College Football Playoff Selection Show Live Reactions! Miami Makes It! | The McShay Show

Summary

The McShay Show – College Football Playoff Selection Show Live Reactions! Miami Makes It!

Podcast: The McShay Show
Host: Todd McShay (with frequent co-host Steve)
Date: December 7, 2025
Theme: Live reactions and analysis to the just-released College Football Playoff selections, with fiery discussion of systemic problems, Miami’s controversial inclusion, the fate of top teams, and passionate debate over what’s best for the sport.

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Episode Overview

This special live episode of The McShay Show sees Todd McShay and Steve reacting in real time to the College Football Playoff final rankings and field, breaking down why Miami’s inclusion is historic, the controversy over Notre Dame’s snub, and the broader flaws and future of the playoff system. The conversation pivots between immediate bracket analysis, existential frustrations with the sport’s governance, and rapid-fire reaction to surprises as the field is revealed.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

College Football Playoff Systemic Flaws and Frustration

• McShay opens hot: Years of experience…but angry this year about the system’s lack of foresight. Why isn’t there a centralized commissioner? Why do changes always lag disaster?

  • “Why is it there's no vision in this sport sometimes and it's frustrating?...Why can't we have…a governing body that actually looks over this sport and has vision to what the problems could be?” (03:13)

• Discussion of the automatic bid structure and its drawbacks:

  • ACC collapse led to a five-loss Duke as champion – highlighting that the rigid automatic bid system is flawed.
  • Group of Five auto-bids (e.g. Tulane, JMU) sometimes push out vastly stronger major programs, which is “bad for the product, television, and fans.”
  • Should be a “magical year” for a G5 team to get in, not just the default—must be ranked high enough or have signature wins.

• Steve agrees: “The ACC is a joke right now. This has been as mismanaged as, as it could possibly be.” (11:49) He adds the committee needs to “protect the product,” but ACC rules exacerbated the problem.

Revealing the Field: Controversy, Surprises, and Logic

Framing the TMS Top 12

• McShay and Steve’s ideal top 12 would have Miami and Texas both in, with only the genuinely strongest teams, regardless of (sometimes hollow) conference auto-bids.
  • “We would just have the best 12 teams in the College Football Playoff…We wouldn’t have Lane versus Ole Miss or JMU versus Ole Miss…” (17:59)

The Actual Bracket and Live Reactions (26:00–41:00)

• Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech take top 4 seeds.

• SURPRISE: Ohio State placed at #2 despite losing, reflecting high committee regard for their resume and tough loss to Indiana.

• Big reveal and controversy: Miami IN, Notre Dame OUT.

  • “Oh, I’m stunned. I’m absolutely stunned.” (35:03, McShay)
  • Steve less so, but disagrees with the logic; thinks committee “crumbled under the pressure of a, of a head to head movement in the national media.”
  • Head-to-head precedence: The committee sided heavily with Miami’s head-to-head win over Notre Dame, despite nearly identical metrics.
  • “I do give the committee credit here…There are very few things more sacred than head to head competition.” (36:56)

• Notable stats/reasons:

  • Alabama had 10 key players out in the SEC championship (factored in by committee)
  • Miami and Notre Dame close in all metrics; strength of record actually favored Notre Dame, but Miami beat the Irish.
  • “Miami was 14th in strength of record. Notre Dame was 13. …But Miami beat Notre Dame and that's why we are where we are.” (41:41)

• Chat poll: 66% of listeners supported Miami’s selection over Notre Dame at the time.

Systemic Critique Continues

• “We’re arguing and yelling about the wrong thing, but it’s too late” (53:05). McShay insists JMU and Tulane shouldn’t be in at the expense of Miami, Texas, Notre Dame, or Alabama; the system needs changing.

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Notable Quotes

• Todd McShay [03:13]:
  “Why is it there's no vision in this sport sometimes and it's frustrating?...Why can't we have…a governing body that actually looks over this sport and has vision to what the problems could be instead of us always being like, well we'll get them next year.”
• Steve [11:49]:
  “The ACC is a joke right now. This has been as mismanaged as, as it could possibly be.”
• Todd McShay [17:59]:
  “We would just have the best 12 teams in the College Football Playoff…We wouldn’t have Lane versus Ole Miss or JMU versus Ole Miss or…Oregon…and Tulane and JMU, and whatever matchup it winds up being.”
• Todd McShay [35:03]:
  “Oh, I’m stunned. I’m absolutely stunned.”
• Steve [35:22]:
  “…the head to head is, is getting overplayed here. … I think the committee got it wrong.”
• Todd McShay [41:41]:
  “Miami was 14th in strength of record. Notre Dame was 13. ...But Miami beat Notre Dame and that's why we are where we are.”
• Todd McShay [53:05]:
  “We’re arguing and yelling about the wrong thing, but it’s too late.”
• Steve [53:16]:
  “You are 100% right. Now we can move forward. I got it all off my chest.”

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Timestamps of Essential Segments

| Time | Segment/Topic | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:05 | Show opens; playoff system flaws and McShay’s frustration | | 03:08 | Lamenting lack of vision/governing body in college football | | 05:50 | Outlining the auto-bid problem; Group of Five issue | | 11:11 | Steve blasts ACC tiebreaker; both hosts critique conference rules | | 12:39 | TMS Top 12 and philosophy: best teams vs. auto-bid loopholes | | 17:06 | Dream matchups if best 12 chosen; what the system should be | | 26:38 | Live playoff reveal: Ohio State at #2 seed is a shock | | 35:03 | Miami gets in over Notre Dame; panel reactions and reasons | | 41:41 | Miami-Notre Dame decision, head-to-head vs. overall resume debate | | 49:53 | Notre Dame’s case, systemic unfairness, and “right teams” argument | | 52:40 | Spreads: Oregon a 21.5-point favorite over JMU, Ole Miss -17.5 vs Tulane | | 57:47 | Bracket breakdown and first-round matchup anticipation | | 62:01 | Spreads: Miami vs A&M, Alabama vs Oklahoma; matchup analysis | | 67:42 | Matchups to watch; defensive lines, quarterback battles | | 71:57 | Hosts make (preliminary) final four and title predictions |

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Bracket Breakdown

• 1 Indiana (Big Ten champ)
• 2 Ohio State
• 3 Georgia (SEC)
• 4 Texas Tech (Big 12)
• 5 Oregon
• 6 Ole Miss
• 7 Texas A&M
• 8 Oklahoma
• 9 Alabama
• 10 Miami (controversial in over Notre Dame)
• 11 Tulane (G5 auto-bid; heavily criticized)
• 12 James Madison (G5 auto-bid; heavily criticized)

Notable Matchups:

• Alabama vs Oklahoma (8/9): “That’s going to be awesome…that pass rush for Oklahoma.” (58:05)
• Miami vs. Texas A&M (10/7): “That might be the best game of the first round, to be honest…” (57:50)
• Ole Miss vs. Tulane rematch (11): “rematch 45 to 10.” (56:13)
• Oregon vs. JMU: “Oregon favored by 21.5 and they should be over JMU.” (53:01)

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Playoff Futures and Predictions (71:57–79:38)

Both hosts make quick, in-the-moment picks:

Steve’s Final Four/National Title

• Semis: Indiana vs. Oregon, Georgia vs. Ohio State
• Final: Oregon vs. Ohio State
• Winner: Oregon

McShay’s Final Four/National Title

• Semis: Alabama beats Indiana (calling the upset); Ohio State beats Georgia; Oregon advances too
• Final: Alabama vs. Ohio State
• Winner: Ohio State (back-to-back national champions)

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Memorable Moments & Tone

• Repeated lamentation: “What are we doing?” – Todd’s catchphrase for system flaws, an exclamation used after every major decision he deems suspect.
• Miami-Notre Dame debate is the flashpoint, with Steve emotional for Notre Dame, McShay emphasizing policy and precedent.
• Both agree: The true injustice is allowing two-loss G5 teams in at the expense of deeper at-large pools full of top Power teams.
• Long-form analogies by McShay (e.g., the “patch the wing, forget the engine” airplane metaphor at 51:19) to hammer home systemic issues.

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Overall Takeaways

• Hosts’ tone: Passionate, candid, occasionally exasperated but always invested in the long-term health of college football.
• Biggest storyline: Miami’s controversial selection over Notre Dame AND the uncomfortable reality that the CFP’s rules still allow clearly inferior auto-bid teams to push out elite contenders.
• Action items: Both call for off-season reform, smarter leadership, and a playoff structure that truly delivers the best games.

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For Listeners/Newcomers

This episode is essential listening for understanding the 2025 College Football Playoff selections, the underlying controversies, and the urgent need for systemic change—filtered through Todd McShay's fiery, fast-paced, and deeply knowledgeable lens.

Transcript

[Todd McShay]

Foreign.

Welcome in our College Football Playoff selection show. We're just moments away from the College Football Playoff final rankings reveal and we're here to preview, react and then do some game breakdowns. And I got news for you. There's just 137 days until the NFL draft. So men, you got to tell me, man, are you good? I'm excited, man. All right, roll that thing, Tucker.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this last night. Bench.

Me too.

