The Dan Patrick ShowJonas Knox and Brady Quinn are in for Dan Patrick, talking about Cam Ward getting heat for sitting at halftime of the Pop Tarts Bowl, but the real controversy should be how the NCAA tracks records. Then Doug Gottlieb & Dan Beyer take their turn and they discuss the way the college football playoff has played out. And finally, DP and the Danettes are back and they react to the CFP Quarterfinals.
#2pros, #douggottliebshow
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox Sports Radio.
So it is bowl season in college football, and when you talk about great discussions, it all centers around the pop tarts bowl.
That's right, you know, frosted the way it delivered. Say what you want, man, just.
Like those brown sugar cinnamon, like those those ones, those always hit.
That was my favorite.
I was a little Yeah, frosted, unfrosted doesn't matter to popyard.
Unfrosted.
Well, some people are into the unfrosted stuff.
That's like a toaster strudle. That's that's not a pop start.
Look the frosting on a pop tart. I'm not sure when that was made and how it was made. No offense to pop.
Tart, buddy.
If you eat a pop tart, you're not overly concerned with the health or nutrition facts.
You're eating a pop tart.
By the way, a toaster or microwave for a pop tart a toaster, it's not even close.
Yeah, I don't know.
I feel like it's a better I feel like it's a better cook in a microwave, to be honest.
With every time I want to, I want to like you, you say something like that, AND's just I can't.
I can't do it? Lee, what's your problem? I don't even know where to start. When did you ever put one in a microwave? I don't mean it's a kid, you just throw it in the microwave.
It's a better col My god, Mark? Why are you shaking your head?
Toaster? Toaster? Still toast?
All right?
What are you putting? You say it again?
I say it once a week. You deserve all the backlash you get on Twitter.
You really do.
It's fortakes like this that you deserve the backlash that that you received.
There are different options out there. It's almost changed everything for me. I'll screw you, Mark. I'm just saying there's options out there, A right if the up for you? Mark? By the way, I do like made for the toast?
What do you doing?
I also like how pop tarts don't even give you the option of having one. You open a bag, you're getting two, and if you don't eat the other one, it's going stale. Like no, not only you're eating bad, you're eating bad twice.
I just can't believe you said unfrosted, Like that's who? Who the right mind? We get a pop start unfrosted.
I don't know, man, some people are into it, you know, some people listen, some people are into weird stuff.
I don't have to tell.
Okay, it's it's like getting a giant sized Snickers barnoying half of it.
You're like, oh, I'm worried about the sugar and the calories in it.
Yeah. Well it's the the old Rob Parker trick. You you eat healthy but still get dessert. It's like he's like, oh, I got a I got a burger with no bun, but I ordered a chocolate Sunday afterwards. Dude, just get the bun. What's the point? Like, you just did more damage to yourself. So aren't you making our argument right now?
Well?
No, I'm just telling you that there's an option out there for people if they don't like the frosting.
The frosting's not that great.
I mean, I have not seen an unfrosted pop tart in forever, mostly because anyone who eats an unfrosted pop tart probably got shoved at a locker. We've never seen them since. I'm just saying, what's with the violence.
It's just a it's a it's a Strudle, Like, what what's the violence here over a breakfast snack that's not good for you?
And pop tarts are way better than toaster struddle. I mean, there's a reason why toaster Struddle hasn't sponsored a bowl game?
All right?
Yeah, I would agree, Yeah, where they even in the contention for the bowl game? But apparently you know, if they do partake in sponsoring a bowl game, they'll be there for the entire game.
Not like that.
Damn cam Ward? How dare he not return for the second half? He had to be ashamed of himself? Right?
Do it for your team?
Are we believing in the fake outrage that there was around cam Ward?
Who?
And this is the explanation that I guess was given because Mario Cristobal, the head coach at University of Miami, didn't really elaborate on what that conversation was with cam Ward behind the scenes, simply said that we had an individual conversation with with a lot of players who were deciding whether they wanted to play or sit out the game, and he's going to leave it at that, which was just a smart way of handling it because every player, situation, circumstance is different.
Could cam Ward have set out of that game altogether.
Of course, in all seriousness, three weeks ago, the Miami Hurricanes were potentially playing for an ACC championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff, and then come to find out a few weeks later, now they're losing in the Pop Tarts Bowl. Like that is a dramatic fall from grace from where Miami fans thought their.
Team was three four weeks ago. So here we are.
