's number is 224.5 passing yards. I said more. Let's let Devin Brown give it a shot. Let's let Devin Brown make his case for QB1. All kinds of fun can be had. I've got to play on the Alamo Bowl where I'm saying, I want this sucker to be a shootout.

It is the dawn of the Jackson Arnold era at Oklahoma. That game, as we are running this show, is about to kick off. So I got Jackson Arnold, more than his passing total. I got Noah Fafita, the Arizona quarterback, more than his passing total. We are going to have some fun, fun action on PrizePix all weekend because these games are going to be incredible, but they can be even more fun if you've got a few squares on PrizePix with them. So download the PrizePix app, use the code ANDY,

and they will match your first deposit up to $100. Now it is time for picks with J.D. Piquel. All right, we have picked all the other bowl games. We've used a coin. I think I beat the coin, but I think we both sucked in general. Our records were not great, but we also had Ralph Russo come on. As I'm watching Rutgers and Miami, we may have both missed this one because we both picked Rutgers, but we'll see how this goes. It's not over yet. We're working our way through all of the bowl games right now.

J.D. Piquel joins us. You know him. You love him. Host of the Hard Count every Tuesday and Thursday live, and also you see J.D. throughout the week here on the On3 YouTube channel. What's going on andy man glad to be on with you i know we got a lot to jump into i know you're out in beautiful sunny california i hope it's sunny for you i'm not sure if it's been that way but man glad to be on with you glad to

pick some bowl games uh the most wonderful time of the year where uh meaningless bowl games i don't know if that term exists in your lexicon but all these no they are all meaningful all you need to do is watch the winning team celebrate watch the coach get something dumped on his head whatever it is sometimes it's creative sometimes it's just you know desperation but it is uh it is always fun and yes it is sunny after a smoggy arrival it is a sunny day in southern california and i'm excited about this jd so we've got the new year's six bowls two of them seem very competitive and like we're going to get the versions of the teams that we saw all year one of them doesn't look like it's going to be anything like we saw all year and then one feels like a mismatch. But then we've also got those college football playoff games, and both of those seem pretty spectacular.

Yeah, it's going to be fun, man. A lot of big-time games to unpack here. Is there one to you that is the most intriguing matchup? Is there one here where you're just going back and forth with the coin and trying to get a gauge for it? I kind of feel that way about both the playoff games i don't i don't have a great read on either one of them and the the spreads are close for a reason they're both you know we've got a one and a half point spread and a four and a half point spread and

there's a good reason for that i i don't think anybody has a great idea of what's going to happen but you know if we if we're going into the uh into the new year six i'll start well we could we start with missouri and ohio state in the cotton bowl so ohio state's a three and a half point favorite and that number keeps changing this is a an interesting one where missouri is going to be basically intact and we talked to eli drinkwits last week about his his attitude toward guys in the portal. And basically they're allowed to play and they can practice. And as long as they're portaling and looking for a new school, doesn't interfere with the team. They're welcome to be

members of the team and play in this game. And it feels like it's a really big deal for them. Ohio state, Kyle McCord's gone. It's's a devin brown game like this feels really intriguing because if we're going to talk about who definitely cares about being there i think we know it's missouri yeah honestly andy we probably should have known that missouri was going to be a wagon this year when you sat down with eli drinkwits at sec media days he was rocking like the chrome nikes like for me i was like dang in hindsight i should have known they were going to be cooking this year uh i'm curious to see just like you said the want to factor for ohio state i tuned in pretty frequently to the letterman row youtube channel the ohio state on three youtube channel and i mean they're by nature of what they're

saying from the boots on the ground report like a lot of those guys are talking about coming back for another year in 2024 jack sawyer being one of them, JT Tui Maloau being one of them. And so I'm kind of wondering if they're thinking, yes, this year hasn't gone how we wanted it to, but this is a chance now for us to kind of springboard in 2024 with a guy in Devin Brown who, heck, if he goes out there and slings the pill around the yard pretty effectively to like three bills and a couple of touchdowns,

maybe there's a conversation for him to be the guy next year and all that portal noise dies down. So the intrigue factor is high, but I actually think we're going to get a pretty good version of Ohio State in this game. Yeah, I don't think we're going to see Marvin Harrison. I know that there's been no announcement or anything, but I'm just guessing that there's no Marvin Harrison in this game. But the Devin Brown factor is really interesting to me. And I think, you know, watching Miller Moss play for USC in the Holiday Bowl was a good example of there are guys who believe they are the guy and they just want their chance.

