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Bigger Flop: Alabama or Ohio State?, Cignetti's Statement, CFP Semifinals Preview · Others Receiving Votes

• 0:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, welcome to show Happy New Year everybody, 2026, the first edition of this year for others receiving votes.
• 0:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Pat Fordy, joined as always by Jean Wojahowski and Brian Fisher.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: And there is a lot of college football to discuss.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: A ton of stuff has happened.
• 0:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, the playoff has advanced in some interesting surprising momentous ways to a final four.
• 0:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: uh... also the portal has roared to life and we've had some interesting things happening there we're gonna make some other reactions and some accurate assertions one of the other maybe both actually maybe neither about the playoff the state of the sport uh... we will break down the two semi-finals and we'll pick them
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: look at Indiana's incredible transfer portal hall and will make some new year's resolutions.
• 0:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, gentlemen, by the way, I do need to, of course, pass along the update that I dominated the picks in the quarter finals, getting three out of four while neither of you did that.
• 1:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, just in case you hadn't, it kept up.
• 1:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: I couldn't hear you.
• 1:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: We had a audio issue there, Pat.
• 1:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: Sorry.
• 1:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll remind you later, okay, it's okay.
• 1:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's the kind of thing that deserves to be brought up more than once.
• 1:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
• 1:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: I guess.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 1:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: So anyway, they final four matchups are set and wow, very interesting.
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: We have a festival matching Mississippi and Miami.
• 1:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we have a peach bowl matching Oregon and Indiana, not what people saw coming when the bracket came out, certainly not what they saw coming when the season started.
• 1:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Looking at this gene, looking who's in and who's out, give me a reaction or accurate assertion.
• 2:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Tell me what this statement is, one of the other.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: The final four signals regime change in college football.
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: I would say it's accurate but with an asterisk if I'm allowed to do that because we had two big ten teams last year in the final four we have two big ten teams in the final four this year we had one SEC team in the final four last year we have one SEC team in the final four this year we had one team last year what Notre Dame kind of
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: you know, different kind of team in a way we have Miami this year, different kind of team, different kind of journey this year.
• 2:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: So if you're going from big picture, I think it's kind of the same, but when you dig a little deeper and look at the teams that are in there and the teams that are not in there,
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: The story lines you mentioned back in August when we first started this podcast and we were making our silly predictions about who is going to reach the championship game and who is going to make a run.
• 3:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't think we had any of these teams in it did we I know I didn't at least in the championship game though so.
• 3:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: regime change in that sense absolutely.
• 3:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, and I think it's going to continue.
• 3:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think every year we're going to get more surprises or so-called surprises than we have in the past.
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, we got a three quarter chance of possibly having our first first time national champion since Florida back in 96, so I think that does kind of signal, hey, there's some new kids on the block at least now, you know, so I think that's that's important to keep in mind it and look a lot of these programs, I think they are.
• 3:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: a reaffirming that, you know, if you invest, if you invest in football, you can kind of pull yourself up by the bootstraps.
• 3:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Indiana was the losing his program in all of FBS coming into this season.
• 4:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: And now here they are, you know, two games away from winning the national title, like to have wrap your mind around that kind of takes a little bit of
• 4:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: kind of a disbelief, even if you had told somebody, Ed Mid season.
• 4:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: And the same for Old Miss, I mean, that the chance to possibly win without your head coach in the in the playoff itself, you know, I think would have been anathema to pick to anybody picking the rebels outside of those that were
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: wearing powder blue was certainly in warlands this weekend.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think for a lot of people, this does kind of signal that this is an open era of college football.
• 4:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Part of that, the next savings retiring, you know, a lot of the old guard has been shuffled out.
• 4:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, there's transfer portal changes to where you can flip over your roster pretty quickly.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I think the biggest thing is that if you invest, if you find the right coach, anybody can win.
• 4:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's that's
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: part of that's yes, you know, you got to win a couple of games in the college football playoff.
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think there was an initial thinking that saying, all right, well, all right, that's just going to reaffirm Georgia and Ohio State and Alabama.
• 5:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: All those teams that recruited talent class after class of class, all those five stars, that would be a big factor in them actually winning more of those games.
• 5:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, we've seen that has not been the case, at least through the first two years of this 12-team playoff.
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so I think it's kind of a, uh, not necessarily a complete regime change because we did see some of those blue bloods.
• 5:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it has given the opportunity to programs out there.
• 5:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's that's the biggest thing that, uh, of this new air in college football.
• 5:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's given an opportunity.
• 5:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's huge for a lot of teams and it's huge for the sport itself because it does mean that everybody can go into the season, almost like an NFL team with a little bit of hope.
• 5:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, good points from both of you guys, I hate to admit, but accurate with an asterisk, I think is a good way to put it.
• 5:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because this doesn't all of a sudden mean that Ohio State and Alabama and Georgia are dead by any means.
• 5:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: It just means that there's more opportunity for more people.
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so that's what I think is fantastic about it is that for the reasons you guys enumerated, just about everybody out there if you hit it right.
• 6:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that's not easy.
• 6:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not saying it's easy to hit it right, but if you get the right coach and you make the right moves in the portal and you add in solid high school recruiting, then everybody's got a chance and because everybody's got more money now.
• 6:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: So this is, um,
• 6:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: an intriguing era.
• 6:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think it, like I said, it doesn't mean that we're never going to see the blue bloods back on top again by any stretch.
• 6:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I think it just means that going into every year there's all should be all, there should be who knows how many teams, maybe 20, to say, maybe 30, maybe 40, let's say this could be our chance.
• 6:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I, I, I, I feel like that's actually possible.
• 6:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Brian, it is funny.
• 7:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: I got to add this.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: So back at the beginning of the season, like in, sometimes July and August, we were trying to formulate the top 25.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I came up with some kind of hair-brain formula for like trying to rank the teams.
• 7:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I, I had the, the initial, initial run of this, I had Indiana at like fourth, and I was like, no, that's crazy.
• 7:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: We can't do that.
• 7:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we did, we kept them in
• 7:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I underrated him when I had him fourth even.
• 7:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's crazy.
• 7:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's just unbelievable how things can come together.
• 7:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: And for his past, you know, remember, we would sit there before a season would start and say, who are the teams that can truly win a national championship?
• 7:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it was usually the usual suspects, right?
• 7:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe with one or two you'd throw in there as semi-long shots.
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: But now to your point, 40 doesn't sound like such a crazy number anymore of teams that could legit make some sort of bizarre run if NIL and the portal God smile on them.
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: But maybe on the flip side, also restricted other programs from having any chance.
• 8:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, look at what's happening with Iowa State and it's roster and we can go down the list of programs that are just getting decimated by portal and IL restrictions.
• 8:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, but crazy, yes, absolutely.
• 8:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I mean, and you're right about some people being decimated by this, but I'm not sure those programs ever had a chance to begin with.
• 8:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I was state technically digs.
• 8:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: They did make a big 12 championship game.
• 8:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Not that long ago.
• 8:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, I think I just think that there's still some of that layer of power for that you technically have a chance, but you got to, again, get things really right.
• 8:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: And again, what's the difference between I was state
• 9:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, correct, I'm that a Matt Campbell, though.
• 9:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: I thought we loved him.
• 9:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know.
• 9:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, Matt Campbell's a great coach and I, you know, he did awfully well to get Iowa State to a big 12 championship.
• 9:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I next dramatic statement.
• 9:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: The SEC is dead or at least in critical condition and in part because it is no longer cornered the market on paying players.
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Brian Fisher, overreaction or accurate.
• 9:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: This one's a tough one.
