First episode back in 1600 days! Brandon Silvers from the Beyond the Arc podcast joins me to talk some college football. Started off as a review of 2023 but quickly turned into a 2024 playoff preview.
In this podcast episode, Cathartic Podcast and Brandon Silvers discuss various topics related to college football. They cover the 2023 season, including expectations for teams like Georgia and Alabama. They also analyze the potential success of Texas and Oklahoma in the SEC. The conversation touches on the changing landscape of college football, the decline of the NCAA's power, and the challenges faced by college football coaches. They discuss the impressive season of Michigan and the struggles of Iowa's offense. The episode concludes with a discussion on the need for an offensive coordinator at Iowa and the future of Kirk Ferentz. The conversation covers various topics in college football, including fan reactions, coaching strategies, and predictions for the upcoming season. The hosts discuss the disappointing performance of Ohio State and the challenges they faced on offense. They also talk about the behavior of fans and the arrogance of certain fan bases. The conversation concludes with predictions for the playoff teams and the Big 12 and ACC conferences. In this episode, James Paige and Brandon Silver discuss coaching continuity and the Utah football program. They also talk about game plans and make early predictions for the upcoming season. The conversation concludes with a discussion about Beyond the Arc with Brandon Silver's and upcoming content on the show.
Takeaways
James Paige (00:00.798)
Never said I was good at this shit, man. I'm still figuring this crap out. Alright.
James Paige (00:12.274)
Welcome to another Cathartic Podcast. Yes, I know it has been a minute for all five listeners that we've had in the last seven years. It's been roughly 1600 days since we did an episode, but to be fair, I had a real job and didn't have time to do this. And plus, I kind of got tired of talking to myself four times a week for three months. So, took a break. We are back now. I'm very excited to be coming back to With The Cathartic Podcast.
If you happen to be the sixth, seventh, and eighth subscriber to this podcast, kind of give you a heads up about this podcast. We will cuss. We'll probably say some things that we shouldn't, but we're going to talk sports, probably mainly college football. We will also be talking maybe college basketball in the future. Maybe MLB, maybe some pro playoffs are coming up here soon.
We will also probably be doing a segment from time to time which I call the Bogey Blog, which is just me talking about a golf course I played. But that's going to be far and few in between because it's cold now and I don't like playing out in the cold. But without further ado, I'm very excited to have our very first brand new podcast in 1600 days. Since September 2nd of 2019 was our last podcast. I'm very excited to start off this one.
with a good friend of mine. I worked with them long time ago. I was on his podcast beyond the arc, had a good time doing it. So if you don't like this podcast blame him, cause he's the one who put the bug in my ear. Everybody, please welcome a good friend of mine, Brandon Silvers, all the way from the East coast. Welcome to the Cathartic podcast, Brandon. How you doing bud? Very excited to be here. Glad I could get you to re-unleash yourself.
into the podcast world. I'm just happy to be here. I haven't been a guest too often. I host so much. It's nice to be on someone else's podcast. That is true. So what is it to be on the arc? And it's, I was on it and had a great time on it. We spoke about things that, what would it really talks about for everybody who's the seven people, one of them would be my mom who was wondering, we spoke about the 94, 95 San Diego Chargers who went to the Superbowl. Just one of those questions you asked me, is there a team you liked?
James Paige (02:30.238)
I said, yeah, this is the one. This is the one year I remember. And we spoke at it about an hour and a half or something like that. But I know that Beyond the Arc is more than just that. So explain to the 7 and 1 half listeners what Beyond the Arc is. Yes, so audio and videos. So search for Beyond the Arc with Brandon Silver's. Wherever you consume these types of things. But yeah, kind of as the name implies, go a little bit beyond sports. I like to look at.
kind of the relationship between society and sports, what they can tell us about each other. Sometimes it's more society-based, sometimes it's more sports-based, but I like to believe, no matter what I'm talking about that day, is always entertaining. And it is, and I'm telling you one big thing that caught my attention with your podcast was you had Marcus Latimer on there. I did. I think I even existed. So.
If you're not a college football fan again, if you are a college football fan, Marcus Latimore might be an obscure name to you. I think he's a five-star recruit during the Spurrier era out in South Carolina. I think he was drafted by the 49ers. But that was after he injured me. Yep. He got drafted after he blew out his knee and then kind of a good microcosm of what I do on Beyond the Arc. Had Marcus Latimore on. Had this career-ending injury.
did play pro football and we talked football maybe 10 minutes. The rest of the conversation, which was about an hour and a half, was mostly him talking about his poetry and his mental health journey and how those two kind of work together to get him to a place where he is now. Like he's a very good poet. He's in Oregon now and he does all these shows. He just released like a poetry album. It's fantastic stuff. And so,
I don't know, man. If you told me back when I was drunk at tailgates, when South Carolina was winning and I'm yelling for Marcus Latimore that years later, I'd get a chance to talk to him and I would hardly talk football with him. I would just talk life. I would not have believed you, but it did happen. I have the proof. Well, you know what, dude? That was probably one of the best interviews I've seen, especially from somebody who was like, you know, you don't work for ESPN, you don't work for Fox, you work for yourself.
James Paige (04:51.758)
I think when I saw the post on Instagram, is that Marcus Latimer? Yes, I did get a lot of, cause I didn't tell people I got him. I was like, I told very few people and I just wanted it to be a surprise. And then it came out and everyone's like, is that the Marcus Latimer? Cause he does look a little bit different. He's a little bit smaller, little more artsy looking. And they're like, is that the same one? I was like, as a matter of fact, yes.
It was a great interview, man. I learned a lot from that. I was really cool to see a different side of athletes, former athletes in this case, just the guy who was at the top level going into South Carolina got hurt, still got drafted. I don't think he lost, he lost a couple of years, if I remember correctly. Yeah, it was pretty quick because the knee just, the injury was so devastating.
Like if you go and look it up on YouTube, make sure you haven't eaten. Like it was a terrible injury. And in researching for the episode, I remember reading that he realized it was over. They were running sprints in training camp for the 49ers and Joe Staley, the big tackle, was beating him in sprints. And he was like, that's enough of this. And so just a tough break, but.
I guess, I'll take that back, not even really a tough break, because this is someone who you think, oh man, this terrible thing has happened to him. But as terrible as it may have been, it seems to have worked out better for him. And he's at least used it as an opportunity to grow as a person and develop these new interests and kind of take a look at himself and who he is and who he wants to be.
More power to him. He's in Oregon now? Well placed. Yeah, Oregon. I want to talk to you today about your personal review of the 2023 college football season. Not just the Gamecocks. In your opinion, coming into this year for you, were the expectations for certain teams, certain coaches, certain players coming into this season? Well, I guess right off the bat, Georgia. I was gonna have to see someone beat Georgia.
James Paige (07:12.086)
to believe it because I mean, even though we hadn't seen three national championships in a row since like the thirties, and I'm pretty sure Minnesota did that, which is a fun trivia fact. Uh, if any team was going to do it, it was going to be Georgia, you would think, because I've never seen a team look like that just physically. And then you hear about Carson Beck taking over for Stetson Bennett, Stetson Bennett, great college quarterback, but no one thought of him as like.
Joe Burrow at LSU, you hear rumblings, Beck might be better, this, that, and the other. And so with coming into the season, I was like, Georgia, they might pull this three Pete off. No, I mean, you watch them play. I just pulled up their schedule from last year. I mean, UT Martin, who, Ball State, they did have a little bit of issues with South Carolina. Granted, they did beat South Carolina by two touchdowns. But for the most part, must a couple of games here and there.
they looked like the team that was going to three-peat. And once they blew Ole Miss out, I kind of went, damn, no one's going to beat them, period. Cause I thought Kiffin might give them a show. And he kind of did for the first part of the half, first half. And then I think they pulled away, dropped 50 on Kiffin. Yeah, 52. And then they go on to Tennessee. Tennessee was probably on my slight disappointment list cause I thought they were going to go further than they did.
Blue Tennessee out to go into Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech in the run, but it is a rival game. And yes, that happens. Yeah. So in Atlanta, I didn't expect Alabama to push them around as much as they did. In that, you know, really, when you think of coming into the season, like you expect Bama to be at the end of every season, like getting to the playoffs. And that happened. So.
If I was in a coma and you told me, okay, well, the college football playoff was Bama was in the college football playoff. I'd be like, of course. But the way that Bama got there this year was the least Bama like route. Not even considering who agrees or disagrees with the committee decision, but Bama, they look terrible for most of the year and they still back their way into it. So this certainly.
James Paige (09:36.37)
would not have been the Bama team I would have picked to beat Georgia because they just looked pitiful for most of the year. I mean, the loss against Texas, I'm wrong, Texas was a good team, but then Texas lost to Oklahoma who I personally think Oklahoma is very, very overrated. Yeah. I think they were last year, I think they were two years ago, and I think they're going to be coming in this year. I think they're ranked.
the early preseason rankings, they're in the top 25 somewhere, can't quite remember, but I just lose in Oklahoma. Yes, again, it's a rivalry game. I get it. Oklahoma had a better taste from two years ago when they got smacked and shot out by Texas in the Red River. It's at the rivalry now, showdown. They don't have the shootout anymore. No. But they lost that game. They lost that game. Just fucking. So you're right. That's when
Who is it Bama? I think they played South Florida and looked terrible. In Tampa Bay by the way. I don't know how that worked out in Tampa. Me either. And they were just running out all kind of quarterbacks. They benched Milro and they'd also been beaten by Texas pretty easily. And that just doesn't happen with Bama. So I kind of was ready to write them off. And when I say Bama had a down year, I mean they had a down year for Bama because as a Gamecock fan, as you know, I would kill someone.
to have that as my up year, much less my down year. But yeah, and then you're right, Texas. Texas was another team who I feel like every year the talk is, is Texas back? And I did not think they were back, but they look like they may have been back. Well, I think Sark has got that turned around. I think spending those two stints with Saban, then thinking with the NFL to Atlanta for a year, then went back to Saban.
I think he learned how to be a coach. Cause let's face it, the time of Washington and definitely time of USC where it's two cluster f**ks and a half. Yeah. And I know you had a lot of personal issues and he seems to just have gotten all that together and I'm glad to see it. And I do think he's a really good college football coach. Yeah. Much to hate to admit that because I don't like Texas. Yeah. He's a good, he's a great coach and what he's done at Texas, minus the Oklahoma hiccup, kind of minus a Washington hiccup.
