Andy & Ari On3 - Can Notre Dame go DEEP in the College Football Playoff? | Dabo Swinney TAKES A TRANSFER!

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

You’ve had Wendy’s Nuggs dipped in sauce. But have you had them covered in sauce? Wendy’s New Saucy Nuggs take the Crispy and Spicy Nuggs you love and turn them up to 11.Choose between flavors like Buffalo. Honey BBQ. Garlic Parm. Or, if you’re a real heat seeker, try Spicy Ghost Pepper, only on Wendy’s signature Spicy Nuggs.  This show is brought to you by Panini America, makers of the most collectible sports cards on the planet. The Luminance football card series features NIL autographed cards from players including Arch Manning, Quinn Ewers, Cam Ward, Jalen Milroe, Dylan Raiola, DJ Lagway, and Luther Burden. To start collecting, visit PaniniAmerica.net. Axia Time is the offical timepiece for both the College Football Playoff and the Heisman trophy and probably the best kept secret in college football.   Their timepieces are heirloom quality and among the coolest designs in the college space. Axia Time has created a series of limited-edition timepieces for all 12 teams in the college football playoff.  each design is limited to only 100 pieces. Check out your team’s cfp designs at axiatime.com, but you better act fast because they will sell out.  This show is also sponsored by PrizePicks, America’s most fun daily fantasy game. Use the code STAPLES to play $5 and get $50 instantly. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/STAPLES(0:00-1:33) PaniniAmerica.net(1:34-2:54) Intro: Filling out the bracket(2:55-28:48) Dissecting Andy & Ari's brackets(28:49-32:40) Ari's Instagram Comment; Who Can Win it All?(32:41-35:02) AxiaTime.com(35:03-44:05) Dabo is Portaling!(44:06-46:46) Notre Dame Tattoo, Reality TV(46:47-47:51) PrizePicks(47:52-55:57) James Franklin Discusses Beau Pribula in the portal(55:58-57:50) Marshall Opts out of Independence Bowl vs Army(57:51-1:01:45) Conclusion: Dave Clawson Steps Down as Wake Forest Head Coach   Ari and Andy have filled out their entire brackets, and they’ll reveal them on today’s show.   Ari has Notre Dame going a long way, and the guys discuss the contract extension for Marcus Freeman and what it means. The conversation about QB Beau Pribula’s decision to leave Penn State’s team before the first-round game against SMU continues with comments from Penn State coach James Franklin, who blames the system for the situation.   We also got confirmation Monday that current Penn State QB1 plans to return to the Nittany Lions for next season. Plus, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney took a transfer! Watch us on YouTube LIVE: https://youtube.com/live/ximBeQ8AifU Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River Bailey

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Dylan Raiola DJ Lagway and Luther Burden to start collecting visit Panini America net or just visit Ari's house. What you what you got you got a new hall. Yeah, I just got the big shipment back yesterday from the graders. Here's a Jared Goff rookie camo out of Panini Prism. The 2024 Panini Prism just came out. Pretty fired up about that and hoping the Panini Santa will deliver some of those. I have Janis rookie card autograph,

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I'll show them off as we as we get going. But yeah, it's my favorite thing to do. Beautiful. Visit PaniniAmerica.net to start your collection today. And now we start the show. Welcome to Andy and Ari on three. Ari is changing his bike now. But this is going to be a fun one today. to Andy and Ari on three Ari is changing his bike now. But this is going to be a fun one today because I realize you're I think you're still on the wrong mic.

I'm not on the wrong mic. Oh, there we go. You just weren't looking into it. I'm good. OK. All right. So I realize we made a rookie mistake last week because we're all rookies when it comes to the 12 team college football playoff and. I think. JD Piquel showed us the way so JD put out a graphic and he did this on his he broke it down in his show. The hard count last week and if you're not watching the hard count, that's 11 AM Eastern Time Tuesday time Tuesday Wednesday Thursday right here on the on three sports YouTube channel so JD filled out a bracket like his whole bracket and just and just said here's here's what's going to happen here's what

this is this is like standard procedure for the Monday after selection Sunday like you and I already will do this in March on the Monday after selection. So because that's what everybody does. But why didn't we do it? We're such rookies. We didn't even think let's just fill out the freaking bracket. So we're going to do that today. We've got your bracket and we got my bracket and your brandy. We didn't want to undermine the pick show that we did either. That's true. That's true. But our brackets are faithful to the pick show. That's right. We're not, you know, we're not lacking

in integrity here. We're not gonna be like, we're picking, I'm picking this team. Oh wait, no, tomorrow they lost. But if you put the graphic out, the people who are listening know you're gonna pick. So, but I guess points breads are different Andy I know you did this after I did it I did it first I don't know what your experience was mine was all these teams stink in my head like as I was doing it and and it's like feel that way and when I say they stink it doesn't mean that they're not good this year it means that they stink in comparison to what I used to be picking for the national champion. But, and maybe like the last 15 years, it was like there were teams, there

were two or three teams in a season that was just like, they don't have weaknesses. Right? Like this year, if you go down the bracket from one to 12, every single one of these teams has an overt weakness that can cost them a game. So like, as you know, and the thing that is interesting to me is like I'm like the mayor of Austin today, right? Like everybody's fired up about this pick. Oh, yeah I was watching Texas Georgia with you like two weeks ago thinking there's no way this team's gonna win the national championship, right? And then you get to doing the bracket and they keep playing

teams that you think are have their own general weaknesses that Texas can overcome if they figure something out offensively. And like I just I found it to be incredibly difficult. I feel like if we did a 12 team bracket simulation like from 2019 everybody would have gotten the finals correct, right? Like, and like this year, there are 30 different variations of what you could choose for your national title game. And it makes sense, right?

