Andy & Ari On3 - Which College Football Playoff game will AMAZE us? | Ohio State-Oregon or Notre Dame-Georgia?

Episode Date: January 1, 2025

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Welcome to Andy and Ariane 3. Tough Happy New Year's because of what happened in New Orleans. I don't know what the hell is wrong with people. If you don't know already, somebody drove around the barricades on Bourbon Street and drove a pickup truck into a bunch of people. According to the FBI and the local authorities. They're there. They were trying to do as much damage as possible. Ten people killed so far.

30 were injured. They're the person got out of the truck and shot two police officers. This is an awful scene in New Orleans. If you've got friends and family, hopefully you've gotten in touch with them. If you're a Georgia fans, Notre Dame fans there for the Sugar Bowl. I hope everybody's okay. I hope you have reached out to your family members, let them know you're okay.

But just an awful scene. I wanted to address that before we got started because we like to be your escape from this stuff. But obviously the Sugar Bowl is in New Orleans. That stuff's happening now. And it's just awful it's just absolutely awful and just heart goes out to everybody there the you know this should never happen and I just don't know what the hell is wrong with people

I'm sorry all right I don't like to start on a down note but I know there's probably some folks who who listen to the show watch the show Who were probably there for the sugar bowl and I just yeah, I can't even imagine how scared they are right now yeah, no, it's just I mean there's nothing really more to say than just truly awful and Hope everybody is okay, you know, I just trying to contextualize these psychopaths is just becoming tiring. So it's just truly awful.

And it's our sports there. Fans are there that listen to the show and care about our sports. So thanks for addressing it, Andy, but it's just sick people in this world. Yeah. And we're going to talk about football. I know that's why you guys come here. That's what you want to hear about.

Obviously, please keep following that if you're in town. Stay safe, be careful. But we're going to talk about the game that's happening there. We're going to talk about the Rose Bowl. That's where you are. You're going to that today. We're going to talk about the Peach Bowl. And this is you are. You're going to that today. We're going to talk about the peach bowl and it's this is going to be the day that we've been waiting for for a long time because the expanded playoff. At least two of these matchups are re what we were hoping to get out of this thing. Like, you know, there was a 14 playoff and you got, you know, there was a four team playoff and you got,

you know, matchups between good teams, but you always said, okay, what if, what about this team? What if this team had a chance with it? Well, now you're getting it. We're going to see Notre Dame against Georgia. We're going to see Ohio state against Oregon. Like Ohio state would not be in this. If it was a 14 playoff, But Ohio State, if they win today,

will be in the 14 playoff that will happen next week. Yeah, it is interesting because Penn State has already advanced the semi-final, Andy, and they would not have been in it if this were a 14 playoff, right? I think this is a very weird year in terms of record results and all that stuff, but they might not have been in it either.

So, you know, I'm looking around the country and I'm seeing this and it's like, if the bracket were set up a little bit differently, I think you could actually make the case that, uh, you know, we'll see what happens in the Notre Dame Georgia game, but like, what if the bracket were set up differently? You could have Ohio state, Penn state and Oregon all in the final four. I mean, in terms of just like the teams that are good enough to do it this year. So, you know, uh, just an interesting, different type of year. And I'm super excited to get into it.

Like I, I spent Andy, um, the last few weeks taught telling you and, and feeling like Ohio state, Oregon was the most excited, exciting matchup for me. And as we get closer to the day, I think it might be Notre Dame, Georgia. I'm super excited. And I don't know if it's because of all the things that have happened around it with the SEC. And we're gonna get into some of the other games,

but it's just, what if Notre Dame beats Georgia? Then the SEC is out, outside of Texas. You're the one who predicts, well, Texas is in the SEC too, so they would still be out of Texas and like Texas is a first year non southern team. So like it's just I don't know if that that sits wrong. I think I think our friend Douglas Maurice would call Texas a southern team. I don't believe. Oh yeah, well, where I tried to take BYU for the South. Yeah, No, no. I'm not saying that

they're not in the SEC. I'm just saying like, not a team that we have typically. Right. They have not been in the SEC in the previous hundred or so years. It's just this year. All right. So before we get started on all that, we got a new, new, well, new old sponsor, they're back and a new segment that I think fits this, this sponsor very well. So Huell is back with us. This is the Huell black edition, ready to drink complete nutrition in a bottle. That's a meal, 35 grams of protein, all your vitamins and minerals, everything you need to get your day started. I love to start my day with a Huel. Doesn't matter if it's busy mornings, late nights,

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t-shirt that you will wear for every workout. I love my Huell t-shirts. They spoiler alert. Part of the free gift is a T shirt that you will wear for every workout. I love my Hewlett t-shirts. They're amazing. So go to heal.com staples 15 is the code two minutes. What you need to know about college football. We just mentioned the college football playoff. You got the Peach Bowl, Texas and Arizona State. Cam Scadaboo, Quinn Uers. We think that's going to be the more lopsided of the three matchups today, but we don't know.

Then you go to the Rose Bowl. That's where Ari will be. Oregon and Ohio State. Oregon's your number one seed. They are not the favorite in this game. Then you go to the Sugar Bowl. Georgia and Notre Dame. A clash of similar styles. You heard Kirby Smart say it earlier this week, he feels like Notre Dame is

built similarly to Georgia. We're going to talk later about what the quarterback matchup looks like in this game. And it's interesting because I'm wondering if people are kind of underestimating Gunnar Stockton in this game. Also, Ari just mentioned the SEC and what that means. Well, there were two non-playoff games yesterday that maybe change how some folks perceive the SEC. Michigan, completely depleted, beats Alabama. What does that mean for Alabama going forward?

What does it mean for Michigan? What is Jalen Milrow going to do? Because it doesn't sound like he's going back to Alabama. So does this mean he's entering the transfer portal soon? Does this mean he's going to enter the draft? We'll find out. Plus South Carolina, Illinois, Shane Beamer versus Brett Bielema. We can offer a better explanation

I think than you got yesterday about what happened between Shane Beamer and Brett Bielema. And I don't think the bad blood's gonna go away. They're trying to say we're done with this, we're done with this, but my guess is these two are not gonna be just yucking it up if they see each other in the next few months. So that is your fueling your day with fuel, two minutes to get you up to date on college football. But that's also all the stuff we're going to talk about here in the next 50

minutes or so. Ari, let's get back to what we were talking about with Georgia and Notre Dame because I and the SEC in general so. I don't think there's. Is there anybody left? Saying they think Alabama should have been the playoff. Anybody left? Well, I do think that there are some people that are are like that out of shape. I think a little bit of the way that the or the teams who got in. But like now, if you were one of those people who was screaming about how the, it was messed up

that SMU in Indiana were in like last weekend or 10 days ago when they were playing, you really have no leg to stand on because South Carolina also lost to Illinois. And it's like the two team, the only team, I guess that you're kind of hitching your wagon to here is Ole Miss and they haven't played yet. Right.

