January 9, 2026 • 48 mins
On a Friday edition of the Best Of: Dan Beyer and Aaron Torres react to the national semi-final game between Miami and Ole Miss and what Miami did to win.
Dan and Aaron welcome FSR betting analyst Jared Smith onto the show to preview the weekend of football wagering.
Dan and Aaron discuss the rough night that the officials had Thursday night in the national semi-final game, both on the field and in the booth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fox Sports Radio had the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
App feazzey sec Bye Bye bye bye.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Would it be a wah?
Speaker 4 (00:14):
Is that?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Is that French for goodbye bye bye?
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Goodbye?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Sayonarra bye in any language?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
The SEC out of the college football playoff Happy Friday
erin Torres.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
How are you well?
Speaker 5 (00:25):
I'm great, enjoyed the heck out of the game on
Thursday night, and I was just telling Bow in the back,
is that listen? I love a good college football you
know narrative as much as the next. And I love
this old mysstory kind of proven Lane Kiffin wrong. I
was kind of pulling for Miami to win No SEC
team in the championship game for a third straight year.
(00:48):
And you know, I set out the meme last night.
But when Greg Sankie walks in all these commissioners meetings
over the next couple months, I hope all the commissioners
pull the Connor McGregor meme of who the F this guy?
Speaker 6 (01:01):
I don't think it's gonna happen, but I hope that
they do.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Oh yes, a lot to get to Greg SANKI wanting
more opportunities for the SEC in the future college football playoffs. Right,
five plus eleven, so then the SEC could have what
nine schools in the playoff. Not so fast, my friend,
because for back to back years they can't get a
team in the National champions straight game. And yes, Michigan
(01:24):
Washington was yes, yeah, you're right, you're right. So now
three straight years, even with tonight's outcome, not set up
three straight years. The last time he was Georgia and TCU,
as he pointed out to a text of the PTSD
from attending that game and how bad it was. But
I do think that last night's game is interesting in
(01:47):
the fact of it eliminated an SEC school, an ACC
school has now made it to the National Championship Game,
and an ACC school Aaron that was the last at
large team in the bracket to make it. So there
are a lot of tentacles coming from last night's game.
Miami now gets to play a National Championship game in
(02:08):
their home stadium. That's been done before with them in
college football. But I don't feel that the National Championship
Game has been lacking at any point without an SEC
team in the National championship, and in fact, I think
that there was a time where we were just so
sick of it if you weren't an SEC fan. And
(02:30):
so now I feel that for as great as Miami's
tradition is of being the U, it feels like there's
new blood, new blood in the College Football Playoff. I mean,
even having Ole Miss representing the SEC, it just didn't
They didn't even I'm not saying they're not an SEC team,
but it wasn't the LSU Alabama, Georgia Florida quad that
(02:52):
you would get where we would be like, oh, it's
them again. So it was new. It was different, but
it also may be a changing of the guard that
we've come to now in the third straight year.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
Well, I know we're not going to spend too much
time giving the former Old Miss coach, you know, airtime here,
but I bring it up because to your point about
even within the SEC, there's a tier above the tier.
The reason Old Miss had what was essentially an interim
coach for this playoff. I know he's the full time coach,
which you get the point is because their previous head
coach said I don't think I can win a championship
(03:22):
here and so it speaks to that for so long
again it was the Alabama's, the Georgia's, the LSUS, the Whomever's.
Definitely new blood in this not only this playoff, but
I think that it speaks to a lot of quickly
changing narratives about everything that we think we know about
this sport, whether it be the SEC, how you build
(03:42):
a team, what teams can actually be competitive.
Speaker 6 (03:45):
It's a fascinating time in the world of college Could we.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Also point out that Lane Kiffin staying in the SEC
proves that it's maybe not as strong as it once was.
Speaker 6 (03:53):
Okay, land On me, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
So the thought process is is Lane Kiffin stays with
than the conference, But if he truly wanted to go
win a national championship, the thought process would be their
easier paths.
Speaker 6 (04:07):
All I see what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So like if he took his game to the ACC,
or took it to the Big twelve, or took it
to the Big ten and was able to coach there,
that maybe the path. If you think that the SEC
is king and that it's a murderer's row of week
in and week out, then maybe Lane kiffen wouldn't have
stayed in the SEC.
Speaker 6 (04:27):
That's an interesting point. I hadn't thought of it.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
What I will say is bigger picture and I know
we're kind of bouncing around here, but I think the
struggles of the SEC, not only in this postseason, but
the last couple of years, has been a very interesting,
you know, turning point in the sport. I will say though, like,
you know, one, after what Ohio State did last year,
after what Michigan did two years ago, I think there
was this notion that like, well, you know, I mean,
(04:52):
maybe an Ohio State has caught the SEC. But the
bottom line is when you really look at it, the
SEC is still deeper, and it's still this and it's
still that. And I said, I was saying this, I'll
me this morning like we got to get out of
that notion now too, because you look at the bottom
of this league this year, it was terrible. Now, part
of it is a byproduct of all these leagues are
too big, but Auburn was terrible, Florida was terrible, Arkansas
(05:13):
was terrible, Kentucky was terrible, and you start looking and
I'm not saying Ole Miss didn't deserve to be there.
I'm not saying, you know, Texas at they beat a
lot of dead weight at the bottom of the league.
And so now I think even the narrative of well,
you know, Ohio State's caught us at the top, but
the middle in the bottom, it's just different in the SEC.
Speaker 6 (05:31):
No, maybe it's the exact same as everything.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And I don't think that it's bouncing around. I think
everything is connected to the point that we are at
right now on January ninth of twenty twenty six, yep,
that we are tonight about to watch a Big Ten
semi final for in the College Football Playoff National semi Final.
So you have two Big ten teams playing an ACC
team has made it through by going through the SEC,
(05:55):
the Big Ten, and the SEC again.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
So Miami's road to the NASH Championship Game is absolutely validated.
But I also think that there are points when you
look back at the last twenty to twenty five years
in college football, the SEC dominance in college football doesn't
really take over till about I'd say the Urban Meyer,
Florida years two thousand and six. They win it again
(06:19):
in two thousand and eight in Alabama and Nick Saban
end up taking over of course, there was a Nick
Saban LSU championship prior to that, but Les Miles and
LSU win a national championship, and it was how the
SEC built their teams. Then Urban Meyer leaves Florida, goes
to Ohio State and says, I need to build an
SEC school in the big ten yep and they do.
(06:39):
They go and they win a national championship in twenty fourteen.
So now other schools are trying to to compete. I
think that's something that you've pointed out as well, is
the path that Miami took to get to this national
championship game is not so different from maybe what we
have seen previously in SEC schools and right now, like
(07:01):
there was, there was a point too where Nick Saban
had to realize that I can't just win by being
bigger and tougher, that we're gonna also have to have
an offense that is gonna score some points. So then
you have Sarkisian, you have Lane Giffen, you have Brian Dable,
was there oc one here, yeah, Brian Dabel, Bill O'Brien,
all of these guys coming in and running the Alabama
offense because you needed to have an offense too to
(07:25):
support your studs, and now if you're not as good
up front, this is where this is where you are.
So I think it's all connected.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
And I think that was one of the themes of
last night is that, you know, I'm assuming most of
the audience watched the game from beginning to end, but
if you didn't, what was jarring was Miami just bullied
oh Miss. And you know, there was even a point
in the fourth quarter and there were so many back
and forth I can't remember exactly where where. I just
remember sitting there saying Miami did have the lead at
(07:55):
that point, and I said, if they passed the ball
on this possession until they have to until it's like
if they get into a third and long, that's obviously different.
But I said, they're out of their minds, run the
ball right at Ole Miss. They did end ended up
running it, they had to punt it away. Ole Miss
scored and it was a back and forth from there.
But I just bring it up because it's not just
(08:15):
you know, the results on the field, it is the
way the games looked in that you go back to
last year Ohio State Bullying Tennessee, Ohio State Bullying Texas
and then last night where it's just like Miami was
the physically superior team in every way that they could be. Now,
Old Mis made it a game. Trinidad Chamblis was incredible.
(08:35):
Don't want to take away what they did, but this
is now the trend as well. Of it's not just
the results on the field, but it's the way in
which the SEC was physically dominating that simply isn't the
case anymore.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
We are ten minutes into the show that is just
north of half the time of possession that Ole Miss
had last night.
Speaker 6 (08:53):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
So it was about eighteen minutes they held the football,
but again they're thirty five yards away from from maybe
winning this game. They're twenty seconds away or from making
a Carson Beck tackle, and however it would have turned
out of maybe playing some more. But that's the way
that Ole Miss played. It's the way that Miami played.
In the end, Ole Miss had a chance to win
(09:14):
the football game and they didn't. What I find interesting
now is Miami is in the National Championship game, but
it doesn't feel like the U is in.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
The National Championship game.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Interesting Okay, so I think that the U is a
different entity sure, and I think that this is Miami.
I don't think that this is the U because I
don't think that this team. I think they are a
very very good team. Can I jump in on this rum?
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Us living in LA, this is like the Lakers might
make a run with Luca. This isn't showtime though. Yeah,
I'm saying yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely so. It's Miami in
the National Championship Game. And it's not the you that
has been number one throughout the season that's gonna put
you know, twelve guys in the NFL Draft, and ten
of those are going to be in the first two rounds.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
That's not what this is.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
They're gonna have high draft picks, They're gonna have top
five picks. That's gonna end up happening. But it's just
not the teams that we saw twenty five years ago
or even in the nineties or the late eighties. So
it's Miami's in the National Championship Game. And Jason Stewart,
our executive producer, isn't even necessarily looking at Miami being
(10:22):
a factor in this. It's that they're non acc champion
Miami in the National Championship Game. That's kind of not
your bone to pick, but that's what stands out to you.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
It seems silly to me that, unless I'm wrong, that
Miami could win a national title before they win an
ACC championship. That's strange to me. That doesn't hit my
ear right. It doesn't hit my ear right that we're
gonna likely have a game of participants for the second
straight year of teams that didn't even win their conference championship.
(10:55):
It's just again, all these things are just very odd
to me. And I know you guys, we get in
the minutia of this whole thing and you don't take
like the thirty thousand food view of this stuff. But
to me, those are silly aspects of this sport.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I look at it as the conference championships that you
have are like the divisions in the NBA. We don't
care about them anymore.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
You can.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
The ratings may tell us differently. Ohio State and Indiana
great ratings one versus two in the Big Ten Championship game.
Maybe ultimately it could have changed fortunes. Maybe if Indiana
plays Miami, there's a different outcome in the quarterfinals. Maybe
Ohio State beats Alabama and the Rose Bowl if they
end up being the number one seed. Who knows, We'll
(11:43):
never know the case. But winning a conference championship I
think now in most leagues is just more of an
enticement because of how it affects where you're going to
be in the bracket. Then would it be anything else now?
The bracket separate conversation on whether it helps to have
(12:03):
a buy or not in the college football playoff. But
I just don't think now, when you're a conference or
you're a team, that winning your conference championship is important anymore.