[Steve]

I'm excited to have a a good conversation about this.

[Todd McShay]

Right. A real selection show. And we appreciate everyone who's on the ch. People are jumping in. We get polls already up. Which team has the best playoff resume? Notre Dame, Alabama? Miami. That's going to be a big discussion today. The McShay show is presented by FanDuel. FanDuel's got it all. Same game parlays, quick bets for jumping in live and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. Plus, don't miss out on holiday offers and surprises all month long. Download the FanDuel app or head to FanDuel.com McShay.com to get started. Must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut and we will get to that in moments and it's all going to happen fast. Here's how the show is going to work, by the way. The McShay report is out breaking down the NFL draft prospects for both Ty Simpson and Fernando Mendoza. Talking about Mendoza and that Heisman moment and the Heisman game that he had last night in the upset victory of Ohio State. We talk about Ty Simpson and needing to come back to school. We talk about Georgia and the job Kirby Smart has done and gave you the TMS top 12. We'll see if that has changed at all overnight with a good night's sleep. So Google the McShay Report and subscribe and be a part of it because we'll carry you through the College Football Playoff and and then we get really kicked off with the NFL draft, right? We're excited. We had two shows yesterday and then this selection show today. First time ever doing this and I am pumped. But I want to start off on a negative because as the more I slept on it and thought about it this morning, the more pissed off I am. This episode is brought to you by Fox 1. Fox 1 is now live stream all your Fox favorites together in one place from NFL on Fox to big noon Saturdays with Fox one. You get it all live. Start your seven day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one streaming now.

[Steve]

Here we go.

[Todd McShay]

Here's why, Steve. Here we go.

What's wrong with us? Why do we and I say we and us talking about the college football community and I, I've been a part of it. You've been a part of it for 20 plus years. I've been to college games on the sideline, interacted with fans, with commissioners, with head coaches, with everyone involved at the highest level in college college football. I've, I have a very tiny, tiny role in all of this as, as you do, Steve.

But why is it that we're always reacting? Why is it there's no vision in this sport sometimes and it's frustrating. Why is it that it has to get so mangled for us to make change? I understand that sometimes, you know, issues and turmoil and problems affect change, but why can't we have. Why is there not a commissioner of the sport, why is there not a governing body that actually looks over this sport and has vision to what the problems could be instead of us always being like, well we'll get them next year. And last year, honestly, last year the seating was the problem, was the major problem. There was also a secondary problem where it felt like the committee was looking too much at wins and losses and was stuck on that versus the 12 best teams or at least the seven best at large teams. But then all of a sudden and we fixed the seating, right. And they had meetings in March about, about emphasis. And I've seen some and it's not perfect. And we'll see how the the final rankings reveal plays out and how this, this year's version of the committee did the 13 members. But now we're looking at this and saying how did we not see this as a potential pitfall? And what I'm talking about is all of a sudden the ACC just flopped. The ACC fell apart this year. It was supposed to be a great year for Clemson. Maybe Florida State's back. Miami's going to, going to reload and Miami's the only one that's done anything that's like, well maybe they deserve to be in and we'll have that discussion. But we now have a conference champion in the acc.

That's Duke with five losses. They ain't getting in. They shouldn't get in and they're not getting in. That's not the problem. The problem is how did we not foresee this? Because you know what's going to happen. I'm told by folks that that know what they're talking about. Around 12, 15, 1220, the actual rankings will be revealed. Okay, so that gives us about nine, nine to 14 minutes to go through this preview. And I don't want to take up a ton of time, but it's going to be an off season emphasis that we're going to help try to push.

The bar has to be set higher for the group of five. First of all.

It should be a magical year a la Boise State, you could say even a year ago. But. But absolutely. Boise State, the year with the. They upset Oklahoma.

[Steve]

Right, Right.

[Todd McShay]

It's got to be a special year. So whether that bar is set as they have to be ranked in the top 12 or even the top 15 to get one of those automatic bids, we currently give out five automatic bids.

[Steve]

SEC.

[Todd McShay]

And it's the conference champions that are highest.

[Steve]

Right. This is what trips you up. Right?

[Todd McShay]

This is what trips you up. It's the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big 12 and it should be the ACC. Everyone just assumed Clemson is going to be a top five, top seven team or Miami will be or Florida State will be and it hasn't happened. So why didn't we have the foresight? What if a conference just implodes during a given year? Shouldn't that then signal that we open up an at large bid? Why in the hell are we now giving out two automatic bids to Tulane and jmu? So I have two problems with this group of five situation. This is the projected field as as far as we see it and we'll see how it plays out in just, just a handful of minutes. Indiana won the Big Ten automatic bid. Georgia once wins the SEC automatic bid. Texas Tech wins the Big 12 automatic bid. The ACC champion is a five loss Duke team, no automatic bid. So now this language is in there that it goes to the, you know, another group of five, the. The highest ranked.

Conference championship winner and essentially it's supposed to be the four top. Top ranked conference championship winners. And then the group of five has their spot.

And really it's the what technically the language is the five.

[Steve]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

The five highest ranked conference champions. How did we not foresee this as a potential problem? There's a lack of foresight. So the first problem I have is it should not be an automatic. That. That the fifth best conf. The fifth. Fifth Highest ranked conference champion gets in. It should be a group and I don't want, I'm not, you know the legal terms. But it should be something along the lines if a fifth conference champion happens to be ranked in the top 12 or the top 15, they earn a right to play in the College Football Playoff this year. That would not earn Tulane the right.

And then the second part of my complaint, and it's legitimate and I think that there will be change because this can't ever happen again. Where we have Tulane and JMU playing and Texas and Miami sitting at home. If that's how it plays out.

It would be double digit F. We asked Fanduel right now. It would be 14, 17 point favorites. What are we doing? It's bad for the product, it's bad for college football, it's bad for television, it's bad for revenue. It's bad for everyone involved except the folks at JMU and Tulane. And I'm not dis like John Sumrall. We talked to Urban Meyer the other day and I went on his show triple option. He's infatuated with John Sumrall. They will be unbelievably well coached. And you, you know my, my obsession with Bob Chesney. I've been telling you Bob Chesney is going to rise fast. He's rising faster than even I thought. Now we've got the head coach at Florida coaching at Tulane and the head coach at, excuse me, at. At.

[Steve]

You see that?

[Todd McShay]

UCLA coaching, you know, being able to coach out the process at jmu. They'll be wonderfully coached teams. They just don't have the personnel, they don't belong in a college football playoff that should have the 12 best teams. If you have a magical year like a Boise State when they go undefeated and they've beaten a, you know, a group of. Or the, an Oregon team.

[Steve]

Yes, yes.

[Todd McShay]

So that's my complaint. We have to have change and for the love of God, can we. And it's going to take Congress, can we get a commissioner and a governing body to have some foresight for this beautiful multibillion dollar sport? Because I'm looking at Tulane right now the 77th strength of schedule, 19th strength of record, all like so far off of the beaten path with what we're talking about, with the Texas's and Miami's and Alabama's and Notre Dame's where we're having those competitions. JMU 123rd strength of schedule. In college football there's only like 131 teams or whatever it is. And the 18th strength of record, Tulane lost 45 to 10 to Ole Miss. And by the way, we might be a handful of minutes away from seeing they're, they're gonna have a rematch. What are we doing? What is wrong with the sport? And, and JMU only played one power four power four school. It was Louisville and they lost by 14.

Yep. Louisville, an eight and four team. Go ahead.

[Steve]

Can I agree with you and say that you're 100% right about how the playoff committee needs to protect the product and this and the playoffs. But say also that maybe your anger is a little misdirected this year. Acc, what are we doing? You had a five team tie and somehow the five loss Duke team wins that tiebreaker according to your rules, which I don't even understand why just have the tiebreaker be your overall record and then you have Miami playing Virginia last night. Like how does Duke get into that game when there's a five way tie for a second? The ACC did this to themselves. You're right. You're right. Big picture. The playoff committee has to protect the product.

[Todd McShay]

They have to, they have to figure.

[Steve]

Out a way to make sure this doesn't happen again. But the ACC is a joke right now. I mean they, this is, this has been as mismanaged as, as it could possibly be. Mismanaged.

[Todd McShay]

I, I, yes, I completely agree and we can have anger towards all these areas, but I, plenty of anger to go around before that we start getting the college football, you know, the selection committee, the college football playoffs reveal. I do want to get to this because we spent a lot of time on this last night and overnight and this morning and fine tuning this is the important part and it's a perfect transition from this argument that Tulane and jmu, while I love their coaches and I like you and I were small school guys in college. We get it, it's magical and it's awesome for all these people. And I'm not trying to piss on the parade, I'm really not.

