CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK INSTANT REACTION: Indiana-Ohio State | Georgia-Alabama | Texas Tech-BYU

Summary

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Cover 3 College Football Podcast

Championship Week Instant Reaction: Indiana-Ohio State | Georgia-Alabama | Texas Tech-BYU

Date: December 7, 2025

Hosts: Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Bud Elliott

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers immediate, high-energy reactions and deep analysis of college football’s conference championship weekend. Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, and Bud Elliott break down the stunning outcomes from the Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 title games, and set the stage for Selection Sunday and College Football Playoff debates. Expect passionate commentary, live banter, memorable quips, and a celebratory, occasionally incredulous tone fitting for one of the wildest championship weekends in recent memory.

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1. Indiana Stuns Ohio State: Big Ten Championship Shock (04:22–27:14)

Key Points & Insights

• Historic Upset: Indiana beats Ohio State 13–10, clinching their first Big Ten title since joining the conference.
• Coach Kurt Signetti’s Impact: The hosts praise Signetti’s culture change and his aggressive approach to energizing the program and community.
  • Chip Patterson: “He was very intentional about trying to wake up a community … trying to say, hey … we need to take ourselves seriously in football.” (09:03)
• Defensive Masterclass: Indiana’s upgrades on both lines dominated the game, harassing OSU’s quarterback and limiting playmakers.
  • Tom: “He got sacked seven times in the regular season. He got sacked five times tonight.” (10:18)
  • Bud: “Indiana’s defensive backs deserve a ton of credit too … It was just an outstanding performance by that defense.” (11:30)
• Critical Red Zone Defense: Indiana’s execution in high-leverage situations was the difference.
  • Tom: “Indiana out-executed Ohio State in the critical situations … they played tells and keys really well.” (12:04)
• Credit & Blame Game: Panel agrees most credit goes to Indiana’s defense. Questionable Ohio State play calls, but defense deserved to win.
• Notable Stat:
  • Only one Ohio State touchdown on four red zone trips. (13:02)
• Indiana’s Future: Discussion about Indiana possibly breaking the “blue chip ratio” myth (teams needing certain recruiting credentials to win titles).
• Quarterback Heroics: Specifically praise Fernando Mendoza’s poise and clutch throws.
  • Chip: "They've got Fernando flipping Mendoza as their quarterback." (23:33)

Notable Quotes

• Bud (re: Indiana): “Football in 49 states, it’s a sport. But in the state of Indiana, it’s religion.” (10:11)
• Tom: “They proved they’re really good all year. We shouldn’t lose sight of how wild it is—Indiana is the Big Ten champion.” (13:13)
• Bud: “They held Ohio State. They held the freaking Buckeyes to 10 points.” (11:58)

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2. Georgia Dismantles Alabama: SEC Championship Recap (31:33–43:11)

Key Points & Insights

• End of Alabama's SEC Title Streak: Georgia beats Alabama 28–7 for their first back-to-back SEC title since the early ‘80s.
• Kirby Smart’s Defensive Clinic: Georgia’s defense dominated, shutting down Ty Simpson, stalling Alabama’s run game, and mixing coverages.
  • Chip: “This was a dominant performance from Georgia’s defense.” (33:14)
  • Bud: “They were sitting on it … It was a Kirby Smart field position-ass special.” (36:15)
• Offensive Gameplan: Gunner Stockton managed the game efficiently, used as a runner and short-game passer; no major explosive plays but high completion percentage (77%).
  • Tom: “They dominated that game with zero downfield passing attack.” (37:03)
• Injury Watch: Discussion of Georgia injuries, specifically Colby Young’s status for the playoff.
• Alabama Struggles: Ty Simpson appears regressed and rattled; inability to run allowed Georgia to dictate every aspect. (38:12–38:56)

Notable Quotes

• Bud: “Ty Simpson seeing ghosts.” (38:12)
• Chip: “It was part of the game plan early … Gunner got MVP honors and I don’t think that was just a ‘look up and he had three touchdowns’ thing.” (41:34)

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3. College Football Playoff Debate & Selection Scenarios (44:53–63:26)

Key Points & Insights

• Selection Committee Intrigue: Heated debate over which teams should get the final playoff berths; panel discusses main contenders:
  • Alabama (3 losses after a non-competitive SEC loss)
  • Notre Dame
  • Miami
  • BYU (disregarded for being blown out by top teams)
• Committee Politics & Potential Fallout:
  • Debating if the SEC runner-up can be left out without triggering league backlash.
  • Politics for ACC, perception of fairness (especially after last year’s FSU snub).
  • Noted potential for future playoff expansion to resolve current messiness.
• Duke or JMU?: Fits the “auto-bid” G5 team debate—should a 5-loss Duke (ACC champ) be in over 12–1 James Madison? Discussion hinges on power conference wins vs. record quality.

Notable Quotes

• Bud: “If that is your goal, then yeah, Alabama gets left out. Because then everybody backs up and unites in ‘Let’s expand this damn thing!’” (51:05)
• Tom: “Do you think we’ll get some kind of rule that you have to be at least top 20 … to be the auto conference champion?” (56:25)
• Bud: “This is like the most ‘hey, politics matter’ ranking that I can remember in a while.” (56:47)

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4. Texas Tech Demolishes BYU: Big 12 Championship Recap (69:00–72:55)

Key Points & Insights

• Texas Tech’s Old-School Dominance: Defense suffocates BYU for a 34–7 rout; offense still a question mark, but the D is championship-level.
  • Bud: “They remind me of a BCS-era SEC team where they’re just gonna beat the hell out of you with their defense.”
• BYU’s Offense Collapses: Young QB overwhelmed; they never threaten in second half.
• Tech’s Defensive Stars: DL dominates, LBs/DBs highly praised, even without a superstar game from Bailey.
• Sentiments: Hosts celebrate Texas Tech’s rare conference title, equal to Indiana’s sense of history-making.

Notable Quotes

• Chip: “If we’re gonna start off the show with ‘congrats, raise a glass for Indiana,’ let’s make sure we also do it for Texas Tech.” (71:29)
• Tom: “I’m a little sad we’re not going to get them in a home playoff game.” (72:48)

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5. Additional Championship Recaps & Notables (77:23–84:54)

Power Conference & G5 Recap

• ACC Title: Duke vs. Virginia:
  • Duke claims first ACC football title since 1989, prevailing in OT with defensive resilience.
  • Chip: “Duke has won it (the ACC title) in 89 and now 2025.” (79:28)
  • Tom: “Duke has seven power conference wins. JMU has zero.” (79:23)
• Tulane's Playoff Year: Tulane crushes North Texas, celebrates their playoff berth—praised for culture, defense, and fan passion.
  • Tom: “Tulane was ready to go. They held North Texas to their worst scoring output of the season.” (80:46)
• Kennesaw State Wins C-USA: Two-win team last year, now champs after wild finish vs. Jacksonville State.
  • Chip: “Kennesaw State Owls, two wins a year ago, now Conference USA champions. Quite a turnaround.” (84:54)

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6. Favorite Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Indiana’s Win:
  Bud: “Football in 49 states, it’s a sport. But in the state of Indiana, it’s religion.” (10:11)

• On Georgia’s Coaching:
  Chip: “He was about to tell you what we’re about to do: I just gained 25 yards by punting twice and shutting your ass down.” (36:18)

• On the Playoff Selection Drama:
  Bud: “It’s not good business to kick out the loser of the SEC championship game. Not unless your goal is to get the format changed next year.” (51:03)

• Comic Relief:
  Tom (on JMU fans’ rules confusion): “One Indiana fan responded to me and says, ‘Okay, well thank you, Tom. We’re new to football. We don’t know these things.’” (22:05)

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7. Timestamps for Major Segments

• Indiana-Ohio State Reaction: 04:22–27:14
• Georgia-Alabama SEC Breakdown: 31:33–43:11
• CFP Selection/Rankings Debate: 44:53–63:26
• Big 12 (Texas Tech-BYU): 69:00–72:55
• ACC/Duke, G5, Other Champs: 77:23–84:54

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8. The Panel's Energy

• The trio’s chemistry shines with a blend of detailed tactical breakdowns, live reactions to game events, speculation over playoff politics, and self-effacing humor.
• The episode captures their love for the chaos and drama of college football, with genuine surprise, celebration, and a bit of exasperation over playoff debates and committee quirks.

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9. Final Thoughts

• This season’s championship weekend defied expectations, upended traditional power hierarchies (Indiana! Texas Tech!), and set up one of the most controversial and debated College Football Playoff fields ever.
• The hosts close with some good-natured ribbing, nostalgia for high school playoff formats (just line ‘em up and play!), and a promise to return with instant reaction to bracket revelations on Selection Sunday.

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This summary captures the electrifying surprises, major critique points, and memorable sound bites from one of the most compelling college football podcasts of the year.

Transcript

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[Tom Fernelli]

Welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast with your hosts Chip Patterson, Tom Fernelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. It's your call for the best college football coverage from national signing day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS SP the COVID 3 podcast and.

[Chip Patterson]

Welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Fenelli, that's Bud Elliott. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you [e-mail] cover3 and everywhere. Get your podcast on demand. Thanks for hanging out. Smash that subscribe smash that like and come and join us in the chat aka the COVID 3 tailgate where they were demanding that we just get this thing started. And I understand that after Indiana takes down Ohio State to win the Big Ten championship, I say it again for the people in the back. The Indiana Hoosiers football program beat the world famous Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten title game 13 to 10. I mean, you never thought that the flipping Hoosiers would get it done. But Buddy, Fernando Mendoza, he came up with the big plays late. We will get into that. We will get into a absolute cathartic win for the Georgia Bulldogs inside the same building where Alabama has broken your heart. Kirby Smart against a team that has defeated you seven times. And Buddy, it was just a nice easy walk all the way to the podium to go lift that trophy. Back to back champions in the SEC for Georgia. First time that program's done that since Herschel Walker was roaming the sidelines and they won three straight in the early 80s. And Texas Tech absolutely rolled. Friday night action was fantastic. I Mean, you know, we had four games. I could say maybe two and a half of them were super exciting. And yes, the tailgate was demanding that we get started, even though there are 36 seconds left in the ACC Championship game, where it is, as we told you before, cold and damp, and the Duke Blue Devils are currently nursing a 2013 lead as Chandler Morris is knocking on the door. So this is true instant reaction. This is going to be an opportunity for us to not only get in. Oh, not only get in all of the football conversation, we, of course, will be bringing you our College Football Playoff eyes ahead to Sunday's final bracket release. So that's. That's kind of two prong, and, I mean, tailgate wanted to start early, but now we're introducing something else. It's very tough. Attention is always. And focus is always difficult on a Saturday night. But this. This is the goal, right? One, we want to talk about football, like the games is one of our last times to really break down a slate. Number two, we will do the playoff talk because everybody's doing the playoff talk, and it is what people are talking about. And then number three, we will. That's the first down. And number three, we will, of course, be reacting to all of this live. So.

