Carrying Cord: A USF Football Pod
Carrying Cord: A USF Football Pod
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Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Bulls Fans! We've got a special one for you. In the penultimate episode of the season, the guys talk bowl game. Everything you wanted to know about past bowl experiences and our upcoming opponent, and former Big East conference mate, the Syracuse Orange.
ho on to mustache ride. I do. Oh, man. Who is the sponsor for this bowl game? Right? Do you know?
Track 1:I think it's roof claim.com.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Wait. Roof claim.com. What the fuck is that?
Track 1:I don't know man.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I mean, who might as well be an al info.org for as notable as that company is, makes no sense.
Track 1:Yeah, it's right up there with, bad boy mowers bowl or the magic jack bowl of the past,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:everyone gets a ball game. It's Oprah. It's Garing cord. And we thought we'd be done with this for the season by now.
Track 1:We were done well into last season. Yeah. But looks like we got a bowl episode to do this year. So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Who saw that coming? Red.
Track 1:definitely me. I always had faith and was predicting this team to actually be in the playoff at the beginning of this season.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:maybe fake news. Can you make a bowl game with two wins that you had, that you had predicted?
Track 1:If your academics are good enough, your a PR school and, enough teams suck. Yeah,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Oh, going for the old, James Madison treatment. Anyway, here we are. I'm Puka.
Track 1:and I'm red. Let's do this thing.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Let's do it. There is some news around USF. Lately, not just that we're coming up on early signing day or national signing day. That's
Track 1:early signing day. Yeah.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. National early signing day. We're just gonna national. Early. Early, like the roof claim.com. We're gonna do a national, early, early, early signing day. Everyone transfers.
Track 1:I am always early,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. it's premature is what I think they call it. what's been going on? Red, tell me what's happening with the program. Don't just stare at me.
Track 1:like you said, goldish is killing it with recruiting. currently a top 50 class right now. And, you know, he is still out there working the phones, the streets, mom, but
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:super easy to do. so
Track 1:to recruit though when you get a big, exciting news.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:What is the big, exciting news?
Track 1:the board meeting, the school finally released some renderings of our potential new stadium.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:there was a little bit of confusion around this because at the same, around the same time that came out, there was some news that made it sound like USF was dropping the stadium altogether, but if you actually read it, they were changing construction companies or something like that.
Track 1:Yeah, exactly. They'd previously done like a joint contract with the design firm and then the construction build company, and I think they liked the design firm, but didn't necessarily wanna continue forward with the construction company.'cause they wanted to change the way it was being managed and stuff like that. All legalese type stuff. You know, especially when you're dealing with a government agency, there's all kinds of bids and contracts and approvals, right? And
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Sure. Yeah.
Track 1:do all that if you wanna make a change of any kind and all that kind of stuff. So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I mean, get it right now, get it right before construction actually starts.'cause nothing's gonna be worse. Like what a USF thing to do than to start construction and be like, you know what? It's not you, it's me. We're gonna move on to a different company and we'll have some half-ass stadium for us to go two and seven conference play or something in.
Track 1:Good facts.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah.
Track 1:We can see it all. We can see the writing on the wall, but hopefully we're heading that off now. But, but the reception to the actual rendering seemed to be good once we got all the confusion cleared up. the only other slightly negative news was that we are confirmed for 2027 open instead of 2026.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:a little bit of pushback that kind of stinks, but at least we're getting one.
Track 1:Exactly. I think that 2026 was always aggressive. We had hope that, you know, somehow, some way you'd get it done. But I think 2027 just reflects the reality that they're making real progress and gonna be sticking to certain deadlines and things like that in there of just, this is what can actually happen. And we're not living in a pipe dream world of, oh yeah, what's, we'll be there in 2026 and we'll have a. It'll cost us 50 million less than we thought. And everyone will have seatbacks and air conditioning and shade and
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:we're all getting a suite. Every student gets a suite. I mean, it's best to under promise and overperform, but construction, it's, there's always cost overruns. There's always time overruns. I mean, four years I think is a safe bet.
