
CFB Conference Championship INSTANT REACTIONS | David Pollack Picks his CFP 12 | Heisman 0:00 BYU-Texas Tech 9:48 Indiana-Ohio State 21:25 Alabama-Georgia 32:09 David Pollack's College Football 12 / Duke-Virginia 46:51 Heisman Race
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Kevin Harlan
Kevin Harlan here. The NBA on Prime crew is back and the quest for the Emirates NBA cup is center court once again. Group play is over. Now the remaining eight teams do battle in the knockout rounds. And prime is your exclusive home for all the action. It all starts with the quarterfinals. Two consecutive nights of can't miss NBA doubleheaders this Tuesday and Wednesday night. If you're not a Prime member, so sign up for a 30 day free trial to get started today. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details. The Emirates NBA cup quarterfinals, Tuesday and Wednesday night only on Prime. If you are a fighter, Modelo is your reward.
Brent
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C Ball
And how about that Pollock interception in the end zone?
Brent
Well, it's David Pollack and I think people are going to learn what kind of ballplayer he is. He's got a heart of a lion. I'm real proud of that kid.
C Ball
This is C Ball. Get Ball.
Brent
College football's top show for football analysis.
C Ball
Predictions and coach interviews. Now here's your host, three time all.
Brent
American, seven time Emmy award winner.
We thought it might not happen. We thought we might not have madness, but we do. We're up late. Y' all are up late because college football always freaking delivers. Um, golly. We'll get to Ohio State really, really quickly, which was a shock. We'll get to Bama, Georgia. We'll get to Duke in the acc that is the, the drunkest conference in the world. We'll get to the group of five, which is, is my. Is sitting pretty in a great spot to get a bid or two, which is nuts to say out loud. But, but Texas Tech kind of started us off the championship weekend with, with the no drama. Like there was the lack of drama. Right. With A and M or with Texas Tech. Excuse me. Like, you know, we, we, we've got so much lobbying going on and there's so many things that we don't know. And we're going to hear from so many coaches that are on the bubble or on the periphery and what needs to be done. Texas Tech ain't got to worry about it because they took care of business. They built a $242 million facility and they finished it. Let me tell you something. Walking through it the other day, you want to get your 10,000 steps in. A couple weeks ago when we did that Jacob, Jacob Rodriguez interview, you'll get it in in no time because you got to just walk from place to place. There's segways to take you because it's so long from one spot to the other. But one thing you noticed when you walked in the facility, right when you walk in, besides the big, I mean, cowboy and all that stuff, and the painting of the murals, to the right side, there was the trophy case. And in the trophy case there's this brick. And the brick says, believe.
And I'm like, what's that? They said when we win the Big 12 championship trophy, that's where that goes. Trophy case wasn't enormous. Texas Tech, first outright title since 1955. Six different Big 12 team to win this in six years. Like you want to talk about parodying a league, it's, it's been unbelievable to watch this league over the years. But, but what do you see with Texas Tech again? Offense was kind of was solid, pretty good. But the defense, they give up a 90 yard touchdown drive to start the game. That's the first point, literally. BYU scores a touchdown. It's the first point given up all year on first drives. And you thought, okay, BYU's got some physicality going. They got it rocking and rolling. Now. Next four possessions, 24 yards for BYU. And Texas Tech's defense continues to show you why they are so freaking good, man. I mean, just really, really good dynamic forced so many turnovers. It's not just the fumbles, it's the interceptions. I mean, Ben, Ben Roberts at linebacker was looking like Dion Prime, Deion Sanders back there in the back end, covering people and just making picks and batting the ball down. Texas Tech absolutely handles business. Are we going to have question marks about their offense and what they're going to be? Yes, we are. We're absolutely going to have those. But I don't think that they're alone in that debate on how many teams we can say that about. Like, what's their offense going to do? I put them in the Oklahoma category. I Put them in the Georgia category somewhat like there's several teams that you worry about their offense moving into playoff contention. Time Dickey looked good. Williams looks good toting it. Morton, by the way, he finally practiced on Wednesday before the, before the game. He's got a hairline fracture in his fibia like he's walking around in a boot. And then he practices occasionally going out there playing in an offense that spread it out. Rhythm based timing. You can see it's not with him and Virgil and Douglas and Carter Jr. Like it's not the most great together offense. You know, you see, you see a heck of a lot of Stone Harrington which you see he's really good, but you see too much of him. They kick too many field goals. But I think that Texas Tech proved they're a top four team. They're going to get, they're going to get a buy. So BYU to think about where they're at when they lose Jake Ratzlaff right before the season, who we'll talk about for Tulane, you know, got them in the playoff. You know, Barkmeyer coming in as a true freshman during the springtime from Stanford. Remember Stanford signed him and then the coaching change and all that stuff that went on. BYU picked a bad day to have a bad day too. Just offensively, struggling special teams was, was really, really bad. But Texas Tech, I feel very confident saying this and Brent, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Texas Tech has the best defensive line in college football. I don't, I don't see how that's debatable. Like I don't think they have the best defense, but I think the front seven for Texas Tech, you better pack a fricking lunch. Like they are going to absolutely hammer you. They can rush, they can play the run.
They do a lot of their damage. They don't have to blitz because they're so good with those, with those four guys, five guys up front.
C Ball
Especially if you add in Rodriguez and then, yeah, you talked about Roberts having the day that he had. But when you add in Jacob Rodriguez to that, because just watching him, he's a step ahead up here. Eight plays, eight plays out of ten up there. Exactly.
Brent
And he was a quarterback at Virginia like he played quarterback. And you can tell it was.