So like it's, um, I just think it's a reinforcement of what I thought, which is you cannot make hypothetical matchups, take precedent on the teams who actually won their games. Right. So like to me, it's like, it was hard for me this year because I didn't feel like Alabama, South Carolina, or Ole Miss were worth losing sleep over. And then on top of that,

they come out and lose some pretty bad games. Well, I mean, Illinois was really good this year. So I don't know what you think, but like nobody, if Illinois were in the playoff. But the thing is nobody was arguing that Illinois should be in the playoff and they looked like South Carolina didn't have a ton of opt outs. That was a very, you know, full close to full strength South Carolina team. And Illinois played great Illinois defended them very well. Like that was a very good game.

It was very evenly matched. It came right down to the wire like and nobody was arguing that Illinois should be in the playoff. So I think it shows and we'll talk about this probably as the, as the playoff goes on some more, we were talking about, you know, maybe the sport hasn't as flattened, hasn't flattened as much talent wise as we think. I think it's flattened talent wise in the SEC and the big 10 more so than anywhere else. And I think the SEC and the big and the Big Ten more so than anywhere else. And I think the SEC and the Big Ten are probably different than everybody else. But the idea that the SEC is so different from the Big Ten, which has been a pretty common theme, I don't know that

it is that different. And I think that's the thing. So the Illinois and the Illinois South Carolina thing that was two basically full strength teams playing against each other. The Michigan Alabama thing is even more stark because Alabama had almost everybody. They had some guys that were out to injury, but they had just about everybody among their better players playing. Michigan had almost none of its good players playing like its its best players were not playing. And Michigan won anyway. Now, you can argue about how all that went down. You know, I think part of it, you can hang on Kaylen DeBoer and the coaching staff and not just coaching staff, but the whole organization. Because I live in Florida already,

so I understand that the weather can shift dramatically. And even if they tell you it's just gonna be cloudy and it might not rain, there's always a chance it's gonna rain. And there's always a chance it's gonna rain sideways, blinding for 10 minutes, which is what happened. And Alabama looked like they'd never played it or practiced with a wet ball before. Sharon Moore had said all week it or practiced with a wet ball before.

Sharon Moore had said all week they practice with a wet ball. Alabama players are wearing the wrong shoes. Like I tweeted this during the game. I said, do you think that Alabama not having a coach who obsessively watches the Weather Channel might have hurt them in the first half? Like, and it's, that was a test of how deep into college football are you? Because if you're really deep into college football, you know what that means. Nick Saban's favorite channel was the weather channel.

It's the only TV he watched when he was Alabama's coach. Like, they would have been wearing the right cleats last year in that situation. Yeah, it's the weather channel. You know, whereas it kind of feels like a troll to me because I think checking the weather is overrated, but I also don't coach a football team. I. And it's kind of funny because Kailin to Borer did come from a place that. Historically rains more than any other place in the country, right?

Yeah, no, it's it's it's interesting because I got Kailin Abor as the coach at Fresno State as the coast of Washington seem pretty detail oriented. Seemed to always have his teams ready and prepared. This year he's not had Alabama prepared in multiple games. The Oklahoma game prime example and

and actually this played out almost similarly to the Oklahoma game, although they did find some offense there briefly you know whereas it against Oklahoma they just never did but Imagine if they've been playing against an almost full like imagine if they've been playing is the Michigan defense that played against Ohio State Like Will Johnson still would have been out but you would have had Kenneth Grant you would have had Mason Graham You had Josiah Stewart like Alabama would have had Kenneth Grant, you would have had Mason Graham, you would have had Josiah Stewart. Like Alabama would have been destroyed yesterday if all of Michigan's players had been playing. Yeah, well actually it's funny because like if you would have said before the season Andy that

Michigan will beat both Alabama and Ohio State this year and that's the only sentence you told them like in August you'd be like holy shit Michigan's gonna win the big 10. Win the actual title. What? But that's a hell of a year or a hell of a finish to their year. Right. Like Michigan is kind of left for dead there. And I think you sent me this text yesterday and I think it's, it's worthy of a discussion of like.

Sharon Moore is probably just a really good culture builder, which is exactly. I'm so excited to see what Sharon Moore can become as a head coach. After watching these last two games, I could not be more excited about it. Like, this is one of those things like you thought watching him when he was when he had to fill in for Jim Harbaugh. Okay, this guy seems to get it this guy is game day decision making you light because you you know you got a nice preview of that at the end of the season in 2023.

But what he's done at the end of the season with roster that you and I have said all along. He couldn't have done anything about because of the timing of Jim Harbaugh's exit, so there wasn't much he could have done. To fix it this year. The offense now I think he's admitted he did. He feels like he didn't hire the right offensive coordinator because he's already fired him.

He's hired a new one and chip Lindsey. But I'm trying to imagine what this is going to look like when they have a functional offense because my guess is they will have a functional offense next season. That defense the way those dudes played and let's give weight when they have a functional offense, because my guess is they will have a functional offense next season. That defense, the way those dudes played, and let's give Wayne Martindale credit too, because this is a guy who came in from the NFL,

who was not in college football. He was a decorated NFL defensive coordinator, had kind of fallen on hard times, mostly because he was coaching the Giants, and the Giants stink. But when he was with the Ravens, he was outstanding. It took him about half a season to figure out how things really worked in college. But holy crap.

They were amazing at the second half of the season and the way that those guys played yesterday, which was a lot of the guys who started this season in Michigan's twos, thatos, they were inspired. They looked awesome. So I saw Wink Martindale tweeted on Wednesday morning, hey, who doesn't wanna be a Michigan man? Like full speed ahead. I think the hashtag was building a bully.

Like, I'm telling you, there's a lot of reasons to be very excited about Michigan going forward. Yeah, I agree with you and like the thing that I keep coming back to is you can talk about like coordinator hires and all that stuff and it's like you're not supposed to win with the deficiencies that Michigan has period, right? Like you're not just not supposed to beat Alabama. You're not supposed to

beat really anybody And you know they scored 16 points very quickly in that game didn't score a touchdown for the rest of the game and kick the field Goal, and that's what you would expect and they won the football game still and like the fact that they beat Ohio State Don't even get me started on that tangent again because you know how I feel about that so right right You know to me, a first year that could have gone completely off the rails is salvaged. And then you go into the off season with a sense of rejuvenation, a sense of accomplishment, a sense that that wasn't a wasted bad year. That was a growth year that also included pearls that are important to any program's, you know, foundation. Like that, to me, is like, outside of making the playoff or unexpectedly competing for

the big 10 in year one, probably finished about as well as it could have for sure on more. So like, I, I think that Michigan is very interesting and I think that Alabama is interesting. Um, and that's game, although it wasn't for anything other than the relic relia quest bowl trophy, which was what? Like a modem or something? I assume that's some sort of technology company. Cyber security or something? Look, I understood Outback. I understand Bloomin'ions. I don't understand cybersecurity. So if you have cybersecurity is a corporate need

and a bowl sponsorship is for the people. It doesn't make any sense. Like it's like, you don't, you're not, you're trying to get popped like me. Yeah. Yeah. Like I don't need cyber security in my house. Do I? Yeah, I'm not, there's gotta be a reason for that. People wouldn't spend money on that if it didn't help or didn't

work, but it doesn't, it just goes over my head, but that's OK. That's OK. I'm I I am. Very excited about Michigan will see if bright like Bryce Underwood's come in there. They got Mikey Keene, who is about a billion year old quarterback transfer. He's been at Fresno State. He was at UCF little undersized, but very productive in his career. Yeah, so I don't know how that it seems like it's going to be a wide open quarterback job in the spring. Bryce Underwood

has been practicing with them already, by the way. He was practicing for the bowl game. So we're going to find out more about Sharon Moore as a head coach, but what we've seen so far, but what we've seen so far, especially what we've seen these last two games, like he does the things that if you can do those things and there's not many people who can, you win big if you can assemble the roster. So the on-field part, the preparation part,

the culture part, clearly he's got it. Now we find out if he does the roster building part right. And if he does, get ready, strap in. Yeah, yeah. I mean, finding the quarterback. Like that's really doesn't hurt. The team that we watched the last few games out with a functional offense is in the playoff probably, right?

