Nick Saban Just Sided With the Big 12 Over the SEC — Here's Why

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Nick Saban built the SEC dynasty. Now he just testified in favor of a bill the SEC is fighting to kill — and the Big 12 stands to gain.

This episode covers four major stories reshaping the college football landscape right now.

First: Nick Saban's appearance before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on the Protecting College Sports Act. The SEC and Big Ten came out against this bill before the hearing even started. But Saban broke ranks, telling lawmakers he supports federal oversight — comparing the current system to a Ferrari heading toward the Grand Canyon. Ted Cruz backed him. Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua warned that without Congressional action, a super league is inevitable. And ACC commissioner Jim Phillips straddled the fence while Clemson and Florida State eye the exits. We break down why this bill matters for the Big 12 and why Saban's testimony might actually help it pass.

Then: Brett Yormark's candid admission about the CFP contract negotiations. The Big 12 commissioner now says he wouldn't make the same decision today — the one that gave the SEC and Big Ten 29% of the revenue each plus full control over future playoff formats. We examine how a rookie commissioner got squeezed by the SEC's joint advisory group, why Jamie Pollard and the Big 12 would call the bluff now, and what this means for the 24-team playoff discussion.

Plus: The Texas-Texas Tech feud takes another turn. Texas Tech is now talking to Notre Dame and USC about a 2027 series. Marcus Freeman or Lincoln Riley — who's willing to step into Lubbock after Texas backed out? We cover why Sarkisian's Houston TD Club comments keep burning Texas and how this scheduling move positions Tech nationally.

Finally: Our ranking of the top ten programs in college football right now — based on money, leadership, recruiting, and playoff access. Oregon at 7, Michigan at 6, Georgia at 5, and the top four may surprise you. We also explain why Oklahoma, Alabama, and Florida State just missed the cut.

Topics covered include the full breakdown of Saban's Senate testimony, why the SEC and Big Ten oppose the Protecting College Sports Act, Yormark's reflections on the 2024 CFP negotiations, the Texas Tech-Notre Dame scheduling talks, and our complete top ten program rankings for the current era.

Transcript

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Who had on their bingo card uh Nick Saban, being a Big 12 guy? Nick Saban. Sticking up for the old Big 12. How about that? Uh welcome in. It is the Open for Business Big 12 podcast. I'm your host, John Kurtz. This is where the Big 12 just means more. And boy, today was a big day. We had the uh the Senate committee hearing, of course, for the Protect College Sports Act, which has been put forth by Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell. We know, certainly those that have been watching this channel, that it is something that leans toward the Big 12 and the ACC versus the Big Ten and the SEC, though there are plenty of things that will be applicable across the board to all. It is likely to undergo some changes, but I thought there were a lot of positive things said today by everybody who attended this, namely Tony Petiti and Greg Sankey did not. But I'm going to give you an update on everything that happened, what Nick Saban said, who was there, and who, I mean, I'm telling you, generally spoke in favor of things that would be good for the Big 12 andor the ACC, andor just anybody, you know, I always say that. It's anybody who is not the Big Ten of the SEC. Anybody who is not the Big Ten of the SEC. Brett Yormark admitted to a pretty big regret of his that in part has gotten us into this situation. So I do want to talk about that. It was a really interesting quote from him in an article written uh by the Athletic. And then Texas Tech, Texas Tech's got a blue blood coming to town. That is going to happen, according to uh Joey Maguire, who took another big, big shot at the Longhorns. Okay. You need to hear what Joey Maguire had to say at another one of these like touchdown club sort of uh settings, man. It's getting wild if you are a city in the state of Texas and you hold some kind of touchdown club or QB club. Uh the coaches are coming out guns ablazing on that. So we'll get you the latest update on that. As always, when you file in here, uh, please do keep the chat lively. Great to see everybody tonight. And uh as you drift through the night, if you want to make sure that your question or comment gets on the show, click the dollar sign below the chat box in order to do so. It's also just free to like and subscribe. That is very, very helpful as well. And make sure you're signed up for the Open for Business Big Twelve newsletter. It is at OFBnews.com. That is OFBnews.com to get signed up for the Open for Business Big Twelve newsletter. It is twice a week to your inbox for free. Join 6,300 plus other Big 12 fans who do subscribe to the newsletter. All right, without further ado, let's talk about this today. It was a it was a big, big day. Nick Saban is supporting the Big 12. How about that? Nick Saban, yes, in front of the Senate Commerce Committee at the hearing today about the Protect College Sports Act. Nick Saban sounded a lot like a guy that cared about the Big 12's self-interest. Now, does that mean that this bill is actually going to go through as is? I'll tell you a couple important people who think it actually is going to pass, which has surprised me. I'll be honest. Even as a guy who wants to be optimistic about this, it has surprised me that a couple of very important people have had the opinion that they have on it. And if this does stop, if this doesn't go through, if it doesn't make it, if