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Jenna Kim Jones
This is an iHeart podcast.
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Jenna Kim Jones
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Petros Papadakis
So you're telling me that the AI.
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Brady Quinn
Limu Emu and Doug. Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.
Petros Papadakis
Fascinating. It's accompanied by by his natural ally, Doug.
Brady Quinn
Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
Petros Papadakis
Cut the camera. They see us.
Jonas Knox
Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com savings very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts. This is Jonas Knox from 2 pros and a Cup of Joe. And are you ready to tackle your financial goals but don't know where to start? Weble makes it simple to start investing now, no matter your experience. Powerful tools, real time data all in one platform built for you. Don't sit on the sidelines. Visit weble.com or download download the app and start with as little as $1 today. That's webull.com Webull Financial LLC member SIPC FINRA investing involves risk. For more information visit weble.com disclosures you're.
Brady Quinn
Listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Jonas Knox
It is the Dan Patrick show here on Fox Sports Radio. He's Brady Quinn. I'm Jonas Knox. Normally we do our show Two Pros and a Cup of Joe Monday through Friday. We are the show before the Dan Patrick show and we are normally alongside Lavar Aar. But Lavar Arrington decided not to do today's show.
Brady Quinn
I mean, oh, don't shame him. Don't do this what do you mean? This is what you guys do when one of us isn't here.
Jonas Knox
I got.
Brady Quinn
Listen, don't get into this. He's got five kids. They're all over the country. I got five that are young. We're tied up with things. You're the one that would, you know, work from 2 to 5am every night if given the opportunity.
Jonas Knox
That's correct, yeah. It's the only time in my house.
Brady Quinn
I'm sorry. We're building our family and we're, you know, with our family during the holidays. I think that's okay.
Jonas Knox
It's the only time I'm able to speak English. So, like, I'm, I'm, I'm happy to, to be filling in here for the Dan Patrick show. You know, it's, it's nice to have a home game from time to time. But we will be taking you all the way up until noon Eastern Time, 9:00am Pacific Time here on the DP Show. And by the way, you can check out our brand new YouTube channel. For our show, just search 2Pros FSR on YouTube. Again, that's 2Pros FSR. Be sure to hit the subscribe button and don't stop there. Hit the thumbs up icon a comment away. Let us know who the show you agree with, who you think is completely wrong. But check out our new channel on YouTube again, just search 2 pros FSR and subscribe. Can I just tell you this? Cause I know you were like belittling the Hawaii bowl, okay? And I get it.
Brady Quinn
Whoa, whoa. Was not belittling anything. Just said, where was the game played? And you got defensive of your Rainbow warriors coming back and winning it because they're playing essentially a home game.
Jonas Knox
And look, you know, yes, that is a home game and it's in front of a packed house of like 35 people. And look, I get all that. Like, all of that is, it was well attended.
Brady Quinn
There's a lot of, there's a lot of Hawaii fans there.
Jonas Knox
You know, hey, interesting camera angles. I'll just, I'll just put it that way. Very, very interesting how they, how they present, present that game. But, you know, they're working on a new stadium. They're working on a new stadium. Aloha Stadium is gone and buried. So all of that is, is, that is a disappointment. But I will say this, and I know that people dismiss bowl games in general these days and say, well, you know, who cares about this? It's a goofy sponsor and nobody wants to be a part of this. Nobody wants to be. It is kind of cool to just have random college football games on in the middle of the day during the holidays. It is kind of cool. Like, I mean, and I'm not even saying from a gambling standpoint, you don't know who you're betting on. And I get that it's an exhibition. I still like random bowl games just thrown in in the middle of a Friday. Like, I just, I like it and I'm never going to not like it. And I hope that it continues on for as long as it does because I think there is something fun about it. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I. But I'm a big fan of these random games just in the middle of the week.
Brady Quinn
Yeah, if we need like the bowl games to be that, it's great, I guess. Like, I love football. I love any level of football. And seeing them on at any point in time during the day like that, that's one of my favorite parts to it. I just, I think the tough thing is for where college football is at, for the fan. That's what we love. That's what we've always known. And unfortunately for the players and coaches this time of year isn't that anymore. You know, these players now are being asked to play an exhibition game with a coach that may or may not be staying. And it's not usually a part of their deal, their contract. I mean, that's as crazy as that sounds to admit. That's how this works. You know, when you do a contract before the season, sometimes there's some things laid in, out, out in there. Sometimes there's nothing. And these exhibition games are ones that most of the agents at the college level who represent players are probably not factoring those players in to playing in those. And it stinks. But it's where college football is. It's now at a professional model. So I know it. It's tough for us as fans to hear about these guys opting out guys who transfer the portal coaches, you know, with one foot out the door. But this is a. That the adults at the table have all made and we've. We now no longer have this amateur sport. And in part because we've. We've given power back to the players and they're. And they're utilizing that. They're getting compensated for what they should have been compensated all along. And I, I look no further because it's funny, you bring up like bowl season college football. The thing that's like glaringly obvious to me, that becomes like the biggest issue in college athletics is what we're seeing in college basketball. Like you have players who have been drafted that went overseas to play professional basketball that are now joining teams with like a semester to play or players leaving like the G League.
Jonas Knox
Right.
Brady Quinn
It's like coming back to college basketball and then if that doesn't tell you this model is completely jacked up, I don't know what does.
Jonas Knox
Shout out to Brandon Whedon, Chris Wanke. You know, they were really ahead of their time. All right. They were really ahead of their time. They were different.
