The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Kauff on Campus

Episode Date: January 3, 2025

John is joined by intern Jackson to discuss Marcus Freeman and his Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeating Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 23-10 in the College Football Playoff’s Sugar Bowl from New Orleans, LA. Middlekauff tips his cap to Marcus Freeman, Riley Leonard and the red-hot Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the heels of their second playoff victory as the independent college football powerhouse tries to compete for a National Championship. The two go on to discuss Marcus Freeman’s incredible coaching job with the Irish, who earlier in the season lost a game to Northern Illinois, before wondering how legitimate the team’s title hopes REALLY are. John and Jackson break down Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs let-down performance in the Super Dome and dives into what it will take for Notre Dame to win it all with QB Riley Leonard and the running game leading the way. John and Jackson look ahead to Notre Dame and Penn State from an X’s and O’s perspective, looking at the Nittany Lions star QB Drew Allar, pass rusher Abdul Carter and James Franklin’s talented Penn State team. After, some thoughts on Alabama QB Jalen Milroe, Georgia Bulldogs signal-caller Carson Beck and several other NFL prospects ahead of April’s NFL Draft. Plus, how the rest of the College Football Playoff, featuring the Texas Longhorns vs. Ohio State Buckeyes, might shake out. Finally, the two chat about how to fix many of College Football’s current problems. 2:41 -Notre Dame-Georgia reaction 20:35 - Notre Dame-Penn State preview 24:51 - Possible QB transfers and draft potential 29:29 - Texas-ASU reaction 39:40 - Transfer portal, NIL and tampering. 44:33 - Can a CFB Commissioner stop tampering 49:55 - Should CFP bye teams get a home game? 54:40 - Are there too many Bowl games? 59:00 - Rating the CFP so far 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 #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Boise State game. My Mountain West squad, you know, they're gritty. Game was, they hung tough. We'll dive into that. Obviously, Notre Dame literally just won. I think it's fair to say one of the biggest wins in a long, long time for that program. And now they play because of the game being pushed back in less than a week. So today's going to be mainly college football.

I talked to Stucky. We'll have that video come out on Saturday talking about all the NFL. games, which is, you know, some of these games, it's hard to, who the hell knows who's playing. But there are a couple games that really matter. So we got to gamble on a little bit. Actually, kind of like, I mean, I talked to Stucky about it. I looked at it again after Notre Dame, which is somehow favored against Penn State. You can get Penn State right now to win the Natty?

So basically, like, can they beat Ohio State? And almost five to one. It was five to one earlier in the day. It was plus 475 when I just checked. I still don't understand how they're an underdog to Notre Dame to get extra rest, but we'll have a week to take that all in. We got a lot of big football because these two games are Thursday and Friday, then the NFL playoffs are Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We got coaches getting fired next week. So we got a lot going on. But before we dive into Jackson and talk some Notre Dame fighting Irish, you know what I got

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and redeem the code. on for $20 off, down on the game time app today, last minute tickets, lowest prices. Guaranteed. Let's dive in to our favorite Montana Grizzly and a diehard Notre Dame fighting Irish fan. He's young, so I mean, while you haven't won a Natty, I would say most of your adult life with Brian Kelly through Marcus Freeman, it's been pretty good. You've had pretty good teams, a lot of good NFL players. But you finally won a game that a lot of people watched.

that, let's face it, most people thought you would end up losing somehow, some way. And even early on in this game, it's like, I don't know. And then that sack happened, the touchdown happened, then they came and returned the kick. And then I would say the game kind of ended right there. But congratulations. Jackson, congratulations. It's got to feel good. I'm fired up, man.

You know, this is the same team. And I know people always talk about the NIU loss, but you got to give a lot of credit to Marcus Freeman. Man, I don't know a lot of coaches out there that can. get their quarterback in check, and they've come out with on Peacock, here comes the Irish, like a documentary Hard Knock style, and they kind of went in on Riley Leonard and, you know, him looking at his phone, looking at Twitter and all the social media stuff, which a lot of quarterbacks are eliminating during the season. And for him to turn around and for them to go towards their strengths, and you could argue a better Georgia with Gunner Stockton, it's,

it's an impressive win for sure. He like looked at Twitter to see people talking crap about him, basically? I think so. I mean, it's tough. Like when you're, I mean, social media nowadays, you know, too, like, it's everywhere. Whether you want to see it on Instagram or Twitter or wherever, you know, you're going to have it in front of you. So, but yeah, no, that win. You texted me, I think at like 5.30 when they're driving and it was like a long third down or whatever.

And you're like, I think you got this. This might be your night. And I just, I tell it's zero. I'm always like. I text you, I think it was, was it 20 to 10? No, maybe it was 20 to 3. And Gunner Stockton unleashes 1 to 86. and all of a sudden the ball's in the air

and he's wide open. And you're like, oh my God, I don't know if he's going to score. The DB might have caught him, but he would have been inside the 10. It would have been a 60-yard junk play. And it, I mean, I could have looked as bad as that. I mean, it was pretty bad, right? He almost tripped, hits off his like shoulder, hands, never even clutches it. And you're like, it's your night.

Then, ironically, like, and this is why you're like, shut up. Three days later, they hit a huge play for a touchdown. All of a sudden it's 20 to 10. You look up, there's like seven minutes to go. But I do think this game, because Gutter Stockton was letting it loose. I mean, there was a play early in the game where he hits a bomb to what they said, the fastest guy in college football. I mean, I don't know how we're in Smith.

I don't know how we validate that. But I'm sure he's one of them. And clearly one of the redshirt kids runs out celebrating. When I was at Fresno State, I think we were playing in Wisconsin. It was either Wisconsin or Illinois. It was one of our big non-conference games. That almost happened to me on like a pick six or a huge play that we scored on. And I remember running down and the referees come in sprinting or backpedaling or however it happened.

And I missed them by a quarter of an inch. And I remember thinking if I would have fucking taken them out and it would have negated the touchdown. And I probably would have got fired on the field. And luckily that kid, there were so many guys. I was isolated. It was just me. Kirby couldn't even probably tell who it was, and they all kind of, you know, jump back.

That was a pretty devastating penalty for them. And then they just never really got anything going on offense. And obviously the end of the half happens. When that end of the half, when they get the fumble, and then they immediately score, that was to me a huge swing before even the kickoff return. You had to feel extremely good going in the halftime after that play. Yeah, even for Riley Leonard to throw it on an RPO

and it's so funny with him, you're always on edge as a Notre Dame fan, whether he throws the ball deep, you just hope that he doesn't, you know, throw an interception on that play too. He's got so much room in front of him in front of Bo Collins, but he just wants to put it right on him, make it a little tough catch for Collins, and you're right. I mean, they scored 10 points in 11 seconds, and I mean, it just completely changed that game,

and then you go back to it. You bring in a transfer from Marshall. We talk all the time about these group of five guys. that kickoff return felt like the nail in the coffin early against Georgia. They basically scored 17 points then in 30 seconds of actual gameplay. I mean, that's, you know, for a team with a backup quarterback, who actually some plays he would look terrible, but then he would make some really nice plays.

I mean, he made some, the throw that 86 dropped was a really nice pass. The bomb that the 39 ran into the referee was a beautiful play. The touchdown pass after 86 dropped. Like, he made some explosive place. I mean, listen, your guy threw for 88 yards. So your passing game. You know, for this team, that was really impressive, a win's a win. But, like, can they win the national championship?

Now, listen, Georgia, probably all 11 of their guys are going to play in the NFL on defense. Several of them are going to get drafted really, really high. So it's a hard defense to play against. You know, love tweaks his knee. That's a little scary big picture. It's one thing Chip Kelly mentioned, I think I saw him say like a week ago, like if you are talking about who's going to win the national championship and you're not talking about like, well, it's impossible to know who's going to get injured throughout all these extra games and you don't.

