Texas Title Doubts and the New SEC Hierarchy. Plus, Bold Predictions, Sleeper Teams, and More.

Summary

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Ringer Tailgate – Episode Summary

Episode: Texas Title Doubts and the New SEC Hierarchy. Plus, Bold Predictions, Sleeper Teams, and More.
Date: August 21, 2025
Hosts: Tate Frazier, Van Lathan, Joel Anderson

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Episode Overview

The first episode of Ringer Tailgate kicks off with college football’s return. Hosts Tate Frazier, Van Lathan, and Joel Anderson set the tone for the new season by blending sharp analysis, deeply rooted fan banter, and a dose of offbeat chaos. The episode explores the swirling doubts around Texas as preseason No. 1, the rapidly shifting SEC and Big Ten power structures, bold predictions, sleeper teams, zags, trap games, and the culture that makes the college football experience singular. The tone ranges from high-intensity debate to hilarious digressions, always with a deep love for the sport.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. Opening Vibes & College Football Nostalgia

[03:15 - 07:05]

• The hosts introduce themselves through the lens of their earliest, most memorable college football players:
  • Van: “Honey Badger, Tyron Mathieu is the epitome of what college football fandom is...build a legend. This sport is about legends.” (C, 03:15)
  • Joel: “Chuck Weatherspoon…that’s a dude that is only famous in college. He is forever great.” (D, 04:22)
  • Tate: “For me, it’s Ronald Curry...a pure college football guy.” (B, 06:02)
• Each relates a last great game attended, highlighting how personal and emotional CFB fandom is.
  • Joel’s story of Bama-Georgia 2018 National Championship: “We all yelled in the press box when that shit happened.” (D, 08:13)

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2. Texas Hype & Preseason No. 1 Curse

[13:51 - 20:55]

• The stats: 19 of last 21 preseason No. 1s failed to win it all.
• Van: “I believe in Texas as a team. I don’t believe that Texas is some unbeatable behemoth…all the preseason stuff means nothing until the teams hit the field.” (C, 13:51)
• Joel: Skeptical, citing Texas' history of failing to meet expectations—“They’ve won eight conference titles in my entire lifetime...what kind of fool would I be if I thought Texas was going to live up to expectations?” (D, 16:22)
• Both discuss if Steve Sarkisian has finally solved the Texas ‘culture problem’.
  • Van: “If he’s acclimated to the culture…Texas is in for a long run of dominance.” (C, 19:10)

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3. Bold & Big Predictions for the Season

[21:34 - 35:55]

a. Van: (Ohio State-Michigan Rivalry)

• Prediction: “Ohio State loses again to Michigan…there’s an intensity surrounding that game that the Buckeyes are having trouble meeting the moment.” (C, 21:40)
• Damon: “Ryan Day, for some reason, when the pressure was off, coached his life out during that playoff run…but in that game against Michigan, he does something that boxers sometimes do…play into that person’s hands and lose.” (C, 22:58)

b. Joel: (Oregon as Dark Horse)

• “Oregon is going to be what everyone thinks Penn State is going to be. I don’t see Penn State getting over the hump…Oregon is stacked…Dante Moore with a good OL…they’re my pick as a true playoff contender.” (D, 27:05)
• Acknowledges potential injuries and lack of WR depth, but believes in OC Will Stein and the Ducks’ portal haul.

c. Tate: (Illinois Sleeper)

• “Illinois is going to be the Indiana of this season…preseason #12, 10 wins last year…Bielema, 18 starters back. Propaganda will push them to the forefront.” (B, 31:46)

d. Big Ten-SEC Dynamics

• The depth of new Big Ten is crucial: “For the Big Ten to snatch the reins from the SEC, Penn State having a shot is important, and other schools need to make the leap.” (C, 34:33)

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4. Zag of the Preseason (Counter-Narratives)

[37:31 - 52:47]

a. Joel’s Zag: (Tennessee & NIL)

• “Josh Heupel going into the season with the worst QB out of principle or NIL resistance is dumb—sometimes you just gotta pay to win.” (D, 38:13)
• Van Pushback: “You cannot set that precedent in your team. If you let him bogart after a year where he was just okay…that’s going to cost you depth and locker room buy-in.” (C, 42:56)

b. Van’s Zag:

• “I think Carson Beck is going to be dominant this season. I could see him end up in New York [for the Heisman].” (C, 45:22)

c. Tate’s Layup:

• “Despite all the hype around Penn State or Clemson, the SEC will win the CFP this year. It’s a must for the propaganda.” (B, 47:21)
• Panel discusses Alabama’s post-Saban anxiety, Texas, Georgia, LSU, Florida, and South Carolina as more likely.

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5. Contender, Pretender, or Sleeper? (Top 25 Speed Round)

[61:13 - 77:04]

• The crew quickly runs through the bottom of the AP poll, labeling teams as contenders, pretenders, or sleepers, with explanations:
  • Boise State: “Best G5, maybe a playoff contender.” (D, 61:13)
  • Tennessee, Texas Tech, Indiana, Iowa State, Ole Miss, SMU – spirited breakdown of their legitimate upside and weak points.
  • Biggest Pretenders in Top 15?
    • Van: “Oregon. Too many questions, especially at WR.” (C, 75:04)
    • Joel: “South Carolina. Schedule’s brutal—they’re not going to do what people think.” (D, 76:11)

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6. Trap Game Tracker

[77:53 - 83:02]

• Van: “LSU-Arkansas at home. Every year, a penciled-in trap game.” (C, 78:19)
• Joel: “Texas has to go to Florida the week before Oklahoma—classic lookahead spot.” (D, 79:36)
• Tate: “Clemson at Georgia Tech...noon at Bobby Dodd, Haynes King can cause real trouble.” (B, 80:53)

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7. Favorite Players: CFB Top 5 Draft

[83:29 - 91:52]

• Each host picks their all-time favorite college football players, weaving in stories:
  • Van: “Badger, Burrow, Herb Tyler, Tommy Frazier, Bradley Van Pelt…Van Pelt was a dickhead with it.” (C, 84:33)
  • Joel: “Steve McNair—revolutionized college QB to me. Vince Young even though I hate Texas. Leland McElroy, Terrell Buckley, Napoleon Kaufman.” (D, 85:31)
  • Tate: “Julius Peppers, Pat White, Cam Newton, Calvin Johnson, Ed Reed, and special shout to Malcolm Kelly for the Oklahoma freestyle.” (B, 89:12)

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8. Coach Prime vs. Belichick: College Football’s Propaganda Wars

[53:47 - 60:44]

• Hilarious riffing on attention/branding battles between Deion Sanders at Colorado and Bill Belichick at North Carolina, skewing toward the entertainment side of coaching storylines:
  • Van, on Belichick: “He is so pussy whipped right now…she might be the coach of the team. This is an eight-part Apple series.” (C, 55:07)
  • Joel, on Belichick’s new love: “There’s no way a 73-year-old man thought he’d ever see a naked 20-something in his house again.” (D, 56:57)

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9. Big Van on Campus Segment / Campus Culture

[98:31 - 102:09]

• Van observes the annual return of viral sorority girl rush videos—“When them sorority girls start dancing, that means it’s time for college football.” (C, 99:24)
• Culture war point, but mostly just a marker that “the season’s about to start.”

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10. What College Football Means To Us

[103:41 - end]

• Joel: “What I love about college football is seeing how it can change lives, bring generational change for some brothers, give opportunities, and build something lasting beyond the field.” (D, 104:19)
• Van: “I love the truce of Saturday, the cultural truth. Nothing else like the communal experience of a college game day in the South—food, fellowship, a celebration centering around local pride.” (C, 105:23)
• Tate: Shares a favorite quote from Michael Weinreb’s A Season of Saturdays—“There’s a strange beauty about returning every Saturday to where we came of age...to feel like true believers, even if it no longer means what we thought it did.”
• All agree: The meaning, nostalgia, and community of CFB is irreplaceable.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Van Lathan:

  • “This sport is about legends. And that’s the guy that I remember.” (C, 03:15)
  • “We don’t have a reputation for…fucking our own sister...we might fuck your sister, but not our sister.” (C, 50:35)
  • “When them sorority girls start dancing, that means it’s time for college football.” (C, 99:24)
  • “I love the truce of Saturday...communal celebration that’s never let me down.” (C, 105:23)

• Joel Anderson:

  • “I think Will Howard got a concussion in the second quarter of that game.” (D, 23:41)
  • “You had all year…ECU’s probably talking shit about you…how’s North Carolina State going to respond?” (D, 94:15)
  • “I’ve seen a generational change—football can do that, man. College football can do that.” (D, 104:20)
  • “Vince Young is so undeniable, so powerful...I had to root for him bro.” (D, 86:00)

• Tate Frazier:

  • “I think SMU or Louisville would be the team I think is number two [in the ACC].” (B, 73:01)
  • “Julius Peppers…my favorite player ever. He also had a pick six…just incredible.” (B, 89:12)
  • Reads Weinreb quote: "There's a strange beauty about returning every Saturday to the places where we came of age..." (B, 107:31)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Player Nostalgia & Introductions: 03:15–07:05
• Preseason AP #1 Trends / Texas Discourse: 13:51–20:55
• Bold Predictions: 21:34–35:55
• Preseason Zags: 37:31–52:47
• Contender, Pretender, Sleeper: 61:13–77:04
• Trap Game Tracker: 77:53–83:02
• Top 5 Favorite Players: 83:29–91:52
• Coach Prime vs. Belichick: 53:47–60:44
• Big Van on Campus: 98:31–102:09
• What CFB Means To Us: 103:41–end

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Final Thoughts

Ringer Tailgate launches as a vibrant, conversational blend of on-field analysis, historical context, personal storytelling, and cultural commentary. The chemistry among Van, Joel, and Tate radiates authenticity—whether they're deconstructing NIL disputes, torching preseason takes, or simply waxing poetic about the innocence of tailgate Saturdays. If you care about college football, or just want to understand why people love it so fiercely, this episode is a must.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Welcome to Ringer Tailgate, a ringer show focus on college football. That's right, you heard it correctly. We are going to be covering and discussing college football. I'm your host, Tate Frazier. And joining me today, first and foremost, we got a man who made this possible. Mr. Van Lathan in the cowboy hat. Van, good to see you, man. How you doing?

[C]

I'm so happy to be here. Bullying works, especially when it's bullying about one of the biggest sports in the world.

[B]

Yeah, this is. This is what we needed. We needed Van Lathan to make the push. We are here because of that. It was like, not a tush push, more like a bush push, right? We would put it in our terms in college football. And also joining us, the Ringer's very own Joel Anderson. You've heard him on the press box, and now you get to hear him talking about college football. Joel, how you doing, man?

[D]

Good to see you, man. I'm happy to be here, man. You know, it was a trip when I came to the Ringer last year, and I'm like, why don't they give a fuck about college football? It's crazy. You know what I mean? Like, so many people care. But I was like, oh, that must be that Boston shit. Because, like, I mean, nobody has talked about Boston College in forever. You know what I mean? What's the other. What's the other major Northeast program? Syracuse.

[B]

Syracuse, yeah.

[D]

That is what you like up there. Yeah. Ten and three, Fran Brown, Shout out, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

But, yeah, man. So I was like, okay. So I'm glad that, you know, I could be a part of this, man. They said this when they hired me, so, you know, they kept their promises. So here we are.

[B]

This is Ring or tailgate presented by FanDuel whether you're riding a noon kickoff or betting the late games, FanDuel lets you bet it your way. Same game parlays, live betting, player props, alt lines. Whatever your angle is, it lives in the app. It's fast, it's easy, and when you win, you get paid instantly. Download the app or head to fanduel.com tailgate and make every Saturday count. The ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 or older in present in select states or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chatinconnecticut so I want to start with a quick game, you know, just to get things heated and started here. Van first college football player that pops.

[C]

In your mind, Honey Badger.

[B]

Yeah. Tyron Matthew, Honey Badger don't give a fuck, right?

[C]

So you know, I have loved LSU football forever. I've loved college football forever. My college football players and the ones that I like is a wide spectrum and variety of people. But to me, Honey Badger is the epitome of what college football fandom is. A player coming from a place, right, Somebody that made his legend, you heard about it in practice, you heard about it over the summer. Wasn't a can't miss five star, must have guy, but you heard about the legend of Honey Badger. Then he gets on the field wearing that number and right away you look at him and he starts making instinctive, otherworldly plays and lives up to the nickname and does what great college football players do, which is build a legend. This sport is about legends. And that's the guy that I remember.

[B]

I love that. Joe I'll flip it right to you. First college football player that pops in your head.

[D]

Well, nobody has probably heard of this person unless you lived in Houston in the late 80s. But Chuck Weatherspoon, check him out. So Chuck Weatherspoon is, as far as I remember, he is the, he leads the NCAA and like yards per carry, like for career, he has like something like 7.3 yards per carry. But he was the running back in the University of Houston's run and shoot era, right? So it was like Andre Ware is throwing a Manny Hazard and all these other dudes. And this running back, he was like, Chuck weatherspoon was like 5, 7 2, 10, like he was a bowling ball. And like so they were handing the ball, he pick up 9 yards of carry or whatever. And so that was the team that I grew up with. I'm a University of Houston guy. I'm from Houston. You know, every. You don't need me to tell y', all, you know, what Texas is known for in football and everything, right? But my pops worked at the Astrodome when I was a kid. It was one of three jobs he had. Worked for the Boy Scouts, he worked at the railroad, which is his main job. And then he also worked on weekends at the Astrodome. And so I got to every now and again get to come in and see him. And so the. That's how I got into football, man, watching University of Houston and rooting for those running shoot teams. And so whenever I'm just thinking about football, man, and I'm just like, it just comes to my mind. Like the first guy that really popped off the screen to me was Chuck Weatherspoon. Shout him out. I think he was a 12th round pick. He didn't. I don't think he won't think. I think he got like two carries in the NFL. But yeah, like as Van is saying, like, that's a dude that is only famous in college. Like, that is not anybody, anybody's ever gonna remember the NFL. Like he did not leave a legacy at the next level, but he is forever great. He is forever. Like his legacy is forever imprinted on my brain. So yeah, man, Chuck Weatherspoon.

