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Rivalry Weekend College Football Preview
15 Plays7 months ago
Rivalry Week caps the 2025 regular season on November 29-30, delivering a slate packed with historic matchups that could shake up College Football Playoff bids, conference titles, and bragging rights for years. With the expanded 12-team CFP format, these games carry extra weight—wins here often mean postseason glory, while losses sting extra deep. Expect chaos: emotions run high, underdogs rise, and "throw out the records" feels real. The action kicks off Friday night with the Lone Star Showdown's return and peaks Saturday with a marathon of classics.
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Transcript
Introduction and Week 14 College Football Preview
00:00:00
Mike Bell
All right. Welcome back to another episode of Blown Coverage. Week 14 is upon us. We have some great games to get to Obviously, we have Texas, Texas A&M, but I think we're in agreement we should probably end with that one.
00:00:15
Mike Bell
There's so many great games. i don't even know if in our time here we're going to be able to get to them all. But I'm really looking forward to it. Let me ask you other than our game, A&M in Texas, what game are you looking forward to watching the most? If you only had to watch one other game, you can't watch any others. Which one do you watch?
00:00:45
Kaleb
Honestly, man, that's pretty hard. We'll kind of get into it in a little bit maybe, or and into it in a little bit. My heart is wanting to say the Michigan-Ohio State game, but for some odd reason, I'm getting tugged to the Auburn-Alabama game for some reason.
00:01:01
Kaleb
So I guess maybe that's what I'll stick with.
Alabama vs Auburn: Rivalry and Playoff Implications
00:01:05
Mike Bell
Okay, well then...
00:01:06
Kaleb
I would have maybe been a little bit more excited for the Georgia-Georgia Tech game if Georgia Tech hadn't had lost this past week. um Maybe an honorable mention. No,
00:01:19
Mike Bell
Okay, you don't get to just name all the games. I'm looking forward to all of them too. I said you get to choose one and one only. So it sounds like you're leaning towards Ohio State and Michigan. Is that right?
00:01:28
Kaleb
no, no, no. I'm going to say Alabama-Auburn. I'll just say Alabama-Auburn and I'll leave it at that.
00:01:34
Mike Bell
Okay. So then let's start with that one. You know, that game is all always one of the best games. And what bothers me about, well, it doesn't bother me, but if you look at the way the games are structured this weekend,
00:01:43
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:01:53
Mike Bell
Every time slot starting with like 11 a.m. on Friday is pretty good. And then you get to the 630 window on Saturday. And it's pretty much just the Alabama Auburn game, which to you, I guess would probably be better because you only can watch like one game at a time.
00:02:10
Mike Bell
But once we get to that 6 30 window rivalry week is just going to be kind of over and it's just going to be alabama auburn but either way there's going to be so much on the line and that just adds to the pressure of the game and yeah
00:02:25
Kaleb
You can maybe throw maybe throw in there the UCLA-USC game, but that's a big maybe. so
00:02:32
Mike Bell
yeah i mean it could be a fun game to watch you never know what could happen but What I love about this rivalry, Alabama-Auburn, so it's five and a half as of now The newest rankings haven't come out, so we don't know if or where Alabama is going to be ranked.
00:02:32
Kaleb
But for all purposes, yes.
00:02:37
Kaleb
Potentially, yeah.
00:02:47
Mike Bell
I imagine they're going to be still number 10, maybe number nine. But they're only a five and a half point favorite versus a team that's unranked and may not make a bowl this year in Auburn.
00:02:57
Mike Bell
But I think that just says a lot about you know the game itself, the Iron Bowl. in that it really is like anything could happen, night game at Jordan Harris Stadium.
00:03:02
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:03:08
Kaleb
Yep.
00:03:09
Mike Bell
it's It's just great. And, you know, when I was looking at this game, like you could look at the stats, but the more I looked at the stats, it's like, you know what, this is pretty meaningless. Like this is not a game where you can really look at matchups, although there are a few things you could look at.
00:03:19
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:03:25
Mike Bell
It's just more so like it's a game of chaos.
00:03:27
Kaleb
The heart, you know.
00:03:28
Mike Bell
Like, yeah, anything could really take place.
00:03:31
Kaleb
And that's what was going to say too, is like this week, I think there's just going to be a common theme of, you know, anything can happen. And you could argue that every week for sure, but it's like on steroids, rivalry week, right? um With this one, like we've had many conversations throughout this year of watching football. This is like just been one of the craziest consistent rivalries, like, you know, Auburn winning when they're not expected to, or Auburn or ah Alabama coming back, the graveyard or the grave digger.
00:04:01
Kaleb
ah game there's just so many of them to be honest with you it's kind of crazy and with and to me like seriously like with this game the home field advantage is like a huge plus for sure so I think that along with I think Auburn honestly offensively anyways has gotten some momentum like I know they last week they played Mercer okay but they went out and scored 62 points the week before that they scored 38 against Vandy which Vandy is not necessarily a pushover team by any means
00:04:15
Mike Bell
Yeah.
00:04:30
Kaleb
And i think I think what it has to do with is like, i mean, not necessarily them firing Q freeze, but they have started another quarterback in place of Jackson Arnold. And I think maybe they're able to just kind of scheme up things better for their offense with that quarterback and
00:04:47
Kaleb
I don't know. i mean, that was a whole that was a whole thing for me was like, okay, what's stopping Auburn from actually being a pretty decent team?
00:04:52
Mike Bell
Thank you.
00:04:55
Kaleb
Their offense, right? And now those last couple weeks they've been able to actually show the ability to score. And one of those games I know was against Mercer, but I promise you if you watch the Auburn game auburn games earlier in the year, un you would have maybe had a doubt if they could have scored 30 against Mercer.
00:05:11
Kaleb
So I think that's the reason why I'm a little bit maybe more excited about this game is just because I'm curious to see where that offensive momentum goes with ah going and or you know playing against Alabama.
00:05:23
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:05:24
Mike Bell
Yeah, it's weird to say, but I mean, Alabama, a team that was just the number four team in the country, is all of a sudden fighting for its playoff life.
00:05:30
Kaleb
yeah
00:05:32
Mike Bell
I mean, they lose here, they're out.
00:05:32
Kaleb
Exactly.
00:05:34
Mike Bell
So it just more reason for Auburn to play hard. But you know i am curious, in the Alabama, I'm sure they're thinking about this as well, but you just kind of don't know what to expect from Auburn, being that all of a sudden they do seem to have figured something out offensively.
00:05:38
Kaleb
Yep. Yep.
00:05:50
Kaleb
yeah
00:05:50
Mike Bell
And their defense, you would think, is still going to be pretty good, although they allowed a bunch of points to Vandy. So just not really sure what to expect.
00:05:58
Kaleb
okay
00:05:58
Mike Bell
But regardless, as a neutral, I hope it's a good game and not one of those where Alabama just came to to play, Auburn didn't, and then it's like 27-0 at halftime.
00:06:10
Mike Bell
But yeah, I agree with you. this is i would say it's probably in my top three as well for games that I'm looking forward to. even though it's not a ranked matchup, it's just so much could happen that could just disrupt the playoffs in general and it would just be a major story.
00:06:23
Kaleb
no
00:06:26
Mike Bell
So, but.
00:06:27
Kaleb
For sure. And honestly, it would it would really kind of suck for Alabama too, just because like we've given them so much praise throughout the year for the gauntlet and the schedule they have done.
00:06:35
Mike Bell
Right.
00:06:38
Kaleb
And just how... i mean, listen, i know the Florida State loss um happened, but other than that, I mean, it's like pretty much almost flawless, you could say. okay And...
00:06:54
Kaleb
I mean, they barely lost to a really good Oklahoma team that's probably going to, I mean, we hope, well, could be in the playoff. I'll say that. Okay. So it's like with that kind of schedule, I mean, what more could you ask for, in my opinion, to be honest with you?
Ohio State vs Michigan: Rivalry Analysis and Defense Discussion
00:07:13
Mike Bell
I agree. And I know I kind of just said this, but another way to phrase it is it's wild how Alabama, if they win this game, they're in the SEC title game.
00:07:24
Mike Bell
And by the way, probably favored to win it no matter. Well, if it's against Georgia, then maybe not. But if it's against A&M, they'll probably favor be favored by like two and and half if they win this game.
00:07:30
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:07:32
Mike Bell
And they go from that to if they lose this game, they're just out of the playoffs entirely. You know, it's literally all comes down to this game for Alabama. So, yeah.
00:07:40
Kaleb
Oh yeah, for sure. Which is insane, to be honest. Yeah, i mean, really.
00:07:45
Mike Bell
Yeah, yeah.
00:07:47
Kaleb
what so What was your, what was your, what would have been your pick, I guess?
00:07:47
Mike Bell
Okay, so...
00:07:51
Mike Bell
Well, so that's what I was going to say. i It's tough for me as well.
00:08:00
Mike Bell
I would probably say...
00:08:01
Kaleb
One game.
00:08:02
Mike Bell
I know, i know. I don't want to do like you and just say every game. I think you probably have to go with what is probably the best rivalry in all of sports, and that is Ohio State-Michigan.
00:08:14
Mike Bell
And it ah you don't agree with that?
