Local Hour: The U Is Back (pt. 5)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Local Hour: The U Is Back (pt. 5)

Date: October 6, 2025
Location: The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Mike Ryan, Billy, Tony, Chris, Jeremy

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Overview

This Local Hour episode dives deep into the renewed dominance of University of Miami ('The U') football program following a statement win over Florida State. The crew debates whether “The U” is truly back as an elite power in college football, draws comparisons to historic Miami squads, analyzes the current South Florida sports scene (including some raucous Florida Panthers vs. Lightning hockey), and highlights the personalities that put Miami sports in the spotlight. The tone is classic Le Batard: passionate, irreverent, and laced with local pride and skepticism.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Seattle Mariners Sidetrack

A brief segment opens with a discussion about the Mariners' playoff history and Julio Rodriguez

• [02:00] Mariners win first home playoff game since 2001.
  • “That’s Griffey. That’s big unit. That’s A-Rod.” – Dan
• [02:41] Billy is confused by the fanfare for Julio Rodriguez:
  • “Why were we acting like Julio Rodriguez is dying?...He’s not retiring – he’s like 32.”
• [03:13] The guys joke about how Rodriguez, at 24, is treated like a franchise old-timer.
• They segue into amazement at young athletes in college football:
  • “They're making high school players who are dominating FSU or 17!” – Dan ([03:44])

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2. Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Hockey Mayhem

• [04:17] Dan recounts an extreme Panthers-Lightning preseason brawl:
  • “If it happened in any other sport, a riot of such intensity, we would ban the teams forever…”
  • “You cannot have 7,000 penalties and a guy getting an assist who'd been ejected.”
• [05:36] Chris delivers the jaw-dropping statline:
  • “There were 20 roughing minors ... 65 total penalties.”
  • “They didn’t play a hockey game. It was a riot.” – Dan ([05:51])
• This rivalry represents Florida “fighting for the state” in hockey, paralleling football rivalries.

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3. The U Is Back? Miami’s Football Ascendancy

a) Dan’s Rant: Miami Is College Football’s Best

• [06:07] Dan:
  • “The University of Miami can beat you more ways than any team in college football. They are the best team in college football. Maybe Ohio State could beat them in a game ... but the talent they have, they have more ways to beat you than any team in the sport.”
• He details Miami’s versatility and brutal physical dominance over Florida State, Florida, and South Florida teams (“Miami has ransacked them”).
• “Florida State got ransacked. Do not let the score fool you.” – Dan ([07:51])
• [08:24] Mike adds: “Miami is a very deep, very balanced team.”

b) College Football Context

• [08:24] Mike breaks down Miami’s strategy to counter FSU’s defensive approach.
  • “Miami was prepared ... they can beat you whichever way you want us to.”
  • Miami’s adaptability likened to a “power hitter” going “oppo” depending on what’s offered.
• [09:19] The podcast toys with the team’s new sense of power and confidence.

c) Miami Dominance: Physical Edge, Coaching, and Talent

• [10:09–13:09] Segment detours humorously into boating and knot-tying metaphors, then returns to Miami’s “physical menacing” edge — specifically Reuben Bain and the defensive line.
• [14:09] Dan: “Ruben Bane ... he's physically more menacing than everyone who is out there on the defensive line. He's a clear top 10 pick.”
• [15:20] Dan explains how Miami’s defense differs from the past, now featuring elite “edge rush” – a historical rarity for The U.
• [16:15] Mike: “You can talk about Mazidor and Bane as potentially the greatest edge rush duo in the history of Miami.”

d) Talent Acquisition and Evaluation

• [16:15–17:14] Mike highlights Miami’s recruiting:
  • Emphasis on impact transfers and under-the-radar freshmen like Malachi Tony and Ruben Bain.
  • “Miami is also doing some really good talent evaluation.”

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4. Miami’s Place in the Evolving College Football Landscape

• [21:16] Dan reflects on the shifting perception of SEC and other ‘superpowers’ after Miami’s routs:
  • “No, Florida State has really good athletes, but they're not the best in the state. The best in the state has ransacked the state.”
• [24:00] Dan tempers expectations:
  • “They could turn the ball over five times and lose a game. It wouldn’t change my opinion ... they just dragged monster ATH through Florida, through USF and through FSU.”

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5. Skepticism and The Standard for ‘Back’

• [23:12–44:49] Classic play between optimism and caution:
  • Billy questions whether Cristobal’s coaching can match his recruiting.
    • “Recruiting’s never been his problem. Coaching is his problem.” – Billy ([43:36])
    • “What they need to overcome is him.”
  • Mike pushes back:
    • “Is this not a well-coached team?”
    • “Miami is so good this season that they're changing people's minds about teams after they play them.” ([44:49])
  • Dan emphasizes he’s never before called Miami “title good” in the past 20 years:
    • “When I tell you in all of the last 20 years, you've never heard me say it. I don't do that. I haven’t.”

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6. Michael Irvin as Miami’s Living Mascot

• [29:20–37:24] Dan and the crew delight in Michael Irvin’s high-energy return to the Miami sideline:
  • “Michael Irvin should forever be the mascot for the University of Miami football team.” – Dan ([30:51])
  • Tony: “I could watch Michael Irvin all day.”
  • Mike: “He was all around town … getting into the banter game. He's about this Miami football life.”
• Parallels are drawn with Deion Sanders at Colorado, noting Irvin’s unique legacy and infectious energy.