Just like winning the Central Division in the NBA, When
was the last time you looked at an NBA division
standings as opposed to the conference standings to see where
(12:24):
everybody is seated in the playoffs. And I think as
more and more time goes on, and if the playoff expands,
and it's why other leagues are trying to find value
and how do we take this window that is a
championship game and make value of it, I just don't
think that conference championships matter anymore. So while it may
be a blind spot for me of not considering that,
I'm also looking at it as in a way of
(12:46):
the championship weekend in college football just isn't important anymore.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
Yeah, And I think to the bigger picture of what
we were kind of talking about is this world of
college football is changing so fast where in Indiana in
an old miss can be in competition for a national championship,
which was something that was probably inconceivable even five years ago.
I think this is just a new reality is you know,
I think we're in a not too distant future where
we don't even have conference championship games, and I think,
(13:13):
you know, there will still be somebody that probably finishes
with a better record and they get to hoist a
banner at the end of the year and it helps
with seeding. It just it doesn't matter anymore. It's about
you know, I hate to say it, but it's like
college basketball, it's like the NBA. It's about putting yourself
in position to get into the field and then be
in the most advantageous spot you can be. So it's
(13:34):
an interesting point, but it just speaks to how quickly
this sport is changing and what does and does kind
of matter in this new world.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
It's a one game situation, the Jason points out, but
ultimately it's a one game tournament. The conference championship game.
So like, if you're comparing it to college basketball, as
you and I do the Selection Show and have for
the past six years here on Fox Sports Radio. Every
year we talk about how the conference tournaments in the
(14:01):
big leagues, Yeah, don't matter as much anymore when it
comes to seeding and placing teams in and putting teams
in so you may win the conference tournament, and that
does not mean success in the Big Dance. And I
think now instead of looking at as a conference champion
a championship game, we just kind of have to look
at it as a one game tournament that there isn't
(14:23):
necessarily value. And so even though Indiana won and they
could be the team to do it, I mean, last
year's national semifinals were Texas and Ohio State. Texas lost
the championship game. Ohio State wasn't in there, and then
you had Notre Dame who didn't play in one, and
he had Penn State who ended up losing in the
championship game. So it was even last year in the
semi finals, there weren't even conference champions let alone the
(14:45):
national championship game.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
Yeah, it's funny to use the college basketball analogy. So
Michigan basketball, they're really good this year, number two in
the country, whatever, and they just happen to be showing
b roll of them from you know, since this new coach,
Dusty May took over showing b role of them winning
the Big Ten championship last year and cutting down the nets.
I remember a lot about college basketball. I didn't even
(15:08):
remember them winning the Big Ten Tournament last year. It
was just like, oh, they had a good year, had
a good run in the tournament, really good this year,
but it wasn't something that registered of like part of
that good season that led to success in the tournament
was winning the conference tournament.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And I know we got to take a time out,
but it would make sense to have conferences be a
feeder situation where you fed teams into the bracket. Know
that something that ioa Sam would be a fan of.
It's just can you find value? The Big Ten talked
about having a three versus six, four versus five game
within their own conference to determine who could get a
(15:42):
spot in a sixteen team bracket if you went to
a four automatic. Big deal with the Big Ten. So
they don't want the TV window to go away. They
make money from the networks. People watch the game just
like they watched the Ohio State in Indiana. But to
think that it has any sort of importance on the
college football bract it. It doesn't And you don't have
to look at the Big Ten. You can look at
(16:03):
the SEC as well. For what we've seen.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
As of late, Fox Sports Radio had the best sports
talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows
at Fox sports Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
App Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
I'm Dan Byer, He's Aaron Torres, Jason Stewart Iowa was
Sam Isaac long Crown hanging out with us on this Friday.
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Ship Fast and free back by free Road has a
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dot com the way tire buying should be. Am I
wrong about Bill Lemonier? Like he feels like that old
(16:39):
teacher when you were in middle school or junior high
that you just just couldn't relate to and was just
always a grouch and a crab. Anybody anybody else get that? Sense. I, yes,
Isaac does.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
Until he took that victory lap, I was like, eh,
but it was such a definitive this is how it's
gonna go down.
Speaker 6 (16:57):
And then it didn't.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
It was off the bleach, Get off the bleake chers, Yes, yes.
Jared Smith joining us now. Countdown to Kickoff, presented by
Bett mgm every Saturday morning here on Fox Sports Radio.
He's the co host alongside Brian noen Rich Ornberger, airing
between nine o'clock Eastern Time going up until noon Eastern.
(17:19):
You can listen well havent any of our Fox Sports
Radio affiliates or the iHeartRadio app again, all presented by
Bett mgm. Do you get that sense with Bill Lemannier,
the ESPN rules official, just that cranky teacher that you
had back in the day that just never saw your
side of things.
Speaker 7 (17:33):
Nobody really knows what any call is anymore. I think
when I watch these games. For example, I watched the
play the last play of the game last night, which
I didn't classify as a hell Mary from the thirty
five yard line, Like I think that was a little
bit closer than that. It looked like PI to me,
And I know you swallow the whistle on that situation.
I get it, But if that play happens in the
(17:54):
first quarter, do they call PI like? I think that's
the bar that I kind of set. So I don't
think any anyone really knows what any penalties are anymore.
In the NFL and in college. I've been on this
soapbox for the last couple of months. I think we
need to make every penalty reviewable by the replay assist.
I'm not saying we have to stop the game and
replay it, but I think if it's a blatant error,
(18:14):
I think the replay, the eye and the sky should
correct it. And I think that's kind of the vibe
I get because the officiating in college and the NFL
has never it's in an all time get.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Ready for those five and a half hour football games,
Jared Smith, I mean, geez, I didn't even get to
the pass interference. Aaron and I disagree. I thought it
was I thought that your point was my point as well.
It was at the thirty five. Wasn't necessarily a hail
mary situation. Also, it's not the NFL. The ball doesn't
get placed at the one, it would have been a
fifteen yard penalty. And there still would have been an
(18:44):
opportunity for Miami to really have an opportunity to defend that.
But pass interference calls or non calls in Miami a
thing when it comes to the college football postseason. Let's
get to tonight's game Oregon Indiana, rematch of the Big
Ten regular season matchup that they had in October. Whose
side are you on tonight in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta?
Speaker 7 (19:08):
Well, market wise, right, this thing's been sitting three and
a half pretty much all week. And of course, if
you're into the gambling sphere, you know that three is
a very important number in football. It's called a key
number in college It lands about ten percent of the time,
so on or off that number is very important. You
saw a lot of people betting Indiana this week at
three and a half. Didn't care that, you know, the
(19:29):
hook is, as we call it, was on that key number. Well,
there are some pretty significant wagers happening today on Oregon.
Some sharp betters in town really really like the Ducks
at plus three and a half. So now we're seeing
it go on to that key number of three at three.
I like Indiana, and I think it's just a matter
of I think optics matters like Indiana clearly is the
(19:51):
best even COLLEGEA ball right now. Does that mean they're
gonna win tonight, No, but they are a worthy favorite,
and I think when you look at their offense, it's
it's a lot of simplicity with their run game. They
actually had their lowest rushing game of the season in
the first matchup against Organ, just three point three yards
per carry, and they had zero runs of fifteen or
more yards. I do like Dan Lannings defense. They are
(20:12):
built from from the bottom up. The two big tackles
Alexander and Washington, they really won that battle in the
first matchup. The linebackers are good at the second level. Betcher,
Mixon and Jackson did a good job kind of cleaning
things up. I think those two middleman Alexander and Washington
are gonna be key tonight. Mendoza didn't play well in
the first matchup. It was the second worst passing great
of the year. Oregon really got pressure on Mendoza and
(20:35):
on the other side, there was even more pressure on
Dante More almost a fifty percent pressure rate for him.
So both quarterbacks struggled. Both run games struggled. I think
Indiana made a few more plays than Oregon did, but
I'll be honest when I when I look at this game,
it definitely feels like a toss up, and once we
get the value onto that key number of three, I
think that's where I feel comfortable laying the points with
(20:56):
the Hoosiers before we.
Speaker 6 (20:57):
Get to the NFL.
Speaker 5 (20:59):
Just one more college football question, you know, Dan and
I opened this show like so many did today, about
you know, downfalls. Maybe a little bit of a heavy word,
but the SEC clearly is not what it used to
be in terms of results, and I was just curious
if you had any kind of metrics or data from
the betting world, whether it's you know, how you rank it.
I'm blanking on the right word the verbiage here, but basically,
(21:22):
do you have like empirical data in what you do
that shows that the SEC isn't what it was even.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
Three four years ago.
Speaker 7 (21:29):
It's a great question, Aaron. I think ratings wise, yes,
I think the SEC dominance is starting to be tapered
a little bit. For example, last year, organ was the
best team in the country all year long and then
they got exposed by another Big ten team. But in
terms of the power ratings. I don't think you're seeing
as many SEC teams in that elite tier, and then
(21:52):
they get these cross pollination matchups in the bowl games
and they were terrible. I mean it was absolutely awful.
I think I tweeted out last night the only SEC
postseason wins against non SEC teams were all miss over
Toulane in Texas over Michigan, who didn't have a head coach.
And obviously they're going through a lot right now with
their program. The SEC finished two and eight straight up
and against the spread, so sometimes, right they're winning games
(22:12):
but not covering. Well, they weren't winning or covering one
and three in the CFP against non SEC teams, So
I think you can absolutely make the case that nil.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Right.
Speaker 7 (22:22):
It used to be the rural gas stations out and
you know in you know, Alabama, Misissippi would be you know,
spending all this money for these players, and that was
the only way to pay players. Well, now you can
pay players in many different ways, and I think you're
starting to see the the diversity of funds really have
an impact on the overall landscape of college football. I mean,
go back and just look at who's played in the
(22:43):
national championship game over the last I don't know decade.
I mean, it's it's Michigan, it's Washington, it's Ohio State.
You get Oregon and Indiana in the championship, you know,
semi final tonight you have you have notreed aame. So
it's just I think it's starting to spread out. In
turn of it's not going to be all SEC dominance
from here on out. I think the nil and the
(23:04):
portal is really a level the playing field.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
All right, let's switch gears with Jared Smith. He's hereon Torres.
I'm Dan Byer to the National Football League. You guys
will be previewing a wildcard weekend with two games coming
up on Saturday. I want to start with the nightcap
in Chicago. Packers one and a half point favorite over
the Bears in their NFC wildcard showdown. Always will be
a chilly night in Chicago. But why is green Bay
(23:29):
favored in this matchup between NFC North rivals.
Speaker 7 (23:33):
I'll be honest, I don't know, Dan, I mean, I
do know.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
It's it's the Boa.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
It's you know, all these metrics that they look at
that cook up these ratings that makes green Bay a
you know, for you to be a road favorite, usually
you get at least one or two points for being
at home, and green Bay being a favorite in the
game means they are at least three points better than
(24:00):
Chicago on a neutral field. I don't know if I
agree with that. And first of all, Green Bay is
missing their best pass rusher, and I think their defense
has definitely taken a little bit of a step back
without Michael Parsons. Secondly, at what point do we ignore
some of the metrics and we say Chicago is just
really good at winning close games. They've done it all year,
(24:20):
and I think a lot of that's coaching, a lot
of that's mental toughness. Those are things that can't be
baked into a number, that can't be accounted for on
a spreadsheet. These are intangibles, and then you throw in
the momentum factor. Green Bays lost four games in a row.
That's only happened once in the last twenty five years
a team entering the playoffs on a four game losing streak.
