Hour 3 - Josh Pate

Summary

The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode: Hour 3 - Josh Pate
Date: January 2, 2026

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Overview

This episode is a lively deep-dive into the dramatic latest turns in both college and NFL football. Colin Cowherd brings on Josh Pate (host of the Josh College Football Show on YouTube), joined by RG3 and Jason McIntyre, for rapid-fire analysis of the College Football Playoff landscape—particularly the surprising dominance of Miami and Indiana—and a thoughtful look at the Big Ten vs. SEC power balance, coaching trends, and the portal era’s transfer frenzy. The episode closes with NFL headlines, notably quarterback controversies, playoff positioning, and hot takes for the final week of the regular season. The panel discusses coaching, player development, game predictions, and broader trends shaping college football's unpredictable present and future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Miami's Bullying of Ohio State – Shifting Power and Perceptions

• Analysis of Miami’s Physicality:
  • Colin notes last year's Ohio State championship team’s NFL-ready backfield and dominant line play, contrasting this year’s "mid" O-line performance against Miami’s unexpectedly tough front.
  • Josh Pate expresses little surprise at Miami’s edge, citing their OL/DL advantage and experienced QB play, even as near double-digit underdogs (04:26).

    “I took some knives to the chest for that last week... people had to see it, and then they finally saw it. It’s jarring… the one thing… I didn’t think anyone was going to do is just totally out physical Ohio State.” – Josh Pate (04:26)

2. Big Ten vs. SEC: Has the Power Shifted?

• Big Ten “Business Model” and Staff Quality:
  • Colin revisits his prior prediction that Big Ten schools would overtake the SEC by leveraging massive resources, endowments, and a strong alumni base (05:50).
  • Josh Pate explains how the SEC's historical "talent-is-currency" attitude bred complacency and led to less merit-based staffing compared to the Big Ten’s “businesslike” approach to staff assembly (06:39).

    “Because they out-talented people so thoroughly, they got loose with a lot of other practices in the SEC… you had folks who are ill-qualified in assistant coaching positions… You don’t have that big talent edge anymore.” – Josh Pate (06:39)

  • Big Ten’s staff hiring is framed as more meritocratic and less reliant on big names or agent connections, leading to tighter operations and on-field cohesion.

3. Oregon’s Ceiling: Are They in Miami/Indiana’s League?

• Panel agrees Miami and Indiana look like the "real" national championship-caliber teams.
• Colin sees Oregon as a tier below: “They played with their food. I just feel like we could have two lopsided games” (09:11), adding Dante Moore is likely a year away.
• Josh Pate agrees, noting that despite Oregon’s playoff shutout win, their glaring inefficiency and lack of sharpness exposes their divisional inferiority in a postseason context (09:49).
• RG3 clinches the point:

  “No one’s getting right against Indiana is the most glaring lesson... Indiana just exposes more of what already are your flaws. You don’t correct them.” – Josh Pate (10:44)

4. 2026 College Football Outlook & The Transfer Portal

• Arch Manning’s Timeline and Texas Hype:
  • Colin raises Arch Manning's athleticism and Texas's chances to be the #1 team next year (11:41).
  • Josh Pate stresses the transfer portal's impending impact on rosters but agrees Texas and Manning are a favorite, cautioning against premature expectations (“bag of popcorn” analogy re: NIL and development timeline) (12:18).
  • Quote:

    “They look at it like, if it's a bag of popcorn... they think, well, since there's higher expectations, we can just take it out after 42 seconds. It says a minute on the bag though…” – Josh Pate (12:18)

5. NFL Headlines and Analysis

• Lamar Jackson Controversies:
  • Jason McIntyre and Colin debate the significance of rumors around Lamar falling asleep during meetings (20:31).

    “Do you think Harbaugh would let me fall asleep in his meeting? That’s crazy… I’m right in the front.” – Lamar Jackson (20:58)

  • The outcome of Baltimore’s next game seen as pivotal for both player perception and franchise trajectory.
• Niners vs. Seahawks & McCaffrey Factor:
  • The panel sees San Francisco as a juggernaut if healthy; discussion centers on McCaffrey’s uniqueness and the challenge Seattle’s defense presents, but consensus is advantage-Niners if key pieces play (22:00–24:29).
• Impact of Bye Weeks and Playoff Seeding:
  • Jason highlights teams with early byes (Green Bay, Chicago, Pittsburgh), noting stamina and rest will impact betting and playoff outcomes (27:12).

6. College Football’s New Normal—Parity Arrives

• Colin summarizes the ongoing transformation:

  “For about a 15-year period, all we got was Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama... Now we get Oregon and we get Ole Miss and we get Indiana and we get Miami. That’s the new reality.” (27:56)

• The increased unpredictability, transfer market effects, NIL, and new pathways to success for programs outside the traditional elite.

7. Quarterback Prospects & Coaching Carousel

• Fernando Mendoza Hype:
  • Both Colin and RG3 rave about Indiana’s Mendoza as a no-doubt top draft pick, commending his poise, fit for pro-style offense, and intangible strengths (39:49).

