The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Penn State’s Best Isn’t Good Enough, Alabama’s Monumental Win Over Georgia, USC Can’t Play Smash Mouth Football

Episode Date: October 2, 2025

Colin’s joined by college football guru Josh Pate, host of “Josh Pate’s College Football Show”. They start with Penn State’s loss to Oregon and the unfair criticism of James Franklin and Colin argues that he’s still a top ten coach, and Josh explains why the loss was the beginning of a brand new timeline for Franklin and Penn State because their best still wasn’t good enough (4:00).  They agree Dan Lanning would be crazy to leave Oregon for another job in the south and that he can accomplish anything he wants as coach of the Ducks (8:30).  They recap their experience of being at USC @ Illinois and Colin highlights that USC was dominated physically and struggles to play smash mouth football, but Josh counters that one more year with the portal could fix it (13:00).  They discuss the huge lift for Kalen DeBoer following in Nick Saban’s footsteps, and why Alabama’s win over Georgia was one of their biggest of the past decade (24:15).  Finally, Colin lauds the addition of the transfer portal for the parity it’s created in the sport now that great bench players now start elsewhere (35:00). All lines provided by hardrock.bet (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #VolumeSee 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.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an Acapella 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 funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got.

Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis' keep coming to. 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.

Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to fupas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. so let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. Cost of everything's still out of control, and many of us are relying on credit cards to cover essentials. If that debt is piling up, you're not alone. You might have considered reaching out to our friends at American financing, but hesitated because you don't want to give up your low mortgage rate. Well, there's good news. Very good news.

they've created the smart equity loan. It's a solution designed to help you take control of your finances without touching your current mortgage. Unlike a he lock, which can have varied interest rates, the smart equity loan offer, it's a fixed rate. That means one predictable monthly payment. This loan allows you to leverage the equity in your home to pay off high interest debt. Free up your cash flow, okay?

Keep your existing low mortgage rate intact. It only takes 10 minutes to get started. No upfront or hidden fee. Just call American Financing today 866-721 33. 300. 866, 721, 3300, or Americanfinancing.net slash column. You know him from the Josh Payte College Football Show. He's great. Comes on the herd volume. As many times as we can get him on, we're going to. I don't know if you've been on the herd yet. We'll get you on. I promise. So I defended James Franklin for years. I was like, listen, he's losing to Ohio State and Michigan.

You know, he's losing to the right people. I thought, you're a favorite. it. You've got a lot of high-end first-round draft guys. You got to win that game. But it was funny because I was watching, I don't go online very much, especially to like fan boards. But I did. I went to Penn State fan boards just to see their reaction. And we want him out of here. He's a bum. And my take is James Franklin is kind of what I think most of the most of the most of the same. college football coaches are. There's Kirby. There's Pete Carroll. There's Nick Sabin. There's Urban Meyer. I think Chris Peterson's one of those. There's dabbo. There's like in any industry, there's like 1%. And then there's a bunch of guys that are almost as good, but may not recruit as

well, or they're not schematically as good. And I think James Franklin's in that. And I think if you gave James Franklin Dante Moore, and Dan Lanting Drew Aller, they would have won the game. So I still think Franklin is a top of the class, not a top six, but somewhere seven to 15, in a sport with 140, you know, FBS schools. Or have you lost faith in him after a game in which you're a favorite, at home, probably the better backfield, an NFL quarterback prospect, where do you land on him today? I don't think any differently of him, but I treated the Oregon game way, way bigger than I've ever treated a football game. And so I got to tell you a little backstory.

You and I have apparently been singing out of the same hymnal, as Meemol would say, about James Franklin, because he is very, very good, never used the word elite, never used the word great, just very, very good, an eighth runger, what we would call him, an eighth runger on a ten rung ladder. Yeah. So I remember even in the spring, I've been up there a couple of times over the past few months. they never shied away from this concept that this year we're all in kind of what ohio state sounded like last year when i visited them in spring we're all in we're making no excuses or apologies about it we're all in all right so every every external dynamic edge imaginable you have on that organ game they got

a travel cross country you got the buy you got the experience roster they got newness everywhere you should you got a way more experienced than veteran coaching staff so all of that wide out you you finally got it in prime time i just felt like it was such a referendum moment. It's such an inflection point in time in the James Franklin Penn State era. And I know coming out of it, if you really want to just shred the arguments, you could say, it's just one game, it's just one conference game. They went to overtime. It's so much more than that. Anyone pretending otherwise is just ignorant of Penn State football and ignorant of the situation. So I think a whole new timeline started the other night. I said this on the following night show.