(24:41):
It was last year. It was the Steelers, and then
they got beat by two touchdowns by the Ravens in
the wildcard round. So I think it's pretty disrespectful that
Chicago is playing a divisional opponent in a division they won,
and they're a home underdog in the playoffs. And again
I know why it's happening, but it's really remarkable.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
This is where I come from.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
The the just the average fan, average Joe's scenario is,
I remember what happened with Bears Packers in Soldier Field.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
I remember what happened at lambeau Field.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Those are two very close games, but I mean the
Packers go in and almost upset Chicago, but they don't
get an on side kick, and the Bears score and
end up rallying and get the win. Like I remember
all of that. I just feel like Las Vegas was
smarter than me, you know what I mean. Like I
saw Green Bay, yeah yeah, and that's what we always hear, yes, yes,
(25:35):
and so I thought it would be like, Okay, this
is how it's going to play out. But Vegas still
is saying that it's Green Bay. And that's what kind
of you know, just caught me by surprises. I just
think most of us Joe's would think, like, all right,
even though they lost, they were tight games, it's gonna
be the Bears in the playoffs. But that wasn't the case.
Speaker 7 (25:53):
There's no doubt that the sharper side is green Bay,
but that doesn't mean the sharper side always wins. So
and here's another reason I think green Bay is getting
some love. There's a trend out there that's a very
popular trend. It's very profitable trend. Right, quarterbacks that have
playoff experience playing a wildcard game because it has to
be wildcard game unless I guess the team is in
the number one seed in the divisional round against a
(26:14):
quarterback making his playoff debut. So the quarterbacks that are
making their playoff debut are covering at around thirty four percent,
twenty wins, thirty nine losses in one push against the spread,
and twenty and forty straight up. So out of sixty
games where the playoff debutante has gone up against a
(26:35):
playoff veteran, in terms of quarterbacking, only twenty straight up wins.
So obviously, with this game being a pick on it,
it's not going to really come down to the spread.
Most likely it's going to be whoever wins the game
will obviously cover. And that's why I think Green Bay's
getting some love. But again, I don't know how much
I buy that, because it just I think Chicago, you
have to at some point give them credit for winning
(26:56):
these games, and those are things that maybe aren't fully
baked into then. So I'm on the Bears. I'll go
down with the Caleb william Ship and the Ben Johnson ship.
If Jordan Love comes in there and smacks them around,
I'll tip my cat. But if you're giving me any
value as an underdog for a divisional winner facing a
divisional opponent at home in the playoffs, I can't not take.
Speaker 6 (27:16):
That very quickly.
Speaker 5 (27:17):
I'll ask you about another one and a half point
home favorite, at least according to the book that I'm
looking at, or road favorite. I think as at home favorite,
road favorite Buffalo Bills. We know what's at stake for them.
We know, frankly, what's its sake for everybody in that
building from Sean mcdermottah down. How do you see this
one playing out?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (27:34):
This is a toss up game for sure. I mean
the Jacks are arguably the hottest, hottest team in the NFL,
eight to zero straight up and against the spread over
their last eight. The Bills. We've seen this before with
Buffalo in the postseason, these games typically go over. In fact,
of the last ten playoff games for the Bills, eight
of them have gone over the total, and in seven
of those ten, Buffalo scored at least twenty seven points.
(27:57):
It's fair to say the Bills defense is maybe a
little bit unlocked this year. I know they've been a
downtrodden unit, but again peeling back to curtain for how
I analyze games, Buffalo is a top five pressure eighteen,
but just eighteenth in quarterback sack percentage. What does that mean?
They're generating pressure, they're just not finishing the deal. And
sometimes you know, the sacks can be a little bit
fluky sometimes where you generate the pressure but you don't
(28:19):
necessarily get home. You still impact the quarterback. And Buffalo
I think has done a better job than maybe some
of the numbers reflect impacting the quarterback this year. Joey
Bosa needs to be really good in this game. He
got some full practice in this week. That's a good sign.
And Trevor Lawrence, right, you go from twelfth in EPA
to twenty third when pressured this year. So when he's
kept clean, he's a top ten, top fifteen quarterback. When
(28:39):
he's not well. Now he's a bottom ten quarterback. So
the Buffalo run game I think will be key here.
We've seen the Jags give up some big quarterback run games, right,
gave up sixty to Mahomes on Monday Night Football. They
gave up forty to Bryce Young earlier this year, even
gave up thirty nine to Brady Cook a few weeks ago.
So if Josh Allen's foot is healthy, the high leverage games, Aaron,
is where I see the quarterback run game becoming more
(28:59):
of a factor. I would say Trevor Lawrence is in
that category as well. Both of those quarterbacks, they're big,
they're strong the game. Obviously, both teams need it like blood.
I would say quarterback run game would be my first prop.
Angle both quarterbacks over their rushing yards and rushing attempts prop,
and then I think this is going to be a
higher scoring back and forth game.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
He's Jared Smith, our Fox Sports Radio betting analysts and
co host the Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff with
Rich Hornberger and Brian no Airs each Saturday between nine
in noon Eastern time. Listen live on any of our
Fox Sports Radio affiliates or on the iHeartRadio app. It's
all presented by Bett MGM.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Jared. Always appreciate the knowledge. Can't wait to listen tomorrow morning.
Speaker 7 (29:38):
Thanks man, good stuff, guys, good luck this weekend.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Darn right, it's go time. Is It's a time that
we get.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
These officials out of the booth when it comes to
our broadcast. Boy, great night for my Not so much
for those that wear the black and white uniforms on
the football field. The officials, or at least the official
in the booth. He is Aaron Torres. I'm Dan Byer,
but we're not the only ones here hanging out at
Fox Sports Radio on a Friday. Jason Stewart, Iowa Sam,
(30:16):
Isaac Lohing Cron. It's a great weekend for Iowa Sam.
You know come, I know this because Iowa Sam was
jacked up to talk some college football today. Like our
pre show meeting was good twenty minutes just talking about
the old CFB, and I knew Sam was in a
good mood because of it.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Just love talking shop about it.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
I will say you know, the SEC chant has been
well known for years. Sam tried to get a big ten,
big ten ten chance.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
That was Chrispopher Fett.
Speaker 6 (30:48):
Didn't really click the way I think Sam was hoping for.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
I'm not big ten, big toji.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
I hated big ten teams and to the SEC started
the SEC chance and I'm like, oh, I gotta kind
of support the other schools. But growing up being a
big guy, I didn't like any of the other schools
in the conference, and so I thought it was so
weird that the SEC was claiming ownership when one team
would win and then all of the other teams felt
like they had a share of the title. It never
made any sense to me by the way.
Speaker 5 (31:10):
I know we got to get to the referee stuff,
but for half a second, I just want to say,
I do start to wonder was the SEC always actually
that dominant or was just Nick Saban that good? Like
if Nick Saban was never born, certainly other teams would
have been good, and LSU would have had their moment
and Georgia would have had their moment. I think the
last fifteen years would have probably ended up being a
(31:33):
lot more balanced if Nick Saban had never been Born.
I know it's another conversation for another day, but with
the SEC supremacy was basically the Nick Saban supremacy.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
So I think the top of the Big Ten is
really really good, and I don't think that the bottom
of the Big Ten is good, but I think that
the top is really really good. And that's how I
feel like the SEC like the top top whether if
you want to put Florida, Alabama, Georgia in, if you
want to put LSU Alabama, Georgia, whatever, whatever trio you
(32:06):
want to put, because it did vary a little bit
for your Auburn putting Auburn in, you could put them
as a part of the conversation. I do think that
those teams enduring that era, that they were that good.
I just think then we got this inflated sense of
self or they did that because they had the three
best teams, it also meant that they had the other
(32:28):
eleven great teams, and I don't think that was necessarily
the case. So even five, six and seven, I don't
think we're that we're that good, but I do think
that the top of the SEC was superior to everyone
else in college football at one point in time.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Iowa Sam.
Speaker 8 (32:46):
I would agree with that because Iowa was always beating
that like six or seventh ranked team in the Outback Bowl.
Speaker 6 (32:52):
So there you have it.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Yeah, and they they beat this year in the Relia Quest.
Speaker 8 (32:56):
Formerly Vanderbilt, who was kind of a RINGEA playoff team
ten and two. I were the only ten and two
in the ED sorry, the only ten and two team
in the SEC left out of the playoff.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
We laugh, we would when the bowl game started to
take on the sponsors, and we would make fun of
all the different wacky sponsors.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
But who doesn't miss the Outback Bowl, right, it's it.
Speaker 8 (33:18):
It rolls off the tongue better than relyaquest. I'll just
say that. And it was a long time sponsor. I
know it used to be the Tangerine Bowl, right.
Speaker 6 (33:24):
It was the Hall of.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Fame game for a while.
Speaker 8 (33:26):
But like it once, like a sponsor has a bowl
game for a long time, you were like, you start
to love it.
Speaker 6 (33:32):
You're like, okay, I can get behind this.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Also because they had the promotion, if one team won,
you could get the bloomin onion. Yeah, but if another
team won, there was the other appetizer that they have
at Outback So there was it was depending on which
team won the game, you would have a rooting interest.
But I also think when you see the the popularity
of how the Pop Tarts Bowl is taken over the
(33:55):
Duke's the Mayo Bowl and dumping Mayo, like that whole
thing ended up taking on a life of its own,
and I think now we miss some of those sponsors
that are no longer there. I saw last night somebody's like,
it's always the Tostitos Fiesta bol Tom, Sorry Verbo.
Speaker 8 (34:10):
I think food food sponsors for bowl games is so
perfect because you put food into a bowl.
Speaker 6 (34:16):
I thought about that.
Speaker 5 (34:18):
I was gonna say, the best return on investment ever
form one of those things. Maybe pop Tarts surpassed it
this year. But when Brent Musburger said this one's for
all the Tostitos, and I think it was Oregon Auburn
back in whatever was twenty eleven.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
He used that reference. Actually even in Ohio State Miami
that season, I didn't even know there was some yeah,
some reference made, but yeah, you're absolutely right the Tostito's Bowl,
and then people would look at the Tostito's logo and
be like, oh, it's great stuff.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
But sorry, Verbo.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
There were some people who were not happy last night
that Tostitos was not sponsoring the Fiesta Bowl. There are
also some people that were not happy in the officiating,
and the officiating is where we want to get because
last night, this is what happened in the first half
of the game between Ole Miss and Miami. We'll let
the audio from ESPN and rules analyst Bill Lemonnier. It
(35:12):
gets the toss from Chris Fowler take it away.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Early rep for Bill Demaye.
Speaker 9 (35:16):
Are rules expert here, Bill, your quick take on this one,
but definitely defensives player. Strong hit to the head, neck area.
I just shouldn't take long. Thankfully Tony got up and
got off the field.
Speaker 10 (35:32):
And Tony's in the tent call going into the tent
as well, but he may be removed from this football
game after look at all these different.
Speaker 9 (35:40):
Hits routine that I have to check out Tony after
a hit like that in the tent, those slow motions, here's.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Real speed.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
And so we're getting the sense this is targeting one again,
one's going to be ejected.
Speaker 9 (35:54):
The ruling protect a defensive player right as much at
the offensive player that's defenseless.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
As a matter of time before we're going to kick
someone out because of what Bill le Monnier just told us.
Speaker 5 (36:04):
There is no foul for targeting the play it to play.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
He's the first stat you disagree with me. They show
they're looking.