Like, I don't know. I mean, you could have had Penn State in the national title game from this bracket, Penn State, speedo name. Like it's hard. So like, for me, Clemson is a good matchup for Texas in the first round. And I think that Arizona State, though having a wonderful year probably is not as good as Texas. So like they have a pretty easy

path to put them into the semi finals, right? Then you get to Oregon. An organ are we sure we're confident that that team is going to go 15 and oh like it's not that they're not an amazing team or that they're not the who should be considered to be the 16 and oh there we go 16 and oh, but like at a certain point everybody trips up or has a bad game or is challenged in a way that they haven't been challenged. And if I'm wrong about Oregon and they go 16 and oh, that's fine. But like this is more of like a spot play for me. It's like, well, Texas is talented. They could probably run the ball pretty well. Oregon gave up a bunch of yards to Penn State over the weekend. So

that to me signal that they're susceptible to giving up some points in the playoff. Texas's defense is nasty. Like Texas could beat Oregon in my head, right. And then you put Oregon in the championship game and they're facing Notre Dame. It's like all of a sudden they're the national champion debate. And like, it was like a bizarre exercise. Now, if I had to go like bet a bunch of money on this, I don't know that I would feel confident in it because I feel like if you go through the variations, like a Tennessee beat Ohio state in the first round, that would not be surprising.

If Ohio state beat Oregon in the second round, that would not be surprising. If Ohio State beat Oregon in the second round, that would not be surprising. If Georgia beat Notre Dame, that would not be, like there's a lot of toss-ups on the way here. And I almost feel like it's some, the reason why I think we made a rookie mistake about the bracket and begin with is because in college basketball,

the randomness and the intrigue of that is why people are so interested in doing them. And football, it's like, oh, well, there's only 12 teams and we know who the ones are probably going to play for the chain. And that's not true this year at all. No. So I haven't looked at yours yet. I don't know if on three is tweeted yours out yet, but like, I don't think so. Curious to see.

I got a lot of text messages from people saying that I had very similar brackets to them. Um, but like, I don't know. Like I'm telling you as listeners here and you Andy right now that like, that's the best I could do. And I don't know if like Texas gets dropped in the second round cause they can't score like that's on the table, right? Oh, it's certainly on the table. Every, okay. Here's the thing. And the, the never expand the playoff, go back to the BCS. People don't want to hear this because they think this is stupid, but this is actually

what makes it entertaining. Somebody has to win the national title. Like, right. Somebody's going to win this. And I realize that sounds stupid, but there's no obvious team that's going to win this. Like I can shoot holes in any team you want. Like we look at my bracket, I can shoot holes in any team you want like you. We look at my bracket. I can shoot holes in my own bracket like it is.

Pretty impossible is trying to figure out where the upsets are going to be like that's the thing too Andy because in basketball there are always upsets correct, but this is a very different sport right upsets are built. I think it's is it fair to say just as a blanket statement that upsetting a team in basketball is easier than upsetting a team in football? Like, is that just fair? It's absolutely fair.

That's a fact, right? Okay. Because one player can get super hot, change the course of the game. Yeah, somebody gets nine threes, next thing you know, like you're in the game in the fourth quarter, like, and it's not as physical.

Like the thing about football is, is that if you have good players, they might not be as good in the fourth quarter as they are in the fourth quarter, like, and it's not as physical. Like the thing about football is, is that if you have good players, they might not be as good in the fourth quarter as they are in the first, because they don't have depth or, you know, they get tired. I mean, things change. So like for you, like your bracket to me is probably one that's like,

no one's gonna get upset about that. Like if you think of Georgia in Oregon. My final's chalk, my finals chalk, but I think picking, we'll, we'll go through each of our brackets. Let's put Ari's back up. Cause I, I think Ari's is the one that, that is going to intrigue some people just because of who

he's got in the final. So you went pretty chalky in the first round. So you, you have, you have Ohio State beating Tennessee. You have Texas beating Clemson. You have Penn State beating SMU and you have Notre Dame. Being Indiana, mind you all four of those teams are multi score favorites, correct, correct? Yeah, so that's not like it's not like I'm like that to me is like that was the easiest part. It's like OK, just because it's like even like Tennessee. I think it beat Ohio State.'m, like that to me is like the, that was the easiest part. It's like, okay, just cause it's like even like Tennessee,

I think it'd be at Ohio state. I think like we haven't even talked about this, but which team do you think is most likely to lose? Which higher seed is most likely to lose in the first round? I think everybody just blankedly agrees it's Ohio state, right? Yes. Yeah.

And that would feel the least like an upset. Like that feels like the most even matchups two teams playing well. Yeah Or two teams playing good football and one's gonna win So that was easy like for me getting through the first round was simple and like and this is how it gets trickier in football than basketball because once you get to the second round Then you just have a bunch of good teams playing good teams, right? Like then, like, and I think, like, in the center of my bracket, like Texas and Penn State are playing Arizona State and Boise, but like Boise played Oregon down to

a point. Like, that should be a pretty good game, and it's not on someone's home field. So again, the only upset that I have in the second round, like, when you think about chalk is Notre Dame beating Georgia, and I can't imagine that that spread's gonna be any more than four points, right? Well, and let's talk about that, because I do think, and that's why I made the headline, Can Notre Dame Go Deep in the College Football Playoff?

Because I think people are gonna look at your bracket and be very shocked to see you have Notre Dame going to the final. It does not shock me at all. I told you on the show on Monday, like I've been telling people in my personal life, I think that Notre Dame at 14 to one to win the national championship

is the tastiest price of all teams. Because I think that like you're basically getting 14 to one. And if they get through Georgia, like they're the favorite to do it like you're like and like them beating Georgia straight up would be three to one so like at 14 to one I know they've got to go through Indiana and potentially Penn State there at the end but like you were gonna have a tremendous hedge opportunity in the finals if they just beat Georgia so at

14 to 1 to me like that's the best bet in the entire thing but whenever I tell people that they go both Notre Notre Dame, Oh God, they haven't won a big game since 1995 and you know, they had, they suck and they lost to NIU and all the things that you hear. And it's like, guys, what did I say on the first show that Andy and I did together again in your house on August 31st. Midnight September 1 that it was a name is going to go undefeated and make the playoff like they didn't go undefeated.

But even after they lost to NIU I stayed steadfast in my support of the team because like I have eyeballs and they're actually really good this year, right? Like you can't just go. Oh, like that's the one thing I can't stand about like college football discourse to and like I guess it's just like fan fodder because you like to hold, Shaden Freud over people's heads. But there's so much analysis that is done about who's going to win and

lose a football game based on what happened five years ago. And it's like, especially now, when teams are completely different than they were even 12 months earlier, why are we doing that? It makes like what happened to Notre Dame against Alabama in the national championship. What has happened to Notre Dame at any other point like as of no consequence to me in the thinking they have a nasty defense at Georgia struggles to score like it's not that hard.

