October 18, 2025 • 53 mins
Covino & Rich fill in for DP as he and the Danettes travel to South Bend for a couple of live remote broadcasts leading up to the highly anticipated USC/Notre Dame game this weekend. They talk about “Curb Your Enthusiasm” celebrating its 25th anniversary, John Tesh being back with the NBA, and they wonder if Dodgers were just messing with us all season before flipping the switch in the postseason. Then Dan & the Danettes arrive in South Bend where Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman and AD Pete Bavacqua drop the broadcast and talk Fighting Irish football.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Ah, sitting in Dynamic Duel.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
And Rich.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Always a pleasure to be here in for DP. Thank
you now. If you're new to us, we have a
Patreon Patreon dot com slash Covino and Rich check it out.
It's censored, Unhinged, Unleashed, And of course we're on Monday
through Friday right here on Fox Sports Radio five to
seven on the East, two to four on the West.
(00:30):
We also have a bonus podcast, yeah that I think
personally is some of the best stuff we do. It's
called over Promise because blubber Lips Davis over here talk
so much. He over promises things we never get to,
but we do it on our bonus pod that you
could watch. It's a whole interactive experience.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Be part of it. Over Promise.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
We have a brand new episode up, Episode one twelve
Peaches and Cream over Promised with Covino and Rich and
it's all on the YouTube page Coveno and Rich FSR.
Covino and Rich FSR live from the Fox Sports Radio Studio.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
I'm gonna get to a lot of this hour, a
lot of NFL.
Speaker 5 (01:05):
We're gonna talk about the Dodgers and how they duped
us all.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Don't over promise.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
I'm gonna try not to, but I do want to say,
twenty five years ago today, a show debuted on HBO,
not a spin off, but from the creator of the
most successful sitcom.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
In network history, Pretty Day, Pretty Day.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Pretty Good.
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Larry David debuted Curb Your Enthusiasm twenty five years ago today.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
So that's one of those holy nikes.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Twenty five years ago.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Then how many years ago was this when we were
watching First and Ten, The Bulls, Bean Business and dream
On and all those shows.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So it's one hundred and five years.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Twenty five years ago Curb Your Enthusiasm debuted, and I
always thought it was one of the best comedies. I
actually hot take. I like Curb better than Seinfeld. Sometimes
it's a little more raw, a little more.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Relatable that I don't know about that. No.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
Your thing about Curb, though, is it took like, didn't
take at least one break. So you say twenty five
years and it just ended what two seasons ago? Are
you season ago?
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Yeah? But they took like a nine year hiatus or something, and there.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
Are breaks in between, yea, And they were long seasons
like Seinfeld. But I mean, we think about all the
comedy Larry David's brought us between those two shows, so
props to him twenty five years since Curb. So just
a little timestamp today as we hang in for the
great Dan Patrick here on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I love how they solved a murder mystery because Larry
David was filming during a Dodgers game, and.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
That is wild.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Then we're gonna get to the Dodgers. I do want
to bring up one thing that's a true story you
can look up on your own time. We're gonna talk
Dodgers and baseball playoffs and NFL, but don't don't blink
because another NBA season is gonna be here before you
know it. I did think it was cool to hear
the return of round Ball Rock, the John Tesh theme
that we all love so Munger.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Fan of John Tesh than you rich listen to him
on the nest. He's just excited for the rest of
the world to join his funsketball.
Speaker 7 (03:08):
The Peacock announcer was just casually talking over the intro
of this NBA preseason game with that playing behind him,
and it just made you feel, Yeah, like a kid again.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Basketball.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yeah, you hear the song It's slid into the kitchen,
dunk it and you play that. Yet, did everyone have
that nerve hoop that went over the door?
Speaker 8 (03:30):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
You get all ready for some basketball?
Speaker 5 (03:33):
I just backed that song is so synonymous with great
nineties NBA that we all grew up with that made
us fall love maybe with basketball. Right, So the return
of round ball rock. But let's go to the Dodgers
for a second.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Last night.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
I talked about this earlier, but the more I'm thinking
about it, did the Dodgers dup us Cavino by like
Mark duper like? Not intentionally, but by not winning one
hundred and ten games by battling for that division until
the last weeks of the season with the padres by Not.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Only no, it's not the Dodgers duping us, or did
they f with us only to show up big and
beat that team all along? It's shame on us for
not realizing the obvious of It's a long season. Health
is wealth and we should have known that if everybody's
healthy come postseason, they're gonna be impossible to beat.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
And that was the goal, and that's the goal, and
ever they're pitching. Was what is the thing that applies
to all sports? Just get into the playoffs and be
healthy and ready for when you're in. I just I
can't say that I wasn't surprised. I think we're all
surprised that the Dodgers barely won their division and they
(04:48):
were the three seed, which means they had to play
in the wildcard round. No one would have ever thought
the Dodgers would win roughly ninety games, have to play in.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
The wild card and go through all this and have.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
To click though the right time. And sure enough, Monce
he's hitting bombs, Tay Oscar's hitting bombs, Key k Hernandez
is turning it up like he always does.
Speaker 7 (05:06):
And every single guy you just mentioned missed a good
amount of time.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
Yeah, as Ron Darling said, Keith k a Hernandez has
looked like Keith Hernandez in the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
I saw that.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Yeah, I heard so.
Speaker 7 (05:17):
But you guys on the Afternoon Show, you talk about
this often that baseball is a little bit different because
no matter your record, no matter exactly what went on
through that long season, it's just whatever team is hot
at the time. We've seen the San Francisco Giants and
other teams like that come together right before the playoffs
at the exact perfect time and then make a run.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
No doubt.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
In fact, the statos of the thirty years since they
incorporated the wild Card, since the Major League Baseball Strike
and then they came back again with the new realignment
since then thirty seasons, only seven of those thirty seasons
has the team with the best record won the World Series,
which is really interesting when you think how twenty three
(06:02):
out of thirty years it was really just a team
that put it together, got healthy, got hot in October,
and you know that's just you're seeing with the Dodgers,
because the Brewers were the best team all along.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Thank you Dwayne's stats. And speaking of stats, you gotta
tip your hat. I got a flat brim on today,
because how do you feel about that? By the way,
I feel like certain hats are made to be worn
certain ways. I rock a sweet curve. I curve them
like the best of them.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Can you be a guy that does both?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
I feel like, uh, my curve is like Flash Gordon's bro.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
I can curve it up. Yeah you can.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Because certain hats are meant to be curved and other
hats are meant to be flat. It's just is not
meant to be cached. It depends on what type of
hat it is. But speaking of hats, Yamamoto was rocking
his Dodgers hat strong yesterday complete game, the first since
twenty seventeen, first postseason complete game. Last person to do
(06:58):
it was Erlander against the Yankees all those years ago,
and the Dodgers haven't done it since four According to
the Elias Sports bureau known as Danny g So.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
I'm sung up on God for a second.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
I'm sorry what I just by the way, it's funny
to think that the baseball hat, a piece of sports equipment,
is such a universally what would you say, accepted fashion statement. Yeah,
no one wears a chef's hat, as Mitch Hedberg. Mitch
Hedburg has some line about like you only wear that
if you're a chef. Yeah, that's funny.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
You're the Swedish chef.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
For Jon Hurts. Baseball hat is pretty much the only
hat from sports that we rock on a regular basis.
Speaker 7 (07:45):
Here's one more pitching stat for you. Blake Snell and
Yoshi Yamamoto are the first starter since twenty sixteen to
throw eight plus innings in consecutive postseason games.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
And yeah, so when you're starting pitching is delivering like that,
are gonna be hard to beat. They didn't have that
in the regular season, and.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
We forget that in the preseason in spring training before
all the injuries happened.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
The whole joke was and they got Blake Snell.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
When they signed Blake Snell, that was almost like an
f you to everyone else, like, all right, defending champions, Well,
well hold on, and you added Blake Snell.
Speaker 8 (08:21):
And now but then he didn't play all season because
he was hurt.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
But the Dodgers fans dreams are coming to fruition. Your
big free agent should have thrown a complete game win
in Game one, But you know, Dave Roberts, you know
wanted to, you know, toy with everyone. Game two, your
Japanese signs pitcher that you outbid people for and won.
Yamamoto did what you wanted him to do. Now what's next?
(08:47):
Glass Now if he gets it done? And then what
Game four? You go to the biggest star in baseball
over the last fifty plus years, show hey TONI.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
So arguably the Dodgers are doing everything we thought they
would do. Six months ago.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
It's just the last six months of injuries and confusion
made us forget.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Maybe for a second, reminding everybody that they are the
new evil Empire without a doubt, and.
Speaker 8 (09:09):
That with likable players.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Though you know, it's hard to deny he really is. Yeah,
I mean, I saw I just hate their stupid hip
flexer dancing that cove.
Speaker 7 (09:21):
I saw a Yankees fan like you post yesterday. You
know what, Yes, I hate the Dodgers, but it's hard
to root against some of the players because I like
a couple of.
Speaker 8 (09:30):
The players on their team.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Could you not like Mookie Bets?
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Yeah, they're just not like Freddie.
Speaker 8 (09:34):
They have magic, They have magic Johnson's smiles.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
How could you not like Shoho Tan? He transcends, you know, fandom,
He's just everybody.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
Denny, as I've I've pointed out before. You know, we're
new to the Dan Patrick audience for a lot of people.
I'm a Mets fan from New York. My kids are
five and eight, and I see them falling in love
with the Dodgers because we live out here in Los Angeles.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
All their little schoolmates and.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
All the kids they play little league and softball and
base with, Like the Dodgers. So I'm watching them wanting
to hate them as a Mets fan, but it's hard
to see why my kids wouldn't like, like you said,
Freddie Freeman, Mookie Bett Show, Hey Will Smith, Tommy Edmund,
these guys are tay oscar like the It's it's hard
(10:17):
to really say they're hatable. It's like when Steph and
the Golden State Warriors and you hate Steph Curry.
Speaker 9 (10:24):
It was very hard.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
I mean, I started hate Freddy Freeman's flat top.
Speaker 8 (10:27):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I don't really, I'm not a fan of.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
That that does big chompers, that smile, Chris Chompers bothered me.
I mean Clayton Kershaw, that story where you got to
see him sort of close out the career the right way,
and that he's you know, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
It just feels like.
Speaker 7 (10:38):
And even Max Munsey dumped by the A's back in
the day and now leads the Dodgers in all time
postseason home runs.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
So the question was Max Mounsey makes me realize how
many people need glasses and don't realize it. Remember he
got glasses and like got back to where he was.
You might have not even realized how blind you are
it's true.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Did the Dodgers f with us year a little bit?
Or is it a matter of don't sleep on the
usual suspects? Like like we stated first hour, it's like
we spend so much time speculating. It's just the nature
of the beast and what guys do and what we do.
It's like, oh, who do you think it has a
shot this year? But it comes down to the usual
suspects more time than it doesn't.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
I'm gonna make.
Speaker 5 (11:19):
One dumb analogy and we'll move on. We'll talk a
little NFL. I commented on your flat brim hat.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Yeah, you won't let that go. Well, I won't because
it's uh.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
I'll give you an analogy to how some ballplayers, like
I find it funny when there are those rare baseball
players that sometimes they'll wear the high socks and then
sometimes they'll where as I call it, the Kan Griffey
Junior look, where it's a very low pants down to
the ankle, like the CC Sabbathia jammis. Can you can
(11:49):
you be a guy that rocks the flat brim and
then on another day rocks like a totally curved brim.
Do you to you can't. But yeah, do you mean
can you be? I want to feel like, what do
you think you are? I am It's not about the guy.
Do you realize, Yeah, you're not pay to wear hats.
You're not gotta wear hats. I'm telling you.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Certain hats are meant that way, and other hats are
meant to be curved.
Speaker 6 (12:10):
Cam Newton gives us a strength to do whatever we want.
Just wear whatever hat he wants.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
That guy wears a mounth he hat. Yeah, so absolutely,
it depends on what kind of hat it is. Some
are meant to be bent and curved and some are
meant to be worn flat brim. It just depends on
the fit. So I'm just saying, yes, the answer is yes,
you could do cave. Okay, just I do both all
the time. Some hat some hats you buy come with
(12:35):
the curved brim, so it just is what it is.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
I just saying, like, can you can you be the
guy that wears a baggy jeans one day and then
skinny jeans the next.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
It's different looks. You can do whatever you want. You
got to mix it up.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
Well, I want to bring up one other thing that
has to do with the Dodgers, and then we're gonna
get into a lot of NFL. We're at that point,
Danny g Every year we always say, real, week six
is when we could start really assessing.