But it should take something special like it's like exceptional to, to break into this college football playoff top 12. Okay. And now I want to, I want to roll out Tucker the, our, our CFP or the TMS top 12. Okay. We do this every night on the Saturday scoreboard show. This is what we came up with and why is this important? And I'll read it for those of you who aren't able to watch. We're driving in your car or listening your, your AirPods. Indiana won obviously 130 after beating Ohio State, Georgia 2, SEC champion Ohio State only bumps down from 1 to 3, Texas Tech at 4. We then have non conference winners in Oregon at 5, Ole Miss at 6, Texas A&M at 7, all one loss teams. Then we get into account in the two lost teams with Oklahoma and Notre Dame that this is just, this is TMS top 12. This is mention I right conferring and going back and forth and having to make some concessions but quite honestly we really didn't have many concessions here if, if any but Oklahoma at 8, Notre Dame at 9. Then we had Alabama with three losses at 10, Texas with three losses at 11. That's going to frustrate some people, especially in South Florida and then Miami at 10 and 2. So, and we can get get into that discussion when the rankings are revealed because there's a lot of talk about should Miami be in should Miami be in over Notre Dame with a head to head win, Should Alabama even be when in after that really lopsided uninspiring loss in the SEC championship game. And I have some more ammunition to discuss that. But the point in all of this is.

Without a season in which a Tulane or JMU went undefeated and beat a power. Like if, if Tulane had beaten Ole Miss or even a Louisville type or if JMU beat Louisville, then I'd be like, you know what? They earned it.

Boise State beat Oregon. They earned it special special year. So be yes, be mad at the committee. I get it because everyone, every fan base like is enveloped in this and has passion and it's why this game in the sport is amazing.

But the system is more at fault. It's kind of like getting mad at a referee in a game when you're watching on a Saturday or Sunday, right. And it's no catch because he made a perfect catch to one or two feet in college or NFL respectively. And, and you like oh, he has possession. Why is it that it matters a second and a half later that he was rolling on the ground and the ball came. Don't get mad at the referee. The referee is simply, is simply okay. And there's 700 people, almost 800 people now in the, in the chat. This is like what we're doing and growing. I think it almost brings me to tears and I can't thank you enough for the support but there's too much to get to to get all soft and mushy right now. But don't get mad at the referee for calling it an incomplete pass. He's just doing his job based off the Rules. So yeah, get mad at the committee about. For if you want. But also get mad at the, at the sport and the meetings that go on in the off season. Start your complaints now, folks. Yes, for next year so this doesn't happen again.

[Steve]

It's your classic donate the player, hate the game, man. It's that. It's the classic donate the player at the game.

[Todd McShay]

Yes.

[Steve]

And so change the game. They did a good job with the seating last year and this is new. And I want to stay optimistic that they will make positive changes because again, I'm surprised the seating got changed as quickly as it did. And, and, but we shouldn't be.

[Todd McShay]

We should expect more from this multi billion dollar sport that we all love and we're watching. We should demand more.

[Steve]

You're right.

[Todd McShay]

Successful people and smart people sitting in a room in the College Football Playoff committee.

[Steve]

Yeah. Figure it out.

[Todd McShay]

Decorated, decorated human beings who have done great things in their life. They're smart people.

[Steve]

But I grew up with the NCAA moving at a snail's pace in terms.

[Todd McShay]

So yes, you are. You are correct in that regard. And I do appreciate that if, if a problem arises, they quickly fix it. But for next year. So my point is.

When you look at our TMS top 12 because there wasn't a Boise State undefeated beat Oregon and even with an ACC collapse like we saw, we now could have matchups of Texas versus It would be. It would be Miami versus Oregon in round one. Texas versus Ole Miss. Are you kidding me?

[Steve]

I know. I hear you, man.

[Todd McShay]

How phenomenal would that be for this sport, man?

And yes, Jeremy Godden, you're right. If you're in this chat and it's growing like wildfire, just hit the like button mention I have barely slept in the last 48 hours. We've been grinding to try to give you all this content hit a like for us. But. But Texas and Miami would be in. This would be our top 12. It would be unbelievable.

[Steve]

Unbelievable. It would be. Oh my God. It would be.

[Todd McShay]

We wouldn't have to speculate. Miami is Miami better than Alabama or Notre Dame and they had no head and. But the two losses to four lost to. We wouldn't have to do any of that. We would just have the best 12 teams in the College Football Playoff and we wouldn't have Lane versus Ole Miss or JMU versus Ole Miss or. Or Oregon. You know, we wouldn't have Oregon and an Ole Miss going up against Tulane and JMU and whatever matchup it winds up being.

[Steve]

You're right.

[Todd McShay]

Sorry I had to take A sip to reset.

[Steve]

I didn't expect you to come in so hot. I like it.

[Todd McShay]

I know, but I just. It kept building. I thought about it a little bit. Overnight, I got a decent night's sleep. Five hours. Slept well, got up this morning, had a great coffee. Is that a decent night's sleep for.

[Steve]

You, by the way?

[Todd McShay]

Well, but, you know, five, like, solid hours with maybe a dream or two in there with REM.

Is better than like seven and a half hours where it's up and down and.

[Steve]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Todd McShay]

You know, so it felt like a good five hours of sleep. But as I drank my coffee and I started coming to this morning, it just. It was done. Like, why are we so mad? Miami's. You know what? The folks in Miami are right. They deserve to be in a college football playoff because their season.

[Steve]

I agree with that.

[Todd McShay]

But Cristobal did something he's never done before. He grabbed the reins, and he got this program back on track in November. And Texas has done some things that nobody else in the top 10 has done with beating three top 10 teams at the time and two current top 10 teams. They both deserve to be in a college football playoff. And I promise you, there isn't a sane person in the United States of America or beyond that believes if we are truly trying to get the best 12 teams in that JMU and. Or Tulane should be in over Texas and or Miami, period. So I asked the question again. What are we doing?

[Steve]

Would you go so far as to just make it a Power 4 tournament?

[Todd McShay]

A what? Just. No, no, no, no, no. I think there should. There should be a window of opportunity. Okay, that's a great question. There should be a window of opportunity from a. From a program that has one of those special years, but maybe it's once every two, three, four years. Do you know what I mean?

[Steve]

Yeah, no, I hear you. I think. I hear.

[Todd McShay]

But there's a lot of politics and a lot of.

[Steve]

We still have a team like Vanderbilt on the outside looking in and. And with. Without. If you just look at our. Our top 12 right now, you still have Vanderbilt on the outside looking in, and that's a team playoff here. I mean, there's. There's. It's. It is. Giving up two spots to those teams is tough. And again, the ACC blew this. Blew this. But that being said, let's. Let's try to get the 12 best teams in. Let's really try to do that. Let's not, you know, let's not have a. It's, you know, we're going to have, have this non power four team come in every year and as the, I don't know, some kind of reward and then they get, and we'll see what happens. But most likely get blasted in the first round. Just get, you know, killed because they're not.

[Todd McShay]

If we, if we get to a 16 team playoff, which we will be soon then, then yeah. Because there's always gonna like you, you tell me in a 16 team playoff that Tulane gets in but that also gets me. Gets us.

[Steve]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

Texas and Miami and maybe a Vanderbilt. You know what I mean?

[Steve]

So like maybe a USC. Yes, yes.

[Todd McShay]

So we're good. 16. That's fine. And I understand this happens with any playoff and bracket and the NCAA keep. Kept expanding and all that. I understand that. But there's a reality to this. And the reality is that Tulane and JMU are not two of the top 12 teams in the country. And it's an absolute sham and shame that they will not be playing in the College Football Playoff because they're, you know what, they're capable of winning a game or two.

[Steve]

Shoot.

[Todd McShay]

They're capable of winning three.

[Steve]

Like making a run. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Capable of making a run. And I know the Tulane and JMU are not here. We are, I'm watching right now, just keeping an eye on the rankings. And we are, we're at that point and I'm fired up and I hope everyone in the chat is.

And shout out to ATB and, and God and, and all of, all the gang they've been here. I mean they're Matt Mateus. They've been grinding just as hard as we have. So this is the payoff. The payoff. That's the projected field according to what we understand, okay, Indiana, Georgia, Texas Tech, JMU and Tulane are, are, are likely to be the automatic bids. And then the at large bids, Ohio State, Oregon.

Ole Miss, Texas A and M, Oklahoma. And then it gets really interesting with Notre Dame and Alabama. Here they go. Is everyone, everyone dialed in? The McShay show is brought to you by FanDuel. The College Football Playoff is almost here and FanDuel is turning every future into a bigger opportunity. Because right now you can get a 30% profit boost to use on any college football futures bet. Just open the app, find your college football playoff futures market and apply your profit boost right at checkout. I got to tell you, as I look at these brackets and where the host games are and how it all sets up, despite the loss for Ohio State, I think the Buckeyes are primed to make a run, so consider that when you make your futures bet. I also think Alabama is a lot better than we saw in the SEC championship game, but I think Georgia's peaking as well. Those are three teams that I think are going to make a long run in the college football playoffs, so visit FanDuel.com McShay to get your college playoff futures profit boost today and take your shot at a boosted future bet. Must be 21 and older in present select states or 18 and older in present DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See [e-mail] gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut this episode is brought to you by American Eagle Gift Gift. Hooray. Want to make the people in your life happy this holiday season? Then give great jeans with American Eagle. They've got everyone on your list covered, including you. So make sure to check out the wish list worthy new arrivals including comfy cozy sweaters, soft fleece sweatshirts, hoodies, flannels and lots, lots more. Plus you'll love their trending jeans like the high waisted Stove Pipe Original straight boot cut and a whole bunch of other fits. They've got every style and everyone covered. You can check it all [e-mail] or or just go to the store.

