Break Down College Football Conference Championship Games, Ranking Debates, And A Wild Cowboys-Lions Night & NFL Week 14 Picks

Championship weekend always brings heat, but this one feels different. We kick off with Penn State’s winding coaching carousel, why landing Matt Campbell is a smart but sober choice, and how the timing cratered recruiting momentum. Then we zero in on a landmark story: Georgia seeking damages from a transferring player over NIL. If courts bless buyout-style clauses for athletes, the transfer portal enters a new era—mobility remains, but with explicit costs for breaking deals, and real budget discipline for collectives.

From there we tackle the rankings contradictions that actually move money and matchups. Should head-to-head push Miami above Notre Dame, the same way Texas sits over Vanderbilt? A standard matters; enforce it everywhere. We also map the Group of Five access spot, with Tulane poised to crash the playoff and face a blue-blood gauntlet. Title previews follow: Georgia’s defense versus Alabama’s pass-first tilt, Tech’s red zone test against BYU’s stingy stops, Virginia trying to keep an ACC path alive, and why Ohio State’s boa constrictor defense and a steady QB in a dome can smother Indiana’s improved attack.

We pivot to the NFL with Detroit’s statement over Dallas—Jahmyr Gibbs as a matchup nightmare, five sacks on Dak, and a game that never felt in doubt. That rolls into a frank look at George Pickens: elite talent, but effort and composure matter when the script flips. Around the league, we hit key injuries and returns (Burrow and Higgins together again, Houston’s defense suffocating opponents, Lamar’s status), and lay out our picks with the logic you can use: third-down pressure, red zone efficiency, turnover risks, and cold-weather realities.

If you’re into clear takes, real mechanics, and zero fluff, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who lives for Saturdays and Sundays, and drop your top 4 and SEC pick in a reply—let’s see who nails it.

Chapters

• 0:00 Solo Host Sets The Table
• 2:45 Championship Weekend And Rankings Plan
• 3:23 Penn State’s Coaching Search Fallout
• 12:30 NIL Lawsuit Shock: Georgia vs Wilson
• 19:58 Recruiting Drama And Hartline To USF
• 33:20 Why Fans Obsess Over Recruiting
• 39:58 Rankings Beef: Head-To-Head Logic
• 47:10 Group Of Five And AAC Picture
• 49:30 Big 12, SEC, ACC Title Previews
• 1:00:25 Ohio State vs Indiana Matchup Keys
• 1:16:00 TNF: Lions Over Cowboys Recap
• 1:29:10 George Pickens Effort And Fallout
• 1:35:40 NFL News Roundup And Injuries
• 1:46:20 Week Picks: Bengals-Bills And More
• 2:04:30 Steelers-Ravens Gut Check

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Welcome back to the JB Sports Podcast. Today is Friday, December 5th, and we are back with another good podcast.

SPEAKER_01: 0:19

Alright, well, that was my brother that is here and he decided he wanted to do the intro. He always asks to do so, but I always tell him if he's not gonna be involved, then he shouldn't. But you know, he I he was here, he decided he asked if he could. So I gave him an opportunity to. Hopefully it didn't sound too awful. I mean, it's not like all of our intros don't like it's not like they all sound that great anyway. So I don't know, I it was good. He did a really good job, so I'll I'll give him that. So that's so he we're not he just Sorry, English is hard sometimes. Usually it is my co-host last brother Jace that does the intros. He is not here today because life happens, some things kind of came up, he couldn't be here. It is what it is. We'll get it figured out and we'll have him here next week. But for today, you're just gonna be stuck with me. So unfortunately, it's it's okay. We're gonna have a fun time here with just me talking to a wall. But you don't get the usual back and forth and all that of what the podcast usually is. But the podcast has to go on anyway. So in so in replacement of that, you get my youngest brother coming on and doing the intro, and you have me sitting here for like the next hour, hour and a half, two hours, just sitting here talking to a wall. And hopefully I'll have some good takes here or there as we go along talking about the things I want to talk about today. So, and that's about it. So we for today on the docket, all we have is college football stuff because we have championship weekend not only tonight but tomorrow. And then that I wanted to talk about. I wanted to do a little bit more of a deep dive into the rankings that came out this past Tuesday because when we were podcasting that literally on Tuesday when the rankings came out, it was kind of at the very end. We were about to end the podcast. Jace kind of came out and just said the rankings, and I was just trying to give my quick thoughts to them, but I hadn't really like really given any thought to them in the moment. So I've been thinking about it ever since then, and I have a few thoughts on that. And then we'll go to the NFL side of things where we will do the recap of the Thursday night football game that happened last night between what is that, the Dallas and the Lions, and then we will go to making our picks for all the games this upcoming Sunday slash Monday. So, without further ado, let's go ahead and get to things here. So, what to do first, like I said, is college football. And we'll kind of start with the news first and then get into news slash the rankings, and then get to the games that are happening tonight slash tomorrow. And by tonight I only mean like the group of five. What is it? The it is the Americ AS the AAC, I believe, the American Championship game happening for the group of five, which kind of decides like what is going to be the highest group of five champion, I believe. Um, but before I get to that, let's go ahead and start to talk about some news things I wanted to get to. First off, Penn State finally hires a new coach, and that is gonna be former head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones, Matt Campbell. And it's kind of a weird saga because Penn State was like the first team to fire their head coach, James Franklin, earlier on this season, and they they pretty much were that was the team that set off all these dominoes of all of these major programs firing their head coaches to try to be at the front of the line of getting their guy first, and for whatever reason, Penn State did it first, but yet they tend to be like they're like the last big fish to get their own head coach, and it was kind of weird the whole saga and how it worked out, and it wasn't like their guys were the ones that were getting different jobs, it was more like all of the guys they were going after were already at programs that like it is going to be questionable for if they even want to leave their program, or it was them going after other guys that all have the same agent, and then it all became such a huge mess. So this I would this is what I wanted to get to. Matt Campbell hire, it's a good hire. I don't think he's necessarily going to be a ton better than what they got in James Franklin, but I do think he is a little bit different of a style of a coach in comparison to a James Franklin. So maybe if that's what they were looking for, well, it really wasn't. Like he's like, if we had to say like what who's at the top and bottom of the list, I think Jay this guy, Matt Campbell, is like the last good hire they could have gotten, but it like they tried everybody else before they even got to this point, and it was because they like went after so many dudes, and they either stayed where they were at or took their name out, take took their name out of the hat altogether. Um so like the guys they went after. No, sorry, start keep the Chick Campbell first. Good head coach, a little bit different. He's a little bit more of a developer, obviously coming from Iowa State. And I'm not sure if he's gonna get them to a higher heights than what James Franklin did while he was there at Penn State. But in the position that they were in, I think this is the best that they were going to get. And I'm it's kind of an L in the most like honestly, the way I think about it. But again, with with where they were at, I just don't think they really had much like better options out there. And getting to this point, Penn State had gone after gone after a lot of guys. I think if I had to say who the people were they were going after, I think they went after Eli Drinkowitz, Missouri's head coach. They went after let's see, Brian Hartline was on the big board, but he ended up taking a job to USF. I'll talk about that here in a bit. They had the coach DeBoer, who was Alabama's head coach, who they always had like this thing where they wanted to go after him, but he was always coaching with Alabama, and I don't think he ever really gave them a response by saying he was actually interested in taking that head coaching job, where obviously he's at Alabama already. If they're not gonna force him out, I don't think he was gonna be in a spot where he'd want to leave there. And then the other guys they were going after were Lincoln Riley was in was in the running, but he took his name out of the running altogether because he's at USC, and apparently he decided that he was gonna decide to keep trying to make it work while he is there instead of going to Penn State and trying to restart there. I know there were some other names too, but it's just like Oklahoma Sataki, who is BYU's head coach, they were really close to getting him, and then BYU brought all their big money people together and like really and ponied up the money to kind of keep him. Apparently, the people the guy that owns Crumble Cookies is a BYU guy, and he came in and made a big deal of it. So they made sure they got Connie Saki. There was like a bunch of let me see. There was like I think somebody set up this thing where they were like counting how much money um Penn State head coach money made. Let's see here. Yeah, there was a guy. Penn State's coaching search cost the college ball world 370 million. So, like, with all the guys they had gone after, they had gotten that many people different raises. So they went after Kurt Signetti, that was like the very first guy who was Indiana's head coach who was still coaching. He will be coaching in the Big Ten Championship game tomorrow for Indiana. They went after Matt Rule, who was Nebraska's head coach. He decided to not be a part of it and took a raise to stay at um Nebraska. And then they went after Texas AM's head coach in Mike Elko. He decided to stay and get a big raise. Missouri, like I already said, Eli Drinkowicz got a nice raise. Clark Lee, who is Vanderbilt's head coach, took a raise to stay there. They also went after Brent Key, who also took a raise to stay at Georgia Tech. Like, like I said, 370 million is what they have made other head coaches while going after all these dudes in in this cycle, and they couldn't get any of them until they finally landed on Campbell. And I'm just sitting here, like, I'm not like because some people are saying like this is like the lowest set, like the lowest standard you could possibly get if you're Penn State. But I think it just depends on how you looked at Penn State in the first place. Like Penn State is a top 20 program, I would want to say, and but there were some people that really thought that there was like a thing where they like they were like a top five, top ten program. I'm just I never thought that in general. Like obviously, James Franklin got up to up got it up to being a like a perennial program that's like one of the best in the country, being like a around a top 10 school, but I don't think as a program they are that high. So is it a little bit embarrassing that they were the first to try to get in line to get their head coach and they could they were like the last ones to get somebody? Yeah, for sure. But I'm also not gonna sit here and say that they should have had their pick, like maybe they should have had a lot better ch like a lot better time getting somebody, but it's just they just kept swinging for the fences and missing, and it just it was a little bit of a falling back to earth type of situation where you thought you were gonna be you're gonna have everybody breaking trying to break down your door to kind of come and take the head coaching job from you, and it didn't turn out to be that way. And there's a lot of guys that decided to stay where they were at, and I'm not gonna sit here and say it was all Penn State's fault. Maybe there was like the situations for these head coaches where they liked where they were at, and there was nothing wrong with Penn State, they just decided to to stick where they where they knew where they were getting it themselves into. But still, being an Ohio State fan, a fan of a team that has like been perennially having to deal with Penn State and their fans being so annoying, I'm more than happy to make fun of them for looking as dumb as they have had they have looked um throughout this whole process. But like even through this, like it's not even just the fact they look bad, it's just like their recruiting class is screwed. Like they I think they had a two-man recruiting class sign this past uh week where like everybody is signing, like most so like when it comes to college football and like how they do it, like most of the these classes for high school football coming in, a lot of them sign at this point and then they come in early, like in January. So, like for the most part, if you're a premier program, you want to have most of your guys already signed by this point and potentially have them come in in January for the early enrolling, early enrolling to make sure they're in your program when if you're like in the postseason and stuff like that. So, like Penn State is really behind the eight ball. I think they had a two-man recruiting class and they were over in the 20s when they had James Franklin as their head coach, and he went and took most of the guys in that recruiting class and took them to Virginia Tech where he ended up at. But it's just they are really starting behind the eight-ball here. And luckily for Matt Campbell, he is he is used to being at a program that he's not getting all of the elite prospects every year, and they're really gonna be relying on the transfer portal to really get their team up to where they need to be for the 2026 season. But I just I don't know. It's like it was the weirdest saga of I'm not gonna say the weirdest, because the LSU and Glenn Kiffin thing existed, but it was definitely in the top five. Without question. Like it was definitely very weird the way that kind of all played out, and I really I just thought it would be a lot cleaner than what it turned it out turned out to be. But sometimes in life it doesn't go the way you want it to. So from there, other stories I want to talk about. Let's see. The Georgia. Georgia seeks$390,000 from defensive and former Georgia defensive and Damon Wilson for transfer damages. And I read about this story today. It kind of came out, and it's if you didn't read this, it was it's pretty much Georgia is taking Damon Wilson to court because he, after two seasons from being at Georgia, decided to go to Missouri this past season before this in the transfer portal before this past season to go to Missouri. But it turns out that he had just signed a new NIL deal, like a few weeks before he decided to make that decision, when he was with Georgia, and they were in the playoff, I believe. And then he decided to go in the portal. So apparently they are now looking at trying to make him pay back$390,000 in damages because he broke the NIL agreement and decided to leave there to go somewhere else. And from what I from the story, what I read is all they paid him was like$10,000, but yet they're seeking a lot more than that. So what this story told me, this is like the first of its kind, where Georgia is like the first team to really go out there. I think because Wisconsin tried to do it, but they tried to sue a different university. This is the so that is a little that was a little bit different when it happened a couple years ago. I think it was they were trying to sue, I forget who it was, like a SEC team or it was Miami, I think. It was like a DB going from Wisconsin to Miami, and I think they sued Miami over it. But this is the first time where a university is going after a player for making the move to like not go to Georgia anymore and then making the move in the transportal to go somewhere else and getting paid from there. And do you know, like when I read it, this is what it