Paul Pabst (3:51)

Before we get to poll questions, don't you think Ole Miss is wondering, like.

Dan Patrick (3:55)

How did it come to this? Well, I think Lane Kiffin is thinking that how did we get here? Yes. We're playing Duke after Notre Dame in Georgia. Right. We're playing Duke today. Yes. We're in the SEC football. Duke, we. We should have been in the playoffs there. And here they are. They've got Duke. Yes, Paulie.

Paul Pabst (4:18)

And Notre Dame. Georgia first is like, like a leading band, like a headlining band. And then the opening act going second.

Dan Patrick (4:25)

Yeah.

Todd Fritz (4:25)

Years ago, the Spin Doctors opened up.

Paul Pabst (4:27)

For the Rolling Stones. This would be like the Rolling Stones.

Dan Patrick (4:29)

No offense. No offense. Opening for Spin Doctors, it's Led Zeppelin and then Gin Blossoms.

Paul Pabst (4:39)

We get here. How did we get here?

Dan Patrick (4:42)

This is brutal. And I like that Lane Kiffin was so active on social media, he's sticking up for the sec. And then all of a sudden, Tennessee got blown out and we didn't hear from Lane after that. Here's a pet peeve that I have. I don't want to hear these analysts after the fact tell me somebody shouldn't be in the playoffs. You know, when Kirk Herbstreet says basically Indiana shouldn't have been here. But Herbie wasn't alone. There are a lot of other people who said, well, they shouldn't have been here. Okay? SMU shouldn't have been here. Okay. I'm not blaming SMU or Indiana. They did everything they were supposed to do. And tell me that before they get blown out, not after. Did you say Tennessee shouldn't have been there?

Todd Fritz (5:24)

No.

Dan Patrick (5:24)

They earned the right to be there. They just got blown out. But this after the fact, where you have people going. No, they never should have been there. Okay. If Arizona State gets blown out, people would have said, well, they never should have gotten a first round by. Right. That's the way it works. Are you saying that about Oregon? That Oregon shouldn't have been the number one team in the country? They shouldn't have been the number one seed. They got blown out by Ohio State. It's really easy to do that today. Do it before. Okay, after the fact. I have no respect for that. Yes.

Paul Pabst (5:57)

A Oregon shouldn't be here before. The hand would have been a very hot take.

Dan Patrick (6:02)

That would have been.

Paul Pabst (6:03)

That would have been. You know, I don't think Oregon belongs here.

Dan Patrick (6:05)

Yes, yes. But somebody's going to say that after the fact, you know. Yeah, Arizona State. And I was worried because I thought, just make it competitive. It's weird. I rooted for Indiana, smu, Boise State, Arizona State to make it competitive. I didn't think they were going to win, but I thought, just make it competitive so we don't get this revisionist history. Well, they never should have been there. And then Arizona State comes back and then they tie it and then they go into overtime. He said, okay, they're off the hook here. That, that is a great loss, although they're not going to take it that way. But that is, that was a standout game that they played and, and losing to Texas. And I thought Arizona State was the best, better team the second, third, fourth quarter and part of the overtime. But it was fun to see. You know, we're going to look at Ashton Genty and all of a sudden, yeah, okay, you're going to play against that competition. He only he plays against who he is scheduled to play against. They didn't say, hey, can we pick the crappiest team so I can rush for 2500 yards? Boise State did what they were asked to do. This is on college football. College football created the scenario where they said, hey, if you win your conference, you get a first round buy. It doesn't make sense. We've said it doesn't make sense. We said it before people realized it didn't make sense. They're going to change it. They're going to have. And logic will step in, which is really rare in college football. But they will eventually get around to fixing this. So Boise State or Arizona State, these school, they're not getting first round buys. You're going to have and they should take anybody's opinion out, take the human equation out of this where we keep looking at Alabama like it's Alabama. Just ask Vegas. Vegas will tell you because their livelihood depends on this. They don't have any emotion. They will tell you the best teams who should be in and who shouldn't be in. And Alabama didn't deserve to be in. I know it's one of those where you. Well, they got to put in Alabama. No, they don't. No, they don't. It's a new college football landscape here, folks. And that's where you see these teams who get a quarterback transfer portal nil money. And all of a sudden the artists you thought were Alabama, maybe even Georgia, they're knocked down a little bit here or others are coming up on them. And you're going to have quarterbacks in the transfer report. Quinn Ewers may be playing at Notre Dame next year. Why would you go to the pros? You can make $6 million playing. He's going to make what a quarterback taken in the top 10 would make. And he's probably going to imagine you win a national title. And they say, yeah, thanks Quinn. We got Arch, we got Arch here ready to go. And there was a report that, that he had an offer of $6 million. Some had speculated that it's Notre Dame. They have Riley Leonard, they're going to lose him. And I asked my college football source and they said Notre Dame thought that that was too rich for, for them. $6 million for Quinn years. So here he is coming off biggest win of his career. He got a home game basically coming up against Ohio State. And you got these guys already negotiating what they're going to do next year. It's college football. It's crazy. And it was a lot of fun. You know, there were some really good games now there were some duds, but that's going to happen. It happens in the NFL play, you know, how often do we go, oh, that team got blown out. They never should have been in. We don't do that, not in the NFL, but we do it in college football. But it's because you're looking at somebody who schedule inferior competition. Yes, it's Never going to be an exact science. It's just not. But enjoy it. I think, you know, we have playoff football. We didn't have playoff football before. We have it now. It'll get better. Games will be competitive. It's okay. First round matchups in the NCAA Tournament, I do go, oh, they never should have been there. Duke blew out somebody by 42. But we do that. We pick and choose, you know, with our disgust, our outrage. Yes, right.