it hits a brick wall again, what is the thing that is going to stop it? I will tell you that as well. So to set this up, right? You have this bill that has been proposed, the Protect College Sports Act, bipartisan, Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell. They have a couple of other uh politicians on it as well from the Senate, one Democrat, one Republican. So you got two and two on each side. Conventional wisdom says this has a much better chance to pass than the Score Act uh or the Safe Act. There were two acts that were trying to get jammed through on college sports. This one everybody thinks has the best shot. It's bipartisan. Today, you had a hearing about it in front of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee. So it's not in front of everybody, right? That's we're still steps away from that. But this was put it in front of the Senate Commerce Committee and let's get some input from everybody. Okay. So in attendance, Nick Saban, Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Bavakwa, Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gold. Uh, they were the headliners. Utah had a defensive end there, actually. He's a student athlete that was one of the representatives that spoke. He was the student athlete representative uh that was there today. Now, I will start by saying this, another preface and some important context to this is the SEC and Big Ten did finally speak publicly about this, and they put out a statement uh like within 24 hours before the hearing earlier today that said, yeah, we don't we don't support this. Now, it was fairly vague, and it actually didn't address what I think is the one real poison pill of this for the SEC and Big Ten and what I would imagine they're really going to push for. We'll get to that later in the video, but they did officially oppose it. It is it is worth noting. Also worth noting, like, yeah, the Big 12 basically supported it. The ACC more or less did, but the ACC situation on this is actually really interesting and probably under-discussed because one of the things that this bill includes is something that Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, and Clemson have to hate, have to absolutely hate. So again, we'll get to that. But I want to take you through some of the things that were said today. Again, that to me were fairly optimistic, and a lot of it came from Nick Saban, right? Uh, Ted Cruz was one of the guys who had, you know, if you're talking about like a quote that you gotta love if you are a Big 12 fan, uh, you've got to love that Ted Cruz was out here today talking about, well, for one, quote, to allow federal law filings, uh, to allow federal law failings of Congress to kill off everyone but the SEC and Big Ten. I'm from Texas. I love the SEC and Big Ten. They're incredible institutions, but I also love all of the rest of the institutions that make college sports so fantastic. Remember when I started calling this the Save the Big Ten and the SEC from themselves act? That's a perfect example. That is what Ted Cruz is trying to say there. Save the SEC and Big Ten from themselves. Don't kill off everybody else that is a part of what makes college sports so great. I mean, that is like Ted Cruz is in your back pocket right now if you are the the Big 12 or the ACC based on what he is saying there. Now, I will point out right before I hopped on here, I saw a tweet from Ross Dellinger that said that Cruz is going to meet with the commissioners of the SEC in the Big Ten. He will meet with Tony Petiti and Greg Sankey uh coming up. So he's gonna get input from them. You know, this is not spike the ball in the end zone, you're getting everything you want if you're the the Big 12 or the ACC right now. Uh but Cruz, one of the co-authors of this, you can see where some of this is coming from. He very much is projecting like uh, and I know the detractors on the Big Ten side would certainly, this is like a Cody Campbell-coded message here, but that's that's what Ted Cruz is pushing. Uh Gordon G, who West Virginia fans certainly know well, former university president there. Uh Gordon G had some comments seemingly directed at the SEC and Big Ten today. This was talking about the pooling of media rights. He said, quote, today we have an opportunity. I do believe that window will close quickly. There are those who don't want that window to remain open. We have to run through it. He is saying, look, we got a shot here to amend this Sports Broadcasting Act to give us a chance to pool all of our broadcast rights together and make more revenue that way. That's been the big push. And this is one of the things that the SEC and Big Ten have been most vocally against. Again, this is not the big poison pill that I think is really there. But they have been pretty vocal against this. It is worthwhile to keep in mind, though, it is voluntary. It is voluntary as a part of the Protect College Sports Act. They do not have to do it. It just opens up the possibility. And that is what Gordon G is saying here. Like, we got to take this, guys, take the advantage of this now. So it's there. We don't have to do it. SEC Big Ten, you don't have to agree to it. But now the option's at least on the table at some point. They're still not going to want that because they just hate the idea of it so much. I digress. Uh Pete Bavakwa, AD at Notre Dame, he said, without congressional action, a super league is inevitable. You're going to only have a small number of universities who can invest to field a nationally competitive football team. And I think that's certainly something everybody feels right now in college sports is that yes, you are going to have a very small number of teams that can actually afford to do this if it keeps going the way that it is to be competitive at the highest of high levels in this. All right.