Well, here's proof of Ari's steadfastness regarding the Irish go back to 48 hours ago and I would do whatever I could to have my job at on three starts soon so I could scream from the mountaintops what I've been feeling in my loins for the entire summer. I've been talking to Pete Sampson on my old podcast. Notre Dame is going undefeated this year. That's my official prediction and it does not hit the same after they go into College Station and win the way that they did.

But I want you guys to know what I mean, the scouts honor. That's what I felt coming into the year. I think they've got a very good defense. Um, they're very physical. Their quarterback needs to stay healthy. They might have some options, uh, between Bo Collins and, and Chris Mitchell and guys like that on this team to finally have some offensive explosiveness on the outside.

Um, their schedule stinks. Like they are in a position right now where if I had to draw it up and what I would guess if I was doing the bracketology thing, five seed. Whoa, five seed. Close. They actually were number five in the ranking. Yeah.

I didn't see the NIU thing coming. By the way, I don't know if it was the lighting there, but I need to get some NIU thing coming. By the way, I don't know if it was the lighting there, but like I need to get some sun like that. I was like, I was like, I was sexy. Well, I think that was the lighting. We, you know, we're not, I'm not designed for a two shot here. I'm not, I'm designed for one shot.

So look at that. You see what I just did? Oh, I, oh, look at that. Yeah. You switched it to a warm light, but now I look like less pale. There you go. Yeah. So like, I actually just think they're really good. And I am a Georgia doubter

and I know Georgia fans get really upset. Well Georgia fans get upset when you think they might lose a football game. Like they're just personally insulted by that. That's fair, they've won so much and they're amazing and Kirby Smart's the best coach in college football. They're deep, they're talented, they're physical, they're fast, they're freaky, like I get it.

Like a Georgia fan doesn't have to explain to me why Georgia is going to win the national title, but like I do watch Georgia play and I have all season and I see the same overt weaknesses and have since the beginning of the year that you guys complain about on your message board. I'm just not allowed to do it because I didn't go to Georgia. Right? Like, is that how it works? But like they didn't go to Georgia either.

So don't worry about it. Yeah, but like here's the thing They are susceptible to losing so picking them to lose whether you're right or wrong is a rational and fair thought process So I I think Notre Dame might be the toughest Game they would have until the final If that's what it comes to, I mean, I don't think that's a Notre Dame's a tough matchup for them because Notre Dame is really

good on both lines of scrimmage. George is really good on both lines of scrimmage. It be I think the games would be similar to the two Texas games, which the first Texas game Georgia crews because they they force a lot of turnovers I don't know that Notre Dame's offense is going to make as many mistakes as Texas is offense made.

So I think that would be a tough game. Now I have Georgia beating Notre Dame. In the quarters in my bracket, but I understand exactly where you're coming from. Like I see where that's a tricky spot for Georgia. Yeah, and like listen to like I also watch the games guys and I know Notre Dame didn't play the top of schedule, right? I get it so if we if we find out that

Notre Dame looked awesome is you know the way that they did all year because it was just a product of not being tested and Then the one time they're tested they just get their doors blown off then I'll have to live with that But like I'm just assessing the players in the way that they look and I'm just trying to be reasonable But also not just blanketly picking All top seeds to just do it. You know what I mean? Like it's you've got to find it's not just going to go exactly the way that everybody thinks it's going to go So you have to also try to be creative and like I do feel like if noterdame gets past georgia They will make the title game like that's

Like that to me is it's like a one well well and if you look at the rest of that bracket That's there's a reason for that that they'd be favor over pretty much everybody else. I well I don't know if they'd be favored over Penn State I think that would be a bit of a coin flip, but you know what I realized about myself while doing this Andy Hmm. I realized that my hatred for the 12 team playoff field was rooted in a place where it's pointless Because that world doesn't exist anymore Because but now that that like now that I'm looking at this bracket and like you're like, you know when the Games come it's gonna be awesome. I never doubted that it's gonna be awesome

But like I did not think that we I know more football is good There's no such thing as more football not being good. But I understand you were worried about there would be some teams just so super stacked. Yeah, that this is stupid. Yeah. And this isn't this is this is amazing. Like I have no like honestly, let's go down the list. You know how we play that game of like who could win the national title? Yeah, down the list of one through 12 of teams that you can and can't win at all. Yep. Okay, let's go Okay, let's just start with number one

Oregon can actually win a national title. Yep, you Georgia obviously yes, right? What about and now let's let's acknowledge the quarterback situation We don't think Carson Beck. It doesn't sound like Carson Beck's gonna play but Gunnar Stockton came in and looked fine Against Texas against one of the best defenses in the country. I'm not as I'm not as worried about that replacement situation as maybe I should be. I don't know. But Georgia, I think, can win the national title. In fact, that's who I have winning the national title. Yeah. And I also think it's certainly on the table that like Gunner Stockton comes in

plays awesome. And then like we just know who their quarterback is now. You know what I mean? Also like that's he was also a blue chip prospect like it's not it's not like he's nobody. And he didn't crap his pants in a very high leverage moment so I think that that means something and having a month to prepare basically to for your next game I think puts you in a position and also Georgia malls you right like that's how they win their game. They don't win their games by scoring 60 points they they do it by beating the crap out of you until your will is broken So like that that still exists. All right boys. He's boy date. I don't think they can win the national title

I don't because because I think I do think they can win a game and get to the semis and maybe win two games, but The problem with Boise State is there's one guy who's just transcendent really good and if you can limit him then you've guy who's just transcendent really good. And if you can limit him, then you've got a you've got a really good chance of winning that game and so. Mountain West team selling out to stop Ashton Gentile will not look like Penn State selling out to stop Ashton Gentile or Texas selling out to stop Ashton Gentile or Georgia selling out to stop as you've seen teams.

