Boomo Bugg Show 011626

[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. New 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 down. Brett Beaird welcome in and we finally, finally, finally can say thank goodness it is finally here. Good afternoon, welcome in and what's the latest on the portal party, Brett Beaird?

Happy Friday to you and the listeners. We'll give you the latest on the portal party throughout the show for Alabama and Auburn on the final day to enter the portal. Thank you, Lord. Bill Bender of the Sporting News gives us a report about the National Championship game straight from Miami. Wow. And Jimmy is here right now to talk transfer portal and other Bama stuff. Jimmy is Jimmy Stein. He's co-host of Locked On Bama, part of, that's right, the Locked On Network. Jimmy, welcome in. Happy Friday to you. How are you?

Oh, doing great, guys. Thanks for having me back. Hey, Jimmy. A lot of folks said, finally, if this is a horse, it's finally time to shoot it. The portal is, I guess, unless they come up with some fine print, closes today. Jimmy, we've been talking about it for eons. What's the latest for Alabama on the final day, as some fans would say, to get it right? Well, this is the final day, and I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but actually, the way it works is you have until midnight tonight to notify your school.

That you're entering the portal. So it could be tomorrow, Sunday, or Monday, kids' names are entered into the portal, and then it becomes public information. Right. So you could be hearing of additional Alabama players, you know, tonight, tomorrow, Sunday, or even Monday. Could be. I wouldn't say that I'll be shocked if that happens, that there's one or two. That won't surprise me. Not expecting a flood. Don't have any specific names, of course, to share. But, you know, I think overall, I'm not expecting bad news for Alabama in terms of outgoing guys, or at least not a flood of it.

But it is very difficult to predict. Jimmy, let me ask you about some guys who are in right now, or they're coming this weekend. And it's no surprise that a lot of these are offensive linemen. Grayson Delgati from Cal Poly is one I believe was in yesterday. I know a lot of people like him, 6'4", 305. Oregon offensive lineman Nick Brooks, a big boy, 6'7", 340. I know some people feel he may be training in Alabama's direction. We'll see if the budget allows it. And then Ethan Fields from Ole Miss, another offensive lineman, Redshirt Jr., who I believe is in today, 6'3", 320.

Obviously, the line of scrimmage is going to be a priority. But Jimmy Grayson, Delgati, Nick Brooks from Oregon, and Ethan Fields from Alabama, how many of those dudes might end up at Alabama? I'm going to answer, say, all of them. I think there's a decent chance that it could really happen that all three could end up at Alabama. Now, probably unlikely. I mean, in terms of recruiting, period, and recruiting the portal that you hit on, you know, all the kids you're trying to target, all these kids want to play, too, which kind of lessens the likelihood that you get all three because they know where the other is going to go and sign, and they don't all go to the same place.

It makes it more difficult to get on the field. But when you look at each kid individually, like Delgati, I would say Alabama's got a great chance. Brooks from Texas, an even better chance. And Fields from Ole Miss, a real solid chance here. All three are kind of also in the same boat in terms of if they did choose Alabama, all three of them, are they immediate starters? Probably not. But all three are strong contenders to start. They would be definitely in the mix. They would add to the competition.

The competition's going to make everyone better. So these are three guys that would be, in my mind, no worse than twos, meaning the second team. Yeah. No worse than twos, probably ones, particularly Brooks from Texas, the huge kid. 6'7", 349. He's real interesting because, you know, you don't know too much about these guys because Alabama's only become involved with them in the last day or so. But 6'7", sounds like a tackle. The kid was recruited as a tackle, ranked as a tackle in high school, came to Texas to play tackle.

[5:29] But he's 349. That sounds like a guard. So is he a tackle, is he a guard? He went to Texas to play tackle. They had some injuries. So he moved inside and actually started three games this year as a true freshman for Texas. That's pretty significant, you know, getting on the field with that program right away at that age. But it was inside. Now, is this a kid insisting on, hey, I want to play tackle where I go? I don't know if that's an insistence that he has.

But I do know that Alabama is his first visit once he entered the portal. And portal recruiting is different than high school recruiting. It's much different, actually. It's almost night and day. But you'll often see kids, not all the time. This isn't a rule, but it's just generally this happens, that when a kid enters the portal, the first place he goes, that's sort of a tell as to who is getting him and pushing him in the portal in the first place. But, you know, why was he in the portal?

That first visit is sort of a giveaway. And that's why you see so many kids signing with the first place they visit. That's why they entered the portal in the first place. So that happens, quote, to Alabama, and it happens for Alabama, you know, and every other school. But I'm not saying that that's always the case. I'm just saying it's a little bit of a tell. And, you know, unlike high school recruiting where the visits aren't scheduled like that and the very first place a kid goes is not always where he signs.

But it is interesting that the Texas kid entered the portal immediately, went to Alabama. The Ole Miss kid, he, you know, kind of more of a backup player at Ole Miss. Right. But he's got a lot of talent, and he was in the mix. Had he returned to Ole Miss, he would have been in the mix to be a starter, a full-time starter. He'll be in the mix to be a full-time starter at Alabama, but not someone I would pencil in just yet. But this is a guy that could show up and win a spot.

He's an older kid now. He's a redshirt junior. Big. Originally from Louisiana. Alabama's got a shot there for sure. Jimmy's down and locked on, Bellman. Jimmy, just saying the obvious out loud. Alabama fans for years, you remember this, too. If Alabama got a three-star, it was like, oh, my gosh, it's over for Nick. We'll settle on a four. But if we make room for the fives, it's a whole different ballgame. Now, I'm looking at some of the lists. Here's a kid from West Florida, one from Yale.

We can go up and down the list. Mercer, Jack State. Talk to us about the strategy now, about the reality of trying to sit here and get the right mix between experienced guys of what you were able to retain. We'll hopefully get to that in a second time, permitting. And then coming up with what's the phrase now, depth pieces on the roster. In other words, the strategy of trying to put this class together within a budget. No, that's a huge part of it. It used to be before any of this stuff happened, before the house settlement, before rev share, heck, even before the portal.

We'd deal with recruiting. And, of course, we're talking about high school recruiting then. We would always look at the numbers. I'd get that question all the time or be asking that question myself all the time is, how many are we taking? How many do we have room for? Because the overarching number in building your roster was 85. You had 85 scholarships. And back then, back in the day, you could only bring in 25 new guys a year. So you bring in 25 a year, but you can't go over 85 total.

Now it's 25 in a month. Yeah. Those numbers sort of ruled the day then. Now those numbers mean nothing. Those numbers mean nothing. The 25 rule, that doesn't even exist at all anymore. And the 85 rule has been changed to 105 with all sorts of things, you know, attached to that. But the point being, the number that now, if you're going to pick out a number that rules the day in terms of roster management, that number is around $16 million. And what that number represents is the total amount of money in revenue share that Alabama's athletics department pays to the football players.

It's in the neighborhood of $16 million. So that's the number that you have to work with. And the fact of the matter is, if your plan is, okay, I got 105 spots on the team and $16 million to spend, so I'm going to just divide 105 players into $16 million easily, and I'm going to pay all the guys that. Okay, that, you just, you're 0-12, if that's your plan. Dream on, baby. Dream on. Yep, you are never going to build a competitive team that way at all. The starters, the big guys, the stars of your team demand a heck of a lot money, a heck of a lot more money than that.

[10:30] So you've got to creatively come up with ways to pay stars, but also fill out the 105. You see, a lot of people aren't aware because the rules are complicated. They're not educated and new, but you don't have to pay revenue share to every player on your roster. You don't even have to give a scholarship to every player on your roster. You can have 105 players. They can all be on scholarship, but they don't have to be. Most of them obviously are. But that's what a lot of times I think, guys, when fans see, hey, the tight end from Mercer just committed to Alabama, they don't need to assume that he was recruited to be a starter.

