Ringer Tailgate: CFB Week 9 LIVE Reactions (October 26, 2025)

Smarter Than Your Fan Forum, Chaotic as Ever

Hosts: Van Lathan, Tate Frazier
Guest: Brian Curtis (The Press Box)
Absent: Joel Anderson (dodging heat after Nico’s rough outing)

Episode Overview

This rambunctious, fast-paced episode of Ringer Tailgate delivers live, real-time reactions and hot takes from a slate of chaotic CFB Week 9 games. While the main focuses are on Texas’s wild comeback over Mississippi State, Ole Miss’s big win at Oklahoma, and chaos across the country, the crew dives into everything from coaching rumors to heated rants about college football’s strange new world.

Brian Curtis drops in wearing Texas orange just as his team seems doomed, only for them to storm back. While Joel Anderson is missing (“dodging us because Nico did not have a great day against Indiana”), his spirit haunts the chat. The episode is rich in banter, spicy takes on the coaching carousel, and in-the-moment football analysis—with a healthy garnish of college football weirdness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Indiana’s Big Statement Against UCLA & the Nico Debate

• [02:58] Van: “I gotta talk about how impressed I’ve been with the Indiana Hoosiers.”
  • Indiana dominates an “inferior” UCLA squad, showing unusual discipline and no letdowns.
  • [04:22] Tate: “Kurt Signetti the entire game looked disgusted...but [Indiana] cover double cover in this game.”
• Nico Watch: Joel’s beloved UCLA QB, Nico, starts with a pick-six and sputters all game.
• [06:43] Curtis: “I love Fernando Mendoza today because he reminds me of an 80s quarterback...robotic...but he gets it done.”
• Basketball comps: Mendoza as a “Malcolm Brogdon” or “Andre Miller”—solid, not flashy.

2. Steve Sarkisian Rumors & the Pressures of Modern CFB Coaching

• [08:59] Curtis: Reads a spoof “Titans statement” about keeping Sark away.
• Texas is floundering as rumors swirl Sark may be sniffing around the NFL:
  • [10:28] Van: “A lot of these coaches are realizing that...the NFL, those jobs are easier than college jobs. ...It’s almost like they’re already running a pro team.”
  • The transfer portal & NIL have made college jobs “less desirable.”
  • [12:23] Curtis: “You don’t have a lot of coaches with newborns coaching big time college football like that...maybe even if it’s the Titans, it can look at least somewhat appealing.”
• Playcalling Drama:
  • Discussion of whether Sark must give up some responsibility for Texas to be successful.
  • [13:46] Curtis: “He’s got to give something up at some point.”

3. QB Play: Arch Manning Talk

• [14:24] Van: “I am starting to take it personally...Arch is so breathtakingly mediocre.”
• [15:49] Curtis: “It’s the averageness of it. ...Only time he didn’t look average today is when he was running.”
• Later, after some big throws, Van begins to reverse course:
  • [30:32] B: “Arch is starting to find something.”
• Texas rallies in real time; group reacts live as Arch leads a furious comeback.

4. Alabama’s Miraculous Escape & Destiny Hype

• Alabama roars back vs. South Carolina:
  • [16:41] Van: “Alabama’s winning national championship. It’s over. ...Team of destiny.”
  • [21:40] Van: “God won’t deliver me from Alabama. ...When’s my time?”
• Extensive cathartic venting about Bama's unkillable status.

5. Ole Miss Road Triumph & Lane Kiffin’s Showmanship

• [19:58] Frazier: “Lane Kiffin obviously had not won against an AP ranked team on the road...and he gets a big win against Oklahoma.”
  • Chambliss is the breakout star, Mater slides down Heisman boards.
  • [19:58] Curtis: “He’s really mastered the 2025 media world, hasn’t he? We got another yoga tweet. ...I want to look like Lane Kiffin.”
  • Comparison to Harbaugh’s branding and modern college football personalities.

6. Conference Clarity: Nobody Knows Anything

• [31:44] Van: “We’re this deep into the season, we still don’t really know anything...There’s not a runaway player for the Heisman...It’s just a really odd, very efficiently chaotic season.”
• [33:31] Curtis: “We need conference championship games...to give us some clarity on a very efficiently chaotic year.”
• Many Power Four races are muddled; no clear Heisman favorite.

7. Vanderbilt Resilience & SEC Upstarts

• Vandy’s gritty win over Missouri with GameDay on campus:
  • [35:21] Van: “They’re going to be around...Vandy is a little bit, maybe underrated right now at 10 in the country.”
  • Vandy playing as frontrunners, not underdogs—a new challenge for them.
  • [36:58] Curtis: “It could be Vandy that’s going to end [Texas’s] season.”

8. Coaching Carousel: Are Elite Head Coaches Ever Normal?

• [28:32] Frazier intro: “Is there an example of a normal, well-adjusted head football coach who wins at a high level in college football?”
  • [28:32] Curtis: Names “James Franklin” and “Mack Brown.”
  • [29:00] Van: “Justice for Mack Brown, man. ...Mack Brown was a great coach.”
  • Overall consensus: Only the quirky survive.

