Andy & Ari On3 - Why Ty Simpson was RIGHT: Rams pick Alabama QB in the 1st round of 2026 NFL Draft | Ranking the TOP songs in College Football

Episode Date: April 24, 2026

As the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is complete, there were two quarterbacks taken off the board: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza (Raiders, Pick #1) and Alabama QB Ty Simpson (Rams, Pick #13). While the Mendoza selection was expected, the question were really surrounding Simpson. As the LA Rams are set to start 38-year old quarterback in Matt Stafford this season, was this a good move for Sean McVay’s squad? Does it help the Los Angeles Rams win now? Watch here as Andy & Ari discuss.   Also, Andy & Ari dive into the draft picks by conference. How good of a showing did the Big Ten have? Andy explains   (0:00) On Today’s Episode (1:19) Presenting Sponsor (3:00) Intro: Ty Simpson at pick #13 (9:43) Conference Draft Picks (20:55) Receivers in the Draft (22:50) Paige Shiver alleges pregnancy with Sherrone Moore (29:05) Dear Andy & Ari: Tuesday night CFP show (43:44) Mark Richt in the CFP era (50:23) Oregon’s Year to get over the hump? (57:07) Random Ranking - Top CFB Songs (59:59) Rankings begin (1:20:27) Honorable Mention (1:24:19) Overall Rankings (1:25:18) Conclusion: Thanks for watching!   After discussing the draft, Andy & Ari talk about Paige Shiver going on Good Morning America where she alleges pregnancy with former Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore.   Next up, it’s time for Dear Andy & Ari, where the discussion around the Tuesday night CFP Rankings Reveal show continues to ramp up. What do fans think? Do fans want week by week rankings?   Would Mark Richt have benefitted from the College Football Playoff era?   Is this the year Oregon gets over the hump?   To close the show, it’s time for this week’s random ranking. This week, the fellas randomly rank their top songs in college football. Were these the right picks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments here!   Our show is also presented by BetMGM!   If you haven’t signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code CFB and you will get up to a $1500 First Bet Offer on your first wager with BetMGM! Here’s how it works:   1. Download the BetMGM app and sign-up using bonus code CFB. 2. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game. 3. You will receive up to $1500 in bonus bets if your bet loses! Just make sure you use bonus code CFB when you sign up!   Make this college football season one for the history books. Make it legendary.   See BetMGM.com for Terms. 21+ only. This promotional offer is not available in DC, Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET (Available in the US) . 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR). First Bet Offer for new customers only (if applicable). Subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 7 days. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel   Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/join   Watch our show on YouTube!    Like/Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/On3Sports/   Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman Producer: River Bailey   Interested in partnering with the show? Email [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today's Andy Nauri on 3 presented by BetMGM. We recap the first round of the NFL draft from a college perspective. Ty Simpson was right. Also, the Big Ten with the most first round draft picks. Will it carry through the weekend? Will the Big Ten finally overtake the SEC in terms of most draft picks total? Plus, Paige Scheiber, the former assistant of Michigan. you can coach Sharon Moore.

Does an interview with Good Morning America, lots of bombshells dropping in that one. Also, Ari and I take your questions. Dear Andy, dear Ari, more about the playoff and the show. Note the new playoff logo that they spent 18 months on. They just added some shininess. And what comes next? Plus, another question about which coaches

would have been better historically. with a 12-team playoff, and a random ranking. Popular songs adopted by college football teams that have become tradition. Everybody gives their top five. All on today's Andy and Ari on 3 presented by BetMGM. This show is sponsored by BetMGM, and if you're not already signed up, download that app.

Use the code CFB when you sign up. That CFB is in college football for up to $1,500 in bonus bets. If you're already playing with BetmGM, they've got some goodies for you. Of course, the NHL playoffs are going on. The NBA playoffs are going on. In the NHL with BetMGM's hat trick jackpot, you have the chance to win your share of $10,000 in bonus bets. Just place an anytime goal score or wager.

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Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in seven days, in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Welcome to Andy and Ari on 3 presented by BetMGM. The first round of the NFL draft is in the books. And Ty Simpson was correct, Ari. We did the math when he was trying to figure out whether he was going to stay in college or go to the NFL draft. And we said, you need to be top half of the first round for this to work. And we said, if he's leaving and he's so confidently leaving, he probably has some idea that that's going to happen.

It happened. The rail. Took him at number 13. Yeah, and a pretty good situation for him, too, Andy, right? Because, you know, you're not going to be thrown into the fire right away. And you get to learn from who I think is probably the most underrated quarterback of my generation, right? I don't know how many more years Stafford has left, but Stafford is also coming off of an MVP season. So it was certainly the right move from a financial aspect.

I think it will, you know, it will turn out if he is an NFL guy, the right move from a professional aspect. so I think it all worked out well for him. But then after he was selected and everybody was doing the victory lap of, I told you, Ty Simpson was going to be drafted high. It got kind of weird, didn't it? Yeah, the press conference with Sean McVeigh and Les Sneed. McVeigh's the coach, Sneeds the GM, not nearly as jovial as their usual draft press conferences.

Everybody's breaking down the body language of McVe. I don't, look, maybe they don't agree on this. And maybe McVeigh want someone who can help the 2012-2016. Because the question with McVeigh is, is he even going to be the coach after Matthew Stafford retires? Like, are they kind of linked at the hip? And Matthew Stafford is 38, by the way. Let's point that out. But they, like, the Rams have a very good team.

They just got two starting cornerbacks from the chiefs, one via trade, one via free agency. Like, they feel like they are primed to contend for the Super Bowl right now. Like if you were the head coach and you have a team that you feel like is fairly close, if not already to a Super Bowl contention standpoint, and you're picking at 13, there are probably pieces that you think you could get at that moment that could get you over the top. Now, if you're Sean McVeigh, what's best for Sean McVeigh, if he isn't going to be there long term, might not be the same thing as what's best for the L.A. Rams. So like that is kind of where things go.

And this isn't a question of whether Ty Simpson is worthy of the top 13 pick. I mean, I was looking at the pre-draft betting odds and BetMGM had Ty Simpson's odds going down as the day was closer. Like it kind of felt more imminent that he was going to be a top 15 pick. And, you know, it was shocking to see it happen, but it wasn't as shocking if you were reading the T-Las. But I don't know if it's that shocking. I mean, we said it months ago that. this is a smart guy. He's the son of a college football coach.

He's probably going to be pretty well advised on this. He's not making this decision in an irrational fashion. He's going to be making it with as much good information as you can possibly make. So I thought when he went pro, that was him telling us, I know something already. or I have a very strong suspicion or I don't look they're never going to guarantee you anything that you're going to be picked in a certain place. But I would imagine the information he got back is there is one or more teams that would love to take me in the first round. Because there were also thoughts that if the Rams didn't take him that the Jets would consider taking him with their next pick.

And they were they were picking fairly soon after that if I recall correctly. So, you know, I think that it certainly is an interesting dynamic because, you know, weren't there reports out there that Miami was interested in paying him a lot of money to come play the final year there. Correct. And look, he was always welcome back at Alabama. This was not a case where Alabama was telling him to go. Like he could have been Alabama starter next year too. One thing about the Rams in general, because they're weird.

Like they're the ones that said F them picks a few years ago. They've never been a traditional drafting team. Remember they traded with the Falcons a couple of years ago. and the Falcons traded up to get Michael Pennix Jr. One of the pieces of that trade was this pick that they used on Ty Simpson. So they may have been viewing that as a bonus anyway. Yeah, you know, but I would understand Sean McVeigh's frustration because if you feel like you can get somebody that can change a game right now,

I mean, because like, seriously, it might not be two or three more years before Ty Simpson gets a shot. And that's what our friend, Booger McFarland said. That's what he said on the broadcast. That's what he said on Twitter. Like it doesn't help the 2026 Rams. But I don't have a problem with doing this because here's the other part of this. It may help the 2026 Rams. You never know.

Yeah. They have a 38-year-old starting quarterback. He's the MVP though. What if he gets hurt, Ari? That's true, but that's true for everybody. Yeah, I know. But now they have a guy that they're probably pretty confident in, that they were confident in their team pick on.

Is there an adage in the NFL that says the best time to pick a quarterback is when you don't need one? There is, yes. And I mean, like the Packers did this with Jordan Love a few years ago. Did not extend Aaron Rogers the courtesy of a phone call like the Rams did with Stafford. Stafford got informed this was happening. Yeah, that actually turned out to be an issue for the Packers, didn't it? Not really because the handoff was pretty smooth. and Jordan loves pretty good.

