WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Four Man Front: Wrap it with a Bowl on Top

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

Conference Champions are crowned, the committee steals Christmas, the ACC is hot garbage. Lewis and Paden preview the entire postseason and say goodbye.

Georgia and Texas Tech rule conference championship weekend. Indiana slays the giant and wins a Big Ten championship over the invincible Ohio State Buckeyes. Seven and five Duke win the ACC championship, so we've got two group of five bids to the playoff. And of course, the playoff committee gets it wrong. But nonetheless, we are set for bowl season. It's a great day in college football. I'm Louis Thune, and this is the four-man front,

the show about college football and nothing else. Welcome back to the show. You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM for this final episode. of the four-man front, we've got 44 minutes with you, but a much smaller panel than usual. Normally, Mark Ayers is to my left, and Patrick Hamilton is across the table, but today it's just me and the man to my right, Peyton Hughes. That's right, we're a little short staff today, but I think we can, I think we can talk it through.

I think we've got a great slate of games this last week, and a ton of news. Let's do just that. First of all, let's talk conference championship weekend, obviously six. games. I went three and three on my picks from last week. A little disappointing, but I got the group of five in Georgia, correct? No surprises here from the group of five results. Tulane beats North Texas 3421. Experience is everything. And then of course James Madison, 3114 over Troy, both of whom secured a spot in the college football playoff thanks to the Duke Blue Devils. Payton, at the end of week 14 of college football, Duke was seven and five.

But thanks to some crazy tiebreakers in the ACC postseason format, they secured a spot in the conference championship over Miami, Pittsburgh, SMU, and Georgia Tech. And then they went on to beat the Virginia Cavaliers in overtime, no less, finishing 8 and 5 and winning the ACC. This is what we call a Cinderella story. I know I mentioned it, what, five weeks ago when I said, if we look at this, there's a chance that Duke ends up winning the ACC. and just destroying the ACC Championship game. Hold on a second. I think I know what you're talking about. I see a world in which both group of five teams get in before the ACC champion.

Am I insane? I would love to see it happen that way. Yeah, that'd be great. You would need all of those ACC teams to all lose collectively at least one, but really more like two games. Especially Georgia Tech. You need Georgia Tech to lose two games at minimum in order for your situation to work. I don't see that happen. There's one way it happens, and that is the Duke Blue Devils went out.

How did we see that one coming? It's crazy to think that a power four conference champion will not be playing in the college football playoff. It says a lot about the state of the ACC this year, just an absolute dumpster fire. And yet an ACC team did get in in Miami will save that. But James Madison, Tulane, two legitimately good teams with favorable matchups in round one, to the Big 12 championship game, a sold-out crowd in Arlington, Texas Payton, and Texas Tech 34 to 7. Now, this game did seem a little closer until about midway through the third quarter.

BYU went down two scores and kind of self-destructed. But Texas Tech proven their thorough dominance as the best team of the Big 12 far and away this year. Texas Tech dominates by turnovers. It has a very strong defense. You're not going to be scoring a lot while the defense is there. When this defense is getting turnover after turnover after turnover, it's setting up great field position for the offense. But like you said, this was a really close game.

Four minutes in the third, it was a one-score game. And then Texas Tech proceeded to run away with it with, as you said, turnovers after turnover. They figured out how to work against Bear Bachmeier, and they killed this BYU team. And it was honestly hard to watch. Took them to task, beat them at their own game. Texas Tech ran the ball successfully over and over again.

I mean, the zone runs were working. I don't know, frankly, why Joey McGuire would call. anything else. There was no need to pass the ball in this game. BYU's defensive line was simply not big enough to stop that Texas Tech run game. On the other side, the Texas Tech defense, like you mentioned, forcing turnovers. I thought it was very fun to watch the edge rushers on that Texas Tech line. We know Joey McGuire recruits speed. It's the one thing he says he looks for across the board at every position. His edge rushers are coached to get upfield, no matter what. It doesn't matter if they're getting to the quarterback, they're getting upfield. Bear Bokmeyer, freshman quarterback,

obviously not as experienced as you would like. As soon as Bear Bockmeyer's tackles were out of his sight because they were trying to block edges that were just gaining ground upfield. He panicked. And that's something freshman quarterbacks will do. And I'm glad BYU isn't treating him too harshly over it. This dude was not expecting to start this season. He came in. He played extremely well, but he panicked in this game. What does worry me, experience quarterbacks, aren't going to do that. We saw what Sam Levitt did earlier on in the year against Texas Tech. Obviously a great upset win, but Sam Levitt stayed collected. He ran when he need to, but he extended plays and he threw the ball. He did not panic when he saw the Texas Tech rush. If there is one quarterback

with solid experience, that could be a potential weakness, but otherwise full marks for this Texas Tech team, the second most dominant win of championship weekend, because Georgia trounced Alabama in the SEC Championship game. The score was 28 to 7. This was not a 28 to 7 ball game. Alabama ran for negative 3 yards. Ty Simpson threw for 212 on 19 of 39 passing. It was an ugly, ugly game. Let's recall what I said last week. Gentlemen, the Alabama offensive line has gone to sleep and the Georgia dog's defense has awakened. As soon as that Georgia defense woke up, we knew that this team was going to have that first round by in the college football playoff. There was not a team in the SEC, and there are probably very few teams in all of college football who can hold a candle to this Georgia team.

