The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 12/27/2019

Episode Date: December 27, 2019

 Doug Gottlieb fills in for Colin Cowherd saying we can finally lay to rest the most talked about team in the NFL this year, the Dallas Cowboys after this weekends game against the Washington Redskins. If Dak Prescott isn't the man to blame for the recent shortcomings with the Cowboys this season then he also doesn't deserve any praise for previous successful ones. College Football playoffs begin this weekend but keep in mind the only reason LSU & Ohio State fought for the number one seed was to avoid Clemson as long as possible.Guest: Matt Leinart Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played. with and just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to listen to learn the hard way on the iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast what's up guys

this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker this linebacker walks up to me he goes a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to the best of, heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartreport. Radio app by searching Herd.

This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. What up? Welcome in. This is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be making this part of your day. Thanks so much for joining us, live from Los Angeles. On the IHeart Radio app, Fox Sports Radio, and Fox Sports One. Welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlieb, sitting in for Colin Cowherd, who was, I believe, snowmobiling. then went to the jazz game last night.

He was dapping up Donovan Mitchell after the game. Big night for the jazz when the herd is in attendance. Not giving away his location, he does it all for himself, okay? Follow the herd on Instagram as so many of us do. He's on the Graham now. He's on the Graham. All right, we got a good show for you. Eric Dickerson, the Hall of Famer.

He'll join us in studio. So too will T.J. Hooschmanzot and Heisman T. Heisman T. Fox College Football analyst Matt Liner will join us. lead you up to the Holiday Bowl. USC's yearly trip to the Holiday Bowl taking on Iowa. That should be a fun one in San Diego. Of course, Joel Clatt down there on the call with Gus Johnson. That should be super fun and Jenny tapped as well.

Man, another week, another Cowboys game. And this could finally be the end of the Cowboys season. The most talked about team, the most viewed team in the NFL is, of course, not the best. team in the NFL. And after falling on their face and falling flat offensively against the Philadelphia Eagles, they return to take on the New York Giants. Excuse me, take on the Washington Redskins. If the Eagles beat the Giants, it's a moot point. The Eagles go to the playoffs and the Cowboys stay home. If the Cowboys, in America's Game of the Week on Fox, beat the Redskins and the Eagles lose, somehow they moonwalk their way, they backpedal their way into the

playoffs. But the big discussion for the Cowboys has not actually been on the field, right? Some of it has been based upon the play calling, the scheming, the coaching. But the season got underway with discussions about Mari Cooper, Dak Prescott, Zeke Elliott, and their contract situations, right? Remember, Zeke was sitting out and instead of signing DAC, or instead of signing Amari, they went and signed their middle linebacker to a long-term contract. Feel like a team-friendly deal. So to this point, even after the first three games of the season, I was watching Undisputed

and there was discussion about, do you just give him the money now? Remember, Dak bet on himself. Dak has played this thing out and allowed the season to play out and us to decide, hey, what do we think he's worth? And then he and Jerry Jones can decide what he's worth. Most people believe that the reason DAC is slow playing it is because Pat Mahomes' contract's going to come in and it's going to blow every contract out of the water. Plus Deshaun Watson's contract is going to come in. So you start with Carson Wence's deal. You start with Jared Goff's deal. And then you start adding numbers to it. And you may not get to Mahomes, but that somewhere is in the soft landing ground.

something interesting about Dak Prescott is coming into the season it wasn't about his stats no one mentioned his stats because his stats were not really all inspiring there were numbers that you could point to

and say well he's just as good as this guy or just as good as that guy what you would say about Dak Prescott is hey man you may not think that he's great you may think he's closer to a fourth round talent, the round that he was drafted in, than he is, you know, the first round that

Carson Wentz and Jared Gopher drafted in. But at the end of the day, Dak Prescott is, in fact, a winner. And he's a leader, right? He's a winner. He's a leader. Trust me. The only thing that matters for quarterbacks is wins and losses and leadership, intangibles. Colin said at this very chair, right? That quarterback is a position of leadership, and he's not wrong. Here's the problem with that. Coming into the year, two of the three years in which he's been quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, they've won the division. Helps his argument.

It really does. This year, the Redskins are a joke, right? Fired their coach mid-season. They didn't want to play Dwayne Haskins. He wasn't ready. He was hand-picked by the owner. I know they've won a couple games late, but nobody thinks the Redskins are an abject disaster. Dwayne Haskins is essentially their fourth choice.

as quarterback. If you go back to when Alex Smith broke his leg in half and then Colt McCoy, you know, and then they go and get Case Keenham and they tried to use McCoy. They wanted anybody but Duane Haskins to play in Duane Haskins is playing. That's how good the Redskins are. New York Giants are in a similar predicament. They're likely to fire their head coach. They decided to stick by Eli Manning when they drafted Sequin Barclay. Then they drafted Daniel Jones and played him earlier than anyone could have expected because they're just not competitive. So in a division which is the worst in the NFL

with a Cowboys team that anyone, even the most ardent Cowboys hater, would point out to really talent on paper a talented team and Jerry Jones believes a Super Bowl caliber talented team. They sit at seven and eight heading the last game of the season with a relatively soft schedule. A relatively soft schedule.