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Vivaca also would go on to say, like, hey, pooling media rights may be tough. I'm paraphrasing here. Pooling media rights may be tough, but if we're going to do it, like having like a 30-team super league is really like the way to do it if you're going to actually make more money. He then would go on to say he's against the super league, but he tried to make the point, like, hey, the pooling of broadcast rights would only really work if you do it like that. You know, whatever. I don't, I don't know whether not to trust Pete Bavakwa as somebody who obviously has the Big 12's best interest at heart, but there it is. Uh, so what did Nick Saban say? And which heavy hitter says that this bill is going to pass, and what is this big poison pill? We got a lot of questions to answer still. Make sure you're subscribed to the channel. One click really helps a lot. Everybody, if you want college football from a non-power two perspective, you'll get it right here. Uh, here's one thing that Nick Saban said. The first thing that should catch your attention, Nick Saban said, quote, I'm not representing any conference or team. So obviously, we would all assume Saban's gonna have the SEC's best interest at heart, right? This had me going, you know, people have advocated for a while for him to be like the commissioner of college football. I don't think that's anything he would really want to do. But after hearing him today, I was like, you know, maybe this isn't a bad idea. Because I would have been cynical to the point, like, uh, you know, push comes to shove. He gets in front of the people that matter. He's gonna be pushing for SEC centric things. Said, I'm not representing any conference or team. And Saban said, if you had the biggest, baddest Ferrari and it was going 100 miles an hour toward the Grand Canyon, we need to tap the brakes. I think that's what we all need to do here. And so he believes that the Protect College Sports Act does tap the brakes. Quote, I think this is this is the real money quote here. Nick Saban said, quote, I think it is in the best interest of student athletes to have regional conferences. Now, obviously, he would go on to talk about, you know, Rutgers having to go to, you know, from Piscataway to LA on a Tuesday night for volleyball or something like that. We've long heard those examples out there. But as Big 12 fans, it's like, boy, I mean, you can't, you can't say much that sounds better than that. Like it's in the best interest of everybody to have regional conferences. Yes, Maria Cantwell, who co-authored this bill, has very much been pushing that. Like, we want regionality to remain intact. Stick with that. Now, yes, Nick Saban and the SEC, they are still a geographically intact conference that that makes sense. It's definitely going to be a talking point they have that goes directly against the Big Ten, which has become much more national. But it's also something that very much is in the best interest of the Big 12 to keep things as regional as possible right now instead of just going to Super League. Very like anti-Super League talking point there from Saban, who was very, I mean, just every quote from him today was just very staunchly in support of this. Surprised me a bit. He was not up there stumping for, ah, take away the pooling of the broadcast rights or take away the other poison pill that's in here for the SEC or Big Ten. No, Nick Saban said, full steam ahead, dude. We we gotta stop this Ferrari from going off a cliff. Uh Saban also said, let's see, this tweet, Saban suggests that the only remedy to this competitive recruiting battle among the conferences and schools is a new governing body and commissioner with authority to regulate the industry, enforce rules, and limit the fractured nature of college athletics. And I mean, again, chef's kiss. Yes, yes, if you're a Big 12 fan, yes, pound the table for that one. Get somebody looking out for the greater good of the sport, looking out for the greater good of everything, instead of just commissioners who are doing their jobs, but doing the job of looking out for only the self-interest of one conference. And that's what's been slowly tearing, or not so slowly, tearing this sport apart. And Saban apparently has enough sense in him to look at this and say, yeah, if we don't do this, we're all gonna be in trouble. Down the line, diminishing returns, it won't be good even for the SEC or Big Ten if we go down that road. So kudos to Nick Saban, man. He stepped up really, really stumped for this thing to get through. You love to see it. It did not look like a guy who was totally tied to the SEC out there. So, what's the big poison pill and can this thing actually get passed? Well, let me tell you one guy who thinks this can actually get passed. It's the head of the NCAA. And I know, say what you will about the NCAA these days, not a great reputation, keep losing in court. But Charlie Baker, the president of the NCAA, told Big 12 officials last week that there is a 50-50 chance that this gets passed. So the president of the NCAA is seemingly pretty optimistic about this because I think most people by this point would just say, hey, they've been lobbying for seven years. The score act couldn't even make it to a vote. Everyone, I would think, was going to be pretty down on the chances of this actually happening. Well, there's a head of the NCAA saying 50-50. Josh Pate, you guys know I really like and respect Josh Pate. Man, he said he thinks it'll pass comfortably. So he's paying attention to it. Charlie Baker paying attention to it. Ross Dellinger said today it feels like it's on a quote, fast track, which it has to be because they need to get, they basically need to get this significantly moved forward by August before the re the congressional recess. Uh so it's got to be fast tracked, but Dellinger is reiterating that it is