00:08:21
Mike Bell
I mean, a lot of people think it is the number one. I mean, look, I'm i'm willing to listen to arguments about that. It's not like a hill I'm going die on. But I was listening to Joel Klatt, and he was making the point of it might be the best rivalry in all of sports.
00:08:33
Mike Bell
But even if it's not, this is one of the best eras of this specific rivalry with everything.
00:08:39
Kaleb
No, now I'll die on that hill.
00:08:40
Mike Bell
along Yeah, yeah.
00:08:41
Kaleb
I would agree with that. I mean, it's since's been that it's been amazing. I don't know if I would die on the hill of it being the best rivalry, but I don't know. I'd have to take a look at it. And honestly, you could even argue like just within the last 10 or 15 years, like, listen, I get the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is like one of the best, and I do agree with that.
00:09:02
Kaleb
But just think about like the – how like – The Auburn-Alabama games, just think about like the kickoff return, the Grave Digger game.
00:09:09
Mike Bell
Yep.
00:09:12
Kaleb
ah um I really want to say I'm forgetting maybe one or two. I mean, there have been some crazy Auburn-Alabama games within the last 10, 15 years. okay or um Yeah, years. i mean, it it's been insane. So...
00:09:32
Kaleb
Not to say that there haven't been some elite moments for the Ohio State-Michigan game. They haven't been necessarily close games. But as far as just like, holy crap, did that really just happen moments as far as football goes?
00:09:43
Kaleb
I would have to give the edge to the Auburn-Alabama rivalry. But also my heartstrings go out to the A&M-Texas game. And, you know, I don't know how long people have really felt Ohio State-Michigan has been the number one rated ill again I don't know if that's been just a historic thing or, you know, i don't know when that notion got started, to be honest with you.
00:10:04
Kaleb
I would say, how would people view our rivalry if we had continued that? You know, that's my question, because
00:10:09
Mike Bell
Right. i agree.
00:10:13
Kaleb
that would be my only question to that, right? I mean, it's insane. Like, I don't know. I don't know. But anyway, continue.
00:10:23
Mike Bell
So, yeah, there is just – what's going to be so so much fun about it is – and this is another thing I listened to on Joel Klatt is no one on Ohio State on their squad has beat Michigan.
00:10:36
Mike Bell
And then no one on Michigan has gone to Ohio State.
00:10:37
Kaleb
Which is insane with the amount of talent and just like what like a championship team last year.
00:10:39
Mike Bell
It
00:10:45
Kaleb
i mean, it is in the insane.
00:10:47
Mike Bell
Right. And, you know, Ohio State is favored in this game. what are they favored? Like 10 and a half or something. I think it's at 10 now.
00:10:55
Kaleb
and a half. Or hold on, excuse me, I'm sorry.
00:10:56
Mike Bell
Okay, see nine and half.
00:10:58
Kaleb
ah Nine and a half.
00:11:00
Mike Bell
Nine and half. Yeah, so that's the one. you know, it's at Michigan. I hate that it's at 11 o'clock, but all the big teams are going to be – the biggest ones are always going to be 11 because of the way their TV contracts are, whatever.
00:11:06
Kaleb
Yeah, did too.
00:11:13
Mike Bell
I don't know. This is going to be fun. i personally don't. It's just one of those things where anything could happen. But Ohio State has just been so good. i don't know. I know you looked more into this game. do you have anything to say about it?
00:11:27
Kaleb
So – here's my deal, right? So
00:11:35
Kaleb
Michigan, what are they going to be able to do against Ohio State's defense, which is arguably rated the best defense in the nation this year? And I saw a statistic the other day – or on Saturday where they're scoring like 7.8 points a game.
00:11:52
Kaleb
And I think that's like the second lowest – ever maybe. I want to say that. And that's pretty insane to be honest with you. And don't get me wrong. I think it's very impressive what Michigan's been able to do. But if you really look at their schedule, ah pretty much if they've played a pretty good opponent, like, so the two best opponents they've played against on their schedule so far is Oklahoma and USC. Okay. They lost, but to both of those now, not to say like, Hey, now the USC game, they got blown out to some extent. They were,
00:12:26
Kaleb
competitive with Oklahoma. Oklahoma just pulled away a little late. So I think that game was a little bit closer than it looked on the scoreboard. But anyway, not to discredit Michigan, what they've been able to do this year with a true freshman quarterback and for all intents and purposes, just really having to rely on the run.
00:12:44
Kaleb
I just think Ohio State's going be able to bottle them up and stop that run. And I just think that this stage of a game is too much for Bryce Underwood to undertake right now. to propel Michigan over a win. I just, in my mind, like, yes, you have that thought, like, this is rivalry week. Anything can happen. But I just think Ohio State has too much power for them to be able to do what they did last year come up miraculously with a upset.
00:13:13
Kaleb
And I really do hate that. Just imagine this game being played at night. You know, I mean, that would have been insane, to be honest with you.
00:13:22
Mike Bell
I agree. Now, the one thing I will say is it does seem like Jeremiah Smith might be injured.
00:13:24
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:13:28
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:13:28
Mike Bell
yeah We don't know the extent of that.
00:13:32
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:13:32
Mike Bell
Regardless, injured or not, it it is hard to see a path. But boy, if it happens, oh my goodness.
00:13:38
Kaleb
Dude, that would have been insane. Because really, you can make an argument for Ohio State too. Like, what other – not just biased here, but other than Texas, what's been the other, like, really good defense they've had to play against?
00:13:52
Mike Bell
Right at Penn State.
00:13:54
Kaleb
Yeah, Penn State, you could argue, but I don't know. Maybe that's a little questionable too, because did they have the right heart and mindset? i don't know. But anyway, yes, for all intents purposes, we'll say Penn State.
00:14:05
Mike Bell
Yeah.
00:14:07
Kaleb
Other than that, they played like what? a hint Like two really good, pretty good defensive teams, I would say maybe. and Michigan is a good defensive team. So maybe this could put like a shock onto Julian saying and be like, oh crap, you know, haven't had to go up at this and against this in a while. So maybe this could be a sloppy game.
00:14:24
Kaleb
I think there's a chance that this could be a defensive game, right? Disemotion, defense, but ultimately I think Ohio State could pull away with this thing. But what do i What would I personally like?
00:14:36
Kaleb
Number one, Ohio State will lose, obviously, right? But um just in frankly, how it's been for like the past, what, four years or so? Like very close. Like it comes down to the last four minutes of the game to decide decides who wins the game.
00:14:52
Kaleb
ah But anyway, that's really all had to say about the game.
00:15:00
Mike Bell
and Nice, and of course, College Game Day is going to be there, which I do think if they can only go to the places that are playing on Saturday, that probably is where you have to go, given the dynamics of Ohio State having not beat Michigan forever.
00:15:13
Mike Bell
And Michigan, by the way, don't forget, they win this game, they're in the playoff, most likely.
00:15:16
Kaleb
yeah they're yeah Oh, yeah, for sure.
00:15:19
Mike Bell
Michigan is. i don't know if they're to bump out, but...
00:15:23
Kaleb
Which, if Michigan
Georgia vs Georgia Tech: Rivalry and Rankings
00:15:26
Kaleb
is able to pull off this win, I even think almost to an extent you have to give Sharon Moore credit for Michigan's season that they've had with a true freshman quarterback and just what he's been able to do.
00:15:36
Mike Bell
Right.
00:15:37
Kaleb
Because, mean, in the regular season, they're nine and three Okay? And, however, you could argue that they maybe have had a less difficult big Big Ten schedule, that is still quite the accomplishment with a true freshman quarterback.
00:15:52
Kaleb
So anyway, credit to them regardless.
00:15:53
Mike Bell
For sure.
00:15:54
Kaleb
But it would be huge. I mean, like insanely crazy for them to go 10-2 this year for sure.
00:16:04
Mike Bell
Agreed. It's going be a fun one. Let's move on to the 2.30 slot on Friday on ABC.
00:16:15
Mike Bell
It's going to be number four Georgia against Georgia Tech. I imagine Georgia Tech after falling out of the or i'm sorry after losing they were at so maybe they stay in the top and they'll stay around.
00:16:29
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:16:30
Mike Bell
you know, maybe the 25 range, they're kind of in a similar spot to Michigan in a weird way. Now in a much worse conference, I don't think it would work out the same way, but if they were to pull out win versus Georgia, they would have an argument for, Hey, we're 10 and two.
00:16:39
Kaleb
yeah
00:16:45
Mike Bell
i don't know if they still have a shot to be the ACC title game. I think they do technically according to the math, but very unlikely. So, You know, i would say enjoy this one because this may be the last year in some time that this is competitive.
00:17:02
Kaleb
Yeah, right.
00:17:03
Mike Bell
Thinking it back to five years ago, this was kind of like an easy win for Georgia. It's like, oh, that's your rival, Georgia Tech. But Georgia Tech over the past few years has obviously been very good. Right.
00:17:13
Kaleb
Haynes King leaving.
00:17:14
Mike Bell
is. Right.
00:17:14
Kaleb
I think Haynes King is a senior.
00:17:14
Mike Bell
Right.
00:17:16
Kaleb
um Again, Brent Key.
