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[00:00:09] Yes, you are now listening to the sounds of Sports Reports As Ordered

[00:00:15] And those sounds are brought to you by the Even Keele

[00:00:20] Born in Texas, raised in VA, representing New Jerusalem

[00:00:23] All you college football fans out there

[00:00:25] He said game recognized game

[00:00:27] Rutgers and Princeton in the first ever college football game

[00:00:33] Jersey in the house

[00:00:35] Do me a favor out there

[00:00:38] Don't bring feelings to a fact fight

[00:00:41] And you know of course it's me

[00:00:44] You unorthodox statistician going left so much

[00:00:46] You thought I was southpaw

[00:00:48] Ducking all these things

[00:00:50] See that Tyson?

[00:00:52] See that Wilder?

[00:00:53] See that Nate Robinson?

[00:00:55] That's how you do it

[00:00:57] But yo, another favor

[00:00:59] One more

[00:00:59] Like, review, subscribe, share, rate

[00:01:01] Do all the free things

[00:01:05] Do all the good things

[00:01:06] And tonight

[00:01:08] We got picks, picks and more picks

[00:01:10] Conference championship picks

[00:01:12] NFL picks

[00:01:13] We watching the Packers and the Lions right now

[00:01:16] NFC North Black and Blue Division

[00:01:19] But of course we gonna start this off with

[00:01:21] A conversation

[00:01:23] So Mr. Logical

[00:01:28] I had heard through the grapevine

[00:01:32] That there was something on your mind

[00:01:38] Mainly man, like

[00:01:41] Like most people

[00:01:43] Who are in the college football

[00:01:45] You really

[00:01:45] Were locked into this

[00:01:47] This 12-team playoff

[00:01:49] And

[00:01:49] You thought it was gonna be different

[00:01:52] And I've mentioned multiple times before

[00:01:55] That it was

[00:01:55] It was gonna be

[00:01:56] Three times what it was before

[00:02:00] So we had the four teams

[00:02:02] Playoffs

[00:02:03] A lot of times

[00:02:04] It was

[00:02:04] One

[00:02:05] SEC school

[00:02:07] Pretty much locked in

[00:02:08] SEC champions

[00:02:09] Tend to be

[00:02:11] Something in one

[00:02:12] Or undefeated

[00:02:13] For

[00:02:15] Throughout the entirety of that

[00:02:16] The four-team playoff

[00:02:17] It was like

[00:02:18] Alabama, Georgia, LSU

[00:02:20] One of them was either

[00:02:21] One loss

[00:02:21] And they won SEC championship

[00:02:23] Or they had one

[00:02:24] Or they were undefeated

[00:02:25] And won SEC champion

[00:02:28] Then it was like

[00:02:29] Oh it was a team in third

[00:02:30] And maybe they

[00:02:30] What up

[00:02:31] What up

[00:02:31] What up

[00:02:32] What up Drake

[00:02:32] Here we go

[00:02:33] Shout out real quick

[00:02:34] Shout out

[00:02:35] Solutions over excuses

[00:02:37] To my man Andre Morgan

[00:02:38] Description

[00:02:40] Links gonna be in the description

[00:02:41] Support black veterans

[00:02:43] Support black businesses

[00:02:44] Support veterans of all kind

[00:02:46] Like just support as much as you can

[00:02:48] It's free to support

[00:02:49] If you wanna buy something

[00:02:50] Buy it at the cost

[00:02:52] That's listed on the website

[00:02:53] We don't do discounts

[00:02:55] I don't ask for one

[00:02:58] You don't ask for one either

[00:02:59] But now let me get back

[00:03:00] To what I'm talking about

[00:03:00] So with the SEC

[00:03:02] Everything else

[00:03:03] They were getting a shot

[00:03:03] They were gonna get one or two

[00:03:04] In there up front

[00:03:05] They were only

[00:03:05] They were gonna be the only

[00:03:06] Conference that every year

[00:03:08] Can bank on

[00:03:10] An opportunity

[00:03:10] To get

[00:03:11] One

[00:03:12] Almost for sure

[00:03:13] And a possible

[00:03:15] Every single year

[00:03:17] Now with 12 teams

[00:03:19] You can pretty much

[00:03:20] Bank the SEC

[00:03:21] That they're gonna get three

[00:03:22] Especially with having teams

[00:03:24] Like Oklahoma

[00:03:25] Texas

[00:03:26] Coming in

[00:03:27] Like so the two better

[00:03:28] Big 12 teams

[00:03:29] Came into the conference

[00:03:33] You're gonna get

[00:04:04] Three opportunities

[00:04:06] That a team

[00:04:07] That might end up

[00:04:09] 12

[00:04:10] They might be

[00:04:11] 16 or 17

[00:04:12] Ranked in the country

[00:04:13] All year long

[00:04:14] Like do you really think

[00:04:16] That team

[00:04:16] Is gonna get a shot

[00:04:17] At the national championship

[00:04:18] Or have a shot

[00:04:19] At winning

[00:04:19] That was like the conversation

[00:04:21] That I heard

[00:04:22] Pundits talking about

[00:04:23] Now we've got

[00:04:24] To that point

[00:04:25] And it's like

[00:04:26] Well we got

[00:04:27] Alabama

[00:04:28] Hovering around

[00:04:29] 12

[00:04:29] 13

[00:04:31] We gotta give them

[00:04:32] A shot

[00:04:32] I don't think

[00:04:33] People expected

[00:04:33] Alabama to be that low

[00:04:35] You did

[00:04:35] You had them

[00:04:35] At 8 and 4

[00:04:37] But

[00:04:37] Having them around

[00:04:38] There

[00:04:39] It was like

[00:04:39] Well

[00:04:40] I mean

[00:04:41] Do we let

[00:04:42] SMU back in

[00:04:43] If they lose

[00:04:44] Or do we just

[00:04:45] Let Bama in

[00:04:46] Because we know

[00:04:46] Historically

[00:04:47] And I think

[00:04:48] They went with that choice

[00:04:49] So you said

[00:04:50] A lot of interesting

[00:04:51] Things there

[00:04:52] So let me tell

[00:04:52] You something

[00:04:53] Interesting

[00:04:53] Let me tell you

[00:04:54] Something interesting

[00:04:55] Because as I look

[00:04:56] Around these

[00:04:56] Conference championship

[00:04:57] Games

[00:04:57] What do I see

[00:04:58] Do you know

[00:04:59] What I see

[00:05:00] You probably don't

[00:05:01] So I'm gonna

[00:05:01] Tell you what I see

[00:05:02] I see

[00:05:03] A Pac-12 team

[00:05:05] Playing in the

[00:05:06] Big 10 championship

[00:05:07] Game

[00:05:08] I see a Pac-12 team

[00:05:10] Playing in the

[00:05:11] Big 12 championship

[00:05:12] Game

[00:05:13] I see a G5

[00:05:15] Team

[00:05:15] Playing in the

[00:05:16] ACC championship

[00:05:18] Game

[00:05:18] I see

[00:05:19] A military

[00:05:20] Academy

[00:05:21] Playing in the

[00:05:23] American conference

[00:05:24] Championship

[00:05:24] Game

[00:05:26] I see

[00:05:27] A Big 12

[00:05:28] Team

[00:05:29] Playing for the

[00:05:30] SEC title

[00:05:31] In year one

[00:05:33] So miss me

[00:05:34] With all that

[00:05:35] You know

[00:05:35] As far as

[00:05:36] You know

[00:05:36] These conferences

[00:05:37] And the perceived

[00:05:38] Levels of these

[00:05:40] Conferences

[00:05:40] So going back

[00:05:42] To your point

[00:05:43] As we were talking

[00:05:43] Off camera

[00:05:44] I made the

[00:05:45] Statement that

[00:05:46] Two things

[00:05:46] Can be true

[00:05:47] At once

[00:05:48] Correct

[00:05:48] Now

[00:05:49] At the expense

[00:05:50] Of possibly

[00:05:51] Sounding like

[00:05:52] A hypocrite

[00:05:54] Just walk me

[00:05:55] I'm gonna walk

[00:05:55] You through this

[00:05:56] Real quick

[00:05:56] All right

[00:05:57] So I always

[00:05:58] Like facebook

[00:05:59] And cut you

[00:05:59] And cut you off

[00:06:00] And yell

[00:06:00] And scream

[00:06:01] I'm gonna

[00:06:01] Hear you

[00:06:02] Out

[00:06:02] Like it's

[00:06:02] The thing

[00:06:02] You do

[00:06:03] Here

[00:06:03] Yeah

[00:06:04] So so

[00:06:04] One of my

[00:06:04] So one of my

[00:06:05] Points that I

[00:06:06] Like to make

[00:06:07] Is that

[00:06:07] And this is

[00:06:08] Based off

[00:06:09] Of what the

[00:06:09] Committee

[00:06:09] Says

[00:06:10] Is that

[00:06:11] We look

[00:06:12] At the whole

[00:06:13] Season

[00:06:14] So theoretically

[00:06:14] When you

[00:06:15] Say that

[00:06:16] That means

[00:06:17] That you're

[00:06:18] Getting rid

[00:06:18] Of you

[00:06:19] Lost late

[00:06:20] And that's

[00:06:20] Gonna hurt

[00:06:21] You

[00:06:22] Theoretically

[00:06:23] Because I'm

[00:06:23] Looking at the

[00:06:24] Whole picture

[00:06:25] Looking at

[00:06:25] Your schedule

[00:06:26] From 1

[00:06:26] Through 12

[00:06:27] Or 13

[00:06:28] If you make

[00:06:28] A conference

[00:06:29] Championship

[00:06:29] Game

[00:06:31] But

[00:06:31] At the

[00:06:32] Expense of

[00:06:33] Sounding like

[00:06:33] A hypocrite

[00:06:35] When we

[00:06:35] Have these

[00:06:36] Conversations

[00:06:36] It's really

[00:06:37] Subjective

[00:06:38] People will

[00:06:38] Say I

[00:06:39] Think

[00:06:39] South Carolina

[00:06:40] Is better

[00:06:40] Than this

[00:06:41] Team

[00:06:41] I think

[00:06:41] Ole Miss

[00:06:42] Is better

[00:06:42] Than this

[00:06:42] Team

[00:06:43] I said

[00:06:43] The other

[00:06:44] Night

[00:06:44] I think

[00:06:44] That Ole

[00:06:45] Miss

[00:06:45] Is better

[00:06:45] Than

[00:06:45] Bama

[00:06:46] But

[00:06:47] Miami

[00:06:48] Decided

[00:06:49] To lose

[00:06:49] Two out

[00:06:50] Of their

[00:06:50] Last three

[00:06:50] Games

[00:06:52] They

[00:06:52] Not only

[00:06:53] Did they

[00:06:53] I mean

[00:06:53] Granted

[00:06:54] They only

[00:06:54] Lost those

[00:06:55] Games

[00:06:55] By a

[00:06:55] Combined

[00:06:56] Nine

[00:06:56] Points

[00:06:56] But

[00:06:57] They

[00:06:57] Still

[00:06:57] Lost

[00:06:58] Two

[00:06:58] Out of

[00:06:58] Three

[00:06:58] They

[00:06:59] Lost

[00:06:59] Two

[00:06:59] Out of

[00:07:00] Three

[00:07:00] To

[00:07:00] Unranked

[00:07:01] Teams

[00:07:01] Like

[00:07:02] Yes

[00:07:03] Syracuse

[00:07:03] Is ranked

[00:07:04] Now

[00:07:04] Syracuse

[00:07:05] Was

[00:07:06] Eight

[00:07:06] And

[00:07:06] Three

[00:07:06] When

[00:07:07] The

[00:07:07] Game

[00:07:07] They

[00:07:07] Were

[00:07:08] I'm

[00:07:08] Just

[00:07:08] Saying

[00:07:08] Ole

[00:07:09] Miss

[00:07:09] Was

[00:07:10] Eight

[00:07:10] And

[00:07:10] Three

[00:07:10] When

[00:07:11] The

[00:07:11] Game

[00:07:11] Started

[00:07:11] They

[00:07:14] Were

[00:07:14] In

[00:07:25] As

[00:07:25] Syracuse

[00:07:26] Was

[00:07:26] Eight

[00:07:26] And

[00:07:26] Three

[00:07:27] Missouri

[00:07:28] Was

[00:07:28] Eight

[00:07:28] And

[00:07:29] Three

[00:07:30] And

[00:07:30] We

[00:07:30] Talked

[00:07:31] About

[00:07:31] That

[00:07:31] They

[00:07:32] Lost

[00:07:32] To

[00:07:32] A&M

[00:07:32] 41

[00:07:33] To

[00:07:33] 10

[00:07:33] They

[00:07:34] Lost

[00:07:34] To

[00:07:34] Bama

[00:07:35] 34

[00:07:35] To

[00:07:35] Nothing

[00:07:36] You

[00:07:37] Know

[00:07:37] They

[00:07:37] They

[00:07:37] Lost

[00:07:38] A third

[00:07:38] Game

[00:07:39] That

[00:07:39] I

[00:07:40] Can't

[00:07:40] Recollect

[00:07:40] Off

[00:07:40] The

[00:07:41] Top

[00:07:41] Of

[00:07:41] My

[00:07:41] Head

[00:07:41] Right

[00:07:41] Now

[00:07:42] But

[00:07:42] The

[00:07:42] Point

[00:07:42] Being

[00:07:43] Is

[00:07:43] That

[00:07:44] This

[00:07:44] Is

[00:07:44] South

[00:07:45] Carolina

[00:07:46] They

[00:07:46] Lost

[00:07:46] To

[00:07:46] South

[00:07:47] Carolina

[00:07:47] Actually

[00:07:48] They

[00:07:48] Kept

[00:07:48] That

[00:07:48] One

[00:07:48] Within

[00:07:49] A

[00:07:49] Four

[00:07:49] Point

[00:07:49] Margin

[00:07:50] So

[00:07:50] Okay

[00:07:51] But

[00:07:52] Why

[00:07:52] Were

[00:07:52] They

[00:07:52] Ranked

[00:07:53] Because

[00:07:53] When

[00:07:54] We

[00:07:54] Peel

[00:07:54] It

[00:07:54] Back

[00:07:56] Who

[00:07:56] Has

[00:07:56] Missouri

[00:07:57] Beat

[00:07:57] This

[00:07:57] Year

[00:07:58] Like

[00:07:58] They

[00:07:58] Beat

[00:07:58] Vanderbilt

[00:07:59] In

[00:07:59] Overtime

[00:07:59] Before

[00:08:00] Vanderbilt

[00:08:00] Beat

[00:08:00] Bama

[00:08:01] So

[00:08:01] We

[00:08:01] Didn't

[00:08:02] Even

[00:08:02] Know

[00:08:02] Vanderbilt

[00:08:03] Was

[00:08:03] Tough

[00:08:03] Yet

[00:08:03] At

[00:08:03] That

[00:08:19] LSU

[00:08:19] 34

[00:08:20] To

[00:08:20] 10

[00:08:20] At

[00:08:20] Home

[00:08:21] You

[00:08:21] Know

[00:08:22] Who

[00:08:22] Beat

[00:08:22] LSU

[00:08:23] This

[00:08:23] Year

[00:08:23] Yes

[00:08:24] Of

[00:08:24] Course

[00:08:24] Bama

[00:08:25] Did

[00:08:25] Because

[00:08:25] LSU

[00:08:26] Was

[00:08:26] Bama's

[00:08:26] Bitch

[00:08:27] But

[00:08:28] They

[00:08:29] Also

[00:08:29] Lost

[00:08:30] To

[00:08:30] USC

[00:08:32] And

[00:08:34] USC

[00:08:35] been

[00:08:36] Talking

[00:08:36] About

[00:08:37] Potentially

[00:08:37] Firing

[00:08:38] Their

[00:08:38] Coach

[00:08:38] If

[00:08:38] He

[00:08:39] Didn't

[00:08:39] Have

[00:08:39] The

[00:08:39] Buyout

[00:08:39] That

[00:08:40] He

[00:08:40] Had

[00:08:40] So

[00:08:41] I'm

[00:08:41] Not

[00:08:41] Trying

[00:08:42] To

[00:08:42] Say

[00:08:42] That

[00:08:42] Miami

[00:08:44] Does

[00:08:44] Not

[00:08:45] Deserve

[00:08:45] To

[00:08:45] Be

[00:08:46] In

[00:08:46] The

[00:08:46] Playoff

[00:08:47] I'll

[00:08:48] Just

[00:08:48] Say

[00:08:48] That

[00:08:49] We

[00:09:21] In

[00:09:49] Arizona has good talent, but when it comes down to sheer numbers and a football, you know, dynasty that's being created, the entire state of Florida can play an all-star game with high school players from the other 49 states.

[00:10:03] I've seen it.

[00:10:03] They had it on ESPN.

[00:10:04] It was Florida All-Stars versus the other 49 states.

[00:10:08] Right.

[00:10:08] So they are a top-tier football factory.

[00:10:12] So for them to get jammed up, I'm just advocating for just them being jammed up two years in a row.

[00:10:19] I get that Alabama plays in a tougher conference, and they had three losses.

[00:10:24] And I get we're going to wrap our head around, hey, it's a whole season.

[00:10:27] So it's a rich tapestry, they like to say on First Kings First.

[00:10:30] But if you break down the two of the bad, if you just go two losses each, Miami has two losses, and then you take them as two bad losses.

[00:10:43] They were both unranked teams that they should have out-physicaled.

[00:10:47] They should have dominated from beginning to end.

[00:10:50] It should have been no doubt.

[00:10:52] After the first quarter, each one of those games should have been 14-0 with Bama having the ball to start the second quarter.

[00:10:59] It should have been that much of a disparity in those games.

[00:11:03] And those games, I think they totaled what, 20 points?

[00:11:08] Yeah.

[00:11:09] Well, the Vandy game was a shootout.

[00:11:11] They lost that 40-35.

[00:11:12] Yeah, but they were being dominated.

[00:11:17] That thing was getting confused.

[00:11:18] Well, real quick, since you brought that up, do you remember what the spread was on that game?

[00:11:23] Probably at least 20, 20-1⁄2.

[00:11:25] 22-1⁄2.

[00:11:27] You know, Bama was favored by 22-1⁄2.

[00:11:29] They were favored.

[00:11:29] 22-1⁄2 point favorite.

