Stories Inside the Man Cave
Stories Inside the Man Cave
The Pass Rush with Stevie, Clynch, & Adams: Is A Three-Loss Texas Still One Of The Twelve Best Teams
Texas revives a classic rivalry at DKR with a charged game-day show and a composed second-half surge, then we wrestle with the playoff math no one agrees on. We weigh quality wins against bad losses, brand gravity against fairness, and where A&M goes from here.
• atmosphere at DKR and in-game production
• Texas’ late-season growth and O-line cohesion
• Arch’s leadership and key third-quarter drives
• rivalry urgency and players who elevate
• CFP logic, auto bids, and brand influence
• Notre Dame independence and head-to-head weight
• A&M’s resilience and first-round outlook
• playoff expansion models and clear criteria
• keep marquee nonconference games on schedules
• possible Texas bowl tie-ins if left out
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We didn't play the way we needed to play. Can we close the door and run a professional press conference, please?
unknown:Sorry.
SPEAKER_03:What's his name? I don't even know his name. He's a six-year but what did you say? Do you guys take issue with that, or is that just SmackDown, or were you guys just you know he lost. He's a loser. So I mean it's nothing we don't pay attention to. You know? Losers.
SPEAKER_05:That was fun. It's good to see the Aggies and Longhorns rivalry back in Austin. Uh great spectacle last year in college station. It's just good for the game. College football is better with UT and AM playing each other. I don't think any either side will disagree with that. I am Sean Clinch, the host of Stories Inside the Man K podcast, and the co-host of the series The Pass Rush was Stevie Lee. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and had a food coma or two. But in this episode, we're gonna dive in and what was uh that beautiful game and the experiences from it Friday at DKR in Austin, Texas. What does that do for both the Aggies and Texas as far as the CFP? Now we do know that the Aggies are in regardless. The only thing that the Aggies don't get to do is play for the SEC Championship. Now you can look at that two ways. That one, they don't get to play for the conference championship, or two, they get extra time to heal. But as for Texas, at nine and three, there's so many debates out there. Personally, I just don't see how a three-loss team deserves to be in a 12-team college football playoff. As for this weekend's Conference Championship Games, they will have a bearing on the final CFP poll. Um, but if you're watching and you need to quench your thirst and make those uh lovely mixed beverages or whatever beverages you may need, you need to go see my day. You need to go see my guy, Dave Ramirez, Dave Ramirez at Northwest Hills Liquor, where you are a guest and not just a customer. Hey, let's get it rolling. Episode four ninety-eight. Let's run Stevie Lee, that was plastic. Uh, the in-game production stat. And okay, well, stated they had ammo ready to go. And they did a great job, and that was perfect right before Texas officially won the game on that last offensive possession. They had that ready, and you know Mike Elko saw that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, you did. That was awesome, man. Our uh the game day experience was great there this weekend.
SPEAKER_05:Hey, that's Stevie Lee. He played for the great Mac Brown at the Texas University of Texas football program in the early 2000s. As I mentioned, I am Sean Clinch, and this is the week after Texas defeated uh the Aggies. And if I did my numbers right, I think Texas this decade or this century. I think you're 13-3 against the Aggies, no?
SPEAKER_03:Sounds about right.
SPEAKER_05:Something like that. You know, it's uh when you're coming off of a Thanksgiving holiday, four or five-day weekend, and you come back and you got to flip that switch to professionalism, your brain's kind of cloudy. So, your thoughts real quick before we bring in our guy, MA Mike Adams. You're your Longhorns, they finished the season 93. Um, that's pretty good considering people. I know a lot of people say, well, you were preseason number one, Texas was. That's not good. But when you think about what was missing, what needed to develop on the offensive side of the ball, you remember me, Stevie. I said nine wins is a target.
SPEAKER_03:I do remember you saying that, and I remember you picked picked Clemson to win it all.
SPEAKER_05:I did pick Clemson. They went six and six.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, man. But you did say that uh about Texas, and I and I gave you crap about it. So uh, but I'm glad, I'm proud of where the seasons end up ended up. Uh, you can tell how we have grown from the beginning of the season with all the disappointment and then making some changes on the O-line, and our offense started to click, our defense was starting uh to come out come around even more. Um this is a team that's on a growth pattern right now. And I'm really, really looking forward to one, the bowl game if we don't get into the college football playoffs, and then two, I'm really looking forward for next year.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, that's a lot to be uh thank you, not just thankful, but to be excited about. And I I love seeing that energy and it all coming together. I love seeing that for any program. But what we saw Friday night and that growth and that that last third of the season, pretty impressive outside of that game in Georgia. That's it, yeah. Hey, uh, just a quick shout-out to all of our sponsors and partners. But for this one, Hardgrove Roofing, man, you guys are wonderful, you do an amazing job. You replaced my late mother's roof a couple of years before she passed, and she had nothing but great things to say about her guy, Scott Coach Abernathy, who made an appearance on episode 497 last week and gave some a beautiful synopsis of for the both AM and Texas, along with the first lady, the man cave. And here's the guy who promotes them better than anybody else.
SPEAKER_03:Hardgrove roofing, know who's on your roof.
SPEAKER_05:Yes. Hey, MA, he you know, you think post-Thanksgiving he'll be cooking?
