Andy & Ari On3 - How many College Football Playoff teams is TOO MANY | Thanksgiving draft!

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

You’ve had Wendy’s Nuggs dipped in sauce. But have you had them covered in sauce? Wendy’s New Saucy Nuggs take the Crispy and Spicy Nuggs you love and turn them up to 11. Choose between flavors like Buffalo. Honey BBQ. Garlic Parm. Or, if you’re a real heat seeker, try Spicy Ghost Pepper, only on Wendy’s signature Spicy Nuggs. This show is also sponsored by PrizePicks, America’s most fun daily fantasy game. Use the code STAPLES to play $5 and get $50 instantly. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/STAPLES This show is brought to you by Panini America, makers of the most collectible sports cards on the planet. The Luminance football card series features NIL autographed cards from players including Arch Manning, Quinn Ewers, Cam Ward, Jalen Milroe, Dylan Raiola, DJ Lagway, and Luther Burden. To start collecting, visit PaniniAmerica.net. (0:00-1:44) Intro - Happy Thanksgiving(1:45-4:36) Breakfast Tacos/Burritos in Texas(4:37-21:22) Dear Andy Intro - How many CFP Teams is too many?(21:23-31:10) Should Oregon consider RESTING players?(31:11-37:41) Jeanty/Hunter vs Past Heisman Winners(37:42-38:08) PaniniAmerica.net(38:09-42:51) Previewing Longhorns vs Aggies(42:52-50:17) Thanksgiving Sides(50:18-51:43) Booze on Thanksgiving?(51:44-53:51) Conclusion; Have a GREAT Thanksgiving! See you Saturday!Watch us on YouTube instead! https://youtube.com/live/vLIMQ4-QtSQHosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River Bailey

Welcome to Thanksgiving edition of Andy and Ari on three presented by Wendy's. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I hope everybody's being safe. If you are driving somewhere this weekend, if you are flying some of those weekend, be safe, be patient with everybody. Ari, I'm giving myself this advice more than anything else. Yeah. Um, we're just doing a, a easy Thanksgiving over at a friend's

house that starts at four. So it should just be a pretty relaxing day. And then you're coming into Dallas on Friday for a real Thanksgiving feast. I think on, on Friday with Haim barbecue. So I'm looking forward to it. You could tell that we're pre recording this, um, because I'm not a beach ball at the moment. Uh, by the time you land on Friday, you might need to, I'm, I'm really thankful that I'm not running that three mile thing that you were going to make me do on Friday. We're going to make you do that Saturday morning,

like get you up at like 6 AM and run that. No, no, I think we're going to have to get up at 6 AM on, on Saturday, either way. So maybe, maybe on, on Friday afternoon, we'll attempt it. Just wait, we're getting up at six a.m. on Saturday to head down to college station for Texas, Texas a.m. Can I make a request if I have to get up that early? Sure. Can we get breakfast tacos on the way? We can do whatever you want, man. Sure. My wife is going to be out of town. My child is going to be with my mother-in-law like the my house is is your your fantasy land. When it comes to I'm telling you right now like. You know I live in Florida. We're melting pot. We've got all sorts of different cuisines here. The one thing the folks in Florida have not figured out that the folks in Texas have

figured out forever is breakfast tacos. They just they get it. And yeah, you it's really hard to get a good breakfast burrito everywhere. And I was very took it for granted when I was in college because at Arizona, they had a lot of really good places and options to get like a fat breakfast burrito with potatoes and eggs and salsa and all that stuff and it's like you would not believe how hard it is to find a good breakfast taco or burrito in some areas of the country and it really isn't that complex it's eggs and potatoes and a tortilla but yeah I do feel like overeating on Thursday bleeds into overeating on Friday and Saturday for me usually every year so I'm going to try to be a little bit better

about that, but no promises. So what we'll, you know, and honestly, we'll get the the Heim barbecue, and then maybe we'll take a little trip to Domino's for dinner on Friday night with for that Georgia Georgia Tech game. So we'll see, we'll see what goes on. But I'm looking forward to having you here, Andy. And, you know, maybe we'll take that run anyway, just for my health. But there's one thing before we get into the show that I need your to do. Yes. So Ralph Russo called me yesterday and I was in the middle of doing some stuff

around the house. This is our friend from the athletic use to work the Associated Press used to be the guardian of the Associated Press poll. Yeah, the AP poll purveyor called me and we have a fire pit in our front yard and our fire pit. I bought these chairs and we got these chairs put together around the fire pit. But now it's fire pit weather and it's a propane hookup. I've never bought propane before. I don't know how to buy propane, but I might need you to help me.

And you can film it for my ridicule. Like, get this fire pit to work while you're here. Like I think I could go to Home Depot, buy a propane tank, hook up the hose and get a key to turn it on. And it's that simple, but I've never done it before. I'm pretty sure that's how it would work. Now I'm a clumsy person.

I'm warning you now, we could show up to the Texas and Texas A&M game without eyebrows. But I have I have you've turned on a grill. Multiplication is hooked up propane tanks and gotten the the item working. So yes, I might I might have you I might have you on the hook for that. But like I just remember the reverse threaded. But I also to like learned how to use the

fireplace in the in house inside the house for the first time yesterday. And we've been living you got a gas fireplace. So that day you go. Yeah. You hit on and it turns on. It's incredible. But okay, go ahead. Let's get another show. But I just like we there's an hour conversation about pilot lights that we could have, but we really don't need to have that.

