Shutdown Fullcast - 40 FOR 40: The 2025 Sun Bowl

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

WWWWWWWWELCOME to the return of 40 For 40, our bowl preview series where every bowl game gets its own episode and each episode is exactly as long as that game deserves.Who decides what “deserves” means? We do! Thank you for askingNow through December 31, 100% of proceeds from all PTKU merch sales will be donated to Trans Ohio. Visit preownedairboats.com to purchase BRAND-NEW BLUE SHARKS GEAR #EXCLUSIVEThis episode was produced by Michael Ray SurberFullcast theme 40 For 40 intro arranged and performed by Russell PowellFullcast theme 40 For 40 outro arranged and performed by MattDID YOU KNOW: Spencer and Holly write Channel 6, a year-round newsletter that is mostly about football, until it’s notBefore the world ends (again), treat yourself to Jason’s critically praised novel and other workTravel in your mind palace to Phantom Island, Ryan’s new show with Steven Godfrey, which is not a college football show because another simply cannot existCheck out Surber’s band Killer Antz and his new show Podcasterino

Hello. I feel like when I start these, usually that I should apologize to people, that they're hearing my voice and not yours. Because they hear me instead of the welcome. And immediately it's like, God damn it. There are people who hear me doing the welcome and also say, God damn it. It's different. it's one disappointment and is one odd the bane of my existence again it's like oh the full cast is starting again another day but when it's me it's like this bitch anyway this is my way of saying i'm going to

get us through the sun bowl lore and then you can talk about the game which is what people actually want to hear about i have a token of sun bowl lore that i don't think we've actually ever talked about we have we have the lore of the sunbowl itself uh handjob hill we have the fact that this is the grand uncle of the mall. It's the second oldest bull game trailing only the Rose Bowl. I'm pretty sure it's the only one that still operates a large-scale pageant. We have, and I'm going to keep mentioning this every single year until it's not true anymore. I have a hair dryer that I got a Sun Bowl game swag in 2009 that still operates.

Still going. I think it's got like a solid state hard drive in it. We worry about many fire hazards in this home, but never that. But one that we've never talked about is, did you guys know the first conference tie in to the Sun Bowl, and Jason Ryan, maybe you guys have heard of this. Serber Spencer, I feel like you guys are probably with me and that you'd never even heard of this league. Do you guys remember the border conference?

Yeah. Yes. Well, fuck me. But that's only because the border conference is the exact kind of shit where it would be like, oh, we should be doing work. Let's talk about the border conference on a Wednesday instead. There is no disappointment in people having heard about the border conference. The fact that Ryan and I have heard of it indicates you have.

selected a good nugget to focus on. I agree. I agree. Let's go with that. Present day members of the border conference in their current forms, although they all used to be like something or other teachers college, would be, if you reconstituted it today, it would be fairly geographical and a pretty neat rectangle. It would be Arizona State, Arizona proper, Hardin Simmons, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern

Arizona, Texas Tech, U-TEP, and West Texas A&M, which is the one that's in Canyon, but is not Grand Canyon University. Yeah. And also, this is how I learned the original name of U-TEP. Does anybody know this one? The College of Mines and Metallurgy at the University of Texas. Bring it back. Bring it back.

That's so sick. That's some Harry Potter shit. Come! Come! Come! Anyway, this is a game that deserves a lot more grander than it's going to get because it contains what should have been two conference champions. But I really, I think we could agree the people's conference champions of two very different kinds of people, Arizona State and Duke, two teams that we all agree should have been in the playoffs.

Nobody, nobody argued that point. Hey, Spencer, is there anything about the football? Save me. Save the audience from having to listen to me, talk about the sun pageant. I'm just going to provide them with a little bit of necessary information. First of all, make way for the champs. Make way. Make way for the champs. Clear the way. Respect. The big man's coming through. That's right. Duke. Duke, that's ACC Champions Duke, who screwed the entire conference. And it doesn't matter because they get to go to El Paso.

That's right. They're going to be bringing most of their offense and that apparently in a bowl game littered with opt-outs and injuries is going to be more than enough here for them. When there's a meeting of Arizona State and Duke, you do think MENSA, but just not usually in this way. Two equally prestigious athletic and academic institutions. Dary and Mentsa will be there because, man, hey, everybody's like, oh, it's so wild west.

