The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - INSTANT REACTION: Carson Beck & Miami OUTDUEL CJ Carr & Notre Dame

Episode Date: September 1, 2025

John Middlekauff reacts to the Miami Hurricanes defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in their Week 1 matchup. John applauds Miami head coach Mario Cristobal for sustaining the lead when Notre Dame was rallying in the 4th quarter, and believes this early test against the Fighting Irish will bode well for Miami this season in the ACC. Next, John welcomes Jackson Groff to discuss Notre Dame’s outlook for the rest of the season. John then reacts to Alabama’s loss to Florida State and what that means for head coach Kalen DeBoer. John also applauds Florida State head coach Mike Norvell for getting a big time win after a forgettable season for the Seminoles last year. John wraps up debating whether some college football coaches should be on the “hot seat” after Week 1 due to their large buyout contracts. 02:16 - Miami-Notre Dame 09:48 - Chubbies 11:03 - John & Jackson talk Notre Dame 28:13 - Alabama Crimson Tide 34:12 - Florida State Seminoles 39:37 - Couch Scout: LSU-Clemson 43:35 - Hot Seat Watch? Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. What is going on, everybody? How are we doing? John Middilcoff, three-in-out podcast, just watch a little football because that's what we do during football season. And the Miami Hurricanes beat the Fighting Irish. in a kind of a boring game

then it got kind of thrilling but a big win for Mario Notre Dame's gonna be okay we'll dive into that I'll bring my guy Jackson on and he's a big Notre Dame guy I did a reaction video and podcast yesterday to Arch Manning

meaning I didn't talk about Alabama and Florida State and I didn't talk about Clemson and LSU so we'll touch on those games tonight and just some overall theories and just thoughts I had from the last 24 hours in college football and that'll be the game plan so hopefully everyone's had a relaxing labor day

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You know what's funny is sometimes during games, you know, this week, the early on in some of these games could be a little slow. So you just get on your phone, you're just Googling different guys. And I just went to the Wikipedia for Mario Cristobal. And in 1998, before his coaching career really started, he had just finished playing. He was GA currently at Miami. He was thinking about joining the secret service.

And he went through all the training, all the testing, and he got it. He was going to be a secret service agent. And he accepted the job. And he told the team and he told the players. And then he slept on it and he declined it. And he went into coaching. And obviously all these years later, almost three decades,

he's on an $80 million contract at his alma mater. And there is no disputing. This guy is an elite. recruiter. He became a star for Nick Sabin in the mid-2010s. He did an awesome job at Oregon, and you just watch the talent that he has in Miami. There is no disputing his ability to identify, recruit, and land. Now, obviously, that's changed over the years with NIL, but he can stack a team. You know, Dan Lannning, the cupboard, listen, I got to be fair, right? I'm hard on, not hard, but I just acknowledge the fact that Ryan Day took over a rocket ship. So Dan Lannning,

I mean, that team had a lot of talent when he showed up. Because Mario Cristobal could recruit. Now, can he win? That's a different question. And last year, a little like couple years ago with Brian Kelly, it's like he's got Cam Ward, he's got this incredible offense, and the defense is a joke. And there's always something with his teams. One, they melt down a lot.

And two, you just watch them from a buttoned up standpoint. They just don't feel that well coached relative to the highest level of teams. And tonight was big. Because if you would have told me before this game, I didn't bet on this game. because I thought it was a coin flip. It's in Florida. Anytime you get these teams that aren't from the South going to the South, it was a Boise State thing when they went to South Florida.

You're just getting, I mean, there's 91% humidity. It was hot as hell. So that's just going to be advantage Miami. Now, toward the end of the game, it looked like they were melting down again. And Notre Dame scores, then he scores again. And then it's a tight game. You're like, what's going on here? He's going to blow this game.

it looked like not only was he in full control, looked like he was going to win it going away. And it was just going to be another meltdown on the guy's resume. But at the end of the day, like, no one will remember because the guy kicks a field goal, his defense comes through, and Miami looks really good. And another star that kind of came out of this game, I don't know that much about him.

But the offensive coordinator, Shannon Dawson, last year he proved what he, Cam Ward was viewed as like a fifth or fourth or sixth round pick. Right, it's the reason at best, maybe like high fourths, round pick. It would have been pretty shocking after Washington State if he would have got drafted on the second day. Turned him into the number one overall pick. And the reason guys like me kind of liked the Titans this year is because of him. Well, Shana Dawson, like, he was the offensive coordinator last year. I'm taught, and I, listen, if you watch Cam Ward at Washington State,

there was no disputing his physical attributes. Like, he was really talented. A couple, when he first got there, you're like, this guy's from what school? Damn, who is this guy? I did not think that about Carson Beck. still not the biggest Carson Beck fan, but he looked way better tonight with Dawson calling the plays. Listen, if their offense is good again, which most teams aren't going to be as good as Notre Dame on defense throughout their, you know, this year on their schedule, I don't see how this guy doesn't either become a head coach in 26 or NFL teams don't start offering this guy an offensive coordinator job. So the one thing you say about, you know, Mario Cristobal,

clearly he can recruit and build this roster. His offensive coordinator, is really good. Back-to-back years, like they're going to be potent on offense. That little guy number 10, Tony, I mean, holy shit, keep an eye on that cat for the next couple years. And the question marks defensively, well, their defensive lines flying around. Their DBs made plays. It was really impressive. I mean, that was a big time win for Mario. Honestly, I'm pretty impressed with Notre Dame. And the one thing with Marcus Freeman, there were times tonight where I just thought, like, guys are kind of getting worked. You look like crap. And sometimes, times college coaches can be pretty emotional in basketball and football. They're always screaming.

