College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Picks for the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: The Bill and Doug Show – College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Picks (12/31/2025)

Podcast: The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
Episode: College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Picks for the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl
Hosts: Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis
Date: December 31, 2025

---

Overview

In this episode, Doug and Bill bring their signature combination of banter, Ohio State insight, and conference skepticism as they preview and pick the three non-Ohio State College Football Playoff quarterfinal games: the Orange Bowl (Oregon vs. Texas Tech), Rose Bowl (Indiana vs. Alabama), and Sugar Bowl (Georgia vs. Ole Miss). They also weave in live commentary during the tail end of the Vanderbilt-Iowa bowl and riff on southern football bias and ESPN’s treatment of the SEC.

The tone is irreverent yet informed, with the hosts unafraid to take shots at prevailing narratives while providing reasoned football analysis and picks.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Vanderbilt-Iowa Watch-Along & Big Ten vs. SEC “Midness” (01:38–06:26)

• Vanderbilt-Iowa ongoing: The hosts joke about the absurdity of staking reputations on the game’s outcome, underscoring that Vandy's 10–2 record versus Iowa's 8–4 is not really a playoff-level debate.

  • "It is not great to stake so much of your personal reputation and frankly your personality on a Vanderbilt Iowa game." — Bill Landis (02:11)

• Big Ten bowl dominance: The Big Ten stands at 6–1 in bowls; the SEC is 2–5 (only beating Tulane and Oklahoma), a stat repeatedly used to highlight perceived conference “midness.”

• Critique of national narratives:

  • Bill and Doug challenge the idea that close losses to teams like Indiana or Oregon mean the Big Ten is weak, or that the SEC deserves blanket deference.
  • They lampoon the idea that postseason performance should be the ultimate referendum on conference strength, while also noting that bowl success hasn't meaningfully changed how the national media views these leagues.

Orange Bowl: Oregon vs. Texas Tech Preview & Picks (06:26–10:17)

• Line, total, and teams: Oregon favored by 2.5 points over Texas Tech; total at 51.5.
• Defensive edge: Doug expects a low-scoring affair, arguing Texas Tech's defense will “translate,” even if Oregon’s offense is more talented than Big 12 teams they’ve faced.
  • Injured Oregon receivers are back, but Doug downplays their impact, noting they’re not even listed as questionable.
• Talent and style: Oregon earns praise as a “lurker” all year, balanced on both sides, but with its national profile subdued post-Indiana loss.
  • "There’s a lot of good for Oregon that has not really been a primary discussion point... Maybe the most of any team in the field, to be honest." — Doug Lay (09:00)
• Picks:
  • Bill: Oregon 24–14
  • Doug: Oregon 24–20
    Both take Oregon to cover and the under.

Rose Bowl: Indiana vs. Alabama Preview & Picks (10:43–15:35)

• Indiana as favorite: Indiana is a 7.5 point favorite with a 47.5 total—remarkable given the historical “Alabama mystique.”
• Coaching mentalities:
  • Kurt Signetti (Indiana) is described as “locked in” and possibly manufacturing 'game face' for his team, compared to early Jim Harbaugh.
    • "I think the Kurt Signetti transition has happened more quickly. But I think he believes it this year because I think when you have a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback... I think at this point... his team has confidence." — Bill Landis (12:05)
• Why Indiana is for real: The hosts cite Indiana’s road wins and belief in both sides of the ball.
  • Alabama's roster talent is acknowledged, but their inconsistent play throughout the year is a red flag.
• Injuries: Indiana’s defensive line is thin, but Alabama hasn’t run effectively; both Bill and Doug think Indiana’s defensive scheme is an advantage.
• Picks:
  • Doug: Indiana 28–20
  • Bill: Indiana 31–20
    Both see Indiana covering and a slight lean to the over.

Interlude: ESPN/SEC “Midness Conspiracy” Rant (16:29–22:10)

• Critical Moment: Bill rails against an ESPN article claim that the “SEC is the undisputed king” of college football based on all-time bowl records, arguing it’s a deliberate distraction from the SEC’s current mediocre postseason.
  • "This is a covert operation to flood Google with secret headlines so that people don’t stumble upon the actual fact that the SEC, as we speak right now, is 2 and 5 in bowl games..." — Bill Landis (21:37)
  • Doug finds the whole thing amusing, while still worrying ESPN might come after Bill for “unearthing the truth.”
• Live Update: Iowa pulls away from Vanderbilt, much to Bill’s satisfaction (“My self-worth has been raised.” — 20:13).

Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Ole Miss Preview & Picks (22:10–23:27)

• Line, total, narrative: Georgia favored by 6.5; total is 55.5.
• Coaching/rosters:
  • Hosts note Georgia has improved all year and is tough to beat twice.
  • Ole Miss’ offensive staff (soon headed to LSU) is distracted and potentially conflicted.
  • Gunner Stockton’s four-TD performance in a previous meeting is cited.
• Picks:
  • Doug: Georgia 35–17 (“I think Kirby [Smart] is going to put Pete Golding in a dumpster.” — 23:08)
  • Bill: Georgia 30–23 (sees it closer, but stays with Georgia to cover or push)
• Summary: The hosts repeat their theme: the SEC is “mid,” and ESPN is trying to cover it up—a narrative they've resurfaced throughout this and prior episodes.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• "It is not great to stake so much of your personal reputation and frankly your personality on a Vanderbilt Iowa game."
  — Bill Landis (02:11)
• "I think Vanderbilt being left out of the playoff potentially being viewed as an injustice against the American way of life."
  — Bill Landis (03:49)
• "This is midness on display."
  — Doug Lay (06:13)
• "There’s a lot of good for Oregon that has not really been a primary discussion point... Maybe the most of any team in the field, to be honest."
  — Doug Lay (09:00)
• "I think at this point... his team has confidence. And I think Kirk Signetti thinks they’re the best team in the country and they’re going to win the national championship."
  — Bill Landis (12:05)
• "This is a covert operation to flood Google with secret headlines so that people don’t stumble upon the actual fact that the SEC, as we speak right now, is 2 and 5 in bowl games..."
  — Bill Landis (21:37)
• "I think Kirby’s going to put Pete Golding in a dumpster."
  — Doug Lay (23:08)

---

Picks Recap

| Game | Bill's Pick | Doug's Pick | Both Agree | |--------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|------------| | Oregon vs. Texas Tech (Orange) | Oregon 24–14 | Oregon 24–20 | Yes | | Indiana vs. Alabama (Rose) | Indiana 31–20 | Indiana 28–20 | Yes | | Georgia vs. Ole Miss (Sugar) | Georgia 30–23 | Georgia 35–17 | Yes |

---

Segment Timestamps

• Vandy-Iowa banter, Big Ten/SEC discussion: 01:38–06:26
• Orange Bowl breakdown & picks: 06:26–10:17
• Rose Bowl breakdown & picks: 10:43–15:35
• ESPN “midness” conspiracy and rant: 16:29–22:10
• Sugar Bowl breakdown & picks: 22:10–23:27

---

Final Thoughts

Doug and Bill deliver playoff picks with conviction and plenty of conference bias snark, but always rooted in on-field analysis. The episode’s sharpest edge is reserved for the ongoing narrative battle over the SEC’s reputation, with Bill’s ESPN tirade providing both comic and cultural commentary. For fans looking for insight, entertainment, and a little truth-telling, this is a quintessential Bill and Doug installment.

---

Transcript

[Bill Landis]

The holidays mean more travel, more shopping, more time online and more personal info in more places that could expose you more to identity theft. But LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our US based restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed your money back. Don't face drained accounts, fraudulent loans or financial losses alone. Get more holiday fun and less Holiday worry with LifeLock. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com SpecialOffer Terms Apply Having the.

[State Farm Announcer]

Right people in your corner for life's biggest milestones makes all the difference. Like a friend who's there when you're house hunting or checking out a new ride, State Farm is there too, helping you choose the coverage you need. With a State Farm agent, you know someone is there to help you along the way. And with so many coverage options, it's nice knowing you have help choosing a plan that fits your needs so you can continue celebrating all of life's milestones. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Lowe's Announcer]

The Lowe's closeout event means the final savings of the season are here. It's your last chance to get deals on seasonal decor, tools, flooring and so much more. Refresh your home, check off your project list or simply stock up on the brands you trust. Shop now to grab amazing deals before they're gone. Lowe's we help you Save valid through 17. Selection varies by location while supplies last.

[Bill Landis]

Welcome back to the Bill and Doug Show. Back in the Cotton bowl hallway but not talking about the Cotton Bowl. We will be covering the Cotton Bowl New Year's Eve. Doug Douglas and bill Landis at AT&T Stadium. We'll have a live post game show on this YouTube feed. It'll be on this podcast feed as soon as possible right after the game. We already did our picks in the big game breakdown for Ohio State and Miami. Now we're picking the other three quarterfinals. But also this is also simultaneously a live watch along of Vanderbilt Iowa.

