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Hutton & Withrow: Tennessee HUMILIATES Alabama! SEC Chaos & 24-Team Playoff Debate | Hour 1 · Hutton & Withrow Show

0:00
Speaker 1: We are out of the gates on sport and state.
0:02
Speaker 1: Glad you're with us. Good morning to you. Happy Monday.
0:05
Speaker 1: He's Chad Withrow. I'm Jonathan.
0:07
Speaker 2: This is Hudson Withrow presented by Hard Rock Bet. We're
0:10
Speaker 2: back from Knoxville, back from a big weekend. What a
0:13
Speaker 2: weekend of college football. Craziness.
0:16
Speaker 1: Chad, it was awesome. Knoxville and the football Saturday. I'm
0:22
Speaker 1: going to stop acting like I'm surprised by anything in
0:25
Speaker 1: this season of college football. And we're going to get
0:28
Speaker 1: into all the outcomes on Saturday that were shocking. And
0:32
Speaker 1: I was still surprised. And I shouldn't be surprised anymore
0:34
Speaker 1: because we truly do not know what's going to happen
0:37
Speaker 1: week to week. It's cliche in the NFL about any
0:40
Speaker 1: given Sunday. But right now, especially in the SEC, it
0:44
Speaker 1: is truly a week to week story. It is a
0:47
Speaker 1: week to week narrative. Georgia is a great example of this.
0:50
Speaker 1: Alabama loses two straight games for the first time since
0:53
Speaker 1: 2007 in Nick Saban's first year on Saturday. And Hutton,
0:58
Speaker 1: what an incredible scene in Knoxville, Tennessee for the entire weekend.
1:03
Speaker 1: Vibes were low on Friday. You even said it on
1:06
Speaker 1: our Friday night, Dixieland Delight Friday night show. People were
1:09
Speaker 1: just like, ah, it's a fun weekend. It's great to
1:11
Speaker 1: have everybody here. It's great to have this spotlight. It's
1:15
Speaker 1: going to be a really good atmosphere. But Tennessee doesn't
1:17
Speaker 1: stand a chance with their offense and what we've seen
1:20
Speaker 1: from Alabama offensively. And what happens is Alabama comes in
1:24
Speaker 1: with arguably the best offense in the SEC. And statistically,
1:28
Speaker 1: that is what they've been up until that game against Georgia.
1:32
Speaker 1: And Tennessee physically manhandles Alabama start to finish in a
1:37
Speaker 1: way that I have never seen in my lifetime. That
1:41
Speaker 1: level of domination of the hitting battle was won by Tennessee.
1:45
Speaker 1: The line of scrimmage on both sides was won by Tennessee,
1:49
Speaker 1: and not just barely, in a decided fashion. What a
1:53
Speaker 1: dominating win for Tennessee. I was blown away by how
1:57
Speaker 1: the Vols played in that game and by how Alabama
1:59
Speaker 1: looked just physically weaker than the Vols from start to finish, Hud. Yeah,
2:04
Speaker 1: I thought, you know, on.
2:07
Speaker 2: Dixieland Delight Friday night, we pointed out, like, this is
2:10
Speaker 2: a Josh Heupel game where, against DeBoer, is he going
2:13
Speaker 2: to be conservative defensively? You know, what's the coaching battle
2:16
Speaker 2: going to be like? When is he going to unleash
2:19
Speaker 2: George McIntyre? Really, Chad, it was about a different coach.
2:24
Speaker 2: It was the strength and conditioning coach that Tennessee made
2:27
Speaker 2: it higher for.
2:28
Speaker 1: Right after the national championship game.
2:30
Speaker 2: And, you know, not to put everything in that basket,
2:33
Speaker 2: but this game could have been 40-plus points differential.
2:38
Speaker 1: It really could have. It should have been 21-0. Should
2:42
Speaker 1: have been 21-0.
2:42
Speaker 2: Instead, the Vols were up 9-0 after their first three possessions.
2:48
Speaker 2: And if you start there and you start to look
2:49
Speaker 2: at touchdowns instead of field goals, Chad, this thing is
2:52
Speaker 2: in the 40s, and Alabama's not even scoring in this matchup.
2:58
Speaker 2: It was total domination, especially in the second half. In
3:02
Speaker 2: the second half, Tennessee mauled them. They lined up, went
3:05
Speaker 2: on 15 play drives. They did what Tennessee hasn't done in, what,
3:11
Speaker 2: a Decades against Alabama, especially during that 15-year drought. You
3:16
Speaker 2: had a long drought after Fulmer dominated the series. And
3:21
Speaker 2: since then, we haven't seen it since now. It was
3:24
Speaker 2: a different team, and it goes back to what we
3:26
Speaker 2: discussed last week. In the NIL era, Tennessee closed the gap,
3:31
Speaker 2: and Alabama didn't jump all in whenever it first opened.
3:35
Speaker 1: They didn't have to. They had Nick Saban.
3:37
Speaker 2: But now you're starting to see the NIL era in
3:39
Speaker 2: the SEC, especially for those that accepted it, embraced it,
3:43
Speaker 2: and were opportunistic and had a plan from July of 2021.
3:49
Speaker 2: Whenever you were the leaders in that category, you lead
3:51
Speaker 2: on the field too. And Tennessee did that.
3:54
Speaker 1: Well, look, I thought Josh Heupel upon rewatch and Joey
3:58
Speaker 1: Halsley had a really good offensive plan. They had a
4:02
Speaker 1: drop on a touchdown on the first drive from Dasan Brim. Yes.
4:05
Speaker 1: You know, we were in an end zone watching it, Hutton,
4:07
Speaker 1: and it was kind of, was that way too high
4:09
Speaker 1: or was it dropped? Yeah, he should have caught it.
4:11
Speaker 1: He should have caught it. It was exactly where the
4:13
Speaker 1: ball needed to be, over the defender's head, towards the
4:16
Speaker 1: back of the end zone, which would have been a
4:17
Speaker 1: 15-yard touchdown pass for George McIntyre. But McIntyre, who we
4:22
Speaker 1: said Friday night and going into this game, you weren't
4:25
Speaker 1: expecting much. And all we kept saying was, well, you
4:27
Speaker 1: can't turn it over three times. You've got to give
4:30
Speaker 1: your defense a chance to win this game. Don't lose.
4:32
Speaker 1: And sort of drag it through the mud, right? goes
4:35
Speaker 1: 21 for 31. Uh, you know, he's got, uh, he
4:40
Speaker 1: had a really good game. You know, he had the
4:41
Speaker 1: one interception that wasn't his fault, uh, that was off
4:44
Speaker 1: the receiver's hands at one point that led to the
4:47
Speaker 1: only Alabama touchdown, but I mean, 197 yards. So right
4:52
Speaker 1: there below 200 Hutton, this was a game offensively that
4:56
Speaker 1: was decided by two Tennessee kids, George McIntyre, and the
5:00
Speaker 1: way he played, which good for him. He was not
5:02
Speaker 1: the starter coming into the season. And now he's done
5:05
Speaker 1: something that not a lot of people can say they've done,
5:07
Speaker 1: beat Alabama as a quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers. And
5:10
Speaker 1: he did it in, I mean, a fashion that I
5:14
Speaker 1: didn't even think that Tennessee's offense was capable of doing
5:17
Speaker 1: at times. And Deshaun Bishop. Yes. I mean, what more
5:21
Speaker 1: can you say about this guy? He touches the ball
5:24
Speaker 1: on 35 of Tennessee's 71 offensive plays. So half the
5:29
Speaker 1: times Tennessee snapped the football, he is carrying it or
5:32
Speaker 1: he's catching a pass out of the backfield. 32 carries,
5:35
Speaker 1: three receptions. Tennessee runs 71 plays. And when you get
5:39
Speaker 1: into the fourth quarter, it is Deshaun Bishop time. Closing
5:43
Speaker 1: time is Bishop time for that Tennessee offense. And that
5:46
Speaker 1: 15 play, nine minute and 32 second drive, that was
5:50
Speaker 1: big orange Viagra for a Tennessee fan base who desperately
5:54
Speaker 1: wanted to see That team went a big game in
5:56
Speaker 1: Neyland Stadium again, and that's exactly what happened with that drive.
6:01
Speaker 1: I mean, to do it the way they did it
6:02
Speaker 1: where you even had George McIntyre have to complete a
6:05
Speaker 1: couple of big throws on third down, but running it
6:08
Speaker 1: with Deshaun Bishop, I was super impressed with Tennessee's physicality, Hutton.