You've got a player who's choosing to at least participate in a portion of the game now, even if it's about his own selfish reasons. Which Camboard was able to break the NCAA career record for touchdown passes, beating out Case Keenum during his time there at Houston, And so he did it in the first half through three touchdown passes, got the record, and then sat out the second half, obviously watched his team lose in the final minutes. Now that being said, I don't really understand the outrage from this standpoint, Like do people really think NFL teams are gonna care? Like he actually put himself out there to play in an era where a lot of players have not only opted out of games Jamal Chase opted out of an entire season.
Do we tend to forget that back when he was at LSU?
And I'm not saying that Jeremiah Smith would ever do this at Ohio State, but based on his freshman season, they're obviously still playing for national championship. Based on what I think he'll do next year as a sophomore, he would probably have every right to do so if he wanted to. I mean, that young man is NFL ready now, and so to have to put himself out there and harms a way for another year. Yeah, he'll get an insurance policy, he'll get paid a lot of nil, but it won't be anywhere close to what he's going to receive when he's taken somewhere, probably in the top three picks once he's draft eligible.
What in twenty twenty six is.
That it in twenty twenty seven If my math is off, but I think you're getting my point is like we're gonna all of a sudden question the motivation for a young man who's trying to protect his ability to move on to the next level make money, which at that level, there's a lot of players right now who are playing not to go to the playoffs, but for incentive for themselves for their contract to make sure they prolong their career in the NFL, because they can't necessarily opt out at least now without making it look kind of shady.
I just I don't get the outrage with any of this.
I think there's do you have a place that you go to eat with the family where it's like, if you go to that place, you have to eat that one specific item because they just like that's what you're used to whenever you go there. It's like, Hey, I'm going here, I gotta get this, you know, I gotta get a Like whatever it is with college football, I think people are just so accustomed to bitching that they can't help themselves. It's a Pop Tarts Bowl, Like you've got a weirdo dressed as a breakfast strudle jumping out of a fake toaster. At the end of the game, cam Ward goes out there, he plays the first half, he breaks the record.
That's it.
It's overdone. There doesn't need to be a conversation afterwards. He did what he did. Good for him. He assumed the risk, he went out there, he put it on the line for the first half.
You could get hurt in any half of a game.
Like you remember Jalen Smith who got hurt playing like people criticized him afterwards saying, yeah, it's nice he went out and played. But you got to think about your draft stock. That guy was a top five pick, but in the bag top five pickback and I think what twenty sixteen. Yeah, and so when Christian McCaffrey sat out a bowl game, he got criticized for it. When Leonard Fournett sat out of a bowl game, he got criticized for it. All they're being selfish, and so here cam Ward actually plays the first half, goes out, breaks a record, and then sits out the second half. No, no, no, you've got to commit to the entire game. What God does his work like they just you can't help, But bitch, people just want to complain when they talk about college football. It doesn't matter what the discussion is. We've got other conversations coming up. People just want to complain about college football because they're just so accustomed to doing it. I'm convinced, Yeah, I don't know.
Maybe they just want to see Cam Woardon get a piece of that gigantic pops art there at the end. Yeah, Matt Campbell and rock O Beeck, we're diving into all that ice you hate so much. I mean, if we really want to be upset about something, we should be upset about.
The fact that the NCAA is allowing.
A career record for touchdown passes to count for cam Ward. Like if you really want me to get on my soapbox and take away one of those hot takes.
Okay, here it is all right. Camp Ward played five years.
Okay he did so, two of which where some of these stats were amounted, and incarnate Ward, which is an FCS school. So is it really comparable to compare case Keenum, who at least played at the FBS level for four years and in three games in a year he got a medical red shirt when he tore his ACL to accumulate those career stats or five years of playing because that first year did carnal word was a COVID year, they get the additional year of eligibility. So all those stats count, all those touchdown passes count towards this record, and so not only should there be I don't know, I want want to say an asterisk.
But we're counting a five year career versus a four.
And three games for a metal red shirt, and we're counting it two of those years at a lower level where he absolutely dominated, then went to Washington State, then went to Miami.
So kudos to cam Ward for the success that he's had.
But I would go a step further and say this, like, what's starting to bother me a lot about everything that's happening in the college football space is we talk about the history, we talk about the tradition. You know what, we do an awful job of protecting that history and that tradition, the legacy of guys like Barry Sanders, for example, who rushed.
For over two thousand yards.
What was the You could look up the exact number during his time at Oklahoma State, but he didn't been like eleven games. And Ashton Genty look great player at Boise State, obviously a Heisman finalist, Doak Walker winner, He's incredible.
Let's not compare him, though, to Barry Sanders.