Is that too much? Right? And think about this. Those were their third and fourth running backs yesterday. Yeah. And like, I think we also have to take at least 30 seconds to like, give a round of applause to Kenneth, Grant and Mason Graham, like what those two guys have meant to that program.

I mean, those are foundational pieces that, you know, the spirit of those players live forever. Like, I mean, like, I don't know. There's a lot of quarterback running back receiver. You know, when you think about Michigan history, you think about like Charles Woodson and, you know, some of the big time, you know, players they've had, like Braylon Edwards and stuff,

and they're all skill position players who scored a lot. And it's like, when I think of like Michigan man, when I think about like the epitome of what Michigan is built off of, like- Jake Long, Kenneth Grant, yeah. I see like Mason Graham's face, you know? Yeah. And they won them a lot of games

and they've done it at a very tough position that's easy to not appreciate unless you're really in the weeds about it, right? They don't have the ball. They don't score. Right. And they're not really supposed to put up huge stats like the their job is to is to wreak some havoc and let the linebackers make tackles. And like it is it's a thankless job and they're really good at it. But I agree. I agree. Now let's talk about another guy who did play in the Relac West Bowl. I wrote about him yesterday. Jalen Milrow. It sounded like that was his last game in Alabama. Yes, it's going to be 90 minutes by the way, just so you know. I

know. I know it. It sounded like this was his last game in Alabama. He I wrote, does he go to the draft? Does he go to the portal? I think it's probably the portal, but it was amazing to me, Ari, put that story out. And you know what happens when our guys at On3 put a graphic out, right? So they put a graphic out and I was just overwhelmed watching the responses to it of how many people just hate Jalen Milro. Like if this is not a like reasonable critique of his

play, because Jalen Miro, you look at his numbers, if you've watched him play the last two years, he's absolutely not perfect. But he's an above average college quarterback. And these people act like he couldn't be the third stringer at Bowling Green. And I don't get it. Like, where's this hate coming from? I saw something about him like shooting an NIL promo on the field before the game. I don't know if that's real or not.

But like also too, like, you know how Alabama fans feel about their team. Yeah. And you know that they didn't reach their potential this year and certainly understand that as that graphic was written or put out and your story was written that they were at a pretty low point, right? Like not only did they not make the playoff.

But I don't even think it was Alabama fans necessarily. Yeah. Like it was some Alabama fans but it was a lot of just random regular fans and they're like, he'll never make it to the NFL. Like he's going to be on an NFL roster and by 2026 at the latest, he's only got one more year of eligibility. So let's get into what you want to be on an NFL roster at some point. Cause I read your column yesterday, and I do think that this like Jalen Hurts comparison seems to make some sense.

So why don't you walk us through? Well, it's funny because people only think about Jalen Hurts now or Jalen Hurts coming out of Oklahoma and these Alabama fans were even so like, did Jalen Hurts comparison? No, no, no. I watched Jalen Hurts at Alabama. I covered like half the games his last season as the starter there. the Jalen Hurts comparison, no, no, no. I watched Jalen Hurts at Alabama. I covered like half the games his last season

as the starter there. He could barely complete a Ford pass at the end of that season. Now, yes, he did stay with Alabama another year. He did come in and save their asses in the SEC Championship game in 2018. But in 2017, the receivers were about to revolt because they wanted to throw the ball to them because Tua was better at throwing the ball to them.

That was real. Jalen Hurts was not viewed as a very good quarterback by his own teammates. And those throws that he could not make at that that time, Andy come into my head when I'm watching the Eagles now, because he makes him all the time now, and I and I still think that like Jalen hurts. Might be one of the single most impressive individual

transformations I've ever seen. Yes, if only the guy who helped him transform was in some dire straights and needed a quarterback right now. Oh wait, he is. Like if Jalen hurts or if Jalen Millrod decides to go into the portal, which I think is what he's going to do. If I am Lincoln Riley, I am calling immediately because I think they can help each other. I think both of them can help each other. both of them can help each other.

Yeah, we don't know who USC's quarterback is going to be right now, but I feel like you would feel moderately better about USC if you knew it was Jalen Milrow. Is that fair? I think so and I trust Lincoln. Listen, I've been as critical of Lincoln Riley as anybody, but I trust him with quarterbacks. His track record is pretty impeccable. And what he did with Jalen Hertz, and we don't know how much of that's him, how much that's Jalen Hertz, how much of that's, you know, whatever trainer Jalen Hertz was working. I think he's a Quincy Avery guy. But the transformation was real.

And the thing is, no, they're not exactly the same. Yes, they are both large, fast people who grew up in Houston, who threw, who could throw a nice deep ball at first, but the rest of it was a work in progress. There is more to it than that. I, you know, Jalen Hurts, fairly good at processing, really good at getting your offense down quickly, better at taking care of the ball

than Jalen Milrow has been in the last few years. So it's not a perfect apples to apples comparison. But if you look at the skill set, yeah, he could help and being in a system that is, I think Lincoln Riley has shown he's really good at designing the system around the quarterback strengths and that's that's what needs to happen is he needs to go somewhere where the system is designed around his strengths like the folks who came from Washington and we're used to working with Michael Pinnix

Jr. Michael Pinnix Jr. is a very different quarterback. Like Michael Pinnix Jr. is a laser guided missile system. Like he is pinpoint precise. He throws people open. General Melrose doesn't do that. That doesn't mean he can't be an effective college quarterback. The thing that's disappointing I think and like maybe to wrap it back around to the Kaelin Dabour, because you have been mocking me for a few days now about this A plus thing. The thing that is disappointing is that Kailin Dabour came to Bama as somebody who, you know, was viewed as an offensive quarterback guru, right? Like, I mean, what they did with Penex, what they did with Washington's offense was super impressive. Like they were aggressive, they were innovative, they were edgy.

They had stuff up their sleeves, like Penix got better as the year went on. It's not like Michael Penix Jr. was like this. He had flashes throughout his entire career, but the games and the way that he played a year ago got him up into the first round. And granted, I know that they did have Romo Dunze and Jalen McMillan on their team, and that certainly helps. But there was this notion or this thought that once Kaelin DeBoer got his hands wrapped around some

of the talent on that roster, that Jalen Milrow was going to have a Renaissance or an explosion of evolution. You were going to have a bunch of points, and Ryan Williams is going to come in and save the day. And it's like, if you go look at their two most embarrassing losses this year, it's like they couldn't score in either of them. And it's like that, that to me would be alarming. Yeah. Well, and, and so we're going to find out what happens next.

