Andy & Ari On3 - National Signing Day Eve | Who FLIPS? | Transfer Portal Update | Marty Smith Joins | Bowl Picks!

Episode Date: December 20, 2023

On the eve of National Signing Day, it could be a night where most college coaches won't get much rest. On tonight's show, we analyze the potential moves that could be made on National Signing Day, get an update from Pete Nakos on the transfer portal, and we hear from ESPN's Marty Smith.Tonight's show is sponsored by Fanduel! Visit Fanduel.com/Staples and use the promo code Staples. Right now, new customers get $150 in Bonus Bets with any winning $5 moneyline bet! Thank you to FanDuel* for delivering the lines for this bowl season's slate of games!Thank you to Gametime for sponsoring today's show! Bowl Games are days away - don't miss your chance to watch your favorite team close out their season. Download the Gametime App and enter code: STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Last Minute Tickets, Lowest Prices, Guaranteed.To see more on Marty Smith's new book, go here:https://www.amazon.com/Sideline-CEO-Leadership-Principles-Championship/dp/1538758385(0:00-12:35) Intro - National Signing Day is on the Horizon(12:36-26:23) Pete Nakos joins to Update the Transfer Portal(26:24-52:23) ESPN's Marty Smith joins in an INCREDIBLE interview(52:24-54:36) Pick 'Em VS the Coin, Round 2(54:37-55:36) 68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama vs Eastern Michigan(55:37-57:29) Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs Northwestern(57:30-59:41) Hawaii Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs San Jose State(59:42-1:01:39) Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green vs Minnesota(1:01:40-1:03:46) First Responder Bowl: Texas State vs Rice(1:03:47-1:06:49) Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs UNLV(1:06:50-1:08:50) ConclusionWant to watch the show instead? Head on over to Youtube, and don't forget to subscribe!https://youtu.be/JBjI--PNyvYMust be 21+ and present in select states. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas StarCasino, LLC. First online real money wager only. $5 pregame moneyline wager required. First online real money wager only. $10 firstdeposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com.Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania,Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visitccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP inLouisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope ishere. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call [phone] for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or textHOPENY in New York

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. Happy signing day Eve. We are a mere hours away from letters of intent, fax machines. They don't really have to use a fax machine anymore. You can send a signed PDF. You can just email it. But the romance of the fax machine anymore. You can send a signed PDF. You can just email it. But the romance of the fax machine remains. And right now, we are roughly 11 hours away from college prospects being able to become college signees.

So I've been in those rooms when those fax machines start humming at 7 a.m eastern time i was i was embedded with old miss in 2013 so the oxford's on central time and they're sitting around that fax machine at 6 a.m local time just hoping hoping i believe the first one came in like seven seconds after 6 a.m. local time. And it came from Laramie Tunsil, who was in Lake City, Florida, who was on East Coast time. So it was a massive celebration that, of course, was recreated for the ESPN cameras when Laramie announced his actual commitment later in the day. But his signed letter of intent was already in the bag at that point. So what might happen this year? Hugh Freeze, who was the coach of that Ole Miss team,

he's trying to flip people to Auburn. He has not given up. And that's it. Hugh Freeze, we wondered in this environment, they cast all the aspersions to Hugh Freeze. He said, send any information you have to compliance at Ole Miss, not EDU. You don't have to worry about that anymore. All that stuff they accused them of, you can do now. And he's at a school with an organized

collective that wants to win right now. And so can they flip some folks? Because they've already flipped some people during this cycle. They flipped some highly rated recruits during the cycle. Edge rusher, Jermonte Waller flipped from Florida in November. In early December, Cam Coleman, who's a receiver from nearby Phoenix City, Alabama, he'd been committed to Texas A&M. He flipped Auburn. So we know the Tigers have that in them. We know that Miami can flip some players. In fact, Miami just flipped Jordan Lyle, the running back from Ohio State, on Monday night. But can they get more?

They're trying to get a Darius Hayes from Florida to flip. They're trying to get the big one, Jeremiah Smith, the number one receiver in the country, the number one prospect in the country, the number one prospect in the country. He's committed to Ohio State, but Miami and Florida State still very much in hot pursuit, trying to get Jeremiah Smith to flip. Now, I know what you're saying, probably. You just watched Marvin Harrison Jr. You just watched Emeka Abuka. You've just watched a bunch of Ohio State receivers go from being good receivers

at Ohio State to good receivers in the NFL, like Garrett Wilson's an example, Chris Alave. Why would anybody not want to go to Ohio State to play receiver? Well, Ohio State doesn't have a starting quarterback that we know of at the moment. Kyle McCord is going to Syracuse, and we're not exactly sure what that situation is going to be like next year. So it's not as cut and dried as you might think. But Jeremiah Smith still committed to Ohio State, as far as we know, and could sign with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, or could he pull the shocker and sign with the Seminoles or the Hurricanes? Those are some of the storylines that we'll be following here at On3.

You can follow Josh Newberg and J.D. Piquel. They'll have a show on signing day in the morning. They'll take you through all the action because there's gonna be a lot of guys signing, guys flipping. I will have a huge show on Wednesday night with a bunch of coaches talking about their classes. So far, one of the ones we have committed is Matt Rule. Hopefully he doesn't flip from us. But Matt Rule, Nebraska's coach, he just got a commitment from Dylan Raiola. He flipped from Georgia.

Dylan Raiola, five-star quarterback, son of former Nebraska great Dominic Raiola. It's a huge, huge deal that he is going to Nebraska so we'll hear we'll hear what Matt Rule has to say about that and really this is just it's one of those nights that if you're a college football fan you know the next morning could get wild if you're a college football coach you're on the phone into the night. You're trying to lock down those guys that are still on the fence. And there's a lot of guys on the fence. I mean, let's talk about some of the five stars that may or may not flip. KJ Bolden, he's a Florida State commit. He's a safety from Buford, Georgia.

Auburn, I mentioned Hugh Freeze earlier, not giving up on this one. L.J. McCray, he's a five-star edge rusher. He's committed to Florida. Florida State and Auburn, both of them not giving up on this one. That's one that if Florida can get D.J. Lagway, the quarterback from Willis, Texas, and L.J. McCray, who's a defensive end from Daytona Beach, that probably mitigates some of the flips that we've seen and some we might expect to see. Xavier Fils-Aimé is a safety who recently flipped to Texas.

That's one everybody kind of knew was coming, but still wasn't great for them to see it happen. But if they can still get DJ Lagway and LJ McRae, things are probably okay. If they lose one or both of those, that would be, if they lost Lagway, that would be just hellfire and brimstone raining down. I don't think they're going to lose DJ Lagway.