Track 1:I think the other thing they highlighted too was maybe they could even get construction done by. 2026, but there's a lot of other stuff of having to move in vendors and game day staff and all of that type of shit that you don't want to be trying to rush in last second and not have water available on your first day or
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:.Like maybe somebody up the road didn't do a little plan. It's not just the stadium. Right. We got the stuff that we gotta get through with Ray J. We got the stuff that we gotta get through with all the equipment in there. You gotta have field and grounds crews. You gotta people maintaining that stuff. there's a lot of stuff that we outsource to Ray J and now we're gonna have to do ourselves. And I mean, it's best to make sure you get that right.
Track 1:That's a great point, but the most important thing is it looked fricking awesome.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah.
Track 1:I'm excited. It still was very preliminary renderings. It said April We should have some more detail as they move along in design, so that'll be nice. Maybe we'll have a special spring game episode around then.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Ooh. Spring game and stadium. Skipping through the lane, skipping through the flowery fields,
Track 1:Exactly.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:and it'll be beautiful. That'll be a great thing. But I mean, that's down the road. we're going to a bowl game. Why are we talking about all that? We got something coming up in the next week, man.
Track 1:It's a great point. We've seeing different practice videos coming out, different, team bonding stuff as the guys went to like ice skating or something, and.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah.
Track 1:all kinds of different events, and that's the nice thing about bowl game is it's a little more relaxed than your typical practice schedule. You're doing scrimmages, you're doing, different events. You get pep rallies, all that kind of stuff. You get some sweet merch, you get per diem.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. I mean, living the dream during the bowl game and you get, I mean, you're getting team bonding time and I think that's really important, especially for the guys who are sticking around. you're really building more of that team cohesiveness, which there's some arguments that maybe some coaches in the past have lost the locker room. I think it gives goers an opportunity to build more of a kind of that culture he's going for and that culture of working together and being a team.
Track 1:Excellent point. Do you think the bowl merch is still as exciting to the players as it was back in the day? Because you know now with NIL, they get paid and they have all these other benefits and stuff. Like back then, like a$500 package of gear and like a PlayStation or whatever it was you give away, like each bowl had like unique pack. It was real special. I don't know if it's as important anymore.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:you know, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there isn't a college student on this earth that doesn't like free shit. No matter what it is. and I'm sure that they're super stoked about what it is. Even the guys maybe not getting NNIL or I just, maybe the, I don't know what roof claim.com is putting in their bowl packages or anything. Do we even know what the merch is that they're getting?
Track 1:they did a little Twitter reveal. They got like a, you know, a decent amount of stuff for the players of a shirt and all that kind of stuff of USF branded stuff. Hopefully the roof claim.com logo isn't too big and bold on it. I know I still have some pieces of apparel that have Birmingham patches on it and things like that. You try to, you always look and see if you can cut it off like.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I mean, I didn't think that was the Bowl gift though. I thought that was just the Team
Track 1:it's both right? Yeah, no, I know what you're talking about. You're asking for the real bowl package from the bowl itself. I don't know. I haven't seen what that is, but a part of that is an allocation towards the, what the school can give to the players. Right? Because you don't make a bowl, you don't get no extra merch from
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Fancy shirts and shoes. They got some, I saw a hoodie. I saw a backpack with that ugly ass roof. Claim logo is, it was not, it did not look good
Track 1:It's always fun, you know, it's a big deal for an equipment manager On the bowl game. You get all, you gotta do all that. You gotta add patches to the jersey.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:everything. I still have and I still use it. My, sun Bowl travel bag. It's got my name embroidered on it and everything
Track 1:I have a couple, yeah, a couple different ball. The duffel bag was always a go-to, for the bowl game, right? Yeah, for sure. yeah, I have things from all sorts of bowl games. The, the International Bowl was an interesting one'cause I got like a nice Canadian Maple leaf on, patch on the side. I don't want some hoodie or something that I have there.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Can't be wearing that around in America.
Track 1:All right.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:This is America. Speaking of America, basketball,
Track 1:You're a basketball guy now.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I'm a basketball guy. there was, I mean, we dominated in the first game of the season and then it's been tough sled since then, but just recently, the, I'm trying to remember exactly what it was, but the team scored over a hundred points. For only like the 10th time
Track 1:also you're just skipping over the fact that we beat FSU too. So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I am getting there.
Track 1:fan you are.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I'm working on it. I just get the alerts saying that we won or we lost. But it's good to see the team is actually winning some games that maybe they weren't supposed to win, they're losing some games that maybe they were supposed to win. But first season for a head coach coming in trying to build something. I mean, you take what you can get.