You know, if, if, if Milro's gone, then does that mean that the tie Simpson era starts at Alabama? Does that mean the Keelan Russell era starts at Alabama? We'll find out. But there's there's a lot, lots to unpack there as the season goes on. Ari, we have to talk about sauciness. So of course, we're talking about Wendy's. You've had Wendy's Nugs dipped in sauce, but have you had them covered in sauce? Wendy's new saucy nugs, take the crispy and spicy nugs you love

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Pick a flavor, grab some extra napkins and prepare to nug like you have never nugged before. For a whole new way to nug, it's got to be Wendy's at participating US Wendy's and it got real spicy and real saucy in Orlando at the cheese at bowl. Illinois, South Carolina, Brett Bielema versus Shane Beamer. Let's break it down. So the TV didn't quite get right. What Brett Bielema was doing to make Shane Beamer so mad. And I think when you get the context of it, you understand better why the argument is happening.

So for those who don't know, there was an incident in, I believe it was the third quarter or the early fourth quarter. Uh, there's an Illinois player down near injured near the South Carolina sideline. Brett Bielema comes over to take a look at his player and make sure he's all right. As the trainers are tending to the player, Brett Bielema then addresses the South Carolina sideline by holding both arms out like this. And Quint Kessin, she was a sideline reporter, said that it was like the officials do when they're substituting, which in a lot of games this year, you've seen a lot of gamesmanship involving when an offense substitutes, a defense will take a bunch

of time to substitute, try to get a delay of game penalty on the offense. But that's not what Bilema was referencing. That's not what he was referencing. But Shane Beamer went berserk, had to be held back from going after Bilema. So what Bilema was referencing, and I went back and watched it this morning. South Carolina ran a trick play on a kickoff where ball is kicked into the end zone return man makes the t-bar signal which if you've watched a bunch of college football games and you and I have the luxury of seeing some of these games in person and you don't see this shot on tv all the time but usually when there's a kickoff into the end zone a lot of times you will see the return man go like this which means i'm gonna down it in the end zone it's gonna be a touchback times you will see the return man go like this, which means I'm gonna down it in the end zone.

It's gonna be a touchback. And you'll see players on the kickoff return team also do this, which is a signal to the guys on the kickoff coverage team, hey, we're gonna kneel on this. No need for all of us to run into each other at 25 miles an hour. So that's what that is.

And Bila explained this after the game, like it's a signal because that is like the kickoff is why the NFL changed the kickoff. A lot of injuries happen on the kickoff because that's where people get the biggest head of steam and run into each other. So it's a way for players to avoid that collision when it doesn't need to happen. And so that, that is what the South Carolina return man did, but then he

caught the ball, which is, is within the rules because that's not a fair catch signal. So if you make a fair catch signal and do that, then it's a penalty on you, but it's not against the rules. And everybody pointed this out. So he catches the ball. He throws it laterally to Nick Harbor, who then runs down the left sideline. That's what Beelima was mad about because he considered that unethical breach and Shane Beamer has come out and said, Hey, I'm not unethical. That's not against the rules.

I've never been called unethical before in my life. And so that's where the that's where the conflict is. That's why Beelima was mad. And Beamer was obviously mad because Beelima was taunting the South Carolina sideline, which he said he's never seen a coach do that. I don't think I have either. Let me ask you this because like there is this thing of like and I remember we got into this after

the Ohio State Oregon Dan Lanning, you know, 12 men on the field thing. Is there a line for you between within the rules but also unethical or is it just if it's within the rules do it like I and like I think there's certain things like develop organically, which is what this T-bar signal has developed organically. I think it probably needs to be codified into the rule book, which would allow this situation to not happen. Cause like I have no problems.

I think that coaching legitimately, like the job is to design and do things to get as many yards and score as much as possible. So if it's within the rules, I think unethical is the wrong word. Like I don't think what Dan Lanning did was unethical. I thought it was smart, right?

But I also think in this scenario- This is something different because you're using a signal that is- To stop injuries potentially from happening in order. It's a safety thing, not a- Right. Right. Yeah. So that's the safety thing not right right yeah so that's the only thing why a coach would be upset about it though right andy like i don't know

right and like listen no i i i'm not bashing beamer for using what's within the rules nor do i think beelam is out of line here now maybe you don't talk to the opposing sideline but his his reason for being upset is valid. Okay, so here's the other thing. Brett Bielema, when he was at Wisconsin, and I mean this in a lovingly way, was an asshole, right? Like he was a very- He would tell you that. Like he's not-

And like, I think that's part of his charm, okay? And I think what's happened is that he has gone into relative obscurity because I don't think that the casual fan watches Illinois play football very often, right? Like I don't know how and like even after like the Arkansas, like it's been a long time since he's been at Wisconsin. But like I actually think long time since he's been at Wisconsin. But like I actually think that this sport needs as much personality and as much, you know, character. It's interesting because you're talking about both of these coaches, Brett Bielma and Shane Beamer. Yeah. And like, you know, like, I don't know, like Shane Beamer is eccentric. I don't know that

I would ever have called him like an asshole. And when I say asshole, I mean in a nice way. No, but you've got like Mark Stoops making fun of him and then Beamer clapping back and like, I love that. I'm good with that. And like, and I don't mean when I say that word in a derogatory way, like I think that like being somebody who ribs people and taunts and says things and tweets things, cause like, you know, Brett Bielema has that lame kiffin in him.

You know what I mean? Like he has that, like he tweets, he says things in news conferences. And it's like the impact of his things don't hit as hard because the places that he's at right now aren't as high profile as an Ole Miss, right? Or aren't in the playoff discussion as much as Ole Miss was this year.

And maybe that was wrong because Illinois actually had a really good season. But I actually think it's really great that there is personality in this sport. Like I think that Brett Bielma has a great spot in the sport and I would encourage him if he's upset about something or you know something hits him the wrong way to act out and to be himself because a that's how you you know

garner a brand and a program but also too it's like I don't want to unapologetically be myself and that's how he is so like go back and watch some of the press conference clips from his time at Wisconsin. And, and his time at Wisconsin was highly successful, like big 10 title, competing teams, like they were really, really good. And when he was there, he was louder and he was more obnoxious and he was seen more. And I think that that's great. And in a world where Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh and people like that are no longer in the game and we are trying to foster in a new era of personality and coach. Like I actually found it comforting that like, oh yeah, man, Brett Bielema is in our sport and not only is he in our sport, he's doing really well.

And the other thing that you mentioned that you didn't say before was that like Illinois was destroying them in the substitution gamesmanship game. Like, I don't know if you watched this, but like they. Oh yeah. They were, their defense was getting in real late. It was making. And the solution to that is don't sub on offense. But you know, I think that it's awesome. So like, listen, I think in this instance, like you can understand why Shane Beamer is upset.

