National Championship Preview: Which Team Winning Is Best for the Sport?

Summary

Ringer Tailgate – National Championship Preview: Which Team Winning Is Best for the Sport?

Date: January 14, 2026
Hosts: Van Lathan, Joel Anderson, Tate Frazier, Billy Gill

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Episode Overview

This episode of Ringer Tailgate brings together Van Lathan, Joel Anderson, Tate Frazier, and Billy Gill to preview the College Football Playoff National Championship between Indiana and Miami. The hosts engage in sharp analysis, wild banter, and some spirited debate, focusing on what each team’s victory would mean for the sport, how each squad matches up on the field, and the narratives surrounding both programs. The conversation ranges from deep X’s-and-O’s to hot takes on player evaluation, perceived cheating scandals, and even a detour into Great Lakes geography.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Setting the Stage: Indiana vs. Miami (08:27)

• Indiana is in its first-ever national championship, seeking to finish an undefeated season (16-0), a feat only matched by Yale in 1894.
• Miami returns to the spotlight for the first time since 2003, looking to prove “The U” isn’t just back—it's moving forward.
• Both teams present unique storylines: Indiana’s rise-from-nothing miracle and Miami’s resurrection under pressure.
• "Miami trying to recreate a new history. They said that the U is not back. The U is moving forward and they're here now." – Tate (08:49)

2. Big Game Predictions & Key Factors

Miami's Defensive Strength (09:20)

• Van expects Miami to end Indiana’s string of dominant wins, citing the Hurricanes’ tough style and trenches play as the key to keeping the game close.
  • "Miami is a team it's difficult to dominate because of the style of football that they play…they're going to get after your quarterback." – Van (09:20)
• Joel flags Miami’s depleted secondary due to a targeting penalty (Xavier Lucas out for the first half), emphasizing how this could be a critical issue against Indiana’s Heisman-winning QB Mendoza.
  • "Having a hurt, injured, penalized defensive backfield against a Heisman Trophy winner…that is a really bad time to have that issue." – Joel (12:21)

Indiana's Physical Dominance & the Mendoza Revenge Game

• Indiana’s offensive identity is highlighted (“crushers along the lines”) and their run game underpins everything—when they're over 4.5 yards per carry, they're unstoppable (15:14).
• Mendoza’s “homecoming” angle: He’s from Miami but wasn’t recruited by the Hurricanes (“told he could walk on by Manny Diaz”), adding a personal revenge subplot (15:14).

Who's Proven Themselves More? (17:55)

• Van sparks debate: has undefeated Indiana or battle-tested Miami shown more during the playoff run?
  • "Indiana came in as the undefeated number one…but I don't think that we believed in them…Miami came in an incredibly flawed football team… but they've played at a level…I don't know that many people thought they could play at." – Van (18:20)
• Joel: Miami has a killer playoff résumé—winning at Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Ole Miss—though they skate a fine line due to inconsistency.
  • "Miami is so good on the lines that it'll have them in every game and they'll give every team a little bit of hell, but they're just unreliable enough that they could also lose to any of these guys." – Joel (18:55)

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3. Quarterback Draft Debate: Is Carson Beck Overrated? (22:03)

• Joel, prodded by Van and Tate, gives a rundown of his top college QB prospects (Fernando Mendoza tops his board, Beck does not make his top five).
• Heated discussion on Carson Beck’s draft stock, with Joel arguing Beck’s perceived value is inflated by his race and appearance:
  • "If Carson Beck didn't look like Carson Beck…people would be like, oh, that guy's actually not good at football." – Joel (28:34)
  • "Are you talking about him being white?" – Van (29:01)
  • The group debates Beck’s leadership, performance under pressure, and team reliance, especially his struggles and resilience in recent big games.
• Exchange addresses structural issues in scouting (“white savior” trope, as Van teases Joel about the implications).

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4. What Would an Indiana or Miami Win Mean for College Football? (32:07)

Indiana's Miracle Run

• All agree Indiana’s victory would be historic and cinematic—comparable to sports’ greatest underdog stories (e.g., Buster Douglas, Texas Western, NC State 1983).
  • "Indiana wouldn't just be a great college football story. Indiana would be a fantastic pop culture story…It just doesn't happen." – Van (32:38)
  • "It's already one of the greatest stories in sports history. But for them to finish that off would be such a sign of so many different things." – Van (33:40)
  • Joel: "You want a team with a great story…somebody, or a bunch of somebodies, are looking at Indiana and thinking, 'Oh, we could do that.' That's good for the sport." (37:26)

Miami's Resurrection

• A Miami win revives a blue-blood, but doesn’t capture the same “impossible” spirit as Indiana (34:03).

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5. “Are They Cheating?”: Indiana’s Success Sparks Conspiracy Theories (39:45)

• Hostile media and rival fans insinuate Indiana is “cheating” (stealing signals, hacking clouds) because of their tactical superiority.
  • “I hate this type of shit…If you're going to accuse someone of this, you have to have ironclad proof. Other than that, you sound like a straight up whiny bitch.” – Van (39:45)
• Aiden Fisher (Indiana LB) quote: “It’s ridiculous to me. We watch film, we study, we prepare.”
• Joel notes rampant paranoia and the prevalence of cheating in football’s past—but says people should accept the story and move on: “Assume everybody’s cheating, man. In football.” (46:47)
• Age criticism: Indiana’s roster is older (5th/6th year players) but hosts dismiss this as a hollow complaint—“If they have eligibility, they can play” (Tate, 47:49).

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6. Final Preview: What to Watch For in the Game

Opening Possession: Who Wants the Ball First? (58:13)

• Tate is watching to see if Indiana takes the ball to control tempo and test Miami’s defense immediately.

Miami’s Running Game & Offensive Line (59:44)

• Van and Joel both identify Mark Fletcher (Miami RB) as an X-factor; he’s been Miami’s playoff workhorse and could set the tone (59:44, 60:28).
  • “Fletcher, to me…is going to be the guy that determines the outcome of this game.” – Van (59:44)
• Both teams' running games are key—who controls the trenches controls the game.

Coaching Edge: Mario Cristobal vs. Curt Signetti (62:21)

• Mario Cristobal’s emotional in-game decision-making is identified as a potential liability (“You do worry about timeout usage…he is an emotional guy…and the emotion sometimes overwhelms him.” – Van (62:21))
• Joel brings up Miami’s penchant for self-sabotage while crediting their resilience (64:32).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Indiana’s rise:
  "If they were able to finish it off, it's already one of the greatest stories in sports history. But for them to finish that off would be such a sign of so many different things." – Van (33:40)

• On Miami's underdog status:
  "Those guys in Miami right now, they believe. They don't think they're the second-best team. They keep telling us…that they're the best team." – Van (62:40)

• Joel’s hot take on Carson Beck’s draft reputation:
  "If Carson Beck was Black, people would all of a sudden be like, oh, yeah, he's not athletic…his team is terrified to depend on him." – Joel (28:34)

• On the cheating conspiracies:
  “If someone has legitimate evidence that Indiana in some way is doing this, not above board, by all means, made that evidence plain. It wouldn't be the first time we've seen it…But if you ain't got no evidence of it, you just sound like a fucking broad. Shut up.” – Van (41:36)

• On blue-blood entitlement:
  "If you are a blue-blood...you always get to the point to where you realize your blood is not quite as blue as you thought it was.” – Van (55:14)

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Light-Hearted Segments & Offbeat Tangents

• Great Lakes Geography (79:39–86:05)
  • The hosts take a wild tangent quizzing each other on all the Great Lakes and cities, reminiscing about cross-country road trips and regional trivia.
• Player Proof Crew and Pimping Analogy (51:28)
  • Van compares college football's obsession with Indiana’s success to a friend who can't let go of his ex dating someone new: "She like him, dog. Yeah, it don't matter. Stop worrying about it and worry about what you gotta do. Compete." (54:17)
• Transfer Portal Mania / Big Man on Campus (67:22)
  • Van proclaims the transfer portal "the most fun thing in sports," marveling at the constant player movement, NIL money, and roster drama.
  • "The transfer portal is a movie…It's more fun than NBA free agency, more fun than anything." (70:30)
• TJ Finley’s Never-Ending College Career (71:57)
  • The hosts shout out transfer QB TJ Finley, who landed at Incarnate Word for more “tape” before another move. “If you're trying to put together tape and get another nil bag, you don't end your journey at Incarnate Word." – Van (72:54)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Indiana & Miami Storylines: 08:27–16:24
• Miami’s Defensive Issues / Targeting Fallout: 11:21–13:28
• Indiana’s Run Game & Mendoza Narrative: 15:14–18:20
• Quarterback Debate / Big Board: 22:03–32:07
• Which Team Winning is Best for the Sport?: 32:07–39:45
• Indiana Cheating Rumors Discussion: 39:45–47:48
• Final Game Preview / Key Things to Watch: 58:13–64:32
• Transfer Portal Chaos & Fun: 67:22–75:31
• Great Lakes Tangent: 79:39–86:05

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode is quintessential Ringer Tailgate—intelligent analysis delivered in a conversational, often comedic style, with hosts unafraid to challenge mainstream narratives or each other's hot takes. There’s a hearty dose of college football "fam" energy, making breakdowns both sharp and fun.

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Conclusion

The Ringer Tailgate crew delivers an engaging and thorough preview of the national championship, exploring not only the X’s and O’s but the stories, legends, and oddities that define college football. Whether Indiana’s fairy tale ends with a title or Miami reclaims its place atop the sport, the game promises history—and plenty of post-game debate.

Transcript

[A]

New year, same extra value meals at McDonald's. So now get two snack wraps plus fries and a medium soft drink for.

[B]

Just $8 for a limited time only.

[A]

Prices and participation may vary.

[B]

Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California. And for delivery. Welcome back to Ringer Tailgate, the Wednesday edition of the show. It is the CFP championship and we are here to preview it all. But first and foremost, let's say what's up to Van Lath and Van. How's it going, man?

[A]

What up, what up, what up, what up? We are in. This is the crescendo of the college football season. We're on the precipice of crowning a new champion. There's so much going on in the sport. I can't wait to talk about it.

[B]

Yeah, I'm fired up. Can't wait to get there. We also got Joel Anderson in the place to be. Joel. What's up?

[C]

Hey, what's up? What's up? What's up? Yeah, man, I'm good, man. You know, I'm. Yeah, just ready to get ready to get into it. You know what I'm saying?

[B]

Joel, you said you were nervous before I started the show. Can you break the fourth wall for the people? What's going on?

[C]

I told you, I don't know. It could be. It could be my anti. Anxiety medication. It could just be that I, you know. Yeah. Just kind of came into the day. I don't feel. I. I actually am feel very prepared in terms of the show, but just. I don't know, there's just a little unease that I feel. I don't know, maybe it's the state of the knows.

[A]

Can I ask you something? Yeah. Well, do you need extra care today? Is that possible? We'll look out for you. I mean, the Duke is ready to do that.

[C]

Extra care is always nice. Oh, you know. Yeah. Extra care is always nice. I try to treat people like that.

[A]

Extra care of Joel. Today, Duke is in a new studio. Can we take extra care?

[B]

Shout out to Billy Gill. Yeah.

[C]

What's up, Billy?

[D]

Hey, Joel. How's it going?

[C]

Well, I already said. I just said it.

[D]

Well, I'm just. I'm worried about you because before you always. Well, you went on this whole mission to get batteries for something. You came back with the wrong batteries and you had to leave to go get water. Put it in your water bottle. Where? Can I ask you something about that water bottle? Because it's been a topic of discussion behind the scenes. Where did you get that water bottle? Because it looks Kind of like a child's water bottle.

[B]

It's a football, right?

[D]

Yeah, football.

[C]

Yeah, it's a football. I ordered it on Amazon, you know, so there's two reasons I got it. One, I got it before the season because I was just like, well, you know, I'm going to have, like, some think I got a football thing pillow over here on my couch that my mom got for me. But so. All right, so I got.

