The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Saturday NFL Recap, College Football Playoff Round 1 Reaction

Episode Date: December 22, 2024

John reacts to the Ravens taking down the Steelers and Kansas City handles business against the Texans in two games that had playoff vibes. Later, John is joined by "Intern Jackson" as the two dive into the first round of the College Football Playoff by talking about the most impressive teams, and which teams maybe shouldn't have been in the playoff. 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.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. 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.

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Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. 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 ice.

Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying.

You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis' keep coming to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the, IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Danny Shapiro. And these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move.

And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off. And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to Season 14 of Family Secrets on the IHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are?

I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. What is going on, everybody? Happy early playoffs? We have the college football playoffs going.

The two NFL games had a playoff feel to it. Definitely, listen, if you love football, there is nothing like whether it's Flacco, Rathesberger, Tommy Maddox, I don't care. Obviously, it's incredible with Lamar and Russell and Tomlin and Harbaugh. that was awesome. The Ravens get a huge win.

Get a huge win. And I would say Lamar, as Steve Young once looked at Gary Plummer, that he could not beat the Cowboys, and he finally did. Now, that was to get him to the Super Bowl, and Steve said, take the monkey off my back. And that's what happened today. Lamar was awesome. And I still think he's got an uphill battle to win the MVP because of the momentum,

but awesome performance beside the one pass. which might not have been his fault. The Ravens get a big win. I do want to die. I thought today with the Chiefs and the Ravens, it was just a display of the front offices on top of obviously two of the best quarterbacks. I don't know. We've seen in recent memory.

But the Texans, you know, Steelers first. We'll dive into them. The Texans, obviously, the Tankdale injury who was playing, I mean, who looked awesome, was pretty tough to watch. And the emotions of C.J. Stroud crying. And all their comments after the game. So, man, that, that was tough. Clearly, it was not a good injury because he went right to the trauma center.

He's not even flying back with the team. So we'll keep our fingers crossed that, you know, everything's going to be okay. Big picture. Obviously, his season is over. But, you know, both, all four of these teams, you can take a deep breath, slam some Gatorades, and get right back on the horse because you're playing in four days here on Christmas. So before we dive in to a little NFL football, listen, Christmas, right around the corner.

Hanukkah also right around the corner. You want to get a gift. My friends, the official ticketing partner of this podcast, Game Time has you covered. Here's the thing. Just any event, sporting event, college event, concert, comedy show, you name it. Just take the guest work out of buying tickets with GameTime, download the GameTime app, create an account. use the code John for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply again, create an account,

redeem the code J-O-H-N for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price is guaranteed. That was awesome. Just the physicality, the violence, how important every play felt. Sign me up for Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens till I die. That feels as good as it gets.

that is as good as the NFL has to offer the tangible hatred and venom that it feels like the two teams have for each other. Both of them, their core guys, are just such tough physical players. The violence guys play with on defense, just the overall up until the last, once the game got a little out of control once rushed through the pick six. But up till then, you're just on the edge of your seat. Even when one team, you know, look like the Steelers. we're going to pull ahead early and then Russ fumbles, late, Lamarthro's the pick, you think the Steelers have a chance. It is fantastic television.

You know, for as crappy, we'll see how Ohio State and Tennessee goes tonight, but for as good or as bad as those college games have been, that game was riveting. That was, that's why I watch football. It's why I talk about football. So congrats to AFC North Football. Now, we need to give this. guy some props because he's taking a lot of shit.

He's an incredible player. He's one of the most versatile players we've ever seen in the history of the NFL. And you could argue he's having his best season ever and the guy's got two MVP's. But he's had something that he hasn't been able to overcome. He has not played well against the Chiefs and obviously has not played well against the Steelers. Even though in this weird twist because of some injuries and some week 18, clinch games, doesn't matter.

He hasn't played the Steelers that many times at home. I thought today he was brilliant. And it shows you, you can't box score scout players in football. You got to watch the game. He has games statistically that blow this thing out of the water. But, you know, one thing that I think over the course of his career when he's played, last year the Chiefs in the AFC championship or earlier this year against, you know, the Steelers, is like he freaks out

and he gets really frenetic that he doesn't do against these random teams when he's just blowing their doors off. And today you saw the guy that you see against the New York Giants in these random teams. Completely poised, completely under control. The Steelers do a really good job

of corraling Lamar in the run game. But the Steelers have issues on their secondary and he eviscerated them in big spots. Obviously the touchdown throws. He had a fantastic touchdown throw to Bateman in the run. the quarter in the end zone. You know, Mark Andrews wide open, hits him with ease, some awesome throws to Zay Flowers.

I thought he was brilliant today. And he was, if he plays like that in these big games, because he's kind of gotten to this point where he's just going to be judged on big games in the playoff games. Like his stats speak for themselves. He's like already a Hall of Famer. Just from an eye test standpoint, he's got to be, you know, the most electric player. I think in like the history of the end. NFL. But today, like, that's winning high level football. And this is something that, like,

the conversation is in the narratives and that stuff. It doesn't change until you do it. And to play like he did today, you know, because part of the way he dominates, right, he has become, and even Brady said it today. I thought Brady had a good broadcast. Brady's kind of coming into his own. Is their passing game has taken a big step in terms of the complexity to it. But like where Lamar is an unstoppable force is where he's running around on you and then you start freaking out and then it becomes much easier to pass. Well, one thing the Steelers clearly focus in on is we're not going to let the guy run wild. Like if Derek Henry is going to beat us, then he's going to beat us. And he did. But they do not, they corral Lamar pretty well. And it

didn't phase him today. And obviously it helps with Derek Henry going nuts. But to me, his calmness, how poised he was, and his accuracy down the field, beside the one pass, which, you know, who knows, maybe if you're sitting there with Munkin and Bateman and Lamar, maybe it's not totally on Lamar, but regardless, that pick and that spot, you're only up a touchdown, you have the chance to kind of put him away.

It felt like it could swing the game. And then Russell's like, well, I'm going to make a pass that is 50 times worse than that one. And listen, that's a fantastic win, a fantastic performance by their offense. and I think one big difference last year to this year offensively for him. Obviously Andrews back from the hip drop tackle that knocked him out. He looks really good.

Zay Flowers has taken another step for them. You know, the ability obviously to stretch the field on the outside, but they can work him over the middle. He's pretty strong for a small guy. You saw, you know, late in the game breaking that tackle. He's added an element they haven't had. They drafted Bateman, I think in the first round, whatever, a long time ago. And, you know, early on, it was like, I don't know if this is working.

They just kept develop him, kept developing him. And he's become, you know, a really solid player for them. But you get this type performance from Lamar. Like, like, that's what everyone is, you know, get so down on them about the playoffs. It's like the calm, cool, collected, like, I'm going to dominate this game. If I have to as a passer because I can't run it and because the Steelers, they have so much team speed on the outside with their pass rushers. and they're just, they're good at playing them.

Obviously, they're much more comfortable because they see him twice a year. They see him on cross tape all the time. He's just a huge part in their building. Like they're not intimidated by playing him a lot like the Chiefs. And he made him pay today, you know, with his arm. So big boy performance from, you know, one of if not, you know, on a given week, the best player in the NFL. And, you know, I think big picture for today,

I thought the front offices of Brett Veach and DeKost, and the Ravens and the Chiefs really shined. You know, I think you see Derek Henry, like they got the guy for $9 million guaranteed. And he's easily been, him and Sequin, two of the best signings in recent memory. The guy's going to rush for like 17, 18, 100 yards. And he's a big game player,

Bright Lights guy who has thrived against the best teams. It has passed in playoff games. So you think he's going to be intimidated against the Steelers? I mean, he was awesome. And, you know, we've been saying for a long time, like, you know, the Ravens, he doesn't have a good enough pass offense. He doesn't have good enough weapons. Like, that's a flower's pick last year.

That dude's a fucking bowler. He really is. And on the flip side, like the Chiefs, like, obviously both these two teams go as their quarterback goes. You know, they're obviously really, really good defenses. And the Ravens are playing much better in the back end. And it shows you when you have stability and you have a front office who is not living and dying on a weekly basis, on a yearly basis, you have a coach and you have a GM that are just going to be there for a long time, that you don't overcorrect or panic. And early on, Zach Orr, which is a crazy story, right?

He had the devastating injury. I remember scouting him when I was in the league. I mean, he was a really good player when their defenses were really good. and like Ray Lewis had Reed days and has a career shot short gets into the coaching world and early on it looked like

God this is not working out especially because of the guy he was replacing and now they make the move they put Kyle Hamilton back in the secondary which obviously played a huge role today when they go for it on fourth and five or fourth and six which I'm fine with going for it midfield

because the Steelers have not covered anybody all day long. And really the last two weeks, they've been getting, their secondary right now is a major problem. And Brady goes, you know, I'd probably pun it here. I'm a little more conservative, but I don't like this play. It's like, Tom, this Pittsburgh defense is not playing like the Pittsburgh defense that we talked about like the first nine or ten games. Injuries, but they're just not covering anybody.

You cannot feel comfortable that you're going to get stops against Lamar Jackson and Derek Henry. I'm all for going for it. But then when you go for it, it's one thing when it's fourth and 15 and you're kind of desperate. It's like, yeah, there's not that many plays that you feel good about.

But when it's fourth and five or six, I need several routes that are seven, eight yards that give my quarterback a chance. And to run Austin, who looks awesome, down the middle of the field. You got Kyle Hamilton, who they basically moved to the deep safety where early in the season he was playing like a linebacker. It's like, I don't love that.

that. Like, I'm not on board with that play call. I'm on board with the decision because I think it was clear the way the game was trending. Like, you got to be aggressive there because you're not stopping anybody. But I just hate the decision of throwing a bomb on

a, you know, a play that's not fourth and 20. Like, what are we doing? And as you saw, at first you're like, ah, did that, was that a PI? No, I was like, never had a shot. Kyle Hamilton's huge. Austin's smaller. Plus, like, He probably easily could have picked it.