And I think that you also can understand why Brett Bealman is upset and sometimes in the sport it's like you don't have to really choose a side you just have to analyze it well this is what happened and you know you can decide. I'm not mad at either person I really am not and I think it's one of those things that both those guys like we know both both of us know both those guys like they might not be on friendly terms right now. I feel like in a year or so maybe they they can have a sit down and have a couple beers together and and hash it out because again I understand both of their points of view here like Shane Beamer says

never seen a coach mock an opposing sideline and I I said I had and I take that back. Are there was remember Tom Herman mocking drew lock in the bowl game? Yeah, yeah. When Tom Herman was in Texas, yeah, that was that's the only other time I can remember this, but it was on his own sideline. When he got it, he was on his own sideline. Yeah, I think we need to have an offseason discussion too about Brett Beelamo as a coach and like candidacy for big jobs

too, like at some point, because he's done a really, really good job there. And he is, I know it didn't go well in Arkansas, but like he is a bona fide credentialed coach. But haven't we figured out that Arkansas is a pretty hard job? Like, yeah, and it might not have been a right fit, but like he's a big 10 dude. So like, I don't know.

Well, the other thing is, and. We're going to get to the playoff been a right fit, but like he's a big 10 dude. So like, I don't know. Well, the other thing is, and. We're going to get to the playoff games, I swear, but this is really interesting. When Brett Bielma left Wisconsin for Arkansas, one of the reasons he left Wisconsin for Arkansas was Wisconsin was was fairly unwilling to pay up to keep good assistance. And Brett Bielma felt like he couldn't keep a good staff together at Arkansas, or at Wisconsin,

and at Arkansas, for those who don't know, Arkansas has more money than since. And they have very enthusiastic donors. So they were going to give him the money he needed to keep his staff together. Now it didn't, it still didn't work because when you have really good coaches like Sam Pittman is your line coach, George is going to try to steal him. Like that that happens.

But that's why he left like the Wisconsin of now where they're a big 10 team, you know, a top half of the big 10 money wise program, not not where they are right now under Luke Fickel, but Moneywise, the Wisconsin of now he would have never left. Yeah. So that's that's the part of it that I find very interesting. And I think, you know, if we're talking about B Lema going forward, it's something to pay attention to. Yep. All right. Are we going to talk? We got to talk playoff games now playoffs. This is going to be outstanding, outstanding. I want to start off by playing a little guess the number

we're going to play a little guess the price picks number. You don't know what price picks folks. It is the best daily fantasy game in America. You play $5 you get $50 instantly. Ari is great at this game. I am constantly amazed by Ari's ability to guess the numbers. Producer River. We're going to go with the Peach Bowl with the Texas Arizona State game. So I want Ari to guess the Kam Scataboo rushing number more than or less than what will the number be? Where will it be set for the Peach Bowl? 109 and a half.

You are so good at this. I am? It is 104 and a half. And for those who don't know, like prize picks very rarely has a back at more than 100 yards for a game. Ash and Gentie. Yes, those were pretty steady, but it's pretty rare. And it's, it's especially rare against the defense as good as Texas's defense. 104 and a half is your Kam Skataboo rushing number. That is a huge ask Ari, a huge ask. Well, you also can't find another college football program or team in America right now that's more reliant on production from the running back and

then Arizona State or Boise anyway, right? Like, he's gonna rush the ball when they're down. Like, there's no abandoning the run for this team. So, like, and like too, he is such a good after-contact runner who can break something. Like, you know, like Ashton Gentry got to 104 last night and he carried the ball 30 times and it's like, if he would have broken one more tackle on one or two of those plays, and it almost looked like he did, that he might've gotten to 150.

Like the margin between, you know, getting to that number and not getting to that number is often found in one or two plays. So, you know, I look like Princess Leia with these headphones. Uh. I wasn't gonna say anything. Um, you know, uh, look like Princess Leia with these headphones. I wasn't going to say anything. Wesley in the chat says Ari looks like Princess Leia with those headphones. I agree.

And obviously if you are an aficionado of incredible comedies, then you've seen space balls where Princess Vespa removes her headphones. They are the Princess Leia bun headphones. So Wesley is basically thinking like Mel Brooks and I appreciate it. We need to have a discussion about whether optically I just need to get earbuds for the off season because these are the headphones I use on the airplane.

Yeah, everybody makes fun of you. Okay, all right. Except for there was one person who said I look like the sleazy agent with the with the one earpiece in. Yeah, you look like you like you would like push the side of it and then like to end a phone call type of thing. I can't. That is the capability that I have. I can actually in this with you legitimately look like somebody

who would have a very highly personal Conversation about something about their family and like the serial aisle with that thing in there like But yeah so like the Camp scataboo number had to be over a hundred because he's probably gonna rush for a hundred whether Arizona State wins or loses by 30 Right, like I think there's like no doubt about it. Like he's going to get his and they're going to feed him. And you know, I think that their number one priority here is to probably, you know, possess the football, move the chains and you have to rely on the players

that got you there. And that's what this game's about. And the thing that frustrates me more than anything is when teams lose games departing from who they are. Um, and I don't see Arizona state doing that. I have one more guest, the number for you. Okay. We're going to stay, we're going to stay with Arizona state.

Now producer river points out that putting Sparky on the helmet over this, the stupid trident would automatically increase these numbers. So hopefully Kenny Dillingham has heard our cries and Sparky's on the helmet would automatically increase these numbers. So hopefully Kenny Dillingham has heard our cries and Sparky's on the helmet today. Arizona State quarterback, Sam Levitt passing yards. Where do we think the number's at? 193 and a half. You're very good at this.

182 and a half. Yeah. You know, I think that's more out of respect for Texas's defense that number. Well, I also think too. to realize too that like if a running back or a position player is very very much impacted or impacts the game very much that usually the quarterback number is lower and then of course they're playing a really good defense so like I didn't think it was gonna be in the two's just from a simple standpoint of like if Kam Skadegbu rushes for 155 yards and Sam Levitt throws for 185. They like that. That might be a winning combination for them. So we'll see. So, um, let's talk about how efficient Sam Levitt's been though.

Last three games, his yards per attempt, 9.9, 13.2, 12.9. Like he's been incredibly efficient. The 12.9 came against Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game. You saw Cam Ward slice up Iowa State's defense for a half. We don't have to get into that anymore, but that is ridiculously efficient. He's been this efficient most of the season only once in the past six games. Remember he missed the Cincinnati game with an injury. He came back against Oklahoma State. So only once in the end that last bunch of games did he throw for less than 200 and that

was against UCF and that was the game that they struggled in. But I am I am fascinated to see this because as I've said over and over again since the playoff started, I trust the Texas defense. I trust it completely. And so they're going to have to play incredible game to be in this game because I think Texas I know that Arizona State is decent at stopping the run. But if I'm Texas, I try to do exactly what I did to Clemson.

Just run them over. Yeah, they are wearing their traditional uniforms, by the way. That's what they will be wearing. The one thing I think that they should be wearing was I think that it looks better with the white face mask and their face mask is going to be maroon for the game. But again, small quibble for me. I think that. So this is the first game of the day, right? Yeah. And let me just bluntly ask you, do you think it's going to be... It's the sixth playoff game so far, right?