    “I think he’s a first round pick, I think he’s a top-10 pick... coaches are gonna love him. He’s a big kid... can make every throw.” – RG3 (39:49)

• Coaching Trends:
  • The possibility of Indiana’s Kurt Signetti getting NFL calls is entertained; Colin prefers Signetti as a college coach, reflecting on how NIL and institutional support are reshaping not just rosters but job markets (40:38–41:09).
  • Praise for programs like Indiana and Miami, showing the system doesn’t guarantee only the “rich” (aka SEC powerhouses) will thrive under NIL.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Josh Pate (on Miami’s O-line and D-line edges):

  “I don't remember a double digit dog ever… having an O line, D line edge. Oh, by the way, they've got the QB experience edge.” (04:26)

• Colin Cowherd (on Big Ten resources):

  “These large Big Ten schools flush 40,000 kids… They love their schools. The endowments at Michigan—they’re massive.” (05:50)

• Josh Pate (on coaching staff differences):

  “The Big Ten for a long time has just gone about their business a different way… you get really, really good staffs.” (06:39)

• On Texas and Arch Manning:

  “It may have just been a year early last year... He’s in a situation where he doesn’t need to go chase NFL money immediately...” – Josh Pate (12:18)

• Colin Cowherd (parity in CFB):

  "Now we get Oregon... Indiana... Miami. That's the new reality in the sport." (27:56)

• RG3 (on Mendoza):

  “I love Fernando Mendoza because Mendoza knows who he is… He’s going to process, he’s going to do it well and he’s going to do what his team needs him to do.” (39:49)

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Segment Timestamps

• [03:03] Beginning of substantive content: Ohio State vs. Miami recap and discussion.
• [04:26] Josh Pate on Miami's physicality and perception.
• [05:50] Big Ten vs. SEC: Resource and staffing discussion.
• [06:39] SEC complacency vs. Big Ten meritocracy.
• [09:11] Oregon vs. rest of field.
• [11:41] Arch Manning/Texas future outlook.
• [14:13] NFL talk: Portal/Transfer Season begins.
• [20:31] Lamar Jackson rumor address and Baltimore’s outlook.
• [22:00] San Francisco vs. Seattle—McCaffrey’s role, team health.
• [27:56] CFB parity, transformation in national contenders.
• [39:49] Mendoza as QB prospect, coaching carousel speculation.

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Summary of Tone & Style

• Engaged, insightful, often playful but always anchored with facts and historical perspective.
• Hauntingly clear about shifting fault-lines in both college and pro football; mixes sharp criticism (of SEC laziness) with excitement at fresh storylines and genuine appreciation for player/coach development.
• The panel leverages personal anecdotes, betting angles, and behind-the-scenes context, making the breakdown accessible and entertaining for avid and casual fans alike.

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the tectonic shifts in college football and how those ripples are influencing everything from game results to hiring practices and the transfer portal frenzy. The mix of future-casting for the NFL playoffs and draft, nostalgia for tradition, and the thrill of the new all come together for a signature, high-energy "Herd" hour.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Colin Cowherd]

Remember when people were nice? When we could occasionally stop fighting and come together? Well, here's some good news. The Ripple Effect is here. Hosted by comedian Jenna Kim Jones. It's a show about how powerful it is when we reach out to one another. It's the perfect weekly proof that goodness isn't gone. The Ripple Effect is more than a podcast. It's a reminder that you can start a ripple that changes everything. Listen to the ripple effect on iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Katie Couric]

If you only listen to one thing to make sense of the news this year, make it this the final episode of this season of Next Question pulls together the most important conversations of the year. You'll hear David Graham on Project 2025, Liz Oyer on the plethora of presidential pardons, Tina Brown on the year's biggest scandals here at home and across the plus, much, much more. It's a crash course in the last 12 months, how we made it through the year, and a look at what might be coming in 2026. Listen to next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up?

[Cam Jordan]

It's Cam Jordan. I'm back with season three of your favorite podcast, the off the Edge with Cam Jordan Podcast. Tap in every Wednesday to hear conversations with my friends and stars from the NFL, the sports world in general, and entertainment about everything from teams and players making waves to pop culture. And I'll take you inside my journey through my 15th season in the NFL. Looking forward to you joining me this season. The season of More on the off the Edge with Cam Jordan Podcast. Catch new episodes every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Brought to you by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Only pay for what you need.

[Jason McIntyre]

Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

She said, Johnny, the kids didn't come home last night. Along the Central Texas plains, teens are dying, suicides that don't make sense, strange accidents and brutal murders in what seems to be a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad.

[Jason McIntyre]

Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people.

[Katie Couric]

There are people out there that absolutely know what happened.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Listen to paper ghosts, the Texas teen murders on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

You know the shade is always shadiest right here. Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryant and Robyn Dixon is here, dropping every Monday as two of the founding members of the Real Housewives Potomac. We're giving you all the laughs, drama and reality news you can handle. And you know we don't hold back, so so come Be reasonable or Shady with us each and every Monday. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

Thanks for listening to the Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio at noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the [e-mail] or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Last year Ohio State won the Natty, but it was the way in which they won. They had a dominant backfield, Judkins and Travion Henderson, who are both flourishing in the NFL. This year's Ohio State team, pretty mid on the O line in a couple of spots, could not block Miami up front. Not much of a power run game and they put a lot of their offense on Julian Saiyan's shoulders and he looked a little outclassed against Miami. Josh Pate, who does a remarkable job. He's got the Josh College football show on YouTube. You see him all over the Internet. We love him. So I got to be honest, I thought Miami was decide if you were a better. I thought nine and a half was a lot. I think I told you I saw them play Pitt and I was like okay this, this team is no fun to play. They just throw in pit all over the field for a warm weather team going into Pittsburgh. How surprised were you by the bullying Miami did to the Buckeyes?

