Pardon My Take — "CFB With Brandon Walker, CFP Rankings, Patriots Crush the Giants, Hot Seat/Cool Throne + Listener FAQs"

Date: December 3, 2025
Hosts: Big Cat & PFT Commenter
Guest: Brandon Walker
Podcast: Pardon My Take (Barstool Sports)

Episode Overview

This episode is a sports-talk extravaganza tightly focused on college football’s latest chaos. With guest Brandon Walker, the guys dive into freshly released College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, the swirling drama around automatic qualifiers, Lane Kiffin’s boomerang coaching journey, the collapse of the Giants at the Patriots’ hands, and the Hot Seat/Cool Throne tradition. Along the way they riff on NFL stats, F1, penultimate listener FAQs, and sports fandom’s illogical loyalties. Expect banter, yelling, statistics, and bizarre mascot talk — all in the PMT tone: part satirical, part fan-crazed.

Key Segments & Insights

1. College Football Playoff Rankings & Chaos

[02:33–16:59]

• JMU and Chaos with Group of Five (G5) Bids:
  • PFT celebrates James Madison University’s top 25 ranking, marvels at the unexpectedly chaotic format where G5 teams, Tulane, and UNT could potentially make the playoff, while big brands like Notre Dame might miss out.
  • “It is absurd that we found ourselves in a situation ... two group of five teams that get into college football’s championship ... and you have teams like Notre Dame that could be left out.” — PFT [02:47]
• Automatic Qualifiers — Fairness and Future Reform:
  • Big Cat insists including automatics is the only fair option given college football’s landscape. Suggests an eventual expansion to a 16-team format to address competitive imbalance.
  • “It’s chaos right now. We knew it was gonna be chaotic and weird for the first couple years of this. I think it eventually will get to 16 and then people will stop bitching as much.” — Big Cat [05:06]
• The Notre Dame/Miami Dilemma:
  • Discussion around rankings near the playoff cutoff: Will head-to-head results matter for Notre Dame vs. Miami selection? If Miami's ranked just above or below Notre Dame, does the committee defer to the on-field result?
  • PFT highlights the politics: “If their names are written directly next to each other, one number apart, and then one team beat the other team — I think that’s what the committee would do.” [08:19]
• Alabama, BYU, & Championship Scenarios:
  • If BYU beats Texas Tech, committee has a hard choice; could force Miami to leapfrog Notre Dame in final rankings. Alabama’s status if they lose to Georgia also considered.
• The Messaging of Rankings — Preseason and Biases:
  • Big Cat and Brandon air grievance about how preseason rankings tend to bias the committee all season, especially Oregon over Ole Miss.
  • “Because Oregon was ranked higher to start the season. That’s just how it works.” — Big Cat [11:23]

2. Lane Kiffin’s Coaching Melodrama

[75:15–86:48]

• Brandon Walker Grill Session:
  • Brandon gets roasted for guaranteeing Lane Kiffin would never leave Ole Miss. He admits he trusted “sources” and believed Lane genuinely favored Oxford, but: “Turns out he went somewhere that gave him the biggest offer of money.” — Brandon [76:39]
• Lane Kiffin is Lane Kiffin:
  • Panel agrees that Kiffin is true to his unpredictable, self-interested reputation; college football thrives when wild cards like Kiffin create drama.
  • “When people are shocked by Lane Kiffin, it’s like, well, dude, he’s Lane Kiffin.” — Big Cat [78:56]
• Drama with his Dog & What’s Next for Ole Miss:
  • The myth of “Juice Kiffin” (his dog) — apparently more a mascot than Lane’s personal pet.
  • Hot topic: Should Kiffin have coached the Egg Bowl? Brandon believes Ole Miss knew about the impending departure and let him coach to secure the win, costing them other coaching targets during the delay.
  • Notable Quote: “You cannot turn a ho into a housewife. And when Ole Miss hired Lane Kiffin... six years, they masked it, and they covered it...” — Brandon Walker [82:40]

3. The Playoff Picture and Projections

[92:29–116:16]

• Which Teams Can Win It All?
  • Brandon’s shortlist: “Ohio State can win it all, obviously. Georgia... Notre Dame probably good enough. Alabama is not.” [98:22]
  • Panel doubts Oklahoma’s offense, calls Texas A&M “fraudulent.”
• Championship Games now less meaningful:
  • The expansion has sapped Big Ten and SEC title games of real stakes, which disappoints the guys as traditional fans.
  • “It just sucks that championship Saturday used to be awesome ... Now I don’t care.” — Big Cat [99:53]

4. NFL & Monday Night Football — Patriots vs Giants Recap

[18:36–32:19]

