Boomo Bugg Show 122325

[0:00] Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in to Christmas Eve. Eve. Time to guess what Brett Beaird wants for Christmas. Good afternoon, BB. Welcome in. You get all the answers. How are you?

Happy Tuesday. And by the way, before you ask, I'm being naughty. I mean, I just go ahead and be up front and transparent about it. Well, you're consistent. There you go. Jake Wimberly, the King of Mississippi Radio, will update us about Ole Miss and Mississippi State a little bit later. Las Vegas insider Bruce Marshall previews the college football playoff quarterfinals. Adam is here right now to break down the Elite Eight in the college football playoff. Adam is Adam Spencer. He is busy there as columnist and podcast host at Saturday Down South, Saturday Tradition Sports, Betting Dime.

Adam, welcome in. How are you? Hey, fellas. I'm doing good. How are you? I'm good. And we're doing all right. Before we jump into the deep end here, we've got a connection here, Adam. All you folks who are with us all the time, we all know, Adam, you're a proud Missouri grad. Well, we've got a neighbor coming your way, former coach at Dashler and Calvert Heights here at the high school level, played ball at UNA. He's from Madison. The name, Chip Lindsey. He's one of our own.

How do you feel about Missouri's new offensive coordinator coming down from that, how can we describe it, mess at Michigan? Yeah, I mean, the offense at Michigan didn't exactly inspire any sort of confidence, but, you know, I think that it was time to switch things up from Kirby Moore. Like, I'm happy for Kirby that he got the head coaching job at Alaska State, but I think it was time for some fresh ideas in that offensive room. We'll see, you know, because even though Drinkwitz hasn't been calling the plays for the last couple years, I mean, he's still pretty heavily involved in the offense.

So I still think it'll be, you know, mostly his playbook that Chip Lindsey's working from, and then, you know, Chip will bring in his own ideas and stuff. But, I mean, it's good for the running game, and it's probably why Ahmad Hardy signed his contract to come back next year, because, you know, the Michigan running game has been really good lately. It's going to be an adventure to see, you know, what this means for the receivers. So, you know, it's a wait-and-see approach. I'm cautiously optimistic about the hire.

As long as we have Ahmad Hardy there, then he'll make any coordinator look pretty good. In the meantime, what's the latest on the soap opera known as Michigan? Are they going to settle? I know Jeff Brom out of Louisville now seems to be a hot name. It's almost every day there's a new hot name. What's going to happen there, and when is it going to happen? Yeah, I'm not sure. I mean, I don't think that Jeff Brom's going to leave Louisville. I mean, I think if he was, he would have, you know, left it for one of these other jobs that has opened up.

You know, Penn State he was connected to pretty heavily. And then, you know, I just think that, yes, Michigan's a little step up from Penn State. Normally. Normally, yeah. I just don't see Jeff Brom doing that. But, I mean, I think that the trend continues of, you know, these coaches staying put and using that money and the infrastructure in place that they've built to sort of, you know, maximize their NIL potential. You don't get that when you go to a school paying a hefty buyout, understanding stuff like that.

So, I just think that Brom's going to stay. You know, if I were them, you know, I know it's a stopgap solution, but you could do a lot worse than just, you know, making the call to Brian Kelly and seeing what he wants for you. Probably come on the cheap because LSU's covering a lot of his salary. And, you know, I think he doesn't want to go out the way that he did at LSU. So, I think get three years out of him, build a bridge to the next coach, get everything set up, and then when he's ready to retire here in a few years, you know, got an attractive job again.

So, that's where I would go if I were them. It doesn't seem to be trending in that direction. I know that the latest report was that he expressed interest in the job, but, you know, we'll see. It seems like almost too smart, and Michigan isn't doing very many smart things these days. Adam, before the first round of the college football playoffs, a lot of the national media said Alabama had absolutely no business being in the playoffs. And after the first quarter, I think a lot of people probably agreed with him, but they adjusted defensively, went from his own to a man.

[5:04] The defensive line grew up, ended up getting five sacks and seven tackles for a loss. And, oh, by the way, the offense came to life. Alabama roared back and outscored Oklahoma 34-7 to move into the quarterfinals against Indiana. We'll look at the games with you coming up. Adam, your thoughts on Alabama's rebound in the second quarter moving forward? Yeah, I mean, I think that they're going to be a dangerous team for anybody. They can beat Indiana if they play at their best for four quarters. I think that their best is better than Indiana's best, especially with that injury along the defensive line that Indiana is dealing with.

It's just, you know, consistency. You know, they outplayed Oklahoma nearly two yards to one on offense in the first meeting in Tuscaloosa. But just being sloppy with the ball and all of that just cost them in a two-point loss. Well, I mean, you know, a lot of those same issues were in play when Oklahoma roared out to a 17-0 lead. But then they got it together. And they got it together when they still had time to come back and not have to abandon the game plan entirely.

And I think we saw what Alabama's capable of when it does that. And so they just can't afford to get off to a start like that against Indiana. Because if Indiana's playing from ahead, then they will absolutely suffocate you. So, you know, I think that that first quarter is going to be super important in this one. But they can play with anybody. Your thoughts about the matchup. Vegas has Indiana right now the seven-point favorite. They're the number one team in the country. It's on a neutral field.

Your thoughts. Does Vegas have it right, Adam? I'd have a smaller spread, maybe, you know, Indiana by four and a half or so. I just think that these two teams, when all things are equal, you know, they're actually pretty equal. Like, I just think that Alabama's best is right there with Indiana's best. Both teams are a little banged up. You know, Indiana obviously deserves being the one seed. They're having an awesome year. Kirk Cignetti's a heck of a coach. But, yeah, I mean, I think that Alabama can compete.

And Kalen DeBoer has four wins already against top ten teams, which is just insane. Like, he doesn't get phased by big games. You know, it's the littler games that seem to give him problems. Yeah. But the big games he's up for. And I think that we'll have another close one. Like, I would take – I don't know if the title wins, but I would take the points for sure. Adam, it seemed like Texas A&M had a lot of advantages going into the first-round game against Miami.

He, of course, had the game at home with 107,000 there. Marcel Reed could beat you throwing or running the ball. Their defense had played well throughout the season. But that game quickly settled into one of the most defensive games I've seen in years. The Miami front, led by Reuben Bain and Mesador, played very well. Mark Fletcher ran wild in the second half for Miami. And Marcel Reed, when he had a chance to put the game into overtime or tie it through a critical interception. Of course, the bank did not have a great game, but he did enough to win.

Your thoughts on Texas A&M in Miami moving forward? Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, Texas A&M is only going to have itself to blame. You know, they made mistakes. They, you know, didn't rise to the moment. Because that defense, when you only allow 10 points, like you should – you know, three points for most of the game. You know, you should win that game. I mean, I know both teams had special teams issues. There didn't seem like anybody could make a kick. So, you know, if you just take away some of that, you know, play a little bit cleaner on the Texas A&M side, then you're going to win.

So, but credit to Miami. Like, Reuben Bain is a monster. That guy is making himself a lot of NFL money right now. He is skyrocketing up the draft boards as we speak. So, yeah, I think that he's – you know, he deserves, you know, a lot of attention from Ohio State in the game plan here. I think that it's going to be another low-scoring game when they have to take on Ohio State because, I mean, my goodness, like, those defenses are just elite. Like, those are two, you know, those are two defenses where most of the guys are going to be playing on Sundays here in a couple years.

So, you know, 10-3, you know, we might see 6-3, we might see classic, like, 3-2 real-score line that went all of a sudden done this weekend. But, yeah, that defense is scary. Not to make Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings proud for a game like that. Adam Spencer Saturday down south. Adam, did Alabama and Miami, speaking of Miami, shut up a lot of critics saying that Notre Dame should have gotten in because they didn't deserve it. To me, if you're Vanderbilt or Texas, what are you thinking now?

And did Nick Saban get it right saying that when you open the door and everybody gets a trophy era for James Madison and Tulane, it's like in Major League Baseball in October saying, well, let's don't hurt anybody's feelings, so let's go to AAA and invite a couple of teams up to play in the World Series. Adam, when are they going to learn that you can't have guys like Tulane and James Madison play in the upper echelon of schools and not get embarrassed? Yeah, I mean, I think that it just seems like a no-brainer.

[10:23] Like, I'm not opposed to James Madison or Tulane being in the college football playoff, but you have to be a top-12 team. You have to be ranked in the top-12. Like, I think if you're going to do that, then, you know, like if USF would have gone 12-0 this year or 13-0 with the AAC title and they had that win at Florida and they would have had to have beaten Miami in that scenario. Sure, now you're in the top-12. You're probably in the top-10 team and you're getting the chance to play there.

I have no problem with that. Like, when Cincinnati did what it did, you know, and got into the four-team playoff, like, I didn't have any problem with that. There was NFL players on that roster, you know, the care of business. And, you know, what many would say is the fifth, you know, the strongest of the group of five conferences in the AAC. So, I mean, you know, credit to Cincinnati that year, credit to these teams this year. But, yeah, getting to the top-12. Anybody who's in the top-12, you're in the playoff.

Like, I just think that that should be it. Like, otherwise, what are these guarantees? What are these weird promises to Notre Dame? You know, let's get the 12 best teams, let's beat them up, and let's go. You know, if a group of five teams is voted in there, great. There's no automatic handouts anymore. Ole Miss and Georgia are going to be an interesting game. The Rebels beat Tulane again handily 41-10. Trended at Chambliss nearly 300 yards passing, but over 300 with running. Kewa Lacy actually got hurt his shoulder.

