THE HERD - Hour 3 - Miami Hurricanes HC Mario Cristobal stops by The Herd

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Hour 3 – Miami Hurricanes HC Mario Cristobal Stops by The Herd
Date: December 5, 2025
Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd (iHeartPodcasts and The Volume)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Colin Cowherd welcomes Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Mario Cristobal for a deep dive into college football’s playoff debates, head-to-head matchups, and the evolution of Miami’s 2025 season. The central discussion revolves around Miami and Notre Dame's playoff résumés and the broader question of how the sport should assess teams’ rankings—especially around head-to-head victories and strength of schedule. The episode is lively and insightful, with Cowherd pressing Cristobal for candid insights on improvement, key players, and the chaos of the current college football structure.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Head-to-Head vs. Resume: Miami vs. Notre Dame (03:57–11:19)

• Cowherd strongly contends Miami should be chosen over Notre Dame for playoff selection, leaning on Miami's head-to-head win and tougher strength of schedule.
• Cristobal details how Miami’s defense, especially against star Notre Dame runner Jeremiah Love, dominated the line of scrimmage:

  “Our defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage...I think he had 33 yards against us.” (05:06)

• Both highlight Notre Dame's weaker schedule, emphasizing the statistical gap in opponent defenses.
• Cristobal shares: Miami’s defensive front received its highest grading ever on PFF in the Notre Dame game.
• The coach asserts Miami is playing its best ball now, recovering from mid-season injuries and improving statistically in both defense and passing over the last few weeks:

  "We're a better team now than we were when we were ranked number two in the country." (07:53)

2. Addressing the SMU Loss & Resume Context (08:16–09:40)

• Cristobal is candid about the overtime SMU loss:

  “We turned the ball over and we lost in overtime. ... We had to overcome a good amount of starters out and you have to overcome that.” (08:23)

• He stresses the significance of head-to-head wins in playoff history:

  "Never in history, never in history of the CFP has...the loser advanced and the winner of that game been held back." (09:08)

• Cristobal clarifies he’s not “campaigning,” just stating the facts:

  “Honestly, I’ll be honest with you...I wouldn’t even come on your show if we had lost that game.” (09:23)

3. Fixing College Football Playoff Debate (10:11–11:19)

• Cowherd pushes for solutions, referencing Urban Meyer's stance that the playoff committee should be eliminated.
• Cristobal believes the sport should prioritize head-to-head outcomes and not lose sight of the importance of winning amid chaos:

  "Let's not ever, ever compromise the value and the importance of winning...if they're not rewarded for winning, then the sport itself...is in a real bad place." (10:53)

4. Spotlight: Key Miami Players (15:29–19:40)

A. Carson Beck/NIL Impact (16:15–17:27)

• Cowherd probes on quarterback Carson Beck's maturity amid the NIL era.
• Cristobal praises Beck’s work ethic and leadership, downplaying any negative impact of NIL riches:

  “He could give a rat’s you know what about that stuff, brother. He wants to win, he wants to see his teammates do well.” (16:39) “There's no one playing at the level that he's playing at right now.” (17:20)

B. Malachi Toney: Freshman Phenom (18:39–19:40)

• Cowherd is effusive about Toney, calling him potentially the best freshman in the country.
• Cristobal recounts first hearing of Toney (“Baby Jesus” per his son), then raves about Toney’s leadership, energy, and unselfishness:

  “He is unselfish. Watch the guy when his teammates score, like he is going bananas. Energy, flipping out, high fiving. ... He's an old school Miami Hurricane.” (19:25)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Cowherd on Miami’s Defensive Dominance:

  “They faced Miami, whose defense is great, and they literally couldn't move the chains with their run game, which is viewed as their strength.” (17:27)

• Cristobal on Miami's Growth:

  “Our team right now is playing better football than we did when we were ranked number two in the country.” (06:55)

• Cristobal on Head-to-Head Importance:

  “Never in history of the CFP has the loser advanced and the winner of that game been held back.” (09:08)

• Cowherd on Fixing College Football:

  “Urban Meyer says get rid of the committee. Just get, get rid of it. Do you have a belief on how you solve it, how you fix it?” (10:11)

• Cristobal’s Take on NIL and Carson Beck:

  “He’s invested in his teammates and winning…He could give a rat’s you know what about that stuff, brother. He wants to win.” (16:39)

• Cristobal’s Son on Malachi Toney:

  “You're recruiting Baby Jesus. ... Malachi Toney. He is baby Jesus.” (18:48)