[B]

Joel's mom's got the lava lamps, the pillow, the football.

[C]

My mom loves me, man. I'm only child. I love that.

[D]

Did she think you were, like, starting a new school or something?

[C]

I mean, she's just really big.

[B]

Let's do some housekeeping quickly for the people at home. There was a conversation we had, what, about a month ago, talking about what our plans were for the channel championship game. We put in for requests. There was only one accepted request. The powers that be and CFB said Joel Anderson, who's raising the roof right now, he is allowed to come to the game because he is capital J. The rest of us were deciding what we're going to do. Was Joel going to leave us, desert us, become a press boxer, or stay a tailgater? We have come to the conclusion that Joel Anderson is going to be a part of the Fantastic Four. Going back to what Van said. We're all going to be together in Los Angeles, in studio, in the theater, at Spotify, watching the game. So that is the update.

[A]

Real sacrifice Monday night. I'm taking care of the entertainment. I got food coming. I got entertainment coming. Yeah, I got some. You know, I'm taking care of all of it. And so, you know, don't worry about it. It's turned up. We just put it to you like this. We're bringing Miami to Spotify. Oh, that's popping. We drinking. We got some. Him coming. We going crazy. We going.

[C]

I like that. Okay.

[A]

When the Duke leaves, he won't have a family anymore.

[C]

Oh. Oh, no, I don't.

[B]

I don't know if I like that.

[D]

When you say you're providing food, is this like when you provided food for Joel's dad at the.

[A]

I don't know what was supposed to happen with that. I think I got confused. I still owed.

[C]

I still. Joe, he still living in the same place. Come on.

[A]

I gotta make sure that I said something barbecue. I owe your dad some meat. I'm gonna make sure he gets his meat.

[B]

What?

[C]

Don't. You don't have to say it that way, but that's fine. But, yeah, do what you said you were gonna do, dog. I'm sure he could. He would love to have some barbecue. He always complained about the food in that place.

[A]

Okay, I'll send him some.

[B]

Yeah, let's hope so. Maybe that's an off season move. But again, the show is live, the show is active. We're going to be together in person in Los Angeles reacting to the game. So we're going to go live in studio. So for everybody that was wondering what was going to happen, would Joel desert us? Joel was the bigger man. So, Joe, I want to give you some credit by appreciate sacrificing Billy did get rid of your credentials, so you didn't really have much of a choice, but.

[C]

Well, I mean, we did it up after it was clear that I was going to be a good teammate, but, you know, and yeah, man, so, I mean, it is a sacrifice. A lot of people have asked me if I'm going to be in Miami, and I was like, no, I'm not going to be in Miami this week, this year.

[B]

But you could have said it positively. You could be like, I'm actually going to be in la, going to be going live. Van's going to provide entertainment and food.

[C]

I didn't know about the entertainment until now, but yeah, man, I look, I too, I look forward to the LA thing, but, you know, Miami is kind of like a. It's like a reunion for college football writers and stuff. You know, like just the one time of year that you probably gonna see, you know, a PAT40, you know, Bruce Felman, Bruce Feldman, who is a huge R B fan, bro. Oh, my God.

[B]

Who's his favorite artist? Do you know?

[C]

Oh, my God. I'm trying to remember.

[A]

If you.

[C]

Man, if you're talking about Cooling the Gang, it was some shit, man.

[A]

Oh, you know.

[C]

Oh, Keith. He spent 10 minutes once telling me about this great performance that Anthony Hamilton gave somewhere in New England. Like he was a huge Anthony Hamilton fan. And I was like, this is not a put on him. Bruce Feldman with R B Heavy, dog.

[A]

You know what? I don't like that type of shit.

[B]

Did you feel a little profile when he started telling you about his R and B?

[C]

Somebody told me that he was one.

[A]

Like that told me he was one.

[C]

But money told me that Bruce was into it. And I was just kind of like.

[A]

You know, is you go, I don't go up to the white boys and go, yeah, bro. You know, I with Metallica, I like.

[B]

Red Hot Chili Peppers.

[A]

Yeah, I don't do that. I don't like that type of people coming up to you. Hey, man, remember that H Town Knocking the boots record, 1994? I love that. I'm like. I don't like that type of. I feel that. That's. I get that. That is. There's a commonality that you share with someone, but typically, I get off put with when they do that, and they do it a lot.

[C]

Wait, so am I at fault here? Is Bruce at fault?

[A]

Nobody's at fault. Nobody's at fault. Nobody's at fault, okay? Bruce is trying to be a good.

[C]

Trying to do nothing. This is authentically Bruce.

[A]

This is Bruce. What I'm saying is he's talking to you about this stuff because he knows. I bet you 10 white boys that could tell you about Bruce's experience at the Anthony Hamilton concert. Let me.

[C]

Well, let me bring something up. All right, Tate. Billy, what's your favorite Anthony Hamilton song?

[B]

I'm not really an Anthony Hamilton guy.

[C]

He's a North Carolina guy. Tate.

[B]

I. I mean, I like Anthony Hamilton because he's from North Carolina, but I don't really have a track that comes.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

All right. Billy, what about you?

[D]

I don't know who that is. Okay, so did you bring up Anthony Hamilton?

[B]

Yeah, that's the question.

[C]

He brought up Anthony Hamilton, but I was like, yo, Bomani was like. You know, he was a big R B fan. He was like, no, he's like. He's real deal in that. You know, Bomani used to be a music journalist. And so I just brought it up. I was like, yo, I heard you really into such and such. And he's like, oh, yeah. And it just. He. He did not bring it up. I had to bring it up. But then once we. We started talking about it, boom, we really got into it.

[B]

Let's see if I type an Anthony Hamilton song.

[A]

Y' all talked about Obama?

[C]

No, No. I didn't like you calling Josh Pate to do that. You know what I'm saying? Talking about what?

[A]

Me? That's what me. And that's not what me and Josh pay was talking about.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

It was the opposite. Oh, shout out to my guy Josh. But we weren't talking about that at all. We were talking about, like, some politics stuff. Me and Josh go way back, though. That's my man.

[C]

Y' all go way back.

[A]

Okay, we go way back. As way back as we could go. All right, what we into?

[B]

Let's get into it. One big prediction. We got the CFP championship game, and we got some facts for you as we head into this. Indiana's first national championship appearance in program history. Miami, they've won five national championships, but it's their first time being back in the national championship game since 2003. And with the win if Indiana, the Hoosiers, who Van has said we should make a movie for if they do win this game.

[D]

Game.

[B]

If they win this would join them with Yale as the only team in major college football history to finish the season 16 0. The last time that happened was 1894. So that is what we're talking about. We got history here. Indiana on one side. Miami trying to recreate a new history. They said that the U is not back. The U is moving forward and they're here now. So there you go. That sets the stage. One big prediction. Let's start here. Van, I turn to you. We're going to get into the minutiae of the game. But just one big prediction that you expect to see from this game on Monday night.

[A]

I expect to see Miami break the string of dominating wins from Indiana. I think Miami is a team it's difficult to dominate because of the style of football that they play. Right. They're going to be competitive in the trenches. They're going to get after your quarterback, make you do some creative things. I think Miami is going to be in this game. Seriously.

[B]

I'm right there with you. Miami, by the way, 12 sacks in their first two games in the CFP. Only one sack against Ole Miss. So Ole Miss, if you look on tape, they figured something out. And if you watch the game back, they figured out how to hold and get away. We'll see if that works. Again, they did have a sack on their first possession. Miami did, but no sacks after that. So something to look into. I think that's a good call in the trenches. Joel, one big prediction or maybe just react to what Van said and then we can get into your prediction.

[C]

Well, yeah. Well, let me just say this. I think that. Oh, man. Okay. So I wasn't prepared to respond. Respond to Van because I thought, you don't have to. You can do your already. And I was ready to move on to my thing. Okay.

[B]

Don't be nervous.

[C]

I told you I was nervous when we came into the show, man. So the biggest penalty.

[B]

Should you drink some water? Yeah, give yourself a break.

[A]

Some water. Get some energy.

[C]

All right, Billy, if you feel like.

[B]

You need to step in at any point, it's good.

[C]

We don't. It's good that we're not extra professional on this show because otherwise we'd be off to a Real rough start. But anyway, the. So you're supposed to be professional though.

[B]

Like we.

[D]

We're not by default.

[C]

Come on, Billy.

[D]

Are you okay?

[C]

Let's talk. I've mentioned many times that I felt, I, I feel a sense of unease. I'm not. Okay.

[A]

Joe, please talk about football right now. Like, just, just. Okay. Please. Yeah. Thank you. The.

[C]

The biggest penalty in the game happened last week. The targeting call in the fourth quarter against Xavier Lucas. Xavier Lucas, the Miami cornerback, Remember, it was a targeting call in the fourth quarter. Bad call. NCAA again, please change targeting in the off season. Like it is way too punitive. I understand what they're trying to do, but at this point it is way too punitive. Has way too much effect on the game that is currently happening and then the game to follow because Xavier Lucas is not going to come in the national championship game until after halftime. And so I'm certain Miami has a chance to prepare, scheme things up. You know, they had a fairly deep defensive backfield, but they're already dealing with injuries to O.J. frederic and Demari Brown. Just earlier today, Mario Cristobal said that those guys are day to day, which means they're not 100% healthy. Right. So you lose a 12 game starter or whatever. I mean, how many games does Miami play now, you know? Well, I think, I think he only started 12 of the 14. You have a 12 game starter who's not going to play the first half. You've already got defensive back injuries. You're playing against the most complete team in the country. That's just not the way that I would want to go into a national championship game. And I think it's going to take a real toll away. Like having a hurt, injured, penalized defensive backfield against a Heisman Trophy winner who has been playing better than he been all season right now, like he's just the best he played. That is a really bad time to have that issue.

[A]

I agree. What I wonder is first of all, if it's going to happen to any team, Miami is the type of team that can compensate for with the pass rush. So if the stars for Miami show up in the front seven, if the pass rushers show up, they are the type of team that can give more inexperienced guys in the secondary a little bit of a breather or can make it a little bit easier for them. If in fact those guys up front can wreak havoc, it just puts more pressure on them to do so, right?

[C]

Yeah, it very much helps. If you're going to have the problems on the Back end of Miami is having. It helps to have the best pass rush in the country, right? And so they've got that like that's like there's not near anybody fucking with them on that. But it's still just, you know, a very, very rough way. And I mean, you know, man, look, the thing that makes it tough and this is why Indiana is a great team. Like I'm of the mind now that they are legitimately a great team, not just a good team for this year. The quarterback in the country best at handling pressure according to grade and everything else, Fernando Mendoza. So it's like they're even, like they're even equipped to handle what Miami might bring to them on Monday, right? So like say things break down. Left tackle Carter Smith has a rough night or whatever. You still got a guy who excels against the pass rush. So you know, again I said last week I thought that Indiana was going to walk in this one. I don't believe that anymore. Like I think Van is right, that it'll probably be a closer game just because that's how, just the reality of college football, man. Like you how many times you watch game and everybody's tight for the first quarter, right? They trade punts, stuff like that. And then and it's like teams kind of settle in and I don't think that Miami, Miami is so talented, has such a good pass rush. They, they're, they still might have the best lines in the game. Like that gives them a chance every game. Like they're just not going, Nobody's just going to beat them up and embarrass them. And that hasn't happened to them this year. So that's the kind of. I'm just thinking, well in retrospect what I think about it, they're not going to get their ass kicked. I don't think it's possible to kick the ass of a team with that tough of a team and that's that strong up the middle. So yeah, I, I've adjusted that. I still think that Indiana's going to win though.