Like you can tell me that the Patriots on the road is a tough game. I'll agree with you. But they also got the dolphins rolling season. That's a win. They got the Jets at home. That should have been a win. There's plenty of games that should have propelled them, especially when you have four guaranteed wins,

and they actually beat the Eagles at home. So that's five wins to start. There's no reason that they shouldn't be at least above. 500 and have their second straight 10-win seasons. That'd be the first time they did that since 1996. So the argument for

Dak betting on himself is like, look, if you want to tell me that forget the stats and stats are good this year, except when they actually play the good teams, if you want to tell me it's about winning and losing, it's you want to tell me it's about leadership, why do we do this thing where he only gets credit when they have good years?

Again, I'm not I don't actually believe all of the blame rests on the shoulders of Dack Prescott. I don't even know if most of the blame should be on the shoulder. Last weekend, he was crummy. He had guys running open and he misfired. Maybe he's hurt, okay? Maybe he didn't like, maybe the wide receivers broke off the routes early. Maybe there was a miscommunication.

I don't know. Maybe the weather was bad. Whatever. I'm not going to put all the blame. On the other hand, I also wouldn't have given him nearly as much credit for the 13-win rookie season as he got. That was a dominant team. The dominant team with a relatively easy schedule,

and he did exactly what they asked him to do. Nothing more, nothing less, and they went 13 games. Tony Romo was the better quarterback on that roster, and Tony Romo likely would have beaten the Packers at home, even though Dak brought him back from down 21 points. I wouldn't have given him as much credit as people gave him, which is why I won't give him as much blame. However, if you are the guy or if DAC is making the argument, hey, end of the day, won the division two times.

Yeah, but in the year in which it's easiest to win the division, the Eagles are mired with injuries, your schedule is soft, the Giants and the Redskins are non-competitive, and you can't get above 500, and you want me to pay you $35 million? $40 million a year? Get out of here. I want you to take a listen. This is Dak Prescott. This is kind of an interesting. answer. He was asked about the possibility of Jason Garrett coaching his last game with the Cowboys. No, I think it's the last game on mine as well. So I'd be damn if I speak on anybody else's future or their place. Yes, the business is my first time going through it. I'm not surprised by anything that comes from it from the league, from the team, from whatever. Learning as I go. That's a weird answer, isn't it? Is it that hard to go like, hey, I don't think it should be Jason Garrett's last game. I think Jason Garrett should be back here next year.

I want to be back here next year. And when he says it's a business and I'm learning as I go, it seems like he's calling out the loyalty of the Dallas Cowboys. I can't get a new deal. Guess I'm learning as I go. I guess I know where I stand now. Guess I know how we roll here in Dallas. It's my first time going through it. This could be my last game. No, it's not going to be your last game. they have a franchise tag. This is a very easy negotiation for Jerry Jones if he wants to draw a hard and fast stance, right?

Which is, hey, here's the number. This is reasonable. We like you. We think you're good. You can be a cowboy for life. Or you can sign the franchise tag, which is $26 million or so. And for a guy who's a fourth-round draft pick, I understand that Dak carries that the bag of chips on his shoulder.

I do think it's fascinating, right? that we're in this day and age where people make it out like Lamar Jackson had no shot of making everybody said no to Lamar Jackson and he was way like Dag Prescott was a fourth round draft pick Lamar Jackson was a first round draft pick. I mean, a little difference there. But look, I think the cowboys have the hand in the relationship now. They have an upper hand in negotiation.

They waited this thing out and sometimes you bet on yourself and you don't hit. You don't win. You don't get a Joe Flacco. Flacco won the Super Bowl, so the Ravens gave him a huge contract that, of course, they lived to regret, which is what the Cowboys should not do. They'll probably regret the Ziki Elliott contract. Everybody does on running back. Don't believe he asks the Rams.

That's the Jets. As you just do. But if we do the same argument with LeBron James. Oh, it's leadership. This is leadership. Okay. Well, if LeBron's leadership is so unspeakably great, if he always makes his team better,

what the hell happened last year? You can tell me all you want about all the games and the records and how the Lakers played when he did not play when he was hurt, but when he returned, they lost the likes of Phoenix, who was terrible. Indy. Dallas, Memphis, the bottom of the league. I like congruent arguments.