Speaker 9 (36:13):
They also have to have an indicator in there. And
I don't you know a launch the thrust that type
of thing and running straight into him.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
They've deemed that that is not okay.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
That's it's amazing when hearing a seventy five year old
man say thrust, that's not the worst part of the
piece of it. It's the complete one eighty on his
position after he was proven wrong, yep, right, it was
what are you there for? What are you there for?
And I think there's a bigger question on the broadcast
(36:47):
what is the role of it? And and I give
Fox credit because Fox was the one who brought in
Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino in the first to do
this football wise. But I'm a golf guy. You guys
know this. Golf always had a rules official available for
the broadcast specifically or an event like the US Open.
(37:08):
And what makes it so great with the rules of
golf is there is no subjectivity. If a guy hits
the ball out of bounds and it crosses a red line,
the rules official would be brought in to tell you
where across the hazard where he can drop it. What
are his options. He wasn't guessing at where the ball
crossed the out of bounds line or where across the hazard.
(37:31):
There's none of that. Like the rules are black and white,
and now in football where it isn't, there's a lot
of gray areas. To have an official up there tell
you one thing, then the onfield official reverse it and
not have the replay official then either contradict what the
official is saying. To me is just awful and a
(37:51):
complete waste of all of our time.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
It was Aaron.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
It was ridiculous last night, and it makes me wonder
why do we have people in the booth. Then it's
not that they don't get it right, but now you're
changing the way that you saw the play.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
A minute ago. I think that's bs.
Speaker 5 (38:05):
Yeah, I could see the argument of if the ref
just called something different, you saying I fundamentally disagree. But
here is the argument for why in theory he made
this call. He did pivot pretty hard. Though he did
pivot pretty hard there, I will say. I'll give credit
to our executive producer Jason Stewart because he said this
(38:26):
in the pre show meeting. I just think it shows
how subjective all of these calls are to begin with,
when the guy who's supposed to be the expert doesn't
either doesn't know the rule, doesn't understand the rule, or
just gets it wrong. And I think that's probably a
fundamental issue with not only the targeting stuff, but also
which I'm sure we'll talk about before the end of
(38:47):
the segment, the pass interference to end the game as well.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Yeah, it's it was a bad look. Jay, you loving
the officials in the booth. I'm guessing not so much.
Speaker 4 (38:55):
Well, you know my overall stance guys on predictions specifically
in our industry are loads of hosts throughout our industry
that just fill their shows with the predictions so that
the ten percent of the time they could when the
prediction comes true, they could put it on Twitter and
be like, I'm just gonna lead this here. There's loads
of a host that do that, okay, and I can't
stand it. Predictions don't serve anybody, specifically the listeners, and
(39:19):
why would you have your expert do the prediction. Just
explain to us what the officials are contemplating in the moment,
and then after the fact, explain why they decided that way.
When you do the prediction, you're exposing your network for
the choice that they made of you as the expert,
and you're exposing the officials on the field like you're
(39:40):
undercutting everybody. Like why the rush to predict? I don't
get that.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
I don't either, and especially too he was peacockying it.
It should be pretty quick, right, like, let's step aside Fowler,
this is La Monnier time, Isaac loh and Kron what
do you got.
Speaker 10 (39:56):
Fox's decision to start this whole official ciating analyst's role
with Mike Pereira and then after that Dean Blandino was revolutionary.
So I feel that the two of them, as well
as Gene sterotare over ATS CBS are the gold standard.
Now it's gotten to the point where everybody is inserting
(40:18):
a rules analyst into their telecast, even in different sports,
and it's starting to be sort of a set of dilution,
and I feel, and Jason hit on this, the role
of the officiating analyst has started to transition to the
detriment of the viewing experience from a true analyst who
(40:40):
explains the rules and puts everything into perspective, into a
judge and an opinionator who says good call, bad call,
which is an opinion just like the analyst on the
broadcast can do. I feel the role is transitioning to
a place where it does not serve the viewer. It
needs to be sort of a contextual clarification role. Here's
(41:04):
what they're looking at.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Sure, And I would say, like again, I think that
golf was the front runner in this because they had
gone on for decades, not to the extent of football,
but they actually had someone to explain the rules. And
the rules are pretty They're complicated, but they're black and white.
That's one or the other, and that's what it's going
to be. There's not a lot of wiggle room. What
we're finding out with more and more of this is
(41:25):
how much wiggle room that there actually is. And I
also look at honestly, I'll blame ESPN because when you
listen to an ESPN college football broadcast, specifically with Fowler
and Herb Street, everything is ho hums, smooth and good
to go. You don't want much conflict. You don't want
stuff contrasting each other. It's a smooth follower as smooth
(41:47):
and in his delivery herb Street saying what he does
doesn't get real deep, just does kind of top of
the line stuff and moves on and you don't get
any of that conflict in a booth. Not that people
want to listen to conflict, but that's what it sounded like.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
For one way.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
It's called targeting. Yep, gonna go targeting, yep, that's absolutely targeting.
This should be quick. No targeting on the play yep. Well,
what they were looking for was the thrust here, and
that's all smoothing it over and making it real nice,
which is I think something that ESPN wants. But I
just think it completely did not serve the viewer last night.
Speaker 5 (42:18):
Well, I was gonna add to what is funny is
and you rarely see this is the rare either analyst
or play by play guy that will just openly just
call the rules analyst an idiot and just disagree with
him because usually, to Isaac's point, it's an analyst. It's
not an analyst, it's an expert. It's somebody that's official.
His word is the final word, and the one guy
(42:41):
that stands out watched tonight, Sean McDonough will be like,
if there's like a questionable targeting and the rules analyst
comes on and whatever, that's gotta be targeting, textbook targeting.
But Sean McDonald just be like, well, that's a stupid rule,
then well we need to get that rule out. And
it's like, you don't see that very often. But I
also do enjoy the friction of when an analyst or
(43:03):
a play by play guy will say, Okay, maybe that
is the interpretation of the rule, but I just fundamentally
disagree with that actual interpretation.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
Iowa, Sam, you know.
Speaker 6 (43:12):
And also I think is stupid.
Speaker 8 (43:14):
Is the term indisputable video evidence. I'm just tired of it.
It's been around forever. Video evidence is inherently disputable. Okay,
people see things different ways. That's happening right now in
our country. So basically we need to get rid of
that term. We need to call it like overwhelming video
evidence something like that, Like it's just indisputable. It's such
(43:36):
like a cut and dry thing that people see things differently,
and like we just it's just a term that I
just people they use it like it's just it's so
valid and it's not.
Speaker 3 (43:46):
It's just a terrible term.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
And I think last night was it was also a
blending of people who like or dislike replay. And then
we have the conversation that we're also talking about here
is an official and how you use the official throughout
that game. To Jason's point of if Bill Lemonnier comes
on and says, this is what the officials are looking at,
(44:10):
and gives everything that he said after the point and
then the call is made, he then could give his
opinion on what it actually was. If he said there's
looking for a thrust, if they're looking for a launch
in all of those things, that's how you go about it,
and that's what I think Pereira and Blandino do. And
(44:32):
then ultimately in the end maybe you'll let Herbstreet or
Follower draw their conclusion or Lamagnier comes in. But it
also when you're doing this, puts a real big spotlight
on the inconsistencies of officiating at the college level and
in the National Football League. And I think that's sterotory
and Blandino and and Pereira think more like the officials
(44:53):
are all kind of in the same group. College football,
you have packed twelve big twelve official He had packed
twelve officials that one day, acc sec big ten officials
from all different leagues, and then they're not. It's not
necessarily necessarily the same, and so you're getting a wide
variety of different calls. And I think that last night
(45:15):
just put a magnifying glass under maybe how how poor
the officiating could be in college football. Even though ultimately
I think they got the play right, like they got
the call right in the players going for the defender
going for the football that it wasn't targeting, that was great.
But if a guy up in the booth is trying
to go through what he thinks. If Bill Alemannier was
(45:36):
on the field, he you know, would have called that
targeting and kicked the guy out.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
Just weird.
Speaker 4 (45:41):
I'll say this. I don't know if it was Isaac
or Aaron, but I think that there still is a
necessity for it. I think it's a good idea that
every every league should do. Because remember there was a
play in the World Series. There was one of those
plays where a throw hit the runner and there was
like question about whether he was in the baseline or not.
(46:01):
And I remember in the time, thinking that not having
an umpire in the booth to at least get the
clarification of the rule is a big miss here because
that broadcasters weren't hitting on what the exact rule is
because maybe they don't know the exact rules. So I
think there's a necessity for it. I think the viewer
expects to be informed. I just think that when you
get into the prediction part, this is what they will
(46:23):
call that exposes everybody.
Speaker 10 (46:25):
And I will say this, broadcasters desperately themselves want to
know the rules and get them right, but there's so
much other information that a broadcaster needs to know. An
officiating analyst, they that's their specialty, that's their rule book,
And there's so many little unusual rules in any rule
(46:46):
book that nobody knows about except people who are professional
officiate professional officials, that that is their role to know
in case an unusual, rare situation comes up that only
someone who is a fashional official official would know.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
Football is tough, Basketball is tough. I think baseball is
more along along the lines of golf. It either is
or it isn't. Then maybe in a lot of cases
of what the actual rule is, what did you say, Sam,
you said tennis in my ear.
Speaker 8 (47:15):
Oh I'm sorry. I just say tennis is something like
it's over the liner. It's not like, I know, you
guys are talking about different things here.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
Yeah, that's in or out, you know sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
But yeah, the actual like implemation of of the rules,
you know, the golf rule book is you know, section six,
you know, to a blah blah blah, and there's there's
a lot to it, so you need someone there and
it aids to it.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
But football is football is a tough one.
Speaker 5 (47:37):
I know we only have half a second here, but
I will ask you really quick. I have long believed that,
especially we're talking about college football game specifically, if you're
gonna send Trinidad Chambliss, Keywon Lacy, whoever up to the
podium to talk after a loss, the referee should be
available to the general public.
Speaker 6 (47:52):
Do you agree with that or not?
Speaker 5 (47:55):
Like a referee should have to take the podium and
if there are questions, should have to answer them.
Speaker 6 (48:00):
I don't think they should be protected.
Speaker 3 (48:02):
Yeah, I think like in the NFL they aren't.
Speaker 2 (48:04):
You can request to speak with that, you know, with
a pool reporter and have that sort of clarity. So
I think in a way, yes, I just wouldn't want
to sit through any refereeing press conferences.
Speaker 6 (48:13):
No, I understand.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Yeah, that's just like all right, you can go Torres,
you can go cover that, see if it was holding
in the second quarter or not, because you know they
you know it would you know, right.
Speaker 6 (48:23):
It's like Major League Baseball.
Speaker 5 (48:25):
It's like it's nice to have the manager available, even
though out of one hundred and sixty two games, there's
maybe like six that you actually need something noteworthy after
a game, but it's still good to have them there
when you need them.
Speaker 3 (48:35):
It's good to have Jared Smith with us.
Speaker 2 (48:38):
He's gonna come up next, give us a preview of
the NFL wild Card weekend and even a look at
tonight's Oregon Indiana game. Of course, Jared co host of
Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Bett MGM every Saturday morning.
Jared's gonna join us next. He's erin Torres. I'm dan Byer.
