Ringer Tailgate – Episode Summary

Podcast: Ringer Tailgate
Episode: What’s Next for Notre Dame, Week 3 Firings, and Diego Pavia’s Mom's Date
Date: September 17, 2025
Hosts: Tate Frazier, Van Lathan, Joel Anderson

Brief Overview

This Wednesday edition of Ringer Tailgate delivers in-depth analysis, candid opinions, and comedic banter on the latest in college football. Van, Joel, and Tate debate Notre Dame’s season outlook, quarterback hype versus reality, the fairness of early-season coach firings, and the resilience (or chaos) of programs like Texas A&M, while closing with an outrageous “Big Van on Campus” segment about dating the mothers of college football stars. The crew also previews Week 4’s biggest matchups and riffs on the quirks and traditions that define the sport.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

"Romo" and College Football Discourse

• Relief of Missing Out: The show opens with “Romo” (relief of missing out) vs. “Fomo” on the Arch Manning discourse (00:08–01:30).
  • Tate: “I have the relief of missing out on the Arch Manning discourse.” (00:24)
  • Van: “Look, some of the Romo about Arch Manning is just copping out. … I want everyone in college football to do something. Actually. Clip this.” (01:31)
• Message Board Culture: Joel confesses to relishing wild message board speculation about Arch and others.

Notre Dame’s Rocky Outlook

• Van’s Hot Take: “Notre Dame might be fucked.” (04:17)
  • Notre Dame’s defensive strengths are missing; the secondary and front are underperforming.
  • Losses to Texas A&M and Miami signal larger problems, not just tough scheduling.
  • Van: “It doesn’t matter how good the teams you lost to are. What matters is whether or not you are a good enough team to beat good teams.” (05:30)
• Joel’s Perspective: Urges not to “judge teams by their losses,” noting how close Notre Dame played elite competition, but acknowledges public perception can turn quickly, especially if the team spirals (06:19–12:00).
  • “If Notre Dame wins those 10 games…they're gonna get in.” (07:47)
• Concerns: Van highlights the defense surrendering 488 yards to A&M, questions Marcus Freeman’s management, and wonders if Notre Dame’s season is already lost (07:53–10:10).
  • Quote: “If they don’t have that type of defense...they’re not going to be able to win because they cannot rely on their brand new star quarterback.” (9:30)
• Contestation Over Rankings:
  • Notre Dame is the sixth team ever ranked in the AP Top 25 after starting 0–2 (14:31).

The Texas A&M "Resurgence"

• A&M as Texas’ Best? Joel argues A&M deserves to be considered Texas’ top program this season (14:54–18:03).
  • Notes A&M’s resilience against setbacks—like a called-back kickoff return and false starts—reflects a new mental toughness (15:29–18:03).
  • “That was a sign that things are changing at A&M. It may not hold, but at least for right now, God damn. Can they not be ranked ahead of Texas?” (17:56)
• Marcel Reed: Van praises the A&M QB’s growth and poise in the pocket, contrasting him with Arch Manning’s struggles (18:27–20:49).
  • “He stayed in the pocket ... he believes in his scheme, in his arm, and trusts what he’s seeing in front of him.” (19:12)

Quarterback Hype: Reality Check

• Debunking Preseason QB Rankings:
  • Tate reads preseason Heisman odds, exposing underwhelming seasons from hyped QBs: Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik, DJ Lagway, etc. (20:49–21:45).
  • “I think we’ve been sold a bill of goods. Dare I say hold experts accountable. Damn it.” (21:45)
• Injury Realities: Van notes some QBs (e.g., Lagway, Nussmeier) are injured; others (Klubnik) just aren’t as good as billed (21:51–23:53).
  • Notable: “What did people see that is not taking place on the field right now? … It’s baffling to the mind.” (23:41)
• Arch Manning’s Disappointment: Joel and Van both lean toward cutting Arch in a “start, bench, cut” among Manning, Klubnik, and Lagway based on on-field performance (26:25–32:36).

Notable “Start, Bench, Cut” Quotes

• Tate: “I would cut Arch.” (27:11)
• Van: “Lagway’s in hell right now. I could not start DJ Lagway right now.” (32:06)

Wide Receivers Steal the Show

• Tate: “Elite receivers are back.” (32:36)
• Joel lauds Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams, Chris Brazel, Cam Coleman, and others making big impacts despite QB ups-and-downs (33:06–34:44).
  • “Football is always better when the elite receivers are out and doing their thing.” (33:53)
• Van: Special callout for Ryan Williams’ all-around talent and thrills—“I love watching him play.” (36:07)

Firings After Week 3: Too Soon?

• Firing UCLA’s Deshaun Foster and VaTech’s Brent Pry:
  • Van empathizes with the human side but says: “I need to see precision. I need to see teams playing hard…no reason to be inspired to believe they could be better.” (36:54–39:20)
  • Joel questions the message to players who now might want to redshirt or transfer (39:30–41:21).
  • “What are you telling the players about the season? … The administration and athletic department have basically punted on the season.” (40:19–40:48)
• Nico’s Dilemma (UCLA QB): Should he play out the year or preserve eligibility?
  • Joel: “Sometimes you got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, dawg. … Right now, this is one of them times.” (44:35)
  • Van: “If I'm Nico, I'm playing…to show on the field that he is a football player and a leader.” (43:31)

Overreactions and College Football Culture

Brian Kelly’s Press Conference Meltdown (48:22–57:10)

