The Kevin Sheehan Show - Top 5 DMV Sports Moments Of Year

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

Kevin had his "Top 5 Sports Moments of the Year" on the show today. Denton Day jumped on to help preview and pick the College Football Playoff quarterfinal games. Kevin had 3 "Smell Test" picks for tonight and tomorrow as well. For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it, you don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show, here's Kevin. Third and ten, Cornel is tough, rolling over the minute, and it's picked off Jeremy Chin and Washington will be going to the NFC Championship for the first time in 33 years. Fox's Kevin Burkart on the call of the final few moments of the final few moments on the night of January 18th, 2025, Washington 45, Detroit 31, an absolute stunning performance by Washington to knock out the one seed in the NFC playoffs. Where will that moment rank on my list of the top five DMV sports moments of the year?

I'll let you know when I count them down a little bit later on in the show. The show's presenting sponsor is always, Window Nation. If you need new windows, I highly recommend Windonation. Call them at 86690 Nation or go to windownation.com to schedule your fast-free in-home estimate. I do have smell test picks for tonight and tomorrow. I will get to those later on in the show, but nothing for any of the day games today. The first smell test pick I will give you is for tonight's quarterfinal game between Miami and Ohio State. Between now and then, Denton Day, my producer from radio for a few years, Denton will jump on and help preview the quarterfinal college football playoff games.

Tonight, Ohio State, Miami in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, three more games tomorrow with Oregon and Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl at noon, Alabama, Indiana, Rose Bowl at four, and then Georgia and Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl tomorrow night at eight. Denton hosts multiple radio shows, including college football overtime for Sirius XM. So he will preview and pick all four games with me. Next segment, he will jump on. This from Quinn to get things underway here on New Year's Eve. Quinn writes, I appreciate you not beating around the bush when it comes to your passion for the Redskins now versus the past. I felt exactly the way you used to feel and feel now almost exactly the way you do, but with one big difference.

I don't think a name change, even if it changed back to Redskins, would pull me back in anywhere near the same fandom level I had years ago. I'm 58 around your age, and I've moved on to devoting time to other things like family, fishing, everything Penn State and my new adoration, Cooking. I make a very good seafood stew, L.O.L. I'd like to try it, Quinn. He continues. I still love football, but the red zone will be a bigger draw for me, even if the old name comes back. Are you sure you would feel the same way if the name changed, or is it possible that passion is lost forever? That's some heady stuff, Quinn, on this New Year's Eve. Sure, it's possible. I'm not sure of anything anymore when it comes to this team. I'm not sure of anything anymore with a lot of things in my life. But yeah, I'm not sure of anything anymore when it comes to my feelings about this team and how I'll feel in the future. By the way, I still refer to this team as my team because they are still my team, even though I don't feel anywhere near as attached to it as I once did.

They represent my hometown. I root for the team for a lot of reasons, but there's still a rooting interest. Again, I don't feel the way I used to feel. And I've shared that with everybody over the last several years now. You know, the idea that even 10 years ago, when they won the division in 2015, the idea that 10 years ago, certainly 15 or 20 years ago, that the skins were wouldn't be for me a weekly, you know, gut-wrenching, passionate watch, you know, for the rest of my life, like the thought that it wouldn't be that way now and forever, it was unthinkable

even 10 years ago, certainly 15 or 20 years ago. You know, it's still hard to believe when you think about it, what Dan Snyder did to the franchise he purchased in 1999. I mean, he bought a franchise that was one of the most beloved on earth and had an unbelievable loyal following. If you did one of those brand equity polls that we read from last week where Washington was dead last among all 32 NFL teams, if you did one of those back in 1999 when he purchased the team, the Redskins would have been top two, top three worst case with the Cowboys, maybe the Raiders and Steelers. it's not an exaggeration to say that one person, you know, one person's ego and incompetence

destroyed that brand. I mean, I've talked about this many times over the last, you know, 15 years that, you know, Harvard Business School or Wharton should do a case study on what Snyder accomplished in 25 short years because it was impossible to ruin the Redskins in 1999, impossible. And yet he pulled it off. And I've said this many times, that was his greatest accomplishment because it was impossible to do. So in 1999 or going back to the last Super Bowl in 1991, if someone had predicted that, you know, over the next 30 years,

the franchise is going to be so destroyed, and fans like you, Quinn, and me are going to find other things to do that are going to be more interesting than attaching ourselves to this football team. I mean, if someone had said that to us in 1999 or further back, we would have looked at that person and said, I'll take whatever you're taking. I'll smoke whatever you're smoking. So I'm not going to predict how I'm going to feel if the name changed.

to something that would make more sense for me. I will repeat for emphasis the same thing that I've talked about for 20 years when it comes to the name conversation. I mean, maybe not 20 years, but certainly the last 15. You know, messing around with human emotional attachment to a brand is a dangerous business. And it's why you rarely see it. The biggest bungle of all time is New Coke in 1985. They recovered, but it took a while. You know, marketing and branding people that deal in consumer products know the risk of effing around with a brand and everything goes with it when that brand has a loyal long time following. It's actually the one thing that Dan Snyder understood primarily because his background was marketing, you know, merchandising, branding. So when, you know,

the Peter Kings of the world were saying things like, you know, if you change your name, it's going to create this financial windfall. Snyder knew that that was wrong. Every other experienced brand or marketing expert, you know, would say, uh, yeah, I don't think so. All due respect, you know, Peter King, Bob Costas, Mike Wise. I'm not sure you understand how this works. Snyder didn't know anything about football or running an organization, but he understood that back. to the anti-nameers would result less likely in a financial windfall and more likely in financial crisis, which of course is exactly what we saw in the wake of the name change in 2020. Now, the tide had already turned, of course, because of 20 years of losing, but the name