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[Steve]

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[Todd McShay]

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[Steve]

Awards for more details Chevrolet together. Let's drive.

[Todd McShay]

The revealing it right now. Indiana, obviously. I mean they're going to go through the obvious first. You got to build drama and television. Yep, Indiana. They're they're covering Indiana and the great win last night. But we are revealing right now, folks. Okay, how about Mendoza last night?

[Steve]

Unbelievable.

[Todd McShay]

I can't wait to watch this.

[Steve]

So cool.

[Todd McShay]

I'm gonna grab lunch.

[Steve]

You watch. You watch the interview? Did you Watch the interview. It's so good.

[Todd McShay]

I'm not there yet, but I do love how comfortable he is in his skin. And if you're gonna be a nerd and you're gonna be wild, like, just be authentically you. That's all I've ever asked.

[Steve]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

So I'm starting to become all in on this young man. I really am.

[Steve]

It was awesome.

[Todd McShay]

Ohio State now. Oh, that's a surprise.

[Steve]

Yeah, surprise.

[Todd McShay]

Ohio State is the number two seed.

And you say, well, why is that important? They could have been three for the seating creates brackets and so they should theoretically wind up in an easier bracket than Georgia. That's interesting, man. You know what that tells me? The amount of respect put on that Indiana name right now?

[Steve]

Also that the committee watched that game last night and said these are the two best teams in the country. They felt like, let's see this game again. We'd like to see this matchup again.

[Todd McShay]

And I'll be honest, I don't, I didn't necessarily disagree.

[Steve]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Like, truly I watching, I'm like, this is one versus two. And yeah, the offensive. But it's, it's not. The offense is failing as much as these defenses are just smothering. So that's fascinating. So that's a, that's a, that's a mix up. Slight mix up. So it will be OSU2 and I'm just jotting this down so we can stay on top of it. And Tucker, by the way, folks, Tucker and Dan Tucker Tasjin, Dan Comer, behind the scenes have been grinding like all night. Like I got to get five hours sleep because Dan didn't sleep last night. Getting out the McShay report. Tucker's been building graphics like round the clock and they're, they're literally plugging in stuff right now so that we're following along with the show. And once we get all the reveal out, we're going to be able to, to show you the College Football playoff final top 12. We'll show you the, the automatic bids and the, and the at large bids. We'll also be able to show you the brackets and then mention. I will spend some time breaking down those games. But with Ohio State at two, then as expected, Georgia is at three. Right. Okay. So I would have to suspect Texas TechNet now is going to be number four. Any chance?

[Steve]

I would be stunned. I, I've made, I, I've made an argument for Oregon. Oregon. After thinking about it overnight, like, I'd be, yeah, it's Tech.

[Todd McShay]

I would be stunned if it wasn't.

[Steve]

Okay, it should be Tech.

[Todd McShay]

So those are the top four seeds. Indiana one, Ohio State two, Georgia three. Texas Tech, four. And. And with that, all four of those seeds. Unlike a year ago, where it would have been the College Football Playoff, top conference championship champions. I want you to understand this. That system was so messed up last year that it would have been. It would have been Indiana.

Georgia, Texas Tech and Tulane would have gotten a buy.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So at least we've seen progress. But my goodness, as I said on the top, can we have some vision? So those are the top four. They all get a buy. We'll see them in the quarterfinals.

Which. Give me the dates. I know January 19th is the national championship. I know. December 19th and 20th, the first round. Okay, here we go. But when is that? When's this? The quarterfinal and semi. Final game. So we can.

[Steve]

Quarterfinals are December 31st and January 1st. And the semifinals are January 8th and January 9th.

[Todd McShay]

Okay. So Oregon is number five. No surprise there.

[Steve]

This is where it gets interesting, though, right?

[Todd McShay]

Yes. Because you get old Miss. It's kind of a cluster with Ole Miss and A M. And then I would think Oklahoma is definitively before that.

[Steve]

Does Ole Miss get dinged for the Kiffin situation is what I think this comes down to.

[Todd McShay]

Yes, I agree. So Oregon is in his 11. One team with their one blemish being. Don't forget Indiana, the number one team in the country. That loss all of a sudden is like. Okay, got it. Yeah, understood.

So you got. And I know, or do you have it?

[Steve]

Yeah. Ole Miss.

[Todd McShay]

Ole Miss, number six.

[Steve]

Good for the committee.

[Todd McShay]

Yep. Agreed. Agreed.

Agreed. And I don't know. Do you think Charlie Weiss, Jr. Coming back to coach the offense?

[Steve]

I think it doesn't hurt.

[Todd McShay]

It doesn't hurt? It doesn't hurt. I'm not sure it helped, but. But I know it doesn't hurt.

[Steve]

That's a big deal. The difference between the six and seven seeds are a big deal, man.

[Todd McShay]

How so?

[Steve]

Well, you're getting. You're getting Tulane or JMU and 5 and 6, right?

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. I knew the answer. Just wanted you to share the answer.

[Steve]

I was like, what about.

[Todd McShay]

It was so simple.

[Steve]

I was like, am I missing something?

[Todd McShay]

It's a huge difference. Yeah, huge. Versus. Versus. Getting potentially Notre Dame or an Alabama bud.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

A massive, massive difference. Ole Miss in Oregon are in the poll position. And guess what? Remember. Remember last year, it almost played to the benefit of teams being able to play in that first week. So you didn't have three weeks off.

[Steve]

I. I think so.

[Todd McShay]

Now you get a little bit of a warm up game.

Sweet spot.

Oregon and Ole Miss especially Ole Miss getting with the new coaching staff. Getting.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

A glorified scrimmage, but getting an opportunity to go work through the mechanics of. Of the game without Lane Kiffin there. That's. Honestly, I don't know that Ole Miss could be in a better spot.

[Steve]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

I mean maybe five could be, but.

You'Re playing two Lane versus And they.

[Steve]

All right now. Okay.

[Todd McShay]

Texas A and M. Oklahoma's in at. Wait, Oklahoma was seven.

[Steve]

Eight A&M was seven.

[Todd McShay]

Okay, sorry. All right, so the check on those two.

[Steve]

Now this is where we're going to find out what the committee's really thinking.

[Todd McShay]

Yep.

[Steve]

This is the.

[Todd McShay]

This is it, guys. Is everyone ready?

You ready in there? That chat, my gosh, I love, I love what's going on in the chat. You got. It's the McShay show mafia, whatever you.

[Steve]

Want to call it Sunday morning before an NFL game.

[Todd McShay]

I mean it's amazing. It's. It's as good as just people getting.

[Steve]

Ready for fantasy playoff runs. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. Putting in their fanduel bets for the, for the big day on Sunday. Here we go. Resume comparison. You got Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami, 10 and three Alabama. But in a conference game loss, 10 and two, 10 and two for Notre Dame and. And Miami respectively. FPI is eighth for Alabama. The worst of the three, third and seventh for Notre Damon and. And Miami respectively.

We obviously have the head to head and I, I want to remind people in Alabama, Alabama, Alabama. And here's what I think it was. I spent a lot of time talking to people via text overnight. They're the only team in the top 10 in all three of these. FP, FPI, strength of schedule and strength of record. Okay. And when I say of the top of those three, the three in this cluster, Notre Dame, Alabama, Miami, they also. This is something I knew there were some injuries. They had 10 players who contribute that were out of the SEC championship game last night.

[Steve]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

And that was factored into this decision. I was told that this morning when I got up to keep that in mind. Ten players, someone who was. Who was there part of like all of this. They know. So I was told you got to factor in 10 players didn't play in that game. Which quite honestly was told to Alabama.

It. As far as the College Football Playoff game, it was irrelevant. Remember, they had a 97% chance to get it.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

So now it comes down to Notre Dame and my babe. By the way, this is critical. I didn't even think of this. The committee has said all along through Heather Dinach. If it goes. If now all of a sudden they're sitting back to back. And I thought it was going to be Notre Dame at 9.

Because then there would be a gap between them. Now you're looking at the same go. If you're going to go consecutive at 10 and 11 in the rankings because Alabama comes in at nine and you don't go Miami over Notre Dame, it's going to incite.

Like riots head to head. I'm not saying the Miami folks are right. I'm not promoting riots either. I'm just.

Oh.

Oh, I'm stunned. I'm absolutely stunned.

[Steve]

You.

[Todd McShay]

Why don't you look stunned?

[Steve]

Because I'm not. I think there was a. We'll get into this and there's more of, of a nuanced conversation to have. I really do think Miami's a playoff team. I think they're a good team. This was a. I think they crumbled under the pressure of a, of a head to head movement in the national media.

[Todd McShay]

I.

[Steve]

The head to head is, is getting overplayed here. And so I'm not stunned. Miami's a really good team, man. A really good team. I think the committee got it wrong.

[Todd McShay]

That should be Notre Dame. Like what would be.

[Steve]

But I'm not stunned because I just.