[00:11:31] They were favored by 14-1⁄2 against Oklahoma.

[00:11:34] We talked about the time and possession.

[00:11:35] And the same thing against Oklahoma.

[00:11:36] I get that Miami's defense isn't great, but they never went to a game and started it and played all 60 minutes and came out with three points and a loss at the end.

[00:11:47] And that's what's crazy about it.

[00:11:49] If you take – like we used to have this argument a lot when we used to have our basketball debates.

[00:11:55] I'm like, yo, if we took the resume – I remember like I had a supervisor who told me like when you go for an award,

[00:12:02] like if they didn't put names on the awards, if they just put the document with the bullets.

[00:12:08] Like these are the accomplishments of these two people.

[00:12:10] Right.

[00:12:11] The job, just these things from this squadron.

[00:12:15] And it's like I think this document, the bullets on this document are better.

[00:12:20] And then they hand them over and then the person who has all the information fills the name.

[00:12:25] Like, okay, that was this person, that was this person.

[00:12:27] Because sometimes just strictly people knowing your name – I remember it was this one narrative when I was growing up in the Air Force that if you were a female in maintenance,

[00:12:36] you would win a lot of awards because they felt like you were in a male-dominated career field.

[00:12:41] And if you can achieve – if you can compete on their level, then that means you're the winner.

[00:12:46] And that was like the narrative.

[00:12:47] It was like honestly, man, it's just a matter of like who wrote the bullets.

[00:12:50] But some people do get away with like just being the name at the top and the information on the page is irrelevant.

[00:12:57] It's like, oh, I like this person.

[00:12:58] They're going to get it.

[00:12:59] That's where we're at now.

[00:13:01] They can try to stand up there all they want and say Bama's season was better than Miami's.

[00:13:05] It was not.

[00:13:07] At no point was – well, after midway through the season were we thinking like –

[00:13:13] But that's where I kind of disagree.

[00:13:14] We thought Miami was like – the whole season up until that loss to Georgia Tech, people had Miami still contending for the national championship.

[00:13:23] Alabama people wondering what was going on.

[00:13:26] I don't think anybody – I don't think anybody ever thought Miami was a national title contender.

[00:13:31] I think that people knew that or thought that Miami would make the playoff.

[00:13:35] I don't think anybody thought –

[00:13:37] They had Cam Ward as potentially the top draft.

[00:13:41] He's a Heisman candidate.

[00:13:42] Heisman candidate.

[00:13:43] They were undefeated.

[00:13:45] Miami was back.

[00:13:46] They were high flying.

[00:13:47] They were just – they were all – you know, they were heart attack kids.

[00:13:50] They were coming back.

[00:13:51] Miami got a problem though.

[00:13:53] Miami's coach hasn't learned how to use the clock yet.

[00:13:57] You know, he's got that Andy Reid syndrome.

[00:13:59] Okay, but that's what I think it is.

[00:14:02] I don't feel that the metrics favor Bama more than they favor anybody else.

[00:14:10] I just think that the name at the top of the resume favors Bama.

[00:14:16] Well, it goes back to what we were talking about the other night.

[00:14:19] It goes back to what we were talking about the other night where when you look at strength of schedule, you know, there's a certain perception that comes with being in the SEC.

[00:14:27] So, therefore, you start out the season ranked in all these things.

[00:14:31] So, for example, you know, Bama beat Georgia.

[00:14:35] You know, that's a better win than anything Miami has.

[00:14:38] Ole Miss beat Georgia.

[00:14:40] Almost blew that game.

[00:14:42] So, the same thing people are knocking Miami for for having a defensive back end that can't stop anyone.

[00:14:47] I know.

[00:14:48] Alabama has that.

[00:14:49] Their two losses, their best win.

[00:14:52] Let's think about this.

[00:14:53] Their best win, they were up 28-0 and still needed a Hail Mary bomb and the most acrobatic sideline run in the history of football to score.

[00:15:02] Like, I haven't seen one better.

[00:15:04] I've never seen a wide receiver juke two guys all the way down the field without cutting to the middle of the field.

[00:15:09] He stayed within the hash to the sideline.

[00:15:12] That was remarkable.

[00:15:14] It wasn't like he caught it in the end zone.

[00:15:16] He caught it 30 yards, 40 yards short and juked these guys out.

[00:15:20] That was a miracle play.

[00:15:22] So, if you think about your best win, you almost blew because you couldn't play defense in the second half.

[00:15:28] Okay.

[00:15:29] Your losses, you got dominated.

[00:15:31] So, you know I hate doing this.

[00:15:33] You know I hate doing this, but just we're having a conversation.

[00:15:36] The transitive property part.

[00:15:37] No, no, no, no, no, no.

[00:15:38] No, no, no.

[00:15:39] So, who was Alabama's first or I guess their second loss?

[00:15:46] You know, like they have a better loss than either one of Miami's losses.

[00:15:50] The Tennessee game.

[00:15:51] That's the thing.

[00:15:52] The loss has happened.

[00:15:54] But if you're looking at – I guess it's just what lens you want to look at the loss.

[00:15:59] Okay, hold on.

[00:16:00] Let me ask you this real quick.

[00:16:01] If you're going to compete for the national championship, you shouldn't have two games where you were favored by a total of like 40-plus points where you were dominated.

[00:16:10] I don't think a national champion has ever – I don't think – I can't imagine a national champion has had two losses in the same season where they were favored by 20 points.

[00:16:22] Well, I don't know what they were favored by, but – I don't know what they were favored by, but LSU 2007 won it with two losses.

[00:16:29] I get it with two losses, but I'm saying like two losses to where in the same season where you were favored by three touchdowns.

[00:16:36] Well, check this out though.

[00:16:37] So, let me ask you this question then.

[00:16:40] So, and I know you're going to tell me it's irrelevant, but I'm going to ask anyway.

[00:16:45] We'll give it some price.

[00:16:46] So, if you took Bama and played Miami schedule and you took Miami and played Bama schedule, would they have the same record?

[00:16:56] Would somebody have a better record?

[00:16:57] Like what do you think would happen if we swapped schedules?

[00:17:02] Well, considering that Bama's two losses were two subpar average teams, I imagine that the schedule – it would probably be around the same.

[00:17:15] 9-3, 10-2.

[00:17:17] Because they would have lost – they probably would have lost that Georgia Tech game.

[00:17:21] Because like people – people are knocking Miami for that Georgia Tech loss, and Georgia Tech just went to eight overtimes with Georgia, who they're going to put in the tournament no matter what.

[00:17:31] Regardless of what happens on Saturday.

[00:17:33] So, is Georgia Tech that good or it's like – what is it?

[00:17:37] Let's be honest.

[00:17:38] It's because one team plays in Tuscaloosa and the other one plays – and the other one, you know, had Michael Irvin on his knees doggy side.

[00:17:46] Like that's it.

[00:17:46] That's the only difference.

[00:17:48] Like because there's no metric – there's no real metric that you can really lock in that favors Alabama.

[00:17:54] It might be one that favors Alabama over Miami, but it won't favor – it won't favor – if that's all it is.

[00:18:02] And they got the win.

[00:18:03] And they got the win.

[00:18:05] I mean, I know you're – as Rob Parker would say, you're poo-pooing their big win, but at the end of the day, it's a W in that column.

[00:18:14] And Miami doesn't have a win that they've had.

[00:18:16] Miami, the team that beat Miami lost to that – Alabama's best win by two points and eight overtimes.

[00:18:24] And they had a big lead in the fourth quarter.

[00:18:27] So, it's like – I know it's like transit-deprived everything else, but it's like you have to – if you're saying that Georgia –

[00:18:34] if you're saying that Georgia's Alabama's best win, but Georgia Tech – then Georgia Tech can't be Miami's terrible loss.

[00:18:45] Correct.

[00:18:46] I agree with that.

[00:18:47] Because they took Alabama's best – so that's what I mean.

[00:18:48] So, as far as like all these conversations that they apply to other schools – and I know Lane Kiffin's been out here crazy.

[00:18:54] Like, Lane, you kind of lost a little leverage.

[00:18:58] You lost to a 4-8 team.

[00:19:00] You lost to a 4-8 team.

[00:19:02] You lost in a place where Miami went to win.

[00:19:06] Miami won in Florida.

[00:19:07] Like, oh, it was a different quarterback.

[00:19:09] That's not Miami's job to make the lineup for the Gators.

[00:19:12] They're just supposed to go into the swamp and win.

[00:19:14] Right.

[00:19:15] And then you looked bad in it.

[00:19:18] If – like I said, if that was a shootout 31-34-31 and they lost on the last second field goal and Jackson Dart played great, I'd get it.

[00:19:26] But it's the same thing I'm applying to Alabama.

[00:19:30] They didn't look good in their two losses.

[00:19:33] They didn't look great in the second half.

[00:19:36] Best win.

[00:19:37] But see, and that's the thing, right?

[00:19:38] So let's stick with the SEC being tough, right?

[00:19:41] So Ole Miss lost –

[00:19:44] So Ole Miss lost to this team that was 4-8.

[00:19:47] You know what I mean?

[00:19:48] Then you had that 4-8 team.

[00:19:52] We talked about this.

[00:19:53] They played Georgia to a 13-12 standstill, you know, where if their coach had any nuts, they beat Georgia.

[00:20:03] You know, with nothing to lose, especially if you're going to finish 4-8.

[00:20:06] Why not?

[00:20:07] You know, yeah, that same 4-8 team got blasted by Texas.

[00:20:13] Well, I ain't going to say blasted.

[00:20:14] 31-14.

[00:20:16] But still, you know what I mean?

[00:20:17] It wasn't close.

[00:20:19] So why is it – and the thing for Ole Miss, the most damning part of it is that you lost that game to that 4-8 team at your place.

[00:20:29] That wasn't a raucous night game early in the season and we didn't know that Kentucky was this bad yet.

[00:20:36] That was at your place that you lost that game.

[00:20:39] And on top of that, your starting quarterback in these pressure moments, doesn't look like he's built for it.

[00:20:43] They gave up.

[00:20:43] Ole Miss gave up a 65-yard touchdown pass on 4th and 23.

[00:20:49] And the South Carolina, like the South Carolina argument is like, yeah, they can say they beat this team.

[00:20:55] But it's like, yeah, but you lost to both of the teams ahead of you.

[00:20:57] Like that – I'm good with something as simple as that eliminating you.

[00:21:02] The problem that I have with Bama being selected over Miami or the potential that Clemson beats SMU and SMU is out is that the rules you use to eliminate other schools and other conferences, you don't apply unilaterally to your SEC decisions.

[00:21:27] And that's fine if he's going to get up there and say that.

[00:21:31] And the chairman of the college football playoff committee, he pretty much said that he was like, nothing's going to change the position.

[00:21:44] I thought that was a little premature because I think it should.

[00:21:48] I mean, there's no reason to.

[00:21:50] If Texas comes out here and blasts Georgia, 31-13.

[00:21:58] They're going to put Georgia in because Georgia has the number three SOS and Georgia beat Texas already this season and Georgia made the SEC championship game.

[00:22:07] I'm not saying I agree with that.

[00:22:09] I'm not saying I agree with that.

[00:22:10] I'm just saying that's what they're going to do.

[00:22:12] If that's the case, if Clemson blasts SMU, then SMU should be in.

[00:22:18] I agree.

[00:22:19] Because what logic are you applying to the Georgia blowout that you're not applying to SMU?

[00:22:26] They're in the same boat.

[00:22:27] You're not applying any logic.

[00:22:28] You're looking at names.

[00:22:30] And that's all it is.

[00:22:32] That's all it is.

[00:22:32] Because I wanted to give the guy credit, but I forgot the name.

[00:22:35] But see, but this goes back to it, right?

[00:22:37] The brand.

[00:22:38] And this goes back to it.

[00:22:39] Because I agree with your overall point, but this is the problem.

[00:22:41] So if SMU goes out there and loses that game, they left it in the committee's hands.

[00:22:49] Just win.

[00:22:51] So when Oklahoma beat Alabama, they didn't leave it in the committee's hands?

[00:22:55] They did, but the committee loves them.

[00:22:58] So you know what I'm saying?

[00:22:59] Like, hey, you know what the committee did?

[00:23:02] They pardoned Hunter Biden.

[00:23:04] That's what the committee did.

[00:23:06] Yeah.

[00:23:07] Right in your face and tell you the whole year, like the regular season matters.

[00:23:11] Like, we knew it.

[00:23:12] We knew to some extent it wasn't going to matter.

[00:23:15] I knew they were going to get as many SEC schools that I felt were eligible.

[00:23:22] I do not believe at three losses prior to your conference championship.

[00:23:28] Ten and three?

[00:23:30] That's a reasonable year to me.

[00:23:32] Ten and three.

[00:23:34] Ten and three.

[00:23:34] But nine and three, the way you lost your two, and like I said, your best win was then their loss that shouldn't have been.

[00:23:43] It just screams that your championship pedigree is based off of your former coach and the former players and the former Heismans that held your hall.

[00:23:56] And I think Miami just used to be hot.

[00:23:59] Now they're not.

[00:24:00] And now they're trying to come back up.

[00:24:02] And the committee is like, nah, I need to see it again, which is BS.

[00:24:08] Because they're going to look like, yo, we were at Florida State last year.

[00:24:11] And they were, what?

[00:24:12] Well, I heard somebody say today that if Boise loses tomorrow, that Boise should still be in.

[00:24:21] And I don't think you can sell that one.

[00:24:23] Because the first of all, the only thing you're awarding Boise for in the first place is a loss.

[00:24:29] Hey, you didn't get killed by Oregon.

[00:24:32] Come on down.

[00:24:34] And your name is Boise State.

[00:24:35] Not that they're the name of Bama.

[00:24:38] But looking at the G5s, they're probably the most popular G5 in the known G5, you know, from the last decade or whatever the case may be.

[00:24:46] So they have a little cachet that they've shown.

[00:24:48] So if UNLV wins, UNLV is in and they're going to be in at 12?

[00:24:54] Yes.

[00:24:56] Because right now, well, this is the problem.

[00:24:59] This is the problem.

[00:25:00] So UNLV is the next highest ranked G5.

[00:25:07] Tulane would have been in position, but they lost to Memphis last week on Thanksgiving.

[00:25:14] So if Tulane wins that game, they might be in pole position if Boise lost.

[00:25:20] But now they're not even ranked.

[00:25:22] UNLV's at 20.

[00:25:23] Army's all the way down at 24.

[00:25:27] So Tulane, weren't they 17 last week?

[00:25:30] Well, they were 8 or 9-2 going into that Memphis game.

[00:25:34] And now they're 9-3 because they lost that game.

[00:25:37] So now they're 9-3 and they're not ranked at all.

[00:25:39] Correct.

[00:25:39] They went from 17 to 26 and beyond.

[00:25:42] Right.

[00:25:43] And you know who 25 is?

[00:25:46] Probably some SEC school of Memphis.

[00:25:49] Yeah.

[00:25:49] You know what I mean?

[00:25:50] So all they do is go like this.

[00:25:53] You know what I mean?

[00:25:54] And then so Army's all the way down at 24.

[00:25:57] Their only loss was the big blowout to Notre Dame.

[00:25:59] I firmly believe that the committee knows that we're going to sell helmets.

[00:26:06] Like, we're going to sell the colors of jerseys and the colors of helmets to the audience at mass.

[00:26:12] And we're going to do whatever we want.

[00:26:14] And during the early...

[00:26:15] And who going to stop us?

[00:26:16] And y'all going to watch.

[00:26:18] The prime of NFL, the early parts of NBA and hockey is going, we're going to be the talk of the town because it's going to be controversy.

[00:26:27] But we're going to come out with some cockamamie excuse.

[00:26:30] And we're just going to say, hey, this is it.

[00:26:32] I know we had this Miami-Bama conversation a lot.

[00:26:35] I just kept hearing more punters talk about it, and I read the comments.

[00:26:39] And some people were just like, hey, I think South Carolina has the best case.

[00:26:43] I think this team has the best case.

[00:26:44] Or you know what?

[00:26:45] Here's one for you.

[00:26:47] Treat it like baseball.

[00:26:49] Treat it like baseball.

[00:26:51] Just have a one-game playoff.

[00:26:53] Bama against Miami winner gets in.

[00:26:57] A bubble playoff?

[00:26:58] Yeah.

[00:27:00] It's only one spot.

[00:27:03] I mean, I just think you should make a decision based off the same premise.

[00:27:07] Because I don't want to go FTS and have 24 teams.

[00:27:09] Because my personal – like, I look at it like this.

[00:27:13] Because we talked about this with, like, legacies of different players and stuff like that.

[00:27:17] And so, for instance, like, Tom Brady was quickly – if Malcolm Butler doesn't get that interception, did that ruin Tom Brady's performance in that Super Bowl?

[00:27:27] He still was MVP.

[00:27:27] Like, he did everything he could do up until Russell Wilson getting the ball back in the ball game.

[00:27:33] I don't think he got that MVP, didn't he?

[00:27:34] No, he got it for the Rams game when he called it.

[00:27:37] Oh, okay, okay.

[00:27:37] First he passes.

[00:27:38] Okay.

[00:27:38] So, Malcolm Butler doesn't get that interception.

[00:27:41] Tom Brady doesn't have seven Super Bowls and five MVPs.

[00:27:45] That doesn't ruin his – because, like, he did everything he could do.

[00:27:47] Right.

[00:27:48] So, if Miami beats Syracuse, they're 11-1.

[00:27:53] Their season was what it – it was their other – at that point, their other 10 wins would have been just as mediocre as everyone deems they are next to two losses.

[00:28:05] So, like, that one win against Syracuse shouldn't, like, put them – because they would have had them third, right, if they would have had that one win versus Syracuse.

[00:28:14] So, at 11-1, they're third.

[00:28:17] And at 10-2, they're completely out at, like, 14 or 15.

[00:28:21] It's like, to me, a four-point loss shouldn't swing you 11 spots.

[00:28:27] Meanwhile, the team that they leveraged ahead of you is not even in contention for their conference championship and hasn't been for a couple of weeks.

[00:28:36] Yeah, they were.

[00:28:38] Even if they were in contention, you didn't believe as a fan that they were primed to win it.

[00:28:45] Like, I didn't think –

[00:28:45] Yeah, literally, if Alabama beats Oklahoma, they're playing Texas this weekend.

