CFB Round 1 LIVE REACTIONS | Ringer Tailgate

Summary

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Ringer Tailgate — CFB Round 1 LIVE REACTIONS

Date: December 21, 2025
Hosts: Van Lathan, Joel Anderson, Tay Frazier
Theme: Live, unfiltered reactions to the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) round, with deep dives, wild banter, and a celebration of the sport’s unpredictability.

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Episode Overview

The crew gathers for a live, loosely-structured but insight-rich tailgate to react to the opening round of the expanded CFP. While Oregon is finishing off a rout of James Madison, Van, Joel, and Tate debate the fate of Group of 5 teams, dissect Alabama’s wild comeback, and break down Miami’s gritty win over Texas A&M. They bounce between sharp football analysis and hilarious, sidetracked banter about credentialed access, holiday décor, and their own personal stories.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. CFP Credential Swag & Press Access Banter

• [01:16-07:46]
  • Joel brags about his exclusive CFP press sweatshirt, inciting playful jealousy and teasing about favoritism and credential “power.”
  • Running joke about whether Joel, the only officially credentialed member, truly wants his co-hosts to join or just enjoys exclusive access.
  • Quote: “You came on here, you peacocked... I just wore the sweatshirt that I got here.” (Van, 07:09)
  • The segment embodies the “chaos but sharper than a fan forum” tailgate ethos.

2. Group of 5 (G5) Debate: Do Cinderella Stories Belong?

• [07:52–17:32]
  • In light of JMU and Tulane getting crushed in round one, the hosts discuss whether G5 teams should be in the playoff.
  • Van’s take: The G5 participation is “a commercial for their programs,” but no evidence yet that any are real threats. He’s tired of the complaints:
    • Quote: “All the things you thought before today that were true are still true today. Cinderella does not yet have a place in the college football tournament.” (Van, 08:36)
  • Joel: It’s good for visibility, but admits, “They’re already kind of in that netherworld ... those schools are already in that position.” (Joel, 15:40)
  • Discussion of creating a “middle class” division or G5-only playoff, but concern it feels dismissive or unnecessary since FCS playoffs already separate tiers.
  • Closing thought: G5 in the playoff is about exposure, not true championship contention.

3. Alabama–Oklahoma: Wild Comeback & Internet Meltdown

• [17:32–35:24]
  • Deep dive into Alabama’s 27-point unanswered comeback after trailing Oklahoma 17-0.
  • The media and fans were quick to declare “the Bama era over,” only to later backtrack—a recurring “crow eating” motif.
  • Quote: “I saw people eat crow on the game, but I also watched them eat crow emotionally. They ate emotional crow because they wanted Bama gone ... and they’re not quite off the block yet.” (Van, 20:18)
  • Joel questions Oklahoma’s playcalling, especially the overreliance on QB John Mateer, “He's not a great athlete. They kept spamming him running him 15 to 20 times a game—just not effective.” (Joel, 20:40)
  • Revisiting experts’ tweets—host Tate reads real-time, premature hot takes that the hosts roast for being reckless but “how the Internet works.”
    • Quote: “Do your bold. When you have to eat crow, it is not nearly as bad to eat the crow as it is good.” (Van, 23:11)
  • Alabama’s resilience explained as program DNA: “You got to kill them. They expect to win.” (Van, 28:18)
  • Debunking the “underdog Alabama” narrative: “You can’t be a Cinderella if you got the nice house, if everybody’s kissing your ass. It’s impossible for Alabama to be a Cinderella.” (Van, 35:24)

4. Miami vs. Texas A&M: Physicality, Defense, & Redemptive Moments

• [40:23–66:10]
  • Slow, violent defensive struggle—Miami’s physicality vs. A&M’s vaunted SEC pedigree.
  • Joel’s passionate ACC defense: “I hope people give the ACC their props for going into the SEC and beating up ... that team that was number one.” (43:29)
  • Van and Joel admire Miami’s D-line, especially Reuben Bain, and how the Canes wore down A&M at the point of attack.
  • Sobering conversation about attrition and injuries with playoff expansion:
    • Quote: “This game was terrifyingly violent ... Miami lost two defensive backs on the same drive to head injuries.” (Joel, 48:25)
  • Redemption arc: Malachi Tony fumbles, is comforted by RB Mark Fletcher, later returns for a game-winning touchdown (“That’s the kind of guy you want... gets players back into it.” – Van, 67:43)
  • Debate over whether Tony should've taken a knee at the end to set up a closer FG due to Miami’s unreliable kicking, versus punching in the TD.
  • Key Miami defensive stat:
    • Keonte Scott: 2 sacks, Reuben Bain: 3 sacks, Akeem Mesidor: 1.5 sacks.
    • “They were causing hell for whoever else they play next.” (Joel, 50:39)

5. Ole Miss, Tulane/JMU Blowouts, and Broader Playoff Implications

• [75:30–79:57]
  • Acknowledgement that G5 teams like Tulane and JMU “just don’t have what it takes to be competitive” against top P5/SEC foes.
  • Ole Miss gets its first historic CFP win without Lane Kiffin—a competent, businesslike performance, but hard to judge much from a mismatch.

6. Authentic Tailgate Vibes: Banter, Anecdotes, and Holiday Cheer

• Ongoing threads about credential “power rankings,” dodgeball/childhood sports prowess, and Joel’s TCU running back days.
• The crew, especially Van and Joel, riffs on holiday traditions and the “two Christmas tree” households.
  • Quote: “This is the type of place Santa wants to end up.” (Van, 68:37)
• Closing sidebars on group economics in Kwanzaa, stocking stuffers, and household décor.
• Frequent joking about “chat compromise” (hosts being distracted by live YouTube chat).

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Most Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Van on G5 futility:
  “Cinderella does not yet have a place in the college football tournament ... let these teams come in, take their lumps, and we move on when real football begins.” (08:36–09:37)

• Emotional reaction to Bama’s comeback:
  “They ate emotional crow because they wanted Bama gone ... they want them off the block.” (20:18)

• Alabama’s resilience:
  “Alabama is still a program that expects to win ... you got to kill them. They expect to win. They’re not going anywhere.” (28:18)

• On ‘Cinderella’ narrative:
  “You can’t be a Cinderella if you got the nice house ... it’s impossible for Alabama to be a Cinderella. They are the standard bearers of college football.” (35:24)

• Joel on ACC pride:
  “I hope people give the ACC their props for going into the SEC and beating up ... that team that was number one.” (43:29)

• Analysis of Miami-A&M:
  “This game was terrifyingly violent ... so many people got hurt. It's more chance that things will go wrong for a team.” (48:25)

• Malachi Tony’s redemption moment:
  “Fletcher going over to him was an OG moment ... we need you right here on this drive. And of course he came through.” (57:32–58:47)

• Van on the importance of a great playoff:
  “It would be really awesome if there was fantastic football with compelling matchups ... remind us it’s actually all about the football.” (95:57)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:16–07:46] – CFP credentials & media swag debate
• [07:52–17:32] – Group of 5 playoff place, “Cinderella” discussion
• [17:32–35:24] – Alabama-Oklahoma, Twitter overreactions, and emotional fallout
• [40:23–66:10] – Miami-Texas A&M analyzed: defense, physicality, fumbles, redemption
• [75:30–79:57] – Blowouts: Tulane/JMU, Ole Miss’s playoff victory, meaning for G5
• [68:04–74:38] – Holiday two-tree sidebar & stocking stuffer discussion
• [92:16–96:35] – Closing reflections on college football’s business vs. on-field product

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Tone & Style

True to Ringer Tailgate’s brand: fast, loose, and fun. Serious analysis of games and trends is sharply interwoven with inside jokes, candid personal stories, and good-natured roasting—giving listeners both substance and the authentic “hanging at the tailgate” feeling.

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Takeaways for Non-Listeners

• The CFP’s first round underscored the gap between elite and G5 teams, fueling debates about access, visibility, and whether the “Cinderella” dream is real or useful.
• Alabama’s comeback showed they remain college football’s standard, no matter how much the sport craves new blood or underdog stories.
• Miami’s gutty win over Texas A&M highlighted how physical attrition will reshape future playoffs, and featured compelling player redemption drama.
• Through it all, the hosts argue for “getting back to the football itself”—reminding fans that, underneath all the business and discourse, the on-field battles still matter most.

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Memorable closing thought:
“It would be really awesome if there was fantastic football... remind us it’s actually all about the football. The reason why we have the show, the sport, all of that stuff—it’s about what the guys are doing on the field.”
(Van Lathan, 95:57)

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Transcript

[Tay Frazier]

This episode is brought to you by McAfee. Checking scores or posting from the tailgate. McAfee's safe browsing extends its protection to catch risky sites wherever you are, even within social media apps. If you tap a risky link in a DM social post or text, McAfee blocks it and alerts you instantly so you can browse with confidence. Visit mcafee.com online protection to get award winning protection for just 39.99 your first year, cancel anytime terms apply. Hey, welcome into Ringer Tailgate Saturday Edition cfp. We are live here. We're talking assistants, we're talking college football. We're kind of having the conversation that most people are having right now as JMU is getting stomped out in Alton by Oregon 34 to 3. If you're listening us to, to us live right now.

[Joel Anderson]

Everything all right?

[Van Lathan]

Is everything okay, guys?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, I was gonna say what's happening?

[Tay Frazier]

Going good.

[Joel Anderson]

This is good. Okay.

[Tay Frazier]

Honestly, this is the best way to get in the show. This kind of fits the tailgate vibe. Again, it is the playoffs. We are here. We are in the postseason. So a lot of people are locked in right now. We appreciate everybody tuning in to Ringer Tailgate. I'm your host, Tay Frazier. Before we get into the minutia of everything, we talk about the assistance and what they should be doing on social media, let's first and foremost say what's up to Van Lathan with the bat in the building. Van, what's up, man?

[Van Lathan]

What's up? You gotta say what's up To Boseman too.

[Joel Anderson]

Bosie.

[Tay Frazier]

What up, Bose?

[Joel Anderson]

What's up, Bose special, baby, right here.

[Tay Frazier]

If you've never.

[Van Lathan]

What's up, everybody? Playoff weekend college football. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to get. Get it.

[Tay Frazier]

I'm ready to get it too. Bose is the best. If you. If you ever want to just see kind of a perfect dog in real life is the guy. So shout out to Bose Joel Anderson in the place to be. And he's got his CFP sweatshirt on. Official sweatshirt that only the press can get correct, Joe?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, this is swag. This is some of the swag we got last year in Atlanta, man. It's. And you see it's a Nike sweatshirt. So, you know, quality, you know.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, they gave that to y' all at the thing.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, they gave that to us at the thing. I've tried. So, you know, you go over to the stadium and then, you know, they got you, you know, you go to.

[Van Lathan]

Media, record time for the. Dude.

[Billy]

What happened I thought it's a member of the press. You shouldn't be taking, like, bribes.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, you know, the Moors have changed around this thing. Right.

[Van Lathan]

Interesting.

[Joel Anderson]

Well, not for sale, but, I mean, you know, there's a debate over, for instance, if it used to be at the mlb. Sometimes I can't remember what league it was. If you would go to cover a game and you ate food there, you didn't have to pay. It was just part. You ate the spread that night in the cafeteria. And then some teams started.

[Van Lathan]

Spread.

[Joel Anderson]

Welcome to the playoffs. Right.

[Van Lathan]

Okay, cool.

[Joel Anderson]

Go ahead. He's telling the story.

[Van Lathan]

You ate the spread and then they gave you free stuff. Okay, so go ahead and tell us what went on, like.

[Joel Anderson]

No, Well, I mean, I'm just saying you would go to the game and they would have the food there, and you'd be, all right, I'm going to get. You know, maybe they had my hot dogs. Maybe they have, you know, chili dogs or whatever. You know, whatever. Born chicken breast. This. Why are we talking about.

[Billy]

I'm realizing the goods that you accepted, though, right?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. Well, I'm just saying, like, sometimes there's. There's some swag that's good to take. There's some swag that's not. It used to be.

[Van Lathan]

When.

[Tay Frazier]

How do you discern what is good and what is bad?

[Joel Anderson]

We go to a bowl game when a team would. Okay. For instance, when a team would go to a bowl game in, like, the 90s, 2000s, whatever, they would. They might give you a PS. You know, a PS one. That's what it would be.

[Van Lathan]

Or you're conflating two totally different things. But gifts that some people, sometimes at.

[Billy]

Christmas, your family gives you stuff and it's okay to have.

[Van Lathan]

Right? Those are gifts that you get for participation by the sponsoring entity of these different bowl games. This is different. These are gifts given to members of the press in exchange for what?

[Joel Anderson]

Nothing.

[Tay Frazier]

Good coverage.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, I mean. I mean, the thing is.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, I guess the assumption is that I would impugn my integrity for a $30 sweatshirt.

[Tay Frazier]

You know, that's at least 80 bucks. That's 80 bucks.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, no way. No, no, no. I have eight shirts. This ain't one of them. This ain't one of them.

[Tay Frazier]

That's $80. That's at least $50 difference.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, maybe for y', all, you know, if you. Cuz. But they give it to you if you got a credential.