C Ball
I even liked BYU's plan. Early balls out, quick RPO or screen. RPO or screen rpo. Screen. Basically just one or the other while trying to run the ball. And then after it got, you know, a little wonky and then the whole fake punt business.
Brent
No.
C Ball
All right, let's give him that. That wasn't, that was not. That didn't feel like the time for that.
Brent
That was very ungood.
C Ball
Why would you not just. Right you're at that point. Let's just hang around, just hang around as long as you can. And then once it was, you know, second half turnover, touchdown, 20 I think was that made it 21 to 7 or 24 after they got the two point, I think 21 7. That was game over.
Brent
Yeah, it was, it was that defense. It was the three play series. It was the, it was the interception. Dicky scores the, it was the, it was the pick by, by Roberts because he had two of them. Right. He was, he was, he was the guy. Roberts gets the pick. Dickie goes wildcat, runs it in and then you got the two point play and then it was, it was absolutely wrapped. Once Carter Jr. Made a miss and got the two point, it was like, okay, I think BYU is mathematically eliminated. Just.
C Ball
And Dicky, like we've talked a lot about Dicky and he's the one that's had the huge games like he had the 250 plus or 260 that one game. But Jacoby Williams was, he's greased lightning in this game. Big time moves in this game. Yeah.
Brent
Don't fumble before the half. That was.
C Ball
Yeah, that was. No, but defensive line, yes, to answer your question, I think they do have the best defensive line in college.
Brent
I think they got the best defensive.
C Ball
Line that's without Gil Howard. So.
Brent
Yeah, but what you, what you see with the, what you see with the running backs is the thing that makes those running backs really dynamic is they're both good pass receivers. Now obviously Williams has got more juice, but they've got to find a way to use Virgil's speed more and Douglas has to. You know, Douglas had a good second half of the season, but they've got to find something. And maybe it's just as simple as Morton practicing more, getting healthier, but they took some shots down the field. The first touchdown was a, was a horrible offensive PI. That massive got called that. I couldn't even believe that because that was a two handed shove in the back like when we saw the replay like 10 times and they never showed the push off because they were looking about the touchdown which was absolutely atrocious that we were reviewing that touchdown because it was, it was clearly a touchdown. But Texas Tech, man, we've talked about them, we talked about them way back in the spring and their recruiting class and who they brought in and the money they got, their return on investment, man. Like they've got a great coach in Joey Maguire who does, who says the right things, who does the right things. He's one of the nicest, like coolest cats you'll ever meet in all of coaching. One of the most genuine guys. And I think he's formed that bond with all the new guys with a new oc, with a new DC and they got in the Raiders, man. Congratulations, bro. In the freaking playoff with a bye week. So to rest up because everybody's banged up right now, everybody's a little bit nicked and dinged and so they'll get the chance to rest and specifically their quarterback.
C Ball
Quick question with that as I'm watching that game though, because like their offense, the consistency of their offense, a lot of their offense seems like it's more of a.
Fact of you just getting mentally beat down because their defense is completely destroying you. But they seem a lot like, you know, the Spider man meme where you're pointing at each other them in Oklahoma, I think in the playoff where it's just, hey, we're, we're going to win with it. You're gonna have to get above 20 against us. We might not necessarily get above 20. We're going to be in the. Definitely be in the teens. But that defense comeback is. Well, that was the theme of the day. Yeah, the theme of the entire day.
Brent
Was defense making it. Making a comeback for sure.
Kevin Harlan
Hi, this is Kevin Harlan. The NBA on Prime crew is back and the quest for the Emirates NBA cup is center court once again. Group play is over. Now the remaining eight teams do battle in the knockout rounds and prime is your exclusive home for all. The action in. It all starts with the quarterfinals. Two consecutive nights of can't miss doubleheaders this Tuesday and Wednesday night. Win and you move on to the semifinals. Lose and your quest for the cup is over. The stakes are high and the intensity will be even higher. It's back to back nights of doubleheaders guaranteed to entertain. And if you're not a Prime member, that's not a problem. Sign up for a 30 day free trial to get started today. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com amazonprime for details. The Emirates NBA cup quarterfinals this Tuesday and Wednesday night only on Prime.
Brent
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Brent
How about the Indiana Hoosiers, man? Like, how about the number one team in the country? Keep doubting them like we doubted them before the season. Would they make the playoffs? Were they a one hit wonder? Could they replace the quarterback? Could they go in the portal again? Indiana just continues to dominate college football. Listen, I say that it takes steps, right? Like last year came on the scene. Signetti first year to get him to believe a lot of guys back, needed to find the quarterback. Found the quarterback, man. And Mendoza almost died on the first play of the game. Like if you watched, he literally, Kaden Curry destroyed him. The first play of the game, he's down. Mendoza's brother's the backup, the little Mendoza. So he comes in the game and I'm like, oh my gosh, is this, this is going to be the worst championship game in history. We, we had 1 versus 2. We had Heisman Trophy, we had undefeateds on the line, the number one seed and we're going to have backup playing at quarterback. But man, this, this was an awesome game and, and kudos to Indiana. You know, the defense continues to play so good man, like, so good. And you always vote for the assistant coaches of the year and Brian Haynes better win, better win it because this defense, they do such a good job of twisting and stunting. Ohio State did an unbelievable job of countering that late in the football game, moving the pocket a ton. But that's the, that's the most you've seen where you've had to see, you know, you've had to see Julian saying, hold on to the football like he had to hold on to the football. Buy more time. They forced him to be Very patient. And by forcing him to be patient, that long drive right at the end of the game and my goodness, man, like special teams, special teams and moments, like who do you trust in moments. And the Ohio State kicker had an unbelievable chance to make this a game. After the eight minute drive, they go down the field, they're very patient. By the way, Brit, jump in because I. When is Ohio State conservative? Fourth and one, down three, you know, right at the inside the ten yard line. Like you've already failed one now. So that's the key. I would have had one that they got reviewed.