Yeah, I just I'm going to need your help is what I'm just putting you on notice now. And I'm doing it. We've turned Friday into quite the adventure if we're going to fix your microphone on Friday too. So we'll see how that goes. We may have to keep the Ari Mike issues graphic up for a little bit longer because that may have to go by the wayside. But it is Thursday, which means it is time for us to answer your questions. Dear Andy, dear Ari, and of course, as always, you have asked some incredible questions. I will start with a question from Jack. What number of need of teams are needed in the playoff to create a space time singularity centered on Ari? One follow up,

would he survive debates revolving on allowing five lost teams into said playoffs? So we already know that the people who run the sport are going to move it to 14 in 2026, or at least going to push to move it to 14 in 2026. Probably they'll try to make it bigger down the line. Ari, I actually don't know like the, the, the 14 team thing. You could thing, you could have some four lost teams being argued about for at-large is in the 14 team format. The reason why we're in the position that we're in right now with the 12 team field is that you have too many spots

and not enough teams. Like that's, and that's why we're arguing about three and four lost teams because we're trying to figure out who of the teams that are littered with warts get to go like that's so keep going i don't really know what the question means though is that like a sci-fi thing you'll have to explain it's not a sci-fi well it's a quantum physics thing a singularity essentially is a confluence of factors where essentially the laws of physics no longer apply and the theory is that the universe would just sort of collapse in on itself.

Oh, okay. So he's saying what what I mean, what would make you go so crazy that you will scream and your scream will cause the universe to collapse in on itself. I'm going to be honest with you Andy. I'm already a broken man at this point. Like I it's it. We already have passed the point of no return for me. I just like that you enjoy the arguments clearly. But you're like, I hate myself for this. I enjoy the arguments because arguing is fun. And I and I do feel like if we are going to be in the system that we should do right by the system. Right. So like my engagement in the arguments isn't like, I don't feel nearly as actually worked up as I did in the four team arguments because the stakes are so much lower now. Um, but at the same time too, if we're going to have the system teams like Arizona state in Indiana and the

teams that I believe that the system should be designed for are the teams I'm going to have the system teams like Arizona State in Indiana and the teams that I believe that the system should be designed for are the teams I'm going to champion for. Like I have no passion in my belly or my heart to champion for Alabama this year. Like Alabama is a program that I hold to a very high standard. And if you've noticed one trend about me- Can I interject and ask a question? Because you said something really interesting just now. Okay. Alabama is a program I hold to a very high standard. Yeah.

Does that mean you hold Ole Miss in South Carolina to a different standard? I have more sympathy in my heart in the discussions for them. Ah, okay, okay, that makes sense. I just was trying to figure out, are you saying that Alabama should be held to a different standard than other teams because they've done good in the Past because that's not not in the committee's room not in the committee's room, but okay

Arguments sake it's over in your heart of hearts. I think like for me In like in the reason why I love the 14 field so much is because bad seasons were not rewarded. And now there's probably a higher likelihood that Alabama gets into this thing than most people are willing to consider at the moment. And I would not be shocked. I mean, I think there are like plus 180 in the books to make it, which is not that long of a shot.

Like for my standpoint, like arguing about Alabama when they've been an abject failure based on what they usually are is not interesting. It's like how much can we bend over to get these teams that always get in, even when they have bad. But I don't think they're bending over. They got 12 spots and they got to fill them. And it might be that one of those teams

is the best to fill them. But I would be more passionate about filling it with a team that's having an actual good year, like for my personal preference. Good for them? Yeah, like Arizona State for me is far more deserving of the, like, I don't want teams that had good years for them to miss out because we're bending over backwards to get teams that are having terrible.

Shouldn't the standard be the same for everybody? It is. No, it is. And I'm saying my personal preference here, Andy. I'm not talking about. OK, OK, I got it. I'm not talking about what the committee should do. The committee should bring everybody the same. But the fact that what you just said that bothers me is that they don't treat everybody the same. I think that I think that what will be interesting about this and what people

when the games start, I'm not talking about the argument beforehand, because the argument beforehand is going be what it's gonna be. I think when the games start, the mix of teams we're used to seeing in the four team and teams that we don't get to see and that we never got to see in the four team, I think that will be the fun part. Yeah, well, the thing that I think strikes me

about what you just did to me was that you were about to jump down my throat about me saying there should be different standards for Alabama in the committee room, which isn't what I was saying. But I appreciate that you would because it's right. But you should have that same energy for when they don't treat everybody the same in the committee room in the reverse because they agreed. Like I've been saying, what? Why are Miami and SMU so far apart

when they are the same team effectively? Exactly. And like I, the, the thing that I made on, on Wednesday show the point that I made about Arizona state, it's like Arizona state is having a very good year. And I think when Alabama is bad and they're zero days since Ari's camera issue, damn it, The thing died. Okay. But the thing that I want to say, Andy, is when Alabama is bad, I think we should believe them. Like I think we have a hard time believing when really good teams that are always good are bad. Like it's like they're telling us who they are.