6:13
Speaker 1: Did not see that coming. And for Alabama, on the
6:16
Speaker 1: flip side of it, I mean, you could chalk it
6:18
Speaker 1: up to, hey, Keelan Russell just wasn't ready for that
6:20
Speaker 1: defense yesterday. and wasn't ready for that environment. He's a
6:23
Speaker 1: very good quarterback. He's going to put up huge numbers,
6:26
Speaker 1: I think, the rest of the way. I look at
6:28
Speaker 1: that more as a blip on the radar for that game.
6:31
Speaker 1: But now you've got all these questions about Kalen DeBoer
6:33
Speaker 1: and his physicality with his team again, and I think
6:36
Speaker 1: that's probably unfair given that this guy does still have
6:40
Speaker 1: a very good record at Alabama starting his tenure there,
6:43
Speaker 1: and I think Alabama will bounce back. But Hutton, that
6:45
Speaker 1: was a snake pit of an environment. Knoxville is never
6:49
Speaker 1: an easy place to go in, especially when it is
6:51
Speaker 1: amped up as it was on Saturday. But I just
6:54
Speaker 1: leave this game, Derek Owings, as you mentioned, and Jim Knowles.
6:58
Speaker 1: I mean, as close to perfect, you can't be perfect
7:02
Speaker 1: in football, but that's as close to perfect of a
7:04
Speaker 1: defensive game plan mixed with execution that I can ever
7:08
Speaker 1: remember seeing a Tennessee defense put forth when you think
7:11
Speaker 1: about how high quality of an offense they faced with Alabama.
7:15
Speaker 2: I mean, it was stacked five times in this game.
7:17
Speaker 2: Five sacks.
7:18
Speaker 1: They lead the nation by a lot. They got 30
7:20
Speaker 1: sacks now in the season. I mean, they lead the
7:24
Speaker 1: SEC in like seven different defensive statistical categories. It is
7:29
Speaker 1: a top five national defense. We can stop saying, boy,
7:32
Speaker 1: this defense is better than we thought. They're one of
7:34
Speaker 1: the best defenses in America, not just the SEC. And
7:37
Speaker 1: that's what Jim Knowles has done from the start of
7:39
Speaker 1: this season. And those guys are playing with a fire
7:42
Speaker 1: and a confidence. that they can shut anyone down that
7:45
Speaker 1: makes Tennessee super dangerous as a college football playoff contender now.
7:49
Speaker 2: This is also the NIL era. We get the transfers
7:52
Speaker 2: from Penn State that come in and know the system,
7:53
Speaker 2: and it's picked up.
7:54
Speaker 1: In year one.
7:55
Speaker 2: Chad, Alabama had more punts than they did third down
7:59
Speaker 2: conversions in this game.
8:00
Speaker 1: Wow.
8:01
Speaker 2: And it's not even close. They punted six or seven times.
8:06
Speaker 2: And it's a 24-minute time of possession. there was no
8:11
Speaker 2: third-quarter letdown either by the defense coming out. This was
8:16
Speaker 2: a total four-quarter deal where they didn't score in the
8:18
Speaker 2: red zone early, which I thought was crucial. But they
8:22
Speaker 2: just kept playing the game, and specifically on defense. They
8:25
Speaker 2: got after them. And it's like they were totally confused
8:28
Speaker 2: and didn't know that Tennessee was just going to blitzcrank them.
8:31
Speaker 2: I don't understand what the game plan was, but man,
8:34
Speaker 2: oh man, if you're Alabama– after a week where you
8:37
Speaker 2: lose to Georgia, but the fan base is praising DeBoer
8:40
Speaker 2: for going after one of his players. They were all
8:44
Speaker 2: in on DeBoer. And to now have the memes of
8:47
Speaker 2: DeBoer looking all disheveled, you know, he's all.
8:51
Speaker 1: That was weird, by the way. His face was weird.
8:54
Speaker 1: I think he was probably hearing something that he was
8:56
Speaker 1: reacting to in his headset. Yeah. And he's kind of
8:58
Speaker 1: like processing through it, right? Yeah. It was very odd
9:02
Speaker 1: because it looked like he was having a complete breakdown. Yeah.
9:04
Speaker 2: It was like a look of confusion, you know, like
9:08
Speaker 2: with all the noise, like you just wanted out of there.
9:10
Speaker 1: It was a bad dream. And it was for the
9:13
Speaker 1: Crimson Tide.
9:14
Speaker 2: And it's a bad dream for the fans because they
9:16
Speaker 2: are on meltdown mode after what we saw, because this
9:19
Speaker 2: was a series of runs. You know, you'd have like the,
9:22
Speaker 2: I know that like 1970, it was a Tide series
9:28
Speaker 2: at 23, 23, 23 and seven. And since then, it's
9:32
Speaker 2: just been back and forth in runs. Now it's back
9:35
Speaker 2: and forth, home and home. And to me, that tells
9:38
Speaker 2: you Tennessee's closed the gap. That's the biggest way to
9:41
Speaker 2: see this is which program is ahead. They're more even
9:44
Speaker 2: than ever since 1970. Yeah, it's crazy to witness that.
9:49
Speaker 2: Brooks Carter brings up a good point, too.
9:52
Speaker 1: Delgady, the center for Alabama being out, said Alabama's Mr.
9:56
Speaker 1: Starting Center in Tennessee just absolutely dominated. And it showed
9:59
Speaker 1: that he anchored their offensive line. I would argue they
10:02
Speaker 1: need to make that center the highest-paid non-quarterback on the
10:05
Speaker 1: roster if it makes that big of a difference with
10:08
Speaker 1: the one center out. And look, that certainly was a
10:10
Speaker 1: factor in this game, but Tennessee just physically manhandled Alabama
10:14
Speaker 1: in a way that I was not expecting. So Alabama...
10:17
Speaker 1: I think they had 51 yards on that final drive
10:20
Speaker 1: before the interception. Yeah. And Tennessee's given up some things.
10:24
Speaker 1: You know, Jim Knowles is playing back a little bit
10:26
Speaker 1: of prevent. Alabama's thrown underneath. And they get past midfield.
10:30
Speaker 1: And then it was like Jim Knowles is like, screw this.
10:33
Speaker 1: I'm tired of giving up yards. Let's heat them up again.
10:35
Speaker 1: And then they start bringing the pressure again. But where
10:37
Speaker 1: they were laying back before and made it harder on
10:40
Speaker 1: Alabama once again. I mean, over 50 yards of their
10:43
Speaker 1: 201 total yards. came on that final drive down 16 points.
10:48
Speaker 1: 26-10 was the final score. This game was not that close.
10:53
Speaker 1: Tennessee dominated the football game. And, Hutton, I think you
10:56
Speaker 1: brought up a name that no one is talking about
10:59
Speaker 1: in college football, and they need to be talking about it,
11:02
Speaker 1: and it's Derek Owings. Derek Owings, someone that I said
11:05
Speaker 1: in the offseason, the most underrated hire. Everybody's going to
11:07
Speaker 1: talk about Jim Knowles, who was awesome and deserves all
11:10
Speaker 1: the praise that he's getting right now for that game
11:12
Speaker 1: plan and his dance moves in the locker room and
11:14
Speaker 1: everything else. Yeah. But Derek Owings changed the mindset and
11:18
Speaker 1: changed the bodies of this Tennessee team. A year ago
11:22
Speaker 1: against Vanderbilt, when it's tied at halftime or Tennessee may
11:25
Speaker 1: have even been up a little bit, it was very
11:27
Speaker 1: close at halftime. And I think Vaney came out and
11:29
Speaker 1: won the second half 21-0 or something like that. And
11:32
Speaker 1: just physically looked like Tennessee did against Alabama. They ran
11:36
Speaker 1: the football when they wanted. They did whatever they wanted to.
11:37
Speaker 1: They kept picking up first downs. They drove the ball.
11:40
Speaker 1: They were doing whatever they wanted physically physically. against Tennessee.
11:44
Speaker 1: That was a wake-up call for Josh Heupel that something
11:47
Speaker 1: had to change within his program. Credit Heupel for doing
11:51
Speaker 1: what was necessary to make the changes from within the
11:54
Speaker 1: program to be better in that department. And Derek Owens,
11:57
Speaker 1: bringing him over from Indiana, making him the highest-paid strength
12:00
Speaker 1: coach in college football. Brilliant move by Josh Heupel. I
12:04
Speaker 1: think it paid off on Saturday. And it was, look, Hutton,
12:08
Speaker 1: I've been to– I just counted them up. I've seen
12:10
Speaker 1: eight of these Tennessee wins over Alabama in person. 95, 96, 97, 2000, 2003, 2006.
12:14
Speaker 1: And then there's a big gap after a guy named
12:16
Speaker 1: Nick Saban took over. Yep. 2022 and now 2026. There's
12:19
Speaker 1: been 39 of these days since General Nealon started coaching
12:22
Speaker 1: at Tennessee in 1926. It's been 100 years of football.