Do you think it's going to be six blowouts? We calling last night a blowout? I am. I don't know. I mean, I know you're hanging on to the three point margin potentially in the third quarter there, but like, did it ever feel like I don't know? I didn't. That didn't feel like a blowout to me because Boise State gets a touchdown pulled off the board that would have made it a three point game in the third quarter. Like it didn't feel as blow out to me, but yes, Penn State won comfortably. So

yes, I do think this will be a sixth. Do you think it's gonna feel more like last night or do you think it'll look more like a round one game? I think it'll look more like a round one game. And I hope for Arizona State's sake that they don't, that they make me wrong on that, but I just think Texas is too good. Like I, they got Bond back, Weissner's back,

Majors their centers back. Remember they lost Weissner and the center and the right tackle. Is Calvin Banks playing? Within the last session in the second quarter. I don't, that's a good question. Let me look that up while you're talking. Sing a song for me.

Well, I'm not singing these eyes. We always sing these eyes. We got to find another song to sing. And it's funny because my daughter plays so much Sabrina Carpenter now, like the first song that popped in my head is Please Please Please. And I'm not singing that. Serena Carpenter's lyrics are naughty.

Like I'm not saying that on a show. Who's a cute boy with the white jacket in the thick? Stop. Stop. Just stop. I'm not singing that on a show. Who's a cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent? Stop. Stop. Just stop. Their songs are electric. I'm trying to find this here because he's a top 10 pick.

He is, but they've also been fine since he went down too. Yeah. It looks like he's playing. So that's a pretty important thing. You don't want to hear something that aside because we haven't mentioned this on the show, but if you're a Penn State fan and you want to hear about that game last night more about it, we did like a 20 minute video on YouTube on this channel last night after the game and it's

in the podcast morning and it's in the podcast feed. You can go find it, but I thought it was very bizarre that the potential number one overall pick in the NFL draft got injured in the game last night and like they didn't talk about it at all or like they didn't like there was no reasoning given like is Abdul Carter like really hurt like do we have an update on that? I don't I Penn State does not release that sort of information. Is that why the broadcast? Yes, because Penn State like

refuses to acknowledge injuries when they happen? Basically. Listen, I know that we are in a position to talk about offensive players and Ashton Gentey. I legitimately think you could make the case that Abdul Carter is the best overall defensive player left in the playoff. And if he's out for them, you saw the difference between their defense when he was in and you saw it when he was out. That is a massive deal. A deal that we didn't make nearly enough of a stink about on the video last night. Well, cause we don't know what it means for next week. We talked about a little bit like. Were they holding him out for precautionary reasons

because they felt comfortable? Yeah, or big deal though big deal. Yeah, like whether he plays in the next game is a massive deal for Penn State. It's a it is a huge deal. Do we want to talk about the game that feeds into the Penn State Orange Bowl or we want to talk about the game that feeds into the the Penn State Orange Bowl or we want to talk about the game that you're going to today? Are we are we done with the Texas Arizona State? I think we're done with that because

I think okay, we feel pretty comfortable about what's going to happen. I think. Okay. Yeah, let's I don't know. They're both. Can you lose pick one? I don't know. Let's do Ohio State Oregon because I'm going to get in the car after this. So yeah, let's do Ohio State, Oregon, because I'm going to get in the car after this. So, um, yeah, let's do it. This is this is you want to talk about the game or do you want to talk about the implications like Let's talk. We don't have to talk about the implications. We can talk about the game because this is The beauty of this game and the sugar bowl

Is the game Is what matters like this is the game we wanted to see. I realize we've seen this game already this season, but of all the games that were played this season, if you said Andy, can you get a rematch of any of these? This is the one I'd want to see again. I think it's hilarious. And I was like actually chuckling to myself yesterday that my saucy take was that they would play three times this year. And your saucy take was they would play once and that they're right in the middle there. Yep, it's gonna be twice.

Neither of us were right. But the, and we were both kind of right, by the way, like we were both wrong, but like the idea of like Ohio State and Oregon will not meet in the Big Ten champion. Yeah, some weirdness is gonna happen and neither of us could have predicted it would be Ohio State losing to Michigan. But we saw Ohio State lose to Michigan. Then we saw Ohio State look like everything that was promised against Tennessee. Now they go against Oregon, which is the best team they played all season. Oregon's offense had the best performance anybody's had against Ohio State's defense. But is Ohio State better than the team that went to Eugene and lost by one in a game that

really could have gone either way? No. Okay. Do you think they're better? I thought they were really good that day. I think they're top, I think they played well that day too. I think their top end could be a little better than that but I also think Oregon's top end is better than that. Jeremiah Smith has six more games of experience. Like I mean from that standpoint like are they... Here's why I say no. Because so much of the analysis of the Ohio State has been well they got the Michigan ick out of their system and they finally returned to who they were. Michigan Ick out of their system and they finally returned to who they were. But they were who they were at Oregon. Like no one's sitting here saying Ryan Day messed that up or they called the bad game.

Like they were really good in that game. So yes, Ohio State has certainly probably improved from that team. But I'm sure Oregon also has commensurate with the same time that's passed. So like I feel like that matchup is a pretty good indication of like what we're gonna get today. And the thing I can't get over when it comes to that game, I've said it on the show before, but I'm gonna say it again if you haven't heard,

they statistically were identical. Time of possession, first downs, total yards, defensive stops, like every single, the score was a point different. It came down to almost, it came down to intangible stuff, intangible, but it came down to kind of moments like did this coaching decision favor one team or the other? Did this this officiating decision favor one team or the other? Like you

had the Dan Lanning sucking seconds away, which by the way, the the rules officials have now tweaked that. So Dan Lanning can't warp space and time like he did in that game. You had Will Howard and his clock management at the end of the game. I would think Will Howard will handle that differently if it happens again. Like it's that it was that close. I mean, your game was decided by a penalty, although Ohio State's got a field goal kicker issue.

So, well, right. The Jeremiah Smith OPI, which it was OPI, but about half the time they don't call that. And like I got your, you know, Robert Howard here in the chat says you're completely wrong. Already the Ohio State defense has exponentially improved since the first game, but like if is exponentially improved since the first game. But if we're doing since the first game,

like Oregon's offensive line was a disaster the first month of the season, and now they've gelled and gotten better. I mean, teams all evolve and get better and find themselves by this year. So I'm not sure that Ohio State's not. Jordan Burch didn't play in the first game. So Oregon's got more talent on the D line than they had the first time around.

Ohio State. Has gotten better, but I don't think the reason why I said no is because I think the question was more designed of like, are they a different team now than they were and I think they were different team than they were against Michigan. But I think Ohio State attacked Oregon in the first game the way that they are going to attack them today like that, like that's the same thing to me and I thought they attacked them efficiently in the first game, the way that they are going to attack them today. Like that, like that's the same thing to me. And I thought they attacked them efficiently in the first game. Now, I think that today's game is going to come down to who makes less mistakes,

like which team doesn't turn the ball over. Like, I think these are two very evenly matched teams. And I think you're you're watching a game between the two best teams left in the field. Does it does it come down to is it, I think I'm oversimplifying. Does it come down to Dylan Gabriel versus Will Howard in terms of mistakes and how smoothly you run the offense? Or which team is gonna fumble a snap or which team's gonna go forward on fourth down

in a critical moment and not get it. Those types of things. Somebody asked me on a radio show in Cleveland yesterday, if Ohio State loses ugly, does Ryan Day get fired? It's like, I don't think that Ohio State's gonna lose ugly. And I don't think that Oregon's gonna lose ugly. I see people in the chat like, oh yeah, Ohio State's gonna win 42-20.