You know what I mean? The Oklahoma game. I'm ready to believe. Yeah, Alabama. Alabama is a very talented bad team this year. And it's OK. Like, you're not supposed to be great. When Nick Saban did during his time as the head coach, his brainwashes into thinking that every single Alabama team that trots out there is good enough to win the national championship every single year. And frankly speaking, Andy, that's just not the case anymore. So like for me, I would rather see Arizona State get in

or a second big 12 team get in that had a really hard schedule and earned it rather than continually placating the teams that are bad. Is there a big 12 team that had a really hard schedule and earned it? No, I mean, I guess maybe that's bad. This is hypothetical. Yeah, yeah, I'm like, like, like, like, like,

for instance, though, I think SMU has been treated very poorly. I agree the playoff rankings. And I don't know if I truly believe in my gut that SMU is better than like Ole Miss. I don't think I believe that SMU is being treated like a group of five team. Yeah, because it used to be one last year and it's not. It is in a power conference. It has not lost a game in said power conference. It has essentially the same resume as the other team

in said power conference who's supposed to play for the conference title. Yet they are five spots apart. Well, now they're only two spots apart. So for my personal preference, based on the question, because he's asking like what makes the world end for me, is that if we're going to expand the playoff to 12, which we've done, and we're going to explain it further,

which we will, that the expansion of that should result in new blood. It shouldn't just be the same teams that get mulligan after mulligan after mulligan because the SEC season this year already was render useless. Like we already have five teams that are still in the mix or six teams that are still kind of in the mix. And then when we get to the playoff of four or five teams make it this year, which is still a possibility in my opinion, they're just going to play each other again. And it's like, what are we doing with the sec?

Like, like to me, it's like, I would rather see smu with two losses, get in over a three loss sec team, because we didn't do this. Like the people thought that we opened the doors and the 12 team playoff to parody, but all we've done is made Alabama season worth. This is we stuff. We didn't make the playoff. We didn't create it. We didn't design it. We're all people who run the sport did the people who did it the most power. The people who run the SEC in the Big 10. So they're going to create a system that is the most advantageous for them. The thing I just don't not understand about people who are fired up about this and I understand the selling points. You've said them a thousand times and I've said the negatives is that how you could enjoy a system where the most thrilling regular season was an absolute sham of a joke like there's nothing to it. Like they lost all these games and it

didn't matter if they beat Georgia. Get something right. Did that not? I mean like, but if you play in the SEC, you're going to play six games half the time against teams that are going to prop up your resume. So all you gotta do is win one or two

and then you're good enough like this is the thing it's like you. Well, they didn't go. They're not going to in 6, but everybody in the sec has a, as a wind propping them up because they played four or five of them and they've lost two or three of the other ones. And like, we're all here. Then maybe everybody else should get as good as, as people think the sec teams are. Yeah. I mean, I know I'm just saying, I don't know what to tell you. But like me and you view the sport,

I think in a very similar way. So like I understand that the SEC has more good players on their teams than teams in the big 12 and the ACC. Like I don't even think that's a debate. Maybe it will be in five years because it's changing. But right now- I think it's heading that way. It might be heading that way.

Where it will be the debate. But still, we still have the remnants of elite rosters from the past. Like we haven't gotten out of the era completely. So like, if you want to tell me, and trust me, I was just like drooling over Ole Miss two weeks ago, last week. So I'm not going to act like Ole Miss stinks now.

I think that they're still a very good football team. And I think that Ole Miss would favor very well in the ACC. But at the same time too, if a team like Ole Miss or Alabama gets their doors blown off by Oklahoma or loses to Kentucky, I don't like that. This system allows us to ignore those things because we do. We do. We do. We do.

It's allowing us to ignore Notre Dame losing to Northern Illinois. Yeah, you're right. But they don't allow us to ignore Clemson losing the Louisville. I'm not ignoring that. I don't think they're going to ignore it at the end of the either based on your I think they're ignoring it now. We'll find it. I think yeah.

So what what amount of teams would make my head explode like we've made my head explode. I think it and I think that like it is already useless and we're it's only going to get worse and like the thing that's so crazy is if you look at this top 25 right now, Andy, if we get to 18 or 21 or 29 or 37, like the teams at the bottom half of this ranking starting at like 20 are just not great.

They're just not. They're not even great. What we always said? 1515 through 35 are not as different as people want to think. But like, do you do you want to live in a world where I mean you probably do where it's like next in three years from today we're arguing about whether or not Illinois's in like it's like what are we doing at a certain point? I don't think I don't care. I don't consider it sacred. I think the way they used to determine a national champion was it was incredibly stupid. Let's vote on it. Let's not even match up the best teams in the bowl games. We just but we just left the perfect one. And if

you want to change it, it's so it sucks. Maybe it sucks. It hurt the regular season. Because it sucked. Because after all that you got three games? That sucks. It's a consumer product. We get the game. Consumer product. Be a consumer. But is there a point that you could get to where you're like this is too much?

Or are you just going to be like, let's get 64? I think if they go past 16 is too much. I think you go back past 16 because that there's a there's a sweet spot Where you are you you make it scarce enough? That it's a challenge to get into But there's enough that you've actually got a product to have in the postseason And I think if you go beyond four rounds, you've gone past that. I think that everybody who plays for a national championship should be elite. I think that's what I found out about myself and that's not the case.

I think I've been a consumer of sports long enough to know that I like tournaments. And that not everybody who gets into the tournament is elite, but I enjoy watching them. It's a consumer product. I'm the consumer. And I like it. I enjoy watching The Bachelorette, too.

But I don't know that I would want my. Yeah, but you're on your own there. I enjoy watching a lot of things. Well, OK, OK. The Bachelorette, how many Bachelorettes are there at the beginning? OK, well, it's the Bachelorette. How many guys? 30. How many of those guys are actually elite?

They should they should only have four. You mean like in terms of jawline and career or like? Yeah, they should only have four bachelors. What would the Illinois of the bachelor look like? They did have a chubby guy on last season and he got sent home immediately and I was like shit. Like come on. There's no Cinderella story here.

