December 17, 2025 • 27 mins
This week on Weekend Warriors, Anish and Tom dissect the Panthers week 15 loss to the Saints, discuss the importance of this weeks game vs the Bucs, wonder if the Saints may have found something in Tyler Shough, preview the first round of the College Football Playoffs, and so much more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Big weekend for the Panther's not just a big weekend.
It is arguably the biggest home game they've had in
some time, at least in a few years. And I
get it that there's a little frustration disappointment at the
way the game last week turned out. This isn't me
trying to sugarcoat it, because when the schedule came out
(00:23):
at the start of the season, if there were two
games that you said these are must wins, non negotiables,
they were the two games against the Saints, and those
were the games that you needed to win, and it
could potentially bite you if this thing doesn't turn out
the way you want it to turn out. That yeah,
games could end up being the difference. But in the
grand scheme of things, when you zoom out and you
(00:44):
know your your son plays sports, you played sports. I
just think that where the Panthers are this is a
plot point on the way. Two years ago, at two
and fifteen, they were consistent, not in a good way,
but they were consistent. And now you're in that mode
of inconsistency and up and down, win and lose, win
(01:05):
and lose. You have to go through that to get
to the other side. And to be consistently good. And
that's the macro in all of this. That still doesn't
mean you let one slip away against the Saints because
you did. What the big picture is like, progress has
been made.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Oh, significant progress has been made, and there's a confidence
level that you can see even just viewing the game
on television. In the broadcast, there's a different aura of
how the team carries themselves. You can see it in Bryce,
you can see it in the run game plays are
being made. There's a belief system that I think was
(01:45):
lacking the last couple of years. And listen, I don't
know why this happens. And you know, you talk about
kind of those must haves with the game versus the
Saints both times. And I can remember way back in
the late nineties it was in ANFL Europe and we
went to the World Bowl with us two games. We
(02:08):
could not freaking beat Frankfort couldn't beat them all. Right,
fast forward to two thousand and one, we're in the XFL.
We're the best team in the league. It's not even close.
We win the XFL Championship. We couldn't beat Memphis, lost
to them twice. They ended up with a losing record,
and it's just I don't know if it's a mindset
thing or if you're you know, you're watching them on
(02:29):
tape and you're looking at the record and you're buying
into that rat poison of all these guys aren't any good,
whatever it may be. But sometimes you just have a
team that and it doesn't carry over year to year,
but you have a team that, for whatever reason has
your number.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
It might be that way, and then the same that
voice is number. And I don't think Bryce played poorly
by any means. Just you know, the Saints have a
few things going for them. One their defensive front, despite
their age, is still pretty darn good, and they've been
hung out to dry by the offense early in the year.
The other one, I won't want to hit on this
a little bit because Tyler Shuck is an interesting this
(03:07):
year old rookies basically two years older than Bryce Young,
this guy with Justin Herbert's backup at Oregon at one
point in college. His career was marked by injuries. Two
broken collar bones, he had a foot injury, and then
when he got to Louisville, he had to stop at
Texas Tech. When he got to Louisville. Jeff Brohm basically
recruited him with the pitch Listen, our job is going
(03:30):
to be to keep you in the pocket upright. We
want to build your draft stock because we think you
have a chance to go in the top three rounds.
But you can't get hurt, so we're not going to
run you. And they didn't run Tyler Shuck. That helped
him get drafted in the second round. Now, and this
is gonna be fascinating. You saw the way he ran
on Sunday, and you saw the way he's been running, yeah,
(03:51):
the last few weeks. That's how he got hurt in college.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Absolutely. And it's interesting you say that because I ended
up having their inside the two day campus tour heading
into his senior season, and Jeff Brahm said the exact
same thing to us. He's like, listen, we know he's
been injury prone. We know that when we took him.
But when he's played, he is supremely talented. It's just
(04:17):
been a matter of keeping him healthy. So it's our
job as a coaching staff to do that and to
monitor that. And then he's got to buy into that
whole thing too. I think you know Clearly, he's got
to be careful, he's got to know how to protect himself,
no one to get down. He cannot expose himself to
as a target with his legs. But one of the
(04:37):
things that I think does stand out about him, and
it's there's some common denominators here between let's just say
a Jayden Daniels or a bow Knicks and how they
came into the league. When you've been in college for
six or seven years, there is no better learning curve,
like you're not a three and out guy. Now, he
(04:57):
didn't play consecutively through all that because of the injuries.
And I was telling you off air that I actually
happened to have the two games that ended his seasons
at Texas Tech, and it was just an unfortunate set
of circumstances and the and the one injury was a
goal line small run that was just totally benign and
(05:18):
then he was done. It was over. And so I
think the experience, the fact that he's been around, the
value in learning multiple offenses, finishing up with Jeff Brohm,
he's about as prepared as you could be. And I
remember pre draft discussion a niche last year where there
were a lot of scouts over the guy, Like, you know,
(05:40):
if this guy hadn't been hurt throughout this entire career,
he might be a first or second rounder. I mean that's.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Probably fell five. I mean he looks the part. And
I go back to what the Falcons did just a
couple of years ago with Michael Pennicks. Right, yeah, if
Michael Pennis did not have the injury history he had,
in the top ten is probably right one one. Yeah,
no question, not the injury history. He's the number one pick.
(06:08):
But you roll the dice because you see enough and
you're saying, okay, if he stays healthy, you got a
franchise quarterback. Well you know it happened pretty quickly, right
year two blows out his knee again. Yeah, now you're
not sure. But to your bigger point, you know, the
five six years in college playing a lot of football
(06:30):
versus and I don't want to pick on him because
he's had his injuries too. But take a guy like
Anthony Richardson, for example, who didn't play a whole lot
in high school, right, started one year in high school,
basically started one year at Florida, doesn't have a whole
lot of reps goes into the league, and the one
worry was, we're not sure he knows how to protect
(06:50):
himself because he's always been bigger and yeah, longer than everybody,
well not so much in the NFL, and he hasn't
been able to stay healthy. And now he's lost lost
key development time in the NFL because he's hurt, and
you may never be able to recoup that because teams
move on pretty quickly. So again there's guys like that,
(07:10):
they have a year and it's like, who is the
kid that the forty nine ers drafted Trey Lance Gray Lance.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, North Dakota State didn't.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Have a whole lot of sample size of playing college football.