They don't even need to assume he even has a scholarship. It just makes news when you sign someone out of the portal. But not every kid is recruited to be a starter. Not every kid is a big-money kid. You're just trying to fill out your 105 the best you can. Jimmy, let me ask you about two more. Oregon defensive lineman Terrence Green, another one, another name that's kind of come up this week, 6'5", 320, the schedule will be in Tuscaloosa today, unless that's changed, going to Cal on Saturday to visit Tosh LaPoi, and then Nebraska on Sunday, and then another name, Nicole Brown, 6'1", 185, a Yale All-American receiver, 71 catches, over 1,000 yards.

Some people of some of the media have said, well, he might be a logical replacement for Cole Adams. We'll see about that. Scheduled to arrive on to Alabama, I believe, today after visiting Washington on Thursday. Jimmy, your thoughts on Terrence Green, the Oregon defensive lineman, not a starter, but a part of the regular rotation, and then yields Nico Brown. Yeah, both players, again, both players, it's very realistic, both could end up at Alabama. I think Alabama's in a good spot for both. We'll see if they both continue to make visits following the Alabama visit.

Green would be one of Alabama's best gets through the portal season. He is a guy that would fill a critical need. See, at some positions, like wide receiver, which we'll talk about one second with the Yale kids, some positions, Alabama's very interested in adding depth. They need more players, more bodies, more guys at that spot. Defensive line is not like that. They have ample bodies now and ample numbers on the defensive line, but what they're lacking is impactful starters. You know, really good players at the top of the depth chart.

And Terrence Green would have a chance to fill that role. He's sort of like Tim Keenan in the sense that here's a guy that can be a nose guard, play a true zero up front, and be one of these hard-to-move guys off the line of scrimmage because he's so big and strong. But he's also more athletic than a Keenan and could potentially, at least part-time, fill in the role of left vacant by James Smith, who portaled out to Ohio State. So he's got a little versatility to him for such a big guy.

Not a starter at Oregon, but he did play with the ones throughout the entire season. So he's played with the first team in all of their big games, and Oregon plays in quite a few of them, including the playoffs. And he's well-coached because coming from Dan Lanning and Tosh LePoi, he would be a big, big deal to land if they somehow pulled that off. He would be one of their more impactful signings. Now, Nico from Yale, that's a little tougher to tell in terms of where Alabama sits with him, although probably in pretty good shape.

What Alabama needs a receiver isn't so much a receiver to come in at the top of the depth chart because you've got Brian Williams and Lottier Brooks and Noah Rogers, who you already signed out of the portal. And Morgan coming in. Yeah, Morgan coming in. I mean, I think Alabama probably views said Morgan coming in as a first-team type player or a first-team rotation type player that he could play right away, game one, first quarter of game one. So you've got five, six guys that you feel really good about.

But the problem Alabama has is that's all they've got. I mean, that's all they have. So maybe this guy's a good fit in the sense that he can come in and compete for a spot, sure. But he can also compete for the punt return role. Alabama lost Cole Adams to Vanderbilt in the portal. So punt return, that job is open, and there aren't a lot of receivers on scholarship right now. So those two things might be appealing to him. There's just no real telling how good he is.

[15:38] He did have a phenomenal year, over 1,000 yards receiving, playing for Yale. And my understanding is they don't throw the ball very much. And yet he still managed to catch 1,000 yards worth of balls. So he's highly productive. But at what level, right? I mean, fans kind of have to look at this very similar to high-score recruiting when you sign a 7A player versus signing a 1A player. That's right. This is the, quote, 1A player. He's been really productive. He's been really productive down there in 1A football.

But with those guys, you don't really know until you know, right? So, but, you know, it could be, it could just be a phenomenal fit. So we'll have to see. Well, Jimmy, I know that you and Luke Robinson are going to stay on top of it today and throughout the weekend, Alabama and Oklahoma in Norman for a little basketball high noon showdown. And I know you and Luke are going to be busy this weekend updating everybody about the transfer portal, et cetera. Jimmy, where can we get online to get the best Alabama sports podcast on the planet?

Locked on Bama. If you would like to watch the video version, there's a video version on YouTube. There's also the podcast audio version that airs on Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts. We have seven new shows a week all throughout the season, which unfortunately is not, is not ending anytime super soon. Alabama continuing to recruit the portal for several days after it closes. Yeah. Jimmy, listen, let me know if your NIL check doesn't come by Sunday and I'll give you Brett's personal number, okay?

I'll do that. All right. Jimmy's time. He is locked on Bama. Bill Bender is locked on. Try to get a tan in South Florida for a pretty big ball game. The tails next day with us. Hi, I'm Maria, salon owner. You know the jingle. Now discover the facts about Ozempic, a GOP-1. There's only one FDA-approved Ozempic made by Novo Nordisk. Learn about the real thing. Talk to your healthcare professional today. Call 1-833-OZEMPIC or visit Ozempic.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Ozempic.

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[20:51] The Hawks with the loss dropped to 20-23 on the season. Atlanta has dropped back-to-back games. The Hawks are back home tomorrow as they take on the Boston Celtics. Men's basketball action yesterday. North Alabama was outscored by North Florida 105-91 in the loss. Cornelius Williams had 28 points, 14 boards. Lions are 1-4 in the A-Sun. South Alabama was a winner at home in overtime. They beat Arkansas State 91-87. Chaz Harris had 38 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals. Jaguars are 4-2 in the Sunbill. Bundle auto and home, renters, or condo, and save with Progressive.

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He is the national voice of the sporting news. Bill Bender, welcome in. You've done a lot in life. When's the last time the proud son of Ohio has packed Coppertone for his travel log in January? Where are you today, Bill? Yeah, my hotel view is pretty nice. I've used this joke all day. My wife is not sharing the same enthusiasm being still back in Ohio with the kids. Why is that, Bill? Why? Why? Well, you know, I think after this season, Kimberly and I deserve a weekend at a place like this.

But, you know, I'm excited. You know, the atmosphere is going to be great. You get excited every time you get a chance to cover one of these CFP championship games. Like you said, lucky. You know, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, and I guess I'm pretty lucky. Brent and I have had that same privilege. It's just, I don't know what it is. When you cover a national championship game, you've covered a lot of games over the years, but it's just something about it that's hard to put into words.

But, Bill, here we are on a Friday. Obviously, this is a long football season. It comes to a head Monday night there in your backyard of Miami. What is the mix as far as, is it like 90-10 Indiana like it was in Atlanta? These people are crazy other than not as far as fans. I think it's going to be pretty even. You know, we'll see as we get into the lobby. You know, I got in late last night, so I can't really read that. And, yeah, I think it's going to be pretty even, or maybe not.

You know, I just keep going back to the ghost of my youth and the Orange Bowl and the rowdy atmosphere that those games always had in favor of Miami. So, I think that if we're thinking that Hurricanes fans are just going to not show up for this game, I mean, come on. They haven't been in a title, haven't had a chance to win a title in 25 years. So, I think they're going to be there, too, and that adds to the special nature of the game. You know who hates that?

It's the city of Miami. They don't want Miami in, especially the hotels and restaurants. They want people from Oregon and Indiana and from Timbuktu and come in and flood the motels. But, Bill, obviously, once the commerce gets down and gets put to the back page, where are you today? A lot of people are saying, let's not even talk about who's going to win. Let's just talk about how much Indiana's going to win. We know we're joking when we say that here on a Friday, but where do you start breaking it down on a Friday before the Monday?

Well, I mean, I've kind of gone back and forth. My initial read, and it was hot off of Indiana blowing out Oregon in the bowl game, was that this probably wouldn't be close. You know, the Hoosiers are just going to blow through them like they had Alabama and Oregon. Now, as I've gotten time to think about it, I think, you know, if Miami does the same formula that they've had, they absolutely can win this game. You know, I think their defensive line, their secondary is beat up.

[25:54] That's one area of concern. But if Carson Beck continues to do what he's doing and they run the ball effectively, that the Hurricanes absolutely could be a factor and win this football game. But I'm still leaning on Indiana. And I just, they've got that look of, you know, when you knew, it's close to like Alabama 20, Georgia 21, LSU 19, where you just kind of knew. Although I can't say, I think I picked Clemson to beat LSU. Yeah, that was not a good one. A lot of people did.