Congruent arguments. I'm okay if you tell me that Dak Prescott is responsible for wins more so than stats. I'm okay with that. But when the stats are good and the wins and losses are not, the losses are there, then he has to gain that same level of responsibility for the losses. You don't only take credit for the wins. This isn't a political debate, right? Where you can go out and say only the positive numbers and not say the negatives.

No, that's not how it works. A congruent argument is, hey, look, look, stabilize the quarterback situation. Maybe we didn't handle the leadership this year all that well. Take responsibility for not having a good season. That's on me. I'll take credit for the two great seasons, and I'll take some of the blame for the two disappointing seasons. Adversity exposes us, and in his second year, Ezekieliot got suspended for six games, and the team fell apart.

This year, after a three-and-o start, they hit some adversity. The coaching was called out. As much as DAC is supposed to be a leader, he never put his full, weight and support by his head coach. Whether or not you actually support him or not doesn't matter. Somebody asks you, hey, what do you think this could be Jason's last game? No, it's not.

Jason Garrett. I mean, even T.O. As big a mess and complete phony as T.O. is. T.O. with it, that's my quarterback, right? At least T.O. had some level of support for his quarterback. that's what the quarterback should do for the coach. But no, he's in his feelings that his contract has, that the Cowboys have not bowed to his demands.

He doesn't feel like he's at all responsible. He feels like he played hurt. This is just a business, I guess. Nobody respects me. He's going to hold that against the Cowboys. When the truth is that as many mistakes as Jerry and Stephen Jones may have made, like giving in to Zeke Elliott, this is not a mistake.

Letting this thing play out, letting Dack get exposed as an average to above average quarterback and starting quarterbacks in the NFL is not a bad thing and should help him financially. Because if you give credit to Dack Prescott for the winning seasons because of his leadership and his

intangibles, he has to get credit for the losing seasons for the same level of intangibles or lack thereof as well. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard radio app. Search Her to listen live or on demand whenever you'd

like. Welcome to my new podcast Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine,

Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Last night, a blown call

changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsClyce brings you closer to the action, with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsClace on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok

podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Clifford Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Clifford Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliford Show. on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend Janet. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast.

We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer? instead of beer. They had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here?

Just take it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Could you both? I would buy it.

Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on.

Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The college football season, college football playoff begins tomorrow. And it's been an interesting year. It wasn't hard to pick three of the four teams. And frankly, Oklahoma fell into the committee's lap. And it became pretty easy to pick the four teams. Keep in mind, Oklahoma hasn't won a college football playoff game.

Big 12 hasn't because Oklahoma's been their only representative. And whoever got the one seed felt like you got maybe not a buy, right? Jalen Hertz running that high-powered offense gives you a shot, but does make you a prohibitive favorite. Now, LSU's running backs hurt with a hamstring injury, game time decision. But it's interesting. The number one seed has never won this thing. Ever.

Now, we're not talking about 50 years of history. The sample size is not yet a decade old, but the number one seed has never won this thing. Yet, Ohio State and LSU wanted to be number one. Why is that? Is it because they wanted the foam fingers to actually work? We're number one. Is it because they wanted to shot at Oklahoma?

Potentially. By my estimation, it's because they know what we all have forgotten, which is Clems is just as good as other teams. if not even better. Remember, they lost seven defensive starters to the NFL. And they nearly lost to North Carolina. Mack Brown's first team at North Carolina, nearly upset them. It was 2120, and North Carolina chose to go for two. They didn't get it.

Clemson won the game. Since then, against a crummy ACC and one SEC team, they have won by 31, 35, 52, 45, 45, 45, 49, 35, 45. Average margin of victory, I'll do the math for you, 42 points. And if you want to say, well, the ACC's down, I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. The ACC wasn't good last year. Florida State wasn't good last year.

Miami, who just lost the Louisiana Tech and the Independence Bowl. wasn't good last year. Louisville was terrible. They're decent. Satterfield's their coach. I think he's ACC coach of the year. They had a ton of injuries, specifically at quarterback.

They were decent this year. Last year they were atrocious. Same league. Yet Clemson won the national title. And it wasn't terribly competitive. They were the best team. Now, is some of their personnel different? Okay.

But we talk so much about culture like the culture of that place you got dudes that have either been recruited to or been around two championships in three years so if we're going to hold it against them that they have one game and look they didn't try and schedule down it's not their fault that a and m hasn't yet figured it out under jimbo fisher and they play i think today and the texas bowl it's coming up in the texas bowl it's coming up in the texas ball play oakland state maybe that's tomorrow um but you know look they played texas A&M, they play South Carolina every year. Like they don't shy away from anybody.

They won the ACC championship, granted against the Virginia team that was average. It's not their fault. Virginia Tech's been bad. Florida State's been bad. Miami's been bad. Louisville's down. Miami's down. They played. They have kicked everyone's tail in their way.