Brady Quinn
Right. Like those are guys who played professional sports in a different sport and then they came back to football. These are guys who are the same sport. It'd be like someone getting drafted in the sixth or you know, fifth or sixth round and then, you know, it doesn't work out for a year. They coming back to college, you know, that's the difference. Like, like we've never seen this. It's happening college basketball right now.
Jonas Knox
I. Where did like how did this whole thing start? This like this. It's basically Banana land. Was this all part of like Covid? I was talking to my brother last night because my nephew plays at Ferris State, by the way, just won another national championship and he's going to get a lot more burn time. Yeah, no. Antoine de Mela. Yeah, he's going to, he's going to be getting, you know, so am I.
Brady Quinn
Is there anyone in your family with the name that I just tried to utter?
Petros Papadakis
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Jonas Knox
And by the way, if you were looking for your straight up white bread name anywhere in, outside of the immediate family. Not happening. We shop in different aisles. Right. There's like, there's, there's something for everybody there. It is a real potluck. But like if you look at just sort of where like for his case, for example, so he's going to be getting a lot more burn time, as you call it next year as a player because the six year seniors are leaving. And then I believe that he mentioned last night that there was a seven year guy on the team. And I'm thinking to myself, wait, what? Like, like you just like Tyler Shuck? I, I think I have this like, I think Tyler Shuck. Was he a teammate with Justin Herbert at Oregon? I, I think he was.
Brady Quinn
I think he played seven years. He's a rookie, 26 now.
Petros Papadakis
Yeah.
Jonas Knox
It's like, so where did this, is this just the COVID year Just threw everything for a loop. Is that where we're at now?
Brady Quinn
That was part of it. But I. I think even with nil, once it was made legal, state by state, what's happened now is there's money involved, and all of these players, it could be their families, their agents, they're all trying to exhaust all efforts at earning whatever they can, while they can. And it's hard for me to look back at that and criticize it, because I think most people would do the same thing, too, if you're in that position. And it's always funny to me when you hear critics and people who comment against this and say, well, why are they doing that? Why can't they just move on? It's like, well, if you were getting potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars to come, you know, have your son play or, you know, daughter for that matter, maybe in some other sports, like, you would exhaust all efforts, too. So as much as we want to criticize it, this is a model that was essentially made by the NCAA out of negligence, meaning they wanted to keep denying the fact that this is where the sport was going at. In every sport, whether it's college basketball, you know, football, whatever you want to talk about, this is where it was going, and everyone wanted to turn a blind eye to it. And now we find ourselves in this position where I think in men's college basketball, it's never been worse. There's never been a more confusing, crazy time in men's college basketball than right now, where you've got legitimate, you know, amateur athletes, guys coming from the high school level up who are now competing with pros essentially, that couldn't make it in the NBA or. Or maybe are getting paid more now to come over from foreign professional leagues to playing. It's college basketball.
Jonas Knox
It's crazy.
Rob Gronkowski
And.
Brady Quinn
And the thing that's crazy to me, too, if we want to make a parallel to just college football right now, everyone loves March Madness, at least. Maybe, besides, maybe not. Joel Klatt, based on some of his comments about Cinderel, that's. That's his words, not mine.
Jonas Knox
Happy holidays, Joel.
Brady Quinn
Merry Christmas. But everyone, maybe besides Joel, loves March Madness and loves the potential of Cinderella stories. What I used to love, though, is like, knowing the players on the team. And nowadays you have no clue. There's. It's so transient. There's so much movement. There's guys who are there for one year. There's guys who are, you know, on. On different teams three years in a row, all making March Madness, you know, debut with a different team each year. It's actually completely taken away from the experience of it. Yes, you have Some crazy finishes and you've got your, you know, 16 seed challenging and number one seed. And that's exciting. And part of it, that's added a level of parody to the game, but it's also taken away from, you know, being able for, I think these tournaments and these teams and these brands to be well known. I mean, part of the history of like Duke, North Carolina are some of the players who played through multiple years of that matchup against one another.
Jonas Knox
Yeah.
Brady Quinn
And it's just tough now to kind of look back on, you know, even some of these, the runs that some of those teams would have in March Madness, that they're not there anymore. It's hard to have that consistent success. And maybe you say, well that's good because it creates an opportunity for other teams. But is it like, is this a world where we're excited about college sports and what it's brought? It feels like the conversation now is like leveled with what we're seeing on the court, on the field, with what's happening off of it. And I never feel like that's a good thing for the sport as soon as the conversation around the sport starts being more about everything other than the sport itself. And I think that the NBA is battling this right now. 100, you've completely lost 100%. You've completely lost your sport.
Jonas Knox
By the way, you mentioned the Duke North Carolina rivalry and all those players that, that went through all those years of the rivalry. Like how about the fact, and I know you know this and we're going to talk with Petros Papadakis coming up here shortly, but how about the fact that there's going to be guys that attend USC and Notre Dame who never know that rivalry? Like, like there's going to be a gap of players who never took part in that rivalry. It's kind of wild.