[B]

One thing I did want to flag just for Indiana, especially on offense because we talked about Mendoza obviously Mendoza homecoming, you know, Christopher Columbus High School graduate this is. He said if you look on a map at where you know, Miami is the campus, his house is like visible on the map. That's how close he lived and he wanted to play at Miami. He was told he could walk on by Manny Diaz. So this is kind of a get back game for Fernando Mendoza at some level. But the real conversation about this offense is running the football. When they've averaged over four and a half yards per carry, they've been basically undeniable and unbeatable because then they get in short, you know, situations on third down, second down, and then Fernando Mendoza has been able to cook. So if Miami is able to curb the ability of Indiana to run the football, that feels like the real determinant and who is going to win this game? So, I mean, for me, I feel like as much as we're going to talk about Mendoza, the rushing game for Indiana is a real big talking point.

[A]

It is a big talking point, right? It always is a big talking point because it's a part of the physical brand of football that they play. They are crushers. They crush you along the lines.

[B]

Their center won the MVP in the Rose Bowl. I mean, we didn't even talk about that enough.

[A]

Yeah, right. They. They crush you along the lines, hat on a hat, push you back and then wait for you to fold. And even honestly in the passing game, they don't rely on a ton of separation in order to get what they want. In the passing game, they rely on the ability for Mendoza to throw back shoulder balls and really the physicality of the big receivers that they have, the timing that they've had with the quarterbacks and the receivers to make some really tough catches in traffic when they need somebody to come up big. Right. When the offense is operating on all cylinders for Indiana, it's not guys running around in wide open spaces and stuff like that. It's them legitimately taking from the defense what it is that they want playing in a way that minimizes mistakes on their part, but then maximizes the way that they actually dominate because they take it from you physically. Once again, if they can do that along the lines, the gang can get away from Miami. I don't know that they can. And I wonder if there is a part of me. The question I would ask to you guys who's proven themselves more during this playoff run. Has Indiana proved themselves more or has Miami proved themselves more? Indiana came in as the undefeated number one team in college football. I don't think that we believed in them as much as maybe we thought that we did. Miami came in an incredibly flawed football team. Questions all over the place. But they've played at a level that, I don't know that many people thought that they could play it.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, they've always had the talent. The issue was, would it ever come together? And we're like, in. When in Those closing moments when Mario Cristobal needs to make a timeout decision or Carson Beck needs to decide, do I need to check down or do I think I can make that throw? Would they crumble? And they've not done that. They've looked as good or. And as suffocating as anybody. Yeah, I mean, this. Their resume, man, At Kyle Field, Ohio State, and then Ole Miss. That's a really good resume, man.

[A]

That's three killers in a row.

[C]

That's three killers in a row, man. Now, again, that A and M game was kind of up for grabs late, like, for being remembered. Now, A and M could have easily won that game. So, again, the margins are really small in this game. And I think that Miami is so good on the lines that it'll have them in every game and they'll give every team a little bit of hell, but they're just unreliable enough that they could also lose to any of these guys. And that's why the one thing that they can rely on. And you know, I know Todd McShay talking about Carson Beck might be QB2 in the draft. Okay. I mean, Cash. What?

[A]

Casual question, all jokes aside, what's going on with this? I smoke with Todd.

[C]

No, I want Todd. I want Todd to walk me through his all 22. So I want to chart a game with Todd. Todd, do you hear me, man? Well, I guess I could ask Connor. Connor knows Todd and could talk to him about that. I want to try the game.

[B]

You don't need a middleman. Frank Lucas cut out the middleman.

[C]

Yeah, that's right. Billy, do you know. You know Todd? No, it's never gonna happen.

[A]

I mean, I guess the question is. The question is Todd McShay, who is a player evaluator.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you feel like. And I'm not asking you to acquiesce to authority or anything like that, but do you feel like that you have the knowledge to go back and forth in terms of evaluation with the Todd Mitchey? Do you feel like you have something that. Is there, something you see that he's missing?

[C]

I would never put my expertise up against his in terms of, like, the knowledge base of everybody that's in the draft, draft eligible, you know, what teams might do? Like, he got the Shador Sanders thing pretty much dead on last year. Right?

[B]

Like, he.

[C]

He was one of the first people that said, I don't think this guy is going to do what people say that he's going to. So you got to give him that.

[B]

I mean, he ended up starting for.

[C]

The Browns Yeah, I mean, you know, okay. Like Derek Coleman said, whoopty damn. Do you know.

[B]

Overachieved for the. For a fifth round pick.

[C]

But I don't know, man. I mean, that dude has his name up in the rafters at University of Colorado, bro. Like, I mean, I. Either the thing is it can't be, well, he should have been a first round pick or he did pretty good for a fifth round pick. Like, which is it? You know, when it comes to Shador, I. Look, I hope Shador succeeds. I know that a lot of people are very heavily invested in his success. Good for him. I hope it works out. But I, you know, the point is, is that Todd got it right.

[D]

Well, where do you have him in your talent evaluation?

[C]

I think you know more than Todd with my Carson Beck. Well, I don't have him as my QB too.

[B]

No, no.

[D]

Where did you think you, where'd you have Shador?

[C]

Well, I believe, like a lot of other people, I believe the reporting and I saw him play and do pretty well at a school that had not had a lot of talent previous to him. And I thought, yeah, I could see first round pick. I didn't think top 10. I thought like the Steelers were going to take him. Right. I think the Steelers picked at 21 last year. And I was like, oh, I could see that happening. Mike Tomlin could use a quarterback. You know, at that point they hadn't signed a rod, so I was just like, you know, maybe they'll get Shador. But you know, where do you have.

[A]

Carson Beck going this year?

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

See, I don't have him going in the, in the first round or anything like that. Okay. And I don't know what team he would be. Okay, you want me to go through my top three court QB prospects. Fernando Mendoza.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Okay. Dante Moore, who's out of the draft.

[B]

He'S coming back to Oregon.

[C]

Okay, hold on. We'll see who out of the quarterbacks we got.

[A]

Ty Simpson. I can see that. Okay.

[C]

Ty Simpson will probably be my QB2. Well, you know, that's. That's enough. Subscribe. Subscribe to my newsletter.

[D]

I don't think that the way to get on with Todd is to not know any of the other quarterback every time you get.

[C]

Okay, hold on, dog. Let me, Let me just make sure. Okay, here we go. All right. You want me to give you. I'll give you. I'll round out my top five here, here. Okay.

[A]

Think about all the guys who are draft eligible here.

[C]

Okay, well, yeah, this is before any testing.

[A]

This is before Any stuff. Okay. Who are you going with?

[C]

Just in, you know. Yeah. Okay.

[B]

By the way, Carson Beck was number one on the board last year.

[C]

Listen, this is my big board.

[A]

Big boy.

[C]

Fernando Mendoza, top prospect in the draft. Prospect. I think a lower seat, I think a lower ceiling, but a higher floor.

[A]

Okay, There you go.

[B]

Good terminology.

[A]

Yeah, I like that. Okay.

[C]

My number two quarterback. Lots of room for growth. Very athletic, can make all the throws. He struggled a little bit down.

[B]

Athletic, Kind of athletic.

[A]

Okay, we wouldn't say very athletic. Very athletic. You would reserve.

[B]

He is Joel's big daddy, though.

[A]

All right.

[C]

I think he has good feet, moves well in the pocket, can make all the throws.

[A]

Okay, now you're just saying.

[C]

No, no, no, no. I'm saying. Okay, no, wait, let me finish.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Let me finish.

[A]

Can't finish. Go ahead.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Apologize.

[C]

I'm gonna remember. I'm not gonna remember that.

[D]

Would you have turned down six and a half million if you were him?

[B]

Absolutely not.

[A]

Yeah, we gotta talk about that. That's what I was gonna ask you about. But continue with your list. I don't want to get, I want to step on you.

[C]

Okay. Trinidad Chambers.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Number, my number three quarterback. I think he, he flew up my draft board. Really strong performance in the playoffs.

[B]

Joel. He's older than Drake May.

[A]

Right.

[C]

That's true. Look, this is not a deep quarterback draft. Right? So I feel like flagging the idea. I think that's kind of the problem with Todd's list is that, well, maybe there's a reasonable argument for some people that Carson Beck could be the second best quarterback in the league. But would you rather have Trinidad Chambers or would you rather have Carson Beck?

[A]

You know, honestly, I, I, I, I'd have to look at it more, but.

[B]

Depends on the franchise. But I, I mean, I love Chambliss. I love Chambers. I feel like Carson Beck has the tools, man.

[C]

I mean, he's had the truth. I mean, you talk about an old motherfucker. I mean, Carson Beck has been in college for seven years, man.

[B]

He's old, too.

[C]

Yeah, he's not, I mean, he's not going to get much better. He's not going to get much more athletic. Also, his team is afraid of him. They don't want to lean on him. They don't want to have to depend on him. To me, that doesn't seem like the guy that should be the second quarterback drafted in the NFL. But, you know, hey, I don't get paid as the draft analyst or whatever, but I reserve the right to disagree with Todd And Shea on that.

[A]

Absolutely. Trinidad Chambers is a guy that a lot of people are going to be high on because of the way he played and some of the things that he can do. Who else you got?

[C]

I thought three was enough, y'. All.

[B]

You said top five.

[A]

Top five. Top five.

[C]

Okay. All right. Garrett Nussm.

[B]

Yeah. Nuss Meyer.

[C]

Yeah, Nuss Meyer. I got Nuss Meyer. Number four. Assuming he's healthy. He's fully healthy. He was a much. I think you can kind of get a little value on him because people thought he was going to go a little bit higher last year. He could have came out last year. Right. But I think people are over determining for him. Playing bad offensive line, not quite the weapons that they've had in the past. And he was hurt.

[A]

He was right. He was hurt by you. Okay. Yeah.

[C]

So that's my four. That's number four on my list. Okay.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

All right. You ready for number five?

[A]

Ready.

[C]

Okay. I'm really trying to decide here between Taylor Green. Oh, And Carson Beck.

[A]

Between Taylor Green and Carson Beck. Yeah. Taylor Green from Arkansas.

[C]

Yeah, Taylor Green from Arkansas. That's right.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

He's 23 years old, so he's a little older. On the older side, too. Okay. Much better athlete. Feel like he's got a lot more of a ceiling than Carson Beck. I feel like you kind of know what you're going to get with Carson Beck, you know, But Taylor Green, I was like. I look at him, I was like, he's got some athleticism, you know, Petrino was able to use him in some fun ways. So I got Taylor Green over him.

[A]

Okay, so you got Taylor Green, and this is no shot of Taylor Green, but the guys that came into this year as the highly talented prospects, the K club, the Drew hollers, all of those guys. Nobody. Not with any of them.

[C]

Yeah. Nah, man.

[A]

Okay, cool.

[C]

Yeah, I think they lost a lot of. Look, the thing I've. Again, I've never seen it with Cade. Club Nick, man, there's somebody. And again, the first good game Drew Aller plays against a good defense will be the first one I've ever seen.

[A]

I get that. I'm not saying it's wrong.

[B]

What about Matier? Joel?

[C]

A little too small. Not a great enough athlete. I don't trust his judgment. You know, I just. He's always good for a couple of dumb turnovers a game. And, yeah, I was looking at him trying to escape people running. I was like, you know, I was like, you know who it reminds me of a little bit? Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield was a really good.

[B]

He was the number one pick.

[C]

Yeah. No, right. But I'm talking about in terms of athleticism. In terms of athleticism. I was like, baker Mayfield's not going to make his living running away from guys in the NFL. And I feel like that was. That's a big part of what John Mateer does. Like John Mattier. John Mateer was, for most of the season, Oklahoma's leading Russia. If that's the way that he has to make his living in the NFL, he will get killed out there. Yeah.

[B]

He's got no chance of. He's running the football like that. That's for sure.

[C]

Yeah. So you would. Y' all were trying to. On my draft knowledge. I gave y' all a nice segment right there.

[A]

I'm not on your draft knowledge at all.

[B]

We just wanted. This is, like, upset.