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Man, not as high on the scale as you would think I was. I think we were on the same side. So you took Buckeyes to win, Canes to cover. I think that's where I was. I don't know that many people watch Miami down the stretch. Colin, you didn't have a conference title game to watch a man, right? I think people tuned out on them after probably the SMU game because they thought their season was over. And to be frank or to be to be honest, if you even looked at Miami schedule after that, there was nowhere they were going to earn anyone's trust back because no one respected the back half of their schedule, including the pit game. Like no one respected that Notre Dame went up there and smoked them too. So nobody was really going to be bought back in on Miami. It was going to take something like we Saw. And when it happened, like there were, there were some folks I hinted at this last week that said Miami's a nearly a double digit dog. And I don't remember a double digit dog ever in my mind having an O line, D line edge. Oh, by the way, they've got the QB experience edge. And boy, I took some knives to the chest for that last week because I think people had to see it. Like, I'm not even hating on folks. People had to see it and then they finally saw it. And it's jarring because the one thing, even if I thought Miami had the edges, the one thing I didn't think anyone was going to do is just totally out physical Ohio State. And it wasn't to the degree like Indiana did Alabama, it wasn't to that degree, but they did have those decided edges. And that's a place in Columbus, Ohio that just flat out didn't believe that was possible.

[Colin Cowherd]

So I had said a couple years ago, I said I thought the Big Ten would eventually, I didn't think it would be overnight, but had a chance to overtake the sec. Now the SEC footprint, there's more great high school players. But I said, you know, these large Big Ten schools flush 40,000 kids, you know, into the job market. They love their schools. The endowments at Michigan, they're massive. And I said, I, I think they're going to buy a bunch of players. And now here comes rich USC and rich Oregon are, you know, you have been following college football for a long time, especially the sec. Are you kind of surprised? You wake up and you're like, is the Big Ten at the top better? Are you surprised by what we saw over the last three weeks, two weeks?

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

It makes sense. Once you say it all out, like once you write it down on paper, it makes sense. It was kind of like the Miami microcosm there we just laid out. People had to see it, me, me included. I had to see it to believe it. And so obviously we're in a blender in college football. Have been for the past five years. A lot of stuff's changing. I think for a long time talent was currency. I mean, currency got the talent in the sec, but the talent was the currency as well in the sec. In fortifying the argument that they had the dominance and whatnot, it also made them very loose with other practices. And, and I'm telling you, Colin, this is some of the feedback that I'm getting more and more, but it's also some of the observations that I've made because they out talented people so thoroughly they got loose with a lot of other practices in the sec, not the least of which was staffing. Now they went and hired top of the line head coaches, that much is clear. But one of the things that disappointed me the most and underwhelmed me the most when I sort of really got my hands around how various aspects of the sport works was, was how staffs come together. Cause I always thought it was a mad scientist pulling levers behind a curtain. And really all it was was your representation gets you that head coaching job and then you just fill your building with a lot of their clients and you look at it and you almost think there's no way that's the way it works. Well, in the south, in a lot of cases, that's the way it works. And so I'm not even speaking about Alabama specifically. This is generically a situation where you have folks who are ill qualified to have top of the line assistant coaching positions, to have off field positions, administrative positions. And it's just, it's lazy because you could have been lazy when you had that big a talent edge. You don't have the big talent edge anymore. And the Big Ten for a long time has just gone about their business a different way. They largely have merit based hiring practices and therefore you get really, really good staffs. And in some cases it's not a coincidence. Their staff's full of guys whose names you haven't heard of a whole lot because they haven't been promoted a whole lot relative to their southern counterparts, but they're better. And so then you get on the field and you start asking questions like, let's look at Indiana and Alabama specifically. You start asking questions like, how could this happen? How could Alabama have the former recruiting rankings talent edge? How could this be? How could that be? It's because there are no wobbly parts at Indiana. Everything fits. All the Lego pieces are in place and everything. That guy right there, that's Kurt Signetti. Everything he says, Saban said a decade and a half ago they've put it in practice there and this is the result.

[Colin Cowherd]

The, you know, I, I really think it's a Miami Indiana final. I don't know if Ole Miss can make stops. What do we make of Oregon? I think Dante Moore is a year away. I just watched them play yesterday and I'm like, they played with their food. I just feel like we could have two lopsided games. I saw Indiana beat Oregon at Oregon and it wasn't as close as the score. What do we make of Oregon, because I think we both agree that Miami and Indiana look the part. They look like national champs. Is Oregon in that class?

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

What a sentence, man. Just go back a month. Miami and Indiana, just your. Your obvious national championship matchup is wild. We're already sitting at a point, by the way, where we're going to have a new national champion head coach. So someone's going to win the first no matter what. I. Right now, as we sit here today, I'm with you. I think back to yesterday. So here's what our instinct is. I think you'll probably be aligned with me on this. Your instinct is when you watch a team do what Oregon did yesterday and they win a game, they shut out someone in a playoff game, like, that's a big deal. But when they do that and there's so many mistakes, it's just riddled with inefficiency. What you think is kind of to have a better's mentality.

[Colin Cowherd]

Wow.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

So there's still a lot of upside with that team. There's. There's still a lot of rungs on their ladder they could climb in terms of efficiency. Well, I'm going to bank on that. Well, we're running out of games to bank on it is the point. Like, if we're doing that in week four, that makes a lot of sense. But this is the postseason.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

And everything about you says Oregon should have come out razor sharp yesterday. They didn't. Their defense afforded them the ability to have a ton of mistakes offensively. I just, again, I had some instincts about Alabama against Indiana. Like, I thought, oh, they may get right against them. No one's getting right against Indiana is the most glaring lesson that I've learned in this whole ordeal. Ohio State, like, they're not figuring out how to open up their offense against Indiana. Alabama's not figuring out how to have a more efficient ground game and to work that intermediate deep passing game. Even though they got healthy, that's not happening. So Indiana just exposes more of what already are your flaws. You don't correct them. Against Indiana, I know that line came out three and a half or four, and that's a huge swing off of what they had on the field in Eugene. But I think we've had a huge perception change since then as well. So until further notice, I'm working with you. I see it the same way you do, Bob.