Track 1:All I know is Pook is desperate for some sports because I never heard basketball talk out of him before. And he was excited after the first game, texting all over the place, and then he was breaking down the losses that happened that shouldn't have happened. And then he's gone radio silent on basketball again.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I pushed that in my head. when we started losing, I was like, oh, basketball's back. And then, the Panthers started doing pretty well, but now they're on like a two game road losing streak where they've gotten shut out and back to back road games. You know
Track 1:So typical for them. Got
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:yeah, exactly. Oh, the cup It got blown out by the Golden Knights. Yeah. Where the fuck, where the lightning as Toronto. Anyway, that's a different postseason. We're talking about US F'S Postseason.
Track 1:Way more exciting
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Way more exciting.
Track 1:than the Stanley Cup playoffs.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Super. Super. Way more
Track 1:only the most exciting postseason in sports,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Woo. College football. I mean, that's a controversy surrounding the top four. And who gets to be in the college football playoff? I mean, what's the point of even playing the games, y'all,
Track 1:facts. I should have just stuck with the BCS computers, man.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:they should have, if it's just gonna be, and maybe drum up some controversy. I, I. I definitely think FSU would've got smoked. I thought they were overrated early in the season and I thought they would've got smoked if they made it to the playoff. But in their defense, if you have the record, you earned it regardless of what the team looks like, regardless of what quarterback is there, who's around. and I saw a tweet from their quarterback essentially saying, I wish I would've broke my leg earlier in the season. That way. You know, that way you would've seen it wasn't just me as the rest of the team. hold on dude. We don't need to be doing all that, but
Track 1:Yeah, that's, it's a good point. I mean, there's just a fundamental problem with the, I don't think the selection was wrong. I think based on their criteria, trying to put the four best teams in there, they did that. But why, again, why play the 1213 game regular season if it's just coming down to people's opinion of, we think this team would've beat this team, so that's why we're gonna choose this team to go in. no, like just go with which teams won on the field and put them in. but that's the last year we have this problem.'cause next year we go to the expanded playoff, USF will have a spot, so
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:yeah, baby,
Track 1:will be solved.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Could you imagine Ooh. Could you imagine if we went to the playoff? Oh, that'd be great. We're ahead of ourselves like, and we're ahead of ourselves. We're ranked
Track 1:1 0 2. So we would not have made the eight or the 12 team playoff or the 64 team playoff,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:We were close. We were only a couple away, just a couple bad bounces against, UAB. We would've been in there.
Track 1:Hey. The dream is still alive to make it into, get out of those hundreds and get into the double digits. So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah, because
Track 1:just need to beat Syracuse who's ranked one of our better opponents of the year, 68.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:that's fucking sad.
Track 1:hey, it is who it is. It's nice. we didn't even predict a bowl game in our season predictions.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. I probably should have because I had us with seven wins, so I probably should have predicted a bowl game. So that's kind of on me.
Track 1:Yeah, and I think that probably invalidates the rest of your picks and we should just throw out that entire history of whatever you said, because you were just a fraud
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Speaking of frauds, how are the bucks doing?
Track 1:division leaders man.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:How are those guys doing? Jet's coming back. Zach Wilson's the greatest quarterback alive Yeah. I didn't pick a bowl game. I probably should've, but I mean, it's
Track 1:we'll live and learn.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah.'cause you don't know who you're gonna play. And then it's okay, we're going to a bowl game. We're not going to a bowl game. Maybe it could've made a pick on what bowl game we would've gone to, but I Honestly thought we would end up somewhere else, aside from Boca, even though we had kind of talked about, that was one of the options. I didn't think that we'd actually get Boca.
Track 1:next year we'll just do better. We'll pick the bowl game in the preseason'cause we definitely predicting a bowl game
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah.
Track 1:next year now.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:This, it's not getting a bowl next season. It's
Track 1:Would be a disappointment. Yes, as an understatement.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:is,
Track 1:so we'll pick that you'll schedule some time off so you can maybe attend the predicted bowl game as well next year.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:that's tough.'cause it's a Thursday night, like right before Christmas week. That's tough. That's really tough for a lot of folks to travel to. I mean,
Track 1:It doesn't stop. It doesn't stop those who are dedicated fans, and I just saw USF apparently sold out their allotment and have asked for more tickets, so I don't know how large their allotment was. If it was 5,000, 10,000
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:it's 20 people. Like a 20
Track 1:it was me and my four
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. have you seen how big that stadium is? it's six dudes in a case of beer. Like,
Track 1:am worried we're the road team for that stadium too, which means we get the shittier side, which I think is all benches and not even chair backs. So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Damn.