It may sound hyperbolic, but I'm dead serious about it. I think a whole new timeline got started. Now, here's what we cannot know yet. We can't know which flavor of timeline it is, because you can sell me on either of these things being the case in 2029, and I could believe you. You could sell me, number one, Franklin's no longer at Penn State because that Oregon game precipitated this really ugly slip down this slope where eventually neither wanted anything to do with the other. Maybe they just cut ties. Maybe it got really contentious, but he's not there in a couple of years. I could see that. I could also see him believing everything that I'm saying and you're saying about that game.

That was the referendum game. This is where it's going to be the ultimate test of my way of doing things, the way I've built Penn State. And I think it was such a reminder that your best, given your current modus operandi, is not going to be good enough. That's the absolute peak of this version of Penn State football. And it got taken down by probably Oregon, not even close to. ascending to what they will become. So I could see him driving home that night. I could see him waking up the next morning. It's just you and you in the bathroom mirror and saying to yourself, this is it. Several degrees of change are needed here, here, there. Just rigid principles you've

never bent on. You're willing to bend on. Now, there's a third rail where he doesn't know to do any of that, and it just is what it is. I don't know where we're going with it, but I sense the same thing you did. Even the portion of the fan base, like I've got some Penn State folks on my staff who were the last holdouts, who always sort of shouted down the radical portion of the fan base when they would criticize

him, fire James Franklin after a loss, and they didn't get overly emotional, which is what I noticed. They were almost, I don't know, they were apathetic afterwards. And it was kind of a shrug and, well, we know he's never going to be bad enough to fire, but we were also resigned to the fact that

this is confirmation. We're never going to see the mountaintop. Yeah, it's, you know, it's funny. Anytime Dan Lannning wins a big game, everybody's like, you know, he's going back to the SEC. And I'm like, folks, Oregon has the richest, most committed booster in the sport. Their facilities are insane. Unbelievable home field advantage. And now they're in the first of the second best conference.

It didn't validate. Like when Oregon, remember when he was. finished number two in the country. They beat Colorado. But I cover that team. They were small defensively. They had a couple good corners. Defensively, they didn't have NFL bodies. They've always had good quarterbacks and clever offenses. It was sort of like Harbaugh's first team at Michigan that won 10 games.

And you're like, yeah, but they don't look like Georgia. They don't even look like Georgia. Eight years later, you're like, that looks a little bit like Georgia. Notre Dame, Brian Kelly. Remember that they get. to a national championship game and you're like, well, at halftime, he was laughing. He's like, yeah, we're not. We got to do better than that. We tried. We tried. Oregon's not that. Oregon's a great job. You don't leave Oregon. Like there's seven or eight jobs you don't leave. If you're winning at USC, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame Michigan, just stay.

I think Oregon is in that class. But it's remarkable how often every time Dan landing, like he beats Ohio you know, he's going to get job offers in the SEC. Would you leave if you were Laning and Auburn? Clemson offered you a job? No. My answer would have been different 10 years ago. No. I think I can accomplish everything there that I can accomplish elsewhere.

I don't really think people know this. Look, here's what anyone needs to understand. Dan's not leaving Oregon. He's not leaving Oregon because at Oregon, it's the only, place where you have a deal with the school and you've got a separate deal with Phil Knight, basically. I mean, we talk about buyouts all the time. And typically, you're talking about, oh, it's going to cost $8 million, $10 million, $12 million. When you really understand Dan Lanning's life there, you're talking about a $40 to $50 million buyout. No one's willing to hit that, nor should they.

And even if it wasn't that, so let's pretend that wasn't the case. Let's just pretend all the rest of the dynamics were in place at Oregon. You mentioned facilities. Another thing, people need to know. It's when you go up there right now, you sit in his office, you look out. It's cranes everywhere. It's earth moving everywhere because they're overhauling it again. So this time next year, they'll be ahead of the pack again on that front. But I just want you, I, everyone else, go back to that game against Penn State the other night and understand what you watched.