Not stop him, Nobody stopped him. And I don't think stopping him is the goal, but not let... We've seen teams bottle him up enough to not let him kill them. Right. And like they're not as good as... It's like let Michael Jordan score his 25 and hope Scottie Pippen doesn't kill you. Yeah. You're not going to hold Michael Jordan to eight points, but you don't want him to score 60, right?

Like that's that's the that's the game we're playing here. But yeah, okay All right, so for Arizona State, I still would probably say no to them. I would say no. I don't I don't think they can win three in a row three in a rows a lot and three in a row against what could be Texas Oregon and Georgia's like a way way. We're making the argument to see this thing straight again, because we're about to go on a run of teams that we think win that. Yes, right. So number six Penn State. Yes, I don't know. Yes, we can make it. Yeah, I

think they can. We just saw them against Oregon, which everybody agrees is the best team in the country and they played a one score or one possession game. And their offense looked dynamic for once. There's a path. Yeah, and the path is they have a great defense. Yeah, you can't just say no, I guess I would have just said blankantly no before the Oregon game, but the Oregon game changed the way I view them a little bit. Yep. Okay, so then we would go to five, which is Texas because we skipped them. Oh yeah, sorry.

Texas, yes, they can win the national title. You have them winning the national title. No argument here. Seven, Notre Dame, obviously I have them in the title game, so I would say yes for them. He agreed. I think great on both lines of scrimmage. Quarterback has come in. I think a lot of Notre Dame getting better as the season went on is Riley Leonard getting healthy, getting comfortable and like people forget Riley Leonard was

injured when he got to Notre Dame in the in the winter and spring. He couldn't really do everything. It took a while. And I think now you're finally seeing what he can do. So I think I, I think Notre Dame might be getting a little underestimated, not by you, but by a lot of other people for that particular reason. He's more dynamic than people realize.

Next one on the list. Where are we at? We with the other name. So eight is Ohio State. Ohio State can absolutely win the national title. Tennessee, I think they could at nine. Tennessee can too. Yep. What about Indiana at ten? I don't think so. I don't think they can win four in a row. Yeah, I don't think so. I don't think they can win four in a row. Yeah, I don't think so either

Okay, and then we have Clemson at 12 and I don't know you at 11 SMU at 11 So I and I think the answer would be no to me on both of those Yeah, I don't I don't see any of the either of those winning four in a row Yeah, I think we got to eight out of 12 cam That's pretty good and like if you would have asked me before the 12th team playoff started, how many teams can win the national championship? My answer never would have been more than four because that's the way it used to be set up. So if you're

going to get to a point where it's eight out of 12, I think that probably is more of an indication that that's what the bracket should be. Like that to me, it's like it should like the only teams that I think should be playing our teams that proved to the season that they can do it. That'd be a nice clean three round playoff. It'd be, it'd be fun. Um, and then like also too, you don't have to waste your time pretending, but at the same time too, it's like, what if SMU wins three in a row? And it's just like things in sports happen all the time that you don't expect.

So like, I guess just like because we said, no, you can't just like blankly say, uh, you know, they shouldn't just like blankly say, uh, you know, they shouldn't be in the playoff. So producer river points out that everybody we said can win the national title. It's the big 10 teams, the sec teams and Notre Dame. I will push back on that, that idea that, that it's just like, if Clemson had been better, had played better this season, we would, yeah, we would be looking at them as a team that probably Miami was, was in.

Yeah. It's not like, it's not impossible for an ACC or big 12 team to be in that, to be part of that list. Yeah. And like the interesting thing is, is that like, they just have the most teams in. So there's easy, there's more options to like, adjust the way it is. So, yeah. most teams in so there's easy there's more options to like adjust the way it is so yeah also can can we go to my the the one on mine that's that people are going to notice so i have

Boise State beating Penn State in the second round there's going to be a game like this that was my thing is like in the first two rounds there's going to be at least one game that where we go why there's going to be at least one game that where we go. Why? That's the one I picked. Like I can see Ashton Gentry going crazy against the first team he plays and Maddox, Madsen having a really good game and Boise State's defense is solid. We don't know what Penn State's offense is going to look like necessarily. If it looks like it did against Oregon, it doesn't matter.

They're going to win Penn State to win. But if it looks like it did a lot of the rest of the season boys you states got a shot in this game Like how are we gonna respond to that first reel and and remember? That's not a seed upset because boys you stated the higher seated team, but it will be a Vegas upset if that happens Yeah, um, I Look at your bracket and like I just be like like that's that could totally happen like all of it. You know what I mean? Like that's the thing that's interesting about Oregon. Texas is the one I want to see like the Oregon Texas. Semi final game sounds like fire. I would love that. Yeah. Yeah, um.

Yeah, I would, and I kind of wish that Texas didn't have its entire running back room decimated before the season started, because then they would probably be. I think their offense would be better. I mean, their their running backs have done. I think a more than serviceable job this year, but if they had a home run hitter like

I think they have Bijon back there or something like could you imagine how much different this team could be offensively? But also too like I didn't say this when I was talking about my bracket but like I also feel like there's a chance that like Arch Manning could come in and completely unlock something with them you've mentioned something like that before I mean like yeah but you're right you're right that changes the the math on it because we're basing this on a Texas offense that has been somewhat inconsistent that has made some pretty critical mistakes at times. If that were to change

that offense and that defense together, suddenly you've got a different animal. Yeah, um, I just think like a matching up an explosive offense with that defense like I don't know Like I see a lot of comments here any of like yeah, Notre Dame's not beating George It's like, okay Well when it's a two-point spread go bet your mortgage payment on it then since you're so sure like you know what I mean Like it's going to be a close game. So Yeah, but this was fun. I don't know like. I don't know how

much other how many other directions we could have gone with it other than what we and you did. Right? Like there's anybody we could have gone middle of it that could make a crazy. I guess like here. Here's here's one. Ohio State just runs through the bracket. Like, and I know everybody's gonna pile on me for saying it cause I'm predicting Tennessee to beat Ohio State in my bracket, by the way. I think that game is pretty much a toss-up. But there's also a world where Ohio State,

which has probably the best roster player for player, just runs through the thing. It's possible. Ohio State would have to be the team they were supposed to be, and I just don't have faith that they can do that if they're not going to do it by now if they haven't done it

by now then why why would you think they could do it now right like I don't know. Yeah, I don't I don't think so, but also telling 22 Ohio State verse Georgia shows up though in the national title I just don't think they have that in them and they also and the difference between this team and that team was that this seems Offensive line stinks right now. And if you have a if you write bad offensive line, that's why I had them That's why I have them out early because they have to play a good defensive line right off the bat like yeah