[Doug Lay]

Oh, it is. Do we have it on?

[Bill Landis]

It is not great to stake so much of your personal reputation and frankly your personality on a Vanderbilt Iowa game. But I but I need my boy Kirk to come through here against Diego and the fellas.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah. Yeah. So as we speak, Iowa up by a touchdown with 11 minutes left. I don't know, I kind of feel like the fact that it's a game is already a win for Iowa. Right? Vanderbilt on the precipice of making the playoff. Vanderbilt with 10 wins. Vanderbilt with a Heisman Trophy finalist at quarterback. Of course they would have taken care of Iowa that has not happened speaking.

[Bill Landis]

My language, because I don't think it. And so Vanderbilt at 10 and 2, we're not here to make a case that 8 and 4 Iowa should have made the playoff. No, Iowa lost to Iowa State in the non conference. They lost to Indiana, Oregon and USC and conference play. But they played Indiana down to the wire. They played Oregon even more down to the wire. Both those games in Kinnick Stadium. And again, like, I don't know if people watch those results and thought, man, the Big Ten really does have some good teams. And those are great wins by Oregon and Indiana to survive in Kinnick against a fundamentally sound team with a great defense that always has a great defense and a good offensive line. They won the Moore Award.

[Doug Lay]

Yes, they did win the Joe Moore Award. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Best offensive line in the country. A real run game and then a veteran quarterback that they brought in, a Mark Granowski. That made them more competent. That position, man, I was 8 and 4 and you are your record. But that's a great team. And those were great. Oregon and Indiana wins. That was the vibe. Yes.

[Doug Lay]

I don't recall that being the vibe. No.

[Bill Landis]

But I do recall the vibe of I believe Vanderbilt being left out of the playoff potentially being viewed as an injustice against the American way of life. And so I think this is a fair matchup. But again, I, I just to reiterate, we are probably not going to hang in here till the end of this game if we're not Vanderbilt.

[Grainger Announcer]

1.

[Bill Landis]

Delete this podcast. If Vanderbilt won, delete this podcast. It's a meaningless bowl game. Bowl games don't matter if Iowa won. It is a final referendum on the strength of the Big Ten and the midness of the sec.

[Doug Lay]

That's exactly how it's done. Good job.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. As we record this, the Big Ten is six and one in bowl play. Usc, which frankly I don't is USC even in the Big Ten.

[Doug Lay]

When it's good for the big time.

[Bill Landis]

USC lost to TCU in a overtime.

[Doug Lay]

Shootout, tackling display, bad defense.

[Bill Landis]

But six and one for the Big Ten as we speak and two and five for the SEC. And just to remind everyone, those two SEC wins were against a G6 opponent in a playoff first round in Tulane. Doesn't mean they don't belong there. But we're just saying. And they. Somebody had to win when Alabama played Oklahoma and Frank.

[Doug Lay]

Oh, we're counting those.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. You count those? No, those are the two. Those are the only two. Those are the SEC bowl wins. They're not bowl.

[Doug Lay]

They're not bowl Games, postseason, sure.

[Bill Landis]

But they're not in a bowl game. In a bowl game where you go play in a bowl and you get a bag of goodies. Right. And there's a. They dump food on your coach at the end. They haven't won any of those. Yeah, they've won zero food dumping games.

[Doug Lay]

I like it more that they haven't won a bowl game. I think we should say it that way and not give them credit for the playoff games.

[Bill Landis]

Like the way you think.

[Doug Lay]

All right.

[Bill Landis]

Winless and bowl season, the sec, it is at least a gentle reminder. Right. We can't pretend that it's as much of a conference. You know, I don't want to keep using referendum, but like this conference is better than that conference because of bold play, because guys opt out. And it's not quite the same. But I think Vanderbilt Iowa means something. I think Illinois over Tennessee meant something. Just like Illinois shoving South Carolina in a trash can last year meant. Meant something. And. And I keep waiting. We keep waiting. You keep waiting for the day when those things affect how people view stuff. Because this year people viewed the SEC as having seven playoff worthy teams and the Big Ten is having three. And that just was never correct. And I hope, I hope this is midness on display.