• 9:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: I want to kind of middle it a little bit.
• 9:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: I will go slight overreaction, if you will.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Just because it's called the SEC Dead in a place where the sport means so much, where there is so much investment, when there is so much buy-in alignment as we like to always call the buzzword from the top down.
• 9:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: These are a lot of schools, all 14 of them really are all 16 of them excuse me.
• 9:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: That really want to win in football, you know, that is that is crucial for the SEC and that's crucial for their identity So I don't think it's dead, but it is definitely a speed bump and you look at some of the head coaching hires That have not panned out in the league the lack of good quarterback play You know, I think that has been another issue that the SEC has had to deal with these last couple of years They've not really had those elite guys I think the talent gap certainly has as closed with certainly their peer conference in the big 10
• 10:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: And really the depth of the SEC, you know, I think, you know, that was a big talking point this year.
• 10:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Bullseason has kind of exposed that a little bit, you know, maybe Tennessee, maybe Missouri.
• 10:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: Those teams that were ranked and valued by the, not only the committee, but by the polls earlier in the season.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe not quite as good as we thought, they really were when we kind of looked back and retrospect and looked at their entire body of work to to borrow a committee term.
• 10:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: you know, it's really that is the issue for the SEC they used to have elite programs.
• 10:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: They did not have elite programs this year.
• 10:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, that's been there.
• 10:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: There are big flaws if you will these last really the last two, two, three years.
• 10:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: They did not have that juggernaut that they can really hang their hat on and that did a lot for the brand reputation of the SEC and they have not had that.
• 11:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's nice to have depth, but the elite teams as we've seen with the big tin, as we've seen, you know, with with Ohio State winning the astral credit, with Indiana
• 11:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: it helps to have an elite team and they've not just had that, you know, I think George has been kind of the closest in terms of winning their two back-to-back SEC titles, but we've seen them go one and done in the playoffs.
• 11:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: So the SEC's not dead by any means, but you know what, they're they're teetering if you will, and you look a lot at the head coaching lineup.
• 11:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that has been a big issue for, you know, the conference.
• 11:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: They've had a lot of places have turned over.
• 11:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's kind of added and subtracted in a lot of ways.
• 11:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, you see, you know what, they're taking their slings and arrows, but if anybody can kind of bounce back up from the mat, you'd probably expect a lot of these SEC programs to do just that.
• 11:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: Dead as in total world dominance, I think it's an accurate statement.
• 12:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: dead as in can't win a national championship this year remember Ole Miss is still in it next year the year's falling can't be in contention for that I think it's a huge overreaction
• 12:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if you just even think back at the playoff selection, even if you don't think Bama should have been in the field, there are still more SEC teams and there were big ten teams.
• 12:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: The quarterback situation I would respectfully disagree with you a little bit, Brian, on that.
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't think quarterback play was the real issue in the SEC.
• 12:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you go down the roster of quarterbacks in that league, there are some very, very good ones.
• 12:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: I big 10 in the SEC still control sort of the playoff format so to speak so the SEC still is a power broker and I think the SEC will adapt just like the big 10 adapted.
• 13:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: The SEC isn't just going to sit there.
• 13:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: and go, yeah, it's all yours.
• 13:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're good.
• 13:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: We had our run back in the 90s, 2000, 2010s.
• 13:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're good.
• 13:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: You guys go ahead.
• 13:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: They are going to do something.
• 13:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: They're going to be proactive and they will figure out a way to get back into this mix, but dead too strong the word over reaction.
• 13:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I agree that they're not dead clearly.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And for the reasons that were stated, mostly that they just simply care too much and couldn't stand to be dead, right?
• 13:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: That I mean, those schools will do whatever it takes to reassert themselves.
• 13:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: It matters too much.
• 13:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: It does mean more frankly, it was a good tagline for their slogan and it's been used against them lately, but it does mean more so the SEC will be back,
• 14:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, this is a little bit of an inflection point in a crisis point.
• 14:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see if Mississippi wins the title.
• 14:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's actually a massive flex for the league.
• 14:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because it's a mid tier to maybe even lower third program.
• 14:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Historically, and in terms of resources and that sort of thing, that all of a sudden could win a national championship.
• 14:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then you're saying, well, we can win with Georgia.
• 14:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: We can win with Alabama.
• 14:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: We can win with.
• 14:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, why not win with Mississippi to say?
• 14:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, if they do it, then we're having a completely different conversation.
• 14:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think they'll do it, so if they don't, then, sorry, this is a storyline that's going to continue in perpetuate.
• 14:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, the part of this here that I added in there, because it has no longer
• 14:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: that is not an accurate statement because a lot of people were paying players for a long time.
• 15:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe the SEC was doing it more than other places.
• 15:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe the old if you ain't cheating you ain't trying slogan was accurate.
• 15:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: But does the name Neven Shapiro ring a bell at Miami free
• 15:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Come on now.
• 15:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's let's be a little bit realistic there.
• 15:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's where I think there's just been this generalization, and it is something that I've seen from a lot of Anonymous sources chirping up with that and I think that I'd like to see people put names within them.
• 15:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'd look at their school and say, yeah, you know what?
• 15:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: There might have been something there too.
• 15:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, has it made a difference to a degree?
• 15:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's probably been a bit of a leveling factor, but I don't think the SEC had completely cornered the market on paying players through the back door as Ed Orgeron.
• 15:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: But in the panel, I mean, for...
• 16:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't have the numbers right in front of me, but maybe you can recall them by memory, but whatever the numbers were, the SEC had won X number of national championships over the past X number of years.
• 16:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: It was a lot.
• 16:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: They wore the dominant force college football by every conceivable metric.
• 16:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: And there was a certain arrogance in that beginning with it just means more.
• 16:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so I think other conferences, other coaches are taking great glee in how this is evolved in the last few years.
• 16:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: And everybody's getting their punches in.
• 16:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that's fine.
• 16:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's how it goes.
• 16:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I do think there's a little bit of, all right, they're down a little bit.
• 16:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're going to we're going to celebrate that.
• 16:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: Just as they celebrated there are many victories in championships.
• 16:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sure, 13 out of 19.
• 16:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think seven and a row at one point three different schools and three different years 1920 and 21, you know, that yes, there's been a lot for them to celebrate and they have and you're right that guess what when you are when you carry yourself with that level of arrogance people like to see you stumble and will point that out to you.
• 17:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Our next statement over reaction or accurate assertion, the big tenor rules the sport.
• 17:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that is, I hate to go middle ground on these, because that's not good podcasting, but I'm kind of going middle ground, you know?
• 17:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I, it's, we'll see again, now we'll see if the winner of Oregon in Vienna wins the national championship, which I do think has a very good chance of happening, and they've won three different titles with three different schools.
• 17:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Then yeah, the Big Ten rules the sport, accurate assertion.
• 17:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: If it doesn't happen, again, we'll reframe and recalibrate and have another discussion.
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: But the one thing that we have seen from the Big Ten's issues,
• 18:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: historically, I guess, is that they lack the real depth in terms of outstanding teams.
• 18:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: The fact that the Oregon is playing Indiana to represent the conference is an indication that there's more depth.
• 18:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: It still is not
• 18:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: incredibly deep.
• 18:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think.
• 18:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: But there is more depth there that if either one of those schools goes on and wins and follows Michigan and Ohio State for the championship and Penn State making a semi-final last year, then now you're talking okay, geez, we got five, six teams and frankly, Iowa showed up big in its bowl game, Illinois showed up big in
• 18:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: a famous SEC trick is the bowl game the record in the bowl games matters until we say it doesn't matter because our players didn't play or we're only interested in the playoff.