kind of gave me the idea of is that these are contract buyouts. It's just like the coaches, where if a coach is with a school and they already have a contract, they're the contract is not over with yet, and they're they're still in the middle of it. If a new team decides to hire them, or if a coach decides to want to go somewhere else, it's either gonna be the responsibility of the coach to give money back to the school that he's getting paid from in order to break the contract, or it's gonna be a pollen upon the school that's getting that head coach to take their job to pay that buyout to the school in order to make it all happen. I think this moment right here is gonna get get college football to that point where because up to this point, players have been willing to been able to leave whenever they want to without any sort of damages. And again, I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing. I think it kind of leads leans more towards being bad because these players don't have to deal with any blowback, at least when it comes to financially or like in real life, because blowback does happen on social media and stuff like that, where people are going in crazy and acting stupid and all that. But this is the first time where a school is really going after a student athlete, a football player for saying, Hey, you made this agreement to stay with us, and we we agreed to give you this money in NIL deals, and you broke that contract. We want to get damages for that because you decided to break that promise and break that contract, just like when it happened with coaches at one point, and then it set a new standard for how coaches' contracts are done. And I think this is where this is might be the point where it'll lead to a lot of universities building stuff like building clauses like this into these players' NIL deals where if you want to leave, go for it. Fine, football-wise, it sucks for everybody, but monetarily, there is going to be damages for you deciding to void the contract that we had already been we've that's already been agreed on to go for you to go somewhere else. And I think if this starts becoming the new norm, I think it really it does give these players at least something to think about where you have the option to go if you would like, but you have to be willing to pay it on the back end, or the team that you're going to has to be willing to pay that price on the back end to make sure that you can do that and break that contract that you promised to uphold. And it has to go both ways. That's how most contracts go in normal life. That's how they go. If you are on a contract with somebody and you want to break that contract, this is when you if this is what it taught when it comes to work, when it comes to uh apartments where you live, you want to break a rent, you bring it break a rent agreement, you usually have to pay a price to do so. Like this is how it goes in most scenarios when there's a contract involved. If you if one side wants to break such contract, there are going to be damages that have to be paid, and it just it's just meant to make everybody have to think twice before they make a rash decision. And and I think it's better than what it was before where players didn't have the opportunity or they were forced so they can only go certain places based off of what conference you were in, or like there were there was a time before where you didn't have any choice at all, or you had to lose a year of eligibility. So, like, I'm not gonna be that guy to want to go back to that because I think that's unfair, and I think you're really trapping kids to be in a bad situation. But if a player is gonna if these players are gonna just keep going around all willy-lilly, just getting the next big check from somebody, there has to be something to make these players have to think twice and be like, hey, do I really need do I really need do I need to make this decision, or do I want to make this decision and probably make them think about it just a little bit harder? And that's what I think some a a moment like this is going to get college football to go more towards because up to this point there really aren't a lot of rules when it comes to all the transfer portal stuff and all of that. Like there really isn't, like they say that there's supposed only supposed to be one window, and outside the window, teams are not supposed to talk to kids that they're with another school, like that stuff happens all over the place, and the amounts of money that's being paid to these kids, it's supposed to be under be a reasonable amount, and it's not like it's just so many things that are just kind of off the walls. But I think this moment right here, what Georgia is doing to this one player, and maybe is he being made the example of? Probably, and it sucks that he has to be that guy, but I do think it has to happen at some point in order to enact like real change in what this sport is, and I think it'll make it a little bit better. I really do think it will, because it doesn't take necessarily take away their right to choose, decide to go somewhere else, but it does make them really want to make sure if you want to pay that big ticket, or if you're gonna make a school pay that big ticket to get you out of there, like you better be ready to pay it out. Or if that school you're not you're trying to go to is not willing to pay, you'll have to. So I just think it's gonna be a little bit of a barrier to make a player have to really think about it. And I think that's not a bad thing. I really do. I like it's not taking away their really their right to choose, but it's just making it a little bit making just you have that second that you have to think about it. So I think in general, I think this could be a positive thing to kind of take towards the future of what college football can be with all this NIL stuff and without the portal and everything of like that. So I just do think it it can lead to some real positive change. Let's see. Next Do I have to get to it? I think this is the point. Yeah, I think this is the spot. So alright. This is a little bit be a little more of Ohio State base, but I have to get to it because this kind of did take over like a good three days worth of my life. And to a certain extent, I'm a little sad that I got this invested. Just a little bit. I really, I really am just I'm not gonna sit here. Excuse me, sorry. Um I'm not gonna sit here and say I was totally I wasn't sad, but I was a little bit disappointed in myself that I cared this much about this specific situation. And not like oh I I'll talk about it as I go. So on Wednesday was signing day, which is what I mentioned earlier, that the signing early signing period was was this week. Wednesday was the day. And as a college football guy myself, like I really did start when I was like really becoming a fan. Like I said when I was young, I was a fan of college football and got into it and doing all that. And then as you grow up and as you get a little bit more of an idea of like how the whole system works, you kind of get into the high school recruiting aspect and like really like liking recruiting classes and stuff like that. Like that's what I kind of really got into. Like when it comes to these high school kids and how talented they are coming to your school, to the school that you like, and like what they can be, what they'll grow into. Like, you really do get into, and it's such a huge industry of following these young people as they're making these decisions to go to these schools, and then where they do the kind of grow from being at your school, and then by the time they end up going to the NFL. And I think that's what differentiates itself from places like the NFL, where you may not like I just feel like if you really get into college football and like that, you're really a fan and you like really dive into it, you really do get to see some of these players like from like the ages of like 16 all the way up until like they're 20, 21, 22 years old, making decisions and then going off to the NFL and like starting their careers that way in the in the biggest in the in the biggest uh highest level of the sport that they want to play. So as a huge really being into, and I think it's really taken a hit over the last two years because of how much it started to become about money rather than wanting to for for kids deciding to go to these schools because they love the school or if they love the coaches. It to a certain extent now it's really come like who's gonna be the come the highest bidder. And I feel like it's not everywhere, but more often than not, it starts to become a question of like who's what school's gonna pay me the most money rather than what school is going to develop me and do all the other things that I think I'm not gonna say that it was a sham of what these schools were selling to these kids, but I do think the important like those things are important. Do I think they're a little bit oversold when it when these players weren't getting paid at all? Probably. But I think that now with NIL and all that, it's just become such a such a bidding war for these kids that have never shown anything on the level of college football where they're going to be playing, and I feel like it just takes away a little bit of the joy for it. But I've I've still managed to find my way through it and kind of have fun with it, and it probably helps that I root for Ohio State, who is usually like a top five, top ten recruiting school every single year because Ohio State's that big of a brand, that big of a university in college football. Like they're that like they're one of the big dogs, right? So me being excited, coming in, Ohio State's doing well and everything, and then Wednesday comes, and it's supposed to be relatively drama drama-free when it comes to players coming in, signing, getting to going to school and all coming to Ohio State and all that. So I was excited, and I'm going to work and doing all that. And then as the news goes on throughout the day, there is a piece of news that comes out about Ohio State that it was kind of like a little bit of a gut punch, but I was happy because the news came out that Brian Hartline, who is the OC for Ohio State, and that has been on Ohio State for eight years and has really cut and made himself big by being the best recruiter in America, especially when it comes to recruiting wide receivers and coaching them up and getting them to the NFL. Like that is where he's become such a huge commodity for Ohio State, and when he's really made himself big. Like he's really, like, for sure, over the last eight years been in Ohio State, has turned himself into the best recruiter in America, recruiting wide five star wide receivers, if not four star wide receivers, and building them up and getting into the NFL, most likely being first-round picks. That's that's that's what he's made himself doing. That that's his reputation. And as an Ohio State fan, I have I have we have, as Ohio State fans, been able to enjoy the fruits of what Brian Hartline has done there throughout these years, where we are watching these very talented dudes come in, build themselves up from the ground up, become very high-level college football players, and then go on to be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft and go on to the NFL and like do amazing things. Heck, JSN is the most productive wide receiver in the NFL this year. That's an Ohio State guy. Matt Gigbuka just got drafted out of out of Ohio State to Tampa Bay this year, and he's like the best rookie wide receiver out there, and he was on a freaking tear before he got injured in the middle of the season, and it kind of slowed him down a bit. Um Chris Olave at sorry in New Orleans. You have Garrett Wilson with the Jets. It sucks. Very sucky situation with the Jets, but he's there. Was a first round pick. Jamison Williams, he left Ohio State to go to Alabama, but he was at Ohio State for three years. So that was another one of the Ohio State built. You have Marvin Harrison, who got it was a top five pick and went to uh Arizona and is doing his thing there. Like there are more heck, even like see Terry McLaurin. You have just have a bunch of dudes in the NFL doing their thing. Like I already mentioned JSN, who was with the Seattle right now. Like, there is just a long line of guys that Brian Hartline did his thing to bring in highly rated dudes. Some even not. I think Chris Lava was like the three-star guy coming in, and he built him up to be a first-round pick, and he's tearing it up in the NFL. So, even without a quarterback. So, like, Brian Hartline did his thing, and he's been doing it for so long that as an Oh as Ohio State fans, we all knew that at some point, and we obviously through interviews and stuff like that, you get the impression that he he's a guy that wants to go up the ladder and he wants to get his shot to be a head coach and do all that. So, like we were only counting our days until like, hey, that some point he's gonna want to take that next step, and he's uh he's the OC at Ohio State for his first year, the like first year this year, like actually calling plays and everything, and we're like, like at some point he's gonna take that spot, and he's gonna want to take that step. And he's been taking head coaching um interviews over the last couple years, and we've been like sweating it out, they're like, Oh, is this the year? And then it turns out he's staying, and we're just very happy he can kind of keep what doing what he's doing at Ohio State. And then Wednesday, this past Wednesday happens, and he the news comes out that he's deciding to take the job at USF to be the head coach there, which is good for him on the one on the one side. Well, I'm very happy for him. He did his thing at Ohio State, he's more than done more than enough to help the university that he graduated from, his alma mater, and he did a great job while he was here, and he deserves to go take that opportunity to go try to take that step to become a head coach and like really learn that way. But on the other hand, being selfish and just not just me, but Ohio State fans in general, the first thing that goes to is like, hey, what does that do for recruiting? And especially when it's the news comes out on the day that recruits are supposed to sign with Ohio State, and that does impact the wide receiver recruits that were coming in on Wednesday that were supposed to be there. There's supposed to be five guys, and so like the that's the first thing you start to think of because that's the thing on the front of mind, because it's recruiting day. Well, signing day, if you want to talk, say it that way. And it was a splash, it was a problem, and like not necessarily a problem for us, but it was a problem for recruiting. Those kids, like three of them were instant signs, they did it was no issue, they stayed. What was two? Two stayed. Two was for sure, they signed no issue because they wanted to be out of Ohio State, which is great, awesome, but they were the lower recruited guys. One out of Texas, and then the other out of I want to say one of his Ohio, was an Ohio guy. And then there were three left. The one that there was already news that the one was that was coming from California, Caden Dixie Wyatt decided that he was gonna stay at USC, get a big bag from them to stay in in his state, which is fine. We were all cool with that, we all knew, but he wasn't the highest-rated guy. So now there are two left. We have our number one dude, Chris Henry Jr., who was from Ohio. He was he is a son of a NF former NFL player. He died while he was still playing in the NFL, and it was a whole thing, it was tragic when it happened, but his son is now like he had been uh what is it? He had been committed to Ohio State for a couple of years, and he was known to be like the top wide receiver in the in the in the um recruiting in high school football. And he had been uh with Ohio State, all that, everything's going good. And then the Brian Hartline news comes out and he's like, I'm not sure. He even announces to his high school and on this on the YouTube on YouTube where he was streaming at that he was gonna go to Ohio State. And then that news came out, and then news comes out like, oh, he hadn't signed the papers yet to really make it official. And then it goes hours and hours and hours, and then it comes and then he tweets that he's taking his time based off of the shock of Brian Hartline not being in there, being there anymore. Well, he's gonna be there through the sorry, I didn't mention this when I was