[Doug Lay]

It is midness on display. It's just a matter of. It's absorbed that way by the people we needed to be absorbed by. And I guarantee you it won't be. Yeah, they'll be back next year saying the same dumb stuff.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. If. What do you call it if an SEC team loses at 11:59pm Midnight. Midness. Okay, let's make some picks. The three games that will be played on Thursday after this New Year's Eve game with Ohio State, Miami, 3 New Year's Day games in the playoff. The first is in the Orange Bowl. It's Oregon and Texas Tech. Texas Tech, the 4 seed, was off in the last round. Oregon beat James Madison. Oregon is favored by two and a half. Bill Landis. And this is. This is a pretty healthy total. I think it's 51 and a half is the total. So people are expecting some points in this one. Are you expecting some points?

[Doug Lay]

No, not really.

[Bill Landis]

I don't.

[Doug Lay]

To expect points in a game like this, I think is to acknowledge in some way that Texas Tech's defensive numbers are inflated by being in the Big 12.

[Bill Landis]

Oh, you going there?

[Doug Lay]

No, I'm not. Okay. I think, I think if you're expecting points, I think. I think you're in some way saying that. I think Texas Tech's defense is very good and that it will translate to a game against a Big Ten opponent. An opponent with more offensive firepower probably than any of the teams that Texas Tech has played up until this point. But still. Still really good. Yeah. So I know I am not. I'm not expecting a high scoring game.

[Bill Landis]

Okay. We are expecting some of the injured Oregon receivers to be back. The injury report. Gary Bryant Jr. Should be good to go. Decorian Moore, who's been out for a while.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Good to go.

[Doug Lay]

Those guys aren't even on the report, so they don't have an injury designation, which means they should be available. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. Did a big breakdown on our substack page. And certainly as you watch this, we. We always would invite you to go join us on our. On our substack page. We recover Ohio State primarily, but I did write a piece over there earlier this week about sort of the breakdown of which playoff teams really rely on transfers, which rely more on recruiting. Texas Tech, clearly a very heavy transfer team. Oregon, more of a recruiting team, but like, they probably are the. The team that's most in the middle of these situations. But I do think. I think we viewed Oregon sort of as a lurker since the preseason, since Big Ten media days when we were kind of like, hey, you know what, let's not forget about Oregon.

[Doug Lay]

Sure.

[Bill Landis]

And I think I am kind of in that same place. They have one loss to the undefeated number one team in the country. It was at home. It was a pretty dominant Indiana effort. But there's a lot of good for Oregon that has not really been a primary discussion point, I think, of any of this playoff stuff.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah. But I think I understand why is because they lost that game and then they started getting banged up and they were kind of just going through the motions. They didn't really play like a kind of a marquee game after that. They played the game in Iowa that you referenced. But I don't know. I think people were tuning into that to see whether or not they might actually lose. But, like, it wasn't billed as like a big game really going into it. So they've just been kind of like, out of sight, out of mind, I think, for a little bit. Maybe the most of any team in the field, to be honest. But I. Yeah. And I think that's probably to Oregon's benefit. Right. They probably would prefer that, especially coming off of how things ended for them last year. But they're about as talented as anyone in the playoff. Right. And they're balanced on Both sides of the ball. I do wonder what exactly Oregon's defensive ceiling is, but I also think Texas Tech's offense is not great. So it probably doesn't really matter all that much in this game.

[Bill Landis]

Worst offense in the remaining eight teams belongs to Texas Tech. I do think that's going to matter here. We're not going to go. We did a 90 minutes just on Ohio State, Miami, because we dove into that. We're not diving in on this. I'll take 2414.

[Doug Lay]

Oregon 2420. Oregon 2420. Okay. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

So this is. This is Oregon minus two and a half. So we have Oregon covering both and we're both on the under pretty easily.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. It'll be really. It's gonna be maybe, maybe the best, like, line of scrimmage matchup in the quarterfinals and perhaps of the entire playoff. Texas Tech's defensive line against Oregon's offensive line be good stuff.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. Okay. And again like that. That's a place where that's. That's a transfer built defensive line for Texas. Second and transfer built offensive line for Oregon.

[Doug Lay]

They added. Yeah. Two tackles, two tackles on the guard. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

So, okay, let's do the Rose Bowl. This is the second game on New Year's Day. Indiana is a seven and a half point favorite over Alabama. And the Alabama Mystique, 47 and a half is the total. I think a lot of people have seen that. Kurt Signetti. Click clip being asked by a. I think an Alabama reporter about Alabama's mystique. And he said, you probably know more about the mystique than our players do. They just see what's on film.