[A]

This is like the. I mean, we'll.

[C]

I love this.

[A]

We'll let the audience decide how they feel about Joel's big boy. This is like the third or fourth time, though, that you brought up the fact that M has Carson's QB2. Yeah. Which told me that you have a bone to pick. So I was trying to figure out.

[C]

Let me see what I can say about this. That won't get.

[D]

It's just us. Say whatever you want.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

No, I feel like if Carson Beck didn't look like Carson Beckham, that nobody. This wouldn't. People would be like, oh, that guy's actually not good at football.

[A]

So. What do you mean? So how does Carson Beck look?

[D]

Yes.

[C]

Kind of guess. Use y' all imaginations?

[A]

Are you.

[B]

Are you doing, like, the ice age thing or. What do you mean?

[A]

Are you talking about. Are you talking about his. His looks in terms of.

[C]

Oh, like, kind of looking, like, prehistoric. Nah, I'm talking about him being white.

[B]

Oh, okay. Oh, sorry.

[D]

I didn't.

[B]

I. Okay.

[C]

All right. Yeah. I mean, Carson Beck was black.

[A]

People.

[C]

People would all of a sudden be like, oh, yeah, he's not athletic. Because I'm hearing, oh, Carson Beckham, move a little bit. Get the fuck out of here. You know? And then I'm, like, looking at him. And again, his team is terrified to depend on him. They do not want to have him to make decisions. This is in college. Against college defenders, it's not going to be any easier to intercept.

[A]

Drive his team down.

[B]

He just won a game in the playoffs.

[C]

Legacy drive, Great Ole Miss on his.

[A]

Arm and his legs. Drove his team down for victory.

[C]

Yeah. To go. Congrats.

[A]

The championship. That's right. If they are scared to depend on him. They maybe shouldn't be because he just delivered in a big way.

[C]

Let's see them do it. Let's see them do it again. You know, again, my no. 1 person is the reason a team loses. But the disproportionate amount of the blame probably should go to Carson Beck for them losing those two games. SMU and four picks, right? He, like, they have a great around him and he was still fucking it up, man. Just going out there all willy nilly, you know. And I don't mean to talk about the kid. He seems, you know, like he's been through a tough time or whatever. I feel, actually, I feel sorry for Carson Beck. Sometimes I look at him, I was like, man, you don't seem happy, brother.

[B]

But he's having a national championship game. Pretty happy.

[A]

Yeah. But, you know, the thing is they.

[C]

Talk about all the team rallies around Carson Beck and you're like, when they say that, it's not because things have been going well in the past. You don't rally around somebody for whom.

[B]

Well, he was getting overhated in the off season. The Cavender twin that he was dating broke up with him. They were all making fun of him.

[D]

They said he had no friends, his car got stolen.

[C]

I mean, again, he had tough. So people have to rally around him.

[A]

Joe, I have to be honest with you. You are a fascinating podcaster. This, this, this right here. I'm not even joking. I don't know. What if there's a. I don't have a retaliatory take, but just listening to you unpack all of this we've gotten to. Carson Beck is now the beneficiary of structural racism. Like we've gotten.

[B]

You're saying he's a white savior?

[A]

I will say this. Just from what I've watched with Miami, it seems as if his teammates fucking love him. Yeah, it seems as if they love him. He's talking on the sideline, he's being deferential. He's talking about team ball, guys are getting in the shot and they are talking about how much they love aqb. It seems as if his teammates love him.

[C]

Yeah, look, I'm glad that they're coming to him because remember, it was just earlier this year that people were, like, upset. Certainly he was blaming his teammates and stuff. Right. So obviously, like, they see there's something about him that they find to be endearing. I want everybody to find a place where you appreciate it. And I feel like Carson Beckham has found that in Miami. And that's great. Like, if he wins the national championship down there, too, he'll be remembered fondly forever. One of the most fun programs to be remembered fondly at. So that'll be the, you know, to all the Georgia fans, like, we didn't need you, whatever. That would be great for him. I, you know, yeah, I guess I'll root for that to happen for him and to have a good life.

[B]

You mentioned. You mentioned stories. So that leads us to our one big question, which I think is a fascinating one. Which team winning would be the best for college football moving forward? Because it does feel like Indiana, obviously, like from one of the worst programs in all of college football history to a national championship would be insane. For Miami to be back as the number one team in college football would also be insane. And for them to win a national championship before ever winning the ACC would also be unbelievable at this point. So, Van, I go to you first. Which one would be better for the sport moving forward?

[A]

Indiana is not close. Indiana wouldn't just be a great college football story. Indiana would be a fantastic sports story, a fantastic pop culture story. The job that Signetti and really everyone that's involved in the Indiana football program have done there is nothing short of miraculous. This just doesn't happen. You do not go from being whoever you want to be, whatever team you want to put out there, you know, you know what the best team is? The best exact example of it is Indiana. There's not an example that's better than Indiana. You don't go from being Indiana, a team that doesn't have any type of football identity, to a team that seems unbeatable in the amount of time that Signetti has them playing like that with the Mendoza winning a Heisman, with his personality, with all the other storylines that are surrounding the school, it just doesn't happen. And for them to finish that off, if they were able to finish it off, it's already one of the greatest stories in sports history. But for them to finish that off would be such a sign of so many different things. Miami coming back, overcoming adversity, Carson Beck's resurgence, you know, all of the stuff that they have that goes along with the culture in Miami.

[B]

How much winning in Miami, Winning in.

[A]

Miami, all of that stuff, a number one. I get it. But the Indiana stuff is beyond. The Indiana stuff is. I mean, man, that's Buster Douglas type shit. You know, that's a guy. Think about what Buster Douglas was as a boxer. If you go back and you watch that fight, Buster Douglas didn't win that fight on a miracle punch. He started whooping Mike Tyson's motherfucking ass from the beginning of the bell to the end of the bell. And what you wonder is what got into him that night that made him an unbeatable heavyweight. For that night, a guy named Rummy's Corner on YouTube calls him Tokyo Douglas. He doesn't even call him Buster Douglas when he's talking about Buster Douglas. He goes, who could it be, that Buster Douglas on that night? When you think about Indiana, it asks. It makes you ask so many questions. What is Signetti doing? What type of buy in? How did they know when they gave him the big contract, how did they know that what they had was this dominant? How do you take a college football program from being hapless to victorious and dominant? Like that's the kind of stuff that you build story around and that's what would happen if they were able to finish it off.

[C]

Yeah, man. I mean, just so I Remember back in 2021 and this is so the year after the COVID season where Indiana had a pretty decent season with Michael Penix, man, they like won, I think they went like 6 and 2 or something like that because, you know, the games were weird that year because of COVID And then the next year Michael Penix got hurt and then he transferred to Washington. And I just was thinking, I was like, man, that sucks for Indiana, you know, I was like, that's really. That's probably the best it's ever going to be, you know. You know, and if you would just come to somebody in that moment. Michael Penix is transferred. He's off to the University of Washington with Kaylyn DeBoer. And somebody said, don't worry, five years later they're going to be the number one seed in an expanded playoff. And more than a touchdown favorite in the championship game against Miami.

[B]

Eight and a half points.

[C]

What could you. There's. Nobody would believe that. Like, it would be impossible. You'd be like, what drugs are you on? Get the fuck out of here. That's crazy. Nobody would have believed that. But it's actually happening. And so like Van said, you know, look, when we posted about this on, on, on Instagram and people were like, Van's idea to make a movie out of this do a Disney Fi thing is actually a great idea because it's right. This stuff doesn't happen. And when it does, we make movies about it. They become big moments in sports. Think the jets winning the Super bowl in 1969. They went Super Bowl 3 or Texas Western winning it. You know, now the UTEP and the starting All Black 5 against Kentucky, NC State winning. Remember?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Northwestern going to the Rose bowl. And they weren't even a great team and everybody kind of knew it at the time. They were a good team, but not a great team. And they went to the rose bowl in 94 and it was a huge.

[A]

Deal because nobody running back that they had the light skinned.

[C]

Darnell Autry.

[A]

Darnell Autry. Yep.

[C]

Darnell Autry.

[A]

He went on to become an actor. He started an acting career.

[C]

Is that right?

[A]

Yeah, he wanted to be an actor. Danielle Autry did.

[B]

I think that's the Nandi Asamoah.

[C]

Nandi awesome.

[A]

Wa.

[C]

That's right. Kerry Washington. Shout out. Shout out. Yeah. So that's. If you can't have transcendent players who can captivate the rest of the country like, like a Magic or Larry, then you want a team with a great story. Because it's not only does it give your sport like these moments of inflection where people remember, we're going to remember this Indiana team forever, but also somebody or a bunch of somebody's in this country right now are looking at Indiana and thinking, oh, we could do that. We could do that. That's good for the sport, man. Yeah.

[B]

The greatest story is to inspire others, right? I mean that's really what a story is. A great story is something that gives people hope and says, hey, this is possible. And Indiana has created something that, that is definitely possible at this point. And it is so impossible to the experts on this show. We do one thing, we hold experts accountable. Damon and the experts. This was the overreaction of the week. The experts were so upset that they all started tweeting kind of in unison something similar to this. This is the bear, Chris Falica, he said this and there was multiple people that said something very similar. They tweeted this. It's almost like Indiana knows what play slash look is coming almost every down. They are so well prepped. But the implication, and you saw this across the. The experts in college football where they kept saying things along these lines and then there started to be kind of this underbelly, this rumbling and you know, there was a conversation that was being had that there's no way people were so upset that Indiana was this dominant against Oregon that the natural. Because we live in such, you know, dire times and everyone kind of seems to be negative for the most part, everyone immediately went to, well, Indiana must be cheating. That's how far this thing went. In the opposite direction. It wasn't like, wow, what an incredible story. It was like, well, for them to be this good and to know that Dante Moore is going to throw a little out route and pick it off and take it to the house like Ponds did to open up that game, there must be some reason for them to cheat or be cheating. And there was like these weird conspiracies about the cloud and teams update uploading things to the cloud and they were being able to pull things from the cloud. Van, I'll go to you first because you mentioned this is something we should talk about. How insane is it that we can't even accept that Indiana is doing this, that we must assume they. They are cheating and we can't even give them the credit that they're due?

[A]

I hate this type of shit.

[B]

Me too.

[A]

If you're going to accuse someone of this, you have to have ironclad proof. Other than that, you sound like a straight up whiny bitch. Straight like that.

[B]

I'm with you.

[A]

One time we was playing a Madden and one of my homeboys said, you know what? I'm losing because I got grease on my controller. Because it was like, man, you ain't even had no pizza yet, boy. If you don't get this. Take this L. Butterfingers. If you don't get this ass whooping and shut the up. Get off the sticks if all you're gonna have is excuse me. Aaron Rodgers going crazy right now. That's what's happening to you. You know what's happening to you? Deuce McAllister is happening to you.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That's what's happening to you. That's what's going on.

[C]

Damn.

[A]

Saying it right now. Joe Horn going crazy. That's what's wow, right? Shut the fuck up. And I don't like this type of thing. If someone has legitimate evidence that Indiana in some way is doing this, not above board, by all means, made that evidence plan. It wouldn't be the first time we've seen it, right? The Astros, Joe's team, bunch of cheaters. You got Connor Stallions and you never, you never raise the roof alone. Everybody gotta raise.

[C]

Yeah, that's right.

[A]

You got Connor Stallions. You know, you have situations.

[B]

I don't want to raise it for the cheaters. But you're right, there are a lot of cheaters out there.

[A]

Hey, you have spocking. Even with my own Saints team, you have bounty gate.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Not getting a competitive advantage, but definitely doing things to hurt players and stuff like that. Right? So it's not like it's something that we can't fathom, but if you ain't got no evidence of it, if you can't prove it, then you just sound like a fucking broad. Shut up.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

Like, you. You do you always like. You sound like a hoe? It sound like ho shit circles back that y' all support.