If they throw that ball 10 times, I bet Kyle Hamilton picks it six or seven times. So, listen, for as good as controlled Lamar was today, beside the one pick, Russell had two plays that really, and I didn't think Russell was that bad, but he had two plays that cost his team 14 points. Early on in this game, you know, Russell, when he first came in the league, the Niners were at the peak of their powers with Jim Harbaugh from a defensive standpoint. And that game was a bloodbath. Now, it's probably been a while, you know, playing in Denver and then even at the end of Seattle.

He's not used to those bloodbath games or maybe he's just, I don't know, just throwback, thought he could, didn't see a guy, thought he could be aggressive. In a game like today, I think you've got to be pretty conservative when you see defenders coming up to you. You're not playing the Giants here. You're not playing the Jags. You are playing 11 guys who will fucking destroy you, who want to inflict them. pain on you.

And he got, like, I think he got a little cocky. And even Jimmy Johnson at half times, like, you got to get down. And he gets hit. The ball comes out. It's at like the three or two yard line. It's seven to seven. If the Steelers score there, it's 14 points. Instead, he fumbles.

The Ravens drive right down the field and score a touchdown. I mean, that's a 14 point swing. And then the pick six, like, you get a huge pick for Minka to give you some life and give you an opportunity down a touchdown. and they've been running those boots and rollouts all game long, and he had been pretty good, but that throw wasn't even close. He hit Humphrey and Stripe.

I mean, he hit him in the stomach. And obviously he's getting hit, he's throwing it a little bit behind him, but you either got to eat it, throw it away. You cannot make that mistake there. It cannot happen, not in a game of this magnitude, not in a situation like that. And listen, I'm not trying to just dump on the guy

like he's some scrub. He has been dramatically better. than we all thought. If you're a person acting like you knew Russell Wilson was still a solid starter, I'm sorry, I think you were on an island. There is not many people that were saying that. And how could you if you've watched him play? He has been pretty good. But those two plays today had a big, big reason for that team losing. Now, I think also the Steelers, like the Ravens, have really kind of corralled their defense. They've been good against the run all season long, but the past defense just feels a little more stable. Because early,

on in the season, it was like you cannot win a Super Bowl or even compete to win a Super Bowl if you can't cover anybody. And clearly they're much better. They hit a couple of passes this day. One, Austin just made a great play down the sideline. But the Hamilton move has changed them. You just can't make that play. You really can. And Russell, for his awesome and some of the great plays Lamar made, those two plays with Russell Wilson are going to be hard to stomach. But offensively, they're just not as explosive without George Pickens. And defensively, they're a shell of themselves. I mean, how many times, and it even goes back to the Philly game, right?

AJ Brown, Devante Smith. Today, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews. Lively. These guys are wide open. It's like, you can't. Part of the Steelers formula was going to be to compete in the playoffs against the Ravens, against the bills and against the Chiefs. We're like, you know what?

We're going to be, if not the best defense of the league, one of the best. Obviously, they have a fantastic defensive line. They got bodies after bodies. But if you're secondary, can't cover a soul. And right now they cannot. Obviously, they've had some injuries. But you got KZ looking all over the place. I mean, the Andrews touchdown was stealing candy from a baby.

Listen, I'm not saying I'm like, in on Lamar to now I feel more confident. Because I couldn't have felt much more confident last year going in. But today, if you're a Ravens fan makes you feel pretty good, I'm out on the Steelers. because you just can't play defense like that. You cannot play past defense where you can't cover people and have a shot in the playoffs.

It's just not possible. Not against Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen. Because that's the crew of guys you're going through to win games in the second and the third round, right? The divisional round in the conference championship game. So Steelers, they shocked a lot of us,

but it feels like at the wrong time the wheels are kind of coming off. And that was, I was a big boy win by the Ravens, and I think one of those where it's like, you're kind of licking your wounds. Now all of a sudden, you're playing the Chiefs in whatever, 72 or I guess a little more than that,

with 72 plus 20, that'd be 96 hours. You're playing the Chiefs in 96 hours, a team that's 14 and 1 that has back-to-back defending champions, and I thought played one of their better games of the season today. That's who you get, and their passing games kind of, coming alive, like, I don't know.

And then the Ravens, now, obviously the Steelers are at home and the Ravens are on the road, but they're getting the Texans who just had one of their most talented young players on the team look like his leg snapped. And this is back-to-back years for Tank Dell, who, it just hurt your heart to see a guy last year. It was, I think, week 11, he had his leg shattered, right? He had a broken leg in the end zone. Today, I think it might even be worse.

And all these guys are in. tears, pretty rattled. And now the Ravens get them? So this could flip fast. All of a sudden, the Ravens, you know, are the three seed, and you are just leaking oil. Who knows? Maybe you're not even a lock to be the five seed at this point in time.

The Chargers finish with the Patriots and the Raiders. They got two more wins. They're going to win 11 games. I think if you're a Steeler fan, you've got to be pretty rattled right now. And if you're a Ravens fan, you've got to feel pretty good. 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, pro football and basketball, and pro hockey too, almost 24-7. So many games every day, so many opportunities to place your first bet.

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additional terms and responsible gaming resources. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it.

We just contributed to a podcast. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. 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. And, well, 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 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 Smygel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Keith Giamonka seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out.

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because everything that had existed prior in my reality, is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.

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Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King,

recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home,

they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And the other game, like I said, the organizational Wednesday. I mean, the Ravens, how well they've done, built the team around Lamar. You know, have a guy in Zach Orr who had mentored under Harbaugh, under Mike McDonald. It reminds me a little of D'Amico when they elevated him to be the defensive coordinator after Robert Salo left.

You have a guy you're comfortable with. You believed in. You let him go through the growing pains. And now he's coming into his own. And the Chiefs, like, one thing that stuck out to me, obviously, Mahomes, I don't understand how the guy can have an injury where he looks like it's just, he's going to miss a month. And then come back the next week on a short week and not only look completely normal,

but like look spry. Look like he shows no signs. He's got to have, you know, Brady forever talked about pliability. I don't know what the hell he's doing. clearly he's not a big lifter with the dad bod, but his flexibility is second to none and was awesome today. He's building a rapport with Worthy,

but think about. Chris Jones, they made a pretty big decision a couple years ago, which most teams would not have done. When you have a Tyree Kill in the peak of their powers, how many of these teams are like extending wide receivers at these crazy numbers? And they said, you know what?

We're going to double down on Chris Jones and we're going to trade Tyree Kill. And that move changed their whole full. franchise because it not just traded Tyree Kill and freed up the money to put other spot. They ended up getting Trent McDuffie because of it, who is obviously one of the best defensive backs in the NFL. And in that draft, they also got Corlowskis. So they got two guys who are stone cold killers and could play for every team in the league

and are just awesome winning players out of that draft as they pivot. And then they had the money to give Chris Jones, who like they mentioned today on the broadcast, he told us in the production meeting, like, listen, my stats aren't as good this year as some previous years. I'm getting double team more than ever. And I think I'm playing better than ever. And all my guys around me are eating. Like, you just watch them today. You're like, this guy's an unstoppable force. And clearly he's a bright lights guy. The bigger the game, the bigger the opponent. You know, today, Christmas, the playoffs. Like, better watch out for that fucking guy. And look at Worthy. It's like, of course the Chiefs got worthy. And early on it,

there's some, take some time to get. get a rapport with Mahomes. It feels like they're kind of coming into their own. They still miss a couple times, but I think worthy, I mean, this is the worst he's going to be for them. Just get ready. Next year, he's going to look dramatically better in this operation. And then in the middle of the season,

they're kind of desperate for some help. They trade for one of the best wide receivers of his generation. I get he's a little older. And today, I mean, how many big third downs did DeAndre Hopkins have? It's like, this team, that there's a physicality of the Chiefs that I would say early on in the era, clearly they didn't have. And now defensively,

they're just so good, they're coordinator. And the advantage they have of Spags not being a threat to go anywhere. It's like you could argue they have the best defensive coordinator, who's not a head coach in the NFL. And he's never going to leave. He's probably just going to retire when Andy retires. They just get to keep him.

Like he's not even going to get interviews for head coaching. There was a play today. I think it might have been on the second to last drive for the Texans, and he called a blitz, and his blitzes so often hit perfectly. They were in like a bunch formation. He blitzed the corner off the edge. And before you could even blink, the guy was all over CJ Strout. It's just their cohesion on defense as a unit, even, and they've lost guys this year,

is just fantastic. And their team's speed is excellent on defense. And if Mahomes is going to play like that today, it makes you think, If this team gets the number one seed, which I don't know how you would bet against them to get the number one seed, I'd be stunned if they lose Thursday night, even though it's a short week or Wednesday night on Christmas, or I guess Wednesday, as a road team to the Steelers. Like, someone's going into Arrowhead and beating them. Obviously, it's possible. It's football. We've seen it happen before Joe Burrow did.

But as, you know, last year, and listen, I was guilty. Like, I was betting against it. I literally did. And I got bitten the ass twice. AFC championship game, Super Bowl. Who's doing that this year? Not a soul. How could you?

