Colin Cowherd Podcast - College Football Playoff Rankings, Ohio State, Texas, USC-Oregon Pick

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd – College Football Playoff Rankings, Ohio State, Texas, USC-Oregon Pick

Date: November 20, 2025
Host: Colin Cowherd
Guest: Josh Pate

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on a deep, nuanced discussion of the current state of college football, honing in on the latest College Football Playoff rankings, marquee programs like Ohio State, Texas, and USC, and a detailed breakdown of the pivotal USC-Oregon matchup. Colin and guest Josh Pate dissect the impact of the NIL era, conference realignment, and shifting cultural and financial landscapes that are redefining the game's power structure and fan engagement.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Rise of Oregon: Ingenuity, Money, and Identity

• Oregon's ascent: Explored how Phil Knight’s innovation and funding led Oregon to become a national power (facilities, NIL, branding with uniforms).
• Recruiting shift: Oregon now competes with and sometimes surpasses USC and UCLA for top West Coast talent.
• USC-Oregon matchup: Both agree it’s a tough matchup for USC—Oregon’s dominant offense and depth are likely too much for the Trojans, given USC's youthful offensive line and struggling secondary.

Josh Pate [05:20]: “Oregon has used three things: ingenuity, Phil Knight’s money for facilities, and then Phil Knight’s money with NIL. …Oregon now mostly gets as good a players as anybody in the West Coast.”

2. USC’s Unique Challenges: Market Distractions & Structural Issues

• Financial & cultural hurdles: LA’s wealth doesn’t translate into college football fervor—competition from entertainment, pro teams, and steep living costs make USC/NIL less competitive versus the South.
• Narrative around Lincoln Riley: Media and fans still question if he’s a true fit for the Big Ten and elite contention.

Colin [09:33]: “It’s the biggest economy in the country and Baton Rouge isn’t. But everybody knows in Baton Rouge, if you have money… you’re giving them to LSU football. I think it’s much harder than people think in Los Angeles.”

3. The Mount Rushmore of Coaching Jobs

• Colin’s Top Programs: Georgia, LSU (with alignment), Ohio State, and conditionally Texas, with a nod to Texas A&M’s recent transformation.
• Why USC, UCLA falter: Wealthy, highly-educated fanbases in LA don’t view football as a worthwhile investment (“beneath them”). NIL deals and donor culture don’t compare with SEC powers.

Colin [15:26]: “It would be beneath them to allocate their personal financial towards something like football. They just view it as beneath them.”

4. Power Shifts in the NIL/Transfer Portal Era

• Ohio State advantage: National programs like Ohio State are now able to simply buy the top cornerbacks or fill roster gaps by spending, rather than relying on regional recruiting or JUCO transfers.
• Matt Patricia’s unexpected success: His hire as OSU’s DC is another example of a program’s internal confidence and outside-the-box thinking paying off.

Colin [29:06]: “Just because you don’t know who Ryan Day is, doesn’t mean they don’t. Well, it’s the same way. When Ryan Day needed to fill that defensive coordinator role... he went and got Matt Patricia. That’s not a name that would have been on anyone’s radar.”

5. The Changing Postseason and Conference Realignment

• Expanded Playoff drama: Discussion on how adding more conference games in the SEC will create more losses but serve TV value, even if it undermines the traditional “conference champion” as a mark of guaranteed elite status.
• Realignment impacts: Texas/Oklahoma to the SEC, Pac-12 collapse, and four Pac-12 schools moving to the Big Ten are all framed as positive for television, competition, and fan engagement—even if it challenges old-school romantic notions.

Colin [36:47]: “Just look at the helmets on the field at the same time. You don’t have to know a player’s name. The spectacle of that is amazing.”

6. Team Deep Dives: Texas, Oklahoma, and the Coming Playoff Crunch

• Texas’s identity: Frustration with committee rankings, questions about whether Texas would still be left out even after dominating Texas A&M.
• Oklahoma surprises: The program is thriving post-Lincoln Riley, exceeding expectations in the SEC with a tough, physical identity that feels perfectly suited for their new league.

Colin [40:44]: “If you didn’t know, you’d think [Oklahoma] had been [in the SEC] for 20 years.”

7. What Makes Defenses Elite: The Blueprint and the Kryptonite

• OSU’s 2025 defense: Considered historically dominant; modern NIL means roster holes can simply be purchased away.
• How to beat great defenses: It requires off-script quarterbacks (Manziel, Cam, Watson, Lawrence) who can improvise in ways traditional schemes can’t account for.

Colin [33:15]: “The way to beat great defensive teams in college—off script, and you force them to take risks they normally wouldn’t take because you lead late.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Oregon’s 21st-century reinvention (Colin [04:57]):
  "They use Phil Knight's ingenuity... with facilities, a thousand uniforms, and now NIL... They’re the big bidder on the West Coast."

• On LA’s market dynamics (Colin [09:33]):
  “It’s much harder than people think in Los Angeles. It’s an incredibly distracted market, and more so. Remember when Pete Carroll was there, Josh, there was no NFL in the city.”

• On why UCLA and USC can't capitalize on their wealthiest alumni (Colin [15:26]):
  “Those people’s way of life, the way they acquired their means, it would be an insult... to allocate their personal financial towards something like football.”

• Why expanding the SEC schedule could backfire (Colin [20:02]):
  “Why would we add a ninth conference game? The simple math there... you’re adding eight more losses across your conference slate that you are voluntarily adding.”