Absolutely spectacular. And Gunner Stockton, obviously, a bad performance against Tech. We talked all about it. He came back, rivalry showdown with Alabama, this one team that you've lost to to this point in the year. and he left it all out there, 20 of 26, 156 yards, three touchdowns. And that's all they needed it because they ran the ball. They ran the ball well. It was four to five yards of carry.

Their offensive line was pushing the Alabama defense around. They beat Alabama in time of possession by 13 minutes. Complete control of this game. There was not a minute where it felt like Alabama had a chance. Right. You mentioned that this game was not 28 to 7. Alabama didn't score those seven points until the fourth quarter when Georgia basically let them.

They're pulling all their guys back. They're not trying to dominate Alabama anymore because they're up four scores. Georgia killed Alabama on the offensive line. And that's why when I watched this game and now knowing the CFP rankings, this was the best draw that Oklahoma could have had. Ty Simpson looked horrible in front of that Georgia defensive line. I would put this up against Ohio State's, Indiana, and Texas Tech's defense. No quarterback should have to look at this difficult of a defense in college.

Georgia's going to go in a tear. It almost makes me respect Ty Simpson even more that he was able to throw 49% and 200 yards because what the Georgia defense was throwing at him and what his offensive line has been giving him all year, it's unimaginable what he had to go through. That's why I predicted last week that he would be injured in this game

and that would be the determining factor for Alabama missing out on the playoff. The speculation in Tuscaloosa right now is that he actually was injured in that game and has a herniated disc. He seemed to be in a lot of pain in the Georgia game. He wasn't quite himself as it went on. And with the hits he was taking,

I think that's entirely possible. Whatever the case, Alabama got in the playoff. And then, of course, the crown jewel of conference championship weekend. Indiana, Ohio State, number one, on number two, 12 and 0 versus 12 and O. It was Kurt Signetti. It was Ryan Day.

It was a battle for the Heisman trophy between Julian Sayan and Fernando Mendoza. and what do you know? The Indiana Hoosiers are Big Ten champions. I think we just need like a moment of stunned silence for Kurt Signetti, if we could do that. How is this possible, Payton? And in two years, he has two college football playoff berths and one Big Ten championship, an undefeated season beating what we thought was clearly the best and most complete.

team in college football at their own game. He held Ohio State to 10 points and put up 13 on their defense with a team of hastily assembled transfers and lowdown recruits. What he was able to do with zero big names on this roster and bringing in a transfer quarterback from Cal who hadn't proven himself in any big games ever with the exception of Auburn. But as we've seen, it's not an accomplishment to beat Auburn and Jordan Hare anymore. Kurt Signetti might be the new Nick Saban of college football. It's already scary what he's been able to do in two years. And the 96 million dollars that the boosters in Bloomington are willing to drop on him are completely deserved as of right now. That's what you asked us just a few weeks ago when you said punt or go, do we like this

eight year deal for Kurt Signetti? And I know there was a lot of iffiness from us. We didn't know whether he was actually good enough to dominate the big 10, whether he can beat the big brands, can he beat Penn State, can he beat Ohio State, can he beat Oregon? I mean, he beat all three of those this season. Indiana is dominating, and I think we all have to acknowledge he might be the next Nick Saban. You're completely right, and that is scary. With how statistically well this Ohio State offense performed in this game, and how well they looked just watching it, holding them to 10 points. Absolute feat. Now, obviously, Ohio State kind of killed themselves, missed a 30-yard field goal to tie the game in the fourth quarter. You got to make your field goals, Payton. That's why we love

Tate Sandell. But I'm not entirely convinced this redounds to Indiana's benefit because Ohio State, for some reason, loves entering the college football playoff off of losses. And we've seen what it's done for them in the past. Ryan Day might not be able to beat Michigan consistently. And evidently, he's not able to win a Big Ten championship, but he is certainly able to motivate his team after losses. Ohio State came in last year, 10 and two into the college football playoff, and absolutely dragged everyone. I'm kind of expecting the same right now. As much as I want to talk about how good this Indiana team looked and how great of a coach Kurt Signetti is and how hard it will be to beat this team, I think the fact that Ohio State lost this Big Ten championship game,

terrifies me even more than if they would have won? I just don't know if I'm sold on that. I really liked Ohio State. I thought they've been dominant the entire season. The defense was obviously excellent, and the offense I thought was doing just enough to be completely dominant. But we just saw two really strong defenses go against each other,

and we were told two really strong offenses. We were told, here's your number one and number two Heisman candidates, leading these great offenses. Indiana's been scoring 50 points against bad teams. Look, they have a great offense. And we saw not even three touchdowns in the entire game. Indiana was getting to Julian Sayan. Now, Sayan wasn't making any terrible mistakes.

