NEW 2025 CFP Rankings Reaction: Notre Dame or BYU? | Miami's Done | JMU Enters | College Football

Summary

Cover 3 College Football Podcast: 2025 CFP Rankings Reaction

Episode Date: December 3, 2025
Hosts: Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Kanell

Overview

The Cover 3 team reacts live to the latest College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings for 2025, breaking down notable moves, the fate of teams on the bubble, and the implications for conference championships and playoff scenarios. The hosts scrutinize committee decisions, debate bubble team prospects like Notre Dame, BYU, Miami, and James Madison, and weigh in on the likely future of CFP expansion. Coaching carousel drama—especially at Penn State—adds intrigue to the discussion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The CFP Rankings Reveal: BYU, Notre Dame, and Bubble Debate

• The rankings are revealed and the hosts react in real time, focusing on surprising moves and their playoff consequences.
• Miami and Notre Dame Bubble Watch: The biggest early question centers on whether Miami or Notre Dame will make the cut, with BYU unexpectedly in the mix and James Madison entering the rankings.

Ranking Movements and First Impressions

• James Madison is ranked at 25, North Texas at 24, and Georgia Tech at 22—prompting surprise.
  • “James Madison is ranked.” – Tom Fornelli (04:47)
• Miami only moves up to 12, not quite the statement they needed.
  • “Miami's done.” – Chip Patterson (07:33)
• Notre Dame checks in at 10, BYU at 11: both are ahead of Miami, confirming Miami fans' worst fears.
  • “Notre Dame’s at 10...so they want both Notre Dame and Miami out to avoid the whole situation.” – Danny Kanell (08:46)

2. Committee Politics and 'Campaigning'

• Discussion on how coaches and programs launch PR campaigns to make their playoff case.
  • “There has been a massive PR campaign for Texas… The coaches are making their cases and I hate it, but I totally understand it.” – Danny Kanell (03:25)
• Joking about the performative nature of such lobbying.
  • “Do love a format where campaigning is the thing that you have to do. Nothing says we’ve earned our place than stumping on the campaign trail.” – Tom Fornelli (04:07)

3. Playoff Pathways and Home Game Stakes

• Ole Miss moves up to 6, likely securing a home game—a big financial boon.
  • “The ability to host a home game is massive… that's a multi-million dollar decision for Oxford.” – Chip Patterson (10:49)
• Top four seeds for playoff byes are likely set, with debate over whether Alabama could sneak in if they win the SEC.
  • “If Alabama wins the SEC, it will get a bye…The fourth spot will be Texas Tech if Alabama loses to Georgia or Alabama if Alabama beats Georgia.” – Tom Fornelli (12:59)
  • “I think Texas Tech’s getting a home game at worst. And a buy at best.” – Tom Fornelli (14:14)

4. Potential CFP Expansion and Systemic Issues

• The hot topic shifts to whether playoff expansion is inevitable, especially with the current 12-team system causing debate.
  • “I think they're going to go to 5 and 11 eventually… but is there anything significant enough where we see… do they go to 16 sooner and just say let’s go to 16 next year?” – Tom Fornelli & Danny Kanell (22:32–22:49)
• Fundamental flaws—large conferences, difficult tiebreakers, and uneven schedules—are highlighted.
  • “There’s no fixing it unless you just… Super league thing. So how important is the playoff to you? Are you willing to go to a super league so the playoff is fixed?” – Tom Fornelli (23:56)

5. ACC Tiebreaker Chaos

• Chip breaks down how arcane tiebreakers and a handful of results between non-contenders locked the ACC out of the playoff.
  • “That is truly how dumb this ACC tiebreaker scenario has gotten… North Carolina over Stanford, Wake Forest over Virginia Tech, and Clemson over Louisville could send no teams to the College Football Playoff…” – Chip Patterson (24:27)
• Speculation that conferences should change tiebreaker rules to protect top teams.
  • “I would expect the rules to be rewritten where the tiebreaker is the highest ranked from the committee.” – Danny Kanell (26:29)

6. Coaching Carousel Drama: Penn State’s Search

• The hosts react to reports that Penn State targeted BYU’s Kalani Sitake, who reportedly turned them down. Rumors swirl about boosters, agent machinations, and recruiting concerns at Penn State.
  • “It is remarkable that we have gotten to this point where Penn State targets Kalani Sataki, BYU’s coach, and BYU’s coach says no.” – Chip Patterson (33:10)
  • “They are dead last in the Big Ten in recruiting rankings. Signing day's tomorrow. Penn State is dead last in the Big Ten.” – Tom Fornelli (32:41)
• Debate over whether agents could be sabotaging Penn State in the wake of James Franklin’s firing.
  • “If Jimmy Sexton had been doing this, and you were a Jimmy Sexton client, how would you feel about your agent keeping you from taking a job like Penn State just because he’s mad at him for firing one of his other clients?” – Tom Fornelli (35:15)