• On conference realignment spectacle (Colin [36:47]):
  "Just look at the helmets on the field at the same time. ... It’s the spectacle of that that is amazing."

• On Oklahoma adapting to the SEC (Colin [40:44]):
  “Of all the teams that joined conferences, my bad. Oklahoma looks and plays, Josh, like an SEC team if you didn’t know where they play.”

• On defeating elite modern defenses (Colin [33:15]):
  “The way to beat great defensive teams in college—off script, and you force them to take risks they normally wouldn’t take because you lead late.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [05:20] – Oregon’s recruiting revolution and the Phil Knight effect
• [06:01] – Why Oregon is a terrible matchup for USC
• [09:33] – The challenge of building a college powerhouse in the LA market
• [15:26] – Why the wealthy LA crowd won’t support football like the South
• [20:02] – SEC scheduling debate and playoff implications
• [29:06] – Ohio State’s defensive dominance in the NIL era
• [33:15] – The formula for toppling elite college defenses
• [36:47] – Realignment, the TV spectacle, and the evolving playoff landscape
• [40:44] – Oklahoma’s surprising fit and success in the SEC

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Conclusion

This episode of The Herd is a comprehensive breakdown of the seismic changes remaking college football. From Oregon’s calculated rise to power, to USC’s struggles in an apathetic, fragmented LA market, to Ohio State’s NIL-fueled defensive dominance and Oklahoma’s surprising success in the SEC, Colin and Josh offer sharp insights and compelling anecdotes that illuminate the sport’s present and future. With insightful digressions into playoff logic, recruiting, and TV-driven realignment, they make clear that college football’s old map has been redrawn—on the field, and in the hearts (and wallets) of fans.

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Transcript

[Sophie Cunningham]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Josh Pate]

This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. All right, let's talk holiday shopping. From now through December 8th, you can get 20% cash back when you pay in four with PayPal. No fees, no interest. This limited time offer is perfect for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals you've been eyeing. Save the offer in the app right now. So whether it's a must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money. This holiday expires December 8th. See paypal.com promoter subject to approval.

[Colin]

Learn more at paypal.com payinfor paypal inc.nmls910457.

[Josh Pate]

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[Sophie Cunningham]

This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Do you know the symptoms of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, or osa, in adults with obesity? They may be happening to you without you knowing. If anyone has ever said you snore loudly, or if you spend your days fighting off excessive tiredness, irritability and concentration issues, it may be due to osa. OSA is a serious condition where your airway partially or completely collapses during sleep, which may cause breathing interruptions and oxygen deprivation. Learn more at don'tsleep on OSA.com this information is provided by Lilly, a medicine company.

[Colin]

Thursday Night Football is on, and it's only on Prime Video. This week, the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans collide in an AFC showdown.

[Josh Pate]

Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member? Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial.

[Colin]

It's the Bills and the Texans Thursday.

[Josh Pate]

At 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details. Get almost anything you need delivered with UberEats. What do you mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A little escape? No. Delicious bowl of grapes? Yeah. An afternoon stroll? Sorry, no. A Burrito Bowl. Happily, yes. How about the clear skies? Can't deliver that. But French fries. Yeah. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Ubereats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. Seattle for details the volume this week's crunch time performer brought to you by McDonald's new buffalo ranch Sauce is Josh Allen, best football player in the world. Second time in his career, three passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns in one game. It's like that junior high football player that's got a mustache and nobody else does, right? No other player has ever done it once. So Josh's performance was satisfying. Just like the first bite of the bacon. Creamy Buffalo McCrispy. Always good. He's a regular host of the Josh Pates College football Show. Totally tied into college football. West coast to east. So years ago I worked in Portland, Oregon for a spell and Mike Bellotti was the coach, Jeff Tedford was the coordinator. They finished number two in the nation one year. They got lucky not having to face Miami. They faced Colorado and they matched up really well with Colorado and not with Miami at all. And I think Nebraska played Miami and got, you know, there was like 98% fans at the Rose bowl were Nebraska, but Miami kicked the you know what out of them. So Oregon has used two things to become a power. One was Phil Knight's creativity and money to build facilities. When there used to be the facilities war, right? That used to be a big deal pre nil, like there was about a 10 year period. It was an arms race for facilities and Oregon was the forefront. They've actually used three things. Ingenuity, 100 different uniforms to impress Southern Cal kids, to be the cool place. USC has one uniform, Penn State's got one. Oregon had a thousand. So they use Phil Knight's ingenuity. Then Phil Knight's money with facilities. And then third, Phil Knight's money with nil, where they are the big bidder on the West Coast. Most of my life when I grew up in the Northwest, you would think you were going to land the number three running back in Southern California. USC would get number one, UCLA two, you'd get three. And then at the last moment he would decide to just go to USC and be a backup. But that changed. Oregon now mostly gets as good a players as anybody in the West Coast. I think this is an awful matchup for usc. The teams that beat usc, Northwestern actually ran the ball at them. Iowa can run the ball at you. Michigan last year. I think Oregon's going to be hard to block. I think Oregon, USC's old lines young. I think Oregon's going to run on them. I think Oregon's a big play offense and USC on the back end at corners week. If Oregon and they're a nine and a half point favorite wins, Josh, 33, 21 or wins by two touchdowns, how do you think we view. I know how we view Oregon. That's been established. That's an elite program. How are we going to view usc? Because I think it's a terrible matchup.

