Andy & Ari On3 - Chris Low's College Football Tour: Insider's LATEST on Michigan, Ole Miss, & Notre Dame

Episode Date: May 7, 2026

On3’s national reporter Chris Low has had a busy off-season lately, writing plenty of stories on schools like Michigan, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, and more. Before Chris Low hits the next destination of his tour, he joins Andy & Ari to talk about his latest stops. Watch here as Chris Low breaks down the latest on Kyle Whittingham at Michigan, Trinidad Chambliss staying at Ole Miss, and Marcus Freeman’s future at Notre Dame.   (0:00) On Today’s Episode (0:46) Presenting Sponsor (2:38) Intro: Previewing Chris Low (6:05) Chris Low joins: Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss (15:32) Kyle Whittingham before year 1 at Michigan (28:05) Notre Dame: Marcus Freeman’s Rise (38:53) Closing out with Chris Low (39:32) Discussing Chris Low (43:31) Florida State & Georgia series (55:25) Mark Pope Answers (1:01:49) Alabama & Ohio State series (1:02:46) Stephen Garcia news (1:04:45) Conclusion - Dear Andy & Ari tomorrow   After Chris Low joins the show, Andy & Ari turn their focus to some more recent news. On Thursday, it was announced that Florida State & Georgia would be canceling it's 2027 and 2028 home-and-home series in favor of a neutral-site game between the Seminoles and Bulldogs. What's the motive of this move? Andy & Ari have a hunch.   As Mark Pope asked for questions, the Kentucky men's basketball coach answered! Andy & Ari discuss the UK head coach on social media.   In more non-conference discussion, news dropped in the middle of recording regarding the Alabama and Ohio State series.   Before Andy & Ari close, the fellas cover some heavy news regarding former South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia. Announced this past week, the former Gamecock QB has stage 4 cancer. Scan the QR code on screen or hit the link below to help:   https://gofund.me/901ec9d57   Chris Low stories here:   https://www.on3.com/news/nfl-interest-was-intriguing-but-theres-a-lot-more-out-there-for-marcus-freeman-at-notre-dame/   https://www.on3.com/news/from-big-rapids-to-the-big-time-trinidad-chambliss-wild-ride-to-ole-miss/   https://www.on3.com/news/kyle-whittingham-spent-three-decades-at-utah-and-chose-michigan-to-write-his-final-chapter/   Our show is also presented by BetMGM!   If you haven’t signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code CFB and you will get up to a $1500 First Bet Offer on your first wager with BetMGM! Here’s how it works:   1. Download the BetMGM app and sign-up using bonus code CFB. 2. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game. 3. You will receive up to $1500 in bonus bets if your bet loses! Just make sure you use bonus code CFB when you sign up!   Make this college football season one for the history books. Make it legendary.   See BetMGM.com for Terms. 21+ only. This promotional offer is not available in DC, Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET (Available in the US) . 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR). First Bet Offer for new customers only (if applicable). Subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 7 days. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel   Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/join Watch our show on YouTube instead! https://youtu.be/wAyOw4mqmBI   Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman Producer: River Bailey   Interested in partnering with the show? Email [e-mail]   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today is Andy Nari on three. The great Chris Lowe joins us to talk about his travels. He has sat down with Trinidad Shambliss, the Ole Miss quarterback with new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham, and with Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman in the last few weeks. Chris gives us a little behind the scenes access with all of those guys, and you are going to want to hear what he has to say. Plus, Florida State and Georgia cancel a home and home series, but they are still trying to play at a neutral site. Why are they doing that?

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Welcome to Andy Nari on 3 presented by BetMGM and Ari. One of my favorites today, our coworker Chris Lowe, coming to regal us with more stories from the road. He's been in Oxford. He's been in Ann Arbor. He's been in South Bend. We're going to talk to him about all of those places, Trinidad, Shambliss, Kyle Whittingham, Marcus Freeman, he's got some stories, man. And hotel points, man.

He's been on the road, huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, and we record this. Chris is down in Clemson talking to Davos-Sweeney. So we'll probably have Chris on to talk about Clemson a little more in the next few weeks. But this is going to be a very fun conversation because the Trinidad-Shambliss story is just fascinating to me from, you know, where he came. to where he is, to everything that happened in between. The Kyle Whittingham story is absolutely fascinating.

This is another one that if you said a year ago, this guy will be here and this will be going on. We said, are you insane? There's no chance. And in the Marcus Freeman stuff, look, the guy talked to NFL teams in the off season. He was pretty open about that. And he's back at Notre Dame to win a national title for Notre Dame.

Now, whether that means wins one before. The NFL comes knocking again. I don't know. But I think they feel pretty good about their chances to compete for it this year. Yeah, Andy, the thing that I find so funny about this is that, like, he, the NFL came knocking. And it seems to me that the best days of Notre Dame football are ahead of it still. So if that's the case, ipso facto, they're going to knock again. You know, like they know.

That's right. But after maybe the best days start happening. You actually asked this awesome question, and I can't even remember if it was off air or two Chris, but I'm going to spoil it anyway. Would Notre Dame fans trade their coach for one national championship? That was off air. But Notre Dame fans, feel free to answer the question, because I do think it's interesting. If he wins you a national title, the first national title since 1988, would you wish him well if he said, you know what, I'm going to go coach to the NFL after that? But it's actually kind of a boilerplate question.

How many programs would trade their coach for one more title? That's a column right there. Like if you would have asked Indiana last year, we win one title and then Kurt goes before the playoffs. Do they take the deal? Yes. But if you ask Georgia, one more title or Kirby's gone. Do they take it?

Probably not, right? Because they've already had titles. Yeah. I think it matters how long it's been. Would you trade Mario Cristobol at Miami for one title? That's dangerous. And they're the, because they're the program that I know the most about that.

So it's a great question. It's a great question. And we'll see. But Chris has some really good behind the scene stuff with Marcus Freeman, obviously with Kyle Whittingham. And also with Trinidad Shamless, we will start there. Chris in Oxford with Trinidad,

Chamblis. Chris Lowe, you have been a busy, busy man. Ari and I were talking about your Trinidad Shamblis story earlier this week. And I'm curious, you spent a lot of time with the Ole Miss quarterback. And this is such a weird story. Like this time last year, he was not even in Oxford. And now he's led them to the semifinals, gone through this legal wrangling. And now he's one of the highest paid quarterbacks in college football with these massive expectations. And oh, by the way, his coach left and now he's got a new one. You know, he had told me, he reminded me, I'd forgotten about this guys.