And once they get it, they're going to show out. And maybe Devin Brown's that guy. And the buzz all offseason between him and Kyle McCord was, hey, Devin Brown arguably makes more plays than Kyle McCord. The unfortunate reality is sometimes he makes more plays for your defense which is why Kyle McCord ended up being the steady hand they went with but no I think anytime you got a quarterback that wears number 33 got a little bit of boxy to you you know you got a little bit of that it factor to you if you're down to wear the number in the

30s and play quarterback much less be the guy at a place like Ohio State so I think just from a pure physical gifting standpoint I don't know that you lose anything without Kyle McCord on the field now the obvious question is do you have that same sound decision making is this moment going to be too big for a one Devin Brown because I look at this offense and I'm like even without Marvin Harrison Jr. Travian Henderson being in the ball game we'll see if Rebecca Agbuka is good to go, and if he ends up playing. It sounds like he will, Andy, if I'm not incorrect on that assumption. There's still some guys to throw the ball to. Cardell Tate, Cardell Tate's playing.

There's a lot of guys still to make some plays for you. Yeah, and that's what's interesting. The Marv factor is huge, though. We've seen games where Marv was the difference. At Penn State and Wisconsin, I think, were two games where Marv was the absolute difference in the game. Missouri's more talented than I. If you didn't watch Missouri in a lot of games this season, you might think,

okay, maybe they benefited from a favorable schedule. No, no, no. Missouri was good all year, and they're well put together. Brady Cook's been awesome at quarterback. Cody Schrader is the story of the year in college football. I mean, D2 Truman State transfer walked on and then they got a bunch of dudes on their defense. And again, they're basically intact. They don't have a lot of opt outs. That's the part that I would be scared of if I'm Ohio State, because this is a team,

like they've played Georgia as tough as anybody played Georgia till Alabama beat Georgia this is this is a good team and I'm I'm really excited to see this game and also more Harrison Mevis anytime Harrison Mevis is involved it's gonna get wacky the thicker kicker baby Anywhere you need it, he can get it for you. Yeah, he's must-see TV anytime he lines it up. But no, I mean, I think what you said just about Cody Schrader being a guy for them, like how was he ever playing D2 is my question. What kind of numbers did he put up individually? 7,000 yards a year in D2.

Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I mean, I think the other thing to look at here, too, for me, with what Missouri does defensively, like Andy, you know this this they're going to heat them up a little bit now like they're going to be true to who they have been all year long they got after Carson Beck pretty good when they played Georgia they will have that same flavor defensively and it's one thing to be able to handle that if you're Carson Beck you're playing at home you've seen a fair amount of different defenses throughout the year this is Devin Brown's first day out so how he handles that pressure from Missouri I think really will be the story in the game and will be the ultimate deciding factor on who wins this game

so the thing is if you're going to give me a Harrison Meeves field goal and half a point I think I'm going to take Missouri in this game yeah you know the the spread if it was at two and a half I'd feel a little bit better about going Ohio State. But even with that being said, I think Ohio State's ability to lean on Travian Henderson and then kind of that question mark, almost the mystery box of the playmaking factor for Devin Brown. I'm actually going to lean towards Ohio State to cover this one just barely, Andy.