• 18:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: It always counts man.
• 18:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're taking your uniforms out there playing, we're keeping score.
• 19:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a scoreboard then it's going to bring them to come up and the big tens had a very good bowl season and the SEC has not.
• 19:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, as that for I'm afraid a largely
• 19:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: half-baked answer.
• 19:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Somebody give me a better one.
• 19:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, the victim rules is for it because they control the format of the playoff.
• 19:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, they are the two-time reigning national champion.
• 19:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, there's a lot of things run through Tony Petiti's office right now.
• 19:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think it's a very accurate statement at this point.
• 19:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Much the sugar in to a lot of people out there.
• 19:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, the talk at, in terms of the roster spending, you know, and you know, there's, there's a lot of big 10 teams that are spending, uh,
• 19:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, quite quite a bit of money.
• 19:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, you heard a lot about Ohio State's roster last year.
• 19:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: How much they spit.
• 19:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: You heard a lot about a Oregon, what they're doing in an aisle and and pat to your your depth.
• 19:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: A question I think that the big 10 is actually preparing itself well.
• 19:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: You just spend a lot of that media money on that depth.
• 19:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: You look at USC.
• 19:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: Number one recruiting class that we just won nine games this year, you know, maybe that's another program that can kind of live up to the actual national brand that the Trojan has built.
• 20:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Certainly Washington took a step forward this year under Jed Fish after taking that step back for the national title game a couple of years ago and turning over the roster, you know, I think you mentioned Illinois Iowa.
• 20:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know Michigan State just hiring Pat Fitzgerald you got you know changes at Michigan you know with Kyle winning him I think he can get that program back on track and that's that's a program that already just won You know nine games this year.
• 20:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think the depth there for the big ten is it's coming along quite nicely and I think it is a reflection of that to have Oregon and Indiana
• 20:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, one went away from the national title for the both of them.
• 20:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, the big ten depth here is coming into play, but this is also a conference that I think is turning into a bit of really embodying what they've wanted to become, which is good in a lot of sports.
• 20:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think you look at basketball, you know, I think there's a lot of basketball programs there that are having some good years in the big ten.
• 20:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe they get off this night there.
• 20:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know we're not talking about basketball on this podcast quite a bit, just yet.
• 21:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: But this is a lot of programs out there.
• 21:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, want to do well in a lot of sports.
• 21:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: And now they've kind of got the backing to ride the football hotels.
• 21:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: So they're investing in that and all those other sports.
• 21:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think the big 10 is starting to throw their weight around.
• 21:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think the only thing that it can disrupt that is it's just the not having the
• 21:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: in the big tin itself.
• 21:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's been the problem that I think we've seen the last couple of months certainly in the last couple of years that the SEC does not have a problem with.
• 21:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: They all seem to get their ducks in the row when it does come time to sit down there and actually vote on any of these topics or any of these issues.
• 21:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: That has not been the case in the big tin.
• 21:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: So that's the only thing that maybe prevents the big tin from truly ruling the sport is if they were all moving in one direction.
• 21:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: We saw that with the private equity deal.
• 21:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, there's there's some fractions in that conference and that's probably the only thing that's kind of holding it back from truly throwing it's way around and really in the sport.
• 22:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think this is an overreaction.
• 22:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: Do they rule the sport?
• 22:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think they are equals.
• 22:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think you can easily say the big ten and the SEC are equals just as they are equals and now sort of.
• 22:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: ruling the playoff format.
• 22:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: They are the two conferences that decide that if you look at attendance, I think the SEC still has the upper hand slightly.
• 22:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: If nothing else are comparable, if you look at
• 22:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: TV ratings.
• 22:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, the big 10 had the top two games this season, but after that, the SEC clobbered the big 10 when it came to TV ratings.
• 22:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you look at recruiting, Brian mentioned it, USC's ranked number one, Oregon's ranked number two, Ohio State's ranked number nine, but then the rest of the top 10 or top nine are a lot of SEC teams.
• 23:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I just, I'm just not ready to say that the Big Ten is, is sitting on the throne and everybody else is bending the knee.
• 23:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think the SEC is still there with them, but you can't deny what the Big Ten is accomplished and what it still might accomplish here in the weeks to come.
• 23:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so that is, that's huge.
• 23:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: But am I ready to say that the Big Ten rules world?
• 23:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, one other point I wanna bring up here in terms of what might matter for the long term.
• 23:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And other people have done the research on this because I'm too lazy and I have not.
• 23:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: But there's been, you know, the number of like millionaire alums each school is higher in the big 10 than it is in the SBC.
• 23:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's more rich alums.
• 23:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: That doesn't mean they all care about football.
• 23:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: but it does give you more potential avenues to break in more money because Lord knows they don't have enough with that population center and track of there's in the big ten or yeah in companies you know look look at some of the big companies that are in the big ten footprint you know and then they're in and as much as we like to a to derived Kevin Warren's thinking in terms of expansion and they are in now three biggest media markets in the country and and I think that does matter you know when it comes to some of the dollars and cents that they can
• 24:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, good points.
• 24:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Good points, gentlemen.
• 24:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right.
• 24:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Next, Jean-Wilderhausen.
• 24:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Indiana is the clear national championship favorite overreaction or accurate assertion.
• 24:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think it's accurate.
• 24:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I've had to, I've had to reprogram my brain, like a lot of other college football people these last two years.
• 24:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you close your eyes and cross out the letters I.U.
• 25:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: and just look at what they've accomplished, it's absolutely accurate.
• 25:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you decide, if you rank the four teams, left in this championship race,
• 25:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Indiana has to be the favorite.
• 25:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: I believe Bill Conley, who's, you know, a huge analytics guy over at ESPN, he has them as 40%, 40% in change as the favorites.
• 25:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: I can't disagree with any of that.
• 25:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: What it has accomplished, what you go by any test, eye test, metric test,
• 25:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: they have to be the favorites, but it's still taking my brain a little time to just accept that.
• 25:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I know that's counterintuitive.
• 25:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you just watch them play, if you look at the numbers, it's no brainer.
• 25:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: They're absolutely the favorite, but it's taken a while.
• 25:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: Not just for me, I'm sure for a lot of people.
• 26:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: I know you Pat have totally been on this
• 26:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: didn't see or just wouldn't accept or acknowledge.
• 26:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so will they win it?
• 26:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know.
• 26:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: Anything's possible.
• 26:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, Miami was a nine and a half point underdog.
• 26:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: They won.
• 26:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: Things happen in these games, but are they the favorite right now?
• 26:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
• 26:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, the number one scene, the Heisman trophy winner, the number three scoring offense in the country, the number two scoring defense in the country, you know, a great team.
• 26:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: They have a great coach.
• 26:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: They have great players and they're playing with this confidence that, honestly, even with all the other teams in there, I don't think they can match.
• 26:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: you know, and I think that they've gone through a difficult road to get here, you know, they did, they did B.
• 26:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: Do Ohio State.
• 26:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: They beat Alabama back to back.
• 26:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that gives them even more confidence going into this matchup with the team that they just, they have beaten before in Oregon on the road in Austin, which we all know is a very difficult place to play.
• 27:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now it's going to be in a neutral site at a place that a lot of Indiana fans are going to be able to, you know,
• 27:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: drive to or fly too pretty easily there in Atlanta.
• 27:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think it's it is clearly the favorite.
• 27:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: And probably is the whoever went that game in the Peach Bowl is going to be the clear favorite.
• 27:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: But, you know, we have seen crazier things happen.
