Andy & Ari On3 - Has Ole Miss already WON the 2024 transfer portal? | Bowl picks! | Jackson Arnold era dawns at OU

Episode Date: December 27, 2023

Andy is back, and he needs Pete Nakos to drop some Nakos-ifications to help catch him up after two days off.But first, Andy breaks down the most interesting piece of video from bowl season so far.Thank you to Gametime for sponsoring today's show! Bowl Season is HERE - don't miss your chance to watch your favorite team. Download the Gametime App and enter code: STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Last Minute Tickets, Lowest Prices, Guaranteed.Today's show is also sponsored by PrizePicks, the easiest way to play daily fantasy. All first time users that deposit and use the promo code ANDY will receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100. If you deposit $100, PrizePicks will give you $100. If you deposit $50, PrizePicks will give you $50.Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/ANDY(0:00-4:19) Intro - Eastern Michigan vs South Alabama Brawl(4:20-6:08) An Update on Andy vs The Coin(6:09-30:02) Pete Nakos Joins to Update on the Transfer Portal(30:03-31:06) Bowl Mania!(31:07-33:00) Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs Tulane(33:01-34:48) Duke's Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs West Virginia(34:49-39:26) Holiday Bowl: Louisville vs USC(39:27-44:07) Georgia News with the Orange Bowl(44:08-1:02:30) George Stoia from SoonerScoop joins(1:02:31-1:06:12) In Conclusion, the First Responders Bowl is officially drunk Pete joins to discuss defensive tackle Walter Nolen, the No. 1 player in On3's transfer portal rankings, committing to Ole Miss. Could the Rebels also land Nolen's former teammate Evan Stewart? Or could Stewart try to be Florida State's 2024 version of Keon Coleman? Pete also provides an update on some of the top quarterbacks in the portal. Could former Washington State QB Cam Ward declare for the draft instead of transferring? What's next for former Kansas State QB Will Howard?Next, Andy takes on the Coin of Destiny three more times by choosing the against-the-spread winners of Virginia Tech-Tulane, North Carolina-West Virginia and Louisville-USC.After the picks, George Stoia III of On3's SoonerScoop.com talks Alamo Bowl. Even though Oklahoma starting QB Dillon Gabriel is off to Oregon, the Sooners and Arizona will pretty closely resemble their in-season selves. For Oklahoma, this is the start of the Jackson Arnold era. Arnold, the former five-star recruit, is the player Sooners coach Brent Venables picked to lead Oklahoma into the SEC. He'll get a chance to show what he can do against one of the hottest teams in the country.Want to watch the show instead? Head on over to YouTube!https://youtube.com/live/q8UFyGEhNic

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. I'm back. You know, we started this show when I moved on three and the first daily show was in mid July. We did not miss a scheduled show until December. In fact, we added shows on the nights that we were watching college football and we'd throw a post-game show in there. So it was weird for me, very, very weird for me to take Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. I feel like I missed a lot. We're going to have Pete Nacos on very shortly because Pete never stops working.

He never sleeps. And he's giving us the Nicosifications that we need to get us caught up. But there were some things that happened. I mean, we're in the thick of bowl season and I watched as many games as I could. Obviously, I watch this stuff in my spare time too. I love this stuff. But there was a particular event that when it happened, it was one of those moments where, so it was, it happened on the 23rd. It hit the social media, wife will slap the phone out of your hand if you do any sort of social media posting or comment on any game. And so I've just been dying to get into this Eastern Michigan, South Alabama video. So you've probably seen it. You probably saw it over the weekend, but we got to talk about it south carolina south alabama is celebrating a 59 10 win in 68

ventures bowl this is a home game for the jaguars it's in mobile and they're playing the alma mater they're just they're watching the band play they just destroyed eastern michigan it's been a good night well here comes eastern michigan db cory hernandez charging in from the side he's not wearing a helmet by the way tries to sucker punch south alabama alabama defensive back jamarian burt and then as all the 80s movie posters say zaniness ensued all right here's the first thing one of the first things they teach you my dad dad told me this. I told my son this when he started playing tackle football, never take your helmet off. If there's any going to be any sort of post-game interaction between the two teams, leave your helmet on for that. So mistake number one,

Corey Hernandez comes out wearing no helmet. Mistake number two, he's sucker punching somebody you don't do that mistake number three he acted alone did he not notice the entire south alabama team standing there quarterback brian dillard jumps immediately to bert's defense and whoops cory hernandez's ass oh by the way the rest of the team jumps in too like cory her Corey Hernandez has apologized he released a five paragraph statement he called he called Burt he called Kane Womack the South Alabama coach and apologized that's great but he already got his punishment he got his ass whooped in front of everybody and that's what happens when you try to sucker punch somebody right in front of

all their friends with none of your friends, not wearing a helmet here. The other thing I told the kid when he started playing tackle football that my dad told me that gear is to protect you from a collision. So if you think punching somebody who's wearing a helmet is going to affect him, it will not. These are simple things, simple, simple things. But I'm glad that Corey Hernandez mistake can teach the youth of America. Don't sucker punch people, kids. Don't interact with the other team after the game without your helmet on. Don't punch somebody wearing a football helmet. These are life lessons. Again, I defy anybody to tell me that the bowls

don't mean something. This is a very meaningful situation here. A lot of learning, a lot of learning got done. Speaking of learning, we're in the midst of learning whether me or a coin can predict some of these early bowl games better. Right now, me and the coin are tied. We did a series of about 13 games. Well, yes, it was 13 games. So the 11th has been played. The 12th is being played right now.

The coin and I are tied at five and six against the spread. We've got Texas State and Rice playing right now in the first responder bowl. I've got Texas State minus four and a half. The coin has Rice plus four and a half. I need this rubber match here. We've both picked UNLV to cover against Kansas. So we're going to win or lose that one together. We're going to pick three more me in the coin. We're going to pick all the Wednesday's games, including that Louisville

USC holiday bowl. And we'll talk about what what's getting dumped on the winning coach later in the show. But me and the coin are going to pick that one and a couple others the mayo bowl oh yeah we're picking the mayo bowl we'll see who's victorious but i i was liking my chances early against the coin i went on a losing streak and i need i need texas state to win this game by five points or more i do otherwise this gonna get real ugly but we also need to get caught up on all the news of the sport. So much going on. On three's number one transfer portal player committed while I was off. More action in the transfer portal.