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Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------| | 03:57 | Miami vs. Notre Dame / Head-to-Head Debate | | 05:06 | Miami’s Defense Against Notre Dame (Jeremiah Love)| | 06:55 | Miami’s Growth (now vs. earlier in season) | | 08:23 | SMU Loss Explained & Scheduling Context | | 09:08 | CFP History & Head-to-Head Precedent | | 10:11 | Playoff Process Debate: Fixing the System | | 16:15 | NIL Era: Carson Beck’s Maturity | | 18:39 | Malachi Toney Freshman Phenomenon Story |

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Episode Tone and Vibe

• Spirited, passionate, and occasionally playful, especially around Miami’s resurgence and locker room culture.
• Warm rapport between Cowherd and Cristobal, allowing for candid moments and a few light jokes (Cristobal’s weight loss, son’s “Baby Jesus” quip).
• Focused on fairness, rewarding teams for on-field results, and concern for the future of college football’s structure.
• Heavy on statistical comparisons and in-the-weeds football analysis, but accessible for general sports fans.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode provides a sharp, passionate window into the chaos and controversy of college football playoff selection. Cowherd and Cristobal dissect Notre Dame vs. Miami, focusing on what should matter most: head-to-head results, quality of opponents, and the momentum of teams as the season winds down. Coach Cristobal gives rare behind-the-scenes perspective on player development, how injuries and adversity spurred improvement, and highlights the emergence of young stars like Malachi Toney and the leadership of QB Carson Beck in a new era dominated by NIL.

Listeners walk away with a deeper understanding of:

• The measured and data-driven argument for Miami's playoff spot
• Why head-to-head victories need to remain paramount in college football
• How standout players shape not just games, but the culture and chemistry of winning teams
• The evolving landscape of college football and what’s at stake if on-field performance is no longer the ultimate metric

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Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

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.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FIIP Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures Wasabi is.

[Colin Cowherd]

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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 Cowherd]

Thanks for listening to the Herd 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.

[Mario Cristobal]

Now, let's get this party started.

[JMac]

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

[Colin Cowherd]

I've said before, I like Notre Dame. I think they're good for the sport. But if you really dig really, really deep and do your job in the media or on the committee, Miami is the choice. So I want to bring on Mario Cristobal is the coach of the Miami Hurricanes and a friend of the show and a great guy. So here's one of the things that again, I can't watch every Miami game. I think I've watched you start to back four games, Notre Dame four. I try to watch everybody, but you know, some games aren't as easy to get to and there's games that are on at the same time. So I just to set it up, Notre Dame people look at their run game, but they really mostly look at Jeremiah Love. Coach, he's great, but Notre Dame this year has faced the 129th defense, the 127th, the 1 17th, the 121, the 123, the 105.

When love in Notre Dame faced your defense, how did he do?

[Mario Cristobal]

Well, again, like you said, he's a great player, but our defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, you know, rendering them to a a very tough game. And I think he had 33 yards against us.

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay, so. So there you go. So again. And by the way, I would argue your defense is better now because generally speaking, people are better in December than August when you're just hitting class. I remember the game, and my takeaway was their O line struggled to block your D line. And that was my interpretation of the game I watched. What was your takeaway when you faced each other?

[Mario Cristobal]

Well, again, the two real good teams going at it with a chance to settle it on the field. And we knew that the line of scrimmage was going to be the. The determining factor. We really felt that both sides had great playmakers. But up front, I believe our guys had an opportunity to render the best performance against their offensive line that's ever been graded, I believe, on pff. And that's a tremendous accomplishment, you know, because aside from us, they had some really good statistical data, but both sides of the ball just did a really good job in a game that we never trailed. And really proud of our guys for doing so and really looking forward to our guys being rewarded for doing so.

[Colin Cowherd]

So Notre Dame also played a couple group of five teams. They played three teams that were 2 and 10. Notre Dame had some. Some bad teams. They played a 3 and 9 team. They played a 4 and 8 team. You didn't, you know, you had. You. I mean, listen, everybody in college football places faces the middle and the bottom of some conferences. Are you playing? I've said before, my first takeaway was about two weeks ago. I said, well, I don't know. I think maybe Notre Dame would be favored. And then I came back after watching the pit game, and I'm like, no, I can't. I can't do that. Miami is playing the best they've played. Carson Beck is playing really good. If this team right now, your Miami team, played your Miami team eight weeks ago, what do you.

[IBM Executive]

What.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tell me the difference.

[Mario Cristobal]

Oh, this team will win right now. You know, Notre Dame was faired in the first game as well, you know, as it relates to that kind of stuff. But our team right now is playing better football than we did when we were ranked number two in the country. And I'll tell you why. Number one. Of course, everyone's seen Malachi, Tony, and just the way he's exploded on the scene, Right?