[Colin Cowherd]

Before we go, Arch Manning played really well. It's Michigan. I mean, they're a bit of a mess now, but our Arch has always been athletic. The Most athletic, kind of like the, you know, the older, the grandfather. Archie Manning for the Saints ran around all over the field. And then Peyton and Eli are pocket guys. Is Texas the number one in that conference next year? Are the Longhorns with arches play. What is it? What does the south look like? Because I know next year Michigan will be better. Oregon, Washington, USC should be. I kind of know who's going to be good. I don't. In the South, I don't know who's good. Is Texas the team to beat next year?

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

It's a really important two weeks coming up right here in the portal to answer the question you just asked. But I think, yeah, they may. I mean, and you're going to have a lot of boy cried wolf syndrome. I can just picture SEC media days now. I think it's in Tampa next year. Because when he, when Arch Manning in Texas came in there this last year, I haven't seen anything like that since Tua and then Manzel before him and then Tebow before him. In terms of just a throng of people following him, he's got all these preseason accolades and then he doesn't live up to their expectations immediately. So then Texas gets written off. But then at the very end of the year, all of a sudden, oh, that's what we were looking at. So he's going to get coordinated again. And people are going to doubt it because all they're going to say all off season is, well, that's what you said last year. It may be right this year. It may have just been a year early last year. I, yeah, I would say right now they would probably be the favorite. I just think back to myself and I think about how different his situation is. He's in a situation where he doesn't need to go chase NFL money immediately. And you just look at the maturation process because there's such bigger expectation placed on guys. They look at it, you know, if it's a bag of popcorn and I put it in my microwave over here, they think, well, since there's higher expectation, we can just take it out after 42 seconds. It says a minute on the bag, though. So everyone's bag has a timer on it. And it doesn't matter how big a bag you got in Nil, it's going to take that much time before you're ready. It may just be that Arch needed this much time. You saw him like, look, Michigan, Michigan. Not a highly rated team than playoff teams, as usual this year. But that's not a bad defensive team either. And that athletic profile, just him doing that right there, combined with a third season under Steve Sarkeesian. Yeah. I trust you'll get a complete game from him next year.

[Colin Cowherd]

Josh, Pay. It's all over YouTube volume. We use them as much as we can. Great seeing you, buddy. Happy New Year.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Appreciate it, Colin. Same to you.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I think the.

[Jason McIntyre]

The.

[Colin Cowherd]

The portal opens up today, so it's a. It's a buying season. It's Christmas in college football. The portal is open and I gotta rush to my phone here. I gotta go find out what's happening.

[Jason McIntyre]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific, on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod, pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the Sportsbook and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Katie Couric]

As we head into 2026, it's safe to say that 2025 was a year like no other. So much news, so much disruption, and, yes, so much division. That's why we're wrapping up this season of Next Question with a look back at everything that's happened. Things are coming at us with such a velocity, we thought it was important to take a moment, connect the dots and explore what it all means. We're summing up the first year of Trump's second term with David Graham on Project 2025 and how many of the goals have been implemented. Richard Haass on foreign policy and the changing world order. Jessica Valenti on reproductive rights and the terrifying consequences of abortion bans. Tina Brown on the year scandals here and across the pond. The president has upended everything from pardons to the press, so we're covering it all. Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro, host of the hit podcast Family Secrets.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

We were in the car like a Rolling Stone came on and he said, there's a line in there about your mother.

[Jason McIntyre]

And I said, what? What I would do if I didn't.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Feel like I was being accepted is choose an identity that other people can't have.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

I knew something had happened to me in the middle of the night. But I couldn't hold on to what had happened.

[Katie Couric]

These are just a few of the moving and important stories I'll be holding space for on my upcoming 13th season of Family Secrets. Whether you've been on this journey with me from season one or just joining the Family Secrets family, we're so happy to have you with us. I'll dive deep into the incredible power of secrets, the ones that shape our identities, test our relationships, and ultimately reveal who we truly are. Listen to Family secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

You know the shade is always shadiest right here. Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryant and Robyn Dixon is here dropping every Monday as two of the founding members of the Real Housewives Potomac. We're giving you all the laughs, drama, and reality news you can handle. And you know, we don't hold back, so come be reasonable or shady with us each and every Monday. I was going through a walk in my neighborhood. Out of the blue, I see this huge sign next to somebody's house. Okay, the sign says, my neighbor is a Karen. No way. I died laughing. I'm like, I have to know. You are lying. Humongous, y'.

[Guest / Interviewee (possibly a sports analyst or athlete)]

All.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

They had some time on their hands. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

What's up?

[Cam Jordan]

It's Cam Jordan. I'm back with season three of your favorite podcast, the off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast. Tap in every Wednesday to hear conversations with my friends and stars for the NFL, the sports world in general, and entertainment about anything from teams and players making waves to pop culture. And I'll take you inside my journey through my 15th season in the NFL. Looking forward to you joining me this season, the season of more on the off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast. Catch new episodes every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Get your podcasts brought to you by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Only pay for what you need.