Well the Illinois of the bachelor is Brett Bielema. He's a millionaire and he's really funny. But why? I'm just saying why couldn't the big guy just advance to the second round? That's all I'm saying. Like he's not but Ari because by your logic, the bachelor should only have four contestants and should be over in three weeks. They only the bachelors first episode is the regular season. And then when you get to the in-home visits part,

which is four or three contestants left, that's when you're in the playoffs. And then the finals was when there's two left. The bachelor has the system down perfectly. Not everybody is in the playoffs at the beginning. That's what the first night is. And then if you're fat or you're not elite, you get sent home the way you're supposed to.

That's the way mother nature heals, okay? So don't use the bachelor to me to like tell me that the bachelor is the 14 field to perfection. Not everybody gets to go see. You turned it around on me. I can't even, you've beaten me so thoroughly on this one. I can't even compete, it's over. Does everybody get to go

in the fantasy suite with the Bachelorette? White flag. I'm waving the white flag. Everybody? Does Illinois get to go sleep with the Bachelorette? No. You win, I lose. But like, I have accepted it though.

Like I'm here and we are at the point where I think we I think we've already proven this year definitively that there's too many teams but I think we knew that coming into the year. So anytime any however worse you want to make just enough teams because we're still arguing and there's a tournament at the end and I think Ari and I can know we're in one you know agree on one thing. Jesse Palmer should be the commissioner of college football. Jesse Palmer's life. Handsome, great jawline, wealthy, calls college football games, Gator and gets to do the bachelorette and cooking shows.

Like that guy's just living the dream. Like, could you imagine being the host of The Bachelor and then also getting to call college football games in the fall? Like that being your existence where you get to like go to grab ass island for for a month and you know which one is grab ass island. The football games to the bachelor. You go to grab ass island in the fall and the summer. It's just well life. You know we didn't have him on the show like I don't know how, I think that that would be a really good guest. Like I would love to just

tell we did let's let's let's set that up in the offseason. Let's set that up. I think we could get him. I just don't know how like Frank. He'd be about like how he views the show and stuff. Like I'd love to the man. Super famous. He would be careful. He knows where his brains are. All right, this. This is a playoff question from Sean and Dallas that I think is right up your alley because you've talked about this a few times so I'm very curious to hear your thoughts on this.

Keep talking, I'm going to go miss the lights real quick. You got it. I'm listening. If you're Oregon, why wouldn't you rest your starters in one of the next two games? Oregon makes the playoffs even with two losses at this point. If the rest are starters against Washington, then they're increasing their chances of winning against an injured Ohio State and getting that first round by.

If they beat Washington and rest their players against Ohio State, then they likely get the five seed with an extra rest for their starters and a somewhat easier path to the national title. Ari, this is diabolical. I don't think they're gonna do it, but one, good day. Two, if you had the choice of doing it, which game would you do it for?

Oh, man. The question here, I guess, is does the Big Ten title matter to people? Like does winning the Big Ten matter to you? And you have to answer that. I think that the coaches- I think it matters to Oregon and you won. I think it matters to Oregon. I think it matters to Ohio State. I think that winning your conference matters.

So like you just got done telling me that the regular season got ruined in the past because of the 14 field because we were so hyper focused on the playoff. So like that message right there would do exactly what you just said, right? Like that would to the onth degree, right? It would just be like, okay, we don't care about anything other than seeding and all that stuff. And it's like, you know, I hate to invoke Herm Edwards here, because I think it's cliche, but like you do

play to win, like the whole point of playing is to win. And this is why I can't imagine them doing this in either case, because think about the psychological damage Washington inflicted on Oregon by beating them the last three times they've beaten them. Like if you're Oregon, you want to win that game real bad. Yeah, and also too, if you rest your players for the Washington game in this hypothetical scenario,

then do you bring them back for the Ohio State game to try to win the conference? Because I still think that if they rested their players against Washington and then beat Ohio State again, they would be one and nothing would change. But then at the same time, you might want to rest them for both so that you're a two loss team who finishes in five.

But then how do you seed properly if you're then you're a three loss team or no two loss team? You're right. You're right. I'm sorry. I'm defeated. I've seen it. They lost their next two. Right. Yeah. Yeah. What message do you send to the committee? Like I would be like crazy. Like, let's go down the rabbit hole of this and like actually picture them doing it. We're in the committee is not going to like that.

They're going to downgrade. You're not going to be the 5C. But how does the committee even judge a team if their starters aren't playing? You punish them for not playing them. You can do that. Also, I guess, but like that's where's that? There's no proof in the NFL that resting your starters works. In fact, some people say, yeah, it hurts you when you get injured.

I think it'd be like being healthy and not injured helps you. But there's a big enough layover between your first game in the playoff and your big 10 champ. There's like, isn't there three weeks in between or two weeks? Well, if you're Oregon and you win the big 10, then you're going to get three weeks. If you're going to get two weeks, if you don't. In three weeks for these guys, they're in peak physical condition. Like three weeks is a long time for these athletes to get healthy and ready. Like that's a long time. So like the thing to me that's more interesting than resting players and being healthy is the gamesmanship of you looking at the potential bracket and resting your players to get an easier path to the final four.

Like, cause like I would have that conversation. Do you want to do everything in your power to ensure that you are playing for a national championship this year? And would you sacrifice the big 10 championship to play ASU and Boise in the first round rather than having played the winner of Tennessee and Georgia in the second round like that to me, like I would definitively rather play Arizona state and Boise than have to play Georgia in the second round. Um, so, and like, that's no disrespect to Arizona state, but like,

the fact is that like, you're not Georgia. So, and I don't think that disrespect to Arizona state, but like, the fact is that like you're not Georgia. So, and I don't think that they're even pretending that they are. So like the thing that needs to be fixed, and I hope that it will, when we get further down the line of like the evolution of how this all works, Andy is how do we fix the seating so that you actually reward the teams? Because it's like, we're like, we're going to get into a bunch of arguments about seating. And it's like, we haven't had a single argument about seating this year.