We'll see where that goes. But a lot of people wondering, now, what in the world is Pete Golding going to do with Lane Kiffin? He's no longer there. I think he did a pretty good job. And I know in some situations, he's trying to distance himself from Lane. He said, we don't need no basketball goal on the sideline. I mean, kind of hit some little jabs at him, but an impressive win by Ole Miss. How will they stack up in a rematch against Georgia? Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, they've got to learn how to stop the run.

And, you know, they've got to figure out this Gunnar Stockton situation because Gunnar Stockton had his best game of the year the first time around against Ole Miss when Georgia had to come from behind. So, you know, we'll see if the defensive issues are ironed out. But, like, I think it's going to be a tough battle. I think we can't count out the motivating factors that Ole Miss has. You know, they're playing for spite is a powerful thing. You know, they're trying to spite Lane Kiffin for leaving.

They're trying to, you know, I'm sure Pete Golding is playing the nobody believes in us card. You know, Kiffin being gone. So, you know, I think that those are powerful motivators. And I think that we're going to see a very hungry team come out there. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Ole Miss take an early lead in this one this time around, too. You know, we'll see if they can play four complete quarters or if Georgia figures it out and does what Georgia does and comes back in the second half.

So, you know, I wouldn't be totally surprised to just see the exact same game play out again this time around. But we'll see. I think it's going to be fun and I think it's going to be close. And both of these teams are going to have plenty of motivation. The Phil Knight Fighting Ducks from Oregon taking on Texas Tech. Everybody says, Texas Tech, wow, look at that record. And then they say, wow, look who that record came against. What's going to happen in the Orange Bowl, Adam?

Yeah, I think that if you're Texas Tech, you have to control the game early. And that's, you know, because he's, you know, Baron Morton, he's like 16th or he's 22nd in the Big 12 in past attempts and past yards in the fourth quarter. And the Big 12 is a 16 team conference. So that means multiple teams have backups that have thrown for more yards in the fourth quarter. And what that says is that, you know, he's even the backup on his own team has thrown more time for more yards in the fourth quarter, which means that he just hasn't had to throw.

And, like, all of their wins have been by multiple touchdowns, like not just one touchdown, like two scores and usually three or four scores. So, you know, he just hasn't had to come through in the clutch yet. And I think that that's going to change this weekend. And, you know, we'll see how they handle it. But Oregon is going to be as healthy as it's been all year. They might get their top receiver, Evan Stewart, back for this game. He's been out all year to make a debut in the quarterfinals of the playoff would be really something.

But, yeah, I think that this is going to be a game that if Texas Tech is going to win, then we're going to know it in the first half because they're going to have to take an early lead. Absolutely. Listen, great stuff. We enjoyed breaking down the quarterfinals with you. It should be fun. We'll be talking more college basketball with you as we get past the new year. Adam, Merry Christmas to you and your family. We always appreciate you coming on with us on a weekly basis, normally on Monday.

Have a great Christmas. Where can we get online and get your stuff, Joe Conks, Conor O'Gara, and the teams? Yeah, SaturdayDownSouth.com. We've got you covered. Conor has got his yearly Christmas pieces that are always really nice. So make sure you check those out when you have a few minutes over the coming days. And, yeah, Merry Christmas to you guys, too. Thanks for having me on. You're no other than welcome. Hope we can do it again soon. Adam, Adam, Spencer, hooking up with us. He's busy there at Saturday Down South.

[15:45] Speaking of Christmas, it looks like, B.B., I heard Blair's forecast early Santa Claus is going to be wearing Bermuda shorts and flip-flops. That's okay with me, yes. Absolutely. Coming up, what do you say we go to the SIP and check in with Jake Wimbley on deck on the Bermuda Bugs Show. Stay with us. The year may be ending, but the savings are just beginning right here at Story & Lee Furniture. Just imagine three football fields full of furniture and half of everything in the store is half off.

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The Score. Welcome back in. Hopefully going to be hooking up with Jake Wimbley from the great state of Mississippi here in just a short. Maybe in the meantime, I thought it was interesting this week, listening to Coach DeBoer talking about the MASH report. This team's been banged up, but I thought the thing that I think caught a lot of people's attention in this recent powwow with the media, everybody's pretty much in count L.T. Overton out because of health issues off the field, not necessarily football-related.

There's something bigger than that. But if I was understanding DeBoer right, he's still basically saying there's still a chance he could be ready come New Year's Day in Pasadena. That actually surprised me a little bit. Again, Harold, he's got a health issue. But, you know, we'll see where this goes. He also seemed to be very optimistic, certainly, about Tim Keenan, who they literally helped walk off the field. But, no, Jake is ready now, Harold. But, yeah, the injuries going into the Indiana game, Harold, quite frankly, look pretty promising.

Yeah, let's hope it's been a promising and healthy year. And a sip for Jake Wimberley. He is the boss when it comes to sports talk in the great state of Mississippi there at ESPN 105.9 in Central Mississippi. Jake, welcome in. Merry Christmas to you and your family. How are you? Guys, Merry Christmas. I'm doing well. Sorry, I'm a little tardy, but I'm glad to be here with you guys. How are y'all? You know, the thing is, you are in the epicenter of, let's face it, stories off the field.

What was it like over the weekend? Everybody fell in love with Lane. He won. He's got this social media charismatic personality. He leaves on those circumstances. And then you bring in, at least from afar anyway, Jake, the most blue-collar guy who can relate to that fan base, as well as anybody, anywhere, in Pete Golding. What was it like being in the state of Mississippi and seeing Pete Golding do something that no one ever has been able to do there at Ole Miss? And that's when a playoff came in the modern era.

Hey, it's been a heck of a story, right? I mean, you talk about Pete Golding. He is. He's a blue-collar guy. You know, he's the kind of guy that, you know, you can sit down at a restaurant and have a conversation with. You can see him in the grocery store in the same way. And, you know, I mean, obviously, you know, I think Ole Miss fans are, you know, dishearted to lose Lane Kiffin. But you go out and win a playoff game the way Ole Miss did and, you know, get to the second round.

Now you're headed to the Sugar Bowl. And, you know, it's, hey, let's put all the chips in the middle of the table. And, you know, you're a game for playing in the Final Four and see what happens against a very good Georgia team. Jay, what are they going to do as far as coaching? And we know that some of those guys kind of held over. What's the situation heading into the battle with Georgia as far as its staff? Well, I think it's just good with what you got right now.

I mean, they feel good. I think about offensively, you know, where they're at. And, you know, the good thing is, you know, schematically, and I'm not in those rooms every day, but you would assume they haven't really changed a whole lot. It's really difficult, as you guys know, to change things, especially as downstream as you are in the season now. So personnel knows what to do. Golding knows what to do with the defense. And I think you go back and take a look at that Georgia film, you know, back several months ago, where you were up three quarters going into the fourth quarter, and it just kind of all fell apart.

Now, obviously, teams are different. The coaching staff is going to be a little different for Ole Miss. But, you know, I think if their defense can, you know, show some signs of progress, then they've got an opportunity to play well into the fourth quarter. Offensively, they should be fine. So I think it's, you know, all hands on deck with what you got and go see what happens. Jake, are you talking about the learning situation of a lifetime, but to be able to tutor for five years under Nick Saban and for three or four years under Lane Kiffin and at all of the knowledge, if you're a sponge, you want to soak all that stuff up.

I did get amused at him. In his initial press conference, he said, I don't do hot yoga, which obviously was a reference to Lane or play golf. Now, he can make a sailor blush with his language sometimes, but to be able to learn from those two and to have some common sense, and I hear he's very detailed. He asked the – well, one of the first things he did was he asked the players on the roster, what's the number one thing you love about Ole Miss football, and what's the biggest thing you would change if you could?

[26:02] Boy, I'll tell you one thing. We'll see where it goes in the future, but as far as learning under two icons, he was able to do it. Well, yeah, there's no doubt about it. And, you know, there's a back and forth in this state between Mississippi State and Ole Miss fans, much like Alabama and Auburn fans year-round. You know, and Mississippi State fans want to point to him and go, well, this is Zach Arnett 2.0, and I've been quick to say, no, this is different than Zach Arnett.

Now, no disrespect to Zach Arnett. I mean, he's back on Mississippi State's staff, but he's the defensive coordinator now for Jeff Levy. But, you know, he didn't have the toolage that just what you said. I mean, to go under Nick Saban for five years and then Lane Kiffin, that's a lot of time under two really, really good coaches, learning how to develop players, learning how to, you know, build programs, the day-to-day operations. And, you know, I think if he can get the pieces in the offseason right in certain, you know, coordinator positions and position coaches, I mean, I think they'll be fine.

You know, I would even say that Ole Miss, I said this on another show this morning, I feel like he may even have a little more attention to detail inside the state of Mississippi in recruiting. I mean, Lane Kiffin picked and choose who he wanted, and he was able to do that. But you look at the top 25 players in the state of Mississippi this past year, and it was a pretty darn good class and a good crop. State and Ole Miss both really didn't dent the state of Mississippi this year.

Only two or three of those players stayed in state. So the rest of them went out of state to power four schools and power five schools and group of five schools. So I think you may actually see him, you know, dial more into the state, more so than even Lane Kiffin did. One thing I like about what I'm hearing anyway is he sat down and took an old page out of Nick's book, and it's interesting because Kurt Signetti said he did the same thing at Indiana, talking about bringing them in, asking them the basic questions, what do you like, what do you hate.