00:17:16
Mike Bell
he is
00:17:18
Kaleb
who Now with him being in an alumni, there is an aspect that he could stay there, you know, just out of loyalty.
00:17:19
Mike Bell
right
00:17:25
Kaleb
But, you know, who knows what's going to happen with him at the end of the year, which, you know, he for him to be able to do what he has done at Georgia Tech, that is a feat, in my opinion, regardless of ACC or not.
00:17:35
Mike Bell
Oh, yeah.
00:17:37
Kaleb
i mean, because before he arrived there, they were a complete joke. Yeah.
00:17:40
Mike Bell
Well, I wonder if he's kind of – is an alumni, which has a big impact. But I do wonder if he's kind of in a similar situation to Clark Lee in the sense that, okay, he had this amazing quarterback that has probably taken him to you know another level in terms of the ones he's been able to get.
00:17:54
Kaleb
Yeah, that's true
00:17:56
Mike Bell
And he's got to know, like, it's probably not going to get better than this. If he wants to go somewhere else, then this is probably the year to do so. So –
00:18:06
Kaleb
true. Just a small comment here. I saw a report. i don't know if you did, but the number one rated quarterback in next year's recruiting class, or I forget his name, but he is committed to Georgia.
00:18:17
Kaleb
there was a report that this guy put in a prediction for Vanderbilt to swing that commit away from Georgia. And if that were to happen, I think that almost anchors Clark Lee to Vanderbilt.
00:18:32
Kaleb
Because if, number one, for him to be able to do that, Clark Lee's got to tell the kid, I'm going to stay here kind of thing.
00:18:33
Mike Bell
Sure.
00:18:39
Kaleb
So anyway, that's that would be an interesting storyline to watch, seriously. Because who in the hell would think Vanderbilt would get the number one player Number one quarterback, let alone number one player in the nation.
00:18:51
Kaleb
You know, i mean it would just be some freak accident. Like, was this kid born right outside the front lawn of Vanderbilt or something? I don't know. But anyway. Mm-hmm.
00:18:59
Mike Bell
Right. Yeah, so, you know, obviously what sucks, and I just mentioned it, is Georgia Tech is coming off a loss.
00:19:06
Kaleb
Mm-hmm.
00:19:06
Mike Bell
Also, another thing that sucks, you know, last year this game was in Athens. This year this game is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in georgia Atlanta, Georgia. You know, which, it just sucks. You know, these games are meant to be played on the campuses.
00:19:21
Kaleb
Oh, for sure.
00:19:21
Mike Bell
So, i just hate that, but whatever. So, it'll be a...
00:19:25
Kaleb
also hate, yeah, I hate the fact that Georgia Tech lost last week because, I mean, another reason for that, it probably dampens Haynes-Kings' Heisman hopeful, or like, you know, yeah.
00:19:38
Mike Bell
Oh, it doesn't dampen it. It kills it. He's not going to be in it now. But it does suck, yeah.
00:19:43
Kaleb
Yeah. ah Anyway.
00:19:47
Mike Bell
Just from a Georgia
00:19:48
Kaleb
I think it could be an interesting game.
00:19:50
Mike Bell
Oh, I think so, too. i By the way, I expect this to be a higher scoring game than maybe people think because both defenses kind of haven't been the best.
00:19:57
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:20:02
Mike Bell
And Georgia Tech's defense hasn't been the best, but both offenses can score.
00:20:02
Kaleb
yeah
00:20:06
Kaleb
okay
00:20:07
Mike Bell
so The obvious matchup here is going to be how well can Georgia Tech run the ball on georgia on Georgia's front seven. Georgia is fifth against the rush in the country, but you know Georgia Tech kind of has their own little style of running.
00:20:16
Kaleb
yeah
00:20:24
Mike Bell
And I do think they will be able to move the ball somewhat decently. And what's interesting, and I usually don't pay attention to this stat, but for this game is important.
00:20:36
Mike Bell
Georgia is number one in the country in success rate on first down on defense. The reason that is so important here is because the way Georgia Tech plays is they want to try to get, you know, four or five yards the first, you know, first play of the down and get it to like a second, fourth, third and two situation.
00:20:48
Kaleb
Okay.
00:20:56
Mike Bell
And that's kind of their game But if Georgia is able to stop them on those early downs and they're like in more of the second and eights and like third and longs and, you know force Haines King to throw it, are they going to be able to do that? So that is something to watch out for. And it does feel like one of those things you're going to see early in the game. Like, OK, can Georgia Tech move the ball?
00:21:19
Mike Bell
So that's something to keep an eye on. But also for Georgia, just in their position, they're in like a ah weird spot where they may get like a ah double bye. And I don't know how this situation is going to be fixed, but they it's very likely that they are going to miss the SEC championship game, but then come out of it the number four team in the country.
00:21:44
Mike Bell
So you get two byes in a row, and like should that be possible?
00:21:45
Kaleb
yeah
00:21:48
Mike Bell
So I'm curious to see the way the committee – handles that situation. By the way, if Alabama, this is something to talk about, if Georgia wins this game, and then let's just say Alabama and A&M play in the championship game, and Alabama beats A&M, so does that mean Alabama comes from number nine down to number four?
00:22:09
Mike Bell
You know, like, are they going to move them that much? I don't know. I don't know.
00:22:12
Kaleb
Hopefully one of them loses and we won't have this predicament.
00:22:12
Mike Bell
that's
00:22:16
Mike Bell
Well, we'll see. We'll see. But but either way,
00:22:20
Kaleb
In all seriousness, I do think that this will be a challenging game. just i think like you're saying, maybe it's in the 20s, low 30s or something like that. But
00:22:35
Kaleb
There's something about Haynes King and his ability to ext extend plays, whether it be in the pass, and like you're saying, they rely heavily on the run game, right? I mean, that's just their forte.
00:22:49
Kaleb
I think something that George doing better at immensely is just having a more complimentary offense. Like, you know, Frazier for them has been a really good running back, and it has just helped Gunnar Stockton just be able to I don't know, kind of just go to this next level, I would say, for the last couple games. So I think it's going hard for georgia's tech Georgia Tech's defense to ultimately stop Georgia.
00:23:17
Kaleb
My thing is with Georgia, I think there are going be some points are scored here just on both sides because I think it is going to be hard to contain Haynes King, whether he's running, throwing, whatever the – Situation is the guy's got heart.
00:23:31
Kaleb
He's going to put it out there on the line. I do think Georgia's going have an upper hand in here because everything runs through Haynes King and Georgia's got athletes all over the field defensively. I know they have not been in the elite discussion.
00:23:44
Kaleb
However, Kirby Smart can coach those guys to contain one player. I don't think it's going to be easy for them, but the road to victory for Georgia Tech is through Haynes King. Can Georgia control him?
00:23:58
Kaleb
I think so. it I'd be surprised if it were a game in the fourth quarter, to be honest with you. But, hey, last year we kind of probably had the same thoughts, and they went to two overtimes, I believe. So, anyway.
00:24:10
Mike Bell
Right. Well, one of the problems for Georgia Tech is Georgia does seem to, they they've kind of figured something out. They're playing their best ball right now. And, you know, kind of halfway through the season, all these games were close with Georgia. And I think it that still could be the case.
00:24:25
Mike Bell
But they're kind of catching Georgia at, like, the worst time. All of a sudden, Georgia looks like one of the best teams in the country.
00:24:28
Kaleb
Exactly. For them. Yes.
00:24:31
Mike Bell
All
00:24:32
Kaleb
For sure. For sure.
00:24:35
Mike Bell
all right. Well, let's move on to a game that has, you know, I'm going to ask you. Does Vanderbilt, Tennessee have playoff implications, or is this just a good rivalry game to watch?
00:24:49
Mike Bell
If Vandy wins, you what what are the chances of getting into the playoffs?
Vanderbilt vs Tennessee: Coaching and Rivalry Dynamics
00:25:02
Mike Bell
Vandy looked good last week, you know, blowing out Kentucky.
00:25:02
Kaleb
Yeah. And that was a good win. But
00:25:11
Kaleb
the two teams that they have played that have, like, at this point, their best win is Missouri. Okay? I'm not going to take that against them. Like, that was a good win. But the other two teams that they have played that, like, up to this point – that are still like, okay, that's a pretty good team at least.
00:25:29
Kaleb
Alabama, Texas, they have lost to both of them. Okay? Now, don't get me wrong. I think as far as storylines go, I think it'd be fantastic if somehow Vanderbilt won. I mean, they're going to a lot of help or gets gets in the playoff. Excuse me.
00:25:43
Kaleb
They would need some help for sure. um i think realistically, this is probably not a playoff implication game. Yeah. But on the other hand of that, I think it has really good potential to be a good game. And honestly...
00:26:01
Kaleb
Whoever wins this, ah ah well, Vanderbilt, if they win this, could be ten and two Probably best, don't know, maybe the best year in history. Tennessee, they go 9-3. And, you know, who kind of expected them to be that, you know, have that record?
00:26:18
Kaleb
Probably not many people, me included. So I think this will be a very interesting game just because both offenses are pretty well. defenses, honestly, they're almost... I wouldn't want to say... i would maybe have to give a slight edge against... or a slight edge to Vanderbilt's defense, but Vanderbilt is weak against the pass, and that is like what... I mean, Tennessee, don't get me wrong, they're one of the most well-balanced offenses in the nation, but Tennessee passes that ball pretty well, so that is kind of a concern.