[Podcast Announcer]

Wow.

[Mario Cristobal]

Carson is number one in the country right now for the last four weeks in terms of passing yards, completion percentage, touchdowns, interceptions. Our defense was always top 7, 8, 9. I think we're top 5, 4, 3 the last few weeks. We're healthy. You know, in the middle of season, we were down at one point, even seven starters. And now we're almost, I think we're back six of them. We'll get the other one back hopefully by the end of the year, you know, the postseason run. So I don't. There's not a single metric where we haven't improved upon and we're just getting, we're just, we're just getting started. We feel like. So again, we're a better team now than we were when we were ranked number two in the country.

[Colin Cowherd]

So. Mario, I, I've always said I, I want to see your wins. I. Everybody has a bad game. I mean Alabama last year, Notre Dame lost in Northern Illinois at home and played for the Natty. I, I'm not somebody that crushes you. I, I didn't think the SMU game was a bad loss. They're 8 and 4. They were in the playoff. They've got pros. I think it was 26, 20.

So I didn't look at that. Go back to the SMU game because it was a winnable game. What happened?

[Mario Cristobal]

Yeah, we turned the ball over and we lost in overtime. You know, really controversial situation at the end over good amount of starters and you have to overcome that. And we understand that and we own it and we move forward. And that's why, you know, when people speak of the totality of a resume, it's important to show that, you know, that's good football team solid. And when you look at all of it, we had an opportunity to play four common opponents and in all four games. Right. In three of those games, I should say our results were significantly more impressive and more dominant than the Notre Dame's. And of course the most important part, like we played, man, we won, you know, we won the game. So.

[IBM Executive]

Right.

[Mario Cristobal]

And never in history, never in history of the CFP has. Have two teams that had a head to head and never once has the loser advanced and the winner of that game been held back. So I just like, my job is to keep presenting information, you know, because I don't, I don't feel like I have to campaign or make a case. But honestly, I'll be honest with you. I've known you for a while. I wouldn't even come on your show if we had lost that game. And I was now trying to contest the fact that hey, we're better if we had lost. You know what I mean?

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, no, I mean, listen, one of the great arguments that has not been discussed and I think we did today. Notre Dame played six awful defenses. They played one great defense, yours. And they couldn't run the football at all with an unbelievable player. Jeremiah Love. And I like Notre Dame. I'm not. I think Marcus is terrific. I think they're great for the sport. I love Notre Dame and I, I love big powers. I want to talk about how do we fix it so in the NFL head to heads. Number one.

I think common opponents does matter is two is there. I mean good, good God, if Duke wins this weekend and I think they have a real chance to beat Virginia, nobody from the ACC goes big picture. How do we solve the college football rankings? Urban Meyer says get rid of the committee. Just get, get rid of it. Do you have a belief on how you solve it, how you fix it?

[Mario Cristobal]

I know that every year it seems like college football migrates more and more towards the NFL policies. Right?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mario Cristobal]

I mean and like you mentioned, head to head has always been at the forefront of that because you never even go to metrics or common opponents if you have a head to head. So I think it starts with that right there and then I just think this in a world where you know how crazy college football has become over the past three years.

[Podcast Announcer]

Portal.

[Mario Cristobal]

Well, you have coaches that are playing in the postseason but are being introduced at press conferences at their school. So in a world of chaos, man, let's not ever, ever compromise the value and the importance of winning. Because at the end of the day, it's still about the players and you know, after all the work, all the craziness they've gone through, if they're not rewarded for winning, then the sport itself, I think is in a real bad place.

[Colin Cowherd]

Be sure to catch live editions of.

[JMac]

The Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

[Colin Cowherd]

Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from the Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio.

[Mario Cristobal]

And in addition to hearing us live weeknights from 7 to 10pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube channel for the show.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's right.

[JMac]

You can now watch the Odd Couple.

[Colin Cowherd]

Live on YouTube every day.

[Mario Cristobal]

All you gotta do, search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube again. YouTube. Just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out on YouTube and subscribe.

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Malcolm Gladwell]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra, SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures 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.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Hello. Hello, I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast smart talks with IBM. I recently sat down with IBM's chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna and I asked him how can companies use AI to its fullest potential to create smarter business?

[IBM Executive]

My one advice to them Pick areas you can scale. Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side. For example, if anybody has more than 10% of what they had for customer service 10 years ago, they're already five years behind. If anybody is not using AI to make their developers who write software 30% more productive today with the goal of being 70% more productive. Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

Wow.