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7. Sustaining Success & the Road Ahead

• [38:50] Mike: “Mario Cristobal ... is back here to win a national championship for Miami. Whether that's this year or down the line, it now feels like we are on that path. And it hasn't felt like that in a very long time.”
• [42:38] Billy: “But you didn’t bring him in to simply say we beat FSU and UF every year.”
• [43:09] Mike: “They're getting, you can't get back into that conversation being national title good without the guys getting picked at the top of the draft … he's getting there.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dan Le Batard (on Miami’s dominance):
  "The University of Miami can beat you more ways than any team in college football ... the team I saw do that in Tallahassee ... they are the best team in college football." ([06:07])
• Chris (on Panthers-Lightning brawl):
  "There were 20 roughing minors...65 total penalties." ([05:36])
• Billy (on Cristobal's challenge):
  "Recruiting's never been his problem. Coaching is his problem. So like saying that the team is well rounded and you have all their groups. That's fine. What they need to overcome is him." ([43:36])
• Dan (on Michael Irvin):
  “Michael Irvin should forever be the mascot for the University of Miami football team.” ([30:51])
• Mike (on Miami’s transformation):
  “Miami is so good this season that they're changing people's minds about teams after they play them.” ([44:49])
• Tony:
  “The coolest anyone ever looks is roping a boat.” ([09:56])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:00 | Mariners and Julio Rodriguez discussion | | 04:17 | Panthers-Lightning preseason riot commentary | | 06:07 | Dan declares Miami the best team in college football | | 08:24 | Mike explains Miami’s adaptability | | 14:09 | Dan and Mike on Miami’s defense and edge rushers | | 15:20 | Mike: Mazidor and Bane as best Miami edge rusher duo | | 16:15 | Miami’s talent evaluation and recruitment successes | | 21:16 | Recalibrating SEC and college football after Miami’s win | | 23:12 | Pushback: Billy questions “fixed” narrative, need for more than rivalry wins | | 29:20 | Michael Irvin as the ultimate Miami mascot scene | | 37:24 | Michael Irvin’s legacy and sideline energy | | 38:50 | Mike on Cristobal’s realigned expectations and championship standards | | 43:36 | Billy/Mike debate: Coaching or recruiting is Cristobal's hurdle? | | 44:49 | The “U is back” – but is the U ALL THE WAY BACK? |

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode is energetic, densely layered with Miami sports nostalgia, and combines nuanced local insight with classic sports radio banter. There’s both overwhelming optimism (“title good!”) and an ever-present undercurrent of skepticism (“they haven’t done it until they do it”). Michael Irvin’s embrace of the Miami sideline, the palpable confidence of the hosts, and the underlying rivalry with the rest of college football make the episode a showcase of South Florida sports culture, pride, and wit.

Transcript

[Billy]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris]

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[Mike]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

The Mariners, huh? Home game hadn't won a home playoff game since 2001. That's our wheelhouse. That's Griffey. That's big unit. That's a rod. Mike, you got wrapped up in the Seattle Mariners last year. Were you paying attention to them at all this year? Have you checked in on them even during the playoffs?

[Mike]

So I'm in a Mariners group chat with Mina and some other sports media luminaries, so that's how I've been able to follow them. I haven't watched a single game, but they're all over my algo. Big, big Dumper guy. I'll, I'll check back in this week now that the football weekend is over.

[Billy]

I have to be careful on this one because I'm not 100% sure. Why were we acting like Julio Rodriguez is dying? Like, I was super confused about like all of the honors and everything that we were doing for Julio Rodriguez. Like you got a hit and an rbi, good, but like we were acting. He's not retiring. He's like 32 or something.

[Dan Le Batard]

What Seattle badly wants a superstar. He is part of.

[Billy]

They have one big dumper. He's going to be the MVP of the league potentially.

[Dan Le Batard]

But, but him, he's. He's, he's now the old guy. He's. He's now whatever Ken Griffey Jr. Was when a rod was coming up like that.

[Mike]

He could never. He could never.

[Dan Le Batard]

You didn't.

[Billy]

You have 24.

[Dan Le Batard]

Didn't you have a jersey?

[Mike]

I do have a Rodriguez jersey. That's The Rodriguez.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's 24.

[Tony]

Why are we acting like this is.

[Billy]

The end for him?

[Dan Le Batard]

He's, he's one of the old time Mariners. He's been there suffering for years. He's 24.

[Tony]

Older than C.J.

[Dan Le Batard]

Stroud, man. They're making high school players who are dominating FSU or 17. Like I don't even, I don't even understand how it is a 17 year old can, can run a college football sport on the road with perfect passes. He's 17. You guys do know that you is.

[Mike]

Back right to work.

[Chris]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats podcast.

[Dan Le Batard]

I meant to get to the Panthers fighting the lightning when we were talking earlier because the delight on Roy's face as the two time champions returned to work by just creating a riot that if it happened in any other sport, a riot of such intensity, we would ban the teams forever in organizations and say, you cannot behave that way. That was supposed to be a professional hockey game. You cannot have 7,000 penalties and a guy getting an assist who'd been ejected.

[Chris]

Well, I can tell you that the Panthers didn't create that riot. It was the lightning. And that was in response to Thursday's game when A.J.

[Dan Le Batard]

Greer. It's in response to the last 10 years, Roy.

[Mike]

Okay, it's not.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's in response to the last 10 years of the fight for hockey has been in this state, which is funny, at Canada's expense. And they're fighting the lightning because bleep you, Lightning. We took what was yours. That's why they're fighting the lightning. You're going to go to the micro on that.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

These are organizations that hate each other because the Panthers took what the lightning got because the lightning taught them how to take it.

[Chris]

Well, I mean the Panthers kind of taught themselves with what they did with Vegas and losing that series. But yes, yes, you're exactly right.

[Tony]

The Panthers had a goal removed that they scored in that preseason game because Mikola assisted it after he was ejected. Think about that for a second.

[Chris]

I got some, I got some stats from here. There were 20 roughing minors. There were four majors that weren't fights. There were five fights, two match penalties, six 10 minute misconducts, 12 game misconducts, 65 total penalties.

[Dan Le Batard]

They didn't play a hockey game. It was all right. You know, I'm watching football and every once in a while soccer breaks out with the kickers and rugby breaks out with the tush push and it's an or punching. Boxing breaks out. We're like, don't put this with my sports. This was a full fledged riot.