Do you wanna. Do you wanna sit in this and then we'll get. Wow. Whoa.

Sorry.

[Bud Elliott]

James Madison.

[Tom Fernelli]

Was he out of bounds? I don't know. Forced out of bounds.

[Bud Elliott]

Go for two. Just end this charade.

[Tom Fernelli]

But did they uphold this?

[Bud Elliott]

I don't know.

[Tom Fernelli]

The red. The refs had it off, so I'm saying, like, out of bounds. I think he was out of bounds.

[Bud Elliott]

She sure he wasn't just taking. Hats off for that catch, son.

[Tom Fernelli]

So he has to reestablish.

[Bud Elliott]

He was way the hell out of bounds.

[Tom Fernelli]

I don't think he's forced out here.

[Bud Elliott]

He got two feet down, though, before he came back in.

[Tom Fernelli]

No, it's one. The second foot is the catch.

[Chip Patterson]

No. Yeah, yeah. Two feets are.

[Bud Elliott]

I don't know.

[Tom Fernelli]

Look, that. That.

[Chip Patterson]

That.

[Tom Fernelli]

That second step is still out of bounds. So the first one and then the second one is on the catch.

[Bud Elliott]

I don't know, Jim.

[Tom Fernelli]

I don't know. We're gonna see here.

[Bud Elliott]

They're letting it stand.

[Chip Patterson]

Letting it stand. The call came in from Charlotte.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, exactly.

[Bud Elliott]

Crap.

[Tom Fernelli]

Miami's so pissed.

[Chip Patterson]

All right, well, you know, what?

[Bud Elliott]

Can I just say.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, go ahead.

[Bud Elliott]

All year we've talked about, everybody's been like, oh, it's so great that the ACC lets us in on the replay process, and we get to hear the thoughts and what's going into it.

The biggest damn play of the ACC's entire season. They don't review it because they didn't want you to hear a damn thing coming out of that room.

[Tom Fernelli]

Ladies and gentlemen, here's how that replay call went. Hey, Jim. Yeah, it's good. Okay.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I see you, Miguel. I understand. I realize that it does seem like we started the show too soon. We're just going to make this up. Maybe a little bit of a hangout. Or do we want to dive into Indiana, Ohio State while they get the pieces in order for overtime?

[Tom Fernelli]

I think we're in Indiana Ohio State now. Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay.

[Tom Fernelli]

All right.

[Chip Patterson]

Number one. I mean, congrats. They did it. We've talked about this Indiana team for two years. Like, this is like, it should be noted, the. The most impressive start to a power conference tenure. And all things considered, you know what the program, it was that Kurt Signetti took over the intention that he had in terms of bending everyone to his will. I mean, he told us back at the beginning of the season in Las Vegas. He said, I had to shake things up. Like him going out at the basketball game and running his mouth, him doing the Google me. Like, he was very intentional about trying to wake up a community, trying to wake up a campus, trying to say, hey, this is like, we need to take ourselves seriously in football season. Should not be something that we do until basketball season.

I just. This was different. They lined up and beat Ohio State.

Super. Super stuff. What. What stood out to you, Tom?

[Bud Elliott]

I mean, you know what they say, chip. Football in 49 states, it's a sport. But in the state of Indiana, it's religion.

[Chip Patterson]

That is. I think that's how the saying goes. There might be one or two words.

[Bud Elliott]

Always been the way that they've said it. I mean, we. We talked about it all week when we were previewing this game. We've talked about it all season, really, with Indiana, since they went on the road to beat Oregon. The biggest difference in this team this year is they upgraded their quarterback, but they really upgraded along the lines of scrimmage. It gave them a chance to compete against teams like this. And when you have watched Ohio State this year, outside of Texas and Michigan for a little bit, there really haven't been many teams that were able to compete with them along the lines of scrimmage for 60 minutes. Indiana did. I know Indiana got like they got after saying San was more hurried and more under more pressure tonight than we've seen him at any point. This career. I tweeted the stat. He got sacked seven times in the regular season. He got sacked five times tonight. Like he's not used to playing in that. We haven't seen him have to overcome being in that pocket, being harassed, having to look downfield while he's got guys on his ass the entire time. And he really, really struggled with it tonight in Indiana. Their defensive backs deserve a ton of credit too because they did a great job of. At least you can't cover Jeremiah Smith, but you can try to slow him down. They did for the most part. D' Angelo Pounds, I don't know if you guys heard, they were high school teammates, did an excellent job despite the significant size advantage of holding him in check. Carnell Tate kind of disappeared in the second half of that game. I don't know where he went. He seemed to be in somebody's pocket. Like it was just an outstanding performance by that defense. Because in our lockspot on Thursday, I took the Indiana team total under 21 and a half and that thing cruised to an easy win and they still won the game.

[Chip Patterson]

They held Ohio State.

[Bud Elliott]

They held the freaking Buckeyes to 10 points.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

I, I thought they played critical like situations really, really well. Obviously the field goal is not on, on them, but like the, the red zone stuff they did was excellent. Like they, I think they kind of got the style of game that they needed to get and they out executed Ohio State in the critical situations. Right? I think they like, they, they played, they played tells and keys really well, like so well. I think like late in the game you saw Ohio State try to do like a little more tendency breaking stuff. The, the NS throwback, the, you know, the, the rollout there trying to slip him on, on third and one. Like, and those guys just like to their credit, they, they seem to anticipate it really well, like when they were going to counter it, right? Like Indiana played that throwback even pretty well. Like they, they, they had the back to the flat covered there on the third and one after Ohio State was moving the ball on that drive. This really came down to playing really great red zone defense and getting enough pressure, you know, on Mendoza or sorry, on saying like throughout the ball game to Tom's point. Like that was kind of the difference here, right? Like Indiana has been probably.

[Chip Patterson]

Is it four red zone, four red zone attempts and it just ends up being one touchdown.

[Tom Fernelli]

One. One touchdown and what, one field goal? Yeah, yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

Points allowed wise. Points allowed wise. Ohio State was the best red zone defense this year in Indiana was the fourth best and they played like it.

They had.

[Tom Fernelli]

They had what, like eight real drives each. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Yeah, they had eight real drives each. They both had what, three drives that exceeded 50 yards. Ohio stated 81, 70 and 67. Indiana had 54, 61 and 88. The real difference was Indiana cash the one long drive in with the touchdown and Ohio State got field goal turnover on downs, missed field goal. Like, I, I think like they're. They show they're very evenly matched teams and like Indiana, like one in the red zone and they're the Big Ten champions. That is. That's wild. Yeah, you know, like, congrat. Like, they proved they're really good all year. We shouldn't lose sight of like how wild is. We're sitting here and saying Indiana is the Big Ten champion. Like, that's pretty cool.

[Bud Elliott]

Like, they were, they were the number. They were the 1 and 2 team in the country all year in the polls. But there was always the question of since they hadn't played each other, like, are they. Are they both really the two best teams in the country? I feel like tonight kind of proved that they are. And I also feel pretty confident that they'll play again. Like whether it's in the semis or the title game, I don't know. But I do feel very confident they will play again.

[Chip Patterson]

I don't. We'll get to College Football Playoff conversation later, but I would say that they're probably gonna. They're probably going to be.

It probably won't be one in four, right?

[Bud Elliott]

No, I would think one in three.

[Chip Patterson]

One and three. But that's still championship game the way the bracket, right? Have you ever seen a bracket? The thing a lot of people don't realize about a bracket is the one seed and the three seed don't have a chance to meet until the end. So Garrett. Garrett asked out one of our favorite questions, especially here in the immediate wake of something. It is the credit blame game. And I know the answer is usually a little bit of both, but for the red zone success or failures, how does that credit and blame get assigned in your eyes?

[Bud Elliott]

I give most of the credit to the defense. I thought doing a QB sneak with your tiny little quarterback was an odd choice.

[Chip Patterson]

And did you see Cam's comment and slight Cameron Salerno, who's like a, you know, excellent writer with us at college football, he mentioned why did you go for it on the first try and then kick it on the second try? The second try absolutely being the awful fulfillment of the prophecy on the COVID 3 podcast. When we said on this year's show, was it Wednesday, Tom, and big game breakdown, we said, don't leave this up to the kickers. Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

I agree with the decision.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay.

[Bud Elliott]

I agreed with it. You go for it the first time because you've got plenty of time left. So if you don't get it, you're pinning them inside the 10 and you're going to get the ball back with a chance to score. At that point in the game, if you don't score or get the first down, you're probably not getting the ball back. And the field position doesn't really matter because Indiana just needs a first down and it's going to be able to melt the clock down.

[Tom Fernelli]

Also, you had to feel great if you're Ohio State sending the kicker out there, in my opinion, because you had figured out Indiana's defense. You just drove at 81 and 77 yards in back to back drives. I think if you're Ryan Day, you're thinking, hey, we're stopping them pretty consistently. We just put together our best two drives of the day. Right. Like 77, 81 are the two best drives any team had so far today. We're moving on to them. We finally got them figured out. Okay. We didn't get third down. Let's tie this thing up. We'll get a stop. We're gonna have a chance to win regulation. If we go to overtime, we feel great. We're gonna win this thing. And the kicker just missed it. I actually don't. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. Based on how they had adjusted and started moving the football.

[Chip Patterson]

Cool.

[Bud Elliott]

Like, the one thing I would have changed is I was made. I would have made the kick.

[Tom Fernelli]

Well, yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

If I could do anything different.

[Chip Patterson]

If I could do anything.

[Bud Elliott]

That was.

[Tom Fernelli]

That was a stuff that was like a. Like a hook it into the crowd, you know, celebrity golf tournament drive. Like, dude.

[Chip Patterson]

Took out the guy.

[Tom Fernelli]

Man.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

By the way, the broadcast just. Again, we are staying in. This broadcast just showed JMU fans at. In Charlotte. That's pretty awesome driving from Harrison.

[Bud Elliott]

Oh, they're at the game. I thought they were. I think they were showing them at a bar somewhere.