[B]

Yeah. Shout out. I had no idea how this was going to go and what guys you're going to throw out. And I'm very happy that we went there with Weatherspoon, you know, someone that definitely was not on the top of mind for many people. For me, it's a name. Ronald Curry. There was. That was the first Curry in my life that made me fall in love with the sport. Obviously. Played basketball, played football, Virginia's finest. Everyone thought he was going to go to Virginia. He comes to North Carolina, plays quarterback. Also ended up playing wide receiver in the NFL. Shout out to Wargon. Raiders fan. I'm sure he knows who Ronald Curry is, but you know, that's a college football high school recruit, right? That everybody kind of knew in that moment. Gets forgotten, like you said, once we get to the pros in the NFL. But I mean, just a pure college football guy. So Ronald Curry. Shout out to him.

[D]

He wasn't a bad NFL receiver, right? Like he had like, I think this year or something like that, right?

[B]

Yeah, he's a wide receivers coach, I believe, for the Saints now, so he's still out there. Shout out to Ronald Curry. I'm sure he wasn't expecting a shout out on the show. Last thing before we get into the actual segment. Start breaking down this season. What's the last great game you've been to? Been there in person, Joe. I'll throw it up to you. What's the last great gate, great game that you saw in person?

[D]

Wow. So the last great game I saw in person. A lot of people probably saw this game, the 2018 national championship game between Bama and Georgia. And it was like. Because again, that game's in Atlanta. Georgia, you know, they're terrified. Like, they've not done shit in their career. This is like their big moment. They've got Alabama where they want them and like, Georgia is beating Alabama so bad that Nick Saban fucking panics. Like, he's like, why? Jalen Hurts. Jalen Hurts is not good enough to get it done for us. We got to go to Tua Tagovola. And I mean, that game, like, first of all, I mean, you got to see Najee Harris come in. They like started. They started moving to like the. It was like they went to a freshman movement in the second half of a national championship game against Georgia, bro. Um, and then, yeah, I mean, the walk off touchdown pass to. To. To DeVontae Smith, who we didn't. Devonte Smith wasn't DeVontae Smith at that time. He was just a freshman wide receiver. And on. On second and 26 from the 41 in overtime. Like, it was just. It was unreal. Like, I mean, they. We all yelled in the press box when that shit happened. So, yeah, man, that was probably my last great game. I think.

[C]

You think Saban panicked there? Well, I think he did what he had always wanted to do the whole season.

[D]

No, no, no, no, you're right, you're right. So, like, I think the thing was.

[B]

It was kind of like to back him up. Yeah, right.

[D]

But. But like the thing, it opens you up to so much criticism. Like, I mean, it takes a lot of guts to do that. To be like, man, I know this shit has been working all year. This guy's the reigning SEC offensive player of the year, which Jalen Hurts was at the time. And it'd be like, this isn't working. I gotta go to this freshman. And to know that the freshman will respond, you know, it's just incredible.

[C]

So, yeah, before I get to mine, this is why right now I have More respect for Jalen Hurts currently than I do for any other professional athlete. That is a devastating thing to have happen to you. Devastating.

[B]

It's a nightmare scenario, right?

[C]

For quarterback. It's a nightmare scenario to get outplayed, played up by the freshman in that position in front of everyone in that game. Jalen Hurts, picks an himself up, takes himself to Oklahoma, puts up the numbers at Oklahoma, and then comes into the NFL in a similar situation than he was when he was in college with people still asking questions about his ability to be a competent quarterback. And does the same thing in a lot of ways, except goes further this time because he's actually able to win a championship in the NFL. I can't believe he shook back from that.

[D]

No fan. It's not even that dog. Like, he lost. He was embarrassed in the biggest moment of his life, Came back the next year and lost the quarterback competition to Tua. People forget he was on the bench.

[C]

That whole next year, right?

[D]

Sat behind Tua. And then when Tua got hurt, he came in and relieved and played really well in the SEC championship game. But, like, yeah, like, it. Like, his story is incredible. There's not been another. It's like Tommy Frazier, all of a sudden, like you say, oh, man, Tommy Frazier ended up being a great NFL quarterback. You know what I mean? Like, that's what we thought Jalen Hurts was. And for him to be where he is today, man, like, you gotta get that, brother. Everything, man. Cause yeah, no, not people. Come back from that 100%.

[B]

All right, Van, what game?

[C]

LSU versus A&M at home a couple of years ago. Look, it's. It's 2023. When I say great game, I mean great game for me. I don't care about what you guys think. LSU game is great game for me, okay? I'm in Baton Rouge. I'm in my LSU gear, and I'm watching a game that LSU has to have, and I just don't think. I just didn't have a good feeling about it because of the way the defense was playing. The defense was playing historically bad. They played historically bad the entire year. But I'm watching something in the game, and it's a great and memorable game for me because of a reason. I'm watching the throws that Jaden Daniels is making, and I've watched Jaden Daniels his entire college career. At this point, even when he was at State, Arizona State, he comes to LSU in the first year, there are certain throws and certain balls that he's just not willing to uncork. When he gets in a situation and he's not sure about his read, he takes off in this game, he's back shouldering neighbors and BTJ to the corners of the end zone. He's doing whatever it takes. He's an unstoppable football machine. And he literally, on a fourth down, runs us to victory in that game. Right? Like, wasn't the deciding play of the game, but it was one where it was fourth and four. It was like, we need a play. And then he makes a gigantic big play. Tiger Stadium on fire. That's what college football is about.

[B]

Yeah. The best feeling in the world when something like that, when a plan comes together, you know what I mean? The A team gets it done. I'm going to take a, you know, a card out of your book. Van. This is something personal to me. I was there for Nick Saban's last game. I went to the Rose bowl against Michigan. That was an incredible game. Obviously, the Milroe low snap, all that sort of stuff. I guess that would qualify as the great game I went to last. But the real great game I went to changed college football forever. And in case you don't know, the 2010 Music City bowl, the 10 second runoff in college football did not exist before this game. I was at this game in Tennessee. I was a senior in high school with my entire family. We went to the first game of the season against lsu. Van, you remember that game? Zachary drops the pass in the end zone. Carolina comes up short after they, you know, fight back after being down 31 to 10 in that game. So this was the full circle moment where Butch Davis finally gets what he deserves, which is a win on a quote unquote big stage. Tennessee fans were throwing beer bottles at my family. They were threatening our lives. But it was all worth it to have North Carolina. The game was over, by the way, in regulation. And then they go and review it. They come back out. Casey Barth hits the kick. We go into overtime. Tyler Bray does the throat slash to the sideline in that game in North Carolina. Sean drawn, my guy comes back and wins that game. So that was the last great game. And again, change college football forever. We get the 10 second runoff. It will never happen again. Derek Dooley, future senator, was the head coach of Tennessee at that time. So it feels like forever ago, but a beautiful game and a beautiful time. Now we got segments. We do have a plan show we have a college football season at hand. Yeah, we got a lot. We got a lot going on. So let's start here we got a lot of first takes that are out there, but we got a first fact and I'll lobby the I'll lob this up for everybody. Of the past 21 preseason number one AP ranked teams, 19 failed to win the national championship. This is a Brett McMurphy, Brett McMurphy tweet at the start of the season. Also the last team to win after being AP number one Alabama back in 2017. Van I look to you, Texas, number one in the AP poll. Do you believe.

[C]

I believe in Texas as a team. I don't believe that Texas is some unbeatable behemoth that's going to steamroll its way to a national championship. The only way you demonstrate that is on the field. All of the preseason stuff and all. I love the idea of a preseason Bucket's award winner, finalist guy new come whatever. I love that. I love the fact that every single college football off season we listen to camp reports and reports of what's happening, read message board scrimmages with players going up against the guys that they live in their dorm rooms with, and then we use this info to completely orient the season and set a set of standards and expectations and that mean nothing until the teams hit the field. Texas is going to be good. They're going to be very good. We will know whether or not they can dominate enough to win a national championship very early because they start with Ohio State. So they're going to have a new quarterback up against a defense with a lot of players on it. And we'll know then beyond that, it's all rumor, it's all innuendo and it's all players who are supposed to be good.

[B]

Yeah. And it's the first time that the national or the number one team in the country will be facing the national champion and be the underdog in that game. So that is fascinating as well for the number one team in the AP to be an underdog in their first game. Obviously it's in Columbus, so that makes the reason why. But again, it is fascinating. Joel, does the trend continue, do you think we continue on where the number one team doesn't actually end up being the number one team at the end of the season?

[D]

Well, so this is tough because I have, I have a little bit of something to say about Texas after this. But I, I think that, that it would be really difficult for Texas to live up to the expectations because, like what I mean, what's better? They, I mean, I was looking at Athlon's preseason magazine, every unit, their, their Entire defense, every unit is the. Is considered the best in the country, bro.

[C]

Like, and they got studs. They got players.

[D]

They've got studs, right? And so, I mean, the thing is though, is that like their schedules is kind of wonky, right, because they go to, they go to Florida before they play at Oklahoma, they got to go to Georgia. It's real easy to see them maybe dropping a couple of games, maybe they'll get into the playoffs. But like, I just. Okay, this is what. I'm from Texas, man. Okay, I'm from Texas.

[C]

Okay, here we go.

[D]

They've, they've won eight conference titles in my lifetime. 47 years old. I may not look it, you know what I'm saying? I'm a good looking guy, you know, but they've won eight conference titles in my entire lifetime. Three in the last 20. Okay, what, what kind of fool would I be if I thought that Texas was going to live up to expectations?

[C]

You're saying because they never live up to expectations.

[D]

They never live up to expectations.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Let me ask you this. Do you think though that the brand of Texas that we're talking about, which is perennial disappointments and whatever, such a well resourced program that has trouble getting over the hump, do you think that Sark, the Sark brand of Texas football has cured that? Because that's really the question that people are asking. Because there is a world where Texas has sort of under, in the Sark era, in ways overachieved their perennial playoff team. They haven't won a national championship, but I don't know if they've ever had on paper the best team ever. I don't know if they have that now because they have an unproven quarterback. But do you believe that Sark has solidified what the expectations of Texas are year in and year out?

[D]

I think they are probably. They'd have to be over the moon right about cause. Yeah. Cause Sarko has tapped into what everybody has for years. And pretty much as long as I've been living, looked at Texas and seen a Goliath, right? Like, they're like, okay, well what are they missing? They're like, they're in Austin. Every kid that grows up in Texas wants the Longhorn offer. They've got as much money as they need to throw at any problem they have, right? And now they can take that money and throw it at players, right? But nobody has ever really been able to fully operationalize that except like Mack Brown. In my lifetime, like Mack Brown kind of got that. But even still, was like the on field acumen people were worried about, they're like, well, Greg Davis is the offensive coordinator. He's a little limited. They never really lived up to expectations. But now you've got Sark, who's figured out like the glad handing and, you know, the we going to do the Eyes of Texas thing. Hey, look, man, he's got to play to his base, right? So he figured that out, got through it, it wasn't a big deal. He's got the boosters in alignment and he. I mean, look, the way he handled the quarterback situation last year, bro, like, like a lot of guys lose Arch Manning in that circumstance, but Arch Manning has sat on the bench for two years at Texas because Sark has been real with them and laid out a plan for him. And like, everybody agrees with it. So, I mean, one other thing, the thing is, like, nobody saw this. This was not the Sark. I was excited when Sark got hired at Texas because I wanted them to lose. Like, I want. I hate Texas. But, like, he has been far and away better than anybody's, you know, anybody that's being realistic. Like, nobody would have ever dreamed this was possible.

[C]

I'll say this just to get. There's one more thing about Sark that if he has truly mastered all of the things that you just said that he's mastered, then Texas is in for a long run of dominance. And I'll tell you why. Because that's the stuff that was gonna be hardest for him to master. Because Sark is a football genius. And so being that he is a football savant, it was going to be the cultural part of dealing with being the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. That was going to be hard for him. The football part of it is the one thing. We live in an age of football geniuses. You know, all of these guys, the defensive guru, the offensive guru, all the ones that can't get it right are the ones that can't acclimate to the culture of college football. And if you're telling me that you feel like he's acclimated to the culture of college football, it's going to be a long 5, 10, 15 years for everybody else who's trying to compete with Texas.

[D]

Oh, absolutely. I mean, it's disgusting to think about, but, yo, like, right, Because, I mean, nobody. I mean, like, the thing is, like, Texas is obnoxious when they're not good. So for them to be good and, like, have a reason to back it up is really going to be disgusting for people. But yo, man, like, I mean, he. He has gotten everything right there. And like, again, there's been consistent growth at the program. Like, you know, they made the playoff the year before. They lost in the semis. This past year, they lost in the semis, but they had a better team. And they looked like they made it to the SEC championship game in their first year in the league. I mean, that nobody. Again, that's supposed to be Oklahoma. Oklahoma was the dominant program of the Big 12. Not Texas. But Texas, like, Sark got them ready, man. And whatever he learned under Saban, it really paid off. Because Saban, school, shape of school, man.

