Andy & Ari On3 - College Football’s NEW Mess: Why multiple NFL players have been granted a 5th year of eligibility | Oklahoma's Brent Venables NEW Extension

Episode Date: August 20, 2026

While the world of college football never seems to disappoint, the latest news is a bit weird to accept: NFL players are now being granted a 5th year of college football eligibility. Watch here as George Wrighster III joins Andy & Ari to break down this bizarre scenario where some NFL rookies who are going through summer camp now have the opportunity to come back and play college football. What are we to make of this? Andy & Ari dive deep.   (0:00) On Today’s Episode (0:40) Presenting Sponsor (2:30) Intro: NFL players News (3:20) Court Ruling (5:30) George Wrighster III Joins (13:55) “Ghost Transfer” rule (17:00) Rhoback (19:33) George’s rankings of the rankings (23:02) Texas at #1 (25:35) Ohio State’s Schedule (32:09) Texas’ Schedule (37:03) Scheduling non-conference (40:37) Brunt Workwear (41:25) Brent Venables Extension (59:49) Closing out with George   After the discussion of the NFL players news, George criticizes Andy’s top 25 from last week. Surprisingly, George ranked Andy’s as the worst of the On3 personalities. What’s Andy’s rebuttal for this? Watch it lead into an Ohio State vs Texas discussion.   Next up, Andy & Ari receive some breaking news mid-record: Oklahoma Head Coach Brent Venables receives a 6-year extension. Worth $10.5M per year, was this contract extension warranted for the Sooners head coach? The guys discuss.   Our show is presented by Polymarket!   New User Offer: Deposit $10, get $20 upon sign up   https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3   Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $20 bonus upon sign up.   18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirement apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur.   We are also sponsored by Rhoback! Use the code “ANDYARI20 “ on Rhoback.com for 20% off for all new customers through the end of this week. Rhoback.com -  20% off all Performance Polos, Shorts and more with code: ANDYARI20   Get $10 off at BRUNT with code ON3 at https://www.bruntworkwear.com/On3 and enter THE BRUNT POTTY OF GOLD SWEEPSTAKES for your chance to win $50,000. No purchase necessary. Ends 9/18/26. Official rules apply. #Bruntpod     Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/join   Watch our show on YouTube! https://youtu.be/5vdrmlAYJ0g   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 and Rion 3 presented by Polly Market. George Reister, our new teammate, the host of The Unafraid Show, joins us. And he's going to help us explain how some guy you watched in an NFL preseason game last week might be playing in college football this year. There are courts involved. Of course there are. Also, George said I had the worst top 25 out of everybody from On 3. I need to know why. I need an explanation.

and I also need to know why I believe more in the Big Ten than he does. We'll talk about it all today on Andy and Ari on 3, presented by Polymarket. We got a new sponsor alert, Ari. We are now brought to you by Polymarket. That's right, available in all 50 states. Download that Polymarket app. And now we're taking positions. It's what we're always doing.

We're moving markets. It feels great. Yeah, we're market movers, guys. Exactly. So this works very much like what you're used to. The difference is, well, if you've traded soybean futures or pork bellies, you're really going to know what's going on. But basically you're taking a position saying something to the tune of,

I don't know, I think Auburn will win more than seven and a half games. And based on how many other people take the position either with you or against you, that changes your payout. And it also changes as the season goes on. So you've got that. You've also got positions you can. take on games that are going on right now, like Major League Baseball, or once college football gets kicked off, there will be positions on games that are going on, there will be spreads.

It will be very similar to what you're used to. So, download the Polymarket app and use the code on three. New users get $20 when they deposit 10 on sign-ups. So you deposit 10 bucks, you get 20 bucks from Polymarket, and you start trading. Ari, it feels like football season, man. There's nothing better than my two favorite things in the entire world, Andy, college football and trading. That's right. So let's start trading with Polymarket. Download that app, use the code on three. We need to deposit $10. You get $20 right off the bat. Ari, let's have a show. Let's have a show. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions.

Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. Welcome to Andy and Ari on 3 presented by Polymarket. And it was, wouldn't be college football in 2026 if we weren't six days away from actual games. And yet we're talking about another court ruling. Ari. This one's, this was a crazy one. Yes.

Before we start, can I just say the blanket statement that everybody agrees with? Yes. If you played in an NFL game preseason irregular, you should not be able to play in college football. Does anybody disagree with that? I might on this in this particular case. Okay.

let's get into it then. Because the NCAA did something stupid, and the people playing in NFL preseason games now wouldn't be playing in them if the NCAA hadn't done something stupid first. So let's go to the courtroom. Temporary restraining order issued in Louisiana for 16 players who are suing to potential return to college football.

Here's why. So the NCAA changed its eligibility rules in late June. Five years to play five now. Instead of you have five years to play four, redshirt a year. You have five years to play five. If you started school in 2023, you get five years. If you started school in 2024, you get five years. If you started school in 2025, you get five years. You start a school now. You get five years. If you started school in 2022, well, if you redshirted, you're still playing in college. If you didn't redshirt, if you played

2022, 22, 2023, 2024, and 2025, you're out. Well, needless to say, the people who played four years who started in 2022 were like, wait a second, shouldn't we get to do this too? We were in college last year. If the other guys on our team can play five, how come we can't? And they all sued. And the judge in Colorado in late July said, yes, they should be able to play. Now, this judge said, no, they can't enter the transfer portal or anything, but yes, they should be allowed to play. The judge in Louisiana said, oh, no, not only should they be allowed to play, they should also be allowed to enter the transfer portal.

