Local Hour: The Miami-Alabama Debate

Summary

Summary of "Local Hour: The Miami-Alabama Debate" Episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Release Date: December 4, 2024
Episode: Local Hour: The Miami-Alabama Debate
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Greg Cody, Jessica, Mike Ryan

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1. Introduction to the Debate

The episode kicks off with the hosts diving straight into the hot topic of the season: whether the University of Miami or the University of Alabama deserves a spot in the College Football Playoffs. This debate centers around Miami's strong offensive performance contrasted with their two critical losses, and Alabama's consistent reputation despite a surprising defeat to Oklahoma.

2. Miami vs. Alabama: Analyzing the Candidates

Miami's Season Highlights and Setbacks:

• Dominant Offense: Miami boasts one of the best offenses in the nation, led by standout quarterback Cam Ward, whose performance has been lauded as "one of the greatest offenses in the history of college football" ([32:03]).
• Critical Losses: Miami's two losses—to Syracuse and Georgia Tech—are pivotal. The blowout loss from a 21-point lead against Syracuse, culminating in a botched field goal attempt, significantly impacted their playoff chances ([23:20], [38:11]).

Alabama's Season Performance:

• Strong Resume: Alabama has a solid record, including victories over Georgia, South Carolina, and LSU. However, their unexpected loss to Oklahoma raised questions about their consistency ([24:56], [28:50]).
• Playoff Committee Bias: The hosts discuss potential biases within the playoff selection committee, suggesting Alabama might receive favoritism due to their historical prestige and media presence ("a made for television event") ([42:15], [43:02]).

Notable Quotes:

• Stugotz emphasizes Miami's near misses: “Miami is out because they blew a 21-point lead to Syracuse. They did all the right things except hold on to that big lead” ([23:20]).
• Greg Cody criticizes the playoff committee's decisions: “The committee was afraid to see what kind of clock management Mario could be capable of in a playoff game” ([37:02]).
• Dan Le Batard acknowledges Alabama's strengths but questions their recent performance: “Alabama may not make it right because if Clemson wins, Clemson's SMU is probably going to get, you know, the spot Clemson is going to get the bye week probably with the ACC championship game” ([27:14]).

3. Broader Implications and Additional Team Discussions

BYU's Season:

• BYU's impressive 10-2 record and strong performances are highlighted, noting that despite their success, they are overshadowed by Miami and Alabama in playoff considerations ([08:46]).

Conference Strengths and Weaknesses:

• The hosts debate the impact of conference strength on playoff selections, criticizing the SEC's fluctuations and the perceived decline of other conferences like the ACC ([24:56], [26:10]).

Notable Quotes:

• Stugotz on conference dynamics: “This conference is really hard when SMU just strolls into it and goes to the conference championship in its first year” ([26:10]).
• Jessica underscores the issue with non-Power Five teams: “The problem is not Miami, Alabama. The problem is Boise State. Why do we need Boise State or a team like Boise State in the playoff?” ([35:41]).

4. Personal Anecdotes and Humorous Segments

Dan's Thanksgiving Story: Dan shares a personal and humorous anecdote about a heated Thanksgiving game against Notre Dame, where tensions ran high as his family debated questionable refereeing decisions ([09:16]-[11:32]).

"50 Shades of Grey" Reading Segment: In a surprising and comedic interlude, the hosts read passages from "Fifty Shades of Grey," adding humor and light-heartedness to the intense debate ([11:36]-[16:07], [34:20]-[46:25]).

Notable Quotes:

• Stugotz introduces the segment: “Have you ever heard this, Jez? Would you like to?” ([11:36]).
• Greg Cody humorously reacts to the readings: “I can't tell you how not funny that is to me” ([12:18]).

5. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with the hosts reiterating their frustration over Miami's exclusion from the playoffs despite their offensive prowess and competitive record. They express disappointment in the playoff selection process, highlighting the arbitrary nature of current criteria and the influence of historical biases.

Final Notable Quotes:

• Stugotz laments Miami's missed opportunity: “Miami had it there for them. All they had to do was hold on to that lead. And ultimately that is probably going to haunt me for years” ([27:14]).
• Dan Le Batard questions the integrity of the selection process: “How much time went off the clock though before the field goal came? The other part of it though, it was just a slow non urgent” ([38:39]).

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Key Takeaways

• Miami's Exclusion: The hosts argue that Miami's strong offense and narrow losses should warrant a playoff spot, criticizing the committee's decision.
• Alabama's Position: While recognizing Alabama's achievements, the hosts question whether one loss, especially to a weaker team like Oklahoma, justifies their playoff inclusion over Miami.
• Playoff System Flaws: There's a consensus among hosts that the current playoff selection system favors historical prestige and media-friendly narratives over merit-based evaluations.
• Humor Amidst Debate: The show balances intense sports debate with humorous segments, keeping the discussion engaging and entertaining.

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This episode offers a deep dive into the complexities of college football playoff selections, blending informed analysis with the signature humor and camaraderie that The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz is known for. Whether you're a die-hard college football fan or new to the sport, the discussion provides valuable insights into one of the most contentious debates of the season.

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

You're listening to DraftKings Network.

[Stugotz]

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[Jessica]

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[Greg Cody]

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[Jessica]

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[Stugotz]

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[Mike Ryan]

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[Stugotz]

Shadow Show, Shadow Show Shadow Show, Shadow.

[Papi]

Show, Shadow Show, Shadow Show, Shadow Show. Shadowing it.

[Stugotz]

Shadowing it.