Speaker 8 (12:57):
Yeah, last year, you guys extended it to week seven.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
I almost feel like I want to extend it again.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
I just saw a headline it was like bed week,
bed game or bed season for the Bills, and I'm like, oh,
let's slow down.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Who knows well two in a row, I would say, uh, oh,
come on, they're four and two.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
I know, we're like a third of the way through
the season.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
So we're gonna we're gonna assess because Danny, I know,
there's some funny power rankings that have come out. It's
like who some people have at the top. It's like,
do we really believe it or not? Well, we'll talk
to NFL. But with the Dodgers, just wrap it up.
Two victories. In Milwaukee, there was a Dodgers fan, a
social media influencer.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yeah, who his name is, Willie Prince Mada. Willy Prince
Mada put on his Dodgers jersey and he went to
Miller Park and he was blown away by the hospitality
of not only the workers and the concession people, but
all the fans who were there to welcome him.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
In Dodgers gear.
Speaker 10 (13:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
I mean the audio is not great. Play like five seconds.
I mean he was, he was going around Miller Park.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Take a lesson.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
Now, I'm gonna say right now, are also people the
nicest people I think I've ever.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
Met, I mean, nicest people ever met. I mean, would
you call them Milwaukeeans? Is that? Is that the right word?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
That's what he should I thought that they were Mediawaukeeans. Yeah,
I think that's what it is. He was shocked by
hospitable and nice they were. It was a culture shock
for I imagine he's an LA guy as a Dodgers fan.
For example, is he in Phoenix?
Speaker 8 (14:35):
He's out of Phoenix, but he's a big dog.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
But he's a big Dodgers fan. Like for example, when
I went to the World Series last year at Dodgers Stadium,
I wore my Yankees jersey. I got heckled, man, but
I expected that. I didn't feel like my life was
being threatened. But I was definitely heckled and definitely made
fun of. And I felt a little weird with my
girlfriend there and everyone calling me out. Left and right,
(14:57):
especially after they lost and I'm walking out and You're
not going to get that at a Miller Park, You're
just not.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
It's fan bases, right.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
It's like some fan bases we'll see an opposing fan
and be like hey, yo, good luck, welcome to the stadium,
enjoy and then like listen, they do not treat you
like that in Philly. I will tell I promise you
if I were to ever go to ever go to Philadelphia,
which I have, I put my Mets jersey in a
bag and I don't even put it on until I
(15:25):
get to the stadium because a trash bag. Because I
feel like if I leave my car, if I would
have left my car wearing a Mets jersey, I feel
like someone would have messed with my car.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
You know, Philly not so much.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
If you're a Yankees fan and you go to Fenway,
you think you're going to be treated kindly. It's just
they're so happy to have you there visiting their ballpark.
They want to make sure you have such a great
experience you come back.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
I don't want to kiss the ass of so hold on.
It's two things though.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Kindness actually exists, So that's the shock you know people
are actually kind another places, so that's refreshing and shocking
all at the same time. And there really is something
called customer care and etiquette and hospitality where certain places
take a lot of pride in, Hey, make sure you
welcome people so that they have a great experience. And
(16:17):
that's what happens at Miller Park. But it doesn't happen everywhere.
And we notice that too when we travel, like damn.
Some people lean into it, some not at all because
they're like, hey, it's New York, who cares you're coming
back regardless, we don't need you.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Yeah, they're like, if you give the analogy before, it's
a sometimes if a girl's too good looking, she feels
like she doesn't really need to do.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Much, she doesn't need to do a whole lot to
please you.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
Yeah, I mean like that's like that. I feel like
the worst super Bowl ever was in New York. We've
covered She's not to aige ourselves. We've covered almost twenty
super bowls, right, and New York was the worst one
because New York City was like, yeah, super Bowl's here,
who cares?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
We said, it's the difference of you're lucky to be here, Hey,
we're walking over, get out of our way. Meanwhile, tourists
are happy to be there. It's the difference between you're
lucky to be here versus we're lucky to have you.
Speaker 5 (17:09):
We're happy to have you. Indiana Park, Milwaukee, Indianapolis. The
super Bowl in Indianapolis is great, the super Bowl. We've
been to all Star games.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Are you saying.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Indianapolis is the chubby chick? Is that what's going on?
I am Indianapolis is the welcoming chubby girl. I was
saying anything they kind of please you, exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I gotcha.
Speaker 6 (17:29):
Even within the state of Wisconsin, you know, people might
be nice at in Milwaukee at Brewers game, but then
I've gone to like a Wisconsin Badgers football game against Iowa.
They were brutal. I was right next to this student section.
They were they were savage, they were hostile, and they
didn't they pant you and beat you up. No, No,
(17:49):
but listen, it can It can differ even in the state.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
You know, the Brewers. I've been to a game at
Miller Park, and I back up that Dodgers fan. They
have a really cool situation where there's like I guess
you would say, the little downtown area in Milwaukee where
the bars if they there's certain bars where if you
buy a drink or a brod or a sandwich or something,
they give you a little ticket.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
You're like, what's his ticket for?
Speaker 5 (18:14):
They go, oh, that's free if you want to take
one of the little little buses to the stadium.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
That way you don't have to drive and you can
have some drinks and stuff.
Speaker 5 (18:21):
And you're like, what it is amazing they have these
little like almost like free buses that it's like, hey,
have some drinks, have some cheese curds, have some.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
A sense of being ethos centric to the point where
we think wherever we are and whatever we do is
the greatest, and then we're just surprised that other people
also have something cool going on. Hey, it's a pretty
cool scene. I would have expected that in Milwaukee.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio wapp.
Speaker 11 (18:54):
Bally Fools Gohad with Tony Fools go Yeah, as everybody knows,
one of the hosts of the award winning Polly and
Tony Bosco show. Yeah, But instead of us telling you
how great we are. He is how Dan Packrick described
us when he came on our show.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Quick, knowledgeable and funny, opinionated.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
What what are you doing interrupting our promo? Yeah, he
wasn't talking about you.
Speaker 7 (19:14):
You took those clips totally of context.
Speaker 11 (19:17):
Oh yeah, well after this promo, I'm going to take
you out and beat you.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Let me put this into context. Shut up. Yeah.
Speaker 11 (19:24):
Anyway, just listening to the Pauli and Tony Fusco Show
on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Yea.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Paulie has this bad habit of whenever we have Kerrent
or former football players on, he wants to know what
it feels like to either be blocked or tackled by them.
And last time we had Marcus Freeman. Marcus shows up
and he says, you're the guy I hit last time,
and Paulie's sizing him up and he goes looks like
coach has lost a little bit of weight there. You
(19:54):
know the season, We're not doing that. I'm retired. You're
not going to put a so is he not going
to put a helmet on?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Yes?
Speaker 8 (19:59):
Mark. The scariest part was it was a slow motion demonstration. Hey,
I could hear.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
That's a slow motion. He's Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame head
coach's fifth season and played, of course, at Ohio State,
the Ohio State drafted by the Bears, your Bears in
the fifth round of two thousand and nine. As we
make way for Marcus Freeman back on the program. Look
(20:33):
at you.
Speaker 9 (20:34):
How you doing?
Speaker 3 (20:35):
I'm doing great? You know. Nice to talk to a
fellow Buckeye here Ohio in Ohio and.
Speaker 9 (20:40):
Oh, I'm sorry, that's what we're saying around here.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
How would you compare because it came down to Notre
Dame in Ohio State for you, right? What was it
about Ohio State that made you, even though you're from Ohio,
but that you chose Ohio State over Notre Dame.
Speaker 9 (20:58):
We're really getting into this, huh.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Let's just get the tough questions out of the way
and then we'll have the easy ones.
Speaker 10 (21:04):
I think they always come down to relationships. A lot
of decisions, especially for young people, are about relationships. I
just went through this with my son who committed to
Cornell for wrestling, and as a parent, you have your
reasons for why you make decisions, but young people still
base a lot of their decisions off of relationships, and
(21:26):
I think that was probably the eighteen year old Marcus
Freeman that made that decision based off relationships.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Comparing contrast USC Notre Dame versus Ohio State Michigan.
Speaker 9 (21:41):
Very similar.
Speaker 10 (21:42):
If you're in one of the schools, right, if you're
in it, so Notre Dame USC, when you're a part
of this football program, there's nothing bigger than that rivalry.
And I think the same thing is if you go
to Ohio State or Michigan, you're from Ohio, there's probably
nothing bigger than that rivalry.
Speaker 9 (22:02):
And so.
Speaker 10 (22:04):
For us when we talk about this, this rivalry verse
USC the longest intersectional rivalry meaning interconference right, and I
mean I'm sorry, not interconference, but not in the same conference.
And that's what makes it special. It's kind of the
foundation of Notre Dame and the ability to go and say, hey,
(22:28):
we'll play anywhere in the country. We don't have a conference,
and that's how this program was built and that's why
it means a lot.
Speaker 9 (22:35):
I mean, it's been going on for many years.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
Yeah, but why is it in jeopardy?
Speaker 9 (22:41):
Listen, I don't.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
You know, do you want to talk about Ohio State.
Speaker 10 (22:50):
Look, you know there's decisions that that institutions make based
off conference you know, scheduling and things like that, and
I know that's playing into some of the discussions that
USC's happened.
Speaker 9 (23:02):
I'm sure with our administration and the higher ups.
Speaker 10 (23:07):
I'm sure are you know, going back and forth on
maybe little details.
Speaker 9 (23:11):
I think so, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
You know, it feels like the USC it's tough for
to throw in another great opponent when you're in the
Big Ten, when there's quality opponents and you know, you
can't have three losses and be in the playoffs. Like,
let's just look at the business side of this. It
feels like USC means more to Notre Dame than Notre
Dame means to USC.
Speaker 9 (23:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (23:34):
I don't know what we mean to them, but I
know it means a lot to us. It does the rivalry,
the quality of opponent, the respect for the program. It
is a it does mean a lot to this university
and this football program, and we want to see it continue.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
What was it like first time you took the field
as the head coach at Notre Dame.
Speaker 10 (23:54):
Man, it's a it's a blur. I know it was
in Phoenix, Arizona Scott's day. We were playing Oregon, you know,
Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, and you don't know.
What you don't know, you know, is adrenaline rush. You're
running out there's I'm used to being a defensive coordinator,
and then all of a sudden, there was moments in
(24:15):
a game like I got a call time On'm like, oh,
somebody called time on to me, you know, And so
all the things that you kind of weren't involved in, yeah,
now you're involved in. Yeah, a man, Now you have
to be the one to make those decisions. And so
you learn through experience. But that first one was a
it was a blur.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
But how important was it to make your debut in
a bowl game as opposed to starting your career during
the regular season. Did it matter?
Speaker 9 (24:41):
You know? Did it matter?
Speaker 10 (24:45):
I don't know what it would be like to not
start a career not in a bowl game, you know,
So it's hard for me to compare what that's like.
You know, we played Oklahoma State. We had time to
get ready for that opponent. You wanted to say, I mean,
you had transition, You're a new head coach, you had
some guys that didn't play in the game. You had
(25:06):
to put you know who's playing. It was a unique
time and there's unique times and challenging times today, But
I know in that moment it was just a whirlwind
of different things trying to figure this thing out.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
But you're navigating and this is NIL and transfer portal
and it's just not coaching football. Like, if it was
just coaching football, you'd probably have a saban would probably
still be coaching. But you throw in all the other
stuff here.
Speaker 10 (25:34):
Yeah, you're leading the program. You have to be adaptable.
You're not just yeah, as you said, a football coach.
You're a person that wears many hats and you have
to figure out what's important at that given time. And
I think that's what leadership is is that if it's
a recruiting hat, if it's an NIL hat, if it's
a football hat that you got to wear all those
(25:57):
different things. It's the ability to what went on, take
one off and really focus on what needs to be,
what needs to have your focus at that given moment.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Well, it's almost like practice or games are the best
part of all of this because you're not worrying about
all the other nonsense.
Speaker 9 (26:14):
Yeah, you enjoy that.
Speaker 10 (26:15):
That's probably the time you really get to be a
part of what attracted you to this profession, right, being
around the players, leading them, but also football, Like you
love the game of football and you love the competition,
and you know Saturday is a reflection of how you.