[Tay Frazier]

Dog Ringer Tailgate is presented by fanduel. Fanduel's Got it all. Same game parlays, quick bets for jumping in live and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. Plus, you don't want to miss out on holiday offers and surprises all month long. Download the FanDuel app and head to FanDuel.com tailgate to get started. Must be 21 or older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in D.C. kentucky, or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-887-897777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut. Okay, shots fired has become a talking point on the show. We'll see if we can figure this out. Hopefully we all get sweatshirts. It's.

[Joel Anderson]

I hope so, too. I would love. I would love for us to all be there together, man, as a family.

[Van Lathan]

I don't think you do.

[Joel Anderson]

I really do.

[Van Lathan]

You actually want us to get credentialed? I think you'd rather have it the way it is right now that you're the only one with his mythical credential, we're not allowed to cover the sport.

[Joel Anderson]

What I really would like to happen is for them to. For them to call me and to. To vouch for y'. All. They'll be like, are you sure they deserve a credential? And I'll be like, yeah, man. It's okay, Joel.

[Tay Frazier]

I had a powerful essay.

[Joel Anderson]

I would love to do that.

[Tay Frazier]

Reach out to me.

[Joel Anderson]

That would be.

[Billy]

That's actually not how it works at all. Like, on the point of contact and very easily tell them you've changed your mind and you're not attending this event.

[Joel Anderson]

All right.

[Billy]

They asked me specifically if anyone's not attending, let us know, and we can give the credential to someone else, which, depending on how today goes, maybe an actionable thing.

[Van Lathan]

Exactly. You know? Thank you.

[Joel Anderson]

You guys can't scare me and Brian together.

[Van Lathan]

You're not going either. How's that sound?

[Joel Anderson]

Connor will go ahead, fill out my application, and I'll go with. I'll go with Brian. Kirk it is.

[Tay Frazier]

That's double jeopardy, Joe. You can't fill two applications, and people aren't going to accept that, so.

[Joel Anderson]

Well, I mean, I have a. I don't. I don't. I don't believe that Billy has the power to take my credentials, so they're.

[Tay Frazier]

Gonna think it's counterfeit. They're gonna be like, there's two Joel Andersons that are trying.

[Joel Anderson]

So, I mean, I was.

[Billy]

I could very easily also forward this to Tate and Van, so they could see it. And then they have the contact to the person. And more people can remove your credential if you'd like.

[Tay Frazier]

Please share.

[Van Lathan]

Joel, there's a word for what you are. I think you're. No, I think, I think that's the word. I think you came on here, you peacocked.

[Joel Anderson]

Now, guess what?

[Van Lathan]

Unlock the hater.

[Tay Frazier]

You're Frank Lucas in the fur right now.

[Joel Anderson]

I hope everybody.

[Van Lathan]

If we don't go, you don't go.

[Joel Anderson]

How's that sound? I don't feel. See, look what crab in a barrel type that is, man. If I can't.

[Van Lathan]

If y' all can't inward alert.

[Joel Anderson]

My bad.

[Van Lathan]

You can. Like you like you you like you came on here rubbing it in our faces. What are you doing?

[Joel Anderson]

I didn't rub nothing in y' all faces. I just said. I just, I, I, I just wore the, the sweatshirt that I got here, so, you know, it's a nice sweatshirt. It really is. I really hope you all go. I want us to all be there together. Yes. God, me a guy. I want. I want us all to go to Joe Stone Crab together, man.

[Tay Frazier]

Let's all go to Joe Stone Crab. At some point, we'll get to Miami. I believe in us. Let's get to the football, because again today, lane Kiffin made $250,000 for his efforts. And of course, that was because Ole Miss dominated in their game. There was a lot of conversation about the G5 teams. Right now we're in the midst of the G5 JMU getting destroyed by Oregon. Obviously, Ole Miss destroys Tulane. Or Tulane, depending on how you want to pronounce it. Joel has found some other pronunciation guides. We can talk about that at some point. Van, your thoughts on sort of the G5 conversation and the fact that this has kind of come to fruition. Is there something to take away from this? Is this going to be, um, some sort of fallout from this sort of situation with the round one, or. Where are we right now with the G5 conversation?

[Van Lathan]

We're nowhere. We're the same place we've always been. We're having the same conversation we've always had. No one has any original thoughts. You have the same belly aches that people have had for four, five, six years, whatever it was. Whenever a team that's not stamped by a super conference gets into the playoff, you know it. There is an uproar about it. Right? All the things that you thought before today that were true are still true today. Meaning the Cinderella does not yet have a place in the college football tournament doesn't have any yet. Maybe the Cinderella, insofar as Arizona State, but the Cinderella from the group of five school has not shown that they can come in here and be competitive with any of these teams. Who knows when they will. And the fact that they are in means that Notre Dame or Texas or whomever else you might have wanted to sneak. Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt, whomever you wanted, they are not in the playoff.

[Joel Anderson]

Boohoo.

[Van Lathan]

Get over it. Whoopy doo, whoop dee doo. Get over it. They are in that is way, the way things currently are. There are so many different factors that go into choosing these teams. So many different fairs and unfairs. We're pouting. We're not pouting. Let these teams and these schools come in here and take their lumps, take their medicine, and we move on to the next round when the real football begins. And I'll tell you like this, for those schools, be it Tulane and James Madison, this is good for them. It raises their national visibility and awareness.

[Billy]

It.

[Van Lathan]

It reminds people that there is football being played outside of the power conferences, which is good. It's not a commercial for them that makes them look like a team that can go out and win the national championship, but it's certainly a commercial. A commercial for their programs, for their coaches, for their players. I have no problem with it. And quite frankly, I am sick of all the bitching.

[Tay Frazier]

I'm right there with you.

[Joel Anderson]

Joel.

[Tay Frazier]

Do you agree with that? Do you think this is. You're tired of the bitching as well?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, no, Van is right about this. You know, I mean, I, you know, my heart is.

[Tay Frazier]

I like starting with an agreement, by the way. This is good. Good for the show.

[Joel Anderson]

I think so too. Yeah. I mean, I, you know, I believe it. This is. I'm real about this. And yeah, you know, I'm a group of five guy. Like, I mean, fundamentally, that's why I think of. I think of myself as a group of five guys.

[Tay Frazier]

I think you're a Big 12 guy now.

[Van Lathan]

You're a Big 12 guy. Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

But functionally people. Functionally people think of the Big 12 as a Group of 5 conference for the most part.

[Van Lathan]

Ah, shut the motherfucker walk. They do. See, we. They know. They don't. They do, Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, they don't. Everybody. Poor Notre Dame. See? Poor Notre Dame. Nobody want to talk about byu, though. Like, if you talk about the, the idea that BYU deserved that spot wasn't even really part of the conversation. They would treat it like Virginia was, you know, prior to. Prior to losing in the ACC championship game. So I just.

[Van Lathan]

Could that be because maybe BYU didn't have a Heisman finalist?

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, I, I don't know what standard they used to judge the team, but if that's one of them, that's dumb.

[Van Lathan]

But what I'm saying is that there are rock star players on Notre Dame's roster. That kind of shapes the overall athletic ability of what the team is. And that doesn't exist on byu. BYU has some good players, don't get me wrong. But do you. I think that people are looking at BYU and Notre Dame and going, look what Notre Dame has, look what's on the roster. And they don't think that same thing about byu.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean that's, that's probably. But again, all of that is perception, right? Like we don't know, right? Yeah, I mean we, we all, we, we're wrong. Our perceptions are wrong pretty much up until the final weeks of the season. Right? Like we, we. We'll think a team is good.

[Tay Frazier]

People's perceptions have been wrong.

[Joel Anderson]

Right? Yeah, right. Like we don't.

[Van Lathan]

We.

[Joel Anderson]

We're really all bad at prognosticating and. But anyway, the point is, is that I just think that they should, you know, like people should. The group of five is. This is not going to happen again for the one because the ACC is going to fix that weird tiebreaker thing. They're never going to allow.

[Tay Frazier]

They're going to adopt what the American does. Which is the highest ranked team in the CFP gets in the championship game.

[Joel Anderson]

Exactly like this time. This time next year Miami will be. Will get that championship slot. Right. And so we won't have to worry about this kind of stuff. And you only have one group of five team, which is fine. But the other thing I would say is, all right, don't talk to us about expansion anymore then. I don't want to hear about expansion in the playoffs because it is a stretch. Like once you get the teams 11 and 12, it's really tough. But. And it's not going to get better if you make it 16 teams and the first seed is playing a 16 seed and the second seed is playing a 15 seed. Like they're going to be lopsided playoff games then too. So this is just something that happens in college football in the first round. Most of those games are ass whippings. And like Van said, we'll move on to the second round and it'll be fine.

[Van Lathan]

What, what do you guys think about the idea that I've seen Peyton, a couple other people have that the group of five should have their own playoff. Another playoff, more football feels dismissive. It feels dismissive. You don't like that?

[Joel Anderson]

Just, just. I mean, just be. Merge whatever the top FCS schools are then, right?

[Tay Frazier]

They're trying to do like what we high school, where it's like 2A and 5A are different. You know what I mean?

[Joel Anderson]

But.

[Tay Frazier]

But at the same time it, you know, we're all playing D1 football, right?

[Joel Anderson]

Well, that's what I'm saying. Like that's what FBF, FBS, FCS, Division 2, Division 3, like that. I thought that's what that's all for. So if they're not paying for whatever the top, you know, the Power 2 or Power 3 or Power 4 playing for, they might as well just form their own league or join FCS or create a new version of a division and then do it that way. That's what I think.

[Van Lathan]

Let's. Let's attempt to game this out before we get into the Miami game. So let's say that they don't do that. Let's say that the group of five teams don't start their own playoff, don't have their own methodology for choosing which the team out of the group of five is best. They don't have a bracket, they don't have a tournament. They don't have anything. How do they then get into the College Football Playoff tournament? Because if they don't have that, they're all essentially playing for their conferences with nothing greater. If in fact, we get rid of these two auto bids for the group of five, they're never based upon body of work, most of the time going to be able to make the playoff. Right. You might have a couple of teams that have these big games. I know that there was a chance for Tulane at being Ole Miss earlier in the year. Maybe you kind of get somebody that can peel off a win or a victory like that. Are they just like in football, no man's land? Are they sort of in the wilderness? Do they just join a whole bunch of teams that are playing this brand of football but have no shot at the national championship? What happens to them?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, I mean, they're already kind of in that netherworld. Right. Like, if you think about there's no way you can tell the kids who play for Kennesaw State that they ever have a real chance of playing for a national championship. Like that's just something that's going to happen.

[Van Lathan]

But it's not true right now. That's not true.

[Joel Anderson]

Kennesaw State.

[Van Lathan]

Right now, if you are a group of five team, if they.

[Tay Frazier]

Went 12 and one, they could be JMU right now.

[Van Lathan]

They could be JMU. They have a chance to play for the national championship.

[Billy]

Oh, no.

[Joel Anderson]

But it's very, but it's very tough to get like. I mean, you're going to have to, that, that, that league is going to have to climb over the American Conference. They're going to have to climb over C, usa. They're going to climb over Mountain west, which. Or it'll be actually the new PAC12 now, which will be like Boise and San Diego State.

[Tay Frazier]

Wazoo.

[Joel Anderson]

Wazoo and Oregon State. So they're going to have to work really, really hard. It'll take a while for people to take that schedule just as seriously. You know, notwithstanding a huge upset against. Somehow they got Georgia to play them or something. So. I don't, I don't, I don't think so, man. I don't think those kids. I don't think those kids. And I think those kids know when they're not dumb, they know they're not competing for a national championship when they go to utep, you know what I mean? Like, they, they understand those schools are already in that position. So I've always kind of thought they should drop down or create another division for them because the SEC.

[Tay Frazier]

So you agree with the idea of the G5 championship?

[Joel Anderson]

Well, I just, I think that they should split up.

[Tay Frazier]

You're saying create a middle class of college football. We have the upper tier, which is the cfp, we have the FCS playoffs. And then there's another middle, you know, group of G5 championship games that you.

[Joel Anderson]

Can be in split off. And I mean, they can still play each other. Right? You know that. I mean, because there's fbf, FCS competition. But it just, it just doesn't make a lot of sense for me for the system to be like this right now.

[Tay Frazier]

So, okay, a three tiered system. Three phases of football. Three tiers in college football. We'll see what happens. Let's get the one big reaction because we had two upsets technically in the first two games Friday night. We have obviously the Alabama situation, which was pure comedy. If you are following along on social media as you're watching the game. 17 0. Alabama's dead. Caitlin DeBoer is going to Michigan. This is something that everyone. You talked about, the prognosticators. We have a saying here on the show. It's head. Hold experts accountable, damn it. A lot of experts were saying a lot of things as Alabama was down 17 to 01. We also had Miami in College Station get a big win today. We'll talk about that game, but I want to start with Alabama on Friday night. One big reaction, the tweets on Friday night. This is my big reaction. The Alabama tweets. They made my Friday night.

[Joel Anderson]

Van.