talking about Brian Hartline leaving, but he will stay through the playoffs. So he's gonna be the OC for the rest of Ohio State's run through the playoff, well, through the through the um championship game tomorrow and then the playoff, but then after that, he'll be going to USF. So Chris Henry Jr., the top the top five-star prospect who is like five stars is like the highest stars you can get when it comes to a prospect coming out of high school. If you don't know, if you're listening to this podcast, you probably know what how the high school recruiting stuff works. So I'm not gonna go too deep on trying to say it, but I had to say it just in case. So he's changing, he's like sitting here, like, okay, I need to reevaluate, I need to see it like make sure that that's where I want to go. And then there's another guy that's like a four-star, like high three-star, four-star guy, Guilford out of Indiana, who is also fielding other offers and like saying that he wants to make sure that he's gonna make he's gonna make the right decision for himself. And on one hand, you kind of understand that because if you're the main guy that you thought was gonna be there while you're going to Ohio State is not gonna be there anymore. You have I get the idea of like wanting to reevaluate your options if you have other options to go to. Like, hey, is there something better out there? And then this stuff goes for days, and then the news comes out that Oregon is gonna give up a big bag to try to get that five-star shiny wide receiver, and then LSU is coming after the other guy that Guilford that wasn't necessarily all in on Ohio State after Brian Hartline news coming out saying he's leaving, and then it for days it's like, is he gonna stay? Are these guys gonna stay? And is he gonna take the money to go? Is he it's it's like a beating war between two schools to try to get the money up to be as high as possible? And this is the part where I started to feel bad, started to feel a little disappointed about myself that I got so into it, because obviously being a fan and being all into it is great, but I think to a certain extent, I felt myself getting a little down on the whole thing, and I'm like, oh, like, dude, this is a high school kid trying to make the best decision for himself. Why are you getting all emotional? Not necessarily emotional, but why are you getting all bit out of shape about it? And I'm like, okay, fine, you really need to kind of change your perspective on it. This is a kid trying to change, trying to like make the right decision for himself, but on the but on the other hand, I'm sitting here like, but Ohio State is the best place. Even without Brian Hartline there, this is still a Ryan Day offense, this is still everything, like there's no reason why some players should be choosing another school, and that school being Oregon or USC, where it's just about money, and they really haven't put guys into the NFL like Ohio State has. Even if Brian Hartline isn't there, I think there is more than enough support and infrastructure around that to be able to keep getting guys into the NFL the way that Ohio State's been doing over the last few years. And on top of that, Ohio State's gonna get the right guy, Ryan Day's gonna get another wide receivers coach that's gonna do a really good job. Is he gonna match what Brian Hartline has done? Probably not, but I think that I think you should have confidence in that. And I feel like, and then it got to a point where I was thinking it was only about money and all of that, but it was just a little disappointing that I got as into it as I was, and I kind of like got off of it, but but Ohio State pulled it out in the end, Ryan Day. It was days later, but those both of those guys that were thinking about other spots decided ultimately that Ohio State was going to be the best place for them. And obviously it became about money a little bit because it always is, and like is Ohio State gonna pay the money in an IL? And what uh what Ohio State has done all this time is they never want to be the highest bidder when it comes to getting these kids to come to Ohio State because Ohio State wants these kids to understand that Ohio State brings something to the table too. Like these kids are as talented and as great as they are. Ohio State also is a brand that brings something to you as well, and that that does give Ohio State the benefit of like, hey, maybe we don't give you all the money you want as a high schooler. You have to prove it a little bit. So maybe there's gonna be a little bit of growth that you're gonna be able to pull with, like, as soon as you come to Ohio State and you prove it on the football field, that money's gonna come your way. I think the only guy that has really been like really not have to dealt deal with that at all was Jeremiah Smith because he's a he was as close to a proven commodity as you can get coming out of high school football. And I think that was like that was the overarching thought on what Jeremiah Smith was coming out of high school. He was as he was he was as close to as a perfect prospect as you could possibly get. So all in all, I decided I wanted to talk about it because it just took up a lot of my mental space over these last few days, and it kind of made me disappointed. But I also think that it's one of those lifeblood of college football things that if you really get into it, this is the one thing you get in college football that you don't get anywhere else. The idea that you get to see these kids come in and you get to see clips of, especially now with YouTube and all that, you get to see clips of these kids tearing it up in high school football at 16, 17, 18 years old, and then you're watching them, you want to see them go to the school that you like, or what other schools they go to, maybe you want to watch them and like you end up seeing them in college football, either for your team or other teams, but like by the time they get to being of age to get to the NFL, if you're if you if you're a viewer of college football or whatever team that you like, you've been watching these kids for grow up for four, five, six years. So I do think you get to grow a little bit of an attachment to these guys in a different way that in the NFL you really don't. Obviously, you do get to see these kids as they get drafted, but they're men by that point. So you get to see them get drafted to your NFL team. But then as if they're if they're not like like the that dude that's gonna get multiple contracts, like a lot of times they get moved around. And it kind of takes away the love, not love, but it's like very transactional. Like these teams move on from these players, or the play players move on from teams, it becomes very transactional. You don't really get the time that you think, unless they are like franchise guys, you don't get to fall like really like attach yourselves to them and like really follow their story as much as you would in college football. And I'm like I don't know. I I don't know why I decided I want to talk about this, but it's just like if you if you understand what I'm talking about, you understand that it's just like one of those that's like the one experience you can get in college football that you can't get in any other sport. And it's just like, you know, it just took up a lot of took up a lot of medspace, and I really wanted to talk about it. And if you understand, you understand. If you don't, you don't. I'm getting but I'm guessing if you're f if you're listening to this podcast, you've listened so far, you understand, and you understand how big of a deal it was. Like it wasn't just a college football thing, it really did take over college football news, like sports news in general, because a guy like Brian Hartline leaving Ohio State, like everybody's been asking for that forever. If you're like a team, a fan of a different team that's like watching Ohio State, bring in all these wide receivers and put them out, it's like, hey, I want my shot at that five-star receiver. Like, once Brian Hartline leaves, that'll all go away for Ohio State. Like this, this whole story in Chris Henry Jr., like all this stuff, like really did take over sports media for a couple days, and it was a very weird scenario. Obviously, being a guy that's like involved because I'm an Ohio State fan, but it was just a weird few days, and on top of that, there's another guy in let in like uh Legend Bay who was like a uh an athlete that's was supposed to go to Ohio State. He had committed to Ohio State months ago and then decided he was gonna stay, go with Ohio State, and then announced he was gonna go to Ohio State on Wednesday, and then when it comes time for him to sign his letter of intent or something like whatever they call it now, like his mother, because he's 17, um, can't necessarily sign it on his own, needs his mother's approval, she decided not, she didn't want him to go to Ohio State. And she refused to sign it, and then she her and then the kid the player's brother kind of took him hostage a little bit and said, Hey, we're not gonna sign unless you just you decide to go to Tennessee and then we'll sign then. So he gives in because it's his mom wanting to make the decision, and then like these last few days since all the news coming out was that he really doesn't want to go to Tennessee and that his mom and his brother are forcing him, and he really doesn't want to do it, and he's he might wait till he's 18 and hope that Tennessee's gonna let him break his uh his contract in order to go to Ohio State where he actually wants to go, and it's just like a weird scenario where it's just like, why would a parent I get it, a parent can be disappointed if you've watched sports enough, you've seen those videos of a kid deciding to go to a differ a certain school coming out of high school, and their parents are disappointed, they're crying and they're a little bit upset. But at the end of the day, like the parent can't go with the kid to school, they can't go with them to the workouts and be there and do that for them as they're kind of taking on that next step in their life. So a parent really taking control like that and rec refusing to let the kid go where he really wants to go is like an insane scenario. And then the brother that like her the brother of this player like taking over. Social media of that kid, and like really doing it that like it's almost like taking the kid hostage, and I'm sitting here like I just I don't know. Like it's just like I get it to a lot of sense, like these players have a lot of entitlement because of how talented they are and how much power they've been now been given with NIL and like all of that, but I think it's not just these players, it is their families too. Like their families start to feel entitlement, like they like they deserve to have credit for getting these kids to where they are at the spot where they can go take take these next big steps in their lives and get paid and go be big athletes. And it's like sometimes there's people around these kids that just aren't willing to make the right decision for the kid, even if the those people are not gonna like it. And I get it, you want as a parent, you want to you won't want to think that you know best for your child and you like you want to know you want them to do what you want them to do, but sometimes you have to get to a point where you're willing to let go and let those kids do what they want to do. Because, like I said before, like you can't go to school with them, you can't go to those classes, you can't go work out for them and go be with that team with them. Like that's something they have to make on their own. And if a player wants to go to a certain school and you don't like it, that's that's your job as a parent to like you may not like it, but you have to support it. And the idea that this parent, this this mom, and the brother of this player are so against it that they're willing to kind of almost hold the kid hostage is an insane thought. It's insane that the fact that that something like that can happen. And would happen, and it's just it's it's kind of gross to a certain extent. That's almost like the dark side of all this, and like it hasn't really I've never heard of a story like that before, to be totally honest with you. But it just sucks that's even possible. It's just like why would a parent ever take control like that over a kid trying to make that decision? That just doesn't make sense to me. It doesn't, I don't know. I don't know if you've if any of these people that listen to this podcast, any of you guys are gonna find me talking about this all that interesting, but it was it's on my mind. So that's about it with all the with all the in the recruiting stuff and all the issues and um with the Brian Hartline stuff, all the all the credit and luck to him. And I'm I'm it was only fitting that in his last chance to get a five-star to come to Ohio State to be that wide receiver, to take up to be the next guy in the long line of great receivers to come to Ohio State and then be first round picks in the NFL. I was very happy to see Brian Hartline was all in on still getting trying to get the these guys to come to Ohio State and like, hey, even if I'm not here, you should have faith in the infrastructure that's here that we have I help build here to get you where you want to go to be a go be an NFL player and go go achieve your dreams. So I think it was only fitting that Ryan that that Ryan Day and Brian Hartline was able to pull that off one more time before Hartline takes the next step in his life in his career to go try to challenge himself a little bit more to go be a head coach over at USF. So all the credit to him, all the credit to Ohio State, all the credit to everything. Because in all this is happening while Ohio State's getting ready to go play Indiana in a in a Big Ten championship game tomorrow, which is absolutely insane. So that's about it for all the stories I wanted to talk about. Um speaking of the games, let's get to them. Like so I'm almost an hour in already. So whole film and try to go a little bit faster here. I don't want this podcast to be multiple hours long. It probably will be close to that, but you know, it is what it is. So let's get to the games here. Um, college football, championship games. Actually, no, before I get to that, rankings real quick. Okay. Ohio State, Indiana, number one and number two. I meant in they're in the rankings and they're playing each other tomorrow. Based on how that game goes, as long as the game is relatively close and nobody gets blown out, I don't think either team should fall out of being a top four team, top four seed in getting a buy in the playoff. I really do think both teams, no matter how it goes, unless a team gets blown out, which is a thing that can kind of mess up everything. But if the game is relatively close and both teams show out and like show they're really good teams that are worth being the last two undefeated teams in all of college football, I think that neither team should drop below four, and they should really be like, no matter what, this game should not screw the loser out of having a top four seed and having a buy in the playoff. Next, Georgia. They're number three. They're playing Alabama. If Georgia loses, they're gonna be dropping out of the top four. If and then that would mean Bama at number nine would have a chance to jump into the top four. I'm not sure if they are if they're worth worthy of getting a top four seed if they beat Georgia tomorrow. But I just think in general, I just don't think it's possible that the committee is going to penalize Alabama, especially if they're an SEC champ, and keep them out of the top four seeds and getting a bye for winning what they view to be the best conference in America. Um in college football, I'm not gonna I don't necessarily believe I think the Big Ten is better. But I'm not gonna sit here and argue the fact that they they really do think it's a big enough achievement where even if Alabama has all the losses that they have, I I'm gonna feel a little bit like, oh, that's kind of gross, but I'm I'm not gonna sit here and go kicking and screaming about the whole Alabama thing. If they win, they'll probably jump up from nine to probably a top four seed, and I'm I'm gonna feel a little bit icky about it, but I'm not gonna cry about it in general. Um let me see. Let me see here. Who are the other teams that have a chance? Oh, the Notre Dame Miami thing. So this is what makes me irks me just a little bit, okay? You have the Miami and Notre Dame