They're gonna eat defensive line right away. Yeah, so if they get past this one They also have to play a great defensive line right away. Yeah. So if they get past this one, they also have to play a great defensive line next week. So it is tough, but this is fun. This is fun. And so we have a poll in the chat and I think the last time River checked, 56% said I had the better bracket, 44% said you did,

but that's, I mean, it's polling basically 50-50. And that's great. Cause the fact that we can't figure this out, we can't have an obvious, this is who's going to win the national title or these two teams are definitely gonna play for the national title, is the whole point of this thing.

Yep. And you know. It just I think that poll would also reflect how many fans are in the chat that route for a team that we had go for far you know what I mean? But like I also think too that like. Both are plausible. There's nothing in my bracket that

you couldn't talk me off of or that I think Ohio State, the Ohio State fans now are not, when I just said Ohio State could run through this thing, I bet the people who are kind of harrumping the loudest about that are the Ohio State fans, because they're a little down. Yeah.

But watch if they beat Tennessee. Those people are coming back with a vengeance. They're like, all right, we're back. It's, this is the team it was supposed to be. Let's go. Somebody just commented on my personal Instagram on my last picture that I posted. Stay off those drugs with that

latest bracket, man. It's a picture of my kid. There's a lot of people who just do not want to believe that Notre Dame is any good. And you know what? If Notre Dame loses in the first round or the second round, I'm gonna get crap for it. And it's like, oh, you should have seen this coming. And it's like, listen, guys, if Georgia beats Notre Dame, then the sun came up. Like, it's not that... Where would you like us to mail your cookie? I mean, it's just...

You know, um, but this was my best honest good faith attempt to be interesting, but also truly believe that this could go this way. You don't have anybody there, and you don't have anybody in the semis that you don't think can win the national title. No. don't have anybody there and you don't have anybody in the semis that you don't think can win the national title. No, nobody in the final that you don't think when the NL I get that's that's all that's all you can do because stuff's gonna happen like there's gonna be a game that blows our minds. I think at one maybe two what if there's two and be awesome but let me ask you one more thing before we go on to the next stuff. Of the non-traditional teams that we've been talking about all year, in this bracket right now,

which one do you think is the highest likely, the most likelihood of being Cinderella this year or making a run to the semis? We've got Arizona State, Boise, SMU, and Indiana. And I guess I could throw a cl it in there now because they Boise State has the best chance of that bunch of winning a quarter final game. I think because of because of who they who they might play and because they're good. Like we've seen them

against the team. We think there's the best in this bracket and they went on the road and played that team very well. State got to play some for some reason. Something went haywire in Austin and Boise State got to play. I'm sorry, Arizona State got to play Clemson in the second round. Like if something like that happens and unlock something that helps a team go further than you think based on that, I don't know, like or SMU beats Penn State and they play Boise like it could happen.

When has Texas ever looked good this year in all but two of their games for the most part? I don't know. I mean, they had a pretty rough game against Arkansas, I guess. The two games against the team that's in the bracket that they might ultimately have to play. I mean, they had a few like close calls, close calls but I don't know what. I watched them play Oklahoma in

a rivalry game and it was like big brother little brother in that one so I don't know. Their defense has been nasty in every game they've played this year. It has. Period. It's been consistent. Yeah. We said we said yesterday that's the of the 16 offenses or defenses or not 1624 offenses or defenses in this bracket though

their defense is who I trust the most. We're still doing this. Tommy three putts against who like we're still everyone stinks. No one played anybody who played anybody and who looked good all year. If like you're if you're Oregon. Yeah, I think that's crazy is that like if you are still in the who have they played or.

They they haven't looked good all year camp. There is literally only one team that you can point to that. Then I guess then Oregon's going to win the national title. But there's no reason for you to turn on the bracket. Then don't even watch it. Oregon's the only team that's good. Is Oregon Oregon's got a plus next to its name and in the futures, right?

It does, yeah, all of them do. Yeah, they all do. So there's a reason for that. Yep. All right, Ari. Folks, if you want to commemorate your team's trip to the college football playoff, and I know there's a bunch of fan bases that would like to do that this year, AXIA TIME is the best way to do it. It's the official timepiece for the college football playoff and the Heisman Trophy,

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Let's see if I can get it up to the camera, but we've, it's got the box. Careful, it's a lid. The box has Jim Harbaugh's signature on it, by the way. And it's just a gorgeous watch. And I imagine whatever team does wind up finishing out in this bracket, might be able to commemorate with that as well.

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Alright, we have a really big piece of news. It's actually regarding one of the college football playoff teams, but it's not about the current roster. It is about the 2025 roster. Swinney's taking a transfer. Well, okay. Davos, we has taken transfers before. I'll point that out.

Hunter Johnson, who was originally a quarterback at Clemson, went to Northwestern, came back to Clemson. They took him. Paul Tyson, Bear Bryant's grandson, who originally started at Alabama, who then went to Arizona State, they took him a couple years ago. They did not take any transfers last year at Clemson. First non- QB transfer. That's right, they're in Tristan Smith. Southeast Missouri State wide receiver has committed to Clemson. I love this room that they're taking the photos in, by the way,

but the Clemson photo shoot room is incredible. He's got the sweet leather chair, all the newspapers from all their big wins over the last 12 years. I guess it's spectacular. Ari, we said they're going to start portaling more when the rev share started. I think we meant with guys from other power conference schools,

but listen, that was got a pretty good history as an evaluator. My guess is Tristan Smith's pretty good. Yeah. Good for him, man. Good for him. I think that Dabo is the personification of all the things that you make fun of, which is in the chat, including when