You predicted Indiana 31, Miami 19. I think a lot of people agree with that. But you mentioned that this game is going to be won at the line of scrimmage. Miami ran for 191 against Ole Miss and had 41 minutes in possession time, shortened the game, run the ball, and they've got a better chance. But a lot of people have been down on Carson Beck, and some of that is merited. But against Ole Miss, he was 11 of 15 on third down, seven of nine throws, ran for 25 yards. Menendez was 17 of 20 for 177.

They amazed me at how efficient they are. But to me, that's the key to Miami. Run the ball, control the line of scrimmage, let Beck make some plays, and at the end, you may have a chance to win the game. Yep, exactly. And I think, you know, we're going to see that theme happen, you know, whether it's Miami, if they can just shorten the game a little bit. They can't, Brad. They can't do what they did against Ole Miss with the penalties, though, because Indiana just doesn't self-destruct.

And Miami was, like, on the verge of self-destructing in that game. Carson Beck, though, he makes a couple plays with his legs. He hasn't. He's had one interception in the playoff. He's had a kind of a pit pass that wasn't entirely on him, you know. And then Mark Fletcher has to have a game against this Indiana defense. Now, their defensive line doesn't look huge, but they play gaps really well. And Miami, as you guys know, they have a monstrous offensive line. They have some huge offensive tackles.

Bill Bender, the National Voice of the Sporting News. Bill, can people, I mean, who knows where this thing will land? We're not going to sit here and say it's this or that, but you know where I'm going with this. All of a sudden, and you've got all these stories, and some people just absolutely hate social media, and I think this is probably more fodder. Indiana football accused of cheating as wild social media allegations as far as getting some plays through the Internet from the other team.

Bill, unless you've got proof, why would you come out? If you've got proof, put it out there, and let's go from there. But why in the world would people want to sit here and say that without absolute proof? I know you need the proof for you. Now, the Michigan one was different, right? When Michigan broke out, there was reputable reporting on it right out the gate. So, like, there hasn't been that. I know Pat Forty wrote a column earlier this week kind of addressing these rumors, and I'm curious to see what these Indiana players say, because I'm sure it would make them angry, as it should, because it detracts from some of their success with what they've been able to do this year.

And I just don't see anything behind it. I think what's really behind it is Kurt Cignetti. If there's a lesson he's taken from Nick Saban, I don't know if there's a coach right – Nick Saban was at the peak of it, and he's not coaching right now. I think Kurt Cignetti's the best talent evaluator in the game. Bill, that's the point. You hit it on the nail right there. That's going to be the coach that's going to be the next king of college football. It's not about money.

It's not about this or that. And he's not even – he doesn't even have a GM on his staff, does he? In other words, all these other schools, they're paying a lot of money to have somebody come in and dip you up the money. He does his own evaluating, his own budget, from my understanding. But you're exactly right. You've got to have the money. But if you don't even have all the money in the world, if you don't know how to spend it, you're not going to win a championship.

No, and I think, you know, obviously, it's just the evaluation. He talked Monday about how – the why. And the why was when he took the job three days in, he had one offensive starter, 10 offensive starters in the portal, one defensive player coming back. They had to go to the portal. Now, as you get better – now, imagine what Alabama's rebuild with Nick Saban would have looked like in this environment. You know, do you think he would have – he would have absolutely taken kids from the portal to get this thing started.

And I think as you get better, then you have the high school kids that want to come play for you. You know what? Here's the other thing, Harold. I think Miami's actually the best mix of portal, in-state recruits, because they rely on these Miami kids, and then experience. They've got a little bit of everything, which makes them really interesting. It's going to be interesting. A week from today is the deadline to make the decision by the college football playoff committee and the commissioners and others. Are we going to stay at 12 or go to 16 in their meeting Sunday in Miami?

[31:13] And I'll be curious to see what you hear, and particularly at media days on – I believe that they're going to have it on Saturday. A lot of changes may be coming to college football, at least some of them that we do. Glad you got in safe. Have a wonderful time. Yeah, it is incredible to attend a national championship game. But Monday will be the longest day for you of the year. I've never gotten in before 2 a.m. at all of these. Have fun. Where can we get online to get your free game stuff?

You know what I love? I miss that you guys aren't here because I love talking to the people that I talk to all year. Your guys' segment's always close to my heart because you guys were one of my first ones. In all these years. So, you know, I really appreciate it. Read all our stuff at Sporting News. About to get to it right now. And, you know, we'll talk again next week. It'll be great. Bill, listen. For you to put us above South Beach, we are flattered.

Listen, stay safe down there. And thank you so much. Right back at you, my friend. Hey, no problem. Talk to you next week. Thank you, Billy. Bill Bender, the Sporting News, not too far from South Beach. Coming up, let's go to South Georgia. And Bill Shanks next. Stay with us. Mugshot's Grill & Bar has a winning 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. You must try the Chili Trio, which is a cup of cheesy chili, or the Nashville Hot Tacos, three flour tortillas with three Nashville Hot chicken tenders.

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[36:26] Shoals Royale, 2026, Saturday, February 21, at 7 p.m. at the Renaissance Shoals Conference Center. Tickets are available now at givebutter.com slash Shoals Royale 2026. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. If it's Friday, it is a pleasure. Press open the door and send it over to Bill Shanks. He's host of the Bill Shanks Show on 93.1 FM in Macon, Georgia, online anytime at thesuperstations.com and on the tube at 41 NBC. Bill, welcome in. How's life in Georgia today? Georgia's doing good. Bill, do you ever think we live long enough to see Miami take on the James Madison Hoosiers international championship game?

No, and, you know, I've said all week long. It's like if you want an example of how NIL and transfer portal has changed football, just wait until Monday night at 730. Do you like it, Bill? Well, I mean, I like it if it had parameters on it. I mean, look, there's no one in this world that loves player movement, baseball trades, basketball trades, trade rumors, free agency. I mean, I love that. If I write another book, it's going to be on baseball trade rumors. I'm not kidding.

I love roster construction. I love everything about what goes into building a roster. So there's a part of me that loves this. But then, you know, and there's absurdity to everything. I mean, you know, the Mets just signed Boba Shett to a three-year deal for $126 million. Last night, the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker to a four-year deal for $240 million. So, you know, no matter what, there's absurdity to a certain extent on all levels. But all this stuff with no rules, it's just, you know, I had the caller the other day, and we were talking about no rules.

I said, you know, and I was actually at a restaurant, and I said, let me ask you a question. If there were no rules that Carter's fried chicken, what would be going on? And he said, well, people would be going in and getting fried chicken for free. I said, d*** right. That is a chaos that is created when you do not have rules, and that's what we've got. Bill, is it kind of like college football, we say, going is already there. You mentioned the Mets. You mentioned the Dodgers.

In all due respect, I don't see how, I mean, the Braves, the Cardinals, they're going to win ballgames. But how realistic is it to win a World Series with what they're putting together with their budgets and what middle class or middle to low cities are going to do in the major league baseball world? The same with college football. Another example, where are the rules coming from? Because just to kind of put a face to it, Alabama thought they had their problems solved at running back to get a kid on campus.

From all reports, he started going to class, and the next thing you know, he's in Texas cashing bigger checks. How do you control that? You can't. Well, it's like we had a rumor last week, Harold, that Ohio State was coming after Nate Frazier, our running back in Georgia. Yeah. And it's like, all right, so that ain't got nothing to do with what the transfer portal was supposed to be about, about pursuing another player from another team. But here's the problem. Who are you going to tell?

Who are you going to complain to? Who are you going to get Ohio State in trouble with? And there's nobody there. So it is chaos to the nth degree, and it's just crazy. It really is. We talked about this a little bit on your award-winning show yesterday, about the college football playoff committee and commissioners and powers-to-be are going to meet Sunday. Usually, they normally do. It's an annual meeting before the national championship game. Literally a week from today, they were supposed to make up their mind, are we going to stay at 12?