[00:28:50] It's that simple.

[00:28:52] It's that simple.

[00:28:53] Speaking of which, we got these championship games to talk about.

[00:28:57] You know what I'm saying?

[00:28:58] So, we ain't going to get to all of them because there's, like, nine or 10 of them, and we got some other things to talk about.

[00:29:03] So, just some quick picks real quick.

[00:29:05] You know what I'm saying?

[00:29:06] Mr. Logical, I'm taking Tulane over Army tomorrow night.

[00:29:11] You know –

[00:29:12] Well, I don't have a dog in this fight.

[00:29:14] So, the fact, there's an Army brat.

[00:29:15] I'm saying go Army.

[00:29:16] I'm taking –

[00:29:19] Forgive me, Topper Nation.

[00:29:20] I'm taking Jacksonville State over Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Championship.

[00:29:26] On Saturday, I'm taking Ohio, the Ohio Bobcats over Miami of Ohio in the MAAC title game.

[00:29:33] And then in the Sun Belt, I'm taking Louisiana over Marshall.

[00:29:40] And then we'll see if Marshall's head coach ends up at Southern Miss after all.

[00:29:43] So, let's start it with tomorrow night.

[00:29:46] Hold on.

[00:29:47] Up on the – I believe it's on the Smurf turf.

[00:29:50] You got UNLV getting their rematch against Boise State.

[00:29:55] Hold on.

[00:29:56] Hold on real quick.

[00:29:58] What's that?

[00:29:59] Dan Campbell have been running the ball well all game.

[00:30:04] Went forward on fourth and one on their own 31-yard line of three minutes something left in the third quarter.

[00:30:12] Trevor got stuffed.

[00:30:14] Panay Sewell got beat.

[00:30:18] Yeah, you figure you're going to run by Panay Sewell.

[00:30:19] Oh, I'm watching it now, yeah.

[00:30:21] Yeah.

[00:30:21] I got it on.

[00:30:22] I just wasn't looking.

[00:30:23] And he fumbled.

[00:30:25] Yeah.

[00:30:26] Well, I picked Green Bay to win, so come on.

[00:30:27] Oh, we still.

[00:30:28] Yeah.

[00:30:28] So, let's go.

[00:30:29] We got a golden opportunity.

[00:30:30] You know, but yeah, we're going out to Albertson Stadium out in Boise, the Smurf turf.

[00:30:36] You and LV.

[00:30:37] So, the first time they played, it was down in Sin City.

[00:30:41] It was also Ashton Gentry's worst game of the season.

[00:30:46] You know, in that game, he had 33 carries for 128 yards.

[00:30:51] That's a bad game.

[00:30:53] You know, 3.9 yards per carry.

[00:30:54] It was his second lowest rush total of the season, the first being 127 against Portland State.

[00:31:02] But he only had 11 carries in that game because they obviously destroyed Portland State.

[00:31:07] So, UNLV played him better than anybody else this season.

[00:31:11] 29-24, Hodge Malik Williams got loose, you know, with his legs.

[00:31:17] This is not a given for Boise.

[00:31:19] I'm going to give it to them just because they're playing at home.

[00:31:22] Pause.

[00:31:23] But, you know, but I think that Ashton Gentry is going to redeem himself against UNLV.

[00:31:29] Keep an eye on Ricky White, the star receiver for UNLV.

[00:31:33] He leads the nation with four block punts this season.

[00:31:36] You know, and he just happens to be their best wide receiver as well.

[00:31:40] You know, Boise still has the same game manager at quarterback.

[00:31:44] So, it's going to be a close game still because unless Ashton Gentry runs for 300 yards,

[00:31:50] UNLV is going to be right there until the end.

[00:31:53] They loaded the box against him.

[00:31:56] It was – yeah, that 3.9 carry, it looked like 3.9 carry.

[00:32:01] It looked like he was going to need 25 to 30 carries to break 100.

[00:32:04] And I'm always interested in games like this because UNLV head coach Barry Odom has his name flying around the West Virginia job.

[00:32:13] So, I just always wonder like when these coaches – you know, like I remember Brian Kelly when he left Cincinnati.

[00:32:20] You know, he like they made the bowl game against Florida, the Sugar Bowl.

[00:32:24] He bounced.

[00:32:25] And somebody else coached the bowl game.

[00:32:27] Link and Riley.

[00:32:29] So, it just makes me wonder.

[00:32:30] Like, you know what I mean?

[00:32:31] If he's focused on the task at hand because if he has the job, he has the job.

[00:32:36] It doesn't matter if he wins or loses this game.

[00:32:39] Yeah.

[00:32:39] And what do the players know?

[00:32:41] Just like the Marshall situation, right?

[00:32:42] Like if Marshall has been listening to all these clippings of, hey, your coach is taking the Southern Miss job.

[00:32:48] Do they come out flat and play hard or do they say, oh, he leaving anyway?

[00:32:53] I mean, we saw it happen with Florida State last year where guys just knew like I'm out.

[00:32:58] So, they just played the game and you play as hard as you can but you're playing third and fourth string guys who probably didn't see the field much that year.

[00:33:05] Right.

[00:33:06] That's always an interesting conundrum that you find yourself in as a coach because people know.

[00:33:13] They know how you prepare for the week.

[00:33:15] We talk about, you know, Link and Riley a lot.

[00:33:17] When he was in Oklahoma, they win that game.

[00:33:20] They're in the college football playoffs but they just lose a game.

[00:33:23] They probably should have won.

[00:33:24] I think it was a winnable game.

[00:33:26] Yeah.

[00:33:27] And then all of a sudden, I think it was just Oklahoma State.

[00:33:29] It was like their rivalry game.

[00:33:31] They lose that game Saturday and Sunday midnight.

[00:33:34] He's on the tarmac with his whole family and Louis Vuitton luggage.

[00:33:37] After denying that he was taking the job.

[00:33:40] After denying it all together.

[00:33:41] He was there the next day.

[00:33:44] And like everyone's like, yo, like, yo, we got Twitter.

[00:33:46] Like, we can, before it was called X, like, we can see what's going on here.

[00:33:50] So if the players know.

[00:33:52] But this could be one of the situations where UNLV is like, yeah.

[00:33:55] After this whole year, everyone's arguing if Miami should be in or Bama should be in.

[00:34:00] If this team shouldn't be in.

[00:34:01] It's like, yeah, we win this game.

[00:34:02] We're in.

[00:34:03] We're in the tournament.

[00:34:04] And it's crazy with the stakes.

[00:34:06] And it's crazy with the stakes.

[00:34:08] Because right now, in my opinion, if Boise wins, they're the three seed and get a bye.

[00:34:14] You know, as is, they're already ahead of SMU.

[00:34:17] They're already ahead of whoever the Big 12 champion would be.

[00:34:21] Because they're 15 and 16 right now.

[00:34:23] Boise's at 10.

[00:34:24] I'm sorry.

[00:34:25] SMU's actually in front of them.

[00:34:26] But if Clemson wins, that's what I was trying to say.

[00:34:28] If Clemson wins, then Boise will get that three seed and get the bye.

[00:34:32] But if UNLV wins, they're the 12 seed.

[00:34:35] So here you go.

[00:34:36] This is a playoff game already.

[00:34:38] You know, you don't have to wait a few weeks.

[00:34:39] You've got the playoff game right now.

[00:34:41] Ashton Gentry is already the fifth leader in single season rushing yards.

[00:34:47] He should pass Marcus Allen tomorrow for fourth.

[00:34:53] He's 341 away total from catching Barry Sanders.

[00:34:57] So we'll see what he can do tomorrow.

[00:34:59] And if they win, he should break the record in the playoffs.

[00:35:02] And you can't beat that.

[00:35:05] So there you go.

[00:35:06] It's going to be tough.

[00:35:07] But give me Boise.

[00:35:09] Yeah, I'll take Boise and that one.

[00:35:11] But it's going to be interesting.

[00:35:12] It's going to be interesting to watch.

[00:35:13] I'm definitely going to check that out.

[00:35:14] All right.

[00:35:14] Lucas Oil Stadium.

[00:35:16] You know, there's another name in the West Virginia hat.

[00:35:20] That name, and you've heard me say it a lot.

[00:35:23] Andrew Kodanicki.

[00:35:24] He came in from Kansas.

[00:35:26] He's the offensive coordinator at Penn State.

[00:35:29] Now, this is the question that I have for Penn State.

[00:35:32] Are you going to bring the Ohio State mentality when you played Ohio State and you played it close to the best in conservative?

[00:35:42] Or are you going to bring out the mentality that James Franklin had against Minnesota where on the drive where they were trying to run out the clock, he went for two fourths downs and faked the punt?

[00:35:54] Which James Franklin shows up?

[00:35:56] Forget the players.

[00:35:57] Which James Franklin shows up?

[00:35:59] Is he scared?

[00:36:01] Scared might be the wrong word.

[00:36:03] Is he cautious?

[00:36:04] Yeah, against the better team.

[00:36:06] Are they in luck?

[00:36:07] Are they in a car?

[00:36:08] They're in luck.

[00:36:09] Yeah, I mean, they're number three right now.

[00:36:12] If I'm a lock, I throw caution to the wind because you have an opportunity to go like this.

[00:36:18] You've got to play your game plan.

[00:36:21] Touchdown.

[00:36:23] Yep.

[00:36:24] So Oregon's going to do Oregon things.

[00:36:26] It's going to be a lot of motions.

[00:36:28] There's going to be a lot of throwbacks.

[00:36:30] There's going to be a lot of just flash with their quarterback and their running back combinations.

[00:36:38] So you're like, you know what?

[00:36:40] We're in.

[00:36:41] Right now they're sitting there.

[00:36:42] They're the five seed, correct?

[00:36:45] Correct.

[00:36:46] They lose.

[00:36:48] I mean, you're six.

[00:36:50] Well, some arguments say that if they lose, they might stay at five.

[00:36:55] Yeah, you probably say end up right at five because it depends on how the SMU...

[00:36:59] But if you win...

[00:37:01] If you win...

[00:37:03] You're number one, probably.

[00:37:05] Or you two behind Georgia if they win or if Texas wins.

[00:37:09] If Texas wins, they're one.

[00:37:11] Maybe.

[00:37:12] Because they beat Georgia.

[00:37:13] But you've got to remember, Oregon has...

[00:37:15] They're the only undefeated team right now.

[00:37:17] Yeah, but I think they're going to put so much cash in the beating Georgia in a rematch versus Oregon, a Pac-12 team, playing in a Big Ten championship against Penn State, winning that game.

[00:37:31] I think Texas moves up.

[00:37:33] But I say it doesn't matter because I'm rolling with the Nittany Lions.

[00:37:39] I think...

[00:37:40] I'm taking Penn State to win this game because of a guy named Abdul Carter.

[00:37:44] You'll see him on your NFL draft boards and news.

[00:37:48] He's going to take over the game.

[00:37:50] I think they're going to keep Oregon at bay because as much as we can clown James Franklin for his 1-14 record against top five teams,

[00:37:59] when I look at Dan Lanning, he hasn't proven that he's a big game coach per se.

[00:38:06] You know, when you look at the losses in his career, they're undefeated this year, but when you look at the losses in his career, they were all big games.

[00:38:14] Pac-12 championship game against Washington.

[00:38:17] Washington beat them twice last year, Oregon's biggest rival.

[00:38:20] They lost a game to Oregon State that they could have won or been in the Pac-12 championship game if they won that game.

[00:38:26] They lost to Georgia 49-3 down in the compressor to start a season.

[00:38:31] So he doesn't necessarily show up for the big games either, but what he did against Ohio State, he did what James Franklin doesn't do against Ohio State.

[00:38:42] He pulled out the Brandon Staley playbook of I'm just going for all the fourth downs and I'm...

[00:38:48] I'm keeping the ball and I'm riding the dime with the halfsies I have.

[00:38:51] I don't think Franklin's going to play it that way even though I think he should.

[00:38:54] Right.

[00:38:56] Because going into the playoffs as a 5-seed 11-2 or going in as a potentially number one or two seed at 12-1, it's a big difference.

[00:39:10] But in the same sense, if I'm 5 and I get potentially UNLV, I just want to play.

[00:39:18] You want to play with confidence.

[00:39:20] You don't want to play so passive or so nervous that even when you're in the playoffs and your games start, now you're concerned about, do we not play it tough enough?

[00:39:32] Or did we put something on film that people are going to capitalize on?

[00:39:38] Do I go back to playing conservative?

[00:39:40] Because now it's win or go home.

[00:39:44] So it's just, what kind of boxy, what kind of swag does he bring to his coaching decisions on Saturday at Lucas Oil?

[00:39:55] Or does he just say, you know what?

[00:39:56] I'm in no matter what.

[00:39:58] You know what's so crazy though?

[00:40:00] The last three years, Penn State is 32-1 against teams not named Ohio State and Michigan.

[00:40:14] Penn State is the beneficiary of the 12-team playoff.

[00:40:20] Because you know I hate when people say, but he ran into Kobe.

[00:40:24] But he ran into, I guess Penn State ran into Ohio State and Michigan.

[00:40:30] But I mean, if you think about it, they, like I still believe, yes, I know they are probably excited about playing for the opportunity to maybe be ranked number one overall in the country.

[00:40:41] I know that's probably a huge feather in everyone's cap.

[00:40:44] But I'm willing to bet they wouldn't have mind taking this week off if Ohio State is going to move the ball against Michigan.

[00:40:53] Like, yo, we could just not be playing.

[00:40:55] Because think about it.

[00:40:56] If they're going to be five, if they lose, it's like why even roll the dice?

[00:41:01] I got guys with tight hamstrings.

[00:41:05] Well, for one, they haven't won the Big Ten since 2016.

[00:41:09] You know, for two, if Penn State wins, it'll be James Franklin's 100th win at the school.

[00:41:15] You know, but the question that I do have about Penn State in this game is, and it's a big question,

[00:41:20] is if Abdul Carter can't be effective, can the corners do enough to slow down those receivers at Oregon?

[00:41:28] You know, Penn State's defense only giving up 14 points per game.

[00:41:32] They gave up 20 to Ohio State.

[00:41:35] If they hold Oregon to 20, they win this game.

[00:41:38] You know, so then you got the ACC championship game.

[00:41:43] You know, say, who's in that, Mr. Logical?

[00:41:46] The Clemson Tigers.

[00:41:48] Miami Hurricanes versus FSU.

[00:41:51] You wish.

[00:41:52] Versus the NCAA.

[00:41:54] You wish.

[00:41:55] So here's the question.

[00:41:57] So here's the question.

[00:41:59] Do you know where the ACC championship game is played?

[00:42:08] Isn't it Charlotte?

[00:42:09] It is.

[00:42:10] Bank of America.

[00:42:11] So you know what that means?

[00:42:12] That means there's going to be a lot of orange.

[00:42:15] A lot of orange in that crowd.

[00:42:17] You know what I mean?

[00:42:18] So let's.

[00:42:18] Texas fans travel.

[00:42:21] But they ain't Texas fans.

[00:42:22] They SMU fans.

[00:42:24] I'm talking about the state of Texas.

[00:42:26] I saw a video the other day.

[00:42:27] They were at SMU, and it was like, what's your biggest financial flex?

[00:42:30] This girl was like, well, I have three houses.

[00:42:33] Okay.

[00:42:34] So it was like, I got a rare Rolex.

[00:42:37] It was like, so I guess there's some money that comes out of this Dallas private school.

[00:42:40] Well, hey, well, let me tell you.

[00:42:41] There are some high schools that have a bigger stadium than SMU.

[00:42:45] We know that SMU alums are willing to.

[00:42:49] It's probably people out there buying plane tickets or allowing their private jets to fly fans.

[00:42:55] Yeah.

[00:42:55] Because we saw the point in excess.

[00:42:57] We all saw it.

[00:42:58] So I imagine that the first time in the ACC championship game in North Carolina, flights from Dallas to Charlotte direct is pop.

[00:43:08] You remember that Cameron song?

[00:43:11] Curtis!

[00:43:13] You know.

[00:43:14] Vaguely.

[00:43:14] Yeah.

[00:43:15] With a little diss song.

[00:43:16] Well, Clemson, thanks to Miami, hit the hopped out the casket, bastard, reincarnated.

[00:43:22] You know.

[00:43:24] Dabo Sweeney and ACC championship games, 8-1.

[00:43:28] No transfer portal.

[00:43:30] You know, SMU's coming in.

[00:43:31] First year in the conference.

[00:43:33] Undefeated in the conference.

[00:43:34] But, of course, you know me.

[00:43:37] They didn't play Clemson.

[00:43:39] They didn't play Miami.

[00:43:40] They didn't even play Georgia Tech.

[00:43:43] So I'm not saying that they had an easy schedule.

[00:43:46] I'm just saying what's going to happen the first time they meet resistance.

[00:43:51] Because Clemson's going to get pressure on them.

[00:43:54] Clemson also is one of the leaders in the nation in turnover margin.

[00:43:59] But, of course, always injuries, right?

[00:44:01] Is R.J.

[00:44:01] Mickens going to play?

[00:44:02] Is Shelton Lewis going to play?

[00:44:05] SMU, on the other hand, also gets after the quarterback.

[00:44:07] They also have Brayshon Smith, you know, who has 1,157 yards, 14 touchdowns on the season.

[00:44:16] Their season started off kind of wonky.

[00:44:19] You know, they started off with a tight game against Nevada.

[00:44:22] Preston Stone was still the starter.

[00:44:23] He was the starter last year until he broke his leg.

[00:44:26] And then Kevin Jennings took over, won the American championship, played in the bowl game and everything against Boston College.

[00:44:32] So Preston Stone came back this year, and SMU has not looked back.

[00:44:37] Since they made the switch to Kevin Jennings.

[00:44:40] Their only loss on the season is an 18-15 loss in the last seconds against BYU.

[00:44:46] They were driving and had a turnover.

[00:44:49] You know, Clemson has a chance here to disrupt this whole playoff.

[00:44:53] Because if they win, we get back into that conversation of SMU or Bama.

[00:45:00] Now, and as I look at this, Clemson wants to keep this game in the 20s.

[00:45:07] They can't beat SMU in a shootout.

[00:45:11] Cade Clubnick has played a lot better this season, but Clemson has lost to every good team or decent team that they played this season.