You see you guys already lost the defensive lineman. Love's already been hurt. Now what's like, is that an, that's not an ankle. Like that's a knee. Did he sprain his knee? That's a big deal playing Penn State. But that's not to look ahead yet. But ultimately, you know, Marcus Freeman, let's really quick.

that first year when he lost a marshal and maybe it's unfair but he did inherit a pretty really good situation and that loss was really, really bad and early on in that season it was really really ugly and I obviously thought I'm like I don't know if he's going to make it through a year because

like losing these games you lose a marshal at home and it looked like he was going to lose a cow at home then he righted the ship and he clearly proved that he could recruit really really well right and these last couple years the team has been really good And last year, like, Sam Hartman was solid.

This guy is just a more dynamic overall player because of his legs. But defensively, I mean, that's what put Marcus Freeman on the map, right? At Cincinnati, it's why Brian Kelly hires him to Notre Dame. I mean, that defense is hitting a lot like Georgia, Texas, what Ohio State has looked like these last couple weeks, what the best SEC teams have looked like the last three or four years. Like, if you hit with that much speed, you are going to be in every game, even if you don't have, you know, Joe Montana back there slinging it around. And it felt like, too, they're a lot well coached for how young they are.

Compared to Georgia out in space, it felt like any time they had some kind of, you know, outside zone or screen on the outside, you had about three or four gold domes. I mean, number eight, a Don Schultor, he's a sophomore. That kid's a player alongside Xavier Watts, those two safeties on the back end. And then Notre Dame's always had one of those older captain linebackers that kind of stout in the middle of the defense and then you're right about the D-line and your guy Brian Young, I mean,

or Bryce Young, I should say, looked a little rusty there at the beginning those three penalties. He took out the punter twice. Those looked like roughing both times which they were running in the kicker. It looked like he hit both of his legs each time. But I mean, I was just impressed, man.

I know it's not attractive with Riley Leonard and, you know, 15 to 24, 90 yards, one touchdown, but he played that's the way we're going to play. with his running ability. I know Colin Cowher talked about, he kind of reminds him Josh Allen when it comes to that grit and toughness.

And I think for a guy, they've always been wanting to feed like Riley Leonard, and they've always wanted him. And for him to go out like that and be the leading rusher with 80 yards, I mean, how many times in the broadcast,

Haynes King, Haines King, Georgia Tech. And it's just crazy how, I want to hear your thoughts about it, how Georgia can't stop a quarterback versus being able to stop the running backs. Well, I think because,

You got to pick and choose your poison. I think I'm trying to think of the game. Was it Pittsburgh? It was the second game that Pittsburgh played the Ravens. And this was, was it on Christmas? Or maybe this was the week before Christmas or, you know, four days before Christmas or whatever. And Derek Henry went nuts.

And it's because they're like, Lamar's not going to beat us. So on any time when you're going to have like the RPO or the option of quarterback running back the give, you're going to take out one or the other. It's really hard to, like, play elite sound football and take them both out. Like, you really got to sell out on one. And the Steelers, for example, sell out on the quarterback.

And in that game, Derek Henry went nuts. And tonight, it was like, those two running backs, I mean, looking back on Indiana, Love's Run was obviously opened the gate and, you know, was a start in the end of Indiana. It's like, we're not going to let these running backs get off. We're not going to let them have big plays. and he can just kind of run around. Now, they also have designed runs for Riley Leonard. You know, like, they used to have them with Cam at Carolina, like the quarterback power.

That one, I don't think it was technically the last first down for Notre Dame, but essentially was the, like, nail in the coffin of the game where he leaped over, and the sideline just went nuts. Like, when you get a guy that big in space, that's where you have the Cam Newton, Josh Allen. You know, Lamar, for example, his speed is something. elite, but he's not, you know, running through guys, running over guys. He's just beating you to the spot. The Josh Allen's and Cam's, I mean, Cam was fast, but they can take you out. So if you're in front of them, especially if you get to the edges with a quarterback that big, it is not the

middle linebacker in the defensive ends, right? It's safeties and corners. And even on the broadcast, McElroy's like, that's one of the best safeties in the country. And what's he going to do? He's like catching him in the air. How tall is Riley Leonard, like, 6-5, 6, 6,000, probably 240? he's huge. Yeah, yeah. And he's leaping full speed. But that's how, like, he made some of those against A&M. And, you know, on Penn State is essentially a Georgia, Texas.

Like, they're all the same in terms of SEC bodies, NFL bodies, and this guy can run over them. It's like, are they good enough passing against them? You know, Georgia, sometimes you need luck on your side. Like, I would say they got a little unlucky with some of their big plays tonight. with their backup quarterback in, who hit some big plays. It just didn't work out in their favor. But, yeah, I mean, it was your guys' defense. One thing I think that is different than some of Brian Kelly's best teams,

like you guys have had really good players on defense, guys have played in the NFL. Obviously, Kyle Hamilton would fit right in on this team. But, like, you go back to Manteo, he didn't look like your guys look right now. Like the speed in Watts moves. It looks like a guy at Alabama, Georgia, or Texas, doesn't it? like the sideline and that's what you have to have to beat.

You're playing Penn State, like they got two NFL running backs and an NFL tight end. So that's where they're going to win the game. So you've got to be able to get really fast in a short period. You need to have Fred Warren or Patrick Willis, Luke Keekely, got some speed. And that's why the SEC has always separated. Well, Texas has come in. They've bought it. Notre Dame has bought it or recruited it or whatever.

I don't know. You guys have some academic requirements, but I just watch you guys play. team speed because A&M is a bot NFL program and you guys went toe to toe with them speedwise so it's like defensively speedwise I think you can play with anyone in the country right just offensively you just have to get into a game like your style is going to be

you're not going to play like the Detroit Lions you's got to play and kind of an ugly can we win the game like 20 to 15 right yeah and the different weapons they have too you got a Mitchell Evans that you just throw it anywhere in his space he'll catch it and Fajon's been doing well in the slot at wide receiver and then on top of that I was going to ask you about this would you make a marcus freeman's little special teams bring on the punt team take them off bring on the offense and jalen walker and michael williams jumping there he's done that before is that a first time

you've seen him do something like that i think that's the first time i've seen that from notre dame i saw someone on twitter like a former player say what kirby should have done you don't have to rush your subs in because they got to give you time he should have just slowly kind of gone you know he rushed them all in like Marcus did and basically played right into his hand. So then they rushed up to the line, their heart's beating. That's part of it, right? It's like, it's so easy to go. They're morons. That is an elite coaching job because if he is going to rush his guys on, when you don't have to, there's 12 seconds on the clock or whatever, you're going to get up to the line. Your heart's going to be beating instead of just letting the play slowly. And it's a huge advantage.

Because were they going to snap the ball, you think? No, no shot. No. The wide receivers were so out wide too. I was looking at that play and I told my friend this too. It's just crazy. I never thought, when was the last time you saw Kirby Smart get outsmarted with the situation like that, which he's not special teams-ish, more of a defensive guy, but still, it's like that one of those things where then you wonder

if they had three timeouts, would he have called one? Would he just let it be? Like that play pretty much, I mean, it was like Belichick or you know, Vrabel got Belichick one time on this punt situation in a playoff game. Belichick lost it where he's like holding guys.