Track 1:RIP, my ass
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:And that's not the first time you've ever said that, but let's, how are we, the road team?
Track 1:I don't know.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:from Florida.
Track 1:I think it's a coin flip.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:This coin flips is some bullshit and whatever. We're playing Syracuse, we've played them before.
Track 1:Correct. I'm glad you remember that.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I do remember that.
Track 1:It's a long and storied rivalry back from the Big East.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah.
Track 1:I remember 2007 there was a nice equipment manager bowl up at Syracuse in the carrier dome.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yep. I didn't get to go to that one.
Track 1:I'm sorry.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I wasn't allowed. I think that was
Track 1:Was that your suspension at that time?
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I think I was off the road at that point. yeah. Oh, and that, but I mean, we've had some great wins against them. One of them turned around one of our seasons.
Track 1:yeah, eight and two all time. it's a neutral site game, so I don't really care the away versus home, but we've never lost a away I. From Raymond James against Syracuse. So I guess that counts in Boca Raton as well.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:we're the away team from
Track 1:Facts. There you go. There you go. But we've always won by two plus scores, so we usually beat up on Syracuse. The two games we lost by were by one point and by four points. So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Four points.
Track 1:four points. It was a 13 to nine loss in 2010. Apparently our offense under old Holt's first year just couldn't get going anywhere.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Oh, that was a sign of things to come.
Track 1:Yeah. but like you mentioned, 2015 is probably the most memorable Syracuse game for a lot of USF fans, the inflection point for the Willie Taggar program.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. That's when everybody, that's like when a team is losing and you think the game's over. So everybody walks out and then you hear like cheers from the stadium. That's like a metaphor for our season 2015, like everybody was off the Taggart bus. Everyone was done.
Track 1:Did you go to the Maryland game that year?
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I did not, I believe in 2015 I was in Germany,
Track 1:oh,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:so I didn't get to go. Not, I believe I was in Germany in 2015, so I didn't get to go. To any of the games. So I got to stay up late and watch all those Actually, when, when we played Syracuse and won, I was in Garnish Pot and Kush, I remember that
Track 1:that?
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:because it's a fancy kind of ski town with a military base. And the game was at like two or three in the morning and I was laying in bed watching it on my phone.
Track 1:how exciting.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I caused an argument, but it was fun. It was good. Good time. Good time. We won.
Track 1:There you go. that was a good time. It seems like everyone's generally happy with them as an opponent for our bowl game. I guess it's better than Georgia Southern or something like that. You know, getting a. Maybe a down program, but a Power five opponent. At least still, when we look back at it after the victory, we'll be able to toot our horn a little bit more.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah, I'll be tooting some horns. I was excited when I saw Syracuse just because we have a history playing them. We usually come out on the right side of that, but it's just fun to get back and play another Power Five Team, not a very good Power Five team, which we'll talk about, but at least a Power Five team.
Track 1:It should make for a good atmosphere too. A lot of New Yorkers down in Florida, Syracuse got a decent fam, I mean, better fan base than like a middling Marshall or whatever program, you know? So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Damn. Forget about it. We're going down to Boca Raton, ma. We're gonna go watch some football at the stadium. I don't know who the fuck plays that. It's like FAU or something. Pack. Pack the shit. We're going down to Florida.
Track 1:you know, you throw a. Suit, black suit and a fedora on, and you could be Tommy DeVito's agent over there.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I what's that dude's name? funniest looking guy. We're going down to fucking Florida. I'm gonna get you on a team bucks. Need a passer? Who knows they're favored. How is Syracuse favored in this game? We're the better team
Track 1:Oh, okay. you said that with a lot of confidence. Proud of you.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:standing by that one. We are the better team. They're
Track 1:Apparently they didn't watch that film of us just destroying Charlotte Powerhouse. And
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:powerhouse bswift. Go back and check out that episode if you haven't caught it yet.
Track 1:that is correct. Syracuse is favored by three. Over under is 60 and a half points.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Ooh, hammer that over, baby.