He didn't even go on campus until around Memorial Day last year. So you're talking in the late May. He hasn't been there for a full calendar year. And so when he told me that, he reminded, I said, well, what's it like for you to think about everything that's happened in 11 plus months? And he just sort of shook his head and said, you know, it's been surreal.

And he also reminded me, I'd forgotten about this. I shouldn't have. They went through that horrible ice storm there in Oxford. And for two to three weeks, he had no electricity. He had to move in with Joe Judge, his quarterback's coach. So he's been through the ringer and just the unknown of whether he's going to be able to play again, you know, back and forth with his agent. Should he go out all the, you know, try to get into the combine, should he be working out?

He said he actually went out west for, I don't know, a week, a week plus. that's a workout with his quarterback's coach, just to try to get away from everything while everything was in limbo about whether he's going to win his court case and not. I know his legal team, you know, led by Tom Morris, always felt pretty confident, but you know, you never know. And if you look back over the last three months, some guys have won, some guys have it.

Now, all those cases are a little bit different. But his with the medical red shirt, you know, and the fact he didn't play at all his first two years at Paris State. You know the thing I find most fascinating. He said he was pretty close to quitting football. He wanted to go play basketball. He was going to transfer it down and play Division III basketball. Wow.

Thought better of it. And here we are. I think he's probably last year when you look at a lot of great stories. He's maybe as fascinating or as captivating a story as there was last year. And Chris, you want to talk about house money. I mean, obviously he's talented and deserves everything he gets. but if you probably morphed yourself into his brain and where his career was going to end up, he probably couldn't have even fathomed this.

No, no way, Ari. His dad said the same thing. Great parents, by the way. I mean, one of the awesome things when you do these stories on kids and you talk to their parents, you get a feel for sort of why they are, who they are. And certainly as I talked to his dad, Trent, his mom and Cheryl, you get, I mean, it takes you about two seconds to know why Trinidad is wired the way he is. But no, he was driving a 2012 Ford Fusion.

They were all piling in that car during Big Rapids, Michigan when he was there. And I think he said he had, that's in the story, what, $2,000 to spread out over a semester, which counted, you, his rent, his food, his gas. No, he never felt, he never envisioned this. He knew once the 24th season was over, you know, and talking to his quarterback's coach, and talking to people that he was going to see what, happened, what kind of market was for him in the transfer portal. And you initially said there was a lot of Mac schools. He was going to visit, which has been pretty well chronicle now. He's going to visit Temple. We had a trip set up.

And Charlie Weiss and Joe Judge were, you know, scouring through tape on social media and saw this clip of him and started calling everybody in there. This guy, that guy, Lane, Elaine looks at and said, let's get him on campus right away. So he comes to Ole Miss before he goes to Philadelphia, and the rest is history. So no, not even, he's a confident kid, and he had a great year. You know, he was, what, one of the finals for the Harlan Hill Trophy in 24. But no way did he envision him becoming a rock star like this on and off the field. So R&M were talking about this story the other day, and Joe Judge's name kept popping up. And I find that interesting, and you just mentioned that he ended up staying with Joe Judge

after that ice storm when he had no power. Joe Judge, former New York Giants head coach, has been around college football, was kind of in the Sabin tree, and is the offensive connection to last year, where the rest of the staff has pretty much moved on, that, you know, Lane Kiffin's an offensive guy, Charlie Weiss Jr. moves on.

A lot of the assistants move on. How important is Joe Judge to Trinidad Shambliss still being in Ole Miss? Yeah, and Trinidad calls him his dog. I like Lothan says he's got a Ph.D. in football. And if you look at Joe's career, I tell you it was a huge influence on Joe Judge with Sylvester Kroom at Mississippi State, certainly from a college perspective and how to connect with college kids, how to relate, how to coach him. And then, granted, when he was with Sylvester, that was well before the transfer portal era, the NIO period. But he's talked a lot about that and just sort of what that mean.

his time with Belichick. You mentioned the saving tree. But I think that's vital that they have somebody. And Trinidad said that. You know, had Joe gone with Lane, and I don't think he ever really considered it, I think Trinidad might have gone. Had there been no one there at Ole Miss, you know, with offensive ties. Now, they're bringing John David Baker back, who was at Ole Miss under Charlie Weiss, under Lane for a few years. And they're going to run the, their offense is going be really similar to what they did with Charlie, you know, according to Trinidad, you know, based on what they did this spring. They'll tweak it some.

But no, that's a great question, Andy. I think if, if Joe would not have been there, then it might have been, we might be talking about a different story right now. He may have, he may have indeed gone with Lane. And he, you know, he was candid. I give Trinidad, you know, he didn't dodge any of my questions. He was very candid. He said, yeah, I thought about it.

Had a lot of discussions, talked to my agents, talked to my dad. You know, he never really specified whether he talked to Lane. I'm sure there were some conversations before Lane left. And you guys know how it works now. Agents do all the, agents are the ones that do all the talking for the most part to everybody. But he said, yeah, I thought about it. You got to understand where I was.

It was new ground for me, for my parents, just got there. Here my coach is leaving. My OC's leaving. So he said, I'd be lying. I think his direct quote was it. I'd be lying if I'd be lying if I said, there weren't moments and real discussions and thoughts and conversations about going to LSU with Lane Kiffin. Hey, you know the thing that I, we're going to have to move on here in a second, but I'm very curious about.

We've had some NFL draft people on the show the last few weeks and people who do really good work and evaluating talent. And, you know, we heard that Trinidad, if he were forced to go out to the NFL this year, might have been a second round grade, third round grade. why do you think he was so adamant about pushing the limit to come back and why didn't he just go to the league you know when he you know after last year when everything fell apart at Ole Miss for the time being yeah all right i think i think the feedback was all over the place some people might have had him second or third i talked to two people i've known in NFL circles for a long time they both said more like fourth maybe even in the fifth round now he may have helped himself and workouts and combine had he been all in. And again, I think you've talked to different people. You get different projections,

but essentially Trinidad bed on himself to come back. And Ole Miss was very aggressive. I give, again, the collective Keith Carter, everybody in an athletic department, Pete Golding, a ton of credit. They said, listen, you come back. We're going to make sure you're paid in the upper tier of quarterbacks, which we all know now is four, five, six million dollars. I think his deal is in excess of five million dollars. And if he's, he'd gone in the second round or third round. He's not going to make that kind of cash. I think there was also,

he said there was a bad taste in his mouth the way it ended last year. I said, how many times do you go back and watch that last play against Miami, you know, where PI could have been called, probably doesn't normally get called in that situation, where the ball hits the kid's hand and falls incomplete, he says, you know, I watched a couple times right after the game, but I can't watch it now.