[Colin]

The same way people have been viewing them. I largely see it your way. The one thing I would say is, you know, coming into last week, if you and I were to have talked about pit Notre Dame, you know, you could have held up a piece of paper and said, pitt's got the number three run defense in the country. And I would have looked at you and said, okay, Notre Dame is going to run right through them. I don't really care what paper says. It's lying to me a little bit. So with this like Oregon statistically top three pass defense in the country, but I can tell you that staff up there supremely respects that. Indiana had a combo of wide receivers come in there and work them a little bit. USC's got the same combo of receivers that could come in there. And if USC were to win this game and we look back, that's probably the reason why. But if, if that doesn't happen and if it goes Oregon's way, it's probably just more of the same. Colin, it's probably you were, you were a head coach that left the Big 12 to go to the Pac 12 that became the Big 10, and you really were never going to be a fit in the Big Ten. They hurled these accusations at Lincoln as to why he didn't take the LSU job. And he was scared of this and scared of playing that kind of ball. I don't even care if there's validity to it, because you didn't ask me what. What valid is. You asked me what are people going to say? What are people going to think? They're going to throw around the same accusations, the same pejorative connotations. And the beauty of like competitive sport is you control that. But yet it is that way until you change that. So I see the matchup the same way you do. But that's, that's cool. Cause if we both see it that way and then they go up there and win stylistically more a rock fight kind of game, then that's how you change narratives. That's the only way you change Narratives.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, no, there is. I mean, I was joking with Lincoln off the air the other day before we did our interview. I said, literally, you are being led by a walk on running back from Calabasas. And he lied. He said, he said, only at USC you find a kid in your backyard who's almost as good as any running back you faced all year. No, they're. They're the thing I always go back to, like, Pete Carroll takes over the Raiders and their defense is bad. That always worries me, like, you can't get your side of the ball right. Lincoln's offenses have been money and the fact that he's doing with a walk on running back. And for some of the year, one receiver Lemon's been the really good key receiver that's always been healthy. Deuce Robinson, left, went to Florida State. You know, guys have transferred out. It's kind of been a one receiver offense for a lot of the. See, they don't have supreme tight end talent. Lake McCree is okay, three star kid. He's fine. Not a pro, so. But it is, I will say this, USC's. I'll give Jen Cohen the ad credit. It's a really distracted market, and money gets splintered into movies and second homes and tech companies and pro sport season tickets. It's hard to galvanize Los Angeles like the Dodgers do, the Lakers do, and yet there's the Angels and the Clippers. It. It's just. It's hard. It's hard to say to yourself it's the biggest economy in the country and Baton Rouge isn't. But everybody knows in Baton Rouge, if you have money, if you have two nickels to rub together, you're giving them to LSU football. I think it's much harder than people think in Los Angeles. It's an incredibly distracted market and more so. Remember when Pete Carroll was there, Josh, there was no NFL in the city.

[Colin]

Yeah. There wasn't just either man. So, like, it's a whole new world.

[Josh Pate]

And the Dodgers weren't the best organization in North America. Like, Pete was there. And when Pete was there, if you won your regular season games, there was no semifinal. You won the PAC 12, you went to the Rose Bowl. So I don't know. I think I said today there's four or five programs in the country that have an advantage for national championships. Georgia, Ohio State, University of Florida. I don't love the governor, but probably lsu. And I mean, and I said, I would say Oregon, but there's no players in the state. And then I think there's Six of them. Bama. In the new nil world, they don't have a lot of money, and that changes things. They don't look like. Like Oregon can go buy players from the state of Bama. Bama's going to have a hard time getting them out of Oregon if Oregon wants them. That wasn't the case four years ago. So, I mean, I've said this to friends. They don't want to hear it. I said USC is not Ohio State in this new world. And they're not Georgia and they're not Florida. It's another thing. Josh cost $3 million minimum to buy a home in a nice neighborhood with good schools. The assistant, the linebacker Coach is making 550. He can't afford to buy a home. How do you view USC as an elite? What are your. What are your. What is your. Mount Rushmore? Four best jobs, Money, commitment. State with players. Donors control their history.

[Colin]

Georgia has always been. They've been my number one for a while. If you were to promise me alignment at lsu, I'd put LSU right up there. Ohio State's way up there for me. Ohio State what? Whatever you think about Ohio athletes, I mean, there's like a proud tradition of high school athletes. Ohio State has zero problem going into South Florida. I mean, zero problem whatsoever. So I put Ohio State up there. You'd have to check, like, which period of time it is, but Texas conditionally is up there.

[Josh Pate]

Same but.