[Todd McShay]

Write down that graphic for us, Dan and tucker, so we can. 7, 3, 14, 13. Yeah. I mean they had almost identical. That's the whole thing. 6, 5, 45, 44. But the strength of record.

Miami. Sorry, I'm writing this down as we go because I want to have this discussion afterwards.

This is wild to me. I did not foresee this happening. Hey, the poll is up. Who you got? Miami versus Notre Dame. And it was a good poll before the, before we got the answer, but it's, it's actually more intriguing to me now that we have the answer. Did you basically. Who you got? Miami. Notre Dame. Did the committee get it right or did the committee get it wrong?

Miami 66%.

Oh, this is devastating for Notre Dame. It takes onions but from this committee to keep Notre Dame out with the TV backing the national and international audience. So I, I do give the committee credit here. As a competitor and a former athlete, I don't think like jogging and go to the gym, constant playing some recreational sports constitutes me still being an athlete. There's. There are very few things more sacred than head to head competition.

[Steve]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah. So I give them credit in that. I'm not saying they Got it. Right. I'm just saying.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

If you put yourself in their shoes.

I give them credit for, for recognizing that. I also give them credit for leaving out Notre Dame. But why couldn't we have, like, an injunction overnight? Why couldn't there be some kind of bylaws and let, and let JMU sue the College Football Playoff committee where Notre Dame's in? Like, I know it's irrational. I know. Like, why couldn't, like, Congress step in in the 11th hour? Like a government shutdown type situation on West Wing?

Yeah.

Oh, Tulane lost to Ole Miss 45 to 10 this season, Steve. And we go and we now have a rematch. And I promise you, John Sumrall and everyone in Tulane. I love New Orleans. I can't wait to get back down to New Orleans for the Manning Passing Academy. We'll stay there this summer. I, I love the city. I love the food. I just love. I love a lot of stuff about, about New Orleans. I, I have one of my best friends in the world went to Tulane. I visited. Like, I. So many positive things about Tulane. They just don't belong.

And, and now there's a rematch, too, in a game where they, they lost 45 to 10 earlier this year. And James Madison is in at 12, and they will be facing off against Oregon in the 12 versus 5 matchup. Let me ask you this. Yes, sir.

[Steve]

Do you think that the matchups played a role in the committee taking Miami over Notre Dame? They didn't want a Notre Dame, Texas A M rematch, so they put Miami in there.

[Todd McShay]

No.

Because honestly, if, if they were concerned about that there, they would have found a way to not get Ole Miss Tulane, because that's a, That's a.

[Steve]

I think you're handcuffed there by the, the, the structure of the system. You didn't really have a choice there. Tulane was going to be the 11 seed because they were the next highest ranked champion.

[Todd McShay]

So, so here, I mean, I know Tucker's working on the, the brackets and the top 12, and we'll get the graphics up in a little bit and we'll start to discuss.

I'm just sending out a.

All right, so.

Several surprises, the first of which was Georgia at 3 versus 2 in Ohio State. Only moving down one spot doesn't necessarily affect. It's not the level of surprise that we just had. Honestly, one of the most shocking. This goes down as one of, if not the most shocking, based on the intel I was getting and I think the direction most people in the sport saw this heading. Okay. This is arguably the most. If it's not the most, it's top two or three. Surprising results of a college Football playoff selection Sunday reveal, and that is that Alabama, after that loss last night, stays at nine, which opened the door for Miami and Notre Dame being ranked back to back and gave the committee an opportunity to say the, the rankings, like the FPI is very close. The strength of schedule is very close. All these different metrics are very close. The strength of record, which I think of all the different metrics and analytics and numbers that get put into all this stuff, strength of record is absolutely the most critical one because it assesses your strength of schedule with what you did against that strength of schedule. And like, what else is there? And while there's an eye test and there's a human element and if people watch tape like we do and watch the games and understand the flow of a season and where like there's all those things to take into account, but the strength of record truly gives you an all encompassing look at what you know, where does this program belong from the metrics? And Miami was 14th in strength of record. Notre Dame was 13. They're back to back. And you say, well, then go with Notre Dame. And the, the counter is very obvious and it's a heavier punch. But Miami beat Notre Dame and that's why we are where we are.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I'm curious.

I'm curious what everyone, everyone on the.

I mean, there's so much to get to. I'm curious what everyone in the chat is saying.

[Steve]

Like.

[Todd McShay]

What'S the instant reaction? It's shock for me.

[Steve]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

I'm not, I don't think they got it wrong. I don't think there was, as I started the show with, there was no wrong answer. Because you could make an argument Notre Dame is a better team now. Notre Dame finished the season stronger. You could make the argument that they're so similarly matched and the head to head goes to Miami. So Miami deserves to be in. You can go back and forth and back and forth on all of these. The surprising thing for me though was that the committee didn't ding and I told you last night, there's a precedent that has been set for conference. You got, we have to have Alabama played in its conference championship game. And I'm not saying those 10 players weren't injured, but Alabama, based off of all the information being told, you have a 97% chance to get into the College Football Playoff, looked at it and said, you know what? We're getting in and we're not getting a Buy.

And so we better be healthy. In fact, they don't even get a home game. Right. They don't get a home game. So when we go on the road, I wish the bracket was up. I need to pull that up. When we go on the road to play our first game, we got to be healthy. And so if, if six or seven of those 10 guys, if it was the last game of the year, it's Oklahoma. Yeah, we got to be healthy for Oklahoma. We got to be healthy for Oklahoma. Here's the bracket. So I have it. And so they sat 10 players.

All of which were had injuries. They didn't just like, you know, decide to not show up, but maybe some of them could have played and they did that based off the knowledge of 97% chance we're in. They didn't think that they were going to lose 28 to 7 and have it that lopsided against a team that they already beat on the road. True home game for Georgia, but it got dicey. But the College Football Playoff committee stayed true to. We're not going to ruin a season for a program that's in a college football because. And it makes sense because from that same conference Ole Miss didn't play in a conference championship game. So they get to sit back and not. Why is Alabama getting dinged for. For.

[Steve]

They shouldn't be.

[Todd McShay]

They should be by the way A and M and Oklahoma. Right. And by the way one other thing real quickly and take it where you want.

So that's you've got obviously Georgia, Ole Miss, A and M, Oklahoma, Alabama. We said all along this is. This is as good an SEC as we've seen in a little while. It wasn't that it wasn't to nearly to the level it was a year ago. South Carolina had a really good year, could deserve to be in an. You know, Ole Miss had a really good year there. There's arguments to be made that those programs should have been in but it's not like this year, this year five deserve to be in and quite honestly if you get rid of a. If you get rid of a.

The JMU and two lane element of it like I said like Texas could could belong in or 16 game team playoff. So this conference was loaded this year and it deserves five the most of any conference by a. By a significant number. I think the second most would be the Big Ten or with three correct. It's Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon.

So where do you want to go from here, buddy?

Go ahead. I. We'll.

[Steve]

We'll get Into Miami and Notre Dame in a second. I'm, I'm a little fired up about that one because I just feel like the, you know, I'll say it now, I just feel like the, the people who were pro Miami made this seem like it was a no brainer. And to me I think there may have been mitigating circumstances, including the fact that there was no ACC teams in there and maybe there's pressure to get an ACC team in there. This saves the ACC's ass by getting Miami in there. I mean really, it saves them. I also think that maybe the rematch played a role of. We don't want another rematch of Notre Dame at Texas A and M. I would say I went through this is what I was looking at this morning. I'm not, I think Miami is good enough to be in the playoff. They could make a run. I understand that they played in, in Miami one head to head and I think that does make a difference. I think that's something that you favor with Miami when you're comparing these teams.

[Todd McShay]

I do.

[Steve]

It wasn't enough for me. It was a three point win at home for Miami and you could say, well, they dominated in this set. You know, they were, they dominated the trenches up front in August in Miami. Yeah, sure they did. You can say that that's fine. But it was a three point game at the end of the day and that was it. And then they played Notre Dame, played Texas A and M the next week and lost by one. Another playoff team. What did Miami do? They lost the SMU and they lost to Louisville. And I'm sorry, and don't give me this thing about common opponents. And Miami won by a bigger margin against whoever it was. It was, you know, Syracuse, NC State, VA Tech and PIT is. I think they're whatever, whatever the common opponents were. They both, they all won by three scores. It wasn't like this was a big difference where, where Notre Dame was struggling with these teams and Miami blew them out. That's not really what happened here. So that's not really a data point I care about. I also know that Notre Dame beat a Navy team that beat South Florida and beat him 49 to 10. You know, there's, there's other things in here. I also know that Notre Dame beat SS USC by 10 and that's a pretty good win. And I'm looking at that Miami team and I'm like, I don't know, like you, it was a little too up and down for me. And then you guys finished with the, you Know, a weak schedule at the end, and all of a sudden you're back in the mix. And I don't understand the rankings. I don't understand why. How did Notre Dame get leapfrog from last week? What changed? Not a damn thing. Not a thing for them. So if you had put Miami ahead of Notre Dame, I would have been like, okay, I get it.

[Todd McShay]

That, that's cool.