It hurts too much. We were that close. I think we've got a chance to get back there and finish the job. So I think that was a big part of his decision, too. And he loves it in Oxford. They treated him great. And he, you've been a Michigan kid, I think initially, culturally, it was a little bit different for him.

But it's been exactly, I think, when his, you know, talking to his dad, talking to some of his buddies that he still keeps in touch with from Fair Estate. They come down and see him, which tells you a lot about him. It's really, I think, the change. and coming there and being a part of a small community like that has been perfect for him. So while we're on the subject of culture shock, you also visited Michigan recently. And Kyle Whittingham has gone from Utah where he spent most of his career trying to do more with less.

Now he goes to Michigan where they got it all. And obviously the circumstances of that are very strange. but how is Kyle Whittingham adjusting to having basically all the resources he wants at his fingertips? He's not complaining about it. I can promise you that. Hey, as long as Kyle can ride his motorcycle, when he's not coaching football, he's okay, and they're playing places to ride his motorcycle there in Michigan. He can't snow ski as much the way he did at Utah.

He said, I asked him that very question, and he said, you know, when I first got there and I talked to the guys. I think he spent three days, eight hours a day, talking to every player. He said, I, you know, probably there was that stigma a little bit in the back of my head that I'm going to find a lot of four and five-star kids are entitled. And he said it wasn't like that at all. I think it was more, what do we need to do?

How can you help us? How can we get back to making Michigan football, what Michigan football is, on and off the field? A lot of those kids were, some of them were beating down a little bit about what happened with the, you know, the messy Alstra was strong more and so the embarrassment, even though they didn't have anything to do with. And that's the thing, Kyle, I think he emphasized to me and he emphasized those kids.

Listen, you guys had nothing to do with that. Some of the stuff, even going back to, you know, the sign stealing scandal, most of the kids on this team, almost all of them, weren't even there in 23. And yet that stigma had sort of, has sort of endured and stuck to Michigan. And I think that was the thing that really right off the bat, Andy was, he was really enamored with the fact that he had kids that were hungry and wanted to be there. And everything he's asked for, I mean, they completely redid that weight room is pretty new. They completely reconfigure it. You know, nobody blinked it on and he did it because they felt like that they needed to do some different things the way they want to structure their weight program.

and so they did it immediately. They're not going to hurt for money. You start talking about schools spending $40 and $50 million. I don't think Michigan's at $50 million, but they're going to be darn close to 40, if not over 40. And he told me he thinks next year, the 27 cycle, he thinks 12 teams, at least 12, over 50 million. And I can promise you, Michigan has the cash and has the,

the wealthy boosters and donors to be able to swim in those waters. So again, he's not complaining. Great football players win, talented football players win, but I still don't think, and this is the thing he told me, I still don't think you can go out and buy a national championship. You better coach them. You better still develop them, even if they're coming from another school, and you better get them to buy into what you're doing in your system.

I mean, look at that crowd in Bloomington, Indiana last year. They were a model for doing those things. And you better spend wisely. That's the other thing Kyle said. You just go out and start throwing money at kids, and maybe the intel comes back, maybe they're not quite a fit. The boy, their tape looks good,

so you overpay to get them. That's when you're going to back yourself into a corner. He's too good of football coach. He's done it for too long. He understands what winning football is. I don't think you'll see him do that. I think he's, Urban Meyer said it best. Urban Myers quote was dead on.

Michigan fell into the perfect guy at a time when they needed stability. They needed a guy who would come in and provide that stability. And that's certainly who Kyle Whittingham has been his entire career. You know, I don't know if you got into this with him, Chris, but how long was he at Utah for? Was it 32 years in totality? 31 years, 22 as head coach, I think. When you are at a place for as long as he was,

and you become synonymous with that place as much as your name stands on its own. What do you think the challenges are of going to a place like Michigan? We know he's a good coach. We watch the results at Utah. But is there a self-discovery that you have to go through when you're in a new place, new environment, new way of doing things, new resources, new people? Obviously, a tough situation to overcome from last year. it seems like it might be a little bit more difficult than just I'm a good coach.

Let's go or maybe it is maybe I'm overcomplicating it. Like what's your take on when a coach has a complete identity at a place? When I think of Kyle Whittingham, I think of a chopper in Utah. Like what are the challenges there? You've still got to be able to press the right buttons with the right kids, Ari. And I don't care if there are two or three stars or five stars. And he's been really good at doing that.

And because I ask him, I said, is there a difference in coaching a five-star kid and a three-star? And he said, no. He said, because you find guys that want to be coached hard, that want to be pushed and want to be challenged. And that's what here at Michigan, we're going to look for it. Same way we did at Utah. Will there be a different pull of kids that we can get on campus as opposed to what

we did at Utah? Yeah. No, I think he said he's going to be him. And yet understand that he's a lot of. out a place where there's deep, deep tradition, where they've been, well, they've won national championships, where there's unbelievable interest and passion. And he's already done a really good job, I think, of trying to endure himself to the people there in Michigan. He's had meetings with everybody from Derek Jeter to John Harbaugh, excuse me, Jack Harbaugh. He's talked to Tom Brady,

he's talked to Desmond, Charles Woodson. those were guys that he made it a point to get in front of and talk to them. Hey, what's important? You tell me from your experience here as a player, as a coach, Lloyd Carr came in. He said came in his office and they talked for over an hour. What's important here? What a Michigan people want? You tell me, and I think, you know, probably when you look at coaches that are great coaches

and have success, you know what to me is one of the more underrated parts of being a great coach is being a good listener. And I think during this transition, or he has been a really good listener. I am just fascinated by this entire change. And I mean, did he talk at all about the way it ended

at Utah? Because I know he can't say too much contractually because he didn't get paid. But this still blows my mind. And it goes back to the quote you had from Urban Meyer about how Michigan fell into this. But how many of him got paid to take this job?