Oregon, they recruited a very high level already. They've mastered evaluation in the portal. You can't have one of those things without. the other. Otherwise, you're just lighten money on fire. Nebraska spent over a million dollars on the right tackle that hasn't seen the field. So you've got to be able to evaluate as well. Marshall Malkow's a really good dude running point for Dan Laning up there, but landing himself and that staff, they are really, really good at evalling. So you turn on the Penn State game the other night. They've got 11 guys they took out of the portal. I think I counted 10 of them are

contributing big time. They got three starting offensive linemen. They've got multiple DBs. In fact, The guy that people were most crazy about, Mackay Hughes, the tailback that came from Tulane, that's the only one that you would call quote unquote a bust, and he's not really a bust. He's just a depth provider. They're doing stuff, in other words, that you used to get told you couldn't do. It was a chore. You had to clear the hurdle 150% of what the Southern schools did to get talent there. You don't have to anymore.

You don't have to. So what's the downside? As long as you don't mind a couple of extra hours on your plane ride. every now and then. You've got it set up there. He's not lying when he says they're all in on living in Oregon. He's not lying about that. They just happen to find the right guy from the South who is the closest removed to a Nick Sabin,

to Kirby Smart to now Dan Lanny. He looks like a psychopath. His eyes are really like that. Even when he just talks to you on a normal Tuesday over lunch, it fits. It's taken everything that you think is a stereotype because it's kind of true about Southern football culture and what's won down there forever. And you just transplanted it up to Oregon at the best of times. So you and I were at the USC Illinois game.

And thank God I had cover because that stadium doesn't have much and it was hot as hell. It was hot. I went to the Georgia game later that night and they cooled off. I got cooler as I went down there. So, we can argue about did they score too quickly. There's certainly an argument both sides. I think I tend to think when you're on the road and you can get a touchdown, get it. But I could be wrong. But one thing that has been brought up, and I think it's fair, when he, Lincoln Roddy was at Oklahoma, they did run the football. But the defense didn't feel like it made big. stops and big moments. That was kind of the knock. They were like Oklahoma under Stoops was a little bit more physical. So when Brett Venables took over for Lincoln, that's what he talked about. A culture of

toughness, we're going to get more physical. There was this, and generally, reputations can be somewhat generalizing or stereotypes, but there's some truth, grains of truth and everything. And so it was like, they're wide, it's four wide. They're a little soft. So Brett Venable's like, we're getting better. We're getting tougher. So he comes to USC. So Alex Grinch is a disaster. But he got on the plane, and we've talked about this. When you take a new job, whoever gets on the plane, it moves their family. You've got to keep him for two years. So he goes and hires to Ant and Lynn.

UCLA's very, very smart defensive coordinator, very good. And immediately, without great personnel, you're like, oh, this is an upgrade. And then I watch them against Illinois. And Illinois got gashed by Indiana. Illinois had struggled with offensive line protection. I watch USC, and they're young in some spots in the D front seven. They got pushed around. They didn't offer, I mean, you were there.

There were big running lanes. Like on every big third down, once or twice the quarterback was rushed. And my take is, and this was suggested, is it practice? Is there an element of this up-tempo offense that over the course of time, even Lynn's defense, up-tempo. It's getting softer. And my take is, we all know there's a certain style from about October 15th on. It gets cold. It gets windy. I mean, they couldn't close out games last year, Josh. It gets Maryland against Minnesota. They couldn't run the ball. Do you think there is truth in this that, oh, my God, we got the right defensive coordinator, and we can't go on the road

and play smash-mouth defensive in-your-face football already? Yeah, there can be. Okay, I would counter with this. Josh Heippel just won with defense last year. Josh Heipple went to the playoff at Tennessee, and you and I know good and well, not only the offense he runs, but the tempo they're practicing at. A Tennessee offense is chaos or a Tennessee practice is chaos. And yet somehow Tim Banks and that defense not only fortified themselves last year, they built themselves to where when Nico I Amaliava couldn't push the ball down the field, when it was three and out, defense carried Tennessee. They didn't win a national title. They got to the playoff, which was further than anyone expected them to go. So the first thing I would do is I'd answer your question, yes. And then I would say, they ought to look at Tennessee. They ought to look at whatever Josh Heppel has figured out a way to do. The other part of that is, though, you remember,

what was it like two years ago now, after that season where they made the staff changes, I remember Lincoln is playing his day. He sat there and he just kind of reset the program. And he was talking to the media, and he was talking about how we are leaving no stone unturned. We're going to reinvent the way we do this and that. And one of the things he said was, we're going to rethink the way we practice. This is going to be a top to bottom overhaul. Well, that's what he was talking about. Here's what you can't do overnight.

