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Mike Grace Interview · The Jake Wimberly Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And action! We got that and a whole lot more
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: around here. It's the Afternoon Drive with Jake Wimberly.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: What's the score? He's got that along with the hottest
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  Speaker 2: sports stories of the day on ESPN 105.9 The Zone
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: and online at thezone1059.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Com. Taking in on a Monday brought to you by BCI.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: That's Business Communications Incorporated. Go to bcipeople.com, 601-427-4185. Begin your
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: protection plan today. Big or small business, let BCI go
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: to work for you and your team today. Mike Grace,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: he is the host of the Press Box. You can
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: hear him at nights right here on 105.9 The Zone. And,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: of course, they've got their website, all kinds of great content. Mike,
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  Speaker 1: thank you so much, brother. How you doing?
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  Speaker 2: I'm doing good, man. I'm above ground. So that's a
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  Speaker 2: good thing. You know what I'm saying?
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  Speaker 1: There is no doubt. All right, let's talk some SEC football.
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  Speaker 1: We'll start in Starkville where we visited with David Murray.
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  Speaker 1: Gene's page, 247sports. com, hour one. It looks like A.J. Swan
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  Speaker 1: may be the guy this weekend. Your take on everything
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  Speaker 1: going on in Starkville with Kamario Taylor. I mean, we
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  Speaker 1: don't know if he's going to– probably not going to
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  Speaker 1: be healthy the rest of the year with the injuries
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  Speaker 1: he's got. Now they pivot likely to A.J.
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  Speaker 2: Swan. I just think back to last year, I think
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  Speaker 2: it was turf tow that cost Joe Burrow eight games
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  Speaker 2: in his National Football League schedule. So if this is
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  Speaker 2: turf tow, and I don't know that we've ever really
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  Speaker 2: verified that, but it's what the word is, then we
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  Speaker 2: really shouldn't expect Camario back. Look, I give him all
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  Speaker 2: the credit in the world for wanting to play this
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  Speaker 2: past week, but I really do wonder if it was
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  Speaker 2: in his best interest. It was obvious he could not
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  Speaker 2: move well. And just spend your time coming up with
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  Speaker 2: a game plan. that can benefit those other guys. I
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  Speaker 2: thought the Puckett was not bad when he threw on time.
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  Speaker 2: The numbers won't blow you away, 17-24 for 158 yards,
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  Speaker 2: the one touchdown, the one interception. But when he threw
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  Speaker 2: on time, I thought he did fine. If he had
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  Speaker 2: to kind of go through his progressions, it wasn't so great.
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  Speaker 2: But I know this is, again, great to have Fluff
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  Speaker 2: Boswell back. And, look, A.J. Swan's a guy who battled
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  Speaker 2: for a starting role at Vanderbilt, and I would think
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  Speaker 2: that Jeff Levy and his offensive coaches can find a
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  Speaker 2: game plan for the young man, see if he can
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  Speaker 2: help out.
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  Speaker 1: Visiting with Mike Gracie is the host of the Press
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  Speaker 1: Box Monday edition of the program. All right, Ole Miss,
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  Speaker 1: they will be back home taking on Auburn, their significant
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  Speaker 1: favorite in Vegas out the gate against Auburn. Took it
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  Speaker 1: on the chin to Texas. Auburn, likewise, took it on
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  Speaker 1: the chin to LSU. Ole Miss in a must-win situation
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  Speaker 1: now at 5-2.
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  Speaker 2: Well, and I learned this afternoon, Kwon Lacey will not
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  Speaker 2: play this upcoming weekend against Auburn is what I'm hearing.
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  Speaker 2: He was held at just 36 yards on 16 carries
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  Speaker 2: against Texas. And you know what he means to this offense.
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  Speaker 2: You go back to the win over Missouri when he
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  Speaker 2: came back from injury, 122 yards on just 16 totes
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  Speaker 2: in that matchup. So, you know, Trinidad Chambliss might be
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  Speaker 2: the best player in the country, but he's a little
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  Speaker 2: bit of a different player. When Kwon Lacey's not in
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  Speaker 2: that backfield with him, we'll see how that Ole Miss
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  Speaker 2: offense can hold up against Auburn this weekend.
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  Speaker 1: There's no doubt it's intrigue everywhere. Speaking of intrigue, let's
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  Speaker 1: go around the league. Kentucky 5-1, 7-1 overall score. Mike,
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  Speaker 1: there's a couple teams in the country that we didn't
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  Speaker 1: see coming. UCLA's one of the Big Ten. Kentucky's one
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  Speaker 1: of the SEC. How good is this Cats team?