[Chip Patterson]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. JMU fans at the ACC championship game, which I respect. Okay, back to the lecture at hand. So what do you tell an Ohio State fan?

Let's just say that we've got an Ohio State fan who's a big friend and listen to the show. Let's just say his name is.

KJ or rhymes with KJ or anything like that. What, what would you tell them in terms of getting the right psyche as they prepare for the College Football Playoff? Should you be concerned about that?

No.

[Bud Elliott]

I mean, it's, it's not like you got the crappy daddy. You lost by three points.

[Chip Patterson]

I think that you were hoping that your team, which looked like they could bring the sledgehammer to anybody all season long, scored 10 points in the Big Ten championship game. And it wasn't like it was some weird mental issue. I mean, it was you, you went out there and got beat. You could not block like Ohio State could not block Indiana, is that I, I don't know how many defenses are going to be able to do that, but a couple of them are in the College Football Playoff.

[Tom Fernelli]

I mean, I think it's a fair point if you're an Ohio State fan who was like, hey, we're going to roll over everybody in the playoff, no matter what. That is, I guess in theory still possible. But I don't think you're assuming that now, like the rest of the country now has a lot more hope than they would have if Ohio State just gone out there and killed it. Because again, Indiana has been the clear second best team in the country all year. Right? So the fact that like, they, they played them like very evenly and they came out on top of is, I think gives like a lot of the rest of the country hope. You know, if you are a Georgia fan, if you're an Oregon fan, like getting those guys back, like, stuff like that, like, hey, you know what? We're gonna have a chance if we have to face this team. You go for this.

[Chip Patterson]

If you're Duke.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, they are. You have to.

[Bud Elliott]

And you got it. So. But yeah, like, yeah, I mean, it. Losing stinks. You're not exactly happy. You, you definitely are more concerned. And I do think if you look at the overall how the game played out, the biggest problem Ohio State's had all year is their run game has not been great. And the run game was very bad tonight. They only have, you know, the sacks obviously take a lot out of it, but even if you remove the sacks, they only averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Didn't really have that. It allowed Indiana to kind of pin its ears back and get after saying, so. I think that if there is a rematch, you got to figure out a way to at least make that a bit more respectable. You know, Bo Jackson finished with 83 yards, but I, I, if it's like, it's not like I don't think I'm suddenly, there's no, I can't beat this team. There's nobody I can't beat. It's like if Ohio State plays well, it's going to beat anybody plays. It's just Indiana played better than it did tonight.

[Tom Fernelli]

How do they handle roughing the passer, by the way, on a.

End of series overtime play? It doesn't back the opponent up on the next one, right?

Do you take half the distance on the two point and try to go for two?

[Bud Elliott]

I would if that's what they.

[Tom Fernelli]

Or is it enforced at the 40? If it's enforced at the 40, then you have to like take the penalty and make UVA start at the 40.

[Chip Patterson]

Mikey is losing his mind right now.

[Tom Fernelli]

Sorry.

[Bud Elliott]

You know what?

[Tom Fernelli]

Mikey's gonna get the thumbnail right on this. Mikey's gonna get, Mikey's gonna get the headline on this. People are gonna say it's a nine minute Ohio State, Indiana VOD. They're gonna click it. They're gonn watch this for 16 weeks. You're not at all gonna be pissed that we had 90 seconds of Duke UVA talk in here. And we, we learned something too because we learned that it actually is enforced.

[Chip Patterson]

At the, is enforced at the for.

[Bud Elliott]

We are here, we are here to entertain and teach.

[Tom Fernelli]

Did you guys know that?

[Bud Elliott]

Did you? No, I did not.

[Tom Fernelli]

I, we watch a lot of football. I've never seen that I would be.

[Chip Patterson]

As good as, I would be as good as all of the coaches that we talk about not knowing the overtime rules. You know, like with the way the overtime rules get changed every single season, the penalty enforcement on a roughing, the passer call, I would pay somebody on my staff to know that.

[Bud Elliott]

I will say shout out to Indian this one Indiana fan because there was the, that one play Ohio State made where they, they hit the receiver behind the line of scrimmage on the screen pass and it got picked off. Indiana fans are screaming, why wasn't that pass interference? Ball game. Oh, wow. And I, I said it was because if you're behind the line of scrimmage, there's no such thing as pass interference. And there was one Indiana fan that responded to me and says, okay, well thank you, Tom. We're new to football. We don't know these things.

[Tom Fernelli]

That one I did know. Yeah, I mean I, I, I like, I think both these defenses are really, really good. Like Indiana's defensive front is damn good. Their linebackers are just all over the field like Those guys, they save them on a lot of place constantly. Like, those guys are really, really nice. And we talk about Georgia's, obviously, but like, I think Indiana's are. Are kind of right there.

[Chip Patterson]

Like, they're, they're safeties are. I mean, it's just you. It. Oh, here's a good one.

Bud.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Are we on blue chip ratio? Watch with the Hoosiers?

[Tom Fernelli]

I think it's possible. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you got to go through a bunch of games.

[Chip Patterson]

I take no joy. I'm not trying to be like, somebody's.

[Tom Fernelli]

Gonna bust it at some point. We've always thought like, hey, it's a team that would have like a, you know, first round quarterback that can overcome and.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, weird. And some of those throws.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Especially late in that game. Like Cooper leaves the game with an injury. Keep an eye on that, by the way. I don't know what that's going to end up meaning, you know, moving forward at least. Got a little bit of time, but Becker stepped up.

[Tom Fernelli]

We got Becker.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Got some awesome throws in that game. But just there were some spots where the only way that Indiana gets the first down that they needed, and that happened a couple of times. The only way Indiana gets the first down they needed is because they've got Fernando freaking Mendoza as their quarterback. Or excuse me to echo the way he said it on Fox. Fernando flipping Mendoza.

What was it the Indiana flipping Hoosiers? Was that it?

[Bud Elliott]

Indiana flipping Hoosiers?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, he. He got right back into 99 yards with the boys. And I just. It's awesome.

[Bud Elliott]

I mean, like, you look at Fernando now and like, his, his body and like how they're going to like, you know, project him at the NFL level because he's got the build and he's got all that. He's got the arm. Imagine when he reaches puberty. A kid might grow another 4 inches.

[Tom Fernelli]

He'd be like, he would be like, like clutch Kirk Cousins, you know.

[Chip Patterson]

All right, I. I don't know. I don't know. I. I don't know his background, but.

[Tom Fernelli]

He played. He played at Columbus.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, I was gonna say John in the tailgate called him trust fund Jamis, which I'm gonna take for his quotability, his skills, but I can't speak to Fernando's background to call him trust fund Jamis.

[Bud Elliott]

Hold on, I've got a text to send.

[Tom Fernelli]

I'm pretty sure.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, did Siri tell you to send a text to Kevin?

[Bud Elliott]

Huh? Manny won the ACC before Mario did.

XOXO.

Sent.

[Tom Fernelli]

So Heisman Doza.

[Bud Elliott]

Is that what the odds went?

[Tom Fernelli]

I. I think that clutch throw, like, maybe that locks it up for him.

[Chip Patterson]

I don't know.

[Bud Elliott]

I. I'm not allowed to speak on such things.

[Tom Fernelli]

Oh, true. Right. I.

[Chip Patterson]

Sorry, buddy.

[Tom Fernelli]

Not a voter. Not a voter.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

So it's like saying was going to be left off a lot of ballots. If you look at like some of the media polling that's out there. Right. It was basically Mendoza or Pavia. So I think that clutch throw, like, how much play that's going to get, he probably took it home.

[Bud Elliott]

Pavia had been the favorite for a while today. Mendoza is currently at Fanduel minus 3,000.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah. Okay. He locked it up.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

I don't know who's gonna win. I don't know who I'm gonna go for yet. Honestly.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I don't know. As. As I said on CBS Sports hq, on. I said there was a list of players that I was considering. Some of them were playing in Championship Weekend, some of them were not. And I've got a little bit of time to figure out the order. Some will make the ballot, some won't. And then after the Heisman ceremony, when we come back on the Monday after Army, Navy and Heisman Trophy, we'll. We'll maybe be able to show our cards and discuss it in a little bit.

[Tom Fernelli]

We can't forget Emmett Johnson at Nebraska.

[Chip Patterson]

Hey, you know who's not getting enough Heisman love? You know who's really not getting? Why didn't Jack Jake Rhett's laugh getting more Heisman love.

[Tom Fernelli]

You know, I'm telling you, I'm telling.

[Chip Patterson]

You, I'm telling you. When Alonza Burnett ain't getting more Heisman love. Kaden Wheaton. Come on now.

[Bud Elliott]

They were more.

Player. You take Kaden Wheaton off of Iowa. What are they, a 2 and 10.

[Chip Patterson]

Team.

In the, in the, in the tailgate? I did say a little. I did see a little late game. Late games delivered. I 100 agree with you both.

[Tom Fernelli]

Oh, thank God. Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Today sucked until the night, which is as we. As we turn the page here.

Coming up on the other side to a game that was a little bit less competitive, let's get into how Georgia slowly dismantled the Alabama Crimson Tide. What we saw and what led to Duke's big win, as well as the Big 12 and the college Football Playoff picture. And more nukes.

[Bud Elliott]

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[Chip Patterson]

The COVID 3 podcast where the official scoreboard still reads Kirby Smart 2 Alabama 7. But let's talk about those two because one of them is a national championship and one of them is an SEC championship. Specifically 287 after nine straight wins in SEC Championship games, I'm going to say that one more time. Alabama has not lost in the SEC championship game since 2008 and now it has happened as Georgia races out to a 140 halftime lead. They led 21 nothing. At one point in this game I suggested that maybe Kirby Smart was doing a tribute to the Alabama LSU rematch. Because at one point in this game there were three Alabama offensive snaps in Georgia territory and one was an interception.

Alabama, because they have a very good quarterback, very gifted skill players, and great offensive coaches, they eventually were able to get something going. They eventually did get on the scoreboard and had a few more snaps in Georgia territory. But don't get it twisted, this was dogs on top all day long. But would you what do you see from this? Kaylin DeBoer in the post game press conference is blaming injuries. And while I agree with you, not having Jam Miller was, you know, something that we should point out. Given some of the missed blocking assignments, the young running backs had the inability of having somebody to maybe get some of those hard yards. But man, this thing felt like it didn't matter who you had at running back. This was a, this was a dominant performance from Georgia's defense.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, I thought Georgia's defense like they made Simpson look kind of like Florida State made him look. I'm not Trying to give, like, the Knowles love here. I'm just saying, like. Like, we. The first game of the season, hell.

