Andy & Ari On3 - College Football Playoff: Championship Week rankings REACTION | Who will be IN the 12-team field?

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

It's time to instantly react to this week's College Football Playoff Rankings. While this is the last rankings before the reveal show on Sunday, what will the bracket look like? Will Miami get in the field? How will the ACC shake out? Also, where will Texas A&M fall after suffering its first loss? Will Lane Kiffin's departure affect the ranking for Ole Miss? Find out the answers to these questions on TONIGHT's Andy & Ari On3.It's time to instantly react to this week's College Football Playoff Rankings. While this is the last rankings before the reveal show on Sunday, what will the bracket look like? Will Miami get in the field? How will the ACC shake out? Also, where will Texas A&M fall after suffering its first loss? Will Lane Kiffin's departure affect the ranking for Ole Miss? Find out the answers to these questions on TONIGHT's Andy & Ari On3. (0:00) Intro(3:32) Rankings Begin(11:09) Reacting to full rankings Join Andy & Ari HERE at 7 pm et to LIVE react to the latest College Football Playoff rankings. This show is presented by Modelo! Some things in life are just made for each other. Peanut Butter and jelly. Macaroni and cheese. Modelo and college football. If you’re watching this, it means you live and breathe football. All season long. You know what that makes you? A Full-Time Fan. Which means you deserve a Modelo. Because football wouldn’t be the same without you. Modelo is the official beer sponsor of The College Football Playoff. Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL 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 sureyou 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. US promotional offers not available in New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (Available in the US). Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR). First Bet Offer for new customers only. 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 and get one full year of access to The Athletic included! https://www.on3.com/subscribe/C Watch our show on YouTube! https://youtube.com/live/vrTYbLrbL9I Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: 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 tonight's college football playoff instant reaction show presented by medello we find out the penultimate college football playoff selection committee rankings how far does texas anm fall does old miss get dinged for lane kiffin leaving do they reorder anybody in nine through fourteen how's it all going to work this is going to set the table for the one ranking that counts which is coming sunday but it will also give us an idea of if then, if BYU were to beat Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game, if Alabama beats Georgia in the SEC championship game, we will have a much better idea of what that's going to look like. So let's find out what the rankings are. Join us now. Welcome to your college football playoff ranking reveal instant reaction show presented by Madelo and Ari, you and I were sitting on Black Friday that night in the sports book at the MGM Grand Detroit, drinking cold medello drafts watching Texas play Texas A&M, which will be reflected in the rankings tonight. And I turned to you. And we had some listeners and viewers

that had come to hang out with us. And I turned to you. I said, Ari, we're in heaven right now. I lifted my medello and said, this is heaven. And I will tell you, there is nothing. I love my medello in the can. I love my medello, especially my medallo negra in the bottle. Watching football with a cold medello draft,

there's nothing better. We'll do an off-season random ranking of best places to enjoy a medello. Beach, sports book, shower are my top three in no particular order? I've never been a show. shower beer guy. Never been my thing. It's bizarre. I have to try it, though. The contrast of hot, scolding water hitting your

chest and the cold beer going down your esophagus. So this is your ultimate deep thought mode, like a medello in the shower. Like, for those of you who regularly watch the show, you know Ari has his best ideas in the shower. Yeah, or scariest. But, you know, hey, speaking of shower thoughts, I've been thinking a lot about tonight. I've got a few things that I'm really looking forward to finding out, Andy. One of the things is, of course, what they do with Texas, because as I pointed out to you on the show. Oh, I should have said one through 16 in the ranking, or nine through 16, because Texas was

16 last week. Yeah. And I was thinking, well, we can all have a debate about things amongst ourselves, but there is a line in the sand somewhere where is we're debating and what they're debating. I want to see if Texas is going to be a part of their debate because, you know, Steve Sarkesian you know, was, was, you know, talking. I'm not sure. BYU and Miami are part of their, their debate in terms of, I know.