I know, but like Aaron Rogers acted, kind of like a... Oh, he got mad, but it's Aaron Rogers. I mean, you're always going to be dealing with something with him. Yeah, that's true. So, yeah, I think they handle him. Yeah. And it'll be very interesting to see, too,

because I was like very entertained by the Dan Orlovsky commentary during the process of there's not that big of a difference between the number one overall pick Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson on tape and that we're conflating, you know, their talent. and the results of their team. And there were probably some things that Ty Simpson was working against that Fernando wasn't.

So it'll be interesting. And he obviously made the right decision. Congrats to Ty Simpson and Alabama fans. It's a cool moment. So let's talk about another trend that we noticed during the first round of the draft. The Big Ten, maybe. Ten first round draft picks.

That was the most, I believe, since 2006 for the Big Ten. They had the most. Now, most mock drafts, predicted they would have the most. The SEC came in second with seven. The ACC had six. The Big 12 had six.

And Notre Dame had two. And then the group of five, or excuse me, group of six now had one. How about Judarian Price sneaking into the end of the first round? Yep. How about Notre Dame having two first round running backs? They had a really good backfield last year. They did.

They did. And Desdarian Price is like such a Seahawk, isn't he? Like with the way that they run their, their. Well, and I think Judarian Price has a lot of, little bit of the same thing going with Carnell Tate. Like I've seen a lot of, because Carnell Tate was the first receiver off the board. And I've seen people, you know, are we sure Carnal Tate's that good? No, okay.

Cornell Tate was being compared to Jeremiah Smith. Like, Judarian Price is being compared to Jeremiah Love. Yeah. And if you, even if you aren't a generational freak of nature, that doesn't mean that you're not a first round talent. Yeah. Now, I think that the receiver situation was kind of hard this year, don't you, Andy? Yes. First, we can go back in the receiver conversation in a minute,

but let's talk about the Big Ten thing. You were the one that said you would be most interested to see the draft numbers because we have this constant conversation of is the big ten. It's the only measure of conference superiority I ever care about. So the Big Ten clearly has an edge in top end talent last year. Yep. Now, that is kind of deceiving at times because there are underclassmen that might be first round picks and aren't represented.

But top end talent, I think, is kind of a needle mover here. And, you know, Indiana having two, like, it's just who are those players that went in the first round for IU yesterday? The number one overall pick quarterback and the receiver that contorted his body in midair and changed his direction somehow. Yeah. He's got a game winning touchdown at Penn State. By the way, they have another great receiver that's probably going to go tonight. Which is kind of crazy to think that like Eliza Sherrod is kind of lower on the boards than I thought he would be. But it is. Cooper tests, his numbers are better. That's the reason.

So it'll be interesting, though, at the end of the weekend, I'm very curious to add up total picks. But if you are a person that has had a hard time, you know, acknowledging the change of the guard or at least the evening of the playing field between those two conferences on the field, it'll be very interesting to see what the NFL thinks. But so far, ACC having six and the Big 12 having six. is also a good measure of this. It is. If we're measuring the flattening out of the sport and that sort of thing, because that was like the Big 12's biggest problem for the longest time is not only were they not getting guys drafted,

their draft picks were just lower than everybody else's. So this is a big deal. And it's not like you talk about what happened with Texas Tech. It wasn't all Texas Tech. Like it's two homegrown offensive linemen from Utah. Yes, David Bailey was a transfer for Texas Tech. But then you've got, I've always butcher his name and I'm sorry, Ionachor, Max Ionacor from Arizona State.

And then Jordan Tyson was a transfer from Colorado, but had his most productive years to Arizona State, obviously. And then Malachi Lawrence was sort of the outlier in the draft, the one that most people, I think our friend Bruce Feldman was the only person I saw predicting him as a potential first rounder. but I mean that that's huge and then kind of Miami being back certainly helps the ACC and look there's no Florida state players in this you would expect historically that there'd be some Florida states

and Miami Clemson had two first rounders we can we can talk about Clemson having and they got two other guys in Avian Terrell and Tj Parker who are probably going to go pretty quick in the second round and like they're still talent there even though they're not winning. So this is interesting. This is like I really want to see how these numbers bear out. Now granted, we're going to want to see it over a period of years, but we were wondering

how the NIL transfer portal era really was affecting this stuff. This is the sort of data that helps us contextualize that. Yeah. And you know, the NFL draft is such an interesting place too because, you know, evaluation is is a really key part of this, Andy. Like if you're a guy who goes to Baylor, who was under the radar during the NIL frenzy, and then you develop and have one great year,

you can be a first round pick. Like, I don't think that the NIL era is going to stop the randomness of where players come from. I mean, if you go look at some of the, I don't know if it was quite as random this year as it's been in the past, but you had Indiana, Texas Tech, Notre Dame, Ohio State, LSU, Arizona State, Utah, Miami. This is a good question, actually, because one of the guys,

like this could have swung the balance of two conferences. What if Casey Concepciona stayed at NC State? And he was catching passes from C.J. Bailey last year rather than from Marcel Reed. Would that have changed anything? Maybe. Maybe. But he's still been a first rounder. And he might have still been a first rounder

because Casey Concepcion was good at NC State too. And Casey was taken in the first round because of his uncanny ability to like shake defenders, right? Like he's so, he's so slippery. He catches the ball and then makes space. Yeah, but I mean, like, I was like watching his highlight tape last night, and it was just, like, unbelievable how many times he broke ankles of the people covering him.

You know, and having a keen interest in the Cleveland Browns, and I was kind of curious if they were going to try to go for a pure number one big-bodied guy, more like a, like a Boston prospect, like at Washington. And Washington were going to go like into this slot-ish-type. but I mean, we've seen a lot of people who run routes. I mean, JSN's kind of like that, right? Where he can, you know, shake people and catch everything and get open. So it'll be very interesting, but he was the first non-quarterback skill position player taken out of the SEC, right?

So like, and that's usually not the case. And then the SEC, I think typically has had really good linemen on both sides of the ball. But they have had, I mean, maybe a lot of this is just Alabama just rating Florida for receivers for all those years. Right. I usually do have. And the best receiver from Florida, who grew up in Florida and next year's draft plays for Ohio State. Yeah.

But, you know, I think that top end talent tells part of the story. I think overall numbers that we'll find out this weekend. We'll tell more. Because I just want to see the depth numbers too. And I don't know. Like, remember, the SEC has had the most every year since 2005. That's an incredible run. I don't know if it breaks this time.

but I think it's safe to assume it's going to break here in the next few years. I mean, the Big Ten also has a change. Advantage, too. They've got two extra programs. Right, right. And obviously, if the Big Ten has more, that we need to do the division and do the how many per team.

But it's going to be interesting because they had 18 last year, and they still didn't have as many. So it is going to be fascinating to watch. And I think, again, it's still small data set. We still need more years of this to really figure out what's going on. But I think what we've told you on the show time and time again is the sport is flattening. Talent is hard to accumulate like that you can't stack the way you used to.

I mean, is there any more proof of that point, Andy, than a team having four of the top 11 picks in the draft and not winning a playoff game? Yes, exactly. In terms of the flattening of the curve thing. Yeah, I mean, and that's the thing, like Ryan Day's on the broadcast, cutting it up with Nick Saban. And I'm thinking, this is great for you. And it's a great advertisement for the program. But this also invites hard questions that you have to answer.

Yeah. How did you have this much more talent than everybody else? Because remember, you also have the guy who, unless somebody really needs a quarterback, is going to be the number one pick next year. Yeah, it's possible. He's the, Jeremiah Smith is number one. overall next year, but it's possible he's like number seven because six quarterbacks going front of him. I don't know what it's going to happen, like how it's going to happen.

But yeah, it's crazy. How holes exist on even deep and talented teams. But you said it during the season. You said Ohio State's problem is their offensive line. And you can put everything else around it that you want. if that group meets a really good defensive line, you have a problem. Well, guess what?

Indiana and Miami had really good defensive lines. And both ends. Miami had two first rounders on its defensive line. Yep. Those two ends. Akeem Messador and Ruben Bain wrecked Ohio State's entire team. And that's kind of the game of football, right?