7. Miami’s Faint Hope and Explanations for Their Plight

• Miami fans hope for a way in if BYU loses; the hosts are dismissive.
  • “That is not what the socials are saying. I got some Miami fans in my comments saying with Notre Dame dropping, if BYU loses, Miami bumps up…” – Danny Kanell (36:01)
  • “Miami fans, just listen to me… They think Notre Dame is better than you. They have thought Notre Dame is better than you the entire time… A bye week will not be enough for you to pass Notre Dame.” – Tom Fornelli (37:40)
• Ongoing frustration with the ACC, Miami’s close losses, and tiebreaker madness.
  • “But also, don’t lose to Louisville, like don’t lose to SMU… Miami should not have lost either one of the games that lost.” – Chip Patterson (39:35)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Miami’s Hopes:
  “Miami fans, just listen to me for a second here. They think Notre Dame is better than you… you are not in the College Football Playoff this year.” — Tom Fornelli (37:40)
• Ranking Frustration:
  “You're supposed to use last week's rankings to make the new rankings… Cowards.” — Chip Patterson & Danny Kanell (07:25, 07:33)
• The System's Flaws:
  “There’s no fixing it unless you just… Super league thing. So how important is the playoff to you?” — Tom Fornelli (23:56)
• ACC Tiebreaker Madness:
  “That is truly how dumb this ACC tiebreaker scenario has gotten…” — Chip Patterson (24:27)
• On Coaching Jobs:
  “It is remarkable that we have gotten to this point where Penn State targets Kalani Sataki, BYU’s coach, and BYU’s coach says no. Now, it’s not just crumble…” — Chip Patterson (33:10)
• Joking about PR:
  “Do love a format where campaigning is the thing that you have to do. Nothing says we’ve earned our place than stumping on the campaign trail.” — Tom Fornelli (04:07)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:47 — James Madison enters the rankings; Miami’s fate sealed
• 07:17–08:52 — Rankings for Miami, Notre Dame, BYU revealed, Miami’s playoff hopes dashed
• 10:44–11:24 — Ole Miss secures home game implications
• 12:50–14:29 — Byes and home game paths, Alabama/Georgia/Texas Tech scenarios
• 22:32–23:52 — Debate over CFP expansion (12 to 16 teams)
• 24:27–26:13 — ACC tiebreaker issues, how strange results affected the playoff race
• 32:41–33:56 — Penn State’s coaching search, recruiting concerns, agent drama
• 36:01–38:23 — Debate over Miami’s slim chances and why idle teams likely won't move up

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Overall Tone

The hosts combine passionate, sometimes sarcastic analysis with insider knowledge and lively banter. They mock the more absurd elements of the CFP process, show empathy for fanbase frustrations, and mix in humor—even as they tackle the serious financial and program implications of the new system.

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Conclusion

This episode is a deep-dive into how the 2025 CFP rankings shake up season-end scenarios. Clear winners (Ole Miss, BYU, James Madison) and losers (Miami, Texas, the ACC) emerge, while playoff expansion and tiebreaker controversy remain front-and-center. Off-field coaching drama adds intrigue, especially at Penn State. For listeners, it’s a sharp, entertaining look at the high-stakes, high-drama world of college football postseason chaos.

Transcript

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[Chip Patterson]

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[Danny Cannell]

Welcome Back to the COVID 3 podcast.

[Tom Fornelli]

With your hosts Chip Patterson, Tom Fernelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. It's your call for the best college.

[Danny Cannell]

Football coverage from national signing day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS Sports presents the COVID 3PO.

[Chip Patterson]

And welcome back to the COVID 3 Podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Fenelli, that's Danny Cannell. I'm Chip Patterson coming 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 our friend Jerry B. Said, it is shocking to me that Penn State has not found a head coach. What is wrong in Happy Valley? They may need to get a new ad. They are too good to be missing on all these candidates. So we are waiting for the reveal of the new College Football Playoff rankings. They are live as we come to you live on YouTube.com cover3. So we'll see what we have to react to. It's very possible there's not a lot, but just where Texas A and M falls. Dk, is there, is there anything that you're looking for here before we get the reveal?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, there's a lot. I mean, there has been a massive, massive PR campaign for Texas to get in the mix. So we'll see if that paid off. Sark's been doing every single interview, Mario. I mean, I want to see if all the campaigning, the politicking is working. Mario. Crystal ball, same thing. He's pounding the table. I mean, the coaches are making their cases and I hate it, but I totally understand it. But I'm curious to see because I do think the committee, like, I know they're supposed to take off their hats and they sequester and they don't pay attention. They hear the cases. You know, I think they do pay attention. So I'm curious see what, what impact some of those campaigns might have made.

[Tom Fornelli]

Do love a format where campaigning is the thing that you have to do. Nothing says we've earned our place than stumping on the campaign trail.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, I mean, even when the only thing that it was was the AP number one poll. I mean, Danny, do you remember everybody campaigning then?

[Danny Cannell]

I don't. Did it happen?