12:37
Speaker 1: since General Neyland took over. I'm not counting the games
12:39
Speaker 1: before that where– I think Tennessee won one of those
12:41
Speaker 1: games 5-0 when I was looking this up, and there
12:44
Speaker 1: were a bunch of ties mixed in there also. Yeah,
12:46
Speaker 1: there are. There's 39 Saturdays like this is my point.
12:51
Speaker 1: Enjoy it. I'm going to write a piece for Sporting
12:53
Speaker 1: State about this, about bringing the joy back to fandom
12:57
Speaker 1: and to your team. You don't have to worry about
13:00
Speaker 1: next week. You don't have to worry about ranking. You
13:02
Speaker 1: don't have to worry about college football playoff right now.
13:05
Speaker 1: If you get a big win over your rival– in
13:07
Speaker 1: a setting like that, just enjoy the fact that there
13:11
Speaker 1: are people who are 100 years old, and all those
13:14
Speaker 1: days of their life as a Tennessee fan, they've had
13:18
Speaker 1: 39 of these days in their life where Tennessee beats Alabama.
13:22
Speaker 1: And not only do they beat them, they beat their
13:25
Speaker 1: ass in this game. Enjoy it. Enjoy it if you're
13:28
Speaker 1: a Vols fan. I'd say that for any fan base
13:30
Speaker 1: out there. Next week is going to get there next week.
13:34
Speaker 1: And down the road is going to be down the
13:35
Speaker 1: road for Tennessee and for everyone else. And as I
13:38
Speaker 1: said to open this, it is a week-to-week league. It
13:41
Speaker 1: truly is. Both of these teams could look– Tennessee could
13:44
Speaker 1: get lit up by South Carolina offensively next week, and
13:47
Speaker 1: Alabama might go light somebody else up. It is a
13:50
Speaker 1: week-to-week league in the SEC. But enjoy the moments like
13:54
Speaker 1: this if you're a fan. And it was a spectacle
13:57
Speaker 1: to behold all weekend long in Knoxville, HUD. It was
14:01
Speaker 1: a blast.
14:02
Speaker 2: Shout out to Wagon Wheel. They crushed it for us
14:05
Speaker 2: yet again. Mark Jernigan and crew, thank you so much
14:08
Speaker 2: for the hospitality for Dixieland Delight Friday night. Chad, they're
14:12
Speaker 2: already talking about the next home game. So what's going
14:14
Speaker 2: on for Tennessee and Kentucky? What's going on for Tennessee LSU?
14:18
Speaker 1: We'll be back. We may have to make a trip back.
14:21
Speaker 1: And hey, that Tennessee-Kentucky game could be a top 10
14:23
Speaker 1: matchup in Knoxville in a few weeks. And both teams,
14:26
Speaker 1: by the way, I think will have the bye before.
14:29
Speaker 1: Because looking at the schedule, they're both off on Halloween day.
14:32
Speaker 1: So they'll both have two weeks to prepare for that
14:36
Speaker 1: November 7th game. But here's what it does for Tennessee
14:38
Speaker 1: now in terms of college football playoff possibilities. You had
14:42
Speaker 1: to split these two games. At minimum, you had to
14:44
Speaker 1: split between Alabama and South Carolina on the road. You
14:48
Speaker 1: took care of the split by beating Alabama. Now if
14:51
Speaker 1: you can go on the road and beat South Carolina,
14:52
Speaker 1: now I'm going to do what I just told people
14:53
Speaker 1: not to do and look ahead. But now if you
14:56
Speaker 1: can go on the road and beat South Carolina, you're
14:58
Speaker 1: playing with some house money. going into the back half
15:00
Speaker 1: after the bye, where you could lose a game to
15:03
Speaker 1: LSU or Kentucky or A & M or anybody and
15:07
Speaker 1: still be okay for the college football playoff. Lose to
15:10
Speaker 1: South Carolina, and it does kind of what we expected
15:12
Speaker 1: would probably happen, where you get a week off and
15:14
Speaker 1: you've got to run the table to make sure that
15:16
Speaker 1: you're in the college football playoff. But with this Tennessee
15:19
Speaker 1: defense and with an offense that is rounding into form,
15:22
Speaker 1: I mean, they have identified their dude in the passing game,
15:25
Speaker 1: and there's two of them now, Mike Matthews and Dasan Brink.
15:28
Speaker 1: Those are guys they're going to target, and George McIntyre
15:31
Speaker 1: seems to have a good vibe going with Mike Matthews
15:34
Speaker 1: on the outside. Even when they're not throwing it deep
15:36
Speaker 1: down the field, he's getting yards after catch. If that
15:39
Speaker 1: offense can continue to evolve, Hunt, and you can keep
15:42
Speaker 1: the defense playing anywhere close to that level on Saturday,
15:45
Speaker 1: this Tennessee team could run the table the rest of
15:48
Speaker 1: the way with the opponents left on the schedule. It
15:50
Speaker 1: is not as daunting of a schedule. It's tough. But
15:53
Speaker 1: it's not as daunting as some others in the SEC.
15:55
Speaker 2: ESPN postgame, I told you and Lutz that postgame, it
16:01
Speaker 2: went from in the mid-20s for playoff chances on their
16:04
Speaker 2: ESPN playoff index, which if you're wondering what does that mean,
16:07
Speaker 2: they come.
16:08
Speaker 1: Up with their own rules. They know the formula each
16:10
Speaker 1: and every year. We don't.
16:11
Speaker 2: And it went from the mid-20s to the mid-40s for
16:16
Speaker 2: playoff chances just by beating Alabama in this game. So
16:19
Speaker 2: take that for what it's worth. Another loss drops it
16:21
Speaker 2: back down. But right now, I mean, the chances went
16:25
Speaker 2: up 20% just by getting 50% of the split that
16:28
Speaker 2: Chad's talking about.
16:30
Speaker 1: By the way, I thought the South Carolina game was
16:32
Speaker 1: always a landmine. Before the season started, I've looked at
16:35
Speaker 1: that game, and it was like a 50-50 toss-up, right?
16:37
Speaker 1: It still pretty much is. Tennessee Open is a two-and-a-half-point
16:40
Speaker 1: favorite in the game. But I looked at how talented
16:42
Speaker 1: South Carolina is at the top of the roster and thought, boy,
16:45
Speaker 1: this is going to be tough. And then the wheels
16:47
Speaker 1: started to fall off, and you think, oh, is Tennessee
16:49
Speaker 1: even going to see Shane Beamer? when they play South
16:51
Speaker 1: Carolina at this point. Then they go to Florida and
16:54
Speaker 1: blow out the Gators. Now they've had a week off
16:56
Speaker 1: to rest to get ready for Tennessee. This is going
16:58
Speaker 1: to be a very, very difficult challenge on Saturday. But
17:04
Speaker 1: win or lose, I feel good about every single matchup
17:08
Speaker 1: for Tennessee simply because I know that Jim Knowles is
17:13
Speaker 1: going to hunt. This is a defense that is going
17:16
Speaker 1: to hunt the quarterback. They are going to be the aggressor.
17:19
Speaker 1: They're not going to sit back on their heels They're
17:21
Speaker 1: going to bring pressure. They've got a front four that
17:24
Speaker 1: can get to the quarterback on their own. They've proved
17:26
Speaker 1: that time and time again. And when you go into
17:29
Speaker 1: every game with a defense like that, they've got a
17:31
Speaker 1: great shot in all these games. I think Kentucky and
17:34
Speaker 1: LSU are their two toughest opponents left. Vandy is the
17:38
Speaker 1: worst team in the SEC. They proved that on Saturday night,
17:41
Speaker 1: losing by 10 at home to Arkansas. I'm not worried
17:43
Speaker 1: about Vandy at the end of the year. A &
17:45
Speaker 1: M is a mess. Right now, offensively, and you've got
17:49
Speaker 1: to go on the road and play them, but Tennessee's
17:52
Speaker 1: going to have a really good shot in all these
17:54
Speaker 1: games because of that defense that we saw on Saturday,
17:58
Speaker 1: which did– it's not that Tennessee won. They were an 8.5-pointer.
18:03
Speaker 1: It's not that they won the game. It's how they
18:04
Speaker 1: won the game, Hunt. That really shocked me because I
18:08
Speaker 1: just kept saying, hey, we're sitting there watching the game.
18:10
Speaker 1: And what was I telling you guys? They're going to
18:12
Speaker 1: get theirs. It's Alabama. Keelan Russell is a great quarterback.
18:15
Speaker 1: They're going to get theirs offensively. They never got theirs.
18:18
Speaker 1: Tennessee's defense got theirs all day long. Yep, they did.