It feels like they're both too good for that. That's not, they're both too good for that to me. Like I think it's gonna be a lower scoring game. I think like I like the under of the game because it's the second matchup. They're gonna figure some stuff out but also too it's like I also give Oregon the coaching advantage. I think Ohio State's got better overall talent and I think that Oregon is gonna have a better plan. And like, I don't know which one's going to bear out. I'm also curious to see this Oregon, like this Oregon defensive line is really good. And I don't know that people have appreciated them as much.

We talk about the Michigan one because a lot of these, some of these guys are younger. Like Mateo Uyengalale is just a sophomore right now. Young Concrete, I believe is his producer name, which is now. Young Concrete, I believe, is his producer name, which is spectacular. Young Concrete? Young Concrete. What a name for a D-end. What a name. That's interesting because old Concrete

usually gets repaved. Yeah, well, Young Concrete is usually very strong and sturdy, so. OK, yeah. But that's because we've talked about Ohio State's offensive line and but look, it looked fantastic against Tennessee against a good defensive line. I don't think there's any argument that Tennessee has a good defensive line in

Ohio State's offensive line handled it very well. I don't think that Tennessee got a pressure in the game, by the way, like if you go back and look at the stats of the PFF and everything, like the number one reason why everybody thought Ohio State could lose was that their repatched offensive line would get eaten alive by Tennessee's defensive line. And they were a complete non-factor. And I don't know if Tennessee's defensive line just had a bad day or if Ohio State figured out its offensive line problem,

but like if Ohio State can play like that from a protection standpoint, like they have a really good chance to win this football game. So I don't know, I feel like when two really good teams play each other on a neutral field, that is peak nirvana for me in terms of like, you're gonna get to watch, does it bother you that they're playing right now? Or are you just like, it is what it is and we'll figure it out next year. They'll figure it out next year. I would rather this game not be happening right now.

That it should be a semifinal matchup or a final matchup. But that's OK. It I'm going to have to beat him at some point. Might as well. Yeah, exactly. And we're going to get the thing I'm hoping for is it feels like we're getting two bangers today. And we're going to get two bangers in the semis and a banger in the title game, which which we hadn't necessarily gotten in the 14 era. So I can live with that column.

That's an interesting column. If the price that we have to pay to get great semifinal games in a great title game is blowouts early and you get that by inviting teams that otherwise would not have made it in the past. Like Penn State for instance or 2015 Ohio State or some of the other great teams like the Georgia team that didn't make it a few years ago. Yeah. They get the seven, eight, nine, ten seeds and they blow out the teams at the beginning of it. If the consequence of getting the teams in that are going to give us the great games at the end

is more blowouts in the beginning, I think that's a great trade off. Like that's something that no one's ever- If only there was an example of that in the same sport in another age bracket. If only we had an example of that. But like that's it right there. For everybody who can't stand the blowouts, maybe these are replacing the blowouts that we

usually got in the final four because they placed the wrong teams in the final four based on things that you didn't have. Right. This is a weed out process more than anything else. Which is what the playoffs literally are. Write that down. Let's write that. That's a good thing. I'm going to let you have that, but yes, I'll send you a note to remind you. I was listening to SplitZoneDuo, our friends over there. Richard Johnson and Chris Kerscher?

Yeah, yeah. He looked up all the results of the games from the entire year, like P4 to P4 teams or FBS teams. And like 50% of the results in the season were blowouts. Like college football is just a blowout sport. Um, and like that is, and I wanted to give them credit for that. Cause I found that interesting. It's like, everybody's upset about the blowouts in the first round. It's like, there are blowouts all the time.

And because there's a hundred games every weekend, you fixate on the exciting ones, but like 90% of them are just like not exciting games. Right? And you just lose track of that. You and I, as people who've had to decide how we're gonna spend our company's travel money to go to certain games, like there's no worse feeling than you picked a game on a weekend

that you thought was gonna be great, and it turned out to be a blowout and some other game somewhere else is awesome because you're like, I've just wasted my company's money. I feel so bad about this. Like it happens. And that's why you've heard us say multiple times on the show blowouts happen. It's just part of the deal and it's okay.

But I would hope that they don't continue to happen as the tournament goes on like that. The margins get tighter as the tournament moves forward, which I think is what's going to happen. I hope I hope that's what's going to happen. Ari, you know, again, we could get to the semis next week and they could be blowouts too. But because the way it is that trending, I don't think it will be that way.

If you want to put all the teams in that that were good enough to win the national title but didn't take care of business, but we're still pretty good. And I keep coming back to the 15 Ohio State team because you know what was on it and they only lost one time and I covered it. Oh, I would love to see that one in the playoff. Love to like if you would have put them in the playoff,

then there might have been one less blowout that year. And it's like, but now they're in the playoff and they're playing against a team that doesn't deserve to be in from like the outside perspective. And then they beat the crap out of them and they advance into the tournament. And then at the end of the road, you have a cleaner, more pure final four than you otherwise got. than you otherwise got. Here's the other thing about the sugar bowl and the Rose bowl in particular. And we're gonna talk about the sugar bowl in a second. If there's a blowout either direction in either of those games, we won't view it the same way we viewed Notre Dame blowing out Indiana.

Like we won't think about it that way. When you go into a game. Because it'll still be interesting. But also when you go into a game with the perception that both teams are really, really good. Like if Oregon were to blow out Ohio State today, that wouldn't be Ohio State sucks or they wouldn't they don't belong. It would have been a holy crap. Oregon's amazing. Right. Whereas it's the reverse in the first few rounds. If Oregon played Kennesaw State in the first round or whatever, just making up an opponent and they won 55 to nothing. It's the same thing that happened with like Penn State and the teams that they've won out. Right?

It's not about Penn State being good, although if you have eyes, you know that they have a lot of really good players. It's about their easy path. So once you get to the point where your perception or our perception is that it's going to be a good game, then the blowout that we're probably going to get blowouts in the semis anyway, because we always do, the perception is, wow, that team is really good. Yeah. And not the team they're playing is bad. And I think both these teams are good. and I cannot wait to see this game. Now let us move to New Orleans where you've also got two teams that we both really like that we both think are good. This is a very intriguing game because Georgia is starting a new quarterback. Like this is Gunnar Stockton's first start ever in college. Now let's play the game again. Download that PrizePicks

app. Use code staples when you sign up. Play $5. Get $50 instantly. We're going to play the Guess the PrizePicks number game again. Ari's very good at this game, but this is going to be a tough one because there's a lot of unknowns here. What is Gunner Stockton's passing yardage number for the Sugar Bowl? Well, there's no possible way it's more than there's not like the first digits of one. I'm just trying to figure out what how high in the ones it is. I would say 174 and a half. How are you so good at this? I'm a gambling addict.

What do you mean? It's not that difficult. 170.5. Yeah. So first start playing a good defense. No dynamic skill players that are going to turn a five yard game into an 80 yard game. It's very simple. It's not no dynamic skill players though. It's just not yard gain into an 80 yard gain. It's very simple.