That's AASAC glowing crown. Jason Stewart and Iowa Sam
Fox Sports Radio had the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
App feazzey sec Bye Bye bye bye.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Would it be a wah?
Speaker 4 (00:14):
Is that?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Is that French for goodbye bye bye?
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Goodbye?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Sayonarra bye in any language?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
The SEC out of the college football playoff Happy Friday
erin Torres.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
How are you well?
Speaker 5 (00:25):
I'm great, enjoyed the heck out of the game on
Thursday night, and I was just telling Bow in the back,
is that listen? I love a good college football you
know narrative as much as the next. And I love
this old mysstory kind of proven Lane Kiffin wrong. I
was kind of pulling for Miami to win No SEC
team in the championship game for a third straight year.
(00:48):
And you know, I set out the meme last night.
But when Greg Sankie walks in all these commissioners meetings
over the next couple months, I hope all the commissioners
pull the Connor McGregor meme of who the F this guy?
Speaker 6 (01:01):
I don't think it's gonna happen, but I hope that
they do.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Oh yes, a lot to get to Greg SANKI wanting
more opportunities for the SEC in the future college football playoffs. Right,
five plus eleven, so then the SEC could have what
nine schools in the playoff. Not so fast, my friend,
because for back to back years they can't get a
team in the National champions straight game. And yes, Michigan
(01:24):
Washington was yes, yeah, you're right, you're right. So now
three straight years, even with tonight's outcome, not set up
three straight years. The last time he was Georgia and TCU,
as he pointed out to a text of the PTSD
from attending that game and how bad it was. But
I do think that last night's game is interesting in
(01:47):
the fact of it eliminated an SEC school, an ACC
school has now made it to the National Championship Game,
and an ACC school Aaron that was the last at
large team in the bracket to make it. So there
are a lot of tentacles coming from last night's game.
Miami now gets to play a National Championship game in
(02:08):
their home stadium. That's been done before with them in
college football. But I don't feel that the National Championship
Game has been lacking at any point without an SEC
team in the National championship, and in fact, I think
that there was a time where we were just so
sick of it if you weren't an SEC fan. And
(02:30):
so now I feel that for as great as Miami's
tradition is of being the U, it feels like there's
new blood, new blood in the College Football Playoff. I mean,
even having Ole Miss representing the SEC, it just didn't
They didn't even I'm not saying they're not an SEC team,
but it wasn't the LSU Alabama, Georgia Florida quad that
(02:52):
you would get where we would be like, oh, it's
them again. So it was new. It was different, but
it also may be a changing of the guard that
we've come to now in the third straight year.
Speaker 5 (03:02):
Well, I know we're not going to spend too much
time giving the former Old Miss coach, you know, airtime here,
but I bring it up because to your point about
even within the SEC, there's a tier above the tier.
The reason Old Miss had what was essentially an interim
coach for this playoff. I know he's the full time coach,
which you get the point is because their previous head
coach said I don't think I can win a championship
(03:22):
here and so it speaks to that for so long
again it was the Alabama's, the Georgia's, the LSUS, the Whomever's.
Definitely new blood in this not only this playoff, but
I think that it speaks to a lot of quickly
changing narratives about everything that we think we know about
this sport, whether it be the SEC, how you build
(03:42):
a team, what teams can actually be competitive.
Speaker 6 (03:45):
It's a fascinating time in the world of college Could we.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Also point out that Lane Kiffin staying in the SEC
proves that it's maybe not as strong as it once was.
Speaker 6 (03:53):
Okay, land On me, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
So the thought process is is Lane Kiffin stays with
than the conference, But if he truly wanted to go
win a national championship, the thought process would be their
easier paths.
Speaker 6 (04:07):
All I see what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So like if he took his game to the ACC,
or took it to the Big twelve, or took it
to the Big ten and was able to coach there,
that maybe the path. If you think that the SEC
is king and that it's a murderer's row of week
in and week out, then maybe Lane kiffen wouldn't have
stayed in the SEC.
Speaker 6 (04:27):
That's an interesting point. I hadn't thought of it.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
What I will say is bigger picture and I know
we're kind of bouncing around here, but I think the
struggles of the SEC, not only in this postseason, but
the last couple of years, has been a very interesting,
you know, turning point in the sport. I will say though, like,
you know, one, after what Ohio State did last year,
after what Michigan did two years ago, I think there
was this notion that like, well, you know, I mean,
(04:52):
maybe an Ohio State has caught the SEC. But the
bottom line is when you really look at it, the
SEC is still deeper, and it's still this and it's
still that. And I said, I was saying this, I'll
me this morning like we got to get out of
that notion now too, because you look at the bottom
of this league this year, it was terrible. Now, part
of it is a byproduct of all these leagues are
too big, but Auburn was terrible, Florida was terrible, Arkansas
(05:13):
was terrible, Kentucky was terrible, and you start looking and
I'm not saying Ole Miss didn't deserve to be there.
I'm not saying, you know, Texas at they beat a
lot of dead weight at the bottom of the league.
And so now I think even the narrative of well,
you know, Ohio State's caught us at the top, but
the middle in the bottom, it's just different in the SEC.
Speaker 6 (05:31):
No, maybe it's the exact same as everything.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And I don't think that it's bouncing around. I think
everything is connected to the point that we are at
right now on January ninth of twenty twenty six, yep,
that we are tonight about to watch a Big Ten
semi final for in the College Football Playoff National semi Final.
So you have two Big ten teams playing an ACC
team has made it through by going through the SEC,
(05:55):
the Big Ten, and the SEC again.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
So Miami's road to the NASH Championship Game is absolutely validated.
But I also think that there are points when you
look back at the last twenty to twenty five years
in college football, the SEC dominance in college football doesn't
really take over till about I'd say the Urban Meyer,
Florida years two thousand and six. They win it again
(06:19):
in two thousand and eight in Alabama and Nick Saban
end up taking over of course, there was a Nick
Saban LSU championship prior to that, but Les Miles and
LSU win a national championship, and it was how the
SEC built their teams. Then Urban Meyer leaves Florida, goes
to Ohio State and says, I need to build an
SEC school in the big ten yep and they do.
(06:39):
They go and they win a national championship in twenty fourteen.
So now other schools are trying to to compete. I
think that's something that you've pointed out as well, is
the path that Miami took to get to this national
championship game is not so different from maybe what we
have seen previously in SEC schools and right now, like
(07:01):
there was, there was a point too where Nick Saban
had to realize that I can't just win by being
bigger and tougher, that we're gonna also have to have
an offense that is gonna score some points. So then
you have Sarkisian, you have Lane Giffen, you have Brian Dable,
was there oc one here, yeah, Brian Dabel, Bill O'Brien,
all of these guys coming in and running the Alabama
offense because you needed to have an offense too to
(07:25):
support your studs, and now if you're not as good
up front, this is where this is where you are.
So I think it's all connected.
Speaker 5 (07:32):
And I think that was one of the themes of
last night is that, you know, I'm assuming most of
the audience watched the game from beginning to end, but
if you didn't, what was jarring was Miami just bullied
oh Miss. And you know, there was even a point
in the fourth quarter and there were so many back
and forth I can't remember exactly where where. I just
remember sitting there saying Miami did have the lead at
(07:55):
that point, and I said, if they passed the ball
on this possession until they have to until it's like
if they get into a third and long, that's obviously different.
But I said, they're out of their minds, run the
ball right at Ole Miss. They did end ended up
running it, they had to punt it away. Ole Miss
scored and it was a back and forth from there.
But I just bring it up because it's not just
(08:15):
you know, the results on the field, it is the
way the games looked in that you go back to
last year Ohio State Bullying Tennessee, Ohio State Bullying Texas
and then last night where it's just like Miami was
the physically superior team in every way that they could be. Now,
Old Mis made it a game. Trinidad Chamblis was incredible.
(08:35):
Don't want to take away what they did, but this
is now the trend as well. Of it's not just
the results on the field, but it's the way in
which the SEC was physically dominating that simply isn't the
case anymore.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
We are ten minutes into the show that is just
north of half the time of possession that Ole Miss
had last night.
Speaker 6 (08:53):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
So it was about eighteen minutes they held the football,
but again they're thirty five yards away from from maybe
winning this game. They're twenty seconds away or from making
a Carson Beck tackle, and however it would have turned
out of maybe playing some more. But that's the way
that Ole Miss played. It's the way that Miami played.
In the end, Ole Miss had a chance to win
(09:14):
the football game and they didn't. What I find interesting
now is Miami is in the National Championship game, but
it doesn't feel like the U is in.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
The National Championship game.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Interesting Okay, so I think that the U is a
different entity sure, and I think that this is Miami.
I don't think that this is the U because I
don't think that this team. I think they are a
very very good team. Can I jump in on this rum?
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Us living in LA, this is like the Lakers might
make a run with Luca. This isn't showtime though. Yeah,
I'm saying yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely so. It's Miami in
the National Championship Game. And it's not the you that
has been number one throughout the season that's gonna put
you know, twelve guys in the NFL Draft, and ten
of those are going to be in the first two rounds.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
That's not what this is.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
They're gonna have high draft picks, They're gonna have top
five picks. That's gonna end up happening. But it's just
not the teams that we saw twenty five years ago
or even in the nineties or the late eighties. So
it's Miami's in the National Championship Game. And Jason Stewart,
our executive producer, isn't even necessarily looking at Miami being
(10:22):
a factor in this. It's that they're non acc champion
Miami in the National Championship Game. That's kind of not
your bone to pick, but that's what stands out to you.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
It seems silly to me that, unless I'm wrong, that
Miami could win a national title before they win an
ACC championship. That's strange to me. That doesn't hit my
ear right. It doesn't hit my ear right that we're
gonna likely have a game of participants for the second
straight year of teams that didn't even win their conference championship.
(10:55):
It's just again, all these things are just very odd
to me. And I know you guys, we get in
the minutia of this whole thing and you don't take
like the thirty thousand food view of this stuff. But
to me, those are silly aspects of this sport.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
I look at it as the conference championships that you
have are like the divisions in the NBA. We don't
care about them anymore.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
You can.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
The ratings may tell us differently. Ohio State and Indiana
great ratings one versus two in the Big Ten Championship game.
Maybe ultimately it could have changed fortunes. Maybe if Indiana
plays Miami, there's a different outcome in the quarterfinals. Maybe
Ohio State beats Alabama and the Rose Bowl if they
end up being the number one seed. Who knows, We'll
(11:43):
never know the case. But winning a conference championship I
think now in most leagues is just more of an
enticement because of how it affects where you're going to
be in the bracket. Then would it be anything else now?
The bracket separate conversation on whether it helps to have
(12:03):
a buy or not in the college football playoff. But
I just don't think now, when you're a conference or
you're a team, that winning your conference championship is important anymore.
Just like winning the Central Division in the NBA, When
was the last time you looked at an NBA division
standings as opposed to the conference standings to see where
(12:24):
everybody is seated in the playoffs. And I think as
more and more time goes on, and if the playoff expands,
and it's why other leagues are trying to find value
and how do we take this window that is a
championship game and make value of it, I just don't
think that conference championships matter anymore. So while it may
be a blind spot for me of not considering that,
I'm also looking at it as in a way of
(12:46):
the championship weekend in college football just isn't important anymore.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
Yeah, And I think to the bigger picture of what
we were kind of talking about is this world of
college football is changing so fast where in Indiana in
an old miss can be in competition for a national championship,
which was something that was probably inconceivable even five years ago.