Are we going to expand the playoffs to 16 teams? And we discussed that. The Big Ten wants to go to 24, and everybody else wants to go to 16. Again, it's been a great season. The product on the field is still very good. But going back to your parameters, after Monday, where are we going as far as this incredible sport that we love? Probably down the toilet, to be honest with you. As long as there is a requirement for automatic qualifiers, you can forget about this sport being as good as it can be.

Here's the deal. Those power brokers need to ask the question, what's in the best interest of college football? And fans. What's in the best interest of college football is not putting a Tulane or Jenks-Madison or three ACC schools or a certain number of Big Ten schools in. It's saying when we get a 16-team model that will eliminate that d*** buy, which obviously has not been effective for the people who got the buy, when we have a 16-team model, how do we discover and determine the best 16 teams in the country?

[41:46] Not that it's a requirement for X amount of conferences to have X amount of teams. No, that's not in the best interest. I don't give a d*** if it's the SEC. But it's like, and I'm curious about what the result of the response, rather, will be if Miami wins. Because Miami, you know, the only ACC team I think, in my opinion, at the level of being a playoff team this year was Miami. I don't think Virginia was a good team. Duke was a good team. Georgia Tech was a good team.

Were they playoff teams? No, not in my opinion. I think they would have fallen behind other teams in the other three conferences that would have been, in my opinion. Now, maybe in a 16-team, you might have squeezed one more in there, maybe. But regardless, why would you want to guarantee the ACC anything or any other conference? I mean, maybe it's a bad year for a conference. You know, SEC's had bad years before where it's just not as good as it has been. Well, why would you want to guarantee them anything?

Let them earn that compared to, oh, well, you're going to be an automatic qualifier. I think that is a disastrous move for college football. I'm crying, Bill. Everybody gets a trophy. It's 2026. Bill Shanks, the superstations.com. Think about this, Bill. If you were a fan, let's just take Alabama, for instance. They had to go into the opening round of the playoffs. How much money would Bill Shanks, if you're an Alabama fan, how much money would it cost you to go to every venue along the way to the national championship game?

It would be a fortune. It would be a fortune. There's no question about that. And I don't know whether, and I think that needs to be taken into consideration of whether or not we need to have more on-campus games. Look, I don't really want to hear anybody in a power position try to give me a spill about the bowl games. When even the Fiesta Bowl had sections of the upper deck in Arizona empty. I don't want to hear that. And then I go and watch those games in December, and, you know, the upper decks were empty and so forth.

If you can't come up with a model to fix your bowl games, don't tie in the best games of the year into those games. Now, if you want to tie in the Sugar Bowl and the main ones, okay, fine. But maybe we should have the first two rounds on campus instead of just the first one. If they end up going to 24 one day, heaven forbid, you will probably end up having to eliminate the conference championship games. And it's 50-50 with a lot of people on that.

But I go back to what you said and Nick Saban has said. It's special to win a conference championship. If you eliminate the conference champions and you've got to do a three-way tie at the end of the year, besides flipping at that coin, how do you come up with a champion? Well, look, I am still amazed. And I'm going to sound like I'm just tooting my own horn, which sounds like a real fun Sunday afternoon activity. I don't know why more people aren't coming out with ideas.

Where are the ideas? Where are they? Well, why? I mean, my d****** sat in a Mexican restaurant right before the field of 12 was being announced and came up with a shanks model in about 10 minutes. And now I know it's easier said than done, but it doesn't matter. You've got to start selling it. That's right. But here's the thing. I preach and subscribe to a model of, you know what, sometimes you throw up enough c*** up against the wall, some of it's going to stick. So where are the ideas to come up with these solutions to these issues that we're discussing right now?

And look, Nick Saban, and I'm going to be careful now, Brad, I'm fixing to really criticize your master. But Nick Saban could sit there and say, well, where's Nick Saban's ideas? Why don't he go on television or on the Boomo Bugg show and say, here's what we need to do? And if I'm the only one that's been able to – I mean, tell me another person. And, again, it's not like I'm the – but it's like, why can't other people come up with ideas to these solutions that at least would push the narrative publicly toward a consensus so that when those power brokers get into a room like they will on Sunday, there will be feedback from a fan base or from fans that will put them in a certain position and direction compared to, well, we've got to have three automatic qualifiers.

Nobody wants that. Yeah, you know, people want the best football games. And, look, the best thing that could have happened were those James Madison and Tulane gangs being awful. And they were. I know James Madison made a little bit close, but give me a break. That was ridiculous. They had no business being in that d*** tournament. None. Yeah. Well, I think to answer your question, part of it, Bill, I think is this. You've got a herd mentality out there. It's almost like a fraternity where there's a bell cow.

[46:58] And if that bell cow didn't mention anything, the rest of them are too scared because of peer pressure. I don't – at least that's how I see it. But let me ask you this. A big while back at the ranch, Bill, where are the dogs right now? In January, how do you feel about the roster that's coming together there for the dogs? We know where Alabama and Georgia fans have been. It's a whole new world out there getting these rosters together. Where are you right now with the dogs?

Well, I'll tell you, I wish they had another receiver to replace Zachariah Branch, but I've been really surprised they haven't had more kids jump into the portal and gotten more people out. Now, there's still a little bit of time left, obviously, but we've kind of come to the conclusion that they must be very happy with what they have. And that brings up another thing about this whole system that we're in. You have got to self-scout your roster in a perfect way so you know if player A, if Brett Beaird is a backup linebacker and he's thinking about transferring and he's giving you hints in October about transferring, you better know by the end of the year his evaluation so that if he starts going down that road, you can either stop him or give him more money, bottom line.

And so, Georgia, it seems like they have gotten some players to stay that we may not have thought they would have, and maybe that's because they feel like they're going to be able to contribute in 2026. So, you know, I think they look okay. I mean, they're going to get another quarterback, it looks like, from the 2026 class who had committed to Oregon, and then he's wanting to transfer, so he's counted as a transfer even though he's a 2026 kid, and he was, I think, the 14th best quarterback prospect out of high school.

So, he'll kind of replace Jared Curtis since Curtis spurned him and went to Vanderbilt, but we'll see what they do here. But I think, for the most part, you know, Amaris Williams, the edge from Auburn, is probably the best player they've got, and he ought to really help them with a little pass rush on the defense. I was going to mention that. You've got three kids who caught my attention. Gentry Williams from Oklahoma. When he's healthy, he's a good corner. Dowdle, Dante Dowdle from Kentucky, is a 227-pound ramrod, and Amaris Williams is really good.

Their defense was good this year. I've got two questions for you, since, again, we're another Friday closer to spring training. It's the same thing I've asked you before, forgive me, but people want to keep knowing. They really have done a good job, but we'll get into more detail about this next week as far as adding, and particularly the bullpen and some of the other ones, but it's the same question. A durable, reliable starting pitcher, and they're not cheap. What are you hearing? Well, I mean, I'm still waiting, and I think that's what they need more than anything.

They brought back Tyler Kenley last Saturday for their bullpen. I think he's going to do a good job. The bullpen looks really good, but don't go into spring training trying to tell me about the virtue of Bryce Elder and the returning pitchers from the mash tent. I don't want to hear it. They desperately need another starting pitcher from the outside. I hope it's a Chris Bassett type that can do something like that. So I'm still holding out hope. There's still plenty out there. And, I mean, you know, I hope they'll get one before spring training starts.

I really do. I think it'll be a tragic mistake if they don't. Absolutely. All right. Give us your prediction, and I know you're going to be doing that on the show today. Who's going to win, Miami or Indiana, and where can we get online? Everybody's waiting with bated breath to hear that incredible, entertaining four hours of riveting entertainment this afternoon. Well, it's three hours because I replayed the first thing because I'm too d*** lazy and too old to do a fourth hour, that's for sure. You're too honest, Bill.

You're too honest. Yeah, the superstations.com. I'm going to go with Miami just for the h*** of it. I mean, I think their size advantage on the line of scrimmage interests me, and I'm not rooting against Carson Beck by any means. So I'm going to take Miami just for the heck of it because I know most people are not, and I'm not going to be surprised if Indiana wins. They're a great team. They've had a great season. You heard it first right here, Bill. Listen, we know you've got more this afternoon.