James Paige (11:53.13)
No, I can see them beating Georgia next year. They face each other in Texas, I want to say. Yeah, I forgot where we're doing the Texas in the SEC thing. Yeah. And Oklahoma. Very strange. I think Texas is going to have more success than Oklahoma, but that's just my personal opinion. Doesn't mean a whole lot, but yeah, Texas has Georgia at home in October.
But yeah, I can see Texans probably going undefeated next year into the playoffs. Because who's really going to beat them? Maybe minus Georgia. I like that because I'm wondering if there's any adjustment. Everyone, and I'm in South Carolina, as you mentioned, there's the SEC bias and the thought that the SEC is this super tough conference. And it's true to a degree because the SEC does get like really giant people.
to put pads on and I find that being giant is helpful in a game like football. But I'm wondering what, if any, the adjustment will be from going from the big 12 to the sec. You know, that's a good question. I think you just kind of hit it on the nail on the head right there. It's the big people football. And you go from the big 12, which is.
Stereotypically and historically been the spread offenses that's run around. I mean, from Lincoln rally to Bob Stoops, their defense was towards Bob Stoops' later years was kind of shaky. And it was kind of optional. I think when you saw about early 2000s, when the poor Nebraska went to the big 10, that Nebraska team that faced Texas in the big 12 championship, that was a defensive team with Domina Consue.
Yeah, this is my name. I think Gregory was on that team as well. That's a defensive latent team that probably could have done well in the big 10 that year. But they went to the big 12. They're still in the big 12 that time. And you saw a really good defense in Texas and you saw decent offenses on both sides of the ball and Texas happened to win that game. I think at that time frame. Yeah, we're coming into it now. They still got big boys on that team, but they still struggled against Oklahoma. They still had some issues against UCF, I want to say. Or am I getting it? Yeah.
James Paige (14:07.586)
They're only getting them mixed up with Oklahoma, which it could be. But I think like the struggling with Oklahoma, because I'm, I'm with you, not a, not a big believer in Oklahoma. So that would give me a tiny red flag as far as Texas making that adjustment. Cause I do think that when you're playing that big boy football, the week after week grind of it is what gets you. It's not necessarily one game at a time.
So I do think there could be an adjustment period, but I mean, they've got the money, they've got Sark. I don't think it's gonna be a long adjustment period. And again, like you're saying, I wouldn't be shocked if they're in the playoff next year again, I mean. Well, to kind of give you a quick idea of what they did last year, there's only three games where...
are four games that the score was within seven points. They lost by four to Oklahoma. They beat Houston by seven. They beat Kansas State in overtime by three. They beat TCU, I don't know how TCU almost beat them, but they did, but they came close to beating them 29 to 26. Then everything else is 10 points or more. Just blow out. Yeah, blow out, or blow out, to blow out. So I can see Texas really stepping up next year. They don't think they have a murderous route. They do have Georgia.
They do have Oklahoma again. I'll keep going back to Oklahoma. Who else have they got? Oh, I'm not gonna count Florida. They do have Michigan next year at home, in Michigan, which that's kind of a, who knows what's gonna happen there. That kind of feels like with as much as Michigan's losing, I would like Texas in that one. Oh yeah, I don't know. And who knows if Harbaugh sticks around too. That's a tough one. I don't know if Harbaugh's gonna stick around.
Now one day you hear he's going to the Chargers, next he wants to sign this contract for immunity. So when the NTA does come down on him, he can't get fired. Dude, Jim, a week ago you specifically said on national TV that you were innocent. So what makes you think you're going to get in trouble? Very interesting how you would hedge against such a thing if you were an innocent man. Exactly. So SEC, Texas, who else do you think coming into next year?
James Paige (16:21.93)
So it seems like we're on the SEC talk right now. We'll have to switch conferences eventually today. But SEC talk, who do you see competing next year for one of those top two spots? We know Georgia, we know Texas, Ole Miss maybe with all the damn transfers they have. Tennessee maybe? So this is what's so tough about college football now, is you used to could project out and like, okay. This team was down this year, next year they'll be up. You can see the guys are gonna progress, get better.
all that. Now, how do you even begin to have a clue? Everyone's moved around. I don't know how anybody fits. I think the thing with the portal that I've come to understand and feel fairly confident about is you can't build a defense through the portal and you can't build an offensive line through the portal. Yeah. Exactly. Try it.
And it's like, that seems to be, I'm pretty confident about that. Uh, everything else, skill positions are hit or miss. And so like, that's the big question marks. I know one guy who I wasn't a huge believer in, and he had a year at LSU last year, but Jayden Daniels, I was like, a good college quarterback comes out this year, wins the Heisman, looks incredible. And so just things like that. I think.
I think again, I think you're right on with Texas and Georgia. Bama, you want to think Bama because it's Bama. Obviously we just had Saban retire. I do really like Kailin Dabour as a coach. But when you look again at the transfer portal and how all these Bama guys can leave, but Bama can't bring anybody in.
hard for me to buy in on Bama. Well, just speaking of that, they had 28 transfers Alabama has had, only four of those 28 have come in. So they've had 24 transfers leave so far. A big majority of them have already committed to another team. I mean, how do you kind of navigate around that if you're in Alabama? I mean, you've seen with Alabama, they're losing a bunch of people. You've seen what Florida State were, they brought in 20 some odd players last year.
James Paige (18:51.118)
And they're going to bring in another, I think, almost 20 this year. They almost went undefeated. But then he also saw the Colorado last year. 50 some transfer people. Everybody. Yeah. The whole team got turned around. And yes, they won four games better than what they had the year before. And now he's trying to do it again, which Deon love him or hate him. I think he can be a good coach. I think the big thing about Deon is that. He does college football too much like he's
He's too honest when he should lie. And then he lies when he should be honest. Like that's the big confusing thing for me with Dion, because he's basically doing something similar to, in my opinion, to what Lincoln Riley's doing at Southern Cal. But Riley just, he just knows, I can't, I can't say that out loud. I have to say it this way. So, and I think you're right. I think if, if I had to categorize Colorado's season.
I would say they neither under achieved nor over achieved. They merely achieved. I think that's the best way to put it. And then, but yeah, going back to the SEC, if I had to guess, I think Missouri, I believe their quarterback, Brady Cook, I believe he has a year of eligibility left. Now this is another thing where I looked it up and it's very confusing with the COVID year, who can come back and who can't.
God, yeah. This blew me out like people are playing 18 years in college. I'm like, Oh, man, might be time to hop on LinkedIn. You know what? The road he left. Okay, yeah, yeah. So I might I'm going to check into it. I might go I might go play you might see me next. But I think Cook, he was a guy who surprised me. I did not think Missouri was going to be good. I thought they'd be middle of the road like
Under Eli Drinkowitz, they've been a six, seven win team. And then they came out 11 and two. Obviously they do lose. I think they lose that running back Cody Schrader, the division two transfer. He ran for 1600 yards. He was incredible, but you still have cook. They should still have Luther Burden, their star receiver. They figured out how to get him the ball last year. I think. I don't know if I see them winning 11 games again.
James Paige (21:15.682)
But eight or nine, maybe, maybe coming out, challenging Georgia. They played Georgia tough this past year. I think they lost by nine. So that's someone I would look at. They also picked up some big names in the portal too. And I think they finished with the ninth, so far, shouldn't say finished, because the portal is still open. But they have the ninth best portal class as of right now with 10 incoming players. And they were bringing in
school recruits too who are pretty like some five-star guys too. So that's a team that I'm not going to let them shock me again like next year like they did this past year. I believe in Missouri. I'm on the record saying that I was not in my own preseason special and Missouri fans let me know about it. So what I worry about Missouri is it's gonna I feel like it might be next year's Tennessee or another team might that were
This last season, they were so good. They were close in a bunch of different games. They almost beat Georgia. They probably should have beaten Georgia. They have such a great recruiting class, a great portal class, high expectations. People are bouncing off the walls for them. And then they lose to Boston College. Or they go into Texas A&M, a brand new Texas A&M team, and lose to Texas A&M. Or get smacked by Alabama.
They may have that feel. I just don't know how. Only thing I know about Drunken Wits is when he was at App State for what, a year before he went to Missouri. I'm not going to take anything away from him. He's done a great job there at Missouri. I didn't like you. I didn't expect him to be anywhere near what they were this year. I mean, 11 and two. 11 and two beat Ohio State in the cotton bowl. Ohio State. Yeah. Exactly.
But I do think he had to have that year or else I think he might have been on his way out. I think so already. He's been there about three years now, two years, three years. No. Yeah. I think with the way that college football is, everyone's expecting their coaches to win immediately. I was listening to it right at the show, actually turned on here. I'm not going to give them a plug. I listen to them every day. No, not for free. They're from Lincoln, Nebraska.
James Paige (23:39.251)
Coach Bush, he was an assistant coach for Nebraska, for LSU with Coach Orgeron, won the national championship with them and he's been elsewhere. One of the things he said, because he was asked earlier, what's his face from Denver got canned after one year, I forgot his name.
In college, how long did coaches have before they get on the hot seat? And one thing he says, in the past, you gotta let them build three, four years. But now with the portal, or you can go out and get the five store star you missed last year and you have game film on them. Or you get that three star player, the two star player that you didn't go after, but you saw them play at AppState or something and you can bring them in. So now it's a little bit harder as a college football coach, because you might only get two years because of the transfer portal.
to be some sort of successful. And the NIL makes a huge difference. So kind of going with what you were saying is this, people are expected to win now. And if you had said last year what you said about Drunkwitch about, well, you might have been on the hot seat, probably we're gonna, maybe not. Cause he's still building his team, but with the portal and with the NIL, it's turning into the minor league of the NFL. Yeah. And I think that, like you're saying, like it used to be you would get
I feel like, yeah, your recruiting class, your first recruiting class plus one year, you get five years to figure it out. But I'd be lying if I wasn't looking at Shane Beamer and looking at my watch too. So it's just a really strange way how things have changed to where you're right. Like it is like.