Brady Quinn
It's a shame. And I understand from the Southern Cal perspective, but this would, this would be my argument, I think out there and a lot of people be like, oh, you're biased or you're not objective because you went to Notre Dame, you played. Look, I did and I. But I lost to SC in every one of those matchups and then playing against them in the greatest area or excuse me, era of SC football. I think that's fair to say and it's probably factual, at least during that time period where they won back to back national championships, played for a third and they were in contention for it. Even my senior year, when we went out there, if they didn't, I think drop A game. What is it? The UCLA maybe, whoever they dropped the game to at some point, you know, that season that caused, you know, Florida to go instead of sc. But I. I would. I would go back and play those games and experience it all over again. Even if, you know, again, that was the challenge of playing. It's the number one team in the country every single one of those years. And knowing that, like, our program wasn't built back up to that extent anymore, because that was part of the reason why you went to Notre Dame. It was for the Notre Dame SC game. It was for a lot of those rivalries that you played for. And I think the tough thing for me, with this entire conversation around this rivalry that has existed since, what, 1926, I mean, we've missed because of a world war in Covid. That's the only two times the conversation about this rivalry not being renewed. It didn't start with Notre Dame. It started with Southern Count. It started with Lincoln Riley. He was the first person that introduced this. And what's interesting about that is he had two years in the Pac 12 before that got dismantled, or at least I should say transformed to what it is today, where he didn't win the conference. You know, they. They struggled to beat Notre Dame, and so there was really no excuses then. But I think when they moved into the Big Ten, they realized, like, oh, we actually have to play an even tougher schedule now. And because of that, they viewed this game as too big of a. Big of a challenge. What's crazy to me, though, is, like, Pete Carroll would have never ducked this game. Never. And you've got a head coach now that's willing to. That's willing to throw out history, throw out tradition. And he's been enabled by their athletic director in Jen Cohen, who should be able to stand up and say, like, this is part of the deal. When you took the job, you knew you were going to play them every. Every single year. That's part of the deal. It's part of the job. Marcus Freeman took it knowing that. Brian Kelly took it knowing that. That's part of one of those games you get fired up for. But because of SC's decision to then leave the Pac 12, which ultimately led to its crumbling, join the Big Ten, and because of their lack of success and ability to compete, we now have a rivalry that goes away. Because what's changed for Notre Dame in that time? Absolutely nothing. They changed head coaches, athletic directors, presidents. There was never a point in time where Notre Dame asked to be out of this rivalry, even during my era where we went to a couple back to back BCS games where we could be competitive, but not to the lengths of the team that was number one in the country. Never. And we've still remained independent, which a lot of people hold against Notre Dame for that, you know, for, for why we've done it. And I've explained this to you. I mean, there's a deep history to this. It's deeply rooted in, in Notre Dame's Catholicism and the way, you know, Catholics at one point in time this country were persecuted. And why Notre Dame became this national brand, it wasn't because of, you know, necessarily just because of marketing and Newt Rockne. It had a lot to do with the fact that there were teams that didn't want to let us in the Western Conference, which became the Big Ten because of their Catholic roots. So Notre Dame went out traveling amongst the country to play whoever they could play, and then became this national brand that was born from that. So when people ask you to join a conference, maybe they just don't really understand the roots and the, the deep tie there is to Catholicism and why that matters for everyone who's been a part of Notre Dame since then. But I digress, because it's not about that. To me, it's about SC and it's about them not having any success in this series of late, making the decision to join a conference now that they're having a hard time competing in, and then not having a head coach and an athletic director that can stand up and say, you know what? Like, we're going to keep doing this because we're going to get this right, because we believe that it will eventually get back on top of that mountain. And you can blame Notre Dame for saying, like, well, obviously they didn't concede to sc, which. Think about that matchup in general. Jonas, we never. They never play in the cold months in South Bend. They play in October. It's, it's not like they're forcing SC to have to play an inclement weather. Like at the end of the season, they're playing in October, there's still plenty of football left to be played. And then Southern Cal gets to host at the end of the season at their place, which plays all to their advantage in that regard. So even the way it's scheduled as it was, it was never playing to the advantage of Notre Dame. It was never forcing them to come play in inclement weather at some point in November in South Bend, it's always played to SC's advantage.
Jonas Knox
Yeah, it's the, the whole thing is just, it's sad.
Brady Quinn
And the other thing is at least you have people like Keyshawn Johnson, you know, Petrix we're going to talk to here in a minute, coming out and then calling them on it. And then you have guys like Matt Liner, look, oh, you know, I believe in, it's like, come on, dude. And I don't have this argument with Matt, like on the phone through whatever, like it's Christmas. So I'm not going to do that. But it's sad for someone who had so much success in the series, for someone who's been like, you know, him and whoever else you want to talk about who's been in the history of sc, some of the greatest players. The fact that you're not calling this out, it's crazy to me. Every SC player should, I would hope. Unless they're just scared of the matchup. Cause that's really what it comes down to.
Jonas Knox
You mentioned success. Feeding off the success of our college basketball bracket challenge. We do. We do. Each march, we decided, you know what? Let's do a bracket challenge for the College Football Playoff. That's right, baby. Now that there are eight teams left standing, it's bracket challenge time. Compete against our Fox Sports Radio host and against fellow listeners to see who has the best college Football playoff bracket play. For your Chance to win $1,000. Visit fox sportsradio.iheart.com to register, get rules and to fill out your bracket entry will be open until just before kickoff at 7:30pm Eastern Time on New Year's Eve. Again, fill out your bracket@foxsportsradio.iheart.com for your chance to win. It is the Dan Patrick show here on FOX Sports Radio. Brady Quinn, Jonas Knox with you. And if you need somebody to tell you the brutal truth about a storyline going in the world of football right now, there's only one man who can do it. He's the great Petrus Papadicas. And he's yours right here on FOX Sports Radio.
Petros Papadakis
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows@foxsportsradio.com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live. Paulie Fusco here with Tony Fusco.
Jonas Knox
Yo, as everybody knows, we're the hosts of the award winning Pauli and Tony Fusco show.
Petros Papadakis
Yeah.
