Mike Gundy’s Last Move, Mateer’s Major Injury, and Big Van on Campus Breaking Down Lane Kiffin vs LSU

Summary

Ringer Tailgate College Football Podcast

Episode: "Mike Gundy’s Last Move, Mateer’s Major Injury, and Big Van on Campus Breaking Down Lane Kiffin vs LSU"

Hosts: Van Lathan, Joel Anderson, Tate Frazier

Date: September 25, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of Ringer Tailgate dives deep into a wild college football week, with sharp, lively banter about legacy-defining coaching moves (Mike Gundy’s future), brutal injuries (Oklahoma's John Mateer), heated job market speculation, and high-stakes SEC slugfests—especially LSU vs. Ole Miss, with a side of family drama. Van Lathan, Joel Anderson, and Tate Frazier tackle big-picture questions about talent and production, celebrate up-and-coming programs like Indiana, and debate which open jobs matter most. Expect signature moments, memorable quotes, and prime college football insight delivered with irreverence and edge.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Talent vs. Production in Modern CFB

[03:29 – 09:43]

• Van’s Big Reaction: Talent is overrated—production is what matters. He cites examples of unheralded players dominating over more “talented” but underperforming five-stars, including a defensive tackle from Southeastern who “wrecked” LSU’s O-line.

  "Talent is meaningless in college football. Talent doesn't mean anything... I'm seeing players who know how to produce, dominate." – Van Lathan [03:29]

• The crew discusses the difficulty of evaluating high school talent, sharing stories about can’t-miss prospects who fizzled, and late-bloomer success stories.

  "Evaluation is just so hard. High school kids, you just never know who’s going to…keep their head on straight…" – Joel Anderson [06:16]

• Transfer Portal Stats: Tate shares that the top seven transfer portal classes are a combined 27-0 (LSU, Texas Tech, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon, FSU, Mizzou).

  "No excuse, just produce." – (Drew League slogan, cited by Tate) [05:05]

2. The (Transfer) Portal Effect and Player Development

[09:44 – 14:38]

• The gang delves into the impact of the portal on player development and team chemistry. Van and Joel reflect on how instant-impact transfers can sometimes stifle the development of homegrown talent.

  "There are kids…that need reps…are they going to get those when production is so easy to bring in?" – Van Lathan [12:00]

• Shoutout to Russell Shepard (LSU), a college journeyman who later found success in the NFL—and, per Van, is “one of the truest Tigers that ever existed.”

3. John Mateer’s Injury & Oklahoma’s QB Crunch

[14:46 – 21:53]

• Joel’s prescient “big reaction” was that Mateer wouldn’t make it through the season. Mateer then broke his throwing hand (thumb) vs. Auburn.

  "He was running too much…they needed him so much, it just seemed like that load was untenable… How is this guy going to survive all year?" – Joel Anderson [15:02]

• They dissect replacement options (Michael Hawkins Jr.) and note that Jaydn Ott, a hyped transfer RB, has been nearly invisible due to possible injury or coach’s doghouse.
• Joel unpacks how coaches, doctors, and agents likely collaborated on the decision to operate and keep Mateer out for the Kent State game, potentially targeting Texas for a return.

4. Indiana: Now a "Football School"?

[21:53 – 29:30]

• Tate claims “Indiana is officially a football school” noting insane scoring margins, a new Heisman favorite (Fernando Mendoza), and the team’s resurgence.

  "Indiana is officially a football school. They have passed the baton. It is the time." – Tate Frazier [21:53]

• Joel and Van highlight how Indiana’s defense is as impressive as their offense, and contextualize what this means for the Big Ten race.

  "They got after Illinois's ass on defense… nine first downs! They have a real unit out there." – Joel Anderson [25:01]

• Van argues that Indiana’s legitimacy is a “sneaky big answer for the Big Ten”—maybe the ring of parity the conference needs.

5. Mike Gundy’s Exit: Will He Coach Again?

[29:30 – 36:52]

• The panel digests Mike Gundy’s abrupt end at Oklahoma State and his contentious attitude about the NIL era.

  "He’ll be back. He’ll get a bridge job—maybe Tulsa…to make a splash by hiring someone with tremendous name recognition…" – Van Lathan [29:52]

• They debate whether he’s likely to be hired by a Power 4 (or Group of 5) school, drawing parallels to Gary Patterson (TCU), Frank Solich, and Les Miles.
• Joel is skeptical:

  "If you did less with more, I'm not really going to expect you to do more with less." – Joel Anderson [35:53]

6. Start, Bench, Cut: UCLA, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State

[36:52 – 43:58]

• Ranking open jobs, Van would “start” UCLA (“you’re living in Los Angeles”), “bench” Virginia Tech, “cut” Oklahoma State.
• Joel values VT’s talent base and traditions (Hokie Pokie, Lane Stadium) but trashes Oklahoma State’s remoteness.

  "No one in Oklahoma that grows up there is trying to play at Oklahoma State… you don't have T. Boone Pickens money anymore." – Joel Anderson [40:32]

7. Overreaction of the Week: Arch Manning’s “Flex”

[44:53 – 48:07]

• Tate sets the scene: Arch Manning flexed on Sam Houston State’s "slimebacker" Antavious Fish, and his mom hated it.
• Van: Totally out of line for Arch.

  "That was a bitch move...You ain’t earned that flex, Arch. Score, get a ball to the referee, get back to the huddle…" – Van Lathan [44:53]

• Joel uncovers that Fish had earlier tackled and stepped over Arch—so maybe it was some deserved “get back.”

  "There was a little bit of a get back, then I could get it." – Joel Anderson [47:54]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 03:29 | "Talent is meaningless in college football." | Van Lathan | | 06:16 | "Evaluation is just so hard…" | Joel Anderson | | 24:24 | "At least you didn’t call me Mel Gibson on the show." | Tate Frazier | | 29:52 | "He’ll be back. He’ll get a bridge job…" | Van Lathan | | 35:53 | "If you did less with more, I’m not really going to expect you to do more with less." | Joel Anderson | | 44:54 | "That was a bitch move to me." | Van Lathan (on Arch Manning) | | 62:27 | "Now it’s not a game between LSU and Ole Miss anymore. It’s a game between Wit Weeks and his father-in-law… The Kiffin residence…" | Van Lathan (about player-dating-coach’s daughter rivalry) | | 79:02 | "He’s very much like a peacock among mere mortals, Michael Irvin." | Joel Anderson |

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 03:29 – 09:43: Van’s “production over talent” manifesto; evaluating high school stars vs. actual gamers.
• 14:46 – 21:53: Oklahoma QB crisis: Mateer’s injury, future outlook.
• 21:53 – 29:30: Indiana’s football awakening: stats, skepticism, and Big Ten impact.
• 29:30 – 36:52: Mike Gundy’s exit: legacy, job market, Group of 5 fit?
• 36:52 – 43:58: Job market debate: UCLA vs. Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State.
• 44:53 – 48:07: Arch Manning’s “flex,” the fine line of earned swagger.
• 51:21 – 66:00: Previewing key games: Oregon–Penn State, Alabama–Georgia, LSU–Ole Miss.
• 62:27 – 67:00: The “Big Van on Campus” segment: Ole Miss–LSU, Lane Kiffin’s daughter, family rivalry drama.
• 70:54 – 76:07: Rapid-fire games to watch, Big Ten & SEC breakdown, sleeper picks.
• 79:02 – 82:04: “Complimentary Football” — a Michael Irvin appreciation (and Michael Irvin for head coach?!)

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High-Profile Previews

(Key Game Analysis)

• Oregon @ Penn State (Whiteout)
  • Franklin’s legacy game; Oregon finally gets real test ([51:21–55:08]).
• Alabama @ Georgia
  • Bama needs this win for fanbase belief and playoff hopes. Injuries, defensive drop-off for Georgia ([55:10–59:35]).
• LSU @ Ole Miss — With a Family Plot Twist
  • "Van, Big Van on Campus": Wit Weeks (LSU) dating Lane Kiffin’s daughter. Now it’s personal. Can’t lose or you become “just another son-in-law.” ([62:27–67:00]).

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Closing Thoughts & Tone

The episode’s energy is loose, funny, and brutally honest—lots of real talk about player psyches, coaching egos, and the absurd soap-operatic threads that make college football great. The chemistry among Van, Joel, and Tate is top-tier, mixing sharp analysis with hilarious asides.

The show closes with an unexpectedly deep appreciation of Michael Irvin’s deranged YouTube content and a plea for fans to lighten up on social media. As ever, college football isn’t just about the games—it’s family, feuds, spectacle, and a little chaos.

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This summary gives you the laughs, insights, and drama from the latest CFB week, plus bite-sized context to join any barroom debate. Get the lowdown on Mike Gundy’s ouster, Oklahoma’s QB grid, and why Lane Kiffin’s home might be the new frontline in SEC rivalry—with enough big-picture takes to keep you thinking until Saturday’s kickoffs.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Welcome back to Ringer Tailgate. I'm your host, Tate Frazier, and we are here to have a fun time talking about college football. We got big reactions, big questions, fraud detection, and of course, big van on campus. But first and foremost, let's say what's up to Van Lathan. Van, good to see you on this Wednesday, man. How you doing?

[A]

What is going on the Wednesday before the storm? What a big weekend of college football coming up, guys.

[B]

He's already pump faking. Yeah, it's one of the best weeks we've seen in college football. Obviously, week one got a lot of love, but week five is going to be great. And of course, Joel Anderson is here as well. Joel, good to see you, man. How you doing?

[C]

Got two more days, you know, big, big, Big 12 showdown in Tempe, Arizona. Have y' all ever been to Tempe? I've never, I've never been to Arizona.

[B]

Oh, wow. Mr. I've lived everywhere. Never been to Arizona.

[C]

I've only been. I've only done layovers in the Phoenix airport. I've never, never been to the state. I want to go real bad. Real, real bad.

[A]

But, yeah, never done Arizona before. Which is interesting because a lot of my friends say that the Scottsdale area is where an older, conservative woman can show you the ins and outs of of the second part of her life. That's what I hear, huh?

[B]

You know, great golf.

[C]

Well, you know what? I remember they did a long. Playboy did a very long interview with EMT Smith. Very long. When. And so, and this is when he was with the Cowboys, right? And he said, and I'll never forget this, they asked him what NFL city has the best looking women. And he said, Phoenix. And then I just took note when he signed with the Cardinals.

[A]

Cardinals, yep.

[C]

At the end of his career.

[A]

So, so anyway, if I'm, if I'm a, if I'm going to break the Russian record, I might as well break some other things, too.

[B]

Go hard off the field and on the field. That's the way to do it.

[C]

Shout out.

[A]

Y' all remember the Emith clip of him singing along to Kanye? You remember that?

[C]

No.

[A]

Oh, God. There is a clip of Emith. Y' all seen this, man? There's a clip of EMT Smith singing along to Kanye. And Jeezy, he's going, I feel like a steel bitch. Is that only sex, Emmett? I could just tell. Emmett gets into it. That's all I'm saying.