00:26:53
Kaleb
um If you're... a Vandy fan, I guess could say. Now, he as Vanderbilt, they have de Diego Pavia. okay in In these games, you need juice. You need to have the swagger, and he's definitely got that. I'd probably say more so than the Tennessee team does.
00:27:11
Kaleb
So, I don't know. So with this game being played at Tennessee at 2.32, oh my goodness, man, if this game were played at night, I think it would have been a great – you know, all these rivalry games just need to be like – you know, they need to basically start these at 5 o'clock when it starts getting dark, go all the way up until 2, 3 in the morning if needed to be so they could all be at dark. But –
00:27:35
Kaleb
Anyway, both these schools, honestly, where they're at in their journeys and whatnot, pretty awesome for them to be sitting here at this point. 9-2, 8-3, this may be like one of the best like
00:27:50
Kaleb
years as far as the rivalry goes, just as like far as Vanderbilt being this good, Tennessee being that good. don't know. I guess what are your thoughts?
00:28:00
Mike Bell
Yeah, I mean, I would just echo those sentiments. Tennessee favored by two and a half.
00:28:05
Kaleb
Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:06
Mike Bell
I would imagine this would be a somewhat high-scoring affair. Vandy's been kind of putting up points recently.
00:28:11
Kaleb
yeah
00:28:12
Mike Bell
And obviously Tennessee could do the same. and Yeah, I don't know what to expect from this game. It does feel like Tennessee should be the better team, but it's kind of felt that way for Vanderbilt in all their games. And, you know, even though LSU's turned out to be the way they've been, I still say they were a different version of the team, even though they were never great. They still beat LSU, which is a very talented team.
00:28:37
Mike Bell
And they've kind of been counted out each game, and they are playing for, in their minds, a potential spot in the playoffs. you know You never know what's going to happen around them.
00:28:46
Kaleb
Yeah. Well, yeah, right. You never know what's going to happen. We're very weak and they're right. I mean, they have a chance. I think it's slim, but I think they have a chance.
00:28:58
Mike Bell
I think it's just going to be a fun game to see.
00:29:00
Kaleb
Yeah, I would agree.
00:29:01
Mike Bell
It's just rare, youre like you were saying, you're going to see these two teams this high in the rankings. Both teams, I would say, i have overachieved. Tennessee sitting at 8-3, it is going to suck for them to kind of go to 8-4.
00:29:12
Mike Bell
But eight and four if they lose the game, like that's kind of what they were expected to be, and it could be a lot worse. It could have been a lot worse.
00:29:19
Kaleb
Oh, yeah. I mean, for sure.
00:29:20
Mike Bell
They could say it have been better. i mean They lost by to Georgia by one point, and that's just forever going to be in their head. But... But yeah, no, I'm very much looking forward to this.
00:29:29
Kaleb
I mean, they barely lost to Oklahoma, too. Okay? I mean, they lost by 17 to Alabama, so that was really and true.
00:29:33
Mike Bell
Yeah.
00:29:36
Kaleb
They're the only game that they... I don't want to say get blown out, but it hasn't been close. You know, and Georgia, playoff team, right? Oklahoma's definitely on the cusp of being a playoff team.
00:29:47
Kaleb
You know, a couple things have to go their way probably, but by all means, that's pretty awesome. And let's say theoretically they were to lose to Vandy. um I mean, hey, Vandy would be 10-2.
00:29:59
Kaleb
So, I don't know. yeah i always give credit to Josh Heifel because where was Tennessee before he got there? i mean, it was like, I don't know. It was like that program just needed to be revived in every way possible.
00:30:13
Kaleb
And he's done that, in my opinion. I mean, obviously he needs to excel it and take the next step, but yeah.
00:30:18
Mike Bell
Well, he's done a great job, though. Getting to that next step, I don't know what it's going to take, but I could definitely see him doing it. I don't know what the schedules look like in the future.
00:30:25
Kaleb
Oh, yeah.
00:30:27
Mike Bell
I know he has to play Alabama every year, but but yes, that he's done just an amazing coaching job. And to be honest with you, I'm surprised. Now, I don't know how the coaching hierarchy kind of works in this sense, but I'm surprised more teams haven't gone after him.
00:30:43
Mike Bell
You know, I know Tennessee's a good job, but it's not necessarily, like, considered the elite of the elite job.
00:30:48
Kaleb
yeah I mean Tennessee versus LSU potentially I don't know where would you put the tenant like Florida Tennessee where would you who like don't
00:30:52
Mike Bell
Yeah. Right.
00:31:02
Mike Bell
I mean, i I don't know. For some reason, I lean Florida. i don't know if that's just like a weird bias I have because like they used to be good in my mind.
00:31:08
Kaleb
I don't
00:31:12
Mike Bell
But from what I understand, Billy Napier like did a lot to change like the resources that are there or something in the the facility.
00:31:18
Kaleb
The only thing I would say to it between those two teams is like just Florida has probably just way more talent at hand versus the Tennessee area, you know?
00:31:27
Mike Bell
Right.
00:31:29
Kaleb
So that would probably be the only edge. It may be the only reason why I would give Florida a edge to Tennessee, I guess, for the job. However, I don't know. There's just something about Tennessee, like,
00:31:44
Kaleb
I don't know. There's just something about it that draws me to it, I guess.
00:31:49
Mike Bell
Yeah, I agree. that Tennessee would be one of my – I mean
Oregon vs Washington: Emotional and Performance Factors
00:31:52
Mike Bell
plenty of bucket list places that want to go to a college stadium, but apparently their atmosphere is among like the top three in the SEC.
00:31:58
Kaleb
Oh, for sure.
00:31:59
Mike Bell
So, yeah, I'd want to see that.
00:31:59
Kaleb
For sure.
00:32:02
Mike Bell
so but Okay, yeah, so that's going to be an exciting matchup. You know, this 2.30 window, it's too bad LSU couldn't hold up their end of the bargain because you had ah the potential for Vandy, Tennessee, LSU, OU, and then Oregon, Washington, all in the 2.30 window on Saturday.
00:32:18
Mike Bell
But obviously, Vandy Tennis is to be the main one for the 230 window. Okay, so I say now, you know, those were kind of the four games that we specifically kind of looked at. But there are more games to get to before we get to A&M Texas.
00:32:35
Mike Bell
Let's just talk about whatever. I do have to say the first game I want to talk about is Oregon-Washington.
00:32:42
Kaleb
Yep.
00:32:43
Mike Bell
And I think this is kind of a sneaky game. I don't know if sneaky is right word because I think everyone would acknowledge like it's a rivalry and that Washington could win the game.
00:32:53
Mike Bell
But I think a lot of people are maybe overlooking Washington being that they lost to Wisconsin a couple weeks like a couple weeks ago and that Oregon is coming off a big win. But Washington is one of the toughest places to play in the nation in terms of like their win percentage at home.
00:33:11
Mike Bell
It is a rivalry. Crazy things do happen. And like I could just see this being the somewhat random game where Washington puts it together and they find a way to win this one.
00:33:24
Mike Bell
So, you know, 2.30, I'll be keeping my eye on this one. And yeah, that's really all I have to say about it i don't know if you have more to say about it, but that's kind of like...
00:33:36
Mike Bell
You know, the four games we just went over, those are the big four. And this is kind of like my fifth that I'll be kind of like, oh, you know, I'm really intrigued by this game.
00:33:46
Kaleb
Here's maybe my question. How does, how has, what kind of job will we see of Oregon on the field with them having to, like, they're probably really high right now. And rightfully so.
00:33:56
Mike Bell
Mm-hmm.
00:33:56
Kaleb
They beat, or I mean, ah USC this past weekend, right? Which I think is a really good win. Where is their emotional state for this game? You know, I think, like you're saying, i don't know sneaky is right word, but Washington is one of those teams that they can just put it all together, play a clean game.
00:34:14
Kaleb
They could probably beat quite a few teams, to be honest with you. And, I mean, with Oregon having some injuries to their offensive players, I mean, there's definitely flaws that Washington could exploit, okay?
00:34:28
Kaleb
So, um... Anyway, i think it could be an interesting game. ah and like Washington Stadium is – it's actually a pretty cool stadium in my opinion, although I hate Washington with a passion and probably will for about 10 or 20 more years. But anyway –
00:34:48
Mike Bell
don't know I didn't know how were you. They were just the obvious better team. I don't know why I would hate them. I would hate them if they were like – if you guys were in constant battle and it was close. But Washington that year was just better. I'm surprised you hate Washington.
00:35:07
Kaleb
Well, you could argue both years.
00:35:07
Mike Bell
i mean, you've only faced that one year, right?
00:35:09
Kaleb
No, two years in a row. it One of them was in the playoff. The other one was, ah I think it was a Sugar Bowl or something. It was the, yeah.
00:35:17
Mike Bell
that case, maybe –
00:35:19
Kaleb
Anyway, this that was me being dramatic. But anyway, i mean, to your point, Interesting game. Good rivalry. That's my only question, though. Where's Oregon's headspace at after coming off a high win against USC? Can Washington capitalize maybe if they have a couple slip-ups?