The 10 that make the cut line. I'm going to do everything in my power tonight to not dive head first into concrete with the Miami stuff. I mean, everybody knows where I stand on that. But, yeah, BYU, Vanderbilt, another one. I know that Vandy, when you think about all the teams and coaches that are making their case, um everybody's got a solid case vandy released their case andy the rankings are already here do you want me to read them off 25 james madison 24 north texas so everybody from the group of five who we think is in the mix is in the rankings 23 iowa 22 georgia tech 21 houston so we're going to see toulane

up in the top 20 we just find out that if duke wins and james madison wins that james madison's in we did that's what we found out right now we did unless they jump duke which i are or unless they jump Duke over them, which I cannot imagine. Yeah, we just found out that there could be two G5 teams in the college football playoff this year. That's pretty wild. That's a significant, that's a significant happening there. Is this the first time what's happened at the bottom of the rankings has really mattered

going to championship week? I think it is. Yeah. I mean, like that's a significant thing. All right, go ahead, Andy. 22 lane. Michigan drops four spots to 19. Arizona up seven spots to 18. Virginia, the team that plays Duke in the ACC championship game,

is 17. USC up one to 16. That is Notre Dame's best win right there. Right. And Notre Dame's best win, you know, hanging on at 16 is good. I think that helps prop up Oregon as well. That doesn't really matter at all for Oregon, but certainly was going to matter for Notre Dame because USC doesn't play any more games and they're going to be a top 16, 15. potentially team, depending on how things go this week. It looks like there's not going to be a lot of movement on the back half of it. 15 here is Utah, Andy. Yeah, 15 Utah, which down to, despite not losing.

Now, their game was tight with Kansas. They had a pick six that kind of broke it open. But the committee, the metrics have loved Utah. Vandy stays Pat at 14. So they're not getting into the college football playoff. Right. I did a piece this week that I do every week listing all the teams that were still alive.

I had Vandy in. I shouldn't have. They are probably eliminated. Yeah, I don't seem in the field. But yes, there's no path there for them at all. So we wait for 13 with bated breath. So I said 9 through 14, what changes? Texas moves up to 13.

Texas over Vanderbilt. Oh, the committee honored a head-to-head. Well, the question that I have here, does that mean that Texas is out now? Yes. They can't jump into the field, so Texas is out. Now, I mean, I guess the only thing here left that we're really trying to see is Miami, depending on what they do with Alabama, if they lose it.

I mean, we'll talk about that, but that's a pretty important revelation there for Texas people. Yeah, we want to see where BYU is and where Miami is. BYU still has a path in no matter where they put them. Miami is 12. They didn't move. BYU is 11 last week. I'm assuming we're going to see BYU at 11. Yeah.

And I guess now, is Miami out? Is that it? Do we just, do we find out? They're not going to be. I think Miami's out. I see no path unless they just suddenly change their minds about it. See, that's the thing we keep saying this. I guess they could just change their mind.

but I don't think they're going to. Yeah, because if they were to change their minds, it would have been this week. So they're done, and Notre Dame is in. For now, Notre Dame still has to worry because of machinations that could come. If BYU were to win, for instance, and take a lot of time.

If BYU and Alabama win, that's going to be a problem for Notre Dame. But BYU is number 11. They're an 11-1 team. And we learned actually some BYU news, and we'll probably have to talk about this and a little more depth before we go off the air, Ari. Kalani Sataki is staying at BYU.

The Crumble Cookie CEO is the most vocal about this because he's a big, big cougar. But that cookie money kept Kalani Sataki in Provo. What do you think is the market cap of crumble cookies? It's pretty big. I don't know, but it's probably pretty big. Have you ever bought a crumble cookie? They're very expensive.

I've never, I've eaten. Ten Notre Dame, down one. They flipped Notre Dame in Alabama. So they change their mind on one thing, just not the one thing that matters. Yeah. So Notre Dame is in the danger zone. If BYU wins, Notre Dame is probably out. Because I think if Alabama loses, they might just stay where they are, depending on how that game goes.

I think if Alabama loses a close one to Georgia, a team they already beat, I don't know that they're going to do much with them. Yep. So the college football playoff committee is capable of finding out or realizing that, are wrong and flipping something, but the thing that they flipped has no impact on who's in the field. It does if BYU wins. So, yeah, now it looks like they are a BYU win away from potentially being out. I don't know.

Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, BYU wins there in the field. So somebody has to drop. Yeah. And then it would become a Texas tech debate at that point. That exactly. Or Alabama, if they lose to Georgia, like if Georgia,

blew out Alabama, there might be some talk about that. But if it's close, I just don't see it. Alabama is in there at number nine. Be interested to hear what the rationale was for flipping them. Notre Dame didn't do anything wrong last week. They beat Stanford really thoroughly. Alabama beat Auburn. Didn't look particularly great doing it. Yeah. OU is eight, so any fantasy about whether or not Oklahoma is going to be making it is probably a wasted breath. Now, the question I have, Ari, is if Alabama win, which would put out it would push Alabama up obviously in the rankings Alabama like Oklahoma is a huge Georgia fan because if Alabama wins Oklahoma

goes on the road if Alabama loses Oklahoma has a home game seven Texas A&M six Ole Miss so Ole Miss up one as Texas A&M dropped so all the worries about whether Lane Kiffin was leaving and that would be a punishment for old miss and they'd move them down they didn't move them down they moved them up yeah the um i'm kind of surprised by that too because a and m has a top 10 win and old miss doesn't so like recency of the of that game seems almost beat oklahoma on the road oh i'm an idiot i forgot about that makes perfect sense like i was saying i like you were saying just yeah as i said it's really hard to keep everyone's resume like fresh it is it is so organ at five they move

But so the teams below A&M just kind of moved up to fill in the spots. Oregon's number five. So the question is, can Oregon get a buy at this point? Or is that? That's probably going to, I would not think. If BYU wins, I think they do. In the realm of possibility. Yeah.

Texas Tech 4, Georgia 3, Indiana, 2, Ohio State is going to be number one. Okay. Ready you have it. now can we can we talk about organ at five sure let's have a conversation why is organ with no wins over teams that would be in the field ahead of teams that have wins against teams in the field because who you beat doesn't matter anymore well because it's the loss column it's strictly the loss column right yeah i mean they got the same number of losses though Oregon has a better loss than Ole Miss right no old miss lost to georgia so it doesn't have a

better loss i don't know i have no answers for you on that one it's 11 and 1 versus 10 and 2. They're just reading the loss column. Well, I'm saying, like, why is Oregon ranked ahead of Ole Miss? They have a top 10. That's a great question. Yeah, Ole Miss has a road win against the team in the field, and Oregon doesn't have any wins against teams in the field.

Yeah. So. And I mean, like, both of their losses are good. Like, I don't know if there's any difference between losing to Georgia and Indiana in terms of the way the committee views it. Yeah, I don't think so. One game is at home. One game is on the road.

we got the new rankings on the screen. The most important things we found out, Notre Dame dropping, flip-flopping with Alabama. Also, James Madison being ranked number 25. Because I think James Madison being ranked number 25 means if Duke wins the ACC and James Madison wins the Sunbelt, James Madison's your 12 seed, and the winner of Tulane, North Texas is your 11 seed.

Yeah. Andy, you have a beautiful brain of a smart guy who retains all his information. Has it ever happened in the CFP era? I meant to look this up today and I didn't. Where two teams, both in the power conferences with the same record that are both in the top 15 where one, well, not even in the top 15, where the team that won the game didn't go over the team that didn't. Is this the first time that will ever have happened? Well, I told you about 2014 where they had TCU over Baylor every ranking until the last one.

I mean, in and out. Has it ever happened? But there was a four-team playoff. It wasn't, it was never even a thought. No, I know, but I'm just like, I'm wondering if it's ever happened before in any, in any year where a team were a team that lost to the other way. Oh, yeah, Penn State, Ohio State. That's right. But Penn State had an extra loss on the same record.

Yeah, this is the first time it's happened. I think. Yeah. Yeah. Because like I do think that like changing rankings and doing things is important and is important to look back at. But I think that when you change the rankings at the end or don't change the rankings and your decision has an impact on who gets in and who doesn't, regardless of

there's four or 12 teams is a more impactful decision than changing, changing rankings that has no impact on that. So I mean, this is a pretty like the Miami thing I have beaten to the ground and I'm tired to talking about it, but I think it's a pretty All right, let me give you one potential Miami path. I'd love to hear that. The only possibility.

Georgia beats Alabama 50 to nothing. Texas Tech beats BYU 50 to nothing. Maybe at that point. Yeah. Maybe.