[Tom Fornelli]

They did it just that we didn't have like 24 hour cable networks at the time that were lasting it all out there and sports radio nonstop and podcasts and all these interviews. So they definitely did.

[Chip Patterson]

But like coaches would still state their case for why they like why when we went to the Fiesta bowl and while you went to the Orange bowl and we both won.

[Tom Fornelli]

James Madison is ranked.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, no. ACC's done.

[Tom Fornelli]

James Madison is 25th. Oh my. North Texas at 24. Georgia Tech still ranked at 22nd. Moved up a spot. Georgia up a spot.

[Danny Cannell]

But if, man, Duke cannot win. If Duke did win, that would be a win over a.

[Chip Patterson]

That's true.

[Danny Cannell]

Waiting to see. We're waiting to see because they're still not in there. Virginia team. That would be a significant resume booster. Yeah, that would be a better win than anything now. They would have to ignore five losses. 17th Virginia checks in.

[Chip Patterson]

Yep. Two lane up there at 20, because two lane against North Texas. So that basically guarantees at least a spot for the American winner. Yeah. Whoever wins down in New Orleans on Friday night will almost certainly be in the College Football Playoff. Tom, are you ahead right now?

[Tom Fornelli]

No, I'm behind. I'm just surprised. Arizona moved up seven spots, beating Arizona State.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, I think seven spots just means that. Yeah, I see Michigan lost.

[Danny Cannell]

They had to slot them after them. What other loser did they have that dropped?

[Tom Fornelli]

Why do you have to slot Michigan behind Arizona? It's not like they played ahead to head or anything. You can keep it. You get ahead of everybody.

[Chip Patterson]

I mean, Michigan's nine and three is better than Arizona's nine.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

I mean, there's no reason. Oh, Vanderbilt. Steady. You beat Tennessee and you don't move. Vanderbilt. Storm Grapevine.

[Danny Cannell]

This has got to be Texas at 13. Of course, now they're going to slow it down. Now they got to break down Vanderbilt.

[Chip Patterson]

Texas. Texas, one spot ahead. Yep. Here we go. Texas. Texas.

[Tom Fornelli]

See, I'm behind you guys.

[Danny Cannell]

Did they really feel it yet?

[Chip Patterson]

Yep. Texas at 13.

[Danny Cannell]

Damn it, Chips. Got new Internet.

[Chip Patterson]

I've got. I've got the.

[Danny Cannell]

I'm on.

[Chip Patterson]

I'm on the front foot. All right, let's go.

[Danny Cannell]

Now, the next is Miami and Notre dame. Right.

[Chip Patterson]

At 12 and 11. What about Utah? I mean, Utah's at 15.

[Danny Cannell]

BYU. BYU.

[Tom Fornelli]

There are some weird movement this week. Bored.

[Chip Patterson]

Wesley Walls was bored.

[Tom Fornelli]

Utah dropping two spots despite winning.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay.

[Danny Cannell]

BYU's at 12.

[Chip Patterson]

No. Miami at 12.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh, so Miami's done. They didn't get the jump they wanted?

[Tom Fornelli]

No. Oh.

[Chip Patterson]

That was supposed to be a ranked win. You're supposed to use last week's rankings to make the new rankings.

[Danny Cannell]

Cowards.

[Chip Patterson]

Miami's done.

[Danny Cannell]

Cowards.

[Tom Fornelli]

Miami's been done since they didn't get the results last week.

[Chip Patterson]

But you're just saying done till done since Sunday. Yeah. Yeah. Not done since, like, the middle of last week. So I guess BYU at 11. Yeah. Wow. So b. So they were bored outside of the top 14, but inside the top 14, they were like, yeah, sure.

[Tom Fornelli]

Only. Only one team in the top 14 last week lost Texas A and M.

[Danny Cannell]

Now it does get interesting. Eight, nine, who's there? You know, because you're really not safe unless you're at eight nines in danger.

[Tom Fornelli]

Right.

[Danny Cannell]

If there were some bid Steelers.

[Chip Patterson]

There's no BYU is the only bit.

[Tom Fornelli]

Why is the only bid thief? Yeah. Because Texas clearly isn't going to be one.

[Danny Cannell]

Right. So you're safe at nine.

[Chip Patterson]

Yes.

[Danny Cannell]

Group of five. ACC or 12 and 11.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. Or ACC or James Madison. Yes.

[Danny Cannell]

Notre Dame's at 10.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah. It's them or bye. It's them or BYU. That's the only one.

[Danny Cannell]

Notre Dame did drop one. So they want both Notre Dame and Miami out to avoid the whole situation.

[Tom Fornelli]

No, they're. Notre Dame's got two losses. Their resume with the rest of the two lost teams compared to the one lost teams ahead of them isn't nearly as good. I don't think there's any. I, I, we're so focused on the head to head. I really don't think there's some grand conspiracy to just to keep these two apart. We're here. He would disagree.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I, I think, I think, I think that James Madison being in and Miami's positioning, it's Virginia or bust.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Tom Fornelli]

I will say on Saturday night if.