[Greg Cody]

Dugats just dropped something on the floor here and picked it up and said. And the words were less painful than the wheezing way he said it. Bending down becomes increasingly hard, was the last sentence that I just heard from Stugott.

[Jessica]

Yeah, it's. Bending's not what it used to be. It's not. Not for me. It hurts. It hurts to bend. It hurts to get out of bed. It hurts to get out of my car. It hurts. Aging hurts, man. You're feeling it, too. I know you are.

[Greg Cody]

I am, But I'm doing a great many things to basically just avoid pain. Everything that I do right now is just to make sure that I'm not in pain. But you're the young one here in this room today because Greg Cody's on his way, but he is stuck. And I don't know if Jessica has felt this or not. This is the single worst time of year in South Florida, if you want to get around, because Art Basel and money is in town. December is terrible. Look, under all circumstances, Miami is overcrowded, more overcrowded than it's ever been. We are not equipped for what is here. Our transit system is not equipped for everything that's here. But what's here this week is totally insane. And I was moderately relieved, though disappointed, to hear that Stu Gotz and Greg Cody's book signing Tomorrow isn't gonna happen because I simply don't Wanna Drive at 6pm to Coral Gables. Cause it's gonna take me two and a half hours to get there from the beach. And it's only like 10 miles.

[Jessica]

That factored into our decision to reschedule that. And I demanded a synagogue.

[Stugotz]

Yo chicken th me in a church. I don't know what's going on here. Dan needs to fill out his lineup.

[Dan Le Batard]

I couldn't believe.

[Stugotz]

Also, there's got to be more to this story.

[Dan Le Batard]

Juts.

[Jessica]

Juts.

[Stugotz]

This is not.

[Jessica]

That's a funny chicken.

[Stugotz]

This rigs of stugots.

[Greg Cody]

We will find out whenever it is that Greg Cody gets here.

[Stugotz]

He promoted it so well yesterday too.

[Jessica]

I know, I know.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dan, everyone knows real Miami people don't do any Basel events. Mike, what are you up to this weekend?

[Stugotz]

I have to do one Basel event today, but I don't want to. But I'm there to support. Yeah, it's. I've seen videos of people in traffic and it made me realize how happy I am to be here at the Elser and not at the Clevelander and reliving throughout the oral history episodes. We are now in like the portion of the. Of the show's history where we were afternoon drive at the beach. And I remember for a good like year and a half, I was getting home at like 9:30pm yeah, don't miss that at all.

[Greg Cody]

Ouch.

[Stugotz]

I'm really happy here. The ulcer's great.

[Jessica]

Yeah. Wait, so you're going to an Art Basel event?

[Stugotz]

I got a pretty busy day today here on this show. And if I may, can I plug Cain's insight real quick? My buddies over at Cain's Insight. My.

[Dan Le Batard]

What if we said no?

[Stugotz]

If you said no, it's totally your prerogative. Also, shadow show.

[Jessica]

You were asking Dan.

[Stugotz]

Right, but I'm just trying. You asked what my day was.

[Dan Le Batard]

Mike is wearing slacks today.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

He means business.

[Stugotz]

The suit jackets in the car, you want me to grab it?

[Greg Cody]

Do people.

[Jessica]

I want to hear about this day.

[Greg Cody]

Do people still call them slacks? Is that a thing?

[Dan Le Batard]

Comedic effect?

[Stugotz]

Are they slacks if they're part of a suit?

[Dan Le Batard]

They have a pleat fold down the center. They are slacks and little ankle too.

[Stugotz]

Which is difficult when it's 57 degrees out.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, it's not.

[Stugotz]

Oh, it's.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's so nice out. Mike was just complaining about his tires losing air pressure because of.

[Stugotz]

Am I the only one that lost 5 psi in each tire? How does that happen?

[Jessica]

I lost it too. I did 57 degrees.

[Mike Ryan]

And then you drive to work and somehow a few more creep back up. Like there's three science.

[Greg Cody]

It's 57 degrees, Jim.

[Stugotz]

Yeah. So after this show, got a couple meetings and I'm going to do. My friends over at Keynes Insight are live for national signing day from 8am to 5pm which really, for the Canes this year is not going to be a great signing day.

[Greg Cody]

I thought they got the quarterback from Georgia for now.

[Stugotz]

Oh, yeah, they got Luke. Luke Nickel. Like that. There are guys that are committed. We lost a couple of guys to Florida, man, Florida is killing it. All the buyout money that they had saved up in their coffers for Billy Napier, they are spending on nil and they are credit to them. They are riding a lot of positive momentum right now. But we'll be covering that till like 5pm and then I gotta go do a Basil thing. So wearing these pants, these slacks all day long.

[Greg Cody]

Who calls them slacks? Because I thought it was just my dad. I thought it was people.

[Jessica]

My dad certain when Greg gets here, he will. He will agree with your dad and call them slacks.

[Greg Cody]

Put it on the poll Juju. Do people call them still call them slacks? Because I'm not sure about that. Have you guys all been running into this traffic yet? Because what is Miami? You can look it up. It is. However it is. They measure these things empirically. It is. It has passed Los Angeles as a bad traffic town. However it is, they do those measurements. Jessica has felt that for a while down here. It hasn't always been like that. But do you feel it now? Because I don't want to go anywhere. Like, I don't want to go anywhere that is, you know, 12 blocks away because of how congested everything is.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's Basil Boat show weekend and spring break. Don't leave your block. Stay home. And that's what I intend to do.