change in the summer of 2020 sunk the franchise to an all-time low. I mean, Washington's Other revenues, you know, after taking their 132nd cut of TV media money from the league, the other revenue category went to Jacksonville territory, you know, near dead last in the league after the name change. It was sinking, it was, you know, going the wrong direction, you know, in the years before the name change, but the name change really sunk it. I would imagine that the combination of Snyder leaving and last year's amazing season was really good for the organization, but it's still nowhere near where it used to be that even new ownership and the disappearance of Snyder haven't been able to overcome, you know, the 25 years of Dan

and the name change five years ago. But whatever. Bottom line, Quinn, I have no idea. how I'll feel if they get around to doing something with the name. Of course, for me, a return to Redskins is my number one choice, even though, as I've said, you know, over the last year or so, I don't think it will be an option for Josh Harris. But if they changed it to Washington football team and we could just call them the skins and we got the old logo and the uniforms back permanently, and I think the uniforms without the logo,

has a really good chance of being permanent. But how will I feel about the team if that happens? I mean, I can say this without hesitation. I'll feel a lot better than I feel now. Will it match the way I used to feel about the team? I don't know. You know what Quinn said and wrote is true, I think, for a lot of older fans. It kind of went away and at a certain point you found other things to do and it's hard to get that same feeling back entirely. I see where you think that, Quinn, about, you know, a return to even Redskins, which again, I don't think will happen, even though I'd love to see it happen. I don't know. We'll see. Or maybe we won't

see in terms of getting a chance to feel that way again. That'll be up to ownership and the league as far as a name change, brand change, et cetera. All right, enough of that. One other thing to get to real quickly before we get to Denton and the preview of the four college football playoff games. Reports out of Philadelphia this morning are that Jalen Hertz and many Eagles starters are going to sit out the season finale against Washington. The line, by the way, is three and a half now at my bookie. It was, I think, nine and a half the other day. It's down to three and a half now. So that news is legitimate. The Eagles are going to sit their starter. They're going to rest up for the postseason.

They're going to get healthy for the postseason. They don't have a shot at the one seed. They do have a shot at the two seed. You know, beating Washington combined with a Chicago loss to Detroit would give Philly the two seed, not the three seed. There's a big difference between the two and the three. The two gets to host a first round game like the three. But if the two wins that first round game wild card weekend, they host.

a second round game, divisional round weekend. Last year, Philadelphia was the two-seed. They hosted all three of their playoff games in the NFC postseason because Detroit lost to Washington as the one-seat. And not only that, the two-seed gets to face Green Bay, a team that's really limped to the finish line here. Look, I don't know what it'll look like in a few weeks. It's hard to predict.

I thought the Rams were going to win the Super Bowl two weeks ago, and they've lost two straight games. But the three-seed will face one of those NFC West teams. You know, Seattle, San Francisco play for the one-seed Saturday night. The three-seed will play, you know, one of the two other NFC West teams because they'll be seated five and six. So they're going to play either the Rams, Seahawks, or 49ers, if you're the three-seed. I thought maybe the Eagles would approach it like, hey, we're going to play our starters and we'll keep an eye on the Detroit, Chicago. score. And if Chicago's killing Detroit, then we can sit our starters for the second half.

But it looks like they're going to hold them out completely. Look, Philadelphia is not, you know, a team or a franchise that probably fears any matchup at this point. You know, Home or Road. And look, that defense really looked the part in Buffalo on Sunday. It looked Super Bowl ready. For Washington, don't go out and win this game. You know, with Josh Johnson and Bill and Terry, why is Terry going to play in this game? You know, no Tunsel, no Marioita. I'm pretty sure. I'm sure we'll get confirmation on that at some point on Friday.

I would assume that maybe they'll pull Terry too. Terry should not be playing in this game that will now truly be like a preseason game without the Eagles playing the starters. But don't go win this game. You know, you're locked in to no worse than number seven. but you could end up being six, five, four, three, or two in the draft, depending on the results. Don't blow an opportunity to move up even a spot or two by winning the game. You know, I just wouldn't play Terry.

I mean, you're already, you know, at a major disadvantage with Josh Johnson, even if it's against Philly's backup, which is what, Tanner McKee? I think Tanner McKee is the backup. Is Sam Howell on the Eagles roster? I think he is. He is. He's the third stringer. But Tanner McKee, they loved him in the preseason. They like him, period. I mean, he's a big strapping dude at a Stanford.

When was he drafted? 2022, I think, by the Eagles. So, look, the Eagles probably feel like they can beat Washington with their backups anyway. But let's hope they do. Because, you know, at this point, I'm not rooting for a win. You know, this Quinn, you know, we'll see him in two weeks after the Eagles went for two. I mean, you're really not going to see him because it's going to be a completely different team on the field. Still coached by the same guy, Nick Siriani.

All right, let's get to Denton and talk college football quarterfinals. One game tonight, three more tomorrow. We'll do that after these words from a few of our sponsors. I'm over the whole New Year, New Me thing. Short-term fads don't deliver long-term results. Science does, especially when it comes to skin care. That's why I recommend OneSkin. Their formulas are powered by the OS1 peptide, a patented peptide built on longevity science proven to target aging at the cellular level. It's not about adding extra steps to your skin care routine. It's about swapping in smarter ones. All of One Skin's products are designed to lair effortlessly and even replace multiple steps in your routine,

making long-term skin health simpler and smarter at any age. Customers consistently rave about how their skin is smoother, firmer, and healthier looking with results that get better over time, improving both the appearance and the overall health of their skin. No wonder One Skin's products have over 10,000 five-star reviews. Born from over 10 years of longevity research, One Skin's OS1 peptide is proven to target the cells that cause the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. And for a limited time, One Skin's making it even easier to stay consistent with up to 30% off your first three subscription orders when you use code Sheehan at Oneskin.co slash Sheen.