[C]

Take the L. That's right. It is true. It is some hoe shit. Yeah, man, take the L. So it's.

[A]

Really making me sick. And it also is a slap in the face to what Kurt Signetti, Fernando Mendoza, and Indiana, what the team has been able to do and the type of football that they play. They are disciplined, they are well studied, they play nasty. If there's something more than that, bring it to the table. If not, strap it up, line it up, and try your best to get.

[B]

And social media is where this all drummed up. And Indiana football linebacker Aiden Fisher, he was asked about this, and he was disgusted. Here's his quote. He said, it's ridiculous to me. We watch film, we study, we prepare. So the fact that this was like a social media BS kind of like, you know, circle jerk that kind of got spread based on some weird tweets. Just from, like I said, experts started it by making these kind of, like, implications that, wow, they must know what plays they're running. Then it went from there to, like, the Cloud and Mark Cuban. I mean, the conspiracy just got completely out of whack, and it got to the point where they're asking the players about this. Joel, I know you feel the same way. I mean, how insane is this?

[C]

Well, I mean, I think it is weak, you know, and it's. I mean, no surprise it's happening on Twitter. Y' all don't need to be on Twitter in the first place. I. That should ain't. I bet it's not happening on Blue sky, but we. So let me just. The preamble.

[B]

What, are they skating over there?

[C]

Not that. Not that kind of whole, you know? No, I do my weekly college football. Okay, Billy.

[B]

So Billy wanted us to point out to the audience that Joel sends us tweets daily. So he's still on Twitter? Yeah, yeah. Or whatever the hell you want to call it.

[C]

Right? Yeah, I mean, I am. I'll read it. I'll read it, but I don't. I don't. Well, I guess I do post over there a lot.

[A]

Yeah, you do post. What are you talking.

[C]

About?

[A]

Your entire Happened. Your entire back and forth with Red CFB was on Twitter.

[C]

No, no, you know what happened?

[B]

You had a USA Basketball coach texting me, being like, why is your co host going at all these people, by the way?

[A]

Really texting a bunch of. That ain't got nothing to do. You got mad at Steve Nash on Twitter. Like that. That was some different. Like, Steve Nash is talking about the differences in the. The capitalist structures in terms of Europe to the. The United States.

[C]

I'm just. I'm tired of people talking about the US I'm like, what is Joel Owens the man's. I'm just tired of that. That complaint. I just don't want people to complain about basketball culture in America anymore. This is old. Stop it. But here's the thing. I wasn't on Twitter before I started fucking with y', all, man, because I got. And y' all were over there, and you were like, this was an early conversation that we had. Yeah, you misspelled applause, Billy. That's right. He's trying to cap on us in the chat. But anyway, let me get back to my point. You know, go back to. Yeah, that's right. Let me. Let me go back to Indiana. I do think that we tend to underrate cheating of bending the rules as a factor in the games we watch, from spying to pds, whatever. Like, I was. I saw this clip on Instagram the other day. D.J. williams was talking about playing for Josh McDaniels with the Browns. And he was like, man, yeah, we were starting. He was like, man, we were like, 8, 0. He said, Josh McDaniels said, if you stand right here, he's gonna throw it right to you. Blah, blah, blah. And then I think later in the year, one of McDaniels homeboys or somebody on the staff got fired. They got caught, you know, recording people's practices. And then D.J. was like, oh, man, we was cheating. You know, he was like, no wonder we were so good. So I do think that people underestimate that. And look, it used to be a lot more common as a reporter to cover practices in college football. You could go out there, watch it, report on roster stuff, injuries or whatever.

[B]

You can't even. When I was in college, I went to practices and got the right practice reports.

[C]

Yeah, you can't do that no more.

[B]

And also get 15 minutes and they don't show you anything.

[C]

And I've seen the LSU practice field. It's covered with that privacy screen, so you can't. You can't even look in there and see them practice. You can hear them, but unless you have a drone, you can't see what's going on there. And you know why? Because these dudes be cheating. Like, I mean, the coaches know what goes on, and they're so neurotic about their information getting out and everything. And so it's just like, you know, that coaches will do anything to win. Like, there's no. There's no limit to that. Even your boy Tate Belichick, you know what I'm saying? Like, that's.

[B]

What's his name.

[C]

Trying to find that age village. Okay, what did I say?

[B]

Okay, it sounds like you said Billicheck.

[C]

Y' all were ready to pounce. I'm gonna move on. So. So I understand why people want to reach for, like, why Indiana is doing this. Just let it go, man. Don't worry about this. This story is not gonna last forever, bro. Enjoy. This team just assume to be like me. I assume everybody's cheating, man. In football.

[A]

Let me ask you this.

[B]

Studying tendencies isn't cheating, though. Yeah. I mean, that.

[C]

That to me is if you are.

[A]

Hacking other people's work product and looking at that, anything that you can get from what's put on tape on the field is one thing. But if you're studying other people's work product and you have, that would be one thing. There's no evidence that anyone is praying to. To make that. That. That assertion.

[C]

I'm not imagine.

[A]

Does the age thing, which people are really glomming on to now, does that in any way kind of move you guys? The fact that Indiana is a team that is full of the fifth and sometimes six years players. Six year players. And one of the guys, the funny tweets, like, man number seven played with Trevor Lawrence at Clemson. Just to say that out loud is crazy. It's just. I know it's not as much time as what we would think. Right. You know, but to say that out loud is just. That's. That's a funny thing to say. Does the fact that they are older change any of this to you guys, or is that a legitimate criticism?

[C]

Tate, do you want to go first?

[B]

I don't think it's a legitimate criticism. If they have eligibility, they can play. And it's also the COVID year threw everything out of whack. It's happening in college basketball as well. And everybody was like, how do we get old quick? That's how you win. A lot of teams have done it, and it works. It makes sense. And Signetti, I mean, it's more about the evaluation, if anything, of these players than the fact that they're older. And yes, experience help, yes, it does make a difference. But Carson Beck, as we mentioned before, I mean, he's 23 years old too, so it's not like there's any sort of difference. And I promise you this, the number one playmaker offensively on the field is a high schooler and his name is Baby Jesus Malachi Tony. So I mean, he's going to be a difference maker in this game. And I don't think his age is going to be any sort of issue. And we saw pictures of him like with Mark Rick when He was like 11 years old. And like Carson Beck was in college when he was 11 years old. So I mean, the age thing for Indiana, everybody's just trying to find something to pick at Indiana to make it make sense. But at the end of the day, just give them credit. I mean, they, they've earned the right to get the credit.

[C]

I tried to text Mark Rick about that, about that picture, man.

[B]

Love Rick.

[C]

He's the best. Yeah, he's dope. He. And he did respond, but he didn't give me a lot. He didn't give me as much as I thought I was going to get. But I was like, man, we are really doing this. Does that picture look familiar? He said, yeah, whatever. Anyway, point of this is that he's flying down there.

[B]

He'll be at the game.

[C]

I bet he will, man. There's a lot of people gonna be down there, you know, not me, but just whatever. But look, man, like I, I don't. Again, nothing credible has come out about Indiana. Enjoy it, man. And also just take solace in the fact that nobody holds on to all the tricks forever. Like the people discover the market inefficiency and they take advantage of it. And then the key and it's kind of like why Nick Saban was as good as he was for so long is like staying ahead of the people that are chasing you, man. Like figuring out, okay, this we got. I got to run a spread offense. Okay, I could do that. Yeah, you know, whatever. I got to lean. I lean into a quarterback. Instead of having a defensive based team or the strength of the team is defense. I had to do that. People would do it, but then people will figure it out and it will go on. Enjoy Indiana this year. Don't worry about if they're cheating or not. Just like the Astros H town, we won the World Series a couple times, you know, and they can try to take it from us or whatever, but they ain't doing that. We won.

[A]

It's over. So yeah, take it back, Bonnie. Gay championship. We got it. Yeah, like, you know what I mean? You get cold. Tate's team.

[C]

Yeah, fake them. Fakes classes they had at unc.

[B]

You know, you had to write papers. I still am. I still am upset about that. Like, you had to write papers. Papers.

[C]

Oh, you contest. You contesting?

[B]

Oh, it was. It was all thrown out. I mean, read the Wayne report. It was all. It was all made up. Okay.

[C]

Breaking a little news report.

[A]

Okay, Read that.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So the Wingstein report, like, exonerated UNC from all of this.

[B]

It basically was like. This was a witch hunt. You know what I mean?

[C]

Really?

[B]

As we all knew.

[C]

Oh, as we all knew. Okay. All right.

[A]

Check that out.

[C]

Yeah, me too.

[B]

We got about a thousand pages, so.

[A]

No, I'm not reading out.

[C]

Maybe there's a summary somewhere.

[B]

Yeah, Chad, GBT can get you a summary for sure, but, yeah, I mean, look, everybody's got. Try to find an edge. We understand that. It was funny, though, Van, you sent us that, like, graphic that someone made where it was like, the number of players that were this age in the NFL versus, you know, it was like, what, 23 to 25 on Indiana versus the NFL, and there was more on Indiana than the NFL. So everyone's just trying to find some reason to pick at Indiana. And I understand it because they are Indiana. But can we give them just, like, this is their first time appearing in a national spotlight like this? And I guess. I mean, it's. You know, you know what. It comes with the territory.

[A]

You know what it is to me, you know, I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna out this particular name, right, because we've talked about other situations with my. With my friends, my homeboy, you know, all of my homeboys. The name of the crew was the Player Proof Crew. So everybody thought. You know, everybody thought it was. You know, it's all players and all that stuff like that.

[C]

Did you have gear? Yeah, yeah.

[A]

That's your own. G is one of the guys. We didn't have caps, but we had a. We had a saying that we were saying the club. Oh, was it player proof mop dogs, for sure. I want to hit that ho. That's what we were saying.

[C]

Get out of here, dog. Y' all did this in front of.

[B]

The girls, man, to each other.

[A]

I'm gonna be real with you. I'm. I'm not joking at all. If you about to make any jokes as if them. Because I'm not gonna speak for myself, is if them didn't have it. Anybody from Baton Rouge is gonna tell you you wrong. Ryan, Brian, Trey, Emmett, Van Derrick, Chris Toones, whoever you want. Anybody from Baton Rouge is going to tell you that you wrong. You can go do your own research.

[C]

You went to the club, got it done. Huh?

[A]

You cleared them out, whatever, for whatever reason. But there was times when there was holes in the pimping. And this was funny because this is how kind of what I feel like people are doing in Indiana. So there was holes in the pimping at times. One of my homies, you. You know, he had a girl. Because everybody always had a. You know, a main lady. One of my homeboys had a girl.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

She went to college, met somebody else. Yeah, somebody.

[C]

That was an old story.

[A]

She went to college. She met somebody else that was a little older. Somebody that was this. Somebody was that. And what he was doing is what college football fans are trying to do to Indiana. They trying to figure out why it's working. He looks at him, and on this girl, he feel like, man, I look better than him. I got this. I dress like, why is it working? Why is it working? And what I said to him is the same thing I say to y'. All. She like him, dog. Yeah, it don't matter. Stop worrying about it and worry about what you gotta do. Compete. Working. Yeah, they hack in the cloud. You could try to say that they owe. You could try to say whatever. You can try to find holes in what perceive. Or you can focus on yourself and what you gotta do to win, man.

[C]

Yo, yo, your homeboys, it was slim, dog. He was like, you let that Terry bone. I know I look better. The whole thing.

[A]

You let that Terry. But after a while, I mean, this ended up being like a whole thing. Like, yeah, coming to the house on Easter. It was a whole Easter Sunday debacle. There was a pair of shoes that somebody had gotten given. And all of this stuff was so funny. And this is, like going against the whole thing because they can't just deal with the fact that whatever homie is doing is working. What they got going on in Indiana is working. You make yourself look crazy if you're going through it with a fine tooth comb, trying to invent excuses for losing to them.