[Chris]

322.

[Dan Le Batard]

That was not a hockey game. That was the Panthers and the Lightning have been fighting over the state for the last 10 years. And in college football, the three teams have been fighting for the state for the last 50 years. And I am not going to be a prisoner of the moment on this. So I'm going to offer you some qualifiers and I'm going to say that I understand that the University of Miami is fully capable of losing a football game to Duke or, or Georgia Tech. But the team that I saw do that in Tallahassee to that Florida State team that was 2 and 10 last year and confused us all with what happened at Alabama. The University of Miami can beat you more ways than any team in college football. They are the best team in college football. Maybe Ohio State could beat them in a game because whatever. But the talent they have, they have more ways to beat you than any team in the sport. It's obvious what Texas just had happened to them in Florida. These are not one game samples over a month. The best athletes are always in Florida and Miami has ransacked them. I saw usf. USF is a good football team. USF has a ton of talent. And look at what happens when Texas goes into the swamp. An offense that was incompetent with the Gators suddenly makes what's supposed to be the cream of the SEC and the guy with the quarterback chromosome. Oh no, Texas, you're not even going to make the playoff. You're Penn State fraud. Bogus. Florida takes the sport back so now it's Florida and Ohio State. Because what you saw from Miami in doing that to a physical FSU team that did that to Alabama is all, you can't play with them. They can beat you with big plays now. They can beat you with defense. They're not going to do all of the dumb things. They'll take a touchdown off the board because of an illegal procedure. Fine. The kid turned 18, had three touchdowns, one of them taken away. The one that was taken away was more, was prettier than the others. And one of those was a pro throw. So Florida State got ransacked. Do not let the score fool you. Maybe Miami loses a game because whatever the stuff that's been at the end where they go conservative in the second half, maybe they lose a game, but they're better than anybody else in the first half because when they take the field, they're extraordinary. Like they are the balanced thing that doesn't exist in a sport that's gone true parody.

[Mike]

FSU did a really good job against Miami's run. They kind of sold out for that. Miami was prepared for that game plan, knew that they could take some shots on some corners that gamble entering the game. For his career, Carson Beck was 3 of 15 on balls that traveled over 40 yards in the air in the first half. He had two of such passes. The third bounced off of Malachi. Tony's hands was an absolute dot from Carson Beck. I think maybe we should apply the context of it raining down here for a month straight when we have conversations about Carson Beck. He was dynamite. And I heard a. I did a lot of listening to FSU podcasts both before and after the game. And a pretty good analogy was made by one of the FSU podcasts. Is Miami's that power hitter. That pitcher decides, if you want to beat us, you're going to beat us. We're going to throw low and away, and you're going to have to find a way to beat us. Okay? We'll go oppo like, okay, that's what you're going to give us. We'll beat you whichever way you want us to. Miami is a very deep, very balanced team.

[Dan Le Batard]

Why are your hands tied? Your hands have been tied. This program's hands have been tied for 20 years. Why are your hands presently tied? That looks like a good tight. I cannot tie the kind of knot that is required a fisherman's knot to get Mike Ryan so that he is not able to move his hands. What's happened here?

[Mike]

This was my second loss at the Dentech bucket. I thought I was definitely going to have another loss this last week. Shout out to Mac Jones, who saw a dead body before the game. Appreciate that. One of the more improbable straight up victories. So thankfully this. This settles my account at the the dented dentech bucket debt.

[Tony]

Does someone look cooler than they ever will? Like, the coolest anyone ever looks is roping a boat. When someone gets on the dock and they do that thing where they can just by flinging the rope, you think that's the. Billy, what is the peak.

[Dan Le Batard]

What are you looking at? It's a.

[Billy]

Nothing. I'm just listening. I'm here.

[Tony]

Give me something cooler.

[Dan Le Batard]

Beat it.

[Tony]

The guy hops off the boat. Everyone else is still on the boat and he's tying that thing down without even having to, like, use a second hand.

[Jeremy]

How about p. When you're untying it, you're pushing off the dock.

[Tony]

The untie is not as cool as the tie.

[Jeremy]

No, you don't know what you're talking.

[Tony]

The untie.

[Jeremy]

You kick off the dock and then you get back on the boat with one leg.

[Dan Le Batard]

Cool.

[Tony]

That is cool.

[Jeremy]

You're on. You're on. Basically both you're on the dock and the boat untying. Hey, we're off back here.

[Mike]

Boom.

[Jeremy]

I kick off and we're on.

[Tony]

Love a boater's not. Love a boater's not.

[Dan Le Batard]

Chris, are you saying that you could apply yourself and then feel cool if you were coming in off the boat and every. All the part. What you're saying is the part that you've got covered. You're basically saying a crew member is able to do something with such dexterity. Well, it doesn't have to be a captain. It can just be somebody.

[Tony]

Not the crew guys. Ever gone out with someone that's like one. It's not. I don't have a yacht. Okay. You get like a captain, that he's the only guy on the boat. He ends up doing it all.

[Mike]

Yes.

[Jeremy]

You got to help him in that spot.

[Billy]

Yeah, you got to help.

[Tony]

I'm just telling you. I've been on a boat where the captain does it all.

[Dan Le Batard]

Fine. Chris. These are details that are not.

[Tony]

No, they wanted to jump down my third.

[Dan Le Batard]

Although the captain. Yeah, well, because you're saying it's the.

[Tony]

Like the captain would ever do that when. They always do that.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's.

[Billy]

It depends the size of the boat.

[Dan Le Batard]

You a man of the people. By being on a smaller boat where the captain does all of the work. Okay.

[Billy]

Man of the people ties the knots. Themselves and drives the boat. They don't have a captain. Chris is like upper middle class trying.

[Jeremy]

To release somebody to drive us.