fast-tracked. Uh, here's one tweet from him quote, everyone, everyone mad is a sign that it has a chance, quipped one college stakeholder with political experience. Everyone having something not to like means it's a good compromise. And that actually did strike me. Like, hey, they do say when you're negotiating, it's like a good deal is generally one where everybody is upset about something. Everybody does seem to have agreements here or there with this thing. So what's gonna happen now? Ross Dellinger says tentative plans are in place for a markup, which would be basically just tweaks made to the bill based on feedback from today. So they already had tentative plans in place for that. And then Maria Cantwell, in a scrum afterwards, said she's willing to make changes based on comments from the hearing and beyond, but she is trying to stick to the pooling of broadcast rights in the bill. Quote, I definitely want to keep that because we need revenue. So a markup, and then if there's enough support, it could go up for actual debate in the Senate, and then perhaps a vote in the Senate. Uh so this is the path. The way that this wouldn't happen, and what I think is really the big potential pitfall and poison pill of this for the SEC and Big Ten. Now, part of the question here is can do they have enough influence to actually stop it? I don't really know the answer to that. But the thing that they're not going to want and not probably gonna get on board to support that hasn't really been publicly voiced a whole bunch right now is the restriction of them being able to merge or add to their conferences. And the big sticking point that I've seen from SEC and Big Ten country is like, well, the Big 12 and the ACC can, to which I would say, fine, compromising the bill. Tell the Big 12 and the ACC to stay put where they are too. I don't care. Like, just as long as we're not going Super League, that's fine. Whatever. No more conference realignment. Hell, if someone will just draft up, hey, go back to the way it was in 1996, yeah, fine with me. Like that's that's cool. Um, but that is certainly from a fan base perspective, that's the thing drawing the most attention. Absolutely, right now. I did see Matt Hayes from USA Today tweeting about this, though, that the SEC and Big Ten, the real poison pill here is them not being able to merge together or add and expand. Like, and and that's the thing that is crazy about the ACC, right? What do like Miami and Florida State and Clemson and North Carolina think when they see that? Like, wait, hold up. We're gonna be stuck in the ACC because of this bill? Then what does the ACC do as a league? I mean, I guess Jim Phillips theoretically can just be like, forget you guys. You've already tried to sue us about this, have fun. Um, but that's what made the ACC's response a little bit, a little bit interesting. So I don't know, man. Things are getting things are moving fast. Things are moving fast. You can tell, like, I've got a fairly optimistic tone here. Um, I'm sure there will be some changes made to this. I don't think it's gonna go through exactly the way that it is right now. There are a lot of hurdles left to clear, but I'm optimistic that we're gonna get something. I am definitely optimistic that we're gonna get something. And uh this was this was a decent, decent first step today. All right. Well, the SEC does not agree with everything in this bill, in part because it benefits the Big 12. Why is the SEC also taking shots at the Big 12 behind closed doors to the college football playoff committee? Click here to find out. That's for everybody watching the clip version. Those of you hanging out here live, don't worry about it. Got a couple of other stories for you. Thank you to everybody who is uh who is here in the chat. If you want to submit a super chat, click the dollar sign below the chat box. You can also hit me up on Venmo, John-Gurtz-4. If you're not watching live and you want to be a part of the conversation, if you leave me a super chat there on Venmo, I will get to it to kick off the next show so you can still be a part of the conversation. Make sure you are subscribed to the channel. Uh, make sure that you like the video and also make sure that you're signed up for the open for business Big 12 newsletter at ofbnews.com. That is ofbnews.com. This was an interesting one. Did Brett Yormark actually make the biggest air in Big 12 history? He almost admitted to it in uh a recent athletic article. And in hindsight, it appears that Brett Yormark could have prevented a world where the SEC and Big Ten have this much absolute power that drives most everybody outside of the SEC and Big Ten nuts. I'll tell you what he said. I'll tell you why this could have been such a big deal and if we should be crushing Brett Yormark for this. Should we be crushing him? Uh, listen, Brett Yormark, I think, has done a very good job with the Big 12. I think the the big uh tension that exists here with Big 12 fans is you're more like traditional fans that don't want to be as tuned into all the court stuff going on and all the like big picture issues that are not the actual sports stuff, which I totally understand, by the way. No judgment at all. In fact, I envy you in some ways. Um, those people seem to think, well, they just see the grandiose ideas that sometimes don't work, the LED floor, um, Big 12 Mexico, things like that that have not worked out, and they think, well, that's stupid and it didn't work. And the tiebreaker thing from a couple of years ago in football, and there is that. I mean, he has some big ideas that miss. He also, I think, has some big ideas that work out well. He's gonna take big swings, and he's not a guy that came up in college athletics. So some of the things that are more tied to your traditional college athletics, the tiebreakers, or excuse me, not just the tiebreakers, the scheduling, protected rivalries is another thing. Yeah, maybe