[Chip Patterson]

Of a time to do it, bud. I actually respect.

[Tom Fernelli]

Right, Like.

[Chip Patterson]

Like, let's. Let's give a shout out to Florida State, number seven.

[Tom Fernelli]

Of course. Right. They're not playing championship weekend, obviously, for a long time, so. Oh, it's A.C. so who knows?

[Chip Patterson]

Who knows? I mean, Duke just beat Virginia to win the acc, so.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, right. I mean, like, I. So I thought they made Simpson pat the ball really well. Like, he was. He was not, like, seeing it real well when he did see it. He was like a half count late out there. I thought George did a nice job of playing, like, a real great variety of coverages, like saving on game dudes. Like, they need to, like, just man them up. And Kirby Smart's like, no, actually, we're gonna, like, throw a lot of different concepts here, and unless you can run the ball on us, we're going to continue to play a lot of different defensive coverages in the back end. We're gonna, like, blitz from. From different places without a lot of fear of Bama's run game. And ultimately, like, just. Simpson was just late on a lot of stuff. Like, it wasn't horribly inaccurate. It was just, hey, half count late. If you're half count late against a team with really good athletes on defense like Georgia, you're gonna be in trouble. But I think a lot of that does come back to what Chip said. Like, without the run game, you can play those kind of defense. You can play defense like that. And I think it's an important, like, data point to take home for Georgia because they've really played a couple offenses in a row that are not very good leading down the stretch. Right. I mean, Georgia Tech's a decent offense, but they're not. Like, they've had some stinkers and they've had some really good ones. You know, Mississippi State, not. Not really Texas, not nothing special on offense this year. Like, really good defense. Florida, obviously not. Right? So, like, Bama's offense is pretty good, typically. And, like, they came out there, they totally shut him down. You know, like, a couple times I thought Bama had him dead to rights. And then somebody made, like, a great individual play up front for Georgia. Like, just like, if you look at the one time they. They sack Simpson, they're going towards what, the north end zone there. So it's like, second quarter, Bama picked up the blitz. Proctor just got absolutely worked by the defensive end, who is not really part of the blitz. He was just. He's the rusher on the opposite side and like Georgia busted it on the back end. Like you can see it on if you're watching the sky cam view. Like, oh, he's got it. It's like, oh, no, he doesn't.

[Chip Patterson]

Boom.

[Tom Fernelli]

Right? Just completely in his lap and he had. He had to move off his spot. Couldn't get the ball to him. So I thought Georgia just played with like, tremendous effort. Like, how many yards after the catch did Bama have?

[Chip Patterson]

Well, I mean, all of them. I was gonna say all of the Ryan Williams and Jeremy Bernard stuff felt like it was yak.

[Tom Fernelli]

Like they tackled super well. They kept leverage on the football. It was just like a, like chef's kiss defensive game. Jordan, like, like tremendous job offensively. Made nothing special really, but like, you had like, you started like with the ball pretty deep in bama territory a couple times. So like once you got that lead, Unless Bama was going to prove. You know what I'm saying? Like, I mean.

[Bud Elliott]

Oh, buddy.

[Chip Patterson]

It was a Kirby.

[Bud Elliott]

They were sitting on it.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Like, it was. It was a Kirby smart field position, ass special. I mean, he was. He was like, I'll tell you what we're about to do. I just gained 25 yards by punting twice and shutting your ass down.

[Tom Fernelli]

Right?

[Bud Elliott]

I just.

[Chip Patterson]

I was loving it. I mean, it's. It's. In this modern era, we just don't get it as much. You know, he. He was. He absolutely did. Because Brett Thorson, legitimately an all american caliber punter, just. They would gain. They would get one first down, then force a three and out and they would get one force first down, then force a three and out. And then all of a sudden you're starting with the ball to your point, bud. At the 50 yard line. And guess getting positions a lot easier that way.

[Tom Fernelli]

Did Stockton complete a pass more than 10 yards in the air?

[Bud Elliott]

He completed one.

[Tom Fernelli]

See what I mean? Like, like they, they. They dominated that game with zero downfield passing attack at all. I mean, Stockton was not saying it was bad. He was just like. Like they didn't.

[Bud Elliott]

They.

[Tom Fernelli]

I. I think they were worried about the protection stuff as well. With the center out, they kept it all like short stuff, screens, creative with it. First ran the ball okay.

[Chip Patterson]

Was not good first.

[Tom Fernelli]

It was all defense. I mean, like, their defense was just so good it didn't matter. The offense was just. Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Was it the Lawson lucky pass? Do you have it pulled up? Was that the. The deeper?

[Bud Elliott]

I believe so.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

It's like an 18 yard pass. I don't remember how much of it was in the airport.

[Bud Elliott]

Pretty sure that was, yeah, five yards after the catch.

[Chip Patterson]

Let's, let's get it side to side. Let's not put too much on Toliver's plate right now. He, he looked overwhelmed early. Came to the sideline. Thought that was a good report there. I think it was Laura Rutledge, right, In Atlanta.

[Bud Elliott]

Yes.

[Chip Patterson]

And she, she gave the report about Bobo, talking to him, coaching him up and being like, okay, you know, calming him down. They obviously made the, the coaching adjustments as well. I just, it was a, it was a, it was a Georgia ass win, you know.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

Ty Simpson seeing ghosts.

[Chip Patterson]

A lot of, lot of not great throws over the last three weeks, maybe month.

[Bud Elliott]

It's the month we talked, I talked about it during the week. He's been playing like below his level that we saw earlier in the year for a month now. And I thought he was even worse today. Like, I, I didn't think he was good at all. I, he was late, as Bud mentioned. I also thought he was inaccurate. There was the one throw he had, the guy in the flat. He basically threw it four yards short of him. And it was just. I thought he was awful. I thought he was flustered. I thought he was panicking. I just thought he regressed really badly in this game. And Georgia deserves plenty of credit for putting him in that mind frame. But I, I was like, wow, that is not the dude I saw earlier.

[Tom Fernelli]

This year at all.

[Bud Elliott]

So I, I think that is something. If Alabama is still in the field, that is something that they need to get figured out quickly because if he's, if he's playing like that, they're not going anywhere.

[Chip Patterson]

Wow.

I think I mentioned this writing some stuff for cbs sports.com But I do think it was while Gunner, Stockton, six yards, an attempt, not exactly explosive. Completed 77% of his passes.

But he did like, he shows a little bit of the balance that Georgia's offense can have. They were using him as a designed runner a lot.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

And when they were coming out there in any kind of gotta have it situation, like, they were putting the ball in Stockton's hands. And if that's what you're going to do in the SEC championship game against Alabama, I think that's a hint of what they can do in the College Football Playoff. Again, if you've got it paired with an incredible defensive game plan and an incredible defensive effort, like, that's a, that's a super important piece to have in terms of what you want to accomplish and as the Georgia Bulldogs, especially given the 12, 1SEC championship season you just had, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about, are you going to win the national championship. Georgia did not have 500 yards of offense, but you know what? They had balance. They were very balanced with their attempts. They were balanced with their yards. And they were able to go out there and not allow Alabama to do what Georgia did to Alabama, which is totally shift what they're doing defensively based on what they think you can or cannot do. Some of those yards were, what, four, five, six yards? A couple of them were huge to be able to move the chains on first down. But Gunner Stockton as a runner, both in scrambling and designed run situations. We talked about it when he first took over the starting job for Carson Beck, as though it was like, oh, cute, look at little Gunner Stockton out there. But this was the SEC championship game. It was part of the game plan early. I thought he did a good job of that. Tied with Nate Frazier for rushing attempts. I know some of those are going to be a little bit scrambly, you know, along the way. Was it three sacks or two sacks.

[Bud Elliott]

For Alabama, but runner stocking out there, he was sacked once, just sacked one.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, I thought it was. I thought it was a good game. Gunner got MVP honors. I don't think that was just a look up. And he had three touchdowns, which might have been the method behind the voting. But I still think at the end of the day, a decent representation of some of the good that we saw from Georgia today.

[Tom Fernelli]

So, like, spinning it forward, you know, like they're trying to win the national championship. Are they getting Colby Young back?

[Chip Patterson]

I'm wondering about Bobo because what Kirby hinted at in the press conference was we don't know how we're going to handle that injury yet because you, you know, we were talking here. Oh, I wonder if that means he's going to be out. Sounds like we've got one of those surgery or no situations on our hands, right? Do you think he can? Because I think it's a foot. Don't quote me on that. Journalistic integrity, but I think it might be one of those. Are you just gonna, you know, figure it out? Are we? Good question.

[Tom Fernelli]

Georgia fans in the chat are saying, no Colby and no Bobo, but definitely no Colby is like. So.

I, I do think that is, like, I'm not saying the guy's a superstar, but I do think that is a, like, a big part about their, like, downfield passing game and Colby's a.

[Chip Patterson]

Leg fracture from the Mississippi State.

[Tom Fernelli]

Correct. Yeah. So, like, a friend of the show, Cole Kubrick, brought up that, like, Stockton has not been seeing it very well against some zone coverage stuff. And, you know, like, obviously Bama runs quite a bit of zone, and so it's a lot of, like, check down stuff. They're having to be really creative with the screen stuff. I do think they need him though, if. Or you need some. Somebody to be a downfield threat for you because, like, Branch is such a good underneath guy. Like, after the catch. He's wild, but, like, you're probably gonna need somebody to convert, like a crucial third and down. Like third down, down the field. So, like just a throw it up guy. So I do wonder. I hope they can get him back.

[Chip Patterson]

Mute button.

[Tom Fernelli]

Play it. We don't have over time.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, I butted my pants. No, I. I said branch had 53 yards receiving, and 54 of them came after the catch.

[Chip Patterson]

This is a wide receiver. It's a real wide receiver.

[Bud Elliott]

Real wide receiver.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

I mean, I will say I can't remember who it was on the broadcast, whether. I mean, I guess it would have been Kirk, but.

I mean, Ryan Williams tap dances out there. But not what you get. Was not what you get with Zachariah Branch.

He runs hard.

[Bud Elliott]

He does.

[Tom Fernelli]

So Noah Thomas, no catches either.

I don't know what happened to him. He's not in their injury report, so.

[Chip Patterson]

Game scripts.

[Tom Fernelli]

I don't think he played. Like, no targets. No, it didn't play.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay.