Thanks so much, and have a great three-hour show, okay? Okay, guys. Thank you. See you, Bill. And the one and the only, Bill Shanks, thesesuperstations.com. Coming up in the next hour, going to be taking you all over the place. Justin Ferguson going to be on board with the latest update on this final portal Friday from the Plains. Doug Seagrass is also going to be on board along with Mike Huguenin, and it's all straight ahead. Stay with us. Get fit and fab this new year at YMCA of the Shoals with 24-7 access, and no joining fee if you sign up before January 31st.

[52:05] The YMCA has leading-edge fitness equipment, year-round swimming, dozens of group exercise classes per week, and a family atmosphere. Elevate your fitness journey with YMCA of the Shoals, where health meets community. Join before January 31st with no joining fee, and start 2026 off right. 1st Metro Bank, where your neighbors are your bankers. 1st Metro Bank, member FDIC. You're still grooving, still connecting, still loving, still turning up, still thriving. You still got it, but your immune system, it weakens as you age. That's where vaccines come in. They help train and strengthen your immune response to fight off respiratory illnesses like flu, pneumococcal pneumonia, RSV, or COVID-19.

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Breathe. Ah. Use is directed. This new year gets started on your next success with University of Maryland Global Campus. Apply by February 11th and get your application fee waived. An accredited state university, UMGC offers online and hybrid classes along with more than 135 degrees and certificates in fields like business, cybersecurity, healthcare, and more. Gain the skills you need to achieve your career goals. Get your application fee waived through February 11th. Learn more at UMGC.edu. Certified to operate in Virginia by Shep. With progressive customer service, there are lots of ways to connect with us, so you never have to miss a second of your favorite sport.

Because you'd much rather watch a ball go through a net 124 times in 48 minutes when you don't really have to pay attention until the last two, and then somehow those two minutes will take an hour. You don't want to miss all that. Luckily, you can chat with Progressive on our app, online, or over the phone without missing a single one of those times the ball goes through the metal circle. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and other insurers not available in all states or situations. My name's Brian Winhurst, and I've seen a lot of good offense in my life.

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Hudson was at the Alabama Republican Party headquarters in Hoover this week to officially fill out that paperwork. Hudson is joining the field with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall also qualifying for that race earlier this week. U.S. Congressman Barry Moore is planning to run in the race as well. Lately, Hudson has been working as a deputy at the Blount County Sheriff's Office in the effort to stop child exploitation. Hudson and his wife founded Covenant Rescue Group back in 2018 to fight sex trafficking of women and children.

I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Covenant Rescue Group seeks to directly support organizations and agencies that are fighting the global battle against human trafficking. They do this through funding, procuring, and advocating. The former operations manager at the Pritchard Water Works has made a filing within federal court. Nia Bradley is entering a guilty plea to corruption charges issued against her and other employees as well as a member of the board. Bradley is charged with wire fraud and bank fraud for using the water board's credit card to pay for personal expenses.

A big drug bust occurred this week in Baldwin County, resulting in the seizure of 65 pounds of marijuana. The drugs were found in a vehicle being driven by 30-year-old Andres Hernandez. Authorities say that the vehicle was pulled over in a traffic stop this past Wednesday along Interstate 10. A K-9 unit was brought in to sniff out those drugs. Funeral arrangements are now being announced for Claudette Colvin. Visitation for the civil rights icon will be on January 23rd at the Bushelon Funeral Home in Birmingham. The funeral service will then be held the following Saturday at the Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

[57:14] I'm Andrea Tice. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. I don't think anybody ever expects to hear that their child has cancer. It's always one of those things that happens to somebody else. But it definitely feels like your soul is sucked out of your body when they tell you that it's your baby. I knew that no one ever received a bill from St. Jude. But I in no way understood how amazingly and completely they take care of their patients and their families.

When we first got here, Hunter was in an incredible amount of pain. And St. Jude gave him the most superb care. Childhood cancer is devastating. But childhood cancer is beatable with St. Jude. To any of the donors, I would say bless you and thank you. Because without the donors, St. Jude wouldn't be here. Finding cures, saving children. Learn more at stjude.org. The exciting action of the NFL postseason is on Westwood One. No time on the clock. Still looking. He's going to throw it up to the end zone.

Intercepted. The game is over. Hi, this is Scott Graham. Join us this weekend for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. The hour-long pregame show kicks off Saturday at 3.30 p.m. Eastern and Sunday at 2 p.m. Eastern. From now until Super Bowl 60, the NFL playoffs are on Westwood One. Can't get enough of your favorite sports talk? Now you can download 93.9 The Score's free mobile app and stay connected to the station 24-7. Miss an episode of the Boom-O Bug Show? Not a problem with the 93.9 The Score app.

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Ask your doctor or pharmacist which vaccines you need. Book in minutes at VaxAssist.com. Sponsored by Pfizer. Hey, can you blow up some balloons for Jack's party? I can't. I'm so congested. You need Sinex Saline from Vix. Sinex Saline nasal spray? Yeah, just Sinex. Breathe. Sinex Saline instantly clears everyday congestion associated with colds and year-round allergies with a gentle, ultra-fine mist that's no mess and easy to control. Daddy, we need more balloons! On it! Enjoy life's important moments without congestion. Try Sinex Saline from Vix. Just Sinex.

Breathe. Ah. Use as directed. 93.9 The Score weather. Today, cloudy with possible gusty winds, a 30% chance of afternoon showers, and a high around 50. Tonight, mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers overnight, and a low near 30. Tomorrow, mostly sunny. Gusty winds continue with a high around 45. Tomorrow night, partly cloudy with a low near 20. And for your Sunday, sunny with a high around 35. 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. Welcome back in our tour of the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And with that, we say hello to Mike Coogan, a national college football slash basketball analyst. Mike, welcome in. It's been a long journey, but it all comes to an end. Monday night, not too far from you there in Orlando, down the road in Miami.

Mike, welcome in. How are you? Yeah, doing well and looking forward to the title game. I think it will be a close one, an entertaining one. Two teams built a lot alike in terms of built from the inside out. Line play is huge for both coaches. I think Miami's playing on its home field, but I think the determining factor is going to be the quarterback play. I trust Mendoza not to make a mistake more than I trust Beck not to make a mistake. Mike, what's Miami going to do that Miami, Alabama, and Oregon, and Ohio State, and just about everybody on their schedule could not do?

[1:02:35] And that is, let the game get out of control before you can do anything about it in the fourth quarter. I think Miami's lines are combined. The offensive and the defensive lines combined at Miami are better than anybody Indiana has played. I think you can take shots at Miami secondary. I think the linebackers are adequate. Malachi Tony is a great receiver. The other receivers are just guys to me. Mark Fletcher is a really good running back. Carson Beck has had his moments and has been around a long time, but I think the difference is Miami's lines will do a much better job than Indiana opponent this year.

Defensively, with Mesidor and Bain, they've got guys who can rush the passer. Offensive line, huge, physical, lean on you in the running game. I think Miami will be sort of old school in terms of they need to run the ball to win. And I don't know if they want to set up the pass. So Indiana will do a lot of the same things. But, again, I think Mendoza is better than Beck. But I think the Miami lines combined will make this game – will keep this game close.

Mike, that's some of the logic we've been thinking about this game. is run the ball, shorten the game. Miami ran for 191 against Ole Miss and had a possession advantage of 41-18. Now, Indiana does not beat themselves. Neither one of the two teams do. One turnover – one fumble and three fumbles for Miami. They get after the quarterback, 47-45 sacks. And I'm like you. Banks has been criticized, and a lot of it is merited. But against Ole Miss, he was 11 out of 15 on third down. But if they can control the line of scrimmage and run the ball, I'm like you.

I think this is going to be a very close game. Yeah, I think the one difference in – Miami, to me, is more – much more likely to do something stupid. Penalty-wise. Yeah, you mentioned Indiana. They lost a fumble in the first quarter of the opener. They have not lost a fumble. Incredible. And they play mistake-free football when it comes to penalties. Miami does not do that. And, you know, again, you know, Cristobal has done – and his staff have done a really nice job getting this team to play to its peak in the playoff.