Brady Quinn
But instead of us telling you how great we are, here's how Dan Patrick.
Petros Papadakis
Described us when he came on our show.
Jonas Knox
Quick, knowledgeable and funny Opinionated.
Petros Papadakis
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Jonas Knox
What are you doing?
Brady Quinn
You're interrupting our promo.
Petros Papadakis
Yeah, he wasn't talking about you.
Jonas Knox
You took those clips totally out of context. Oh yeah? Well, after this promo, I'm gonna take.
Brady Quinn
You out and beat you.
Jonas Knox
Let me put this into context. Shut up.
Petros Papadakis
Yeah.
Jonas Knox
Anyway, just listen to the Pauli and.
Petros Papadakis
Tony Fusco show on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts.
Jonas Knox
Or wherever you get your podcasts.
Jenna Kim Jones
Yay.
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Brady Quinn
Limu Emu and Doug Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.
Petros Papadakis
Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
Brady Quinn
Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
Petros Papadakis
Cut the camera. They see us.
Jonas Knox
Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings vary underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates Excludes Massachusetts.
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This is Rob Gronkowski from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and jewels. For the second season in a row, I partnered with T Mobile's Friday night 5G lights powering up hometown football across America. This year, T mobile invested over $4 million in prizes to help schools take their Friday nights to the next level. The votes are in. And now it's time to crown our $1 million grand prize winner. Congratulations to Derrick's High school and Derrick's Arkansas, home of the Outlaws and your 2025 T mobile Friday night 5G lights champion. The Outlaws and their community rallied to help them score a game changing home field upgrade, a Gronk Fitness weight room makeover, an epic 2026 tailgate party and a VIP trip to the SEC championship game to every school that competed posted and rallied your communities. Thank you and to T Mobile for making it all possible. This season may be over, but the story isn't. Stay tuned for season three in 2026. Congratulations again to Derek's High School Outlaws.
Jenna Kim Jones
Breaking news everybody. Not everything is terrible. I repeat, not everything is terrible. The Ripple Effect with Jenna Kim Jones is proof that the Internet, it hasn't ruined humanity entirely.
Jonas Knox
Let me start by saying it's a great day to be a gray shirt team Rubicon. You know, it truly is a team. Those folks, myself included, all had one desire which is helping folks in disaster. Trying to be a little bit of hope in a really, really bad situation.
Jenna Kim Jones
It's like magic you guys. So put down your doom scroller and pick up your faith in humanity and join me, Jenna for the Ripple Effect. It's a reminder that you can start a ripple that changes everything. You really can. We give just that nugget of hope helping other people. For some of our gray shirts, it's during a time when they need help and by helping others, it helps them. Listen to the Ripple Effect with Jenna Kim Jones on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Jonas Knox
This is Jonas Knox from Two Pros and a Cup of Joe and are you ready to tackle your financial goals? Kick off your journey with who makes it simple to start investing powerful tools, next level data and an easy to use platform for stocks, ETFs, prediction markets and more. Whether you're on the go or trading overnight, We Bull is built for you and your schedule. Don't sit on the sidelines, visit webull.com or download the app and take control of your financial future today. Start with just $1. That's weble.com we bull financial LLC member sipc finra investing involves risk. For more information visit webull.com disclosures it's a dan Patrick show here on Fox Sports Radio. Brady Quinn, Jonas Knox in for DP and the guys here on FSR coming up in about 20 minutes from now, a little over 20 minutes from now, we're going to continue the NFL conversation here. With a busy weekend, a lot of things could be changing as far as the NFL playoff picture goes coming up here this upcoming weekend. But right now things are going to change and that's the mood that's going to change because he's the one and only Petros Papadicas. He is the co host of the Petros and Money show which you can hear on the blowtorch AM570LA sports Fox College Football analyst and you get him on X at the old P. Petros. Good morning. Happy belated Christmas.
Petros Papadakis
Hello. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year to everybody.
Jonas Knox
We were.
Petros Papadakis
What? What's so funny? Why is that fun?
Brady Quinn
Okay. It's always funny because you and I were texting each other and. Was it Christmas Eve?
Petros Papadakis
I don't know.
Brady Quinn
I think it was Christmas Eve. It was late because of a lot of the news that came out.
Petros Papadakis
Oh, yeah, Christmas Eve.
Brady Quinn
Yeah, it's Christmas Eve. Instead of like, you know, which we eventually shared wishes for the holiday, but we were both, both texting back and forth just about the decision where Notre Dame and SC will no longer play until earliest 2030. And obviously you had your thoughts about it, which I was like, you know what, we'll just talk about a Friday. Let's, let's try to enjoy the holiday before we let it ruin a portion of this.
Petros Papadakis
You actually booked me on Christmas Eve, I believe, for this.
Brady Quinn
Okay.
Petros Papadakis
So here I am. Merry Christmas.
Jonas Knox
All right, so then let's, let's get right into it. Now that the dust is settled and the, the decision's been made in 2030, I guess is the earliest that the note.
Petros Papadakis
There's no guarantee of that.
Jonas Knox
Yeah. Where does it land with you? I. I obviously was listening to you and Matt Money Smith talk about it on your show throughout the course of the week. I think you used the word that you were disgusted by the whole thing. Are you surprised that it ended up in this spot?