[IBM Executive]

So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it, we say you can leverage what we did. We are happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process. Because the biggest change is not technology. It's getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com smarttalks Foreign.

[Colin Cowherd]

PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors are made to go the distance with blazing fast performance, next level efficiency and multi day battery life. Snapdragon processors are built to tackle it all from highlight reel editing to intense player research. So you can be at the top of your game wherever the day takes you. Learn [e-mail] laptops snapdragon the heart of your PC battery life varies significantly based on device settings, usage and other factors. Well, you've got the best freshman in Tony. You have the best edge rusher. I would argue your defensive line is one of the best in the country. And I think Carson Beck.

It'S hard to be an nil player. Like when Caleb Williams started making money in Carson Beck. I want you to talk about that because I thought it was hard for Caleb. Everybody in the locker room knows that guy makes millions of dollars. I want you to talk about Carson Beck goes to Miami. There's a lot of money. I think it's hard on players. I mean you become like an influencer and a star. Let's talk about Carson Beck and his maturity this year.

[Mario Cristobal]

You know, it is if you let it. You know, at the end of the day, the guy's an unbelievable human being and a great competitor and he's the right kind of guy and he's a worker and he's a grinder and you know what he's invested in? He's invested in his teammates and the team winning and he, he's not one of those, hey, look at me, look at me. I want to win this award. He could give a rats you know what about that stuff, brother? He wants to win, he wants to see his teammates do well. And he's a likable guy because he works his butt off. I mean relentlessly works his butt off. He's been through a lot. I, after getting to know him for the past year, I think he's the most misunderstood guy I've ever been around. The guy's an absolute stud. And I'm telling right now and I won't waste your time on the show. I'll send you the metrics. There's no one playing at the level that he's playing at right now. And he's got our offense absolutely.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, he led the CC and completion percentage, I think it was 74 and a half percent, 75%. Your team's gotten better. You know, I've said this before. I brought Sark on this week and I said I think Texas has an argument. I think Miami's got a. Has the argument in college football. And I think, and I, and I do think something that's important to remember, and this is not a knock on Notre Dame. Sometimes it just happens where you schedule a bunch of teams. And Notre Dame did, and a lot of them were awful and they have crushed many of them. But they did face Miami, whose defense is great, and they literally couldn't move the chains with their run game, which is viewed as their strength. You have the better defense, the better pass game. You won the head to head. So I think it's, I think that that needs to be discussed. And that is not a knock on Notre Dame. It's a real, you know this Mario, when you were at Oregon or Miami, some years, you think you have a tough schedul schedule. A coach gets fired, they get injured, you faced a much tougher schedule. And I do appreciate you coming on. And by the way, this Malachi Toney, I didn't know he was 10 weeks ago. Explain this because he's the best freshman I think I've seen in the country.

[Mario Cristobal]

Well, it starts with my son. One day he tells me, you know, you're recruiting Baby Jesus. I go, what are you talking about, man?

He's like, Malachi, Tony. He is baby Jesus. I'm like, all right, let's check it out. Well, anyways, he's playing wide receiver at American Heritage. Calling this dude in their playoffs run. They're about to get bounced out of the playoffs. Their quarterback goes down, he goes in at quarterback and they win every game in the state title. I think he went 15 of 15 with like four or five touchdowns. He did it all. And anyways, we signed him. And from day one, from day one is just what he would do on the field. How he back it up with his work ethic. Insane energy, unbelievable character. Like he's never had a bad day. Like he, he lights up a room whenever he walks in it. He is unselfish. Watch the guy when his teammates score, when his teammates score, like he is going bananas. Energy, flipping out, high fiving. He's, man, he. You know what he is? He's an old school Miami Hurricane.

[Colin Cowherd]

There we go. Absolutely. By the way, I don't know what you're Doing. But you're losing weight. I mean, I, I may be able to beat you. Arm wrestling now. I don't know. I'm. What's going on? Is it smoothies? Is it Coral Gables, Whole Foods? What's happening?

[Mario Cristobal]

Oh, there's a lot down here, man. You got the smoothies. We got the nutrition bar downstairs. Man, there I. Down here in South Florida, you got to be moving. I mean, it's. It's 90 degrees year round. Plus I did have to lose a couple pounds, so it's a good thing.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right. Good seeing you, coach.

[Mario Cristobal]

Great senior man. Thanks for having me.