I still think there's a reason Cristobal has a reputation as being a guy who, frankly, chokes. And he's always doing it. And, you know, Miami lost twice this year. And you look at the teams they lost to, and you're like, how did that happen? Because they get stupid stuff. And, you know, they are playing at home. The stadium will be full, which it rarely is for a Miami game. I also think there will be just a ton of Indiana fans, too. So I think the home field advantage will be obviated somewhat by the influx of IU guys.

But I expect a really good game. And, again, the pass-rushing ends for Miami are – that's something that Indiana has not seen this year. So that's going to be an interesting aspect of this game. Can they keep Mesador and Bain away from Mendoza? You know, the Miami Hurricanes, they may win. To me, the loser in all this may be the city of Miami. You know they wanted teams from Timbuktu to come in and flood those hotels and spend those tourist dollars down there. This is the home game for them.

They still make money, but the hotels, they want that out-of-state dollar, I'm sure. But I was going to ask you about that, Mike, as far as we talk about players. Let's talk about the respective coaching staff. In your opinion, how big is the gap between two of Nick Saban's former disciples? I think that on a scale of one to ten, Signetti's a nine and Cristobal's a seven. I also like the Indiana offensive coordinator, Michael Shanahan, more than I like Miami's. But I'll be honest, I think that Corey Hetherington, the first-year defensive coordinator from Minnesota, has done a phenomenal job with Miami's defense.

They've simplified things. Hetherington's number one mantra seems to be, if you make a tackle, I want you to pound the guy. Miami is a hard-hitting team. And, again, you can exploit their secondary. And Indiana's receivers, that's an underrated group. The Charlie Becker kid, a kid from Nashville, can get deep. He's a big guy with sprinter speed. Surratt is just exceedingly intelligent, great hands. It's going to be, again, I think it goes back to if Mendoza has time, he will pick apart the Miami secondary. But I also think that Miami is going to get home a handful of times, because that is a really, really devastating pass rush for you, Emma.

[1:08:00] Mike, a week from today, the college football playoff committee will announce, are we staying at 12 or expanding to 16? And the college football officials are meeting Sunday with their annual meeting to look at changes. And there needs to be a lot of them. There are a lot of action items in college football. Looking at the schedule, an early signing date, you begin week zero, you have two home games. That's for the playoff committee. But as much as we love the product on the field, where are we going off the field?

Yeah, that's, you know, I've been a college football fan for a long time. Went to my first game in person in 1969, which gives you an idea of how old I am. And, you know, I would argue until the last three or four years, it was enjoyable to follow college football each day of the week. I think now, Saturdays are awesome. The games, I would argue, are better than they've ever been. It's the other six days that sort of make you cringe. And the idea that the playoff committee is meeting, there could be a lot of cringeworthy things coming out of that meeting.

This is only the second year of the 12-team playoff, and they're already talking about 16 or even 24. And you're like, come on, guys. There are games, you know, there were games this year that were, you know, the first round had two games that no one expected to be close. They weren't. Oregon has, I'm sorry, Indiana has pounded both of its opponents. And yet, we're talking about adding perhaps 12 more teams to the field, you know, at least four, maybe 12. I think they will go to 16 for next year.

I think the question then becomes how soon do they get to 24. And, you know, I love college football. In no universe are there 24 teams in college football that should get a standard play for a national title. That's ludicrous. Well, that's the inventory for ESPN. I'd be curious to see what factor that played in as far as being able to sell more commercials for this expanded menu. But, Mike, if you're sitting here, how concerned, if you're a blue blood program, by the way, 1969, the Eagle has landed, if you're a blue blood going back to 69, 59, and some folks even further back than that, how concerned are you that all the things that you grew up with that you thought was the secret recipe for winning, it's out the door now.

You've got to go back to the kitchen and come up with a different recipe. How concerned are the Alabamas, Georgias, Ohio States? Is this a one-off or is this the seed being planted that's just going to bloom from here for teams? Well, I think it's more the latter, because I think the NIL and the transfer portal spreads out the talent. Right. And, you know, that bothers – I shouldn't say that. That doesn't bother me. I've got no issues with that. It's just all the changes. It's, you know, the amount of money being spent.

Right, yeah. The amount of accusations being hurled by – heck, I guess it was Danny White yesterday. Teams are cheating. The Southeastern Louisiana coach, Frank Selfo, said you had an SEC GM calling up his players, telling them to enter the portal, which is illegal. That kind of stuff is unseemly to me. So I think that is a generational thing. I've got three nephews who are big college football fans. They're not nearly as bothered by NIL and the portal as I am. I've got no problem with players making money.

I think that's well overdue. I think the issue is the NCAA blew it. You know, we should be in year like 12 of NIL and the NCAA blew it. But I think that the fact that Indiana, the worst college program of all time in a lot of respects, is playing for a national title means that everybody can play for a national title now. You know, Southern Miss ain't playing for a national title. But if you're in a power four league, you should be able, any excuses you have, your fans should say, yeah, okay, fine, Indiana.

That's all they have to say. So, and Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt won 10 games for the first time ever. So I think if you are a blue blood, you have better opposition now. But at the same time, you also have numerous changes that you just need to take advantage of. You know, Texas Tech obviously is not going away. I don't think Indiana is going away anytime soon. It makes for better games on Saturday. But, yeah, and I still think the blue blood they're in. You know, there's nothing, nothing is out there saying Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, you can't be playing for national titles on an annual basis.

[1:13:18] They still can. It's just that there are more teams now with a chance to get some of the pie. Before we let you go, what's your prediction for Monday night? I think Indiana wins by three or four points. I'm a big believer in Miami's lines. I'm a big believer in Mark Fletcher. And I think it will be extremely interesting to see how Indiana handles Malachi Tony. Daniels had a big game against Ole Miss. I think Indiana's secondary is a lot better than Ole Miss. One other aspect, Indiana starts three guys from Florida in their secondary.

Mendoza is a Miami kid whose dad was an offensive line teammate of Mario Cristobal in high school. Mendoza was not recruited by Miami at all at a high school. You know, he grew up a Canes fan. So I think he'll have a chip on his shoulder. I also think a lot of these Indiana players who are from Florida will have chips on their shoulder as well. I agree with you. Miami is 105th, I believe, in penalties. Indiana is 35th. And will they find a way to blow the game?

Yeah, then that's – or not just blow the game, but blow – you know, they have a first and goal on the three. They commit a penalty and that's taking a field goal. That's the kind of thing they get beat in these kind of games. Absolutely. Great stuff as always. Listen, enjoy Monday night. Let's do this again real soon. Excellent. Thank you, guys. Have a good weekend. Mike, you're going to – well, this wouldn't mind if Mike sent us some of that warm weather. That wouldn't be bad either from the Sunshine State.

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Those 23 flavors are like so delicious. They totally wash away the pain of your college football team taking a big fat L. College football, it's a pepper thing. Rich Eisen here. Hiring for your small business can feel like a full-time job. But LinkedIn Jobs' AI assistant takes the heavy lifting out of it. It filters applicants based on the criteria you set and suggests 25 great fit candidates daily so you can invite them to apply and keep things moving. Hire right the first time. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash Eisen.

Then promote it to use LinkedIn Jobs' new AI assistant, making it easier and faster to find top candidates. That's LinkedIn.com slash Eisen to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score. Divisional round of the NFL playoffs is this weekend. Two games set for tomorrow while two more are on Sunday. Tomorrow afternoon, the Broncos are at home against the Buffalo Bills. And then it's the Seahawks hosting the 49ers tomorrow night. Sunday afternoon, the Houston Texans head to Gillette Stadium.

[1:18:32] They'll take on the New England Patriots. And Sunday night, the Rams are in Chicago as they meet the Bears. Mids basketball action tomorrow. Number 18, Alabama's on the road to play at Oklahoma. Elsewhere, the North Alabama Lions are at home as they take on Jacksonville. South Alabama's at home tomorrow. They'll play host to Louisiana. And the Troy Trojans are set to play at Arkansas State. Auburn will host South Carolina. 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.