00:35:38
Kaleb
I do think Dante Moore is really good, but with him having some key weapons out, DeQuarion Moore, I believe, is still out, if I'm not mistaken. i almost want to say their tight end was out
Ole Miss vs Mississippi State: Lane Kiffin's Future
00:35:49
Kaleb
this past weekend. I could be 100% wrong on that, so don't quote me, but Anyway, ah were you done with that game by chance?
00:35:54
Mike Bell
Yeah, yeah I'm done. You can go on to whatever you want to talk
00:35:59
Kaleb
i I think the next game i would be slightly interested into just briefly discussing is Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Maybe because – of the Lane Kiffin situation. I hate to kind of feed into that, but you have to think, like, where's the player's mindset at, you know, with the Lane Kiffin stuff being so rampant across social media?
00:36:20
Kaleb
Are they fully locked into this game? Because you and I have both discussed about Mississippi State just being competitive. I know they're only five and six, but listen, man, they've been pretty much competitive in every single game.
00:36:35
Kaleb
Okay. I mean, it's just, I mean, minus the A&M game, the Georgia game. Okay. Every other game been pretty competitive. Okay. So i think this game is going to be pretty high scoring.
00:36:49
Kaleb
And my only, my question or my main thing with this game is where is the team's headspace at concerning their coach? Are they bought into this game still? Okay. You know, I'm sure Lane Kiffin's like, oh, guys, I'm not going anywhere or whatever. But it's um kind of it's unfortunate to the players just because of Ole Miss, what they've been able to accomplish this year.
00:37:10
Kaleb
Arguably his best team because last year we thought that was going to happen with him and then they kind of, what's it called, fumbled the bag, so to speak. But anyway, I think this has potential to be a – you know, I think there's potential for Mississippi State to go in there and upset them.
00:37:29
Mike Bell
100%. And, you know, it's at Mississippi State. They would love nothing more.
00:37:32
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:37:33
Mike Bell
You know, they're fighting for bowl eligibility.
00:37:35
Kaleb
yeah
00:37:35
Mike Bell
Mississippi State has been good in all their games. They're competitive in all their games. I don't see why that would change here. And, you know, Ole Miss, I know that they've announced that they are they're going to have some sort of announcement after the game. I don't know if that means immediately after the game or if, like, it's the next day.
00:37:55
Mike Bell
But – I think we are going to get some news this weekend on exactly what Lane Kiffin's doing. So that is going a story to watch. But, I mean, can you imagine if Mississippi State does pull this off and then that's kind of like Lane Kiffin's last game with Ole Miss?
00:38:11
Mike Bell
You know, that'd be – Yeah.
00:38:11
Kaleb
on For them, it would be very unfortunate, man, to be honest with you, just because I feel like it would leave a sour taste in Ole Miss' mouth, to be honest. And he's like, kind of like we talked about in the last episode, he's kind of like the poster child for them right now.
00:38:22
Mike Bell
Yeah.
00:38:27
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:38:28
Mike Bell
Is there a chance that if Ole Miss loses this game, they're out of the playoffs? They'll be losing to an unranked team, so then that's going to kind of add to the logjam of two lost teams.
00:38:41
Kaleb
I think we would have to, at that point, just assess who won and who lost.
00:38:45
Mike Bell
Right, right. Yeah, and Ole Miss does –
00:38:47
Kaleb
I would like to think regardless they would be in, but like you said, there's going a log jam, man. um And you could even argue, depending on how this week goes, maybe even one or – so like let's say if ah Alabama lost, they'd be a nine and three team.
00:39:03
Kaleb
They would have to be in contention. If Texas were to win against A&M, they'd be Oklahoma's 9-2. Vandy, if they went against Tennessee, they'd be 10-2.
00:39:13
Kaleb
Or if they lost, they'd be 9-3. I don't know. I mean, um man, it would be –
00:39:16
Mike Bell
They've been so good. ah yeah
00:39:18
Kaleb
it would be pretty chaotic, but ah I would hate that for Ole Miss just because – do I feel like – yeah, exactly.
00:39:24
Mike Bell
they've been so good
00:39:27
Kaleb
Have they necessarily taken – here's the deal. like The offense has not changed for Lane Kiffin. It's been explosive and very good each and every year. I feel like we're still maybe missing the step of like the defense taking the next step of being truly elite to really complement the offense and – I think Lane Kiffin is doing the best he can, and I think he's done a better job as far as that goes than Lincoln Riley has at USC.
00:39:53
Kaleb
I don't think the defenses have been that bad, so to speak. But
00:39:59
Kaleb
I don't know. Would you put their defense last year? Because they had a couple really good pieces last on last year's defense. it wasn't It wasn't elite by any means. it was It was a couple notches ahead of this year's, I would probably say.
00:40:13
Kaleb
um But, mean, that's just going to happen. Turnover players, that kind of thing. But, don't know. This is the best season Lane Kiffin has had with Ole Miss by far, though.
00:40:31
Mike Bell
For sure. For sure. Yeah, I know. That's going be an interesting saga. Like no one knows what he's going to do. Everyone is saying like they lean towards him leaving, which would make sense. But I also could see him just saying, yeah, no, I'm going to stay now.
00:40:45
Mike Bell
And he's just delaying Florida's coaching jobs, you know.
00:40:46
Kaleb
I know.
00:40:50
Mike Bell
But it is a tough – it's got to be a tough thing on a human level to say even if you're really interested in the LSU job, it's like, well, hey look, we could go try to win a championship right now with Ole Miss.
00:41:00
Mike Bell
you know So I can't just leave.
00:41:01
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:41:02
Mike Bell
Yeah.
00:41:02
Kaleb
And yeah, and that's the and that's the that's a hard thing to, you know, like, how do you have that conversation with the athletic director? Because there's no guarantee that the guy would let you continue to coach at Ole Miss if your intentions are to take another job, right? And but at the same time, though, how the hell do you have that conversation and say, hey, man, i'm I might take this job if I don't, I'm or if I do, can I coach this team?
00:41:27
Kaleb
And if the guy says no and then Len Kiffin were to say, okay, fine, I'll stay or, you know, not to say that that would be the final straw thing or whatever, but the athletic director knows that Len Kiffin's intending upon leaving and how does that, I mean, that probably would get leaked out in the locker room somehow, someway or something maybe, I don't know. But anyway, there's an unfortunate dynamic going on in that locker room, I think.
00:41:53
Mike Bell
For sure. I think the last game that I feel like I just have to talk about is Miami-Pittsburgh.
00:42:00
Kaleb
Yeah, that's good.
00:42:00
Mike Bell
And it's not a rivalry game, but so much on the line for just both teams. I mean, Pittsburgh wins. They're in the ACC championship. If they win, they also knock out Miami. Miami wins. They're probably not in the ACC championship. But this will be – I imagine they're going to re-rank Pitt. I don't know.
Miami vs Pittsburgh: Weather and Performance Factors
00:42:17
Mike Bell
But I imagine they're going to re-rank them in the playoff committee this week, tomorrow. So it'll be a ranked win for Miami.
00:42:25
Mike Bell
And Miami has among of the two lost teams the strongest cases to kind of be in the 12. But it's going to be weird.
00:42:35
Mike Bell
So this is going to be a fun game to watch. And but here's a thing that is, I think, relevant.
00:42:37
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:42:42
Mike Bell
It's going to be 35 degrees. And Miami doesn't really plan it. last Last week, who did they play? Virginia Tech. It was like in the 70s. This one's 35 degrees.
00:42:51
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:42:52
Mike Bell
It just feels like one of those games it's setting up for Pitt to win. But Miami is six and a half point favorite. This is one like I will be watching. Like I think it could be a very, very good game.
00:43:05
Kaleb
Yeah, I mean, I 100% agree with you on that as well. Listen, we've both been kind of high on Georgia Tech. So de Pittsburgh, I know the previous week they kind of got rammed by Notre Dame, but that's just kind of what Notre Dame is doing.
00:43:21
Kaleb
um
00:43:24
Kaleb
the Pittsburgh overall has been pretty good this year. okay ah I know they had a they lost to Notre Dame. i i don't want to necessarily adopt them for that. Lost West Virginia, Louisville. okay Say what you will about those. Both those games were competitive.
00:43:42
Kaleb
Miami, up and down. right What Miami are we going to see? What Carson Beck are we going to see? That's the two questions I have.
00:43:55
Mike Bell
Right.
00:43:55
Kaleb
Because really, if you think about it, Mario Cristobal, for whatever reason, and I hate this for him because I think he's actually a good coach, but his team's kind of just, it's almost kind of like Lane Kiffin's in the past couple years where they fumble the bag when they have the all the opportunity for the taking. They just screw something up and I don't know. Then they they don't get screwed because they do it to themselves, but they end up underachieving what they could have, right, in my opinion.
00:44:27
Mike Bell
For sure. I mean, this they really had and all a prime opportunity this year to still be in the top five. I mean, losses are going to happen, but the way they lost, you know, after beating some very good teams at the beginning and then to just kind of fall off is really it's really too bad because I've said it over multiple podcasts, but just don't forget, we were talking about them like maybe they should be the number one team in the country.