Everyone's. So these two things can both be true, right? The ACC can be historically down. great programs can be historically down. And Clemson can be just as good, if not better, than the other two teams. I mean, they got the only guy to beat Nick Saban, right, as their head coach, and Nick Saban isn't even in this thing. They have the same quarterback that everyone was drooling over last year,

the same running back that Travis A.T.N., who everybody's drooling over last year. You know they have dudes, and they've been, go back in the recruiting, They got dudes coming out of their ears. What's interesting is, and I think LSU is, LSU is getting so much credit for figuring out that a forward pass actually works, right? Like they go get Joe Brady from the Saints, and he's made Joe Burrow into a viable, number one overall pick prospect. But like LSU's defense is not what it has been.

The SEC wasn't great this year. nobody holds that against LSU, right? Ohio State's been thoroughly and completely dominant. Thoroughing, completely dominant. I find it hard to find fault with Ohio State. But they have a coach who, as much as he was groomed under Urban Meyer, to do it, he never done it at this level. Like, Dabble, like Ryan Day looks like he's going to be the dude,

anointed as the next one. And it is fascinating how you have, you know, how you have three of these coaches are guys that were interim guys. And two of them were guys, you know, in Oklahoma and at Ohio State that the previous head coach anointed and appointed as their successor, as their heir apparent. But the only guy to actually be there and to do that and to, like, that's dabosweeney. he's got the only quarterback that's played I guess Jaylen Hertz has played in these games but he's got the only quarterback that's won these

he's the only coach that's coached in and won these that's one in these games he's got players that have won a national championship and yet somehow because they almost lost to North Carolina they were seen as a team at they're not as good as their record dude you beat teams in your league by 31 35 52, 45, 45, 45, 45, 49, 35, 45 in your conference title game.

Like, that unheard of utter and sheer dominance is really remarkable what we've done to Clemson. We used to hold Clemsoning against Clemson that they would, in Clemsonning, and I know Clemson fans, they used to compete with the Florida states of the world, or the Miami's of the world, or the Virginia Tech's of the world, and then they lose to like NC State, and be like, what? even the national championship year with Deshawn Watson, right? Like they almost lost to NC State and they did lose to Pittsburgh at home. Nathan Peterman was the quarterback of Pitt and they beat Clemson at Clemson. That happened.

That's classic like Clemsoning. We held that against them way longer than we give them credit for winning two. Like if anything, they should get the benefit of the doubt, which they don't. It's fascinating to me. I believe that LSU and Ohio State desperately wanted to be the number one team in the country, not because they wanted the foam finger or because they wanted Oklahoma. They wanted no part, no part of the paw, none, nor should they. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,

FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. recognition of mental health awareness month. I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it in.

important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action

with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This lineback coach is. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42.

Hey, rep, my mama wants you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Will Farrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne.

Yeah. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips.

Wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Well, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it.

Do you want a white claw or something here? Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Come on. Could you pull? I would buy it.

Cut through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh.

Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Matt Liner knows all about it. You'll see him pre-half-time post covering college football, covering the holiday bowl, the USC legend, Heisman Trophy, Winternational Champion quarterback. What, what, this is a hard one because anyone who's in Los Angeles knows the SC thing is wild. Like everyone thought Clay Hilton was done.

They hired a new AD. Yep. He doesn't lose the game since they hired the new AD. There's talk of them reaching out to another coach. Now he's still the head coach. coach and they really struggle in terms of recruiting. What's your assessment of the current state of SCs program? It's unacceptable as far as recruiting, I think.

And I went on Twitter and I said that. You look at the last couple years, and I think Clay Hilton's a really good football coach. He's won a lot of games. And he brought stability to USC amongst the sanctions and talk about some of the previous coaches. He's brought stability. He's created his own type of culture there. but at the end of the day, I still think the expectation of USC's championships.

And listen, we were winning national championships a decade ago. It's right there. You know, like it wasn't 50 years ago. We were winning championships, Rose Bowls, national championships in the mid-2000s. And that's what USC expects. And that's what the fan base and the alumni expect. And when you look at the recruiting

and you have to recruit players, develop players to build championship teams, obviously, right? And you look at the fact that they, were dead last in the PAC 12 this year. I mean, Doug, dead last, Oregon State. Some of these teams are ahead of USC in recruiting, which is crazy. We're talking about football. Yes.

And any sport, but football for Oregon State and Washington State, you know, and Washington goes through a coaching change to go through. I get, you're not going to hit on every top 25 players in California left. Here would be a pushback. And I actually totally respect what you and Reggie have to go through because anytime I was, ever critical of Oklahoma State. Like, people will criticize you as disloyal. Whereas I almost think it's now, like, if you were to support Clay, there's so much

anti-clay sentiment that you would be seen as disloyal if you're like, look, I actually think he's a good dude. But didn't USC do this to themselves because he was left there hanging, right? And because there was so much talk of a coaching change, it's really hard to get guys. Like, they did get Bryce, um, uh, it's the kid. Bryce Young. They did get Bryce Young. Then he decommitted because it was so bad midseason.