I feel like it's always been the minor league of the NFL and now everything, all the cards on the table, we're no longer pretending it isn't. And there's just a huge adjustment period that comes along with that. No, that's very true. There's no, well, the NCAA says this, NCAA says that. We had to stay here. Now it's like, NCAA is a shell of what it used to be. And really no one cares. I mean, you look at what happened to FSU a couple days ago, all these sanctions, because allegedly a coach took a player who wasn't on their
James Paige (25:48.042)
on the team to go talk to an NIO collective, and now he has a show clause. No one cares, Norval didn't leave. That was right when Sabin got left. Yeah. You know, Norval? Because it makes no sense, and I think schools are understanding that the NCAA doesn't have any real power, so you don't really have to talk to them. They can't compel you to talk to them. Just no comment your way through it, and...
move on with your life. Yeah, do the hardball thing. Oh, yeah. Look at this, which is the funniest ending to the season we could have like, if you didn't believe the NCAA had no power, the head coach of the national championship team coached, like three games this whole year because he was suspended for doing stuff. That's fantastic. That is beautiful. Now it's just the epitome of where we are.
This is where we are. Congratulations, everybody. That was great. Is someone brought out like 40 years ago, 30 years ago, SMU got the death penalty for what everybody's doing now. Yeah. Time's have changed. It's crazy because I if I'm Reggie Bush, I'm looking I'm like, where's my Heisman trophy? I you took away my husband for this.
James Paige (27:14.802)
It's just so crazy because Reggie Bush, I bet he made the amount of money he made. I bet Caleb Williams finds that in his couch cushion in his penthouse. And rightfully so. I mean, if you're running out there, I would not run out there and let someone hit me the way that these guys get hit. And they do deserve with as much money as flying around. They do deserve to get paid. But it's just so the rules are just so arbitrary. It feels like like.
The initial thing was with the cheeseburger. He's buying recruits cheeseburgers. Yeah, during COVID, something about buying a cheeseburger and those six games. But the offensive coordinator gets arrested and gets his computer seized. Everybody forgets about that. Right before the season start. No one knows why. They just know the FBI showed up, took the computer, and the guy's gone. It makes no sense. This guy clearly creating, I don't think, I want to preface this,
I'm not a criminal expert, but I don't think the FBI sees its computers for fast food crimes. So it definitely seems to something worse than a cheeseburger had to have happened, but we don't know what it was and no one talks about it. Fucking Michigan. Yes, that is correct. Fucking Michigan is correct. Well, let's-
Steer from the SEC and go into the Big Ten then since we're talking about Michigan. We know Michigan, we're talking about Harbaugh. Is he going to stay? Is he going to go? They have a slew of guys leaving. I think there's only one or two first rounders from what I'm hearing. Like Corlom isn't supposed to be even supposed to be a first rounder. Um, not a MacRamere. What the hell is his fricking name? Um, JJ McCarthy. I had a MacRamere. He used to be a Michigan player. McCarthy, I mean, he's being thrown around as a first rounder, but I think it's only because they went 13, 14 and 0. Yeah. But.
Just what they did. And what does I don't like Michigan, I hate Ohio State more, but I don't like Michigan. I'm not a big hardball fan. Great coach, hate who he is. The guy can coach and he has coaches who can coach. And you saw from game one, no matter how much they struggled against UNLV to start off the season and against, shit, somebody. Yeah. Then a couple of cupcakes before they faced Rutgers. Who I thought Rutgers might beat them. That was wrong. They dominated throughout the whole season. They have the best defense.
James Paige (29:33.95)
in the country. Just insane. Every level just stacked. Top to bottom. And I read somewhere during the season, like they have eight offensive linemen who might be drafted. Eight. There's only five on the field usually at one time. And there are eight of them that might be drafted this year. That is incredibly upsetting to me as a Gamecock fan. But you're right. An incredible season.
I don't think I'd want to have a beer or a cheeseburger with Harbaugh personally. He just seemed like, calm down a little bit guy. But the fact that they were able to put it together and win a national championship at Michigan, because I was looking it up, like they've got the one that they split with y'all, I believe, right? In 97.
But for some reason I had in my head that Michigan was this blue blood, like bunch of national championships and all this stuff. But I don't think they'd won an outright national championship since the 40s. It was like some ridiculous thing. So they have a great marketing department at Michigan because I was like, man, this team, they must have all these national championships. They don't. And obviously people were just voting on them. No one was really playing.
one versus two like that, but no, a great season. A bunch of claimed national titles. Yes. 12 claimed national titles and only one unclaimed national titles or seven, I'm sorry, seven unclaimed national titles. How do you claim a national title? That's what I need, because I would like to claim one just for myself, but I'm gonna put it on my resume. UCF did a couple of years ago. That's true. I gotta find a good year to do that. Maybe.
Off the top of my head, I feel like 2014. I feel like I was a national champion that year in my mind. So I have to look at the paperwork. There's got to be like a, there's a form you fill out, I'm sure. So I'll look into that and well, you can put it in the show notes. It could be me playing the long game where I just have to wait a couple of decades till people forget, because you know, I'm at the age now that I don't remember sports trivia the way I used to. Like I used to have everything memorized, Heisman Trophy winners, all of that.
James Paige (31:54.238)
And now I'm not sure, huh, who won the national championship that year? So I just need people to get to that point and be like, you know what? It could have been Brandon. He could have done it by himself. He could have, yeah. Him and Charles Woodson right neck to neck. Right there. It's just, uh, they both had to play both sides of the ball because it was just the two of them. So yeah, incredible. They won. I, Blake Corum.
He didn't look quite as sharp after that injury he had last year, but still obviously very good. Had a million touchdowns. JJ McCarthy, if you draft him in the first round, good luck to you. But that defense, they made Washington, and Washington's offensive line won the Joe Moore award for best offensive line in the nation, which is one of the reasons why I believed in Washington and I picked him to win going into the game.
They made them look terrible. Especially there's two guys, number 73 and number 77 on Washington's offensive line. I believe both the guards. Every time I looked at them when they weren't getting false start penalties, they were facing the opposite direction of where you would want to face. Again, as a Gamecock fan, I know when your offensive lineman is faced the wrong way, like I know what that means. That's all I saw. Like.
Oh, someone's trying to save something. And so I was like, man, Michigan must be putting it on them. Cause I don't know, offensive line play the ins and outs, but I know when you're doing it wrong and they were doing it wrong. They remind me of watching Nebraska earlier this year in last season. There was this, when all five guys are turned around and the quarterback is running for his life. You know, I couldn't tell you the proper technique for a left tackle, but I do know he needs to be facing that way. And so.
That's all the analysis I needed to know that Michigan's defense probably pretty good. Yeah. Well, I think they were definitely the best in the country. Yeah. Let's have the numbers right here. I mean, they only gave up 157 yards through the air a game and 90 yards on the ground. Geez. I mean, less than 250 total yards a game they gave up. That's...
James Paige (34:09.766)
Pretty solid defense and it's no wonder they won the national championship. Yeah, they do say defense wins championships They do when you saw what Washington did against Texas has a pretty good defense as well and you saw what Washington did against Oregon twice Oregon has the top 15 defense My fat floppy were saying Oregon looks more ready for the big 10 and Washington does but you know, Washington beat them twice And they're gonna be Texas in the playoffs ground. They had two weeks. I think you see a lot more upset We guess watching was probably
favored in that game against Texas. I thought Texas would win personally, but they gave good coaches two weeks, especially if they're kind of underdogs. You saw what happened last year with TCU against Michigan. Yes. Then you give them a week to prepare for Georgia and you saw what happened there. Same thing with Washington. They had two weeks to prepare for Texas, sarkton and prepare right, de Boer, de Boer did. They go out against Michigan and it's just, Michigan was...
They're not going to do anything different to guys go get the quarterback. And they fucking did. Yeah, and I think that like, that's why. If Harbaugh stays, even if he leaves, they might be able to pull it off where next year, if you've got a defense like that, you only need to score if you're giving up nine points a game, in theory, you only need to score 10 then. So you don't need.
JJ McCarthy to be anything other than who he is. You find a running back, like they're all about controlling possession, controlling the ball on offense. We'll get our points when we find them, and then we're gonna shut you down on the other end. That's probably my least favorite playing style to watch, but the most easily replicated from year to year. I think it's something that in the Big 10 with the weather, you kind of have to do. But there are no domes in the Big 10.
No, and it's crazy, especially like they need as much offensive help as they can as a conference. Because I know you write for a franchise tag UK as do I. I covered the Big Ten for franchise tag UK this year and that means I had to watch Big Ten football from time to time. What Iowa did was almost impressive in a very sad way. Just root.
James Paige (36:32.094)
I told you earlier, well, not again, the cat on the podcast. I'm writing an article kind of based off the way too early, top 25. Haven't done all of them yet because it takes me a while. I just like to do my research and whatnot. I did I have one. They're actually ranked 25th right now. Dead second to last in scoring offense, dead last in total offense. But yet they went 10 and two in the regular season. It's insane. It only gave up 60 some yards on the ground in Michigan. Yeah.
And still found a way to lose. Um, it was just watching them made me so sad. So sad. That was the one game like I watched it in the Nebraska game. I was like, dude, they actually, Nebraska may actually win this one just off this sheer ineptude of Brian Farrant and that offense. Yeah. And of course Nebraska's quarterbacks do what Nebraska's quarterbacks do. And that's throw interception with two minutes left in their own territory. And last second field goal.
to lose a game, which is kind of what Nebraska did, and it's been there at MO for the last decade and a half. Your Iowa and your best weapon is your punter. And he was incredible. He was, and I don't know if the stat is correct. I put it in the article, but he had over 4,000 yards punting in a season. That's 300 yards a game. That's insane. That's like, like if your quarterback does that, he wins the Heisman. Exactly. He's the punter.
I thought that was it. I don't know if that's true, but it was I read it. I didn't look it up on ESPN. I couldn't tell if it's Chris career or the season, but I did say season. I went if you're putting 300 over 300 yards a game, that is what six points, seven points a game. Yeah. And you would think he had to be. He had to be. Yeah. Just based on what they were doing, he had to be. So I think that sounds like a season stat to me because they were putting the hell out the ball. And I don't think he's.
Coming out for the NFL for the money. I think he's coming out early for the draft because he wants to save his leg. I was about to say, he's like Earl Campbell, the punter. He's coming out early to save his leg. Like right back, Stu, they can declare early so they can have an extra year of playing time. Too many, too much wear and tear on his leg. They're running him into the ground. He's punting every freaking time. But he was a great punter, man. That's, that's, they got another one coming up. We got the kid's name, but they're excited about him too. And Cooper DeGene.
James Paige (38:57.766)
great corner returner. Him and the punter were like, that's how Iowa went 10 and 2. I think that was a very confusing part of Iowa for me is you clearly have this kid who is an incredible DB and punt returner. How on that offense do you not figure out how to get him the ball on that end of the field? And like...