You know, one thing I'll give Mark Freeman a lot of credit is of, like, Al Goldens or defensive coordinator. Well, that's a pretty high-level defensive coordinator. I mean, this is a guy that was a head coach at Miami and Temple. I mean, and was viewed as one of the better assistance before those days. So, like, their defense, how many times the night did he, there was one play, like a fourth and five, and he called the perfect blitz. It reminded me like Steve Spagnolia, Spagnola, Kansas City, and Gunner was going to getting lit up right as he just had to like throw it up and the guy caught it but he was like

two yards short but in fairness to the quarterback had no shot I mean they the guy came right at the time and you could tell golden was so fired up he just went right to the bench to meet the dudes it was like well that's a good call I mean that's that's a really you know for a younger coach he's 38 years old and he was obviously you know a high level defensive guy but to bring in a guy for it's not like they you know old's a Penn State guy he's an Ohio State guy so it's not like they ever played together. They're different ages. But however that marriage worked out, hiring him, that's a big time hire. Because some young guys, you know, like is Lincoln Riley hiring Al Golden?

You know, I don't know. So like I get Marcus Freeman coming in. Yeah, Mike Dembrough coached Jaden Daniels last year at LSU, maybe got tired of Brian Kelly. He comes in. Those are two guys where, you know, you compare it to the NFL with the Chiefs and having Steve Bagnolo and the guys that just maybe aren't going to be head coached. that want to be coordinators at a big time university giving them money. So, I mean, that, what a win. Hopefully it flips the narrative.

I think it does of Notre Dame can't win the big one. My last thing I was going to say on this too is for Mitch Jeter, their kicker. I mean, they have the worst field goal kicking in the country, him dealing with a groin injury since week two. They have a long time off because they didn't play since December 20th. I mean, three for three and those are big kicks. And you think about yesterday with Texas and how many kicks they missed. and I mean for that that too was was so big for their momentum to just get points.

Yeah, I mean, that was cool. I mean, it's always cool when you see the family and stuff and they go to them. But yesterday with Texas, I didn't realize this, but I saw McAfee was talking with Sabin and how Sark went out at the end of the game and it was like talking with the kid. You know, it's like, bro, you just leave the kickers alone, man. The kickers, it's a weird scenario. I think it's a cool moment. and, like, you beat Georgia, that's a huge win for Marcus Freeman.

I mean, it'll be hard. Like, even if he were to beat Penn State, you would say, like, beating Penn State's a really, really big deal. But beating Georgia just looks better on the resume. Kirby's won multiple national championships. You can argue, you know, I know, shit, I'm almost putting money on James to win the national championship, but you can argue he's won two games and no one really thinks he still won a big game because of the two games he won, SMU and Boise State, I mean, he's a pretty big favorite. But there is pressure now on Notre Dame.

I don't quite understand this, maybe because they're kind of similar teams, but they are favored in that game. So there is just going to be pressure. You know, this is just a pretty unreal opportunity, kind of, you know, with the terrorist attack and everything, the game gets moved back, so you lose a day. Now you're just on a regular week schedule. They clearly can't move the games Thursday and Friday because I was like, why don't they just flip-flop them? But it's clearly set in stone way before the season even starts. So that game was set to play Thursday. So they ain't changing it.

I'm a little concerned for Notre Dame's defense against Tyler Warren. I felt like the tight ends too. If Gunner Stockton on that fourth and, what was it, fourth and two, fourth and three, have the backup tight end, which I don't understand why Delp wasn't playing. If he keeps running, I think he catches that football, they score. And they had a bunch of inside routes to Delp and their tight ends. Tyler Warren's one of those guys, I feel like. I'm a little concerned that Notre Dame won't be able to bundle them with their linebackers.

Yeah, he looks sweet. I mean, you were at that game. The one thing that's cool about this Final Four is you just get four rosters that are just full of NFL bodies and that if you just went to a sideline, you just would go holy moly. Because I was watching the SEC Network clips on what day or, I don't even know what day it is.

So it would have been Wednesday morning. And the SEC Network is, you know, at the game against Texas and Arizona State. And they're like, you know, if you just, and this is like an hour before, when warm-ups are going on in the back, and they're like, if you just look at warm-ups, you'd go, like, I don't know how fair this game is going to be. And I would imagine, I mean, you were on the sideline for Boise Penn State.

Like, Boise does not look like Penn State physically coming out of the, coming out. Now, in fairness, they never really have for 25 years and have been averaging 10 plus wins, but it is pretty hard to overcome. I mean, Penn State is truly like a top five roster in the, in college football. And I do think that they are, they're playing really, really well. I mean, if Carter can get healthy, they definitely have, and their quarterback is,

he's not playing in the cold anymore. I mean, he's going to look a lot better in a situation in these controlled environments, because he does throw the ball better than Riley Leonard, right? Like, he's, yeah, he's actually pretty overrated athlete, turns out, like when I see him move around, it's like just stay in the pocket, but he can

throw the ball a lot better than Riley. And obviously, Riley can run it. If you could combine the two of them, you'd probably have a number one overall pick. I mean, both those throws, he had to warn were pretty tight, had to get over to the defender, pretty sweet like you mentioned. And it's cool, too. We always, him returning is going to be really cool

for college football and for himself too, because you always forget, like, this is first year in a new system. Like, first year in a new system, him being able to, I know, I talked to the offensive coordinator too from Penn State, any Cullinck, he said one of the biggest traits as he knows what everything's going on, so many shifts and motions, and he's got it dialed.

And it's pretty cool to see him engage in the game, yelling at the refs, and the want from him. I think it's something, that we mentioned. How big is he when he just walks by? Huge. Huge. Who's big of him or Warren? Warren's massive. He's kind of a quiet guy too, which I guess you kind of get, you know, the long hair, him giving me one of those tougher guys that just wants to play football. But those two and Adolfo Carter, you look at him, it's like, that dude's the top I pick. And hopefully he can get back. I think he's one of those guys that will gruel out an

injury just to play. But then you think Penn State, it's like the national championship the week after. So I don't know. I wonder how him against, you know, I guess the outside game with Notre Dame will fare out if he does play or doesn't play. Yeah, I mean, I know you said, what's the same come back? I would say this. There is some buzz in NFL circles. I mean, this is going pretty well for Drew Aller. If Drew Aller has another, like if he throws three touchdowns against Notre Dame and wins, there could start being some momentum. Like, bro, you're like a top 10 pick lock right now. Why couldn't he just, why couldn't he be the number one overall? pick. I'm serious. I mean, it's just like, there was a lot of hype last year, was a disaster,

gets a real coordinator, new offense, and by the second half of the year, definitely the end stretch of the year going from Oregon to as we move on, I think he's made himself a lot of money. You'd have to entertain it now. Penn State's paying him to come back, but if you could be a really, really high pick, like you're telling me the Titans or the Raiders, some of these teams would pass on that guy, I'm actually really, really impressed. I just always heard from my Penn state buddies that he was like a much better athlete. Do you think he moves around that well? I think he moves up when he's going forward, not laterally.

If that makes sense, I think when the pocket collapses around him, he's going to step up and run for a couple of five, six yards. But he's not laterally as fast as I thought, no. It's the most wonderful time of year for getting in on all the hoops, football, and hockey action at the Draft King Sportsbook. It's the season of giving and we're being gifted college football and basketball.

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We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created it. 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. 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. And we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. before Jonas Brothers

was... 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, where 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, S&L'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. Every 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, calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

SportsSlice 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 Slices Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect. We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across.

When Jacob met Levin this went to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive? The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I texted you this photo over the weekend with Jaila Milro, the UFL jersey.

What do you make of him? I'm just, I'm surprised he declared, but I guess it's one. of those things where you just you transfer, you hope you go somewhere else, or you hit the draft? I do think when you, it's easier to transfer, you know, when you're at kind of a random school, not even a random school, but when you see, like, this guy used to play at Arizona State, like when they were bad, right, or whatever, and now he's at Texas or Penn State or wherever. It's like, I totally, this guy was at Washington State, and now he's at Alabama or Oklahoma. It's like, oh, I would have done that too.

