Mailbag! Spring Games At Nebraska & Clemson, Bill Belichick & Lane Kiffin Preview 2026 & more!

Summary

Cover 3 College Football Podcast

Episode: Mailbag! Spring Games At Nebraska & Clemson, Bill Belichick & Lane Kiffin Preview 2026 & more!
Date: March 26, 2026
Hosts: Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Kanell, Bud Elliott

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into listener mailbag questions and topical discussions around the 2026 college football offseason. The crew covers upcoming spring games at Nebraska and Clemson, analyzes recent coaching changes and press conferences, unpacks NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) trends and future predictions, debates situational football analytics, and field fun questions from their devoted fanbase. The tone is spirited, analytical, and irreverent, blending deep football insight with signature banter and transparency about changing landscapes in the sport.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Spring Games Preview: Nebraska & Clemson

• Nebraska

  • The main spring game on TV this weekend (Big Ten Network, noon ET).
  • Key questions:
    • Quarterback performance, especially Calandria's comfort in the system (10:48).
    • How the pass rush and defensive line shape up after key losses from last year.
    • Did the team successfully fill OL gaps after striking out in the portal in 2024?
    • Matt Rhule's coaching: overall faith in his abilities, but questions remain on talent execution.
  • The offense: Expect curiosity about scheme with possible more designed QB runs and mobility (per Holgorsen's influence), but likely vanilla play-calling in the spring game.
  • New defensive coordinator: Rob RH from San Diego State—a Broyles Award finalist—now implementing his scheme. Spring game audio could yield valuable insight due to looseness in coach-announcer conversations.
  • Notable Quote:

    "Sometimes listening to the spring game is almost better than watching, because the announcers talk to the coaches...the coaches will share a lot because there's not a game coming up." – Bud Elliott (13:12)

• Clemson

  • Spring game is NOT televised; must attend to catch a glimpse of QB Chris Vezina and the new-look Tigers.
  • Expectation for 247Sports to provide most updates.
  • General consensus: This lack of TV exposure may say something about ongoing transitions on the field.

2. Spring Practice Headlines & Coaching Changes

• North Carolina (UNC):

  • Bill Belichick’s press conference drew attention (rare for CFB now).
  • The analogy to “running things like he did with Josh [McDaniels]” caused confusion; speculation is that it signals a more hands-off, OC-driven approach (15:37).
  • Questions around how much the offense will modernize under Petrino.
  • Notable Quote:

    "You can't just put some pixie dust out there and recreate what you had at quarterback with Josh McDaniels." – Danny Kanell (14:18)

  • Spring QB competition is wide open—Billy Edwards presumed to have the inside track.

• LSU & Lane Kiffin:

  • Lane Kiffin’s messaging: telling LSU fans to “temper expectations,” despite high spending and big ambitions.
  • Debate over whether Kiffin is playing the media/fans or setting up for patience.
  • Emphasis: Offensive line improvement is vital; LSU hasn't run the ball effectively in years.
  • Big NIL money cited; skepticism about sustainability.
  • Notable Quote:

    "Come on, man, like Kurt Signetti got Indiana undefeated and won a national title in two years… you're going to tell the fans to temper expectations after everything you just did to get there?" – Tom Fornelli (18:08)

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3. Listener Mailbag & Tailgate Q&A

Hybrid Defenders and Position Flexibility

• Discussion of players like Jaylen Walker, Avril Reese shifting from off-ball linebacker to Edge in the NFL, and whether it becomes more common.
  • Examples: Micah Parsons, Chop Robinson made the transition at Penn State.
  • More 3-man fronts in college = broader supply of these “hybrid” prospects (26:45).
  • Notable Quote:

    "Defensive roles are becoming more hybrid because you need big fast guys to cover them in different ways than you have in the past. It's just part of the evolution of the sport." – Tom Fornelli (28:17)

NIL & Salary Cap Trends

• Will NIL/roster spending keep inflating? Is there a cap or coming correction?
  • Last year’s ~40% inflation is attributed to one-off “front-loading” before legal changes.
  • Prediction: Future growth more moderate (15%/year for a while), but legal/arbitration cases could cause further spikes.
  • Spending is shifting: Less on facilities/perks (“cookie cakes, balloon arches”), more on players.
  • Notable Quote:

    "If we start seeing like 20% inflation per year, eventually that train is going to leave the station." – Chip Patterson (30:53)

Football Analytics & "The Book"

• How do teams adjust in-game situational stats? Are "analytics" cards tailored to team strength, injuries, weather, etc.?
  • Models are deeply tailored pre-game and sometimes in-game (with sliders for score/time), but can't perfectly capture injuries (“left tackle hurt, etc.”).
  • Overfitting to in-game trends is a risk; aggregate data is more reliable.
  • The win-probability impact of most individual analytical decisions is small unless in high-leverage situations (39:45).
  • Notable Quote:

    "I would say it's like fully fitted, but not perfectly fitted… you have to have coaching for that." – Chip Patterson (39:45)

  • Big plays (pick-sixes, etc.) shift WPA far more than any single 4th-down decision.

Are Penn State & Iowa State Being Conflated?

• Listener pushes back on claim that Penn State is “just Iowa State with a new jersey” for the 2026 season.
  • Hosts clarify that a large chunk of Penn State’s roster is Iowa State transfers (24 of 38 transfer class), but key PSU players remain.
  • Acknowledge hyperbole, project solid continuity and culture—potential for success but skepticism re: “winning the league right away.” (46:59)

Evaluating SEC Defenses Amid Weak Offenses

• Are SEC defense metrics inflated by subpar opposing offenses?
  • Oklahoma's defense faced more quality offenses than a listener implied, per deeper dive.
  • The group feels SEC defenses are respected on their own merit, but agree 2025 SEC QB play underwhelmed relative to expectations (49:48).
  • Notable Moment:

    Bud Elliott: "Bama had the number one pass defense in the SEC. Fernando Mendoza torched them. Didn’t even have to play the second half." (52:46)

Fun & Personal Asides

• NASCAR fandom and stories: Tom reveals his family’s racing background, Chip and Danny share race day memories, and the crew jokes about Michael Jordan’s team/fishing sponsorship (54:42).
• Fishing pole recommendations for parents—an authentic closing touch that reinforces the podcast’s blend of football talk and real-life camaraderie.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Nebraska Spring Game Insights:

  "Sometimes listening to the spring game is almost better than watching ... the coaches will share a lot because there's not a game coming up." – Bud Elliott (13:12)

• On Belichick & New UNC Offense:

  "You can't just put some pixie dust out there and recreate what you had at quarterback with Josh McDaniels." – Danny Kanell (14:18)

• On LSU and the Lane Kiffin Hype Machine:

  "Come on, man, like Kurt Signetti got Indiana undefeated and won a national title in two years… you're going to tell the fans to temper expectations after everything you just did to get there?" – Tom Fornelli (18:08)

• On Defenders’ Evolving Roles:

  "Defensive roles are becoming more hybrid because you need big fast guys to cover them in different ways than you have in the past." – Tom Fornelli (28:17)

• On NIL Spending Trends:

  "If we start seeing like 20% inflation per year, eventually that train is going to leave the station." – Chip Patterson (30:53)

• On Situational Analytics:

  "I would say it's like fully fitted, but not perfectly fitted… you have to have coaching for that." – Chip Patterson (39:45)

• On SEC Defense Quality:

  "Bama had the number one pass defense in the SEC. Fernando Mendoza torched them. Didn’t even have to play the second half." – Bud Elliott (52:46)

• On NASCAR Family Roots:

  "My dad was a racer...I spent my Saturday nights as a kid at Santa Fe Speedway." – Tom Fornelli (55:08)

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Segment Timestamps (Key Sections)

• 02:18 — Podcast and hosts open, casual sports banter
• 09:06 — Spring games preview: Nebraska and Clemson
• 13:12 — Broad insights on watching vs. listening to spring games
• 14:04 — Coaching carousel: Belichick at UNC, Bobby Petrino's offense
• 17:24 — LSU, Lane Kiffin, and program/fan expectations
• 26:09 — Mailbag: Hybrid linebackers to Edge, trends in player development
• 28:44 — NIL/collective salary cap debate
• 39:30 — Situational stats, analytics, and coaching adjustments
• 46:59 — Penn State vs. Iowa State: Transfer-heavy roster debate
• 49:48 — Evaluating the "SEC defenses vs. weak offenses" argument
• 54:42 — NASCAR memories, personal asides, fishing pole chat
• 58:48 — Closing notes, previews of upcoming "If Vegas is right" conference preview series

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Final Thoughts

This Cover 3 episode weaves together in-depth football analysis, transparency about the changing nature of the college game, and the show’s trademark personality. From nitty-gritty roster breakdowns and NIL forecasting to under-the-hood analytics and listener-fueled debates, this is a can’t-miss mailbag for serious college football fans seeking both answers and entertainment.

Transcript

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[Chip Patterson]

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 Sports presents the COVID 3 podcast

[Danny Cannell]

and welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Fenelli, that's Danny Cannell. I'm Chip Patterson. Come to you [e-mail] 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 Brad and Dirty Dogs and Coach K and Thomas and Dash and Trig and Zach have already gotten the conversation started. That's right. It is a Thursday. It is a mail bag episode. We've got a couple questions from the big old bag of mail where listeners have gone to leave us a five star review. And in that review put your mailbag question. But I want to get started with what we finished the show with because at 7:36am Eastern Time, Brad jumped into the tailgate and got the conversation going with the question the. Tom, was there a breakfast ball yesterday on hole one?

[Tom Fenelli]

Yes, yes, there was. There was. Yeah. No, there was a. I mean, you know, I didn't, I don't go to the range during the winter. I don't do any of that stuff. I didn't go to the range before I teed off. I just walked right to the first tee and my first swing in five months was that first swing. And as I texted you boys, I hooked that thing a good 50 yards to the.

[Chip Patterson]

So, yeah, breakfast ball for sure.

[Danny Cannell]

You love to see that hook though. It means you're back.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, it's great.

[Tom Fenelli]

It was great. I loved watching it, but I was like, yeah, I'm not going to play that one.

[Chip Patterson]

Is it OB left or like we. We just hacking out of some.

[Tom Fenelli]

No, it's not OB but there's about 50 trees. Like the very, the first, the first hole at my course is very tree lined, so you do not want to miss the fairway or else you're in hell.

[Chip Patterson]

So yeah, see like our course is just like, it's very OB target golf. So it's just like those first couple rounds back. Like we don't really have a winter season, but like after a football season when you actually start playing again, it's like, oh, God, this is, this is rough. Bring a box.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, just a lot of dropping, A lot of dropping where you cross the line.

[Chip Patterson]

Fairway. Screw this.

[Danny Cannell]

All right, this is another one from Thomas. A little before we dive into some of the more college football centric stuff Thomas says, happy opening day. Just going off the records. Why are the Giants the worst team in Major League Baseball? Yeah, the Yankees win 70 in last night's game today. We'll get everybody up and going. Our foremost Giants fan here on the show, Tom, there was also some questions about your fandom. I don't know if you want to shed the cathartic experience that you did to free yourself from the shackles of your previous team and find the warm Embrace of the San Francisco Giants even in the wake of a loss. You know, how's. How's everything going as we, as we sort of pull ourselves out of that wild. Was it second inning that got sideways?

[Tom Fenelli]

Yeah, very simple story. In 2023, I decided I was done with Jerry Reinsdorf. So instead of watching the White Sox that year, I kind of. I was, I watched the Phillies, the Mets, and I'd always watched the Giants like just like late night games because they were always west coast. Love their broadcast. And the point of doing it was I was to find a new team because I was done with the White Sox, I was done with Jerry Reinsdorf. Just ended up going with the Giants because I was familiar with them. Love the broadcast. But like I also. I have not watched a Bulls game in three years either. It's just. I didn't adopt a new NBA team because I don't care that much about the NBA. Like the Bulls were my only connection to the NBA, whereas baseball was my favorite sport growing up. So I did not want to go away. Like Jerry Reinsdorf was making me hate baseball. So in order to save my relationship with the sport, I ditched the White Sox. And the Giants were a natural choice.

[Danny Cannell]

Danny, you going to take in any baseball, I mean, solid sports day. You throw in the Houston Open opening round, finish it with Tom's a line I against Houston, and best game of the night is the nightcap.

[Tom Fenelli]

How.

[Danny Cannell]

How are we feeling here on this Thursday?

[Bud Elliott]

Oh, phenomenal. It's going to be great. I did. I was a little taken aback by Barry Bond saying he was almost a Yankee until he hung up the phone on George Steinbrenner when he gave him a deadline, which I. Yeah, it was a great story. Barry Bonds and Jamis Winston on the coverage with Netflix. Former 2 sports star at Florida State.

[Chip Patterson]

It's pretty good. That's true. By the way, the Bond story, apparently.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

The other one is like the Maddox was. Was also almost a Yankee and they didn't respond to him in time.

[Bud Elliott]

That sounds like a sign, right?

[Chip Patterson]

That would have been unfair. Like those 98 Yankees teams with Maddox, right?

[Bud Elliott]

Oh my gosh. Would have been insane.

[Danny Cannell]

I mean, big weekend too.

[Bud Elliott]

Seagate Club championship.

[Tom Fenelli]

I'm onto the elite and the crown.

[Bud Elliott]

Elite eight.

[Danny Cannell]

So because it's all matches, right?

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Match play at 16.

[Tom Fenelli]

Qualified.

[Bud Elliott]

Won my first round. We got three more to go.

[Tom Fenelli]

I'm gonna give it all.

[Chip Patterson]

So match play or go ahead, Danny. Sorry.

[Bud Elliott]

Depends on when it is in the match and it depends on the opponent. Usually early in the match are pretty friendly. You know, give a three footer two and a half footer. But boy but watch out on that back nine. You're putting a two footer.

[Chip Patterson]

I gotta see that baby. I like it. That's so Match Play tournament is actually probably the number one driver for us creating handicapped committee at our club because one of our guys was a 2. He was 1 under through 14 and got closed out. Yeah, I was like okay, so who's

[Danny Cannell]

out there as like a 15 but it's really a 5.

[Chip Patterson]

It's actually been cleaned up. Like it's not that hard if you just rip all of the scores from golf. Genius. And just run it through like a little analysis.