We've had arguments about who should get in, who should get out, and maybe seating comes later when it becomes more clear. But I'm not too wound up about seating, and I knew I wouldn't be. And I know that home versus away is a huge deal in this system because you get a home playoff. Yeah, but the deliberate miss eating, I think needs to stop. I think that's something that they'll probably revisit when

they change things up for 2026 because it's a great. It's a nice idea to say conference champion should get the top four. It's going to mess some stuff up. It's going to make it where the five seats better than one seat. I think that you should. The rule should actually just be all four conference champions get in and you wind up where you wind up. Yeah. And, and if you don't, and if you are a conference

champion who's the highest ranked and you ranked 15th, then we'll slot you at 12. Like that, like that's, you know, I would do it in reverse. I would reverse, I would save the spots and then I would reverse it at the end rather than guaranteeing the conference champions are the one. Cause like in two conferences, the SEC and the big 10, the conference champion actually should be a top four seed. But the other conferences, they don't.

So like we don't have to pretend like the big 12 deserves the set. Or you could say the SEC and the big 10 champions are one and two, no matter what. And then everybody else is like, I would be okay with that. Because if they're not created equally, there's also the possibility in the next version, which was starting 2026, that they dumped the bowls

for the quarter finals and the semifinals. And you're playing for home field advantage in the, you know, throughout the playoffs, which is a significant thing. And I'm telling you right now, they're going to watch those first round games on campus. And they were like, we're idiots if we put these in bowls any longer. And I know that like college is a little bit different. But I

looked at the bowl schedule because I've been sending it to my wife every day. Because she just like? We need to look at the bowl schedule We're gonna be busy those days Why can't you just reseed after each game like what's the reason because fans need to have the because of the bowls, right? Yeah, but why how is that any different than NFL fans? Because NFL fans live in the town where they're going because they have them on in In your spot. I know, but it's not a neutral site game.

Like, but NFL fans have away fans to that like book at the last second to like, I mean, right. But it's a it's a few fans. It's not most of the fans. And the thing is, and that's if, but if you go to campus sites throughout until the championship game, then you'd have the same thing. Like all the arguments about, Oh, I don't know about hotel rooms or how are people going to get the tickets or for their idiotic because they have seven home games a year and they figure it out. So the fans that go to those games normally are going to just go to the games the way

they normally do. Yeah. You're going to have a very small group of visiting fans who then have to figure it out. They'll figure it out too. If you had to guess what year do you think will be it'll just be all home 2026. You think it's right around the corner. I think this first weekend of games is going to be so awesome that they will go. We are morons if we attempt to do this any other way. And then can't the national championship just be a neutral site dome?

Like, right, just like the Super Bowl and every just like super, you know, because I do think that the national title game should be played indoors. Because I'm not a real American. I think the Rose Bowl should be. I think Pasadena should be footballs. Omaha. I think they should just play the national title game in the Rose Bowl.

Yeah, no, I'm with you on that. That's that's been the easiest take in the world for me for the last. Anybody who has been to the Rose Bowl. Knows what we're talking about, and if you haven't like you know, especially if you come from a cold climate, like, you know, I don't think they do that.

Cause I don't think they have the sweets and the, all the things that they would want. Like they're going to, they're going to want Atlanta and Houston and, and all those different cities bidding and New Orleans, they're going to want them bidding on it. So that's what's going to happen. There's something special about the indoor painted fields, fresh, you know what I'm talking about?

Like that, that vibe. I love it. There's nothing special about the indoor painted fields, fresh, you know what I'm talking about, like that, that vibe. I love it. There's nothing special about football indoors. What's wrong with you? Uh, you know, the Lord, you know, the way that they paint the end zones for the playoffs, so frigging soft, so soft. I just want teams to be, to be firing on all cylinders. And I think indoors up, you want the perfect representation of each team and weather climate

and I want environment. I don't want I don't like I don't like excuses. I don't like. Well, we would have I just want two teams to play indoors and beat the shit out of that's all. And whoever wins wins and I don't want it was raining again. Yeah, it was raining outside or cold and windy or whatever. I just want I just want both teams to play. That's all. Soft. Alright. I know. One more question from Doug. Where would Travis Hunter or Ashton Gentey winning

the Heisman this year rank among the non QB Heisman winners since 2000? And the other ones are Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, and Devontae Smith. I don't know. In terms of are Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, Derek Henry, and Devontae Smith. I don't know in terms of ranking them, like either Travis Hunter or Ashton Gentry, like those clearly feel like the two best players in the country to me this year. It feels like we've narrowed it down pretty well. When I look at those, Reggie Bush absolutely was the best player in the country when he won the Heisman. Mark Ingram, I don't think, was the best player on Alabama when he won the Heisman.

I think Indamah Kinsue was the best player in the country. And I think there wasn't a great quarterback. And people were like, well, he's got decent numbers on the best team. And that's, that's where it went. The Derek Henry was different though. Like Derek Henry, Mark Ingram are not the same, even though they're Alabama running backs winning the Heisman.