We're still waiting on some quarterbacks. So let us talk to Pete Nacos, the man who gives us the Nacosifications about the portal. So we go four days without a show, and this man never stops working. Pete Nacos, he's been dropping Nacosifications the entire time that we haven't been on the air, including the number one transfer portal player in the on three rankings walter nolan has committed to all miss you put in an rpm prediction for him with all this two weeks ago i think pete yeah but that's that is yet another big piece that

all miss pulls out of the transfer portal and it does seem like they have revamped their defensive line with portal guys. Yeah, I mean, it's pretty spectacular. I mean, I guess maybe that's the word to use. Pete Golding has done a hell of a job down at Ole Miss right now, bringing in Tyler Barron. And then, obviously, Walter Nolan is the jewel of the 2024 transfer portal, and they win him over on Christmas Eve. I mean, just what a, I guess, i guess two week span i guess you could say for for old miss between the talent on the offensive side of

the ball um and then kind of capping it off with walter nolan and you knew sunday morning it was happening by the time the tweets started to roll around yeah well and and also prince prince leo man mellen from florida uh the edge rusher So they got him too. And you're right. It's a very big haul for Pete Golding. Kind of changes the way he can play a little bit. And it's that kind of top line talent on the line of scrimmage that Ole Miss hasn't had relative to Alabama, to Georgia, to the teams in the SEC they have to beat I mean yeah I'm sure you would agree with this but this completely changes what the the ceiling is going to be in 2024 in Oxford right it goes from okay uh I mean Lane Kiffin's done a great job but all of a sudden

it's it's college football playoff for Boston I think and um and I say that obviously because we're going to 12 teams it's so long yeah they would have made it this year right they would have made it this year um they're going to bring back jackson dart i've heard that uh walker howard is looking at practice the last couple weeks um you get juice wells coming in quinch on juggkins appears to be coming back um and then and then you add what's going on on the defensive side of the ball and things are looking great right now for the Rebels. And, yeah, it's CFP or bust at this point.

It's a fair assessment, I think. Speaking of CFP, a team that's not in the CFP this year, but we expect they probably will be once again once the 12-team starts, Georgia, a little Rich Get Richer action, Trevor Etienne. When he went into the portal from Florida, we both said we think he's going to Georgia. He has now made that official think he's going to Georgia. He has now made that official. He's going to Georgia. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's funny because I was trying to figure out the transfer portal

winners, right, like three weeks in or whatever it is at this point. My mind's kind of going crazy. But I know Georgia's lost a lot of talent, but what they've been able to do on the offensive side of the ball, right, getting Trevor, getting London Humphreys from Vanderbilt, Kobe Young from Miami. I mean, Georgia's going to look really good on the offensive side of the ball next year, and Carson Beck's coming back, and he's going to have plenty of weapons. The world's largest outdoor cocktail party is going to look very interesting

next year, and just seeing florida and georgia will look on that weekend well yeah and trevor etn i'm sure will be lustily booed by half of those fans but yeah that's just how it goes in that rivalry but you mentioned georgia losing its talent and it feels like though this is sort of the way this is supposed to work the people who left georgia for the most part were not playing very much or they were maybe not playing as much. Like a Marvin Jones Jr. going to Florida State, Marvin Jones Jr. was going to play at Georgia next year.

Like he was going to have a role. My guess is his role is more significant in Florida State's defense than it would have been in Georgia's defense. And then you've got other guys who weren't playing who will probably be starting at their new schools. Yeah, the one head scratcher for me has been aj harris who's been rumored to be a favorite for auburn um but i mean on threes russell manziel has even reported that the door's still open in athens and that's like for me then the biggest one to monitor well and then marius mims was like that a year ago you know marius mims went in the portal he was

going to go to florida state and then georgia talked him back into coming i'm sure both sides had their nil deals flowing but amarius mims was an important part of george's future plans and the difference was he hadn't played yet and it had to be impressed upon him i think that hey there there's a spot for you maybe that was two years ago i'm trying to remember the exact timing of that but with those developmental positions offensive and defensive line like sometimes you're not going to play right away but they got to make sure that you know you're important well that's kind of the thing in this day and age right like to to have an elite offensive defensive line, you need a guy with experience. And, and obviously offensive and defensive line don't grow on trees, right?

There's a reason why Walter Nolan is going to Ole Miss and there's a reason why everybody was after Walter Nolan. So, yeah, I think that, but that's the nature of college football in this day and age, right, Andy? Like obviously guys want to play right away. So it's this really tough battle football in this day and age, right, Andy? Obviously, guys want to play right away, so it's this really tough battle where it's like, hey, you need more experience to be elite playing on the Georgia defensive line, but at the same time, that guy probably wants to go play immediately

until he might be saying, like, give me a year or something like that. Well, one of the things that broke on Christmas Day that I thought was really interesting, Pete Thamel reporting that Tate Rodemaker from Florida state was entering the transfer portal and Tate was the backup quarterback this year was forced into action against Florida. Couldn't play in the ACC championship game because he had a concussion. He is now not playing in the orange bowl.

So it's Brock Glenn show in the orange bowl for Florida state. And everybody feels like had their you know this felt like a kind of a moment like on social media when tate rodemaker his support is like oh see this is this is why the portal is destroying college football i'm like tate rodemaker was entering the portal no matter what happened like if jordan travis hadn't gotten hurt tate rodemaker was entering the portal yeah i mean if florida state's in the playoff right now jordan travis is starting quarterback there's a chance that tate rod makersmaker was entering the portal. Yeah, I mean, if Florida State's in the playoff right now, Jordan Travis is starting quarterback, there's a chance that Tate Roddenmaker's even going in the portal right now just so he has time to find the best home for himself.

But, yeah, I mean, maybe the best metaphor for what's going on in this day and age of college football. But I think at the same time, you made the point, right, like Tate was going to go in the portal, and now we have this situation. And then Georgia is going to play Florida State, and they're going to have into portal. And now we have this situation and Georgia is going to play Florida state and they're going to have Brock Lynn, the freshman. And then the, I believe a four or five star quarterback coming in, Luke Cromenhoek who's practicing with the team and I guess sharing first,

first team reps at the moment. Yeah. Yeah. And Luke is a guy that they really love and he's from Savannah and in the on three industry rankings, he's the number 34 overall uh in the on three industry rankings he's the number 34 overall player in the class of 2024 and i remember before jordan travis got hurt i was talking to some of the war chant guys and saying you know who is the the starter in 2024 is he on campus or not and this is again this is before jordan travis got hurt And they said there was a good chance that Brock Glenn was the 2024 starter

when all the dust settled. Now, I think we've seen them talking to Cam Ward, talking to DJ Uyangalele. So maybe, maybe not. But it certainly seemed like if Tate Rodemaker wanted to play and he has one more year of eligibility, he was going to have to go somewhere. Yeah, it was kind of the given that that brock glenn was either going to be handed the keys or right we've seen the last three weeks cam warden tju has a chance to to go there um gonna be really interesting to follow in terms

of the cam ward update because i know everyone wants one oh yeah we're kind of in a we're kind of in a holding pattern right now um i keep hearing florida state miami or the nfl um i guess i'll just say this right like it's he entered on december 1st it's december 26th i i think the nfl is starting to weigh into this more than people initially thought um if if if it was only a college football decision i truly believe it may have been a decision that we'd seen earlier well we got jim nagy from the senior bowl coming on th Thursday's show, so we'll see if Cam Ward's still out there. Jim may be able to shed some light on that

because he'll be the one hearing where the NFL people look at Cam Ward and where they slot him in terms of these quarterbacks. I think you're right because I think it's one of those things where you watch Michael Pennix and Bo Nix, and they've been so successful and really raised their draft stock by coming back this past year but at some point the nfl does need quarterbacks and i look at the way jayden daniels is rising up the ranks and and now people are looking at him as kind of him and drake may kind of equally behind Caleb Williams. There's more than three teams that need a quarterback, Pete.