And this group's an interesting group. So one of the players is Jack Pyeburn. He was an edge rusher for LSU last year. He played in Florida before that. Very good college player. Jack Pyeburn is currently trying to make the Bucks roster. He had two sacks against the Jets in a preseason game last week. it is weird to think about that these guys that we're seeing in NFL uniforms could be playing in college football this year.

There's a couple other guys that were very good that are included in this Louisiana case. Trent Hendrick, who was a James Madison linebacker last year, who was really good. Dayquan Wright and Xavier Harris, who started at Ole Miss last year, could be included in this. So there's a lot going on here. To help us break it down, we bring in a guy who played a guy who played. college football and played in the NFL and has lived this, except for the court cases. George Reister hosted The Unafraid Show. Our new teammate here at On 3. George, you had some very strong opinions on this last night when this ruling came down.

Yeah, because I saw so much pushback. I saw so many people saying, oh, these guys that they should not be able to play, this is wrong and all this. Okay. So in general, I do agree that once you go to the NFL, you should not be able to come back. But this is a isolated case that the NCAA screwed up. They knew they wanted to put in the five-for-five rule. They breck-crumbed it out last year as a possibility. And instead of putting it in place in January, they waited until the NFL draft, the transfer reporter were over, the NBA draft, all of these things have been done and settled.

And then they want to put the rule in place. And they knew had they talked to any. lawyer, they would have known that this was going to get absolutely blown up in court. So this is a self-inflicted wound by the NCAA. So I don't feel bad for them. And what are the kids supposed to do? Because some of these players like TJ Harden, he's already been put on waivers. So if you are in this situation, why on earth would you not explore the possibility where you can make some money, have an opportunity to get better to increase your chances of making an NFL roster. This is just all on the NCAA.

So this is a different case than others where I look at it and say, yes, NFL players, guys who are out of college, should not be going back to college like you've had in basketball and all of that. Yeah. And that's the thing. Like, I think most people, like the average consumer of college football and college basketball, they don't want people who've been in the pros coming back. Like I think, like, whether you, however you feel about athletes getting paid and how much

they get paid and all that, I feel like most people agree that once you've been in the NFL of the NBA, like, you don't come back. I'm with you on this. This is a special case because this was something, you said, the way you said it was very, right. Like, bread crumbed it out. Like, they told us this was coming. And then waited, waited, waited until after everybody made their drive.

raft decisions because like these guys we've mentioned these names and remember it's not a huge number of players but it's it's a decent number and they probably most of them would have said I'm going to play in college next year like if this rule had been passed January 1st they would have just entered the portal or stayed on the teams they were on and played in college this year yeah I think that we're just at a point where we're desensitized a little bit to this because it's not the first time we've seen it. And in this specific case, I agree with you guys. Like, you know, if it's a stupid rule that was done on a stupid calendar that messed up a plan for a younger kid that has a chance to make money and play in college for another year, then let them play.

I just think that we're just not used to seeing a Tampa Bay Bucks uniform in an on three graphic. And I don't think it's something that we want to get used to. And obviously we won't as we get, you know, through this rule and, you know, five for five become. normal. But, you know, anytime the player himself is at a disservice, like I usually side with the players benefit. And I think I agree with you, George. Isn't this the craziest part about it is that had they put the rule in in January, players could have gone in the transfer portal. They could have gotten money. And now on the back end, like, think about how many people that this impacts. This impacts transfers that went to schools.

This impacts kids who stayed at schools because imagine if they knew that they had a potential starter that was coming back. And now all the budgets are screwed up so the kids can't make as much as much money. They're trying to squeeze it around. And then you're going to have schools trying to figure out with third party people like, yo, how do we find this kid five, six hundred thousand dollars that we didn't intend? So now you're going to have even more people trying to circumvent the actual quote unquote salary cap that, that fictional number. And you can actually squeeze the kids themselves, as you pointed out, like, because, listen, fall camp is underway here. We've got a game in 10 days.

The options are limited. They might take a deal for less than they're actually worth as a result of this because they're eager to get onto a team. I love that producer river puts up the North Carolina TCU lower third. like, hey, Tar Heels. Do you need someone? Are you looking for some players? But one of the things that I think that people are going to push back at and say, this is why to protect college sports act that it needs to be passed and the one-time

transfer rule and all of these things. One thing that people have completely ignored and I haven't heard too many people talk about is the one-time transfer rule. Now, mind you, I'm against the protect. College Sports Act as a as a whole piece of legislation. I firmly believe in collective bargaining. And that is the only thing that will stop these lawsuits. Because if the players, and yes, you need to create a players union,

you need to have one entity for them to negotiate with that all the conferences answer to. And people that, well, that's that, that's too difficult. Well, they've spent over a hundred million dollars on lawyers in the last five years fighting cases and drawing up legislation and everything else. So if they spent that $100 million trying to actually create a system that actually works, then things would be settled now. But the problem has been a consolidation of power.

They want to stay in power. Tony, Tony Petiti, Greg Sankey, the NCAA, they all want to continue the same power structure and just get a different result. And my mom always told me, if you always do what you always do, you always get what you always got. And this is why they keep getting what they got because they keep doing the same thing. Well, so this is interesting, too. I don't know if you, for, I want to believe the conspiracy theory that they did this knowing it would cause lots of chaos so they could then point and say, look, we need congressional help for this.

We can't do this ourselves. I think that gives the NCAA way too much credit. they're not usually good about foresight. So I don't think, but it's crazy that the night the Big Ten and the SEC signed on to the Protect College Sports Act was the same night that this judge in Colorado ruled in favor those players. Now, that Colorado case, federal case, they, the circuit court of appeal is going to rule on that case fairly soon.