It sounds like he is very solidly committed. He took a visit to Gainesville over the weekend. So it sounds like he is committed. But there are other players looking around. One name we haven't mentioned yet that we should, Coach Prime. Does Deion Sanders have a surprise in store for us? So far, he has pulled one major one this recruiting cycle, and that is getting Jordan Seton,

the number one offensive line prospect in the country, to commit to Colorado. And it was quite a spectacular situation. He went on Undisputed. He was on the Rich Eisen show. Just kind of a showing off of the platform that playing for Coach prime can give you and i do wonder could that help convince some other people because that is a very big name in this

class jordan seaton is a guy that most people consider to be a plug and play offensive tackle which does not happen very often. Last year's number one overall offensive tackle prospect, Caden Proctor, has started all season in Alabama. He's that level, but it took him a bit to get going. It was a little bit rough at first, but that's the level of player we're talking about. Caden Proctor, by the end of the season, by the way, was having a great game against Georgia in the SEC championship game. That's what Colorado is hoping to get out of Jordan Seton.

The question is, can Jordan Seton lead to somebody else maybe pulling off the surprise on National Signing Day? We've seen this with Coach Prime before. Remember two years ago, he got Travis Hunter to sign with him at Jackson State. Travis Hunter had been committed to Florida State for a long, long time. He was the number one recruit in the country. And on National Signing Day, he signed with Jackson State. So there might be another surprise from Coach Pry on National Signing Day.

It is going to be a wild day. It's going to be a fun day. Obviously, Don 3 is one of the biggest days of the year for us. And we are going to make sure we blow it out and that you get all the analysis, all the interviews, all the information you need. So just keep it locked here. You follow me, follow Josh Newberg, J.D. Piquel, Rusty Mansell, Chad Simmons. You're going to get all the info.

You're going to get it first, and we're going to break it all down. And on the show tomorrow night, along with the coaches, we're going to try to make sense of it all, because by then the dust will have settled, and we'll have some idea of where everybody is. Now look, yeah, Georgia's still going to have a really good class. Alabama's going to have a really good class. Notre Dame's going to have a really good class.

Ohio State is going to have a really good class. But how good is Ohio State's class going to be? They got the number one player in the country. But might he flip? So much drama. It's a lot of fun. So get some sleep. Or don't. That's the decision. The coaches aren't sleeping. They're going to be on the phone. The ones who get some sleep tonight, that means they don't have any flips, but it also means a lot of times you don't have one of those guys that everybody wants. Because if you have one of those guys that everybody wants, you're playing defense until that letter of intent comes in. Now, one thing that has changed the dynamics of this is the transfer portal. Because a lot of teams building rosters that way, and they will have to adjust their needs based on what they think they're getting out of the portal or what they think they're getting in this class. So you could have a flip and you could have somebody need something immediately out of

the transfer portal that they didn't think they were going to need. Or you could get a flip and suddenly your needs in the transfer portal change. A lot of math going on, a lot of roster math going on. So we're going to talk with Pete Nacos, who is our transfer portal guru here at On3, about the players that are on the move in the portal, the ones that have gone in, the ones that have decided on their school, and the ones that are still deciding. Talk to him about that in a few minutes. Also, Marty Smith from ESPN joins us to talk about just a wild football season, and also to talk about his book, Sideline CEO, which is, I'm telling you right now, the perfect stocking stuffer for your loved

ones, not just who love sports, but anybody who just wants to be a little better at what they do, because this is a book that talks to a bunch of great coaches from around all the sports, and they explain how they lead, why they do what they do, why they organize things the way they do, why they've evolved the way they have. It's really interesting stuff. We'll talk to Marty about that in a few minutes. But right now, I want to tell you about game time because I'm thinking about the college football playoff. As much as I enjoy the transfer portal news, I love the drama of signing day, but there's some big, big games coming up.

We got the Rose Bowl. We got the Sugar Bowl. We got the Quick Lane Bowl and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. We're going to pick those later in the show. Did you know with game time, you can get into that Guaranteed Rate Bowl, which is a chase field. It's where the Diamondbacks play in Phoenix. So that that is kansas unlv i'm telling you right now that could be one

of the more fun games of the year and if you're looking on the app and you're like wait this is a baseball field because remember they show you the vantage point that you would get from your from your seats you're like this is a yes it's a baseball field so you're gonna have to imagine the football field on that one the quick Quicklane Bowl, meanwhile, Minnesota Bowling Green, you can get in for a buck. $1 gets you into Ford Field for the Quicklane Bowl. Slightly more than $1 if you'd like to see Alabama and Michigan in the Rose Bowl or Texas and Washington in the Sugar Bowl, but those are the big ones.

And I can help you out there. Use the promo code STAPLES and get $20 off your first GameTime purchase. So download that GameTime app, find the game you want, couple taps, you got your tickets. Use the promo code STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase. All right, let us see who might be coming in or out of the portal as these coaches are juggling that and their signing classes on National Signing Day. Here is Pete Nacos. We are joined now by Pete Nacos. Yes, I know tomorrow is signing day, but listen, the portal

never, ever stops stops not even for national signing day and pete we have a lot to talk about but we haven't we have not talked to you since malachi nelson entered the transfer portal since kj jefferson officially went into the portal uh will howard visited usc i mean a lot going on cam ward and DJ Uyungle still out there following visits to Florida State. So where is the most interesting story in the portal right now? I just mentioned a bunch of quarterbacks. Any of those constitute the most interesting story in the portal right now? I would say that what happens at Miami to me right now is the most fascinating story in

the transfer portal. If they miss out on Kim Ward, is Will Howard already at USC? Where do they go from there? I've heard that Miami would take KJ Jefferson. Does KJ Jefferson want to go to South Beach? Yeah, Miami is, they're not in a pickle yet, but if you and I talk like next week or before New Year's, we might have a better idea of where they stand. Let's be real here. We all want to go to South Beach, or well, I'm going to be geographically correct. Coconut Grove, much closer to Coral Gables, and very, very nice.