[Tony]

Every three years I rent a boat for the day and we have a captain. Yeah, once every three years though. Don't get crazy. I'm saving up for this.

[Dan Le Batard]

Chris has got it right for him because he likes the idea of a captain who's in control of the seas down here where. Where it is difficult. Any one of us would try to tie up that boat and we would do real damage to that boat banging against the side because it takes the dexterity and the winds do not cooperate and neither do the waves. I've. I've seen Hanover beach swallow all these amateurs who don't understand the inlets.

[Tony]

Tony's over here. Captain Tony's.

[Jeremy]

Hold on. Why am I being defensive right now? Thank you. One and two. I'm just one. No, none. I'm so the first mate. What I. What I usually am on the boat that my. My father in law has.

[Dan Le Batard]

Call yourself that.

[Jeremy]

I'm the guy. No, because he's the captain. The captain can't drive the boat against the dock and then jump out, tie the boat and then come back and then tie the other.

[Dan Le Batard]

Chris is saying he's had a one man crew who's an amazing one man band.

[Jeremy]

And you just sit there and watch.

[Dan Le Batard]

Him because he hammered. He's doing middle class.

[Billy]

That's why it looks cool.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is what's happening. Middle class drinking and he just gets on a boat. You cap takes care of everything. He'll bring out some pigs. He'll bring out some pigs in a blanket that he got at Publix. And Chris is riding the high seas on a Sunday like a baller because he's got a captain. But it's a one man show unless he brings his son.

[Tony]

Just shut up and sit down.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right.

[Tony]

Thank you.

[Billy]

Maybe you guy think the captain's cool. It's not the act of it. You just like the captain the act of that.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, that. What the thing I'm saying that Chris has right is that captain can get off a boat and he'll lasso the entirety of the seas. And it's impressive and it's impressive that he could do it without any help because our wins are strong and so is our local college football team, the university of Miami, because it now has. And look, health matters and all the qualifiers, okay? In a one game sample, anybody can lose. But what Ruben Bane does to get that 15 yard penalty, he's physically more menacing than Everyone who is out there on the defensive line, he's a clear top 10 pick. And you will not throw against them consistently because they will keep plays in front of them, even if it's Castellanos. And Castellanos is good, but he felt a little bit like he was out there by himself. It's like, I'm as good an athlete as some of these other guys, but my front lines aren't as good as their front lines and so on both sides. Because you said Carson Beck in the rain. No, not Carson Beck in the rain. Carson Beck with no one around him playing a different sport because it's not loop de loops. It's because those defensive linemen are not going to be able to get past those offensive linemen. And so that's an easy game. Carson Beck can play that game for. For any team in the land. If you're going to protect him, like, he'll get receivers open to Kent State that way because that's. Castellanos was not allowed to play that football game.

[Mike]

Castellanos.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, hold on.

[Jeremy]

Why is it Castellanos?

[Dan Le Batard]

Why did he saying it wrong with you, Tony? They keep telling me that I can't change his name because his mama called him that. And I'm like, his mama doesn't call him that. His mama called him Castellanos. Yeah.

[Jeremy]

Yanos.

[Dan Le Batard]

He can't change. He can't change it. He's not allowed.

[Mike]

I think that's usually how it works.

[Jeremy]

No, it doesn't work that way.

[Mike]

Really. That's all right. Ruben Bane had 11 pressures. This duo of Mezador. There was a great moment and it was. If you were there, you could notice it. Castellanos is doing his thing in the backfield, very slippery. He runs into Ruben Bane, who has his arms outstretched. I can't display it because my hands are tied, but he's like, you're going to run into my arms. Casalanos puts a foot in the ground and decides, I'll just run into Mazador's arms instead. Please. Thank you very much. Eleven pressures. The sack numbers aren't there for Ruben Bane, but if you're watching these games, Reuben Bane and Mazador are absolutely wrecking.

[Dan Le Batard]

So here's having watched, like this has got some history behind it. Okay. When I'm talking about what championship teams look like at Miami, just physically what they look like, how you can't get side to side on them. And Even if you're a 66 wide receiver, you can't get past their secondary either, because we've had down here some champions and we had down here that before Burrow and ja' Marr Chase was the single best college football team I'd ever seen. It was Butch Davis learning what needed to learn, be learned. So that all of the athletes out there, you were like, oh, oh, I see now in the pros why it is. Ohio State's been good for 10 years. Look at all those receivers that came out of Ohio State. Of course that's how it happened. Miami has never had this as an edge rush. Like never had it. Like I'll go back to Daniel Stubb and Bill Hawkins, but they've always gotten the pressure up the middle. It's never been two beasts on the side that you can't get outside of either because they're too big and strong.

[Mike]

Yeah, two guys at the same time. Like again, try not to be hyperbolic. But this season goes away that it's looking. You can talk about Mazidor and Bane as potentially the greatest edge rush duo in the history of Miami. You mentioned Ohio State. Miami. I know nationally everyone just is going to make the assumption, well, nil. They're going after all these blue chippers. And yeah, there are some blue chippers here. But let's look at the guys making the impact in this game. There was a sequence there and this was highlighted by Gabby Uritia. Through the smoke There was a two play sequence in which Miami got 80 yards from true freshman Bryce Fitzgerald, a four star true freshman, gets an interception, runs it back and then Malachi Tony, who was a three star, gets a huge bomb and Miami wins the game. There. Ruben Bane, four star, should have been a five star, led the state and Sacks was a four star. Jacoby Thomas who was absolutely flying all over the field. This was a rotational guy for Tennessee that Miami gets in the portal. Miami is also doing some really good talent evaluation.

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris]

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[Dan Le Batard]

It's brutal.

[Chris]

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[Mike]

Hey Mike. I want to talk to you about Miller Lite. You and I have bonded over these last few weeks talking about our shared love of Miller Lite.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's right.

[Mike]

A great partner of our show for practically its entire existence.