Yeah, there's a lot of teams that need a quarterback. Not every team only takes a quarterback in the first round. And, I mean, there's something to be said too, Andy, like in this day and age of NIL and stuff, it's so awesome that athletes can now profit off their name and vision like this obviously but i mean all the the nfl money is still not at the same level as the college money right i mean at the end of the day signing an nfl contract is a life changer and um obviously

endorsement deals and nil collective deals can do a lot but i don't i don't think you'll ever be able to be the NFL. Wait, are you saying that those reports that, that Marvin Harrison jr. Was being offered his rookie salary to stay at Ohio state might've been a load of crap. Might've been,

might've been. Yes. I mean, I don't know if I was to a $25 signing bonus, I'd sure come back to college. I have never heard of a $20 million NIL deal, and I've covered this space now for about 25 months. As long as it's existed, you've covered it.

Yeah, I didn't even spend time trying to cover it because I knew it was ludicrous. Like, give me a break. Like, there's no such thing as a $20 million NIL deal. Even for Marvin Harrison Jr., who arguably might be, could be, should be the number one pick in the nfo draft well can we explain to people what would actually happen if some school had 20 million dollars to give one player like one they wouldn't do it they wouldn't give it to

one player and two the second word got out to all the agents that there was that kind of money to be spent at one school you would see offensive and defensive linemen diving into the transfer portal to go there if you guys think this is chaos just wait exactly it would be very targeted like the tampering would be very real and more of of the more of agents sending lists of athletes available to the school. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. That's, that's what would really happen that I think that's part of it's funny, because, you know, you've been covering an IL as long as it has existed. And so much of it is just separating fact from fiction.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, so much of it. And it just like, even the smallest things, a couple of North Carolina Duke players signed with a company a year ago and it recently just filed for bankruptcy. Those are the wild stories you're dealing with an NIL and I mean I know people love to focus on like the juicy deals and what falls apart and things that I mean but there's like all corners of college sports there are NIL stories to be told and and some are great and some are not so great yeah well and some are just completely fabricated like Marvin Harrison Jr getting an NFL salary to come back because the third pick in the draft or second pick or whatever he's going to be gets a massive signing bonus and nobody's

matching that so yeah let's talk Cam Ward you mentioned holding pattern with Miami if he says yes great then that's who the Hurricanes get what do the Seminoles do if Cam Ward goes to Miami? Yeah, so I wanted to make a couple things clear about Cam Ward when I was on the show. I have not been very public about what a timetable could be for Cam Ward because I've heard everything from he was going to announce last Wednesday to this past Friday to Christmas Day. And now it's Tuesday, the 26th. And people are saying midweek this week, which could be tomorrow. I have no idea about a timetable. I I'm not going to set one just because I don't think there is one.

And obviously January 15th, I believe is the NFL draft cutoff. So I think that is a date to watch. Now, if he commits in the next 48 hours then he commits the next 48 hours but i see this i i don't have the best feel for one of the decisions coming uh but in terms of florida state i'll just get back to your prior question real quick i think it's cam ward dju and then from there i think that if cam's off the ball or and dj might be off the board then i think um mike norvell is going to have to really think for a second if he just wants to ride with a freshman and give him the experience

or try to go find a third option. Yeah, you roll with one of the two young guys you have who you like. And if you do that, maybe you dip into the portal post-spring and grab someone who can be a serviceable backup. That's the next wave of this is there will be some of that movement where somebody wants to just go be in a winning-type program, and maybe they're not doing it because they have to start. Now, you mentioned Cam Ward in the NFL. So let's say he goes to the NFL and he's off the board.

Would that be KJ Jefferson maybe in Miami? No, I see KJ Jefferson trending to UCF right now. Nothing's a done deal. Not ready to put a crystal ball on just yet, but I see that KJ's trending to being a knight. Now if Cam does go to the NFL, I think all options suddenly become open at Miami and Florida State. So KJ and that Gus Malzahn offense could be kind of fun.

It could be very fun. I like that. Yeah. It could be very fun. It is interesting because we've seen UCF pop up for quite a few of these so far. And as a young member of the Big 12, it feels like that's kind of how you have to do it. Because we saw all those new Big 12 programs did struggle

in year one because depth is hard. But it does seem like UCF can get competitive pretty quickly if they keep this up. Yeah, I mean, they found some success this year and I would think bringing in someone like KJ Jefferson would be a great handoff from John Rice, formerly, to

KJ. I mean five years of experience in the SEC I think would be pretty invaluable um trying to lead a big 12 team so what's the next big portal Domino to fall do you think um I think it's probably where does Evan Stewart go I I mean, I know everyone's on Cam Wardwatch. I know everyone wants to know where DJU is going to go, if he's going to go college or NFL or whatnot. I know there's a lot of intrigue around Malachi Nelson too. But I think the best player still on the board is probably Evan Stewart.

And where does Evan Stewart go? I've heard Texas and Alabama rumored, and I've also been told by sources that those really are not viable options. In recent days, I've heard Florida State thrown out there. I've heard Ole Miss. I've heard Tennessee. I've heard USC. I've heard Oregon.

I think that will start to get a better feel in the days to come. But, I mean, I'll tell you guys right now, I don't think he lands at Texas or Alabama. Yeah, that's one that I think Texas, you look at the way their transfer portal recruiting went, you know, go back a couple of years and they can take a Jai Hall and Jaleel Billingsley from Alabama,

which obviously Steve Sarkeesian had a hand in recruiting those guys, knew them, but probably knew there was a risk involved and it didn't pay off in terms of the reasons they were not successful at Alabama, same reasons they weren't successful at Texas. I think when you've got a program like Texas where they're in a really good place, and obviously Nick Saban's program is in a really good place, you're careful about who you take into your locker room,

even if they have all the town in the world yeah yeah i think that's a great point um i mean can you imagine evan stuart with lane kiffin and and uh the sip as lane like could be fun as well that could be really fun um i think that what what uh mike norvell and State have built, too, is something that a lot of players have respect for. And I think that Tallahassee could be the kind of place where Evan goes in and maybe kind of meshes with the culture and stuff and then find some success on the field and kind of goes with the Keon Coleman mold Yeah. Mold, per se. Yeah, you definitely saw that with Keon Coleman this year, where, I mean, he was a good player at Michigan State, but when he got in there with the rest of the Florida State guys, Jaheim Bell is another good example of that.

Jaheim Bell was a guy at South Carolina where, you know, people weren't sure how hard he wanted to work, and he worked pretty darn hard at Florida State. So it worked out. The proof is kind of in the pudding at Florida State right I mean Keon Coleman arguably had one of the more dominant years for a wide receiver right next to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabors at LSU so yeah I think that FSU is definitely going to be a place that Evan Short has to look at at the very least because of what happened there this past season.

