The McShay Show - Rivalry Week Tape Truths: Bama’s D, A&M’s Title Shot, ACC Playoff Hopes, and More

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

Welcome to The McShay Show! The guys rewind the tape and give their biggest takeaways from Rivalry Week in college football. 0:00 Welcome to The McShay Show!0:43 Week 14 Tape Truths7:55 Tape Truth 1: Texas A&M can make a run in the College Football Playoff16:45 Tape Truth 2: Alabama’s defense is grossly underrated30:58 Tape Truth 3: Todd’s still all-in on Ty Simpson44:40 Tape Truth 4: Texas Tech GM James Blanchard isn’t getting enough credit for the Red Raiders’ success52:25 Tape Truth 5: Kayden McDonald is the glue for Ohio State’s defense1:01:35 Tape Truth 6: The ACC needs Virginia RB J’Mari Taylor to step up against Duke Subscribe to The McShay Report for access to all of Todd’s mock drafts, big boards, scouting reports, and more throughout the college football season. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Shop Duluth Trading Co Online & In-store Host: Todd McShayGuest: Steve MuenchProducers: Tucker Tashjian, Conor Nevins, and Daniel ComerSocial: Jon Roemer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kiffin and the SEC Dominoes dominated the new cycle on Monday. So it's now a tape truth's Tuesday on the McShay show. And we've got an eye on championship weekend. Just 142 days until the NFL draft. I got to ask, you good, Munch? I'm great, man. All right, you know what to do. Tuck, roll that beat.

Boy, I couldn't shut up yesterday, huh? What else is now? I mean, no, it was good stuff. though. I mean, it was, it was, I mean, there was a lot there. Yeah, I mean, an opportunity meets preparation, right? There you go. The McShay show is presented by Fanduel. Fan Duel's got it all. Same game parlays, quick bets for jumping in live, and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. Plus, don't miss out on holiday offers and surprises all month long. Download the Fandul app or head to fendool.com slash mcshay to get started.

Must be 21 and older in president's select states or 18 and older in president DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Help.com. Call 1-888-88-889-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. No such thing is luck. So we prepared. We had sources and we had to go with it.

And so we bumped tape trues to Tuesday. And you know what? It all just works. And we'll have rough draft our flagship draft show here coming out later this week on Thursday. And so why not making a tape trues Tuesday instead of a tape trues Monday? And we got a lot to cover, Mitch. I mean, it's Saturday night too, right? We still got the reaction show on Saturday night to the big games, right?

It's a four show week, man. I'm excited. Oh, hell yeah. Oh, hell yeah. It's a big week. It's championship week. It's a big week. It's a big week. So let's treat it appropriately. And here we are. So it's Tuesday and we'd grinded tape on Sunday and we had to put a pause on it to share everything that we found. And I said to you offline, let's make sure that we kind of use this. It's not a preview of the weekend, but as much as we can, it's not going to be applicable for all. trues. We're not going to do 10 trues. We're going to do six of them and really dive in.

But let's make sure that we have a good sense of what we saw on Saturday or Friday in some cases, because of the holiday weekend. Let's try to spin it forward as much as we can for championship weekend. And, you know, breaking down tape that is applicable for what we're about to see in the SEC, ACC, Big 12 championships, Big 10 as well. So that's what we got for you today. And we're excited. about it. Let's dive right in. I want to thank you. We appreciate you watching. We appreciate you listening. Mench, tell them real quickly how they can support us. And my goodness, like the support, like the numbers on this show normally in college, like we did that analytics thing with the people at Spotify and they told us, like, well, you know, on Mondays, the shows do better than on

Thursday and third. And it was, I use that voice. I'm not, I'm saying they were like, it was actually helpful, yeah. It was hugely helpful. Because in life, one of the, the hardest things to do is get honest feedback and data that backs up that feedback. But there was a lot of numbers being thrown at us. But one of my big takeaways was, like, college football shows are massive in August, September, October, and then they start to decline in November and really fall off in December because the vast majority of the teams are out of it. And so fan bases stop really dialing in and listening and watching every week.

our fan base doesn't. But we did have a lull in November. We did have a lull a little bit in December before January where it just skyrocketed because of the senior bowl and the NFL draft and all the way through May. What I've noticed in the last couple weeks is we've had more viewership and a bigger audience than we have at any point in time during the last college football season. So I want to thank everyone for your support.

And hopefully we keep grinding this thing out. and we're going to do things like we did yesterday. If I'm getting text and phone calls with really high ranking people and getting information that people either don't have or are not able to share due to, you know, constraints that they're put in by sourcing and everything else, we're going to share it. And I promise you full transparency here,

and that's what we do in the show. And so we appreciate all the support. Tell people how they can support us because I do get frustrated sometimes when I look at these numbers and we get some of this data back. And it's like, well, we had, you know, 50,000 people who viewed and listened to the show, but like 500 likes or the subscriptions didn't grow. So let's all work together here and let's keep building this and mensch tell them how they can do that. Go to the YouTube channel at the McShay Show, hit the subscribe button, set up the alarms to make sure you guys are getting alerts for this. And I think the kids say smash the like button.

I don't know. I'm too old to know what they're saying or what they're not saying anymore. do the same with Spotify. You'll find it there too. I think you follow that. You follow the show on there. Also set up the alarms there. Anywhere you can find your podcast.

You're going to find the McShay Show. On top of that, he's at McShay 13. I'm at You Good Mench, M-U-E-N-C-H. We do a lot of social media stuff. Todd is, I mean, Marissa, really, more so than anyone else at the show. But really, Marissa does an outstanding job of getting those clips out.

and Dan and Tucker and I Alicia I think all the people are putting those clips together and John sorry John I don't know how to come up your name first but anyways all the people are putting those amazing clips together it's worth following Todd and I on Instagram and checking that stuff out

so I think I think I got it all right yeah and the McShay report just came out Google it the McShay report subscribe we had a follow up on Saturday's game comes out every Sunday we'll do the same this upcoming Sunday after championship Saturday and we're now getting into the draft season,

so we're just going to start rolling. And he's not just regurgitating what you hear on the show. It's an addendum. It's an addition to what you're hearing here. So it's worth looking at that. Yeah, and we take a lot of pride in it. And even Van was saying last night, or two nights ago on the Bill Simmons show,

that Dan, Dan, he finally cornered Dan to get him a subscription. Something that tells me that Van got a, Van Lathen got a free, free full ride on the McShea report. Yeah, but he was thrilled. He reads it religiously, as, as Bill Simmons does. I think Bill Simmons might be the only one who has a 100% open rate on the McShea report. Okay, all that aside, we get six tape trues today. Three for Mench, three for me, Mench, kick the thing off.