[Don Le Batard Show]

This is the Dan Levator show with the Stuttgarts podcast.

[Sponsor]

Today's episode is sponsored by DraftKings. Stay tuned because you'll hear more about DraftKings and all it has to offer throughout the show. DraftKings, the Crown is yours.

[Greg Cody]

I'll get into national signing day in a second because I'm really surprised, Dugats, that since the days when we have mocked this stuff, yes, we have now become this stuff that we used to mock in terms of the trafficking in high schoolers that was such an obsession when Joel Buxbaum was a regular on sports radio. In fact, can you find me a clip? There's a clip somewhere of one of These experts being faked out by a show that was just asking about fake high school prospects. And then the expert went into whatever the spiel was on a player that didn't exist. But I have wanted to talk to Jessica for the last couple of days. Wanted her here because she gets 200 yard interception returns to get her into the playoffs, clearly to defeat usc. But also she has the added joy of seeing miraculously, amazingly, the very first time the playoff system goes to a professional format that is 12 teams and allows more than any, as Miami does, all of the things before the season that would have been considered a successful season if not for the way that this ended in disaster. So that correct me if I'm wrong, Miami's the only team anyone's really arguing about. Miami is in the spot where they're the 13th team where the argument is about Miami or Alabama. But most people listening this to say would say if the playoff were somehow 13 teams that Miami would likely be in. Or is there someone else being argued about more than Miami?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, I don't know if anyone's arguing more than Miami because they're the first team out right now. But I would like to posit you this team which I don't think is getting enough arguments on their behalf. BYU. What's that about 18? BYU 10 2. They beat SMU early in the season. They lost to a really hot Kansas team and to a potential conference champion ASU team late in the year. Finished the season with a win this past weekend. But they're totally out of it now. How about that?

[Greg Cody]

I wanted to talk to you about how good Notre Dame is or let's do that first.

[Dan Le Batard]

Ok, so here's the thing, Dan. I was at my parents house for Thanksgiving. My parents both went to Notre Dame. They're big fans, watching football games with them, very stressful. My dad is very loud. He claps aggressively, he screams aggressively. Every time he claps, my dog jumps up and freaks out. The game. I wouldn't say was like necessarily super stressful. Notre Dame had a seven point lead for most of the second half, but there was a point where on offense Notre Dame had stalled out slightly. They had a pretty bad three and out late in the fourth quarter.

[Greg Cody]

USC was playing with was in your field position playing for the tie. They were playing for the tie with one of those interception returns on their.

[Jessica]

Side of the field and they were.

[Dan Le Batard]

Picking on Christian Grave, one of the Notre Dame cornerbacks for the whole game. He had gotten a couple pass interference penalties. He had a really great pass breakup at one point. But it was an up and down rocky game for him. Mayava throws it in his direction, he picks it off, runs it back for a 99 yard touchdown. Notre Dame goes up two touchdowns now in the fourth quarter. The very next drive, USC throws another hundred yard pick six to Xavier Watts, the reigning Bronco Nagorski trophy winner. He runs it back for 100 yards. Notre Dame has the of the four longest touchdown interception returns in school history. Two of them were in that game. And back to back.

[Greg Cody]

Two of them were in the. Yeah. In the last couple of minutes.

[Dan Le Batard]

And it was like the craziest thing because at one point in the game. So on the Christian Gray penalty, my other got called on a low block, so there was a flag. And my mom thought that the touchdown got called, called back. And she was complaining, like, why didn't that touchdown count? And I was like, look at the score bug. It counted. They added seven points to the score. And she's like, why didn't it count? Why did it count? And we were screaming at each other. And then my dad was like, be nice to your mother. And I was like, no, you've been acting like an asshole this whole game.

[Greg Cody]

Whoa.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're an asshole.

[Greg Cody]

Wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're freaking out my dog.

[Stugotz]

You won't stop.

[Dan Le Batard]

You've been maniacally putting up Christmas decorations while you've been screaming for three effing hours. Don't tell me I'm an asshole. You're an asshole. And then he's like, no, be nice to your mom. And I was like, where do you think I get it from? I'm like, this because of you.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

He was like, you know what? You're right. And he put down his sword and he's like, you're right, I am a bad example. And then we all made up. And then we all booked our flights to South Bend for the playoff game.

[Jessica]

That's nice.

[Dan Le Batard]

Just the holidays, it was tense.

[Stugotz]

Jess, you mentioned Christian Gray. And in doing the oral history, we got to put together some super cuts. And I totally forgot about when we had Poppy read passages from Fifty Shades of Gray. Have you ever heard this, Jez?

[Dan Le Batard]

No, I've never heard this.

[Stugotz]

Would you like to?

[Dan Le Batard]

Yes.

[Stugotz]

And now Poppy reads a passage from 50 Shades of Grey. Page 121.

[Don Le Batard Show]

I want you sore, baby, he murmurs. And he continues his sweet, leisurely torment. Backward, forward. Every time you move tomorrow, I want you to be reminded that I have been here. Only me. You are mine.

[Greg Cody]

I can't tell you how not funny that is to Me so good.

[Stugotz]

We have about a dozen playmall. One more, one more, one more. And now Poppy reads a passage from Fifty Shades of Grey. Page 75.

[Don Le Batard Show]

His lips are parted. He's waiting. Coil to strike. Desire. Acute, liquid and smoldering combust deep in my belly.

[Mike Ryan]

I think that's enough.

[Dan Le Batard]

I kinda wanna hear more.

[Jessica]

One more.