Track 1:Syracuse is six and six just like us, but they're two and six in conference. they got beat up in the conference. A, C, C. Their, their wins. They beat pits Army, wake Purdue lost to the rest of the a CC, fired their coach Midseason really had nothing to play for towards the end of the season it seemed except for bowl eligibility, I guess, and
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Sure.
Track 1:managed to win that last game to keep that going. None of their wins were impressive. They were all against losing teams,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yep.
Track 1:you know. Very, perhaps similar to USF, I guess their best win was Army. Who will be joining the American Conference next year.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Next year. Interestingly, a question of whether or not Army gets to play Navy twice. Now when they join the American, that'll be worth talking about, but they didn't beat a bull eligible team. Syracuse
Track 1:not. They did not.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:We did
Track 1:We did.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:rice.
Track 1:Oh, I didn't know Rice was going to a bowl.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:they're going to the first responder bowl. So touch my nuts. I know more about football than you do.
Track 1:Fair enough.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:you did the rest of this outline. So you Go ahead,
Track 1:Yeah. take it away. With what? What you know about Syracuse then?
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Go ahead. You did say, you mentioned, but I knew this, that they fired their coach mid-season, hoping for maybe that spark, but I mean, I guess he did. He got him to a bowl.
Track 1:Dino Babers. Yeah. He got fired. I don't know if there was really a spark. I think they went on like a four game losing streak after they fired him or something. But Nunzio Campanelli. I dunno if the dude's an Italian dude, just like I said, probably not, but
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:that is definitely North Dakota. Something like that.
Track 1:but yeah, he's the interim head coach. He was their tight ends coach. He's also gonna be coaching the bowl game even though they hired a new guy. He's not coaching. Kind of like when Charlie Strong didn't coach the one Birmingham Bowl or whatever, even though we had him around,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. Fran
Track 1:always weird. Yeah. Fran Brown, he's the new guy.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:how long did Sterling Gilbert last up at Syracuse.
Track 1:I don't know. A while.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I wonder if he's still there.
Track 1:No, I think last year he probably got, I, he went to go head coach some other program
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:That's right. That's right. He got picked up, man. It's like people don't pay attention. Why would you take that
Track 1:but yeah, he was under the, his offense was right up there with part of Dino Babe's coaching tree type stuff.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:that explains a lot. And do you know
Track 1:So yeah, we'll see how their coaching staff does. It's always a weird situation as you transition and still try to put together a game plan for defunct team that you're not longer a part of,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:isn't it? Isn't it kind of tough? Like you're gonna coach the bowl game knowing that right after the game, your job is like essentially lost.
Track 1:Yeah.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:That's man, that's Hey, we're laying you off at the end of the week, but we got 600 spreadsheets we need you to do to hand off to the next guy before you get outta here. And it's oh, I'm gonna do some spreadsheets, watch this. I'm gonna do some spreadsheets. You get you, you open up that email picture of my asshole think I'm gonna, at least he's getting paid for that amount of money. I might do it.
Track 1:yeah, you're getting paid. You're getting a vacation essentially as well.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:And un
Track 1:I mean, my job wants to fly me to Boca Raton in the middle of New York winter for a week.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I guess that's true. Nuno cash that shit in. Who has he got playing for him
Track 1:we think he's got QB number six, Garrett Trader playing for him. But the guy had some injuries during the year, so he did play the last regular season game. So I don't know why he wouldn't play the bowl game, but.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:and reading some of the Syracuse message boards and stuff. There's some questions about whether or not he's gonna be ready for some reason. I don't know.
Hello there. This is red. Speaking from the editor's room. The quarterback we just talked about is actually out for the game. So I'm cutting the next five minutes where we talked about him. Sorry folks. That's all back to your program.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:But you got
Track 1:also bringing in potentially Kyle McCord, the Ohio State transfer for next year. So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Nice. I wonder why he chose Syracuse.
