← Cover 3 College Football
Cover 3 College Football
Week 11 INSTANT REACTION | BYU-Texas Tech | Oregon-Iowa | LSU-Alabama | College Football
01:41:56
Loading summary
Transcript575 lines
- [00:00]
A
This episode of the COVID 3 podcast is presented by Cash App. For a limited time only, new Cash App users can use our show's code when they sign up for a reward. Just download Cash App, use our code cover 3 and send $5 to a friend. Within 14 days, you'll get $10 right in your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's Cash App. So if you're headed out of town this weekend for a big football game, of course you're going to be thinking about tailgating, cheering from the stands, the experience. But while you're off soaking in all that excitement, you might also be thinking, wait. Your home could be doing something for you while you're away. That's right, you can host your home on Airbnb while you're gone. And it's such a practical way to earn a little extra money. I started thinking about it myself. A few nights of hosting could help cover part of a trip or even fund tickets for a future game. It's easy. It doesn't take over your life. You just make space available and let others enjoy it while you're out having fun. And it doesn't just have to be your whole home. Maybe you've got a little extra space. Maybe you've got that room above the garage. Well, you could do something similar. You're out of town for a little bit. You come home to a little extra cash and no hassle at all. So if you've got an upcoming trip, whether it's a football weekend, a quick getaway or a family visit, hosting really does feel like a smart move. Seriously, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much@airbnb.com host.
- [01:44]
B
Welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast with your hosts, Chip Patterson, Tom Fernelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott.
- [01:52]
C
It's your call for the best college.
- [01:56]
B
From national signing day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS Sports presents the COVID 3 podcast.
- [02:07]
A
And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Frenelli, that's Bud Elliott, I'm Chip Patterson coming to you live@YouTube.com cover3 and everywhere you get your podcast on demand. Thanks for hanging out, Smith. Smash that subscribe smash that like and come and join us in the chat, aka the COVID 3 tailgate where they are living in the moment as we are coming to you live at 11:16pm Eastern Time. We have just gone final in Tuscaloosa with Alabama's win against lsu, but the commentary in the tailgate is a conversation that to be honest, fellas, I think we need to reserve. In fact, we need to quarantine it. Okay? We need to take quarantine measures for conversation about the acc, Okay? I mean, that means we got to put it off to the side. We will need to get our masks, our gloves, maybe even our whole quarantine suits to discuss the ongoings in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Yes, Louisville goes down. Yes, Virginia goes down. But more on that later, because I think there were games that brought me more joy in how close they were. I don't think that those are joyful games that we saw for either Louisville.
- [03:20]
C
Or Virginia, and I took some pleasure in one of them.
- [03:25]
A
Well, Cal, money line, sprinkle. Hell, yeah. Okay, sure. But to see the man. Speaking of Cal on a night where Cal had the clutch heroics, to see the man who went 99 yards with the boys, put the team on his back and go right down the field in Happy Valley. The place is going bananas. Fernando Mendoza says, I'm just. I'm just the seam, if you'll give me the seam. The sideline, if you'll give me the sideline. Let's just let.
- [03:57]
C
We.
- [03:57]
A
I don't have my number one wide receiver. Let's just let everybody loose, and I'll just step up here and make some throws. But the last one obviously comes down to the toes. It comes down to Omar Cooper getting a foot down in what is clearly going to be one of the catches of the year. Gentlemen, I've got, like, five different levels. I want to attack this man. Indiana survives. Bud Elliott. How. How. How do you want to start peeling apart this on you?
- [04:24]
B
Like, I think you got to give any. Any other flowers here. I mean, like, they were just, like, gutty in this game. Like, they just kept taking punches. Penn State played inspired football. Penn State still has some good athletes on their team. They have not been a good football team this year, but they did come with a pretty home run effort this year. Like, that looked like the singleton for Penn State that we had seen, you know, more last year. Like, him out the gate on the 59 yarder was pretty impressive. And yet, like, Indiana just kept finding a way, you know, they. They led for most of the game. Penn State comes back, takes the lead. Penn State gets another stop, right? Like, oh, shoot, this might be over. And then Indiana gets the ball back one final time, and they. They drive it down. Like, I was a little surprised at how much Penn State blitzed them on that final drive when they had kind of been getting home with four throughout A lot of the game and making Mendoza kind of pat the ball and, and go, you know, one to two to three. But, man, I'm like, I'm just so impressed by Indiana's ability, like, just take punches every week and usually just throw the knockout punch himself. Like this week they just go. Like, they had to play a close game, and we haven't really seen a lot of that from them. Maybe this actually helps them in the playoff. You know, like that, that catch was incredible. You know, Mendoza, like, having the poison and the confidence in that final drive, like, that's, that's hiding stuff.
- [05:47]
A
Man, that was awesome that we did see it against Iowa. And Tom, what's the common thread between the Iowa game and the Penn State game?
- [05:57]
C
They were on the road.
- [05:59]
A
Oh, that's weird. Are there, is there any difference between this team when they leave Bloomington? I, I feel like the splits are telling me something that I should take note of.
- [06:10]
C
If, if we ignore the Maryland and Oregon games. Yes, Indiana has a clear problem on the roads. Yeah, I mean, I, I think the, the biggest takeaway for this game for me from Indiana going forward is that we've now seen it in these situations where we, like last year when this team was losing, it lost. Like it didn't come back to win. Like, it was always blowing teams out or it was getting beat by better teams.
- [06:36]
A
I like that.
- [06:37]
C
This year we've now seen them in two spots where, like, they've had to kind of overcome the adversity on the field, to quote Will Muschamp. And they've come through both times. And you mentioned last year at Cal, Fernando Mendoza did this against Stanford, driving down the field, going 99 yards with the boys for the win. He was able to do it again here today. And I think that if you're Kurt Signetti, there's a part of you that's thrilled because now your team has been in the muck and it showed the ability to, you know, drag itself out of a problem for itself and get the wind and not collapse. And that's something that you're going to need, because if you're going to win the Big Ten and if you're going to make a playoff run, you're going to be in more of these games. You're going to be in difficult spots. It's not going to be an easy ride. So to be battle tested now, I think is huge. The negatives are. Mendoza was under a lot of pressure, as Bud talked about. And we saw Mendoza under pressure, was making some questionable decisions, and that is going to be something that they will deal with again when they play Ohio State in Indianapolis, when they play whoever the hell they play in the playoff. Like, so there are, like, this is not there. There are some, I don't want to say cracks showing because it's just. They're not a perfect team. There is no perfect team. But it's, it's one of those rare instances and I think that stands out where you're just not used to seeing Indiana struggle. Like they struggled today and they did and they overcame it.
- [07:57]
B
I, I think with like without Surat, right? Who, who's there? One, obviously Cooper's are really nice too, but Penn State covered them pretty well. They were also pretty handsy, right? Like, if, if I'm playing Indiana and the rest are gonna let me get away with it, I'm gonna grab a lot. And Penn State was very physical. They were very handsy and like, I think that was to their advantage, right? Like, Mendoza was not comfortable with those guys like not getting another breaks on time because they were getting grabbed. They were getting like, not, not always like in like a, hey, should be a penalty type way. But like they were just very aggressive with the receivers and challenged him, you know. And like you look in the final drive, I mean they're, they're trying to throw it deep, right? Because they're all right, hey, if we beat you on this, if you miss on the press stuff, we're getting over the top, you know, and they, they got it a couple times. Obviously he missed the one pretty bad, but like, hell to catch there to, to bail him out of the second. But like, that's not a bad Bali through, right? That's.
- [08:51]
A
And also Cooper, Cooper gets the score. But Becker had some bananas. One on one catch.
- [08:57]
C
Yes, he did.
- [08:59]
A
Like it's a sophomore stepping up and just be like, hey, big body target. I'm ready to go make plays, coach. Really, really good stuff. Mikey. Do we have the, the comments after the game from our, from our Heisman Trophy contender?
- [09:16]
B
So, yeah, I mean, physically I feel good. I would say I'm a larger quarterback. But to see what the defense, special teams and offense, especially the office line, what they're going through, battling every play. I can't stay on the ground no matter how hard the hit is, no.
- [09:30]
A
Matter how much it hurts when seeing those guys, when seeing Charlie Becker's over.
- [09:34]
B
There, my roommate, or seeing Omar Cooper.
- [09:36]
A
Jr take a hit on the seam.
- [09:37]
B
Or seeing, you know, Pat Coogan, Khalil.
- [09:39]
A
Benson battling their butts off, I know.
- [09:42]
B
That I'M gonna put my life on the line for that team and I'm gonna die on that field. I'll never sell myself out in that instance. And I would die on that field for my brothers.
- [09:50]
A
Big Tim Tebow energy. And hey, the speech was in a Heisman Trophy winning year.
- [10:01]
C
It was.
- [10:03]
A
That was some Big Tim T, I think. Am I wrong? Wasn't the speech in the 07 Heisman year or was the speech in the 08 title?
- [10:12]
B
It was, it was 08 after Ole Miss.
- [10:14]
A
Okay.
- [10:15]
B
They. Right, they. They lost Ole Miss at home and. Yeah.
- [10:18]
A
Okay, Well, I mean, obviously they've got nothing to apologize for. You know, like I don't have to apologize to Hoosier Nation or anything like that. You never. But the. I would die on that field. And the way that he laid that out. Big, big, big Timmy Tee's energy is kind of what I was picking up from that. And hey, you know what a Heisman voter hears that sees that sees a performance like that because I, Fernando Mendoza, again limited at the wide receiver position. Penn State, I thought, had a really good defensive game plan. Denied Dennis Sutton and the rest of those pass rushers were absolutely teeing off and he was under like his arm was getting hit and because the question was about all the hits he was taking because even aside from the sacks, he was hurried. He was knocked down. Like there was a ton of pressure on Fernando Mendoza all throughout this game and he did keep hanging in there. It was a little bit heroic for sure. But. But yeah, his, his stats were not great till late in the game when they really had to start playing some pitch and catch. But that's, you know, the, you're going to look up at the end of the day and all the struggles and the time trailing or just, you know, those moments where that game flipped and Penn State looked like they were going to get this cathartic win. We're only going to remember that catch and Fernando Mendoza's final drive.
- [11:38]
B
So that's an unbelievable catch to keep your other foot from hitting is, is crazy. Yeah. Like that, that, that's wild.
- [11:49]
A
He's a good. I mean we, we have often mentioned Cooper as another piece of this, but yeah, he gets, he certainly gets his flowers here. A couple other. So is Fernando Mendoza the clutch king in college football at this moment?
- [12:08]
C
He's one for one.
- [12:10]
A
Well, I, I remember. No, no, no. Didn't he get the game winning touchdown against Iowa? I remember him coming up with at least one big play.
- [12:18]
C
He had a huge throw where he took a big shot and delivered the throw. I don't remember if Indiana actually ever trailed in that game. I would have to look.
- [12:25]
A
Okay.
- [12:25]
C
I know it was close, but I don't remember if they were trailing.
- [12:27]
A
I remembered a big play late and then obviously, 99 yards with the boys. You know, we still up there. Also, does Kurt Signetti on the sneak have Tiger woods scripting? And is that a secret power? That guy's red shirt, red, like, pullover, black, jet black pants. Guys got sneaky Tiger woods energy. Tiger for those.
- [12:56]
B
If he gets, like, the polar turtleneck.
- [13:00]
A
Turtleneck, yes.