Like, if they overturn it and rule in favor of the NCAA, I think that helps the NCAA a ton with all of these. If they uphold it, though, I think the NCAA is just going to have to let all these people play and probably let them hit the portal because the various states are saying you can enter the transfer. Like the Louisiana State Court said you can enter the transfer portal. There was a case in Tennessee where they said the player could enter the transfer portal.

There's another case. I can't remember which state with some basketball players where they told them they can enter the transfer portal. So that's the... But it's interesting because there's like all, the various rules apply like you know how the SEC you can't there's no spring back when there was a spring spring transfer portal you couldn't go SEC to SEC school so that's still the same so like if jack pyburn wants to play and lSU doesn't want him back he can't go to another SEC school he's got to

go somewhere else now there'd be a market for him if he doesn't make the bucks but same thing with the you know the guys that started at old miss last year like they'd probably have to go outside the SEC but all of that's really interesting. The other part, George, that I thought was really interesting, the judge in the case in Louisiana and the judge in the case in Tennessee both enjoined the quote-unquote ghost transfer rule. And that's the rule that says if you take a transfer outside the transfer portal, your coach can be suspended for six games.

And that's what kept there from being any sort of spring transfers this year. if the courts have said that rule doesn't fly, then you don't actually have a transfer portal window next year. It's all open. Well, see, I mean, is that going to apply to everything or is that just going to apply to people in this circumstance? It just applies to the guys in these cases right now. But if I am, so if like, here's a deal.

If I'm a school and I needed a quarterback or whatever in July. If we were in the two-lane situation where they went up taking Jake Retz left last year, there's no way I would have challenged it this year because what if I lost and had to suspend my coach for six games? But if I already know two judges have looked at this thing and said, it doesn't hold up,

I might be more challenging. Yes. And I want to point out one thing that's, that's happening that I think plays into this whole thing. So the NCAA clearly does not have any power. The only power that it has to exert is when players are taking money that they're not supposed to or that they deem that they're not supposed to. Now all of a sudden we can draw the hammer. Not when UNC's doing sham classes, not anything that happens at Baylor, not anything that actually matters, right? It wields its power as it,

as it pleases, but only in certain certain circumstances. But the conferences have actually shown power. Because in this case, there is a Villanova quarterback who's trying to, who's trying to be eligible. And the Patriot League is saying that if Villanova plays him, they're going to forfeit every single Patriot League game. So, and then go back to, uh, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, Texas Tech. it wasn't the NCAA that made that happen. It was the Big 12 that made it happen partially because of the governor threatening. But it was the NCAA that caught.

I'm sorry, it was the Big 12 that called everything to be able to happen. So I do think that the conferences actually do have some power in this situation, but I don't believe that they're going to flex it. Yeah, I think they'd be scared. Also, their teams want some of these players. That's the other part of it. Like, I wanted to kidding when I was like, hey, Targills, go grab some dudes. You might use them.

So this is going to be fun. All right. We got to talk about rankings next because George ranked all the On Three rankings. It was my favorite segment from the Unafraid Show this week. But before that, I got to tell you about our friends at Roebuck. I am wearing the Roeback Hessey hoodie now. just got this beauty in the mail for a little, little segment we're planning later in the year.

Look at that Texas Hesie hoodie. Ooh, yeah. Ari got some goodies from Roeback too. You know, it's Roebuck. A little team gear. Roeback should have thrown me the Texas hoodie. Let's be honest. I'm a Texas homer.

Yeah, yeah. You're obsessed with them. But that's the Bama black hoodie of death that we said that Caitlin DeBorden needed to be wearing all last season, the Ole Miss one. Beautiful. you're watching on the YouTube, you can see them right now, but rowback.com, R-H-O-B-A-C-K-com. The promo code is Andy RE20.

So that's A-N-D-Y-A-R-I-2-0 for 20% off your first order. Load up for the season. They've got team polos, team hoodies, team Q-Zips. And then look, for all of your other occasions, like I'm wearing Ro-Back basically five days a week now. The sweater polas they sent me are unbelievable. My wife's got the Roebuck for the ladies that looks awesome on her. Obviously, everything looks awesome on her, but the Roebuck looks especially awesome. So you name it.

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Oh, hi, Doris. I just want to point out, you are a smart, smart man. You are trying to stay married. I like that. I like that. Yeah, that's the, that's elite work. Make, make sure that you cut that out the way she accidentally sees it. That's a win right there.

Well, especially if you're wearing a skin. The first time she's ever seen this show. Yeah. I don't know if this is good. River, you can cut it out. Like, when my wife's wearing the H-E-H-E-H-H-H-K, with nothing underneath it, it's very fun to look at. R-H-O-B-A-C-K, code anti-R-H-20,

20% off your first order. Hey, because they're so cozy, but there's a good way to move some hoodies, brother. That is a good way to move. Exactly. It's true, though. It's true. Okay, now the part where we yell at each other, because everybody in on three, we did our on-three poll.

There were 11 of us that sent in top 25s. I think seven of us released our rankings publicly, including me and Ari. And George ranked the rankings before revealing his own ranking. I finished last. I was dead ass last. George, why was I last? Okay, first and foremost, let's look at this thing. So I will give you credit.

You had 21 of my 25 teams, but you only had seven business. 10 teams. What is going on here? What is going on? So George, I believe more in the big 10 than you do. How? You had nine big 10 teams, but I believe more in the league than you do. How is that even possible? I got Oregon as my national champion for this year. How is that possible that I believe in the league, that you believe in the league? Because I have four big 10 teams that would make the playoff and you only have three. You don't believe in your league. That is not true. I have four. I think it's three. Hold on. Let's call up George's. Okay. You have Oregon. You have Ohio State. You have Indiana. That's three. You got you see at 12. They ain't making it, bud.