Like, as much as we want to talk about how well this is a part of Ashton Gent's legacy, or this is a part of cam Ward's legacy, that's true, but what are we doing to to protect the legacy of the guys who came before them, Like, it's just it's not even comparable what Barry Sanders did in an eleven games rushing versus what Ashton and genty has done. At this point where we're still, you know, still counting the stats isn't fair. It's not fair to the past players who only had four years of eligibility to do it, and you now have guys who have stats that are counting for five years, six years because of COVID, because of red shirt years, medical red shirts that they're counting. Like, if you really want to dig into, like what the issue should be with this conversation is the fact that he was playing in the first half at all to go try to break this career touchdown record.
Is part of the issue with the NCAA is.
We try to make up ways that guys can break records when they're eligibility. Now that we've got Digo Pava who's eligible again next year, the quarterback at Vanderbilt because his JUCO years didn't count, So we keep changing and moving the goalposts with what these records are. That's the most ridiculous part of all of this. No one's talking about and so yeah, it's awesome that cam Ward is able to throw for that many touchdown passes, but in reality, like he didn't do it on a per game base the way Case Keenum did. He didn't do it consistently at that high level or at a higher level like Houston during the time case Keenum did. So you can give cam Ward the record, I think there'd be an astros nexsent next to it.
Two six hundred and twenty eight yards for Barry Sanders in nineteen eighty eight, which is in eleven games, right.
Yes, mind boggling.
And yet we're still like comparing players now who are playing into you know, Bowl games and conference championships and into the playoff now, which has been extended, and yet we're.
Counting all of that. It's like, oh, he broke the record. It's like, imagine if.
Barry played fourteen games, do the math on that, he would have won over three thousand yards.
I mean, at this point, isn't cam McCormick like on the verge of breaking the all time receiving record.
I mean he should be. He's been there thirty seven years. Maybe not not that record. I don't know what he's got calling on there at Miami.
But some records, you know, if you're going to you're to stick around, Like how many like Cam McCormick just turned fifty three, by the way, so he's he's still like they got another year of eligibility. Cam Rising might come back for another year. To this, there's all the time you're seven year eight and something count at this point.
And here's I'm not going to bash the young men for coming back and taking their opportunity.
To play, but I think again we're moving the goalpost in regards.
To how we want to talk about what our career records and all these stats and all these ways that we're acknowledging accomplishments for players. It was like, well, yeah, of course we'd throw for that many yards if you could play five six years and all those years counted. So again, that's more of my biggest gripe with all this, Like it's it's really surprising that as many people, especially in this day and age, and again, as I've said before, where players have opted out of an entire season, then we see players off out of bowl games all the time, especially ones that are insignificant, and yet yeah, that's where the outrage is because you only played half the game.
He did spot his team three points a half.
I mean they were up three points in Iowa State, So it was better than if he didn't play at all and they started zero zero.
He did his job.
Blame the bullpen, you know, it's not his fault. They blew the game for him. By the way, would you have done anything different in the new landscape on your decision to come out because you had another year of eligibility?
Correct? No, I came back.
So again, back during those years you have, you know, once that clock starts, unless I would have had a medical retro, I guess I could have sat out a year in between or something. But you know, once it starts, you're playing. And the decision would have been to come out after my junior year. And for me personally, it just it felt like between the class of guys that I was with wanting to graduate. Then I talked to some older guys who had given me the advice that's just said, it's really really.
Hard to come back and finish your degree.
They're like life just kind of hits you at a time where you know, Drove Bettis I think in a couple of years ago, Yeah, finally came back and got his degree, which is awesome and it was incredible.
Its fun to watch.
He's one of the most charismatic people you ever meet. But imagine that like having kids and his son's now committed to come to Notre Dame soon. I mean, imagine stating in class with your son. You know, you're trying to finish up years your underground. He's starting right. Like granted, e've being different classes, different levels, but it wouldn't be to do a degree. But then you're like, all, who's doing the homework? Dad, so doing the homework. But the general point is I wanted to come back. I wanted to get my degree. I wanted another shot at trying to win a national championship. I wanted to be there with the guys I came in with. We had a really close class of guys. I wanted to be there for another year with them and try to obtain all those things. So it ended up not working out, But I wouldn't change, you know, that final year for anything, Like it was a great ride. I love Notre Dame. I love my alma mater, and like I said, I just I wish if anything, there's times where I wander back. If I could have expressed more of an interest of wanting to red shirt and that way my true freshman year, I would have maybe gone through a lot of the lumps that I went through and trying to learn and trying to improve as a player, and would have been more mature, more prepared, especially within that offense, because it's not like we could enroll early like back then.
I came up early in the summer for workouts and things, but that was.
The extent, you know they we weren't allowed to enroll like and genuinely like to do now and then and practice through spring practice. Hell, some of these guys are actually practicing to prepare for the bowl games.
You know.