One other QB, and it's a guy who entered the portal early, but another guy who also kind of said the NFL was out there as a possibility is Will Howard from Kansas State. And it's weird saying from Kansas State, because it feels like he hasn't played for Kansas State in a year, even though it's only been a month. What is the timetable with him you know that's another one where I think the NFL is going to actually be on on the auction board

um a January 15th is another day to know I've heard UFC um I know he obviously visited Miami I don't think Miami's very confident he's going to land there. And obviously, Ohio State is still shopping for a quarterback. I don't think they're completely off the quarterback market. I know you brought up the spring portal earlier. I think that there's going to be some talent in the spring. But, yeah, I think the Buckeyes definitely are at least looking at Will Howard. And USC, obviously, and Lincoln Riley would obviously love to add him and have Howard be the starting quarterback for the Trojans in 2024.

So how many quarterbacks are sitting out there right now going, okay, I'm here where I'm at. I'm going through spring practice, but I think there may be a chance to jump after spring. I think there's more than you think. And I also want to really emphasize, too too like everyone wants to talk about nil like there is a marketplace for top quarterbacks and i think some some quarterbacks right now are sitting back and not entering the portal because they know their market value is just going to be significantly higher in the spring when there's

just less quarterbacks uh or less talented quarterbacks. Seller's market versus a buyer's market. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. I think that's what we're going to see. I think we're going to have a couple surprises in the spring. Pete Nacos, man.

Location, location, location. That's what it comes down to with these quarterbacks. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thanks so much, Andy. A sports expert asked a couple of times about Will Howard and Ohio State. That's why we brought up Will Howard and who knows, maybe there's some Buckeye action with Will Howard. Maybe that's been the delay because the assumption was for a while that he was going to USC, but it doesn't seem that way anymore. And I also know like Kim Ward, he was going to usc but it doesn't seem that way anymore and i

also know like cam ward he was one who was looking at the possibility of maybe going pro by the way that first responder bowl i i appreciate you watching me uh but i know some of you will be listening in podcast form later uh and maybe you're watching the first responder right now it's getting wild so left tackle nash Nash Jones all 320 pounds of him caught a backward pass and ran three yards for a touchdown for Texas State and then Brian Holloway got his second pick six of the game so feeling a little better about me against the coin because again I have Texas State minus four and a half and the coin has rice plus four and a half in this game so but but again if you saw the first half you know a even a 17 point lead is not safe yet uh andrew in the chat

asked did malachi nelson ever find a home shocking to see no one wants him it's not that no one wants him andrew he's still sorting through his options quarterback is a little bit of a domino game because you've got people waiting on cam ward you got people waiting on will howard you got people waiting on dj and then once they fall you'll see who still needs one so it'll help to figure out exactly how that all works so i malachi nelson can, see what happens, take a look at schools, and then pick one. Lots of options still, lots of quarterbacks out there. As you heard Pete say, a second wave probably coming after spring practice, which could get interesting.

Depending on what happens, if anything happens between now and the end of the month, you could see a little mini wave there by the end of the month. So it is going to be very interesting. Again, this first responder bowl, giving you everything you want in a bowl game. Reddit CFB, I trust them as a source. I've done Ask Me Anythings with them. They're cool guys. They are on the scene, and they have confirmed that all of the beer has been sold on the Texas State side of SMU's Gerald Ford Stadium.

There is a little bit on the Rice side still. Perhaps not at this point. Perhaps that second pick six in a row for Texas State caused a celebration or caused the Rice fans to just go buy some more beer. But there is a limited amount of beer left at Gerald Ford Stadium for this game that is decidedly drunk, and that is great. Let's say you want to go to one of these games. Maybe a game where they're going to stock a little more beer for you.

Maybe you want to go to the Citrus Bowl and watch Tennessee and Iowa. Maybe you want to go to the Alamo Bowl and watch Arizona and Oklahoma. Go to GameTime, download that GameTime app, use the code STAPLES. Your first purchase, you'll get $20 off. And it's so easy to use that GameTime app. You type in the event you want to watch that you want to attend. It doesn't matter if it's sold out. They've got tickets, Rose Bowl tickets, Sugar Bowl tickets, you name it, they got it. You pick the ticket. You're going to get a

picture that comes up. It's going to show you exactly where in the stadium you'd be sitting. So you can tell, do I want this? Does this look good? Does this look like a good view? A couple more taps, that ticket is yours. You can transfer electronically on game day. It is very easy to use GameTime, and they have tickets for every sporting event, concert, comedy show, you name it. So download the GameTime app,

use the code STAPLES, and get $20 off your first purchase. All right, speaking of bowl games, it is time to pick Wednesday's bowl games. We're gonna do one more crack with the coin of destiny. Right now, as the first responder bowl is being played, the coin and I are tied. I started hot.

I'm not gonna lie. I thought I was gonna crush the coin. The coin came back with a vengeance in the last few bowl games. And so Bowling Green and Minnesota today, I had Bowling Green, I believe, is plus four and a half. Minnesota wins by seven. The coin struck back. That tied us up. We're both five and seven against the spread

in this run of bowl games. So if Texas State wins by more than four and a half, I will take the lead again, but I will not be 500. Now I can get to 500 if UNLV covers the 12 and a half against Kansas tonight, but the coin also picked UNLV. So I'm trying to beat this coin. There are three bowl games on Wednesday. We will start with Virginia Tech and Tulane in the Military Bowl. Virginia Tech is a 10.5 point favorite against Tulane. Now, if you watch these two teams play during the season,

you're going, why in the heck is Tulane such a big underdog to Virginia Tech? Well, because Michael Pratt, the quarterback, has opted out. Chris Brazel, the wide receiver, has transferred to Tennessee. Jaquan Jackson, who's entering the draft, has opted out. Willie Fritz, the coach, opted out and opted to take the Houston job. Virginia Tech doesn't have that issue. They've got a lot of players coming back. Kyron Drone's the quarterback. He's back. They got better as the season went on under Brent pry.

I was worried about Brent pry. I'm not going to lie. Beginning of this season. I thought Brent pry was in big trouble, but they did turn it around. And I think that's a good sign for Virginia tech. And it seems like they're in a much better place right now. Tulane is it's,

it's hard to say. Cause look, Tulane still got very good players. Willie Fritz did a great job at Tulane is, it's hard to say because look, Tulane still got very good players. Willie Fritz did a great job at Tulane. So because Michael Pratt's out and some of their best receivers are not there, it's not an automatic that Tulane's going to lose this game. And losing by 10 and a half is tough. But again, especially when a coach leaves, it's very hard to figure out motivation. This game's in Annapolis, Maryland. It's a place that you are going to have fun going to.

It's pretty cool. You get to see the Naval Academy. I don't know where to go with this one. 10.5 is such a huge number. I'm going to take Tulane to cover. So we'll have the coin, see what the coin's going to pick. Virginia Tech has heads, Tulane has tails. What do we have?