[Tay Frazier]

Joel, I want to get your thoughts on this because there was a lot of burying this, you know, Alabama team and sort of digging their grave in real time. And then all of a sudden, in five minutes, they tie the game up at 17. They score 27 unanswered. They end up dominating and winning this game in the end. Van, your thoughts in real time as you were watching Alabama climb their way out of this hole, and then everybody trying to eat crow as it was happening in real time, what it proved.

[Van Lathan]

To me is just how bad people wanted them to lose.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, people loved it.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, man. Oklahoma got up 17 to nothing, and everybody had blood in their eyes. They were drooling for this to be an embarrassing blowout for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Like, I look at it, I'm like 70 nothing. Damn, Bama's in hell. And then all of a sudden, Oklahoma can't do the thing that you have to do, which is when you are trying to kill a giant. You have to take that stone, swing it around, hit him right between the eyes, and kill. You cannot leave that giant, giant breathing. We've seen this game of Thrones. The mountain is on the ground, the viper is up, and he's talking. Don't talk. Kill your enemy. And Oklahoma couldn't do it. They made just enough boneheaded plays to give Bama a little bit of breathing room. And then the stars took over. So when I saw that, I saw that college football once, so desperately for the Bama era to be over. They like seeing them take their licks. It was cool when it was going bad, I think. Now, if you are John Mateer, do you think, man, what would have happened if I would have scrambled for that first down instead of going for that big play across the middle of the field deep to a guy who should have caught that fucking football, right?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh.

[Van Lathan]

And so as I watch people eat crowd, I watched them eat crow on the game, but I also watched them eat crow emotionally. They ate emotional crow because they wanted Bama gone. They want them boys off the block, and they not quite off the block yet.

[Joel Anderson]

Emotional crow. But yeah, no. So, yeah, I mean, all that's right. The thing that really annoyed me about Oklahoma, please stop doing design runs for John Mattia, like he did like that worked it in Wazoo, but he's not athletic enough. Or maybe he's hurt and beat up right now, but he did not. He did not look good doing that. And it just made me think. It made me think, man, Jaden Ott, whoever else, like they never figured out another option besides Mattia. And I think that they made them so much worse because I think that Mattir is not a great. He's mobile, he's good in the pocket, but he's not a great athlete. And they just tried to keep spamming him and running him 15 to 20 times a game and that's just not effective, man. And I just thought that. So I thought Oklahoma didn't. Didn't necessarily play smart, but they kind of. I kind of thought they kind of had. It wasn't that they lucked up into a 170 lead, but I just felt like no, they're get them in.

[Van Lathan]

No way.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I was gonna say but I felt like they were gettable. I was like, eh. I could. I could still see Alabama popping a few things here and then it. The game turned around basically in three or four plays.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, I mean Oklahoma was controlling that football game, absolutely controlling it. Defensively they were making plays offensively. Joel just said that John Mateer could run quarterback draws at Wazoo, but when he got to the SEC where it just means a little bit more, he couldn't really do it. So Joel just inadvertently gave a compliment to the conference. But to be real with you though, Oklahoma and their entire fan base should be kicking themselves right now. They had a golden opportunity to come out with it. One more touchdown. I think Alabama even to go up 24, 77 right there. I think Alabama would have really, really began to question themselves and come apart.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh.

[Van Lathan]

And so now it is what it is. The cream has risen to the top once again. They move on.

[Tay Frazier]

Can I read some tweets to you guys? I just. I screenshotted a few that they're fun. I don't. Should I read the names of the tweeters or should I just.

[Joel Anderson]

Just read them.

[Billy]

All right.

[Tay Frazier]

Shout out Brandon Walker. We like Brandon Walker. He's a. You know, we're a fan. Here's what he tweeted. This is like 5:36pm 12, 19, 25. He said it's a route Oklahoma going to kill them. Debore killed Bama football in two seasons. That was. That was at the time quick. That's how quick it was moving.

[Van Lathan]

He can't say Something about that though.

[Tay Frazier]

Okay.

[Van Lathan]

Why I with that? Do you know why? You got to be bold. This is the way the Internet works now. Do your bold. And then when you have to eat your crow, it is not nearly as bad to eat the crow as it is good.

[Joel Anderson]

All this crow eating, man.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, you get the attention regardless. So I mean, it's an attention economy.

[Van Lathan]

That's the way you play the game, you know.

[Tay Frazier]

Next up, Joe Concha. He said Alabama, Alabama has no business being in this playoff.

[Joel Anderson]

Done.

[Tay Frazier]

This was at 5:58. So this is about five minutes later. This is Tyler Horka. Alabama is getting steamrolled by an Oklahoma team that was booed by its home fans in the last two regular season games. And Norman, this is the Crimson Time team, Crimson tie team the College Football Playoff committee decided was more deserving of a spot in the field in Notre Dame. Ha ha ha ha ha. Exclamation point. So those are three right there and then the last one. And these are all respected journalists, experts, as we would call them. Nicole Auerbach. Alabama picked up right where it left off in the SEC championship game. Just not a good football team right now in any of the three phases. So I mean, this is the world that we're in. And if you were watching this game live, it felt like all those things were true. And then when it completely flipped the pick six, that was just stranger than ever. A muff punt. That was also even more strange than the pick six because, you know, obviously Mattier just made a bad read on a cover. Zero coverage or zero coverage, whatever you want to call it. So a lot of strange things were happening in this game. But Joel, I mean, how strange was it that Alabama ended up yet again winning and now Oklahoma, by the way, first fact here, 0 and 5 all time in the CFP.

[Joel Anderson]

Really? Oh, wow. What a.

[Tay Frazier]

Never won a game in the cfp.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, you know, think about Oklahoma, man. In, in. In being in the playoffs, you usually. You're going to play another great team. You know, I don't think I. If I can remember a lot of those victories.

[Tay Frazier]

Is Alabama a great team? I guess is my question.

[Joel Anderson]

Wait, right now?

[Tay Frazier]

Right?

[Van Lathan]

That's.

[Tay Frazier]

You just said that they team. I don't. I'm not sure Alabama is a great team.

[Joel Anderson]

No, no, no. Well, their, their playoff verse was when it was the four team, though they haven't been obviously in the 12 team yet. So usually when they were the four seed, they had to play the one seed because that's usually how they did. The Big 12 champ the Big 12 champ. They used to always make them the fourth seed. And so they had to play treatment, the G5 treatment, man. Get treated like Cincinnati. Right. So that's how they treat you. And so. And so they would always have to play a great team. So I don't. I just think that's a reflection of the fact that they had to play really difficult teams, but, man, Oklahoma.

[Van Lathan]

And that they could never beat. That they could never beat.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, but you. Sometimes you. Sometimes you lose a game, and it was competitive. Sometimes they got their ass kicked. I mean, there was one. At least one of those games, the one that was against Georgia at the Rose Bowl. I. They could have and should have won that game. The one with Baker Mayfield. I went to overtime. They could have easily won that game. But anyway, the whole point of this is that, yeah, I mean, Oklahoma, man, they. They're. It's tough, but I would think if you were an Oklahoma fan, wouldn't you say that's pretty good season, man? I feel pretty good about this program.

[Van Lathan]

Absolutely. They. They finally. In my opinion, they finally showed the promise and the trajectory that people were expecting under Brent Venables, for sure. So definitely a successful season.

[Tay Frazier]

Well, Venables goes 10 and three first year. Six and seven. 10 and three.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

Question mark. So year four, are we reverting back to six and seven? Like, is this a pattern where it's like, one good year, one bad year, or is this actually the turning of the corner?

[Joel Anderson]

Man, you know, I just kind of feel like, for the most part, if. If Oklahoma can be at about that level, they should be happy. I mean, of course, I know they want to compete for a national championship, and I. I think if their offense was a little bit better, if it was half of a Lincoln Riley offense, they probably would have been a threat to win the national championship, because that defense is incredible. Like, that's one of the best defenses.

[Tay Frazier]

Oklahoma, they're all going to the NFL, Joel. They're not coming back.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, yeah, right. I. But I believe the Venables can build a dude defense. Like, I just, like, at this point now, if you can make that Oklahoma, where. I mean, they. 10 years ago, they would have killed for a defense like that. Like, that would have been. If they could have paired that offense, I mean, that defense with Kyler Murray or Baker Mayfield, they probably would have won two national championships. So it's just something to see that defense. And I just. I think the Venables will always be able to do that. The issue is. All right, can you get more out of Matier next year if he decides to come back.

[Tay Frazier]

Can we talk about Alabama? Because this was a fascinating game from the offensive standpoint, because there were the usual suspects that were supposed to be the stars in this game. Ryan Williams, Jeremy Bernard, J.M. miller. And then it was not those guys at the end of the day who ended up being the stars in this game. Brooks Horton, Cuevas ended up being a star in this game. So it was a totally different group. It felt like the Tide went from the first wave to the second wave of guys on offense, and when they went to the second wave, they found a new identity on offense, especially with Ty Simpson. So, Van, do you feel like you buy in more to the underdog Alabama with kind of the new regime of guys? And also they do have the weapons of Jeremy Menard and Williams when they come back and get into form. But it does feel like this Bama team is a different team than maybe even we saw when they won those four games against ranked teams.

[Billy]

Right?

[Tay Frazier]

I mean, it felt like they found a new identity on offense.

[Van Lathan]

It. It does feel like that. You know, the. The DNA of Alabama football of being a team that expects to win is still there. Maybe the DNA of them buzzing you in your mouth. And.

[Tay Frazier]

That was 227.

[Van Lathan]

Hold on.

[Joel Anderson]

No, no, no. We didn't go down like that. 227. Maybe not when I was there.

[Van Lathan]

Maybe. Maybe all of that is, you know, them being a python, a college football python, and just, you know, choking all of the air out of you, taking the life from you. Maybe all of that stuff is gone. However, Alabama is still a program, that their brand matters. They're on the field with you in your place. You got to kill them. They expect to win. They're not going anywhere. Kaylin Deborah hasn't played saying like that. As far as some of the guys that you. You named earlier, you named one guy, Ryan Williams, who has electrifying talent. But Ryan Williams is not a star.

[Tay Frazier]

He's not one catch for five yards in this game.

[Joel Anderson]

Well, yeah, not anymore.

[Van Lathan]

He's not a. No.

[Joel Anderson]

Well, you know, he's Jaylen Milro.

[Van Lathan]

He's not a star.

[Joel Anderson]

Right, but when Jalen Mill, quarterback, he was a star year, right?

[Van Lathan]

No, for a portion of that season, he was a star. All right, For a portion of that season, he played electrifying college football. Then there was an extended period of time where Ryan Williams, for all of his talent, has been an average to substandard college football player, average to substandard.

[Joel Anderson]

Okay?

[Van Lathan]

So right now, Ryan Williams right now in 20, 25, 43 catches, 636 yards, four touchdowns.

[Joel Anderson]

That's average, not average, man. That's pretty good. If I don't think the average receiver. 43 receptions.

[Van Lathan]

Not as your number one. Right. As your number one. Bernard is taking up as your number one.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, Bernard is number one. Now. That's what I was gonna say. Well, Bart is.

[Van Lathan]

Bernard is the number one now because Ryan Williams was not a capable number one. And I'm saying this right now, I'm not saying this to. To bum on Ryan Williams. He probably will figure this out. I don't know if it'll be at Alabama, but he probably will figure this out. I'm not so sure they're using him in the right way. I'm not so sure that he is. That his skill set is being that the offensive flow, that the ball flows to him in the way that it should. I don't think things are quite going the same for him. I also think it might be mental with them. He is still suffering from these drops. The reason why I'm bringing this up is because Alabama.

[Tay Frazier]

Bernard also had a weird drop in that game. Yeah, he did.

[Van Lathan]

Alabama had to go to some other guys. They had to show the depth of the team because the guys that they've been relying on, that everyone is supposed to be scared of, aren't that scary right now. And we'll see how that plays out as they continue to move on. But, you know, if we're going to talk about guys with a lot of talent, Ryan Williams should bounce back. And I hope he does bounce back because honestly, even though he wears that putrid uniform, I love watching them play football. But there's something going on with him. He is not producing, he is not a threat out there, and he's almost hurting them in a way.

[Tay Frazier]

Joel, how do you feel about that? You look like you look disgusted by this.

[Joel Anderson]

No, I don't think he's out there hurting them. I mean, I think that it would be nice.

[Tay Frazier]

Dropping passes hurts, Joel.

[Joel Anderson]

I would think. I think. I think it would be nice if he played better, but I don't think that he's actually hurting them. I think that he. He's a slightly above average college receiver right now who took a step back. And you know, there's a couple things with that one. There was a quarterback change, so he's with playing with a different quarterback this year. And so that could be a different emphasis. And if I'm not mistaken, is this Ryan Grubs? Is this Ryan Grubb's? First year now with. With Kaylin DeBoer. Yeah. So grub is the new offensive coordinator. So he's dealing with a. A different offensive coordinator who has different preferences. And then, I mean, you know, I. Without, you know, you're 19 years old, man. Anything can be going on, bro. Like people. And actually that's just something that people should just remember for anything. You know, a person having a bad year at their job or whatever. Like, we just don't know. And it just kind of feels like, given what I get a little bit of the. Hear some of the stuff coming out of Tuscaloosa, it's just like, oh, okay. Like, maybe he's just not having a really good time down there. And there could be a number of reasons for that.