18:22
Speaker 2: And, you know, they've gone from a team. where August 19th,
18:26
Speaker 2: we're talking, okay, can they, the swing game's Georgia Tech.
18:31
Speaker 2: Can they get by Georgia Tech and they can have
18:33
Speaker 2: a successful season? Like they can get to where the
18:35
Speaker 2: bar would be to where you can go into the
18:37
Speaker 2: next season and feel pretty good about where you are
18:39
Speaker 2: with the new quarterback. And from August 19th to now,
18:42
Speaker 2: October the 19th, we're talking playoff chances, not just Georgia
18:47
Speaker 2: Tech swing game. That's what Tennessee has done to this point.
18:52
Speaker 2: It's a fantastic start. And now we see how they finish.
18:56
Speaker 2: The crowd finished on the field. The goalposts didn't end
19:02
Speaker 2: up in the river. They're still standing in Neyland Stadium.
19:05
Speaker 2: And there was a fine that's paid out to Alabama
19:07
Speaker 2: on behalf of Tennessee. We'll discuss that. Plus, speaking of Kentucky,
19:11
Speaker 2: they keep winning. They're right there with Tennessee at the
19:14
Speaker 2: top of the SEC. What does that mean? Crazy day
19:17
Speaker 2: across college football. We discuss it all straight ahead on
19:19
Speaker 2: How to Withdraw.
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20:34
Speaker 2: Chad, the announcement went over Neyland Stadium from the athletic director,
20:39
Speaker 2: Danny White, about saving the goalposts. But it didn't say
20:43
Speaker 2: anything about storming the field. And, well, the fans did
20:47
Speaker 2: that against Alabama. What did you make of that as
20:52
Speaker 2: a VFL yourself? Beating Alabama, it's become something that's not shocking.
20:59
Speaker 2: Maybe a surprise for us, the way that Tennessee played
21:02
Speaker 2: this game. But 2022's feeling was way different than this
21:07
Speaker 2: feeling for lighting cigars.
21:09
Speaker 1: This has become, for Tennessee fans, I think just sort
21:13
Speaker 1: of a biannual photo op on the field. Okay, okay.
21:17
Speaker 1: And that's a problem. Like now it's just become, oh,
21:20
Speaker 1: this is what you do when you beat Alabama, regardless
21:23
Speaker 1: of circumstances, regardless of everything else. 2022 was catharsis for
21:28
Speaker 1: Tennessee fans. It was a magical moment that every Tennessee
21:31
Speaker 1: fan will remember because the long streak that was finally
21:34
Speaker 1: broken and beating Nick Saban in doing it, the legend
21:38
Speaker 1: of college, not just SEC, not just Alabama, legend of
21:41
Speaker 1: college football coaching. So when they did that with Josh
21:44
Speaker 1: Heupel in year two, it's a moment every Tennessee fan
21:46
Speaker 1: will remember. It was warranted to storm the field at
21:48
Speaker 1: that point. 2024, I think, started the trend now of
21:53
Speaker 1: it's Alabama, we're smoking cigars, and we're going to go
21:56
Speaker 1: on the field and take a selfie with our favorite
21:58
Speaker 1: Vols players. You're right. That's what happened then. The goalposts
22:01
Speaker 1: didn't come down in 2024, to my knowledge. They did
22:04
Speaker 1: in 2022, but they went on the field. Now, two
22:07
Speaker 1: years later, it just feels like, hey, it's Alabama. Are
22:11
Speaker 1: we gathering back on the field again this year? It's
22:16
Speaker 1: not even a storming. It's just like a march out,
22:19
Speaker 1: is the way I would describe it. Let's all go
22:21
Speaker 1: on the field and celebrate with the players and coaches
22:24
Speaker 1: and smoke cigars together so we can get that Facebook
22:27
Speaker 1: photo or that Instagram story of me on the field
22:30
Speaker 1: with my cigar. I hate it. I wish Tennessee fans
22:34
Speaker 1: didn't do it. I know exactly what it is. Again,
22:37
Speaker 1: it's one big photo opportunity for Tennessee fans, but Act
22:41
Speaker 1: like you've been there before because you have been. But also,
22:45
Speaker 1: field storming should be unique and special. And I get
22:49
Speaker 1: that there's a lot of money at stake here. $ 500, 000
22:51
Speaker 1: in nothing. And now you've got to pay $ 500, 000 to
22:54
Speaker 1: Alabama after beating them. That could go directly to their
22:58
Speaker 1: NIL budget to go pay a player or go give
23:01
Speaker 1: a player a raise at the end of the year.
23:03
Speaker 1: I just don't think it's worth it. And I think
23:05
Speaker 1: it's just sort of now become a dumb tradition of
23:08
Speaker 1: Tennessee fans to do it just for the photo op. Well,
23:11
Speaker 1: I agree. If there's one university that can afford it,
23:15
Speaker 1: it's Tennessee.
23:15
Speaker 2: They're the one university that's not going bankrupt right now.
23:20
Speaker 1: I don't want to give Alabama. That's what sucks about
23:22
Speaker 1: the rule is it doesn't go to the SEC office.
23:25
Speaker 1: You pay it to the Alabama football program. So you're
23:27
Speaker 1: giving them $ 500, 000 that they can in turn go give
23:30
Speaker 1: to one of their players to retain them or go
23:33
Speaker 1: use it in NIL. It's not worth it. You can smoke.
23:35
Speaker 4: You can get the.
23:39
Speaker 1: the scene of the smoke rising from Neyland Stadium with
23:42
Speaker 1: everybody in there from your seat. You can take the
23:45
Speaker 1: selfie from the seat. You don't need to go on
23:47
Speaker 1: the field and do that. But that's what it's become.
23:49
Speaker 1: It's one big photo op.
23:51
Speaker 2: Well, and you know, Tennessee's paying it, but it's the
23:54
Speaker 2: fans that are paying it. You know, it's another 4%
23:56
Speaker 2: raise probably coming because of raising ticket prices because of.
24:01
Speaker 1: The field storming.
24:03
Speaker 2: I think it's inevitable now because of the social media deal,
24:07
Speaker 2: but not every program is doing that. I think eventually
24:11
Speaker 2: this phases out whenever you start to make this a
24:16
Speaker 2: routine deal. You don't see this at Bama if roles
24:20
Speaker 2: are reversed. And that's because it's just, you know, it's
24:24
Speaker 2: like going to church, like I mentioned, like that's what
24:26
Speaker 2: they're expected to do. And that's what you're kind of
24:29
Speaker 2: getting back to in Knoxville, right? I mean, Josh Heupel
24:33
Speaker 2: hosting Tennessee, that's expected now with what Heupel has done.
24:39
Speaker 2: That's unusual in the recent history of the Vols and Tide,
24:43
Speaker 2: but it's becoming a routine thing and expectation now. Versus
24:47
Speaker 2: what Kalen DeBoer's put together at Alabama, what Tennessee's doing
24:51
Speaker 2: in the back-and-forth series right now.
24:53
Speaker 1: It's a very even series. More even than it's been
24:56
Speaker 1: in a long, long time.
24:57
Speaker 2: And because of that, I doubt it becomes the field-storming
25:01
Speaker 2: deal that it once was. We've gone from the goalpost
25:04
Speaker 2: to no goalpost. I think eventually you just start doing
25:07
Speaker 2: the stuff in your seat like you would do against
25:09
Speaker 2: an opponent.
25:10
Speaker 1: Maybe the field-storming happens against Kentucky. Whenever you have the
25:13
Speaker 1: two top-ten teams. Neil and Chad. Yeah, that's when you
25:17
Speaker 1: know it's officially jumped the shark, is Tennessee fans. And
25:21
Speaker 1: all due respect to Kentucky, he's having a great year.
25:23
Speaker 1: He's on the field against Kentucky. I mean, look, in 2010,
25:29
Speaker 1: when Derek Dooley beat Kentucky, I'm pretty sure he got
25:32
Speaker 1: carried off the field by his players. That was to
25:35
Speaker 1: get to 6-6. They were 5-6, and they had to
25:38
Speaker 1: beat Kentucky at home. That's when he field scored. And
25:41
Speaker 1: I remember watching that game from a sports bar in
25:44
Speaker 1: Nebraska and feeling like I wanted to storm the field.
25:47
Speaker 1: So Tennessee was down bad at that point in their
25:50
Speaker 1: history that that was the case. I just don't feel
25:53
Speaker 1: that way. Tennessee is a legitimate top 15 team, top
25:57
Speaker 1: 20 team year in and year out. We're looking at
25:59
Speaker 1: preseason rankings and everything else. So when you get Alabama
26:02
Speaker 1: at home, I mean, the expectation is you've got a
26:04
Speaker 1: good shot to win the game. I didn't think Tennessee
26:06
Speaker 1: was going to win the game. I was surprised that
26:08
Speaker 1: they won. I was certainly surprised how they won the game.