You're killing me. You start this thing off with, we're spinning it all towards championship weekend. And I called, I texted you last yesterday about one I won. wanted to do with no ties of championship weekend. It got the green light. And now you're setting up like they're all of whatever. If it's the one I think you mentioned, and I don't know the details on it,

but it certainly plays a massive role on the college football playoff. And it's a big question that people want to answer coming off of what we just saw this weekend against Texas. Go ahead. I spoke too soon. I now believe that Texas A&M can make a championship run. Again, it's Ohio State first.

It's Ohio State. Yes, 100%. Why not? Let me start with this. It is Ohio State versus the field. I believe that. I still believe that Ohio State's the favorite. There are other teams that I think have a better chance of winning it.

But why not the Aggies? Why can't they do it? Let's start here. I went back and I've watched Marcel Reed in the last, you know, month or so. He's two or more picks in three of his last six games. It's as scary as you think it might be. There are times where you're just, you know, ducking in cover and, and, you know, please don't throw that ball.

And we can't do that. and you should know better at this point in the season to do that. You're hoping there would be a little more progress there. I get all of it. All of it's true. That's been the case all year. And they've had, according to ESPN, and I don't really understand these numbers,

the numbers guys, but I believe them. According to ESPN, the strength of record is third in the country. The strength of schedule is 15th. They won 11 and 1. They found ways to win. I forget what the run was on the road. I think I have it here. Oh, yeah, at Arkansas, at LSU,

at Missouri. That's a tough stretch to go, man. Three games in a row on the road. You find a way to win those games. I know that South Carolina teams had a disappointing season, but they had that amazing comeback. I think they've won in different ways. They went to Notre Dame and a really close one.

It's been like my point is it's been like this with Marcel Reed all year. And they found ways to win games. And now that they go in and they lose a tough one to a good Texas team, all of a sudden on the road, all of a sudden we don't think that they can make a run. also I think there's something to be said. We have a very small sample size. I hear you, but this is something I keep an eye on.

We know that last year the two teams were in the final, Notre Dame in Ohio State, neither one of them played in their conference championship game. Obviously, Notre Dame doesn't have one, but Ohio State didn't play in that game either. It was Penn State Oregon. There might be something to this. There might be something to getting off that week

and getting healthy. And in Texas A&M needs to get healthy. I mean, especially at running back, where Levyon Moss's last six, missed the last six games with an ankle. injury. Your guy, Rubin and Owens, the second has been banged up too. Mario Craver at wide receiver has been a little banged up. You know, this is like every other team in the country, you know, they've got some, they've got some banged up dudes and it's a good chance for them to get a little

healthier. Also, if you look at last year, none of the team, both the teams that went to the finals, again, Notre Dame and Ohio State played in the first weekend. They didn't get a buy. So what you might say, well, yeah, if you don't play in the, if you don't play in the championship game, you don't get a first round by. Yeah, that's true, I guess. but they didn't, Notre Dame and Ohio State didn't need it last year. They had to make those guys had to take the tough run too. They didn't get the Penn State, Texas soft schedule because of the weird seating last year. I mean, Ohio State had to go through the gauntlet to get there.

And there might be something that's be said for that where you're immediately thrown into the fire and you've got to compete. I'm just saying this is a team that can get after the quarterback. I think they tie Oklahoma for the lead in the sacks and the FBS with 41. They've got a quarterback as nerve-wracking as it can be, man, can also make big, time plays. He's got playmakers. They got good running backs. They've got a good offensive line. Again, I think that defense mirrors Marcel Reed in the way that it can be inconsistent. But when it's good, it's good. Why not the Aggies? Sure, you could tell me there's other teams that are more favored and I would get that. But the idea that we're just

dismissing them because they're so up and down. I don't know, man. They catch lightning in a bottle for four games. Watch out. Because this team's got, they're talented at the right spots. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. Also, by the way, I think Oregon might get screwed by the seeding two years in a row. Because think about this. There's a chance that Oregon could be a four seed. Right now, I think they're in the top four. I think it would be crazy if three big 10 teams got in the top four seeds. But if Oregon is somehow gets a buy and doesn't play in the conference championship, I get real nervous because that would mean they would, first game would be December 31st or January 1st. That's a month.

month off, man. Yeah. That's not that. I mean, I like to get in the week off and getting healthy, and I know Oregon's got to get healthy too. That's a big stretch of football. Yeah, that's a big stretch that you're not playing. So it's going to be interesting.

Ultimately, I don't think that'll happen. I think Oregon will be okay. Or not, I shouldn't say okay, but I don't think they're going to get a first round by, but it's interesting to think about. Yeah, you just threw a lot at me. What I do want to respond to real quickly is, I do think you and I can agree.

on. We agreed on it on the show Saturday, okay, that Texas A&M is actually capable of beating anyone in the country, including Ohio State on a given day. My biggest concern is in a tournament like this. Can they be consistent enough to make that run? Right. That would be, because the tackling one game isn't the tackling in another game defensively. The breakdowns and coverage in one game or even a half. We've seen different halves out of this team. They have been great in some first halves and fallen apart in second halves. A hundred percent.

A la Texas. They've been miserable in first halves. I remember, oh gosh, which game was it? Texas Aida. South Carolina is the best example of like terrible. It was South Carolina, obviously. But there were a couple other times, like LSU was one when they eventually. Arkansas was tighter than it needs to be.

Arkansas was in. So my point is it's the erratic nature of play for Texas A&M that's concerning to me. But I do think, in hearing your point, I do think pressure was building. And I think, and Nick Saban says this a lot. And yeah, you'd rather lose one in like late September, early October. But I do think there's value. The best coaching tool, Nick talks about it all the time. The best coaching tool ever is to lose a game.

when you can still bounce back and still be in the dance. Because you get the players' attention. You get to point out like, hey, I told you so, the old Frank D. Felice. Hey, boys, your way don't work, you know? At least once a week we get Frank Devalese in there. I know. I try to keep his spirit alive. Yeah, so I think there's value in losing this game,

not having to play in an SEC championship. after this pressure build of 7-0, 8-0, SEC play, 9-0, 10-0, 11-0, whoa, we got a scare against South Carolina. Then the pressure kind of just comes out of the system. We lost. It's okay. We're still here. We're dancing.