Paul Pabst (10:30)

But like, if the Ravens get to the playoffs and get blown out the first round, no one's going to say, see, they shouldn't have been there. They didn't belong there. If you, you could, you have the ability to completely remove that from the discussion in college football. You just have to take the steps to do it.

Todd Fritz (10:49)

Yeah.

Dan Patrick (10:49)

The only thing that people will debate or say, oh, you're going to give Lamar Jackson the mvp and they bow out again. Like, that would be the only thing that would happen in a situation like that. And by the way, that is the big topic here with Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, who's going to be the mvp. And I think it comes down to when you look at stats and you look at team performance, because Lamar Jackson's had an unbelievable year, but I think we're all surprised. Nobody's surprised at that. I think most people are surprised at the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen. When you lose Stefan Diggs, they lost a lot of defensive players. So you got to kind of figure out what is, what are the parameters here, what's the definition that you should be voting on? Because that's another thing. You're going to get this. Well, it's his turn. What? Huh? You're either the MVP or you're not. It's like somebody wins the Academy Award because, well, it was their turn. Huh? You either earn it or you don't. But that will be a big topic coming up this weekend. And the fact that Lamar is going to play, keep his consecutive game streak going, but how long is he going to play? And does that factor in with somebody with the MVP race? But we'll talk to Chris Sims about that. Can something happen this weekend that changes the mvp? But I think it's going to be really, really close. Really close. And, and I certainly understand either way. Like, you know, people got upset. Remember when Joker was going to win his third and, oh, my God, Kendrick Perkins came on and was like, what are we doing here? It's Joel Embiid. I go, no, it's not. Joker's the best player in basketball. The most valuable what are you talking. Kendrick Perkins in the mothership, I think, you know, swayed that vote for Joel Embiid. And Embiid had a great season, but he was not a better player, more valuable than Joker was. So you know what happens with the analyst here over the next 72 hours, gonna play a large role in all of this. All right, Seaton poll question. I'm blah, blah blonde, but I'm ready to go here. I'm fired up.

Paul Pabst (12:59)

Let's go.

Dan Patrick (13:00)

I'm ready to go.

Paul Pabst (13:01)

You want to start with a dude poll question? Paul sent over a dude question mark.

Dan Patrick (13:06)

Okay.

Paul Pabst (13:06)

So I should have said sorry. My apologies.

Dan Patrick (13:08)

Dude, dude or dude. Okay.

Paul Pabst (13:11)

Many ways to say that the refs in the Texas Arizona State game.

Dan Patrick (13:17)

Dude, dude. What are we doing? Minute 10 to go. I know it's a minute 10 to go. You still have to call targeting there. ASU's driving and that would have given them a first down, and we don't know what would have happened after that, but maybe they kick a field goal. But here is Ken Dillingham. He's the Arizona State head coach on the non call for targeting.

Paul Pabst (13:47)

In terms of the targeting, I mean.

Todd Fritz (13:48)

I'm gonna be honest, I don't know what targeting is.

Dan Patrick (13:51)

We.

Paul Pabst (13:51)

We lost one of our best players in the first half for targeting.

Dan Patrick (13:54)

And I, I just don't know.

Todd Fritz (13:56)

I just don't. I just don't know what it is. So I, I don't want to comment.

Paul Pabst (13:58)

On something that I have to get.

Todd Fritz (14:01)

A better grasp of what it is just because it's so, you know, I just don't quite understand it.

Paul Pabst (14:08)

I do just want to protect the players, though.

Todd Fritz (14:09)

So whatever rules are put in place to protect the players, I'm all about.