[Greg Cody]

Liquid and smoldering.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's bad writing, Dan.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, that's page 69, I think.

[Greg Cody]

That is not what is bad about this for me.

[Stugotz]

And now Poppy reads a passage from 50 Shades of Grey. Page 437.

[Don Le Batard Show]

He's naked except for those soft ripped jeans, top buttons casually undone. Jeez, he looks so freaking hot. My subconscious is frantically finding herself and my inner goddess is swaying and writhing to some primal carnal rhythm.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh my God. I forgot that in that book he has like, pardon my language, but Christian Grey has like fucking genes.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Like they're the genes that he FS in.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Slacks.

[Jessica]

Slacks.

[Stugotz]

And now.

[Jessica]

Thank you.

[Stugotz]

Poppy reads a passage from 50 Shades of Grey. Page 355.

[Don Le Batard Show]

I still want more, I whisper. I know, he says. I will try. I'll blink up at him and he relinquishes my hand and pulls at my chin, releasing my trap lip. For you and Anastasia. I will try.

[Greg Cody]

What you've just conjured is something that I haven't thought about in about 47 years. Which is the time that I was very scared in my childhood. I didn't want to sleep in my own room. I snuck into my parents room. I snuck in under their bed and something started happening that I didn't really have.

[Stugotz]

No baby.

[Greg Cody]

I was 36 years old.

[Stugotz]

47 years ago.

[Jessica]

Big Poppy.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's why bending over hurts so much.

[Greg Cody]

It's very unpleasant. What you have just done there in terms of just conjuring sort of an. You know when you move things in an attic or basement that haven't been moved a lot and there's like dust and cobwebs and stuff. You just did that around a memory that's horrifying to me that I had buried like deep, deep down.

[Stugotz]

And now Poppy reads a passage from 50 Shades of Grey. Page 69. Nice.

[Don Le Batard Show]

I grab the bag and dart into the bathroom, away from the unnerving proximity of naked Christian. Michelangelo's David has nothing on him. In the bathroom. It is all hot and steamy. I strip off my clothes and quickly clamber into the shower, anxious to be under the cleansing stream of water. It cascades over me and I hold up my face into the Welcoming torrent. I want Christian Gray. I want him badly. Simple fact. For the first time in my life, I want to go to bed with the man. I want to feel his hands and his mouth on me.

[Greg Cody]

Those last two sentences were not necessary.

[Stugotz]

They were in the book.

[Greg Cody]

I mean, it's just different, though. It's. It's not your father.

[Stugotz]

I heard from our bosses on that one.

[Greg Cody]

Did you?

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Really?

[Greg Cody]

When are we going to start telling in the oral history all of those stories?

[Dan Le Batard]

Wait, what did you hear from them? Hey, that was really sexy. Can you do more of those?

[Stugotz]

Yeah, can you do more of those?

[Jessica]

More of those?

[Greg Cody]

Mike, I'd like you to come up.

[Stugotz]

We'd like you for middays is what they told me after.

[Greg Cody]

I'd like you to come up with a Topic 5 list of things that you heard about, things that just people. I don't know about these.

[Jessica]

I'm not certain Mike can do that.

[Greg Cody]

I don't know that there. I don't know.

[Stugotz]

Nothing really touches Fort Wayne, Indiana for me in that phone call, that was. That was something.

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[Don Le Batard Show]

Don LeBatard.

[Greg Cody]

But it's just his titties are sitting on the shelf. That is his belly stugats.

[Stugotz]

He said titties. It like shocked me a little bit. I wasn't quite prepared for titties.

[Don Le Batard Show]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Greg Cody]

I'd like to know more because you shield me from some of this stuff Greg Cody is now clamoring in. He has missed all of that, thankfully, because otherwise Chris would have had to imagine his own father in some of the same positions that you guys just forced me to imagine my father. But I do have it right that Greg Cody was in yesterday and he called the University of Miami loss an epic embarrassment and Mike Ryan flip flopped over the course of two days from we deserve to not be in the playoffs because of the epic embarrassment because you lose two out of three, you lose to Syracuse, you're a big favorite. Nobody regards Syracuse the way Mike regards Syracuse. And then Mike just goes off the deep end yesterday and becomes a shilling ambassador for all things Keynes bought and paid for integrity in tatters. Because you know I'm alleging no one has said this publicly except the hand at the end of the show yesterday that Mario Cristobal threatened to twist the nipples of Mike Ryan if he didn't get out there and change his tone on things. And so the University of Miami is nationally getting more than BYU is in terms. BYU is suffering because it's not the program name that Miami is and because Miami conjures even now still a certain thing in the country, even though they haven't mattered in football this way for 20 years. The country at large is having a good argument about Miami versus Alabama. Correct. Because Alabama got in just because of the regard for the sec. The same thing that Mike Ryan has been yelling about, which is I understand that conference has earned reputation but it hasn't been that this year. It's just echoes and fumes like that. Everyone in that conference has been proven to be beatable by any number of conferences.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, you made the argument that oklah Oklahoma State was right there with FSU as the and Purdue as the worst P4 program. They went winless in their Big 12. They beat Arkansas, a six win team that beat Tennessee. So it was what I was fearing. I did find it really interesting Dan, that last night I was not on the popular side whatsoever arguing that Miami should be in the playoff. But I guess that was going up against combined bid of three SEC teams when the dust settled and people realized Alabama is in ahead of Miami and they remember hey 11 days ago Alabama lost 243 to a bad Oklahoma team. They have one more loss. And you hear the rationale from Ward Manuel, which is, well, games against teams with a better than.500 record. Alabama is much better. Well, that's a convenient thing to cherry pick. First off, these teams are pretty close. A good tiebreaker would be wins and losses, but we're not going to do that. Fine. What about the teams that are at.500? Ward, what's Alabama's record there? And over the. Over the night, I'm really surprised that I guess people just really hate Alabama more than they hate Miami because it feels like the nation's starting to realize, hold up. That Oklahoma loss. Wait, Miami's loss to Syracuse to bring them to two losses on the year, we're going to punish that more than we're going to punish Alabama's loss to a really bad Oklahoma team.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think that Alabama gets the benefit of the doubt because they've proven this season that their ceiling is higher because they've beaten Georgia and Miami hasn't gotten the chance to play a team like Georgia and they haven't gotten a chance to beat a team like Georgia. So automatically Alabama is getting slotted ahead of them because of that.