Let's regroup. We get some time to look at all the reasons. Coach kept telling us, if we don't do this, this could happen. If we don't do this, this could happen. Well, we didn't adjust enough, and it happened. And now we got a few weeks to really work and hone in on those things that we weren't doing. I'm not saying that Marshall Reed's mechanics are going to be better,

and all of a sudden he's going to be a decisive Drew Breeze in the pocket. But I am saying maybe this helps get everyone's attention inside that building as they build up and they prepare for a college football playoff run. Yeah, I mentioned it really quickly. Ohio State versus the field, right? I think they're the least flawed team. Indiana is probably you would make the argument that they're second because of their record. They're also undefeated and that win in Oregon.

Every other team has a loss, man. Everyone else has some inconsistencies too. And it's easy to point at Marcel Reed and because of the erratic play over the last, I think, six games. I get it. But it's like the old saying or the old story, if you drop me and you off in the woods and we're getting chased by a pack of wolves, I don't need to be faster than the wolves, McShay. I just need to be faster than you. So there's other,

there are other teams that are flawed here, man. There are other teams that have issues, and they just have to, you know, again, no one's going to play a perfect, no one's going to have a perfect tournament, I don't think. So like you said, just why not the Aggies? Why not the Aggies?

I could see them putting it together. And again, am I betting my money on them? No, it's Ohio State versus the field, man. It's Ohio State versus the field. but A&M four games, they put 11 wins together. I don't know why we'd be counting them out so fast. All right. I'm going to switch over to tape truth too.

Alabama's defense is grossly underrated. And it keeps getting better, like almost on a weekly basis, from what I just went back and watched on tape. Now, there are two elite defenses in college football. Ohio State and Oklahoma. In that order, mind you. But Alabama, I'm seeing a progression. And it's just weird to me, right?

Because Alabama, as we know it, pre-de-Bore, was built on Nick Saban, defense, physical up front, gap sound, coverage sound, linebackers that chase and run in first-round draft picks, right? this defense has some similarities, but is its own unique brand compared to Nick Saban's groups. But this defense is still wearing crimson. It's still wearing the iconic Alabama helmets.

And it's playing at a damn high level. Yet when we talk about, we've gone 14 weeks, Steve. Have we ever, like, broke down Alabama's defense? Not in a positive way. Kind of weird, right? Not a positive way, yeah. But I get news for you. They haven't given up more than 24 points in the game since August.

They're ranked 11th nationally, given up just 16.5 points per game. So I was like, I'm watching it. Every week, it's consistency. And as Ty Simpson has been a little bit up and down, and as the run game has continued to struggle, and as the receivers, and I'll get to that, and another tape truth, have been up and down. The steadying force for Alabama has been this defense.

And I want to start with the secondary. Normally you start up front, and we'll get to it up front in a second. I can make an argument right now this is the best secondary in college football. Really? Yes. And it's not, and it's traditionally when you say, this is the best secondary in coverage football, you're like, well, I get Sir Tan on one side,

and I got another lockdown corner in the, and it's about the cover guys, right? And they've got good cover guys. But for this secondary, which I would argue is the most complete, I'm not saying the best cover secondary, but the most complete, impactful secondary in the country.

It starts with these safeties. Holy shit. Does Bray Hubbard, like, I don't, how is Bray Hubbard not being talked about more nationally? I don't know. I put on the tape yesterday, and I'm going back six games to see the progression. And this guy's doing everything. He's playing not much single high.

They leave that to Keon Sab when they're in a single high look. But he's playing too high and he's covering deep halves. He's playing linebacker. He's blitzing. He's showing blitz and dropping off into coverage. He's covering in the slot. He's got a nose for the ball. he's instinctive. He brings the wood as a tackler, and he's just always around the ball. He's a 6'2-213 pounds senior.

You can tell, and the reason I emphasize senior, because you can tell in his play, his eyes are in the right place. There's not a lot of false steps. There's not a lot of indecision. And he can wear all these different hats because he's got so much experience, and he knows what the other 10 are doing on his side, and he knows where his eyes need to be. In the box, showing blitz, dropping, fast eyes, flies around, ballhawk. Third on the team with 60 tackles. He's got six pass breakups. He's got four interceptions for a box safety. And I'm not putting him in a box saying he's just, but for a guy that at that size that you can rely on to be an extra defender versus the run

and also to help out as a blitzer, four interceptions and leading the team is a lot, including one interception in the Iron Bowl. And then you got Keon Sab, who I mentioned. Fifth on the team in tackles. Three past breakups. He's got an interception. The thing with Sab is, he is an awesome space tackler. So now you've got two safeties that can cover and can make some big plays.

But while Hubbard is, you feel it when he hits you, Sab's going to get you down in space. And you need that from a free safety who's in space more often, okay? Then you get the cornerbacks. Zabian Brown, I would argue, is a better cover corner right now, number two. But he's not the most fluid guy, neither is Dijon Lee, but they're both really smart with their eyes. And they play a lot of zone or off man, and they keep things in front of them, and they know how to protect themselves for the most part.

and they squat and drive on the football extremely well. They tackle well. Everyone's involved in every aspect of the game. It's not just, hey, I'm on an island, Revis Island. I have a job to do when it's my zone responsibility or my off-man responsibility or my press man in these situations, and I execute it really well. So it starts in the secondary for me with Alabama.

Okay. Then the second part is these linebackers are pretty freaking awesome too, Steve. I love their linebackers. Oh my gosh. I thought Deontay Lawson had kind of tailed off a little bit because I wasn't going in and studying the tape. And I think early in the season he was dealing with some stuff, right? But he has come on strong. He is playing at a damn

high level. And then you got Justin Jefferson number 10. You get zero and 10, right? And Jefferson's flying around. Justin Jefferson's underrated, man. Very. Yeah. Yeah. He's flying around. Swarm. He's been a swarming force all year long. Okay. They're both tied for the team lead with 69 tackles. And by the way, I'm watching the tape, right? And the weird part is, well, he's got 69.

He's got 69 tackles. They must be on the field all the time. They're not. Because you got this cat Nikai Hill Green who transferred in who's also a senior. He's been awesome too. He doesn't have to play 60, 70 snaps a game. He comes in and plays 25, 30, 35. And he's flying around 100 miles an hour.

And you talk about violent in that closing burst and lassoing guys. I'm watching him on the field. And he's there a bunch. He's fifth on the team. So three of your. top five tacklers or inside linebackers and I get news for you. They're never on the field at the same time. There's a rotation there. He's violent Hill Green is and fast. So that's your back seven.