So it was a, there wasn't a very dramatic draft though, right? Like there wasn't a lot of, there was no gas mask. A lot of crazy trades because no gas mess. Not a lot of crazy trades because everybody was just moving up one pick or so. It wasn't wild. And the most genetic thing about the draft, obviously, was Mike Frable and the situation that's happening there. But nothing with the talent, I don't think, except Ty Simpson, unless you think that was expected.

But I think we both kind of were on guard for that. Yeah, I expected him to go in the first round. I didn't know where in the first round. And look, this means that he. was advised properly and he made the right decision. So good for him. Yeah. It's a good situation to be in because you're not coming in expected to be somebody's savior.

You do get to learn from one of the best to the best. You get to play for one of the best coaches and quarterback developers. I mean, it's a great situation for Ty Simpson to be in. So congratulations to him. I don't think of worse things of getting paid that much money to be a backup quarterback, face no pressure out front live in Los Angeles. It's pretty good. him, am I wrong in declaring him the biggest winner of the first round?

Yes. I think the Dallas Cowboys are the biggest winner of a team, though. Getting Caleb Downs outside of the top tens, a pretty big situation for that. Yeah, that was really nice. But for a franchise that is that, you know, that big and has that many fans and is the topic of conversation everywhere all the time, like first take does a cowboy segment pretty much every day. Having someone like that who can be one of the faces of your franchise is gold. Yeah.

That is gold. He's perfect for that. And I am very curious to see which receiver from this class turns out to be really good. Like Mackay Lemon is a stud. You know, I think that Carnell Tate is very good. Jordan Tyson, you got to remember, was hurt for a lot of the biggest games that he would have played in. And he would have been a bigger deal probably. Can you imagine if Jordan Tyson had been able to play in the Big 12 championship game and the Peach Bowl that year?

Like, first of all, does Arizona State lose to Texas in the Peach Bowl of Jordan Tyson's playing? Yeah, I mean, it's kind of hard to remember that he was even out of that game. But now that you mention it, like, that's insane. Yes. And like, if you're the saints, you have to worry about that because your best receiver on your team is constantly dealing with concussion issues. So, like, I hope that he remained help. What if, what if it was, it was, you know, case of isolated incidents and Jordan Tyson is is mostly healthy for six straight years or whatever

it is hope yeah yeah I mean that that's the thing we that's how why this is so hard to handicap yeah I mean the New Orleans Saints drafted a cornerback named Marshawn Lattimore do you remember him I do for Sean Lattimore when I was covering Ohio State was injured for the first three years of his career there the entire time like I think he had a hamstring thing and you know he was just like not we thought there was a chance they were going to medically disqualify him and then Lattimore went to the Saints and, you know, became one of the best D-Bs in the NFL for a while there. So, you know, I hope that's the same situation for Tyson. We shall see and we will count up the draft picks Friday and Saturday.

We'll have that full total on Monday. I would imagine, unless there's some crazy spring game stuff that goes on, that that'll be something we break down on the show. And there are a bunch of good spring games this week. So you've got Notre Dame, Oregon, I believe it, Nebraska's this week. So there's a lot of, a lot going on. Off the field. Interesting interview on Good Morning America on Friday. So Paige Schiverr was the assistant to Sharon Moore. They were having an affair from basically the time she got employed by Michigan until last December when she

went to Michigan and said, hey, I have been having an affair with Sharon Moore, and they fired Sharon Moore immediately. Sharon Moore shows up at her house. You know that whole story. She added some context to it on Good Morning America. One said that she got pregnant during this affair, I believe it was in 2022, has a genetic condition where the doctors told her basically she would it would not be wise to keep the baby. And so the pregnancy

I believe was the way she put it with, you know, they didn't really have a choice. So pregnancy was terminated. So you've got that. In this interviewary, she says that she did indeed lie in the HR investigation

initially. When people came and asked from Michigan is something going on between you and Sharon Moore. And I think that's a pretty important factor because what have we been trying to figure out since all this started is who knew what when. Now, she made it very clear that everybody in the office knew about it and knew about it for a long time, including before Sheromore became head coach. Yeah. And like that's, we said this at the beginning when we first were reacting to the firing,

but this wasn't completely out of left field. These were rumors that you would hear. And a lot of times it's hard to differentiate like hearsay and what's actually occurring. But, you know, I am semi-waiting for the other shoe to drop at Michigan, which is who knew what, when, and what are the consequences for knowing those things. But I do kind of feel like you do kind of move into a different realm of seriousness. Not that it wasn't incredibly serious already, but when pregnancy starts getting involved, involved and all that sort of. I mean, it's a very off-putting and uncomfortable conversation to even

have. And I feel bad for her and everybody involved in them. I mean, it was just a terrible situation. Yeah, she said, and it's hard because this is all hindsight now and everybody's had time to get their stories, you know, together. The way she put it was that she felt like she couldn't break up with him because every time that would even come close to happening, he would say, I can't live without you and, you know, it's ruining my life. So now, I don't think we're going to get Sharon Moore's side of this anytime soon. But again, I'm with you. I want to know what they find out in the investigation. And she sort of makes it sound like she felt like she would not have been protected had she told the HR people initially, here's what's going on, that they would have acted

to protect him and not her, which is an issue that Michigan needs to sort out. If that is, if that's the fear and that's really what happened, then Michigan's got to figure out how to, how to change its systems so that the person who isn't in power. Yeah.

Isn't afraid. It's a systemic issue that needs to be eradicated from, from within, for sure. And look, it's not unique to the University of Michigan, by the way. I was going to say, and that's probably a situation that most places have. And frankly speaking, Andy, and I don't know if this is not kosher to say, but if they would have made the playoff and made the semifinal the year before,

I'm very curious how this would have panned out. Oh, look, it's cynical to say that, but you're absolutely right. If they had been run more competently by Sharon Moore, who we now know was not very good at dealing with all this stuff, then yeah it's it's legitimate to ask the question would they have protected him even more yeah i i think by the time she did tell the truth in december they were like okay great now we can fire him for free yeah just a really heavy interview and it's just you know i don't really even have an opinion more than you would have than of just like no there's there's not really

an opinion to be gleaned from it other than i would really i hope and michigan's hired you know outside law firm to look into this i hope that they actually do reveal what they learned and hold us everything to be held responsible for that too yeah and look we the public don't aren't really owed anything but i do think people who work at the at the school are oate something. And there's new people working there now under a new staff and, you know, given Kyle Whittingham's long history of being a competent, clean coach, I think they're probably headed in the right direction. But, you know, just for anybody who works at Michigan or any athletic program for that matter, you want to feel safe at work. Yeah. So you want to feel protected.

So I do, I do want to see what happens, what comes to that investigation, because Page Iver made it pretty clear in that interview that it was an open secret in the football office. And if it was, what took so long? Why did it take that long to figure it out? Or maybe it didn't take that long. Maybe there's a reason behind that. That's the part that needs to be answered. And with any luck, maybe we will get some answers from that part of it soon because it sounds like the investigation is getting close to wrapping up. So we shall find out. Now, more pleasant questions from you guys.

Dear Andy and dear Ari, it's Friday. It's our favorite day the week. And you guys had some very good ones this week. I'll start with one from Scott, who goes back to our college football playoff conversation from the other day. Scott says, I will disagree with Ari. The ranking show is for money.

It won't go away. And I won't watch it. So this is to your, this is in response to your disbelief that there's anybody out there that doesn't want rankings until the day fundamental misunderstanding

and miscategorization of what I said. No. You have said, is there anybody out there who doesn't want to hear the rankings before? There's a difference between not wanting to watch the show and not, you don't think that human being is going to consume the rankings every week?

He's going to just put it headphones on and not know what they are. But if you said Scott, would you rather them rank these teams now or don't rank these teams until that last week. Scott will tell you, I'll happily speak for Scott here, Scott will tell you he would like the rankings to be once on the day it matters. There are people like that out there. Scott, really appreciate you writing in and I'm so happy to have you as a listener of the show. You are entitled to that opinion. I think it's a rare one. I don't think it's as rare as you think. I don't. I don't

hold it myself, but I have heard from plenty of people who would rather it just be the day it matters. And that's it. Let's dig into this because I don't want to go back into the fact that every single thing that we do on our entire lives is given a system where we can gauge progress on what we're doing. Well, no, there's still be rankings because people love rankings. Like there would still be an AP poll and all that. I don't care if you want to watch the show. Don't watch the show. My thought process is if they got rid of the show, I would be fine with it as long as every two. Tuesday night, we got a list of the rankings.