[Colin]

But what's changed over the past? Just like what's evolving right now in front of us is Texas A and M. Because Texas A and M has just been. It's been like this stack of wood, but it's been wet historically. Meaning they. Well, post Johnny Manzel. A and M is a totally different world. If you. If you went on that campus pre Manzel and then you went back, now you don't even recognize it. So they. They leveraged one. They leveraged Manzel better than Auburn, leveraged Cam Newton. Like, they leveraged him so hard, so effectively. So I'd say them as well, but with usc. So to go back to what you were talking about for a second, I, like, I remember I was way younger. I was like, in school when the Pete Carroll era happens out there. And we were enamored with them. We hated them in the south, but, like, we were enamored with them. You remember that trip they made to Auburn and they shut Auburn out to start a season. The entire south, even people who hated Auburn in the south, they, like, waited for that date. They circled that day because it was going to be like a culture clash and the south culture was going to rise. You can't come into Southern heat and do that. And then of course they did. But I remember thinking back then that I, it never made sense to me as a kid growing up in the south, immersed in college football and that being the culture. When people would say what you just said about la, I had never left the South. So to me I just assumed that all the big time college football programs and the towns slash cities they were in were like Athens, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Knoxville, Tennessee. That's just the way I thought it worked. And I thought when people said, boy, there's a lot to distract you out there, there's a lot more going on in la, I thought it was excuse making. So, you know, since then I've been able to travel, I've been able to go out there and it just, it slaps you in the face when you go out there. If you. I feel the same about Miami to a certain extent when I go to Miami, when I go to la, if you just drive around for a day, be in town for 72 or 96 hours and ask yourself, does this feel different? It feels way different. And you just ask like, how much more difficult must it be to capture this place's imagination, therefore to capture the wallet, to capture the emotional and financial investment than it must be in Baton Rouge or in College Station. And that's the, that's the challenge. Now the trade off is if you've got it, you've got it, but if you don't have it, they're not going to help you get it. So you got to go in there and you got to do it on your own. Whoever is about to take the Florida Gator job, they'll have the full weight and full support of that community. Lincoln took the LA job and it's like, this is great. We'll check back in a little while. If he's winning, we may show up. And if they're really winning, we may even give a dollar or two.

[Josh Pate]

I'll give you an example. They went looking for an athletic director. They contacted me and said, Colin, Rick Caruso said, hey, give me a list of about five people. I did. I gave the athletic director at Northwestern, Auburn, Florida, the guy at Texas. Those people weren't interested. Yeah, they're like, yeah, it's takes about $8 million to buy the home that I want to buy. Seven or eight. It's like it costs you 900,000 in Tuscaloosa like, people don't understand that. UCLA, if you went to the big 10 nil right now, I bet you UCLA is below Rutgers.

[Colin]

Yes, they are. Yeah.

[Josh Pate]

And by the way, UCLA is in Bel Air. It's the richest college campus in America. Bel Air next to Beverly Hills. They have the lowest nil because it's a basketball school. It's an international university, it's an intellectual hub. 18 languages on campus. Football's not that big of a deal. You gotta drive to the Rose Bowl. It doesn't matter.

[Colin]

This is what I tried to explain to someone in my social circle the other day. They were like, all that money around ucla, why, why is it a struggle? Like, why do they struggle to tap into it? Wouldn't the right athletic director be able to do this? And I said, I guess there is this magic formula where you could tap into it, but you're never really tapping into that. Because I'm not faulting these people. I'm just explaining, as a matter of fact, those people's way of life, the way they acquired their means, the way they, their mind works, the way they're wired, it would be an insult. It would be beneath them to allocate their personal financial towards something like football. They just view it as beneath them.

[Josh Pate]

That's exactly right. They would view it as beneath them. And so I guess my whole point is the world's change with NIL and transfer portal. But it's also changed when the NFL came to Los Angeles and the Dodgers became the richest franchise in the history of Major League Baseball. People are distracted. Tickets cost more. It's hard to commit to Saturday and Sunday. The minute USC loses a game they should win, 12,000 people disappear. So I try to explain that to people and they say, oh, it's an excuse. And it's like, no, I've lived in LA. There's just so much. It's 37 music venues, eight pro teams. Like, sorry, guys, it's not an excuse. Like, you go on a two game losing streak, the whole town, it moves off you. So it's interesting, the Lane Kiffin story. We all know Jimmy Sexton controls college football coaches. Jimmy, Trace Armstrong, Jimmy Sexton, they control it. So Sark snapped at people today when they asked him about the job rumors. He's like, I'm not going anywhere, nor would you. I mean, that's the. To me, Texas has always been arguably the best college football job, top 10, 15 job in America. Sports like, you know, Yankee manager, you know, yeah, it's up Philadelphia Eagle coach, whatever what if Texas hammers Texas A and M? They can go and say this, oh, we're 3 and 2 against top 10 teams. Went to Columbus. Only team that's been competitive against them is us. Hammered Texas A and M. Hey, we don't match up with Georgia, we can be on three times in a row they've slapped us around. What if they blow out Texas A and M? What are we to do with the Longhorns?

[Colin]

I was wondering that yesterday. I, I thought they weren't going to drop them as low as they did. The, the AP dropped Texas to 17 and I thought surely the committee will have them 13, 14, 15, something like that. Yeah, same, they dropped him to 17 and you know, they did that to Miami a couple of weeks ago and then almost it felt like they course corrected in the following weeks. I think with A, or I think with Texas rather if they go in there and do that to Texas A M. But it would be a strong talking point going into that Sunday. You'd have to see how the rest of the country played out. But yeah, they would have an argument, to be honest with you. There are a couple of arguments SEC schools could be making right now about anything from strength of schedule to, you know, scheduling up out of conference, which is admirable. I mean that's what everybody should do. But so there are going to be a lot of anecdotal debates and arguments right now if your 3 loss Texas in that scenario gets left out or like you got Alabama dropping down behind Notre Dame last night, which confused a lot of people, and they're going to look at it and they're going to say we're really about to add a ninth conference game. Why would we do that to ourselves? Why would we put that on ourselves? The simple math there. If you've got, what do they have, 16 teams, you're adding eight more losses across your conference slate that you are voluntarily adding. But you're doing it because you want to increase revenue, you want to play the toughest schedules in the country, you want to have a great TV product and they're going to succeed and all that. But if the committee kind of shortchanged you on their logic and shortchanged you on their criteria and they really weren't as serious as you thought they were about rewarding scheduling, which is going to be reflected in these next two weeks rankings, then maybe look at 22 and the one you mentioned, Texas. But like the one I'm dovetailing off of with that is, yeah, what if Texas is in? If they win or what if they're not in? If they win. But I'm also looking at the SEC championship game because there's this weird scenario that started to get floated. You and I are recording the night after the rankings got released where Bama's at 10.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah.