If you're at Alabama for two years and you've been the starting quarterback at Alabama, and it's like, okay, I go to the transfer portal. Like, what are my options? You know, like, where am I actually going? And you start, I'm going to look at your list. You're like, I'm just going to go to the draft. I'm not transferring, no way. Like, at least Quinn Ewers, and we'll see how that plays out.

If Quinn Ewer's wore to transfer, I do think he would have better options than Jalen Milrow. I think Jalen Milrow, I don't know if he's been injured. I didn't watch that whole game, but I did watch the first half of Michigan. It was really, really bad. And you're watching these other quarterbacks, you know, like Drew Aller is a good example. Like, Jalen was playing better than him felt like, you know, 12 months ago. And now you're looking at him, it feels like they're playing two different sports. And part of, and, you know, like you've been around, see these guys,

the true you play with the NFL guys in Montana, like, you've got to keep getting better. Like, the moment you start going backward, you know, it's a problem. and a quarterback, it's so far under the magnify. You're like, you can't really hide. Like, if you're a running back, you can be in a rotation. You could have a bad month or, you know, a defensive end. You can kind of blend in, not getting pressure. You're a quarterback.

You start playing bad. It's like the whole offense sputters. Yeah, it's just, I think he, I understand why he went pro because I couldn't transfer. If you've been at Alabama, it's like, hey, it's like if you start living in a penthouse, so you'd be hard to move to some, you know, to the bottom of the floor, right?

I mean, it's just, you're, you're, you're, living pretty well. I mean, he's been coached by Sabin and DeBore. I just think that what the hell, GoPro. Now, I don't know. I had his stock, I'd be shocked if he fits around pick or something. Such a falloff from all these guys this year. I mean, you look at Carson, Beck, Quinn Ewer, at one point, I think Jaila Mellar was

projected to go to the Saints in the top 10. It's like, now you look at it and you're right about this year's class with Ward and Shador. It's like, well, I know they're both talented, but are they overhyped by media and stuff. Like there's some areas that you see on both, both Ward and Chador that you're like, I don't know if I really want that as a Giants getting one of those guys.

And do you feel that confident of your Giants GM looking at those two? Or do you kind of, I mean, I don't even, if I'm a Giants GM, I don't even know if I'm going to have my office in about five days. But do you keep Drew Locke in another year? Like, I mean, no, I think Drew Locke, yeah, they should have been starting him for a lot longer when they went to DeVito. How about the contraption on, uh,

what's his name's, arm today on the sideline. Like clearly, Carson Beck had pretty serious elbow surgery, so it's like as his next year in doubt, even if it's, you know, maybe he'll be ready for training camp. His draft stock had already taken a huge hit. Now, I don't see how he goes any earlier, like the fifth, six, seventh round with a major elbow injury after the season he just had. And then Gunner came in and I would say, I don't think it made Carson look like better.

He was like, oh, see what you could. Like, he was slinging around, get the ball to some guys. Looked a little rusty for a guy making his, I guess, technically his first ever start. First ever, yeah. So it's like, I don't think that. Now, college is weird because, you know, high-end teams and even save and said, like, this guy was a pretty high-level recruit. It's not like you're back up at some of these programs, even though that maybe the average fan hasn't heard of them. Like, all the coaches have.

Like, Gunner Stockton, I don't know exactly if he's going to be this quarterback for Georgia next year. but if he let's say went in the transfer portal of the morrow, Gunner Stockton would have options immediately. Like would Carson Beck? With like a top 10 team, like would Notre Dame call Carson back? I'm saying if he was healthy. I think a lot of teams wouldn't even be that interested, given like how big his ego is, how much money he'd want.

Quinn Ewers, I'm not the biggest fan, but I would rather have Ewers than Carson Beck if they were both healthy. Now Carson's arm doesn't work, so it doesn't even matter. How shocked were you that you were made that throw on fourth and 13? I thought of you right when he threw it. I was like, well, you know, he's not good with pressure. They're going to bring a ton of pressure. And then him to check out of that.

And the protection on them, I think they brought six guys was spot on by him. I didn't think he had that in him. And for him to do that, you got to tip the cap a little bit for it. You think they called like a double move because it looked like he was running out at the sticks and then he went forward? That's a pretty ballsy. That's a pretty ballsy call. because you're basically playing for the touchdown,

thinking they will bite at the sticks. It's like, it worked, and it's all credit to Stark and the boys. But like, what if it doesn't work? What if the pressure gets there? He runs off his spot. I think that's, you're basically playing for the end zone shot, nothing else on that. And it worked because the guy bit.

And listen, I mean, if you're that DB, you got to play the sticks on that spot, right, fourth and 13, because if they don't throw it to the sticks, and you tackle them at the 11 or 12 yard line, you hold them. You're a legendary individual in the history of the program. So it's hard for me to blame the DB. Maybe that speaks to why it's such a great call. But part of that call is like, you've got to make sure of the protections there

because he's got to have a little time. And they obviously blocked it up and he made a great – he makes great passes. I mean, the game opened up in a blink of an eye. They scored a touchdown. Like, he has a nice arm. He just makes some bad decisions, throw some bad picks. Sometimes leaves – like, sometimes he makes a right decision, but he puts too much air under a ball, the ball that was picked,

that I think ended up leading to a touchdown, which I'm glad they didn't call it targeting on when the other DB took the guy out and luckily turned his shoulder. But I think Sark gets kind of gun-shy with him. Where it's like, look at Boise and ASU with their running backs, they just go down swinging with their guys, right? They just go down with the guys. Or it's like Sark's like, how do we kind of get around this?

And they try to, and the problem is they can't run the ball. so they just, they're kind of screwed. The running game's so up and down. You mentioned that too, and that was one thing with Marcus Freeman in the first quarter they interviewed them. They said, hey, you know, what's, what are you going to continue to do?

He said, hey, you know, Jeremiah Love is not getting anything. Price isn't getting anything, but we're going to commit to the run because that's what we want to do. It felt like Texas even up 16. It was like first and 10, they got one yard,

and it was immediately, all right, let's throw the ball, let's get it out there. I just, what do you make of, what's the identity of this team is just, we're just, Texas is going to come out and win barely and run the ball one week and throw the ball the next week? Like it just seems like you're right. The trust is not there with Sark and his quarterback or his offense.

Well, it's weird about that game is in basically two series. They score immediately. Then they take the punt to the house. And you're like, they might win this game. They might really embarrass Kenny Dillingham here. And then all of a sudden they just like nothing happened for a long period of time. And it's like the end of the half. It's 17 to 3.

you're like, how is this humanly possible? And I saw someone put out the drive chart. It's like, what happened? But that happens to them a lot. Where it's like, you're going to watch one drive. They look like Ohio State. Like, oh, my, look at that guy. Move.

Look at that throw. Look at that pancake blocked by the guard. You're like, geez, Louise. And then they just have a quarter stretch where they just look like an awful football team on offense. Their defense always looks good. Their defense is good. It's why Cam Scadaboo impressed so many people.

Like, he's running over NFL players. Their defense is good. Now, their secondary, I think, isn't a little question, right? Like, the play Scataboo just kind of throw up the prayer. Like, that's, Clemson was hitting big plays on them. They got hit big plays. Like, that's, even ASU hits in big plays. That's the one area.