But if they get rid of the show, you wouldn't get that. The rankings exist to make a show. And he is saying that it won't go away, which I've always agreed with. I know it won't go away. They're contractually obligated to make the show. ESPN wants the show. They need the ratings. And I actually think that a hidden piece of this isn't just for the ratings of that given show.

I think it's to try to funnel more viewership into basketball. Oh, well, that it makes its own gravy. And their studies have shown. their internal studies have shown when you put a little number next to a team's name, especially they're playing another team with a little number next to the name, it increases viewership.

Yeah. Number one versus number four on the preview that you see on Wednesday night for the big Saturday night game does hit a little bit better. Yep. Akes are important. Which they would just use the AP poll if they didn't have that.

I also, Andy, just completely disagree with the notion, too, that like a team would, like, by not revealing the rankings and they just do it one time, the teams wouldn't be blindsided at the end. Teams would still be blindsided. Oh, 100%. It's not like that would eradicate like surprises. Let me just unpack this one thing real quick.

Okay. Because I think it's important. Notre Dame fans last year felt a certain way about their ranking. They went through the entire year, feeling a certain way about their candidacy for the playoffs. And then at the end, they had the rug pulled out from underneath them. And I think that that created, not just for Notre Dame fans,

but for general fans, of the sport that they are making up rankings as they go and they can just change it at the end and they have done that multiple times during the 12 year history of the playoff. And I think that that's a fair of criticism for sure. What I push back at is if you think that they're just making stuff up on a week-to-week basis

for a show and that they're not actually having a good faith attempt on a weekly basis to rank. Oh, I think they're having a good faith attempt. I just think sometimes they do it wrong and do it stupidly. Yes, but I also want to be privy to them doing it wrong. Yeah. And I don't know about this.

And I want to ask you this because I don't know the answer to this. But do you think the constant scrutiny that they had coming at them for misranking Notre Dame in Miami has at all, even 1% of an impact of the way that they voted at the end of the year? I'd like to think they just came to their senses. But no, I mean, yeah, I would think that they're not, look, they don't just. get put in a bunker. Yeah. In between those rankings, they have to go back and work. So yeah, they care takes conference call questions. He's very aware of the tenor of the questions.

Hey, can you explain in great detail why Notre Dame is ranked at a zero sense. How about you tell us why you did it? Yeah, exactly. And I think that that also is a lost part of this. Don't you want to be privy to the idea that they're making a mistake? If you order a pizza and the guy who's delivering it has a GPS at a car and he takes a Why does everything come back to pizza deliver this discussion for you?

If you order an Uber and the Uber's coming to pick you up and they take a left when they should have taken a right, don't you want to be aware of that? We're all aware of all the things that are happening around us at all times. And like you're laughing at the pizza thing. The reason why I keep using the pizza thing is because it's down to pizza. We want progress on our pizza. Things that little in life we want progress on. I ordered a Jimmy John sandwich to the lobby of the playoff meetings. this week. I wanted to know when the mother ever left the restaurant with my sandwich so I could

gauge when he was arriving. Who are these people that just want to live blindly? Like it doesn't exist. If it did exist, nothing we have a process report. It's not you. But Andy, every single thing in society is designed that way for a reason. People want information. The entire internet exists because people want information. You say this and you say everybody, okay, I'll give you my Sam's Club example, which I've given to you many, many times, or my Chick-fil-A example. Chick-fil-A has an app. You can order Chick-fil-A on the app,

order what you want, park at Chick-fil-A, and you walk in, and the bag is right there, and you grab the bag, and you walk out, and you're in the restaurant for 30 seconds tops. Morons will sit in the drive-thru for an hour. What do they?

They do. What did you call them? Oh, they're morons. That's fine. Okay. Sam's Club. Who want to be? Sam's Club.

You can scan the item with your phone. Scan every item with your phone and then pay before you leave. And you just walk through. And now they've got it where the person barely even checks your receipt. You walk through these two arches and they read everything. Are you promoting theft? I am not. Okay.

Because they'll get you. But I still see lines of people waiting to have an employer. scan each item on a register. There's a lot of people out there, Ari, who don't view the world the way you and I do. Yeah. Well, I think that's different to a certain extent because some people view like using technology

and incorporating technology as a hassle. And we'd rather wait in line for five minutes. They'd rather wait in a drive-through for an hour and download the app and create a username. Yeah. No, I understand that. There's people for whom time is not valuable. But Andy.

That's a them problem. When your son is in high school, you get updates on his grades. When you update your phone, you get updates on how long it takes. When you get a package in the mail, there's a tracking number to tell you what city it's in. Everybody wants to know what things are. I won't say everybody. I know it's a toxic trade of mine. Most people want to know how things are going.

And if you were a Notre Dame fan, your experience last year might have been better at the end when you were left behind Miami because you didn't know that they were doing it. Yeah, you're ultimately right. Your ultimate point is correct. If they had correctly ranked Notre Dame the first time, none of that would have happened. So your preference to not wanting the ranking, Scott, is your preference. But at the same time,

what if Notre Dame would have gotten in last year because there was no progress report for us to be like, hey, what's wrong? What's going on here with that? If you order your Uber and he takes a left instead of a right and he gets there 15 minutes later because he doesn't know where your house is, you might not ever know it because you don't have progress,

but don't you want to catch the mistake before it becomes permanent? I don't know. I just, I think it's very important. The show, whatever you, if you don't care about watching the show, there are plenty of people who don't watch the show and just look at the list when it's out. Our friend, Rich has a new idea for the show. You ready?

This is from Rich. Do you think this would work for a new ranking show? Display the rankings, then have AI, Rowdy, Roddy, Routy Piper, host a Piper's Pit with a fan-based representative of the 13th ranked team. Have AI Rowdy ask a couple questions about why they should be ranked 12th. When they are done, have AI Rowdy smash a coconut over their head and say, not good enough. Is this more entertaining and as informative?

Yeah, well, the thing that the problem with the show is, and this was a big conversation at the meetings in Dallas this week that I was at, and it was just me, Ross Dellinger, the guy who framed me for eating plays that don't belong to me. Yeah, I was going to out him. I'm not going to let him get away with it. I've been thinking about it for 24 hours. You can't throw me out of the box.

I mean, he said it on the college football and fire inquired podcast. Not everybody who sports network starring Andy Staple, Stephen Godfrey and Ross Dillinger. He's a he's a backstabbers what he is. But I'll say, but we had a conversation. We even asked Rich Clark. And I want to ask you. Okay.

What would you, because they're going to change the show. In fact, I think it's an important thing to Yeah, Rich Clark, by the way, the executive director of the CSC. But he, the show was originally designed for the 14th field. Okay. Now we have a 12 team field. It's not the same system anymore. And it's been over a decade of doing this.

It's probably time for a refresh, right? I think everybody would agree that there are things that they would like to change about the show. Maybe that means less attention to the committee chair. maybe this means different order of revealing. I don't know, but my question to you, Andy, is if the show is going to change, and I have it on pretty good authority that at least the conversations behind the scenes of changing are occurring, what do you think would make the show better if you care about the show and improving it? I mean, Rich's suggestion of AI, rowdy, rowdy, Piper, Pipers, Pizz, good, little knit,

a little niche, like you had to have watched WVF in the 80s. but the AI suggestion is not terrible. Have you seen the AI Mr. Rogers and Tupac videos? Oh, yeah. AI Mr. Rogers and Tupac hosting the rankings reveal would be a lot of fun. I like the idea of having a fan representative

asked the question. Like, this is what you do if your ESPN, you kind of figure out, who's the likely pool of teams that'll finish 13, 14, 15 in that week's ranking. And you have a fan queued up. And look, it doesn't have to be live

for them to interact with the chair. It'd be great if they did it that way. And have them ask the question. Have them ask the question of the chair. The chair's not responding to Reese Davis. They're responding to the customers. Yeah. Because, like, my personal opinion of this,

says, Andy, is all I care about is the top 25. How it's delivered to me is, you know, whatever. Like, it's cool to be able to react with it. And I like how they're dramatic about here's 20 through 25 and first and all that stuff. But like, the list is the only thing that should matter to anybody. And if you have criticisms of the show, that's, that's fine. But I feel like the criticisms of the show last year are all secondary issues to the number one fundamental issue, which is they messed up for half for four of the five reveals and when they finally corrected it people were blindsided by it. So, but I'm happy they did. I'm happy Scott that we knew that they were messing it up throughout the entire year so that at

the end and they got it right. And I don't know, I'll take one percent credit as a media force and a fan for at least influencing the thought process because if you ask the same question every week, why is this happening? They have to go back into the room and ask everybody else, why is this happening? And eventually, I think that that can, you know, influence them to a certain extent. So, you know, and by the way, Andy, our job at the very core of it is to be a conduit for fans to reach the people in power. Like, that's why we exist.

