← Cover 3 College Football
Cover 3 College Football
🏆It’s Title Night! Final Indiana-Miami Preview, CFP Expansion Update & More | College Football
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- [00:00]
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- [01:09]
Bud Elliott
Welcome Back to the COVID.
- [01:10]
Chip Patterson
3 podcast with your hosts Chip Patterson.
- [01:13]
Tom Fernelli
Tom Fernelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott.
- [01:17]
Chip Patterson
It's your call for the best college.
- [01:19]
Tom Fernelli
Football coverage from national signing Day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS Sports presents the COVID 3PO.
- [01:31]
Danny Cannell
And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Fenelli, that's Bud Elliott, that's Danny Cannell. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you live@YouTube.com cover3 and everywhere you 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 we got a question here that only Danny Canel can answer at the moment. Michael asks, any news about the crowd split? Has Indiana taken over the the same way that the Hoo Hoo Hoosiers did in Pasadena and atl. Danny Cannell, of course, will be a part of CBS Sports CBS Sports HQ's coverage of tonight's national championship game live from Hard Rock Stadium. Be sure to keep it locked in for all of that. I know you've been milling about some of the official events as well. What do we Think what's the crowd split going to look like?
- [02:26]
Tom Fernelli
So it's really hard to get a grasp for it because there is a lot of red. There was a lot of Indiana. When you go to like the hotels and the touristy spots like south beach, you do see more Indiana gear. The thing that's hard to gauge is a lot of local fans. Miami Hurricane fans aren't going to be hanging out at the hotels or the touristy spots. Bud's freaking me out.
- [02:49]
Chip Patterson
He's shooting live on a drone. Dude.
- [02:51]
Tom Fernelli
Yeah, it's like an SNL skit.
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Bud Elliott
I got a new laptop and it's like actually like it's like it's gone.
- [02:58]
Tom Fernelli
That new. Yeah, that new one where it zooms in on you if you sit away. It definitely. Indiana has traveled well. I do think it's going to be. I, I'm going to say it's slightly favored Indiana, but I do think Miami fans will show up too. Like if I said best guess, I'd say 60, 40 Indiana to Miami. But like I also know there's a lot of Miami fans who are tracking down tickets and trying to go. So we'll see.
- [03:24]
Danny Cannell
It might end up being. Were you at lsu, Clemson, in New Orleans? Yeah, it was a lot of orange until like the day before day of the game. And then all of a sudden all of Louisiana descended on New Orleans. Might be a similar situation where Indiana, because they got in there early, a lot more dominant. And then now we'll start to see the, the hometown team show up in droves.
- [03:48]
Tom Fernelli
I'll say this.
- [03:49]
Danny Cannell
Make their way out.
- [03:50]
Tom Fernelli
I was at media days, like so Saturday media day. Media day on Saturday, more Miami fans were there, like fans to watch their players. But again, that was like early. It was early in the morning. It started at 9am Miami went first, then Indiana came in at 10am they had more fans just to watch the. But of course that may be because they couldn't get tickets. So maybe they were more inclined to go watch the players. It's really hard to get an accurate bead on it, but it was fun getting talked talk to almost all the big names. All the big name, you know, both quarterbacks, coaches. And it was pretty cool to talk to both of them. You're always leaving press. They're all, both, both programs. A lot of players, well spoken, real likable. What anybody. I will say this. Reuben Bane had a little bit of the Debo from Friday. Like a little scary. Like he's kind of the bull. He's got a deeper voice. He Just he looks rough. Like, he looks like a guy you would not want to come across. He's probably the most intimidating dude from just a look standpoint. But all across the board, everybody was, you know, super, super respectful, super nice. It was fun to get to talk to a lot of them.
- [04:57]
Bud Elliott
I mean, so, like, I'm staying in one of the Indiana hotels, and like, they are like, they got here like, Saturday, like, after lunch, and it was like, I can't even get into the lobby to get to my. To my room because they're like. The line like, to check out was just like, into, like the valet. Just wild.
- [05:16]
Danny Cannell
What any other. I had this thought about for later, but since we're in it, what's. What are the other sort of on the scene takeaways, like, from Media Day? From, like, from talking to, like, other other. You know, you start to talk with some of these, you know, media members who've been with these teams at every single turn. Right. You know, you start to have those kind of conversations. Can you get. Do you think that the way that we have talked about these two teams and the way that we've talked about these games is being reflected right now with. With the people that are the closest to them as we get closer to kickoff?
- [05:46]
Tom Fernelli
I think Indiana fans and coverage, you know, supporting cast, Big Ten network, I think they feel really good about Indiana. I think the people that you talk to from Miami feel that disrespect, feel that confidence, and it bothers them. You know, I think you can hear that. I think Kirk Signetti is aware of it, too. You saw his comment yesterday where he's like, there's all these people getting emotional and warm and fuzzies. He's like, we got to throw that out the door. You know, it's time for your milk and cookies some other night. We got to gain our edge. So I think he's even aware of sort of the overarching aspect of this game is Indiana's this incredible team and they're just going to waltz in there and show up. But Miami's definitely well aware of that.
- [06:25]
Danny Cannell
You cannot go to war with milk and cookies, I believe was the quote. And that's another one that needs to be on a T shirt with his face on it, making one of the Sig faces. Also. This is the other thing that I got alerted to. Right. So like you, I was thinking, I was like, well, that'd be natural. Like, the seniors, they're hugging, you know, they're. They're just sort of getting more sentimental. I'M not gonna buy it. Remember when he told us they had their worst practice of the season and then they beat Alabama 38. Three. Okay. All right. I'm pretty sure they'll do enough of a job being able to tap into the DNA that has allowed them to get this far to be able to, to get ready. All right, any other sort of final general thoughts and then at the end of the show we'll just sort of rip through prop bets, predictions, you know, all those things. Any other narrative conversations before we start to talk about Darian Mensah and some of the late transfer portal headlines?