he's not that that's not his strong suit. But what his strong suit has been is jumping the Pac-12 on the TB deal with ESPN and Fox, which is the reason that this conference still exists today. Um, going and getting the four corners, starting by prying Colorado away. It was very strategic the way that he did that. Again, the reason this conference still exists today, those have been the big things that he is very, very good at. Positioning basketball now to be spun off as its own entity the next time the Big 12 is up in the market for TV rights. Um creating all these relationships with the different TV networks that he has right now to give the Big 12 the best shot the next time the TV rights are up. All of these things are very, very big pluses for him. But even with all of that, I know I get the reputation of somebody that is too all in on him and won't criticize him, which I don't think is fair. I've criticized him many times, but I still stand by. I think the big picture stuff, which is what matters most, he's he's crushed it for the Big 12. But he did preside over a time when the SEC and Big Ten completely took control of the sport, not just like theoretically, but in writing, and that's what we're here to talk about. Okay, so Brett Yormark oversaw the Big Ten and the SEC getting it written in the college football playoff contract that they have the decision making power and that they got way. More of the revenue. Okay, you think back a couple of years, 2024, that next edition, that next iteration of the deal for the playoff was signed. The SEC and the Big Ten got 29% of the revenue each. The ACC got 17%. The Big 12 gets 14%. So you're talking about the SEC and the Big Ten getting literally over double the amount of money from the college football playoff that the Big 12 does. Also included in that is that, yes, they get to make the future decisions on format, how many teams we're going to have, et cetera, et cetera. Well, now it sure seems like Brett Yormark regrets that, according to this article from Chris Vanini in the Athletic. Please do subscribe to the channel, by the way. One click really helps pushing to 35K subs. Thank you very much. Chris Benini at the Athletic writes, quote, the last time the SEC and Big Ten hinted at the possibility of a breakaway, it was during the playoff negotiations two years ago. The reason the SEC and Big Ten hold the CFP decision-making power now is the other conferences gave it to them, along with more money as a way to keep everyone together. Looking back, was it a bluff worth calling? Brett Yormark quote here Quote, I would say I was a rookie commissioner at that point in time. Today I'm a very different commissioner than I was, and I'm not sure I would have made the same decision. End quote. Some officials have also pointed out that Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petiti might have his 2014 playoff already if the leagues had instead moved to weighted voting across all leagues rather than giving the SEC half the power. That's interesting. Yeah, Petiti, if everybody had a quarter share of the vote, you could have three quarters of it right now, getting you your 2014 playoff. But instead, you got to deal with this SEC thing. Like, have fun. I want to focus in, though, on this quote from Brett Yormark. I had not thought about it like this, but Yormark seems to essentially be saying right now, yeah, we probably should have called the bluff. We probably should have called the bluff of the SEC in the Big Ten. Because this quote makes it seems like seem like he regrets that, yeah, they don't really have much of a seat at the table when it comes to decision-making power with the playoff. Did find a creative way to torpedo the 4-4-2-2 plan from the Big Ten, but no real tangible power, especially when it comes to what's actually written down in the contract. If your mark were doing this all over again right now, if that contract were just coming up right now, would he actually have the guts to beat Jamie Pollard? Basically, you're asking, would Brett Yormark be Jamie Pollard? Because remember it was only a couple weeks ago. Jamie Pollard had the quote going around where he said, Look, if they want to leave, just let them leave. Man, you've been threatening this for so long. Just go do it. Like you keep saying you want rules, and then you complain when the rules try to get enforced when we try to enforce the rules. Just go, just leave. What are we doing here? That was Jamie Pollard's attitude. Would Brett Yormark actually follow suit with that? Would he actually follow suit with that? I'd be fascinated to know. I'd be fascinated to know. And as a fan, where would you sit on that? Definitely let me know in the comments. Where would you sit on that? Should Brett Yormark have done that a couple of years ago? What do you think would have happened? Would they actually break away? I gotta be honest myself, I am a little bit like I there's enough talk about it, certainly in the SEC, that I still think they would absolutely do it. So I understand the move that was made at that point in time by the Big 12, but you know, purely from a hey, let's just see what would happen, and maybe like delaying some of the inevitable and just split off where this is all going anyway. I don't know, man. You can certainly argue you should have just called the bluff and take your chances and see what happens. Push your chips all in. If it hits great. If not, you got your answer, you go do something else, right? Um, I do think, especially now as the Protect College Sports Act gains some real steam, and it does have in it, like, hey, the SEC and Big Ten cannot form a super league. It does seem like the right move, perhaps, would have been to not go the Jamie Pollard route and do exactly what happened. I will say, Chris Vanini's reporting, he had a really good article that I would encourage you to read about Big 12 meetings, basically