[Jason McIntyre]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Liberty.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

Hey, I'm Kelly, and some of you may know me as Laura Winslow. And I'm Telma, also known as Aunt Rachel. If those names ring a bell, then you probably are familiar with the show that we were both on back in the 90s called Family Matters.

[Jason McIntyre]

Kelly and I have done a lot of things and played a lot of.

[Katie Couric]

Roles over the years, but both of us are just so proud to have been part of Family Matters.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

Did you know that we are one of the longest running sitcoms with a black cast? When we were making the show, there were so many moments filled with joy and laughter and cut up that I will never forget.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh, girl, you got that right.

[Katie Couric]

The look that you all give me is so black.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

All black people know about the look. On each episode of welcome to the Family, we'll share personal reflections about making the show. Yeah, we'll even bring in part of.

[Katie Couric]

The cast and some other special guests to join in the fun and spill some tea. Listen to welcome to the Family with and Kelly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

J. Mack with the news.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

No, no, no.

[Guest / Interviewee (possibly a sports analyst or athlete)]

Turn on the news.

[Jason McIntyre]

This is the Herdline news. Yeah, Portals is exciting as NFL free agency. Colin, I'm fired up. Let's go to the NFL. And Lamar Jackson obviously announced he's practicing. He's a go. However, he's also combating those rumors. Remember a week ago, right before Christmas, there was a report out of Baltimore that he was falling asleep in team.

[Colin Cowherd]

Meetings, not getting along.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Credible. Well, Lamar waited, waited. He waited over a week to reply. And here he is addressing those rumors.

[Guest / Interviewee (possibly a sports analyst or athlete)]

I gotta get questioned about or I hear things about. Oh, I don't know if he really like. I never quit on my team before, you know, so I never quit any. Anything, to be honest with y'.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

All.

[Guest / Interviewee (possibly a sports analyst or athlete)]

So I don't know where that noise came from. I heard I'll be playing a game at like 1 or 2 in the morning. I don't even do that during the summer, so I don't know where that come from either. But yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know. I don't know where that come from.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, Lamar, they said that you own sleep at meetings. How would you respond to that?

[Guest / Interviewee (possibly a sports analyst or athlete)]

Do you think Harbaugh let me fall asleep in his meeting? That's crazy. I'm right in the front. Like, man, I don't know, man. It is what it is, though.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, it's a legitimate reporter. I. The whole thing. Listen, if Lamar comes out Sunday and it's magical, then nobody cares about anything. But if he comes out, he struggles, they lose. It's not the end of the world. Ravens are well run, but it's, it's. That's what I think. The game itself will be ugly, but the magnitude of the loser going forward is fascinating. Like Seattle, San Francisco's two excellent teams, both Baltimore, Pittsburgh is two struggling teams. One is going to have an ugly off season. So I think it's a fascinating watch on Sunday night.

[Jason McIntyre]

You know, it's. I don't want to split hairs here, Colin, but falling asleep in team meetings, I mean, there's a big difference between dozing off, which somebody may characterize as falling asleep, versus straight up falling asleep. Head down, you're out. I don't think this guy would make something like that up.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

That's.

[Jason McIntyre]

That's a bad look. So it's pretty clear that something happened in the team meetings. Harbaugh, I don't think, has addressed them. And it. But to counter that, it's like, well, if Harbaugh, what if I had. Do I have to address every single rumor about all my players? So there's really no win here. But you're right, if the Steelers manage to win this, that will be an interesting off season in Pittsburgh, in Baltimore. And we know Pittsburgh, obviously, we don't know like Tomlin. We don't know about Rodgers. Yeah, that division could look very different. What's going to happen in Cleveland? What's going to happen with Zach Taylor? I mean, hell, could they lose three or four coaches in that division this offseason? Would anything surprise you?

[Colin Cowherd]

No, it wouldn't.

[Jason McIntyre]

It's a wacky situation there. All right, let's move on to the big matchup. Brock Purdy hosting Collins guy, Sam Darnold in a Niners Seahawks tilt for the ages. How about Christian McCaffrey? Colin being a workhorse this season, you had that stat on him getting 27 carries or 27 touches, rather. He's had that in back to back weeks. Now, Mike McDonald of Seattle was asked, how do you Prepare for Christian McCaffrey? Here he is.

[Katie Couric]

What he said.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

All the place.

[Katie Couric]

You're just. That's.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

That's what.

[Guest / Interviewee (possibly a sports analyst or athlete)]

That's what you.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

I guess, terrible answer, but it's by situation again, you know, like, who do.

[Colin Cowherd]

You have on the field? Who do they have on the field?

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Where's the ball? You know, are you trying to attack? Are you trying to kind of hedge? Are you just. Those are the things you're thinking about. But he's definitely someone you have to account for at all times. And they do a great job of moving around. I mean, you can do everything, so you have to account for everything.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, it's. There's just nobody else in the league like McCaffrey. I mean, it really isn't since the Carolina days, there's nobody like him now.

[Jason McIntyre]

Interestingly, some Niners fans have dug into it. So in that earlier meeting, San Fran at Seattle Week 1, the Niners lost Juwan Jennings and Kittle in that game. Remember the game winning catch was by Jake Tungus, who nobody had ever heard of.

[Katie Couric]

Yep.