[Colin]

But they still control their own destiny and whatnot. So they beat Auburn. If they do, they go to Atlanta and they win the SEC championship. I had assumed it was a foregone conclusion. The SEC champ is going to have a first round buy. They're certainly going to get one of those top four spots. Now I assume that was like 99 to 1 logic. It feels like about 70, 30 still on the side that we're agreeing there with. But it feels like there's this sentiment out there that no, you can't jump them up all the way to the top four just cause they won their conference. And I'm like, no, you can't afford not to because I was just in Athens, Georgia last week. Those people have little interest in playing in the SEC championship game. They're totally happy where they are. They're totally happy with the five or six. They feel the same way at Ole Miss. They're totally happy not going. So you've already got people openly questioning what's the value in playing for the conference title if your champion does not secure a first round buy, you have essentially invalidated the entire existence of conference championships within this overall playoff framework. So there are a couple of them in the SEC I'm watching right now.

[Josh Pate]

All right, Today's show is brought to you by our new presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet. They're a great partner on Hard Rock Bet. There's always something to bet on. If you haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock Bet yet, there's still time for you to get 150 bucks in bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet. That's it. Five bucks. If it hits, you, not only get your winnings, but you get $150 in extra bonus bets. The NBA is back, which means it's time to shoot your shot on Hard Rock bet. You're home for all the hoops action all season long. If you need a little help with your first bet, check out the streaks heating up inside the Hard Rock Bet stats hub. You can find live odds to bet on all of these streaks right in the Hard Rock Bet app. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today and make your first deposit payable in bonus bets, not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida offered by Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC in all their states. Must be 21 plus and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. To play. Terms and conditions apply. Concern about gambling in Florida, call 1-888- admit it in Indiana. If you or somebody you know has a problem wants help, call 1-809 with it gambling problem call 1-800- GAMBLER Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia this podcast is sponsored by PayPal. All right, let's talk holiday shopping. From now through December 8th, you can get 20% cash back when you pay in four with PayPal. No fees, no interest. This limited time offer is perfect for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals you've been eyeing. Save the offer in the app right now, so whether it's a must have merch or for that signed Jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money. This holiday expires December 8th. See paypal.com promoterms subject to approval.

[Colin]

Learn more at paypal.com payinfor PayPal Inc. NMLS 910457.

[Sophie Cunningham]

This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Do you know the symptoms of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, or osa, in adults with obesity? They may be happening to you without you knowing. If anyone has ever said you snored loudly, or if you spend your days fighting off excessive tiredness, irritability and concentration issues, it may be due to osa. OSA is a serious condition where your airway partially or completely collapses during sleep, which may cause breathing interruptions and oxygen deprivation. Learn more @don'tsleep on osa.com this information is provided by Lilly, a medicine company.

[Josh Pate]

Hey there. Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health, and I want to tell you about my new podcast called the Mailroom.

[Colin]

And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like a lot of guys, I haven't been to the doctor in many years. I'll be asking the questions we probably probably should be asking but aren't.

[Josh Pate]

Because guys usually don't go to the doctor unless a piece of their face is hanging off or they've broken a bone.

[Colin]

Depends which bone. Well, that's true.

[Josh Pate]

Every week we're breaking down the unique world of men's health, from testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility and things that happen in the bedroom.

[Colin]

You mean sleep?

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, something like that, Jordan. We'll talk science without the jargon and get you real answers to the stuff.

[Colin]

You actually wonder about it's going to be fun. Whether you're 27, 97 or somewhere in between. Men's Health is about more than six packs and supplements. It's about energy, confidence and connection.

[Josh Pate]

We don't just want you to live longer, we want you to live better. So check out the mailroom on the.

[Colin]

Iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

[Josh Pate]

Get your favorite shows. On this week's episode of the Next Chapter, I, TD Jakes, get to sit down with Oprah Winfrey, a media mogul, philanthropist and global trailblazer. My life, although it may look like an anomaly, it has only been possible because I was obedient to the call. This episode dives deep into how Oprah turned pain into purpose and what it really means to evolve with everybody watching. Every decision I have ever made made has come from sitting with the spirit and asking God, what would you have me do first? Whether you're rebuilding, reimagining, or just trying to hold it together, this one will speak directly to you. Listen to Next chapter on the iHeartRadio Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Episodes drop weekly. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty and I'm the.

[Colin]

Host of the On Purpose podcast.

[Josh Pate]

Recently I had the honor of sitting down with the iconic Kris Jenner.

[Sophie Cunningham]

You never quite know what or where life is going to lead you and where it's going to be the best lesson you ever learned and not get distracted by the noise. This is a lot of noise.

[Josh Pate]

Even if one of your children has been through something really difficult with their partner or an ex partner, you still love them as part of the unit and the family.