[Chip Patterson]

Troy happens to go up, Harrison 22 point underdog, 22 in 29 degrees in a wintry mix on Friday night, anything could happen.

[Tom Fornelli]

How do you think those Bama boys.

[Chip Patterson]

Are gonna like that?

[Danny Cannell]

Throw out the record books in the championship game?

[Chip Patterson]

That's right. That's right.

[Danny Cannell]

That's a good question. If Bama loses, are they out? I think it depends on the score.

[Tom Fornelli]

No.

[Danny Cannell]

You think they're set at 9?

[Tom Fornelli]

I said on Saturday night that Alabama would probably pass Notre Dame in the rankings this week because they want to be able to set it up so when they lose, if they lose the SEC championship game, they're going to keep them in because they will.

[Chip Patterson]

And that's the swap.

[Tom Fornelli]

And that's exactly what happened. That's what I said was going to happen on Saturday night.

[Chip Patterson]

They're protecting Alabama.

[Tom Fornelli]

That's what I said to Kevin in the, in our text. 20 minutes.

[Danny Cannell]

Ole Miss at 6.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, Ole Miss actually moved up. So. Thank you, Lane. Kiffin, you're so gracious. You know, saving Kiffin.

[Tom Fornelli]

Save Ole Miss by sending Charlie Weiss Jr back to Oxford.

[Chip Patterson]

The streets are wondering Ole miss now at 6 might be guaranteed a home game because that is the relative. Like when it comes down to it, that's a million dollar or multi million dollar decision for Oxford economic impact. Athletic department. The ability to host a home game is massive. So by Ole Miss moving up, I think that the Rebels might be safe in terms of locking in a home game.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, yeah, that's good.

[Chip Patterson]

Good for the Rebels. Yeah.

[Tom Fornelli]

It's gonna be an electric environment, I can guarantee you that.

[Chip Patterson]

Yep, 100%. And then we're just slotting them around. Georgia, Indiana and yes, Ohio State. So as we look at the top 10, Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, Texas Tech and Oregon. Ole Miss checking in at number 6. Texas A&M falling down to number 7. Oklahoma at 8, Alabama currently at 9. Then we get Notre Dame at 10. And then then BYU currently at 11, Miami at 12. So real quick off the top.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh, they changed the. They changed the wording. They changed the bracket. They were just messing with. Playing mind games with Hurricane fans.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yep. It's like they wanted to stoke like a debate just for meaningless fun and get it.

[Chip Patterson]

Why would they stoke a debate when you could embrace that debate?

[Tom Fornelli]

Tom, I'm sorry, but it's like. It's like it was all a work. It's like the network that broadcasts and pays for WWE was just pretending it was real.

[Chip Patterson]

Big Ten championship game participants both locks for a buy, correct?

[Tom Fornelli]

Correct.

[Chip Patterson]

Can Alabama get from nine to four?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. And does Georgia lose?

[Tom Fornelli]

If Alabama wins the sec, it will get a buy. Three buys are locked up. Does Georgia, Georgia, Ohio State and Indiana are getting buys? Then the fourth spot will be Texas Tech if Alabama loses to Georgia or Alabama if Alabama beats Georgia. That's cut and dry.

[Danny Cannell]

I don't know. I disagree.

[Tom Fornelli]

For winning the sec. You don't think they're going to give you a buy?

[Danny Cannell]

No, I don't think they'll jump them that high. And there I. I think you might lose. Georgia might lose the buy.

[Tom Fornelli]

Nah, not if George has got two losses and they're both to the same team.

[Chip Patterson]

And if Alabama's got two wins against Georgia, not only do you then you've got two great wins and you're only.

[Tom Fornelli]

You've got the Florida State loss, which clearly week one doesn't matter anymore. And then you've got the two point loss to Oklahoma in which you pretty much outplayed them. You just didn't outscore them.

[Chip Patterson]

If Texas Tech loses to byu, my opinion is they're still safe in the playoff.

[Danny Cannell]

Yes.

[Tom Fornelli]

Oh, yes. I'm sorry, I thought you meant. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

But they'll lose their buy.

[Chip Patterson]

They'll lose their buy. Would they?

[Danny Cannell]

That's where I think Georgia could lose their buy too.

[Chip Patterson]

Do you think that Texas Tech could lose its home game.

[Tom Fornelli]

No, no.

[Danny Cannell]

Not borrowing a blowout.

[Tom Fornelli]

I mean, even if they get blown up because they blew out BYU the first time, everybody on our schedule. Yeah. We beat everybody we played. So I still think. I think Texas Tech's getting a home game at worst.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fornelli]

And a buy at best.