The coin has also taken Tulane. So the coin and I match up again two games in a row. We will match up. Next up, the Duke's Mayo Bowl. The winner of this game doesn't really win because the coach gets a bucket of Mayo dumped on them. I hate mayonnaise. It is Satan's pomade is the worst condiment known to man. It makes me gag just smelling it. I cannot imagine getting a bucket of it dumped on me. This sounds like the worst thing ever. This sounds like hell on earth. Mac Jones is Mac Jones. Mac Brown has had a chance to have the mayo dumped on him. They went into this game as a big favorite against South Carolina a couple of years ago and got torched. And Shane Beamer got the Mayo bath and actually they hit him in the head with the bucket.

It's just, it's all bad. It's all bad. If you win, do you really win? But there is a game to be played. Drake Mays opted out. Connor Harrell will start a quarterback for North Carolina. Kobe Pace our out the receiver. He's got a foot injury. Uh, Tez Walker, the receiver has, has opted out. Omarari hampton and british brooks the two backs are playing though west virginia center zach frazier is their best player he's out with an injury so is cj donaldson the giant running back but jaheim white has averaged 8.2 yards a carry garrett green's been really good this year west virginia's a six and a half point favorite that's a pretty big number but neil brown, the Neil Brown revenge tour has gone very, very well.

I'm not saying it's a good thing, but Neil Brown may add getting a mayo bath to the revenge tour. I don't think that's something I'd want, but it's something he'd want because I know he wants to win. There will be no winning for Neil Brown, though. He'll win the game, he'll get the mail bath, and then everyone loses. All right, let's move to Louisville and USC in the Holiday Bowl. Okay, Louisville's a seven-point favorite this game. Louisville had a much better year than expected. USC had a much worse year than expected. Pretty much the whole team has opted out for USC. Oh, it's got some good players opting out. Jowar Jordan, the running back, Jamari Thrash, the receiver, but most everybody back. We know Caleb Williams is out for USC, Marshawn Lloyd, Michael Jackson, Brendan Rice, Mario Williams. That's a lot of offensive skill.

And then Damani Jackson, Tackett Curtis for the defense, for a defense that was pretty bad anyway. Oh, this is looking bad. This is why they're a touchdown underdog, by the way. Now, I will give you this quote from Holiday Bowl CEO Mark Neville. The Holiday Bowl is going to dump something on the winning coach. They wanted to get on this train. Now, they're a little late to the party.

You had the Dukes-'s Mayo Bowl, which is awesome. You love that. You've seen the Cheez-It Bath in the Cheez-It Bowl. You've seen the French fry bath in the famous Idaho Potato Bowl. So they're like, we got to do a bath of some kind. Which, if you watch the Holiday Bowl for all those years, it used to be the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. And their commercial is the humpback whale jumping up and splashing. So it should be a humpback whale

jumping and splashing seawater on the coach, but that's not what it is. They've got a different title sponsor. I don't even remember who it is anymore. So they've gone with something else. They're going with eggnog. Mark Neville said, this was a very difficult decision. We talked about this for about six weeks. What would be the correct liquid to dump on the winning coach? If you ever wanted to know how hectic the life of a bowl executive is, just know that they talked about this for six weeks. I think he's kidding.

I'm not sure he's kidding. But they said, oh, you put eggnog in a holiday bowl. This reeks of desperation. And it's just going to reek once you put eggnog in a holiday bowl. This reeks of desperation, and it's just going to reek once you get eggnog all over you. I'm telling you right now, there's no way on God's green earth Lincoln Riley is going to allow himself to be dumped with eggnog. No way.

I'm not saying he's going to lose on purpose. I just can't see this. Now, USC could cover. Jeff Brom, we know, does not care. The Louisville coach, you've seen the clip of him when he played in the XFL. Is this or is this not the XFL? He'd been basically knocked unconscious, just got up and played. I think Louisville covers here. I don't think Lincoln Riley is taking any risk on getting an eggnog bath. And I'm not sure USC has the personnel to keep him from getting the eggnog bath. Well, no, I said that wrong. I'm not sure USC has the personnel to get him an eggnog bath. So I'm going to pick Louisville to cover here.

In the North Carolina-West Virginia game, my producer, River, just reminded me, I didn't actually give you a pick. I'm picking West Virginia to cover. I think the Neil Brown revenge sure rolls along until it gets doused with mayo. So Neil Brown getting doused with mayo, Jeff Brom getting doused with eggnog in the stupidest idea ever for a bowl game. It's really dumb. Please don't do this, Holiday Bowl. You have time to not do it. So just don't do it. Just saying. Another little piece of news that has come out, it appears Brock Bowers, the tight end for Georgia.

Oh, I got to flip the coin. Oh, that's what River's trying to tell me. I didn't flip the coin for the Duke's Mayo Bowl or for the Holiday Bowl. Let's flip the coin first, and we'll get you that little bit of Georgia news. All right, we are flipping the coin now. Here we go. Mayo Bowl, North Carolina is heads west virginia is tails it is a head mac brown mayo bath says the coin all right louisville usc

eggnog bath what says the coin louisville is heads usc is tails it is a tail the coin is selected usc the coin thinks lincoln riley will get a mayo bat well the coin doesn't necessarily think that the coin thinks usc will lose by less than seven or win but i disagree with the coin here i think jeff braum is getting that eggnog bath because louisville i don't know if they roll, but I think they're going to do pretty well. All right. In the news, Georgia, Brock Bowers, not with Georgia at the Orange Bowl. Amarius Mims, the right tackle, not with Georgia at the Orange Bowl. I'm not sure how surprised anybody is about this. I don't think anybody expected Brock Bowers to play. I'm not

sure anyone expected Amarius Mims to play either. Mims is a first year starter, but he's also a pretty big draft prospect. So again, anybody who thought after Georgia and Florida State didn't make the playoff that a bunch of the starters would be like, no, let's just go play the ones who are NFL prospects. No, they're not going to do that. That game is going to be a very different situation. Florida State put out a depth chart, 17 names that were not on the two deep for the ACC championship game. 17. It's going to be a very different look for both teams so just be prepared for that we knew that was probably going to happen but that's another reason why they're moving to the 12 team playoff

because if this was a playoff game which they might have met in a playoff game they'd all be playing. Just saying. And remember, remember whose fault it is that there's not a 12-team playoff this year. That would be the Pac-12, which has been destroyed, the Big Ten, which was pulling a trick on the Pac-12 and the ACC, and the ACC, which got tricked by the Big Ten and had its team left out and is now getting sued by that team and is also suing that team. Does that catch you up? I can't make it up. I just can't. One bowl game where the teams will look somewhat like themselves

from this season is the Alamo Bull. And I want to tell you about PrizePix, and I'll tell you about how I am looking at the Alamo Bull based on what I've done on PrizePix. So first of all, you need to sign up for PrizePix. Download that app. Use the referral code Andy. They will match your first deposit up to $100. It is the most fun daily fantasy platform in America. And you can

use college football, NBA, NFL, you name it. So for the college football squares that they've got out, they've got them out for the bowl games that are coming up. They've got a Noah Fafita and Jackson Arnold passing yardage square for each player. Now here's how it works. You pick at least two squares. You can pick more than two. And you decide if the player is going to have more or less than this yardage total or a rebound total or a point total. You name it.