Track 1:he's got like a year left. So I think he's just looking for somewhere he can go start.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Get those numbers up for the draft or try to at least go in with the old Dylan Gabriel,
Track 1:Yep, exactly. but the bigger threat for Syracuse is their running back. Number one, LA Quint Allen. He had a thousand yards on the season and nine touchdowns really his first full year as a starter. He is a sophomore.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Okay,
Track 1:up Sean Tucker, who's a Buccaneer now last year. he also added like 36 catches for another 200 yards in a touchdown. So he is a dual threat guy himself. He, and that hurt us against what game am I thinking of, Yukon? We struggled with the running backs, catching the ball outta the backfield. but there were some rumors that Alan could be transferring as well. I don't, I haven't seen anything that he entered the portal, but there were a couple articles about him being recruited by Colorado potentially. Who would've figured that program would be illegal Tampering with players not in the portal yet.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:oh no, definitely not them out there, man. I was really hoping. I mean, it's great that they're not bull eligible out there, and that's what you guys get for leaving USF, and I'll never forgive you for that going up over there. But everyone's man, now he doesn't have an O line up there in Colorado. And like within a week he had the O line filled out in the transfer portal's. you bastard, how are you people still
Track 1:We're well aware that the transfer portal doesn't always work out so well though,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah, that's what you get. Dammit. It's interesting that we kind of, that he's caught a lot of balls out of the backfield. We do struggle with that because if we stack the box, we're good. If you get on the outside, our secondary is gonna struggle a little bit.
Track 1:Yeah, we'll see. I mean, hopefully it's, you know, we've been better, like you said, in the box against the run. We've tackled pretty well. It's been in space where we're still seeing some of the more of those issues. So it's a little bit of strength for strength potentially. but we'll see.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I mean, it's tough for our guys, especially those corners to get off of blocks and the moment someone's getting blocked, there's not a lot of help behind there. So you're easily picking up five, 10 yards on those.
Track 1:I did not watch any film of Syracuse to tell you whether their wide receivers are any good at blocking. I can tell you their wide receivers didn't have any stats, really, which probably tells you they're in for a 50 catch thousand yard game over here.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Career day
Track 1:career days, always.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I mean, but with those numbers, I was kind of reading about it. Syracuse is 29th in the country with runoff offense, so they're definitely gonna try to run the ball. And so it's whether or not we're gonna be able to seal that edge. I don't know if they're kind of up the gut running team or if they're trying to spread it out and get you in space to miss.
Track 1:they're pretty spread. you know, the read option heavy, that's where I'm concerned is Quarterback Run. We haven't been the best on that contain. I.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah.
Track 1:so
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:But we don't really have to worry too much about the pass game, at least. I mean, I probably just jinxed it, but they're a hundred 16th out of one 30. In the nation in passing. So that's why you're not seeing anything about their wide receivers. They're just not doing it.
Track 1:yeah, they're a pretty good defensive team too. At least they were for most of the season. but they've had quite a couple guys starters in the transfer portal there. So we'll see what they're looking like when it comes around the actual game.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:And you know, they, as good as their defense may have been, they didn't have to face Sean Atkins.
Track 1:Or Byron Brown
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:But Sean Atkins.
Track 1:and who gets Sean Atkins, the ball. Byron Brown.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Sean Atkins gets himself the ball. Like he's passing it. He's catching it,
Track 1:Even when he passes it, Byron Brown still passes in the ball before he passes it. That may not be recorded in the official stats anywhere, but it happens.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:whatever. Yeah.
Track 1:I, it sounds like we're ready to talk USF though, to me,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:We're always ready to talk USF. That's why we're here. what do we got? What do we need to see?
Track 1:quite frankly, this is probably not what you wanna hear from me, but I don't give a fuck about this game. It's a bonus game. Have some fun with it. You're always gonna struggle with motivation for a bowl game, right. Just hopefully guys have enjoyed the extra practices, gotten healthy, able to learn the system a little bit better, but the intensity is never gonna be there for this game. And so I'm looking for young contributors, guys trying to prove themselves for next year, build some momentum,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Sure.
Track 1:some positive things. I'm not necessarily real. I mean, obviously I wanna enjoy myself. I wanna win, but I'm not over here. Judging the season off of whether we win or lose this game.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, it's bowl game is supposed to be fun. I mean, Roof claim.com bowl is not gonna get us any extra accolades for winning. It's not like it's okay. We put a roof claim.com trophy in our trophy case. Cool. It's great to have, but really you make a great point. Just get out there and have a little bit of fun with it.