[Tom Fernelli]

I'm just looking through, like, in my head who were there. Like, actual, like, like X types are on the outside. You know what I'm saying? So. Oh, back problem and warm ups. All right, cool. So hopefully that's like, not a serious thing, like, long term. I mean.

[Chip Patterson]

Anything else here before we pivot this on into the College Football.

[Bud Elliott]

Playoff discussion.

Do we have to. Can we just wait till tomorrow and see what the rankings are?

[Chip Patterson]

I think Alabama is a nice bridge into that conversation.

So the College Football Playoff rankings are coming out tomorrow, Tom. Are they.

The last ones?

[Bud Elliott]

The. The. Not the penultimate. The final.

[Chip Patterson]

The final College Football Playoff rankings.

[Bud Elliott]

They don't release them after the season tomorrow?

[Chip Patterson]

No, no, no. Because they are cowards and they won't come back to be able. They are so impressive. This is, as we mentioned, a Mount Rushmore of College Football playoff selection committees. But the way that the College Football Playoff rankings are set up, they do not return for one more ranking. So the actual rankings that will be enshrined as the final rankings of the season will be the AP top 25. Which is why, as always, we pay respects to the AP top 25 with tomorrow's top 25 today. But tomorrow we're not as concerned about 25. Let's be honest, the committee probably isn't as concerned about all of the 25, though there are certainly some spots, maybe even number 25 of which they are very concerned. So the way the conversation was being presented on television, and let's be honest, the committee is all sitting there together, leaving their hats at the door, watching these games together. So they are taking in the exact same conversations that we are hearing and seeing. They put up Alabama, they put up Notre Dame and they put up Miami. The way that I see this field is that if you are looking at those three as your candidates, we've got three candidates for two spots. Notre Dame 10 and 2. Idol. Miami 10 and 2. Idol. Miami beat Notre Dame 27, 24 back in week one. Alabama 28, 7, loser in the SEC championship game.

How they gonna be ranked?

[Bud Elliott]

Why is not, why is BYU not a candidate?

[Chip Patterson]

It does not seem to be a part of the way that the. It's being presented.

[Bud Elliott]

But I mean their two losses came to the same team. They're. They're 11 and oh. Against the rest of the country.

[Chip Patterson]

Do you think this is not a. This is. Do you think they should. Do you think BYU should be considered more seriously?

[Bud Elliott]

No, no, but I'm just asking the question. I mean they got blown out twice. It's hard to get in the field when you get blown out twice.

[Chip Patterson]

So.

How, how do you think the.

[Tom Fernelli]

Committee'S gonna say.

On the BYU piece? I think it's very easy for the committee to say and I think they're correct in saying this. Hey, BYU played like one team with like playoff caliber defense and their offense was completely not like non functional twice they're out.

[Bud Elliott]

I agree.

[Tom Fernelli]

I think they have a pretty nice resume. But like, I think that's very easy for the playoff committee to say, hey, like these other teams have at least shown that they are competitive or have won against other teams in the playoff field. Right? You know, Miami beat Notre Dame, obviously Notre Dame very competitive against Texas A M, which then the field they lost by what, one on a miss, Extra point at home, you know, like so that to me that's why BYU is out.

[Bud Elliott]

I will say Kalani said after the game today that he wishes they could get a third shot at Texas Tech. And I was like, are you sure?

[Tom Fernelli]

No, you Don't.

[Bud Elliott]

I feel like the first two things were made pretty clear.

[Chip Patterson]

Alabama has two double digit losses among its three. If Alabama makes the field, it will make history. It's the first three loss team in the College Football Playoff.

They were at number nine.

And in the conversations we had here, bud, you called it. You were very proud of yourself for calling this. It was protection for a loss. But what about a non competitive loss? Is it actually a conversation the way that it was being sold on the broadcast today or was the way it was being sold on the broadcast today a promotional piece for the announcement tomorrow?

[Tom Fernelli]

I think it was protection. Now that like the question is, was it enough protection? Like will they keep Alabama up there after getting blown out? I don't know. Like I, I do wonder. Like is 287 enough to keep them out? Right.

Part of this.

There's a lot of moving pieces here. Okay. It might be very, very easy for the committee to say, hey, we're going to put an ACC team in. Miami are in. Right.

[Chip Patterson]

Do you really think that'll. Yeah, okay.

[Tom Fernelli]

I do. I think they're gonna say, hey, it's either Duke or Miami. I think AC is getting a team in.

I don't think you're gonna leave a power. Like they're not gonna leave. They're not gonna tell the ACA you're over two.

[Chip Patterson]

All right, do y' all want to, y' all want to fire off some, some prop bets on what the. The talking point is? Because I think I've picked mine. What you got common opponent.

It'll be a Miami. They will sell it as Miami beats out Alabama.

[Tom Fernelli]

Because they both beat Florida State.

[Chip Patterson]

No, because Florida State.

[Tom Fernelli]

Right, right. It was played Florida State. Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Instead of talking about the head to head of the Miami Notre Dame, it will be a Miami beat Florida State. Florida State beat Alabama.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah. But.

They could also make the point that Alabama lost to a team at beat.

And it played an extra game while Miami was home last weekend.

[Chip Patterson]

But even if that's a two and a half loss team, Miami's only got two losses.

[Bud Elliott]

So.

We talked. Listen, I'm not going to get into what I think should happen.

But we talked all week. It's not good business to kick out the loser of the SEC championship game. Not unless your goal is to get the format changed next year.

[Tom Fernelli]

Right. I'm glad you went here. Yes.

[Bud Elliott]

Like if that is your goal, then yeah, Alabama gets left out because then everybody backs up and unites in. Let's expand this damn thing so that way it never happens again. But.

If you want to keep the 12 team for a little while longer and you want to keep the situation where.

You know, I mean, because the SEC in the Big Ten control the future of this thing. They, they have the decision making power. Do you really want to risk pissing the SEC off?

[Chip Patterson]

Like, but the SEC also has other teams in this field.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, but they also want the SEC championship to matter because it makes money.

[Chip Patterson]

I hear. I, I, Yeah, Tom.

[Tom Fernelli]

And they own the playoff. Well, their owner owns the playoff as well.

[Chip Patterson]

I'm, I'm, I'm giving you the, the, the spoonful of sugar, the, the ice cream that the medicine is like crumbled up in, like it, if you're selling this to the SEC.

In the whatever clandestine way, if you're having that conversation, it's not like you are limited on the number of participants you have in this thing.

[Bud Elliott]

You're not. But that sends a terrible message that Texas A and M loses its final game of the regular season and gets out of having to play again. Whereas Bama wins, gets to go to play Atlanta as the number one seed, by the way. They were the home team.

[Chip Patterson]

It was a four way tie.

[Bud Elliott]

They had the tiebreaker, Chip. There was no tie. They beat Georgia. There's no tie.

[Chip Patterson]

But I'm saying in the standings, it was a four way tie for first place.

[Bud Elliott]

Exactly. But they had the cleanest tiebreaker scenario that you can have a head to head win. The only reason people are arguing.

So they had that they're the number one seed. You have them go and then they lose that game and then you tell them they can't be in the playoff because they didn't lose the right game. Like if they'd lost, you know, it's again. And I know you could push it back by saying, well, if they just beat Florida State in the week in the season opener, that doesn't matter. And it's like, yeah, I know, but this is the reality of the situation. They're not going to punish a team for the SEC.

[Chip Patterson]

All right?

[Bud Elliott]

The SEC and Big Ten are different than the Big 12 in the ACC.

[Chip Patterson]

Period, period. Whoa, Tom, you are missing, you're getting way too hot and bothered over this. I started this with, let's guess at like what the conversation point can be. My prediction is that Miami's out. Like if we're, if we're calling.

[Tom Fernelli]

And Duke.

[Chip Patterson]

No, I think Duke's in over jmu.

[Tom Fernelli]

Okay, I'm fine with that. I, I, I strongly think the AC is going to get a team and I don't think they're going to screw the ACC just two years after they screwed them with, with Florida State getting left out.

[Chip Patterson]

I think you can make an argument Duke should be in over jmu.

[Tom Fernelli]

I think they absolutely should.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, you can make a very strong argument because of this.

[Tom Fernelli]

JMU has no quality wins. Like, yeah, I'm sorry, like jmu.

[Chip Patterson]

No, I did, I was disheartened by not having as many wins that I would rank above the ODU win as I thought I was gonna have. I went and did the exercise.

I said, okay, let's presume that Duke wins and let's stack up like how many wins can I get through before I get to like an ODU caliber opponent? Man, I thought I was gonna get through more. But did you get three? Yeah, it was like, yeah. Then you get to, you're doing an NC State odu like, I don't know, you know.

[Tom Fernelli]

Right.

[Chip Patterson]

Wake Forest has more wins, but I think I would rate NC State as a better win. But that's again, it, there were a few that you can get through and certainly James Madison has no wins over a 10 win team. James Madison has no wins over a top 20 team. You know, that's all the case. And the overall strength of schedule numbers do favor Duke.

[Bud Elliott]

But I point out because there's, there's a lot of people in the chat who are apoplectic at the idea that a five loss Duke team would get in. Three of us aren't saying it's right. Three of us are just telling you the reality of the situation of what could happen. Because I will point out to you that last week in the very rankings that came out, an 8 and 4 Iowa team was ranked two spots ahead of James Madison and Iowa did not have a top, you know, 20 win. Duke just added one. The difference between eight and five and eight and four in the eyes of the committee really ain't going to be that big.

[Tom Fernelli]

I, I tend to agree with that. Like, and I, I, look Obviously Duke is 28 to 1 now. They were like 80 to 1 and 70 to 1 at some places this morning. Right. So now granted they had to win the game. So that, that's implied in there like that they needed to pull the upset. I, I don't know that I think Duke should be in fully.

[Bud Elliott]

Like, I, I don't want to again, I'd rather have James Madison if I'm going to watch somebody get the kicked out of him in the first round, I'd rather be Cinderella because at least if they somehow won it Would be hilarious. Like, if Duke wins. It's not really that funny.

[Tom Fernelli]

Do you think we'll get some kind of rule that. That you have to be like at least top 20 or something like that to be like the auto Conference champion thing?

[Chip Patterson]

No, no, there's no reason.

[Bud Elliott]

Because then that's way too easy to rig.

[Tom Fernelli]

There's a lot of stuff it's easier for them to rig.

[Bud Elliott]

I know, but then you can easily do it. Like, where it's so obvious where it's like, why is the G5 team never higher than 21?