[Van Lathan]

So what do you think Ryan Williams's numbers last year were?

[Joel Anderson]

I don't think they were pro. I would. 60. 60 for 850, something like that.

[Van Lathan]

Okay. You're close on the yardage. Last year was 48, 65 touchdowns. And like, so what I'm telling you, like, all the talent in the world, big, huge upside. Needs to figure this out.

[Joel Anderson]

Right.

[Van Lathan]

And it's not, you know, you. You want them to figure it out because I enjoy watching them play.

[Joel Anderson]

I think, well, I might say maybe Ryan Grubb needs to figure it out too. Right. Like, it's also responsibility or Ty Simpson. Yeah. They also need to figure it out. And how. Because you could. I mean, again.

[Van Lathan]

Well, they. They can't.

[Joel Anderson]

He's head drop. I mean, okay, he. True. It's not like he has 25 drops. You know, I'm saying sometimes with a really great. A great player, sometimes that's just something you got to live with. You know, you're just like, all right, well, he's going to drop it every now and again. It didn't like the Ted Ginn.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. Right. Yeah. It's just like, okay, I have to live with that because he's such a dynamic threat. And they. To your point, Van, I don't see anybody out there on that offense that scares me. Like Daniel Hill. Like, you know, I thought Daniel Hill looked great, though. I thought he did okay. But I'm just like, nobody is game planning.

[Tay Frazier]

He looked better than Tiptoe Jam Miller.

[Joel Anderson]

My goodness, man. Jim Miller's not so hurt. You know, I feel like Jim Miller's just. That's just kind of who Jam Miller is right now. He's a guy that's always hurt, and that's unfortunate. But you just, at this point, you can't count on Jam Miller. So I look at that Alabama offense and this is why I thought they were going to lose, because I was like, I. I just couldn't see them scoring that much against that OU defense. And I didn't. I didn't think the OU defense played bad. I just thought they. They up a lot, you know, starting with that, that drop and then the plump block and then the pick six. I mean, it kind of snowed in on them, and it never really was the same after that.

[Tay Frazier]

It was a snowball effect in real time in that game. I did just want to ask about Alabama after the game. Ty Simpson talking about everybody doubting them, kind of playing the underdog card. Van, do you buy into the idea that that Alabama now kind of is the underdog? Are they the Cinderella story? Because, you know, we obviously know. We don't hate, you know, or we don't love, you know, Cinderella's in college football. But can Alabama buy into that? I said that they could be the Ohio State of this season and make a run potentially to a championship. Are you buying into that idea after what we saw in game one?

[Van Lathan]

No. You can't be a Cinderella, okay? You can't be a Cinderella if you're Alabama. We got to remember who Cinderella was, all right? She getting her ass kicked by her sisters. They treated her like shit.

[Tay Frazier]

Three of them.

[Van Lathan]

But everything that we're talking about with all of these Disney movies, I want people to understand something. In those Disney movies, the men are always the heroes and the women are always the villains.

[Joel Anderson]

Damn, that's right, Cruella deville.

[Van Lathan]

It's a fact. In those Disney movies, Cinderella's getting her ass kicked, her sister's treating her like her stepmom's terrible. All of that stuff, Prince comes along fist at all. All right, the whole deal, whatever. Like, you can't be a Cinderella if you got the nice house, if you got the nice carriage, if everybody's kissing your ass. It's impossible for Alabama to be a Cinderella. They can be overlooked, maybe a little underranked, but they can't be no Cinderella. Alabama is not a Cinderella. Get off the Boo. Boo. They are Alabama football. They are the standard bearers of college football for the last 20 or some odd years. Giving them the Cinderella story is actually. If I was an Alabama fan, I would be offended by that. How could you call us a Cinderella? We create Cinderellas. We don't become one.

[Joel Anderson]

Damn. Like, we a bad already, you know, we don't have to get ready.

[Van Lathan]

We have to get ready we don't have to get ready to come in with a wand. Look at our feet and put.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, we don't need any pumpkins.

[Van Lathan]

We don't need no pumpkins. Our pumpkin never turn. Our carriage never turns to a pumpkin after midnight. How could that happen to us? That's not us. If anything, we the prince. I'm saying we make Cinderellas. We make your dream come true. Well, you can't, you can't call me no Cinderella.

[Joel Anderson]

You know that. It's actually kind of funny because that was the problem that Calipari was having in Kentucky. It was like he like had these caliperi.

[Tay Frazier]

There you go.

[Joel Anderson]

But no, you remember, like in Kentucky they were like, he didn't after a while, like the talent slipped there. And Kentucky, he's like, he's like, yeah, I'm winning with this. You know what I got. And Kentucky don't want to hear that. They're like, what Kentucky though, you, you either you get better players or you get more out of the ones you got. But we are Kentucky. Like, we don't. That's not an excuse. And that's the same thing with Alabama because when they line up against Indiana next week, I, and it's just tough because I don't. Indiana is the better team. But if you.

[Tay Frazier]

We're going to talk about it on, we're going to preview that game. I, I think that's the fascinating matchup because there is an underdog, but there's also just too much history between those programs to think one is the.

[Van Lathan]

Still don't believe in Indiana. Indiana has been a more consistent, more physical, a higher achieving team this year in every way. They have a better win than Alabama. They have two better wins than Alabama has.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, that's true.

[Van Lathan]

You know what I'm saying? Like, like they are better than Alabama.

[Tay Frazier]

Raising the roof.

[Joel Anderson]

Okay, my bad.

[Van Lathan]

No reason to think that Alabama is going to go out there and beat Indiana for any other reason than the fact that they are Alabama.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, and that's, that's going to be hard to get over. I think everybody's going to have that problem, including probably Indiana at some level and even stick Netti, who's going to be going up against a program that told him that he was never going to be a head coach and he had to go to the lowest level of college football and work his way up. So I think there's going to be a lot of demons in that game. So Joel, Alabama wise, are they the big winners of the weekend? I do want to talk about Obviously Miami, Texas A and M next. But do you think Alabama won the weekend so far? I mean, obviously this last game feels like it's over already. So do you think that they're the ones that are going to be the main talking point heading into round two?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, well, I think they, they won in, in maybe one way or maybe not in another. It depends on the kind of fan you are. I think Kaylin DeBoer is a hell of a coach and I think that Alabama should be grateful that that's the kind of guy that they got to succeed Nick Saban. Because even as you watch them in this game against ou, you were like, oh, okay, OU is overwhelming them on the front. Like they just could not keep up with the, the defense the Venables was calling. And then slowly but surely they took control. They got it blocked up, they got the right pass pro and they were able to move the ball. So you know the, Kaylin DeBoer is a phenomenal coach and so he won a game. And if they would like to keep Calen DeBoer, great, then Alabama should feel real good.

[Tay Frazier]

I think that whole talk is insane. He's not going anywhere.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, you should feel great. But if you thought that Alabama is underperforming and Obama can do better and that Kaylin Deborah should just take it, should have taken his ass on to Michigan, then you're probably disappointed. But I, you know, I, I, I'm, I'm, I think Kaylin DeBoer is a phenomenal coach. And yeah, I mean, they say he's 20 and 5 versus nationally ranked teams. 8 and 3 at Alabama and 40 against AP top 10 teams and true road games. That's Kaylin DeBoer's record. Man, you, you should be grateful that you have a Bama because if he leaves you, you're going to regret it. It's not easy to get a coach that good. Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

Big facts. Let's talk about it. Miami, Texas A and M. This game. In our group chat, there was a lot of conversation about is this an ugly game? There was some commentary about how boring the game was. Joe, you were the one that was sticking your neck out to say that you love this game and that you thought this was a great game. Can you explain to the people why you felt that way? And then we can get into the minutiae of why this game was so great.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. Wait, so Joel.

[Van Lathan]

Okay, do you not want to like. Okay, you just skits out right there.

[Joel Anderson]

No, you're kind of actually for a moment because so I was trying to say. And we talked about Tulane. Just in that second, I was like, oh, we're talking about something. I stuck my neck out on them because I just kind of felt like, you know, I wanted to mix it up. I wanted. I didn't. I didn't think we should all have the same bracket. I acknowledge that Ole Miss is a much better team than they are. You know what I mean? Like, I knew that.

[Tay Frazier]

And why are you talking about this game?

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, there's not the game that he called for.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, really?

[Tay Frazier]

Miami, Texas A and M. What are you doing?

[Joel Anderson]

Okay.

[Tay Frazier]

How are you locked in the lane?

[Joel Anderson]

Can I be honest? Can I be. Can I be honest? I was looking in the comments, man. I'm sorry. I was trying to.

[Tay Frazier]

Oh, no, this is. This is the problem.

[Van Lathan]

This is what I learned over the past.

[Joel Anderson]

I was looking in the comments.

[Van Lathan]

Can y' all not distract Joel by giving him too much criticism in the comments?

[Joel Anderson]

No, I was trying.

[Van Lathan]

Reason.

[Joel Anderson]

I'm. I'm trying to keep up. I'm trying to keep up with the conversation, man.

[Tay Frazier]

Joel's trying. Joel was trying to have a conversation with the chat as opposed to. Oh, Joe, look what you've done. Here he comes.

[Billy]

You need to. You're trying to keep up with the chat, not the actual conversation. People talking to you.

[Tay Frazier]

No.

[Van Lathan]

You know what?

[Joel Anderson]

It just happened. And I was ready for Van to go first again. For some reason, I didn't get a chance to go last time.

[Tay Frazier]

This was your beat.

[Joel Anderson]

Like, you were.

[Tay Frazier]

You were kind of.

[Joel Anderson]

You were banging the drum.

[Tay Frazier]

You were like. Did you hear the Price game?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

All day long you wanted to talk about.

[Joel Anderson]

Honestly? Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

I said you were gonna talk a lot of today.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, Right.

[Tay Frazier]

Giving you the chance.

[Joel Anderson]

All right.

[Van Lathan]

Come on.

[Joel Anderson]

All right, then y' all back out. Let me clear out so I. I could go one on one.

[Billy]

Alabama?

[Joel Anderson]

No, we're talking about Miami now. Don't. Don't. Excuse me. Don't stay on track. Don't try to confuse me. So let's do it, Kimmy. Acc.

[Tay Frazier]

Hell, yeah. Fired up, Joel.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. I mean, I just want to know. I just want to know. I just want to know real quick. Yeah, I want to know real quick. Please tell me something. How Texas A M, which was a game away against Texas from being the number one seed in the SEC the most, you know, the. The. The team that was clearly the more dominant.

[Van Lathan]

Was great.

[Joel Anderson]

Texas A and M was number three. Texas A M was number three up until very recently.

[Tay Frazier]

Argued to be number one.

[Joel Anderson]

Right. Yeah. Some people. Some people say yeah, well, they went to the sec. They should probably be number one because, I mean, nobody else beat.

[Van Lathan]

Van.

[Joel Anderson]

Nobody else beat Mississippi State in the way that they did. Did you see how they came from behind against South Carolina? You know, they love they. I mean, that the great big bad Texas A M just ran through the sec, you know what I'm saying? Like bad cabbage. And now look at them. They got. They. I mean, they basically got shut out in their. In their house, bro. Nobody else had made them look that bad all year long. Nobody. Okay, A and M couldn't do out there on offense today, bro. And so I'm just telling. I mean, what is it? What I mean, I mean, I just. I hope people give the ACC their props for going into the SEC and beating up they. You know, that team that was number one.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, we were talking about the defense.

[Joel Anderson]

Miami is. Is the fourth place team in the acc.

[Van Lathan]

I'm gonna be real with you, Joe. I've heard them all talk, bro. From MALCOLM X to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton. Yeah, I've heard them all talk. I've never heard.

[Joel Anderson]

Were you afraid to say fair con as stir.

[Van Lathan]

As stirring? Not him too. I've never heard anything as stirring as what I just heard, bro.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, that was the.

[Joel Anderson]

Joe, Joe, Joe, I was right.

[Van Lathan]

That was. That was crazy, dog.

[Joel Anderson]

No, bro, I'm right.

[Van Lathan]

The game itself was a really interesting football game. I'll tell you why. Joe.

[Tay Frazier]

Thank you, Van.

[Van Lathan]

Thank you. I was like.

[Tay Frazier]

Oh, no. He got.

[Joel Anderson]

Mike got muted. Mike got muted.

[Van Lathan]

Joel was talking. I don't like ugly in the group text that. You have to love football to watch the defensive fly around. And normally when people say that, that's a cop out, because a game that doesn't have any points on the board, any yards being gamed, most of the time it is about offensive ineptitude. This game wasn't. They were going crazy.

[Tay Frazier]

Both sides.

[Joel Anderson]

Defenses were amazing.

[Van Lathan]

Crazy. Defensively, the schemes were good. There was domination. Man. Was it fathery, Father knee. The. The right tackle for. For A and M. Oh, a terrible.

[Joel Anderson]

Fasusi. Is Fasusi.