Speaker 9 (26:36):
Practice, and so yeah, you enjoy that probably the most.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
We're talking to Marcus Freeman, a Notre Dame head coach
and of course hosting US. See we had Brady Quinn
on first hour. He said, your quarterback's best quarterback in
the country.
Speaker 9 (26:51):
He said that, Yeah, I appreciate it. Man, he would know.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
I mean, he's a quarterback. He says, he's played better
than everybody, anybody, And he said, but he said, the
tape doesn't lie. Now, I know he's your quarterback, but
tell me how you got him and what did you
think you got when you brought him in.
Speaker 10 (27:09):
Yeah, I mean it's a unique recruiting experience. Talking about
the grandson of Lloyd Carr. I actually played in some
games against Lloyd Carr, and you know, you have his
grandson that has interest in Notre Dame and it's real interest,
and then you're able to grow a relationship and convince
(27:29):
him and he felt that this was the best place
for him. And I knew at that moment he was different,
right to a kid that grows up in ann Arbor,
Michigan has legacies of Michigan ties, and to say I
want to come to Notre Dame. That showed you he's
a leader. He doesn't follow trends. And then you get
(27:54):
him here, and we got him here for bowl practice
we're getting ready for.
Speaker 9 (28:00):
I can't remember.
Speaker 10 (28:01):
I think it was two years. I can't remember who
we were getting ready to play. But he comes in,
he's supposed to be in high school and he starts
practicing with us for a bowl game. And he was
a scout team quarterback. And I'll never forget, like there
was a.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
Time, so he graduated early from high school.
Speaker 10 (28:17):
Yeah, and it was this new rule that if you
graduated early, you could come and practice with a college team,
but you couldn't participate in the bowl game. But I
just remember it was one time he gets yelled at
by our defense coordinator at the time for not throwing
the ball maybe somewhere he was supposed to throw it.
(28:37):
And to see him respond, most kids would melt right.
And to see him respond and say yes, sir, next
time and just go and go.
Speaker 9 (28:48):
And I mean I was like, this kid should be
in high school.
Speaker 10 (28:51):
He's different man. And now two years later, he has
a unique Yes, he's a really good quarterback. He's blessed
with great skills. He has a unique trait that not
many people have. And that's that competitive spirit, that's that
leadership mentality that he has, and he's pretty special.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
The schedule, I don't know if you had any say
in the schedule to start the year. Did you have
any say in playing Miami at Miami.
Speaker 10 (29:16):
Or I don't know when that game will schedule, But
I wouldn't have said no.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Okay, yeah, but those are two tough games right out
of the right out of the gate. But can you
have good losses? You ever had a good loss?
Speaker 10 (29:31):
No loss is good loss, Losing is awful. But I
always say be grateful for the pain of loss, because
that pain is there to help you grow. It's uncomfortable.
It's no different than physically, when you have a cut
on your arm. You want to do things to stop
the pain. Right the same thing when you lose a game.
(29:54):
The pain is there for you to learn from it,
to get better and to make that pain go away.
So it stinks to lose, and nobody wants to lose,
especially if you're a competitor. But you have to utilize
that pain to help you grow. And so yeah, it's
a good loss in that sense that the pain was
(30:15):
there to help us get better, and I believe we did.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
What do you remember about being drafted by the Bears?
Speaker 9 (30:23):
It was a lot.
Speaker 10 (30:24):
The weight was always I always tell our guys, the
weight's going to be longer than you expect, all right,
because you always hear a range of slots that you
can go. And it was a long couple of days
for me. And but when you get the call, it's
that childhood dream. I got drafted into the NFL and
then Lovey Smith was a head coach at the time,
(30:46):
and they had Brian Urlacker and Lance Briggs and Jay
Cutler was a quarterback. I mean, you were living to
dream and then you get there and you say, oh,
this is a job. It's not as much a dream,
it's a job. And it was a great experience, one
that I'll cherish. And uh, it was short. I wouldn't
I wouldn't. I wasn't there for too long. But it
(31:09):
was a great opportunity.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
But when did you realize there was a difference between
you and Brian r Locker or Lancebrigg's playing linebacker.
Speaker 10 (31:16):
Well, when you see Brian Urlacker, you realize right away, like, oh,
there's a big difference between us, you know. But the
knowledge that they had so how fast they played the
game because the knowledge they had clarity in terms of
what was being asked of them, And that was a
huge transition for me to learn a Tampa two defense
something new and to try to play fast. Like everybody
(31:42):
you recruit, here's how I use it in college. Everybody
you recruit is really good in high school. Why because
they're playing fast, they have clarity and what they're being
asked to do. The guys that come here and can
learn the playbook and what they're being asked to do
and play with that clarity, the guys usually play earliest.
And so that's probably what I realize more anything, is that,
(32:02):
hey man, those guys understand the ins and outs of
everything they're being asked to do.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
But you bring up something really interesting is we look
at guys who are quick and fast, but if you
know where you're going, you're even quicker and you're faster, right,
And I think that that's underrated. Sometimes we go, boy,
that guy's got God given ability. But if Urlocker knows
I have to go there and I'm already fast to
get there, I'm even faster, and that that's where they
(32:27):
disrupt plays.
Speaker 10 (32:28):
On defense always, we have a saying clarity equals velocity,
and so the more clarity you have, the faster you're
going to be able to play. And that's what we
have to do as coaches, is create clarity for our
guys to go out there and play fast.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
How far is your office from here?
Speaker 9 (32:45):
A couple hundred yards?
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Okay, yeah, not too far. What is it like? Did
you ever walk this campus by yourself when you first
got this job, like you can't help but see history?
Oh yeah, but I don't know how that it impacts
me every time I walk this campus. But it's like
West Point when you're there, I mean, you're a whole
(33:06):
different world. Yeah, and there are very few campuses like
that with this history. But I didn't know if you
ever found yourself you're just walking the campus and really
letting it sink in of where you are.
Speaker 9 (33:17):
I do it often. I still do it to this day.
Speaker 10 (33:20):
I remember when I came here, when I was looking
at potentially being a defensive coordinator, and I was with
my wife, and I remember saying, this is the most
beautiful campus I've ever been on, and it was just perfect.
Speaker 9 (33:33):
Right.
Speaker 10 (33:33):
It's a hard way to describe it, but I still
do it to this day. I run on campus. I'll
walk early in the morning and sometimes go by the
Golden domeans And it's a reminder of the gratitude that
you have for this place, the history of this place,
the people that have come before you. And I think
for me, it's the responsibility to continue to make it better,
(33:55):
to elevate it, and a It's a great response ability,
but a great reminder as you look around this place.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Would you cry when you got the head coaching John?
Speaker 10 (34:06):
No, No, I didn't. That doesn't mean I wasn't emotional.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
Your players were emotional. Yeah, I mean it's a great video.
That video is wonderful, But it's a testament to you.
It's a testament to they got the right guy.
Speaker 9 (34:23):
I hope, So I hope, I hope. You know, I don't.
Speaker 10 (34:28):
You know, I look at that moment and I was
just as excited to go greet them as the video
showed they were to greet me. I think it's it's
a reflection of a group of players and a coach
that have either earned trust or choose to trust each other,
right Like they trusted me to be the head coach,
(34:52):
and I trust that I'm going to help them reach
their goals, and so we're in this together like that.
That's how I view this thing, all right, that that, Yeah,
you're the head coach.
Speaker 9 (35:06):
You have to lead, you have to.
Speaker 10 (35:09):
Have the vision and the plan and the process. But
we're in this together. We succeed together, and we have
difficult moments. We have those together and we all have
to own it.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Good luck on Saturday. I appreciate gat to talk to
you again. Appreciate It's always do you want to hit
paul Do you want to hit Paulie again?
Speaker 2 (35:30):
It's your's your home getting tempting, you know, it's very tempting.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
When's the last time you hit somebody? I can practice?
Speaker 9 (35:38):
Do you ever? I used my years Deven's coordinator.
Speaker 10 (35:43):
Probably was the last time I put on the little
little chest pad.
Speaker 9 (35:47):
And let them hit me.
Speaker 10 (35:48):
They you know, they would try to go a little
bit extra, but you know, with with with four boys
at home. Sometimes you you know, there's wrestlers, there's football players.
We have some pretty good matchup.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
You don't want to mess with the wrestler. You don't
want to mess with the wrestler.
Speaker 9 (36:04):
I don't mess with eighteen year old. But the twelve,
the ten, and a six year old I still take down. Yeah,
I can still take them.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
He's Marcus Freeman. 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.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
I forgot about this, but our next guest. He's the
athletic director here at Notre Dame Pete Babaqua. I think
he was my boss at NBC Ecock at one point,
although I never saw him. I don't know if we
had any communication. Yes, Paul, that's the best kind of boss. Yeah,
but I just remembered he worked at NBC Sports and
ran NBC Sports, but I didn't come in contact with it. Yeah, Paul.
(36:45):
Then he went into the portal and Notre Dame picked up.
Yeah they did. But the nil I mean, he's done
a really good job here as we welcome the Notre
Dame Athletic Director Pete Babakwa. Thanks guys, thankful whoa Okay,
what have we got? We got gifts here?
Speaker 12 (37:04):
Our new our new hockey jersey.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
Okay, so this is the unveiling of the hockey jersey
that will be on display.
Speaker 12 (37:15):
Wow tonight we're gonna We're gonna wear it tonight. We
play tonight again against St. Lawrence. We had a nice victory.
I think a bunch of.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
You guys were there. They were there.
Speaker 12 (37:24):
I had a nice victory last night at ate too,
and hopefully we can keep it going.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
That is awesome.
Speaker 12 (37:29):
But also I have some of your old performance reviews.
You do, yeah, sit down and talk about that.
Speaker 9 (37:35):
Wait?
Speaker 3 (37:35):
Were you my boss at some point?
Speaker 12 (37:37):
I was? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (37:38):
Yeah, But why didn't I talk to you? You know,
I was busy, and why didn't you talk to me?
Speaker 12 (37:43):
I we talked.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Did you think I did a good job?
Speaker 12 (37:46):
I thought you did a really good job?
Speaker 3 (37:47):
Okay, yeah, yeah? Why am I not there anymore?
Speaker 12 (37:51):
Uh? There's there's new bosses.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Great to talk to you. And I mentioned this. I
don't know if I'm overstating it. You probably would think
I am. But I look at Sank and Patiti and
I look at you as you probably the three most
important people in college football, the SEC Commissioner, Big ten
and you here at Notre Dame, and you take over
for Jack Swarbrick, who was one of the most influential
(38:19):
people we probably had with this sport. Sometime, do you
feel like you guys are the gatekeepers here and if so,
what goes along with that?
Speaker 12 (38:27):
Well, I would tell you, first of all, it's not me.
It's Notre Dame. I mean Notre Dame as are in
that position. You talk about the history of Notre Dame football,
the power Notre Dame football, the power of the brand.
I'm the caretaker of that, you know, and I couldn't
be more honored or feel more fortunate to be in
this position. And I take that responsibility very very seriously.
(38:49):
That I'm in that room having those conversations with Greg Sanky,
Tody Petiti, Jimmy Phillips at the ACC, Brett Yormark at
the Big Twelve, and others, and you know, we have
a very definite point of view, We have a perspective.
What Notre Dame believes in. Being independent in the space,
as you've mentioned in the past, is certainly a unique
(39:10):
attribute to the position we hold in college football, and
it's a great privilege to be in that room. I
love being in that room. I love being a part
of those conversations, and we're hall hopefully united and aligned
in certainly doing what's best. A commissioner has to always
have the perspective of what's best for his or her conference.
I have to have the perspective of what's best for
(39:31):
Notre Dame. But I think we all hope to share
a common ground of what's best for the future health
of college football.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Okay, but what is that? There have been different models
that have been put out there, and I just it
feels like it's inevitable we're going to get to an
NFL or Premier League type of format. Could you get
sixty teams fifty forty teams and almost secede from the NCAA.
Speaker 12 (39:52):
Yeah, Dan, there's the concept of this super league. Are
there twenty four to thirty teams that extricate themselves from
the college football space and create a mini NFL? I,
for one, I think that's a horrible mistake. College football
is not the NFL. We shouldn't be. The NFL were
something different. We're something that's special, the crowds, the alumni bases,
(40:12):
the fact that these are eighteen to twenty one year
olds that change and graduate. There's a power to that.
And I think in trying to replicate the NFL model,
where there might be some more revenue there, particularly from
a media standpoint, I think we'll ruin what's special. We
won't look like the NFL, will look like a small version,
a compromise version of the NFL, and we'll lose what's
(40:35):
so special about what's going to happen here tomorrow night.