[Sophie Cunningham]

These are, are in most cases the fathers of my grandchildren. I love these men and that love doesn't go away when we experience really challenging times with them. Compassion is key into really feeling what somebody might be going through. Even though you don't agree with them, if you once love them, then love is love.

[Josh Pate]

Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast boss. You know, it's I, I talked today, I was talking to Joel Clatt about this. I said the best defenses I've ever seen in college football, the Huskies with Steve Etman in the early 90s just bulldozed people. They ran, they brought in the 46 and nobody knew how they brought it from the Bears and the whole college football for a year did not know how to attack Washington. I mean they literally every game just it was over in the Box you couldn't get downfield. And they had NFL safeties and corners. So for about a year. Then there's the USC defense was really good with Pete Carroll, where Clay Matthews didn't start at linebacker. And then it was nf, NFC rookie of the year. Defensively, they couldn't start for usc. Then there was. There were a couple of. I always loved the. Was it the Rolando McClain, the linebacker for Bama? It was the one that beat Texas. I was like, man, they. They hit different. There were a couple of Saban defenses that were. And there was a Georgia defense, a couple with a Jalen Carter. So there's been about four or five that I've watched and gone. That doesn't look like that's somewhere between Saturday and Sunday football. It's not Sunday, but it's close. Ohio State has an advantage none of those had. It used to be even Nick Saban, you'd have a hole in your defense and you'd go to junior college and he was never quite as good as the ranking. You have the number two corner in junior college and you're like, he's probably our third best corner, but he solves a dilemma. Well, now you just go by the best corner. If you're Ohio State and you're like, we need to be better at corner, we're just going to go buy the number one guy who already in the sport in crushing. And I look at this Ohio State defense and again, I want to see them play out and who they play. Josh, the windows to complete passes are Sunday windows. Like they're even when. Even when Knicks teams were great, you'd have a. You'd have a corner like D. Milner, who wasn't really a great corner. He was great within Knick system, they got two players that could go top five. They have another two that could go 15 between the 15th pick in the third and the second round. What do you make? Just forget Ohio State. Just what you've seen from their defense.

[Colin]

It really boggles your mind a little bit because of what conventional wisdom would have told you. Conventional wisdom. Like we all watched 2024 Ohio State in that stretch run and you know, in the back of your mind or you think, you know, they're making this run because of all this senior veteran talent. Like, they're going to lose all these guys. Their entire defensive front is going to be gone and we didn't even know Jim Knowles was going to be gone. But they also lose the coordinator. And so like just say that out loud. You had had anybody, I don't care who it is, Ohio State or anyone else, they are powered by their defensive front. Entire defensive fronts wiped out and coordinators gone as well. Not to mention just coming off a national championship. So there's that natural propensity to get a little complacent, maybe come back to earth a little bit. Everyone's gunning for you the next year. They're betting. I don't know if the team overall is better, the defense looks better. I don't know how that even happens. Matt Patricia came in and here's one of the early warning signs. I remember when Ryan Day got elevated there. And I remember, you know, Ohio State is Ohio State, so they could do a national search if they want to. They can go land most any head coach they want. And they said, no, the guy we need is already here. And I remember some people looked at it and said, that's crazy. They're cheating themselves by not doing this, not do it. And I looked at it and I said, they're stupid. They know what they have in the building. Just because you don't know who Ryan Day is, doesn't mean they don't. Well, it's the same way. When Ryan Day needed to fill that defensive coordinator role, there are guys who would leave really good jobs to be the D.C. at Ohio State. And he went and got Matt Patricia. That's not a name that would have been on anyone's radar. No, you take the biggest industry insider, give me your top 10. Matt Patricia is not on it. And Ryan goes and hires him. And you see why, like, hiring. I mean, it comes down to players making plays. But if you can staff properly in college football and you have top 15 talent, let alone what they have, you're going to be really hard to beat. Now, that doesn't make him invincible. But what you're talking about is there's going to have to be a team if Ohio State gets eliminated that puts together such an airtight, like, tightrope walk. Performance, precision, poise, accuracy, no turnovers. That's what it's going to take. That's what it used to take to beat those Saban teams. It took some insane performance. Some dude just plays out of his mind. And if that happens, you tip your cap to the other side. Short of that happening, Ohio State's going to win the national championship.

[Josh Pate]

Well, and the other thing is, the way to beat Saban was Manzel or Cam. It was generally somebody that could go off script that Nick couldn't prepare for. He just. There's Nothing you could do if I, Nick knew you were in the pocket, you could go back and look at this. I'm not sure he lost three times if he knew he had to be. That's why I think Ohio State beats Indiana because you know where Mendoza is going to be. The way to beat Ohio State or a great defense is oh shit, Josh Allen. I mean never forget what Josh Allen did to Belichick. When Belichick was in New England, Bill couldn't do anything. It's the only quarterback that Bill's ever faced. Even Peyton Manning he gave some trouble to. He could do nothing with Josh Allen because Josh especially when he was young, about 60% of his game was off script. That was Manziel, that was camp. Those are the kind of guys that just off script guys gave Saban trouble. And Mendoza is a classic big arm pocket guy. And the other thing is you could beat Nick if you got a lead in the second half and his defense had to cheat a little or guess right. Like if, if they could dictate terms. Saban squeezed you out like a towel. But if you made Nick trailed, Nick now was taking some risk defensively. I've got to get the ball back. We've got to generate pressure with extra people. I think if Ohio State leads in the second half, you're in big trouble. If you have to throw against I think you can. The way to beat great defensive teams in college off script and you force them to take risks they normally wouldn't take because you lead late.