[Tom Fernelli]

This is like the most. Hey, politics matter ranking that I can remember in a while because to Tom's point, we don't really know what the SEC feels like as far as expansion and what format they want. Like, does the expansion solve for them? Like the preservation of the conference championship game? If maybe you make that the first round somehow? I don't know. Like the ACC piece again? I think you're gonna have some pretty strong lobbying there. Like, that is your broadcast partner. Hey, you're gonna screw us two out of three years.

[Bud Elliott]

Really.

[Tom Fernelli]

Right. Like, I think they still get a team in.

Not that it really should, but I think they will.

[Chip Patterson]

We'll do a lot of the should.

[Tom Fernelli]

Is there any chance Notre Dame gets left out in favor of.

[Bud Elliott]

There's a chance. I'm not going to sit there and say I'm 100.

I don't think they will based on everything that they've done. Like, if they. If they suddenly move Miami ahead of Notre Dame.

I just feel like that is the final nail in the let's pretend that these weekly rankings mean anything kind of idea. Because what happened this week to change that?

[Chip Patterson]

Well, no, that's. That's where I will get pushed too far, is when you say, well, now that they're side by side, I mean, that's utterly. The process of ranking college football teams should involve comparisons beyond, like, oh, well, like, you should always be comparing teams to teams two or three above or two or three below.

[Tom Fernelli]

We. We also do not know how many votes separated Miami and Notre Dame. Right. When they interview. Not Buchorgan. Who is it this year? Hunter. Right. You're a sec. Like they don't. Right. Like, they don't. He doesn't reveal how many committee members. Again, it's 12. Right.

[Bud Elliott]

All of the finest Americans that we have.

[Tom Fernelli]

So Hunter does not come out and say, actually, guys, we have seven people who this week think Notre Dame or Miami and five who don't. Right. We don't know how close the Vote is in that room. So this idea that they're trumpeting, hey, you know what? What If Duke was 27 or 26 entering the weekend, right? And like that vote was split. Like we. Like that. That's one thing that makes this. We could talk about the gambling odds on this, but, like, there's not power ratings for this. Tom is very right that, like, these might be directionally correct, but we. I think it's. I think it's kind of silly to assume it. Like, they are super precise at this moment. You know what I'm saying? I'm not saying like, go, go bet Duke now. Like, I think that, like the time to do it was before the game if you were going to do it. But, like, we just don't know that, like, with certainty. These odds are. Are the stone cold nuts. We don't. Because we don't vote counts. If we had vote counts, we probably could.

[Chip Patterson]

The way that Boo Corrigan told the 2023 story, and again, the 2023 selection committee, also on my Mount Rushmore of selection committees, you know, just really impressive, the bravery that they had courage. He told of rounds of voting and rounds of voting and rounds of voting for them to finally get it settled. So I don't know what their minimum threshold is to be able to get. Get everything set in place.

[Bud Elliott]

You know what I do know, Chip?

[Chip Patterson]

What?

[Bud Elliott]

Mark d' Antonio is not gonna let him stop until they get it right.

[Chip Patterson]

I.

When you've got the inventor of the pistol offense in your room, are you. You. You don't pull the trigger early. No, absolutely not. Not with Chris Alt in the room.

Golly, fellas, ladies, everybody in the tailgate, pay some respect to Carla Williams. You understand what it must be like to be a committee member and watch Virginia losing overtime to Duke, then you've got to come back and vote on that shit.

She is bravery personified.

Hunter Yuricheck just hired Ryan Silverfield.

And that's who's making the College Football Playoff.

[Tom Fernelli]

You know, we should do like, we should make jmu Duke a playing game.

[Bud Elliott]

Yes. The people need it.

[Tom Fernelli]

Like, imagine we would watch that. Yeah, yeah. Oh, let me ask you this. Do you think it matters so we can fit some JMU talking here against Troy? Because people, I'm sure, are yearning for that. Do you think committee says, hey, Jamie looked like crap until Troy's quarterback snapped his ankle and had to put the backup in and then that game flipped.

[Chip Patterson]

Correct?

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

If they truly were watching that game at 17:14, they were like, oh, God, Troy might win. Thing yeah, absolutely. I don't think that was a Great performance by JMU. No, they won and they're 12. 1 and they're like 12 wins. Is 12 wins. Is 12 wins. But I watched. I probably got my eyes on seven JMU games this year. That was not one of their best performances.

[Bud Elliott]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. So it.

[Tom Fernelli]

If they had like blown them out and covered, you know, like with the court with a starter in there, I think maybe this is less of a discussion.

[Chip Patterson]

Right. But your boy Goose Crowder, even he. He came in and all he had to do is get you 13 points.

[Tom Fernelli]

That's right.

[Chip Patterson]

And he got you those points.

[Bud Elliott]

He gave his life for those 13 life down.

[Chip Patterson]

It was.

[Bud Elliott]

It was literally top gun. He just didn't make it to the.

[Tom Fernelli]

End of the movie.

[Bud Elliott]

But damn it, he got the job done.

[Chip Patterson]

The. The Jake Hayner award of the weekend goes to Goose Crowder.

[Bud Elliott]

Goose.

[Chip Patterson]

We're putting his body on the line. All right, let's. Anything. Listen, we are going to be back noon eastern time on Sunday for all things college football playoff rankings bracket. Yeah. Yes. Anything else before we come back? Which, by the way, we'll also have to have some of these expectation conversations until we actually get the rankings for however long they. They may vamp.

[Tom Fernelli]

We. We just had a couple comments in a row in the chat, like some creative Bobby saying Jamie's ranked. Duke isn't. They won. They're in. Period. Again, this goes back. We don't know by what margin they were over Duke before this. Now Duke has by far the best win. Who got a better one of these teams? Right?

[Chip Patterson]

You beat. You beat Troy or you beat Virginia.

[Tom Fernelli]

Right. One was a ten win power conference team, the other was not.

[Chip Patterson]

Duke has seven power conference wins.

[Tom Fernelli]

JMU has zero.

[Chip Patterson]

JMU has zero. Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

So do we want to talk about the Big 12 game?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. So I'm about to hit a break and close. Okay.

[Tom Fernelli]

I thought you're about to close the shows.

[Bud Elliott]

I thought you were about to close the show. Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Hell no. No, no. Just because. No, no, no.

[Bud Elliott]

I know. Listen. No, no. I know how you feel about the Big 12. Bud knows how you feel about the Big 12. We thought you were about to just close the show because you didn't want to talk about the Big 12. You've been a Big 12 hater all year. You've been a Big 12 Hater your whole life. Why wouldn't we think that?

[Tom Fernelli]

Tom and I want to talk Big 12.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

I want to talk about Jerry Mack. Oh, I'll Tell you what we do. We put the ball in our best player's hand and we win the game. All right, Jerry Mack from Memphis. Gary Parrish is big homie from Memphis, Tennessee.

[Bud Elliott]

Memphis coach or is that Charles Huff?

[Chip Patterson]

I think Charles Huff, I mean, person of interest targeting working finalize status with Charles Huff is the last thing I saw. But yeah. Anyway, coming up on the other side, back to the action on the field with more reaction from championship weekend and more next.

[Bud Elliott]

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Back here on the COVID 3 podcast.

I do want to roll this clip. Have you all seen Damien's clip?

[Bud Elliott]

No, I've not seen it. I've heard tell of it.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay. It's. I. I should have brought it in the College Football Playoff part, but he's a friend. No, if that vod goes crazy. We'll see. We'll see. Let's. Mikey. Mikey. I'm glad y' all haven't seen it. Let's. Let's let it rip.

[Bud Elliott]

I know you want to ask me, Hakeem. I know you want to. Damien Harris, Alabama running back. Do you think Alabama's a playoff team? No, they are not. Miami, I would have a lot of confidence that they would score more than seven points against this defense. Texas already did it. Vanderbilt, I believe they could do it. This Alabama team, specifically the offense, it did not look playoff caliber. Straight up and down, Hakeem. Straight up and down.

[Chip Patterson]

Hakeem does do that. He sets you up with your. Your identifier. Tom Frenelli, you are Cover three podcast host. Tom for Nelli. Do you believe you put Damien on the. Put Damien on the spot. Damien said no. So for the record, Damien Harris, national champion, says Alabama is not a playoff team.

[Bud Elliott]

I think Damian might be a little. Mark Ingram was saying the same thing, I'm pretty sure.

[Chip Patterson]

I'll tell you why all the running backs are pissed at the lack of.

[Bud Elliott]

Saying, because they can't run the damn ball. So Damien and marker out here saying, I'll tell you what's wrong with Alabama. They're not running the damn ball, and they don't deserve to be in the playoff until they run the damn ball.

[Chip Patterson]

I tell you what.

BYU could not.

[Bud Elliott]

Block no shock exactly like the first game.

[Chip Patterson]

No, no, it didn't look quite exactly like the first game because it was everybody like it wasn't like there was just one player that was terrorizing them and then there was also some, some pee down your leg as.

[Tom Fernelli]

Like the, the freshman quarterback look like a freshman.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. So.

I mean Texas Tech. Tom, I'll let. If you want to expand on it. I know we've kind of talked about it on with similar terms but Texas Tech is fun in a throwback way. If you're willing to take short term view of throwback in terms of like I don't know what, 10 years ago, 12 years ago, that kind of team.

[Bud Elliott]

They remind me of a BCS era SEC team where they're just going to beat the hell out of you with their defense and hope their quarterback can complete a pass once in a while.

[Chip Patterson]

I was thinking like less miles lsu. Yeah. And like a couple skill players that are bananas where if they do get loose in the open field, you're in a whole lot of trouble. Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

I mean that is like this is a team that defense wise they can win the whole damn thing. It's just the one thing about them where I'm very kind of skeptical when I, whenever I watch Texas Tech I'm like, I just don't know about Baron Morton. Like it's there sometimes, but there's so many parts of a game where I just feel like what's he doing? And I felt that way today. They won 34 to 7 because their defense was just that damn good.

[Tom Fernelli]

Though they kicked six field goals.

[Chip Patterson]

It should have been 50 to 70.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

The same thing with the first game. It was what, 29 to 7? It probably should have been 45 to 7.

[Chip Patterson]

Yep.

What'd you think, Bud?

[Tom Fernelli]

I mean like no real change in opinion on these teams. BYU is a good team, not a playoff caliber team. I think we think Texas Tech's defense is awesome and their offense is really suspect.

Like that's kind of what we thought going in. I don't have any different opinion on this team now.