So, you know, my opinions are my opinions, but my opinions are also usually formed whether you agree with them or not in the thought process of for the good of the fan in the sport. And producer Rivers sent us the clips of us reacting live to that first ranking show. last week. And, you know, it made no sense. We said it in real time. And so we weren't the only people. Like, I'm sure a lot of you were at home feeling the same way. So I just, I feel like most people, I don't want to say everyone, I'm going to work on that.

But unless you were a Notre Dame fan with a rooting interest for how it went down last year, I think most people acknowledge that they made the right decision. No? Right. And the thing is, this could happen the other way. with Notre Dame being the one that won the head-to-head and getting ranked behind the team that they that they beat. And if and when that ever happens, Notre Dame, you might not want to hear this for me.

We'll be on your side in that case. I'll be fighting like hell to make sure that it's justified and that you're in. Yeah. This wasn't a Notre Dame thing. This was a ranking at right thing. And we've said that a thousand times and you might not believe it because you want to believe that people hate you and your teams and that's fine. But, you know, I think the thing.

People really do hate them. There are people who do that, but you trust that hopefully the professional people that are doing this for a living aren't viewing it the same way. Yeah, I know. But we'll see how it goes, but I always want to know where my food is and if they're messed, if they messed it up. It always goes back to pizza. All right, this one's from Arthur and Atlanta.

Ari and Amy, sorry, I'm a little behind on the episodes, but just heard you all talk about the coaches and programs that would have benefited the most had they been playing in the current 12 team CFP era. I submit Mark Ricked as the one that I can't believe neither of you all mentioned. At least half a dozen of his Georgia teams would have made the 12 team field with several 2002, 2007 and 2012 especially having really good shots to win it all. What might have been for one of the truly great men in recent college football coaching. This was a terrible omission on our part, Ari.

It was. Terrible omission. Like Arthur is exactly right. Perhaps no one would have benefited more from a 12th. team playoff than Mark Rick because I think he wins the national title in 2007. There's a really good shot. He wins it in 2012. 2002, yeah, maybe two.

That would have been interesting, although those Miami and Ohio State teams were going to be pretty hard to beat for anybody. But this is such a crazy sliding door situation because if we think about it, Mark Rick's whole career arc looks different at what eventually became the end of it. And I'm talking about him getting fired after the 2015 season because there's a really good chance if there's a 12-team playoff for all of that, that he won, that he's got maybe two national titles on his resume. He's made the playoff fairly recently.

They made, I think they were 10 and 2 that season in the regular season. He got fired. Yeah. So they're probably making the playoff that year, in which case they won't be firing him. And why did they fire him when they did, Ari? Remember who also had a job opening and who was interviewing for it? South Carolina was about to hire Kirby Smart. That's why that happened.

So think about it from a sliding doors perspective. Does that mean that Kirby Smart would have been South Carolina's coach? Because Mark Rick would not have been fired in that situation, or at least not at that time. Andy, if you open up the sliding doors, you have a pretty big universe of coaches that might have one-one. Like, it's like you think about the biggest beneficiaries, but how many coaches had one really good team that they didn't have a shot to break through that 101 on national title? And it's like I said when we talked about it last week, like Dan Mullen probably doesn't get fired when he does at Florida because he's at least got a couple playoff appearances on the resume. Yeah. Even if he had the same bad year in 2020.

I don't think he gets fired then. Yeah, I still like my answer the best, but this was a huge omission. Yeah, we screwed that up. And I'm sorry about that. And to echo what Arthur said, and Arthur's a Georgia fan, Mark Rick, one of the truly great people, like great guys.

And so I wish he did have a national title on his resume because he was really good for a long time. And that, I think 2007's the team, like, because remember, that's the year the two lost LSU team beats Ohio State. National title game would have been, would have been Ohio State Missouri, had Missouri not lost to Oklahoma and the Big 12 championship game. National title game could have been Missouri, West Virginia, if Missouri wins the big 12 championship game and West Virginia beats Pitt in the backyard brawl. Didn't like four teams on the top five lose at the end? Yeah. that year.

Yeah. And so, because, yeah, going into that Saturday, if, well, it wasn't Chaw because Oklahoma was, I believe, the Vegas favorite in the Big 12 championship game. But if the higher ranked teams had won those games that day, neither LSU nor Ohio State would have played for the national title. Yeah. That's a, thanks for checking us on that. And this is the beauty of the show.

the mailbag show is if we say something that we forgot, like we're not, I mean, Andy, more closely perfect to recalling everything than I am, but if we do have an omission or an oversight, we want to be told about it. That's a bad omission right there. I mean, it's a big sport and a big world out there. Like, we, you know, there's a lot to consider. But Mark Rick certainly should have been mentioned and I'm happy he finally did it.

Yeah, and it just, you know how much I love the sliding doors things. J.D. Pichel and I had gone back and forth. I think we may be doing a segment next week on college football sliding doors moments. You know how much I love those. I did the big long column at SI years and years ago about what if Chris Leak had gained one more yard on a third down run. Didn't you do one at the athletic too? Like the butterfly effect of a certain. There was one at the athletic that you did.

I've done multiple ones. Yeah. And the one I did it at SI. I also did what if Mike Leach had gotten the Key West High School head coaching job in 1996? Like that would have been pretty crazy. But yeah, it's amazing. how different things are. One, I think, involving Mark Rick, would be,

what if Georgia puts it in the end zone on that last drive against Alabama and the SEC championship game in 2012? Like, what does that change? I think that would have changed a lot. So, yeah, it's going to be, it's fascinating. And I wonder if the 12 team, like, takes those away or adds more?

Well, you're going to have more teams in the mix. So it'll add more. But also once you're not in the 12th team playoff, it's harder to envision a world where you would have gone on to win the national title. Like that's a team that might have won in a little bit of a fluky fashion. Yeah. And that's the only is going to win three or four in a row. I have with like assigning Mark Rick,

the national championship in any of these years is that they did lose twice for a reason too. You know what I mean? Right. And it's hard to like assume they were going to go win four in a row in the playoffs. The reason the 07 Georgia team I bring up. is they were so good at the end of the season. They got so much better as the season went on. Like they got demolished by Tennessee that year.

It made no sense whatsoever that game. But that's why that Georgia team didn't play for the SEC championship. But they got better as the season went on. And I think that's the one thing the old system did not. Like that Georgia team was reminiscent of the 24 Ohio State team that was a different team at the end of the season. Yeah. Or was a different team of the playoff than they were in the last game of the regular season.

For sure. So great question. Yeah, great question. All right. This one's from Warner. And he's an Oregon fan. And he says, dear Andy, Ari, I worry that the ducks could have struggles that mirrored last year's Penn State and Clemson teams. Preseason hype with quarterbacks coming back and upperclassmen returning for one last ride.

What worries me is twofold, replacing three starters on the offensive line and the consecutive playoff letdowns. To borrow Ari's phrase, getting your. door is blown off is not the ideal way to finish the season. Is this the year Oregon gets over the hump? P.S. random ranking idea, buddy comedy movies from the 2000s. Look, it's stepbrothers, right? That's it.

Number one is stepbrothers. One of the single greatest achievements in the history of American cinema. Yeah. And Talladega Nights might be number two, and that's also Will Ferrell and John C. Riley. So... I get the Taladiga Knights is Carnell Tate.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Step brothers is Jeremiah Smith. Yes. Yes, the Catalina Wine mixture is Jeremiah Smith. Just because you're not, just because you're not stepbrothers doesn't mean you're not great. Exactly, exactly. And so for Oregon, you've lost the national title winner in humiliating fashion each of the last two years. I do understand Warner's concern having to replace three starting offensive linemen.