He only had the one interception, which is great considering what he was up against. He still had, I think, 70% completion rate. But he wasn't taking deep passes. They weren't getting explosive plays that get you downfield. When you have strong receivers like Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith, you need to get 30-40-yard throws in. That's what Texas Tech did against BYU. They used Jeremiah Smith.

They used him. He shined out in this game. Eight grabs for 144 yards. It was everything else that let them down in the clutch moments. You need special teams, obviously. You need your defense to lock up in close games, and you need, you absolutely must run for more than 100 yards. You break 100, good things happen.

Ohio State didn't do that. They did not trust the run that absolutely tore their biggest rival in Michigan to shreds. The Michigan football program will never recover more about that later. They didn't do it. They've seen the error in their ways. they've lost another game 1310. We all remember Michigan last year. Well, guess what?

They just lost 1310 to Indiana. And as great as a quarterback as he is, if this is the post-game interview, your quarterback is giving after the game, courtesy of Fox. Indiana, the Big Ten Shoops, how does that sound? It sounds so beautiful.

I want to give all the glory to God. You're never supposed to be this decision but by the glory of God, the great coaches, great demons. And we have around us, we're able to pull this on. He's never thought to who would be, but not only who just are flapping champs. Let's go. He's, um, he's not quite an archetypal quarterback. That is one of the postgame interviews of all time from Fernando Mendoza.

You normally expect your quarterback to be like the unofficial commissioner of your team, the most well-spoken, eloquent and collected person. To see the emotion from Fernando Mendoza, it's kind of refreshing. I love it personally huge Fernando Mendoza fan. but also it tells you how unorthodox this Kurt Signetti team is. And if I'm Matt Patricia, they're at Ohio State, I'm showing that clip to my defense and saying, you lost to this guy, fix it. That's just not what I would want to hear. I want to hear defense, you did great.

You only allowed 13 points. Offense, let's get our act together and score more than 10 points. Let's not miss our field goal, and let's put up two touchdowns. That's a win. That's all Ohio State had to do. two touchdowns to win this game. Neither offense looked elite. To me, this didn't look like the number one

and the number two teams in the country. I'm still just upset at Ohio State. I believed in this team. They were invincible. And they just played a Big Ten championship game in which they were averaging four yards of carry. So what did they do? They dropped Julian Sane back to pass

and got him sacked five times. If the run is working, don't stop running the ball. I can't believe I have to restate this every week. If it ain't broke, don't break it. Slow and paint the picture for you, Ryan Day's Ohio State Bucke has had the ball on the 11-yard line, down 13 to 10, with three minutes left in the fourth quarter on third and one. So naturally, they line up in the eye formation. Now, if you're averaging four yards a carry, you run the ball here.

But what does Ryan Day do? Play action, shot to the end zone. Let's cue it up, courtesy of Fox. Playfake, saying Rose looks. And complete. What a defensive play. This time by Hardy. And then, of course, fourth and one, you send out the field goal unit to tie the game with two and a half minutes left. And this happens. He's from 30 yards already today.

No good He missed it Indiana 2 48 away No good from 27 yards All right Peyton let's rapid fire knock out all of the bowl games in the power fight Boise State Washington

Boise State I'll take Washington Honorable mention Old Dominion South Florida. Two great teams of the group of five. USF lost Alex Golish, but I think they got something to prove. Give me USF. I'll take Old Dominion. Another honorable mention, third place in the Sun Belt versus the winner of the Mac, Western Michigan, Kennesaw State. Kennesaw State's played some really close power four games. Give me Kennesaw State. I'll take Kennesaw State as well. They're from Georgia. Memphis, NC State.