• 27:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it is it is, you know, jean, you're your side early on.
• 27:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that is capture a lot of, you know, just the conflict that, you know, people are feeling right now about the Hoosiers, you know, like,
• 27:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't mean it in a bad way, you know, nobody is either, you know, I think it's just like you, you know, decades and decades of conditioning, that this is a basketball school, you know, and to have them do this.
• 27:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean that it, you know, Pat has written it before.
• 27:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, this is truly one of the greatest coaching turner rounds, you know, in the history of the sport.
• 27:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is one of the greatest runs in the history of the sport when you look at just this two-year stretch that Kurt Signetti has been able to assemble.
• 27:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: So,
• 27:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Not only are they the clear favorite, but I think they're one of the best stories that we've ever seen in the last three four decades of the college sports.
• 28:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'm with you guys.
• 28:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is not an over action.
• 28:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's an accurate statement.
• 28:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: It does not mean they will win the championship, but they are the clear favorite and I was in Pasadena.
• 28:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: talking to people and you know it's I've just been preoccupied with the Indian historian general and the question is the just keep circulating what's the secret sauce?
• 28:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: How are they doing it?
• 28:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: The answer or there's probably multiple answers but one key part of this and it does underscore exactly how good Kurt
• 28:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: is so buttoned up, it's ridiculous.
• 28:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have lost one fumble this year.
• 28:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: In the first game of the season, in the first half, they've had 900 plus offensive snaps since then without a fumble.
• 29:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: They've dropped the ball a couple times, but they've recovered it every time, so they've lost one fumble.
• 29:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have eight turnovers.
• 29:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: They are second in the nation in penalty yardage at just 27 yards per game.
• 29:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have almost no 15 yard penalties.
• 29:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: The penalties they get are fall start.
• 29:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, occasional holding, they don't commit past interference.
• 29:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have six dropped passes this season.
• 29:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'd went to IU and I'm like, you guys never dropped the past.
• 29:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: You have stats on that.
• 29:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're like, yeah, we've dropped six.
• 29:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, what?
• 29:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: We've seen teams drop six in a game.
• 29:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: They dropped six all year.
• 29:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: They don't screw up on special teams.
• 29:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're just so airtight.
• 29:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's unbelievable and that always that goes back to coaching that's Signetti, and that's his staff and that is just coaching in complete attention to detail that I've just Find incredibly impressive from Indiana.
• 29:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: So absolutely the favorite at this point.
• 29:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll be surprised if they don't win it But we've seen plenty of surprises so far.
• 30:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, Brian.
• 30:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: is trying to get back some of its coaches that are on loan to Ole Miss who used to coach at Ole Miss.
• 30:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: There were many of them that are doing double duty flying back and forth, Oxford, Baton Rouge.
• 30:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: They, you know, had a big portal visit weekend and they wanted their coaches there for that.
• 30:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Is trying to
• 30:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: get them to retire from Ole Miss, a snake move over reaction or act.
• 30:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: I will go first.
• 30:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Over reaction on this one because let's face it.
• 30:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: They are LSU coaches too.
• 30:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: And you know, the portal is open.
• 30:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: They have to build a roster for next year.
• 30:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: That is a factor in all of this.
• 30:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's, it's just bad optics, certainly.
• 30:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, and I think that, you know, Greg Sanky could have stepped in.
• 30:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: If the 280s could have actually come to a nice little resolution and saying, here's the plan, here's the gameplay and putting aside both of their head coaches.
• 31:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: to get involved, where I think the feelings are a little bit heated on all sides.
• 31:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, this is just a quirk, and I think it is also a reflection that Lane Kiffen didn't think that Ella or Ole Miss was going to go this far.
• 31:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: He thought he was going to get his assistants after this game.
• 31:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to make that nice drive up to Baton Rouge from New Orleans after the sugar bowl, but this is a reflection of really just this incredible Ole Miss run.
• 31:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, credit to Pete Golding.
• 31:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the players are bought in.
• 31:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: They are excited about this run.
• 31:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like there's there's a confidence in that locker room that I don't know if it was there.
• 31:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Kind of before they won that too late game, you know, certainly before, you know, what what they did in Georgia in the second half.
• 31:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like this is an impressive job by that coaching staff and, you know, let's face it.
• 31:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: They are, you know, burden some some fuel in terms of those private planes going back and forth between Baton Rouge and Oxford or
• 31:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: doing that drive.
• 31:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it is a testament to a lot of the coaches that they are even able to to manage this at some point, but at the end of the day, I understand where Lane Kiffin's coming from.
• 32:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: He wants his assistance there when those guys are coming in for portal visits, when high schoolers are coming in.
• 32:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, there's been a second signing period as well.
• 32:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, I get it from that standpoint.
• 32:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just the optics.
• 32:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, look terrible.
• 32:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that is just kind of a reflection of the most awkward situation.
• 32:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now we could have ever expected not only in this playoff, but I think anybody could have given that, you know, you leave your head coach and he any leaves for a rival, you know, on the even the playoff.
• 32:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's just a reflection of that.
• 32:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: Brian, Brian puts it perfectly, I think, and frames it really well.
• 32:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: If Indiana Pat is one of the great stories we've ever seen, then what we're seeing with Ole Miss and LSU and this whole assisting coaching thing is one of the most bizarre stories.
• 32:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: we've ever seen.
• 32:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: Lane Kiffin by the way, if Ole Miss wins, gets another $750,000 in bonus money from LSU as part of his deal for leaving Ole Miss.
• 33:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that's bizarre.
• 33:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: So the fact that Lane Kiffin talk about,
• 33:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: conflicted feelings in a way, maybe he doesn't want Ole Miss to win, but another way you get 750,000 more on top of the other money he's gotten bonuses from Ole Miss's wins.
• 33:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it's a bizarre thing.
• 33:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know what the situation really is.
• 33:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: The reporting that I've read is just fuzzy enough that I'm not sure who's stopping whom and who feels this way.
• 33:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: I do know this.
• 33:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: If Charlie Weiss ends up coaching in this next game and it appears he's going to do.
• 33:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's the key guy.
• 33:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's the guy that really matters.
• 33:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: So if LSU is still letting Charlie Wise coach Ole Miss, that's a huge deal.
• 33:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: Secondly, and I don't want to make to, I don't want to put too fine of a point on it, but has Pete Golding ever said,
• 34:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you to LSU for sort of loaning these assistance.
• 34:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Told Miss, I'm not saying he has to do it, but maybe be kind of a nice gesture.
• 34:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: Just as it might be a nice gesture from Lane Kiffin to finally just come out and say, hey, they're good.
• 34:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: We'll figure it out.
• 34:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm rooting for my my former Ole Miss players.
• 34:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean,
• 34:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: somebody take the high ground here.
• 34:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm not sure we've really seen that in a way.
• 34:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm going to say over reaction also, but it is.
• 34:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: It is just a strange story and I don't know how it's going to figure out.
• 34:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm not sure anybody knows who's going to show up for this next game as far as assisting coaches are concerned.
• 34:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, we'll go see who's on the plane who gets off the team plane when they look in the desert.
• 34:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, you know, you can't go check it out.
• 34:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what, I don't think anybody at Ole Miss is going to say thank you to Ellis shoe.
• 34:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that week, we can put that, you know what I mean, I do, I do, but there's definitely some level.
• 35:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it just was awkward, you know, they're at the sugarble after the game.
• 35:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Frank Wilson, who was Ellis shoe's intern head coach, who's going to Ole Miss to join that staff.
• 35:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, he's wearing an Ole Miss.