So in this particular case, I am going for, I want a shootout. I don't like to root against people. I like to root for people. So I am rooting for a shootout in the Alamo Bowl. So Noah Fafita, Arizona's quarterback, his number is 306.5 yards. He's been really good down the stretch. This is one of the hottest teams in America. So I'm saying more than 306.5 for Noah Fafita.

Jackson Arnold, the former five-star recruit, his era is dawning here at Oklahoma. His number is 248.5. So I'm saying more than that for him. Now, if you want to go into the playoff, they've got some picks for the playoff already. Jalen Milrow, JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix, Quinn Ewers, all their numbers already up there. So you can put those in. But you can also go for the games that are being played on Wednesday, Thursday. their numbers already up there. So you can put those in, but you can also go for the games that are being played on Wednesday, Thursday. Those are all out there. NBA games,

NFL games, all kinds of fun stuff out there. They had a great Christmas bonus where if Kevin Durant scored one point, you won your square. So PrizePix always doing cool stuff like that. So download the PrizePix app, use the referral code ANDY, and they will match your first deposit up to $100. All right, let us talk a little Oklahoma and Arizona. Andrew in the chat says, is TMAC on Arizona draft eligible? No, he's a true sophomore, so he is not draft eligible. But he is one of the players that Oklahoma's defense is going to have to worry about Noah Fafita throwing to. Also, Jacob Cowing is another

one, but this game looks like so much fun. We talked to George Story III from Sooner Scoop because, again, it's almost all of Arizona and most of Oklahoma with one key difference, but it's one of those where I think the Oklahoma fans are really excited to see what's next. Here's George. Welcome, George Stoya III from Sooner Scoop. And the reason we're talking to George about this Alamo Bowl between Oklahoma and Arizona, Thursday is a big day in college football for a current Big 12 team and a future SEC team and for a current Big 12 team and a future Big 12 team so in the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando it's Avery Johnson Day happy Avery Johnson Day to the Kansas State fans and then you roll into the

Alamo Bowl where it is Jackson Arnold Day for the Oklahoma fans the five-star getting his – well, this is not his first start. This will be his second start. But this is the dawn of the Jackson Arnold era of Oklahoma football, George. Yeah, people are really excited. It went from OU fans kind of being disappointed about not getting a New Year's Six Bowl, not being able to play in one of those bigger bowl games, and all of a sudden there is a ton of excitement because of Jackson Arnold. And you also add in the fact that they have a new play caller in Seth Luttrell as the new offensive coordinator, along with Joe John Finley as the co-offensive coordinator.

Everyone's kind of curious, what is this offense going to look like without Dylan Gabriel, without Jeff Lebby? And as Jackson Arnold gets going into the SEC, Oklahoma wants him to have a good game. So what's the game plan look like? Are they going to let him loose? Are they going to let him try and air it out? Build some confidence as they do head into the SEC next year. Yeah. The scheme itself is very interesting. I'm assuming they'll run the same offense they ran all year just with Latrell calling it, but Latrell's an air raid guy, which is different from the offense that Levy was running. Everybody thinks the Bryles offense and the air raid guy which is different from the offense that levy was running

everybody thinks the bryles offense and the air raid offense are the same they're not but there are some some commonalities that somebody who's been trained in both can easily call one or the other uh but and then joe john finley has been trained in that that bryles offense the the one that levy ran i i'm fascinated to see it. And it feels like for both teams, for Arizona and for Oklahoma, most of the major contributors are there other than Dylan Gabriel. Yeah. I mean, you look at Oklahoma, they've had a couple opt-outs, but not a ton. It's really on the offensive line that you're going to see some new names just because they have a couple of guys declaring for the draft, but they also have

a couple super seniors, McCade Mattow or Walter Rouse, expected to play in this game. So other than that, Oklahoma's got a lot of guys playing. You look on the defensive side of the ball, I expect them to have every single starter playing in this game on defense. And then Arizona, they've had very few opt-outs. So I think that this could end up being one of the better bowl games of the bowl season, just because I think both teams also are pretty motivated. Arizona, I think they've only won 10 games three times in their school history. If they could go out and win, you know, against Oklahoma, a team that they really respect, I think it would mean a lot for their program moving forward.

And then on the flip side, again, Oklahoma, I think reaching 11 games and having that momentum going into the SEC would be massive for them. And so it's going to be really interesting to see, Andy, because OU's had a lot of excitement. You got Danny Stutzman, Billy Bowman, both announced they're coming back next year, which they feel really good about. But then again, all eyes are on Jackson Arnold. What does he look like? And I think Oklahoma, what they don't want is the narrative to be all offseason. Hey, is Jackson Arnold really the guy? And so you don't want to have that type of performance on Thursday.

Well, tell the people about Jackson Arnold because this is a guy that Oklahoma fans have been excited about for basically two and a half years now. Yeah, you know, from Denton-Geyer High School, five-star kid, one of the top quarterbacks. Some considered him the top quarterback in the 2023 class. Really kind of a quiet kid, but man, he can sling it. The ball comes out differently when he throws it, and we've seen him at times this year in mop-up duty or, you know, in the BYU game when he had to come in for an injured Dylan Gabriel,

and he played really well. You know, he's a guy that doesn't have a ton of experience, still really young. He can move. He can really move in the pocket. He's a runner. He's a guy that can take off. You know, I think it was in the spring game. He ran for like a 70 yard touchdown on one of his first plays in the spring game. So he's somebody who can scramble kind of like Dylan Gabriel.

So there's a lot of people with high expectations for him, fair or not. And again, he's got the talent. We'll see what the decision-making looks like in this game, but you'll see him throw the ball deep. That's where his specialty is for sure. And again, that's kind of where it's going to be interesting. Do they let him loose in this game? And again, how much do they run him?

That became a huge part of Oklahoma's game is the quarterback run game. Do they risk running him? The last thing you really want is to get injured in this game. You know, Davis Bevel, who just entered the transfer portal, he's going to play in the game. He will be the backup, but going to the next year, no one really knows who's going to be Jackson Arnold's backup. There's been some, some talk about maybe trying to get a portal quarterback. If they can, they've got Michael Hawkins and Brennan Zerberg, two freshmen coming in. But I think that they're going to be kind of cautious with Jackson in this game in terms of running him too much.

Well, and you mentioned keeping him healthy, having something to kind of hang your hat on as you go into next year. Oklahoma fans just saw their first SEC schedule in the past couple weeks. Did it start to feel more real that that's that's where it's going because it when you look at it like you're thinking about ending a season against alabama and lsu it's a completely different world starting basically after thursday yeah and you look at their schedule i think they play like four or five teams that are ranked in the top 15 right now. They have to go to Missouri.