[Greg Cody]

Georgia did lose all my respect with that Georgia Tech game.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, but I don't think Georgia Tech's good, dude.

[Greg Cody]

No, but all I'm saying is that if Georgia Tech can be Georgia, if Georgia Tech can be Georgia, then you.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can'T make a conviction because they can't score two points. That was so frustrating to watch. Brent Key lost all of my respect in that game. I'm sorry. That was so pathetic to watch. He didn't know the rules. He put up a one in the second overtime. You can't kick an extra point in the second overtime. Learn the rules. My God.

[Stugotz]

Watching that game at a bar on mute was really confusing watching Brent Key go through that. But it's actually pretty unfortunate because I was really invested in that acc, sec, SEC matchup on Friday. And it turns out that that could be the reason why Miami is out. Georgia tech blowing the 14 point lead and all those calls that went Georgia's way there. Because if Georgia loses that game, Alabama's big signature win that everyone says, okay, well that's their ceiling. They've proven that they can match. It becomes really diluted. And then the loss to Georgia Tech, all of a sudden Miami's got two losses, both to ranked teams. I understand the Alabama argument. They showed what their ceiling could be. Unfortunately for Miami, they didn't get an opportunity to. Here's another tiebreaker that I've been told that the CFP usually considers. And that's common opponents. All right, so you have a Miami team that has a better record than Alabama. They both played a USF team. I know September does not exist in the eyes of the sec, but in September they both played usf. Who looked better against usf? Clearly Miami did. So it's unfortunate that we just keep shifting the barometers in which we do.

[Dan Le Batard]

This, but what was the final score of the Alabama USF game?

[Stugotz]

No, I understand how they pulled away.

[Dan Le Batard]

But like 42 to 14 or something.

[Stugotz]

But is it. Was it. I know Miami looked much better and the final score was much better.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now we're going down to like, how much better did they look? Quarter to quarter to quarter, which I think is different. I also don't think Georgia Tech would be ranked if they beat Georgia because they. I think so.

[Stugotz]

They were others receiving votes.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm just saying. I'm not 100% sure. They might. They might sneak in. I'm not 100% sure.

[Stugotz]

Look, I think ultimately I'm trying to rationalize. I know why Miami is out. Miami is out because they blew a 21 point lead to Syracuse. What the. It's a huge bummer for me in that Miami. If I told you before the season, as you alluded to, Dan, you're going to lose. You're going to go 10 and two and you're going to lose two games to Georgia Tech and Syracuse, which are games that I looked at the schedule, I'm like, yeah, those are tricky spots inside this conference. And you're going to lose those. Those games by a combined nine points. And you're not going to get into Charlotte and subsequently you're not going to get into the cfp and you're going to have a Heisman finalist, you're going to have the top offense in the nation. This season should feel a lot better than it. Than it does right now. And that's it. That's a huge bummer because Miami pretty much did all the right things except hold on to a big lead.

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[Stugotz]

I thought that was pretty common rational. I thought I did well. You just were sitting on that one.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, I had the sound, I got hit.

[Jessica]

But as it relates to Miami and Alabama, this is about the Alabama wins, is it not? I mean, they beat Georgia, they beat South Carolina, they beat LSU at LSU. At a time LSU was ranked in the top 10.

[Stugotz]

Don't do the LSU trick. Like that infuriates me. Like they all get Fat on lsu, inexplicably being ranked in the mid teens and then everybody beats, beats up on LSU and takes credit for it. Yeah, I guess a big win is huge. Yeah, it's wonderful. They lost to Vanderbilt and they lost to Oklahoma. And they didn't just lose to Oklahoma, they got figured out.

[Greg Cody]

I want to talk about that in a second, but Jessica, you wanted to get in here.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think. Mike, at the end of the day, there's two things you should be angry about. One, obviously blowing a 21 point lead against Syracuse and then kicking a field goal down seven at the end of the game. Those are things that you should be mad about. Second, Stanford. Let me tell you why. Because Stanford beat Louisville in the dumbest way possible. I guess you should really be mad at Louisville, but mostly Stanford because screw that. Screw them and screw their stupid tree. They beat Louisville in this dumb career high field goal at the end of the game because Louisville got an unsportsmanlike penalty and put them in field goal range. And then they jumped off size and it was so stupid. And they also beat Syracuse inexplicably at the beginning of the season. Stanford is bad, okay? And Stanford is single handedly the reason that there's not more ACC teams ranked right now. So screw Stanford. Who decided to let Stanford into. Oh, I guess that would be Miami.