- [07:19]
Tom Fernelli
That was a popular topic as well, but not around the coaches, not around Mario Cristobal. No one asked him about it. But that was very popular topic from a friendly media.
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Danny Cannell
You know, friendly media not to be able to grill them on that one. All right, we just mentioned it. The transfer portal closed at the end of last week with a big time firework coming out of Durham, North Carolina and in the accident. So let's discuss it, the wider ranging impacts and more. Let's jump into the portal. So Tom, you called your shot early when you said if you have a starting quarterback, I would be very concerned until all of the deadlines have passed and the portal is closed until Miami has a starting quarterback. And we even suggest that if you've got him signed. And according to my understanding of the situation, Darian Mensah had signed a two year deal and he informed the coaching staff that he intended to enter the transfer portal on the final day. What it is widely reported and believed that his ultimate destination will be in Miami. Bud, we're going to need some billable hours to figure out how we're going to get from point A to point B. But Tom, do you celebrate your never wrong just early on this one or, or how do you feel? Okay. How do you feel about the, the news as the way it's played out for the Duke Blue Devils and potentially the Miami Hurricanes?
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Chip Patterson
I mean I, I think if Mensa ends up at Miami, it's great for Miami. Like they need a quarterback and that's one of the better ones that you can get. Considering what he was able to do for Duke this year, I think it's not great for the sport. Certainly it's not great for Duke. I think we need to get some enforceable contracts because I think this is just one of those things and we've seen a whole hell of a lot of them in recent years. That kind of tears away at the fabric of what makes people care about the sport. Like, look at Washington fans right now with how they. With Demond Williams, half that fan base doesn't even like their quarterback anymore. They didn't want. Now that he came back, they're like, screw you. You tried to leave. We don't want you. So what happens when he takes the field? Now, if you're a Duke fan, you get Darian Mensah saying he's coming back for two years. You relax, and then at the very last minute, he's going to leave and he's going to your conference rival, the team that, you know you won the conference. He's going to a team that didn't win the conference. And it's just. It's weird because I was sitting there thinking, like, just as a fan, not somebody who covers the sport. You know, you used to care about recruiting. Why bother caring about recruiting now? Because half those kids are never going to see the field. And when they do show up, there's a chance that if they're good, they'll just leave. In the transfer portal, Then you get some players and they play really well for you and they lead you to a conference title and then they just transfer somewhere else. It's like that fabric between being a fan and caring about your program, it just keeps whittling away just a little bit, Little bit every single year. I'm not saying it's going to kill the sport. I'm not saying the sport is dead, but the fan college sports relationship is changing in an inalterable way. And I'm not sure what that's going to look like 10, 15 years from now.
- [10:45]
Bud Elliott
Yeah, I definitely. It's not good for the sport right now. Like, the reason you don't put them on employment contracts that are actually more enforceable is you don't want to be employees. We're not going to do the rant again that we did, you know, two weeks ago, but employment law is pretty settled law. We have like 80 years of jurisprudence here to where we know the results are going to get. They're predictable. When you're doing like an end run around it by making these rev share contracts, it gives you weird outcomes and weird loopholes, which is largely what we're seeing now, you know, So I think it's. This is not good for the sport. They're playing within the structure that the sport allows, maybe on the margins of it, but, like, it's clearly allowable. So we saw Radicovich talk about how they need to raise the cap. Right? Which, duh. I fully agree but ultimately Miami might need them to raise the cap if they have to pay back a big time rev share, you know, to Duke. Right. Because like that, that is the one thing about these contracts that we have seen so far that does seem to be enforceable. It's the actual rev share money that has to flow from school A to school B when school A takes school B's player. Right. And that actually counts against next year's cap. So it. That actually, that is an issue.
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Danny Cannell
No, hold on. I need you to lay that out there for some fans who might not realize.
- [12:09]
Chip Patterson
Sure.
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Danny Cannell
Because I think that we've loosely, we've called them transfer fees and we've kind of, you know, generally talked about the idea that if you take a player then you're going to have to pay it back. But the idea of where it comes from and what it counts against, I don't know if all fans really understand that.
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Bud Elliott
Right.
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Chip Patterson
Okay.
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Bud Elliott
So there's basically two buckets by which schools pay players for the most part. There's some other stuff, but like, let's just stick with two. Number one is your rev share money, right? That is what came out of the house settlement. That is your TV money, gate money, all that kind of stuff. Okay, so that is for most big boys schools somewhere between like 16 and 18 and a half. Right. They're not spending money on basketball and baseball and women's sports and all that other stuff. Like they're for the most part, they're in on football hard. So you also have nil, which is supposed to go through nil go. Although if you did like some investment partnerships, don't, etc. Right. Nil. You can basically have unlimited on top of the cap if it's quote unquote, like market value, legitimate nil, which is pretty easy to justify that. It actually is. Right. Just depending on what business you have running it through. So look, these contracts that these players sign with a lot of these schools, they stipulate like there's a buyout if the kid leaves. Okay. And what they do is they tag a lot of it to the house settlement money. And so what it says is like under the house rules and the CSC enforces this, if you have like a $4 million buyout. Right. Maybe I have that and I leave Tom University and I go to Danny University. Right. Danny's University has to pay that buyout not out of like outside funds or out of nil, but actually out of Rev Share. And that means it actually costs against their Rev Share cap, which is a Pain in the ass, at least to have to go outside of your Rev share and nil your way back. 4 million just to get to the number that you were already at. Does that make sense? Like, it's almost like taking a salary cap hit by trading for a player.
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Danny Cannell
Yeah.
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Bud Elliott
Okay.
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Chip Patterson
The only thing that didn't make sense is why you would go to Danny University. That place is a degree mill.
- [14:19]
Danny Cannell
You're killing your education.
- [14:20]
Tom Fernelli
It's a high academic institution is why.
- [14:22]
Bud Elliott
You would go there. It's the weather, baby.
- [14:25]
Tom Fernelli
It's like. Don't you think. Don't you think Miami will figure out ways to get everyone whole?