That team is so good at home. That place, every player, every coach, and every human being that walks into Arrowhead, however many people it fits, 70,000. There's not one human being that is wearing red that for one second believes they're losing. I don't think any other franchise can say that right now. not any other franchise in the NFL before kickoff when everyone's in their seat when everyone's on the sideline

there is not a soul in the stadium on the team on the coaching staff that for one second thinks they're going to lose and the belief they have what they're accomplishing right now is just insane it i think i saw i saw someone tweet they had never won 13 games in the history of the franchise and they had only been like the conference championship one time in like 50 years and now they look destined to be

for their like seventh or eight straight conference championship they've won 14 games for the third time in the Mahomes era what last year and I think everyone said this like last year was the year to get them and then because this year it's been weird

they've played a lot of close games yeah they're comfortable doing that and guess what? Yeah their games are close they literally win them all they win all of them so it's like would you rather yeah play in some blowouts but I also don't

and I'm 10 and 7 which like yeah basically all of our games were close and we went 16 and 1 I'll choose that oh yeah we probably have you know when it's all said and done I don't know if I eclipsed Brady but probably the best or one of the best

quarterbacks of all time and a guy that looks destined if he just coaches for three or four more years to not only pass Belichick, but pass Shula as the all-time winning his coach. And we have one of the best home field advantages in the history of football, college and NFL included. So good luck. And we have a fantastic defense.

And Butker's back now. Looks like he's getting his confidence. So I thought that was a really, really impressive win. Because the one thing when you played the Texans that aren't as good as we thought they were going to be, they are a hard hitting physical team. And today was, I mean, they lost. Jimmy Ward got carded off. Obviously, Tank Dale got carted off.

It does feel, I mean, they won the division. They're going to host a playoff game. But depending on who they play, I mean, I would imagine that most people are going to bet on the Ravens this upcoming week. And I'd be a little stunned at this point if Houston can beat them, that all of a sudden you're looking at a Houston team just kind of limping into the playoffs that kind of have a one and done feel to them written all over them. And, you know, we'll see how this plays out.

But I think there's a decent chance Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers could be playing them in that four or five matchup. So, you know, I came in, I think when the schedule broke and we found out the college football playoffs were going to be, I would say, overshadowed a little bit by the NFL. I was like, you know, do we have to do this? And clearly, you know, I think at this point in time, the NFL isn't playing on Christmas as an FU to the NFL. NBA. The NBA is, it has no impact on them at this point. I mean, they stole Christmas. They would steal any day. If they play games on that day, they could be going up against Mr. Beast. They could be going up against whatever the popular. It doesn't matter. They will dominate. But I'm kind of glad they were on today because they helped me get through some of the college games. I guess the Texas

and Clemson game was good. And we'll do, me and Jackson, we'll do a video later tonight on all the college games, but I enjoyed that. And like I said earlier, you put Steelers Ravens on my television, whether it's Saturday, whether it's Tuesday, night morning, I don't care. I am watching. And I think now, we'll see Denver, the Chargers, I think they could win a playoff game. Obviously, they're both going to be on the road. Denver still has got to take care of business against the Bengals here in a week, but just to

solidify their spot after losing the Chargers. But I'm pretty confident that the Chargers and the Broncos are going to be... I could see them having an upset depending on who they play, but could also see them both losing. I think the AFC is pretty clear. I mean, we got a three horse race. Chiefs, the Bills, and the Ravens. And I think the problem for the Bills and the Ravens is they got to go to Arrowhead. And like I said, back which we already know, no one will be attending that game, starting with

Mahomes and starting with Andy. that's going to believe they're going to lose. And there's not going to be a Bill's fan or a Ravens fan, even Josh, Sean McDermott, Lamar, and John Harbaugh that are like, can we actually do this? Doesn't mean they can't. But it's just, we saw it last year.

When they fucking both hosted them, and they lost both games. So in this Chief's team, now they're getting their stride a little bit, it's like, I don't know, I like them a lot more now after today. and really the last couple weeks going into the playoffs

than we all did last year after that Raider game and then they found a way to do it on the road. Now they don't have to travel and you're going to give them a bye week. So older players like Chris Jones and Travis Kelsey

and Mahomes, you know, he's under 30, I think he's 29 years old, but just get that week to kind of take a deep breath. I don't know, man. I'm a big believer that dynasties are good for sports.

I mean, we've seen it in the NBA. like they would die to have a dynasty right now. I mean, the Warriors were good for the NBA. The Yankees dynasty in the late 90s was great for baseball. The Patriots dynasty for 20 years, give or take, was fantastic for the National Football League. So having a team that everyone's chasing, whether you love them or you hate them,

you have an opinion about them. And that's the worst thing you can have in sports when apathy sets in and you just do not care. And I've seen it. I remember doing a radio show in the Bay when Jim Tom Sua was there. People just like, I can't even pretend to care. I'm sure Giants fans know, like I, you know, you just, I can't watch Daniel Jones.

I cannot watch whoever the quarterback is. DeVito making lasagna or Drew Locke. Like, this just sucks. It doesn't get any worse than this. But every Giants fan has a take on the Chiefs. And everyone's either rooting for them to like, I kind of enjoy watching greatness or I'm rooting for them to lose. But guess what? Everyone's paying attention.

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 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 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. And, well, 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, 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. Keith Gianmanca seemed like a mild-mannered suburban dad, but secretly, he became someone else, a master of disguise who went on a crime spree. At the time, did it seem like a crazy idea? It seemed very crazy, but I felt so desperate that I felt it was the quickest, easiest way out. Did you allow yourself to think about how it could go wrong or what that might look like? No.

I didn't want to manifest that. I was trying to manifest success. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. This is going to change my life and my family dynamic forever because everything that had existed prior in my reality is now untrue. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man.

on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery

in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hippocrat, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions.

Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Cream a chicken suit.

Hey, cream. Cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the MyCultura podcast network. available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, now we're going to talk a little college football with my main man, Jackson,

which might have been one of the biggest dud opening playoff scenarios in the history of America, but we spent hours watching the game, so let's dive into them. Okay, I had to put a page for you younger listeners would have no clue what that is. A text message to an email, Snapchat, and say, Jackson, We've been watching football for the last 24 hours, your Notre Dame Irish one. We need to talk some ball, even if it's safe to say it didn't quite go as planned. But one thing that hit me as Ohio State, absolutely, I mean, that, I didn't quite see that coming. That was impressive.

We will give Ryan Day and the boys their flowers. One thing that makes Ohio State fans very, very angry is every game they have is, you know, in the morning. and you watch it at night, you're like, yeah, this place is pretty badass at night. The place was rocking. So, Jackson, you're still on Cloud 9, you're Notre Dame Irish, and Mr. College football.

This kind of sucked a little bit, kind of sucked. Yeah, I'm 50-50 on it because, you know, he had so much anticipation heading in and South Bend showed up last night. Them obviously winning that game. I know it was a boring game for most people, but for me as a Notre Dame fan, I was happy.

My heart rate was steady throughout the game after it was 14-0, and you saw more gold helmets pushing back, Hoosiers Helmets versus the other way around. And then today, man, you just, it's just, I don't know what it is. You're right. I think we talked about before the home field advantage is such a big advantage. And you got the cold weather involved in it.

And then you're right about Ohio State. The whole talk about that was even at Game Day, Tennessee fans showing out. They had like 30,000, 40,000 fans. In about two minutes, you blink and it's 14-0. And all those orange fans, all those Vols fans are pretty quiet quickly. Why, I think two things I got to say. I've been a big critic of Ryan Day. Not a big Ohio State guy.

Don't like Chip Kelly at all. That team showed up to beat the living shit out of Tennessee. That team that showed up today, that first, really the first quarter right there were of 21-0. But those first couple drives, the violence in which their defense was hitting, to me, offensively, if they're just semi-clicking, they're going to score, right?

I mean, that offense is elite. But defensively, that thing was like, whoa, this is like, Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel's teams, and like the unit AJ Hawk had like your guy, Bobby Carpenter, and him. You know, I mean, their defenses going back to like the Vrable days would, were like the modern day what Sabin did through the 2010s. That was impressive. And clearly, whatever happened over the last three weeks, they were able to kind of

take a step back and they slingshot it into this game. That was, that was fucking awesome. and what else was I going to say oh I got a DM a question for the mailbag but I think it works right here and they said do you think that Nico has some Anthony Richardson to him like obviously elite talent but something's missing and I would say the difference I mean Anthony Richardson only started the year at Florida and then obviously in the pros has been a roller coaster more awful than good Niko is a true You know this is his first true year starting He was on the program last year right

But Joe, he was the backup I'm going to give him a little time But I do think if I'm a Tennessee fan We got to find a way to calm him down a little bit Like that even if Nico was good I don't think they could have won the tonight The way Ohio State was playing But his erratic nature

I mean beside the runs And this is a little Anthony Richardson like His balls Clearly when he just lets it fling like how many guys throw a prettier tight spiral that's going 100 mile an hour, but he does not know where that's going a lot of the time. Now, his receivers, he got some injuries,

but man, he's got, this offseason for them is pretty big because his talent, like his raw ability is better than like Arch Manning, you know? Like his physical tools aren't even close. I mean, from throwing the ball. And then, you know, your guy, Will Howard, like, those guys don't possess like that, but you've got to be able to play the,

quarterback position. You saw Will Howard tonight who, you know, maybe gets drafted on the seventh round to play tight end like your guy. I actually think Riley Leonard could be a tight end in the NFL because it's not going to be a quarterback. But no shade, there's nothing to mean you can't be a good college player. I think Tennessee

like if you put Nico on Ohio State it'd be hard for them because those receivers are wide open. I think he'd be hitting them like every other pass. Right? So it's if you're a Tennessee fan like, hey, you made the playoffs. But that was a pretty good butt kicking. And if you're Ohio State, man, a lot of people

talked a lot of shit. And rightfully so. I mean, that Michigan loss is one of the worst loss in the history of the program. But I got to give him credit. They answered the bell and they answered the bell hard tonight against the SEC, you know, one of the better SEC programs these last couple years. You mentioned those hard hits. It felt like

every single time Nico got hit, whether it was in the pocket or whether he was running, you're like, is he going to get up? Like, is he going to get up? And he just kept getting up. Six-six, skinny version of himself. But to your point about the wide receivers, they showed a bunch on the broadcast with Kirk Herb Street. And he was like, okay, if you're Nico, who are you hitting on this? And you look around and you're like, well, there's no wide receivers open.