9. Group of 5 Madness: South Florida vs. Memphis

• [23:49] Van: “Maybe the best game of the day was South Florida and Memphis...Memphis had to dig deep to come back and win that game.”
  • [24:23] Frazier: “Bad day to be a Nico—Nico Gramatica misses a late 52-yarder.”

10. Game Day & CFB TV Culture

• [38:37] Frazier: Invites Curtis’s take on the state of ESPN’s College GameDay.
  • [38:44] Curtis: “The McAfee thing was really crappy...to talk about the producers that make you look good every week.”
  • Conversation about the merits of the “dog” on set, kicker competitions (“hyper capitalist world—kick a field goal for $300,000, you broke motherfucker”), and stakes for fans.
  • [39:47] Van: “I love the dog. ...It’s a real human connection between man and dog now.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Indiana & UCLA

• [04:59] Van: “What y’all doing? All I saw was Newhouse on Newhouse on Newhouser.”
• [06:43] Curtis: “He reminds me of an 80s quarterback...very, very robotic, like a machine.”

On Sark and the Pressures of CFB

• [10:28] Van: “The NFL jobs are easier than college jobs...college football is enough like the NFL now...But then you still have to recruit...”
• [13:46] Curtis: “Actually, they hired [Sark] because Nick Saban laid his hands on you...not a play-calling thing.”

The Arch Manning Rollercoaster

• [14:24] Van (rant): “He is the cream of the crap, the best of the worst. He’s crazy average.”
• [30:56] Frazier (after a big Arch play): “Can we cut to like 15 minutes ago? Van’s like, ‘He’s an average quarterback. I’ve seen nothing.’”

Lane Kiffin, Personality Era

• [20:22] B: “Full on bought into the entire cultural aspect of college football when he got to Michigan at first—we had Quavo up there. The fuck the Migos got to do with Michigan football?”

Alabama’s Miraculous Win

• [16:41] Van (peak rant, devastated LSU fan): “When’s going to be my time to get over this thing with Alabama, man? It’s been going on too long. ...The best team in college football is over. Give them the trophy. I want to watch no more games.”

Vandy-Belief

• [36:58] Curtis: “If Vandy’s ever going to do it, right, it’s lined up right there for them.”

G5 Kicker Pain

• [24:23] Frazier: “Bad day to be a Nico—Nico Gramatica in that game does not make the kick.”

College GameDay’s Dog

• [39:43] Van: “I love one thing that everybody else hates about GameDay...the dog. I love it. ...It’s a real human connection between man and dog now.”

Conference Chaos (Theme)

• [31:44] Van: “We still don’t really know anything...Efficiently chaotic season.”

Rapid-Fire Highlights with Timestamps

• Indiana-UCLA reaction: [02:58–07:11]
• Texas/Sark rumors: [08:59–14:04]
• Arch Manning debate: [14:24–31:08]
• Bama escapes South Carolina: [16:18–21:40]
• Lane Kiffin/Ole Miss big win: [19:58–21:29]
• Vandy-Mizzou, GameDay at Vandy: [35:21–38:10]
• GameDay kicks & TV commentary: [38:10–45:27]
• Backup QBs are crucial: [51:50–52:52]
• Heisman chaos, lack of favorites: [54:36–57:07]
• Sunflower Showdown streak: [83:27–85:02]
• Nick Saban “I’m staying retired” talk: [86:35–87:22]
• Ringer channel plugs/Tate’s love for Samsung TV: [68:55–69:52]

Segment: Legacy Drives, Live Reactions (Texas vs. Mississippi State)

• The crew reacts live as Texas storms back from down 17, exchanging play-by-play and banter. Punt return heroics, a wild arch injury, and backup drama—all in real time.
  • [39:57] Curtis: “That is one of the best [punt returns]. That is a clutch punt return. You guys just missed it.”
  • [41:47] Van: “Darren Sharper. You feel what I’m saying? Oh, no, it was a Greg Jennings. ...I put the team on my back!”

Closing Thoughts & Parting Shots

• Van: Hypes up the chaos, dreads LSU’s fate, calls Texas A&M vs LSU as “referee legacy game.”
• Curtis: Ready to gloat text Joel about the Texas win.
• All: Linger on the (real) pains of their fandom and the absurd joy that is college football.

Final Themes & Takeaways

• The only certainty is chaos: No conference, team, or star can be fully trusted—every result seems plausible.
• Coaches & QBs under a bizarre new microscope: Sark, Lane Kiffin, Arch Manning, and even now backup QBs are all in constant flux.
• Legacy and identity in CFB: From GameDay’s dogs to “legacy drives” to coaching trees and traditions, college football is as much about personality as it is about wins.
• Ringer Tailgate remains the raucous, heartfelt home for the sharpest noise in the sport.

If you missed this episode: You truly missed a wild Saturday night in college football, captured by three supremely devoted fans, one snickering in the chat, and an episode as unpredictable as the games themselves.