Group of five again. Give me Memphis. I'll take NC State. We're not going to do Washington State even though they deserve it. Toledo, Louisville. Louisville for sure. I'll take Louisville as well. Cal, Hawaii. I love Cal this season. Give me Cal. Western's going to beat Central Michigan. Minnesota, New Mexico. Give me New Mexico. Give me the Lobos. I'll take New Mexico as well. Pitt, East Carolina. Pit. Pit. Pit. Pinstripe Bull, Penn State, Clemson. The two teams that were supposed to be good this year. Clemson

and Davos Sweeney. Clemson, I'll take Clemson. Pop Tarts Bowl, Georgia Tech. BYUu BYUu by two scores. Haines King's Fairwell Tour. I'll take Haynes King. LSU, Houston. Houston. Houston, I think the defense will be too much for LSU. Yeah, Kiffin's there now. Give me LSU. Virginia, Missouri. ACC runner up. ACC runner up. I like Virginia. It just means more. Give me Missouri. Tennessee, Illinois. I think I like Tennessee here. I'll actually take Illinois here. Tennessee just got Jim Knowles is their D.C. But he has nothing to work with right now. So give me Illinois. All right. USC. TCU. I like Josh Hoover and Hornfrogs here. Give me TCU. I'll take TCU here because it's Lincoln Riley. He'll find a way to

lose. Iowa. Vanderbilt. This could get interesting. Diego Pavia is just going to be too much. I like Vandy here. No, it's Iowa. Sun Bowl. Arizona State Duke. Duke's got something moving. Give me the Blue Devils. Sam Levitt's gone. Arizona State. I'm sorry. I'm picking Duke.

Michigan and Texas, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. Considering what's just happened at Michigan, I assume we're both picking Texas. We're both picking Texas. Vegas Bowl. Nebraska, Utah. Utah by, I don't even know how much. It's going to be so one-sided. Arizona, SMU.

Arizona. Arizona, Wake Forest, Mississippi State. Wake Forest. Wake Forest. Navy. Navy. Navy, all the way. Honorable mention.

We'll pick today's game between. Navy and Army. Who is it? It's got to be Navy. It's so totally Navy, Payton. You're correct. Give me the Navy midshipman. Now we're going to talk college football playoff. We picked all of the other bowl games. It's time to get down to the 12 teams that will be duking it out for the title this year. I'm going to ask you to take me through your playoff. Who's winning which games all the way up to your champion? You're just walking me through the bracket. But first, we need to air our dirty laundry because we have 12 teams in this pool. And it's terrible. Paden start us out. What did the playoff committee get wrong and how could

they have done it better? I think there were three big issues and I think we're in agreement here. Alabama didn't move down at all. That's kind of crazy for getting dominated. Then you had number two, Miami jumping Notre Dame, even though Miami was behind Notre Dame last week and neither team played. And then you have BYU just being at 11 in the first place last week. I didn't like that, but that's not necessarily a problem with this week's college football rankings. And how the committee handled the other conference losers. Every one of them moved down. Alabama didn't. I think Alabama should have. Then you put Miami and Notre Dame in and no one cares. That fixes every issue. Yeah, my biggest problem was when Alabama jumped Notre Dame last week after winning an

extremely close game at Auburn. Granted, it's a rivalry game. You can do that. But there's no reason with how well Notre Dame performed in week 14 that Alabama should be jumping them. It made no sense. The committee didn't even try and defend it. Just said Alabama looked good. And what I realized then was that the committee wasn't going to do what they should have done, which is kept Alabama at 10, and then when they inevitably got rolled and smoked in the SEC championship,

dropped them both down. So we don't have to get the Miami, Notre Dame head-to-head debate because they played in week one. We can just have them both in the playoff. Because watching this Alabama team down the stretch, I've never been more convinced that they're not ready for the college football playoff. They're not a top 10 team. They peaked mid-season.

And ever since then, it's been a harsh fall off as Ty Simpson has tried to hold the offense together while getting sacked five times a game. It's ugly. It's ugly football from this Alabama team. But they jump Notre Dame and then after neither Notre Dame nor Miami played in the conference championship week, The committee drops BYU to put Notre Dame in Miami right next to each other, and then Miami jumps Notre Dame. Miami, now we all know why the committee did this. It's because Miami is in the ACC.

You have to keep the conferences happy, which is natural in college football. I'm not going to argue about it. Sure, Notre Dame should join a conference, but at least come out and say you did this because of the conference structure. If you came out and said we're penalizing Notre Dame for not being in a conference, I'd say, fine, conferences are how we play college football. Get with the times, Notre Dame. But we didn't say that. We went from Notre Dame is in a different tier than Miami to Miami is in the college football

playoff and Notre Dame can go kick rocks. To which Notre Dame said, sure, okay, we're going to go kick rocks and not play in a bowl game. It makes no sense. All right, folks, that'll do it for the first half. second half, we're going to talk all about the playoff. You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale on 101.7 FM, and this is the four-man front. Stick with us. We'll see you in six. We're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM, and this is The Foreman Front, the show about college football and nothing else. I'm Lewis Thune, back with you for this final second half, joined of course by Peyton Hughes. Hello, Peyton Hughes.