situation. Notre Dame is at number 10 right now, ranking wise, and you have Miami at 12. And I've talked about the idea that as soon as the top that the final rankings happen, whatever group of five team is gonna be the highest ranked champion, the highest group of five champion that's ranked, they will automatically get a bye and get into sorry, not get a bye, but they will get into the playoff because that is a guaranteed spot. And that's if you are the the five highest rated conference champions, and that could potentially have either an eight, like whatever conference it is, they can be left out if they are not as highly ranked as they need to be. So that's Miami being at number 12, there is a chance that as soon as that that group of five champion comes in, they're gonna jump up into the top 12 no matter what. And what does that do? If Miami's at the number 12 line and they're not playing a game tomorrow, there's not gonna be much of a chance for them to move up and they would potentially drop down into being out of the playoff altogether. And that becomes a problem because Notre Dame being at number 10, who has the same exact record as number 12 Miami at 10 and 2, those two teams played each other on a football field already earlier on this year. I think they played each other game one of this season. And those two teams are very different now than what they were then, but I think but the problem comes in is that does that head-to-head matchup matter? And there are some people on one side that are thinking, like, hey, it should absolutely matter because the game happened, and why will we ever get to a point where the actual game that happens between two teams should not matter if you're going to be ranking them up against each other? But then you have the other side of the aisle that believes, like, hey, it doesn't that part they played early on in the season, that game shouldn't have an impact. And because Notre Dame is a much better team now than what they were then when they lost to Miami, it shouldn't matter, and they should still be in the playoff no matter what, anyway, because they are also a team that is not gonna be playing tomorrow, so they have no really opportunity to like really go up based off of having a new data point in actually playing a football game. So, where do I feel on this? I think the game should matter because they did play each other and they took that opportunity to take that chance of losing. So if it comes down to it and these teams are really close together, the team that won that game should get the nod. They should be the higher ranked team. But the problem with that is that Notre Dame has stayed higher ranked than Miami for a long period of time. At least ever since the playoff rankings started coming out halfway through the year. I think that was in the middle of November when the first rankings came out. Because Miami had lost two bad games in the ACC that they should never have lost, and then Notre Dame lost to the two best teams that they played on their schedule. I think they had the two best teams, one to Miami and the other to Texas AM, they lost both of those games, especially with the one game that they lost to Tech AM, it was at home. They lost in their own house against Texas AM. So I just think in general, the game that was played on the field should absolutely matter if you're gonna have two teams that are ranked very closely together. And people are worried about the fact that they are still two spots apart, Miami being at 12, uh, sorry, Notre Dame being at 10 and Miami being at 12, and BYU sitting in the middle of them. So, like, if it comes down to the last weekend of this weekend happening, and then you have the rankings Tuesday, will they actually switch those two and make Miami the hot the higher ranked team because they that head-to-head uh matchup matters, but then drop Notre Dame from all the way being at 10 to potentially being out of the playoff altogether, which is what will make people that are Notre Dame fans very upset. Or to go the other way, Miami fans will be very upset because they want a head-to-head matchup on the field and it doesn't end up mattering in the final ranking, even though they say every game should matter on the schedule. And this is where I don't have a dog in the fight either way, to be totally honest with you. I hate both of those schools. I hate Miami because they're so they they throw so much money around and they're very flashy, even though they don't deserve to be given any credit because they really haven't done anything in college football with Mario Cristobal as a head coach. They lose bad games every year. They're not very well coached, they're physical, but not really much else. They're not really coached all that well, and the coach himself is not all that great of a head coach. So I'm like, in Miami, I'm not really I don't feel any type of fuzzies when I talk about them. And then Notre Dame, I think those fans are very holier than now. They don't want to join a conference. I'm more than happy to watch Notre Dame fall to the ashes if they're not willing to go and join the same struggle that every other team has to face by being in a conference, having to play some of the better teams every year, and not having a choice. Notre Dame gets to cherry pick their schedule every year. They get to decide who they play. They have a little bit of a loose connection to the ACC and get to play a few of those teams every year, a bad ACC conference. But for the most part, Notre Dame gets to avoid all of the downsides of being in a conference, but yet get all the pluses of being a blue blood program in college football. So I'm I don't have any blood in this fight either way. I really don't care about either. If they both fall to the wayside, I don't care. But where I have an issue is because they have Notre, they really don't care about the on-field, the on-field uh product that happened when these two teams played each other by having Notre Dame at 10 and Miami at 12. But later, a little bit later on in the rankings where they have Texas at 13 and Vanderbilt at 14. The problem is with that is that Texas is a 9-3 football team. They lost to a 4-8 Florida team. And Vanderbilt is sitting right behind them, a sp uh spot behind them, but Vanderbilt's 10-2. Their two losses are to Texas and to Alabama. Those are their two losses, and they are giving Texas a head-a- a head-to-head bump because Texas beat Vanderbilt on the football field. Which is fine, that's cool. But you compare that same scenario to a note to Notre Dame, Miami, they're making a much different decision. And that's what I don't like. If you're gonna have if you're gonna have a process that is going to favor one result over the other, do that for everything and don't just change it up whenever you want to. That's where I get annoyed. That's where I think like that's where I start to have an issue with it. And is Texas a better team than Vanderbilt? For sure. Is Notre Dame a better team than Miami? For sure. But you can't have both of those scenarios and then only care about that in one of the eye test in one scenario but not in the other. Or only care about what their what their resume is in one and not the other. Like you have to keep the same the same standards for both situations, and that's the part I don't like. And I don't care either way. And like again, seriously, I don't care about Texas, I don't care about Vanderbilt. Um, heck, I want to see all those, like heck, the only one I maybe have a little bit of positivity for is Vanderbilt because they really haven't done anything for me to feel for me to feel negative towards them. But the other three, go fuck off. I don't care. Go suck, suck one and suck in college football and watch all the other teams playing the college football playoff. I really don't care at all about them in general. So like I don't have I'm not gonna sit here and take up for anybody because I really don't care. But I do the process for what the committee decides to do in these in these football rank in these rankings that decide a lot of things, a lot of money going in these these schools' pockets and to the to these conferences and all of that. Like a lot of there is some real stakes to the decisions that these people are making in this committee, and I would like for them to be a little consistent about what their priorities are. That's it. That's it. That's all I got when it comes to the ranking stuff. Um so now that I talk about the rankings, let's go ahead and get to the games real quick before I go to the NFL. Let me take a drink here. I'm starting to get a little dry mouthed. It's kind of funny how it goes. Oh yeah. That was much needed. Not gonna lie about that. Alright. College ball playoff sorry, conference championship games. There is one that is happening tonight that is of note. You have the AA, like I said earlier, the AAC Championship, the it's a group of five conference that is having their game tonight between number 24, North Texas, going to number 20, Tulane, and playing their game. And as of right now, that game is Tulane winning it 31 to 13 in the middle, actually at the end of the third quarter. So that game is looking like it's going towards Tulane's way. And if everything keeps going the way it's going, Tulane should be the team that's going to be the group of five champion that'll get into the playoff. And then have the courtesy of getting smacked by whatever team they get set up against in the playoff. So good for Tulane. Good for all that, but I'm not gonna get into my whole thing about whether they deserve to actually be in the playoff or not. In comparison to these other teams, I really think just think they're playing a different sport by comparison, but not gonna go too deep down that rabbit hole. Uh so let me get to the rest of these games that are happening tomorrow. Let's see here. You got, and I'll do this in cross in chronological order, the order it'll be happening tomorrow. I'll kind of talk about these games. Not too many of them, though. Um, number 11, BYU, going to number four, Texas Tech. And all these games are happening in new happening in neutral sites. I think this one's playing be playing at ATT Stadium. Um, so the Cowboys Stadium, which is where the where that one is. So that'll be played at noon. That is the um Big 12 championship game, number 11 BYU going to Texas Tech. So I think Texas Tech is a much better team than BYU. Like in all assets, I think in when it comes in all aspects of their team. I think the quarterback play is better with Texas Tech. I think the offense is better with Texas second thing. The defense defense is better than with Texas Tech, but the offense for a little bit, my problem with them is that they kind of break down in the red zone. Like if they have to really like turn three points into seven, they're not very good at that, especially scoring in short yardage. And I think with that potential issue and BYU, their biggest plus is the defense that they have and how good they are in the red zone at stopping teams from scoring touchdowns. I think that little situation, if it happens throughout the game tomorrow, can give BYU a real chance to win this game if Texas Tech keeps scoring three points instead of seven. But if Texas Tech can really like keep scoring touchdowns and not being not settling for three, I do think Texas Tech, with that offense, with that very explosive offense, and then with that defense, that defensive line being as good as it is, I do think that if they just keep scoring touchdowns rather than getting forced to play to score field goals, I think Texas Tech should be able to handle B, should be able to handle BYU without much of an issue. Because BYU in general, their defense is very good, but offensively they're up and down, they're not really all that consistent. And I don't find their offense to be all that explosive in general. I think it's really their defense being led and they're playing defense led and playing very gritty football throughout it to kind of win these games. So if Texas Tech shows out and they can score touchdowns in the red zone rather than three points, I think Texas Tech should be able to run away with this game. But if they can't, I think BYU does have a real shot to win the game. But I'll give Texas Tech a little bit of a nod here to go ahead and win that game. I think Texas Tech is a. How much are they favored by? I gotta check. Let's see here. They're 12 and a half point favorites. Well, that's a little it's a little much, but the the game is being played in Texas, so I think a lot of their fans are probably gonna take over that stadium. Oh, that's a lot of points though. But I'll I'll lean towards Texas Tech to get the job done there. Next one I want to talk about was the SEC Championship game. You have number three Georgia, and you have number nine Alabama. The game is being played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, so where the where the um where the Saints play. So you have both these teams squaring off for a second time this year. And low-key, nobody really talks about it, but Kirby Smart has an Alabama problem. He's one and seven against Alabama, and that's both at with both Nick Saban being the head coach of that Alabama team, and then now with Kalen DeBoer, because Kirby Smart had lost last year against Kalen DeBoer and also this year. I think that was Georgia's only loss. This season was against was against Alabama earlier on this year. So low-key, Kirby has the same problem with Alabama that Ryan Day had with Michigan until he had turned the rivalry back on its head last week in the game. But nobody talks about it at all, which is kind of hilarious to me. And again, I do get the fact that Kirby Smart has won two national titles, so maybe that gives him a lot of credit that Ryan Day hasn't really earned himself yet because he's still sitting at one. But again, Ryan Day did beat the team up north last week, and he does get that credit for doing that. And I think anybody that has any negative feelings about Ryan Day should be totally good right now and happy with what he has done so far as a head coach at Ohio State. Especially on the run that they've been doing, I think 16 wins in a row now, um, since losing to team up north last year in Ohio State in the horseshoe. Ever since then, Ryan Day's really figured it out, done everything he needed to do, and they've been undefeated since. But Kirby Smart has a real Alabama problem. And these last two years against Calen DeVore, he has taken losses to them. And nobody talks about it. They don't. Again, like I said, Kirby Smart deserves his credit for being the two-time national champ that he is, especially back to back. But I don't know. I just feel like there's a little bit of smoke that he probably deserves to be getting from his fan base and from national media that they're just not gonna get. And that is a little bit annoying because Ryan Day's been taking it over these last four years against the team up north when team up north was cheating for multiple years, and then on the other one, it was like they actually won the title, so they probably deserve to be the better team that won that game. But Ryan Day's been taking all sorts of uh vitriol from not only Ohio State fans but from the media in general about how he can't get it done in the big game. So I'm just I'm just saying that was like that was a bit narrative that I wish would attach itself on to Kirby Smart in the same way that it has to Ryan Day. But let me get to the game here. Georgia, Bama, Georgia's been up and down all year. Their offense has been underwhelming for the most part. They've had a couple games where they've shown out and like played some very good basketball, but for the most part, they have been mediocre at best. Their offensive line isn't all that great. They can't really run the football as effectively as they have. They've gotten better throughout the year, but and they're play- I think they're running the football the best they have all year at this point later on in the season, but it's still not necessarily a dominant run game. And they don't really have a running back that's necessarily a dominant player. I think Nate Frazier is the running back there, but he's not necessarily a dominant running back by any means as of right now. And then you have the passing offense for them, like their quarterback, Gunnar Stockton. He has a couple games where he has kind of gone off and exploded, but for the most part, he has been mediocre at best, borderline not producing really at all, and they've