[Jason McIntyre]

So if K's able to play, we know Jennings is playing. All of a sudden you've got your full arsenal of guys. I think that's a big edge for the Niners. Colin, I, I, I know people want to say, well, you know, the defense can't stop anybody. Can Seattle stop this Niners offense? They're a juggernaut. Now, the defenses they faced, Colts, Bears, not elite. Seattle's pretty elite, would you say?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, Seattle's defense, Chicago's like, gives up big plays. The Bears defense is a liability. It's not even a, it's, it's a problem that that's what's going to keep the Bears out of winning multiple playoff games is their defense. They get, they get gashed for big plays in bad spots.

[Jason McIntyre]

Now, remember, just a few weeks ago, The Rams had 30 points through what, three quarters against Seattle on the road. And earlier this season, Baker Mayfield, when he was hot, went to Seattle and I think they scored 35 or 38 points. So it can be done. Let's not act like they're the 85 bears here.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

That's right.

[Jason McIntyre]

I just. Can we make a handshake agreement that whoever wins will not just totally trash the opposing quarterback? Come on, man. I need you. If Darnold somehow wins this, I don't want this to be an indictment of Brock Purdy.

[Colin Cowherd]

No.

[Jason McIntyre]

And I'm not going to hammer Darnold. You know, I like him. He was a former Jet.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I think it's a very competitive. I think it's a, I think it qualifies one of the better pro football games in America this year.

[Jason McIntyre]

Well, there's also so much at stake. The number one seed is massive, just enormous in the nfc, which is a God.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, especially number one seed if you're San Francisco, dude. Trent Kittle.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Seattle is not better off with time off. Seattle's young. They want to play. San Francisco could use a week off. There is no question. Philadelphia and San Francisco are two of the only teams in the league could use time off.

[Jason McIntyre]

Colin, you go from hosting a game and getting a buy, hosting every game and getting a buy to on the road next week. Like, that's, that's totally different. One of them might have to go to Philadelphia across the country. Final story, Colin. Let's go to Trayvon Diggs. The Cowboys dumped him earlier this week, and guess what? The Green Bay packers scooped him up. I think we might have predicted that here on the show. Matt LaFleur, how about this one? Hasn't ruled out the possibility Diggs playing in the regular season finale. Now we know the packers defense is really beat up and Diggs production has not been great this season, but he's confident in bouncing back after a change of scenery.

[Guest / Interviewee (possibly a sports analyst or athlete)]

I'll just be myself, you know, be who, who I know I am. Go out there and perform and everything will take care of itself. You know, I'm not chasing accolades. I'm not chasing anything. I'm. I'm chasing, you know, being a better me, being better every day, you know, helping his team win, it feels good. You know, I want to be comfortable with being uncomfortable being somewhere that, you know, I've never been before. Just starting over, starting fresh, you know, a clean slate.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[Jason McIntyre]

Colin, we talk a little bit about teams that are rested and beat up. I went back and looked. Do you want to guess who had the earliest bye this season? Week 5 was the first week of buys.

[Colin Cowherd]

Green Bay.

[Jason McIntyre]

Green Bay then now also Chicago that week had the earliest buy and Pittsburgh. So those are teams that have been playing straight through for three months now. Yeah, I think that should factor into the handicap for anybody who's betting next week in the wild card round.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right, good note. J. Mac with the news.

[RG3 (Robert Griffin III)]

Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd lie news.

[Colin Cowherd]

Josh Pate, RG3 blazing 5. J. Mac has his picks next.

[Jason McIntyre]

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

[Colin Cowherd]

Great to have you in. Happy new Year, everybody. Yesterday was just, you know, it is college football's got a lot of fans who are really, really traditional, driven and I mean, for about a 15 year period, all we got in college football, let's be honest about it, was Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama maybe throwing an lsu. And now we get Oregon and we get Ole Miss and we get Indiana and we get Miami. And that's, you know, like college basketball sells mythology that all these different teams have a chance to win it. But it's always number one, two or three seeds, occasionally a four in college football. I don't think anybody in November first thought Miami and Ole Miss were going to be here, especially with Lane Kiffin leaving. So the new reality in the sport is Georgia can't stop a good offense, Bama can't run. A lot of people are saying Calen DeBoer is in trouble. Caleb is a great coach. He's a great coach. Alabama, let's be totally honest. Got worked beginning to end quarterback o line run game. If you watched Alabama, I watched them a half dozen times. They couldn't run the football year. You're not a national championship team. I think you have to play real defense to win a natty Ole Miss. Can't win the natty Oregon could. But I think Indiana, Miami feel in this day and age, NFL guys all over the field, really physical first above everything else. And I think they should be favored.

[Jason McIntyre]

Didn't Oregon just pitch a shutout, though? I mean, that was that. That defense shocked me. The kid in the back end with the two picks.

[Colin Cowherd]

No, I mean, Oregon recruits at a high level, but they don't. I mean, to me, they played with their food that game. If Indiana played Texas Tech, do you have any doubt it would have been 45 to nothing. I mean, it just. They were Oregon.

[Jason McIntyre]

But the Dante Moore angle against Mendoza, essentially, I don't want to say for the number one pick, but this is a chance for Dante Moore to be.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, hey, I'm that guy J. Mac with the news. Oh, excuse me. My bad. We go to headlines today. Tomorrow's headlines today. Lost mice. It's the new year. You know, I mean, I'm. Everybody's a little fuzzy. I had so many chicken enchiladas last night. So listen, you got your five picks. I've had a very good season. I need to have a winning record. I want to feel good with my last blazing five. This is your. I mean, you're going to do more in the playoffs, but this is a full slated game, a lot of them with backups. So it's a very treacherous week to make picks.