• After a lackluster win, Kelly snapped at a reporter’s question about LSU’s offensive struggles.
  • Van: “He answered it like a fucking asshole is what he did. And so he’s got to be better than that. He has to, because everybody’s watching Brian Kelly. We want some results.” (51:45)
• Joel (as a journalist): “Very rarely do people feel sorry for journalists…But I also know sort of the rhythm of a post game press conference.” (52:31)
• The show pokes at Brian Kelly’s infamous “Southern” accent and efforts to relate to his fanbase:
  • Joel: “[He was] trying, like Van said, man, was trying to relate to the people. And people are like, man, stop.” (59:28)

Week 4 Game Previews & Picks

Top Four Games

1. Florida at Miami (GameDay)
2. #17 Texas Tech at #16 Utah
   • Joel: “I just want to see if that money is going to pay off now.” (61:08)
   • Texas Tech as an experiment in “can you buy tradition/culture?” (63:04)
3. #22 Auburn at #11 Oklahoma
   • Van: “Such a big game for Auburn. Is Auburn back from the dead? Is Oklahoma for real?” (65:15)
   • Storylines: Jackson Arnold’s homecoming, Hugh Freeze’s credentials, both programs’ need for validation.
4. #9 Illinois at #19 Indiana

Other Matchups Mentioned:

• Michigan–Nebraska, Tulane–Ole Miss, SMU–TCU (Joel’s highlight: Battle for the Iron Skillet, 104th edition, final meeting for now; 70:54)
• South Carolina–Missouri, Michigan State–USC, Arizona State–Baylor, Arkansas–Memphis, Syracuse–Clemson, UNC–UCF, Oregon State–Oregon

Memorable Quotes & Segment Timestamps

• [04:17] Van: “Notre Dame might be fucked.” (on ND’s prospects)
• [07:47] Joel: “If Notre Dame wins those 10 games…they’re gonna get in.”
• [17:56] Joel: “That was a sign that things are changing at A&M. It may not hold, but at least for right now, God damn. Can they not be ranked ahead of Texas?”
• [23:41] Van: “What did people see that is not taking place on the field right now? … It’s baffling to the mind.”
• [32:06] Van: “Lagway’s in hell right now. I could not start DJ Lagway right now. … He’s in hell.”
• [36:54] Van: “I need to see precision. I need to see teams playing hard. I need to see them playing on fire and I need to see them playing unafraid. I cannot say that I saw that with UCLA.”
• [51:45] Van: “He answered it like a fucking asshole is what he did.”
• [43:31] Van: “If I’m Nico, I’m playing… I think it would mean a lot to people to see Nico stick this out and go try to get a couple of wins for UCLA.”
• [70:01] Van (on Marcus Vick fleeing cops): “It’s obvious this cop didn’t know who it was, or…he would have followed him in a goddamn police car and still might get him.”
• [75:58] Van: “What about my mother? My mother, Crystal Ellis, a beautiful 69-year-old woman from Baton Rouge… Which one of you is going to date my mom when LSU wins?”

Big Van on Campus (75:08–82:48)

• Segment Premise: After Diego Pavia’s mom becomes the subject of a potential Theo Von date bet, Van asks which celebrity will date his mom if LSU wins the national championship.
  • Lists: Denzel Washington, David Copperfield, Nelly.
• Anecdotes:
  • Family watching David Copperfield specials; mom’s enthusiastic reaction spurs dad’s jealousy (76:59).
  • Discussion about the importance of supporting your mother in all phases of life: “Just like offense, defense, special teams” (82:02).
• Light-hearted debate: Who should take Van’s mom out—Copperfield or Denzel?

Tone & Style

• The hosts maintain their signature balance of sharp insight and raucous humor, injecting authentic fan emotion (“hold experts accountable!”), irreverent pop culture riffs (“double pause!” “fake accents!”), and readerly empathy for struggling coaches and players.
• The tone is conversational, occasionally rowdy, but always rooted in love for the sport and its outsized characters.

Summary Table of Key Segments (for quick reference)

| Segment | Time | Main Topic | Notable Quotes/Speakers | |---------|------|------------|-------------------------| | Open/“Romo” | 00:08-02:27 | Fandom, Arch Manning Discourse | Tate, Van, Joel | | Notre Dame Troubles | 04:17-14:31 | ND’s Playoff Hopes, Defensive Issues | Van, Joel | | Texas A&M Analysis | 14:54-20:49 | A&M’s Mental Toughness, Reed’s Development | Joel, Van | | Overhyped QBs | 20:49-32:36 | Preseason Hype vs. Performance | Tate, Van, Joel | | Elite WRs | 32:36-36:25 | Freshman Impact | Joel, Van | | Coaching Firings | 36:54-45:31 | UCLA, VaTech Early Firings | Van, Joel | | Brian Kelly’s Meltdown | 48:22-57:10 | Press Conference, LSU Culture | Van, Joel, Tate | | Week 4 Previews | 61:08-70:54 | Top Games, Texas Tech, Auburn-OU | Tate, Joel, Van | | Big Van on Campus | 75:08-82:48 | Diego Pavia’s Mom, Who Dates Van's Mom | Van, Joel, Tate |

For First-Time Listeners

This episode is a perfect snapshot of Ringer Tailgate at its best: passionate, informed, unfiltered, and fun. Even if you missed the games, you’ll leave with a sense of the season's chaos, the personalities at play, and the big questions that will shape the weeks to come.