[B]

Let's give some love to Emmett Smith. You know what I mean? That's what we're supposed to do on the show. But again, we got a big show. College football. Big week, big reactions, big questions. All that and more coming up here on Ring or Tailgate. This is Ring or tailgate, presented by FanDuel and college football Saturdays are already delivering. Every game means something right now. Ranking shift, upsets hit and the best place to stay on top of it all 4 Fanduel whether you're riding a new kickoff or betting the late games, FanDuel lets you bet it your way. Same game parlays, live betting, player props, alt lines. Whatever your angle is, it lives in the app. So if you're watching all the action, bet on it. Now with FanDuel, download the app and head to FanDuel.com tailgate and make every Saturday count. The ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available and LinkedIn. Listen to the end of the episode for additional details. All right, let's get to it. Ring your tailgate. Like we said, a big week. We'll get to the previews a little bit later, but first we got to get to the reactions. We talked on Saturday a little bit. We talked dabo Fran Brown. That was probably the biggest shocker of the weekend. But one big reaction. Van, I go to you first. What was your one big reaction from over the weekend?

[A]

My one big reaction is actually a larger thought. Talent. Talent is meaningless. It's meaningless in college football. Talent doesn't mean anything. It's a meaningless collection of skills. The only thing that I am going off of now is production. Only production matters. I'm seeing kids that are coming from low D1 school FCS schools, right? I'm seeing kids that are coming from places where they never got a chance. I watched a kid from Southeastern Proctor at defensive tackle wreck the LSU offensive line. Not that that's that difficult to do. But I'm seeing players who know how to produce dominate. Players that have the 40s and the shuttle drills and the verticals and the bench presses. I'm watching production beat talent at every single turn. I'm watching football players win. And I don't want to hear anymore about where you project a guy about his measurables, about what he's going to do when, how, when. It's a wooza. It's a ways, it's a whatever. I want to talk about the people who are producing, who are winning one on ones, who are making plays, who are making reads. They that is what we Talk about, that's what we should be talking about. The talent seems to be evaporating at so many different schools all over the country.

[B]

And yeah, I was going to say this feels like you're, you're calling out the Clemson Tigers because again, the most talented team in the country and right now sitting at 1 and 3 and allegedly. Yeah, exactly. Preseason most talented team in the country and the town is not working out. I remember Drew League, they had the slogan, no excuse, just produce. There you go.

[A]

Yeah, no excuse, just produce. And so I'm saying it's not just Clemson. I don't want to just pick on the kids over at Clemson, but I'm just seeing this everywhere. I, we do the preseason rankings and they make sense in order to contextualize the season. I'm not one of those guys. I'm not that big of a Pierce, but what I am is someone that's saying we're talking about so many different variables in college football. LSU is up against a quarterback this weekend who came from a school that most people haven't even heard about, but he's playing fantastic football player. Football player, right. So I am off of the talent. But I'm also saying, last thing I'll say, I'm watching five stars along our offensive line at LSU getting pushed around. So no more. Don't tell me nothing else you got to show me.

[B]

Joel's just laughing.

[C]

I, I, I respect it. I respect it. I mean, you know, I mean, the thing is, is that, you know, so much of this is, I mean, evaluation is just so hard. High school kids, you just never know who's going to, you know, keep their head on straight, who's going to, you know, who developed, you know, really early and doesn't have that much more to go. There was, you know what? I ain't gonna say this kid's name. When I was in Tampa, that was a kid, he was the number one rated recruit in the country. And you probably, people could probably look it up and figure out who it is. He was a defensive lineman and the dude looked like a grown ass, man. Like, I remember he was a sophomore and he came to practice at this school in Tampa and I was like, man, where'd he, where did he used to play at, bro? Like, where? You know, Florida State or something like that. And he was a sophomore in high school. Like, he was just like rocked up and he played, you know, went to college, did okay. He ended up having to transfer and go someplace else. And I think maybe he spent a couple years in the league. But it was just like, man, you know, evaluation is just so tough at that level. And then the thing is, too, is, like, a lot of the people that are doing the evaluation, you know, not that I've been around football my whole life, I thought Trent Richardson was going to be a great running back, right? Like, and I thought Pat Mahomes was going to be terrible. So we all can get it right sometimes, man. I saw Pat Mahomes play against tcu, and I was just like this trash, like, I was just like, what is this trash against us, man? I was so frustrated.

[A]

I saw Texas Tech play against LSU in the Texas bowl, and I was like, yo, man, how the fuck they get this motherfucker? I saw him play against lsu and I'm like, how did he get this guy? Look at what we got at qb. No disrespect, was it Zach Mettenberger? I don't know if it was Mettenberger. At that time, that Texas bowl was 1716, so whatever it was. But I remember watching them play and thinking, God damn, this dude here is crazy.

[C]

Yeah, man. Yeah. I, I, I, I, I know that people can get around, but it's just like the evaluation that happens at that level is a whole bunch of people that are willing to do it and not necessarily a great at it. So I get what Van's coming from. But, like, the thing is, all things being equal, I want talent. You know what I mean? And I'll figure out. I figured that's the, that's the thing that Nick Saban figured out is it's like, I can get talent, but I also know how to motivate it and develop it. I don't want, you know, if I'm a coach, try hard is cool. But I want talent, and production matters.

[B]

I think that's the big point there. Production.

[A]

The only thing that matters. It's literally the only thing that matters. The only thing that matters is how well you do a thing when you're given the opportunity to do it, it's the only thing that matters. Like your ability to maybe do that thing. That's talent. And that's very important because then that decides how much people invest into you. I get that. Joel is right. But the only thing that actually matters is how well you do the thing. And I like production. I'm a production guy.

[B]

Let's get hit with the first fact here, because we're talking about production, and this is pretty fascinating. The top seven transfer portal classes in college football are a combined 270 right now. So that goes back to. They produce somewhere else. They were identified as producers and they come up, bump up a level, bump up to a different team, and now they're producing wins. LSU, Texas Tech, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon, FSU, Mizzou combined 27 and 0. Joel, is that something that you buy into or is that just a, a coincidence at this point?

[C]

I'll buy into it. If they're 54 and 0 at the.

[A]

End of October, lose one game.

[C]

Well, just, I mean, I think that, like, it's really tough to know who's good. Like, do we actually know if UCF is good? Do we know if Texas Tech is good? It's really hard because a lot of the, the, the teams have not gone through their conference schedule yet. They've not gone through tough times yet. So I, I judge a team like really it's about like mid October. I feel like when I have a sense of how good a team actually is because they've been through some tough times, you, injuries have piled up, maybe the weather turns bad, you know, you've got to, you've stayed focused, you've kept a bunch of 18 to 23 year olds focused for two months at a time. So I, I think that it's good. And obviously like Texas Tech and Miami, they've done a great job in assembling a lot of talent and bringing it in. Right. And getting immediate results. But I mean, the thing about that too is that lsu, Miami, Oregon, fsu, Ole Miss, all those schools are talented all the time anyway, right? Like it is, that's, that's kind of what they're working with anyway. And it doesn't matter how they assemble the talent, whether it's through the portal or whether they recruit them, they're going to have talent on those teams and they're probably going to do well. But I want to see what's going to happen when Texas Tech win. You know, now they've got to depend on their backup quarterback, Hammond, or you know, one of those defensive linemen gets nicked up, you know, or they, you know, they, they're playing against BYU in, in mid November and it's snowing outside. Like I, I want to know what all that's going to mean it in a couple of months. I don't think right now that I can read too much into the record of all these teams that have compiled all that, that talent via the transfer portal.

[B]

And it's a little bit of a cherry pick stat, right? I mean, if you do the top six, top seven classes, right? Van Six, seven.

[A]

Yeah, I mean you, you go deeper, maybe the records change or whatever.

[B]

Well, the ninth best class was unc. So you, you go, you go down two levels.

[C]

Damn right.

[B]

And it's over.

[C]

They got, they got Geo Lopez, man.

[A]

You know what, what it does go to show is that for these big time schools, the development of the players they already have. Once again, we've talked about this before. I've talked about this before. The development of the players they already have with will sometimes come in second to go in and get somebody who produced somewhere else. So if you look at the results there, lsu, Texas, Miami, Ole Miss, these are not so much Ole Miss, Oregon, these are top flight schools. These are schools that have had a lot of success. And that means if you are. I can think of all kinds of players at LSU who. The light didn't come on freshman year. It didn't come on like there's Badger, who right away, that kid's got something. But then there are other players. Remember Jason Campbell from Auburn?

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Do you remember the senior year that Jason Campbell had when he all of a sudden had a grasp of the offense, the talent around him? It all came together. You wonder right now if that guy gets that opportunity to do that or if in this college football landscape they bring in someone else. So there's a double edged sword with this because there are kids behind the, that need reps, behind some of these guys in these schools that need reps. And you wonder whether or not they're going to get those reps when the production is so easy to bring into these schools that have all these resources.

[C]

I'm going throw a name at you, Van. I'm going throw a name at you. Because a guy that I think of when I think of Russell Shepard. You remember Russell Shepard?

[A]

I do remember Russell Shepard. Number one dual threat quarterback from south, from Houston.

[B]

Played wide receiver too, right. Moved him all over.

[A]

You know, Let me tell you something about Russell shepherd that I always love. That's one of the truest Tigers that ever existed. Because Russell being the number one dual threat QB and coming to LSU was a big deal. But man, did Russell shepherd love lsu. He loved lsu. I remember watching him in a high school game, a high school like all star game. He's out there trying to recruit guys, get them to come to lsu. They tried him at, at slot, at halfback, at wide receiver. He played everywhere just to make use of that athleticism. And then I can make an argument that it never actually even came together for Shep in college, period. And Then he gets to the NFL and has a fantastic career. But what a Tiger. What a great football story.

[B]

Russell shepherd, man, and Patrick Peterson, right, was on that team as well, and he was sort of the guy that was the breakout star of that group. I remember I was at that game. 2010, open the season, chick fil a kickoff. North Carolina, LSU. North Carolina has like 15 players suspended because of the Butch Davis times. And Patrick Peterson ran a pump back in. That game was incredible. Shout out to Russell Shepard. Haven't heard and talked about him in a long time. One big reaction.

[A]

Opened up a sanitation business.

[B]

Shout out.

[C]

He did good business and he got his. He stayed long enough to get his NFL pension, and now he's a businessman.

[B]

Cut the check.

[A]

Russell's doing well, man. Shout out to Russ. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.

[B]

No, we got to get that jersey, that lsu, Russell shepherd jersey, number zero. A great jersey. Next up, one big reaction. Joel, what do you got on the board?

[C]

So this is the caveat I'm going to put here. And Tate and Van will have to vouch for me.

[B]

We will vouch.