[Stugotz]

And yeah, all the other schools. And smu, damn it. And it's. It's kind of funny for me to argue. Man, this conference is really hard when SMU just strolls into it and goes to the conference championship in its first year.

[Unknown Speaker]

Almost like that American Athletic Conference was pretty competitive for the last several years.

[Stugotz]

This guy's just been waiting, thinking about you right now. Dude, no one's thinking about.

[Unknown Speaker]

I love your transit of property argument.

[Stugotz]

It's my favorite. Well, I think. Look, Mizzou was inexplicably ranked at several points in this season. You give Mizzou's resume to Duke. Duke is still unranked. Duke should have been ranked. But look, these are all based on preseason rankings. Most of these riders are bought and paid for when it comes to their job, depending on the SEC working out. And Miami just ran into that kind of buzzsaw. They had an opportunity there for themselves. Up 21 0. They blew it. It's a damn shame because Miami is a really fun team to watch. Best offense in the nation. Only lost two games by combined nine points. You'd think that'd be good enough. Unfortunately, it wasn't. It's a huge bummer. And this Season should feel better to me, but it does.

[Greg Cody]

I will tell you again, it's a made for television event. And while I would want to watch the best offense in the sport and Cam Ward play one more game, the will have its regard for Alabama. And there's a whole generation that doesn't have any understanding that Miami used to be good. An entire generation. 20 years. So Alabama is getting a lifetime achievement award on a made for television event. Because the argument I would make. And Jessica, you tell me if you think I have this wrong because at the time that Northern Illinois beat Notre Dame, I said to myself, even not knowing anything because it was too early in the season, okay, that's a giant upset. That's probably the biggest upset there's going to be. The sport this year, winning at Notre Dame, it was the most confusing result of the season. But it was so early that I'm like, okay, well Notre Dame must not be good if that's happening. I still don't have a sample on who everyone is. I've got a sample on Alabama and the most confusing result to me this season, I didn't see the game. How the hell did Alabama lose that way to Oklahoma? How was the offense neutralized? What don't I know about the importance of Nick Saban's coaching that would make it so that Alabama and that quarterback, that Milroe, wouldn't be able to do anything in a game against a terrible Oklahoma team? Where were the most confusing results of the season? Because that one I just didn't understand. And it was so recent that I can't believe they got forgiven for it. Even though Alabama's been forgiven for any number of losses over the last few years just because people know to put them on television.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, I completely agree with you about the Oklahoma game. I think that that like we talked about Alabama's ceiling being they can beat Georgia, their floor is a lot lower than it's been in the last 10 years because that game was really bad. Three points against Oklahoma at the end of the season is a just horrendous offensive output for Alabama for any team. But I think that if you. Alabama may not make it right. Because if Clemson wins, Clemson's SMU is probably going to get, you know, the spot Clemson is going to get the bye week probably with the ACC championship game. So Alabama may, may not make it. And I think, and I could be totally wrong about this, but I think that if you explain to an Alabama fan you didn't make it because of the Oklahoma loss, they're probably going to nod their head and be like, you know what, that makes sense. Just like if you told me in September. Or you know, I guess like the better example is like if Notre Dame lost to USC this past weekend, Notre Dame goes into that game knowing they're playing Southern Cal on the road. It's their rival. If they lose, they're not going to make the playoff at 10 and 2 because they have the North Illinois loss. And if you told me that and it happened, I would agree with you. Notre Dame should not make the playoff as a two loss team with the Northern Illinois loss. But they went into that game knowing we have to win and we're in because this will be an 11 and one season. There's not enough 11 win teams to overcome that. And so this is a win in your in situation. It's the same thing for Miami playing at Syracuse. Miami knew they had to win that conference game to make the ACC championship game. It was a play in game for the playoffs and Miami had the lead. They had a chance to tie it late in the game and they couldn't finish it. And that's I think the difference between 11, 1, 10, 2 and 9 and 3 right there.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, but I also think also is that people were watching the end of that game and people must not have been watching what happened in Oklahoma, Alabama, because you can't know what happened in that game and say to me that that's a team that deserves to be among the 12 best.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

But you can watch them play against Georgia and Tennessee and LSU and say that team could win the national championship.

[Stugotz]

They move the goalpost like because it's convenient. It's convenient when September doesn't matter. And part of the argument that Lucy was making on behalf of the sec, I think she was arguing more for South Carolina. I think we all know that South Carolina is out because they lost Alabama and that confuses the process. If you put. Because head to head has to matter. Alabama beat Georgia in September. What they did recently was put up three points against one of the worst Oklahoma teams of our lifetime. That happened 11 days ago.

[Dan Le Batard]

And they also beat Mercer.

[Stugotz]

They also beat. Yeah, so they climb up three spots because they beat Mercer and they, they beat an Auburn team by, by two scores. I guess like I, it's a bummer. It's a huge bummer. But we knew that if my, if it got into a situation where you're parsing the difference between Alabama and Miami, Alabama is going to win that tiebreaker because of all the SEC stuff and It's a damn shame because Miami had it there for them. All they had to do was hold on to that lead. And ultimately that is probably going to haunt me for years. Years. Because you're not that quarterback was a unicorn. This offense was one of the greatest offenses we've ever seen in the history of college football. Not Miami football. That's a certainty. Not the best in the nation. That's a certainty. One of the best of all time. That's a huge bummer that we don't get to see Cam Ward play again.

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[Mike Ryan]

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[Greg Cody]

Don LeBatard Surely every time you're watching this, you recognize that your wife is laughing. That she married. She married Larry David.