And that's, listen, anytime there's instability at the head coaching every year, is he gone? Is he fired? Is he going to stay? Yeah, of course, that doesn't help recruiting. I get that. And a lot of people, when I talk to a lot of USC fans, either Twitter or walking around the town, they just don't get it because they just want to win. And they're tired of the same story.

And I understand that. But yeah, listen. But he has had some stability. to some degree. He has recruited pretty well the last couple years, but this year, it's just, to me, it's just like, how do you miss out on all of the top players here in your backyard? It's still USC.

And USC no longer, back in my day, and Pete was great. And we had Ogeron, we had kick, we had great recruiters, some of the best still in college football. It was, USC sold itself, but you also had recruiters out there saying, come to USC, we're going to win championships, and we believed it. They don't have that now. And the fact that they're not winning championships, you've got to go out there and you've got to be tenacious in recruiting. And you cannot let these top players 20 miles away from campus, 10 miles away from campus, Modder Day, Bosco, I mean, two of the top powerhouses in high school

football, and all those kids are leaving. And you talk about the two top quarterbacks in high school football at Modderay and Bosco, Clemson and Alabama. And I was reading, you know, with the early signing day, I was reading all the watching the vision. videos of these recruits and stuff. And the Bosco quarterback wears number five because of Reggie Bush. And he loved USC growing up, but USC didn't recruit him. I mean, that to me, it's like. Well, they also remember they had, but they had Bryce, right?

Like, this is, this is the problem. They had, they had. Now, when you were there, I remember when you won the job and you won the job because you guys, didn't you beat Alabama first game of the season? Auburn. Auburn. Yeah. Okay, but you were still battling with like four other dudes.

Oh, yeah, I was, I was Pete Carroll before the opener and Auburn was, was, yeah, we're going to go with liners as a starter, but he basically said you're etched in sand. Like this isn't, you know, you got to go out and prove it. So it's it is, but that's, but again, this is where it has changed in college football where, you know, when you, when you get one stud quarterback for Southern California, you don't, you don't even need to go and call

and recruit the other kid because you're not going to get them. And Slovis, by the way, is a stud at USC. So like, I get it. I'm just, I'm just saying in general, like to build the championship team, you have to build depth. You can't be, you're not recruiting on need. You're recruiting great players. This isn't Bill Belichick for the Patriots who recruit, who draft what they need,

not necessarily the best player available. You go out and you go build your team through these high school recruits, and you have to dominate your backyard before you go to the south and to the east and to the Midwest, and they just aren't doing that. And Oregon's doing that. Oregon, Mario Cristobal is coming down here, and he's taking all the best players,

and that's why you see Oregon, kind of slowly going like this. I also think, and look, I know they've redone the Coliseum which they now own. And there's great facilities on campus. But when you go to college towns, if you're from Southern California and you haven't been on an airplane to a college while,

you're like blown away. It's so different. You're like blown away because that's all they got, right? Whereas in L.A., now you have Rams, now you have chargers, you have Lakers, you got Dodgers, you got soccer, you got other things. And it does, even

if there are the same or more resources put into USC football than there are to other programs. It doesn't seem the same because there's so many other things going on. It is. And again, when we were there, we didn't have the NFL. You know, you had the Lakers. It was kind of, it was the post-Cobie Shack era. The Dodgers. Oh, you guys were the biggest show. It was the biggest show. But we also won and you recruited. And winning, listen, when you win and you win some championships, kids want to come. They just do. You still, L.A. is still weather, palm trees, Hollywood, West Coast, the Coliseum, looks. beautiful. I think they did a great job.

It's still the brand. But it's, you just can't say that. You got to go out there and you got to, you got to prove to these kids. These kids now, like social media, these kids are a lot smarter than they think, but they're, they have more access. So it's a lot harder, I think, to recruit because everything is just given to them at such an early age. It's a different time, but, but it's still not an excuse.

It's still USC football. You're still, you're still, and the PAC 12, it's not like the PAC 12 is a great. It's not, you know, it's still, USC was one game away. this year from going to a Pac-12 championship if Utah were to lose in the last month. I mean, at 8 and 4, so still winnable. Matt, Matt Liner, joining us, Fox Sports, College Football Analyst, Heisman Trophy, winner national champion at SC, seven years in the National Football League, dropped number 10 overall with the Arizona Cardinals.

What's your reaction, your honest reaction to Ed Orsoran's success? I am so happy for him. We actually, I actually did a FaceTime with him last week for our show, our preview show, our playoff preview show. He, when I go back to USC, he was a great coach. He was our D-Line coach. And the same guy that you see in these interviews and the voice and the emotion, he was that guy.