[Danny Cannell]

But when you told me about putting everybody's scores on a regression model, I imagined you with like a PowerPoint sitting there in the 19th hole trying to explain to all these men all this math and I just, you know, you're just doing Yeoman's work out there.

[Bud Elliott]

It's not public.

[Chip Patterson]

They. They keep it anonymous. You're just. You get a little like re education you know where they the pro will talk to you about the proper way to. To use the gin app. And maybe a certain number of guys have to turn their scorecards in in person. You know but not many.

[Tom Fenelli]

Nothing more terrifying in like a handicap like a match play with. With a mid handicapper because they could, they could actually play pre then they can also shoot like 120 so you never really know what you're going to get.

[Chip Patterson]

I talked to yep about about the one crazy one like but again like we try to keep it private but it's epic.

[Danny Cannell]

All right, let's.

[Chip Patterson]

The guys tournament season were like for two years. We're in the trillions.

[Danny Cannell]

Well, best of luck Danny. Go out there, get it done. Throw a little distraction behind the green on the home hole. You know, figure out some way to be able to to throw them off their game. All right, so this weekend we have spring games because while and for those of you who are wondering, yes I am in Houston right now. We will be covering tonight's Sweet 16 and then Saturday's Elite Eight action from the south regional. But Iowa, Nebraska is here. Oh man, they're here. You might have seen Busch Light has already promised even more crates and pallets to be delivered to the city. But Nebraska back in Lincoln, it's going to have its spring game. We got two notable power conference spring games coming up this weekend, so want to turn your attention to that. The Nebraska one will be on television. You can watch it at noon Eastern, 11 local on Big Ten Network. And then what?

[Tom Fenelli]

Yes, Tom, I'm definitely going to be watching it.

[Danny Cannell]

Obviously. Live stream of Tom watching the spring game. Always something that we've been pitching to our bosses for years. But Clemson, the Clemson Tigers are going to have their spring game. But if you want to see Chris Vezina, if you want to see this Clemson team, you got, you got to drive to the upstate because. Because they are not going to have this one on television. You can have any like takeaways for that of what you will in terms of what that might say or not say about the product put on the field. But what should fans be looking for? In all seriousness, fans who want to tune. Tune in and watch Nebraska. What do you think are some of the top things that we're going to be looking for from Matt Rules crew?

[Chip Patterson]

I mean quarterback clearly, like how good is Calandria? Is he operating it cleanly? You know, pass rush for Nebraska.

[Tom Fenelli]

Right.

[Chip Patterson]

Like their D line took a major step back last year after losing what Hunsaker and Hunsaker and who was the other guy? They lost like two studs off that 2014. And it was, we were on this early, I was like, this is not, this is not the same quality of player. And then last year like they, they bet really hard on a high upside left tackle from Bama whose kids. The guy's name escapes me. But they just missed. Right. And if you gotta go get a tackle in the portal or really any position in the portal and you miss, certain positions are harder to, to find. Right. Like you kind of needed one because you don't have one. And Pritchett, thanks. Thank you, Chad. So like, is the offensive line a little fix now? Because I, I don't think Rules a bad coach. You know, I know we said that like, I don't know if you need to extend him to keep him away from Penn State, but yeah, quarterback in line of scrimmage.

[Danny Cannell]

Really?

[Tom Fenelli]

Yeah. I just want to see how different the offense looks. Are you gonna have more like quarterback runs designed into the offense that we've typically seen in a lot of Holgerson offenses? Not where it's not like, you know, an option kind of thing. But there's usually a bit more mobility involved with the quarterbacks as far as like even just with rollouts, which is not really something they were doing. With Dylan Rayola, it was very easy to figure out what Nebraska was doing on every snap.

[Bud Elliott]

And also that's probably why I'm sure you'll be dialed in watching this. I don't know if you're going to see a lot of that in the spring game. You know, it's probably the opportunity to work on more of the passing concepts. You don't want to show stuff about what you're going to do potentially in the fall. So I think it'll be pretty vanilla. But I'm just curious to see what Calandria looks like, how he throws it.

[Danny Cannell]

I mean, he went on a tour, I mean he, he was everywhere. That guy, that guy. We don't play a lot of football

[Bud Elliott]

and he's made some improvements. Like he's a lot better.

[Danny Cannell]

You know, it is definitely going to be something they're going to be excited about for the Clemson side of things. If we've got members of the COVID 3 tailgate who want to, you know, hit us up with. I know 247 sports will be all over it. You know, let's. We'll come back with whatever we're able to gather. But like I mentioned, you, you gotta, you gotta take yourself. You don't have to go around the stadium on a bus, you can just walk in the regular gate. But you do have to get to the stadium if you're going to be able to watch that.

[Chip Patterson]

One last thing on Nebraska, remember in December they made a defense coordinator change that. They got Rob RH from San Diego State who honestly kicked ass at San Diego State last year as a Burroughs award finalists. Like I'm curious to see. I doubt they're going to show a whole lot in that, but I'll watch it just to see, you know, what they show anybody that maybe, you know, sometimes like listening to the spring game is almost better than watching because the announcers talk to the coaches, right? And it's pretty laid back and the coaches will share a lot because there's not a game coming up the next week. So they're not really worried about, you know, future opponents picking these announcers brains. And also, you know, it's just, there's no, there's no more spring portal so there might be a little more free and flowing with the information. So I think you should listen to the announcer on the spring games, like don't watch them on mute. And you might pick up some stuff the coaches might have told them in meetings.

[Danny Cannell]

Fantastic advice. Because the preparation that those announcers have to do to get ready for the game means that they have poured over the depth chart, honestly, and I'm not trying to say this in a mean way more than the fans, you know, like at this moment right now, the people that are going to be calling that Nebraska spring game are going to have a better handle of the personnel, thanks to those conversations with Matt Rule and the rest of the staff to get ready. Great call, Bud. For spring games, listening can be maybe even more informative than watching elsewhere. Spring games will be coming up a little bit later, but spring practice is underway. We've gotten a chance to hear from a couple of programs and some, some quotes and some headlines that have worked their way up to the top. Over at North Carolina on Tuesday, Bill Belichick had his press conference. We don't get a lot of Bill Belichick press conferences, so you're always curious. And number one hot topic is what should we expect with Bobby Petrino? And Danny, I need you to help me here because I have no idea how to take this. He said, well, it's probably going to be a little bit like it was with Josh, meaning McDaniels. What does that mean? What does that even mean? I mean, you don't have, you can't just put some, some pixie dust out there and recreate what you had at quarterback with Josh McDaniels, what you had at on offensive line with Josh McDaniels. Some of the unique skill position players you had with Josh McDaniel. Is that a communication thing? What, what that mean?

[Bud Elliott]

I don't know. I mean, I think they're both well respected names offensively. You know, I think people respect what they do. But I don't know exactly what he means other than I trust him with the offense, maybe the way he did with Josh McDaniels, like there's a relationship.

[Danny Cannell]

That's what I was wondering if it's a little hands off.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, yeah. This is his. The way it was with the Patriots.

[Danny Cannell]

What, what are y' all expecting out of North Carolina's offense, Tom?

[Chip Patterson]

Bud, I really have no idea. Which is why, like, is that getting televised when they play it?

[Danny Cannell]

The spring game? Yeah, we don't have it. I don't think it's been announced. If so, I could be wrong about that.

