The Buckeyes Meet Missouri in The Cotton Bowl Friday Night!

The Bucks are in the Cotton Bowl against a very good Missouri Tiger Football team that has some high quality wins and one against the Buckeyes, might be the biggest in program history. Coach AJ Pratt breaks down the game and all the bowl games, PLUS gives you what to watch for in the College Football Playoff for Monday.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome into the Oh Show on iHeartRadioalong with Coach A. J. Pratt.
My name is Paul James Coach.How was Christmas? Man? It
was Mary good blessed. I'm sureyours was as well. It was fantastic.
Got to got to introduce the soonto be daughter in law to the
rest of my, uh my immediatefamily. That was delightful. And you

(00:20):
don't get to say that many times. Hopefully you don't get to say that.
Yeah, I'm hoping you're absolutely rightabout that one. Yeah, you
saw me coming in here sideways gettingready to go watch the William and Marjorie
Grover Holiday Classic. My wife willbe trying to hear our daughter and her

(00:42):
her staff and girls to night,trying to get to ten and one,
and they're going they're going up againstBuckeye Central, Buckeye Central tonight and Mount
Gilliad tomorrow, I think. Butanyway, basketball, we were in the
midst of it, and uh yeah, we're going from Christmas to New Year's
and it was cool that you dothat with your Christmas. But just a

(01:02):
couple of quick things before we getinto the show. Sure, how about
your browns? Oh boil boy?My Browns are fun hen and five playing
on house money man Lions get towin over the Vikes to get to eleven
and four. Yeah, how aboutthat Rock Parties four interceptions helped the Ravens

(01:23):
get to twelve to three. Withthat thirty three nineteen win for the Rake,
I mean probably is I have startedto watch more NFL football as the
college seasons wound down, and obviouslyhaving friends that coach in that league on
several teams. But it looks tome going into that game that's probably arguably
the two best teams in the NFLright now, correct, which now the

(01:45):
forty nine ers know how to beatthem in the Super Bowl if that happens.
That's what I've been telling my friends. We've been talking. I said,
don't worry about it. The Ninerswill beat them if they get there.
And then you look at the Chiefs. You know they've lost three or
four, four out of six.They got problems. Yeah, mister Kelsey
wasn't very happy on the sideline yousaw. So that lost the Raiders and
then the Dolphins. They're good doingSteven A. Smith a favor this week.

(02:08):
That's a game one o'clock on Sunday. They play against the Ravens.
Yes, Dolphins secure in the playoffspot, getting to eleven and four over
the Cowboys. And like I said, I already talked about girls high school
hoop action tonight. But yeah,I think you and I have some things
to watch here the next six orseven days. Correct. I have thoroughly

(02:29):
enjoyed watching What's Funny because my supervisorasked me because I'm off, I'm off
my regular job this week, andhe said, so what do you do
the week between Christmas and New Year'sAnd I said, I drink beer,
I watch football, and I spendtime with my family. And he said,
that's a pretty honest, straightforward,darn good answer. Listen, I'm

(02:50):
with you. Tomorrow is my lastday of work in the year of twenty
twenty three, and we'll get backat it next Tuesday. But yeah,
you and I have to have alot of good football to talk about today,
but to enjoy the next handful ofdays in one of the best weeks
of the year. Duke's Mayor bollTo and I might be pretty good.
We'll chat about that here in afew minutes, but let's run down go
ahead. I was gonna say,though, A few things in the world

(03:14):
of sports that also go back tocollege football. Right on, Uh,
you got UT's Joe Milton is out. He's opted out of the game for
their bowl game. I don't knowif you saw today Florida's Trevor etn there's
a lot of pain in Gainesville,but he is now a Georgia Bulldog.
He is moving on the lane train. Has won the portal very much so

(03:37):
so. And if you didn't seenow A and M's defensive tackle, the
big get with Walter Nolan is headingto Mississippi. And then you've got Jerry
Kill resigns, retires, he says, for the last time out of nowhere
after he went bonkers. After wetalked about that in Mexico to Mexico States
though, and then the last one, Paul, before we get into the

(03:59):
show you put together for us everyweek, did you see Kurt Signetti and
his Oh mind, I did not. I did not. I was going
to ask you if you saw Courtlandplay in the Division three championship. That
was exciting. They had to gothirty eight hundred miles on a bus the
last four weeks and they chose togo to the Stag Ball in a bus

(04:21):
and they went up there and theywon their first national title in Division III
Courtland. What a story, right, I didn't know that story, but
yeah, that was the cool Iwatched that game. It was it was
a fun game on Saturday. Butanyway, No, it was just bizarre
that they're interviewing him in his pressconferences, you know, is being announced
as the head coach, and they'reasking him about how he gets recruits,
and he just kind of the bodylanguage he looks at him and he finally

(04:44):
answers, I win google me.Oh yeah, I did see that.
All right, I'm coach. Takeit easy now. I mean, I
know he has been successful, butgoing into the Big Ten and starting Indiana's
not an easy job. Yeah,is not an easy job. And with
obviously the expansion and no divisions inthe Big Ten run, that's uh,

(05:06):
that's a lot of a lot ofconfidence. Well there's been a lot of
that. I mean ap out atin Vegas. I mean saying that I
should get the Raiders job. Lookwhat I've done the last six weeks and
I beat I beat Kansas City atKansas City and pissed him all off and
had you know, and he's right, he's actually he's earned that job.

(05:29):
He probably should get that job.But I mean, God, God bless
him. Antonio Pierce says, Iwant the job, and I'm gonna tell
you how bad I want the job, and he's campaigning for it. Good,
God bless you. I hope youdo get Selfishly, I hope he
does too. One of my formerplayers and former colleague of mine are both
on that staff. And you knowthat came out of nowhere. They wouldn't
have expected it to happen that soonwith the Daniel eras so and he has.