Still just a maybe. Yeah, because you would need Bama to out of the field. Right. You need Bama to get beaten so badly that. I'm happy you brought that up, and this isn't even a Miami discussion. This is a Bama discussion. But the thing is, I don't even know if that matters, because Alabama already beat Georgia on the road. So I'm not sure if they lose 50 to nothing, it might not even help them. Well, here's the question I have for you. We have always, and I think you and I are an agreement that we are assuming that Alabama, regardless

of what happens on Saturday, maybe outside of a 50 nothing loss, which isn't going to happen. is in. But this will be the first time by only the second year of the 12th team field, but the first time ever that a three-loss team will have gotten in. Are we over playing our hand here by saying they're automatically in? Or is it possible that this committee doesn't reward conference championship game? I am looking at Alabama's third loss this year the way I looked at SMU's second loss last year. Okay. Which is the conference championship game. And again, we are assuming Alabama loses. That is not an assumption you should make. it's a two and a half point spread, Alabama beat them.

In this scenario, though, we've only had one year of the 12-team playoff, and we've only had one deliberations in regards to how they do it with 12 teams. And in the only year that they've done it, they rewarded or did not penalize, I should say, the conference championship game losers. Are we stupid for taking that for granted as if that's what's 100% going to happen again? Because in the history of the sport, or at least at the playoffs, losers of conference championship games in the past have been penalized. like is it possible we shouldn't take anything for granted like i i don't know if you can

like there are teams and that's also not true losers of conference championship games have not been penalized all that badly i mean hell in the bc s oklahoma lost the big 12 championship game and still made the bc s title game yeah if alabama has three losses and their third is in the championship game i'm fairly certain they'll get in but there's an an entire list of teams here that are 100% automatically in. Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, Oregon. Is Texas Tech automatically in? I don't want to say that, no.

I think that they have a really good chance of losing of still getting in, but I don't want to say 100% clinched. Because, remember, yeah, Texas Tech is playing an 11-1 team that they already beat, and they beat them, what, 26 to 7? I mean, like, are we really one result or two results away, now three results away from having two big 12 teams and two G5 teams in the field this year?

Yeah, it's a possibility. And I got to, the ACC's going to be down so bad if this happens. Because the ACC would then have zero. Right. Right. And I got to ask this question on a series XM show today. Dallon Cuff and Roddy Jones asked me this question.

should the ACC start acting like the American or the Mountain West with its tiebreakers? I think that every conference should do it. I think every conference should promote the teams and reward the teams. Yeah, give your best, the teams that had the best chance of being ranked the highest, the chance to be ranked the highest. Yeah, I mean, if Miami is going to get left out, then I'm rooting for that to happen. teach everybody a lesson about what your tiebreakers mean and how to affect them. James Madison fans, by the way, the biggest Duke fans in the world.

If Duke wins and BYU wins and JMU wins, does Jim Phillips look in the mirror and go, how the hell did I let that happen? Yes. Because I remember it's all. But it's not one of those things where the presidents of the ACC schools are going to go to him and go, how did you let, you know, how did you do this? Jim Phillips probably assumed this would never happen because he probably assumed that his good teams would be good. Yeah.

And like, listen, you're not supposed to see this type of scenario coming from ahead, but I would have ensured it's so easy with 2020 vision. I'm not trying to criticize the man. He's down bad enough right now. but you need to see all of this coming in the sense that if there are tiebreakers, that we reward the teams that have the most likelihood of making a CFP run. And you know what the funniest thing about this is? And I know that like we have spent all this time debating whether Notre Dame and Miami

should get in, forget that whole thing. I want to know how many teams in the field do you actually think that Miami is better than if that happens. I would say there were better than five teams if that happens. they're better than JMU, okay? Right. You can't do the automatic bid thing. No, I know, but it's funny that a team, I actually believe that Miami is good enough to make a run.

I'm not just doing it because I feel like getting on a high board. I'm actually looking at ESPN's FPI, and I think everybody assumes ESPN, oh, they're going to favor the SEC. It actually doesn't. Here's ESPN's FPI. The highest ranked SEC team is Alabama at six. They're behind Ohio State, Indiana, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Texas Tech.