- [14:32]
Bud Elliott
Yeah.
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Tom Fernelli
Even with the Rev Share, like, because they. They're also just flush with $32 million cash from this championship run, you know, and they have a really strong nil. The conversation that I had with a few people around because this was the hot topic at media day, everyone knows it's Miami, assumes it's Miami.
- [14:50]
Danny Cannell
Right.
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Tom Fernelli
But that this is. This is not the only one we're going to hear about. There's a lot of other ones that are still taking place right now between Clemson and Ole Miss and LSU and Ole Miss. There's a lot of. And there's. That's just a couple. There's a bunch of these that are still unfolding, but they don't have the profile of Darian Mental in Miami. And $4 million. But that. That this off season is going to be more litigation, more confusion, more like, blurry guidelines that are probably going to get broken. Like the portal window, which, you know, was midnight. I think you could see players that after spring, they're not happy. They didn't get what they wanted as far as playing time or roster position. They could fight this and try to leave, like. And that bums me out because, like Tom said, it does get exhausting. And how do you feel if you're a Duke fan, you know, and you thought you had your quarterback, I mean, and I'm sure Manny Diaz is livid, but if you're a fan and maybe you pitched in some of that money, you know, like, you gotta feel just betrayed. And I. I'm very curious, because the Big Ten really did back their schools when they could. Right. They backed Wisconsin with Xavier Lucas. They backed Washington with Demond Williams. What does Jim Phillips do? Where is Jim Phillips on this? Is he going to make a strong statement about we have to protect and, you know, enforce these guardrails, or does he sit quietly like. Well, it does hurt Duke, but Miami winning the national championship, potentially is really good for us. Like, it's a tough spot for Jim Phillips, and this is the first one of this magnitude we've seen interconference, which makes it a little. Even nastier.
- [16:32]
Chip Patterson
It is something of a. I'm using unintended consequence in that by giving Miami all the money from the playoff, you are immediately hurting the team that won your league. Yeah, that's. Go ACC in a nutshell.
- [16:51]
Danny Cannell
The. The little. Little Go acc. Hashtag, small letters, Go ACC all the way through. I. Here's the. Right off the top of my head. And I mean, I'm. I'm sure that when. If you run into Jim at the stadium today, Danny, he's going to talk about what a big fan he is of the COVID 3 podcast. You know, he's a huge fan, so he'll probably listen to this a little later. He's pretty busy today. I think that the problem is that your initial instinct is like, well, Miami not falling off the map in 26 is really good for the league. Right?
- [17:27]
Bud Elliott
Yep.
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Chip Patterson
Right.
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Danny Cannell
Yeah. Like you. You can't. You can't ride this run with Miami and be able to. To hold them up as the new face of the ACC and then have them go 7 and 5 next year with a awesome Matt with it, with a all Malachi Tony, bubble screen, tunnel screen, wildcat package, you know, like that. This. This at least allows for Miami to stay in that top 10, top 15 kind of range, even with the massive turnover that they're going to hit off this national championship team.
- [18:01]
Tom Fernelli
I mean, I would. What does Duke do now? They are. If this does go down and they do have 4 million bucks to spend, they're probably shopping.
- [18:09]
Bud Elliott
Right.
- [18:10]
Chip Patterson
My prediction is Parker Navarro is going to end up at Duke because I do wonder if he entered the portal late because Duke understood what was coming and they were like, hey. And I do think that. I mean, I like Parker Navarro. If you. If you follow the Mac, he was a very good player for Ohio. So I do think that he's not Darian Mensah, but as far as getting somebody late, I do think it's a pretty good choice just for bridge, kind of QP.
- [18:33]
Danny Cannell
Until 2027, Parker was a late entry, which. And he probably jumps. I haven't pulled up the. The rankings as 247 sports has him, but I would have to imagine that he's got to be one of the best options in terms of the uncommitted players. Right.
- [18:48]
Bud Elliott
I mean, who else is still out there?
- [18:50]
Danny Cannell
Austin Novasad?
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Chip Patterson
No, I thought. I thought Nova Said had a desk. I saw. I thought. I thought I read something over the weekend. He had a place he was going.
- [18:59]
Danny Cannell
He is. Okay.
- [19:01]
Chip Patterson
I thought it was. I could be wrong. I mean, there's a lot of information every single.
- [19:05]
Danny Cannell
Flying around left and right.
- [19:06]
Chip Patterson
Yeah.
- [19:09]
Danny Cannell
So do you think. Do you. Do you think that there has been less outrage for Darian Mensa than there was for Demand Williams? I saw that mentioned.
- [19:16]
Bud Elliott
Okay.
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Chip Patterson
I mean. Yeah.
- [19:17]
Tom Fernelli
It's a smaller program. Yeah, you do. I don't know.
- [19:22]
Chip Patterson
Well, I think. I think a demond catches more flak because he's at a Big Ten school and the big tenant is immediately pushing back on it. Whereas we just discussed Jim Phillips and the ACC don't really seem to care. And also it was tied up.
- [19:37]
Danny Cannell
I mean, and like, he hasn't shown up at Miami yet, so we. It's not proper, I guess, to be able to win.
- [19:43]
Chip Patterson
Sure. Yeah. Yeah. But it's also because it was Lane Kiffin doing it, I think really kind of enhances the talk and narrative around it. Whereas this is, you know, Miami, and it's not the same thing.
- [19:56]
Tom Fernelli
It's also kind of overshadowed by the national title game.
- [20:00]
Chip Patterson
Oh, there's a game.
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Tom Fernelli
Little bit. I think that Damon Williams had a little bit more of a window. There's a little bit, you know, a little more free time. This one coming out Friday before the Natty.
- [20:12]
Danny Cannell
And it was while. And it was while Lane was sitting courtside with Sam Levitt and they're both checking their phones and you're like, hello. Okay. Yeah. Very interesting. Any. Any other transfer portal late headlines that. That we missed here? I don't think so. We'll. We'll wait for the Mensa stuff to be able to get finalized. Yes, Bud.