[Van Lathan]

I don't know. The right tackle. I think they have two right tackles. They had two high tackles. One guy started, the other guy came in just getting whipped. Yeah, getting whipped. And I. And for as much as. For as inaccurate as Marcel Reed was all day long, and he was. I give him a lot of credit for being the sole reason why the sack totals weren't crazy. His ability to step up in the pocket, step to the left, step to the right, evade the first rusher that was coming almost unblocked along the Miami defensive line and make himself a new pocket to then throw an inaccurate ball was very impressive. Very impressive. Marcel Reed, a lot of things that he did with his feet in this game. I know he's going to take a huge, huge degree of the criticism for the fact that they really couldn't get it done offensively, but he was under duress the entire day. And on the other side of the ball for Carson Beck and the Miami offense, they were able to take advantage of a Texas A and M team that wore down at the end and hit some runs right at the teeth of the defense. And then credit to the offensive staff, they stayed with that. Once they saw that, they didn't go back and say, okay, well, let's just give it to Carson now. No, they stayed with the run until they were able to pop one on the edge.

[Tay Frazier]

But this was Fletcher's game.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah. This is a fun game to watch, if you like, defenses dominate and play physical football. It's a very physical game.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. No, a very physical game. And. But I. I will. There's two.

[Van Lathan]

Father Knee. Is his name. Is the right tackle.

[Joel Anderson]

Okay, my bad. Yeah, that's it. That's it.

[Tay Frazier]

Is he the Pennsylvania guy that's, like, from Elko's hometown? There. There's, like, one. There's, like, one lineman that's, like the captain that. A couple false starts. Yeah, go ahead, Joel. We'll figure it out.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, it's. No, it's fine.

[Van Lathan]

Father Reuben. Father E. His name is Father. He's a weird name. Father. He is like, Father is his name. He was. He had a rough day today.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. No, I mean, well, so there's. There's a couple things to that. One, I know that for Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman, but he's not a better football player than Ruben Bane.

[Tay Frazier]

Man, you know, that block kick by Bane, that was so big as far as just keeping the game as it was, you know what I mean? Like, if they get that field goal, there's a little bit of, like, tightness that loosens for that whole Texas A and M slideline. But when that happened, it just felt like, okay, this whole game is going to be like this. So, I mean, Miami's defense in general, they were incredible.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. But the. The. The other piece of this thing, and this is one reason I have my beef with playoffs, is a system for determining who the best team is. Right. Is that this game was terrifyingly violent. Like, I mean, so many people got hurt. Like, they, like Miami lost two, I mean, appeared to lose two defensive backs on the same drive to head injuries. Okay. Jacoby Thomas and I can't remember the other one. Remember, they had Mohamed Torre who went to a fencing posture at the collision at the goal line.

[Van Lathan]

That was, that was terrible to see, bro.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, just think about how beat up the, you know, Miami is going to be coming out of that game, man. And you're not. The, the. What you're going to see in their next game against Georgia. That is not going to be everybody. That's not going to be Miami at top, top of itself. That's football, of course, right. By the time you get to the end of the year, everybody is beat up. But the playoff, ask a lot more of these teams and you're going to get more randomness and more, maybe sometimes more lopsided games because more people are going to get hurt in games like that. Trinidad Chambliss almost got looked like, he almost got concussed in, in the game earlier today, man. And so it's just, even in a game that was a blowout, like, you're still playing against a better, better teams. You're taking more hits. It's more chance that things are going to go wrong for a team. And as it is in most sports that use the sudden death, you know, sudden death elimination is the format. The best healthy team.

[Tay Frazier]

The war of attritions.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Van Lathan]

You okay today?

[Joel Anderson]

What? What?

[Tay Frazier]

Joe's having fun.

[Van Lathan]

You're just. Yeah, you're. You're, you know, you're. You're deep. You're deep in. Yeah, okay. Yeah, you're okay. You okay today? Yeah, yeah, I'm great. Yeah. What?

[Joel Anderson]

I don't know.

[Tay Frazier]

What does the chat say? I don't have the chat. Look at the chat, man.

[Joel Anderson]

Let me look at the chat real quick.

[Van Lathan]

What's going on in the chat?

[Tay Frazier]

Miami, defensive wise, we just got to shout out these guys. Keante Scott, two sacks. Reuben Bay in three sacks. Akeem Messador, one and a half sacks. I mean, just think about that. Three guys.

[Joel Anderson]

Great.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

With that type of production, I mean, it was insane.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. I mean, the thing. They're going to cause hell for whoever else they play next, but the, the one thing about the, the, the great.

[Tay Frazier]

Mark Fletcher game, the 72 on 17 carries.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. I mean, the, the thing that it obscured is that they were scared of Carson Beck. They didn't want. They did not want to have to depend on him to win this game, man. Like they would be like he looked.

[Tay Frazier]

Like he was trying to lose it multiple times. I did feel like the turning point or like a a point we should talk about in this game. The Malachi Tony fumble. Fletcher grabs him on the sideline and kind of has this great pep talk moment. They show Tony Tony is an 18 year old freshmen. They should true freshmen. They show him on the sideline. He's like basically on the verge of tears. It looks like as Fletcher is kind of giving him a little bit of a pep talk. Again, this is all conjecture at some level as we watch like the body language of it all. And then at the end of the game, Malachi Tony is the man who goes in for the touchdown that ends up winning the game for Miami. So just that turn within a game, the Es and flows of a game and to have a moment of being the goat as in the lowercase version to the goat capitalized version or from Malachi Tony Joel. I mean what is that feeling like to see someone have that sort of redemption moment in real time?

[Van Lathan]

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[Tay Frazier]

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[Van Lathan]

And team up with friends and clubs.

[Tay Frazier]

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[Joel Anderson]

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[Tay Frazier]

Chevrolet Together. Let's drive.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh man, this is embarrassing. I was what so. So in the comments, they said that. I know. I know that it's pronounced Tommy. Tommy Tuberville.

[Van Lathan]

Okay?

[Joel Anderson]

They didn't think I could say it, and. And so that got in my head.

[Van Lathan]

I had to look them up. Duke. Duke. Duke.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, Billy, we need you, Billy.

[Van Lathan]

Dude, what are we gonna do, bro?

[Tay Frazier]

I don't.

[Billy]

I don't know what we do. I can't control him watching the chat.

[Tay Frazier]

Like, what are we doing, dude?

[Van Lathan]

What's. What. What the hell is going on?

[Tay Frazier]

I'm asking him a nice guy, Tony, he played football. I thought he's like, they're talking about Tommy Tuberville.

[Van Lathan]

What's going on?

[Billy]

Which is not Tville, right?

[Joel Anderson]

Is it Tuberville? Oh, it's Tuberville.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, I'm looking at the chat, Joe.

[Billy]

What are you trying to talk about? Because it's not college football.

[Van Lathan]

Okay, so it's one mad in the chat playing Dr. 432. He's pissed. He been going crazy. He. He's on the. He's almost. You could. He almost might be dick riding at this point. He going so crazy. But like everybody else, Joel, is. Is pretty. They. They.

[Joel Anderson]

They.

[Van Lathan]

The. The chat seems like they Pretty. They pretty cool on you right now, bro.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah. Joel, you're fine.

[Van Lathan]

Not really getting into you at all. I know what's going on with you in the chat.

[Joel Anderson]

I'm just trying to. I'm just keeping tabs on what they saying, man. Sometimes on other shows, they'll be like, oh, yeah, David Alfaro. No way. Lol. We see you out there in Raleigh, you know, some like that. We. We don't do that. And I'm just like, okay, maybe one way that I can assist with the. The. Yeah. Oh, sorry.

[Van Lathan]

Dude.

[Joel Anderson]

You chat.

[Tay Frazier]

You're so chat compromised, Joel.

[Joel Anderson]

It's unbelievable.

[Van Lathan]

Are you on black car heroin?

[Joel Anderson]

No.

[Van Lathan]

What the.

[Joel Anderson]

I'm not. No.

[Van Lathan]

See, him just like. Like, he glitched out.

[Joel Anderson]

What's.

[Van Lathan]

What's happening?

[Tay Frazier]

This is the only man on the show credentialed for the national champion. Yeah, I'm gonna send that email.

[Joel Anderson]

Did you read the twelve big questions? Did you. Did you all read the twelve big questions, though? Oh, no, but seriously, Tate, what did you ask? Just do. Just give me a shorter version of the question that you asked me.

[Tay Frazier]

I'll give you a short version. Malachi. Tony fumbles.

[Joel Anderson]

Yes.

[Tay Frazier]

Down your thoughts.

[Joel Anderson]

Okay, so I thought. I thought what Fletcher did there, man. And I. I think I. I posted this. I skied at this on Blue Sky.

[Tay Frazier]

All right, I didn't see that I didn't see that.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, well, y' all gotta be there. Joel, a running thread.

[Van Lathan]

Joe, Wait, wait, wait. They saying you. Hi, bro.

[Joel Anderson]

I'm not. I'm not.

[Van Lathan]

Wait. Now it makes.

[Joel Anderson]

I'm not high. I wouldn't do that. I'm not high.

[Tay Frazier]

Joel, if you're high, it's all right. It's a tailgate. It's okay. You can get high at the tailgate.

[Billy]

You muted yourself.

[Joel Anderson]

You muted yourself, man. Good is probably for the best. Look at. Look, Van, you still muted, man. Get your mic right.

[Billy]

What is happening?

[Van Lathan]

They saying you high in the comments, bro.

[Joel Anderson]

I know I'm not.

[Van Lathan]

It makes sense if you're high, bro.

[Joel Anderson]

I'm not high.

[Van Lathan]

It's okay. It's the first day of the playoffs, man. You smoked a little bit. You choked it up. That's hard. That's all right, bro.

[Joel Anderson]

No, man, I'm not high. I mean, I would tell y' all if I was high. I'm not. I'm nice. I'm nice. I'll say that. I'll say I'm nice. I will.

[Tay Frazier]

I will say. If someone said to me, I'm nice, I would think they're high. You know, if someone said that in that way to me, I'd be like, this guy's high as.

[Joel Anderson]

I'm not high. The thing is, Van keeps interrupting me, man. I was trying to. I saw that. That's a comment. That's one of the comments that said in here.

[Van Lathan]

I apologize. I won't do it again. Again.

[Joel Anderson]

Somebody said that? Yeah, Van. Van would disrupt me, and so it would miss my. I. You know, I would lose my train of thought. I. I was trying to have a.

[Tay Frazier]

Nice moment about Malachi. Tony. I thought that was a cool story. Joel, right then you started talking about Tommy Tuberville, and I got so thrown by what was going on.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, yeah. See, look. Okay, here, look. Just clear out. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna ISO now. Okay.

[Billy]

All right.

[Tay Frazier]

It's like Bones. Highland going ISO.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, Going ISO. That's right. So again.

[Tay Frazier]

So I thought Felix mesmerized.

[Van Lathan]

Let him cook tape.

[Joel Anderson]

I thought. I thought Fletcher going over to him was an OG moment. I was like. Because that's one of the things that you. As soon as it happened. And then A M. Went. Took the ball, didn't score. They missed that field goal. I was like, that's the moment you go over to him and you say, hey, bro, that fumble didn't even matter. Now we're. We're even. We're back in it. So now we're going to need you get your head back in the game. Like, don't have to. You don't have to worry that you lost the game for us now you got the ball back and you didn't. That turnover didn't cost us any points. And so I was like, oh, I was. I'm. I mean, again, that's just regular locker room. You should know to do that if you're a member of the team and you care about your brothers out there. And then you would go to him like, bro, we good now. Bro, we good. Like you, we need you right here on this drive. And of course he came through. It's just. Yeah, it's just funny that like it took the end of the whole damn game for us to get one touchdown. But I still thought the game was just, I mean, just so physically impressive. The defense. Tari in York for Texas A and M. I love you, man. All right, Billy.

[Tay Frazier]

Billy just gave Joel about talk.

[Billy]

I just say, Joel, we forget about everything that's happened. The rest, we need you on this drive. Joel forget.

[Tay Frazier]

We know you performance so far. You've been great all season.

[Joel Anderson]

You've been a playmaker. We need you now.

[Van Lathan]

Yo, so this is what I'll say.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, man.

[Van Lathan]

About the, the ACC SEC thing. When it, when it comes to this game, most of the time all of that is me is. Is. Doesn't mean anything. It was meaningful for this game. Tell you why Mario Crystal Ball won this game the way he likes to win football games. Probably not from an offensive standpoint in terms of having his quarterback make big time throws, but he won this game on both lines of scrimmage. He won this game on the defensive line all game long, like running through an A M offensive line that you know has played pretty well and they have some real prospects up front, but they were getting pushed around, schemed, harassed. It was a disaster for them up front. Okay, but then not just that. When it came down to crunch time in this football game, they. They won the game by running the ball directly into the teeth of A and M's defensive front. And when you're looking at something that's recreatable for Miami in these playoffs next season, Crystal Ball's brand of football, where he builds a team from the guts out, not always pretty, but to be able to go to Kyle Field and do that to Texas A M. A lot of the fans in Miami right now, including the Bella Danger who we saw at the game.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, she was there.