Juju Lewis I believe his last name, the quarterback who's committed to Colorado to come in behind Shadu.
Or Sanders as their starter.
He's been practicing throughout you know, the bull practice before the alimable, So that experience would be incredible. I think LeVar said, man man, his son is already in state college and if they were to win a national title that he would he would be eligible for a ring, right, which is crazy. I mean again, different strokes for different folks. I'm not sure I accept something if it wasn't there the entire year, but the general point is it's very different now, and it wasn't that way Notre Dame back then.
It is now. You have the capability of doing that.
So that's one of the things that I wish I could have done, either enrolled earlier at the halfway point of my senior in high school and got up to school earlier to then prepare more for that spring, or of red shirted I mean, those are.
The things I more think about.
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We have Round two of the college football playoffs getting underway tonight again time, same same idea as last time around one game today and then three tomorrow. I think this is the perfect bowl game, Fiesta Bowl game. Now look full disclosure. It's ridiculous that boyse you gotta buy. Equally ridiculous that Arizona State wins the Big Twelve and they're not playing in Glendale. And as much you can say, well, that would be a that would be an unfair home field advantage.
Like, Okay, so.
Neither Arizona State nor Boise State deserved to be a top four seed. But if they're going to be a top four seed and the difference is all that slight, shouldn't you want to sell tickets?
And if you sold tickets and I just saw.
Online that tickets for Arizona State's game in but in Georgia are going for pennies on the dollar. So congratulations on screwing something up that was pretty easy right there in front of you.
But regardless of it, Dan, can I make the pitch to you of why I think this is the perfect game?
Yeah, I'd love to hear it.
Okay, So basically for the last I don't know, twenty five years or so, And obviously it got worse once we got the College Football Playoff, the four team playoff. But remember we'd always have these bowl games. We had Hawaii taken on who'd they get pummeled by in this Sugar Bowl? Is that Alabama? Georgia Georgia and the sugar planguage is bad?
Right?
But you also you had Boise take down Oklahoma in this in the Fiesta Bowl. That was the hook and ladder play, right, you had the Statue of Liberty. You had Chris Myers going Okay, now you're gonna ask your girlfriend to marry you, Like, dude, what are you doing anyway?
Like arguably one of the most famous upsets.
And you'd always get from the side of the SEC, the side of the Big twelve, the side of the Big Ten, like, hey, it doesn't matter, come on, man, Like, that's a bowl game. We get a swag bag, we had to ride roller coasters and have big dinner, and freshmen get to a more chance to work out, Like it's never really mattered to us, right, and there was no real payoff other than to say, hey, we won that bowl game, which is sort of bragging rights.
But like you know, the SEC especially has had that like we love what you know, bowl games only matter when we win them.
Well, now, the Big ten, who, let's just be honest, over the last twenty five years outside of Ohio State been pathetic in bowl games.
Is that fair? Dan?
Yeah?
Yeah, okay, right, Big ten.
Considering the historic nature and success of Big ten programs generally, again I'm saying this is more generalization.
Generally, the Big Ten has been pathetic in bold.
It's funny because there's a Big Ten guy. I don't even know. I just went along with it, so I honestly I have no idea.
But sure, okay, it's not an every year thing. I would say more often than not, ok regardless, And the Big Ten is never has usually not been the conference like that doesn't matter to us, right, but the SEC has been it doesn't These games don't matter.
Well, this one matters, Okay.
You have that same Cinderella type story in Boise State, granted dramatically overseated, and they get the benefit of not having to play last weekend so they're fresh, they'rearrested. This is the best that Boise is going to have. And proximity wise, you know, you get on the Southwest flight or what's that other airline that you can actually go into Masa with, But Masa's on the other side of the earth from Glendale.
Anyway.
Point is, they'll have a great crowd, a great chance to win against big bad Penn State, and Penn State cannot say it doesn't.
Matter to us, because this is all that matters.
So you have the you know, in basketball, you'd have the bracketbuster, the high major versus the mid major. You finally actually have that in college football, for a chance to go to the Foal four. I think it's kind of sweet that, as much as they screwed up a lot of it. And again, like I even think Penn State's kind of overseated, and and we're making a bigger thing about Penn State. Who's Okay, they're not great, but you get a chance for the real Everyone who went to a school that's not a power for school, anyone who's ever felt slighted felt like they belonged. And even heck Mile muttered Oklahoma State where you know, you go back to the Brandon Whedon team that won was that the Twothy twelve I think Fiesta Bowl right there was that they couldn't get into the national Championship game and lose to Iowa State on a missfield goal. Right, even those ones like the overlooked non name brand teams now are gonna be rooting for Boise. And you got the Big Ten and Penn State and all their tradition coming in and you know, of course we know James Franklin always takes you know, catching strays for not beating ranked teams. It's kind of a no win for James Franklin. They win, they're supposed to be Boise State, they lose. While it's going to be ugly in state college, I think it's like the perfect game, perfect game on a New Year's Eve.