They're just always going nuts. You know, in the NFL, assistants go nuts sometimes, but the head coach, he has to stay pretty even keel because the team's kind of looking at him. And the good coaches in college, now, Sabin was kind of an outlier, but you kind of got to contain yourself. Because if you get frazzled, if you're going nuts, your team's going to really fall apart. And Marcus Freeman kind of had a Belichekian thing the night. And I was like, You know, this guy, because I was down on him his first year when he took over for Brian Kelly. Remember, they had lost a Marshall, they should have lost a Cal. They just, it was like, they just looked really, really bad.

And what he's done, obviously, last year, even this year, they're really the David Shaw, Jim Harbaugh-Stanford team. They're never going to have elite wide receivers. Can't get them into school. But in terms of top-flight defense, their defense is going to be really good. I mean, Miami's probably top six or seven roster in the league. in the country. But, like, they're going to struggle to be a potent passing team. Like, if you notice, as the night went on, like,

they can't really push the ball down the field, beside to the tight end. So the way this team's going to have to operate is offensive line, run the ball with two-star backs, and get the ball to your tight end and manipulate passes to your wide receiver. But when you get down in that situation, it can be difficult.

And I just thought he did a pretty good job of, like, their team's pretty mentally tough. Like, this is not some fraudulent, You know, last year being an outlier season. I know they lost tonight, but to go down there in the humidity, to be playing like crap with a first year quarterback who, listen, like, any time that these guys make their first career start, I think people are going to be pretty critical at these big time programs.

But, like, we got to let it breathe a little bit. We got to give the guy some time. And that's a really, really tough opponent. But, like, they're always going to struggle outside. David Shaw and Jim Harbaugh did forever, and they were consistently in the top fight. they were consistently competing to win the Rose Bowl, to be in the BCS, to be a top three or four team in the country. And they just never had Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase. Like C.D. Lambs not going to school at Notre Dame.

So you've got to be buttoned up on defense, which they're going to be under Marcus Freeman. But tonight, you saw, especially toward the end of the game, that last drive, it looked like their tackles were gassed. I mean, that right tackle got embarrassed, you know. I mean, he got, it was bad. Now, was he just, you know, sucking wind? As Jimmy Johnson famously said to the Miami Hurricanes way back in the day, fatigue makes cowards of us all. And his big thing was always being the best shape, because the moment you get tired,

you could be David Goggins, you could be Chuck Lydell, or you could be me or you, you're just not as tough, and you're definitely not as mentally tough. And you just saw that right tackle, it looked like he was gasped. And this is what Stanford hung their hound. Their offensive lines were elite. so if Notre Dame is going to want to compete and get back to the national championship and just have a team that can win playoff games

because we know, I guess this year the seating has changed a little bit. They got to button up that offensive line. But they're going to have to win with their running backs and tight ends because as we saw last year, wide receiver is going to be a little issue. I did want to bring in my guy,

Jackson, who I know biggest Notre Dame fan I know probably beside Lou Holtz. Listen, last year, you play Texas A&M, you get a big win. Now, granted, you were playing a quarterback who barely could walk straight and chew gum. But, you know, this year, you know, down big, but come storming back. It's weird.

You know, in college now with the playoff, you're not out of it just because you lose a game. And I would say that for Clemson, obviously Texas. This isn't 2014. This isn't 2008. You don't have to run the table. Like you can, especially with your guys scheduled this year, unlike last year, you can afford to lose a couple games. But where do you stand, Jackson?

What do you think of the quarterback? I know you were hard on the offensive coordinator throwing those quick screens, but you don't exactly have Randy Moss out there. Yeah, you know, the quick screens. And then, you know, we kept texting in our group chat. It was like, when is, you know, Jeremiah Love going to get involved? He only had 10 carries. And CJ Carr actually had more carries than he did, which was kind of surprising.

And, you know, 24 Jerryon Price comes in. He's kind of that in between the tackle. downhill runner just to get some kind of momentum. But I thought CJ Carr played well. I mean, with all the new quarterbacks that we saw this weekend, Ty Simpson, Julian Sayan, Arch Manning, like one thing that, I mean, you know, too, like the young quarterbacks is the confidence between behind their arm.

And you saw him rolling back. And it almost got me flashbacks of Shador Sanders in preseason. You're like, oh my gosh, he's on the 30-yard line, makes that throw, the momentum switch over to Notre Dame. A couple fluke plays, I mean, the fumbles. and then the interception off of that guy's foot is something that's just going to roll their way. But you talked about it. I mean, Notre Dame's a tough team under Marcus Freeman.

This is Brian Kelly pre what he's got now and them beating Clemson with all these transfers and, you know, a veteran quarterback, they probably don't win that game. And you, we were even texting in the group chat too. Like, these are the games that Mario Cristobal loses. And maybe it's this year with Dawson and the defensive coordinator they got from Minnesota where he kind of just takes a step back and lets them coach. And like you said, they went out and recruited. Tony's a stud.