But KJ is an interesting one because one of the schools that you mentioned when he entered the portal was TCU. Kendall Bryles was his offensive coordinator at Arkansas, now the offensive coordinator at TCU. That marriage worked very well the first time around. That seems like there'd be a lot of comfort there. I think it just wouldn't make too much sense almost. hoover is the redshirt freshman that tcu played this year and he was solid um but i mean the the proof is kind of there right uh kj succeeded had his best two seasons at arkansas excuse me when he was with kendall and bringing those two back together reunion and fort worth i mean that that could be a recipe for success for uh sunny dykes so we talked about usc a little bit will howard visited you put in a an rpm prediction i did howard to usc malachi nelson who was the number

one quarterback recruit in the 2023 class then enters the portal he was supposed to be the future at usc clearly not that that's when it when it's interesting because I've watched people kind of react to that. It seems like the folks who don't follow this stuff that closely assume that, oh, it must mean USC is burning down. The star quarterback recruit is leaving. This, to me, seems like Lincoln Riley saying, I would rather have Will Howard starting for me than Malachi Nelson. Yeah.

Everyone wanted Malachi to work at LA, right? Like I talked to some people around Malachi, like Reggie Bush wanted Malachi to like work at USC. And I just don't think the marriage was going to be successful the way things are trending. And I mean, let's be honest, Andy, the reason why he went in was USC feels really good about where they stand with Will Howard and when he

went in, and it was right after that visit. But yeah, I just don't think it was ever going to be the perfect marriage, the way the season progressed, the way they feel about Malachi's development. Lincoln really felt like he needed to go get a quarterback, and now Malachi's going to try to go find a new home

wherever that might be. The other thing is, you can kind of tell what's going on by who jumps in and offers in these cases and i'll give you here's an example like tackett curtis the linebacker leaving usc he jumps in the portal like ohio state's in there right away uh wisconsin who is another one of his recruiting finalists is in there but then you i believe lsu is in there he's a louisiana guy like those level of schools jumping in immediately that's not necessarily what you saw with malachi when he jumped in no i mean even bring up the monty jackson right now it's gonna be like yeah alabama two of the biggest brands right now college football and then you go to malachi and by no means is he scraping for destinations but it isn't exactly like every top 10 schools lining up um we're

looking at cow we're looking at houston we're looking at two lane tcu possibly um a couple others south carolina but i mean i don't those and those are all schools that have had preliminary conversations we're not talking like he's going to commit in the next, like, 72 hours. And the one really specific thing in South Carolina is they really love Lenore Sellers. And that doesn't exactly mean just because they've talked to Malachi that they're going to move on from Lenore. Right. And South Carolina also just got a commitment from A.J. Swan, the Vanderbilt transfer.

He actually decided to go to LSU. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. This is – how do you keep track of all this? Well, yeah, it's interesting. But, yeah, he decided – he slept on it Sunday night and then made the decision yesterday to go to LSU. It is amazing.

And that is part of the problem, trying to cover the high school recruiting side of it and the transfer portal recruiting side of it. Because I don't know how these coaches do it, because they've got to juggle both of these things simultaneously. Because like A.J. Swan is a guy who has multiple years of eligibility left so now shane beamer has to go find a quarterback with multiple years of eligibility which i mean malachi checks off a lot of those boxes yeah it's it's i was even talking to someone about this today and i'm sure like they're like so like what happens when a coach like loses a commitment i'm like well they can't get pissed off because what if they want to get that guy out of the portal in two years? Exactly. Yeah, that's the thing.

More than ever, you got to be nice when that kid calls and says, I'm going somewhere else. Because you might be having that same conversation again a year later. Yeah, exactly. conversation again a year later yep exactly yeah and that's that's the thing that's so interesting to me now is is we talked about this with the nil and you know it feels like with the portal guy he's less likely to hold you hostage than the the guy out of high school well yeah the portal guy right like the other layer to that is once they're on campus they really can't go anywhere i mean we'll see there's a lot of brewing right now pending federal court yeah but um as of right this moment right if you're if you transfer you're

not going to leave again um so yeah holding a school hostage just doesn't this happen as much now recruiting that's when things can get a little interesting yeah so we've got multiple quarterbacks still moved around i'm curious do you think ohio state is going to take a quarterback out of the portal at this point or do you think they they stay in pat with with who they have on the roster i am not anticipating them pursuing a quarterback in this 30-day cycle. Now, if some quarterbacks enter in the spring, I could definitely see Ryan Day and the Buckeyes definitely at least just checking out the market and seeing what's there. But I mean, they have Devin Brown, they have Lincoln Keenholz. They're really high on Lincoln Keenholz. And then you have Aaron Nolan

coming in. He's going to sign his NLI and arrive in January, from my understanding, tomorrow. And they really love air. So, yeah, I think they're confident with those three guys. But, yeah, I mean, if you're Ryan Day, right, you just lost Kyle McCord. I think you're definitely going to want to bring someone in who has experience. I just don't think that's going to happen here. DJU in Ohio State, like, had a very, like, preliminary, like, hey, like, haven't seen you in a while kind of conversation, but like, so we'll see how things shake out there at Florida state.

Um, I'm, I'm, I don't know if DJ would like to go to Ohio state, but there's definitely like a very quick, simple conversation. What about Cam Ward? You know, goes to Miami, gets the Royal, the Rick Ross treatment, and then goes to Florida State. When's the decision coming from him? You know, I've heard at the earliest midweek, other people have told me they're expecting it a little bit closer to Christmas, so maybe over the weekend. Andy, I can just tell you right now, I don't think anyone has the best feel about what Cam Wharton is going to do. You talk to some, Miami has a lot to offer, especially from an NIL perspective. I think Florida State put together a great weekend for Cam and his family, and they also put together a pretty lucrative deal from my understanding.

This is just to get in in the cam ward sweet sticks like we're not talking about these like schools trying to like outbid each other like that's just the situation right now in cam ward um and then the nfl still on the table and just the more and more conversations i continue to have i really think the nfl is going to play a factor in this and even if he doesn't go i think definitely uh going to the school that's gonna like help his draft stock the most or play in a scheme that would be more similar to the nfl i think that would definitely factor in so a school we talked about the other day that you know we've mentioned they have very organized nil and a coach who led them to a much better year in his

first season than people anticipated. They just keep doing it. We were talking about Louisville the other day. Another one falls today. Monroe Mills, the offensive tackle from Texas tech. He, he transferred from Oklahoma state started for two years at Texas tech was

an all big 12 honorable mention. And I know what you're saying, like all big 12 honorable mention. Think of it. How many Power Five all-conference honorable mention starting offensive linemen are in the portal? Not many. Yeah, doesn't exist. All the programs who do have those are doing everything they can to retain those athletes.

Yeah. Yeah, so Louisville gets him. I mean, it feels like Jeff Braum is really building a nice roster there through the portal. We saw them do pretty well in recruiting his first cycle. We'll see how they finish tomorrow, but it really feels like they are set to take off here. I mean, they got Corey Thornton, the UCF cornerback, who is really highly touted.