The number seven team is Miami, which is ahead of Georgia, Utah, Texas, A&M, USC, Ole Miss, Texas, Vandy, BYU, Oklahoma. Let's play a game. Let's do it. I'm the host. Okay. Good Miami beat this team. All right. Ohio State.

Maybe. Okay. I would say no, just to be fair. And then the rest of the list is, yes. That's the end of the game. Correct, correct. I'm just like, and. Let's play a different game.

This is more up your alley. What's the spread? Okay. Neutral field. Of Ohio State. Miami, Oregon. Oh, Oregon by three and a half? Miami, Indiana. Miami five point dogs?

Miami, Georgia. Three and a half? So what we're saying, is these all would be fairly competitive games. What I'm saying is that they would be the spread of the first Notre Dame in Miami game, which is everybody thought Notre Dame would win in and they didn't. Right. So I'm going to our friend Parker Fleming's excellent site,

CFBGraphs.com, where you can do matchups and his advanced stats, which are fairly similar to some of the metrics that the committee uses. They will give you a predicted outcome of a game. And we used this earlier for a Miami Notre Dame one that I think had Notre Dame favored by three and a half for four points on a neutral field. This was very late in the season when we did this. So, all right, let's do that little exercise we were doing. All right, let's do Miami and Georgia.

Let's see what Miami, Georgia spits out when I put them on a neutral field. Can I guess Georgia minus three and a half? Georgia minus three and a half? You're wrong. What is it? You're wrong. Miami minus three and a half. Yeah.

Okay. give me another one do Miami Ohio State all right I'm just curious but Ohio State be six and a half point favorites that's my guess Ohio State would be an eight point favorite against Miami okay now let's do I don't know how many the point's going to be the point let's do Miami Oregon all right Miami would be a two and a half point favorite this is bullshit I'm sorry. Like, I can't handle. Just do the full screen. Doc Nannini wants Miami, Alabama. Let's do Miami, Alabama. I think Miami would probably, based on what you told me about that, I would say a three and a half point spread, three and a half point. Miami, a four point favorite. Yeah. Now, this is just one one site, one set of metrics, but your guy, Tyler, Shoemaker, we'd ask him. I think I can do it. They would not be that different, probably. They would be fairly similar, probably off by a point or two each way. but yeah he used to have a calculator that you could do it this isn't it's not here right now

but i i don't like i think that people don't realize how good miami is they're they're very talented i like if we went if we're just eyeballing rosters which by the way i think is helping Notre Dame too Notre Dame's also being helped by eyeballing the roster not being helped by it they're being lifted entirely by it there's nothing they don't have anything on the resume that they're being helped with but yes if you if you if you if you you eyeball Miami's roster, Miami's roster looks more like Ohio State's roster than most of the other teams in the field. Everyone's like Miami isn't consistently good.

They're as consistent as everybody else but three teams in the field. They've won 10 games like everyone else. Yeah. And the thing is the two teams they lost to were eight win teams. They didn't lose to, they didn't lose to Florida State. They played them. How are they any less or more consistent than Florida? They played them.

They're the same consistency. of Bama. Right. Bama lost to a team that Miami beat on the same field that that team beat Alabama. Oklahoma. A seven and a half point favorite against Oklahoma. And I'm not saying Oklahoma shouldn't be out. At least Oklahoma has wins, which brings us back to the problem.

The team that's in is in entirely because of I tested metrics. It's insane. And you're right back on this. You said you weren't going to do this. It's insane. And it's over. It's insane. I'm sorry.

Like, how are you not? mad about this it's insane because i got mad about it i can't do anything about it the stupid system is the stupid system for the for this year jo in the chat is miami 100% out or is their potential for movement the only potential that i see for miami unless they again unless they just change their minds which they keep telling us they're not going to do is alabama and BYU both lose by 50 and I don't think that's going to happen because there are no and like the other thing too that you were kind of like hoping for is like or or more context of like well more teams are playing this weekend and you're going to get more results that might knock teams out

of the situation that make wins look better and worse and beating pit was important and all these things it did nothing for them. It did nothing for them. Ratchet DeWan with a good question. What happens if Jay and Mew and Virginia both lose this week? Good question. You know what the answer to that question is? Probably Duke in the playoff or the winner of Boise State UNLV, but it's probably Duke. Yeah, because you have to pull from a conference champion.