And then when it doesn't go well and then you're
out of the mix in the NF Well, now you're
not getting that chance at the pro level to develop.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Either, right, And I think you know you bring up
Anthony Richardson because Anthony Richardson was one of those combine
Pro day workout warriors that just I mean, he come.
You want him first off the bus, strong arm, all
of this and that, and you become enamored with it,
and I get it. The problem is he was a
(07:49):
fifty three percent completion guy as a starting quarterback in college.
That don't change that. He is what he is, and
what shut had was a very high level of production
when he was healthy. It wasn't a talented guy hurt
all the time when he plays with like his physical attributes,
(08:10):
but he really wasn't all that productive. He was productive,
and so there was something to invest in there because
there was more proof in the pudding.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
I think the challenge for New Orleans I think they're
running him too much. But you know that's not my call.
I just would be a little more cautious now if
their mo is Yeah, listen, we're probably going to draft
a quarterback in the next year or two. Anyway, then
I guess it doesn't matter. But we've now seen him
twice against the Panthers and you kind of walk away going, uh, oh,
(08:40):
they might have something.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
They might have a guy exactly. And by the way,
I mean, just as you were broadcasting that game, it
was really strange how out of nowhere it was like
Chris Olave showed up to the stadium. I mean, that
was strange.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
He had one catch before that last drive. Then you know,
essentially the Panthers went into a soft zone and to
Shuck's credit, yeah's recognition tempo. They basically ran the same
play a couple times in a row, just to different
sides of the field, and it was quick out Olave,
quickout o'lave, he gets open. You know. J C. Horns
(09:20):
had a really, really good season. Yeah, I don't know
if when he plays the Saints. You know, his dad obviously,
Joe Horn, that comes in and you know you're pressing
or you're trying to do too much. But he's had
two bad games this year. Both have come against the Saints.
He's been a first team All Pro against everybody else. Yeah,
you know the first game he fell down against Olave
(09:42):
once fell down another time. You know, even the play
where Olave catches the touchdown me like, he's right there,
no doubt. You know, most of the time that's a
PBu or I N T for j. C. Horn and
that ball goes through his hands, just uncharacteristic. Those were
two worst games, and he has been a lockdown, bona
fide Island Corner number one guy in the other twelve
(10:05):
games this year.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
It's crazy, and it kind of just goes back to
what we're saying. You're trying to pinpoint it. You're trying
to figure out why, and it's a mystery.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
College football playoffs start this weekend. That's a good segue
for Weekend Warriors.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Deep down the right side, he wants conchor fakes the
catch might rock the sideline into the end zone. Weekend Warriors.
All right, let's dive into some of these playoff games.
The game Friday night Alabama and Oklahoma played in the
regular season, Oklahoma won. Oklahoma had a defensive touchdown in
(10:46):
that game. It's funny because this Oklahoma defense I think
as good as any defense in the field right now.
My question is, can you get the John matteer that
we saw last year, the John mytteer that we saw
before he got hurt. He has and Oklahoma's offense has
(11:06):
been very pedestrian since Matier came back from injury.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah, listen, Oklahoma, first of all, they deserve a ton
of credit because when you look at the gauntlet that
they had to go through down the stretch without a
fully healthy John Matier, without the ability to run the football. Defensively,
they carried the entire organization on that side of the ball.
Credit Brett Venables and they just found ways on offense.
(11:31):
It's interesting in that first contest because Alabama dominated the
game in every statistical category and in performance except for one.
They turn it over three times and Oklahoma didn't turn
it over at all. And I think the interesting thing
is going to be this time around, you're on the road,
You're Alabama. But which Alabama team, personnel wise will be
(11:52):
on the field. Will they have jam Miller back? Will
they have their tie in Josh Quavis back? Will they
have one of their fiercest pass rushers in lt Overton back?
Another five to six guys on defense that were out
in the SEC Championship game due to injury. And the
question you have to ask yourself is what is it?
What is it that has somehow reared its ugly head
(12:15):
on tape that has kind of been the kryptonite to
defending Alabama the last month of the season.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
I'll tell you go aheading it the offensive line. I
think the offensive line the last few weeks has been porous.
That Georgia game. I mean Ty Simpson was running for
his life. Oh yeah, yeah, he had no time. And
Oklahoma can get after you, I know, if they can't
hold up in the trenches on the offensive line. I
think Oklahoma has a chance to make this a low scoring,
(12:42):
knock them out, grind him out game. And that's the
formula for the Sooners to win at home.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Yeah, and you know what, it might actually be the
formula for Alabama to win too, because they both have
some of the same deficiencies.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Right.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Neither team can run the football. Yeah, and neither team
has been a great team in the offensive line to
your point. So I think it's a great matchup though
a very evenly matched group of two teams. And when
we get to a scenario like that, it's not necessarily
making a bunch of plays, it's avoiding the errors, it's
(13:14):
avoiding the game killers.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
I like Oklahoma in this game at home.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah. Yeah, I would tend to agree with you unless
I knew who was gonna be on the field for
sure for Alabama. Yeah, be interesting to see because that
was a team that was down eight significant players, four
of them were starters in the SEC championship game in listen,
that was a tail kicking by Georgia. All due credit,
(13:42):
but it will be interesting to see what team takes
the field in pregame warm up for Alabama.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
The Miami Texas A and M game, which is the
first game on Saturday, I think has a chance to
be one of the best games of this college football playoff.