You and I have thoughts about Colin Lacey and Ja'Cory Brooks, the two wide receivers. We're going to be electric on the outside for them. And they got Tyler Schuch coming in, the Texas Tech quarterback. There's a couple, some people have had a couple questions about him, but everything I continue to hear is that Jeff Brown loves him. He loves his upside. And Schuch just hasn't had a fully complete healthy year and that's one of the things going against him yeah it's a it's almost like michael pennix when when he went into the portal because the the thought was oh well this guy's had three season ending injuries how's he gonna is he ever gonna be healthy for well he's been healthy two consecutive

seasons at washington and you've seen how that goes speaking of washington we have not gotten to talk about will rogers to Washington from Mississippi State. How do you see that fit? You know, I think there's probably a select handful of schools that would have really fit well with Will Rogers, and I think Kaitlin DeBoer's offense is a great fit. I know everyone loves to talk about Will's crazy stats at Mississippi State. I think he's really talented.

I also think that's a mix of the Mike Leach area to offense, and I think that he can kind of mirror that with the Huskies in the Big Ten now. And, yeah, I think it's a good fit. He was going to go on that same visit with Woody Marks, his running back. He has yet to make a decision. I've heard it's like USC and Washington. But I know Washington's really excited about Will Rogers and what he brings to the table. And I mean, they're going to go into the Big Ten with a quarterback who has SEC experience.

That's something not a lot of teams are going to be able to tout at the quarterback position. So, yeah, I think I washington got who they wanted well if dylan johnson is any indication mississippi state transfers do do very well in seattle so we shall see and congratulations to you pete for saying big 10 when you mentioned washington it's tripping us all up like we keep wanting to say pack 12 so kudos to you for getting that right i'm gonna have to practice it though like i've done it multiple times now and then i stop myself mid-sentence and i'm like yeah you're like wait wait wait that's they are going to big 10 yeah okay there we go so texas and oklahoma i haven't

really said sec yet so i'm waiting to stumble over that one that feels like a more natural fit the and then colorado having been in the Big 12 before, I feel like that's going to be easy. Arizona and Arizona State and Utah in the Big 12, I think is going to be a struggle for me at first. Utah is going to be really tough. I feel like they are the Pac-12, but there is no more Pac-12. Listen, players go in the transfer portal and so do the schools.

Yep. Pete Nacos, thank you so much. Thanks, Andy. See ya. That's Pete Nacos with some more Nacosifications. Yes, that is what we've decided to call when Pete gives us news or other information out of the transfer portal because he's really good at it, and it needs to have a name.

So Nacosifications, that's the name. Next up, our friend Marty Smith from ESPN. You see him on College Game Day. You see him on Marty and McGee. You see him on the sidelines at the biggest games. He's got a book out, and I'm telling you right now, it is one of the best stocking stuffers you can buy this holiday season.

It's called Sideline CEO. Let's talk to Marty about that. We welcome Marty Smith, repping the Appalachian State Mountaineers today. Cure Bowl winners. Go out. That's right. That's right, Marty Smith.

Sean Clark, I'm so proud of him. He has done, Andy, you know, you're around the game all the time, every day, all day. He's done such a phenomenal job there in Boone, and I'm thrilled for him and everybody in that program. They're so close to us. Here I live in Charlotte, and I'm just thrilled for them.

That was a big win for them. I know in the college football playoff era, a lot of people will tell you bowl games and the meaning of those games are diluted well they're they ain't diluted to the players yeah program and that was a huge win for for Sean and and the Mountaineers so I had to rep a little bit that's exactly that we were I was talking about that on the show the other night because I was I was talking about the Jacksonville State beating Louisiana the New Orleans Bowl and the celebration of that.

And everybody's like, oh, there's too many. No, no, no. There can be as many of those as you want. And like the Appalachian State game, there were no fans left in the stands because it was essentially a mini hurricane going on in Orlando. Yeah, it was awful. But the celebration at the end, just as sweet.

It matters so much, especially in a season where a team is given, they're given of themselves. And that Appalachian State program is family first atmosphere. And when you have a few losses and the tide, the narrative starts to turn just a little bit, you can go one of two ways. You can either fracture and go to hell in a handbasket, or you can unify and be galvanized.

And that's what those young men decided to do. And, again, I'm just so happy for them. Another great season, nine wins, phenomenal. So this actually brings us to the discussion i wanted to have with you today because uh you put a book out in september called sideline ceo and it is a tremendous book where you talk to nick savin kirby smart uh you've got christian horner from formula one you've got tom iso you've got roy williams all these great these great people in sports who lead. And you kind of collect their wisdom and give it to us who might need it in our daily lives.

And it is one of those things. It doesn't matter if you play sports. All of this stuff is useful. I was reading back through today the chapter on delegation. I don't know how these guys do it because Kirby Smart talking about how he's a better coach now because he can actually trust his assistant coaches. And Nick Saban saying,

I got veto power, but I've told them what they're supposed to do. Yeah, it was quite an exercise and thank you for your kind words. It was something that I had the idea in around 2018 actually. And I I never did I just thought that title was so cool sideline CEO because that's what these major college coaches are that's what the Christian Horners the team principals are you see Nick Saban there certainly he is a CEO of an extremely lucrative, important business in so many lives.

And I've been blessed, as you have, to build relationships with a lot of these individuals. And I just thought during COVID is when it really started to pick up steam because I'm sure you had the same concern I did, Andy. Are sports going to come back yeah am i going to have a job right what am i yeah i know who i am none of this stuff defines me as a man but what i am is a sports reporter and so what if that's not available to me well i thought if if i am at home with some concern and longing for fellowship, maybe some of these coaching relationships I built are too.

Picked up the phone and called Mack Brown, the godfather. And 53 minutes later, I'd gone to a master class in relationship building and maintenance, how to build trust and how to keep trust, what it's like to learn to delegate, the importance of culture, self-evaluation, why you should evolve, how to build trust and how to keep trust, what it's like to learn to delegate, the importance of culture, self-evaluation, why you should evolve, all of these sort of pillars that I broke the book into. Ultimately, Mack was brilliant on. Two days after that, I called Urban Meyer.

And 57 minutes later, I was pretty sure that this thing had enough juice that I might be able to pull off something interesting here. And those coaches and those leaders were trusting that I would be a great steward of their words, their spirit, their execution. And that's not easy to come by. So I'm grateful that they all entrusted me with that spirit. And it's so interesting because they're different styles. Nick Saban's leadership style versus Urban Meyer's very different.