Like he got paid millions of dollars to leave and then take this job. That's mind-blowing. Yeah, you got 13.5. I can think of 13.5 million reasons that he got to leave. I don't know that he was really ready to retire. You know, let's look at it from both sides. Utah was growing leery. And not necessarily just because of anything Kyle did or didn't do,

but they were growing leery the last few years. Is he going to retire? Is he going to retire? speculation you know kept popping up you know they had a coach in waiting starting i think that deal was signed in 24 i think at the end of the day they were ready to move on not that they didn't think that how wouldingham could still be effective but there's a reason they named a coaching rating and they were ready to move on as Kyle sort of thought it through he wasn't ready no you're right he he did not talk about that he can't talk about it contractually you know because of the

agreement and because of the payment. But no, he, he wanted this challenge. And he told me, he said, as soon as he saw the news that Moore was out, he'd been fired, he sort of, sort of set back and well, but with, whoa, now that's, that's a job I'd love to have. And it went pretty quickly. I think we all know how it sort of played out. Caitlin DeBore was the guy initially, didn't work out with Kalin.

but Kyle was always right there on their radar and it went pretty fast. They announced it on the day after Christmas, but they were already talks. I don't think anybody at Utah, here's to be the most fascinating part. I don't think anybody, and I talked to somebody pretty close to that situation, not Kyle, ever had any clue that he would get the Michigan job. When they parted ways, when they did the agreement, I don't think anywhere on anybody's radar in Salt Lake City. was that Kyle Woodingham would be the guy at Michigan.

And lo and behold, he was. And he took a lot of key staff members with him that, as we've seen some of the filings and some of the emails that have come out, that Utah wasn't real happy about. But you know what? If I'm going to take on a job or a challenge like Michigan, I'm going to surround myself with people I think that I can trust, people I've won with before.

And that's what he did. He was very, very clear to me. me. He said, listen, I don't, I'm not bitter. I don't have any regrets. It was an unbelievable run there. He said, when I'm done coaching, he said, I'll go back to Utah and retire. He said, that's, that's still my home. His home right now is Michigan. And I think that's where his focus is. In fact, I know that's where his focus is. And, you know, he's 66, but you guys have been around, Kyle. You know, he's 66, but really probably more like 46. And a lot of energy, a lot of energy.

Yeah. I was doing workshopping a column, and I want to ask you if you think I should do it. I was on the Ohio State beat when Luke Fickle was the interim and things didn't go well, and Urban Meyer fell out of the sky. Is Kyle Whittingham going to be like that for Michigan? And I'm not saying elevating the whole conference

and doing what Urban did championship. I just mean like wrong place, perfect timing. Yeah. And that's a good way of putting it, Because, again, I don't think either side, if you go back to December 10th, because I think his separation agreement was signed on the 12th. Sharon Moore was fire on the 10th. I don't think this was on anybody's radar.

But as I look around college football, Harry, I mean, who else? When you look at sort of, if you checked all the boxes of what Michigan needs right now, what they needed, I can't think of many that Kyle Whittingham doesn't. check from a proven track record to running the football to being tough on defense just having an air of toughness that surrounds your program hiring good people um there's no reason that michigan shouldn't be competing for championships year to year out be in that mix and now you got a guy you know who's done it who's won conference championships i think you won three Utah be think about there's really no reason. And I don't mean this to this SC, but they beat USC twice in one year.

Utah should be beating USC twice in one year. That just, that shouldn't happen. We were at the second game and it was, I remember seeing winning him after that game and thinking, this guy can do anything. Utah beat those USC teams the way that Michigan typically beats teams. Exactly. And he fit. And that's why people talk about fit. But people talk about fit, what's fit me? Everybody's definition of it's different. To me, it's, do you play a style of football?

Do you coach in a way? You know, do you create the kind of culture that works best at a certain school? With the fan base, with the players, the way you recruit. And now in the portal, the way you attract kids who played elsewhere to come to Michigan. And I think Kyle checks all those boxes. All right, Chris. One more trip we got to talk about. And that is the trip to South Bend, Indiana.

You sat down with Marcus Freeman. And we had heard Marcus talk about his exploration of the idea of potentially coaching in the NFL and then he talked to some teams. He went a little bit deeper into that with you. And I am really curious, how close was it to Marcus Freeman seriously considering an NFL job this year? And what did he take from that? I think he was close. He admitted. He said, I think his direct quote to me was it was a,

it was sort of a difficult decision or a close decision, but I think just having really started getting started at Notre Dame and sort of tasting it two years ago was something he kept coming back to. What did he learn? And he's pretty candid. He said, I wanted to know why, what they see in me that they think, would make me a successful head coach in NFL. It's a different league.

You know, Marcus didn't, you know, he had the injury. He didn't play in the NFL. And I think that was probably what he took away from it as much as anything. But, you know, he's, he's a sharp dude. I mean, he's always thinking ahead. He's a step or two ahead. And with the college season getting longer and longer, I think that's something he really dug into

and his talks with executives and people at the different places about playing a schedule and playing a season that's as long. He was 16, 17 games, which you have to play now. Or some teams will have to play now after going to national title. So I think it was his own, in a lot of ways, his own little personal whiteboard where he's sort of asking as many questions as they asked him. And I think, and I know Notre Dame people don't want to hear this.

I think Marcus Freeman will be in NFL at some point. He will be a head coach NFL. he's got there's too much interest at a level and I talk to again people I know in the NFL they love his ability to connect with players they love the fact that he's been a play caller on defense he's called his own plays that he's coached at a place now at Notre Dame where you guys know what a fishbow that is and a place that hasn't won a title for almost 40 years which is I mean it's hard for me to believe and he's been able to get Notre Dame back to a point were they knocking on that door again.

I mean, they were one went away from winning it two years ago. No, they did get to play out last year. But he's got a really talented football team this year. And they're recruiting like crazy. Yeah. And I was going to say, you took the word. And they're getting kids on campus in a different era, Ari, that you win with, guys that everybody else wants.

The guys, you know, always people say, well, how does you take a team recruited? And my first response to that is, well, I don't know, but I can tell you this. the way I assess recruiting before a kid gets on the field in place for two years is who did you have to beat together? Who else really wanted those kids? And typically if you're going to recruit well, you're going to recruit kids that other people wanted that you have to beat on the field. And they're winning a lot of those battles now. The other thing I was going to say is the way they have been to, been able to sort of continue to develop kids and play kids early. They're going to play a lot of young guys this year.

play some sophomores that didn't play a lot last year. There would be, you know, big keys. And I think guys like C.J. Carr could have gone anywhere. You know, he's in Michigan, you know, through and through, and through his family's through and through Michigan. And he came to Notre Dame and has been exactly what Marcus hoped and thought he would be. And one of those strong leaders at quarterback, man, you got to have.