[Tom Fenelli]

Will Ludicrous be there?

[Danny Cannell]

No, that's the time the concert, the, the, the little bits of viewing from the first practice. I think, I think Billy, I saw Billy Edwards throw in with Miles o' Neal and Travis Burgess looking on. So Travis Burgess is suited up. Bud, you know, I know you've got, we've got our eyes on him and yeah, he's, he's out there, but I'm, I was not there So I can't speak to it, but the, the way that it seems, I would guess Billy Edwards is going to be the steady hand, but there'll be plenty of competition and we'll see what ends up happening when the full room gets there in June. Because they don't even have all their new additions yet.

[Tom Fenelli]

I do wonder, like, if they will just kind of air it out more because, you know, like with Belichick and the way that they were going about it last year, it felt like they were very much trying to be like an old school kind of Patriots attack where, I mean, not that they never threw, but just it was very more pro style. I do wonder with Bobby coming in, if it's going to look more like a college offense.

[Danny Cannell]

I would say Jordan Ship is going to be the, the name you need to know. He's a wide receiver who had some flashes last year, and if you've got, I think, undoubtedly upgrades at both quarterback, downfield passing and offensive coordinator, then those should be things that would help them be able to unlock the rest of that receiver room than what they had. We also got spring practice going at lsu. We spent Wednesday's episode talking about the expectations stemming from some of those win totals. Well, Lane Kiffin, he's jumping on the other side with, you know, talking about how there's so much work to do. Tom, why are you shaking your head? What. How. How do you like Lane as he's, as he's pulling all the strings and manipulating the emotions of LSU fans?

[Tom Fenelli]

I mean, listen, he's smart. He's doing the right thing. I mean, he understands there's not a whole lot of Runway at lsu. The coach, you don't win quick, they get rid of them fast down there, even after they've won. They'll get rid of your ass if you go a couple seasons without getting them a title. But come on, man, like, Kurt Signetti got Indiana undefeated and won a national title in two years. You're coming to LSU with all that money they're throwing at you and all the money they're giving you to put together a roster, and you're going to tell the fans to temper their expectations after everything you just did to get there? Come on, man,

[Danny Cannell]

would y'.

[Bud Elliott]

All.

[Danny Cannell]

What do y' all get pick up from Lane?

[Chip Patterson]

I didn't watch it yet.

[Danny Cannell]

Okay?

[Chip Patterson]

I. I just like offensive line, offensive line, offensive line. I know that system, like, mitigates some need for great offensive line play, but you did see a difference in that offense between 24 and 25 at Ole Miss, like 24. Offensive line struggled a pretty good bit and 25 was. Was better. Like they got better in that. Offense hummed. I mean, quarterback also played really well, but it's not like, I mean, they had a, what a first round pick and Jackson dart or. He went first round, didn't he?

[Tom Fenelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

I mean, so like last year, offensive line was a major issue. LSU hasn't run the ball effectively in years.

[Tom Fenelli]

How much money do they have? Because, like they were given like 40 million apparently for football. Again will wait 15 million for basketball. Like, my God, what's happening to the children's hospitals of Louisiana right now?

[Chip Patterson]

I mean, well, I mean, hey, they oils a business in Louisiana too, man. All right, yeah, you know, great point.

[Danny Cannell]

I was eating, I was eavesdropping on a conversation here in Houston. Fascinating stuff. I started hearing words like reservoir. I started hearing words like energy plant. And I was like, take out the. Hey, I've. I watched land, man. Let's listen in on this one.

[Chip Patterson]

You know, like, we think about, like, what jobs will AI not take? Like, underwater welder plays pretty well. You know, maybe robotics or something like that. But yeah, you know, if we really run out of content this off season, what programs are our best position to benefit from their, their graduates not being, you know, eaten alive by AI? As far as their job prospects, I just.

[Danny Cannell]

With Western, dude.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Missouri and Northwestern are there because they're.

[Bud Elliott]

I love the governor's quote when Brian Kelly was let go and he was firing Scott Woodward and he's like, you know, we just gave out all this money. He's like, we're never making that mistake again. And what have they done since then? Shelling it out, just giving it away, man.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh, that's wild stuff. Yeah. LSU spring practice underway. To me, it sounded like the mixed messaging of a toxic relationship, which is right on brand for what you're going to get there. You know, it's like, yeah, we're going to be great. Oh, but maybe not too great. Yeah, you know, just that hot and cold. I think. Think it's a preview of what you're going to be getting with the Lane King experience.

[Chip Patterson]

I saw, I saw Lane Kiffin's son.

[Bud Elliott]

Oh, you saw him? I saw the video. You tell what was it like in person?

[Chip Patterson]

You know, like, frame's not real big, but he's not tiny. He threw with. They don't officially do this, but they're like, they'll. They'll name these different groups after famous quarterbacks. So I think for this group it was the, like, the top group was the C.J. stroud group. And then you have like, kind of the B group and the C group among. Among your seniors who are trying to get expo, you know, exposure. And then you have like your A group and B group of the underclassmen. So he started in the. In the. The A group for the upperclassman and was. I thought he belonged. I mean, I didn't think he was like, top half of the A group, but, you know, like, seemed to know what he was doing. Also, Luke Bryant's kid is out there. Bo Brian. And he's apparently a pretty good pitcher, too, so got some film for both. You guys can check out our YouTube channel maybe for some short one that

[Bud Elliott]

had the hole in one at the Grove. Did you see he was out golfing with his kids at the Grove? I think he had a hole in one. He was fired up. I think he said 16 year old, too, so he must be a pretty good athlete. That's.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, he's a 27 as well. So.

[Danny Cannell]

Knox Kipping, right?

[Chip Patterson]

Not skipping his lane, son. Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Yep.

[Bud Elliott]

So is he gonna go to high school? Is he going to high school in Baton Rouge then, or is he gonna stay?

[Chip Patterson]

I should know this. I'll.

[Bud Elliott]

Gosh, I don't. He can't. He can't. There's no way.

[Danny Cannell]

That was also one of the early. When they were touring schools. Do you remember that part of it? Yeah, yeah. When they were touring schools, there was one like Baton Rouge High School football coach says it's a done deal, you know, like that. Like one of the many, many ways that things start to leak out one way or the other. So I think, oh, is that your

[Chip Patterson]

school in Baton Rouge?

[Danny Cannell]

Okay, yeah, that's what I thought.

[Bud Elliott]

Okay.

[Danny Cannell]

So, yeah, keep your eyes. Lsu, North Carolina getting underway. They had those first press conferences. We'll continue to learn a little bit. Their spring games will be next month. But coming up on the other side, we turn our attention to you, the listeners and the viewers with questions from the big old bag of mail, questions from the tailgate, and more nukes. You know, mental health can feel like this huge, complicated thing because if you

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[Danny Cannell]

Back here on the COVID 3 podcast, let's dive into some questions for from the Tailgate. This one comes from Dirty Dogs. What's the crew's thoughts on players like Jaylen Walker and Avril Reese starting at off ball linebacker and transitioning to Edge in the NFL? And will we see more of those kinds of players just a pro day, right? Is that what kind of what's got that up in the conversation? I know Ohio State had their pro day at some point in the last week.