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  Speaker 2: You know, I think they're pretty good. And when you
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  Speaker 2: look at what they've got left, they've still got to
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  Speaker 2: go to Tennessee. They get Florida home. They've got to
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  Speaker 2: go to Missouri. Okay, those are three tough games, there's
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  Speaker 2: no doubt. But this Kentucky team is definitely in play
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  Speaker 2: for a CFP playoff. Look, they're one loss to Bama.
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  Speaker 2: And look, it was by 28. But remember... The first half,
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  Speaker 2: they looked great against the tide, just had some second-half
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  Speaker 2: issues that caught up with them there. You know, everybody
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  Speaker 2: told me during the offseason to watch out for UCLA.
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  Speaker 2: Bob Chesney was going to make a difference and make
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  Speaker 2: a quick difference out there. I don't know that we
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  Speaker 2: thought Will Stein could do it. He certainly thought he could.
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  Speaker 2: He stood up at SEC Football Media Days and said
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  Speaker 2: the reason they're going to be better was him. He
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  Speaker 2: was going to make them better, a little Kurt Cignetti-ish,
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  Speaker 2: and lo and behold, he knew what he was talking about.
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  Speaker 2: He's backed it up so far.
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  Speaker 1: Georgia takes on Florida this weekend in the cocktail party.
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  Speaker 1: 6-1 Georgia coming off a loss to Auburn. Florida, they're
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  Speaker 1: coming off a win. And then when you look at
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  Speaker 1: these two, Florida 5-2, Georgia 6-1. Georgia's the favorite. Can
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  Speaker 1: Florida take this into the fourth quarter? Can they challenge Georgia?
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  Speaker 2: Look, I think that Georgia loss to Auburn might have
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  Speaker 2: been just exactly what Kirby Smart wanted for his team.
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  Speaker 2: He wanted to get their attention, especially with this bye
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  Speaker 2: week going on. They've been shooing on that 27-24 upset
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  Speaker 2: loss at home to the Auburn Tigers. So I think
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  Speaker 2: Kirby's going to have his team ready. And I really
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  Speaker 2: do think they're the one team in the SEC, to me,
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  Speaker 2: that is above the rest of the pack. There's a
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  Speaker 2: lot of other teams that could make the CFP, but
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  Speaker 2: I got a feeling Georgia's the best one of them all.
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  Speaker 1: Mike, Alabama and LSU are in the clubhouse this weekend
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  Speaker 1: taking a break. They'll play each other on the 7th.
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  Speaker 1: of November. Both sit with two losses. Is that a
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  Speaker 1: de facto play-in game for the college football playoff?
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  Speaker 2: You would think it's kind of got to be, although
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  Speaker 2: the way things are going, Jake, we may have more
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  Speaker 2: than one three-loss team in this year's field of 12.
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  Speaker 2: So maybe so. I just know this. Lane Kiffin's team
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  Speaker 2: is beginning to come around. They had some issues early on,
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  Speaker 2: but Sam Levitt looks as healthy as he's been all year.
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  Speaker 2: His last two outings have been outstanding through the air.
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  Speaker 2: And at the same time, Bama's still got some issues, man.
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  Speaker 2: They still have trouble running the football. That's not been
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  Speaker 2: an issue for LSU. They've been fantastic the last couple
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  Speaker 2: of weeks with their young guy in the backfield. So
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  Speaker 2: I hate to say it, but I think LSU might
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  Speaker 2: have the edge against the Tide this weekend.
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  Speaker 1: South Carolina upends Tennessee over the weekend, and we're visiting
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  Speaker 1: with Mike Grace. He is the host of the Press
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  Speaker 1: Box Monday edition of the program. Stream us on thezone1059. com.
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  Speaker 1: Two things. South Carolina, did Shane Beamer save his job?
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  Speaker 1: He's now 4-3. They've won two in a row. Tennessee
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  Speaker 1: falls to 6-2. Boy, it really gets tight on the
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  Speaker 1: pants there for Tennessee as far as college football playoff aspirations.
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  Speaker 2: And, Jake, I've asked that question to everyone we've talked
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  Speaker 2: to about the South Carolina team. And the folks inside
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  Speaker 2: the arena, inside that administration building, they tell me that
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  Speaker 2: he's never been on the hot seat, that, again– The
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  Speaker 2: folks in that administrative office like Shane Beamer. They want
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  Speaker 2: to keep Shane Beamer, that he's never really be in
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  Speaker 2: jeopardy of losing his job. Now, it certainly looked iffy
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  Speaker 2: early on with a couple of losses that team had,
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  Speaker 2: but now with back-to-back wins over ranked teams, it would
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  Speaker 2: be a stretch. But if these guys could run the table,
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  Speaker 2: and look, they've got a ways to go, but if
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  Speaker 2: they somehow end up 8-4 at the end of the year,
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  Speaker 2: you look at their losses, you look at the wins
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  Speaker 2: they've got over ranked teams, it would be hard to
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  Speaker 2: keep them out of a 12-team playoff.