been winning in spite of him. And in that game against Alabama earlier on this year, it was their offense not really showing up in the first half that let Alabama kind of build up a lead that Georgia couldn't get itself out of in the second half. So and then you're looking at the Alabama side of it. Bama had their worst loss. I think they're they've two had two losses this year. Um one of those losses being at Florida State earlier on their like very first game of the year where they got blown out by Florida State 31-17. And then you've had the later on, I think that's like three weeks ago, they had a loss against Oklahoma, um, 23-21, where they got totally, I'm not gonna say totally destroyed because Alabama did outgain them offensively in general, but Oklahoma didn't have the turnovers uh given up that Alabama did that, kind of was the tipping point for that game where Oklahoma got the win. But like Bama has not necessarily been all that impressive as of late. They have not been really all that clicking offensively, defensively, they gotten better throughout the year and gotten more consistent, but they like Ty Simpson, their quarterback, like started off the season real hot and making really good decisions and playing very good football. But even he was has regressed a little bit. Maybe it's because of injury, maybe it's because of the offense not clicking the way it needs to in general, because they're not um what is the they're not staying together like they probably need to when it comes to cohesion and like having a good plan and all that. But that that's the problem. That's that's it for me. And Bama, they're not necessarily the they can't really run the football all that effectively. They've like have been very mediocre when it comes to running rushing the ball. And then like they they're so bad running the football, it's like their passing offense is like the best they have. Ty Simpson, the whole game is on his shoulders. If they don't throw the football all over the football field and get the job done that way, they're probably not gonna win the game. And their defensive side is pretty decent. They've gotten better throughout the year, and they've had very young guys on the off the on the defensive side of the ball, and they've gotten better. And the problem is, is that do I think that Georgia has a set of wide receivers that'll scare Alabama and like really do some real damage to them? I'm not sure of that. Like they have a Georgia has a couple speedy guys. I think the um, why am I forgetting the one guy's name? Came from USC. I'm not forgetting the guy's name, but they have a very speedy young guy, but like they don't have the crazy talent at wide receiver and just do they have that that kind of talented offense to get the job done in that way. They don't. Like they just don't. And against the Alabama team, I just don't think they have an offense that can really force Alabama into bad situations. So I think the only the the big difference, what what it's gonna decide this game, is that which team can make the least amount of mistakes when it comes to turning over the football and doing it that way. And then also which team is gonna be able to have a better time of getting something off the ground offensively for both sides. I just really don't. I think both sides of this coin is gonna be having a really decent issue. And I think I would rely a little bit on more on Georgia because I think Georgia's defense is a little bit more effective and um consistent in general. And then on top of that, I think Georgia, even though I don't believe in them offensively at all, I just think Alabama is so one-dimensional offensively that I think Georgia's defense will have a better time stopping Alabama's offense than I think that Alabama's offense will be able to stop Georgia's defense. Even if Georgia is not playing all that efficient, I just think they'll be able to do a little bit more with what they have in comparison to Alabama. So I think Georgia wins this game. I would I wouldn't be surprised if Bama pulls off the upside here. So I'm don't let me get it twisted on that. But I would lead Georgia just a little bit because I just think they're the better football team. And again, Kirby Smart does have a Bama problem, and I do think he'll be coming out in this game really trying to prove a point. So I just think, and as long as their offense is locked in, can just make a few plays and just keep them in it throughout the game. I think their defense should be able to get enough done to finish that all that off. So I I don't know. I I I'll lean Georgia win that game, but again, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Bama kind of pulled off the upset there. And then last but not least, well not last, well I'll I'll I'll get to the I'll leave the best game for last. Duke at number 17, Virginia in the ACC championship game. This is a what is this, a 7-5 Duke team record-wise, that has been allowed to get to the ACC championship championship game based off of other teams losing. Miami. And because of that, there is a real chance that if Duke pulls off the upset against number 17 Virginia, that like the ACC champ and all the other teams in their ACC might get capped out of the might get gatekeeped out of the playoff altogether. Because if it's a Duke team that admin ends up being the champion, like he's not they're not good enough to get into the to the uh playoff. And then like Virginia would probably be a little bit better of an option to kind of get into the playoffs because they've done better throughout the year, but it's not consistent at all. Uh so I don't know, man. That that is a little bit of a clut uh like a clusterfuck, too, to be totally honest with you. And I think that I think the ACC powers that be would love for Virginia to get that get that nod to go out be able to go out there and win the game. And then once the uh playoff selection happens, they would be more than happy to let Virginia be that team to kind of get them on, get them in the in the ring on that. Because if Duke wins, there's really literally no chance they get into the playoffs. So and again, that's when once a team gets to the playoffs, that money that they get from the playoff committee will all be divvied up towards all the schools in the conference. So it's definitely more of a we thing if you can kind of make it all happen. So, all right, and last last but not least, Big Ten championship game happening tomorrow night. Number two, Indiana, number one, Ohio State playing each other. This is gonna be a big matchup, and I think Ohio State, I'll I'll start with, sorry, I'll start with uh Indiana first. I think they're a team with much better quarterback play than what they had last year. I think they're better on the line of scrimmages than what they were last year, and this is I'm comparing to last year because last year was the first year that Indiana really looked scary in general. I think they really look like a good football team that can really get some wins. But throughout last year, they have been tearing it up and doing what they have had to do. And they went and beat Oregon, they went and beat Penn State, both of those being on the road, and they also beat Iowa. That game was at home, but like they really have gone this whole season from start to finish to what the what's happening tomorrow. Like, Indiana's been doing their thing, and I think Indiana's been more than proven on all sides of their team that they have gotten better, and that in the big game against a much more talented team, that they have would have a better chance of getting the job done because they have made some real changes to that that team, that roster, and they like they're just playing a lot better football because of the more the the more plethora of talent that they they have at their disposal in comparison to lap past years. So again, like they're they're all and all that comes back to their quarterback, Fernanda Mendoza, and they're running back and um their running backs and their wide receivers playing very well too. Like then they have a lot of pieces offensively that can that really make you interested in what they're doing, but I just don't know if that's gonna be enough against an Ohio State defense that has been dominant all year. They have got not given up more than 16 points all season long. I think they only gave up that much to Illinois. But like they that defense for Ohio State has been dominant all year. They've been getting after the passer. They've been their their secondary is locked down, not really getting a lot of big plays over top. And I think that they have bigger corners that are gonna be able to handle those big wide receivers at Indiana. And I just think that I I just think that even though Indiana's gotten better as a football team, I think Ohio State has done the exact same thing in comparison to what they were last year cut and then coming into this year, and their linebacker play has gotten better, their secondary is potential has even gotten better, even without the guys that have all gotten drafted and gone to the NFL. Like Ohio State's defense got better, especially with the defense coordinator edition and Matt Patricia coming off of Jim Knowles leaving last year um before the before the parade for Ohio State for the championship. Like Ohio State managed to get somebody in there and actually be better at the game and better at defense and stopping and getting pressure and just everything, dude. And I think that that defense for Ohio State has been monstrous all year, and they've been looking for somebody to put up a fight against them, and I think Indiana will do that, but I just think that Ohio State's defense will still be able to smother that Indiana offense, and even if it takes a little bit longer than what um Ohio State fans are used to, I think it'll happen sooner rather than later. And I think when that happens, Ohio State's gonna be able to pounce when it comes to scoring the football and um and really building up a lead that Indiana won't be able to dig itself out of because Ohio State, that defense being able to kind of like just keep you take away your best thing that you want to do, and just keep you as being like a very one-dimensional offense. I think Ohio State has made itself big off of that this season. So I think defensively, Ohio State's gonna be able to get a lot of work done against that Indiana offense. And then for Ohio State's um Ohio State's offense against that Indiana defense. I think Julian Sand's a robot. I think he makes the right decision a lot of the time, and he is going to I think he's gonna carve up that Indiana defense, and I think that he's gonna keep slicing and dicing all over the football field. I think Ryan Day will give him that opportunity to, and I think he will keep throwing that football to his best wide receivers in Carnel Tate and Jeremiah Smith and Max Clare and B.I. Um Brandon Ennis, by the way, if you don't know who B.I. is for Ohio State. So I think all of that in general, on top of having Bo Jackson running the football from the running back position and catching the football out of the backfield, he's been an absolute weapon. He had an amazing game against that team up north in the big house. And I just think with all of that, I just think that can Indiana stop Ohio State's offense? Can Indiana create enough pressure against Julian Sand to rattle him? I just don't think they can, even if they get to him a couple times. I think Julian Sand has more than proven throughout the the year that he has started there at Ohio State in his 12 starts before this 13th, that he is gonna be unflappable. And whatever dis whatever bad decision he makes, he's not gonna make it a second time. And I just think with all that being the case, and he showed that against the team up north last week when he threw that early pick, like he was unfazed, went back out there, did his thing, and like really side up uh tied up the game and did what he had to do, and did it with great with a great energy. And he just he just keeps playing the offense, dude. He keeps and he knows who his wide receivers are, and he's gonna he's not gonna sit here and try to like force his way into making a great play. He's gonna be more than happy to get that ball to his guys and let them go make the play. And I think when you have two Ferraris like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, and then you have a bunch of other weapons and and BI and like Max Clare and all of that, I just think that Julian Saiyan being unflappable, keep throwing the ball and making those plays and then make the right decisions, I think it's is a recipe for success against this Indiana team. And I think as long as Ohio State's um defense keeps doing what they've been doing all season long and just taking away what you do best and just tightening around your neck like a BOA constrictor, I think Ohio State wins this game without much of an issue. I'm probably if a score, if I have to put a score on it, I'll think I'll say 38 to 38 to 14, if I have to say a score of it. Because I just think the Ohio State being able to play indoors in Indianapolis against that Indiana team, I think they're gonna have a fast track. I think those wide like the wide receivers, even with all the injuries that they've had throughout this year, they played great in that game against the team up north last week. And then now they're gonna be able to go in a dome where it's temperature controlled and they're gonna like they're gonna be able to be able to stay a little warm throughout the game a little bit better rather than having to get cold on the sidelines in some very bad weather. And I just think all of that tends to play its way towards like leaning towards Ohio State. It's like being their environment. And again, it'll be in Indianapolis where Indiana is at, and I think that the fans will come out and be doing some be be very loud and obnoxious and doing what they got to do in that game. But I just think Ohio State is so business-like as they have been throughout this whole season that I just think that they're gonna be able to run with all the put roll with all the punches that they've get thrown their way, and I think they're gonna be able to kind of weather whatever storm comes their way and they're gonna come out on top. And I think Ohio State gets that win against Indiana. So I think Ohio State wins the Big Ten championship game. I think Georgia wins the SCC. I think Texas Tech wins the um Big 12. I think I'll pick Virginia to win the ACC because I just think that's their only chance to get a team into the playoffs. So I think there might be a little bit of referee interference to make sure that happens. I'm just I'm just joking, but you know, referee refereeing has been so bad this year, I'm not gonna be totally surprised by it. So I'm gonna take chalk in all these scenarios and just think that the the better teams are the better teams, and I'll be more than happy to be surprised, but I just think as of right now, I think those are the teams that are gonna be able to get out of tomorrow and get the win. So that's it. That's all I got on that. That's all I that's all I got. So let's go ahead and get to the NFL. So we have the Thursday night football game to react to last night before we get to the picks for the rest of the NFL games that we have on the docket. So let's go ahead and get to it here. Um let's start off with Dallas and Detroit. That game happened last night. Detroit won the game 44 to 30. 