[Colin Cowherd]

You bet. Yeah, I mean, I, we, we listen our job on the show, and I'm. I like Notre Dame and I. About three weeks ago, I was like, I think Notre Dame would beat him. But you start examining stuff because I got a lot of teams to cover. And it just so happens Notre Dame this year faced a lot of atrocious defenses. And then they face one great defense because USC's defense was not great. And USC's defense could be by next year. But in big games last couple years, usc, especially on the road, hasn't been a great defense. But they faced a lot of the 129th, 1, 27th, 121. They faced Miami 33 yards rushing. And again, Jeremiah Love is a. Is going to be a star as a rookie in the NFL. He is a great player. They could not move Miami's D line. You can go watch the highlights. It's on YouTube. Have you heard of that? It's an excellent business. So, Mario Cristobal joining us, J. Mac with the news.

[Mario Cristobal]

No, no, no. Turn on the news.

[JMac]

This is the Herd line news. And let's go to the World Cup. Six months away, Colin. And we've got our group for the United States in group D, the US Will face it. Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of a playoff C. Those teams are Romania, Slovakia, Turkey or Kosovo. Probably Turkey. As you alluded to earlier, Turkey did beat us in a friendly. The June 12th match has been announced. USA Paraguay at SoFi.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yep.

[JMac]

Circle it on the calendar. I already alerted the family. Hey, I don't want to hear we're going anywhere that weekend. We're going to usa, Paraguay, hopefully. Colin, I haven't seen odds yet. We should be the favorites in this, in this group. We should advance now here. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but that's what we do in sports. If they win this group, they will play July 1st, I'm told, in Santa Clara, so we could Go ahead and book an Airbnb if you'd like because the US Is winning this group. We will advance and we will play, I believe a third place team advancing. If the US does not advance.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Summit.

[JMac]

Well, let's not even, let's not even go there.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's not being that good in the group.

[JMac]

Let's say keep it positive.

[Colin Cowherd]

How good was that? Trump, Shaq, Wayne Gretzky and Aaron Judge.

[JMac]

Heidi Klum was there. Come on. That's the biggest star.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh my gosh.

[JMac]

Heidi Klum turning back the clock. But Kevin Hart as well, a big great comedian. But in all seriousness, usa, we got six months to prepare.

[Colin Cowherd]

Colin.

[JMac]

No excuses. At least two outright wins.

[Colin Cowherd]

We are in a real transition period for our world's best players. Our best players because they're now playing overseas and making a lot of money and being high end players overseas. And so there's a sense that, well, they don't care about the United States men's national team. Well, of course they do. And especially because this World cup is here, Canada and Mexico. So as long as Christian pulisic and Weston McKinney are healthy, we're going to get out of the stage and be in good shape. Last World cup we were young, we were the second youngest squad and we both watched us play Netherlands and they had veterans, more experience on the world stage. But we did draw to a tie with England and I think you came out of that thinking we got out of the group stage. I looked at it as a success. All those guys now are older, more experienced with more global play, more play over in Europe. So I think it's a realistic that we will not only win the stage, but this team I think is closer than ever. We just have more skill.

[IBM Executive]

Yeah.

[JMac]

Obviously the World cup is the greatest sporting event. Every year that it happens is tremendous. I cannot, I mean it's going to be. I, I saw one of the, one of the players Tim Ream was going talking about what it's like. I mean, Colin, people forget like the World cup is unbelievable. Like the last one was. I remember obviously Messi finally getting his World Cup.

[Colin Cowherd]

This will break every record in the history of our country. Shatter them. You will see super bowl plus ratings. This will shatter every sports rating. Not only soccer, but my guess is we're going to shatter NFL numbers. Oh no.

[JMac]

Without a doubt. Can't wait. USA favorable draw now I haven't, I haven't even looked at the other brackets because I'm so locked on usa. We'll do that. I'm sure Next week, but very excited for the World Cup. All right, let's move on to the 49ers and your guy Robert Sala. You're, you're basically his agent now saying he should get a job instantly. He's already being linked to the Giants based off his history in New York. Yeah, Salah talked about that on a podcast recently.

[Mario Cristobal]

I'm not thinking about it, Joe. I know, I know you probably want an answer, but you know, we got four weeks here. Love New York, love the fan base, love all of it. Love the chaos.

[JMac]

I can't imagine that he's going to go back to the Giants. You think there's any way that they bring him in after what happened with the Jets?

[Sophie Cunningham]

Well.

[Colin Cowherd]

He'D be motivated. I mean, remember he got fired as he was going to Buffalo with the jets for a chance to have a first place tie.