Petros Papadakis
Yeah, yeah, I thought. But to me, and this goes on Notre Dame too, to a certain degree, they didn't start this. But to me, if you're the athletic director at Notre Dame and you're the athletic director at usc, and right now USC doesn't have a university president and leadership is corroded to the point where we're here. But if this is your job as a leadership position at the universities, it's your job to preserve this. Even if they're being annoying, even if they won't give you this concession or that concession. It's your job to make sure the rivalry continues. You don't want to be the person that ended a centuries old rivalry. You don't want to be the administration that caused this kind of discord and instead they use proxies in the media and use social media and use all kinds of petty tactics to go back and forth and say, well, you didn't tell us about this and this College Football Playoff report and this and that. None of that means anything. The bottom line is it was your job to Preserve this and your job to understand it and how important it is. And the truth is, ever since Lincoln Riley got the USC job, he has tried to wriggle out of games that were non conference, that were difficult last year. Remember how bad they tried to get out of the LSU game that they ended up winning, that they played in Las Vegas at the beginning of the 2024 season? Tried to get out of that. He's, he's always commenting on how early the kick is, how late the kick is, if it's a Friday kick, how long they have to prepare. This guy is preoccupied with making sure they have winnable games all the time. That's not what the USC coach is supposed to be. Maybe leadership at USC is corroded to the point where it is, but to me, the buy it. The bar is very high at usc. And if you can't, if you can't handle that before you even coach one game there and he was talking about the Notre Dame rivalry before he even coached a game, then he should not be there either. It is a travesty. It I don't want to hear about now that USC's in the big Ten, blah, blah, blah. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Anybody that's ever played against Notre Dame for USC or USC for Notre Dame against USC for Notre Dame knows how special it is. It's what legitimizes the rivalry. It's what. Or USC in college football. It's what legitimizes the fact that USC is an even better and more shining historic destination on the west coast than Oregon or Washington or anybody else. Ucla, Stanford, Cal. Because they played Notre Dame every year for 100 years. And that is this. It's part of our identity. If you play it at usc, it's what makes it cool and vice versa. So yes, I'm disgusted. And to me it doesn't matter anymore. USC should just get rid of every tradition they ever had and go with whatever's popular. Get rid of the Trojan mascot and make it what is a French bulldog is very popular these days. So they could be the French Bulldog. Put names on the back of the uniforms. Let everybody wear the stupid pink and purpley shoes. Do the alternate uniforms now. Just forget it. Because it's. Honestly, and I'm not saying this to be hyperbolic, it's over. This is an abortion of everything that college football is supposed to be. I know that a lot of it has slipped through our fingers in the last 10 years, but USC, Notre Dame was supposed to transcend that because there's no conferences involved. I don't care if Notre Dame's not in a conference. I don't care who else is on Notre Dame's schedule. I don't care whatever year circumstances, whether Notre Dame needs USC more or USC needs Notre Dame. Moore, these are the stupidest arguments I've ever heard. There's nobody at USC to trust, leadership wise, it's corroded to that level. And the fact that they've let this happen is exactly like I described a couple days ago. I'm disgusted.
Brady Quinn
I hope they don't do away with this new tradition I'm seeing of them announcing the players signing back. I mean, it's like I always felt like SC was one of those places where you're not going anywhere else. You're either going to the pros or you'll be there. I didn't know they needed to announce that retention.
Petros Papadakis
Yes, yes.
Brady Quinn
It's been an interesting trend. I can't wait to see go away, hopefully. I do want to talk about this from the Notre Dame perspective of things because I'm not saying that they're blameless in this instance, although they're not because.
Petros Papadakis
They let part of this happen that they didn't start this. And I don't, you know, stand whatever they're in. Their nuances are. It doesn't matter.
Brady Quinn
Well, my understanding is they tried to play this, they tried to do it earlier this season and they wanted to continue to keep doing it as a home and home. But it seemed like SC was and for whatever reason, I mean, I'm more curious your perspective on this. Like if you're NBC, you've got to be pretty ticked off right now because you're, you know, one of the Big Ten partners and you've got one of the biggest brands. I mean, arguably one that you're putting in your primetime slot on the Big Ten schedule probably often and they're going behind your back with Netflix to try to play a neutral site game in, in Las Vegas or Mexico City. And it's like that whole when that.
Petros Papadakis
Came out, usc, Notre Dame, to me, I mean, no, it's not.
Brady Quinn
But so I wonder like.
Petros Papadakis
And they should have never tried to change the placement of where it is on the schedule. I know that changed a little bit after a couple decades after the rivalry started. It got moved to a little bit earlier in October as opposed to a November, November thing. But that's the only time it ever moved. I, I don't think that was necessary. I think that was stupid and I understand why Notre Dame did what they did. They got tired of dealing with SC and it became a relatively public negotiation. And everybody's pointing fingers now. None of this should have ever happened. And it started with Lincoln Riley. And there's nobody at USC strong enough to say, who the hell are you, Lincoln Riley? To tell us we can't do this or we can't have this. He won't even be at USC in 2030. So that's what really drives me crazy. No, it should never have been a neutral site game where they play at the Atlantis or some stupid ass thing like that. And it should have never been a game in September. That's not what usc, Notre Dame is all about. Again, this is an abortion of tradition, an abortion of history. It is absolute and total proof to me that we've completely lost the thread of college football. And I know it's been crazy the last few years and there's been a lot of rotting on the wall. I never thought it would go this far and I'm really disappointed.
Jonas Knox
If they don't make the playoff now, then what's the conversation? Because this is all about what's going to increase their chances, usc, that is, of making the playoff.
Petros Papadakis
Just think about the logic there. You know, we're not going to do something that identifies us as USC football so we can maybe make a college football playoff, which I would think that was never made.
Jonas Knox
I would think that would strengthen your case if you could beat Notre Dame. Maybe that's just me.