C Ball
I would have kicked the first one.
On fourth and one when you're down three, like just get the game, get the game tied and then you know, it was what, like the 11 yard line or whatever.
Brent
What does your analytics say, nerd boy?
C Ball
Although every time it says go like.
Brent
It'S always okay, well then don't. Just don't pick and choose when you want to nerd out on me. You can't just, you can't just say I want this part of the menu and I don't want this one.
C Ball
No, that's game.
Brent
It's fourth and one. Like I, if you. Okay, let me ask you this question. If I'm gonna go for the first one, you got the odds. Yes. If I'm gonna go for the. I go for the second one because the likelihood, it's not going to happen again, I'm not going to get stuff. But besides that, like the nerves of a snap, the nerves of a kick, like even when it's 27 yards, man. Ohio State had a chance to tie the game with a little over two minutes left and completely just gagged it away. It was, it was a bad move. It was a bad kick. It was really ungood. But then Indiana, like in perfect Indiana fashion, the way they're going to end it, like most teams, I'm going to run it. I run it with my qb. They ran it a couple times. Third and six, Bombs away. Bombs away. Charlie B.
C Ball
Who can from Nashville, Tennessee.
Brent
Yeah, I didn't want to hear the Nashville, Tennessee anymore. I heard enough of the Nashville, Tennessee. I love Charlie B, but how about Charlie B? Man, contested catches, making plays. Penn State, he was enormous in big time moments. Cooper goes down after the, in the first quarter, he's out of the game like. And Charlie B. Comes in and makes contested catches. And on a third and six way down the field, you get single coverage, you take the shot, he comes down with a big time moment. Indiana Iowa, game was super. Close. Mendoza made plays. Penn State super close. Mendoza made plays. Ohio State game super close. When is Ohio State going to get in a fourth quarter game? What are they going to have to make a play late in the game? What are they going to prove to us? X, prove to us. Y, prove to us. Z. Indiana just kept doing it all throughout the year, man. Every big time moment when they needed a play, Mendoza made it. And that might say something about who wins that trophy.
Really, really soon. Because whenever that is, it's, it's coming up really soon. But man, what a day for Indiana. What a day for their team, for their defense just to slow down this Ohio State. Yeah, they're this Ohio State juggernaut that's been, that's been rolling. That looked like the best team in the country by far.
C Ball
So it's going to be fun to see. Like I'm. There's probably going to be mountains of people who are going to come at us for all the bad predictions that we had this week, but obviously Ohio State and Indiana was one of them. But Mendoza was the difference in the game and the, the one, it was one play to me above all, that was the difference it was looking at. Oh, there he goes. It was third and two when they were down. I think it was 10 minutes to go. They were down.
10, six at that time, third quarter. And instead of just looking for the first down on third and two, they take a shot and that, they hit the deep ball to that, that sort of to me changed the momentum of the game. They go down. That's the drive. They go and score. Take the lead out after that. Complete change whatsoever. So I guess we lose Davey here.
But Signetti, we talked about. Kurt's. Just a moment about Signetti. Look at what I mean. In two years, in two years he's taken James Madison players, he's taken kids from Texas State, he's taken kids from Western Kentucky, he's taken, you know, Indiana kids that were there in, in a not sort of winning sort of environment and they are now the like going to be the number one seed in the College Football Playoff in year two after making the playoffs in year one. It's the absolute. I mean, it's the greatest turnaround ever, potentially. I don't, I don't know if anything that you could point to from a program turnaround that fast. I mean, he's literally gotten how many coaches fired because he's done it that fast. But just massive tip of the cap to Kurt Signetti for what he did and what that team has done. And he can talk all the crap he wants right now until he's got to play teams again.
Brent
Talk that ish.
C Ball
But yeah, he can. He can talk it.
Brent
You got me back down stops.
C Ball
Yes. You're. You're back.
Brent
Sweet.
C Ball
You can google Kirk Signetti all that. But you talked about the defensive piece and Joe Long says in any sport that, I mean the, the turnarounds are. That's an un. Unbelievable turnaround. I had what was how many years, 30 something years that they hadn't. That they'd beat Ohio State. It's been. Since they've beaten Ohio State. Indiana. Like that's unbelievable for what they did.
Brent
But first outright championship since 1945. Gosh. So to do it then quick and.
C Ball
And we talked in the pregame. What's the difference? But like you look at all the statistical part of it. Their offense really didn't look that different from a year ago. But the one difference is Mendoza's legs and his ability to keep plays alive in this game and make plays with his legs outside of the deep ball that he hit some of the defaults.
Brent
Yeah. You tried to. You tried to tell us coming into this game that they were the same offense. And I was about to slap you upside your grill.
C Ball
I was just saying statistically it is outside of his legs.
Brent
But. But it's. But even said his legs weren't that big of a difference. But there when you watch it, there's a big difference. Like there's just a. Now here, here's what I'll say about Mendoza. Like I, I don't love. And again, this is nitpicking, guys. Like I, I don't love his pocket presence. I don't love his step up. Like a lot of times he runs around just to. And kind of chases his tail. Hey, but when you have three red zone trips in the first half or your first three trips and you get six points and you don't throw one slot fade to Surrat. You're stupid. Like you're dumb. It's the. It's the. It's the hardest ball in all of football to stop. That's the most undeniable thing. I can't believe they didn't throw it. They finally throw it, then they go up, you know, 13 to 7. But how about just the.
C Ball
Just the second clap for calling that. Yeah.