[Colin]

Yeah. I think another thing that happened like with desean Watson Clemson teams when they played another one. Yeah. It's just that was at the, I'm not saying it's the first time you ever saw any, anyone run tempo but it was still that early period. Like Malzahn comes into this to the picture and like guys are running tempo as the foundational aspect of their offense for the first time. So the game like the rules hadn't shortened the game yet either with the clock rules. And Clemson ran over a hundred offensive plays in one of those national championship games. So I, I, I'd rarely seen Bama defense on the field.

[Josh Pate]

Trevor Lawrence.

[Colin]

Yes. Yeah.

[Josh Pate]

So ran down the sideline against Alabama. I think it was Alabama. He ran down the side again. Trevor and desean it was off script plays that beat Bama. Not just the pocket stuff.

[Colin]

That's why like that just you don't run that many plays anymore. So that's another thing that's taken out of the toolbox. See what you're Saying is why I'm really interested how Marcel Reed would against them. Like, Marcel, we're coming off the worst half of football we'll ever see him play in his life, followed by one of the best. So that's. It's a little weird timing, but, you know, when you talk about matchups, people always misunderstand you intentionally. There was, oh, you think A&M's better than Ohio State? No one said that, dude. What I did say is out of all the matchups they could draw in the postseason, yeah, that's the one that would get my attention the most because that's the one that would probably keep them up the night at night the longest.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, no, I really feel like that. That's interesting you bring that up. Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence, Johnny Manziel, guys off script, they get a lead, Bama's got to create a turnover. They take a big risk. I think Ohio State's kind of that level. You know, I said this. I have been very much a proponent of the College Football Playoff nil and the transfer portal, and I'm a Pac 12 guy. But I told friends three years before it disbanded, I said, the conference is in big trouble. There's no money here. USC's getting 30 million a year. I said, they can make that going independent and pick their schedule and have a better TV deal. At one point, Fox Sports, I think, went to USC and asked about buying all their home games, buying a TV package. And I don't want to speak above my pay grade, but I do remember hearing a little bit of that in the building. USC was grumbling for years about splitting revenue with Cal in Washington State. I just didn't like it. So. But I think we both agree. I'll give you an example of why. Texas, Oklahoma to the SEC and the four pack 12 schools to the Big Ten is great. I've watched back to back Iowa games that were thrilling. That were thrilling. Iowa, Oregon, thrilling game. I love seeing big traditional schools never play each other. And this is the one I remember. And then Iowa goes to LA in another sloppy weather game and plays usc and I'm like, I have not watched back to back Iowa games start to finish ever, maybe ever, ever, ever in my life. Start to finish back to back Iowa games I don't want. And I know I'm not alone on that. I saw the ratings for both. So to anybody that pushes back on this, the, you know, convergence of the SEC in Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Alabama, you can't turn it off. No, it's fantastic. Otherwise, you get Oklahoma and Texas Tech. I don't give a shit. Right?

[Colin]

They, I mean, you, you were sitting there looking at a situation Saturday where you've got ou, Bama, Texas, Georgia sandwiched on top of each other. Both of them popped a 10 plus rating. And it's just like you're, you're, you want to look at it and you want to say, I told you this last week because I was going to the Texas Georgia game. I said, can you believe we get this in the regular season? Just look at the helmets on the field at the same time. You don't have to know a player's name. It's the spectacle of that is amazing. And I think here's, here's what people struggle with. So, you know, we were talking about the playoff rankings a second ago, and you're talking about the, the PAC 12 dissolving as a conference. And like, there's some romanticism in it. Like, there's a part of you that hates to see it happen. It's like your childhood being ripped away. There's another part of you that understands the business side of it, and you understand this is the way the college football world's going. It's the way that the athletic world's going. The sporting world's going trade. So there is still something we try and cling to in the playoff model. All the conference champs are going to be in there, so you're going to have representation at the table. At least you're going to have a G5 team in there. And I'm always conflicted on this because I know it's not an accident that 10/4 million people are watching the games. They're watching. They're watching it because that's where the best football is, largely. And yet we've also got this construct where we are, we are headed towards a mess on selection Sunday. There's going to be this glut of two lost teams and we're going to have to maybe make room for a second Big 12 team. If Brigham Young's inside that bubble on the Saturday before and they lose against Texas Tech, and you got that unwritten rule where you can't drop someone out of the bubble for losing a conference title game. And you're just going to have, you're going to have Oklahoma knocking on the door. You're going to have Oregon or USC maybe knocking on the door. You have Miami knocking on the door. So there's that constant back and forth of we just want the best TV product for the playoff versus no we want fair, maybe even somewhat equitable rules for the playoff. And I'm always torn because I could make either argument. I could debate myself on a stage because I can make both sets of points so seamlessly. But I think we're, we're very much in a transition period on that front right now of we're in an era right now where yeah, we're going to have a G5 team that's a three touchdown dog in the first round and we're all just supposed to pretend 136 teams are playing the same sport. Therefore we have to have representation and everyone knows it's not real. But we're kind of winking and nodding and oh, we got to be fair. I wonder how long that lasts.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, I will say of all the teams that joined the conferences so Oregon, ucla, Washington, sc, Texas, Oklahoma. I, I, you could not have convinced me that Oklahoma. I thought Oregon would do well. My take was they play in crappy weather already. They'll be fine and they, they're going to be able to buy the play. Oregon's going to be fine. Usc, ucla, warm to cold weather and it's a little finesse. Washington I knew didn't have a ton of nil money. I thought Texas would be fine. And if you really look at Texas since they joined the sec, take out the Georgia games, they're doing just great. It's just Georgia. I am shocked at how good Oklahoma is doing. One, I didn't know if Venables was a head coach. Two, the state doesn't produce a lot of players. Three, Lincoln Riley left. It's become an offensive sport. I look up at Oklahoma and I'm like I've watched them play Bama back to back years. They've disassembled them. I'm sorry Alabama is just mistake prone. Of all the teams that join conferences, my bad. Oklahoma looks and plays Josh like an SEC team if you didn't know where they play. Texas still feels pretty Texas still doesn't like to get punched in the mouth. Oklahoma to me feels like lsu. Georgia feels like an SEC team. Like if you didn't know you think they'd been there for 20 years.