- [13:02]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [13:03]
A
And he said, Indiana's Adidas, he'll never be able to go full Nike. But, like, he was.
- [13:08]
B
I have one of those, by the way.
- [13:10]
A
I mean, super cocky, moved. Wear it on a Sunday to the golf course. I hope you've done it at least once.
- [13:15]
B
A guy at the opening, back when Nike used to have the opening, like a decade ago, gave me one. I was like, this is, like, so warm. But I never get to wear it here in Orlando, like, ever.
- [13:23]
A
Yeah, Yeah. I was just. There were a lot of Indiana fans, obviously, who tried to get tickets to be there. And I was watching some of the videos of Signetti coming off the field. I was seeing him after they were on their way to go get on the bus. He stopped and he was taking pictures with every single Indiana fan that was there. Dude was jacked up. In the post game press conference. He had this little smirk after he was talking about how great it was to get the win here. And it's like, yeah, yeah, huh? Yeah. Penn State. Penn State fired James Franklin. They're like, kurt Signetti, come on down. Kurt Signetti's like, I am going to come on down to beat your ass in your own building and break your heart. I mean, it's just. I. Yeah, I'm. I thought it was a remarkable. I was very prepared to talk about Penn State having this win and where does Indiana go from here? And the Hoosiers did one of those things that good teams do.
- [14:20]
C
Were you guys worried about Gus at any point?
- [14:23]
A
At the very end, I was not sure if he would recover.
- [14:27]
B
Yeah.
- [14:28]
A
If Penn State had done anything, would Penn state have left 36 seconds or something along those lines?
- [14:34]
C
I mean, when Penn State had done.
- [14:36]
A
Anything with that final. With that final little bit, I would have been concerned. He could not have made it.
- [14:41]
C
When Penn State was coming back in the second half and then eventually took the lead, I thought. I thought Gus was going to ascend to heaven. I thought he was the happiest man on earth.
- [14:50]
A
A Nick Singleton had himself a hell of a game. You know, they were. I don't.
- [14:56]
C
Nick Singleton is a home run hitter, but I've discovered more this season that he only hits home runs if you hang a curveball. Like if he's got to find it.
- [15:06]
B
Like, like the vision's not great.
- [15:08]
C
Yeah.
- [15:08]
B
Yeah, I agree. How much, how much do you think? Like, obviously Penn State does have some nice players on defense. How much of this was like Knowles having faced this team last year when he was on Ohio State? You know, I think that certainly, I.
- [15:26]
C
Think that certainly played a role.
- [15:28]
A
Yeah, I don't know. We'll see. I mean the, the fact that you've got what, two to three different offensive line starters, different quarterback.
- [15:36]
B
Yeah.
- [15:36]
A
You know, like there's. And the fact that that game too was the one that everybody involved with it, from Kurt Signetti to the offensive staff to the players involved, we're all like, oh, we had the wrong game plan. You know, it's like, like what's Jim Knowles going to do? Is he going to take advantage of the game plan that everyone involved admits was the wrong game plan?
- [15:58]
B
Right, exactly. No, that, that's, that's fair.
- [16:00]
C
Yeah.
- [16:02]
A
Okay. Anything else there before we move on to the next Big Ten top 10 team that went on the road and found a way to get it done?
- [16:11]
B
Let's, let's go to Iowa City, man.
- [16:17]
A
Just, just good stuff. I mean, it's. I, I am more concerned about Oregon with the games that they have coming up and it makes me want to celebrate tonight more.
- [16:38]
B
What the hell did Oregon do during its bye week? I don't know, like hit each other that banged up. Like did you have like full on scrimmages or something? Like what, what?
- [16:49]
C
You know what, you know what my theory is? Because they were talking about it, Brad and Gary were talking about it during the game about how Dan Lanning, you know, after they lost to Indiana and there was the talk about how Indiana out physical them and then they were hearing about how physical Iowa was going to be. I think they got really physical and practiced the last two weeks. I think they got over hooked on the idea that we have to play Big Ten man football and beat the hell out of teams and beat the hell out of themselves along the way.
- [17:19]
A
Reference. This is Tiger going through Navy Seals training.
- [17:22]
C
Yes. Yes.
- [17:25]
B
It like it had the look of a game that you're like, I was just gonna like eventually make a couple plays. Like does, does Oregon really does or really want to be here? Yeah, right. Exactly. You know, like the, the weather conditions were awful, you know, and they're, they're just like, okay, like 20 points gonna be enough to win this game. They're probably gonna find a way to get the 20 somehow. QB run just kind of a slog in, in those conditions. And like Dante Moore comes out and just like after throwing like two passes in the entire half, like on the drive before that, they had to punt. I think they had to punt. Right. Like he throws a complete dime that's dropped on the sideline. That would have been a first down. And then he comes back, which was like maybe his best throw of the day with the exception of the ball that, that he threw to Malik Benson there just like completely in a basket. That, that was like, that was big time quarterback from him, like that. Really impressive there. And they also ran the football like crazy well for about the first three quarters. Yeah, I mean they like 75 and 72, the interior guys, they were getting after it. I thought Will Stein had some like really kind of interesting run schemes with the multiple backs that they're running out there. I mean Oregon, Oregon doesn't have. Shoot, they don't have Stewart. Right. For the year or at least most of the year, we think. Right.
- [18:48]
A
Well, so you're down Stewart, you're down to Corey and Moore.
- [18:50]
C
You lose Gary Bryant, you're now Kenya Sadiq.
- [18:54]
A
You didn't have Kenya Sadiq.
- [18:55]
C
Yeah.
- [18:55]
B
You don't have Alex Harkey, the right tackle who kicked Penn State's ass like that. That was like to find a way to go win that against a pretty good Iowa team. Like, that's a gutty effort, man. Yeah, like I, I was impressed.
- [19:09]
C
I come away from that. I mean, if Oregon's fully healthy, I don't think that game's close. And I also like Dante Moore also threw the interception in the red zone early. I mean that's. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's just, I mean that to Iowa's credit, Iowa does that up to teams all the time. So you can't rule out that Iowa's part in it. It's just, I feel like Oregon had a chance early in the game to kind of put it out of reach and just never had the chance to do so. And the longer you let Iowa hang around, especially in a game like that, in the weather like that, in that atmosphere in that stadium, the longer you let them hang around, the worse in position you're going to put yourself in. And it nearly cost them. I mean, they also did nearly lose the game.
- [19:48]
B
And. And the Iowa fumble too. Was it second quarter like that, that felt. Or they had one in like the fourth too as well. They fumbled twice. Yeah. They lost two fumbles. Like both of those felt so pivotal because you're not like most of their past stuff was like schemed up and not really stuff that I feel like you were going to get back to. Right. That little like the, you know, fake reverse wheel delay play like that. That was a great play call. Just. I don't know if they could throw it enough. I mean he had 138 yards on the day.
- [20:16]
A
The.
- [20:16]
B
The grass.
- [20:18]
C
He did.
- [20:18]
B
But like, I mean Dante just came up huge. Defense never allowed. I was run game to go nuts. I mean, 43 for 140. That's fine, man. You're gonna allow that almost every time.
- [20:31]
A
Yeah. Bear Alexander, Amari, Washington. You mentioned big game breakdown, bud. You were talking about the heavy edge and I thought we saw that from Mateo on one side, obviously. Who do we have on the other side?
- [20:47]
B
Shoot the other guy. The shorter dude, sawed off guy.
- [20:54]
C
Yeah.
- [20:54]
B
What's his name?
- [20:56]
A
44.
- [20:57]
C
Yeah, it's.
- [21:02]
B
I mean, I think the question going forward for Oregon is how serious are these injuries?
- [21:07]
A
I know again, they still have to play usc. They still have to play Washington. And while Washington lost in a snowstorm, Wisconsin. More on that later. Man, I don't know. We'll. We'll see. Like they can, they can. They still make it to the College Football Playoff. I'm gonna say a snap call. Is Oregon in the College Football Playoff?
- [21:33]
C
It's not, it's not a guarantee. They could lose two more games.
- [21:36]
A
Right.
- [21:37]
B
I think at 10 and 2, I, I strongly think they're in like they got to be probably what, 85 chance to get in at 10 and 2.
- [21:46]
C
Yeah, I mean, I think too because like beating USC and Washington helps their resume. Although Washington losing today kind of messes that up. But yeah, if they're 10 and 2, I really think they're gonna get in if. But I don't know, it depends. Like if they win, if they beat Minnesota and they beat usc, Washington becomes a free roll just receding.
- [22:08]
B
If you're Iowa, like, if you're Iowa, you're really kicking yourself because like you, if you win this, you got a pretty good college ball playoff shot.
- [22:14]
A
If you're the Hawkeyes, because you would be a two loss team with both games winnable coming down the stretch.
- [22:19]
B
Yeah, absolutely.
- [22:22]
A
Well, I mean the Iowa fan is going to take it back to the safety in a two point loss.
- [22:28]
C
Loss by two. Yeah. I mean, that's the thing. That was what was so weird about this game and that Iowa had the chance to win it in that Iowa was the one who had the terrible snap on a punt that gave Oregon two points. I was the one that put together a really long drive that put him in position and then fumbled. It's like Iowa was doing all the stuff that other teams typically have to do against Iowa to give Iowa the chance to win. And I was still had the lead in this game in the final minutes. Exactly.
- [22:53]
A
Before we move on from here, I do wonder if when we want to spin this forward and think about how Oregon is going to have to go into the final stretch, Oregon makes the College Football Playoff, what can we expect from them? That depth at the running back position I thought was highlighted as the shortage of wide receivers became an issue because they did have fresh legs. Right. They're just bringing one after the other. Like, we're just going to keep throwing. Here's Whittington, here's Hill, here's Davison, here's Whittington, here's Hill, here's Davison. And great call on the way that they were scheming it up with the different calls for the different backs. And that's. That's. That combined with Dante Moore's accuracy and his own. Even if he. Even if his running ability is, you know, taking the sideline, he also was not sacked tonight.
- [23:47]
B
Like that. Was it the second last or third last Oregon drive where Oregon realized, like, how hard I was playing the give and he. They just. He kept it twice, like, for crucial first downs.
- [23:58]
C
Took off for, like, 49 yards.
- [24:00]
B
Yeah.
- [24:03]
A
Yeah.
- [24:03]
C
Pulled it hammy, Apparently. And that's the other thing, too. Dante Moore might have a pulled hamstring.
- [24:09]
A
Oh, when he just pulled when he ran out of bounds.
- [24:12]
C
Yeah.
- [24:13]
A
Oh, my God. Well, hey, you know what? Listen, that's a hero. He was. He was. He was going for it all. And guess what? He had a cold hammy. Why? Because it was 33 degrees and rainy. Seriously, ain't nothing you could do to keep that hammy warm. He was putting it all on the line, though. Put the team on his back. Greg Jennings.
- [24:34]
C
Shout out to Booger McFarland. By the way, big fan of the show for saying in the studio during highlights that Oregon's not used to cold weather and rain. Boog, have you ever been to Oregon? It's cold and rainy every damn day.
- [24:50]
A
Yeah.
- [24:51]
B
To me, I would not want to play football in that, though. Like, man. Oh, it did look some of those games look fun so early.
- [25:02]
A
I don't know. I don't know. I would have to talk to Chris Hassell, who's obviously there on for CBS Sports hq. But it did seem like the passing in the first quarter was way less accurate. And then they settled down. I don't know if that was just the rain or how it was fallen or just the, the rhythm of it.