He was younger, I think a little more immature in a way. But to see his success and how much he loves that team, he loved his players. He always loved his players. Now, he left and went to Ole Miss as the head. He left it. So in 2004, so we were. were playing Oklahoma in the national championship game, and he had taken the Ole Miss

job, and he coached the Orange Bowl, and then he left. And then, you know, didn't have much success there. And then, I'm forgetting. Oh, then he went back to USC. And then he, you know, he had that great- He was the interim coach. He was the interim coach and won, like, six games in a row or whatever it was. And then they didn't hire him. And to me, like, look, I think at the time, it would have been an emotional hire. And I get everyone is like, oh, what if we had coach O? What if we have Coach O? things happen for a reason. We just don't know. But his success, he's in the best place for him. He's a Louisiana guy. Yeah, it's a great fit. It's a great fit. And I'm so honestly, I'm so happy for him. I'm proud of them. And, you know, we had some great years together at USC.

Here's what's interesting is people forget their offense was such a mess when he first got there, right? And then he actually took over some of the play calling, and it was even worse. Well, here's the great thing about Coach O is, is he understands. understands his role. And by the role, he's the head coach. And trust me, he's probably the best motivator in college football. But he went out and got Dave Miranda a couple years ago, who's a great defense coordinator. And then Joe Brady, right, come this whole passing game coordinator. And they just, he just said, hey, we have to adapt in the SEC because Alabama's here, you know, Georgia's, Georgia's up here. And we got to go out there because LSU has always had

talent. They've always had the players, the athletes. They just hadn't had the offense that really had caught up to the times. And I give him a lot. That's why he's great. To give him a lot of credit. He just said, you know what? This is what we need to do. We have to change our philosophy and look what happened.

Yeah. And remember, when he first got there, he hired Matt Canada. Yeah. Who was, you know, at Pittsburgh and they had all these shifts. And it was like, you know, they were the team that beat Clemson at Clemson. Think about the receivers that they had. Oh. That you don't, that, Landry, Beckham, all these guys.

And you're thinking, like, you don't even really remember them in college. No. Right? It's crazy. And because of the type of systems they played. and now you got, you know, Chase and Jefferson, Joe Burrow wins a Heisman, and now it's like the greatest show on Tour.

It's great, and it's fun to watch. Burrow or Tua? Assuming Tua's hips, okay. Yeah, I'm assuming. I go burrow. I think Tua is just, it's high risk, high reward with him, just the injuries. I mean, you know, listen, I play in the NFL.

I had a lot of injuries. He's not the biggest guy. I love him, by the way. I think he's extremely talented. But coming back from that, and then prior to that, the ankles and everything, It's just the durability issue is a real question for me. It'll be very interesting to see where he gets drafted.

I still think he'll go first round because I think he's that talented. When I look at Joe Burrow, it's such a crazy story. I mean, you're talking about one of the biggest, probably, transformations in, God, I can't remember how long in college football. And every time I watch him play, and the system helps and all of that and the receivers he's playing with. But he's a great athlete. I think he was an all-state basketball player in high school. You know, Urban Meyer, I always tell the stories,

just how competitive he was in multiple sports. And I love that. You know, I think that doesn't get enough credit. He's a winner. He's a competitor. It didn't work out for him in Ohio State. He never gave up. And now he's a Heisman trophy winner, and he's probably the number one pick.

I think he's got all the tools. He may not test the greatest. Like, he's not going to throw like Josh Allen or he's not going to run like Lamar Jackson, but you can't, you know, he can't teach that. And he's skilled, like he's a skilled player. So I think he's a safer pick right now. And he's a good player. Clemson, Ohio State.

I made the case earlier in the show that, look, I get the ACC is down. I get it. I'm with you, I think. Okay, and I get that they almost lost to North Carolina. And North Carolina is not very good. But after that, they figured it out, and they're just kicking everybody's ass. And they still have the same quarterback, who everybody was drooling over last year. They still got the same coach.

And you know they're Clemson. They got dudes, right? I feel like Ohio State and LSU wanted to be number one because they didn't want to play Clemson. Absolutely. So how does Ohio State, who is immensely talented, how do they match up a club? I think this is a great man. I think this is... By the way, we're both battling, and many of you at home are.

I'm coughing. I'm trying not to cough. I should have some water. I got it from my... I get a drink of water. I got it from one of my kids, the petri dished kids. It starts as a fever, and I never got the fever, and then it works to a cough. And the cough lasts in a terminal amount of time. For two weeks, man.

It's really, if you sound like... Yes. Well, first of all, the whole... Real quick. The ACC narrative, like, Clemson is one of the best. They're great. The ACC can stink and Clemson can be great. These two things can coexist.