Like, their front sevens really, really dominant, like Penn State, like Georgia, like Notre Dame. This is their secondary, I would say, can be just a little hit or miss. And it's, at least in the playoffs so far, which is scary. against Ohio State. It's crazy that that Taff, you mentioned Scatabot, on their longest play being that running back wheel for him to get out there

and Scatibo catching that football too. But yeah, it's a mismatch for Texas. And that's one thing too. I felt like their secondary has been fine until the playoff hit when Kate Klubnick started dealing it. And then you kind of sit back and you're like, well, they got the Thorpe Ward winner. They've got some good DBs.

But I feel like teams have found ways, like you mentioned, to expose this Texas defense. It wasn't good last. year, right? That's why that was their downfall against Washington. Their secondary was bad, mainly all season, despite being a final four team, clearly was better this year. I think a lot of that, the front four, and really the front sevens pretty dominant, but it feels like it gets just a little weird right now these last two games. And like, you know, everyone's being critical. You get tight in these playoff. You're talking about 18, 19, 20-year-olds. Scadaboof made some

incredible plays. The double pass a little, I saw Scadaboo say it was supposed to, to be Philly special. He's going to throw it back to the quarterback, but either they, I don't know if they covered them or he kind of got gun shy. He said he said he rolled his ankle the play before too. Love it. He said, yeah, don't throw it to me. And on that too, he kind of trips. Okay. And he throws the underthroat. He said, he looked up, he saw one-on-one. He said, okay, screw it. And that's why. But that's what you have to do in a game like that when you're ASU and you do start

get a little momentum. That was a classic Boise, you know, in the Chris Peterson era. You've got to have some trick plays. That's why I thought Boise State Like they just kind of ran a traditional offense against Penn State It's like you got to pull out some some tricks Against a team that has better talent Like hell Penn State was running like double passes with Tyler Ward And you're thinking like why are you doing this just run normal place

Why isn't Boise trying that That's where I give props to Dillingham and ASU for kind of pulling some of those plays When the ball was in the air you're like what is he doing And then the guy you know that they benefited from it but I thought these These four games were just really, really entertaining. And the amount of just star players, you know, I think this is where college football is really taking a huge step. When I was a kid, college basketball used to have this too.

But, you know, it doesn't, it's not the same anymore. Like, so many of these guys are playing in the NFL. Like, think about even the two big underdogs that lost. ASU and Boise. I mean, they have two star running backs. I mean, Gentie is, I mean, an all-time running back name that's going to be on the list forever. and Scataboo became like a cold hero. I mean, when do you ever see a white running back who like kind of gained some momentum throughout the season?

Like, oh, this guy's kind of fun. This guy's kind of fun. And by the end, everyone, even like NFL guys, like, Jesus, this guy's incredible. You know? I think that Scatabu earned more street cred just in terms of like, is this guy a real NFL player or is he's just a good college player? That game, all the other games combined this season. Because it's like, listen, you can run for whatever against West Virginia or whoever you're playing in the big. 12. And even early on in that game, like, this is a different animal. You know, this is a different

animal. In fairness, his offensive line couldn't block those guys. And then it was just like this guy, and clearly he had like the flu or sick or something. He's puking on the sideline. And he just starts trucking guys, making guys miss, making plays. And then you see his stats at the end of the game, like 120 yards rushing, 89 yards passing. He had the passing touchdown. It's like, what a performance by the kid. What a legend that was zero stars. went to Sack State, ends up there and caps that effort off. And honestly, I mean, they, fourth and 13 to beat Texas, is one of those when I'm looking up, I'm like, this is almost too good to beat your race.

She was really going to pull this off. But then you're looking at you're like, fourth and 13, I mean, what's the likelihood of that hitting? 10%, 15%, especially late in a game when everyone's tired. They had one receiver. They had one receiver, Matthew Golden. The whole time I'm watching, I'm like, everyone's talking about it on college game day, the emergence of Isaiah Bond, like, oh, him coming back to a big plus for

the offense. He only got one target was the one where he got blown up on the targeting. It's weird. I don't know what's going on with him. Is it Uers thing? Is he still banged up? Like he played some snaps and he was even on a one-on-one matchup. It wasn't even looked towards his way. This is a guy that was supposed to be a potential first round pick, maybe even second round pick. And it's like now you're going to guys Golden Moore, some of those younger dudes. It's kind of weird just seeing him the last, because Miami, or not Miami, Michigan game he went off. But after that, it's been really quiet for him. What I think's going to be interesting is, like,

big picture Texas is always going to be good now with the NIL era. They're going to dominate. Ohio State's going to dominate. Penn State's going to dominate. You guys are going to dominate. Like, these teams are not going anywhere. ASU caught lighting in a bottle a little bit this year with Scataboo, who kind of fell into their lap, right?

Just sack state. No one wanted them. The likelihood of that happening over and over is pretty slim. Now, he does gain momentum because they're on national. television, maybe they get some better recruits. But it is going to be very difficult. And I'm thinking once they lost that game, that might be their best chance ever to be in a situation like that.

Because one thing you'd say about Boise, like, Boise's been winning 10 to 12 games for 25 years. Like, the chances Boise wins 10, 11 games the next couple years and puts themselves in a position in the non-power forward to get another spot. No, they may never get a buy as they change the rules. But you told me, what are the chances Boisies in this game in the next three years? in a playoff game. I'd say like 90%. If you tell me in the next five years,

even if I think Dillingham's clearly really good, ASU might never get back to the playoffs. I mean, ASU, are they going to win eight games next year? Not because he's not a good coach or whatever. It's just, it's hard. You know, Oklahoma State was down. You know, the schedule you don't play certain teams.

I just think that's the one, and you just lose sleepover. You're like, oh, my God. Like, Georgia sucks to lose. Kind of a weird season. team clearly wasn't as good. They're like, we'll be fine. We'll be back. Even Alabama. You miss the playoffs. Like, we'll reload. We got, we'll be okay. A program like ASU is like, this might have been our best shot ever. Especially once we come back and then take the lead in

overtime. Don't you think with Levitt though that they may have some in a big 12 where I mean, I'm looking, trying to think on top of my head, Utah's got a transfer quarterback. Maybe Avery Johnson and Kansas State this next year ends up turning it around and he becomes better. but I look at the Big 12. Colorado losing all their guys, Sador and, you know, Shiloh and Travis and stuff. I kind of feel like, at least throughout the season that you saw Sam Levitt progress in what he was able to do

in that football game. I mean, he made some big-time throws, extending plays. I get that. I feel like there's maybe one more if they can recruit, but you're right. They're never going to find another scout about who was basically their entire offense. But Leavitt did improve. And you kind of look at that game like,

okay, the future may be bright for ASU. Yeah, and the one knock they've had is like NIL has been an uphill battle for him. It's like, and hopefully this helps, you know, just some of their famous, like, they might not have the crazy boosters, but maybe they just got some rich former athletes that all put in a couple hundred grand each, you know, even if there's a lot of... Phil Mickelson's of the world. It doesn't even need to be football. They don't have to be football players just because it is cool. Like the football team, like, saw Phil Mickelson tweeting about it. Like, it just brings people together in a moment like that.

Yeah, I just... It's just sometimes you hope, like the wide receiver, they got injured. Is he going to the draft? Is he coming back? He's a sophomore. Yeah. So it's like, is he a transfer portal guy? It's like, does Texas call him up?