[Steve]

Like, I understand that that's what they're thinking. But you had Notre Dame ahead of Miami coming into this week. Neither one's in a conference championship game. So what has changed? What made you now because you have Alabama moved up again. I don't even understand. Like, I, I don't. I don't understand how in the world that you could put them ahead of them with. Last week you had Notre Dame ahead of Miami. It just doesn't make sense to me. Again, I think that Miami team's really good. I think it's close. I just had Notre Dame and no one wants to say this, and I, I am sure I'm gonna catch for it, and I don't care. Texas A and M was fourth at goal from the 10 yard line and their offensive lineman tackled a defensive tackle from Notre Dame. They didn't call it, and Notre Dame lost that game.

[Todd McShay]

I don't. I just.

[Steve]

There's so many things. There are so many factors other than. All I kept hearing is head to head has to matter. Head to head has to matter. I agree. Head to head does have to matter. It doesn't have to be the only thing that decides something. Especially when that game happened in August and Notre Dame hasn't lost the game since September 13th. To me, they had done enough. That doesn't mean I don't like Miami. It doesn't mean that I don't think Miami is a good team. It doesn't mean that I don't recognize that Miami beat Notre Dame head to head. It's just, you have to look at all of these circumstances and factors and that's. I, I just think they got it wrong. At the end of the day.

[Todd McShay]

I do, too.

No, I shouldn't say it like, I, I get that argument is what I want to say. I, I really do.

I can't get over Tulane in jmu. I just can't.

[Steve]

You're right.

[Todd McShay]

You're. And I'm here for your argument because it is the biggest discussion. But it's also. It feels like a suckers. It feels like we're all suckers if we're sitting here and we're we're bitching and moaning about Miami versus Alabama versus Notre Dame. They all should be in.

Notre Dame should be in.

[Steve]

And it goes back to, I'll say this, it goes back another point.

[Todd McShay]

Being pissed at the acc.

[Steve]

How do you not have that Miami team playing for the ACC championship last night? Miami wins that ACC championship. They're in and Notre Dame's in. How does the ACC get away with that tiebreaker? That makes no sense to me. That somehow favors Duke over Miami. I don't, explain it to me.

[Todd McShay]

I don't get it.

[Steve]

If Miami beats Virginia last night, we're this, we're having a, like Notre Dame and Miami are both in. Not a problem. It makes no sense to me.

[Todd McShay]

And again, I love John Sumrall and I love, and I love Bob Chesney. But you know, Tulane lost two games, man. They lost 45, 10 to Ole Miss and they also lost to UTSA.

They lost to UTSA. And I'm trying to pull it up right now. Yeah, here we go. They lost a UTSA. It wasn't close. 48, 26.

What are we doing? And I know I got to move on. I, I, I understand that because now we have a bracket and we wanted to talk about the bracket but I just want people that this while, while we, we patched the wing last year with the seatings and I think the committee did some good things with how.

[Steve]

Like they I actually see it. Round two.

[Todd McShay]

I respect this committee. I know, I know. Give me a minute. I respect this committee working within the confines of the structure. But we patch the wing and the wings ready to fly and you feel good about it taking off into this year, but we forgot that the engine.

Is at a critical state.

And we didn't or you know what? We didn't forget. We didn't have the foresight to realize.

That the engine has been flying to the desert back and forth and has collected a lot of sand in it. So maybe we should get ahead of some of the problems that could arise instead of having some problems that arise when we're literally 40,000ft in the air in the Pacific Ocean. Yeah, that's what it feels like because here we are.

[Steve]

It makes sense.

[Todd McShay]

There's no going back to land in California. There's no going back to land in, in Asia. We're too far out in the middle of the Pacific.

[Steve]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

So we're stuck.

And we're stuck with two lane, a two loss team that lost 45, 10 and has a rematch with Ole Miss and lost 42 to 48 to 26 to UTSA. What are you on about?

[Steve]

Do you see the spreads they just gave us?

[Todd McShay]

This is my problem. Oregon is favored by. Thank you. Thank you, Tucker. Do we really need to get him fired up any more than he already is? Oregon is favored by 21 and a half and they should be over JMU. Ole Miss is only favored by 17 and a half versus Tulane.

But we're all going to sit here and complain on Selection Sunday.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

About the committee got it wrong because Notre Dame should be in. Why is Alabama still in? We're. We're arguing and yelling about the wrong thing, but it's too late.

[Steve]

You're right. You're right.

[Todd McShay]

You are 100% right now. We can move forward. I got it all off my chest.

[Steve]

Someone in the chat just asked me how many stars would I give the committee. Really, honestly, based on like, you're framing it really well. Probably four and a half. They did the right thing with the SEC teams. They did the right thing by keeping Alabama in. And I think Miami vs. Notre Dame is a very difficult decision. I could recognize that and still think that they got it wrong. I think it should be Notre Dame. I'm not sitting here being like, they didn't take some team out of nowhere, out of the wilderness, out of the forest, you know, like that. Miami has no business being in there. That's not the case. I think they had a very difficult decision to be make between two teams. I think they got it wrong, but it wasn't. It's not egregious what they did. I understand it. I can. I can understand the logic of the argument for Miami and that's fine. I just think that there should be an argument made for Notre Dame and it should have been Notre Dame.

[Todd McShay]

All right, let's. Here's what we're going to do. Dan, just let me know. They have not yet released and I think they're getting ready to pretty. Oh, first team out, Notre Dame. Second team out, BYU right ahead of Texas. It doesn't matter at this point, but.

[Steve]

No, but I actually have a problem with that.

[Todd McShay]

BYU in that schedule.

[Steve]

I love it.

[Todd McShay]

Ahead of Texas.

[Steve]

I love it.

[Todd McShay]

Ahead of Texas. Yes, they lost to Florida, but they also lost to the number two team in the country early in the season and they beat three top 10 teams and they did it late in the season when they started to really tick. So if we're trying to get the best 12 teams in at this point for the College Football Playoff, but so there. Dan and Tucker will work behind the Scenes to create a graphic where we can go through the top, top 14, top 15 and have that discussion later. But honestly, right now, this is about what are we looking at? What's college football like for the next month or so? And college football kicks back the. The College Football Playoff starts up on December 19th and December 20th with these four matchups. So let's throw out the bra, the bracket right now, Tucker. And there we go. So JMU, the 12 versus the 5. The winner plays Texas Tech. Fascinating. Dante Moore versus that defensive front. Sign me up.

[Steve]

Alabama.

[Todd McShay]

Then in the second, the second seating, Alabama, Oklahoma.

Nine is eight, respectively. And then the winner of that goes to play Indiana. I'm here for that, man. And what's. We'll talk about Alabama and that and that, that match up in a little bit. Then the third bracket, if you will. Tulane, Ole Miss, a rematch 45 to 10. I'll keep reminding everyone when Ole Miss wins that game, we have an awesome round two game in the quarterfinals. Which men kindly told me December 31st or January 1st. I believe that will be January 1st.

I can't wait. And we're, by the way, we're doing, we're doing reaction shows. We'll give you the schedule for that. But you, everyone in the chat will be a part of it. We're going to break into those games and we're gonna have a lot of fun throughout the. The four rounds of the College Football Playoff. Okay? And then the winner of that game, as I said, plays Georgia. It will be Alabama versus Georgia. December 9th, December 31st or January 1st.

[Steve]

I believe it would be Ole Miss versus Georgia. Right.

[Todd McShay]

Is that what I said or.

[Steve]

No, you said Alabama, but that's all right.

[Todd McShay]

Sorry. Yes. Ole Miss, the six seed, when they.

[Steve]

What a rematch that would be.

[Todd McShay]

Will be an awesome rematch.

[Steve]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

And, and again, I think it's important to note. I already said it, but I want to say it again. To give Charlie Weiss Jr. And to give Pete Golding, the new head coach and permanent head coach at Ole Miss, the opportunity to go to have a game against Tulane against an opponent they already blasted to give them a chance to work the mechanics, being on the headsets, making fourth down decisions, halftime, it is. It's more. It's better for Ole Miss. They didn't earn a buy. But I agree with you, man. You would prefer if you're Pete Golding and Charlie Weiss Jr. To have that game against Tulane, excuse me, Than to have a week off, an extra week off in a bye week. And then finally. Oh, the graphics are Even better. Nice job. And then Miami versus Texas A M is the final, final matchup.

Absolutely. Here for that.

[Steve]

That might be the best game of the first round, to be honest with you. I mean, I know I said what I said about Notre Dame versus Miami, but that's, that's a great game.

[Todd McShay]

The Alabama, Oklahoma, because of Alabama doesn't have a run game against that pass rush for Oklahoma.

[Steve]

Oklahoma.

[Todd McShay]

No, I know, I know. But the, the defensive element to that game, but a clear advantage at quarterback. But then again, where's John Mateer now that he's had a few extra weeks to get the thumb and to kind of regroup from what a season that was just like overwhelming due to circumstances that no one could have ever predicted with the thumb surgery and, and everything like that. But then Miami A and m. Yes, that's December 20th at noon Eastern time on ESPN and ABC in College Station. That's the other thing. Oregon, James Madison's in Eugene on December 20th. Night game, TNT and HBO. Max.