Dan Patrick (14:13)

It's targeting. It is. And he did his best. He, he danced around as best he could. And there's a lot of things that they factor in. There's key items that are defined by the NCAA rulebook, and one is leading with the helmet, shoulder, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area. You can't argue that one also defenseless receiver. So there's, there's, there's two opportunities to call a penalty there, and they chose not to. It's like when the Rams and the Saints in a playoff game many, many years ago in the Super Dome, they could have called two different penalties and they didn't call either penalty. That was targeting. Now, I know I. People are going to say, hey, 4th and 13, don't let him score. Touchdown you're absolutely right. But in that moment, I don't care what the time on the clock is, and people got caught up. Well, you can't call it then, really. That receiver is knocked out on the field, and I can't call it then. I mean, what are we doing? It was targeting. And even when the rules official for the mothership says, yeah, basically, that's. We shouldn't even spend a lot of time on this, that's targeting. And it was. It was a wonderful game, but that was a call that they certainly missed. Also, when Scatter Boo is lifted up by his offensive lineman, you're not allowed to do that. I mean, it was a cool play. You can push, you can't pull. So there was a lot that was going on there, but still, it was. I. I enjoyed it. Even if the game. All the bowl games, I'm watching them all. I watched probably. I don't know if there was a bowl game that I didn't miss at least a portion of. I did my best to watch as much as possible there. And it's. It's great. We're in a new era here, and we can pick and nitpick and go. Indiana shouldn't have been in there. I said that before. They didn't play anybody, but they did what they were supposed to do. Don't blame Indiana. Blame college football system. They're going to rectify it. They'll clean it up and it'll be better. They're going to continue to modify this. They're going to add two more teams. We're going to look at buy. You know, all of this stuff is under discussion right now as we speak. Stat of the Day is always brought to you by Panini America, the official trading cards of this program. And we want to make sure that you got everything you needed. If there's any issues with Christmas, with things you ordered, let us know. We'll make sure that we rectify everything. But hope you had a great Christmas and you went to danpatrick.com to get some of the gear that you. You had hoped for, all of your dreams. Yeah. See a lot of talk about the.

Paul Pabst (17:06)

Alligator at your house. Oh, that was a big hit.

Dan Patrick (17:09)

Well, do you realize that the alligator is just coming off the Traeger?

Paul Pabst (17:14)

Oh, really?

Dan Patrick (17:15)

Yes.

Paul Pabst (17:15)

No kidding.

Dan Patrick (17:16)

Today. Yeah. Oh, let's go. Yeah. Fire. Yes. So we. We had the alligator meat, but we had the display portion of the alligator on the Traeger grill.

Paul Pabst (17:25)

They were like little, like, kind of like popcorn.

Dan Patrick (17:28)

Yeah. Popcorn shrimp? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Paul Pabst (17:31)

Like popcorn chicken nuggets or something.

Dan Patrick (17:33)

So Tyler came over to get the the Double Banger Traeger Grill. And I said, oh, by the way, don't open up that side. He goes, why not? He opened it up. He goes, oh my God, the gator is still there. I said, yeah, I wasn't going to take it out.

Paul Pabst (17:46)

Yeah.

Dan Patrick (17:46)

So. All right, we're just getting started and glad you're part of the program, as always. We'll talk to Chris Sims. He'll join us coming up next here on the Dan Patrick Show. 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. Hey, Steve Covino.

Todd Fritz (18:07)

And I'm Rich Davis and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports and of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world.

Dan Patrick (18:25)

We have a lot of fun talking.

Todd Fritz (18:26)

About the stories behind the stories in.

Dan Patrick (18:27)

The world of sports and pop culture.

Todd Fritz (18:29)

Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right?

Dan Patrick (18:38)

So check us out.

Todd Fritz (18:39)

We like to get you involved, too.

Dan Patrick (18:41)

Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say.

Todd Fritz (18:43)

I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive.

Dan Patrick (18:47)

Show on planet Earth.

Todd Fritz (18:48)

Be sure to check out Covino and.

Dan Patrick (18:49)

Rich live on Fox Sports radio and.

Todd Fritz (18:51)

The iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific.

Dan Patrick (18:55)

And if you miss any of the.

Todd Fritz (18:56)

Live show, just search Kobe Noanrich wherever you get your podcast. And of course, on social media, that's Covino and Rich.

Dan Patrick (19:03)

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Todd Fritz (20:44)

No, I don't want to be impartial though. Yeah. I'm not doing any pre game shows or working professionally. So no. I was a total loudmouth, obnoxious Texas Longhorn fan yesterday watching in my living room. I was having a lot of fun though. Certainly it was a great game to watch. It really was.

Dan Patrick (20:58)

Okay. By the rule. Was that targeting by the rule by.