gave away that the Big 12 sentiment toward the SEC threatening to break away has been just like rolling their eyes. Like, okay, whatever, have fun. And I definitely think the the SEC breaking away on its own, I would roll my eyes at that. Good luck, guys. Have fun with that, especially now as you haven't won a title in three years. This would be literally the worst time to do that in the last like 25 years for the SEC as a league. There would have been other times where it would make way more sense from like how much power you have in the sport. You don't have it right now. Cool. Go away. Do your thing. Um, but if we're talking about the SEC and the Big Ten together now, that's kind of a different deal. That's kind of a different deal. Should we crush Brett Yormark for this, though? Well, you already got my take here that I kind of lean toward. It's probably the right move to just string it along, see if you can get the government help, see if things, the dynamics shift a little bit here. Let's also watch where this thing goes, how much Texas Tech's going to be able to compete. We just saw Indiana win the national championship. But other things I would point out would be like, hey, I mean, Jim Phillips was there too. He also agreed to it from the ACC. So you can't put it all on your mark. Jim Phillips had a year of experience on your mark at that point. He was not the new guy in the room when your mark was. Also, the schools, like Big 12 schools, could have pushed harder. Your mark is just doing their bidding, right? He is representing the Big 12 schools when he's out there. So you could say, hey, the schools, if you really wanted this, the schools should have pushed harder to make that happen. Um, and I mean, I'm sure it was tough as the new guy in the room to try and navigate that and figure out exactly what you're gonna do. So I don't. I don't crush Brett Yormark for that. But it was a really that quote made me raise my eyebrow where I'm like, hey, this your mark sure seems to think at this point in time, like we just gotta call their bluff on this. Like they're doing a lot of whining and complaining, but I think that they're all all hat, no cattle, whatever the saying is. I don't I need Cody Campbell for that one. They're all all steer, no bull, like whatever. Um, that sure seems to be where your mark's landing right now. But fascinating, hypothetical to think about what a your mark with almost four years under his belt would have done if this were coming up in in 2026. Hey, if you want to know more about the SEC breakaway, like could it actually happen? Click here. That's for everybody watching the clip version. Those of you hanging out live, thank you very much. I see I have a super chat to get to. Uh, we've got one more topic for you, and Texas Tech, it is a it is all about Darius, your Texas Tech Red Raiders. Thank you for being here. Darius says uh Texas Tech needs this softball championship. It's against Texas, it's against Texas. I would say this would be a pretty apropos time for Texas Tech to get a dub over Texas in a high profile spot. I would 100% say that. Yes. Um, it would be quite nice. I would enjoy watching the Twitter fallout uh from that if it if it were to happen. So go Red Raiders, Darius. You know where my you know where my loyalties lie in that matchup. Uh, softball, the only sport where tech may have uh drawn more ire and made more other schools angry than football. That's that's um that is one thing for sure, man. Some of the softball noise that I've seen coming at at Texas Tech has been pretty wild. So, Darius, thank you for being here. Thank you uh for your support of the show, my friend. Speaking of Texas Tech, we're gonna end with some Red Raiders talk today. Okay, and don't don't worry. I know it's we're only three main stories tonight. I've got another big video coming at you tomorrow. Okay, maybe two actually by the end of the day. Um, so stay tuned for that. And I do, I should, I want to give a shout out to everybody listening on the audio platforms. Last episode really popped off there. So we are growing and growing. You can get the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you listen to your podcast. Thanks to everybody who's doing that. Um, rating and reviewing does help. Spreading the word does help. Also, sign up for the Open for Business Big 12 newsletter at ofbnews.com. But we've got some scheduling news here, okay? Texas won't man up and play Texas Tech. So the Red Raiders found another blue blood instead. Fine. Texas, you won't play us. We'll just go get a different blue blood. I'll tell you who it likely is and relay the shot, the absolute shot that Joey McGuire took at Steve Sarkeesian and Texas while delivering the message that this was going to be happening. Plus, did Texas actually in a way win this whole skirmish if this is the outcome? Okay, much to discuss here. Uh, it is a crazy good time to be a Texas major metro touchdown or quarterback club, which, you know, generally, these are just I I the best I can understand it, I've never been a part of one of these, but you hear about these things, right? They'll these organizations of like just local football fans. Are these people like donate? It's it's like a club of people who enjoy football in the area. They typically get coaches to come in, right, and speak. And it was at the Houston touchdown club that Steve Sarkeesian first lit the match on this whole feud that's now weeks long between Texas and Texas Tech when he said, quote, there's a team in our state in another conference with a schedule that I would argue if I played with our twos and threes, we could go undefeated. And they'll probably make the college football playoff this year. That was what sparked all of this. That was the match that Sark lit and threw on smoldering flames, and it is totally erupted now. He has gotten perhaps more than he bargained for in return from Cody Campbell, Joey