Six or six or six, six seven. Now, I will say their worst game that I saw in coverage, talking about the back seven was against Georgia. as we start to look ahead to the SEC championship game. But I'll also say Colby Young was a problem for them, the big, tall, fast, wide receiver, and Colby Young hasn't played in more than a minute, okay? So that'll be interesting to watch. Now, as Georgia's offenses continued to roll,

except the Georgia Tech game, but without Colby Young, who gave Alabama problems, what's that look like? because I think Alabama is better than when it played Georgia the first time around. Would they give up 21 in that game? Yeah, I think so. 24-21 was the final. And you would think that should be enough to win in this game, right?

If you can score 20. I honestly think once again the first to 24 should win this game because both, we'll see. Georgia's defense keeps getting better too. But I'm a firm believer that Alabama's defense is better right now. Then we go up front, okay? Yanzi Pierre is the best pass rusher on the team. He's a guy. He's been a guy for a little while now.

Yeah, freshman didn't expect to get this kind of production. He's solid versus the run. He's been stout at times, but he's their best pure pass rusher. Team best six sacks. L.T. Overton, he's a steady force for them. He's a good player. I don't know that he's become an elite player. they rotate a lot up front.

But those two guys with Pierre and Overton give you a pretty damn good starting tandem, okay? Then you get Tim Keen in the third who's stout and steady as well. They kind of have two interior defensive linemen. Then they have the two outside linebackers. Then they have the two off-the-ball linebackers and then they have four or five defensive backs.

That's kind of their base, if you will, with a big rotation. And speaking of the rotation, this is what stood out to me most. And I could get into what they're doing, coverage-wise and all these different things. But my point was, as I'm looking at it,

because it's not like the old days of Alabama where you had like five, six first rounders, certainly in this year's draft, and then next year we'll just re-rack it with another five or six guys who are, you know, three in the first and two in the second. But they've got a bunch of really good dudes

who keep getting better. And I don't know that Lawson's going to be a first round pick, but he's going to be probably a top 50 pick the way he's playing. And you've got the secondary guys, Hubbard and Sab, they're not going to be first and probably second round picks, but they're going to be mid-round picks and they're playing the highest level of their careers. And Brown and Lee keep getting better. Remember, Damani Jackson was supposed to be maybe a first round pick or top 50 pit,

and they've bumped him out. So they're pretty damn good players in their own right. You've got Pierre, who's playing at a high level, just a freshman, won't be eligible to 2028 draft. So it can be deceiving when we start talking about. draft prospects compared to what we're seeing on tape. And the other deceiving element in all of this is, I don't know if there's a deeper unit defensively

than there is in Tuscaloosa right now. Hmm. And we always talk about Tennessee, and there's some other, I'm not saying they're the deepest, but like they stack up with whoever you want to argue is the deepest. They're in the mix. I'm going to say they're right there in the mix. And I'm going to read you some names.

all three levels. Edric Hill, number 94, impactful player when he's on the field, as is London Simmons, number 90, inside defensive line, ideals, right? So it's not just Tim Keenan and the other guy, Smith. It's also these guys, so it's a four-man rotation at that spot, and they're all really good players. 36, QB Reese at linebacker, Quay Roussa, number four, at Edge, he comes in on obvious passing downs, okay?

And it's part of the reason why Overton hasn't gotten the sack production that you would expect. So he comes in. Then there's this 11 Jordan Renaud, who kind of had some struggles early in the year, but he keeps getting better. He comes in on early downs. So now you've got four guys. And so Overton's coming out on obvious passing downs, and Pierre's coming out on some early, you know, run heavy downs. And with Roussa and Renad,

you've got two guys that are complimenting those players. Then Ivan Taylor, 13, making plays at safety. Then Damani Jackson at cornerback, who I talked about, isn't even starting, but he's there if you need them. That's a lot of depth that Alabama has. What does it mean against Georgia? Well, it meant just 21 points the first time around, and I think this unit's better.

But how much better is Gunner stocked? and how much better is that offense than it was when they first met in late September? We're about to find out. But it's hard to imagine that game being a shootout, and I'd be mildly surprised if either one of those teams winds up in the 30-point range. Any thoughts, Mitch, before I go to tape True 3?

I'm with you. I'm with you the entire way. I think the Alabama defense has been underrated, especially their linebackers. I love their linebackers. Jefferson's a guy. I'm glad you highlighted, and 24 feels like the number.

And it was 24, 21 the first time around. It feels like it's going to be the number again this time around. This episode is brought to you by Duluth Trading Company. The holiday season's not just about R&R. It's about getting things done. That's why Duluth's long-lasting, durable gear makes for the best gifts for the doer on your list. Imagine.

Hanging light displays with ease thanks to free swing in flannel's exclusive re-teacher gussets fire hose work pants so tough Santa swears by him for nonstop chimney travel and buck naked underwear that treats your sugar plums with care this year give the right stuff to build create and do shop online and in stores today at Duluth trading company tape truth three I'm still not cool on Ty Simpson keep trying if you want You're right or die. As I'm watching the tape, two of the first four incompletions are drops.

And one was his wide receiver, Bernard, just got bumped off of a route. But he threw it to the spot where Bernard was tracking to be. And it would have been an unbelievably well-anticipated throw. So while you're watching the game, you're like, oh, now he did miss that deep ball. And I did see a little pat before throwing the deep ball and almost like trying to guided in. I think it's in his head a little bit. The deep ball stuff is starting to get into his head. I don't think that he's the short and intermediate stuff he throws with so much confidence that I'm looking at him in a similar way as like Josh Allen at times. Calm down. He's not as big. He's not as

strong. He's not as fast. He doesn't have his big an arm. I'm not saying that. But I remember watching Josh Allen at times with those receivers and you're going to say, well, McShay, what are you talking about you got Ryan Williams and Jeremy Bernard and Isaiah. I'm saying there are some throws he makes that in the NFL, they will be caught. He's just trusting everything. And he's putting it in places where receivers should be able to get and maybe don't always get there. Or there's a drop.

Like two of the first four passes that he threw in that game. His movement in the pocket continues to be beautiful. He has decisiveness and plays on schedule and has a mental clock that you rarely see from a college quarterback, okay? he also has been protecting the ball better the last couple weeks. Remember, I put him on blasts. Like, hey, I'm trying to, I'm trying to let everyone in the country know how good you are and talented are. You are and how well you're playing the position.