[Guest]

It's been a partner of this show since I was 10 years old and.

[Mike]

It'S been around for 50 years and they've been a part of our show for almost 20. We're approaching incredible partner status with Miller Lite.

[Guest]

I mean, to think that people were celebrating at my bar mitzvah with Miller Lite as they were a partner of this show is pretty incredible about the.

[Mike]

Moments that are made better by making those times, those special times. Miller Time. Jeremy, there's nothing like cracking open Miller Lite with your crew this football season. It's especially true whether it's a touchdown you didn't see coming or just arguing about fantasy lineups you already know you're gonna lose. Miller Lite has been the taste you can depend on for 50 years. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients, rich toffee notes that iconic golden color. And here's a kicker. Jeremy.

[Dan Le Batard]

What's that?

[Mike]

It's just 96 calories.

[Guest]

I still can't believe that we say it every week. I can't believe it.

[Mike]

It's just 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. It's the original light beer since 1975 and still hit indifferent five decades later. Miller Light, great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Don LeBatard to US residents.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, wow. It's in there.

[Mike]

Think I haven't been practicing stugats?

[Dan Le Batard]

I didn't realize we had a substitute. Complicated legacy brought to you by headquarters road. Huh?

[Jeremy]

441 power line road. Second down to nine.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the D Levatar show with the Stugats. The way Alabama lost when it went to that stadium. And that's Alabama. And we erased how quickly all of Alabama's last 15 years in saying, ah, Alabama's done and Florida State's back. No, Florida State has really good athletes, but they're not the best in the state. The best in the state has ransacked the state. And the best in the state has a football team that I haven't seen down here. This was not Rick's football team that got into the top five. I doubted that team all season long. I never thought that team had the best players. But this thing steps on the field and what I'm telling you haven't seen what USF actually is to drag them physically is to look at what happened with Texas when they went into Florida. Like, no, they're playing Florida football down here now. Sec. All that shit's been erased. Like Whatever. Whatever the gerrymandering is in the jurisdictions. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You get all the Florida kids and you can win the state. Everyone in the country knows you can fight with Ohio and Alabama and Georgia and anything else that you want to put out there. Miami is doing is C.J. daniels is in Doe Campbell Stadium and I can hear him on the microphone in the end zone doing the war chant at 28 to 3 because it's gone that dead after Jimbo Fisher, who knows what champions look like, is weeping during the pre game because they're doing the war champ. But no, not yet. Fsu, like, not yet because the state has been taken. It's fixed. It's like have no question that when Castellanos is being pressured 31 times and Beck is being pressured six, it's fixed. Like whatever you had on, you thought their defense could not be trusted. No, Castellanos is a tremendous athlete. He did that to Alabama in that stadium. He was fighting at the end. It was impressive to watch him.

[Billy]

Lanos, Giannis, what's fixed?

[Dan Le Batard]

Everything at UM is fixed.

[Billy]

Yeah, but Beck's gone next year, so you have to start again.

[Mike]

Yeah, Cameron Ward was gone last year.

[Billy]

Okay. I'm just saying you can't just say no.

[Dan Le Batard]

But they can get.

[Mike]

I think Mario Cristobal has shown over the know three years. If there's a problem, he'll solve it. Check out the hook while his DJ revolves it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Beck can get hurt, Billy, and it can render moot some of what I'm saying. Health can mentor. Render moot much of what I'm saying.

[Billy]

The playoffs also, by the way, with so many rounds, I mean, they'll probably get a buy, right? But you have to win multiple rounds to get to the national championship and then win it. Like it's. It's not just.

[Mike]

That's insight. We only get here.

[Billy]

Well, I'm just saying it's not just, hey, finish in the top four and you have to win one game and you're in the championship anymore.

[Mike]

I think we're aware of what the standard is.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, but Billy. Yes. They can turn the ball over four times in a game and lose. I've seen Miami lost to Penn State in a championship that made Penn State because they had a team that was that good and then had six turnovers and they lost. What I'm saying is that what I'm watching physically, it's as good as anything. It's obvious. It's obvious to the eye. Like they could turn the ball over five times and Lose a game. It wouldn't change my opinion on. They just dragged Monster ATH through Florida, through USF and through fsu. Dragged all of them, which is going.

[Tony]

To be the scary one on the schedule. Come on, there's a couple coming up here. Which one's it going to be, Mike?

[Mike]

Yeah, look. Looking at the landscape of college football, if you ask yourself honestly, is there a team in this country that can run the table perfectly? I think Nick Saban, who by the way, is unbelievable on TV and has found a way to be really good and insightful on TV without being overly charismatic. Honestly, Tom Brady should borrow a page from what Nick Saban is doing because the audience is rooting for Tom Brady. Lean on your insight. Tell me your knowledge of the game. Give me a little sneak peek into that brain of yours. Nick Saban does that routinely. And Nick Saban was tremendous on college game day this last week and he made the point. You know, we had a lot of great teams. I've won seven national titles. You know how many of those teams went undefeated? 1. Teams have adversity. Miami is going to face adversity in these games. They face adversity. I think they're really well positioned. Miami looks like they can beat anyone in the nation. I do think that there's this upper tier in the nation like Oregon, Ohio State, certainly Texas Tech. Well, Texas Tech, we'll see. You know, Texas Tech's defense no doubt looks like they're formidable. I'm not ready to write off Texas. Look, but I'm really shocked at what Texas's offensive line looked like against Florida. Florida's still missing guys on defense. They, they got one guy back on offense. Dallas. Dallas Wilson seemed to make a difference, although them running the ball seemed to be the key thing there. I was stunned. This is a program that famously had an nil program where every offensive lineman got a million dol, got a seven figure deal and Texas got dominated at the line of scrimmage. Arch Manning had no shot in that game.