Greg Sankey's is very different from those two. But they all have success doing it their way. And it's interesting seeing them explain how they how they found that success and and how they evolved to it the evolution chapter is one of my favorites and i want to ask you about that because you've done a lot with nick saban over the years and i was just going back and watching the clip of you talking to him after alabama got in the college football playoff and you start off with you know talking about him going to church after the auburn game and the smile on his face and we've seen this from nick saban all season like that feels like a new thing

this year where he's like you know what i'm just gonna be happier i would actually go back to the covid season andy uh because i think he realized during that COVID season, he witnessed real time the sacrifices that his players and his staff and his support staff had to make just to get to the damn football field every week. And he, I think that was a major evolution for him that I'm going to still demand the core principles of who we are at the University of Alabama. But I'm also going to champion and appreciate the family and the fellowship and the faith that these guys have in me that we're going to be able to be special despite these extra obstacles, which, you know, bro, it was hard. it was multiple covid tests every single week just to get to the field and when i i'll tell you i remember talking to naji harris after the 2020

sec championship game and you look over and you see nick saban quite literally crying. He is fighting back with all of his might, not letting those tears drip. And Najee Harris laughing and going, wait a minute, Saban actually has a heart. And I think he's continued to carry that forward. And in context of this season, brother, it's the greatest developmental coaching job in season that I've seen because if you look at the evolution of the offensive line of the quarterback position of the back end defensively it's remarkable what they did yeah that's I was thinking back I was at the Tennessee game and I just remember the first half of that game, because it felt like the second half is where the switch kind of flipped on the field.

Obviously, there was much going on behind the scenes in the weeks prior to get to that point. But, you know, you looked at poor Caden Proctor, a true freshman thrown to the wolves. He's getting tortured by these Tennessee edge rushers. And then they kind of figured some stuff out. They gave him a little bit of help. And then as those games went forward, Tommy Reese got more comfortable with how Jalen Milrow operates. And it was really interesting to watch.

And in this era of college football, it's hard because you get one loss maybe, and you don't get to evolve. I think we're going to see more evolution like this in the 12- in the 12 team playoff era oh i can't wait man i mean if you just look at i know it's i know we're kind of jumping around in our college football obsessed minds but and we like to project what is towards what will be but if you look at what those 12 teams would be right now, holy smokes, it would be magical. Some of those on-campus games, get out of here.

But I agree with you. There will be a lot more evolution as we move. That's what I'm trying to figure out. Who would be the team this year, if it were starting now, who would be the team nobody wants to play? I think it's Missouri. I think Mizzou is nasty. they're really good on the defensive side coach drink and i'm gonna be honest with you this is straight up admission when i looked at that schedule to start the season i didn't think i mean not only did i not forecast this, I didn't forecast close to this.

And, you know, Brady Cook, a really, really good player and a wonderful young man. Luther Burden, one of the best in the country at his position. Offensive line has played so well. The running back, I mean, it's just remarkable. And he's so funny. Them being good is good for us. Oh, yeah. Because it puts him on a big stage he's so funny them being good is good for us oh yeah because it puts him on a big stage to be so funny well and your show marty and mcgee that you have with ryan mcgee on the scc network like that is perfect oh yeah for drink like that's the perfect platform for him

you know other coaches you can tell they're like i don't know about these two guys with the you know the pickup truck and a rooster and all that. But drink fits right in there. Like former Arkansas, you know, YMCA pool lifeguard drink. Yeah, he is tailor-made for what we do. And to your point, I mean, Lane Kiffin has even verbalized to us, I have to stop. You two are going to get me in trouble

it's true because because lane has no filter that's the problem like lane is just going to tell you what he thinks all these other coaches have you know there's a little governor in the back of their heads that says no no no there's a microphone on me i can't do this lane's like i'll be all right. Yes, and we love him for that. And it's just the comfort factor. I mean, you're so great at this too. Sometimes guys get comfortable and they got to kind of ratchet it back a little bit. But just quickly to go back to the book as it pertains to Lane specifically.

He is funny. We know Twitter Lane or X Lane. Right. And he's this weird guy. He's so vulnerable in this book in sharing that he felt like a hypocrite with his team because he's telling them, you got to eat right.

You got to make sure you're taking care of yourself. You got to exhaust everything you have to find best self. He's preaching all these Sabanisms and he wasn't doing it himself. And ultimately he saw, you probably read this part, but it was the Outback Bowl. He saw the celebration from them winning the Outback Bowl. And his actual words were, I looked like one of those anaconda snakes who just eaten a rat or something with a fat neck. And he was like, I'm a hypocrite.

I got to change right now. Quit drinking, started eating better. That then thereby, eight or nine months later, made Matt Corral want to do the same thing, which created tremendous emotional synergy between coach and quarterback, which resulted in 10 wins and ultimately resulted in Jackson Dart going, I want a part of that. I want a piece of that.

Really interesting, right? It's very interesting. And now they're 10 wins again. They're going to the Peach Bowl. We were just talking to our guy from our Ole Miss site, Zach Berry, yesterday. They are primed to do wins again. They're going to the Peach Bowl. We were just talking to our guy from our Ole Miss site, Zach Berry, yesterday. They are primed to do this again next year. And in the 12-team playoff era,

they could be a team that makes it pretty regularly if they keep this up. They are absolutely built to be sustained at that level. And look, I feel sorry, honestly, in a lot of cases for Southeastern Conference coaches in the West and East because they live in the Nick Saban and Kirby Smart eras. And Lane has done nothing but win. Now, he hasn't beat Saban.

But, I mean, to do what he's done in this era where it's such a gauntlet every week, and Big Ten fans hate hearing that. I get it. It's fine. Other conferences don't want to hear it, but I'm just here to tell you all, the SEC is brutal. Big Ten's about to get that way too.

That's what I've enjoyed looking at those new schedules because I can't wait to see Oregon and Washington and USC and UCLA jump in there because it's a different matter when you have every game or every other game is somebody you've got to worry about. And we got that every weekend, man. With Texas and OU coming into the SEC, to your point, with those four amazing brands and great programs coming into the Big Ten, adding to what is already really good, man. I mean, it's college football Christmas.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. But we do have another four-team playoff this year, which, you know, I live in Florida, talk to all the Florida State people. They're still heartbroken. And there's nothing you can say to make them feel any better. They should be heartbroken, man. Yeah. this year which you know i i live in florida talked to all the florida state people they're still heartbroken and there's nothing you can say to make they should be heartbroken man yeah yeah there's nothing you can say and it sucks but i do find myself fairly excited about these games oh yeah there's no question i mean i'm i'm thrilled i can't wait to see both games i think

they're both going to be really great and to speaking of Florida State fans, they got screwed. I mean, we are taught our whole life if you demand best of self, if you're able to overcome adversity and still succeed, then you're going to be rewarded for that. And that is just not what happened. However, on the flip side of it i can't sit here and pretend like i am not pumped for these two football games and so um i don't love that government officials are getting involved but whatever hey i listen if there's

actually something to give back for those subpoenas as a reporter i'd love to read what what they have but i don't think it would be fascinating to see right yeah i think they meet in person for a reason but well like the the coaching matchups are so fascinating because we'll talk like nick saban you you study thoroughly in the book jim harbaugh has a different leadership style than Nick Saban. But you look at what has happened over the last few years, he has created a program that is winning at about the same level. A tremendous program. I was just there.