Maguire, Kirby Ho Cut, who have all taken shots. They've all now verbally taken shots, and they've also tried to put their money where their mouth is. Joey Maguire reached out to Texas State, Nabaline Christian, about getting the week one games moved that they had against Texas and Texas Tech to clear the route. For hey, we could play you, Texas. Come play us in week one. We'll even talk to Jerry World. We'll talk to Steven Jones. Cody Campbell went on the Pat McAfee show. He said too many steers, not enough bowls in Austin, which was a very funny comment, but he basically cut a WWE promo and laid that all down on Texas and Steve Sarkeesian. Uh Joey Maguire at his press conference was saying, I thought there's no way Stark was talking about us because he's tough and his teams are tough, and that's not a very tough move to talk about us without even mentioning our name specifically. And all this continues to spin. There's debate going on on Twitter I saw today about whether or not Joey Maguire actually contacted both coaches or if that was just for show. I like whatever, guys. I I'm honestly getting a little bit exhausted with it, but I think we're getting close to a real resolution here that actually should make about everybody happy. Okay. Please do subscribe to the channel, by the way. One click really helps pushing the 35k subs. A bunch of you watch, but don't subscribe. It does really make a difference if you click subscribe. So I appreciate it. Uh let's get to it. It's now the San Antonio Quarterback Club that we're talking about, everybody. The San Antonio quarterback club. We had the Houston touchdown club. Now it's the San Antonio Quarterback Club, and this is Joey Maguire who was speaking. So let's look at this. Shout out to CJ Vogel who says Joey Maguire at the San Antonio QB Club. Texas Tech is expecting to announce a major 2027-28 home in home with a major blue blood. Quote, it won't be Texas because they're scared. Won't be Texas because they're scared. So Joey said, forget me, sort of taking a shot at Steve Sarkeesian and being like, hey, I respect him. He's a tough guy. That's why that comment kind of surprised me, too. Like, no, we're just going directly to calling them scared. They are scared. All right. That's what we're doing here. It's it's ratcheted up a notch. But obviously, the more interesting part of that is, well, wait, hang on. Who's this blue blood going to be? Who is this blue blood going to be that they are playing if it's not going to be the Texas Longhorns? Well, I think we have a bit of an idea. Matt Zenitz says Texas Tech has been working on setting up a home and home for 27 and 28 against a premier non-conference opponent and has had communications with teams such as USC and Notre Dame. Sources tell CBS Sports. Well, Notre Dame is sure intriguing, right? Because we already know one game on the Fighting Irish's 2027 schedule here in Big 12 country, and that is when they will host BYU. They are going two Provo this year. They will host the Cougars next year. So are we going to have Notre Dame playing two Big 12 teams in 2027, playing both BYU and Texas Tech? That's a fun thought, is it not? That is a fun, fun thought. Um my initial thought was, hey, Notre Dame would make sense because we just heard Kirby Ho cut, Texas Tech's athletic director, say, like, hey, we'll take those games against Notre Dame if you don't want them in 2028 and 29, Texas, because Christel Conte, Texas' athletic director, said that Notre Dame was tentatively on the schedule, but made it seem like they they may wind up dropping those games because they're worried about the nine-game SEC schedule. Oh, the horror, a nine-game conference schedule without a playoff that's expanded. That's what SEC country is worried about right now. So they may drop Notre Dame, and tech was like, hey, we'll take it. So I thought, all right, well, yeah, Notre Dame's probably in the mix here, and it sounds like they are. Notre Dame would be let me put myself firmly in the camp up. I would rather see Texas Tech Notre Dame. However, the nice part about USC would be, I mean, that is going to be an easier series to win. Uh, would you rather face Lincoln Riley or Marcus Freeman? Like, I give me Lincoln Riley all day having to come to Lubbock and play in that environment. Yeah. Yeah. Uh Marcus Freeman's got a little more bull in him, I think, to use that same analogy than Lincoln Riley does. And Marcus Freeman is recruiting like an absolute madman right now. Uh that I I Notre Dame, I think, sky high ceiling. I mean, obviously, they've already played for a national championship under Freeman. He's at back-to-back now, top five high school recruiting classes, or at least the class currently in 2027 is ranked in the top five. They had one last year. Like, I don't think Notre Dame's going away at all. And Lincoln Riley has it's been a mixed bag at very best at USC. And Oklahoma fans would certainly tell you, people that were around the Big 12 and Lincoln Riley was in the Big 12 would tell you, like, yeah, yeah, well, we can handle that. We can handle that. Give me, give me USC having to come play like a night game in West Texas. Yes, I would absolutely love to see that. Um, part of it is I just I think USC might be getting to a point where like Texas Tech could beat USC, and people might be like, yeah, okay, great. What did you really prove? Like USC's reputation is not in its best spot right now. It needs a little reputational repair. And so I do almost worry about that a bit where I'm like, I don't know, does USC carry enough gravitas anymore in 2026? I would love the Notre Dame thing. And get the fighting Irish playing as many Big 12 teams as possible. I've said that BYU Notre Dame is the biggest Big 12 football game this year just because you don't get opportunities against those big brands. They're dropping like flies. Alabama kicked Oklahoma State off of its schedule. They're