[Dan Le Batard]

The thing that I am saying, Billy, and I understand anybody, I have not done this before with the University of Miami and I'm telling you, I didn't do it when they were 10. And oh for Mark Richt, because that was an inferior team physically. I haven't seen what Malachi Toney is here since, like Santana Moss and Kevin Williams where they have a little jitterbug who's faster than everybody out there and is it. You can put him back on punt returns and he just knows how to do what Devin Hester does and you can't teach it. Malachi.

[Mike]

It is funny. Devin Hester is actually a good one. Like if you clocked his speed, straight line speed, Devin Hester, like what you remember of Devin Hester doesn't exactly compute there. And Malachi, Tony does look fast on the field. He is not this speedster guy. He is doing it by putting a foot in the ground and going, being decisive, having incredible vision. The stiff arm that he had on the one that got called back, like, this kid is an unbelievable natural at the game.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a Restrepo with deep threat capabilities that are larger than and more obvious than Restrepo's. Like, again, any of these guys can get hurt. But the way that he's trending is not something I've ever seen in the history of the school. From someone who just turned 18 where it's like he can go into any swamp in America and beat your football team with 60 yard plays. That's, that's, that's not something that's very common at even Miami, who has had plenty of, plenty of big play players.

[Mike]

He was forced to play a lot of quarterback last year as he was at a school in which our best player is going to touch the ball every time. So that's another reason why he came in as a three star.

[Dan Le Batard]

Malachi. So if I can here, because when I look at the entire history of what it is that Florida and FSU have been, Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders right now are playing out their last act on television, figuring out how to dominate the media landscape for the last 30 years. Like they've dominated and Deon just got passed and he's in bad health and he's saying he's in pain during the press conference and he's got blood clots. And I'm guessing that Deon doesn't need or want to do that that much longer. He did what he wanted to do with his son. And I guess that physically he's beaten up in a way that makes all of that very hard. But he conquered, got to college football, grabbed one grass, one last grift here. And I'd assume that Dion will look for an exit ramp here. And I'm not accusing him of quitting in any way. I just, if you're in harm and in pain and your health is bad and it's hard for him to walk and he's in and out of hospitals and your son no longer plays there and you got Travis Hunter and your son to the big day, like maybe you think he's got a greater commitment to Colorado than I do. I think he's a mercenary who's always been about Deon and got, you know, got a big bag of money and will probably get out soon.

[Mike]

I would have thought that too. And I think it's unfair considering he's there right now. He had every. All the reasons that you just outlined were probably even more serious when he felt like his life was in grave danger and he decided to tough it out. Maybe he's decided, maybe it wasn't worth it. But I think he's earned a lot because of what you outlined.

[Dan Le Batard]

I've admired these two men, flaws and all, Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders, because they taught me how to love this. That felt like it had returned on Saturday where Miami's going to fsu. FSU priding itself on being the scary place with the culturally appropriated war chant that makes Jimbo Fisher cry because he'll never feel as good even as the highest paid coach in America that he did when he had Jameis Winston and he was able to do what Bobby Bowden had such a hard time doing. His. His teacher, his mentor. Jimbo got to highest paid salary, won with the greatest quarterback that there's ever been as a freshman in the state and cries with the war chant. Miami goes in there and throttles him. And FSU's been at the top. They go from 13, 1 to 2 and 10 to, you know, they're good enough to beat Alabama by two touchdowns at home. Whatever else they are, you know, they're good enough to do that and that means something still, no matter the state of Alabama. To see Michael Irvin attach himself now because he realizes, no, that looks like the championship things and I am still the guy who used to call my old dorm number from the champion Cowboys just to make sure that those University of Miami kids were doing the right things. He has now become the new mascot for the University of Miami. At 50, he's reinventing himself. Television jobs are drying up. They're hard to get. Like he's on First Take with Cam Newton. But there aren't a lot of spaces right now for Michael Irvin. So what's he doing?

[Billy]

He had one until he cost himself the job.

[Tony]

Seems to be taking a belt to.

[Mike]

The side of BTA Dano.

[Billy]

Bta.

[Dan Le Batard]

That is correct. He's on media hard times, but he's officially allowed to be the University of Miami's mascot. Who. Can you guys find this for me? Louis in the back room. It used to be that the mascot, the Ibis. The Ibis has had two legendary scandals. One, he was handcuffed on the field at Doe Campbell. There's a photo of that somewhere. The Ibis mascot was handcuffed on the field. The other illegality was an Orange bowl game that wasn't supposed to be a home game. The Hurricanes weren't allowed to come through the smoke and he still brought out a fire extinguisher. Anyway, those are the two great scandals of the greatest mascot there's ever been in South Florida. Michael Irvin's better. Michael Irvin should forever be the mascot for the University of Miami football team. He could be Yamayama. He could be Dolphin Denny. He could be. He could be all. He could be the greatest mascot there's ever been for the University of Miami football team. Does anyone here not endorse that? Will you guys all notarize that if I allow that for the record?

[Mike]

Rest of time, you see him get bowled over during the game. He and Holly Row. Holly Row. Tough. Tough as nails. Went to the ground twice during that game.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the pole. Holly Road. Tough as nails. Yes or no?

[Jeremy]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Jeremy]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Tony]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Jeremy]

This product contains nicotine.

[Dan Le Batard]

Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

[Jeremy]

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[Mike]

Don LeBatard I don't think in 2021 I can get away with my Michael Irvin radio show impress.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dots K. I think that's still okay. I think you give. This is the Dan Levitar show with the st. The University of Miami. People are going to see it as an overreaction. I think. Billy, you want to pull the other. You want to pull the other side of this today and say it's the.

[Billy]

Best team we've ever seen.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's not. But it's the most complete one I've seen since the 2001 one. Just complete more ways to beat you.