[Tom Fenelli]

I mean it's Micah Parsons did it at Penn State. Chop Robinson did it at Penn State. They began as off ball linebackers and then got moved to the edge as they grew as they got bigger, as they got stronger, as they got faster, as they developed. So I, I don't think it's. I. I don't know if it's a trend as much as it's where you've got a very talented player who might not be the size as a freshman to where you would want him on the edge, going off. Maybe you keep him at linebacker and as he gets bigger you just like, I, I, I think these, I mean look at the names. Arvell Reese is probably going to be a top three pick. Jalen Walker was a top pick. Michael Robbins, Michael Parsons was a top pick. Like these are just spectacular players. And then there's Harold Perkins who never got big enough.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I think with more three man front being played in college, there's probably more players like this that you have to decide on. Just, just more supply coming from college. I've been listening a lot of these draft podcasts and like there's thoughts like Styles goes ahead of Arvell Reese. And I, man, I don't know, like I could be wrong about this, but I never really thought Styles was a better player than Reese, like maybe a better athlete.

[Tom Fenelli]

But I think, I think sometimes the draft podcasts get a little too lost in the, in the weeds of just because they only talk about one thing.

[Chip Patterson]

So it's like you got to start going around on your own opinions.

[Tom Fenelli]

It's like nothing against Styles, but Styles is a similar player. Started as a safety move to linebacker. I, I think overall you're kind of just seeing like defensive roles are becoming more hybrid because you're being asked to cover bigger guys who are getting faster. So you need big fast guys to cover them in different ways than you have in the past. So I, I think it's just part of the evolution of the sport. Like the evolution of the player is causing the sport to change.

[Chip Patterson]

Great,

[Danny Cannell]

let's keep it moving in the tailgate. This next one comes from Coach K. He says at some point do we see salary cap or nil numbers flatten. They have gone up every year. But feel at some point there are only so many donors and resources to grab from line, red line go up. I mean, that's the business, right? I mean, you know, just, yeah, more, more, more like figure out ways to, to get the numbers. But is, is, is, I don't think it's a bubble. How about that? But is flattening possible so it will

[Chip Patterson]

not continue to inflate at the percentage that it inflated this last year? Because that was essentially artificial inflation that was caused by people front loading a lot of these deals before the house settlement took effect. Right. Like we're probably close to 40% inflation. 25 to 26. But I do think like in talking to schools, a lot of them are planning on like 15% a year. Until when? I don't know. But now there are Some factors here, like you have several arbitration cases coming up against the CSC. So if the CSC gets smacked, that's, you could probably just throw that 15 number out the door. I think it's also worth asking like eventually, you know, like you hear a lot of the ncaa, hey, these players don't want to be, you know, collectively bargaining employees. And I, I think a lot of that is like they, they kind of cherry pick who they, who they get to talk for them. You know, like if you look at who they throw in front of Congress, it's usually not somebody making big time money. Right. It's usually a former player who didn't make any money or it's, you know, a player in a non revenue sport and they get her up there to talk about, you know, how like I don't want to be an employee, all this kind of stuff. At a certain point, if these guys start making like really, really, really big, bigger money than they are now, how do you convince them to collectively park

[Danny Cannell]

because the system's good for them?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, if we start seeing like 20% inflation per year, eventually that train is going to leave the station.

[Danny Cannell]

Did you say you had it at 30% from 25 to 26?

[Chip Patterson]

No, closer to 40.

[Bud Elliott]

But when you said the front run at the, the deal that, the rev share deal, that was assuming it was going to work, right?

[Chip Patterson]

Correct.

[Bud Elliott]

Now not seeing any. We hear LSU with a 50 million dollar roster, it's like, well what, what does that mean? I think that's kind of what he's alluding to. Like if this is still going to be the Wild west and the CSC doesn't have any teeth and they can't do anything, then yeah, I think we do see 10 million dollar quarterbacks and you know, 5 million dollar edge rushers and you know, 5, 6 million dollar receivers. And I think you will see it continue to go up.

[Chip Patterson]

It's also like a rebalancing of the spending. You're starting to see this. We saw the story, I think it was AL.com about the recruiting budgets going down. Like you don't need as much cookie cakes anymore. You don't need as much of that kind of stuff.

[Bud Elliott]

8,000 letters in your mailbox.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I think that the next thing we will see there is some stories about how facilities projects are no longer continuing to just skyrocket nonstop at most schools that can see this thing coming. Now you could tell me, hey, that is more like a capital expenditure. It's not of the same budget. But I, I don't Totally agree with that. Right. Like you, you do have people who, who put up some money for these kind of things too. And then eventually I don't think coaching salaries are going to get cut in half. But you're starting to see this a little bit in college basketball. Right. Some of these younger coaches are saying, hey, I'm gonna take a little bit less. Promise me the nil money is going to be there and I'll kind of prove myself. I don't have great examples of that other than I think. I think Miami's coach is like, pretty young and they, they spend a lot on players and maybe a little bit less on coach.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah. I mean, it's probably pretty soon.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, I would say that that's going to change pretty quickly once Jay Lucas starts. If they want to keep Jay Lucas around, then that, that's going to be the case. But the, the team, obviously, as you mentioned, very talented and well funded. There's, there's got to be a team. Like if LSU goes 8 and 4, that's going to be the one that has the. I mean, I'm trying to think because Ohio State had the $20 million roster, but then they won the national championship, right. You know, so it was like, well, we, we need to have in football some version of the. What Kentucky basketball had this year where they had the $22 million roster and then they got bounced before the Sweet 16.

[Tom Fenelli]

There was the Bruce Feldman article last week or two weeks ago at the Athletic. It was, he was, it was anonymous coaches talking about like the coaching cycle, just like the hires, what they like, blah, blah, blah. But one of the interesting aspects in there. And again, coaches are as susceptible to the rumor mill as everybody else. But one of the quotes that stood out to me from what he was saying was in. Was an SEC assistant who said that 40 million is the going rate now to be competing. So you think of Ohio state with that 20 million roster at least winning. They won a national title, 40 million just to go what 5 and 7 seems to be the going rate in the SEC. We'll see how long that lasts. If it's true. I don't, I don't think it is.

[Danny Cannell]

But I would say that SEC coaches are not only susceptible to the rumor mill. I would say they power it. I would say that they, they throw logs on that fire that is the rumor mill. Also on the rebalancing of a budget. Bud, have you ever seen how much, how many thousands of dollars are spent on balloons in college football? Those little balloons, I mean, Also, like,

[Bud Elliott]

balloons aren't cheap either. Like, you're hired. Anybody. Like, I almost bombed my wife and I had one of our biggest arguments when she paid for, like, a balloon company. Put, like, an arch for my daughter's birthday party. I was like, what are you doing? It was like 700 bucks. I'm like, she would have rather had a gift than the stupid balloons. Like, what are we doing?

[Tom Fenelli]

That's why Danny's on this show is

[Chip Patterson]

because his daughter needed a balloon arch. I pictured Danny, when you see those Instagram reels, it's like, you know, they pan the party. It's like, look how. Look at half. My husband is thinking, this thing only cost us a thousand dollars total. We spent like 1200 balloons.

[Danny Cannell]

But it's like, set up for all the official visits, which means. And you've got to think that you've got at least three or four that are massive home games that are include a bunch of official visits. You're doing that almost every home game. A huge balloon arch.