It's a great second half. We get to talk about the college football playoff. Let's get in. In this final episode of the Four Man Front, it's just me and you. But let's do it. anyway. All right, Peyton. In the first half, we talked last week, conference championship weekend, what it told us, what it didn't. We picked all of the other bowl games. Now we're going to talk college football playoff. We'll compare every game up until the champion. Let's walk through it. Round one games. Alabama, Oklahoma, and a rematch. This one will be played in Norman. Oregon host James Madison and Eugene. Miami plays Texas A&M at Kyle Field. And Tulane, once a again, plays Ole Miss.

All right, Baden. Alabama, Oklahoma. Who do you have? I'll take Oklahoma over Alabama here. It's in Norman. That's going to be big for the Sooners. They love the environment. Gaylord Stadium is awesome.

And Alabama just didn't look good. Like I said earlier, against that Georgia defensive front. I think Oklahoma is probably close to that level on the defensive front. So give me Oklahoma. Ty Simpson gets sacked five to six times. I just talked about how little I believe in Alabama, but I, like, super don't believe. in Oklahoma, despite being an Oklahoma fan and forever an Oklahoma fan, the team finds new ways

to disappoint me every year. This game is at home all the more reason Alabama is going to beat them. I don't trust Kalin DeBoer as a motivator. I think Oklahoma is better than Alabama, but something's got to give. This Oklahoma team has played too well this year and won too many close games in too many stupid ways. Tate Sandell's right foot can only carry us so far. me Alabama in this game. All right, James Madison, Oregon. Is there any way James Madison pulls it out, Peyton? I think there's a world. We've only seen really one power four matchup for James Madison. That's against Louisville. That was earlier on in the season. James Madison has been dominant since then. Louisville showed themselves to actually be a very

competent team. It was only a two-score game in Louisville's favor. That's James Madison's only loss. They've been hyping this game up for the last week, and I think they're going to come in tough. I don't think they're going to pull it out. I think Dan Lanning is going to have this Oregon team hyped up. He's going to have them a fridge. to lose and they're going to play lights out. So for that, I would take Oregon by like 17, but I think there is a world in which we see a three or seven point game

out of JMU here. I think this Oregon team is peaking right now. I was surprised at how poorly they were playing early in the season. I think they are at their best right now. So I think they win this game. I think it's not close. James Madison is better than they're going to...

way better than they're going to look against Oregon. Everyone who's saying we need to eliminate the group of five. automatic qualifier is going to point to this game in the future, because Dan Lanning is going to destroy the Dukes. Let's stay on that side of the bracket. So you have Oklahoma playing Indiana. I've got Alabama playing Indiana. Who's winning that game? And why is it Indiana? Kurt Zignetti's a monster. Their defense is every bit as good as Oklahoma's, and they have a much, much, much better offense. I don't even care if this is Alabama in this game. Indiana's going to steam roll.

their team. Yeah, I think Oklahoma could probably beat Indiana if they played. Something about the Oklahoma defense and its ability to win field position makes me think that Oklahoma could put up 15 points on field goals and win 15 to 13, 15 to 14. But I didn't pick Oklahoma. I picked Alabama. And Alabama against Indiana would be an entirely one-sided affair. The Alabama defense isn't there. This Indiana pass rush just sacked Julie and say in five. five times. Granted, they did lose their starting defensive tackle to a celebration injury. That's neither here nor there. It's Indiana in this game. Texas Tech, Oregon. I hope we're agreed here. I'm going to be mad if we're not. This is Texas Tech's game. I keep

seeing way too much chatter from all the ESPN heads and all the Big Ten fans who think that Oregon's going to come in here and dominate this game. It's not even going to be close. I'm sorry. Texas Tech has yet to not cover in games that they've won and they've only lost one. They're 12 and 1. We haven't seen a team win 12 games by 20 plus points since 2018 Alabama and 2013 Florida State. Texas Tech is going far, and they're going to dominate this game at least 14 points. Whatever the spread is at a touchdown to it, and that'll be Tech's win. Yeah, I don't think the Oregon defense is where it needs to be.

Despite the fact that I think they're playing their best football right now, they're not ready for this Texas Tech team. They're just too fast. Speed kills. Dante Moore has seen a lot. I don't think he'll be phased by the pass rush. I think he'll probably put up pretty good numbers against this Texas Tech team, but Texas Tech is going to outscore Oregon in this game.

I don't trust the Oregon offense to break 30, and I know Tech's going to. Tech all the way. Give me the top seeds moving on to the semi-final games. Indiana, Texas Tech. I think this is two elite defenses. I think these are two really good quarterbacks. I think these are two good running games. I'm going to give the edge to Texas Tech,

and then their dual threat running game and Jacoby Williams and Cameron Dickey, both running backs are, and this Texas Tech offensive line has looked really good. They're going to be able to run this ball better or at least as well as Ohio State did. And like we said, Ohio State, if they just stuck to the run, really could have done something. Where I get scared is Baron Morton tends to put the ball in scary situations. He's a really good passer. He stays in the pocket. He will put that ball on a line and get it to his receiver.