Up front, I didn't expect Miami to out physical Notre Dame on both sides of the football up front. And you're talking about the heat being a factor. But yeah, I mean, I think Notre Dame fought, like you said, it's a one, it's not a one game season for Notre Dame. You got a buy week and then you play A&M. It's not the worst thing ever. We've seen Notre Dame after losing the NIU bounce back and ended up making the national

championship. It isn't going to be interesting how it plays out. and if this game could have been 28 to 7, it could have been over. It felt like it was teetering there for a minute. Yeah, running back slips. 30 to 10. Yeah, running back slips. But I mean, I'm curious, your thoughts about CJ Carr.

I think he played good. It's just the last drive. You see the freshman in him. You can't take a sack. And like you said, the tackles, I mean, they were gassing. Bain, the Rueen Bain, Miami's defender of their best defensive line showed up last. But overall, I was. shocked that Notre Dame threw the ball 30 times,

but maybe this is something that will benefit them in the long run. Well, when you're down, you know, 217, especially in the fourth quarter, you got to score. So I, you know, if we look how many times they passed the ball in those last couple drives, it probably inflated it to what it would have been if the score was 14 to 14, right? So they had to get away from the run. But they were throwing the ball then to the running back, you know, countless times.

This is my comparison, though, to the Stanford teams. sometimes it's hard to judge the quarterback. Let's use Carson Beck as an example, who I was probably too hard on, as was everyone last year, disastrous season, but the offensive line was bad, and they had lost Bowers,

and they had lost Latin McConkey. So unless you're Mahomes or Josh Allen, if I remove those two guys, you're going to look worse, right? Dramatically worse, and he looked really bad. Well, then tonight, one thing Miami's always been able to do

is like they get skill guys, right? And Mario's good at that. So you bring in this true freshman Tony that obviously he's going to probably be a freshman All-American. I always put money on that if he's healthy. I mean, you just saw, they never took that guy off the field. Like he's just part of their group and they're playing

listen, I think it's stupid that you can play a nobody. Like Penn State's really good. Some of these teams are really good. Georgia. When you play the sisters of the poor, I don't know how to judge you with your current team. I know you're good, but like I know way more about Texas in a loss

or Clemson in a loss. like this was a real game like a real game and so when you treat usually these Mario is like I wonder if he learned a lot from Sabin like sometimes

when you got a blue chipper and he's ready you just got to play him and they were just riding that kid but but on my point is Carson looked a lot better and he just pushed the ball down the field more like you guys just are only going to push the ball down the field if the tight ends wide open

and that's that was a little like Penn State last year now Penn State because of academic like they can get guys in we'll see what their unit looks like the better teams they play. But like you're just not going to have NFL star receivers outside like Miami, like Texas and Ohio State and some of these teams are going to get. And that's going to be your downfall because there are going to be times. Who knows?

Maybe Miami's like a final four team this year. I think that's possible that if you do get down 14 to nothing or in the second half, like these games, this isn't Texas Tech versus Washington State that every game's going to be 50 to 40. It's kind of, it kind of is nice and I enjoy it a lot this last. 48 hours of just seeing physical ass football. And it was hard. Like these D-Bs are making plays. The D-line's all hitting.

And you do need your wide receivers, though, to run it, I don't know, like a 10-yard-out or something. And I just don't have that much faith in Notre Dame at that position. And that could be, like, if they were more explosive, if I just gave them a top 10-type college-wide receiver, you would feel, the team would feel a lot more balanced. So the moment the defense isn't dominating, they do feel like they're up against the ropes a little bit

because you thought tonight, and again, it could have just been, probably was, the heat was insane. But if their defense isn't dominating the game, last year against Ohio State, right? If you're losing a little bit, it's like, how are they going to come back? And that's why I love who clearly is an elite player. Is it priced number 24? Yeah, Jadarian Price.

Like you just, you're not just going to, unless you're Kyle Shanahan, just keep calling runs down 21 to 7. Right? you're going to have to throw the ball a little bit, and then they can kind of tee off. So that's just not how I would imagine Marcus is talking as we record this, but he's like, we can't get down double digits. Like that's not how we're built. And it's just true.

Like, LSU the last couple of years, Miami last year. Like, they could get down 15 points. Remember Cal, they were down like 30 to 10. It's like, whatever. We'll just start slinging it around. But that's, that's going to be Notre Dame's ultimate downfall. I don't really know how they change that unless it's like, you know, what, we're going to make a couple exceptions and it's going to be specifically toward wide receivers.