[Doug Lay]

Yes. Did you see what he said? The head coach's press conference for that game was on Wednesday, and I think it was in his opening remarks, Kurt Signetti just said, this is disruptive. We have some things we need to shop once we get done with this. Like the last two days of the media day and then the head coach's press conference, like, he's angry that he's had to do it.

[Bill Landis]

Oh, for real?

[Doug Lay]

Because it's interrupting his game prep for Alabama.

[Bill Landis]

Oh, my God. Okay, so Kirk Signetti, game face, is locked in.

[Doug Lay]

Yes, very much so. Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

That feels bad for Alabama, right?

[Doug Lay]

Yeah. I don't know. I mean, I always wonder with him. Like, is he, Is he. Is he leaning into the character a little bit? I don't. I don't know. But maybe it's bad for Alabama. Alabama's. Have we talked about this? I think when we previewed the Alabama, Oklahoma game. Kaylin DeBoer is pretty good with extra time too, to prepare too. So I don't want to be dismissive of that. Like, yes, Kurt Signetti has his game face on. I'm not sure that Kaylin DeBoer has a game phase, but he's usually pretty good when he's got extra time.

[Bill Landis]

I think Kurt Signetti, and it reminds me a little bit of Jim Harbaugh, right, that I think you get to a place and you're trying to change culture and you're trying maybe to take some of the attention off your players and take the heat on yourself. And so maybe I think you with purpose say some outlandish things or maybe, you know, behave in a way that's going to draw attention so that people aren't zeroing in on your guys. I think Harbaugh did it for a couple years at Michigan a little bit crazy, like a fox, you know, climbing trees and taking off a shirt and all those things until he felt like they had the players who could compete. And then he started coaching and doing the other stuff. But so I think that, I think the Kurt Signetti transition has happened more quickly. But I think he was, I think he was kind of the Kurt Signetti Halloween costume last year. But I think he believes it this year because I think when you have a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, when you have those receivers that you believe in, when you have a two headed running back situation that you believe in, I think the offensive line is probably better than last year. You have an all Big Ten guy in Carter Smith. You added a guy like Pat Coogan in the transfer portal and then like you have a defensive identity, you believe in your coordinators. I think at this point, I think last year Kurt Signetti said things to try to give his team confidence. I think he says things this year because his team has confidence. And I think Kirk Signetti thinks they're the best team in the country and they're going to win the national championship.

[Doug Lay]

Yeah, I think he has reason to believe that. I think he, he, he's not really set. Even, even the thing he said about Alabama, like I don't.

[Bill Landis]

Just facts.

[Doug Lay]

I don't think he was trying to talk trash there. I think he was just stating facts. Right. They don't talk about Alabama that way. So other than that, like he hasn't really said anything super inflammatory this year and they should be confident. For me it's like less about what they have is like what they've done. They won at Austin and they beat Ohio State. What more could you ask of them? Of course they're confident going into this and they have the whatever. I don't know. I guess you can look at like blue chip ratio or whatever and say like Alabama still has a better roster. Indiana certainly played better more consistently than Alabama has this year.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, I guess you could ask Indiana to run through the meat grinder of an SEC schedule. You could ask that. Hey, you don't know what it's like to play Mississippi State, Kentucky and Florida in consecutive weeks. That is. No, I don't know if this is close. Do you think this is close?

[Doug Lay]

Yeah, I don't know that. I don't think Indiana is going to run him off the field. I think Indiana can cover the seven and a half, but I don't know that this is Indiana wins by three touchdowns kind of game.

[Bill Landis]

Okay, so what's your pick?

[Doug Lay]

My pick? Great question. I'm a little worried about the defensive injuries for Indiana. Defensive end Stephen Daly out and I was actually in the process of like looking up some stuff. I was reminded then mid season Indiana also lost Kellen Wyatt, another really good defensive lineman who played pretty well against Oregon and then got, I think he got hurt in that game. So they just don't have a lot of defensive line depth. I wonder how that might show up. But Alabama hasn't really run the ball on anybody this year, so I'm not super worried about that. And I still think they can get after and confuse Ty Simpson. But I, I guess I have it pretty close. But I have Indiana covering. I have 28, 20. Oh great.