SPEAKER_03:Yes, absolutely he will be.
SPEAKER_05:Man, let's bring that guy in. You know, you know, he's juggling. You you know for a fact he's probably juggling like 430 things at the at this moment, but he's gonna make time for us.
unknown:Mr.
SPEAKER_05:Mills is here. Stevie, that was uh quite a sight, and and I I I know I held off with Stevie a little bit, kind of got his take before we brought you in because we wanted all the hype, we wanted all the energy. I wanted to see you guys both cooking as former players. Man, that to me, that was the best atmosphere in probably over two decades that I have seen at DKR.
SPEAKER_03:No, that was the best atmosphere I've ever seen at DKR. I'm a little worried because my ticket prices are gonna go up because they had a hundred drones, you know, thousands of dollars worth of uh fireworks, the light show. I I think we're gonna be almost almost playing, paying double next year, man. So I'm I'm uh I'm ready for it. It's okay. I had a really good time, man. Whoever they hired to do game day experience, they need a raise. That was a a lot of electricity, the music, celebrities on the sideline. It was uh it was it was it was a it was great for the fans, and I like putting on the show in front of uh of Lil Brothers, see if they can uh match that.
SPEAKER_05:It was pure cinema, fellas. That's all I gotta say. And man, there was some uh there's some heated moments in uh walking up in my section, uh in and around the stadium, some comments that uh you just don't usually hear out of grown men's mouth that we're wearing the maroon, but that's okay. All fan bases have them, all fan bases have them in rivalry games, no doubt. Man, MA, before we really get into it, I I was just when you think of guys that step up in rivalries, there's two guys that come to mind, and one of them is this guy. Craig Way, uh voice of the Longhorns Award winning. He's legendary, Hall of Fame material. He's a stories inside the man cave VIP alumni. And man, your take on the growth of that guy right there.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, man. I mean, he's been stepping up here the last three, four weeks, and uh, you know, pretty much the rest of his season or the rest of his sophomore year was really gonna be determined by how he played in this game right here, with the possibility of the playoff spot still being you know in question for us. And uh man, he stepped up big. He stepped up big, not an overwhelming, you know, statistical game. I mean, I think he threw for about a buck 70 or whatever. Um, but but he had that running play 30 yards or so for a touchdown that came at a critical moment, made some critical passes, you know, early in the third quarter, man, to drive the team down the field and and then just get the guys in position. I mean, we pretty much shut him out in the third quarter, second half for the most part. I mean, but but some of that started with with Arch marching the team down the field and making big time throws, and man, stood in the pocket, with still at the heat. Man, early on, it was looking, you know, it was looking like many of the Aggie fans thought it would look they would come in, kind of blow us out. But I I think he calmed himself a little bit, which I think in turn calmed the team. And um I I was a bit hesitant at first when I saw the bravado him walking into the stadium and getting kind of hype because I made a comment early in the year, man. If that's gonna be you, that's gotta be you all the time. And and and I think I think that's arts. I think he's you know, he's putting the hype out there, he's firing his team up, he's finding little ways in which to lead them, and I think he's doing a good job, dude. I'm proud of the way he's bounced back. And I don't know, I feel real proud to be a long horn on Friday.
SPEAKER_05:I think a lot of people did. Stevie, you know, when you when you think of your era, both of you, there's always guys who stepped up against your rivals, and consistently now we've got a new one. I want to call these two, as you see on this screen, Aggie killers with Rabius Weisner and Ethan Burke. Both have come up big last year and this year. Stevie alluded to that. What is it about games like this in which certain players just elevate?
SPEAKER_03:Um man, I saw it firsthand like almost on the outside looking in because you know I came from Louisiana. I didn't know about the um I didn't I did I knew about it, but I didn't know until I was here how deep this rivalry was. It's um Texas AM in Texas, these kids have played together or against each other, some together, played together, you know. Um and throughout high school played each other uh uh against each other throughout high school, some even middle school. So the pride of winning that game is bragging rights when you go home over the um the winter break, you know, it's it's bragging rights when you you know you see your friend, you know. So uh it's it's a very, very important game to Texas, to Texas AM, and to the state. It would for for that game for that four hours, four and a half hours, nobody else was watching anything else in the state. It was that game, all eyes was on that game.
SPEAKER_05:Well, clearly all former horns, Aggies, former students, former Aggie football players all had their eyes on it. You know, I I gotta give you know AM some roses too. They got to 11 wins. Um they didn't they're not gonna play for the SEC championship, they're gonna go to the CFP. But you you you alluded to it, people are watching, and there's one guy who I thought would would have been ideal to play against the Aggies, Sam Ellinger. Look at that tweet. He wasn't that's that's typical Ellinger right there. He's not wrong, he's not wrong at all.
SPEAKER_07:Not wrong at all.
SPEAKER_05:Oh man, I wish he could have played in that game, you know. And because, you know, like AM had Stephen McGee, who was you know, he took it personal for AM as a quarterback in the mid-2000s. Uh you know, when you look at this whole thing, the whole season, Texas ends it regularly at nine and three, but there's not many people who can say this in one season, you beat all three of your rivals. I I think you guys may have come close. And Stevie, you I think you guys did it once, right?
SPEAKER_03:No, I never beat OU, man. I hate to say that.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, that's right. You didn't. That's well documented. I forgot about that.