I do think they showed some flashes of potentially throwing the football. I mean, they had that Malachi Fields number zero had that crazy catch. He's the Virginia 6-5 wide receiver they got. Obviously the tight end had that 65-yarder, but besides that they didn't really have any explosive plays. And even Jayden Grayhouse tonight, the guy that went off in the national championship when they were down against Ohio State that kind of got him back into that game. He was quiet tonight. So I'm not, I get what you mean. in terms of like, we didn't expect CJ Card to run a ball 11 times. This is the guy that's supposed to be a pocket pastor,

to pass first quarterback. But you did see some flashes and what they did in the off season where I'm kind of like, okay, let's hold off a little bit on them being maybe a run first team. I know you have Jeremiah 11 Price, but I did think you did see some flashes for a true fresh, or a redshirt freshman, I should say, with the wide receiver they have on the outside,

that they could be two dimensional. And if they are, then they could be a problem. But it all starts with the offensive line. that got beat up and they could run the ball early, which kind of got him in that hole to begin with. Could also make the argument, you know, kind of a freak. I mean,

they ran the play over and over, the quick screen that turned into a turnover, they then turned into a touchdown. But also the, the CJ Daniels, the one-handed catch. If he doesn't make, I don't know,

like, O'Dell Beckham, Justin Jefferson, like grab, that's intercepted. I don't think a Georgia receiver catches that. And he probably lands on his feet and he's going, I don't know if he'd scored a touchdown,

but he was going to land, on his feet with the ball in his bread basket and the guy just made an incredible catch. So Georgia did hit a couple. I mean, Carson had some yolo throws a day that landed. Now, he is playing, like, they got a lot more talent on that team, right, outside. I actually think it's not, I have no problem when you lose a close game to a team that's clearly good.

And that's the great part about this playoff, right? Is that it's a little more NFL. You know, this notion, all the games aren't going to matter as much. Bullshit. Yeah, like when Alabama, plays Mercer, no one's going to care. They didn't care when Nick Saban was there. But this, I bet Notre Dame is devastated in the locker room right now.

Clemson was devastated in the locker room right now. Texas is devastated in the locker room right now. They all could easily make the playoffs. And it's football. Just like if the Cowboys get their ass kicked in a couple nights, it's going to suck for them. Like football, you only play so many games. So I actually think it's that notion of that.

Like this game felt really big. All of these games. right, the four straight big games. Sorry, Shane, I'm not counting Syracuse, Tennessee, even though that, in theory, decent game. That's a better game than most. But the morning game, Ohio State, Texas, Florida State Alabama, now assuming that Florida State's back,

which I think they easily could be. And then the night game, LSU Clemson, and then this game, you could even say a little bit South Carolina, Virginia Tech. Now, quick rant, the neutral site games. If Josh Pate ever becomes the commissioner of someone, we got to ban those. Listen, bowl games, I totally understand the conference championship games. But what made tonight so badass is it felt like, oh, Miami's like kind of has a home field thing going.

Obviously Clemson, obviously Ohio State. Like that's what college football is. The NFL's not as much about that. The NFL is more about the crowd beside three or four places. But in college football, like Iowa, let alone the, you know, just you go all around, all the power force. Playing at home is a really big deal. Winning on the road in college is insanely hard. I don't even know what Nussmeyer's stats are.

I don't care. I watched him. He was awesome. Do you know how hard it is to win there? Right? It's just like, it was, it was, listen, Alabama might turn out to be eight and four, right? But like, that's a hard place to go when they start doing the tomahawk chalk,

chop, and that fucking place is rocking. These neutral sites playing at the Mercedes-Benz, that sucks for the fans. I thought this day before I left Hawaii, when Nebraska's playing Cincinnati at Arrowhead. I mean, it's cool that Mahomes and Kelsey get to go. But that sucks for Nebraska-Sinthinth, that loses a home game.

I mean, that's what college football is for the 12 games. The home and away games really, really matter. And just if that game would have been at Notre Dame, it would have been a huge advantage for Notre Dame. That's one thing you've got to factor in in college. But, yeah, I wouldn't be that down if I were you. I'd still be pretty bullish on the squad. The last thing I'll say,

the perspective on the ACC after this weekend, you know, if Clemson goes down and beats LSU, it's probably even a bigger perspective on the conference. But you looked at Florida State different. You look at Miami different. Miami has to go to Florida State in about three or four weeks. Florida State has to play Clemson and Miami.

The conference looks a little interesting. Now you start to look back and you say, okay, if they could potentially get two bids or what happens with the Big 12. Like if you're the ACC commissioner, you've got to be smiling ear to year and what you saw from both those squads because like myself, you didn't know what Mario Cristobal was going to produce out there.

And then Fort of State everybody counted out. That conference just got interesting. Like Clemson, I picked them to win the national championship. I think a lot of people picked them to win the ACC. If they can't run the football and they can't get things around. Like, I mean, Miami, Florida State definitely looked a lot more impressive than Clemson did this weekend. If you just base it on the games itself. I would say remember last year, Clemson got curb stomped by Georgia.

And then by the end of the year, they were really good. So I think they'll still be okay. I actually think their loss, you feel better than Texas, because I thought Clubnik wasn't that bad, you know? Where Texas, there's still a lot of question marks with Arch. But how about Cal? They got like Tua 2.0 meets Michael Panix, who looks really good.

We'll see Belichick, but, listen, I don't, not saying they're a 10-win team, but they got Bill freaking Belichick coaching them. They're not going to suck. They're going to be tough on a weekly basis. I do think it's insane. They play Monday night. they have to play next Saturday. How's that, you can't give them like a buy?