Petros Papadakis
Well, that's the thing. It's like year in and year out, you never really know if you need it or not. And it's just not USC football to schedule Arkansas State and Missouri State and Georgia Southern, I mean, yes, every once in a while, but to sit here and play those teams as your non con. And that's what Lincoln Riley wants to do. That's clearly the model. I mean, I remember Pete Carroll, they played Kansas State, they'd go to Virginia, they filled their non conference, Nebraska, Ohio State, they. And there was an even slimmer chance of playing in the postseason for the national championship, but they went and did it anyway because that's supposed to be the mentality of USC football. You play the best, you beat the best, you move on to the next week. That's how it's supposed to be when it works, but it hasn't worked in decades. And if they make the playoff, great, it doesn't matter, you've lost your whole identity. I don't care if they make the playoff. What is the playoff. There's going to be 20 teams in the playoff in a couple years. So to me, it's. I mean, it's like cutting off your arm because there's a cool sleeveless jacket that's on the market. It's.
Jonas Knox
God, I've always wanted a vest.
Petros Papadakis
You know what I mean? It's just. It just to me, I don't know how I'm going to go forward and even talk about USC football, because to me, they just get rid of the band and get a DJ and start playing at BMO Stadium and change the colors to whatever is really, really cool right now. Like a. Like a neon pink and blue. Just forget it. It's over.
Brady Quinn
Yeah, it's at least good to hear.
Petros Papadakis
Fight on French Bulldog.
Brady Quinn
It's good to hear former SC players like yourself, Keyshawn Johnson. There's been some others who seem disappointed by this, but there's also some others who don't. They seem to be okay with, you know, supporting the decisions by Lincoln Riley and Gen Cohen and those that be at sc.
Petros Papadakis
Those are the ones that are inside the building with Lincoln Riley and Jen Cohen. Like, those are the ones, those. The few very visible USC people that are into this are people that get paid by usc. It's that simple. There are people on the inside that don't want to lose their access to one of their revenue streams, and they don't have the courage to step outside it and say, look, it's this rivalry that made me famous. It's this rivalry that created all the stupid stuff that I do now. So it's just simply cowardice to me. And I know that I don't have any friends over there. And I haven't had any friends over there for a time. Long, long time. And it's partially because of the way I've been as far as being critical or objective over the years, however you want to put it. But this is beyond the pale. And anybody that's a USC football player that played against Notre Dame and played in the USC Notre Dame rivalry, took the field at South Bend, stuff like that, and they can turn around and say, this is for the best because USC has to go to Nebraska in October now or whatever, I'm sure it's pretty hard for those people to look in the mirror. It would be hard for me, let's just put it like that. And look, I have a relationship with the USC athletic director and people like that. I don't dislike her. I respect her. I thought she did a great job at Washington and There's a sad irony for me because for a long time I said USC needs new blood. USC needs a real athletic director who's a real administrator that can make real decisions. And USC needs a coveted head coach from outside of the Trojan family. They don't need to keep hiring people on the inside so they can keep control of their program, like Clay Helton and stuff like that. And it's a sad irony that USC got an athletic director that other people would have hired. They got a head coach that other people would have hired, which was not the case with Clay Elton. And those two people guide them out of the Notre Dame rivalry. So, I mean, I feel kind of stupid forever endorsing them in the first place. I thought it was going to be glorious when Lincoln Riley was hired, and it's been the opposite. He's been almost exactly the same, performance wise, as Clay Helton. So for a lot more money and a buyout that they can't afford. And the athletic director probably would have fired him if it wasn't for that. But now they're in lockstep on this Notre Dame thing, and it's sad. I should have never endorsed either of them in the first place. And as far as people that are around USC that are for this, they're compromised by their work and their relationship with the university. And that's fine. Everybody makes their own decisions. But I would look. I would look hard at what the Notre Dame rivalry did for those people and then wonder why those people don't want to afford that opportunity to USC and Notre Dame players in the future. That's kind of sad and feels kind of hypocritical.
Brady Quinn
Yeah, it's a great point.
Jonas Knox
Petros. I did want to ask you, and.
Petros Papadakis
We'Re talking about Matt Leiner.
Jonas Knox
I do.
Petros Papadakis
I don't want to seem like a. Not saying his name. I mean, I know right now he's doing that weird elbow thing to put his credit card on the stuff from the commercial lady. Oh, man.
Jonas Knox
Well, I mean, look, you know, I.
Petros Papadakis
Mean, did I seriously have to watch Brady and Matt and HD every single freaking year for the last 20 years, sit in a theater and talk about the Bush push, only for Matt Leiner to show up on social media and endorse ending the Notre Dame rivalry? Like, am I living in Toontown at Disneyland? This is the stupidest thing I've ever.
Brady Quinn
Like.
Petros Papadakis
I don't expect, you know, the Paradise Lost to come out of Matt Leinert's Twitter, but my God.
Jonas Knox
Yeah.
Brady Quinn
I mean, you could also make the case that game helps Reggie Bush when the Heisman dude.
Petros Papadakis
Notre Dame. Usc defines Notre Dame and USC that year. Every year, every player, whether. Whether it's nationally remembered, we remember it. The guys that played. I mean, don't get me started. Go ahead with your question.
Jonas Knox
It just. No, it. None of it makes any sense. And we kind of made the point earlier this week in that it's almost like it makes sense.
Petros Papadakis
If you start from the premise that Lincoln Riley doesn't want to play, he doesn't want to play games they might lose.