That's up to 30% off with code Sheen. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support this show and tell them that I sent you. Windonation is the presenting sponsor of this show and this segment. If you want to take advantage of their year-end sale, today's the last day to do it. Call them at 86690 Nation or head to windonation.com. Schedule your free in-home estimate. Once you do that, you'll have access to 50% off everything you purchase.

window-wise and zero percent interest if you choose to finance the purchase for five years. You won't pay interest until the year 2030. You've got to take advantage of it, though, before the end of business today, December 31st. 86690 Nation, windownation.com. Mention my name. They'll schedule that estimate when it's convenient for you. It'll take an hour or less. Their promise also is to install your windows in a day or less and that purchase comes with a lifetime warranty 86690 nation window nation dot com for their year end sale all right now is my guy denton day denton produced my show for a few years i miss him terribly but denton has gone on to bigger and better things he is a co-host on

Westwood One sports night with our guy Linnell on 1067 The Fan. From 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. on weeknights, Denton's been the college football overtime host on Sirius XM for a few years now. And he's also been the host and co-host of the Commander's pre and post game shows on 1067 the fan and the team 980. Those of you that listen to the radio show know how much. I love Denton and how highly I think of him and he's going to have he's already in the midst of a very good career and the best thing you ever did was leave me to go search for bigger and better opportunities

but Denton's phenomenal when it comes to college football and he's been coming on radio with me all year long on Thursdays to preview the college football Saturday slate I'm off radio this week Denton's actually sitting in for me on radio this week, but I thought I'd have them on the podcast for the first time to help preview the games, which start tonight with Ohio State, Miami. Real quickly, before we get to the games, how's 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. working out for you. Well, I'm currently on four and a half hours of sleep.

So maybe yesterday was a better day to ask, but it's been fun. I get to watch games now, which is something that I've missed dearly. you know, it's really easy to stay up for like a Monday night football game if you're doing early mornings because that's over, you know, sometimes at 11, or at least you know how the game's going to end at 11, but now I get to watch basketball because, you know, watching basketball in the early morning shift is not a thing, especially if you like teams on the West Coast, that that could be, you know, Arizona in the college space, that could be the Lakers in the NBA space. So now I get to watch all of those games, which that's something I'm excited about.

And I was thinking about this, Kevin, like I literally haven't done that in, probably like 40 years. Just got to sit and watch a game. Now, don't tell my bosses, I'll be working while I watch some of those games, but I will be watching them. Yeah, well, you'll have them on in the studio or wherever you're doing this show. Yeah, you know, what's

so funny is that people would ask me, you know, about the early morning shift, which you and I did together for a few years, and I did for, I think, almost eight years before moving to the day part that I'm in now, which was a major.

life-changing event. I'm not going to downplay it, but, you know, people have much more difficult jobs. But people would say, how do you, you know, how do you watch games? Don't you have to go to bed at like seven or eight o'clock? And the truth is, if there was a game that I wanted to watch, I stayed up and watched it. Like, you and I used to talk about this all the time. I did not go to bed early, even though I got up at 4.30 for eight straight years. I still it was very hard for me to fall asleep at 9 or 10 o'clock. Just really hard. It's still hard for me to do that.

But, yeah, the truth is, though, if there was a late-night game or a game was going late, more times than not, you had to catch it the next morning, even if you had time to catch it the next morning. So that's good. I mean, Denton is really talented. So many of you have told me that over the years and how much you like them.

And his career has got a really solid upward trajectory, that is for sure. All right, let's talk some college football playoffs. It starts tonight in the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State as a nine and a half point favorite against Miami. Real quickly, because even though we've talked, it hasn't been on air, I loved the Miami, Texas A&M game. For a 10 to 3 game, I thought that was one of the best. best watches of the college football season. What did you think? Yeah, I definitely agree, because it was a game that everything mattered in the fourth quarter. You know, the blowouts, I don't care about an Ole Miss Tulane. I mean, I only cared about

Oregon James Madison because Oregon stopped trying, and they allowed JMU to cover the 20 and a half, which sucks. Oh, God, it was awful. But I loved it, like, I loved it because it meant everything special towards the end of it to the point where they're still going for the when Texas A&M was late in the ball game, having an opportunity, and then, I mean, unfortunately, you have the heartbreak of defeat on the interception in the end zone. But look, man, I love that stuff. And that's what I feel like the college football playoff is supposed to be a down-to-the-wire game. We don't get them often. So the fact that we did, even though it was more of like an Iowa football game than a traditional Miami or Texas A&M game, I loved it.

I'm surprised Ohio State is now a nine-and-a-half-point favorite. I didn't think it would be that much. which concerns me because you and I both early in the season sort of attached ourselves to Miami. We thought that the Keynes were the best team in the country or certainly were one of the best teams in the country. So they are here, you know, barely here. I'm worried about tonight. Tell me how you see this game going and give me your pick. Yeah, that's a steep number. I didn't think it'd be nine and a half.

I thought Ohio State would be six and a half to maybe seven. and maybe you get a touchdown in terms of the line, but I didn't think it would be nine and a half, and I don't really agree with it being nine and a half. Julian Sane is a fine quarterback, but he's not great quarterback, and this is a battle of two quarterbacks that aren't great quarterbacks. I mean, Carson Beck has maybe a little bit more upside right now than Julian Sane at least that we've seen with our eyes,

but he makes some really questionable decisions. And, you know, watching Julian Sane against Indiana, it really showcased when he gets pressured. He can't really do a lot. in Miami has a really good defensive line, and they're going to be able to put a little bit of pressure, especially with Rubin Bain. And, you know, if you're not a fan of college football, but your commander's saying, you've got to be paying attention to this one, because there's the potential of like five or six dudes. They could be Washington's pick at either five, six, or seven, wherever they end up picking in the NFL draft. And Rubin Bain is one of them. He dominated the game against Texas A&M.