you make fun of me of like, oh, old guy doesn't want to change. Old guy doesn't want new things. You know, you're afraid of evolution, all that stuff. Like I think that he really was resistant to a lot of the changes that are in the sport, right? But I think that in order to continue to have faith in him, because like, listen, I've given Dabo a lot of crap over the years, uh, the last few years anyway, because like, you know, even if you go back before you even knew I was going to be your co

host, you had me on the Andy Staples show at the athletic as a guest. And we had great chemistry and that's kind of how this started. But like, do you remember what we talked about on that first show? I think what I said is what got you excited like this guy gets it like I was like you can see the beginning of the end of Clemson right now. And this was like in 2017 because like it was happening from a roster standpoint. Like they weren't recruiting at a high level in my opinion, in comparison to where they like they weren't what they did in the college football playoff was

remarkable because there were two of their national championship teams were two of the three teams in the 20 year era of the recruiting post 2000 era that won a national title not having signed a top five class. So like what they did was insane, but like in order to maintain that success, that year over year they're going to play for a national championship success, you couldn't just keep beating the odds like that when teams like 20-20 Alabama existed. And then they weren't engaging in the portal. He was saying things that maybe he portal. He was, you know, saying

things that maybe he didn't mean or, you know, saying colorful things about the potential of NIL and all that stuff. I'm like, this coach is not getting it. He's just not getting it. And like, here we are a few years later, and his team is in the playoff. Now, his team, I think, is the, is probably considered one of the worst teams in the field as a result of his stubbornness when it comes to, you know, roster construction. But I think that even if you don't believe that this is a huge piece of news from a transfer standpoint, although I do trust him as an evaluator, there is no question that he has been a great coach and a great steward of that program so if he is able to evolve and get over some of the Old guy can't evolve problems Then like you do believe that hey like if he takes a transfer from a receiver

From a program you don't watch or never heard of like you could probably trust that that guy is gonna be pretty good Like if he can get back on board with like here's a hole in my roster program you don't watch or never heard of like you could probably trust that that guy is going to be pretty good like if he can get back on board with like here's a hole in my roster. I'm going to go fill it in a different way than I've been accustomed to filling it then maybe next year when they're playing in a 1414 game with Florida State in the fourth quarter that guy will catch a touchdown pass and they'll win instead of losing like that like to me that is the essence

of this. Well, I and that the the one last year that like the floor state Clemson game last year like he on Coleman is lighting up the scoreboard they don't have any other team you take he on Coleman off Florida State and put him on Clemson and I realized I realized they weren't up for him but if you did Clemson wins it's that simple and so I think it's a case of 90% of what Dabo was doing was sound and perfect and exactly the way you should do it. He just needed to tweak that 10%. And if he does tweak that 10%, they are right back in it

as a perennial national title container. If he tweaks that 10%, like, I don't know if he'll ever get to this, but like, what if he starts ever get to this but like what if he starts portaling like Ohio State portaled last year? Like what if they go get guys like Quinshawn Judd? Because I think but I also don't think he would do it like that because I think it would be very selective. Like chemistry matters a lot to Dabo and I think this Clemson team is a good example of that. And I think this Clemson team is a good example of that. I think they probably have played better than their talent level.

What if he started taking luxury pieces is what I'm saying. Like guys aren't necessarily an overt need. That fit. Yes. That fit and can make you better. It's like who's the best receiver? Like I'm going to make up this, this, this isn't happening. But if like Jeremiah Smith were available, right? Like would Clemson go do everything they could

to add him to their roster next year? Like if they, if they could ever illustrate the ability to do that, or if, you know, just a five star already productive future first round draft pick receiver decided they were not happy where they were like would Clemson put their their name in the ring for a guy that can change their offense, right? And maybe they think this is a step in that direction. But you know, hey, I guess evolution takes, you know, thousands and thousands of years, right? Like maybe this is just his first step into evolving into the, the, the final product.

But it's also, it's also a sign that he wants to keep this up. He wants to keep doing this and not, I'm just, I'm just not participating. The whole thing with the ABO is that everything that he's done from a program standpoint, like you could like, like I like those things about him, like, Oh, I want to bring people into my program. And I want to reward those people for staying, putting the work in. That's going to be the old fashioned way you're going to earn your keep. And when you do, you're going to get rewarded for like all those like principles.

Cause like, that's what we want in our, and they work. Yeah. We want those like, when you're at at a company like the athletic or on three, like, oh, you write really good stories or you write a good column. Like you get more opportunity to do that until you get to a point where you become a person that just gets to do that all the time. It's like your, your work, your ideas, your, your striving for greatness is rewarded with more airtime or front page news stories, more column

opportunities. And like, that's what we want in our lives. And I get that. But the thing that I have a hard time with is that he's being paid millions and millions of dollars. And at a certain point, as much as it is admirable to want to reward the players on your team, for sticking through it by not engaging in the portal, you're also doing a disservice to your team for sticking through it by not engaging in the portal. You're also doing a disservice to your team because now you might not win as much and the players who actually succeeded in getting those spots and are

playing well and our NFL draft picks will not get to achieve the highest level of winning as a result of you wanting to play Kate to the weaker links on your school on your roster because you didn't want to get a transfer, right? Like it's all the same things in life. If you work at an insurance company, like would you not want to hire the best producers to make your firm as successful as possible because you want to reward the intern? Like that's not how it works.

You also have to, like, there's also merit to this and the merit based. And just because you're in the program and you're trying hard and you're doing all the right things, doesn't always mean that you're good enough. And like in life, sometimes people are good enough for things and sometimes they're not, and that's okay too. Right? Like I, I just think there's a line, there's a line that has to be drawn in the sand of like, we're going to give everybody every opportunity possible to be successful

here, but also you have to be, or you're not going to play play, right? There's no, you can't just do it both ways. Well, and I think, I think this is turning that way. And remember they had a Purdue edge rusher into visit over the weekend. So they're, they definitely put out a lot of, a lot of feelers they're targeting people in the portal. They're clearly trying to fill holes in the roster. So that's, that's the way it works. Gavin in the chat got my Notre Dame tattoo two years ago today. Well, if Ari's right, then you're gonna be very happy with that. I'd love to see the love the picture. So is it where is it on? Hopefully, I don't have any

as an you just yeah, unless it's on his butt. Yeah, don't put it Yeah, I don't want to see if it's on your butt. Also, let's be honest, if anybody if there's any college football podcast on earth, that's going to show off your ass tat like it's on his butt. Yeah, don't put it. Yeah, I don't want to see if it's on your butt Also, let's be honest if anybody if there's any college football podcasts on earth That's gonna show off your ass tat like it's this one like what we see We would do it We're not we're not that proud We're not that classy. Yeah. No listen, I that was always my favorite when I'd say something stupid And somebody would tweet back at me. I expected better of you and i'm like

I never did. Yeah, we had a real life off the air discussion at the beginning of the year of whether or not the person who said he would chug a beer through his ass if his team loss should be do it live on our show. Like we're not like we are like two steps removed from Jerry Springer at this point. So, you know.