SPEAKER_07:Uh beat OU twice, three times, twice, two, two, and one. Um broke even against the Aggies and never beat both of them in the same year together. So it was uh the other one year I guess 95. We we beat AM and snapped their win streak. Um, we actually tied OU that year after being up 24-0 at the half. It was kind of a weird dynamic. Yeah, we come back, lose to him in overtime, but we smashed AM that the end of the year. So yeah, hadn't hadn't been able to get the the entire piece of the pie when it comes to both of them.
SPEAKER_05:You know, Arch as a quarterback is um now a member of a very exclusive fraternity of quarterbacks. There's only been, I think, someone correct me. I'm I'm sure somebody will in the Twitter verse. Uh people like to there's a lot of uh angry people on Twitter, uh, especially on on Saturday and Sunday and Monday. But uh I think there's only six quarterbacks in UT history who have run the gauntlet, the hat trick, beat the hogs OU and the Aggies. So that's that's that's pretty impressive. So here's the big debate. Listen, I respect both sides, I understand it. The UT to the college football playoff debate. I mean, in my opinion, what needs to happen, I feel like OU's definitely in um Bama if they lose the SEC title game. And I I guys, I don't know. I almost look at it as if what happens if BYU beats Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship. Does that knock OU out? And and that does it knock Texas further down because it really doesn't matter what the CFP looks like tonight. It's what it looks like on Sunday.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, I I honestly I think OU is secure. I mean, I'm I'm looking at their schedule and what they've done, man, and and it's just really impressive to go in and Knoxville, beat those guys, come back, I think a week or two later and beat Alabama, who at the time was I don't know, I believe ranked number four. Yeah, you know, number three. I mean, doesn't get any more impressive than that, other than you know, a Texas team that defeated three top ten teams on the year. But you know, we're we're we're kind of on the outside looking in, and yeah, it's gonna take a lot of help. I think even if BYU beats Texas Tech some reason for some reason, um that's just gonna knock everybody that's on the outside looking in, it's gonna knock them down. I mean, because tech's still getting in, you know. Um obviously BYU would be the automatic qualifier at that point for winning the conference championship and being ranked pretty high. Um, yeah, but that that would that would definitely hurt teams like Miami, like Texas, like Vanderbilt that are still hoping to get in.
SPEAKER_05:Stevie, when you look at these potential scenarios, and again, this is just our take on for this podcast. When you first see, like last year, Alabama had a comparable resume to Texas, you know, had some really good wins, but they had some losses, three losses. I mean, Stevie, your first reaction when you hear a three-loss team trying to get into this 12-team mix, actually, it's 11 because you got one of the G5s in.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Um and and I mean, do you think there's an argument? Do you think or are we reserved to hey they shouldn't be in because of three losses? And if they get in, that's even better. Well, how do you feel about all this?
SPEAKER_03:Well, on the outside looking in, I want us to be there. I want us to get in. But um, I don't see a path right now. Um because I mean, we got three losses. We got three losses, and there's no ifs, ands, buts about that. Um, now, when you actually look at the teams, um do you want to see BYU? Do you even want to see Texas Tech? I know you do, people do, but or do you want to see Texas with an Arch Manning, right? That's the that's the the the ticket right there. You know, everyone in the country wants to continue to see Arch Manning play and see how he does in the playoffs. So um that that's you know, pulling on the heartstrings and and politicking, but I I'm not optimistic. I want to see us play in the college football playoffs, but I'm not optimistic.
SPEAKER_07:I mean, yeah. Yeah, it would definitely make for good theater and you know, football, us being in the the the playoff mix. I mean, I mean, it'll it'll just we're talking about a good couple, two or three weeks of of TV, you know, that everybody would be glued to. And then, you know, you have household names like Arch, you know, you know, seeing if he can, you know, overcome the early uh you know, struggles early in the year and and lead his team to a semifinal appearance, a national championship appearance, whatever it may be. But and I think the thing that's gonna get us is that loss to Florida, right? I mean, that's that's the one thing. And it's no different than Alabama to be honest. Because if let's say Alabama loses, which they're really in no position to lose this conference championship again. I think it will be held against them, and it won't be that they lost to Georgia, they're just gonna default back to well, Alabama lost to uh a bad Florida state team. Yeah, that's that's doing very, very bad right now. That loss is gonna sting them just like Florida's loss, us our loss to Florida's is probably gonna sting us. So that's how I feel.
SPEAKER_05:Now, this is this is all guessing. This is assuming Texas Texas is a projection for Sunday. It's completely ignoring what you're seeing this evening because the CFP is out tonight, and and you can you can debate it all you want, but this is just us what we think may happen when the final CFP comes out. Uh, the asterisk are the conference champions. Remember, the five highest conference champions receive automatic bids. I'm assuming North Texas wins that championship, therefore, their conference title, they'll get in with the 12 seed. I'm assuming Virginia will beat Duke because if Duke wins, that league won't be represented. Now, here's where it gets scary. So you see AM drop from three to seven. Okay? That's the 7-10 matchup, who is paired up with the two seed will say Georgia. Tech moves up to three. Indiana with the loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship goes to four. Well, the 10th seed who would play in college station, let's just go ahead and say Miami, Texas, or Alabama, completely ignoring what Utah has done. Utah's a great club. Who who Stevie is this just I mean, do you what's your take on this? Because man, there's so many takes you could have on this.