And I think they're going to put him in a bunch of very different spots tonight to see if they can get after Julian saying, And he just doesn't look all that impressive to me. When he takes on quality opponents, he was just fortunate enough, and Ohio State was fortunate enough that they didn't have to take on a lot of quality opponents this year. So I like the Buckeyes. I think they're going to win because I think Matt Patricia has done a wonderful job on defense, and he's going to force Carson Beck into some really odd positions and into some really tough throws,

but I don't know that I trust Ohio State's offense nearly enough to say I feel comfortable laying a nine and a half in a game where the total is 40 and a half. Here's the one thing that concerns me, and I've kind of done a 180 on this. You tried to talk me out of it early in the year, but I thought early in the year that Carson Beck was going to be a really good fit for Miami, and I thought it was going to elevate him into the first round of the NFL draft when all was said and done. I'm wrong, because Carson Beck just everything has to be perfect around him for him to succeed. He does not deal with pressure well at all. Not to mention that apparently there's a lot of intangible stuff with him that is not great.

But that's where I see why the numbers high, Denton. I think they're looking at it saying, you know, Julian Sane may not be able to, you know, deal with a great defensive team. But Carson Beck is going to throw four picks in this game against Ohio State's defense. the game's going to unravel because of that. I think that's why the number's nine and a half is that they don't trust Miami offensively at all. And by the way, the OC in that Texas A&M game, we were texting during that game. I'm like, give the ball to Fletcher. What are you doing? Like, just give it to them between the tackles and they finally did it on the last drive. I don't think they can run the ball as successfully against Ohio State as they did against A&M.

So that would be my concern is that Miami offensively isn't going to be able to generate much. Yeah, that first quarter is going to be the telltale sign. You know, if they have success with Fletcher early, then I think they'll be in a position to where late in the game, it'll still be a game. If they get Stonewalled with Fletcher, they're done. Because then you put Carson Beck in a position where he needs to be Superman. And like you can point to all of the games, the poor games that he's had, and the bad games, for Miami, and it feels like they shied away from the run in those games and forced him to be what he was in his final year at Georgia, which is ironically why he's there, which is Superman,

and he can't do that. Why you and I loved Miami as much as we did when they were ranked three in the country is because you would look at, one, you'd watch the games, but then you would look at the numbers just to see, you know, make sure it matches the eye test, and Beck's throwing it like 24 times. Yeah. Because they're having so much success running the football, ball, and then they shot away from that in the middle of the year. They took their lumps for it. I hope someone has beaten the entire offensive coaching staff upside the head and be like, hey, Fletcher is your guy, and you can be committed to that for at least the first half

to see if you can get after an Ohio State defense. It's been really good, but you are talented enough in the trenches on the offensive line to at least give yourself a chance. So I'm with you. They need to be the Mark Fletcher game with a few supplemental, shall we say, big throws from Carson Beck, if it's the other way around, they're doomed. The A&M Miami game was a grown man game in the trenches, and this will be another one tonight for sure.

You mentioned the pro prospects just for, you know, Skins fans. Ruben Bain, Miami, you know, top 10 pick, and then Caleb Downs, the safety, Arvel Reese, the Edge for Ohio State. Carnell Tate as well, all, you know, sort of top 10-ish kind of picks for Ohio State. So there's a lot to watch in that one. I like Ohio State to win the game as well. I'm going to be rooting for Miami. I don't know that I like Miami enough to play a number that sort of begs you to play Miami. So we'll see on that when I get to my smell test picks in the final segment of today's show. Let's go to tomorrow noon in the Orange Bowl. By the way, do you see

the issues they're having selling tickets for this game? Yeah, it's like playing it at a neutral site around the holidays is maybe not the best thing in the world. I mean, I would have loved this round to be home sites, too, but they were never going to do that. You know, the compromise was to use a lot of these bowl games for at least quarterfinals and moving forward. But let's talk about the game. Oregon, Texas Tech. You talked about Madison. Look, I had Madison in that one.

You know I did. And so that was a great backdoor cover. but I think the alarming part is just how successful they were moving the football even when they weren't scoring as much in the first half. So is Oregon's defense up to Texas Tech? How do you see this one? I think they are. I think James Madison did have some success moving the football early, but a lot of

the stuff at the end, I mean, Oregon in that game, had 27 players make a tackle. And you know this, we know this, for those that maybe you're challenged in math, that's the backups to the backup getting into the game. So there's a lot of players that you will not see on the field against Texas Tech. I love Dante Moore. Oregon's my pick for a champion, and it largely is on the shoulders of Dante Moore, but I think offensively they do a lot of things really, really well. And I think this is the year where Dan Lannie finally,

you'll make that step into legitimately being considered one of the best coaches. In college football, there's only so many guys that have a national championship in the sport right now, so winning one of those would propel him. Texas Tech has red zone problems like big red zone problems like even against BYU they struggled in the red zone and as talented as they are and Baron Morton says

he's 100% he's out of the boot he's going to be as good as you can be at this point in this season they still are like 90th in the country in red zone success and when you're now playing great teams and it's not to say the Big 12 doesn't have great teams

because there's a couple but you're playing legitimately great teams now you have to be way better at that area of the field than Texas Tech has been. So I like Oregon, I think this is going to be the best game of the week, to be honest, because I think it's going to be high-scoring, and I think you'll see a lot of really big-time throws. I mean, Dante Moore is a Sunday player. I don't know that he's coming out in this year's draft, but if he comes out in this year's draft, he's probably a top 10 pick if he comes out next year's draft, he's probably number one overall,

or at least he's fighting Jeremiah Smith for number one overall. So that game is going to be awesome. I love that it's at noon, too, by the way, because I get to watch it without worrying about my job. So I'm really looking forward to it. Barron Morton, by the way, is the Texas Tech quarterback. The one game he missed this year, they actually lost to Arizona State. It was their only loss of the season. By the way, speaking of NFL talent in this game, Skins fans, David Bailey, Jacob Rodriguez, both linebackers for Texas Tech.

is a lock to be a top half of the first round pick, at least, you know, as of today. And Rodriguez is a spectacular player. So some real talent in this game as well. Look, this one for me is a hard call. I don't feel strongly one way or the other. Every time I've watched Texas Tech healthy, I've been incredibly impressed. What did they spend on their team this year? I mean, they went out and spent for this football team.