And he is a, I watched him practice one morning when I was there. And let's just say this about C.J. Carr. He's got a little Larry Bird in him. He likes to do a little trash talking, and he's not afraid to say what's on his mind to his teammates. And it's pretty fun to watch that kind of, because that kind of competitive nature on a practice field, typically, if it's done the right way and you have the respect that he has commanded there, it works out for the best. I think that team certainly follows him. It'll be a lot of fun to watch play this year. And, you know, I think at the end of the day, the committee made the right decision last year, I don't think.

you ever go against head-to-head when everything else is pretty similar in college football Miami beat them. But I promise you this, that's something that nobody on that team has forgotten about. And it'll be interesting to see how they channel that this year. In a schedule, with a schedule, let's be honest, it's very, very manageable. I just, I have a hard time seeing Notre Dame being any worse than 11-1 to the schedule. Yeah. You know, I think of, and this just kind of hit me. But Chris, you were very close to, you know, this game in particular, but I remember the thought of before the 2020 seasons Rose Bowl on January 1st, 2021 when Alabama was faced up with Notre Dame. And the thought process was, well,

Notre Dame doesn't have the players. Alabama is going to run them off the field. They're too slow. They don't have the skill position players, blah, blah, blah. And all that was completely true. and then Alabama beat him 3114. When you think about the just overhaul in talent and program stature since he took over as coach, it feels very similar to me, even maybe like Texas with Steve Sarkesian, when you think about a program that hasn't ultimately broken

all the way through, although Notre Dame has gone further than Texas and making the national title game two years ago. But I can't think of a coach in college football maybe outside of St. Sarkeesian. and obviously Kurt Signetti is in all these conversations that has changed a place as much as he has. I think Notre Dame is fundamentally different as a place.

Yeah, because we were assuming that Brian Kelly had them at their ceiling. And Marcus Freeman came in and was like, no, not even close, buddy. Completely different than they were five years ago, which is a really hard thing to do in college football. Now, obviously, Indiana is, but there's Indiana, you know, is a part of every conversation. But when you think about blue blood programs or programs that are at the highest of high levels already,

going from living on their past to modern-day juggernauts, Marcus Freeman and Steve Sarkesian are example 1A and 1B of coaches who've done that. And that's another reason, Ari, when you start talking about why was NFL so interested in him, how quickly he's flipped it there? How quickly, to your point, that he's been able to get guys on campus that are elite players, elite athletes, and in the Leonard Moore's world, C.J. Cars.

You know, the first thing I do when I go watch teams practice, Andy will love this, is I go watch the offensive line. Well, that's a place where you see a bunch of NFL bodies right there at Notre Dame. Bingo. And you referenced that Alabama team, was it 20? They beat them 20. Was it 20 or 20? That was the COVID year where Alabama beat the crap out of Ohio State in the national title game, the game after, I believe.

Yeah. Go look at that Alabama line that year, O line, and D line for that matter. But look at their line compared to Notre Dame's offensive line. Now, fast forward to now, and you look at their offensive line. I mean, they're going to play a red shirt or a second year player at left tackle, and they're going to move nap inside. They're good enough and versful enough to where they can sort of mix and match. And surely get their best time on the full. Will Black, the player you're talking about, the left tackle, is one of those guys that you were talking about,

that they had to beat everybody for. Everybody in their mother wanted Will Black. Right. And he's good enough that you're moving one of your more proven guys, you're more proven guys in the offensive line inside. And so that's the first thing is I watched some practice. And they got some guys they were subbed in there in the offensive line that look like some of those offensive lines at Georgia and Alabama and Ohio State.

And that's, I mean, I think that's sort of what you're driving at already. They look now apart and I think have depth, the kind of quality depth you're going to need. I don't know, you know, when I think of that some of those Alabama teams in 20 and 21 and 22, some of those Ohio State teams, the receivers they had, I don't think Notre Dame has that depth of receivers, but they've gotten better. And I like some of the young guys they brought in. They brought in their transfer from Ohio State. They think he's going to be an impact player for him.

So they do have, I think, more weapons on the perimeter. You lose two first round tailbacks or running backs. But Marcus does not seem to feel like there's going to be a huge drop off in the way they run the football. I think a lot of that goes back to what they are up front offensively. On the defensive side, their secondary, and I know people are going to jump out when they see this and say, whoa, how about this team?

Their secondary should be as good and as deep as any in college football. And then they brought in guys. You know, the Kenny guy, he wasn't even on campus when I was there. But they've got guys who played a ton of football. They've got a lockdown corner and Leonard Moore. They've got a guy on the other side who they feel like is also an NFL player. They're moving guys around again. They have played some on the perimeter, they're into the nickel.

So they've got a lot of the things that I look for when I see, hey, this team has got a chance to play for a title or make a run, make a deep run in the playoff. They have a lot of those type pieces on this football team. 14 returning starters. Marcus is smart enough. He's never going to say this is the best team I've had or the most talented team I've had.

He did tell me he felt like from a quality depth standpoint and guys that are just sort of on the cusp of being impact players that maybe weren't or behind veteran players last year, you're going to see a lot of those guys step up and be and become how, name's this year. So I repeat what I said a minute ago with, because it is what it is.

Their schedule, that depth, an elite quarterback, a great offensive line, a secondary that's going to allow you to do different things because when you're good in the secondary, you know, you may ask some other things. This is a team that I'd be shocked if they're not right in the middle of the national championship conversation this year. Chris, I cannot wait to see that. I cannot wait to see where you're going next. I believe you're leaving today to go visit Davo Sweeney at Clemson.

So love to hear that conversation. I know we will get a story and probably multiple stories out of that. Thank you so much. Yeah, Davo never says a whole lot. He's usually pretty guarded, plays it close to the vest. And usually when they say you've got 15 minutes with him, you know, you're done in 13. No, no. If you have 15 minutes with him, you're going to get an hour.

So I can't wait to hear what he says. I really do. say that's refreshing. Yeah. Ask him about the money trees. Money in the mason jars planted there around South Bend, right? Thanks, Chris. Ari, always fun to talk to Chris Lowe.

And I want to point out, Marcus Freeman's 40 years old. 40 years old. There's a scenario because I think people are going to hear Chris say, I think he'll be an NFL coach someday. And you might, that might make you a little. a little nervous. What if he's an NFL coach at 48, and he's won a couple titles at Notre Dame before that?

I think you can live with that. Yeah, I mean, I do think that every fan base, and I don't know if this is just because of the nostalgia of college football or the history of it, that every time you hire a coach, there's this discourse, and we heard a lot about it with another team that we just got done speaking about Michigan, where when you hire that coach, they have to, fit the bill of like the next 20 year guy who is through and through your place.