Brent
I mean you should. Every time they get in the red zone, you should call that. You should say slot fade. I mean that should be the. But I thought Indiana ran the ball enough. They ran the Ball. They kept him honest enough, they ran hard, they blocked well enough. If they're going to get in the drop back game, their, their right tackle is an issue. Like it's, it's, it's an issue. They're not going to sit back and PR pass protection and be really, really. I mean, Kaden Curry was winning and that guy's not the most fleet of foot, but he was just running over the right tackle pretty consistently. But no one in the country has handled adversity better than, better than Indiana. No, nobody's handled the big moments, the big stages. You go at Oregon and find a way to win. You go at Iowa in a clutch moment, find a way to win. Mendoza's toughness, man, you saw it the first play and the rest of the game, he just gets hit, he gets hit, he gets hit and he keeps making plays and he never flinches and he never loses faith. And he, and you could tell when he's interviewed, man, he's got something about him. Like he's got something to him that's different. And you know, what a, what a day for Indiana, Indiana fans and college football, man. Like, the fact that that can happen in college football. We win like that is. We, we, we win that. Like the fact that we're getting Indiana in here. Indiana is going to be the number one team in college football in the playoff. Yes, please. I mean, so good.
C Ball
I was leaning back because it looked like Virginia may have scored to tie the game. I can't tell exactly, to get confirmation.
Brent
Yeah, anyway, that's about that.
C Ball
Later.
Brent
All right. Hey, I got something for you, though. Over the next few weeks, man, you may be hosting for the holidays or heading to a college football watch party. Yes, please. Because it's coming and you either got to provide a dish for the entire crew or you just got to hook it up and, and bring something that tastes really good if you want to dominate the table. And kind of like Georgia did tonight, they dominated Alabama. We'll, we'll check that out in a minute. But check out Omaha Steaks. They got prime rib. It's a hit this time of year. They got every type of cut you can imagine with the steaks. The, the sirloin is always my personal favorite. They got chicken, they got burgers, they got bulk protein boxes, all above. That keeps me and my family running through the week, man. It comes right to your flipping door. Right to your door. Like, yes, please. See ball, get ball. Listeners, you're in luck. Use the promo code. Pollock. $35 off your order. Right now. 35 bucks, man. Saving you guys money. So you're welcome. Let Omaha Steaks make it very easy. They'll ship it right to you. It's awesome. Promo code. Pollock again. $35 off, suckers. You're welcome. $35 off. Merry Christmas, Happy holidays from C. Ball. Get ball to you. Get you some Omaha products. All this stuff is really, really good. All right, Georgia versus Alabama. How about an idiot? Me? I just. I didn't think Georgia's offense. Well, here's the thing. Here's. Here's the thing. That would have been very helpful. I thought Alabama was going to hold Georgia's offense down a whole bunch. Now, if you'd have told me that Georgia was going to block a punt, get an interception near midfield, run a punt back inside the 50 on the other side, and then take over at the 20 on a fourth and two stop, I would have said Georgia's offense would have looked a lot better and they would have put up more points. I think the most impressive part about Georgia's offense was, man, the. The use of 13 personnel, all the tight ends on the field to protect their offensive line. Pulling guys doing all the things. Gunner Stockton running the football with conviction, really, really hard. They. They didn't have a lot in the throw game. And I thought Alabama was going to come up and you could tell early Alabama really wanted to take away the easy stuff, like make him throw the football down the field. They couldn't do it. And that's the sign of a really good team out Georgia. You've got to make Georgia come out of their comfort zone, and you can't. You don't want to get in a street fight with Georgia. If you stand in front of Georgia and you want to throw blows, you're going to get your ace knocked out. All right, Chris Tucker, you just got knocked the blank out. Like you're going to get knocked out. You've got to find a way to make them play different, to make them throw the ball down the field. Alabama couldn't do it, man. And Georgia's defense, wow. Like the thing we talked about coming into the season, like they're going to be able to hang their hat on slowly. Really, really struggled. They had 19 pressures in this game. 19. Like that is absolutely silly how much pressure they got on. On Ty Simpson. The final blitz numbers. Brent will have those for you in a day or so. I'm sure. I. They. It felt like they blitzed the whole time. Now, listen, late in the game, they got a little bit more conservative But I mean, special teams was really, really good. They were good in the red zone. They pounded the rock ground and pound and. And beat Alabama the way Alabama used to beat people back in the day. But it's crazy to think that. It's crazy to think. Brent. The Alabama's scoring drive, it took two personal fouls for Georgia's defense, not one. And a tip pass that was to the tight end over the middle of the field. When it was. It was caught and ran for 20 yards. Like that's how Alabama scored like that. The defensive clinic by Georgia. And listen, this is not one week now. This is Texas 10 points, Georgia Tech nine points. Charlotte, get the heck out of here. I ain't counting Charlotte, but another great offense that like this Georgia defense, man, they figured out who they are. They figured out who to play. They figured out how many people to play because it's a lot of people that they can now rotate in and out and they had guys that were banged up but man, oh man that this defense looks like a vintage Kirby smart defense. And they have played lights the heck out the last several weeks, last four games.
C Ball
A couple of things there. The first part that just defensive. I think the secondary is what's taken from. If you look early in the season to now, the secondary is what's taking the leap. Ellis Robinson is completely locked down corner. Now, even though Williams should have had a touchdown on him that he. I thought he dropped. But you talked about their defense recently before Alabama scored that touchdown. The. Do you remember the last touchdown that.
Brent
They gave up was the Texas.
C Ball
Texas.
Brent
Yeah, the.