But every now and then, and it only has to happen once in this game. and I think Indiana could get a little edge here, he's going to throw that interception, and that's going to destroy a critical Texas Tech drive. It doesn't matter if Texas Tech doesn't score on three, four drives. They're going to put up 28, 35 points, and they haven't allowed more than 26 this season. They haven't allowed more than 20 once.

Give me Texas Tech. This is a crazy clash of styles. It reminds me of Nick Sabin, Gus Malzon, or Iron Bowl games, where you have Kurt Signetti, pro-style play-calling, coaching, and then you have Texas Tech, which is pace, pace, pace, pace, if this team is huddling, they're doing something wrong. Speed kills. I think Indiana's winning this game three out of five times, but I think Signetti's going to get a little staggered in the first half by the pace that Texas Tech

is bringing. I could see them up 17-7 at halftime. Indiana's going to turn it on in the second half, but I don't trust this Indiana offense, again, to outscore Texas Tech. I think Texas Tech is putting up 24, 27 points in this game, and this tech defense is going to be good enough against the Indiana offense. As well coached as it is, it just doesn't have that level of talent there that it's going to take to beat this tech team. So I will also take Texas Tech and send them to the national championship. Let's go to the other side of the bracket. Miami, Texas A&M, games at Kyle Field. Not that I don't love how hype Kyle Field gets. It's cool. But the football culture there is just so lacking.

Dudes in white coveralls leading cheers. It's really gay. And for that reason, I'm just going to pick Miami. I don't know what you're talking about. As much as I'm not a fan of A&M, that culture is awesome. The yell leaders are awesome. The band is so much fun and so well organized that it's hard just to not be an awesome. almost to the time. Miami hasn't had to play a lot of road games. So going into Kyle Field, I'm loving Texas A&M here. They were 11 and O and then kind of got stunned by Texas there. I don't think Mike Elko is going to allow that to happen again. I think they break Carson Beck down late in the second quarter when everything's starting to come back together for Miami. Carson Beck's going to have a big drive. And then all of a sudden he throws a pick six. Texas A&M starts to run away from

the game there. That's just what I think is going to happen. Texas A&M is a big rolling moving machine. So once that ball gets going, they're going to run away with it. There's a reason the best Texas A&M team of all time was led by Johnny Mansell is because Johnny Manzell is entirely different from the culture at Kyle Field. He's a pure football guy. He's playing backyard football all the time. I don't know what Texas A&M is doing down there. But they need another Johnny football because their current brand of football is just spoiling talent.

Not that Mike Elko isn't a good coach. Not that Texas A&M season wasn't. impressive, but I think this Miami defense is better than Texas A&Ms, and I think Carson Beck is actually motivated to win. Now, granted, there won't be any Miami fans there because Miami doesn't have any fans, but I think this Miami team is going to go in there and they're going to pull off and upset. We've seen what happens when Texas A&M clashes with a football program that plays football the way it's meant to be played in Texas, and it was an ugly game for A&M. As much as I hate the Miami program. This football team is good. Tulane, Ole Miss, game that could get interesting, Pete Golding,

acting head coach at Ole Miss, Kiffin is gone, the culture is shattered, but they're keeping their players. Is that going to be enough against the Tulane team, which has really turned it on since these two teams met earlier on in the season? The reason Tulane beat North Texas was a couple bad calls, gave Tulane better field position, and then you also had the fact that North Texas just didn't come out strong. Normally they do. They didn't this time. You can credit that to Tulane's defense. I don't think Ole Miss is going to come out as poorly as North Texas did. In the second half, North Texas was the better team if you were watching the game against Tulane. I think Ole Miss is just the better team from start to finish. As much as I would like to punish Ole Miss

for not having Lane Kiff in here, they're playing Tulane and Tulane's good, but honestly, I think they're worse than North Texas. I think North Texas played a bad game. I think they're worse than Navy. So give me Ole Miss as much as I hate to say it. Yeah, I'll take Old Miss, too. Tulane, they're from the state of Louisiana. Ole Miss, down there, they say close enough. You're LSU. We're going to beat you. It's Ole Miss in this game. I have Miami playing Ohio State. You have Texas A&M playing Ohio State. It's Ohio State's game here. Like you said, they're going to come in, just like they did last year, at 10 and 2, and they're going to dominate the field. They're definitely dominating this game, whoever they play. Once Marcel Reed saw that Texas defense,

he couldn't do much. Ohio State's defense is every bit as good, probably better. So Marcel Still Reed's going to collapse here. Not going to be able to put up 20, 30 points like he's been doing most of the season. He's going to put up 17 like they did against Texas. And Ohio State can put up 17 points. They're playing a worst defense than they just did last week against Indiana. Keep on top of that that they're going to have two weeks to repair for this game. Give me Ohio State.