(05:51):
He's done a good job and uh, and the players seem to like
him a lot. Yeah, andbig thing. I'm just telling you.
People say all the time, youknow, always about fire and coaches.
There's families involved with every one ofthose coaches, right, and it's it's
not an easy Uh, it's notan easy livelihood. I can tell you

(06:12):
that. Well, I'll tell youit's been You're right, it's been crazy
for the last week or so.Some fun games, and I've enjoyed the
Browns playing on house money with absolutelyno no starters left for the most part
on offense. But hey, itis what it is. We'll talk about
that a little bit more later aswell. But let's dig into some of
the bulls that have already happened.Not going to get too deep into them,

(06:34):
but certainly want to want to mentionthem because some of them were really
good. Not this one. Thebulk of her tone bull Forty five to
nothing, South Florida beat Syracuse andMcCord stood on the sidelines and just watched
Syracuse get their butt kicked. Didyou see the meme of his face?
Yeah, this is what buyer's remorse. But hey, listen, this was

(06:59):
all South Florida. But a greatnot good, a great first year for
Alex Golish. That team went fromone and eleven a year ago to his
first year there to seven and six. There's not many teams in the country,
if any, that can say we'rewe Northwestern. That is plus six
plus six compared to last year.That's a great coaching job by those guys.

(07:20):
Quarterback Byron Brown was terrific two fourteenpast sixty four, rushed three touchdowns,
never turned it over. And SouthFlorida obviously they pitched the shutout,
but holds Syracuse to twenty twenty rushingyards and they were held to one of
seventeen on third down, it wasa wood shed whipping, yeah, and

(07:42):
there's no question about it. Andthen on the flip side, ye had
the Gasparilla ball. Later that day, Georgia Tech beat Central Florida thirty to
seventeen. Georgia Tech way behind,comes back to win the game. That
was fun. Yeah, you knowlast year, you know, Georgia Tech
getting to seven and six like SouthFlorida did, that's a big deal,
bitter taste for Central Florida's they goto six and seven for Gus Malson and

(08:03):
that crew. But Brett Key nowwas four and four a year ago when
he took over in the season andhe gets to seven wins, so he's
now over five hundred. Georgia Techagain, that's not an easy job and
turn around, I think they've donea great job. Georgia Tech Tech won
the second half thirteen to nothing afterthe first half Tye Paul and Ormari Harvey.

(08:28):
His interception is what sealed it.But Georgia Tech's run game was outstanding,
as they rushed for almost three hundredyards in the win, and one
hundred and thirty of it to Jamalhaynes I was hanging out at the KFC
with some friends watching the Birmingham Bull. Let me tell you that was a
good one. Duke seventeen Troy ten. Duke's offense all decided not to play
and transfer port and all that crap, but their defense showed up and they

(08:52):
beat a really good Troy team.Yeah, I'll be honest with you,
Troy sitting there finishing at the elevenand three. Duke gets that eighth win.
It was a surprise. But really, to me, the most valuable
player was Todd Polino. Yeah kicker, their kicker field goals. Gunner Watson
had through that critical interception for Troy. Troy's missed a field goal, they
struggled on third down where they onlythree of twelve, and they struggled in

(09:16):
the red zone. But two newstaffs no Riley Leonard and Duke's d does
show up a row tek. TheCamellia Bull was interesting. Northern Illinois beats
Arkansas State twenty one to nineteen.Rocky Lombardi big plays in that thing.
Man, he showed up, didn'the He did, and he does what
he usually does. He did havea couple turnovers in the game. But

(09:37):
how about kicker Canaan Woodill. Hemay have been zero for two for the
three pointers, but the thirty twoyard touchdown run on the trick play there
in the second quarter. Yeah,the two I t's been rocky by Rocky
Lombardi, which we've seen him domany times over the last few years.
But plays with the throw and hisarm for two touchdowns was a difference in
the game if you didn't watch.So the very end, Lord, then

(10:01):
the Illinois goes for two, right, they fail, They on side kick
it, they recovered, and there'sthis mystery penalty and you know who the
penalty was on, Butch Jones's son, Adam Jones, and Butch went berserk
on the sideline. I saw that, Yeah, and he never got an
answer. But ironically that penalty wascalled on Butcher's son, Adam. That

(10:24):
crazy. I did not know that. I didn't see the outbursts. Though
Armed Forces bar Bowl was a goodone. Air Force thirty one, James
Madison twenty one. How about EmmanuelMichael two hundred and three yard rushing?
That's right, And the thing isPaul Staff changed JMU. You don't know
whatever is going to come from that. As we just talked about coach Signetty

(10:46):
going to Indiana, but this onesurprised me a little bit. Eleven and
two JMU air Force ends up nineand four with a ten point win because
Jordan McLeod ended up playing in thegame at quarterback and played fairly well,
but he was sacked four times.But air Force dominated the line of scrimmage
they had for their defense got afterJMU four sacks, ninety tackles for loss.

(11:11):
They only allow twenty six rushing yards. That's all JMU had in that
game. And what did air Forcedo. We know they got crazy and
through five forward passes in this game, but three hundred and fifty one rushing
yards and as you said, EmmanuelMichael contributed two hundred and three of those
on thirty five attempts. That's goingto work. Wow, that is going

(11:33):
to work. The Idaho Potato BullGeorgia State, their offense is legit forty
five twenty two. They beat UtahState five total touchdowns for Darren Granger for
Georgia State. Yeah, you gotyour blue turf and your French fries,
Paul, And this game was neverin doubt more lopsided than I would have

(11:54):
guessed because Georgia State. As wetalked about trends that actually came into this
game losing five straight. This wasa big and needed win for Shawn Elliott
in Georgia State. But yeah,your man, Darren Granger quarterback through for
two point fifty seven and three touchdowns, ran for two. Running Back Freddy
Brock had a great day. Ranfor school record school record two hundred and

(12:15):
seventy six. But Utah State defensedid not get on the plane because they
gave up six hundred and forty threeyards. Well, the entire Eastern Michigan
team decided to stay up north tothe sixty eight Ventures Bowl South Alabama beats
of fifty nine to ten. Imean, that was just ugly. And
then whatever melay happened at the endof the game from the Eastern Michigan I

(12:39):
mean, it just it really was. It was ugly. We're sitting at
the Knights with a bunch of guysand I'm like, guys, look at
this, and they ran to replay. I mean, I don't know what
the heck prompted that, but thatwas nasty. Well, Eastern Michigan,
that's not how you want to gointo the offseason. Absolutely, you go