If you like old school football, I mean Miami's D
line against Texas A and M's O line and reverse
the other way around too, right, you know Maui, Noah
and all those guys Casius Howel, Tory and York at linebacker. Like,
(14:11):
to me, this is old school football. This game is
gonna be won in the trenches. And I will say this.
You know, Carson Beck, he's not maybe the first round
pick that people build him as a year ago, Okay,
but the guy's played in a lot of big games.
Ella Marcel Reid has had a really good season to
(14:33):
A and M's credit elite running game, and they've surrounded
him with some tremendous wide receivers, Casey coming in from
NC State, Mario Mario Craver, right, bussy, like all these
guys who've come in and just added explosives like how
do you defend them? And then you got a quarterback
who's a legitimate dual threat. You can run it, so
(14:53):
you got to account for him. But I do think
this is a game of trench world. I think I like,
I love it Ruben Bay against an A and M
offensive line that's got three or four pros. A and
M's defensive front, Like cash is Howel I think is
one of the best pass rushers in the country. You know,
he got probably Noah on one side. Miami's a couple
of pros on their O line. To me, this is
(15:15):
going to be I think it comes down to like,
this is a four quarter game. Like you know, it's
a cliche, but this is a four quarter who can
outlast the other team kind of game. I'm looking forward
to this game, maybe more than any other game the
way this playoff shakes out.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
So Anie, you must have been reading my mind because
full disclosure, we did not talk about this before we
started today, but I've got to do a segment on
the ACC Network about this particular game, and I was
asked to give three must haves, three meads for Miami
to win the game.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
All right.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Number one, Carson Beck has to play clean. You can't
have a lovel performance. You can't have an SMU performance, right,
don't lose the game. Number two Miami on defense, how
do you correct Marcel Reid, because Marcel Reid and Kevin
Jennings are early similar. Okay, that's two. Number Three, Miami
(16:09):
has to win offensively on third down. Texas A and
m is elite on defense on third down. They went
through a stretch where they allowed two conversions out of
thirty three attempts over a span of three games on
third down. So you've got to maintain possession of the
ball and stay on the field and move the chains.
(16:31):
Those are my three keys for Miami right there. I
totally agree with you. This is if you're gonna play
for a national championship. These two teams are built in
the areas that you have to be elite in to
win a national championship, and that's why it's going to
be such a great matchup.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, it's funny, you know, once you move past the
hullabaloo of well, should Miami have been in over Notre Dame?
And I think we talked about this earlier. Yeah, they
beat Notre Dame, had to head. I think Miami should
be in. But the other reason Miami should be in,
and not to say that Notre Dame couldn't either. I
really thought a good team, But this is now about Miami.
(17:12):
This Miami team is good enough to win a national championship. Yep. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
The only thing that stops them of themselves, right, and.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
That's been the case in their two losses. And I think, listen,
Mario Christaball, this is a big moment for him. There
have been, rightfully so, some late game game mismanagement issues
in Miami that gets magnified this time of the year.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That either defensive penalties were a huge problemly year ago. Right,
they make a shift to Corey heather Ben at the
defensive coordinator spot. They minimize those. Giving up explosive plays
on defensive year ago was a big problem. They've reduced
those and the game management issues and the snapfoos that
have plagued them. You're right, in a game like this
(18:01):
where it could be a one possession game in the
last four to six minutes of the game is when
Mario Christobal and that staff have to be at their best.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
And this is one of those games. I think time
possession matters because M's ability and we've seen this all year.
They wear you down, they get into the fourth quarter
and yeah, Le'Veon Moss is out, but you know you
got a Marii Daniels, you got Ruben Owens, you got emittt.
Smith's kid like, they have still a stable of running
backs and behind that big offensive line, I mean they'll
(18:32):
run the same play over and over. You've got Marcel Reid.
They will wear you down. So Miami has to hold up.
I think a couple of long drives early go a
long way. But to me, this is a coin flip.
I think this is a coin flip. And I think
the winner of this game has a chance to win
multiple games in this playoff.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And just think, and we mentioned this last week, head
Texas A and M not dropped in the playoffs after
not playing, they'd be playing one of the group of
five schools.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Tulane, Ole Miss On paper, I don't think this is
a debate. They played almost bluetoo line out right, this
is the better team, They have the more talent. Nobody's
disputing that. The variable here is focus.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
For blood teams.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Right, you had Lane Kiffin leave. Now Lane Kiffin is gone,
but some of his staff is staying to help out.
Charlie West Junior will still call the plays on offense.
In Tulane's case, John summerl he was just down at
Florida doing his press conference and everything, and now he's
coming back, so he's still going to coach this team
through the playoff, But again, is he really coaching or
(19:37):
is he the guy on the sideline and the assistants
are staying, and then again there's uncertainty like who's staying,
who's going with him?
Speaker 2 (19:44):
There?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I don't think you can minimize that as a distraction.
You got players probably who are getting bombarded, not just
from Florida but from other schools. Hey come play for us,
And it's probably the same with Ole Miss. Where's your
head at? That's what I'm yeah, I'm curious, like where
are they? How focused are these teams? How focused can
(20:08):
they be? How distracted are they going into this game?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Well, listen, I think if you look at this from
Old Miss's perspective, you know, if you look at the
course of the four team college football playoff, if you
look at the New Year's six Bowl slate that we
had for many, many years, what was always the kryptonite,
the really good power five school at the time that
would get pitted against the group of five school and
(20:34):
then that group of five school with everything to play for,
nothing to lose, like Houston jumping up and beaten Florida
State in the Peach Bowl. You see f jumping up
and beating Auburn in the Peach Bowl. I mean, we
saw this happen. So the focus for all miss has
to be on playing to their level, not who the
opponent is, because if you fall victim to that and think, oh, well,
(20:56):
we already smacked these guys by thirty five points the
first time around, you're going to be in it for
a dogfight. I think from Tulane's perspective, John Somerl's probably
done as masterful a job as you possibly could managing
all of this, minimizing the circus, relying on the staff
when he has to rely on them when he's got
(21:16):
duties for the University of Florida. But I'll say this,
and you know, I had the Salute to Veterans Bowl
game between Troy and Jacksonville State on Tuesday night, and
we were talking about the College Football Playoff and we
referenced Tulane, and we went back to John Somerl's introductory
(21:39):
press conference at Tulane when he got introduced and he
literally said, we will have this team in the College
football playoff. He said that at his press conference. So
I don't think there's many distractions right now with it.