Here is the here is the new one. G5 team getting that spot. No, here is the here is the nuance here. I knew that you were going to pull this up. I feel like when those when those political podcasters, when they be having their segments and their weight, and they're waiting and one of them is like, oh, I know what they're going to have for the gotcha, gotcha. Okay, here we go, Andy. I got you. Yes.

No, you didn't because I actually put out a different post that at a different time that had my... You don't get to put out multiple top 25s. No, no, hold on. I put out an entire bracket. Yes, I put out an entire bracket for my 12 teams and because I make sure to note that my preseason rankings are based upon that they are based upon returning players that they're based on

coaching, they're based on schedule, all sorts of things. See, mine's based on my playoff prediction. No, not mine. That's how I based on. Not mine. Because I actually put USC, for all the people to think I hate USC, I actually got USC in my bracket. And do you know who else who's not in my bracket that's in my bracket?

that's in my pre-season. A&M, right? No, no, no, Texas. I have Texas missing the college football playoff. Oh. See, look, there it is. There it is, Andy.

I mean, it is kind of tricky because when you do a preseason ranking, you have to take into account who you think is the best right now, but then obviously schedules can change how it turned out. We don't know jack shit about any of these teams. We're just guessing. I do.

I do. I'm just, I honestly, Two takeaways from here. So I was perfect. My two takeaways from this are if Andy's last, I agree with George. And second, ranking of rankings is an incredible idea that should be just done at all times. Should we like, this fall we should like rank the AP pollsters ballots. It's hilarious.

But so what did you find, George, when you were doing this whole project? What did you think was the biggest miss that we all had? had what was the biggest trend that you think is interesting. Did you come up with something that stood out to you by the on three's polls? Yeah, I think just like outside of Andy's poll where he's got Texas number one and things that they're going to win the national championship, which is already does too. I do too. You're a Texas homer. This is completely you have admitted such. So we have to disqualify of that. I do think that there's a lot of Texas love. And that has to be because there's got to be so much pressure on Sark this year. Because this is one of those seasons.

He's been there for a long, a long time that if you missed the college football playoff, it's one of those, what more can we give you? You have the quarterback that you have wanted, the one that you pushed Quinn Ewers out the door for you, you, you, uh, you, uh, got Goosby at Taffle, even though he's nicked up. He's not out for the season. You, you, you, you got cam, uh, at, wide, wide receiver. You got the transfer running backs that you want. You got the defensive coordinator that you are want. You got Colin Simmons. You get your, your defense looks amazing. If you missed the college football playoff this year, this is one of those Texas people are going to be looking at him and saying, what more can we get?

you. And there are a couple of coaches, and he's one of them that when I look at it, I'm looking at the amount of pressure that they're under this season and they're starting to wear it on their face a little bit. All right. Have you seen Sark's press press conferences? That looks like a man that knows that it's a lot on the line right now. Well, George, I'm happy that you went down this road because as you were listing up all the things that is great about what Texas has this year, I'm like, yeah, that's why I think they're going to win it. But your thought for keeping them out of the playoff this year is that you think that they're going to crumble under the pressure of having to live up to what they have. Well, okay, so I believe that the loser of

the Ohio State Texas game will miss the college football playoff. And that's because of the schedule. So I can swap out Ohio State for Texas as that caveat is that at the loser of that game will miss the playoff because their schedule is so incredibly, tough. When you look at Ohio State, if USC turns out to be as good as they, as they say they are, oh my gosh, that is going to be troubled. They got Oregon. They got Indiana. If Michigan is able to play, play well, they could be staring four losses in the face or three losses to playoff teams. Then at that point in point in time, the committee is saying, well, can you beat anybody in the playoff. I know you're a good team, but can you beat anybody who's actually in the tournament at this

point in time? And when you look at Ohio State, this team is obviously very talented. Julian Sands is a really good, good player. He's got to take the next step. Jeremiah Smith is obviously phenomenal. But take a look at the defense. Ohio State doesn't rebuild. They reload. So you know that they are replacing really good players with really good players. But as good as Caleb Downs replacement is, he can be phenomenal, but he won't be as good as Caleb Downs. Same thing for R.V.L. Reese. Same thing for McDonald's.

Same thing for Sunny Styles. Like, they may be good, but they're not going to be as good as they were last season, this season. So that defense is going to take somewhat of a step backwards. And Matt Patricia is not going to be. able to do everything with younger players as he was able to do with veteran experienced players last year. So now the offense has to step up and do more. And Julian Sane has to step up and do more. And this schedule is going to be tough. Do you know the last time Ohio State lost four games in

a season? I'm not putting you on the spot a little bit. That would be a very long time ago. Yes. I think that the last time they lost four times in a season, was like 2011. It was the fickle year. 11 year was the suspension. And then I think they lost it once in the late 90s. Yeah. But they don't lose four games in the season. Yeah, which is exactly why I said that three could be that that nine and three with three losses, two, two playoff teams could put you in a spot where the committee's asking, can you beat anybody in the playoffs at this point?

It's this is and this is why these guys keep saying they don't want to play good non-conference games, which I hate, which I want them to get away from. Like, I want this to not be true. I want what you're saying to not be true where even if one of these teams does go nine and three,

if they've beaten a couple playoff teams in the process, like hopefully they are considered fairly for it, even though they have three losses. Yeah, I'm a big proponent of everybody needs to play 10 power four games. So I despise what Indiana has done taking Notre Dame off the schedule, even what they did prior. I hated the SEC schedules, even though the people would say, well, they played a big

non-conference game. Well, they were only playing eight conference games. And it was very few teams in the SEC that would get up to 10 power four games. So I would give extra bonus points and kudos for teams that play tough non-conference competition. And now, granted, with the way that's, schedules currently are made. Games are pushed so far out. Like, I would never do it like this. If I were in charge of college football, schedules would be crafted every single year that, that you're non-conference, you don't know who you are going to play. And I have two solutions.