That's an old trick from Nick. In other words, he listened. He listened to the people who pay the bills, and that's the players at the grassroots level. Your thoughts. Another thing I like is he was brave enough and confident enough to say, I don't really, it's this thing called offense. I'm turning it over to these guys. I'm a defensive guy. I appreciate the humility there. It's going to take all of that against Georgia because when Stockton's on, he's on. Your thoughts just from that side of the ball, what Ole Miss would do differently against Georgia when it comes to the next meeting they didn't do the last time on defense.

Well, I think the biggest thing, and you talk about, you know, just the details of, you know, asking players, you know, your stakeholders, say, what do you like, what you don't like. I think it's pretty, pretty simple against Georgia. You've got to eliminate penalties, eliminate turnovers, and eliminate big mistakes. And that's the thing. And I know that's cliche, and we hear that all the time. But really when you get down to, you know, these four ballgames that are coming up, or excuse me, these eight ballgames that are coming up, or how many it is, you know, these teams, these eight teams, it comes down to detail because all of the eight teams that are matched up against each other are pretty darn close as far as, you know, talent.

Now there's some quarterback differentials between all the teams and such. But it's really detail, and, you know, I think what they've got to do is they've got to be able to turn Georgia over a time or two. They're going to give up some yards in between the 20s. They've done it all year long. They've really kind of, you know, got to dig their heels in. Red zone defense has got to be really good for Ole Miss, I think, next week. And, you know, offensively, they've got to put the ball in the end zone.

Let me ask you real quick about Mississippi State. They're in the Duke's Mayo Bowl January the 2nd against Wake Forest. They got there with the academic progress rate. Blake Chapin is no longer even with the program after the Egg Bowl. Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State could have beaten Texas, could have beaten Tennessee. They end up being 5-7, could have been 7-5, maybe even a little bit better. Your thoughts on the year Mississippi State had? I thought it was a much improved year, but, again, this is just my opinion.

Teams have to learn how to win. And sometimes we see teams like this. You know, we see teams that, if you remember TCU the year that they played for the national championship, I think there was five or six one-possession games that they won, you know, within 10 points or less. And, you know, you can go through Minnesota Vikings in the NFL a few years ago, went 13-3 in the regular season. They had a similar deal. Those types of teams know how to win close games. State did a horrible job of closing games out.

And, you know, you can throw it on the coach. You can throw it on the player. But they've got to get to where they can close some of these games out. You know, because they're going to be in – I think they've proven that they can put a roster together that is going to be competitive in the league. Now, does that mean they can win the league? Probably not. But they can be competitive on a lot of Saturdays. And they've just got to learn how to close those doors and win some of those close games.

But I thought the progress that this team, I mean, from a year ago to this year, they made big strides in the program. Jake Wimbley, ESPN 105.9 in Central Mississippi. Jake, you're in an interesting spot that they're not all that far from Baton Rouge. How's Lane going to do as a new top Tiger at LSU? Well, if you go back and you look at history, and we all love history in sports. As you know, Nick Saban said it best, and I'm paraphrasing when he left Michigan State, is, hey, that place down there in Louisiana, that's a hotbed for recruiting.

[31:20] And it has not changed. And, you know, you look at what, you know, Les Miles was able to do and Ed Orgeron when he staffed it right. And, you know, Brian Kelly, that just didn't work out for him. He still won a lot of ballgames. So I think what you'll see Lane do is he'll really dial in this coming cycle on, you know, top talent in the state of Louisiana. He's going to, you know, obviously hit the transfer portal hard this year. He'll land one of these big quarterbacks.

And, you know, I think they'll be uberly successful. You know, does that mean he'll go win a national championship? Who knows? He obviously hasn't even coached in a playoff game. You know, and there's that joke there too, could have this year, but chose not to. But I think he's got an opportunity to be as good as anybody that's been there. Absolutely. And I'm going to be curious, Blake Anderson taking over for Charles Huff at Southern Miss. He won a lot of games at Arkansas State and Utah State.

It's proven to be a winner over the years. Listen, we appreciate your time. We know you're busy. You're still the king of radio in the state of Mississippi. Again, Merry Christmas to you and your family. Where can we get online this afternoon to listen to your great show? Yeah, we'll be on for two hours today just because we're getting ready to take off for a week for the break. But, Jay, you can do that at thezone1059.com. I'm on X at Jake Wim. And I always appreciate you guys having me on.

And I hope you guys have a Merry Christmas. Thank you, Jake. Right back at you. Jake Wimberley hooking up with us. He's host of The Drive on ESPN 105.9 in Central Mississippi. We've got something in common with Las Vegas. It's the weather and Bruce Marshall on deck. Stay with us. Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? You just found it at Lost Pizza. Located at the corner of Seminary and East Mobile Street in historic downtown Florence, Lost Pizza is serving up a holiday deal worth celebrating. Buy $25 worth of Lost Pizza gift cards, and you'll get a $5 gift card for yourself.

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So come in, say hello, and celebrate the season with us. After all, Christmas shines brightest when we shine together. Creative Jewelers in historic downtown Florence. Just look for the big purple awning. How will you protect your family if you are no longer here to provide for them? Show them you care with a life insurance policy from Alpha. Our affordable policies can help cover a range of expenses upon death, including mortgages, debt, and education costs. Life can be complicated, but protecting your loved ones shouldn't be. Call Alpha and take the first step towards safeguarding your loved one's future.

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[36:46] Together, we can bring these kids home safely. This advertisement was paid for in partnership with Cars R Us and Find the Children. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9. The score. Alabama is preparing for the college football playoff quarterfinals. The quarterfinals are set to get underway on New Year's Eve when Miami takes on Ohio State at AT&T Stadium. In the Cotton Bowl. Then on New Year's Day, the other three quarterfinal matchups include Oregon taking on Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. Alabama will take on the number one seed.

Indiana in the Rose Bowl. And Georgia will meet Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. Atlanta Falcons are back in action on Monday when the Falcons play at home against the L.A. Rams. The Rams come into the matchup at 11-4. The Falcons are currently 6-9 on the season. Atlanta has won two straight. Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93.9. The score. Thanks to Total Wine, you saved more. On all the gifts for the ones you adore.

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He's got it all covered there with the Las Vegas Insider, BAMSports.net, CBS Sportsline. Winners and Winers. He's also visited there at Bed Rivers in Vegas Insider. Bruce Marshall, welcome in. How are you? I am good. Happy holidays, boys. And, you know, we got through the first round of the playoffs. But I couldn't help but thinking, you know, on Friday and Saturday that college football still didn't get it quite right. Because, I mean, this is, you know, the playoffs here. And we got two of the games where there was absolutely no mystery.

The other two were good. But, you know, Tulane and James Madison being in. And I know James Madison got a backdoor cover. But that game stopped being competitive, you know, in the second quarter. And, you know, we got a 12-team playoffs and two teams were in there who really had no chance. You know, they haven't figured this out right yet. And we'll see what happens down the road. The thing is, if you're Texas or Vanderbilt, obviously Notre Dame, you've got to be saying, we told you so.

To me, Bruce, the only thing that's going to make this thing change, we sit here and these guys are arrogant. They don't care really what we say. They'll say they do. But the one thing that will move the needle is money. When they get the ratings back on the Bama-Oklahoma game and they say, wow. And then they get the ratings back on those other two you mentioned, they're going to go, wow. The only thing, in my opinion, that's going to change it is when ESPN comes to them and says, guys, we promised these advertisers a number.

And now we've got to sit here and either do make good as they call it a business or eat it. To me, that's the only thing that's going to change is when ESPN comes to them and says, we've got to come up with a more competitive, like the NFL. Come up with, at least on the motor committee way, a four-quarter game to keep that audience there. I agree. And, you know, we saw that the way they scheduled those games, too, on Saturday. I mean, they did give Alabama its own window with Oklahoma on Friday night.

But with the NFL games on Saturday, they made sure the best game they put was the earlier game with Miami and A&M. And I'm sure that the Tulane and the James Madison games really got whipped by the NFL in the ratings. But you're right. It's all down to money, like it always is. And that's why they're going to, you know, they'll expand this thing at some point. And it's really amazing the way the system has sort of, because of the built-in, the bowl system and the established sort of pillars of college football, that it's taken them so long to get this far.

And unlike basketball, where they, you know, didn't take them once they figured out, okay, we've got to get this thing up 64, 68, whatever. You know, they'll get there to 16, and then it's going to go even higher than that down the road. But you're right. Money is going to be the determining factor. Bruce, let me ask you about Alabama, and then we get into Alabama and Indiana. A lot of national media didn't think Alabama should have been there in the first place, should have been Notre Dame. And after the first quarter, they actually looked right.

[42:14] And then Alabama made some adjustments defensively, went from its own to a man. They manned up physically and actually whipped Oklahoma the last three quarters at the line of scrimmage. And Kalen DeBoer, as bad as he is, or he's either a terrible coach or he was going off to Michigan and was going to get fired if Oklahoma won. Funny thing happened on the way to that. He's now 20-5 against nationally ranked teams, 4-0 against AP top 10 teams on the road. I think the guy can coach.

Your thoughts on the Alabama comeback in the matchup against Indiana? Yeah, you know, I'll tell you, after the first quarter, into the second quarter, I didn't think it was going too well for Alabama. But, you know, you live by the sword and you die by the sword. And that's, I think with Oklahoma, you know, I was going to look back and say, wow, you know, we made a lot of plays, big plays defensively this year. And, you know, scooping scores and pick sixes and things like that.