[Van Lathan]

She was there. She. She Made the trip with Johnny.

[Joel Anderson]

She.

[Tay Frazier]

What was she with Johnny Menzel?

[Van Lathan]

Oh, man, I don't think she was with Johnny Manza. Johnny Manziel, who was supposed to be the guest picker for game day. And then they had to pull audible at the last minute and get Caruso out there. I wonder what happened. But she was out there. All the Miami fans, they should be happy about the way Miami won this football. They could football game. They can play better on offense. Well, put up more points. The kicker can make kicks, they can play better. But when it comes down to it, they won because they were the tougher, more physical team that was more ready to play when the game got tight.

[Joel Anderson]

You see, that's the thing though, man. I think Miami is so physically impressive, and they're so physically impressive that it makes you think, oh, they could win the national championship game if everything's clicking. But I mean, Carson Beck having 20 attempts in 103 yards, man, like, that is really.

[Tay Frazier]

He's the reason the whole time I kept being like, Phil Rivers would have at least 200 yards.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, man, Phil Rivers, bro. If they. If they put. You would feel so much better about the Cane's chances to win a national championship if they had Phil Rivers. But yeah, I think that they're clearly terrified of Carson Beck and he's playing timid and they just can't. They can't win if he can't be at least good. Like, they need.

[Van Lathan]

What level does he need to play at? What level does he need to play at? Give me a stat line for you. Like everybody, give me a stat line. Will Howard Level 20, 21 level in the playoffs last year was.

[Tay Frazier]

I mean, Will have. Was great in the playoffs. 220 touchdown, no picks, 21 for 30, 21 for 33.

[Joel Anderson]

200, you know, 250, no interceptions. You know, can throw a touchdown tonight, but he needs to be something like that. And I mean, it just shows me that he's not. He's not. He's barely throwing the ball down the field, so they're not. That's. I mean, that's another thing. It just makes Malachi Tony that much less effective. He only had three receptions for nine yards today, you know, so I just.

[Van Lathan]

But still made his presence fail in the game. Had a big punt return that he probably could have popped and also had the. The jet sweep that went for the only touchdown of the game. So he still made his presence felt.

[Tay Frazier]

So I tell you, scored van. That was a big question.

[Joel Anderson]

Like 22 yards. Yeah, when.

[Tay Frazier]

When Tony's when Tony's taking that around the corner, he's already had the fumble. They haven't scored a touchdown all game. You trust your defense. A lot of people are saying he should take a knee, kick the field goal, but could you trust your kicker at that point? And if you're a freshman, do you just go for the end zone?

[Van Lathan]

So obviously now when you look at it, he should have scored because the defense got the turnover that they needed at the end of the game. Okay, for me though, let's say I was playing Madden and I had.

[Tay Frazier]

You said it live, you called it live.

[Van Lathan]

I would have gone down at that, at that situation right there. I think Tess A M was out of timeouts, maybe had one left. I think they might have been out.

[Billy]

They were out.

[Van Lathan]

You're gonna be able to run the clock down and kick that kick, that field goal as a walk off, basically. And it's one thing not to have faith in your kicker if you kick in from 30, if you kick in from 35, but if you kick in from inside to 20, you have to expect that he's going to make that kick like you, you have to expect he's going to make that kick. It's just a more, more solid way to ensure that you win that game.

[Joel Anderson]

But that's a, that was the difference between Notre Dame being 11 and 1 and 10 and 2. The A hold on a, on a chip on an extra point. Man, I just. And the way that things have been going for them with the kicker, man, I mean he was what, one for four today? I just would have been, I would have been afraid. I thought in a game, in a game where points were truly at a premium, there was just no guarantee. Nothing was guaranteed at that point anymore. So I can understand why he did it.

[Tay Frazier]

He made a 21 yard kick. That was his longest kick. He missed the other three kicks.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, right away a lot of win. The 21 yard he could have made. Look, obviously it comes out the, the Notre Dame Texas A M thing is crazy now because that was on an extra point. So I don't even know how that even factors into what was just said. But I know that Joel was high. So it, but like it's not like they, it's not like they. I know Joe.

[Tay Frazier]

I'm starting to think Joel might be high because he's.

[Billy]

Like he didn't even hear you. Like he didn't even hear you.

[Van Lathan]

So that doesn't even make any sense. But, but yeah, like it turns out that they did the right thing. Billy, would you have, would you have one of your freshmen to go down right there so you can control the end of the game or to score the touchdown?

[Billy]

Not with the kicker missing the three kicks. Right. And like all they had all day was one field goal. And, and the freshman's not thinking that. Especially after he fumbled the ball earlier in the game, like he's trying to score.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, he was thinking redemption for sure.

[Billy]

Because Texas A and M wasn't driving the ball down until that last drive. They weren't driving down the field either. Right. So you don't think that they're going to score a touchdown either. It might be a field goal for them.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, man, I just, Yeah, I, I, I, I.

[Tay Frazier]

And if they missed the kick, then everyone's like, they had a wide open touchdown and they took a knee. Mario crystal ball botching the end of a game again. You know what I mean? Like, it's, it's almost. It could have gone the other way really bad.

[Joel Anderson]

That's what I'm saying. Yeah. I just get the points in a game where points are at a premium.

[Tay Frazier]

That trip, that tackle on Tony on the punt return where he tripped on foot, that was the craziest thing I've ever seen, too. That was like a freak accident. So many crazy.

[Joel Anderson]

That was a six point tackle.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah. That didn't even touch him, though. It was just his arm. It was like the, the motion of his arm created, like the, the way for his legs to hit each other.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

It was strange.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

When, when Tony really is something else.

[Joel Anderson]

He's amazing.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah. He saw that sideline. He pointed out that block. He got that block. And I did not think he had enough space up that sideline to turn that into what it ended up turning into. But he had a fantastic game. I was, it was good to see that he was able to kind of get his head back on straight after the fumble. He had a great game. He was, he was Miami's offense in a lot of ways. Besides the running game that came around. The running game was pretty solid, though. But it came around in that last drive.

[Tay Frazier]

I love Fletcher's mom.

[Van Lathan]

She was great the whole time.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, man.

[Tay Frazier]

She was having a good time.

[Joel Anderson]

Man, I just felt so sad. Just felt bad, man. You know, I was just like, damn, bro. You know, I just.

[Tay Frazier]

Her and Michael Irvin were having a great day in college days.

[Van Lathan]

You feel bad about what?

[Joel Anderson]

Well, you know, I just, you know, I mean, his, his pops, you know, they focused on his pops not being there, and he said he texts his pops Every day, you know, every day a message. I was like, oh, man, that. That really is touching. You know, Pops locked up. No, it's. Pops passed.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, he texts his pops every day.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, I think that's what they said. Something like that. Every day. Either before game day or every day. Something like that.

[Tay Frazier]

I think he was talking about it after the game.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, that is.

[Tay Frazier]

He's a relikable dude.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, man. Yeah. And so, you know, that's. In that moment when he went over to Malachi Tony, and I just. I. And I got a glimpse of that story and you read a little bit about him and you was like, oh, man. Like, that's. He's a team leader, you know, like this kind of guy you want. And that's exactly the guy that's going to go up to Malachi Tony and be like, keep your head at the game, you know?

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, exactly. Been through a lot. Knows that there's something more to play for. You want guys like that on your team that can kind of get players back into it, you know? Yeah, yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

He had like a reverend moment where he was just like, look, you have these adversities. This is what God wants for you. You're gonna bounce back. And then Tony said, I'm gonna bounce back.

[Van Lathan]

Hold on for a second. Hold on for a second.

[Joel Anderson]

What's up?

[Van Lathan]

You're at home.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

Can I tell you something just for. I just. I just caught this in the back. Is that the living room of you guys house?

[Tay Frazier]

No, it's the basement.

[Van Lathan]

It's the basement. Yo, I'm gonna tell you something right now, man. Shout out to your family. Y' all are living the white Christmas dream in the basement. I want you guys to look at the basement, the family area. Now, is this a. Is this. Is this place? Look at all the stockings hung up is. Look at all the stuff.

[Joel Anderson]

It's a really nice tree, bro.

[Van Lathan]

It's a really nice treat. This is the type of place that Santa wants to end up.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

Santa used to find himself in my living room. Santa was probably all up like, what the. How did I get here? But that's the type of place that Santa goes and expects cookies. Look at the stockings.

[Tay Frazier]

Look at stockings.

[Van Lathan]

Y' all do the stocking thing, which I never knew that, like, different.

[Tay Frazier]

We do the stocking.

[Joel Anderson]

We do this. We do the stocking thing.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, we do the stocking.

[Van Lathan]

That makes sense for you. You. But like all of, like all. All of the stock and stuff going on there. Okay. Like a stocking stuffer. So you put like Some baseball cards in there or something like that.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah. Razors, you know, random stuff, you know.

[Van Lathan]

Is that a miss Go above the stocking stuffer? Is the stocking.

[Billy]

I don't know.

[Tay Frazier]

I think it's like a. I don't even know what you would call that. Yeah. Wreath. Yeah, Reese. Probably.

[Van Lathan]

So let me ask you this.

[Joel Anderson]

There's a.

[Van Lathan]

There's a Christmas tree in the. In the basement. Is there a Christmas tree in the living room as well? Or is the basement the living room?

[Tay Frazier]

This is the. So the living room is the real Christmas tree. This is a fake Christmas tree. This looks.

[Van Lathan]

Y' all got two trees.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, man, that's mess.

[Van Lathan]

My mom's like, go get my gun.

[Joel Anderson]

Y' all got two trees.

[Van Lathan]

Like. Like, y' all got two trees in the house.

[Tay Frazier]

This is like a. It looks good on camera, but, like, it's. It's not. You know, it's not that great.

[Joel Anderson]

Don't make. No. Don't make.

[Tay Frazier]

Don't make it upstairs.

[Joel Anderson]

His wealth, Van.

[Van Lathan]

No, it's not about wealth. It's about tradition.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. Also, it's just very tasteful.

[Tay Frazier]

My mom is watching, by the way. She's probably watching this right now. She's probably.

[Van Lathan]

Mama Am Fest is happening right now to turn in us. The Turning Point USA Conference. This is what they're talking about. This is the America that they're talking about.

[Tay Frazier]

We don't even know what that is.

[Van Lathan]

I don't matter. I'm not saying. I'm just saying I appreciate. I'm looking back and look at the festiveness.

[Joel Anderson]

It's beautiful.

[Van Lathan]

Y' all not taken by this?

[Billy]

No. I mean, your house had the devil's footprint on the floor when Santa would come, so he's always scared off.

[Tay Frazier]

That is true.

[Joel Anderson]

That is true. Yeah. Oh, yeah, man. We got a Christmas tree in our living room. We have, like a. A downstairs. I guess some people might call it a basement, but there's like a playroom and then a bedroom on the side of it, and that's where the kids are most of the day. And then we have. We just finally got our upstairs living room, which is, you know, the kitchens on this side, the dining room, and it kind of opens up into a living room. This is the nicest house I've ever lived in. I'm really proud of it. Like, I was just like, you know, sometimes I was, like, walking home, and I was pushing my baby in the stroller, and I was like, man, I'm living it, dog. Like, I was like, this is it. I was like, this is, this is what? This is. This is life. You know what I mean? I felt really good.

[Billy]

You should get another tree. It sounds like a two tree house to me.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

I was, I was telling the play, I was telling my wife Janae about that. I was like, next year we're going to get a treat down there in the playroom in the, in the basement. But the one thing about, and Joel's.

[Tay Frazier]

Gonna have this background next year, and.

[Van Lathan]

It'S, we're gonna be, all of us know we gotta struggle for. We gotta keep striving to grow the podcast. So we could all be two tree, like, downstairs tree upstairs. Ray J said indoor pool.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

Outdoor. Like, we got the whole joint tree down. How many trees y' all got, Duke?

[Billy]

I have one tree and small. Honestly, I can see it.

[Joel Anderson]

I can believe it.

[Billy]

It looks like a bush.

[Joel Anderson]

No way. No way. They had two trees.

[Billy]

It's two rounds.

[Tay Frazier]

What does that mean?

[Billy]

No way?

[Joel Anderson]

No way.

[Billy]

What's that supposed to mean?

[Joel Anderson]

No way.

[Billy]

What's that me?

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, just, you don't seem like.

[Billy]

You two tree Joel over here.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, we really could, I mean, the thing is, we could have a second tree. If I was, you know, motivated to get a second tree, I'm just.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, okay.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, we can do it. I can make space and do.

[Van Lathan]

Because notice, by the way, nobody asked Joel for the MTV Cribs version of his, of the tour through his house. I, I, I commented.

[Joel Anderson]

You asked me if I had a second tree.

[Van Lathan]

You asked me, but then you, but then you talked about the floor plan of your kitchen and living room, which we didn't really get into. I, I like to hear it, though, because I like to see brothers doing good. But you are now making an active indictment of how Billy is getting down, saying he don't look like he a two tree.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, that's a tough shot, Joel.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, sorry.

[Van Lathan]

Y' all want to hear something?

[Joel Anderson]

He doesn't seem like he would be that, you know. Anyway, go ahead.