I think that their focus, the team's focus, and I
think John Somerll, maybe more so than anybody else, is
(22:03):
all about being old missed. They know they're out man,
like you said. But I think this goes back more
than just four weeks six weeks. I think it goes
back a couple of years. It's been a long standing
bill picking up where Willie Fritz left off.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
The wild card in this game for me is two
lanes quarterback Jake retzlof this game against Ole Miss he
was terrible five for the seventeen and ye know that
game was over pretty quickly, played fairly well down the stretch.
They won the last five games. Really the game against Memphis,
he was coming off a bad game. I think you
did the utsa game. Yeah, you know it looked awful
(22:39):
at that game, and then really bounced back the next
week against Memphis. Completed its like first fourteen or fifteen passes.
He's a dual threat. He is a good slinger and
now he'll make some throws that you'll go, buddy, taking
a cent from that away. Yeah, because he thinks to
make them. But if he has one of those games
where he's making those throws he has you know, he's
(23:01):
one of those guys that has the singular ability to
put his team on his back. Yeah, as a runner
and as a passer. If he plays well, I'm not
saying Tulayane, I think they have a chance to hang
and maybe make it a four quarter game.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
When he goes into that mode of what I call
sandlote football, which is where I actually think he thrives.
He's got to make sure that when he comes to
the sideline that the coach isn't saying what the hell
are you doing? The coach is saying, hey, hell of
a play, but don't ever do that again. Right, That's
what needs to happen for Tulane.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
And there's a fine line because you can get the
ladder playing in the American Conference. Yes, it's an SEC
team that's been in the top ten all season. No margin,
Ferrero shrinks.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Finally, James Madison and Oregon convince me that James Madison
gets to go to Austin, gets to put a pin
on a really fantastic season and then hopefully walk back
to or fly back to Harrisonburg, Virginia with a little
bit of dignity because listen, I had James Madison in
(24:05):
the Sun Belt Championship. Great story. Yeah, you got a
quarterback who's got like bones of wolverine. They guy to
torn acl Play of last year and then was ready
for the start of fall camp and then wins Conference
Player of the Year. They really are a cool story.
Like they have fifteen sixtyear seniors who were in the
(24:28):
FCS playoffs. Yeah, FCS playoffs. They get to finish their
career in the college football playoffs. I think it's a
cool story that people say they don't belong and all that. No,
like the system allows for this. Kudos to them they're in.
I don't know if there's any other way to say it,
but I think they get their ass kicked by Oregon.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
So the only way to convince you otherwise is reading
the heater that jmu twitter has been on over the
last ten days. It has been hilarious, right. I think
they've done such a good job playing with it and
playing and leaning into it in all seriousness though, and
(25:10):
you've seen him I think a couple of times. Jetleman,
which is Louisville too, right, I did. Yeah, yeah, you
mentioned the fifth and sixth year senior thing. That's a
big deal. There's not a lot of people in college
football playing with fifth or six year seniors. Moreover, that
has stayed with the program the entire time. So you
got that element of maturity and age and experience. But
(25:33):
then I also look at them, and a couple of
their best players, particularly on defense, most notably the ed Dresser,
are freshmen. Right, So they got a couple.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Of guys, Yeah, guys. And I'll say this, remember last
year when Kurt Signetti left James Madison to go to Indiana,
you took about a dozen guys with him, m hm.
And those guys helped Indiana to get into the college
football playoffs. So it's not like there's no talent, right right. However,
it's who they're playing. I know it's Oregon Dante Moore
(26:06):
might be the best pure passer in college people. Uh,
who's going to defend Kenyan Sadik.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Right, right, it's a mismatch. And the thing here's the thing, too,
is and this is what happens during the regular season.
This is what would happen if if let's just say
Tulane played in the Big twelve the whole year. We're
played in the SEC the whole year. You are gonna
get so depleted depth wise that it's going to be
(26:32):
difficult to hold up. And I think in a matchup
like this, where you're gonna be tested up front on
both sides of the ball, Oregon is gonna be one, two,
three deep a key positions. You reference the quarterback position.
I think over the course of the contest, you just
wear them out. You're just flat out better in every facet.
But you're right, the system allows for this. This time around.
(26:56):
It allowed for two of them to get in and
let's see if they can put on a show.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
It's gonna be hard. You gotta go cross country, you
gotta play Watson, and you know this is a year
where it's pretty wide open in Oregon's one of those
teams that can go win a national championship. I think
it's hard, but I don't want to take away the
season that James Madison had. I think when those kids
look back, it's gonna be an incredible accomplishment. We not
only were one of the heavyweights at the FCS level,
(27:23):
we made the transition to FBS football better than anybody
ever has the end our careers in the college football Playoff.
You know we can celebrate that, but yes, it's going
to be a funeral pyre.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
If I was the administration and I actually know the
ad there, Matt Rohan, I would not only get them
Sun Belt Championship rings, I'd get them College Football Playoff
first round championship rings. Make it something that lasts forever
amongst this group because they deserve it.
Big weekend for the Panther's not just a big weekend.