[Chip Patterson]

Same thing with Georgia. Georgia and Texas Tech. There we go. This is a great way for fans to think about it. Ohio State and Indiana, one and two locks for a buy. Georgia, Texas Tech currently win and get a buy. But a lock to at least get a home game for the first lock for a buy. Oregon, probably a lock for a home game. Ole Miss lock for a home game. That might be as far as I'll go in terms of saying lock for a home game. So Texas A, Texas A and M could fall to the nine if Alabama and BYU both win conference title games. So I would say top six at the worst, have a home game, top two, lock for the buy. That's probably the way that I'm thinking about this right now.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

I don't think so. We.

[Chip Patterson]

All right, if Texas. If Texas Tech looks awesome and Georgia lays an egg, they could put Georgia at five.

[Tom Fornelli]

That's possible. Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. They could put Georgia at five and send James Madison to Athens. Oh, yeah. And. And the James Madison who somehow this is. Do you know what this is? What Duke should be saying. Well, Bob Chessney's leaving that team, but.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, you know, definitely be pounding the table.

[Tom Fornelli]

But my, my reasoning is the conference championship games are cash cows. The SEC and the Big Ten do not want to do anything that would make the conference championship game, quote, unquote, meaningless or painful. Like if you go, if you get to it, it's a reward, win or lose. That's what they want to make sure is the case. Now, if Alabama loses and it has three losses, it doesn't really have any credible argument for getting a buy, and therefore it can't really feel bad about it. If Georgia loses, they're going to say, well, we'd have been better off just not playing because we'd have gotten a buy. That's not fair. All these other teams didn't have to play and they get a buy. You know, they get benefits from it. And the SEC and the Big Ten are running this operation and the SEC and the Big Ten make up the multitude of the field. Georgia, I think, is 99.9999-9999% getting a buy.

[Chip Patterson]

I'm not going to go with that many nines, but I think they could potentially fall to five in a very specific set of circumstances where Texas Tech and Alabama would move into the other two spots. We'll see.

[Tom Fornelli]

Don't make me run the numbers again.

[Chip Patterson]

George. Georgia being locked in according as first reported by Tom Fornelli.

[Tom Fornelli]

Georgia.

[Danny Cannell]

Yes.

[Tom Fornelli]

Please credit the the College Football Playoff is zeroing in on Georgia as a first round.

[Danny Cannell]

Targeted.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah, George's Georgia in a Georgia has a first round by as a person of interest in the College Football Playoff.

[Chip Patterson]

Hey, just because you're targeting doesn't mean that you'll get them. You never know. You never know what's hiding behind. You never know what's hiding behind that wall. You know?

[Tom Fornelli]

True.

[Chip Patterson]

You can all of a sudden have a, have a, have an experience, see the light, decide that you're right where you need to be.

[Tom Fornelli]

Oh, looks like BYU spent all their money on Kalani Sataki because Illinois just got a just got a commitment from an offensive lineman who is between BYU and Illinois.

[Danny Cannell]

Man, you better keep that quiet or else you're gonna get some crumble cookie money thrown at him. Watch out. Just keep it under wraps, all right?

[Chip Patterson]

Coming up on the other side, more of our College Football Playoff reaction and some coaching carousel rec latest from the last day or so and more next.

[Tom Fornelli]

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[Chip Patterson]

Back here on the COVID 3 podcast. As we continue to see, we kind of laid it out for you a little bit what the stakes are for the weekend. Yes, Danny, I was going to ask.

[Danny Cannell]

You of these results because now you've got Miami's pissed off, Texas is pissed off. We are evaluating a new college football playoff that is supposed to be given to us now after the college football season. Any ramifications from this one?

[Chip Patterson]

Clearly.

[Danny Cannell]

And then I mean I guess we would see what happened if the sec, you know with the who gets a buys after the if the SEC gets.

[Chip Patterson]

No buys they will raise hell. It is right incredible Right.

[Danny Cannell]

But I do think Texas not getting in. I think it's interesting too because they've been talking about strength of schedule on this new metric. It's almost like they wanted you to give them credit for doing the nine game schedule, which doesn't start until next season. Correct. That was interesting because they've all our schedule's so hard, we're doing nine games. I'm like, that doesn't start till next year. But I do wonder if this means expansion. Most likely.

[Tom Fornelli]

I. Yeah, I think they're going to go to 5 and 11 eventually.

[Danny Cannell]

But I mean do you think. Because I thought we were going to get 12 teams one more year. Is there anything significant enough where we see a lot of teams, good teams that look like they could have done damage? Do they go to 16 sooner and just say let's go to 16 next year?

[Tom Fornelli]

I don't know. I mean, I, I wonder if the expansion is really going to be based on results and teams being left out and people crying about it or if it's just kind of being stalled until the next round of realignment. Right.

[Chip Patterson]

My thought is, my thought is that right now, as long as there is a group that is peddling a 24 team automatic bid, as long as that is even a discussion point, there's just going to be disagreement. I would think that we eventually land at 16, which to me is just a cleaner bracket. Right. I mean the 12 has shown very, very much imperfect teams that we are arguing. I understand bracket creep, but I think 12 to 16. But getting rid of the buys 5 plus 11, I'd be fine with that. I don't think it fixes anything.