[C]

I put this in the prep document hours before we got the release that he got injured. But I said that John Matier isn't going to make it through the season.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[C]

Yeah. And it was. And so we got the release a couple days ago that he had broken a bone in his throwing hand, his right hand.

[B]

His thumb.

[C]

First quarter.

[B]

Yeah, it's his thumb. Yep.

[C]

His thumb against. Then the first quarter of that game against Auburn. Right. But even before that news, it was just obvious to me that the. They were running him too much, like he had too much of a burden. So he's dropping back 35 times a game. But also, they ran him 43 times. He's the Sooner's leading rusher. He's rushed 43 times for 190 yards. And that's like, you know, about 10, 12 ahead of the next leading guy, Tory Blaylock, a freshman. And so. But the scariest part of that number to me was that when the games were tight, when the defenses were good, they needed him so much. Like, he had 19 carries versus Michigan. Didn't even average four yards a carry. He had 10 against Auburn. It just seemed like that load was untenable. And I was like, man, how is this guy going to survive all year if you keep running him up into the defense like that and you're expecting him to. To throw? It just seemed. I mean, he's not Tommy Frazier, you know, What? I mean, like, it just, I didn't, I didn't think, I don't think they wanted to have to play him like that. But it. Obviously Oklahoma didn't have a running game or they didn't feel like they had enough running threats to, to generate enough of a game. So I'm hoping now, like, I'm, you know, I, I like ou, man. I spent some time in ou. I, It's a, it's a program that I, I've got some warmth towards. So I Hope Michael Hawkins Jr. Can pass. You know, it didn't.

[B]

Started four games last year. At least he has some experience. Played against Texas last year. Right. I mean, he's a dual threat guy. He can run a little bit on his own. And also Jay Knott, right. Who they brought from Cal, he was supposed to be the back for them.

[A]

For him to kind of break out, though.

[C]

So that's the thing.

[A]

That's the, that's.

[C]

I was going to say he. So he was one of the top running backs out of the portal and he was supposed to have been a huge coup for the Sooners out of the portal and he's got nine carries for 17 yards.

[B]

Wow. I didn't even know that stat. That's crazy. Yeah.

[C]

Brit Venable, and Brit Venables has been sort of coy about what's going on. He was just like, well, maybe he's not fully healthy because he was hurt a lot last year. But then he said something last week. He was like, you wish he was further. You wish he was a little further along in every way. I don't know what that, that sounds kind of like, is he hurt? Is he in a doghouse? Something like that. But.

[A]

Oh, he's definitely hurt. Excuse me. He's definitely in a doghouse.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Further along in every way says every way includes study. Every way includes grasp of the offense. Every way includes a lot of things that don't have anything to do with whether or not you're seeing it on the field. Some of that stuff is effort stuff and how you're.

[C]

And how you're attacking. Rehab, right?

[A]

Sure. Yeah.

[C]

Too right. So if, if, if Oklahoma is going to get through this stretch. And so the good thing for them is that they've got a bye week this week. Then they come back and play Texas.

[A]

Yeah. So by week, Kent State. Texas or Kent State.

[B]

What a tough schedule for Kent State. My God, all they do is play whipped on.

[A]

What are they thinking over there at Kent State? Like getting. Every week I'm looking it up and somebody's going to put it to Kent State. Now, Oklahoma is going to be pissed. They don't have their qb. They're going to go out there and run it for a hundred times against Kent State. They're not going to be able to go to class next week. So I'm looking at this, Joel. I guess my question is the fact that he's going to have a couple of weeks off. Now, that's a. It's a bone. It's not a tendon, which means it's faster healing. Does this bow well, could you see him playing against Texas? Is that too quick?

[C]

I feel like he could. I do think that there's a possibility because that's the end of a third week, right? And so that gives you the opportunity to maybe play. But the way that I also think about this playoff stuff now is like, okay, let's just say he's not ready. He can't play against Texas. They lose that game, right? Maybe they can afford to drop that game, get him healthy for the next week, right? And then when, you know, they go. They go on the road, I think, to South Carolina the week after that, make sure he's healthy. And then at the end of the year, the playoff committee is like, well, man, when the Sooners lost that game, they ain't even had it. Starting quarterback.

[B]

We get context now, right? Like, we can put it together to say, he didn't play in that game. They were a different team also. I mean, Hawkins played against Texas last year, so maybe there's some familiarity there for him starting in that rivalry game, so maybe that helps a little bit.

[C]

He got his ass beaten that game last year, too. The experience he got was bad.

[A]

We're looking at Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri.

[B]

Get him back for Ole Miss.

[A]

There. There is not a game in that situation where they're not going to need John Mateer. The games where they're not going to need John Matier is the Kent State game. Other than this, you know, obviously, everyone knew about the schedule. There are no layups on this schedule for Oklahoma. They need their QB back.

[B]

It is fascinating, too. He finished that game in the fourth quarter, which is kudos to Mater. He goes 9 for 9, leads a touchdown drive to win that game. And then they still decide to do surgery, which, I mean, Joel, you could speak to this a little bit more as a player, but, I mean, is that something that you're. If you get that done, I feel like you're like, hey, I'm all right. Like, let's just keep playing. Or, you know, does someone else, the medical staff say, we need to do this now, or is this like agent involvement? This feels like it goes up like three or four levels.

[C]

Yeah, I think that, that probably. I mean, that's a collaborative decision, Right. It's like his representation and the team, they're like, look, man, you know, there's no need in you playing. You're not going to look good if you're throwing hand. You've got a broken bone in your throwing hand, Right. Like, eventually there's going to be a toll taken on that hand. So it's like, all right, well, why don't we just regroup, get you healthy, you know, take. Get the surgery you need right now and you got two weeks, right. Like, you don't. We don't need you back in terms of Kent State. And, you know, you never know. I mean, we don't know how fast a healer he is or what kind of, you know, elixir he'll have to take to get back out on the field. But maybe there's a chance that you can get it back in time for the Texas game. I mean, I think there's a. An outside chance that we could see him in that game, but at a minimum, I think he'll be back the week after against South Carolina. So, yeah, I feel like that's a. You know, you. You probably. I bet Mattia would love to play, but he also is smart enough to realize there's so much on the line, there's so much ahead of me that, like, why risk it?

[A]

Yeah. But also from a football perspective, you have to look at this for that gauntlet that Oklahoma is going to have coming up. They don't just want material to be playing, they want him to be playing at his best, Right. Gelling with his offense, getting all the reps, the game reps that you would need to be operating on optimal level to make a playoff push. And now we know that at least that is going to be interrupted by this injury. The opportunity for him to just continue to grow in the offense, for them to continue to figure out, you know what. How they use him best, maybe take some of the toll off of him and other players around him to grow, for him to build that chemistry with some of his other guys. All of that stuff is important, particularly when you have a schedule that's that tough.

[B]

Hmm. Let's talk about my one big reaction, Indiana football. You mentioned John Mateer going out. Now we have a new Heisman favorite. According to Fanduel, Fernando Mendoza, the quarterback of the Indiana Hoosiers. So I say to you guys, Indiana is officially a football school. They have passed the baton. It is the time. Kurt Signetti looks like a Bobby Knight disciple that's coaching football for this team.

[A]

Somebody, I mean, remember when Bobby choked. I was at. I was in college when Bobby choked. Neil Reed. I was in college, and it was like Bobby choked someone. And then it was a whole big deal. It was a bizarre time to watch Bobby Knight and the choking of somebody be on cnn. And then he was gone. They ain't been the same since. Yeah, at the old Depot for a couple years. And then after that, they ain't really been the same.

[B]

Tom Kareen tried to get him there. Mike Davis, 2002. Right. They go to the national championship game. But those have been blips, not bombs, as far as the program. And right now, they just hired Darien Dev. So they're trying to reset the whole thing. But again, Indiana is a football school. Here's why. I got some stats for you guys. Outscored opponents by 520 points since the start of last season. That's the best in the FBS. Points per game difference leader last two seasons, 30.6. The next closest team, Ohio State, 24.6. Right. So six points difference from the second team as far as points per game differential. Highest graded team this season according to pff. I know a lot of people roll their eyes at PFF. I worked at PFF, and so I give them some love. 99.5.

[A]

Asking you for your.

[C]

I didn't know you worked at pff, man.

[A]

Pff. What you do for pff.

[B]

Hey, man, I was an editor and I wrote about college football. A lot of people don't know that, but 99 and a half.

[C]

I need to look up your resume, man.

[A]

Yeah, we talk about JOEL T. You're 31. Yeah. Like how, how, how on earth all this. Wait a sec.

[C]

He's called Mike Lombardi.

[A]

And wait, what are you. This is not why. I never understand. I gotta say something about this. A lot of times I will watch these movies and like Lethal Weapon, and you will watch the movie and there's always one up and coming young whippersnapper white star with a black co star. The black co star is 50. The white coast, the white guy is 32. And when you look at these different movies, like, oh, it's like, hey, Joe, you are not Joel Tate. You're the Martin Riggs of this show. Okay, Me and Joel, we too old for this shit. We.

[C]

Danny Glover.

[A]

Yeah, like you.

[B]

At least you didn't call me Mel Gibson on the show.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just be careful. Look. Look at all of the different things that he's already. I work for. Pff. I work for this guy. I got my own company. This all. Look at you. What are you doing? How I didn't get to TMZ till I was 31.

[B]

I'm just trying to make some money, man. I'm just, you know, trying to get some things through. And also, college football. I love college football. But three things right there. Indiana football school, and then, last thing, Mendoza. 14 touchdowns, zero interceptions. This is the real stat that I like. 9.8 yards per attempt. I love yards per attempt.

[A]

When you talk about a quarterback per attempt. Yards per play. I love that.

[B]

I love it.

[C]

Y.

[B]

No interceptions.

[C]

It ain't even. You know what's funny to me, too, is that, like, you know, a lot of times at a school like Indiana that comes out of nowhere and people, you know, they're good all of a sudden in their dominant program, people fixate on the offense. It's like, oh, man, they schemed up some shit. They got an NFL quarterback, they can figure it out. The thing about Indiana that was sort of amazing is that they got after Illinois's ass on defense, man. I mean, they had Luke outmire and, hell, they held him to 106, 161 yards offense in that game, nine first downs. So they have, like, a real team. They got, like, real. A real unit out there. Like, it's not like they're just outscoring people. They're also putting the wood to people on defense. Like, I don't. You said they're a football school. Are they? Oh, wait, is that. Was there a pause in there?

[B]

Yeah. Van is pausing with his eyes.

[A]

Okay, you go from the unit to the wood. Like, go ahead, bro. Go. Like, just go ahead, y', all, man.

[C]

They couldn't even make the movie the Wood anymore now, man, just because it's just like. I see. But, yeah, man, So I just. I. You know, I shout out Kurt Signetti, man. It's kind of like, you know what they say when, you know, somebody's got, like, a attractive partner or whatever, and they're like, well, can they fight? Well, Indiana, can you fight? Because you're gonna have to. Kurt Signetti, man. Like, if you have a good job this offseason, and it looks like probably the best job on the market will be, I don't know, Florida, possibly, I guess. I mean, I imagine that that's gonna be one of the first calls they make. And they gonna. They're gonna try to get him a whole lot of cash to go down there.