I mean, that's crazy. Bill O'Brien at Boston College. The ACC is definitely going to be solid. I think the Big 12 to me clearly looks like the fourth conference, like a clear drop-off, though we'll see Utah. Utah's definitely a team that if you told me Utah went 11 and 1, wins the Big 12, and then like wins a playoff game,

whether it's on the road or at home, very believable. I mean, a couple of years ago he was dominating the Pac-12 when the Pac-12 was good, right? With Mario, with DeBoer, with Dan Lannning, you know, he'd be both those guys. Like, he's a big-time coach if he's got a quarterback. I didn't know this, but I was listening to some stuff today that they had stolen the New Mexico quarterback and their OC. I love it when teams do this now. They're like, package deal. Give me the play caller and the quarterback.

And the play caller is like, it's like the dude from Washington State. Of course, you want the quarterback, and the play caller's like, wait, I get to go to the sweet school, too, for double my money. Like, I'm in. It's so funny. And that team, too, I don't know people would recognize when you're watching that UCLA game. And I know people on the East Coast, it kind of felt like Pack 12 after dark because you got Utah, UCLA, you got Oregon State Cal. Utah had three players playing two ways and two guys that scored. They had their best corner and their best linebacker who scored two.

I didn't see a snap of that game. I just knew. I just followed on my phone. I kind of had to do some family. Look out for Utah. I mean, Dampier, I mean, 230 yards, 300 total yards. They ran the ball down. UCLA's throw, Nico Emolayava.

Like, he probably regrets going to UCLA. And I think Joey Aguilar, for him, I mean, if Nico doesn't go to UCLA, there's no chance he goes to Tennessee. And now you look at Tennessee a little different. And I know Syracuse defense isn't that great. But I don't know. There's a lot of teams last night. Like you said, it's tough to judge the Penn States,

the Georgia's and the Oregon's who have to play Montana State. But some of these other teams who got to play, you know, other big 10 schools. It gets, you get a different perspective on those kind of teams and see what they can do later on the season. Okay, you got, I'll get you out of here on this. What were you thinking before the season? What are you thinking right now? Because this is a big game, right?

You win this game. You worst case, you're 10 and 2. You lose this game, you know, now it's more pressure on these kind of swing games. You kind of got to win. Could you play in A&M still, right? Yeah, must win. Yeah, I think A&M is going to be a must win. You wonder what the involvement is going to be with love in that next game.

I think Denbrock probably regrets not implementing him more in the first half and maybe calling a couple more screenplays. Who do they play this week? By week. By week. Yeah. Okay. They got that second week by, which is nice for Notre Dame. I mean, after a loss like this, I think when they played NIU, they had a buy week after that too.

So like you said, Notre Dame with Marcus Freeman, I have no heartburn on them. It does think that Boise State lost at USF because you look down the schedule, like the more ranked games, the better for Notre Dame because, yeah, it's not a one game season. but you do have to have some ranked wins on your schedule, like an A&M win, which they play Texas and they got some of those more The difference though is that they've changed the, when they talked about the schedule, if you just watch Notre Dame's a real team. I test.

And like to me, if Notre Dame's 10 and 2, and there's some fraudulent power 4 team that played nobody, like I'm sorry we saw that song and dance last year, we're giving like Notre Dame, Texas, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Like we just saw they're real teams. So like if it's the difference of like one,

one of them's nine and three and the other team's 10 and two but they played nobody that's where I think I'm more confident that like we pick the right team they know they still got to play well they can't lose a bunch of games but this is not a bad thing I guess is my overall take but you got to go 10 and 2 9 and 3 Notre Dame is probably not in right you get one more loss yeah and you wonder what the SEC looks like too I mean the SEC do does a three loss team get in over a two lost Notre Dame and then you kind of got to compare the big 12 and the ACC. That's where it's going to be interesting moving forward how they do. I know the SEC

has a whole agreement where they've got to go play another powerful conference team in their schedule. That's the thing and they have this whole new metric of strength of record but we'll see tough loss for Notre Dame but they fought back. Okay. Thanks, Jake. Hey, it's us the Jonas Brothers and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news?

Huge news. We created our own podcast called. Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed The first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast. for people could call in and say, hey Jonas,

and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. episode we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people

who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I

competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Jen, she won. I mean, she was. We went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me.

And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface, because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Speaking of the SEC, let's just start with Alabama,

because I've been a big proponent of Kalin Dubour. Obviously, he was a Fresnel State guy and had success, and then went to Washington and dominated. I mean, this guy was beating everybody and beat Sark and was in the national championship game. Did a fantastic job. Became the type candidate that you not only seriously consider when a guy like Nick Saban retires, you hire.

It was a real hire. I know a lot of people are like retweeting Cowards tweet about it being one of the best transitions in college football history wasn't a crazy thought at the time Du Boer's record was like I forget off the top of my head but it was like 111. I mean he dominated it everywhere he coached. I do believe this.

I've always had a theory and I stand by this and I think there are only a couple outliers in the history of college football. Where in the NFL it doesn't matter. where you are from, where you are born, and where your career kind of takes off, usually is where you're going to have success as a head coach. There are outliers like a guy from the Midwest,

can go to the south like Urban Meyer. Urban Meyer could have coached in China, in Spain, in Alaska, in Florida. It wouldn't have mattered. He would have won. Same thing with Nick Sabin. But I saw it out here on the West Coast. Chris Peterson, who had a ton of success at Boise State

and then Washington. Grew up in Southern California, went to UC Davis, coached at UC Davis, coached at Oregon, coached at Boise, coached at Washington, thrived on the West Coast.