You can't just overhaul the roster overnight with the kind of bodies they need. And so I still, there's a part of me that thinks there's a lot of validity what you're saying, but I still think to myself, if they change nothing else, but I give them another cycle, portal-end recruiting, to go just bring in the bigger bodies, which I trust that they'll do. How different does it look? Just how different does better talent make it look?

Because when we went to that game the other day, that's one of the games where I made it a point to stand in the end zone because I wanted to see that. Early on, I wanted to see that. It was so glaring. They got pushed around. They got put on skates. It was so glaring.

And then you work your way over to the USC sideline, and you can so clearly pick up. up on the fact that they know what's happening to them. They know there's not a whole lot they can do about it. They're going to need picks, interceptions, doing his special teams. They're going to, it's tough because, you know, the juxtaposition to that is later that night, you go down to Athens and you're talking Alabama, Georgia, and it's just non-negotiables for both of those teams.

We're going to load up on big bodies. You know, the concept of us getting beaten because we're second best physically, it's not even in their, it's not even in their lingo. They don't even understand how to speak that. They don't win all the games, but it's not because of what happened to USC. So you're still sitting there waiting for it. I'm still sitting here waiting on it. They made front office changes.

Okay, they've got a high-rated recruiting class right now. I don't doubt they'll try and attack the portal like no one's business, this upcoming winter cycle. I just hope, philosophically, that's where it is. Like, I hope those changes have been made to where it's just better players. I'm skeptical. You can hear it in my voice. I'm a little bit skeptical. but I'm still hopeful too

because I think they got good people in the building there. Today's show brought to you by our new presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bet. The leaves are falling, the stakes are rising, postseason baseball is here. Every swing absolutely can change the season. We got some great teams. How about Milwaukee? Dodgers have no bullpen. Milwaukee swept them this year.

Keep your eye on the Mariners. Yankees, do they have good enough starting pitching? Step up to the plate, take a swing on Hard Rock Bet. New customers, all you have to do is bet five bucks. If it hits, you not only get your winnings, but also $150 and extra bonus bets. Plus, every day this week on Hard Rock Bet, you get a profit boost for a playoff baseball parley.

There's a new promo every day. Boost your same game parley or SGP Max so your bet pays extra winnings. If you want to see what everybody else is betting, who's going to home or top picks or parleys across any sport? The Hard Rock Bet app literally shows you. It's another reason to download the app. It's easy. 90 seconds. Just for the intro.

Tap Discover, and you can see trending picks and parlays at any time. of the Hard Rock Bet app, make your first deposit. Payable and bonus bets, not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital LLC and Alder States. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply.

Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1888. Admit it. In Indiana, if you or somebody you know has a problem, wants help. Call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee. see Virginia. 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 did we, how do we actually come up with the 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 Smigel and friends on the eye heart. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games,

from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsLice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand. because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay.

Jenchian win. I mean, she went down to three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court-side seat to the French Open.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. So when Kalin DeBoer got hired, Greg Byrne texted me after a tweet I sent, kind of to thank me, I think a little bit for the perspective I had, because after Kalin beat Georgia, I said, you know, the media, myself included in fans, success is hard and it doesn't come as fast as we want. And so it's difficult. And it gets, people get worked up. And I'm like, Kaelin DeBore was a hard hire. Dan Lanning's from the South. Dabo Sweeney was popular. I mean, they're Lane Kiffin. There were a lot of potential hires post-Sabin. You could, you could have argued, they weren't going to get Sark, his Texas money, but you could have gone after a lane, a dabble, a Dan Lanning. And he didn't. He went and got a Midwest

guy that was at Washington, 3,000 miles away. And it's easy to go, he's got a great resume. The South is different. The intensity is different. Some Midwest Western people like Chip Kelly one time when they were, I think he was offered Florida. He's like, that's too much. I thought Philadelphia was wrong. It's too much for me. And Jim McElwain, who I knew from college is like, yeah, this is different. I'm more Midwest, Midwest guy. And but I don't, people tend to think, Josh. Everybody knows that if you're Jim Harbaugh and you go to the chargers to replace Brandon Staley, you have to change the culture. It's a disaster. But people think it's easy when you go to Alabama and you replace Saban. Well, you don't have to