[A]

It's gonna be hard though, because the rest of the SEC coaches are still very busy talking up Billy Napier. They're defending him.

[B]

Brian Kelly did a great job of it.

[A]

They don't want him to go nowhere. I'll tell you guys something right now. The national media needs to get off Billy's back. He's got those young men down there in class five days a week. Can you do that? Can you make people go to class? Okay, we love Billy Napier. They talk him up. They don't want to see Craig Nate down there. Something about Indiana. Two things. One, what Joel said was an outstanding observation. If you watch that game, we weren't aerating it out and catching somebody on an off night. We weren't going. We lined up both in the trenches on both offense and defense. We threw it, we ran it, we played defense and complimentary football. It's a real football team that plays with passion, understanding and a lot of expertise, precision. Very impressed with what I saw them do. Secondly, this is also a sneaky big answer for the Big Ten. We talked about it earlier in the season. For the Big Ten to really be a conference that is going to snatch the mantle from the sec, it couldn't just be Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. The teams that we know are going to be good. There was going to have to be another team in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is wherever they are. That was going to step up and say that we have the opportunity to be elite too. Whether or not that was going to be Illinois or Indiana, obviously Indiana had a great season last year. You know, them not being a one year wonder and being able to do something that's recreatable and maybe threaten those other three teams for Big Ten supremacy is a huge deal for the conference itself.

[B]

And remember last year, right? It was, nobody believes in Indiana. They had that hot start, Nebraska comes there, they blow out Nebraska. Then the reactor reaction was, okay, well, Nebraska is not very good. Then they played Michigan, they beat the shit out of Michigan. And everyone's like, well, Michigan, not very good. The two teams that they lost to play the national championship game, Notre Dame and Ohio State. So like, even the conversation around them the entire year was pretty disrespectful. So I feel like this year we should do them the favor of just saying, hey, this is a really good football team.

[C]

Well, yeah. And I mean, the thing is about it, too, is. You got to imagine if again, Wisconsin, another school that may have an opening at some point this year, Minnesota, Michigan State. They're like. They're looking at Indiana and they're like, how did they leap us in the. In the standings? Like, I don't, you know, like, this is. This is not supposed to happen. I mean, Indiana has been consistently one of the worst power conference schools in the. In the country. And so is. It'd be reasonable for all those other schools to look at that and be like, hmm, why can't we do this? Like, what? You know, it'll have them looking at their coaches and being like, hey, man, Kirk can do it. Why can't you do it from here?

[B]

Yeah. Talking coaches, let's do one big question, because this was big news. He is a man. He is 58, and he is no longer the head coach of Oklahoma State. And the question is simple. Will Mike Gundy, the winningest coach in Oklahoma State history, ever coach college football again? Van, I turn to you. Do you think Mike Gundy is done? Is this the end of all the quotes that we've heard over the years? Will we ever see him coach again?

[A]

He'll be back. He'll get a bridge job. He'll be back at a smaller school. A school, maybe Tulsa, make a splash. Maybe Tulsa, when they lose their coach, wants to make a splash by hiring a coach that has tremendous name recognition. And despite the way that it's ended these last couple of years, has been incredibly successful at the spot that he's been at. He will get another job. The question is whether or not he'll get another big job. Oklahoma State is an interesting place to coach because for a certain degree of coach, it's your last job. But for a different degree of coach, it's a job that you use to get to your next one, Oklahoma State, then to lsu. Mike Gundy, I feel like, would have stayed there forever, right?

[B]

Played there, he was an assistant, played.

[A]

There the entire deal. The question for him now is, does he want to get back to a point where he can shove it in their face a little bit and get to a Power 5, Power 4 school and really elevate that school to a national championship level and show the Oklahoma State alumni and the entire fan base that they made a mistake kicking him while he was down?

[B]

He was offered the opportunity, Joel, to retire, or at least make the announcement that he was going to retire at the end of the season and coach out the rest of the season. He told them, f. That I'm Off. I'm off that I'm not doing that. And then obviously the news comes out. And he also compared the NIL era before he was fired to being in an argument with a spouse. He said, quote, whether I agree with it or not, it makes zero difference. Does that sort of attitude maybe make people stay away from him because he's obviously not embraced the NIL era?

[C]

Well, yeah, I mean, so I don't, I never want to say never, but just imagine if you're a fan of a G5 school, like, let's say you're, you know, a fan of Kent State or you're a fan of, you know, South Alabama or something like that. Shout out to the Jaguars.

[B]

Yeah, Lopez.

[C]

That's right. That's what you know. And they bring, they say we're going to bring in Mike Gundy. Well, would you be excited about that? I mean, because like, you were. You had the resources. You had a school that, I mean, for all intents and purposes will put a statue up at some point for you, right? Like, he's the greatest coach in Oklahoma State history. Like, they reached all these heights and then they were like, ah, I think we're kind of, we're past this now. So if, like Oklahoma State, he, he doesn't mean more to anybody than he means to Oklahoma State. And Oklahoma State thought, you know what, probably time that we got to get on past you. Well, I mean, what are you going to do at a school that has fewer resources that's got to, you got to compete against guys that are getting their guy, their kids poached all the time. It's going to require a whole nother level of energy and enthusiasm, and I just kind of wonder if he can muster that again. So I don't know, like, maybe if North Texas loses Eric Morris or Memphis moves on from Ryan Silverfield or Jeff Traylor ever leaves utsa, maybe they bring in Mike Gundy. But my thought is, why would you.

[A]

I mean, that's a good hire for somebody.

[C]

You man a good hire at this point.

[A]

It's a good hire for someone. It is. I mean, a guy that's won that much at a school that is a looking to.

[B]

16 winning seasons, two losing seasons, the first one and the last one. Right.

[A]

But the same reason why Frank Zolich is a good hire at Ohio back in the day after his Nebraska run. Like, it's, it's. He's a good, he's a good hire for somebody for sure.

[C]

Let me tell, let me tell you, let me tell you. So I'M gonna. And this is personal experience. Gary Patterson would have been a great hire for somebody, but he ain't never been nobody's head coach again, right? Gary Patterson is the greatest coach in TCU history. He led. Gary Patterson has created a whole generation of FCS to FBS schools and small FBS schools that have increased their ambition because what happened again at TCU should not be possible. We were a nothing program and he turned us into a national, a nationally recognizable brand. Right. And he, you know, he didn't do terrible. Like it ain't like he finished 2 and 10. But he's been out of work now for about three, four years. Who's going to hire him? I was thinking about Ralph Fridgeon. Ralph Fridgeon did great at Maryland. A school that fan doesn't like to talk about.

[B]

Yeah, you love Maryland football.

[C]

Yeah, I love big Turks fan. Like Indiana football is more exciting.

[A]

About like it's a completely different thing.

[C]

But I'm just saying. But so Ralph Ridgeon ain't never been no head coach again. You know what I'm saying? I just like it's just you.

[A]

But Joe, some of that has to do with what types of jobs those coaches would want, right? I mean if you're either guy and you want to go coach at Washington, if you want to coach at Wazoo, you want the SC job, you want to be in the realm in the net when your naming had at Florida, like you might not be able to get one of those jobs. The question is not whether or not you can get back to the perch you were on. The question is are you a good hire for anyone? And if you are at a directional school that is looking to get rid of their coach and rebuild their program, you have to think a Power 4 winning coach is a good hire for one of those schools. We've seen it before. That's all I'm saying.

[C]

Les Miles is a good high Kansas.

[A]

I mean I'm not. It was a good. I'm not saying it worked out good. I'm saying that was a good hire for them. Like that was a good. That that was a good hire for them. You would think that if Kansas wants to revamp its football program, there are worse things that they could do than go get a national championship winning coach that coached on the highest level of football in the SEC and see if whatever they did at LSU could work at Kansas.

[C]

My thought again, if you did less with more, I'm not really going to expect you to do more with less.

[B]

I mean, yeah, look nice little Pun there with less miles too.

[A]

Less miles. Shout out to him. I had a shirt one time that said lose less, win more. I'm not saying that these are situations where these coaches are going to be like super successful. I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying that like Will Must Champ is coaching where? At unlv, right?

[B]

Oh, no, the Dan Mullen. Unlv.

[A]

Dan Mullen. Excuse me, Will Mushy and Dan Mullen, they're all the same. Like Dan Mullen is coaching Billy Napier.

[B]

Welcome to the family.

[A]

Exactly. Dan Mullen is coaching at unlv. You got to think that's a good hire for unlv, right? It's a good hire. It's a good hire. Unlv, they go get Dan Mullen. It's a good place for Dan Mullen to remind people that he knows how to call offense right. And, and so that's all I'm saying. I get your point as well. Take. I'm just saying for somebody to go get Mike Gundy if he wants to coach and if he's. There's a fire lit under his ass, this might be a wake up call that he needs. They're going to kick the tires on him and see what's up.

[B]

I think we got three openings right now, three big power, four openings that I wanted to get start, bench, cut for these, for these programs because it is kind of fascinating to see, like, what is the temperature on these programs and those jobs right now. We got ucla, of course, we got Virginia Tech, we got Oklahoma State. So I go to you first, Van. Start, bench, cut. Those three jobs.

[A]

Start. Ucla.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Ucla, you love la.

[A]

That's bench. Virginia Tech, cut, Oklahoma State.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah. So, I mean, there's been some commentary.

[B]

That ucla, like, you know, I think Saban said there's no serious coach would take that job right now.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I, I agree. But the reality is, all things included, you're living in Los Angeles.

[B]

That does help.

[A]

It's so to me, you're living in Los Angeles. You're out there. You ever see the way these coaches out here live? Has anyone ever been to Palos Verdes?

[B]

So nice.

[C]

I've not been to. But Manhattan beach is my shit, though.

[A]

That's my Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes. These coaches that come out here to coach these teams, Lincoln rally. You don't see Lincoln Riley at the, at the fucking movie theater. That's not where they live. They live in the nicest parts of this city and they go to work at UCLA or usc. And if Westwood's nice, Westwood's fantastic. If you can make it work, great, great. But how do they get to work.

[C]

How do they get to work from the Marys? Do they.

[B]

The underground tunnels, right?

[A]

VAN it could be the underground Underground Railroad, Harry Tubman, but it could, it could also, I mean, they, they have to take the four or five, but it's, what I'm saying is, all things considered, none of these teams are winning the national championship in the next three years. Ucla, though, that's a place that, at least the lifestyle of a head coach is better than it is the other two places.

[B]

And you get Jordan Brand, you get free Jordans the whole time while you're coaching. That's a nice little perk. Joel. Start, bench, cut those three teams.