[JMac]

Pathetic. Woody Johnson, a total joke of an owner, but in all serious. Robert Sala. Listen, the schedule is favorable for the Niners. Don't rule out a top two seed for them in the NFC column.

[Colin Cowherd]

No, I know it's listen legitimately in play and they're getting healthy offensively. I mean that's really the key is they're getting some of the ban back. So I don't disagree with and what.

[JMac]

Salah's done, missing like I don't know, half his.

[Colin Cowherd]

And they got a buy and they got a buy this week. Perfect time for a buy.

[JMac]

Late bias clutch Niners and Patriots vote with the late bye. All right, final story. Colin. For the first time in conference history, number one and number two playing for the Big Ten title game. Indiana, Ohio State. I believe it's still four and a half. Both obviously are going to the playoff. This is for a sure fire number one overall seed. Definite by Kurt Signetti. The Indiana coach is taking this game as a measuring stick. Take a look.

[Colin Cowherd]

Ohio State's in a league of their.

[IBM Executive]

Own.

[Colin Cowherd]

For a lot of different reasons and a big part of it is their tradition. They're winning history and all the national championships that won and the money that they put into the program over a long extended period of time. Are we closing that gap? Yeah, I think we're closing that gap.

And what would a successful performance do on Saturday? Well, it would do a lot.

Yeah, I mean I, I think Kurt Signetti is being. Keeping it real. Ohio State in terms of overall composition of roster has far more NFL players. Both staffs are excellent, both quarterbacks are phenomenal. I think Mendoza is the best quarterback right now. I think in two Years. Julian Sands going number one. I think he's a huge talent.

[JMac]

I like saying, but Colin, he's listed at 6 1. Talk to any of the big noon guys. There's no way he's 6 1. He's like 6ft tall. I know he's a great college quarterback. Let's pump the brakes on him as a pro prospect. I do want to ask you, this should be a layup. Who's under the most pressure in this game? Ohio State versus Indiana. It's one player. It should be pretty easy.

[Colin Cowherd]

Number.

[JMac]

Well, it's got to be Mendoza, right? He's facing the number one defense in the country by a mile. He's a. He's the number one NFL quarterback prospect. This is the Oregon game. I mean, you watched it, right? Like Oregon kind of spit the bit there. They miss a field goal, turnover on downs. Moore throws two picks. I don't want to say they handed it to Indiana. That was a tough one, great win. But this is going to be a real test and there's going to be, you know, 20 million viewers saying, is this the number one pick in the draft?

[Colin Cowherd]

That's fair.

[JMac]

And I just, I don't know how Mendoza is going to handle it. Because you've seen Ohio State come.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, come on.

[JMac]

It's scary.

[Colin Cowherd]

They're off secondary and that lot that they're back seven. What? Lights out.

[JMac]

So their offense, I think Clatt had the number. They are the slowest offense in the country at pace. They just take their time going to the line of scrimmage and all that is to rest. So the defense, when they come on, they just smother you and they just slowly choke you out. Kind of like an anaconda, you know, squeezes you out. And I don't know how Indiana wins this. I'm on the Buckeyes minus four and a half.

[Colin Cowherd]

So am I. I like Ohio State to win by a touchdown or more. J Mac with the news.

[JMac]

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

[Colin Cowherd]

We've been in a little bit of a heater. J Max pro picks next. Be sure to catch live editions of.

[JMac]

The Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt from renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers, growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures 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.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Hello Hello, I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast smart talks with IBM. I recently sat down with IBM's chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, and I asked him, how can companies use AI to its fullest potential to create smarter business?

[IBM Executive]

My one advice to them Pick areas you can scale. Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side. For example, if anybody has more than 10% of what they had for customer service 10 years ago, they're already five years behind. If anybody is not using AI to make their developers who write software 30% more productive today with the goal of being 70% more productive. Yeah, wow. So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it. We say you can leverage what we did. We are happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process. Because the biggest change is not technology is getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com smart talks.

[Colin Cowherd]

PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors are made to go the distance with blazing fast performance, next level efficiency and multi day battery life, Snapdragon processors are built to tackle it all. From highlight reel editing to intense player research. So you can be at the top of your game wherever the day takes you. Learn [e-mail] laptops Snapdragon the heart of your PC. Battery life varies significantly based on device settings, usage and other factors.

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Colin Cowherd]

All right, let's not waste any time. I took a lot of dogs this week and a lot of corner TV games. J Mac has been a living off that for years. He loves ugly football. I look at his picks right now. Let's not waste any time. We call it tomorrow's headlines today. And let's roll it. Okay, Commanders at Vikings gonna be a stinkeroony. You're all over one side. Where are you leaning?