And I think they probably land somewhere around a five or six point victory. But I'll take Ohio State to cover here one just barely, Andy. And I think they probably land somewhere around a five or six point victory. But I'll take Ohio State to cover here, actually. All right. This is going to be a fun one. Another fun one where it seems like both teams are very intact and very excited about what's to come. Ole Miss and Penn State in the Peach Bowl. You know, it feels like we're getting the versions of these teams

that we saw during the season. And Ole Miss, I mean i i think if you're just looking at what they're getting in the portal they're they're looking like okay this is our springboard to a very special 2024 they can finish it off with win number 11 and then penn state they're tired of everybody's oh but you never beat michigan or ohio Well, guess what? Next year doesn't matter. Like, this team can make the playoff regardless of how that goes, plus no more divisions in the Big Ten. So, I mean, Adisa Isaacs says he's going to play in this game for Penn State. Like, there's really good players in this game, and I'm excited about this one too.

Oh, this will be a lot of fun. And like you alluded to a little bit with Ole Miss, I don't know who wants to see them in a 10-team or in a 12-team playoff right now if they were to carry over their momentum from early in the regular season and the way they're playing. A curious thing for me in this one is how much Penn State asks of Drew Aller

because as good as he is and as talented as I think he is from a physical gifting standpoint, he's going to be good in Happy Valley for a long time. We've seen a couple instances where against better competition, they've taken away that run game from him. I think the Michigan game and the Ohio State game are the two that you point to, and it's been a little bit of a struggle. Now, is that on Drew Aller?

Is that on the receiving core not being able to separate consistently enough? Ole Miss, similar to what we said about Missouri, they're going to heat them up a little bit. Suntarine Perkins, a dude who's been just that, a dude for Ole Miss as a true freshman this year. I'm curious how much pressure they're able to apply and how much they ask of Drew Aller if you're Penn State and what they ask him to do throwing the football downfield

if that run game isn't there how they want it to be. That is the key question. And Ole Miss is pretty good up front. They will get after him and so I was at Drew Allers last game at the at Ford Field when they played Michigan State and I saw him against Michigan as well and in the games where he was not pressured man he will just pick you apart he did that to Michigan State he did it to Maryland. He really did it to Iowa, as good as Iowa was. But then when there's some athletes on the other side, especially that can lock up their receivers,

he doesn't pull the trigger as fast as they'd like him to. I think that's probably the biggest thing is guys are open. I remember the Michigan game, the crowd would gasp as somebody sprung open and he didn't throw it he clutched and it's like oh no what do we do now and that's the part i worry about because old miss you are dealing with quite a bit of speed defensively you're dealing with a decent front seven that will get after you so that's that's the part i worry about and But the Penn State rush defense, are they going to be able to slow down Quenshawn Judkins?

Yeah, they might be able to. My question to take it a step further is how much man coverage Penn State plays. We've seen Lane Kiffin in that offense with Jackson Dart. They're pretty content to scheme up a lot of those crossing patterns, a lot of those all coverage beaters, and just get it to their guys in space and let them cook. And we saw Marvin Harrison Jr. kind of take advantage of that same style of game when they came to Columbus to play them.

Now, the good news for the folks in Happy Valley, there is no Marvin Harrison Jr. anywhere else in the country, much less in this football game. So that's good news for you. But there is a Trey Harris. Yeah, hey, he can cook now a little bit. He's not Marvin Harrison Jr., but he can be a threat for you if they give him the ball in space.

So just how difficult that offense is to defend. I'm a little bit nervous right now in this game, Andy, if I'm Penn State. I am too. I am too. Penn State's a four-and-a-half point favorite. This is another one where I feel like if you give me points, I'm going to take them in this situation. And so give me Ole Miss plus the four and a half.

We're in lockstep here, Andy. I like Ole Miss to cover that four and a half. On our show, I picked Ole Miss outright. So we'll see if I beg on my face the day after this game. But I think Ole Miss covers, and I think Ole Miss actually wins this football game. I don't love the idea, especially if early, Ole Miss creates separation.