[Chip Patterson]

I mean, Cover 3 Balloon Company.

[Bud Elliott]

We did, too.

[Chip Patterson]

Think about the. Think about the prices of hotels. And if you're hosting, like, let's say there's like 30 recruits that you really want to impress on a big weekend, you're finding some way they're you or your collective or one of your boosters is finding a way to get 60 hotel rooms for them on that weekend. Right. Multiple nights. Because you're going to want to come in the day before they're staying out of the game because, like, you're going to put the mom and dad up in a separate hotel room than a kid typically. I mean, like. And then multiply that by like three or four. That's a. That's a pretty big expensive. Even if they get a decent, like, rate, you know.

[Bud Elliott]

Right.

[Chip Patterson]

You're not getting these for 100 bucks a night. Like, Like, I mean, Danny, think about, like, Tallahassee.

[Bud Elliott]

Oh, I mean, that was a big expense. Yeah. For. My expense report was a big issue for the Miami Florida State game.

[Chip Patterson]

100. Like, that's. That's getting auto flagged.

[Bud Elliott]

Yes. One of the. One of the.

[Chip Patterson]

One of the.

[Bud Elliott]

The comments when I got it pushed back was, why was the hotel room $177 on Thursday night and $1200 on Friday and Saturday? I was. And I've literally responded. I'm like, have you never been to a college football town on a weekend of a rivalry game?

[Chip Patterson]

Let me Google that for you. Supply and demand.

[Tom Fenelli]

Yeah. Me being the good employee that I am, I Got out of town before those prices jacked up. I'm a company man.

[Bud Elliott]

That's right.

[Chip Patterson]

Brutal.

[Danny Cannell]

You had that quick hit Friday, Friday night, and then when the prices go up, Tom, he gets out. All right, coming up on the other side, we head down to the mail room with questions from the big old bag of mail and more. Next

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[Danny Cannell]

back here on the COVID 3 podcast. Diving to the big old bag of mail. This one is from username Sartin Bimons. Okay. Hey guys, great show. Question about the situational stats that are often referenced by by Bud and Tom. How adjusted are these for both teams and specific endgame factors? For example, is a quote correct decision based on the average team or are these adjusted weekly for the team offensive and defensive power ratings? What about for run against pass? What about situations where for example, the book says go for it on fourth down but the coach knows he just lost his left tackle and his better and his defense has been covering the past better than expected. It's hard to understand how big a deal a coach not know not following quote the book is without knowing this. So that correct me if I'm wrong, I read this situational stats like split

[Chip Patterson]

stats like decision making.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Okay, so what how the book in game factors. You know, vibes numbers. How do you. How do you look at all that? How could you explain it to Sartin Bimons?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, so they're not just using like the exact same blackjack card that everybody that never played before walks into the casino with. They pay a pretty penny if they outsource it. If not, they have a analytics data scientist guy in house in some cases. So I would say it is, let's say, fully adjusted to all potential factors that you think you could factor in week, like weekly. It's probably fully adjusted to any kind of information you have on your own team that week. It doesn't mean it's perfectly adjusted. Right. I don't think, like, obviously your pregame card is not going to account for things that are happening into the game as far as injuries and things like that. Clearly, like it can be adjusted in game four scenario. And in fact it contemplates that, right? Like, hey, we're up, you know, 14, nine, there's four minutes left, whatever you want to plug in, right? There's actually like a little. Some of these, some of these companies give you like a slider, basically. Hey, here, here's how much time's left. Yeah, but I mean it. Well, I think they might be allowed to use tablets now, but before that, back when they were not, it was actually like a, like a little slider thing. As far as like being able to adjust for your left tackle not being available for the series. No, I mean, I think you have to have coaching for that. I think that that is like, obviously something really worth considering, clearly, especially if you know your backup and practice sucks. But I think there is also some worry about like overfitting something to what you've seen so far in the game. You know, hey, they like, we've covered the past really well and I, I worry a little bit that you overvalue what you've seen through 35 minutes of ball as opposed to like if we're late in the season, like a larger sample set on what the opponent or what you are, you know what I mean? Like, and just kind of be in tune the moment, I guess. So, yeah, I would say it's like fully fitted, but not perfectly fitted

[Danny Cannell]

because there is still, there's still the bot that grades everything. And I'm not talking about the little bug that just tells. The little bug on the broadcast that tells you to go every single time. But like, I know that there's the decision making, you know, this is based on this score, based on this time, like that's robotic. And what you are saying is that, that it is obviously with the stakes being this high at big time college football, there are more custom fitted models that each of these teams are using.

[Chip Patterson]

The other thing is these super Extremes of weather. So that's just hard to model because you don't get many games that look like Denver, New England from this past year's playoffs. You know, it'd be hard to model like Notre Dame, North Carolina State, that one hurricane year, right?

[Bud Elliott]

Like that.

[Chip Patterson]

That's kind of within reason. You need to kind of figure like just kind of, you know, figure it out.

[Bud Elliott]

That was like the, the AFC Championship game this year when Sean Payton went for it on fourth down with Stidham, didn't get it. He didn't know there was going to be a blizzard that was going to come in and make it almost impossible to execute anything offensively, or else he should have just taken the three points.

[Tom Fenelli]

You probably should have known there was a blizzard coming. Broadcast knew there was a blizzard coming in.

[Bud Elliott]

But I still don't think he realized how bad it was going to be potentially. I don't know. That's the excuse I'm giving him for it. How much do those decisions swing? Like, and I think it's a pretty good example because everybody knows what you're talking about with the card, with the blackjack card, which you're supposed to do. How much percentage wise, does it change the outcome to your favor? If you go by what the analytics tell you to do on fourth down or certain situations, it's not a dramatic swing.

[Danny Cannell]

Is it three, like the WPA of a successful decision there? Isn't it normally under.

[Tom Fenelli]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Unless you just like hit the wrong button on a video game, like, you know, first down or something like that. It's not like, it's not a tremendous thing if you do it in concert with other things. Like, this is what we would always get on Jimbo about. Like, okay, if you're gonna play so slow, you do need to maximize your possessions. You know, if you're only getting eight a game, like, then mistakes kind of

[Danny Cannell]

magnify like, like, don't I. I feel like a pick six will change a win probability by like 15. And those are sometimes going to be some of your biggest swings in that. Just pulling that off the top of my head, not looking at any of the, you know, advanced box scores from last season. But that in my mind, that. That to me seems to be what you're dealing with. That a play of super significance is probably somewhere five or under, and then the, the big pick six type stuff where it's super negative for one team, super positive for the other team, even, that's still going to be a lot of times just like a 15 swing.

[Chip Patterson]

It also like that. That also depends on where it occurred

[Danny Cannell]

on the field Time.

[Chip Patterson]

Right. And. And right. Does the successive possession that occurs when the team that threw the pick six gets the ball back like it, like the one. The killer one is like end of half, you know, you're on. You're on the 18 like the. The plus 18. You throw it, they take it back. You know, 82 yards for a score and you only have like a minute five left. That. That really kind of nukes you because you basically lose the possession you get after it.