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  Speaker 1: And when you look at Texas A & M, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: I don't think Mike Elko's in any danger, I don't think,
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  Speaker 1: of losing his job. And we're starting to see those
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  Speaker 1: jobs open up with Baylor and NC State and some others.
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  Speaker 1: But Texas A & M, how do you kind of
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  Speaker 1: define them this year? Boy, they have been a shell
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  Speaker 1: of what they were last year.
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  Speaker 2: They really have. And as far as the Elko thing,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I think the buyout is astronomical, and they've
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  Speaker 2: already done that with Jimbo. So I don't know that
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  Speaker 2: they're going to do it. I know there's a lot
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  Speaker 2: of money in Texas, but I don't know that there's
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  Speaker 2: that much. We'll see. But, you know, Marcel Reed has
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  Speaker 2: not been himself. I mean, that's one thing kind of
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  Speaker 2: going back to South Carolina. Their renaissance here the last
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  Speaker 2: couple of weeks has been precipitated by the return of
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  Speaker 2: Lenore Sellers and the lower sellers that we thought we
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  Speaker 2: would get with South Carolina. We've yet to see that
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  Speaker 2: from Marcel Reed at Texas A & M. And without him,
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  Speaker 2: I don't know how they how they win. Certainly this weekend.
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  Speaker 1: A couple minutes left here with Mike Gracie as the
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  Speaker 1: host of the Press Box. We're going to tell you
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  Speaker 1: where you can find his show here in just a bit. Mike,
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  Speaker 1: we've got the 2014 playoff. It looks like it's going
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  Speaker 1: to happen. Where are you on this?
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  Speaker 2: I've got to be honest, Jake. I'm coming around to it. Originally,
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  Speaker 2: I was not a big fan. My thought was that
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  Speaker 2: it would diminish the regular season. You think back to
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  Speaker 2: two weeks ago when we had all those teams in
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  Speaker 2: the top ten that lost, that that wouldn't make as
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  Speaker 2: big an impact next year in a 2014 playoff as
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  Speaker 2: it does this year with a 12-team playoff. But I'm
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  Speaker 2: beginning to come around the results of these last two weeks,
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  Speaker 2: especially this last Saturday. Look, there's going to be some
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  Speaker 2: three and four loss teams that deserve a chance to
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  Speaker 2: play for a national title. You tell me again, if
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  Speaker 2: I go back to South Carolina, if they could run
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  Speaker 2: the table and get to eight and four, they deserve
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  Speaker 2: a shot. In a 12-team field, it's going to be iffy.
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  Speaker 2: In a 24-team field, you've got to believe they're in there.
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  Speaker 2: And I think they deserve a chance to do it.
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  Speaker 2: I know the NFL loves the any given Sunday kind
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  Speaker 2: of deal, and it's beginning to be like that in
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  Speaker 2: college football, any given Saturday or Thursday or Monday or
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  Speaker 2: Tuesday or Friday, depending on which conference you're in. Any
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  Speaker 2: team can just about anybody, and that's what the NIL
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  Speaker 2: deal has done. It's what the transfer portal has done.
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  Speaker 2: You just don't have teams loading up on four and
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  Speaker 2: five stars like you used to. They're spread out, and
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  Speaker 2: now all teams are good, or at least there are
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  Speaker 2: a lot of good teams out there, that's for sure.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: Mike, before we let you out of here, tell everybody
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: where they can find your content. You guys are putting
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: out great content daily. Of course, you can hear it
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: right here at night on 105.9 The Zone.
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  Speaker 2: It is PressBoxRadio.com. Monday, Wednesday, Friday at Mississippi State's Bart
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: Heitsch and Colin Lacey out of Statesboro, Georgia with me.
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  Speaker 2: My Tuesday, Thursday co-hosts are Jason Powers out of Tampa, Florida,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: and Mike Mote here in just suburban Atlanta, Georgia. So
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  Speaker 2: we'll look forward to tomorrow. We've got some great guests,
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: including Aaron Murray, the former Georgia quarterback, all-time leading passer
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  Speaker 2: in the SEC in yards and touchdowns. We'll talk about
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: that cocktail party, the outdoor cocktail party, which is going
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: indoors this year with Mercedes-Benz Dome Stadium hosting it.
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  Speaker 1: Mike, always appreciate your time. Thank you so much, and look,
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  Speaker 1: we'll do it again soon.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: Right back at you, guys. Appreciate it.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Mike Grace on your radio broadcast. you by
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: the MHSAA, officially become official today, 601-924-6400, online at M-I-S-S-H-S-A-A.com.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: By the way, the reclassifications are on their website now
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: if you want to see the reclassifications here for the
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: next two years in the MHSAA. Back in a moment.