[B]

Yeah. And the one thing about Sark you mentioned, the guru, offensive guru, these layered concepts that he has on offense are incredible. Like, if you watch some of the plays back that Texas runs where it looks like they're running one thing and then they flip it late and they go the opposite way, or have a guy leak out and he's wide open, I mean, that's all Sark's offensive genius. The one thing he has to get over is the get back guy, right when he's running out of the tunnel. He's had a few incidents where he wanted to kill that person. So if he can get past that, I think he's going to be all right. All right, next up, we got one big prediction throughout the season. We're going to give our one big reaction, but of course, we have no football to talk about yet. So we got one big prediction. Van, I'll start with you. What is your one big prediction this season?

[C]

So it's not big prediction, but it's something for the last.

[B]

You just broke the bit.

[C]

I broke the bit. The bit's done.

[D]

The bit's done.

[C]

I pump fake. I pump fake on the bit. It is. It's a prediction, though, and it's for the Ohio State fans. Ohio State loses again to Michigan.

[B]

Oh, no.

[C]

Michigan beats Ohio State again this year. Michigan beats Ohio State again this year.

[D]

Come on, man.

[C]

They're going to beat them. They're going to win. Michigan's going to win the game. Look, I'll tell you something right now. Ohio State snake bit. Snake bit right on the Buckeye. They're snake bit right now with Michigan. I watched that game from last year a couple of different times, and I told my friend in Mecca that Ohio State would probably win the national championship after losing that game because the pressure would be off them. There's something that's happening, something that's happened to them, and there's an intensity and an urgency surrounding that game that the Buckeyes are having trouble meeting the moment. And it's not just the Buckeyes. They're taking the personality of their coach. Ryan Day, for some reason, when the pressure was off, coached his life out during that playoff run. Everything hitting on all cylinders. They're free, they're going, they're making plays. Everybody's playing with their hair on fire. But in that game against Michigan, he did something that boxers sometimes do. There are some boxers that take a win and make it a loss, and take a loss and make it a win. And what I mean by that is if you are a guy that needs to stay at the end of your jab and fight that way the entire fight, right? If that's going to win you the fight, there are some boxers that take winning that way as a loss. They want to show the guy on the other side of the ring with them that they can out tough them or they can out push them or they can outlast them. So they play into that person's hands and they lose. And Ryan Day, for some reason, does that with Michigan. He's trying to prove that his program is as tough as Michigan is. And if he doesn't change that, which I don't think that he quite will, I think that game is in Michigan this year. That's a L. They're gonna lose.

[D]

VAN so I'm gonna. I have a practical response to what you're gonna say. And I'm not a doctor. Everybody should know. You know what I'm saying? I was bad at science in school. I think Will Howard got a concussion in the second quarter of that game. And I thought that was what happened. Cause, like, he goes for a run in that game. He goes for, like, a scamper. This is, like, early in the second quarter, he goes out for a play. Like, he gets. I think his helmet gets knocked off. So Ohio State has to bring in their backup quarterback. They run a play, tunnel away, Michigan gets the ball. And then all of a sudden, when Ohio State gets the ball, like, Will Howard's back in the game and it's another series. But, like, it was clear that something had happened to him. He had gotten hurt enough that they had to take him out of the game. And so that's. So when everybody's in again, I do agree that, like, there is something that Michigan has over Ohio State in terms of, like, you know, some. Some sort of mental hold over them, a psychological hold that is fucking with Ohio State. But I also think, like, really Practically, like, when I look at that game, and I'm just surprised that nobody has brought it up. I haven't heard a lot of people talk about this, but I really feel like Will Howard had a concussion in that game, kept trying to play, and that's why he looked so off and why the offense bogged down and everything. And that's why they were not able to win. Cause I was like, why can't they move the ball? Like, eventually? I was like, oh, it must.

[C]

I get it.

[D]

He has a head injury.

[C]

I don't think that they lost the game at quarterback. I think they had a fantastic tandem of backs that they could have used in more creative ways to open up the offense a little bit. I also think that there were other big moments that they just straight up shit the bed. I think if in fact, they knew that Will Howard was impaired past the point that you're talking about, that very well can be true. I think that they panicked, and I don't think that they played a brand of football that in any way, any way met the moment. And part of that has to do with the fact that for some reason, and I can't tell you why, I'll tell you, last thing I'll say about this, there are two games in college football, literally two games, two games in college football that the fan base has put over the season. One of them is this game. And you guys know the big game, Michigan versus Ohio State. It's not a football game. It's a clash of cultures. It's a battle for cultural dominance. Right? There's one more game like that, at least that I know of, and they're really familiar with. And that's the Bayou Classic. Bayou Classic, of course, is a game between Southern and Grambling. It takes place after Thanksgiving in New Orleans. Right? My father went to Southern, I went to Southern. It does not matter what else happens in the entire year. It doesn't matter if Grambling wins the swac, then goes on to win the black college national championship. If you lose the Bayou Classic, your season was a failure. That's the way that it goes. And that is a lot of pressure on a coach and on a program. And you have to either be for it or you have to cower to it. And I'm not so sure Ryan Day has demonstrated that he understands enough the importance of coaching that game and what it means for him being the coach of Ohio State football, even though they won a national championship.

[B]

And it's funny, in that rivalry, it was like a freaky Friday Moment where it used to be the other way around, where it was like, Michigan's never gonna beat Ohio State. You know what I mean? It's like, how many years is Ohio State gonna dominate these guys? And the fact that it's completely flipped the other way, something that I think some people, if you're a casual fan, might not even realize that it's gone that far in the other direction. Joel, one big or small prediction for this season.

[D]

So I think Oregon is going to be what everybody thinks Penn State is going to be.

[C]

Interesting.

[D]

Yeah. First, like, again, Penn State kind of has it set up for them, but I kind of like Drew Aller. Like, if people look at his stat lines from the last four games of the season, 12 for 23, 135 and a pick against Notre Dame, 13 for 25 for 171 and three pick and three and three touchdowns versus Boise State, 13 for 22 for 127, no picks, no touchdowns versus SMU. 20 for 39 for 226, three touchdowns, two interceptions versus Oregon. The dude had one game last year where he completed more than 21 passes. Like, I just don't, like, I don't see Penn State. Like, I mean, like, again, I know that there's NFL evaluators and everything. To think that Drew Aller is going to be a first round pick and everything. I'm looking at that dude and I'm like, man, he's the reason they're not able to get over the hump right now. But with Oregon, I felt like, man, like, Dante Moore is going to be the new quarterback.

[B]

He had a year, big fan of Dante Moore.

[D]

He had a year to get right out, to get beat the hell up at ucla. So you know what I'm saying? He's getting those mental reps and he's going to get to play. He's going to get to play behind a good offensive line. They've got a tight end that everybody. Every college football podcast I listen to has mentioned Kenyan Sadiq all offseason. That motherfucker is like, he's a physical specimen and people think that he's really going to pop this year. They got in a five star receiver from the Dallas area named Decori. And Moore, like, that dude's going to be out of hooks and then like, and this is out of this, our young neck of the woods, man, they pulled probably the best running back out of the portal last year, Ma Hughes from, from, from Tlane. Dude ran for 1400 yards last year. So, like, they're going to be stacked, defense is good and that's Lanningham's thing. You know, they got a tough, they got a tough, a little bit of a tough sketch scratch. But I think if like Oregon can go 10 and two, they're probably a lock for the playoffs. And I just think that like in terms of like living up the expectations, potential to actually win the national championship game and like defeating their rival, like being, you know, winning the game, that you don't think that they're going to win. And they got through some of that last year. I think that like, you know, you could see them in a national championship game.

[C]

You're not concerned with Oregon specifically. I mean, Dante Moore is kind of an unproven quantity right now. I mean we have to see how he's going to play. And then also he's going to have to come in and produce with no receivers. I mean decor. And Moore, if he comes out and he's Ryan Stewart, then yeah, that would make a lot of sense. But excuse me, Ryan Stewart, Evan Stewart is hurt. So if he's Ryan Williams, if he comes on to expose on to the scene like that, that's one thing. But Evan Stewart, their most dependable pass catcher, is hurt. He's not going to be around. So they're going to have to lean on a true freshman, a first year quarterback and then probably some big tight end sets to offset that. You think they can really get over that? This is an interesting, this is a. Now this is a big prediction. My prediction was a stupid prediction. This is a big prediction.

[B]

Yeah, no, because I really, I believe in Will Stein. I feel like Will Stein, some of the stuff that he draws up for those tight ends, like he has this fly sweet play that's like unbelievable. And they basically hit it every single time that they run it and it looks like a base offensive set and then they get into it, you know, basically post snap. So Will Stein I believe in. So that would be my one kind of feather to point to if you wanted to believe in the offense also.

[D]

I mean, and maybe this undermines my belief in Oregon. Barry Alexander is there and I don't know if people, people in college football, college football have followed Barry Alexander. So Barry Alexander first showed up in the national championship game against TCU when he was a freshman in Georgia. He was at USC and now he's at Oregon. Okay.

[B]

I think welcome to college football.

[D]

Is there one more school in there? I feel like, I feel like, I feel like Bear has gone to four schools in four years, but Anyway, so somebody else believes in Bear and I think that like maybe this is the environment where he can finally flourish, live up to expectations. And Oregon has become like a sneaky good defensive line school in the last few years. Like they've been able to produce some. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyway, so yeah, I have a lot more belief in Oregon and Penn State, put it that way.

[C]

I'm rooting for Bear. I'm rooting for Bear. Bear reminds me of a tight end that LSU recruited, five star named Eric Gilbert that bounced all over the place and I think now he's at Savannah State. Couldn't really get it right, but I want guys like that to always figure it out. So I'm rooting for Bear. I'm sorry, Tann, I stepped on you.

[B]

No, I like that you're rooting for him. Last thing for me as far as my bold, big, small, whatever you want to call it, prediction. This is something that I just didn't feel like this team got enough credit last year because of the Indiana, you know, free for all. It's a basketball school as well. I have a soft spot for all the basketball schools that like to, you know, play college football. So Illinois, I think they're going to be the Indiana of this season, obviously preseason number 12. So they're on the radar. But again 110 games last year they're trying to go for back to back winning seasons. First time since 2010, 2011. You got Bielema there. He's been at Wisconsin. He's been in a space where he's had to win games. He's had the pressure on him. They return 18 starters. I like Luke Altmire. I know a lot of people, you know, may not, but for me I think he's a good player. I think he showed last year in these one possession games. Illinois found a way to win. Now that can scare some people away. But this year I think it's going to be a big year for the fight in the line. I. So that's my bold. Maybe not too big, but I'll go with Illinois.

[D]

Wait, t. So let me ask you a question because this is the thing about Indiana and like I had a lot of respect for Indiana. I was glad. I'm happy they made the playoff. That's great. Like, I think that you should mix it up at that level. But do you think that they're going to be what Indiana was last year and that they're going to compile a very good record and miss a lot of the heavyweights? In the. In the conference and have a good record that way, or do you think they're legitimately going to be good?

[B]

I think they're going to be good, but I think the propaganda is going to be behind them as well because the Big Ten is going to have to push people to the forefront. That's not the usual suspects. Last year, they love Signetti coming out talking junk about the sec. Right. Bielema is one of those guys that's not afraid to shoot from the hip, talk a little junk, you know what I mean? So I just think they're going to get pushed to the forefront because they're a good team. They're returning production. I think they're going to play good football. And then I just think the Big Ten, you know, they're going to try to make sure we know who they are. So they're going to get the propaganda push. That's more of the Indiana connection, more the propaganda as opposed to the schedule.

[C]

I'll say with those two teams, I mean, you're going to be good against who you play. So those two teams are very important to the new narrative of Big Ten dominance. Because the depth. The depth. It's going to be depth, right. If I was to point to the reasons why people. And people can say sec bias, whatever they want to say. There's a lot of times when you talk about the SEC that people say, well, Bama was undergirding a lot of the talk around the sec. And that's true. There's nobody who's being honest about SEC football. That's not going to tell you that a lot of the college football dominance of the SEC was coming from what Bama was able to do. However, there's also another part of that argument. And the part of the argument is that from 2025 to 2000, there were five different SEC teams that have won national championships. Five different teams. Florida, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Alabama. Five different teams from one conference in Texas now, right.

[B]

You can claim Texas.

[C]

Well, that have won national championships. Right. So if you're talking about a conference, you're talking about not just the number of wins and the way that they win, you're talking about the variety of teams that can win. And if the Big Ten is going to be a conference that asserts their dominance, then Penn State having a shot this year is going to be very important. You've seen Michigan and Ohio State already win, but some of these other schools. I don't know where Wisconsin is right now. You know what I mean? But some of these other schools are going to have to show that not just the depth of the conference, but the top of the conference is such that they can go out and also win national championships. You might be waiting for Oregon and SC to kind of get themselves into that mix. Oregon kind of already is sc. We're still waiting for them to wake the fuck up. But I'm of the belief that SC is always going to have trouble really, really dominating in the Big Ten just because of the travel. So to me like when I look at this, the Indianas, the Illinois, these other teams, whatever, Iowa and them getting offensively frisky and all of this as nil and transfer portal change the game a little bit. There are going to be have to be a couple of other Big Ten teams that make it to the elite level too if they're going to snatch the reins from the SEC in the way that they seem to be doing right now.