Pete Carroll is a great example. While in the NFL, he could coach any team. Tampa Bay, New England, Seattle, in college it does. I don't think Pete Carroll would have worked at Florida. I don't think he would have worked at Alabama,

but he thrived at USC. just like I don't think a lot of non-southerners work in the South. When I was at Fresno State, Jim McElwain had just left. And his close friend, Doug Nussmeyer, my first year at Fresno State, was our offensive coordinator.

And Garrett, I remember him having a little... Garrett must have been like two or three years old, five years old at max. He was really, really young. But those guys are West Coast guys. And Jim McElwain, coached at Colorado State, had a bunch of success,

and then went to Florida, and it was a disaster. Why? Because he's not one of theirs. Like, I kind of like your name to be Kirby or Dabo and have a southern draw in the south. It matters. Just like in the Midwest, you know, Jim Harbaugh played at Michigan. It really helped when he took over the program. And I just think this Kalin-Dabor thing, is he as bad as it's going right now? I don't think he is. I don't know what's going on. They're five and five in their last ten games.

But Nick Saban was a hard ass. Like an old-school throwback. asshole when it came to being a coach. And everyone in the program, players, staff, administration, kind of ate that shit up. They liked him to tell them what to do. When he said jump, they said how high, and then they wouldn't stop leaping until he said stop. And it worked. And everyone profited. The players, the administration, the school, the SEC as a whole. Do you know how many people I know from Northern California that now send their kids to Ole Miss to Tennessee, to Florida, that go to school in the South. That was unheard of when I was in high school. I remember being kind of nervous like, should I even entertain going to Oregon or Arizona?

I can count more than probably almost both hands. The amount of family friends I know that either their kids or their kids' girlfriends or whatever went to school in the SEC. That, a big part of that was how popular the SEC came with their football programs. I believe that to my core. And like Nick Saban obviously was the flag bearer for that movement. And Kaelan Dubour is kind of an intellectual. He's not a screamer. A couple years ago when Fresno State was playing ASU,

I went to the tailgate and me and Maria ended up going to the game and hanging out with a bunch of Fresno State guys, former players. And I was talking with one of, one of the former players on the team that had played for DeBoer and was an offensive player and really liked him. And I said, what was he like? Because he had played for both him and Jeff Tedford. He's like, uh, Tedford's a lot different.

And Tetford's a West Coast guy as well. Played at Fresno State from Los Angeles, coached at Oregon, coached a Cal. Like, uh, that's where his region is. But Tedford's kind of an old school asshole, you know, kind of a throwback. DeBoer's like a cerebral, not a yeller. a screamer like Chris Peterson. So when he took over the University of Washington, that administration was used to like an intellectual.

I'm not saying that Sabin is not, but in terms of that's the way he interacts. Google Nick Sabin or YouTube, him at practice. He screams at everybody. I know people that have worked for him. You go into those staff meetings, your head was on a swivel, and you were dialed in because shrapnel could come from any angle.

That's not who this guy is. And I wonder if these players, whatever, they're not reacting, working. I mean, they got their ass kicked yesterday. Now, when I see the staff that Alabama hadn't lost to I think it's like

he's already lost to four unranked opponents. Nick Saban lost a four unranked opponents in like 17 years. Week one in the transfer portal era, like Florida State could be the seventh best team in the country or they could be two and ten. We have no clue. Beside

three or four teams, like we know Penn State, we know Ohio State, we know Texas, We know Georgia, but Utah. Utah could be the seventh best team in the country, or they could be like the 50th. We don't know. Times have changed. Here's what I know about Florida State,

and Mike Norville specifically. That two years ago, on this weekend, he played Brian Kelly, pretty sure on Sunday night, beat the living piss out of him. Brian Kelly's team was led by Jaden Daniels, Malika Neighbors,

and Brian Thomas Jr. And Mike Norvell curbstomp them. Oh yeah, he happened to, to have about seven or eight guys that were drafted in the top 100. Jared Verse, many consider one of the best young defensive linemen. Oh yeah, his teammate Braden Fisk, who statistically was better than him last year, who's a stud.

Keon Coleman, who I don't know, is a starting wide receiver for the bills that most consider one of if not the best team in the league. Renardo Green, who's a starting corner for the San Francisco 49ers. Like, his team was loaded. And then last year, what if last year was an outlier at 2.10? He's a big transfer portal guy. It didn't work because I watched his team. I went, they're fast, they're physical, they're explosive.

And Mike Norvell's proven a couple years ago, beat Brian Kelly, beat Dabo Sweeney, beat Mike Elko, who's now the coach of Texas A&M, went 13 and O, ran the table, won the ACC. And if it wasn't for his quarterback, basically getting his leg amputated, I think Jordan Travis legitimately retired with the New York Jets because his legs all screwed up,

that they would have made the playoffs. And who knows? That team was built like, they could have won the national championship if Jordan Travis was playing. This guy's not some random scrub. Honestly, part of the reason I have so much respect for DeBorzo, I saw what he did at Washington. In a second year there, they went to the natty.