[C]

So I'm going to start Virginia Tech because this is, this is for the short term because, look, they, they're trying to raise money. They're talking about, okay, man, we need to get serious about the money out here and finding the money to fuel this program. They're close to the Tide Water and the Hampton Roads area, so they can tap into that talent.

[B]

They got players, right?

[C]

They got, they can get that. They've got a rich tradition. It's still Lane Stadium. I've never been, but I've only heard great things about the home.

[B]

It's incredible. They do the Hokey Pokey. They, a key play that everyone gets their keys out and does keep and they shake their key. It's loud. It's loud. Tough place.

[C]

Yeah, man, you can, I mean, I feel like you can do some things and it's not like the accident is so difficult that you can, you know, that you have to, that you think you got to wait forever. Like, even Miami and Florida State are inclined to have a down year or do something dumb and, you know, go 8 and 4, right? So I feel like you've got potential there at UCLA again. I'm like, van, I love la. If y' all would, if somebody would float us the money, I would pick this up right now and move to LA right now. Like, I love la, but it's expensive. They've got fewer resources than almost everybody they're competing against. Right? Like, that's what Nick Saban is talking about when he said, no, serious, you're never going to, you're never going to be competing on the same level with the Ohio states, the Michigan's, you know, the Oregons, any of that stuff. Like, you're always going to have that problem trying to get over that. I Mean, UCLA was so difficult that Chip Kelly was like, you know what, bro? I don't mind being offensive coordinator again in the same conference, you know, like that. He was just like, I don't want to do this now. I love la. I love Westwood. They can always get talent. But I'm a. I'm a bench dam, and you gotta. You gotta cut a Oklahoma State. Have any of y' all been to Stillwater, Oklahoma before?

[A]

I haven't.

[B]

I've been in Anadarko.

[C]

You mentioned Anadarko. Man, look, man, I'm not even trying to cap because I love Oklahoma. That was a fun place. I lived there for a year. It was fun, but isolated, rural. You're not really close to any talent. Like, Oklahoma is closer to the talent bases. Nobody in Oklahoma that grows up there is trying to play at Oklahoma State. You don't have access to that T. Boone's picket money anymore. I mean, I don't know, man.

[A]

True. Yet he had them more successful than any other team on this list.

[B]

Yeah, that's what's fascinating.

[A]

Within one yard of the playoff a couple of years ago, he had them more successful than any other team on this list. Obviously, Virginia Tech has a rich football history. We all know that. They've the Beamer ball and all of that stuff, but it's a place you can win. Virginia Tech is a place that you can win. UCLA has had good teams. When I think about it, bro, I think about the beach.

[B]

Yeah, you're thinking Blacksburg versus Stillwater versus pal.

[C]

That's anti. Building good. You know, building a good work ethic and being in the office. You know, LA would have me wanting to be, you know, playing golf, man.

[A]

We got the I pick. You ever been to the I pick? You go there, you sit down, you recline, they bring you up. They bring the chicken fingers right out there to the thing. You're like, thank you very much. It's a good place. I don't know. They don't have that in still water. I don't think. Bro, you gotta look at la, man.

[B]

I like the lifestyle kind of angle for this. Yeah. I mean, because I think Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, and then UCLA would be the cut is the right answer. But la, you know, the draw of la, like, if you're Dan Mullen, you're maybe kicking yourself. You're like, if I just waited another year, I could have gone to ucla. If you're Ed or Jaron, maybe that's a name they call up and they're just like, ed knows how to get.

[C]

Talent Ed would have a lot of fun.

[A]

No, we can't have. We can't have a lot of fun. It was out here with sc. Yeah, it was out here with sc.

[B]

That's what I mean.

[A]

Yeah, not now, but him out here with SC was different than what it would be now. It's going to be 15 years. It's going to be five or 6D tackles in the LA area. Like, you can't.

[B]

If Coach O had the old rules schools. I think it would be a great hire for ucla. Like if NIL did not exist. I think Coachell would be perfect because.

[A]

I think Dan Mullen's a great hire for ucla.

[C]

Yeah, I really do.

[A]

He's gonna have to work his way back into a high power five job, high power four job. So I look, it's from Vegas. I think it's a good job for him. I think it's a good hire for them, too.

[C]

I would. I would stay at UNLV and I would wait till something else better opened up, you know? You know, you never know if I would even probably take Arizona over ucla. I don't.

[A]

You know, I will say about. About Mullen, though. Remember, this is a guy who made his bones as a head coach at Mississippi State.

[C]

Right, Right.

[A]

I mean, that's in the SEC and all of that. So this is a guy who's been to places. This is not to diss the people down there at Starksville. We always get a good game there and they've had some teams. But this is a guy who's used to going to one of these programs that is a major program, but maybe doesn't have a major tradition and getting it done.

[B]

I feel like the answer for UCLA is going to be someone that's very much like a Brian Harson from, you know, former Auburn coach who's the OC for California. I feel like that's like a name that's going to end up getting that job just because of the fact that there's so many limitations with the money that's involved.

[C]

A Brian Harson, but like in a successful one, you mean.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, zero points against San Diego State. Our guy JKS got absolutely shot.

[C]

Shut out.

[B]

That was crazy.

[C]

That was crazy. I'll tell you what. Oklahoma State, last thing, Oklahoma State, y' all gonna find out what that job was like. I mean, again, it was right to move on for Mike Gundy. That is a hard job. And they're gonna find out now that. That them. Those were. These were the glory days.

[B]

And I love coaching characters So I just want to say losing Mike Gundy is bad for the game. We need Mike Gundy to figure out a place to go because we need the quotes. The quotes are great. Let's get to the overreaction of the week. This was fascinating. There were a lot of quotes coming out after this. One of the quotes was my favorite, and it was from Arch Manning. He said, quote, my mom was pretty mad about that. And what was she mad about? Arch Manning flexed on a former zero star recruit, Sam Houston State Slimebacker. As Joel figured out, he likes to be called a slimebacker. And Tavius Fish. Is this a van? I'll go to you first here. Overreaction by Arch Manning. Proper reaction. Your thoughts, man.

[A]

I don't want people to think that I'm calling this young man this, but I gotta say it. That was a move.

[C]

Damn, you ain't earned that yet, man.

[A]

Damn, you ain't earned that flex, Arch, man. Once again, Arch is a young man who's still finding his way. He is. I don't mean to be overly critical of these kids, even though they got Warby Parker. I'm not even doing that. Somebody mentioned it, but what I'm saying is you ain't like that yet. You ain't been there yet. That's not what. That's not what we doing. Score. Get a goddamn ball to the referee. Get back to the huddle and hope that you can do it again on a team that presents the same type of opposition that your team is imbued with in terms of talent. You know, I'm not saying that this young man right here, the Slimebacker and Tavius Fish, I'm not saying that he. That he's a charity case. He's out there on the field and you guys are competing. You compete against whoever's in front of you. But I looked at that, and that, to me was more troubling than anything that Arch has demonstrated from his inability to grasp, scheme or make plays. I don't want to see that from somebody. I don't want to see him smelling himself, pumping himself up and peacocking on people. He has not earned that right yet. That was a bitch move to me.

[B]

And a lot of people were saying Sarkeesian, right, was the one that told him to sort of show some emotion. And, you know, that was sort of the impetus for why he was acting this way. So you're agreeing with the mom? The mom was correct that she did not like seeing that. Joel, did you think this was an.

[C]

Overreaction by Arch, I mean, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a move, but I was like, come on, chill out. But you know, we cut with. So there's a couple things that I thought about. I was like, man, that kid has had a really tough couple weeks. You know, everybody talking about how bad he is and how terrible he is and how much of a bust he is and how he didn't deserve any of that hype. And as much as you try to avoid that stuff, you, it still seeps through. Like he still probably heard all of that he had not had this season that he thought he was going to have. So he had one moment where it just probably felt cathartic. And also so I did look up my boy the slimebacker man. I looked at his Instagram account and I don't know if he, you know, is trying to get attention to it or not.

[A]

It's.

[C]

It's at taste solid for real. Taste solid for real. Taste solid fr. And he showed a play earlier in the game where he tackles Arch Manning. Like right, like Arch Manning is running around the left hand. He makes a tackle and he, I mean Antavious Fish makes a great stop, like hits him. But the part that I noticed is that when he got up, he kind of stepped over Arch.

[B]

Oh, and kind of talk some to him little AI.

[C]

I was just wondering, I was like, oh, arson was like got you back. You know what I'm saying? It was something like that, you know what I'm saying?

[B]

The context of a get back. Yeah, I understand it.

[A]

A little bit of a get back. Then I could get it.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, I kind of saw, I kind of. And you know, my heart is with the Antavious fishes of the world. This brother went to Coffeyville, you know, he is Sam Houston State. I feel like I'm an Antavious fish. I'm a slime. I would love to be a slime backer.

[A]

I don't know. I'm gonna be honest with you. It didn't seem like it.

[B]

Ben said you're not backing Fish on this. You're giving excuses as to why.

[C]

I'm just saying, I mean, I mean he's the one that, that, that showed it, you know what I'm saying? He's the one that showed it. So he want, he actually, he said, if I remember correctly, hey espn, make sure you show this, you know, because I'm sure he was tired of looking up there and people thinking, oh man, I feel sorry for that kid for saying he sustained this charity Case, you.

[A]

Know, he probably honest with you.

[C]

I'm too solid. For real.

[A]

I'm honest with you. Kind of seemed like some Jason Whitlock. I'm not gonna be like, you just went, you just. We talking about Arch. And then you went and you put and Tavia's fish.

[C]

Enough. This month, this week.

[A]

Hold on for a second. Wait, wait, wait.

[C]

We're gonna talk about it. We're gonna talk about it later. That's enough. I've had enough.

[B]

It's time to answer the bell.

[A]

It's enough. Joel was going to war in the the comments on the Instagram. Joel, you can't give it up like that, bro.

[C]

I know you gotta love to have the hip. I was responding to people and everything, man. I was like, man, you talk to people like this on the Internet, man.

[B]

Yeah, get him with the slime back. That's what we like to see.

[C]

We're gonna get my get back.

[B]

We're gonna take a quick break. When we come back, we're gonna talk biggest games of week five, some of our favorite other matchups, and of course, we're gonna play a new game, complimentary football, where we talk about the playmaker himself. We'll be right back after the break. Ringer Tailgate is brought to you by FanDuel. It's one of the biggest weeks in sports and FanDuel is turning it into a full on celebration. Introducing FanDuel Boost Fest, where every day from September 25 to 28 brings you a 50% profit boost on the biggest matchups in football, baseball, golf, and more. And this weekend, I love the Ryder cup and I'm locked in on the Ryder Cup. I'm going to take Scotty Scheffler most points. I believe he's going to turn this thing around. And again, however you play that 50 profit boost is ready to go every single day during Boost fest. Download the FanDuel app or head to FanDuel.com tailgate to jump into Boost Fest, where the games are big and the boosts are bigger. Must be 21 or older in President select states or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See [e-mail] gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut. All right, we're back. Ring Your tailgate. Week five, we promised a cool and a big and a positive slate of college football games. Last week was a little dull, right? Not the most exciting week. Clemson's downfall was probably the biggest thing that really came out, the coronation of this group that they have. But again, this week is going to be huge. Big, massive. Whatever adjective you have in your bag, throw it out there right now. Here are the four big games. Number 6, Oregon at number 3, Penn State. Number 17, Alabama at number 5, Georgia. Number 4, LSU at number 13, Ole Miss. Number 21, USC at number 23, Illinois. Joel, I'll go to you first. Those four games, which one really sticks out to you, man?