(13:00):
from six and six to six andseven, So it's not a winning season.
It's fifty nine to three before theyscore that late touchdown. So I
mean, this was a blood lettingand that's not how Chris Creighton in his
tenth year wants to go into theoffseason. No doubt about it. Eastern
Michigan couldn't run it, they couldn'tthrow it. They turned it over three

(13:22):
times. Their defense gave up threehundred plus passing, three hundred plus rushing,
and it was equal opportunity for SouthAlabama. They had two quarterbacks play,
they had seven players with rushing yards, they had nine players that touched
the ball in the pass game.But this was another Bowl game, and
this will show up this week withsome kicking woes, as there were Mischield

(13:45):
goals in this game as well.So I've seen as much of that this
Bowl season that I think I've seenin the past. I Mean, one
of the things that really got meabout that whole deal in that Eastern Michigan
players just going crazy. I mean, you got to realize South Alabama is
one mile from Mobile. They wereplaying in their own town, and you
come one thousand miles from all theway to the northern part of the country

(14:07):
and you're gonna start a fight.I can't figure that one out. I
mean, there's like all sorts ofwhy did you do that going on in
my head For that one, Idon't know, but I won't say.
Well, this is kind of coolthe timing of this. This is a
coach. I say, you justgot something on your phone from one of
the teams in the Final four,and I had asked him earlier how we
feel and and his answer is alwaysoptimistic. Optimistic is a good way to

(14:31):
be. Hey, if you're inthe final four, you got a chance.
Brother. That's that's all it means. Las Vegas Ball. This was
a great football game. Northwestern fourteen, Utah seven. How about the defense
for the Cats, Man, Paul, This game was physical. I mean,
I know, I mean seriously,they were knocking the hell out of
each other out there. And youknow, in my if I had a

(14:54):
vote college Football's coach of the Year, it ain't even closed. As David
Brown agreed, this is the teamthat's plus seven in wins. Remember this
guy got hired in late July,like two weeks before camp starts. He
inherits a media nightmare. And theycome off this one and eleven season of

(15:15):
twenty twenty two, and what dothey do. They go to a bowl
when they win it and they wineight games this year. That is unbelievable
to me. Great job, andlook they overcame. Here we are again.
Two first half miss field goals.It was a defensive battle. And
this is quote if you didn't hearKyle Winningham after the game, it's tough
to win a football game scoring sevenpoints. And we know that was you

(15:35):
told. Even though they got toeight wins, they're always his success rate
in the bowl games has always beengood, but they just didn't have offense.
Paul quarterback Ben Bryant for Northwestern,what a really cool story. You
seed em Eastern Michigan to the Usee, I think, and his travels
take him to Northwestern overcame an injuryin the game. I was shocked.

(16:00):
He went back in where he hadthe hand that yeah, Tua had.
But he goes back in the gametwenty two of thirty four to two touchdowns.
Northwestern's d steps up and stops youTah on that fourth down in the
fourth quarter, and then he leadsthem to that winning touchdown. Drive.
But look, Utah played defense again. They gave up sixty five rushing yards

(16:22):
sixty five but minus three and turnoversand scoring seven points. That's a tough
day. I'll tell you what.Bron created a culture and really got those
guys to buy into his system andman, just everything about that whole deal.
I mean, that's a thirty forthirty. I mean, if you
think about it, you know,you go from that poor in just weeks

(16:45):
to being successful. I mean,so much respect for that whole thing.
Crazy thing is is Pat Fitzgerald obviouslydid a great job, but there the
recent struggles, so the heat wason and then what happened happened. But
what's shocking to me seriously is howphysical Northwestern played. Yeah. I mean
that's the best. The best complimentyou can get from a coach about your

(17:08):
football team is your guys are reallyphysical and tough, yeah, and play
smart. And they do both.And there's no question they were fun to
watch. We'll see where they're at. Buckeyes get to play them next season.
By the way, Hawaii, butCoastal Carolina twenty four, San Jose
State fourteen, that was a fungame. Well, I said last week,
I thought it was a tough getfor Coastal Carolina to go across the

(17:30):
Continental US across the Pacific, butyou know what they showed up. They
get to eight and five on theyear. There's only seven first half points
in the game, and San JoseState tried to make a fourth quarter run.
But Coastal Carolina quarterback ethan Vasco wasimpressive the entire game, two fifty
total yards, three touchdowns, nevergave the ballway and Coastal Carolina, which

(17:53):
is raredy overcame ten penalties, butSan Jose State contributed eighth themselves, but
zero turn on. They took theball away twice from San Jose State.
They were better in special teams ifyou didn't watch the game, they were
better in the red zone, andthey were better on third down compared to
San Jose State in the four quarters. Yeah, I really enjoyed the quick
Lane Bowl on Tuesday. Minnesota beatsBowling Green thirty twenty four. A lot

(18:17):
of storylines there, but Darius Taylor'stwo hundred and eight yards huge and Minnesota
wins seven bowl games in a row. Yeah, that's impressive. Wow.
Seven They haven't lost a ball gamesince twenty fourteen. That's impressive and that
says something about how they do things. Look, there's no perfect template,

(18:37):
but some coaches figure out how toprepare and navigate bowl season, especially with
the chaos now of what we talkedabout last week with early signing transfer portal
finals. So that's cool, butreal quick. In this game, Bowling
Green was up ten to nine ahalf. Minnesota had a great played with

(19:00):
what they were brought into that game. At quarterback, you've got Cole Kramer
who has sixteen pass attempts in thegame, goes eight of sixteen for a
whopping twenty six yards. He hadone more attempt the entire season. So
it was a crazy story. Butwhat they did with Darius Taylor's you spoke
of Paul as they played some wildcat. They did what they had to do.