26:10
Speaker 1: I wasn't feeling it. But it's not a game where
26:11
Speaker 1: you storm the field. Brooks Carter lets us know Alabama's
26:14
Speaker 1: had a field storm against them the last 12 times.
26:17
Speaker 1: They've lost on the road dating back to 2013.
26:18
Speaker 2: That's representative of what I'm saying, though. You can be
26:23
Speaker 2: a top 20 or top 15 team, but you've been
26:26
Speaker 2: losing to Alabama.
26:29
Speaker 1: That's the difference.
26:31
Speaker 2: Eventually, you want to become that program. It's also a
26:36
Speaker 2: compliment to Bama, but like I don't think it becomes
26:40
Speaker 2: a routine deal. At least, Chad, at least you have
26:44
Speaker 2: this going. It wasn't a smattering of fans. If Vanderbilt
26:47
Speaker 2: storms the field, does it look the same? It doesn't
26:52
Speaker 2: look the same whenever they storm the field at all.
26:54
Speaker 1: Did Arkansas fans storm Dudley Field on Saturday night when
26:57
Speaker 1: they won? I mean, was it another takeover? Look, that
27:01
Speaker 1: Vandy deal, we're going to get into all the problems. Yeah,
27:04
Speaker 1: we will. Soon, but man, oh, man, have they fallen
27:07
Speaker 1: completely off a cliff from what they were a year
27:09
Speaker 1: ago with the loss of Diego Pavia.
27:11
Speaker 2: Hey, we need to discuss this because we haven't hit
27:12
Speaker 2: this yet. The uniforms look great.
27:15
Speaker 1: Yes. They did look great.
27:16
Speaker 2: I know some of the former players, like Jason Swain
27:18
Speaker 2: told me on Friday, he's like, man, I don't like this.
27:23
Speaker 1: Call me.
27:23
Speaker 2: I'm raining on the parade here. I don't want their
27:26
Speaker 2: home uniforms on my field. And I was like, okay,
27:28
Speaker 2: I respect that. I like the rivalry aspect of it. But, man,
27:32
Speaker 2: they look good.
27:33
Speaker 1: But now USC gets to wear their home uniforms on
27:35
Speaker 1: their field too. So it's an even trade in this. Look,
27:38
Speaker 1: don't ever go back. These two teams should wear their–
27:41
Speaker 1: this should be a special part of the rivalry. Just
27:43
Speaker 1: like USC and UCLA– When they do it, every time
27:47
Speaker 1: Tennessee and Alabama play, this should be the deal. Each
27:50
Speaker 1: team wears their home colors. It looked amazing on the field.
27:54
Speaker 1: I mean, it really was. I don't want to get
27:58
Speaker 1: too romantic about it here, but it was just the
28:01
Speaker 1: perfect weekend in Knoxville. From a weather standpoint, it was
28:05
Speaker 1: finally fall for the first time. People were in long sleeves,
28:09
Speaker 1: looking on the field. We're down there pregame. And seeing
28:12
Speaker 1: those two teams warm up in those classic uniforms, it
28:16
Speaker 1: was super special to see that. And next year when
28:18
Speaker 1: they play in Tuscaloosa, I know they're going to do
28:20
Speaker 1: it again. I think it's a back-to-back thing, but make
28:23
Speaker 1: it permanent. Do it every single year. Ben the Closer
28:27
Speaker 1: in our YouTube chat says, stupid rule defined for field storming,
28:32
Speaker 1: fund police. One thing that I'll say about it too,
28:35
Speaker 1: you didn't hear a lot of talk about look how
28:36
Speaker 1: dangerous it is when they were down there. I haven't
28:39
Speaker 1: seen anything that's like, remember when In 2022, the Alabama
28:42
Speaker 1: player punched the girl or swatted her out of the way,
28:45
Speaker 1: and it became a big story. Oh, look at the–
28:48
Speaker 1: and then Nick Saban's talking about it's so dangerous. Look,
28:51
Speaker 1: I wouldn't want to be the losing team trying to
28:53
Speaker 1: get off the field when all that happens, but I
28:55
Speaker 1: haven't heard a lot about how dangerous it was with
28:58
Speaker 1: the field storm, which normally is all you're hearing about
29:01
Speaker 1: after a game like that. But again, I'm not for it.
29:03
Speaker 1: I think it should be a super special occasion. And
29:06
Speaker 1: while it's always special to beat Alabama if you're Tennessee–
29:09
Speaker 1: I don't think Saturday warranted a field storm.
29:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, I want to know, did the guy in the
29:13
Speaker 2: orange checkerboard overalls that was riding the goalpost down in
29:19
Speaker 2: 2022 when we were there, was he there, or 2024,
29:24
Speaker 2: was he there this night on the field? If he wasn't,
29:27
Speaker 2: that's the standard. It's the reasonable drunk standard, Chad, of
29:33
Speaker 2: Derek Dooley. Was that young man riding the goalpost down,
29:36
Speaker 2: if it's not worthy of his time, It's not worthy
29:38
Speaker 2: to storm the field.
29:40
Speaker 1: He's the general of the field storm. There is a difference,
29:45
Speaker 1: by the way, about that guy, the general of the
29:48
Speaker 1: field storming, and Josh Heupel after he beats Alabama. This
29:51
Speaker 1: is one where Josh Heupel, who's usually very monotone, not emotional,
29:56
Speaker 1: not going to give you a lot in interviews, I
29:58
Speaker 1: feel like he gets the Tennessee fan base with his
30:02
Speaker 1: hatred of Alabama and his understanding of how big these
30:06
Speaker 1: games are. And Josh Heupel post-game was talking about the
30:09
Speaker 1: fans and their impact. Here is Josh Heupel.
30:13
Speaker 4: Josh, you've always been very open about your appreciation for
30:15
Speaker 4: the fans. You've now been able to give them an
30:19
Speaker 4: opportunity to storm the field three times. Just what does
30:22
Speaker 4: that mean to you to be able to give the
30:23
Speaker 4: fan base– So a moment that they'll, you know, remember
30:26
Speaker 4: with their families for a long time?
30:29
Speaker 1: Yeah.
30:29
Speaker 3: You know, go back to the first one, you know,
30:35
Speaker 3: all the buildup lead up to it. And now there's
30:39
Speaker 3: an expectation. That's what you do when you're playing these guys.
30:45
Speaker 3: And it's been fun building this. There's been days where,
30:48
Speaker 3: you know, we want different outcomes. But this is, without
30:52
Speaker 3: a doubt, the best fan base in America. They show
30:56
Speaker 3: up in an elite way every Saturday. Recruits come here.
31:01
Speaker 3: You drive by Vol Navy and see all those boats.
31:04
Speaker 3: You go to Vol Walk and you see 35,000 people.
31:07
Speaker 3: 60 minutes before kickoff, it's 65-70% full. It's college sports.
31:14
Speaker 3: College football is as good as it gets. It's special
31:19
Speaker 3: to be here. Walking off that field in a situation
31:24
Speaker 3: like tonight where you win, those are things that I'll
31:26
Speaker 3: remember forever too.
31:29
Speaker 1: He doesn't have to preach about the fans staying the
31:30
Speaker 1: entire game, Jeff. They're there. No, as you call it,
31:34
Speaker 1: church in Tuscaloosa. It was definitely not church on Saturday
31:37
Speaker 1: in Neyland Stadium. It was a rock concert start to finish,
31:40
Speaker 1: and it was as loud as I've heard it at
31:43
Speaker 1: different times. Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy had a really
31:46
Speaker 1: funny exchange where McElroy was talking about and Tennessee was
31:50
Speaker 1: on defense, and McDonough said, I have no idea what
31:53
Speaker 1: you just said because the volume in here, but I'm
31:55
Speaker 1: sure it was as insightful as always. And he said,
31:58
Speaker 1: we go to a lot of great atmospheres. This is
32:01
Speaker 1: the best there is in terms of noise from start
32:04
Speaker 1: to finish in the game. And there was a pause,
32:05
Speaker 1: and Greg McIlroy, and I'll give him credit as an
32:07
Speaker 1: Alabama guy, kind of walking the line, said, as good
32:11
Speaker 1: as it gets. As good as it gets. Didn't say
32:13
Speaker 1: it was the best. Said it's as good as it gets,
32:16
Speaker 1: which is a nice way to put it. And if
32:19
Speaker 1: I'm McElroy, an Alabama grad, I wouldn't go say, oh,
32:22
Speaker 1: it's the best that there is. But you can say
32:24
Speaker 1: it's as good as it gets. And Saturday was certainly
32:27
Speaker 1: as good as it gets for college football noise and atmosphere.