[00:45:18] They got smacked by Georgia.

[00:45:20] They got smacked at home by Louisville.

[00:45:23] They only put up 14 against South Carolina.

[00:45:26] So I don't know how good of a team Clemson is.

[00:45:29] All year long, I've been trying to figure out how good of a team Clemson is.

[00:45:33] But I'm going to trust them.

[00:45:35] If he can be the dual threat that he is, like he was one of the top-ranked dual-threat quarterbacks coming out of high school,

[00:45:43] if he can get loose, then you got a shot.

[00:45:46] Because we talked about the, after the Georgia game, you talk about the lack of playmakers at the wide receiver position.

[00:45:53] Have those guys gotten better, or are they just kind of a byproduct of just being on a good program?

[00:45:59] Like Clemson's a good program.

[00:46:00] They're going to have good players.

[00:46:02] I think they're well-coached.

[00:46:03] You mean me?

[00:46:04] I would personally, I would use the transfer port a little bit more than Davos using a zero.

[00:46:12] Excuse me.

[00:46:15] But yeah, I think they have a real shot.

[00:46:18] Yeah, I'm taking Clemson.

[00:46:21] You know, it's going to be a close game.

[00:46:22] I don't think they're going to walk all over SMU or anything along those lines.

[00:46:26] None of that, you know, hyperbolic stuff.

[00:46:29] You know what I'm saying?

[00:46:29] And so I'll call it 27 to 23, you know, orange taking over Bank of America Stadium.

[00:46:38] Then Mr. Logical.

[00:46:39] The game that Mr. Logical does not want to talk about.

[00:46:44] Live from the compressor.

[00:46:46] It's the rematch.

[00:46:49] Debo coming back to get Craig.

[00:46:53] Texas.

[00:46:55] Georgia.

[00:46:57] What say you, Mr. Logical?

[00:46:59] I think Carson Beck, of all the quarterbacks that are going to get run, because I think Archman is going to get his opportunities to get in there.

[00:47:14] I think Quinn years is going to get in there.

[00:47:15] I'm pretty sure he's still healing from his ankle injury.

[00:47:19] I think he's the most likely to make multiple mistakes.

[00:47:25] Okay.

[00:47:27] And no matter how good your defense is, if you put them in position to where you're allowing a team with the talented athletes that Texas has on the outside,

[00:47:37] the running backs they have out of the backfield.

[00:47:39] And like I said, you have two quarterbacks that you can probably start either one of them if you added to.

[00:47:46] And I'm pretty sure Arch can start for any top program in America right now.

[00:47:50] Like he can leave this week, get their playbook tonight, and be planning their bowl game in a week.

[00:47:57] So I'm going to give the edge to coach, quarterback, playmakers, Texas over Georgia.

[00:48:06] Because I think in those games where Carson Beck has two, three, four turnovers, it's like, I watch you running the ball.

[00:48:18] He's had multiple games this year where it's like two bad turnovers early, throwing the ball to the other team, just like really bad throws.

[00:48:27] Like, okay, let's settle down.

[00:48:29] Let's run the rock.

[00:48:31] I think Texas has a better grip on that.

[00:48:36] Let's settle down to the point where when Quinn probably could have come back, they're like, you know what?

[00:48:41] Let's play Arch a couple more games.

[00:48:43] Get him a couple games.

[00:48:44] Quinn, you sit and chill.

[00:48:45] You're getting your job back.

[00:48:47] Like I said, I didn't like the panic move when he swapped them out in the Georgia game for it.

[00:48:51] Like if you have a package for him, pause.

[00:48:54] Put it out there.

[00:48:55] Pause.

[00:48:55] Pause.

[00:48:57] But if you don't, if you just want to ride a dive with this guy and his first SEC championship game, I ride with Quinn and, you know, Sark.

[00:49:09] I like Kirby Smart.

[00:49:10] I just think that I've watched them let Carson Beck make too many mistakes and not correct it with game plan.

[00:49:19] They just figure they just out muscle you.

[00:49:21] And when that doesn't work, what do you do then?

[00:49:24] And it's like, so I'm taking Texas, even though it's in Atlanta.

[00:49:28] So Sark is the kind of coach that we talked about this with guys like Lincoln Riley, Cliff Clingsbury.

[00:49:35] You don't want to let you don't want them to see what you do.

[00:49:39] You know, they've played Georgia already.

[00:49:43] Sark is going to have a plan for what Georgia did to them.

[00:49:46] You know, but real quick before I go any further, let me ask you a quick question.

[00:49:51] If Texas loses this game, they still make the playoff.

[00:49:56] But do you think they switch?

[00:50:01] And go with Arch?

[00:50:05] Oh, for the playoff run?

[00:50:07] Yeah.

[00:50:08] Like, do they switch?

[00:50:09] I don't think they do that because I think I don't think they would do that because.

[00:50:20] Quinn is either NFL draft stock, like you had this guy in your program for three or four years.

[00:50:27] You don't want to wait till three months before a major job interview to like shit on him and ruin his opportunity going forward.

[00:50:34] OK.

[00:50:35] Or you don't want him to like come back and do a graduate year and go and go to Oklahoma.

[00:50:43] For you.

[00:50:43] I mean, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't do that, but like some of those.

[00:50:46] I think they'll still ride with them.

[00:50:48] OK.

[00:50:49] So in that first game, Carson Beck did have three interceptions all in the first half, you know,

[00:50:57] but Georgia kept getting the ball back and getting short fields in that game.

[00:51:00] They had seven sacks, 10 tackles for losses, held Texas to 1.1 yard per carry.

[00:51:07] Yes, I said that right.

[00:51:09] So I expect another defensive struggle.

[00:51:12] The score was 30 to 15, but it wasn't really indicative of what Georgia did to them that night.

[00:51:18] You know, I do think that Georgia has the advantage as far as they've been battle tested.

[00:51:25] You know, Texas had the battle against Georgia.

[00:51:28] They failed that.

[00:51:29] They came back last week, went down to Kyle Field, and they shut A&M down.

[00:51:33] You know, they held A&M to seven points.

[00:51:36] The only reason A&M got that seven was because Quinn Ewers threw a pick close to the end zone, you know,

[00:51:42] and they had a short field, got in the end zone.

[00:51:44] Texas is the second in the nation, only giving up 11.7 points per game real quick, Mr. Logical.

[00:51:50] Do you know who number one is?

[00:51:53] In the nation?

[00:51:55] Yes.

[00:51:55] Scoring?

[00:51:56] Defensive scoring.

[00:51:57] Who leads the league in giving up the least amount of points?

[00:52:01] Ohio State!

[00:52:04] Well, they've been good to give up less points last week.

[00:52:08] Yeah, they only gave up 13, you know what I'm saying?

[00:52:11] But anyway, Texas held every opponent that they played this year, besides the Gators,

[00:52:18] and their third-string quarterback, under 300 yards to include Florida in that first matchup.

[00:52:25] So Georgia's been up and down all year.

[00:52:28] Texas has been the steady hand.

[00:52:30] But when I look at Texas, I think about what I just said about their defensive stats.

[00:52:35] And I'm like, hmm, there's a Kentucky in there.

[00:52:38] There's a Florida third-string quarterback.

[00:52:40] There's A&M with a freshman quarterback.

[00:52:44] Colorado State.

[00:52:46] I'm looking, I'm looking, and I just don't see it.

[00:52:50] So I think this is going to be-

[00:52:51] Yeah, there's some colleges that give up 40 points a couple.

[00:52:54] I know.

[00:52:54] Like, you played 10 games.

[00:52:56] I know.

[00:52:57] You played 10, 11 games.

[00:53:00] If you give up 40 points a couple times, that brings your overall average to like nine.

[00:53:04] They haven't done that.

[00:53:05] So it's like, it's a lot to give up 30 or 40 points.

[00:53:07] So Texas, you know, leads the nation in red zone defense as well.

[00:53:14] So that's where the game is going to be key.

[00:53:17] When Georgia gets to the red zone, do they get three or do they get six?

[00:53:21] That's what this game is going to come down to.

[00:53:24] Georgia still leads the nation in drops.

[00:53:26] So you can't trust the wide receivers.

[00:53:28] But I just think it's just not a good matchup for Texas.

[00:53:34] I'm not saying it's going to be the same thing that we saw last time.

[00:53:37] I just don't know what changed outside of Sark having what he thinks is a blueprint of Georgia.

[00:53:47] I'm taking Georgia, something along the lines of 21 to 16.

[00:53:56] I like Texas 28-20.

[00:54:02] I think Sark hits them with the screen pass because obviously 1.7 yards to carry.

[00:54:10] Defense is just, they're just overwhelming to run.

[00:54:13] So instead of calling the first down stretch play.

[00:54:17] Right.

[00:54:18] Because he's been calling a lot of like, a lot of motion, a lot of action with their motions.

[00:54:23] A lot of, you know, fake here.

[00:54:26] Quinn years.

[00:54:27] One hand fake this way and flip the ball this way.

[00:54:29] I think they've been kind of working on little things like that.

[00:54:32] Little misdirection stuff.

[00:54:33] Because most teams, when they swarm to the ball, like when they stop the run like that and everyone just kind of swarmed to the ball.

[00:54:40] That normally means somebody has to hold the backside.

[00:54:43] And if there's any kind of misdirection and this guy is one-on-one on the outside with any athlete on Texas, that's a task.

[00:54:52] Because if you get that off a couple times for 12 yards, 14 yards, then it's like, okay, now you can't just keep collapsing the box.

[00:55:00] They're not going to just try to overpower us with their big offensive line.

[00:55:03] You know, so once it gets down to that point, I think we'll be good to go.

[00:55:07] And I'll trust the offensive-minded coach to make adjustments in the rematch over the defensive guy.

[00:55:12] Because the defensive guy is going to be like, yeah, we're just going to keep doing what we're doing until he sees something different.

[00:55:18] But when you see it on that first couple of drives, you might not have a real plan for it.

[00:55:23] Okay.

[00:55:24] Fair enough.

[00:55:25] And then the one that I'm looking forward to more than any other, the Big 12 championship game where you got a Big 12 team playing against a Pac-12 team.

[00:55:34] Just like, hey, the Alamo Bowl is in a few weeks.

[00:55:38] And the rumored teams for the Alamo Bowl are Arizona State, Iowa State, BYU, and Colorado.

[00:55:44] So Big 12 opponents.

[00:55:45] But they're representing the Pac-12.

[00:55:48] But anyway, so let's talk about this.

[00:55:51] So Arizona State is looking for their first conference title since 2007.

[00:55:56] Iowa State, on the other hand, is looking for their first conference title since 1912.

[00:56:05] 1912!

[00:56:09] So America, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Rocco Beck, who in this game will become the only other Iowa State quarterback in history

[00:56:24] besides Brock Purdy to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.

[00:56:28] And what's up with these Iowa State quarterback names?

[00:56:31] Brock Purdy, Rocco Beck.

[00:56:32] Like, come on now.

[00:56:33] But anyway, this is Iowa State's first time even being in the Big 12 championship game.

[00:56:39] They're going to have to deal with Cam Scadaboo, the eighth leading rusher in the nation.

[00:56:45] The reason that I say that is because Iowa State gives up 174 rush yards per game.

[00:56:51] So there should be gaping holes, so to speak.

[00:56:55] You know, but also, there's a problem for Arizona State.

[00:56:59] Their leading receiver, Jordan Tyson, heard his arm last week in the rivalry game against Arizona.

[00:57:05] He's not going to be playing.

[00:57:07] The next leading, he had 1,101 yards on the season.

[00:57:10] The next leading receiver, 291.

[00:57:13] So it's going to have to be a whole lot of Cam Scadaboo.

[00:57:16] Sam Levitt, the quarterback, is a freshman.

[00:57:19] Is the stage too big for him?

[00:57:21] Now, I do like Kenny Dillingham, the head coach.

[00:57:24] He came over from Oregon, of course.

[00:57:26] And he is an Arizona State guy through and through.

[00:57:29] He went there.

[00:57:29] He was on the coaching staff with Mike Norvell back in the day.

[00:57:33] And now, he's at his dream job.

[00:57:36] And he's giving his bonus to employees that, like 20 off-the-field employees that don't get bonuses.

[00:57:42] So he's giving them, he's dividing his bonuses.

[00:57:45] He has like a $200,000 bonus, and he's dividing it up amongst them.

[00:57:48] So you can tell that he's respected in his locker room.

[00:57:52] If that's the kind of, you know, behavior he's putting out there for his players.

[00:57:57] Right.

[00:57:57] And this is the question that I have that sums up my thoughts on this game.

[00:58:03] Would you rather be the hot team or would you rather be the better team?

[00:58:07] Because Arizona State is the hot team right now.

[00:58:10] Iowa State came off those ugly losses to Kansas and Texas back-to-back.

[00:58:16] But I think they've turned a corner.

[00:58:19] I'm going with the Cyclones to end the 112-year drought.

[00:58:27] That's crazy.

[00:58:29] I like Cam Scatterball.

[00:58:32] I like the swag that he runs with.

[00:58:35] It's probably the only matchup outside of Montana where you got two starting white running backs.

[00:58:44] So I'm going to take Arizona State, you know, the Pac-12 team coming through to win the Big 12.

[00:58:50] So I kind of want a lot of the other conference teams to win the new one.

[00:58:56] Because I didn't like the realignment.

[00:58:57] I wasn't a big fan of it.

[00:58:58] I thought it was, like, just a little too much.

[00:59:00] Like I said, when Cal and Stanford and the ACC, it's like, okay, this is too much.

[00:59:03] Right.

[00:59:05] But, yeah, so I'm right with Arizona State.

[00:59:08] Like I said, sometimes being a freshman is, like, I don't know any better.

[00:59:12] Like, you're a freshman starting in college.

[00:59:14] I mean, you probably were a pretty successful high school player.

[00:59:16] Like, all you know is, all you do is win.

[00:59:18] Right.

[00:59:20] Touchdown Pac, but there's a flag.

[00:59:23] So, real quick, you know, this is just an open-ended question, rhetorical question.

[00:59:29] Can we be done with the Notre Dame needs to be in a conference talk?

[00:59:34] Because, I mean, I look back.

[00:59:35] I mean, they're beating teams from all over the place.

[00:59:39] Everybody's like, but Notre Dame doesn't play tomorrow.

[00:59:41] They're not going to play this weekend.

[00:59:43] Ohio State ain't either.

[00:59:45] Alabama ain't either.

[00:59:47] Penn State wasn't supposed to play in their end.

[00:59:50] Yeah, so.

[00:59:51] What is that?

[00:59:52] Is Alabama third?

[00:59:53] Tennessee ain't either.

[00:59:54] So, is Alabama third in the SEC?

[00:59:56] Just out of curiosity.

[00:59:57] Are they third?

[00:59:58] I believe Tennessee's third.

[01:00:00] Because Tennessee has to head their head over Bama.

[01:00:03] Okay.

[01:00:03] Yeah.

[01:00:03] Because Bama, so Bama was in the driver's seat until they lost to Oklahoma.

[01:00:07] Because of their win over Georgia, and then Georgia beat Tennessee.

[01:00:10] But then Alabama lost, so that shifted Georgia up, shifted Tennessee up, and then, you know, Bama's there.

[01:00:17] But my guys down at UCF, hashtag UC facts, you know, the trolls of the year, you know, not only did they claim a national title back in 2017 when they couldn't get into the playoffs,

[01:00:29] but they called USC to check the availability of Lincoln Riley to be their head coach.

[01:00:35] They made the wrong phone call.

[01:00:37] You should have called Columbus, dummies.

[01:00:38] I don't know.

[01:00:42] I don't know what Ryan Day has done that says he's a – does he have just a good talent base?

[01:00:50] He can just front load talent?

[01:00:53] Or is he actually a good coach?

[01:00:56] I think he's actually a good coach.

[01:00:59] You know, I really do.

[01:01:01] Is he just flooded and just blessed with the fact that people want to wear the – what is it?

[01:01:07] Scarlet and silver.

[01:01:09] Scarlet and gray, yeah.

[01:01:11] I think it's one of those things that – what's the word I'm looking for?

[01:01:18] Or he – there's always somebody that has your number.

[01:01:24] You know, back in the 90s – I think I brought this up the other night.

[01:01:27] Back in the 90s, John Cooper was the head coach.

[01:01:29] They would go 10-0 every year, you know, 9-1, go into the Michigan game, lose,

[01:01:37] and not have a chance at the national title because they lost that particular game.

[01:01:43] That's what Ryan Day is doing right now.

[01:01:45] I mean, at Ohio State right now, he's 66-10 as a head coach.

[01:01:54] Like, I don't know what you want me to do with that.

[01:01:57] I mean, like we talked about it the other day, he was a missed field goal away

[01:02:01] from winning a national title basically a couple years ago.

[01:02:04] He made another national title game against the greatest – probably the greatest Bama team of all time

[01:02:10] with Devontae Smith and all those guys running around.

[01:02:13] So, I mean, so it's not like he's out here losing to, say, you know, Northwestern or something.

[01:02:21] And you're like, what are you doing with their talent?

[01:02:25] So that's where, like, for me, it's kind of crazy, you know, where – you know, like, I understand, though,

[01:02:33] you know, you got spoiled with Urban Meyer, you know, coming in there,

[01:02:37] showing Ohio State what they could be.

[01:02:39] Could be.

[01:02:41] You know what I mean?

[01:02:42] And now you got the backup coming in there, taking over, you know.

[01:02:46] It's just – I don't know.

[01:02:49] I don't know.

[01:02:50] Like, so as of this weekend, right, he's 1-4 against Michigan.

[01:02:57] He's 44-1 against the rest of the Big Ten.

[01:03:02] And that one loss was the game to Oregon by one point this year.

[01:03:08] I'm just saying.

[01:03:10] Yeah, but it just doesn't – it doesn't feel like – like, watching him –

[01:03:14] Randy, I know this is the latest game.

[01:03:17] He just felt like he was a little overwhelmed in this last –

[01:03:21] Yeah, and I mean, coaches have a bad day, just like players have bad games.

[01:03:24] He just looked –

[01:03:25] You don't think – Allen Iverson made a career of going 9 for 30, and everybody loved him.

[01:03:31] He knew what he was doing.

[01:03:33] He was trying to shoot that rock.