C Ball
The Texas touchdown. So all those games that they had gone without giving up a touchdown, but this was an utter. Just beat down. It was. I feel like late in the third quarter when Bama got over a hundred total yards. And if it wasn't for those penalties, that was a shutout and a couple of dumb penalties. And the key though is I think outside of now. Okay, let me go back, have a little fun with this conspiracy theorists on the. On the dog van at UGA Sports. May thought that maybe you were a reverse psychology guy. You were the double agent for Kirby to loudly yell that Bama was going to destroy them so he could then play that for the team and say, hey, see, nobody believes in us. Are there conspiracy theories?
Brent
Little Pat. Little Pat Diasque.
C Ball
I mean, okay, anyway that. That thought. But the thing that you actually nailed on the head was we, we and we talked about this in terms of how you defend Ty Simpson and it played out to a T. Ed's rush stayed wide, pressure brought from the middle make him throw the ball outside and he was off. He could not make those throws. And once those things happened and especially on third downs, a little more man too. They play some more man.
Brent
Yep.
C Ball
Outside of a few Ryan Williams catches where he got some yak with some really amazing moves.
Brent
Hey, the fir the first half I was literally like, you know, Ryan Williams just says, hey, I'm just playing the Georgia games. Like I'm not playing any other games. Like Ryan Williams off of that last year's Georgia game made millions of dollars, millions of dollars. And then it's kind of been MIA back and forth. The most amazing part to me is there are literally. Let me see how many SEC teams played today, Brent?
C Ball
Two.
Brent
Okay, how many SEC teams are there?
16, I think. So 14 team or 15 teams had more rushing yards today than Alabama did because they had minus three rushing. But, but Alabama, Alabama tried to run it like they came out running. Run, run. Dude, you want to talk about numbers? They had 10 yard in the first quarter. They had 13 plays. They have five first half possessions, four punts and an int. Like and it got worse at some, at one point we're at eight possessions with, with, with seven punts in an int. They, I mean it was absolutely really bad offense. And, and, and we've talked about Alabama's offense. It hasn't been two dimensional all year. They've been looking for a little bit of that. But Alabama, if you're being honest, and this is going to come into play soon, Alabama is not going like this. They're not an ascending football team right now. Like Vanderbilt for example. Vanderbilt has been ascending, bro. Like I, I talked about Pavia's numbers. I, I, I called him to the carpet. I, I thought it was like you couldn't, you could look at his SEC games and go, dude, he's not good enough. He needs to be better. They did this from that point on. Texas did a little bit more of this to end the season. Bama's doing this. Like is the loss to Oklahoma again going to keep him out of the playoff? Like this is going to be fascinating. But if you watch that game, I just think you're Ty Simpson's what he was able to do and how good he was early in the season. They can't be so dependent on him anymore. They're not good enough to just beat you one dimensional. And because of that and because their defense and listen, they've got a lot of injuries too. There's a lot of people With a lot of injuries. But. But they're not. They're not playing great football right now. And Georgia brought them out in a street fight and Alabama wanted no part of it. And listen, Alabama fans, you've had a good run. Like, you've dominated Georgia for a long time. So I know you're not going to be like super upset. But. But you got punk tonight. I mean, you, you got, you got beat up tonight.
C Ball
Yes. And.
It'S. If you're an Alabama fan, you're like, I. And I did see it somewhere. It's like, crap, we should just lost the Iron bowl and Lane would be our coach right now. Just. That's neither here nor there. But anyway, Kirby facing a team again in season like that was sort of one of the things that I felt like would be an issue. It would be a positive in Georgia's light. Let's think back to 2017 when Auburn beat them down at Auburn and then Georgia faced them in the SEC championship game. Remember the score of that game?
Brent
No.
C Ball
30, 28 to 7.
Brent
It's 27.
C Ball
The exact score that we just saw.
Brent
And you know what? Like, to that point, like, here's where I was very curious to. To watch today. I was really curious to watch because Ryan Grubb, who's the offensive coordinator for Alabama, he came from the NFL. You're used to playing teams multiple times a year. Like, that's what you do. Like, obviously he came there. He went there last year. But if I was Alabama, this is what. If they were smart enough to do this, this is what I would have done. Now listen, I'm not saying would have worked because as bad as they got stomped out, but like, I'd have come out, no huddle. I'd have played pitchy, pitchy, woo, woo. I would have tossed the ball all over the place. Like that was my. That's my clear advantage. Horton was a non factor. Bernard was a non factor. The touchdown, like, Ryan Williams had had a couple of big plays, but man, it's just Alabama's got to figure something out. But I, I don't know that they're going to give. Be given the opportunity to figure something out. So it's crazy.
C Ball
So should we, should we go there? Is that. Do you think they are.
Do you think they are in.
How much of the I told you recency bias is going to come into play there versus, hey, we're not going to punish them for being the one seed going in the SEC and all the other things on their resume and things that they did during the season because your first impression of them this season was getting drubbed by Florida impression getting.
Brent
Drubbed well and you've got some commonality too with like, you know, Miami played FSU and took care of business pretty well. Much, much better obviously than you did. They won by a couple touchdowns, you lost by a couple touchdowns. So on that same field I think Miami set can say they played pretty good. Down the stretch. Alabama's leaking oil down the stretch. Now Alabama, here's what you got to consider. Alabama's four game stretch against ranked opponents was the most impressive thing that anybody did all year.
C Ball
And we'll have two team on if Georgia is number two unless they keep Ohio State Indiana one two. So at least three, Georgia's at least three. They beat him on the road, they beat him at their place.
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Brent
We should do our 12 right now. You ready to do our top 12?
C Ball
I mean, let's go, let's see it.
Brent
Let's do, let's do our 12 now. I, I don't know. I don't know if Wesley's here with us or not and what we got. But like Indiana's clearly one. No debate there.