- [25:22]
C
But it might be hard to grip the ball.
- [25:25]
A
Yeah, the, the first. More balls in the dirt from. And not just regular Mark Nowski balls in the dirt, but just like, you know, it just seemed like there was a little bit. Took a little while for everybody to get their feet under them. And then we saw, as you mentioned later in the game, some big throws from. From Dante Moore. So, yeah. Heck of a win for the Oregon Ducks. I believe the tailgate is telling us that after the game they're saying not season ending for any of the injuries for Jacorian. You're saying not season ending for Decoran Moore.
- [26:00]
B
When did the Big Ten injury reports come out, by the way? They're just day of.
- [26:04]
C
Yeah, I will say like the way.
- [26:06]
B
That'S probably gotta change.
- [26:09]
C
No, it doesn't. I will say for Lanning, though, like, the way he phrased it about. More, it might not be season ending, but I did get like the kind of sense that it's not like he'll be back next week either.
- [26:24]
B
Agreed.
- [26:24]
A
It's not season ending because we're still hoping to be playing on January 20th and he could be back by January 20th.
- [26:32]
B
That's. That's kind of what I took away from that as well. Like, I'm not a doctor, I don't know. But like the people who had that stuff first, like, even before it got reported were like, ah, this is not good.
- [26:46]
A
And for the record, since we are a podcast of journalistic integrity, we will stick to the story that they have just been beating the absolute crap out of each other for two weeks to get ready for Iowa. And that's why these injuries have occurred, that they were just. What do we think? Baseball bats.
- [27:07]
C
Baseball bats, maces, all sorts of stuff.
- [27:11]
A
Just wailing away at each other with medieval clubs just to make sure they were ready. And you know what?
- [27:17]
C
They were jousting for some reason. Nobody knows.
- [27:20]
A
They say Dan Laning is one of the best coaches in the sport. And that's why, you know, because he gets you mentally prepared for what it's going to take to get in and out of Iowa City with the win. And that's exactly what the Ducks did. Coming up on the other side. You know, we're going to do later in the show projecting the new AP Top 25, but there might be a discussion like does Does Texas A and M have a little bit more of an argument for being the best team.
- [27:50]
B
In the country should they pass Indiana?
- [27:52]
A
We'll get into all that and more next. Whether you're raising a glass to your team winning, catching up with old buddies back in town, or just trying to stay sane with the house full of relatives, how you feel the next morning still matters. That's why you can try Pre Alcohol Zebiotics Pre Alcohol Probiotic Drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists specifically to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's the buildup of this byproduct, not dehydration, that's really to blame for those rough next days. Pre Alcohol produces an enzyme that breaks this byproduct down. So you can feel your best tomorrow. Just remember to make Pre Alcohol your first drink of the night. And of course drink responsibly. Had a big night with some of my best friends from high school recently. It was a steak night and of course in that kind of night when you might have a cocktail, you might have some wine with dinner, and of course a big meal, you knew there was going to be a lot going on in the gut. But my friend showed up, he had the prebiotic from Zbiotics and sure enough, the next morning felt a lot better. No sluggishness, no regrets. Make the most of every toast, tailgate and touchdown this holiday season. Just don't forget to bring pre Alcohol along for the ride. Go to ZBiotics.com cover to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use Code cover at checkout. Zbiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee, so if you are unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to zbiotics.com cover and use code cover at checkout for 15% off. Have you heard of Goldbelly? It's this amazing site that's become a regular order for my family during the football season. It's where you can get the most iconic famous foods from restaurants all across the US and they'll ship it anywhere in the country. It's perfect for hosting Thanksgiving without the stress and with Black Friday Right around the corner. It's a great time to pre order holiday gifts that can ship right to their door. Gold Belly can send smoked turkey from Salt Lake Barbecue in Texas, lobster Mac and cheese straight from Maine, or even the legendary three in one pie cakin to make hosting a breeze and the gifts gorgeous. Think Lottery Macarons, Junior's Cheesecake and more delivered anywhere. Personally, our family had some deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati's and Joe's Kansas City Barbecue and in both cases we were able to make the meal both a Saturday and Sunday football extravaganza. So if you're looking for that perfect holiday gift or want to impress your friends and family with an epic Thanksgiving, go to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code cover. That's goldbelly.com code cover for 20% off your first order back here on the COVID 3 podcast. Yes, Texas A and M went into Columbia coming out of an off week. Big win. Lay it all up, line it all up. And there was not a sniff of an upset alert. No, that siren got dusty with all the construction, you know, debris that had sort of like fallen on top of it. They jumped out to an early lead. They defended it the rest of the way. Final score Texas A&M 38, Missouri 17. Even when there were sparks, like even before Missouri scored, even when Missouri would get a little bit, Texas A and M had a defensive answer, had to score the other way. They showcased their explosiveness offensively, the ability to just quickly like flip the game on its head. They were dealing with a Missouri offense that already had been a little bit limited all season long. Right? I mean, even when Bo Prabula is in there, it was a team that needed to be in control. And it felt, you know, Tom, you and I talked about this game at halftime with Tommy Train on CBS Sports hq. You put them in a double digit deficit. The freshman quarterback and the downfield passing attack that already you would not put at the top of the sec. Kind of felt like that was going to spell doom for the Tigers. Hey, how, how much of this is Texas A M? How much of this is Missouri to you?
- [32:50]
C
I mean, Texas A and M had plenty to do with it, but so did matt zollers. 7 to 22 for 77 yards and 74 of them went to Olig Booty. Like they, they had no passing game at all, which, you know, they were still able to run the ball for six yards a clip. But like a lot of that I felt. And we Discussed it at halftime. A lot of that I felt like was by design. I don't think A and M was all that concerned about giving up yards on the ground as long as they limited the explosives. They did give up like the one like the 40 something yard run to Hardy. But on the flip side, like A M got off to kind of a slow, sluggish start. Missouri's defense deserved a ton of credit. The defensive line, I thought, particularly like against Texas A M's offensive line, which is one of the best offensive lines we think in the country. Like in the first half, Texas A M was not really able to run the ball at all, but they just kind of wormed down. And then the second half, the dam broke and A and M was able to get stuff going on the ground. And it kind of became more and more apparent to the Missouri that they weren't going to win the game. And the defense just kind of let up.
- [33:55]
B
Yeah, and I think the defense started taking more chances as well. Like guys get out of their gaps. Like guys saying, hey, like is the offense really going to score? Like, is the offense really going to drive the ball? Probably not. Like they're trying to make things happen, you know, like that oh, hero ball.
- [34:10]
A
Attitude like I'm gonna have.
- [34:12]
C
Yeah, you have to.
- [34:13]
B
Yeah, right. Yeah, it's, it's risk, reward, right. You're trying to make something happen and like trying to make a special play. To Tom's point, I think more than half of Missouri's yards came in garbage time. I mean they had 284. I think they had like 145. So that's actually not more than half. My math's bad there. But like basically half of their yards came when this thing was like done and dusted. So like that was a really nice defensive effort, shutting down a freshman quarterback who like had made some good throws against Vandy, you know, and they just made us. They put him in a blender.
- [34:47]
C
Right.
- [34:48]
B
That was, that was awesome. I. If you watch these plays, I think Colin Klein does a really nice job scheming it up. I, I can see why, like he gets a lot of these mentions for like not the biggest of jobs like Oklahoma State. You know it. If a Missouri were to open. Right. Like stuff like that. I meant because like Missouri was. Missouri was dollars in there is what. Like, I don't think you can't have him as like a top 25 power rated team with that quarterback situation. But they're like, they're not like outside the top 50 and you wouldn't let.
- [35:23]
A
Me throw this at you. Are they Auburn?
- [35:28]
C
I like Auburn's defense a little more.
- [35:31]
B
Auburn's quarterback now better than, than Zollers.
- [35:34]
A
Yeah. And they don't have a Cam Coleman. But Ahmad Hardy is also a difference maker in his own right.
- [35:39]
B
You know.
- [35:40]
C
Yeah, I'd say the gap is not large.
- [35:44]
A
Right. That's. I was, I was just trying to like place them in, in the S.E.C. in my mind, like, okay, if we're gonna downgrade them right then that's probably a floor that I would say I.
- [35:56]
B
Would take Auburn over this Missouri team as currently constructed. But I don't know that I would have said that before, you know, seeing this offense against Vandy.
- [36:04]
A
Right.
- [36:05]
B
To Chip's original question, like, how much of this was A M? How much this was Missouri? I think like when you win by this margin, I think it's more you taking care of business on the road.
- [36:14]
A
Like that's, that's especially the early lead and the way that it flipped, the leverage of the game and to do that against that team in that place and just continued like, oh, you're gonna score. Cool, we'll score. Oh, oh, oh, you're gonna score again, we'll score. I mean, it's just. Yeah, it was, it was incredibly impressive. It was high class. And I mean look, we're, we're starting to get updated. I mean, Le'Veon Moss could return maybe by the end of the regular season, I think.
- [36:47]
B
Not sure they have good backs aside.
- [36:50]
A
Reuben Owens has played well. Obviously he goes for more than 100 today. But I would just say like huge run today to, to spin this even, you know, forward with Texas A and M. Casey Concepcion continues. He had another couple big explosive plays today. Craver gets involved in the run game as well. Like, it's just, man, it, it is all building towards something. And you like Alan Kenny, blatant homerism, you know, our friend, I was having a conversation with him and I said, you know what, what's. What? Like what's going to be some of the stories of this, like if Texas A and M does this, guys, we haven't seen that.
- [37:26]
B
So one thing, Texas A M is.
- [37:29]
A
Real close to doing stuff that we're like a conversation we are not used to having with Texas A M. And I thought that answering the moment with a top three caliber, top three form kind of performance needs to bring that up. Like Texas A M is a national title contender.
- [37:51]
B
The only team I have favored over them by more than a field goal is Ohio State.
- [37:58]
A
We just haven't I mean, none of us have. None of us have. 1998 since the last conference championship. Obviously none of us are covering the sport.
- [38:06]
C
Right.
- [38:08]
A
Wait, bud, were you covering the sport in 1998? Were you? Right. Were you writing out. We were writing out a newsletter. Yeah. Around Fort Myers or Tampa.
- [38:17]
B
That's right. That is correct.
- [38:19]
C
I, I kind of was.
- [38:21]
A
You kind of were covered in 1998.
- [38:23]
C
Sports editor at my high school paper.
- [38:26]
A
There you go. On it with Texas A M's Big 12 title in 1998. It's the sports editor. But I, I just want to get us ready because, you know, oh, Texas 8 and 4. Oh, look, here come. I don't know guys, this team might be 120 at the end of the regular season.
- [38:45]
B
Yeah, I, I do want to point out something too. Like their secondary this year was kind of a question coming in, but. So DEZ Ricks is a corner for them. He was at img. I remember having a conversation with the img, like one of their assistant strength guys and he was like, this guy is like the best testing numbers we've ever seen here on the gps. I was like, okay, noted. And then I think if I recall like the timeline on this correctly, it's live TV or. Well, we're not on TV. Live YouTube today we are on some TVs, right? We're definitely on some TVs. Tweet the pictures. Obviously he. So he reclassed to like jump up early to sign with Bama and then transferred from Bama to A M. So he was a class of 23 guy who I think was supposed to be a 24, but he was like a legitimate like five star level athlete and seems to like finally be coming into his own. And that's a really big deal if you kind of spin this forward because they're going to probably, if they beat Texas, they're probably have to go play Alabama, right? And Bama's got some real receivers and like the team we just talked about, right. Like Ohio State if you get that like having somebody who can, who can cover is a really big deal. So that kind of changes my opinion about the same defense. Some like that he's starting to play like you had hoped he'd play coming out of high school.