It is arguably the biggest home game they've had in
some time, at least in a few years. And I
get it that there's a little frustration disappointment at the
way the game last week turned out. This isn't me
trying to sugarcoat it, because when the schedule came out
(00:23):
at the start of the season, if there were two
games that you said these are must wins, non negotiables,
they were the two games against the Saints, and those
were the games that you needed to win, and it
could potentially bite you if this thing doesn't turn out
the way you want it to turn out. That yeah,
games could end up being the difference. But in the
grand scheme of things, when you zoom out and you
(00:44):
know your your son plays sports, you played sports. I
just think that where the Panthers are this is a
plot point on the way. Two years ago, at two
and fifteen, they were consistent, not in a good way,
but they were consistent. And now you're in that mode
of inconsistency and up and down, win and lose, win
(01:05):
and lose. You have to go through that to get
to the other side. And to be consistently good. And
that's the macro in all of this. That still doesn't
mean you let one slip away against the Saints because
you did. What the big picture is like, progress has
been made.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Oh, significant progress has been made, and there's a confidence
level that you can see even just viewing the game
on television. In the broadcast, there's a different aura of
how the team carries themselves. You can see it in Bryce,
you can see it in the run game plays are
being made. There's a belief system that I think was
(01:45):
lacking the last couple of years. And listen, I don't
know why this happens. And you know, you talk about
kind of those must haves with the game versus the
Saints both times. And I can remember way back in
the late nineties it was in ANFL Europe and we
went to the World Bowl with us two games. We
(02:08):
could not freaking beat Frankfort couldn't beat them all. Right,
fast forward to two thousand and one, we're in the XFL.
We're the best team in the league. It's not even close.
We win the XFL Championship. We couldn't beat Memphis, lost
to them twice. They ended up with a losing record,
and it's just I don't know if it's a mindset
thing or if you're you know, you're watching them on
(02:29):
tape and you're looking at the record and you're buying
into that rat poison of all these guys aren't any good,
whatever it may be. But sometimes you just have a
team that and it doesn't carry over year to year,
but you have a team that, for whatever reason has
your number.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
It might be that way, and then the same that
voice is number. And I don't think Bryce played poorly
by any means. Just you know, the Saints have a
few things going for them. One their defensive front, despite
their age, is still pretty darn good, and they've been
hung out to dry by the offense early in the year.
The other one, I won't want to hit on this
a little bit because Tyler Shuck is an interesting this
(03:07):
year old rookies basically two years older than Bryce Young,
this guy with Justin Herbert's backup at Oregon at one
point in college. His career was marked by injuries. Two
broken collar bones, he had a foot injury, and then
when he got to Louisville, he had to stop at
Texas Tech. When he got to Louisville. Jeff Brohm basically
recruited him with the pitch Listen, our job is going
(03:30):
to be to keep you in the pocket upright. We
want to build your draft stock because we think you
have a chance to go in the top three rounds.
But you can't get hurt, so we're not going to
run you. And they didn't run Tyler Shuck. That helped
him get drafted in the second round. Now, and this
is gonna be fascinating. You saw the way he ran
on Sunday, and you saw the way he's been running, yeah,
(03:51):
the last few weeks. That's how he got hurt in college.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Absolutely. And it's interesting you say that because I ended
up having their inside the two day campus tour heading
into his senior season, and Jeff Brahm said the exact
same thing to us. He's like, listen, we know he's
been injury prone. We know that when we took him.
But when he's played, he is supremely talented. It's just
(04:17):
been a matter of keeping him healthy. So it's our
job as a coaching staff to do that and to
monitor that. And then he's got to buy into that
whole thing too. I think you know Clearly, he's got
to be careful, he's got to know how to protect himself,
no one to get down. He cannot expose himself to
as a target with his legs. But one of the
(04:37):
things that I think does stand out about him, and
it's there's some common denominators here between let's just say
a Jayden Daniels or a bow Knicks and how they
came into the league. When you've been in college for
six or seven years, there is no better learning curve,
like you're not a three and out guy. Now, he
(04:57):
didn't play consecutively through all that because of the injuries.
And I was telling you off air that I actually
happened to have the two games that ended his seasons
at Texas Tech, and it was just an unfortunate set
of circumstances and the and the one injury was a
goal line small run that was just totally benign and
(05:18):
then he was done. It was over. And so I
think the experience, the fact that he's been around, the
value in learning multiple offenses, finishing up with Jeff Brohm,
he's about as prepared as you could be. And I
remember pre draft discussion a niche last year where there
were a lot of scouts over the guy, Like, you know,
(05:40):
if this guy hadn't been hurt throughout this entire career,
he might be a first or second rounder. I mean that's.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Probably fell five. I mean he looks the part. And
I go back to what the Falcons did just a
couple of years ago with Michael Pennicks. Right, yeah, if
Michael Pennis did not have the injury history he had,
in the top ten is probably right one one. Yeah,
no question, not the injury history. He's the number one pick.
(06:08):
But you roll the dice because you see enough and
you're saying, okay, if he stays healthy, you got a
franchise quarterback. Well you know it happened pretty quickly, right
year two blows out his knee again. Yeah, now you're
not sure. But to your bigger point, you know, the
five six years in college playing a lot of football
(06:30):
versus and I don't want to pick on him because
he's had his injuries too. But take a guy like
Anthony Richardson, for example, who didn't play a whole lot
in high school, right, started one year in high school,
basically started one year at Florida, doesn't have a whole
lot of reps goes into the league, and the one
worry was, we're not sure he knows how to protect
(06:50):
himself because he's always been bigger and yeah, longer than everybody,
well not so much in the NFL, and he hasn't
been able to stay healthy. And now he's lost lost
key development time in the NFL because he's hurt, and
you may never be able to recoup that because teams
move on pretty quickly. So again there's guys like that,
(07:10):
they have a year and it's like, who is the
kid that the forty nine ers drafted Trey Lance Gray Lance.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, North Dakota State didn't.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Have a whole lot of sample size of playing college football.