They can coexist. And I don't care that they had one bad, they had one tough game. Like, like, you know how hard it is to win every, I mean, they haven't lost. People don't. Yeah. I do. How hard is it? It's really hard.

It's really hard. And then the expectation. And, and, but you said they have a championship quarterback who's great. They got a championship coaching staff and they got champion. I think 46 players. from last year's team. We're won a national championship. That experience matters in the playoff.

This matchup is phenomenal. To me, look, I think LSU is still there. I think Ohio State and Clemson, the two best complete teams in America. I really believe that. I like Clemson. I really do. I think they match up well on both sides of the ball.

I think Ohio State defensively hasn't played an offense like Clemson. a quarterback and those receivers. And Brent Venable is a defense quarter for Clemson's phenomenal. But listen, this game could go there. I mean, Ohio State, we went to Ohio State. We covered them all year. Those are dudes too now. Like Chase Young is a guy.

Justin Fields is phenomenal. Dobbins. This matchup is, I think, the best matchup we've seen. Clemson, Bama, those title games have been great. But this is a great semi-final match. I like Clemson. I think the experience, and I just don't buy into, well, they haven't really been tested. This is a championship team.

The league's changed so much since you were drafted. Did you know the last left-handed passer to throw a touchdown pass in the NFL is? I'd say- He wasn't a quarterback. He wasn't a quarterback. I was to say Kellynne Moore, it was probably the last one. Kellynne Moore, I believe, was the last quarterback. Des Bryant. Wow.

Yes. Isn't it crazy? Yes. Why? Is it the baseball thing? Do all lefties play baseball? I think it's a baseball. I think at an early age, and I was a baseball player, I think at an early age,

if you're left-handed, and I think it's smart, and it has nothing to do with, like, the spin comes out, the playbook. The playbook is a little bit of an issue, because I remember in Houston, Kubiak had never had a lefty quarterback, and he was like, you know, listen, coaches, it's your pay to do.

You figure it out. I understand, but it's different. But it's different. You had to figure out like, okay, hey, we have to call this. It's just different. But I really think that lefties and parents are putting their left-handed kids in baseball

to be pitching. I really do. That's a big deal. because, I mean, left-handed pitchers, man, they're rare. I got a left-handed pitchers with my 401k. Exactly. So, but yeah, it's a bizarre. It's like one of those things.

I actually did a story. Someone did a story on that last year, and they asked me questions. I'm like, honestly, I think it's baseball. It's just there's not as many of us playing football. I don't know. I mean, it's strange. Tua is going to be the next one. He is going to be the next one.

It is fascinating. I've watched Kyler with the Cardinals. Right. And I was a little bit of a skeptic of, whether or not Cliff's system would work, and he's kind of adapted. They're running the football a lot and actually running it pretty well.

He was under such duress early. Am I crazy to watch Kyler and Baker play and go like, Kyler's a way, he's got way more longevity in this league than Baker. Is that crazy? I don't think it's crazy. I think, look, I think the system, and Cliff, I mean, again, I was,

I'm friends with Cliff, I like them. I think we're all skeptical. Like, how is this going to work in the NFL? It's all about coaching, and it's all about system. It's all about the players around you. And then when I look at Cleveland, great players. I mean, listen, but it's a little bit toxic there.

I think a little bit's an understatement. I don't know how great of the coaching staff is there building. I think Baker's a really good player. I think he's talented. I think he proved that last year. But to me, Cliff is a really great play caller. He's a great offensive mind. And Kyler fits that system really well.

And I watched Kyler play a lot this year. And I watched him play last year. I was like, I don't care that he's 5, 9, 5, 10. The kid is really talented. He's special. He's a great thrower. He really is. And when you have a coach that just says,

all right, this is what I have, I'm going to put him in a system to be successful. Listen, you're going to have success. I think, I mean, look, Cleveland, it's an interesting. It's so toxic there from above all the way down to the team and the distractions. That is really tough.

And Baker's a big personality. It's very tough to win, man, and have success as a quarterback that way. How important is, it in terms of head coaching, ownership, front office, because we've talked a lot about that with Dak Prescott. Having played the position started in the National Football League, how much does that affect your job performance? It is so important from the top when you have ownership and you have general managers that just, hey, want to win. They care about their team.

They're going to pay their players. We're going to, hey, coach, go get the players. Let's go build this team together. There's a lot of egos, as you know in professional sports, especially football. And to me, and look, my career didn't work out. I get it, but I played in different systems. And when I was in Houston, much different than Arizona. It wasn't a system, wasn't a coach that we really get along, a public record. But in Kubiak system, which is Kyle Shanahan, which is what Jimmy Garoppel is working, which is what was in Washington for a long time under Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan.