(19:22):
He gets thirty five carries. Theygrinded out. The big win inside
this game was the hidden yardage inthe return game. One hundred and twenty
return yards from Minnesota. Lamique Brockingtonand Quinton Reading made a difference in that
game as close as it was,but the Minnesota run game and defense creating
negative plays were also the difference inthe close win. For the Gophers First

(19:47):
Responder Bowl. Last night, TexasState blows out Rice forty five to twenty
one. Ugly games. It wasugly. Aj not Pratt, but AJ
Paget throws three interceptions, six totalturnovers. Yeah for Rice. Texas State
gets to eight and five, theyoutrush Rice one forty eight to eighty five,

(20:08):
and they dominate Rice both offensively anddefensively on third down. So good
win for Texas State. How aboutKansas and UNLV the guaranteed Ray Boll forty
nine thirty six Kansas win. JasonBean sixth touchdowns? Coach, What the
heck we're going on in Kansas?It was good that he showed up to
play. But here's the crazy thing. You know, Kansas finishes nine to

(20:30):
four. That nine and five byBarry odoms bunch, losing that game that
they don't like the way they're seasonended either because they had some losses in
their late Yeah, but Kansas withtwenty one points in the second quarter,
they had twenty one points in thefourth quarter. And your boy, Jason
Bean, yeah, he overcame threepicks with six touchdowns. Like you said,

(20:52):
that's a great day. About fourhundred and fifty yards, but Kansas
stopped to run and UNLV quarterback didhave a decent day, Jaden my Ava
three hundred yards, three touchdowns,but two costly picks. I was leaving
to come over here, and Isaw Mac Brown heading on in for the
Duke's Mayo Bowl tonight, and he'swearing a suit and tie and all that,

(21:14):
And the only thing I could thinkof is if they win that game,
that suit and tie is destroyed.Well, here's the thing, because
I know we talked about these gameslast week, but on the way over,
Virginia Tech had went up fourteen inthe fourth quarter over two lane Lane
and then your boy Mac Brown,as you said, they'll be playing here
in just a few minutes against WestVirginia. Then tonight after basketball, I

(21:38):
get to watch buddies of mine,former players of mine, coaching on that
Louisville staff against the USC team,and Louisville there is at a six and
a half point favorite. And lastbut not least, we get to see
a Jimboles, Texas A and mtonight sitting there at seven and five as
actual underdogs to the fighting undes ofOklahoma State. That's going to be interesting

(21:59):
to see the evening goes. I'mlooking forward to sitting home, having a
few more of these pops and watchinggames tonight, continuing on the Gator Bowl
at twelve noon, that game happeningon Friday, and then Clemson and Kentucky
should be a really good game.Yeah, and we're gonna get right into
this, but real quick, Paul, because of our short week. I

(22:19):
mean we had at short week Christmastravel and here we are Wednesday. Yeah.
But games tomorrow absolutely, Yeah,as you've got the Fenway Bowl on
ESPN SMU eleven and two against BCat home there at Fenway six and six.
If you haven't watched Preston Stone,you need to turn it on because,

(22:41):
yeah, thirty two hundred yards,twenty eight touchdowns, six interceptions for
the season, they have been really, really spectacular offensively. Then you've got
a guy with a lot of comfortwith an extension sitting there at six and
six, Rutgers, Greg Ciano.With that extension we talked about last week.
They actually are two and a halfpoint favorites against my Miami. My
question is this, Miami is verygood on defense, but who is playing?

(23:06):
Who's playing? Quarterback? Van Dykeis gone and we can say that
about a lot of games. ThenI like this bowl because I like pop
tarts. You got the pop TartBowl. Do you see the trophy?
I haven't. It actually has It'sa toaster and there's actually pop tarts coming
out of the toaster. That's funny. Well, I don't like to toast
them. Whenever I eat them,I don't even take the time to toast
them. But yeah, the wolfPack, I think another outstanding job by

(23:32):
Dave Dorn this year. They aresitting there at nine and three, eighteenth
in the country, and it wasa slow start and a battle for them
offensively earlier earlier. Kansas State though, is a two and a half point
favorite in that game. And thenlast but not least before we get in
tomorrow or if you're listening on Thursday, that's today. The Alamo Bowl is

(23:53):
one of our darlings from this year. Is number fourteen, Arizona Jetfish's team
nine playing Oklahoma with no Dylan Gabriel. As we talked about last week,
they've won six straight. Noah Fafidahas taken the job. It's caused to
transfer, but they've lost three gamesPaul by seven, by seven, and

(24:15):
by two. Yeah, that's thekind of year Arizona had, so I
look forward to watching them. Yeah, unbelievable. Now you might want to
tune in to the Fenway Bull andthe Penstrack Bowl because the forecast as of
right now for those two games tomorrowis what we've had the last two days
in Ohio. Kind of chilly,very rainy. Could be kind of ugly
with those two games, and theservices that they'll be playing might be kind

(24:38):
of fun to watch just to seehow the weather affects the game. I
don't even know if you and Ihave talked about this over our last five
years of a relationship and doing thisshow. There was only one to three
years of my eighteen years coach,and was I on the field right and
any game where there was bad weather? Hey, guys, how is it

(25:00):
down there? Hey? Hey?Can I get another hot dog? Guys?
It is warm. I can't believehow dry it is in here.
It's true. You know I liketo mess with thief. Absolutely. So
let's get to your Gator Bowl.Yeah, let's talk about a new It
on Friday should be a good one. It should. Remember, he said,

(25:21):
if you're going to buy stock,it's time to buy stock. And
Clemson, That's what Dabo says.Sitting there at eight and four, the
number twenty two RAN Clemson is afour point favorite over the seven and five
UK Wildcats defense. Paul expect thisto be the defensive game. It's Clemson's
four straight wins. But UK doeshave that win they just got off of

(25:41):
with Louisville, which left him witha better taste in her mouth. Is
a slow second half of the season, right, Well, it's going to
be interesting in the Sun Bowl that'sat two o'clock Friday. Number nineteen Oregon
State takes on number sixteen Notre Dame, and of course the opt outs kind
of rule that game. There theyhad the portal, you know, the
portal, the opt outs, yougot. Jonathan Smith is gone, he's

(26:02):
a spartan at Michigan State. Butnumber nineteen Oregon State sitting there at eight
and four against Notre Dame nine andthree forty one and a half is the
over under, but Notre Dame asix point favorite without odric estimate who has
opted out as well, and noone has claimed DJU yet. Have you
seen that? I did see.He's just kind of sitting there idling in