And then when it doesn't go well and then you're
out of the mix in the NF Well, now you're
not getting that chance at the pro level to develop.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Either, right, And I think you know you bring up
Anthony Richardson because Anthony Richardson was one of those combine
Pro day workout warriors that just I mean, he come.
You want him first off the bus, strong arm, all
of this and that, and you become enamored with it,
and I get it. The problem is he was a
(07:49):
fifty three percent completion guy as a starting quarterback in college.
That don't change that. He is what he is, and
what shut had was a very high level of production
when he was healthy. It wasn't a talented guy hurt
all the time when he plays with like his physical attributes,
(08:10):
but he really wasn't all that productive. He was productive,
and so there was something to invest in there because
there was more proof in the pudding.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
I think the challenge for New Orleans I think they're
running him too much. But you know that's not my call.
I just would be a little more cautious now if
their mo is Yeah, listen, we're probably going to draft
a quarterback in the next year or two. Anyway, then
I guess it doesn't matter. But we've now seen him
twice against the Panthers and you kind of walk away going, uh, oh,
(08:40):
they might have something.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
They might have a guy exactly. And by the way,
I mean, just as you were broadcasting that game, it
was really strange how out of nowhere it was like
Chris Olave showed up to the stadium. I mean, that
was strange.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
He had one catch before that last drive. Then you know,
essentially the Panthers went into a soft zone and to
Shuck's credit, yeah's recognition tempo. They basically ran the same
play a couple times in a row, just to different
sides of the field, and it was quick out Olave,
quickout o'lave, he gets open. You know. J C. Horns
(09:20):
had a really, really good season. Yeah, I don't know
if when he plays the Saints. You know, his dad obviously,
Joe Horn, that comes in and you know you're pressing
or you're trying to do too much. But he's had
two bad games this year. Both have come against the Saints.
He's been a first team All Pro against everybody else. Yeah,
you know the first game he fell down against Olave
(09:42):
once fell down another time. You know, even the play
where Olave catches the touchdown me like, he's right there,
no doubt. You know, most of the time that's a
PBu or I N T for j. C. Horn and
that ball goes through his hands, just uncharacteristic. Those were
two worst games, and he has been a lockdown, bona
fide Island Corner number one guy in the other twelve
(10:05):
games this year.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
It's crazy, and it kind of just goes back to
what we're saying. You're trying to pinpoint it. You're trying
to figure out why, and it's a mystery.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
College football playoffs start this weekend. That's a good segue
for Weekend Warriors.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Deep down the right side, he wants conchor fakes the
catch might rock the sideline into the end zone. Weekend Warriors.
All right, let's dive into some of these playoff games.
The game Friday night Alabama and Oklahoma played in the
regular season, Oklahoma won. Oklahoma had a defensive touchdown in
(10:46):
that game. It's funny because this Oklahoma defense I think
as good as any defense in the field right now.
My question is, can you get the John matteer that
we saw last year, the John mytteer that we saw
before he got hurt. He has and Oklahoma's offense has
(11:06):
been very pedestrian since Matier came back from injury.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah, listen, Oklahoma, first of all, they deserve a ton
of credit because when you look at the gauntlet that
they had to go through down the stretch without a
fully healthy John Matier, without the ability to run the football. Defensively,
they carried the entire organization on that side of the ball.
Credit Brett Venables and they just found ways on offense.
(11:31):
It's interesting in that first contest because Alabama dominated the
game in every statistical category and in performance except for one.
They turn it over three times and Oklahoma didn't turn
it over at all. And I think the interesting thing
is going to be this time around, you're on the road,
You're Alabama. But which Alabama team, personnel wise will be
(11:52):
on the field. Will they have jam Miller back? Will
they have their tie in Josh Quavis back? Will they
have one of their fiercest pass rushers in lt Overton back?
Another five to six guys on defense that were out
in the SEC Championship game due to injury. And the
question you have to ask yourself is what is it?
What is it that has somehow reared its ugly head
(12:15):
on tape that has kind of been the kryptonite to
defending Alabama the last month of the season.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
I'll tell you go aheading it the offensive line. I
think the offensive line the last few weeks has been porous.
That Georgia game. I mean Ty Simpson was running for
his life. Oh yeah, yeah, he had no time. And
Oklahoma can get after you, I know, if they can't
hold up in the trenches on the offensive line. I
think Oklahoma has a chance to make this a low scoring,
(12:42):
knock them out, grind him out game. And that's the
formula for the Sooners to win at home.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Yeah, and you know what, it might actually be the
formula for Alabama to win too, because they both have
some of the same deficiencies.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Right.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Neither team can run the football. Yeah, and neither team
has been a great team in the offensive line to
your point. So I think it's a great matchup though
a very evenly matched group of two teams. And when
we get to a scenario like that, it's not necessarily
making a bunch of plays, it's avoiding the errors, it's
(13:14):
avoiding the game killers.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
I like Oklahoma in this game at home.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah. Yeah, I would tend to agree with you unless
I knew who was gonna be on the field for
sure for Alabama. Yeah, be interesting to see because that
was a team that was down eight significant players, four
of them were starters in the SEC championship game in listen,
that was a tail kicking by Georgia. All due credit,
(13:42):
but it will be interesting to see what team takes
the field in pregame warm up for Alabama.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
The Miami Texas A and M game, which is the
first game on Saturday, I think has a chance to
be one of the best games of this college football playoff.
If you like old school football, I mean Miami's D
line against Texas A and M's O line and reverse
the other way around too, right, you know Maui, Noah
and all those guys Casius Howel, Tory and York at linebacker. Like,
(14:11):
to me, this is old school football. This game is
gonna be won in the trenches. And I will say this.