So we're waiting. We're. We'll wait. We'll wait. We'll wait to do it. We'll wait to do it all. We'll start to fill it in a little bit and then we'll get you a graphic with all the, with all the details. But what we have so far is Indiana we know is number one. I think the fun debate will be who's number two. So we might have some.
C Ball
Do you think Ohio, but do you think it just Ohio State drops one or Georgia comes?
Brent
I think I think Ohio State because they've.
Got their loss back, I think. Or I think Georgia because they avenged their only loss, I think Georgia. And because of their wins, I think Georgia will go to the two spot. That's what I think will happen.
C Ball
I mean, what's interesting about that is if they do jump Georgia to 10 or two and they drop Bama to 10 and keep them in because of the. But drop them one back to 10 because of the lost. Now you set up a possible.
Rematch again if Alabama happens to win in round one. But I, I do, I do think Georgia ends up being two. I agree. In the Ohio State. I would, I think they will be three. Yeah.
Brent
And I think the, the matchups obviously with the rankings will matter, but like the, the buys obviously. Listen, this doesn't make me say nobody wants to, to play Ohio State like Ohio State's fricking good. It's still really good. If you think that they're, they suck. You're, you're, you've fallen off a cliff. I think it's more about Indiana. So.
C Ball
All right, so Ohio State's three then for you.
Brent
Ohio State's three, Texas Tech four. Getting the last buy. And I would not Move Texas Tech up higher. Even though Texas Tech has. Probably has a little bit of a gripe too, when you say they beat all dominant opponents by 20 plus points. Now, nobody's. Nobody's also thinking that their schedule was murderers row by any stretch either. But, But I do think that they. We deserve to put Texas Tech there. I think they deserve to be above Oregon. They lost with their backup quarterback. That's their loss to Oregon, lost at home to Indiana. They're at the five spot. It's not a bad loss when that team just went undefeated. Like, that's, that's not bad. You can be okay with that. So you got Oregon at five, Ole Miss at six.
I think I move them up to six. I got Ole Miss at six. Because I think having Charlie Weiss Jr. Is huge. Like, I think it's enormous. He's the guy that's been talking to Trinidad Shambles every game. Like, to have him still in the ear, to have Pete Golding still coaching the defense, I think that's. I think that's absolutely enormous for Ole Miss. 7, Texas A&M. 8, Oklahoma. Good Lord. That's a lot of SEC, which is another reason why you might see Alabama not in there. So you got eight, Oklahoma. I got nine. Miami. So Miami fighting to get in the playoff. Miami now with a nine seed, currently 12th.
C Ball
Like, going into the weekend, they were. They were 12th. They did not play.
Brent
Did not play. And I.
C Ball
Which I actually. Once, once. And we talked about this in the reaction show once they flipped Bama and Notre Dame, like, with the assumption that byu, Texas Tech turned out how it eventually did, which it was. And now you put Notre Dame and Miami side by side. If you're keeping, like, if you're keeping Bama in, then it comes down to Notre Dame and Miami.
Brent
Yeah.
C Ball
And right now you got, you got the Canes.
Brent
I got the Canes at nine. I. I think the Canes, like I said, commonality with, with. With Bama, several really good wins. I think Notre Dame's at 10. I think Notre Dame.
I think Alabama finishing the way that they finished. I think if it was competitive, I was wondering with Kaylin DeBoer, if they were gonna, if they were gonna go for it on 4th and 2 in their own territory or just like try to make this look as close as possible. But they rolled the dice. They went for but a 28 to 7 loss. If you watch the game. Listen, we've heard this committee. Run game, run game, run game. Well, minus 3 yards can't help the run game like that's. Not going to do it for them. So, like, Notre Dame's got a good run game. Notre Dame obviously rattling off a bunch of wins. I think the committee's going to look at what happened. I'm not saying I would do that because I don't think you should be punished for playing on a championship weekend when people are watching. But I do think. No, I think. I think they're going to do this to Bama. And Bama fans might lose their mom mind from last year, too.
C Ball
Like, Greg Sankey might lose his mind.
Brent
Somebody said your mom is a man in the chat. I don't know if. I don't know if they're talking to me, but minus three yards is ridiculous.
But yeah, Notre Dame at 10. Here's where it gets fun. Ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be your college football. This is how it's going to go.
Tulane is going to be the 11 seed in the college football playoffs because we have to take a champion. We have to take.
Yeah, so they're a champion. Guess what? They're in. But who else is in.
A rematch? Ours would be a rematch of Tulane and Ole Miss. Ole Miss beat the brakes off of Tulane. At Tulane. Like, it was a smackdown. Week three, I think, like week three or four with Trinidad. But you've. You've got two group of five people in the playoff. So this might be the most glorious freaking thing that happens to us because now there's going to be so much people, so many people pissed off. We're going to change this. Like, there's going to be serious changes to the College Football Playoff next year, which is fantastic. That's great for all of us. You'd still be the way we're doing it right now, guys, you still have an ACC team in and I think they're going to look at that, Brent. I really do. I think they're going to make sure. I think they're going to make sure that they.
C Ball
That's going to help Miami, I think.
Brent
Yes, I think that helps Miami. I think all of the SEC teams hurts Alabama. I think Notre Dame being Notre Dame, it being close. I think that's what it's going to be right there. I think that's what you got tomorrow, which is absolutely.
C Ball
You want to go Kennesaw State?
Brent
No, no, I'm not going Kennesaw State.
C Ball
That's a big comeback win for the Owls, though.
Brent
Huge comeback win.
C Ball
I watched the end of that game. It was fun.
But yes. Hey.
That. That's what it's going to be. You're gonna get JMU in Tulane.