(26:23):
the portal. But we've got tillJanuary twentieth, so you still have some
n He'll get somewhere. Yeah,I just find an interesting that he's hanging
there Liberty Bowl. It is alsoFriday afternoon, three thirty. Memphis and
Iowa State, two teams that wishthey were ranked and were real close to
being there, but they had someshort losses. Well, Memphis gets a

(26:44):
home game. Yeah, sitting thereat nine and three a good year.
Iowa State rebounds in the second halfto get to seven and five. This
one kind of surprises me. Bothteams can score. That's why the overrunders
right there at fifty seven and ahalf fifty eight, but I will state
ten and a half point favorite.And if you haven't watched, and by
the way, I want to justadmit one of my favorite coaching friends is

(27:08):
at Memphis, Chris White. He'slike a brother. I hope they win
this game. It's a home game. But if you haven't watched Seth Henigan
play quarterback for Memphis, he's funto watch. He's had a really good
year where he's thrown for thirty fivehundred plus twenty eight touchdowns and only third
and away nine times. And then, of course the highlight on Friday night
we'll talk about later is the Buckeyegame with Missouri, and we'll hit on

(27:30):
that at the end of the show. The Peach Bowl, though, it
gets things started at noon on Saturday. Number eleven Old Miss versus number ten
Penn State. This should also bea fun game offense versus defense. Man.
Yeah, well, here's what I'mgonna say, Number eleven Old Miss,
ten and two like him, don'tlike him. He's done a great

(27:52):
job at Ole Miss. Sure,and kiffn has number one out of the
portal coming into next season, theygot to be really good. They should,
and they have a favorable schedule nextyear compared to a lot in the
SEC. And you've got number tenPenn States sitting there. At ten and
two. Penn State comes in asthe four and a half point favorite.
Big hit losing Manny Diaz to Duke, there's no question about it. And

(28:15):
remember Mike Yoursich that that change hasbeen made at offensive coordinator Brandon coordinators.
So you got Jackson Dart who's comingback, so he'll be playing in the
game, which is a big dealfor Old Miss. And we know as
far as I know quin Shawn Judkinsis playing for old Miss Drew Aller,
but again the changes, I'm alittle surprised. Penn State is a four
and a half point favorite, butthis should be a The Peach Bowl delivers

(28:38):
for whatever reason, it delivers everyyear. It's one of those ones that
just gets it done. Down inNashville. The Music City Bowl also Saturday,
two o'clock Auburn against Maryland. AndMaryland ended up with a good season,
Auburn not so much. Well,I think most Auburn fans after what
happened the last couple of years,if we got you free, who I

(29:00):
think will do a good job rightThem getting to six and six is probably
a positive because the struggles they hadat quarterback and offensively. And Maryland,
as far as I know to LeahTagovaloa is playing yep. Obviously he's got
a lot of snaps, he's gota lot of experience. They're sitting at
seven and five. But my biggestquestion is Auburn's a seven point favorite down

(29:22):
there in Nashville, is can Auburnscore enough points? And the over unders
at forty six and a half,so Vegas believes this is gonna be fairly
low scoring, and they think Auburncan score enough. And coach Locks has
done really well in bowl games whenhe's been at Maryland, he has.
I mean, you know, lastyear he got the Duke's Mayo on a
really good football game. If youwatch that one, I'll tell you that

(29:45):
Duke's Mayo game been. You know, that was a noon, middle of
the week kind of snoozer game fiveyears ago, and since then it's they've
made it into prime time and it'sjust an enjoyable football game. It's usually
two really good teams, and ofcourse there's all lot of other fun that
goes on with it as well.How about the Orange Bowl. This is
Saturday, four o'clock Georgia and FloridaState, the game that a lot of

(30:08):
people are like, wait, minute, shouldn't they be in the final four?
But once again it's being dominated byopt outs and the transfer portal and
whatnots Well, Paul, here's thething. I think it was a great
decision by one of the best quarterbacksin college football this year. Carson Beck
is not going to go. There'sa lot of this is a really good
quarterback class for the enough for thedraft and him deciding to come back.

(30:32):
Was he got good advice or he'sgot some wisdom, or but he's returning
so he's in the game. ButPaul the opt outs this game could be
ugly. Yeah, Florida State couldjust get flat dominated. Well, you're
sitting there as a now nineteen ortwenty point dog fsu IS and they're the

(30:53):
undefeated team right in the country.But yeah, with all the changes that
have happened, forty four and ahalf points in there, George is a
nineteen twenty point favorite. I I'mwith that. I think this could be
a rough day for Wow with thedrama. Actually it is sad because all
the drama and everything going on ofyou know, the ACC and everything.

(31:18):
Arizona Bowl four point thirty on Saturday. It's got Toledo in Wyoming. Might
be a good game. Wyoming hada really good season. Taleda had great
season. This follows Dawson's Creek onthe c W. But hey, real
quick, Toledo's sitting there had greatyear eleven and two. But they are
a three point dog to an eightand four Wyoming team. And a big

(31:40):
reason is is no to Kwon Finnas he is in the portal. I
don't know where he's landed, buthe has taken off. He's a good
quarterback. And Wyoming is a teamthat actually gave Texas a football game.
They did, so do not forgetWyoming game Texas a football game. The
real request ball This is on Januaryfirst, said is Monday, twelve noon,

(32:01):
Wisconsin and LSU. I will beon that one beginning at eleven fifty
five. I'm gonna enjoy that game. Well, you got seven and five
Wisconsin, who struggled offensively, andthen you've got nine and three LSU,
thirteenth in the country. They're actuallya ten point favorite. But Jayden Daniels
is not playing in the game,yep, and one of the biggest head

(32:24):
scratchers. And I would say Tigerfans have a bit of concern is Mike
Denbrock has decided to go back toNotre Dame and be the offensive coordinator for
Marcus Freeman. So it's a shortstay down there at LSU and he's going
to go back to where he camefrom with Brian Kelly. But yeah,
LSU hasn't stopped anybody yet in twentytwenty three, and Wisconsin hasn't scored,

(32:47):
so this will be an interesting game. Well, the fighting Luke Fickles,
I think are ready to play onMonday, and they'd love to get a
signature win on their season. That'swhy I'm watching that game. Fiesta Bow's
at one o'clock on Monday. Numbertwenty five Liberty against number eight Oregon.
Oregon a pretty healthy favorite, sixteenand a half point favorite, and there
will be point scores sixty seven anda half. It's over and over under

(33:10):
another player because they're not on primetime. But you need to watch this game.
Caden Salter fantastic. There's a reasonLiberty is thirteen and oh it's not
just about quarterback, but he's aspecial player, Paul. He's thrown for
almost twenty eight hundred thirty one touchdownsfive picks. He's rushed for eleven hundred.