They have to go to Ole Miss. Two programs that seem to be trending in the right direction. Obviously had great seasons this year. And then you mentioned it. You get Alabama at home, and then you turn around and go to Baton Rouge to play LSU. And so it's becoming very real for Oklahoma. And again, that's why there's a large part of the fan base that feels like this is a big game against Arizona. Cause again, they want to have some momentum heading into the sec. They just signed a top 10 class with 27 new guys. They've gone out and they've gotten several guys in the portal. They've also lost several key pieces in the portal. When you talk about Caden

Green, the starting left guard going to Missouri. So you know, I think that it's getting very, very real, very quickly for Oklahoma. And you look know, I think that it's getting very, very real, very quickly for Oklahoma. And you look at next season and the way it lines up, they like how the buys kind of dropped in there at two weeks. I think they come after Texas or maybe the week before Texas. And then I think before Ole Miss. And so, and then you have the main game, they play Maine, which is basically a buy before they go to, they play Alabama. So they're between Auburn and Texas. Yeah. And between Missouri and Alabama. So that is about they've worked out perfect. Yeah, yeah, it worked out perfect. And so again,

the schedule is really tough, but it lines up nicely. I mean, there's some people that think Oklahoma could be 10 and oh, you know, heading into those final two weeks with Alabama and LSU being maybe the two most difficult games. I'm really interested to see what Ole Miss looks like. That's going to be a really tough game. And then they go to Auburn for their first ever SEC road game. That's the one because that place, and they're going to be so excited for Oklahoma. Remember the last time somebody played at Auburn, Alabama needed the miracle of all miracles to win.

And they're going to be better because Hugh Freeze is not going to let them sort of fester. They're going to be active in the portal and probably a much better roster than you saw this year. So that's all very exciting. But this game in the Alamo Bowl is exciting. Arizona was so good at the end of the season. They have almost everything. It feels like there's so much momentum. I think Jed fish was a kind of a hot name on the coaching carousel, but he's staying and it really feels like they have some continuity coming into this game too.

Yeah. And they're one of those programs, Andy, that's going to be interesting to see what they do in the big 12, because I think there's a handful of these new teams, Utah as well, Arizona state that if they can get things heading in the right direction, they can compete in the Big 12. The Big 12 is going to be wide open, and Jetfish has done a really good job with Arizona. They're one of the hottest teams in the country right now. I think they've won six in a row.

They've done a really nice job. Their defense is playing well. Their young quarterback has played really well. And so that's why this game is going to be really interesting. I think it's going to be a defensive battle, Andy, because Arizona's defense has been really solid this year. Oklahoma's got a true freshman quarterback playing. They've got some holes to fill on the offensive line. And then on the flip side, Oklahoma's entire starting defense with several super seniors, guys that want to go out the right way, are going to be playing in this

game. They didn't have a ton of opt-outs on the defensive side of the football, and you get Danny Stutzman back, who's healthy now, Billy Bowman as well, Gentry Williams at corner. I think this could be a real defensive football game, despite some people thinking it might be a shootout. Well, I mean, they've got to get some pressure on Noah Fafita, who has not gotten pressured a ton this year in the Pac-12, and he's got some reliable – T-Mac and Jacob Cowan,

he got very reliable receivers. So yeah, I think it'll be fun, but I think you're right. Both quarterbacks may be stressed in ways that they haven't been stressed yet. So very excited about that. I'm sure it's been mentioned quite a bit this week among both fan bases that last year's Alamo Bowl, Texas versus Washington, is a playoff game this year. I don't know about you, but with a 12-team playoff coming,

I could very easily see this being a playoff game next year. Definitely. I mean, again, you look at the direction of both these programs right now, Oklahoma feels like it's got a lot of momentum heading into next year. And when you talk about expanding the playoff to 12 teams and Oklahoma having that difficult schedule, they could go 10-2 next year and sneak in. There's a lot of people this year that felt they should have got a New Year's Six Bowl. So all of a sudden, if they go 10-2 next year with the type of schedule that they have, they could easily be one of the 12 teams. And then again, you look at Arizona and the new big 12, if they keep trending in this direction, they could easily win nine, 10, 11 games next year. And all of a sudden they're

playing in the playoffs. So I think that it very well could be a future playoff game. And obviously Texas and Washington, I think everybody kind of saw it last year in that Alamo Bowl game. It was a great game. And both teams that had a lot of talent. You had Pennix, you had Ewers. And now all of a sudden both those teams are competing for possibly a national championship. It's kind of crazy to think about. Well, okay, so now that we've had some time and the season's cooled off and kind of know where things stand going into next season,

how does everybody feel about Brent Venables after year two as a head coach? Because that was the concern after year one. And then going into this season was, okay, are they going to be SEC ready? How's he going to evolve as a game day coach? Will he be the guy? How does everybody feel about that now? I think fans are confident in him. You know. Look, I think that they made a lot of improvements this past year. You look at the two games that they did lose, Oklahoma State and Kansas. Both of them were kind of fluky games in the sense that Kansas, you had the bad weather.

They didn't play very well on offense. Same with the Oklahoma State game. They didn't play very well on offense. And Jeff Lebby kind of became the scapegoat for Oklahoma. He's now at Mississippi State. And you look at the defensive improvement analytically, they've made huge strides on that side of the ball. And then you look at Oklahoma offensively, they're still bringing in talent. There's a lot of faith in Seth Luttrell as the new offensive play caller and maybe slowing things down, running more of the air raid, a guy that likes to run the football, which Oklahoma wasn't great at at times this year, and then Jackson Arnold.

So I think that there's a lot of hope that Brent Venables does have this thing heading in the right direction. And I think part of that, Andy, too, is you look at this recruiting class, the guys they're bringing in, number eight right now on the on three team rankings, they're bringing in the best defensive line class they've had since 2006 when they had Gerald McCoy, Jeremy Beal, guys that went on to play for the national championship in 2008 against your Gators, Andy. I mean, that's what we're talking about is they're bringing in a defensive line class, which they have to have in the SEC to compete. And so I think that on top of Brent kind of figuring out the game day management,

how to manage a game this year on top of bringing in some of those, those key players for the SEC has people really excited for what can come in 2024. Yeah. David Stone, the headliner of that bunch and from Oklahoma. And it's interesting because there was a quote, I think it was, it was Barry Switzer. And I believe he said it back in 2013. And it was something to the tune of, they haven't had a Gerald McCoy or a Tommy Harris squatting down in the middle. And Oklahoma, 10 years later, still hasn't had that. And it feels like they're finally about to get that again.

Yeah, no. And even this last year, I think they had four or five guys over 300 pounds on the defensive line. That's what they want. And they went out and they recruited several guys this last year. You talk about Jaden Jackson, David Stone's teammate from IMG Academy. He's another guy he's, he's out practicing with the team right now for bowl practices, which is a new NCAA rule along with Nigel Smith, another guy, four-star guy from Melissa, Texas on the defensive line. I mean, they signed five guys on the defensive line that are four stars or higher. They haven't been able to do that, like I said, since 2006.