But you've got to protect the ball when the pressure starts coming in on you. And he's made a concerted effort and has shown progress in that regard the last couple weeks. He can also run a little bit. He's not John Mateer. but that design run to the left side, the chunk run he had late in the first quarter on a third and three, huge play in that game. Yeah, he's not stiff.

But that continued that drive, and it set up the touchdown pass with a minute 20 left in the first quarter. And on that throw, Auburn sends six. This was the throw, the highlight of the game. Minute 20 left first quarter, all seen the highlights, right? Auburn sends six, so he knows

they've got more coming than I've got protected. And he starts to, he never drifts. This is not Cam Ward and Shador Sanders from a year ago. This is more Jackson Dart, always climbing, always advancing the offense. He starts to drift purposely. He buys himself some extra time, not himself, but the receiver,

a little bit of extra time. Two things happen. This fucker, comes off of his read to the left. And you rarely see something like this, but thank goodness the tight copy and the coach copy tape is in the end zone looking at his helmet so you can actually see his eyes. It's not like you're coming from the back of his helmet. Right.

He's drifting. Initially, he's looking to his left as he's trying to drift back to buy extra time to see if his receiver can get just a step. Then you got a guy who dives at his feet. and he has no choice but to look down to see do I have an extra but it's like this if you're watching on YouTube or Spotify it's like this actually my head just went down it's like this all right and if if you're listening on Apple or anywhere else you're a lunatic my head doesn't move my eyes just go okay and and he does that but then the crazy part is while still kind of drifting and fall all of his

weight falling backwards. He doesn't just go back to where he was looking before. He comes off to his right and starts his second progression. And it happens in like as fast as I can say progression. He's done those three things. Come off his read, look at his feet, go back to the right, identifies in the amount of time it takes me to say progression. It's nuts. So that's the first part. Then the second part is after he comes from his left, looks down. looks to his right. The second part of this throw that's unbelievable to me is he is completely falling backwards

and somehow, and I'm not saying he's got Josh Allen's arm or Matthew Stafford, he doesn't. He's got a really good arm though. But he just flicks it and the ball at the end of that throw, the energy that's on it, not only gets over the defender, but then on the shoulder, like the back corner,

so it's a safe ball to throw in that. I don't know how you process all those things and make that throw. under those circumstances. It was an awesome. It took five minutes to rewind it that many times because I wanted to see every element of every part of it, both tight copy and wide copy.

But in like real game play, that like seven to nine seconds of what happened was special. Now, there's a negative. Third quarter, 10.50 left, doesn't see the backside safety, should have thrown an interception. A throw he just can't afford to make

and a throw that, He just can't have, I'm assuming, in this SEC championship game and get away with. But then you fast forward to the game-winning drive. Fourth down, he scrambles for first, right? And it was ugly and it wasn't pretty, but he scrambles, and he makes, and he gets the first down. Then there's a long run that he had to the goal line. But there was a holding by Isaiah Horton. Again, the third time in this game that he had a critical run for Alabama.

then there's the throw down the right side line. It was so on time that it's like teaching tape. Like the receiver, Bernard hadn't even started his break, and there was pressure coming. By the way, 13 times he, no, 18 times out of 40 dropbacks, he was pressured in this game. That's nearly half the time you drop back. You can get in the offensive line play at some point, Steve, but the protection has been really up and down. and I know that Auburn defense is awesome. But you factor that in without the running game,

and it kind of tells the story without even having to watch the tape of, well, if he's pressured on half of his dropbacks and they don't have a run game, it's putting him in a bind. But that throw to Bernard on time and then the onions call. I mean, DeBoer to, I know the kicking game has struggled a little bit, but instead of just taking the three points to get to go for, to go for the touchdown instead of just taking the three-point lead in that spot,

or what was it, or two-pointly, whatever it would have been at that point, shows an unbelievable amount of trust in his quarterback, and then for his quarterback to have the onions to pay it off with the poise and how calm he was in that moment on the slant for the touchdown, that was some special stuff too, to Isaiah Horton.

Now, the stats say he've completed 54, percent of his passes of the 122 passing yards. What are you talking about McShay? You're so biased. You're so biased. But the tape tells a different story.

And that's where we're always going to go back to that. And that's what it is. And if a guy has great tape, we might come back and say it wasn't as good as you thought. I do have to ask this question. Or great numbers, I should say. Sorry. Yeah. I've got a question for you. You go first. You sure?

Yep. Okay. At what point are we not buying DeBoer? And understandably so, if there is something there. At what point are we not to buying, buying DeBore's claims that nothing's wrong with Ryan Williams. It just was the flow of the game and he didn't get targeted and all that. I believe he has one catch in the last two games, and he had zero targets in the Iron Bowl against Auburn. And this is the same guy.

And we talked about the drops early in the season, and the drops last year, and he started to clean up the drops a little bit. But there feels to me like something's going on with Ryan Williams. I don't know what it is. I didn't go in and do a deep dive on his tape, and maybe I will before the game on Saturday to see if, is he struggling with an injury?

Is he not the same explosive guy? Is his confidence lacking? Is he not running the routes with the same speed and tempos? I don't know what it is because I wasn't studying him. I was studying the quarterback play when I went and watched after watching Alabama's defense first. But something's going on, right? When like Ryan Williams was Jeremiah Smith B, you know, it was one A and one B, who's Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams were the clear cut to best freshmen coming in

in that class a year ago. and they both had monster freshman campaigns. And Ryan Williams has like up and down early in the season. And now it's like silence. Yeah, I mean, you're kind of answering the question with the way you're framing it. But yeah, there's something's got to be going on, right? He's too talented. Can they beat Georgia without Ryan Williams being a productive part of that offense?

Yeah, because Simpson's, he's so. good at distributing to the open guy. They'll get Quavis involved, the tight end, and Jeremy Bernard and Horton and maybe Lottie comes up with a couple plays. And yeah, I think they can. But without him against Auburn, he throws for 122.

I hear you. If Ryan Williams goes for 90, 110, now we're in like the low 200 passing range, and that's a big difference. Huge difference. Obviously, they're a better team with them rolling. The question is, can they win that game

versus are they a better team with him? Because Bernard is a possession, run after catch, does all the little things, the dirty work over the middle. Isaiah Horton's an X wide receiver, possession, physical, slants. They got one guy that can go, you're always knocking Bernard down,

even though I know you love him. He's more than that, man. Bernard's more than that. I know that, but I'm saying he's not, when Ryan Williams is rolling, Ryan Williams is the more explosive vertical threat. No question.