[Danny Cannell]

No, it doesn't fix anything. You're still gonna have argument over strength of schedules.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah, that's the thing.

[Danny Cannell]

You can't change from the SECN.

[Tom Fornelli]

It's not fixable. There's 136 teams play 12 game regular season, can't play everybody. Even the leagues are different sizes, play different schedules. There's no fixing it unless you just. Super league thing. So how important is the playoff to you? Are you willing to, are you willing to go to a super league so the playoff is fixed?

[Chip Patterson]

So I was looking at this today. I believe that this statement, especially after seeing the rankings, I, I think that this statement is true. The difference between the ACC having a top 20 matchup in its conference championship game and potentially missing the College Football Playoff as A League was three one off results between non contenders, including Bill Belichick's 20 to 15 win over Frank Reich. That if you flip the following three results, Notre Dame over Stanford 20 to 15, Wake Forest over Virginia Tech 30 to 23 and. And Clemson over Louisville 20 to 19. If you flip those three results, Miami's conference opponent winning percentage is better than Duke's conference opponent winning percentage. Those three results with of the six teams, half of them aren't even bowl teams and none of the teams had a winning record in conference play. That is truly how dumb this ACC tiebreaker scenario has gotten. That North Carolina over Stanford, Wake Forest over Virginia Tech and Clemson over Louisville could send no teams to the College Football Playoff, where if all of those are flipped, this would be a really good ACC championship game for the acc. We've got our two best, highest ranked teams and they're playing each other. But Miami and Duke only had two common opponents, N.C. state and Syracuse. They both went 20 against each other. But it was just Duke played Virginia who made the ACC championship game and got a bunch of those wins. That helped Duke's schedule, including Virginia over Duke.

[Tom Fornelli]

Listen, when, when you hired Bill Belichick, it was so you could impact the College Football Playoff in the national title race. North Carolina is now in the picture. All right, you got what you're paying.

[Chip Patterson]

What are you about to say, Danny?

[Danny Cannell]

I was going to say, don't you think the change, one of the change. We'll see. I mean, Jim Phillips. I would expect the rules to be rewritten where the tiebreaker is the highest ranked from the committee.

[Tom Fornelli]

I, Yeah, I, I could see that. I could see more leagues going to that.

[Danny Cannell]

Right. Learning, watching. Hey, we just saw that debacle. We don't.

[Tom Fornelli]

That.

[Danny Cannell]

We don't want that to be us.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah, we, we ran the numbers for the Big Ten and they turned out all right. But the Big Ten was close to having a kind of a nightmare scenario for itself there too, where they were going to cost themselves buys poss. So, yeah, I could definitely see that being the case because I do think for every league, it's in your best interest if you want to be getting into the College Football Playoff and that's where all the money is, you want to do everything you can to make sure that your best teams are getting the, the advantageous spots. And if you can do that by using the rankings to make sure they're getting in the field, that's what I think you should do.

[Chip Patterson]

Dirty dogs in the tailgate says Bud is out here tweeting about the ranking show. Why isn't he on the show? That's a great question. Dirty question.

[Tom Fornelli]

That is a great question. Everybody go tweet it and ask him why he's not on the show.

[Chip Patterson]

Everybody go tweet a bud right now. Say, why aren't you on the show? I think that. I think I've got a bad idea. Y' all want to hear a bad idea?

[Danny Cannell]

Love it.

[Chip Patterson]

Conference by conference selection committees. So every single Monday night, each conference selection committee puts together their own conference power rankings. And then those conference power rankings can then be used. I mean, when we've got 17, 18 team leagues, there's just no crossover. I mean, I just explained to you how Duke and Miami of their entire schedules only had two common opponents. So we had to go to all of these tiebreakers. I mean, even among the full five way tie for second place at six and two, just didn't have enough common opponents to get it in. And it's because the leagues are too daggum big. I don't think adding a ninth conference game is gonna all of a sudden magically fix the imbalance. But if you come out on Monday night on the ACC network and you've got your own ACC selection committee, which then releases their poll, then on Tuesday night, the other selection committee releases their poll, I think it's a truly bad idea. That should probably be discussed.

[Tom Fornelli]

I do. You know, you know what the. Imagine if they were doing that right now, this week, and then Texas is voted in over Ole Miss in the SEC vote because of what happened at Ole Miss. And the deciding vote is cast by lsu, who is now coached by Lane Kiffin. You want to talk about some Game of Thrones intrigue? That's a great idea, Chip. I mean, let's just take as much of this off the field as we possibly can.

[Chip Patterson]

Glad to help. Glad to help.