It's like a 10-point game, and Ole Miss is ahead. I don't love Penn State's ability to have to chase there, so I'll take Ole Miss to win and to cover. Now let's get weird. Let's go to South Florida. Georgia and Florida State, this line has moved from 14 points when it opened. Georgia is now favored by 19.5. There are 17 players on the Florida State 2-deep

who are not on the Florida state too deep for the ACC championship game. JD is a completely different team. Brock lens, the starter. You also have to be careful with Brock Glenn because there are no more scholarship quarterbacks. Basically like it is Jordan.

Travis is hurt. Tate Rodemaker is gone. Like it is a strange situation. The Florida State team, and I know people say, well, Florida State, they all should have played so they could prove the committee wrong. No, the committee told them their season didn't matter, so I don't blame any of the Florida State people

for doing what they did. I don't blame them one bit. I do feel bad for the guys who have to play, though, because they're playing against some really good players at georgia we don't know if they'll see georgia's biggest stars but the other problem is like guys who are trying to win starting jobs next year at georgia are really dangerous right now yeah no without question and i mean i was trying to find a world where florida state just wins this football game.

Forget the number. If Florida State just ends up winning this football game, and the key thing I kept coming back to. We saw USC do it to Louisville. We saw them with half a roster win a game. So it's not impossible. No, not impossible by any stretch of the imagination. But the big thing I kept coming back to was,

I think it would take just the most lackadaisical showing from Georgia and I think Kirby Smart even though it was several years ago I think he remembers the Sugar Bowl against Texas and hearing Sam Ellinger jump on the mic and say Texas was back I think he's still running off that fuel uh and with Carson Beck being the trigger man for you still in this game like I think it a, I don't see where the offense comes from for Florida state, even with Brock Glenn, you know, having a game of experience. Now it wasn't the game that provides a ton of confidence for me.

So yeah, this is a, this could not be a tremendous viewing pleasure in the second half of this one, in my opinion. Yeah. And it's, it's not going to be the defense we saw from Florida state and the ACC

championship game, because if that, like if that defense is completely intact, well, well one this number is not what it is but if that defense were completely intact florida state would cover this number easily because it just wouldn't be that high scoring a game but it's not and that's the part i don't know what to do with this because again vegas making sure there's there's action on both sides. This number is getting so big that I'm like, well, what if Georgia takes a lead and then empties the bench and Florida State scores a point? I still do think the guys who are playing for Florida State will be trying to prove a point,

and there are still some really good players playing for Florida State. It's such a big number. It's so hard to say I'm not going to take 19 and a half points. It's one of those things where I just feel like the depth of Georgia, like you said, even if they do clear the bench, let's say it's no Brock Bowers in the game at all, even to start this one. Let's say that they get there and 90 is not playing. Well,

then you got Oscar Delp. Well, you sub him out. Well, then you got lost and lucky and just, just down the line. Like I just, I don't see a world where Georgia takes their foot off the gas in terms of

what those guys are doing from an effort standpoint. I think Georgia covers Andy. I really do. Well, and that's again, what I said, what I was saying earlier about Georgia, even if there are backup players in,

these are played like the offensive line. There's a lot of jobs open next year because there's guys going to the NFL like they're fighting for their starting job next year. And so they're highly motivated. And that's that's what you're looking at is motivation. And the motivation is it feels more on the side of Georgia players who will be there in 2024 versus the the florida state players right now so yeah i'm as as much as it pains me to take a 19

and a half point favorite in an orange bowl i'm gonna have to take georgia here yeah true florida man kind of game with the way the spread is working florida man kind of bowl with uh with georgia florida state but no we're in lockstep here once again. Let us move to the desert. Liberty against Oregon. Now, SMU, very mad that they did not get the nod as the highest-ranked group five champ. But Liberty undefeated.