• Patriots Steamroll Giants (and the Giants' Offseason Woes):
  • Big Cat credits Patriots for “making the Giants look like they stink — which is what a good team should do.”
  • PFT and crew debate Younghoe Koo’s wacky missed kick, defending his mental state and the wild snap/hold.
  • Notable quote: “That looked like me in the tee box... I’m gonna defend Younghoe Koo.” — PFT [21:03]
  • Giants QB Jackson Dart’s reckless style called out: “The guy has to learn how to not die...” — Big Cat [23:19]
• Key Stat — Patriots Defense:
  • “They’re the first team in NFL history with 10 straight games where they score 23 points and allow 23 or fewer points in a single season.” — Hank [27:23]

5. Hot Seat / Cool Throne

[37:20–66:50]

• Hot Seat Highlights:
  • Lando Norris (F1): Massive points collapse could lead to Verstappen comeback (“That’s all-time sports pressure.” — Hank [42:22])
  • Juice Kiffin: The fake dog saga as Lane bails on Ole Miss [50:00].
  • Mike Tomlin & Steelers: Might be the end for Tomlin, the team is “just the same football over and over” [63:07]
• Cool Throne Highlights:
  • Dick Vitale & Barkley Calling March Madness: “Disaster, but it'll be funny.” — Hank [47:41]
  • Philly Fans: Max explains the line for appropriate fan/coach interaction: “You can talk as much shit as you want, you know, at the field and the tail in the tailgate online. But it shouldn’t get to the family homes.” — Max [56:38]
  • LeBron’s Streak: “He kept his streak alive of scoring 10 games, which is a totally made up streak that he cares a lot about...” — Big Cat [65:46]

6. Listener FAQs / Rapid-Fire Bits

[129:55–141:12]

• Athlete You’d Die on the Hill For:
  • Tom Wilson (PFT), Ryan Howard (Memes), Chad Pennington (Zach).
• If the Bears & Commanders Played Every Year for the Title:
  • Everyone would take it, even if the loser’s season would always be a disaster [134:13].
• Podcast’s Adopted MLS Team Debate:
  • The crew performs a ridiculous deep-dive to pick an MLS club, landing on Orlando City FC [136:43].
• Miscellaneous:
  • Banter about buffets as life/CFB metaphors, riffing on wordplay (“disqualification” in a Jamaican accent), and various mascot nonsense.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

“It is absurd that we found ourselves in a situation … two group of five teams that get into college football’s championship … and you have teams like Notre Dame that could be left out.”
— PFT Commenter [02:47]

“It’s chaos right now. We knew it was gonna be chaotic and weird for the first couple years of this.”
— Big Cat [05:06]

“Turns out he went somewhere that gave him the biggest offer of money.”
— Brandon Walker on Lane Kiffin [76:39]

“You cannot turn a ho into a housewife. And when Ole Miss hired Lane Kiffin…”
— Brandon Walker quoting Ben Garrett [82:40]

“That looked like me in the tee box... I’m gonna defend Younghoe Koo.”
— PFT [21:03]

“They’re the first team in NFL history with 10 straight games where they score 23 points and allow 23 or fewer points in a single season.”
— Hank [27:23]

“You can talk as much shit as you want … But it shouldn’t get to the family homes.”
— Max Memes [56:38]

PMT Tone / Running Gags

• Rugged, irreverent, “fan-ish” sarcasm — even when discussing stats/serious topics.
• Meta self-referential bits: Hot Seat/Cool Throne, inside jokes about weight (Brandon Walker), NFL stat clubhouses (“the 300 Club”), F1 sidetracks, hyperbolic “changing the sport forever” takes.
• Unfiltered panel dynamic: Roasting, fake press conferences, "book" callbacks, meme culture, bracketology as buffet lines, and fan shaming.

Important Timestamps

• [02:33] — CFB rankings open, JMU & playoff system chaos
• [07:28] — Notre Dame/Miami cutoff & ranking politics
• [11:23] — Preseason rankings bias in the committee
• [23:19] — Giants talk & Jackson Dart’s recklessness
• [27:23] — Patriots’ defensive stat milestone
• [42:22] — Hank explains F1 season drama (Lando Norris)
• [50:00] — Juice Kiffin saga & Hot Seat
• [63:07] — Mike Tomlin/Steelers lamentations
• [65:46] — LeBron's scoring streak and stat padding
• [75:15–86:48] — Brandon Walker, Lane Kiffin interview segment
• [98:22] — Brandon names teams that could win it all
• [136:43] — Comedy: the crew picks Orlando City FC as their MLS team

Summary for New Listeners

With PMT’s signature mix of loud, fan-centric takes and rapid-fire absurdity, this episode leaves no stone unturned in sports. You’ll get college football drama (playoff chaos, Lane's mess), NFL banter, truly unfiltered coaching talk, and plenty of running gags for a full PMT smorgasbord. The episode thrives when it mocks the system (CFP), cherishes football’s weird logic (“don’t boo at the coach’s house”), and lives in the absurd details.

Did you miss it? These are the takes and moments everyone will reference.