No question. That's my point. My question. Yes. Alabama loses this game. They in? I think they're in. Should they be in?

Three losses now. A recent loss to Oklahoma. And Oklahoma's in. And as much as the things we like about Alabama, and you went through all of them, you also mentioned some things, inconsistent offensive line play. No run game.

Tyson said as good as he's been, It's been handcuffed by some things. A hard part would be, because then it becomes a question would Texas be in? Right. Right? Because Texas has the positive resume is the three wins over top 10 ranked teams at the time. The negative is the Georgia loss was ugly. And the committee is not going to hold.

I think Alabama is there's more of an emphasis on we're not going to. We can't. as we saw with SMU last year. We can't knock a team out of the playoffs for getting into a conference championship game and losing. And all of a sudden, no one wants to play in a conference championship game. So I think they,

I think they would still be in, but I'm not saying with certainty. And if you're putting, and if you're going to try to put Texas in after Bama already beat Georgia and Georgia handled, yeah, 35 to 10, or 3515, whatever that score was.

Yeah, that would be a tough one for me. What about Miami? You know where I am. Put Texas in, put Alabama in even if they lose in the SAC championship. I agree. And get BYU, get them out. The problem, the thing that fucked us all is Miami not with that ridiculous data point thing, the ACC, the ACC should be about the highest two ranked teams.

and now we're stuck with a scenario where if Duke goes and wins the ACC championship game, they might not get in because they won't be ranked high enough because there's two other programs from other conferences. I'm going to get that into one of my other. I'm going to get into that one of my tape truths later on,

but like it just can't happen. It cannot happen. Tape truth four, go ahead. Tape truth four. Texas Tech General Manager Anthony Blanchard isn't getting enough credit for what he's done. And let me let me just read this from

his bio on Texas Tech because I think it's important. It says few if any general managers across college football have the autonomy Blanchard enjoys under McGuire. Blanchard and his staff for response for identifying every prospect Texas Tech ultimately offers a scholarship opportunity

to allowing McGuire and his coaching staff to prioritize player development and opponent scouting, especially during the season. I think that is a, you don't put that in there if it's not real. I mean, that's, so this guy, and, and I'm going to, I'm going to address this too. There's a lot of GMs who would love that, that budget, and I hear you, but you could give me his budget, and I wouldn't do as good a job. And that's the reality. And he's done an outstanding

job. We'll talk about that, we'll talk about the defensive line again really quickly. Obviously, getting David Bailey was a big get for them. They've loaded talent across that defensive line. Lee Hunter, the defensive tackle, I think it's going to be a day two pick. You got Ramello height. The other edge opposite Bailey was eight and a half. Sacks this year, Skylar Gil Howard, before he got hurt, the other defensive tackle, outstanding. We don't even talk about, I can't remember the name of the, I'm going to forget his name now. I'm going to look it up, though. The corner they got from Mississippi State has five picks.

How about Terrence Carter Jr.? Terrence Carter Jr., the tight end, who's been awesome for them, another guy that he's added. I'll find that corner, the corner's name in a second. But I'm going to talk about a player that I think really highlights just, Just how good of a job, Blanchard is done this year. And that player is defensive tackle A.J. Holmes Jr. Because Skyler Gil Howard got hurt in the middle of the season. He got hurt against Kansas, done for the year.

He was out, he was playing at a high level. I think he was playing at an all-conference level for them. Throughout the numbers, I think he was just outstanding for him. Bryce Pollock's the corner, okay? Yeah, I just got it. So you lose, you lose Skylar Gil-Haward, right? This is a big gap in that awesome defensive. line, but you have another guy you brought in at AJ Holmes Jr.

And he has been just as good. He has been outstanding. The first thing I think about when I watched AJ Holmes Jr. is the jolt in his hands. He's outstanding at stacking and shedding. But he's also a great fit for their scheme, for what Shieldwood wants to run with that scheme. And he's a great replacement for Gil Howard.

I want to explain this quickly. they really need a versatile defensive lineman for them to do what they want with their multiple fronts, like a lot of other coordinators. But Gilhauer can play anywhere along the defensive line. Well, guess what? So can AJ Holmes. And the reason they knew that he was going to be good for the scheme

and they knew that he was going to be a good fit for them. He played for Wood at Houston last year. They brought in this depth defensive tackle who had a career year last year at Houston with 40 tackles and eight and a half tackles for loss. They bring in this guy that, you know, has been overshadowed by all the other players. And Jacob Rodriguez, who's not a transfer, obviously,

but is the face of the team. It should be, like, there's a lot of guys on that team which deserve a ton of credit and should be getting all of the accolades and attention they're getting. But this signing of this depth defensive tackle is paying off in a huge way for them. And the other thing about him is,

he played 639 snaps last year for Houston. AJ Holmes Jr. did. Really? You know you got a guy who's durable. You know you got a guy who's versatile. You know you got a guy who knows your scheme. if you need him to come in to play heavy workload he can or if you need him to roll in and just

play his part you can it is you could talk about the David Bailey's of the world and obviously that's a huge thing and to your point what a great signing for them what a great player to get and and I'm not even going to mention the head coach's name because it's not about him it's about every head coach in college football with all the recruiting and the booster meetings and all the administrative stuff

and all of it who has the time to dig deep enough to find that guy and to know about the durability and to really identify the skill. You know what I mean? And it's not just singular to that individual player, but it's putting together a rock. That's why general managers are so critical

in the National Football League and are getting paid $3, 4, 5 million a year because you have to manage your own organization within the organization. the personnel staff, if you will, it's, you're the CEO of an organization, even though that organization, it's like being the,

it's like being Burke Magnus at ESPN, you're within the organization of Disney, but it doesn't mean that you're not running the day-to-day operations and have a vital, vital role in what goes on. Right? Yeah. I think the Texas tech model is good. I think it

really is that you have McGuire as the CEO as the guy who's overseeing everything. Let your offense coordinator do his thing. Let your defense coordinator do thing. Have a GM and you're at the top handling all the day to day, all the big time decisions. You're the final, you know, obviously the final saying. And like in the NFL, it's a great

model. Like Brett Veach and Andy Reid worked together like they're like this. I spent time, I did the preseason game. Like they are like this. They speak the same language. They have some of the same manner as like because you're, and if you work that closely together, it allows me as the general manager to do the most important thing.