And once that turned the other way, you know, we didn't, the offense just didn't respond. And Mateer looked better than he has in the last two months since he hurt the thumb the first time. But still, I thought that whole game turned around in that little sequence in the second quarter. Now, Bama did, after doing nothing their first few possessions, they did, you know, march down. So they got sorted back in the game, but at 17-7. But at Oklahoma scored right there to go up 24-7.

That would have taken the momentum away. And Mateer did, remember that play, he scrambled up in the pocket and he had the guy open about at the 20. And possibly a touchdown if he catches it or down, it would have been down deep in the red zone. Dropped the pass and then two plays later, the blocked punt. And then shortly after that, the pick six. And, boy, I really saw momentum flip so quickly. But, you know, you look at who Alabama on the road this year. I mean, they have one at Georgia.

They have one at Oklahoma. One at Auburn. One at South Carolina. I mean, they have taken this act out on the road this year better than last year for sure. And now that you've got a neutral game at Pasadena in the Rose Bowl, I think they've got this price at $7. You know, we'll talk about this more maybe next week. But my first blush, I think, you know, I think Alabama's very alive here. And I think we'll find out, too. I don't want to downgrade Indiana and Mendoza.

And winning at Oregon was quite something. They did beat Ohio State. But there was only 13-10 in the Ohio State game. And the whole Big Ten in the last two years is only a couple times Indiana has really been challenged like that. And they didn't play an SEC schedule the way Alabama did. I think Alabama's got a chance. Well, we'll dive into this more next week. But they got a chance. Bruce Marshall busy there amongst other places. Vegas insider. Bruce, what is the most intriguing matchup aside?

Obviously, Narsip code. Thanks for indulging us here at the Rose Bowl. What is the most intriguing of the remaining games in the quarters for you? I think that Georgia Ole Miss, that we got a rematch of that game mid-season. And Lane had a chance when he was still there. I mean, they were up into the fourth quarter. And that's the game I really started to think, you know, Georgia might really have something special here. The way they came back, and it was sort of like, you know, the first Alabama game.

They also came back in the second half of that game. They really had a chance to win after falling behind. But, you know, the whole dynamic there with Ole Miss. Now, they did win that game with Tulane and they're all now in Pete Golden's bandwagon. But, you know, the air comes out of the balloon real quick if they lose. But you got an all-SEC matchup there and a rematch of the regular season. Now, we've known, we've noted how these rematches, you know, generally we saw, you know, we saw last week with Alabama and Oklahoma, the second of the team.

It's hard to beat a team twice in the same season like that unless you're a lot better. But I kind of think Georgia might do it again. So that's the one I'm looking at. That's the other one that's really interesting, I think. What are your thoughts? Oregon and Texas Tech. Texas Tech, of course, had the buyout. Morton, the veteran quarterback, 22 touchdowns. Jacob Rodriguez and friends. They've got an opposing defense. They do whip you at the line of scrimmage. Dante Moore looked very good against Oregon. Of course, a lot of the players, I mean, against James Madison.

Your thoughts, Oregon, Texas Tech, and the Orange Bowl. This is interesting because, one, you know, I thought they might have kept Oregon out on the coast here, but they got them back in Miami instead of down in Pasadena where Indiana is. We talked about Texas Tech before, Brad, on the show and how good the Red Raiders have looked and all the things they did to upgrade, especially along the lines and what their football GM, James Blanchard, has done really working in concert with Joey McGuire and to put together a really dominant team.

[47:42] However, I still am not quite sure about where the Big 12 was this year. And I don't know that Texas Tech faced, you know, a really dynamic offense. So this year they certainly didn't in non-conference play. And they do have those two wins over BYU. But BYU is a little bit different. They're not really a quick strike. You know, they sort of played into Texas Tech's hands. They tried to bully you up front. If that doesn't work, then BYU's got trouble. They missed – they weren't able – they had trouble with Arizona State, the one of the Big 12 teams that has sort of a diversified and dynamic offense.

They missed Arizona, which I thought was a team that would have given Texas Tech trouble. So now they're going to be facing a really, really dynamic offense here. And how is Texas Tech's defense going to manage to deal with that and that speed that Oregon has? I don't know. My gut feeling is Oregon might have the edge here. Unless, you know, I could be totally wrong in my perception of Texas Tech really being a legitimate top 14. Maybe they are. But my first blush here is Oregon and all these weapons.

You know, they're saying if Dante Moore comes out in the draft, you know, he might be the first quarterback, first player taken. So he will be watching that Raiders-Giants game this week here in Las Vegas, which could have a long way to determine who gets the number one pick in the draft. Probably wouldn't be the Giants. Raiders? Dante Moore? Maybe. We'll see. Bruce Marshall got it all covered against a lot of other places, Vegas Insider. What are Miami and Alabama fans saying to Notre Dame these days?

And what will Miami say to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl Classic, Bruce? Well, you know, they're going to have to do more offensively. That was not a real pretty game against Texas A&M. But they did win. And they did shut the critics up and the Notre Dame people who thought they shouldn't have been there. That was still a really good defensive effort. And we talked about Miami's defense. Maybe, you know, they are that good. I mean, this was the top 10 scoring defense. They were 11th nationally in total defense.

You know, they can really fly. And even though Beck didn't have a great game, you know, you go into College Station and win. I mean, that's impressive. Now, Ohio State, you know, that whole bully thing with Ohio State, are they going to be able to bully Miami? I don't know. I mean, you saw Ohio State really blink in that game against Indiana and saying, you know, I'm still not sold on this guy, the quarterback, and having him go in the Heisman presentation and all that. And everything just was on a platter for him this year.

He had a great offensive line. Everything, you know, all he had to do was hand the ball off. His receivers are usually wide open when he throws to them. You know, let's see what happens. We saw what happened in the Indiana game when he played a real defense that didn't allow him there. My gut feel is this is going to be another defensive sort of game, and Miami might stay close. I just don't know. I'm not sold on saying being near as good as some of those Ohio State quarterbacks we've had in recent years who are now in the NFL.

I think Miami might be worth a look here. In fact, I'm kind of thinking all the underdogs here, except, you know, with the Oregon game, it's kind of a close spread. So, this is another underdog. It might be worth a look. Mm-hmm. Two things. The scuttlebutt this morning is Louisville head coach Jeff Brum has, quote, emerged as a name of interest. I really do get amused at some of the language we use now on social media. At this point, to replace more is the Michigan coaching search.

You've got impeccable sources in Las Vegas. What are you hearing? And two, listen, we can't tell you much. We enjoy talking. Yeah. We've been breaking down games. Merry Christmas to you and your family. You are the gold standard in this business and continue to be. Tell us also the number of platforms where we can get on and get all your good stuff. Yeah, thanks, Brett. And happy holidays to you guys, too, as far as that Jeff Brum rumor. Well, you know, at the start of this process for Michigan, the first name they mentioned was Kenny Dillingham.

And I, right off the bat, knew that's not happening. Dillingham, if there's anybody who's, you know, going to be at Arizona State now, it's him. He went there. His family lives in the same street as his family. I mean, he's not going to leave Arizona State, at least not now. So that was always a false rumor. And Brum, I have trouble buying the Brum rumor because, again, he's back home. I mean, that's why he left Purdue and went to Louisville. And he's got a lot more rope, even though they were a little disappointing and they're playing a bowl game right now, I think.

[52:47] I'm not buying that. I still think they've got to figure this out with their AD. I think any coach would be really reluctant to go in there without knowing for sure Ward Manuel's the AD. So we'll see. Anyway, thanks. Check me out online, VegasInsider.com. Also at CBSSportsLine, SportsLine.com. And the new places for picks with a different twist. That's WinnersAndLiners.com, PicksAndParlays.com. And Merry Christmas to everybody in Alabama. Hey, Merry Christmas to you folks there in Las Vegas. Hold it between now and Thursday.

You can build a chimney. Probably not a lot in Vegas, but good luck on getting that chimney up for Santa Claus here. Okay, Bruce? Will do. Happy holidays. Thank you so much. Bruce Marshall, the one and the only getting ready for Christmas. Bebe, are you ready for Christmas? I am. Let me mention two quick things. UNA men's basketball on January the 1st against Stetson. The tip-off time has been moved from 2 p.m. to noon. And we'll mention that again next week. And the two of us, along with, I hope James is some too, our producer, we're going to be off beginning tomorrow for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and got bowl games on Friday.

So Wednesday through Friday, no boom old bug show, but we'll be back again Monday. In fact, we've got a bowl game then, and we'll work around a lot of the bowl games. We enjoy broadcasting those. So, again, UNA men's basketball, the tip-off has been moved from 2 to 12 against Stetson on January the 1st. Back on Monday, fatter and merrier than ever. So, in the meantime, going to take you all over the place. Speaking of Indiana, Matt Merchell, who knows it better. He's going to be checking in with us.

Who knows Auburn better than former QB Charlie Trotman. And Randy Kennedy, the one, the only. And it's all straight ahead. Stay with us. There are many advantages of doing business with an independent insurance agent. Paige Borden Insurance in Tuscumbia and M.J. Carter & Company Insurance in Florence can show you. An independent insurance agent is not tied to just one company. In order to get you the coverage you need at a competitive price. Go buy and see M.J. Carter & Company Insurance at 127 South Court Street. Or call 256-760-9999.