I mean, people knew before the season began that the amount of money that they spent on this team that they were going to be good. I don't know if they expected this kind of good, but they're the four seed for those that are wondering. Oregon, however, is as the five seed, they are favored in this game by two and a half, but they spent a ton on this team. It was like a, not an NFL salary cap because that's hundreds of millions of dollars, but they basically paid which you would pay a high-level whiteout on their team. which is very much unheard of in the college football space and going forward theoretically will not be allowed

in the college football space they're capping some of the money that they can spend but look man they're a fun team and I think the winner of this game is going to have a real opportunity to win it all. All right. So you like Oregon

to win the game there and move on? You're actually picking them to win the whole thing it sounds like. Yes. All right. Rose Bowl, 4 o'clock tomorrow. Bama at Indiana. That was an impressive performance by Ty Simpson.

You and I have spent all season long talking about him. They've had no run game. He was spectacular in the early portion of the season, mid portion of the season. Then it really tailed off. And I had major concerns about what he was going to be able to do in Norman. And it looked that way early. But what resilience they showed, they came back. It helped that, you know, John Mateer threw a pick six.

and they had some special teams issues, same thing that had happened to Bama when they had played Oklahoma previously, but I was impressed with what Ty Simpson did. I give them a chance against Indiana, do you? I give them a chance to cover, certainly. I mean, that seven is a pretty substantial number, considering that it's Indiana and Alabama,

and I'm sick in the head, so I still can't quite get over. The fact that Indiana is a touchdown favorite against Alabama, but we know that Indiana is not going to make some of the, mistakes that you just mentioned, pick sixes, special teams issues, the way that Oklahoma did, and they're going to put constant pressure on Alabama's defense in a way that you didn't really have to worry about with John Mateer. I mean, you respect his legs and his ability to run, but you don't really respect the accuracy, and certainly not the accuracy down the field.

It's a completely different ball game when you're taking on the Heisman trophy winner in Fernando Mendoza. So I think Indiana is legitimately really, really good. I think Alabama has a quarterback. And that's a big time difference right now between these two. So I would trust Alabama to maybe get a back-to-or cover with that seven. But this is the year where Indiana is going to have a very nice run in the postseason. So I like the Hoosiers tonight. By the way, you know who benefited from Alabama winning that game in Norman, in my opinion? Michigan. Howe, Wittingham? Michigan and Kyle Wittingham. Because I think Kyle Wittingham is a phenomenal coach. And I think that's an incredible hire for Michigan. And I think it would have been

Kalyn DeBoer had they lost Oklahoma. I do too, especially once the Arizona State guy Dillingham took that contract extension early last week. I didn't think kind of winning him was legitimately available. I mean, silly on me. When he announced this retirement plan a year and a half ago, I was under the impression he was taking the J. Wright approach, just giving a little bit runway, which is, hey, I don't like what's going on in this sport. I've made my money. I've done this long enough. I'm going to go do something else, but it's a little bit different when Michigan calls. And I know some of us think of Michigan outside of the Harbaugh years,

and it's been a very bare time over the last 20 years, but it's still Michigan. And they got a lot of money, and he fits everything that they're trying to do. I mean, that is a – I thought that James Franklin, relative to where he got hired, I thought James Franklin of Virginia Tech was the best hire of the offseason, but that's now number two to winning him at Michigan. I still think Matt Campbell's a phenomenal get for Penn State. Phenomenal. I would put that number two.

I'd put that number two after winning him. I think what you're saying, correct me if I'm wrong, is the fact that Virginia Tech, given the state of that program right now, which it's no longer a top 20 program, it just isn't, or a top 20 job. And the fact that they were able to attract a James Franklin is a big win for them. Is that what you meant? Yeah, if James Franklin was hired by Florida, that would not be a good hire. But because Virginia Tech does not have to worry about his Achilles heel,

which is beating top 10 teams that plan the ACC, not a lot of those. And he can recruit. I mean, you know this, and most of the listeners who are around the area, even if you're on the enemy side of the river in Maryland, Virginia is very talent-rich. And Virginia Tech over the last decade and a half has not been keeping a lot of guys home. and largely one of the reasons was because James Franklin came knocking into Virginia

and took up a lot of the good talent across the state. So now you have him inside your program and he can keep a lot of those players at home. They're going to start to see way more five stars and four stars come in than they have over the last 20 years. So I think that's a great, great hire for them. Penn State was up 24-17 in overtime in what, early October, late September,

against Oregon and lost that game and just, I mean, I've never seen one play in overtime, the pick that ended, it changed a season and changed, you know, the career of because Franklin took him to the semifinals last year. I mean,

that was a big deal last year. All right. Last game is tomorrow night in the Sugar Bowl, Ole Miss, with Pete Golding, their interim head coach against Georgia. you like and why? This is Georgia by a lot, like a lot, a lot.