• 35:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: sweatshirt, you know, he's on the field celebrating with players that he's not coached, you know, and, you know, the guy is taking his job in LSU is obviously going the other way from Oxford.
• 35:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: So it is just an awkward situation, but it's also one that Oregon is dealing with.
• 35:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you know, they have two both of their coordinators are.
• 35:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: recruiting other players while they're in Eugene, they're trying to assemble staff, so it's it's not limited necessarily to old miss LSU, it's just the awkwardness of the situation given the playoff and given the timing to given the close proximity between the quarter final round and this is my final round.
• 35:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think it's helped anybody with the calendar.
• 35:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's a absurd mess that is only it's an only in college football, really only in the SEC kind of situation it seems like to me, but you know my my very strong thinking is you finished the job and so if you've told them, go help them in the playoffs, you coach the best of the playoffs over.
• 36:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: to your point, Jean, the record reporting is fuzzy enough.
• 36:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not clear, there's not a lot of clarity what is driving the decisions, who is driving it, who's coming, who's going, who's staying, you know, this is all kind of been pretty vaguely handled, but my feeling definitely is like if the premise all along was coach Ole Miss in the playoffs, then Ole Miss is still playing in the playoffs, keep coacher.
• 36:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Last thing here and we'll hit it quickly and then we'll talk a little more about the the actual semi final games.
• 36:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Alabama did not have the biggest flop of the quarterfinals over action or accurate assertion.
• 37:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: I say it's an accurate assertion because, first of all, I expected Alabama to lose and perhaps lose badly to the point Jean is making from a historic, from people who have watched college football for 50 years or 60 or 70 or 80, it is still hard to get your mind around Indiana completely dominating them, but Alabama wasn't very good this year.
• 37:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: So.
• 37:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was not shocked to see him get trucked, so I'm getting trucked in the SEC championship game too.
• 37:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: To me, the one that shocked me was Ohio State.
• 37:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: And just not showing up ready, whether that's layoff or whether that was being kind of overwhelmed by the athleticism and the power of Miami's defensive front.
• 37:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, but Julian's saying looked over well in the offensive line, looked over well and that was a team that really thought they were going to win the national championship again.
• 37:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that would be my vote for the biggest flop of the quarter finals.
• 37:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: What do you guys think?
• 37:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I think I took Miami in that game.
• 37:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure I thought they were going to win the game but I certainly like the nine and a half points.
• 38:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: cushion that I got.
• 38:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't, I mean, you make a fair point, Pat.
• 38:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm not going to disagree with anything you say there.
• 38:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't think Alabama was going to get boat race like that.
• 38:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: I thought Indiana would win.
• 38:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Again, I thought they'd keep it within the point spread.
• 38:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was shocked at how
• 38:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: absolutely awful Texas text offense was.
• 38:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I hate to pick on specific players, but the quarterback, quarterback play for Texas Tech was abysmal.
• 38:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, there's really no other way to describe it.
• 38:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think if you
• 38:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: If you asked him yourself, he would say, yeah, I might have had my worst game ever in the biggest stage ever for me.
• 38:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so just simple throws, simple play, it just wasn't there.
• 39:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I would just shock that how bad Texas Tech's offense looked.
• 39:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: And we knew going in the Texas Tech maybe some of that their scoring power was a little bit of a illusion.
• 39:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it was exposed and it was exposed in ways that I'm not sure even Texas Tech thought it could get exposed.
• 39:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: So to me, I might argue Texas Tech's offense is really being the biggest flop.
• 39:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I certainly think on the field, you know, Texas Tech offense.
• 39:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, especially given the way that their defense played in that one, I mean, everybody was just kind of open-eyed at how good that defense wasn't, you know, those that had watched Texas Tech throughout the year, that they knew that.
• 39:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: But to have the complete no show from the offense in a game that was, let's face it.
• 39:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: It was quite winnable for them if they had just been able to do anything on offense to same thing.
• 39:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, the fact that it was even that kind of score line, given those, you know, four, four plus turnovers.
• 39:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that, that speaks to how good that defense was and how well they were playing there in Miami, and that's a, you know, truthfully, the reason why I thought they had a good shot in that game, because they could have made Dante more, you know, and, and force organs offense to turn the ball over it and make that a close game.
• 40:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: But to me, the biggest flop was just Ryan Day.
• 40:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: He took over play calling before that game and to have the offense for a second straight game, if you can count the big tin title game to no show.
• 40:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: And they'd openly talked about in that locker room, going 16 and 0.
• 40:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: We have the talent.
• 40:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: We have the path to be one of those historic teams, to only go back to back, but be the first team in modern college football to go 16 and 0 and to completely fall on your face like that.
• 40:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: That prompts a little bit larger questions about what's going on there in Columbus, replacing one of your best recruiters, you're changing over things in offense, you're losing some talent certainly, but you do have a lot coming back and to have a game like that out of Jeremiah Smith.
• 40:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you told somebody that he would have posted 150 plus yards receiving and scored a touchdown, you would have said, all right, they would have easily covered that nine and a half that they were given to Miami.
• 41:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so to play like that with a quarterback and a high school finals, and they just didn't make adjustments.
• 41:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: They made some at halftime, but it just took too long.
• 41:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: They were almost out of the game at that point.
• 41:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then you throw in that pick six.
• 41:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: It was just a bad day for the Ohio State offense.
• 41:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that was probably the on the grander scale beyond just the game themselves.
• 41:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: That was probably the biggest eye opener and the biggest flop of the postseason so far.
• 41:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: Pat, what do you remember when you texted me about Ohio State after that loss?
• 41:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think something to the effect that and I hope you don't mind me sharing this.
• 41:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: Ohio State Ryan Day won the National Championship last year.
• 41:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah, yeah, because, yes, this would have big, you know, how they are in Columbus.
• 42:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: He, he needs that chip in the back pocket because his record against Michigan isn't good.
• 42:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then you finally beat Michigan and you follow it up by losing the Big Ten Championship game as a favorite, and then absolutely bombing as a favorite there.
• 42:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: As usual, nobody's ever that happy that long in Columbus.
• 42:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, let's get to the two semi-final games.
• 42:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Should both be really interesting.
• 42:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: We've talked about many of the storylines and just the interesting factors here.
• 42:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: But Brian, you're going to be in the desert for Ole Miss versus Miami.
• 42:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Both teams are playing with house money at this point.
• 42:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: But which one splashes matter you know you'll look at what they've done kind of the second half of the season really since that That SMU over time was and and there's certainly some controversy surrounding even getting over time there for Miami and they've been blowing teams out You know really they they played the one close game against Texas A&M and I think talking with them kind of in the lead up to the cotton wool that they were all citing the weather as maybe a bigger factor than we even kind of expected
• 43:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: going into that they missed a couple of field goals.
• 43:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: That probably was not necessarily a one score game, but they've really taken everybody in and ran with it.
• 43:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: And even not even getting the kind of caliber play you would think out of Carson back at quarterback and they're still dominating teams.
• 43:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's a testament to really the entire roster that Mario Christopher has built.
• 43:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, now there's a belief in that, you know, they're getting contributions from all over.
• 43:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're stepping up on both sides of the ball.
• 43:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is an impressive, impressive group for Miami, and they're going into a team like you said that is playing with house money.
• 43:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think for it at Chambers, if you had to give me one drive at this point in the playoff.
• 43:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: no offense to the highest been trophy winner.
• 43:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: I might turn to Trinidad Chambers.
• 43:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean the way he really just toyed with Georgia's defense in that second half in particular was really impressive.