And that is to provide you with the right players for you. Right. And your system and your philosophy and your psychology and everything else. So it's another reason I want to bring Jake Rosenberg on. He's not the only one. But and continue to, we, I love our. GM series and we're going to continue it and we talk to some great GMs including Howie Roseman

last year and we're going to blow that thing out even more when we get to the Senior Bowl and the combine. But I do think one of the missing voids in all of sports media right now is this fast rising, it's like watching the seaport here in Boston and not talking about it. Like the seaport has become like an additional city working in conjunction with the city of Austin, right? Yeah. But it, but it popped up. Like, I was living down there in 2001 through 2005, 2006, and you looked over across the, across the, uh, the harbor. And there were a few buildings up. And then all of a sudden by 2015, it was literally like your own, like a second financial district. That's what's going on in college football right now with front offices, GMs and everything else.

And so we'll start with Jake Rosenberg and we'll continue to talk to people because I feel like fans are they probably don't even know how interesting it is and how much thirst there is for that information because it's becoming a but that's why you see florida bringing in caldwell as they announced their new head coach yeah right okay it's a big deal it's a big deal and i just want to go on record i really hope texas takes care of business and b yu couldn't sotaki and the the program and Bear and L.J. Martin is my favorite, the most underrated prospect in the entire. Like, I love what BYU is doing. I just, when you start talking to me about Alabama and Texas and some of these other programs not getting in, we need to clear some room.

All right, tape truth five, Caden McDonald. He's kind of the glue that stirs at all at Ohio State, and nobody's talking about him. And I don't understand why. And I take onus. I'll take my portion of the responsibility. But when you really study this Ohio State defense and with all the stars on it and we know who they are and we give them the credit all the time, Arvel Reese is a social

media sensation and he deserves to be. And Sonny Stiles is back for another year and he's been awesome even though mildly overshadowed by Arvel Reese at that same off ball linebacker position. And you've got Caleb Downs who might be the best player football player in college football.

But without out Caden up front, this defense is not what it is. And this defense is the elite group in college football. It has proved once again going into the big house and getting a win that has been alluding Ryan Day in this program for the last four years. Caden McDonald's is a McDonald is a 6-foot-3, 3-126-pound defensive tackle. A year ago, I didn't know. Sfelt. Sfelt.

I didn't know. didn't know a whole lot about them. And for all the Reese's and the styles and the downs and all the credit that gets thrown out there nationally, McDonald and Cady and Curry are actually the two most important players on this team. I hear you. I hear the point you're making. Because it does have to start up front. And because you have a McDonald, if you want to run the ball in the A and B gap,

you've got to think long and hard about it. you got to kind of get cute about it and you got to disguise it and you get you know what I mean you can't just line up and run against him he is yeah you better pick your spots you can make an argument now's not the time we've plenty of time leaving up to the draft you can make the argument that he is the best interior run defending defensive tackle in all of college football big number 98 6 3 326 pounds and it's not just this old like Zero, zero technique, space got. This son of a gun has 51 tackles.

On a defense with downs and styles and Reese and all these other cats, he's fifth on the team in tackles at 326 pounds. That doesn't happen very often, folks. Fifth on the team, okay? When I look at him and I look at his movements and I look at his balance and his flexibility, his short area quickness, his power, the ability to get into guys' pads and take that like absorption for a quick court account while he gets his eyes in the backfield.

And you don't as a defensive tackle get 51 tackles through 12 games without having awesome vision and having your eyes in the right place because it's about locking up the offensive linemen and controlling the gap. That's part A. part B then very quickly becomes locate that football. And you've got to be strong enough. In a split second. I mean, it's rapid.

Faster than I can say progression. That's the thing. Here we go. Get into the pads, absorb it, but have that flexibility and balance, right? But strong enough to hold it. And then the eyes, find it. And he does it at such a high level.

And he does it. It's almost all in unison, right? because then the third part is, okay, I got the ball. And in order to be great at this, while holding that spot and then looking, you've got to be so damn strong and flexible that you're like kind of not even worrying about locking this guy up. And so there's like a confidence in that strength, right? And you find it and then it's the arm over or the, rip the hands.

with a swap, with a swipe. And he does it over and over again on tape. He, I went back and I started in just the Michigan game. I'm like, fuck it. I'm going to wind up having to do his draft evaluation really soon. Let's rack it. He destroyed Washington's defensive line. I looked up his grade.

Wasn't that good in that game? His grade was good for me in that game. He was awesome against Texas in the opener. He was awesome against Illinois. he was destructive against Purdue, albeit Purdue, and he was awesome against Michigan. 933 third quarter in the snow, you know, the big house, the rival, the more physical team, the Joe Moore award-winning offensive line. It feels like every year, if not every other year.

He stands up that right guard, eyes in the backfield locates, then this easy arm over move makes the tackle. and it was all in uniform. Second nature to this guy. And while he's not a great pass rusher, he'll flash. He was really good in that Washington game as a pass rusher, and I think he's going to get better. We saw Dexter Lawrence is the prime example,

not a great college pass rusher at defensive tackle. Edge rushers are typically are different. If you can rush the passer and get home in college, it translates a lot. At defensive tackle, these guys develop. and it's usually their hand usage and figuring it out over time. But he still is a presence that you have to account for. And oftentimes, if it's not a full-on double team,

it's with another guy giving you the center or the guard a little bit of help because he's always working over the center or in the as a one, yeah, like one eye or, you know what I mean? He's always kind of in that AB gap if you're an offensive one. I think he's, and let me give you my mind. my NFL comp on him. Okay. I think he's a slightly shorter, maybe like an inch and a half shorter, Derek Brown.

Interesting. I've heard that name a while. Auburn Star at Carolina has had a really good NFL crew, like a damn good player. Like a damn good player. Might not be like top five defensive tackles, but he's in the mix top 10 every year. Yeah, I would say there's been seasons where he's been a top five defense tackle for sure. No question. but it's never been about sack production.

I went and looked up Derek Brown's numbers. It was three sacks, four sacks, maybe five one year, but never sniffing double-digit sacks, but it's disruptive, it's dominant, and it's playmaking in the run game. And the reason why this is important this week, it's important for the NFL draft because I'm actually starting to believe

this guy could be a top 20, top 25 draft pick. I think he's that good. But for right now in the urgency of the college football playoff and for the Big Ten championship game, all the talks about Indiana quarterback, Signetti, it starts with. And then it goes to Mendoza and it goes to those Surratt and it goes to Cooper and those wide receivers, the passing game, right? But if you really look at Indiana, yep, right?