I think Ohio State is the best team in football, and I think they lose this game. Something about this Miami team, their ability to just air out the ball. It will lose you games against subpar teams, but every once in a while, as Mike Leach taught us, when you air the ball out, you're going to even out games against teams you have no business competing with. I think Carson Beck, he's seen how good the Ohio State D line is. He's seen how good the linebackers are. He's seen how good Caleb Downs is in that secondary as the anchor. But he saw Fernando Mendoza beat this team. Now, he doesn't know it's because the Ohio State offense let them down. He's Carson Beck. He's going to let her rip. He's got nothing to lose it

this point. There's no NFL team that wants to touch him. There's no college football program that wants him to stick around as an assistant coach. Nobody wants this guy and he realizes it. He's playing for his career. He's playing to play another day. He's going to take the lid off of this Ohio State defense. And I think Miami goes to the college football playoff semifinal as much as I don't think they deserve to be here. As much as I think they are the most flawed team in this bracket. This passing offense is going to lift them over Ohio State. Ohio State held what was a top five explosive offense in the country, Indiana, to 13 points. And you're saying Miami has the ability to blow the top off of Ohio State.

Yeah, yeah, in that Indiana offense is great because it is extremely well-coached. The play calling is there. Miami, they're coached well enough. Mario Cristobal's good at his job. They're a completely dysfunctional culture, but they have that raw talent. I don't know what else to call Malachi Tony, raw talent. And sometimes it breaks through. I think Ohio State gets a little too comfortable resting on their laurels there at the Cotton Bowl. I know Ryan Day wants to win, but their offense is going to have to go win them this game because Carson Beck is just going to let it rip.

And I don't think their offense is going to be able to break 30 points. And against this Miami defense, against that Miami defensive line, I don't think they're going to be able to effectively run the ball. I think Miami, in an absolute gem of a game that will never be repeated, wins this game, and then promptly gets destroyed in the semi-final by the winner of this next game, Georgia, Ole Miss. Georgia played Alabama, like the best team we've seen since 2019 LSU. Georgia's going to dominate. Yeah, yeah, I couldn't agree more. Kirby Smart lost Lane Kiffin last year.

He beat him this year. And now that Lane Kiffin's gone, this Ole Miss team doesn't have that fire under them. They're fueled by their hate of Lane Kiffin. Kirby Smart isn't Lane Kiffin. He's not from the state of Louisiana. He's not close enough. And he knows how to beat Trinidad Champlis, as hard as that is to do. Ole Miss will make it a game.

You know, maybe as we're heading into the fourth quarter, it'll be a one-score game. But this Georgia team is too good down the stretch. They're going to close out this game. They're winning two, maybe three scores. They're heading to the semifinal to play Ohio State in your reckoning. Miami in my reckoning. I think Georgia runs away. against Miami. One of the ugliest showings of all time because guess what? There is nothing that

Georgia defense wants more than to play Carson Beck. And if Carson Beck makes it to the semifinal and runs into Georgia, he will be leaving the field in a stretcher. He might have to get airlifted out. Georgia hates Carson Beck with good reason. I mean, like I said, nobody wants the guy. Everybody hates him. His own team hates him. This could and probably will be Carson Beck's worst game of all time. Georgia to the national championship. But should they be playing Ohio State, Payton, who's winning? I love both of these teams so much. They both have elite defenses as you've seen from Georgia late in the season. I think Gunner Stockton is the better quarterback. Even though Julian Sayan is number two in the Heisman voting right now, I think

Gunner Stockton has the actual mobility and the scrambling ability, and he can make plays happen that we just haven't seen Julian Sayan have to make. Julian Sayan leans on short yardage throws, eight yards. He doesn't take anything too much downfield. Gunner Stockton has that playmaking ability. I think that Georgia is going to be able to do just enough. Maybe win 17, 14, maybe 20 to 14. Georgia edges out Ohio State here. All right. So we both have Georgia, Texas Tech, in the national championship. Now, I say this national championship should be Indiana, Ohio State. Indiana is the best coach team in college football. And Ohio State is the single most talented team in college football by far. This has no business being Texas Tech Georgia. But that's how it's going