• 43:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's such a confident young guy and you know that that spreads throughout the entire offense really the entire team their old miss, you know, they're going to come into that festival and they're going to be excited about this match.
• 44:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: They know what what it means.
• 44:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: They understand all the outside noise, but they're playing pretty confident.
• 44:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think it should be a really, really fun game against two offenses that should be able to put up in enough points to make this a pretty entertaining one.
• 44:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: Remember when during the selection process and ladder stages, some folks were arguing.
• 44:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Ole Miss should be dropped in the rankings because lane kiffin is not going to coach them.
• 44:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: And now what are the headlines we're reading is Ole Miss better without lane kiffin.
• 44:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, just it's so absurd how these things can change.
• 44:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: Ole Miss is a really good team with or without Lane Kiffin.
• 44:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: And one of the reasons it's a really good team with or without him is the guy that Brian just mentioned, Trinidad Chambers.
• 44:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Miami, there is so much like about them.
• 44:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you look at there.
• 45:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: journey to this place right now, really impressive.
• 45:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Win at ANM, Beetle Highest Day, underdogs, but Ole Miss has been an underdog too and has figured out a way to do it.
• 45:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I would argue in more bizarre circumstances and then Miami has.
• 45:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: What Miami did against Ohio State was incredible, but I would also argue that Julian Sand isn't Trinidad, Chandliss, and Chandliss gives Ole Miss something that Ohio State didn't have a really mobile quarterback and a dynamic quarterback, and that's nothing against Sand.
• 45:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's everything about Chandliss.
• 45:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now then, Ken, Ken Ole Miss is
• 45:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: Offensive line hold up.
• 45:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know is Lacy going to be close to 100% or functional in this game.
• 45:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're not entirely sure.
• 45:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I like what Ole Miss is bringing to this game.
• 45:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I like this idea of nobody believes in us.
• 46:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: Nobody thinks we can do this.
• 46:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now my amuse the favorite.
• 46:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to take Ole Miss and take those points.
• 46:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: Will I be stunned if my amuse winds?
• 46:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: No.
• 46:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: But if it's a close game, I just saw what Ole Miss's kicker did in that game, and if it's close, I'm betting on that guy, so I'll take Ole Miss in the points in this one.
• 46:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, Gina, Gina's going ahead and making picks here.
• 46:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's all right.
• 46:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just tired of picking the game.
• 46:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry.
• 46:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I, you know, I.
• 46:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: That the Ole Miss story is incredible.
• 46:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And Trinidad Chambleus is a wizard.
• 46:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he's so fun to watch.
• 46:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the place he's made.
• 46:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if you again, you factor in this guy was really indivision two last year.
• 46:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just astounding, because he is so good and just can conjure up stuff.
• 46:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's phenomenal.
• 46:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: I have really enjoyed watching him play, especially the season gone along.
• 47:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: But to me, the in terms of who's playing better, it's the team with the monster defensive line.
• 47:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: If there's one thing that can just wreck a team that you really can't do anything about, unless you're quarterback super human, which the chambles may be, but it's the defensive line.
• 47:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: you got issues and we'll see whether Ole Miss can hang handle a defensive line that has just been monsters during the playoff here.
• 47:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm rolling with the the hurricanes there's the team playing better at this point.
• 47:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Peach ball Oregon Indiana, I'm going to be there covering that one.
• 47:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Playoff rematch is interesting.
• 47:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: A regular student games.
• 47:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: I believe they're four and oh.
• 47:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you go back to prior, you know, you go back to Georgia, Alabama in 2021 and go forward from there.
• 47:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: if they if you won the first meeting you lost the second one the question is Indiana and trouble I don't think so but that statistic certainly resonates and Dan Landings no dummy Oregon I'm sure because going back and just scrubbed every millisecond of that film to figure out what they could do better I was at the game it was a good close game Indiana won by 10 Indiana was better in the second half and certainly better in the fourth quarter
• 48:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I believe shut out, they certainly kept Oregon out of the end zone in the second half.
• 48:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: The Indiana defense continues to be underrated.
• 48:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think they're in trouble, but if I'm Indiana, if I, you know, Kurt Sigmetti, who is the type of guy to stress about everything.
• 48:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: He is stressed about what are they going to do differently?
• 48:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: What's Oregon going to do differently and do better this time?
• 48:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, and what personnel is going to be different, you know, I think that's the thing for me with Oregon that in this game in particular, you mean you look, some of their transfer portal defections, you know, that's going to really chip at the way I think on their defensive depth, you know, if it's guys get hurt, you know, especially in this, you know, first or second half that that could impact, I think Oregon in a big way they've lost, I think they're down in terms of the secondary depth.
• 49:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: in terms of the defensive line, they wrote it a lot of guys against Texas Tech.
• 49:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know that was just to kind of keep them fresh, but I did notice upfront that they were rotating a little bit more than I think you would expect if that's to prepare them for a game like this to get them kind of ready for that game action against Indiana.
• 49:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that was the case for
• 49:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Dan landing and crew and to me, you know, let's see what what the statuses of Evan Stewart and some of those white receivers at Oregon are they ready to go for this game I think they have kind of been saving them.
• 49:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's it's been always a almost a daily thing in terms of checking that availability report to whether they're probable out whatever it might be
• 49:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: for this game.
• 49:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: So the personnel could end up changing from that first meeting to the second for Oregon.
• 49:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that to me is kind of the question mark in this game.
• 49:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think Oregon has enough.
• 49:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: If Dante more plays like he is capable of.
• 49:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Not what we saw against Texas Tech, but in some of those bit time wins against USC against Washington, if he plays like the first round quarterback that a lot of NFL scouts think he is, I think this could definitely be a game to where that
• 50:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: to me it's going to be a bigger question is, what exactly is the difference between that first meeting and the second it pat not only did it in the end of win by ten, but you know Fernando Mendoza threw a pick six in that one.
• 50:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: So it's not like Oregon's offense was really able to kind of get over the hump against this Indiana defense that like I mentioned was number two and scoring defense in the country right now.
• 50:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: it was tied 2020 in the fourth quarter.
• 50:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it was, if I read it correctly, you can double check it for me, but I believe it was 2020 in the fourth quarter.
• 50:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it was still a close game, Oregon, I mean, I, you pulled away.
• 50:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, and Brian, you're right.
• 50:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: He did, uh, mendoza dithral picks six, but, uh, Dante more had two interceptions.
• 50:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Can you do that against the team like Indiana and expect to win?
• 50:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: Probably not.
• 51:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um,
• 51:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: but you do bring up another key point, Brian.
• 51:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, there have been defections, but they're also getting some players that seems are trending the right way to come back, especially at the wide receiver position.
• 51:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: So if those guys keep on making progress, that's gonna be really helpful for Oregon.
• 51:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you also have the revenge factor and Pat you cited that number.
• 51:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: So does does that number mean anything I'm not sure for no is that is is that the number that's going to define it all I'm not sure but certainly food for thought and again I think another game that is going to be interesting and close on a lot of levels and Pat this time it will not make the pick until you tell me to
• 51:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care.
• 51:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: There we go.
• 51:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.
• 51:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're coachable.
• 51:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're coachable.
• 51:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Very good.
• 52:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Speaking of Indiana, we got to hit the what they've done in the portal.
• 52:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Whoa.
• 52:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Signetti, okay, so he's had two contract extensions.
• 52:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: He probably deserves two more.
• 52:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: But in his two seasons, when he got the first one last year, it was like in November.
• 52:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he was on, I think it was Fox.
• 52:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think it was maybe a big new kickoff that had him because it got announced that morning.
• 52:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they were doing the publicity rounds.