[Danny Cannell]

Isn't that how Tennessee sort of let it slip away against Alabama? Is it the Alabama. Yeah. And Tide go the other way then?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Sorry. That's all it was. All right, let's keep it in the big old bag of mail then. We'll get back to the tailgate question. Mailbag question. I think you guys are underestimating Penn State by claiming that they are just Iowa State from last year. For the 2026 team. Four out of the five offensive projected starters were on PS on Penn State last year. Same with three of the top four linebackers and the top three cornerbacks. We also have our best tight end returning parentheses better than Reynolds. Penn State also got transfers from Colorado, Utah and UCLA. On the defensive line. It's really more like if you mashed the best returning players from Penn State and Iowa State along with some pieces from the portal. I don't know if that works for a 10 win season, but the real story is a lot more complicated than it's just a middling Big 12 team in the Big Ten. And then he said at the end I just realized this wasn't a question. So I guess the question was are. The question is are we perhaps unfairly placing that stigma on Penn State? I'll go hand up. Yes. I have been, you know, and that's this. I'm excited about this question to be able to go back and make sure that I'm all buttoned up because it's been an easy way for me to sort of sort the Big Ten as I'm trying to think about it, where you've got a top tier that I feel really confident about, you've got some good programs in the middle. And when I'm trying to set my expectations for year one of Matt Campbell, I did kind of have it as the, you know, the Cyclones wearing Penn State uniforms. So I appreciate the accountability. Do you think. Do you think we're being outside of me? I'm going to jump on this one. Do you think we're being unfair to, to Penn State here?

[Bud Elliott]

No. Okay.

[Tom Fenelli]

I will just say there are, if you look, I'm looking at it right now.

[Danny Cannell]

Isn't it 15 or 17 Iowa State players?

[Tom Fenelli]

No, Penn State has 24. Yeah. Penn State has 38 players in its transfer class from last season and that is the seventh most. Seventh most. Seventh most. Oklahoma State, Colorado, Arkansas, ucla, LSU and Auburn all had more. What do those teams have in common? Of the 38, 24 of them are from Iowa State. And they're, if you look at the depth chart, a whole lot of those guys are in the ones and twos. I, I'm not saying when, when I say it. Yeah, it's hyperbolic. Not saying there's nobody returning for Penn State's roster last year. But the majority of your roster, the majority of guys you're expecting to contribute were guys who were at Iowa State last year. Doesn't mean you're going to stink. It's just like, I wouldn't have high, I wouldn't have like sit there, think, all right, we're going to win the league right away. It's like, I don't know, it's going to be an interesting situation,

[Danny Cannell]

bud.

[Chip Patterson]

Danny, I, I, I don't think I would push back a little bit on the idea that they kept all of their best players from last year's team.

[Danny Cannell]

I mean, obviously the running backs.

[Tom Fenelli]

Yeah. Quarterback, your guard, your court, your backup quarterback who came in like you lost a lot of players from that team,

[Danny Cannell]

some NFL bound defenses where you trust,

[Bud Elliott]

like you're taking the best players. You assume you don't know this from Iowa State. I mean, it seems like just said, hey, whoever wants to come, come on with me. But I'm sure there were some players that did not get the opportunity to go. So I think that's a good thing because I think if you had, you know, Iowa State's just a crew of their best players and you could double them, they probably would have been a little bit more competitive. I think the continuity helps. You know, I think Rocco Beck's a good example of this conversation. Like, how is he going to excel? Making a jump up to the Big Ten against better teams. And it's a question we have about the entire roster. Would you rather have 24 players from Iowa State or 13 from James Madison? When we went to Indiana, like, we didn't rave about that, but then it was like, oh, the culture, you know, they knew it was like, oh, they're winners. Chip on their shoulder. Guarantee you these are all chip on the Shoulder guys who want to prove to everybody they belong. So there's. There's some good to this, I think, but I think it's cautious.

[Tom Fenelli]

Yeah. And the other aspect, like the Indiana thing in year one, is A, Indiana lost all the good teams they played and B, nobody saw it coming. It was Indiana. So it's like by the time like they started off 4 at 05 and we're all sitting there like, hey, what's up with this Indiana team? They might be pretty decent. And then as the year went on, you started buying in. Nobody's going to look at Penn State as some team. They're not going to overlook Penn State on the schedule.

[Danny Cannell]

Schedule.

[Tom Fenelli]

It's still Penn State.

[Chip Patterson]

Great call.

[Danny Cannell]

Great call there. Back to the tailgate. 9:54am Zachary jumped in and said, do we need to re evaluate some of the SEC defenses based on how poor the offenses were? In Oklahoma's case, I think they only played four offenses that were in the top 50. And, and we saw Bama and Tennessee Zach playing a little. But who have they played when it comes to the SEC defenses or SEC defenses inflated? I think Oklahoma, from a personnel perspective, you, like, you can just look at them and be like, okay, that's a. Those are dudes. Like, that's a very good screen.

[Chip Patterson]

Again, I just, I want to look at something here. Oklahoma only played four offenses that were top 50 in what. Yeah, I, I'd be. This is where you need to be using opponent adjustments. I would say 20, 24.

[Danny Cannell]

It's like, is it just using scoring

[Chip Patterson]

this regular season or is this including the playoff?

[Tom Fenelli]

I. I've got no idea. But like, just.

[Danny Cannell]

Well, they didn't stay long in the playoff.

[Tom Fenelli]

There are people far smarter than I am who have ways of figuring out how teams perform based on the expectation of how that team performs against everybody else and how much better you do against them versus everybody else. Oklahoma's defense still did pretty well in all of those metrics. Like, it wasn't just the schedule that they were playing. They were just a very good defense.

[Chip Patterson]

So Michigan was 49th. They're on Oklahoma schedule. Texas was what, 15th? They're on Oklahoma schedule. See Auburn Bear. Like, Auburn was 59, so that doesn't count. Ole Miss, I don't even look it up. They're definitely top 50. So that's three. LSU. I mean, they were pretty bad last year.

[Danny Cannell]

LSU's offense might not be top 50.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I mean, this, this may just be an artfully drawn line on this question. They were 76. Tennessee. Tennessee's got to be top 50, right?

[Danny Cannell]

Well, all right.

[Chip Patterson]

So tennis. Yeah, Tennessee. So that. That gets us to four. And then Bama and Missouri. Missouri. With the fall off after the injuries, Missouri is still 47th, even with the terrible quarterback play there. And then Bama. So I. I just think the question's wrong. Like, I have it at 6 if

[Danny Cannell]

I'm gonna grant some grace. There is the conversation to be had about how the SEC quarterback play was supposed to be one of the driving narratives of all of college football last season. And I would say that they definitely did not meet my expectations and probably underwhelmed ever to everybody compared to where we were setting the bar. And so there might be something in terms of they were able to feast on quarterbacks that didn't live up to expectations. Is that fair?

[Bud Elliott]

Bama had the number one pass defense in the sec. Fernando Mendoza torched them. Didn't even have to play the second half. I mean, it was almost perfect. He was 14 to 16 for 193 and, like, just torched them. And, like, that was a big. I looked that up the other day because Orlovsky was making the case for Ty Simpson, and he said, really?

[Danny Cannell]

I haven't seen that.

[Bud Elliott]

And said, Fernando Mendoza didn't do much in the playoffs. And thankfully, McAfee called him out on it, was like, did you want. And then he was kind of like, well, Alabama wasn't very good offensively. I'm like, that's not who Fernando Mendoza is playing against.