Brady Quinn
If you really peel back the layers of Lincoln Riley in general, I mean, he didn't want to go to lsu. He chose SC over LSU because I think he knew it'd be an easier path. He wasn't going to stay at Oklahoma because he didn't think that they would have a chance to compete in the sec. Like, it's pretty clear he's. He's ducked, like, challenges or that adversity that comes with it.
Petros Papadakis
Yeah, this started with him, you know, so the fact that this started with him and then people are like, well, Notre Dame said we weren't going to. It's like, no, no, this started with Lincoln Riley. The athletic director wasn't powerful enough to stop him. There's no president of the university right now. They don't have one. Leadership is corroded at USC to the point where this could happen. This is on Lincoln Riley, and it's a disgusting, terrible thing. And anybody that thinks it's not is a slave to the moment in college football. And they'll be changing their opinion rapidly every couple weeks because that's what. But that's why we have such a problem in college football. But we have a lot of problems in college football. But one of the biggest problems is look at the committee for the College Football Playoff, which is just owned and operated and controlled by espn, which I guess is fine because they pay for the whole thing anyway. But the committee has football people on it, like Coach Alt and Ivan Mizell from the Sports Illustrated, a long time very respected media guy. Wesley Walls, I think is on there or something. I mean, Mike Riley, my old offensive coordinator, those guys are fine. When you put ads on there, now you're putting politicians on there. And what do politicians do? They have no backbone and they sway with public opinion. And if that's your case in college football right now, it's like, what are you standing on? You're standing on jello. You have to have some kind of foundation. And we've completely lost that through the TV network's control of the sport. And I understand a lot of money being made. I understood the move from the big from the Pac 12 to the Big 10 and the collapse of the Pac 10 as we knew it. And then Pac 12, which is a conference that I love. I understood that and to a certain degree defended it because I saw how poorly the PAC 12 was run over the years. What I'm saying is I'm a pragmatist. I'm not just some crazy old man on a hill screaming and yelling in a robe and with a staff. I am aware of the modern movings of college football. But to me, this is beyond the pale. And there's a lot of signs, like you guys just pointed out, Brady, there's a lot of signs as to why or how this was happening. But it starts with Lincoln Riley not wanting to play. And that's the bottom line. And you can look at it any which way. And that's really where it started and that's where it ended up. And it's very difficult to accept.
Jonas Knox
Get him on X at the old P. He is Petrus Papadakis, the co host of the Petrus and Money show, which you can hear on the blowtorch AM570LA sports Fox calls football analysts and good buddy Petros. We appreciate it and we'll talk to you hopefully next week.
Brady Quinn
Have a happy new Year, brother.
Petros Papadakis
Happy New Year to you guys. I'm gonna go get a credit card machine and try to buy that arm thing, that liner.
Jonas Knox
Okay, that's a good idea. By the way, we are brought to you by Mako. Most cars on the road could use a little tlc. At Mako, we bring your car back to life with affordable paint jobs and light collision repairs. Get a free estimate today. Oh, better get Mako, Brady Quinn, Jonas Knox in for the Dan Patrick show here on Fox Sports Radio. More from wild weekend in the world of football next year on fsr.
Petros Papadakis
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows@foxsportsradio.com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live.
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Brady Quinn
And Doug, what a horrible call. Hey ref.
Jonas Knox
Open your eyes.
Brady Quinn
Ref.
Jonas Knox
You're really not gonna call that?
Brady Quinn
Come on.
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I don't think you get what we're doing.
Jonas Knox
Sure I do.
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Jonas Knox
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Jonas Knox
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Petros Papadakis
Trying to be a little bit of.
Jonas Knox
Hope in a really, really bad situation.
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Brady Quinn
It's bogus, it's terrible. They couldn't figure out how making it work. We, we talked about that and I, I think that's the hard, um, this is part of the, people want to say this is part of the change of college football but it's, it's choices that, you know, people are making and, and they're choosing to kind of forget or move past, you know, what has been 100 years of a great robbery, one of the greatest in college football for the sake of the short term, you know, I've always heard and tell my kids this all the time. Don't sacrifice what you want most for what you want right now. And it feels like that's the position that SC is in because they haven't had as much success. Whether it's been the Pac 12 with Lincoln Riley or the Big Ten or even being a part of the College Football Playoff. They now have, you know, forsaken or, you know, gotten rid of what was to be one of the greatest parts of being an SC football player, being a Notre Dame football player. And they've cast it, you know, to the wayside. And then again, you know, I'm not exactly sure from my conversations with Notre Dame like they were even, you know, willing to move it up in the season and do a home. And home. It seems like it was sc, for whatever reason, was very intent on, on certain things. They weren't willing to, you know, budge on any of that. Which again is sad. It's. It's sad to think that Lincoln Riley's had that much control and he is, you know, tried to find ways out of fighting through adversity, you know, since he's been there at sc.
Jonas Knox
Yeah, well, we won't have to worry about it as far as the College Football Playoff goes this year. At least there's that. You don't have to worry about the adversity because they're not in it again. Which has been par for the course when it comes to USC football in recent years. But we continue on here day after Christmas. Brady Quinn, Jonas Knox in for the Dan Patrick show right here on Fox Sports Radio.
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Brady Quinn
What a matchup we got, y'.
Petros Papadakis
All.
Brady Quinn
This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action.
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Brady Quinn
Lit Chance echo drum beat everybody showing.
Petros Papadakis
That school pride Game like this. Yeah.
Brady Quinn
It calls for an ice cold Coca Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there.
Petros Papadakis
Yeah, that's taste.
Brady Quinn
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Brady Quinn
That HBCU pride going.