• 52:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: And he said, you know, why would I go anywhere else?
• 52:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Were the emerging superpower in college football?
• 52:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the, the crew of the was interviewing him,
• 52:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: And now, maybe we're not laughing anymore.
• 52:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Certainly the record is what it is.
• 52:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: But here's what they've done in the portal just over the weekend for 2026.
• 52:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: They assigned seven players in one day, including top quarterback Josh Hoover from TCUs, the top yardage quarterback I believe for next year, still can't college football.
• 53:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Top wide receiver Nick Marsh from Michigan State
• 53:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: running back turbo Richard from Boston College head over 700 yards rushing this year and four defense of players from power conference teams, uh, genome is this a definitive sign that IU is a long term heavyweight.
• 53:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Sure.
• 53:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you know,
• 53:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: to find long-term, I mean, these days in college football does long-term mean three years, five years, but in context of where we are in college football right now,
• 53:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: It absolutely speaks to where I use as far as the trust level of players being willing.
• 53:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: They see the success.
• 53:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: They see Mendoza come from Cal, go to IU and win a Heisman trophy.
• 53:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: They see what that defense can do.
• 53:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: They see what those wide receivers have done, which is why assume the Michigan State players come in over, Marsh.
• 53:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: And just a power of dignity, really more than anything, is he has made all these players believe, believe in his model, you know, we are going to coach you up, we're going to pay you enough.
• 54:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: We've got a great infrastructure now, and we win, and we're not scared of anybody, and we're in the big ten.
• 54:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think those are a lot of factors that are driving these players toward IU.
• 54:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, long-term in the context of where we are in the world of college football today.
• 54:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
• 54:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: wondering and get back to our earlier point, you know, what is a heavyweight nowadays, you know, I mean, you kind of got to redefine things in this era of college football.
• 54:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you know, Texas tech has also gone on quite quite a run.
• 54:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: They got to print in the source B, you know, which we'll talk about later.
• 54:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: So like there's there's a lot of these programs that are using this playoff success.
• 54:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: and they're turning it in and saying here's proof of concept and here's also a bag of cash and that has been attracted to a lot of these guys in the portal and i think that that is why a lot of these teams have hoped certainly but also a kind of a reflection that is a new era I mean these guys are going out and choosing in the end which is not something you would have thought and even going back last year you know they had a great season
• 55:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it was not like they were getting guys, you know, Fernando Mendoza was not the best quarterback in the portal.
• 55:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you looked at a lot of the recruiting services, you know, they went out and got Pat Cougan from Notre Dame, right?
• 55:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was kind of surplus to requirements there, but they fit, signate his system.
• 55:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's the key with with this run being sustained there in Bloomington.
• 55:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: is you know curtsick that he has he's got roster control you know he's he's one of those said coaches you know if they were in a fell he's got control over the fifty four right he he understands what fits his system he finds those guys and and he goes out and lands them I mean that that to me was not only the most impressive part about landing some of these guys
• 55:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Man, as soon as that portal went open, boom, boom, boom, they're committing to Indiana.
• 55:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like they understood what was out there, they understood who were there guys were gonna be.
• 55:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: They locked them up pretty quickly.
• 56:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: And this was an impressive roster overhauling.
• 56:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: And yet into that, this is why we were going back to our preseason predictions, and you have an IU at number four.
• 56:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: All right, this is gonna lend into some credits next year.
• 56:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: All right, a lot of Indiana's not gonna, they're gonna appear on just about everybody's, you know, preseason top 25, you know,
• 56:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to be up there in the top five because of a lot of these guys.
• 56:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think if you're talking about sustaining this and being a long curve heavyweight, that's probably the biggest sign of respect is now we're respecting Indiana.
• 56:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: The players are there, the coaches there, now we're finally respected the program overall, moving forward.
• 56:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's probably the biggest thing for a lot of folks there in Bloomington that say, hey, we can keep this going.
• 56:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 56:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's a huge statement that to be able to do that while you're trying to chase the first national championship, you've ever come close to was an impressive sign of organization and knowing what you want and what you need.
• 56:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, they have a lot of playing time to sell because they do have a lot of guys that are leaving.
• 57:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: But if you're Josh, whoever you're looking to say, yeah, I got one, the Heisman, he's going to be a first round pick.
• 57:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're Nick
• 57:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: They got two guys that are probably going to get drafted at receiver and maybe drafted highly and Elijah Sarat and Omar Cooper Why wouldn't you want to go play there my only small concern and I don't think this is like a legitimate worry but Is Indiana has done what it is done with a bunch of guys that were over at Chevers and were you know just massive workers and character guys and locker room guys That's not to say these guys aren't
• 57:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: But it's going to be different because you're bringing in a established power conference standouts and we'll see if they're going to mesh as well as the guys from James Madison and the holdovers from bad Indiana, you know, and the guys from from the Mac and whatever did so that's that's that's my only small quibble there because we got a quibble was something really quick.
• 58:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'll throw two other things in there.
• 58:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Can you keep on doing this without, and I don't know what their recruiting was like, I should have looked at their rankings for whatever those are worth.
• 58:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: If we've learned anything, rankings don't mean anything a lot of times, but I don't know how Indiana is building its recruiting from the high school level, developing talent, and, too,
• 58:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Signetti's going to have to keep on turning over his roster every year and he's going to have to hit and this goes for a lot of coaches, not just IU and Signetti, but if you're turning over that amount of roster every year,
• 58:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: you got to get it right a lot of times.
• 58:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so he has to get it right, especially in those key positions.
• 58:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: The players you mentioned coming there are really good players.
• 58:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: Some of them, great players.
• 58:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: And obviously, have hit from a production standpoint, but he's gonna have to keep on doing that to be successful.
• 59:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's why I asked you what long-term really means these days.
• 59:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, long-term mean.
• 59:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, nothing.
• 59:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Basically.
• 59:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're not going to have time talk about this, because we've gone deep, which is I think is good.
• 59:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: But Brendan Sorsby also is leaving Cincinnati to go to Texas Tech, and that is kind of the same thing.
• 59:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Novel-re-school.
• 59:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: red raiders picking up a really high quality proven quarterback.
• 59:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's staying in the big 12 going from Cincinnati, Texas Tech, which I think is big for the league.
• 59:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: But that's another sign, like Texas Tech, they're all in and they're going to stay all in until they, you know, for it's a really note.
• 59:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Is that the number I saw?
• 59:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, who knows, man, I, I, I can not to believe any of the portal numbers.
• 59:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Who, I mean, it may be accurate, but, I mean, they're throwing some cash.
• 59:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some major bags around in, uh, in Lubbock.
• 1:00:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, we got to pick the games.
• 1:00:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, and then we got to get to some New Year's resolutions here.
• 1:00:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, an update of the standings, update of the standings, Brian Fisher's lead is down to a single game.
• 1:00:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're going one and three against the spread in the semis.
• 1:00:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm right there behind him.
• 1:00:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: He can hear my footsteps.
• 1:00:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Jean still trying to get back to five hundred forty two and forty five.
• 1:00:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm forty three and forty three.
• 1:00:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Brian is forty four and forty two.
• 1:00:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: The bear is not helping you enough at this.
• 1:00:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm proud of that.
• 1:00:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Do and two is fine.
• 1:00:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's fine.
• 1:00:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's fine.
• 1:00:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, fiesta ball, Ole Miss getting three and a half against Miami, Brian.
• 1:00:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: We know much like being chased by Barry.
• 1:00:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to be last, you know, that's the key in this contest.
• 1:00:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: So not being that one.
• 1:00:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I will go with Miami.