Brent
College freaking football, man. Like it's drunk. It's awesome. Nil has made this so much more fun for all of us, man. Like now listen, when, when, when we figure out Nil and everybody knows the rules, it'll be different a little bit. But man, it's kind of cool to see all of this stuff. The conference championships are going to go away again. I said highest ranked team from each conference makes more sense to me. It's an easy fix. There's a lot of easy fixes. But how the freak did Virginia lose? How did they lose to Duke? You want to know how they lost? Because Duke had nothing to lose and Duke played like it. They played free. They played aggressive. They, they faked a punt.
They went 3 for 3 on their first fourth downs. They ran the football. They had balance like it was, it was impressive for Duke to watch. They finally won.
C Ball
Turnover battle.
Brent
Yes, they took care of the football. Uh, no, they, they had the 1 pick early, but they, they actually didn't have to pay for it much. But Virginia made, made a few mistakes like that first, first drive, fourth and seven. Duke does a great job on special teams. Draws them off sides, gets a fourth and two, then Duke goes for it. They stay aggressive like and they, they go down the field and they score. They did a good job of containing Chandler Morris. You got to keep that little guy in the pocket. He's not big. Build that fence around him, keep him in the pocket. And then you get more deflections too with his lack of.
Virginia. Man, like unbelievable opportunity to, to close the deal. To get, to make it happen. To, to get the return on investment. God, it's so fitting. It's so.
C Ball
I was speaking of, we have evidently somebody who has watched us throughout the season phone something unit says Duke shot Virginia's toes off.
Brent
Hey, yeah baby.
C Ball
Because that was your comment.
Brent
I forgot my light in the background too, by the way. Just turn the light off.
C Ball
West. Let's, let's take a look at the bracket again because there's some interesting things like if, if that is the bracket, you get A and M and Notre Dame again at College Station.
Brent
Yep.
C Ball
You get, you know, Miami, Oklahoma, like old school blue blood matchup in round one. And then of course you've got. So I think you can already predict that the 710 game or the 89 game, they will be the Friday night and Saturday night games and the 5:12 and the 6:11 games will be these early noon and afternoon games on Saturday. That first, first weekend.
Brent
Yeah. And I think the rematches might have something to do with the seating, too. So it'll be interesting to see how they, how they do that because it's. I mean, I think everybody wants to avoid rematches as much as possible. Obviously Indiana and Ohio State that just played that rematch is, is going to be avoided regardless because Ohio State might be two. I mean, I don't know which they're going to be two or they're going to be three. One of the. One of the two. But.
It'S, it's. It's awesome. Regardless, it's going to be. It's going to be a heck of a lot of fun. We're going to have a lot of. I think we'll have some. I think we'll have more upsets again this year, too. We got to give a shout out to Quentin in the chat because he, he gave some cheddar. So number two, Auburn.
C Ball
Super chat. That's what those things are called by the. That's called just to inform you. Yeah, super chat.
Brent
Well, you should do all those and you should read them, too, because I'm not a very good reader. I played defense. That's why the show. C ball. Get ball. But Auburn 2017 loss SEC championship game idol. Bama makes. Makes it. They beat UGA and Bama earlier that year. Yeah, that's right. No, they beat, they beat Georgia. They beat Georgia and Alabama. Then they lost in the SEC championship game to Georgia and then they sat at home and watched the other two play for a national championship.
C Ball
So do you think, do you think the Georgia fans are going to thoroughly enjoy coming into the comments to talk about your pick against them earlier in the week? They will probably thoroughly enjoy that. I know that.
Brent
I think that. I think they will. But, but, but here's the thing. I don't, I don't know if you do either, but we'll talk about this. It's not like I didn't look at the offense and think this offense is going to be one that's going to hum throughout the playoffs. Like, I think this is an offense that has to win a certain way. And here's the thing. Can anybody take them out of that way? And that's where. That's what will be very interesting to see. Because if you look at everybody, I don't know that there's a lot of teams that can do that. I don't know if there's any teams that can because that 13 personnel is tough. Like, it's really, really tough to stop. And I Think the way they used Branch and Bell. I love the way they use Branch and Bell because if you keep them on different sides too, you can throw it to both sides. You can get out there on the screen game. Both can break tackles, both can make it happen. But now the defense playing the way it is, the special teams being really, really solid but the offense, I just don't know that it's, it's not multifaceted. It's not going to win a shootout, I don't think. But I think it can probably keep them away from playing in a shootout.
C Ball
Well, so let's think about that because like I said, the theme to me of the day was defense and that yeah baby, Ohio State, Indiana, Texas Tech and Georgia, those top four teams and even you could throw Oregon there because they're one of the best teams in terms of limiting explosives and, and stopping the run like there. That's some big time defenses that you are looking at right now that are in the. In offense is going to be tough I think throughout the whole playoff. So maybe that might not necessarily. It's more about situational football than anything. And if you're Georgia situationally I got number one and I can get the ball to that guy and he can make a whole lot of people miss. Like the difference maker Zachariah Branch is, he's always open. He is 711.
All the time. All the time he is.
Brent
But, but I would say that, you know, Georgia gets in third and long. It's, it's, it's going to be tough. And here's the thing. We can, we can be honest and we'll get this number too because, because some people are, are going to say certain things. I'm not going to disparage a kid. I'm not even going to mention his name for, for that sake. But the center that took the place of Bobo, it's not Bobo. It's a very big difference. There's a lot of swings and misses and you play against somebody that's really good inside that can disrupt and stop The Georgia did a great job of getting outside and using their using. They did the read game a little bit. They get the ball in the perimeter. You could, you can manage some of that with your good guard play and good others. But the, and listen, the center's only going to get better to. Is only going to get better like it's, it's.