You know, that's where, and that's what, and that's where I say, Boise is a lock to be back. Maybe in the old pre-NIL days, but it's harder like when they get the genties now as freshmen or sophomores, it's going to be harder and harder for them to keep them. It was just hard for them to keep them this off season, and they got lucky, stayed very loyal. And it obviously worked out for him pretty well that he stayed. He made the playoffs. It was all worth it. But I would say he's probably the exception that most guys at a school like Boise

when Alabama calls or Ohio State calls or LSU calls or Georgia calls, I give you $800,000 and you'd be my starting whatever. It's hard to turn that down, you know? That's what makes me nervous about like the non-super superpowers. which is like a pretty clear like 10 teams. Oregon, Ohio State, I would throw Michigan in there, Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Bama, LSU, Texas. Like when those schools call to any non, you know, of that group,

they're going to get basically guaranteed yeses. Like I saw Jim Mora going nuts, like, I'm going to start turning people calling my good players. Like, I had good luck with that, Jim. I don't think anyone cares. But that's happening. Like, they're just, I just think their personnel departments are like, who's the best player on the,

who's, give me the list of the top 20 players in the non-power four. Let's fucking start DM and I'm calling them. And then, the FCS National Championship, next Monday might get some attention to you talked about it. I mean, I'm a Montana guy and I hate Montana State meeting in the National Championship, but they've got some dudes there too that can move.

I mean, either wide receiver position or running back to their quarterback, uh, but lots could be one of those guys that a Notre Dame kind of plays in that similar style. but FCS on the cheap, you tell me, like, even Ohio State, I don't know if they would go and get a guy from the FCS, but it's the tampering part of things. It's a dominoff. Ohio State takes a guy from Minnesota,

then Minnesota calls Montana, right? Yeah. So if you take the starting guard from Wisconsin and he comes Ohio State or Alabama, then Wisconsin goes, well, who's the best guard? I can get this All-American at Montana. It's a fourth-round pick. We take them here.

It's actually not even a downgrade. But Ohio State might not go there. They'll just come to us because they see them. It's just an easier transition for them. Where for us, like this guy's a starter. But for that kid, how does he turn down when Montana or Utah calls him? Right. And that's where the shady part of this whole thing, it's like he's not technically, like a lot of guys don't enter the transfer portal until they hear.

Who knows? You know, you hear so many different stories. Agents are working the back channels. But it is kind of lawless. Which I got no problem. If your coach leads or whatever, you can do whatever you want. some of these guys are just like their coaches staying and just their DMs are flooded. It would be difficult.

You just got to hope like the dude's got a girlfriend that he doesn't want to leave, you know? Because they clearly, one thing's proven. The friendships, like your boys and your team, they're not that strong because I don't hear many people say like, you know what? I just couldn't leave my boys. Everyone's like, yeah, it was a great opportunity. See you guys later. That's like Finley.

He's been to five schools. When you look at getting married, who is going to be on your best man, your groomsman, set up. You're not going to have any type of friends. I think the only one that's been kind of, I guess, have friends of people sticking around was Notre Dame, some of those big schools. But yeah, you're right. It's the tampering part of it. I don't know how they're going to fix it. I don't think they ever will. You just think that might just be part of the sport, just tampering and stuff like that. I think that's why like James Franklin's pound in the table of like, we need just a commissioner that can just write some basic bylaws and he keeps messing with saving doing it.

but I think they know they need a coach that can understand like we got to not harp on this you know whatever it is pushing the envelope on these five things but we got to have a hard line of like if you sign an NIL with me

you can't leave unless these three things happen your coach leaves if you break the contract you got to pay you know you're under contract I don't know I don't exactly know but I think that's their big thing we just need some by loss

like in the NFL, there are just rules. If you're under contract, you can't leave? Now, but can you get cut? Like, again, I don't exactly know how I would go, but there has to be some sort of rules. Right now there just aren't any. And even for coaches, like, well, they can leave whenever. Well, yeah, if you want to steal said coach,

there's a buyout usually, right? 20 million, you know, some are bigger than others. So there's no buyout players. It doesn't seem like. You know, that Cam Ward thing, didn't play like you know was part of his NIL playing in that game i saw bruce feldman right that him playing in that game did help a lot of other guys not opt out and also play in that game i mean practiced you know for you know three whatever weeks 10 practices

i i think listen we jumped the shark so long ago with guys sitting out the bowl games how could in in what world if he helps other people stay and play in the bowl game if he wants to play a half, how is that more polarizing the guys just quitting and just leaving, which been happening now pretty consistently for a while? That's why I don't even know what to make about half of these bowl games. It's like, I fell asleep before the A&M USC game, but I remember seeing the list of A&M guys that opted out as like half their team. Like they just, and I would guess the majority of them didn't go to the bowl or just left, especially that bull, you know, against a six and six USC team.

So you tell me what's worse. A guy practicing with his team in a bowl game that doesn't mean anything. And I'm not even some huge, it's not like I'm pounding the table for Cam War. I'm just looking this logically. Playing in the half. And clearly they want to get a look at their backup quarterback. It can be their starter. They need a transfer portal.

And, you know, they lost. Mario loses a lot of big games. Like, just check his resume. Now, would they have lost with Cam? Probably not. But who knows? Mario's a coach. Or all these guys just say, peace, I'm out and just head to L.A.

start training. Like, you tell me what's worse. Like, Cam was there with his guys. I think people, you know, feel like they, listen, it doesn't happen a lot. A guy just leaves a halftime. But I do think that is much, much better. And I have more respect for that than the guys that just leave. And now everyone's so numb to, no one even cares.

Like, oh, they just opted out. Look at just Twitter on a daily basis. Like, not now because all these bowl games are mainly over, but like two weeks ago, opt out, opt out, opt out, opt out. All these guys, either transfer portal or, or the league. I respect the guys. He's in the transfer portal,

but he's also still playing. I think Orgy for Michigan is in the transfer portal, but he's playing like, Devin Brown from Ohio State, their backup quarterback's still playing. I respect that. Yeah, I agree with you.

I think part of it too is the reason why is sports betting, sports gambling has been so popular for Miami to be a five, six point favorite and have its flip around where Iowa State, not a lot of guys left to go to the portal for them. I got their starting quarterback.

They're all young versus Miami. You've got Emery Williams who hasn't played like the entire season. I think that part of it is why people were all placed. I will say this. Betting on bowl games, non-playoff games in general is a very difficult proposition in this era. And it has been for a while. You know, it's just you don't know who's playing. You don't know who cares.

It's always been tough as they've got, especially as they've gone to the 14 playoff. And it's really kind of, I would say. diminished a lot of the importance of the bulls. Smaller schools stills kind of mattered, but for the bigger schools, like, you turn on Alabama, US, or Alabama, Michigan. Listen, I know Jalen Milro played bad, but it didn't feel like Alabama cared at all.

You can't tell me throughout the season, if Alabama played them in a regular season game in like October 10th, that Michigan would beat them. I would doubt that. Who knows? Now maybe Michigan beat Ohio State and turned the corner, and now they're better, I don't know. But bowl games are. weird. Non- playoff games. That it feels like

everyone's all-in game planning. I mean, half these players are screwing around. Like, Colorado. Well, I wonder what Colorado's focus was leading up to that BYU game. I would imagine it was pretty low. Ass kicking. It was like, hey, dad.

We'll play. We'll play for you because we love you. But, yeah, we don't expect max effort out of us here. It was crazy. I looked up because the NFL game was going. and Shador was getting chased down in like the fourth quarter

like five minutes ago I'm like this is he's getting peppered I'm like this is crazy Hey it's us to 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 to it We're the first people to do podcasts Pretty yeah pretty wide range of podcasts We're starting a trend But this one's extra special

So how do 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. 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, where 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 Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every 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,

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Jacob Kingston grew up in an isolated polygamous sect.

We were God's chosen kingdom on earth. He felt destined for greatness. So when a swaggering Armenian businessman catapults Jacob into an extraordinary world, he doesn't look back. Ferraris and Lamborghinis, private jets, meeting the president of Turkey. I'm Michelle McPhee, and this is one of the most shocking criminal conspiracies I've ever come across. When Jacob met Levant this plant to a billion dollar fraud. But with two kings from entirely different worlds, just how long can their empire survive?