Jamie Chadwell's first season at Liberty. And this is an interesting one because I've wanted to see this offense against a team like this for a long time. I do think there's a talent gap, talent discrepancy, but this is an offense built to deal with the talent discrepancy. It is a triple option based spread passing attack,

if that makes any sense. But I personally can't wait to see it. I just don't know if Liberty has the dudes to hang with Oregon. Yeah, contrary to what the Ohio State social team said, this actually is the showdown in the desert, not the Cotton Bowl. But with that being said, I 100% agree with what you said about the defensive side. My concern is when it comes to Oregon and their ability to run the football I'm not concerned about Oregon I'm concerned about Liberty like you said that

talent gap and what happens on that line of scrimmage I don't know that if there becomes a situation where Oregon just wants to you know slow the game down and they decide they want to be the team that holds the ball not necessarily in Oregon's personality to that offensively but I think just the fact that they could do that makes me nervous about what Liberty would be able to do now if it becomes a shootout and all bets are off in that standpoint then you know we're going to have a really great view of this thing from a tv product standpoint but i just i think oregon's upfront ability is going to be too much well in the question of motivation liberty is certainly very motivated they they want to prove they belong in this situation they want to prove they belong on this situation. They want to prove they belong on this stage.

So they're going to come out hair on fire. It's really, you know, probably Oregon's going to need to withstand a pretty hard initial punch from Liberty. And, you know, Caden Salter is a guy who initially signed with Tennessee, wound up at Liberty after he was dismissed from Tennessee. He's had a great season. He's very good for that offense. His skill set works very well with that offense.

So we could see some fireworks early, I think, because Liberty will be very, very pumped to be there. The question is, does Oregon withstand that? And I'm with you. I think if Oregon wants to at a certain point, it can just run the ball, let that offensive line do its job and control everything uh obviously everybody want they want to send Bo Nix out on a good note he wants to put some more good film out there but I do think this will be a really good

really a test for Jamie Chadwell and his staff that you know part of their their knock when they were at Coastal Carolina was you've never had to recruit at the power five level you've all because all of them have kind of been together and they've gone from D2 to FCS to FBS and so if you were a fan of a school whose coach might be on the hot seat entering 2024 and you're thinking about Jamie Chadwell pay special attention to how he handles this game because his teams always seem prepared and they always seem to outplay what they're supposed to be we always have a game like this in new year's six obviously by nature of a group of five team playing in the new year's six but doesn't it feel like there's always that

game every you know two three years where a team like a liberty rolls in there and they're a massive underdog and they've got a little bit of a you know it factor to them with the way they run this offense you mentioned caden salter jamie chadwell his resume speaks for itself could kind of be a sneaky one now i'm not taking liberty to cover or to win this game uh but i do think that there's there's something to be said here for just what you mentioned at the top of this thing, the way that they attack offensively kind of mitigate some of that talent gap that they may not have on the offensive side of the football on the offensive line side. That is the way Liberty wins is that they jump, jump on them, score a couple of quick touchdowns. And then Oregon makes mistakes trying to come back and they turn the ball over.

That's how that's how that works. I don't see that happening because Oregon, I think, can just calm everything down. And like we're talking about. Just really keep it on the ground or keep it high percentage through the air. Let playmakers in space handle everything else. So I'm going to take Oregon to cover the 16 and a half but i again very excited to see the jamie chadwell offense on this stage because it's been one of my favorites to watch at the the group of five level i want to see it against this level of defense it's going to be fun i think the oregon want to factor is there by the way that they finish in the pack 12

title game uh by troy Troy Franklin being snubbed for just even being a Blitnikoff award finalist for for Bo Nix not one of the Heisman like I don't know if that necessarily is at the forefront of their mind but I do think the Washington game left a bad taste in their mouth I think they'll finish strong against Liberty all right let us get to the college football playoff we'll we'll with the game. I'm at JD, Alabama and Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Two classic brands in a classic setting. Beautiful environment. Coaches who are legendary at their schools.

Everything sets up for an incredible game. It's a one and a half point spread. It's basically a pick them. JD, I cannot wait for this thing. I am very excited to see Jalen Milrow versus JJ McCarthy. These are two quarterbacks that I think are very much in firm command of their teams, in firm command of the offense that they play in. That wasn't always the case for Jalen Miller, but it is now.