• 1:00:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think, you know, they are the superior team overall.
• 1:00:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: I hesitate though to pick against Trinidad Chambers, but if anything, that's shuddling, the lack of focus on the game on Ole Miss is part in terms of the preparation in this one.
• 1:01:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, that to me says maybe this is where that shows up and as you know, maybe the just the familiarity of playing against Georgia team they already played against earlier in the season they had the game plans already kind of set.
• 1:01:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: They could just as needed.
• 1:01:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, the preparation factor.
• 1:01:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think was as big a deal as it is going into this festival.
• 1:01:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: where Miami is totally all in and focused.
• 1:01:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: And keep in mind, they are also playing for the right to play for the national title on their home field, in their home city, you know, in their home practice facility, you know, that I think that means a lot to those hurricane players, especially given the ties, they have to South Florida.
• 1:01:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think they will come out prepared in this one.
• 1:01:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I could see it turning into a bit of a back and forth game as good as the defense line is for Miami, Trinity at Chamble's, is that good, but I think they end up covering that three and a half.
• 1:01:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: We know, we know jeans in.
• 1:01:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not saying it rebels.
• 1:01:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 1:01:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Times, ever.
• 1:02:00
  [UNKNOWN]: Yeah.
• 1:02:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: There you go.
• 1:02:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right.
• 1:02:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: OK.
• 1:02:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm taking the hurricanes here.
• 1:02:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's going to be a great game.
• 1:02:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: I am, like I said, I'm riding with the defensive line.
• 1:02:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that's a game-wrecking strength that they have.
• 1:02:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if you turn almost completely one-dimensional, and we're not sure about Lacy's health,
• 1:02:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I am very impressed with what Carson back did against Ohio State.
• 1:02:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Game managers are a bit of a pejorative these days, but he managed that game beautifully.
• 1:02:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Made the place he had to make winning he had to make them.
• 1:02:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think the defense can take care of the rest, so I'm rolling with the hurricane, sir.
• 1:02:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Peach Ball, Oregon, only getting four.
• 1:02:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now against Indiana.
• 1:02:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: That again was a 10 point game in Eugene.
• 1:02:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: You could probably drop that about in half or maybe down to six in the rematch situation here, but for us, I'll be happy to take four or give four within the end.
• 1:03:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think the Hoosiers have proven themselves time and time again, and I just don't think there's any way signetti allows any kind of waiver in focus and effort and preparedness.
• 1:03:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I think the Hoosiers win and cover.
• 1:03:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I will take Oregon.
• 1:03:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: and take those points.
• 1:03:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: I do think it'll be closer than you think, Pat.
• 1:03:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: And now, as I said with Bama, you can't go down 17 to 0 against IU, like they did against Oklahoma and expect to win.
• 1:03:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: And the same goes with Oregon, Dante Moore, you can't throw two interceptions and expect to be Indiana.
• 1:03:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: with everything he has, and I do think we saw a huge difference in the defensive intensity of Oregon versus JMU, and then their next game, and I think you'll see increased intensity on the defensive side.
• 1:04:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oregon is good enough, and I think matches up pretty well with Indiana.
• 1:04:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, it's I know it's for, but it feels like a coin flip game, you know, and just to the rematch element, the way Oregon is is playing the talent that they have on that roster, how how motivated I'm sure they can get Dan Lenny can get those boys, but yeah, give me give me the four points for Indiana.
• 1:04:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that leg is a top three scoring offense and defense the way they are playing the execution though.
• 1:04:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think that that's the thing that is you could trust anything in this playoff.
• 1:04:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's the Hoosiers execution.
• 1:04:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, not self-destructing.
• 1:04:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think it's, I think Oregon is almost good for a player to where they get the ball over.
• 1:05:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Or, you know, they commit a bad penalty.
• 1:05:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: That leads to a touchdown.
• 1:05:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's the one thing that does kind of hold me back from the ducks.
• 1:05:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Wouldn't surprise me at all to see them in Miami in a couple weeks.
• 1:05:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: But, you know, give me the Hoosiers just the way they are playing right now.
• 1:05:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think they can cover the floor.
• 1:05:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right, picks are in.
• 1:05:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see where they land right in the tech days.
• 1:05:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're game lead.
• 1:05:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're right.
• 1:05:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Interesting.
• 1:05:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Interesting.
• 1:05:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: Game, game theory strategy looks clear theory.
• 1:05:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, all right, let's get out of here on this note, uh, Jane, Jane, this was Jane suggestion.
• 1:05:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some New Year's resolutions.
• 1:05:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, and I resolved to listen to Jane for the first time in the 2026.
• 1:05:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we're going to do, um, lead us off.
• 1:05:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Do you know what?
• 1:05:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of your resolutions.
• 1:05:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm not engaging with anybody who says Alabama shouldn't been, shouldn't have been in the CFP.
• 1:06:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: If the Notre Dame athletic director says they were good enough to be in it, then I agree with them.
• 1:06:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Two, can someone, I'm not going to try to understand when we went from, they need three yards to a for first down to, they need three yards for the line to gain.
• 1:06:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: What, when did we start saying the line to game?
• 1:06:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't get it.
• 1:06:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to hear it anymore.
• 1:06:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm not, I'm not acknowledging it.
• 1:06:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm still a first down guy.
• 1:06:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: And third, I'm never reading another story that begins with the headline is Arch Manning College Football's first flop.
• 1:06:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: So those are my three new years of evolution.
• 1:06:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: Go at it.
• 1:06:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: that's tough to follow.
• 1:06:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, you know, I think the, you know, going back to our preseason predictions, I'm not going to trust returning starters ever again.
• 1:06:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: After I sing what Clemson did this year after sing what Penn State did this year like I'm over that you know, like I think we kind of overvalue that you looked at what Texas kind of came head coming back that was kind of another red flag you could have said, all right, maybe we maybe we should have leaned into that a little bit more in terms of not having them quite quite as highly rated and precedence that might be resolution number one for 2026 looking ahead to the actual season itself.
• 1:07:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to value that.
• 1:07:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: I am going to value coaches though, you know, I think that we've proven that the last couple of years.
• 1:07:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you have a good coach, you can make some, some, hey, not only getting to the playoff, but potentially winning some games as well.
• 1:07:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: So that might be those two.
• 1:07:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'll lean into coaching and not valuing the returning starters.
• 1:07:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Good ones.
• 1:07:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'm thinking along your lines because I'm my resolution.
• 1:07:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: I am never picking Penn State number one again and I'm never believing in James Franklin.
• 1:07:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, James Franken is a good coach, but I'm never picking his team number one.
• 1:07:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sorry, Virginia Tech.
• 1:07:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: But my mean, you actually win a national title now because I refuse to do it.
• 1:07:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: You could have 22 returning starters and the high-sman trophy winner at quarterback.
• 1:07:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not picking you.
• 1:07:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: So let's just start with that there.
• 1:08:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I do resolve to
• 1:08:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Not hex myself in game on Twitter by declaring that again is over somebody looks terrible, and then they turn around and play great.
• 1:08:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: I have a renowned track record of doing exactly that, so I'm going to try to hold my fire a little bit more there.
• 1:08:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I resolved to actually be a little bit nicer to you too.
• 1:08:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe I'll ease up on my critiques of you.
• 1:08:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: My scathing critiques that I've given you to behind the scenes actually not really.
• 1:08:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Anyway, uh, that's the show for this, uh, for this week, first one of the year in the books enjoy the semi-finals everybody and, uh, we will be back, uh, next week to talk about those and then look ahead at the final.
• 1:08:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: That talk be later.