[Tom Fenelli]

Or didn't he say something about what were the big games he played in?

[Bud Elliott]

Yes, he won the national title, Dan. He said, how did he do in those big games? And that's when I was like, let me see how he did in the Rose Bowl. The biggest granddaddy of them all against Alabama. And he torched him. And he tried to. I don't know. Yeah, he's like, oh, he only. They only had six points through three quarters against Ohio State in the Big ten championship game. I'm like, it's. Ohio State's defense was phenomenal, and he made several big throws to come through in the game.

[Tom Fenelli]

There we go. Let's see. He was. He was 14 of 16 against Alabama with three touchdowns, no interceptions. He was 17, 20 against Oregon with five touchdowns, no interceptions.

[Bud Elliott]

Oregon held one of that little old school. What are they doing?

[Tom Fenelli]

Ohio State? He was. He was only 15, 23, average 10 yards per attempt with a touchdown and an interception. Just. I mean, he just. He did not show up in the big game.

[Danny Cannell]

So funny. So funny.

[Bud Elliott]

The big play against Miami in the title game.

[Tom Fenelli]

Either way, he didn't sacrifice his body for a touchdown. Or you didn't go John Elway at the goal line or anything.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh my gosh. I hadn't thought about that play. I'm gonna have to go whack and

[Tom Fenelli]

watch that shout out to Orlovsky. Just man's got some thoughts.

[Danny Cannell]

All right, let's. Let's get out here with a Fun1. Talladega Junkie 1439 said, I wonder if any of the boys are NASCAR fans. I suspect Chip might. Maybe Bud. Why not Tom and Danny? We could all be NASCAR fans. You don't know

[Bud Elliott]

how many of you guys have been to the Daytona 500.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh, I've not.

[Bud Elliott]

Oh, there we go.

[Chip Patterson]

I didn't know for Nelli.

[Bud Elliott]

Okay, there we go.

[Tom Fenelli]

I was my. Yeah, I grew up watching nascar. My dad, my dad was a racer. I mean they. On weekends I spent. I spent my Saturday nights as a kid at a place in suburban Chicago called Santa Fe Speedway. He, him and his buddy Jimmy Part a pillow. Jimmy was the driver. My dad was his pit chief. They went around the country driving late model cars and I would go with them. A lot of times we went to Daytona. I was on the infield for it. Good as. Yeah, I've been to plenty of races. I grew up racing. Nice.

[Chip Patterson]

I did not know that.

[Danny Cannell]

I've thought I. I did have about a three year run where between Martinsville and Charlotte. I probably went to four races and I was really getting into. I guess this would be like 06 to 09, 2010 something around there and I enjoyed it. I loved it. It was tons of fun. I have not been into it as much but seeing Michael Jordan win all these races with 23:11 racing kind of makes me want to get.

[Bud Elliott]

So I went to the Daytona 500 probably in like 2005. I went with Jason Seahorn, he was my buddy from the Giants. And we had like pit passes and everything. We got to meet a lot of the drivers. It was awesome. So like for that season I like really followed it. I was like, oh, this is cool. And then I never really followed again. Like I just didn't have the. I didn't have the longevity to love it. But as you mentioned, Jordan's racing team has been. They're historic run. They're doing things that have never been done before.

[Danny Cannell]

You want to go see if you want to go tinfoil hat on this one. Remember he was in a lawsuit against nascar.

[Bud Elliott]

Yes. To start the season right.

[Danny Cannell]

What if the settlement had a little, had a little sweetener to it. That's the other thing too. North Carolina. It's like, well, can. Can MJ cut a check? It's like, buddy, MJ ain't cutting checks for coaches right now. He is, he is loving his fishing and his racing. That is, that is a boy from Wilmington, North Carolina, who is doing all the things that, you know, he did growing up. So I don't, I don't think he's going to be the power of a new North Carolina basketball coach. All right, Tom, good luck to the Illini tonight.

[Tom Fenelli]

Thank you.

[Danny Cannell]

Big game.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Tom Fenelli]

It's not us who needs luck. Good luck to Houston. I hope you recover from the absolute beating that the aligner are going to put on you tonight in front of your home crowd. Oh, the.

[Danny Cannell]

If the Visage boys get. Take it. Take it back to the old country. I don't know if JoJo Tugler is ready for this.

[Tom Fenelli]

I mean, sorry, this ain't the Big 12, boys. This is a real league you're dealing with now.

[Chip Patterson]

Just throwing us out there because I know we have a pretty big audience. I gotta get the brand of this fishing pole, but I'll find it. I got one for Huddy. He's four like zero knots, zero tangles, like zero snags, nothing. This thing was like. But like actually cast pretty well. Decent weight to it. Like I'll find if you. I don't know how we like communicate to them not getting free ads, but like we can move some product here because like we got a lot of young dads listening to this podcast, this thing.

[Bud Elliott]

Well, so you know, it don't want to say it or you don't.

[Chip Patterson]

No, it's in the garage. But I, I, I, you know, because usually like you take the four year

[Bud Elliott]

old, we go to North Carolina. I need to find out because we go to North Carolina. They're all tangled. All the kids ones are like hot. You can't ever. They never work. So I'm in. I'm in.

[Danny Cannell]

Hey, listen, Claire, let's, let's, let's get together on this one. Let's, let's start. If I would we be breaking ground. I mean if the, the first national college football podcast with the fishing pole sponsorship, we might be.

[Tom Fenelli]

Makes sense.

[Chip Patterson]

I mean we're like what, 90? Upper 90. Percentage male.

[Danny Cannell]

We appreciate everybody, you know, like. Yeah. And doors, Doors always open. Big ten, right?

[Tom Fenelli]

I could use a new rod and reel. I mean, I got a pond right across the street. See?

[Danny Cannell]

That's right.

[Bud Elliott]

Look at that we could go cover the the fishing national championships.

[Tom Fenelli]

Hell yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Cover three.

[Tom Fenelli]

Ocean is great. You just sit on a boat and drink beer and every once in a while a fish bites.

[Danny Cannell]

All right, so, Tom, good luck tonight. Thanks to everybody for jumping in. We will be continuing next week with our if Vegas is right series. We've already done the Big Ten, we've already done the SEC. That means we'll be turning our attention to the ACC and the Big 12. Looking at those numbers from the odds makers, taking a look at what that says about the 2026 season. And you can follow him on Twitter at Tom Fenelli. You can follow him@Blood Elliott3. You can follow him at Danny Canal. You follow me at Chip Patterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much.

[Tom Fenelli]

Thank you.

[Chip Patterson]

See y'.

[Danny Cannell]

All.

[Bud Elliott]

See ya.

[Tom Fenelli]

The comedy movie event of the year. Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice. Now streaming only on Hulu and Disney plus. Time to party.

[Danny Cannell]

That's a great attitude.

[Tom Fenelli]

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[Danny Cannell]

You sound insane.

[Tom Fenelli]

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[Chip Patterson]

I thought you were a clown.

[Tom Fenelli]

Well, clown balloons aren't real, dummy.

[Chip Patterson]

And time machines are super grounded in reality.

[Tom Fenelli]

Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice.

[Chip Patterson]

Rated R. Written and directed by Ben David Grabinski. Only on Hulu and Hulu on Disney plus for bumble subscribers.