When you have two great story programs from great schools
coming together, this wonderful rivalry. You know, you have the
Notre Dame USC's the Ohio State Michigan's. That's what makes
college football so special.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
But we're losing these rivalries. We may lose USC Notre Dame.
Speaker 12 (40:54):
Well, I would say, and I can't speak for USC,
but in the converse we've had I think both schools,
both administrations are committed to keeping this series alive. We've
had a lot of positive conversations with USC. They're continuing
literally around the clock. My hope, and I think USC
(41:14):
shares this, and I know they share it. We want
to keep this series going. It's so special. It's ay,
I'll be the first two a Minute's great for Notre Dame.
I think it's great for USC, and maybe most importantly,
I think it's great for college football. This is one
of those rivalries that defined college football, define the sport,
the greatest intersectional rivalry that there is. And I think
(41:35):
the public deserves it. I think the college fans deserve it.
All the pageantry of a Notre Dame USC game. You
think about the importance of this game over the history
of college football, how many national championships were influenced and
determined the Heisman Trophy winners. And I understand, you know,
with the Big Ten, the conference schedules, you know, more
conference matchups, that's tough, that's difficult travel for USC now
(42:00):
that they're in the Big Ten. But you know, I
just think college football deserves it. I know we feel
that way. I know USC feels that way. And you know,
for us, we're lucky that we have a long list
of really prominent teams that want to play us. They
want to do home and homes, they want us to
come to their stadiums, they want to come here to
Notre Dame and you know that's great, and that's a
(42:22):
fortunate position to be in. And that's the power of
Notre Dame and the power of the program under coach Freeman.
But there's something really special about Notre Dame USC, and
no matter how either team season is going, anything can happen.
You can make a team a more difficult road to
a national championship, you can have an upset. It's just
a wonderful history there that I hope we don't lose.
Speaker 3 (42:44):
Yeah, okay, So why are we at this point where
we have to negotiate around the clock to keep this going.
If everybody understands the beauty of this rivalry, the importance
of this rivalry.
Speaker 12 (42:53):
I think it's scheduling and now the Big Ten schedule
and the nine games that they play. When you look
at our schedule into the future and we're talking about
moments in the calendar month that makes sense for us
and for USC. I think there's no secret that USC
would like to play our game earlier in the season.
So I'm working hand in hand with somebody who's so
(43:15):
important to our program, Ron Palace, who's a name everybody knows,
and Ron is kind of mapping out what our future
looks like twenty six, twenty seven, well into the thirties,
and where could we position this game. So it's a
win win for us when we go out there and
when USC comes here and visits. I'm hopeful. I'm optimistic.
Nothing is finalized, but I'm optimistic that we'll get something done.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
He's a Pete Bubaqua Notre Dame athletic director. But I
understand from USC's perspective, it feels like Notre Dame may
need USC more than USC needs Notre Dame because Notre
Dame has a tough Big ten schedule and they don't
want to jeopardize, you know, another loss, because if you
have three losses, you're not going to make like tomorrow's
an elimination game. It feels like for Notre Dame.
Speaker 12 (43:57):
Yeah, I think it's you know, we you know, we
have a tough schedule. We opened up with two very
tough competitive games, obviously with Miami, who's now I think
number two in the country in Texas A and m
We lost to Miami by three points. There in our
opening game, we lost to Texas A and m here
by a point. Then you know, we've had this great
stretch of four victories in a row. But no, hey,
(44:17):
no doubt about it. If we want to make the CFP,
and we do, we got to go win tomorrow night.
We know that our team knows that. Marcus knows that.
But I'll push back on you. I think this game
is just as important for USC as it is for
Notre Dame, and just as important for college football. And
if you're USC, you want this tradition. You want to
play Notre Dame. You want Notre Dame to come out
(44:38):
to the coliseum. You know, just like when USC's here,
we'll pack the house the South Bend. There'll be one
hundred more thousand people coming into South Bend, even people
who can't get in the stadium, just to be a
part of the pageantry in the atmosphere. Well, that happens
when we go out to the coliseum. It's packed. The
surrounding area has packed. It has such a benefit for
(44:59):
the campus, for the community. And when you take two
great historic brands from wonderful schools and you're able to
have this great contest on the football field year in
and year out, there's tremendous value for the entire eCos.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Well, I don't want to lose it, but I don't
want to lose Notre Dame in Michigan.
Speaker 12 (45:16):
Well, I would want to. I'd love to play Michigan,
you know, And I think that's something we're going to
work toward. I think that's one of you know, I
think back to my time here. I graduated in nineteen
ninety three.
Speaker 3 (45:28):
If you join the Big Ten, then you get to
play these teams. Yeah, but we just letting me know.
Speaker 12 (45:33):
I hear you and the Big Ten.
Speaker 3 (45:35):
Hey, no, there's was it ever close?
Speaker 12 (45:37):
Big Ten's a wonderful conference. I don't think it was
ever close. You know, there's the Big Ten, the SEC,
the Big twelve, the ACC. As you know, we're a
member of the ACC for twenty four of our twenty
six sports or Big ten in hockey, and obviously independent
in football. I think it's a great time to be independent.
And we're sure we're a unicorn. But we have a
(45:58):
wonderful relationship with NBC thirty five years in counting. We
have the luxury and we're fortunate to schedule great teams.
Think about this year we had Miami, Texas, A and
m we play USC. Going into the future, we have Alabama,
we have Texas We have some others that we're close
to announcing, and I love the fact that the freedom
(46:21):
we have from playing teams that make sense, playing in
areas that we want to play in, whether it's going
to New York City, going out to Los Angeles, playing
in the Yankee Stadium next year, opening up the season
in Lambeau against Wisconsin, going to Ireland, thinking hey, can
we go play a game in Mexico City. You have
the luxury of that when you're independent. But to be independent,
(46:43):
you have to be good, and we know that, and
that's an obligation, that's a responsibility.
Speaker 3 (46:47):
We have to be good.
Speaker 12 (46:48):
We have to stay relevant. We have to knock on
that national championship door year in and year out. Because
to stay independent, we have to be impossible to ignore.
You have to be a uniform but you don't want
you can't let the unicorn get starved. And that's tremendous
pressure on the program, on our athletic department, on Coach Freeman.
But it's pressure that we welcome and I think we
(47:10):
thrive on.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
If you had the deciding vote of expanding the playoffs
from twelve to let's say sixteen.
Speaker 12 (47:17):
One hundred percent answer in my opinion, sixteen teams is
the way we should go. Five automatic qualifiers, one each
for the power for conference champions, one for the highest
CHI five G five champion, eleven at large. Prove it
on the field. If we're lucky enough to be in,
we're in. If because we're independent, we have three losses
or four losses and we're out, we're out. I think
(47:39):
there's almost unanimity in that feeling, and I hope that's
where we end up. I feel passionate about that. I
think it's the best thing for college football. I think
it's the best thing for the future college football. Look
at the top ten this year, look at the different
teams in there. Look at the success that Texas Tech
is having.
Speaker 3 (48:00):
You want that.
Speaker 12 (48:00):
You want every team to wake up at the end
of the summer and they as they go into their
first game and say, hey, if we do it, if
we get it done, if we go twelve and zero,
if we go eleven and one, if we schedule tough
opponents and have a strong strength to schedule, we can
earn our way in there. Nobody wants a head start.
That's not the way to do it. We want to
prove that we can identify a true national championship, a
(48:23):
team that's earned in on the field. And I feel
very strongly.
Speaker 3 (48:27):
Yeah, but can we lock in sixteen? We got to
twelve and went we were already going, well, we got
to get to fourteen or sixteen?
Speaker 2 (48:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 12 (48:33):
I think what I love about I think the move
from four to twelve was terrific and smart. I think
the move from twelve to sixteen brings additional teams in.
Obviously the four additional teams, it creates those four additional
narratives around the country, brings those fan bases in, brings
in other geographies. Yet there's that delicate balance that I
think it achieves and maintains of identifying a true national
(48:56):
championship but protecting the integrity and the importance of that
of the regular season. And there's no sport where the
regular season games are more important than they are in
college football. Here we are in Week seven and we
have a game tomorrow night that for us will determine
whether we can make the playoffs or whether we're out
on the outside looking in. That doesn't happen in other sports,
(49:18):
and that's the beauty of college football. That's why there's
so much passion around these games, and you mentioned games
this weekend that are so important, teams that can't afford
to lose again, teams that need a quality win. That's
the beauty of college football, and we can't lose. That
be a shame if we lost that.
Speaker 3 (49:34):
Do you have uniform approval?
Speaker 12 (49:36):
I have uniform input, input input. So you know Marcus
who's probably one of the two or three most stylish
men in America, he has a lot of input. We
tend to defer to him. We have color combinations that
we like, and then he works with our very talented
team and with our partner under Armour to put the
uniforms out there. But I get a sense that's a
(49:58):
leading question. Are you thinking about a uniform that we
haven't debuted yet?
Speaker 3 (50:02):
No, I'm just curious. Is there anything like a bold
move that you would make for a one off?
Speaker 12 (50:10):
Well, you think about our Shamrock series. We've had some
really creative uniforms.
Speaker 3 (50:14):
You think when we and I love the helmet with
the shamrock on. Yeah, I think that.
Speaker 12 (50:17):
We we see though the gold helmet as Sakra say, Okay,
I don't think we're gonna monkey around with the helmets anymore.
That gold helmet is as good as it gets. I'm biased.
I think it's the best helmet in college football. But
you think about when we went to Yankee Stadium for
the Shamrock Series a few years back with the pinstripes,
what we did last year when we went to Yankee
(50:37):
Stadium for the Army game. What we're going to do
next year at Lambeau, what we did a couple of
weeks ago in the all green uniforms. I love when
we use the white on white with the gold helmets
when we're away. So we're gonna, you know, we work
with under armour. We want to change it up. The
fans love it.
Speaker 3 (50:52):
But you would do that the leper cun on the front.
Speaker 12 (50:55):
Like you can't put the leper count on for you
need the number, but you can't new Ae No, you
will see that are we have the sports specific leprechauns.
We debuted the football one that that you guys that
we've been wearing a few weeks ago, and the fans
love it. Coach Freeman loves it. We have the hockey
leprechan We're going to do that in more sports. You
will see that football leprechaun start to move into certain
(51:17):
positions on some of our football uniforms, but unlike the
hockey sweater, it won't be on the front or the back.
Speaker 3 (51:23):
Can you give me an idea of how much merchandise
you guys do well, I would tell you we did
a lot yesterday. You know that's a great a two
story got a bookstore full of merchant. It's like saxvict
Avenue yess like this has to be. You must do
more merchandise than any other program in America.
Speaker 12 (51:42):
I think you know, we're lucky. We have such a great, passionate, national,
international fan base that Notre Dame logo. Whether you're in
South Bend, Indiana, or New York City or Beijing, people
know what it is. It means something. And then to
the credit of the university, into the credit of our partners.
Like under Armor, we come up with, you know, really
(52:04):
interesting designs that appeal to people. And then, as I say,
you put it on Marcus Freeman, put him on television
for three and a half hours on a Saturday afternoon
or a Saturday night, and everybody wants what what Marcus wears. Now,
the unfortunate thing is not everybody looks as good as
as Marcus does you.
Speaker 3 (52:22):
Guys do your results may vary? Can you get the Pope?
Speaker 12 (52:26):
He's a cell sider, he's a south side everybody, but
he is a villainovgrad.
Speaker 3 (52:30):
Yeah, but they don't have football.
Speaker 12 (52:31):
They don't have football. We're we think the pope's a fan.
We are Provost John McGreevey and our president.
Speaker 3 (52:38):
Maybe you know, fighting arms and he's wearing the hockey.
Speaker 12 (52:41):
A little blue and gold and green. Every nice something
to work on for sure.
Speaker 3 (52:45):
Thanks for having us hosting us people here behind the
scenes did a wonderful job. Could not have been more accommodating.
And it is. And I don't know if an honorary
degree is like in play now, but I mean I'll
throw it out there.
Speaker 12 (53:00):
We well, we we're thrilled here here. I love the
show personally, know that. That's why I've all take it
up with our president father Bob.
Speaker 3 (53:08):
Okay, all right, fair enough. I mean a graduated from
Dayton so maybe Flyers great school. Yeah, maybe like a
graduate degree.
Speaker 12 (53:14):
You know, so where you can come back and get
on your avanced degree.