[01:03:34] He knew what he was doing.

[01:03:35] He wasn't out there.

[01:03:37] Allen Iverson never went, you know, 4 for 19 with, like, 12 turnovers.

[01:03:42] He was like, nah, that's not – he can go down doing what he does.

[01:03:46] It's like – that's what I'm saying.

[01:03:47] I don't know exactly what Ryan Day really does.

[01:03:50] Like, he gets a lot of transfer quarterbacks in.

[01:03:53] Like, I don't know how many of his guys he recruited other than CJ Stroud.

[01:03:56] I think he recruited straight up from high school to Ohio State.

[01:04:01] And Quinn Ewers came, but he transferred out.

[01:04:03] Right.

[01:04:03] Joe Burrow was there.

[01:04:04] They still got Aaron Nolan.

[01:04:06] You know, but you know, but I will say, last thing real quick before we switch over to the NFL.

[01:04:11] So, North Carolina, Purdue, West Virginia, UCF, maybe to a lesser degree UCF because your coach just resigned.

[01:04:20] Y'all wild as hell for not having a coach on National Signing Day.

[01:04:26] Like, you made the decision to fire Matt Brown two, three weeks ago.

[01:04:31] Like, you got to –

[01:04:32] That's ballsy.

[01:04:33] You know what I'm saying?

[01:04:34] So, unless you're trying to wait on somebody that's in the college football playoff, like a coordinator that's in the college football playoff or something.

[01:04:41] It's like 15 teams.

[01:04:43] You're just sitting back waiting on one of 45 to 50 coaches between offensive, defensive coordinators and head coaches.

[01:04:51] Yeah, so I give UCF a pass because, like I said, their coach unexpectedly stepped down.

[01:04:58] But North Carolina fired him three weeks ago.

[01:05:00] We've been talking about Neil Brown getting fired for about five weeks now, just us.

[01:05:05] And we're not even in the industry for real.

[01:05:07] You know what I mean?

[01:05:08] And, you know, and you got Purdue who went 1-11.

[01:05:12] They beat an FCS team to start the season and lost all 11 games after that.

[01:05:16] So, you could argue that he shouldn't even have made it that far.

[01:05:20] But you know what I mean?

[01:05:21] But you fired him and you don't got to coach on National Signing Day.

[01:05:25] Transfer our portal opens Monday.

[01:05:28] You better have a great accountant.

[01:05:31] Just saying.

[01:05:31] Listen, we have this money available.

[01:05:33] Get a coach in there.

[01:05:35] But, Mr. Logical, you know I was doing some thinking.

[01:05:37] You know, I don't know if a division game can be a trap game.

[01:05:41] But I was like, oh, man, Detroit getting Green Bay, this is crazy.

[01:05:46] Buffalo getting the Rams, this is crazy.

[01:05:49] Because Buffalo goes to Detroit next week.

[01:05:52] And as I was looking at that, I was like, hold up.

[01:05:56] Detroit got to play Chicago at home for Thanksgiving.

[01:06:01] They got to play the Packers tonight at home.

[01:06:05] And didn't they get Buffalo coming in at home?

[01:06:08] Go ahead and thank the person that made that schedule.

[01:06:11] I don't know.

[01:06:12] I saw a commercial, like an AI commercial, and they said it used to take weeks to make the NFL schedule.

[01:06:18] Now with AI, they can make it like a matter of, you know.

[01:06:21] Well, yeah, AI definitely made that.

[01:06:23] But speaking of which, let's start there.

[01:06:26] You know, Buffalo going into SoFi.

[01:06:30] Seven straight wins.

[01:06:31] Looking for the number one seed if somebody can do some dirty work and knock off Kansas City for them.

[01:06:36] You know, the Rams went out here.

[01:06:39] I don't know what they were thinking.

[01:06:40] I guess they were desperate.

[01:06:42] They went in, brought in Emmanuel Forbes.

[01:06:43] I don't know what that does for anybody.

[01:06:45] You know, the Rams giving up 144 rush yards per game.

[01:06:49] So what that means to me is a lot of James Cook, a lot of Ray Davis.

[01:06:53] The Rams, I've been waiting for them, you know, as far as when we were talking a couple of weeks ago about, hey, who's going to win the NFC West?

[01:07:01] I thought the Rams were a good pick because I'm like, hey, they got the quarterback, the KG vet.

[01:07:06] They got their weapons back.

[01:07:07] But it's just not clicking.

[01:07:09] Like I said last week, they have too many question marks about the people who are there regarding if they're going to be there after the season ends.

[01:07:21] It's like from Cooper Cup to Sean McVay to Matthew Stafford, probably even the GM.

[01:07:32] I think everyone's kind of looking like, all right, we had that Super Bowl victory and we had a couple of good runs.

[01:07:39] We had the unexpected run last year.

[01:07:41] But it's like, do we want to be San Francisco next year?

[01:07:46] Right.

[01:07:46] Do we want to be, you know, do we want to have a complete collapse next year?

[01:07:51] Because like Matthew Stafford, like any younger.

[01:07:54] So I think that's probably the biggest part with the Rams is like there's it's not a lot of room to be hopeful and optimistic.

[01:08:05] I think it's a pressure cooker because you don't know who's going to be there.

[01:08:08] And I think every week plays out that way where it's just like this could be the week.

[01:08:14] I think this is the time. This is the game that you win.

[01:08:16] And it's like they don't look like, you know, they gave up all those yards to say one.

[01:08:20] Probably didn't think it was going to be Philly after the fact.

[01:08:23] But going into it, like, you know, we think they match up.

[01:08:25] Well, they got two rookie of the year defensive, like two defensive rookie of the year candidates playing up front, playing top line football.

[01:08:31] Those guys got manhandled.

[01:08:32] So it's like as this starts to build up, as guys come into practice, come into work, like, man, I can't wait for the season to be over.

[01:08:40] People are planning their Mexico trips, stuff like that.

[01:08:42] It starts happening.

[01:08:43] So I know we talk about trap games in college.

[01:08:46] Do you believe such a thing exists in the NFL?

[01:08:50] Like Buffalo could be looking ahead to Detroit?

[01:08:53] Absolutely.

[01:08:54] Either you overlook a team because either what you saw on film or what you've seen or you played against them.

[01:09:03] Like the way Kansas City played against Aiden O'Connor.

[01:09:05] Aiden O'Connor had 300 yards passing.

[01:09:07] Aaron Rodgers hadn't had 300 yards passing in 35 games.

[01:09:10] Yeah.

[01:09:10] Actually, I'm glad you said that because if he doesn't throw for 300 yards on Sunday, it will be officially three years to the day or to the weekend, I should say, that he didn't throw for 300 yards.

[01:09:23] So I think teams can – I think you can take teams lightly because you've got to come up with a game plan.

[01:09:29] And, for instance, when Miami didn't have Tua and they were starting –

[01:09:37] Tyler Thompson and Pro Bowl Huntley.

[01:09:40] When you – when you and your game plan, your defensive coordinator did not pound the table for anybody other than, hey, man, let's just keep a guy on Tyreek so he can't just throw it up like Tyreek's down there somewhere.

[01:09:53] That's it.

[01:09:54] You don't have to worry about him inside the pocket.

[01:09:56] You don't have to worry about him outside the pocket.

[01:09:58] You don't have to worry about his legs.

[01:09:59] You don't have to worry about his arm strength.

[01:10:01] It's like we need to play our game.

[01:10:03] You guys keep it in the pocket.

[01:10:04] Let's get out – get your hands on him.

[01:10:08] Don't be handsy with the wide receivers giving them free penalty yards.

[01:10:11] That's the game plan if you're playing against Skylar Thompson.

[01:10:14] But when they played against Josh Allen, they weren't like, all right, they were focused.

[01:10:20] They were locked in.

[01:10:21] They were like, listen, you can't do this.

[01:10:23] Do not rush up the field.

[01:10:25] He will step here.

[01:10:26] He will do this.

[01:10:26] It was like it's different.

[01:10:28] I think with Buffalo and the Rams, it's like, you know, if you stay connected to Puka

[01:10:33] and Cooper and just play your game.

[01:10:37] Like, you know they can't stop the run.

[01:10:39] We're going to – a lot of the tight ends are probably already knowing.

[01:10:42] Like, hey, let's do a lot of three tight end sets.

[01:10:44] A lot of just smash-mouth football because they can't stop the run.

[01:10:48] Well, give me Buffalo.

[01:10:50] Yeah.

[01:10:51] And real quick, since we brought it up,

[01:10:53] do you know who the last team Aaron Rodgers threw for 300 yards against is?

[01:11:02] Green Bay.

[01:11:03] I mean, not even Detroit.

[01:11:05] No, it was the I Own You game.

[01:11:08] Oh, Chicago?

[01:11:09] Yeah, it was that game.

[01:11:10] That was the last game he threw for 300 yards.

[01:11:13] All right, so I'm going to skip around a little bit.

[01:11:15] Sunday night football.

[01:11:17] You know, the Chargers have been on the brink of beating Kansas City all throughout Patrick Mahomes' tenure.

[01:11:23] They just can't get it done.

[01:11:25] It's almost like a Penn State-Ohio State game.

[01:11:27] Patrick Mahomes is 34-5 against the AFC West in his career.

[01:11:33] Can the Chargers finally do it?

[01:11:37] If they take, and I said this the last time, and they didn't do it because no one ever does.

[01:11:45] Just take the field goal.

[01:11:47] If you're in field goal range, don't play for a field goal.

[01:11:53] Don't play tight like in the middle.

[01:11:54] You know, we're just going to just line up because they still can block it.

[01:11:57] But if you're in a position where it's like, hey, we can get a field goal out of this, we get a touchdown.

[01:12:02] If it's third and four, if you have a great play drawn up for third and four, go for it.

[01:12:06] If not, if it gets to fourth and two inside of the six, just kick the field goal.

[01:12:13] Just take the points.

[01:12:15] Go back.

[01:12:16] Do the silly kickoff.

[01:12:17] Go back.

[01:12:18] And play defense.

[01:12:20] Because Kansas City is going to take the points.

[01:12:23] They go for it every once in a while, but when it gets down to that point, they're going to take the points.

[01:12:28] Because they believe that any points we get is helping us beat you.

[01:12:36] Versus everyone else is like, oh, we got to get a touchdown.

[01:12:38] Can you say that?

[01:12:39] Cool.

[01:12:39] We'll go down.

[01:12:40] If the score is 10-0 and they're at the five, yeah, we'll kick a field goal.

[01:12:44] And be down 10-3.

[01:12:46] Play defense.

[01:12:46] All you got to get is three play stops.

[01:12:49] And you get the ball right back.

[01:12:50] You have the opportunity to get your seven points.

[01:12:52] It's like teams play it.

[01:12:54] Like, you don't get the ball back if you get a stop.

[01:12:56] Right.

[01:12:57] So when they played earlier this season, you know, back in week five, the Chargers jumped out to a 10-0 lead.

[01:13:06] You know, kick the field goal, got a pick, short field, touchdown.

[01:13:09] It was like, oh, is this the moment?

[01:13:11] Is this the moment?

[01:13:12] And at that time, we were saying to ourselves, is Travis Kelsey done?

[01:13:18] I haven't seen Travis Kelsey yet.

[01:13:20] And then he came out 7-89 in that game.

[01:13:23] And he's been a little bit better every week since.

[01:13:26] Now, I brought it up the other day.

[01:13:28] They're starting to run some of those Travis Kelsey plays with Noah Gray.

[01:13:31] Right.

[01:13:32] So you can't be fooled by the window dressing, the eye candy, and all those things.

[01:13:37] Stay disciplined.

[01:13:38] You know, Joey Bosa, you know, how healthy is he?

[01:13:42] I don't think he's very healthy because he's never healthy.

[01:13:45] So I want to trust the Chargers.

[01:13:47] I want to give Jim Harbaugh the benefit of the doubt that he can pull one of these rabbits out of his hat.

[01:13:55] But the Chargers keep on – they just always choke it away.

[01:14:00] They keep playing like the San Diego Chargers.

[01:14:01] Yeah.

[01:14:02] But you know what?

[01:14:05] I'm going to just go ahead and do it.

[01:14:06] Give me the Chargers.

[01:14:10] He's taking the Chargers.

[01:14:11] I'm going to take the Chargers.

[01:14:12] All right.

[01:14:12] I'm going to take the Chargers.

[01:14:13] Then you got the rematch from the Snow Bowl a couple of weeks ago.

[01:14:17] Our guy, Jameis Winston.

[01:14:20] Over, under, three touchdowns.

[01:14:21] Over, under, three interceptions.

[01:14:25] The Steelers are going to come out looking for blood, you know, after losing that game a couple of weeks ago.

[01:14:31] Russell Wilson, you know, is second in the lead behind Jarrett Goff in yards per pass.

[01:14:37] Those are the things why we shouldn't question Mike Tomlin because a lot of people were on the Justin Fields, you know, hey, he's winning games.

[01:14:46] Why would you bench him?

[01:14:47] This is why.

[01:14:49] And you're going to see a lot of George Pickens.

[01:14:52] You're going to see Jalen Warren in space.

[01:14:55] And the Steelers are going to smack the Browns around.

[01:14:58] The only reason I'm watching this game is just because I want to see who plays better between T.J. Watt and Miles Derrick.

[01:15:04] This is something that I saw.

[01:15:08] And I saw two different clips of Mike Tomlin, or three different clips of him mic'd up.

[01:15:16] One of them, he like, he hugged Russell Wilson, told him something, said something positive, was kind of muffled.

[01:15:22] And then one of the offensive linemen walked by and was like, you've been mic'd up?

[01:15:26] And Tomlin said, shut your ass up and get to the locker room.

[01:15:31] And then another one, George Pickens, I think it was a Cincinnati game last week, the interception, because he fell down.

[01:15:39] He grabbed him by the helmet and was like, that's not going to determine the outcome of this game.

[01:15:44] He's like, let's go.

[01:15:44] He's like, that play will not determine the outcome of this game.

[01:15:48] And I think another guy got a fumble.

[01:15:51] And he was like, don't act like this is not something you expected to do.

[01:15:55] He was like, you're born to do this.

[01:15:56] He was like, this is not an anomaly.

[01:15:57] This is what you do.

[01:15:59] So it just let me know, like, when he walks to the sideline and he talks to the players, because I think, like, George Pickens, he's like a crash out sometimes.

[01:16:09] But Tomlin seems to have a way to get in.

[01:16:11] And I think, like I said this before, I think the Steelers are like, you know what?

[01:16:15] We'll get that guy that's a little on edge because we know Mike can keep him in line.

[01:16:20] I think Antonio Brown was riding that line.

[01:16:22] And Mike was like, listen, I can't do it.

[01:16:24] I had it.

[01:16:24] I can't hold on.

[01:16:26] I can't hold on to this any longer.

[01:16:28] But I just think what he's doing, and it just shows.

[01:16:31] I know the playoff wins don't match the accolades that, you know, that we bestow upon him.

[01:16:36] But just to be that successful for this long, I mean, it's two decades.

[01:16:41] Think about there's Rich Eisen on the Rich Eisen Show the other day talked about the coaches that got hired in 2022.

[01:16:48] Okay.

[01:16:48] It was like Lovie Smith, Doug Peterson, and a few of the guys, like Matt Eberfluss.

[01:16:54] A few guys have already been fired.

[01:16:56] Right.

[01:16:56] And he's like, it was like six or seven coaches that got hired in 2021, 2022.

[01:17:03] They're already fired.

[01:17:04] This guy got hired 20 years ago, and he's still doing his thing.

[01:17:07] And doing it with a team that we all picked.

[01:17:10] We had them at 8, 9, 7, and 10 because we figured that back half.

[01:17:15] So, yeah.

[01:17:16] It was a fight against Cleveland, but, you know, I think they'll iron it out.

[01:17:19] And barred no snow, I think they'll be all right.

[01:17:21] Okay.

[01:17:22] One of the games that surprised me this season because it was such a low-scoring game, 16-6.

[01:17:31] Seattle, a couple of weeks ago, took care of the Cardinals.

[01:17:34] James Conner hasn't been the same in the last couple of weeks.

[01:17:38] In that game, it was a close game, tight game, until the real Cincinnati cornerback, Kobe Bryant,

[01:17:46] took it to the house.

[01:17:49] Shout out to Ahmed Gardner.

[01:17:51] I guess they call him sauce.

[01:17:53] But Seattle in that game held James Conner, and it was weird because seven rushes?

[01:18:02] Seven rushes for eight yards in that game, James Conner.

[01:18:05] Over the last three games, 36 carries, 109 yards.

[01:18:11] Just in case you were wondering, that's 2.7 yards per carry.

[01:18:15] Only problem here is that I don't trust Geno Smith in big games.

[01:18:21] Now, when you get Seattle away from Seattle, there's no Legion of Boom walking through that door.

[01:18:27] There's no Russell Wilson walking through that door.

[01:18:29] I'm taking the Cardinals.

[01:18:32] Taking the Cardinals.

[01:18:33] I just got to see something because it just kind of blew my mind that...

[01:18:43] Oh, he going to go for it on fourth and inches?

[01:18:46] No, no.

[01:18:47] Don't say anything because I'm behind you.

[01:18:49] Okay.

[01:18:51] Okay.

[01:18:51] I'm just saying, you know what I mean?

[01:18:53] Like 43 seconds left?

[01:18:55] You know, I don't know.

[01:18:57] We'll see what happens.

[01:18:58] You know, but yeah, I got the Cardinals.

[01:19:01] And then I'm going to go up to Minneapolis.

[01:19:04] I'm going to take Seattle because I've been riding with them as the most consistent team in the division.

[01:19:09] I think they're going to win it out.

[01:19:12] Then I'm going to go up to Minneapolis.

[01:19:14] My guy, Kirk Cousins.

[01:19:16] Each week, we are getting closer and closer to feeling the Big Penix energy.

[01:19:22] Pause.

[01:19:24] Kirk Cousins, four picks last week.

[01:19:27] Now he is the reigning leader of interceptions in the NFL this season.

[01:19:31] Also has 12 fumbles.

[01:19:33] Also has 12 fumbles.

[01:19:34] You know, the Vikings are still ticking along somehow under the radar.

[01:19:38] They're almost the NFC version of Pittsburgh.

[01:19:41] They're that team that keeps winning.