(33:32):
Wow, There's not many quarterbacks thatdo that, and so he is
responsible for himself throwing and rushing fortythree touchdowns this year. And by the
way, Quinton Cooley, if you'vepaid attention to college football, is pretty
dagone good at running back. Thisgame is interesting to me because of that
word I just said, is interest. I do believe it's unless something's changed.

(33:57):
Bo Nicks is playing. That's thereason Oregon is at number eight,
a sixteen and a half point favorite. But I'm telling you right now,
Liberty is going to probably be moreinterested in this game than Oregon, just
my gut. They're playing to getto fourteen and oh and they want to
show that the they can play withthe big boys. And Oregon's not playing

(34:19):
for what they thought they could ororeg Wind be playing for, which was
a national title. There's a lotof people think this is a Boise State,
Oklahoma kind of matchup, and itcould easily happen that way because Liberty
is a really, really good footballteam. Well, you and i've done
this together. While you said whatI was about to say and think is
this could be a Boise State Like, yeah, absolutely. I make sure

(34:42):
you tune into that one. Itshould be a good one. Also,
at one o'clock Monday, the CitrusBowl, number seventeen Iowa against number twenty
one Tennessee take the under brother.Did you read my letter? Well,
here's the crazy thing. If youwant to watch all fens, turn it
to ESP in one. And ifyou want to see defense, you avc

(35:05):
Well you got I was sitting thereat ten and three, number seventeen,
and I don't know. I mean, did you hear the rant that coach
Ferrence went on this week about Imean, and I understand it's his son,
but he doesn't care about points,which I mean, come on,
coach, points do matter? Yeah? Uh, but UT sitting there.
We'll see what happens before this gameat six and a half. As it

(35:27):
was announced yesterday evening or this morning, Joe Milton is out. Joe Milton.
Yeah, so we'll see who's thetrigger man for UT. We know
what I was offense springs to thegame. We know what I was defense
springs of the game, and weknow what the punter and the special teams
will come to the game. Asyou stole my thunder. It's thirty six
and a half. Take the undera man should be a good win in

(35:50):
the Citrus Bawl. The rose ballis at five o'clock. Here come the
final four. It is gonna bea good one number four Alabama against number
one Michigan. Never thought i'd saythis, role Tide Paul. Here's the
thing, this is the first time, and I think I said this last
week. Any of the final fourcan win it. I believe that.

(36:15):
Now here you got number four Alabamadead and buried. Yeah, sitting there
at twelve and one against the numberone ranked Michigan Wolverine sitting there at thirteen
and zero, and they are aMichigan is a one and a half point
favorite. Expect this game to below scoring, probably, but if it's

(36:38):
high scoring, I'm going to tellyou it's Alabama big. Here's the few
things in this game, Paul One. I guess one of them is kind
of a question. But the jokerin the deck in this game is the
guy that figured out he can bereally good at quarterback, and Jaln Milroe
agreed. Any snap he is adefensi's nightmare with what he does. Now,

(37:04):
there's a lot of guys that aregoing to make a lot of money,
not in college football because they alreadyare, but I'm talking about in
the NFL. On that game,Alabama for the first time in a long
time is playing defense well, andthey have a quarterback and they start to
figure out how to hand the balloff and run it again. As this
season went, Do you bet againstSaint Nick in this game. That's hard

(37:28):
for me to do. As asmy man Rick nu Heisel says every week
the Church of Saban. Nick Sabanis nineteen and eleven in bowl games and
nine and four in the College FootballPlayoff. Jim Harball's bowl record at Michigan
is three and seven. Now,every year is different, every team's different.

(37:52):
You're looking at it upward of seventeendraft picks on that in Michigan roster.
My question is do they have enoughfirepower, especially on the perimeter.
But no, I is there abetter venue and time on New Year's Day
than five o'clock Eastern? I knowwatching the Rose Bowl. The only thing
that I wish is I and Iwill in heaven is I would love to

(38:14):
hear Keith Jackson call one more RoseBowl. I love Keith jacks would be
a good one for him to call. Brother called fine baumb in September predicted
that Alabama would probably not win doubledigit games and Nick Saban would be thinking
about retiring right now today. Sothis is this the biggest Nick Saban turnaround

(38:37):
and coaching job that you've seen ever, maybe in a long time. Oh,
you got to go back, Imean when you I mean Texas went
and physically whipped Alabama at tuscaloosive theydestroyed him. And then the next week
they go to South Florida lay AnEgg Jaylen Milroe is benched. And I'm
telling you guys that I trust theiropinion. Hey, they agreed with Paul

(39:00):
Fineball. This team is dead andburied. I see them with three or
four losses on their schedule after theway they've performed the first few weeks and
this arguably, and if you watchand listen to Nick Saban, it seems
like he has enjoyed coaching this teamas much as any team he's coached,
because they've answered the bell when peoplesaid they were down and out. Pretty

(39:22):
cool. Don't bet against them,guys. I mean, if you do,
you might be running around in Maisonblue, because I don't think anybody
else is. Sugar Bowl eight fortyfive, Monday night, Number three Texas
against number two Washington. How's itgo, coach? Yeah, you know
you're looking at this game. Texasas of today is a four and a

(39:43):
half point favorite against the undefeated WashingtonHuskies. So what I see in this
game, Paul is three different kindof factors, have two of the best
offensive staffs and play callers, inthe country. When Alabama beat when they