It is the run game, man. It is the run game that sets up those play actions and some of the RPO stuff and the true play action stuff. That puts them in positions to do the things that they do in the passing game. And that's why it's always so damn efficient. It's like, oh, Mendoza Award, 21 of 23 again, 24 of 27. You know, like, because, and he makes a lot of hard, difficult throws, but there are a lot of easy throws mixed in there because the run game is so consistent and the run game is so established every single week.

If they can't run, if they can't run against Ohio State, we're going to finally get to see Mendoza. And he's had moments. So it get me wrong. state game late in that game. It was awesome. Iowa late in that game was awesome. But if Mendoza's, it doesn't have that, if Mendoza is put in a situation against Ohio State that Simpson has been in all year long at Alabama or Nussmeyer was in all year long last year at LSU and this year before the injury, we're going to find out some stuff.

And I'm here for it, bro. I am here for finding out some stuff. I'm interested to see how the coach has managed that game, but it is, it's got, I mean, I don't know, we haven't talked about that one enough. I can't believe we didn't bring it up at the end of the show on Saturday. Like, this is just shape. It's a monster game. I can't wait.

It's one versus two. It's just a monster game. It's 24, it's 24 wins versus zero losses. Right, the last two undefeated teams. Yeah, it's a, I mean, it's as big as a cats, obviously. I mean, I'm obviously being up. Captain obvious. I'm going to see if I can say obvious again.

But you know what I'm saying. Yeah. Go ahead. Tape truth 6. We'll get the folks out of here. Tape truth 6. The ACC needs Virginia running back to Mario Taylor to bail him out.

I mean, you alluded to it, man. If Duke wins this game, the AC's not going to, I mean, they hope Miami can get in as large, I guess, and they get a rep. But if they don't have a lock, ACC does not have a lock if Duke loses this game.

game. I think Virginia gets in if they win, but you're not putting an eight and five Duke team in. And if you'll put in James Madison in North Texas or James Madison and Tulane before you'll put an eight and five Duke team in. And that's going to look real, real bad for the ACC. Now, I will say this, I love Jamari Taylor, man. And when I watch this tape, I was like, ah, this guy's awesome. He had 18 carries for 133 yards and two touchdowns the first time Virginia and Duke played. And Virginia won that game. handily and you know it could be a repeat performance i'll talk a little bit about the the him as a player he went to north carolina central out of high school he had to try out to get a walk on kid had did you had to try out to make the team at north carolina central really didn't do much his first few years there and then he had the fourth best rushing season in the history of the school last year that

translated into a spot at virginia he now leads the ac c and rushing yards with nine hundred ninety seven Quick side story. Apparently, Virginia head coach Tony Elliott told him he had 997 yards. And they could have put him back in the Virginia Tech game. And the kid said, no, thanks. Not really worried about that. I'm worried about one of football games. That a boy.

Yeah, there's something to be said for that. There is just something to be said for that. Now let's talk about what he does well for them and a little bit of his traits. Love the way this kid runs zone and especially split zone. He excels at pressing the front side and then cutting up or cutting back when he gets a scheme. Thing of beauty. If you're a running back coach, you love the way that a kid does it. Also really good as a wildcat quarterback.

He's always moving towards the line of scrimmage, but he's not rushing things. And then when he does get a gap, you see there's a noticeable burst, which is what brings me to my favorite part about this kid. It's the short area burst. And yes, his ability to get through a gap quickly, that's part of it. But really the reason I love it is that short area burst turns into explosive power when he gets squared up in a tight space. And this kid's 59204, he will uncoil on your ass. And if you don't calm downhill on him, if you don't get some momentum, like there's a carry against Cal, there's a run against Cal.

And I paused it when the linebacker engaged him and wrapped him up. And then I was like, well, how many yards does he get here? Nine yards. Nine more yards after the guy had him. And there's a couple other plays where he just runs, he lowers his shoulder, runs over a linebacker. Or a safety just glances. off of him trying to lower the shoulder on him.

He is, if you take an angle on him, he's not that big, and he runs kind of narrow, you can get him on the ground. But if you try to square this kid up and meet him in a tight quarters and try to do it that way, that explosive power just shows up. And he's got, he has his long

78 yards. I think it was against Duke. On a speed option play, he got 70 yard run. He doesn't have great speed, but he has good speed. This is a classic example of a back who doesn't have, maybe doesn't have any elite traits, but because of the vision, the determination, and he's good in a lot of areas, he's tough to handle, man. And again, I'm telling you right now, as a football fan, if you're not a Duke fan and I get

it, the players, the family, like how much they want to win that game, that's all cool. If you're a college football fan at large, you are praying that Jamari Taylor has a big game and then Virginia wins that game because, again, an 8 and 5 Duke team, I don't think is getting in. Yeah, I just, I wouldn't want to bet against Mensa. like Mentsa really like Mentsa Dary and Mentsis fifth or sixth in the in the country just as sophomore obviously transferred in nobody knew about this cat

he's averaging 287 yards passing per game and I think he's a legitimate NFL prospect probably a year from now but um 34 17 they beat him a couple weeks ago though Virginia did I know Mentsza was 18 for 35 in that game I know, I hear you.

I like him bounce back. We'll see. We'll see. It could happen. I know. I just, I want to see, just like I want to see Mendoza stranded on an island without a run game to see how he can, can he carry Indiana rather than be just the most efficient version of a quarterback insignetty system that you could ever possibly imagine and be awesome in that role. Can he carry? I want to see can Mentsa learn from those mistakes?

get coached up, coach his receivers and everyone else up, and elevate. This is going to be a good growth sign for him. There's a chance because of this situation. There is a chance where we do our reaction show to the committees, you know, when it's all the dust settles and we do our reaction show, that we see North Texas and James Madison in the 12-12 team field. I'm not saying I'm rooting for anyone or anything. I'm just saying I'm here for watching.

I'm rooting for the best teams getting in. And I'm not sure that that's the way. it goes. No, that's not the best teams. I hear you. I hear you. It doesn't mean I can't be excited to watch Mentsa go against Virginia and try to rectify the first.

Yeah. I love Mentsa, too, man. It's not a great situation. Something about you in that green hat that I really like. All right. We've gone on too long. Five stars, as always, Munch. We'll be back on Thursday.

Can't wait. Must be 21 plus and press. present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Help.com. Call 1-888-8-8-8-9-7777 or visit CCP.org slash chat in Connecticut or visit MDGamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helplinema.org or call 1-800-327-50-50 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts, or call 1877-8-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope NY in New York.