First one is we're either going to go, everybody plays eight conference games, and then you have three games against the other conferences, okay? So then if it's the SEC, you play one, one game against the Big Ten, the Big 12, and one game against the ACC. And then you might ask, well, George, all of these conferences have different numbers of teams. That's where I use Notre Dame to fill in the gaps. Ooh, I like it. And so that's one solution. But all of this, there needs to be some scheduling uniformity and the Big Ten allowing Nebraska, Penn State, USC, and, you know, and all these other teams to, well,

I think there's four or five of them. Penn State, Nebraska, Indiana, USC, I think right now. Yeah, it's, it's gross. It's gross. And it's bad for the fans. And Andy and R.A., I don't understand how fans have been convinced and brainwashed that this is the proper path. Because we only get 12 guaranteed opportunities per year to watch our college football team.

or and like look at the week one slate. It is, you're like searching for games when there should be more quality games throughout the entire package. And I think that the network partners, ESPN, Fox and all of them that CBS, that they're going to have to be the ones that push that forward. I am with you. Sabin said it the other day, he was on, I think it was during SEC Media days, he might have said where just all 12 games are against power conference teams.

And I like yours because you could leave one open in case you got an in-state rival or you want to play a good group of five team or you've got your state legislatures making you play somebody else in the state. But that would be fun to have the more like the more cross-conference games where everybody would have to play one from the ACC, one from the Big Ten, one from the SEC. Like that would give us some basis for comparison. when the playoff committee gets together. It would alleviate all subjectivity from the playoff committee's deliberations.

No, I mean, I'm with you on that for sure. And I do think that it's really difficult to kind of try to delineate who has a harder schedule when, you know, a lot of its hearsay. Ari, I think we may be talking to the next commissioner of college football. I know there are other podcasters who claim to want the job. I think George might be qualified, though. I do think that your prediction about Texas and Ohio State loser is going to be wrong. It could be. Interesting.

It could be. But I'll stand on business and then take all the heat in January. Yeah. Well, I actually think that there's a really good chance that a three-loss team is going to make it at some point. Well, let's look at the Texas schedule, guys, because we've looked at Ohio States, and it's the hardest Ohio State schedule in a long time. But Texas' schedule is pretty rough. like open SEC play at Neeland Stadium.

Red River. Florida comes to you, which look, they were four in England, but they beat you last year. Ole Miss made the semifinals of the playoff last year. You're at LSU. You're at A&M. Like that that is a lot of landmines. Yeah.

I mean, I actually think that Texas has a higher likelihood of losing three games than Ohio State does. Just because I haven't seen Ohio State lose three. I mean, they have those four big games, but they're not going to lose all four of them. So, like, it's, you know, maybe you'll be right. But Texas, I think, like, looking at it on face value, you know, seems like they have a pretty hard path.

But I also think that Texas has a higher likelihood as a result of that schedule to get in as a three-loss team if they were to lose Ohio State. Could you imagine if that happened to them again? If they lost three times and got left out a second year in a row and the Ohio State game was the difference. Well, okay. Oh, George. All right, all right.

Don't please tell me, for the love of God, please tell me that you are not one of one of these i'm not oh they got left out because they lost to oh i'm not please tell me i'm not okay okay no they got left out because they lost to florida i think it would be crazy if it happened to them again though because as much as i don't subscribe to the thought process they're absolutely correct when they say if they played utsa or something in that spot instead or another team and they won that they would have maybe had a higher chance of getting in like that's true that's a true statement i don't think that's why vandy was 10 and 2 and left out i know but vandy didn't have have the same collection of wins that texas did last year well no vandy

lost to texas yes yeah so so that's what i was going to say imagine a world where they say well if we played against uTSA then what would the conversation be it would it would then be, well, who did you play in the non-conference? And you lost to Florida. That's what the conversation would have been translated to. And then you would have had BYU screaming, Notre Dame screaming, all of these other teams that didn't get in, they would have been probably ahead of you in the line because you lost to Florida,

who was four and eight last last year. So that argument kind of falls on its face too for Texas. Texas already also had two wins over other playoff entrance, which none of those other teams had, which I think it makes a huge difference. People keep forgetting that they beat two teams that made the playoff last year. Correct. And including a Texas A&M team that...

That was undefeated at the end, yeah. Yes, but Texas A&M's only game against the team that finished in the top seven or eight in the SEC. The only team that they even played was Texas. It also would be a Notre Dame in South Bend, but there's that. Oh, well, true. Yeah. But I just think that Texas's resume last year was not good enough to get in in last year's field, but like that resume in general in the future will be good in some isolated years to get in.

For sure, for sure, for sure. I think. Except they're going to have a 2014 playoff and it's not going to matter anymore in the entire sport. And then no losses will matter anymore. But it is, Andy and I are 100% with you, though, George. neither of us think that scheduling week is a good thing. I actually think that people lose sight of the benefit of beating good teams. And I actually think that Ohio State's win against Texas and Ohio Stadium last year was a legitimizing thing for Texas, more than it was a detriment. Now, the Florida game is why they didn't get it, in my opinion.