[01:19:43] And then when you kind of look back and peel it back, you're like, how?

[01:19:47] Wow.

[01:19:48] You know, but they're winning.

[01:19:50] You know, they obviously got their eye on this game right now.

[01:19:53] You know, maybe it's a Kevin O'Connell thing.

[01:19:55] A couple of years ago, we talked about how Minnesota won all these one-score games.

[01:20:00] Well, four out of their last five wins have been one-score games.

[01:20:08] So call Baloo.

[01:20:10] The Falcons are in a tailspin.

[01:20:13] And they ain't winning this weekend either.

[01:20:15] My man's in call Baloo.

[01:20:18] Oh, y'all don't know about tailspin.

[01:20:22] Oh, that was a good one, Mike.

[01:20:24] That one got me.

[01:20:26] Yeah, I got Minnesota.

[01:20:30] I'm just going to be honest.

[01:20:32] They gave up on your team, huh?

[01:20:34] I mean, I'd hope that they win.

[01:20:36] But as far as like to have an honest conversation about sport, like if someone picked Atlanta

[01:20:42] over Minnesota, I'm like, I don't know what Atlanta is showing you in the last three weeks

[01:20:46] and says, hey, they're ready to beat a team that only has two losses, who plays tough defense,

[01:20:52] that can rush the passer, who can run the ball, who has the top play by receivers.

[01:20:56] Theoretically, this is where your veteran quarterback leads you.

[01:21:00] Theoretically, this is where he – and it's against his former team as well.

[01:21:03] Yeah, but the thing about the veteran – the veteran quarterback is playing a lot more like the guy

[01:21:09] who replaced him used to play.

[01:21:14] It's – and I think it boils down to – they got eight games of film.

[01:21:20] They were like six and two, six and three, right?

[01:21:23] They had all this game film, and then people just kind of realized, hey,

[01:21:27] you only have to cover two people on these routes.

[01:21:30] Like you only have to focus on Drake London, so wherever he goes, and Moody going out the way.

[01:21:38] Like they pretty much have Drake do this over here, and then they got Moody coming across here,

[01:21:43] and then Pitts and McLeod are just kind of in there, in the mix, and maybe Bijan out of the backfield.

[01:21:50] But they use him so much in the run game, and a lot of his passes are just deliberate.

[01:21:55] Like there's screen passes to him.

[01:21:57] You know, like they're getting the ball to him so quick, you don't have to – you just react to him getting the ball.

[01:22:01] Because the passing game, literally there's only – I'm not even calling them threats.

[01:22:07] There's only – there's only two people that get targeted six to eight times a game.

[01:22:13] Mm-hmm.

[01:22:15] And, you know, so it's just like –

[01:22:17] So they got a Ravens problem.

[01:22:19] They do – because Cal – Kirk Cousins, from what I can recall, he had big targets at wide receiver.

[01:22:32] You know, he had the big tight end.

[01:22:36] He – Hawkinson, as a tight end, if they just put Pitts in a room and just put on Kittle, Hawkinson, Tate,

[01:22:47] like, listen, just watch this.

[01:22:50] Watch what these guys do.

[01:22:53] Do that, and you'll get so many passes from Kirk Cousins.

[01:22:57] It's like, for some reason, no one's opened that box.

[01:23:02] But – so he's not a threat.

[01:23:04] He's not a threat in the pass game at all.

[01:23:06] You try to put him out wide.

[01:23:07] I don't know why you want to put a corner on him.

[01:23:09] He's not a great route runner.

[01:23:12] And they're just going to leave him out there one-on-one.

[01:23:15] So you're not a factor in blocking if the pass is caught.

[01:23:19] You're not a factor in the run game because you're just – you're not a good blocker at the point of attack.

[01:23:23] It's just there's no offense.

[01:23:25] And then there's no – there's no push up the middle defensively to make the quarterback uncomfortable.

[01:23:31] So there's not a lot of rush off the edge.

[01:23:33] So there's not a lot of opportunity to create turnovers consistently or at least force, hurry throws, things like that.

[01:23:42] And so there's, like – if you can't do that, like, if you can't – if you can't move the ball offensively

[01:23:49] and you can't get to the other team's quarterback, you have three or four game losing streaks

[01:23:53] where you're getting blown up by rookie quarterbacks.

[01:23:56] Yep.

[01:23:57] All right.

[01:23:58] So Jets over Dolphins?

[01:24:03] Oh, I stopped.

[01:24:06] With a loss, the Jets will actually be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

[01:24:13] So go Dolphins.

[01:24:15] Eagles and Panthers.

[01:24:17] All I'm going to ask you, do the Panthers cover the 12-and-a-half?

[01:24:30] Phillies up 18 late and they get a late touchdown?

[01:24:36] Yes.

[01:24:37] Okay.

[01:24:38] Okay.

[01:24:39] You know, Bryce Young, no picks in his last three games.

[01:24:42] He makes me think of a classic.

[01:24:45] The little engine that could.

[01:24:47] All right.

[01:24:48] So we got Raiders at Tampa.

[01:24:50] I think we're both picking Tampa.

[01:24:52] You know, but I will say Brock Bowers is three catches away from breaking the rookie tight end record

[01:25:03] that Sam Laporta set two years ago.

[01:25:06] You know, so congrats, Brock Bowers, on that.

[01:25:09] And then shout out –

[01:25:11] Mike Dicker's record or something?

[01:25:12] Yeah.

[01:25:13] Yeah.

[01:25:13] And shout out to my guy, UTSA's own, Sincere McCormick.

[01:25:21] Probably going to – you remember Sincere McCormick.

[01:25:23] I believe he played for the Falcons at one point.

[01:25:26] But –

[01:25:26] I don't think so.

[01:25:27] I thought he did.

[01:25:29] But he's going to get some carries this weekend.

[01:25:31] You know, Madison is hurt.

[01:25:33] Zamir White is hurt.

[01:25:34] We'll see how healthy – if they can go, first of all.

[01:25:37] So, you know, we'll see.

[01:25:39] You know, but I'm going with Tampa, you know, pretty easily.

[01:25:41] And Mr. Logical's going to tell us about, you know, next week about how, yeah,

[01:25:47] Tampa's going to take this division and it's over with.

[01:25:50] I said that two weeks ago.

[01:25:52] I said it because the same problems that Atlanta has every year,

[01:25:57] as you get later and later into the season and you get more stuff on film,

[01:26:01] you got to be able to overcome your liabilities.

[01:26:05] And they don't.

[01:26:06] They don't put – I don't think they put the players on the field

[01:26:10] to overcome their liabilities.

[01:26:12] All right.

[01:26:13] Saints over Giants?

[01:26:19] Yeah.

[01:26:20] I mean, it's a dumb team playing outside.

[01:26:22] It's supposed to be cold.

[01:26:23] Yeah.

[01:26:23] This weekend.

[01:26:24] Like, I'm still going to try to hit the city anyway, but –

[01:26:26] No taste some Tebow.

[01:26:28] Yeah, how for the season looks like?

[01:26:33] I'm good Giants.

[01:26:34] All right.

[01:26:35] Mr. Logical got the Giants.

[01:26:37] I need somebody to come to the carpet.

[01:26:42] Kyle Shanahan.

[01:26:44] I need you to get your Kyle Shanahan on.

[01:26:47] The season is over.

[01:26:49] You got the Bears coming in.

[01:26:51] And what a hell of a month it's been for Thomas Brown, right?

[01:26:54] He was the passing game coordinator just a month ago.

[01:26:58] About two weeks ago, he became the offensive coordinator.

[01:27:01] Now he's the interim head coach.

[01:27:03] Merry Christmas to you, sir.

[01:27:05] Merry Christmas to you.

[01:27:06] Playing with house money.

[01:27:07] Because I'm pretty sure they don't mind if they lose games.

[01:27:10] Yeah.

[01:27:11] Everybody's jacking for draft position.

[01:27:13] They haven't scored 21 points.

[01:27:15] So, when the season started, I was talking about the Bears having given up 21 points in 19 games.

[01:27:22] Man, you were killing that.

[01:27:24] They haven't scored 21 in the last six games.

[01:27:28] You know, six games.

[01:27:31] The way that game ended on Thanksgiving is just indicative of the – like, I'm screaming at the television.

[01:27:37] I know.

[01:27:38] Everybody in America.

[01:27:39] The Detroit fans were screaming.

[01:27:41] Call the time out.

[01:27:43] Like, let's make this interesting.

[01:27:44] I paid $1,100 for these tickets.

[01:27:46] I don't mind overtime.

[01:27:47] Like, that turkey could wait.

[01:27:49] But it's like – it just didn't happen.

[01:27:52] And when that's the case, it's like this season is a total wash.

[01:27:59] And like I said, it's a terrible position to be in considering that it's a tough sport.

[01:28:05] And you can't half-ass it.

[01:28:07] Right.

[01:28:08] You can't be on the field half-assing it.

[01:28:10] Nor will you practice all week and not want to play in the game.

[01:28:13] So, it's like – it's so – it's such a bad position to be in.

[01:28:21] Like, the Giants and New Orleans.

[01:28:24] Like, I just picked the Giants.

[01:28:25] I figured, like, maybe they'll just – some guys will just play harder and make plays.

[01:28:28] But I'm pretty sure the Giants wouldn't mind losing.

[01:28:31] So, you're a player.

[01:28:32] You're a veteran.

[01:28:33] You're going into the game.

[01:28:36] And you know that Chicago has this history of not being productive offensively or they just have a bad way of piecing together their front office and their leadership.

[01:28:47] If I'm a veteran, if I'm DJ Moore – I know I saw something today that said he put his Charlotte house up for sale.

[01:28:54] If I'm taking that money I make from the Charlotte house and I'm asking for a trade to the Rams because you're going to be in the L.A. house or I'm asking for a trade to Atlanta.

[01:29:07] Something.

[01:29:08] I'm getting up out of there because I think – I'd love to have him in Atlanta.

[01:29:12] Atlanta, go ahead and get that fifth-round pick lined up to send in Chicago to get DJ Moore and then put Drake Lynn in the slot next to him.

[01:29:19] Let's do some things.

[01:29:20] Call me if you need me.

[01:29:22] I'll be your GM.

[01:29:23] I'm doing better than the guy you have up there for sure.

[01:29:27] But, yeah, like I see a lot of veterans just kind of just lining up their offseason, but they still got to go play hard.

[01:29:33] But Jordan Mason's on IR.

[01:29:36] Christian McCaffrey's on IR.

[01:29:39] What happened to him?

[01:29:40] I saw the leg.

[01:29:41] I thought it was an Achilles.

[01:29:42] They said it was a PCL.

[01:29:44] Yeah, PCL they said, yeah.

[01:29:46] And then – so that enters Isaac Garendo, who was probably the fastest player in the draft out of Louisville this year.

[01:29:53] So I'm going to take the 49ers begrudgingly just because I don't know how the Bears recover.

[01:30:01] Unless they – yeah, because I don't know.

[01:30:03] I mean, but if you look at it, a lot of teams win when they fire their head.

[01:30:07] They win that first game, you know, so.

[01:30:09] Yeah, but like what I said about Caleb Williams, it's not like – it's not – I don't want to like shit on him as a rookie.

[01:30:15] It's like I don't think that he is that good of a passer.

[01:30:22] I think he's a better passer than Anthony Richardson.

[01:30:25] But I think the reason he gets sacked is because he doesn't throw in a tight windows.

[01:30:32] And I think he – I think he wants college separation.

[01:30:36] Because you can tell by the way he throws – like even some of the passes that he does complete is rare that they're in tight window throws.

[01:30:42] It's rare like they're down a side.

[01:30:43] It's always like the guy broke and he's like a yard separated and he like – he can float it to one.

[01:30:49] Right.

[01:30:51] Because somebody posted something with the stats for Jalen Hurts and Caleb Williams.

[01:30:57] They both had like 14 touchdowns and five picks or eight picks or something like that.

[01:31:01] Some pedestrian kind of touchdowns and stuff's ratio.

[01:31:04] But Jalen's QBR was 64.8 and Caleb's was 42.8.

[01:31:10] And someone was like, look at the QBR.

[01:31:12] Like that's the telltale thing is like are you making good throws when you're throwing a ball?

[01:31:18] Like are you making good decisions with the football?

[01:31:20] And he is not.

[01:31:21] And he is not.

[01:31:22] So I don't know if that turns around with the guy who got them the number one pick.

[01:31:27] Anyway, yeah, I just don't see it out.

[01:31:29] So we got our guy McCorkle, you know, starting again because Trevor Lawrence has finally decided to get the surgery that I said he should have got three or four weeks ago.

[01:31:39] And he's out for the season now.

[01:31:41] Give me Tennessee, you know.

[01:31:44] It's going to be an ugly game.

[01:31:45] I wouldn't even be surprised if the final score was something like 10-9, you know.

[01:31:50] But I'm going to take Tennessee.

[01:31:51] I'm going to give it 13-6.

[01:31:54] I'm going to give it 17-6.

[01:31:57] Okay.

[01:31:58] Okay.

[01:31:59] Then, of course, Monday Night Football.

[01:32:00] Jerry World, the greatest show on grass.

[01:32:05] You know, the Cincinnati Bengals are coming down to Texas to play Dallas.

[01:32:11] Dallas, this is the game where Cincinnati should run the ball.

[01:32:15] Chase Brown, my guy who I was calling for to start at the beginning of the season.

[01:32:20] Dallas is next to last in run defense in the league.

[01:32:24] They have proven that they can run the ball with Rico Dottle.

[01:32:28] They just weren't for some strange reason.

[01:32:32] You know, but without Dak, I guess they kind of have to.

[01:32:35] You get a guy at 60 million, you want to see him throw it 60 times.

[01:32:38] Yeah, I don't think Dallas has the offense to keep up with Cincinnati.

[01:32:42] I don't think there's a team out there that can really slow them down.

[01:32:46] I mean, look at what they did to Pittsburgh last week, for example.

[01:32:49] You know, if there's a team that should have stopped them or slowed them down,

[01:32:52] it would have been that team.

[01:32:53] The Chargers couldn't do it.

[01:32:55] So I'm not going to believe Dallas is going to do it.

[01:32:57] The Bengals finally get a win.

[01:32:59] Yeah.

[01:33:00] I got the Bengals big.

[01:33:03] Okay.

[01:33:03] Two touchdowns.

[01:33:04] Yeah, I was thinking.

[01:33:05] Jamar Chase, if you want to bet the over on his touchdowns,

[01:33:08] I think this is the game you do it.

[01:33:11] There you have it.

[01:33:12] It's going to be like, you can check this out.

[01:33:14] You can probably bank it.

[01:33:15] It's going to be a lot of games over the next few weeks for these teams

[01:33:19] because we talked about in our pre-minute.

[01:33:20] I think the AFC playoff pitcher is locked.

[01:33:24] Just maybe a five might go to seven or seven might go to six.

[01:33:28] Yeah.

[01:33:28] Miami is two games behind Denver.

[01:33:32] They would have to run the table.

[01:33:33] That means they would have to win games.

[01:33:34] The Colts are two games behind Denver,

[01:33:37] and they have that tiebreaker over Miami due to the game when Tua was out

[01:33:41] that you were talking about earlier.

[01:33:42] Yeah.

[01:33:43] And, you know, yeah.

[01:33:45] I think those are locked, and I think the NFC more likely,

[01:33:48] I believe Atlanta falls out of playoff contention.

[01:33:51] And then the West.

[01:33:53] And then, yeah, it's locked in.

[01:33:55] So it's going to be a lot of guys who go into that blue tent after a bad drive,

[01:34:01] and they don't come back because of a hamstring tightness.

[01:34:03] I'm sure Roger Goodell is probably trying to find a way to get Bama into the playoff.

[01:34:08] You know, so as we go around the association, we are down.

[01:34:14] That's about basketball.

[01:34:15] We are down to the Elite Eight in the NBA Cup.

[01:34:21] The NBA Cup, I said.

[01:34:24] You know what I'm saying?

[01:34:24] So right now in the NBA Cup tomorrow night, we have Orlando traveling to Milwaukee.

[01:34:31] We have Trey Young at MSG in an elimination game.

[01:34:37] That is must-see TV.

[01:34:39] You got the Thunder and the Mavs, Rockets, and Warriors.

[01:34:44] So, you know, my pick before the season was –

[01:34:49] oh, I'm sorry, not before the season, but when it was first announced,

[01:34:53] my pick was Golden State over Houston.

[01:34:59] Oh, I'm sorry, over the Knicks.

[01:35:00] I'm sorry.

[01:35:00] Golden State over the Knicks, you know.

[01:35:03] So, yeah, we'll see.

[01:35:05] I guess that's on Tuesday, those games that I was talking about.

[01:35:08] I thought they were on –

[01:35:10] Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

[01:35:11] Yeah, so Orlando-Milwaukee, Dallas-OKC is on Tuesday.

[01:35:17] And on Wednesday, you got the Knicks, Hawks, and then the Warriors-Rockets.

[01:35:24] Rockets, correct.

[01:35:25] And then the winners, I want to say, play on Friday for the championship.

[01:35:31] But, yeah, so there you go.

[01:35:33] But the Milwaukee Bucks are now over .500, Mr. Logical, coming into tonight at 11 and 10.

[01:35:40] I mean, you have that talent.

[01:35:42] You shouldn't be scrambling to be over .500.

[01:35:44] But you get on the right streak.

[01:35:46] The problem is their stars are older.

[01:35:50] One's kind of demanding.

[01:35:52] Especially he's won a couple MVPs and he won you a championship.

[01:35:57] And you don't want to go out at the bottom.

[01:36:00] You don't want to be literally one of your apex players in the league for three or four years

[01:36:05] and have, you know, pretty dominant playoff run, you know, short of Kevin Durant's foot being a size 16 versus a 15.

[01:36:16] You know, that was a pretty unblemished playoff run.

[01:36:20] And then it ended, like I said, with a 50-point, 19 for 20 from the free throw line.

[01:36:25] Just the whole mystique.

[01:36:27] The way you want to go out, even if that's your only championship, you can sit at any bar on earth and tell that story.

[01:36:33] Like, hey, yeah, we were down two games.

[01:36:36] Oh, Phoenix looked like they were going to take it.

[01:36:38] And we just brought it all the way back.