- [20:34]
Bud Elliott
Do you think that the teams are largely happy with the one window and do you think that it will impact, like, how good their evaluations are?
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Chip Patterson
I think it'll lead to more misses. I also think. I mean, it'll lead to more situations like we're talking about right now, because at the end of the window, if the song's coming to an end and you don't have your QB or whatever yet.
- [21:00]
Bud Elliott
Right.
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Chip Patterson
It's going to lead to doing something crazy and desperate, which is what Miami's doing. And it's kind of disrupting the situation to where now Duke is just playing kind of screwed.
- [21:11]
Danny Cannell
What do you think? Answer your own question.
- [21:14]
Bud Elliott
So I don't think it leads to, like, different evaluations, really. I mean, like, you. You're still roughly evaluating them on the same Timeline, if not a little bit later than you got to eval them last year. I don't know if teams are happy with this. Right. I, I think you will have a couple, I mean, knock on wood that nobody gets hurt in spring ball, right? But in the NFL, you have a practice squad to go pluck somebody. Now you really don't, so that kind of sucks. Now granted, we've seen that before in college football. Like when Dan Kendra blew his knee out, there was no transfer portal for the Knowles. And for guys who don't know, like he was, you know, a cover Sports Illustrated type guy, you know, just an unbelievably talented, you know, prospect, there wasn't a transfer portal. Now, I mean, they recruited well, but like, we've seen this before, but it does suck for a fan base to go through that if you get a really, like, big time guy hurt in the spring and there's no chance to go get somebody else.
- [22:06]
Tom Fernelli
And that's where I think we might see that challenge. If that does happen.
- [22:09]
Chip Patterson
Yeah, I will say I would be shocked if college football coaches complained about something, got their way, and then started complaining about the thing they got. That is so unlike coaches.
- [22:22]
Bud Elliott
Was it Russo or was it Wetzel who wrote the column? This was so spot on. They were like every, my, like every inconvenience is not a crisis. College coaches.
- [22:32]
Chip Patterson
That was Russo. It's the, it's the first smart thing he's ever said.
- [22:35]
Danny Cannell
I was about to say.
- [22:40]
Bud Elliott
New year, New Year 2026.
- [22:41]
Danny Cannell
Ralph. Yeah, we got this, buddy. It's gonna be your year. Ralph.
- [22:46]
Chip Patterson
I mean, I could, I could see why you thought it was Wetzel who wrote it, because something that smart, you would think, oh, that's got to be Dan.
- [22:51]
Bud Elliott
But not Ralph.
- [22:55]
Danny Cannell
Yeah, the. I, I am a little bit more on edge about the post spring chaos that could come. So we'll, we'll see as we, as we continue to spin this thing forward. Coming up on the other side, maybe the update is no update and maybe that's good. We'll get into all that and more.
- [23:23]
Chip Patterson
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- [23:47]
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- [23:49]
Danny Cannell
Rules@cokeurl.com SoccerRules back here on the COVID 3 podcast. Well, all the big wigs, they came in, they sat down 10am to 2pm so you've got enough time for an a well catered lunch as a nice little break to ease the tension. And they emerged from their clandestine room with no white smoke, with no announcement. Conference commissioners telling the insiders on hand, more work to do. But we're still working. And of course I am talking about the College Football Playoff, because while the annual meeting of the conference commissioners and the athletic director of Notre Dame got together yesterday on Sunday to discuss the future of the playoff as they sit here with a deadline of Friday to make any changes to the current format if they're going to go in place for the 2026 season, they emerged with nothing. Our own Brandon Marcelo, of course, has been on top of this, now painted a picture of a very simple stalemate between the Big Ten and the SEC. The SEC would like a 16 team format, a 5 plus 11. The Big Ten pushing for the 24. Last week we discussed that 16 stop gap measure. DK, first word to you because obviously you're also around, you know, talking to some of these people off the record. The, the tone I got from reading the reporting yesterday made it seem like we were looking at another year of. One more year of 12 at a minimum. Is that the sense that you're getting?
- [25:20]
Tom Fernelli
Yes. Neither one of these sides is going to budge and so neither is going to cave, so they're going to keep it at 12. That's the sense that I get. That's the sense from this meeting that took place yesterday, which you were talking about, which I think is probably a good thing. You know, I'm okay with expansion. I'm not that upset like some people are. If we did go to 16, I'm kind of getting more on board with the 24 idea. But if we stay at 12, I don't think it's the worst case in the world. I'm curious, do they make any more tweaks? You know, last year we saw the seating tweets. Do they do anything about the group of five and say it's only one spot? Like, do they try to do something there to the rules where the five highest, you know, conference champions. Do they do something with that one to try to. I don't say, but they do not want two group of five teams in again. I can do.
- [26:12]
Bud Elliott
I suspect that if you just get the ACC tiebreaker, right, the chance of two group of fives is really low. I mean, not zero, but like it's hard to see two G5s getting in. Like really hard if the highest rank ACC team is in right Also, if.
- [26:31]
Chip Patterson
The other conferences would do it, it would damn near make it a 0% chance of it happening, right?
- [26:37]
Danny Cannell
Yeah, we do have next year. There is, there are some tweaks that are going into effect next year that were not in effect this year. Like if Notre Dame is in the top 12 of the rankings, they're automatically in. So we already have some tweaks that are on the, on the agenda to be able to, you know, create a new scenario with the way we game this thing out, the way that we predict this thing. If that's, that's one.
- [27:03]
Chip Patterson
If we go to a 2014 field, is Notre Dame get like a top 40 exception?
- [27:08]
Bud Elliott
I mean, they should, right?
- [27:09]
Danny Cannell
They keep moving the goalposts to be able to get it. So they're right there. Bud. What's your, what's your sort of notion on this? Are you, are you good with more 12? If I remember correctly, you were in the, like, let's get more data, like don't overreact years and let's just sort of rock with this system.