I was just there two days ago. What's today? Monday, I think. I was there three days ago. It all runs together. I was up there Friday to interview eight or ten players, J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, those guys for the college football playoff,

and sat down Harbaugh as well. I can't wait for you all to see that interview. And, look, I think, too, I think that another really interesting indicator of – and we're in this transient time in college football. Michigan has one guy in the portal. And, like, that's a very low number. Yeah. It's a very low number.

And it's interesting how all of the sign-stealing controversy has galvanized this team. And it did immediately, and they stand behind their coach. And so, yeah, he is, look, i've been around the world with that guy um i have been to paris rome all over the place and i appreciate him i do uh i really enjoy talking to him i enjoy seeing the way his players react to his leadership and grow from his leadership now you you i want him in the book but it didn't happen oh yeah i would be interested to see you know he feels like one of those guys who does not want to explain how what he does works so i admire um i am someone that appreciates loyalty almost above all else and that he is a loyal cat man we well we've seen that through this year

but the evolution part that and i love that you included that chapter in the book because I think that's one of the most important things anybody can do. But Steve Sarkeesian is such a great example of that. Here he is. He's playing against the team he used to coach that he couldn't get past eight wins at Washington. Kalen DeBoer has come in showing you how to do that. But Steve Sarkeesian has become a very different head coach

than he was the first time around. A lot of that is gratitude. Yeah. He has so much gratitude, and he's very open in gratitude to Coach Saban for bringing him in as offensive coordinator and sitting in meetings every single day and learning from Coach Saban's example. Lane Kiffin has said the same thing to me.

Their evolution as men in at least some way, and I think they would tell you quite a dynamic way, leads back to Saban's daily example of undaunted discipline. I'm a nerd about that stuff, Andy. It I wrote the book but I just think that's such that's so cool yeah absolutely absolutely I I'm and that's what I I love I'm waiting for because I think this is a this is a series I think you can you can do this again with with different coaches and learn new things and I I got a couple lists I can send you of some folks that because I I did a couple of books with Trevor Mowat, who is the mental coach who worked with Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher and Kirby Smart. And he introduced me to so many different coaches across different sports and walks of life where you talk to him, like you said, 57 minutes. And it's like, oh, my my god my whole perspective has changed on this on this thing so i i yeah i can't wait to see sideline ceo too i do want to ask about the

book writing process because you and ryan mcgee your your co-host on marty mcgee were publishing books at basically the same time you you had your book and then his book is welcome to the circus of baseball which is fantastic so i'm gonna going to you. You can sit back. I'm going to do the ad here. So sideline CEO, perfect stocking stuffer for anybody in your life, for the sports fan, specifically the baseball fan in your life. Welcome to the Circus of Baseball by Ryan McGee is a great one. I texted Ryan when I was done because the thing about that book is it's about his summer

working with the Asheville Tourist Minor League team. And it's one of those things where when you're broke and you're just trying to break into a business, that's the most fun you ever have. And I texted him after I finished the book and I said, I think I kind of got choked up. Because I almost want to go back to when I was getting paid 20 bucks a story and eating Cheerios for three meals a day because that was actually fun. And I'm never going to go back to that. Yeah. You don't know what you don't know in that time in your life.

And it's so formative for you when you're learning just to figure it out. Yeah. You got to figure it out. I remember very distinctly writing on a trash 80. I think you might be old enough to remember those days. Definitely, yep. There are people probably watching or listening who don't know that I started as a sports reporter. TV just sort of happened.

And so there were these devices that were basically a word processor. From Radio Shack. From Radio Shack. So there were these devices that were basically a word processor. From Radio Shack. From Radio Shack. And they had these rubber couplers. They were like these rubber cups. And you went to a payphone after you were done with your gamer, with your game story on Liberty High School against Allegheny.

And you took the pay phone. You, you, you, you put the couple, the phone in these rubber things, and then you dialed the number to the, to the office. And it would over the phone line, send your story electronically to your editors sometimes. Right. I'm going to tell you down there in the cold fields of southwest Virginia, man, it was the most stressful thing ever, and you had to figure it out. They don't care.

You got to figure out how to get this thing sent. And, I mean, that was what that book was. It was this beautiful example of figuring it out as you go and the camaraderie that comes with figuring it out and the camaraderie of being like-minded and all pulling in the same direction and there is a lot of innocence in that and my my twelve thousand eight hundred dollar job at the lynchburg newspaper out of college there you go jack so because we all started the same way i'm sure you you have one of these. Because my contention is you are not truly a sports writer

until you've been locked inside a high school field and don't know how to get out. Multiple times. High school fields, high school gyms. I've been in a high school basketball gym where it was a Christmas tournament in the winter of 1998, the year of our Lord. And I am feverishly writing on this thing, okay? And I just decide I'm just going to finish it right here at the scorer's table

of this basketball game. They chained the doors shut. I'm locked in the high school gym. At least I had heat. I was like, I don't – I didn't have a cell phone. I didn't know what to do. And I started just beating on the door. Unfortunately, the janitor still hadn't left yet.

That is amazing. I've scaled a few fences. I have not been locked into a building with a chain. Man, it's crazy. I still have such a hankering and when so for example i go out i go out to eugene oregon three weeks ago i think did a college game day feature on bo nicks okay and there is this gold that i have at my disposal as a writer. I still think that way. I know you, you do too. You're like, yep. I still, that's still how my mind works even after 17 or 18 years of television.

And I'm sitting here going, man, I'm stacking that stuff away for a book. That's what, that, that's the thing you you've now, especially because you inspire so much trust in your interview subjects and it shows in your interviews. Thank you. So I know what's going on before and after in terms of those conversations. And I can't wait to read those books. Yeah, I mean, it's it's just such a blessing and ESPN is is a blessing it if it weren't for them I wouldn't have any of this I certainly wouldn't have this I wouldn't have had my first book it's just um I'm so full of gratitude and going back to McGee the Marty McGee show we're still so geeked out on just the, we can't believe that they give us the platform, Andy.