[A]

This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card there's one thing I'm going to make sure I pack for my summer vacation. It's my Apple Card. I can earn up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase, including fuel for my car and booking places to stay. Plus, I don't have to worry about fees, including foreign transaction fees, which is perfect when I'm planning to travel abroad. To get an Apple Card for your summer travels, apply in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City branch. Variable APRS for Apple card range from 18.24% to 28.49% based on creditworthiness rates as of July 1, 2025. Terms and [e-mail] this message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. If there's one thing I'm going to make sure I pack for my summer vacation, it's my Apple Card. I can earn up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase, including fuel for my car and booking places to stay. Plus I don't have to worry about fees including foreign transaction fees, which is perfect when I'm planning to travel abroad. To get an Apple Card for your summer travels, apply in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch Variable APRs for Apple Card range from 18.24% to 28.49% based on creditworthiness rates as of July 1, 2025. Terms and [e-mail] yeah, Iowa, by the.

[B]

Way, for instance, most active wins in college football That's a nice trivia note for everybody out there that did not know that. Let's do the counter play here. This is the zag of the preseason. Obviously, we did our predictions here, but let's do something that is. You know, we had the prognostications coming off the message boards and what we've seen in training camp, but there's a lot of people that have had the takes. They've already decided who's who and what's what. Joel, I looked at you here. What is your zag of the preseason? What do you see out there?

[D]

So I think there's a consensus out there that Josh Hypo in Tennessee did the right thing, you know, by walking away from Nico Iami. Okay. I'm gonna call him Nico from here on out. Okay.

[C]

Killed that, though, did I?

[B]

Yeah, that was a great pronunciation. Better than I've heard from anyone, bro.

[D]

I preface it before we got on here.

[C]

You killed that.

[B]

Cause I think he pre recorded that.

[C]

Nico or Big N. I don't even try to say the last name. I don't want to get canceled.

[B]

They were saying I'm a leaving at the.

[D]

Yeah, no, I want to get it out of the way so I don't have to say it again. So now I can call him Nico now. But there was a strain of argument that, like, Josh Hypo had made some sort of stand in the name of, like, you know, standing up for college football and program loyalty and all this other shit. And I'm like, bro, why are you going into the season with the worst quarterback? You don't have to do that. Where to believe from the reports is that Nico wanted to renegotiate his deal with the Voles Nile Collective, and he was making, like 2.4. He wanted to make 4 because that's what Carson Beck is making in Miami, and that's what the Mensa kid at Duke is making.

[B]

He's like, I'm Darian Mentor.

[D]

Yep. Very Minsa. I want to open things back up again. It may be annoying. I'm sure it's annoying. And again, like, you know, if you believe some of the reporting that goes on, like, maybe, you know, he wasn't as he was. He was trying to leave because he was afraid a little bit about, like, you know, I'm losing a lot of my support. Dylan Sampson, the last year's offensive player of the year, is going on, so I'm not going to have the supporting cast that I have. So I need a little bit more money for that. Fine. But Bro, like, part of being a coach and part of being a person that's the face of a program is like not taking any of that shit personally. And I understand. Look, if Tennessee is, if their fans are legitimately cool, going 6 and 6, 5 and 7, 7 and 5, in the name of making a statement against this kid nico, who wanted 1.6 more million dollars, which you could argue that he earned, fine. But like, I just think that's dumb. Like, I just would not. Maybe I wanted more than Josh Hypo. I would not allow that to get in the way of having the better quarterback if I can.

[B]

If they beat Arkansas last year, if he goes down and drives and they win that game, does he get the 4 million? I think is the question, you know? Cause I. I think there's been some Tennessee pushback where they're like, hey, man, I saw this guy. No show in a big moment for us, so I'm out.

[C]

So I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be real with you in this. And Zach Joel, I'm interested to see what you're gonna think of my zag too. Cause I bet that you will disagree. I could not disagree more with Joel right here. Could not disagree more. Let me tell you why. Now let me tell you like this. If it is for the reasons that Joel says it's for, then I agree. So if Josh Hypo took it personally that Nico came back and asked for more money and then he pouted about it and sent the quarterback away, then I agree. Then I actually do agree. However, I don't think that's why that happened. There's a guy playing on Tennessee's line right now, lsu, My beloved Tigers have problems at offensive line. Tennessee has a guy right now named Zalance Hurd, five star guy out of Louisiana that we had recruited and was supposed to be the guy that after Emory Jones and Will Campbell were gone, that were gonna hold down our offensive line. Well, after the season, one year, it's rumored that Zelantz Hurd and his people just straight up asked for more money. They asked for more money and the staff was like, no, like, you gotta go find that money somewhere else. Let me tell you why I actually agree with that. Well, in the case of Lance Hurd, he hadn't really been a full time starter yet, right? So we can't do that, give you that type of bag. You're not a full time starter yet. I know you're a five star. I guess he's playing fine at Tennessee. I've seen some things but the fans are so biased. You never really know how a guy is looking. I'd have to look at the grades and all of that stuff. But you cannot set that precedent in your team and your program. You cannot set a precedent in the team, in your program. If he had won a national championship and made it to New York as a Heisman finalist, he had what I thought was a pretty average to slightly above average season, which you would expect for a first year starter at the sec. But he hadn't done near bouts enough for him to come there and ask them for an extra million, million and a half. Buc, the precedent that you are setting in your program, if you allow anyone, even your quarterback, to live by that standard, it becomes a free for all. There has to be a point where you say, no, go get your money somewhere else. And my question to you is this, Joe. Did Nico get $4 million from anybody?

[D]

No.

[C]

There you go.

[B]

So the market decided, right?

[C]

But he was worth. The market decided he was wild.

[D]

I would argue that he was worth 4 million to Tennessee. And here's the thing. Here's the thing about precedent. If I'm Josh Hyple, you ain't Nico. You're not my starting quarterback. You were not. You didn't enter here as a five star. You don't have the same leverage for the most part if you're somebody else, right? And so, like, I'm not. If I. If I'm Josh Hypo, you can't, you can't bully me because you don't have the same sort of leverage that this kid had. Obviously, evidently he did not have the leverage he thought he had with Josh Hyple in the Tennessee Nil Collective. But I just think, again, like, he did not have the. Like he was not great. He was no Garrett Nussmeier. He wasn't Lenore Sellers or whatever, but he was solid. He was, and he was good. And they had invested in him already. And I just don't. I would if I would not let $1.5 million get in between me being a potential playoff contender and somebody that is taking a guy that UCLA looked at and was like, oh, yeah, we can do better. We'll take the Tennessee guy.

[C]

But think about $1.5 million and even the players and the depth that that's going to cost you in terms of buying players is so crazy that we're talking about buying players in the way that we're talking about buying players in college football right now. But for a quarterback, $1.5 million is not a lot of money. But if you're talking about strong safeties, if you're talking about backers, if you talking about guys along the line, if you talk about other depth pieces, you're talking about 2, 3, $400,000. And then you're going to pay that to him when he hasn't shown that he can be the sole reason why you win games. And then, not only that, but you let him bogart after a year where he was just okay to basically almost good. I just think that Josh Hypo made a tough decision, maybe a dumb decision.

[D]

Dumb. It was dumb.

[B]

You're right.

[D]

You had it. But maybe.

[C]

But it was the right decision to me.

[D]

I can understand being frustrated with the kid and his representatives. I totally get it. And I understand that he was not a great quarterback. I take those.

[C]

He was a revival. Wasn't a great quarterback. He was a freshman. He was coming on. I give you that. I grant you that.

[D]

That's fine. He was, you know, like, I thought he could get better to me, if I put that much money and effort into getting the kid. I have him in my program. The difference between him leaving and staying is $1.5 million. I'm probably not gonna deal with him the year after. I probably give him the money and just. We just keep things cool. Yeah.

[B]

Let's talk about a guy who did get the money. Van, you're zag of the preseason.

[C]

I know y' all gonna disagree with this. I think Carson Beck is gonna be dominant this season.

[D]

Dominant?

[B]

Yeah, with the elbow and everything. You think he's gonna be dominant?

[C]

Damn. I think. I think Carson Beck is gonna be dominant this season. I think the elbow is going to be fine. And I think he's in a position now where I. I could see Carson Beck, who was a guy who. Who everybody was looking at as a potential first pick in a draft at one point. I think he's down in a place where he's going to get to throw the ball around a lot. I think the numbers are going to be crazy. He's. I think there's a scenario where Carson Beck could end up in New York this year. I think he's going to be dominant.

[D]

You're going to be surprised, Van, to know that I don't. So, like, maybe I might quibble with you on the word dominant, but I think that he's going to be good. I think he's going to be really good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because, I mean, like, he's like the.

[B]

Ryan Day of quarterbacks, right? Everybody wrote him off. Everyone's kind of done with him, you know, even got his, like, ex girlfriends coming after him, saying he has no friends. They said his teammates hate him. You know what I mean? Like, he had all this stuff just kind of thrown at him. It's the perfect, you know, everybody against me story, you know, perfect bulletin board material.

[D]

If you're a guy like him, the best place to go is to play for a coach who's known for coaching a good offensive lines, you know what I'm saying? Miami ain't one of them schools that I'm worried about having problems finding fast guys that can catch and run the ball, so.

[B]

And when he's had playmakers like he did at Georgia the first year, he looked great, you know what I mean? When he lost some of Those guys like lad McConkey, right then it wasn't the same thing. So we'll see. If he had a guy like Restrepo there, you know, maybe I'd believe even more in what he's going to do. Mine is a. Is an easy one because I keep seeing all the predictions, right? All the people keep saying that, you know, Penn State is either going to win or Clemson is going to win the cfp. And this is giving me the easiest layup of all time. The SEC is going to win the. The CFP this year. This feels like they have to for the propaganda of it all. I'm not saying which SEC team.

[D]

Yeah, you had to say no. Come on.

[B]

No, I'm not sure that I. It's going to be Texas, Georgia, lsu. Yeah, I. I would lean more into like an lsu, Florida, South Carolina group.

[D]

We just. We named five SEC schools and not Alabama. Can you imagine? Their heads had to explode. They were not included in that.

[C]

They just turned it off. They just turned off the podcast. They turned that bitch off. They can't deal with it.

[D]

It's like, what the fuck you talking about? South Carolina.

[C]

They just turned it off. They don't like that shit. I'll tell you something, man, look, the Alabama reign of dominance that happened is interesting. I wasn't used to. Me and Joel all the time go back and forth about LSU's, you know, Johnny come lately status as a national power, which, look, you can go back and forth on it. I'm not about to litigate that right now. I feel like me and Joel are gonna talk about the season long. But I'm not saying that Alabama is a Johnny come lately. That would be stupid, right? However, at the time that I was really, really, really Watching college football, Alabama was far from a dominant program. Then they reclaim their roots and become a dominant program again. But, you know, nobody's gonna remember the Mike Shuler years as years that Alabama was dominant. They had won a national championship. I think it was like 91. So I'm not saying that they were ever out of the college football conversation. They definitely weren't. But it's going to be interesting to see how this fucking fan base responds to what just happened to us. Mentioning teams that might win a national championship in the SEC and Florida and South Carolina, two teams that I don't think have any real shot in a national championship, just to put it out there, but that they're being mentioned before Alabama because those teams have dynamic quarterbacks, and Alabama is still looking for an identity under Kayla DeBoer. And they. And I'm not saying that Bama's not going to be elite because we don't know what they're going to be. We don't know what Simpson's going to be like or what's going to happen. But, man, if you're in Tuscaloosa somewhere right now, you're on the couch with your sister, you know, you guys are looking after your kids. You must really. You must really, really be upset by the way people are talking about your program right now.

[B]

One of the two reasons I will say that I didn't say Alabama is because one jam gets hurt, who I think is their best player, right? So it's the collarbone. So, like, now your best playmaker, your guy is going to be Mr. Reliable in the run game. He's not going to be there. Also, Ty Simpson wins the job because, quote, unquote, loyalty. Anytime that anybody wins a job over loyalty, I'm. I'm skeptical. It's kind of like Graham Mertz last year at Florida. They're like, this guy, he's so loyal to the program. And yes, Mertz was great for Lagway mentoring him. It all kind of worked itself out. But that worries me that he got the job off loyalty. And we know what it is. Quarterback play really matters, especially in the sec. So that is the reason I have concern for Alabama. Obviously, the talent is there, but those two reasons, Jam and the fact that I'm not sure they have a quarterback yet.

[D]

Well, I mean, first of all, Van from Louisiana said that about Alabama and your sister raising your kids. Okay. All right. So I just want to marinate in that for a second.

[C]

We don't have the. We don't have the. We don't Have a. A reputation for that.

[B]

Hey, that was zag of the day.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, I was zag. That was zag.

[C]

We don't have a reputation for that. We might fuck your sister, but not our sister. Anyway, go ahead.

[D]

All right. See, look at that. All right, look at that.

[C]

Look at that.

[D]

Just watch this, man. Oh, yeah. Well, I'm not ready.

[B]

All right, let's kick the can.

[D]

Kick the can.

[C]

But.

[D]

But I. You know, my thing about Bama is that. Yeah, man, like, there is a generation. It's one thing to like have the Clemson run where they were good for like five years. You know, they were like, nasty. But, like, there are a generation of Alabama fans that don't know anything. But with this, you know, you know, just missing out on the playoffs is like a failure of a year. Like when it was a 14 playoff, it was like, oh, man, that sucked. Like, that was not a year we expected. So there's a whole generation of people that are not used to losing three or four games in a year. But, like, I'm so sorry for old boy Kalen DeBoer. You moved into the SEC in the era where, like, this is just like what life is going to be like in college football. And the thing is, is, like, I don't think Bama is necessarily in trouble. I think DeBoer is going to be a good coach. I think the program's going to be solid. But, like, fans are not prepared for this era of college football where teams lose a couple games and they look shaky and some. So it'll be like NFL season. You could still, you know, pop up at the end of the year and compete and win a championship, but it's going to look shaky in parts because you're going to play lots of. Lots more good teams along the way. And so, man, you know, this. It's. It's really. It's like, are fans going to be able to adjust in time or will Alabama panic and had to go bring somebody else in? We'll see.