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The Score. Welcome back in. What's it like to be able to talk with one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Survivors Association world and a legend at it. Not only that, on the tube. He spent some time there at the zone. ABC 3340. And also, his book is A Storm came up. Doug Sigrist, welcome in. It's an honor. How are you? I'm great. It's good to be back with y'all guys. You too. Are you fired up about Monday night, Doug? I mean, those Hoosers from Indiana, football, not basketball.

Isn't it ironic, Doug? They got a chance to do something that no one's ever done. Went 16 ballgames, at least, since way back over 100 years ago. And then, the last time a team went through a season in basketball unbeaten. Krimi, if I'm wrong, Doug, you're the legend here. The 1976 Indiana Hoosers. How ironic is that? The difference is, Alabama actually put up a fight in 76. But not in 2026. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. No, I had to put that together. Yeah. Whoa, whoa. What a great connection. Yeah, there you go.

Doug, let me ask you this. Before we get to the game, you know our zip code. It's always football season here. July 4th, Memorial Day. It doesn't matter. It's always at the top of the jure. Well, where are you as far as your gut with Alabama in this modern era? And for that matter, Auburn as well going forward. I actually, I like what Gullish is doing at Auburn. Again, it's kind of following the Indiana roster. Now, how quickly can they be competitive again? You know, I think Kalen DeBoer's strength is actually developing reputations or developing players and cultures.

And I think he's got a chance to be more comfortable with his roster. Will it be as talented as we've seen in the past? Probably not. You know, we'll see how it works out. Can they be more physical? To me, that's the biggest question. You know, the West Coast style doesn't really work in the SEC. Can they adjust? And if they do, I think they'll be fine. But I kind of like some of the portal moves they make. My biggest concern for both programs is not coaching.

I don't know if Alabama and Auburn long-term could keep up with the arms race. Well, that's the point. Everybody's saying, I want the Braves and the Cardinals win. Look at what the Dodgers got to spend. Look what the Mets got to spend. I mean, it's like this. If we were born of the Walton family, probably we would be having this conversation right now. It's kind of all relative, is it not? Yeah, but look, it hasn't paid off for the Mets. It hasn't paid off for Arkansas.

You look at Indiana this year. I mean, Indiana is basically a mid-major college basketball team. Yeah, and again, it goes to development. It goes to finding the right portal fits. You know, I mean, half of this team, that's an exaggeration, a third of this team started at JMU. You know, they weren't on anybody's radar, and they have coached them up. So, you know, I think there's a place for the Kansas City Royals, you know, of college football. And listen, I'm not saying Alabama and Auburn would be a small market team by any means.

[1:23:39] They'd be the Braves. You know, and sometimes the Braves spend money, but their real strength has been developing players in the minor league and then the minor league system. Yeah, and then they run out of players. And we're kind of where we are now. After Monday night, the product on the field again this year has been amazing, but so many people are concerned. It's not so much going from 12 to 16, expanding the playoff, which we'll know a week from today. It's the calendar. Will there be an early signing date where they move away from December and try to – that they've been able to declutter December some, but will week zero be the starting point of the season?

There are just simply so many topics. NIL, can we get a handle on that? Continue to pay the players their fair share, but that's just it, fair. So many questions about college football moving forward. Doug, how do you feel? Yeah, too many questions and there aren't any answers, and I think they're depending too much on congressional action to fix this, and it's not going to happen. You know, I look at basketball, and they just fixed the portal problem. You know, you cannot enter the portal again until after the Final Four, which was a problem this past year because you could enter, you know, after the regular season.

Why can't football fix that? Thank you. I don't get that. Listen, I understand the academic calendar, but let's be honest. I mean, academics – These are pro players. Yeah, yeah, they're taking – I think you can make an exception. I think you can make an academic exception, get a guy caught up January 20th as opposed to January 5th, and I think you've got to adjust that. I think you need to have two-year contracts. Yes. That include all games, you know, bowl games, et cetera. That needs to be part of a deal.

You need contracts where if a player opts out early, whoever picks them up pays off what they were owed. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, so there's some common-sense solutions. I'm just not sure there's common-sense leadership. Right. Yeah, I agree with you, Doug. To me, to have a contract, including the fine print, make sure you understand it. If you opt out of a bowl, whatever that is on your contract, that's what you lose and change. So let's switch gears. I don't know if you know this or not, Doug.

After the football season ends Monday night, there's this thing called college basketball that's going to – wait a minute. Some people say it's already rolling. You wouldn't know it sometimes in this state. But joking aside, Doug, your thoughts about Alabama and Auburn today to the hardwoods? I still think Auburn has one of the best non-conference wins of the season in Houston. But they've been exposed a little lately. You know, they've got to get Pettiford going 100% again. I like the balance, the inside-outside balance. I just think there's so much turnover, it's going to be hard for them to compete at the top.

I think you're looking at a French NCAA tournament team. Alabama has the potential to be a Sweet 16 team. But right now, I mean, I've never seen a college basketball team banged up as much as they are. Yeah, game to game, you don't know who's going to show up. They've got the best backcourt in the country. I think the two players, key players going for forward, one makes sense, one doesn't make sense. I think it's Aiden Sherrell, and I think it's Noel Williamson. And I'm not expecting Noel Williamson to become a great seven-foot center in the FCC, but a working role player who can give them some inside strength and compliment, listen, Aiden Sherrell has the potential to be a star, and we've seen it, and then he gets hurt and he takes a step back.

But, you know, that's what they lack, the inside strength. And if those two players continue to progress, I think they've got a shot going deep. I agree with you. Amari Allen has been a revelation. He's been a double-double nearly every game. And, again, now they've got a midweek buy next week, which I think may help heal some of these guys up. Then they host Tennessee. They still play Oklahoma tomorrow. But when they rebound and they play defense, and that's why it takes Nate Oates half the season to get some of these guys to buy in to playing defense.

Long-term, I'm like you, I think he needs some 6'9", 6'10", forwards to have a little bit more balance inside and out. But it's like Mississippi State. When this team plays defense, rebounds the ball and shoots, they can beat anybody in the country. Absolutely. And listen, you know, they had a lead on Arizona in the second half. They just got blitzkrieged. We saw them with a lead, Purdue late, and then it got away. But both those teams had just like double seven-footers. They were able to pound the ball inside.

[1:29:00] A lot of times that's not your front line. That's the guard defense. And I think that's where they've got to really improve. And he's been hard on Holloway. He's been hard on Phylon. I think you're going to see Jaleel Bathea become more of a figure once he figures it out on the defensive end because that guy's got a lot of talent. But I actually think they're playing defense more consistently than they have the last couple years. The metrics don't show it. But if they can take it to another level, this totally changes their outlook.

I agree with you entirely. Listen, always enjoy the conversation. Enjoy Monday night. Haven't spent the last game of the season, but we have plenty of basketball and other stuff to talk about. Always a treat to talk to you. Have a great weekend and great week. Let's do this again soon. Thank you, Brad. Thank you, Harold. Y'all have a great weekend. You do the same. The one, the only, Doug Segrist. Coming up, it's Portal Friday. The last one on the Plains as well. The latest Tiger Talk with Justin Ferguson on deck.

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[1:34:16] Remember, vape devices should be disposed of properly. Learn more at ul.org slash vaping. The score. We're now back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Who better to learn more about the latest on the Auburn Tigers than Justin Ferguson there at the Auburn Observer. Justin, welcome in. Happy Friday to you. How are you? I'm doing all right. How are y'all? I'm good. Not just another Friday, Justin. The last Friday, the last day, at least on paper anyway, for the portal. The curtain comes down at midnight tonight, Cinderella.

Justin, what's the latest as far as what's shaking and baking with the Auburn Tigers and the portal party? Yeah, they loaded up yesterday on some linemen, which they need to continue to get. Jacob Strand from Oregon State, a guy who had multiple years of, you know, starting experience at Oregon State. Can kind of move around on that offensive line. Was a good pickup. T.J. Hedrick was, you know, redshirted the season at Ole Miss. Was a guy that had a lot of good offers coming out of high school.