Track 1:Exactly and so on offense. I think that's the bigger opportunity is we get to really just let loose. Try out some different things. If you got any plays that we had during the season, saved up, throw'em out there. You got plenty of time to practice'em. Run up the score if you get the chance. Have some fun with it. In seriousness, number one thing, we gotta get atkins's fucking thousand yards.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:We gotta get him the ball. Whatever he is gotta do, I mean, throw him the ball.
Track 1:Yep. also I'd like to carry over from the Charlotte game of the, no three and outs, just from a, you know, trying to build that as kind of a habit for future. That's something we really struggled with throughout the year, so we can keep that going. That'd be great.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:especially against Syracuse. Come on, just Syracuse. Let's not do three an ounce
Track 1:And number one thing though, besides the Atkins thing, which I said was already the number one thing, so I guess the number two thing.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Keep track here, man.
Track 1:Score some points. Fans wanna be excited. If this is a fucking three, nothing snooze fest, we're all gonna be, that's the worst guess scenario
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I thought you loved that kind of football.
Track 1:I do.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Oh,
Track 1:I'm putting my own personal wants and desires aside
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:oh,
Track 1:for the good of the program.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:what was the game the other day? The Vikings Raiders or something?
Track 1:Yeah, the Raiders only Ma got shut out and lost three, nothing to the Vikings and then put up 45 or whatever it was, and a half versus the Chargers. So
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:surprised you're not walking around the house rubbing yourself out to highlights from that game. Disgusting.
Track 1:it's good football, man.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:It's, yeah. Okay. Cool. It's good defensive football and we wanna see something from our defense.
Track 1:Yeah, I don't know what progress, some sort of signs that given enough coaching and practice time, that we're gonna be some semblance of a mediocre defense next year.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I mean, hopefully we got'em. we got some guys in the transfer portal
Track 1:Look, let's shut down their, let's shut down their running back.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:yeah.
Track 1:We can do that. Maybe their quarterback makes some plays, whoever it ends up being. I'm not expecting us to pitch a shut out or anything out here. They're gonna, they're gonna score some points we can, but our offense can help us out. So defensively, I just wanna see some explosives on defense and not the offensive explosives, but like a sack, a force fumble, maybe an INT.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:They're gonna, they're gonna be checking you for explosives at the door. We don't wanna see explosives. Oh, yikes. Oh shit. Oh damn. Oh my God. you wanna see some explosive plays? Yeah.
Track 1:I do not get pro, I do not get profiled,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:No, you don't. This is, that's how Bain was able to get that, explosive in that stadium and badminton. Why? Or it was Boca Ratone. I've come here to make an explosive play. It was really bad. Bane.
Track 1:That's awful.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. Really bad.
Track 1:out.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:You just leave it and people need it. You know what else people need? A little bit of pump and dump.
Track 1:I mean, we just, we teased him with talking about K there, so we might as well give it to him now.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. Oh boy. Come on. Kay.
Track 1:It's K'S pumper dump
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Pump or dump?
Track 1:look, You are only as good as your last pick.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah.
Track 1:And Kay has a, he was three and oh or something a couple weeks ago. I didn't really track what he did last week
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:We should be
Track 1:four weeks ago. But he's got a chance to redeem himself and we assume it's redeem himself because just the taste in our mouth wasn't good.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:We just always assume that Kay is doing poorly.
Track 1:know he did pick us to cover versus Charlotte, so he did well there. but this time he's picking the playoffs. games people care about. So sadly, no more Iowa picks. We were gonna make him pick every bowl game, but he had his lawyer point out that's not in his contractual obligations since we never expected to make the postseason and didn't get that in writing, but.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:here's the thing. Kay will go out here and pick other games. He went to, he went to the Stars Bolts game. called out for not being a True Bolts fan by the Stars as Lightning Get Act absolutely trounced by the Stars. gonna come out here and pick college games. The man doesn't know what he's doing.
Track 1:Oof.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:He was
Track 1:No hockey knowledge, no college football knowledge is what you're telling me.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:nothing. I
Track 1:I'm sure he can't wait to see you in person after all that.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:She sure can't. I can't wait to see the playoff because I can't wait to keep track of whether or not he's right
Track 1:I wasn't even sure he was gonna get these picks to us in time.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:We got this right at the wire.
Track 1:hot off the press. Luckily I was just gonna make up picks for him and these were pretty much what I was gonna say he was gonna pick, so I just know him that well.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Ah,
Track 1:It could be a bad sign that we're on the same page though.'cause usually if we have the same pick, it doesn't happen.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:It doesn't work out that way.