00:44:33
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:44:39
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:44:51
Kaleb
Yeah, I remember that, like our second or third um third week.
00:44:53
Mike Bell
Yeah, yeah.
00:44:55
Kaleb
Yeah, exactly.
00:44:57
Mike Bell
right
00:44:57
Kaleb
And, I mean, here's the deal, though. Like, if you look at Miami's schedule, they play Notre Dame, Florida, which at the time, you know, that was the fourth game.
00:45:07
Kaleb
Florida still had a lot of hopes, okay? Yeah.
00:45:10
Mike Bell
I'll even give him USF. I think it's a good one. Solid.
00:45:13
Kaleb
Yeah. However, I do expect Miami should handle business against that school, but sure, whatever. And then at the time, Florida State. So now looking back, though, I mean, you could kind of question all those other than the Notre Dame win. But anyway, like how good were those wins, right? But anyway.
00:45:31
Kaleb
um I do think it would be very good. So I guess the next question is, did you have anything else to say before we head on to the headbender, I think? Or maybe there was one more game I was wanting to discuss, actually.
00:45:43
Kaleb
Let me just.
00:45:44
Mike Bell
Well, I will just ask you, who do you think is going to win the disappointment bowl? Florida State or Florida?
00:45:51
Kaleb
Floors.
00:45:58
Mike Bell
I'm just going to say Florida.
00:45:58
Kaleb
Floors.
00:46:00
Mike Bell
i think, I mean, I can just think they have more talent.
00:46:00
Kaleb
more
00:46:04
Mike Bell
I think Florida State is just
00:46:04
Kaleb
Well, you know, I think that's fair because, to be honest with you, I don't know – like, I know that they lost, like, pretty badly to Tennessee, okay? But their freshman running back – I mean, those guys just have, like, awesome freshman players, you know? Like, if they just can retain those people, I mean, they're going to studs, you know?
00:46:22
Kaleb
i don't know how they're going to keep them, to be honest with you, because, like, Florida's definitely not a stable program, and that's ultimately what you need as a player to really succeed. Yeah.
Florida State vs Florida & Clemson vs South Carolina: Rivalry Insights
00:46:30
Kaleb
But for this moment, they have some young studs.
00:46:33
Kaleb
And I'd have to look at the health of the Florida wide receivers and whatnot. But anyway, yeah. I would agree with that. I almost like went with Florida State for some reason. Maybe it was just Tommy Castellanos.
00:46:44
Mike Bell
Well, mean, look, they are favored by one and a half.
00:46:47
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:46:47
Mike Bell
And the thing is, is Florida just checked out? because they have looked just putrid the last two weeks.
00:46:52
Kaleb
That's true, too. But where is ah where's this game at? Let me...
00:46:56
Mike Bell
Florida.
00:46:57
Kaleb
Oh, what time...
00:47:01
Mike Bell
want to say 330. Yeah.
00:47:02
Kaleb
Wow. Okay.
00:47:06
Kaleb
Well, what
00:47:11
Kaleb
was I going to say to that?
00:47:16
Kaleb
I was going to say briefly, that was all I had to say on that. But man, just imagine kind of to that same note, just imagine if things had gone ah as expected with Clemson and South Carolina, just that matchup, you know?
00:47:28
Mike Bell
Yep. I know. i know
00:47:30
Kaleb
think that's another one. I mean, do we – I don't even know if we want to discuss that game just because it's like what the – can you even predict that game? I have no clue, to be honest with you. I mean, i think but South Carolina's best game arguably was, you know, against you guys, and that was a loss, right? And honestly, as far – like,
00:47:54
Kaleb
I mean, to be honest, I mean, how do you let a thirty how do you let a team come back 31 points? I don't know. It's
Texas vs Texas A&M: Strategy and Player Impact
00:48:01
Kaleb
pretty disgraceful. That was their best game, I think. And that was them basically quitting after halftime.
00:48:07
Kaleb
I don't know how in Clemson, it's just like every other week, it's like, holy crap, man, this is just like cat poop on the stove or something. I don't know. I don't know like how how you could even talk about this game, right? I mean, I guess you could say the thing for me with that game is what if, you know?
00:48:26
Mike Bell
Yeah. Well, listen, I can't wait anymore. but We got to talk about it. We have Texas A&M number three in the country. It's going to be at 630 on ABC on Friday against Texas. Don't know where Texas will be ranked, but I imagine it'll be 15, 16, 17, something like that.
00:48:47
Mike Bell
And it's, I mean, I don't know. I'm really looking forward to it. I will tell you one thing that is too bad, although it won't really affect things because people are going to talk about it anyway. And I think Texas fans really believe it.
00:49:04
Mike Bell
And I think Texas is out of the playoff race. I think even if they,
00:49:09
Kaleb
I think a lot of people are thinking that now because I think Saturday whenever they were doing the statistics or whatever, think even after or with a win against you guys, I think it was maybe a 17% chance.
00:49:24
Kaleb
guess you could argue like, is this okay or not? I don't know. it It would just have to depend on how everything fell afterwards, kind of like we said about the Ole Miss game, I guess, you know if they were to lose.
00:49:33
Mike Bell
it would It would depend on how everything felt. And I don't know if we need to get on a long tangent about this rather than the game itself. But the thing is, there seems to be this like you know unspoken rule, because the committee hasn't said this, but there's this unspoken rule that once you have three losses, oh well, are they going to allow you in?
00:49:40
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:49:51
Mike Bell
like I don't know. like Sure. I don't know if Texas is the great example of a three-all team that should get in, but I can see three-all team getting in.
00:49:56
Kaleb
Yeah. And I'll say, i don't know to that effect either. ah And honestly, like with no bias, okay, with our bias, I don't know what word do you want to say there, but
00:50:10
Kaleb
I think it was Joel Klatt.
00:50:13
Kaleb
Just how Texas' is a season has been with us, you know, and honestly, with as much production that we lost last year, we have had a lot of ups and downs. For us to still be 8-3, and I do think with the schedule that we had, like, hey, like, and two of those losses being top four or five teams, like, hey, you know, that's okay in my book.
00:50:34
Kaleb
Do we... Deserved to be in the playoff. I'm not too sure just because the variability in what our team has shown throughout the year. I don't know. So for my verdict on that, it would just have to depend on where other teams are at in the final ranking after rivalry.
00:50:54
Mike Bell
Yep. Yep. Okay. um Well, let's see. So also one of the thing I wanted to say is was this game on Friday always before whenever both teams were in the big 12?
00:51:09
Mike Bell
Yeah.
00:51:09
Kaleb
You know, actually, funny point, because i think it's been both. Because I could have sworn I've done Thanksgiving with the Longhorn-Texas game. And it's also been like Black Friday as well.
00:51:22
Kaleb
So, to your point, I don't...
00:51:22
Mike Bell
Right. You know, I don't, I don't know how I feel about it being on Friday. Like I would prefer this game be on Saturday with everything else.
00:51:27
Kaleb
No. Maybe there and that there could be a possibility because maybe the NFL took over Thanksgiving Day. Like, I think there are some games still on Thanksgiving Day, potentially, right? But...
00:51:39
Mike Bell
Memphis Navy, that's it.
00:51:43
Mike Bell
But yeah.
00:51:43
Kaleb
Well, there's actually good NFL games on, but anyway. Think
00:51:46
Mike Bell
Yeah. Well, ah I guess...
00:51:48
Kaleb
that think about just how many deaths would occur, though, in Texas on that over that Thanksgiving feast potentially, right? Yeah.
00:51:57
Mike Bell
I mean, hey, I think it's the perfect like tradition. like the perfect like On Thanksgiving, you watch A&M Texas. It makes sense to me, but...
00:52:05
Kaleb
Well, I know, but this is coming from a guy that won't even watch like you know that game with like his friend. that
00:52:12
Mike Bell
that is true. It's funny, I was just invited to
00:52:14
Kaleb
Exactly. Think about that with family, though. Think about that with family, right? Like, and you're about to have to go to dinner or whatever. Yeah.
00:52:21
Mike Bell
Most of the time, your family's probably going to be on the same team, but...
00:52:24
Kaleb
Well, that's the that' a good thing about our sport, though.
00:52:24
Mike Bell
but
00:52:26
Kaleb
I mean, think about how many... like I remember growing up in the neighborhood, actually. Yeah. And his grandmother, for you guys, his grandmother lived on the same neighborhood as mine. So for all intents purposes, we kind of didn't grow up on the same road. But all throughout the area, there were multiple houses that had divided house, A&M and Texas. And to the point earlier, like I think if our rivalry had continued and it didn't for a little bit, like maybe people would really agree with our rivalry being a close second or something. Because there's so many split marriages with that, in my opinion.
00:53:00
Kaleb
just to kind of go against the grain with your thought, like, oh, family. You like to think so.
00:53:04
Mike Bell
I mean, that's true.
00:53:05
Kaleb
You like to think so. But I think there's a lot of division with that too.
00:53:11
Mike Bell
True. Well, I will just tell you in terms of you know my thoughts on the matchup, all that, my main thing, and I could talk about a lot of different things, I believe this game comes down to one man and one man only.