So I think part of that too had to deal with, you know, them two wide receivers, Thornton and Scroll White being out. But even with that, their wide receiver group is just so slim. So you just hope if you're a Tennessee fan, they can go out and get some talent. But I also think the whole Samson situation was pretty interesting about him getting hurt. They stopped the run, obviously, the entire game. But I think him not being involved definitely was a fact. during that one for sure.

Yeah, that's the thing with college different in the NFL. They can just be so mysterious about it. It's like, what's going on? And then he's not saying anything. And then the sideline reporter doesn't really get any information. Like in the NFL, they'll just tell you, hey, he's got a hamstring. He's questionable to come back. They just don't hide any of that.

You know, you could tell when they asked Hypoil at halftime, it was like, yeah, he's not, he didn't even acknowledge it. It's like, well, it's, this is the SEC offensive player of the year. Now, there are other running backs. I mean, that true freshman, I bet, turns out to be an NFL guy. The backups, the smaller guy is a good player. So to me, it was more their passing game. But again, back to Ohio State, this was the $20 million roster that when their high end is on, it's like there is no. I mean, Jeremiah Smith, his body looks like a fifth year senior.

Like his lower body, he's built, it's just like, Jesus. And Will Howard is, like, the day. difference of them and Notre Dame, right, is both those guys can be erratic passing the ball, but they have that on the outside. You guys just don't. I mean, and who has Jeremiah Smith, right? Because both teams can run the ball, can play sweet defense, can crush people up front. But like when you got that at any moment, you're like, well, we can just flip into the Buffalo Bills. And if Will Howard, who is, you know, listen, scouts can be kind of mean, but I mean, no one takes them that seriously. I'm getting texts tonight from

college scouting directors with like memes of Peyton Manning. I mean, this had to be, and given how obviously what happened against Michigan, as rewarding for him as it was for Ryan Day. I mean, he came out just throwing ball. And it wasn't even just the early touchdowns. How many times, like when Tennessee was kind of getting back in the game, he hit like a big third down, like a crossing route, and he hit him in stride.

It wouldn't be like the guy had to stop. He was, I don't even know what his final numbers. I mean, he got yanked with nine minutes to go, but he was, that's a big. accurate. I mean, you're going to play like that. They could win. It's like Oregon has to play that. How unfair is that? 24, 29, 311 yards, two touchdowns, and probably one of the more ridiculous interceptions I've ever seen. I mean, that interception. I felt almost bad for Will Howard because he's having a hell of a game. And then Brooks gets that one toe in. And how about the broadcast?

It wasn't that was sick. That was sick. It wasn't Kirk or Chris, but it was like Bill, the referee guy. He's like, well, I don't know if he's got firm control. He's got two hands on the ball. I think that's firm enough at least for me when I was watching that game. But I mean, for Tennessee, I guess another plus side of that was, I didn't realize how Niko, how tough Niko was that entire game. I mean, his ability to just lay it out for his team, 20 carries, 47 yards. I think you just scored again, actually, as we're recording this right now on the run. But I don't know.

I think next year you look at him as one of the top quarterbacks and you just hope that they can go and get some guys in the portal because I gave it all he had. That's all they had to do on offense. I would say this You know, I think sometimes If you just told someone from the South Like these L.A. kids are going to start playing quarterback For your program

They'd be like, oh, a bunch of pussies And if you look at the And C.J. Stroud was, you know, one, two Any guy from Southern California That has gone on, like I would say one defining characteristic When Bryce was at Bama Like, that guy was tough as nails. You saw Nico tonight on the one where he got

And Herb Street was right. You don't really see this play called because you rarely see it happen. It happens a lot in the NFL where the guy gets lifted and driven into the ground. And the guy, just because Nico jumped, had kind of him in the air

and went down with him. But that guy slammed him really hard. And even, it took Nico a second, but he got right back up and came right back swinging. I think the toughness of that quarterback crop, and even if you just think

in recent memory from like the Sam Darnels, like you do get a pretty tough quarterback. Now, their skills, you know, the one thing CJ and Bryce had immediately was that natural. rule touch. Nico feels like a baseball player that's thrown 102, and that's the touch pass is like, the touch pass is Will Howard has right now.

I don't know if Nico sped up. Obviously, he's playing in a really tough environment, but that ball leaves his hand, and you just have no clue until the screen, you're like, this could be picked, this could hit a guy in the head, this could hit a guy in the hands in stride. Like, I don't know. That's, and that's, I think, if Josh Heipel can take this guy to the next level, which is, I mean, why, you know, former quarterback, you know, the offensive mastermind is his offense. I just think that's going to be one of the big, like, offseason stories for the

SEC, because so many of these teams, like, well, this quarterback transfers, like, who's going to be the next quarterback for Ohio State, right? Will's done. The backups in the portal and they let them stay, which clearly tells you, like, yeah, you're not going to be our starter next year? Is that what you think, like when that happens? Oh, yeah. Because why wouldn't they just be like, bro, you're going to start here and you'll get a million bucks? Like, clearly Ryan Day, which I think, and listen, unless you're there, I wonder if teams give up on guys a little fast. Like, the guy's at Ohio State for a reason. I mean, he can't be some scrub, but clearly, who knows, maybe they already have someone else signed. But I don't know. I feel like

when you do that a lot, it's pretty risky. Like, eventually sometimes you just, now maybe they have so much money, they're always going to get their guy. But, and Chip has, you know, the reason and they liked Will Howard more than Kyle. Like they like a mobile, like that's what he wants. So whoever the next Will Howard type guy, like Chip wouldn't like Nico too inaccurate. You know, his big thing. He wants mobility and like he doesn't even need a strong arm

because you would say Will Howard's arm doesn't have a hose. So seeing what Ohio State did tonight and Will Howard just confidently throwing the football on the outside of Jeremiah Smith, getting them in the slot, getting them out in space. You think that's a similar game plan they do against Oregon if they come out with that same energy? Or how do you, I guess, an early look on that one with what you saw tonight?

Because you mentioned it. I mean, Ohio State looked like a national championship team. And I guess part of that had to do with the Michigan loss. But you wonder in the Rose Bowl, they're definitely going to come out with some kind of swagger and chip on their shoulder from here and out. That is an awesome game because it feels like, you know, the tradition of the Rose Bowl,

the Pac-10, the Pac-12, the Big Ten. That place is going to, I mean, there are going to be a ton, obviously, but I mean, you're talking like 50, 50, 50K, Ohio State, Oregon. That place, that's going to be a pretty special environment. I do think that Oregon really got screwed, man, because, and listen, clearly these New Year's six bowls have a stranglehold. Like, how do you get a buy and then not get a home game? Like, how awesome did Penn State in Texas and places look so special? And if I'm Oregon, we already knew about their bracket matchup, but the Rose Bowl is an easier travel for them,

but it's never been a problem for the Big Ten schools to Wisconsin, Iowa. You get them in that game. It's packed. People want, guess where they live right now? It's freezing cold. They're coming. That's just, I try not to be overly negative about it's the first year and they will change. I bet they pivot fast.

But that seems like something we got to figure out. Like I should get, I would like Oregon, like to me, it's a coin. which is crazy because Oregon's been the best team and already beat them. But like if you told me that game wasn't Eugene, I'd be like, well, I still give Oregon the clear advantage. Yeah. Yeah.

If you were Ohio State, if you asked Ryan Day, where would you rather play the game? The Rose Bowl or Eugene Oregon? What do you think he'd say? Give me Rose Bowl 10 out of 10 times, especially the last time they played there. And it was so loud in Wilhow would have slide. But I guess one of the games of the day that was not. a blowout, Clemson, Texas. I got to give a lot of credit to Clemson, too.

I mean, Kate Klubnick. I mean, the improvement that he's had from last year. And, you know, last year, Garrett Riley, first in the system, but even week one with Georgia, my biggest worry for Clemson was a lot of young receivers, a lot of freshman guys against a really physical Texas team. It just felt like the entire game, Clubnick felt comfortable.

He was poised. And some of these wide receivers, the freshmen, the awareness they have at such a young age. That's another team, too, where I know they lost it. But you look at next season with Kate Klubnick and them bringing so much talent, so much young talent, they might be a team that can make a run next year with all these quarterbacks to leave it.

Well, what impressed you about Clemson, Texas? And Texas, I guess, is just their identity to come out hot early and kind of just stay cool, find ways to win and find opportunities and just capitalize on them. I thought like the Georgia game the second time around, they started fast. And early on, you're like, well, this team,

like Ohio State, really has the highest payroll in the country. I mean, the talent on that team is just immense. And they were scoring in this game, unlike the Georgia game. And clearly, we saw Georgia play Clemson not as good. But I'm with you. I mean, that had a feel like it was going to become Ohio State, Tennessee, and Clubnick. I mean, that T.J. Moore, number one, true freshman, I mean, they got a chance to do a lot.

I texted a couple people. I'm like, is Kate Clubneck? coming out? Are we sure he's not relative to to like Chador and Cam Ward but like who else would he be competing against? Because you watch today, you and I were texting, if you flip-flop

the two quarterbacks, they would be by no doubt about it pick. Because sometimes like I saw people, somehow I fall and it feels like a million University of Texas fans like, Sark's going to blow this. Blow this. Quinn yours is missing people behind their back.

I think Sark's done an awesome job. this year for the most part. And in some big spots, Quinn just kind of gets weird. And he threw one behind him on the third down. There was the one drive late in the game where he easily could have thrown a pick.

It goes right. Like at any moment, Quinn can get you right back. And the other guy, if that was the first time you'd ever watch Club Nick, and you went just like a playoff game so you'd be like, well, obviously his team's really good.