[C]

Man, you saying your boy's girl, man, she wasn't player proof. You know what I'm saying? Your homeboy's girl, she wouldn't play a proof.

[A]

I mean, look, I want to get into this. I mean, look, this was always the funny thing to me. The funny thing to me always was, if you look at yourself, and this is another thing for college football, if you are a blue blood.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You always get to the point to where you realize your blood is not quite as blue as you thought it was. Oh, that's what happened to Alabama or Oregon or Ohio State or whomever. You looking at somebody, it's a new kid on the block and you realizing that your blood is not as blue as you thought. You spent a lot of money, you didn't spend enough. You got a lot of five stars, you ain't got enough. You got a coaching staff, all this experience, they ain't got enough. Whatever you doing is not enough. Because when you get on that football team, on that football field with Indiana, they splat you everywhere.

[C]

That's right. Splat.

[B]

Splat. There you have it. We're gonna take one more. We're gonna take one break here. When we come back, we're gonna give our final thoughts on the CFP championship game. Maybe just some things to watch in the game that we're going to be looking at. And then we'll do a little big band on campus. We'll have some parting shots. And Billy Gill, we'll have him back up the show and see if Billy has any thoughts on what Joel's got going on. So we'll be right back after the break. Ringer Tailgate is brought to you by FanDuel. The divisional round is where the NFL's best take center stage. And with everything on the line, fanduel was turning on playoff mode because all customers get a profit boost pack every NFL playoff game day waiting for you in the app. More boost means more ways to level up your playoff bets. FanDuel makes it fast, easy and fun to get in on the playoff action. And when your bet wins, you get paid instantly. So visit fanduel.comtailgate and grab your profit Boost packed. Every playoff game day must be 21 or older and President select states are 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 d help.com call 1-800-887-897777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut. Let's get here one just thing that you're gonna watch. I'll give you mine first and then I'll let you guys go from there. I'm watching to see who wants the ball first in this game. We saw this, they decided that they wanted the ball first. They wanted to put the Miami defense on their heels. It was a great moment with Ray Lewis. Ray Lewis, like, oh, they want that. You know what I mean? Like, you can see that in real time where they're like, oh, they really want to see that they could do something to this Miami defense. I want to see if Fernando Mendoza in Indiana, if they act out of character, if they want the football first to kind of get Miami playing behind, get them on their heels a little bit, if they want to see what this Miami defense is about, or if they're going to go with the script, defer to the second half, do what they've done for the rest of the season. And if Carson Beck gets the ball first, what does Miami's offense look like? So for me, I think that's the first game within the game that's going to start this out. Joel, do you think that's a big conversation point in those buildings heading into this game?

[C]

It is really interesting, right, Because I understand the idea. We want to prove a point. We're going to take the ball down the field on y'. All. But I. I don't know. Obviously, I don't know Kirk Signetti personally, but knowing what I seem to know about the dude is that no, we do what we do, you know, you're not going to get us off our game. That's why we're. That's why I'm curseignetti, this is why we're Indiana. So I don't think that they can be rattled in that way. And, you know, one thing about having a bunch of old dudes is they've seen a lot of shit, man. There's a lot of. A lot of situations, a lot of games they've been in where they've been down, things have not gone right. You know, receivers not getting open, ball seems slippery that day, whatever, and they've been able to overcome it. So I don't think that they would do anything different like that. But, yeah, if they did do something like that, it would be. It would be interesting because if I'm Indiana and I'm cursing that, I don't have to prove shit to Miami. We talk. We number one. You know, we didn't lose the Louisville and smu, right? And so we don't have to prove we tough. We're eight and a half point favorite. So, yeah, I don't see that happening. But if it does, it's definitely something I'll be looking out for.

[A]

For me, I want to see how Mark Fletcher looks. I want to see whether or not the Miami offensive line, which is a good offensive line but has a tendency sometimes to make mistakes you penalize. Sometimes as a unit, they have some lapses and some lows. I want to see how committed Miami is to the run and whether or not they can lean on Indiana from the start of the game with Fletcher. Fletcher, to me, as much as we talk about Beck, Mendoza, Cooper, whoever else is playing this game, Tony Fletcher to me is going to be the guy that determines the outcome of this game. Of course, in turnovers as well, nobody.

[C]

Would ever believe it, but Van and I have more in common than you think because I don't have that verbatim in these notes, but I have Mark Fletcher maybe has a case as the MVP of the CFP, right? He had 17 carries, first playoff game, 19 against Ohio State, 22 against. Just last week against Ole Miss. He's getting even more important to them as the season goes along and they're finding that they can rely on him and also that they. That offensive line has been able to establish control. And so they're like, you know what? Instead of leaning on QB2 Carson Beck, maybe we should, you know, take advantage of our real strengths, which is that we got maybe one of the best offensive lines in the country and a 6 foot 2, 225 pound running back a grown man that, you know, people are do. Anybody would get tired of tackling after, after three quarters of that.

[B]

And Marty Brown, you. I mean, I know Fletcher, but Marty Brown has been from North Dakota State. He's been a nice like, change of pace for them and also been able to relieve Fletcher. I do feel like both these teams have two great stable running backs. And it does feel like the running games, being able to get 3, 4, 5 yards, get ahead of the chains is the reason why both of these quarterbacks have been able to play a little bit more free because of those running games. So it is a fascinating matchup, the coaching matchup between these two coaches. I mean, we've heard a lot of things about Signetti obviously, but we haven't talked about Crystal Ball. Crystal Ball has been a bit of a psychopath this entire journey and he's been very focused on the football and not letting side distractions really get in the way. He was very upset about the corporate people on the stage. He's like, why is my football team not on the stage? Which was a very funny moment. But the crystal ball of it all, Van, he's had some head scratching decisions in the past. Are you worried about him having one of those kind of hiccups in this type of game or do you think this is maybe a time where Cristobal proves some of those doubters wrong?

[A]

Now, in a game that's going to be, in my opinion, this competitive, you're always worried about any potential weakness that a team has. And Mario, crystal ball could be a potential weakness for Miami. Tell you one thing now, there's one thing that is true. Those guys are ready to run through a fucking wall for him.

[B]

Yeah, for real.

[A]

Signetti as well. He has his guys as well. Those guys in Miami right now, they believe. They don't think they're the second best team. They don't. They don't think they're the second best team. They keep telling us over and over and over again that they're the best team in the country. The way you engineer a drive like they engineered at the end of the game against Ole Miss is really through belief. You cannot in any way think that you're not going to win the game if you execute that type of drive. Look, we got to go out here and do what it is that we do and then we take home. Now, they weren't playing Indiana, they were playing Ole Miss. Ole Miss had a fantastic season. Not trying to take anything away from them, but I'm saying it's going to be different when they line it up on Monday. But you know, with Crystal Ball as motivated as he's going to have, his players, as much belief as they're going to have, you do worry about timeout usage. You worried about maybe how things are called. He is an emotional guy and there are times when the emotion of it seems to overwhelm him. Although I will say the last couple of games he's been a lot better.

[C]

Yeah, the, the last time we saw Miami, they were getting hoed and they were playing stupid, right. Like they, it looked like it was all falling apart in the fourth quarter. You know, they got the targeting call, then they got that, that, the, the call that actually was a cheap shot. That lineman that dove into. Yeah. His shoulder. One of the dumbest penalties I've seen.

[B]

This also like what, four dropped interceptions?

[C]

Yeah, man, dropped the. I mean that was starting to piss.

[A]

Me the off.

[C]

You know, I mean.

[A]

But yeah, for sure.

[C]

Miami was so much better than Ole Miss and then all of a sudden it cost them. And then, and then that defense didn't hold up the end of the bargain. Like, Trinidad Chandlers went down the field on their ass at the end of the game, you know, like, they didn't, you know, it just, you know, Miami got another crack at it and scored.

[B]

It's great play calling by Charlie Weiss Jr. Too. I mean, he kind of. He, he had. He knew what was at that point.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, they were hitting Daquan. Right. You know what I'm saying? He became.

[A]

We're playing calling by who?

[B]

Charlie Weiss Jr. You left something out, Junior.

[A]

Nah, you left something out. LSU offensive coordinator. You left that out.

[C]

It's a great point.

[B]

Show respect, future LSU office.

[C]

Yeah, right. That's right. That's right. So, yeah, I. I don't crystal ball, man. I. I mean, you know, the thing again, they. They commit so many errors, and this is a game where there's not really a margin for a lot of error. Indiana is not going to beat themselves. You got to go beat them. And Miami is a classic team. We might think that they were great, too, because they lost two games. They absolutely should not have lost. Like, you know, if they went, they do what they're supposed to, we would be looking at this as more of a matchup of equals. But we've seen Miami screw up in crucial moments so many times, and even this year and even in the last game and even in the last quarter that we saw them play that it's hard to think that that's not going to come up in this game.

[B]

I rewatched, like, the key plays of the Penn State Indiana game because I just wanted to see, like, what did they do defensively to doze of trouble? They gave him a lot of looks at the lime, and they dropped out of a lot of looks where you, like, thought a blitz was coming from. So, you know what I mean? He's gotten a lot better at reading some of those disguises. He just, I mean, he just absolutely drummed up Alabama by being able to kind of see that they were dropping back or whatever it may be. You know, kind of a lot of the stuff that he struggled with against Penn State, he's gotten better at. We'll see what Miami can do in this game. One last thing I wanted to hit. Sal wanted me to mention this to you guys. So Michael Irving came on the show, the gambling show at the beginning of the season. He. He gave S25 to one Miami to win the national championship. S put $100 on it. So if Miami wins this game, s is going to have to pay the playmaker $2,500 for the national championship. And he did call it from the start of the season. He's also got a new podcast coming out called the White House Fan.

[A]

The White House. Called the White House.

[B]

Your thoughts on the playmaker. He's having a good time.

[A]

We once again, we had some fun with him when he was cranking a goddamn siren and everybody was like, oh, my God, don't play around. Don't joke. The name of the fucking podcast is the White House.

[C]

Yeah, man, grow up.

[A]

It's funny.

[C]

Grow up, daddy.

[A]

Him. Also, congratulations to Pete Davidson. Two new podcasts on Netflix announced today. Wish them both well.

[B]

Yeah, the White House. So good. Apparently Rick Ross, the song the White House is the theme song of the show as well. So a lot of Miami love that is happening there. So, yeah, gonna be a great national championship game in Miami. We again will be in LA for that game. Now let's flip forward. Joel is sick to his stomach. Band, big man on campus. What do you have for us?

[A]

I have a declaration. I really enjoy college football this season. I've really enjoyed all the ups and the downs. It was not a great year for my LSU Tigers, but we came out of it with the brand new shiny coach. So let's see where it goes. But there is nothing in sports more entertaining than the transfer portal. Nothing. Nothing is more entertaining than the transfer portal. Hey, I'm leaving. Walker Howard, the son of Jamie Howard and LSU alumnus. Great. Whatever you want to call him, shout out to Jamie Howard. Walker Howard transferred to Louisiana and now has transferred back to Ole Miss.

[C]

Oh, man.

[A]

Went to a school that went back to Ole Miss. Okay, there are guys that. What was the guy that had his athletic department make him a video thinking that the video was going to be an announcement that he was.

[C]

Oh, yeah, Jordan Seaton seat Colorado trying to get.

[A]

Then he ends up using that video and all of those assets to announce that he is leaving. The quarterback drama between Williams. Was it Williams or Harris from.

[C]

I meant that.

[B]

Let's just call. You know what?

[C]

I'm not gonna do it. Okay. I mean, what do you think?

[B]

The Harris, Williams. Williams.

[A]

I have no clue. Williams Demon will between Williams, Levitt, the Ssby kid that ended up going to Texas Tech, all of these bouca or whatever.

[B]

All of these DJ Lagway who apparently committed to Baylor, but then he didn't commit to Baylor. Yeah.