- [40:03]
A
Mike Elko's player evaluation and roster construction gets big check marks from me. He's got, he's got some guys also that came last year that are now second year transfers because we talk about that too with the Portal. You know, it's not always going to Be a one and done. We pay you. You come here one year, splash, you're gone. There's a lot of value, too, to finding those prospects that are going to come join your program, make you better, but then also get better while they're in your program. I think there are a lot of those guys, too, on this Aggies roster. So, yeah, man, it's. It's different. It looks like a different Texas A and M team. I thought this was a different Texas A and M performance given everything else that was with the spot. Solid win for the Aggies. Solid win for the Bulldogs. The Jojo Bulldogs.
- [40:57]
C
Dog on dog crime.
- [41:00]
A
Look.
- [41:01]
C
Which bulldog is cuter, UGA or Bully?
- [41:05]
A
So Ugga's heavy scene. So dog. So Mississippi State's Bulldog currently is named Dak. He's like Dak Bully the Ninth or something along those lines. I apologize, Dak, for not getting your numerals right. As a numeral myself, I apologize. But I think if you're into thicker bulldogs, uga's got about seven pounds on him.
- [41:33]
C
I think talking about them honches, I.
- [41:36]
A
Think D's a little taller. I think UG has got more junk in the trunk.
- [41:43]
C
See, I, I think. I think Dag's cuter than A. I think UGA has a better team, but I think Dak is cuter.
- [41:50]
B
Yeah.
- [41:53]
A
Georgia did not need halftime to make adjustments. Georgia did not need much time. Georgia kind of did what it wanted in this game, guys.
- [42:07]
C
First time all year felt like.
- [42:09]
A
All right, so this is, this is.
- [42:11]
B
Exactly why I bet Georgia. Because I think Mississippi State's run defense is God awful. And I was like, they're just going to run it down their throat. And they did.
- [42:18]
A
Yeah. But they've had advantages before. This is a real question. Was that the best first quarter to fourth quarter game that George has played this season?
- [42:26]
B
It should have been worse. If Nate Frazier can hold onto the ball.
- [42:30]
C
Since conference play began. Yes. Like Marshall and Austin P. I think they were fine.
- [42:35]
A
Well, those are preseason games. They were scrimmages. This like we have. I think we've seen better halves. You know, I think we've seen maybe a quarter that you could put together. But from quarter one to quarter four, this might have been the most complete offense defense. Georgia put it all together game that I've. That we've seen in SEC play. I'll give you that.
- [42:59]
B
I'm not, I'm not upgrading Georgia based on his performance. No, this is, this is what I expected them to do. I think Mississippi State is like running on fumes. And is not good.
- [43:10]
C
In fact.
- [43:10]
B
And that's not trying to discredit George. Like, I already had Georgia. Pretty high bet Georgia. This is basically what I expect him to do. Like, I don't think Mississippi State has the body types at all to hang with Georgia. If Georgia cared.
- [43:21]
C
I mean, if you take out the second quarter, Mississippi State won 21 to 20. Is Georgia in trouble?
- [43:29]
A
No. All right, well, they won the third quarter, Tom.
- [43:34]
C
They got Stanford next. Let's see what happens.
- [43:37]
A
Hey, did they win the second quarter?
- [43:40]
C
Yeah, they did.
- [43:40]
A
Did they win the third quarter? No.
- [43:42]
C
I'm just. My point is, you're talking about how great they looked for 60 minutes. Turned out they played well for 15.
- [43:47]
A
No, they didn't.
- [43:48]
C
The other 45, they got outscored.
- [43:55]
A
Great to disagree.
- [43:56]
C
No, that was fine. I mean, that was. That was what they were supposed to do in that game. And it was nice. It was. I. I want to thank Georgia for not forcing me to put that game on, really. Because it was like, okay, this one's done.
- [44:10]
B
You really can just, like, watch the highlights of this one. Look at the size of the holes that George is running through. Okay. Like, not a lot of vision required from the backs. Like, we. We could all hold hands and run through some of these as a, you know, podcast trio. They were large. There are people. Move Mississippi State's people consistently.
- [44:32]
A
I mean, no, just. Just crapping all over Mississippi State. Not an offensive line that's dealt with injury issues all year. Maybe finally starting to get a group and a rotation in a rhythm and starting to build up that confidence to allow that ground game to go. You don't see this happening?
- [44:51]
B
I just don't think that. Look, I mean, are they. Are they miraculously, like, more chemistry defied or kumbayat or whatever, like, than they were last week against Florida?
- [45:01]
A
What.
- [45:01]
B
What. What's. Are they coalesced more in, like, the seven days since the. Since the. The. The cocktail party? Like, again, Mississippi State does not have good people. Like, good big people and geor. Like, you see what I'm saying here? Like, I just. I don't know.
- [45:16]
C
K.
- [45:19]
B
What's the word here?
- [45:20]
C
Like, j.
- [45:21]
B
They jelled and got hurt.
- [45:22]
A
I think the plugging. Yeah, coalescing. I think the plugging and playing and the shuffling they've had to do on the offensive line.
- [45:31]
C
Coagulating. There we go. We are coagulating at a championship level.
- [45:38]
A
I think. I think Florida has different body types than Mississippi State, to your point. I think Florida has better. I think Florida had better players in the Lineup last week, Florida also get.
- [45:50]
B
Like, look like they were basically a lot of arm tackling tonight from Florida. Yeah, a lot of arm tech.
- [45:58]
A
Oh, tonight.
- [46:00]
C
Yeah.
- [46:01]
A
We don't even talk about that.
- [46:02]
C
That team was held together by Billy Napier and nothing else as soon as he was gone.
- [46:09]
B
Jeez, Karen.
- [46:12]
C
I mean, we talked about it like, that team was always staying bought in under Napier, even when it was over. Now the Napier's gone. Did that look like a team that gave a damn about anything? You got players who got like, ow, Coach, my hamstring hurts all of a sudden. I think I need to miss the next two months.
- [46:31]
A
It was later in the evening. I don't have a robust set of notes here. I what, what we get from, from Alabama, LSU.
- [46:43]
C
LSU's defense is going to beat the piss out of that offense in the locker room at least. I mean, if they haven't already.
- [46:50]
A
Yeah.
- [46:51]
C
Because that defense did everything you could ask of it again tonight, even without wit weeks to keep them in the game, and the offense just did nothing. Although Nuss finally got benched, so at least, you know, Frank's doing something. Geez.
- [47:09]
B
I, I, I mean, if you're Bama, like, the lack of a run game is a little bit of a concern. LSU's defense is pretty damn good. Simpson made some really impressive throws. Williams coming back and emerging and, like, starting to kind of come on is an important thing to take from this game, I think. But, like, if you're Bam, you're like, wish we could have popped a player, too, in the run game. You know, like, with, with the chances LSU takes, like, can we, can we maybe, like, make them pay with an explosive.
- [47:37]
C
Right.
- [47:37]
B
That just didn't really seem to happen in the run game. I just, I don't know, watch. I don't have their numbers pulled up, but it's got to be. The run game was not good.
- [47:46]
C
No. Tonight they averaged 2.2 per carry. The only run they had over 10 yards was like a Ty Simpson scramble.
- [47:53]
B
Right, Exactly.
- [47:55]
A
So I had that wonderful thing that happens when we're, you know, sharing some, some screen time or a segment with the former athlete, especially when they're talking about their alma mater. And A.J. mcCarron hit me with, yeah, I'm seeing this a little differently than Chip is. Yo, Hey, y' all want to see all the blood rushed to my head? Let me be on CBS Sports Network opposite AJ McCarron breaking down Alabama, LSU. AJ's got the following. AJ says, yeah, I'm seeing this a little differently than Chip is. Oh, God. So, I mean, he was putting it on the O line. That's like A.J. mcCarron's eye says that they need to play better on the offensive line and that that is the problem for the run game.
- [48:44]
C
I would agree.
- [48:45]
A
Okay. I said that was, that was what I was going to bring to you. He says there's plenty of talent in the backfield, that all the issues are happening up front. I definitely, I don't want to put words in his mouth on that one, but he, he, that's what he saw differently is because I was saying like, hey, like, they need to get this run game going. And I was kind of running through the running back room and just been like, hey, like, you know, it could be this guy, it could be this guy. It could be this guy. And he was very much like, no, let's take this spotlight. Let's put it on those boys up front.
- [49:14]
C
I definitely think they're better in pass pro than they are run blocking. And I also, I mean, not to give them all the blame, I do think that Alabama is somewhat lacking at the running back position in a dude. And because you think about Alabama over the years, they've had some pretty good running backs. They've got some good guys on the team this year, but I don't know that they have anybody that's special.
- [49:41]
B
Yeah, I, I thought that against, against Missouri, like, they actually were opening up some holes and Jan Miller was like, okay, he's like, he's a tough runner. Like the game he got knocked out, like, okay, he's better than the other guys they have. But you, you'd think like he'd make somebody miss and, and hit a home run. And just their long run tonight was 17 yards and it's by a guy doesn't play running back. Their long run from a back tonight was seven. So also like credit LSU for tackling. Well, they got the guys down. But it. If you're on scholarship at Bama, I do expect at least one of these guys to make somebody miss and have a 20 or 30 yarder.
- [50:19]
A
Well, and here's the problem. You know who's coming up next? Oklahoma. And Oklahoma is going to tackle just as good as lf lsu, if not better. So some something to keep an eye on. I'll need to give, I'll need to give closer look maybe before upon further review. For more thoughts on the Crimson Tide. What about in Lubbock? Talk about a game of huge significance and like very little drama.
- [50:48]
C
A lot of, a lot of sizzle, but no steak do we need eight.
- [50:51]
B
Minutes on this or can we just kind of like, roll back what we said in the preview?
- [50:56]
C
Could BYU block Texas Tech?
- [50:58]
B
No. No.
- [51:03]
A
From the jump?
- [51:05]
C
No, they could not.
- [51:07]
B
Not a freaking. Not. Not a chance. Yeah.
- [51:11]
A
Oof.
- [51:12]
B
That, that was rough.
- [51:14]
A
I feel like I'm gonna pocket things here. Just save it for later when it comes to Texas Tech because I don't want to be too critical after a top 10 win that they won by 22 points. BYU had zero losses to this point and Texas Tech gave them zero chances to win.
- [51:29]
B
And, but say it. They should have won by 40.
- [51:34]
A
Yes, they kicked BYU's ass. And if they could punch it in the end zone, if they could take advantage of good opportunities when they get short fields, when they get, like, incredible.
- [51:48]
B
Yes.
- [51:50]
C
I mean, they have struggled in the red zone all year. And I think that, like, the thing about Texas Tech is I feel like they're going to win the Big 12. I feel like they're going to be in the College Football Playoff, and I feel like those are phenomenal things. I think that with everything you did to overhaul this program, winning the conference, getting to the playoff in year one after your big, like, transfer infusion, and you've been killing it on the recruiting trail, that's an awesome start. But this team this year, you, they might win a home playoff game, but they're not making a run. That's my takeaway from this. Yeah, it's still a great year. Like, people are gonna, like people who spin it as you're hating on them. No, it's a great season. It's just this team I don't think is good enough to compete for a national title or make a playoff run. If they keep going this direction, they are like, if they keep adding classes in the recruiting class like they have been, they will be, but they're not this year.