We just talked about Charles Woodson, just, I don't know if you could line him up at wide receiver and hope that your quarterback would find him, but maybe some end around something to get him the ball because the quarterbacks they had were awful. Fucking hit a defensive tackle playing quarterback after McNamara went down. That dude was huge. I was like, there's no way like a Jared Lorenzen throwback. I was like. Jared Lorenzen could hit a brass hat barn.
No, yeah, he could throw the hell out the ball. Yeah, I was kind of like this guy. He threw. He's never good when you look and throw like an offensive lineman or a defensive tackle. Like that is very true. But I am kind of excited about I would see what they come back next year. They have a lot of guys coming back on that defense. They just gave the offensive coordinator a five thousand dollar raise. He fucking deserves more than five. But I'm sorry. Five hundred thousand dollar raise. He deserves to be like the top paid coordinator in the country, if not the world.
Honestly for what he's done in Iowa. They still haven't got an offensive coordinator yet I heard recently that Paul Chris the old Wisconsin coach turned them down Huh? I read an article recently about that I do know they fired their wide receiver coach because apparently he was his fault that their offense sucked and so I'm interested with your point of view and over
Not really going over what the topics we're gonna go over, but I'm having a good time. You know how to have an offensive coordinator? You do not as a team, a power five team, have an offensive coordinator this late in the season. In offseason. Early recruiting sighting is gone. The portal is going to be closing here shortly. I think, I don't know for sure, but think the judge in West Virginia or Virginia still says players can transfer twice.
James Paige (41:13.182)
Another was a stay on that. They can do a break in days. You have the last signing period coming up here in I think a week or two, but Iowa doesn't have any, doesn't have an offensive coordinator. How do you bring in players, especially offensive players, when you've shown that you can't produce with the guy who was there, who was the coach's son, and now you don't have somebody, how do you sell that to a recruit?
And you can't get hit by anybody from the transfer portal. They have seven guys who left, they have no guys who are coming in. As it gets. That's not surprising, because I would not want to transfer to play offense for Iowa. And...
I guess my question would be, would they even know how to sell it at this point? Because it's been so long since they've had anything offensively that they've probably forgotten how to recruit that if we're just considering high schoolers. So I can't imagine college transfers would want to come. I'm not going to use up one of my transfers going to Iowa so that this huge person,
can throw me the ball that I will never catch because it will not come to me. I would think they would have gotten an offensive coordinator because, like you said, they went 10 and two with this offense. So you would imagine if a, not even a good, a decent offensive coordinator, someone who is average can get that offense to an average place, they are a playoff contender.
So that's the most confusing part to me because it seems like the bar is set so low by Brian Farrance that you would just have to just barely get over this little tiny bar and you would look like an offensive genius. Because think about what we would say about someone who could put together a decent offense at Iowa. He'd be...
James Paige (43:23.614)
A savant, like we'd have all these think pieces written about him and he would have to get his blood tested and see if he was a witch. So I don't know why they haven't gotten anybody to do that because I would do that because I know like your standards at this point as an Iowa fan, you have no standards. You're punt you, that's it. Yeah. Like if you just, if we, if we can save our punter and he only punts.
3,000 yards this season, you have succeeded. I can do that. I bet that's what they should do. They should let people audition for it week to week. And just like, you can't get much worse. Like you, that's basically what they did. Like you hired Farence's kid to do it. We saw how that went. Now give everyone else a chance. I think as an offensive coordinator, I would be excited to go into a place like this because it is a blank slate. I mean, yes, you have to, you're gonna have to build from the ground up. I was just looking at the recruiting classes, class they have.
one athlete, receiver, bunch of linemen and two running backs coming in from this one from what I saw. But you have a blank slate and you know you're going to have a good defense. Yep. You have a bunch of six-tier players coming back. You have, I don't know who's an All-American, but I think he was one of the all Big Ten teams quarter. I think he was the first team all Big Ten linebacker coming in. You have a guy who was a tight end, who from Iowa, who was supposed to be there stud tight
Her broke his ankle against Western Michigan. He's coming back. He's not gonna forego a senior year You got Macklemy era who's already renounced that he's coming back Yeah, both your running backs coming back if I look her parents give me a call I don't like the cold but I can live with it if I get paid a couple hundred bucks. I'll be your coordinator And you know, I can't be any worse than your son Exactly. Like that's the bar and I think I Think that
Like you talked about with the tight ends, how many great Iowa tight ends are in the NFL right now? And they all look superhuman, like Kittle, like all these guys. So you know, if I go to Iowa, I'm going to have probably a pretty good offensive line. I'm going to have a tight end who is going to be a star NFL tight end. I'm going to have a solid running back. I'm going to have...
James Paige (45:46.714)
one of the best defenses in the country. I just have to figure out the quarterback spot. And I do think that Cade McNamara will be better than Deacon Hill was last year. But yeah, you have all these things to work with. You just have to not be Farrance's kid. All you have to do. So I would do it too. Like I'll do it for cheap. This is a blank slate. And I think the only thing I what is now can have issues with is
I think everybody else is doing it now. There's no more divisions. Yeah, that is gonna be tough. No, but at the same time, I don't, ah, fuck. I gotta cheat here again. I had this in my head, but I forgot what it was. But their schedule kinda shapes up real well for them. I mean, they go to Ohio State, they have Minnesota, in Minnesota, Minnesota did beat them this year. They have Washington coming in, which, eh.
And really, minus Wisconsin, maybe UCLA, they have a chance to be another 10-win team going into next season. Depends on what the other teams do, of course, but. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know how you haven't gotten an offensive coordinator at this point. And maybe, like, you're not trying. Is this Farrant's pouting because they made him fire his kid? Like, all right, well. Remember, he didn't fire his kid, though. The intermate he did. That's true, that's true. And it should have been done years ago.
But is he like, okay, you want to fire my son? Well, then we will just have an empty booth at offensive coordinator and do like he died or something and just like a memorial. Like we're just to take the year off from having an offensive coordinator while Brian- Parked on that area on the sideline? Yeah, and while Kirk mourns the loss of his son's job. I wonder how long he's going to be there. I know he's in his late 60s.
wonder how much longer he's gonna be there. His best friend whose AD is gone. That's why they have interim AD. This is, I wonder if this is kind of his, you know what fuck you guys, I'm done. But I'm making so much money right now. You're gonna have to fire me and pay me a lot of money to fire me or I'm gonna retire when my contract's up type of deal. I think that is a good thought because I do think if someone were to fire your son, you would feel some type of way about it.
James Paige (48:08.058)
And he's been there a while and I think he's fed up. You mentioned the AD point too. I think he's just like, all right, we're going to see. And you are going to have to fire me. So I get all of this money. And I just had another thought and I want, I want to know this past year, Iowa, do they win more games if they don't have an offensive coordinator at all? Like let's say they just.
I don't know if they just punt on first down or they let the players call the play. Do you think they do better? Do they have a water boy thing, have them kneel down every game, every play? Yeah. So do you think they do better than that, than they did if they do that versus having Brian Farrant? You know what, if they had McNamara running the plays or calling the plays, I'm almost going to say maybe, yes. Maybe that's out of spite because I'm a Nebraska fan, but trying to be as unbiased as I possibly can be.
Maybe yes, because I don't know what was going on, Brian Farrant. I don't understand what his thinking was. What? I mean, that was a JV offense. Yeah. For the most part. And I'm talking as a Nebraska fan who has seen JV offenses for a decade. Nebraska had a better offense than you. That's impossible nowadays. Until this year. Yeah. So it's, I don't know what was going through Brian's head. I, the whole.
Well, you gotta score 27 points a game. I mean, who agrees to that? I mean, you're coming to me and say, I have to score 27 points a game, or are you gonna maybe fire me? There was no, you're gonna get fired. It's just, you have to score 27 points a game. I mean, who agrees to that? That also kinda blows my mind about him. Was his nepotism so just blind that he's like, well, daddy's gonna protect me?
Or was it literally he thought he can do it and he said, fuck it, I'll sign it so I don't get fired or whatever it might be. My gut says he had to think his dad would protect him because he did not call plays like a man who had to score a certain amount of points a game. If someone tells me to keep your job, you have to score this many points a game, then I'm getting nuts. We're not running this ball at all. We're just gonna full on Madden.
James Paige (50:25.054)
I'm getting on the controls. We're just doing all kinds of crazy shit. He did nothing like that. He was like, oh, I could be here for the next decade. This was not a man who was urgent about scoring points. I'm the new head coach to a study retires. That that's how he played it. And it was like, no, like, no, you do have to actually score points. Like, this is embarrassing. So going from Iowa, we're still kind of in the big 10, who? We got to talk about that team.
Ohio State. I don't know what to say about them. They have all this talent in the world. They can't beat Michigan. They have all this talent in the world. They go in and face Missouri and lay an egg. They have all this talent in the world. I mean, they're the biggest university outside of Miami and Denver, the two biggest universities as enrollments.
James Paige (51:22.326)
They did not look like themselves this year. With McCord playing, I mean, the locker room loved McCord. The way that team played this year, great defense. But that offense is even with Marvin Harrison Jr. If they didn't have him and we saw him in the bowl game, maybe this didn't want to play. But I know Harry Harrison Jr. decided not to play. And we saw that offense is shit the bed as well. Thinking of offenses that are shit in the bed. Yep. What is...
I have my bias point of views and I can try to be as unbiased as possible. What do you think is the problem with Ohio State? So I think that what we saw was that C.J. Stroud was way better than I even thought when he was at Ohio State. I think we're seeing that now.
in the NFL playoffs and this whole season he's been unreal. It's one of those things they hate to admit, but yes. Yeah, and I think that they've had a run of quarterbacks like that. And then McCord wasn't quite ready. I don't think he was necessarily bad, but he wasn't quite. Ready for what they threw him into this season. And a lot of it.
turned out to be like I watched a couple games and it was like you're saying, okay, this isn't working. So we're just going to spam Marvin Harrison Jr. Like we're just going that way over and over and over again. And that's how they would pull them out. And then you're right. The bowl game that didn't have him and against, against Michigan, I don't even know. They just have a whole thing. Ryan Day, he was like, they were calling plays scared. It looked like.
And that's how they lost. And it, to out conservative Michigan, offensively takes something, especially when again, Michigan best defense in the nation, but I'm going to at least try to get it to Marvin Harrison Jr. And they just, what was it? There was like a couple times when it was like, okay, it's fourth and short.