[Papi]

I do. Yeah. One of the great characters in the history of television. In my humble opinion and to my credit, my personality.

[Greg Cody]

In my humble opinion, followed by to my credit. It's amazing.

[Papi]

My personality, just amazing. Predate Curb youb Enthusiasm Stugats.

[Greg Cody]

Oh, wow.

[Papi]

I'm not gonna say Larry David patterned himself.

[Greg Cody]

You copy? All right, put it on the poll please. Jude, you did Greg Cody copyright being an long before Larry David.

[Don Le Batard Show]

This is the Don Levitar with these two guards.

[Papi]

It. It should haunt you for years. And it should haunt Mario Cristobal for years because they blew it. Miami, right? Like, like. I want to have righteous indignation on behalf of Miami. They should be ranked ahead of Alabama. And. And you can make a good argument that oh, they. There are only two losses whereby nine points to good team. That's true. But the timing of those losses was disastrous, an absolute disaster. When they blew that 21 point lead, they had no chance. There's no room. I want to have righteous indignation on behalf of Miami. It's very, very difficult the way that season ended.

[Jessica]

I think we can all agree on this. The problem is not Miami, Alabama. The problem is Boise State. Why do we need Boise State or a team like Boise State in the playoff? I want Alabama. I want Miami. I want Alabama. Notre Dame first round. I want Miami Georgia first round. I don't want to see Boise State.

[Dan Le Batard]

What if it's army instead? What if army is the G5 team?

[Jessica]

Yes, that's different.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you for your service.

[Stugotz]

You don't want to see Genty. You don't want to see Jenny.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's going to be a bad guy. Great game.

[Jessica]

Mike, you're not listening to me. What I want to see is Miami and Alabama. I don't care about Genti. That's what I want to say.

[Stugotz]

But Boise, you should.

[Greg Cody]

You should.

[Stugotz]

Well, we'll see if Boise say UNLV is very good and has every Opportunity to win that game this weekend. But right now Boise State has one loss. It was a six point loss. Oregon needed two returns for a touchdown to win that game. Like they very could have easily beaten Oregon. Their one loss is the number one team in the nation.

[Unknown Speaker]

Ashton Gentee Statistically the type of season he's having, he has more yards after contact rushing this year than anyone else has rushing yards in the country. Period.

[Greg Cody]

You should want to watch him also.

[Jessica]

I don't care about watching him. I'll watch the highlight package. They're going to have a buy the first week of the playoffs. That's absurd.

[Dan Le Batard]

If the Pac12 didn't explode in the last year, they would probably be the fifth conference to get a bid into the playoff. So this is all just sort of a mess because it's all happening at once. But I mean I just disagree with you fundamentally because I think there should be a path for a Super talented top 25 G5 team to make it in or multiple some years if you know one of the power conferences has has a really down year. But I guess going back to Miami versus Alabama, I think that like if the Syracuse game is a touchdown for touchdown shootout and Miami gets left out, I under and Miami still loses. Of course I understand like the frustration there but the fact that they had the three touchdown lead is so brutal and the fact that Mario botched the ending so badly yet again. Someone sent me this on Blue Sky. They said the committee was afraid to see what kind of clock management Mario could be capable of in a playoff game and that's why Miami was left out. And I think they're kidding. But I also think there might be some truth to it. This guy has proven he cannot handle the end of game situations time and time again.

[Stugotz]

I would push back on that because Miami was in plenty of close games and Mario Cristobal pushed all the right buttons all season long. And honestly I reached out to some NFL people that crunch the numbers and they say that was a 5050 proposition. Your defense needs to stop them either way. I think the conventional wisdom is if you fail from like the 12 yard line on that 4th and goal, Syracuse is a little bit more conservative and you have a better shot at stopping them. But Syracuse was conservative when they got the ball back and Miami couldn't stop them ultimately.

[Dan Le Batard]

How much time went off the clock though before the field goal came? The other part of it though, it was just a slow non urgent.

[Stugotz]

I actually don't remember that part. I might have blacked out the other.

[Greg Cody]

Part of that though, because you're talking about the late game situation there. The reason I would have gone for it on 4th and goal, because people assume if you get an incompletion there, you're still giving them the ball at the 10 yard line. No, I'm calling a play that gets me even closer to the goal line if I get the completion. So that perhaps I've got the possibility of them starting from their own 1 or their 2 or their 3.

[Stugotz]

Right. My frustration is look at what we're talking about here. Instead of losing to Oklahoma 24 to 3. Jess, I'm just curious, like what would you have done if the decision were up to you? Would you have gone with like South Carolina? Like who would you have put in?

[Dan Le Batard]

It's really tough because I think you're right about South Carolina because Alabama has the head to head. I don't think you can put them ahead of Alabama and Ole Miss. I think general consensus is the Kentucky loss was disqualifying. This was a really, really bad Kentucky team.

[Stugotz]

Plus they lost a Florida. Add Florida and Miami blew Florida out.

[Dan Le Batard]

But they also did blow out Georgia. So it's, I understand their argument for it. I think of the three I get putting Alabama ahead of those two. When it comes down to Alabama and Miami, I mean, yeah, it's tough. Like Syracuse, they're ranked but they're, they're a team that has played in some really big stinkers this season that Miami should have beaten. Same thing with Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is a good team, but Miami still should have beaten them. And the way that Miami schedule worked out, there just wasn't a chance for them to really prove it in.

[Stugotz]

So you would have put Bama in?

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know.

[Stugotz]

I mean, look me in the face while you.