going to a nine-game schedule. They could have a scheduling agreement with the Big Ten before too long. The ACC's gone to nine, too. So if you're trying to get one of the big brands in the ACC, that's probably going to get tougher. There are just not many opportunities for this. Go get them when you can. And I love that Texas Tech is doing this. And look, like, is Texas really scared in all this, like Joey McGuire said? I mean, look, it's a lose-lose situation for Texas. I admit that. I get it. Especially now after all this, because there's been so much talking. If Texas goes out and loses after this, after they brought this whole thing up with Sark's comments at the Houston touchdown club, that's going to be a pretty tough PR hit uh for the Longhorns there. They're not going to want, they don't, they don't want to play this series. I understand why they don't. I also think it's totally fair to take shots at them because they started this. Sark started this. Had Texas just not said anything and continued going on with their conclusion from 2021, which was, well, it doesn't make sense for us to play this. Why would we play this game against Texas Tech? I wouldn't be nearly as critical. But then when you start bringing up tech and it's like, well, hey, they've tried to play you and you won't, that's when you get the criticism. But there is an argument, and I was seeing Andy Staples actually talk about this right before I hopped on tonight. There is an argument that Texas kind of wins in the end here if tech schedules somebody big because Texas got tech to go out and challenge itself, and it doesn't have to be a game that Texas risks losing. I was like, okay, I do see the point there, but I don't I don't think what Sark is really trying to accomplish there is get tech to improve its non-con schedule. I would argue that's a good thing for tech. Like being able to land somebody in this climate right now, a major blue blood, not an easy thing to do for a non-con game, especially if it's a home and home, like actually on campus and it's not in like the freaking Mercedes-Benz arena. You know, if it's not in the and no, it's not the Georgia dome anymore. Mercedes-Benz arena, whatever the hell in Atlanta. Like it's not played in a dome in Atlanta. That's a that's a huge win, I would argue, for Texas Tech. And the Big 12, like, and the league. So thank you, Steve Sarkeesian, for doing that. If that is really what what spurred this. So, no, I would not say that Texas ultimately wins that because I think this will tech tech's not scared. Like, tech is not scared of going and playing Notre Dame or USC. I don't that is not the attitude that tech has at this point with the resources that they're dumping into everything, the rosters that they're churning out. They're they're not scared of this. So give me those games. Give me those games. Thank you, Sark. I will send you, I will send you a fruit basket, my friend. I will send you a fruit basket. Now, why did Sark start all this in the first place? Well, there's definitely an underlying reason why Sark and the SEC have been coming after the Big 12. Uh, click here to find out why. That's for everybody watching the clip version, everybody hanging out live. I appreciate you. Let's talk to uh Alan real quick, answer his super chat here. Uh, John, Big 12 trivia. Which Big 12 team has played more games versus Notre Dame? Uh KU six times. Wow. KU six times. Let's see if we can find the series history on that. KU Notre Dame series history football. Uh yeah, you're right. One, four, and one. That's right, kids. There used to be ties in college football. And Kansas and Notre Dame played to a 0-0 tie on Saturday, October 7th, 1933. Yes, everybody remembers the classic KU Notre Dame game of 1933. This is wild. Kansas and Notre Dame played in 1904. That was the one KU win. Uh, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1938, and then 1999. Kansas on a one-off went to South Bend and lost 48-13. Would that still have been, was that Terry Allen still in 1999? I think that was, right? Terry Allen decided to go play a game at Notre Dame. I'm not sure what the logic was. That does, well, anyway, doesn't seem smart to me. K-State and Bill Snyder were in the era of like, hey, we're gonna northeast Louisiana this thing three times before we get into conference play. Meanwhile, Kansas is going and taking drubbings in uh in South Bend. Anyway, that's a really good trivia question, Alan, because no one no one would guess that. Like I thought I saw you put that up and I was like, well, wait, I mean, I don't remember Kansas playing Notre Dame at all. I honestly don't remember that 99 game. And then obviously the rest, we're in the freaking 30s. So it's uh it's a great trivia question. Very tricky there. Very, very tricky. Um thank you, Alan, for uh for being here, for your support of the channel and for giving me some good trivia there. Best of luck to your Jayhawks against Oklahoma in the super regional. And I hope, Alan, if you're interested in going, you got your tickets early because I saw that some of them on the secondary market are up to like $3,000, which is crazy. Uh absolutely crazy. It's a tough ticket. Okay, everybody, thank you for being here. Like I said, I will have at least one video, perhaps two tomorrow. There will be content between now and the end of the uh the week is the point. So there's more good stuff coming your way. Thanks you all uh for supporting everything I'm doing. Like the channel, subscribe, sign up for the Open for Business Big 12 newsletter at OFBnews.com. And uh we'll get out of here. You know what? Wet blanket, that's a good point. We do know one Big Twelve school who beat Notre Dame in the Fiestable. That is true. Comeback fashion in style for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Great call out there, wet blanket. And we'll end on that. Uh take care and I will talk to you all very soon.