Todd Fritz (21:04)

What you see in college football on a weekly basis and the over officiating nature of that play in general? Yes, by the rule it is because what there was hit to the head. But where it's different and where I'm glad they didn't call it is the fact that the balls tipped in the air so there was a little reaction to the ball like oh wait, I'm going up and looking at that. Also he didn't launch. I mean he hit him with his face. Right. It wasn't like he was like trying to lower the crown of his helmet and do that. I like you was surprised they didn't call it because it's very ticky tack with that stuff this day and age, whether it's the NFL or college. But happy they didn't if it was.

Dan Patrick (21:44)

Flipped, if it was reversed.

Todd Fritz (21:46)

And I'm always, I will say this, if you, you ever watch games with me, I am, I am pro defense and that it's so hard with the rules all against them that yeah, if, if it was around the other way around and they had a call a drive earlier that I thought they could have called the same thing targeting on them and they didn't. And that's what kind of led me to believe they might not do it in that moment, they were kind of letting it play as far as that's concerned.

Dan Patrick (22:11)

Yeah, but they did call targeting in the first half on an Arizona State player.

Todd Fritz (22:15)

Yeah, I know they did there too. I know, I know, I know. Listen, it's not perfect and I. Some of this stuff is over officiated. Drives me crazy. Every week we've lost, like, especially in the NFL, forcible contact to the head. Right. I'm sick of like two fingers touch a quarterback's head and they go, well, you hit him in the head. No, no, in the language it says forcible. It didn't say like, oh, I gave him a little love tap or I, oh, I kissed him on the ear and we throw a penalty. And I wish some of this was stuff would stop a little bit.

Dan Patrick (22:44)

Do you think Quinn Ewers is Texas quarterback next year?

Todd Fritz (22:47)

No, I do not.

Dan Patrick (22:48)

Do you think he's playing college football next year?

Todd Fritz (22:51)

Yes, I would hope so because I don't think he's a guy that's going to go in the first two rounds of the draft. I think he has, like the potential to be that kind of guy, but I think he's gonna have to show people maybe another year of high quality football play and all that. But no, I expect Arch Manning era to start after this season's over. And yeah, in my heart of hearts, again, I have no inside info, Dan. I think that Quinn Ewers will be playing somewhere else. He is an NFL quarterback. He needs to throw the ball with more authority. I think you watch enough football, there's too many of these, like, lays the ball up there instead of driving it through the target, which he has the ability to do. And of course, he can work on his athleticism a little bit too as well. But yeah, I think it's going to be somewhere else, Dan.

Dan Patrick (23:36)

All right, let's look at the NFL. Let me start with the MVP race. Can anything happen this weekend that would change your opinion or should change the opinion of the NFL MVP voters?

Todd Fritz (23:47)

I, I think so. Like, okay, as I sit here right now, I'm going to say that I, I'm probably favoring Josh Allen as far as the MVP vote, but it's really close. It's crazy because last year it was kind of an underwhelming MVP year. It felt like it was given to Lamar out of default because he just, he had a good year and they were dominant, but it wasn't eye popping, wow stats. This year we got four guys that got eye popping wow stats and are all having MVP caliber years. So I lean Josh Allen because I do believe, yes, Lamar stats are a little bit better. I think Lamar's support around him on the offensive side of the ball is a little bit better as well. But MVP is a little about moments and Josh Allen had a stretch there of moments whether it was the 49ers, the Chiefs, the Rams and who's the other one and the Detroit Lions of going. That was one of the four incredible, incredible weeks in a row and big time plays and big moments and that's where I favor him. But man, it's, it's tough, Dan, that's for sure.

Dan Patrick (24:48)

Yeah, you looking at this and I always, I'm curious how people factor in. What is their criteria? Is it stats, is it team success and then stats or stats then team success? And if Joe Burrow, if The Bengals had 10 wins right now, who's your MVP?

Todd Fritz (25:07)

Yeah, that's, that's a different. Like if the Bengals were firmly entrenched in the playoffs, I probably, I don't, I don't know. That'd be a close one you're making that. It'd be really close. I still think I'd probably go with Josh Allen because I just do. I, you know, and then all of these guys are worthy of it. But the way he's played this year, the decision making, the, the quality of play and clutch moments and all that. I don't think anybody has stood above Josh Allen in that department. But no doubt like Joe Burrows year is special and if they were one of the top four seeds, I certainly think he'd be in a lot of people's, you know, lead as far as the voting and you asked me if anything could change it this weekend. I mean if, if Lamar, if Lamar goes out there and throws five touchdowns and has an unbelievable statistical day and the Bills and Josh Allen are kind of sleep at the wheel and he throws one touchdown and two or three interceptions or whatever that, that might change my mind. I'm not, you know, I haven't written it in stone yet. As far as Josh Allen, you got.