30 against Dallas. This is obviously in Detroit. Um I'm not sure if I said that before or not, but I'll say it again. Detroit really did just like dominate in this football game. Like it was very it was very Detroit coming off of the loss that they had last week. Who'd they lose to last week? I forget. Um, to the Packers, where they lost that game, and like their defense was just so the defense has been what it's been all year. Like they really don't get a lot of pressure, and they've been just kind of making some like set I'm not saying can't get pressure. Their defensive line is probably the best part of that defense. But their secondary is very leaky. They're gonna let a lot of plays be had, and they weren't able to get really get many stops against the Packers last week. But I came into this game where I picked Detroit to win and Jace picked Dallas. I just think that this this was Detroit's like gap like almost last gasp for air when it comes to potentially getting winning their division. And I think they'll be probably being the playoffs not much of an issue. But if they saw a chance to make the playoff, make the playoffs, and like do it as like the they winning their division or being a higher seed, I think this was like their really big chance to like really make that happen. They obviously have to win the rest of the games of the year, but if they lose this game, I think it'll be a big uh damper on that. And I think them being at home was a big spot here, and I think they were able to really feed off of that, and they came out and played some very good ball. Jared Goff. Offensively, 25 of 34 for 309 yards and a touchdown. Leading rushing, leading rusher was David Montgomery with 60 yards off six carries and a touchdown. Jamison Williams was the leading receiver with the 96 yards receiving off seven yards off the seven receptions. And then you have Amramar St. Brown came and had a great game, six catches, 92 yards. Jameer Gibbs was awesome in this game. He had seven receptions for 77 yards, and then rushing, he had 12 carries, 43 yards, and three touchdowns. So he had over 110 yards total in this game from scrimmage and then had three touchdowns on the ground. Like he was absolutely amazing in this game. He was the best player on the field. And Jameer Gibbs has been proving that throughout the year and just doing it more and more. And I think they're using him so much more in the passing game and having him get the ball out of the backfield and making some real plays and not even just getting out of the backfield. Like he's going out there and being a wide receiver, running some real routes and getting the ball. And I feel like they're using him as a huge weapon in that way. And they came out and just played some very good offense. And like it felt like literally from the jump, Detroit was able to jump down the Dallas Cowboys' throat and just really like jumped on him and just never let up. And even in the second half where Dallas really started to heat up offensively, it's just Detroit already had a lead. And then every time Dallas managed to get a score and like really try to make the game closer, it's just Detroit got the ball back and they were able to get the go and score again to kind of put the ball, put the game more out of reach to where Dallas really didn't have a chance to like be a possession away in order to win that game. But to the Dallas side here, Dak Prescott, 31 of 47, 376 yards. He had the touchdown, but the two picks were definitely a huge deal in this game. And then he got sacked five times in this game against Detroit was definitely a huge bummer on that offense because when they let when they keep Dak upright and that he's able to throw get the football, distribute the football and like make some good decisions, get the ball down the field, they have been very good this year. But it's against the Detroit Lions defense, they just could not keep him upright. And because of that, he got made a few bad decisions, threw a couple picks that he probably would love to take back. They couldn't run the football that effectively. Javante Williams was the leading rusher, 17 carries, 67 yards, and that touchdown. But like they really couldn't run the ball effectively, so it really did keep was they weren't able to keep the Detroit Lions defense honest and like really make them have to worry about the rush. Um, the running game, all they had to worry about was the pass and getting after Dak Prescott, and that's exactly what they did in this game. CeeDee Lamb was a crazy weapon for the Cowboys in this game early on, but I think it was like early on in that third quarter, he ended up getting not early in the third quarter, but it's in the middle of the third quarter, he ended up trying to get a touchdown pass and managed to hit his head and he had a concussion. So they pulled him out of that game real quick. But before that, he had six catches, 121 yards. He didn't have a touchdown, though. And then Ryan uh Flournoy, I believe is his name, nine catches, 115 yards, and a touchdown. Jake Ferguson had five catches, 58 yards. George Pickens. Let me tell you, I've been on this case all fucking year long. I have been on this, and I have had to eat crow. I forced myself to eat crow over the last few weeks because I started off this year where Pittsburgh had traded George Pickens to the Cowboys, and I have been on the record of saying that when times get hard, George Pickens is not going to be a guy that's gonna be a leader for you. He's gonna like I like I've been like I I've been had the I've been had the whole soliloquy about when I really turned against George Pickens last year, and I was watching him play in Pittsburgh against Cincinnati in the snow and in the cold. And I ever since that day, I have been very steadfast in my belief about how George Pickens, times get hard, he's not gonna be helpful. He's not gonna be your leader, he's gonna be a guy that's not gonna try. And this was the game. Like he had been good for the Cowboys all season long. He had been awesome. He had been getting the ball all over the place, especially with CeeDee Lamb missing a few games with an injury. He had been awesome this year. He had like throughout so far in this season, he had 78 receptions, over a thousand yards. He's second in the league this year. He has eight touchdowns, which is tied for third by eight wide receivers this year. He had been awesome. And he had been under control. He had not been making bad decisions on the football field. He'd been trying, he's been out there doing what he's had to do. And I have been steadfast in saying as soon as times get hard, it's got he's gonna turn into a different player, and people are gonna be very upset about it, and it's nobody's gonna like it. And over the last couple weeks, I've had to eat crow a little bit on this whole thing, and it finally happened last night. It finally went towards me in what I've been saying about this whole situation, and just wait for it to happen. But I've been making the guess that it is it was gonna happen when they weren't gonna pay him the money he wanted to get paid when it was time for him to look for a new deal from the Cowboys after they traded for him after this season. But let me see. Last night watching that game, he kind of turned off. He turned it off, man. There was there was um like I the same thing I had seen in Pittsburgh. He wasn't trying to run for routes, things weren't going their way offensively, he wasn't trying, he had a face mask penalty against him while he was running a route. He grabbed a defender's face mask and tugged towards a different way for him to try to get a play. He started smart started making the same stupid decisions and not trying and not running his routes hard. The same kind of shit I was seeing when he was playing with Pittsburgh over the last few years. It finally happened last night. It finally happened. And as soon as I saw it, I was like, man, this is this is what I've been talking about. And I'm not necessarily happy for him to start showing an ass of himself. I'm not. I'm to a to a certain extent, I would love for him to go out there and and have a great career and do whatever thing he wants to do, and he's playing some good football. But I but I do have to say, like, when he was doing so well with the Cowboys this year and not causing any issues and like everything everything around that he it it was a little bit annoying to me because I was sitting here like, man, we traded him and he's doing so well, and it was starting to make me feel a little bit of FOMO because I'm like, he was a great player. Like, there's no if if, ands or buts about it. He is an awesome wide receiver that has all the talent in the world, and as long as he can focus that on the football field and do what he has to do and give the appropriate amount of effort at all times, he was gonna be an amazing wide receiver. Like he had been like he had been so great this year, and he was doing great with the Cowboys, and I had been a little bit salty about it, I really have been. But last night it finally happened, and I got to um I felt at least it felt a little like I used felt like I wasn't crazy after making all these proclamations throughout the year, and then I finally had to eat a little bit of crow because I was start finally starting to feel like oh, it's not gonna happen, and then it finally did last night. But even just the game last night, and he he started getting some criticism of not only from fans on Twitter and like people that watch the Cowboys, but people that watch the game and know what they're talking about when it comes to football. And so yesterday, during the Thursday night game, Richard Sherman was is one of the commentators during the halftime show for that Cowboys team. And let me see here. Let me see. It was during that game where Richard Sherman was talking about his lack of effort and him not doing what he was supposed to do in that game, and he did like and George Pickens after the game had had a social media post that was talking about who, by the way, ain't shh without the Legion of Boom. He was talking about Richard Sherman and like going back and forth, and I'm sitting here like stuff like that, and then he deleted the post because he knew it wasn't a good idea and all of that. So, like, all of this kind of like leads its way towards being the little bit of the mess that he was with the Steelers over the last couple years, and that I had finally turned off on him for. That's it. And I'm just sitting here like it was it was just a little bit of me not me knowing I wasn't crazy for thinking that was gonna go the way it was going. I always thought it was gonna be about money, but apparently it had got a little bit too hard on the field where things weren't going his way, and he started like just really not showing it the effort on the football field the way he needed to last night in that game. And I'm just I'm happy for myself that I'm not a crazy person and thinking the way I was thinking about him while he was with the Steelers. But on the other hand, I would I would hate to see his talent go wasted because of some like I'm not gonna say developmental issues, but when it comes to just some maturity issues that he's been dealing with as a football player on the football field, dealing with some of these is some of these scenarios that he has been putting put in by being with a bad offense with the Steelers, and then now this year with having a little bit of a tough time with the Cowboys, where it's the first time because most of the year he's been balling out, and everything's been going his way. But it finally got hard and he wasn't doing what he was supposed to do, and I just feel like I'm not a crazy person here. So I'm more I'm gonna be more than happy with getting that little bit of that uh that that confirmation bias of the situation finally starting to play that play out the way I thought it would with this whole thing. And now he's doing stuff on social media, and it's just a little bit of a firestorm that he likes to create. It's not it's nothing bad, he's not necessarily doing anything illegal or hurting anybody, but it's just a little bit of the immaturity issues that I saw when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers that now it's showing up with the Cowboys that it I just get to be like the ha ha I told you so guy. That's what I get to say, and I'm I'm happy to be that guy at times where I get to be the ha ha I told you so. I am, I'm not gonna lie. I love I love when I'm right, as of either talking on podcast when I'm talking to people in real life. Um when it comes to the moment that you're right, I'm not gonna have to start rubbing in your face, but I'm definitely gonna have a slight comment about how I was right and how somebody should have listened to me. So I'm gonna go ahead and take a little bit of credit on that. I really am because it's just uh it's just it's playing out the way I thought it would. And I think in general, this that that game last night, it was just the Lions came out, played a lot better from the get-go. And I just think by the time the Cowboys kind of got together, especially after the CD Lamb injury, I just feel like it just wasn't enough as they were kind of like already in a hole and they just weren't able to dig themselves out because the the Dallas, the Detroit Lions were at home, had all the fans behind them. It was a very raucous environment, and the crowd was insane, doing what they have to do for making noise when the Cowboys is on offense. And I think with all that be coming together, I just think the Detroit Lions had a very had all the momentum in that game last night, and they took advantage of it, and Jameer Gibbs was awesome. So, all that being the case, Detroit just played a better game last night and they won the game. That's all I got on that. So now coming off of that game, we have story-wise, let me see here. Uh Lamar Jackson, he had not practiced all week until today, where he was able to finally get some practice time in, and they say that he'll be ready to go for tomorrow. Not tomorrow, but on Sunday when they play against the Steelers. This is two six and six teams going at each other. The winner of this game is gonna be in prime position to keep leading the AFC North and having a good lead on everybody else. Um, not only whatever team loses that game, and then the Cincinnati Bengals, who now have Joe Burrow back and is looking to go on a run to try to get back into this thing and win the AFC North. So the winner of this game is going to be in a big spot. So having Lamar Jackson back for this one will be a very important thing. But here's the thing: even when he has been playing, because he hasn't really missed any time over the last couple weeks, he just hasn't been playing good football. After having, I think he was off for a he was didn't play for a few weeks in the middle of the year because of like an ankle injury or something like that, or whatever injury it was, and then he finally started to play over the last couple weeks and just hasn't been playing good football. So even if he does play on Sunday, I'm not sure how good he'll be. But I am gonna say that the Steelers it is against the Steelers defense that has been playing all that great as of recently. So if he comes out and destroys them and does like, you know, Lamar Jackson things, I would not be surprised by him coming out and having a good day against that Steelers defense without how they have looked for a good portion of the year, just not playing good disciplined football in general. Next story Cardinals quarterback um Kyler Murray will not return this season. I think they said he they already put him on IR um in the middle of the year with an injury that he had. I think it was Let me see here. It was a foot injury that he got put on IR for, and apparently they have not seen the the healing that they that they needed necessary to make to have a chance for him to come back and play this season. I do think that does give a little bit of credence to the idea that maybe they were they're more than happy to not see him come back and play this year. Because even with Joby Brissett, they're not really winning football games. I think they are getting a little bit better play out of just in g in out of the offense in general, because of the offense just not being as Kyler-centric, not having to rely on his legs as much. I really do think it's opened up the offense, especially with having a taller quarterback in comparison to what Kyler is. It opens up the middle of the field, they're using it a lot more, and I think their offense is just a little bit more scary with having a more traditional quarterback at the home rather than having Kyler Murray, who's a little bit shorter, he can get away from all sorts of defenders being able to use his legs, but I just think in general, I think his the offense is limited because they can't use the middle of the field because he can't see over the offensive line. Next story we have is the Bears will not have their best wide receiver, Roma Dunze, against the Packers on Sunday. That's going to be a huge uh loss for them against this Packers team. Because for both these teams, both their offenses are playing very good football right now. I do think it won't be as big of a hit because no, I can't say as big I can't say won't be as big of a hit because I do think they're more predicated on their running game. So like if their running game is still moving with Kyle Manungay and uh DeAndre DeAndre Swift. Is that his name? Oh no, what is oh no, that sucks. It's DeAndre Swift, right? Swift, the