The largest tax investigation in American history. You need to tell me what you know. Is somebody coming after me? Jacob told Levan, you're ruining my life. Listen to Kingdom of Fraud on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So what do you make of all four teams with buys? You know, Arizona State, Boise State, most likely we're going to lose that football game, ended up having opportunities and not winning.

What do you make, I guess, the four teams with buys losing? I think what's going to happen is, well, Georgia and Oregon, I mean, you just play against a game. This happens in the NFL. You just play against another high-level team. It's football you can lose. I don't think that's that weird. I would say that I would imagine the next couple iterations as they change this. If I was a by team, I would want a home game.

I think that's a huge, huge advantage. Then have to travel three or four days before, stay at a hotel. I'd want a home game. Now, Oregon might have lost that game, whether they play that thing in Otson, whether they play that thing in the moon. It might not have mattered. Probably wouldn't have. But I would say, hey, if I'm going to go undefeat and be the only, like,

how do we not get home games? We've got to figure this out. I think Clat or somewhat had said that he envisions a scenario that essentially the Big Ten and the SEC flex their muscles and they say, you guarantee the SEC championship and the Big Ten championship winner a buy.

And then the other two buys, like, you guys can figure that out. It doesn't have to be championship games. It can be the highest ranked team. However you guys want to do it. But our two teams get buys and then just like, if it's other teams from our network, fine. But like, this situation is not.

It was kind of clunky this year with Boise and Arizona State. But I also think the combination of the bowls still having their hand in the cookie jar throws things off. It's a little weird. I mean, I would say this. The passion of the game you were at still felt pretty cool. Now, Boise, you know, has a passionate fan base. I would imagine a lot of their alumni live on the West Coast. A lot of people from the Northeast live in Arizona or Southern California, maybe.

So it's not that far of a travel. That atmosphere felt pretty cool That spot I feel like Works better for big college Now Arizona you know The Cardinals haven't been good since like Bruce Aryan days But that place is a good place to host a college game A lot of people like coming here and hang out

Yeah even the final four last year I mean the amount of fans they had They packed it all the way up to the rim on both sides And you can see the college spirit They bring in because Arizona Cardinals have those casitas in the end zone So they remove those And they bring in all the airs extra stands in there.

I did find it weird though. This was the first time. Even last year with the 14th playoff, how it's like, hey, you congrats you win this bowl game. They're passing all these bowl hats and you get the trophy. And even James Franklin's like, yeah, we'll celebrate this. But it's like, now we've got to go on to the Orange Bowl and win an Orange Bowl trophy and then win a national championship trophy.

That part of it's like a little conflicting where back in the day you won a bowl game. It kind of meant a big deal to wear the hat. You're going to throw that hat in the dumpster. It's a little off. Like in basketball, you cut the nets. when you make it to the final four, it's a really big deal, and then you'd only cut the nets if you won't the national championship. You wouldn't cut the nets after you win the semi-final game. Yeah, exactly. But now that's, they're still figuring their way through this.

It's got a little baseball feel to it, like when you win every playoff series, you spray champagne. We're in football, like, the Chiefs really celebrate once, when they win the division, and you don't really celebrate it again until you win the Super Bowl. I guess you would celebrate if you won the AFC and then the Super Bowl. but like celebrating each round of the playoffs, it's just a little clunky. But I get, if you're these bowls, and this is where I don't think you would do it.

Like if you were as Oregon, you just interview, if you're like, you know, at, that game was at Notre Dame today, or at Georgia. You just wouldn't have a celebrate, you'd just interview Marcus Freeman. You'd interview Riley Leonard,

guys would be able to feel celebrating, and then they just go to the locker room, do a sweet celebration in the locker room and shower, eat, go home. But you got it like all the sponsors, He's got too many hands in the cookie jar right now There's just too much going on With the sponsors, the bowls

The playoffs It does feel a little clunky I didn't realize that watching it today But it makes sense now Like it feels because they're going to do it again The semifinal games, right? Yeah, they're going to the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl So it's like, okay, you're going to win that game

And then you go to Atlanta for the national championship That's just a lot of I don't mind the bowl games for the semis But I think that quarter final And look, I mean all four were great atmospheres outside the Sugar Bowl what's been going on, but

it did feel a little like the celebration after giving them the trophy and I even saw even the Cam Scatter were getting the Peach Bowl offensive MVP they lost. Like that's I don't know. It's congrats. You got this Peach Bowl trophy but we want the big one at the end.

Yeah, let's end on this. One thing that's going around and this is where I think all these guys pushing for they're just using Sabin because he just retired and he's old and he knows a lot. and they know he'd be a dick and would just, like, drive a hard line on things is that

I think all these bowls eventually they got to kind of figure out a way to just keep it pretty consistent with, like, maybe there's a, between six bowls, you kind of rotate between the semis and then just keep the national championship at the Rose Bowl. Because the Rose Bowl is just the sweetest, the way it looks.

It's pretty cool. And that, it does feel, like a push in college football world to have the national championship at the Rose Bowl forever. It's just like, this is the Masters, just to add Augusta every year. It's like we don't rotate venues here. Now, this is where I think so many people are involved that the Orange Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, like these people ain't going to allow that to happen, right? I mean, you saw today when Molly's trying to interview the Allstate person's grabbing the mic, and it's just everyone up on the dais, you always have these sponsors and the bowl president.

Those people have a lot of juice, you know, in the committee. You know, they're a part of this thing. So it's, that's where I just wonder, we talk a lot about NIL and Transfer Portal. The bowl system is pretty, like, there's a lot of money exchanging hands there, you know, where they ain't giving up their power. That's where I think the coaches are like, oh, my God. The Rose Bowl's cool. But James Franklin's like, we just be boys to state and we're like doing this celebration.

and you know can we just we only got like eight days till our next game it probably felt really weird to them. It would definitely Sabin wouldn't handle it well. Yeah it was a little weird I mean none of them were wearing the hats

after they all had them in their hand. I think the only one that had some type of theestable I guess relevancy was Tyler Warren with his trophy. But you talk about the Rose Bowl. Don't you think that some cities would get a little jealous like hey well

if Pasadena is going to get the national championship every year the economical impact it has on their city. Why can't we have it in Indianapolis? Why can we have it in Phoenix? Do you think that battle would happen if they were to have it in one spot? Well, that's some pushback. I'm thinking like, I always

think the college games in Glendale pop. Like, it looks good on TV. At night too, especially. Yeah, Miami. New Orleans always works. Georgia always works. Right? In Atlanta, like, so the rotation does work. I just think people think because of the weather

it's perfect outside. It's such a historic thing. you. And that's where maybe we are just destined to have, I don't think the second round, the buy teams are going to get home games for the foreseeable future. Like maybe that's, maybe that's, it's a stupid conversation to have because it's just not going to happen. Because I would imagine they made so much money with all the sponsors. That's why they did this. So it's almost like, if Ohio State wins it, it's harder because you got to play the extra game. But it is pretty cool. If you do got to play the first round, get a home game, and then go on if you get the right bracket.

We're Penn State. Like if it's Penn State versus Ohio State, it's been pretty sweet for them. They got to play in, you know, three bowl games and they got to play a home playoff game in December. That's pretty wild. And maybe there'd be, we'll have to see, you got to need like five years of data.

But you do get some momentum, you know, having played, and you just, you know, it's like people say, you know, and sometimes a buy week in football, can slow you down a little bit in the NFL and those teams just stay hot and they just keep going through. Especially for college kids, right? And I don't know something to keep an eye on, but now I talk about it. Like, I don't think these bowl games are going anywhere.