[JMac]

You go four and one. You feel comfortable picking some gross dogs? The headline for Vikings commanders on Sunday will be Stairway to Kevin. Vikings shred north for the winter. Give me Minnesota here. I think there's a great spot for J.J. mcCarthy to return. Colin, I pointed this out this week. They played seven playoff teams in a row. Okay, good teams. They're getting after McCarthy now. You step down in class to face Washington near the bottom of the league in pressure rate. And I do believe there's an opportunity for McCarthy to flourish actually against Washington. A secondary that, you know, Bo Nix had his way with them last week. We've seen people attack Washington through the air. Secondary is just not very good. Justin Jefferson little chirpy this week. What do you think happens? Justin Jefferson's gonna get force fed. And I also want to add that when you look at this Vikings defense, what does Brian Flores do? Call dials up pressure and blitzing at the highest rate in the league. Nobody blitzes more than him. I still don't understand why Washington's trotting out Jaden Daniels. There's a real injury risk here. We saw Flores last week get after Sam Darnold give him a lot of trouble. So I would be. If I'm watching a fan, I'm holding my breath watching Jaden Daniels running for his life.

[Colin Cowherd]

Tomorrow's headlines today, corner TV game. Saints at the bucket ears.

[JMac]

Come on, this is a divisional matchup. So much drama here. Not really the headline for Bucs and the Saints will be oh, shocks Saints pray for new offense. Give me Tampa here. Big number. We're on Tampa in the Survivor. I got Tampa every which way here. Colin, I know the Saints covered last week in Miami. Do you remember watching any of that? Every time you look at the screen, the Saints can't do anything. It was 16 nothing. Before Tua decides, oh, I'm just going to start screwing around and throwing the ball to other other team. Meanwhile, you got Raheem Morris here, who. Listen, I just think this Tampa defense should give shucks a lot of problems. I think Baker Mayfield, who should have an opportunity through the air. And this is just a Tampa team that really hasn't been clicking on all cylinders lately. They've kind of been sputtering. Remember the early start? There was some MVP chatter, right, for, for. For Baker Mayfield. I think they put it all together here. They have dominated this series. They've won six of seven against the Saints. Kellen Moore and company don't like the Saints here. Give me the bucks.

[Colin Cowherd]

Big tomorrow's headlines today. I think we're on the same side here. Dolphins at your side. Suddenly pesky New York Jets.

[JMac]

Well, you know, quietly the jets. They've either cover covered the spread or or pushed in the last five games. People don't notice that because they're losing a lot of them. The headline for Jets Dolphins will be it's hall or nothing. Fins receive a breeze and desist. I. I'm going against the Dolphins here. Hey, it's cold weather. It's December. Are you ready for this? Tua in December, 3 and 8 in his career. The weather gets cold. He's got to go outdoors. I mean, we talked about this like they just don't perform well. The team from South beach now Tua to his credit is 60 against the Jets. Never lost to him. But this shows the jets dysfunction. In those six matchups, he's faced five different quarterbacks. I mean, the jets can't get their act together. But now enter Ty God Taylor, the covering machine.

[Sophie Cunningham]

Seven.

[JMac]

Oh, and one against the spread in his last eight starts. I think the jets move the ball. I think breeze does it on the ground. I think the jets special teams could be the Difference. Their special teams have been excellent. Nick folk, give me the jets here winning outright.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yep. You and I agree. Tomorrow's headlines today I I almost pulled the trigger on this.

[Pharmaceutical Advertiser]

Almost.

[Colin Cowherd]

But I didn't. Bears in Green Bay to face the.

[JMac]

Packers yeah, it's been a charm season for the Bears. They've been amazing. Beat the Eagles, the number one in the NFL and turnover margin. Colin plus 17amazing. But the headline for Packers Bears this week will be burnt ends. Green bay hosts bare BQ kickoff. Matt LaFleur Collin One of the best coaches in the league in December 24 wow. Straight up in the month of December. He's great at the adjustments. He is from that Belichick school of thought. Let's tinker early in the season when I saw the Jordan Love interviews this week about the trash talk jokingly from Ben Johnson. Jordan Love is so locked in Colin. They're still waiting word today we're going to find out if golden and Jaden Reed will will play. I think they are big, big get back.

[Colin Cowherd]

They think they may play.