Or in Tuscumbia, see Paige Borden Insurance at 111 East 3rd Street. Or call 256-381-1334. Hey, this is Russell from Medford Jewelers reminding everyone as we celebrate our 80th Christmas in downtown Florence that we have you covered. If you need a pair of two-carat lab diamond studs, we've got them on sale for $599. We have a two-carat lab tennis bracelet for $995. We have a $35 custom cookbook easel where you can bring in a handwritten recipe of your grandmother's and we can engrave it for you. If you need our Bit of Me custom ornament with a child's voice on it, we've got you covered.

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Warmest greetings of the season and best wishes for happiness in the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your friends at Printers and Stationers Incorporated. I've always wanted to learn French, but the app I tried didn't help. If you want to memorize words in another language, there's an app for that. But if you want to really learn another language, there's Babbel. Babbel was designed by over 200 language learning experts to be the most effective way to learn another language. With other language learning apps, I was just playing games.

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[58:05] That's Babbel.com to save up to 50%. B-A-B-B-E-L dot com. Two hours ago, Kyle arrived at the bar. Hey, what's everyone drinking? 30 minutes ago, Kyle got his friends another round of drinks. Cheers! Five minutes ago, Kyle decided to drive home drunk. A minute ago, a law enforcement officer pulled up behind Kyle. Sir, have you been drinking tonight? A chain of events that began two hours ago is about to change Kyle's whole world. Drive sober or get pulled over. Paid for by NHTSA. If you have ever thought about remodeling your bathroom but were worried it would take too long or cost too much, then stop worrying.

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The governor also appointed Tony Cochran and Patricia Sims to the authority. The board oversees the Port of Mobile, which connects the United States to the global supply chain. More Alabama news after this. Did you know that 70% of people experience a potentially traumatic event in their lifetime and that 6 out of every 100 adults face PTSD every day? Help us bring hope to these survivors by signing up for your Alabama Distinctive PTSD Awareness License Plate today. The great thing is you can sign up no matter when your current plate renews, and the first year is complimentary.

All you need is your VIN number on hand. Drive awareness, drive hope, and customize your plate today at atease.org. That's A-T-E-A-S-E dot O-R-G. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the state will receive approximately $4.9 million as part of a $149 million settlement with Mercedes-Benz. The settlement resolves allegations that Mercedes sold diesel vehicles, equipment with illegal and undisclosed software designed to bypass emission standards. A new Netflix documentary series will revisit the disappearance of Natalie Holloway, the mountain brick teenager whose 2005 disappearance during a high school graduation trip to Aruba became one of the most closely followed missing persons cases in the world.

Netflix has not announced a release date. For 1819 News, I'm Carl Brady. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shore. Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. Roll Tide. Firing catch made. First down. Lottie Brooks breaks the tackle. 4-3-2-1. Touchdown. Lottie Brooks. And he dropped it. Bama blocked it. Bama blocked it. New Keenan picked it up. What a play by the Tide. A pick. A pick at the 45 to the 30.

Touchdown. Sabian Brown. Mateers scrambling. He's going down. Fourth sack of the night for Alabama. Daniel breaks the tackle. Fights his way to the goal line. He's in. Touchdown, Alabama. The Tide advances to play top seed in Indiana in the quarterfinals of the CFP. But as for Norman in this night, let's get out of here. Next stop, the college football playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. Live from Pasadena, California on the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield. 93.9 The Score Weather. Today, a 20% chance of showers with wind gusts as high as 15 miles an hour and a high around 70.

Tonight, mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers overnight and a low near 60. Tomorrow, partly sunny with a high around 70. Tomorrow night, partly cloudy with a low near 55. And for your Christmas day, mostly sunny with a high around 75. Your weather from 93.9 The Score. Now, get ready to roll. Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM sports voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide. Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

[1:03:51] Welcome back in our tour of the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Baby, I can't think of a better way to kick off our new thing going to the other end of the state. The Voice on the south side of Bama. Randy Kennedy, he's visiting there at AL.com. Behind the microphone, you guessed it, host of the Randy Kennedy Show. Afternoons 4 to 6 on 995 Sports Talk in Mobile, Alabama. Also the winner of the Mel Allen Award from the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Named one of the 50 legends of sports writers in Alabama. Randy Kennedy. Welcome in. Sounds like Santa Claus has already been good to you. How are you? Life is good. Merry Christmas to you guys. Hey, Randy. What's it like to always have a guaranteed white Christmas? All you guys got to do is get out of the beach on December 25th. Right, Randy? I hear you. It's a different kind of white. But, yes, it's good. I don't think we're going to get any snow down here. We don't usually do, but it's still going to be merry.

Randy, you've been around a while, too, like some of us. Your thoughts, when's the last time you saw a game with this much at stake than Alabama at Oklahoma? Honestly, what went through your mind that we can publish on family radio for the first half of that, first quarter of that game Friday night? You know, it's interesting because I had said coming into the year that it was an either-or situation for Alabama and Kalen DeBoer. Either they made the playoff and it was a successful year or they didn't make the playoff and it was an unsuccessful year.

And then I'm watching that game and it gets to 17-0, and I'm like, wow, I'm going to have to change my opinion right here at the last minute because if that had kept going that way on the heels of the Alabama-Georgia game and the SEC championship game, it was going to be impossible to say it was a good year for Alabama. You know, ending on that kind of two-game losing streak where you just did not look competitive. And so I was just thinking, boy, I've got to change my heart whole narrative for the last nine months, and then they come rip-roaring back and they win that game.

And now suddenly, I think I get the sense more people are confident about beating Indiana than they were about beating Oklahoma. That's what we've been hearing the last couple of days. Randy, we've enjoyed talking with you throughout the course. Of course, as you probably know, Harold and I follow recruiting very closely, and you do a great job with the best of Bama. The top 50 players, no matter if they're in the 8th grade or the 12th grade, in the state of Alabama. We want to go through some of those with you in just a minute.

But one of the things that we keep talking about is, it is amazing at how much the talent in the state of Alabama, they're going all over the nation now. I know 10, 15, 20 years ago, it was, yeah, the state of Alabama has got a couple of guys. Now they have a lot of guys. They signed, players signed with South Carolina, Clemson, Missouri, Georgia Tech, Miami, Wake Forest, Purdue, Ohio State. Two of these dudes signed with Tate Jones out of St. Paul's, Kim Pritchett out of Thompson, signed with Dan Lanning at Oregon.

He always seems to come to the state of Alabama and get somebody. And you mentioned it in your article. You could see a lot of this talent when the Alabama All-Stars beat the Mississippi All-Stars 40-10 in the annual Alabama-Mississippi game. And we've talked with you a lot about E.J. Crowell and some of the other guys. Man, the talent, and I appreciate Alabama Public Television broadcasting that. The talent was very evident in that game, Brandy. There's no doubt about it. You know, it used to be that, yeah, most of the talent would come from in-state.

I saw a stat, I actually heard Kaylin DeBoer talking about this, that Alabama's got 15 players who played high school football in California who are going back to the Rose Bowl. Wow. That's a large number. 15. Now, you know, you've got a lot of coaches who are familiar with the West Coast on Alabama's staff, so it's not as shocking. But that's a lot, a lot of players. But, you know, in terms of going the other direction, Oregon, it looks like they're going to get the number one player in the state of Alabama, or certainly one of the top three players in the state of Alabama three years in a row.

They did it last year with the defensive back from Parker in Birmingham. This year they got Tank Jones from St. Paul's, who you just can't be a better prospect than him on the defensive front. And then, as you mentioned, next year in the junior class, Cam Pritchett from Thompson may be the top guy in that 2027 class. So they definitely come to this state and try to cherry-pick some, because I think people have come to realize that there are a lot, a lot of players here, particularly per capita, in the state of Alabama.

And you mentioned the All-Star game, just real quick, that it's amazing that, you know, I go to high school games every week and you see these guys play, but it's just so different when you see them standing next to each other, running next to each other, just kind of being on the same field. I was at the All-Star game in Hannesburg, and like Brock Bradley, the quarterback from Spain Park, has signed with Clemson. I've seen him play in person. I really like him. I've seen Landon Duckworth from Jackson, who's signed with South Carolina.

[1:09:02] I've seen both those guys, and I have an opinion on both, but then you see them standing next to each other, and you just think, wow, this is, you get a completely different evaluation, seeing them actually on the same field together versus seeing one, then seeing the other. In the huddle with Randy Kennedy. Another thing about a game like that is, I've always said, you look at these kids coming out of high school, and it's all, what's the fancy way of putting it, relative. Sometimes they got big numbers, but you just stand out.

When you are on the platform, like in an All-Star game, and you still do what you do, look at Crowell. He still stood out. You look at the C.D. Morgan, he still stood out. This is supposed to be apples-to-apples comparison, and in a couple of years, they're going to be playing against the same guys at the college level. And for Crowell, Randy, who stood out the most to you? I mean, I saw some of the catches there. Morgan, obviously Tank, you mentioned him. And not only that, now these kids, they grow up in a hurry because I think, I don't know the exact number, but about 80%, 90% of the kids at Alabama sign, they're there now, or will be at the end of the week.

It's amazing how things have changed. Well, I did a little informal poll with all the coaches from Alabama, the people who were around the Alabama All-Star team all week, and I said, hey, who stood out? Not try to be any sort of influence, just the most basic question, like who stood out? And every one of them said the exact same thing, that they're all good, but there are two guys that are way better than everybody else. One, E.J. Crowell, the running back who's going to Alabama, and the other one, Tank Jones, defensive lineman who's going to Oregon.