You know, I just get to replace it with an after. There has to be a fifth conference champion in there. So it's whoever's ranked higher between Duke, and the winner of the Mountain West Championship game in that particular, because it's not going to be Troy, who would be the one beating James Madison? Well, let's go out of a rabbit hole, though.

Like, who do you think they would put in if that happened? Duke. I think it would be Duke. You think it would be Duke even over, like, UNLV? What's UNLV's record? They've only lost twice, right? I think they're 10 and 2. I think, and then Boise State, I believe, has more losses because they lost the USF in the non-conference.

Yeah. Dan Mullen, getting to the playoff before Florida? That'd be fucking wild. Oh, sorry. That'd be freaking wild. it would be it would be a hundred percent wild but every now and then one slips guys i'm sorry i i would be amazed but i mean look at that point stranger things have happened i mean honestly i don't know what's happened but i actually think that duke would not get in i don't think

they could in good faith put a five lost team in i don't think they could but i don't know anything about anything, obviously. And Boise State is favored in that game, too. Yeah. So this is going to, like, so guys, what we're saying is Friday night, it's not just the American you should be watching. Watch the Mountain West Championship game. I'll be watching it.

What does he say has four losses, by the way? I missed one. Yeah, boy, yeah. They lost it. They played at Notre Dame. Yeah, UNLV's two losses are two. Boise in the regular season by 100 and New Mexico by five.

So not great losses. No. Well, no loss in the Mountain West is going to be considered a great loss in this comparison. I know. Duke lost to Yukon. Youcon was good.

This is wild. This is wild times. This is unbelievable. But yeah, Duke lost to Tulane. Tulane's probably going to be in the field, unless North Texas beats him in there in the field. If this is the first time in the history of the college football playoff, that a team will get in with no quality wins and nothing but vibes.

So I guess Reese asked, Greg in the chat says, Reese check if teams that aren't playing could they move? And he says Eurochek did hint the committee's opening to change Miami and Notre Dame. Why? Why would they do that now? What would be the point of that? You've had all this time and that this information isn't changing. Yeah, I'm open to a lot of things.

This one made me laugh. Ari doesn't know Ball. He's an Ohio State Homer plus he loves Miami because I went to Ohio State for undergraduate and then I got my bachelor or I got my master's at Miami. That'd be a hell of a run. He's out of you. Oh, wait, you went to Arizona and you don't have an advanced degree. Never mind.

Hey, first of all, I'm working on my advanced degree. Second of all. The Harvard of Tucson. This human being can't fathom why I would think this. So he is ascribing me an extra team I root for Because that's the only thing that they can ever Instead of analyzing the information Like the only way your brain functions

Is Ari, they're fans, he's a Notre Dame fan He wants Notre Dame to win I know, but he is he Do I get like an honorary degree from Miami? You should ask I'm sure Who accused you. Has Uncle Luke gotten an honorary degree from Miami?

That's what I'm going to have to ask Uncle Luke if he's gotten one. Because if he's got one, then maybe you can get one. But Andy, if he hasn't got one yet, then you won't get one. A mile a little bit yesterday when that guy accused you of being a Miami homer. The guy went to Florida. Literally. We can say this until we're blue in the face.

But someone who just wants their team to come out on top is never going to buy it. It doesn't matter what the teams are. If it were two different teams that had 10 and 2 records, similar resumes, and they played each other, and one of them won, we would say the same things. It doesn't matter what the teams are. Because there's a structure of the sport. And when you and I take the summer off and we talk about grab ass for a few months, and then we go to a game on August 31st or September 1st, and we cover that game,

we write about that game, we talk about that game. We want that game to matter. I just, I want the results of the games and the confines of the sport to make sense. is that like too much to ask that like it's not just it's apparently too much to ask for the actual result of the game to matter i mean because like honestly speaking we are in a sport for the first time that has decided entirely by how somebody what somebody thinks about someone not really there is this thing called gymnastics that's true it's that's a good column how the college football playoff committee turned to college football playoff into gymnastics. I'd read that. The Russian judge has Notre Dame ahead of Miami. Let's see what the Polish judge says. Also, gymnastics is pretty wild.