Speaker 3 (53:16):
A doctorate, you know something like that. Thank you, Pete,
you well notre Dame Athletic Director
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Ah, sitting in Dynamic Duel.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
And Rich.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Always a pleasure to be here in for DP. Thank
you now. If you're new to us, we have a
Patreon Patreon dot com slash Covino and Rich check it out.
It's censored, Unhinged, Unleashed, And of course we're on Monday
through Friday right here on Fox Sports Radio five to
seven on the East, two to four on the West.
(00:30):
We also have a bonus podcast, yeah that I think
personally is some of the best stuff we do. It's
called over Promise because blubber Lips Davis over here talk
so much. He over promises things we never get to,
but we do it on our bonus pod that you
could watch. It's a whole interactive experience.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Be part of it. Over Promise.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
We have a brand new episode up, Episode one twelve
Peaches and Cream over Promised with Covino and Rich and
it's all on the YouTube page Coveno and Rich FSR.
Covino and Rich FSR live from the Fox Sports Radio Studio.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
I'm gonna get to a lot of this hour, a
lot of NFL.
Speaker 5 (01:05):
We're gonna talk about the Dodgers and how they duped
us all.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Don't over promise.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
I'm gonna try not to, but I do want to say,
twenty five years ago today, a show debuted on HBO,
not a spin off, but from the creator of the
most successful sitcom.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
In network history, Pretty Day, Pretty Day.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Pretty Good.
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Larry David debuted Curb Your Enthusiasm twenty five years ago today.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
So that's one of those holy nikes.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Twenty five years ago.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Then how many years ago was this when we were
watching First and Ten, The Bulls, Bean Business and dream
On and all those shows.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So it's one hundred and five years.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Twenty five years ago Curb Your Enthusiasm debuted, and I
always thought it was one of the best comedies. I
actually hot take. I like Curb better than Seinfeld. Sometimes
it's a little more raw, a little more.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Relatable that I don't know about that. No.
Speaker 6 (02:03):
Your thing about Curb, though, is it took like, didn't
take at least one break. So you say twenty five
years and it just ended what two seasons ago? Are
you season ago?
Speaker 4 (02:11):
Yeah? But they took like a nine year hiatus or something, and there.
Speaker 5 (02:14):
Are breaks in between, yea, And they were long seasons
like Seinfeld. But I mean, we think about all the
comedy Larry David's brought us between those two shows, so
props to him twenty five years since Curb. So just
a little timestamp today as we hang in for the
great Dan Patrick here on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I love how they solved a murder mystery because Larry
David was filming during a Dodgers game, and.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
That is wild.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Then we're gonna get to the Dodgers. I do want
to bring up one thing that's a true story you
can look up on your own time. We're gonna talk
Dodgers and baseball playoffs and NFL, but don't don't blink
because another NBA season is gonna be here before you
know it. I did think it was cool to hear
the return of round Ball Rock, the John Tesh theme
that we all love so Munger.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Fan of John Tesh than you rich listen to him
on the nest. He's just excited for the rest of
the world to join his funsketball.
Speaker 7 (03:08):
The Peacock announcer was just casually talking over the intro
of this NBA preseason game with that playing behind him,
and it just made you feel, Yeah, like a kid again.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Basketball.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yeah, you hear the song It's slid into the kitchen,
dunk it and you play that. Yet, did everyone have
that nerve hoop that went over the door?
Speaker 8 (03:30):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
You get all ready for some basketball?
Speaker 5 (03:33):
I just backed that song is so synonymous with great
nineties NBA that we all grew up with that made
us fall love maybe with basketball. Right, So the return
of round ball rock. But let's go to the Dodgers
for a second.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
Last night.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
I talked about this earlier, but the more I'm thinking
about it, did the Dodgers dup us Cavino by like
Mark duper like? Not intentionally, but by not winning one
hundred and ten games by battling for that division until
the last weeks of the season with the padres by Not.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Only no, it's not the Dodgers duping us, or did
they f with us only to show up big and
beat that team all along? It's shame on us for
not realizing the obvious of It's a long season. Health
is wealth and we should have known that if everybody's
healthy come postseason, they're gonna be impossible to beat.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
And that was the goal, and that's the goal, and
ever they're pitching. Was what is the thing that applies
to all sports? Just get into the playoffs and be
healthy and ready for when you're in. I just I
can't say that I wasn't surprised. I think we're all
surprised that the Dodgers barely won their division and they
(04:48):
were the three seed, which means they had to play
in the wildcard round. No one would have ever thought
the Dodgers would win roughly ninety games, have to play in.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
The wild card and go through all this and have.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
To click though the right time. And sure enough, Monce
he's hitting bombs, Tay Oscar's hitting bombs, Key k Hernandez
is turning it up like he always does.
Speaker 7 (05:06):
And every single guy you just mentioned missed a good
amount of time.
Speaker 5 (05:10):
Yeah, as Ron Darling said, Keith k a Hernandez has
looked like Keith Hernandez in the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
I saw that.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Yeah, I heard so.
Speaker 7 (05:17):
But you guys on the Afternoon Show, you talk about
this often that baseball is a little bit different because
no matter your record, no matter exactly what went on
through that long season, it's just whatever team is hot
at the time. We've seen the San Francisco Giants and
other teams like that come together right before the playoffs
at the exact perfect time and then make a run.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
No doubt.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
In fact, the statos of the thirty years since they
incorporated the wild Card, since the Major League Baseball Strike
and then they came back again with the new realignment
since then thirty seasons, only seven of those thirty seasons
has the team with the best record won the World Series,
which is really interesting when you think how twenty three
(06:02):
out of thirty years it was really just a team
that put it together, got healthy, got hot in October,
and you know that's just you're seeing with the Dodgers,
because the Brewers were the best team all along.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Thank you Dwayne's stats. And speaking of stats, you gotta
tip your hat. I got a flat brim on today,
because how do you feel about that? By the way,
I feel like certain hats are made to be worn
certain ways. I rock a sweet curve. I curve them
like the best of them.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Can you be a guy that does both?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
I feel like, uh, my curve is like Flash Gordon's bro.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
I can curve it up. Yeah you can.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Because certain hats are meant to be curved and other
hats are meant to be flat. It's just is not
meant to be cached. It depends on what type of
hat it is. But speaking of hats, Yamamoto was rocking
his Dodgers hat strong yesterday complete game, the first since
twenty seventeen, first postseason complete game. Last person to do
(06:58):
it was Erlander against the Yankees all those years ago,
and the Dodgers haven't done it since four According to
the Elias Sports bureau known as Danny g So.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
I'm sung up on God for a second.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
I'm sorry what I just by the way, it's funny
to think that the baseball hat, a piece of sports equipment,
is such a universally what would you say, accepted fashion statement. Yeah,
no one wears a chef's hat, as Mitch Hedberg. Mitch
Hedburg has some line about like you only wear that
if you're a chef. Yeah, that's funny.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
You're the Swedish chef.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
For Jon Hurts. Baseball hat is pretty much the only
hat from sports that we rock on a regular basis.
Speaker 7 (07:45):
Here's one more pitching stat for you. Blake Snell and
Yoshi Yamamoto are the first starter since twenty sixteen to
throw eight plus innings in consecutive postseason games.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
And yeah, so when you're starting pitching is delivering like that,
are gonna be hard to beat. They didn't have that
in the regular season, and.
Speaker 5 (08:03):
We forget that in the preseason in spring training before
all the injuries happened.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
The whole joke was and they got Blake Snell.
Speaker 5 (08:14):
When they signed Blake Snell, that was almost like an
f you to everyone else, like, all right, defending champions, Well,
well hold on, and you added Blake Snell.
Speaker 8 (08:21):
And now but then he didn't play all season because
he was hurt.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
But the Dodgers fans dreams are coming to fruition. Your
big free agent should have thrown a complete game win
in Game one, But you know, Dave Roberts, you know
wanted to, you know, toy with everyone. Game two, your
Japanese signs pitcher that you outbid people for and won.
Yamamoto did what you wanted him to do. Now what's next?
(08:47):
Glass Now if he gets it done? And then what
Game four? You go to the biggest star in baseball
over the last fifty plus years, show hey TONI.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
So arguably the Dodgers are doing everything we thought they
would do. Six months ago.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
It's just the last six months of injuries and confusion
made us forget.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Maybe for a second, reminding everybody that they are the
new evil Empire without a doubt, and.
Speaker 8 (09:09):
That with likable players.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Though you know, it's hard to deny he really is. Yeah,
I mean, I saw I just hate their stupid hip
flexer dancing that cove.
Speaker 7 (09:21):
I saw a Yankees fan like you post yesterday. You
know what, Yes, I hate the Dodgers, but it's hard
to root against some of the players because I like
a couple of.
Speaker 8 (09:30):
The players on their team.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Could you not like Mookie Bets?
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Yeah, they're just not like Freddie.
Speaker 8 (09:34):
They have magic, They have magic Johnson's smiles.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
How could you not like Shoho Tan? He transcends, you know, fandom,
He's just everybody.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
Denny, as I've I've pointed out before. You know, we're
new to the Dan Patrick audience for a lot of people.
I'm a Mets fan from New York. My kids are
five and eight, and I see them falling in love
with the Dodgers because we live out here in Los Angeles.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
All their little schoolmates and.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
All the kids they play little league and softball and
base with, Like the Dodgers. So I'm watching them wanting
to hate them as a Mets fan, but it's hard
to see why my kids wouldn't like, like you said,
Freddie Freeman, Mookie Bett Show, Hey Will Smith, Tommy Edmund,
these guys are tay oscar like the It's it's hard
(10:17):
to really say they're hatable. It's like when Steph and
the Golden State Warriors and you hate Steph Curry.
Speaker 9 (10:24):
It was very hard.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
I mean, I started hate Freddy Freeman's flat top.
Speaker 8 (10:27):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I don't really, I'm not a fan of.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
That that does big chompers, that smile, Chris Chompers bothered me.
I mean Clayton Kershaw, that story where you got to
see him sort of close out the career the right way,
and that he's you know, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
It just feels like.
Speaker 7 (10:38):
And even Max Munsey dumped by the A's back in
the day and now leads the Dodgers in all time
postseason home runs.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
So the question was Max Mounsey makes me realize how
many people need glasses and don't realize it. Remember he
got glasses and like got back to where he was.
You might have not even realized how blind you are
it's true.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Did the Dodgers f with us year a little bit?
Or is it a matter of don't sleep on the
usual suspects? Like like we stated first hour, it's like
we spend so much time speculating. It's just the nature
of the beast and what guys do and what we do.
It's like, oh, who do you think it has a
shot this year? But it comes down to the usual
suspects more time than it doesn't.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
I'm gonna make.
Speaker 5 (11:19):
One dumb analogy and we'll move on. We'll talk a
little NFL. I commented on your flat brim hat.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Yeah, you won't let that go. Well, I won't because
it's uh.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
I'll give you an analogy to how some ballplayers, like
I find it funny when there are those rare baseball
players that sometimes they'll wear the high socks and then
sometimes they'll where as I call it, the Kan Griffey
Junior look, where it's a very low pants down to
the ankle, like the CC Sabbathia jammis. Can you can
(11:49):
you be a guy that rocks the flat brim and
then on another day rocks like a totally curved brim.
Do you to you can't. But yeah, do you mean
can you be? I want to feel like, what do
you think you are? I am It's not about the guy.
Do you realize, Yeah, you're not pay to wear hats.
You're not gotta wear hats. I'm telling you.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Certain hats are meant that way, and other hats are
meant to be curved.
Speaker 6 (12:10):
Cam Newton gives us a strength to do whatever we want.
Just wear whatever hat he wants.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
That guy wears a mounth he hat. Yeah, so absolutely,
it depends on what kind of hat it is. Some
are meant to be bent and curved and some are
meant to be worn flat brim. It just depends on
the fit. So I'm just saying, yes, the answer is yes,
you could do cave. Okay, just I do both all
the time. Some hat some hats you buy come with
(12:35):
the curved brim, so it just is what it is.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
I just saying, like, can you can you be the
guy that wears a baggy jeans one day and then
skinny jeans the next.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
It's different looks. You can do whatever you want. You
got to mix it up.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
Well, I want to bring up one other thing that
has to do with the Dodgers, and then we're gonna
get into a lot of NFL. We're at that point,
Danny g Every year we always say, real, week six
is when we could start really assessing.