[C]

Are y' all going to jump on van for mispronouncing names, by the way, don't do it.

[A]

But all of this stuff, the dominoes folly guys going places.

[B]

Hollywood Smothers van. He went to Alabama, now he's going to Texas.

[A]

Go like Texas.

[C]

Texas going for it.

[A]

Going to Alabama. Texas goes. No way, Jose. We got too much bread. Come on down. All of this money, millions and millions of dollars. The transfer portal is a movie. You got billionaires fighting basically buying players from different places. You have coaches trying to re recruit players that they've already recruited, trying to wait to see who's left to go out and get someone. You have all of this happening with 0, 0, 0, 0 even expectation or zero realization. What word am I looking for? Hold on, let me stop this. Zero guarantee with zero guarantee that it will end in victory in any way, shape or form.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It doesn't seem as if paying for your roster matters. Getting your transfers in matter. None of this matters. But every single program is making the. The the their hopes and dreams on the next backup cornerback from either Miami or Cal, sometimes from North Dakota State. And watching that is more fun than anything. Every time I open my phone, so and so is in a transfer portal with the do not contact. He already knows where he's going. Yeah, we don't know who's going to get. He looks like. And then you go in the comments, you are a sooner. You are a Tiger. You, you are a loner. Come on down to Manhattan, Kansas. It's a little galling and it kind of pushes you a little bit. But the transfer portal, it's more. It's more fun than NBA free agency. It's more fun than football free agency. It's more fun than anything that has to do with Major League baseball. Right. This is the most fun thing in sports, watching where these guys are going to end up.

[B]

Yeah. You didn't even mention Dylan Raiola going to Oregon. And he's willing to sit behind Dante Moore for one more season. Like what Dante Moore did with Dylan Gabriel, which is also fascinating.

[C]

That makes me think that Raul was hurt too a little bit. That like, maybe he feels like he needs some more time to heal.

[B]

I think he also doesn't want the pressure of like, he's like, all right, Dante, you come back. I'll be under you. I'll learn, learn from you. I'll get like a little bit of a year to get away from the Pat Mahomes stuff. It was also awkward because Pat Mahomes had to wear an Oregon jersey for a bet that he lost on January 3, and then a week later he committed to Oregon. And everyone's like, did. Did you know he see that picture of Pat Mahomes and he was like, oregon's a good opportunity for me. That's. That's an interesting wrinkle. Also, we got to give a shout out to our guy. TJ Finley, mentioned in the transfer report came on the show. We explained his piece as to why he wanted to continue playing college football. We pushed back on it. He gave some great responses. Talked about himself in the third person, too, which I thought was pretty baller. That was.

[C]

Yeah, let's TJ go, man.

[B]

Yeah, let TJ cook. And then he's going to Incarnate Word. So not quite what I thought he would be doing, but your thoughts on that, Van?

[A]

I think He's. I think T.J. finley's gonna. He's gonna try for another year.

[B]

Yeah, he's not done.

[A]

Because Incarnate Word is not where you ended, is where you started. If you're trying to put together tape and get another nil bag, you don't end your journey at Incarnate Word. We will be back this year, next year, next December.

[B]

TJ's back on the show.

[A]

TJ's back on the show talking about that he needs one more year because he balled out an Incarnate.

[C]

I hope they give it to him.

[A]

And he balled out Incarnate Word and he's gonna try to go to another school.

[C]

He's like.

[B]

He's like, I'm going back to Tulane to use.

[A]

To Tulane.

[C]

That's right. That's fine.

[A]

Good.

[C]

Good for. Good for him. I hope he does it. I hope he gets a bag. I don't know how much Incarnate Word is paying. Probably. Presumably not very much. But I know that he said he was. He was making business decisions. So, you know, he's got a couple kids, man. He said you need to provide for them. I'm. I'm. I'm hoping he can him do it. And I. I'm guessing the thing is he feels like he.

[A]

He.

[C]

He did say he just needed tape. So this is tape. This is a tape year for him. So hopefully he puts up the tape that he needs, man. San Antonio's a nice city, man. It's nice, you know, Good place gonna be in Texas.

[B]

A lot of good quarterbacks in Texas.

[A]

What do you think the. The transfer portal rankings are right now?

[B]

Texas has got to be one, right?

[A]

There are two.

[B]

Oh, who's won? Or you want us to guess who's won? It's LSU. Really?

[A]

Little dazzling.

[B]

How are they? Number one eight.

[A]

Four stars, one five star, 16. Three stars. That's very interesting.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Who is.

[A]

Who's carrying the class 28 commits along with Sam Levitt. And the number three team is very interesting to me as well. The number three team with 38, three stars coming to their school is Oklahoma State.

[C]

Oh, yeah, man. They basically.

[B]

That was a good hire.

[C]

The good. The good. The good players from North Texas who are like all freshmen. So, yeah, they're transporting them up to Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State should be much better next year for sure. I'm looking at this class.

[A]

There's a little movement in the transfer portal from our friends over at Notre Dame. Do we think that they have a hold on their head coach? Do you think that their head coach will be around? The NFL teams has not stopped coming or not stopping coming from Marcus Freeman. Do you think.

[C]

Whoa, whoa.

[A]

Do you think Marcus Frumman is going to stay there or you think he's going to take a job in the NFL?

[B]

I don't think he's going to get an offer in the NFL. I think he's getting interviews, to be quite frank.

[C]

Damn.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

I think this is just good for his good pr, for him to be like, the NFL wants me, and. And I'm coming back. You know what I mean? I think he's having a press conference. Right.

[C]

Tomorrow.

[B]

That's what we heard.

[A]

Because of the wrestling thing. Somehow some happened. I. Wrestling meet with his son.

[B]

I think that was all cleared up now.

[C]

Yeah, that got dropped or something like that.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah, I think it's. It's all clear. Yeah. But I don't know. I'm a little skeptical about. Because even some of the jobs. I saw, the Steelers, they were like, Marcus Freeman would be perfect for the Steelers. I don't know about that. I. You know, I feel like he's perfect at Notre Dame. Just stay at Notre Dame.

[C]

I mean. Yeah, but Notre Dame is a really good job. Yeah. I mean, the thing is about Marcus Freeman is that we don't know if he wants to. You know, I mean, it's a great job, but it could be that his wife may be like, I'm tired of living in South Bend, Indiana. I would like to see something else. No offense.

[B]

Chicago is close by.

[C]

He can drive.

[B]

That is always two hours.

[C]

That is always a fallacy to me because somebody said that to me the other day in these comments about Palo Alto. They're just like, oh, East Palo Alto's across the freeway. You should go over there. And do what? I mean, I'm an adult. I don't. I'm not going to join a club. I'm not going to join a. A softball team. I have two children to raise. When somebody says something is close to you, that means it is not near you. So when people would be. When I went to college at tcu, they were like, oh, yeah, that's. That's in the Dallas area. You know, you can go to Dallas. Dallas is an hour away. It was a big event to be able to go to Dallas from Fort Worth. You can't. If you're in South Bend, you're in South Bend. You cannot move to South Bend because it's close to Chicago. If you want to be in Chicago, you gotta move to Chicago. You can't move South Bend.

[B]

It's hard to afford Chicago. You know what I mean?

[C]

I thought Chicago is one of the more affordable big.

[B]

Maybe it is.

[C]

Before I moved to Maryland, Chicago was number three on my list.

[A]

I wanted the first two.

[B]

Yeah, give us the list.

[C]

Atlanta and Chicago and Houston. There you go. Yeah.

[A]

So Chicago is. It looks like it's a. It's an hour and 30 minutes away from South Bend. It's too far.

[B]

Like, when I went to the Notre Dame game, I stayed in Chicago, and then we. We took a car out to the game.

[A]

Yeah, it's an hour 30 on the. On the train. If you take the train.

[B]

There you go.

[C]

My homeboy got his NBA from Notre Dame, so that's one of the times I went up there. And that was a big part of the trip, being on a train from Chicago to South Bend. I was like, you know, I was like, oh, that was an event. I had to. It took a while, so. Yeah, man, that's not. Marcus Freeman, man. His wife has to like South Bend.

[A]

I'm saying she might be.

[C]

She might.

[A]

If. When you drive from South Bend, it looks like. Do you have to drive here? Do you have to drive through Michigan here? No. You don't?

[C]

No, but you're probably going through Hammond.

[B]

You're going just Indiana.

[A]

Yeah, it's Indiana here. And you're looking. You pass by Michigan City is what I saw. Then you drop up. It's 1 hour and 41 minutes away by car. But by train, you straight. But you. Joe, you're basically saying what. You're saying South Bend. Is that.

[C]

I mean, bro. You know.

[B]

I think South Bend's nice, though.

[A]

No, I think it's nice.

[C]

I don't. Yeah, I mean, you know, I've only.

[B]

Been there once, so everybody likes different.

[C]

Things, you know, And Notre Dame is a beautiful campus. Yeah, it is a very nice campus.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[C]

But I Just kind of. I don't know. I thought it was kind of bleak.

[B]

Would it. Would it be viewed as him, like, dodging smoke if he's now not the number one team in Indiana? Right. If obviously Signetti and the Hoosiers are the best football team in the state, and then he leaves.

[A]

Damn. They're the second best team in the state. I never even.

[C]

I don't think about it like that. Yeah, I do. Yeah.

[D]

Do.

[C]

Do Notre Dame and Indiana and. What's another. What's. Is there another team in India? Purdue.

[B]

Purdue.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Do they. With Notre Dame like that? Is Notre Dame part of that little.

[B]

I think Notre Dame is kind of like how Louisville is in Kentucky. It's like their own thing, you know? But it's still. It still is. Indiana counts.

[A]

You know what we never talk about before we go? We never talk about the Great Lakes.

[C]

They're beautiful.

[A]

This stuff on the map, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Look at Lake Erie. Like, Lake Superior. We never. How come. How come we never talk about the Great Lakes anymore? Like, nobody talks about them. Like, when I was a kid growing up, talk a lot about the Great Lakes.

[C]

That's true.

[A]

Name all the Great Lakes. It's Great Lakes. And all of this stuff said, fuck the Great Lakes.

[C]

Really.

[A]

Like, when you. When you think about it now, I.

[B]

Think we should change them to the stage seas. You know what I mean?

[C]

Because.

[B]

Because they're so big. They're so large. Like, when you see them, they have waves.

[C]

When you fly to Chicago and you see, like, Michigan.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I didn't know. I did not know a lake was that big. Yeah. When I flew to Chicago for y', all, it was huge. Yeah.

[A]

Dude, pop on real quick. I want to ask you about Great Lakes knowledge because he was.

[B]

He was just up there. You were up in Minnesota?

[C]

Really? Oh, Minnesota. That's right.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Can you name all of the Great Lakes?

[D]

Michigan.

[A]

That's one.

[D]

Huron. Right.

[A]

Two. I just said it. That's two.

[D]

Yeah. I gotta start with those. Erie.

[C]

Oh, areas.

[A]

Three.

[D]

Ontario.

[A]

I'm looking. There's Ontario. One. I guess that's one.

[B]

Yeah. You got one more, right?

[C]

Oh, yeah, just one more.

[B]

You got Superior. Yeah, hold on.

[C]

Are you on Wikipedia, bro? That's the exact order is on Wikipedia.

[A]

I'm looking at them right now. It's like. I'm looking.

[C]

Yeah, man. Is that what you did, Billy? I told you people would cheat, man. I told you people would cheat. You know, we underestimate the cheating.

[D]

It's a little Google image, man. Like, we're not talking about the Great Lakes enough. I'm like, let's see what there is to talk about about these Great Lakes.

[A]

I'm looking at them right now. It's actually just a cool little part of the world with all of these lakes and whatnot.

[C]

Oh, man.

[A]

Ontario is right next to Toronto.

[C]

I with Ontario hard on the lake.

[D]

The Laker.