- [27:27]
Bud Elliott
I think overall, like this has been a net positive for the sport. This 12 teamer, not perfect, but I think it's been a positive overall. I think it's a lot better than the four. Like, we're talking about more teams as a, like a collective sports fandom on the show. Like with the four team. Sorry. To me, it was just so exclusionary, you know, and it was either go back to the two to where you could kind of like restore some actual like juice to these, these New Year 6 games or expand it to where you could talk about more teams. Four was like, are you in or are you out? And there were so many teams were like, well, we're out. And we have non stop commercials from the rights holder that is reminding us of that fact on Halloween that our season is done. You know, like, that kind of sucks. So I, I like 12. I think I would have liked eight better, but like, neither here nor there. I guess I would like to see like more 12. Just give us a couple more years of this. It's a pretty good system and then we can figure out like, do we actually need 16? I think 24 is kind of nuts. I don't hate 16. If it's no buys, right? If you need to keep conference championship weekend now, if you're going to kill conference championship weekend, that, that's fine. 24, right? Yeah.
- [28:43]
Tom Fernelli
I think the, the Big Ten needs to call it something different. I know it's 24 teams, but if they said 16 with a playing round, which essentially is what it, in what it is. It's way more palpable. But just the number 24 is a shock to the system. And I get it, like you don't want. But I do think if you pitched it differently and did a better PR job of selling it as a 16 team with, with a really fine tuned 16, then I think it would be better. And I would be trying to promote the model that gets rid of the committee and say words because I do think the committee is the one thing that bothers me the most in any of these, that it just, it creates a lot of narratives. It gives incentives for TV networks to push their teams and the biggest voices to make the cases. If we knew who was getting in, it would really diminish that. And I think that'd be a good thing. I think a lot of fans look at it well, ESPN owns it. They're gonna, you know, and the sec, you know, gets always favorable treatment. I, I, that's, I would push for something that got rid of the, the.
- [29:44]
Danny Cannell
Committee, but in the 24 model, the committee still exists. They just have to feed them.
- [29:49]
Tom Fernelli
Right.
- [29:50]
Danny Cannell
You know, and like your complaints are going to be the number three team or the number 24 team, you know, like that where it'll be much harder for the college football public at large to be able to muster up a lot of sympathy if you are the first team out of a 24 team college football playoff. But you would still have, it would be different kind of controversy. It wouldn't drive. To me, there's not a lot of emotion of us coming out on Tuesday night and being like, oh man, are you kidding me? At 9? Oh, they're gonna screw them if they put them at nine. Yeah, they gotta get up to the seven, you know, like those, those kinds of aspects to it. Like in the, my experience of college basketball bracketology. No, no fan is sitting there being like, oh man, we're so dead if we're a seven as opposed to a six. Right. I mean it's the teams that are going to be on the fringe right there. So I don't know if the committee, the committee will have plenty of hate and controversy for about three days in that 2014 model. But I think the field is so big you've kind of stripped them of some responsibility in terms of defining who gets an invitation to the tournament.
- [31:02]
Bud Elliott
I agree with that. Yeah. I mean the, the 18th ranked team is not a particularly sympathetic class.
- [31:09]
Chip Patterson
No, I feel like just maybe leaning really hard into supporting the 24 team idea as like, retribution for everybody calling me an idiot for never wanting to expand to 12 to begin with. Just like, all right, everybody thinks 24 is stupid, so screw you. 24 is the best idea. This is what you want. This is what you asked for.
- [31:27]
Danny Cannell
That's.
- [31:28]
Tom Fernelli
He'll turn.
- [31:29]
Bud Elliott
Tom.
- [31:29]
Chip Patterson
Yeah, just, I, I, I, you know, it's 64. I think we need to have. I, I just feel real bad for all those six and six teams that don't really get a shot to prove how good they really are.
- [31:42]
Danny Cannell
The. If, if you wanted to make people feel some kind of way about it, Tom, then what you have to do is you have to evoke the, like a, like a purist type attitude. And because 24 is the FCS playoffs, right?
- [31:58]
Chip Patterson
Yes.
- [31:59]
Danny Cannell
Yeah. Yeah. That's what you got to do. You got to come at this of like, you know, we spend all this time debating the College Football Playoff, and there's a place where playing college football still means something, where both the college and the football still means something. Okay. And that's at the Football Championship Subdivision, okay. Because they are champions at being able to organize a playoff, and they've been doing it for years. And they create a system which everybody adores. And the teams that go on those playoff runs, they fundraise, they increase their enrollment. It changes the trajectory of these programs. Why are we wringing our hands when we have the perfect format right there? And then you all of a sudden to kind of lean into that. I think that's the way that you could do the full heel turn on the 24 teamer.
- [32:43]
Chip Patterson
You don't get taco dollar without a 24 team playoff format. Where would we be without taco dollar?
- [32:51]
Danny Cannell
That's right.
- [32:52]
Bud Elliott
That's.
- [32:55]
Danny Cannell
Any DK. Any, any, any, like, other man's name.
- [33:00]
Chip Patterson
Is a value menu.
- [33:03]
Danny Cannell
Any other notions about the future of the playoff that you've either picked up or been, been mulling on over the weekend?
- [33:10]
Tom Fernelli
No, I just really think they're not going to budge. I do think we're gonna, we're gonna get expansion. And Tom even admitted that, you know, I think it's coming. It's just a matter of when, but who knows? We're so reactionary. You know, if you saw it next year and maybe there weren't as many good teams as there were this year, they'd be like, man, do we really need 16? Like, but I eventually think we're gonna get it.
- [33:31]
Danny Cannell
And then all of a sudden they know where they're going back. This is a toothpaste tube situation.
- [33:35]
Chip Patterson
Right.
- [33:36]
Danny Cannell
So we'll, we'll.