running back for them. I think them running the football is probably their more bread and butter and then using play action, like just not throwing the football as much. But Romadunze is like the receiver they use the most, obviously being their their young draft pick that they had. He's like a second-year guy, so like they would he's always a guy they like to throw the ball to. They do have other receivers, not like they're gonna be without any sort of weapons, but I think Roman Dunze has proven to be a very good security blanket for Caleb Williams throughout this year. And I think that is a little bit of a a downer on what that game could be against the Packers on Sunday. And any other stories here? Um, Darius Slay, the guy, uh cornerback that the Steelers had dropped earlier this week. Um, they took him off the roster because he had not been playing all that well. He'd been getting injured a lot, and they had brought up Asante Samuel Jr. to be um their next guy. They brought him up off the practice squad, and apparently he's gonna be playing for the Steelers this weekend against the Ravens. So Darius Lay didn't really have a spot on the defense, getting injured a lot, so they kind of decided to part ways. And then Slay had been picked off of way picked up off of waivers by the Bills, and then the news coming out of that is that Darius Slay is not sure that he actually even wants to play football anymore, and that he wants to take a few days to kind of decide on his own as to whether what his future is going to be in the NFL and if he's gonna keep playing or not. And apparently the Bills are not necessarily all that happy about it, because obviously when they picked him up, they would like for him to be another guy to be on their team to kind of help out the secondary. But if he's deciding not to play, they really have no hand in that. They really can't force him to. But it really is a misfortunate situation that they would like to have this player to go play for them. But with the what he's been dealing with injury-wise and all of that with the Steelers over this season and what he's been over the last couple years, I get the idea that maybe he'd like to evaluate his option to see if he even wants to keep playing in the game at all. If he can't do it the way he wants to, be healthy and do it that the best way he can. Next story. Um T. Higgins will set is set to return for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Bills on Sunday. That is going to be a huge deal. You have Joe Burrow coming back for his first game last week when they beat the Ravens, and they're going to be looking to try to win as many games as possible to finish off this season. And if they do, and if the the Steelers and the Ravens kind of both fall flat on their faces, they can easily get back into this whole race in the AFC North to try to win the division, hence make the playoffs, and then do what they want to do that way. And they were able to win the game last week, even without having T. Higgins out on the field, just having Jamar Chase. But we all know when that team is together, when Joe Burr is healthy, and when he has both Jamar Chase and T. Higgins out there to throw to, that offense is on a totally different level. And they're just a very hard team to watch and a very hard team to stop in general. And I think against the Bills this weekend, having T. Higgins back would be is a huge bump. And I think that if like that offense and kind of get going, I think I thought I don't feel like the Bills have a defense that's really going to stop the uh the Bengals from scoring. And if the Bengals can kind of get on top early and just kind of keep a lead, I just don't think the Bills can score at the same clip. Even with the Bengals having as bad of a defense as they have, I just think that if it comes off to a shootout, comes down to a shootout, I do think that the the Bengals are much more well equipped with those receivers with Joe Burrow at the helm to kind of keep scoring in comparison to the Bills, where it's just like kind of hit and miss, their offense has been up and down all year. And I think it if they the over their over reliance on Josh Allen to not only throw the football but to run the football because of the Lack of weapons in general and consistency of weapons when they're throwing the football. So I just feel like it's a little bit too Josh Allen centric. And um I just think it kind of leads more towards the Bengals winning that game if he's if they're able to kind of have a shootout. And then last story, let's see here. Jaden Daniels coming off the dis uh dislocation of his left elbow on November right November 9th will actually start this week against Minnesota. So the young Wonder Kid coming off of last year, where he got the commanders to go all the way to the NFC Championship game. They were he's able to come back from that very gruesome left elbow injury where he dislocated it. It was very ugly to watch during the football game. But apparently he's able to get through the rehab process and get out there, and he's healthy enough to they are actually gonna let him go out and play on Sunday against Minnesota. And again, do they have a chance to make the playoffs or anything like that? No, they're at three and nine at this point. But I do think that have still having a young quarterback if he can go out there, keep getting reps, keep getting better, especially with Jane Daniels being as good as he was last year, but only getting better from here is definitely a big thing for him. So just playing these last few games out of this season will definitely be a big help towards not only him and his play, but that team in general to kind of keep building for the future. So even if they can't win, having him out there to kind of go out there and try to leave a good taste in their mouths for this upcoming offseason to try to get better and go out there for next season in 2026 and play some better football will definitely be a huge help. And the idea that he was able to come from that gruesome of an injury that this soon and be able to go out there and play in a football game without having that elbow be an issue, it was it is his left elbow. If it was if it was his throwing elbow, the elbow and his throwing arm, I do think it would be a little bit bigger of an issue. But the fact that it's on his opposite um arm, I do think kind of helps a lot. And the fact he's able to come out, it's still miraculous. And all the credit to him for attacking the the um the rehab process and being able to do what he has to do to get back out in the football field in the same way that Joe Burrow did um to do what he had to do. So that's all the stories. That's the recap of the game from last night. Let's go ahead and get into the rest of the games on the NFL slate and then make our picks. Let's go ahead and get to it here. I did forget to say that our records as of right now, uh, overall, I am 113.66 and one. Jace is 118.61 and one. So five games in between us. Jace is a five-game lead there. Um, I do have all of Jace's picks for these games. So as we go, I'll make my picks and I'll I will announce what Jace's picks are as we go. So, and we already picked the Detroit, the Detroit game from last night. I picked Detroit, Jace picked Dallas, so I'm already a game up on the week. And let's go ahead and go through the rest of the games. Um, Seattle at Atlanta. Jace picked Seattle. I'm gonna go ahead and pick Seattle as well. Atlanta has not been playing good football this year, especially once Kirk Cousins got in. They're still not playing great football. I just think in general, they're just a team without a lot of hope right now. I think they have a lot of young talent, but I just think that Seattle is on a different, different, whole different plane of playing football right now. JSN had his worst week that he had all season, and I think he'll be more than happy to come back, come out and have a little bit of a uh a huge game against Atlanta. I think that I just think that Seattle's a much better football team. They're a lot better all over the football field, a lot more talented. And I think they have better quarterback play coming out of Sam Darnold, so I think Seattle definitely wins that game. Cincinnati at Buffalo, Jace picked Cincinnati. I will match him there. I just think that now with Joe Burrow back, I just feel like it gives the whole team a different sense of purpose. And even though I think that defense is still a liability for that, for that team, and I think in general it's going to lose them more games than it wins them. I just think that with Joe Burrow back, it just gives them a little bit of a boost of energy and a boost of confidence that they haven't had all year. And I think they're just playing better football than what they played, were playing earlier on this year. And I think with all that being the case, and now you're adding Joe Burrow back into the mix with Jamar Chase, with T. Higgins, and the rest of that offense, I just think that Cincinnati just knows with Joe Burrow at the helm, just can they get in a different tier of play offensively? And then you're going against a Buffalo team that, yeah, for sure, could the Superman Josh Allen comes out and hits gets six touchdowns, three of them being in the air, and then him running three by himself, they can definitely be in this game, if not win it all together. But it's just getting that sort of production where it's so Josh Allen, Josh Allen reliant, and not getting the help from the receivers, because they're really not. Like their wide receivers are not really very all that talented. Like obviously they're nowhere near what Joe Burrow has when it comes to Jamar Chase and T. Higgins. But if, like I said, if this game comes down to being a back-and-forth affair where both defenses really can't get any stuff because Buffalo's defense is not all that insane. Like they have a okay pass rush, but their secondary is kind of buns, and I just don't give them any chance of stopping the crazy insane duo from Cincinnati and Joe Burrow at the helm. So I think this could turn into a back and forth affair offensively. And if I had to choose one offense I believe more in, I'm gonna take Cincinnati. And obviously, Jace, Bengals fan, Joe Burrow at the helm, he was gonna pick Cincinnati no matter what. But I just think when it comes to how this game plays out, I think Cincinnati has a better chance of winning it. Next game, Tennessee at Cleveland. Jace picked Cleveland. I will do the same. I think Tennessee is the worst team in call in uh in the NFL. They just don't have a lot of help around their young quarterback. In why am I forgetting his name right now? That's not good. It's um oh no, why am I forgetting his name? Um coming out. He was playing in Miami. See, I want I want to try to remember the name before I just go to try to look it up. And dang, that sucks. I'm gonna look I'm gonna look up his name now. Um It's Cam Ward. See, I went to look it up and then I remembered it right away. So I think Cam Ward doesn't have a lot of help around him to catch the football, to run the football, anything around him doesn't have a lot of help. Their defense is not all that great, and I think they're going up against a very good Cleveland Browns defense, and I think uh Miles Garrett's gonna, you know, he sees a bad team and he just decides to go off and have these crazy, insane sack production days. And I think when that becomes the case, I don't think Tennessee really has anything to counteract that. So I'm gonna take Cleveland, even if they don't get crazy good play out of Shador Sanders, I think they'll get enough, along with them being able to run the football with Quinshawn Judkins. I think Cleveland wins that game. Next game, Washington at Minnesota. Jace picked Washington. I will match him with that. I think Minnesota low-key is one of the worst teams in all the NFL.

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J.

SPEAKER_01: 1:47:40

J. McCarthy has been bad. They threw in the backup to J. J. McCarthy in the one guy. I'm forgetting his name, but does it really fucking matter what that guy's name is? He was so awful last week, had three picks, and Jay Jedas has been totally disinterested in wanting to play football there over the last few weeks because of how bad they have been offensively. And I just think Washington getting Jaden Daniels back, I think that that'll be a huge boost for that Washington team. I think just that they just have a lot more as a football team. Even though Minnesota's defense is very good, I just think that with Jaden Daniels out there, I think he'll be able to extend enough plays. I'm not sure if he'll have the full go to like be running around doing crazy stuff, but I just think the threat of him running the football will put enough stress on that Minnesota defense to where it'll allow the other playmakers for Washington to be able to get the ball to make some big plays, running either running the football or catching it from Jaden Daniels throwing it throwing it to them. On top of the fact they have Debo, they have Terry McLaurin. I just think they have enough weapons across the board, and the lack of Minnesota's offense will be enough for Washington to get the win there. Next game, Miami and the New York Jets. Jace picked Miami. I'm gonna take the Jets. And I say that because, as much as I hate to say it, I think that team still has all the same issues they've had all year, even with Justin Fields at the helm. But I just think Tyrod Taylor, now being the quarterback there, he's been playing in the NFL for so long. He is a veteran, he knows what he's doing, he's not rattled by anything. And I'm not even saying he is a like I think he's a more consistent pass passer than what Justin Fields is. I don't think he gives you Tyrod Taylor gives you the same explosion that Justin Fields can give you, either throwing the football or running the football down the field. But I just think the the steady nature of what Tyrod Taylor gives them is just enough offensively, especially with those young receivers that are just now coming into the realm there, in um John Mechie and A. D. Mitchell, I just feel like he's a little bit more of a calming force, not only when it comes to demeanor, but when it comes to as a player, as a quarterback. And I feel like that's gonna be able to bring that team along in a certain way that I think is even with some of the issues on their offensive line, and I just think that he has brought the temperature down a little bit as to how chaotic it is. And I think on top of that, Miami to uh doesn't play well in cold weather, so to be able to think about him going to the New York Jets playing in cold weather and playing good enough football to win that game, I just don't think Miami is much of a cold weather team, and I think the Jets win that game at home. Um, next game, New Orleans at playing at Tampa Bay. Jace took Tampa Bay. I'm going to match him on that. It's New Orleans, one of the worst teams in the NFL. I think Tampa Bay um is getting guys back. They're playing a lot better football. And I think last week played some very good ball. And I just think New Orleans, I just don't believe in them to be able to beat Tampa Bay. I'll take Tampa Bay to win that along with Jace. Next game, Indianapolis going to Jacksonville. Jace picked Indianapolis. I will match him on that. I think Indianapolis has taken a few weeks in a row where they have been getting beat by some by some teams and not playing great football, not really running the football all that well. But I think against Jacksonville, man, like that Jacksonville's team is so up and down, and Trevor Lawrence has been so up and down, and I just don't think Jacksonville's defense is going to be able to take advantage of the issues that Indianapolis has had on the offensive line in the same way that some of these teams have beat them that have beat them throughout these last couple weeks have been able to. So I do think that Daniel Jones will be able to feel a little bit more comfortable back there, throwing the football without really getting as much pressure in his face. And I do think they'll be able to hand off the football a lot more to Jonathan Taylor, and I think he'll be able to have a little bit, a few more holes to kind of make some plays with it and be able to be a little bit more productive in comparison to what he's been the last couple weeks. So I think all in all, I think Indianapolis will be able to get the win there and uh be able to win at Jacksonville. Um I'll match Jace on that one. Next