[Chip Patterson]

Also, if we're going to say this for Indiana, let's also say it for Texas Tech. Because Texas Tech as much as we have, I think, I don't think there's been the kind of disrespect for Texas Tech as being a competitive team in terms of reputation the way that Indiana has had to deal with for a long time.

But you go through and you realize how infrequently this team even wins 10, 11 games. No doubt the, the fact that this was their first Big 12 championship for as long as they have been There, you know, kind of a thorn in the side of so many of the Big 12 powers. If we're going to start off the show with, you know, hell yeah, congrats, raise a glass for Indiana. Let's make sure we also do it for Texas Tech because this was an awesome campaign for the Red Raiders and one where they finished with it with. They finished with their fastball. This was a great final performance for this team.

[Bud Elliott]

They're a very good team. Man, there's. The defensive line is incredible. Their linebackers are good. Their secondary is good. They can overwhelm just about everybody that they play in that league and that's what they did all year.

[Tom Fernelli]

I think they're really well coached on defense too.

[Chip Patterson]

We did not even have a David Bailey superstar game here. That's what I mean.

[Bud Elliott]

Just a typical normal Bailey game. Just kind of quiet.

[Chip Patterson]

Hunter was pretty good. Roberts was really good, obviously with the interceptions.

[Bud Elliott]

Rodriguez made a thousand tackles. Typical Rodriguez day.

[Chip Patterson]

It's a good.

[Tom Fernelli]

I'm a little sad we're not going to get them in a home playoff game.

[Chip Patterson]

What?

Oh, because they're getting a buy.

[Tom Fernelli]

You're getting a buy, right?

[Chip Patterson]

Lubbock would have been. Yeah. Atmosphere for that game.

[Bud Elliott]

I got you prime time. Dog in the chat says Texas Tech doesn't scare him. I'm assuming you're a Georgia fan based on what I saw from your offensive line tonight. Texas Tech should scare you a little bit.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

What about.

Anything. Do you agree with the idea that me BYU going to drop in the rankings or do you think they would even leave BYU right where they are based on Texas Tech strength?

[Bud Elliott]

I mean that's an odds. It's an odd one to say because they got dog walked but they already had him at 11th despite being dog walked by by or by Texas Tech earlier. So maybe they're just like what really changed.

[Tom Fernelli]

I think they're going to drop them.

It this kind of shows.

[Chip Patterson]

Hey, this was on a neutral like right? Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

Like the, the talking points on some of the pregame shows, if you watched them were like which I'm assuming come from byu. Okay. We were pretty banged up in that first game. The noise kind of got to us. It was hard to communicate. Well, this was, this was technically a neutral site. Like a great Texas Tech crowd there. Obviously like they showed up and showed out loud. Not the BYU was had nobody there but obviously like, like a lot of Tech fans there for the championship game. I think like some of the excuses for game one kind of get wiped out and they drop.

[Bud Elliott]

But see the thing, the other side of that though is you don't have to drop them because they're not in the field either way. Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

But now it allows you to compare Notre Dame and. And Miami side by side, Tom.

[Bud Elliott]

But if you don't drop them, you don't have to compare them, Tom.

[Tom Fernelli]

They are physically in the room together, side by side. They're back to back.

[Bud Elliott]

No, no, listen. No, you gotta keep. You can't let Notre Dame and Miami touch. You have to keep BYU there.

[Chip Patterson]

Leave room for Jesus.

[Bud Elliott]

You have to leave room for Jesus.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, man. So stupid.

[Bud Elliott]

It's. Listen, it's a wonderful system. It is a committee of the highest integrity, highest honor. And I am thrilled that this is the avenue that we chose for the college football postseason.

[Chip Patterson]

I think.

I think that Texas Tech gets into the four and they are. They will find out which game they are going to. If maybe they get that, they get the cotton. So it's almost homeish.

[Tom Fernelli]

That'd be big.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, that's what I was you guys a question.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

You know how I feel. But would you really be upset if the playoff was just Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and Texas Tech this year? That have bothered you guys that much?

[Tom Fernelli]

No, I. I feel like I would want to see the Oregon team at full strength to get.

Oregon's the five, right?

[Bud Elliott]

Five. Yeah, probably.

[Tom Fernelli]

Oh, that's a hell of a matchup.

Oregon, Texas Tech.

[Chip Patterson]

Just assuming Duke's gonna get rolled over.

[Tom Fernelli]

Well, okay.

[Bud Elliott]

Or James Madison.

[Chip Patterson]

Or James Madison.

I am extremely intrigued from a storytelling standpoint of what the Grove is going to look like on a vengeful Saturday in December. I am interested from a competitive standpoint of what a Texas A M team that is only one. Only lost one game all season long might look like in the College Football Playoff. So. I hear you, Tom, but I do think that there are specifically in the 5 through 8 range. This would be a great 18 playoff. I'll take that. But in the 5 through 8 range, I think I've got some. From a like storytelling and competitive standpoint. I am glad that we have a few more teams in there this year.

[Tom Fernelli]

I would agree with that. These teams are like super close together. Yeah. Like, we know the Gapping from like 2 to 10 is really close. And now we know the gapping from 1 to 10 is really close.

[Chip Patterson]

The.

What about the. The football side of the acc? Anything stand out to you in terms.

[Bud Elliott]

Of like the ACC has a football.

[Chip Patterson]

Side, the X factors or just anything.

[Tom Fernelli]

Along those lines line really showed out.

I mean, they. They harassed Morris like all night.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

Until like the final five.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

Thought that was good. It was an entertaining game.

[Bud Elliott]

It looked like a Duke Virginia game.

[Chip Patterson]

I thought that Duke threw me off because while we know that Jonathan Brewer likes to go tempo, they did have a lot of long plotting drives.

[Tom Fernelli]

You know, they ran it okay.

[Chip Patterson]

They ran it okay. Darian Mensah had some wild plays.

Darian Mansa experience.

[Bud Elliott]

What about Virginia's 17 play 68 yard field goal drive.

[Chip Patterson]

Was that the one that made it 17, 13 or 20 to 13?

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, it was the first drive of the second half that was just. I was watching. I was like, God, this is, this is heritage right here. This is what it's all about.

[Chip Patterson]

It. I honestly, because of Ohio State, Indiana prepping for this and tomorrow's top 25 today, it. I, I don't have a lot of like deep inside football. It was a side screen for me, so I kept looking up. A quarterback is running for his life, both on both sides and, and obviously, you know, Duke gets it done in overtime. We reacted to it live. Big win for the Blue Devils. But I don't have a lot of deep football side on that. It is worth straight up like, like we said earlier, Duke wins its first ACC championship since 1989. Did you know Duke has won two ACC football championships since the last time North Carolina or NC State have won an ACC football championship?

[Bud Elliott]

I do now.

[Chip Patterson]

NC State last won the ACC football championship in 1979. North Carolina last one at 1980. Duke has won it in 89 and now 2025.

[Bud Elliott]

When was the last time Miami won the ACC?

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, that'd be never.

[Bud Elliott]

Oh wow.

[Chip Patterson]

So it's not even a mini Mario. You could say Manny won an ACC championship before Miami did.

[Bud Elliott]

And I have.

[Chip Patterson]

Did Kevin text back?

[Bud Elliott]

I don't know, let me check. Probably blocked me by now.

Nope, he has not texted back.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay.

How about Tulane?

I was. I mean.

My storm warnings were up when Troy boy did not have any opinion one way or the other on Tulane, North Texas and then, I mean, Tom, I'm not trying to bring private business public, but I thought you had a great line for it. Yeah, you want to share it with the people?

[Bud Elliott]

I was pissed off at myself watching that game because I took the dude who likes to draw up plays against the dude who likes to build programs.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, weird. The program builder had a team.

[Bud Elliott]

Program builder over the dudes drawn up place.

That's on me. I gotta live with it.

[Chip Patterson]

Tulane was ready to go. They held North Texas to their worst scoring output of the season.

[Tom Fernelli]

Five sacks on 39 drop backs. Pretty good.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah. Just completely.

[Chip Patterson]

Mr. Baker never had a chance in this game.

[Tom Fernelli]

Honestly, like, I. I didn't have a great feel for this game because both coaches are leaving.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Tom Fernelli]

I didn't know how like that was going to play.

[Bud Elliott]

It was just such a mismatch on the lines of scrimmage though. I mean, it's not like Tulane is like a P4 team as far as body type, but just against North Texas, there was a noticeable difference.

[Chip Patterson]

And also congrats to Tulane. Like, this is. You're going to the college football playoff.

[Tom Fernelli]

It's awesome.

[Chip Patterson]

That's awesome. You were just.

[Bud Elliott]

For me.

[Chip Patterson]

So. So Willie Fritz got you to the Cotton bowl where you beat usc. John Summerall is going to have you in the daggone playoff. We are witnessing a golden era of two lane football. That is a program that is in a it. Like I thought the. That even though we had some nasty weather and there was a little bit of rain there for a little bit, fans rushed on the field at the end of this game.

I know we talk about the separation and we can get very nihilistic, but two lane football culture is not, not a thing right now.

[Bud Elliott]

Correct.

[Tom Fernelli]

So.

Do you think that they will try to avoid rematching Ole Miss and Tulane in round one.

[Chip Patterson]

Six eleven, like, swap somebody, right?

[Bud Elliott]

I mean, does it matter that much?

[Tom Fernelli]

Well, if you're an Ole Miss fan, you're probably like, well, I mean, it's cool. We get a win probably. But like, we've already seen this. We literally played this game already. They say they don't care about rematches, but I don't have evidence that they don't. But like, I'm a little skeptical of that.

[Bud Elliott]

This time you're doing it without Kiffin. Totally different game.

[Tom Fernelli]

True.

[Bud Elliott]

It's not a rematch. It's a brand new man. It's the clash of different coaches. Now.

[Chip Patterson]

Anything else from AAC you want to get to?

[Tom Fernelli]

Like you?

[Chip Patterson]

Really?

[Tom Fernelli]

You can't put two lane behind Duke. If they put Duke in.

[Bud Elliott]

No.

[Tom Fernelli]

Because head to head and they beat them. No better record.

[Chip Patterson]

To me. Yeah, to me. You can't move two lane, two lanes, 11.

[Tom Fernelli]

No.

Not if they leave Duke out and put Miami in. Right? Well, no, they are because they'll be. Jamie. Yeah, you're right.