And we're just waiting on them to go, who the hell signed off on this? What are we doing? Get them out of here right now. That's the best part of the show though, is it looks like that you guys are having that much fun, that they might get the hook out at any point. So you're just going to, you're going to blow it out. We're dancing that line a lot, man. I'll make some jokes and be like, yeah, that might've been too far. And so far, so far, you're fine. That's a great call. Pat's giving us more latitude for sure. Marty, thank you so much. And folks, I'm telling you

right now, sideline CEO, put it in the stocking of someone you love. You will not regret it. Thank you for having me, brother. And to your listeners and viewers, I'll say this is one of the good guys, man. It's one of the guys that has the right spirit. He has the right approach in this business. And the quality of the work is a testament to that and i appreciate you too bro well thank you so much marty marty smith former preps writer so he's covered some some national signing day ceremonies in his time heart goes out to all those folks covering those ceremonies on national signing day tomorrow, because those things never run on time. There's always something going on and who knows, maybe a mom will steal a national letter of intent and run off with it. It has happened before. You never know. But before we get back to thinking about national signing day,

we got to talk about games. Okay, it is time for some more bowl picks. Remember, we're splitting up this next week's bowl games. We did seven on Monday night's show. We're doing six on tonight's show. As always, these lines are brought to you by FanDuel. Go to fanduel.com slash staples. Make a $5 winning money line bet, and you will get $150 in guaranteed bonus bets. So basically you say, I think this team will win straight up, no spread. You win, you get $150 in guaranteed bonus bets. That's fanduel.com

slash staples. We got quite a few in these where I think the money line may be a good way to go and may get some nice numbers on that money line because there's a couple of interesting point spreads where I think the underdog has a chance to win outright. But FanDuel is the best, most seamless sportsbook in America. That app is so easy to use. Any game you want, NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, you name it, they got it and you can put action on it, especially these bowl games. A lot of fun here. Now, again, with these, it's a lot of vibes only. So we're going to make some vibes only pick, and we're also going to bring back the coin of destiny to compete against me.

Last time we picked seven games, the coin and I disagreed on four of them. We're going to keep trying and see if the coin and I can sync up a little bit. But these, we don't know because it's hard to know motivation. You don't exactly know who all's gonna play. You're gonna be seeing some new guys play somebody you've never seen before, may just completely wow you. But that's part of the fun of this. You're going in, working on vibes, and it's the holidays.

You're watching these games. You're wrapping presents. That's the way to go. You may be playing with your presents when some of these games kick off on Tuesday, but that's all right. We will start with the 68 Ventures Bowl on Saturday. You better have presents wrapped by Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern time when South Alabama

takes on Eastern Michigan. South Alabama is a 16 and a5 point favorite in this game. They're also playing a home game. Also, they're pretty darn good. Colin Lacey is gone, though. He's headed off to Louisville. Their best receiver, LeDamian Webb, is out. Their best running back, Kentrell Bullock and Braylon McReynolds,

will carry the load. Eastern Michigan, if you didn't have to go into the Jaguars' den, I might like that big number. But you know what? I think I'm going to go with South Alabama and Kane Womack, who was a hot coaching name during his carousel, but still in Mobile. So I think they're pretty happy about that there but let's check check the coin we're gonna head south alabama tails eastern michigan the pick is a tail the

coin says eastern michigan the coin's getting a lot of points in that game let us move to the las vegas bowl now this is one that that draws the the bigger name teams it draws the bigger name announcers can't imagine why they want to do a game in vegas but yet northwestern in utah utah is a six and a half point favorite in this game bryson barnes is in the portal but will play in the bowl game also brandon rose who probably would have been the backup this year had he not gotten hurt in preseason sounds like he's available to play as well. So that's an interesting one. But you've also got Northwestern coming off a season where it started as badly as it could possibly start with the firing of Pat Fitzgerald in July. David Braun, who had been hired as a defensive coordinator

the previous January, he gets the interim job. The assumption is they're going to just get smacked around all season and then they'll go find a coach. Well, turns out David Braun's a pretty damn good coach. And these guys are bowl eligible. They were great down the stretch. Better than anyone ever could possibly imagine this year. I just feel like this team wants to end it on the right way. I don't know that for a fact, but the vibes coming off the Wildcats late season were really good. And I think

they're pretty happy that David Braun is going to be their coach. So I am going to take Northwestern and all those points. And I do realize that Kyle Whittingham historically is very good in bowl games. I know. I know. But Utah down the stretch was not what Utah was at the beginning of the season. Northwestern, immaculate vibes. I'm going with the Wildcats. What will the coin pick? Utah's heads, Northwestern's tails.

It's a head. The coin goes with Utah. The coin giving me six and a half points thank you coin i appreciate that we now move to hawaii saturday at 10 30 p.m eastern which would be 5 30 p.m local time in hawaii i'm bad at math. Coastal Carolina versus San Jose State. So Grayson McCall gone from Coastal Carolina. He's going to be NC State's starting quarterback next year. He was hurt anyway, so he hadn't played since October. Ethan Vasco will get the start. He started the season finale against JMU. They were not particularly good.

Meanwhile, San Jose State, they were 1-5 to start this season. Then they were playing at New Mexico. They were at the Sheridan in Albuquerque. And there was a ring of fire solar eclipse. Now, this is a type of solar eclipse that can only be seen in a few different places, and New Mexico is one of them. And Brent Brennan, their coach,

ordered a bunch of viewers, because you can't look at an eclipse directly, so that the team could, as a bonding activity, look at the eclipse. They did. And since the eclipse, they have ripped off six consecutive wins. Guys, I'm getting ten and a half points. So give me the damn ring of fire in this game.

Give me San Jose State. The Spartans. Just, you know, otherworldly influence on this team. Give me the Spartans to win seven in a row. All right. Let's see what the coin says. Because the coin doesn't get so sentimental about these things. At least we don't think it does.

Coastal Carolina's head, San Jose State is tails. I dropped the coin. I dropped the coin. Hold on. Hold on. I can't believe this is dropped the coin. Hold on. Hold on. I can't believe this is the first time I've dropped it. All right. It's ahead.