I will say that if you look at Oregon this year, not a ton of revamping through the portal. They're bringing Corey Parrots from Minnesota, but a lot of what Oregon did is they're bringing back dudes that they've been developing all along. And that specific player you just mentioned also like is kind of a luxury edition. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, like the Penn State thing was so weird. Yeah. It's not something that's very typical. And I'll bring up something I brought up on the show a couple days ago. Remember we're talking about the NIL budget for Penn State and 24 was $7 million, then it jumps into the 20s the next year. Like Penn State underwent a philosophical shift. And I think that had to do with what happened.

I think that that affected what happened last season. Oregon has not shifted philosophy at all. Morgan is operating under the same philosophy that they've been operating under since the NIL era started. Also, Penn State was relying on a quarterback with a high ceiling that hadn't reached that ceiling yet. Like, Dante Moore would have been a top five pick. Like, I think that they're very different. Yeah, we've already seen Dante Moore be successful. And the Ohio State lost in the Rose Bowl, yeah, you got shredded.

I am less concerned about the way they lost to Indiana last year because they had no healthy running backs in that game. they had they were never going to have a chance in that they got beaten by indiana pretty good i don't think that even though the score was what it was i don't do you think that it was as bad as the year before because i don't i don't either because we saw them play indiana with a healthy team and it was a fairly close game when when you have no healthy running backs people forget it's not that you just it's not you can't run the ball you also can't protect quarterback yeah it's a it's a pretty big you know and I don't know if like, I just don't think if they had two healthy running backs, they would have lost convincing. They would have lost in the end, I think, in that game, but it would not have been the blowout it was.

Yeah. And I think that, you know, the next step, obviously, is to win in the semis or. And any team, by the way, in that situation, any team, like, and this is, this goes back to what we keep talking about with this era, any team that suddenly loses their two best running backs and the third one has hit the portal and left. left, like, you were going to get blown out again like that. Isn't there also like an element of just bad luck? Because if Oregon would have been one seed lower or higher and on the other side of the bracket, they might have advanced further in the tournament and still lost to Indiana by 30 at the

end of the road, but you would have been achieved improvement. So with Miami and Ole Miss for the other teams, two teams that were left, Oregon with no healthy running backs was going to lose to all of those. And you know what? Actually, maybe it's lucky because if you would have lost to the other teams, at least you get to say you lost the national champion. I don't know. I just,

college football is strange, and I know that it's an unfortunate event of two years in a row, kind of feeling the same thing happened, but at the same time, like, they're also very talented in, they have still been one of the most talented teams.

They did not shift their philosophies dramatically. Like, they're just doing the same thing they've been doing, which is putting together a really good roster. Like, I think, I think they're going to be, Now, look, if they get blown out in the playoff again this year and they don't advance any further,

then we'll have to ask that question, like, are they ever going to get over the hump? But I don't, I think as long as they keep putting a really good team on the field. Oregon, Oregon fans, you watched the draft last night? A lot of players in the top 15 of that pick that you had to, that you lost to in those two games. Mm-hmm. And you're going to have a lot of those in the next few drafts. Yeah. So the Jets for picking a tight end two years in a row, by the way.

More. And Oregon duck, no less. Morgan Duck. And I'm sorry, Kenyon, Sadiq, enjoy New York. It'll be a, at least you'll have a good view. I hope it works out for you, but he's a really good player. And we how many times we said he was the biggest freak on the team last year? Yeah.

And then he didn't have a top. And then he just mentioned Corey Parrots, who they brought him to replace him, sort of the same situation. You know, developed at another big 10 school. You bring him in. He's going to burnish his draft credentials, and there you go. But I would remain hopeful. Texas fans are hopeful, right?

I kind of feel like Oregon and Texas fans are in the same boat right now. And should be. Both of them should be hopeful. Now, both of them, if they continue not getting what they want, should ask questions. Yeah, give it one more year. And then if this happens again, then we'll really dive into it. But I think that they should be okay. I don't know if this will be the year they actually get over the hump.

But one of the years, Oregon will be the best team. They just haven't been the best team the last two years. Yep. I do think they're headed that way. And I think on paper, they probably enter this season with the best roster in the country. Yeah.

Maybe I'm wrong. But they're certainly, yeah, they're certainly in the top three to five, if not the top one. Okay. Random ranking time, Ari. The college football uniforms, very, very controversial ranking.

Now we go to the top songs in college football. Now, I will point out, this is not the top fight songs. These are popular songs that have been adopted by schools for various different reasons. So we'll do fight songs another time. We will do the victors. We will do, well, producer River Rocky Tops, not actually the official Tennessee fights. Well, we'll have to put it in that category if we can't do this one. Yes, yes.

But so that's not what we're talking about here. We were talking about songs that have been adopted by the fan base, either organically or as something that they tried in the stadium once and it caught fire and everybody loved it. This was so much fun. I made a big long list of these the other day. There were more than I thought, and it made it really hard to parse.

So we each did a top five. Now, I want to add that this was a much harder, random ranking for me personally because I haven't had the benefit like Andy of seeing all of them or most of them. So, but I have seen and I went to YouTube while ranking them yesterday and watched clips of them. So I'm trying my best to rank them fairly. But obviously there's going to be an inherent bias for the ones that you experienced. So I just wanted to put that PSA out there for my. And the other one, I will point out because I think the Ohio State fans are going to get mad about this, and the more I think about it, maybe they'll be right.

I didn't have Hang-on Sloopy on our list of, like our master list. And we did have other songs that the school bands play. It's not just you take the pop song and you pipe it in. So maybe that's because they've been doing Hang-on-Sloopy for so long that you almost forget that, you know, this is a pop song that they took. you do forget that you would think that you think Hang on Sloopy is like when I first started coming Ohio State I thought Hang on Sloopy was written by an Ohio State student

or something I didn't realize it was a rock songway stole so but my list was more predicated on the ones that pumped in and became tradition at a certain time so like that's why yeah all of I don't have a single one to band plays on mine because like

one of the ones that or two of the ones and maybe they're on somebody's list neck LSU, Tusk, USC's band plays it Fleetwood Mac song. So,

all right, let me go with number five. We go to Tuscaloosa. A band from the state of Alabama called Alabama.

But the activity in the song, which is some naughtiness going on in a truck, takes place in Tennessee. Dixieland Delight. This is a spectacular one.

They had to ban it for a while. because fans added naughty lyrics to it or nutty stuff in between the lyrics. And that makes it even better, in my opinion. And the fact that when Tennessee does beat Alabama and things that they immediately fire up Dixie Landolite just reinforces how cool it is when Alabama does it. Yes. Yeah. That's a good pick. That is a good pick.

I feel like every SEC school has their own rendition of this song. of like what they what they chant which school they're chanting at Tennessee definitely had theirs so good pick good pick okay go ahead River all right my pick we've alluded to it but I'm going with Tusk at USC I really didn't know about this song

until we mentioned it earlier in the week and I went down a rabbit hole this is awesome this is one of the best traditions I think I've ever seen because a 1979 Fleetwood Mac song and the USC band is in the original music video of this. And I didn't know this, but it's very cool. They had Mick Fleetwood performing it with the USC band not long ago.

It is very, very cool. And if USC, like, if they can just be a dominant powerhouse, that song will just hit so much harder with the band. You know the problem I have with this? What? Is that USC's fight song is so elite. It is good. Anything that isn't that seems secondary to me.

like that dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun is it the best like i don't know it's the best college we don't fight song rankings or later yeah but the ucela sucks yeah that's just good that's just good the adding of like the hidden verse parts of it or the adding things in between same with the xie and land like like that's because if you're the fan of a musician like if you went if you went to a jimmy Buffett concert when he was alive. Like, part of the fun of him playing Margaritaville is you doing salt, salt, salt, when he talks about the shaker of salt. Like, and then he has the hidden, like, that stuff is what makes it fun.

It's also like the family tradition with Hank Williams. Exactly. Exactly. What do you have at number five, Ari? Calling Baton Rouge. Colin Baton Rouge. I should produce. Oh, so here's the thing.

my number one stadium that I have never seen a game at, LSU. And I want to change that, especially a night game. I watched YouTube videos of this. And I will say, I have a little bit of a soft spot for famous songs that are the town that you're in. Now, some of these on the list don't. correlate with the place. The fact that it correlates with the actual place in Garth Brooks sing. I just like, and the fact that it's probably the best from what I've heard,

night atmosphere in the sport. I don't know how this is not on the list for you. So I had a live Garth Brooks album. I think he put it out when I was probably in high school. And the call in Baton Rouge, I can't remember where they, and they must have taken it from a concert in. New Orleans or Baton Rouge. And he goes, I spent last night in the arms of Grover in Louisiana.