I think this is just a new reality is you know,
I think we're in a not too distant future where
we don't even have conference championship games, and I think,
(13:13):
you know, there will still be somebody that probably finishes
with a better record and they get to hoist a
banner at the end of the year and it helps
with seeding. It just it doesn't matter anymore. It's about
you know, I hate to say it, but it's like
college basketball, it's like the NBA. It's about putting yourself
in position to get into the field and then be
in the most advantageous spot you can be. So it's
(13:34):
an interesting point, but it just speaks to how quickly
this sport is changing and what does and does kind
of matter in this new world.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
It's a one game situation, the Jason points out, but
ultimately it's a one game tournament. The conference championship game.
So like, if you're comparing it to college basketball, as
you and I do the Selection Show and have for
the past six years here on Fox Sports Radio. Every
year we talk about how the conference tournaments in the
(14:01):
big leagues, Yeah, don't matter as much anymore when it
comes to seeding and placing teams in and putting teams
in so you may win the conference tournament, and that
does not mean success in the Big Dance. And I
think now instead of looking at as a conference champion
a championship game, we just kind of have to look
at it as a one game tournament that there isn't
(14:23):
necessarily value. And so even though Indiana won and they
could be the team to do it, I mean, last
year's national semifinals were Texas and Ohio State. Texas lost
the championship game. Ohio State wasn't in there, and then
you had Notre Dame who didn't play in one, and
he had Penn State who ended up losing in the
championship game. So it was even last year in the
semi finals, there weren't even conference champions let alone the
(14:45):
national championship game.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
Yeah, it's funny to use the college basketball analogy. So
Michigan basketball, they're really good this year, number two in
the country, whatever, and they just happen to be showing
b roll of them from you know, since this new coach,
Dusty May took over showing b role of them winning
the Big Ten championship last year and cutting down the nets.
I remember a lot about college basketball. I didn't even
(15:08):
remember them winning the Big Ten Tournament last year. It
was just like, oh, they had a good year, had
a good run in the tournament, really good this year,
but it wasn't something that registered of like part of
that good season that led to success in the tournament
was winning the conference tournament.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
And I know we got to take a time out,
but it would make sense to have conferences be a
feeder situation where you fed teams into the bracket. Know
that something that ioa Sam would be a fan of.
It's just can you find value? The Big Ten talked
about having a three versus six, four versus five game
within their own conference to determine who could get a
(15:42):
spot in a sixteen team bracket if you went to
a four automatic. Big deal with the Big Ten. So
they don't want the TV window to go away. They
make money from the networks. People watch the game just
like they watched the Ohio State in Indiana. But to
think that it has any sort of importance on the
college football bract it. It doesn't And you don't have
to look at the Big Ten. You can look at
(16:03):
the SEC as well. For what we've seen.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
As of late, Fox Sports Radio had the best sports
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Speaker 3 (16:13):
App Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
I'm Dan Byer, He's Aaron Torres, Jason Stewart Iowa was
Sam Isaac long Crown hanging out with us on this Friday.
For over forty years, Tirak has been helping customers found
the right tires for how, what and where they drive.
Ship Fast and free back by free Road has a
protection with convenient installation options like mobile tire installation tyraq
dot com the way tire buying should be. Am I
wrong about Bill Lemonier? Like he feels like that old
(16:39):
teacher when you were in middle school or junior high
that you just just couldn't relate to and was just
always a grouch and a crab. Anybody anybody else get that? Sense. I, yes,
Isaac does.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
Until he took that victory lap, I was like, eh,
but it was such a definitive this is how it's
gonna go down.
Speaker 6 (16:57):
And then it didn't.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
It was off the bleach, Get off the bleake chers, Yes, yes.
Jared Smith joining us now. Countdown to Kickoff, presented by
Bett mgm every Saturday morning here on Fox Sports Radio.
He's the co host alongside Brian noen Rich Ornberger, airing
between nine o'clock Eastern Time going up until noon Eastern.
(17:19):
You can listen well havent any of our Fox Sports
Radio affiliates or the iHeartRadio app again, all presented by
Bett mgm. Do you get that sense with Bill Lemannier,
the ESPN rules official, just that cranky teacher that you
had back in the day that just never saw your
side of things.
Speaker 7 (17:33):
Nobody really knows what any call is anymore. I think
when I watch these games. For example, I watched the
play the last play of the game last night, which
I didn't classify as a hell Mary from the thirty
five yard line, Like I think that was a little
bit closer than that. It looked like PI to me,
And I know you swallow the whistle on that situation.
I get it, But if that play happens in the
(17:54):
first quarter, do they call PI like? I think that's
the bar that I kind of set. So I don't
think any anyone really knows what any penalties are anymore.
In the NFL and in college. I've been on this
soapbox for the last couple of months. I think we
need to make every penalty reviewable by the replay assist.
I'm not saying we have to stop the game and
replay it, but I think if it's a blatant error,
(18:14):
I think the replay, the eye and the sky should
correct it. And I think that's kind of the vibe
I get because the officiating in college and the NFL
has never it's in an all time get.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Ready for those five and a half hour football games,
Jared Smith, I mean, geez, I didn't even get to
the pass interference. Aaron and I disagree. I thought it
was I thought that your point was my point as well.
It was at the thirty five. Wasn't necessarily a hail
mary situation. Also, it's not the NFL. The ball doesn't
get placed at the one, it would have been a
fifteen yard penalty. And there still would have been an
(18:44):
opportunity for Miami to really have an opportunity to defend that.
But pass interference calls or non calls in Miami a
thing when it comes to the college football postseason. Let's
get to tonight's game Oregon Indiana, rematch of the Big
Ten regular season matchup that they had in October. Whose
side are you on tonight in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta?
Speaker 7 (19:08):
Well, market wise, right, this thing's been sitting three and
a half pretty much all week. And of course, if
you're into the gambling sphere, you know that three is
a very important number in football. It's called a key
number in college It lands about ten percent of the time,
so on or off that number is very important. You
saw a lot of people betting Indiana this week at
three and a half. Didn't care that, you know, the
(19:29):
hook is, as we call it, was on that key number. Well,
there are some pretty significant wagers happening today on Oregon.
Some sharp betters in town really really like the Ducks
at plus three and a half. So now we're seeing
it go on to that key number of three at three.
I like Indiana, and I think it's just a matter
of I think optics matters like Indiana clearly is the
(19:51):
best even COLLEGEA ball right now. Does that mean they're
gonna win tonight, No, but they are a worthy favorite,
and I think when you look at their offense, it's
it's a lot of simplicity with their run game. They
actually had their lowest rushing game of the season in
the first matchup against Organ, just three point three yards
per carry, and they had zero runs of fifteen or
more yards. I do like Dan Lannings defense. They are
(20:12):
built from from the bottom up. The two big tackles
Alexander and Washington, they really won that battle in the
first matchup. The linebackers are good at the second level. Betcher,
Mixon and Jackson did a good job kind of cleaning
things up. I think those two middleman Alexander and Washington
are gonna be key tonight. Mendoza didn't play well in
the first matchup. It was the second worst passing great
of the year. Oregon really got pressure on Mendoza and
(20:35):
on the other side, there was even more pressure on
Dante More almost a fifty percent pressure rate for him.
So both quarterbacks struggled. Both run games struggled. I think
Indiana made a few more plays than Oregon did, but
I'll be honest when I when I look at this game,
it definitely feels like a toss up, and once we
get the value onto that key number of three, I
think that's where I feel comfortable laying the points with
(20:56):
the Hoosiers before we.
Speaker 6 (20:57):
Get to the NFL.
Speaker 5 (20:59):
Just one more college football question, you know, Dan and
I opened this show like so many did today, about
you know, downfalls. Maybe a little bit of a heavy word,
but the SEC clearly is not what it used to
be in terms of results, and I was just curious
if you had any kind of metrics or data from
the betting world, whether it's you know, how you rank it.
I'm blanking on the right word the verbiage here, but basically,
(21:22):
do you have like empirical data in what you do
that shows that the SEC isn't what it was even.
Speaker 6 (21:28):
Three four years ago.
Speaker 7 (21:29):
It's a great question, Aaron. I think ratings wise, yes,
I think the SEC dominance is starting to be tapered
a little bit. For example, last year, organ was the
best team in the country all year long and then
they got exposed by another Big ten team. But in
terms of the power ratings. I don't think you're seeing
as many SEC teams in that elite tier, and then
(21:52):
they get these cross pollination matchups in the bowl games
and they were terrible. I mean it was absolutely awful.
I think I tweeted out last night the only SEC
postseason wins against non SEC teams were all miss over
Toulane in Texas over Michigan, who didn't have a head coach.
And obviously they're going through a lot right now with
their program. The SEC finished two and eight straight up
and against the spread, so sometimes, right they're winning games
(22:12):
but not covering. Well, they weren't winning or covering one
and three in the CFP against non SEC teams, So
I think you can absolutely make the case that nil.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Right.
Speaker 7 (22:22):
It used to be the rural gas stations out and
you know in you know, Alabama, Misissippi would be you know,
spending all this money for these players, and that was
the only way to pay players. Well, now you can
pay players in many different ways, and I think you're
starting to see the the diversity of funds really have
an impact on the overall landscape of college football. I mean,
go back and just look at who's played in the
(22:43):
national championship game over the last I don't know decade.
I mean, it's it's Michigan, it's Washington, it's Ohio State.
You get Oregon and Indiana in the championship, you know,
semi final tonight you have you have notreed aame. So
it's just I think it's starting to spread out. In
turn of it's not going to be all SEC dominance
from here on out. I think the nil and the
(23:04):
portal is really a level the playing field.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
All right, let's switch gears with Jared Smith. He's hereon Torres.
I'm Dan Byer to the National Football League. You guys
will be previewing a wildcard weekend with two games coming
up on Saturday. I want to start with the nightcap
in Chicago. Packers one and a half point favorite over
the Bears in their NFC wildcard showdown. Always will be
a chilly night in Chicago. But why is green Bay
(23:29):
favored in this matchup between NFC North rivals.
Speaker 7 (23:33):
I'll be honest, I don't know, Dan, I mean, I
do know.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
It's it's the Boa.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
It's you know, all these metrics that they look at
that cook up these ratings that makes green Bay a
you know, for you to be a road favorite, usually
you get at least one or two points for being
at home, and green Bay being a favorite in the
game means they are at least three points better than
(24:00):
Chicago on a neutral field. I don't know if I
agree with that. And first of all, Green Bay is
missing their best pass rusher, and I think their defense
has definitely taken a little bit of a step back
without Michael Parsons. Secondly, at what point do we ignore
some of the metrics and we say Chicago is just
really good at winning close games. They've done it all year,
(24:20):
and I think a lot of that's coaching, a lot
of that's mental toughness. Those are things that can't be
baked into a number, that can't be accounted for on
a spreadsheet. These are intangibles, and then you throw in
the momentum factor. Green Bays lost four games in a row.
That's only happened once in the last twenty five years
a team entering the playoffs on a four game losing streak.