And there are a lot of other great players. I would think C.D. Morgan would be right in that next group, and you could name several of these guys. But every one of them said those are the two guys. There are two can't-miss guys coming out of Alabama, and those two guys, running back going to Alabama, defensive end going to Oregon. Randy, I really like the list. Your top 50 has been fluid. It's fluctuated some. Some of the guys, in fact, you had one, Randy, that went up.

Zion Crumpton from Carver Montgomery, Mississippi State commit, went up 14 spots in the final one. But I wanted to ask you about, and particularly some guys at the tail end of this, and it's absolutely not any disrespect because these guys are in the 8th or 9th grade. Captain Munderland, Jr., I remember watching his dad in the NFL. He played 10 years for Carolina at Buffalo, played college at South Carolina. He's a freshman. Your 48th player is Trey Kyles, a defensive end. He's in the 8th grade for Daphne.

He's got another kid, Randy from Cole Moody, an 8th grader from Southside Selma. Raylan Everett, a wide receiver. He's in the 9th grade from Central Phoenix City. Randy, how good can these guys be if they're already in your top 50? Well, there's certainly a lot of projection here, but here's the thing you need to know. First of all, the 8th grader from Southside Selma just set the all-time Alabama single-season passing record for any grade, and he's in the 8th grade. So right there, you got to think about it, right?

He's at least got to be considered, and every one of those other guys you mentioned are already star players at the big-time program. I'm talking about if you're a freshman, and you're considered one of the best players on the Central Phoenix City team, and you're a freshman, well, that deserves some, wait a minute, what's going on here? Because that just doesn't happen at Central Phoenix City. And you just got to go down the list. Same thing with Monterland at Williamson High School. They maybe had one of the best two or three defenses in the state this year, and he's a guy who was a really good player for them already.

If you went to a Daphne game, that 8th grader you were talking about coming off the edge, you wouldn't have to have a program to say, I don't know what grade that guy is, but that's the guy. And then I would say, oh, he's in the 8th grade. Well, they just say, well, put him on the list. Put him on the list. Wow. If you saw Daphne play, you'd be like, put him on the list. I don't care what grade he's in. Unbelievable. Yeah. Randy, your thoughts about, obviously, we saw this last class where Alabama and Auburn were respectively, and now Alex Golesh is bringing a brand new blueprint as far as how he's putting a roster together.

Your thoughts from a high school recruiting standpoint in the state of Alabama, where things are, where they're going now with a new top tiger at Auburn, and DeBoer now, the old man, after two seasons at Alabama on the recruiting trail in the state. Yeah, I think that what Alex Golesh is doing at Auburn is… I think that what he's doing at Auburn is far, far more responsible than anything that Hugh Freeze ever did when he was in charge at Auburn. I think with Hugh Freeze, it was a lot of flash, a lot of sizzle, that if we have to overpay for this high-profile in-state guy, we're going to do it, regardless of if it makes sense with our overall roster or not.

And I think what's happening now is Alex Golesh is having to go through and kind of clean up some of that mess to say, look, we can't be paying a backup wide receiver the third most on the team. You know, that's just crazy. I don't know how big a recruit he was coming out of high school. This is out of whack. And so I think there's going to be some growing pains with Auburn fans being like, wow, we thought, you know, we didn't get out of that what we thought we were going to get.

[1:14:21] And I think it was Hugh Freeze just, you know, trying to win these recruiting battles at all cost, regardless of what it meant down the road to the health of the program. Randy, great stuff. We have thoroughly enjoyed talking with you about the talent in this state, and it really is incredible. We've got quite a bit of it. In fact, the all-state team was last Saturday that came out on AL.com. Where can our listeners get online and get the best of Bama? And, Ray, I'll tell you one thing, Mr. Football is going to be interesting, too.

I believe it's January the 20th. And then the reclassification is going to be the 23rd. That's going to be a very interesting week in the state. Randy, Merry Christmas to you and your family. Where can we get online and get the best of Bama and all your great stuff? Yeah, the best thing to do is just go to AL.com. You'll see best in Bama. We will have more updates on it once we get through the two All-American games coming up. There will be minor adjustments at that point.

Once we see how the guys do against that elite, elite competition. And then once we get to signing day in February, we'll start it over. We'll kick out all those seniors. And we'll start over with 50 more of the guys without the current senior class. Randy, I echo those sentiments. Merry Christmas to you and your family. And thanks so much. Stay safe out there, okay? You too. Merry Christmas to you guys. Thank you, Randy. Randy Kennedy hooking up with us. Check him out there afternoons on the Randy Kennedy Show, 46 and 995 Sports Talk in Mobile.

We mentioned Auburn. Time to huddle with the former Tiger quarterback, Charlie Trauman on deck. Stay with us. Dr. John and Misty Waddell and staff want to wish our family and patients peace, love, joy, and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. From Dr. John Waddell's Family Dentistry, 1829 Darby Drive, Florence. Mugshots Grill and Bar has a winning fall lineup with their limited time offers. Choose from the smoky bourbon maple stack with two kid burgers or the pretzel basket with four pretzel sticks sprinkled with kosher salt.

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Listen carefully. Do you feel like you're losing control of your finances? If you owe over $10,000 in back taxes or have unfiled tax returns, we can help you take back control. The IRS is the largest and most aggressive collection agency in the world, and they can seize your bank accounts, garnish your paycheck, close your business, and file criminal charges. Take control of your tax problem now by calling the experts at U.S. Tax Shield, and take advantage of the fresh start program and new laws that may allow us to negotiate a settlement for the lowest amount possible.

Our team of tax attorneys and enrolled agents can stop collections and get you protected so you can take control of your financial future. U.S. Tax Shield offers a price protection guaranteed quote to get you protected today. U.S. Tax Shield is A-plus rated with the Better Business Bureau, so call now. 800-687-5192. That's 800-687-5192. U.S. Tax Shield. 800-687-5192. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Brent Beard, is it through, is it through that Santa Claus has already come early to Jeremy Pruitt?

Well, Santa Claus came early about three weeks ago to Jeremy Pruitt when the DeKalb County judge issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Jeremy Pruitt. Well, the NCAA didn't like that, and they have filed an appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court basically trying to get a stay or overturn the injunction for Jeremy Pruitt. So, we'll see where this goes after the first of the year. Well, let's go from DeKalb County to Charlie Trotman's neighborhood. This is Santa Claus going to drop off here this week. Former Auburn quarterback.

Behind the microphone, he knows all about Auburn and radio and the whole nine yards. Charlie Trotman, welcome in. How are you? Hey, Harold. Hey, Brett. Good to be with you guys. Merry Christmas. Thank you, Charlie. Have you been a good boy this year, Charlie? I can't say that, but I still hope Santa Claus can find our house. Can we negotiate, right? Charlie, talk to us about it. Obviously, it's a different Christmas at Auburn this year compared to the last couple or so. We just got done talking with Randy Kennedy.

You know Randy. And we were asking him about the plan now as far as going forward. And I thought Randy had a good insight. He said basically, and see if you agree because you're closer to the program than any of us, that sometimes Hugh got caught up in trying to win the bling-bling. He wanted to spend a lot of money to win that day's press conference. He got this recruit, but then going forward, he didn't get a return on his investment necessarily. And that Goldish basically has had to come in and do some cleanup there.

In other words, get a bigger bang for the buck because, let's not kid ourselves, in the modern era, it's about spending money and spending money wisely. Your thoughts about what you're hearing so far from Goldish and how he's putting together this roster. Well, I understand that so many of the players that have announced for the transfer portal will end up in the transfer portal and playing for other teams. But there are a few players. There's two or three players that the talk is that they may actually be coming back to Auburn because I think Coach Goldish is trying to strike deals with them.

They didn't really necessarily want to leave Auburn, but they just knew that they could get more money. And I think that it seems to me, and I may be wrong about this, but it seems to me that Coach Goldish is a little bit better suited for this NIL landscape that we're in than was Hugh Freeze. And that's just a feeling that I get. Nothing to base that on, so to speak, other than I do know that he was not willing to come up to some of the requests that the players were making.

And, you know, you have to spend your money wisely, like you said, Harold. Yes. There's only a few players that can get the really, really big bucks, and you've got to keep those guys on your roster. Charlie, the Auburn quarterback room is going to be quite interesting. We talked a little bit about this off the air yesterday. Ashton Daniels has announced that he is going to enter the transfer portal, and his quote was, I know I promised a return on this amazing place, but things didn't work out.

[1:24:42] And I thought they would. And then a day later, Byron Brown, the three-year starter at South Florida, announcing that he has entered the transfer portal. And, Charlie, maybe in this case, you can do two plus two equals four. A lot of speculation that Brown would be handed to Auburn as a quarterback, but there's a concern. I know we talked about it yesterday, about if Brown comes in, Auburn's already, right now, lost Ashton Daniels. What about Deuce Knight, who seems to be the future of the program?

Charlie, your thoughts on the quarterback room right now for Auburn? Well, I would not be happy if I was Deuce Knight. I would not like the fact that they were feeling like they had to bring in Byron Brown. I know he's had great statistics. I know he's had three really good years. You know, he's one of the 12 players at quarterback in the history of college football to throw for over the 3,000 and run for over 1,000 in one season. And so, you know, he's a player. I mean, I wouldn't want him coming in if I was Deuce Knight, knowing that, you know, this is my team and he came here to be the future of the program.