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Episode: Hour 2: USC & Notre Dame Rivalry End & Petros Papadakis Stops By
Date: December 26, 2025
Guests: Brady Quinn, Jonas Knox (hosts for Dan Patrick), Petros Papadakis (guest)
This episode is dominated by a highly charged discussion about the abrupt end to the storied USC–Notre Dame football rivalry, a tradition that has spanned nearly a century. Hosts Jonas Knox and Brady Quinn (filling in for Dan Patrick) dive deep into what the loss of this rivalry means for college football, dissect shifting trends in the sport’s power dynamics, and invite Petros Papadakis—former USC player, broadcaster, and passionate critic of this decision—to offer his candid, emotional perspective.
(03:14–13:21)
Bowl Game Atmosphere: Jonas and Brady lament how bowl games have become less meaningful for players and coaches but admit there’s still a nostalgic joy for fans in random, mid-week holiday games.
Player Movement: They discuss how all facets of college sports—especially basketball—are experiencing wild player movements due to transfer portals, NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), and eligibility extensions from the COVID era.
Loss of Continuity: There's concern over the lack of connection to teams and rivalries since rosters are now so transient.
Brady Quinn (08:44):
“As much as we want to criticize it, this is a model that was essentially made by the NCAA out of negligence ... Now we find ourselves in this position where … there’s never been a more confusing, crazy time in men’s college basketball than right now, where you’ve got legitimate, you know, amateur athletes … competing with pros essentially.”
(13:21–19:01)
Vanishing Traditions: With the rivalry going on indefinite hiatus, the hosts stress the loss for current and future players who’ll never experience its magnitude.
Why It Matters: Quinn, a Notre Dame alum, emphasizes how vital this game was to his recruitment and college experience, stating the series is a “pillar” that gave both programs national relevance.
Brady Quinn (15:11):
“That was part of the reason why you went to Notre Dame. It was for the Notre Dame–SC game. It was for a lot of those rivalries that you played for.”
Root Causes of the Break: The hosts suggest this wasn’t a Notre Dame decision, but began with USC under coach Lincoln Riley, given logistical and competitive concerns upon joining the Big Ten.
Historical Context: Quinn points out that the only times the rivalry has paused were due to World War II and Covid—not administrative squabbles.
(19:05–23:19; main segment with Petros Papadakis starts at 26:56)
(26:56–46:21, core interview)
Emotional Response: Petros is transparently disgusted and angry about the break (“abortion of everything college football is supposed to be”—[32:06]) and says both schools’ administrators failed at their duty to preserve tradition.
Leadership Vacuum at USC: He details how USC lacks strong leadership (no university president; a “corroded” administration) and criticizes Lincoln Riley in particular for seeking out “winnable games” and avoiding challenging non-conference opponents.
Petros Papadakis:
“Ever since Lincoln Riley got the USC job, he has tried to wriggle out of games that were non-conference, that were difficult ... This guy is preoccupied with making sure they have winnable games all the time. That’s not what the USC coach is supposed to be.”
([28:21])
Tradition vs. Playoff Mentality: Petros ridicules the logic of abandoning a century-old rivalry just to increase playoff odds. He points out USC’s success and identity are because of playing—and often beating—Notre Dame.
Petros (36:12):
“We’re not going to do something that identifies us as USC football so we can maybe make a college football playoff ... What is the playoff? There's gonna be 20 teams in the playoff in a couple years. To me, it’s like cutting off your arm because there’s a cool sleeveless jacket that’s on the market.”
Scathing on Lincoln Riley & Supporters:
Petros calls out others—particularly ex-players like Matt Leinart (by name)—for not vocally objecting, suggesting “anybody that's a USC football player ... that can turn around and say, ‘this is for the best because USC has to go to Nebraska in October now’ ... I’m sure it’s pretty hard for those people to look in the mirror.”
([38:22])
Brady Quinn (13:50):
“There’s going to be guys that attend USC and Notre Dame who never know that rivalry. Like, there’s going to be a gap of players who never took part in that rivalry. It’s kind of wild.”
Petros Papadakis (32:06):
"Honestly, and I’m not saying this to be hyperbolic, it’s over. This is an abortion of everything that college football is supposed to be."
Petros Papadakis (37:36):
“I don’t know how I’m going to go forward and even talk about USC football, because to me, they just get rid of the band and get a DJ and start playing at BMO Stadium and change the colors to whatever is really, really cool right now … Just forget it. It’s over.”
Petros Papadakis (43:00):
“It makes sense if you start from the premise that Lincoln Riley doesn’t want to play. He doesn’t want to play games they might lose.”
Brady Quinn (46:07):
“It’s sad to think that Lincoln Riley’s had that much control and he is, you know, tried to find ways out of fighting through adversity, since he’s been there at SC.”
The tone is passionate, sometimes sardonic and biting, with moments of resigned sadness at the state of college sports. Petros Papadakis, in particular, brings unfiltered candor and raw emotion as a former USC player betrayed by his alma mater’s loss of tradition. The hosts echo his disappointment but analyze the situation with a mix of nostalgia, realism, and exasperation.
This hour offers an essential breakdown of why the end of the USC–Notre Dame series is about more than just one rivalry losing its spot on the calendar. It’s a lens into how big money, weak leadership, and short-term thinking are unraveling the very fabric of college football. The conversation is insightful, sometimes fiery, and always rooted in a love for tradition and the unique culture of college sports.
Contributors:
Notable Quotes (Quick Reference):
For more, tune in to the full segment or follow Petros Papadakis (@TheOldP) for continued commentary on the ever-changing landscape of college football.