SPEAKER_03:There's so many takes. It's the what if. If my uh I won't say that, but uh if my aunt had balls, she'll be my uncle. So this is a big old what if of if we don't know what's happening on Saturday. I mean, um, I I don't think that they'll put Texas and Texas AM back-to-back games, you know. Um, so this is a huge what if. I mean, it looks good. I like it. Uh, but you're right, where is um where's Utah, you know? Yeah, so um it's it's tough right now. I just want to let's look at the uh the games, and if they have somebody that's uh teetering on getting in or out, uh they should put Texas in. Just because we'll have viewership, we'll have travel fans, um, and and and just the excitement of um Texas in the college football playoffs three years running, you know? So we'll see.
SPEAKER_05:And May, I wanted to ask you this. You were you were you brought up some good points that just created a thought. And this is to both of you. Is this matching the 11 best teams, or are we going off when lost records, or do you think this committee is truly factoring in quality losses, bad losses, uh, political factors, the cachet of a program like Texas, the uh the viewership numbers is uh they're not gonna say it, but do you think it is?
SPEAKER_07:I I think as far as the uh the the cachet label and possibly uh political correctness, that may be the the last factor, I think. Because if Alabama loses, now you have a uh a program like Alabama with all historic history, three losses. Texas, three losses. Okay, that that's now we're we're we're we're we're searching for straws with those two programs because we know when when Alabama's on TV, Texas is on TV, everybody's glued. You know, whether you love them or hate them, but you're you're watching that game like like Notre Dame's playing, also. So Cash A while I think it'll be a factor, I don't I don't think that's gonna be the overall factor that's gonna allow one of those teams to get in. Um Utah Man, they're just SOL, I believe. You know, the two losses have come to the uh two teams that are gonna be playing for the conference championship game in a in a rematch.
SPEAKER_06:Right.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, so I don't see how you can just even elevate a Utah team with two losses, very good team, but uh, but I think they're definitely on the outside looking in. I don't I don't see them even cracking. I think what where they rank right now, like 16, maybe 15? They're like in that 14 to 16 range. Yeah, I I don't see them even moving up. Now, I think the interesting argument is, and I think they got legit beef is what to do with Miami and Notre Dame. Because why is Notre Dame stuck at number nine and they have been the last couple of weeks based on their quality of losses? Well, their quality of losses just got worse because uh AM just got whooped by 10 points to take. So that Notre Dame team doesn't look like the same team. I mean, their quality of loss in that case actually goes down to them because AM's not the team that you know that beat Notre Dame when they beat them. Um and Miami beat Notre Dame head to head. So and they've been saying for weeks now, okay, because there was a huge gap between Notre Dame and Miami in the first two or three polls or whatever. Simply, and and they weren't even factoring in the head-to-head. Well, I think now Miami has kind of caught up to them, and a couple teams have lost this, that, and the other. That head to head has to come into play at some point. And I think I I wouldn't be shocked one bit if Miami, I mean, they were already on the 12 line. Wouldn't shock me to see them on that 10 line tonight or even on the nine line in front of Notre Dame. And Notre Dame season's over.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:I mean, I mean, they're they're done playing this weekend. So you know, and here's where them not being affiliated. We're gonna see if the committee has the cojones to penalize Notre Dame for not being a part of a conference. Because is that gonna come into play? Because they're if they were in part of a conference, they would be playing for a conference championship this year or this this upcoming weekend with the opportunity to earn and right in the playoffs. Now they're just relying on we're Notre Dame, we're a big brand. Um, we do have two losses, but we deserve to be in the playoff. Man, when is somebody gonna have the kahunas to to penalize Notre Dame for not being a part of uh of a conference?
SPEAKER_05:That's that's a fact. So here's another one. Here's another part that I thought I thought about. Um the when you look at uh what how Florida State, I get it, two years ago their quarterback was injured, and it's a totally different team. They were undefeated. Yeah, they didn't get the bid. Well, what do you do with old miss?
SPEAKER_07:They don't have a coach or staff, but they do have a coach. The the DC, the very vital part of that that that team called the defensive plays. He's the head coach now. I just found out and just heard that Charlie Weiss Jr. is gonna call plays in the game. He's gonna be the OC. So other than having their figurehead there, I mean, and you know, they're they're pass figurehead, they do have a head coach. He is the defensive coordinator, so they have stability. So I so I think Ole Miss is gonna be ranked pretty much right where they are. I mean, probably gonna have an opportunity to host a home game, and no, everything's in place, minus Lane.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, which is a weird situation. We'll get that in a minute. Stevie, I know it's tough for you to answer this. I know you gotta swallow your pride on this one. Um Texas AM, you you've seen their body of work, you saw them, and they're they're pretty physical, they're good. But do you see them recovering from that loss to Texas and responding? Because I feel like Mike Elko has really changed that mentality. I do you see this that Texas loss? Maybe defeating them twice, or do you think that they can get out of that first round?