Speaker 8 (12:57):
Yeah, last year, you guys extended it to week seven.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
I almost feel like I want to extend it again.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
I just saw a headline it was like bed week,
bed game or bed season for the Bills, and I'm like, oh,
let's slow down.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Who knows well two in a row, I would say, uh, oh,
come on, they're four and two.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
I know, we're like a third of the way through
the season.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
So we're gonna we're gonna assess because Danny, I know,
there's some funny power rankings that have come out. It's
like who some people have at the top. It's like,
do we really believe it or not? Well, we'll talk
to NFL. But with the Dodgers, just wrap it up.
Two victories. In Milwaukee, there was a Dodgers fan, a
social media influencer.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yeah, who his name is, Willie Prince Mada. Willy Prince
Mada put on his Dodgers jersey and he went to
Miller Park and he was blown away by the hospitality
of not only the workers and the concession people, but
all the fans who were there to welcome him.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
In Dodgers gear.
Speaker 10 (13:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
I mean the audio is not great. Play like five seconds.
I mean he was, he was going around Miller Park.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
Take a lesson.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
Now, I'm gonna say right now, are also people the
nicest people I think I've ever.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
Met, I mean, nicest people ever met. I mean, would
you call them Milwaukeeans? Is that? Is that the right word?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
That's what he should I thought that they were Mediawaukeeans. Yeah,
I think that's what it is. He was shocked by
hospitable and nice they were. It was a culture shock
for I imagine he's an LA guy as a Dodgers fan.
For example, is he in Phoenix?
Speaker 8 (14:35):
He's out of Phoenix, but he's a big dog.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
But he's a big Dodgers fan. Like for example, when
I went to the World Series last year at Dodgers Stadium,
I wore my Yankees jersey. I got heckled, man, but
I expected that. I didn't feel like my life was
being threatened. But I was definitely heckled and definitely made
fun of. And I felt a little weird with my
girlfriend there and everyone calling me out. Left and right,
(14:57):
especially after they lost and I'm walking out and You're
not going to get that at a Miller Park, You're
just not.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
It's fan bases, right.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
It's like some fan bases we'll see an opposing fan
and be like hey, yo, good luck, welcome to the stadium,
enjoy and then like listen, they do not treat you
like that in Philly. I will tell I promise you
if I were to ever go to ever go to Philadelphia,
which I have, I put my Mets jersey in a
bag and I don't even put it on until I
(15:25):
get to the stadium because a trash bag. Because I
feel like if I leave my car, if I would
have left my car wearing a Mets jersey, I feel
like someone would have messed with my car.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
You know, Philly not so much.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
If you're a Yankees fan and you go to Fenway,
you think you're going to be treated kindly. It's just
they're so happy to have you there visiting their ballpark.
They want to make sure you have such a great
experience you come back.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
I don't want to kiss the ass of so hold on.
It's two things though.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Kindness actually exists, So that's the shock you know people
are actually kind another places, so that's refreshing and shocking
all at the same time. And there really is something
called customer care and etiquette and hospitality where certain places
take a lot of pride in, Hey, make sure you
welcome people so that they have a great experience. And
(16:17):
that's what happens at Miller Park. But it doesn't happen everywhere.
And we notice that too when we travel, like damn.
Some people lean into it, some not at all because
they're like, hey, it's New York, who cares you're coming
back regardless, we don't need you.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Yeah, they're like, if you give the analogy before, it's
a sometimes if a girl's too good looking, she feels
like she doesn't really need to do.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Much, she doesn't need to do a whole lot to
please you.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
Yeah, I mean like that's like that. I feel like
the worst super Bowl ever was in New York. We've
covered She's not to aige ourselves. We've covered almost twenty
super bowls, right, and New York was the worst one
because New York City was like, yeah, super Bowl's here,
who cares?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
We said, it's the difference of you're lucky to be here, Hey,
we're walking over, get out of our way. Meanwhile, tourists
are happy to be there. It's the difference between you're
lucky to be here versus we're lucky to have you.
Speaker 5 (17:09):
We're happy to have you. Indiana Park, Milwaukee, Indianapolis. The
super Bowl in Indianapolis is great, the super Bowl. We've
been to all Star games.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Are you saying.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Indianapolis is the chubby chick? Is that what's going on?
I am Indianapolis is the welcoming chubby girl. I was
saying anything they kind of please you, exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I gotcha.
Speaker 6 (17:29):
Even within the state of Wisconsin, you know, people might
be nice at in Milwaukee at Brewers game, but then
I've gone to like a Wisconsin Badgers football game against Iowa.
They were brutal. I was right next to this student section.
They were they were savage, they were hostile, and they
didn't they pant you and beat you up. No, No,
(17:49):
but listen, it can It can differ even in the state.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
You know, the Brewers. I've been to a game at
Miller Park, and I back up that Dodgers fan. They
have a really cool situation where there's like I guess
you would say, the little downtown area in Milwaukee where
the bars if they there's certain bars where if you
buy a drink or a brod or a sandwich or something,
they give you a little ticket.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
You're like, what's his ticket for?
Speaker 5 (18:14):
They go, oh, that's free if you want to take
one of the little little buses to the stadium.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
That way you don't have to drive and you can
have some drinks and stuff.
Speaker 5 (18:21):
And you're like, what it is amazing they have these
little like almost like free buses that it's like, hey,
have some drinks, have some cheese curds, have some.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
A sense of being ethos centric to the point where
we think wherever we are and whatever we do is
the greatest, and then we're just surprised that other people
also have something cool going on. Hey, it's a pretty
cool scene. I would have expected that in Milwaukee.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan
Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific
on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio wapp.
Speaker 11 (18:54):
Bally Fools Gohad with Tony Fools go Yeah, as everybody knows,
one of the hosts of the award winning Polly and
Tony Bosco show. Yeah, But instead of us telling you
how great we are. He is how Dan Packrick described
us when he came on our show.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Quick, knowledgeable and funny, opinionated.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
What what are you doing interrupting our promo? Yeah, he
wasn't talking about you.
Speaker 7 (19:14):
You took those clips totally of context.
Speaker 11 (19:17):
Oh yeah, well after this promo, I'm going to take
you out and beat you.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Let me put this into context. Shut up. Yeah.
Speaker 11 (19:24):
Anyway, just listening to the Pauli and Tony Fusco Show
on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Yea.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Paulie has this bad habit of whenever we have Kerrent
or former football players on, he wants to know what
it feels like to either be blocked or tackled by them.
And last time we had Marcus Freeman. Marcus shows up
and he says, you're the guy I hit last time,
and Paulie's sizing him up and he goes looks like
coach has lost a little bit of weight there. You
(19:54):
know the season, We're not doing that. I'm retired. You're
not going to put a so is he not going
to put a helmet on?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Yes?
Speaker 8 (19:59):
Mark. The scariest part was it was a slow motion demonstration. Hey,
I could hear.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
That's a slow motion. He's Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame head
coach's fifth season and played, of course, at Ohio State,
the Ohio State drafted by the Bears, your Bears in
the fifth round of two thousand and nine. As we
make way for Marcus Freeman back on the program. Look
(20:33):
at you.
Speaker 9 (20:34):
How you doing?
Speaker 3 (20:35):
I'm doing great? You know. Nice to talk to a
fellow Buckeye here Ohio in Ohio and.
Speaker 9 (20:40):
Oh, I'm sorry, that's what we're saying around here.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
How would you compare because it came down to Notre
Dame in Ohio State for you, right? What was it
about Ohio State that made you, even though you're from Ohio,
but that you chose Ohio State over Notre Dame.
Speaker 9 (20:58):
We're really getting into this, huh.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Let's just get the tough questions out of the way
and then we'll have the easy ones.
Speaker 10 (21:04):
I think they always come down to relationships. A lot
of decisions, especially for young people, are about relationships. I
just went through this with my son who committed to
Cornell for wrestling, and as a parent, you have your
reasons for why you make decisions, but young people still
base a lot of their decisions off of relationships, and
(21:26):
I think that was probably the eighteen year old Marcus
Freeman that made that decision based off relationships.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Comparing contrast USC Notre Dame versus Ohio State Michigan.
Speaker 9 (21:41):
Very similar.
Speaker 10 (21:42):
If you're in one of the schools, right, if you're
in it, so Notre Dame USC, when you're a part
of this football program, there's nothing bigger than that rivalry.
And I think the same thing is if you go
to Ohio State or Michigan, you're from Ohio, there's probably
nothing bigger than that rivalry.
Speaker 9 (22:02):
And so.
Speaker 10 (22:04):
For us when we talk about this, this rivalry verse
USC the longest intersectional rivalry meaning interconference right, and I
mean I'm sorry, not interconference, but not in the same conference.
And that's what makes it special. It's kind of the
foundation of Notre Dame and the ability to go and say, hey,
(22:28):
we'll play anywhere in the country. We don't have a conference,
and that's how this program was built and that's why
it means a lot.
Speaker 9 (22:35):
I mean, it's been going on for many years.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
Yeah, but why is it in jeopardy?
Speaker 9 (22:41):
Listen, I don't.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
You know, do you want to talk about Ohio State.
Speaker 10 (22:50):
Look, you know there's decisions that that institutions make based
off conference you know, scheduling and things like that, and
I know that's playing into some of the discussions that
USC's happened.
Speaker 9 (23:02):
I'm sure with our administration and the higher ups.
Speaker 10 (23:07):
I'm sure are you know, going back and forth on
maybe little details.
Speaker 9 (23:11):
I think so, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
You know, it feels like the USC it's tough for
to throw in another great opponent when you're in the
Big Ten, when there's quality opponents and you know, you
can't have three losses and be in the playoffs. Like,
let's just look at the business side of this. It
feels like USC means more to Notre Dame than Notre
Dame means to USC.
Speaker 9 (23:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (23:34):
I don't know what we mean to them, but I
know it means a lot to us. It does the rivalry,
the quality of opponent, the respect for the program. It
is a it does mean a lot to this university
and this football program, and we want to see it continue.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
What was it like first time you took the field
as the head coach at Notre Dame.
Speaker 10 (23:54):
Man, it's a it's a blur. I know it was
in Phoenix, Arizona Scott's day. We were playing Oregon, you know,
Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, and you don't know.
What you don't know, you know, is adrenaline rush. You're
running out there's I'm used to being a defensive coordinator,
and then all of a sudden, there was moments in
(24:15):
a game like I got a call time On'm like, oh,
somebody called time on to me, you know, And so
all the things that you kind of weren't involved in, yeah,
now you're involved in. Yeah, a man, Now you have
to be the one to make those decisions. And so
you learn through experience. But that first one was a
it was a blur.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
But how important was it to make your debut in
a bowl game as opposed to starting your career during
the regular season. Did it matter?
Speaker 9 (24:41):
You know? Did it matter?
Speaker 10 (24:45):
I don't know what it would be like to not
start a career not in a bowl game, you know,
So it's hard for me to compare what that's like.
You know, we played Oklahoma State. We had time to
get ready for that opponent. You wanted to say, I mean,
you had transition, You're a new head coach, you had
some guys that didn't play in the game. You had
(25:06):
to put you know who's playing. It was a unique
time and there's unique times and challenging times today, But
I know in that moment it was just a whirlwind
of different things trying to figure this thing out.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
But you're navigating and this is NIL and transfer portal
and it's just not coaching football. Like, if it was
just coaching football, you'd probably have a saban would probably
still be coaching. But you throw in all the other
stuff here.
Speaker 10 (25:34):
Yeah, you're leading the program. You have to be adaptable.
You're not just yeah, as you said, a football coach.
You're a person that wears many hats and you have
to figure out what's important at that given time. And
I think that's what leadership is is that if it's
a recruiting hat, if it's an NIL hat, if it's
a football hat that you got to wear all those
(25:57):
different things. It's the ability to what went on, take
one off and really focus on what needs to be,
what needs to have your focus at that given moment.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Well, it's almost like practice or games are the best
part of all of this because you're not worrying about
all the other nonsense.
Speaker 9 (26:14):
Yeah, you enjoy that.
Speaker 10 (26:15):
That's probably the time you really get to be a
part of what attracted you to this profession, right, being
around the players, leading them, but also football, Like you
love the game of football and you love the competition,
and you know Saturday is a reflection of how you.
Speaker 9 (26:36):
Practice, and so yeah, you enjoy that probably the most.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
We're talking to Marcus Freeman, a Notre Dame head coach
and of course hosting US. See we had Brady Quinn
on first hour. He said, your quarterback's best quarterback in
the country.
