Notre Dame DOMINATES, Trinidad Chambliss DELIVERS: What We Learned

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1:01A full opening weekend of college football that started off a little slowly but then provided some thrills on Sunday night and will also peek ahead to what's coming up in week two. Welcome to the college game day podcast presented by auto trader, Reese Davis along with Pete Damell and Dan Wetzel. And guys last night, Louisville and Ole Miss got off to a sluggish start, Wisconsin and Notre Dame got off to a sluggish start. Eventually, the Irish took care of business and things sort of went as scripted. Things went off the rails in Nashville in a very fun way for Louisville and Ole Miss. If you like precisely 62 yard touchdowns, this game was for you. The three touchdowns of precisely 62 yards, Lincoln Keenholz came alive, Trinidad Chamblis did win a dead type of things after doing some uncharacteristic things early.

2:03And I thought it was just a thrilling game and the moment I knew that college football had returned and the season was really here for us. Was when our great friends Sean McDonough had the opportunity, I know Joe Tessitore gets all the love for the crazy games. But I'm going to tell you McDonough gets them too. So when McDonough, Canaro, God, I was like, okay, baby, I keep seeing this. We're so back, we're so back about this. We're so back about that. When McDonough delivers a game-winning field goal call, that's when we're really back. My only criticism of the broadcast is they should have cut right to Judge Whitwell watching at home or maybe from a luxury box in Nashville. The season's reaction to after it was at that. No, I kid obviously. Yeah, I was really surprised when they stepped the ball over. I was surprised Judge didn't come in with a TRO right there.

3:07They know, no, no, we're going to replay the down. The they need a TRO has become the official joke kind of a trope of this season. A well-earned trope I may add from someone who's been- It's a fan fill, I think, segments. It's coming, got it. Everything's a TRO. Now we need extra seconds on the clock. Yeah, everything's on haywire. It's beautiful. Yeah, it's beautiful. No, it's fine. Yeah. And that weekend culminated Reese with a weekend that had everything that we loved, right? There were bad games. There were blowouts. You know, there were there were bad jumps that disappointed, right? And then, you know, there's controversy, right? Obviously, there was hope for UMass. Dan, I know you probably talked about it with Bill and Max on Sunday. Will you rank the minute, then you cowards. Hoplots of Prattest Springfield Mass. Let's go. Where? Do you start to donate now, Dan?

4:09Do you believe in us? No, no, no, no, no, no. Just check. No, no, no, no, no. Every single athletic fundraiser who listens to these pods hates me. But no, no, no. It's like giving extra money to the electric company because once powered my lamp while I study. I made a deal. I went to the school. I paid. It's a big, why a fond memories? I have fond memories of the house I lived in with a bunch of guys. I don't send the landlord extra money later on when I live there. They don't just send money to the bar down in Amherst and say, hey, I had a great time about we still have some great nights, man. Let me just throw you an extra 500 for that good time. I had 26 years ago or something. I don't know. I've given him any money. Anyway, the absurdity, I don't go on the UMass Rutgers game, but the great moment, I knew we arrived. I think you're correct, Reese, when you get that call. But it was when Rutgers was shooting off the fireworks that they had bought to celebrate

5:14the opening of the season after losing the UMass. And they're like eight people in the stands. And it just gets on social media like the saddest fireworks display. Like that's the part of college football that I love, the unexpected mayhem. And it's true. Like what do you do with the, what do we do with the fireworks? I don't know. We bought them. Shoot them. We just lost UMass bad decision. Don't shoot them. Hold your powder. The Florida state offensive linemen that proposed to a girlfriend after they lost the Jackson ville state. All their families were there. And he was like, I wonder. I hope that marriage is going well. But that's all really do. I really do. I really do. I really hope that I wish that nothing but the best in our own podcast. We got a hold of their, their, their, what do they call those things registry? Registry to if you want to buy the people were buying them toasters and stuff. The guys like, what are we going to do? I had the ring. The family was there. So we lost the Jacksonville state. That's college football.

6:14I mean, you're going to propose. Yeah, you'd rather do it after a win. You tried to do it where you guarantee a win. It doesn't happen. It's, it makes for a good time. It makes for a better or worse, rich or a poor and it's not going to get worse than that. If you're a poor state, that's true. That's right. She's going to say yes after losing that game. And you know, she's a keeper. She's a keeper. So anyway, that's the part I love. And we had all sorts of it this weekend. But did you guys find any cause for concern as part of the week went over reaction as highly thought of as Ole Misses as talented as Trinidad champless is? And I think we're all high on Louisville in terms of being a good team in the ACC. But just based on what you saw from Ole Miss was a little bit more rickety than you had anticipated. Give you cause for concern. Of course, everybody immediately spends ahead to the game with LSU coming in in two weeks in the contrast. And now what maybe Louisville is a lot better than Clemson.

7:16And it certainly appears that that might be the case. But the well oiled machine that we witnessed from the sideline on Saturday night that was LSU against Clemson and sort of careening off the guard rails, yet still getting it done for Ole Misses last night. I'm going to be honest. And maybe you guys do. They can't play that way against LSU and have as much hope for success as they would. I'm not too, I'm sort of like the character on Seinfeld or remember what a George's old boss is, Mr. Krueger. And there would be some terrible thing going on and they would come to him and say, you know, what are we going to do about this? And he'd go, I'm not too worried about it. And that's kind of how I am about Ole Miss after one game. As long as it's just one game, I figure Trinidad is going to settle in and play like he normally does as he did in the second half. They're going to limit the mistakes. You're going to limit the busts on defense because they flat busts at a coverage, you know,

8:20that Louisville back in it. So I think all of those things will clean up a little bit. And as good as LSU was, I'd be surprised if they're as perfect as they looked on Saturday night every week. So any cause for concern about Ole Miss based on what you saw last night? I don't. The SEC went 16 and 0 and you can't be concerned off the one team that was like challenged, clearly played the best opponent of any team in the SEC. And I think games like that, you forge an identity through, right? And that's how I will leave it. Pete Golding said after the game, he didn't think he won LSU's injury. He had a thigh issue. Was going to be anything serious. That would obviously be huge concern. He did not play in a majority of the second half of that game if not the entire second half. But I will always praise those who are tested. You are forged through fire.

9:21You are not forged through directional state. No offense to our new favorite directional state in Dan state. But the Broncos. Yeah, the Broncos. No, I think for Ole Miss with so much pointing at LSU, you won a game like that before the entire world is looking at every one, is honed in on every one of your snaps. For Pete Golding, for first time head coach, I mean, there was a lot he had to do in that game, right? There was adjustments to make. There was late game clock management. The eternal coach challenge. Are we close enough to get the kick at the end? So I learned, I thought John David Baker did a lot of good things in the second half to get the offense going a little bit. He was first time back there calling plays after he went to East Carolina. So I left generally encouraged about Ole Miss and you'd rather be tested than I don't

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12:29But I have grave concerns about Clemson. And then in this case, I thought Ole Miss did great. I think it was also, you know, they're saying it was about like 140. It was like 211 degrees there or something like that. Like everyone was ready to combust. Traded that, Chamblist and Dusk Alexander were fantastic. Lacey as long as he's not hurt. And look, Lincoln Keyholes for Louisville was really good in the second half. Now he was not good in the first half. And that's probably the difference in this game. But when they got it going, you know, Louisville very disappointing tough loss. I mean, they did come back from 14 to tie it. And in the moment, Keyholes ran that thing in. Keyholes ran that thing in was like too much time. You left turn to dad too much time and sure enough they did. So it was a little like given the, you know, taking a lead on the two point lead on the chiefs with like 63 seconds left, you're like, you're dead. We lost. We just lost by taking the lead. But, you know, so I thought there were good things for both teams.

13:31It was a very, very exciting game. This is the kind of game I like. We want more of in week one. Good spotlight for two clubs that certainly Ole Miss got a lot of attention and deserve it so in the playoff and under Lane and all that. But two programs that are always fighting for attention in the broader scope of college football and in their own leagues. And they got the spotlight last night. So I thought it was a win-win for everyone, although I'm sure the Cardinals don't feel that way right now. I just was at the, the, the, the, the, the, it double image for me for that game was the joy on Trudet Ed's face. You know, sometimes they show quarterbacks like with two minutes to go and they're about to have this drive. And, you know, they look like they're about to, you know, like they're, they're, they're facing federal charges, right? They got like the world. Trudet has like spinning the ball on his hand. He's just like the joy that emanated from him was just awesome. So yeah, we will, we will see if Ole Miss carries that joy through the, I think they have Charlotte next, which was to sit at L in overtime this weekend and then think of what we won

14:33Lee's he rest in that one. I think so. I think that I'm not a, I'm not a medical professional, but I think they could probably slip by what I want. I'm not a podcast. I'd be sure that that is good. Yeah, I would think so. And then we have to think of a good nickname for the, for the game and, for the game in Oxford. Like, you know, the Kevlar game in. Yeah, Kevlar, yeah, that's Kevlar Kevlar for, for Lane. Little hot, be a little hot, but not. Yeah. Yeah. What a, what a blame will be as as a snarky and spicy on the, on the mic leading up to and pregame and everything as, as he was Saturday night in bed. So you're going to try that shy act that he occasionally goes with. No one, I can't remember. Sometimes he'll be just be like shy. He'll try to be like, I'm just in it. And then they'll, they'll, they'll do this big magazine profile. He's really an introvert. Like, I don't know, man, I know some introverts. Well, they read a lot. I would say this about Lane, who I first got to know when he was at USC as an assistant

15:36of very, very long time ago. He's definitely not an extrovert. Now he is an extrovert in, it's, it's a bit of a paradox. He's a showman though. Yeah, he is a show, but he is, he is, his persona online, which again, he's off social media other than the tweet out, Dr. Pepper commercials I've learned. But the, I've learned, I Twitter alerts on him for this summer when he was like, doing a lot of ridiculous things, there are some of the back and forth. The, he loves like the self-inflicted drama online, right? The, the, the Twitter post, the, the Repartee, the back and forth, the big voice things. But when you're around him, he is not like a loud and verbose person. He's kind of like a low talker. And yeah, but fully realizing that what he does and says, like echoes through the atmosphere, maybe unlike any college football coach of this generation, right? There's been no, there is been no bigger, there has been no bigger lighting rod. I thought it was an interesting story that when we're sitting there at a SEC Media Days,

16:40waiting for him to come into our ESPN.com room, he said, I wrote, like two, I'm a paraphrase here, but he's like, I wrote two notes on my no card today. Don't be afraid to give the same answers and don't be afraid to be boring. Like he needs to remind himself of that constantly. I have a feeling he'll be really attentional about being boring the week going to doctor. Anytime he comes on college game day, though, I would like to make sure he tears up those cards and or ignores them before it comes on. I thought he was good, I thought he was good on the show Saturday morning. You know, the first question I asked him was given everything you went through with all of the eligibility. And I sort of knew the answer because we know that there was legal risk, but I felt as if it was important to hear it from him. And you went through all of this to get these guys eligible. All the court stuff, all the drama where Pete was held hostage the entire day in a Baton Rouge courtroom on Thursday. And then the time comes and you don't put them on the roster.

17:41You know, yet. I also, I also, this was Dan, you'll be proud of me. This was, I felt like a real veteran journal, journalistic move to put yet on there because that when you say, don't put them on the roster yet, then you take away him sucking up all of the oxygen and the answer about the facts. Because they had roster spots that they could put them on later. That was good stuff. I haven't intrigued. I did. I was very, I was very good. I'm intrigued what happens with these guys because it's like, here's the thing about, you know, Lane is unapologetically. And I am fine with it. He is cutthroat, right? He is like, we're going to do whatever is best for our team. And I will bring in some guys from NFL trading camps and I will replace the guys that have been working here for nine months or two years or whatever on the depth chart. And I'll have a little meeting with the other good players who aren't going to lose their starting spot and well, one behold there like good. Let's do that. Maybe if it was up, you know, but he will do it.

18:45And that's the deal. And that's fine. It is that's how life is. You'll get replaced real quick. If there's somebody better available, fortunately for us three, I mean, campaigned better podcasts than this. So we're good. But but what he's also cutthroat. And it's like, I'll go through all of this and you guys commit to LSU and we go through this whole process. And now you're locked in on my team and sorry, I'll go play you never like all this bit that these guys are coming back for. Do they ever even get on the field? Would they have been better off going somewhere else? That's the that's the dichotomy with going someone. I'm not criticizing Lane Kiffin for being cutthroat or being just bottom line. But when you go with those guys, you've got to know that you're dealing with the bottom line. And sometimes you're the one that gets that doesn't get the opportunity. So you could have these players commit all this time and resource and their name and everything to Alice you and by like, boy, if I just gone to another school, maybe I want to play it.

19:46Or or or if you're just stating or not done it. Yeah, I mean, because they might be in the same boat no matter where they are. I mean, if the at the end of it, the reason you didn't do it was because of the potential ramifications, it gets overruled. I mean, it could have cost him, you know, yeah, 30, 35 million dollars. He could have not spend it. You know, it was the price. The risk was the risk reward was not even close. And so I totally understand why. But I thought it was important to to hear him say it. Let's let's talk about let's talk about Wisconsin Notre Dame just a little bit. I think what half of Marcus Freeman's losses have come in August or September. And they started going to last year. Everybody knows about the Northern Illinois game the year that they went on and played for the national championship. And the early part of the Wisconsin game looked a little bit like that. I thought CJ Carmay to good point in the post game saying that everybody on the outside thinks college football is easy and we're supposed to steamroll everybody. They eventually did steamroll

20:48Wisconsin. But Wisconsin would be pointing to this game as an opportunity to prove itself for the entire offseason. Now Notre Dame had to I get it. But this is this is a real take a stand moment for Wisconsin. You're going to throw everything in the world in terms of energy against Notre Dame. They also have very little to lose in this game in terms of perception. And they played really I thought Wisconsin actually played well for the entire game. Eventually, there's not as good as Notre Dame. Made a made a couple of costly mistakes. The pick six was a backbreaker for sure. But I was really impressed early. Yeah. Yeah. The people on the kickoff when they just handed it right. The chest had the muffled and handling the game. I felt like in the first quarter was constantly better than Notre Dame. They did. But Notre Dame to me and I know I know I'm going to get accused. You're Notre Dame home where you're trying to will your prediction home.

21:52What Notre Dame did is what championship teams do in the early season. You're still growing. You're figuring some things out and you eventually flex enough muscle. You eventually become that Python, that boa constrictor that eventually squeezes tied enough to subdue your victim. That's what championship teams do. They don't have to be perfect the first night. LSU looking near perfect. Notre Dame did not. Notre Dame showed. Showed me. They showed me. They showed me like steady resolve. And they gave steady resolve that I think will serve them well in the long term. Just one game Wisconsin. It's not great. They're not going to be great. But you know, I thought it was what you do. You go into Lambo. You wear the fancy jerseys. It was kind of the weird oversized numbers. And you go in and you get the win. Yeah, I think that's that's

22:52well said. And again, Notre Dame is going to take a lot more from this. I mean, Wisconsin is probably the third or fourth toughest team on their schedule. Right? Like I mean, just as these things go. So as you prepare for, you know, for what everyone there is hoping and expecting to be a championship type season of final four type season. Yeah, I thought it was a, I thought it was a really strong, how about it like a resilient performance, right? Like they were tested early. They were pushed around a little bit. You know, if I'm a Wisconsin fan, I don't leave that game thinking like that you're you're you're not going to have a losing record again this season. Right. I thought there was some. I thought there was a little bit a little bit more pop there than I'd seen, especially Mason Post. It was unbelievable. The defender for Wisconsin, he finished with with with 15 tackles, the the badger linebacker. There was there was an edge there that maybe that they hadn't had again. They lost whatever it was, 41, 13, right? But they're

23:56Colton Joseph showed some showed like that they have some diamondism at that quarterback position that maybe they haven't had any stay healthy. That's a good thing for the badgers. That is a very great quarterback. That's a very a very good thing for the for the badgers. But look, I mean, we're picking a part of 41, 13 win, right? So like that's you know, that's Notre Dame, that's who they are. And I think they announced themselves as exactly who we thought they were going to be the caliber of team we thought they were going to be for you know, for this for this season. Another rank of I'm going to rank them the fifth toughest opponent, toughest opponent, Miami, second toughest opponent, SMU, no, second toughest opponent, BYU, then SMU. Yeah. And then who did I say, oh, and Navy. So I'll also I'll give Wisconsin number five on their toughest opponent list. Yeah, that's that's that's the that's the right neighborhood. Yeah.

24:59Notre Dame fans are twitchy, man. They are there. They're they're nervous, man. They're just nervous. I got this text 758. This is a Notre Dame fan. I talked to a lot 758 PM Easter time. Did Notre Dame season just end question mark? Wisconsin was up three zip. They were up three zip. I said, I think they'll survive. That was my response. I did not hear from the rest of the night. He's either passed out drunk or or whatever it did. A couple things. This is this team is so fast for a Notre Dame team. It pops off the screen. You sort of get used to Notre Dame through the years. Yeah, they got a guy here, a guy there. The team's speed is to me is just this has I don't know what the metric. I don't know how you could do it. But this has got to be catapult. We'll go back catapult when when they had the new rockney years and stuff. But this is the fastest team. It's not like facelands all over the all over the field. But defensively like Bowen, DJ McKinney on that

26:05pick six like these guys fly to the ball. And they are just there are so many good athletes on this team. I love that. And then my one of my favorite stories was Jim Flanagan, the tight end getting a touchdown in Lambo. He's from Green Bay. I know they mentioned it like a hundred times on the same but like his dad played for the Packers. His grandfather played for the Packers. Like, yeah, got to get him the ball for the touchdown. He gets the touchdown. That was pretty. That's got to be an awesome moment. But yeah, if I'm Notre Dame, no worries. Like first half is first half. Same same thing with like Louisville. It's just you got it. It's the first game of the year. Yeah, you know, Wisconsin. I thought Wisconsin acquitted itself quite well. That bounce peat and I texted each other and that that fumbled kick. It was just like, oh, no, you know, like that. You could just see it once that hit. But I thought Wisconsin, you know, showed a little something as much as you're going to get out of a 41 13. They got to do jump around at Lambo. So it wasn't all bad. You guys indulged me some of the college football history stuff that I really liked that I didn't

27:07really get an opportunity to use on game day. That sort of fits in with Green Bay native Wisconsin native scoring a touchdown in Lambo. You guys know for whom Lambo field is named, right? Curly Lambo. Yeah. Meaningful touchdowns. You know what meaningful touchdown Curly Lambo scored. I know. He scored the he scored the first ever touchdown for Newt Rottene at Notre Dame. Wow. And then he scored another touchdown in that game. But then the Spanish flu came and did the Irish season early. He never went back to Notre Dame after that. Went back home, worked in the family business, ended up coaching in high school before he ended up playing and obviously getting the stadium named after him or the field named after him. He coached a man called Jim Crowley who became one of the four horsemen of Notre Dame. Wow. So you got the Lambo Notre Dame

28:15connection. Have you ever read when Pride still mattered by David Marinus, the book about Lamboarty? I have not. I've been long time ago. Yeah. Yeah. I let a while ago. Might be Reese the best sports book I've ever read. Is that right? Yeah. I think it's fantastic. It's right. It's right. It's right. It's to the BCS. I mean, hold up a little bit of it. Come on now. Let's talk in literature with death of the BCS. That's like Shakespeare, Tolst, like Russian literature. Like, I can't even know a Russian letter, a Russian author to make that joke. So that failed. But, you know, but other than that, I'm going to get it to, I'm going to buy it for Christmas trees because it's, and it's just so steeped in history. Like you just said, it's really like the great sports bookshore. The book's about periods of time and errors and not about teams, right? And yeah, it's the definitive Lamboarty biography and it is fantastic. And I'm not a packer guy.

29:16Like, I'm not even a huge NFL fan just because of, you know, I like the NFL, but like, what I do, I'm not like to do get on it. But it was just just excellent. Sorry. That was a high jacking. Classic hijacking. No, no, I actually like this. We'll do this real quick. That you're, you think that's the best sports book you've ever read. It's right up there if it's not the, if it's not the best. Saying saying some bias, I think my favorite sports book of all time is the last great game by our friend Jean Mojahowski about the Duke Kentucky NCAA tournament game 1992. Dan just went to the bookshelf. I went to the bookshelf. What's your favorite? What's your favorite? Okay, this is in my favorite sports book, but I'm going to give you college football fans. This book, I don't know, it's probably Adrian's going to, I'm screwing it all up. It's Dan Jenkins, the SI writer. He used to cover college football for SI. It's a book called Saturday's America. And he used to, it is a collection. Basically, he rewrote all his, his, his sports illustrated features

30:17back when he would go to a game every week and type out these like 4,000 word stories about whatever. It came out in 1970. If you can find it, I got one and I got him to sign it because was fortunate enough to come a friend of Dan Jenkins. He says, for Dan, one of the, whatever, you're the one who bought this, he said. I never read that. I'm going to read that. That's okay. So it is, it is the writing, the color, it's so good. Now, it is all this old stuff. It's like he's hanging out with a young Joe paterno, Darryl Royale. He does this whole recruiting one of between Oklahoma and it is so good. If you can find this book, obviously not, not often released, but Little Brown has it. It is a great book. It's, it's a, it's a history, but the color and the writing is still so good. I mean, like, he's just got, I, I, he's got to get it. But it's just a

31:19tremendous, I mean, it covers like the first game on Astro Turf at Knoxville. All these just weird things, but they're just, it's brilliant. So that's my, that's my favorite college football. I'm going to give one more book recommendation. We'll go this. This book that I occasionally will dig up a story for a lead in something that I've read through a couple of times. It's pretty thick, pretty dense, but it's called College Football History, Spectacle and Controversy is written by a man called John Sale Watterson. And there are all kinds of stories in there. And when you start, when people start, you know, clutching their pearls as it were over the latest thing that's happened that's been controversial in college sports, it's always happened there. I'm pretty sure I'd have to refer to the book to make sure it was Oregon, but I think it, I think it was Oregon. Back in the days when you played games to a couple games a week or different things, they once played like five games and faced the same great player like four consecutive games all played for different teams

32:24because the ante kept getting up and he would just move. He wasn't a student athlete. He was just, you know, he was a ringer. And this was like, and I mean, I'm making up the year because I'd have to go back and look at precisely the story, but like 1914 or some such thing and guys just basically, you know, being a barnstormer and getting, you know, 25 bucks to come play for the next team that's playing Oregon. And whoever it was. So the portal was open and I pre-world one. The portal was open. It was the precursor to the portal 150 years ago. So none of this stuff is new and it's just publicized Yeah, I love some of this stuff about the book and you know, it's stuff that it always happened. It has, you know, really detailed accounts of the meetings to the way the rules were changed and the meetings to protect not before the Protect College Sports Act to actually protect football when, you know, Roosevelt was considering shutting it down and, you know, because of the catastrophic

33:29injuries that were occurring. It's real, it's a fascinating thing. It's not, it's not, you don't, you don't go into that book as interesting as some of the stories aren't go, boy, this is real page turner. But it is fascinating once you dive in and do it. Some of the stories in the accounts that they had. So, uh, the rules didn't work back then. I wonder when they started. Very strange. So, it's the rules, you know, that Protect College Sports Act, they should do some advertising. They should really, hadn't heard much about it. Good Lord. I think the people that are interested me, who's behind it, right? I really save a of it. If, if you're, if you're, you're going to get shots unless you advertise on this podcast, why are you, are you funding us? Protect the College Sports Act. I will protect my mortgage act. Come on. Cody Campbell, let's go. I mean, that thing was wall to wall and look at Coach Saban. He's a great commercial actor. Never saw it coming. He's terrific in these commercials. Obviously, the, the one where he rents the house and all that. The purple.

34:29It's amazing. But so good. I didn't know he'd be this, uh, active of a commercial. He's in a lot. He's in a lot. A lot of ads right now, Coach Saban. A lot of ads. I'm glad you're scratching out a living. Yeah, I know. You know, you know, Flations of Beast, affordability, crisis and all that, you know, you got to do a lot of ads. There's a lot of Nick Saban on my TV every weekend now. Car, car businesses. Tough sometimes, Dan. Yeah. I respect those other. I respect the hustle. I respect to saying a lot of coach Saban. What, one more thing about last weekend and was turned on attention to next week. And Dan, let me tell you, we've mentioned a couple of times about our friend Pete being held hostage in the Baton Rouge Court, Baton Rouge Court room on Thursday. And then Pete and I had occasion to go to the supper club in Baton Rouge, which by the way, if you have it, Ben, I mean, it is, I know what this is going to sound like. I don't think

35:30I've ever had a firemere. I mean, just in terms of not only quality, but because the owner is Brandon Landry, who started walk-ons with a partner, which, you know, is across the southeast, a lot of sports bar type things with high, high end food there. But he wanted to find dining establishment in Baton Rouge. And they've gone to the ends of the earth to, you know, to make sure that this place is going to have the highest quality food. Chef is totally involved, involved in the entire venture. And it's an amazing thing. Amazing thing there. Brett the food that we experienced, everything was top shelf. So Pete comes in. And I had to leave shortly thereafter. Pete comes rolling in, Dan finally released on his own reconnaissance from the courtroom in Baton Rouge. He's had two granola bars to eat all day. So Pete comes in and they're left over at. And this is a completely normal thing for a hungry man to do. Their

36:31apps on the table. You're going to scar from down. You're hungry. Why wouldn't you? And everybody's welcoming this. We're looking forward to this. We're happy to have Pete join us. People have been saying, all night, where's Pete? Have they let him go yet? I don't know. Have they issued a decision when his Pete coming? So finally, Pete comes in. But the downside to Pete coming in after this is that he missed the story. Part one of the wagyu dishes that they brought out for us to sample. Hold on, hold on. One of the wagyu dishes. One of them. Dan, one was one was from Japan and one was from Australia. And I hope I have this story right. But it's really close. The one from Japan, they raise five heads of cattle and they feed it the sake and they massage it and they do all of the things that you do. They raise five for the entire year. This is this is wagyu beef that used to be reserved only for the samurai warriors, I believe. And maybe

37:34and maybe some sumo wrestlers or royalty. That's it. They branched out a little. They raised five for the entire year. Five. And you guys got one? Two of them come to America. Only two. Two. And one of them wound up there. I'm so touched. Socky delicacy sliced into things because it's so rich and succulent when you eat it. And Pete tears through the rest of that thing I'm told because I had to leave. Like he was going through the all you can eat buffet at the Golden Corral, he was hammered. That is true. Like like $75 of bite Dan. Two. You want to talk about him and put down a $500 worth of steak like that. I had no idea the back story just to be clear. But I've woken up, took a 5 a.m. flight to Boston, landed bad route, spent there to court. I was

38:36you know the deal. Dan, you come to those trials. You don't get like a lengthy lunch break. There's no lunch. So I had a kind bar at four. And that was like all I'd eat another than another kind bar on the plane. So I roll in it's probably 9 30 local time. And so yeah, I was taking off to do vent. So you did have somebody sell you out a little bit in terms of relating the story. I did see you come in and take a couple bites. But that's about it. I will admit it. First of all, they were like, hey, you're hungry. And I took I text the same for Steve. I was like, dude, I might eat your shoulder right now because I'm so hungry. And there's all these plates. And they're like, and ever was done. Everyone already eat. So I'm like, here you go. I was just like, yeah, it's better than wasting it. Yes. No, it's better than wasting it. But yeah, I clearly yet that was that was probably not what that well massage web who should have out how it shouldn't have been treated. You went after it. You went after like it was the chips in case so it walk on. Yeah, exactly what I did. I would have eaten that was the same. So delicious. Yes, very good. Very good. I don't know about this. Why do we think I'm looking at the menu of

39:36the supper club? There's no prices. When he's talking, there's no prices I had to spin around up the door. If you have to add in the wrong place. Yeah, right. You got to ask how much of many who is you can't afford it. What's the okay? Now, it doesn't even say like market rate, right? It doesn't even say yeah. This is well, congratulations. By the way, it's great, great atmosphere. Food's unbelievable. Yeah, you got like 10 grand on dinner. It should be pretty good. You know, you guys paint this show like you're, you know, there's just a regular dude hanging out down there at the tailgate, you know, with your little home depot drills and you're, you know, just talking football. Little did I know the whole crew was dining on a special cow brought in from Japan. You appreciate the Australian ones that you have to apparently, you have to join some type of, you have to join not a club, but a cooperative or some such thing. I don't know

40:39exactly what it's called, but you have to join not to get the beef. You have to join to be able to buy the beef. So you pay them so that you can pay them again. Well worth it, at least until like, yeah, it sounds like seat licensing. Yeah, that's exactly, exactly. You'd appreciate Dan, the night ended with Stanford, Steve and I, they had a little little back bar there. The brand it was kind enough to bring us to and I tortured the bartender to put on ESPN plus so we could wash the end of Albany and Buffalo. Stanford, Steve, may or may not have wagered on Albany to cover. And so we sat there in the back. Everybody was gone and we're watching to see his different Steve's bat cups. So so yeah, you're a bit more typical than that. Yeah, you don't belong there. You don't belong there, but that's good. I'm glad you two are crashing it. They're like, what is, what's, they're like ESPN plus Albany and Buffalo. I'm not as well as for like Tim Bucktoot or Switzerland. Yeah, but we got it done. Let's take a look at our perfect match presented by

41:44auto trader. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking the perfect match is Pete and a plate of Wagyu steak. But I know that that is the perfect match. I think the perfect match this week guys might be something that you wouldn't necessarily expect. I'm going to say the perfect match is Ohio State and Texas because as you mentioned earlier, Dan with these with the Louisville Miss game and even Wisconsin Notre Dame game, these are the types of matchups that you want to see. Texas and Ohio State is a perfect match for an early season college football game to power brands, to brands that have the financial resources to forge ahead and be champions in this era. But also with deep rooted old school traditions, they're not afraid to play each other. He said sending messages to both camps to not cancel any subsequent similar games. They're not afraid to play.

42:46They're willing to go out and take the risk and go at each other and you've got two elite teams, both of whom took care of business and looked explosive, sharp and good on Saturday and they're easy opening wins. You've got Heisman Trophy candidates all over the place. Jeremiah Smith, of course, you've got Julian Seyam also from Ohio State. You've got Archmanning, you've got Cam Coleman. You've got, I don't know if Cam would be a Heisman candidate, he might well wind up being a bullet in the cough candidate. I think he is sensational. So stars all over the place. You've got John Bianco, who's the great Texas SID on a quest to make sure that we take the pronounced S out of Rahim Balliol's name, the transfer linebacker that Texas has. He's going to be a defensive star. Everything you could want in a college football game comes up on Saturday, Saturday night with Ohio State and Texas in Austin. Yeah, and this is everything you absolutely

43:48everything you want. The brands, the history, the the fact that you know, they don't normally play although they've had some epic games, including a semi-final a couple years ago. They're always kind of recruiting against each other. Certainly since Urban Meyer got to a Ohio State and works Texas hard and that's continued since since Ryan Day's taken over. It has that moment where everyone's just a buzz because look, no matter who you're a fan of, when another big brand comes to your town, you're excited to see that that those colors, that band, that whole thing, right? So Texas fans are going to be excited to see Ohio State in Austin, the same way Ohio State fans are excited to see Texas in Columbus last year. And yeah, multiple Heisman contenders on both teams, win it all or this isn't a great season like stakes, the whole thing is tremendous. And in one little bit here, notice that Reese talked about how good he got fed in Baton Rouge right before pointing out that he's heading to Austin this weekend.

44:54Now, if you know anything about people in Texas, let alone Texas Longhorns, they're a little competitive about being the best, biggest and the best, right? And he just said, the best meal I ever had, LSU got me. Hello Longhorns. And then we'll get to the game. So I am expecting some fireworks. I mean, they got a few restaurants in Austin now. Step, get your game plan together, step it up, find Reese a good meal. They'll be like, we got a cow that we brought in from somewhere even better than wherever that is. Baton Rouge cow is. We got the best cow. No, no, no, no problem. We're going to be in this. The Texas cows are so good. They don't have to import. Yeah, we don't even import. We got our own cow. Yeah, that's one of my thinking. They got a cow sitting out in West Texas right now. They are bring, they're going to go get it just for you, Reese imported from Midland. Yeah, we got a cow is we've been holding out for, for game day to come to Texas for this game. They may have, they may have a once the games, once the game get contract, it's signed. They start raising that cow. And it's a very special cow just for your dinner. Look,

45:58this will be awesome. That's going to be awesome. Everyone's excited. This is what we want. This is the big games and we don't want everyone to lose these big games. You know, and yeah, it's going to be terrific. It'll be a great scene down there and should be a great game. I have to think last year's game was a good football game. It was not an aesthetically pleasing football game, right? I would think with the quarterbacks and the experience they have now, both of them, I believe we're making their first-gror start last year. I don't think any of them snuck a start earlier. Me, you know, I don't think so. So it and now you have the, you know, the Texas has a little bit more firepower on offense, which they clearly could have used could have used last year. I really feel like this game will both be close and be a little bit more aesthetically, aesthetically appealing. Now, we're all biased by what we just saw, right? We just saw all of what mothers run around. We saw Archthrow four tuddies. We saw Ryan Wingo finally break out. I've been waiting

47:03for Ryan Wingo since they put five stars on him in high school to have a game like he did against Texas State. Seven receptions, 121 yards. He's been a bit of a tease in his career. So the each team has, you know, fascinating toys. Obviously Jeremiah Smith won eight for one 51 against Paul State. Devin McHughn was kind of the breakout player in that in that game. So he's obviously in Ohio State, in Ohio State senior receiver who has played a ton in his in his career, certainly not in shining roles. So there are even more stars than last year. And I think they shine a little brighter. And I think we get a we get a game that goes back and forth a little bit more. And again, we're greedy. We want great games. We also want them to be aesthetically appealing. But I do think we get it on on on Saturday. For my money, the single best regular season college football game on the calendar. Yeah. Arch I think arts did make a start maybe two because you remember yours got hurt. Yes, Mississippi State. Yeah, and they keep playing. This is the real wisdom and role. But it bit really

48:09even so. Yes. It was that was really the first time he was the starting quarterback. There's a little bit of a different say an end started. I agree with you. I think that's a huge thing that both of them now are showering the load instead of being protected. Last year in Columbus, you know, everything from say and was really short and safe certainly from arch and then they had trouble protecting arch. So everything was side to side. I think it'll be totally different this time. Ohio State's got to, you know, rebuild defense. It will be tested for the first time. Obviously rebuilt with highly talented players, but they lost a lot of NFL graphics from a year ago. So I think it's going to be fascinating. It's going to be it's going to be great. And there it's also going to dovetail into some things that you were expecting peak to come down the pipe in the next several days in college football. Yes. So the expectation this week is that the CFP triggers and we're going to go on the weeds here. So bear with me. I'm going to dive in right now.

49:13Uh, something called an exclusive 38 30 day negotiating window with ESPN regarding a 2014 plan. So this does not mean the plan is going to go to 24. But what it means is the start of a process. There should be lately because nothing's easy. You call it football where they explore the formally explore the financial viability of what a 2014 plan looked like. So the easy take away for fans is that if the college football plan expands next year and it's seemingly this triggering would make it more likely, not inevitable, but more likely, um, that it would be 24. The other options are off the table. So they're going to stay put at 12. And again, this is the first year of a six year deal where they'd be at 12. So it would be very college football to actually change what it is before the contract even like before the first year of the contract even, uh, even comes through. So, uh, and again, I know we all have our opinions on 24 and we will issue them. But what happens is because ESPN is the sole rights holder to the current six year deal, which

50:15nobody else bid on in a significant way, uh, or in a competitive way. Um, ESPN gets exclusive rights to bid on any expanded process. And what they've been doing the last couple of weeks is really fine tuning what that would look like with the schedule would look like overlapping windows. There are myriad complications to this army navy. How do we handle it? Um, there's, you know, you can, you could really die down in the weeds on why this is, uh, why this is complicated, you know, the complexities of it. But for the fans to stay up at 30,000 feet, uh, to go through 24, this has to happen. ESPN gets first bid. So they, they, they, they talk adventure for 30 days. If they don't agree on anything at the end of the 30 days, then it goes out to market. Um, and again, a little more inside baseball on a stop. I'm going to save you from myself, you the listener. ESPN, because it has the 11 games of the 12 team playoff and a couple of those are sublicers, they would still get like the best games, right? So the, what would go out to bid is not like a new

51:172014 playoff, but it would be the ancillary games. So the, the, the double digit games that, when I had 2014, we have 23 games, believe ESPN has access to 13 or 14 because of the, the previous contract. So then we're looking at 9 10 games, basically, that would end up going out to, to market and what that, what that brings. And so this isn't going to be like an extra billion dollars. I, it doesn't appear to be, it's going to be significant money. And the key fundamental tension is that this would eliminate conference championship games, which we've all kind of felt as an inevitability at some point, they need to make up the financial delta for the conference championship games, leaving, which is 200 plus, uh, between 200 and 250 million, um, for the four, for the power force. So that's where we are. Um, now I think the, the spin I had to tie back to this game and I will stop myself very soon here is that it, the expectation is that if they go to 24, the SEC and big 10 enter a scheduling agreement. So we don't have dog weeks of games like

52:23we did this week. And those leagues would be required to play an inter conference game. Now again, one has 16, one has 18 teams. So there, there would be a little bit of, uh, there would be some different things that would have to be figured out there in some Notre Dame series and, and, and whatever. But that would be the general thought was that every year we would get a dozen plus s c like SEC big 10 challenge. So opening weekend would be, you know, filling your feet, we can have Ohio State Texas just because we're, we're doing it right now or we could have, uh, Oklahoma Michigan. There we go. There we go. Um, as, yes, as, as it happens. So those types of games, caliber games, the games we like as fans, we always joke on this podcast. We are not biased towards any teams other than Dan towards UMass or really against you mess. Um, but we, I know, baby, you're on it. You're on the, you're on the, can the Rutgers Mac challenge remain? Can we keep the Rutgers? We don't want to lose that tradition. Um, yes. So that would be, that would be

53:24part of it. Tony Petiti said, uh, said publicly this week on, uh, on Andy Staples' podcast that, that he was, uh, that he was open to it. Um, well, I could get that, I could call up that quote really fast here. Um, uh, Petiti aligned himself, uh, with Greg Sankees and systems and I was straight to schedule. The big 10 is ready to quote put its money where its mouth is by upgrading its matchups, including a desire to see more schedule, a scheduling alliance with that. So, um, what it looks like in the fine points could be figured out. And there's been a lot of conversation behind the scenes about it, but it would basically end up with better games for us. So I, you know, I know where we're going to go here talking about 24. Reese, Reese, you have an unambiguous stand on 24, right? You're neutral. Um, I'm not like 24. I think that's, um, Dan's gonna write death to the 2014 plan before I see money in my future here. So I'm, I'm torn if something. No. Uh, listen, I thought when Petiti went on the, uh, the Andy and Ari podcast,

54:28which is like through on three was significant because he usually never done, he used to never do any interviews. And he's now out selling it. And I used to criticize him for it because it's like, this guy is just like behind this curtain making these grand and we've seen big 10 commissioners come and go making these huge sweeping changes to college athletics and then both and, and we're all left with it. Um, so I appreciate that he's out there selling and that tells me, um, it, it's coming. I, look, I'm gonna, Reese, you and I are gonna lose on this. Uh, you can see we're like the candidate, reading the polls the night before the election. We're going to get swamped. The 24 seems inevitable. I don't like it. You know, again, all these commercials protect college sports. Uh, things are moving too fast. We need some guardrails to protect the traditions. We got to have a, the history, the rival race, uh, protect the regular season act. Uh, because nothing is going to, the two things that have changed college athletics the most are not these temporary restraining orders and these

55:29ridiculousness. It's been conference realignment and, and, uh, number one conference realignment and then changing the playoff. Now the playoff to 12 was a great thing to, in my opinion, but that's the limit. And, and once you get what you go past that, the, the trip, you start changing the regular season dramatically. Um, and they're looking to, you know, this, this group that wants to dig in and go back to history is ready to do these things in year one before playoff has even started. So it's, it's, it's counter to what they're saying. There's more money. They think on this. They are starting to throw as a good negotiation should some bones to the rest of us. And so, let's get rid of conference championship weekend and putting these games in that are, you know, the first round games would be an upgrade probably on conference championship weekend, which most of the games either don't matter aren't competitive, whatever. This scheduling challenge getting everybody playing 10, 10 power for games a year would be good.

56:29That would increase. We would have less of these dog games on, on an opening weekend. I'm a little nervous about the big 10 and SEC just scheduling each other, although I would enjoy it because does that impact the big 12 and the ACC getting games and things like that. There's a lot I don't like about this. They are starting to come and give us a few a little bit that's going to make it a little book a little bit more acceptable. But to me 24 is too many teams for a playoff. It dramatically alters the way this sport is competes and the way it runs itself. I don't like it. The fans aren't really interested in it. The rush to do it doesn't make sense to me. I'd prefer we get some commercials on Protect the Regulus season act. Now I will shoot those. Protect the regular season act. You can go ahead and sign you up. You commercials to Reese. I saw you in a few commercials this weekend too. Yeah, you're doing pretty get your agent on that one. Maybe you would Dan me and Amherst. We could do it

57:33together in the in zone of is it alumni? The junkyard? The junkyard? Okay. There's no way to go in Amherst. This is the Mac baby. I will. Daniel said you said that you and I are going to lose on this and you're probably right. I expect that you are. But I'm staying on this hill for sure because this is very much like what I told have told people for years that if I ever decide to run for political office that I know what my slogan is going to be. And I'm not ever going to do that because it is one of two reasons in which my wife has told me that she is likely to leave me. The other one is quite obvious and biblical other than that. This would be the only reason that would send her saying enough is enough is if I ran for political office. But if I did, here's my campaign slogan and it's going to be the same thing with this nonsense of a 2014 playoff.

58:33It's this. I don't care if you vote for me or not. I don't care if I win this election. But there's some things that you people need to hear. That's my campaign slogan. I'm just going to say it. There's some things you people need to hear. Vote for it. Don't vote for it. I don't care. This is what you need to hear. That's good. I wouldn't run because I'd lose. I know that I would vote for me. And then if I did, I would accept all the bribes that end up in prison. So it really wouldn't be a good. You've had some good answers for that, Dan. Dan, Dan covered the A. U. basketball scene heavily. He knows a lot about how money works under the table. Let's keep Dan out of the joint. Make sure that he doesn't run. Keep me out of any political running and keep you watching our podcast and enjoying this season. We thank you for watching the college game day podcast presented by Auto Trader. You can also download this podcast wherever you prefer to get your podcast to subscribe. Never miss a single episode.