change the culture. Well, yes, you do. You have to be authentic to yourself. It doesn't matter what, I replaced Tony Cornizer. He was great. I still didn't do the same show Tony did. Right. I did a different show. So I had to, there were elements of the show you have to change. You have to change certain things. And that's not an arc. It's just, that's the reality is I think Alabama, was a tougher job than you think. The pressure's enormous. They were struggling in the NIL to go to the top rung with some Ohio states and Georgia's. And when they won that game, I found myself rooting for Alabama in that first half. I was like, God, this is good coaching. Jesus, this is good play calling. This is as big a regular season win, including Sabin in like five years. I thought it was

so significant. And they've beaten Georgia plenty of times. Did you feel, it felt more like that, more of a, beyond just a win at Georgia, it felt like, okay, this is the moment. I think it's one of the biggest games for the program this decade. That goes back to when saving is still there. Yes. I could not, you cannot overstate the impact. I mean, think about where we are.

We were talking about inflection point with James Franklin. Okay, different standard at Alabama. They've won their championships, but it was under the previous guy. New guy? You don't know, really? And go into the alternate universe where they lose. game. And they're coming out of Athens already a two-loss team, and you've still got the rest of your conference schedule to go. You probably have four minimum losses staring you in the face.

And what do you do? You mentioned Greg Byrne. I wish you could have seen his face walking off that field Saturday night. Greg Byrne was the most relieved person in the entire building. That's the athletic director at Alabama for those unfamiliar. Like, because he, his reputations on the line with this higher as well. And the thing is, Greg Burns never doubted for a second that Kalin DeBoer is made of the right stuff. But you don't play 162 college football games. So it just comes down to these moments, like these key third downs and, you know, a sequence here and there that's going to determine whether you're a success or a failure that season. I got to tell you about DeBoer when he got there.

I used the word ignorant. Ignorant is not lack of intelligence. Ignorance is sometimes you haven't experienced something. And I think he was maybe a little bit ignorant to what you're talking about, the true Southern football dynamic. Like, I think he looked at it. And I know this because I talked to him about it. I mean, he just talked about winning principles. And he's right. The same stuff wins everywhere. It's just the surroundings, the externals are way different in the South than they are anywhere not named Ohio State, basically, outside of the South. I've said that for years. Ohio State's an SEC Team North. That's the only one.

Yeah. So he got he got thrown in. into that. And I just, as much as you try and wall yourself off from it, it's really impossible. You cannot wall yourself off from it. So I got to tell you now, people who have observed him from the outside may not see this. If you've been around Kalin or even if you're just like a fan of the program, you follow him closer. He, since that Florida State game earlier this year, has been like the third verse of lose yourself. The part where it's just, it's no more games. I've been cut. I'm bleeding all over the place. But I kind of get it now. I kind of understand, like, you get thrown into the pot and it starts to boil and it either consumes you or you adjust and then you thrive in that environment.

That's what I wondered about him because I knew this time was coming. It doesn't. Sabin didn't avoid it at Alabama. And he may be the greatest of all time. Urban didn't avoid it at Florida. No one avoids it. It's do you adapt to it and thrive in it? Because that's the one or two percent that are cut out to coach in the SEC and major college football.

And I'm telling you it's like. It's like putting new keys in the ignition, and it's kind of turned in him. And there's a lot of what we would call de gaffness, DGAFness, that he kind of has about himself that is very indicative of someone who is now adjusted and who has acclimated to their surroundings and basically look back and said, all right, game on. If this is how it works down here, game on. You mentioned the coaching job they did the other night. Buddy, that's an NFL coaching staff on that offensive side of the ball.

I mean, Ryan Grubb literally came there when it didn't work out in Seattle, but they worked Georgia's defensive staff pretty thoroughly. And think about the sentence that just came out of my mouth because you don't really say that about anyone. And so now, you know, their reward is they get to play Vandy this week and what stood out to me the most, and I can't believe this is a sentence coming out of my mouth either to just give you an idea of how that program's wired right now. They're walking off the field in Athens, huge whim. And they're no more headed into the locker room than half the locker room is talking about the Vandy game. Half of them are in the locker room. They're in Sanford Stadium.