It's not no dynamic skill players though. It's just not lad mcconkey and brock bowers. That's the that's the part I think the screen in traffic to the house from their own 30. There's there is a guy. He's just not a receiver. What are you talking about Trevor Etienne? The healthiest Trevor Etienne has been all season. Yes, that person. So maybe, yeah, like if the answer to today is like Trevor Etienne has 250 all-purpose yards and is just eating people alive and he hasn't been healthy all year, then that changes our entire analysis of like what Georgia's been this year. Like if you dropped Ryan Williams into the equation, like Georgia would be the best team in college football but like they don't have that and their number one deficiency has been non explosive ability on offense so if you want to if

you if you are gonna go that far and go well Trevor Etienne's healthy and they're gonna be awesome then that I'm not expecting that so if that's what you're expecting then that's now I understand why you think I think that number is really low oh actually Ari pretty sure we're the great idea. We're gonna really test you now. Guess the number, Trevor E.T. and rushing yards. Uh, 81 and a half. God dang you're good at this.

83 and a half. Yeah. Also, Andy, I don't want to like look like really smart. Like the numbers are usually all pretty similar. Like, but there you get a good feel for this. It's not like I'm like a math whiz or something. I pick these because they're not like the Trevor E.T. and I didn't didn't pick because it is kind of similar to what what

you've seen. But like the cam Scataboo number earlier was a little off or a little unusual for a non-Asian Gentile. Yeah, I thought the Gunner Stockton one's on. I think the Gunner Stockton one's low. Like I think it would have been if I would have asked you and we would have played the game in reverse without you seeing it. What would you have said for Gunner Stockton?

Like in the low 200s. Yeah. Which is 30 yards more than, than he's got. Which is maybe the difference of a reception. Like I think, I think we are just like, I think people have gotten in their minds because of what they saw in the second half of the SEC championship game that George's offense is going to look like Michigan's offense looked all year with Gunner Stockton like that. There are suddenly like a read option team. They're not. Like he's not even as fast as Stetson Bennett. Stetson Bennett was a much bigger was a better running threat than Gunner Stockton. But Gunner Stockton get to throw the ball like let's

not forget that Gunner Stockton as a recruit was ranked higher than Carson Beck as a recruit. Different years, but Gunner Stockton was an elite quarterback recruit. He has a big arm. Is it fair to anticipate a big game from him? Or is it, don't make mistakes, manage the game the way you did in the second half of the SEC game, or title title game and like get Georgia to win a defensive slot like they start up

I think they start out fairly conservative. I think if you're Georgia you're gonna you want it you want to see How well Notre Dame's offense matches up with your defense because if you feel like you can control them Then you stay conservative on offense and don't don't make the crippling mistake that can cost you the game. Now, if Riley Leonard comes out because remember Riley Leonard is the type of quarterback that does bother George's defense. He's a very good runner, whether it's a design run or scramble. If suddenly he's keeping plays alive, getting the ball to receivers and keeping drives alive so that they can

then pound you with Jeremiah love. Like then you're going to have to try to cut Gunnar Stockton loose a little bit and hope he doesn't make a mistake. But I think if, if George is like, I think the Georgia Texas games are kind of instructive here because it's both Georgia, both of those are Georgia playing a team with a defense that they know is really good but an offense that has not been perfect all season if Georgia feels like they can limit that offense and limit explosive plays from that offense which I think George is probably going to this game feeling like they can do that. Then you stay fairly conservative with Gunnars Stockton.

Yeah. What? Yeah. And I don't even know where to begin to guess on this. And I don't even know if there's a square, but like what is Riley Leonard's rushing output? I can tell you right now because like singing songs and I'm looking it up. The who's the cute boy with the white jacket in the thick accent. So Riley Leonard's rushing number is thirty nine and a half. Which means I wonder if Notre Dame was expecting to get that much.

If Notre Dame wins this game, it's because Riley Leonard is more than right. Yeah, well, if you're more than 39 and a half, it means you didn't take a bunch of sacks. But also too, like if he breaks off a few big runs or extends drives where Quinn viewers wouldn't have been able to and like if they played the same game that Texas and Georgia played, except you add in a running quarterback that can,

you know, evade pressure or escape pressure and then move. I don't know how you turn it. You just want to turn this into an arch discussion. No, no, it's not. This is who Riley Leonard is like, and he's right. You're right. Like Riley Leonard is coming into the year. We would have put him in the top five of what Jalen Milro and a few other guys of like most explosive runners at the quarterback

position in the sport. I think people forget that. So like, you know, this is the season where it's like, you know, last game of the year, can't hold anything back now, you know, like from the waterboy, like this is if you're going to run them, then run them, you know, and I don't even mean just on designed runs. I mean, like really, really emptying out the bag. The pocket breaks down and you're in man and you see those, those, you know, you see the names on the backs of the jerseys, you run like gold.

You might, you might not fight for the extra three yards to get the first down in a regular season game that, you know, you're winning by 14 in the second quarter. But like in this game, like every first down matters. Possession time matters. Fuel position matters. Um, I just like, like here's here's my realistic thought. And I have been on the Notre Dame bandwagon from the beginning of the year and I'm picked and I am picking again Notre Dame to win this game. Why? Because I do not think that Georgia's offense simply put is good enough. So if I am

wrong, and I've been wrong a lot, it's gonna be because George's offense shows me something today that I don't think they have. Like that's how they write like I don't know like do you think they're gonna write a team to 10? Like what I don't think that when I think this game is going to be high scoring that you do. Yeah. So I think that George's is built to exist in a game that's high scoring that you do. Yeah. So I think that gorgeous is built to exist in a game that's high scoring against the quality of I'm not talking about 3835. I'm talking about like 24 2027 24 that I think Georgia can win a game like that. Yeah. Yeah. I got you got Notre Dame. I'm excited as hell for this.

I'm like I'm gonna have to manage my time after the games over because like, you know, I'm gonna be driving back in LA and like it's it's gonna be I have to watch like every snap of this game. You've got to go over the hill as they say so. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Ari, this is going to be spectacular. I can't wait. Again, as you pointed out, Sparky's on the helmet for Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. That's worth at least like 10 points. So maybe it won't be a blowout. I hope not. I hope that's a good game, but we are expecting great things from the game you're at the Rose Bowl, Oregon, Ohio State. We both picked Texas to cover. I am on Oregon. You are on Ohio State.

We go to the Sugar Bowl. I am on Georgia. You are on Notre Dame. I cannot wait to get together with you as the day goes on. And tonight we're going to have a huge show breaking it all down. as the day goes on and tonight, we're gonna have a huge show breaking it all down. It's gonna be beautiful. If you're regular listeners, just know that this is Saturday. The Saturday night is tonight for us. So we will come back tonight after the games are over

for a whole show break down and then tomorrow morning, again, cause it's Thursday, back at it, baby. So like we're gonna have a lot of content here. Super excited and I know I'm gonna write something today too. So just uh stay tuned and Andy, it's it's been the you know, happy new year to you by the way. I don't know if I said that happy new year and uh you know, super excited to start this year off with the best possible day of football

we can imagine. I cannot wait and we'll talk to you guys as the day goes on.