- [33:38]
Tom Fernelli
I think it's good. Like it did value the regular season. It did. The other thing I was thinking about the Notre Dame situation, I do not think Notre Dame would get the favorable treatment. When they were 02, they were ranked in the top 25. I think people being aware of that, like, I do think they'll leave some drama. They're not just gonna now if Notre Dame's undefeated, but they, their schedule is not as tough as it was last year. I think there's, they have to be one loss and like, even then I think it might be on the borderline. And I do think they'll create some drama with that.
- [34:09]
Danny Cannell
That's, I mean, that's just like all the independence in college football back in the 90s, you know, you had, you had to go through. You maybe got one loss and then maybe got a shot if you were able to get the right opponent in your bowl game at the end of the season and get the right results elsewhere. So, you know, it kind of is that I think Texas Tech's in that same mold, Right. Texas Tech is a member of the Big 12, but the way that I'm viewing them in a national title conversation, it's kind of like one of those old independents, right? They're gonna have a couple, couple big games, can't lose. And as long as they do, then they'll get a chance there at the postseason to be able to get in there. Maybe, maybe you've got the set. You've got the same situation for Notre Dame, a semi independent, and maybe the same situation elsewhere as well. Well, coming up on the other side, we are about 8 hours and 12 minutes away from kickoff. So we're going to spend the next eight hours giving you our last minute. No, we're just going to spend the next little bit, Tom, giving you our last minute thoughts on the national championship game. All that and more. Next.
- [35:16]
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- [35:49]
Danny Cannell
Back here on the COVID 3 podcast. Danny Canel, you know, I've got to ask. I see 4.3 yards per attempt.
- [35:55]
Chip Patterson
I know what it is.
- [35:56]
Danny Cannell
Does Tom know what the answer is?
- [35:57]
Chip Patterson
I. As soon as I saw that hat, I went and Looked it up. Certain season in a certain city, about a mile high over the sea level, there was a man played quarterback and he averaged 4.3 yards per attempt.
- [36:12]
Danny Cannell
It was you?
- [36:14]
Tom Fernelli
No, no, no, no. Was it?
- [36:16]
Chip Patterson
Yes.
- [36:17]
Tom Fernelli
What? That's. That's where it is. No, I actually have no idea what this hat means. No clue. But that's what I'm going with from now on. Somebody, and I still don't know who it is, left a box of hats at my door, which is kind of unique because, like, we do have like a gate or security that you have to get through. They left this hat. A bunch of, let's just say, MAGA themed hats.
- [36:41]
Danny Cannell
Yeah.
- [36:42]
Tom Fernelli
Along with them that were college. Like, you know, like there was one that's the University of Miami that says the U and then it says Trump around it. So I don't know who left them. So this is the one I felt I could wear and get the least amount of. But I'm going with that if that's. Maybe it is somebody who looked it up. I don't know, but I like it.
- [37:01]
Danny Cannell
What? So which season was that?
- [37:03]
Tom Fernelli
I don't even know.
- [37:05]
Chip Patterson
It was your final season in Denver, but Yeah, you had 4.3 yards per carry. You only threw 100 passes, so.
- [37:13]
Tom Fernelli
Yeah. Yeah, there we go. I'm rolling with that.
- [37:16]
Danny Cannell
Yeah, it's. I. I thought you were bragging.
- [37:19]
Tom Fernelli
You know, I just thought it's kind of cool. It's a football related hat. I have no idea what it means. I don't know whose yards per attempt it is, but I'm rolling with Tom's theory. And maybe somebody, I still don't know, maybe it's a fan of the COVID three, who listens, who somehow got it in our neighborhood. But I'll let you guys know as soon as I find out.
- [37:39]
Bud Elliott
Did we talk about Danny's hole in one yet?
- [37:42]
Chip Patterson
Oh, let's go.
- [37:45]
Danny Cannell
You got the ball right there.
- [37:49]
Tom Fernelli
Already had that. Already had a little. Little plaque made up. That's number two, second hole in one, eighth hole, 132 yards, pitching wedge. January 9th on a Friday.
- [38:01]
Danny Cannell
Lay it out as it lands and rolls in. How'd you play it? How did it funnel its way to the cup?
- [38:07]
Tom Fernelli
So we have a group that plays on Fridays at our club. And in the group text, there was a thing earlier in the. Before we all teed off because there's all these different bets. People chip in 100 bucks and you play for low ball and all that stuff. So somebody put in there 250 bucks. For a hole in one. And, like, you never get hole in one, so nobody's ever hit it before. And so as I'm walking up to the tee on this hole, I said, why is it only 250? It should be 500. And the guys were, like, laughing, and I said, I'm gonna hit one now. Yeah, I actually did hit it, but I often call hole in ones. I'm kind of. You can't hit them unless you think they're gonna happen. So I did call it, and it did pay out the 250aman, which is pretty nice payday that I was trying to hide from my wife.
- [38:50]
Danny Cannell
So you. That's what I'm saying. Are we spinning it back? Did it bounce in?
- [38:54]
Tom Fernelli
Oh, yeah. So it was pretty. It was really pretty. It was. It was like. It hit like three yards just past the hole. It's a little slope, and it just trickled in. It was great. It was good reaction from the crew because it was like, enough time. Little dramas. It's getting closer. Yeah, it was awesome. Second one.
- [39:08]
Danny Cannell
That's awesome.
- [39:10]
Tom Fernelli
No, this is the first one in my home course. First one was at Ohoopi, which is a really. That was a pretty special place to have one. And that was on the 13th hole on Friday the 13th, using a number 13 golf ball. That was kind of cool. I have a plaque for that one too, but I'll spare you guys time.
- [39:30]
Bud Elliott
The. The Onion shirts.
- [39:32]
Advertiser
I do.
- [39:32]
Tom Fernelli
Those things are sweet.
- [39:33]
Bud Elliott
Yeah.
- [39:36]
Danny Cannell
Any as. As we continue to. To count down, any of the other sort of, like, prop bets, exotics, different ways that we've been looking at this. We. We fired off some best bets on. On Thursday. Any. Any other sort of general ways to approach that or. Or hunches? As we've thought about this matchup. You're all sealed. All the work's done. Tom said. What do they need to show you? I've shipped it. I've packaged it. This is it.