Speaker 9 (26:51):
He said that, Yeah, I appreciate it. Man, he would know.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
I mean, he's a quarterback. He says, he's played better
than everybody, anybody, And he said, but he said, the
tape doesn't lie. Now, I know he's your quarterback, but
tell me how you got him and what did you
think you got when you brought him in.
Speaker 10 (27:09):
Yeah, I mean it's a unique recruiting experience. Talking about
the grandson of Lloyd Carr. I actually played in some
games against Lloyd Carr, and you know, you have his
grandson that has interest in Notre Dame and it's real interest,
and then you're able to grow a relationship and convince
(27:29):
him and he felt that this was the best place
for him. And I knew at that moment he was different,
right to a kid that grows up in ann Arbor,
Michigan has legacies of Michigan ties, and to say I
want to come to Notre Dame. That showed you he's
a leader. He doesn't follow trends. And then you get
(27:54):
him here, and we got him here for bowl practice
we're getting ready for.
Speaker 9 (28:00):
I can't remember.
Speaker 10 (28:01):
I think it was two years. I can't remember who
we were getting ready to play. But he comes in,
he's supposed to be in high school and he starts
practicing with us for a bowl game. And he was
a scout team quarterback. And I'll never forget, like there
was a.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
Time, so he graduated early from high school.
Speaker 10 (28:17):
Yeah, and it was this new rule that if you
graduated early, you could come and practice with a college team,
but you couldn't participate in the bowl game. But I
just remember it was one time he gets yelled at
by our defense coordinator at the time for not throwing
the ball maybe somewhere he was supposed to throw it.
(28:37):
And to see him respond, most kids would melt right.
And to see him respond and say yes, sir, next
time and just go and go.
Speaker 9 (28:48):
And I mean I was like, this kid should be
in high school.
Speaker 10 (28:51):
He's different man. And now two years later, he has
a unique Yes, he's a really good quarterback. He's blessed
with great skills. He has a unique trait that not
many people have. And that's that competitive spirit, that's that
leadership mentality that he has, and he's pretty special.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
The schedule, I don't know if you had any say
in the schedule to start the year. Did you have
any say in playing Miami at Miami.
Speaker 10 (29:16):
Or I don't know when that game will schedule, But
I wouldn't have said no.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Okay, yeah, but those are two tough games right out
of the right out of the gate. But can you
have good losses? You ever had a good loss?
Speaker 10 (29:31):
No loss is good loss, Losing is awful. But I
always say be grateful for the pain of loss, because
that pain is there to help you grow. It's uncomfortable.
It's no different than physically, when you have a cut
on your arm. You want to do things to stop
the pain. Right the same thing when you lose a game.
(29:54):
The pain is there for you to learn from it,
to get better and to make that pain go away.
So it stinks to lose, and nobody wants to lose,
especially if you're a competitor. But you have to utilize
that pain to help you grow. And so yeah, it's
a good loss in that sense that the pain was
(30:15):
there to help us get better, and I believe we did.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
What do you remember about being drafted by the Bears?
Speaker 9 (30:23):
It was a lot.
Speaker 10 (30:24):
The weight was always I always tell our guys, the
weight's going to be longer than you expect, all right,
because you always hear a range of slots that you
can go. And it was a long couple of days
for me. And but when you get the call, it's
that childhood dream. I got drafted into the NFL and
then Lovey Smith was a head coach at the time,
(30:46):
and they had Brian Urlacker and Lance Briggs and Jay
Cutler was a quarterback. I mean, you were living to
dream and then you get there and you say, oh,
this is a job. It's not as much a dream,
it's a job. And it was a great experience, one
that I'll cherish. And uh, it was short. I wouldn't
I wouldn't. I wasn't there for too long. But it
(31:09):
was a great opportunity.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
But when did you realize there was a difference between
you and Brian r Locker or Lancebrigg's playing linebacker.
Speaker 10 (31:16):
Well, when you see Brian Urlacker, you realize right away, like, oh,
there's a big difference between us, you know. But the
knowledge that they had so how fast they played the
game because the knowledge they had clarity in terms of
what was being asked of them, And that was a
huge transition for me to learn a Tampa two defense
something new and to try to play fast. Like everybody
(31:42):
you recruit, here's how I use it in college. Everybody
you recruit is really good in high school. Why because
they're playing fast, they have clarity and what they're being
asked to do. The guys that come here and can
learn the playbook and what they're being asked to do
and play with that clarity, the guys usually play earliest.
And so that's probably what I realize more anything, is that,
(32:02):
hey man, those guys understand the ins and outs of
everything they're being asked to do.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
But you bring up something really interesting is we look
at guys who are quick and fast, but if you
know where you're going, you're even quicker and you're faster, right,
And I think that that's underrated. Sometimes we go, boy,
that guy's got God given ability. But if Urlocker knows
I have to go there and I'm already fast to
get there, I'm even faster, and that that's where they
(32:27):
disrupt plays.
Speaker 10 (32:28):
On defense always, we have a saying clarity equals velocity,
and so the more clarity you have, the faster you're
going to be able to play. And that's what we
have to do as coaches, is create clarity for our
guys to go out there and play fast.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
How far is your office from here?
Speaker 9 (32:45):
A couple hundred yards?
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Okay, yeah, not too far. What is it like? Did
you ever walk this campus by yourself when you first
got this job, like you can't help but see history?
Oh yeah, but I don't know how that it impacts
me every time I walk this campus. But it's like
West Point when you're there, I mean, you're a whole
(33:06):
different world. Yeah, and there are very few campuses like
that with this history. But I didn't know if you
ever found yourself you're just walking the campus and really
letting it sink in of where you are.
Speaker 9 (33:17):
I do it often. I still do it to this day.
Speaker 10 (33:20):
I remember when I came here, when I was looking
at potentially being a defensive coordinator, and I was with
my wife, and I remember saying, this is the most
beautiful campus I've ever been on, and it was just perfect.
Speaker 9 (33:33):
Right.
Speaker 10 (33:33):
It's a hard way to describe it, but I still
do it to this day. I run on campus. I'll
walk early in the morning and sometimes go by the
Golden domeans And it's a reminder of the gratitude that
you have for this place, the history of this place,
the people that have come before you. And I think
for me, it's the responsibility to continue to make it better,
(33:55):
to elevate it, and a It's a great response ability,
but a great reminder as you look around this place.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Would you cry when you got the head coaching John?
Speaker 10 (34:06):
No, No, I didn't. That doesn't mean I wasn't emotional.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
Your players were emotional. Yeah, I mean it's a great video.
That video is wonderful, But it's a testament to you.
It's a testament to they got the right guy.
Speaker 9 (34:23):
I hope, So I hope, I hope. You know, I don't.
Speaker 10 (34:28):
You know, I look at that moment and I was
just as excited to go greet them as the video
showed they were to greet me. I think it's it's
a reflection of a group of players and a coach
that have either earned trust or choose to trust each other,
right Like they trusted me to be the head coach,
(34:52):
and I trust that I'm going to help them reach
their goals, and so we're in this together like that.
That's how I view this thing, all right, that that, Yeah,
you're the head coach.
Speaker 9 (35:06):
You have to lead, you have to.
Speaker 10 (35:09):
Have the vision and the plan and the process. But
we're in this together. We succeed together, and we have
difficult moments. We have those together and we all have
to own it.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Good luck on Saturday. I appreciate gat to talk to
you again. Appreciate It's always do you want to hit
paul Do you want to hit Paulie again?
Speaker 2 (35:30):
It's your's your home getting tempting, you know, it's very tempting.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
When's the last time you hit somebody? I can practice?
Speaker 9 (35:38):
Do you ever? I used my years Deven's coordinator.
Speaker 10 (35:43):
Probably was the last time I put on the little
little chest pad.
Speaker 9 (35:47):
And let them hit me.
Speaker 10 (35:48):
They you know, they would try to go a little
bit extra, but you know, with with with four boys
at home. Sometimes you you know, there's wrestlers, there's football players.
We have some pretty good matchup.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
You don't want to mess with the wrestler. You don't
want to mess with the wrestler.
Speaker 9 (36:04):
I don't mess with eighteen year old. But the twelve,
the ten, and a six year old I still take down. Yeah,
I can still take them.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
He's Marcus Freeman. 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.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
I forgot about this, but our next guest. He's the
athletic director here at Notre Dame Pete Babaqua. I think
he was my boss at NBC Ecock at one point,
although I never saw him. I don't know if we
had any communication. Yes, Paul, that's the best kind of boss. Yeah,
but I just remembered he worked at NBC Sports and
ran NBC Sports, but I didn't come in contact with it. Yeah, Paul.
(36:45):
Then he went into the portal and Notre Dame picked up.
Yeah they did. But the nil I mean, he's done
a really good job here as we welcome the Notre
Dame Athletic Director Pete Babakwa. Thanks guys, thankful whoa Okay,
what have we got? We got gifts here?
Speaker 12 (37:04):
Our new our new hockey jersey.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
Okay, so this is the unveiling of the hockey jersey
that will be on display.
Speaker 12 (37:15):
Wow tonight we're gonna We're gonna wear it tonight. We
play tonight again against St. Lawrence. We had a nice victory.
I think a bunch of.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
You guys were there. They were there.
Speaker 12 (37:24):
I had a nice victory last night at ate too,
and hopefully we can keep it going.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
That is awesome.
Speaker 12 (37:29):
But also I have some of your old performance reviews.
You do, yeah, sit down and talk about that.
Speaker 9 (37:35):
Wait?
Speaker 3 (37:35):
Were you my boss at some point?
Speaker 12 (37:37):
I was? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (37:38):
Yeah, But why didn't I talk to you? You know,
I was busy, and why didn't you talk to me?
Speaker 12 (37:43):
I we talked.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Did you think I did a good job?
Speaker 12 (37:46):
I thought you did a really good job?
Speaker 3 (37:47):
Okay, yeah, yeah? Why am I not there anymore?
Speaker 12 (37:51):
Uh? There's there's new bosses.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
Great to talk to you. And I mentioned this. I
don't know if I'm overstating it. You probably would think
I am. But I look at Sank and Patiti and
I look at you as you probably the three most
important people in college football, the SEC Commissioner, Big ten
and you here at Notre Dame, and you take over
for Jack Swarbrick, who was one of the most influential
(38:19):
people we probably had with this sport. Sometime, do you
feel like you guys are the gatekeepers here and if so,
what goes along with that?
Speaker 12 (38:27):
Well, I would tell you, first of all, it's not me.
It's Notre Dame. I mean Notre Dame as are in
that position. You talk about the history of Notre Dame football,
the power Notre Dame football, the power of the brand.
I'm the caretaker of that, you know, and I couldn't
be more honored or feel more fortunate to be in
this position. And I take that responsibility very very seriously.
(38:49):
That I'm in that room having those conversations with Greg Sanky,
Tody Petiti, Jimmy Phillips at the ACC, Brett Yormark at
the Big Twelve, and others, and you know, we have
a very definite point of view, We have a perspective.
What Notre Dame believes in. Being independent in the space,
as you've mentioned in the past, is certainly a unique
(39:10):
attribute to the position we hold in college football, and
it's a great privilege to be in that room. I
love being in that room. I love being a part
of those conversations, and we're hall hopefully united and aligned
in certainly doing what's best. A commissioner has to always
have the perspective of what's best for his or her conference.
I have to have the perspective of what's best for
(39:31):
Notre Dame. But I think we all hope to share
a common ground of what's best for the future health
of college football.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
Okay, but what is that? There have been different models
that have been put out there, and I just it
feels like it's inevitable we're going to get to an
NFL or Premier League type of format. Could you get
sixty teams fifty forty teams and almost secede from the NCAA.
Speaker 12 (39:52):
Yeah, Dan, there's the concept of this super league. Are
there twenty four to thirty teams that extricate themselves from
the college football space and create a mini NFL? I,
for one, I think that's a horrible mistake. College football
is not the NFL. We shouldn't be. The NFL were
something different. We're something that's special, the crowds, the alumni bases,
(40:12):
the fact that these are eighteen to twenty one year
olds that change and graduate. There's a power to that.
And I think in trying to replicate the NFL model,
where there might be some more revenue there, particularly from
a media standpoint, I think we'll ruin what's special. We
won't look like the NFL, will look like a small version,
a compromise version of the NFL, and we'll lose what's
(40:35):
so special about what's going to happen here tomorrow night.