32:31
Speaker 1: And some of those third downs, I mean, it got
32:34
Speaker 1: really amped up on a third and long. For Tennessee's defense.
32:38
Speaker 2: And as good as it gets, that's how I would
32:40
Speaker 2: describe Saturday in full for college football. With what we
32:44
Speaker 2: saw from start to finish, from kickoff to the end
32:49
Speaker 2: of the Saturday evening. As good as it gets. It
32:51
Speaker 2: still feels like Saturday, by the way. Despite all of
32:54
Speaker 2: the business that goes on behind the scenes. We had
32:57
Speaker 2: a 2014 playoff discussion. We're headed that way, but it
33:00
Speaker 2: still feels like Saturday across not just the SEC, but
33:05
Speaker 2: across the country with these games.
33:06
Speaker 1: We discussed that.
33:08
Speaker 2: We discussed Kentucky and much more straight ahead here on
33:11
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34:17
Speaker 1: to make alone. What a crazy College Football Saturday. Texas
34:24
Speaker 1: goes down. So does Georgia. We end the day with
34:28
Speaker 1: Tennessee and Kentucky atop the SEC. Bizarre.
34:33
Speaker 2: And then you have the overtime game for Miami, Florida State.
34:36
Speaker 2: That one's supposed to be a 24-point blowout by the.
34:42
Speaker 1: Hurricanes. It was fantastic. And BYU getting a huge win,
34:47
Speaker 1: which we watched postgame, Chad. Yeah, and then the controversy
34:50
Speaker 1: with it where there should have been a second left.
34:52
Speaker 1: on that final play. Notre Dame should have had one
34:54
Speaker 1: more shot at the end zone to win the game,
34:56
Speaker 1: but they didn't even review it and didn't even talk
34:59
Speaker 1: about it until after the game that the clock showed
35:01
Speaker 1: there was one second when that pass fell incomplete. Oh,
35:04
Speaker 1: by the way, on a pass interference on the final
35:07
Speaker 1: play also that went unflagged in Provo, Utah. Crazy day
35:11
Speaker 1: at college football. Hutton, I'm interested in the different responses
35:15
Speaker 1: to what that crazy day means. I took this, it's
35:18
Speaker 1: all through the prism you want to view the sport.
35:21
Speaker 1: I took Saturday and as a firm example that this
35:24
Speaker 1: 2014 playoff may not be the worst idea in the
35:28
Speaker 1: history of college football, the way most people in media
35:31
Speaker 1: and most fans treat it. I acknowledge that I'm on
35:34
Speaker 1: the opposition side here when I say this. I just
35:38
Speaker 1: don't have a strong reaction to it. My reaction is, okay,
35:41
Speaker 1: it means more playoff games. Let's see how it goes.
35:44
Speaker 1: This might not be a terrible thing when you look
35:46
Speaker 1: at that 2014 playoff. hypothetical bracket this year and what
35:49
Speaker 1: it would look like. I watch Saturday and I think, boy,
35:52
Speaker 1: everybody's awfully quiet about that 2014 playoff being the worst
35:55
Speaker 1: thing ever because look at all these teams that suddenly
35:58
Speaker 1: pay their players a lot of money and can knock
36:00
Speaker 1: off the big boys. Auburn goes to Georgia and wins.
36:03
Speaker 1: Florida in year one under John Sumrall after looking bad
36:06
Speaker 1: the last two weeks. They go on the road. and
36:09
Speaker 1: beat Texas. Missouri, who Eli Drinkwitz was, you know, hey,
36:14
Speaker 1: I'm not going to listen to you guys talk about
36:15
Speaker 1: us anymore. We're a top 10, top 15 team. They
36:18
Speaker 1: go on the road and get shellacked by an Ole
36:20
Speaker 1: Miss team that got shellacked a couple weeks earlier by Florida.
36:24
Speaker 1: Point being, the transitive property of college football no longer exists.
36:29
Speaker 1: It is a week-to-week story, not just in the SEC,
36:32
Speaker 1: but across the country with a lot of these teams.
36:34
Speaker 1: So why not give access to 12 more teams and
36:37
Speaker 1: have a 2014 playoff? I am less convinced right now
36:41
Speaker 1: that the 23rd ranked team in America would not have
36:44
Speaker 1: a chance against the 6th ranked team, let's say, in
36:47
Speaker 1: the country in a playoff setting. I think that the
36:51
Speaker 1: gap is narrowed. Parity is becoming more of a thing
36:54
Speaker 1: in college football. Most of the arguments I see are twofold.
36:58
Speaker 1: One is that, oh, the 24th ranked team in America
37:00
Speaker 1: has no shot at winning a national title ever. I
37:03
Speaker 1: think that's starting to diminish a little bit. Do I
37:05
Speaker 1: think they're going to go on a run and win
37:06
Speaker 1: the national title? No. Can they win a first-round playoff game? Absolutely.
37:10
Speaker 1: And I think college football is proving that week in
37:12
Speaker 1: and week out. The other thing is, oh, it's the opposite.
37:15
Speaker 1: These games don't even matter now. That win doesn't mean
37:19
Speaker 1: anything for any of these teams. what world are you
37:22
Speaker 1: living in that it wouldn't matter? It absolutely matters. It
37:25
Speaker 1: matters for playoff positioning. It matters on whether or not
37:28
Speaker 1: you're going to host a game. And for some teams
37:31
Speaker 1: that might have four losses at the end of the year,
37:33
Speaker 1: it matters on whether or not you're going to play
37:35
Speaker 1: in the playoff or not. People aren't going to suddenly
37:38
Speaker 1: stop watching college football and act like Tennessee beating Alabama
37:42
Speaker 1: doesn't matter, or Georgia losing a game at home doesn't matter,
37:46
Speaker 1: or Texas getting their second loss doesn't even matter. It
37:49
Speaker 1: matters based on where you're going to finish the season.
37:52
Speaker 2: How would we view– the impact, though, of a loss
37:56
Speaker 2: to me is diminished. Georgia loses– Alabama loses two straight.
38:01
Speaker 2: We're not talking about their season and DeBoer not reaching
38:05
Speaker 2: the goal of a college football playoff. We're just discussing
38:09
Speaker 2: where they're seated in a 24-team deal. And they're good enough–
38:13
Speaker 2: they could go on a run in a playoff, yes.
38:16
Speaker 2: I also think– I don't want to get to a
38:19
Speaker 2: point where The bowl system, the way we went to
38:22
Speaker 2: the bowl system, where a 6-6 season is somehow, you're
38:27
Speaker 2: awarded and rewarded by some crazy, it's a postseason berth
38:33
Speaker 2: and you end on a high note. I'm not saying
38:35
Speaker 2: that it will feel like that in a playoff, but
38:38
Speaker 2: what it is, to me it's just extra SEC.
38:41
Speaker 1: Big Ten matchups. And that's fine.
38:44
Speaker 2: But I don't think the 24-ranked team out of the
38:47
Speaker 2: Big 12 or the ACC is going to go on
38:49
Speaker 2: a run and beat the number six SEC opponent.
38:51
Speaker 1: I don't. It depends who that team is.
38:54
Speaker 2: If the team's out of the Big 10, maybe, maybe not,
38:57
Speaker 2: based on some of the teams I'm watching in the
38:59
Speaker 2: Big 10.
39:00
Speaker 1: But the SEC, sure.
39:01
Speaker 2: I think if we view it from the SEC, I mean,
39:03
Speaker 2: they're in their own playoff right now, and I think
39:06
Speaker 2: it takes away from our SEC regular season playoff if
39:10
Speaker 2: we go to the 24 team. just simply because of
39:13
Speaker 2: the stakes. The stakes are magnified. Tennessee-Alabama is a different
39:18
Speaker 2: vibe because of the rivalry, but the Georgia loss to
39:21
Speaker 2: Auburn is crucial right now based on their seed in
39:25
Speaker 2: the college football playoff and the fact that they can't
39:27
Speaker 2: have another hiccup.
39:28
Speaker 1: And meanwhile.
39:30
Speaker 2: Kentucky, in the run they're on, I mean, they would
39:34
Speaker 2: be guaranteed a spot right now. And I just want
39:37
Speaker 2: to see if they can see this thing through. It's
39:40
Speaker 2: a fascinating system we have right now. But Saturday and
39:46
Speaker 2: all the upheaval we saw, we would need two of these, Chad.
39:49
Speaker 1: To actually have the same result. So David Griffin says
39:53
Speaker 1: the media preached the end of the meaningful regular season
39:55
Speaker 1: game at every expansion of the playoff, whether it was four, 12,
39:59
Speaker 1: now 24. I don't listen to media chicken littles anymore.
40:02
Speaker 1: I think that's the correct take from David on this.