[B]

And like you said, it was usually a five year best window. They had a 15 year window from when Colt McCoy gets hurt by Marcel Darius on the line, you know, in 2009 national championship game, all the way until Nick Saban loses to Michigan, you know, in that rose. Right. That window of 15 years was absolute dominance. So for Alabama fans, yeah, this is a once in a lifetime deal.

[D]

Yeah. Like Vince said, growing up, I mean, who the hell is Alabama? You know what I'm saying? They beat Miami that one game and they were an underdog in the national championship. But, like, yeah, Alabama was like, you had to. You had to tell me about how great they were, you know? So, yeah, like, this is. This is uncharted territory for a lot of those folks. Man, I hope they get used to getting their ass kicked every now and again.

[B]

Well, now they can go back like Auburn and start claiming national championships from the past if they need to. So we'll see how that all works out. Let's do a fun game. There are two huge stars in college football. We both and all of us here know who they are. It's about the coaches, and it's two coaches in particular. The greatest coach this century in the NFL, Bill Belichick at my alma mater, North Carolina, and of course, Coach Prime. You don't even have to say his last name anymore. He is his own brand. He is his own entity. So Coach prime versus Coach Belichick, the ultimate propaganda war. It's not about the football. It's all about the messaging. It's all about the coverage. It's all about the conversation. So this year, we're going to figure out each week who wins between Coach Prime, Coach Belichick. Again, not about the football, just about the marketing and the. The messaging behind these programs. We're going to flip a coin each week. We believe, you know, this first episode, we're getting all the things in order here. We're going to flip a coin, decide which one we want to hit, whether it's Coach prime or Coach Belichick. Van I look to you. Which one do you want to talk about first here, prime or Belichick?

[C]

Belichick. Oh, no, without a doubt. It's gotta be Belichick. It's got to be Belichick. Coach Prom has so many different storylines. I think the football in Colorado is. I think the football in Colorado is not nearly as interesting a topic of conversation as it was. My greatest thing about, my greatest topic, my greatest curiosity about Coach prime, should I say, as I try to be a decent talker, is, like, how his health is going to intersect with what happens on the field, Right? There's just been so much that's happened. You get to a point just, I hope Deion's okay. We're going to be watching Colorado football.

[B]

All year long to see how luckily, good news. You know, we got good news from Deon. There was a lot of, you know, bad messaging coming out, a lot of people saying he wasn't going to coach this year. So it was actually great news when he had his press conference. And announced he's, you know, back on the sidelines. So that's good.

[D]

Rebuilt his intestine.

[C]

Rebuilt his intestines. Bless Deon and his whole family and everything and everyone that, you know that he's still here. But a beauty queen from Massachusetts. Is that where she's from? Is it from Massachusetts?

[D]

I thought it was like Maine. Maine.

[C]

A beauty queen from New England might be the coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. She might be coaching the team.

[B]

No, she's not coaching the team. She's coaching the branding.

[C]

Hey, she might sit in some plays, okay? She might call a couple of plays. She might call a couple of blitzes, man, I tell you what, if she did call in a blitz, he would put the play in. If she was watching the game from the crowd and she was like, I think there's some gap integrity that we need to address. Or we're not using this player like that. We need to bring him on the blitz. He is so pussy whipped right now. He is sending that play in and they are running that scheme. There's no part of his life that she does not have. She might be the coach of the team. We might see the first female head coach of a major college football program. She might. They might. Let's say they go to the. If they go to the playoff, the players might dump the Gatorade on her. Okay? So, like, I am obsessed with what's going on in North Carolina right now. This is a movie. This is an eight part Apple series.

[D]

I really though, V, you're so dumb. Because this is so funny because, like, as you said all this, I'm like.

[B]

I gotta flee the fifth. During this segment, it sounds like, no.

[C]

No, no, no, no, no, no.

[D]

Just walk with me. I really respect Bill Belichick for this. Cause he looked at his life, he was just like, man, you know, I'm not gonna be able to get a job in the NFL. But man, I like North Carolina. I spent some time there. It's a beautiful place. I could coach a little bit, you know, like. And it's not gonna. Everybody knows it's not gonna affect his legacy. Like, Bill Walsh had to step away from Stanford after coaching at the 49ers for so long. So. Right? And then he's just like, this is the thing. And look, I mean, look, man, I'm a married man. I'm not being a creep here, okay? Just for the record, I have to let people know this is a creep so you don't accuse me of it later. There is no way a 73 year old man thought he would ever see a naked 20 something year old body.

[C]

His whole shit is fucked up.

[D]

In his house again, like he was just like. He's like, oh, he never. Yeah, like this totally took his shit away.

[C]

He's like, his whole shit is fucked up right now. Yeah, his whole. I'm so glad you said it. His whole shit is fucked up.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

He thought them days was over.

[D]

He never thought this would ever happen to him again. 45 year old or something like that, you know.

[C]

But yeah, Joel, this is the most right. Put it lower. Third. This is the most right Joel's gonna ever.

[D]

He.

[C]

He thought his whole shit is fucked up right now. He is just like, sometimes he probably just stares at her and just does like this.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Just like, just like this. He never thought he would be in this situation again. This shit is. This shit right now is the greatest shit. I've never seen it done like this before. Look at. Look how uncomfortable Tate is.

[D]

I've never.

[C]

I've never seen it.

[B]

It sounded like Coach Belichick won week zero is what I'm hearing. You know what I mean?

[C]

He's definitely winning. I'm happy for him.

[D]

I mean, bro, like, I mean, think about your average 73 year old man and the life they have to live. You know what I'm saying? Like, this dude is like, man, I don't convention like, you know, why do I. It used to be a time I used to always say like Johnny Carson like retired and disappeared. Like you would just kind of like disappear when you retired and like you just kind of went off a little quiet life and played golf and nobody.

[B]

Right. He just went away.

[D]

But like, Bill Belichick was just like, man, I'm not done coaching football though. You know? And he was like, man, you know, I had. And I used to follow his ex girlfriend on. On Instagram because the pictures were hilarious. Linda Holiday.

[B]

And she does not like the new girl, right?

[D]

Yeah, right, like, but she was a very handsome, attractive, you know, respectably aged woman. Made me go to events. Yeah, right. Handsome.

[C]

Jesus.

[D]

Yeah. You know, but. And, but now he's just like, bro, like I. I mean, can you just imagine the things he says to like, you know, I don't know. I don't know if he calls Ernie, of course he or something like that or whatever. But you know, you just lay like, hey, man, like, I just brought.

[C]

I want y' all all. I want y' all all to go watch a movie. And the movie is called Harlem Nights.

[D]

Oh, my God.

[C]

Lela Rashawn plays a girl named Sunshine.

[D]

Sunshine.

[C]

Okay, watch this. If y' all trying to figure out this Bill Belichick situation, watch the story of Sunshine. Now, in this movie, Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor, they run a juke joint. Not like the juke joint that y' all saw in Sinners, but like one of the juke joint sort of backroom clubs in Harlem during prohibition, something like that, right? Not. It's really an upscale underground club lounge. And they. Yeah, they in a battle with the police and they need to pull a caper or a scam. So the late, great Della Reese puts Lila Rashawn, a girl named Sunshine, on one of the opposition's guys to distract him. And what's happening to that guy who. In the movie. And we should put this in the pod, Picks up the phone, calls his wife and his family. His son answers the phone like, yo, put your mama on the phone. Mom comes to the phone. He says, look it, I ain't never coming home ever again. And then he hangs the phone up, right?

[B]

She tells his family, that's who Bill.

[C]

Belichick is right now. Never coming home again. Guys, the story.

[D]

The story behind the woman gets called Sunshine, too. Like, I don't think we can say it here. I don't know that it's that we can get into. But the reason that she's called Sunshine. Why can't we say it?

[C]

We gotta say it. The reason why she's called Sunshine is cause they say her pussy is so good that if you threw it up in the air, it would turn into sunshine.

[D]

Yeah, so that.

[C]

So that's. That is what Bill Belichick is up against right now. Let him live, man. I tried to tell Bill this. I tried to tell Bill this. Let him live, man.

[B]

Yeah, I agree. So Bill Belichick, he's the winner of week zero. Let this man live. Let him coach him football. Great stuff there. All right, now we're gonna play a fun game. Contender, pretender, or sleeper. And not the one we were just talking about. We're gonna go through the AP top 25, and we're gonna figure out who is a contender, a pretender or a sleeper. You get one word here. Actually, you get more than one word, but we're gonna start there with the first word. We'll start with Boise State at number 25. Joel, I'll go to you. Contender, Pretender, A sleeper. Do you think they can actually get to the playoff?

[D]

Boise State. Boise State, man. You know, the thing about Boise State is that they play like What? One tough game. They play one game a year where they play somebody that doesn't have somebody of equal talent. So I had to look at their schedule now. So they. They go to. Oh, man. Okay, so they got Notre Dame. I'll lose Notre. They'll lose at Notre Dame. They got. They're at South Florida. That's a tough one. But they should be favored in every other game. That's enough to be the best G5 program.

[B]

If they lose one game, they're in. Right. I mean, so if it's a Notre Dame game, I think that's, you know, they'll let that slide.

[D]

Well, let's set this. Let's set the stakes here. When you say contender, and I'm going to. I guess I could ask.

[B]

Can you be one of the 12 teams?

[D]

Okay. Not champion, but can you not change contender?

[B]

I mean, if you get in the playoff, you're a contender, in my opinion. Maybe not SMU last year or, you know, you can point to some certain teams or whatever, but at the end of the day, if you can get in the final 12, I think you're a contender. So you say Boise State contender. It's interesting because Dirt Cutter called plays last year. Former Bucks coach, He's now the offensive analyst. And they got Nate Potter, who stepped up in the offensive coordinator spot. So that'll be interesting to see what that looks like. But Boise State, always good. Van said that they're a blue blood program to us on the phone the other day. So shout out to the Broncos for getting some love. So contender, we'll go. Number 24, Van. I go to you, Tennessee. Contender. Pretender. Sleeper.

[C]

Pretender.

[B]

Done. Easy, easy. Number 23, Texas Tech. I'll take that one. This is basically transfer you. I'm going to go pretender here unless you guys have any sort of pushback. I mean, they do have some talent coming in. Did just lose their running back from usc, who was supposed to be their kind of main character of the season. But, Joel, looks like you're a little. You. You think they could be a contender?

[D]

Oh, no, no. I mean, you absolutely agree with you. They're a pretender, man. I mean, first off, Texas Tech is doing this shit where they're like. And they said we couldn't get people to Lubbock. Well, yeah, if you pay me a million dol. Yeah, like, I mean, they're acting like, you know, they're doing some sort of great recruiting job, and I guess that does count as a great recruiting job and this. But it's like yo, like, the reason people are coming to you is that you're paying them a lot of money. Like Lubbock. Chill out. You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. Calm down. Lubbock. Come on. Next up, we got Iowa State. Van. Contender. Pretender. Sleeper. Are you a Rocco Beck guy?

[C]

So, I mean, you know, they could win the Big 12. Yeah, they, you know, it's. They. They could win the Big 12. They could. They could win. They could win.

[B]

Zero has a lot to do with it. Right. Farmageddon over there, you know, in Ireland. We'll know a lot about both those.

[C]

They could win the Big 12. I'm not really. I'm not ready to say contender, but I'm gonna go sleeper. I'm gonna go sleeper for them.

[B]

I like sleeper for Iowa State. Matt Campbell got a lot of interviews, a lot of teams. Apparently Carolina was going after Matt Campbell until Bill Belichick called and said he wanted the job. So. So obviously a hot commodity in the game. Ole Miss Joel. Contender. Pretender. Sleeper.

[D]

Man, I mean, Mississippi fans probably already hate me. I wrote a piece about how Lane Kiffin. You know what? I don't even want to bring it up. Let's start on a good note. Ole Miss fans, I don't let that shit go.

[B]

Be safe.

[D]

Let me be. So. Contender. Pretender. No, I mean, they're a pretender. I mean, they geared up last year. They did this tremendous nil haul, brought in this whole team that last year was their year. Like, that was the year they were building toward. It didn't work. So why would it work this year? And they're. And. And they've got. Look, Austin Simmons is supposedly really good, their new quarterback, but Jackson Dart started for three years. Like, I don't think Jackson Dart is going to be a good NFL quarterback, but he was a solid college quarterback. And you got to think there's going to be something a little bit of a drop off there in quarterback play. So, yeah, Pretender.

[B]

The reason, I kind of believe, is because Lane Kiffin is very out loud on Twitter. Not that he isn't always that way, but it just feels like he's confident about Austin Simmons. So, I mean, there's something to kind of buy into. And he is a little bit of a quarterback whisperer, as we know. So watch out for ole Ms. Number 20, Indiana Van. What do you think? Do you believe in the Hoosiers running it back this season?

[C]

Pretender.

[B]

You don't believe in Fernand Fernando Mendoza from California?

[C]

Pretender. I think that they. I think if we're Talking about making the playoff. Okay, that's not going to happen for Indiana this year. That's not going to happen for the Indiana this year. Do I think though that Indiana is going to be a program that is going to be a thorn in the side of the Big Ten elite for a while? Yeah, I do. But I don't think they'll make the playoff this year. So I'm going pretender.