- [52:46]
B
If they. I'm trying to think here.
- [52:48]
C
I think Baron Morton holds him back.
- [52:53]
B
Yeah, I, I, I don't know that Their receivers are amazing. I also thought, and it's hard to put the finger on it, I felt like at times they were like a little, a little cute with some of the play calling. It just didn't go in their favor. I, I, but yeah, I agree. Like, 29 feels about the lowest number of points they could have scored based on how this played out.
- [53:15]
C
Yeah, this should have been, they should have just dog walked him. I mean, and they did, like, not, they didn't dog walk them on the scoreboard. They did dog walk him in the.
- [53:22]
A
Game, but the competition was not freaking close for a. A bit.
- [53:27]
C
No.
- [53:27]
A
I mean, it was super. And. And this is what was rattling through my head. 49 minutes, whatever. We can just test some really raw stuff from the test kitchen. It was almost a little bit like an old Les Miles LSU team with these ferocious pass rushers, a nasty defense. They're punching balls out, and when they get good field position, they just kick a field goal.
- [54:00]
B
Are you saying Barry Morton is. Is Jordan Jefferson?
- [54:03]
A
Choose your less Miles LSU quarterback. That is. It felt like. Again. Again, there is not any data to back this up. This is just what it like, felt like watching it. I was like, man, no one's gonna score on these guys. And the defense might even score. Look at all these athletes. They got game records. And it's like. But you've got. Yeah, yeah, it's. Yeah, you've got Odell Beckham out there, but you got Zach Mettenberger. Sorry. Matt Flynn.
- [54:31]
B
Yeah. Here we go.
- [54:32]
A
Tailgate. Let's let the LSU quarterback.
- [54:34]
C
Both of those guys played in the league.
- [54:38]
A
I don't know about Barrymore, but, like, you know, it just that it. And you know what? For Texas Tech, that's awesome. Again, Texas Tech could be on the verge of unprecedented program success. Throw it in the same conversation with Texas A M. Throw it in the same conversation with. You know, what we've seen from Indiana Back to back 10, 10, 0 starts to the season. Like, that's another story that I want to make sure that we tell because this is bananas. What they've got the opportunity to do the position they're in. But yeah, the. In terms of a vibe Texas Tech has given me that, like, they are a little SEC of a certain era. They've got true game changers on the defensive side of the football that can flip every single game. There's not enough offenses in the Big 12 right now that can overcome those. And yeah, there might be some limitations, but they won by 22 against a top 10 opponent that hadn't lost all year. They're pretty damn good.
- [55:41]
B
They've won every single game. Morton started by 20 plus. Yeah, like that. That's a damn good football team. There will be a real step up in talent in the playoffs, just as there will be for almost every team that makes the playoffs.
- [55:59]
A
Except if Oklahoma makes the playoff, it will be like just every other week that Oklahoma has played.
- [56:06]
B
Of course, I'm not.
- [56:09]
A
That was not tongue in cheek. That was. No, no, no. Because not all sec. Not all SEC schedules are made alike. Texas. I was. I was doing a deep dive again. Tomorrow's top 25 today. Coming up later, I was really doing the interrogation of Texas A&M's resume. They have one of the more favorable draws of SEC teams. Ole Miss has one of the more favorable draws of SEC teams. Oklahoma's on the other end of that spectrum, 100%.
- [56:37]
C
What if I told you that according to FPI, and I don't know if this has been updated through today, but Oklahoma's schedule is the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10th most difficult in the SEC so far this year?
- [56:51]
A
Well, they haven't played Alabama yet.
- [56:53]
C
Yeah, it's, it's the sixth remaining, but.
- [56:56]
A
Right.
- [56:56]
C
Okay. To this point, do you know who does have the most difficult schedule in the league according to FBI right now?
- [57:01]
A
What?
- [57:02]
C
Wisconsin.
- [57:04]
A
Fpi. What's the fourth letter of the Alphabet? D. Yeah, these nuts. All right. Coming up on the other side, we turn our attention elsewhere, the ACC chaos that was promised. Tomorrow's top 25 today and more next. It's NBA Tip off week and FanDuel is your home for live betting. So even if you miss the start of the game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout however you want to play. Now is the perfect time to join because FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. So visit FanDuel.com cover to sign up today. Play your game with FanDuel. Official sports betting partner of the NBA must be 21 and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18/ plus and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. First online real money wager only $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non withdrawable bonus bets which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms@sportsbook.fanduel.com gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York. I've noticed something about my workday. The longer I sit, the harder it is to stay focused and energized. I mean, my back tightens, my posture suffers, my brain just feels, you know, sluggish. It's clear that movement isn't optional, it's essential. Why sit when you can stand out? That's why I upgraded to the all new Uplift V3 standing desk. The V3 combines the best of Uplift's V2 and V2 commercial desks into one powerful, stable and customizable setup. It features reinforced steel and redesigned feet for unmatched stability. Assembles in minutes and the flex mount cable manager keeps all my cords perfectly organized. The ergonomics are next level and the desktop options and accessories let me create a space that is truly my own. My favorite part, being able to seamlessly switch between sitting and standing. It keeps me energized, focused and ready to tackle any task. It's more than a desk. It's an upgrade on how I work and feel all day. Transform your workspace and unlock your full potential with the new Uplift V3 standing desk. Go to uplift.com cover and use our code cover to get four free accessories, same day shipping for free, free returns and an industry leading 15 year warranty that covers your entire desk plus an extra discount off your entire order. That's up. L-I F T-E-S-K.com cover for this exclusive offer. It's only available through our link back here on the COVID 3 podcast. Still much more to get to, including some flowers for Diego Pavia, Luke Fickle and the Wisconsin Badgers and so much more. But Tom, if you, if you want to just check out for a little bit, we do need to unpack everything that's happened because Wake Forest went into Charlottesville and took down Virginia. California went to Louisville and beat the Cards in overtime. Can we lost at Yukon. Clemson won against Florida State and, and Miami was a little bit sluggish, but.
- [61:30]
B
Certainly, you know, that got spicy.
- [61:33]
A
The Fran Brown Mario crystal ball jawing at each other was pretty great.
- [61:40]
B
Man. Do you remember when ESPN used to have the ACC Wheel of Destiny? You think we could buy that? They don't use it no more. Like we.
- [61:51]
A
That.
- [61:51]
B
That could be a good bit for this show.
- [61:53]
A
What though?
- [61:54]
B
They just, they would just spin it like that. This was back when like he had a Wake Forest Boston College. You know, I feel like we're back to that right now. I'm gonna say something here and this is completely sincere. The ACC might get left out of the playoff. Yeah.
- [62:13]
A
Might.
- [62:14]
B
I don't think it will, but there's absolutely a path for 8 and 4 Duke to be the ACC champion. And if JMU wins out, I think JMU is going to be ranked over Duke. Nope. And obviously the American champ will be if it's usf. Nope.
- [62:34]
C
This is actually what I'm going to be leading CFP vibe check about after we get out of here. I, I, this is where the theory runs into trouble.
- [62:43]
A
The strength of schedule rating of the James Madison Dukes.
- [62:46]
C
But if Oklahoma goes nine and three, are you putting them in the playoff?
- [62:54]
B
So they beat Michigan, does Michigan win out? With the exception of Ohio State.
- [63:00]
C
Chip, with Oklahoma schedule, if they go nine and three, are you putting them in the playoffs?
- [63:05]
B
Sure.
- [63:05]
C
Okay, so if a 9 and 3 Oklahoma gets in as an at large, are you going to tell me that a 9 and 4 Duke that won the ACC is going to get left out for an Old Dominion team with like 113th most difficult schedule in the country? Well, it's not going to happen. You mean especially because. Especially because there's a very good chance that Duke, if they get to the ACC championship and win, guess who they're going to beat? Louisville. Team that beat James Madison.
- [63:34]
B
Right. And James Madison lost to them.
- [63:36]
C
It's, yeah, it's a hell of a fun thing to throw out and say, but if you play it out, there is no way James Madison is getting in over an ACC champ.
- [63:44]
A
But I do think that for fans as we're sitting here in the second year of the expanded playoff with the, you know, resorted seeds like I just saw somebody in the tailgate say, wait, the ACC doesn't get an auto bid. Yes, this is a great reminder. The bids are not given to the conferences. It is just that as the top five conference champions, the assumption is that, by God, if you're a power conference and there's only four of you and we're giving out five bids, can your champion be one of those five highest ranked champs? And it's quite possible that the Atlantic Coast Conference cannot say that now, now, I, I don't think it's gonna happen.
- [64:30]
C
Just, just again, to bring it up. Bring it up. To bring it up. To bring it up. To bring it up. There's another score right now of a game that's going on that almost helps solidify further that the ACC will get in. Fellas, wagons don't do well on the ocean, okay? They can't make the trip to Hawaii. And that's why San Diego State is currently losing 21 to 6 to Hawaii. Like the Mountain west champion is probably Going to have two or three losses at this point. The ACC champ is getting it. It's going to be the American and the ACC and the Big Ten and the SEC and the Big 12. We can pretend it won't be, but that's who they're going to be okay over.
- [65:06]
A
Under the ACC champions seed in the bracket at ten and a half.
- [65:13]
C
Now, if you want to argue that USF could be ranked ahead of the ACC champion, that's an argument worth having because didn't that happen last year?
- [65:22]
A
Yeah, because Clemson was 12.
- [65:24]
C
Exactly. So that could very much happen.
- [65:28]
B
Is there any ACC team that we think if they won, could get left out? Or is Duke the most likely AC champ left out? However infinitesimal their odds are of actually getting left?
- [65:40]
C
That's the most. Yeah, I think Duke's the only one that even would have the slightest.
- [65:44]
B
Yeah, right.
- [65:46]
C
But that's also why I don't think. I don't think we can rely on duke to.
- [65:50]
A
Duke is 03 in non conference play against FBS opponents. What was this?
- [65:57]
C
Hold on one second here. I gotta find Hail. I gotta find hail.
- [66:01]
B
All right.
- [66:04]
C
ACC now has six losses to teams outside the Power Four. Big 12, Big Ten and SEC have eight combined.
- [66:14]
B
I will say, and this is not excuse making. This is like just me criticizing. Why the hell are you playing a road game at UConn in November? You're a power conference team.
- [66:24]
C
Are you kidding?
- [66:25]
A
Did you see how many Duke fans.
- [66:26]
C
Were there because Virginia Tech already scheduled a road game to Old Dominion?
- [66:32]
B
Like, this is the kind of stuff that I think Phillips now has to be like, hey, we're not doing this, okay? Like wake. You can't bid yourself out to the highest bidder between Texas and Bama and Ohio State to satisfy their one power five requirement and get, get like a seven million dollar check for that game because basically a free bye week, you know, or hell, the way Florida State's playing Florida State, you can't just bid yourself out like this. Right? Like the ACC should not be playing road games at UConn. Now, it's great theater, but this makes you look like amateur hour.
- [67:04]
A
I thought it was an electric game.
- [67:05]
C
It was fun.