So I'm of this opinion. And I want to know from you guys, because maybe I'm now the old man screaming at the out. But I believe that college football fans, like deep down in their, in their heart, regardless to whether they want to admit it or not, is that deep down in your heart, you would rather see your team, if your team's a powerful team, that you would rather see your team play a, competitive big game that you can go to the stadium, that it's appointment viewing for you, even if you lose that game close, that you would rather see that than them lose 50 to zero. I'm sorry, then them win 50 to zero against somebody that you knew the outcome and you could have went what went fishing or done the honey do list instead.

I think what you're trying to say is that the one close loss would be a more entertaining product for your money, right? Yes. I don't, I think that every college football fan creates or arrives at their opinion based on what's most advantageous for the bigger picture of their team. So I don't think that anybody would rather. their wallet. They'd say that on a message board when we're arguing about this. Yeah. But then if they get the home schedule and it's garbage because they scheduled bad non-conference games, they're going to be less likely to buy tickets. They're going to, like, I'm with George. As a consumer product, it's better games.

Paying with your wallet is a good point. But I still think that if you were to tell somebody, would you rather miss the playoff or beat everybody on her schedule by 40? They would choose the especially if even if there was nobody good on the schedule everybody wants what's best for their team but in terms of what they want from an entertainment product you're absolutely right and that's why i believe that we're college football in particular forget college sports as a whole but college football is going wrong is that we're not treating it like an enterprise that we're not treating college football like an enterprise because we have mercenaries i each school is a mercenary they're going to do what you're going to do

what's best for them, whether it's staying in a conference, leaving a conference, scheduling, whatever else. The conferences are mercenaries. They're going to do what's ever best for them. They're going to take from other people. They're going to kick people out, do whatever it is that they need to do. But this needs to, college football needs to be treated like a business, just like any other professional league, because it is a professional league. It's professional for the TV networks, professional for the coaches that are making tens of millions of dollars, hundreds of millions, It is professional for the A Ds and everybody else. So it needs to be treated like an enterprise where we have parity.

And everybody knows that I'm an Oregon Ducks fan, but I'm also college football's truth teller, I believe. And I believe that people need and people really want parity. That as much as I love Oregon being good, The best thing for the sport is that is that some years, Oregon, Alabama, Ohio State, that all of these big old brands that that are some years, Rutgers is better. That some years, that some years, that if they get the right coach and the right combination of resources recruiting, that they have an opportunity to compete for a conference championship and a national championship. I believe that that's where we are at this point in time, that the big brands can. can't just dominate every single year.

Do we have to find a way through the salary cap, a real salary cap, that there is parity? Yeah, the thing that's interesting about that thought process, especially considering the fact that we were one year removed from Indiana winning the national championship, is that there are enough big brands in college football that it's still, if you, there are probably like 35 of them, which is. There will always be a big brand that's good at the time. There always be multiple big brands that are good. But even if it was only isolated to the biggest brands, those are the programs that have the, those are the programs that have the. most robust fan bases and then it would just like kind of mirror like the size of the NFL where it's like there's 35 teams that have a chance to win a championship and like I don't know if there's a revolving.

It's a very successful business. Yeah. I mean, but I'm saying like we're, I think we're already at the NFL point, whether or not Rutgers should come into a season. The fact that they have a chance now, I think is is the most important element. Whether they can do it or not is their own their own doing. But for the first time ever, everyone actually has a chance, which I, I think is awesome.

We've got a piece of breaking news that I want to get Ari and George's opinion on. But before that, I got to tell you about the boots. Look at these beauties from Brunt Workwear. These are the most comfortable boots in the world. You can work all day. You can tromp through the mud. Doesn't matter. You are waterproofed, protected.

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And a man who put in some work last year who I think was on the hot seat, for a second, certainly was under pressure for a time. Brent Venables, the Oklahoma head coach, he has signed an extension, two extra years on his contract. Now he has six years left on his deal, average of $10.5 million a year. You want my reaction to that? Yeah, I do.

He earned that shit, man. There was nobody under more pressure last. Can you remember our shows? was like we had a Brent Venable segment like three times a week last off. After the Ole Miss loss, when they had two losses and the next loss was going to knock them out of playoff contention, we definitely had the, is this it for Brent Venables? Now, here's my question, guys. Was anybody trying to hire him away? Did you have to do this? Could you use this money for players next year? Andy, you are speaking my language.

I do not understand why schools continuously give out new contracts and new extensions. Like it's different if you feel like that your coaches under underpaid and you wanted to bump his pay up the way it's at a market rate. Okay, cool. I got no problem with that. However, the idea. idea that Kalin DeBoard last year at Alabama, and I'm just using him as an example, that you gave him an extension. Why do you think they gave him an extension?

Because he was thinking about going to. Because Michigan wanted him, yeah. Yeah. But at the same time, if he wants to leave, like schools have to stop living in scarcity, coaches are going to leave if they want to leave. Oklahoma would have paid Lincoln Riley, whatever he wanted to be paid. but he wanted to leave to go to USC. And schools need to understand and stop living in scarcity,

because guess what, if he still wants to leave, he's going to leave. And these buyouts are just are comical. Because the buyouts for a lot of these coaches, they're like 75, 80, 100% of what's left on their deal while their buyout, if somebody wanted to, if they wanted to leave and go somewhere else, is a 10th of that price, a 15th of that price.

And that makes no sense to me. It makes no sense why I would be on the hook because if you decide to pull a Jimbo Fisher and either not do a good job or mail it in, and I still got to pay you $70-some million, but if you leave, then you only got to pay me $2 million, $3 million, $20 million, whatever it is.