You know, the way Ole Miss beat Tulane was awesome, and it was like a fun story, this is not Tulane, and you do not have your offensive genius in in Lane Kiffin, and their offensive coaching staff at Ole Miss is still a good group of guys and still guys that can call plays, but Lane Kiffin, for as much as the drama as he gave us, and you can debate whether he was worth that level of attention and the level of the contract that LSU gave him, but he isn't a very elite class of play calling. And when you're going up against Kirby Smart, you need to be the best of the best at that particular thing. And I just don't think that Ole Miss has it. I think this whole drama with Lane Giffon, war on them. Maybe

they got some good rest and rejuvenation over the holidays, probably not. So I like Georgia. I realize I'm taking all favorites, which kind of sucks. But it's in all favorites that sets up a, what should be a really fun semifinal in the next week. I know this is strange because they're so well coached and they're very good defensively and the quarterback is a bit of a gamer. I don't love Georgia. I don't love them. Like I think Ohio State's a lot better. I think Indiana's a lot better. I think Miami, if they were playing Georgia instead of Ohio State, I think Miami would beat Georgia. I think Oregon might be better and even Texas Tech. I mean, they'll probably go on to win the championship, but this number, to me, is a bit short under a touchdown.

A little bit, yeah. I like Georgia more than you do. I think they're talented. They don't have massive offensive playmakers outside of Gunnar Soss, and they have good players, but they don't have anyone that you're going to write home about. I think they played really, really well, though this is more of a Kirby smart thing than anything. There's something about him this year where he has been super, not that he wasn't before,

but he's been super locked in. and he's won them some games with some decisions that he has made late, ironically, against one of those games against Ole Miss earlier in the year when he was matched up with Link Kiffin. Maybe Pete Golding will be a little bit more conservatively smart about some decisions, although I actually thought Link Kiffin coached a pretty decent game in that matchup, but Kirby Smart is just he's a different animal. I think he is the best coach in college football right now,

and I'd love to see him prove it if they go on a deep run. You know, to your point, not everybody listening knows this. but Ole Miss losing Lane Kiffin, this wasn't, you know, it's okay, the assistants can just take over. Ole Miss is here because of Lane Kiffin. He's truly one of the greatest play callers and offensive designers in, you know, the last 20 years in college football. They are here because of Lane Kiffin's offensive brilliance and the way he sees it and calls it. And to see him against Kirby, round two, would have been phenomenal. I wish you were coaching this game, but that's another story altogether.

This is not, you know, a CEO coach. You know, this was a big loss, and we'll see if they can overcome it. You know, one player I just want to mention that I have fallen in love with Georgia. I love their back, Nate Frazier. I think he is one of the hardest runners in the sport, and he is difficult to get down. I don't even know, what is he, like 510, 225, something like that, he runs like it. Yeah, he's smaller, but he reminds me of some of those, George at one point had a lot of really, really good running backs, you know,

coming through their ranks, and he reminds me much more of some of those like Nick Chubb kind of players than any of the dudes they've had in the last two or three years. All right, you've got all the favorites advancing. We'll try to catch up next week before the semi-final games. Thanks for doing this. Yep, I'll talk to you. Denton Day. everybody. He is really good at what he does. Excellent covering college football for serious

XM. All right. When we come back, I'll have a smell test, which will include a pick for tonight's quarterfinal game and two more picks for tomorrow's quarterfinal action. Also, as mentioned at the beginning of the show, I've got my top five DMV sports moments of 2025. We'll get to that to finish up the show right after these words from a few of our sponsors. The Lesby from the out of bounds to the freshman queen who's driving floats it.

Ireland! On the right side of a buzzer-beater with life into the sweet 16. That Derek Queen, crafty, fadeaway runner off the glass at the buzzer, sending Maryland to its first sweet 16 in nine years is number five on my list of the top five DMV sports moments of 2025. The other four coming up shortly. A quick favor to ask of

some of you. Those of you who have never rated or reviewed this podcast, it takes 30 seconds to do so, and it's really helpful for me and this show, especially on Apple and Spotify, both give you a chance to rate this show up to five stars if you think it deserves it. Apple gives you an opportunity to write a quick short review. It can be one to two sentences max, but it's really important for us to get those ratings and reviews. So if you haven't done it, you can spare some time to do it, it would be much appreciated. Following the podcast is also big for us. Just hit the plus button or the follow button wherever you get this. podcast. So my top five DMV sports moments of the year. That one's number five. Look, for me personally,

like if I were really doing this just as my list and not trying to identify a list that we can all share in kind of equally, and speaking more for many in the audience, not just a few in the audience, that would have been much higher on the list. Derek Queen was a sensational freshman player last year at Maryland. If you haven't followed his start to his NBA career in New Orleans, he's having a tremendous rookie season. He's right now top two, maybe third, odds-wise for NBA rookie of the year. Cooper Flag is the favorite right now, but Derek Queen's having an incredible rookie

season. But that game was a game in which, you know, Maryland was a sizable favorite to beat Colorado State to get to the Sweet 16. And the Terps struggled as a four seed in that game. They were down seven at the break. And it was so nerve-wracking throughout. And their tremendous player, who plays for Sacramento, by the way, meet Clifford. If you remember that game, number 10 had a great game for them, hit a bunch of big shots in the second half. He's actually having a good rookie season as well. But Marilyn down one with 3.6 seconds left. Queen demanded the ball in the huddle. Kevin Willard drew up a play to get him the ball, and then he went to work. There was all that conversation. Did he travel, or is it just the extra gathering step? It looked good to me,

and it went in and it was absolute, you know, bedlam in the Sheehan household when that went through. Maryland ended up getting clocked in the Sweet 16 by Florida, but that was certainly a moment. It had been a while, nine years since they had gone to a Sweet 16. And look, the week leading into the first round of that NCAA tournament was really chaotic with Kevin Willard. and some of the things that he had said and the stories that he was going to take the Villanova job. And it certainly made it bittersweet for a lot of Maryland fans. I understand that. But for me in that moment, and I think for a lot of Terp fans, even just in that moment,

watching Derrick Queen hit that shot. That season last year was memorable. You know, they had that Crab Five with, you know, Derek Queen and Jacoby Gillespie and Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel and, you know, Juju Reese, who had been there forever, and it was a really exciting season for the Terps. They went 27 and 8, or 27 and 9, ultimately, after losing to Florida in the Sweet 16. But that moment, specifically, number 5 on my list of the top 5 DMV sports moments of the year. Number four was this.