[Van Lathan]

How many trees y' all think I got?

[Tay Frazier]

I think you got two trees. I think, I think that's why I.

[Joel Anderson]

Think you got one big one. Mini one.

[Tay Frazier]

I think you got two trees.

[Van Lathan]

Like in the big short. Zero.

[Tay Frazier]

No trees.

[Joel Anderson]

Wow.

[Van Lathan]

Zero trees. Zero trees, man.

[Joel Anderson]

Damn.

[Van Lathan]

No tree, no Christmas tree. I've never in my entire life of having my own gotten a Christmas tree ever.

[Tay Frazier]

You're out on Christmas.

[Billy]

You have a menorah.

[Van Lathan]

I love Christmas. I live in my neighborhood.

[Joel Anderson]

What's the Kwanzaa what is it?

[Van Lathan]

Hold on for a second before you finish.

[Joel Anderson]

Candle holder.

[Tay Frazier]

Tate, what's up?

[Van Lathan]

I give you 10,000 right now, cash money.

[Tay Frazier]

What's up?

[Van Lathan]

$10,000, I swear.

[Billy]

Third tree, cash money.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, I know.

[Van Lathan]

If you can describe the entire Kwanzaa.

[Tay Frazier]

Celebration, I. I learned it once upon a time. I don't.

[Joel Anderson]

I.

[Tay Frazier]

Unfortunately, I will not be getting this $10,000.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, man.

[Tay Frazier]

That could have been a third tree I just missed out on.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, man.

[Van Lathan]

Duke. Can you do it?

[Joel Anderson]

No.

[Van Lathan]

Tell people about the Duke. I know you got pulled up. Tell people about the wonder of Kwanzaa real quick.

[Tay Frazier]

So let's learn about it.

[Joel Anderson]

Let's all learn. Yeah.

[Billy]

Kwanza candles. You have seven candles. One black, three red, three green.

[Joel Anderson]

Yep.

[Tay Frazier]

That's pretty good.

[Billy]

Place in the candle holder symbolizes seven principles of Kwanzaa. Unity, self determination, collective work, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

[Joel Anderson]

You didn't want to say emoji.

[Tay Frazier]

I like all seven pillars. I like the jama.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

What Joel couldn't answer about Malachi, Tony. Now he's talking all about this.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, about Kwanzaa. I mean.

[Van Lathan]

I love how. I love how black people's Christmas has group economic system in it. What the do that got to do?

[Tay Frazier]

It's one of the pillars.

[Joel Anderson]

We.

[Van Lathan]

We got to have a social message, like, we. Our Christmas has group economics in it. Like, you know what I'm saying? Everybody else. Christmas is like joy to the world and all of that stuff. So ours is. We got to stick together, man. We need to build some businesses.

[Joel Anderson]

That's very funny.

[Van Lathan]

That's hilarious to me. Group economics for Quanza. Okay. All right. Nice. This game. These. These other games that. That. That. That came on today, there wasn't much popping, bro.

[Tay Frazier]

We started with them. You know, I try to give the G5 a little bit of a conversation, but, yeah, it was. It was really embarrassing for the most part, you know. Not close.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, not close at all. Not close at all.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, this is playoffs. I mean, again, it's. Once again, like, this is what, the first round it normally is. Even when it was four teams, I.

[Tay Frazier]

I think it was better than last year, though. I mean, Friday was a great, fun game.

[Joel Anderson]

Was that Texas first game, Clemson game. It was 30. I think Texas won by two scores. But was that game competitive? I'm trying to remember.

[Tay Frazier]

Not really. The whole first round last year.

[Joel Anderson]

Control over the whole time.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

Question. So everyone wanted to see how Ole Miss was going to look without Lane Kiffin. I don't know how much you could take from the Game being that Tulane was so overmatched physically. But it is a college football win. College football playoff win for Ole Miss, which is a big deal, historic thing that happened in there in their program's history. What does the win mean for Ole Miss, if anything? Is it a meaningful win as far as them making a playoff run? Does it mean anything? Was this the type of situation to where this would have only meant something if they'd have went out there and laid an egg and the actual victory doesn't mean anything? What, if anything, does? The fact that they still look like a competent team without Lane Kiffin on offense. What does that mean for. For. For the Rebels?

[Joel Anderson]

I think this. One thing we know for sure about this Ole Miss team is that they're much better than Talaine. And I think that, you know, we can close the book on. On to Lane this year, that we don't. They don't have to play them ever again, because we know that this Ole Miss team can up to Lane.

[Tay Frazier]

But how many times, Joe? How many times you gonna say to Lane, oh, Tulane.

[Joel Anderson]

Is that why you tripping? Oh, man, somebody. Did you get the. Did you get the. The skeet? Yeah, but the person was like, yo, Joel's actually pronouncing it correctly.

[Van Lathan]

We did see that. We did see that.

[Joel Anderson]

You have anything to say?

[Van Lathan]

We. Not. We don't have a thing to say.

[Billy]

Okay.

[Joel Anderson]

All right. Fast. Okay. We're too lame. I was dropping knowledge, though, but in spite of the way I pronounced two land. But. But anyway, so. No, I mean, I just think that, you know, Ole Miss, did they. They didn't look bad. I just don't think we'll know anything yet. And, you know, it's. It's nice to get that out of the way, but it's bad if Trinidad Shambliss, Chambliss.

[Van Lathan]

If he's hurt.

[Joel Anderson]

If he's hurt. There you go.

[Van Lathan]

They didn't look. You can't take too much from it, but I will say that, like, Ole Miss looks sharp, so the play calling looks confident, which is, you know, what people were concerned about. Charlie Weiss Junior's up there right now. They look like they had command of what they wanted to do. Their tempo. They. They took advantage. They took advantage of a lot of the. The advantages that they had, but at the same time, they dialed some stuff up. They schemed some stuff. They looked like the same offense, mostly. I did see the funniest trick play that I've seen in a while from Tulane. Did you guys see the play where the ball was Snapped. They come back, they get in a little scrum, and then one player takes the ball. The quarterback takes the ball and. And runs for about 7 yards, then gets popped. Fumble it. That was a hilarious sequence. Tulane, it just. They don't have what it takes to. To. To. To. To be competitive against Ole Miss. They played hard, though.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. Yeah, they played hard. And Tulane. Yeah. I mean, bro, like, I didn't realize, you know, sum raw, he has a lot going on, man. I mean, he's. You know, just imagine you're preparing to leave New Orleans. You got to keep that team together. You're setting up a new life in Gainesville. And then they said on Thursday that his father had passed. Like, all just about that. Just all that seems like an incredible burden in one week. So, you know, I just. I feel bad for him, but. But anyway. But, yeah, man, two lane. Good season. Still a great season. That mean we.

[Tay Frazier]

You made the playoff point. I mean, that's really. Ole Miss. You want a playoff game? Like that matters, you know, like, for the historical annals. Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

Tulane is. Yes. They've got something to build on, man. Like, they can't. You can't overlook the idea that they did this and that, you know, it means something there and they can build on that.

[Tay Frazier]

Let's talk about one more thing. I mean, these games. Oregon's wrapping up. They're handling jmu. So that's, you know, pretty much for the most part. We've covered everything. There is a story we need to hit. We were talking about this before we got on the air. Joel texted our boss, Bill Simmons. Oh, Billy has brought this up. Yeah, Billy's got boss.

[Van Lathan]

Don't come back in contractor, but don't come back.

[Tay Frazier]

I'm with you.

[Joel Anderson]

There's no rhyme of reason being here tonight.

[Tay Frazier]

There's our guy bs.

[Joel Anderson]

There's no rhyme or reason. Does he have a segment?

[Tay Frazier]

Billy does have a segment. This is. Billy comes on the show whenever a segment he wants to. Whatever segment he wants to. But on this segment in particular, Billy Joel is telling us that he. He was. He was texting Bill because he had heard through the grapevine that Bill had brought up via a Sal. Cousin Sal scenario that Bill would call on me and Craig Horl back to catch a pass for 20 yards with. His life depended on it. Sal had Van Lathan as his pick if his life depended on it. And Joel was not picked, even though Joel was the only D1 player on this show. Joel, why were you so upset about this? Were you triggered? What.

[Joel Anderson]

What was. I wasn't I wasn't upset. I. So. So one thing. I mean, I don't have to talk about my career, anything, but like, one thing. I could really.

[Tay Frazier]

You were bringing up dodgeball. That's what happened.

[Joel Anderson]

No, I didn't say no. Somebody else brought up dodgeball. But I do have great hands. I have fantastic hands. Okay. Like, I can catch. I'm really good. Fastest 11 year old back in the country at 11.

[Billy]

They had to repair.

[Tay Frazier]

Oh, that's right.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah. Things changed.

[Joel Anderson]

I was very fast. Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, as I got older, I was strong. But anyway, I just kind of thought, good wrestler. It doesn't.

[Tay Frazier]

Great wrestler.

[Joel Anderson]

I can catch. And I just would. I would. But maybe Bill. So this is the other piece of it. I was like, you know what, Bill? Some might. Might forget that I work here sometimes. And sometimes you have to. When you work at a place and you have a boss that's very busy and you would like to get his attention, sometimes you just have to find reasons to reach out to your boss. And we had a text thread. This is pre Billy, because this is the. This is the thread in which the show was invented where he just like, hey, do you guys want to do a college football podcast in like early August? You know, and so we, you know.

[Tay Frazier]

We think it was August 15th. About five days before the season.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, but like five days before the season. Yeah. Do you guys want to do a podcast? Oh, okay, cool. And we don't talk. We haven't talked a lot since then, partially because I think we thought it was weird to keep talking to Bill because he's got a lot going on and a lot more, you know, important, you know, whatever famous people that he probably wants to talk to, not his employees or whatever.

[Van Lathan]

So to him, I'm on two or three different double chairs.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, my bad.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, man.

[Joel Anderson]

I know. This van is the golden van. Golden child Lathan. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, that's right. You and Bill Simmons. Did you see this clip? Did you see? Did you see. No, did you see? Did you see this clip? It was Patrick Certain.

[Billy]

And you know that's not it.

[Joel Anderson]

Joel, Joel, please stop that, bro.

[Van Lathan]

You have to stop. God dog.

[Billy]

No, wait.

[Joel Anderson]

Man.

[Billy]

He also at one point went by Patrick Certain, but you missed both of them.

[Joel Anderson]

See, that's the thing. I knew that it had changed. And in that it was never certain. Okay, Anyway, I'm certain it wasn't certain. So anyway, he and devonte Smith are talking and devontae Smith. That's Nick. That's you know, this is Patrick, Nick Saban. Certain, right. And he's like, nah, nah, that's. And that's Van. That's Van. Bill Simmons. Lathan, you always at the house. You always get to hang out with him. So you have a relationship with him. That's fine. You're a famous person on our website, you know what I'm saying? Or in our podcast network. I don't have a relationship with Bill. I don't know if he remembers who I am on a day to day basis. So sometimes you come up with a pretext to have a conversation with your boss. So it's like, hey, man, I'm still.

[Tay Frazier]

Let me just tell you, if he's watching this show, he's gonna remember you.

[Billy]

Just.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

Do you think he watches this show? There's no way he doesn't care about college football.

[Van Lathan]

What?

[Joel Anderson]

He doesn't.

[Billy]

Why are you taking shots at the boss?

[Van Lathan]

I mean, it's so funny what's happening.

[Joel Anderson]

Why would he care about this?

[Van Lathan]

All right, so, so weird.

[Tay Frazier]

So I just ordered the dodgeball story.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah. Hold on.

[Billy]

Wasn't here before this show. So him and Sal were talking about who they would trust with their life to catch a 20 yard pass. No one mentioned Joel. Joel got upset. So Joel decided to send a group text to say, hey, I played college football. You should have.

[Joel Anderson]

I didn't say that. I did not say that. I. It was. It was a text. It was a. It was a tweet at me that I screenshot it. They said all of that. I just put their screenshot in there. I didn't see.

[Tay Frazier]

He took what the chat said. He aggregated it.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. And I was just like, oh, man. I was like, I guess I should feel some sort of way about this.

[Billy]

Was there a reply?

[Joel Anderson]

He did say that hurts, right? Yeah, he said that hurts or something like that. And I didn't.

[Tay Frazier]

I didn't quite get the.

[Joel Anderson]

I didn't either, but I just, I hearted it. We moved on.

[Billy]

I wasn't even in the group text, so I'm learning like everyone else. But your story is confusing the hell out of me, if I'm going to be honest with you. And then you started talking about how you were good at dodgeball or something. We're like, just save that for the show.

[Joel Anderson]

The funny thing about this is that I had never said the word dodgeball. I don't know where you guys got dodgeball from. I swear to God, I did not say the words dodgeball.

[Billy]

You're talking about a youth, like picking situation. Where they were picking teams and no one picked you.

[Tay Frazier]

You were trying to show how good your hands were.

[Joel Anderson]

And then, yeah, like, no, no, no, no, no, no. It wasn't about dodgeball, man. It was. It was a field day. It was two hand touch football. Okay. And they didn't. They would not let me be quarterback for some reason. And I got why. I guess I didn't think I could throw. I don't know.