- [67:08]
A
It was a super fun game.
- [67:10]
C
Like it was right in Danny's face. Told Danny what was going to happen. Then it happened. Andy didn't want to listen.
- [67:19]
A
I, I didn't even. Oh, I guess I did have a sprinkle on it, but I just, I thought it was. It was wild. It was back and forth. It was sloppy, had bad decisions. It had great plays. It's a fun college football game. You know, I was thinking during the middle of this day, before the. The chaos that sort of ensued, it's like, you know, maybe this. We should make sure that we celebrate just a regular college football Saturday. You know, those days are cool, too. Not every day has to be. Not every day has to be, like, the best Saturday ever. You know, like a college football season.
- [68:00]
C
The headline has to say it was the best Saturday ever.
- [68:05]
B
I'm trying to run through here. There's no way a non ACC champ gets in, right?
- [68:14]
C
As opposed.
- [68:14]
B
As opposed to Georgia Tech. Like, if Georgia Tech were to beat Georgia and then lose in the first championship Cave. Is there any way the committee takes. No, because that would. That would involve.
- [68:27]
C
The funniest possible outcome would be Georgia Tech getting in as an at large without the ACC champ getting.
- [68:32]
B
This is what I'm saying. Yes.
- [68:34]
A
I.
- [68:34]
B
We got to model this out, but I. I don't think this works.
- [68:40]
C
That.
- [68:41]
B
But that would be hilarious.
- [68:48]
A
I. Bud, I did not get to watch much of the Knolls and the Tigers. What do we make happenings in. In that classic rivalry?
- [68:59]
B
Like, very sloppy disjointed from FSU's offense. Thought defense, for the most part played hard enough. Ish. But, like, really kind of some wild turnovers from FSU just joined. I mean, they had seven points for a good portion of the game. Honestly, like, I do think there were some really, really bad officiating in this game that made it a little bit less or a little bit like, bigger margin than it probably should have been. But, like, Florida State in no way deserve to win the game. Like, Clemson was a way better team.
- [69:32]
A
Sounds like Dabo. Dabo did his part complaining about the officiating all week.
- [69:38]
B
Yeah, yeah, that was. There were some. There was pretty questionable stuff there, but.
- [69:44]
A
Yeah, 24 by dabo. That's what I'm.
- [69:47]
B
2410. Not really competitive. Malzan broke out some really creative, fun place, which is, you know, then they scored 10 points.
- [69:55]
A
Florida State, four and five overall. One and five in the ACC. We're just gonna keep or no. No change.
- [70:01]
B
We're just gonna just run it back. I think at this point. It's fantastic. What a great idea. Group chat. And I was like, guys, because, like, the renewal notices came out for season tickets and stuff this week, and my one buddy was like, I sent it to Spam. It's like, yeah, it's kind of like, you know, if you got a favorite restaurant and it started to suck lately and you're actually confident, like, the chef's gonna get it turned or the people who own the restaurant are gonna get it turned around. You probably still go to keep supporting, right? Because, like, all right, it's a great neighborhood spot. Like, I love the location. Like, this place is great, but if they're, like. If they're showing, like, no real reason to believe that, like, they're gonna take this thing seriously.
- [70:44]
A
Yeah.
- [70:44]
B
You're not going to keep showing up to eat. Right. Like, all right, cool. You guys did a great remodel on the restaurant, but the food's. The food and service sucks. It's still in my neighborhood. I'll come back when it's worth going. Yeah, that's kind of, I think, where a lot of them are at right now.
- [71:00]
C
You know.
- [71:02]
B
I wouldn't want to watch this.
- [71:04]
C
I didn't.
- [71:06]
B
I don't blame you. It wasn't on the main screen.
- [71:13]
A
Let's see. Oh, Diego Pavi almost had 500 yards of total offense and four touchdowns.
- [71:21]
B
Man, they turned it on.
- [71:26]
A
Number one. Good gravy. We are having ourselves a college football season for a coach getting fired and then everybody throwing that man under the bus. I mean, getting up there talking about how this offensive success from Auburn in unquestionably their best offensive game of the season. Yeah, I just thought it was important that we get our best player of the ball. Talking about Cam Coleman suggesting that whoever was in charge in all those other games did not think it was a good idea to get Cam Coleman the ball.
- [72:10]
B
Wait, Durkin said that? Yeah, probably because Cam Coleman likely torches him in practice because they really have no choice but to throw it up to him in practice.
- [72:18]
A
Right.
- [72:20]
B
We. Ivan's and I were talking, like, on the coverage recruiting hour, and they. They clipped it and kind of went viral. I took an unnecessary shot at Reggie Ball, by the way. Like, I know Calvin Johnson did go second overall, so, like, Reggie Ball didn't hurt his draft stock that much. We were talking, like, what kind of premium is Auburn gonna have to pay to keep Cam Coleman around when they don't really have a QB? You know, I was like. Like, 2 million, I guess. Who knows? But that was great tonight. The catches he made were insane.
- [72:48]
A
Insane. And it was just. No, we're just gonna keep going. We're gonna keep going. Keep going. Ashton Daniels, I thought, did a good job. Like, it was like, they came out and, you know, they've. They've got me doing a little bit of an audit on Vanderbilt's defense as Vanderbilt heads into a final stretch now that it's going to include a Tennessee game. And if we want to talk about Vanderbilt as a college football playoff team, they've got to beat Kentucky and Cutter Bowley, they've got to beat Tennessee and Tennessee's offense. So that what she gave up through the air, not encouraging for those two.
- [73:19]
C
Games is Hugh Freeze's greatest crime. Like causing the country as a whole to not really know who Cam Coleman is. Because like, think about it like Jeremiah Smith gets a ton of love. Deservedly so.
- [73:35]
B
Did you see a celebration, by the way?
- [73:37]
C
Yes.
- [73:40]
A
It was the old call.
- [73:41]
B
God, yeah.
- [73:43]
A
Yeah.
- [73:45]
C
Because he's great. And then like, I mean Ryan Williams gets a lot of love, even though Ryan Williams will disappear at times. And then it's like we talked about tonight, how he comes back and it's like Cam Coleman has been like very, very under discussed for a guy who should probably be in the NFL right now.
- [74:00]
B
What if you put Cam Coleman in Columbus next year after Carnell Tate goes pro? Like it would, it would solve the ratings crisis, right? Like Ohio State would do a 30 every week because everybody would tune in.
- [74:18]
C
They'd be on Big Noon every week and fans would be furious.
- [74:23]
A
No, I'll tell you what we need, bud. What we need is Cam Coleman in Maze and Blue Underwood so that we can spread the talent, my friend.
- [74:38]
B
It's like that Dr. Shoes book. I think it's like an anti nuclear message. But like you said, you're talking about like the, what's this book called? Tom, you're well ready. You don't talk about. So it's Jim. I mean, yeah, they get their Jeremiah Smith, they get their Cam Coleman. Let's. Let's run this thing.
- [74:57]
C
Yeah.
- [75:00]
A
But yeah, so what about Vanderbilt? I mean they needed Diego Pave to go get it done. I got it done.
- [75:07]
B
I mean their playoff hopes were still very alive. They bounced back on offense. They found things that worked. Pavia, I mean dude, he looked exhausted by the way and like still was. Was making plays that, that was. I think it was also the right call to try to go for an ice it. I know they did not get it but like with how Auburn was moving the football, I, I like in a, not in a losing effort, in a failed play that was still, I think the right decision to go.
- [75:36]
A
Did you hear Clark after the game?
- [75:38]
B
No. What do you say?
- [75:38]
A
Took total ownership for it. He was like, I, I was trying to win it there. I thank you. Like I credit my team for saving me. You know, like I was, I made that call. It didn't work out, I would make it again. But you know, we were able to get it done in overtime. But that's, you know, like he, he took total ownership for that one and I thought it was, it was cool for him to. He wasn't asked about it. He jumped ahead and came out with. On with that pretty early.
- [76:10]
B
Well, I mean I think it's the smart call. Smart school, you know, smart guy.
- [76:15]
A
Vandy grad.
- [76:17]
B
So they go. They have what just Tennessee left.
- [76:20]
A
Kentucky and Tennessee, Kentucky and Tennessee and Kentucky.
- [76:23]
C
They're a juggernaut now.
- [76:24]
A
Yeah, I, I would not.
- [76:29]
B
Like. Bowley's playing better. Kentucky's still playing hard. Florida did not play hard tonight.
- [76:38]
C
No, no, no. Kentucky is yet another elite SEC team that would probably win any of the other conferences.
- [76:44]
B
I thought Josh Carter's out of the chat now. I, I don't think we have to pretend anymore.
- [76:50]
A
If Vanderbilt is 10 and 2 with this schedule that you see on YouTube.com cover 3, they're in the playoff.
- [76:59]
C
Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I mean it. They could get dinged if it becomes like if they start getting comped to other 10 and 2 power 4 at large bids. Because I think overall, maybe the schedule and resume might, I don't know. But because the best win is seen on that graphic there is lsu and that's just getting worse every single week.
- [77:27]
B
And Missouri.
- [77:28]
C
Missouri, several teams. Yeah.
- [77:31]
B
They're about to not be ranked and won't be returning to the ranked. I don't think LSU won't be ranked.
- [77:38]
C
Texas.
- [77:38]
B
If Texas loses to Georgia, they will not be ranked.
- [77:41]
C
And if they beat Tennessee to finish the year, Tennessee might not be right.
- [77:47]
B
I still think the strength of schedule metrics and the fact that they would only have a two in the loss column would get them in.
- [77:53]
C
Me too.
- [77:53]
B
But like they're going to be in over. Over an 11 and two BYU.
- [77:58]
C
But if they're up to like a 10 and two Michigan or USC or an Oregon.
- [78:05]
B
Oh, 10 or two Michigan clears.
- [78:07]
C
That's what I'm saying.
- [78:08]
B
Michigan would have beaten Ohio State.
- [78:10]
C
Yeah. So it's like they. The 10 and 2 is not a guarantee. They might still have to sweat. But you know what we're talking about. Vanderbilt is a damn playoff at large.
- [78:20]
A
Bit on November 9th.
- [78:22]
C
On November 9th.
- [78:27]
B
That's awesome.
- [78:28]
A
What about. Yeah, listen, I feel like we're gonna get asked about Heisman stuff all week long.
- [78:34]
B
We can save that for another time. But you, I mean do we. Do we think saying just has it locked?
- [78:43]
A
No.
- [78:44]
B
Oh no.
- [78:45]
C
Gus already handed it out Earlier, Yeah.
- [78:47]
A
Gus gave it to Mendoza and Barton gave it to Pavia.
- [78:54]
C
Why is nobody giving it? You know, we'll give it to Saying, you know, that's a good point. But yeah, saying, saying it had his Heisman moment today against Purdue really drove it home. Made it clear that nobody else in the country is capable of doing what he's able to do.
- [79:10]
A
Does the Big Ten have field storming fines the way that some of these other conferences do? I don't think they do.
- [79:16]
C
We don't storm them field in the Big Ten, Chip.
- [79:18]
A
We have, ah, I saw a field storming in Madison, Chip.
- [79:23]
C
They, they had every, they were doing that for warmth. They.