00:53:22
Kaleb
Yeah.
00:53:29
Mike Bell
And I think it is more so agreed. I think the entire game, the way it could go, is Marcel Reed. If he has one of those bad games, like you saw, first half of South Carolina, then this could absolutely be either, at best case, a dogfight for A&M, or at worst case, just you know Texas handles the game.
00:53:53
Mike Bell
However, I truthfully have to say, i think if Marcel Reed... can just not throw the hospital balls that he does, and you cannot turn the ball over, which is a big if. It is a college game and there are more turnovers.
00:54:09
Mike Bell
I do think A&M should be able to win this game by, you know, I think it'll be a close game, but they should win something by like 7 to 10 points if Marcel did not turn the ball over. I think the depth of weaponry would be good for A&M, but that's a big if.
00:54:29
Mike Bell
I think it all comes down to him and how he plays. Those are kind of my opening thoughts. And now you can say whatever you want to say as far as your opening thoughts, whatever.
00:54:43
Kaleb
I think 10 points might be a stretch, could be a stretch, potentially. However, at the same time, though, i mean, I could see that happening, right? Because like you're saying, i think... I don't necessarily think this will hinge on Arch, to be honest with you.
00:55:06
Kaleb
I don't even know if I would even want to consider this a what if, because we have proven that we cannot run the ball against no matter who. We play, but I think for us to have a serious chance to win this game, we have got to have some sort of run game.
00:55:19
Kaleb
I highly doubt that could happen just because we barely had one against Arkansas and your defensive line is a lot better than Arkansas is obviously.
00:55:29
Kaleb
So in other words,
00:55:34
Kaleb
It's all going to put on arch, and in this game, i don't think you can put it 100% on the quarterback like what we've had to rely on him to do pretty much every game, like this whole year.
00:55:47
Kaleb
Because and and he's coming off a great performance against Arkansas. Actually, that I guess you could maybe say like the last month or so, he's actually played very good.
00:55:58
Kaleb
So in my – you could always question like, oh, yeah, victory or –
00:56:05
Kaleb
Win or loss always depends on quarterback. You could always argue that, yes. But in my mind, I don't want to say it's like set in stone that Archer's going to come out there and you know go balling, but how else how is everybody else going to play? Is our defense going to be able to hold up against the A&M wide receivers?
00:56:21
Kaleb
That's my other main question. you know I'm not necessarily concerned about the defensive line and the rush game. I'm concerned about our secondary and the wide receivers just because this is probably the best wide receiver group you've had in the last several years, and you guys have a pretty good offensive line, right?
00:56:39
Kaleb
With the offensive line,
00:56:44
Kaleb
i think maybe you'll get a couple runs off, but I think it's mostly going to be the, I think what, I pretty much would agree with what you're saying. How well is Marcel Reed going to play and be able to get it to the wide receivers?
00:56:56
Kaleb
If our secondary can not be leaky, which is a big if because they have been leaky at times, uh,
00:57:07
Kaleb
Maybe we have a shot. and you know We are playing at UT. I do think that is a you know the first time it's been played at UT in 15 years.
00:57:18
Mike Bell
Eight years here.
00:57:19
Kaleb
Yeah, 15 years. so i mean It's going to be huge huge atmosphere. you know um
00:57:27
Kaleb
Anyway, i don't know. i mean If I had a if i to choose right now, I would say you guys. You guys have a better overall team. and I would maybe say... Don't start smirking, bro.
00:57:39
Kaleb
i Hey, I still have the hat or whatever you want to call it until Friday. Who's to say you'll even have it then, right?
00:57:49
Kaleb
I just, like, overall, wide receivers, you guys got an edge, okay? I'll give you that. Offensive line, definitely have an edge. Defensive line, actually, you could probably argue that that's a toss-up, to be honest with you.
00:58:04
Kaleb
Linebackers,
00:58:07
Kaleb
Honestly, I think that's a toss-up too, you just because we have a really good front seven. It's really just our secondary, which kind of, it really, it's one cornerback, but he's a true freshman. Our other one, Manny Muhammad, is pretty good in Michael Taft.
00:58:20
Kaleb
So we really just have a deficiency in two players, but it has come up big for us. But anyway, let me ask you an interesting question. If you could have Arch or Marcel Reid, which one would you rather have?
00:58:35
Mike Bell
Well, so remember, we we had this kind of conversation in you know in the middle of the season, like, has Arch been that much worse than Marcel Reed? I think you could have made the argument. I would still go Marcel, but I don't think, i think it is a conversation.
00:58:48
Kaleb
Listen,
00:58:50
Mike Bell
I mean, I think, because a lot of people would just disregard that. And because people just have this negative impression of Arch and all that. I only go Marcel because I think he's a little bit more dynamic, but Arch could be pretty dynamic himself. um i'll I'll go Marcel, but I'm not going to die on the hill.
00:59:15
Kaleb
listen i mean
00:59:15
Mike Bell
the thing is The thing is with Arch, but the thing is I'm about to blame the offensive line. I'm still not sold on him. In the same way, I'm not sold on Marcel. But like Arch can still throw like some really poor passes. And I saw him against Arkansas, but everybody does that against Arkansas is the thing.
00:59:33
Mike Bell
So that's my only thing.
00:59:36
Kaleb
Well, there was still a – well, I will say it's not to the point as it was like in Ohio State or the very early games where he was just throwing like – like the wide receiver would be like 10 yards away and he would just throw it like way off course. Like some of the most egregious passes I've ever seen in my life, to be honest with you.
00:59:54
Mike Bell
Yep.
00:59:55
Kaleb
I would – I would take Arch. Here's my thing. This is arch Arch's first season. to like fully start. This is Marcel's second season to fully start.
01:00:08
Kaleb
Arch has had a tremendous amount of growth, I would say. And really, there's not too much separation right now. And just think of all the weapons that Marcel Reed has to work with right now.
01:00:20
Kaleb
And just imagine what Arch would have been able to do to have at least some sort of run game in that offensive line is my only question to that.
01:00:27
Mike Bell
The first and a half season. I mean, more so came in, you know, halfway through.
01:00:30
Kaleb
Okay. Okay. I do. Okay. Well, okay. For all intents and purposes.
01:00:35
Mike Bell
look at her Past halfway through, I would say. He came in against LSU in like game nine.
01:00:41
Kaleb
Oh, really? I thought it was a little bit before that.
01:00:43
Mike Bell
Yeah.
01:00:44
Kaleb
Okay. Well, I take that back then. Okay. Fine. Actually, I'll put them on even par then because Arch came in for two games. So I'll put them even par.
01:00:53
Mike Bell
Regardless, I agree with the talking point. Like, i I do think that is a conversation to be had that I do not think is egregious.
01:00:59
Kaleb
Yeah. Yeah.
01:01:01
Mike Bell
I am curious to see in this game how much y'all's linebacker issues are affected because I know you have one guy out for the first half and other guy was injured, right?
01:01:09
Kaleb
Anthony Hill, which is arguably our first or second most important player on the defense, to be honest. And you could argue first, even over Colin Simmons, to be honest. I mean, that's not – I think that's a good point.
01:01:22
Kaleb
And Ty Anthony – excuse me. i apologize. apologize. Anthony Hill has been hurt. I imagine he will be coming back to play for this game because how could he not?
01:01:32
Kaleb
The player that is out for the first half, which I think could be a huge thing for us, is Ty Anthony Smith, which he has been coming on for us the past couple games because of the um targeting call, which I won't necessarily get in on a tangent, but that is just so hard to call, to be honest with you, because to me, it's like,
01:01:55
Kaleb
I don't know if you saw it. And like, yes, do I agree? Like, fine, it's targeting. But a lot of the time, man, it's like, how what how else would you want the player to play the game?
01:02:06
Kaleb
Because it's like, basically what happened was, I believe that the Arkansas player caught the ball and he didn't have enough time to turn around yet. And Ty Anthony Smith kind of dove.
01:02:17
Kaleb
And, you know, they hit heads. And I just, a lot of the time, man, just question, like, how else could the player have done that, you know, other than playing like Twister and possibly hurting them themselves even more.
01:02:30
Kaleb
Now, don't get me wrong. there's pretty There's some pretty egregious, like, targeting calls, you know, that obviously they need to get called. But there's just so many times I'm just like, man, I mean, how, a like, and what really sucks is, is that they, I've completely forgot this.
01:02:49
Kaleb
not only do they get ejected, but they are out the first half of the next game too. And it's like, really?
01:02:57
Mike Bell
Right. Yeah, no, I agree. i hate the rule. I think it's stupid.
01:03:01
Kaleb
Yeah.
01:03:02
Mike Bell
um
01:03:02
Kaleb
I mean, yeah
01:03:04
Mike Bell
Something else to watch out for this game, and Texas does all the time, and I think A&M will do it as well, and that is Texas always starts out with like a quick pass to start the game. like I can guarantee you that it's going to be what they do.
01:03:16
Kaleb
I don't know if you have seen – don't know if you saw the Arkansas game at the beginning.
01:03:16
Mike Bell
A&M is what they do.
01:03:20
Kaleb
o dear Literally, we have drawn up the same play.
01:03:23
Mike Bell
I know. It's crazy.