SPEAKER_03:Whoever they um, when you start looking at um the teams that they beat, um, and the and the team that they lost to, they're only beaten up on the bottom half of the SEC. Yeah, they're beating up on the bottom half of the SEC. These teams that make the college football playoffs are elite right now. Um, Texas AM is a product of a good, good schedule. For example, and so um, man, honestly, the way they kind of imploded because we hit them in the mouth. Any of these teams on the screen right now is gonna hit them in the mouth. Right?
SPEAKER_05:Every day.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah. And they'll they'll fall. They're gonna fold. You can you can see it in them. Um I was gonna say something else. Uh but You can see it in them. Um, you know, um their quarterback Marcel Reed got hit one good time and he was basically done. And I looked around in the stadium, I said, Yep, I told y'all these Texas boys hit hard. So um it and and so once they get hit in the mouth and they get uh some adversity, like they went in in the halftime up, you know, but they felt it, you know, and they came back out and we jumped on them. So I don't I don't see them I don't see them getting past their first game.
SPEAKER_07:That's yeah, I I see him losing too. I mean, I pretty much even even stayed that last week that if they don't beat us in this first round and secure, you know, uh a home playoff game. I I think and um I think they're cooked. Marcel Reed got exposed. I I think uh from an emotional standpoint and a mental standpoint, I I think they're cooked. That that first game, and and you know, they've been off now. You know, it's gonna be a couple weeks before they even get a chance to play a game, and you know, I think that's gonna come into play. I just don't see them overcoming that loss to Texas.
SPEAKER_05:That's a tough one, and it it really, yeah, it really does. It's a factor, and you know, I'll go back to what we talked about a few weeks ago. The game cops of South Carolina put on film, yeah. How to scheme them, and it was even though if it was just for a first half. Now, AM can explode on you offensively. There's no um, but I did like the what what I saw from the Texas old line, DJ Campbell. Man, they're communicating, they're taking and picking up blitzes and helping each other.
SPEAKER_03:It's night and day difference, and I try I attribute that off that new pre-configured offensive line to why Arch is playing so much better right now.
SPEAKER_05:That's it, Stevie. That's exactly why, because he's able to be him.
SPEAKER_03:He's a he's a yes, he trusts his uh offensive line.
SPEAKER_05:It's the biggest team sport that you rely on others. Um, while MA and everyone's politicking, Sark has been on every network, almost every podcast except this one. And he is he's politicking. This is this is an example, and he's not wrong, but I still say you can't forget the loss to Florida.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, we had five opportunities, and that's two more than any other team in the country, and we won three of them, which is the best since 2019 when Joe Burrow and LSU you know beat three teams that ranked in the top ten during the regular season. So it's a pretty monumental and historic run that we had to get on. Uh, and I get don't get me wrong, I wish we went undefeated too. Uh, but there was a tall task with a new team. We fought our tails off. We we fought our tails off in Columbus, Ohio, we fought our tails off in Athens, Georgia, and we fought our tails off in Gainesville, Florida. Three of the probably most difficult places to play in the country. And at the end of the day, we're nine and three, we're six and two in the Southeastern Conference. We've beaten three top ten ranked teams, two of which are current top ten-ranked teams.
SPEAKER_05:He's smart, he's a good presentation, and they were away from home for 42 days.
SPEAKER_03:He's not wrong. He and um let me say this. I'm sorry to cut you off, man, but he's not wrong. Um, it those are some really tough places to play in the country, no matter how bad the team is. You know, you know, they did that study on how many teams um are uh Texas's rival, and you know, Florida wanted to beat us, right? They they wanted it bad, and they did, and it's really hard to play in the swamp. The other thing I wanted to say is I'm so glad they they renovated that building, they gutted that building to where Stark is sitting at right now, but they kept that picture behind him of Tommy Nobas and Earl Campbell running in with the Bulls. That picture has been up in this in that uh air in that building for 30 years now. They renovated everything else in that building, but they kept that picture up. I really like that.
SPEAKER_05:That's I like good observation, good eye. That's uh that's an iconic picture.
SPEAKER_07:It is, yeah, yeah. That that was never coming down.
SPEAKER_05:And maybe you guys gotta. I mean, he's for those on social media bitching, whining, criticizing, calling out Sark, Texas fans crying, dude.
SPEAKER_07:Sark, he's doing his job. I mean, he should be politiquing, he should be politiquing for a scene. I mean, coming off a big win, knocking out number three, or knocking, you know, knocking off number three in the country in front of all the eyes to see. I mean, it just definitely adds to the resume. But at the same time, you know, he he's gonna have to answer for Florida. A team that at that point coach was fired, got an interim head coach, players potentially getting in the portal. No way they should have won that game. The quarterback had been abysmal up until they played us, and he threw for two, three hundred yards. I mean, we're gonna have to answer for that Florida game. We're gonna have to answer for barely beating Kentucky, a team that probably should have beat us in overtime. They were right there. We're gonna have to answer for Mississippi State. Mississippi State, another game that came down to the wire. I mean, these are teams that you know in Mississippi State, they they've lost a lot of close games this year. I I don't think they'll necessarily be penalized for that one. I mean, because you did win the game, you won the Kentucky game. But Kentucky's a bad football team. Florida's a bad football team. I know they have names, and I know Ben Hill, Griffin Stadium is the swamp is a tough place to play. I I think if we had a better loss against Georgia, that's the better. But but we we ended up getting smoke bomb, and um the committee just has a lot to look at when it comes to us getting in. I love Mr. Mint May when he's in the lot to look at. I hate saying that because I mean we I do I believe we deserve to be in the playoffs. I do. I mean, if I if I had to choose, I would put us in just because of we went on the road, went to Ohio State. We've played some of those games that a lot of teams won't won't schedule, you know, and with that, you're gonna take some lumps, you know. But like Shark said, man, I mean you six and two in the SEC, you won, you know, five five out of those big games that you you've played against. Um you know, you you beat a what is a top rank OU team right now, and better building wins.