[B]

I like it. Number 19. We got Texas A and M. I'm going to go contender here. I'm a big Mike Elko fan. I think he's a really good head coach. I think they got a lot of talent and this is just a program that somehow between the cheers and all the sort of stuff they got going on around there, they just figure out a way to win football games. So I'll take them as a contender unless there's any sort of pushback there, but I'll go with A and M there. Joel. Oklahoma. The John Matier AKA Moneyline mater contender, pretender sleeper.

[D]

So I actually. Man, man, why that man. That man said that was an inside joke. You know, I've got them as a sleeper. So I know this is a year that Brent Venables is coaching for his job, but the one thing that dude can do is coach defense. He's taking back over the calls of the defense. So they got John Mateer and like that's great. Like he's probably one of the best transfer portal quarterbacks. Depends on what you think about him versus Carson Beck, whatever. But he's going to be good. He's got his offensive coordinator that came with him from Wazoo. Right dog?

[B]

People are not talking about. Yep.

[D]

In our buckle. Yeah, yeah. Nobody's talking about Jaden Ott being there. Running back there, man, like Jayden Ott was really good running back for Cal. Now I know he got hurt last year a little bit, but like I like that's a really big addition. I think that they'll be able to find receivers again. It's Oklahoma. Like, I mean, again, they may not be at the level that they were, you know, a few years ago when Lincoln Riley was there, but I think that they'll be able with Mattier and Ott and a revamped offensive line to do some things. And then you've got, you know, rent Venables on the ones and twos on defense. I think that's a really good team. They'll be 5 and 0 going into Texas this year. Right. And then we'll learn a lot about them.

[C]

I Think with Oklahoma, people wonder about the organizational stability and whether or not they found what their stride as a program enough. I agree with you about the personnel, though. I think they have some players that can. I just think, wonder if people. Let me ask you, Joel, at this point in his role or his career as Oklahoma coach, how close are you to being over the Venables experiment? Or do you think he's getting to a point to where he's gonna have them back to the purse that they were under Lincoln Riley, man, it's just so.

[D]

It's really tough. That's a good question. Cause I think that Venables. And when he went there, I thought, oh, he's a perfect fit for this guy. Like, I think he seems like the right. Like, just. He gets that place. He's a good guy. He's really a really gifted coach. Like, it just seemed like the right fit, like, in the mold of, like, the Bob Stoops era. Right. But the thing is, man, is that if he has another bad year or another underwhelming year, you kind of got to fire him. Because, like, you can't have Texas be so good, like, right next to you, like you own. You've owned Texas for the last 20 years. Texas went into the SEC, they're much better than you, and there would not be any evidence that you're ever going to catch up with them. So he has to do good this year. But I kind of. I don't know, man. They'll be five and, oh, like I said, going into Texas week, they got their ED, SC, but they don't have to play Florida. They don't have to play A and M. They get Mizzou and LSU at home. It's a doable schedule. Like, I. I could see them being 10 and 2 and like, that being enough to keep the Brent Venables experience going another year.

[B]

And they might have their next head coach right there as their offensive coordinator. Right. Like, Arbuckle is going to be a guy that's up for a lot of different jobs. So if Venables go south or the defense isn't as good as it should be, and the offense is incredible because last year was atrocious, then I think, you know, they can just look at Arbuckle and maybe bump him up the head coach, which would be an insane story to go from, you know, at Wazoo with Cam Ward, lose him to Miami, have Mater there last year, end up at Oklahoma, and he could end up being the head coach there. So it's kind of A fascinating dynamic. I still feel like they need a CEO like you said, man. Like they have a great defensive mind in Venables, they have a great offensive mind in Arbuckle. I just wish they had a Stoops, you know, like a CEO of the whole situation, man.

[D]

That feels like that's a good ass job for Bob Stoops, man, because that seemed like, like he could. It's not chilling, but it's kind of like being that guy. Like I'm the face of the program. Right?

[B]

Right. Handle all that and we'll handle the football van. Next up, Kansas State contender pretender sleeper week zero star here and we got Avery Johnson. Not that Avery Johnson, but quarterback Avery Johnson.

[C]

So you know, the thing about these Big 12 teams is that Kansas State can win the Big 12. I think that Arizona State is the, the still to me the, the, the class of the Big 12. Um, but you know, Kansas State, they can win the Big 12. So you'd have to, you can't put pretender for any of these teams because they could win their conference and find themselves inside of the College Football Playoff.

[B]

And it's a one bid league. Right? I mean for the Big 12, at least that's what it feels like. Unless they can propagate their way to a two bid league, they.

[C]

There's been some things happening with the, you know, the Big 12 organizationally where they've tried to really protect and promote getting that second team in. It's going to be tough this year unless a couple of these seasons go a lot differently than what we think they will. But I'm going to go contender, man. Kansas State could make it there at the least. These teams that are ranked, that are really making moves from the Big 12, that have strong teams and strong head coaches and strong philosophies, at the very least, they're sleepers to me. But Kansas State I like a little bit more. LSU still needs their revenge on Kansas State. We'll get it. But, but Kansas State I like a little bit more. I'm going to go contender for Kansas State.

[B]

Yeah. Dylan Edwards, another name to know. He was the star for Colorado a couple of years ago and that TCU opener game had four touchdowns. He's now starring for Kansas State again. That's how college football works now. You see faces and new places and you try to figure out who they are and you're like, wait a second, is that who I think it is? Number 16. We got SMU Joel contender pretender sleeper Rhett Lashley talking a lot to the Media about his disdain for the sec. Does this turn into production for this team this year?

[D]

Well, man, they bring back. So I guess it kind of depends on what you think of Kevin Jennings. Because if you believe in the Kevin Jennings that Houston that we saw in that game against Penn State.

[B]

Penn State, that was like the ultimate, like, I am shell shocked. Right.

[D]

Have you ever, like, felt so. Like, how many. Like, how many times have you ever been watching a college football game and felt sorry for somebody?

[C]

Yeah, I like him so much. That was the thing. I like him as a player so much.

[B]

Me too.

[D]

But it just.

[C]

It wasn't. It wasn't happening that day.

[D]

It wasn't happening that day. And you know, man, it's. It's actually kind of crazy too. Do you know. Do you guys know that SMU led the nation in sacks last year? Yeah, like. But I mean, they lost a lot of that production, so that's like. That's not going to be the same thing. They've got to replace that. They don't get as easy of a schedule as they had last year. So, I mean, I guess, like, I don't think they're going to be bad. You know, I wish. You know what? I'm not. I'm going to save my Sonny Dyke's commentary for later. But it feels wrong to say pretender because I think they'll be solid and they're much better than they used to be.

[C]

But can they be a top two team in the acc?

[D]

No.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

You think they can be? You think they can be? You think they think. Because obviously Clemson's the class of the conference, but I think that's Clemson ranked as the number one team in the country. Right. A lot of people high on Clemson. We'll see where they are in a couple of weeks when the Tigers come calling. But can. Can. Miami is still a. We're waiting to see what Miami is. You think that the SMU can be one of the top two teams in acc? We're split here.

[B]

I think SMU or Louisville would be the team that I think number two.

[D]

Well, okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I guess the thing is when you start going down to Louisville is the next thing. It's like. Yeah, I guess you're right. You know, I guess it's like whatever you. The thing is, it's. It depends on what you think of Miami and I guess we'll talk about that.

[B]

I still have to see from Miami. I've been burned plenty of times with Miami. I've watched a lot of Miami football in the acc. So that's my. You know, that's my concern. And I do think SMU learned a lot last year, especially Jennings in that moment. Like, he got culture shocked by the Penn State whiteout. You know, he was like, what the hell is this?

[D]

Can I. Can I tell a quick story?

[B]

Yeah, please.

[D]

About SMU. So September 14th last year, I'm sitting in a chair and I'm watching SMU versus tcu. That's our big rival, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

TCU has owned that rival last few years. Yeah, we've only, like. I mean, we won, like, 18 in the last 20 or some shit like that. You know, whatever. Like, I mean, it's not exactly like. But it felt like that I'm watching that game, and then I'm like, man, SMU. Like, we can't stop. Like, oh, no. SMU's better than us. Like, they're kicking our ass. Like, this is not a fluke. And I'm, like, getting, like, steadily getting madder and madder. I'm like, what the fuck? And they scored, like, 62 points against us, so, like, yeah, man, SMU's got a little something. But the good thing about that day with my daughter was born later that day. So then I was like, oh, okay. Well, then it ended up being a good day. So it's. It's. It saved me from being embarrassed that SMU had kicked our ass like that.

[B]

Yeah, it's one of those things where, yeah, the real life stuff can save you from the football pain, and that's something. As a fan, we all know that feeling where you have the excitement, the anxiety, whatever you want to call it going into a game, and then you leave with just pure pain so it can move quickly. All right, we got the top 15 teams. They're all contenders because they're in the top 15. Unless you see a pretender that is in the top 15. I'll give you one pretender that you can find in the top 15. Van, I'll lay it up to you. Is there one that you see? I already have mine. I kind of already mentioned it with Miami, but is there a team in the top 15 that you think is an ultimate pretender that cannot be a team that could win at all?

[C]

Oh, that can. That is a team that cannot be a team. Oregon. Yeah, I don't see Oregon right now as a. There's just too many questions with me. For Oregon right now. All these teams have questions. It's either really Oregon or Alabama. All these teams have questions. But I maybe would have chosen Miami had you not chose them. But Carson Beck is going to be dominant. But Oregon, I think losing Stewart, relying on the five star to come in and right away be, I just think their wide receiver room right now and what they're going to have to do to make up for some of the production that they are going to not be able to count on from their wide outs with a brand new quarterback is a recipe for me for them to really have problems moving the ball on offense through the passing game. So I'm not high on Oregon this year at all.

[B]

You're out on Oregon, Joe. One pretender that you see in the top 15, obviously South Carolina seems like a one that a lot of people are pointing to Arizona State potentially. But what do you see?

[D]

See, I think Arizona State actually is going to be good. I was prepared to say Arizona State and I kind of looked at the roster and I was like, man, they got a lot coming back and they got the best quarterback on receiver in the league. And the reason people keep saying South Carolina is because that only makes sense. Like South Carolina, you will never. I will not fall for that. Like you're not going to know. You're not going to no banana in the tailpipe with me. Like I know that South Carolina is not going to do that. They got really lucky last year. I know Lenore Sellers looks like a great prospect or whatever, but like the production had not quite matched the potential, the athletic potential. They got it and they have a. I mean look dog this schedule. They got to go to Missouri, they got to go to lsu. Are they better than Oklahoma? I don't know. I don't think so. Alabama has a reason to beat their head in this year. They gotta go to Ole Miss. That's a game they could lose. They gotta go to A and M. That's a tough place to play at. They're not beating Clemson again this year. So yeah, no, I think they're a pretender.

[A]

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[B]

Oh, there you go. Let's do a trap game tracker. There's a trap game every single year. Last year, obviously the number one trap game was Alabama, number one in the country at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt beat them for the first time since the moon landing. They also beat a number one team for the first time in program history. We have the Arkansas game that I mentioned earlier with Tennessee. That was the definition of a trap game. There's plenty of trap games across the board. Van, what's your trap game that you've been tracking heading into the season?

[C]

Obviously it's going to be LSU related and it's lsu. Arkansas at home. At home.

[B]

They struggle at home.

[D]

What's going on?

[C]

Lsu, Arkansas at home. We cannot seem to just dominate the Hogs like we need to, man. Like we, we last year we put a good smackdown on them. But when the Hawks always get us at a time really where we beat up and where the psyche of the team is always in a weird spot. So you're coming off A and M and Alabama, of course, you have the bye before the Alabama game, but it's in a spot where LSU really needs to put a great performance together. And I look at it as a trap game. I think Arkansas is a trap game for LSU almost every year. I hate them. And the reality is that I looked at this game shout out to Preston Guy over at Tiger Bay. We were talking about some LSU football on his show a couple of days ago. And this is always a game that's a penciled in trap game for lsu. You don't know what the weather's gonna be like. I mean, we're in Baton Rouge, so it shouldn't be as cold as what it gets up there in Arkansas, but it's a trap game, so. Trap game.

[B]

Yeah, lock it in. Trap game there. Joel, what do you have scheduled and circled for a trap game?

[D]

So if you happen to believe that Texas is the best team in the country, as I do, and if you happen to believe that this is the best team they have in 20 years, as I do that, like, you know, you think that they're probably going to run the regular season and then they got the game against Oklahoma where anything can happen. Like losing to Oklahoma is not necessarily a tell about a Texas season. But, bro, they have to go to Florida the week before that game against Oklahoma. And you know what I'm saying? And that's going to the Swamp before you, you know, you gotta. I mean, Florida is not a school that kids in Texas grow up caring about. Like, that's just like. I mean, it'll be an important game, it's a big SEC game, but that is not the same thing as like, playing against Oklahoma. And so you could imagine, not necessarily looking ahead, but it's, you know, one of those things. And I mean, look, Florida might be. Might have the best team in the country, and we'll never know because they have the hardest schedule in the world. Like, I mean, they really like. I mean, if you look at the schedule, they had South Florida and they have the injuries.

[B]

Right. I mean, we don't even know who's going to play for them.

[D]

Texas, Texas A and M, Georgia, Florida State. I mean, like, their schedule is crazy, but, like, because they're going to be pretty grizzled because I think DJ Lagway is maybe the best quarterback in the country, man. Like Texas, that's. That's going to be something. We'll learn a lot about Texas, about how they play in that game.