And this is going to be, I think, epic. Andy, that intro, man, had me ready to run down on kickoff. I mean, I'm ready to go bust a wedge right now, brother. If we had Keith Jackson calling this thing, rest in peace, Mr. Keith Jackson, that would be the last puzzle piece to making this just college football poetry in every single sense. But no, like you mentioned,

the matchup between quarterbacks here is really interesting. On prize picks, I took the more for both of these quarterbacks rush totals. JJ McCarthy was somewhere around 16 yards. Jalen Milrose somewhere in the 30s. I think they're both going to have a major factor in this game. For JJ McCarthy, I think you got to kind of be a change-up to that sledgehammer approach they've been all season in that run game

with Blake Corman, Donovan Edwards. Also, we've seen Alabama have a little bit of issue against that design quarterback run, whether it be Jaden Daniels, whether it be Peyton Thorne. We've seen them get got a couple times. And then for Jay LaMora, with him running the football, I think you've got to kind of dance with the one that brung you. And we've seen when they are at their best,

they are calling design quarterback runs. Andy, we sat side by side in Atlanta watching that Georgia defense not have issues diagnosing the quarterback run game, but have issues stopping those elephants on parade. So I think that ends up kind of being one of the key factors in this one for Alabama and for Michigan. Oh, doctor, I hadn't been this excited for a game since I was knee high to a doodle bug yes that was uh that was a bad Keith Jackson

combined combined with the Keith Jackson from the Simpsons so uh which might have been actual Keith Jackson I don't know if they had Hank Azaria impersonating him. But this one, you mentioned J.J. McCarthy. He looked limited running the ball at the end of the season. He may have been hurt. He's had a month to recover. If there was an issue there, it may not be an issue anymore. And I do think that does open things up in terms of what he can do running the ball. I'm most worried about Michigan's offensive line protecting him in the

past game. We saw them basically abandoned the past game against Penn state because they felt like they couldn't protect him. That part scares me because if that happens against Alabama, you're done. Like you ain't running the ball 20 times in a row against the Crimson tie. That's not going to work. So he's going to need to be mobile. And then Alabama's offensive line has got to figure out how to stop Michigan's D-line that's not the easiest thing in the world either so I do think it's going to come down to whatever defense can affect the other quarterback more and so right now if I had to just pick based on that because I do think that'll be the determining factor I'm going to take Alabama to win this game no I mean I think the the way you put that is exactly the way that I'm thinking about it as well the the way that Michigan wins this game is a pretty narrow path and that is

staying ahead of the stakes running for right around four yards to carry and not having negative plays just like you mentioned against Alabama with how hot that defense has been and the way that they really, for the most part, kept Georgia at bay running the football. I don't know that Michigan is a tougher task than what Georgia brought to the table. If Michigan's going to win, they got to have answers outside of the run game. I don't know that they do by nature of the pass catchers. I love me some Colston Loveland. I love me some Roman Wilson. I don't know if I love them to win one-on-one against those Alabama defenders in the secondary. I think Alabama, if kind of what we said in a previous bowl game talking about the Penn State Ole Miss matchup, I think Alabama, if they can get some leverage on Michigan, I don't like Michigan to chase them. So for the exact same

reason, I'm going to take Alabama to win this football game and obviously have them covering that plus one and a half. All right, let's go to the big easy and figure out who else is going to play for the national title Texas and Washington in the sugar bowl and I got to tell you JD I have no read on this game at all in terms of who I think is going to win I I'm just being honest with you here I'm so excited for, I'm so excited for it. I'm so excited for Michael Penix and those receivers against a really good Texas secondary with a, you know, the Texas defensive line, we talked about them all season. We've not talked as much about the secondary, but those guys are deep and they can cover and they can make plays.