SPEAKER_05:You know, great wins. And and and here's the thing, here's the thing that bothers me um more than anything. When we had a four-team playoff, people bitched and moaned, criticized the five and six. Four, five, six are interchangeable. All right, the solution, let's go to 12. Yeah, what happens when we go to 16?
SPEAKER_07:And honestly, man, we we should be modeling this thing after the NFL, to be honest. I mean, I I think if we go that route, because I believe there's uh seven teams that get in, and the the the two the two uh you know top C's in the conference get a get an opening round bot. And those other six teams play each other on wild card weekend. I think if we model that there's uh that that'll that'll help solve the debate. Because now you just take you know, you you kind of break that model down how you want to, you know, the five conference champions and whatnot, and then the next best at-large teams based on record got ourselves a nice playoff. And if you don't fit that criteria, we just got to set the criteria and stick to it, and it is what it is. It's the same thing in the NFL, man. They they got those tiebreakers and things like that. A lot of teams that might have the same record, but if you lost to this opponent or lost to that opponent within a division, within the conference, I mean all defaults to the to the tiebreakers, those teams are out. No more bitching to complaining about it. You're you're done, you had your chance. You're out, you know. So I I don't know. Yeah, because it could go on forever, like like with the field of 64. You know, you got the first four out, then they went to the play-in game, and now it's 68. Right, right, right. It could go on forever, man. At some point, it's gotta be we we we gotta end it. 12 might not be enough, but I think 16 is the sweet spot. You gotta you gotta push, you gotta halt it.
SPEAKER_05:That's 16's enough now. Um like FCS were my guys play. We've gone from 16 to 20, now 24. All right, by the way, they're the seventh national seed, they're playing a playoff game. Yeah, in the round of 16 this weekend, yeah. First round by, but I don't think you go past 16 for FBS.
SPEAKER_07:Nah, nah, I don't I don't think so. And then it just becomes watered down, and that's why we love the sport so much. We love the debate aspect of it who should have got in, who's getting in, and it's definitely an upgrade from the 14 playoff and from the old school mythical, you know, whoever's ranked number one and ranked number two, these are the guys gonna play for the championship. Way better than that. Yeah, way better.
SPEAKER_03:And what we I was gonna say, what we do need to do is uh figure out how we can end the season earlier. We can't go in the uh February and college football.
SPEAKER_07:Um uh for well, it's over January, January 21st is is the championship game.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I think we need to still um end it before then, before and we need a uniform uh day when school starts on going back from uh winter break um across the board because there are some kids gonna be playing in the national championship game that are wanting to uh uh enter the portal. Well, that's it.
SPEAKER_07:I think they need to adjust that. They need to adjust, and I think they do have an amendment to where those kids that are in the portal, as long as their team is in the playoffs, they're gonna have a chance to hop in the portal, so they're gonna have a chance to exercise that. I think it's like a 10-day window, right? From January 2nd to January 11th or 12th or something like that. They'll get theirs when their team finishes playing.
SPEAKER_03:So and so for me adjustments for me, get gaining a couple weeks in August. Go ahead and start in the season a little bit, a little bit earlier. Um, maybe a week or two, and then getting rid of so many uh bye weeks. Didn't we had two bye weeks?
SPEAKER_05:I don't mind that because that grind at this speed and this level.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, we we we yeah, I know University of Louisville had two bye weeks, and yeah, and both of them would happen to be early, and then they went on like an eight-game stretch. Yeah, you know, so yeah, I know Coach Braun was complaining about that. It's like, man, why you give me two bye weeks, but you put them all at the beginning of the year. Now I got guys banged up. I'm playing with my four to fifth string running back because I I don't, you know, yeah, they need there's some quirks about the schedule that they can definitely figure out, but um, you know, it's not a perfect system, not a perfect model, but never made a lot of people a lot of money. That's what it is.
SPEAKER_05:But I I'll say this for fans, uh, and I'll before we get to wrapping this up. Uh don't eliminate the early season marquee games just because that's great for the I don't want to see Sam Houston, San Jose State, San Jose State as the three as SEC goes to the games. No, no fan wants to see that crap. Yeah, we pay enough for these tickets.
SPEAKER_07:That's gonna be ADs, though. That's gonna be ADs and coaches, man, setting those schedules, and you know that's exactly what's gonna happen. Who's gonna be like Del Coney and schedule Ohio State, you know, Michigan, Notre Dame, you know, because now I think most of the Power Four conferences they're gonna be playing nine or ten you know conference games. So they're looking for that that that pansy, that cakewalk game, you know, to try to get in there somewhere. But um you know, the big schools are definitely gonna stand a benefit more than the little ones. I gotta hook them, fellas.