Dan Patrick (26:09)

The Vikings in line Sunday night on NBC and Peacock, the winner gets the number one seed. The loser probably on the road against Tampa or Atlanta, whoever wins that division. Or the Rams. Right. That's harsh. That's harsh to have that many wins and you're going to have Tampa or Atlanta getting in, you know, barely 500. The Rams at the Rams, how dangerous they are. I mean you could be, you could be one and done here if you know, the Lions or The Vikings, definitely.

Todd Fritz (26:42)

I mean, the Vikings lost to the Rams earlier this year in la, definitely. And then either one. You know, I still sit here and tell you that I think the most complete team in the NFC is the Philadelphia Eagles. That's who I would still take. That's the team I'm going to take to go to the super bowl out of the nfc. Right. But. But these Vikings and Lions football teams, awesome offensively, but they're middle of the road defense. So if you, if they play a team that's got a really good offense, the game's going to be scary. So that. That's to your point. Yeah, it's. It's big. It really is. It's a huge game. I'm excited to see what happens. We know the offenses are super explosive. I think home field advantage, I think, is more important to Detroit, in my opinion, just because of the way the defense has looked as of late. Right. The dam is broken. I mean, and you look at it and I go, yeah, home field, the crowd noise, all that, I think will help them a little bit. Right. Because that simplifies an offense and that place is tough to play. You can't go to the line of scrimmage with four different plays called in the huddle and do all these checks when you're on the road in Detroit. So that simplifies things. That's a little advantage they need. I think it is more important for them to win this game than Minnesota.

Dan Patrick (27:51)

Chris Sims Pro Football Talk LIVE co host and Football Night in America. They have the big matchup between Detroit and Minnesota Sunday night. Sam Darnold's free agency plans, should he have free agency plan? Should the Vikings plan on Sam Darnold going to free agency?

Todd Fritz (28:11)

Well, they got to make sure they got a plan to.

Dan Patrick (28:15)

Okay, what would you do? I want. Yeah, I want you to make the decision.

Todd Fritz (28:20)

Yeah, I, I feel like at this moment, right now, I would not let Sam Darnold walk out of the building. That would not happen. It's just. It's too hard to find quarterbacks that are good in the NFL. You got one, he fits your scheme. You can see he's got talent and all that. But now, do I want to commit long term to him yet? No, I don't think I do either. I'd like to see one more year. We've seen guys have good years, ride the momentum, the good vibes of the building. We're playing good, and then come back the next year and we go, whoa. They can't seem to recreate that Magic, what's going on there? Blah, blah, blah. So I think I'm one that as I sit here right now, Dan, I'd probably franchise tag him, franchise them and see another year and go, hey, just prove to me and then maybe get till, you know, end of next year on the franchise and he plays really well again. Then you go, okay, we got our guy. Now we can commit to a few more years and guaranteed money and do all that.

Dan Patrick (29:15)

Yeah, it might be a Kirk Cousins situation when he was with Washington. I mean, I would. I would franchise him one more year. Okay, I want you to answer quickly. Yeah, you can have Sam Darnold for 150 million. Brock Purdy for 250 million.

Todd Fritz (29:32)

Oh, well, that's not even close. That's not even close. Sam Darnold. All day. All day, all day. You know, I'm. I'm a 49ers fan, and that's my buddy Kyle Shanahan. Certainly there's no way I would pay anywhere near market value for Brock Purdy. Some of these teams got to stop this, right? I've said this about the Miami Dolphins, their highest paid player in their football teams. Their biggest concern in the big game and their biggest injury, liability and whether he's available out there. That doesn't make sense. That's bad team building. Brock Purdy, there's a little of that, too. And you saw he's not talented enough to carry the football team. I would. I would. I would go way below market value with Brock Purdy.

Dan Patrick (30:11)

Yeah, but how do you do. So you basically say to his agent, we're going to give you, here's 30 million.

Todd Fritz (30:17)

Tell me, who else is going to take 35? 30 million. Who else is going to. I would have done the same thing with Miami Gun. Who else in football? These teams are negotiating against themselves. They're like, here's 30 million. No, you don't like it? Hey, here's 35. Oh, you want more? And they just. They keep going up. And you're like, why? Nobody else is going to pay him this. So that's what I would say. I would. I would start. If I'm in the NFL and I don't know where it lost its way, it'd be Mahomes makes this and nobody's Mahomes. And we're going to have a pecking order below that period. It starts there, and we've gotten away with this. Oh, the new guy's up. He's the new contract. So we got to pay him more.

Dan Patrick (30:51)

And like, no, you don't blame the Cleveland Browns. What they did with desean Watson.

Todd Fritz (30:55)

Dumbest thing ever. Exactly right. The dumbest contract in the history of the NFL. You're right. That's. That's definitely part of it, too, Dan. No doubt about it.

Dan Patrick (31:02)

Yeah. But they had to give him an offer that he couldn't refuse because he didn't want to go to Cleveland.