[Danny Cannell]

I talked to Reese Davis about this because I was always pushing for expansion. Expansion. And we were at 4 and he was. And we were trying to figure out, well, how do you get eight? And eight was the number because it was five conference champs, three. And he was. And then it was like, well, how do you debate, you know, who does what? And he said, just have the conferences give you their best team however they want to determine it. Do you need a conference championship game? If you want to have it, fine. If you don't, don't. Each conference gets to decide. So it's kind of similar to yours, Chip, where you're like, you know, conference selection committee, whatever it is, if you want to have a play in. Remember that. Remember that was bantered around this off season.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

You know, to have your. Maybe you'd have your top team wins the acc, and then there's a battle of third and fourth. You know, well, there's.

[Chip Patterson]

You know, the. The Ivy League didn't have a basketball championship game for the longest time. They just had to declare who they were sending to the NCAA tournament. Each. Each conference has its own way to be able to. To declare a champion. But I think that obviously, for the competitiveness standpoint, like, what Manny Diaz is saying right now is like, look, these are the rules. Just because the rules didn't give you the outcome you wanted doesn't mean that the rules are wrong.

[Tom Fornelli]

The.

[Chip Patterson]

The rules get. Gave us this opportunity. We want to try and go win our first ACC championship since 1989. Like it on an island. It's a great opportunity for the Blue Devils. So I. We'll see Saturday night in Charlotte. It's going to be cold and damp. No one understands why it's always so damp, but it's always cold and damp.

[Tom Fornelli]

Will there be freezing fog?

[Chip Patterson]

Did you know there's going to be freezing fog? We'll see. Some questions in the tailgate from earlier mentioned the Penn State situation. Big news from the afternoon included.

[Danny Cannell]

Are we good?

[Chip Patterson]

Okay. Did everything freeze up for y'? All?

[Danny Cannell]

No.

[Tom Fornelli]

Okay.

[Danny Cannell]

Looking good. So I thought you were a Penn State fan. It was just really nervous.

[Chip Patterson]

Kalani Sataki was widely reported. That's like, Penn State is targeting BYU coach Kalani Sataki. I saw. I don't care if it's photoshopped or not, but just even the idea that they met up at A sheets to be able to talk it over. Did y' all see that?

[Danny Cannell]

No.

[Chip Patterson]

It's like at A Sheets in Altoona. It was mobile pickup order case attacked, each getting a coffee.

[Danny Cannell]

Is that why he sent the doordash? Because the Crumble booster sent the doordash of crumble to Pat Craft's office. And that was real. Like, he confirmed it. They took the picture of it. I do think, like, and now it's interesting because Penn State fans want Pat crap fired. Like, now they're really starting to get panicky. I. I mean, is Terry Smith been his biggest winner in this?

[Chip Patterson]

Yes.

[Danny Cannell]

He's gonna be the last man standing.

[Chip Patterson]

Yes. No. Well, there's one name that I think is going to have a chance to say yes or no. And if he says yes, then I think Penn State fans will be okay. If he says no, then we do spiral out of control a little bit.

[Tom Fornelli]

They could save the whole thing very quickly. And you're talking about just Calling no call Mac Gamble. You could save the entire operation. I mean, did you see, like I tweeted it, they are dead last in the Big Ten in recruiting rankings. Signing days tomorrow. Penn State is dead last in the Big Ten.

[Danny Cannell]

And the thing they're going to screw up is next year's schedule is championship ready.

[Chip Patterson]

Manny Diaz, I guess all of a sudden now is a little bit more of a player. So we gotta keep that in mind as well. But it is remarkable that we have gotten to this point where Penn State targets Kalani Sataki, BYU's coach, and BYU's coach says no. Now, it's not just crumble. I've heard of a lot of mega boosters and even some, you know, some negotiating within the BYU community to make sure that the door would be opened for mega boosters to be able to really make things happen. So, yeah, great for Kalani Sataki. I mean, there's a Kurt Signetti, Matt Rule, Kalani Sataki, Eli Drinkwitz. Who else got a raise off this job?

[Tom Fornelli]

Did James Franklin.

[Chip Patterson]

Raise. Do you all believe any of the. Whatever. Fun question to ask live. So this statement speaks to journalism in. In the year of our Lord 2025. So Todd McHa went on Bill Simmons podcast and Todd McShay alleged that Jimmy Sexton, agent for James Franklin, is furious about Penn State firing James Franklin and has worked to ice out Penn State.

[Tom Fornelli]

I mean, it's not completely unrealistic.

[Chip Patterson]

It is not unrealistic.

[Danny Cannell]

I believe he would try to ice them out with his clients. But there are other. There's his number two guy that left. I think it's Clifton or something. I think it's Clint. He's repped some good guys. Trace Armstrong reps some good. Like, there's other coaches that are available. But this could make life really difficult. And maybe it is why we're in this situation.

[Tom Fornelli]

But also arguing, again, these are baseless allegations made on another podcast.

[Chip Patterson]

Again, journalist Todd McShay alleged this on Bill Simmons podcast.

[Tom Fornelli]

Correct.

[Chip Patterson]

Not something that they taught us in school.

[Tom Fornelli]

So if Jimmy Sexton had been doing this, and you were a Jimmy Sexton client, how would you feel about your agent keeping you from taking a job like Penn State just because he's mad at him for firing one of his other clients. That would lead me to hiring a new agent really quickly.