- [40:07]
Bud Elliott
I mean, if. If we look at the, like, the market moves, we're. We're sitting, what, seven and a half Juice Miami.
- [40:14]
Danny Cannell
Yeah.
- [40:15]
Bud Elliott
So I don't think this goes to seven, but, like, maybe it could. I guess under took a little additional money, but not much. Like, I. I don't think we're going to 46 and a half unless something weird happens with, you know, turf conditions or something. So it is a little. It didn't rain here yesterday.
- [40:34]
Tom Fernelli
Yeah, it rained. Now it's cold. Like, it is cool out, and they're supposed to be. I saw one said 15 to 20 mile an hour winds. That's kind of. I mean, for a night game, it's a little more than usual. But I do wonder if that's, you know, they're thinking that favors Miami a little bit, if that could impact the throw game for Indiana.
- [40:49]
Bud Elliott
We had like summer weather yesterday, Danny.
- [40:56]
Chip Patterson
It might be like, what, 55 degrees at kickoff.
- [41:00]
Tom Fernelli
You should see my. I got all three layers. I got sweater underneath.
- [41:04]
Bud Elliott
So for Danny and I, like, zero means something different. It's zero state tax. Which is why everybody from top state moves. I. The weather has been weird down here, like for, for real. Yesterday I was out at human battle turn all day.
- [41:20]
Chip Patterson
Yeah.
- [41:20]
Bud Elliott
And like, so, you know, seeing we saw Jeremiah down there, which, you know, he's supporting express. So like, I got cooked sunburn wise for a little bit. And then it rained hard, like for like 15 minutes. Just like, like a total downpour, which is very Florida, but not like Florida winter. It's more like a Florida summer type thing. And then immediately after, it got like freezing cold. And I was like, I really need a jacket. Like, this is not like a typical December or January day in Miami.
- [41:50]
Tom Fernelli
So.
- [41:52]
Bud Elliott
Yeah, maybe it will be cold tonight.
- [41:55]
Tom Fernelli
It won't be cold.
- [41:55]
Bud Elliott
I think it'll be perfect.
- [41:56]
Tom Fernelli
Players will be happy, but, like, Florida will be cold for us. There'll be sweaters. That's it. They don't need, they don't need a paprika in their socks. What's the cayenne pepper?
- [42:09]
Chip Patterson
Cayenne pepper?
- [42:09]
Danny Cannell
I don't think paprika's gonna add any spice.
- [42:12]
Chip Patterson
I mean, maybe, maybe Rex Ryan puts paprika on feet for a completely different reason, but.
- [42:20]
Bud Elliott
Oh, gosh.
- [42:23]
Tom Fernelli
I had multiple people at media day. I don't know if you guys saw the post I put out about my daughter, but we live in South Florida. She goes to a school, and they're trying to represent the local team. And so they had, like, certain days they're allowed to wear, you know, stuff they can wear. College gear, NFL gear. And so they, they told them they could wear Miami Hurricanes gear. And so my daughter comes in, she's like, dad, do you have anything from the national championship game? And I was like, no.
- [42:47]
Danny Cannell
Why?
- [42:47]
Tom Fernelli
I'm like, dude. She's like, oh, I want to wear a shirt for the game. And I said, or a hoodie. I said, I don't really have anything. And so she, she was like. Because I was. What about Indiana? I have an Indiana T shirt that I just bought at the Big Ten championship game. She said, oh, we're not allowed to wear that. And I told her, I said, no, no, no. I said, you are going to wear that. It is the game they are playing. And I said, if anything happens to you, you send a call my way. And I told her, I said, even if you get expelled, we'll find another school for you. So just like, in the spirit of her dad, who likes to troll a little bit, she rocked that thing all day long. It was funny because, like, I had a lot of people saw that tweet and, like, Dan Radikovich came up. He's like, I. I can't believe you let your daughter wear that. Indiana. He was giving me a hard time. He's like, I can't believe it. I had some Indiana people are like, hey, way to go to support our squad. They were fired up. It's all pretty funny.
- [43:40]
Danny Cannell
That's awesome. Through and through, I've been trying to game out sort of the. The game script here, you know, the, like, different ways that this thing opens up. What do you think is Miami's. If you are in the head of Corey Heatherman right now, what is the piece that you like? What are the. What can you implement to make sure that the absence of Xavier Lucas in the first half doesn't leave your offense in a total hole?
- [44:10]
Bud Elliott
So I think it depends on who plays. Who plays the nickel. On one hand, that might be like, all right, I'm just gonna, like, sit back, play more coverage, try to win in the red zone, hold them to field goals, slow the game down. On the other hand, if the guy you decide to play nickel is somebody who you don't like in coverage, you do have an alternative.
- [44:32]
Chip Patterson
Blitz him, blitz them.
- [44:34]
Bud Elliott
So. And they have liked to do a lot, a lot of that nickel fire stuff this year. So maybe, like, maybe our thought about him, he's gonna, like, play back, make the game slower, make Indiana grind. Maybe that's wrong. Like, maybe they come after him early and try to light him up. Especially with Indiana likely focused on. On getting Bane and Messador and those guys blocked.
- [44:54]
Tom Fernelli
I. I would expect almost Indiana to come out firing in response, too. Like, I think they're gonna test the secondary issues and depth and injuries, all of it. So I think that's something to keep an eye on. As somebody who picked Miami, that's one thing that makes me a little bit nervous. That first quarter, first 15, they're really good at scripting. They're really good play callers. Also, there was an interesting angle in this game from the familiarity with the staff. Corey Heatherman was on the same staff. Like, a lot has been made of him and Brian Haynes, they're best friends. But Mike Shanahan and him went against each other in practice a lot of times. Signetti saw Heatherman a lot in practice. Who kind of remembers the weaknesses, the weak spots, like, things that you do, tendencies, all of that. I think it's an interesting chess match. I don't know how you'll see that unfold, but I do think it's interesting, like, to watch that piece of the game kind of unfold.