Alabama, Oklahoma is. Al. Is on December 19th. So there's only one game on the 19th. That's Alabama, Oklahoma. That's 8:00pm primetime game on ESPN and ABC in Norman. That's a brutal place to play now. I mean it's always been tough, but that place has gotten like. Remember the Michigan game and the, the scene there. So Alabama's got to go to Norman on December 19th. Then we have three games on the 20th. Okay. Starting at noon Eastern time. I assume the 20th is a Saturday. I don't have a, a calendar in front of me. Noon Eastern time. You've got number 10, 10 seated Miami.

[Steve]

It is Saturday.

[Todd McShay]

College Station. I'll be honest with you.

[Steve]

How's that not the night game?

[Todd McShay]

Thank you.

[Steve]

How is that not the night game?

[Todd McShay]

Thank you. Because of the rankings. Because the highest seed gets the, the best, the best slots.

[Steve]

Oh, we gotta fix that. It should be the better matchups.

[Todd McShay]

And then Ole Miss, tulane is at 3:30 that afternoon on TNT and HBO. Max. Okay, in, in Oxford, Oxford, Mississ. And then that night, as I said, Oregon 5 seed versus 12 seed JMU 7:30 on TNT and HBO. Max.

Tucker's saying that we, we should go live early that day. What? On the 20th?

[Steve]

Yeah, after the, after the, that Miami Texas A M game, if not after.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, yeah, after Miami. Yeah, we'll go live after that game and then maybe do a wrap up show after the end. We'll figure it out. We'll let everybody know. But this is awesome. This, our chat is exploding. Kane's fans are Pumped. Notre Dame's fans. Notre Dame fan. If you're a Notre Dame fan, I want to hear from you right now, like, what, what is. Yeah, hbo, Max Godden. It's the new world we live in, by the way. Netflix with.

[Steve]

It's wild.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, you're gonna be. All of a sudden you went from just a, you know, a, a Spotify star and budding star match to Netflix and hbo.

I hope your family's ready to deal with that ego.

[Steve]

Do we get some kind of, do we get some kind of role in a Game of Thrones spin off or something? Does that work?

[Todd McShay]

Let's get on it. Let's get on it.

So those are the matchups.

Of those matchups.

[Steve]

Notre Dame fan, not surprised, by the way.

[Todd McShay]

Sorry.

Yeah. But I want to say this. So we gave you the odds, the FanDuel odds. And we like, thank you, FanDuel, for like all the support, the partnership and everything that you do. And if you're not, if you don't, if you don't have the FanDuel app, like, what are you doing? Honestly, even if you just make a couple plays here and there, like, it's just the resource that it is. But to have these odds already up is amazing. We, we told you already. Oregon.

Than any spread we had last year, right?

[Steve]

I think so. Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

I can go back.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Because what was it, Penn State and, and boys on the state.

[Steve]

Texas game was a big spread too. I remember.

[Todd McShay]

But it was, I don't think it was 17.

[Steve]

I don't think so either. I don't either.

[Todd McShay]

I really don't.

I want to say it was like 13 or 14 if I remember, but that was a long time ago. But, but important to this now. Now where we're talking about the big time matchups, the two big time matchups on the 19th and 20th, on the 19th is Alabama, Oklahoma. I know you already know the answer. That's the. December 19, 8:00pm ESPN ABC. Alabama is favored at Norman by a point and a half.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Which is interesting, right?

[Steve]

It is.

[Todd McShay]

And I do want to make this point because fanduel and I talked about the partnership and, and like they go above and beyond to help us. And we didn't get to this in, in the moment, but now that we're looking at those odds for those games, I do want to say state this. FanDuel. FanDuel. When, when Tucker asked our folks at FanDuel, can you give us that, can you give us the, the hypothetical, the Todd's odds? Here he goes again. You know.

On a neutral site. Miami versus Alabama. Alabama's favored by a point and a half over Miami. This is why it's interesting. Okay. The other one we asked for was what about if Alabama favored versus Notre Dame.

Notre Dame was a four point favor favorite over Bama and now Notre Dame's on the outside looking in. Even though, and again it, it's. They, they. Vandal is a very successful company and they, you know, they don't. They. No one's perfect and, and lines are doing. There's, you know, but, and there's upsets and all this. But if you really study the history of it, they, there's nowhere that's more accurate than when you get these, these odds.

[Steve]

I love that it backs up what I'm saying, but you can't, it can't factor in. You can't. That's. No, I understand.

[Todd McShay]

Yeah, I, I totally understand. And now if you're watching on the, they're going through all the, the top 25 rankings.

JMU is ranked 24th. Steve.

24.

[Steve]

I just, I don't, I don't, I don't know.

[Todd McShay]

We have a problem and it's, it really is unfortunate that we didn't foresee this as a potential problem because I don't spend it like when this is when the college football playoffs over, we get into the draft and we're 24 7, like consumed with it and then we're peeking back in, checking in on meetings and recruiting and portal and all that stuff. Stuff. But like we are immersed in it. But there are people who are in positions of power that are looking at this the entire year round and they didn't foresee this. And that to me is well, in a multi billion dollar industry, did not foresee this glitch. How do you not foresee this glitch?

[Steve]

I'll say this and forgive me for not knowing exactly what the dates are, but they did move back their yearly, their annual meeting to go over the rules from I think December until early January, which I think is good because it lets them go through another cycle before they start to apply changes. So hopefully that's something that helps them. All right.

[Todd McShay]

So I mentioned Alabama's a 1 1/2 point favorite favorite at Oklahoma.

We'll get to that in a second. Miami. Miami versus A and Miami.

[Steve]

A and M. I love this matchup.

[Todd McShay]

A and M is a three and a half point favorite. Remember, at home.

[Steve]

Right.

[Todd McShay]

I'm actually surprised they're not a little bit more of a favorite, to be honest.

[Steve]

I don't Know man, that the way that Miami can run the ball, it hasn't, they haven't always run the ball but that offensive line, I think that's a, that that's a great matchup for Miami. I think.

[Todd McShay]

Carson Beck under pressure is going to be the story of that game.

And obviously the defensive front for Miami, the physicality, the pass rush ability. Messador opposite Ruben Bane. Akeem Messador and Ruben Bane, both first rounders I believe when it's all said and done at this point, I think Mesador's tracking worst case top 50. But I in talking to scout like I really think that he's gonna. So you get two first rounders along that defensive line that both play a physical brand. Macedor is a better pass rusher. Bain's a better all around player. Both outstanding players in their own right to bottle up.

Marcel Reed and that and, and really force him to be a pocket passer and to do it under some duress where his feet get a little wild. And we saw in the first half against South Carolina and in their loss to Texas when he gets jumpy and overly caffeinated, as I like to talk about it, inside the pocket and his feet are never really perfectly right to begin with, no matter what the pressure. But when pressure starts to happen and he can't bail out, that's when he gets into trouble. Now on the opposite side, Carson Beck, while a little bit more mobile this year and seems to be a little lighter on his feet, is not a mobile quarterback. And Texas A and M with Cassius Howell and that defensive front and the way they dial up pressures and some of the things they do in the back end where if they're tackling well, they can be really successful.

But I think you can, you can get at Texas secondary if you can protect and if Beck is protected. With Malachi Tony reemerging from the witness protection program that he entered in the middle of the season, that's going to be a fascinating matchup with, with Lee at the cornerback spot. So there's a lot of matchups and we have plenty of time to get into the, the nitty and the gritty. But.

Those storylines of those defensive fronts against those quarterbacks are loom large in that, that huge game. And then let me see the bracket again. So, so when Miami. Okay, so Miami. Oh, this is the best part, man. Starting to project the winner of Miami in Texas A and M on December 20 at noon, which Tucker's now tells us we're going to be doing a show breaking into the end of that game. And at this point we might as well. Every game that's played we should break in because it's going pretty well. We.

[Steve]

I think Tucker's point is the James Madison and two lane games aren't going to be. There's not going to be a lot there after.

[Todd McShay]

I totally understand. I totally understand. Miami and A and M winner goes and plays Ohio State. So Round two, we're going to have the Miami A and M winner against Ohio State and that's going to be pretty awesome. Even more exciting if I'm just being honest, that's December 31st at 7:30. Even more exciting is Ole Miss without lane Kiffin against Georgia. 6 vs. 3 when Ole Miss beats Tulane then I think maybe the most fascinating because you have finally get to this. This is what everyone's been waiting for. You are going to have a round two if Texas A and M wins at home as they're favored to do. You are going to have a round two, sir that features two like big 10 sec for those. We still have a great chat going. Big 10 sec. How many times a year do we do we go through that argument and the Big Tens reemerging but the SECs get back in 2025. All of that. It actually gets decided on the field with top 10 opponents in the most important game of the year because you're going to have an SEC team whether it's nine Alabama versus or eight Oklahoma. That game on December 19th in Norman. The winner of that goes and plays Indiana. Okay.