And that's how I've always remembered that lyric going. Now, when you're in the stadium when they do it, imagine a hundred thousand people saying Louisiana like that at the same time. It is incredible. And you have to get, you have to get brownie points when the thing in the song is you in your place. Like there are certain traditions that have nothing to do

with where they're from. The fact that this is like the heart of Baton Rouge. Yeah. And so I don't know if it made anybody's list. I don't think it did. Oklahoma State does Friends in Low Places. Garth Brooks was a javelin

thrower for Oklahoma State. He's a massive Oklahoma State fan. But it's calling Baton Rouge is probably the bigger of these. Yes. All right. I'm going to do

by number four. And I was here the night that this one took off. Probably eight or nine years after the song first became popular. So it is Sandstorm at South Carolina. So Sandstorm by Derrude comes out, turn of the century, dance songs, big EDM song. Everybody heard it in every bar and club. Alabama or excuse me, South Carolina is playing Ole Miss in 2009 on a Thursday night early in the season.

and Ole Miss is a top five team. They start playing Sandstorm near the end of the game, and the student section goes berserk. It was one of the coolest thing. They're hopping up and down in unison with the music, and they realized what they had, and so started playing it more frequently. And now it's become a whole thing.

And it is so cool at Williams-Rice Stadium when that do they play it do they play it all the time at random junctures yeah feels like it try not to overdo it because it you don't want to do it too many times because it doesn't hit it's hard

but it was it was incredible watching it happened and I will add this for if you want a little sandstorm fix today go to Instagram and search Sandstorm Wizard of Oz you're going to watch that clip the rest of the day. It's completely hypnotic. But same effect at South Carolina.

Yeah, no, this is a nightmare for opposing fan bases for sure. I mean, T. Bob Abear has said it before, like, this place gets rocking when they play that song. The deck sway when they really get going. Yeah. Yeah. And they get the towels going. No, it's good. And then they also have the chant with it. USC.

Yeah. So it's cool. What do you got at number four, ever? my number four is mr bright side over michigan um the killers it's just an iconic band and you mix the killers with the biggest stadium in the country you get an iconic song so uh yeah mr bright side it's a great song and uh number four how long is michigan gonna sing along song no matter what where no matter where you are wherever you are yeah but all of your friends in the stadium singing along yeah incredible how long have they been doing it there

Is this fairly recent? It's been like 15 years. The song came out in 2004, I believe. Yeah, I was young. Yeah. Yeah, the Big Ten schools taking early 2000 songs and adopting them. Because Penn State gets credit, I think, for Seven Nation Army and for Kerncraft 400 by Zomby Nation. Like, everybody plays those in stadiums, but, like,

Penn State fans chanting them, they get credit for. But the Michigan, Mr. Brightside sing along, I think is the most fun of those early 2000s adoptions. For sure. For sure. All right. Ari, your number four? Jump around at Wisconsin. I just think it's iconic.

And I think that it's probably maybe something that should be higher on the list because when you think of this exact category, isn't this the first thing that jumps into your head, literally? And I've been there and when you're there and you get to see it happen, like your drinks that are next to your laptop like start shaking. Like it really does have a very imposing feel to it. This one and the Aggie Warham are the only ones where you actually, they actually make the stadium shake. Yeah.

And I just think that jumping too has a huge impact when you have a bunch of people jumping up and down like that. And, you know, unfortunately for me, I've typically seen this with them losing. I can't imagine what it would be like if you were in a game. You were there in 2010, right, when they beat Ohio State. I was there.

That's right. I was at that one. That was my first jump around. That was the one where Terrell prior was the quarterback and they lost, right? It was. J.J. Watt was playing for Wisconsin. Yeah, it was.

Yeah. Yeah, I was there. Barry Alvarez was the AD at the time. Brett Beelan was a coach. Barry Alvarez in the post-game interview. area just kind of behind the scenes going we play real football here not of that fancy spread crap that didn't age well but the uh the song's iconic uh it's obviously a song from my childhood that just like was in happy gillmore and the fact that they're just it's a very old song now

yeah we're old we're certainly old but like is this not the thing that pops in your head when you thought of the category well yeah that's why it's not number four for me yeah All right. Number three. Number three for me at the risk of being a homer. It's okay. But I think if you see this in person, you won't feel that way. I won't back down at Florida. This is one when they initially said this is what they're going to do, that after they sing, we are the boys of old Florida between the third and fourth quarters, they're going to honor the recently deceased Tom Petty. This was back in 2017 right after Tom Petty had passed with one of Tom Petty's songs. I was like, I don't know how this is going to work.

I don't know how this is going to go. I also thought maybe it should be American girl. I was wrong. This was the perfect choice, absolute perfect choice, and it has become one of the coolest scenes, especially at night. When they get the lights going and everybody's waving around and, you know, hey, it is incredible.

It's a beautiful. beautiful scene at night. And so, yeah, that's one of that because you think, okay, these are hard to manufacture. And this was actually, like this was, you know, the Florida marketing department is like, let's try this. Because so much of it is how does the stadium react to it. And you never know how it's going to go. Yeah. And it was.

Now, look, Tom Petty, as someone who lives in Gainesville, is absolutely beloved here. He grew up in Gainesville. A lot of early songs were about Gainesville. So you were going to get, you know, a good tribute to him. But I didn't, this is going to be enduring. Like they're going to be doing this in 80 years. It's a very fine line to draw of paying homage to Tom Petty and having a really good song. And Florida has just nailed it.

Yeah, they did it exactly. They haven't done a lot right in terms of the actual football product during these years. But they, they nailed that one. Yeah. All right. Your number three? Oh, my number three is just Dixie Land Delight. we've already talked about it.

It's just badass. I've seen it in person. And like the name of the song makes you think of Alabama. Yeah. So it fits up. The band makes you think about it. My number three, we're going to go up to Penn State, Kerncraft 400. The We Are Penn State.

It's just iconic. This one, people get confused because they call it Zambi Nation. The band is, or band, the group is called Zambi Nation. The song is called Curn Craft 400. oh, oh, oh, and then we are then state. Oh, yeah. No, this one. This one didn't make my list, and I'm upset about it,

because I think this is the best environment to this day that I've ever seen. When they do this during a whiteout, it is unreal. And I'm happy you didn't go with Seven Nation Army, because I think Seven Nation Army is played in a lot of stadiums. This one feels more unique to Penn State. Now, a lot of places do play this song, but I think we're okay with, giving it to Penn State. Like Penn State, this is your song. You got the change. I think they do it better than anybody. It didn't make my list because it's not because it's not awesome and it's not

because that environment isn't insane. It's because it doesn't feel uniquely to Penn State only. And maybe that's a misstep on my part. But like I've been to a lot of places that play the song. Well, UCF, I think I think the Bounce House, they run out to it. I think I looked that up and saw, saw some videos of UCF running out to it. So there's a lot of schools that kind of integrate this song. I'm okay with giving it to Penn State. Speaking of which, runout songs, there's a runout song that has not been mentioned yet, and I'm curious if it winds up on anybody's list.

No, it's there. I think it's going to be there. Okay. Andy, your number two? My number two, shout at Oregon. And when you know the backstory, it's even better. What famous movie was filmed on the Oregon campus, everyone? Animal House.

That's correct. the Otis Day and the Nights shout scene from Animal House, it's essentially an entire stadium reenacting that scene. It's incredible. And when they get a little bit softer now, and then they get a little bit louder now,

it is awesome. Absolutely awesome. I was watching a video that some Ohio State people had made of this when Ohio State went there a couple of years ago. And one of the commenters on the video said, I was at this game, and I was prepared to have a Franklin

because at that point, I think Oregon was winning. I know it came down at the end. But he's like, I was prepared to have a frown on my face. But by God, I was singing by midway through the song. It's so infectious. And Austin is a great environment. If you've never been to Austin, if you've never gotten to see a game there,

you have no idea how 60,000 people can get that loud. But they know how to party there. It's not just that when they play the Joker and the Thief by Wolf Mother right before kickoff, that's incredible too. but the shout is just iconic. Shout's great. That's a great pick.

Am I up down? Yeah, Ari, Ari, you, or yes, you go. Well, it'll be quick. My number two is I won't back down. I went to the swamp for the first time ever with Andy before the opener last year, my first game covering for On 3, and I saw that for the first time.