College football, it's not the same game anymore. Wow, you sound like every announcer in every bowl game. I do. Who killed college football.com. I do. And, wait, is that the, is that it? And you know what it does bring you? Is that the right one?

No, it's not. Okay. Darien Mensa is going to be making $8 million to play at Duke. And do you know what you get when you pay somebody $8 million? You get them to play in the Sun Bowl. You get to be middle class at Duke? That's right. You get to be middle class at Duke.

You get to have Cooper Barcate. Can he buy El Paso? We're getting there. Okay. He should write Kenny Dillingham, the big check. Kenny Dillingham's asking. Like, God damn it, you're right. I will step up for ourselves.

How far are we from a player paying a rival coach to go to another school? we're not having enough fun with this environment with this business environment yet uh this is also a thousand yard receiver cooper barcate will be participating all you need to know about cooper barcate he is very good what school does he play for well he plays for duke but he transferred from harvard which means that we'll probably have to his nickname is bad to worse we're going to have to either indoctrinate him or eliminate him as a threat because if he's been to both of those schools and eliminate him as a threat. This isn't the Independence Bowl.

No, but we're going to have to take care of him anyway. Remember, by the way, when you talk your shit about Duke, it wasn't just five losses, five sparkling losses, okay? Not champagne losses. They have to come from the champagne region of loss. Five sterling losses. Yes, five sterling losses. Five golden ring losses.

To really, to outstanding teams, right? Like, they lost to really good teams. Don't worry about it. Yeah. I have some news, by the way, but it should be delivered festively because I'm very, I'm very, very fond of, I'm very, very fond of this team. And I don't want them to, I don't want them to come into this, you know, sad, right? I don't want them to come into it. So where is this going? Well, because Arizona State really did kind of have to get through this year, like they had to improvise. There was a lot of scrambling. Kenny Dillingham did a really. really good job in terms of turning jeff sims who yes jeff sims on his like 7 000th year in college football is was productive and won games for arizona state after sam levitt went down uh sam levitt is going to be out of this game by the way both due to he got the double whammy both due to

injury and to um to opting he's he's hit the portal so uh so who does arizona state have besides Jeff Sims. Give him the Rudy Carpenter Memorial Rib Tape. Not much. Yeah. You have to get sacked 46 times to get... This is such a thorough roster evaluation

of 2025 Arizona State. I just wanted the adventure here of the Arizona State roster. Join me. Jordan Tyson. They're leading receiver. He's out. He's out.

He's not... This is their Space Olympics. Yes. Running back, Raleek Brown. He's not going to be there either. He's not going to be there either. How about exciting tight end? If you were wondering why Duke was favored by three and a half, this might be it.

Kishon Elliott at linebacker. He's not going to be there. Keith Abney, the second, 44 tackles at two interceptions. He's not going to be there either. Also, not there for Arizona State. Sam Levitt, apprehension, hit the portal. Zavian Alford. Oh, the romance.

He's out as well. He's out as well. And what about Max then echoed the right tackle who anchored that line? He's also out. He's going to be out as well. Everyone is out for Arizona State. Sun's out. Sun Devils out.

Yes, yes. There's one other opt-out, so to speak, that we need to talk about this game, which is the Sun Bowl, this year's Sun Bowl, will be the final ride for Gary Danielson. This is Gary Danielson's last game as a color commentator. Punch the Tony the Tiger, Gary. You know you've been dying to. Yeah. Do you want to hear somebody deeply disappointed that they didn't punt? Do you want to hear somebody deeply confused?

There's going to be so many points in this game. He's going to be so upset. He's going to be so appalled. This is the game that if he wasn't retiring before, would have retired Gary Danielson. Actually, one more thing before we get out of here again, is that a bunch of you are about to close. clutter up our mentions asking for

the Sun Bowl story. We already told it at the Atlanta Live show. If you don't know it, you missed it. Sorry. Travel through time. Travel through time. Or maybe support Jason next time. Sorry. Yeah. Maybe you won't opt out next time. Yeah. Unlike everyone at Arizona State.