It makes no sense. We got to stop living in scarcity because a lot of these coaches are not going to leave. They are, they, Jimmy Sexton is out here just, just, just puppet stringing everybody and saying, listen, if you don't give my guy a new deal, then when it, then when it comes later, it's either going to cost you more or when it comes to your next head coach, we got nothing for you. So you got to stop getting bullied. And it's amazing that we as fans have such vitriol for players getting paid or players using their leverage to get more money. When coaches do it all the time, and they got a guarantee golden parachute on the back end.

And I got coaching friends. And I've said this to them personally. George, I just looked up Brent Vitable's contract, and this is an extension of the existing deal. So I don't think that this has changed. We'll have to wait and see when we get the actual PDF of this thing. But the original deal, you mentioned the percentage that gets guaranteed for the buyout. Would you care to guess what the percentage is in the original Brent Vettable's Oklahoma deal? I'm going to say no less than 90%.

100% guarantee 100%. This is just tacking on two years to the original deal, then that probably wouldn't change. So that is amazing because, again, what are you afraid of? Do you know what you guys have not mentioned yet and I've been waiting to hear? And I'm very curious about this.

Yep. Oklahoma is one of the teams that, has leaned on the services of a general manager to help and assist in the roster's building. Jim Nagy, who also has a seven-figure salary. Now, guys, I don't know about you, but five years ago, I thought that 70% of a head coach's job in college football was talent acquisition. If they were a good recruiter and could get people to come to the school, that's what you were paying for.

In a world where Jim Nagy exists and is making seven figures, in a world where you have an entire department who is both identifying, evaluating, and helping get these players to come to campus, how much should Oklahoma be paying their coach in general? And how irreplaceable is a person like Brent Venables in this era than maybe he would have been had he been great five years ago. Like that's the thing. Like I went back, my initial reaction is that he did earn that. Okay, and I believe that because last year he did a hell of a job. He did a great job last year. Hell of it. I understand this sentiment.

And I also wonder to if taking care of your guy when you don't have to is a form of goodwill that more employers in America could actually illustrate to their employees. Like I think that's an important aspect of us. But now that they're paying somebody else as much as they're paying Jim Nagy, does your view of what the head coach is worth, especially as other programs, this general manager type position change at all. Because Brent Venables is great of a coach as he is. And we know you can trace as great as in.

Can I break in a little bit? Sure. I wonder if this changes the dynamics because this was a school that adopted a more NFL style reporting strategy where the GM and the head coach were kind of on parallel tracks versus one being above the other. In college, the head coach is at the top. GM reports to the head coach. That's not how this one works.

But now, Brent Vitable is exceptionally secure. I mean, I guess not because what did LSU and Penn State teach us last year that nobody's actually safe? Like, they'll pay buyouts. But this seems like he's very secure. So does that change the dynamics between him and GM? We've spent a ton of time over the course of the past few years discussing personnel acquisition and the changes involved in that. We've also spent time talking about coaches like Dan Mullen,

who weren't very good at recruiting at the highest level, but are very good at X's and O's and motivating team. And we wonder, like, yeah, if you put Dan Mullen back in a power conference job, with a good GM and some money to spend, like, what's that look like? If Brent Venables decided he wanted to leave, but you were able to retain the personnel arm, and you were to install a person like Dan Mullen or some other mythical figure that you can come up with in your own head,

who you know is a good football coach. Does this undermine the value of the head coaching position? Like is Brenton Venables doing something for Oklahoma that other great football coaches? Football coaches could do if they were still able to bring in the players that they're bringing it. I don't know if it matters. I know we're very early in the emphasis of the transformation of these college programs, but I am kind of on board with you when it comes to unnecessary bidding against yourself contract extensions. But this one seems even more confusing to me, even though I do believe that he earned it.

Okay. In terms of the structure of the way that this is all being built. So I agree with you, Ari, that he did earn a bump in pay, right? But we can argue about the additional years on the back end. But your point about that the job is different, I don't think the job's easier, though. I actually think the job is harder to be a head coach now. because the things that Nick Saban didn't have to deal with or any of the other great coaches didn't have to deal with.

They didn't have to deal with NIL. They didn't have to deal with the portal. They didn't have to deal with, you know, roster limits in these in these same ways. And I do think that it is the hardest time to ever win a national championship. So for that, I think the job that, and then also there's more pressure on the job

because schools will pay these buyouts. So on one hand, I believe in what I said, but then at the other side, I don't believe that the job has gotten easier. So that should diminish how much. I want to borrow one of your words here. One of the words that you used when you were on your reaction was scarcity. Yeah. There were far fewer coaches during Nick Sabin's time that could recruit like Nick Sabin. And then there are coaches that are available who can coach a football team the way that Brent Venables can.

But they still, like these guys still have to want to, like whether you're the one doing the majority of the acquisition or somebody else is, they have to want to play for you. And people want to play for him. You talk to people who played for him, like they love playing for him. I still think that matters. So that is a piece of it. But is that scarce? Well, there's so much more to organize, right? and like it's so much more to to organize so many more moving pieces when it when it comes to the donors when it comes to the schools when it comes to the NCAA it's just so many more moving parts than what it used to be and so and when you look at a guy like a sabin and to not peddling in rumors but to but but to peddle in things that guys that i know that played and not not necessarily at bama but there were at c cc schools like the the

The bag man thing is real. So yes, it did help recruit that bag men were there and available. And then also, those were one of the few places that could win a national championship. So they could stack talent because they knew they were going to the NFL after the next guy and after the next guy. And now because of NIL and the portal, your depth is so much less. So that puts even more onus on the head coach to how. hire good, good people in all these positions, make sure that your roster is togethering and continuity and everything else.