Like, is this guy competed to be a top five pick in the draft? His athletic ability, his touch, his drive throws. I watch him. I'm like, I think this guy's a big time prospect and how much he's improved. Now, Lincoln Riley, brother,

they're coordinator, isn't he? Garrett. Yeah, Garrett Riley. Down two touchdowns on the goal line. Third down, no problem with, you know, kind of getting, you know, club nick on the move. Maybe you get a crease. Like, I understand that call. I have a hard time running it up the gut on fourth and short.

Especially without Phil Mafa. I mean, that's been their guy all season. he's been dealing with a shoulder injury. They haven't got him going. They said before the game that their second running back at a torn ACL. So they literally have a wide receiver who had the longest gain of 40 yards.

And I was just puzzled, kind of like that guy running back, by the way, when he busted that run. I was like, damn, this is why Clemson doesn't, like, no one's comparing them to SMU or Indiana because clearly they got elite talent, right? Yeah, and the biggest knock on Kate Klobnik was,

well, you need a good running game, you need a dominant wide receiver. Like, the game needs to not, be on Kate Klubnik to win football games. And that game was all in Kade Klubnick. I was impressed. I was going to text you. I'm like, is this guy, is he a first rounder? Like, would he go in the first round this year if he goes and plays like that? I wonder if he's going to. I feel like he's going to with another year and all the young talent that they have. But I was thoroughly impressed, man. His ability to scramble, his ability to just

scan the field, that cross-body throw, that first drive, that long drive by Clemson, you just felt like you knew it was going to be a game. And you got to give credit to dabble on them for not hanging their head high or low, I should say. What about Texas, I guess? Because Texas is defense. I mean, they held them on the goal line. They always get them out of games. It seems like every level on that team. They've got stars.

And I know you tweeted out too. It was like the difference between those first two games and these last two games, it was a bunch of NFL draft talent on Texas, Clemson and Ohio State Tennessee. You feel it on the field. Like, you know, when Clemson's coming back, some of these plays are like

balls down the sideline where it's a one on one matchup. So it's not like you're just gashing the middle of their defense, right? I mean, Clemson ran for 76 yards. And what do you say, 35, 40, how many yards was the one kid's long run? It was 41 yards. Yeah. Yeah.

So of their 76 yards, over half of it came on one run. So it was all him throwing it down the field. And they didn't have a choice right there down. But to me, Texas is, and you and I talked about this, their front seven. like Penn State is jumps off the screen. And same with the way Ohio State played tonight. It's like, Jesus, I don't know if you'd say the same about Notre Dame,

a little knots below them, but still big time, relative to college football, but it feels like they are a little better. You could argue Texas and Penn State, I mean, we're talking about like several, several high draft picks. You know, Sawyer, he's that guy a first round pick. I mean, he's a good college player,

but it's not like, you know, you're not looking at T-State. J. Watt there. Again, he's going to play in the NFL, but, and I'm not shaking shot like Ohio State is big time guys too. No. I just think that you watch Texas now, and those two running backs, and I remember at the Red River game, I was like, Jesus, the speed these two guys have. I remember walking away thinking I love 26, but was it blue today? I mean, he looked good. That's the thing. You get two good running backs in this kind of, you know, environment with all these teams left. So Notre Dame has two sweet running backs

Texas has two sweet running backs Penn State is two sweet running backs Ohio State I mean the one guy is just incredible Anderson is going to be a top 40 pick A lot of these teams I wouldn't expect everyone scoring 35 to 40 points If you get into a tight game

you know it just gets maybe you're only gaining three or four yards but you just wear the other defense down And all of them have them We know Georgia has running backs. I'd put Oregon in there too. Oregon for sure. I mean, this is, you can get into a game. One of these games is going to be like 17-17 going into the fourth quarter.

And it's just going to be like who wants it more. And all these teams can play like it. And that's what I appreciate about this style. Like the best teams right now that we saw this weekend, I know Texas gave a bunch of points in the second half, but we might look back in five years. Like that was Clubnik's true coming out part of the nation when he's like the sixth pick next year,

that the defense and physicality from Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame is like, why I like football. I just like watching people get fucking destroyed. Especially like, you know, in the NFL today, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Ravens, like T.J. Watt and Kyle Hamilton, like these dudes are all, like, they're all sweet NFL players. But in college, it kind of feels like,

oh, this one team's the bully. And they just are bullying them, and you almost feel, bad. You're like, oh, this is getting, someone stopped the fight here. And that's what it felt like Penn State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. Like, we're here to bully you. I think what's impressive about Texas' running game too is C.J. Baxter was supposed to be the running back of this year. And he got hurt in fall camp. And then Blue comes in. He starts to get some fumbles. 26. You mentioned him. Wise. There only had 73 yards last season. So for him to

step in on top of that, I feel like Texas had some injuries offensive line-wise that that third quarter was a little dud. They only rushed for like three yards per carry and then they figure out the rotation. I'm watching the left tackle, Calvin Banks. He's supposed to be a top 10 pick. Man, he is, you run behind him. You're going to get five yards easily.

But you just wonder that offensive line, they're a semi-finalist. They're a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. Why can't they do that versus Georgia? Is it just Georgia's defensive line? Is it that much better? Is it a mentality thing against them? Like, what did you see from today versus last

week because that seems to be their kryptonite. Well, I think Georgia is, I mean, they got multiple guys who are going to go in like the top 20 of the draft. I think when you think about the last four years, that's like Georgia's point of difference. You know, even when they had Bowers and McComkey with Bennett, like, it was the defense and really the defensive line. It was Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith. It was like, Kobe Dean's like right up the line right behind.

It's like, what are you going to do? What's his name? The fuck, I haven't even listed the guy that went. number one overall ahead of Aden Hutchinson, Walker. Oh, yeah, Walker. I mean, so it's just when you think Georgia, that's their, that's, that's just what they breed. Like, if you're going to play for the Ravens or the Steelers, you're going to play defense.

If Kirby's going to talk to you and you're a defensive player, like, we're looking to kill people. And I think Texas, I give us our credit, Kilkowski, I think, is the Boise guy, his defensive coordinator, is good. And they use the transfer portal and they use their money and they've recruited. like they have an SEC level defense. Like the big question mark, Texas, going into the SEC, it's like, you know, this ain't the Big 12, brother.

Well, it's like, yeah, then they just recruited and bought an SEC team. Because you watch them today, like, that's an FCC team. And your corner, T.J. Moore might end up being a top 15 pick in two years, right? So it's like one guy's giving up some outside shots. Like, I can live with that. If you didn't get, they weren't getting manhandled. They just gave up some big plays. So I think the big question mark for Texas

We talked about this and it's evident If they had a first round quarterback I don't think they would be beat I mean I would take them against Ohio State But yours Just when you start feeling comfortable He kind of like roped shit You're like whoa

The sequence was When he throws the pick And it was a pick six But the dude takes out the offensive linemen on the blind side Yeah and it was the drop It wasn't his fault, but yeah, definitely an interception. But that sequence, so he takes him out and then it gets called back. And then I think there was, right after that, he threw a pick that should have been,

like it was a sequence where the game could have been a lot closer going into halftime, which that blindside block, which I get them, you know, legislating it out of the game. It wasn't as malicious as it looked with him lying there once he, he just kind of, he didn't like leave his feet. You were probably too young, but Warren Sapp when I was a kid in Monday Night Football. ball. Brett Favreve, yeah, Brett Farrv threw a pick, and Chad Clifton turned around on like a pick six, and Warren Sapp left his feet like John Lynch in the air would tackling someone

and killed the guy. And ever since then, that play, you know, at the college and the NFL level, like, you could literally hurt someone because all of a sudden that, you know, it looked like he got a concussion or something. But he just, it was just a force of the two guys. But I just think at any moment with yours, who can also make. some sweet plays. Every time I was ready to write him off, he would make a good play with his legs or make like a drive a throw in there between traffic. So he's kind of, he just kind of is what

he is. You just don't know series to series, half to half, hell, sometimes throw to throw what you're going to get. And they definitely, I mean, this has got to be their deepest team since like the Mack Brown era, you know, those, that Colt McCoy and Vince Young, like this is just deep everywhere. And they weren't, they weren't that last year. Remember how flawed they were. They were just dramatically better than last year and they were good last year. You think Sark was happy too that that running game aided Uers that he didn't have to do much, just hand the ball off. And, you know, he did make some good throws. You're right. Gunner Helms just a security blanket. You throw it anywhere his way. He's going to catch the football.

He had that good throw with Golden, who made a great catch kind of underthrown. But it seems to me like Sark, if they get the running game going, he feels more confident. versus having the game on Uers' shoulders. You and I both, he's easy to get to root for. I think Arizona State's in major trouble. Can they run the ball against his Texas front? I just don't know. I think they could get massacred.

And it's not from like lack effort or lack of coaching. It's just one of those words like, I don't want to go quite like TCU, Georgia. But I think, and again, I don't want this to happen, but if you tell me right now the score is 50 to 7, I think it's believable, isn't it? And you're going to see more negativity. Oh, Arizona State. Boise State shouldn't be in the first round, or get a first round by.

You know, they need a recede, which we've already known before. Like, we're getting all this attention about SMU and Indiana, but we already knew that if Texas and Penn State played well in one, that they got incredible draws and they were going to, like, we'd already been talking about this. I mean, if Clemson somehow would have came back, they might not be a 14 point favor, but it'd be nine, right? Or it'd be over a touchdown. And Boise, I think Boise is the same thing. I just don't think they have a chance against Penn.

You just see it. And I never understand how people argue this. It's like I didn't go to one of these schools. So it's not like I'm pro, Texas, A&M, anti-Texis in Oklahoma. Or, you know, I don't, no, I'd have root for certain people more than others, but I also can just take my bias out of it and just know, like, guys, do you just watch the top 10-ish teams in the SEC? And the Big Ten has three SEC teams this year, with Michigan being down.

Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State, in terms of NFL talent. But like these other leagues, I was texting a butt of tonight. I said, how many teams would Indiana and SMU, how many do you think are going to get drafted based on like your guys' grades right now? He said, max five combined. I'm like how many guys will get drafted from Alabama. He's like, I'd put the over under at seven and a half, eight. And you watch Clemson, which, you know, some of their guys might be under.

And you also have a factor in, like, their sophomores and freshmen are NFL guys. Like your guy, I didn't realize Bryant Young's son, number 30, the pass rusher, who I grew up on. Like, that guy comes in and you go, so this is part of it. It's not just, hey, we got Quentin Nelson, Mike McGlynn, Lynchie, right, the guys that are going to get drafted. You know, we got A.D. Mitchell, we got worthy. What about all the guys, like, this year on Texas's team that were also starting on that team? It's like, no, it's the whole crew.

And you really know, like, you watch Texas, you watch Penn State. It's not just there are nine guys that are going to get drafted. It's last year with Michigan, it was like, hey, they're going to have 16 guys get drafted. And they have Will Johnson, and you can list like four other guys. So it's like, actually, they have like 25 draftable players on the field. in this game. And that's where you just feel it in these games where it is,

and now with the home, maybe you've got a little better chance than a bowl game at the home field, which all the teams, you know, the two main ones with huge advantages. And even Texas right now has a way better roster than Clemson top to bottom. You really feel it with that home field behind them. And especially,

this is like a double buy week. You know, you've had a bunch of time. There's a buildup. It's not like just one week. It's like you are raring to go. coming into this game. And you felt them all shot like a rocket out of the, you know, after kickoff. That was another common theme too with the four teams that won in Clemson,

like you mentioned. It was all these freshmen coming out and making these dynamic big time plays. It's almost an advantage for those teams where in the era of the transfer portal, if you're playing freshmen and they're making those key plays and helping your team out, why would they leave? They're going to stay. I mean, for Notre Dame, they're secondary. Three of the four guys are all sophomore freshmen. And then you mentioned Bryce Young, some other talent up front that are coming as a freshman. I mean, that's only an added plus. And especially, I know Sark talked about it before this season,

on how in the early games he was going to play most of his freshman, he was going to play most of his guys against Michigan, Yul Monroe, Mississippi State, just to get those guys involved. So that way they got to the playoff, they're rotating guys. You got fresh bodies throughout the game. Like, I mean, you talked about Texas defense. That Colin Simmons kid 11, he could probably get drafted top 10 right now. He's their best player and he's a true freshman.

It's incredible. I feel like you could take the couple 11s that we saw today playing defense, and they would immediately start next week for like half the NFL. Like literally next Sunday they would start. You could go through the majority of NFL teams. Definitely all the teams that suck. The Jags, the Giants, I mean, Penn State's 11, Texas 11, they'd be like their best players.

They really might be the Giants' best player. But those two guys, like the versatility of these guys, And, you know, the thing with Penn State, like, when you were 11, you just know, like, you're their guy. You know, Texas, it's just a sweet number two, the defensive guy. That guy's just a badass. I wish you were a genius or a mind reader because I would have slept in if I would have known the SMU Penn State game was going to be 38 to 10 at 10 a.m. I would have slept in, maybe go get a workout during that game.

Is there any takeaway that you have from this? Is it just pretty much, you know, Kevin Jennings is three horrible interceptions. Penn State's defense got into it with the two pick sixes. Aller was okay. And then that's another one where you got two dynamic running backs to lean on, and they just blew them out. I think we'll get in Indiana too. But in that game, you know, Penn State is built much closer to Ohio State and Texas

and Oregon in terms of just elite talent everywhere. And there was a play early in the game. you know, within the first, like, 10 minutes of actual, like, 10 to 10, 10. So it would have been the first series or two. I can't remember the exact thing that happened, but James Franklin sprinted down, I think, to his defensive coordinator, his defensive line coach. And this is when it was zero, zero, and I just thought,

is James kind of tight right here? Is he kind of tight? And I would imagine, you know, home game, everyone's like, no matter what. Really, let's face it. Everyone in Penn State land. And most people that follow the Big Ten, chalk them into the final four, right? And you're just watching like, God, is the coach tight here?

And then it's settled down immediately because the quarterback unraveled. And you get two pick-sixes. And that's the thing that, you know, you watch, like, Nico's just not good enough right now, like in terms of accuracy. But never once did I feel like, yeah, it's too big for him playing in front 100,000 people against, I don't know, the greatest college football program ever in 25-degree weather. It's like, no, he's fucking, he ain't scared. I watched that guy and I watched Indiana's quarterback

And I felt like This can't Especially when those are two of the The reason they're there are those two guys, right? It's one thing if you have like You've grown up in this college football era Of like these quarterbacks being a lot better But most of my life in the 90s

Like college quarterbacks on the best teams Were not the high picks They were much more game managers and they honestly tried to avoid them throwing most of the time because it was a running game. Like that was always big. Honestly, up until like even when Sabin took over in 2008-9 era, you could win with Greg McElroy and Aegee McCarrant. Those days are over. And even like these random teams can overachieve like Indiana or SMU is not necessarily random because they got money.

But like if your quarterback is just a stud and all of a sudden you're watching, you're like, well, your team's kind of predicated on this guy playing well and he looks. fucking lost. I mean, it was, and listen, Penn State's good on defense, but that was, it was more embarrassing than Rourke's performance on Friday night. Yeah, they interviewed, yeah. Mark actually had a couple throws here and there. Like, I thought that guy was like, he wanted to, you know, I want to get away Southwest.

That felt like what he was doing. It was funny, they interviewed him on college game day, and Nick Saban's interviewing him. He says, you know, what's going to be the hardest thing today? Is it going to be the cold weather? is it going to be the 106,000 fans? Is it going to be Penn State's defense while he's trying to get his hands warm while doing this interview? He's like, oh, I see you, you know, you're trying to get warm. You seem cold.

And his response was the defense was going to be the toughest thing. And sure enough, three interceptions and that cold weather looked pretty brutal for an SMU team. I just don't know how you resolve an SMU, Indiana, getting blown out like that. It's like one of those things where Penn State played really well, Notre Dame came out physical. I don't know what the solution is. I think the solution is pretty easy. I think we learned because who really got screwed today? Because Penn State and Notre Dame didn't get screwed.

It was great for them. It was us. The people that watch and provide all the money and the hype on all this stuff that we dedicate our lives to give in three and a half hours on a Friday night to watch that game or get up early. I mean, I built, like I had a long day. We're still recording here at 10 o'clock at night. Like I wanted to be sitting on the couch.

you know, an hour before normal NFL games start. And a lot of times during the season, like 10 a.m. game at Saturday, most of the weeks, it doesn't even matter. So you have basically until the, you know, lunchtime window to really get focused on college football. It's like, I wanted to watch this thing and to get, if we want a cute story, we'll go to Hallmark. You know, I just think the cute story, the records are thrown out the window. Because your records, I've been hammering this home, so as anyone with a common sense or a brain. You can't compare, well, he went 11 and 1, a 10 and 2. Your schedules have nothing

comparable anymore, right? Especially now with these conferences expanding. So I think next year, they got a lot of credit for going 11 and 1, right? Or I guess they would they go 11 and 2. And Indiana got a lot of credit for going 11 and 1. I think the, and the emphasis got put, because forever to get to the final 4, like, you could probably have one loss. I think one time a two-lossed team went Ohio State, and they ended up winning it with Urban Meyer. But I don't think the record is going to matter as much. Now, you can't go 8 and 4 and make the 12-team playoff. But, like, let's face it, if they could do it over again today,

Indiana and SMU would have been out in South Carolina and Alabama would be in. And you just put those two teams together. Like, it's not a comparable, it's just not apples to apples. Like, if the Steelers go 10 and 7, and the Ravens go 12 and 5, Like, it's easy to put in a context, records, and who you beat, and everyone in the NFL is a pro. And we all know, like, you can play, like, crap and lose to the Carolina Panthers. The Chiefs almost did. Where in college, it's pretty clear.

Like, you're allowed to have, like, weird game with Vanderbilt, if you're Texas or Arkansas. It's like, no one thought that much, as long as you win it. But they also, you know, had, you, they beat TexanM on the road. That second time against Georgia, you're like, okay, this is a real team. I think sometimes on a given year, we also can never assume that the SEC and the Big Ten are the same again. I think moving forward, the SEC, it goes the NFL, the SEC, and then everybody else.

Now, Ohio State and Oregon, they don't get treated like the rest. And if this is just a one-off year for Michigan, I would put them right there too. Penn State could easily these next couple weeks, like, okay, they get that treatment as well moving forward, right? If they were to beat Georgia or something, like okay I got no but all these other programs

Indiana never puts anyone in the NFL like when do you watch NFL games but all that guys from Indiana but all these other teams do that we left out and they have one more loss and we just go or two more losses well yeah how many games would Indiana have won in the SEC how many games would SMU have won in the SEC six or seven and I think people push back like how do you know that it's like come on guys take your bias out and just watch the games

the talent discrepancy is you don't need to be the GM of the Baltimore Ravens to see this. If you just watch college football, it doesn't mean that SMU doesn't have fun games or Indiana throughout the course of the season. But when it comes to these 12 teams, the NCAA tournament's pretty easy because like even if you think Indiana is overrated, you can just make them a six seed or seven seed. There's 64 teams, actually 68, but I mean 64 teams. Where in this college, like there's only 12. So those two spots, those teams, like that's, that's a large percentage of the spots.

And they were really the two teams we were debating. It'd be one, like, no one's making this argument with Boise State or Arizona State besides that, yeah, they probably shouldn't be two and three or three and four. They should be 11 and 12. Okay, but they should be in. They got it fair and square. Like if Indiana had, next year I looked, they go to Penn State, they go to Oregon.