James Paige (53:41.298)
in Michigan's territory, let's try to kick a field goal, just stuff like that. Like you're not winning so much as you're trying not to lose. And that just doesn't work out. Makes no sense. No, it didn't. And I felt like this year, it was probably the first year in a while we're watching Ohio State, like I felt like they could lose. Yeah. There's been a lot of years in the past, like kind of like what Georgia was for you this year. Who's gonna beat Ohio State? Michigan might.
We look at the schedule, Penn State, Penn State, Penn State, no one else in the Big 12 or Big 10. God damn it. There's only conferences. Yeah, exactly. Well, now there's one less. That's true. Rest in peace, Big 10. They have this invincibility about them. I want to say more so with Urban when Urban was there because I feel like no one could beat them when Urban was there. Day gets in.
Like who said anything that's hardball or somebody from Michigan said, no, it's easy to win when you, easy to score when you start on third or something like that in regards to day. But to be fair, he's still bringing in top notch recruiting classes. I think they have a top five recruiting class right now. So he's still bringing in his recruits, but this year felt they felt very, very vulnerable. And I know they pulled out some games late in the blue up the score, but there was never a game when they might score a hundred.
on this team. Yeah, they weren't as overpowering offensively. And that kind of shows the margin for error. Like, okay, we don't have, we have a good, but not great quarterback. And so that's how different this looks. I do wonder too, if Day is getting in his own head because I know the fan base there seems pretty annoyed with him because he can't beat Michigan, which actually that raises the question.
that I've been trying to figure out myself. Would you rather win every game except the one against your rival every year, or would you rather go winless except you only beat your rival every year? Well, if I win every game but the one against my rival, does that mean I get into the playoffs to win the national championship? Well, I could, because Ohio State did last year. So I would rather take that, because I know the fans will be mad at me because you lost to Michigan, but you know what?
James Paige (56:02.602)
Who won the national championship at the end of the day? Yeah. Who did? You know, yes, or I go, oh, and 11, the one win is Michigan. Cool, the fans are happy, but I'm not gonna keep my job. I'm still at Ohio State. They're still gonna go, hey, cool, you beat Michigan, but you didn't win any other game for the third straight year if you didn't last that long, you know? So that's my answer to that question. Now if I feel like I'm just getting in the playoffs, okay, then let's just hope Michigan loses somebody else.
That's true. It's tough for me because my rival is also coached by Davos Sweeney. And so it's hard for me to picture him happy at never having to lose to us again. But I have survived that because we lost this past year, but we did win the year before, but before that it was just miserable. Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama and Georgia fans, maybe Texas, but those four for sure. I feel like they're very.
Conceited is that the right word? Very stuck up. They're definitely full of themselves, yeah. They're full of themselves. You saw when Alabama was on a huge roll and then they lost to Johnny Menzel. Everybody wanted Saban's head. Yes. Last year, I mean, Dad was getting in his own way, just in general, but they struggled in the middle of the last year and Clemson wanted his head. And it's like, how many national championships?
has he brought to you guys. You're still going to go to the ACC Championship probably next year maybe. Last year you were still competing for it. You just Louisville and Florida State were better than you on paper. Not on paper in the standings. Georgia I mean, Georgia fans were probably if any Georgia fans come over from listening to your podcast or this podcast they're gonna hate this statement but you guys are the fucking worst fans I've ever met in my life. Guys are so full of
You guys were just so fucking... These are assholes. And I was in a roof for Georgia.
James Paige (58:07.746)
So I went to the Carolina Georgia game this year in Athens. And going to the game was an experience I've never had before. Like just a bunch of crazy people, always like you're wearing GameCock stuff like I was, barking at you out of nowhere, very strange, and making strange dog jokes and...
Someone told me that they were gonna fuck our cocks doggy style. And I still haven't pieced that one together. And I don't know if it was going to be offensive to which one of us. I was not sure. And then the funny thing is we were leading in the first half and just complete fear. You could feel the fear in Georgia fans and they stuck all the visiting fans. We were all up close to Jesus in the sky.
and it's raining and you could just feel how scared they were. And then obviously they come back and beat us because they're Georgia and we're not. Then they start talking all their shit again. But it's like. To me, if you're going to talk shit, then you should and your Georgia against South Carolina, you better talk at the whole game, because if I sense you're afraid of us at any point, I think you're a fraud. And I think that.
That kind of speaks to what you're talking about, how this is a fan base that is full of themselves because they're like, it's like new money, like new rich people, they don't know how to act. They just, they were Georgia for so long, the team that like, okay, you're gonna have a great season but then you're gonna blow it at the end. Now they start water. Yeah, yeah, you're gonna lose a Florida, Tennessee might get you. Now they're winning and they don't know how to act. And I understand it to a degree because
If the Gamecocks ever do that, I'm going to be very obnoxious, but I'm not going to bark at anybody. And that's what separates me from them. Like a cock-a-cow or something? No, I'm not going to do any animal noises. And this is recorded. So if you see, first of all, if you see me after the Gamecocks have won a national championship, you've got bigger problems because the world is going to end. Secondly, if you see me making animal noises afterwards, you're welcome to say, hey, you said
James Paige (01:00:33.138)
On this date, you would not do this, and I will stop immediately. I'm audio proof. Yeah. Hold me to it. I've never had any- We all have. What a stat time frame. I don't think I've ever really had a massive issue. I've gone to games before. I think there's only been one game where I wore the other team's attire. That was when Nebraska played in Miami, which was mainly Nebraska fans, but somebody still wanted to bump into me on purpose.
and try to square up with me. And I was like, I don't care. I mean, I don't care. But then, then like literally 20 minutes later, we're at a bar in the stadium. And this Miami fan is trying to buy me drinks because he went to Lincoln a year before when they played Nebraska and Lincoln and said, dude, the guys are so fucking great. Many guys are the greatest fans. We buy you a drink. He's like, dude, one of your buddies 20 minutes ago, wanting to fight me for no reason, because I was wearing a Nebraska shirt. It's very strange.
what we do with sports fandom and how like it gets wrapped up into our own personal identity. And then we feel the need to represent that team publicly. We're like a spokesperson for the team and we're not. But fans are going to... I had an incident, the SEC preview I did this year. I said, Texas A&M
Their fans are crazy. We already know that. But we were discussing Texas A&M season, and I was just like, this is not gonna be a good season for them. Jimbo, he stinks. They only hire coordinators who have had to become coordinators because they've been embroiled in some sort of scandal as head coach. Not gonna be a good season. That was the most hate I've ever gotten online. It was incredible.
It was incredible how angry these people were. And it's not like we didn't make fun of their yell leaders, we did later, but we didn't do it in this episode or point out that they are not a good foot, like they carry themselves like they're a Bama or a Georgia or a Michigan, but A&M doesn't win things. They're just a bunch of crazy people. And I was like, man,
James Paige (01:02:57.866)
What is wrong with these people? And I'll never know. I couldn't help but laugh, because I mean, football is football and I get it. And college football is its own little entity. But it's like, dude, what? Huh? Why? Just calling me all kinds of, and it's like, guess who was right? Guess who's not there anymore? Jimbo Fisher. Guess who's making a 70 million dollars a year with nothing. Yeah. The next time you hear something like that? All you did was talk about how terrible our coaches were
You didn't even mention how great the fourth string tight end has looked in spring practice because no one gives a shit. Also, how'd that work out for you? He's still going to look good in practice next year with a new coach while y'all are paying Jimbo $78 million to sit at home. Yep. That's always just baffles my mind is just like we're doing this for fun. Yeah. No, we're speaking our minds.
Agree with us, don't agree with us, don't care, you know, it's whatever you want. You know, nothing's malicious. Do I like Georgia? Do I like Alabama? Do I think the SEC gets some leverage and get some calls? Yes, but I'm not in an SEC country. Do I like Ohio State? Hell no. Do I like Michigan? Not really. Do I like Iowa? Not particularly. You know, there's, we are like everybody else has teams who we like and who we don't like, you know, so.
getting mad at people like, this is not just us who are fans of the game or to speak in our mind. If you don't like what we're saying, fucking start your own podcast. Have your seven people listen to your podcast. Yes. And speak your mind there. Cause you know what? I might listen to you, but I'm not going to write on your page and tell you how wrong you are or anything like that. Cause this, that is your point of view. And what blows my mind is like, we saw it a couple of times this year going back to Ohio State. So we're right with the day.
call him not Lou Holtz because Lou Holtz had an opinion that Ohio State was going to lose to Notre Dame and Ryan Day wanted to make that into a Doherty Against the World mentality. He said, no, it's fucking Lou Holtz. And God forbid he has his own opinion. And I think he saw with, um, was it Dolan from NC State? How the fuck is his name? He said something about one of the commentators that said something bad about North Carolina State. And he was like, these guys are getting paid to speak their mind. If that's ruffling your feathers.
James Paige (01:05:23.158)
Don't listen. Because they're just trying to make clicks and they're speaking their mind, even their opinion. You showed them that they were wrong by winning this game in this fashion. That's all I need to be said. Ryan Day, where are you going under an 87 year old Hall of Famer? It's strange because it's like, why are you focused on that? It makes even less sense for a guy like Ryan Day to care than fans, because Ryan Day, you have bigger things to worry about in my mind.
And as far as the fans, it's interesting because you do want people to be passionate. But like you're saying, I've never, I can't imagine what someone, a video someone would have to make for me to listen to the entire thing, even though it's making me angry, and then become angry enough to comment on the video. And I'm not talking like,
This wasn't, there were obviously a couple of like sentence long comments like, you idiot and like stuff like that. But I'm talking paragraphs, like a whole essay on how this is a 10 minute video and you've got an essay on how I'm a jackass. I'm not saying you can't write an essay on how I'm a jackass. I'm sure several people could, but why you would do it.
I don't know, it's just very baffling to me because I was like, man, you probably need to go outside and just enjoy the sunlight and touch some grass. Now I have a blood feud with A&M fans and I will make fun of them. If they thought this last one was bad when all I said was Jimbo stinks and we all agree he does, he's out of there. If they didn't like that, I got eight months to prepare for the next preview. And it's gonna be.
Terrible for them. I hate them. They have issues? Yeah, yeah, I hate them. No. I did the weeds on that one. That's kind of fun. It was necessary. It was. At least you haven't jumped a shark yet. Who are the Big Ten do you think represent the Big Ten in the playoffs? I don't see. And it's tough cause they're adding new teams. I don't see how it's not Michigan again.
James Paige (01:07:47.538)
Even with hardball, if hardball leaves, because we don't know what they're bringing back, because we're not going to lose a lot of guys. They're losing a lot of guys. And the whole thing with people, he was suspended six games and these other coaches coached the team, he was there at practice. Yeah. He was there at game plans. So they had these coaches who can coach during the game, but can they create a game plan? And
whole practice like a CEO that hardball has if he does know. You know, so that argument, I think is a very new argument. They do have a lot of young players coming back. I think they were the lowest rated recruiting class to ever win an actual championship. Wow. They started taking a rankings, I believe. Don't quote me on that. But I know it was kind of in that ball frame, ball frame, ballpark. So yeah, hardball leaving.
That would make me rethink things and they are losing a good bit. But man, I just feel like that defense has been consistently elite for a bit here. And that is the key to winning that conference. And I don't see Ohio State as great as they have been. They have been great enough. Their fans will let Ryan Day know.
I don't see them bouncing back. I'm always scared when a team brings in a new quarterback after a year where they've kind of been a disappointment. Howard, yeah. Yeah, so I think that, okay, Michigan's bringing in a new guy, but we've seen that offense work with me at quarterback because the offense just has to do enough for the defense. Ohio State is the rare Big Ten team.
They can put up a ton of points over the past couple of years. And when we just saw them with a quarterback who's not great, how they look and I can't imagine they're going to have another great quarterback in there next year. So I don't, I don't think they can tend. Um, who else? Let's see. I mean, Northwestern they surprisingly won eight games, but uh, they would have to,
James Paige (01:10:15.806)
really do something crazy in my opinion. I think there's going to be four from the SEC at minimum. I think there's going to be three or four from the big 10 at minimum in this new 12 playoff scheme. I only see big, I see the big 12 only getting one. ACC might get two. Yeah, I think the non-power fives get one out large bit, I believe. So it should be 12. Okay. That should be, don't quote me on that, but kind of with you, the Ohio State.
I mean, Howard was a great quarterback at Kansas State, but they didn't have him fling the ball around like Ohio State wants their quarterback to do. And Yvonne Brown, who lost his starting job to McCord going into the last year, basically laid an egg in the bowl game. Granted, they didn't have Marvin Harrison, but Ohio State didn't have him. They're not going to have him next year. Yeah, not going to have him next year, but they're going to have one of the top recruiting receiving classes.
in the country because that's what Ohio State does. I probably would be very skeptic as far as Brown, because I struggle to know you're bringing Howard in, who really, I think Brown has a better arm. Howard is definitely tough as nails because you play to Kansas State. You have to be tough as nails to play quarterback at Kansas State because you're gonna get hit and they're gonna want you to run the ball a lot. Ohio State, I really don't think, since they had Pryor.
Trey Pryor, he could really run the ball a whole lot, I mean, he could. He could, but he didn't, he preferred just to move around the pocket. But yeah, it would be a complete change of playing style, I feel like. So is it the year, is next year the year that James Franklin and Penn State finally overtake Ohio State in that second spot, the Big Ten? Who are they playing? I think, I just pulled up the Ohio State schedule. So
They got the three cupcakes, Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, at Michigan State, they're in transition. They have Iowa at home. They do go to Oregon and they do go to Penn State. So that's the team I've forgotten about because we're doing this with everything is crazy now. So Oregon, I like Oregon. Even with, I think finally, college football world is done with Bo Nix if I'm not mistaken.
James Paige (01:12:41.61)
It's been 13 years of Bo Nicks, but I do like Dan Lanning, what he's done. Um, obviously they spend money to get recruits and they got a ton of it to spend. So could it be a Michigan, Oregon, Penn State year? Like, I think it's, it's so tough too, because we're talking about all these new playing styles coming in. And it's like.
I couldn't think of two different, when you think of the identity of the conferences, two different conferences between the Big Ten and the Pac-12.
And now they're going to be playing against each other. And I'm very interested to see how that goes. Yeah. Me too. It's going to be fun to see because we're going to get Washington from the Northwest. They're used to the cold. But then they also have UCLA and USC from Southern California, of course. Yep. I have very little faith in Lincoln Riley as a head coach at USC. That would be correct. Chip Kelly, I feel like.
He sits in a tough position. You see LA is a very tough school to get into. And on top of that, it's one of those schools where you got to get on a bus and drive 45 minutes to an hour to get to. It's not a big college football school. They had a hard time selling up the Rose Bowl when they were good. It's a basketball school. The fact that Chip Kelly was on the hot seat, I thought was stupid. That was crazy. Yeah. Oregon and Lanning, the fact that he
heard down the text of saying, am we turned down the Alabama jobs? He had opportunity to go elsewhere. He stayed, which I think the 12, 12 game playoffs series, playoffs has helped that because back in the day, only two teams went. And he just, it was Alabama. Yeah. That was four teams. And guess what is usually Alabama or Georgia and sec. So now at 12 teams, there's more opportunities. So why leave Oregon when you have Nike, literally
James Paige (01:14:46.962)
right there saying, hey, we're going to give a billion dollars to pay all these athletes. And you're a good recruiter as is, but now we're going to help you even more with this NIL money. Now, I'm hoping landing isn't like Cristobal. That's my biggest fear. We're a great recruiter, shitty coach. Now, how many times we saw with Oregon, we're seeing now in Miami on paper, dude, they look great. And then they fall apart against teams they shouldn't lose to, you know? Yeah. And then Washington, they've got Fish.
Fitch? Fitch. Yep. From Arizona. Good hire, but he's going to have a very, very empty cover dude, because those guys are gone. The receivers are gone. The running mask is gone. They just had a recruit transfer from Mississippi State. Rogers just decommitted. Yep. For a moment. Because the board left. Yep. The board and the freshman receiver and freshman quarterback from Arizona, they've come out and said recently that they're not going to transfer. They're standing in Arizona.
which that's huge get huge stay for Arizona. Yeah. So kind of getting back to my point, I mean, I think bringing those four teams awesome, but who's going to compete? Let's see Oregon competing, USC I don't trust Lincoln. No. Chip, they start off usually pretty strong and then they kind of fade away towards the end.
I want to say 14 from the big 10 get in, but it's really hard to choose which four. I can see three just because of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State. And I'm still in Michigan right now, but Penn State and Ohio State I can see being sneaking in, and Oregon. So they'd be my third one. I think that's about where I'm at. And then we obviously have to wait to see what Harbaugh's doing. Yeah. Um, like you said, but of those schools that are coming over.
I do agree that Oregon has the best chance to compete in the Big Ten immediately, especially with all that Washington is losing. I mean, man, that had to be rough. You make it to the National Championship game a week later, everything's completely different. So I think that's where I'm at with the Big Ten. I guess, yeah.
James Paige (01:17:07.426)
The race to me as of right now is between Ohio State and Penn State. And with the SEC, man, George is a given. You would think. And then yeah, Texas. What do we need two more?
I'll tell you who it's not gonna be. I don't believe in Florida at all. I think this might be Napier's, or whoever his last name is. This might be his last year if he can't leave. He'll be done. Caroline is not gonna do it, clearly. I'm not nearly delusional enough to make such a bold claim. I'm gonna throw three teams out at you. Okay. And I want you to choose two of them. I'm gonna go LSU, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. And the only reason why I chose Tennessee.
was because they came in this year with high expectations and still wound up losing four games. They have this all-everything freshman, Nico, I'm not going to try to say his last name. Oh yeah, he was great in the bowl game. Yeah, but he only threw 151 yards, but he had three rushing touchdowns, but when he had 27 yards on the ground. They do have, I think they have some offensive linemen coming back. They have three receivers, Squirrel White, who led the team in
receiving yards. Brew McCoy, Texas, USC guy, and then they got their lead receiver from Tulane in the transfer portal. The only issue you have with Tennessee is they also had six defensive backs leave out of the portal. And they were, I think, 50-something, 40-something against the past last year. Yeah, they've never been great. They're hyper. But I feel like...
I shouldn't even throw them in there. I think I got, I think Moncouli against Iowa because they ran for 200 yards against Iowa. Iowa didn't allow, only allowed one other team to rush over 200 yards on them. Now I was thinking Illinois.
James Paige (01:19:08.162)
So only two teams last year rushed over 200 yards against them, and Tennessee was one. So I think I drank that kool-aid too hard when I read that stat line. But Ole Miss and LSU just fired somebody recently. I forget what they fired. But what are the three teams I'm going to throw out at you? Which of those three teams do you think? Well, I think we've agreed on Georgia, and I think we've agreed on Texas. It's Ole Miss for me.
James Paige (01:19:36.49)
portal is to navigate. If there's one guy I believe in, in who can navigate the portal, it's Lane Kiffin. And I just feel like he's, if he, if he stays there for life, he's going to win 10 games every year and that's going to be it. I don't know if he'll, if he'll ever turn them into like a real powerhouse, like we've seen with Georgia in Bama. And
It feels like a team that is destined to just flame out in the playoff over and over, but I do think he can get them there since it's expanded. LSU at some point, as much as I don't like Brian Kelly, I do feel like he'll put something together, but I don't think it's next year. Okay. So who's that 14?
If we agree there's going to be four SEC teams. Yeah, there is going to be four. Or who's going to be the third ACC team or the second big 12 team? There are three ACC teams. I will set something on fire.
James Paige (01:20:52.683)
I think the funniest outcome would be A&M sneaking into the playoff and then in Elko's first year. I really enjoy seeing them happy, but not win at all. And this is even before I hated their fan base, but like sneaking in, just setting expectations high. And then Elko goes.
six and six the rest of the way. I like what he does, he's at A&M. Yeah, it makes me sick because I think he's a great football coach. But what I'm holding on to is that no one can win at Texas A&M.
James Paige (01:21:37.366)
Man, this is tough. You really got me good with this one. Let me throw a wild card at you. Not SEC team, not an ACC team. Actually no conference at all. Voter name. That was one of my bigger disappointments last year. I need to see what they're doing at quarterback. Well, they got the kids from Duke transferred over. Oh, that's right. And so we saw them get an ACC quarterback last year in Hartman. And now, yeah, Riley Leonard's there.
Leonard was good. I never trust Notre Dame. I think here's the thing about them though. If it's close, they're going to get in. If it's close, they're going to put Notre Dame in. There's nothing the committee loves more than Notre Dame football.
Hey, how much I agree with that too. It's terrible. If I, but the SEC, yeah, the SEC is tough. I guess gun to my head, the fourth team would be LSU.
But I'm not happy about making the pick. That's fair. I didn't order it in A&M. First game of the year. Well, we're going to find out quick. 831, but they don't really face anybody else. They have Florida State and USC. So then they could possibly be 10 and 2. And I can see them squeaking into the 11th, 10th spot, for sure. Yeah. So we've got the ACC.
This is, this is going to be tough. We haven't talked about the ACC or the Big 12 yet. We're probably not going to talk about the non-Power 5 schools because we're talking a lot. And not a lot of the non-Power 5 schools, that has to be a different episode though. Exactly. ACC and Big 12. This 40-year part of the world is due ACC. This is going to be tough. Because clearly you would have to think Florida State takes a pretty significant step back this year. Do you? I think so because they're losing
James Paige (01:23:41.41)
Clearly they're losing Travis. The receiver Coleman is gone. And Wilson. Yep, and Wilson.
James Paige (01:23:53.33)
I think that's like maybe a seven win team this year. Who'd they get in the portal? That's what I'm looking up right now for you actually. They had the fourth best portal class, 14 players. They just picked up an Alabama, they have like five Alabama commits. And that might actually increase too because those Bama kids are getting out of there. Well, Marvin Jones Jr, his daddy played for Florida State. Okay.
He came from Georgia. Let's see who else they got a solid A couple of good defensive players. That's right DJ Ouyanggale, how could I? Forget this he's on his 13. Oh Okay, forget everything I just said this is a great thing about doing sports media you can just say whatever you want so I'm thinking I Forgot DJ was gonna be there because again, there's 8 million transfers
James Paige (01:24:53.586)
I think it is his ACC revenge season and he gets Florida State to the playoff. I think that's, that's one of the teams right there. I'm a believer in DJ great at Oregon state last year. I think he's fired up and he wants to just, just show Dabo that Dabo was wrong. I don't, and we all, that's all we want. That was funny. I'm going to switch slight gears real quick. Is, and Libby Sarkozy, that's how I met you.
And I went to South Carolina, I was kind of a Clemson fan. I was a Clemson fan. But then they got successful. And all the Clemson fans, yeah, you know what? People, this isn't, the seven of you listening, I would put this on TV, on YouTube, you can just see what Brandon's expression was when I just said that. It's like an expression of agreement and disappointment, and yeah, you're right. Because they were some of the worst fans that I've lived with in my life.
terrible people. It's not like, so snow some, but it's like, I'll go that far. Like there's like 90, there's probably 17 decent Clemson fans in the world. And I'm saying that fully self-aware Gamecock fan base, we have plenty of terrible people as well. But
the way they acted after getting successful. And again, that's what you're supposed to do. But very looking down at other programs and then as we talked about earlier, now they hate dabble. It's like.
James Paige (01:26:46.102)
Who goes there if Dabo leaves? You caught lightning in a bottle. A receivers coach who became interim head coach and took you to two, three national championships. The most ridiculous because he only, I feel like he only got the job because he managed to beat us at the end of the year. So they removed the interim tag and we owned him.
He couldn't beat us. Remember Clemson thing was a national thing. Like the Tigers, they're going to have a great season and then they're going to play on national TV and they're going to choke and South Carolina. Yeah. And it's like, that's Clemson thing was a thing. And then I was so sick when they won that first one. I was dead inside by the time the other one came.
but yeah, now they hate Dabo. And I hate Dabo too.
And it's a weird thing because it's like, is the enemy of my enemy my friend? Like I don't know how to feel about Clemson fans now because we both hate Dabo. But then I don't wanna like Clemson fans and I don't wanna like Dabo. It's just very confusing. I think you kinda like Dabo since he's so against change.
That guy is going down with the chip. I tell you, like, I will like a Clemson fan before I like Dabo because I just can't stand everything he's about. And he is refusing to, he's not gonna participate in NIL. He's not gonna do anything that is required of you in college football today. And I hope it leads to his downfall. But then...
James Paige (01:28:37.546)
I'm also up in the air, whereas like maybe I wanted to stay there forever if he's not going to recruit well. Like, let's give this man a lifetime contract. He doesn't have one already? Doesn't Dave from Summerville or the fuck his name was, Orangeville or it was? Tyler from Spartanburg. That's what it was. You know something like that. So Clemson has lost 10 players to the Portal and I've gotten zero back. He doesn't take them. That's one of his things. Not going to use the Portal.
He's going to pray to Jesus and Jesus will make it right. He's going to make them unemployed pretty quick. Yeah, that's exactly what will happen. Do you think they make the playoffs next year? Do you think they're one of the two, maybe three ACC teams? Should we throw Notre Dame into the ACC category? Some because they play like a weird ACC schedule, but they're not in the ACC. I consider them independent.
even though they do play that weird ACC schedule. I don't consider them an ACC team, but I do think, like I said, I think if it's close, they make the playoff next year. And I'm thinking they make the playoff next year, because I think it will be close. And I think they'll get blown out immediately in the playoffs. Okay, so I've got Florida State. How many more teams? We need... Oh, shit, we're out of time. All right, so we got, we said Ohio. Yep.
Did we agree on Michigan? Yeah. Michigan, in Oregon? Oregon. Then we got Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, and I think he twisted your own arm and he said LSU. And we had to put Notre Dame in. So that's eight, nine. So we got three spots available. Actually we got two spots available because if I do remember correctly, the
Non-power top non-power five school will get in. Don't quote me on that, but keep hearing something about that. Yeah, I think that sounds right. Two spots. So two spots. I think one, I think the playoff does what the playoff does. I think one goes to Florida State, and then one goes to a big 12 team, obviously.
James Paige (01:30:59.17)
See the Big 12 is not a team. I don't know who in the Big 12. Maybe Arizona because they're keeping joining their players but they got a new coach. Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State loves to disappoint its own fans by starting off well. Losing against South Alabama. Yeah. You know and then getting smoked in the championship. Kansas maybe. Kansas State. I mean there's just so many different variables. None of those teams are like. No one's separate. I don't think it's a runaway team.
Yeah, I don't think there's like a Georgia or a Texas. I think there's Kansas, Kansas State, maybe Oklahoma State and Arizona. Those are the four. I don't see Colorado. Colorado is gonna make noise. I think they'll become bold. Yeah, I think they make them bold, but they're not playoff ready. I do think
I think Kansas' quarterback got a waiver to come back. Do not quote me on that. Yeah, I think he did. I think you're right. Okay. Because he missed it between the season with the back injury. Yep. And so I think it's between Kansas and Oklahoma State. Now,
James Paige (01:32:11.578)
I think things are easier for Oklahoma State now that the big dogs are out of the conference. I think that whoever does make it...
gets blown out of the water. I can't see them competing. And especially, you know what Mike Gundy's gonna do at Oklahoma State, like you just said, we're gonna disappoint everyone who believes in me. So, yeah, I don't, I don't think the ACC or the Big 12 gets two in.
I guess if my gut is right in the ACC only get, I mean the SEC doesn't get a fourth team. I'll be shocked if they don't. Yeah, I would be amazed. There's a huge disparity between Georgia, Texas and everybody else. Yeah. I don't see Alabama getting in. I mean, DeBoer, he's a great coach. He's just losing a lot of pieces right now. Yeah. He's not bringing too many in.
James Paige (01:33:23.31)
28th maybe, so two weeks. We'll see what he does, but I just don't feel like Alabama's there right now. He's going to have to rebuild that team. Who else is there to compete? I spoke about Tennessee earlier. They went eight and four this year. Well, nine and four, because they won their bowl game. But again, thinking about it, they played an Iowa team that we spoke at length about their offensive and that too.
first time since 1966 where they've been shut out two straight games. Michigan and Tennessee. Ole Miss, I can see Ole Miss doing it. Every time I feel good about Ole Miss, like I thought, okay, they might be Georgia. They might give Georgia a run. They get blown out. Mississippi States, Mississippi States. LSU, only reason why I threw LSU in there was simply because they got a quarterback coming in, got his name, but he's very
Daniels-esque. But I think he's a freshman though, don't quote me on that. And then Arkansas, no one. Texas, no one. A&M or Texas, yes, A&M. I don't think Elko, think he's got too many fires he's got to put out right now. Yeah. And he's probably already on the hot seat because it's Texas A&M. Yeah, as soon as you get there. You know who I'm going to throw on? I'm going to take LSU out and I'm going to put Missouri in. Oh. I think we both forgot about Missouri. We spoke about them like 10 minutes.
I don't hate it because they do bring back Cook, I believe, that quarterback and burden the receiver. So I don't hate that pick. No, it doesn't look like that. Nothing says he's going to leave yet. Nothing says he's staying either. Yeah, it's up in the air because I don't know when they have to declare for the draft. Did they already? No, it hadn't been yet. Or when they can pull out, I mean, if they did declare.
That I don't know. I don't know all the ins and outs of that one, isn't it? Where like if you don't hire an agent you can pull out whenever basically. Yeah, there's a pretty decent Deadline for when you can change your mind. I'm pretty sure some of them is area on my list yeah, I don't hate that again like that is a
James Paige (01:35:46.082)
They were so good and they're not gonna surprise me again. I'm gonna be surprised the wrong, the other direction this time. I can see them doing it too. That's the bad part about it. I can totally see them doing it. I can see them going for it. Yeah, yeah. And I'll hate them for it, but it is what it is.
Well, let's close this out. We haven't chose a team from the Big 12 yet. I think you were leaning Kansas. I'm leaning Arizona because they're bringing back their receiver. They're bringing back their top quarterback. A lot of the guys from what I've heard and read recently, I think today actually, Biles Arizona players, like, hey, we're staying in Arizona. We're not going to Washington. We want to grow here and make this better. They beat Oklahoma. Again, we spoke about Oklahoma. We both agreed Oklahoma's a little overrated.
They competed with a lot of teams this year, competed better last year, sorry, two years ago, this last year, I think they had a little down year, but they still won the Alamo Bowl, still think they're a young team who's growing. They picked up, oh, what the hell is that, Brennan? Is there a new head coach from San Jose State? Yeah, from San Jose State. Who turned that team around. Yeah.
I don't hate the Arizona pick.
I think I'm leaning Kansas because things are more, they haven't changed as much there. Like they're a little more consistent. Yeah. And Leonard Holden is a winner. He's won everywhere he's gone, from Grand Valley State to Kansas, that's where we went before. Yeah, so I'm leaning that way because there's been less change.
James Paige (01:37:30.422)
but you are starting to sell me on Arizona as a football program, which is not something I thought I would have said. No, that's fair. I mean, they've been in the basketball program for a very long time. Forever, yeah. But they're the only teams I can see out of the Big 10, Big 10, I did it again, out of the Big 12, that can make a run. I just don't have faith in Oklahoma State. Love Oklahoma State.
I'm a fan of Oklahoma State. I just don't see them doing anything. Yeah. I was wrong. I live pulled in and go to Grand Valley State. He went to Wisconsin Whitewater. My apologies. I had to look that up real quick. They gave me bad information. But yeah, I think I agree with you for Kansas. You're selling me on Kansas, but I just have a hard time with Arizona right now. I think we agree that Kansas State
They're up and down. We just don't know what's going to go on with them. Yeah, a sophomore starting quarterback is Howard left to go to Ohio State. Who else is in that damn conference? How's everything changed? Texas Tech. They have on the top receivers, but.
There's no guarantee with them. They're kind of quiet out there in the middle of nowhere. Not sold in Colorado. I still think there'll be, I think there'll be a six and seven team or seven to 16, I think they'll go to the bowl game and maybe win. Um, I don't think who else is Iowa state. You don't know where you can get with Iowa state either. Can't believe it was either on the hot seat or he's not. Yeah. Changes week to week. Yeah, that would be tough. Yeah. I can't.
It comes, yeah, for me, it's coming down to Kansas, Oklahoma state, who is known to disappoint in Arizona, who's just had that huge change. Although, like you said, it's a great sign that those players are, have bought in, they're staying. But I do think I'm leaning Kansas, like I said, just because I'm a, the way everything is I used to not value.
James Paige (01:39:41.334)
consistency as much as I do now, but now you see, oh, it does matter when teams can be together for a while and build some chemistry and learn a system. So I think that pays off for them next year. And I think they've kind of been knocking on the door of being a great program, not like great in terms of like Georgia or Bama, but for them especially, another basketball school.
for being a very good program the past couple seasons. And I think that finally, after a couple years of knocking, the door is open for Kansas.
James Paige (01:40:25.974)
I think Lance has them go in the right direction. I just, it's a tough one. I think the Big 12 is a lot tougher than I originally was gonna give it credit for. Yeah. Just because it's, they lost Texas and they lost Oklahoma. And you kind of forget that there's these other teams. Yes, they're not the Alabamas, they're not the Georges, they're not the Texuses. No, there's these schools that people forget are there, but they're usually pretty solid. I mean, Kansas, only until recently when Lance go in there and he's, he turned down the.
allegedly turned down the Nebraska job. He declined even interviewing for the A&M job and the Michigan State job. I think his name came up for the Michigan State job. But he was going to stay so the continuity there is nice to see that he enjoys being in the middle of nowhere. Really at a school that doesn't have a whole lot of pressure because it's basketball school. And then bringing in the four oh shit Utah.
Completely forgot about Utah. They got the quarterback coming back. Ryzen? Yeah, man, he's been there forever. He got the waiver last year for his knee. Fucking all of his knee getting blown up. And Kyle, how many of them can coach?
I did forget they were going there. Yep.
I still...
James Paige (01:41:46.094)
Utah is, I mean, we saw what they've done, especially with a healthy quarterback. We saw them in the second and third string quarterback last year too. Exactly. I don't know what we have coming back though. That's not a team I have any idea on besides the quarterback.
Man, that's tough. Yeah, because that really threw a... See, stop changing the conferences, people. This is too much. We can't keep track of all this. What are we, wizards? We're close. That's true. We're right below wizards. We are wizards because we came into this conversation we talked about last year. Yeah, and now we're talking about... We're talking about...
fucking next year, didn't brought up a little bit of last year. What I've learned is game plans are fucking worthless. They have a game plan to get hit in the nose. Then everything goes to shit. Yeah. And that's what I want. In in the spirit of that.
I'm going to pick Utah. You're going to pick Utah? I'm going to pick him because like you said, Whittingham, he's got a very, from what I've read about him, he's got like a very specific vision for how he wants that program to run. And he's been there long enough to where everyone knows it and they have it down and it just feels like he's able to like plug and play each and every year and still come away with
eight, nine, 10 wins or like two seasons ago when he really, they really did very well. Yeah. Well, they won two state pack 12 championships. Yeah. So I think that, I think he does it again. I'm not going to doubt the man. Well, I can't, USPN's not bringing up their schedule yet, unfortunately. So I don't feel like digging around for it, but I think.
James Paige (01:43:43.054)
Whoever plays where, if Utah plays at Arizona, I think Arizona is going to be that spot. I think Arizona will beat them. If Arizona has to go to Utah, I think Utah is going to win that spot. I think if Kansas has to go to Utah, Utah is going to win that game. I think Utah will get that spot. So I'm going to go, you know what? I'm going to stick with my guns. I'm going to stick with Arizona for right now. Just for right now.
Just because I tried to sell you on Arizona and then I remember about Utah and now I feel like I'm trying to sell myself on Utah. Even though Utah doesn't need to be sold very much because Kyle Winningham and I don't know how much is coming back from that team. But I know the ring of the quarterback back and they've won two, I believe two Pac-12 championships with that quarterback. So right now maybe change in August or July.
I'm going to choose Arizona. Actually, I'm going to write this down because I'm going to have you back on late summer. We'll see how terrible the picks look at that point. Exactly. We're going to have spring ball. We're going to have one more transfer portal. We're going to have the random recruiting. That is good. The pressure is kind of off because only a fool would take January predictions seriously. True. Very true. We're just talking. If you choose to take it seriously, that's on you. It's not on us. If you shoot...
me a nasty comment because we didn't choose A&M or we said Georgia might lose to Texas or I said Georgia might lose to Texas. You know what? It's freaking not in February yet. Yeah. I just wait. Now I'm going to stick with everything bad I said about A&M. That's fair. So, shoot me a nasty comment about that. I will come fine. I'll slap you in the teeth. That's you know, shoot it to me and then I'll forward it to him. Thank you. Because I want the listeners. That'll work out well. I need the listeners. That'll work out well.
All right, we spoke for a long time about nothing we wanted to cover, but we covered a lot, which is kind of cool, actually. Yeah. Tell me, actually, before we do that, our picks, way too stupid early, 12 teams. We have Ohio State, we have Penn State, we have Michigan, we have Oregon, all coming out of the big 12, our big 10. Did it for the third time. Mm-hmm. And I'm a big 10 guy. Shit.
James Paige (01:45:57.674)
I'll take over your pig tan or anything for next year by the way. You can do that. Let's see if you want. Please do. That'd be all Nebraska and how much. For the SEC, we have Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss. Did you change your mind from Alice U to Missouri? I like Missouri. All right. Then we have Notre Dame. Just because the Notre Dame can probably be five and seven is still getting because it's Notre Dame. We chose Florida State as the lone ACC school.
and Utah is Utah. I stuck with Arizona for the low and big 12 school. Not going to cover the non-conference or non-Power 5 schools. There's just too many of them. Uh, the one team I will throw out there is Boise State only because they picked up, um, Malachi, not more. I forgot his name. He was at USC. He went to transfer to Boise State. Boise Hastings began some transfers over there.
Liberty maybe but I'm gonna stick with Boise State because I'm a West Coast person Liberty still has a lot of their guys coming back too. So it'd be cool if they played each other As a wild card or something but settle that yeah, I'm gonna throw that out there Do you have anything to add my friend? I? Do not I'll probably just plug the show again while we're here, please do I was actually what I was gonna have you do next Perfect. So please Share with us. Yes selfishly
I did it myself. But yes, Beyond the Arc with Brandon Silver's YouTube, Apple, Spotify, follow me on Twitter or X or whatever is called now at one Brandon Silver's and follow me on Instagram where I post probably more stuff and episode stuff at the Brandon Silver's. Like I said, episodes typically drop every Monday. College football season, I do a lot more content.
because I love college football season. I'm actually ramping up content in general now because I finally feel like I know halfway what I'm doing. Always a fun time. And check out the My Favorite Team series where you can see and or hear James talk about the Chargers and how ownership ruined his life. Then we get the Mannings. And the Mannings. They ruin everyone's lives. I'm kidding. What can we expect?
James Paige (01:48:21.314)
Coming up, we're on Beyond the Arc. So you still doing that series or are you shooting gears? So I have several things that I'm doing. I will typically go just cover topical sports topics. I also have the My Favorite Team series like we're talking about, that's still ongoing. No set schedule for that. But just when I get them, I release them. Then I have the Above the Fold series where I talk to people breaking barriers in sports media about their journey.
And my most famous segment are my shorts where my dog picks NFL games called Beyond the Bark. Oh, look at that. Those two are the biggest numbers on YouTube. People love dogs. So yeah, covering a couple of different things. I tried to do, last year I did MLB preview, I did a March Madness. I did a bunch of stuff for March Madness, good lord, both men's and women's side.
NBA previews in addition to talking about the social stuff related to sports and different issues on that end of things. If you have an idea of more things I should do, I'm always open to suggestion. I'm very kind that way, unless you're an A&M fan. And once again, where can they send that information to? If you don't want to look me up on social media, which you should, Twitter,
at one Brandon Silver's and Instagram at the Brandon Silver's. Email me at beyond the arc eight four three at Gmail, or even better, just find beyond the arc with Brandon Silver's anywhere where you listen or watch things. And I put my contact information, not my phone number in the show notes every episode. Don't worry about it. Yeah. Specifically for A&M fans. Hit me. Buy a box. You got the number. That's actually a great.
idea. But yeah, hit me up. You want to, you got a favorite team you want to talk about? Like, I think that that's the thing I try to do is I do talk to people in sports media, but I also just talk to people who aren't in sports media, who are passionate about something with sports. I don't discriminate. If you are interesting, enthusiastic, come on, let's talk. Well, my friend, thank you very much for coming on the very first ish episode. Shouldn't be to say the very first. It's just been a very long time.
James Paige (01:51:04.207)
and got
James Paige (01:51:17.334)
You're great. Appreciate everything. Thanks for having me on months ago. Had a good time. Again, if you just tuned in to this subscription, don't blame me for being on. Blame Brandon Silver for getting my ass on his podcast. Now, you're going to hear my voice more times than you would like. You're welcome. Everybody have a good rest of your day, good rest of your week, good rest of your month. If you die, well, I'm sorry to hear it and we'll mourn once I find out.
y'all take care and we'll see you around the line guys