Todd Fritz (31:08)

Well, yes, because they had ruined things already with Baker Mayfield and they knew they were in a spot of, like, oh, crap, now we have no quarterback because he doesn't want to come here, so we got to pay him that. So you're right. I mean, but they did that to themselves. And how they handled that situation, it's crazy. But, yeah, when it comes to Brock Purdy or anything like that, Dan, I would go, here's what we're offering. Show me who else out there is going to offer you that kind of money or anything better, because I don't think it's going to be out there. I don't think there's going to be a market and everybody's going to go, oh, I need Brock Purdy as my quarterback. Everybody knows Brock Purdy's good, but he's really good when he's with Shanahan. Shanahan's the one driving that boat there. You know, that's my opinion, at least.

Dan Patrick (31:46)

Okay. More dangerous in the postseason if they both get in Tampa or the Rams.

Todd Fritz (31:53)

Well, the Rams are in. Right. So. But. But you're. Who's more dangerous I. There. I guess I'll still go with the Rams, even though I am a little concerned with their offense. I am. You know, you could see Cooper cup is not the same guy. They have to ride Puka Nakua way too much in the passing game. Right. They need Tutu Atwell and all these guys to be healthy out there, but I'll go with them because of their experience. But, man, Tampa and their defense is a little better. Tampa's defense scares me, but, man, that offense. And Baker Mayfield, he is. He's a flamethrower right now, throwing lasers all over the field.

Dan Patrick (32:29)

What do you think it's like if you're with the. You know, the Patriots are going to have the number one pick if they lose. Like, what it. What is the mindset of. It's best for the organization to lose this game?

Todd Fritz (32:42)

It's hard. It's very hard right there. There's. It's hard to gas the New York Giants last week, right? This. These records go on the coach's gravestone. He's Like, I'm not sure I'm going to be back here. What the hell am I going to tank? And for the next regime, I don't give a crap about that. Right. Drew Locke is sitting there going, I want to play in the NFL and show everybody how good I am. I mean, I'm not going to go out here and throw in completion so the team can have a better draft pick. It's hard to get the whole organization involved in that, and especially when you start the rookie franchise, you know, guy of the future at quarterback, you certainly want to make him look good and build on the future and do all of that as well. So, yeah, that's a tough one. It's a tough one, but I think they'll find a way to manage the game in a way where they don't win it.

Dan Patrick (33:29)

Well, there's organizational tanking. That's where you put people in or you take people out, right? Hey, we want to look at the, you know, the future. We want to give that guy a chance.

Todd Fritz (33:40)

Browns are doing that right now. They're doing the same thing.

Dan Patrick (33:42)

How often is there tanking in the NFL?

Todd Fritz (33:45)

Well, it's not as much or as easy, easily done as you think. I don't. I never felt like I was on a team that was a part of it, so I never got an inside look or feel for that. But I think that with the common, the modern era here, I think there's. There's probably four or five teams every year who try to orchestrate it, to not put their best foot forward. Like I said, you can't totally tank the game because you can't ask guys who are fighting for their careers in life to quit and not play football when they're not going to get paid next year if they look like crap. But they try to do like what you said, put the. The least best foot forward there in that department.

Dan Patrick (34:25)

The number one quarterback in college coming out is who.

Todd Fritz (34:28)

Gosh, it's tough right now. I mean, Cam Ward is the one that pops up to me. Of course, Shador is there as well. I was a Jalen Milro fan, but he really struggled towards the end of the year, so I'm a little scared of him. And I don't know if he'll even come out now after that performance there. But I think it's Cam Ward and Shador. I think it's. But I think I would go, Cam Ward, the other guy I like, and I don't think he's going to come out, is the LSU quarterback Nussmeier Nussmeier is an NFL first round type talent, but I haven't heard about what's going to go on with him there yet.

Dan Patrick (35:02)

Great to talk to you as always. Thanks, man.

Todd Fritz (35:05)

Happy New Year.

Dan Patrick (35:05)

Thank you, buddy.

Todd Fritz (35:06)

Yeah, Say hi to the guys.

Dan Patrick (35:08)

Horns up.

Todd Fritz (35:09)

Horns up.

Dan Patrick (35:10)

You know it.

Todd Fritz (35:12)

Texas fight.

Dan Patrick (35:14)

Does anybody do horns down to you?

Todd Fritz (35:17)

All the time. I mean, the whole NBC building, they like to ride me and do horns down.

Dan Patrick (35:22)

Do you get upset?

Todd Fritz (35:23)

No, no, I don't. I don't.

Dan Patrick (35:26)

You don't cry.

Todd Fritz (35:27)

Yeah. We're gonna get the last laugh this year.

Dan Patrick (35:29)

Don't worry.

Todd Fritz (35:30)

They're gonna have to deal with my big mouth the rest of this year if we can win this thing.