Like, I don't know about you Ari. I go back to the end of the 2015 season. Alabama is not beating Auburn without Derek Henry. Like he carried them through the back half of the season. Now I actually still voted. Um, I had to Seanun Watson number one on my Heisman ballot that year. And I think in the national championship game that year, which is the one, that's the one Alabama won against Clemson. I think people looked at Deshaun Watson and were like, oh yeah, we should have thought a little harder about him. But I don't have a problem with Derek Henry winning

that one. Yeah, I guess that the question is, how would you rank them based head to head? I think Devontae Smith is probably of the ones that already won it. I thought he was the best player of that far away from everybody else in his year. He was incredible in 2020. You don't think that Reggie. Like he was in. No, I think. Incredible in 2020.

You don't think that Reggie Bush was like Reggie Bush had. It was. It's one of those two. It's one of those two. Yeah, like Reggie Bush. Was a better college football player. Then Ashton Gentry, right? Like is that am I allowed to say that? Yeah, you are, because of what he did catching the ball

and the level of competition was better. And it was just and it was also just electric. Like it was just Reggie Bush is part of the reason why I do this for a living. Like I like that was my childhood, like as I was growing up and like Reggie Bush captured

my. Teenage wonder, you know what I mean? Like, like, yeah, and I don't think that we there are very many players who have done what he did since and I don't know if it's just because you remember things differently when you're younger or if that's just true. But man, and Travis Hunter is different but like is Travis Hunter a better college football player than Devontae Smith was like,

go back and really put your and it's it's very interesting. It's very interesting. That's a shortlist. Because when you're living it right now, we're living Hunter. Yeah. Okay. And it's hard to pick. Are we ever going to see Hunter? Are we ever going to see Hunter? Again?

I just think that Devontae Smith was unstoppable. Yeah, so as far as gente as far as gente goes, and this is why hunters kind of pulled away. So gente. About halfway through the season was doing something we had never ever seen before. He was averaging like 10 yards of carry. He was on pace to break Barry Sanders record. He's still having an amazing season. But I'll give you an example. Bryce Love in 2017 averaged more yards per carry than Genties averaging now. And in fewer carries gained more yards. Yeah, so like that's, that's why Hunter has overtaken him is Genties no longer doing something we've never seen before.

He's doing something that we haven't seen much, but we have seen. Yeah. Yeah. And it's just, you know, interesting because like now there's this whole trend too of like in the NFL, they've gone so far away from running backs that now the teams that actually possess them are the best teams in the NFL. And it's like, the nature is healing. And they're becoming more and more like I think like Ashton Ashton Gentie exists in the perfect time for him. Like I think he will be drafted higher now than he would have been two

years ago. So, you know, and like he does have that like thick, durable, powerful, explosive body type that makes you feel like he's going to be in the NFL, like as a top five fantasy pick for the next 10 years. But I don't know if I think that he's the most outstanding player in the sport this year, which makes people upset, but the most outstanding sport player in the sport this year is Travis Hunter. Yeah. Yeah. And I think Travis Hunter compares favorably with, with say a Devontae Smith as a college football player and in that we just don't see that level of, of skill at what they're doing that often.

Yeah. And, uh, Devontae Smith did it on a team that won a national title. So he was doing it in bigger moments, which I think makes you, makes it feel bigger. Right. Right. Like Devontae Smith was torching people in those indoor stadiums. I like so much. Right. But Nick Saban had built a better roster than Dion did. Sure. No, no, no.

I'm saying that that's not my vote. So right. That's neither Devontae Smith nor Travis Hunter's fault. Like they're both dealing with the situation that they were. They were hand. I do wish that we could see Travis Hunter like if Travis Hunter was just on Arkansas, you know, or played a sec. Dion's the only one that will play him this way. Like if you could condone, you know,

that's what I love, like see him on Arkansas, but Sam Pittman is willing to play him the way Dion plays him. Yeah, I don't know if you would find a very many SEC coaches that are like play 100 snaps a game on both sides of the ball. But I I have enjoyed it a lot. I've loved watching both these guys play this year, so I hope

we get here. We got one more Travis Hunter game. Probably going to see two more Ashton Gentile games before the playoff and all that's determined. So I can't wait to see it. Ari, when I see you next, I will be bringing this right here. This is a Donner's Elite box from Panini. Visit PaniniAmerica.net to start collecting your favorite college and NFL stars.

They've got the Luminance series, which has NIL cards that feature, I don't know, there's Arch Manning, DJ Lagway's in there. So get to ripping some packs. PaniniAmerica.net. Start your collection now. Ari, we have to talk about the game we're going to this weekend. We do. We are going to College Station, Texas and Texas A&M. Let's take a look at it through the lens of our friends at PricePix. So if you don't know what PricePix is, it's the best daily fantasy game in America.

Download the app, use code staples, play $5, get $50 instantly. And we've got some squares up here. Jaden Blue, Texas running back 48 and a half rushing yards more or less. Ari, did you know that Jaden Blue was doing that thing from the program where he has to carry the ball. I saw that around campus. I don't think they had the situation where somebody forced to fumble in a lecture hall, but he has been doing it to make sure he holds on to the ball. We're having some fun with it. He and Steve Sarkisian were having some fun with it. But I actually think like that is a pretty big thing in this game. How well do you limit your mistakes here?

Yeah, because I think the whole the whole point here, Andy, too, is like you're going on the road and you're playing in this environment. What that environment is supposed to do and what it's quite literally named after the 12th man is to cause you to make those mistakes. Like you're supposed to gain a possession or create a penalty that ends a possession or force a turnover or something that that turns this game upside down, which is what I think Texas A&M absolutely has to have to win. Like I don't think that A&M is going to play a no turnover straight up game with Texas and win this game. Like I think they need to muck it up.