[A]

Milwaukee is right on Lake Michigan, along with Chicago. Right. And then you got, you know, Lake Huron. Y' all ain't really got no Lake Huron. I'm not gonna lie. Y' all ain't got no. I ain't got no stats, bro.

[B]

Don't you know, like, the greatest.

[C]

I don't know what is calling those cities.

[A]

That's with y', all, like, Seawood.

[C]

People call this called Collingwood. Seawood or the wood. It's got 24, 000 people, man. Come on, dirt. Collingwood, Ontario. That's on Lake Huron.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Now Lake Huron ain't hitting on owen. Sound like 21, 000 people. Lake Superior. Lake Superior kind of whack on the. On the cool, too. They got Thunder Bay, Ontario. I've been there before. Grand Marais. I've been there. Duluth, they are. But if you're talking about really cities, it's Lake Michigan that's holding it down. Between Chicago and Milwaukee, you got Lake Michigan holding it down. Detroit is slightly close to Lake Erie, but it's really not the whole deal. Shout out to Cedar Point if you want to go have some fun. Hit him up. But, like, you really. It's really not what you would think it would be in terms of these other Great Lakes. Really. Lake Michigan is doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, Lake Erie's not bad. I didn't mind Buffalo. Buffalo was. Buffalo was. All right.

[A]

Buffalo was on. Oh, Buffalo was on Lake Erie.

[B]

That's the big one.

[A]

Buffalo got, like. Lake Erie got Buffalo and Cleveland. Nobody thinks this is what we don't know. Nobody thinks two good football seasons, Cleveland and Buffalo could be connected by a lake. I bet no one thinks that. That lake is gigantic. Like, no one thinks that they could be connected.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. They're not lakes. They're seas. They're too big.

[D]

It's like, cruise. Go on a cruise from Buffalo to.

[B]

Cleveland and like, when the water is frozen. Terrifying.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Not, bro.

[C]

I drove across the country from D.C. to California when we moved out there.

[B]

Nice.

[C]

So we did. We went up.

[B]

Which route did you do? You went.

[C]

So I did a whole bunch of different, man.

[B]

So I went southern route when I made my drive.

[C]

See, look. So I. The background is that when I moved to California, my girlfriend then, you know, soon wife became. Got a fellowship at Stanford. And so we were having a going away party already and so I proposed to her there. Okay.

[B]

Oh, that's sweet.

[C]

Right. So we got engaged six years later. You know what I'm saying? So anyway, so I want to say something. I was in the middle of a story though.

[A]

Oh, my bad. I just noticed something on the map.

[C]

Go ahead, go ahead.

[A]

No, no, no, no. I just noticed something on the map.

[C]

Go ahead, yo, finish your engagement story.

[A]

Finish your engagement story.

[C]

This engagement story is not the story. The story is about the trip. So we moved the day after the engagement. And so we were driving across the country and so we went to Baltimore the first night. Went to Boston. That's where her then grandmother. Her grandmother lived at the time. We drove to Buffalo. I went and saw one of my college classmates and had tacos in Buffalo. Drove and ran around the University of Buffalo. This is when I was really into running, you know. And then we went down to Cleveland.

[B]

That's this 11 year old along the lake.

[A]

You were on the lake?

[C]

I had. I had barbecue in Syracuse. What was that about? Oh, actually I was near Buffalo. Okay, then you went to Cleveland. I went to Chicago. Spent two days in Chicago. Drove down, went to Memphis. Okay. Spent the night in Memphis.

[B]

What a trip.

[C]

Shreveport.

[D]

You started in Maryland.

[C]

Yeah, man.

[B]

So you went like, really inefficient.

[C]

We were in Northeast.

[B]

This is the craziest way.

[C]

I wanted to see the whole country.

[D]

Oh, right.

[C]

I wanted to do that. So that was the first half of the trip. And then we, you know, went to. From Memphis to Shreveport to Houston, then went up to Dallas, Oklahoma City, Denver, Vegas. No, no, no, no, don't say Denver. And then we went to. I know, Reno.

[B]

You did like a wave. You were like.

[D]

It's a nightmare.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Went this way. You went down and went up. Yeah. Huh. Bro.

[A]

How long.

[D]

How long did this take you?

[C]

Two weeks.

[B]

Years.

[C]

I loved it, man. Oh, dog. Salt Lake City. I stayed in Salt Lake. We stayed, I think. Did we? Yeah, we stayed in Salt Lake City. That's right.

[B]

Salt Lake City is nice, but it just kind of trips you out a little bit.

[C]

Oh, Ben, have you ever. The Salt Flex Flats? Have you ever been? Well, I pulled my car over just so I could run on the Salt Flats also. You know what else happened? I. I have a thing. I go see college football stadiums or high school really famous High school ones, in a way. So I went to University of Wyoming, got out of the car, Josh Allen, got, ran on the field and took a picture with the entire cheerleading squad.

[A]

Oh, what?

[C]

Yeah, University of Wyoming. It's on.

[A]

It's.

[C]

Oh, I gotta look it up.

[A]

It's creepy ass guy.

[C]

No, no. You know what happened? Janae is the one that set it up. Because I'm just. I was just like. They were out there practicing.

[A]

I was like, bro, I gotta run my story.

[C]

It's like, so TMZ knowledge don't be. You know, shout out to them.

[A]

But. But it shut out. That this great lake. This lake pours all the way out.

[C]

Back on this ocean, bro.

[A]

Did you know that?

[C]

Which ocean?

[A]

The Atlantic. The. The. One of these lakes. I'm looking at this right now. I see that there is a river.

[B]

Saying there's seas.

[A]

It pours all the way into the ocean.

[C]

Yeah, man.

[A]

Into the ocean up here by New Brunswick. And. And it's like, whatever. Whatever ocean, whatever little area this. It pulls all the way out to the ocean. This little ocean up here by Quebec City.

[C]

Okay. That's what's up here.

[A]

Y' all know nothing about America.

[C]

Well, I feel like I do.

[B]

I like it.

[C]

Yeah, it was done. That was enough.

[D]

Joel, how is the Great Salt Lake compared to the Great Lakes?

[B]

Good question.

[C]

Great Salt Lake, this. So the Salt Flats, I didn't. You know, it is kind of eerie looking. I find that whole part of the. The country fascinating. Like the west and like, Utah, Wyoming, all that, that's just part of the country that I'm not familiar with or you would see in a Western. You know what I mean? And so when I see that kind of. That. That gets to me. That makes me almost so much space and land.

[B]

Like, if you go to Arizona from California, it's a hundred miles of nothing before you get into Phoenix. Like, it's absolutely.

[A]

What are the four states that are the Four Corners?

[D]

Oh, you gotta stop asking me questions. For maps. Yeah.

[C]

New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona.

[A]

Nah.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

No, it's not them that's wrong.

[C]

Is it?

[A]

Yeah, that's right.

[B]

Yo, you've been everywhere, man.

[C]

Nevada, Arizona, Utah.

[A]

No, I got this wrong.

[C]

Colorado. Go. Colorado is on one of them. That's right.

[A]

Yeah, you're wrong.

[C]

Damn.

[A]

You got. No, you got. Everything that you just said is not. You don't know anything.

[C]

Okay, okay, hold on, Doc. Hold on. Let me look it up.

[D]

Did you go to the Four Corners Monument?

[C]

Joel, I've. I've not been to the Four Corners. Oh, I. I've got. I've got a hole there. Like. I have not been to Arizona. I've only.

[B]

Oh, man, you gotta go to Arizona.

[C]

I've only been in the Phoenix airport a bunch of times.

[A]

Joel, Joel, Joel. What state is north of Montana?

[C]

None. Stop it, dog.

[A]

I'm just asking.

[C]

Don't do that. You know what I'm saying? That's the Canadian. Now, is that Alberta? Is that the province. Is that the province right above Montana?

[A]

Yeah, it's right about Saskatchewan, bro.

[B]

Shout out to Regina. Is it Regina in Saskatchewan?

[A]

Regina.

[C]

One of my former teammates.

[A]

The name that rhymes with fun.

[C]

That's right.

[A]

But also they have something in Calgary called the Calgary Stampede. And then. And in the 2000s, there was a. The 2010s, there was a story about something that happened at the Calgary Stampede. Go look it up. Calgary Stampede scandal. Two thousand and tens. We. Come on, raise the roof. Raise the roof.

[C]

Is it. Oh, it's good or bad?

[A]

It was good. It. Depending on who you were. Okay, look.

[D]

Oh, no.

[C]

Okay, now I'm really. Look it up now. All right, fine.

[A]

The Calgary Stampede scandal in the 2010s. I remember I covered it. It was. It made a star out of somebody. Somebody became a star from it.

[C]

Really?

[A]

Are you looking at an uptake?

[B]

No, I'm waiting for the. They're looking.

[C]

Sexual abuse.

[D]

A different scandal.

[C]

I bet there's a lot of scandals. Apparently.

[A]

All right, we gotta go, man.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, My. My kid was running around outside the door, man.

[A]

I guess I apologize to the audience.

[B]

Can you tell us what it is? I need to know?

[A]

Yeah, you gotta look it up.

[C]

No, bro. I mean, come on, man. This is a lot of. Here.

[A]

Calgary. Stan. Pete, put. Calgary.

[B]

I was in New Mexico. I was looking at a White Sands National Park.

[A]

I went Calgary scan. Okay. Put in Calgary Stampede scandal video.

[C]

Scandal video.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

All right.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Catching up with the Canadian woman from the viral threesome video at her.

[D]

Oh, boy.

[C]

All right.

[B]

This is from Vice.

[C]

I saved one horse and rode two cowboys.

[B]

Oh, that was a good.

[C]

That's what she said.

[B]

And she said it with bravado. That's what I believe the quote says. She said. I did. She says with bravado. I saved one horse and rode two cowboys.

[C]

It's never worth it, man. You get to be famous. You never get to be famous for a long time, man.

[D]

What's not worth it?

[C]

I just, like, is that kind of notoriety worth whatever happened?

[B]

No. You want to be rich, not famous. That's the rule.

[A]

Can't wait till Monday, guys.

[B]

Yeah. Can't wait to all be together again.

[C]

I was going to do the nice, nice thing. Who said that? Oh, okay. Because I was going. Van got nominated for NAACP image award and I was gonna nice crap it up for him, man. Congratulations.

[B]

Appreciate you for that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Shout out to Rachel as well.

[C]

Shout out to Johnny.

[A]

Shout out Rachel, Donnie, Connecticut, everybody. Jay from the whole higher learning family. Appreciate y'. All. Let's. Let's go win this award award, everybody. If you're listening, vote on the naacps website for higher learning culture. Go to the NAACP website and look right now.

[C]

Man, that's a tough competition, man. You're the least famous person in this.

[A]

Oh, very, very tough. It happens every single year.

[C]

Baby. Baby. This is Kiki Palmer, in my opinion, with Michelle Obama and Craig.

[B]

Just had a scandal today. She's dating some streamer, though, so that might be good for the votes. Yeah.

[C]

Really? I didn't know that. Oh, man, I love Kiki. This is too bad because she seems like a really lovely person with just bad judgment.

[A]

God damn. What's wrong with plot, boy? Max, man, he cool.

[C]

Okay, dog. All right.

[D]

What's wrong with love, Joe?

[A]

What?

[C]

What did old boy say? But you a mother, though.

[A]

But you a mom. Okay, you really have to go.

[C]

Okay, that situation was bad.

[B]

All right, final note again, Monday night, we'll all be in la. We'll all be watching the national championship game. We'll be going live after the national championship game. We'll recap everything that happens. We started with lunch boxes. We talked a little football and we ended with Calgary stampede. So there you go. What a ride here on ringer tailgate. Appreciate everybody tuning in and we will see you on Monday night. Must be 21 or older and president's leg 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 rg-help.com, call 1-887-897777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE&Y or text HOPE&Y in New York.