SPEAKER_05:So, Stevie, this is what it's looking like. Hey, this this is a guest, of course. What you just saw was our projection of the final CFP for Sunday. We don't we don't have a damn clue. We're just going off our educated guests.
SPEAKER_03:It's a little bit of a clue, a little bit.
SPEAKER_05:It is, it is because I Steve, I'm gonna say it right now. I say there's a 70% chance Texas is closer than people think.
SPEAKER_03:You think so?
SPEAKER_05:Politics.
SPEAKER_03:Politics and money I say, baby, swag. I hear you, I hear you. I hope you're right, man. I hope you're right.
SPEAKER_05:And who, if you're a network executive, if you're ESPN, you're ABC, you're Disney, why would you not want an AM Texas rematch in the first round?
SPEAKER_03:Nah, they don't want that. They don't, nah. Nah, I don't think they would want that, man. That game's been played. You want something new.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. The only way to make it happen.
SPEAKER_03:I don't know, man. That's still that's a tough one.
SPEAKER_05:It is.
SPEAKER_03:They're gonna look around and say we already played that game.
SPEAKER_05:That's right. A lot of people hey, a lot of people have opinions. That's one of them. Yeah, hey, I'll tell you what, a lot of people have opinions about this guy. He's been bouncing around all over the country, NFL, college. I don't know, he seems likable. But some rap artists based out of Mississippi. I think they called it like they saw it.
SPEAKER_02:Living Pipin didn't give it a go. Let me keep it in the middle, give it a given. Quick on the bird, the play, of thin, quick, quick, gonna be.
SPEAKER_03:What would you do? Like what somebody will offer me a bigger, better job, then I gotta take it for me and my family. That's that's not fair.
SPEAKER_05:It's not about the money. Just what he's already was already making great money at at Ole Miss.
SPEAKER_03:He was, but you want to be in Mississippi or you want to be in Baton Rouge, like it's neither. Well, the food is better in Baton Rouge. I I can't see that, and you're only an hour away from uh New Orleans.
SPEAKER_05:My happy place, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Man, I love South Louisiana.
SPEAKER_05:But um joking, Baton Rouge, I love you.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah. Uh so it it's it's he was offered another gig, offered a lot of money for the NIL. Um, what do you have him do? You want him to turn that down and stay at Ole Miss? Come on, man. It's um it's it's uh what old miss maybe 60,000 seat stadium, 80 maybe 80,000 seat stadium. It's about 70 about 70,000 seat stadium, or go to LSU to 110, and everybody's behind you, and you just the you're the D state school, and um it's it's old miss that you gotta fight with uh Mississippi State, and you always gonna well he he brought the program up to the top half of the SEC, but other than that, mostly you've been at the bottom half of the SEC, you know. Yeah, um, the guy took another job, and it it it I don't know why they are on him so bad, man. I know that they wanted him to stay, but I don't get it. It's it's too much.
SPEAKER_05:Well, Kevin wanted to stay through the playoffs, but yeah, and the AD said no.
SPEAKER_03:So y'all need to be yelling at the AD. I don't I know that there may be rules and he'll be around uh uh the players trying to recruit them to come to LSU and this, this, and that, but I think we gotta put the ego aside some to let the man go ahead and finish out the season, the season that he started. So he he's taking another job, but you won't let him finish out what he's what he's doing, like be amicable. Yes, say man, thank you for all your service here. Let's finish this season off good, and we'll build you a statue, you know. So if you win, you know. So um, I think that just because they didn't get the answer that they wanted, then it was all cut all ties and bad blood after that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, no, I agree, I agree. And I want to circle back. Let's just say Texas doesn't make it to the CFP. I forgot one piece of information. Um the nine wind horns, if they don't make the CFP. Uh the bowl games that they're that they would be tied to, it'll either be the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Gator Bowl, the Dukes Mayo Bowl, Citrus Bowl, or the Reliot. I think the Dukes Mayo, Citrus, and Reliot are all in the Florida area. So that's that would be the Bowl games, and I think they're New Year's Day games. Uh Liberty Bowl, I can't remember what day it's on, but I I know Texas fans don't want any part of that. Uh but Memphis is a good city, uh, Bill Street and uh Blue City Cafe. I highly recommend, but maybe you don't have to worry about that. Um, before we hit the break, uh we gotta we gotta caption a photo, Stevie.
SPEAKER_03:Poor Aggies. That's that's my that's my caption. Poor Aggies. Golly.
SPEAKER_05:Silver Spurs, I think it may be Silver Spurs and Texas Cowboys uniting there behind members of the 12th man uh yell leaders.
SPEAKER_03:Poor Aggies, that's it. That's my that's my uh caption. They don't even have a thumbs up.
SPEAKER_05:That's well, if you're the if you're a yell leader right there, man, at that moment, I would assume that's in the about eight minutes to go in the game. How do you feel? I mean, what do you do? Nothing. Yeah, you're dejected. Hey, on the other side, after we take a quick break, you won't believe how many Texas high school football playoff teams are remaining from Austin. Not many. We'll see on the other side. Austin, Texas is changing every day. But one constant is Dirty Martin's Place on Bois. Dirty's recently celebrated 98 years young, and the future is soft. And this space in the back is open to host any event, personal or business related.