to play out because this is college football and it's that unpredictable. It's Kirby Smart versus Joey McGuire. And here you get the real clash of styles between Big 12 football and SEC football. Killer speed on Texas Tech. It's a track meet every game. And then you have Georgia. It is pure size. The offensive line. The defensive line. They move weight. The skill positions, they might not be what they used to be, but they don't have to be. And then, of course, you have Gunner Stockton. Payton, who is your national champion? For the first time in the history of the four-man front show, I'm going to say this. I don't think Texas Tech is the better team in this matchup. I think Georgia, from what we've seen

in these last few weeks, has at least as good of a defense and probably a better offense. I think I could actually say, I think they do have a better offense. Barron Morton hasn't been able to sustain drives. Oftentimes, they end up having a penalty on first down, and you end up third and 15, and Texas Tech doesn't have the ability to get 15 yards immediately. Occasionally they do. They break out a lot of time. They're very explosive, fast like you said, but against the physicality of this Georgia team who manhandled Kalin-Daborz Alabama in the SEC championship game. I don't know if Texas Tech has the ability to do it here. But every time I start to think that to myself, every time I think back to who should be our Heisman winner this

or Jacob Rodriguez, I think back to this Texas Tech turnover machine. Whenever you think that it might be a close game, when it was Kansas State in the second quarter, when it was BYU and the Big 12 championship in the third quarter, when it was Arizona State and they were down two and a half scores, Texas Tech's defense decides to force a turnover. And then they force another turnover. And then they force another turnover. And in each of those situations, besides Arizona State when they're missing, their starting quarterback, Texas Texas Tech wins by three scores. I don't know how they're going to do it.

I think it's going to be a seven-point game to Georgia late in the third, but I think something is going to change early in the fourth where Texas Tech gets a turnover. Gunner Stockton throws a pick. Jacob Rodriguez takes it 30 yards downfield, and now Texas Tech is moving. So give me Texas Tech as the national champions. Look, I believe in destiny, Payton. I don't think Alabama's better than Oklahoma, but I think Alabama's going to win. I don't think Miami is anywhere close to Texas A&M, but I think Texas A&M will find a way to lose that game.

I don't think that this Ohio State team has any business losing to any team this year or hypothetically in any matchup of the past five years. That's how good this team is, but they're still going to lose. I think when we reflect on the 2025-20206 college football playoff, we're going to sit back and think magic doesn't exist. But for two weeks in December, you could fool me. Unfortunately, the college football playoff national championship is not played in December. Payton, it's played in January. Magic will run out. What goes up must come down.

And Texas Tech has gone up and up and up. Let it happen, Lewis. Let it happen. Texas Tech Joey McGuire, the former high school head coach, give him a national championship. I think injuries are going to be a real factor because Georgia gets Ole Miss and then in my reckoning they get Miami. They get the two worst defenses in the bracket. Their offense cruises in. Their defense cruises in.

Texas Tech gets the meat grinder. They get to play Oregon. They get to play Indiana. I think they're going to be a little hurt heading into the national championship game. And to the one who is in pain, there's nothing more terrifying than a 350-pound man barreling down the A-gap at you. Come to think of it, even if you're not hurt, there's nothing more terrifying than a 350-pound man barreling down the A-gap at you.

Georgia has size. Texas Tech has speed. We've talked about speed. We've talked about size. But there is one unteachable and tangible and that is experience. Georgia has been here before they know how to win. As much as I want to believe in this Texas Tech team with the magic they have on their side. As formidable a foe as they're going to be in college football moving forward. That's what endless oil money, a legendary high school football coach and white dudes with moustaches will do for you. Like I love Texas Tech right now. And I want to pick them so badly in this game. game. But I said last week, gravity applies in college football. What goes up must come down. And Georgia has been here before. They've won it before. They know this ground. Texas Tech does not. Their experience is going to shine through. I think this game is going to come down to a few key penalties committed by Texas Tech. We talked about what a problem it's been for them. Georgia pulls away. It's a one-score game. But give me the Bulldogs. And Kirby Smart, he's still rules the roost in college football. Signity's coming for the crown. Ryan Day thinks he should have it. Joey McGuire and Dan Lannning are waiting in the wings. But that time is not yet. It's still Kirby

Smart. Give me the dogs. But that is where we're going to have to leave it. So let's put a bow on the year. We hope you've enjoyed the four-man front as much as we've enjoyed bringing it to you. It has been a pleasure to go through this season. With all of you listening, with you, Payden, with the two who aren't here at the table, an excellent season in college football. But we've got a whole month left. So buckle in folks. Merry Christmas to you. Have the TV on. And when Texas Tech or Georgia hoists a national championship trophy in January, remember, we were the first to say it. And if that doesn't happen, you never heard anything from us. So for one last time, you're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. And this has been the four-man front. For Payton Hughes, I'm Lewis Thune.

Our brothers in spirit, Mark Ayers and Patrick Hamilton, send their goodbyes. As we say farewell, happy football.