So I want to start by saying, welcome home. Let's give our commanders a big Washington, D.C., welcome. That was the first of what seemed like multiple announcements, euphoric announcements, about Washington's return to the RFK site in 2030. But that was Mayor Bowser on April 28th earlier. this year with Roger Goodell and Josh Harris seated next to her announcing that a deal had been reached with the team. Of course, there was a lot still to come, the city council, President Trump threatening the deal, lots of things over the next few months before the decisive vote happened, and the return home was solidified. Washington will be back on the RFK site playing

football on a brand new stadium on 2030. And that moment or series of moments this year reaches number four on my list of the top five DMV sports moments of 2025. I know I've said this before about the stadium. I'm excited about the return to DC. I am. It won't be the RFK experience. It's going to be a brand new stadium. It's going to be a covered stadium. And I'm sure it's going to do incredible wonders for the city that I live in. But it seems so far away. And even though this particular season hasn't gone well at all, I still think there's a pretty good chance, 2026, 27, 2028, 2029, four more seasons in Landover. That Landover and that stadium out there will end up hosting the biggest games that it's ever hosted for its

football team after all of these years out there. I still think the chances of hosting meaningful playoff football in that stadium, as long as Jaden Daniels stays healthy and they do some things to help him and help the defense out, of course. But by the time we get to 2030, it'll just be interesting to see what the state of the franchise is, you know, with everything that surrounds it, including the things that we've talked about the last few days, and we talk about a lot on this show. But that was a moment for sure to get that thing done and to get it across the finish line eventually. And to know that this city is going to have a world-class stadium for its football team, but it will attract a lot more. Look, we are going to have a Super Bowl in Washington

within 10 years and probably within eight years. New stadiums, new stadiums in small markets get Super Bowls. A new stadium in a market like Washington is going to get a Super Bowl. I would say 2031, 2032, something like that. We are going to have the Super Bowl in our city. I would imagine a final four, you know, is a possibility as well. World Cup, not so much because the stadium's not built in time for this summer, but it does look like they got it done in time for the women's World Cup in 2031. So that was moment number four of the year. Number three on the top five list of DMV sports moments was this. won a wild card game, won a playoff game, was 2005 here.

Chance to do it with Gonzalez. From 37 to send Washington to the final league. The Washington come. It is on the upright, and it is in. They point their way to the defensive round. Unbelievable. The night of January 12th, 2020, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida, Zane Gonzalez, off the right-up right from 37 yards out at the gun,

lifting Washington to a 23 to 20 win over the Buccaneers and into the divisional round of the NFL playoffs the following week against the Lions. That was Washington's first playoff win in 19 years. the last one coming in January of 2006 against those same buccaneers on the road in Tampa. We had to wait nearly two decades for another playoff win, and it happened early in January of this year. And look, it was the Jaden Daniels show, as was most of 2024. The postseason was his as well. 24 of 35 for 268 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions on the night. He rushed 13 times on the night, including that last third down and two run that got

him a first down, allowed them to whittle off the final 37 seconds of the clock and kick a game winner, walkoff style, just a tremendous night for him, a big night for Terry McClorn and Diommy Brown and Austin Echler. Washington, you know, was up against it. You know, Tampa was banged up on defense for sure, as Detroit would be the following week. But Baker Mayfield and Bucky Irving were outstanding. Mike Evans was nearly uncheckable. It was a great football game. And Washington was just better that night. Certainly their quarterback was better that night. The 23 to 20 playoff win over the Buccaneer. years is number three on my top five DMV sports moments of the year list.

Here's number two. Send in Wilson on the flank. Cross-Eyce Ovechkin, fires! Go! The chasing days are done! Alex Ovechkin is the greatest gold scorer in the history of the NHL. Joe Beninati on April 6th, earlier this year. On the road against the Islanders in New York, seven minutes and 26 seconds

into the second period. Alex Ovechkin on the power play on a feed from Tom Wilson beat Ilius Sorokin for number 895, passing Wayne Gretzky to become the all-time NHL goal score. You know, I thought about number 894 for the top five list. That was a dramatic moment. two nights earlier at home against Chicago when Ovechkin scored on a power plate goal as well to tie Gretzky. That was dramatic. But that's just on the outside of my top five. Probably should have been in the top five, but I had to go with my guy, Derek Queen

and the Terps big win to get to the Sweet 16. But Ovechkin, number 895, the record setter, number two on the list. for some of you, it should be number one on the list. But football rules in this town, and that leads me to number one. Daniels quick throw far aside. Get it out there to McClorin. Break through. Terry McClorin. Foot race. McClorin. It's going to win. Touchdown, Washington. Yeah, that's number one on my list. And I think for a lot of you guys as well, I know some of you would say the Alex Vechkin record breaker. But the night of January 18th, 2025 in the Motor City against the number one seed lions who came into that game 15 and 2 and off a buy week and is a sizable favorite

in front of an absolute electric home crowd. Washington going in and playing the way it did and winning that game to advance to the NFC championship game for the first time in 33 years. that's number one on my list of top five DMV sports moments in 2025. I gave you the play that I think was the most memorable play of the game. There were so many, but the RPO throw to Terry and the run after the catch, the 58-yard touchdown run that gave Washington a 17 to 14 lead midway through the second quarter. It was a lead they would not relinquish. That, I think, was the most memorable play.