When you have two great story programs from great schools
coming together, this wonderful rivalry. You know, you have the
Notre Dame USC's the Ohio State Michigan's. That's what makes
college football so special.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
But we're losing these rivalries. We may lose USC Notre Dame.
Speaker 12 (40:54):
Well, I would say, and I can't speak for USC,
but in the converse we've had I think both schools,
both administrations are committed to keeping this series alive. We've
had a lot of positive conversations with USC. They're continuing
literally around the clock. My hope, and I think USC
(41:14):
shares this, and I know they share it. We want
to keep this series going. It's so special. It's ay,
I'll be the first two a Minute's great for Notre Dame.
I think it's great for USC, and maybe most importantly,
I think it's great for college football. This is one
of those rivalries that defined college football, define the sport,
the greatest intersectional rivalry that there is. And I think
(41:35):
the public deserves it. I think the college fans deserve it.
All the pageantry of a Notre Dame USC game. You
think about the importance of this game over the history
of college football, how many national championships were influenced and
determined the Heisman Trophy winners. And I understand, you know,
with the Big Ten, the conference schedules, you know, more
conference matchups, that's tough, that's difficult travel for USC now
(42:00):
that they're in the Big Ten. But you know, I
just think college football deserves it. I know we feel
that way. I know USC feels that way. And you know,
for us, we're lucky that we have a long list
of really prominent teams that want to play us. They
want to do home and homes, they want us to
come to their stadiums, they want to come here to
Notre Dame and you know that's great, and that's a
(42:22):
fortunate position to be in. And that's the power of
Notre Dame and the power of the program under coach Freeman.
But there's something really special about Notre Dame USC, and
no matter how either team season is going, anything can happen.
You can make a team a more difficult road to
a national championship, you can have an upset. It's just
a wonderful history there that I hope we don't lose.
Speaker 3 (42:44):
Yeah, okay, So why are we at this point where
we have to negotiate around the clock to keep this going.
If everybody understands the beauty of this rivalry, the importance
of this rivalry.
Speaker 12 (42:53):
I think it's scheduling and now the Big Ten schedule
and the nine games that they play. When you look
at our schedule into the future and we're talking about
moments in the calendar month that makes sense for us
and for USC. I think there's no secret that USC
would like to play our game earlier in the season.
So I'm working hand in hand with somebody who's so
(43:15):
important to our program, Ron Palace, who's a name everybody knows,
and Ron is kind of mapping out what our future
looks like twenty six, twenty seven, well into the thirties,
and where could we position this game. So it's a
win win for us when we go out there and
when USC comes here and visits. I'm hopeful. I'm optimistic.
Nothing is finalized, but I'm optimistic that we'll get something done.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
He's a Pete Bubaqua Notre Dame athletic director. But I
understand from USC's perspective, it feels like Notre Dame may
need USC more than USC needs Notre Dame because Notre
Dame has a tough Big ten schedule and they don't
want to jeopardize, you know, another loss, because if you
have three losses, you're not going to make like tomorrow's
an elimination game. It feels like for Notre Dame.
Speaker 12 (43:57):
Yeah, I think it's you know, we you know, we
have a tough schedule. We opened up with two very
tough competitive games, obviously with Miami, who's now I think
number two in the country in Texas A and m
We lost to Miami by three points. There in our
opening game, we lost to Texas A and m here
by a point. Then you know, we've had this great
stretch of four victories in a row. But no, hey,
(44:17):
no doubt about it. If we want to make the CFP,
and we do, we got to go win tomorrow night.
We know that our team knows that. Marcus knows that.
But I'll push back on you. I think this game
is just as important for USC as it is for
Notre Dame, and just as important for college football. And
if you're USC, you want this tradition. You want to
play Notre Dame. You want Notre Dame to come out
(44:38):
to the coliseum. You know, just like when USC's here,
we'll pack the house the South Bend. There'll be one
hundred more thousand people coming into South Bend, even people
who can't get in the stadium, just to be a
part of the pageantry in the atmosphere. Well, that happens
when we go out to the coliseum. It's packed. The
surrounding area has packed. It has such a benefit for
(44:59):
the campus, for the community. And when you take two
great historic brands from wonderful schools and you're able to
have this great contest on the football field year in
and year out, there's tremendous value for the entire eCos.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Well, I don't want to lose it, but I don't
want to lose Notre Dame in Michigan.
Speaker 12 (45:16):
Well, I would want to. I'd love to play Michigan,
you know, And I think that's something we're going to
work toward. I think that's one of you know, I
think back to my time here. I graduated in nineteen
ninety three.
Speaker 3 (45:28):
If you join the Big Ten, then you get to
play these teams. Yeah, but we just letting me know.
Speaker 12 (45:33):
I hear you and the Big Ten.
Speaker 3 (45:35):
Hey, no, there's was it ever close?
Speaker 12 (45:37):
Big Ten's a wonderful conference. I don't think it was
ever close. You know, there's the Big Ten, the SEC,
the Big twelve, the ACC. As you know, we're a
member of the ACC for twenty four of our twenty
six sports or Big ten in hockey, and obviously independent
in football. I think it's a great time to be independent.
And we're sure we're a unicorn. But we have a
(45:58):
wonderful relationship with NBC thirty five years in counting. We
have the luxury and we're fortunate to schedule great teams.
Think about this year we had Miami, Texas, A and
m we play USC. Going into the future, we have Alabama,
we have Texas We have some others that we're close
to announcing, and I love the fact that the freedom
(46:21):
we have from playing teams that make sense, playing in
areas that we want to play in, whether it's going
to New York City, going out to Los Angeles, playing
in the Yankee Stadium next year, opening up the season
in Lambeau against Wisconsin, going to Ireland, thinking hey, can
we go play a game in Mexico City. You have
the luxury of that when you're independent. But to be independent,
(46:43):
you have to be good, and we know that, and
that's an obligation, that's a responsibility.
Speaker 3 (46:47):
We have to be good.
Speaker 12 (46:48):
We have to stay relevant. We have to knock on
that national championship door year in and year out. Because
to stay independent, we have to be impossible to ignore.
You have to be a uniform but you don't want
you can't let the unicorn get starved. And that's tremendous
pressure on the program, on our athletic department, on Coach Freeman.
But it's pressure that we welcome and I think we
(47:10):
thrive on.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
If you had the deciding vote of expanding the playoffs
from twelve to let's say sixteen.
Speaker 12 (47:17):
One hundred percent answer in my opinion, sixteen teams is
the way we should go. Five automatic qualifiers, one each
for the power for conference champions, one for the highest
CHI five G five champion, eleven at large. Prove it
on the field. If we're lucky enough to be in,
we're in. If because we're independent, we have three losses
or four losses and we're out, we're out. I think
(47:39):
there's almost unanimity in that feeling, and I hope that's
where we end up. I feel passionate about that. I
think it's the best thing for college football. I think
it's the best thing for the future college football. Look
at the top ten this year, look at the different
teams in there. Look at the success that Texas Tech
is having.
Speaker 3 (48:00):
You want that.
Speaker 12 (48:00):
You want every team to wake up at the end
of the summer and they as they go into their
first game and say, hey, if we do it, if
we get it done, if we go twelve and zero,
if we go eleven and one, if we schedule tough
opponents and have a strong strength to schedule, we can
earn our way in there. Nobody wants a head start.
That's not the way to do it. We want to
prove that we can identify a true national championship, a
(48:23):
team that's earned in on the field. And I feel
very strongly.
Speaker 3 (48:27):
Yeah, but can we lock in sixteen? We got to
twelve and went we were already going, well, we got
to get to fourteen or sixteen?
Speaker 2 (48:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 12 (48:33):
I think what I love about I think the move
from four to twelve was terrific and smart. I think
the move from twelve to sixteen brings additional teams in.
Obviously the four additional teams, it creates those four additional
narratives around the country, brings those fan bases in, brings
in other geographies. Yet there's that delicate balance that I
think it achieves and maintains of identifying a true national
(48:56):
championship but protecting the integrity and the importance of that
of the regular season. And there's no sport where the
regular season games are more important than they are in
college football. Here we are in Week seven and we
have a game tomorrow night that for us will determine
whether we can make the playoffs or whether we're out
on the outside looking in. That doesn't happen in other sports,
(49:18):
and that's the beauty of college football. That's why there's
so much passion around these games, and you mentioned games
this weekend that are so important, teams that can't afford
to lose again, teams that need a quality win. That's
the beauty of college football, and we can't lose. That
be a shame if we lost that.
Speaker 3 (49:34):
Do you have uniform approval?
Speaker 12 (49:36):
I have uniform input, input input. So you know Marcus
who's probably one of the two or three most stylish
men in America, he has a lot of input. We
tend to defer to him. We have color combinations that
we like, and then he works with our very talented
team and with our partner under Armour to put the
uniforms out there. But I get a sense that's a
(49:58):
leading question. Are you thinking about a uniform that we
haven't debuted yet?
Speaker 3 (50:02):
No, I'm just curious. Is there anything like a bold
move that you would make for a one off?
Speaker 12 (50:10):
Well, you think about our Shamrock series. We've had some
really creative uniforms.
Speaker 3 (50:14):
You think when we and I love the helmet with
the shamrock on. Yeah, I think that.
Speaker 12 (50:17):
We we see though the gold helmet as Sakra say, Okay,
I don't think we're gonna monkey around with the helmets anymore.
That gold helmet is as good as it gets. I'm biased.
I think it's the best helmet in college football. But
you think about when we went to Yankee Stadium for
the Shamrock Series a few years back with the pinstripes,
what we did last year when we went to Yankee
(50:37):
Stadium for the Army game. What we're going to do
next year at Lambeau, what we did a couple of
weeks ago in the all green uniforms. I love when
we use the white on white with the gold helmets
when we're away. So we're gonna, you know, we work
with under armour. We want to change it up. The
fans love it.
Speaker 3 (50:52):
But you would do that the leper cun on the front.
Speaker 12 (50:55):
Like you can't put the leper count on for you
need the number, but you can't new Ae No, you
will see that are we have the sports specific leprechauns.
We debuted the football one that that you guys that
we've been wearing a few weeks ago, and the fans
love it. Coach Freeman loves it. We have the hockey
leprechan We're going to do that in more sports. You
will see that football leprechaun start to move into certain
(51:17):
positions on some of our football uniforms, but unlike the
hockey sweater, it won't be on the front or the back.
Speaker 3 (51:23):
Can you give me an idea of how much merchandise
you guys do well, I would tell you we did
a lot yesterday. You know that's a great a two
story got a bookstore full of merchant. It's like saxvict
Avenue yess like this has to be. You must do
more merchandise than any other program in America.
Speaker 12 (51:42):
I think you know, we're lucky. We have such a great, passionate, national,
international fan base that Notre Dame logo. Whether you're in
South Bend, Indiana, or New York City or Beijing, people
know what it is. It means something. And then to
the credit of the university, into the credit of our partners.
Like under Armor, we come up with, you know, really
(52:04):
interesting designs that appeal to people. And then, as I say,
you put it on Marcus Freeman, put him on television
for three and a half hours on a Saturday afternoon
or a Saturday night, and everybody wants what what Marcus wears. Now,
the unfortunate thing is not everybody looks as good as
as Marcus does you.
Speaker 3 (52:22):
Guys do your results may vary? Can you get the Pope?
Speaker 12 (52:26):
He's a cell sider, he's a south side everybody, but
he is a villainovgrad.
Speaker 3 (52:30):
Yeah, but they don't have football.
Speaker 12 (52:31):
They don't have football. We're we think the pope's a fan.
We are Provost John McGreevey and our president.
Speaker 3 (52:38):
Maybe you know, fighting arms and he's wearing the hockey.
Speaker 12 (52:41):
A little blue and gold and green. Every nice something
to work on for sure.
Speaker 3 (52:45):
Thanks for having us hosting us people here behind the
scenes did a wonderful job. Could not have been more accommodating.
And it is. And I don't know if an honorary
degree is like in play now, but I mean I'll
throw it out there.
Speaker 12 (53:00):
We well, we we're thrilled here here. I love the
show personally, know that. That's why I've all take it
up with our president father Bob.
Speaker 3 (53:08):
Okay, all right, fair enough. I mean a graduated from
Dayton so maybe Flyers great school. Yeah, maybe like a
graduate degree.
Speaker 12 (53:14):
You know, so where you can come back and get
on your avanced degree.
Speaker 3 (53:16):
A doctorate, you know something like that. Thank you, Pete,
you well notre Dame Athletic Director
Hosts And Creators
Rich Davis
Steve Covino
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