And like I do think that there is kind of this deal where like maybe, you know, Bo Schembeckler just doesn't exist anymore anywhere, you know, maybe Kirby Smart doesn't exist anymore. I guess maybe if you're a legacy program and Kyle Whittingham exists, but the school that he was at pushed him out and now he's at Michigan. Like, yeah, that was one of the nags that that happened when Michigan hired him. I was like, well, how long is he going to be there? Isn't it the first question that everybody asked?

I think that they have this romantic view that a coach has to be somewhere for 20 years in order for it to be successful hire. If Marcus Freeman's there for 10, which, by the way, is longer than the average coaching. Oh, you get 10 good years out of a coach. You have absolutely hit the jackpot. And he changes your program. Like, I also think that the right coach, the most successful hires, aren't necessarily the ones that are there the longest.

What about the ones that change a place and make it sustainable long term? like what about those guys um well i would argue that was nick sabin at ls u he showed you the blueprint and then everybody followed it yeah uh sometimes it's about cracking the blueprint and you know i don't know like the lane kiffin thing at ls u always is interesting to me because it's like he's a fairly young person he's been hitting the yoga studios and has a lot of sweaty bodpicks to show for it but like he looks good um but like if he but he has the nine years within marcus Freeman. How long does a successful Lane Kiffin tenure in Baton Rouge last? I think maybe some people have the delusion or the thought that it'll be a 25 year run and that he'll be one of the greatest

coaches of all time when it's all set and done. And maybe that's what'll happen? But I feel like if you can, what's the number? If you can guarantee yourself what six good years when you hire somebody you've won? I think five even. If you get five good years out of a hire, you're you're in good shape. And that's That's about all you can ask for. But I think I think Notre Dame is going to get more than that from Marcus Freeman. What is this? Year four? This is year five.

This is year five now. Yeah, where I mean, the scary part is what we just said is like we're getting towards the end here. But I think that's why I say I think they're going to get more than that. I don't I don't think it's this year and then out. Again, he's 40. There's all kinds of time. I mean, I think it could be this year and out if they win the title, which brings us back to the question. Because the one thing that stood out to me from his comments was, you know, it was appealing and I, you know, thought about it.

But I felt like we haven't tapped our full potential at Notre Dame yet. And I think that that's a driving force for him. But once you win the- Potential of Notre Dame, maybe two titles in three years or two titles in a row or something like that. So I don't, I'm not positive that if he wins a title, he's just like, what NFL jobs are open? Well, what I will say that at least it doesn't feel like he'll be satisfied in South Bend until they win, at least. one. Right. Exactly. So we'll keep an eye on Marcus Freeman, but I think he's he's hunting for that big trophy in South Bend, wants to bring that to South Bend. Ari, a little different twist

on the non-conference games getting canceled stuff that we've been talking about all offseason. So Florida State and Georgia have canceled their 2027 and 28 home and home series. The difference, and maybe they're just saying this, but I think they're telling the truth here. The difference is they would like to play a neutral site version of this game. So not two games necessarily, but they would like to play one game at a neutral site. And I know people hate the neutral site games.

I know you'd be on campus. And so what I, yeah, you like them, which you're weird. Yeah. But neutral site games have become popular again for a couple of different reasons. You're watching Auburn move their game against Baylor from Jordan Hare Stadium to Atlanta this year because they get more money than they would have gotten playing it at Jordan Hare. They want to put that toward player NIL.

They want to put that toward their payroll. This one, we're not exactly sure how it would work. But given that they both canceled it together and they both are working together on one, I'm assuming this is one where you split the money, which is. If you get the right deal, you can both make what you'd make off a home game except in one year. And then you can play another newfasite game the next year or you can play each play a home game. And so you kind of double dip there. But here's the thing that I first noticed when it came out.

And this is what immediately triggered in my mind. Because we talked about this last week, Ross Delinger has a story about this at On 3 today. That Duke Basketball Amazon Prime deal. Remember Duke basketball did a deal with Amazon Prime. Next season, there'll be three neutral site games on Amazon Prime. We'll see the Big Ten is arguing about the Michigan game. The Duke Yukon game, the Duke-Nzag game, definitely going to be on Amazon Prime. The Big Ten is saying they own the rights to the Duke Michigan game.

I'm guessing they'll get it settled financially somehow. But this got a lot of people in college sports thinking, way. Why can't we do this? And to peel back the curtain on this thing, so Duke is in ACC school, all of the ACC's rights were owned by ESPN. This was done with the blessing of the ACC and ESPN, the deal with Amazon Prime. The SEC and the ACC, where Georgia and Florida State are, also all the rights owned by ESPN. So are they perhaps? Are they perhaps? looking at maybe trying to extract some more money out of ESPN one or trying to sublicense that game to Amazon Prime or Netflix or somebody like that.

So I am, we have to break this down for people because if I don't understand something, then I know that sounds like, but I don't mean it that way. I just mean that like I'm in the. You're in the weeds on this all day. If it's confusing to you, it'll definitely be confusing to people who have real jobs and real things to worry about. And anybody who listens to the show, that I don't have a high opinion of my aptitude.

But the thing that I don't understand is what is the loophole or what is the thing that allows you to step out of your television rights through your conference? And then the second question is, I'm sure there's probably a limit of how much you can do it before the people who have signed up to pay for your conference. Like, it's mad. Like, I mean, it's not a loophole. It's the people who own the rights grant permission to do it. it. So there's only, there's probably a limit, too, of the people who grant the rights that will allow this. They don't want 29 games.

Well, it, ESPN has been sublicensing things it owns recently. They are sublicensing college football playoff games to Turner. So Amazon pays ESPN for the right to air the game? We're not clear on that, but either ESPN gave the permission to Duke to do this free and clear to keep the relationship happy or maybe they did get broken off a little piece of this. It had to have. Who's going to give away one of their most expensive properties for free? Yeah, I would think so. So they may be looking to test this as well where they make more money off of this too. Because you're always going to take more than you'd make or you wouldn't make the deal.

Yeah, or Amazon is paying twice as much of the value of the game, some to ESPN, some to the schools, in order to break ground into a new. Now, Florida State has to be better for this to work. I don't know, man. I think, yeah, I mean, they do, obviously, the better they are. I say that this, what, if they can get a neutral site game together, they probably do it before this season even ends. They probably get it agreed to before the season even ends. And like, let's be honest. there's no, because I'm assuming this game's going to appear or happen in the first few weeks of the season.