01:03:23
Kaleb
at the four Four games are – honestly, it is insane. i would almost be curious to see if Sark will, like, do that and then we just throw it on the opposite side of the field. You know?
01:03:34
Mike Bell
Maybe.
01:03:34
Kaleb
I'll be curious.
01:03:35
Mike Bell
I don't know. But either way, I think think both teams are going to try to do something like that to start.
01:03:37
Kaleb
Just imagine – Yeah. Yeah.
01:03:49
Kaleb
I feel like there's more to say, but I think we've covered everything for the most part on that game.
01:03:55
Mike Bell
Yeah, agreed. I mean, i was I'm kind of looking over the stats. I would say one of the things you're glad it's at night, you said?
01:03:59
Kaleb
I'm glad everything was at night at least, I will say.
01:04:04
Kaleb
Yes.
01:04:05
Mike Bell
Yeah, no, agreed. think this game should always be a 9 as well, but we could say that about, I guess, all the games.
01:04:09
Kaleb
You're sure?
01:04:11
Kaleb
Pretty much all of them, but yeah.
01:04:14
Mike Bell
I will say, I guess this is the final thing I have to say about the game, is I'm curious to see how both offensive lines do. A&M has a pretty solidified, great offensive line, like one of the best I've seen since being in the SEC.
01:04:30
Kaleb
Yeah, it's probably the best thing can see.
01:04:30
Mike Bell
Now, I know that Yeah, I know that Texas has a great defensive line as well, so I would expect them to get to more sell sometimes, but then also A&M be able little to hold their own.
01:04:39
Kaleb
Yeah.
01:04:41
Mike Bell
I'm curious about the other side. I'm curious about A&M's D-line against y'all's O-line because you guys haven't, over the past several games, faced a D-line quite like ours.
01:04:50
Kaleb
Yep.
01:04:51
Mike Bell
And while Arch has looked better, it's also because he's had a little bit more time. So that's something to really think about.
01:04:57
Kaleb
That's true. Yeah. And I know for the most part, the Georgia game, I mean, it just absolutely looked horrible. But I do feel like Sark has shifted the offensive play calling to like just basically realizing, like hey, we're not going to be able to run the ball. Hey, we can't protect Arch quickly.
01:05:17
Kaleb
I feel like he finally came to that so that realization, maybe the game before Georgia, and started quickly dinking and dunking. So i'll kind of I'm curious to see how effective that game will be against you guys. Now, we're going have to spread the field, though.
01:05:31
Kaleb
okay We're going to have to spread the field. we're gonna have to If we want to have a shot, we've got to have an explosive play against you guys like down the field. right
01:05:38
Mike Bell
Yep.
01:05:39
Kaleb
And I think Wingo is as good as anybody as far as this... like what He is very misleading. I don't like i know you watch him in the Mississippi State game and stuff like that, but the guy is like huge.
01:05:50
Kaleb
He looks slow, but the longer the guy runs, the quicker the guy gets. It's almost like you wind up a toy and he just gets going. So we've got some players that can you know threaten the deep field. It's just can Arch have enough protection to get a good throw off because he hasn't necessarily been the most accurate throwing the ball deep.
01:06:11
Kaleb
He had a couple last week, right?
01:06:11
Mike Bell
A&M secondary can be but vulnerable against the pass, so that is something to keep an eye on. like I expect, honestly, Wingo to get quite a few yards. I expect him to probably have a good game. There's something that I don't want to forget, though, that I think is an advantage for Texas that isn't being talked about a lot, and that is special teams.
Conclusion and Anticipation for Rivalry Week
01:06:36
Mike Bell
First of all, y'all's kicker is very good.
01:06:38
Kaleb
Yeah.
01:06:39
Mike Bell
Our kicker has not been good at all.
01:06:40
Kaleb
You know where our kicker's from actually?
01:06:43
Mike Bell
I'm going to guess Longview.
01:06:46
Kaleb
No, it's from your other alumni.
01:06:49
Mike Bell
Oh, Texas State?
01:06:50
Kaleb
Yeah.
01:06:51
Mike Bell
Okay. No, I did not know that. But that is, you know, if this is a close game, that is very relevant because A&M has not been good kicking the ball.
01:06:53
Kaleb
Yeah.
01:06:57
Kaleb
Oh, for sure.
01:06:59
Mike Bell
And then also I would say, I was to say Niblett, his, you know, punt returning, kick returning.
01:06:59
Kaleb
Well, also Ryan Niblatt. Yeah.
01:07:06
Mike Bell
I will say A&M is pretty good on that end too with KC Concepcion, but either way, like both teams watch out for their special teams units. And I would give Texas a pretty clear edge when it comes to special teams just because of their field goal kicking, and I don't think that's irrelevant at all.
01:07:13
Kaleb
Yeah.
01:07:21
Mike Bell
So that is something else to
01:07:22
Kaleb
It can either be like a very high scoring game or a very defensive game, you know. So, and always in these rivalry games where there's a lot of emotion, i always think special teams comes up huge.
01:07:33
Kaleb
I will say, though, I think the only reason why people haven't heard of Nibblet these last couple weeks is because people have realized, like, man, this guy's a real problem. And they have literally just done everything in their power to avoid kicking it to them. So...
01:07:47
Kaleb
I mean, I expect you guys to do that too, to be honest. But, you know, maybe he maybe something happens and he gets one and he can field it and go off to the races. I don't know.
01:07:58
Mike Bell
Good. Okay, well, that's pretty much all I have to say. Anything else you want to say just in terms of the week in general, or do you want to wrap it up here?
01:08:11
Kaleb
I mean, to me, this is my favorite week of college football just because, i mean, like I said earlier in the episode, literally anything can happen. um And just, I think this week has gotten even better than what it was before just because the playoff implications that some of these games can have.
01:08:30
Kaleb
Or...
01:08:30
Mike Bell
Mm-hmm.
01:08:32
Kaleb
not even for both teams, because a lot of these matchups, it's like unranked teams are playing against ranked teams, but the unranked teams are like, like for instance, the one that's coming to my mind right now is the Ole Miss Mississippi State game. There's, you know, several games that are kind of like that or Washington or Oregon game.
01:08:51
Kaleb
What other week stacks up like that? You know, I know we had like one where it was like week six or whatever. I know, but, At that point, you could still kind of recover from the season. This is pretty much it, right?
01:09:04
Kaleb
And then it's championship game. Or not championship game, but the path to the championship. So I've always liked this.
01:09:11
Mike Bell
The only thing I'll say like that sucks about Texas A&M and Texas playing on Friday as opposed to Saturday is just, for example, if A&M loses, now I have to have that on my mind throughout the entire Saturday.
01:09:26
Mike Bell
It takes a little bit.
01:09:27
Kaleb
Well, for whoever loses that game, because game day will be talking about it. I mean, it's going to be on
01:09:32
Mike Bell
Right.
01:09:33
Kaleb
Oh, my gosh. Yes. Yeah.
01:09:34
Mike Bell
will be watching game day if A&M loses. I'm not watching game day.
01:09:37
Kaleb
Which really sucks, by the way, right? i mean, really and truly.
01:09:40
Mike Bell
Yeah.
01:09:42
Kaleb
And it trust me, I was so, like, whenever you guys won against South Carolina, like, at the end of the day, I was happy that that happened, right? But I was like, oh man, this is awesome, you know?
01:09:54
Kaleb
And then the rest of the day, I had to see that shit on the screen, you know, where South Carolina came back and Or, excuse me, A&M came back and won the game. You know, so yes, for sure.
01:10:05
Kaleb
But that's, ultimately, though, that's the awesome thing about rival rivalry week because it's so emotional and your heart's super attached to it.
01:10:15
Mike Bell
That's the part that's gonna suck is Even though, and I thought this, and we've talked about this before, but I felt this way like really through every A&M game, but it's going to be especially the case this week, is it's not like it's exactly a fun time watching the game.
01:10:28
Mike Bell
you know like It really it sucks throughout the entire game just thinking, oh my god.
01:10:33
Kaleb
Oh yeah.
01:10:33
Mike Bell
like
01:10:33
Kaleb
It's never fun for me. It's not until Sunday that it's like, okay, I can relax.
01:10:35
Mike Bell
yes It's actually an awful experience.
01:10:39
Kaleb
Yeah.
01:10:40
Mike Bell
Yeah. Yeah.
01:10:40
Kaleb
It's funny to think about it actually. Cause it's like, why the hell do you put yourself through that? And honestly, i have no answer for that. i have no answer. I was born into this is all I can say.
01:10:50
Mike Bell
Yeah. like
01:10:51
Kaleb
i was indoctrinated. So
01:10:54
Mike Bell
No. Okay. Well, I think that's a good way to end it. And it's going to be a heck of a review no matter what happens next week.
01:10:58
Kaleb
Yes.
01:11:02
Mike Bell
And obviously we have the conference championship games coming up and all that.
01:11:02
Kaleb
Yes. All right, hook them.
01:11:05
Mike Bell
So, all right.
01:11:07
Kaleb
yes
01:11:07
Mike Bell
Well, I'll talk to you next week.
01:11:09
Kaleb
all right hook them
01:11:10
Mike Bell
All right. Bye.