You know, Carson Beck, he's not maybe the first round
pick that people build him as a year ago, Okay,
but the guy's played in a lot of big games.
Ella Marcel Reid has had a really good season to
(14:33):
A and M's credit elite running game, and they've surrounded
him with some tremendous wide receivers, Casey coming in from
NC State, Mario Mario Craver, right, bussy, like all these
guys who've come in and just added explosives like how
do you defend them? And then you got a quarterback
who's a legitimate dual threat. You can run it, so
(14:53):
you got to account for him. But I do think
this is a game of trench world. I think I like,
I love it Ruben Bay against an A and M
offensive line that's got three or four pros. A and
M's defensive front, Like cash is Howel I think is
one of the best pass rushers in the country. You know,
he got probably Noah on one side. Miami's a couple
of pros on their O line. To me, this is
(15:15):
going to be I think it comes down to like,
this is a four quarter game. Like you know, it's
a cliche, but this is a four quarter who can
outlast the other team kind of game. I'm looking forward
to this game, maybe more than any other game the
way this playoff shakes out.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
So Anie, you must have been reading my mind because
full disclosure, we did not talk about this before we
started today, but I've got to do a segment on
the ACC Network about this particular game, and I was
asked to give three must haves, three meads for Miami
to win the game.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
All right.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Number one, Carson Beck has to play clean. You can't
have a lovel performance. You can't have an SMU performance, right,
don't lose the game. Number two Miami on defense, how
do you correct Marcel Reid, because Marcel Reid and Kevin
Jennings are early similar. Okay, that's two. Number Three, Miami
(16:09):
has to win offensively on third down. Texas A and
m is elite on defense on third down. They went
through a stretch where they allowed two conversions out of
thirty three attempts over a span of three games on
third down. So you've got to maintain possession of the
ball and stay on the field and move the chains.
(16:31):
Those are my three keys for Miami right there. I
totally agree with you. This is if you're gonna play
for a national championship. These two teams are built in
the areas that you have to be elite in to
win a national championship, and that's why it's going to
be such a great matchup.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, it's funny, you know, once you move past the
hullabaloo of well, should Miami have been in over Notre Dame?
And I think we talked about this earlier. Yeah, they
beat Notre Dame, had to head. I think Miami should
be in. But the other reason Miami should be in,
and not to say that Notre Dame couldn't either. I
really thought a good team, But this is now about Miami.
(17:12):
This Miami team is good enough to win a national championship. Yep. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
The only thing that stops them of themselves, right, and.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
That's been the case in their two losses. And I think, listen,
Mario Christaball, this is a big moment for him. There
have been, rightfully so, some late game game mismanagement issues
in Miami that gets magnified this time of the year.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
That either defensive penalties were a huge problemly year ago. Right,
they make a shift to Corey heather Ben at the
defensive coordinator spot. They minimize those. Giving up explosive plays
on defensive year ago was a big problem. They've reduced
those and the game management issues and the snapfoos that
have plagued them. You're right, in a game like this
(18:01):
where it could be a one possession game in the
last four to six minutes of the game is when
Mario Christobal and that staff have to be at their best.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
And this is one of those games. I think time
possession matters because M's ability and we've seen this all year.
They wear you down, they get into the fourth quarter
and yeah, Le'Veon Moss is out, but you know you
got a Marii Daniels, you got Ruben Owens, you got emittt.
Smith's kid like, they have still a stable of running
backs and behind that big offensive line, I mean they'll
(18:32):
run the same play over and over. You've got Marcel Reid.
They will wear you down. So Miami has to hold up.
I think a couple of long drives early go a
long way. But to me, this is a coin flip.
I think this is a coin flip. And I think
the winner of this game has a chance to win
multiple games in this playoff.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And just think, and we mentioned this last week, head
Texas A and M not dropped in the playoffs after
not playing, they'd be playing one of the group of
five schools.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Tulane, Ole Miss On paper, I don't think this is
a debate. They played almost bluetoo line out right, this
is the better team, They have the more talent. Nobody's
disputing that. The variable here is focus.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
For blood teams.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Right, you had Lane Kiffin leave. Now Lane Kiffin is gone,
but some of his staff is staying to help out.
Charlie West Junior will still call the plays on offense.
In Tulane's case, John summerl he was just down at
Florida doing his press conference and everything, and now he's
coming back, so he's still going to coach this team
through the playoff, But again, is he really coaching or
(19:37):
is he the guy on the sideline and the assistants
are staying, and then again there's uncertainty like who's staying,
who's going with him?
Speaker 2 (19:44):
There?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I don't think you can minimize that as a distraction.
You got players probably who are getting bombarded, not just
from Florida but from other schools. Hey come play for us,
And it's probably the same with Ole Miss. Where's your
head at? That's what I'm yeah, I'm curious, like where
are they? How focused are these teams? How focused can
(20:08):
they be? How distracted are they going into this game?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Well, listen, I think if you look at this from
Old Miss's perspective, you know, if you look at the
course of the four team college football playoff, if you
look at the New Year's six Bowl slate that we
had for many, many years, what was always the kryptonite,
the really good power five school at the time that
would get pitted against the group of five school and
(20:34):
then that group of five school with everything to play for,
nothing to lose, like Houston jumping up and beaten Florida
State in the Peach Bowl. You see f jumping up
and beating Auburn in the Peach Bowl. I mean, we
saw this happen. So the focus for all miss has
to be on playing to their level, not who the
opponent is, because if you fall victim to that and think, oh, well,
(20:56):
we already smacked these guys by thirty five points the
first time around, you're going to be in it for
a dogfight. I think from Tulane's perspective, John Somerl's probably
done as masterful a job as you possibly could managing
all of this, minimizing the circus, relying on the staff
when he has to rely on them when he's got
(21:16):
duties for the University of Florida. But I'll say this,
and you know, I had the Salute to Veterans Bowl
game between Troy and Jacksonville State on Tuesday night, and
we were talking about the College Football Playoff and we
referenced Tulane, and we went back to John Somerl's introductory
(21:39):
press conference at Tulane when he got introduced and he
literally said, we will have this team in the College
football playoff. He said that at his press conference. So
I don't think there's many distractions right now with it.