Dan Patrick (35:33)

Thank you, Chris. That's Chris Sims, Pro Football Talk live co host and big game on Sunday night. It'll be the Lions and the Vikings on NBC. And Peacock, be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am PA on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app. It is time to elevate the holiday season. Whether you're hosting or gifting, Sonos is the easiest way. Sonos works with award winning artists, producers, sound engineers to fine tune products to ensure that they deliver the highest quality sound. And man, did they deliver. Listen to all the holiday music you want, watch all the holiday movies you want. With Sonos, you put the products together and basically build your own sound system. Whatever works for you, works for them. This is the world's leading sound experience company and when you hear it, then you'll realize, how did I live without this? It changes everything. The music you listen to and the cinematic experience. When you're watching movies, Sonos has great gifts for everybody on your list and you can get started. Visit sonos.com dan you can wrap up your holiday shopping and with Sonos you'll find something for everybody. That's sonos.com dan.

Paul Pabst (36:54)

Ah.

Dan Patrick (36:54)

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Todd Fritz (37:03)

We're in. We got the table.

Dan Patrick (37:05)

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Paul Pabst (37:13)

Thanks to Amex Platinum, the last day.

Dan Patrick (37:15)

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Paul Pabst (37:20)

Terms apply.

Dan Patrick (37:20)

Learn more@americanexpress.com with Amex, he's been the star of the bulk season so far. Cam Scatter boo the Arizona State running back, and they went to double overtime against Texas. And he joins us now from Atlanta. How do you feel today?

Paul Pabst (37:38)

I'm a little beat up, but, you know, I'm. I'm. I'm feeling confident of where I stand as a player. And, you know, I'm excited for my future, and I'm super excited that the guys that I played next to the whole season have, you know, fought and continued to fight and, you know, never gave a doubt that we could win the game.

Dan Patrick (37:57)

What was your feeling early when you guys were down double digits?

Paul Pabst (38:03)

You know, I think as a team, as a whole, we knew that we were never counted out. And then I think early we knew we made a couple mistakes. You know, they scored in two points, they took back a kick, they took a. Took back a punt return. Didn't really score an offense. So we knew if we can, you know, stop them on. On defense and continue to, you know, push, push, push and fight on offense, that. That we were going to be just fine. Me, personally, you know, I was. I was a little upset that I wasn't touching the ball as much as I wanted to, but, you know, obviously not just run the ball, but catching the ball out of the backfield. And, you know, I kind of took a step back and realized at halftime what, what I needed to do, and it was to be a better teammate and, you know, keep those guys uplifted. And I knew that if I did that, then, you know, the team confidence will stay high and we continue to fight.

Dan Patrick (38:56)

But you were discussing things with Coach. You seem pretty animated on the sidelines.

Paul Pabst (39:04)

Yeah, you know, he. We talked a little bit, you know, and I got a little frustrated just where we were standing as a team and how we were playing, and I didn't understand what was going on fully, and, you know, we talked about it, and then I walked over there after I was a little upset and, you know, let him know, hey, sorry for getting upset, but I got your back from here on out. Let's go, you know, let's rock. And, you know, he. He knows that I'll always have his back, and he trusts the fact that I'm going to keep going even when I'm a little upset. But, yeah, we had a little discussion, but nothing too major.

Dan Patrick (39:38)

Who do you pattern your game after?

Paul Pabst (39:42)

You know, I like to say myself, there's. There's a lot of backs that, you know, I take bits and pieces from. Obviously, Christian McCaffrey is one, you know, doing something that hasn't been done in A while since he's done it, you know, catching the ball, running the ball. Marshawn lynch is obviously a big factor. Mark Ingram, you know, I talked to him, and, you know, now that I look at him more, I took a little bit of my game from him. And then Le'Veon Bell was a big one, too. Just me focusing on, working on my patience and the way, you know, the slower you. The slower you play the game, the more you'll see it. So that's something I've been, you know, focusing on, too.

Dan Patrick (40:20)

What's it like, though, to go into a game knowing you're going to get hit, you're going to give punishment, but you kind of have to take punishment to give your punishment?

Paul Pabst (40:30)

Yeah. Going into the game, I understood, you know, that I was going to have to do a lot. And I know every game is a brutal battle with me. This is the way I run, the physicality I run with. I know I'm going to come out, you know, banged up, and then I'm hoping that, you know, they come out a little more banged up. But, you know, I understand my game of football, so I'm prepared for it every game. I understand that, you know, when I. When I run, it's going to make me not feel so good the next day, which I don't feel too good, so. But yeah, I mean, I. I'm prepared for it all the time.

Dan Patrick (41:08)

Would your dad say to you after the game?