[Bill Landis]

I have 3120. So I'm like right in the same range. We're both slightly on the over and we'll both take Indiana minus seven and a half.

[Grainger Announcer]

If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[Bill Landis]

Okay, Sugar bowl, which I care the least about, but I do care about this game which is the defining moment in my life. How's Iowa, Vanderbilt looking? That's happening. Is there a field goal? Does someone kick a field goal? There's two timeouts here, back to back. Oh my God, the drama. Ole Miss, Georgia.

[Doug Lay]

How do people follow a game on ESPN's Gamecast?

[Bill Landis]

Well, you were just looking. You said you looked at the thing. There were 11 minutes left and I told you there were 46.

[Doug Lay]

46 seconds left. Yeah, can.

[Bill Landis]

Oh, I wanted to bring this up, by the way, also. So in the course of like trying to double check the SEC's midness, I've been Googling, you know, just to double check. I think I have the bowl records, right? But I've been googling college football bowl records, college football conference bowl records. And so I think people know how search engine optimization works now, SEO. And you try to put, you know, words that people are looking for on the Internet, put them in your headline so they show up when it's time for your. When you're doing the Googling. So there's a headline that comes up frequently when I've been doing this search and the headline is college football conferences with the best bowl game records. Would you assume that then this is a story about which conferences this year, right now have the best records in this bowl season?

[Doug Lay]

I would make that assumption.

[Bill Landis]

I think it's a fair assumption. This is what it is. The Southeastern Conference is the undisputed king of major college football. The SEC has been especially dominant of late. Teams from the conference have won 14 national championships since the turn of the 21st century. Alabama has accounted for six other teams. But has the SEC been the king of the overall college football bowl season? Here's a look at the conferences with the best records in bowl games. Minimum 25 bowl appearances. And this is a list of how what everyone's bowl record is in the history of bowls. And it begins with the line, the Southeastern Conference is the undisputed king of major college football and then runs through all the national championships the SEC has won this century. It is not information about the SEC's 2 and 5 record in bowl games this year. It is not information that notes that the sec, for instance, has, has not won the last two national championships. Do you want to guess what website this is on ESPN, ESPN.com they are working the Google machine to prop up ancient SEC history. I think this was anticipatory midness control. They had an AMC meeting at espn.

[Doug Lay]

Listen, I don't, I don't know about this.

[Bill Landis]

Tennessee, Illinois matchup probably isn't going to go very well. What can we do? Let's think of the things that we can put on the Internet to trick people into reading them right now that we can lead with the sentence the Southeastern Conference is the undisputed king of major college football. Because you know what that is? It's a lie. That's a lie.

[Doug Lay]

Was that written this year?

[Bill Landis]

Yes, it was. Written by a human or robot? A human robot this year. It was written on December 30th of this year. And I am wound up about it, Bill.

[Doug Lay]

I can tell.

[Bill Landis]

I find it to be disingenuous and I find it to be like it's working pretty hard to make a point that no one cares about. Because right now on New Year's Eve 2025, nobody's like, hey, do you know what Georgia's all time bowl record is? Or the SEC? Do you know that the SEC is 1,613 and 1,412 in bowl game? Nobody care. Except apparently ESPN, which is trying to write that lead sentence, which again is a falsehood. I can't. Oh, there's a 15 yard penalty on somebody.

[Doug Lay]

Iowa kick the field goal. They're up 10 with four minutes left.

[Bill Landis]

Oh, okay. My self worth has been raised. How about this? What a journey Kirk Ferenc and I have been on, right?

[Doug Lay]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Now we're brothers. We're brothers and big I think.

[Doug Lay]

I bet he feels it on the sideline right now. Doug is cheering for Got your back.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. Kf. Who's going to win? Georgia. Ole Miss. I like to call them old mid sometimes. I guess Georgia is going to win, right?

[Doug Lay]

I think Georgia is going to win. Georgia strikes me as a team that's probably tough to beat twice. Or they didn't beat him, but almost beat them. Almost. Almost beat them. They were up touchdown going into the fourth quarter. In the September game, Georgia outscored almost 17 to nothing in the fourth quarter and won that game. Gunner Stockton threw four touchdowns in that game, including two in the fourth quarter. That was Kirby Smart against Lane Kiffin. This is Kirby Smart against Pete golding. And apparently LSU's soon to be offensive staff, which is coaching the offense for Ole Miss in this game, is like simultaneously trying to steal players while preparing them to play against Georgia. It doesn't really seem like everything's coming together for Ole Miss to win this game.