I was like, holy shit. And they were getting their butts kicked by my head. Yes. I think that I, the thing that I respect about it more than anything, A, is I won't back down. is an important football thing. And they sing it pridefully even when they're losing.

Like that's the most important part of it, right? Like even if you're getting your butts kicked, the eye won't back down almost feels better because that's the message is that the team is still going to fight. And they didn't leave that day until after they sang it. Like they waited to sing it and then they went home. I would love to see it at night with them winning in a national championship berth on the line.

Certainly, I'm sure it's better that way. But when I saw it, I was like, holy crap, this is really cool. And like I was not even familiar with it really until I saw it. And I didn't. I was like and the fact that the man's from Gainesville, like it's perfect. No, that is good. All right.

So my number two and Ari's number one are the same. So Ari, I'll let you go ahead and get into your number one. Okay. My number one is Enter Sandman. And I think that was what you were alluding to, Andy. Yes. You know,

I think you might have jump around number one. I don't know. I do. But Enter Sandman is just iconic, man. And it's just a really great song for college football. and it's one of the coolest things I've ever seen. And I think they say start jumping. Yeah.

And it is, it's awesome. And I know it's not on my list. It was probably number six on my list. How is it not? Like, you're giving me crap for jump around, not being number one.

How was this not on your- You said jump-around's the one that you think about when you think of this list. That's why it's number one on my list. I think Enter Sandman also is in that category. Is it not? I don't know. I don't know.

I see, maybe because it's a running. run out song. Yeah, but I mean, it's iconic. This is. It is. It is the most iconic runout song. Yeah. You're going to get a lot of crap for this not being on your list, by the way.

That's fine. That's fine. I'll take it. I'll take it. Neither of you had shout. But I, yeah, I, yeah, I love this. Probably should have had it on my list. Would have loved to have seen Metallica play Lane Stadium last.

year. I saw a show in the same tour when they went to Tampa, but that's not the same as them playing inner Sandman at Lane Stadium. Yeah, that's awesome. And so Andy, you said your number one is jump around. Number one is jump around because I think with most of these, whether they happened organically or whether it was a situation where the marketing department decided to try something, everybody was looking for their jump around. Yeah. Wisconsin's true. this and and so off top of your head guys how many years old is jump around i would say 25 years old no it's older than that is it really it's way old 34 years old yeah man yeah yeah yeah you've they didn't immediately start doing that but it's been a tradition for a while you know you read those stats too of like people who were my age when i was in high school or was 60 now or whatever like yeah like freak you out like that's one of them so Yeah.

Yeah, time is moving, guys, and it's going quickly. I just remember the first time that 2010, Ohio State Wisconsin game was my first game at Camp Randall. And somebody told me, do not be unnerved when you hear the bolts creaking in the press box when the fans start jumping around. I'm like, what are you talking about? And then it starts happening and you hear, er, oh, my God, are we going to die? Yeah. Yeah. I hope they do annual sturdiness tests there. I'm sure they do. But it's kind of unnerving the first time. All right. And my number one was not on the list that Andy provided.

Country roads take me home. West Virginia. Yeah. This goes back to Ari's calling Baton Rouge. You got the name in it, or not the name of the song, but they yell it loud enough. This is just awesome. Yeah, this is a really good thing. Yeah, and a pretty big oversight. And it kind of like reminds me of the uniform debate guys where it's just like, well, this isn't on there.

And it's like, well, doesn't anything, it's awesome. Like, you know, it just, there's so many awesome things. This certainly qualifies. And John Denver never been to West Virginia when he made the song. Well, it sure sounded like you loved it. So, I mean, this is just great song. Great. They're great fans in West Virginia.

I hope they can turn it around and get better. But they win and do well. So I have been there and seen this, and it is spectacular. Yeah. And I feel much great shame. It's not on my list right now. Yeah, you're not a warm. Yeah.

Whatever any someone's number one is not on your list, like you have some soul searching to do. And like, this is, this is a great pick. Good job, River. Radio reminds me of my home far away. Well, now anything like, and this is, this goes back to the Mr. Brightside thing, too. but I think this is even better because it evokes the images of your home, you know, where you're from.

But Country Roads is an incredible sing-along song. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, it's great. It's awesome. So anything you can sing along at the top of your lungs. Exactly. And you can do that with that one back down too. Yeah, that's just great.

Yeah. And we have some honorable mentions. You all have any on top of your head? I mean, the rest of the left. Hang on, Sloopy is definitely one for me. Now, we did have a debate about Minnie Men and our good friend, George Stoya, and Eddie Radosevic. Had a little debate for us. This is probably the newest blood we have, but here's George and Eddie.

Andy, Ari, we're here to help. Is Miniman the Oklahoma official fourth quarter song? I don't know. It's one of those things. I think that it started last year. You started it. We made a social media push to have it. I thought it would be fun.

I thought I'd never in a million years imagined that 50 cent would be on the Oklahoma football field in a playoff game performing it. While Oklahoma was down 10 points, didn't hit as hard. But I don't know. I mean, it's certainly something they had to own Heineke come out to it at the spring game on Saturday. I don't know if it's something that's going to stick. I don't know if it can be, you know, I guess, polarizing wouldn't be the last. right word. To be clear, they've played this song for three games. Three games. So it's a long story tradition at Oklahoma.

Missouri, I think they played it, LSU, and then the Alabama playoff game. So it's not something that has been a, they tried to do the Toby Keith fourth quarter song, didn't really hit. And as much as everybody loves Toby Keith around here, you know, blaring should have been a cowboy or whatever you want to throw out there at the beginning of the fourth quarter. I think it was cursive of their red, white, and blue. Doesn't necessarily hit as hard as maybe some of these songs across the country would. But I don't know. I think they are going to try to do it moving forward.

It's going to try to become a thing. And, you know, the one thing that we didn't know when we made the social media push a year ago was that this was a song that resonated with last year's Oklahoma football team. It was something that they kind of used as a, I guess, a moniker. With the hard to kill. And the hard to kill as they made that college football playoff push. So is it something that's here to stay? I don't know. We'll see.

I would exclude it from your draft. just because they've only played it a handful of times. Now, if you did it again next year and OU did it throughout the year, and they won some games and it hits a lot harder than sure. But right now I feel like it's just like something they're trying to make the fourth quarter song. And I think we should note, as Oklahomaans, we do support 2A. So I don't know. It is so cool to see that clip.

You know, we're huge fans of both of those guys to do a great job cover. That's the reason it didn't make mine. It's just too new. But I think if we did this in 10 years, I'm going to predict the future. They're going to adopt that song. And if Oklahoma were beating Bama still, now, like, you have to remember the vibes in the stadium. Oklahoma was beating the crap out of Bama at the beginning of the game. And if they weren't losing by two scores when he came out, I think that would have been like an iconic thing.

thing to see. Or if they would come back to win. Yeah. If they come back to win, it would have been over. That would have been the unofficial theme song forever. But I hope that they keep doing it because many men in general is a very great song. And I also think that it's a very appropriate song for a stadium. And I also think that the hard to kill thing's cool. So like I hope that the hard to kill things stays at Oklahoma and they keep playing that song. But we were there. We saw, I didn't even know 50 cent was there, Andy. Did you know he was there? I didn't know what came out. before the game, something was coming.

Okay. And that was, given what had happened in the last few weeks and the theme, that that was the guess. But yeah. Yeah, when we saw jocistically on the AD before the game, and there were some whispers back while we, you know, after we got off, my mom said of, hey, you don't want to stick around.

Something fun's coming. So. No, that was good stuff, fellas. This is great. This was fantastic. I do think there'll be some controversy here. The LSU fans, they got Collin Baton Rouge on Ari's list. I am curious as to whether they want neck or not,

because that is certainly an adding your own lyrics situation there. But there's a lot of debate to be had here. And we're open for, other topics for sure that was fun though but i think and i don't think anybody did anything embarrassing today me no no i mean yeah see the thing is i like that we have different lists that we don't have a ton of overlap here this is this is something i was concerned about when we started doing these is all our lists would look exactly the same and and so far that has not happened so this is uh this is a robust debate. All right. Fun week. Fun week. Got spring games coming up. Notre Dame,

Nebraska. Got draft Friday night, Saturday. We'll have full numbers on Monday. Will the SEC's reign of dominance in draft picks end or will it continue? We'll find out. Talk to that.