Is producer River R Steve the Bouncer? I guess. That means he's gonna get his own show later. I don't know. I don't know if Producer River even knows who Steve Wilco says because he's young. I'm sure he doesn't. I'm sure he doesn't. God, I love Jerry Springer back in the day. They're actually making a documentary about it on Netflix about

how like the actual show was like the most vile thing ever put on television and the thing that actually happened on the screen was like nothing compared to what was actually going on backstage. I'm sure it was terrible and then you got to see but I think the Maury Povit show paternity tests were probably the most vile thing ever put on television but I could not tear my eyes away. There were a lot of things and I've discovered this about myself that I listen to even now that I'm just like what am I listening to? Like the way like the way that human beings find entertainment like especially like in true crime because

I'm a true crime junkie like if you go look at my bookshelf up here like I've got under the banner of heaven just staring down at me about like a fundamentalist Mormon murder. Like I don't know why I'm so fascinated with this stuff, but to like the trashy TV doesn't really get me as much as like real insane things that have actually happened. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, those were real insane paternity tests though so. But like there is nothing funnier, although quite sad too, of like a person

like celebrating in front of a woman after it said you are not the father. Like like it was incredibly depressing. Yeah it it did not help your faith in humanity but you could not stop watching. We can't stop watching college football. Thank goodness it's a lot less depressing, helps restore our faith in humanity. This weekend, college football playoff games, prize picks is already populating the board. If you're not playing prize picks, download the app, use the code staples, play $5, get $50 instantly. We've already got, we're showing the board

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Get $50 instantly with prize picks. All right. All right. Conversation we had yesterday about both Probula and Penn State. We have some more context to it. Remember, both of us said we're not formulating any hot takes on this thing until we hear from James Franklin and hear what his attitude toward this whole deal is.

Well, yesterday we heard it. He also, in my opinion, he's a man's man. Like came into my office, had multiple conversations with me about this process. We talked last week, had no intentions of leaving, but we got problems in in college football and I can I I can give you my word. Bo Prabula did not want to leave our program. And he did not wanna leave our program until the end of the season.

But the way the portal is and the timing of it and the way our team is playing. And when you play the position of quarterback and there's only one spot and those spots are filling up, he felt like he was put in a no-win situation and I agree with him. And number one, I hate for it. Number one, most importantly, for Bo Pribula. I don't think it's in the best interest of the student-athlete. I don't think it's in the best interest of college football, but I think that's our challenge right now, right? Who is really running college football and making the best decisions for the student-athlet athletes and for our sport as a whole.

So, that's James Franklin. Clearly not mad at Boper Buell about this, and he said during that press conference already that Boper Buell actually tried practicing this week, tried to play and be in the transfer portal at the same time time and just it was not working out. And I know I pointed out that Preston Stone, who's in the same situation at SMU is playing in the game, but I will point out what the difference is between those two situations before we again, as you're trying to formulate your hot take about this. Well, help me because I want to write about this. So I don't know if you were planning on doing that. Preston Stone has known he's not the starting quarterback at SMU since they benched him for Kevin Jennings. So he's had time to think about this. His people have had time to reach out. His people have had time to study this. Okay. Preston Stone probably has a very good idea where he's going. Very good idea what the market for him is.

The thing with Bo Pribula that's different is Bo Pribula probably up until, what do we think? Late last week? Thought that he was, yeah. The Penn State 2025 starter. Then Juraler decides to come back, which of course is Juraler's prerogative, but it does affect what happens to Bo Pabrula because he's got a limited amount of eligibility.

He's ready to be a starting quarterback and now he's got to go find something. So he's not probably not been studying options. Probably hadn't had people reaching out. Probably has no idea where he wants to go or who might want him. It's a lot different for him than it is for Preston Stone in this situation. The thing that I don't understand about this is he could still theoretically go through practice and play and be in the portal, right? He can. Franklin said they tried and it didn't work. It didn't feel like, like Perbula said, he couldn't lock in and there

was so much other stuff going on. So they did try to do that. Yeah. So like, it just kind of like an unfortunate reality of the calendar because like he's right that like the college football sport needs one person, a singular person or body in charge of it, but it's like, it's of the calendar because like he's right that like the college football sport needs one person, a singular person or body in charge of it and that's not what's happened here but the one... He acknowledged the real problem in

this particular case with the calendar. Franklin acknowledged it most people don't. I'm glad he acknowledged it. Yeah because it's not something that any one person in charge of college football could change the one thing as much as the sport changes and players get paid and as you guys know I've been all for that the players get paid but the one thing almost everybody seems to still agree on is they would like this the schools and the teams to be connected like they would like the teams to be connected to the colleges and if you're going to connect the teams to be connected. Like they would like the teams to be connected to the colleges. And if you're going to connect the teams to colleges,

you have to adhere to the college calendar. And as I always say, the business of college sports is dwarfed by the business of college. And most schools are on the semester system. So most people are gonna move between the fall and the spring semester. Well, guess what? to move between the fall and the spring semester. Well, guess what? The break between the fall and the spring

semester is the last two weeks of December. Yeah, and right in the middle of college. And like I just like I've seen a lot of. The NFL is an effort agency during the playoffs. It's like yeah, it's a business. Yeah, it's they planned it better. Yeah, well, it's not just planned it better. They, well, it's not just planned it better. They don't have a restriction of college that makes it impossible.