Ricky St. Clair says, suppose it's chalk this weekend, 10 and 3 runner-up Alabama, SEC runner-up Alabama, 10-and-2 Notre Dame or a 10-and-2 Miami that beat Notre Dame. All right, Ricky. So if it's chalk, that means Texas Tech is beating BYU. It means that George is beating Alabama. So two of those teams would get in. Based on what the committee has told us over and over and over and over and over again, I would say it would be Alabama and Notre Dame would get it based on what the committee keeps telling us. If they suddenly go, wait, didn't Notre Dame in Miami play?

Who won that game? And they look it up. Then maybe the canes got a chance. But I doubt it. Because they already would have done that. You know, the committee meets in a room that's 36 minutes from my house, right? Should I go over there? Are you just going to hold a sign, head-to-head matters?

We're actually thinking about doing a staycation in Dallas as a family for like the holidays. And we're actually doing it at the PGA tour, a huge golf course, PGA tour up in Frisco in a few weeks or next week. but it will have been too late because they well also they're not there they're at a different hotel what I'm saying I was just going to say should we change it? The hotel they're at very family friendly lots of indoor stuff I don't know if they do the ice like the one in Orlando does

but they do like a crazy Christmas like blow out there but when we're doing it they will have already made their decision so maybe we can you could still drive over there and hold a sign if you want or maybe I could just like well I want to create plausible Deniability. So I'll bring my wife and daughter there. You're going to be in Nashville? That'll be

your problem? No, no. But Thursday night. Maybe I can like vandalize the room or something. They're not going to be there yet. No, I said vandalize the room with green and orange silly string. Sebastian was here.

The Gaylord Grapevine. Very, very nice fun hotel. And they've got a cool water park too we go to in the summer. so what did we learn tonight we learned if Duke wins the ACC and James Madison which is a more than three touchdown favorite in the Sunbelt championship game if they win James Madison is in the playoff yes we learned that we also learned we think that as long as Texas Tech beats BYU you is probably in the playoff. Yeah. It's a beauty pageant. I mean, it always was.

A beauty pageant. Yeah. I don't know how beauty pageants work. Is it just a bunch of judges to say, oh, my God, that she's hot or, like, is there part of it? That is exactly how they work. Okay. There's a talent portion.

Okay. Right. There's a talent portion. Certainly you remember Miss Teen, South Carolina, the greatest. beauty pageant interview answer of all time. I don't. I don't know anything

about beauty pageants. You've never seen Miss Teen, South Carolina. No idea what you're talking about. Oh, my God. I feel like I need to download it now and show it to you. She was asked why

a certain percentage of American school children could not identify where America was on a map. She proceeded to give a rambling answer about people not being able to afford maps. something about South Africa and something about the Iraq.

Mario Lopez standing there holding the mic looked like he was going to die. One of the young ladies who played a role on the Friday Night Lights TV show was the judge. She looked like she wanted to die. It was amazing. I still have not spotted a single lie in her response though. What do you like? Oh, Caitlin. I'm so sorry.

Caitlin. I hate to bring this up. Caitlin's probably, you know, living her best life now and then I apologize. Are you comparing one of the name to Caitlin? No. Okay. I'm comparing beauty pageants to beauty pageants. Somebody's like, there's a very

feminine toad into the show. Has nobody seen this? Am I taking crazy pills? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what you're talking about, but yeah. Unbelievable. We're playing it on the show tomorrow. We're going to play that on the show tomorrow. We're also going to have somebody who's involved in one of the most interesting game this weekend.

Manny Diaz, the Duke head coach, joins us. I'm sure Manny's going to tell us why he thinks Duke should make the playoff if they win the ACC. I think the committee's told us what's going to happen if Duke wins. But I want to hear what Manny has to say because Manny is the most popular person in Harrisonburg, Virginia right now. I mean, he's going to have something to say about being boxed out for sure. I can't wait. I cannot wait. So Manny Diaz on the show tomorrow, I'm also going to play that clip for Ari.

Be there or be square. We love you. Crack a medello. Watch some Miss Teen USA clips from 2000, whatever year that was, 2007. Get educated. We'll talk to you tomorrow. Thank you.