40:05
Speaker 1: The amount of people that are now acting like, boy,
40:08
Speaker 1: we had it right with the BCS, are the same
40:10
Speaker 1: people that were screaming about the BCS or voting in
40:14
Speaker 1: national champions, which college football did for years. I'd rather
40:18
Speaker 1: go back to having a collection of sports writers decide
40:21
Speaker 1: who the national champion is every year than have a
40:23
Speaker 1: 2014 playoff and play it out. I understand, like, okay,
40:27
Speaker 1: it's not a tournament sport the way college basketball is,
40:31
Speaker 1: you know, when you look at football. But meaningful football games,
40:35
Speaker 1: you can talk about meaningful regular season games. You know
40:38
Speaker 1: what's meaningful? A playoff game where your actual season's on
40:41
Speaker 1: the line in a do-or-die scenario. We see it in
40:43
Speaker 1: the NFL year after year. We don't complain about it. Yes, NFL,
40:46
Speaker 1: college football are two different leagues. They're playing the same sport, guys.
40:50
Speaker 1: It works just fine in the NFL where they play
40:53
Speaker 1: it out to the end of the season and multiple
40:55
Speaker 1: teams have a chance to win the title and you're
40:57
Speaker 1: not diminishing other people's access to the playoff. I refuse
41:03
Speaker 1: to believe that people are legitimately not going to watch
41:07
Speaker 1: games like we had on Saturday and those games are
41:10
Speaker 1: not going to feel impactful or meaningful or anything else
41:15
Speaker 1: because those games are going to cost the ability for
41:18
Speaker 1: teams to host a playoff game. We got an opportunity
41:21
Speaker 1: now where teams could have two other home weekends in
41:24
Speaker 1: their stadium. Let's get Mark Jernigan from Wagon Wheel on
41:28
Speaker 1: to talk about what that means for his bottom line
41:30
Speaker 1: and bars in Knoxville and the economy of these places
41:33
Speaker 1: and how awesome that is for a fan base to
41:36
Speaker 1: go watch a home playoff game. So losing a game
41:38
Speaker 1: you're not supposed to lose, it impacts the ability to
41:41
Speaker 1: do that. they will all still be absolutely meaningful. I
41:45
Speaker 1: do not buy the argument that it's not going to. Now,
41:47
Speaker 1: if your whole thing is, and I've heard Josh Payton
41:49
Speaker 1: and others talk about this, that if you get off
41:52
Speaker 1: on the fact that a team's season is over in
41:54
Speaker 1: September because they lost two games, and you just can't
41:58
Speaker 1: wait to, let's put the nail in the coffin. These
42:00
Speaker 1: boys shouldn't go out there and play for pride or
42:02
Speaker 1: anything anymore. They're out of the playoff. Don't even watch
42:05
Speaker 1: their games anymore. If that's your thing, that it's just
42:08
Speaker 1: an elimination thing throughout the season and you want do
42:10
Speaker 1: or die death every single time out for the team,
42:14
Speaker 1: then sure. it's going to be tougher for you because
42:17
Speaker 1: teams are going to stay in the playoff mix longer
42:19
Speaker 1: in the season.
42:19
Speaker 2: I would describe that person as an SEC football fan.
42:22
Speaker 2: Their week is made whether or not you win or lose.
42:25
Speaker 2: It's detrimental every single week.
42:27
Speaker 1: Sure, but an SEC football fan, if you're truly a
42:29
Speaker 1: fan of a school, there are still things to play
42:32
Speaker 1: for in November, even if you're eliminated from the college
42:34
Speaker 1: football playoff. And now that we've made everything about the
42:37
Speaker 1: playoff in recent years, it's going to keep more teams
42:41
Speaker 1: in the mix and more fan bases engaged. that they
42:44
Speaker 1: might have an outside shot of reaching the back of
42:46
Speaker 1: that playoff.
42:47
Speaker 2: I also want to view it through the– what are we–
42:51
Speaker 2: as long as they keep these on campus, it will be–
42:55
Speaker 2: I mean, keep them on campus and then also keep
42:57
Speaker 2: them out of Ohio State because their fans don't want
42:59
Speaker 2: to go to the first-round playoff game right now as
43:01
Speaker 2: it is.
43:04
Speaker 1: You can go on the road and do this.
43:06
Speaker 2: But, like, if we start going to all these bowls
43:09
Speaker 2: and the bowl systems take over– I don't know how
43:12
Speaker 2: many times are the fans going to travel to all
43:14
Speaker 2: these games. The NCAA tournament, Chad, is kind of like
43:18
Speaker 2: this now, where we're watching on TV. I'm all for
43:21
Speaker 2: more football games. I'll watch a game. I'll watch a
43:25
Speaker 2: Saturday like we saw this past Saturday all the way through.
43:28
Speaker 2: I think the nine-game SEC season now also factors, and
43:32
Speaker 2: I'm glad we're going to that. Two bye weeks in,
43:35
Speaker 2: that's all good, too. But I don't think there's too
43:37
Speaker 2: much football for me or you.
43:39
Speaker 1: But, I mean... Across the country, they're not viewing it
43:43
Speaker 1: the same way. We saw that with Tennessee and Ohio
43:47
Speaker 1: State when they played. Well, look, I'm fatigued already by
43:51
Speaker 1: this playoff, you know, when you get to the end
43:53
Speaker 1: of it. So I certainly allow for the possibility that
43:57
Speaker 1: three weeks in, I'm going to be like, my gosh,
43:59
Speaker 1: these games are kind of getting old as you go through.
44:02
Speaker 1: But bowl season gets stale to me, too, as I'm
44:05
Speaker 1: watching these games. But I'm still watching the games. I'm
44:08
Speaker 1: going to pay attention to what's happening. I just think
44:11
Speaker 1: when you localize it and don't nationalize it, when you
44:14
Speaker 1: look at it on the local level of you've got
44:17
Speaker 1: 138 or whatever teams in FBS and you've got 64
44:21
Speaker 1: teams in the group of four, when you take those
44:25
Speaker 1: teams into consideration and look at all those individual fan bases,
44:29
Speaker 1: I just think that it makes it more interesting for
44:32
Speaker 1: longer in the season. for those teams. If nobody cares
44:37
Speaker 1: about a bowl game anymore, and increasingly they don't, about
44:40
Speaker 1: being bowl eligible or what bowl game you're going to,
44:43
Speaker 1: you're going to keep more fan bases engaged in the
44:45
Speaker 1: process for longer in the season, which I don't think
44:48
Speaker 1: is going to hurt you. Now, it is true that
44:52
Speaker 1: these death penalty type games, we're going to see a
44:56
Speaker 1: number of them where two teams with two losses are
44:59
Speaker 1: playing each other and it's okay. Here it is. Tennessee-Oklahoma
45:03
Speaker 1: a year ago. Is that the game? Loser of this
45:04
Speaker 1: game is out. Tennessee losing home to Oklahoma. They're out.
45:07
Speaker 1: All right, let's get ready for New Mexico State and
45:09
Speaker 1: the Music City Bowl and pack it up for the
45:11
Speaker 1: rest of the way. You're going to lose those type
45:13
Speaker 1: of games a little bit more because now you're looking
45:16
Speaker 1: at four loss teams that's going to get in. It's
45:18
Speaker 1: like Florida and A & M had recently. In LSU,
45:22
Speaker 1: every game they play now is an elimination game. They
45:26
Speaker 1: can't lose with two losses on the season and feel
45:28
Speaker 1: like they have a good shot at playing for the playoff.
45:31
Speaker 1: You do get rid of those, but I don't watch
45:35
Speaker 1: the games for that reason. I look at it as
45:38
Speaker 1: like that's a huge loss for LSU. That's a big
45:41
Speaker 1: win for Kentucky. Where does that put them now in
45:44
Speaker 1: the new bracket? I don't even look at the top
45:46
Speaker 1: 25 rankings right now because it's not a playoff ranking,
45:50
Speaker 1: and I know people get really into it and passionate
45:51
Speaker 1: about it and all that. But I look at this
45:53
Speaker 1: and I think, well, here are the SEC standings. This matters.
45:57
Speaker 1: you know, I think. But I'm looking at the top 25.
45:59
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter as much to me. But if you
46:01
Speaker 1: showed me, here's this week's installment of the 2014 bracket. Okay,
46:05
Speaker 1: who is this team playing now? How did they fall?
46:08
Speaker 1: Did they fall out of hosting a game? Where are
46:10
Speaker 1: they going on the road? I'm getting way more involved
46:13
Speaker 1: in that on a week-to-week basis to see what people
46:15
Speaker 1: are thinking about what's going to happen in the playoff
46:18
Speaker 1: than I do about some arbitrary top 25 ranking from
46:22
Speaker 1: riders that really don't mean anything right now in the
46:24
Speaker 1: season other than the chance for your fans to storm
46:28
Speaker 1: the field when you beat a top 10 opponent, you know,
46:30
Speaker 1: at home or wherever it is, if that team falls
46:32
Speaker 1: in the top 10.