SPEAKER_00:Hey everyone, it's Daniel here at uh Dirty Martin's. We're in the Burn Orange Room. We are currently uh booking a lot of parties back here. If you can see, we got a class even for about 90 people, but we are excited to host uh any party that you might want to bring.
SPEAKER_05:Give Daniel Young a call at liberty to observe this space for any event that you can think of. Stevie, only six remaining schools.
SPEAKER_03:That Vanderbilt Vandegriff versus uh dripping. Where's that game gonna be?
SPEAKER_05:San Antonio.
SPEAKER_03:What is UIL doing, man?
SPEAKER_05:It's not UIL. What is it? Each high school football program, the coaching staffs, they usually they discuss, they they they figure out a neutral location or the coin toss for home, home, and they they gotta locate and identify a neutral spot and see if it's available either on usually it'll Friday or Saturday. I've seen it happen on Thursdays, and then you gotta pay, you know, or reserve it, and you come to an agreement with the venue. Hey, we'll we're gonna take concessions, we'll give you ticket sales, um, and reserve it. And I think if I remember right, they're gonna play at the Alamo Dome. Oh, really?
SPEAKER_03:Um scenario teams gotta go all the way down to San Antonio, all the way to damn San Antonio.
SPEAKER_05:I don't get it, yeah. You know, and it's I tell you what, man, I what Drew Sanders has done with the defending state champions of 6A Division II to get them back to this round in a somewhat rebuilding year. Good culture, great program. They're reloaded, but dripping springs. I don't know. They have been waiting for this opportunity. I think this is the year, and I may be wrong, where they take that next big leap. I think dripping wins this game and ends up playing for the state championship. They've come, they've they've been a mainstay for a long time. Galen Zimmerman, all the all those great coaches out there in that community, they're hungry. And I think they need to get this done before that other school opens. And dripping. Yeah, that's a great community out there, man. It's funny. I cannot, I am blown away by how I mean their home atmosphere at that current stadium in dripping. It's intimidating, man. Intimidating for a visiting group. I mean, it is loud. And so is Vandegruff.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I wish they would have just made the school bigger and uh added more kids to the school, but I hate it, man. Yeah, they they did the same thing to Judson down in uh Converse, uh, and opened up and so you don't hear as much Judson football as you used to because they broke the broke the program up.
SPEAKER_05:Shout out to my good friend and stories inside the man cave VIP alumni, Mark Soto, the head coach of the Judson Rockets.
SPEAKER_03:There you go. You know my wife with the Judson.
SPEAKER_05:He's a Judson Rocket himself. Oh, really? He played on those great teams.
SPEAKER_03:So okay, he he may know may know my wife.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, Mark Soto.
SPEAKER_06:Hey Ben, tell me something good.
SPEAKER_05:Oh buddy, we just got through Thanksgiving, ate like a champion.
SPEAKER_03:Um that means you won then, huh?
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I had a Puerto Rican-influenced uh menu, if you will, uh for uh my niece's father-in-law is Puerto Rican.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_05:Uh great food. It was it was it was simple the foundation of Thanksgiving food, but with a Caribbean Puerto Rican twist. Uh and I I baked my first pie ever.
SPEAKER_03:There you go.
SPEAKER_05:Chocolate pecan, it was a hit, and uh it encourages it it man, it I think it spikes diabetic diabetes. Um it was too rich for me. I didn't like my own pie because it's too rich. But brother, I have a lot to be thankful for. You and your family are part of it. Um, that beautiful display in Austin at DKR, seeing the maroon and burn orange together again here in Austin, regardless of how nasty it kind of got sometimes between fans. It's good to see those two fan bases together, and man, I just there's a lot of things that we don't see uh around us that we should so should be so grateful for. But tell me something good, my brother.
SPEAKER_03:Something good today is December 2nd, and December is a very busy month for my household. Man, I got two both my daughters' birthdays are December, and we got Christmas. And I am thankful and happy that it's December, the end of the year, and um Christmas, man. Christmas is here. It's a beautiful season here, yeah, beautiful season. Uh, the cool weather, crisp weather, sunny skies in Austin, Texas. Man, just happy that I'm here, happy to be around, you know.
SPEAKER_05:I'm happy. I'm happy you're around, and man, the season of giving, season of beautiful. I don't like the cold, but it also kind of makes you smile a little bit.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, I love the cold.
SPEAKER_05:Man, you I knew you were different, brother. That was fun. MA, you and MA were cooking today, yeah, and we're so thankful for you at home. And we wish you and your family a happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, uh, happy holidays, happy Kwanzaa, everything. We celebrate it all up in this man's cave, I'll tell you that. Um, but to you, much love to you, and we're so thankful, and we're so thankful for the great city of Shreveport, Louisiana, because it's a home of Stevie Lee and the home of Hardgrove Rufing. And we love Nacados, Texas, the home of my college alma mater, Stephen F. Austin, beat Abilene Christian in the first, second round of the FCS playoffs in my beautiful hometown, Austin, Texas. Man, it's paradise in the hills. And to each of you who have supported us this year and forever, continue. I'm overly grateful. And to the OG Man C boys, that being Harbaugh Hards, Big Mike, he coach Mo. What did we tell him, Stevie Lee? We out.
SPEAKER_06:I'm in my car in a gide. I said, get out.