[Mike]

Yeah, I think everyone understands that this team is got to prove it. And like I said, there's a lot of man, the parody is so great. I think this was the first time since 1996 that teams this far under 500, UCLA who I believe was winless and a one law, a one victory Florida that teams that were that bad in win loss records on the Same weekend upended two top 10 teams. NIL has leveled the playing field. Parody is fun. I think it actually makes sense to have an expanded playoff field Although people have their feelings, because what teams are right now, they're not going to be come December, come January.

[Dan Le Batard]

Chris, why are you laughing?

[Tony]

I could watch Michael Irvin all day.

[Dan Le Batard]

I keep put. Put it up on all the televisions here. Just put him up. Look, I just want him.

[Tony]

Every belt on the wall.

[Dan Le Batard]

He's.

[Jeremy]

That's not even the best one, Dan. The best one is him doing push ups in the locker room.

[Tony]

When everybody's walking in, I go, belt.

[Dan Le Batard]

Who's got a better mascot than Michael Irvin? Is the University of Miami's mascot. Flaws and all, flaws and all, all of it.

[Tony]

I mean, he's literally in a couple of these, standing right next to the mascot and just outshining him. The mascot's like, yeah, go ahead, man.

[Mike]

He was. He was all around town, just like in, like in overalls, just talking to FSU fans, getting into the banter game. He's about this Miami football life.

[Dan Le Batard]

Don't you think it's funny, though, that he was from afar envying what Dion was getting in Colorado? Because Michael can't do the things Deion can to become a coach and leader. That way, nobody would ever entrust him with anything except this. I'll give him this, and I'll give him a lifetime like this.

[Mike]

Where does he find the energy, Dan?

[Jeremy]

Push ups in the locker room.

[Mike]

That's all you got to know.

[Dan Le Batard]

Like.

[Mike]

Limitless energy right here. What is like, I feel like I got to do push ups.

[Tony]

The mascot is hyping him up.

[Mike]

This guy's tank is always on F. How. How does he do it? He's an older man.

[Dan Le Batard]

Danny Canal was on satellite radio interviewing Joe Zagaki last week. And I got out of the car, but was legitimately interested in what Joe's answer was to this, because he was asked, what's the best of the games you've ever seen with the Seminoles and the Hurricanes, which is the one that you remember the most? The one I remember is the one that Michael Irvin in the fourth quarter, down 19 to 3, came back and stole their championship running down the sideline. And Tony's faster than Michael is. Like, Michael wasn't even one of the faster guys. But that's what those champions look like. And this team looks like that. This team has Jason Taylor coaching the defensive ends. Like, like, do you guys realize that how Jason Taylor is going to get into this game trying to be a head coach by having to do what he's done with those defensive ends? They are learning from the best person to ever rush A passer in the state, in this region, like Jason Taylor's working as an assistant coach, A hall of fame assistant coach, coaching these defensive ends because they know it's championship good. They know they have the bodies and the money to compete with anybody. When I say it's fixed, you're right, Billy. They'll have to buy another quarterback next year. But those recruits saw what they did to Florida. Like this is Miami taking the state back. They haven't been able to do that for a while. It's been a minute.

[Billy]

I mean, but that's not what they hired Mario Crispall to do, was to win the state.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's correct.

[Mike]

Yes, it was. No, it was. It begins down here. That's. You win the recruiting battles down here and you feel like if you win the recruiting battles down here, you have the guys to develop and give your team a chance. They are nationally relevant. He's done it inside of four years and he knows the job's not finished. He is back here to win a national championship for Miami. Whether that's this year or down the line, it now feels like we are on that path. And it hasn't felt like that in a very long time. In terms of being sustainable, in terms of being real, yes, Billy is absolutely right. He was brought here to win national championships. You know who said that? Mario Cristobal. You know who says that privately? Mario Cristobal. You can't get there without having these benchmarks along the way. Winning the state back to back state champs, dominating at the line of scrimmage, looking like the best team in America at times. Yeah, they're on their way.

[Jeremy]

Does it feel like the tide has turned a little bit on Mario? Is it early to say or is.

[Mike]

It when Mario Cristobal knows more about analytics than. Than people in the NFL right now? Because I for the life, for me, if you think making a two score game, a two score game with a field goal is the right move. Don't talk to me. Don't talk to me. You go to kill that game. And he made the right call there. The execution was bad. They probably should have called the timeout because it was rushed. Malachi, by the way, had a touchdown. If he doesn't run into his offensive lineman.

[Dan Le Batard]

Billy, I see your face now. I want to go down a couple of paths here. Chris, help me do it because Mike just threw in a privately there that seems like it's bigger than happen to know and needs imaging like that. Mario has said something privately suggests that he's talking to Mario or listening, eavesdropping on Mario in private conversation. So when Mike says he's been saying it privately, okay, I want imaging for that because that seems to be a higher standard of journalism than even happen to know. Don't you agree? Like, what the. What was that? He said it privately.

[Mike]

It's like he knows what the standard is here. He knows what the standard is here. Better than I do, better than you do, better than Billy does. He knows. He knows what it means.

[Dan Le Batard]

So. So to that for a second. For a second. Knows what the standard is. Yes. This is a very emotional story for Mario Cristobal, who can tell you the exile story and what it meant to coach both FIU and Miami. And he's a lunatic, okay? Just overzealous beyond all measure. Indefatigable. I guess if Jason Taylor were sitting here right now and I asked him, are you scared of Mario? He'd probably say yes. I think just the intensity is not sane. It's, I've got to be better than my brother. It's, I got to be better than all the other Cubans. It's I gotta be better than them at Miami with the Columbus crew behind me. I gotta represent Miami. I've gotta represent Miami for people Tony's age. Cause his dad knows what I am as an offensive lineman who shouldn't have been playing 100 pounds heavier than I was because I was willing to get, you know, ravage my body in the name of what you do to win this game.