So I do believe that the job is harder, even though that the actual responsibilities of one man are less. So does that change the dynamic of when to give a contract extension to a person? I don't think it does. I think all this stuff doesn't change the fact it's just like anything else. And sometimes people get raises, when maybe they don't deserve him as much, but they've got the leverage.

Kal and DeBoer had the leverage because Michigan was trying to hire him. I don't know, I don't think anybody was trying to get Brent Medibles this off season. I don't think you needed to worry about anybody taking him after this season. Yeah. Do you remember when you and I covered the Oklahoma, Texas game two years ago? And the hue of red that was on his face at the podium after the game was over

when they got blown out. Like, okay. Is there any sort of goodwill of like, hey, you just lived through maybe the most stressful, worst year of your life. You came through for us. We value you. We care about you. You do all the things.

They're already paying him a ton of money. I know. But like I. That's what the money's for. Yeah. Can't you do that and not give additional years to where, I'm with it right there. He's making under 10, 10 million.

And now we want to get him up more in line with what the market is because we are Oklahoma. He just got us to the playoff. Let's exercise some goodwill here without putting the university in a or even the boosters and the donors in some sort of pickle because you've given all of these extra years unnecessarily. And that's what I was talking about about the scarcity. because I live in, I live by a principal. I don't want hostages. I do not want hostages. So in, in our life.

So if you want to hang out with me, it ain't because of money. It ain't because you want to be here. So, so coaches, they are going to leave anywhere where they don't want to be. There's not enough money that you can pay them to keep them. So there's no reason to keep throwing out extensions. And if I were out Alabama,

I would have looked at a man who who squeaked his way into the playoffs last year, didn't make it the year before, and said, hey, yo, I might be going to Michigan. I would have said, Kaelan, if you don't want to be here at Alabama, go to Michigan. Please, please, because if you don't want to be here, this is not the place that you want to be, get to step. And don't let the dough knob hit you where the good Lord splitching. So that sounds to me a lot like Alabama made a mistake in your eyes, too, then. Yes.

Because they gave them a massive extension and the thought of losing. And I can tell you why. I can tell you why. Because their administration goes, well, who else are we going to get? That is exactly why it happened. Well, and here's the other thing, too, that I think is at play here, guys. I think that every single time in AD makes a coaching hire, they have in their brains that this person's going to be the next great one and be here for a long time. And I think that these extensions kind of perpetuate.

that belief that this is going to be a lifer, that, like, that Brent Venable is going to be an OU legend. ADs need to need to recalibrate their expectations too. Like, they need to be like, hey, if I get five good years out of this guy, I'm lucky. To George's point, like, if you want to bring Brent Venable's pay up commensurate with other playoff type head coaches in the SEC, you can do that. Adding an extra two years, if things go wrong, could cost you $21 million. dollars.

Exactly. 21 million dollars. Yes. And there are coaches that you would be even okay with, right? So if Georgia did this with a Kirby smart, you would say, well, Kirby's probably going to, like we feel confident that Kirby's going to be a lifer. And we are also extremely confident. Like with all, like you can say this with all the confidence in the world that you believe

that Georgia will not fall off a cliff. It's just like when we were talking about the preseason rankings. Everybody's got all these preseason rankings. So I'm going to ask you, Andy and Ari, who both picked Texas to win the national championship, if you had to bet your salary, bet your house, who's going to win the SEC this season? Who would you bet all your money on? If I had to? Yep.

If I had to pick one team, Texas. Yep. Oh, I would, I would, I would take Georgia just because that is, that is the safest pick. That is the most likely outcome. It's happened. Well, I need Texas to not play Georgia. That's the problem. It's possible for Texas to win the SEC without ever playing Georgia, right? You need them to not have to play Georgia in Atlanta because clearly, how likely it is. I get what you're trying to say. What you're trying to say is what's the most sturdy program. Like I think that you can make the case.

And George, if we go to my playoff bracket, I, I have Georgia winning the national title in the playoff bracket. This is my point. So if you want to give Kirby Smart a 20-year, $300 million deal, nobody's going to bat in, bad night. But some of these dudes are getting deals, and you're still like, let's hope this works out. Yep.

And that's what they're saying, because Brent Venables has coached at Oklahoma for four years. Two of them were good, two of them were bad. We don't have enough data to like, to like, no. And granted, I like Brent Venables. I think he's, I think he stands for the right things. I think I love the way his defense is, all of this stuff. I got Oklahoma in the playoff this season.

So it's not that I don't believe in him. It's just more, if I got to put up $100 million, I'm like, I need to be sure beyond sure. Like I can have zero doubt or I can just bring you up and give you a, and give you an extra $2 million a year instead of committing another like 24. Yeah. I, I, that's, I think we land in the same place.

And I never understand why these guys bit against themselves because almost always somebody else ends up right in that check. So I hope that doesn't happen to you, Oklahoma, because like, George, I like Brent Minibals, I think he's done a good job,

but he hasn't done a good job every year. So I don't know that I'd be breaking the bank, guaranteeing that he's going to be good every single year. So we will find out what happens. Tough season coming. Yep.

Tough season coming. That season gets ever closer. We got Dear Andy Deer Ari tomorrow. We have a great interview with Florida International coach, Willie Simmons. That's right, live from Pitbull Stadium, Willie Simmons coming right at you. We actually come up with the Pitbull theme song

for FIU? It's, well, I tried and then already succeeded. We'll talk to tomorrow. Oh, wait, before that, before that, you did it to yourself. With George Reister on YouTube, subscribe to the Unafraid Show,

and George, you have to come back. Like, please. I will absolutely come back as long as you guys come on the Unafraid show to. Any time you want. Perfect. Thanks, George. Really pleasure to work with you, man. Thanks for being here today. All right, thanks.

See you guys.