Track 1:Yeah. but he's got Bama pulling the upset.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Really? same bandman that struggled against yours. Truly, I
Track 1:I think that's battle test Really, against USF set them up for their playoff run.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I see. They knew we're not gonna get caught struggling again.
Track 1:All right. After weathering that absolutely grueling storm, that was the USF defense at that time. they knew no one else could stop them,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Good for them.
Track 1:and they also decided to put the other good quarterback back in who they, for some reason chose not to use against us.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:They didn't want'em getting injured by that stout USF defense.
Track 1:all right. It's all part of the Saving School of Coaching works out though.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:it does work out'cause they're going through the playoff and, FSU isn't.
Track 1:Look, I'm cheering for him because then we can all point to that 17 to three loss against eventual national championship team.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Sure. Ignore our record. Look at how we almost beat a national champion.
Track 1:Exactly.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:We didn't lose the UAB or FAU. We almost beat pama. It's not
Track 1:the team that did actually beat Bama is Texas. They're also in the playoff, and Kay has them winning their semi-final matchup.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:okay.
Track 1:They're the favorite by four, so they'll handle that no problem. And then it'll be Texas Bama rematch in the national championship. But this time, Kay goes against his family and says, Bama will win.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Oh wow. That's gonna be an awkward night
Track 1:Yeah,
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:at Case's House. More awkward than it usually is.
Track 1:maybe we leave the home life out of the bumper dump segment. That's just my opinion, but
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:well take it out.
Track 1:I mean, it's not gonna piss'em off any anymore than you saying he doesn't know if hockey or
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:doesn't know anything about hockey. I know Kay has a great home life. He knows all the shit listeners. If we're saying something about Kay, assume the opposite is true most of the time. Most of the time.
Track 1:I'm trying to think of what to say to that.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah, just say nothing. Just give us the USF. Pick
Track 1:yeah. Chaos that shows USF to cover the three points you didn't, you're not necessarily winning, but they will at least only lose by one or two points, but I think they'll win.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I think they're gonna win too. That takes us to our score. Predictions.
Track 1:It does. I've got USF winning and a barn burner high scoring shootout, 42 to 41.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:ooh. I got a barn burner too though. A little bit more Barn 59.
Track 1:more barn.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah, more barn lots. More barn. 59. 45. USF wins it. We go down in roof claim.com. Bowl history.
Track 1:There you go.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. I don't know for what something's gonna happen. it'll be interesting. So
Track 1:be a lot of points. That'd be exciting. Make for a long game, though.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:I kind of, I'm cool with a, maybe not on Thursday and had got work in the morning. Gotta be up. I meet'em, staying up regardless, whatever. There it is. USF fans. This is the first Bowl game in five years for this program. In case you didn't know that
Track 1:I did not know that. But I'm ready and I'm going.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:you're going to the game,
Track 1:Of course everyone should go. It's right up the road. Three hour, four hour drive.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Is that it?
Track 1:Yeah.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. Put it on your favorite podcast of your book. That's the truth. Go Red's going. He's gonna be there probably traveling with a couple folks. You got four tickets
Track 1:Yep. Exactly.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:or you just, are you holding the tickets next to you so you can lay down and go to sleep? Between plays is that No one's actually traveling with you. You just got all those bleacher seats so you can lay down, get some rest. That's good. Because
Track 1:I am over you. Let's finish this out. All right.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:It's gonna be a late one. It's 8:00 PM kick on the Disney Sports
Track 1:Oh, I will need a nap then.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah. Also known as ESPN. It's looking like mid sixties. I think it's a low of 53. High of 70 something that day. So maybe like mid sixties at the kick. So it should be a beautiful evening for a win. Let's go kick some orange ass.
Track 1:Oh, wait, what the fuck you, you want me to say Go Bulls first? We don't do it that way.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Yeah, you say Go Bulls first. Sego bulls. Sego bulls. Sego bulls.
Track 1:no.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Say it.
Track 1:Go Bulls, baby.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:Go Bulls. told you were gonna say it.
Track 1:that's gonna, I don't know what that's gonna do.
pookah_1_12-15-2023_162550:That's great. Great. we switched up last game of the season. All right. Perfect. Beautiful. We did it.
Track 1:Cool.