(24:41):
It was last year. It was the Steelers, and then
they got beat by two touchdowns by the Ravens in
the wildcard round. So I think it's pretty disrespectful that
Chicago is playing a divisional opponent in a division they won,
and they're a home underdog in the playoffs. And again
I know why it's happening, but it's really remarkable.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
This is where I come from.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
The the just the average fan, average Joe's scenario is,
I remember what happened with Bears Packers in Soldier Field.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
I remember what happened at lambeau Field.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Those are two very close games, but I mean the
Packers go in and almost upset Chicago, but they don't
get an on side kick, and the Bears score and
end up rallying and get the win. Like I remember
all of that. I just feel like Las Vegas was
smarter than me, you know what I mean. Like I
saw Green Bay, yeah yeah, and that's what we always hear, yes, yes,
(25:35):
and so I thought it would be like, Okay, this
is how it's going to play out. But Vegas still
is saying that it's Green Bay. And that's what kind
of you know, just caught me by surprises. I just
think most of us Joe's would think, like, all right,
even though they lost, they were tight games, it's gonna
be the Bears in the playoffs. But that wasn't the case.
Speaker 7 (25:53):
There's no doubt that the sharper side is green Bay,
but that doesn't mean the sharper side always wins. So
and here's another reason I think green Bay is getting
some love. There's a trend out there that's a very
popular trend. It's very profitable trend. Right, quarterbacks that have
playoff experience playing a wildcard game because it has to
be wildcard game unless I guess the team is in
the number one seed in the divisional round against a
(26:14):
quarterback making his playoff debut. So the quarterbacks that are
making their playoff debut are covering at around thirty four percent,
twenty wins, thirty nine losses in one push against the spread,
and twenty and forty straight up. So out of sixty
games where the playoff debutante has gone up against a
(26:35):
playoff veteran, in terms of quarterbacking, only twenty straight up wins.
So obviously, with this game being a pick on it,
it's not going to really come down to the spread.
Most likely it's going to be whoever wins the game
will obviously cover. And that's why I think Green Bay's
getting some love. But again, I don't know how much
I buy that, because it just I think Chicago, you
have to at some point give them credit for winning
(26:56):
these games, and those are things that maybe aren't fully
baked into then. So I'm on the Bears. I'll go
down with the Caleb william Ship and the Ben Johnson ship.
If Jordan Love comes in there and smacks them around,
I'll tip my cat. But if you're giving me any
value as an underdog for a divisional winner facing a
divisional opponent at home in the playoffs, I can't not take.
Speaker 6 (27:16):
That very quickly.
Speaker 5 (27:17):
I'll ask you about another one and a half point
home favorite, at least according to the book that I'm
looking at, or road favorite. I think as at home favorite,
road favorite Buffalo Bills. We know what's at stake for them.
We know, frankly, what's its sake for everybody in that
building from Sean mcdermottah down. How do you see this
one playing out?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (27:34):
This is a toss up game for sure. I mean
the Jacks are arguably the hottest, hottest team in the NFL,
eight to zero straight up and against the spread over
their last eight. The Bills. We've seen this before with
Buffalo in the postseason, these games typically go over. In fact,
of the last ten playoff games for the Bills, eight
of them have gone over the total, and in seven
of those ten, Buffalo scored at least twenty seven points.
(27:57):
It's fair to say the Bills defense is maybe a
little bit unlocked this year. I know they've been a
downtrodden unit, but again peeling back to curtain for how
I analyze games, Buffalo is a top five pressure eighteen,
but just eighteenth in quarterback sack percentage. What does that mean?
They're generating pressure, they're just not finishing the deal. And
sometimes you know, the sacks can be a little bit
fluky sometimes where you generate the pressure but you don't
(28:19):
necessarily get home. You still impact the quarterback. And Buffalo
I think has done a better job than maybe some
of the numbers reflect impacting the quarterback this year. Joey
Bosa needs to be really good in this game. He
got some full practice in this week. That's a good sign.
And Trevor Lawrence, right, you go from twelfth in EPA
to twenty third when pressured this year. So when he's
kept clean, he's a top ten, top fifteen quarterback. When
(28:39):
he's not well. Now he's a bottom ten quarterback. So
the Buffalo run game I think will be key here.
We've seen the Jags give up some big quarterback run games, right,
gave up sixty to Mahomes on Monday Night Football. They
gave up forty to Bryce Young earlier this year, even
gave up thirty nine to Brady Cook a few weeks ago.
So if Josh Allen's foot is healthy, the high leverage games, Aaron,
is where I see the quarterback run game becoming more
(28:59):
of a factor. I would say Trevor Lawrence is in
that category as well. Both of those quarterbacks, they're big,
they're strong the game. Obviously, both teams need it like blood.
I would say quarterback run game would be my first prop.
Angle both quarterbacks over their rushing yards and rushing attempts prop,
and then I think this is going to be a
higher scoring back and forth game.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
He's Jared Smith, our Fox Sports Radio betting analysts and
co host the Fox Sports Radio's Countdown to Kickoff with
Rich Hornberger and Brian no Airs each Saturday between nine
in noon Eastern time. Listen live on any of our
Fox Sports Radio affiliates or on the iHeartRadio app. It's
all presented by Bett MGM.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Jared. Always appreciate the knowledge. Can't wait to listen tomorrow morning.
Speaker 7 (29:38):
Thanks man, good stuff, guys, good luck this weekend.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Darn right, it's go time. Is It's a time that
we get.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
These officials out of the booth when it comes to
our broadcast. Boy, great night for my Not so much
for those that wear the black and white uniforms on
the football field. The officials, or at least the official
in the booth. He is Aaron Torres. I'm Dan Byer,
but we're not the only ones here hanging out at
Fox Sports Radio on a Friday. Jason Stewart, Iowa Sam,
(30:16):
Isaac Lohing Cron. It's a great weekend for Iowa Sam.
You know come, I know this because Iowa Sam was
jacked up to talk some college football today. Like our
pre show meeting was good twenty minutes just talking about
the old CFB, and I knew Sam was in a
good mood because of it.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Just love talking shop about it.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
I will say you know, the SEC chant has been
well known for years. Sam tried to get a big ten,
big ten ten chance.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
That was Chrispopher Fett.
Speaker 6 (30:48):
Didn't really click the way I think Sam was hoping for.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
I'm not big ten, big toji.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
I hated big ten teams and to the SEC started
the SEC chance and I'm like, oh, I gotta kind
of support the other schools. But growing up being a
big guy, I didn't like any of the other schools
in the conference, and so I thought it was so
weird that the SEC was claiming ownership when one team
would win and then all of the other teams felt
like they had a share of the title. It never
made any sense to me by the way.
Speaker 5 (31:10):
I know we got to get to the referee stuff,
but for half a second, I just want to say,
I do start to wonder was the SEC always actually
that dominant or was just Nick Saban that good? Like
if Nick Saban was never born, certainly other teams would
have been good, and LSU would have had their moment
and Georgia would have had their moment. I think the
last fifteen years would have probably ended up being a
(31:33):
lot more balanced if Nick Saban had never been Born.
I know it's another conversation for another day, but with
the SEC supremacy was basically the Nick Saban supremacy.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
So I think the top of the Big Ten is
really really good, and I don't think that the bottom
of the Big Ten is good, but I think that
the top is really really good. And that's how I
feel like the SEC like the top top whether if
you want to put Florida, Alabama, Georgia in, if you
want to put LSU Alabama, Georgia, whatever, whatever trio you
(32:06):
want to put, because it did vary a little bit
for your Auburn putting Auburn in, you could put them
as a part of the conversation. I do think that
those teams enduring that era, that they were that good.
I just think then we got this inflated sense of
self or they did that because they had the three
best teams, it also meant that they had the other
(32:28):
eleven great teams, and I don't think that was necessarily
the case. So even five, six and seven, I don't
think we're that we're that good, but I do think
that the top of the SEC was superior to everyone
else in college football at one point in time.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Iowa Sam.
Speaker 8 (32:46):
I would agree with that because Iowa was always beating
that like six or seventh ranked team in the Outback Bowl.
Speaker 6 (32:52):
So there you have it.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Yeah, and they they beat this year in the Relia Quest.
Speaker 8 (32:56):
Formerly Vanderbilt, who was kind of a RINGEA playoff team
ten and two. I were the only ten and two
in the ED sorry, the only ten and two team
in the SEC left out of the playoff.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
We laugh, we would when the bowl game started to
take on the sponsors, and we would make fun of
all the different wacky sponsors.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
But who doesn't miss the Outback Bowl, right, it's it.
Speaker 8 (33:18):
It rolls off the tongue better than relyaquest. I'll just
say that. And it was a long time sponsor. I
know it used to be the Tangerine Bowl, right.
Speaker 6 (33:24):
It was the Hall of.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
Fame game for a while.
Speaker 8 (33:26):
But like it once, like a sponsor has a bowl
game for a long time, you were like, you start
to love it.
Speaker 6 (33:32):
You're like, okay, I can get behind this.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Also because they had the promotion, if one team won,
you could get the bloomin onion. Yeah, but if another
team won, there was the other appetizer that they have
at Outback So there was it was depending on which
team won the game, you would have a rooting interest.
But I also think when you see the the popularity
of how the Pop Tarts Bowl is taken over the
(33:55):
Duke's the Mayo Bowl and dumping Mayo, like that whole
thing ended up taking on a life of its own,
and I think now we miss some of those sponsors
that are no longer there. I saw last night somebody's like,
it's always the Tostitos Fiesta bol Tom, Sorry Verbo.
Speaker 8 (34:10):
I think food food sponsors for bowl games is so
perfect because you put food into a bowl.
Speaker 6 (34:16):
I thought about that.
Speaker 5 (34:18):
I was gonna say, the best return on investment ever
form one of those things. Maybe pop Tarts surpassed it
this year. But when Brent Musburger said this one's for
all the Tostitos, and I think it was Oregon Auburn
back in whatever was twenty eleven.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
He used that reference. Actually even in Ohio State Miami
that season, I didn't even know there was some yeah,
some reference made, but yeah, you're absolutely right the Tostito's Bowl,
and then people would look at the Tostito's logo and
be like, oh, it's great stuff.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
But sorry, Verbo.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
There were some people who were not happy last night
that Tostitos was not sponsoring the Fiesta Bowl. There are
also some people that were not happy in the officiating,
and the officiating is where we want to get because
last night, this is what happened in the first half
of the game between Ole Miss and Miami. We'll let
the audio from ESPN and rules analyst Bill Lemonnier. It
(35:12):
gets the toss from Chris Fowler take it away.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
Early rep for Bill Demaye.
Speaker 9 (35:16):
Are rules expert here, Bill, your quick take on this one,
but definitely defensives player. Strong hit to the head, neck area.
I just shouldn't take long. Thankfully Tony got up and
got off the field.
Speaker 10 (35:32):
And Tony's in the tent call going into the tent
as well, but he may be removed from this football
game after look at all these different.
Speaker 9 (35:40):
Hits routine that I have to check out Tony after
a hit like that in the tent, those slow motions, here's.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
Real speed.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
And so we're getting the sense this is targeting one again,
one's going to be ejected.
Speaker 9 (35:54):
The ruling protect a defensive player right as much at
the offensive player that's defenseless.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
As a matter of time before we're going to kick
someone out because of what Bill le Monnier just told us.
Speaker 5 (36:04):
There is no foul for targeting the play it to play.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
He's the first stat you disagree with me. They show
they're looking.