They're already looking ahead to the Vandy game because that was the cattle prod to their neck last year that they never fully recovered from. So as much as the public circle at Georgia game, they were already well aware before they left the building of what's next week. Diego Pavia coming in there next week, their Super Bowl last year. All right, they come into our building. College game day is going to be there. So it was an eye-opener to me because I hadn't been to a Bama game this year in person. So I hadn't been around them in person. Yeah, I think that FSU game did something to him.

And it may end up being the biggest blessing they could ever suffer from if that makes any sense. Yeah, when I worked in Tampa for two years, I really learned because I love college football, but I'd grown up around Oregon. Washington was a great program. And I, Kevin O'Connell was a photographer. He's still employee at, at WTVT, I think it is, Channel 13. And we went to do a story on like Tuesday or Wednesday. Spurrier was the coach of Florida.

And we went down there and there were already fans parked in the parking lot, tailgating. It was Wednesday. And I'm like, I go to Husky games like Friday night, maybe late Friday after noon, you'd show up at Husky Stadium. They were there on Wednesday. And they'd been there. I mean, they had their, you know, their cooking utensils out.

They were sitting in the chairs playing, you know, poker. And I'm like, well, this is different. And then the funny thing is I remember listening to Southern Smaller Market Radio. And I'm like, bro, it is March. And that's all they're talking about. You got to live it. You have to have experienced it because the first job I ever got on air was 1580. It's WIOL in Columbus, Georgia.

And it's in the heart. It's right there, Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, FSU, Florida, Clemson, South Carolina. The most underrated market in the South. It's like market 130 something in the country. But in the South, if you want to talk college football, it's great. And you could take a random Wednesday in June. NBA finals could be going on. It doesn't matter.

We're talking about the right side of the offensive line. Not the one deep, Colin. We're talking about rotational pieces over there. And we're talking about, do we really think this Juko kid from Pearl River, Mississippi, is really going to be able to shine there? And it's just so intense. You can back off. You can just shut up and let guys go for 10 minutes.

And they're as worst on it as they would be their own children and their own family and their own financial situation. It's really amazing. So I say this often. 40% of America never leaves the, area code they were born in. People don't like change. I did not grow up in a traditional family with religion, you know, divorced parents. I had just a British mother. And I just didn't have a traditional upbringing. Thank God I had good coaches. But so I tend to embrace change because my life

has been, I've lived in seven states. And so I understand people who aren't comfortable with it, that people that have lived in the same cul-de-sac forever. I'm kind of jealous of that. I understand my kids don't have like one set of friends. And my wife and I have talked about that before, is that you sacrifice. Everybody makes sacrifices. I've moved for commerce and opportunity,

but it's probably hurt me in terms of long-term, you know, friendships and relationships. My friends are all over the country. So when the transfer portal and the NIL came out in the college football playoff, I was so excited. It's like, I've seen Cal, Arizona State enough. I want to see Oregon. and Ohio State.

I want to see Michigan and USC. Like, I've seen the regional stuff. But the unintended benefits that I didn't consider, first of all, the playoffs way better than those half-empty stadium bowl games. That's a fact. Secondly, the NIL has not made the sport more lobsided. The good teams are still good. The bad teams are mostly still bad.

But the transfer portal, I did not predict this. I figured just the rich would get richer. But the truth is, kids want to play. And when I watch Georgia now and a cornerback gets hurt, they don't necessarily have a good backup. He's at Louisville. He's at Texas Tech. Are you surprised? I look at the sport now.

You could change uniforms. I can't tell Oregon from Bama from Georgia from Ole Miss, LSU. I can't tell three, four years ago, Josh, you could take uniforms off. That's Georgia. That's Alabama. That's Ohio State. I think the transfer portal, everybody freaked out about it, I think it's created a parody and an evenness that I haven't seen in college football. I've wrestled with this a lot. See, I used to listen to you a lot, talk about moving. And I was the person you were talking about. I grew up in West Central, Georgia, never left there until into my 30s. And so I'm very rooted. And therefore, I like tradition. I like adhering to the stuff

I've always known. All right. Well, then work or opportunity moves me to Nashville. First time I'd ever left home. First time I ever got out of my cul-de-sac, actually. So my worldview, and therefore my college football worldview, kind of became rooted in that. So I was one that sort of was drug-kicking and screaming across a lot of these lines. And there's, you know, there's always going to be stuff to complain about.