(40:07):
won the national title and Sark wasthe offensive coordinator, that game plan was
a masterpiece. So what I expectis I expect Texas to have a great
game plan with Quinn Yours pulling thetrigger. But then I look over on
the other side, You've got aHeisman finalist, you got one of the
top draft picks in Roma, Doonza, and you've got Caylin de boor Ryan

(40:31):
Grubb, Nick Sheridan JaMarcus Sheppard thelatter two. I know that's two of
the best coached offenses in the country. Possibly they are the two best this
year in college football. Then Ilook over, do Xavier Worthy play for

(40:52):
Texas because of that injury late inthe championship game where maybe he should maybe
he shouldn't have been in the game, but period, he got injured,
and I don't know what his statusis. I've looked, I've asked.
I have no idea, but giveTexas the advantage of the line of scrimmage.
In my opinion, I may beproven dead wrong on that because Washington

(41:13):
won the line of scrimmage against Oregonin that last week, right, but
Texas has been dominant upfront, especiallyon defense. So, like I said,
Paul, I don't know who.I mean. If somebody put a
gun to my head, I'd sayyou're getting an Alabama Texas rematch, But
it could be Washington and Michigan justas easy. I was just gonna say,

(41:35):
I think this and our last yeardoing it this way, I think
this is the most competitive pair ofgames they've aged in the final four runout.
I really think both these games couldbe overtime games, could be one
point games, could be last minutescore games. I really think those two
are whereas I look back over thelast seven eight nine years, I didn't

(41:59):
see that all. You know,you had Cincinnati, you had TCU.
Who how they beat Michigan. Imean, anyway, you just look at
all of that stuff over the lastseven eight nine years, and this is
probably the best four matchups you canhave in this game. Monday, if
you have a pulse in like sportsat all, it is musty TV.
Yeah. Absolutely tell me all mycooking will be done and it will be

(42:22):
ready to be heated up because Iwill not be spending any time in the
kitchen on Monday. I will beglued to the television and I don't have
to work on Tuesdays, so I'mgonna be good coach. Let's do Let's
talk about who won the Day,and then we'll talk about that Buckeye game
with Missouri. So who won theday? A last weekend, I only

(42:43):
have two nominees and one winner,so we're gonna get through this quick.
Ethan Caliakmanus decides I'm not playing quarterbackMinnesota. The Gophers get Cole Kramer to
come back one more time instead ofdrive out to Arizona, and he a
senior in his first start, eventhough he only threw twenty six yards of

(43:06):
passing, gets them a bowl win. That was a cool story. Second
nominee is what we just talked aboutcollege football fans. We've seen some really,
really good bowl games already. Ithink this coming weekend is going to
be fantastic. So college football fansare winning. But the winner of Win
the Day are Detroit Lions and Clevelandbrown fans. Because this is unbelievable to

(43:32):
me. This is the second timein the history of the NFL that the
Lions and Browns both have ten ormore wins in the same season, and
the last time it happened nineteen fiftythree, seventy years ago, is last
time those two organizations. And bythe way, do you know where the

(43:52):
Detroit Lions started? Well, goahead, Portsmouth o'high. I was gonna
say they. Weren't they the Portsmouththough? Weren't they the Spartans? Yeah?
Or today's Detroit Lions, but bothfan bases. My son has a
permagran And when we're sitting there Saturdaywatching the Browns game, and I've watched

(44:13):
him be miserable. Yeah, hisentire fan fandom life of the Browns and
just to see his perma small andI said, son, I know what
you wanted for Christmas? Because Dad, that was that right there that wins
so so so with that, weshould probably invite people to go down to
your hometown and visit the Siota Riverand see the uh, the wonderful pictures

(44:36):
and memorial that they have to thePortsmouth Spartans NFL football team in the back
room at the Syota River in Portsmouth, though hill Cider River is is unbelievable.
I mean, I have college buddiesthat still drive from anywhere and everywhere
they live to just go to theSyloa River. Best steak ever. Yeah,
but it was always cool as akid. Grown up, I mean,

(45:00):
I'm a hillbilly. Portsmou's not theend of the world, but you
can see it from there, andto run that Levey for conditioning as a
high school football player. Yeah,but that stadium is a historic site.
It was one of the first twoprofessional football fields where the Ironton Taks play,
where you've watched games if you're belovedto Sales Stallions absolutely and the Portsmouth

(45:22):
Spartans were two of the first professionalif not the first two professional sports.
But to play in that stadium,which now they need to restore it,
it could use a little work alot, Yeah, could use a little
work. They don't play there anymore. But cool stuff. But if you're
ever in Portsmouth, go to theRiver, go back in the back room
and check out the wall. Thepictures will blow your mind. Just don't

(45:42):
ask to meet any Pratts. No, not a good IDEA coach and Buckeyes
meet Missouri and the Cotton Bowl Fridaynight, eight o'clock must see TV.
What does Ohio State need to doto end the season with a win?
Yeah, we got to wrap thisup because I got to get to a
game Paul. But here we lookgreat job by Eli Drinkwitz and his staff

(46:02):
absolutely to be ten and too atMissouri coming in this season on the hot
seat playing the number seven, elevenand only one loss Buckeyes. Where the
Buckeyes are sitting there have went froma half point favorite to a three point
favorite within the last forty eight hours, so they know something we don't know
the over runners at forty eight anda half. But in this Cotton Bowl

(46:24):
Missouri has lost two games. Anine point loss that was closer than nine
points for the majority against Georgia,a ten point loss to LSU and the
Heisman Trophy winner. That's their twoblemishes. So Missouri offensively is multiple eleven
twelve ten personnel, but you gota three headed monster at three important places.