They go to Iowa. The other thing is Signetti. I don't know that much about SMU's coach. Clearly he's a pretty impressive guy and he's a good coach. Yeah, he seems like a chiller. Like a guy who's confident in his players, but he's not going to go out like Signetti and say, we're going to beat the shit out of top 25 teams.

That to me, like, that's where I'm not, SMU's just not good enough. They got work today. But like I don't feel like their program was walking around acting like they were Alabama 2.0. The Signetti thing got crazy. I mean, he went on yesterday college game day and saying the things he said,

like swearing in front of Sabin, which I'm pro swearing, but the way he was doing it, when do coaches, let's use college. Nick dominated the sport for 15 years. He never talked like that about opponents. Honestly, he was the opposite.

Kirby is a crazy emotional wreck. Never acts like that. You know why? Signetti. What do you think is going to happen next year? You've never been relevant on random team schedule. I think he is going to be treated like when, you know,

if he plays, let's just pick some Wisconsin, Minnesota. They will treat that game not that much different like Michigan, Ohio State, because of the way that guy carried himself this year. And they're just not going to be as good, I'm sorry. So I know the point differential, they're in for a wake-up call.

I said this last night, I'll say it again. I'd be impressed if they went six and six. I think they're going to get curb-stomped next year. I mean, we know. I mean, Oregon and Penn State would kill them any year no matter what. I think Iowa at Iowa I'm already shocking that thing up as an L

and then they're just they're just going to get treated a lot differently than they did this year in terms of just game preparation from opponent taken seriously and I'm not huge like Super Big Ten super talented and like some elite conference

but these coaches have pride and I think he acted unlike anything you ever see yeah and the fact that it wasn't even college game it was in the morning it was two hours before kick and Shane Gillis made a remark which actually was pretty spot on, talking about how he came out,

his team wasn't out there, waving at the fans before and all the camera of attention that he got to. And it was pretty cool to see the post-game shake with Marcus Freeman. You could tell all that stuff pissed him off. Didn't make eye contact with him at all. I just loved it.

I think I saw that clip today. I didn't quite realize. That makes sense. So Gillis was alluded to, I must have missed this. He came out inside the stadium, like his players warm up. and was doing that.

Just waving at the fans, walking up and down the sideline. His team was inside during that. And then the kickoff comes and the ass-whipping upon Notre Dame started. You know what's crazy is he comes from a football family. My cousin that played at Fresno State, he was the offensive coordinator, his brother in the early 2000s when Fresno State really came on the map with like David Carr. And I've always heard good things about the family, like football family. usually when you get this crazy unhinged kind of it's usually kind of a younger coach that got a lot of success

this guy's like 60 years old you know he's been at iupi and james madison forever you think act like you act i mean be true yourself it does feel though he's putting on a little bit of an act and to do that at notre dame and i know you sabin hired him originally but staben has to be turned off by some of this stuff it's it's it's I'm not a huge believer in optics and certain things, and you just do it to do it, because it almost becomes like you're just faking it. But the stuff he's doing is almost on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Like, why is he doing this? Why is he acting like this? Is it like a schick now that he's just playing into and he can't pull back? Because it was kind of funny until he got curbstomped by Ohio State and then got thoroughly embarrassed, which I would imagine maybe people turned off the team. TV, but you guys are probably still the Dallas Cowboys,

whether you win or lose, everyone watch you. I mean, there's a chance like 15 million people watch that first half, and no one has anything good to say about his team. So what's he going to do, act like that next year if they're losing? Because you can't act like that if you're 5 and 7. But going back to what you're talking about, SMU, Indiana, both being disappointing. It's puzzling because, yes, they probably didn't deserve to get in

because of their conference schedules and their schedules being weak, But at the same time, Lane Kiven out there chirping about Ole Miss, it's like, I don't feel bad for you having three losses. I don't feel bad for Alabama for losing my 21. So, yeah, I get like SMU Indiana disappointing. If SMU would have got removed, the whole talk of conference championships when I went out the window. The whole talk of Indiana would be, well, we're 11 and 1.

Like does 11 wins not matter? And then on the flip side, it's like, well, Alabama, Ole Miss, you guys kind of choked. So I don't know what the solution is. I just think that kind of all just piled on and win it up. with this, and that's just a kudos of Ole Miss and Alabama losing two unranked six and six teams on the road.

The difference of what we just witnessed the 16 or 12th team playoff, but this weekend of the at-large bids, and let's say the NFL playoffs or the NBA playoffs, like your record gets you to a slot, right? You get a good enough record, you win the division,

you get a top four seed. You don't, you're a seventh seed or whatever. College after those 14, it is completely subjective. It's a complete entertainment product. So where I would support Lane is, I truly believe that, now, the way Jackson Dart played against Florida down the stretch

wouldn't have much trust. But I'll say this, the team Florida, because of people are like, well, Lane, you got beat by Florida. I think Florida today would kill Indiana and SMU. If that was under a touchdown spread, I would have no problem putting four figures on Florida. zero hesitation.

Actually, no team sneaky has more momentum right now going in the offseason for a non-playoff team than Florida. They got a lot of good vibes coming out of there. But this is an entertainment product. Now, I don't mean Alabama and go 6 and 6 or Notre Dame go 6 and 6. You're putting them in just for entertainment. But the gap between their 11 and 1 and lanes 10 and 3, and I hear this a lot, you lost to Kentucky. Well, I remember barbecuing one night, and, there weren't many good games on that night,

and the one game was Florida, or excuse me, Georgia, Kentucky. And Kentucky should have won that game. And definitely could have if Stoops has some more balls and doesn't punt in the middle of the field. But Kentucky went toe to toe with Georgia, who most people right now would say is second or third best team in the country, right?

So let's not act like Kentucky, who my guess would be minimum five guys from that team get drafted, where again, I got a college director, five guys total from Indiana and SMU and I'm pretty sure SMU has like three. It might have four. So it's just

Listen, Lane pisses people off and Clatt and going back. Joel Clatt loves the Big Ten. So he's very loyal to the Big Ten. And I got no problem if you're supporting Ohio State, Michigan over the years, Penn State, but we're talking about Indiana. And that's the thing. Like, Cignetti's big thing was, well, if we were

one of the blue bloods, we wouldn't have been treated like this. Well, yeah, of course you. you wouldn't. If Michigan had been 11 and 1, I'd be like, well, they just had 17 guys drafted. Before that, I feel like every NFL game I watched, they're like three or four Michigan guys on the field starting for these

teams. You, as they said in the broadcast, are the worst program in the history of, it's power four now, but Power 5 football. Most losing his program. I looked yesterday, that's what's sad about this whole thing. They had the greatest season in the history of the program by a pretty wide margin.

And it kind of negates it all, And I think Signetti, like, he's pissed me off with all that. It's like, come on, man. I like you talking. I liked you chirping. And then I felt like you jumped. Like, you just wouldn't let up. And it's just not as cute when you go when you're getting your ass kicked.

And then for him to say to Sabin, like, top 25 teams, Nebraska. And then he dropped to James Madison against Coastal Carolina as he's talking to Nick Sabin. It's like, oh, my God, Kurt, quiet down. Oh, that's so funny. This is where I go. I think the subjective nature of picking Indiana and SMU, I think those days are done. They have to win their conference in order to get in

for those type of teams to get in the playoffs. But if Indiana had been 11 and 1, but one of their wins was Oregon, you know, on a given year or had a good, I'd have no problem. But I think when you have a situation where your schedule sucks and you don't have NFL players because that's the argument for you guys, right?

Who did you really beat? They were top 25 at the time, but did it end up that way? How great, like, Navy and Army, if they're your best wins. But it's like, watch Notre Dame play the last 10 years. Every year, they're countless guys. I know they have an NFL roster. And I just think,

so comparing like Notre Dame didn't play anybody, Texas didn't play anyway, like Indiana didn't play anybody. It's like, come on, guys. What kind of kind of? conversation we're having. Now every year it would depend like who are you picking. Maybe there'd be a year where it's like, yeah, Indiana is your best option. I think this year looking back, you just can't convince me that South Carolina against Penn State wouldn't

have had a, or Notre Dame or even Alabama, which is obviously a flawed Alabama team. It's light years better than Indiana. So now you... I think Indiana is more, way more disappointing than SMU. You know, because they never shut up. I never heard SMU talk. And they were just kind of happy to be there. Yeah, it was like you saw them in week zero. You saw them in week zero and then you blink and you're like, oh, they're in the, they're in the ACC championship playing with a dynamic quarterback against Clemson. I was going to ask you, though, out of the four teams that won today.

So let's say, you know, Georgia, Oregon got the first round buys, them including the four teams that won this weekend, you could say are probably the six national champion contenders as we head into the quarterfinals, which one of the four teams that you saw this weekend, Notre Dame and Penn State, Ohio State, Texas, impressed you, maybe shocked you more, and now you're more confident in them moving forward. I think when you factor in their next opponent, I think you've got to be pretty high on Penn State in Texas

because if you put Arizona State in Boise in closer to the Indiana SMU tier, they're just going to get to the conference, you know, the final four where Georgia and Notre Dame and Oregon, Ohio State, I mean, there's a chance both teams, whoever wins loses a couple guys along the way. I mean, that thing's going to be a knockdown, drag-out battle. Think about the energy that you have to... Between Texas and Penn State,

I think there's a decent chance, a lot like the Ohio State game tonight, we see guys getting yanked in the fourth quarter of one of those games. If you're in a game like that where you're against Ohio State or Oregon, or Notre Dame, Georgia, which I think you've got to like your chances more with the backup quarterback being a full-time starter.