I and I can completely accept that.
And I just wonder if there is a bit of a letdown from what we had in the first opening games because you mentioned the ticket prices, and by the way, the Big Twelve was supposed to go to the Fiesta Bowl. Happened is that Boise State just ended up again the fruits of being higher in the rankings. Because they ended up being higher, they got placed in the Fiesta Bowl in that closer region, which put Arizona State. But I think the Big Twelve was under the assumption that if it was BYU, if it was Colorado, if it was Arizona State, that they likely would have gotten to play in the Fiesta Bowl. But that's why they ended up in the Peach Bowl because Boise State was higher. But to your point, Doug, I look at the basketball tournament, the final fours, the sweet sixteens, and what do we love. We love a little bit of Cinderella, and then we want it good at the end, and we'll probably get that in this college football playoff. But the question is is how much do we want Do we want Boise State to win this game? Do we want Boise State to go and play Georgia or Notre Dame in the semi final?
I'm not sure.
I can't even tell you right now, as crazy as it sounds. And that's why I think after these games, despite the first ones being blowouts, there was something new, there was something unique about it. And yeah, whether it's Alabama or LSU or you know, SMU, excuse me, I'm not worried about it. But I don't know where that medium, that happy medium is that we've kind of figured out in the men's you know, NCAA tournament, and I think it's going to take a little time. This one off tonight could be a great way to start it, and then it leads into the to the Arizona State Texas game tomorrow. But yeah, I don't have a read. I don't know if I would feel differently if it was, say, you know, Penn State against Alabama, as crazy as that sounds, because of what we have with Oregon and Ohio State and Notre Dame in Georgia. I don't know if we need Alabama, but I can see where you're coming from. I just want to find that happy medium that I don't know where it's at because this is so new.
Yeah, i'd say this. I think.
If boy See were to win tonight, if boys were to win tonight, I think next week is the perfect example of why all of us know, Boys, he can't win this thing.
They just can't.
Just the attrition of playing a big boy and then you play a real big boy next week, you just you get so beat up and so worn down you do. I think what's the other interesting element to it is, again it's not as much this week as it is for the next game. Is like once these teams that have had to play the extra game, like that's Notre Dame loses with their best defensive linemen, Like you're gonna lose a guy in every game.
Now.
The difference in the Georgia's, to a lesser extent, Notre Dame, but the super the Ohio States of the world is they do have a depth of talent that the other schools don't. Just that's what the money does for people who haven't listened to the Doug Gottlieb Show. It airs every afternoon three to five Eastern twelve two Pacific. Dan Buyer alongside and Jason Stewart. We're in for Dan and the Dan Nets today. This is you're seeing it in college basketball, and I think the truth is it's really right there in college football. I know it's hard for you to conceptualize, how could Alabama lose to Vandy, lose to Oklahoma? Just the attrition of playing the best competition week in week out is completely different. It's just it's a different sport and they're dealing with a different salary cap. Even Indiana, who I didn't think belonged in the field and got thoroughly undressed, the fact.
Is that Indiana did spend a ton of money.
Like you don't always get a championship team when you put a bunch of money together for these college rosters, Okay, but more often than not you do. And it's just a depth of athletes at those schools because they have substantially more money, you know, I mean, that's really really it Just I'm not complaining about my situation. I took a job late knowing, okay, all of the pitfalls, but I was just you know, before we started the show. I mean when my assistant's office, like, man could have had that. There's a dude who we were recruiting. It was late, he was available, we didn't get and my sistans like, why didn't we get him? And I was like, we didn't have the cheddar. It was just too much money for us. Just was like, that's the reality to it. And yeah, they're better, they got more money. They're supposed to be better, you know. So I'm not an SEC alumn, I'm not an SEC wonk, but I also know how this deal works, and I think it's going to get worse before it gets better in terms of the disparity between the SEC and to a little slightly lesser extent, the Big ten and everybody.
Else because they just make more money. They have more money.
And again now next year you can bring it in how you know, and pay and have the players under an NIL contract from the university, and those universities.
Have more money.
They don't just make money on that. Everybody says the TV deal. TV deal is great, but that makes sure all the lights are on, all the pretty things or whatever. They can make one hundred and fifty million dollars a year off of their stadiums. They have bigger stadiums that are always filled and they and then then you get into all the other stuff.
So they.