[01:36:40] I had 50 points in the final game.

[01:36:42] Look at the size of this ring.

[01:36:44] I have a brother on the team.

[01:36:46] I'm just doing whatever I want.

[01:36:50] But, yeah, I like – I mean, I always like Milwaukee.

[01:36:52] Like I said, I just never understood why they hired Doc Rivers.

[01:36:55] I don't know why you – but it's like the same way these NBA players keep dating the same Instagram model.

[01:37:00] I guess the NBA executives kind of operate the same way.

[01:37:06] But Magic Bucks, it's a good thing.

[01:37:10] I like Mavericks Thunder.

[01:37:12] I think that could be your Western Conference representative come late May, early June.

[01:37:20] Hawks Knicks are just entertaining because I think – just Trey Young, I think he just lives for the moment.

[01:37:25] He's one of those guys we're probably going to bring up in a conversation about would you rather be, you know, a big guy in a small market.

[01:37:32] I know Atlanta's not a small market, but as far as basketball –

[01:37:35] It's treated like a small market.

[01:37:36] Yeah, it's kind of run and operate like a small market.

[01:37:40] But Warriors-Rockets, I mean, anytime the Warriors are doing their thing – and I like what the Rockets are doing with the young talent.

[01:37:46] Hey, they're number two seed right now, a game and a half behind OKC.

[01:37:51] Yeah, it's a testament to just the gap between a great head coach and a great superstar and a good collection of players than, you know, just a collection of players.

[01:38:06] Because sometimes you can just have a collection of talent.

[01:38:08] But if you don't have the – like the engines to put in these, you know, these well-groomed machines, it's like, what's the point?

[01:38:17] Like if you put a Civic engine in a Lamborghini, what's the point of that?

[01:38:20] Right.

[01:38:21] A lot of these teams are operating.

[01:38:23] They look the part.

[01:38:23] They got a bunch of 6'8", 6'9", athletic guys.

[01:38:27] They all are tattooed up.

[01:38:28] They all dribble – they all shoot the three.

[01:38:31] But when it comes down to, all right, who's going to show on this pick and roll so Steph doesn't get a wide-up at three, you guys keep butchering that.

[01:38:39] Like you know the routine is.

[01:38:40] You can't go – don't go under because if you go under the screen, he's going to step back and shoot a three.

[01:38:44] And the Warriors have looked good so far this year, but I don't think it lasts without a trade.

[01:38:51] I think they're still looking for who's coming with Steph.

[01:38:55] You know, right now it's just kind of been a smorgasbord depending on the game of who steps up.

[01:39:00] You know, Pajemski's been playing well for the most part.

[01:39:03] Kaminga's had his ups and downs.

[01:39:05] You know, Buddy Hill's hit a few shots here and there.

[01:39:08] But I don't see the second scorer that a defense has to key in on as we get closer to the end of the season and go on into the playoffs.

[01:39:17] You know, but I wanted to ask you, what in the blue hell is going on in Tinseltown?

[01:39:30] It's time.

[01:39:33] It's all catching up.

[01:39:37] All the years of just it not being right.

[01:39:42] Coaches changes.

[01:39:46] Player moves.

[01:39:47] Players now have beef when they have to move.

[01:39:52] I think LeBron having the level of power that he has in the organization isn't a negative thing,

[01:39:57] but it needs to be matched by somebody who can balance that out and not look like...

[01:40:06] Like when LeBron came to them and said, hey, go get Kyrie.

[01:40:08] I think people did.

[01:40:11] I think the organization didn't move the way they should have because public opinion was LeBron's running the Lakers.

[01:40:18] Right.

[01:40:19] But if you're Pat Riley, I think you sit down and entertain it because, you know, ultimately I'm the man here.

[01:40:26] But if it was like D Wade was going to retire and Kyrie was available and LeBron was going to stay and he's like, hey, what do we think about making a move to get Kyrie?

[01:40:35] I think Pat Riley sits down and thinks about it.

[01:40:38] He weighs it out.

[01:40:40] And if you make him make the decision.

[01:40:41] I think with the Lakers, the fact that they didn't pull the trigger on that is like either they really felt a certain way about the controversy involving the anti-Semitic documentary,

[01:40:54] or they just really felt like we don't want people to believe that LeBron is calling all the shots.

[01:41:01] But that was a shot to make.

[01:41:03] That was the move to make.

[01:41:04] Like, if you look at the Mavericks now, I think Kyrie fits right in alongside LeBron and AD.

[01:41:11] It's like, so no, in my mind, it's a no brainer, but I think it just was a, they were just, LeBron was torn between, I don't want to have to leave this team.

[01:41:22] I don't want to have to go to another team.

[01:41:25] I'm here.

[01:41:26] I'm settled.

[01:41:27] He probably got a couple of houses there.

[01:41:28] His kids are all settled.

[01:41:30] It's like, I'm Joker movies.

[01:41:33] I mean, listen.

[01:41:35] Space Jam wasn't a classic.

[01:41:37] Let's keep it being there.

[01:41:37] Everyone's like, oh, like how many times you watch it?

[01:41:40] I think I watched it once.

[01:41:41] Maybe twice.

[01:41:42] I watched it once.

[01:41:43] I never watched LeBron's.

[01:41:45] I didn't watch Space Jam 2 either because I was 42 when it came out.

[01:41:50] Like, I mean, or whatever, however long it was when it came out.

[01:41:52] Like, I thought I didn't want to watch Space Jam.

[01:41:54] So like, why am I going to watch it?

[01:41:55] Well, you know, you said something interesting at the beginning of that.

[01:41:58] And, you know, you talked about the head coach movement.

[01:42:01] You know, first it was Frank Vogel who won the championship.

[01:42:03] Then it was Darvin Ham who got undermined at every turn in public.

[01:42:08] Now here we are with J.J. Reddick, who I think so far, I don't have a problem with J.J. Reddick.

[01:42:15] You know, like he seems to have a better grip on the rotations than Darvin Ham did, if nothing else.

[01:42:21] You know, he seems to put the right players on the court at the same time.

[01:42:27] But over the last couple of games, they went 2-6 in their last eight.

[01:42:32] And out of those six losses, four of those were by 20 plus to include a 41 point loss last night.

[01:42:39] You know, LeBron's legs are getting a little old.

[01:42:41] We saw, you know, it was 25 or so straight missed three pointers.

[01:42:45] Yeah.

[01:42:45] You know, J.J. Reddick made a comment the other day that I said, you're absolutely right, but you're going to pay for that.

[01:42:53] You know, because the talk has been LeBron wants to play 82 games.

[01:42:57] And J.J. Reddick made a comment along the lines of, that's probably not the best thing for us.

[01:43:03] And I was like, oh, J.J., don't wear out your welcome already, buddy.

[01:43:08] I mean, I think I'm glad he said that because it makes sense.

[01:43:13] But J.J. can only.

[01:43:17] J.J. couldn't do much more with Darvin Ham's roster than Darvin Ham did.

[01:43:21] They all had poor contracts.

[01:43:24] Pretty much the Lakers.

[01:43:25] No shooters.

[01:43:26] They have no shooters.

[01:43:28] And almost every guy that's on a league minimum had a player option to sign up for that league minimum again.

[01:43:34] So it's like, if you like living in L.A. and you're a basketball player, I don't know how much money Jackson Hayes has in his overall bank account.

[01:43:42] I don't know how much money D'Lo has.

[01:43:44] But it's like, I want a guaranteed contract that I can make the decision on.

[01:43:51] And I can stay here and play with A.D. and LeBron and see where it goes.

[01:43:54] And worse comes to worse, I still live in Los Angeles where I play 41 games here in L.A.

[01:43:59] Where I don't think any other city in America treats stars the way they do in L.A.

[01:44:07] Because in New York, it's not the same.

[01:44:10] Like, I think because there's so many stars.

[01:44:12] There's so many different types of stars in L.A.

[01:44:14] There's movies.

[01:44:15] There's directors.

[01:44:16] Yeah, New York.

[01:44:17] Eternal.

[01:44:17] You put it, too.

[01:44:18] And New York just really, New York has a lot of sports figures that are kind of getting all the acclaim.

[01:44:27] It's not that many actors just like everywhere.

[01:44:29] Like, you'll see people and they'll film movies in New York, stuff like that.

[01:44:32] But L.A., everything's based out of L.A.

[01:44:34] So there's so many different parties you can go to, you know, different, you know, now people might not want to go to as many parties because there's situations going on with people's court cases.

[01:44:43] But it's just restaurants and bars and parties and concerts and the weather.

[01:44:47] And if I'm a player that won't get a contract with another team, I'm staying in L.A.

[01:44:53] So they have a bunch of guys in L.A.

[01:44:55] that can't play on the team that just happen to just be living in the city.

[01:45:01] And it's been that problem for four years.

[01:45:03] And I don't know if it's LeBron's age, but it looks as though, just to my naked eye, that him and A.D.

[01:45:12] don't seem to have the same chemistry or that same fit that they had.

[01:45:17] Now, I don't know if that's just because of the loser streak that they're on.

[01:45:20] Man, he is done.

[01:45:25] A.D. has 10 points and 10 points and eight points in his last two games.

[01:45:31] If you're a smart person, very smart man, very accomplished man, you travel the world, you know college football.

[01:45:40] I know a little bit.

[01:45:42] Now, imagine I'm actively betting college football every week and every Thursday you give me your upsets and everything else.

[01:45:53] And then.

[01:45:55] I show you my bet slip that doesn't hit Saturday night and you look at it like, you know, you only put four of the 10 things I told you to do.

[01:46:05] You're like, yeah, I just really felt like this was another way.

[01:46:08] He's like, I know what I'm talking about.

[01:46:10] I know what I'm doing.

[01:46:12] It's been proven.

[01:46:13] You can see I know what I'm talking about.

[01:46:16] And then when I need you to put into action, it doesn't happen.

[01:46:19] I think LeBron is getting that.

[01:46:21] And he knows he can't get rid of any of those guys because none of them have any trade value.

[01:46:25] The only person probably on the Lakers that has value to another team is AD.

[01:46:31] Not even AD.

[01:46:32] It's fucking Don't Connect.

[01:46:37] Because what are you going to give up for AD?

[01:46:40] If you're Charlotte, are you going to give up your shooting?

[01:46:45] Whatever young shooters you have.

[01:46:47] Brandon Miller.

[01:46:48] You're giving up Brandon Miller because LA is going to want LaMelo Ball.

[01:46:53] They're not giving up Ball for AD unless you sweeten the hell out of the deal.

[01:47:00] Like you give them stock in the team or something.

[01:47:02] I don't know.

[01:47:05] You're three or four years past where you could have traded AD.

[01:47:07] You're probably at least three seasons past where you could have traded AD.

[01:47:11] And I think that realization is coming around for LeBron.

[01:47:17] It's like, I'm going to have to play 82 games and it still might not be enough.

[01:47:23] And I'm arguably one of the greatest players that ever played his game.

[01:47:27] And I'm out here with people who don't understand how important it is to be great day in and day out.

[01:47:34] But I just need that.

[01:47:36] He can't move him.

[01:47:36] He can't move a single person.

[01:47:38] Yeah.

[01:47:39] So it looks like Devin Booker is taking the leap.

[01:47:44] You know, a few years ago when they made the finals, there was talk, is he the next Kobe?

[01:47:50] Kobe?

[01:47:51] I don't think he's the next Kobe.

[01:47:52] I don't think he's playing like the next Kobe, but he's playing a lot better than he was even in that finals run.

[01:47:58] But I wanted to talk to you about, you know, we were talking about rookies earlier.

[01:48:04] You know, so, you know, Jared McCain doing the damn thing, you know, 16 and a half points per game, you know, 45% from the floor.

[01:48:12] You know, Dalton Connect, we spoke about, you know, Jalen Wells, the second round pick, you know, 12 points, second or third on the rookie ladder.

[01:48:21] Whenever I look at that, you know, Risha Shea, jury's still out, but he's had some moments.

[01:48:27] He had a 33 point game earlier this year.

[01:48:29] You know, my guy, Steph Castle, you know, I went to see the Spurs in person.

[01:48:34] He looks every bit of it.

[01:48:36] The numbers don't show it, but he looks every bit of what I thought he was.

[01:48:39] You know, Ron Holland has shown flashes, but Detroit, we talked about the way that they're constructed.

[01:48:46] You know, he can't shine because they're like the Rockets where you just have so much at each position.

[01:48:53] It's the same thing, yeah.

[01:48:53] And then my guy, Bub Carrington, Baltimore stand up, you know, looking like the real deal for the Wizards while Saar is still kind of coming along.

[01:49:05] But I say all that to talk to Mr. Logical about the Utah Jazz.

[01:49:12] You know, reports came out today that they're looking to move not just Colin Sexton, but Jordan Clarkson as well.

[01:49:18] And it made me think about how Danny Ainge has more pump fakes than Dwayne Wade.

[01:49:26] And the tank is on, you know.

[01:49:29] So you got Cooper Flagg.

[01:49:34] He looks like the real deal.

[01:49:35] I was a little skeptical when I heard all the talk about him.

[01:49:38] But what I didn't know is that he was going to be as good at defense as he is.

[01:49:45] You know, especially being so young, that's usually something that comes later.

[01:49:50] Like, he's already one of the best defenders in the nation.

[01:49:53] Ace Bailey.

[01:49:54] That's the effort.

[01:49:55] He's from Maine.

[01:49:56] He's probably a hardworking.

[01:49:57] Hard worker, yeah.

[01:49:58] Yeah, just like that whole, like, you have to play on both ends.

[01:50:01] Because how many talented basketball players are going to have on one team?

[01:50:04] You can't just be all offense.

[01:50:05] Right.

[01:50:07] And if that height was 6'8", 6'9".

[01:50:09] Yeah.

[01:50:10] You're such an anomaly.

[01:50:11] Like, I'd rather show off that I can play defense and I can score on you.

[01:50:16] Yeah.

[01:50:17] I think that gives him just an edge against his opponents.

[01:50:19] And then you got Ace Bailey up at Rutgers, you know, being a little outshined.

[01:50:25] Because that's who I wanted for the Wizards.

[01:50:27] But he's being a little outshined by Dylan Harper.

[01:50:31] Dylan Harper.

[01:50:32] You know, averaging 24 points.

[01:50:33] And side note, did you see that?

[01:50:35] Rutgers' defensive coordinator took the head coaching job at UMass.

[01:50:42] Why?

[01:50:43] Sometimes you just want that challenge.

[01:50:45] I guess.

[01:50:46] That's a hell of a challenge.

[01:50:47] But anyway, so it looks like the Jazz are trying to tank for Cooper Flagg, you know.

[01:50:52] So I guess they want Flagg in the bag.

[01:50:55] I don't know.

[01:50:56] That's who we're going with.

[01:50:57] Yeah, I guess that's the one.

[01:50:59] But, you know, being the anti-tanker that I am, you know, I was wondering what were your thoughts on it?

[01:51:11] My tanking perspective is we don't have evidence since Tatum and Jalen Brown of a number one pick.

[01:51:30] And I don't even know if that was Boston tanking.

[01:51:32] I think they just had picks.

[01:51:33] I think they just had picks.

[01:51:35] Just like OKC, yeah.

[01:51:36] OK, so it's like I just feel like there hasn't been a number one pick.

[01:51:41] Unless I'm drawing a blank here, that's really changed the franchise upon them winning the lottery.

[01:51:49] I think New Orleans.

[01:51:52] No, because they haven't played for three years.

[01:51:54] And then they had Ben Simmons.

[01:51:55] They had multiple number one picks.

[01:51:56] And if you look at it, I don't think that worked.

[01:52:00] We can argue that because they haven't made the East Conference Finals.

[01:52:03] So that hadn't worked.

[01:52:05] I'm just not sure that that strategy is the best move.

[01:52:09] Well, I think we had a chance last year, but they traded him like maybe Cat.

[01:52:18] But when did Cat?

[01:52:19] What was Cat?

[01:52:20] Like eight years in now?

[01:52:22] But that also came with Anthony Edwards.

[01:52:25] But I don't think that was a tank.

[01:52:26] I think that just was like, you know, so it just, it just, it's not.

[01:52:30] Not as.

[01:52:31] It's not Scoot Henderson.

[01:52:33] Yeah.

[01:52:34] Who went number one?

[01:52:35] Who was it?

[01:52:36] So you had Wimby.

[01:52:37] So I think Wimby's looking like he could do it.

[01:52:40] But Wimby is such a physical anomaly.

[01:52:43] It's like, yeah, you had to try to get him.

[01:52:46] Right.

[01:52:46] But Zion was probably the guy I think of because that's when the Knicks thought they were going to get the first pick and end up going to New Orleans.

[01:52:52] But they've been paying him for so many years to sit the bench.

[01:52:55] And they're 4-8 right now due to a lot of injuries.

[01:52:58] So not that they should tank, but maybe they should tank.

[01:53:03] I mean, we can talk about the demographic of Utah.

[01:53:06] It is like probably 90, let's say generously 92% white.

[01:53:11] You know what I'm saying?

[01:53:12] Go ahead.

[01:53:13] Keep talking.

[01:53:13] I'm going to look this up.

[01:53:14] Yeah.

[01:53:15] Because I've read some reports that it's like 98%.

[01:53:17] But it's like, we'll call it 90 and then 10 is everything else.

[01:53:22] So as far as like their demographic and their entertainment.

[01:53:24] According to the census.

[01:53:26] Yeah.

[01:53:26] According to the census, Utah is 89.8% black.

[01:53:32] White.

[01:53:35] White?

[01:53:36] I mean, that's what I meant to say.

[01:53:38] Sorry.

[01:53:38] Yeah.

[01:53:39] So nice.

[01:53:39] Like, yeah, nailed it.

[01:53:40] 90% white.

[01:53:41] So having Cooper flag in the bag is probably like a good move for them.

[01:53:46] Jordan Clarkson, Colin Sexton.

[01:53:48] I'm not saying it's like a race thing, but it's like you're going to suck this year.

[01:53:52] You're going to suck this year.

[01:53:53] And you need a guy that fits your demographic.

[01:53:57] Yeah.

[01:53:58] It is a race thing, but it's not negative.

[01:54:00] It's not negative.

[01:54:01] It's not negative.

[01:54:01] Like the Knicks wouldn't have – the Knicks wouldn't give $100 million to – what's the

[01:54:13] other dude that play in LA?