[Dan Le Batard]

How much do the, how much does the committee get paid for this? Because if you give me that amount of money and also a weekend in at the Gaylord in Dallas, then maybe I'll give you my answer. But I'm not doing it for free. I'm not going to tell you it for free.

[Unknown Speaker]

I mean, when we're talking about how teams are playing late in the year, we're skipping over the fact that Syracuse only beat Yukon by a touchdown. The week before that they beat Miami. I mean, so when we're talking about, oh, how did Alabama or Miami look against USF for parts of quarters like Syracuse barely beats UConn. I mean, we're not talking about a team that we're an ACC conference.

[Jessica]

Why is USF a measuring Stick well.

[Stugotz]

Right? That's kind of my point. Right.

[Unknown Speaker]

We're talking about opponents.

[Stugotz]

I mean, it's one of the tiebreakers that they use.

[Unknown Speaker]

Mike, I get why the AC 24 to 3. Dude, I understand that. And look, it's a bad loss. But I think the committee has shown us year after year after year after year, they care more about good wins than just wins.

[Stugotz]

They care about good wins more than losses.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, I know.

[Stugotz]

Trust me, I'm aware.

[Unknown Speaker]

Trust me, I'm aware. And the idea of it, of the ACC and the SEC and the comparison. Look, you said it yourself. A team that was in the American Athletic Conference last year walked into the ACC and was their best team. And so as much as I really like a lot of the ACC teams and there are arguments to be made that the gap has gotten closer because of the transfer portal, et cetera, the reality is the SEC is still a tier above. SMU would not have walked into the SEC and had the type of season that they just did.

[Stugotz]

I mean, I just saw Texas do it. And I understand Texas is a very good team.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's Texas.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not.

[Stugotz]

Look, Georgia would have lost. Should have lost that game to Georgia Tech. They still would have been in the SEC Championship unranked. Texas A and M was a game away from being in the SEC Championship. SMU strolls into Charlotte in large part due to the toughest team they played in the conference was Louisville. You had this situation with three teams.

[Unknown Speaker]

Is that no different than Miami?

[Stugotz]

Well, my. No, no. What I'm saying, it's a byproduct of not having divisions. And it's unfortunate because Indiana cracked the code. Indiana's not playing really good teams inside of their conference. And they only get to have one loss despite.

[Dan Le Batard]

Only they did have to play Michigan, who did beat Ohio State. So, yeah, I think we are in the mud. I wonder how much the close games against Virginia Tech and Cal ended up mattering at the end of the day for Miami as well, because Cal.

[Mike Ryan]

What about at the start of the day?

[Dan Le Batard]

One of the worst teams at the start of the day. Good win against Florida.

[Stugotz]

But again, like, we're bringing up the Cal game when we're ignoring 24 to 3.

[Dan Le Batard]

I'm not ignoring that. I'm telling you, if Alabama gets left out, I totally agree with it. You're just arguing about who's ahead of who this week.

[Jessica]

And I understand that I miss the bcs.

[Greg Cody]

Here's what's happening here. To me, that's so funny. And I can't believe it's The Miami team that gives us this gift. You guys are sitting here trying to make arguments based on merit as if merit matters. To me, it's fascinating that we keep doing this stupidity when the point of this particular season is the argument like it's not about the merit. So you come at me with the timing of this was disaster. Timing is not about merit. How good is your football team timing? You're coming at me with how it looks that they lost with a 21 point lead and the fourth and goal and the botched ending at Syracuse. The merit is what are their records and what have they done against the others. Unless when you got a bunch of murkiness you can just make it a made for television event and everybody would prefer to have Alabama even as we make the arguments on behalf of Miami because we're myopic and because we love Cam Ward and this generational team that isn't as television friendly as Alabama is because a whole generation has watched Alabama be great at football that hasn't seen Miami be great at football.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tone, I think Alabama is getting huge merit points for beating Georgia, who may end up being the SEC champion. So I, I get your point. I think the Oklahoma loss is a very valid reason to leave them out of the playoff. No matter what happened this year, we are always going to argue about the teams on the bubble, whether it was the 12 seed, the 11 seed, 13th ranked team, whatever like that, you guys.

[Greg Cody]

But guys.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dan, if Alabama lost to Georgia and beat Oklahoma, I don't think they'd have a great case to get in. I think Miami would be in. I think that they are just getting a ton of credit for beating who will probably be the SEC champion, which they are able to, you know, win again against Texas.

[Stugotz]

Which is why I argued if Miami is in the Big ten or sec. Miami has a similar year. Their two losses are probably considered better losses and they actually have the opportunity because Miami certainly has a team that is certainly capable of beating the likes.

[Greg Cody]

Of Georgia or you know, I think needed that, that you guys, guys didn't have the ability. The sigh from Greg Cody there. I don't think that you guys had the ability during the course of this segment to make me long for my father talking about 50 Shades of Gray. But you managed it.

[Stugotz]

And now Papi reads a passage from 50 Shades of Grey, page 487.

[Don Le Batard Show]

These clamps are vicious. He prods the nipple clamps. We will use these. They are adjustable. Christian, my sexual mentor. My mouth is already open from panting. I open wider and he slides a large, cool metal object between my shaped like an oversized baby pacifier. He has a small groove or carvings. I'm going to put this his fingers trail between my buttocks, spreading oil instantly. The plug starts to vibrate down there. It feels alien, full, forbidden, but oh so good. As my body explodes, I'm nothing but sensation everywhere.

[Stugotz]

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