It wouldn't sit well with me. Now, I will tell you this. There are some people that I know that have talked to Deuce Knight, and they have told him, wherever you go, Deuce, wherever you go, especially in the SEC, there's going to be competition. And so, you know, that's true. But, you know, I was mentioning to you yesterday, Brett, when Byron Brown comes in, he's got a leg up on everybody because he's played for our goalies. Sure, thank you. You know, so to me, I think Deuce Knight is not only going to have to beat him out, but he's going to have to beat him out badly, you know, to win the job.

So, you know, Deuce would just have to, you know, this is where it comes into that money situation, guys, because the only way to pacify Deuce is to sit on the bench for his redshirt freshman year. He redshirted last year, so he'll be a redshirt freshman coming in. To sit out for his redshirt freshman year, he would have to have been paid an enormous amount to feel satisfied that he could do that. Otherwise, he's going to be looking to play somewhere else. Charlie, I saw a while ago, the quarterbacks were opening up, as far as top-line quarterbacks in the portal, one to two to three million dollars.

They're now asking four to five. So, let's just say that Deuce is making a million sitting on the bench. Yeah, I'm not very good with math, but if somebody's going to pay me five million, they're not going to let me go. We talked about the competition. Competition is different now. Somebody's paying you five million dollars. You're pretty much guaranteed that starting job if you're going to go somewhere else. But what message, Charlie, you've been around a long time, and one thing that college football fans, including Auburn, Alabama, you name the school, they don't have a lot of patience.

This guy's coming in. He's going to bring in the wrecking ball and restructure things. What message, in terms of patience, would you send to Auburn fans? Well, I think Alex Golesh is trying to send Auburn fans the message that I don't have time to wait. You know, I've got to bring in a guy that I know what he can do. I know when he gets in third and mediums and third and longs, I know what I can count on. I know I've called these plays before.

He's seen them. He's used to them. He's not going to have to go through spring training to figure out our offense. And so I think Alex Golesh is saying to the Auburn fans, hey, you know, we're going to get this done in a hurry. It's not going to take me two to three years to get a winning team. And so, you know, the question is going to be from Alex Golesh to the fans is, you know, how quickly can we win big? And that's a question that a lot of teams are going to ask because the SEC is just so – it is so tough.

I mean, next year's schedule, Auburn has in the middle of the year, they play like Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, and somebody else, I mean, just off the cuff in a row. And it's just – or it was Florida maybe. But anyway, it's a tough schedule. And I think Alex Golesh is trying to do what it takes to come out and be able to compete and to be successful and not have to wait to do it. Charlie, there are – the Auburn media is speculating on this, and you mentioned of all the players who have come out on social media and say they tend – their attention is to enter the portal when it opens January 2nd.

[1:29:55] But you're right, some of these guys can come back. Let me mention some guys, and I'll just ask you for a number. Jay Crawford is the starting cornerback. Malik Blockton, defensive lineman. Malcolm Simmons, wide receiver, had a tremendous game against Alabama. Amaris Williams, defensive lineman. And Perry Thompson, wide receiver. A lot of the media consider that to be the top five guys who may be entering the portal. Do you think one, two, three of those guys may come back? I don't know if three of them will, Brett.

I would say maybe one, maybe two. I don't think – I think Malcolm Simmons is gone. We need him. Auburn needs Malcolm Simmons. He's our punt returner, and he's a very good receiver. He started coming on, and he was our most productive receiver at the end of the year. You know, he's just going to get more money somewhere else. That's what it is. And a lot more money, probably. And so, you know, when you have to pay Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton, you know, that takes a lot of money out of the wide receiver room.

And not every room has tons of money. And that's one you've got to spend your – you've got to spend wisely. And so, they're just – they're counting on those two guys instead of Malcolm Simmons. And I just don't see him coming back. I don't know about Amaris and, you know, Malik Blockton. Malik Blockton is from Pike Road, right down the road from Auburn. And I just don't – I don't know why Auburn wouldn't spend the money to keep him. He's a very productive player, had a good year, and will get better.

So, you know, I – but then again, guys, it's all negotiation and money issues. Charlie, let me close with this. Are you impressed – and we talked about this with you last week or two weeks ago. Well, the staff that Golinch is putting together has got a lot of experience in the SEC. And with Power 4, are you pleased with the staff so far? I am. I thought adding Larry Porter as the running back coach was really, really good. He's got a – there's a running back from West Virginia that played for him that may – he's in the transfer portal, he may be an Auburn target and a really good player.

And so, I like – I think that the offensive coaching staff is going to be a step up from what Auburn had. And I know that Derek Nix is well thought of, and I think he may be going to Alabama. But, you know, I think, you know, that some of the – Marcus Davis was well thought of. I think he's probably going to Florida. And, you know, it wasn't that these guys couldn't coach. It was just that for whatever reason, the offensive line and the quarterbacks just were not productive this year.

And it made everybody else less productive. The receivers were less productive. The running backs were less productive. And it just was an offensive debacle this year, you know, especially at the – kind of right after the first couple of games. And you go into that Oklahoma and Texas A&M and Georgia, you know, going to those contests, and you just have no offense. And so, it's hard to win that way. So, I think Alex Golesh's main goal is, you know, to keep D.J. Durkin and the good defense playing well.

And then to make our offense transitional to – from a very mediocre to a very, you know, top-end type year next year. Absolutely. Listen, I know you stepped out of your mother-in-law's house to talk to us. We've already started Christmas. As you know, we really enjoy talking with you. God bless the family, wife, Whitney and Charlie Jr. Have a very great and fun – Merry Christmas, Charlie. Well, thank you all so much. And I think my mother-in-law, she's telling me I'm not going to get any dessert because I can't even let the – Hurry back in, Charlie.

He's in the doghouse again. See you guys. Thank you so much. Thank you, bud. Charlie Trotman, we know all about that, do we now? Charlie Trotman, former Auburn quarterback. Coming up, who knows Alabama, Indiana better than the man from Indiana, Matt Merchelle on deck. Stay with us. This Christmas, give a gift that's guaranteed to score. A Champy's Famous Fried Chicken gift card. For every $100 you spend on cards, you get a $20 card for yourself. And remember, Champy's for pregame food for the bowl games and college football playoffs.

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Our team of tax attorneys and enrolled agents can stop collections and get you protected so you can take control of your financial future. U.S. Tax Shield offers a price protection guaranteed quote to get you protected today. U.S. Tax Shield is A-plus rated with the Better Business Bureau, so call now. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, the score. Atlanta Falcons are back in action on Monday when the Falcons play at home against the L.A. Rams. The Rams committed a matchup at 11-4. The Falcons are currently 6-9 on the season.

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[1:40:15] I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93-9, the score. So you need last-minute gifts. No judgment. Get an extra 25% off during Kohl's Friends and Family Sale and find great gifts under $20. Like something cozy, something thoughtful, something that says you plan this all along. Yep, you're just one quick trip away from checking off the last gifts on your list. Save now at Kohl'sandKohl's.com. Select styles. Offerings December 24th. Some exclusions apply. See store or Kohl's.com for details. The holidays are back at Starbucks, so share the season with a peppermint mocha.

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Well, first of all, Harold, he knows about every sport in the world. But, yes, our next guest can give us the lowdown. He lives in the state of Florida, but his roots are the Hoosier State. Matt Merchel, College Insider with the Orlando Center. His podcast is called Gridiron 365. Matt, welcome in. Merry Christmas to you. How are you? I'm doing well. Happy holidays to you guys. I'm good. It's 2025, Matt. Alabama and Indiana, not in basketball, in football. It's an upside-down world, is it not, Matt? Your thoughts.

You've got roots to the state of Indiana. What's going on, my friend? Yeah, you know, I think this is what Indiana had always thought could happen at some point. It's the reason why they've invested heavily in Kurt Cignetti. It's the reason why they've invested heavily in their football program over the last couple seasons. And now we're going to get an opportunity to see whether or not they can take that next step. You know, I think making the playoff and being the top seed, the top team in the country, is an incredible accomplishment.

But, you know, it doesn't mean anything if they can't get past Alabama this weekend. I mean, you know, having the bye and not having to play and then getting beat, you know, would probably be a pretty bitter pill for the program to swallow. So, but it's going to be a challenge. You know, I mean, the advantage they have, Indiana has, is they've had some time off. They've had an opportunity to rest up, get their guys who have been maybe banged up and get them healthy. And, you know, you get a chance to watch Alabama get past Oklahoma.

So now they've got an idea what Alabama's about. They understand that they can't just put them aside and think they can jump out on them early and beat them. They've got to find a way to win all four quarters. So it's going to be a challenging game for Indiana. And I think for Alabama, you know, coming off that big win at Oklahoma, you know, this is an opportunity to continue to ride that wave and see if they can get past that and get into the semifinals.

Yeah. They're in an awkward position. Alabama is an underdog. The biggest dog they've been in this part of the schedule since 2008. Your thoughts about that, there's two ways of looking at the way the schedule falls. Alabama's had, what, two games since Indiana's had one. There's a two-edged sword by being off what I saw the other day, Matt, credit me if I'm wrong, something like five weeks. This is almost like a season opener for them. Yeah, it is really in a lot of ways. It's like, you know, you have to sit back and think about, you know, okay, you know, how do you stay fresh?

How do you keep yourself, you know, sharp? You talk about, you know, not losing any of the focus you've had, which has been very difficult, obviously, in the postseason because, you know, we still have the transfer portal open. You know, it opens up on January 2nd. You get a lot of movement. A lot of coaches are trying to keep their players on, you know, on the team, find out who's going to be there, who's going to play. It's a challenge, you know. And then, like you said, Alabama's had an opportunity to play a couple games.

They've gotten some of the rust off. They can actually feel better about going into this game and feel like maybe they've got a chance. Now, granted, they're underdogs. But I think if you look at the history of the playoff over the last couple years, you know, having the bye doesn't necessarily guarantee a win. You know, it means that, you know, you're going to have to have a chance to step up and find a way to win. So there'll be a big challenge there. But, I mean, again, you know, for both these teams, who can make the best adjustments, especially at halftime, much like Alabama did last weekend?

You know, who can handle being on the road, you know, over in the Rose Bowl? Who can handle dealing with all the hoopla that comes around with these games? If you can handle all this kind of stuff, you've got a better chance of finding a way to win the game. That's where the biggest test is going to come. Frontenville, Ohio State at Miami. Miami surprised a lot of people. Texas A&M had a real advantage hosting that first-round game. At home, Marcel Reed threw, obviously, the interception.

[1:45:30] But there were turnovers, missed field goals. Nobody wanted to make a field goal. It was a very windy day. Miami holds on to win at the end. Ohio State's gotten some rest after losing to Indiana in the Big Ten game. Your thoughts on what should be a very intriguing game in the Cotton Bowl? Yeah, you know, I think, again, much like what we talked about last, I think Miami found a way to survive, you know, in the second half. I think, unlike the Alabama-Oklah game, this came down to just someone finding a way to get the final point, you know, win the game.

I think Miami was able to take advantage of, you know, some turnovers and was able to do some of the things they needed to do. I was a little shocked by this. I mean, I thought A&M had a good chance, again, hosting this game. You saw what A&M was able to do. You know, but Miami's defense stepped up and made the plays when it counted. It was able to shake off the fact that their field goal kicker basically was, what, one for three, I think, one for four or something like that, you know, in this game.

You know, so, you know, I think the challenge from Miami, though, is, you know, they're going to go in and they're going to face off against an Ohio State team. Much like Indiana has a good quarterback, there's a guy who's a Heisman finalist, a guy who's put up a lot of points. You know, Ohio State's going to try to put up a lot of points. I don't know if Miami has faced an offense like this. You know what I mean? And I think it's going to be a challenge for them.

And I think that they're going to have to find a way to slow things down if they want a chance to win this game. Matt Merchelle, the Orlando Senator, everybody talks about Indiana's schedule being, as far as strength of schedule, saying he's trying to poo-poo it. But here's the bottom line. In the quarterfinals, two of Indiana's wins have come against teams still rocking and rolling. One, just the aforementioned Buckeyes from Ohio State. The other against Oregon. Your thoughts about the Ducks next battle? Yeah, I think Oregon's got to have a big challenge here.

I mean, you know, Texas Tech, I've seen Texas Tech play. I think the Red Raiders are one of the best teams in the country. They're very, put together very much like an NFL team. You know, they've got a solid quarterback. They can run the football. Their defense is one of the best defenses I've seen in the country right now. I think they've got an opportunity. It's going to be a challenge for Oregon. You know, again, Oregon comes off a big win, but they rolled kind of over James Madison.

Even though the score was a little closer at the end, you know, they rolled over them. So now they've got to go into a Texas Tech team that feels like, you know, listen, if they don't get to the national championship game, this season is probably a failure based on how much money they spent to build their roster. So, you know, Oregon is the day of the life kind of thing. Even though Oregon's not considered, you know, when you look at it, not considered one of these underdog type teams, their team has got to go in there and find a way to knock off a very good Texas Tech team.

Joey McGuire, Texas Tech coach, is not a dummy. And I think he's got to find a way to try to slow down Oregon, find a way to keep them kind of contained, and have an opportunity for their offense to maybe put up some points. If they can continue to do what they've done all season long, I think it's going to be a high-scoring game. Let me ask you about two things off the field. Speculation that Jeff Brum at Louisville may be on a short list now to replace Moore at Michigan.

We've talked to two of our guests. They said they didn't actually believe that because he came from Purdue to Louisville. Obviously, that's his alma mater. He played there, and they were a little bit skeptical of that. And one of the funniest things I've seen this week, we'll see how it ends up, but it's a marriage made in heaven. Bill Belichick is expected to hire the one and only Bobby Petrino as the new North Carolina offensive coordinator, actually replacing Freddie Kitchens, the former Alabama quarterback. You're on the marriage made in heaven, and then who will eventually take over at Michigan?

Well, you know, I think for the Petrino situation at North Carolina, I think Bill Belichick is trying to find an answer. He wants to bring in someone he believes that can kind of light a fire in that offense, felt like they didn't do some of the things they needed to do this past year. I saw North Carolina a couple times this season, and they weren't very good. They weren't a very good team. I don't think it had anything to do necessarily with coaching. So I think this is a team that, you know, I think Belichick struggled to kind of adapt to the college game.

I think he kind of, you know, I think they brought in coaches that were NFL guys who figured that these players were going to come in and play at a certain level. And, you know, they're college players. You know, they still need a little bit of coaching. They still need to understand how to tackle correctly and all those things. And I just think they struggle. I think they did do a very good job when it came to putting together that team. So you're bringing a guy like Petrino.

You think, okay, here's a guy who's obviously, you know, had some success and put up some good offenses. Now, what does it look like optic-wise? Not very good. I mean, it looks like, you know, everyone saw the jokes online yesterday. I mean, it's just been non-stop memes and gifs about this. I mean, but that's still Belichick. Does he really care? I mean, probably not. I think the Michigan situation, I'm with your guests. I'm not sure Jeff Brom fits this role. And I don't know if he would want this job.

[1:50:38] I don't think he'd want to leave a place that you, you know, your alma mater can go somewhere else and try to coach a program that is basically broken, you know, right now. I mean, you've heard, I mean, Biff Pogge, who's the interim coach, has said many times, this program has been broken for about five years now. And when you've got an interim coach telling you that, that just says a lot about what they think they're at. And I think this is a program, too, that let's not forget, I'm not sure Ward Manuel is still going to be the AD.

I think at some point he's going to be gone. I think they're going to clean house. So why would you as a coach who's had success at Louisville, why would you go to Michigan and want to be, you know, step right into that dumpster fire? I mean, you might as well just stay where you're at and have success and everything else. So I think whoever takes over that job, it's going to be someone who comes in with the idea of, okay, you know, I'm rebuilding. This is going to be a rebuilding process.

It's going to take a few years before we're back to where we need to be. I'm going to probably have a new AD. The school president has made it very clear they're going to make some changes. Your roster is probably going to be, you know, depleted after a lot of players leave. It's going to be tough. I'm not sure who they get. I mean, there's a lot of names out there. You've seen Brian Kelly's name. You've seen some other guys. But, you know, I just think this is a toxic job right now.

I'm not sure how many coaches really want to leave a good paying job to go there, even though it is Michigan, I get. And even though it's probably going to pay them a lot of money, it's still one of those challenges. Do you really want to deal with that? And, oh, by the way, NIL and revenue share that we're all still doing. And the other thing, Matt, the question is when, because not only that, but one week from Friday, the portal opens up. Wouldn't it be wise if you got somebody in mind to kind of lock that down to keep as many as you can there?

Your thoughts just about the timing and if you were taking a wild guess, when will they be coming up with somebody to kind of keep this thing together? Yeah, I mean, everything I've seen so far says they'd like to have something in place by the bowl game next week. You know, I mean, I think they have to. I mean, you don't want to go into the interim coach trying to keep players around and try to make, you know, keep your start Bryce Underwood, their start quarterback.

You know, he's probably thinking, okay, if I don't like who this coach is going to be, I'm gone, I'm leaving. You're going to have to start building a roster through Portland with only one portal window. It's crucial. You've got 15 days to find guys and try to build off. So I think they've got to find somebody. I think they're searching. I think they've got several different names out there that they think are going to be a good hire. Whether or not it's going to be a good hire will have remains to be seen.

This could be a choice where maybe they just get a coach in and this is a guy who's kind of a transition, a bridge to someone else down the road and maybe they bring in someone who's, you know, it wouldn't shock me if Biff Pogge got the job for a couple of years. You know what I mean? Just let him have it for a few years and, you know, then you can step in and maybe hire someone else. I think you're right about that. Listen, we can't thank you enough.

We always enjoy the Tuesday conversations with M.M. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Have a great holiday season. Where can we get online to get all your great stuff? Well, you can go to OrlandoSentinel.com to check out the latest or follow me on social media. Oh, that's Matt Michelle. And you guys have a happy holidays as well. Enjoy yourself. And I'll talk to you in the new year. Thanks so much, Matt. Right back at you. Matt Michelle, the Orlando Settled. Brett Beaird, what is your Merry Christmas message?

Family, food, and football, a big part of it, Harold. But the real reason for Christmas is Jesus' birth. Don't forget that. But on behalf of the staff of 93.9 The Score, we wish our advertisers, listeners, and supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We're going to take the rest of the week off with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day. And James has got some bowl games playing on Friday. But, again, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to our listeners. Echo those sentiments. And, again, the reminder, always remember the reason for the season.

We're going to take care of bids for now on behalf of B.B., Greg, James, Blair, the entire crew here. Harold Buck, thank you so much for your time today. Merry Christmas. Stay safe out there. And let's do it again next time right here on 93.9 The Score.