That could have been easily Mike Norvell if it wasn't for these weird circumstance with his quarterback. So I think everyone was right enough Mike Norvel and maybe I bought into it too. He just had a weird year in the transfer portal. He's a transfer portal guy. And sometimes teams aren't going to mesh. And sometimes they are. That was a really, really impressive win.

But what I think Mike Norvell, like, yeah, he kind of feels like he fits in in the South. Kalin Dubour doesn't, really. Just like Lincoln Riley, like, does he feel like L.A.? No, he doesn't to me. Now, maybe his team's good enough and maybe with NIL they can recruit well enough. But I'm a huge believer that regions in college football matter. Andy Reid could coach the Patriots, could coach the Rams, could coach Chiefs. The NFL does not matter.

In college, it does. It's why, listen, there's no disputing what Brian Kelly did at Notre Dame was, was impressive. If you look at Brian Kelly's resume, it is impressive. He's won everywhere he went. Grand Valley State. My, was it my first year or second year? I think it might have been my second year as a GA at Fresno State.

We went to the University of Cincinnati, Nippert Stadium. Pretty sure Jason Kelsey might have been like a true freshman on that team. They had Tony Pike, I think their quarterback was. Gildier, this wide receiver that was drafted the Rams. That team went undefeated. They went to a BCS bowl game. Now, he left for Notre Dame, if you remember, and they ended up getting killed. I think Tim Tebow's team played him, and they destroyed him, but Brian Kelly had left.

I remember thinking, like, this team's good. This guy knows what he's doing. Now, when he went to the South and he faked the accent, you're like, I don't know if this is going to work. He's a little dushy, but there's no disputing. Like, he kind of knows what he's doing. And offensively is not his problem. They always had sweet offensive linemen, they always had good running backs. He's clearly good at quarterbacks at LSU.

wide receivers are never going to be a problem in LSU. The question is going to be a defense. Well, the thing at these schools, they will give you unlimited cash to buy coaches. In LSU, like, he went and got, what's the guy's name? Blake Baker, who's wearing the LSU baseball hat. Last year they clearly had improved from Jaden Daniels season.

This year, they looked real. I mean, defensive line-wise, they were flying around up front, they were working Clemson. The defensive backs were making play after play. And this is the thing with doing, these preseason rankings, it's like, yeah, you could have convinced me LSU's an 8 and 14, or you could convince me they're 11 and 1. And it's like, oh, this guy number 4, he's this

transfer portal guy from Virginia Tech. And he looks like Patrick Peterson out there. And that's why it's so hard. I heard someone say this today, I forget where, but like a couple years ago, pre-transfer portal, if you went 2 in 10 at Florida State, what Mike Norvell just did, it would have taken you years to turn that thing around to get to like compete for 9, 10, years. Now it's like you can do it in six months. If you told me that Florida State's 10 and 2 or 11 and 1 and wins the ACC, wouldn't be shocking

at all. Wouldn't be shocking at all. So the game is really, really changed. It's about getting the right couple players. And at schools like LSU, Clemson, definitely Ohio State, Florida State, or I mean Texas, we're talking like three or four guys swing the whole thing.

Last year, what happened to Ohio State? They got Caleb Downs, who's one of the best players. is not the best player in the country. They got Will Howard, who down the stretch, was incredible. So if you hit on the right two or three players, I mean, if Miami last year hadn't signed Cam Ward and signed like an average quarterback,

they're going like five and seven or six and six. But they had the number one pick in the draft, one of the worst defenses in the country, and they went nine and three. So the transfer portal is this, unless you're living in it, like a college football gym, we're all just taking educated guesses. We don't really know.

We think we kind of know. And we have some idea. But there are huge swings with individuals. And like, let's face it. I was thinking, I was on the couch. And Maria looks at me last night watching LSU Clemson. She goes, who would you draft? Like, what do you mean?

She's like, who would you draft? I don't know, I don't even know half these kids are. She's like, you should do a segment on that. And I was like, oh, a segment on who I have drafted? She's like, yeah, call it like the couch. scout. Honestly, honey, that's not a bad idea. And I was thinking, like, I'm sitting there watching these two

quarterbacks, Garrett Nussmeyer, who, like I said, I've known Doug Nussmire for 15 years. I saw him at the combine two years ago walking down the hall. I love that guy. I absolutely, I love Doug. He's the man. He's always been a huge supporter of me, loves the podcast, always gets a huge smile when he sees me, and he's walking with Brent Selleck.

This is when he was the quarterback coach for the Eagles the year. I mean, he's had an awesome little run here. Won the Super Bowl with Jalen Hertz as the quarterback coach. Then goes with Kell into New Orleans. That's his guy. And then his son, like that was, and I guess the couch scout in me goes, listen, Garrett Nussmeyer's good.

And obviously he showed flashes last year, had some great moments and had some down moments. That performance on the road, you know, some of these quarterbacks are playing nobody's and average teams, non-power 4 teams. I don't even know what to make of it. Like that was a real opponent

on the road. You probably can't hear yourself think. This guy, Garrett got crushed time and time again and he kept getting up. It's like this guy's tough SOB. He's making great throws. But he's kind of a throwback quarterback. You know, he's not Mr. Athletic. To me he kind of has like,

and I'm talking the good versions of these guys, what Jimmy Garoppolo was early on in his San Francisco career. I would call him mobile, but he definitely could move a little bit. And like Kirk Cousins, he's more mobile than Kirk Cousins, but he's that style of player.