[B]

Yeah. And if you want to be a fan of DJ Lagway, go watch the Netflix. Any given Saturday. He's a lot of fun. You can tell he's a cool kid. And obviously true freshman last year took over for that team. When Mertz goes down, just, you know, an electric player, hopefully he'll be healthy for that game and that should be a good one. Arch first Lagway. I'm gonna go Clemson at Georgia tech. This is 913 Georgia Tech, they love to spoil the party for anybody, especially at noon in Bobby Dodd Stadium. It's just something about it. Georgia Tech, I mean, Haynes King is probably toughest quarterback in the country. I know Pavia probably has like his own, you know, argument for that. But I'm a Haynes King guy. I think this is going to be a year that key takes this program to the next level. They have talent. And Georgia Tech, I mean, everybody still kind of thinks of Paul Johnson and the triple option. Everything. When you think of the program, I mean, it's a new day, it's a new era. And I just think this is a trap game, you know, to a T for the Tigers.

[C]

Georgia Tech football, I don't know. I like to watch it. Georgia Tech game, man, I was in Atlanta the last time and they have an open stadium, you know, like you can walk around the stadium. So I was walking through the Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech campus. The Georgia Tech kids desperately think that they're mit. You could tell.

[B]

Yeah, they love math.

[C]

You could tell. You could tell that they think, hey, just to let you know, there's some smart shit over here.

[B]

We're up to something.

[C]

I'm walking through that whole town.

[B]

I'm here.

[D]

Cause I want to be.

[C]

This is Georgia Tech.

[D]

I want to be in Atlanta.

[C]

We got some smart shit happening here. They think that they feel like it's MIT on the campus of Georgia Tech. But I walked throughout their whole. They got a cute little stadium. It's not like a stadium like other stadiums that you see in the SEC. It's cute. It's cute. They got about 2,500 people can fit into the stadium on a good day. But I like watching their football. I like Haynes King. I like the fact that Georgia Tech always seems to play tougher than what the makeup of their team is. Especially just recently. So, yeah, I think that most teams that play them is going to be a trap game. Cause they play so fucking hard, man.

[B]

Yeah. And at 12 o' clock kickoff against Georgia Tech, nobody wants to play that game except for Georgia Tech. And like I said, Bobby Dodd can get loud real quick if it's the right setting gets a team like Clemson. Let's do a fun exercise here. We're going to do top five every single week. It'll be different things. Top five this, top five that. This is just to get people into the game and to understand what we love about college football. Specifically players that we love. So top five all time favorite college football players. Van, I'll start with you. Who's your top five?

[C]

Okay, these top five Badger Burrow. Let's get the LSU guys out of the way. Badger burrow. Herb. Tyler.

[D]

Wow. Okay.

[C]

That's awesome. Tyler. All right. Shout out to Herb.

[B]

Yeah. His middle name. That's right.

[C]

I could go to so many people from lsu. I could go Rondell Melee. What about Rondell Melee? What about Demetrius Hook, Finn? What about Marcus Spears? What about Michael Clayton?

[D]

What about Brandon Tofield?

[C]

What about Skyler Green? What about these people? You know, I could give you a whole bunch of people, but it's Badger burrow, Herb Tyler, non Tigers. Two of them. Tommy Frazier. Unfucking stoppable. Appreciate you. Tommy Frazier. Because Florida thought they was the shit. You taking advantage of LSU when they was down, you ran into Tommy Frazier and you couldn't fuck with it. Tommy Frazier and Lawrence Phillips, who had some issues. Rip RIP but, like, ran all over. You love Tommy Frazier in Nebraska from the early to mid-90s. And then the last one, we're going to Colorado State.

[B]

This is your guy.

[C]

This is my guy, man. Bradley Van Pelt.

[B]

Okay, so good.

[C]

He said this yesterday. Football.

[D]

He talked about this shit for real.

[C]

The Ram, bro. Y' all don't understand how much I love this fucking sport, man. I'm watching this sport. I'm watching it on a random Friday night, and I see a young Caucasian Viking named Bradley Van pelt throw for 3,000, run for 1,000. Motherfucker could not be stopped. And he was a dickhead with it. Bradley Van Pelt was one of those. He was one of those guys, man. You ever seen the meme of the Louisville pitcher striking somebody out in the College World Series? And then the guy staring him down and you can read his lips? And the Louisville pitcher goes, fuck you.

[B]

Fuck you.

[C]

You seen what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. Louisville.

[C]

That's Bradley Van Pelt behind center, playing for Colorado State, man. That's my guy. Those my five, man. Bradley Van Pelt, where you at today, brother?

[B]

I love it. Joel, you top five.

[D]

Okay, so I don't have anybody as fun as Bradley Van Pelt, but so.

[B]

Or Tommy Frazier, man.

[D]

Or Tommy frazier.

[C]

So.

[D]

Steve McNair, man. My old man took me to see Steve McNair in Alcorn State when they came to play at Sam Houston State, bro. And the thing that I say about that game is that you could hear the passes echo off the pads of the Alcorn State receivers. Like, that's. You could hear, like, the dude was just fucking incredible. Just my favorite. Just totally revolutionized what I thought college quarterbacking should be. Vince Young. And I hate. Like, anybody that knows me will tell you I hate Texas. Like, I don't want anything good to ever happen to them. Vince Young is so undeniable, so powerful. South side of Houston, off West Orange Street. What's up? I had to root for him, bro. I saw Vince Young play his final high school game with my pops, and, like, I just fell in love with that dude, man. Like, he's just unbelievable. Leland McElroy.

[C]

Oh, wow.

[D]

I was a high school running back, and I would run in my. Like, I would be trying to, like, do cuts like Leela McElroy. Like, you just had a long time, and I just. I'd be trying to do this kind of shit on you, you know what I'm saying? So Lela McElroy, boy. Terrell Buckley. Oh, I'm thinking of, like, 90s college football. Yeah, dude, with the, with the handkerchief and like that, bro. Yeah, do rag. You know what I'm saying? And it's just like, yo, like Terrell Buckley was such a badass. And Napoleon Kaufman.

[C]

Napoleon Kaufman.

[D]

Yeah, man. Just a beautiful. Like, I just. I remember, I saw it was a season opening game against Ohio State when they had a big daddy, Dan Wilkinson on the defensive line. They played against the Poland Kaufman. And all I can say about Napoleon Kaufman was beautiful. He's just a beautiful runner. Like I just.

[C]

Raiders great. Napoleon Kaufman, right? Hold on to the Raiders.

[B]

Yeah. Just look effortless.

[C]

I say one thing about Steve McNair. We was watching Steve McNair. Steve McNair, rest in peace, Steve McNair. Alcorn State was playing Southern. We watching the game and my dad looks around. Recipes to my father too. My dad looks around. My dad goes, can anybody explain to me why this boy went to Alcorn? He was like, can anybody explain to me why that right there is at Alcorn? Why did this boy go to Alcorn? Like there was nothing that wasn't supposed to be in the swac, dog.

[D]

No.

[C]

Like that's some Jerry Rice. I'm sure that's the same way they felt when Jerry Rice, Walter Payton was in the swag. We look around, it's like there's nothing we can do. We gonna lose. We gonna lose. Nothing we can do with the boy. There's nothing like this. We gonna lose. Like, I don't understand how this boy. Look at the size of that boy. Look how he runs. I don't understand how this boy end up at all corners. He was so frustrated, he was so cold. Cause we had heard that he was good. But watching Steve McNair in person in college was ridiculous. Words could not describe the numbers and the games that he used to put together. That's a fantastic pick.

[B]

Yeah, man, I love that. I love that story too. Great story. My top five you mentioned. Just bad motherfuckers. Julius Peppers was unbelievable. Remember a game against Georgia Tech to go back to Georgia Tech at home? The quarterback at Georgia Tech can't remember his name. It's kind of slipping my mind right now. But he pushed Julius after, like he got sacked. He got up and pushed Julius. Julius took him and tackled him all the way in the end zone. No flag, no nothing. You know what I mean? Just like, absolutely. Just pulverized this guy. And I was a kid and I was like, that's my favorite player ever. He also had like a pick six against Duke where he, like, did the Superman dive in. Just incredible. And then also, the coolest part of Peppers and Ronald Curry is that they get done with football, they lose the Peach bowl or whatever bowl they were in, and then they joined the basketball team, and it was just like, the best thing ever.

[D]

Nobody. So, like, do you remember Courtney Brown, the defensive end for Penn State? Like, he played with levar Arrington? Like, nobody looked like those people at that time. Like, nobody looked like Julius Peppers at the time that he, like, rolled out that edition.

[B]

It looked unfair. Yeah. And he was wearing 49. I was like, I don't even understand where this guy came from, but he's like an alien. And he was incredible. So that's my Carolina bias. Get out of the way. Pat White of West Virginia. I mean, you talk about just, like, Steve Slayton, Pat White, Noel Devine, when he got there. Like, all those guys just love that West Virginia team. Shout out to Rich Rod. He's back with West Virginia. Cam Newton. There's been a lot of, like, relitigating of Cam Newton's career. Cam Newton almost went to North Carolina. Butch Davis tried to get him with the bag. Mississippi State. Yeah, Mississippi State tried to get him with the bag. He ends up going to Auburn for whatever. Cecil. And God knows, you know what it was. But regardless, I watched Cam Newton that year with my mouth just, like, jaw dropped the entire time and everything. Well, you know, come on.

[C]

Come on, with your mouth. Whatever. Whatever.

[D]

They paid Cam Newton. It wasn't enough.

[B]

It wasn't enough, right? 4 million. I'd pay him 10 million to go be the quarterback for a year, man.

[C]

Cam Newton was playing lsu. Cam broke. I'm like, PP got him. This is Patrick Peterson, who was a.

[B]

Stud, by the way. One of the best people I've ever worked for.

[C]

And I was like, man, what the fuck, bro? What the hell is this dumbass shit? He was a freak, man.

[B]

It was unbelievable. I remember that national championship game. They played that Bob song, Don't Let Me Fall, leading into it with the piano ballad. It was just Cam Newton. It was basically an Under Armour commercial. And I was like, man, this guy, talk about aura. He had it to the max. Calvin Johnson, before he was Megatron at Georgia Tech. I mean, this is when they're trying to put in an option, but they can't because Calvin Johnson. Johnson, yeah, right, right. One of the best people that I ever watched play football. Ed Reed, the speech. At halftime, I put my heart in the shit, you know what I mean? They're up at halftime. But he still went in there and just had one of the most, you know, incredible speeches of all time. And then my last one was a plus one. And I wanted to get your guys reaction. This Malcolm Kelly at Oklahoma. The Malcolm Kelly freestyle.

[D]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

After the Oklahoma game with Sam Bradford in the back, he's like PT throwing that thing and it's humming, you know what I mean?

[D]

That's right.

[B]

That's like one of like that to me was just like pure college football, you know, like they win that game and it's like young Sam Bradford and he's just like. They put the Ronald Jinkies beat on it.

[D]

You know, boys, they my brothers, they my friends.

[B]

Yeah, man.

[D]

Yeah, man. Yeah, Malcolm Kelly. That's what's up, man.

[C]

I think it was a dc.

[D]

He was a TC wide receivers coach, I think maybe last year or something like that.

[B]

Shout out to Malcolm Kelly.

[C]

I typically don't like when these are rapping, but I like that.

[B]

That was the coldest freestyle ever. And it was just like the whole team wanted him to do it. It wasn't like he was trying to make it about himself, you know what I mean? And at first he's like a little shy and then he gets into it and he starts going. Cam Newton also had amazing freestyle at Bling College.

[C]

Controversial.

[B]

He was too. He was too close to the Beastie Boys and back then, you know what I mean? Like he thought he could get away with it. Let's do a couple segments specific to you guys before we get out of here. This is a fun one. Joel, you played football, so we got a good one. I played, you didn't. What are you seeing in college football as a former player and what should we be looking for that we might not be seeing as like a casual viewer or fan?

[D]

Well, actually, I just have like one specific thing to look forward in week one. Okay. And this is sort of like a culture thing. This isn't about because, you know, nothing has happened yet in terms of players or whatever. And we can talk about diagram or whatever. Did you all watch the Military bowl last year by any chance?

[B]

I did, yeah. Ecu, North Carolina State, a battle.

[C]

So.

[D]

So I was watching that game and I could tell that North Carolina State didn't want to be there and East Carolina didn't want to be anywhere else. Right?

[B]

Yes.

[D]

And I tweeted something midway through the game. I'm like, man, the way these motherfuckers playing, it might be a fight. Okay, so. And there was. There was a huge brawl after the game. Everybody Got mad. But do people remember that NC State had been in a fight the week before against nc, against unc. So, like, they had two fights to end the season. Okay.

[B]

It's real.

[D]

Yeah. Like, I don't know. I don't think that's a record. I don't think anybody has ever. I've never heard of a college football team having. So. Anyway, anyway, it's just a. It's a culture thing, so. And then they had this terrible bowl loss to ecu. So the thing that I'm looking for for North Carolina State is this is a player, like, man, you had all year, like, ECU's probably talking shit about you, bro. You probably back home, you know, in North Carolina or whatever. Somebody talked, you know, like, hey, man, you know what I'm saying? That's. You weren't talking that shit in the Military bowl, you know, you probably. All that kind of shit going on on social media or whatever. If you have any pride about yourself, NC State, because they do you know who North Carolina State opens up against this year?

[B]

Ecu, baby.