[Billy]

Did they know you had good hands? Maybe they wanted to use your hands.

[Tay Frazier]

They wanted you to catch up.

[Joel Anderson]

But, yeah, yeah, I mean, the thing is, I could give a. Because I wanted the ball in my hands. And so I saw, like, I did.

[Van Lathan]

Not play for the.

[Joel Anderson]

And then they got mad and then that's.

[Van Lathan]

That's straight 227 right there.

[Joel Anderson]

But then a high school. This is my sophomore year. Then by then, my high school coach comes by the field and I'm like, I gotta turn up. And they're like, man, are you mad, Joel? Like, come on, dog. And so anyway, I started playing serious in the second half, and we ended up scoring three straight touchdowns and we tied it up against the seniors. We didn't. We didn't. We didn't win. But it was 21. 21. So that's what I was saying about. That was the scenario I was talking about, not dodgeball. This is the story I was trying to decide if I want to talk about because it's kind of silly.

[Van Lathan]

But anyway, okay, so. So I guess the question is this. So what do we do now? Hold on real quick. What do we do now? Oh, somebody just text me back on.

[Joel Anderson]

On.

[Van Lathan]

All right, good.

[Tay Frazier]

Riveting.

[Van Lathan]

No, no, no, no, no. Like, I'll reach out to a friend of mine and see to see if she wanted to.

[Billy]

Oh, thought it was Bill.

[Van Lathan]

No, there's a friend of mine who, Who. Who attended the. The Texas A and M game, and I reached out to see if she wanted to maybe make an appearance on the podcast, but apparently she's on the plane. Yeah, I think maybe we should get her to come on Tuesday. I think the audience. I think the audience would like her. I've known her for a long time. It's like, met her while still at tmz, but.

[Joel Anderson]

Joel, TJ Finley coming to tj.

[Tay Frazier]

We got TJ Finley. A little teaser there.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, tj. Oh, TJ Finley is going to be on the podcast Tuesday. But. Yeah. So, Joe, I guess my. Incredible. My, my. My question about this whole thing is what the fuck did that story have to do with anything? Like, why like, why did you tell it in the group text? And what significance does it hold now?

[Joel Anderson]

Which story? Which one?

[Billy]

The dodgeball one.

[Van Lathan]

And the dodgeball situation. Like, the dodgeball. It wasn't dodgeball.

[Joel Anderson]

I told you, I did not talk about dodgeball. I don't know how it came up. And this is before the show started. And I was like, should I even tell this story? Because I was like, it's not interesting. I don't want to have more discussion about it. And so I let it go. And then you guys brought it up again, and I had to say, no, I was never talking about that.

[Tay Frazier]

We talked about the games. We needed one more story from Joe. Yeah, the whole point.

[Billy]

Wait, so you salt and you guys came back and won?

[Tay Frazier]

You beat the seniors? No, they lost.

[Joel Anderson]

Well, no, it was tied. It was tied. They ended the game 21. 21.

[Tay Frazier]

A tie.

[Van Lathan]

Wait, what ended the game in a tie?

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, man, I don't know. It's crazy, but, people, it was like a time. Like, they had a timer, you know what I'm saying? Like, the games were timed. Like they weren't. You know, it's in. I guess, because we had to keep moving, bro. There was a lot of other activities. I had to run. I had to run on the track team, you know, the sophomores. I had to run on the sophomore track team. And, you know. You know, I got busy there, so.

[Billy]

Yeah, I know that.

[Tay Frazier]

I know that.

[Van Lathan]

Joe, what was your. What was. What years did you play for? For. For TCU again?

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, I don't know. 96, 97.

[Van Lathan]

96.979697. I'm looking up. Damn. They go back. That's the. Your.

[Joel Anderson]

Your.

[Tay Frazier]

The smart Joel the year before.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, bro, they only.

[Van Lathan]

They only have the. The stuff on here since. From 98.

[Joel Anderson]

Let me show you. Let me show you a picture of the one that. So you all can. Yeah, yeah. I mean, well, I didn't know I was gonna have to do this.

[Van Lathan]

Have to do what?

[Billy]

I don't know.

[Joel Anderson]

You tight. You trying to figure out what was going on with the boy?

[Van Lathan]

I'm just looking it up.

[Joel Anderson]

You're trying to figure what's.

[Van Lathan]

Trying to go out with the boy we already know.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. Hold on. Here we go. Look at that.

[Van Lathan]

I just saw this video of you.

[Tay Frazier]

Extra.

[Joel Anderson]

I just saw this video where it says telegram. What's up, tcu.

[Van Lathan]

So you were. You were Ladanian Tomlinson's. That's. Actually, I'm be honest with you. That's pretty impressive. You were Ladanian Tomlinson's. Number one backup.

[Joel Anderson]

No, not at all. No, I didn't play at all.

[Tay Frazier]

No, he was the precursor to it.

[Van Lathan]

Why does it say here on ESPN that you were Ladanian Thomason's backup?

[Joel Anderson]

Because it always says that, man. And I've been told, people. I was just. Back up, back up, back up. The backup behind Ladanian. Actually, you don't want me to get into this. There was a guy that started over Danian named Basil Mitchell. Basil was a really good running back. He was there when I was there. It went from Andre Davis to Basil Mitchell to Ladanian. And Ladanian Delanium played fullback the first couple years, and then when he was a junior, he moved over to tailback and started getting all those carries. But the guy before him was Basil Mitchell. But even before then, there was another guy, man. Lance Williams.

[Van Lathan]

This is a name right here. Sterling Mukhtar Mitchell.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, Basil Muktar Mitchell from Mount Pleasant, Texas, man. Man, so. Man, we used to be in this. We used to be in this film room, man. And my boy, Johnny Williams.

[Tay Frazier]

Did he wrestle? Joe Mukhtar?

[Joel Anderson]

No, he didn't wrestle, though. Okay. No, he was. He. Basil was very serious, man. He did not wrestle. I was. I was. I was the goofy freshman. But anyway, the.

[Billy]

Daniel wrestle?

[Joel Anderson]

No.

[Billy]

Oh, I don't know.

[Van Lathan]

So did you wrestle anybody with a clout, or was this like a secret wrestling club?

[Joel Anderson]

Like I said, regular. I mean, it was mostly the freshman, red shirt freshman. Like that. That cornerback that came. They wanted to try to bully that. That. That cornerback that came to my, you know, room, knocking on the door, drunk, trying to wrestle. He was like a sophomore. That dude hated me, dog. I mean, I guess I can get it. You know what I'm saying? I understand.

[Billy]

I can get it.

[Joel Anderson]

I can get. I understand why somebody might hate me, you know?

[Billy]

What was his name?

[Tay Frazier]

No, there's no reason.

[Joel Anderson]

Oh, I'm not saying that.

[Van Lathan]

Nah.

[Billy]

Why not?

[Tay Frazier]

We gotta get him on the show. No way.

[Joel Anderson]

No.

[Tay Frazier]

A lot of good guests coming.

[Joel Anderson]

I don't need that. Yeah. Yeah. T.J. finley, man. That's what's up.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

I'm really working on another guest to. To. To come on the show for Tuesday to tell us her experience at the. At the Texas A. M game.

[Tay Frazier]

Perfect. We love it.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. It'll be good here, huh? Who is it?

[Van Lathan]

Friend of mine.

[Tay Frazier]

The friend Joel.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, is this person famous?

[Billy]

Joe, just be patient.

[Joel Anderson]

In some circles, I'm sure. Have y' all talked about this already?

[Van Lathan]

No, no, no, no, no. I just.

[Billy]

You were in the chat I was.

[Van Lathan]

Gonna get her to call, but she's on her way back to Miami, so. Friend of mine.

[Billy]

Just a friend.

[Joel Anderson]

Just a friend. No worries. All right, well, it'll be interesting.

[Tay Frazier]

This has been a fun show, guys. We. We've covered everything. The last part of the show that.

[Van Lathan]

Was functional was fun.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

There are parts of the show that were unintelligible that we.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah, look at you. That's got. That was God speaking to you by giving you up unintelligible.

[Van Lathan]

Because. Because our Ace. Our ace didn't have his best stuff today.

[Joel Anderson]

That's not me. You are Ace. You're the star man. Bill Simmons. Lathan. Let me tell you something, Van. Bill Simmons.

[Van Lathan]

Let me tell you something for sure. This is your podcast.

[Joel Anderson]

It's not. No, it's not.

[Tay Frazier]

Joe. You're our only representative at the cv.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

My God, I had a homeboy hit me up. That was that. And he sent me a text. This was the only text. This is the only thing the text says. He goes, yo, man, is that Joe for real?

[Tay Frazier]

Yes.

[Van Lathan]

You driving this car?

[Joel Anderson]

No. Van's a star, man. Bill. Don't even know who I am. He only. Like I said, he don't watch this show.

[Billy]

Joel, if you. If you go to the. The national championship, can you get us sweaters? Of course.

[Tay Frazier]

That's good call.

[Joel Anderson]

I bet I'll do anything.

[Billy]

Yeah.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah.

[Tay Frazier]

I need a large, Joel.

[Joel Anderson]

But we all gonna go to the same. We're gonna go to all to the same places except the game.

[Tay Frazier]

We just stand out at the game. Oh, that's perfect.

[Joel Anderson]

That's a good.

[Tay Frazier]

That's a good idea. Any parting shots, Joel? Van, Billy, anything that we left on the table. I feel like we covered it all.

[Van Lathan]

I mean, there's. There's. There's one thing.

[Joel Anderson]

Please. Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

I don't want to start a whole nother thing. I know we're coming to the end of the show, but really, I'm expecting a lot from. I'm expecting a lot from the playoffs this year. It.

[Joel Anderson]

The.

[Van Lathan]

The playoff season this year, with as much talk as there's been about, will really behoove college football. It'd be great for college football to have a really compelling, compelling playoff season this year. There's just. The sport in and of itself is just inspiring so much animus from so many different circles. You saw Kenny Dillingham in front of the media talking about how he. He needs somebody to stroke a check for $20 million. Obviously, we saw that Arizona State made a commitment to Kenny Dillingham that Seems to take him out of consideration for another job. Everybody's trying to protect the coach that they love from Michigan. I don't know that there's any amount of money or any amount of promises that you can make to a coach that doesn't want to stay with your program, but we're going to see people re up the same way that they kind of did to keep guys away from lsu, to keep guys away from Penn State. We'll see how far that it goes. But he says, you know, I need one of the people in this town here to stroke a check for $20 million so I can be competitive in college football. And it comes across so cynical. He's. He's not. He's not. Not telling the truth. He's telling the honest truth about what it takes to compete in college football in 2025, but it's so cynical. And a lot of times when we have conversations about the sport now, we're not talking about the game. We're not talking about the players lining it up. We're talking about the business of it all. We're talking about who should get the opportunity to play in the game. There are a bunch of other bowl games out there, some more interesting than others, that we are not talking about. We're not talking about them at all.

[Tay Frazier]

Gasparillo ball we didn't hit.

[Joel Anderson]

It's.

[Van Lathan]

There's going to be games that are. We're not discussing them at all. Seems as if a lot's happening in the sport that doesn't have very much to do with sport. So it would be really awesome if there was fantastic football. Moving on. Today's game between Miami and Texas A and M. Oh, I loved it. It would be really, really dope if we could get great football with compelling matchups, players going out there and reminding us that it's actually all about the football. The reason why we have the show, the sport, all of that stuff, it's about what the guys are doing on the field.

[Tay Frazier]

I like that. I like that final note there. Let's get back to the football. I think that's something we can all remember as we move forward through this college football landscape that is ever changing, ever evolving and ever uncertain as we move forward for it. We appreciate everybody tuning in to Ringer Tailgate, Joel Anderson, Van Lathan. I'm Tape Frazier. A fun show, a fun first round. The first two games were great. Last two not so much. But again, we got great matchups coming up on the back end. And Tuesday we will be back talking about all these matchups, Rose bowl is probably going to be one of the most fascinating ones. Joel, you're fired up now.

[Joel Anderson]

You want to talk about it? No, real quick. I mean, somebody Stephen Lunar, 52141 pointed out, hey, is Billy's bracket busted now that A M lost. That's, that's why it was a terrible decision to make Texas A and M your national champion. Yeah.

[Billy]

I went oh, and two in the first games.

[Joel Anderson]

I mean, anyway, that's all. I didn't have much.

[Tay Frazier]

It's always tough if you're bragging about your bracket, though, you know.

[Joel Anderson]

Yeah. I mean, Billy. Yeah, Billy was so much better to.

[Tay Frazier]

Be busted, you know, it's funnier that way.

[Billy]

Pressure off.

[Tay Frazier]

Yeah, exactly. It's over with. And also it was a bit, you know, ringer tailgate. We're having fun. Appreciate everybody tuning in. We'll be back on Tuesday. We'll see you all then. And I hope everybody enjoys the weekend and enjoys the holidays. We'll talk to you soon. Must be 21 or older in President select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and older in President D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-G GAMBLER or visit rghelp.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MD gamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 800-327-5050 for 27 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE in Y in New York, it.