SEC versus the number one team in the country from the Big Ten. And the other one is Miami versus A&M. If A&M the seven seed. We just said three and a half point favorites over Miami playing at home College Station. If A and M hold serve on that one and goes and plays Ohio State, we've got the number 17 a team in Texas A M that was undefeated the vast majority of the year and was was sitting there at number one for more than a minute. Not number one, number two, I guess. Yeah, yeah, sorry. With Ohio State they were in the top three but undefeated. One of the three remaining undefeateds for a long, long time.

Going to play Ohio State.

[Steve]

That.

[Todd McShay]

That's going to be awesome to see. And then the final one obviously is. Is I mentioned the other three matchups. The final one is Oregon going to play Texas Tech with Dante Moore and hopefully a much healthier wide receiver. Core Will Stein is still coaching.

That's my. Yeah, he's still coaching. I just didn't want to Say it. And all of a sudden, there was breaking news in the last 48 hours or something.

Will Stein in his fine final moments as the offensive coordinator, and what's been a brilliant run with Bone. From Bo Nicks to Dylan Gabriel to Dante Moore, three reclamation projects. Gabriel was bouncing around, doing some good things, but wasn't there. Bo Nix was a. I love. I love it and I'm happy for him, but kind of a mess at Auburn. And then now he's Dante Moore. Things went so badly. Five starts at UCLA, transfers, and now he's the first round draft pick, whether it's 2026 or 2027. But going up against what I. I told you, it felt like watching an NFL Sunday defensive line against BYU the other day, that, you know, those guys are all NFL guys. They just happen to have another month left of, of college before they start prepping for the NFL draft. So that's going to be awesome. All right, before we wrap.

Dan. Dan puts us on the spot.

Ah, Dan wants to know. These are not going to be our final predictions. We need time to sit down. And we've been doing a show this entire time. We didn't know as 30 minutes ago with 30, 40 minutes ago, we didn't know what the brackets were, how they looked. So let's go on the spot. We don't have to be held to these. We'll come back and do another show where we're projecting all the different things that people want to talk about in the College Football Playoff. But right now, looking at this thing the way it currently is, and I'm curious. Let's. Let's put a poll up.

Dan, let's get a poll for all the folks that are there in the chat right now, based now off of what we know with these brackets and where the games are played.

Who do we have, who do we predict to win the get. Let's go national championship game.

And winner.

No, no, let's make it harder.

I want a semifinal answer for all four teams. I want the finals and I want a winner. Let's just do it on the spot. We. You are absolutely welcome, but for the poll, I think we should just ask for the national championship winner.

[Steve]

Okay. What do you got?

[Todd McShay]

Do you figure out yours?

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Okay, you start because I was talking too much as usual, and I want to.

[Steve]

All right, I got the, the semifinal is the 1 seed Hoosiers vs Oregon, and I got. I got Georgia playing Ohio State, the other one. I think that the seating holds up in that bracket.

And then for the final this is. I'm gonna ruffle some feathers here. I got.

I got Oregon beating Ohio State.

I've been high on Oregon all year. I'm not backing down now.

Oregon Avengers, it's lost to Indiana earlier this year. It finds a way to beat beat Ohio State.

[Todd McShay]

So you have or. Okay, I'm going to go from the bottom of the bracket up in the semifinals. Okay, I'm going to go Ohio State after a buy and playing Texas A and Miami winner gets into the semifinals. I'm also going to pick Georgia over Ole Miss. They are rolling right now. Rolling.

And playing with a lot of confidence and. And that much more balanced than they have been at any other point during the season.

Then this is the brutal one. I think Alabama is going to get healthy and I think that they're going to bounce back from this loss in a somewhat. Not. There's going to be a little bit more of a bounce back here than people expect.

And not totally dissimilar with that talent level those receivers.

From what we saw from Ohio State when it looked like it was a lost cause against Michigan a year ago. I'm going to say Alabama beats Indiana. Indiana too much time off. Told how great they are. All the things fall into some trappings. Even though Signetti, you know my level of respect, I picked him over deboer and Smart and. And Ryan Day and I. They're the three of the best coaches in the world because I just. I had a feeling that he was going to have his team prepared and he probably will. And I'll probably look like a jackass, but I'm going to say Alabama beats Oklahoma in Norman and then beats Indiana in a big upset and gets in the semifinals. And I'm going to take Oregon as well. Okay.

Then I'm going to take Ohio State to beat Georgia, which I don't feel great about. But I'm.

[Steve]

No, I don't either. That. That's a tough one. But I took Ohio State too.

[Todd McShay]

And I'm going to take Alabama over Oregon. And yes, I picked Alabama in the preseason and yes, to win the national championship.

And yes, it is affecting my judgment right now.

But I am going to take Ohio State to win it all. Back to back champions.

[Steve]

Interesting. Interesting.

[Todd McShay]

And I don't. And. And when we circle back next week, I'm guessing that maybe that will change.

[Steve]

Can I just say something quickly about that Tech team because that that defense is as good as any defense in the country. I really believe that. And there's some really good defenses this year. I just think that Oregon defense is going to be that. That offense for Texas Tech hasn't seen an Oregon defense like. Or defense like they're going to see with Oregon. So that's. That's why I gave Oregon the nod there.

[Todd McShay]

I see that.

[Steve]

I don't want to disrespect Texas Tech, man. They've had a hell of a year. They're a good team.

[Todd McShay]

No, not. Nothing Texas Tech does in the College Football Playoff, whether it's a. Well, a second round after a buy.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Lost in the first game in the College Football Playoff or if it's a. Winning the national championship. That would surprise me. Short of winning a national championship, nothing that happens with Texas Tech will surprise me. And that. That's mostly a positive. I think their offense is. Is not nearly as good as the numbers say it is.

[Steve]

I agree.

[Todd McShay]

But I do think there's talent there, and I think you have the veteran leadership and a smart quarterback in Baron Morton who's been through a lot of wars, and I trust him for the most part. I just don't think that they have the firepower and the consistency against good quality defenses to. But every time you look up there they are, because the defense, putting the offense in good situations or whatever it is, they're scoring close to 40.

Close to or more than.

Yeah. But I think Oregon's underrated, and I agree with you on that point. I think Georgia. Georgia. In my opinion, Georgia's truly capable. I know they're all capable.

[Steve]

Oh, yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Except Tulan. I think Georgia, if I. If I had to make a short list.

Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia.

Alabama. Even though most would disagree. Oregon.

If you got to pick five. Who are the five? Who are the five teams that you think would. That. If you had two put in order. You only got five. It was like an elimination thing. And I said, yeah, you have to bet $1,000 of your money and I'm gonna give you five.

[Steve]

It. It'd be very similar. It would be. It would be Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon out of the Big Ten. And then I would take. Who am I missing? Sorry. I would take Alabama, too.

And so that would be four. Oh, Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Georgia.

[Todd McShay]

So it's the same five. So you. But yeah, you would take Alabama if I gave you five and. Yeah. And if not, you lose a thousand dollars. If the national championship winner is not from these five. You raise a thousand dollars.

[Steve]

Yeah, no, I would like that. I would. I. That's.

[Todd McShay]

You would put Alabama in over Texas.

[Steve]

Tech and Oklahoma and Ole Miss? Yes, I would. Okay. Because at their worst, it's bad. I get it. I get how bad it is. But we've also seen. And I love how people are. Yeah, they all love how people are. Like, well, the Alabama over Georgia win was earlier in the season, too, but we've seen what Alabama can do.

[Todd McShay]

This has been an awesome show. This has been an awesome run. This last 24 hours has been exactly what we've always wanted this show to be in the college football level. And we haven't even gotten to the draft. And I'm pumped for this run.

[Steve]

How about the chat today on a Sunday afternoon?

[Todd McShay]

I know. It's awesome. Everyone go enjoy some NFL football. It all just started. I'm gonna go get some food. I'm starving. I didn't.

[Steve]

Yes.

[Todd McShay]

Coffee. No. Breakfast. I'm starving. I'm excited to sit down, hang out with the family, enjoy some. Some lunch, watch some NFL games.

[Steve]

No show tomorrow.

[Todd McShay]

No. Yeah, no show. Thank you, Steve.

[Steve]

Yep.

[Todd McShay]

No, no show tomorrow.

We will be back on Thursday morning with the with rough draft. I don't know. We have honestly, every. Every bit of focus was on yesterday's two shows and today and everything going on. And that's awesome. It's where it should have been. We'll figure out what the hell we're doing the next couple weeks while we get ready for the college football playup. And honestly, this gap between today's the 7th. Man, we had games on the 19th. It's only 12 days. So we'll do a couple of draft shows, we'll do a couple preview shows, and then we'll be right back doing live reaction shows and getting ready for this awesome run between December 19th and January. It's one month. Was it 31 days or something? One month of all these awesome matchups.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Todd McShay]

Son's Tulane Ole Miss and son's JMU Oregon. But we're thrilled to to make this ride with you and thank you again. Like the the. The support today in the show has been awesome. We'll be back on Thursday. Mention like if I could give you more than five stars, I would, but I am limited stars and you get it. Brother must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + and present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New York.

[Steve]

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[Todd McShay]

That's the og. It kicked off this whole Zero Sugar.

[Steve]

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[Todd McShay]

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[Steve]

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[Todd McShay]

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