I think they need penalties and misreads and overthrows and fumbles and all the things that happened in these environments in order to compete because I think pound for pound Texas is probably just a better football team this year. Yeah. And let's take a look at the Quinn Ewers square for this game because 235 and a half passing yard two I'm sorry, I moved to 237 and a half. He's only broken that number three of the last five games. He's been awfully close a couple times, but that's the question is does A&M get after him?

Nick Scorton that group. Do they get him on the ground? Remember, he's got a bum ankle. So does decrease mobility allow them to get to him affect Texas's passing game effect when he throws the ball because I think that's a pretty big key to this but then the other factor here and this is one we talked about in another video on Quinn himself if I might I might not go for this square if I'm playing on prize picks because I don't know if Quinn stays in the game

the whole time, if his ankle starts to bother him, or if it limits his mobility such that it allows Texas A&M to get to him. Do you try going to Arch Manning at that point? Well, I actually like less than anyway. So if you- Okay. Yeah, I think that if you like look at the output that he's had, like I took the points

in our pick show Andy. So for me, my thought process is that A&M is going to play a tough, gritty game and there's not going to be that many explosive plays and that every score you're going to have to fight for. So I think that there's a world where Texas wins this game and he throws for for 200 yards, but does not reach his number. Um, and that's kind of what I'm anticipating. I don't know that I think he's going to, you know, Cruz past this number in this game, I think that if A&M is going to be in it, which I anticipate that they will,

that they're going to make things difficult for him. On the other side of the ball, Marcel Reed, the Texas A&M quarterback, uh, 34.5 rushing yards more or less, 180.5 pass yards more or less. And I think what you just laid out is a scenario where Texas A&M can win this game. And I think Texas A&M can win this game without gaudy offensive stats. Because you look at that and you go, well, how come like if Texas comes close to their numbers, there's no way Texas A&M has a chance. Correct. But Texas A&M's defense can muck this up enough

that A&M's offense just needs to make a few key plays, mount a couple nice drives where they control the ball on the ground and they can win the game. Yeah. And I think that they have the pass rushers to do it. Like they have Nick Skorton. And like that to me is the number one key of the game. Like how much can they affect, impact and bother Quinn? Yep. I am so excited for this. The atmosphere is gonna be electric.

But yeah, if you wanna play Price Picks while you watch, download that app, use the code staples, play $5, get $50 instantly. Ari, it is now time to talk turkey. Well, actually not turkey, the things that go around turkey. We answered a question from Doug about the Heisman Trophy, but he had a second question. What is your spiciest Thanksgiving food take?

I think you probably gave us that yesterday when you talked about how you think the best stuffing in the world comes out of a box, but I didn't think it was that hot of a take. Yeah, I just like, I also liked box mashed potatoes. Like, you know, I don't know what it is, but it just tastes smooth to me. I'm into it.

Yeah, so are we gonna draft here, Andy? I think we should draft. You wanna go first? If you'll let me. Go for it. Stuffing, number one. All right, and I will go with mac and cheese with my number one, because mac and cheese

is the best side in the world, which you fully admit, but I don't think it has to matter what time of day what time of year it is the best side period and therefore it is also the best side at Thanksgiving okay then if I don't mind I'm gonna go ahead and take mashed potatoes at number two okay that's fine's fine. I'll take gravy. Is gravy a side? That's a topic. It is because you can put it on your turkey, you can put it on your mashed potatoes, you can put it on everything. So you taking gravy just like ruins my entire motif then.

Pretty much because you now have dry turkey and dry mashed potatoes. No, I can't put any gravy on any of my stuff because you have them. I mean, if you ask nicely, I might let you have some gravy. Kind of a horseshit read there on my part. I might pass the gravy boat to you. Yeah, gravy is to me, I don't know if I would consider it a side.

I think that's like everybody gets it no matter what your side preference is. But I don't know if I throw a flag on that or not, but that's kind of a. Okay, so next up for me would be cranberry sauce. Now question. You see what I'm doing over here? I do, but my question is, you're creating a Thanksgiving Day sandwich. My question is, do you like your cranberry sauce can shaped or do you like the real thing? I like the canned ones. Anything that's lower quality on Thanksgiving. I like it all. My wife is the same way. She wants the ridges from the can. She wants to make perfectly

cindrilical slices of it. And if you cut it the right way, it's the perfect cylinder shape of a sandwich bun. Yeah. So I will take sweet potato casserole since it's hanging out there on the board. Okay, then I am so I've got mashed potatoes, stuffing and now I'm going to go corn at number four. Okay, just how do you like cream corn? You like corn kernels? I like all of it. Okay.

For the sake of my draft, I'll take like the just like roasted and salted corn kernels. I'm gonna go into a different category, into a little bit different subcategory of sides here. Parker house rolls. Yeah. Gotta have the rolls.

That was gonna be my last pick and I figured there's different have the rolls. Well, that was going to be my last pick. And I figured if there's different types of rolls. Yeah, you can come up with a different roll. But I love the little Parker House roll. Producer River says King's Hawaiian, the sweet rolls. That's a good one. I like the Parker House roll that comes in the tin that you just put in the oven and you brush the butter over it and you just make a giant bowl of them and you grab like five and then I dip

it in my gravy that I picked that I may or may not let you have. Yeah. So the interesting thing when it comes to the rolls is like you think biscuits and rolls are all the same because like the Parker house rolls are definitely elite. Like I'll get no, no, no, you can, you can pick a different bread if you want. I'm not gonna. Okay, well, I don't know if this is just me, but they have the Texas Roadhouse ones that you can just make now where