Speaker 9 (36:13):
They also have to have an indicator in there. And
I don't you know a launch the thrust that type
of thing and running straight into him.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
They've deemed that that is not okay.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
That's it's amazing when hearing a seventy five year old
man say thrust, that's not the worst part of the
piece of it. It's the complete one eighty on his
position after he was proven wrong, yep, right, it was
what are you there for? What are you there for?
And I think there's a bigger question on the broadcast
(36:47):
what is the role of it? And and I give
Fox credit because Fox was the one who brought in
Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino in the first to do
this football wise. But I'm a golf guy. You guys
know this. Golf always had a rules official available for
the broadcast specifically or an event like the US Open.
(37:08):
And what makes it so great with the rules of
golf is there is no subjectivity. If a guy hits
the ball out of bounds and it crosses a red line,
the rules official would be brought in to tell you
where across the hazard where he can drop it. What
are his options. He wasn't guessing at where the ball
crossed the out of bounds line or where across the hazard.
(37:31):
There's none of that. Like the rules are black and white,
and now in football where it isn't, there's a lot
of gray areas. To have an official up there tell
you one thing, then the onfield official reverse it and
not have the replay official then either contradict what the
official is saying. To me is just awful and a
(37:51):
complete waste of all of our time.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
It was Aaron.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
It was ridiculous last night, and it makes me wonder
why do we have people in the booth. Then it's
not that they don't get it right, but now you're
changing the way that you saw the play.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
A minute ago. I think that's bs.
Speaker 5 (38:05):
Yeah, I could see the argument of if the ref
just called something different, you saying I fundamentally disagree. But
here is the argument for why in theory he made
this call. He did pivot pretty hard. Though he did
pivot pretty hard there, I will say. I'll give credit
to our executive producer Jason Stewart because he said this
(38:26):
in the pre show meeting. I just think it shows
how subjective all of these calls are to begin with,
when the guy who's supposed to be the expert doesn't
either doesn't know the rule, doesn't understand the rule, or
just gets it wrong. And I think that's probably a
fundamental issue with not only the targeting stuff, but also
which I'm sure we'll talk about before the end of
(38:47):
the segment, the pass interference to end the game as well.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Yeah, it's it was a bad look. Jay, you loving
the officials in the booth. I'm guessing not so much.
Speaker 4 (38:55):
Well, you know my overall stance guys on predictions specifically
in our industry are loads of hosts throughout our industry
that just fill their shows with the predictions so that
the ten percent of the time they could when the
prediction comes true, they could put it on Twitter and
be like, I'm just gonna lead this here. There's loads
of a host that do that, okay, and I can't
stand it. Predictions don't serve anybody, specifically the listeners, and
(39:19):
why would you have your expert do the prediction. Just
explain to us what the officials are contemplating in the moment,
and then after the fact, explain why they decided that way.
When you do the prediction, you're exposing your network for
the choice that they made of you as the expert,
and you're exposing the officials on the field like you're
(39:40):
undercutting everybody. Like why the rush to predict? I don't
get that.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
I don't either, and especially too he was peacockying it.
It should be pretty quick, right, like, let's step aside Fowler,
this is La Monnier time, Isaac loh and Kron what
do you got.
Speaker 10 (39:56):
Fox's decision to start this whole official ciating analyst's role
with Mike Pereira and then after that Dean Blandino was revolutionary.
So I feel that the two of them, as well
as Gene sterotare over ATS CBS are the gold standard.
Now it's gotten to the point where everybody is inserting
(40:18):
a rules analyst into their telecast, even in different sports,
and it's starting to be sort of a set of dilution,
and I feel, and Jason hit on this, the role
of the officiating analyst has started to transition to the
detriment of the viewing experience from a true analyst who
(40:40):
explains the rules and puts everything into perspective, into a
judge and an opinionator who says good call, bad call,
which is an opinion just like the analyst on the
broadcast can do. I feel the role is transitioning to
a place where it does not serve the viewer. It
needs to be sort of a contextual clarification role. Here's
(41:04):
what they're looking at.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Sure, And I would say, like again, I think that
golf was the front runner in this because they had
gone on for decades, not to the extent of football,
but they actually had someone to explain the rules. And
the rules are pretty They're complicated, but they're black and white.
That's one or the other, and that's what it's going
to be. There's not a lot of wiggle room. What
we're finding out with more and more of this is
(41:25):
how much wiggle room that there actually is. And I
also look at honestly, I'll blame ESPN because when you
listen to an ESPN college football broadcast, specifically with Fowler
and Herb Street, everything is ho hums, smooth and good
to go. You don't want much conflict. You don't want
stuff contrasting each other. It's a smooth follower as smooth
(41:47):
and in his delivery herb Street saying what he does
doesn't get real deep, just does kind of top of
the line stuff and moves on and you don't get
any of that conflict in a booth. Not that people
want to listen to conflict, but that's what it sounded like.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
For one way.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
It's called targeting. Yep, gonna go targeting, yep, that's absolutely targeting.
This should be quick. No targeting on the play yep. Well,
what they were looking for was the thrust here, and
that's all smoothing it over and making it real nice,
which is I think something that ESPN wants. But I
just think it completely did not serve the viewer last night.
Speaker 5 (42:18):
Well, I was gonna add to what is funny is
and you rarely see this is the rare either analyst
or play by play guy that will just openly just
call the rules analyst an idiot and just disagree with
him because usually, to Isaac's point, it's an analyst. It's
not an analyst, it's an expert. It's somebody that's official.
His word is the final word, and the one guy
(42:41):
that stands out watched tonight, Sean McDonough will be like,
if there's like a questionable targeting and the rules analyst
comes on and whatever, that's gotta be targeting, textbook targeting.
But Sean McDonald just be like, well, that's a stupid rule,
then well we need to get that rule out. And
it's like, you don't see that very often. But I
also do enjoy the friction of when an analyst or
(43:03):
a play by play guy will say, Okay, maybe that
is the interpretation of the rule, but I just fundamentally
disagree with that actual interpretation.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
Iowa, Sam, you know.
Speaker 6 (43:12):
And also I think is stupid.
Speaker 8 (43:14):
Is the term indisputable video evidence. I'm just tired of it.
It's been around forever. Video evidence is inherently disputable. Okay,
people see things different ways. That's happening right now in
our country. So basically we need to get rid of
that term. We need to call it like overwhelming video
evidence something like that, Like it's just indisputable. It's such
(43:36):
like a cut and dry thing that people see things differently,
and like we just it's just a term that I
just people they use it like it's just it's so
valid and it's not.
Speaker 3 (43:46):
It's just a terrible term.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
And I think last night was it was also a
blending of people who like or dislike replay. And then
we have the conversation that we're also talking about here
is an official and how you use the official throughout
that game. To Jason's point of if Bill Lemonnier comes
on and says, this is what the officials are looking at,
(44:10):
and gives everything that he said after the point and
then the call is made, he then could give his
opinion on what it actually was. If he said there's
looking for a thrust, if they're looking for a launch
in all of those things, that's how you go about it,
and that's what I think Pereira and Blandino do. And
(44:32):
then ultimately in the end maybe you'll let Herbstreet or
Follower draw their conclusion or Lamagnier comes in. But it
also when you're doing this, puts a real big spotlight
on the inconsistencies of officiating at the college level and
in the National Football League. And I think that's sterotory
and Blandino and and Pereira think more like the officials
(44:53):
are all kind of in the same group. College football,
you have packed twelve big twelve official He had packed
twelve officials that one day, acc sec big ten officials
from all different leagues, and then they're not. It's not
necessarily necessarily the same, and so you're getting a wide
variety of different calls. And I think that last night
(45:15):
just put a magnifying glass under maybe how how poor
the officiating could be in college football. Even though ultimately
I think they got the play right, like they got
the call right in the players going for the defender
going for the football that it wasn't targeting, that was great.
But if a guy up in the booth is trying
to go through what he thinks. If Bill Alemannier was
(45:36):
on the field, he you know, would have called that
targeting and kicked the guy out.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
Just weird.
Speaker 4 (45:41):
I'll say this. I don't know if it was Isaac
or Aaron, but I think that there still is a
necessity for it. I think it's a good idea that
every every league should do. Because remember there was a
play in the World Series. There was one of those
plays where a throw hit the runner and there was
like question about whether he was in the baseline or not.
(46:01):
And I remember in the time, thinking that not having
an umpire in the booth to at least get the
clarification of the rule is a big miss here because
that broadcasters weren't hitting on what the exact rule is
because maybe they don't know the exact rules. So I
think there's a necessity for it. I think the viewer
expects to be informed. I just think that when you
get into the prediction part, this is what they will
(46:23):
call that exposes everybody.
Speaker 10 (46:25):
And I will say this, broadcasters desperately themselves want to
know the rules and get them right, but there's so
much other information that a broadcaster needs to know. An
officiating analyst, they that's their specialty, that's their rule book,
And there's so many little unusual rules in any rule
(46:46):
book that nobody knows about except people who are professional
officiate professional officials, that that is their role to know
in case an unusual, rare situation comes up that only
someone who is a fashional official official would know.
Speaker 2 (47:02):
Football is tough, Basketball is tough. I think baseball is
more along along the lines of golf. It either is
or it isn't. Then maybe in a lot of cases
of what the actual rule is, what did you say, Sam,
you said tennis in my ear.
Speaker 8 (47:15):
Oh I'm sorry. I just say tennis is something like
it's over the liner. It's not like, I know, you
guys are talking about different things here.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
Yeah, that's in or out, you know sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
But yeah, the actual like implemation of of the rules,
you know, the golf rule book is you know, section six,
you know, to a blah blah blah, and there's there's
a lot to it, so you need someone there and
it aids to it.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
But football is football is a tough one.
Speaker 5 (47:37):
I know we only have half a second here, but
I will ask you really quick. I have long believed that,
especially we're talking about college football game specifically, if you're
gonna send Trinidad Chambliss, Keywon Lacy, whoever up to the
podium to talk after a loss, the referee should be
available to the general public.
Speaker 6 (47:52):
Do you agree with that or not?
Speaker 5 (47:55):
Like a referee should have to take the podium and
if there are questions, should have to answer them.
Speaker 6 (48:00):
I don't think they should be protected.
Speaker 3 (48:02):
Yeah, I think like in the NFL they aren't.
Speaker 2 (48:04):
You can request to speak with that, you know, with
a pool reporter and have that sort of clarity. So
I think in a way, yes, I just wouldn't want
to sit through any refereeing press conferences.
Speaker 6 (48:13):
No, I understand.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Yeah, that's just like all right, you can go Torres,
you can go cover that, see if it was holding
in the second quarter or not, because you know they
you know it would you know, right.
Speaker 6 (48:23):
It's like Major League Baseball.
Speaker 5 (48:25):
It's like it's nice to have the manager available, even
though out of one hundred and sixty two games, there's
maybe like six that you actually need something noteworthy after
a game, but it's still good to have them there
when you need them.
Speaker 3 (48:35):
It's good to have Jared Smith with us.
Speaker 2 (48:38):
He's gonna come up next, give us a preview of
the NFL wild Card weekend and even a look at
tonight's Oregon Indiana game. Of course, Jared co host of
Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Bett MGM every Saturday morning.
Jared's gonna join us next. He's erin Torres. I'm dan Byer.
That's AASAC glowing crown. Jason Stewart and Iowa Sam
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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