[D]

Ecu. I've never heard again, I've never heard of this before, right? You fight the end. At the end of the year, and then you open your very next game is against that team. If this is something, this is like a Dave Doran status check. If North Carolina State cannot show up for that game, brother, like, I mean, what are you. What are we here to do? What are we here for now, right? So, yeah, this is more about the culture of the game, about just being like, yo, man, if you got some pride in yourself. Because so much about college football is about the emotion of it and, like, the way you spend all off season so much. This is why I always say the football games are so short. Football is like, like.05% of the time you spend on football. Like, the rest of it is the working out, the talking with your boys, getting excited for the year, all that other shit, right? Like, that's the part that you get, you know, that you have to amp yourself up for this very small part of this endeavor that you've chosen. And so, yeah, man, like, I want to. I want. I'm just curious to know how's North Carolina State going to respond?

[B]

It's funny because, like, Carolina will overlook State, State will overlook ecu. And it's like, you know, it's like Marcia, Jan and Cindy, right? Like, it's like the three sisters. And like, they're all just like, you know, one's trying to get the attention of The.

[D]

Was that. What was that?

[B]

Brady Bunch?

[D]

That was Brady Bunch.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So you don't know wkrp, Cincinnati, but, you know, the Brady. Okay, no, not getting Brady Bunch. Very. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

All right.

[C]

Did you watch the Brady.

[D]

Did you watch the Brady Bunch? I see. I. I just.

[B]

See. I watched, like, when they made that movie, you know, with Ben Stiller's wife, like, that version when she was Marcia, you know, and then. Then I worked myself back, plus my grandparents. Like, I watched a lot of Three's Company. I was like, this guy's living the life.

[C]

Okay, watch the tape, Tate. You guys, Tate is considerably younger than us. He's doing very well in life.

[B]

Trying to figure it out.

[D]

I had to get gray hair to get into this kind of position. You know what I'm saying?

[B]

Van said I had to shave my head to be the host of this college football show. So we'll see if I get that.

[C]

We'll see if we're going to appeal to the audiences that. I think you should buzz that shit. You know what I mean? Buzz it. You know, take.

[B]

Start going down with Rosillo in Manhattan beach, you know, lifting a little bit. Yeah, I'll see what I can do. Yeah. Just try to, you know, get the. Look down. We got that. Joel, you didn't remember that. Big van on campus now.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

As our next segment, before we get into your specific big van on campus for this week, Bill Simmons reached out to me and said he wanted to get your top three campuses before, because, again, it's big van on campus. So what are your top three campuses, Van?

[C]

This is campuses like. Okay.

[B]

That you've been to, that you're just like, these are my top three I've been to.

[C]

Okay? So I mentioned this one of them I went to just recently. UCLA is a gorgeous campus.

[B]

No, it is beautiful.

[C]

Like, UCLA is a gorgeous campus.

[D]

Get me started.

[C]

A gorgeous campus. Like, why you don't like ucla, Joe?

[D]

No, I. Man, Doc, that is like, my dream school. I love ucla.

[C]

Beautiful campus. The second one, Tiger fans gonna get mad at me, but the University of Georgia is a great.

[B]

Athena, great.

[D]

Really nice. Really nice campus.

[C]

I'm not LSU specifically here, guys, because obviously LSU and Southern's campus are my two favorite campuses. But if the campuses that I've been to, and I've been to a lot of college, it would be ucla. It would be the University of Georgia. Gorgeous, gorgeous campus. Sneaky. Good school, too, by the way.

[B]

Really good school. You could have a 3, 5 to get in the drive.

[D]

They ain't Just taking anybody.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Sneaky.

[D]

Good school.

[C]

And then the last one is the University of Washington. The University of Washington. Big fan of Seattle. Like, Seattle, okay. The University of Washington. You go up there. The school is right over there. It's got the whole. I like the University of Washington. When I visited there, I did some work there. I had some talks there, did some stuff there. And those are three campuses that I remember really enjoying my time being on those campuses.

[D]

We are really in alignment. Like, that would have. I'm not saying that would have been my three, but, like, I would not argue with that at all. Like, all of those campuses are gorgeous. That's a really good man. Damn. Make me want to go.

[B]

Way to go, Van. I prompted and threw that at you. So shout out to you. But now to your actual segment. Big, big, big fan on campus. What is on your mind this week on campus?

[C]

So there's a culture war happening right now, and the culture war is happening over sorority girls, typically white, dancing in front of their sororities at schools all over the place. They come out, and all of a sudden you hear a Kesha song. And then they come back and they.

[B]

Do or, like, a Murphy Lee song that's been, like, dubbed and edited into, like, some, like, poppy version, like one.

[C]

Of those TikTok songs. And then they're out there dancing and they doing they thing, and it set off a real culture war. It's like, some people are like, this is America. With undertones of this is America. Y' all know the undertones. And then other people are like, this is white. This is stupid. It's not enough diversity in it. None of that shit matters to me. You know what matters to me? When them sorority girls start dancing. That means it's time for college football.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

That's what it means.

[B]

It's rushing.

[C]

None of that other stuff. That's real Fox News. You not gonna get me. The other people.

[D]

Y' all not gonna get me.

[C]

Y' all not gonna take my mind off of the ball. When the sorority girls start dancing, that means it's time for college football. I'm not gonna tell y' all that story that I told y' all about my experience at the Pike House back in the day.

[D]

One day I feel like you kind of do.

[C]

I might tell the story about what happened at the Pike House in my experience with the white, with the frat boys later on, but I'm not gonna tell y'. All, but the sorority girls dancing can. Are they on beat? Maybe? Are they doing flips? Kinda. Are they rich? Certainly none of that matters. Let them dance and let these games begin. That's what it means. All the brothers, all the players, everybody that sees this happening, that's your sign to lock in about what they doing at Kappa Alpha, what they doing at Delta Chi, whatever the name of these places are. When you see them girls dancing, that means it's time for you to get out on the field and make a play. And I'm excited about that, man.

[D]

The thing is, though, man, because Van, you just fuck. Like, what would. Like, if you were watching that, like, you know, you have a partner and they come and see you and they come on their phone, they sell you watching that, like, what would they say to you?

[C]

Well, I don't. I don't see it in my feed. As a matter of fact, I gotta tell y' all a quick inside story. So I was up, I was doing a television show and the sorority thing has started. I only see it when it's aggregated on the news, right? And like, I'm doing. The guy comes out and the guy goes, yeah, everybody's making a big deal about the sorority stuff. You know, we're on a panel for a television show that I do sometimes. And one of the guy goes, yeah, all I'm seeing on my feed is these sorority videos. And the rest of the panelists look at each other like, I'll just let them know. I'm like, hey, your algorithm is feeding you that based upon other stuff that you watch.

[B]

So I hope that you know that.

[C]

You get stuck with the rest of us. So. Right. My whole feed isn't the sorority girls. I see it when someone aggregates it and then sends it around. Okay, so I might have different stuff on my feed, but if you getting the 19 to 20 year old girls dancing, just want to let you know, it's probably thinking that he was super intrigued.

[D]

It's like next door is probably like, yeah, next door, exactly what you like. They say, hey, you might like this.

[C]

You know, for you, Taff, for you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

The algorithm always knows, so you cannot hide from the algorithm. Again. Big van on campus, the sorority girls. Let them dance. Let them dance.

[C]

That just means the season about to start. Let them dance.

[B]

We need touchdown dances. We need ladies dancing outside of sorority. It's also part of her dancing, right? Yeah.

[C]

I just want to let y' all know, I don't want to read Joel is a writer. I was following Joel and all this stuff that Joel's done way before this. I'm just for the writers out there. I don't want to read 2500 worlds in the sorority girls, bro. Find something else, man. I don't want to read it. I don't. I don't want to read 2,500 worlds in the sorority girl. Kick the ball off. Kick the ball off now.

[B]

And I'll second that. I don't want to read about Bill Belichick's sorority girlfriend. You know what I mean? Like, I don't want to read that either.

[D]

New York. I think that's a real journalistic.

[C]

You're not going to get away with that. You're not going to know. We want to know.

[D]

I mean, your program's in the New York Post, man.

[C]

She's. She's starting the Nil Collective. It's different. She's involved.

[B]

I'm okay if TMZ is doing it, but when it was the New Yorker At 3, when there was a cartoon of her, I was like, wait a second. We got to stop this.

[D]

She has changed that man's life.

[B]

Well, college football has changed our lives. Last thing we're going to do on the show before we get out of here, we're going to do a running list of things we love about college football, whether it's an antidote, player moment, whatever it is, and then we'll get out of here. And again, this is going to be weekly. We're going to be doing this on Wednesdays. We're going to be going live on Saturdays. Todd McShay will also be going live with Minch on Saturdays as well. So we're locked in for college football season. So the running list. One anecdote, Joel, that you love about college football. And then we'll get out of here.

[D]

Wow. Okay. I went and played ball at TC for a couple years. 96, 97.

[B]

And great times.

[D]

Yeah, great times. We were terrible. My coach got fired, and then that's when they had the renaissance after that. But the one thing I think about. And, you know, I didn't play football very long, didn't have a very successful career, got out of it, gotten journalism. That worked out a lot better. And so I, you know, I was kind of at a distance from the program, but the one thing I think about, man, and not to get too corny or whatever about it, man. Man, I saw the growth of so many brothers that I came in with, like, dudes that didn't care about shit, man, about, like.

[C]

You know what I mean?

[D]

Like, it was just, like, it was all about football. And maybe not, but for Football, they might not have gone to college, like, just being real. Like, they would never had. They wouldn't probably had the grades or whatever, whatever. And so, like, I'm friends with these people on Facebook and I can see their lives and like, they're taking their kids to school and they live in like nice houses and suburbs. Like, I've seen like a generational change, right, like from their circumstances before. And, like, football can do that, man. Like, college football can do that for you. Like, so when Nick Saban and people talk about, like, get back to the academic model, like, I don't totally dismiss it because I understand that, like, it can be a very pivotal generationally, like, family changing experience for some of these brothers to get the opportunity to do this stuff, man. And I really find, like, it's really meaningful to me when I can, like, look on there and I'd be like, yo, man, I remember when Chuck wasn't, you know, going to class and all this other shit. Now he's married, three kids, got a pretty, you know, stable middle class income job or whatever, man. So, yeah, man, that's. That's what I love about college football. Like what he can do for people and how it can change lives.

[B]

I love it. Ben, what about you?

[C]

I love the truce of Saturday. The cultural truths that exist in places like where I'm from in Baton Rouge, that happens on Saturday. When we see those societies, to me, those cultures operating in their peak form, you see people from all different walks of life uniting around one thing, right? And that thing is what's happening on the football field and what's happening outside the stadium. If you find yourself at a Southern university game, if you find yourself at an LSU game, you find yourself in the midst of a celebration that's centering around watching these young men play football, like, put their bodies on the line for their state, for their town, not for. Well, it used to be now for a bunch of money. But it wasn't about that before. It was about New Iberia, it was about Donaldsonville, it was about Opelousis, it was about Baton Rouge, it was about Monroe, it was about Shreveport, it was about New Orleans, it was about Lake Charles, it was about all of those things coming together in a celebration of the culture of the state where we come from, and us fighting for that culture yard by yard on the field. And if you were a visitor and you came into that place after a couple of drinks, we might be the meanest people in the world. But before you were walking around lsu, you were walking around the campus. You are gonna meet people who feed you. You're gonna meet people who say hello to you. You're gonna meet people who tell you how much your team sucks over a beer. And there has not been one experience in my lifetime growing up in the American south that comes close to what Colle. On a Sunday. Excuse me, on a Saturday. On a Saturday when it's time to watch a game. It's amazing, and it has not. Despite all of the changes that we've seen, despite the fact that we live in the south, an inherently imperfect society and culture, it has never changed and never let me down. And so I'm loyal to it as long as it's loyal to me. And I don't think things will ever change.

[B]

Absolutely. The hospitality, the pageantry, It's a religion. And I had this quote. I love this book, a season of. Michael Weinreb wrote this book. There was the quote in it. There's a strange beauty about returning every Saturday to the places where we came of age. It allows us as adults to feel like true believers, even if that no longer means what we thought it did when we were young. And I feel like that kind of sums up the college football experience. Like, I get, like, the feeling of being a kid. You know what I mean? I get that itch again, where it's just like, man, I love this. And I think there's a beauty in that. And it's a. It's a beautiful sport. The tailgate is a beautiful, communal experience.

[D]

Do you feel like. I feel like when you smell like a freshly cut football field anywhere, like, in September. You know what I mean? Like, it's just like, yes. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

I mean, even the turn of the fall, like, I just think about that in football season, like, as the leaves start to change, and you're just like, oh, man, it's getting serious. Like, we're. We're in the middle of October. We know who we are at this point. Like, we know who everybody else is at this point. Right? Like, all of that, every single stepping stone along the way day, it's just a beautiful journey, and I hope that this show will, you know, invoke a lot of people's reactions. We want people to join in. The beauty of a tailgate is that you want to welcome people in. So we want, as many people who feel like they love college football like we do, to come join us for this ride. Guys, appreciate you, of course, for breaking it all down. I know this has been a full dump of the season. We will be back on Wednesday. Breaking down. Week one, we got football on Saturday. Week zero we got farmaged, we got Kansas who is now trying to be a football school playing as well. There's some good games on the schedule. We hope everybody stays tuned in and watches those games and we will see you all next week. Must be 21 or older and president select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and older and present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. GAMBLING PROBLEM Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com RG call 1-888-789-7777 or visit CCPG.org ChatInCeneticut 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 NY or text Hopeny in New York.

[C]

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