- [79:29]
A
They had all 29,000 people that were still in that stadium on the field at the same time. I saw them all get down to the lower level so they could celebrate it. Hell of a win, man, because it was, it's funny I mentioned that. Not, I did not mention it jokingly, but like I said at one point late in the week, you know, I'm just curious, like, hey Chip, what's on your radar? Like I, I am curious to see if there's any impact whatsoever from Wisconsin saying Luke fickles back for 2026, right? Do they play with less pressure? Do they not care at all do that, you know, like, does it, does it not have any impact? Are they just so limited with the roster that they have that it's going to be the same? Now? Washington got banged up in the game in significant ways. You were dealing with again like Iowa, you were dealing with weather elements. But shoot, Wisconsin beat Washington.
- [80:42]
B
So I mean it was cold, like, you know, just it. That did feel like one of the more like weather affected games. But like Washington's definitely banged up.
- [80:52]
C
Yes. I mean they lose Jonah Coleman in the game.
- [80:57]
B
Boston left off, came back in.
- [80:59]
A
Yeah, Boston was struggling the whole time. But like you, you need. When Coleman left, I said that's exactly what you need in a snow game is the bowling ball.
- [81:11]
C
I mean, listen, Wisconsin one, they needed it feel great for him. But they had 205 yards of offense. They had four people throw passes and went 6 of 18 combined for 48 yards. Their leading passer today was their punter who was 1 for 1 for 24 yards on a fake shout out to Sean West. But the defense took advantage of a banged up Washington team. They, they had demond Williams kind of running for his life a lot. They had four sacks at nine tackles for loss. It was a horribly ugly football game and they won. And damn it, it's beautiful to them.
- [81:48]
A
So did you know that this weekend was the Big Ten west against the Big Tens West? All four of the Western additions to the Big Ten Conference played games against former Big Ten west teams. As I'm seeing Matt Rule be interviewed right here after closing out the win against ucla.
- [82:17]
B
Oh, they got it. Okay.
- [82:18]
C
Did you see TJ Lateef stat line?
- [82:21]
A
He had a great.
- [82:22]
B
Better than like 7 yards like he had last week.
- [82:25]
A
Oh, a lot better.
- [82:28]
C
Is Nebraska. Is Nebraska better with TJ Lateef?
- [82:32]
A
Was Raiola holding them back?
- [82:34]
C
Holding this team back?
- [82:39]
A
Yeah. So USC wins against Northwestern on Friday night. Nebraska wins against ucla, Oregon wins against Iowa. And then as we just mentioned, Wisconsin wins against Washington. All of the Big Tens Western editions playing Big Ten west teams, many of them in the elements in Big Ten west flavored and inspired games. I thought that was a nice, a nice unforeseen, it was cool connection that we had.
- [83:11]
C
I can't believe of all the people on this show, you're the one who noticed that.
- [83:16]
A
I. I'm sorry. It was because we spent so much time with. Can Oregon handle the elements? Can Washington handle the L. It just. I think it was all of the elements. That conversation just had me think, realizing where we were at. And then I put the rest together.
- [83:35]
C
The elements of the Rose bowl, the laments.
- [83:38]
A
Yeah, there you go. Got him. All right, let's go. Before we get into tomorrow's top 25 today and get out of here, Open floor. Where else do we want to turn our attention? A lot more action. And as always, upon further review on Monday does exist as an opportunity for us to get into some of the games that we did not hit here in the instant reaction show Tulane.
- [84:08]
B
Nice win. Man, that's. That's a big bounce back win for them. Houston, hold on.
- [84:15]
A
Can we linger for a second?
- [84:19]
C
Do you have to. Do you have to also.
- [84:24]
A
Do you think that. All right, let's get reckless. Do you think that there was a lot of thoughts about how to stop Brendan Lewis and Memphis's offense and not many thoughts on how to stop utsa?
- [84:37]
B
Possibly.
- [84:38]
C
Yeah.
- [84:40]
A
Because they were on Memphis's ass from the jump. And I know Memphis has been a slow starting team all year. They've been a second half team all year, a fourth quarter team all year. But when Tulane jumped all over them, I was like, yeah, great bounce back. But also, oh man, they're really well prepared for this. That kind of.
- [85:04]
B
Not to completely jump around on this. There's no way Fernando Mendoza is abba's grandson. Right? The chat Is making this up because there's a song called Fernando.
- [85:17]
C
Yeah.
- [85:18]
B
If we've had this guy all year and we did not know.
- [85:20]
C
You didn't know the big Swede, Fernando.
- [85:29]
A
Mendoza, whose brother is named Alberto.
- [85:33]
B
Alberto's like, there's no way.
- [85:38]
C
He was, he was born in Waterloo.
- [85:43]
A
He just got sent out.
- [85:44]
B
I, I think, like, so ucf, awesome energy the first half of that game. I kind of wonder if the crowd, like, left and went to EDC because, like, it's here in Orlando this weekend. Because, like, second half crowd shots were not great.
- [86:00]
A
Second half decision making for UCF was not great.
- [86:03]
B
Could have been better.
- [86:04]
A
Late game decision making not great.
- [86:06]
C
Oh, my God.
- [86:08]
B
Is. Oh, oh, we got some late game decision making. This I do want to talk about. Did you guys watch in Morgantown?
- [86:20]
A
Oh, Dion.
- [86:22]
B
Yeah.
- [86:22]
C
Yeah.
- [86:23]
B
I mean, this is probably the, like, it's the master class by him. Like I, I, I said on Twitter, like, I do not think Deion Sanders is point shaving, but if I wanted Deion Sanders to point shape, it's exactly what I would want him to do. Like, he executed the plan perfectly.
- [86:41]
A
The time that was burned off the clock, the timeouts that were wasted, nothing that was gained in the same result that occurred.
- [86:48]
B
Anyway, yes, he played, he managed this game. Like, your mom is yelling at you to get off the games. You're distracted and you're trying to win, like an online game.
- [86:59]
C
I mean, he, he burned time out with his team down 10 after. Not like earlier on a fourth down. Instead of kicking the field goal, which he needed and going for it. Then fourth down and 10 still. Or not and 10, but still down 10.
- [87:16]
A
He called.
- [87:16]
C
He lets the clock run down and then calls a timeout before the, before they kick the field goal. Yes.
- [87:23]
A
Why?
- [87:24]
B
I.
- [87:26]
C
Yeah. And then there was also the one guy in Colorado who it was the third down. He gets like a swing pass, right? And it's like the first down marker is right there. He can see it. And he runs out of bounds a yard shy of it. He wasn't about to get tackled. He just stepped out of bounds a yard shy of the first down marker.
- [87:47]
B
So, I mean, you had, you had a fourth down before the two minute warning. You could have kicked the field goal on right. Because you need two scores, not just one. They like not to. They had all three timeouts in their pocket, by the way, at that time.
- [88:01]
A
Yep.
- [88:02]
B
Like, this is.
- [88:03]
A
And that was before the fault start. Right? Back them up.
- [88:08]
B
Yeah.
- [88:08]
C
Yep.
- [88:09]
B
Yeah. Correct.
- [88:12]
A
Yeah, but I did catch this one. This is.
- [88:15]
C
Hey, I had West Virginia minus six in the locks. It was my Twitter tip. I was. I thought it was a good job of finishing that game by the bus.
- [88:27]
A
Oh, man. Yeah.
- [88:29]
C
Hey, you know what? I'm old enough to remember a time when Notre Dame had to worry about Navy.
- [88:38]
A
They've won 12 out of the last 13, so it's been a minute.
- [88:41]
C
Doesn't seem to be the case.
- [88:42]
B
Did you see the touchdown run?
- [88:44]
C
The love one where he wasn't over him? Yeah. Yeah.
- [88:47]
B
That was incredible.
- [88:48]
C
The. Who did that for Auburn? What was the kid's name?
- [88:51]
A
Michael Dyer.
- [88:52]
C
There we go. Michael Dyer in the title game. Yeah.
- [88:54]
A
Yeah. Jeremiah. Love having himself a little Michael Dyer moment. Love that. All right. Every single Saturday night before we get out, we love to give you a look at what the new top 25 will be from the AP poll voters when they update their rankings on Sunday. Now, as we mentioned, there is a discussion about Texas A and M standing not should. Do you think they will jump Indiana?
- [89:31]
C
No, no.
- [89:33]
A
Last week in voting points, Indiana was closer to Ohio State than it was Texas A and M. I think that will not be the case. I believe Texas A and M will cut into that deficit. I do not think that they will get enough. I think they'll maybe even catch a couple extra first place votes to especially make that interesting. You know, the, the difference in the first place votes. Like if you, if you get a first place vote that is worth 25 voting points, second, 24, third, 23. So it's not like a couple first place votes will really change that much. But I would not be surprised if Texas A and M, given the, the profile it's put together, being undefeated, coming out of a handy road win against Missouri, I think they'll get a little bit more of attention and debate for that spot. But as it stands, I do not think we will see a change in Ohio State at 1, Indiana at 2, Texas A&M at 3, Alabama at 4, Georgia at 5 and even Oregon at 6 and Ole Miss at 7. I think top seven hold steady.
- [90:49]
C
I would agree. And also if, if you are arguing that A M should pass Indiana today because Indiana struggled with Penn State and A M beat Missouri, then you're admitting that you forgot Indiana went on the road and beat Oregon by 10. Because that did still happen, even if it didn't happen today. And after beating Missouri, Notre Dame might be A M's best win and the only ranked win, which was also a road win and is also a good win. But when you're comparing the resumes, there's just not enough there to really justify moving A and M ahead of them after today's results if you weren't already there.
- [91:26]
B
Right.
- [91:28]
A
So we'll. We will again. They had one first place vote last week. I'm looking for what, three, you know, out of a 65 voters, you know, you might catch another stray. There were 55 for Ohio State, 11 for Indiana. You might catch, you know, a little bit of changing of the minds there. Now one thing that I mentioned in the article that you can read right now on CBSSports.com and will need some adjustments because apparently San Diego State doesn't want to handle the waves well. And so I'm gonna have to adjust that.
- [92:03]
C
Don'T go on water.
- [92:04]
A
This is the beginning of the cat and mouse game. And the cat and mouse game is AP voters put out their rankings on Sunday. The selection committee puts out their rankings on Tuesday. Not the selection committee says that they don't look at any other rankings. But the selection committee is made up of individuals that are very, very comfortable with college sports. Like this is the sitting athletic directors at Baylor. This is the sitting athletic director at Nebraska. This is the sitting athletic director at the University of Virginia. This is the sitting athletic director at Middle Tennessee. This is the sitting athletic director that we have right now at Miami Ohio. Like you don't think that they know the top 25. I mean, this is Jeff Long, who is the athletic director at both Kansas and Arkansas. I mean, this is Wesley Walls, the Carolina Panthers legend. This is three former FBS head coaches. Chris Alt, the legend from Nevada fame, obviously, Mark d', Antonio, what he did at Michigan State and Chris, and on top of all that, Mike Riley. Good gravy. So many places, so many stories. They know. Those are the selection committee members. They know what the rankings look like. And also they make some free choices. They are independent thinkers, right? They put Iowa in there, they put Pitt in there and they put Texas ahead of Oklahoma. So among the changes that I am projecting that include changes for teams that did not play, I would not be surprised if the AP voters are like, oh yeah, Texas and Oklahoma, they do have the same record and they did play. So I'm going to project a little bit of a swap. And I mentioned in the article it is only out of the cat and mouse, right? There will be enough voters like, you know what, you're right, guys. Also because we're gonna have five teams get bounced from the rankings. I don't think it's crazy to project that Pit will make an appearance after Pitt Made an appearance in the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings.