C Ball
It might not even be him.
Brent
Yeah, that's true. It might not be but you got.
C Ball
That much time now.
Brent
You got some time to Figure it out. Let's get one more. What's it called? Super Chat.
C Ball
Yes, super.
Brent
Yeah, it is. How Miami could jump BYU without Notre Dame jumping Bama. By the same logic.
Obviously, BYU losing badly. Bama losing. So yeah, you could have some, you, you could have that. Like you, you could. That's, that's the whole point. I think like how Miami jumps them is because BYU lost and, and Notre Dame jumping Bama could, could do the same thing because they lost. Like that's. Now listen, the conference championship and the way they view it is one thing, but. All right, we got that. The Phoenix hat. Thank you. Appreciate you, brother. Heisman. I, I, when it comes to the Heisman, man, like, I got to do some soul searching because I got to put my vote in.
But the championship weekend always matters for the Heisman. It always matters, man. Playing in the biggest games and coming up big, we had a lot of guys that were in this thing, a lot of guys to talk about and then slowly it started chipping away. But I'll tell you what, man, it's going to be really hard to ignore the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, the only undefeated team in the nation, and a guy that consistently came up big in big time moments every time they needed it. And I will say this, if you took in, if you took Mr. Mendoza off Indiana, they dang sure ain't undefeated. Like he's big, he's strong, he's tough, he's athletic, makes the throws. But I just, I think Mendoza, because of what he did tonight against Ohio State, who was the best team in the country in a big time stage in the moment. I think my dude just won a Heisman Trophy.
Thank you. I think he literally just won a Heisman Trophy. How about that? Indiana, the number one team in the country with a Heisman Trophy winner this year. That's just awesome. Congratulations.
C Ball
Right, so I have a, I have a former TV guy question for you.
Brent
Okay.
C Ball
How are they going to reveal this tomorrow? Will they wait, like, will it 9 and 10, will it 100? Every 101 show, 11, 12. And then who's, or absolutely.
Brent
Who's gonna ping pong? We're gonna ping pong around until you get to the only argument that is. So you'll show, you'll know the top, you'll know the bottom and then they'll.
C Ball
Show the teams they'll be watching. Kind of like they showed Norvale that one year with when Florida State got left out. Like they'll be there. So you'll have cameras with Miami, camera Bama camera at Notre Dame. Marty Smith will be at Bama. Maybe.
Brent
Who knows, Somebody still might. He might be exhausted from following Lane around for so long. He might need. He might need a break.
C Ball
They will milk the I don't know what out of that.
Brent
Well, listen, that's why you do the show as we should. That's when you pay all that money for it. That's how it should. That's how it should go. Hey, read our other super chat, Brent.
C Ball
I missed it.
Brent
We got another one. We got a. We got. It's the blue one. It's a bright blue and you can't see it.
C Ball
No, it's already Gandhi. Oh, there we go. Today's game. Create two. Yes. Two group of five teams in the field. I think so. Appreciate you. Yeah.
Brent
Produced two group of fives in the 12 team playoff in a, in a. In a sport that, that prides itself on getting the best. And we expanded and we talk all the time about who the best are and we want to get the best in. We're going to have two group of five teams in the College Football Playoff. In the 12 team College Football Playoff, you're going to have two group of five teams. Like that's not getting the best team any way, shape or form. Last year we screwed up the how we got, gave away the buys. We fixed that next year we'll have to fix that now. Like that can't happen. There's no way that can happen. And you guys sleep well tonight. And because tomorrow all you guys that cheered against B or cheered for Texas Tech to beat the crud out of BYU and cheered for Georgia to beat the crud out of Alabama, both of them happened. And there's so many teams that are still in this thing that are hoping for it. And we'll join you guys tomorrow. Man, why not, right? We'll jump on it tomorrow, talk about all the rankings, talk about the matchups. It'll be absolutely fascinating. Man, we can't thank y' all enough for joining us all throughout the season we just keep growing. So keep, keep hitting that like rate, subscribe, keep watching us, man. We really, really appreciate it here at C ball. Get ball. And no fluff, just football. Man. We're not going to. No, no, no preconceived notions. We're not trying to pour anything down your throat. We're just going to talk football and we'll be here tomorrow to do it. So thank you all so much. Have a great night. Sleep tight.
C Ball
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Date: December 7, 2025
Host: David Pollack
Summary by Podcast Summarizer
In this championship weekend special, David Pollack and his co-host break down the chaos and drama from the College Football Conference Championships. They offer instant reactions to the decisive games, analyze what these results mean for the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) field, dissect standout individual performances (especially Heisman candidates), and debate the resurgence of defense across the nation. Pollack reveals his full CFP 12 rankings, spotlights coaches and players who made headlines, and brings his classic blend of passionate, straight-shooting analysis and insider knowledge.
Memorable Quote:
Notable Quote:
Quote:
Notable Ranking Snippet:
- Top 5, per Pollack: Indiana, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas Tech, Oregon ([39:52], Pollack)
The episode delivers the raw energy, authenticity, and deep football knowledge Pollack is known for. He balances critique, celebration, personal insights, and a few pointed jabs—especially at underperforming teams and playoff quirks. The overall mood is celebratory (for teams that shocked the world), incredulous (at playoff outcomes and formats), and reverential (towards programs and coaches achieving dramatic turnarounds).
“College freaking football, man. Like it’s drunk. It’s awesome.” – Pollack ([45:12])
For those who missed the games, Pollack’s detailed breakdown provides not just box scores but context, emotion, and explanations for every major outcome of conference championship weekend and what’s next for the playoff and Heisman chase.