But still, if you win that game, you're going to come out, every guy's going to the ice bath that night and then again in the morning. So I think Texas and Penn State, if you're that and you're kind of looking at the bracket, you're like, could this be a year? And then both those teams are playing the winner

of the knockdown dragouts. Yeah, the loser of that Oregon, Ohio State game is going to be hurting, and you're right about Notre Dame, Georgia. And then you have to face a physical team in Penn State that next week, who similar playing style to Georgia, better quarterback. They like to run the football too, and they got a ground and pound front seven, just like Georgia did. I think Penn State had the best weekend because, no offense,

but most people think, you know, Notre Dame would be pretty shocking to win the national title. You agree with that. I think it'd be shocking if they beat Georgia in two weeks. Exactly. And if they beat Georgia and then lost the next week, it would be an incredible season for Marcus Freeman. Texas, Ohio State, most people thought they were going to win the national championship this year, right?

Like fans of those teams, like, we can win the national championship. And they weren't wrong. $20 million roster. Same thing with Oregon and same thing with Georgia. I think Penn State had a lot of questions. Not because their team wasn't good enough, but the coach never won a big game. Then they lose that Ohio State game the way they did. They run it up the gut when they're at the goal line.

looking back, like, why didn't they just run Wildcat with Warren or something? You know, he can, like, turn into a running back. Guy, sweet. I think you watch them today. They're high-end, if they're just, and I understand it's SMU, but, God, the talent on that team, the coaches just got to get out of the way. And I think Franklin, I thought early today, a lot like Ryan Day, Michigan, just you could feel them tight, and then once they got the pick-sixth, he started to smile, he loosened,

and I felt like everyone loosened up. So to me, they got to, you know, can he be loose enough? Your guy is pretty loose. You saw Ryan Day today, I thought, came in pretty confident. Sark's become like a new man, I feel like these last two years. He's much looser. And I think that's important for 19, 20-year-old guys. You can't be super tight.

You know, Saban had this great balance of like, you thought he was tight, but he's actually, you watch his pre-game speeches. You're like, this fucking guy's ready to roll. You know, I think Kirby's great at that, right? He's just fire-breathing crazy asshole pre-game. But in a loose, like, we're ready to kick ass way. And, you know, Ryan Day was the opposite in that Michigan game, and you could feel it then his team played like that.

If James can loosen up a little bit, there's no disputing the talent. You know, I mean, like, if you just gave Kirby Smart Penn State's roster tomorrow and said you've got to play with this team the next three games, he wouldn't be disappointed. Hell, he'd get a better quarterback than he has right now. So I think Penn State, I don't want to say they can win the National Championship, because it'd be pretty saying James Franklin with the national championship.

But they definitely have the talent on the team to compete for one. Like truly with the other. The five, but the five has been, you know, everyone thought Oregon, Ohio State,

Texas for sure, and even Georgia up and down, like they're high in so high. It was like, if Penn State and that crew? And honestly, I think you guys, Notre Dame was made to play

cold weather outdoor football. If every game was like that game at South Bend or outside in freezing cold, they would be tough to beat. Kind of gets neutralized. Isn't the game in New Orleans? Yeah, they're playing the Sugar Bowl, New Orleans. Yeah. So inside for Notre Dame, but I think to start out with that, I get there's a lot of negativity around SMU, Indiana. But all four of those environments were 10 out of 10.

Like for that to have the on-campus games, and the games didn't turn out the way we all wanted it to. It was pretty freaking cool. seeing the lead up to it, seeing, you know, the smack talk going back and forth. And, I mean, I guess we got a good game with Texas and Notre Dame, I guess, towards the end. But it'll be fun. I mean, I'm excited to watch these next four games and you hope that, I know two of them for sure, will be barn burner games to watch out for. And you hope that Arizona State and you hope that Boise State can keep things going,

keep it close with Penn State. But I don't know. It was bummer of the blowouts, but I think the atmosphere has definitely helped out with a good weekend. I will say this too. The NIL and there's a lot of like negativity around college football. And some of it's understandable. You hear some of these stories, you know, if you know a coach or whatever, you're like, God, that's crazy.

You know, it's pretty intense. And you can be like pro-paying guys and think that it's out of control. But when you watch these guys play, you're like, these guys are playing their ass off. You watch Riley Leonard or Will Howard or Nico today. It's like, these guys are just. just laying it out. Even Indiana, like I will say this, I thought Indiana was embarrassing.

Their defensive effort wasn't bad. They were playing their balls off. They were really, their defensive line is not bad. And they definitely have a couple dbs that are solid. You know, their offense is a joke against a good team. But defensively, I don't think they're defensive linemen that carpenter, like, their guys should hang their head. Like, they showed up ready to play.

And that's where I think it was cool about, you know, once the ball's kicked off in football, you know, you can get away with it in baseball or basketball if you're pissed off, or if this was college, it's an NIL and you're mad. You either go in an environment like these. Like, you better, you might lose and you might get worked, but if you go half-ass, you will get injured. And I thought everyone, you know, obviously SMU and Indiana were overwhelmed,

but everyone played hard. Yeah, you've had a busy couple days. I mean, I know Kirk Herbstree, you know, they say he's the hardest man working in sports. I think Bidlkoff maybe second place. I mean, you have Indiana Notre Dame, you had the games today for the NFL, college football, you got a whole NFL slate tomorrow.

It's impressive, man. I think we knocked off, though. The one thing is when there's Saturday games and Thursday games, Sunday's a little easier. There's not as many, and like morning slate tomorrow is terrible. I might get like a workout like 10 a.m. to sleep in a little bit, but Herbstreed has to put on a suit. Now he does fly private,

so it's not as crazy to travel. Like all those guys, like McAfee, and Sabin, and they're just cried, and it's like, yeah, they do get into a PJ. They're not going to a commercial airline. But still, you're out there, it's freezing cold. You could tell Nick, older man, Southern guy, like, it was cold for him.

Like, by the end of a segment, he struggled to talk, I kind of felt bad for him. He's like, he's got to be freezing his ass off. The nickname Alabama Jones had me so weak. So I got to ask you this one more question before we get off. So you're obviously engaged.

How long did it take for your fiancé to be okay with you watching football for the entire day? Because I want to prepare for that when I have a girlfriend. Hey, honey, I'm working. I need to watch football for three days straight. Well, you've got to have multiple rooms because she'll watch NFL. You know, I was like, hey, watch the Chiefs game. But tonight, the first half, when I was like, hey, you want to watch Ohio State Rocky Top? She was like, yeah, no, not really.

So I watched in the office. The second half, she watched it. So it just, you got to pick your spots. The NFL, she'll watch any game, whatever. But college, I can't just throw out SMU, Penn State, and get her to dial in. So you just got to, you got to have a man cave or whatever to mix it up. She had a good call with the Tennessee game, though. She likes the atmosphere and stuff with college football.

She loves Herbstree's dog. But I think the volume of college, that's the thing. You know, in the NFL, there's just a couple slots, right? games. College football, I think she's a little confused because I'll wake up during season, I don't know, you know, seven, 30, something on a Saturday, be out there for a couple hours, watching college game day, then maybe go to the gym or whatever, but get back that morning game still going, then there's the day game, then there's the night game, and then boom,

Boise State, Washington State, you know, 9 o'clock kickoff. She just can't get over how much inventory. I'm like, well, there's just a lot of programs. They play different time slots. She just knows, like, what times the night are getting tomorrow? 11 or 2, right? It says it's not that complicated. We're in college, it could be like six different time slots.

And maybe on a Friday night, you know, you just never know when it's coming. So you just, you know, luckily it provides a good life. So she enjoys it. She likes football. The college, she doesn't quite understand all the personalities. But when we went to Oklahoma and we sat in the stands, they have a bunch of chance. She thought it was really cool. Honestly, going to a game, if you don't know much about college football,

will draw you in to then become a fan because you're just not going to know the players. She doesn't know who Josh Heipel is, but you take her to an Oklahoma game who is terrible, and they're doing these fucking chance, doing downward horns at McConaughey when he's 10 feet away from us. It's pretty bad at it. You don't even need to like football to go.

I mean, it's, I'd recommend anyone just go to a good college football game. It's just a, it's like a concert, right? Yeah. You know, the home atmosphere. Yeah, I mean, that being the first, her first game too or one of her first games in the season made a Red River rivalry split down the middle that's sick that's awesome the first 30 minutes of the game were sick but but again like in a situation like that you tailgate you get to the game like we sat in our seats 45 minutes early and

the whole place was packed like you saw it a night like last night at Notre Dame they were showing like 30 minutes like this place already packed and there's there's a buzz it's like you're waiting to see like Elvis or the Beatles or something now then once you're there you need the game to be good to be entertaining, which is out of everyone's control, but there's nothing like the college game, the atmosphere leading into the game. It's not like that in the end. I've been to a million NFL games. It's maybe a huge playoff game, but your random, regular season game, even if it's big, doesn't have that kind of like the pageantry around it. I feel you. Okay, so noted, noted. Got to make it a career. Got to have your own space. Got to slowly get her in the sport. Got to go out to a

college football game and that's how you get her done. Ideally they have it built, like she was a big Niner fan growing up, so she likes, she has a team and then she follows enough for the NFL, like she knows all the quarterbacks, gets into certain teams, you know, the Niners have so many coaches, like, she

follows Robert Salo, Mike McDaniel, all these guys. Right, so it's easy to kind of just breaks off and then it just grows like a like germinates like a tree and then a bunch of branches come off. And then you add a new tree in college football, but you got to do that slowly because there's a lot going on in college football.

We haven't even broached like NIL and Transfer Portal. She couldn't even fathom. Yeah, all the stuff that hit this year, there's no way. That would take anybody a minute to figure out. Too much. Okay, off to bed, Jackson. Merry Christmas. Have a good week.

And we'll talk after Christmas leading into these playoff games. Bowls, enjoy life, bro. Hey, you too. Merry Christmas. Go Irish. 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. 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. What's up, fam. It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Tolodano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

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