game, Pittsburgh at Baltimore, two 6-6 teams trying to vie for being the top team in the AFC North. I don't know, man. Jace picked Pittsburgh, so it makes me feel a little more a little better about picking Pittsburgh because here's my problem, right? I've given up on the Pittsburgh Steelers in general. I've been saying that over the last couple weeks, but I know I said that last pod when J when I was doing with Jace. And I don't feel any sort of confidence in this team at all. I don't. They've been bad offensively, they're they had their worst offensive outing all season last week against the Bills, and this is where I feel the worst about them than I have felt all year long because of how terrible that they played. And this is where, and I just think if Jace picked Baltimore, I would have picked Baltimore. Because in my heart of hearts, I do think Baltimore would probably win this game. But here's where my cynical brain goes as a Steelers fan, and it is where I am at my lowest with this team. It has been happening over the last couple years, and it is when I'm at my wit's end, I'm ready to jump off the ship, and I'm ready for the season to be over, and I'm like, hey, it's time to lose these games, it's time to start tanking. Let's go ahead and do it. And then they have these games where they just come out and have their defense plays great, and that they're able offensively to do just enough to win these football games, and you have the one crazy play out of TJ Watt or one of these Wiley veterans on the defensive side of the ball. And on top of that, Lamar Jackson hasn't been playing all that great this season, especially over the last couple weeks, coming off of injury, and then he doesn't practice all week until today. And then they expect him to be able to come out and be able to play on Sunday even without having any practic really any practice time with the offense this week. And again, if Jace would have picked Baltimore, I would have picked Baltimore because I don't want to be the stupid idiot that picked against uh, especially when I'm five games behind Jace at this point. So if I would have been the dummy, if Jace picked Baltimore and picked Pittsburgh, I would be stupid because I'm like, I don't even think they win the game anyway. But because Jace picked Pittsburgh, and I have the weird feeling in my stomach that this is the game that they'll win, even though I think they should lose, and that I think Baltimore is the better team, even though I don't think either of these teams are really playing all that great of football, I do think Baltimore is still better. But I just think I have this pit in my stomach that makes me think Pittsburgh's gonna win this game, even though I think they should lose it. And I think Jace may just make it a little bit easier on me to pick Pittsburgh anyway, and go with the weird gut thing that I have going that I it is it's it's been how it's gone over the last couple years for me, I'm just saying. Um, next game, Denver at Las Vegas. The pick is Denver. Jace picked Denver, I'm picking Denver. Las Vegas is an awful team outside of Brock Bowers and um Brock Bowers and why am I forgetting his name? Oh no, but that's not good. Um it's their def defensive end. Come on, Joe, don't do this. Max Crosby. If it's not one of those two players, all the all that whole team is absolute garbage. So if it's not those two, everything else is bad there. Even Ash and Gente, he's been awful this year. And I had like 181 carries on the year, 635 yards and four touchdowns. That's not what they draft him to be. So I'm gonna take the Denver Broncos, even if it's at the even if it's at Vegas. Broncos are just a much better football team. Next game, Chicago going to Green Bay. Jace has picked Green Bay. I don't know. Chicago has been on a what kind of winning what winning streak is they have they been on? Let's see here. They're 9-3 on the year. They're the number one team in the NFC right now. They are currently on a five-game winning streak. But you have the Packers coming off of their big win against the Vikings last week. Um, Jace picked Green Bay. I don't know. Do I believe in Chicago keeping this whole thing going? Or do I think Green Bay is heating up at just the right time to be able to get a win like this against a pretty hot Chicago team right now? Do I think Chicago has a defense to be able to stop Green Bay? That's my problem. I don't think Chicago has a defense that can pressure Jordan Love into making some of those bad mistakes, even though I don't think he necessarily needs pressure to make some of the mistakes he's made at times. But I think Green Bay. I think Green Bay has a defense that can maybe force a few mistakes out of Caleb Williams. But even if that's not the case, I just think that if this becomes a little bit of a shootout type of thing, I think Jordan Love throwing to the court throwing to the wide receivers that he has and them being able to run the football a little bit with um with Josh Jacobs. I think that is how they'll just be a little bit better, especially with them being at home. I'll go with Green Bay with Jace on that one. Um, next game, LA Rams going to Arizona. LA Rams coming off of stinker against the Carolina Panthers. I think the Rams will come out in this game and want to prove a point. I think they'll want to just have a little bit more of an all-around good football. Not good. They just want to play a little bit tighter of a of a game to where I think this, I think against an inferior opponent, I think they'll want to go out their offense. So I think Matthew Stafford had a very bad week last week with those two picks in the first quarter. So I think Matthew Stafford and that offense will be just be coming out trying to play a little bit more efficient of a football game. I think they'll get back to playing a lot better all-around football. And I think the defense will show up and have a pretty decent game. So I'll take the Rams to, and not to mention Arizona, they're just a little bit of a flailing football team. They're not a bad team at all. I just think that the Rams will just be so efficient. I think they'll be able to knock the Arizona Cardinals out of this game pretty early. And I think the Rams will be able to win this football game. Next game, Houston going to Kansas City. Kansas City currently being at what are they, five and five? No, they're six and six. Sorry, I was missing two games. So Kansas City currently sitting at six and six, they're pretty much in a spot where they have to win every single game that they have left on their schedule to even have a chance to get into the playoffs at all. Um, and they're at home in this game, and you have the Texans being seven and five right now. Their defense is playing at an unreal level right now. CJ Stroud came back for the Texans last week, and they were able to have actually a really good, consistent game out of CJ in that offense. They played very well against the Colts last week. CJ threw for almost 300 yards. He threw, uh he did have a pick, but I think he ran that offense very well. They didn't really score a lot last week against Indianapolis, but they do have a pretty decent defense. And now they're going against a Kansas City offense defense that can't get a stop on third down. And I don't and Kansas City doesn't have the pass rush they're used to having over the last few years. And I think that because of that, because of that case, that Kansas City defense cannot get any stops on third down, and they can't get a lot of pressure. I think that'll give CJ Stroud enough room to be able to go out there and feel a little bit of be a little bit more secure. In his pass protection, and I think with that, we'll be able to get the ball to his wide receivers that are making a lot of plays right now. Nico Collins, Jaden Higgins, and Dalton Schultz as the tight end. And I think that with all of that being the case, I think this could become a little bit of a shot of a shootout. Not a shootout because Houston's defense is absolutely dominant. And I think they will be able to get after Batch Mahomes a bit. And I think it'll make they'll make it very difficult for Kansas City to score touchdowns. I do think Kansas City has a led by Andy Reid. I think they have enough of like a they have a um what is a creative enough offense to be able to get a few plays here or there to be able to get some thr get some field goals, but I just don't think they'll be able to get touchdowns. And I think that Houston's defense will be able to be kind of like a bow constrictor on that Kansas City team and on Patrick Mahomes in general. And I think they'll be able to choke the life out of that Kansas City team because I just think that that secondary and that defense for Houston is going to be getting after Patrick Mahomes. Not to mention their left the left tackle. Um why am I forgetting his name? That's not good. Um Justin uh Justin Simmons. Well, yeah. Yeah, Simmons from the tackle that they drafted from Ohio State. Um he had just, I think he they said he broke his hand or something like that. So I think he's gonna be out for a while. He's not playing in this game, so he's not gonna be able to have a great protection from his left tackle. He's not gonna have like the offensive line has been an issue for them all year, and they're going against a very good defensive line out of Houston. And then even if Mahomes does get the ball out, that secondary is insane. So I'm gonna take Houston. That defense is awesome. I think CJ will be able to make enough plays to his wide receiver against a reeling Kansas City defense to be able to win that football game, even if it's at Kansas City. And then that's the Sunday night game. And then last but not least, you have Philadelphia going to the LA Chargers. Jace, oh, did I mention Jace McHuston as well? Sorry, last game, Jace did pick Houston as long as well as me. Um, and then you have, like I said, Monday night Philly going to the LA Clippers, sorry, LA Chargers to play. Um, you have Philly coming off of their bad loss last week against the Cowboys, right? It was the Cowboys. And then you have the Chargers coming off of their win, their dominant blowout win against the Raiders. I think they won a couple games in a row. And then you have Philly playing a very playing a very bad game last week. Um actually having a very good first half, but in the second half they let the Cowboys come back to win that game. Jace picked the Chargers, and I'm in a spot here where I think that if the if Philly can't win this game, I just think that I think narratively it'll become a chaos. It'll become chaos for that team. Because if they lose this game on the field, when it comes to their actual record, they'll be eight-five. They'll be in more of a decent enough spot to still make the playoffs and be able to have all their opportunities in front of them. But I just think that things have been going so haywire for this team, narratively, for these players, like for that team, and how they've been playing on the football field. I think this game could have long-term effects on the rest of their season, even if they still make the playoffs and all of that. I just feel like if they can't get it together for this game against a Chargers team that is not a great football team. They're 8-4, like they're playing, like they're a decent football team, but they're not a great football team. And then you have, they're not even sure if um Justin Herbert's gonna be able to even play this week coming because he had I think he had a um surgery on his left hand, but even still, like he's proven before, even with injuries to his left hand before, as long as he can throw the football with his right and kind of keep the football tucked and be able to get the get the um the handoffs, sorry, not handoffs, but uh the snaps from the center, he's gonna go out there and try to play. So I'm not even sure if he's gonna be able to play. He's probably going to play, but I just think with that, I don't think this Chargers team is really good enough to hold Philly. If Philly just has a decent, like even a regular, decent offensive type of game plan, I don't think that Chargers gonna be able to stop Philadelphia. And then on top of that, with the injury to Justin Herbert, I do I'm gonna pick Philly to win that game. Because I just think Philly's just a very desperate team for a win there. And I just think, again, if they lose this game, man, things are gonna go really bad. Again, things are already bad narratively. I think they've been bad for a while all season this year. Like they won the Super Bowl last year, so it's kind of hard to say it was bad last year, at the end of last year, but this year, man, even though they're winning football games, nothing has really gone well for that offense at all. And I feel like everything, the narrative has just become more and more toxic and all of that. And I think the only thing that can help this team out is just getting a win. And I think against a bad Chargers team, I think that could be exactly what the doctor or not bad, but it's just like a not very not an awesome Chargers team, not a great defense. Offense is a little bit shaky because who knows if just Justin Herbert's gonna be able to play coming off the injury and getting a surgery. So I just think this is all the mixture of Philadelphia being able to get a win to at least quiet down a little bit of the noise for that team right now. I just think this is an opportunity for them to get that, get at least get a little bit of the pressure off and be able to win that game against the Chargers. So I'm gonna take Philadelphia, Jay spick the Chargers. A little bit of a chance out of my part, because I I could be told I I would not be surprised at all if the Chargers got the win here. But uh, but you know, I just think that the Philadelphia has a chance to like, you know, loosen up a little bit if they get this win. So I'll I'll take them in that matchup against the Chargers in LA. So that's it. That's all the picks. Everything I wanted to go through there. We went through everything else I wanted to talk about tonight. We went a little long, a little over two hours. But you know, it is what it is. Never make any promises. But I hope you guys had a fun time. If you did listen to this whole podcast, I appreciate you. Hopefully you just kind of jumped around, maybe piece this up to where you can listen to me a little smaller chunks to not get sick of me. But again, if you're sick of if you're sicko enough to listen to this whole thing, I definitely appreciate you. So without further ado, let's end this podcast here. If you've been listening for a while, we appreciate you. If you're just now jumping on, hopefully you like us and enjoy us enough to join us on the ride to talk about sports in the dumbest way possible. If this is the first podcast you listen to, if you could just do me a favor if you've gotten this far, go ahead and listen to a different podcast when you have both me and Jace on to kind of get a better idea of what we are as a podcast, when we are at our best, when we're doing back and forths, when we're going at each other, talking sports, making jokes, and just having the brotherly bond that we do. I think that is the real bread and butter of what this podcast is. So if you're this is the first podcast you listen to, go ahead and give a prior podcast a chance that has both of us on there, get a better idea of what we are at our best. And then, so if you do like us and enjoy us, if you could do a couple things for us, we'd appreciate if you could. Like our podcast, subscribe to the podcast, rate the podcast five stars, wherever you listen to us. We're pretty much available on all audio platforms out there. So make sure you do all of that for us. We would appreciate if you could do that. Second, secondly, if you could share us, friends, family, enemies, anybody you feel like could enjoy the podcast we put out on a weekly basis. And then during football season, we're doing podcasts twice a week. We would love if you can go ahead and share us with anybody you think could enjoy what we do on a weekly basis. And then last but not least, um, like our um like us and follow us on Twitter and or X, whatever you'd like to call it. At JB Sports Podcast, JB Sports Pod is the podcast handle. At Javante Boozer is my handle, at Jace Boozer1 is Jace's handle, and that's about it. So I'll go ahead and finish it off here. So thank you guys for listening. Thank you guys for always listening, and have a great day, have a great night, and goodbye, yo. See y'all next week.