And that system, like, I love, man. I actually got better in my mid years and the NFL, then I got hurt, but I felt better because of the system. And they said, this is what you can do to be successful. And when you have a coach that can do that, and that's why I think Jimmy Garoppolo is having success, that's why I think you look at Jared Goff, who I'm a fan of Jared Goff,

you look at from what Jeff Fisher to McVeigh. I mean, look at this success. And I know this year has been kind of a different year, but when you got a coach that understands your skill set and puts you in a situation to be successful, a lot of guys are going to thrive. All right, last thing. I've never asked you this, but I'm going to ask you it.

USC Texas, fourth and one. Lendale White's behind you. Reggie Bush is on the sideline. Okay. Okay. If you could go back, you could go back, what would you do differently? Lane called the play, right? Yeah, but Lane and Sark probably called the play.

By the way, Pete Carroll had a hand in. He had the headset on. He had the headset on. It was like he was Brady Hoke. Listen, I'm going to say this. Yeah. For people don't remember, for people don't remember, everyone remembers, everyone remembers Vince Young going in the end zone.

But USC had the ball. We were driving, and it was fourth and a long one on, like, I think their 40-yard line going in right around midfield, but we crossed the 50, and we were not giving the ball back to Vince Young. We were going for it always. So real quick, we had ran power, right, 26-27 power, which is just kind of man-on-man right up the gut, and we had gashed them probably four or five times in that game for eight yards of carry.

I'm not kidding you. We ran power right up their butt. People forget how good Lendell White was. Oh, and Lendell was, and it was with Lendell White because he was phenomenal. And so fourth and one, we trusted all game. And the call I like, I got to be honest with you, I don't remember, it's so funny, I don't remember not seeing Reggie in the huddle. You know, you're in the moment.

It's like, you know, you're just like, all right, fourth and one, let's do. We get this yard. Do you remember what you said? Do you remember what's the play call when it comes in? The play call, I'm probably wrong, but it was, it was probably Irish. right tight, literally 26 power. Because we had double tight ends in. It was all our bigs and our fullback.

It was jumbo package. It was right up the A gap to the right side, the even numbers to the right, odds to the left. And we had ran that same plate by three or four times for a lot of yards. And I had no problem with it. Fourth of one. I mean, what do you toss to Reggie outside and hope he gets to the outside? Like, I get it. Like, I understand you have him on the field, at least to be a decoy.

but to get one yard and the fact that you were physically, really physically dominating them pretty much all game up front. Great team, great defense. I don't have a problem with the call. I think hindsight is 20-20, obviously, if you go back. There's a lot of hidden plays, and I've said this. I went forward on a quarterback sneak in the second quarter on like our 25-yard line going in. We could have kicked a field goal on fourth down, and I went for it and I got stuffed.

I should have called. Like, I literally, to me, it's like the pick I threw in that player, two plays in my mind that like I think I cost us the game right like I should I should have called it so there's always yeah there's a handful of plays there's a handful of plays in there so all the the UFC fans I tell you I get that question why wasn't reggie in the game you know like I don't know man you know I just we should have got a yard and we would have won the game I I know okay so here's the follow up to that all right what is it like though because the week leading up to that the talk was you guys are the greatest team of all time you won two national championship they

can't take that away, right? But to go from that to, oh, it's Vince Young, what is that like? I mean, now you're in the media to go from maybe greatest team of all time to you lose on an unbelievable against an unbelievable player one score game, which you could have won the game to where now all of a sudden you're not necessarily mentioned as the greatest team ball. You know, it's strange. That, that, it was, it was, well, we weren't used to losing. You know, we lost, that was the second game we lost in three years. And it was always a lot of what-ifs. would have won that game three-time National Champ, which has never been done, to maybe go down as one of the best teams, if not the best team of all time. The players we had on that team,

I mean, just phenomenal, the coaching staff. And that, I've gotten over it in my time, but that game hurt for a long time. Losses hurt more than the wins. Losses hurt more than wins because of what was at stake. And I'll tell you what, Doug, like the emotions of that season. And that's why I always credit like Clemson. I credit Florida State, James Winston. in a handful of years ago when they were everyone was dogging them for like oh they don't look good this year like it is so it is an emotional mental grind to to be on top and people are like oh it's it's just hard to stay on top like people that's why like Sabin and Alabama I just give them credits like dude it is really hard to win every single game in college football and I just remember after that game

like it was just like man it was like an emotional letdown it was like we build something to play in that that's like like why I came back to school like yeah I wanted to be a little my teammates. I wanted to win another championship. And to see it, when you had that game in control with six minutes left and Vince Young, I still think one of the best players of all time in college football, just to let it slip away when you had the plays and like you just, God, you go back. It's still tough now. It's easier because it's just like it is what it is. But that was tough, man, for a long time.

We'll see you on the TV side. Thanks for joining me. Matt Liner, Heisman, Trofeo, International Champion. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo.

And every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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Listen to humor me with. Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, guys?

This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

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