This would be, you know, 27 or 28 probably, yeah. There's no world where Georgia, Florida State's not going to be a valuable viewing property for college football fans in September. Yeah. Because like there's always going to be, even when Florida State stinks, they're still intriguing. And by then they'll probably have a different coach, honestly. Producer River says nobody will watch a non-competitive game on a streaming service when everything else is on YouTube TV. I disagree. I disagree with that.

We don't know if it's non-competitive first. You have to tune in to find out whether it's non-competitive. Yeah, we didn't think Florida State Alabama was going to be competitive last year and it was non-competitive in the exact opposite way and it got everybody watching. Yeah, I mean, if they're really bad, though, like if Notre Dame is not going to be really bad. No, no, that's true. People are going to want to watch Georgia. If Notre Dame's playing like a stinger on Peacog.

You have Netflix. Yeah. You already have Netflix. True. Do you have Amazon Prime? Mm-hmm. Okay, then you already had it. No, yeah, but like, if there's...

Like, you're not paying extra for this. Yeah, if there's a lot of other games on YouTube TV, though, at the same time. I know I'm going. Can I actually offer a hot take on this? Sure. You know how everybody says, like, some, there's such thing as a bad NFL game? I disagree with it, but like there are sometimes games where... Oh, I've seen some terrible NFL games.

Right, but I think there is something that exists in college football that does not exist in the NFL. which is college football fans are generally driven by and fueled by Shadenfreude in a way that fans in the NFL aren't. Yes, I would agree with that. Inks, either getting their butts kicked on national television or on a streaming service by Georgia, I think people would turn in to watch that just because they would want to watch. They'd suffer. Yeah, the only NFL equivalent is probably the Cowboys.

Like, if the Cowboys are getting killed, everybody wants to see that. But nobody, nobody's like flipping the channel on their Sunday. ticket because the Vikings are losing and they want to enjoy that. Like Packers fans are not doing that. Bears fans are not doing that. Yeah, because it's an NFL game. But if Florida State is wallowing in misery, now obviously the more intriguing fans, Florida fans are like,

oh, let's check this out. And the more intriguing version, obviously, is always the good team getting beaten by the bad team, obviously. That's what people like to watch. Last year. Yeah, you and I were sitting in the press box at Clemson, waiting for the LSU Clemson game to start.

And we're like, holy crap. is going on in Tallahassee? You were writing columns. Everybody was like getting ready for this huge game at Clemson and Andy and I are sitting across from each other at the foldable tables by the food area. No coincidence, I'm sure. But like we were smashing tacos and writing about Bama from Clemson last year. And like obviously Florida State beating the crap out of Bama is inherently more compelling because we thought Bama was going to be really, really good. And they turned out to be pretty good last year. But still, if Mike Norvell comes out next year and they start 1 and 0 and barely beat a bad team or whatever their schedules and they're

playing Georgia in week two people are going to tune in to see if Florida State is broken also is Mike Norvell even there when when this happens this game this theoretical game gets played because it is theoretical now because they have canceled the home and home but I really don't think this is one of those where they just cancel it because they wouldn't say we're going to try to make this a new fight game and and there's probably a financial reason why you want to make it a neutral site game. And if you're if you're here waiting to hear whether we're going to call Georgia soft for canceling the non.

This is a completely different situation. Right. They're still trying to plug it according to them. Now if all of a sudden they're like, oh, it fell apart. Never mind we can't play. Then we'll call them both soft. Yeah. Like if this was a lie to like try to make the PR situation of it better.

But I actually, it's very easy to believe that two teams might want to make more money. Yeah. Although, and interesting enough, both these teams do have a non-conference annual game they play at the end of the season. So that's another piece of it. And a producer of reminding me, Florida State's actually done the neutral site double, the kind of neutral home and home, as it were, where they played LSU in New Orleans and then played LSU in Orlando the following year. So maybe they said something like that. Who knows? Yeah, I just hope they play. I mean, I think the more games like this, the better for everyone. Yeah.

And I got to think everybody and their brother. And obviously we saw it in Ross's column today. And if you're not subscribed to On 3, now's your chance. On3.com slash join 1999 for your first year of a national subscription to read stuff like what Ross Delinger wrote today. Duke's Amazon deal has college sports administrators asking, why can't we do that? And I bet they are wondering the same thing in Tallahassee and Athens. Delinger on the staff, quasi as a merit of a merit.

Is that the right word? Ross is still full time at Yahoo, but he does write a column a week for us as well. And then I do a show with him at Yahoo. So it's. And I do nothing. Symbiosis. Okay. I do nothing.

You, no, I don't have any friends is what I'm saying. you have lots of friends I've seen your group text yeah but I'm very curious to see where this like does this game end up happening this this proposed neutral site game

where is it televised where does the money go does the money go to the player payroll like that all of these questions are what I want answered out of this because they're the ones you need to know about now we're in a place now where we're going to be

seeing $50 million rosters assembled, they need to make the money. They need to figure out a way to get more creative and how to bring some revenue in. I understand it, and I don't hate it. Look, they'll figure it out. Are these teams greenbloods, producer Rivers-Rass?

George is definitely a green blood, Florida State, TBD. No, they're not. Probably not right now. No, no, if I'm going to work on this, maybe even today in public, where I got some advice internally about whether Florida state should be included

and the answer to that question was no funny enough. An emphatic no. It was an immediate no. Yeah, because I asked the same thing because I was genuinely curious. So yeah, but Georgia is a green blood for sure. Blue blood, green blood, every kind of blood. Speaking of bluebloods,

the bluest of blue, Kentucky basketball. We talked on Wednesday's show about Mark Pope's proposal to Kentucky fans to ask him anything. We actually read some questions that Kentucky fans had submitted to Mark Pope and one of the questions we said, there's no way he answers this.

Guys, he answered it. It's for him. It's unbelievable. So he took some questions that I thought he wouldn't even touch. So let's take a look at a little snippet the first installment of Mark Pope asked me anything. This question from at high school top recruiting,

what changes are being made to recruiting? You have to see a problem with 14 top 20 kids visiting and landing none. What's the change? With the first change, I'd like to get all 20 kids to visit our campus. That's a major win and there's no limits. Second, I'd like to land a few. Third, this year, we were chasing a generational talent. and we fell a little short, but we weren't sending on our hands.