It's just the idea that you're really you're going to be competitive three weeks a row with teams that have you know, five to ten to twenty x. The spending of what you have is it's really kind of silly when you think about it. Now, in a one game scenario, can you pull it off? Yeah, boys, you can beat Penn State. But can they beat Penn State and then beat Georgia and then beat somebody else?
Nope.
So Brett McMurphy's report yesterday from the Action that Works in that the committee is going to look at the bracket and possibly change the conference winners the automatic bids like Boise State did and Arizona State did that you would still go with the rankings at least at some point to give your top four buys. You would give them the automatic bid to the tournament, but they wouldn't get the buy, which could change as soon as next year if everyone's on board. And I'm curious on why the Big twelve or the Mountain West would want to be on board with this, but again at the SEC and the Big Ten are playing hardball for future agreements that could possibly change. But I think that Boise State actually has a different field dug and this is why it's difficult. And I don't know if Boise State would have won in the quarterfinals or excuse me one in the first round and now is on a streak going into this Bowl game. Here, it almost seems like the cinderella run into the semi final is just too far when you get down to the final four, and I wonder if it would have been more fulfilling to see to see that sort of advancement by a Boise State team, you know what I mean, like to have them win a first round game they become then the story where right now they haven't even played a game, and there isn't even the feel for Cinderella, And it's almost difficult to find them as a Cinderella considering that they are going to be the higher seeded team and wearing the home uniforms today against Penn State. So it's it's just it's very very odd, and I feel that the role of the Cinderella would likely be fit better if that new format was put in in Boise State, ended up winning a first round game.
To dam Patrick show, Fox Sports Treaties, Dan Byrum, Doug Gottlieb. Let's let's get a little as we recap twenty twenty four on New Year's Eve Day, we play little they say what?
They said?
What?
Wait a minute, they said what, Doug. I just I've found a gift for our listener. I wasn't able to afford buying gifts for all our listeners, so but I wanted to give them the gift of sound. And I think this might be my favorite. This might be the best piece of sound from the year twenty twenty four. Was it twenty twenty four?
It's two two thousand, Yeah, only eighteen thousand years off.
Andel Reese wanted to kind of sum up the impact that her and Caitlin Clark had on the world of women's college basketball.
And this is a real gym.
It all started from the National Championship game. And I've been dealing with this for two years now and understanding like, yeah, negative things have probably been said about me, but honestly, I'll take that because look where women's basketball is. People are talking about women's basketball. You never would think that we talk about women's basketball, people are pulling up to games. We got celebrities coming to games sold au arenas like just because of one single game and just looking at that like I'll take that role. I'll take the bad guy role, and I'll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates. And if I want to be that, and I know, I'll go down to history. I'll look back at twenty years and be like, Yeah, the reason why we watch that women's basketball is not just because of one person.
It's because of me too.
And I want you to.
Hey, I was in that game too. People don't like me, That's why they watch.
What's so great is the whole WNBA was It was like trying to go against Caitlyn Clark and there's this whole ground swell of look at what Look at what Asia Wilson has done.
Oh my gosh, Look why are we not talking more about Asia Wilson.
Yeah, look at look at the other you know, Maya Moore, all these other players at Leasta Leslie, all that they've done for the you know, for the W and Cheryl Swoops and Cynthia Cooper, all these great players which I think that we do recognize yet hear Angel Reese is like, yeah, it's none of them, it's none of them. You want to give it to Kaitlin Clark, but it's also me, Oh, just magnificent, magnificent sound like.
I don't know if you guys watched the I watched all the Christmas Day games and there was one thing that was was interesting was even though it was the NBA, we saw like State Farm replaced Chris Paul with I don't know who the WNBA player was the game was on. I was working in my office at the time, and many of the WNBA stars. Asia Wilson now is in a Nike Nike AD, sure right, a Nike AD. And just it's one of those things where like at some point you have to you have to realize the league did exist for twenty five years and no one in the mainstream paid attention until Caitlin Clark came around. I don't know why that's a bad thing, Why people can't accept it, why people can't realize it that you know, you fall in love with, Like Taylor Swift is not the world's greatest singer. She had the world's greatest songwriter, right anyone. I'm not anyone would tell you that that Bob Dylan is fifteen times whatever she's ever been. But she's a billionaire and she can only bring positive attention to females in music. And the more you fight it, the more you look like an idiot. Well, it's same thing here with Kaitlyn Clerk, you know, like she's a thing, she's made. She's made to where the couple of things that that angel Rey said are accurate. Like I've been doing this job for over twenty years. Okay, outside of the I must deal with Rutgers. Like, we never talked about women's basketball ever, and it wasn't because we hate it or don't like it. It's just nobody cared. Nobody cared. And we talked about it more this year in twenty four and then we talked probably about baseball, which had a fifty to fifty guy and now two seven hundred million dollar contracts and the Dodgers beat the Yankees. Definitely, we didn't utter a word about hockey. Then do they still play hockey?