The coin does not believe in the eclipse. The coin believes in the Chanticleers. I think that eclipse is going to win it for him. We move on to the Quicklane Bowl. Tuesday at 2 p.m., so post-Christmas. Let's see who has the post-Christmas hangover. This is Bowling Green versus Minnesota. Minnesota is a four-and-a-half point favorite in this game. Now, Aiden Kaliak-Mannis, the Minnesota quarterback, one of the more surprising transfer portal entries, but Drew Viato, their other

quarterback, he entered the portal too so that leaves cole kramer who's been a backup at minnesota for quite some time uh he's from eden prairie he's from the the twin cities he was ready to finish out his career go get married get a job in sales nope one more game now this week cole Kramer did poo-poo a rumor that he'd been paid $30,000 in NIL money to play in this game. He's like, no, I grew up here. I get a chance to start. I absolutely want to do this. Nobody had to pay me for this. I kind of wish he had gotten the 30 grand. No, I think that would be a better story, honestly. But Bowling Green, Minnesota, I don't know how much I trust Minnesota's offense in this game.

Bowling Green's defense only gives up 3.9 yards per carry on the ground because I'm assuming Minnesota is going to try to keep this on the ground. Here's the other part about Bowling Green's defense. Plus eight turnover margin, 27 takeaways this season. If they are doing what they've done most of the season defensively, I think Bowling Green is going to win this game. So I am picking Bowling Green to win. I get four and a half points anyway.

I'll take it. The coin seems to be enjoying giving me points. Let's see if the coin is going to give me some points or if the coin is going to agree with me on this one. Bowling Green is heads. Minnesota is tails. It is a tail. the coin has selected Minnesota we've disagreed on every pick so far the coin believes I am I have no chance here I this is going to be fascinating I can't wait to see what happens here

we move now to the first responder bowl Tuesday at 5 30 PM. Eastern time, Texas state and rice, two teams that is not a bowl matchup that you would have expected. If I had said five years ago, Texas state and rice are playing in a bowl. You just said, what do, how did this happen?

But rice got back into the bowling game last year. Mike Bloomberg's team got to the, the lending tree bowl last year. year, so they've done it. The Texas State guys have never done it. This is the first bowl game in school history. Remember, we had their coach, G.J. Kinney, on earlier in the season after they beat Baylor. So when he won game number six to get them bowl eligible, he jumped in the San Marcos River. I believe the president of the university did as well. So this is a big season so far for the Bobcats. When they are rolling, they score a ton.

They also are capable of giving up a ton. Here's your example. We talked about South Alabama earlier. Texas State in the final week of the season beat South Alabama 52-44. A week before that, Texas State lost 77-31 to Butch Jones and Arkansas State. That's a lot of bricks. A.J. Padgett will start this game for Rice. It's not a JT Daniels game.

JT Daniels has medically retired. He got several concussions. There was one in November that basically the doctor said, you're done. Do not play football anymore. And so he is medically retired. He's going to get into coaching. So Rice has played opponents pretty tough this year. They beat Houston.

They played Tulane tough. They've had some very good games. But those were JT Daniels games. I'm going to go with Texas State in this one. Give me the Bobcats. now this time i'm giving the coin points if the coin wants to disagree with me because rice is a four and a half point dog here heads is texas state tails is rice what does the coin say tails the coin takes rice man me and the coin. We're getting after it.

That brings us to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix Tuesday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Kansas at UNLV. Kansas is a 12.5 point favorite in this game. This is a Jason Bean game. Jalen Daniels coming back for another year at Kansas, but out for the rest of this season. He'll be playing for Jeff Grimes now, former Baylor OC, former BYU OC, and he is replacing Andy Kodelnicki, who's gone to Penn State. Meanwhile, UNLV had a couple of coaches that were very popular names during the coaching carousel, but they are still there.

So Barry Odom, the head coach, was named in the mix for a couple of jobs. Brendan Marion, their offensive coordinator, was in the mix for a couple of jobs. But so far, they're still there. Brendan Marion, that very exciting go-go offense. You know how much I love the offenses, like the one Jamie Chadwell runs at Liberty, also the one Brendan Marion runs at UNLV. They're not the same, but they mix triple option principles with a spread passing game, and they are super fun to watch. This one should be a blast because the Kansas

offense is fun to watch too. They'll still be running the offense they ran all season. So, but you're going to give me all those points and the go-go offense? I'm taking the Rebels. But what will the coin take? That's the question. The coin has disagreed with me every single time. Is the coin willing to give me 12.5 points in this game? Kansas is heads. UNLV is tails.

It is a tail. The coin and I finally agree on UNLV. That probably means Kansas is going to win. Guys, this is the best time of the year. You're making dinner. Maybe you're getting Christmas dinner ready. You're wrapping presents. You're watching bowl games.

It doesn't get any better than this. The family's going to come in. They're going to say, why in the world are you watching South Alabama and Eastern Michigan on a Saturday night when the whole family's supposed to be gathering together? And you say, because I am a college football fan. Also, I signed up at FanDuel, fanduel.com slash staples.

I got a little taste on this game. So I got to see what happens. Cannot wait. Also can't wait to see how I did against the coin. I went into this thinking coin's probably going to beat me. Not now. I'm feeling good about these. But we'll find out when these games end, when we come back. Remember, we don't have shows on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. So we'll be back on Tuesday night. Some of these games will have just ended. And we'll also start picking the big bowl games, the ones that I know a bunch of you are excited about. So we're not, we'll see how the coin does. We'll see if the coin gets another chance. I think the coin's about to get its clock clean though.

We'll find out though. Okay, now you are ready for all the bowl games that are upcoming, but are you ready for what is to come tomorrow? National signing day, one of the biggest days of the college football season. And yes, I know there's some old school people out there who still think it happens in February. There is one in February,

but trust me, most of the action is taking place tomorrow and it could get wild and woolly. Again, some very big names potentially flipping. We don't know what Coach Prime's going to do. Hugh Freeze out there on the hunt trying to flip, guys. It's going to be wild. Keep it at On3. You can follow the On3 YouTube channel. If you're not subscribed already, hit that subscribe button because we'll be coming all day with updates. On3 recruits the YouTube channel.

You need to be following that as well. Josh Newberg and company giving you all the recruiting news year round, but especially right now. Follow on three on Twitter. Follow on three recruits on Twitter. You will get all the relevant news as it happens. There's no bigger day in terms of what the future is in college football than National Signing Day.

When your head hits the pillow tonight, think, man, I hope my team signs all its commits. Otherwise, tomorrow's going to be a rough one. Or you think, man, I hope my team flips some dudes. Especially away from my rival. That's when it gets really sweet. Go get some sleep, everybody. Big day tomorrow, 7 a.m. Eastern.

We'll talk to you then. Thank you.