We put together roster that we are going to love watching Crush It in Rupp Arena. Next question from Zach Smith on Instagram. Would you come to our wedding? Zach, I don't know if I can make the wedding, but I have had the opportunity to officiate at three of my former players' weddings, which has been incredible. I do want to say best wishes to you and grace on this incredible day. So he answered that, but he also answered a question about things they need to change in recruiting.

And he just said land more. He answered a question about Malachi Moreno, their center. Well, basically, what are you doing to address the five position, the post position? And he talked about how Malachi Moreno is going through the draft process, how they are going to have to go in the portal if he decides to stay in the draft. probably not a satisfying answer for anyone. I am shocked, he answered the 14 out of 20. You know, I have an actual take on this, though. I think that a fan doesn't necessarily need some in-depth revelatory answer on Twitter.

I think that the gratification of him reading the question was what they wanted. I think you're probably right, because I don't think there are many coaches that would even touch that. And so that signals to the fan base that I hear your complaints. I understand them. I don't know that he can, like, there's probably not a satisfying answer he can give in this situation. It just had to be heard. Like, I think the idea, like, here's the thing that I've actually kind of like, you know, there's a lot of people that say some very mean things to me.

And sometimes I feel like their anger, like I understand it. and sometimes I think they're being irrational, but the one thing that I do realize about Twitter, and I'm one, one millionth of as important as Pope, but they want you to read it. So if you ignore it, that's the way to diffuse it because they don't care what you say back. They just want you to internalize what they said to you.

And this is a bigger scale, but I think that Kentucky fan, like that question was a question, but all it was was a statement that said, we're displeased with the fact that we didn't get anybody. You got to change that. And he heard it and he read it. I think that's, I think that I give them props for that, dude. I do.

Yeah, I'm just fascinated because a producer, River just asks this question, imagine Tom Izzo or Dan Hurley doing that. Tom iso just like he'd be hoarse by the end of it. I think the idea that you would anticipate that he would ignore the question is the root problem, which is you're not taking the reality of the situation head on. And he knows that he's not going to be there unless that changes. Yeah, the difference with Tom Izzo and Dan Hurley is both of them are doing their job to the satisfaction of the people in charge

and the satisfaction that Michigan State fans may not be entirely satisfied with Tom iso, but I think they're mostly satisfied with him. And obviously Yukon fans are completely satisfied with Dan Hurley. I don't know anything about college basketball and I'm going to be better about it.

What I do know is that Michigan State is always a factor to some degree in March. They're always good. Yeah. They're always good. It's crazy to think that it's been 26 years since they won the national title, but they have been in the mix enough.

They get into the second weekend of the tournament almost every year. Every year, yeah. Yeah. I just, so, yeah, I would have no problem with Tom Izzo. And but Mark Pope is in a very different situation. Mark Pope is in a situation where they got bounced in the round of 32. They almost got bouncing in the round of 64. They do not feel good about the roster where it is now.

And look, part of this is Kentucky fans have. having to get used to, like, they were not pleased with John Caliperi. They wanted John Calipari gone. They got their wish when he went to Arkansas. But John Caliperi say what you will about him. He got top in talent every single year. Now, it wasn't always as great as it was when he first got the job. When he first got the job, it was an insane run where whoever the top five

recruits where he probably got three of them. When Mike Chishefsky was like, okay, we're going to get the one and done game. It got a little bit harder. But he still, if you look at, I mean, just look at all the really good players who've come through Kentucky who play in the NBA now. I mean, like the current best player in the NBA played for Cal at Kentucky. Yeah. Bottom line, I don't know if it's, what's worse?

Having really good players and not getting the most out of them. or not having good players and not being very good. I think they both. The second one is worse. Because at least you have a chance when you have the top talent. And the second one is worse. And that question was read acknowledging the truth of how recruiting went. I think that's important.

I think it's important to Kentucky fans that he internalized that. Very important. More news going back to our conversation about Georgia and Florida State, we do not have to call anybody soft Alabama and Ohio State gonna play. That's not getting canceled. Brett May Murphy reporting that. Good job, guys.

Yeah, thank you. Good job. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. That is music to my ears because this is fun. And I think nobody's off too all-time great, programs going at each other going to be beautiful helmet matchups beautiful love it thank you thank

you thank you thank you thank you and thank you and thank you and thank you and thank you and thank you and thank you one more thing are you and is it is a very bit a sad bit of news that that came down on Wednesday former south Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia revealed a stage four cancer diagnosis there's a QR code on the screen now for his GoFundMe. Stage 4 colorectal cancer, he's only 38 years old. So just incredibly sad and we're wishing him the best and they're going to try to treat it aggressively. But I know Stephen a little bit from covering him and just dealing with him through the

years and he's been coaching quarterbacks down in Tampa. And I just hope he comes through this. We're praying for him. And if you can help, that QR code is on the screen. mean, just awful, awful news. And this is one of those, you know, you worry, you want to try to get early detection, get yourself tested. I did the Kola Guard thing earlier this year.

And it's tough because he's only 38. He's not even in the window where they're telling you to go get tested all the time. So, but if you are, if you are in the window, you do need to make sure you get tested and keep that current because this is one. of those that can kind of hide and if you don't if you don't get tested regularly there you just might not see anything and uh you just notice anything really really sad and obviously hoping the best for stephen garcia and his family um i know he's got kids yeah everything is a reminder of always the importance of health taking care of yourself and and being prudent in your in your health maintenance so

So, you know, hopefully he pulls through this and we're wishing him the best and we're happy to share this QR code. And if you can spare, it'd be a wonderful cause for you. Yeah. We're rooting for you, Stephen. And I just hope you get through this. So that is, that's it for today. Tomorrow, dear Andy and dear Ari, send us your questions about college football.

It's Andy Staples, On3 at gmail.com, Ari.wasterman at On3.com. You can hit us up on social media at Andy Staples at Ari Wasserman. And we love your questions. We do. And it's my favorite time of the week. Random ranking tomorrow. Best College Town Dishes. This will be highly controversial.

It will be. Highly. I'm actually nervous. But you also have to remember that we're all individuals with our own individual taste. And I know I'm being contradicting. because I yelled at people yesterday for saying that regular soda tastes worse than diet. That's a little weird, but that's okay. It's weird to think that.

I know, it's insane to think that a diet drink takes better than regular. You also think food court food tastes better than a five-star restaurant sometimes. There's a rule of thumb in life, Andy. If something is full fat, full sugar, full taste, it tastes better than the diet version of that thing. Do you agree with that? These are better than Oreos? Okay, let's go. Come on, let's get out of here.

We'll see. We'll talk to you tomorrow.