Right? So she's right, but the hey, it's me, I'm hey me either reason.
Like history, I'll look back at twenty years and be like, yeah, the reason why we watch that women's basketball is not just because of one person, it's because of me too.
And I went that was more a slap in the face to any current or former w NBA player than anything. Caitlin Clark did that comment there like no, it was also it was it was me, It wasn't you, guys. Katelyn Clark at least is given credit to those of the past that one she told on herself and.
Car spent over backwards almost pandering to no.
No, she's gotten to have to had to pander. She's it sucks, she's had to pander.
It's not just one person, it's two.
It's not just it's not just one person. It's me. Let's let's look a bit about me and more about me.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live. Notre Dame handled Georgia. They look more of an SEC team maybe than Georgia did last night. And it's a long time coming because Notre Dame has been roughed up when it comes to bowl games. But they look like they are a complete team that have a few too many penalties for my liking. And Georgia just didn't have the skill level and I can't remember the last time a Georgia team didn't have a true legitimate running back running game. Georgia gets handled twenty three to ten. So the final four is set Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame. Here's the early point spreads. According to DraftKings, Notre Dame is favored by one and a half versus Penn State. Ohio State is a six point favorite against Texas and Peak. Speaking of point spreads, I don't know the last time we had a point spread of twenty points or more, but we have that right now. As of this morning, the Ravens are favored by twenty against the Cleveland Browns. I go back to Super Bowl three when the Baltimore Colts were facing Joe Namath and the Jets, and I think the Colts were eighteen point favorites. And that's just because they dismissed the AFL. They didn't think the AFL could match up with the big bad NFL. And we know what happened with that huge upset here. But the Browns are getting twenty against the Ravens.
That's sad.
Like you know when you talk about your franchise, your team, and you're like, all right, you know, we're okay, we're competitive. You know, maybe we're a thirteen and a half point you're twenty twenty point underdog. Now the Chiefs are ten and a half point underdogs against the Broncos. They're not playing anybody, and it's in Denver, and Denver has to win. But those are The Bears are getting ten against the Packers last night. Look, the Bears are still the Bears, aren't they Are they resting players for next season? I know the Packers got to keep winning, But the Bears are getting ten. The Saints are getting fourteen against the Buccaneers. Okay, Tampa has to win. The Saints are bad, but it felt like it feels like every time these two teams get together, it's the team that's not supposed to win who wins. But the Saints are getting fourteen, the Bears getting ten, Chiefs getting ten and a half, the Brown's getting twenty. Wow, And it's playing time for the NFL with the playoffs starting on Saturday. All right, Seaton pull question today. Phone calls always welcome. We'll get to those coming up in a little bit.
Well, we might as well start with a sort of an easier one. Who are you rooting for to win the national title? Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas.
Okay, it's pretty easy rooting.
Yeah, who would you like to see win?
I know that the TV executives at the Mothership would like to have Ohio State versus Notre Dame.
I do know that.
But we got four heavyweights here. Yeah, okay, it didn't go as scripted. You know, we thought, all right, these teams that have first round buys, well they all lost Heisman Trophy candidates. They're all out of here. The SEC, I like how the SEC says, hey, we got one team. It's Texas. Yeah, the long standing member of the SEC, Texas is the loan representative of the SEC. You know, things have changed now. This might be an anomaly, and I think there'll be a lot of people go out on the ledge today and say, hey, SEC, everybody caught up with you. I'm not going to go there yet, but I will say the following NILN transfer portal have changed everything. Because it used to be these big programs with stockpile talent, like Georgia would have three running backs ready to go, much like the you had back in the day, be like, oh that guy got hurt, Well, going to bring in this guy. You can't do that anymore. Kids want to play, they want to get paid. They may not stay around. They may go try to get a raise. And like Jalen Millroe and Alabama's going pro. I don't know if Alabama wanted him back, but he's going to go pro. It just things change and quickly, and then you get a quarterback. You know, Oregon, are they going to be in the market for a quarterback? Notre Dame will they bring in Quinn Hewers And you know Riley Leonard still playing played well last night, but they I mean, this is what's going on right now. Remember when you had Brian Kelly left Notre Dame because he wanted to go play and win national titles, so he went to LSU. While Marcus Freeman has Notre Dame in the final four. Things change and everything's above board now everybody can pay. All you need is one booster. He just one guy who says, yeah, all pony up, just like SMU. Speaking of the Poney. They ponied up and joined the ACC, brought in talent, and they made the playoffs. So things have changed. Georgia is not Georgia. Alabama's not Alabama. You know, They're still going to be very good, but it feels like I don't know if they'd come down as much as the rest of college football has kind of come up a little bit here, like Arizona State. Arizona State should have won that game against Texas, went toe to toe with Texas and lived to tell about it. Alabama, I mean, Alabama got embarrassed this year. So you're even last night. I mean, that wasn't a true Georgia team what you expect out of Kirby Smart. They just didn't now the skill position.