Like you can't, when should the port, if you are a person that's tweeted, the NFL doesn't have free agency during their NFL playoffs. Okay, great, you're right. Tell me when the portal window should be then for college football. And if you're gonna say no one is in practice that's not what the players or the coaches want Nobody wants they want to be at spring practice for their new team

Right So you have to get enrolled into college early enough to be eligible to play in spring football And it's important for the players to create chemistry. It's like, I don't know. Some people go in before fall and are ready to play, but like, I don't know. If I were a student who was playing on a football team, I'd want nine months with my guys first practice and to get used to this. I mean, listen, I'm a 37 year old man.

And like, I would have preferred to start it on three before the night of the Miami Florida game, you know, to get, you know, HR is not what my bosses are demanding of me and want of me to get a little more rapport with you and I not that we needed it, but like, you know, and it's just like, that's just life. Sometimes you gotta, you gotta do what you gotta do. So like, I actually was trying yesterday, because like this whole prebula thing is just weird to me. Because I thought like, there is a reasonable, you can go get

your spot and you can play solution here. Right? So I don't know why he would have a heart like... But we who aren't going through that, I don't know, he thinks he can't. For some reason he thinks he can't. And I think it's probably because of what I just said about the difference between his situation and Preston Stone's situation. Well also too, I think about it. He hasn't known for months that he was going to be somewhere else next year. He's known for a couple of days. And if you are playing in the college football playoff and you're somebody who has a pretty major role, whether it be backup quarterback or somebody who has packages, you want to be as prepared as humanly possible to step into that

game if and when you're called on. And if you don't feel like you are able to lock in to the degree that's necessary to be ready to play in a playoff game, then you would be doing your team into service by playing too, which I respect. So it's just like it. Matt in the chat says what Marshall did just didn't need to be stopped. It can't happen again. I agree with that. So for those who don't know, Marshall opted out of its bowl game. They're supposed to play the Independence bowl against Army and Marshall opted out because Charles Huff left to become the Southern Miss coach,

25 players instantly entered the portal. That's not on the players and that's not on Huff. That's on the Marshall administration. The Marshall administration made a choice. Like, okay, let's go back a year. A year ago, Cam Fancher leaves Marshall's program. He's the quarterback. Leaves to enter the transfer portal. He wasn't going to FAU. Charles Huff said some stuff at the time. I was like, oh man, that marriage is going to be over. Marshall's going to fire him. Well, they didn't fire him because they want to pay a buyout. They decided they're just going to let his contract expire. Well, he made them look stupid by going and winning the sunbelt this year with an expiring contract.

They weren't planning on bringing him back. So he went and looked, he was looking for other jobs because his contract was expiring. So he needed another job. So he looked at the temple job. He looked at the Southern Miss job. He got the Southern Miss job. The Marshall administration accepted the bull bid knowing they were about to

have a coaching change, knowing they were probably going to have a mass exodus. That's their fault. Tim Pernetti, the American Athletic Conference Commissioner blasted them the other day and rightfully so like, you know, this is going to happen. Turn down the bull bit. Simple as that. Like, you know this is going to happen. Turn down the bull bit. Simple as that. Yeah.

That's a disaster. It's their fault. They knew they they had the chances. To figure it out. And they that's why you don't decide to fire your coach a year before you fire like yeah, you either do it or don't like right. So but it's a strange deal. In other coach leaving news, Dave Claussen Wake Forest, which one of my personal favorites stepping down, he's going to be special advisor to the athletic

director at Wake Forest. I think we'll hear from Dave Claossian. He's going to have a press conference today. They're going to honor him at the basketball game tonight. And, you know, I think he's going to say that the, the changes in the sport were tough on him. He had a way he liked to coach. And obviously that changed. Wake Forest became a very tough job in the NIL era because they don't have a huge donor base.

They don't have a massive alumni. It's a very small school and it became a much harder job. And, you know, before he was massively overachieving, it became impossible to do that. I think in the rev share era, Wake Forest can be a good job. I was excited to see what he could do in the rev share era, but it sounds like he's decided that that's enough and so Happy trails to Dave Claussen wait for us now looking for a coach. I would I

Would look around at maybe former West Virginia coach Neil Brown Washington State coach Jake Dickert Those are the couple of names that I would uh, I would look at for that job. Is this the death of the slow mesh? I hope not. Listen, our guy Bruce Feldman stole the slow. Dave is very secretive about slow mesh. Bruce brought it to his kids' Pee Wee team. Dave still wouldn't tell him how to do it.

So Bruce Bruce is very smart and knows football figured it out and asked around enough people and they're running like in seven on seven flag football in in California. They're running the slow mesh and it's it really is destroying people the most anxiety driving way to watch a football game. I remember asking Sam Hartman one time, I'm like, aren't you scared? You're just standing there walking and there's like 300 pound dudes right here. He's like, now you get used to it. It's like.

How many times when you're watching Wake Forest over the years, player, you just like him standing right there at the ball. I'm just more scared for the quarterback. It's like, in the running back, cause neither of them seem particularly worried about the impending danger, but it's right there. Bravery right there. That's, that's a real man of genius. Now, I, I really enjoyed watching Dave Claussen over the years and he was such a good, he was awesome when you bumped

into him at like the ACC spring meetings, because he'd sit down and kind of explain how everything worked. And he's so good at like, you can tell why he's a good coach, because he's so good at putting it in terms everybody can understand. And so I really hope this isn't it for Dave Claussen as a, as a coach. I hope this is, there's a recharge and he's back. But if that's what he wants, then, you know, God bless you, do, do whatever you want with your life. He's done a great job. And I am interested to see what, what Wake Forest in the rev share era looks like, because I think it's going to be a less challenging job going forward. Now, I keep saying this Ari, they do have to approve the house settlement. We think they will,

that the approval will come or not in April. But I do think if it is approved, I think Wake Forest will be a less challenging job. So we'll see where they go with that job. But yeah, happy trails to Dave Clawson and happy trails for the day to all of you tomorrow. We'll talk about the guy who may be the best player in the transfer portal. He's in the transfer portal now. I don't think he's going to be there long. In fact, by the time we do the show tomorrow, he might be somewhere else. So I'll just tease you with that. And we'll talk to you tomorrow.