[JMac]

Yeah, they're practicing. It looks good. Packers have owned the Bears. They've won 11 of 12. The key number here is sacks for Caleb Williams when he sacked in his career three or more times. They're just three and ten. They're very susceptible. And remember Green Bay is going to pressure with four Micah on the stunts. They'll just sit back in exotic defenses and kind of mess with Caleb and his cadence. I don't think the Bears run that well in this one. Give me the packers winning and covering. I'll go like 2713.

[Colin Cowherd]

Finally, tomorrow's headlines today. You haven't liked the Chiefs all year. I doubt you love them now. What say you?

[JMac]

Well, you know, there's all these every week it's something with the Chiefs. Can they beat the Colts? And I say no. And then they beat them. But the Colts covered Texans. This is the season for Casey. Colin. The headline will be.

With ends not open. Casey can't get their creed to crank. Now, I'm not a fan of creed, but the staff loves creed. I know you love with arms wide open. I don't think it happens for Casey. Yep, I'm going with the Houston Texas.

[Colin Cowherd]

The Chiefs online's a mess.

[JMac]

Three starters they haven't been officially out, but we know Simmons on iron, Trey Smith unlikely to go and then the other tackle unlikely to play. That's bad news against Hunter and Will Anderson. Now everybody knows that, right? So what are the Chiefs going to do? Going to do the short passes Colin Stingley is performing at an unbelievable rate. They don't have Lassiter this week, which is a big loss, but I just think other than those short crossers, what is Mahomes going to do? He had time in the pocket against Dallas, couldn't deliver. He was under pressure. Now, the weather in this one, it looks like it's going to be in the 20s Sunday night. Not great. Obviously, that's. That's Kansas City Chiefs weather. But if Woody Marks can play the Chub Marks combo, I think should get some traction on the ground. Chiefs run game has not been there all season. It's been a bugaboo. I'm going Texans outright. And this, this is like one of those after the game, plant a flag in the middle of the field. The Texans just killed the dynasty.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right, great stuff from JMac. We both like the jets and we tend generally, if you and I like a side, we do pretty well in that. United States men's national team. It is official. The odds to win the World cup are plus 26, 6600. They're in Group D. They will be favored over Paraguay, Australia and the winner of playoff seed. That's several countries, Kosovo, Slovakia, Romania and Turkey. Turkey may be the best of that group. It's a pretty favorable group.

[JMac]

Would you say, oh, certainly us should win this? I don't want to say handily because nothing's ever easy for this team. But you said they're plus 6,600 to win it.

[Colin Cowherd]

Wow.

[JMac]

I would bet on the. I mean, I think they could. A reasonable expectation would be quarterfinals and then I think semifinals is an absolute home run because remember, the last time we hosted the World cup, we ended up facing Brazil On, I believe, July 4th in a memorable game. Lawless can talk to you for hours about that, but we're going to show up at home, Colin. We're going to have the home field advantage.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yep.

[JMac]

It's going to be a scene here, man, I can't wait.

[Colin Cowherd]

And you know, if you look at the history of United States men's national team soccer, when we face the elite teams, we play more of a defensive brand, which is Italy's always been known for that. We don't play the attacking Argentina Brazil style. And the reason is we can't. That we can't go toe to toe. We have to play a defensive style, get great goaltending and then, you know, try to get a goal late.

That's not the case with this team. I mean, this team's got players who are flourishing overseas.

I think that now maybe we can't go Argentina toe to toe track meet. But I do think we will be more aggressive than previous World Cups. I thought the last World cup we were talented but we were the second youngest team. So our guys now we have a majority of our players and this really is true for the NBA. I mean the reason OKC is so good is all their best players are either in their prime or entering it that matters. Golden State's got good players. You know Steph and Draymond our way out of their prime. So I think our players, our top six or seven players are either going into their prime here or they're in it. And so I think athletically I think we're I think we are a fast, athletic attacking group and I think very rarely do we go into a group stage and think we're we have the best roster and I think that's fair to think right now.

[JMac]

And I'll the World cup at large is going to be amazing. It sounds like Messi and Ronaldo are both going to play like that's amazing.

[Colin Cowherd]

Colin Retire this is the first World cup expansion from is it 32 to 48 teams so you're going to have more countries and that may mean.

A little easier route perhaps for some. I mean we've advanced to the round of 16 and three of the four last four World Cups. We'll see you Monday. It's the Herd. PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors are made to go the distance with blazing fast performance, next level efficiency and multi day battery life. Snapdragon processors are built to tackle it all from highlight reel editing to intense player research so you can be at the top of your game wherever the day takes you. Learn [e-mail] laptops snapdragon the heart of your PC battery life varies significantly based on device settings, usage and other factors.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures 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.

[Pharmaceutical Advertiser]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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