[Jason McIntyre]

You like to say you don't like to bet Week one. You don't want to do a blazing five. Week one, right. That's the one you want to punt on.

[Colin Cowherd]

This is the one you don't love.

[Jason McIntyre]

This is the one I don't like because everybody. I just saw one. Dale Robinson's out for the Giants. I know people are like who? He's had a great season and I love the Giants. Glad I did not put them in headlines, but yeah, it's very difficult to find out who's playing.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, Panthers. Bucks is your first game up.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah. So they just met a couple weeks ago. Panthers with a surprising victory. This one's for the division. The headline for Panthers Buccaneers will be Airbnb. Bryce out battles Baker for Southern suite. Colin, I'm doing it. I'm taking Carolina on the road to win outright. I just, you know, we joke that Tampa has been leaking oil. No way. This is like the Titanic taking on water. I mean, they haven't covered in eight straight weeks. They can't get anything right. This Baker injury that he won't talk about, clearly something's wrong with him. What happened to Abuka? He was having an unbelievable lucky year.

[Colin Cowherd]

Great point.

[Jason McIntyre]

Kind of just stopped catching passes. They're not looking at him anymore. I don't know what's going on with Tampa, so I'm taking Carolina. And of course, Carolina had 54 yards passing last week against Seattle. However, some fun stats. Carolina has eight wins as an underdog, most in the super bowl era. That's incredible. And also after a loss this season, seven. And oh, against the spread, Canales has his guys bouncing back. Rico Dowdle, I saw needs like seven scrimmage yards to trigger a $1 million bonus. Hello. So I'm going to go with Carolina on the road. Take it down.

[Katie Couric]

Tampa.

[Colin Cowherd]

I like it. Tomorrow's headlines today. Listen, I know the side you're on. I want to hear the Seahawks at the Niners.

[Jason McIntyre]

Oh, we go back and forth on this all week, all season, really, with these two. You love Seattle. I love the other team. The headline for Niners Seahawks will be half McAF Seattle jittery after pot of Purdy. You know, I'm a Brock Purdy guy. Hey, man, listen, it's undeniable, Colin.

[Katie Couric]

He.

[Jason McIntyre]

He has been so good since he's back. We saw the Niners do well with Mac Jones. Better than treading water. Well, now they get Brock Purdy and they make the jump to lightspeed. And they have been unbelievable in the month of December. I just can't go against this team right now. Now, obviously, if they don't have Kittle or Trent Williams, that's not great. It sounds like, you know, parsing words from Shanahan. He thinks Trent Williams will play. Kittle is going to try to give it a go. But if they get that win at home, boy, having the number one seed, not having to leave Santa Clara, that would be enormous. I'm sorry, Colin. I saw Sam Darnold late last year and he kind of fell apart. And I saw it in the playoffs and then we started to see it a lot this month. They got lucky against the Rams. The punt return, things bounce their way. I can't go against San Fran here. And I will just say Kyle Shanahan, seven one straight up, six and two against the spread. He's dominated Seattle of late. Not all those against McDonald's. I do want to go back to that first meeting, though, Bosa was a monster. Had a sack, three tackles for loss, force fumble. Now he's out. What can Salah do to find a Bosa? You can't find one of those on the bench. You're going to have to do something exotic. Do you remember what he did against Caleb on the final play? He rushed two. Caleb was like, what's going on? Robert Salah dropped defensive tackles at the goal line into coverage. It was masterful. Can he dial up something like that? I'm going with San Franis and underdog.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tomorrow's headlines today, Colts, Texans on Sunday. Who you got?

[Jason McIntyre]

Now listen, we talk about riding hot teams. One of these teams is hot, the other most definitely not. The headline for Colts, Texans in the AFC south will be the Frio Grande Texans float by chilly rivers. Philip Rivers obviously not starting. They're turning to Riley Leonard. Remember how much you loved him in Notre Dame.

[Colin Cowherd]

I want to watch him play. I think he's an interesting prospect.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, you want to watch him run for his life against Will Anderson and Hunter coming off the edge. The Colts are just a sad story, man.

[Colin Cowherd]

They.

[Jason McIntyre]

They went all in with Sauce Gardner and then it fell apart. Daniel Jones got hurt and Sauce Gardner got hurt. Sauce. It looks like he will play here. I just. I'm going to ride with the Texans. Some things to watch. I think Demo Ryan's. He's had some hot starts, including last week against the Chargers, but then they've tailed off. You got to keep that momentum. Unbelievable. Stat Collins. So inside the five yard line. Texans have been terrible in the red zone. Inside the five. They have 23 carries for four yards this season. Three touchdowns. They can't figure it out. The offensive line can't block. They've got to nail that down heading into the postseason. This feels to me like a 27 to 9 type Texans win, win with the defense and prevail and head to the postseason.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tomorrow's headlines today. You told me to keep my eye on this one. I did. Browns, Bengals in Cincy.

[Jason McIntyre]

Yeah, there's only one game I really like and that's this one. Bengals hosting the Browns. The headline for Cincy and Cleveland will be shedeur at the thought Cincy skyline too chilly for Browns. Nice work by the artistic team there. Yeah, I like Burrow here. Listen, if there's a team trying hard late in the season. Since Burrow came back, four out of five games, they've topped 30 points. I don't know if they're trying to save Zach Taylor's job or what? Seems like he's probably safe due to the cheap ownership. But they have looked good late in the season. And I know Cleveland's good at home, right? 5 and 1 against the spread is a dog this season. At home, you go on the road, one in five is an underdog. How about this? Six and 18 against the spread on the road the last two years. They just don't seem to show up. Obviously the Miles Garrett situation will be fun to watch. Maybe Burrow takes a sack early. I think he gets a record and we move on. But by the way, Shador likely to be down three offensive linemen.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yep.