[Colin]

I think where their position benefits them. A lot of people look at where their position geographically and they thought it was going to be a hindrance. If the moves would have been made 15 years ago it would have been a hindrance to them because they would have been cut off from a lot of the talent. The world has shrunk so much for an 18 year old the state lines don't matter. It's just you're, you're, you're, you're gaming every night with a headset on and you're talking to someone in Virginia and Washington State and Southern California. The world is so small. It means nothing to go from Charlotte, North Carolina, to play football in Norman, Oklahoma. Now, half their NIL packages involve private aviation for family to come watch them play. So it's so much easier to go into Houston or go into Orlando or go into Charlotte or Atlanta and get talent out there. The one thing they had to do is they had to nail the coaching hire. And yeah, look, I'm not even ready to say that Britain Venables is just a total nail of a hire, but he's been very good. And the one compliment you've got to give him is that team reflects his attitude. So the identity of the team reflects that of Brent Venables. And you can't say that about every team out there. So in retrospect, two things happened, okay? The. The SEC brought him in at the very time when the talent acquisition game was totally transforming. So some barriers fell down for him right there that they didn't really control. And then number two, Lincoln left at the right time. We just didn't know it. Like, his style of ball was not going to fit nearly as well as the style they're playing right now.

[Josh Pate]

That's right. That's right.

[Colin]

They've had a quarterback hurt this year or else they may be making more noise than they currently are.

[Josh Pate]

Yeah, no, I just, I missed on Oklahoma.

[Colin]

They.

[Josh Pate]

When I watch Oklahoma SEC games, that's just an old school SEC game. Physical linebackers, standing guys up. And SEC teams increasingly always have a Sunday quarterback or he looks like one in college. Like, I don't know if Trinidad Chambliss is going to play in the pros. He looks like Dak to me, but it looks like that's a competent. That's a, That's a Sunday athlete. Josh, you're selling me on this. Your, Your latest quick trip experience went.

[Colin]

Down to Athens, Georgia. So the drive, if you go Nashville to Athens is going to take you past several quick trips. So I like to drive at night. I don't know how you travel when you do it, but I like to travel at night. If I'm going to drive and there is. I can, I can consume caffeine now and go to sleep. So I'm totally immunized from it. But it does help when I'm driving. So I am the psychopath. Who I'm gonna stop there for gas. Yes. I'm gonna go in there, though. And that quick trip, like cold brew on tap, that entire station. Yeah, that is a lifesaver. Maybe literally a lifesaver for me with how late at night I drive. So. It's been good, man. It's. It's been a real good partnership too. Like, if you, if you love college football and you like to patronize brands that love college football, dude, they stepped up in a big way for us and they've just like seamlessly infused themselves into our show. They're really good with giving back to our audience. So quick trip, huge salute to them.

[Josh Pate]

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[Colin]

Learn more at paypal.com payin4paypal inc.nmls910457 this.

[Sophie Cunningham]

Is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Do you know the symptoms of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA in adults with obesity? They may be happening to you without you knowing if anyone has ever said you snored loudly or if you spend your days fighting off excessive tiredness, irritability and concentration issues. It may be due to osa. OSA is a serious condition where your airway partially or completely collapses during sleep, which may cause breathing interruptions and oxygen deprivation. Learn more at don'tsleep on OSA.com this information is provided by Lilly, A Medicine company.

[Colin]

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[Josh Pate]

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[Colin]

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[Josh Pate]

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[Colin]

All?

[Josh Pate]

It's your boy Kev Onstage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Moment, where I talk to artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire who've had massive success about their massive failures. What did they mess up on, what is their heartbreak, and what they I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show. Check out Not My Best Moment with me, Kev OnStage on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, YouTube, or wherever you get.

[Colin]

Your podcasts, a man with down syndrome.

[Josh Pate]

Tries the impossible, the grand slam in turkey hunting.

[Colin]

4:53 hits. We're legal, shooting light. And he gives us this one last.

[Josh Pate]

And he pitches off.

[Colin]

And when he pitches off, he flies right into the gun barrel.

[Josh Pate]

I said to the cameraman, do you have him? He said, shoot him. I said, justin, shoot. You can download this episode and others from Lines and Tines with Spencer Graves on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sophie Cunningham]

This is an iHeart podcast.