- [94:15]
B
I don't want them to.
- [94:17]
A
That's.
- [94:18]
B
I like, unranked pit. Like, I think. I think, like, Pitt's chance of causing absolute chaos is better if they're unranked.
- [94:25]
A
That is. That is your preference.
- [94:27]
B
That is correct.
- [94:28]
C
Yeah.
- [94:28]
A
Yeah. That is your preference.
- [94:29]
B
But. No, I'm not challenging you. No.
- [94:31]
A
But do you agree that when it comes to. Okay, so Tulane's gonna get in. Sure. Come on. Like, come on on board. But when it comes to grabbing other teams for those spots in the 20s, when, by the way, I am protecting Virginia all the way out. Louisville all the way out. Missouri, you're gone. Memphis, you're gone. Washington. Yeah. So we got byu. Oh, BYU hangs on for sure because they've got to win against Utah.
- [94:58]
C
Bud's got him at 43rd now.
- [95:03]
A
Like, for example, I, I think Tulane obviously cracks into the rankings. I think James Madison is another option, too. They were just on the outside looking in. Pitt was 28th in last week's balloting and Iowa was a team that was in front of them. So you. You definitely have enough momentum to get in there. So, yeah, those are. Those are a couple of the other. The cat and mouse that we're going to have from the selection committee to the AP voters. So what. Where else are you looking for possible changes in the rankings?
- [95:33]
B
Missouri's obviously out if we think Iowa or if we think Oregon is a top six team. And I. And Iowa was the number one in receiving votes who was unranked and they just played that top 16 to a single score. Is there any chance people.
- [95:59]
C
Way too much critical thinking skills like.
- [96:01]
B
Tennessee is in with three losses.
- [96:06]
C
This. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm saying.
- [96:09]
A
I'm not saying you're wrong either. I, for example, I do not think that Iowa will break into the AP poll, but the committee could definitely leave Iowa because they had them at 20.
- [96:22]
C
My prediction is the AP poll in a pushback against the playoff ranking. We'll have a bunch of G5 teams in there. It'll be like a silent protest.
- [96:36]
A
So that means South Florida's in, North Texas is in.
- [96:40]
C
Maybe you see them get a lot more votes because none of them were ranked last week.
- [96:43]
A
It's just so hard because South Florida won the head to head against Memphis. If Memphis is going to get bounced, how do you put South Florida in? How do you put North Texas in? Because they got run by South Florida.
- [96:59]
B
I think it's easier to not ignore, but, like, not make like head to head, the trump card. This late in the season, you have so many data points. Like, that was one game. It should matter. It should matter a little more than just any other singular game.
- [97:12]
A
But like, so then it's South Florida. South Florida's sitting here. We lost to Memphis in a fourth quarter game on the road. We lost to Miami, which is still ranked. And other than that, we've taken care of business. Including kicking North Texas's teeth in. That's the answer. Yeah.
- [97:34]
B
So Lane Kiffin, he photobombed a proposal today and he also retweeted the benching.
- [97:41]
C
Of DJ Lagway slain. He's out there.
- [97:44]
B
Oh, did she cut? Did you see Cutter Bowley hit the. Hit the Calzada? No. Are you familiar with this? This good. Let's finish top 25.
- [97:53]
C
My bad.
- [97:54]
B
I'm derailing this badly.
- [97:55]
C
So if you have any schedule updates for Florida State.
- [98:00]
B
Yeah, and we broke the news.
- [98:04]
A
Did. We didn't.
- [98:04]
C
Didn't get any damn credit us.
- [98:07]
A
BYU won't fall far because of their win against Utah, which was off this week. That got BYU falling outside of the top 10, but down to about the mid teens. Slight bumps up, but we had Michigan off, we had Tennessee off, we had Cincinnati off. So a lot of that fluctuation is going to be there in the 21 through 25 spot four, the full projected top 25. And an update here, unless San Diego State comes back, head on over to CBSSports.com okay, so the Calzada is the nil thing, right?
- [98:43]
B
Where he's just, he's unrolling.
- [98:46]
C
Yeah, he's.
- [98:47]
B
He's doing the fan thing.
- [98:50]
A
I haven't seen the original video. I just saw.
- [98:53]
B
Tick Tock is great.
- [98:54]
A
Okay. I only saw the headline that he had to apologize.
- [98:59]
B
So basically. Did you see the video, Tom?
- [99:05]
C
I. I know that he like did something like somebody was talking crap and he flashed his money at him, right?
- [99:10]
B
Yeah, like somebody's talking, talking, talking crap. He grabs a bunch of racks and starts and he's like, keep counting, keep counting. So then cut her Bowley. After, after he scores a touchdown.
- [99:25]
A
He does.
- [99:27]
B
Which, like, there's levels to that.
- [99:29]
A
Yeah, there are. Like, it's time for me to get it right.
- [99:33]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [99:35]
A
I saw what that guy got. And taking the snaps now it's your boy Cutter. Cutter on the beat.
- [99:46]
C
All right.
- [99:47]
A
Anything else before we get out here? Any? No, no. Emergency watch for tomorrow?
- [99:58]
B
Maybe.
- [99:59]
A
I don't know.
- [100:00]
C
Who would be.
- [100:00]
A
Who would it be?
- [100:01]
B
I don't know. Who could it Be like statement did not say their statement did not say he. He is safe till the end of the season. Said we will strongly evaluate it doesn't mean you can't evaluate this tonight. Right.
- [100:17]
A
You know, I actually got tasked with writing the pros and cons of that statement for CBSSports.com and one of my pros was, there's nothing in there that says you don't. Can't do it two weeks from now.
- [100:29]
B
Oh, Loxley. The chat says oh.
- [100:32]
A
Because Maryland lost to Rutgers.
- [100:37]
C
For them too.
- [100:39]
B
Also, like, the chat does want us to talk two more games. Shout out Delaware for an amazing onside kick to beat Louisiana Tech.
- [100:48]
A
I have not gotten a chance to watch this yet beautifully, Dex.
- [100:52]
B
Like, I'm not gonna spoil it. Go watch it. It was. It was really good. Also, Sunny Dykes was like, if you look at the box score, clearly we should have won comfortably. And he's right. But they did the TCU thing where they're like, hey, we're gonna fumble and. And, like, you know, have tip balls and a bunch of stuff like that. We're gonna allow 10 sport, like, 10 egregious points on special teams and. And lose at home to Iowa State.
- [101:16]
A
It was the game they usually lose in Ames to Iowa State. I don't know how they let them import Ames to Fort Worth.
- [101:24]
B
The field look like games. So.
- [101:31]
A
Yeah, that was a. That was a. That was a football game that I tuned into. And was it. I was like. I was like, all right, let's pull up a seat to check out tcu. The. The team that could be ready to rise up and, you know, be the character that nobody saw coming. Nope. They got got by Iowa State in very Iowa State fashion. Did not get a chance to watch any of Arizona, Kansas. Obviously, it's a win for Arizona that comes with congratulations to Brent Brennan. It was a season with low expectations. I believe that six, right?
- [102:11]
C
I think so. Yeah. They're both.
- [102:12]
A
Yeah, they're both eligible. Congratulations to the Wildcats on that one. There were some who wondered if that was the right hire even after last year. Right. And Arizona decided to stick with them. And so far, you know, you're sitting here in year two with some real success, some real steps forward and some success. So that's nice.
- [102:33]
C
Chip, can I ask you a question?
- [102:34]
A
Absolutely.
- [102:35]
C
Has North Carolina turned a corner?
- [102:37]
A
They did. It's the corner on the schedule when you're playing Syracuse and when you're playing Stanford. Now the question is, are you catching Wake Duke and State at the right time? Because as I'VE made time. As I've maintained the way that North Carolina fans feel about year one of Bill Belichick is going to come down to the games that give them the most feeling. So the big three games to finish. I do think that North Carolina can win any of those three games. Truthfully, I think all three is unlikely. And we'll see.
- [103:35]
C
Can I ask you another question?
- [103:36]
A
Yeah.
- [103:37]
C
Should Arkansas hire Ryan Beard, bring in his father as an offensive coordinator or father in law?
- [103:47]
A
Father in law, yeah.
- [103:48]
C
Saying it's already there.
- [103:53]
A
I don't think. I don't, I don't think that people. I don't, I don't, I don't think people are in on this yet.
- [103:58]
B
If you had some awkward HR stuff, you had to get around with, like a reporting structure.
- [104:03]
A
That's what I'm saying.
- [104:04]
C
You know, it's like in the Sopranos when, when Uncle June thought he was in charge, but Tony was really running things.
- [104:11]
A
We're saying, hey, listen, congratulations to Missouri State. You know, you got six wins because of the transition year. It's really tough. You got great coaching, Ryan Beard, and I'm telling you, you could be the first family of football. You hire Ryan Beard, he brings his father in law in as offensive coordinator. You got all the grandkids running around. I mean, that is just picturesque football family. There's the Mannings, there's the Patrinos. There's the Harboss. There's the Patrinos. Oh, man. Yeah. All right.
- [104:47]
B
I think that's, I think that's it as far as games, right?
- [104:54]
C
Yeah.
- [104:55]
B
I mean, we talked Miami Q's.
- [104:58]
A
I'll throw this one out there.
- [105:01]
C
I.
- [105:04]
A
Could look very stupid for this, but Friday night was our first time to hear from Lincoln Riley. After everybody decided that, like, Lincoln Riley was the main character, that the coaching carousel. His response was, you guys know how much I sacrificed to be here. I don't know specifically what that means, but I, the guy. I wonder if it is somewhat tangentially tied to my hunch, which is that Lincoln Riley has done a ton of work and to not reap the rewards or the fruits of that labor does not make sense to me.
- [105:43]
B
Yeah, their recruiting has, like, legitimately turned a corner.
- [105:47]
A
Everything's turned a corner, bud.
- [105:48]
C
Yeah.
- [105:49]
A
Strength and conditioning, player personnel, recruiting. Like, he has worked very, very hard. He has told us he's worked very hard to do all this other stuff to get USC out of skating by on just being usc.
- [106:06]
B
I, I, Yes. I do not think Lincoln Riley's going to lsu. I, I I think. I think you're really smart with your take. I do want to highlight Juan Manuel's comment in the chat that Miami needs to fire Shannon Dawson and hire Mike Locksley as the OC because what I think what does Miami need more of? It's recruiting. Absolutely. Please, God, make this happen.
- [106:31]
A
All right. Good OC he is a good oc.
- [106:34]
B
He's gonna see.
- [106:36]
A
All right. We will be back Monday, 11am Eastern Time to get you set for the week ahead. We will do upon further review of course looking back but we're also do poll assassin looking the new AP Top 25. We'll have buds college football playoff projection. What does the bracket look like? And so much more. And you can follow him on Twitter at time. For now, you can follow him@bud Elliott3 you follow me at jeffpatterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much.
- [107:03]
C
Thank you.
- [107:04]
B
See y'.
- [107:04]
C
All.
- [107:05]
A
250 years ago, a promise was made to connect families and friends near and far. And during the holidays, that promise is more important than ever. That's why USPS is building a better network to meet your needs with timely deliveries, easy and affordable ways to ship and everything you need to make your season full of holiday cheer. Their purpose is delivering your peace of mind, knowing your love will arrive, bringing joy to all. The United States Postal Service. Learn more@usps.comholidays.