But he's really good in the pocket. He's really tough. He will sit in there and make throws. The guys really like him. I mean, that's an NFL quarterback. Now, how high his ceiling is, like I'm not saying Mahomes or Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow, but he's a really good player,

and that was a really impressive game. It's why you can't box score scout, because didn't throw seven touchdowns, but every single big play they needed, he was on the money. Every time he got knocked down, he'd fucking shake it off and jump right back up. Honestly, I was impressed with Kade Clubnik as well.

And to me, like, this is going to sound a little, I think he's kind of got some Brock Purdy vibes. Athletic, not, I wouldn't call him a runner. He's not Lamar or Kyler, but he definitely can move, definitely a good playmaker, also pretty tough. And his offensive line, I thought, kind of underachieve last night.

getting rocked by LSU. I mean, I thought LSU and Florida State dominated the line of scrimmage on defense. I would say the same thing for Miami tonight. They were dominating the line of scrimmage. And you can tell you, like, God, that guy looks like an NFL defensive end. God, that guy looks like an NFL defensive end. And that really is the difference.

If you get good quarterback play and then good defensive line play, you're going to have a chance to win the national championship. So I was really impressed. To me, Nussmeyer kind of gives off cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo vibes. I would say Cade gives maybe a little more. more athletic party, but like just, just a good player. And I have no problem. Like I said, the neutral site games need to go away. Because I wish we could get to the point where we don't

even play these meaningless games. I know cowards high on USC because they beat Missouri State Western Eastern. Like that game's not real to me. Like it's just, my guy, Guy Haberman was calling it, so I was watching it. But it was like, this is a massacre. What do I even take away? Then you watch Texas and Ohio State or Clemson and LSU or Notre Dame in Miami. It's like they're NFL players all over this field. Like this is real football. This is what we want to watch. It's just fantastic

TV. And I the one thing I want to end on, big win by, I mean, awesome for Mike Norville. Listen, got to give Brian Kelly his flowers. Got to give Mario's flowers. Some of these coaches that were like, some people are like, damn. This notion, too, the guys are on the hot seat.

Kailin Du Boer is not getting fired. I've seen different numbers, but the buyout this year is between $60 and $70 million. He could go $4 and $8. They do not have the money to give Kalin-Dubour $65 million to go away, to pay a roster $20 to $30 million to field a high-end team. Well, if they're fired Kaylin Dubor, who do you think they're going to hire? Me or you for $100 grand? No, they're going to want some sweet coach, $10 million coach.

That means you've got to give him $90 million. You've got to pay his coordinators, multi-millions. Alabama is not Notre Dame. It's not USC as Texas. Their athletic director a year ago was on Twitter begging for money. The day and age of paying like Jimbo Fisher those days are done.

And Texas A&M has way more money. They could pull it off. Alabama cannot. There is no paying, when I see these people like reputable college football media being like, I wonder could they fire him for John Grude. Caitlin DeBore is not getting bought out. Alabama cannot afford to do that.

It is not happening. Now it could get rid of it. really ugly. And I get why they'd be really mad because you're coming from Nick Sabin. You know, if you're dating a supermodel inner prime and then all of a sudden, it's like, you're dating some ugly chick, it's going to suck. And if you're starting losing games and you're used to kick it to everyone's ass, it's not going to be fun. But there's no, these 50, 60, 70 billion dollar buyouts when you're paying the players now, those days are done unless you have some T-Boon pickings or Phil Knight that just give you, here's a hundred million

check to buy a guy out, to buy the new guy and pay the player. I don't know who's doing that. I don't think it's going to happen. I really don't. So yeah, what was I got? Oh, the neutral side. I just think we got to get rid of these neutral site games. I truly don't know. I've been trying to wrap my head. Who benefits? Arthur Blank, I mean, he hosts like four of these things. Or Jerry Jones. I got no problem in the conference championship. Put in Vegas, put an indie. I get it. The the Orange Bowl. I understand it.

I have no problem with that. But the first game of the season, like Nebraska and Cincinnati or, you know, South Carolina, I think how awesome that would have been if you were South Carolina hosting that game with Virginia Tech.

Or vice versa. Virginia Tech hosting your coach's son. How sweet that would have been. What a cool moment for the Beamer family. But instead we're playing this thing at Mercedes-Benz. I just, it's bullshit. It really, it sucks for as great as the Clemson was or Ohio State was the pageantry, the intensity, just how much it means. That's what

college football is, is the environment. It's what, I didn't go to any of these schools, and yet it draws me to watch these games. We've got to get rid of it. That being said, it's probably not going away anytime soon. So hopefully everyone enjoyed the weekend, and it's not quite done because we got Bill Belichick tomorrow at 5 o'clock, so buckle up, enjoy your holiday Monday off, and I will talk to you soon. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Michelle McPhee, and I've been unraveling the strangest criminal alliance I've ever reported on, a Mormon polygamist and an Armenian businessman. Multi-million dollar house, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, a billion dollar fraud. But how long can this alliance last? Tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the Aihar Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.