Guys.
Now, if Carson Beck is playing quarterback, is it a different game. Yes, But I still think Notre Dame was the better team last night. Georgia was unbelievable last year with Ladi McConkey, and they had, you know, brought Bowers. I mean that's different. Those are game changing players. They didn't have that, and you have these kids who are there, and then do I want to go someplace else? Can I go someplace else, and that's what's happening here. You're not waiting around now. Arch Manning is an anomaly. He waited. Now it comes from the Manning family, so they have money. He waited. He's not waiting anymore. After this season, it'll be his job. But any other place where you've got quarterbacks who are going to two schools, three schools during their three or four years in college or five or six years of college. So it's changing. Do I want to say that it's parody. I don't, but I do think you have more teams now knowing that you can get into the playoffs, so you'll spend money to be able to make money to be able to get into the playoffs. Now there's more hope instead of hey, they're just going to take a SEC team and a Big ten team, or when we had the Pac twelve. Now that's not the case anymore.
Yes, he'd yeah, it is funny the timing of NIL and the SEC struggling.
As a college football source said to me last night, Yeah, now that you can do everything above board, it's leveled the playing field.
Now that everybody is just clearly paying, Yes, everybody, because it's legal to do yes.
Uh, Yeah, that's funny, but I don't know if it's parody. I don't know if we've gotten there. I'd like to see a little more of a sample size here. I mean, Alabama was down this year. I don't think we expected it because it's Alabama, but they weren't a great football team. They at times were just an average team. They were non threatening.
Yes, here's they're great brand names these teams left, But are they the four best teams left?
Uh?
Yeah, Like I'm fine. I don't go like I'm not a Penn State fan because of their coach, but still they have a good quarterback, they got a good edge rusher, and they got a really good tight end. Like you can't deny that. But we've never like Penn State doesn't win these games. But they're winning these games this year. And credit to them because normally we go, hey, Penn State, and then we'd be like, oh, yeah, they bowed out, they're playing in the Gator Bowl. But here they are, and they're going to go toe to toe with Notre Dame. I would not be surprised if Penn State won that game. Texas has been good. Ohio State, you know, they had the hiccup and they paid for it, but then they made Oregon pay for it. So I'm fine with where we are with the final four. I think it's a pretty good representation here. I'm okay with it.
Yes, all four teams with a buy eliminated.
Yeah, what does that mean? They're going to change that though, because you know two of those teams, Arizona State and Boise State next year, like if they had you know, the same resume, wouldn't get a first round by. That'll change. But you know, I'm not surprised at any of that. And then people say, oh rust, you know Oregon had rust or Arizona State had Boise State had run. Okay, I mean I don't know if you can say we don't want a first round by, we'll give it back to you. But you know, to see Georgia and they weren't man handled. I mean Georgia still and then there's some grown ass men on the defensive line, but Notre Dame. You know, they made plays. There were sixty seconds that changed the game at the end of the first half, in the start of the second half, that was it. And we wondered, you know, how many points is enough? We thought maybe two touchdowns would be enough for Notre Dame to win that game. I just didn't think Georgia could score, and Notre Dame's got a really good defense. But here is Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
Any thoughts on all four teams that had buys losing in the first round.
Do you think that played a factor at all? I don't know. I lott me.
I look at the what Vegas says, and it went kind of what Vegas said, you know what I mean, Like, at least in those two games, I guess ours was a I don't know where it was as close, but you know, two of those teams were better than the other teams, to be honest with you, you know, and that is what it is. That's more about the seeding process and where it is. But I'm not here to complain about anything. You know, given the opportunity, Notre Dame also probably their best defensive player, So I don't know how that's an advantage.
He's right about Vegas. This is what I keep to telling you college football. You've embraced gambling, so now embrace Vegas to help you see these teams. Because Vegas has no emotion they have no opinion. They're not part of a fan base. Their fan base is the University of Money. That's all they care about. That's it. So next year I would embrace how the Vegas oddsmakers view these teams of who should be favored, and then that will get you the seeding that will get you home field advantage a first round by That's the smart way to go.