[Mike]

The word he said, I guarantee you it's more like title good.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah. But this ring now this person is infected with I'm going to win at we're tougher than you up front. And he's got his lifelong friend next to him, doesn't come up to his knee. Who's the offensive line coach. And what I'm watching that I'm telling you is championship good. Is no, they'll devour you up front, too. Like, it's not what it was last year with Cam Ward. The secondary will beat you. You want to do with the linebackers like they. If that team stays healthy. It's just very clear that it. It. There hasn't been this balanced a team here in Miami in 20 years. You can't say. You can't say. This feels like the Steven Morris University of Miami. Billy, can you. Do you feel like this is all hyperventilation and absurdity and that we're all on Michael Irvin stuff?

[Billy]

No, I'm just saying you brought in Mario Cristobal when There was a 14 playoff. He did not make the 14 playoff. It was expanded to a 12 team playoff. He did not make the 12 team playoff with the number one pick in the draft. The team looks good now. But you didn't bring him in to simply say we beat FSU and UF every year.

[Dan Le Batard]

All correct.

[Billy]

So like you still need to make it. And we've seen good teams that make it to the playoffs that don't end up winning. So when the standards, the national championship, you can't be going around saying five and oh, everything's fixed.

[Mike]

I think you can say the major problems facing this program were fixed. They're getting, you can't get back into that conversation being national title good without the guys getting picked at the top of the draft. Miami just hasn't been doing that. They had this unbelievable streak of getting first rounders drafted and now we're looking at a roster that potentially has four top 20 guys on it right now. It's, it's, it is you to get there. You need the horses to get there. He's getting there.

[Dan Le Batard]

So let me, I, let me just ask you this.

[Billy]

But recruiting's never been his problem. Coaching is his problem.

[Dan Le Batard]

That is correct.

[Billy]

So like saying that, that the team is well rounded and you have all their groups. That's fine. What they need to overcome is him.

[Mike]

Yeah. Is this not a well coached team?

[Billy]

It's five games into the season. Season.

[Mike]

All right. And they've had the hardest, they've had the hardest schedule I think in the nation. And I think that. I hear you. No one's debating whether or not Miami needs to win a title to get absolutely back. There's times for Mario crystal balls criticisms. There's been plenty of ample opportunities for you to criticize Mario crystal ball.

[Billy]

I'm not criticizing. Today is not throwing a championship parade.

[Tony]

He's criticizing the they're officially back statement.

[Mike]

I mean I, they're back in being in the conversation. They were in the conversation last year.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can I give you some of the history though? When I tell you in all of the last 20 years, you've never heard me say it. I don't do that. I haven't. And so maybe it's my arrogance saying no. I know what looks championship good down here. I've seen it six times. I'm saying no, I'm looking. It's not just that. It's what happened to Texas in Florida. Huh? Like it's. And, and it's doing like, oh, the SEC is not actually out in front of anybody. It's all just mirage now. So Saban took all that with him.

[Mike]

Miami is so good this season that they're changing people's minds about team after they play teams after they play them. I guess Notre Dame must not be that good. Usf, they were ranked. They, they. We forget everything that we were saying about them being able to go into the swamp and beat Florida, but they must not be good because Miami throttled them. Look at Florida. They're broken. What happens their very next game? Game. They beat Texas. And not just beat Texas, dominate them in the way that Miami dominated Florida two weeks earlier. Miami's a good team. This was. I'm not going to allow people to reverse, to change the narrative around FSU's offense too. Look at those numbers. They've been moving the ball.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is crazy. This is what I'm. This is what I'm telling you. It's not just the ego of arrogance and what I feel like is expertise. It's because I watch that Miami team and I'm like, no, I trust that all that I'm seeing there is so that all of that is durable, sustainable, solid. Because those are all athletes. Because when I'm watching the USF game against Charlotte and they're getting up 23, nothing. And I know it's Charlotte, but six, I've never seen this before. First quarter, six dropped passes right in the chest of USF players because they haven't learned how to play football. But they're unbelievable athletes. They have to go to USF because they can't get into the other three schools. The other three that are taking the players are uf, FSU and Miami. And, and what Miami did to usf, to me, is more impressive than what they just did to Florida State. Because in the USF game, they finished it. There were no questions. Like this one will be 28, 22. And people will wonder because they didn't watch the entirety of the game. They're like, ah, Miami's playing close games late. They're giving, they're going conservative. But I'm watching what is clearly a team of better athletes. Top to bottom, front to top, like all of the. In a way that's obvious that Stephen Morris's team didn't feel like this, going in top five to pit like it was. Stephen, you. You did not trust them. I trust them despite their coach. I feel like their coach might botch one of these late. I've seen him do it a number of times.

[Jeremy]

Dan, what other team in the nation is putting belt to ass? On a brick wall.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay. What team? Dan.

[Mike]

Hey, Jeremy. Oh, buddy, old pal. Hey, Mike. I want to talk to you about Miller. You and I have bonded over these last few weeks, talking about our shared love of Miller Lite.

[Guest]

That's right.

[Mike]

A great partner of our show for practically its entire existence.

[Guest]

It's been a partner of this show since I was 10 years old, and.

[Mike]

It'S been around for 50 years, and they've been a part of our show for almost 20. We're approaching incredible partner status with Miller Lite.

[Guest]

I mean, to think that people were celebrating at my bar mitzvah with Miller Lite as they were a partner of this show is pretty incredible.

[Mike]

You're talking about the moments that are made better by. By making those times, those special times. Miller time. Jeremy, there's nothing like cracking open Miller Lite with your crew this football season. It's especially true whether it's a touchdown you didn't see coming or just arguing about fantasy lineups you already know you're gonna lose. Miller Lite has been the taste you can depend on for 50 years. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients, rich toffee notes that iconic golden color. And here's a kicker. Jeremy.

[Dan Le Batard]

What's that?

[Mike]

It's just 96 calories.

[Guest]

I still can't believe that we say it every week. I can't believe.

[Dan Le Batard]

Believe it.

[Mike]

It's just 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. It's the original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later. Miller Lite, great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.