[Chip Patterson]

Sorry. Yeah. So two lanes, the 11. And you're right, I do. I mean, what are you gonna do? Move Ole Miss ahead of Oregon just to avoid a matchup?

[Tom Fernelli]

You can move Ole Miss behind a.

[Chip Patterson]

M. I guess.

After both teams were idle.

[Tom Fernelli]

Well, we have more clarity now on the coaching situation.

[Bud Elliott]

Whatever. I mean.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, because nice guy, good guy, Lane Kiffin, great guy, Lane Kiffin decided to send Charlie Weiss back, right? So now we're going to move them down, right.

Shout out to our friend Jordan Giorgio, trophy ceremony extraordinaire.

You know, you, you do sideline for a championship game, you better be ready to do trophy ceremony. Jordan crushed it.

[Tom Fernelli]

No doubt.

[Chip Patterson]

The game was awesome. I mean, it was not a clean game, but it was back and forth. It was stupidity abounds. Jacksonville State, heartbroken after they really got outplayed, then back ass their way into the game and then blew it with a penalty on what should have been a game ceiling stop. But the Kennesaw State Owls, two wins a year ago, now Conference USA champions. So it's quite a turnaround for the Owls.

[Bud Elliott]

Don't forget allowing Kennesaw to convert, like what a 4th and 17, I think with a quarterback scramble.

He'd been. It was brilliant because he'd been rolling out to the right, the entire right.

[Chip Patterson]

And he went to the left.

[Bud Elliott]

4Th and 17. Robert Turbin said it was gonna. He called it. He hasn't gone to his left all night. 4th and 17th, he rolls out to his left, not a damn person in sight.

[Tom Fernelli]

I mean, look, you know, Jack State ain't throwing it.

[Chip Patterson]

No, no, this is Kennesaw.

[Bud Elliott]

This was Kennesaw.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is, this is, this is. Kennesaw was driving and Jack State, multiple times up as they were up by a field goal. They had converted the two point. They were up 15 to 12. And multiple times it looked like that defense. And they, they had the one time that they blitzed everybody and they gave it up. They had the penalty that extended the drive as well. And then right down there on the 4th and like you mentioned, like 17 or so, it was a Mario Dom and he just rolled the other way that he had been rolling the entire time. It's awesome. It was a great win. What else from Friday night stood out?

[Bud Elliott]

Nothing.

[Tom Fernelli]

How much.

[Bud Elliott]

James Madison. We talked about Boise, just the UNLV Boise game. I didn't. I didn't really watch a ton of it. Like, I was more focused on the other games. Just from what I saw, like UNLV made it kind of look like they were going to get into it for a second there, like at the end of the second, early third quarter. But just Boise was so much better than they were during the entire game for the most part. So it's just. It never really felt like there was Any chance that that game was going to get interesting? So I never gave it too much focus.

[Tom Fernelli]

Like, I, I do think having Madsen back helped a lot.

[Chip Patterson]

100.

And then they just turtled, they jumped, they raced out to that lead and then kind of allowed UNLV to claw back in a little bit. Just so that made it looked more competitive. But that game looked like it was over pretty quickly.

[Tom Fernelli]

It was like, how many of these Calandria scrambles do we think they can actually sustain to get back in this game?

[Chip Patterson]

But I thought UNLV's defense did not look. I mean, even though they gave up some explosive runs, they spent a lot of snaps not getting carved up after that. But you know.

[Tom Fernelli]

Do you think that like the 12 team is much better than like the 14 or 16 because like it's good for us to actually have debate. Like having a couple teams we think are worthy for a 12 is a better debate than like debating 16. Verse 17.

[Bud Elliott]

You know, I don't know.

[Tom Fernelli]

I, I like 12. I, I would like to see a couple little tweaks to 12, but like I kind of like 12.

[Bud Elliott]

Not a fan of these debates.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I would rather just talk about the games.

We can stack them up, we can rank them. You go line them up and play. I was thinking about because so the, some state championships are going on. State, you know, high school championship season. The seating for that is wild. You know, like you really. There's no, I mean, there's kind of a ranking, there's kind of a seating order, but nobody ever complains. You just get your assignment, you go out there and play. And I think, I think I like that kind of high school playoff style approach to this, you know. Yeah, there is no perfect. But you got to go out there and win that. If you want to win it all, you want to win that big championship, then yeah, you gotta take whatever assignment you get, whatever corner of the bracket you get and then try to go win your way all the way to the ship. So I don't know. I, I don't love the debate. I don't love, I do not love the debates part of this. I would rather talk about the teams.

[Tom Fernelli]

Speaking of high school championships, Vero down here where we are beat Miami Palmetto 45, 44 on a. Yeah. On a two point conversion stop like baller game.

[Chip Patterson]

So. So beat Palmetto. So Palmetto scored and decided to go for two to try to in the game and got stopped.

[Tom Fernelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Respect it. Both sides.

Let's see. So we got Mountain west, got fun Belt Got CUSA action. Action. Oh yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

Max is great. That's a very good game. Western Michigan Western, man.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, the Golden Team. Those gold. Those yellow jerseys got the attention of a three year old today. Dude, Addie put the sound on the Golden Team like sitting in the quad box. What jerseys are popping out to a three year old? Hey, mustard ass jersey.

[Bud Elliott]

One of one of two conference champions Illinois beat this year. All that anybody wants to talk about is how they lost by 53 to Indiana. Scored just as many points against them as the Buckeyes did.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh no. Duke's the other. I was like, did Western Illinois win its conference championship?

[Bud Elliott]

No, except for Michigan and Duke.

[Tom Fernelli]

Do you have the boys on Handyman Hal yet?

[Chip Patterson]

We've been. We. We are Handyman Hal. Fluent. I don't think that.

[Tom Fernelli]

How's a college ball fan by the way?

[Chip Patterson]

What's up?

[Tom Fernelli]

He's a Clemson guy. It. So if you.

[Bud Elliott]

Sorry, Handyman. Hell.

[Tom Fernelli]

For those of you at home, if you're trying to watch us tomorrow live at noon and you got to throw on some handyman how to occupy your kids, I would strongly recommend this over the other orange and blue guy. Like think like that style but like dirty jobs for kids. There's like the original music stuff too, but I think it's better like it's a really like it's watchable for an adult and like my, you know, my youngest is like really in on it.

[Bud Elliott]

You know what? Handyman Hal won't be watching College football playoff selection show because Clemson ain't going to be in it.

[Tom Fernelli]

That is true.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, he's, he's, he appears to be Myrtle beach based. So I knew the answers were either Clemson or Gamecocks. And either way, you know, we're not, we're not going to be talking about that. All right, Anything else from shout out to Illinois State?

[Tom Fernelli]

Oh yes.

[Bud Elliott]

Pulling off the huge upset of North Dakota State. Huge day for all the C students in the state of Illinois. Congratulations to the Redbirds. That 2.0 GPA finally came through for you in a big way.

[Tom Fernelli]

Shout out to those Santa slayers.

[Chip Patterson]

Let's go.

[Bud Elliott]

Boys.

[Tom Fernelli]

Playing rec ball, taking down a travel team. Let's go. Gotta play tomorrow morning, 8am Do y'.

[Chip Patterson]

All, do y' all have a 1 through 12 set up prediction? Okay, do you want to lead off tomorrow with that? We can have homework.

[Bud Elliott]

Oh boy. Thank you.

[Chip Patterson]

We're gonna be live in 11 hours, guys.

[Bud Elliott]

I have a column. All right, it's.

[Chip Patterson]

It's gonna be a fast turnaround so we'll. We Will vamp until we get the rankings with top 12 predictions.

[Tom Fernelli]

Okay.

So can we also predict like where certain quarterbacks will go in the trans. No, let's say that.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, apparently Jaren Kiave, Saga Polotelli.

[Bud Elliott]

Off the market.

[Chip Patterson]

Off the market.

[Tom Fernelli]

Got it.

[Bud Elliott]

Got it.

[Chip Patterson]

Done. For Cow Coach Loop, he had his introductory press conference. He made everybody in the media talk about something they were thankful for. Then he got on a plane, flew to Hawaii, got JKS on board for 26, and now he's thankful.

[Tom Fernelli]

Is that a four point or three point something deal for. For this year?

[Chip Patterson]

I don't know. Have you seen it?

[Tom Fernelli]

No, but that number don't start with a two, I bet you.

[Bud Elliott]

No, I doubt it.

To keep him from hitting the market, you kind of have to come with.

[Tom Fernelli]

A big number because there's a school a couple hours north that if their quarterback goes pro to whom he was once committed.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. All right. We will be back noon eastern time on Sunday to give you our live reaction to the College Football Playoff. Not the rankings, the whole dagum bracket. So we will react to the rankings, the committee's final decisions of the season. Then we will also do a little reset with our way too early snap reaction game previews for the first round, who got the best of the bracket and more. So come and hang out YouTube.com cover 3.

Mikey in the private chat. Real quick, do we need to do also the AP top 25 on this? Do you guys want to hear about what, what's happening at the bottom of the rank?

[Tom Fernelli]

No.

[Chip Patterson]

What's there to discuss? I don't think so. Okay. I think Boise State will break in.

[Bud Elliott]

We'll find out tomorrow when the AP repeat the poll that everybody cares about.

[Tom Fernelli]

I mean, we should miss.

[Chip Patterson]

What are you talking about with Missouri in there? Boise. So they had UNLV 29th in voting points last week and Boise got their quarterback back. And now you look up and you're like, all right, so Boise had one loss when the quarterback got knocked out. They got one loss to Notre Dame and they just absolutely whomped the team that you all had as 29th. So yeah, I do think that Boise State's a better option for your 24th or 25th spot.

[Tom Fernelli]

We should have just declared that we were talking about it, talk about it, then talk about about Illinois State winning. And then like we could have gotten eight minutes on the VOD taking away.

[Bud Elliott]

All North Dakota State's votes.

[Tom Fernelli]

They could fall out.

[Bud Elliott]

Do the AP voters have as much integrity as the College Football Playoff selection committee? We're going to find out tomorrow.

[Chip Patterson]

Who keeps North Dakota State on their ballot because they weren't paying attention.

Eyes on you, Ralph. Eyes on you.

We'll be back. YouTube.com cover3 so come and hang out live and you can follow him on Twitter at Tom for no, you can follow him at blood elliot3. You can follow me at Chip Underscore Patterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much.

[Bud Elliott]

Congrats, arm. But we're still gonna kick your ass in basketball.

[Tom Fernelli]

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[Bud Elliott]

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