[C]

I mean, it's kind of crazy, but I guess obviously the. The. The Oregon versus Penn State thing also. By the way, abc Sinclair, y' all better get y' all together, man.

[B]

Oh, yeah, right.

[C]

A lot of drama here Saturday, man. Y' all ain't get y' all together. Well, I don't know what y' all gotta be. I gotta figure it out.

[B]

Couldn't watch Jimmy Kimmel last night.

[C]

I couldn't watch Jimmy Kimmel last night. I gotta watch that for the press box, and I couldn't. Anyway, Oregon versus Penn State, man, like, this is gonna be a whiteout night game. I mean, what an environment should be. One of the biggest games of the year. Nobody's really been tested, so we're going to find out a lot about both of these teams. And I mean, I think the thing for this one, if you're a Penn State fan, this is sort of a test for James Franklin and Drew Allen, sort of.

[A]

This is going to need to win this motherfucking game. They need to win this fucking football game. Sure.

[C]

Yeah, that's fair.

[B]

4 and 20 versus the top 10 in his career. James Franklin, 4 and 20.

[C]

You can't fuck around, man. I mean, in Oregon, man, they look like killers, bro. And that is not a team that I would want to play if, you know, for people, you know, our reputation is a big game coach to be on the line, right? But I mean, Penn State does not look good this year. And that's the thing too. Like, they're not. Like, they haven't even played in a tough schedule, but Drew aller is like 101st in quarterback rating according to PFF. Like, I just. I don't know, man. They look a little shaky. So I hope, you know, for. For James Franklin and Drew Aller's sake, they need to get it together because Oregon is. I mean, they're looking like A buzzsaw, bro. And so like that's. I really want to see that. Just the atmosphere, you know, the pageantry, all that kind of stuff. Like the white out at Penn State but for the name. I mean it's the kind of thing that like when you're thinking of college football and you're like, man, this is a game I want to see during the year. That's the kind of scene you want to see. So I'm really excited about that game.

[A]

Yeah, I went to a white out one time. I was in Dim Springs, Louisiana.

[C]

Is that where the Cracker Barrel is?

[A]

Everything was white. It's white everywhere. White everywhere. He's like, you know where you're at? And I was like, yeah, I know where I'm going away from here.

[C]

St. George.

[A]

St. George. You know what you're talking, you know what you're talking about. Before I get to my game quickly on Oregon vs. Penn State. Oregon does look like a bless all and they've handled business. It is a game theoretically that should be an opportunity for Penn State to demonstrate how good they are. The Oregon team is chocked full of talent and they have played really well. But they are not battle tested in terms of games like this. When you look at Moore, that's a brand new player. When you look at, well, both Moores, right?

[B]

Yeah. Right.

[A]

So those are Decori and Dante. Those are brand new players. We have not seen them as of yet. In games like this, theoretically, Drew Aller and Penn State have players that have been through this and to this and in this situation, that experience should be something that they should be able to lean on in this game and be able to expose some of the questions that we might still have about Oregon. Maybe they match up well with Oregon on, on the outside. The Oregon wide receiver room is still something that we're asking about. We've seen the freshman has played fantastic. But this is a game that Penn State should be looking at as an opportunity to announce themselves as a real national championship contender. And if Oregon wins this fucking game, if Oregon comes out and beats them in their place, it is Oregon who is saying. Anybody who thought we were going to have a down year, anybody who thought we hadn't figured ourselves out, we don't have an identity is wrong. This is a big game. Penn State needs to win this game.

[B]

Franklin.

[A]

Franklin needs to win this game.

[B]

Yeah. Dan Lanning wins these games and everybody kind of knows that that's kind of his reputation for James Franklin is quite the opposite. Right. So I mean this is a Legacy game at some level for Penn State. If you're Penn State fans, right, you're just hoping that the SMU game is sort of the blueprint of what this game maybe looks like. The crowd's involved, it's a wide out. Maybe Dante Moore gets a little bit overwhelmed in that environment. Calls aren't coming in as quickly. Oregon's playing a little bit slower than they, you know, have shown so far this season. And the game plays at your pace and you're able to handle business. But again, this is going to be a major matchup. I do want to talk about Alabama, Georgia, too. There's just a lot of connective tissue between these two programs at this point. Georgia kind of taking the baton from Alabama as the cream of the crop as far as SEC football, potentially. This defense, though, does not look like a defense we've seen in the past. As far as Georgia, so far this season, Ty Simpson has looked good, but again, it was against Wisconsin who fired their head coach, so obviously they were not a good football team. Joel, this game, Georgia, Alabama, who has kind of the impetus to make a statement in this game?

[C]

Well, I mean, Alabama really needs to win this game because, I mean, they can't really afford another loss, right? I mean, if they're. If they. If they're trying to get to the playoffs, and that is the standard that Alabama fans judge this team on. Like, are you a playoff contender? Are you a national title contender? And if they can't pull it off, I mean, if they lose this game, it's easy to see that they might not be able to make it in. So, you know, the good thing about it? They're going to get Jam Miller back, right? Like, so they're going to have their starting running back. He should be playing Tim Keenan, the defensive tackle. He's coming back. He should be able to play for this game. So they're getting healthy. Todd Simpson looks a lot better than he did, you know, in that game against Florida State. And I kind of. And I talked about this when it happened, I was like, man, can you just imagine what it was like trying to piece together the Florida State offense? First week of the season, you hadn't seen all this together on film, so it's. I could understand how they might have just been overwhelmed and just like, I don't know what the hell is going on here, right? And, like, maybe they've had a chance to settle in and we'll get a chance to see a little bit more of what Alabama actually is. And the one thing I would say that is in, in their favor is that Georgia, man, they are. They're. I mean, they've turned out a lot of great defensive linemen over the years, so it was inevitable that they would have some drop off. And they still got some NFL prospects there, but like they're, they can't generate any pass rush. And that's why Joey Aguilar was able to, to, to. To piece they ass up.

[A]

Up.

[C]

Right. And so Ty Simpson, Ryan Williams. Bernard.

[B]

Jeremy Bernard.

[C]

Yeah, Bernard.

[A]

Bernard.

[C]

I mean, man, you know, they may be able to pick them apart. So, you know, it'll be interesting to see if Georgia can figure out a way to get some pressure without having to blitz, because they don't.

[A]

They.

[C]

They only have three sacks this season, none by defensive lineman. And that's, that's kind of a, that's.

[A]

A, that's a very telling stat.

[C]

Yeah, that's a very challenge. Yeah.

[A]

The question for me in this game is not what if Georgia wins? It's what if Alabama loses? Alabama needs victories. And they've had success against Georgia like Alabama needs victories in this Kaylan DeBoer era to culturally convince its fan base. Like, these people need to believe. They need to know that things are going right down there. And they have started to believe again after the last couple of showings of the Crimson Tide. They've seen Ty Simpson be able to go out there and put up big numbers, look like he's in command of the offense. They've seen, more importantly, the team play with the emotion, the snap, the discipline and the passion that they didn't see against Florida State. The Alabama fan base has let themself believe in their team again. That belief is going to go by the wayside if they lose on Saturday. If they lose on Saturday. And that might not be fair to Kaylan DeBoer. It might not be fair to Tyson. It might not be fair to the entire Alabama staff. To the team. It might not be fair. That's a tough game to win on the road at Georgia. It's a tough game, but the internal belief, the we know that we the badasses, that doesn't exist in Tuscaloosa right now. And in order for it to exist in any type of incarnation like it did before, they're going to have to go down there and prove on a national stage that they can go toe to toe with Georgia and beat them, particularly after what happened at Florida State.

[B]

And if they don't, like you said, they're going to be talking about, hey, is Dabo available? Like what. What is the. What is the next move for Alabama football? It moves quick. And let me ask you a question.

[A]

What if they lose in a close and competitive game? Do you think that the fan base will be. The fan base will be even killed enough to say, hey, we didn't go out there and get down. You don't think so?

[C]

They'll never be reasonable. Like, they're not. That is an unreasonable ass fan base.

[B]

They got too much Bama in them.

[C]

But that's why Bama is great. Because they have crazy expectations and if you don't meet them, then they gonna run your ass up out of there. Right? Like, you've gotta figure it out. But no way. I mean. Cause the thing. You're right, Van. You could look at that schedule and you'd be like, well, Alabama's two losses have been, you know, losses against two top 10 teams. Maybe, you know, at some point, two top five teams and that. That's not necessarily a bad resume right there. But Alabama is like, but wait, we're the top five team that people supposed to lose to. They're not them. So, like, yeah, there's no way in hell they'll be reasonable, man. They. I mean, again, I'm sure Kaylin DeBoer is thinking all the time, man, Seattle was nice, bro. That was a really nice place. You know.

[B]

You know what's crazy though? Like, Washington looks good this year. They're undefeated. They got zero votes in the AP poll. Zero votes.

[A]

People don't.

[C]

Don't see that. People don't watch them. They don't think about them until they got to. They play somebody else.

[B]

Right, I know. And they might beat Ohio State this weekend. And then all of a sudden they're going to get votes in the top 10. I mean, that's just how quickly. So I think for him, maybe that's the argument in his mind that he could fight back, you know, the devil in his ears. Like, well, we didn't get. We wouldn't be getting any attention at Washington if we were there. Big van on campus. Because we're going to talk about this game anyway. Let's just go there. Van. Van, lsu, Ole Miss. Speaking of connective tissue, there is a lot happening with this game. We. We got a lot to get to. Weeks, Lane Kiffin's daughter, Landry Kiffin, if you don't know her, she's big on IG and she just announced she's dating a guy who dominated defensively in this game last year. I turn it over to you, big man on Campus this week.

[A]

Wow. I have a couple of things to say here. Number one, timing. We get a hard launch of a Paul Skeens, Livy Dunn esque couple during the Magnolia bowl week. What is she trying to say? What are they trying to say? Are these two kids, these two crazy vanilla kids, are they trying to tell us that no rivalry can rip them apart? That it doesn't matter what happens on Saturday, that on Sunday they're still gonna be popping popcorn and watching movies, Netflix and Chill, whatever the hell the kids do? What are they trying to say? What was the purpose of putting this out this week? To let us know. Well, now we know. I gotta tell you something, Whit. You gotta go out there and you gotta perform. You gotta perform. Now. It's not a game between LSU and Ole Miss anymore. It's a game between Wit Weeks and his father in law. My father in law. Father in law is what my daddy used to say. Whit Weeks versus father in law.