I think that their focus, the team's focus, and I
think John Somerll, maybe more so than anybody else, is
(22:03):
all about being old missed. They know they're out man,
like you said. But I think this goes back more
than just four weeks six weeks. I think it goes
back a couple of years. It's been a long standing
bill picking up where Willie Fritz left off.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
The wild card in this game for me is two
lanes quarterback Jake retzlof this game against Ole Miss he
was terrible five for the seventeen and ye know that
game was over pretty quickly, played fairly well down the stretch.
They won the last five games. Really the game against Memphis,
he was coming off a bad game. I think you
did the utsa game. Yeah, you know it looked awful
(22:39):
at that game, and then really bounced back the next
week against Memphis. Completed its like first fourteen or fifteen passes.
He's a dual threat. He is a good slinger and
now he'll make some throws that you'll go, buddy, taking
a cent from that away. Yeah, because he thinks to
make them. But if he has one of those games
where he's making those throws he has you know, he's
(23:01):
one of those guys that has the singular ability to
put his team on his back. Yeah, as a runner
and as a passer. If he plays well, I'm not
saying Tulayane, I think they have a chance to hang
and maybe make it a four quarter game.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
When he goes into that mode of what I call
sandlote football, which is where I actually think he thrives.
He's got to make sure that when he comes to
the sideline that the coach isn't saying what the hell
are you doing? The coach is saying, hey, hell of
a play, but don't ever do that again. Right, That's
what needs to happen for Tulane.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
And there's a fine line because you can get the
ladder playing in the American Conference. Yes, it's an SEC
team that's been in the top ten all season. No margin,
Ferrero shrinks.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Finally, James Madison and Oregon convince me that James Madison
gets to go to Austin, gets to put a pin
on a really fantastic season and then hopefully walk back
to or fly back to Harrisonburg, Virginia with a little
bit of dignity because listen, I had James Madison in
(24:05):
the Sun Belt Championship. Great story. Yeah, you got a
quarterback who's got like bones of wolverine. They guy to
torn acl Play of last year and then was ready
for the start of fall camp and then wins Conference
Player of the Year. They really are a cool story.
Like they have fifteen sixtyear seniors who were in the
(24:28):
FCS playoffs. Yeah, FCS playoffs. They get to finish their
career in the college football playoffs. I think it's a
cool story that people say they don't belong and all that. No,
like the system allows for this. Kudos to them they're in.
I don't know if there's any other way to say it,
but I think they get their ass kicked by Oregon.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
So the only way to convince you otherwise is reading
the heater that jmu twitter has been on over the
last ten days. It has been hilarious, right. I think
they've done such a good job playing with it and
playing and leaning into it in all seriousness though, and
(25:10):
you've seen him I think a couple of times. Jetleman,
which is Louisville too, right, I did. Yeah, yeah, you
mentioned the fifth and sixth year senior thing. That's a
big deal. There's not a lot of people in college
football playing with fifth or six year seniors. Moreover, that
has stayed with the program the entire time. So you
got that element of maturity and age and experience. But
(25:33):
then I also look at them, and a couple of
their best players, particularly on defense, most notably the ed Dresser,
are freshmen. Right, So they got a couple.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Of guys, Yeah, guys. And I'll say this, remember last
year when Kurt Signetti left James Madison to go to Indiana,
you took about a dozen guys with him, m hm.
And those guys helped Indiana to get into the college
football playoffs. So it's not like there's no talent, right right. However,
it's who they're playing. I know it's Oregon Dante Moore
(26:06):
might be the best pure passer in college people. Uh,
who's going to defend Kenyan Sadik.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Right, right, it's a mismatch. And the thing here's the thing, too,
is and this is what happens during the regular season.
This is what would happen if if let's just say
Tulane played in the Big twelve the whole year. We're
played in the SEC the whole year. You are gonna
get so depleted depth wise that it's going to be
(26:32):
difficult to hold up. And I think in a matchup
like this, where you're gonna be tested up front on
both sides of the ball, Oregon is gonna be one, two,
three deep a key positions. You reference the quarterback position.
I think over the course of the contest, you just
wear them out. You're just flat out better in every facet.
But you're right, the system allows for this. This time around.
(26:56):
It allowed for two of them to get in and
let's see if they can put on a show.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
It's gonna be hard. You gotta go cross country, you
gotta play Watson, and you know this is a year
where it's pretty wide open in Oregon's one of those
teams that can go win a national championship. I think
it's hard, but I don't want to take away the
season that James Madison had. I think when those kids
look back, it's gonna be an incredible accomplishment. We not
only were one of the heavyweights at the FCS level,
(27:23):
we made the transition to FBS football better than anybody
ever has the end our careers in the college football Playoff.
You know we can celebrate that, but yes, it's going
to be a funeral pyre.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
If I was the administration and I actually know the
ad there, Matt Rohan, I would not only get them
Sun Belt Championship rings, I'd get them College Football Playoff
first round championship rings. Make it something that lasts forever
amongst this group because they deserve it.
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Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.
iHeartOlympics: The Latest
Listen to the latest news from the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Milan Cortina Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina are here and have everyone talking. iHeartPodcasts is buzzing with content in honor of the XXV Winter Olympics We’re bringing you episodes from a variety of iHeartPodcast shows to help you keep up with the action. Follow Milan Cortina Winter Olympics so you don’t miss any coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and if you like what you hear, be sure to follow each Podcast in the feed for more great content from iHeartPodcasts.