(46:46):
You got Brady Cook, who hasbeen steady and made plays all year.
At quarterback, you have Cody Schrader, the running back who had a
phenomenal fifteen hundred plus yard season sixyards per two touch. And then you've
got the highest regarded recruit in thehistory of Missouri and Luther Burden, who

(47:07):
makes plays offensively and probably in thisgame in special teams. Very balanced compared
to most opponents the Buckeyes have faced. They've thrown for three hundred and thirty
three hundred, they've rushed for overtwenty one hundred, and they average thirty
four points a game they can score, which is twenty fifth in the country.
Then you look on the other sideof the ball, very multiple defensively,

(47:30):
so the Buckeyes have needed time topractice against a lot of looks in
fronts and pressures. They've been goodagainst the run all year. They're averaging
only giving up one hundred and twentyfive yards a game on the ground,
and that's what good teams do.Their thirty ninth total defense given up only
three forty plus a game, andthey only give up twenty two points a

(47:52):
game. The Buckeyes are getting readyto see a really good opponent. Now.
The last piece is Missouri has wonthe turn over battle all year eighteen
takeaways to nine giveaways, so they'replus nine for the year. So here's
the questions that you and I haveand all Buckeye fans have. And here's

(48:12):
the elephant in the room. Whatdoes Devin Brown do in this game?
Right? He had twenty two passattempts for the season. That's how many
attempts he's had. He talks likeJohn Wayne. Let's see if he's going
to play like John Wayne. Whoelse plays? You know, it wouldn't
surprise me if Marvin Harrison shows upon the field, it would not I

(48:32):
know, all week he's been sittingon the sidelines, you know, working
the bike when they have their meetings. But he's standing right next to the
coordinators when they're actually playing on theopen practices where the media was able to
see the other practices. We don'tknow. I mean, is it out
of the realm of possibilities that RyanDay says, Look, we can't get
you hurt in practice. I couldn'tlook myself in the mirror doing that.

(48:55):
Yeah, do you want to play? Yep? Travion says he's Do you
think those guys on that team wouldcare if Marvin Harrison practiced or not this
week? But they don't care.But who else plays? But here's the
other thing that I brought up earlier, Paul with Oregon. My other question
is this Devin Brown, who elseplays? How interested is Ohio State going

(49:19):
to be because they're not in theFinal four, they're not playing the college
football Playoff? How important is thisgame, because I'm gonna tell you right
now, hardly any opt outs forMissouri one of the least, and this
game means a lot to them.They haven't played in this big of a
game at Missouri, so they willdefinitely be interested. My question is how
interested will the buck Eyes be?Last question mark? What about these special

(49:45):
teams? Haven't seen them yet showup to make a difference positively at all
this season? I think there's Ithink Ryan Day made it pretty obvious there
is some heat on some staff membersand that's where the first play should probably
look at. Now. Ryan Dayis fifty six and seven as the head

(50:05):
football coach at Ohio State. That'sa point eight eight nine win percentage.
But Ryan Day's bowl record is twoand three. Three of his seven losses
have come in bowl games. Heneeds this win after three straight losses to
Michigan and a close loss last yearto Georgia and two other bowl losses.

(50:28):
He needs this win for him andthis program needs to have a postgame victory.
My last stat and again, everyyear is different, every team's different.
Any idea what Ohio State's record isagainst the SEC in bowl games?
Any guests, no guess, butI'll bet it's below five hundred. Would

(50:49):
you guess two and twelve? Woy? Yeah? Now again whole different team,
different opponent. Buckeyes are favored.If they're guy show up, they'll
be fine. But they're getting readyto face a really good team that's had
a really good year, that's goingto be very interested and they got to
beat history. Do you think,just I mean throwing everything out, just

(51:10):
your thought right now, do youthink it's going to be a really interesting
football game. I don't see Missourigoing away. Yeah, but Ohio State
still has a better ammunition on thefield with the talent level that they had,
and they certainly have next guy upmentality correct, And you know,
maybe Devin Brown comes in with achip on his shoulder and says, hey,
guys, I can lead this teamto a big victory, and this

(51:34):
would be a really good win fora high state. Here's what I told
my buddy this morning at breakfast.This is a guy who a month and
a half, two months ago,I'll tell you when it was. It
would have been November fourteenth, soit would have been the Monday after Veterans
Sdate because he was off work andI was he and I went to breakfast
and he asked me, and hesaid, what do you think is going
to be surprised us at Ohio State? And I said, I think.

(51:55):
I think. I think Devin goesinto the portal. So now, he
asked me this morning we had breakfast, he goes, so, so Devn's
your quarterback. What do you think? I said, I think Friday night
is a decision maker for him.If he comes in and he does what
he's gonna do and he gets supportand he feels comfortable. I think Devin

(52:16):
Brown's a Buckeye next year. Butif he stinks it up Friday night,
I think there's a good chance atSunday morning he's in the portal or Monday
morning or you know whenever. No, I really do. That's that's pretty
keen. I never even thought aboutthat, but yeah, you're that's probably
accurate. It's probably accurate. SoI think he's going to come in ready
to play football and see how thegame goes and make his decision if he's

(52:38):
staying or not. And I reallydo. Now, I don't know if
that's going to happen, but that'show I feel. And like I said,
that's how I felt November fourteenth thatDevin Brown wouldn't be on a team
today. But I also had noidea what Cord wouldn't be. But I
think we all understand going to Syracusemeans he's kind of giving it up or
dad or whatever it is. ButI don't know. I'm just not through

(53:00):
with it. I'm looking forward tothe game Friday night, Go Bucks,
and we'll see how it is.I'm looking to all forward to all the
games this weekend. Browns play Thursdaynight, eight o'clock at home against the
Jets. Twenty five percent of thestarting lineup on opening day and seventeen percent

(53:22):
of the number twos on opening dayare done for the season, and the
Browns have double digit wins and anopportunity to not only not only clinch,
very possibly could be playing a homegame in the playoffs on their fourth quarterback.
I mean, they're playing on housemoney. But I'm going to be

(53:44):
watching that game Thursday night, Andof course the other game I'm gonna be
really watching two is going to beat one o'clock on Sunday. I don't
know if they'll be if they'll giveit everything they have, but I think
they will. With the Ravens andthe Dolphins. I think that's setting up
to be a fantastic football game ifthey both show up ready to play,
both knowing that they're in the playoffs. I don't know. Well, I

(54:05):
gotta get rolling because I'm wanna havespeed to see the tip hall rather enjoy
that game. I hope they dowell in the tournament. I do too.
I hope de Hop makes it,but I don't think he is.
You take care, enjoy it,Happy New Year, and if you're just
catching the Oh Show for the firsttime, hit a follow right there,
and uh get get notifications when wepost one and share it with your friends.