[B]

His father in law. Yeah.

[A]

There's a scene in the Amazing Spider Man. The movie, the one with Andrew Garfield, right? And he's at the dinner table and he's going back and forth with Dennis Leary in front of the mom and Gwen Stacy. Dennis Leary will say something about Spider Man. Spider man will come back and be like, well, Spider Man's good. And you watching them know what they're doing? They're dropping their nuts on each other. They're dropping their nuts on each other because they know that when it's a situation, when two God damn Titans are in the same room in front of the women, that there can only be one person that stands up short. There's a big bro and there is a little bro. And if you are going to be with the coach's daughter, then you got to show him that he can't. Big bro, you. You got to play sideline to sideline. North south tackle. Hit, destroy. Cause if you don't, then you are Lane Kiffin's son in law. You ain't Cracker Barrel Badger no more. You ain't Weeks. You ain't none of that. If you don't go win now, then you're gonna be taking the trash out at the Kiffin residence for the foreseeable future.

[C]

He should do that anyway.

[A]

He should not. You're gonna be at the Kiffin residence, going out back to get a bag of ice. Bring it in, put the sodas in it. Wit, can you come in gear and carry this TV out? If you win the game, then you know what? You can do you can say, you know what? Only losers go get the trash. Only losers go get the ice.

[B]

You think he's gonna be Sonny Lane Kiffin at his house?

[A]

Get your ass out there and you go get it. Cause I had three sacks on your team. Couldn't speed.

[B]

Forced to fumble last year. Had a great game last year.

[A]

I couldn't. I'm telling you right now, this is what you don't want. I've seen this before. My daddy, rest in peace, was the man at this. My daddy was the man at walking into a room and making lesser men understand that they were peons.

[C]

Damn.

[A]

And he would do this to my sister's boyfriends before she realized that she didn't actually want boyfriends. She wanted girlfriends. Different story now. So what I would say is, maybe.

[B]

That was the message.

[A]

He'd go in there, he'd be like, hey, it would always be some guy named Devon or Carlos or something like that. Hey, I want you to get out there. We got some horse feed in the back. Go get the horse feed. I'll put it in there. Van. You chill. Go get the horse feed. You're in my house. That is not what you want. Wit. Wit. You gotta win. Now you gotta win the game. Now we gotta win. Now we gotta win the game. Whit, Go ahead. Have fun. That's some Elite milk. I give you credit, but, like, have fun. But now we gotta win the game, Whit. We gotta win.

[C]

She does look like her mama. You know what I'm saying? I will give him playing.

[A]

Lane not playing. Respectfully. Yeah. Cause I'm old. Yeah, we old men. Lane not playing, though. Lane never played.

[C]

I would pay $100 to hear how they met. $100? Like, what do you think? Like, Whit.

[B]

Do you think Whit sent a DM.

[A]

Or, like, did she. Like.

[C]

Where did they decide to meet at? You know what I mean? Like, was it the first time?

[A]

It's definitely in the DMs. It's probably, like, after you. You know why? You know why he had the gumption to surf into the DMs to slide into the DMs? Cause he won the game.

[B]

He balled LA.

[C]

Yeah, I'm with him.

[A]

She was probably like, what'd you think of that? Tiger? Tiger fire emoji. She liked it. She wouldn't. She wouldn't have responded if they lost. Okay, so you got to win again.

[C]

I bet if. I bet the IG would tell that I'm not going to follow her. But I bet if. I bet if you Went through. You probably see like some WI weeks, you know, slowly, but comments building up, you know, little fire emoji, you know, something like. And then it just kind of built up and finally he. Yeah, right after that game, he's like, man, what's up, man? We. What y' all doing after this? Y' all want to go to Jubin?

[B]

I have to ask. I have to ask a follow up here, because I think this is a very important point. Who's using who here, I think is really the. The thing for me, because, like, I wouldn't put it past Lane to have watch Wit Weeks dominate my offense last year and go to Landry and say, hey, can we get this guy's attention away from this game maybe?

[A]

Are you Tate? That's what the I'm talking about. Are you saying that Lane.

[B]

I'm saying.

[A]

Wow. Wow. Tate. Are you saying that this is. This is elite scheming from Lane? Are you telling me that Lane game planned his daughter. That's crazy.

[B]

I'm saying what. The guy had a great game last year. That she launches it hard. Launches it, though. She did this. Weeks didn't put this out being like me. And you know what I mean? Like, this was not his determined destiny. This was her putting it out there. And I'm just saying if I wit Weeks, I'm a little bit worried that the Kiffin family is in on this, and they. They put the pressure back on me.

[C]

I. I'll just.

[A]

I. I'll.

[C]

I'll say if I'm with Weeks. You can't do that to me. I'm still with Weeks. You know, the thing about Wit Weeks is I'm Weeks at lsu. I'm with Weeks at Ole Miss. I'm with Weeks. If I go across the street to Southern. You know what I mean?

[B]

Like, but are you with Weeks in Lane's house after he beats you? You know what I mean?

[C]

If LA disrespects me, it's just like, I'm with Weeks. I'm with Weeks, though. I'm going back to campus, man. I'm gonna be cool. I'm gonna be straight.

[B]

He's a boyfriend now.

[A]

You gotta win. I tell y' all story real quick. And this is what I don't want to happen to Wit what happened to me. I was seeing a girl from Detroit. I never forget. It was January.

[B]

What up, though? Shout out.

[A]

Shout out. I was January. I went up to Detroit to see her, right?

[C]

Damn. January in Detroit. Cold in the beer.

[A]

It was the year before the super bowl was in Detroit. So they were gearing up to have the super bowl in Detroit. They were like, you know, doing, hey, this was kind of was gonna be like next year. And we. All this ice and snow and wow. So it was 7 degrees, and her dad asked me to take the trash out. And he goes, yo, man, you take the trash out real quick.

[B]

And I'm like, yeah, it's a great dad move.

[A]

No problem. I'll take the trash out. Cause once again, I'm acquiescing. I don't have the knowledge I have now. I'm like, I'm gonna take the trash out. And you know, I'm from the country, so if you tell me to just run and take the trash out, I'm a barefooted with nothing. Just run and take the trash out. I'm not gonna put shoes on just to walk down the driveway.

[C]

Oh, dawg. Oh, no.

[A]

And so I'm tying up the trash. And he goes, actually, the mom. The mom went, van, are you gonna put a jacket on, some shoes on? I'm like, nah, run back out. Run back. Run out there. Run back out, back in. It'll be fine. The whole thing will take 30 seconds. Not that big of a deal. I go out, they lock the door. I come back, I'm like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. They're laughing the laugh of people from the north that think that a big Southern dude being cold is funny, dawg. And I'm out there like, legitimately getting icicles. I'm like, this is not funny. That's what I don't want for Wick weeks. Cause see, if I had dominated him in some kind of way, we did get into an argument that night at dinner and I went in. But see, if I had dominated him in some kind of way, that would have never happened. And I don't want that for wit weeks. Win the game.

[C]

Win the game. What you avoided, you said, I'm gonna take the trash out. You know what I'm saying? Or do you want me to clean some dishes? You gotta volunteer so, you know, seem.

[A]

Like a nice substance. I believe in none of that. I believe there can only be one king and one castle. I don't believe in none of that no more. Now I'm gonna teach my sons, if you over at somebody house and they give you a plate, not the table like you the man.

[C]

Keep yourself away from my daughter.

[B]

It's a different game. Speaking of games, favorite other matchups on the board, Van, I go to you first. A lot of notable games this week. A lot of Big games, but what's one game you're excited to watch?

[A]

Joel picked one. That's fantastic. I will let him get to it. But Tennessee, Mississippi State is one. Mississippi State is lively. Man, they're lively.

[B]

O line looks great.

[A]

O line looks great. They're lively. Tennessee is a team that is, I want to say, on the rise because they're sort of maintaining the. The trajectory of the Hypo era. Always have fantastic offense. They have a great quarterback. We've talked a lot about Tennessee, but they got to keep winning. You know, losing a Georgia game didn't hurt them a lot in terms of their perception in the national media. Losing this game would. Losing this game would start to make some people wonder if Tennessee is quite as good as what we thought they were. And at the same time, winning this game would make a lot of people wonder whether or not we're underrating Mississippi State a little bit. So it's not an unimportant game in the sec, and it's one that I'll be watching outside of these big matchups that we already talked about.

[B]

I love it. That's going to be a fun one, obviously. Yeah. SEC showdowns. We love those. Joel, you got a Big Ten showdown that you're excited to watch, right?

[C]

Ohio State at Washington. Because, look, this is Ohio State's first road game, so that means Julian Sam's first road game. And while he's been really good in retrospect, like, I mean, he's. He's. I mean, been about as good as you could hope a first year starter would be. He's the most accurate QB in college football. He's been poised. I've seen some people and I. I need to watch more. Okay. But I've seen some people compare him sort of like Drew Brees from, like the mechanics to the footwork and placement and everything. And so I'm excited to see what he's going to look like. And I mean, one thing about Washington, low key, really good home field. They haven't lost a true home game since 2021. Have y'.

[A]

All.

[C]

Have y' all ever been to beautiful Husky Stadium?

[B]

I have not for a game. Yeah, it is.

[C]

Yes, beautiful. It's gorgeous. And it gets loud there, man. It can get. It can get kind of loud. It's not all together that different from Austin down there in Eugene.

[A]

So, no, I'll be honest with. Austin is a hellish Austin. I know that people down south, they haven't been up there. It's a. That's a hellish environment. That's, that's.

[C]

People don't believe it.

[A]

That is a deafening roar. A roaring. I can't hear my. I got to get out of the stadium type noise. Austin is crazy.

[C]

Yeah, people. People won't believe it, but yeah, man, it's, it's live up there and husky. It ain't that, but it can. It's, It'll be a little bit more lively than people expecting. You can. I could, I could see Ohio State having some trouble up there, man. And, you know, Washington's got the most efficient offense in the nation. The quarterback, Demon Williams, I don't know if he can pass, but he can, he can run.

[B]

He can run. I watch him in the Apple Cup, I'm like, he's good.

[A]

So real, real quick with this. These games where these teams have to travel all the way from, you know, basically the Midwest to the East Coast, east coast to the west coast, all that we've seen them have effects on these games, particularly early in the game. Is Ohio State on. Not upset alert, but jet lag alert in this game?

[C]

I would, I would say so, man. I mean, first of all, Ohio State dropped one weird game a year anyway, right? You know, like, they're good for that and they're not as talented as they've been before. Washington's not bad. It's a good home field advantage. Like, I mean, yeah, man. And it's just, man, you go on the road, you learn a lot of things about yourself for the first time, man. Like, you learn a lot about yourself and your teammates. You know, staying in the hotel, doing walkthrough and, you know, in a hotel, you know, a meeting room, you know, doing all that kind of stuff. It's just weird. And that's like, it's a long way, man. I think they go in three time zones. So I, I, it's, I wouldn't, I, I doubt that Ryan Day is taking it for granted, but it's.