I gave you the final call at the beginning of the show, Kevin Burkart's call. He was on the call that night with Tom Brady, and I think America was shocked. And I think for many, it was also like, oh, my God, this guy number five is absurd. You know, the game itself was breathtaking, astonishing in the first half, 31 to 21 at halftime. Jaden ended up throwing for nearly 300, rushing for 50 yards, throwing two touchdown passes, having a 90-plus QBR for the game. You know, a big key to the game, remember five turnovers, three interceptions by Jared Gough, that ridiculous Ben Johnson double pass play, they didn't need any trickery that night.

They were running through and around Washington offensively. 521 yards of offense. Jemir Gibbs averaged 10 yards at carry in the first half, and for some reason only carried the ball 14 times for the entire game. But Washington came up with big plays, and offensively, they were unstoppable, and they won the game 45 to 31. We know what happened the following week,

but that game was number one in 2025 for me. And man, it seems like a long time ago now after the regular season we have endured. All right, there it is my top five moments of 2025. Number five, Derek Queen's bank shot at the buzzer to lift Maryland to the suite 16. Mayor Bowser announcing it was the first announcement of many to come. announcing that Washington's football team would be returning to RFK. Number three, Zane Gonzalez, doinking in the field goal at the gun to beat Tampa Bay. Number two, Alex Ovechkin's record breaker against the Islanders back in April and number one, Washington over Detroit to advance to the NFC championship game.

All right, I'll finish up with the smell test after these words from a few of our sponsors. Kevin looks where the John Q public is putting their cash and does the opposite. It's time for the smell test. The smell test is always brought to you by MyBooky. If you're betting on sports or you're about to begin to bet on sports, my recommendation, and it's a strong one, is to do it at My Booky. There are a lot of reasons to do it at My Booky. It's a fair shop.

It's an old school shop. You're not going to overpay on losses. The pricing is fair. are fair, but they're offering my listeners and have been offering my listeners for about two months now, a bonus that just typically doesn't exist this time of year. They're offering a 50% cash bonus. So if you're a new customer and you sign up at MyBooky and you use my promo code, DC Reload, DCR-E-L-O-A-D, they're going to give you a 50% cash bonus on whatever you deposit. So if you deposit $200, they'll give you an extra $100. If you deposit $800, they're going to give you an

extra $400 into your account. You've got a wager with it. You can't just withdraw it, but that's a big bonus for this time of year. Typically, those bonuses come before football season begins. They're also offering it to existing customers of MyBooky that listen to this podcast. So if you've been a my bookie customer. Previously, if you make a new deposit, you too will get a 50% cash bonus. Take the free money, people. DC Reload is the promo code. Just a reminder, if there's something already written in that promo code section, erase it and type in DC Reload. All right, I'm giving you my smell test picks for tonight, nothing for today, December 31st, none of the bowl games. I do have a pick on the quarterfinal game tonight between Miami and Ohio State.

And then I'm going to give you two plays for New Year's Day. Friday plays will be tweeted out early in the day. I will have a podcast on Friday where I will give you a full-fledged smell test for the weekend, including the NFL games and other bowl games as well. But for today, I've got three plays for you. One for tonight. and two for tomorrow night. So tonight's quarter final game in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas between Ohio State and Miami. The smell test pick is under 40 and a half. Yes, I do know that Ohio State and Miami played very low-scoring games the last time out.

Miami in that 10 to 3 win over Texas A&M in the first round playoff game, Ohio State and the Big Ten title game losing 13 to 10. to Indiana. But I've mentioned this to you before. The public in standalone games, they love to play over. It's easier to root for the over. It's hard to root for the under. It's hard to root for the clock to run, for no points to be scored, for, you know, a long drive with the clock running, but to end with a missed field goal or a missed fourth down, or just a field goal, not a touchdown. The public finds it just much easier. The general average better likes overs. They like rooting for points. And 40 and a half is a super low total in college football. So the public's

betting the over. I'm giving you under 40 and a half. There's sharp money on the under as well. That number at one point was 41 and a half. It's down to 40 and a half. Let's go to tomorrow. Nothing on Oregon, Texas Tech, nothing on Bama, Indiana. But the game tomorrow night in New Orleans in the Sugar Bowl between Ole Miss and Georgia, I've got two plays for you. There are two major anti-public sides. They are Ole Miss plus six and a half. There are no plus sevens out there.

You should buy the half point if you find a six and a half. I see sixes and six and a half, so I'm not going to give you plus seven, even though I will find personally a plus seven. And if I don't, I'll find a plus six and a half at my bookie or somewhere else, my bookie preferably to buy the half point and get it to plus seven. But I'm not going to give it out as plus seven on the smell test here because I don't see any sevens. I see mostly sixes and a few six and a halves.

Ole Miss plus six and a half. I think they think, you know, without Lane Kiff that it was nice to beat Tulane, but it's Tulane, and now they get Georgia. And the last time people saw Georgia was their destruction of Alabama in the SEC title games. So Ole Miss plus the six and a half, and then the over 55 and a half in the Ole Miss Georgia game. Yes, standalone games, the public usually likes overs, but when the numbers really high and 55 and a half is, a high number. It's not the highest in college football, as you college football betters know. But with Georgia's defense, they are expecting it to be an undergame. So I am going over 55 and a half.

So three picks. I'll have the rest of the weekend's picks on Friday show. But tonight, under 40 and a half in the Ohio State Miami game tomorrow night, Ole Miss plus six and a half. and the over in that game, Ole Miss, Georgia, over 55 and a half. All right, no show tomorrow on New Year's Day. I will be back on Friday with a podcast. Happy New Year to all of you. Have a safe New Year's Eve and look forward to another year together. Thanks for everything.

Happy New Year, everybody. Look, Daddy, teacher says, every time a bell rains, an angel gets his wings. That's right. That's right. A boy, Claren.