[Chip Patterson]

You're. I. I cannot speak to that world. You know, like, I don't. I'm not playing those game. I'm not playing those chess games. So I don't.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah, honestly, I. You know what? I I don't think that's true at all. I don't think there's any realistic possibility that it is true because an agent's job is to just get money for his clients. It's like. I don't think agents can take anything too personally considering what they do to the schools all the time. They pretty much hold them hostage every single year.

[Danny Cannell]

There's a theory going around on the socials because I think Miami. Do you guys think Miami is done?

[Tom Fornelli]

Yes.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

That is not what the socials are saying. I got some Miami fans in my comments saying with Notre Dame dropping, if BYU loses, Miami pumps up. They're right there next to each other. There's your flip. When I know. I'm just telling you the socials. I'm just telling you.

[Tom Fornelli]

Who do Miami and Notre Dame play this week?

[Danny Cannell]

Nobody. Nobody, but nothing. Also, Hunter Jurich just said teams that are idle could make moves because if BYU loses, that will open up a spot like he did. Reference. He made reference to idle teams still.

[Tom Fornelli]

Being able to open up.

[Danny Cannell]

I'm just telling you what the socials are saying. They may not be very smart.

[Tom Fornelli]

What spot does that open up? Because it's the top 10. BYU's not in the top 10.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fornelli]

11 and 12.

[Chip Patterson]

Were the.

[Tom Fornelli]

The two.

[Danny Cannell]

Well, no. So Notre Dame is at 10. Notre Dame is a 10. If BYU lost, Miami would go up and then you would re rank them and put them in the 10 spot is what Miami fans are hoping.

[Tom Fornelli]

Listen, Miami, I'm just telling you.

[Danny Cannell]

I know. I think they're toast.

[Tom Fornelli]

I know. Listen, I yelled at you yesterday. I feel bad about it because I could have just said what I said without yelling. So again, I'm going to apologize to you for raising my. My voice. There was really no need for it. I'm Italian. I'm emotional.

[Danny Cannell]

That was fun.

[Tom Fornelli]

But Miami fans, just listen to me for a second here. They think Notre Dame is better than you. They have thought Notre Dame is better than you the entire time. Notre Dame has not lost. Notre Dame has continued to play at the same level that they have been playing and even improved a bit when they thought Notre Dame was better than you. You have lost to Louisville and SMU in that time. That has hurt you. You have done not enough in their eyes to pass Notre Dame a bye week. This week will not be enough for you to pass Notre Dame. I understand why you're frustrated. I understand why you're pissed. But you're not in. They've been telling you this for a month and a Half. You are not in the College Football Playoff this year.

[Danny Cannell]

They don't believe it. I'm trying to tell them my buddy's been texting me. I'm like, sorry, you got screwed. I think they're done, but they're still holding out hope. They got six more days. Five more days.

[Chip Patterson]

I don't know what the committee values. I think they think Notre Dame's better.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yes, they clearly think Notre Dame.

[Danny Cannell]

They've had five weeks now to flip flop them.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Tom Fornelli]

And you know what? You know who else thinks Notre Dame is better? Every other Damn poll.

[Chip Patterson]

The AP top 25, the coaches top.

[Tom Fornelli]

25, the power ratings, the human polls. They all have Notre Dame ahead of Miami because yes, head to head matters, but it's only one of 12 games. It's not the only game that matters.

[Danny Cannell]

I don't know. That's not what Chris Felica says.

[Tom Fornelli]

Weird.

[Chip Patterson]

That's crazy.

[Danny Cannell]

When we start using. What is it? The Coley matrix is that we start going to. We get really deep down the list.

[Tom Fornelli]

Of how many more metrics right now. Hold on, let's see. Let me find out where Coley got these guys. Notre Dame at 10 and Miami at 12.

[Danny Cannell]

Same exact.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yep.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, it's the other piece of this because the reason I had some of that ACC information pulled up was that I, hey, can you explain like how this is like so awful and they're getting screwed? And my response to an editor was like, yeah, but also, don't lose to Louisville, like don't lose the smu. I mean, I'm gonna make a, a big scene of how stupid all the tiebreakers are and the situation we're in because of those three dumb results. Deciding who plays for the ACC championship. But Miami should not have lost either one of the games that lost. And their Miami fans will tell you about how the officials had nine screw ups in the game against smu, but I don't know.

[Danny Cannell]

A lot of interceptions that were costly too.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. All right, we will be back on Wednesday, 11am Eastern Time to get you set for conference championship weekend with a little big game breakdown, maybe a little coaching carousel check in as well. If we've got any more on that reaction to Will Stein, to Kentucky, Bob Chesney, UCLA and so much more. And you can follow him on Twitter, Tom Fradell. You can follow him at Danny Cannell. Follow me at Chippatterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much.

[Tom Fornelli]

Thank you.

[Danny Cannell]

See ya.

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