And if they can, you know, pick off Penix once or twice different game but i think we we also you know braylon trice ztf washington can get after your quarterback too and we haven't seen any disastrous quinn ewers game yet this season we saw a couple of them in in 2022 they could create one of the like that's what i'm more worried about. Like an off game for Pennix is not great. An off game for Ewers, you're losing. Yeah. I mean, either way, like you said, for both these quarterbacks, like it's going to be more shots than Bourbon Street offensively downfield. Like you got NFL wide receivers, two NFL quarterbacks.

It's going to be a high scoring affair from where I'm sitting. I think when I try to break this game down, I break it down through the lens of when I played the NCAA 14 video game. And I know you're an NCAA guy as well, Andy. It's going to be so many points scored. It's going to be trade and drives. It's going to be who has more bullets. And whenever I played that kind of game with my buddy,

it came down to two things. One, who gets that key turnover? And I think I lean towards Texas in that scenario and then two who can downshift the best and just kind of make it ugly in the fourth quarter and run the football and kind of play keep away I think both those things favor Texas Texas that's who they are offensively you know up front they run for right around 200 yards a game then the depth they have in the backfield whether it's Jaden Blue, whether it's CJ Baxter, Keelan Robinson, I think they have some different sets of tires they can rotate through there.

So for that reason, I could see a game where Roma Dunzey just says, hey, I'm him today, I'm taking over, and that's the way that Washington wins. But going back to what we said about our previous playoff game as well, I think there's more ways, more styles Texas can play in this game to end up finding a way. Yeah, And Texas having such a diversity of skill talent, A.D. Mitchell, J.T. Sanders. I think C.J. Baxter's very good as a freshman running back. A lot of ways to beat you. That said, what you just described, you talk about a team that can muck it up, that can run out the clock or run you know run the ball to victory in the fourth quarter is that not what Washington did to Oregon in the past yeah like

no it absolutely is I think that was one of the first things that I said to you when we got to Atlanta because Oregon had just played Washington I was like Andy I did not see a world where Washington's offensive line did what they did to Oregon the night before and so I mean I could sit here yet again for another time this season and say, hey, I was wrong about Washington, and that would be, I mean, par for the course for what this season has been with me picking the Huskies. Also, I think they're like kind of the Alex Honnold of this entire college football playoff.

Like, they don't flinch when they're up there on the cliff. They don't feel that pressure free soloing in a one-score game. They're 7-0 in one-score games. And so, the way that they were kind of't feel that pressure free solo and in a one score game they're seven or no and one score games and so the way that they you know we're kind of immune to that pressure that could also be a thing that favors Washington and kind of could be a path for them to victory as well so I think the depth of Texas still makes me lean towards the Longhorns in this one with what they have in that backfield but if it's the same kind of game style they had in that first half against Oregon like you might be seeing purple for the second year in the college football national title. I think for those reasons you just said,

I'm taking Washington here. I'm getting points against the spread. So even if Texas wins, as long as it's close, I'm good. But I think Washington can win this thing straight up. I think Washington can make the national title game. So give me the Huskies, and I appreciate the four and a half points. There we go.

I'll take Washington to cover, so I'll really sit on the fence here. I'll take Washington to cover right around a field goal game, but I will take Texas to outright win and maybe get a little rematch in the national title between Bama and Texas, which I wouldn't be a fan of, but if we get it, we get it. And regardless, any four of these teams, I think, for the first time in a long time, has a real shot to take home the hardware.

Absolutely. This is the first time in the 14 playoff era, which ends after this. But the first time I felt like all four teams had a chance to win the national title, and I am very excited about that, and I hope everybody else is too. We will be with you all weekend. We've got a show on Saturday coming off the media days for the Rose and Sugar Bowl,

so we'll have plenty of stuff there. And obviously on Sunday we will break it all down and get you ready for the college football playoff, and we'll talk about all these other games that will have happened. We'll know if JD was right or if I was right, or if we were both right with these games, but it is the best weekend of the year. This is going to be so much fun. JD talk to you soon.

Thanks for having me. you