- [45:49]
Chip Patterson
I. I tend to lean towards aggression, and I do think that, like, what Bud's touching on, if I'm Miami, I feel like I need to force a turnover or two, because I don't think you beat Indiana unless they give you the ball. And that's the thing, because Indiana has been the best team at turnovers all year as far as taking care of the football, and they haven't had a game this season where they finished with a negative turnover differential. It's like, I think you need to force Fernando Mendoza. You need to get on him. And, yes, you have a great pass rush. And we discussed how their tackles have struggled at times in the first two games of this playoff. I think I want to bring the additional pressure. So that way when he does step up in the pocket and try to escape, there might be somebody there, and then maybe he panics and goes full C.J. stroud. Who knows?
- [46:34]
Bud Elliott
So I was looking this up on huddle. That is Mendoza's placement right now.
- [46:44]
Chip Patterson
Look.
- [46:48]
Bud Elliott
Here'S Becky. Yeah, like, if you're listening at home, that's not really, like, what we need. But ultimately here, like, you know, it's. It's a huge dispersion for Beck. I mean, Doza is like a pinpoint, like, sniper guy there, so that's a bit of concern.
- [47:07]
Danny Cannell
I like the. I like the idea of aggression just to be able to come out there and. And try. Just try to make a statement early. I had. I thought it was going to be more bend, but don't break. See if you can force field goals like that. That, to me, seems like one. One way to play this. But there's certainly a lot more volatility when it comes to the aggression. And yes, three years at James Madison was Corey Heatherman, including being named the top assistant coach in all of the fcs, a national award winner, kind of like the Broyles, but for the fcs. He got that in one of those years with JMU where, like you mentioned, Mike Shanahan also Offensive coordinator, also a part of that staff as well. I. The. The chess match for the first 15 to 20 minutes is fascinating. Also, I've been saying this to a lot of people who have, you know, questioned. To me, it's not as much the. The fourth down decisions for our friend Mario Cristobal. It's the timeout usage. Does that check out okay?
- [48:09]
Bud Elliott
I. I think so. Yeah.
- [48:11]
Danny Cannell
Down calls I've not complained about a lot. I mean, that we are two years separated from the Georgia Tech game. You know, I know we. I know we sort of loop it in with everything else, but. And remember the timeout right in the SMU game that was so bad. The timeout right before the penalty? Yeah. So that's. That's what I would be looking for as well. If you're going to look for a place where the coaching angle comes up to play. All right, final word before we go live. Next time you'll hear from us, it will be, well, not totally. I mean, we're going to be on CBS Sports HQ all day. But here@YouTube.com cover three, we will go live at the conclusion of tonight's national championship game. Let's go around the horn. Tom first. Any final words?
- [48:58]
Chip Patterson
No, just happy that the game is finally here after seemingly a month off is what it's felt like. So happy to watch it. Hope it's good. Don't know that it will be.
- [49:11]
Tom Fernelli
I hope Tom is so wrong. I hope he's wrong because one, I want to throw it in his face. But I also, like, I went my member Hamilton on Broadway. It was like the hottest ticket around. Spent a lot of money, took my parents there. Like, we had a crew of us and I paid for them all. And I remember I left and I was like, was it really worth it? Like, I spent a lot of money. I was like, I don't know. And it was great. But I was like, it's a lot of money. I want these people to get their money's worth. Like, the people that are paying this big money, I want it. I want college football fans. I really hope it is, but I am nervous. It is, absolutely. You could see a blowout.
- [49:44]
Chip Patterson
Like, I mean, if Indiana wins by 40, I feel like Indiana fans will feel like they got their money's worth.
- [49:50]
Tom Fernelli
That is true. That is true, but I'm not.
- [49:53]
Danny Cannell
I mean, it also means there will be $8,000 of tickets. Like $8,000 spent on two tickets to go watch your team get stuffed in the locker is also on the table for potential outcomes here.
- [50:05]
Chip Patterson
Yeah.
- [50:08]
Bud Elliott
But I really want to see, like, how Indiana tries to stop Miami's run game. You know, it. We know what the broadcast said, that like, Bama was. Bama really thought they could lean on them in the run game because of their size difference. And that was false. I mean, the size difference was true, but the ability to lean on them was. Was not correct. Miami's a lot better up front than Alabama is.
- [50:35]
Danny Cannell
Multiple tiers, both. I mean, like, the way it's constructed and the way they have performed.
- [50:41]
Bud Elliott
Right. So maybe they can. Right. Like, it's. It's possible. I do want to see that. Obviously, if you make Beck throw a lot, I think Miami's in real trouble. Yep.
- [50:51]
Tom Fernelli
But also I want to see like.
- [50:52]
Bud Elliott
Like Mendoza has played about as well in this playoff as Burrow did in his run, you know, and none of this stuff matters a lick if he just keeps throwing it like that because they're going to score high 20s, low 30s. If, like, he has got to just have some regression back to merely awesome, you know, we'll see.
- [51:15]
Danny Cannell
It will be a lot of fun again. We will be live here@YouTube.com cover three at the conclusion of the game. So come and hang out. You can follow him on Twitter at Time Fidelity, follow him@Blood Elliott3. You can follow him at Danny Canal. You follow me at Chip Underscore Patterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much.
- [51:31]
Chip Patterson
Thank you.
- [51:32]
Tom Fernelli
See ya.
- [51:33]
Chip Patterson
In the UEFA Champions League, every moment is a story.
- [51:36]
Tom Fernelli
But Kayasaka scores.
- [51:38]
Chip Patterson
And every great story needs an audience.
- [51:43]
Advertiser
The UEFA Champions League stream every goal.
- [51:46]
Chip Patterson
Every game live exclusively on Paramount.
- [51:48]
Tom Fernelli
Plus.