It's just too much money, too many sponsors. Yeah. It is interesting, though, with the whole buy situation, the only two things they could do is shrink it to eight or expand it to 16. It ain't in trunk. It ain't in trunk. It ain't in trunk. Exactly. Yeah, it won't get shrunk, but it would be funny if they did flip it where the 10, 12, 11, and 9 were to get the first round by.

And then the first team, but then you have to play the obviously 5 through 8. What's your number grade out of 10 so far in these playoffs? I've been, I'm a fan of more football. I'm a fan of the March Maddest side of college football. I don't think it's anything we'd ever see even 10 years ago when they came out with this model. I think the second round definitely brought it up compared to all the blow. it's in the first round. I'd probably say eight out of ten. I think there's been a lot of drama and still parodying the sport where it's like

you're on your, especially these four games. Every game, it felt like the other team, the underdog had an opportunity to win. What about you? Yeah, I'd say the second round really amped it up. Notre Dame, that last game, I mean, that was just, that was a war. Arizona State, Texas is the game of the year so far, right? A game of the playoffs by a mile. Yeah, I go like seven.

Seven and a half. I mean, even Ohio State. I mean, I know you and you and Colin talked about it, and I was leaning more towards Oregon. I mean, that type of performance. That's the type of performance you watched them. I was just in awe about both sides of the football for Ohio State and the fact that you have two players that are going to be number one overall picks

that aren't even. That's what's great about the sport too. I think that's what we've seen in the playoff is there's been a lot of younger guys that have stepped up in the playoff that, get a lot of fame that'll bring a lot of people back to the sport when you look at next season. And I think the one good part about this playoffs, year one, if you would have taken like the group of like however many teams, probably eight to 12, you would have been like who's going to be in the final four, these would have been four of the eight or ten, right? I mean, it's Notre Dame

Penn State. And I mean, I would have said everyone would have picked Ohio State in Texas, right? Ohio State would have been a lock, I'd say for most people to be in a final four. I think Texas would have been high up there as well. Penn State probably would have been closer to like most teams, people's eight. But if I would have told you who they would have got to play to get to the final four, you might have picked them. But once you watch them play this year, it's clearly they're pretty freaking good. And Notre Dame was just kind of the wild card of like how good are they actually,

but people thought they were definitely a playoff team before the season. And it turns out they're actually probably better. You know, that was a freak loss. I mean, they're really good on defense, and the quarterback's gotten better. But that's, like, that's an excellent final four for TV viewing. You get Notre Dame, Texas, and Ohio State. I mean, those are probably the top three brands in the sport. I mean, I don't even know, maybe Michigan, Alabama.

I'm just talking, like, brand, put them on TV, get people to watch. I mean, Ohio State's definitely one. Most people would argue Texas is two. I mean, Notre Dame is probably like 2B. I mean, Penn State ain't small. I mean, Penn State's closer to five than it is 15, so it's going to be, it's really good. And, you know, Ohio State's a pretty big favorite over Texas. The one good thing with Texas is they've got so much talent.

They can, like, it's not a lock. It wouldn't shock me at all if it's a tight game at halftime, right? I mean, they are well-coached. They got, I know people think, like, Sark, I've actually come around on Sark. I think that he gets scared with Quinn. that he's going to make a mistake, and they kind of coach around them, their defense is so much more physical than in the history of that pro, you know, in the history of Sark coaching that program.

Like, they are. Their defense is good. I mean, their secondary gives up balls. Like, shit, that happens in the NFL. What are you going to do with DB on an island? He's either good enough or he's not. It's not like, well, he's better than the guy on the bench. But their front seven is every bit as good as Ohio States, Notre Dame's Penn States.

I mean, it's, that's the amount of NFL guys in this Final Four is pretty stupid. And a lot of them are like 19 and 20 years old. They're not even going to the NFL. I mean, Brian Young's kid on Notre Dame. I mean, that guy's, that guy's an NFL player. I mean, he's a lock to be like in two years,

like a 15-sack starting edge guy. I mean, how big is that guy going to be as he eats and lifts? Because he technically doesn't even really start this year, right? He's a rotational guy. No, he didn't get playing time until the playoff. Because we lost a couple guys in the interior, and then you lose Howard Cross for a little bit, Batello.

as well and Mills him that was one thing too the middle of the defense that's one thing that's been so impressive about this Notre Dame team is just their ability to just plug and play guys like they're secondary you're playing three freshmen it's see that's the thing about these that's the thing about these programs so like a guy like him next year there'll be a lot of tight like he's putting 15 more pounds of muscle he's starting this year like in 2025 and maybe it takes maybe it's like he's a 12-sac guy all-American like that's on the table with a lot of guys like him on all four of these teams where it's like these guys like there could be like 10 guys that are rotational guys that are going to be top 20 picks in 2007 and the talent on the field it's not just like

you know the the NFL guys who are getting drafted it's also the freshman and sophomores who are future NFL players that was the Georgia team like when they first won the national championship it's like guys I hope you know that half their defense as sophomores and they're all going to be top 45 picks next year. So every guy that's not draft eligible is going to be draft eligible. And some of them are even better than the guys that are drafted this year. So these teams are just stacked with talent. Maybe in the NIL era, one thing that's going to be impossible, you could get un-upset,

like an ASU or Boise, but you couldn't win like three games if you don't have elite talent. So it's going to be the top programs. Like, I don't need to see five years of this playoff. Like, you couldn't have like back-to-back upsets with just the little, engine they could have one. And if it's off, I was going to say it's off some fluky stuff, like you mentioned Arizona State with the fake punt, yeah, exactly, double pass, and then Boise State at one point had it because Gentie fumbles and then Drew Aller gives the ball back, and then they run down the field and they score. So, yeah, a lot of fluky stuff in those games

would have been potential upsets. And there were some freaky stuff in that game, like when Gentie fumbled twice, has he had even fumbled all season? And he fumbled in the sideline, the ball popped up. That first one, it was incredible. Yeah, it was crazy. Okay, Jackson, thanks for joining me. Congrats. Big day. I mean, Notre Dame, this is why you're fan, because these moments, you're not that old. So most of your moments, I mean, what you're losing to Alabama?

I mean, your moments haven't been that terrible. Like, you've had a lot of good teams, a lot of sweet NFL guys. And honestly, you're not even that much farther. Like, you've been to the National Championship with Brian Kelly, right? You've been to the Final Four. So now you're just back to the Final Four. but beating Georgia feels like cooler than those moments losing, yet you still got to win. If you lose against Penn State, obviously was a successful year, but it will feel great.

You are favored. I'm excited, man. I cannot believe this Notre Dame team is flipped around, and I'm actually, when we get off of this, I'm going to buy some more Notre Dame merch because we're pretty low in the department. And as they keep playing, hopefully I can wear it on throughout the season. But I just feel like Marcus Freeman, the perfect timing of him, from Notre Dame to finally get over the hump that they can't win the big one and against a Georgia team

with Gunter Stockton and I know the whole headline was well a backup quarterback it's Georgia but they got a backup quarterback I think we all could tell he looked pretty much better than Carson Beck and I guess he should have his receivers would have helped him out a little bit I mean that that 86 catches that 80 yard pass it looks even better

for Georgia yeah you didn't you didn't just beat some like scrub who couldn't play like that was a real win that was a real win against the defense that was really trying with an offensive line that was hyped up throughout the entire season too that has an offensive guard that's going to go on the first round too so yeah so you you take that winning some pride and uh no just get ready for a game in seven days well i'll talk to you soon buddy and congrats the volume 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. 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 Smigel 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 Street. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all. in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard 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, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway

with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast.