AP Poll Predicted Rankings + Early Best Bets & Loaded Mailbag

- Hey, it's Drew Franklin from NFL Cover Zero. The 2026 season is underway, and we are loving football on TV. Here's what you can expect from the podcast in our second season. - I would suggest for these preseason games, I think they should do what they do on the NFL draft. You know, when coverage of the NFL draft is basically for moms, and they're just like, "Hey, he has a dog named Spartak." Listen to NFL Cover Zero on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. - We've all heard the phrase all things in moderation, but that's clearly not us. - That's why we're celebrating 300 episodes of That's My Step, our Law and Order SVU Podcast, where we cover the real crimes behind the stories and interview actors from the show. - We're doing it big for the 300th episode. We've got Icon, Heart Rob, and SVU guest start, John, Stamos, and we're best friends now. - In waiting for government, Chris. - Are you serious? It's like her favorite. - That's like my favorite movie of all time. I've seen it like 150 times. - Me too. - Oh my God. - New episodes of That's My Step, Drop Tuesdays. - Listen to That's My Step on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. - One recent episodes of The Quest Love Show, I chat with JoJo about her music and "Wallo 267" about her story and everything in between. - Don't invite me to karaoke. I'm gonna make it weird. Someone's gonna try to sing, leave get out, or too little, too late, or baby, too. - Oh, no. - And I'm gonna be like, "Okay, cool." - Check out my conversation with JoJo, "Wallo 267" and more on The Quest Love Show. Listen to The Quest Love Show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Peace. - The World Cup is over. But if you caught the soccer bug and aren't sure what to do now, check out our podcast, Big Kick Energy. - I'm Cameron Dicker, the kicker from the Los Angeles Chargers, and I'm here with Timmy Tillman, current L.A.F.C. star player. - So, we know a little something about kicking balls. - Each week we'll tackle things like, who's winning the Premier League this year? What do you think is harder? Scoring a penalty kick or scoring a field goal? Join us each week for a quick chat with your soccer-loving bros about the best sport in the world. - Soccer, just don't tell my coaches I said that. Listen to Big Kick Energy on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts. (upbeat music) - Mm, mixed emotions, really mixed emotions, because it's our last show until, well, for a few weeks. I don't know what he gets specific, who knows? Maybe I could pop up or end here any little time, but we're jam-packed. We're high-top of scorching downtown Nashville, Tennessee on this Tuesday, June 30th, the year of our Lord, 2026. We're heavy into predictions come August. But since it's the end of June, and someone asked in the mail bag, which we have a lot of tonight, I think it's time for us to try and figure out what our friends at the Associated Press, the esteemed AP pre-season pull, what are they gonna pump out to us? When are they gonna pump it out? And what is the pre-season top 25 gonna look like? I got my guess, but I also have several questions in the mail bag tonight about trap games. Oh, there was a great one about which old games do you re-watch the most? Now, as you guys know, and girls know, anyone who is watched or listened to the show for any length of time, that could be the show. We could do the entire show on that. I'm gonna try and compact that into like five minutes. We'll see how we do. I've got what Jesse, we landed on six futures bets, right? I got four totals, got a couple of Heisman bets. So I guess those in a way are predictions. So we're a little prediction heavy on the show tonight, but it's a loaded mail bag. We're kinda going out with a bank. These are the best fireworks we can do. We are after all still indoors. And so we're happy to have you with us. They're watching us in Tacoma, Washington, home of the Tacoma Dome. They're watching us in Birmingham. I guess that would be home of the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center, now the legacy arena. Let's see if I can finish this. Tampa used to be the ice palace, but I don't know what the official name of the arena is. Ashburn, Virginia has a good rail cam. I don't know that they have an arena in Ashburn, Virginia. But nevertheless, that's where the viewers are checking in from. Please, wherever you're checking in from, whether you have an arena in your town or not. Please subscribe to the channel. And that's it, that's all. That's what we ask for. Otherwise, keep it civil in the live chat. And let's go to work. Got a loaded mail bag. I think it's time for us to look ahead to the preseason AP poll. And before they drop it on us, Ronald from Carbondale, Illinois hit us and said, do you care to take a stab at predicting the preseason AP poll rankings before it comes out? You notice those last few words there before it comes out? Because everyone's a genius after the fact. Ronald knows this. I know this. So no, Ronald, I don't typically like to take stabs at this. I just like to wait and then react. But since you're asking me to, and we got some time here at the end of June, why not? Because there's this consequence free content here. Because if I get it right, or if I get it wrong, if you're mad at it, whatever, I'm just predicting what the AP is going to do. This is their yard over there. We're just looking at it. And there's no harm in looking in someone's yard. There is a lot of harm in trespassing in someone's yard. So who do you think the number one team in the country is going to be? I think it's going to be Texas. Jesse was Texas number one last year preseason. Yeah. I think they're going to go a repeat of the number one team they had last year, which ended up not making the playoff, by the way. So this is my best guess. This is my best approximation. You can see AP poll prediction on the graphic there. I think Texas is going to be number one. I'd have Notre Dame number one for the record right now. But I think Texas is going to be number one. I think they'll have Notre Dame number two. I think last year's national champion Indiana lands at number three. But I could see Indiana as high as number one, because I could see a lot of voters saying Indiana proved us wrong at every turn. Well, actually, they proved me wrong at every turn last year. A lot of people were on board with Indiana. But nevertheless, if they didn't lose a game last year, and they are, this is a phrase I don't believe in, the defending national champ, then someone's got to knock them off, right? And then they start number one. I could see people thinking that I don't know if enough voters are going to think that to have them number one, but they may. But I got Indiana, I think, as number three. And then in some order, it would be Ohio State Oregon four and five. I guessed Oregon at number four. I got Ohio State number five. But I'm pretty confident that they'll probably be back to back there in some order. Now this is where I think it's a little interesting. So I'm guessing Miami at six. And I'm guessing Georgia at seven. I'm pretty sure much like with Oregon and Ohio State, I think those two are going to be close together. Whatever order they would be in is anyone's guess. I'm guessing Miami because we just saw that team play in the national title. But if you wanted to sell me on Carson Beck's gone, Ruben Baines gone, Mezzador is gone. And even though you may have confidence in, let's say, Darian Mensa and, you know, let's say Damon Wilson and just the overall ability to backfill, maybe you're confident in that. But you think the AP voters won't know to be confident in that. If you feel like that, well, maybe Miami's lower. I think they're going to be knowledgeable enough about Miami and have enough respect for them to have them as high as number six. Georgia's just a mainstay. The floor is number seven for Georgia. They could be anywhere from four to seven. I put them at seven because that's my best guess is where the AP's going to have them. Then I think there is a period at the end of that sentence. Then I think your next sentence is like the eight to twelve range. I'm guessing they're going to put Texas A&M Ole Miss LSU. I think there's going to be this log jam of SEC teams in like the seven to ten range and maybe beyond that. So my best guess is A&M eight, Ole Miss nine, LSU ten. Interesting people's feedback on that. How high do you think LSU is going to start? This is rankings, by the way. How high do you think they're going to start? My best guess is ten. I've got next up Alabama. I have guessed outside the top ten and I got them at eleven. Then this is where I think the mystery starts as to what the AP will do with Texas Tech. Because remember, this is not a poll that got decided months ago. This poll will be a Brendan Sores-Be-Lis Texas Tech ranking. My guess is they're still going to have them pretty high, but with Sores-Be-Texas Tech would have been easily inside the top ten. So I think I'll put them at twelve and I think then they'll have like Oklahoma 13, Brigham Young at 14, Penn State 15. I don't want to just skimp past that. This is my guess at Brigham Young 14. That's kind of a wild card. Wouldn't you say I think they could be twelve? I think they could be 18. Brigham Young doesn't have like that Alabama or like Penn State name recognition. They don't have the SEC and the big ten brand credibility and the minds of voters. So you know, they don't get benefit of doubt is what I'm trying to say. I'm high on Brigham Young this year. I think the voters to a certain degree have to be high on them because the only team that beat them last year is there at number twelve ahead of them. So I'll put Brigham Young at 14 and I think they'll have Penn State 15. Okay. 16 through 20. Again, total crap shoot here. Michigan and USC. I had it 16 and 17. I think maybe Iowa at 18, Utah 19, SMU 20. So we have this. It's one, two, I got four big 10 teams there, 15 through 18. I believe Penn State will be ahead of Michigan and SC and Iowa. The reason I think that it's maybe because the voters think they're going to legitimately be a better team, but I also am a firm believer that AP poll voters sort of forecast with their vote. So if a lot of voters have spent their time skimming through the preseason magazines and they've noticed Penn State's schedule and they think Penn State's going to be like a 10 win team because of their schedule, then they're going to put them up there. They're going to put them right in line with how they expect them to finish because I think that's just how the voters mind works. So Penn State, Michigan, USC, Iowa, 15 through 18, give me Utah at 19. It was kind of between maybe SMU and Louisville as the next ACC team here. I think SMU maybe edges out Louisville, but I got I got them put in Louisville at 21. So there's not a whole lot of difference there. Is Tennessee going to be ranked? Is Missouri going to be ranked and is Florida going to be ranked? I think at least two of the three will be ranked. I think all three of them will be ranked. That's why I put them 22, 23 and 24. That's kind of that third layer of SEC teams and you'll notice kind of the way this works is you've got a layer of big 10 at the very top and you've got a layer of SEC right beneath it. Then you've got this next layer of sort of big 10 and then you've got another layer of SEC beneath it and that's kind of the hierarchy of the sport right now. And I think that's what the AP poll is going to look like. So 21 through 25, I went Louisville, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida and I think Boise will be 25th because I think whatever the preseason expected G5 playoff participant is we'll just get the 25th place vote. That's how I see it shaken out. This is what June 30th, Jesse, we don't know when this comes out right, isn't it usually late July, early August, somewhere around there. Yeah. So we're probably about a month away from this. We could have made a call so easily. But instead let's just baselessly speculate on here. But that is how I expect the AP poll to fall. Talk about some games, man. We had a great mail bag here, Spencer from Arlington, Virginia asked, "What are your biggest upsettler games of the season? Weeks where teams can be caught looking ahead and fumble the season away." Great question. I wrote down five, but you could go 20 deep or so on this. I'm going to start with week three and I'm going to start with USC at Rutgers. This is the first East Coast trip for Lincoln Riley and USC in a season where they have to make three of them. So they travel thrice to the East Coast. This is the first one. Rutgers has an extra day of rest here, which should not be overlooked because anytime you're traveling across three time zones and the dude who's waiting for you has an extra day to cook. You got to be prepared. Remember last year USC, because they're a big 10 team now, they got to make these cross-country trips occasionally. We were at the game where they lost at Illinois, they beat Nebraska, but that one easily could have gone the other way if Raiola doesn't get hurt. They beat Purdue, I think like 33 to 17, but that was a closer sort of game than the final score indicated. So they weren't dominant on the road last year, and this looks like a game that you overlook. If you're trying to forecast USC season, in fact, Bradley, welcome back, Bradley by the way, put up the USC schedule here. If you're looking at their schedule, what stands out, Oregon stands out, Penn State stands out, Ohio State, Indiana, those are the four that stand out. No one's looking at Rutgers. This is not an easy task because of the travel piece, but also they're at Rutgers right before they play Oregon, Washington, Penn State, back-to-back-to-back. There's no buy mixed in there, right, Jesse? Yeah, so that's a game I think that will be overlooked, even the week of the game I think it'll be overlooked. Next up, talked about this game the other night. We talked about this one Sunday night. It's off the radar in the SEC, but I think Mississippi State at LSU and week seven bears close watching. It's a schedule dynamic thing for me. So this is LSU's seventh straight game to start the year, Mississippi State's off a buy, and Mississippi State is a team that's coming off a down year. But when you look back at the results last year, they led Texas big and lost by one possession, they lost by one possession to Tennessee, they lost by one possession to Florida. So their losses, losses are losses, but if you just picture that team, you're like, man, they were sub-500, just a bunch of blowouts last year, it really wasn't that. Really wasn't that. This is not one of the four or five games that someone would circle on LSU's schedule. And so because of those dynamics and because you could have a really, really dynamic tough out at quarterback to deal with here at Mississippi State, that's one I'd look at. I'd look at week eight in the big 12. I think Brigham Young is a team I'm really high on. I'm going to talk about him in the show later. I'm really high on Brigham Young. Everybody's focused on that game. They play against Notre Dame on October 17th. And then a couple of weeks later, they got Arizona State in there and then they go to Utah. And that's kind of looked at is, well, that's their season. Yeah, but they've got another conference game in between those. And it's at UCF on October 24th. So here's the deal. UCF's off a buy. Brigham Young is making a 3600 mile round trip to Orlando to play a rested team after they just played Notre Dame and they got Arizona State and Utah coming up the next two weeks. And does anyone recall, and I know you all do, the last time Scott Frost entered year two at UCF, what happened? I'll tell you what happened. Well, actually, I would tell you they went 13 to know and won the peach bowl. Some people would go as far as to tell you they won the national championship. And there are certain stadium banners that indicate they won a national championship. All we know for sure, all we can prove is they went undefeated that season. It happened before Jesse. Could it happen again? We'll see. Big 10 week six, Indiana at Nebraska, the Wilcomptons special. I do want to warn everyone, this could also be a 50 to 10 blowout. This could be a splattering. So with that warning in mind, let's tip toe ahead back to back road games for Indiana. They go to Rutgers the week before they go to Nebraska here. And this is right before they play Ohio State and Michigan back to back. It's also before they've really been tested calls to this point in the season. Indiana's played North Texas, Howard, Western Kentucky, Northwestern at Rutgers. That's what they've played. So you could have a pretty, pretty solid team that's close to last year and they could be smoking everyone and that just is what it is and prayers for Nebraska if that's true. There is another scenario that crops up every now and any college football where you got a team with some flaws, but their early schedule is not built to expose those flaws. But you get a sense they're there. Then, time and time again, that team goes on the road, usually in mid-October, which is where this game is featured, it's placed, and they get exposed. And half the country is shot and the other half of the country is like, no, we could have seen this coming even when there were winning games earlier in the year. Now look, we, we very much trust Kurt Signetti to put together a very formidable group this year. But in the event that there are some holes in the dam, maybe this is the first time that theoretically they could spring big leaks, maybe again, warning, it could be a splattering. And the last one I'm circling, we saved it for last because it's kind of unlikely. But we do want to be on record as having said it in June in case it happens. It's Arkansas, Texas, it's week 12. Think about the spot here for Texas. Texas has been through a gauntlet of a schedule. They've already played Ohio State. They've gone to Neeland. They've gone to Dallas to play Oklahoma and a rejuvenated John Matier. They've played Florida, revenge spot, Pete and Ole Miss have come in there. They've gone to Missouri and they've gone to LSU the last couple of weeks before Arkansas comes in right before they go play Texas A&M. Now, you may think I just listed Texas's toughest games over the next five years. Actually, I just listed their schedule for this upcoming fall. Think about where the mind is at. The Texas mind. They could be a two-loss team at this point knowing they got to make sure, you know, make sure we just don't get hurt against Arkansas. Actually, we take care of business against Arkansas and then we're going to college station on short rest, by the way. That game at A&M to end the season is going to be their third road game in four weeks and it's on a Friday. Just think about where the mind is at and then think about Arkansas. They probably haven't had a good year. They're probably not a bowl team and they create this as their bowl game. This is their Super Bowl and then they get to end the season against LSU. It's a fun time to be a razor back fan. Great welcome to the SEC. Arkansas is going to be searching for something. Maybe they don't find it. Maybe it's a door slammed in their face here. I just wouldn't look past that. We move on. Get start to the show. I welcome college football. questions. I question or I welcome questions of all different varieties here. Cliff hit me and said, "What's more exhilarating? Chasing an EF4 or 5 tornado or experiencing a 5 chalai of supremacy game in person. Can you imagine what a fever dream of a question this is to a new listener or a new viewer? Why are we talking about tornadoes? Why did Cliff not get the enhanced fugitive scale right? Why is he even saying the word chalai? Why is it spelled incorrectly or why is it spelled the way it is? What does a chalice have to do with football games?" All I can do to our new viewers and listeners out there say, "Welcome to the family. These sorts of things will make sense in time." For a crash course, as to what the next two minutes of this show will be about, I like to storm chase on top of covering college football for a living. The last couple of years when we've gone to games or we've watched games on TV, which we all do, I have tried to put a rating system on games. Around here, if you'll notice on the on the top of this fridge here, where the cans have been turned sideways because a certain brand abandoned us, but we still want stuff in the fridge, you'll notice on the top of the fridge, there are little glass containers we call those, a chalice of supremacy. But the plural, regardless of what Webster's dictionary tells you, of chalice is chalai and not even a normal eye, a little accident eye. It's beyond me to know what the word is to describe what that eye is. I just recently learned what ampersands is. So I have no idea what that accident eye. What is it, Jesse? You're the expert in there. You got a real life degree from Penn State. What am I supposed to call that? I anyway, that is how we rate games. The best rating a football game can get is a five-challie classic. And sometimes we only have like two or three of them per season. So the question here is, after that three-minute context was provided, what would you, what's more exhilarating? EF4, EF5 tornado, or a five-challie classic? Well, I've got to tell you, there is a right answer to this, but it depends on how you define exhilarating, because there's a much different form of adrenaline that kind of football game gives you, than that kind of experience in nature gives you. I'm all about both of them. I get to experience both of them. However, I think I choose from a pure exhilaration standpoint the experience with the EF4, EF5 tornado, only because I think the five-challie game translates on TV way better than an EF4, EF5 tornado translates even in the best of footage. I mean, you could have read Timmer Park in the middle of one. You could have Brad Arnold's zero-metering that thing. And the footage, while it may be great, pales in comparison to what being there in person feels like. Whereas the five-challie classic, true enough, there's no substitute for standing on the sidelines or being in the stadium for a big game. You could at least somewhat get the feel. And if it's broadcast properly, that comes through the screen a whole lot more effectively than I don't even know how to explain what it's like being in close proximity of a violent tornado. And I've done it, and I certainly don't recommend it, but like if you're a psychopath who craves that sort of thing, chase with someone who has experience like Prez, who wasn't necessarily craving it. He just got thrown in the back seat and experienced one. You would kind of see what I'm talking about once you experience that, because it's way different than what you have watched on YouTube. It's called a what? You said it twice. I still can't understand what you're saying. A tater? T-R-What? T-I-L-D-E. That's what the accent it I is. A till day? Not till D. Not tilled? The E's not silent? Do you know that? Has you ever said that word before? We are about educating, entertaining, enlightening, and informing. And I really feel like over the past five minutes we did all of those things for the audience. Now, half of them tuned out in the process, but I really feel like we accomplished something with that segment that will never see the light of day on the YouTube channel. That will strictly live in the long form show. So if you're not listening to the long form show and judging by the fact that you're here, you are. But the rest of our friends out there who just consume the eight minute clips, they just missed out on all that. You don't have to miss out on clothes though. You could wear clothes. All you got to do is go to paidstatematerial.com, contrary to popular belief. You can't get clothes anywhere else this time of year. That is pretty much the only place that has your back. And it's especially the only place where you can get the now, at least according to me, world famous. America runs on Saturday, red, wide, and chew. America 250th birthday, fill in the blanks t-shirt, which has been our number one seller by a mile over the past month. Jesse's football is coming t-shirt is lagging right now. It's a distant second in overall sales over the last few weeks. Still good. The world needs silver medalists too, Jesse. I tell you that every day when you walk in here, but paidstatematerial.com is there for all of your clothing needs. The WNBA playoffs are here. And while the games will be spread across seven different channels and streaming services, you only need one podcast to keep up to date on all the action. Good game with Sarah Spain is the only daily podcast for all your WNBA needs. Be the smartest fan of the sports bar by learning all the W's stories, stakes, stats, and stars, and hear from top players and coaches about their pre-game routines, the pressure of playoff basketball, and the moments that define legacies. Can we actually compete for a championship? And I think the answer is yes. You know, the best part about stuff with these parents have come up to me. Thank you, you helped my relationship with my daughter so much. It goes a lot further than you would think. Every time you underestimate her, you can't play her. It comes at your own peril. You know, when you talk about women's sports, it's like Pregos spaghetti sauce. It's in there. You know, it commercial, like it's in there. Your name is in there. Want to know what's really going on in the WNBA? We got you. Listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadioWap Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. A decade ago, the ethanol kingpin of Iowa became the king of corn in Brazil. So we met with a lot of larger farmers, went from Bahia to Tocatines to Montagroso. He brought a team of executives. They were going to help the country get in on a gold rush. Carbon and its derivatives are going to be really the next great commodity that the globe's going to trade. But back home in Iowa, trouble is brewing. If you live in Iowa, you're land, your water, and your voice could all be at risk thanks to a man named Bruce Rastetter. Now, people are questioning if his climate solutions have anything to do with climate at all. On this season of Drilled Carbon Cowboys, the story of how the ethanol kingpin of Iowa became the king of corn in Brazil and what it tells us about the limits of technology and markets to solve the climate crisis. Listen on the iHeartRadioWap Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everybody, it's me, Debbie C'monville. This season of my podcast who's with me, I speak with two-time Emmy winner and weirdly one of my best friends, Kevin Avery. Everything up to that point, Bill G. was a comic. Us going on the road doing battle mountain in Ely. Yeah, you took me, you were one of the first people who took me on the road, which is funny because at the time I was like, I don't know if I like this guy. With rapper, actor, David Diggs. The jump off for me was Hamilton and it was the most popular thing in a very long time, but it was still for me, it was me and my friends making something dumb. Bruce Lee's daughter and brand new sister, Shannon Lee. Back to your initial point of stewarding my father's legacy and giving my energy to that. You're lending your life to stewarding somebody else's life. Listen to Who's With Me with Debbie C'monville on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. On big lives, we take a single cultural icon. People like Jane Fonda, George Michael, Richard Pryor. And we pull apart the story behind the image. And we do this by digging through the BBC's Fast Archive. We're talking iconic moments in broadcast history. I'm not just a boxer. I'm educating. I can talk all week on millions of subjects. And forgotten interviews that change how we see these giants of our culture. Well, if changing the system from the ground up is revolutionary, then I'm revolutionary. We're here for the messy, the brilliant, the human version of our heroes. When I go on stage, I like to dress as slutty as possible because it makes me dance better for some reason. I'm Emmanuel Joe Chi. I'm Kai Wright. And this is Big Lives. Listen to Big Lives on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get podcast. So let's move on. This is a great question we got. I spent an inordinate amount of time on this today. Cam Dyer, possibly related to Michael Dyer, who some say was down in the National Championship game in 2010, not me, but some people. He's from Orlando, and he checks in and he says, "This is the time of year where I go back and watch some of my favorite games of all time on YouTube. My go to is 24th team Baylor versus TCU since I grew up a Baylor fan and was at the game that night. Are there any games you regularly go back and watch? Here's what's interesting, I'm going to get to it in a little while, Cam is a Baylor fan. I've got a Baylor game on my list that's not the 2014 game against TCU, teaser. My go to my number one go to rewatch game of all time is USC at Notre Dame 2005. We just did a breakdown of this game less than a month ago. Everything I could ever love about college football was present in this game. It's played on natural grass, first off, very high natural grass. It's rumored, and I'm starting the rumor now, that Charlie Wise just barred the ground screw from even entering the facilities during the week until they couldn't cut the grass. Again, I just started that rumor, but I like to believe it. But it starts, I think it was a 330 game, so it starts in the daylight, it ends in nighttime. It's two of the iconic brands in college football. Also, this is the BCS era, so I'm not saying there weren't post-season implications on the game, but the game was about the rivalry. The game was centered on, forget about the implications of post-season. This is USC and Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush and Matt Liner and whatnot, going into South Bend to face off against Brady Quinn and Charlie Weiss and Notre Dame. That's all you need. You don't need post-season implications, and you know what, kids, for a long time, we didn't. For a long time, that was what made it the main event. Also, I was just talking to Casey Cosgrove, friend of the program, who hails from Southern California. He covered USC for a long time. He was in the office earlier today. He walked in. I said, Casey, what's your number one game you go back and watch? Well, that's mine right there, and he said, oh, I was at that game. I tried to explain to him my theory on celebrity status. 99% of you who are normal view a celebrity as a person, like a famous person is a celebrity, and I acknowledge that too. Taylor Swift is clearly a celebrity, but the way my mind works and did work for a long time growing up is I actually revered moments in history, even over people. So like if the people were a part of the big moments, that really vaulted them into celebrity status in my mind. So big time football games actually are celebrity status in my mind. I don't know if anyone else out there is like that, and if not, that's okay. It just makes me unique. I think of USC at Notre Dame, the same way you would think of a big celebrity. To the point that if you walk up to me and you say what Cosgrove did, which is, oh, I was at, I was in South Bend, I was at Notre Dame Stadium for that USC Notre Dame game. I look at you a little bit different. I'm not saying Casey Cosgrove became a celebrity the moment he said that. I'm just saying there was like a little extra glow about him that he didn't have when he walked into the office today, and he's one to glow anyway. But yeah, so I would say that one, I would go a few years later, and these are games that I was at, 2008, 2009 SEC Championship games. Both of them were number one versus number two. Both of them were Alabama versus Florida. Here's how iconic these games were and how rent-free they live in my mind. I went up to Indiana a month and a half ago, sat down with Kurt Signetti, and out of all the things that we could have been talking about within two minutes, we were talking about that right there. So, one of the best sources we could have on this is a guy who was a participant, who was a coach in both of those games. Kurt Signetti was on those Alabama stats. I asked him about those games. This is one of my favorite parts of our sit down. You got to be part of, to me, two of the greatest settings I've ever seen, that 08, 09 SEC Championship. No, no. Absolutely. I don't ever remember anything as charged as that. What was that like to be a part of? You're exactly right, playing in the national championship the next game, the second time, the second year. I'm not going to say it was a let down, but it wasn't like the SEC game. It was one verse two, two years in a row. In the dome, Florida, Alabama, two great teams. It was unbelievable. It was incredible. And words can't really describe it, and a lot of great players, great teams, great coaches. That was the vibe in the South. I was obviously living in Georgia at the time. I was just a year, a couple of years out of high school at the time. And like this is Nick Sabin is new at Alabama still. It's this first couple of years at Alabama. Urban Myers got Florida rolling. Tim Tiibo. It's a star-studded team at Florida, and in 08, they come from behind to beat Bama. They go on to win the national title. The next year, Bama gets back to Atlanta. They beat Florida. And I remember both years, at the feeling, at least in the South was, that was the national title game. That was revered more so than the national title game was. It was looked forward to more than the national title game. So that was like the center of the world was the Georgia dome, which I would argue should have always been the center of the world and should still be there today. Rest in peace. But that was the center of the world. First Saturday in December, four PM Eastern kickoff SEC title game. So those two games were awesome. I go back and watch those all the time. Okay. The Baylor game I was talking about was not the 2014 game. I'm going to throw 2021 big 12 championship game, Baylor versus Oklahoma State at you. I go back and watch this ending at least three or four times a year. You remember Oklahoma states down, I think 21 16, it's like under a minute to go on the clock. You get inside the tent. It's first in goal. In fact, they're inside the five and Oklahoma state has four shots and this is fourth down right here. I, you know, it shows even talking about this. So big 12 championships on the line and you just think about everything that goes into preparing an athlete and a team for a season in all the reps in the weight room, winter conditioning, spring practice, summer conditioning, the thousands of reps you take and you never know when it's going to show up in a game. And so like, I think it's a Geron McVeigh. I think is the Baylor defender making the tackle here. It's a game of inches, an inch or two separated, which team was going to win the big 12 championship game. And he's got to beat that guy to the pile on or at least get over there enough to force him down or out before he gets to the pile on. And I was at the SEC title game, which was about to kick off. And I refused to go in the field because we were down there under the tunnel we were watching the ending. And I just remember being around a group of, I don't know a couple of dozen people. Nobody had rooting interest in the game. You're just watching it because you love college football. And that whole tunnel just exploded. And it was like, these are a bunch of Baylor fans. No, it's just people who just know they saw an insane ending and then they pan to Dave Oranda and Dave Oranda is like barely above 80 beats per minute. Just complete even keel and I go back and watch that all the time. It was it was a Sean McDonough special too. So Sean McDonough on the call, you got, I think we probably got a voice pop in there, which is mandatory in all the Sean McDonough, like quintessential greatest hits. I would buy that today, man, Sean McDonough greatest hits. It would be that in rumors, those would be my two favorite albums. What about 2022? This is more recent. This is a game that I was at Tennessee finally beating Alabama in Neelan, 52 to 49 final. And this is the one where it had been 15 years and we went there and it was our, it was our tour stop. Can't even remember which tour that was, but it was our tour stop. And we got to be there when they finally took Alabama down. And the field storming that incurred after this game ended is unlike anything I think that has ever occurred in the history of college football before or after. And we got I Josh footage of it. You're seeing it right now if you're watching on TV or you're watching or you're listening on podcast, you're seeing it right now. This was, I don't know how to explain it to an outdoor venue, but the thing that I remember the most is people that had to be taken care of medically because they had smoke inhalation, but it's outdoors. But that's how thick the cigar smoke was. And then this one dude, we've never identified who it is. He's just working traffic cop up there surfing on the goal post as they take it out of the stadium and toss it eventually into the river where I think it should have lived forever and served as a natural reef. What about Notre Dame Michigan 2011? How many people remember this? This was the first night game as I recall in Ann Arbor. I remember a few things about this. Number one, Michigan got down big and had a 17 point comeback. It was like I said, the first night game in the big house, Notre Dame wore the helmets. Oh, they're right there. Notre Dame wore the helmets with the clover on the helmet. The referees in the game wore old school gear. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I don't know what the thing was, what the gimmick was, what the theme was for this. I just think we should do it more frequently because the officials were dressed like it was 19/11 instead of 2011, which I fully advocate for. And it was a big comeback. The home team won. It was like the first time. first night game at rigley when that was played. This was the first night game in the big house. And you may think, oh, this game must have been from the 70s and 80s. No, it was from 2011. Really incredible. And there were some honorable mentions here. I didn't even say Texas USC, National Title Game in '05. I kind of think that's just grandfathered in for everyone. I did not say, like, there's some, like, Bama, Georgia 2015, the rain game up there. It was like the first time saving and then we're an underdog in a long time. And that was a blowout, the Boise Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl. Like you could certainly put that on here. Mitch Arizona stayed over, bring him young a couple of years ago. Like, of course, there's any of a number of games in the role of decks of greatness you could put on here. Penn State, Ohio State 2016, the kick six. You could put a bunch of these games on there. Those are just the ones that my mind went to. Next up, good question here. Topical, relevant. EJ said, "How, if possible, can bowl season ever become meaningful again, specifically meaningful to the players and the teams in them?" There's a lot of pain in that question. You'll notice the comma and then the ellipsis. There's a lot of pain and I felt it and I feel it. I loved bowl season. Bowl season was never meaningless to me. In fact, that phrase, meaningless bowl game, it's pretty new. So how do we make it feel like we used to? I don't think you can. How do you insert a maximum meaning into bowl games again? I think you only have two options and I'm not sure college football is ready to do either of these things, but I'm just answering the question that was asked. You either got to make the bowl games part of the regular season somehow or you've got to make the bowl games part of the playoff somehow. And like I said, I don't know that people are ready to do that. I don't know if people want that. Your third option is bowl games just aren't meaningful anymore. So if you were to move them, let's just play this game. It is June after all, so we can take our time here. Let's say you were to go down one of those two routes. You were to say, all right, I want bowl season to mean something again. And if it means we got to suck it up and make significant changes, okay, I'm on board. What are my options? Well, if you moved it to the beginning of the season, first off, do you take the matchups that would have been to end the last season and just play them to start the next year, but the games count like the regular season games? Do you play those games at the neutral site that they would have been played? Like if Virginia and Missouri were going to play in Jacksonville in the Gator Bull, would you instead have Virginia and Missouri go to Jacksonville and play in week one or week two, which is an idea I'll talk about in a second, to start the next year? I know that's a radical idea. A lot of you who are only casually listening to or watching the show, you may be hearing this for the first time and you're asking, well, wait, those aren't even the teams from the previous year. In some cases, the players aren't even the same. In some cases, the coaches aren't even the same. We know all that. That's why we said it's radical. So first question is, what's the location of the games? Secondly, would you really have it in week one? Because you could also do the whole Labor Day idea that's been floated around, where if college football's week zero is going to become week one in the future, which it is, therefore week one actually happens in late August, would you want your bowl game spectacle to actually be week two? Because week two in the future is going to be the Labor Day weekend. So if you were to have TCU in USC, if you were to have Iowa and Vanderbilt, if you had Texas, Michigan, if you were going to have all those games, do you want them as this massive like Labor Day weekend, multi day spectacular? I would wonder also, is that still strictly college football territory or has the NFL moved their season up a week by that point? So you know, a lot of questions to parse out there. And then the second one is, well, how would you make the regular season games be bowl games? We just answered that. But then the other route I said was, well, how, how theoretically could you make bowl games part of the playoff? Well, I think that's just pulling bowl games into being part of like a play in weekend would be the idea that I would have. This is not only my idea, several people have floated this out there, but I think it would look something like a format that we floated on the show a little while ago. And that was taken, you know, the citrus bowl, I forget the names of the sponsors now, but the citrus bowl, the outback bowl, the, uh, the pop tar bowl. I think I just named one of those bowl games twice, the Alamo bowl, whatever. Take the, the six or seven biggest ones that you want to work into the rotation and you move them up to conference championship weekend. What is currently conference championship weekend? And it kind of serves as a 13th game, but it's a game that counts towards the playoff standings. So I'm not going to go all the way down that road, but I think theoretically if you were to do that, that's how you would make those games mean something. But you know, this was one of the big pushbacks I had, one of the many pushbacks I had about expanding the playoff in the way the playoff was marketed at its outset was it removed all the meaning from anything else. It was like this, this zero sum formula at the time that ESPN had in their marketing campaign. And I was very critical of ESPN at the time. Now I will say to their credit, they don't run this marketing campaign anymore, but the damage has been done. The marketing campaign was the who's in marketing campaign, where in like 2014, 2015, 2016, you could not watch 30 seconds of programming without having some form of the who's in playoff marketing campaign tied into whatever you were watching. You could have been watching number one versus number four. You could have been watching a Friday night FCS game. And if it's being broadcast by the rights holder, they're going to be talking about who's in at the expense of everything else. Well, so the public and the players got their mind reconditioned to think that that's where the value is. That's where the meaning in the sport is. It's on the playoff at the expense of everything else. Sure enough, starting with that first 14 playoff field, you started to see some opt-outs. And then the next year, you started to see several more bowl opt-outs and then bowl opt-outs became a mainstay. And the phrase meaningless bowl game was really born close up until that point. People can say whatever they want to. I lived through all of this. This is not that long ago. No one was talking about meaningless bowl games before this. No one. Believe it or not, if you're 17 years old, and you can't remember this world, I'll explain the world for you. We had a BCS title game. We're number one, played number two, and everyone wanted to be in it. And then if you didn't make it in that, what you reverted your attitude to was remembering what your preseason expectation was for your team. Let's say you expected seven and five. And in reality, you went nine and three. You defined it as a successful season. And the fact that you were going to go play in Tampa on New Year's day, instead of being in Shreveport on December 28th at 5.45 in the afternoon, was a huge reward. And your team was fully motivated. A lot of your fans traveled down there. You sold the stadium out. And especially for the big 10 folks, you got to get a sunburn on New Year's day and believe it or not, everyone was just kind of okay with it. In fact, it was celebrated. And it was unique. There was nothing else like it. It was one of one. And it was bowl season and winning a bowl game and not just making a bowl game, but making a certain level, a certain tier of bowl game. That was a reward. And I loved that. And it got stripped away, got stripped away because we had to make room for the playoff to take all the oxygen out of the room. And to me, that was not additive. Now, some of you disagree with that. I know that. But I'm a little more romantic about what college football used to be. But bowls, you know, the other detractor that comes in the room and I can't stand this. They'll say, well, hey, bowls were ruined when we made 40 of them. First off, no, they weren't. No, they weren't. But if you want to make that point that the concept of making a bowl got watered down because they created so many bowl games, I'd be okay with stripping away some of the bowl games. I don't think what you're saying is intellectually honest because sure enough, draw the two circles there, got the old Venn diagram broken out. Some of the same people that say too many bowl games, watered down and ruined bowl games are the same people who are pro playoff expansion, not understanding how those concepts conflict. So I think you're being intellectually dishonest when you say that. You're just looking for an escape hatch to explain away why you sold bowl games down the river. And I'm not buying it. Be the smartest fan of the sports bar by learning all the W stories, stakes, stats and stars, and here from top players and coaches about their pre-game routines, the pressure of playoff basketball and the moments that define legacies. You know, the best part about stuff is parents have come up to me. Thank you. out my relationship with my daughter so much. It goes a lot farther than you would think. Every time you underestimate her, you can't play her, it comes at your own peril. - You know, when you talk about women's sports, it's like Pregos spaghetti sauce. It's in there. You don't come across it, like it's in there. - Wanna know what's really going on in the WNBA? We got you. Listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. - A decade ago, the ethanol kingpin of Iowa became the king of corn in Brazil. - We met with a lot of larger farmers went from Bahia to Tokyo teens to Montagro so. - He brought a team of executives. They were gonna help the country get in on a gold rush. - Carbon and his derivatives are gonna be really the next great commodity that the globe's gonna trade. - But back home in Iowa, trouble is brewing. - If you live in Iowa, your land, your water, and your voice could all be at risk thanks to a man named Bruce Rastetter. - Now, people are questioning if his climate solutions have anything to do with climate at all. - You got to get Bruce with the guy's credit. They're with all my kids. They don't give a shit about him in this house. - On this season of Drilled, Carbon Cowboys, the story of how the ethanol kingpin of Iowa became the king of corn in Brazil, and what it tells us about the limits of technology and markets to solve the climate crisis. Listen on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Hey everybody, it's me, W. C'mon Bell. - Everything up to that point, Bill G was a comic. Us going on the road, doing Battle Mountain and Ely. - Yeah, you took me, you're one of the first people to take me on the road, which is funny 'cause at the time, I was like, "I don't know if I like this guy." (laughing) With rapper, actor, David Diggs. - The jump off for me was Hamilton, and it was the most popular thing in a very long time, but it was still for me, it was me and my friends making something dumb. - Bruce Lee's daughter, and Brandon Lee's sister, Shannon Lee. - Back to your initial point of stewarding my father's legacy and giving my energy to that. - Listen to who's with me with W. C'mon Bell, on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. - On Big Lives, we take a single cultural icon. - People like Jane Fonda, George Michael, Richard Pryor. - And we pull apart the story behind the image. - And we do this by digging through the BBC's fast archive. - I'm not just a boxer, I'm educating, I can talk all week on millions of subjects. - And forgotten interviews that change how we see these giants of our culture. - Well, if changing the system from the ground up is revolutionary, then I'm revolutionary. - We're here for the messy, the brilliant, the human version of our heroes. - And when I go on stage, I like to dress as slutty as possible 'cause it makes me dance better for some reason. - I'm Emmanuel Jocci. - I'm Kai Wright, and this is Big Lives. - Listen to Big Lives on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get podcasts. - We're watching this in Westman, Role Louisiana. Press Kyle Main. We don't get many main check-ins 'cause we don't talk about the black bears enough. Home of D-Lo Brown. And we're watching this in San Francisco. Thank you guys so, so much. We move on. The mailbag is still full, so we still continue to go. Sam said, "What are some of your best bets for potential first-time playoff teams for this season?" This gets more difficult every year. I would've said it gets harder every year, but that would require an immunity. So it gets more difficult every year because if you look at the odds to win the national title this year, which are on the screen right now, the top 14 teams have all made the playoff before. So if we're looking for first-timers here, we gotta dig a little bit, but that's okay. I still came up with four. The first one is Brigham Young. Told you earlier, I would talk about him later. So I am betting that Brigham Young, with this schedule in that roster, is a legitimate playoff threat. And I imagine the vibe out there too. Just picture them regardless of what happened with Texas Tech, picture them in isolation, and the only team they couldn't beat last year was Texas Tech, and otherwise they ran the table. And then they kept most of their players, including their quarterback, and then Penn State tried to come and grab their head coach, and he was kind of on the way out the door. Then he said, "No, never mind, crumble cookie, I'm staying." And now they look down the road and they say, "Oh, wait, and Texas Tech lost their quarterback?" Game on. "Oh, and this is our schedule, and we got our toughest opponent at home." And even if we lose that game, it's not a conference game. Yeah, I would think the vibes are pretty high at Brigham Young. So I would circle them as a potential candidate. I'd look at USC, 'cause I think it's really pretty cut and dry at USC this year, either they make the playoff, or they're probably looking for a new head coach. We've gone over that dynamic, so we don't need to rehash this, but I do think that's a fair proposition this many years in for Lincoln Riley. And I think that this is probably the first time they've got the team that could reasonably be expected to do that. I'm not saying they're a lead on the lines of scrimmage, but I would say if you look at what it takes to make the playoff or flirt with the playoff, be in contention in November. I think USC's talent profile could fit that description, especially if Jayden Mayov gives them B+ or into the A level in terms of quarterback play. Could see that. Louisville is a team that you should not sleep on. Louisville is a team that comes in, and if you've got Miami up here, the rest of the ACC's pretty wide open. So you got to ask the question, do you think the ACC in any world could be a two-bid league? And if the answer is yes, Louisville could be right there. They don't face Miami in the regular season. And if they beat Ole Miss in week one, I think instantly Louisville becomes a favorite to make a playoff, to have a playoff birth. And it's Lincoln kind holds a quarterback. It's trusting Jeff Brom with any court. I would trust Jeff Brom with Bradley a quarterback, but then especially also their propensity to get the absolute most out of the portal class they bring in. There's a lot sneakily to like about Louisville, and could I throw Florida at you 'cause I'm contractually obligated to do this apparently. Number one quarterback in the SEC, DJ Lagway is no longer there. However, if we're choosing from a list of teams that haven't made it, first off it's hard to believe Florida hasn't made the playoff. Secondly, no, it's not when you think about recent history there. But if you look at just overall talent roster, if you're trying to get me to bet on a long shot, they technically will have the players to where if they go four and two in one possession games or something like that, and that quarterback, offensive coordinator, import strategy works out for Florida, kind of like it worked out for Vandy and whatnot. So I could see Florida too. Those are the teams I would circle moving on. Merrily alone, might I am. A lot of really good submissions here. Luke hit us up from Oxford, Mississippi. He said, "What advice would you give "to a sports journalism student "entering their final year of college?" I'll try and skim through this. You need to be getting reps now because I think the tendency for some is to think of college as like a conveyor belt, and then you're on the conveyor belt, and you're on the conveyor belt, and you're on the conveyor belt. Here I go through my senior year, and then I'll get pumped off the conveyor belt, and then I go into the real world. Well, that's one way to do it. There's another way to do it, and that is start getting your reps now. At Ole Miss or at Missouri or Syracuse, wherever you are, you may not even be in college. I can relate to that, 'cause I wasn't for a long time around that time of life, get reps somewhere. And like if you're at a school that has any kind of broadcast track, any kind of radio station, any kind of TV station, either you or someone you know is paying a buttload of money for you to go to college. Get your money's worth. However, figure out a way. Be getting reps, that's the first thing. Another thing is you can never network enough. It doesn't matter how many people ignore you. You will get people who want to help you. Relationships pay so many dividends down the road. You will hear people say it's not what you know, it's who you know, it's actually both. But early on in your career, it's a whole lot about who you know. I would say ask a ton of questions. I get it, my DMs are filled with them. And I answer as many as I can, but just ask questions. And listen, shut up and listen. When someone is asking, and then answering a question that you ask, I would say respect what journalism is. And understand what that entails. So if you call yourself entering the world of sports journalism to be a journalist, will you need to understand there are ethics, there are guidelines, there are codes. It's a discipline that you should adhere to. And it doesn't even matter if you look to your left and right. And a lot of people are calling themselves journalists, but pissing all over that. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. The cream eventually rises. professionals eventually get the proper light shine. mind on them. And if you're not a journalist, don't call yourself one. That's why I never call myself one because like respectfully, with immense amounts of respect to the profession, I don't think what we do is journalism. So people will introduce me as that sometimes and they're trying to be nice. So I don't have a rebuttal for them, but I never label myself a journalist because I've got immense respect for the people who are journalists and the process and the practice when it's implemented properly that's done there. It is tedious work and it is sometimes very, very unenviable work. And what I can't stand a lot of times is like I'll watch, I'll watch guys or girls who I know have a scoop, who I know have a story because I'm in a position to know. And then they'll get beat on breaking it. I don't think that's a world I could live in. If I lived in the competitive news breaking world and then I was getting beat on breaking news, I'm way, way too competitive to deal with that and have to be disciplined enough to adhere to principles and values. And that is why you'll notice a lot of times on the show. I don't want to go too far down this road. We do not fashion ourselves as a news breaking show. We could be one. But I do not go down that road. I got my reasons for not going down that road. Some of them have to do with what we're talking about here and having respect for people who do this. You're passionate and your talent overlaps somewhere. So you've got God given ability in some area and yours may be writing, yours may be speaking, yours may be producing, whatever it is. Make sure you're passionate about it because if you're not, then those overlaps don't really work. But if you're passionate about it and you happen to be talented in the same area, that is where you want to spend the next 30 years building a career. Lastly, before we move on, don't worry about whether you're going to get taken advantage of. I'll save you the time. You're going to get taken advantage of 1,000%. I don't know anyone who's made it in this business who cannot look back and retrace their steps and say at some point in time, man, they were taken advantage of me. You're going to get taken advantage of. Here's the trick. Make sure you're taking advantage of the moment as well. So it wasn't too long ago. I'm looking at my phone like I need to know what year it is. It was within the last 8 years or so. I was making under $30,000 a year and could not make ends meet, but I was in a position where I could also take advantage of where I was. I could get my reps in. I could build a brand. I could use resources that were available to me there. I was getting taken advantage of. Make no mistake about it. The trick is if you're going to get taken advantage of, you either quit or you grind your way through it, but in the process of grinding your way through it, you make sure you're taking advantage of the situation as well. You're going to get some differing philosophies on that. Some people will tell you, you know, you should never allow yourself to be in a position where someone's taken advantage of you. Legally, they're right. Yes. Speaking in legal terms, that's not what I'm advocating for. But if you don't think that there are several instances of doing a whole lot of work for not a lot of money because they know they can stick it to you because you're 23 years old on the road to where you get, you don't think you're going to come across those points that you're fooling yourself. You'll learn if you adhere to it and stick to it, the beauty is once it's in your rearview mirror, you're glad it happened because it filtered out most of the competition. Most people quit. Most people are not really about this. And therefore, most people will tap out long before they make it through that. Trust me, when you go through it, you'll understand why. But man, if you come out on the other side, great things can happen. Let's move on. Future bets? Irvin from Ohio hit us up said, before you go on break, are there any college football futures you have your eye on? I've more than got my eye on these Irvin. We've just flat out put some money on these at Fandall, of course. We start on a down note, a program near and dear to my heart in Northwest Arkansas. I regrettably am having to take the under on Arkansas for and a half wins. And I'm going to tell you why. It's called schedule. And they've got a really, really nightmarish one. So they've got to, we got to find five wins on this schedule. And I simply cannot rely on them to find five north Alabama and Tulsa. If I'm granting you that they win those games, there is nothing else on here. That's a gimmie. And they still need three more wins. And one of their road games, I kid you not, is in Salt Lake City. They're playing nine league games. Plus they're going to go play at Utah. Utah is a better team than Arkansas. They're getting them at home. They're getting them early in the year. That is an all likelihood not a win for Arkansas. So you find me the three games at Utah, Georgia, at A&M, Tennessee, at Vandy, Missouri, at Auburn, South Carolina, at Texas, LSU. I didn't ask, could you win one or two of those? I said, will you win three more of them? My answer is no. So I'm going under four and a half wins. The over that I love, the over that I cannot believe is still available is Brigham Young. I am sky high on this over eight and a half. Like I have max bet this already. But yet it's still sitting there as of an hour ago. It's still available. I'm not predicting them to go undefeated. But if you were to come from January with the headline, you already saw the spoilers and you say, Hey, guess what? Do Brigham Young is going to go undefeated in the regular season. My mouth wouldn't be on the ground. My jaw wouldn't be on the floor. I'd be surprised they beat Notre Dame. I would not be utterly shocked at that. And even if they do lose to Notre Dame, and they lose another game here or two, I still hit my over at eight and a half. So I just went over all the dynamics they have there. They got a ton of returning experience. Love the quarterback situation. Love that the head coach is still there. Kalanisytaki was flirted with by Penn State. He stayed there. It's a revenge-minded program. It is an unfinished business kind of vibe and provo. And you're saying eight-and-a-half cannot believe that. Fandall knows what they're doing, except right here. They don't know what they're doing on this one. Next up, Penn State, same number, same bet. Give me the over at eight-and-a-half with Penn State. It is a schedule play, but also a roster play because you can't just be doing the, Oh, look, a soft schedule. I'm going to blindly bet the over. You've got to know something about the team. And that's why I'm with Brigham Young and Penn State. I feel comfortable with this because I feel like I got a good enough grip on what the team is that I can then look at that schedule and say, wait, so let's just say they lose their biggest three games. USC comes in there and beats them. They go to Michigan and lose. What would you say, Jesse At Washington? Is that the third toughest game that they lose those three games? I'm still hitting my over if they win the rest of them. And God help people if they pull an upside or two. So I love the position here, but I like that maybe the offensive line situation is not the question mark that people think it is as the season comes around. And I also love the veteran-laden nature of the roster overall. This is not picking them to win the big 10. It's not even picking them to make the playoff. It's picking them to go over eight and a half wins. If we want to go back to under territory, we need to go to Florida State. Florida State under six and a half is a bet. I'll be on a slash am on not a ton of faith in Ashton Daniels at the quarterback position. And then if you look at the schedule, it is not backloaded. So they got SMU and Alabama in the first three weeks of the season, first three games of the season. And I worry that that along with play in Virginia at Louisville at Miami Clemson, they've played all those teams by the sun setting on Halloween. So there are multiple loosable games before they even get to November. And my worry is that if it goes off the rails early, it's just off the rails. And we're more talking about a coaching search. Then we're talking about, wow, Florida State pulled the nose up and went seven or eight and five and four. So I see under six and a half for Florida State. Still got August to change my mind, but I don't think that's going to happen. And then a couple of player bets here, already bet Derry and Mensa to win the Heisman. He's third best odds right now. And so he's up there, like people know about Derry and Mensa, but that's not the guy I wanted to conclude by talking about here for just a second. Remember this time last year, I rolled the dice, bravely, and I rolled them on John Mateer, who at the time was going to be the new starting quarterback for Oklahoma by way of Washington State. And you'll remember that I was proud of that ticket. And then he started out hot and John Mateer wound up briefly being the favorite in the odds market to win the Heisman early in the year and then disaster struck or struck his hand. And he was out for an extended period of time. And then he came back, but it was never the same. Now you remember at the time, the headlines were, no, no, no, it's not that the injury still has lingering effects. He just came back to earth. Well, I refused to believe it. And even when they lied about it at Oklahoma, and said, no, this is not due to injury. His hand is not hampering his play. I refused to buy it. That was propaganda, sooner propaganda. And lo and behold, since the season has concluded, as recently as this last week at the Man in Passing Academy, John Mathier said, and I quote, it was like throwing a baseball without your two fingers. I had to hold the ball flatter, be under it. I couldn't really get over the top of it as much, and I just had to adapt to make it work. It was okay, you know what I mean? We all saw what it ended up being, but it's better now. What it ended up being is my Heisman ticket going up in flames through no fault of my own. So as I remember history, we won last year when we bet on John Mathier. We just didn't make any money off of it because fate dealt us a cruel, cruel hand. And I say all that to ask, did you see this guy at the Man in Passing Academy the other day? Did you see the vibes emanating off of him? I did. And so I would like to announce here and now, June 30th, 2026, I'm not exploring a John Mathier Heisman ticket again. I'm not dabbling with the thought. I am all in on John Mathier. And therefore, I must be all in on Oklahoma this year, which must come as a shock to people who have labeled me a sooner hater as of late. That's not true. A tough love occasionally dealt out. Yes, I did have an egregious misranking of the programs a couple of months ago. Water under the bridge, I hope. But I'm taking John Mathier. He's got the 15th best odds when the Heisman right now, I take him. By the way, remember back in March, I think it was March. I came on the show, just to show you're not wasting your time watching this show. Nor are you wasting your money watching this show. I came on the air a few months ago, and I said, I have a Heisman bet. Fandool had come out with the odds. I placed a bet on someone to win the Heisman. And it was a value bet. And it was Keel and Russell and Alabama, who had not been named the starting quarterback. He still hasn't been named the starting quarterback. He was plus 8,000 odds to win the Heisman at that point. We max bet it. He is now plus 2,200 odds to win the Heisman. And if you know anything about Fandool's cash out structure and you place that bet along with us, you can go in your account right now. And you could look at that bet right now and look at the cash out option right now and realize, wow, I 2.5 X to my money already. And I could just leave here today with it. Yes, you could. Because again, you're not wasting your time on this show. Speaking of Fandool, they are the exclusive odds provider of the show. We always appreciate them. Fandool Mike sent me a lovely text today, which I just remembered I have not opened yet. And so I need to get to that. That's what we're going to do over July. Also, in the more immediate future, I don't know if you've heard the world cup is going on. Your boys here in Team USA are still alive. And in the interest of money, this week, new customers, who ideally would sign up at Fandool/JoshPate. And if you bet $1 there on Team USA and they win, you get $250 in bonus bets. So that's all that has to happen. You have to have $1 and you need Team USA to win. And if you bet that $1 on Team USA to win and they win, wave the flags and wave some extra cash in people's face because it will be right there in your account. We wrap up our final show before the break. Must be 21+ in present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Starkicino or 18+ and present in DC. First, on my real money wager only, $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fandool.com. Gambling problem, call 1-800-gambler or visit fandool.com/rg. Call 1-888-789777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut or visit ndgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8 Hope-NY or text Hope-NY in New York. - Bowl prediction time. What do you believe? Last show we did, it was the boldest batch of predictions we've had, that lasted 48 hours. This now becomes the boldest batch of predictions that we've had so far this year. The rule is you make a prediction if it rates 9.5 or bolder as determined by me on the boldness scale and it hits you win a chalice of supremacy. First up, paper poppers all over the place, Tanner from New Albany, Mississippi. Ole Miss wins the SEC championship, Trinidad Chamblis wins the Heisman. Ole Miss wins the national title 'cause we don't say nadi on this show 'cause it's disrespectful to the national championship. This is a 9.75. Let's go in order, actually let's not. Let's start with Trinidad Chamblis. He's got the third best Heisman odds? Question, how does the league adjust to him this year? I don't know. I think he's still gonna be really good, but I don't know. Second question, the new head coach new offensive coordinator dynamic there. Losing Lane Kiffin as your coordinator. I know the limited sample size of playoff games indicated Trinidad Chamblis kind of played his best after Lane left, but I don't expect that to just blindly continue. John David Baker comes in there, had a brief stand up at ECU, comes back home. How does that look? They've got the fifth best odds in the SEC. They got the tenth best odds to win it all. Not like just insane predictions, but it's tough. They were six and two in one possession games last year. So you gotta have that kind of luck slash skill, again this year and I have to turn the paper sideways because I have been reliably informed, they play seven teams in league play alone that are in the top 25 of the playoff odds. Not an easy schedule, 9.75 on the boldness scale. Next up, paper shaker here. Utah and Michigan face off in the college football playoffs. That comes from dad, question mark, dad in Lehigh, Utah. Well, this is a 9.75 for me. This would be the Kyle Wittingham bowl. This would be Morgan Scally versus Kyle Wittingham. Both are outside the top 12 to make the playoff in the fan dual odds right now. Doesn't mean they can't make it. They're just outside the top 12 right now. So both of them have to make it. That means also both of them have to line up perfectly in the bracket to where they would face each other. And because of that, I gotta make this a 9.75. Now, if this were to happen, the big question in my mind is, what did it happen at the expense of? Did Michigan make it as some fringe Big 10 team? Or did they go scorched earth? Did Kyle Wittingham just catch lightning in a bottle his first year and they go win the Big 10? Did they do it at the expense of Indiana or Ohio State or Oregon or whoever? And then with Utah, does this mean Utah won the Big 12? Was the Big 12 a too big league? So a lot of questions unanswered. And this prediction I'm putting to the 9.75. Next up, oh, it sounds so innocent. Coach Hotrod from North Carolina. Duke repeats as ACC champs behind an improved defense and a fantastic sophomore season from Nate Shepard. This is a 9.75. I do not have Duke repeating as the ACC champion. Notice he said wins. They can't just make it, they've got to win it. Now, he's a judge, they made it last year and they won it. Yes, they made it last year, but they didn't play Miami. They played Virginia. Now, the rumor on the street for months has been that the ACC is gonna fix their tiebreaker structure. And if they did, I must have missed the headline 'cause I still haven't seen it. But we got time. Why would you make decisions early in the year when you can wait until the last minute, as Mimal said? So if they fixed the tiebreaker, you gotta assume they're gonna have to go through Miami, which again, they didn't last year. So they lost their quarterback to Miami. They lost their best wide receiver to Miami. They only returned 42 receiving yards. If the tiebreakers fixed, it makes the path harder and they're 77th in returning production this year. No, Duke is not winning the ACC again. This is a rebuilding year from Annie Diaz. That's a 9.75. And lastly, we head to Frisco, Texas, where Brock Miller says Oklahoma will beat Texas twice this year. They play once in the regular season, obviously. We gotta assume that's one of them. Otherwise, they gotta play three times. And Oklahoma has to win two and three. So let's just say Oklahoma wins in the Red River Shootout, known by no other name on this show. That game is Texas minus six and a half right now at Fandall. You can go bet that right now if you want to. You can take Oklahoma plus six and a half right now. So OU pulls the mild upset there. They win the first one. Then where else do they play? Do they play in Atlanta? Do we have a Red River SEC championship game? Do they play in the college football playoff? Which means Oklahoma and Texas both have to be either in Atlanta or in the playoff. And then Oklahoma has to win there. Texas has loaded this year. It's Sark's best shot. And you're telling me John Mater and Company are gonna just completely wreck that. I gotta make that a 9.5. Because of how perfectly everything has to come together. Great mail back. though, get solid mailbag. Look at that footage. I can't get enough of it, Jesse. That's the new and improved John Matier. Some are saying John Matier 2.0. I don't know about all that. That's a guy that I have a Heisman ticket for, though, again. And yeah, look, Jesse, what would it take for you to look like that physically? You got a new gym membership. How many, how many dealt raises for your shoulders to pop like that? He looked like he had body butter on two. It kind of looked like a mixture of the Manning Passing Academy and then Predator. Because if you watch Jesse Ventura and you watch Bill Duke and those guys run around the jungle with all the body butter all over him, that's what John Matier looked like at the Manning Passing Academy. He looked like less than a God, but more than a man over there. And I'm not saying it's going to matter on 3rd and 2 against Texas, but it's going to matter on 3rd and 2 against Texas. So, man, I think I taught myself into a lot of Oklahoma stock on the show tonight, but not at the expense of Texas stock, because I couldn't be higher on Texas. I just want everyone to like me. That's really all we're looking for is we go into July. Look, we won't have a show for a few weeks. So we've got to recharge. We've got to regroup. There are rumors of vacation, but make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen. We will be back. And when we're back, that means we're diving headfirst. The season has started. Three shows per week. The Ramanoodle Express is back. We'll have a tour name by them. We will have game previews coming up. We'll have the JP poll back. It'll all be back. And so you guys rest up. Get yourselves ready. Get your minds right in July. And then we'll see you just on the other side of it with probably a ton of big announcements and complete and utter pedal down to the floor until the season ends. So, for director Bradley, for producer Jesse, for Mitch, did you come up with a title yet? July activities. Pres is somewhere in there. I'm Josh Pate. Take care. We'll see you in about a month. Until then, God bless. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas, Starkicino or 18 plus and present in DC. Bonus issued as nonwithrobable bonus bets which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit fanduel.com/rg. Call 1-888-789777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut. Or visit ndgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call in Massachusetts or call 1-8778HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY in New York. We've all heard the phrase all things in moderation but that's clearly not us. That's why we're celebrating 300 episodes of That's My Stuff, our long order SVU podcast, where we cover the real crimes behind the stories and interview actors from the show. We're doing it big for the 300th episode. We've got icon, heartthrob and SVU guest star, John Stamos and we're best friends now. We're going to try to sing, leave get out or too little too late or baby too and I'm going to be like, "Okay, cool." Check out my conversation with Joe Joe while 267 and more on the Quest Love show. Listen to the Quest Love show on the iHeartRadio app and podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Peace. Do you love golf? If so, you should listen to three-pup bogey. I'm Chuck Bryant from The Stuff You Should Know Podcast and I'm Adam Pranaka from a couple of embarrassing hit star trek podcasts. And each week on three-pup bogey we're going to get into the bunker and get to the bottom of what is just so alluring and frustrating about the most beautiful game in the world. So whether you're someone who pipes it on the driving range that freezes up on the tee box or misses that three-foot putt when everything's on the line where there's a laugh about it with you on three-pup bogey. The podcast about two mid-handy capers, one great shot and the three-pup that spoils it all. You can listen to it now on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.