So anecdotally, if you don't like something, you'll always be able to cherry-pick. But I agree with you. and I've had to adjust my thinking slash perspective on a lot of this because it's undeniable. When you look, I mean, Texas Tech could compete literally this year. They could compete for a lot more than a big 12th. Absolutely. Like it could happen. And so what I've picked up on is everybody knows the transfer portal is a big deal. That's a very 50,000 foot evergreen headline in college football.

Drilled down a little bit. When we talked about Oregon a little while ago, when we talked about, Texas Tech. Like I just did something on our show the other night where I looked at the hit rate. And I'm telling you the programs and the front offices in college football now that have really put a premium on putting good evaluators in those offices are lapping the field. Miami is killing it. Not only because they have money, money is the oxygen. Okay, you're not going to live without it anyway. It's a moot point. You got to have the money and then spend it properly. And everyone's spending. They're going after the same players.

So there is still very much a recruiting element to it, but there's also a really, really big evaluation piece to it. So Miami, they just overhauled their entire secondary, Colin. There's one, O.J. Frederick, you'll see him Saturday against Florida State. He's the only holdover. They looked at it and said, this is not good enough. We just wasted Cam Ward last year. So they just imported a whole new secondary.

They hit on all of them. Oregon has three starting offensive linemen from the portal. Not to mention they got Dante Moore back at quarterback. He's so good, by the way. The kid who is starting and shining at Cal right now had committed to Oregon, went to spring or went to winter playoff practices, and realized Moore was so good, he asked for his release. He said, I'm not going to be able to start here immediately.

So I want to go somewhere else, and they hated it, but they let him go. But look at Texas Tech, look at what they're doing. LSU, you know, LSU is a wreck right now, but not because of what Austin Thomas, who's the GM there, and they did defensively, because they've gone from in the 80s to the 50s to now the teens in national defensive rankings, because of the portal and evaluation in the portal. They're not missing on guys, is my point. What they did not do is they did not go get a tackle, a right tackle.

They banked on the fact they could develop one in-house, and that has failed, and that's why offensively, that along with quarterback injury is what they look like right now. But, yeah, it is really amazing. it also does is, you know, I was at Tennessee last year the week of the Bama game. And a lot of the staff was already talking about their concern about their offensive line the following year. Well, offensive line is not an issue for them because they were able to rectify it in the portal. And so you used to have this hopelessness as a fan where if you knew you had a veteran-laden unit, it was going to be minimum two years, maybe even three years down the road. And now it could

just be you wake up one morning and there's a headline oh A&M just went and got Mario Craver and Casey Concepcion. We have an explosive downfield passing game now and we didn't two days ago. That's great, Dad. Was that like it was when you were growing up? No, it was not. No, it was not. No, listen, I grew up in the Northwest and, you know, even Don James, you had these down three-year cycles and Don was like the, I mean, Nick Saban, you know, quoted him at his death. Like, and Washington was great, but you'd have down cycles where you missed on a recruiting class and you missed on two tackles. Like, all right, we screw that up. Let's go into the portal.

So I love what it's created, which is you could just interchange uniforms and the top 12 teams. It just depends on the Saturday. It depends on who has the better game. I mean, good God, USC and Illinois. I'm like, well, I like USC's quarterback and that Lemon kid more, but everything else would pretty even. So Quick Trip found this video from a few years ago where I swore off coffee shops because they kept increasing prices. But Josh, you're telling me Quick Trip might change my mind. I think so, man.

They have fueled my fall tours for a couple of years now. I had a relationship with them just because a bunch of the execs that Quick Trip watched the show. And then that morphs into, you guys want to do some business with the show? And they're all over the South. And so it's, you know, that's big red square. QT on it and you pull off and you got gas out front. But when you go in, they were the first place and still, I think the only place I've ever seen with just the pure cold brew on tap, entire station. Looks like a bar, but instead you got all the different kinds of cold brews there.

And you got to understand, man, when you drive as much as I have, when you drive all its long distances, we'll go storm chasing in the spring. We'll go college football in the fall. I have made it a habit to just look for the quit trip sign. They've been awesome to us. I mean, they have been a huge, huge staple on my show. So, yes, look, if this is the recruitment that I'm following right now, five-star hot coffee prospect here, I just, you've got to take a visit. It's all about the official visit.

Once we can get you to visit, I think you'll be in. Josh Pay, your money, brother. Thanks. 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 Smigel and Friends. 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 CJ Toledano.

It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast Point Game. 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 finally. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to, 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. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva. And on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats

to fupas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.