[Bill Landis]

No. All right. This sec, this Big Ten, this sec, ESPN story. They then list the best records for conferences all time. The only three conferences they list are the sec, the Mountain west and the Sunbelt because those are the three conferences with the best all time bowl records they claim. Nobody wants this information.

[Doug Lay]

This feels like an incomplete story that maybe shouldn't have been published, but it.

[Bill Landis]

Says it was written and published December 30, 2025 at 9:00pm this is a cover. This is a covert operation to flood Google with secret headlines so that people don't stumble upon the actual fact that the SEC, as we speak right now, is 2 and 5 in bowl games and perhaps headed for 2 and 6 as Heisman runner up Diego Pavia gets kirked, gets Parkered. You got Phil Parker.

[Doug Lay]

Phil Parker.

[Bill Landis]

My God. I don't like. I'm not a conspiracy guy.

[Doug Lay]

This feels like one.

[Bill Landis]

This feels like one. Yeah. All right. If you work for ESPN.com and you would like to defend yourself against these charges of search engine conspiracies, please contact Chief Content Officer Bill Landis at the Bill and Doug Show. All right, Ole Miss, Georgia. This game is six and a half. Georgia is favored by six and a half. The over under is 55 and a half. This is going to be on late in the night on New Year's Day. What's your pick?

[Doug Lay]

Georgia 35. 17.

[Bill Landis]

35, 17. Okay. This is one of those. Like, this is. Ole Miss is a little lopsided. I'm curious how much Ole Miss can score. I know people think like, the Georgia defense has been coming on. Georgia overall has been coming on. Right. There's what they are statistically over the course of the year, but they're playing better as of late. Gunner Stockton again kind of bailed them out sometimes. I'll take. I'll take. I'm right on the number. If I do that, I'll take 30, 23, Georgia.

[Doug Lay]

So you think it's competitive?

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, I do think it's.

[Doug Lay]

I think Kirby's going to put Pete Golding in a dumpster.

[Bill Landis]

Really?

[Doug Lay]

Yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Okay. I mean, I can't do. I said Ole Miss would lose to Tulane and now I can't be like. But I think they'll beat Georgia. So those are our picks. Again, we are mostly here to alert you about two facts. That the SEC is mid and that ESPN is trying to cover that up.

[Doug Lay]

You've unearthed the truth. I hope they don't come after you.

[Bill Landis]

I actually love it.

[Doug Lay]

That happens sometimes.

[Bill Landis]

I kind of want people to come after me. I'm old. What else is there? I'm on. I'm on the downside.

[Doug Lay]

Like, you can yell at Jake Trotter. He's here.

[Bill Landis]

Jake. Nope. No, he's not in this hallway, though.

[Doug Lay]

He's not in the. No, no, sorry. He's not in the hallway.

[Bill Landis]

Also, Jake Trotter, great guy.

[Doug Lay]

He's just here in Texas.

[Bill Landis]

I'm sure he's not responsible for this.

[Doug Lay]

He's got to stand for it.

[Bill Landis]

Okay? You have to. You are responsible for everything that your company does at every level, which is like we. You are. Which makes you responsible for everything I do.

[Doug Lay]

I know.

[Bill Landis]

Good luck. All right, that's it. We'll see you guys after the Ohio State, Miami Cotton bowl here on this YouTube channel. We always appreciate you guys being here. For now, he's Bill Landis. I'm Doug Lay. Maurice. And that was the Bill and Doug Show.

[Grainger Announcer]

If you're a maintenance supervisor for a commercial property, you've had to deal with everything from leaky faucets to flickering light bulbs. But. But nothing's worse than that ancient boiler that's lived in the building since the day it was built 50 years ago. It's enough to make anyone lose their cool. That's where Grainger comes in. With industrial grade products and dependable, fast delivery, Grainger can help with any challenge, from worn out components to everyday necessities. Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[State Farm Announcer]

Shopify helps you sell at every stage of your business. Like that. Let's put it online and see what happens.

[Bill Landis]

Stage and the site is live that.

[State Farm Announcer]

We we opened a store and need a fast checkout. Stage thanks. You're all set. That count it up and ship it.

[Bill Landis]

Around the globe Stage this one's going to Thailand.

[State Farm Announcer]

And that. Wait, did we just hit a million orders? Stage Whatever your Stage Businesses that grow grow with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 a month [e-mail] listen.