[B]

The players might, though, like, the players are going to see a team. Washington, it's not ranked. They're playing in a kind of a foreign environment. You know, it's a beautiful campus, beautiful stadium. There's boats in the water. You know what I mean? It's kind of similar to the San Francisco Giants stadium, you know, it's great. It's beautiful. But guess what? They got to deal with Jonah Coleman.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Might put himself in the Heisman situation. Like, if they play like they've been playing so far this year. And I'm like, I'm a wazoo guy. I Love Wazoo. But I watched him last weekend. If he plays like he's been playing this season so far, he's going to give them some problems. And I do think he might make a statement to the rest, you know, of the college football world. Like, I'm here, we're a good football team. And you know, Jed Fish is a good coach. Last year, his first year was kind of a year zero. So I think this is a big game. I think it's going to be a fun game to watch. So I like that call, Joel. I'm going to go number eight. Florida State @ Virginia. I just want to see Tommy Castellanos in this far to state team play on the road against a team that has probably more pop than people think. Virginia's played really well. Jamari Taylor, NC Central guy that bumped up to Virginia. Good player, good running back. So I just think Florida State's going to get tested. I want to see how they handle the test. So I think that's going to be.

[C]

A fun game, man.

[A]

I like to say that I'm aware that there's not really jet lag flying east to west. I just want people to know that. But I'm just saying that the travel is tough. That's all I'm saying. God damn.

[C]

You guys get out of the comments, man. Yeah, man. You gotta come.

[B]

You're preemptively in the comments.

[C]

I mean, yeah, man. And look, man, Chandler Moore's former TCU quarterback, he's look really good. I think he's not turned the ball over or had a sack or maybe he has one interception and one sack all year. But like he's been remarkably careful with the ball so far. It's like hard to. It's hard to turn them over. It's hard to get to them. I'm not going to say that Florida State would lose this game, but again, like we don't, you know, that first week you got to kind of got throw that stuff out. I'd be interested. It's not beyond them to lose this game. And I feel like when I was a kid, like I just. I have visions of like Florida State playing at Virginia on a Thursday and like Thomas Jones going off 180 yards.

[B]

There you go.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Terrifying. My God.

[B]

So good.

[A]

I said like Thomas Jones just wreck. Remember the Florida State still got some dogs back there, man.

[C]

Bro. Man, I'm to Darnell docket.

[A]

Who was the guy before Thomas? This is way before Thomas Jones who played either during or right after the war. Done.

[C]

Was it William Floyd Yeah, bar none. Bar none. William Floyd, he played for the 49ers for a long time, too.

[A]

Played for the 40. Didn't he play for Florida State when he fullback, Florida State? Oh, yeah, yeah. William Floyd said some with Thomas Jones is freak.

[C]

Bar none.

[A]

Remember what he did to the guy from North Carolina? Remember that, Tate? Remember when he ejected the guy? I think it was either North Carolina get off Thomas Jones, man.

[B]

Tough, tough. Love to see it. Love to hear it. And, you know, Virginia football doesn't get enough love, so I love when we get like a Thomas Jones, Virginia football. Little shout out there.

[C]

Yeah, shout out. My dude, Malik, man, that's his school, too, man.

[B]

Yeah, some good players. Other notable games, TCU, number 24, TCU at Arizona State. Joel obviously got the shirt on there. Notre Dame at Arkansas, which is sort of, you know, Arkansas can be a little bit frisky. I know they eat ice cream, and there's a lot of fans at Arkansas that are upset about Sam Pittman giving them ice cream, and that's why they're not playing well. I don't know. That's a game that could be tougher than you think. Auburn at number nine. Texas A and M. Indiana. That's a good game. Indiana at Iowa. Kirk Ferencz saying that, you know, he. He said that Indiana reminded him of Ohio State. What a compliment. Arizona at Iowa State. Rocco Beck back in business. Number number 16. Georgia Tech at Wake Forest. BYU, number 25 at Colorado. UCF at Kansas State. Duke at Syracuse. Utah at West Virginia. So a lot of good football games to watch this weekend, starting Thursday.

[A]

Couch rot day.

[B]

I love the couch. Rod, one last thing before we get out of here. I'm going to call this segment Complimentary Football. You replace the E and you had an eye. So we're going to be a little complimentary here. Let's pay our respects to the playmaker, Michael Irvin. Joel was fighting people in the comments. We respect Michael Irvin. Right, Joel, that's gonna make that point.

[C]

I. Look, man, look, I just. I. I think. You know, the thing is. You know what I can admit? This is me being a man here, and I'm not gonna get any credit for it, but I'm just gonna step up. I can admit I overstepped when it came to Mike. You know what I mean? Like, when you. When you. I mean, look, I. He's a much more boisterous personality than I am, and I thought I was like, oh, man, I kind of sound like my mom, because my mom would be like, why are they doing it. Why she dressed like that? You know, it's just a lot of, you know, people calling us haters.

[B]

That's why we have to introduce this new segment. Compliments football.

[C]

He's very much like a peacock among. Among mere mortals, Michael Irving.

[B]

And that is the way he peacocks amongst pigeons.

[C]

Peacocks.

[A]

What?

[C]

I mean, one of my favorite west side Gun songs is Michael Irvin. You ever cook half a brick in the air fryer?

[A]

You know, it again. You're doing it again.

[C]

What? Oh, you're doing it again.

[A]

Don't do it.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Bring that up in no Waymaker. You know, you get it. You're doing it. Don't do that. That's why it was on yours.

[C]

It's a good song. Yeah, of course. But I mean, look, man, go. And also, man, please go check out Michael. Did y' all know Michael Irvin has a YouTube channel? Of course he's cooking me, bruh, man. One of my favorite videos, and I shared it with y' all before we came on here, was him talking about the Cowboys hiring Brian Schottenheimer. And he's just pissed the whole fucking time. And I took two important quotes out of this thing. It says, I know, man. And I do know this. I do know how to win championships. I got hardware everywhere. Ain't a piece back there fake. And I hope and pray somebody show up in that locker room and hear this and say, we will show. This nigga is dead ass. Wrong. But I doubt it. It's just amazing. Of very good content. So I became. I subscribed to the Michael Irvin YouTube page today because I was like, damn, somebody should make Michael Irvin a coach. That's my last thing. Somebody should make him.

[A]

Wait, Joe, you're going too far.

[C]

But no.

[A]

Wait, wait a second. Hold on, Joe.

[C]

No, wait. Don't stop. Don't. Don't do this. I'm going to tell you, I thought about.

[A]

I saw the sh.

[B]

Video.

[A]

No, no, no, no, no.

[C]

I thought about it after I saw the Schottenheimer video, and I was like, he can really inspire people.

[A]

Is. Is. But this is what. Joe.

[C]

He can really inspire people, man.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

At 47 Jersey, it's different.

[C]

If Ed Reed can coach Bethune Cookman.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

This is what I'm saying. It. What happened was we talked about Playmaker a little bit. The Miami culture, they didn't like that. I fuck with that. I fuck with them. Coming up. Hey, this is one of our own. And I saw people writing mini bios in the comments. They was like, hey, just let y' all know. Michael Irvin had taught us a lot about how much he's been through and all of that, and how going to Miami football games keeps him young. I looked at that and I was like, at 59, you know what I want to be doing? Going crazy on the side of LSU football games. That's dope. That's fantastic. But we can't. We can't now become a Michael Irvin based podcast. Like, we can't. We can't have Michael Irvin. All of these things were true.

[C]

All these things, all these.

[A]

Every.

[C]

All of everything can be true.

[A]

Because Joe, which I also didn't see, was as these people was getting at us in the Instagram comments. I'm looking at the comments and I'm.

[B]

Seeing Joe's fighting the good fight.

[A]

I mean, God, man, some people just called me up. Somebody called me up, what the fuck?

[C]

Or something. I was just like, what?

[A]

I was like, what is.

[C]

What is this about, bro? Why?

[A]

It was the coon talking to people like that. It was the coon thing that got you.

[C]

That's crazy. Yeah, man. Call me a coon. That's out of line. I am not a coon. I will not accept. I do not accept that. That is not. You call me a lot of things. A coon is not one of them, I promise.

[A]

That's what I'm saying. We in this business of college football takes of college football content now. Cause they took a chunk out of our ass. Joe wanna make Michael Irvin the coach of the Cowboys. That's cool. We can't do that. Shout out to Michael Irvin. We was playing. That's it.

[C]

Whoever was on the group chat where I said, man, they should hire Michael Irvin to be a college coach somewhere months ago, please remind me if you see this podcast so I can refer that and prove to y' all that I was. I was serious about that. I do think I was like, man, that would be a good move for somebody. Just try. But anyway. But yeah, you know, it ain't like the Miami fans punked me or nothing like that. But, I mean, I did admit I was like, you know what, man?

[A]

But you're getting. You're getting to the edge of that, though.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

By calling for him to be the coach.

[C]

I'm not glazing them or nothing like that. Don't put me on a glazing or something like that. You're not. Hold on.

[A]

Fuck that. This is the creator of Slow Burn that goes in and talks about real important we not doing that. I'm just saying he don't need to be the coach. He could be cool.

[B]

We're just paying our respects to the playmaker.

[A]

Paying our respects to the playmaker.

[B]

That's all it is.

[A]

That motherfucking playmaker. We love you, man. We was playing. Oh, by the way, I also say the people that got at us about not knowing the siren crank, I. I don't even see that it was that. I saw him just going crazy, and I was like, yo, what the. That happened in real time.

[C]

Oh.

[A]

I'm like, yo, man, what the.

[B]

Yeah, we were live.

[C]

That was a live clip.

[A]

To Miami. Y' all doing great.

[C]

That's not like the Clemson rock or anything either. Like, I don't want to hit. Like, don't stop acting like that's some sort of big, like, huge college tradition thing. That's siren. I mean, sirens everywhere, every hockey game. Just don't, you know, don't. Don't do that to us. Like, that's. Come on. All of us have that. So.

[B]

Yeah. Shout out to the you shout out to everybody out there to you in the comments. Shout out to you for following Ringer tailgate again. Go follow Ringer tailgate. Like, subscribe. Follow us on YouTube. We appreciate everybody tuning into the show. We will be live as we have been since day one. We did not do week zero, but since week one we have been live on Saturdays. Come hang out with us. We're having a fun time and we're getting clipped out and we're getting chirped at and it's beautiful stuff. We love college football. We love everybody tuning into the show. We love everybody watching along. And again, we will see you all on Saturday. Must be 21 or older in president select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and older in present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- GAMBLER or visit rghelp.com, call 1-888-7897-7-7711 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MD gambling help.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit Gambling Helpline ma.org or call 800-327-5050 for 27 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-88-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York.