[Jason McIntyre]

And Harold Fannin.

[Colin Cowherd]

Good.

[Jason McIntyre]

Rookie tight end Joku are going to be out. We know the running backs injured after they lost Fannin to injury. They didn't have a drive last week over 40 yards. There just aren't any guys. I think this is Bengals 35 10.

[Colin Cowherd]

Finally, tomorrow's headlines. Today it's Sunday night Ravens. Lamar supposed to play against the surviving Steelers.

[Jason McIntyre]

I guess somebody's going to get beat up badly on Monday here by you. The headline for Steelers Ravens on Sunday night will be Les Islamar. Ravens come up short with QB back. I'm going with the Steelers here. It's not a super confident play, but Mike Tomlin against John Harbaugh as an underdog 414 and three against the spread. Basically just take the dog in this series. I think Pittsburgh is not a good football team, but I don't think much of Baltimore. Colin, I know people are making the case, hey, get Lamar into the playoffs. They're going to have a shot. I don't know, man. I think Pittsburgh wins this outright. I mean, it's kind of a risky call. Pittsburgh did beat them a few weeks ago, but when they beat him, Lamar was there, Derek Henry was there. So I just, you know, the DK Metcalf loss obviously is a big one, but Arthur Smith I think could dial up some stuff here. 16, 13 Steelers.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, yeah, it's. You know, I've been thinking about this the last couple days. I was watching college football and how much the games mattered. You know, there's a lot of talk they're going to extend the season to 18 games. And I'm like, guys, this week is. Last two weeks have been like choppy.

[Jason McIntyre]

By the way, are you surprised that they made this the month, the Sunday night game as opposed to Seahawks Niners? I'm just guessing it's because of the markets and the east coast, you know, larger obviously TV audience. The better game is Seattle, San Fran?

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, it's, I mean Bears, Niners, last week was maybe the game of the year. So I expect more of the same. Seattle's defense, Niners offense, I think it's just, it's going to be big numbers. It's going to be good.

[Jason McIntyre]

Sometimes the league, it feels like prioritizes TV audience overall just so they can brag about ratings. But Seattle Sanford is an amazing game and I think that should be Sunday night. Plus the Niners could use an extra day of rest.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know one of the things I, I, I thought Indiana would ha Alabama but I thought Fernando Mendoza really put a stamp on the game. You know I, I love mock drafts. I literally read them every day. If you don't think Fernando Mendoza is going number one, I don't know what to tell you. If you don't think he's a first round quarterback, I don't want to tell you. Don't overthink the room. I remember when Andrew Luck came out. Now I don't think he's as good as Andrew Luck but when Andrew Luck came out there were people like, I don't know about his arm. I'm like, it was fine. Mendoza's big, he can move well enough. I think his arm strength is good. This is a pro style offense so he's an easy guy to do comps for. It's an easy guy to read. So I mean I'm just really interested to see because I'm, I am shocked at the people who thought Alabama could win this game. I'm shocked at the pushback on Fernando Mendoza. I've always trusted my instincts on this quarterback stuff. It's just the way he sets up the velocity. I mean he never like, like he always, it's really hard to intercept his ball like in the end zone he throws it, he makes sure his guy only can catch it. Here's RG3 earlier on. Mendoza.

[Guest / Interviewee (possibly a sports analyst or athlete)]

I love Fernando Mendoza because Fernando Mendoza knows who he is and I've seen some of the memes of like he sounds like chat gbt when you ask him a question after a game. And it's funny, it's, it really is funny. But the thing I love about him is he's going to process, he's going to do it well and he's going to do what his team needs him to do. I think he's a first round pick, I think he's a top 10 pick. I think coaches are going to love him. He's a big kid like you said, size does matter but he can make every Throw on the field. And he's not afraid of the big moments.

[Jason McIntyre]

Colin, let me ask you a quick question here. So let's say Mendoza goes one to the Raiders. Let's say Pete Carroll is pushed out. If you're the Raiders, don't you at least have to call Kurt Signetti and just ask, hey, man, I know Indiana's paying you 10, $12 million. Do you have any interest in the NFL? I mean, what he's done in two years is one of the great stories.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's college.

[Katie Couric]

All right?

[Colin Cowherd]

There's. I mean, Brian Flores top my list. Mike McCarthy, I think Jeff Halfley.

[Jason McIntyre]

So a lot of people are down with a retread, and that's not negative against these guys.

[Colin Cowherd]

Jeff Hafley has coached college, so he gets the college game.

[Jason McIntyre]

What did he do at Boston College? I mean, I didn't see anything like Kurt Signetti.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, but they don't. They don't care about football like Big Ten teams care about football, even at Indiana.

[Jason McIntyre]

So you don't even want to ask them?

[Colin Cowherd]

Wouldn't be my choice. I would. I would ask him at any college football job, including Bama. I mean, I. But I think, you know, Indiana's got a very good business school. Mark Cuban, Obviously, there's two or three families lined up. This is what. What the nil allows for. Texas Tech and Indiana. Everybody said all the rich will get richer with the nil. Well, how much richer and dominant could Georgia get? I love Miami, Indiana, Ole Miss, Oregon. I can't wait. Cannot wait. Have a great weekend.

[Podcast Announcer / Promo Voice]

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