[01:54:15] The one that's good.

[01:54:17] The one that's good.

[01:54:18] Austin Reeves and, you know, Chet Holmgren.

[01:54:23] They're not going to be the big three in New York City.

[01:54:25] New York City is a very diverse city.

[01:54:27] It's probably not going to have like three American white boys.

[01:54:29] Well, I was making a joke with somebody today.

[01:54:31] I was making a joke with somebody today that Peyton Pritchard is probably going to win

[01:54:36] six men in a year, and he's going to be the most popular player on the Celtics.

[01:54:41] Yeah, he's probably going to sell the most jerseys.

[01:54:44] But like if – I know this is a game.

[01:54:48] It's a sport, and they won championships, but ultimately it's all about – it's

[01:54:51] also business as well.

[01:54:52] So I need the young, hot rookie who fits our demographic clean cut.

[01:54:58] Yeah, and not only white, but he's from Maine.

[01:55:00] He's from Maine.

[01:55:01] I mean, it's like I don't think – I think Maine might be more white than Utah.

[01:55:07] And that's tough to do.

[01:55:09] That's tough because it's like there's –

[01:55:12] Yeah, they're –

[01:55:13] So according to the census –

[01:55:16] 94%.

[01:55:18] 93.7%.

[01:55:20] I need to go to the casino ASAP.

[01:55:27] But yeah, so like I get it.

[01:55:30] My only issue is that I feel like some teams decide to tank when a tweak here and a tweak here can make you a good basketball team.

[01:55:47] I think sometimes, like if we pull up the records now, it's –

[01:55:51] Yeah, I'm looking at them right now.

[01:55:54] Jazz a 4-17.

[01:55:57] Wizards a 2-18.

[01:55:59] Pelicans a 4-18, but that's a lot of injury.

[01:56:02] Sixers a 5-15.

[01:56:05] Charlotte 6-15.

[01:56:07] Raptors 7-15.

[01:56:09] Like right now.

[01:56:10] Detroit's being celebrated for being 9-15.

[01:56:13] So check it out.

[01:56:14] Here we go.

[01:56:14] We got – I'm going to take a team like Bulls, Nets, Pacers, Pistons.

[01:56:20] Those four.

[01:56:21] Just in the East.

[01:56:22] Okay.

[01:56:22] The Pacers were in the Eastern Conference Finals last year.

[01:56:26] Yep.

[01:56:27] They get a sprained ankle or pulled hamstring to one or two of their starters, and they're out a few weeks.

[01:56:35] And at the end of that few weeks, they're 9 and – or they're 11 and 24.

[01:56:42] Yeah, right now they're 7 and 3 at home and 2 and 11 on the road.

[01:56:46] It feels like they'll get to that point, and it's around like the end of December, January.

[01:56:51] And they're like, you know what?

[01:56:53] We're going to tank.

[01:56:54] Whereas, like, you had a couple injuries that threw you off.

[01:56:57] But I feel like sometimes when these teams get – they get a couple injuries, they'll put a guy on for like six weeks.

[01:57:05] It's like he probably could be back in three.

[01:57:07] But if he's not back, then we'll improve our draft position.

[01:57:12] Because if you're the Pistons, you're probably looking like, all right, 14, 16, 18, and 20 wins for your top four teams.

[01:57:20] Like, yeah, we're not going to catch any of them.

[01:57:22] We're not going to beat them if we get into that.

[01:57:23] So it was like we should just cancel the season essentially.

[01:57:26] You know what's weird?

[01:57:27] And I think the teams do that way too early.

[01:57:29] You know what's weird?

[01:57:30] The Cavs have the best record in the league, 20 and 3.

[01:57:35] They're 1 and 1 against the Celtics this year.

[01:57:38] Their other two losses, both to Atlanta.

[01:57:45] I mean, Atlanta's 12.

[01:57:46] They're 12 and 11, 6 and 4 in their last 10.

[01:57:49] You know, so that brings it back.

[01:57:51] So Trey Young being the star in this small place, you know, is it time for him to move on?

[01:58:01] Or is that just his city and, you know, he's going to stay there for the rest of his career?

[01:58:07] And if that's the thing, the team has to treat it that way.

[01:58:11] It feels like teams and GMs are influenced by the successes of other teams and not looking at, like, how these other teams messed up.

[01:58:23] We could talk about the Wizards.

[01:58:26] Giving John Wall a bunch of money and then basically just putting them on ice forever to move them and pay them.

[01:58:32] What do you got to be, like, $140 from the Wizards?

[01:58:36] And then they gave Bradley Bill a no trade clause.

[01:58:39] Like, why did you give him no trade clause?

[01:58:41] Well, I think from what I was reading, it was automatic with that contract.

[01:58:46] That's the thing.

[01:58:47] He was the only one that had one.

[01:58:49] I know.

[01:58:50] Because he was the only one with that contract.

[01:58:52] No, no.

[01:58:52] Like, they say that when you get that max, that 256 or whatever it was.

[01:58:57] It's not built in.

[01:58:58] They have to give that to you.

[01:59:01] And that's what people are saying.

[01:59:02] Like, why would you give him that knowing that, like we talked about earlier, guys sign deals in these small markets, play for one year and be like, yo, let me out of here.

[01:59:12] Because NBA money is all guaranteed.

[01:59:14] So, I just, like, if I'm the mellow ball, you're from L.A., you're already super popular.

[01:59:22] Charlotte should really be trying to, like, really build, like, a contender around him.

[01:59:28] Well, he's got to stay on the court, first of all.

[01:59:32] I mean, yeah, it's health as well.

[01:59:34] You know, best ability is availability.

[01:59:36] But they shouldn't look at, like, oh, he's our best player, but we don't want to pay him.

[01:59:41] I'm like, if you want to charge people $200 to watch these games on a Tuesday night, you need to have some star power to build it.

[01:59:47] So, like, that's first and foremost.

[01:59:49] Everybody's not going to get out.

[01:59:50] Everybody's not going to win a championship.

[01:59:52] I know NBA, 66% of the league makes the playoffs because of the play-ins.

[01:59:56] Well, that's why.

[01:59:56] Everybody doesn't really have a shot.

[01:59:58] You should be trying to build a team that your fans can want to come see.

[02:00:02] You tank in and hope that you get this lottery opportunity next year, but you actually want money from me now to hope that you get the right lottery ball?

[02:00:13] Because you can end up like the Knicks and draft fourth.

[02:00:16] Who'd they take when they couldn't get Zion?

[02:00:18] We don't know.

[02:00:20] Well, that's why I've always wondered a team like Portland, or I should say a city like Portland, who is loyal.

[02:00:28] You know, like they treated like Dame is like your money's no good here.

[02:00:33] You know, that type of thing.

[02:00:35] And Portland has been a successful NBA franchise pretty much since they came to be.

[02:00:41] You know, they won a title with Bill Walton, made some finals with Clyde Drexler, got to the Western Conference Finals with Scottie Pippen, got to the Western Conference Finals with Dame.

[02:00:51] So they have a track record of being a successful basketball team.

[02:00:55] So I've always wondered back in the day, I'm gonna go back some years.

[02:00:59] I've always wondered why.

[02:01:03] And I know they ended up with him later, but I wonder why they didn't make a move for Melo when Melo still had stuff in the tank.

[02:01:15] They took the Melo that had got banished from the league and brought him in.

[02:01:20] Because around the advent of social media and social awareness and the value that players put on social media changed.

[02:01:35] Clyde Drexler probably just wanted to play basketball.

[02:01:39] And he wanted a good contract on a good team with an opportunity to make the NBA Finals.

[02:01:46] Gary Payton was in Seattle.

[02:01:48] I want to play basketball with this guy I can throw lots to and we can compete with the Lakers.

[02:01:55] Matt Johnson, listen, I want Showtime.

[02:01:56] This is what I want.

[02:01:58] The Celtics.

[02:01:59] So everybody else in previous years, I believe that they wanted their team to be the best team.

[02:02:09] And then whatever else came with it, ultimately back then, but probably just the financial perks of your team.

[02:02:16] The contract you can get from your team and the accomplishments you can get by being on that team.

[02:02:22] Well, now it's not solely based on what you can get accomplishment wise.

[02:02:29] Your popularity, your jersey sales can dictate your contract or dictate your leverage as far as like where you can get traded to.

[02:02:37] Right.

[02:02:38] You know, so as more and more players are starting to make moves that are business moves, like Kevin Durant talked about going from Golden State to New York.

[02:02:49] He was like, I was doing a lot of investing and go to state.

[02:02:52] I wanted to build some relationships in New York.

[02:02:54] So I went to Brooklyn.

[02:02:55] And it just so happened.

[02:02:56] I also went there with Kyrie, but I was able to expand my business brand.

[02:03:01] So it was like, I think guys are making a lot of other moves that have nothing to do with the sport because as the owners are making more money, they are still extra greedy as well.

[02:03:09] But it's weird for me.

[02:03:10] Let me figure out what I can do for myself because if you talk about the small market, it's social media.

[02:03:15] I know Dane was in Portland.

[02:03:16] I know Dane was currently in Milwaukee.

[02:03:18] I know that LaMelo Ball is in Charlotte.

[02:03:20] They're all on TV.

[02:03:21] They're all famous.

[02:03:22] They're all getting, you know, every max contract is $200 million plus.

[02:03:27] Even the rookie contracts now.

[02:03:28] Like all these guys who are going to get max rookie extensions from here on out are going to be over $200 million.

[02:03:34] So every star is getting star money at some point in the last five or ten years.

[02:03:39] And that's the part that confuses me because with this new age that we're in.

[02:03:45] So I was thinking about this the other day.

[02:03:47] Like a lot of people think that Notre Dame has fallen off, you know, before this year.

[02:03:55] And whenever I hear them speak, I think they actually mean to say Nebraska because, you know, back in the day, Nebraska was this big brand.

[02:04:04] You know, they had the Midwest on lock.

[02:04:06] They were winning national titles.

[02:04:08] There were limited options as far as who was going to be on TV.

[02:04:12] But now in this new age, everybody's on TV.

[02:04:16] So you lose those recruiting advantages.

[02:04:18] So with the NBA, I look at these players that same way of you don't have to live in L.A. to be a mogul or to be, I guess, a trendsetter or those type of things.

[02:04:30] You can do that from sharp.

[02:04:32] You can do that from poor.

[02:04:33] But the salary and the salary cap being based off of the TV contracts, John Morant in Memphis got, I think his rookie extension was like $200 million, maybe like $190 to $200 million.

[02:04:46] He lost like $35 million because he couldn't, he got suspended those games.

[02:04:51] He couldn't make all NBA or whatever.

[02:04:53] But he still was like $197 to $200 million or $202 million or something like that.

[02:04:58] Yeah, he got, it was five years, $197.

[02:05:01] Yeah.

[02:05:02] So, damn, I'm on one.

[02:05:03] Zion, I think he got like five years, $182 to $184.

[02:05:07] But it had the, because he was so injured.

[02:05:11] But even that is $184 million.

[02:05:15] Right.

[02:05:15] Well, he got the same deal John got, the five, $197.

[02:05:18] They gave him the $197?

[02:05:20] Yeah.

[02:05:20] So that was a max rookie extension two or three years ago.

[02:05:23] So all these guys that are in the league are going to get that same money.

[02:05:28] Now they're treating the NBA money like it's leveraged to get like generational wealth as if the $100 million she's got is a generational wealth.

[02:05:37] Right.

[02:05:38] And I think it's like, it's kind of polluting the free agency market.

[02:05:42] I think it's polluting the trade demands.

[02:05:45] And I think it's kind of diluting the quality of the league because you have guys that are just either looking to get their next big check or guys looking to get their check and then move to a bigger market.

[02:05:57] K Cunningham, I know you play in Detroit.

[02:05:59] You can still go on TV.

[02:06:01] You can still do movies.

[02:06:03] You're still 6'8".

[02:06:04] You're still, if you want to go model Balenciaga clothes, all of you are still shaped the way they want their guys to look.

[02:06:11] You can still make these same James Harden deals.

[02:06:14] Like you can make these same deals.

[02:06:16] You can make these same moves.

[02:06:17] You don't have to follow exactly in the footprints of everybody else.

[02:06:20] But like I think that's the overwhelming piece is that that's why these guys are, I'm not saying that's not, that's why they're not good.

[02:06:27] But they see Steph knocking down the three and they all want to do it.

[02:06:31] It's like, you know, you can just dunk and just score a lot of points that way.

[02:06:37] You can just defend.

[02:06:38] You can do other things.

[02:06:40] You don't have to do whatever it is.

[02:06:40] That comes back to one of the criticisms that we have about the league is that they don't promote their young stars in that way.

[02:06:46] Like, you know, and I mean, granted, you know, LaMelo Ball's on a six-win team right now and Cade Cunningham's on a nine-win team right now.

[02:06:53] But how come I'm not seeing like I'm in Thompson?

[02:06:57] Why am I not seeing Jalen Green?

[02:07:00] Why am I not seeing some of these players, you know, who are excelling, doing well?

[02:07:06] And, you know, to the point, the Rockets, like I said, are only a game and a half out of being first in the West right now.

[02:07:14] But outside of Dylan Brooks, Fred Van Vliet, the guys that have been around,

[02:07:19] a lot of people don't know the faces of these other dudes on that team that are making this happen.

[02:07:24] Well, these guys who go to the 80s, like, listen, I need to get in commercials.

[02:07:27] I need to be in an Affleck commercial or Uber Eats commercial with Matthew McConaughey.

[02:07:32] They got it easy.

[02:07:33] They're fucking twins.

[02:07:35] Easy.

[02:07:36] You could be the new Double Mint twins.

[02:07:38] You know what I'm saying?

[02:07:39] You could be right in that commercial with Brooke and Robin Lopez.

[02:07:42] You know what I mean?

[02:07:43] Like, you mean to tell me that, you know, I mean, Scoot Henderson can't get a McDonald's commercial?

[02:07:58] I mean, McDonald's is just like his game, right?

[02:08:01] You know what I'm saying?

[02:08:02] Like, E. coli and, like, you know, like all that stuff.

[02:08:05] It's old school with the fro and hair.

[02:08:07] Yeah, he's got the goggles and all that.

[02:08:09] Like, you know what I mean?

[02:08:10] 30.

[02:08:11] I hear look like a tall Kevin Hart.

[02:08:13] Yeah, you know what I mean?

[02:08:14] But, like, it just makes you wonder.

[02:08:16] Like, Brandon Miller, you know, he went number two in the draft, you know, and had one of

[02:08:21] the better – he was the rookie of the year if there's no such thing as Wimby.

[02:08:25] You know what I mean?

[02:08:26] And, like, where he at?

[02:08:27] Like, you know what I'm saying?

[02:08:28] Like, is UNC presenting him, like, or, like, you know, at football games or, like – I mean,

[02:08:34] granted, he went to Alabama, but the point being, go to Alabama!

[02:08:37] You know what I'm saying?

[02:08:38] Man, Alabama's a top 10 team in basketball this year.

[02:08:41] Go to the games.

[02:08:42] Go to the – they played North Carolina last night.

[02:08:45] You know what I said?

[02:08:45] I don't know if Charlotte played last night, but you could have been there.

[02:08:49] Yeah, it just – like, I think the marketing piece – maybe it is.

[02:08:52] Maybe they're just – they're getting so much money from the team that they didn't

[02:08:55] want to do that.

[02:08:55] They just don't see it.

[02:08:56] Yeah, they don't see the need for it, you know, because, I mean, I guess that's a special

[02:08:59] They're going to –

[02:09:01] But it's not like AD is in a bunch of commercials.

[02:09:03] Yeah, I don't want to say it's a lack of superstars, but as we talked about the NFL with the running

[02:09:10] back, like, is Jared Henry the last running back that's going to be eligible for the Hall

[02:09:14] of Fame with, like, a realistic chance of getting in?

[02:09:16] I don't know.

[02:09:17] I mean, after this year, Saquon is going to get up in that conversation.

[02:09:21] Especially if he breaks that record, because right now he's still on pace to break the record.

[02:09:25] But he has to get 10,000 yards.

[02:09:28] You got to be over 10,000 yards, unless you're Terrell Davis with a couple of Super Bowls.

[02:09:32] Right.

[02:09:32] But he needs 10,000 yards.

[02:09:34] So, I mean, you got Luka, but Luka's foreign, and he's, you know, probably a Jordan brand athlete,

[02:09:41] and he goes by one name, like Luka.

[02:09:44] How many career yards do you think Saquon has right now?

[02:09:48] I think he's like 70.

[02:09:50] This is seven years.

[02:09:52] Seven years in the league.

[02:09:54] 71 or something like that?

[02:09:56] He's just over 67.

[02:09:58] 67, okay.

[02:09:59] Yeah, so if he finishes out this year, you know, close to 72, I guess.

[02:10:06] You know what I mean?

[02:10:07] Go over 8,000 potentially next year.

[02:10:09] You know, he might be the last one.

[02:10:12] Yeah.

[02:10:13] But like I said, you got Wimby.

[02:10:15] You got a lot of foreign players.

[02:10:18] And I don't think there's anything wrong with the foreign players.

[02:10:21] There's only four or five of them that are like top elite stars.

[02:10:25] Well, it's like what?

[02:10:25] Foreigner won the last four MVPs or something like that?

[02:10:29] Like the three for Jokic, the one for Embiid.

[02:10:33] You know, SGA was number two last year.

[02:10:35] You know, Luka was in the MVP race last year.

[02:10:37] I don't consider Canada a foreign country.

[02:10:39] Oh, okay.

[02:10:40] It's America light.

[02:10:42] Sound like a Drake fan.

[02:10:43] They're America with health insurance.

[02:10:45] Drop, drop, drop, drop.

[02:10:48] You know what I'm saying?

[02:10:50] But anyway, on that note, y'all, you know what I'm saying?

[02:10:55] It's conference championship weekend.

[02:10:57] Enjoy your football.

[02:10:59] Bills, triple the raggings, and watch out for the trap.

[02:11:02] We'll be back on Tuesday with some recaps and some more fly shit for y'all.

[02:11:08] We love you.

[02:11:11] Like, review, subscribe, share, rate, do all the free things.

[02:11:18] Do all the good things.

[02:11:22] Peace.