Danny Okoye from Tulsa, Oklahoma, homeschooled kid. They think that he can be a freak coming off the edge. So they feel really, really good about that defensive line class. And I think they're going to be still busy in the transfer portal going after some of these veteran and experienced defensive linemen. So again, it feels like they're training in the right direction in terms of having the right personnel to compete in the SEC because that's where the difference is. Those games really truly are one in the trenches in the SEC. And you look at these teams, Alabama's and Georgia's, they get those guys every year, right?

And so I think that Oklahoma starting to trend and get some of those guys is really going to benefit. And we'll see how many of those guys are ready to play in 2024. But if they stick with the program and they develop, there's a lot of belief that those guys can be really impactful for this program moving forward. Now, speaking of good linemen, this is a guy who's opted out and isn't going to be playing in this game or at Oklahoma in the future. But I want you to tell the draft Knicks, the people who

maybe are holding out hope that their NFL team is going to get some help on the offensive line. Tell them a little about Tyler Guyton, because I have a feeling that's a name you're going to hear a lot in the next four months. Super talented. I mean, a kid that, you know, he started his career as a tight end at TCU, ends up transferring to Oklahoma, moves to offensive tackle, and is just super athletic. You know, I think he still needs to work on his motor at times, but he was unbelievable in pass protection this year. Really a big guy, can play left or right tackle. I think he's probably a future left tackle in the NFL, but this is a guy that's going to test extremely well. I think he's already projected to be a

first round pick. I think he's going to knock the combine out of the park as well as his pro day. And all of a sudden he's going to be being talked about a top 15, maybe a top 10 type pick because he has the size, he has the athletic ability. And so I think he's going to be being talked about at top 15, maybe a top 10 type pick because he has the size, he has the athletic ability. And so I think he's going to be a guy, you know, he ended up not playing the last couple of games because he got hurt. And they actually had to play a redshirt freshman, Jacob Sexton, who's done really well.

But this is a guy that's developed under Bill Bean and Bo, one of the best in the country and a guy that I think some NFL team is going to be really happy to get. Yeah. He's going to be the guy we're talking about. Like Anthony Richardson last year was that guy. Tyler Guyton will be that guy this year. I'm very excited to see that because he can also, I mean, he can play. It's not like last year with Richardson where, okay, he was 6-6 as a starter.

But this guy could play against really good competition, and then he's going to test off the chart. So I can't wait to see it. George, enjoy San Antonio. Enjoy what might be the best bowl game outside the playoff. I know. It's going to be super exciting. I love San Antonio, the Riverwalk, lots of good food,

lots of good drinks and stuff. So it'll be a fun time. And, again, like you said, I think it's going to be a really good football game. It's not like a couple years ago when Oklahoma was here and played Oregon who had like 30 guys opting out. And there was coaching changes. And Bob Stoops was the interim head coach. I think this one's going to be a little bit different.

Very different. And time to reflect. I'm glad you mentioned that. Before I let you go, let's reflect on that because you're right. They're back in the same place they were two years ago, which is what happened when Lincoln Riley left. If you could go to an Oklahoma fan two years ago as they were preparing to watch that Alamo Bowl and thinking, oh, Lord, what is going on? What are we going to do? How's this going to work out? How much do you think they'd be smiling if you told them how things worked out in Norman and in Los Angeles? Oh, I think they'd be ecstatic. I mean, you look at what's going on with USC. It's a dumpster fire right now.

Now, I still think Lincoln will be able to figure out something there and win some more football games, but they're heading into the Big Ten kind of as a disaster right now. So we'll see what ends up happening there. Whereas Oklahoma, they feel really good about the direction they're heading into the Big Ten kind of as a disaster right now. So we'll see what ends up happening there. Whereas Oklahoma, they feel really good about the direction they're heading. And we all get it. It's going to be really tough. But what Brent Venables has been able to do in the last two years, whether it's rebuilding this roster or just growing as a head coach himself, it feels like they're doing all the

right things. So again, we'll see if it plays out. It doesn't always play out that way. But yeah, I think Oklahoma fans, especially after last year, Andy, there's a lot of question marks that, you know, it goes six and seven first losing season since 1998 to be able to turn it around this year. And there's a lot, there's still some disappointment.

Look, they, they feel like they should have beat OSU in Kansas this year and should be in the playoff right now. But they did it, but they still, you know, got 10 wins, could get 11, and were on the cusp of really making the Big 12 championship game despite those two losses. So I think that Oklahoma fans, looking back two years ago, you know, are pretty happy with the way things are going. And also they enjoy watching what's happening over in los angeles i'm sure they do shot and fraud i believe is the word so george thank you so much yeah thanks for having me andy

i think it's shot in freud i always get that wrong but we have an update from our friends at reddit reddit cfb from gerald ford stadium site of the first responder bowl this game is officially drunk because all of the alcohol in gerald ford stadium has been consumed with a picture of just an empty fridge congratulations rice and texas state fans you did it uh there's 11 minutes to go in the game, by the way. 11 minutes to go. Texas State, I need them to cover by four and a half. Win by four and a half to cover so that I can beat the coin. I'm feeling good about that. One comment I did want to get to.

You can comment on the show on Twitter now. Or X. I guess we have to call it X. Sloth76 asks, why is a 12-team playoff good for college football? This is going back to what I said earlier on the show. He wishes Big Ten and the others had fought for a 6 or 8 team. I will tell you why a 12-team is better.

Because it is a big enough tournament to have action and layers where you can have buys you can have home field advantage you can have all that stuff but you can also have exclusivity i know what you're saying six and eight are more exclusive than 12 but they're not that big they're not enough rounds enough action this gives you action this gives you some variability in matchups. And it's still exclusive, and I'll tell you why. If we're going the total of the FBS, it's 1,233 teams, which would make it the most exclusive tournament in any major sport. Not even close. Remember, the NFL has a 14-team tournament for 32 teams. So that is the most popular thing in America. That's the most popular sporting event to watch in America. The ratings show that every day. So to have the equivalent playoff in college football, even if we just did the Power Five,

which I know there's no Power Five anymore, but it's hard to retrain our brains. Even if we did did the power five, which I know there's no power five anymore, but it's hard to retrain our brains. Even if we did the top 65 teams, you're still talking about a 2018 playoff to equal proportionally what the NFL does. So it's still a very exclusive tournament, a very, very exclusive tournament, but it has enough room for some action

and for some different matchups and for some fun. That's why it's better for college football. That's why it's going to be fun. That's why they should have done it this year. Thanks, ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 for screwing it up for the whole log. Could have had it now. Oh, well.

So Babin on Twitter asks, what's your prediction for the Oklahoma game? That's a great question. And you're going to get my prediction for the Alamo Bowl, plus all of the other non-New Year's Six, non-playoff bowls on Wednesday's show. Ralph Russo from the Associated Press will join us as our guest picker. It's really an excuse for me and Ralph to get together and talk college football

because we don't know what's going to happen in these games. But yeah, we're picking the Alamo Bowl. We're picking the Citrus Bowl. We're picking the ReliaQuest Bowl. I don't even know what a ReliaQuest is, but we're picking the game. It's going to be a blast. Thanks so much for listening. Thanks so much for watching.

We'll talk to you tomorrow.