Paul Pabst (41:11)

Yeah, you know, he just gave me, oh, I love you, son. Proud of you. Little kiss on the cheek, and, you know, off I went. He's. He's a. He's more of like, I'll call you in the next couple days kind of guy, make sure you're doing good. But he's just proud of me, man. And, you know, my whole family's proud of me. My mom, you know, she's. She's super proud of me, and I'm just glad I'm able to make them happy.

Dan Patrick (41:31)

You know, when you're famous, the camera's always on you, so we got to see you throw up on the sidelines there. But what caused that to happen?

Paul Pabst (41:42)

Yeah, I think I was drinking a little too much water and Powerade, you know, at the same time I was. And I. I think I ate something bad in the morning. I had a croissant breakfast sandwich, and I don't think it went down very well. And I wasn't feeling too good all the way leading up to the game until I threw up. You know, I. I threw up And I felt like a completely different person. And you know, after that throw up, you know, the, the game switched for me and how I was playing, it was, it was completely different for me. So it was nice. You know, I, I looked down, took a deep breath, puked, took another deep breath, took another deep breath and got back on the field and, you know, played my game of football.

Dan Patrick (42:19)

So you didn't have it all over your uniform, did you? Like, if somebody's tackling you, Like, I.

Paul Pabst (42:26)

Leaned over, let it all out and got back up and put my helmet on. I was like, let's go.

Dan Patrick (42:30)

When you saw the, the non call on the targeting. So first of all, what did you see? I don't know what your angle was with that, but the fact that it was a no call, I mean, I.

Paul Pabst (42:43)

Was looking right at it. I watched him catch the ball and I watched the crown of a helmet goes directly into the chin of my teammate. And you know, like Coach Dillingham said last night, you don't really know what a targeting is anymore. We're trying to protect players and some are protected and some aren't. No matter who you're playing against, I feel like anybody should be protected. And I felt that was a little biased, but, you know, it, whatever, whatever they call, you know, is what we're going to rock with. And, you know, hopefully Mo Kwon's okay. I haven't talked to him yet since after the game last night, but hopefully he's okay. He's feeling, feeling good and in high spirits.

Dan Patrick (43:22)

Did Steve Sarkeesian track you down after the game?

Paul Pabst (43:26)

No. You know, a couple of their offensive linemen tracked me down, you know, said you're, you're a hell of, hell of a running back. And Arch Manning came over and said, what's up? You know, try to lift my spirit up a little bit. But I just walked off the field. You know, I was, I was heartbroken with all, all the work that I put in that. We felt just that, that little short and you know, I, I didn't, I wouldn't say I rushed off the field, but I got off it pretty quick just because I was, you know, I was, I was a little stressed.

Dan Patrick (43:52)

What is the play call with the halfback option?

Paul Pabst (43:57)

Are you talking about where I ran and then threw it?

Dan Patrick (44:00)

No. What. Yeah. What's it called in the huddle?

Paul Pabst (44:03)

Oh, Philly special.

Dan Patrick (44:04)

Oh.

Paul Pabst (44:05)

So it was actually supposed to be a throwback to the quarterback. And I checked, I checked my receiver to a, to a fade ball and I seen him went inside So I know, I.

Dan Patrick (44:15)

Wait, wait a minute. That's. That's kind of big time stuff here, like.

Paul Pabst (44:21)

Yeah, so. So Sam told me. Sam told me the drive before, you know, somebody rolled up my ankle. I can't really run, so you're gonna have to make something happen. And I was like, all right, well, let's go. And then the Philly. The Philly Special was called and, you know, I. I looked at my receiver and it was one on one out there, but I knew as soon as I caught the ball from the toss that that safety was going to come flying down because he was flying down all game. And as soon as I seen that guy one on one, I knew we had the better athlete in that receiver. You know, he hasn't played all season, but I knew what he was about. And as soon as I seen him win inside, I knew I had to put it inside of him. It was a little under thrown, but I guess I put it in a spot where only he could get it. So.

Dan Patrick (45:04)

Could you give me 15 carries today?

Paul Pabst (45:08)

I probably got three carries, three two yard carries.

Dan Patrick (45:15)

Have you been told anything about the NFL draft as far as what the scouts think of you?

Paul Pabst (45:21)

You know, I've talked a little bit, but, you know, I'm not too worried about where I stand, hopefully in a good position. I haven't had anybody really reach out as much as talking about where I stand or, you know, Browns and stuff like that, but, you know, I have my agent that's working hard to, you know, help me out and give me in a good position, so.

Dan Patrick (45:43)

Well, congrats. You got a lot to be proud of Arizona State on the football map. And it's been a while since when we've been able to say that. And you took Texas into a couple overtimes and certainly congratulations on the season that you had, Cam.

Paul Pabst (45:58)

Thank you. I appreciate it.