you put them in the oven and so you know how I feel about those the Texas Roadhouse rolls, but also to very underrated thing that people may or may not get for their Thanksgiving, but holla rolls. Oh yeah, holla. So if you wanna throw, so I basically made the perfect, so like my, I'm gonna take the Texas Roadhouse rolls

as my five pick, and what I've done is created the pantheon of traditional Thanksgiving sides that also all go on the same sandwich. So I'm gonna add something that's slightly healthy though. Get out of here. Well, my family can make them unhealthy. Don't worry. They put bacon in them or fat back or Brussels sprouts, green beans. Oh, okay. I love some good green beans, cook them in fat, but I also love Brussels sprouts, but we've never really had Brussels sprouts Thanksgiving. I don't know why I just, it's not something that the people in the family tend to cook,

but I do love Brussels sprouts. But now I'm going to say some nice green beans. I think we're they were pretty good. We've done five rounds there. We've between the two of us. We've got the best plate in the world, right? Well, if I don't have gravy, I'm kind of cut off at the knees.

So like you do need some gravy at least because I can have some of my gravy. Dip the gravy into the yeah, you know, But okay good box out You're we're talking turkey gravy here, so we're talking the yellow gravy. Yeah, I mean whatever the brown gravy is good, too Yeah, if we had some beef we make some rough This is something that James Franklin talked about in his Thanksgiving Day press conference before the Maryland game. Turkey or ham?

So I come from a Jewish family, so ham was not something that we didn't eat pork growing up. I'm a sucker for good pepperoni. And like, I mean, I eat pork, but we never, like I never had ham, like deli meat in my house. And I never had ham at Thanksgiving. But my wife, we went to a Thanksgiving and they asked her to bring a ham four years ago. And we went to the, what's the, the honey baked ham place. Oh yeah, yeah.

Honey baked ham is the name of it. Oh yeah, honey baked ham place? Oh yeah, yeah. Honey baked ham is the name of it. So yeah, honey baked ham. So, so good. It is so good. So I think that I'm a turkey person, but if you ask me what I think tastes better, ham is like a honey roasted ham tastes better than a turkey on that.

I'm with you. So we always had ham on Easter Sunday That was the the the dish on Easter Sunday and then occasionally there would be ham with Christmas dinner It was never a Thanksgiving dinner thing growing up at my house, but recently And it I don't even think it was a Thanksgiving thing growing up at my wife's house And it, I don't even think it was a Thanksgiving thing growing up at my wife's house, but recently we have started bringing ham to Thanksgiving dinner just as a supplementary meat. It's a supplementary meat. And I find myself taking as much ham as I do turkey now.

And if you throw ham on the sandwich I made, it hits a little bit, it hits a little bit harder if I'm, I'm, cause you have the sugar on the outside. That's an elite sandwich. Yeah. So that's, that's where we're at with it, but yeah, no, I'm super excited and Andy super excited to spend kind of Thanksgiving with you around some football and some, some activities. One more question.

This is from producer River and I'm glad he asked this because I think River is from East Tennessee My family is from from South Carolina and Alabama So we're both kind of deep south raised even though I was in Florida, which is not really the deep south Is alcohol ever present it was never around for me growing up agreed never at family gatherings agreed never at family gatherings with the family like my my family my mom's family my dad's family was their alcohol present it was never a thing now absolutely like there will be booze at Thanksgiving dinner for us yeah yeah so like if you are a booze family then it's definitely like there's people who like Thanksgiving just for the sake of getting blasted, like, right.

And like, that's the main thing for them. And I, I've, I didn't come from a booze family, like my parents, I didn't need that much. So like, I, and I, and I do occasionally like to have a drink. But I'm not, I'm far more like, if you ask me, like, what my weaknesses are, Andy, you know, this, you put a 12 pack of beer in the fridge, or you put a full pizza in the fridge. I'm far more, like, if you ask me, like, what my weaknesses are, Andy, you know this, you put a 12 pack of beer in the fridge or you put a full pizza in the fridge, I'm not thinking about the beer. So for me, the main event has always been

and will always be for me on Thanksgiving, the carbs. Nothing wrong with that, says the guy who took mac and cheese number one. Guys, have a happy Thanksgiving. We love you We'll talk to you again. We're thankful for you Andy say it. That's I mean, ah, oh, yeah You talk about what we're thankful for you're right. You're right so what I'm thankful for all of you who spend all your time with us and I just really appreciate that because I never in my life thought that there would be people who cared anything

about what I have to say about anything. So thank you. Thank you for Ari, thank you for Producer River. You guys have been awesome and made my year. And I do probably need to say thanks to my own family, my wife who puts up with a lot of crap from me. And I don't know how she does it but she does. Yeah, the thing that I think that I never lose track of is how competitive your attention

is. Like how much we have to compete for your attention between Netflix and Hulu and certain websites that are banned in Texas, there's a lot to watch on the internet. And the fact that you guys choose to show up for us day in and day out, a lot of you, is something that's very touching for me. And as a consumer of the internet myself, I know how tempting everything is to your shopping online or you're on Twitter or you're on Twitter or you're doing this or that, like to spend as much time as you guys do with us is a privilege

that I can't thank you enough for, especially because I know I'm an infuriating person that makes you angry a lot. So thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Andy, for helping me get to this new spot. And thank you for being a great co-host. Thank you, River, for helping me with my mic issues and making the show look great and of course thank you to my family both immediate and extended family. My parents and my mother-in-law and my wife and daughter and brother. I'm a very

blessed man. So let's get to eating. Thank you for college football because we got games this weekend Thank you for college football, cause we got games this weekend and we will talk to you and try to make sense of it all. All the better.