46:33
Speaker 2: I'm for it as long as we get the best
46:34
Speaker 2: teams from that group. That's the most competitive bracket possible
46:38
Speaker 2: and not this lackadaisical, oh, we're going to reward this
46:41
Speaker 2: conference or this conference or this, this pool of teams,
46:45
Speaker 2: because then it, then it just becomes exactly what it
46:47
Speaker 2: is right now in the first round. You know, I
46:50
Speaker 2: don't want boat race city just for the sake of
46:52
Speaker 2: being fair. I want it, I want this to– if
46:55
Speaker 2: you're sixth or seventh in the SEC and you're deserving
46:57
Speaker 2: of a spot, you get in.
46:59
Speaker 1: Same thing with the Big Ten. They can earn it too.
47:01
Speaker 2: But I'll take the middle of the pack in the
47:02
Speaker 2: SEC and put it up against the Big Ten. I
47:04
Speaker 2: don't want to see a bunch of those teams.
47:06
Speaker 1: Totally agree. Totally agree. And here's the deal. I'm not
47:09
Speaker 1: saying this is going to be a home run. I'm
47:11
Speaker 1: saying I'm not offended by it. I know what they're doing.
47:15
Speaker 1: I get where they're going. I don't think it blows
47:18
Speaker 1: up college football the way many are acting like it's
47:20
Speaker 1: going to completely destroy the fabric of the game. I'm
47:23
Speaker 1: willing to wait it out and see what it looks like.
47:25
Speaker 1: And I'm with you also. I don't need Tulane hosting
47:28
Speaker 1: a playoff game. No. Just because they're the champion of
47:31
Speaker 1: the group of six.
47:31
Speaker 2: Or for what it does for the local economy. I'm
47:34
Speaker 2: just being honest with you.
47:35
Speaker 1: I don't want that. That's not a part of the football. Right.
47:38
Speaker 1: That's not the ethos I'm here for. If you want
47:40
Speaker 1: to reward one or two of those teams to go
47:43
Speaker 1: on the road and get shellacked, you know, in the
47:45
Speaker 1: first round, the very end of the 2014 bracket. Okay,
47:48
Speaker 1: I'm willing to hear you out on that. Just automatic representation.
47:53
Speaker 1: What do you do with the Big 12, I think,
47:54
Speaker 1: is a fascinating argument right now. You've got BYU, who's
47:57
Speaker 1: now number two in America, behind Miami when we go
47:59
Speaker 1: back to those arbitrary AP rankings this week. They've got
48:03
Speaker 1: a big game with Utah coming up later in the season.
48:05
Speaker 1: That's going to be a massive game that I can't
48:07
Speaker 1: wait to watch. The Holy War. And it's truly going
48:09
Speaker 1: to be a Holy War this year between those two.
48:12
Speaker 1: You've got Texas Tech. What do you do with them?
48:14
Speaker 1: You've got good teams at the top of the Big 12. Now,
48:17
Speaker 1: do I think those teams are... Ohio State or Indiana
48:21
Speaker 1: or Georgia or even Texas or Tennessee? No. For the
48:25
Speaker 1: most part, I don't think they are. I think they're
48:27
Speaker 1: really good football teams, but how do you compare them
48:29
Speaker 1: to those other conferences? People are going to bitch and
48:32
Speaker 1: moan and complain about the 24 teams that are in,
48:35
Speaker 1: just like they bitched and moaned and complained about the
48:36
Speaker 1: 12 teams that were in, just like they bitched and
48:39
Speaker 1: moaned and complained about the four teams that were in,
48:41
Speaker 1: just like they bitched and moaned and complained about the
48:43
Speaker 1: two teams that were in the BCS. It's going to
48:46
Speaker 1: cause more debate and And I don't think that's a
48:49
Speaker 1: bad thing for college football. So again, I just want
48:52
Speaker 1: to wait and see. I don't know. I need to
48:54
Speaker 1: see this play out and see how they select the
48:57
Speaker 1: teams and see what the first bracket looks like and
48:59
Speaker 1: watch the games before making determination. Yeah, and look, I'm
49:03
Speaker 1: all for more games.
49:05
Speaker 2: I just want them to be legitimate games and not
49:08
Speaker 2: just the money grab to have every conference get their
49:11
Speaker 2: fair share. That's where I'm at on it. Let's look
49:15
Speaker 2: at one great example this weekend. Nobody had Auburn going
49:19
Speaker 2: on the road and even playing close with Georgia.
49:21
Speaker 1: No one. Georgia goes on the road and beats Alabama.
49:24
Speaker 1: They're a 20-point favorite at home. I was not looking
49:26
Speaker 1: at that as an upset possibility at all with Auburn.
49:29
Speaker 1: But guess what Auburn does? They pay their guys too.
49:34
Speaker 1: And they got a quarterback who can run the football
49:35
Speaker 1: really well. And he got going with the run game,
49:37
Speaker 1: and it helped the passing game. And Georgia makes some mistakes,
49:41
Speaker 1: and suddenly you're in a dogfight. And then even when
49:43
Speaker 1: Georgia looks like they're going to go down and win,
49:45
Speaker 1: they turn it over. A dumb personal foul penalty by
49:48
Speaker 1: Georgia gives Auburn a makeable field goal, and they win
49:51
Speaker 1: the game. That could be a playoff game. That could
49:55
Speaker 1: also happen. You've got to allow for the possibility. Those
49:58
Speaker 1: things could happen in December too with certain teams that
50:00
Speaker 1: are at the very end of that 2014 bracket. and
50:03
Speaker 1: one of the top teams. So I think we're going
50:06
Speaker 1: to see more and more of this. You have to
50:08
Speaker 1: take what we joked about, keep your powder dry for
50:11
Speaker 1: an SEC fan. You got to do it for the
50:12
Speaker 1: duration of the season because your teams are going to lose.
50:17
Speaker 1: That is the way this is built now. Just like
50:18
Speaker 1: we said in the NFL, we're going to talk Titans later.
50:21
Speaker 1: You're going to lose the NFL. You're going to win
50:23
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Titans are a great example of that.
50:26
Speaker 1: Finally getting a win under weird circumstances. That's becoming more
50:31
Speaker 1: of college football. And you can either adapt or die
50:34
Speaker 1: when it comes to how this thing is being played now. Hey,
50:37
Speaker 1: I would say this.
50:38
Speaker 2: The coaches now don't have to adapt as much. They're
50:43
Speaker 2: not risking as much for not making the 12-team playoff.
50:46
Speaker 2: They're going to be rewarded for making the 24-team after
50:50
Speaker 2: losing during the season. They're not sweating the loss as
50:54
Speaker 2: much as they are celebrating the win. You know, though, Man,
50:57
Speaker 2: that's where it really affects the whole system is with
51:00
Speaker 2: the coaches and the impact it has on the get
51:03
Speaker 2: in or die.
51:05
Speaker 1: Yes. Yeah, because now it's, okay, you didn't make the playoff.
51:08
Speaker 1: That's disappointing. But unless you're a top 10 preseason team,
51:12
Speaker 1: your fan base isn't going to burn you at the
51:13
Speaker 1: stake for not making the playoff. You don't make the–
51:17
Speaker 1: I mean, if you're at Oklahoma and you don't make
51:20
Speaker 1: a top 24 playoff, if you're at Tennessee or Auburn
51:24
Speaker 1: or Florida– or go through the list of teams, Penn State,
51:28
Speaker 1: and you can't make a top 24 playoff, GTFO. Yeah.
51:33
Speaker 1: Those are going to be the four letters you're going
51:34
Speaker 1: to hear from your fan base, and that's when you
51:37
Speaker 1: miss it one or two times in a row. You're
51:39
Speaker 1: going to be out. There's not going to be a
51:41
Speaker 1: lot of patience with fans of the 2014 playoff, which, again,
51:45
Speaker 1: for the do-or-die crowd that just wants to see team
51:47
Speaker 1: season end in mid-October, you're going to love that part
51:51
Speaker 1: of it because it's going to get a lot more
51:53
Speaker 1: controversy and a lot more hot seats going. And everything else,
51:56
Speaker 1: because now it is truly, you better make that 2014
51:59
Speaker 1: playoff if you're a really good football program. And if
52:02
Speaker 1: you don't, fans are going to be very, very upset.
52:05
Speaker 2: Coming up, Texas fans upset after being upset. We discuss
52:11
Speaker 2: Arch Manning and his future straight ahead.