So, that's a guy that you can kind of get some more depth up front. Picked up another, you know, defensive lineman, Walter Mathis, out of LSU. A guy that got to play some this season and looked good when he did. So, you know, they're continuing to beef up their lines. I think they're going to get some more depth there at those spots. But, you know, other than that, I think you're looking at a situation for Auburn where they could probably use another established receiver if they could get it.

They could probably use another corner if they could get one. Edge rusher. There are several guys who have kind of popped recently into the portal that Auburn will be going after. And the important thing to remember, though, is like, you know, the portal closes tonight. That is, guys going in. So, they still have time to kind of make decisions. So, Auburn's going to be hard at work this weekend, you know, getting some portal visits rolling. And then on top of that, you know, they've got junior day also tomorrow, which is supposed to be a pretty big one as well.

So, busy, busy recruiting time for Auburn. I like the work they've done in the portal so far. I think they've just got to put the finishing touches on it. More depth in the line of scrimmage is big. And then maybe, you know, a couple more splash players on both sides of the ball would really round out what Auburn needs. What are the chances of Auburn? You mentioned receiver picking up Kyle Parker from LSU. I know he's got a relationship with Xavier Atkins. Deontre Robinson, a North Carolina defensive lineman, visited, I believe, yesterday.

And then, from Maryland, Alou Baugh, and you can correct me, an offensive lineman, will Auburn get one of those three before everything's said and done? They'd like to. You mentioned Kyle Parker. He did pick Ohio State today. Okay. That one's off the board. That was one they were trying to really get. But, yeah, you know, Baugh's probably a really good example. The North Carolina defensive tackle, too. So, the thing there is that those guys are on other visits. Baugh's going to go to Oregon. I think the tackle's going to LSU.

So, it's a little tougher to pull that off, but Auburn's going to continue to try to do that. You know, the rule of thumb in the past has been, okay, if the guy leaves the transfer visit and he didn't commit to you, you're probably not getting him. This year, it's been a little bit more different. You've seen more guys kind of look elsewhere and then decide to go back to some other schools. I think one of the big examples there, Joe Simmons, the offensive tackle they got from James Madison, you know, started every game for a playoff team this year.

He visited elsewhere after coming to Auburn and then decided to double back and go back to Auburn. So, not out of the realm of possibility they could add either of those two. I think they need a guy like Baugh. There's also an Arkansas State offensive lineman they're looking at. They're looking at, you know, a corner, a couple of corners as well there. But, yeah, it feels like, you know, those are the kind of splash players in need they really, really want to use right now. And they continue to kind of build up some doubts elsewhere.

It's the latest on the Tigers for Justin Ferguson. It's called the Auburn Observer. Justin, it's safe to say, I mean, give it up for Alex Colas. He's not using smoke and mirrors there. He's basically saying, I'm taking the James Madison, Kurt Signetti blueprint, and I'm going to put all my chips. I'm going to put all my chips on a bird in the hand versus the two in the bush. Your thoughts about the strategy of basically, this is almost Kurt Signetti and James Madison part two of what Golesh is doing as far as bringing his posse with him from his prior stop.

Yeah, I mean, I think Auburn lost so much on the offense, you know, in the transfer portal that they needed numbers. And why not go get the guys that helped get to this job, right? This was the top ten offense in college football this past season. This is a system they know inside and out. So, yeah, you're looking at Auburn's got a quarterback, a running back, several wide receivers, two interior offensive linemen tied in, all from this, you know, staff. And then obviously, you know, bringing in a couple of DBs as well over into the mix.

[1:39:24] So, yeah, I think for Auburn, it's just, it makes sense. You know, you need numbers. And, look, I mean, it's like, obviously, quarterbacks is where they wanted, you know, Byron Brown as their big guy to go get. But, you know, even though they brought in a lot of wide receivers, they brought in several offensive linemen. They brought in, you know, USF's top running backs from last year. It wasn't like it was just, okay, if those guys were done, they go get Bryson Washington out of Baylor, which was a big pickup for them.

They go get, you know, they're going after other wide receivers. They go get several offensive linemen, star quality offensive linemen to go around them. So, yeah, I think it's just a good foundation. These guys know the system inside and out. And I think that's going to help Auburn in year one, that you don't have to necessarily teach a lot of stuff. It's just, you know, hey, you've got some guys you can fall back on. And now some of the newer guys, maybe some of the higher rated guys, some of your returning guys, if they pick up the system and they, you know, kind of win out some of those jobs over these USF guys, okay, then that's the best of both worlds, right?

You have some of that experience, some of that familiarity to fall back on. But, you know, you also, you know, you didn't want to go in a situation where, you know, you bring in a bunch of guys who don't really know the system and go, wow, what happens when it doesn't work next season? So, I think, you know, they've got talent, they've got experience, but, you know, several of those guys, especially like a Byron Brown and a Keyshawn Singleton, it's like, yeah, you look at those numbers and say, why not go out and do, you know, kind of what other teams have done in the past?

Here's the other side of that coin, Justin. Obviously, if it weren't your genius, Kurt Signetti right now, he's got an IQ higher than Einstein in the world of college football hacks. But, how much eligibility do these guys have? Because, let's face it, people say, why are you doing this? In the modern era, you don't get the old three-year rule where you come in, you sit here and you sell the right things the first year, second year, you bill and you cash out your third year. Those days have gone the way of the eight-track.

How much eligibility do these guys have? And if it's basically, if they expire at the end of next year, then obviously Auburn's got to start all over again. Yeah, I mean, I think you have to start thinking about your college football roster in one-year cycles now. And it's tough to say, but you're right. I mean, like, nothing's keeping these guys here year over year. You've got to be able to go. And so, you know, guys like Byron Brown and Keishon Singleton, they only have one year of eligibility remaining.

So, it's basically like, hey, if those guys are going to play college football for one more year, why not do it with us? That was kind of the move there. But, you've got some others. Jeremiah Cogar was a freshman this season. I think he's got great potential in this system. You know, they've got the big tight end they got out of USF. He's got several years of eligibility remaining. They've got some guys. I think Davenport's a guy who's got multiple years left at running back. Fred Gass is a junior, if I remember correctly.

So, you know, they've got guys who could stay around. A couple of them are, you know, one and done. It's like, hey, we need you here for a year. Help us build the bridge. And then move on. But then there's others that, you know, Alex Goss has basically said, you know, I come in, we've got to get all these transfers, we've got to reset this roster. My job is to build a system, to build a team, to build a culture, to build a program that people are going to want to stay for.

And so I think some of these USF guys have some of that ability to go do that. But, yeah, I mean, kind of big picture. You know, it's tougher to keep guys, you know, year over year than it used to be, obviously. But now, you know, the challenge will be for Goal is to be like, okay, have some success, maybe with some of these one-year rentals in year one, that you don't have to necessarily completely hit the reset button. Because maybe some of your younger guys are going to say, hey, why do I need to leave?

I'm going to stick around here. I like what we're doing. I like being a part of what's being built here. And that's really the challenge for Goal in year one. Obviously, if you can do that by getting some wins with some of these rentals, you'll definitely take that. Auburn's had some very talented guys on the edge. I know they've lost a lot of them. And you mentioned the defensive line. On the edge, Jared Smith, Nate Johnson, the Missouri transfer, Joe Phillips. I know Deshaun Womack was another name mentioned with Ole Miss.

Are they through at edge, or do they want to add another one? They want to add another one for sure. Those Ole Miss guys that have gone into the portal are ones to look at. You mentioned Womack. There's some real familiarity there. I think they need to get one more kind of splash guy, at edge rusher. They love Jared Smith as a pass rusher. Darian Smith, defensive tackle, flashed a lot of pass rushing ability on third downs as an interior guy this season. They got Nate Marshall.

And I know Nate Marshall didn't produce much in Missouri, but he was great at App State. A few years ago, so maybe they feel like if he can get me back to tell what he was in the past, that would be big. They picked up another. They've got a couple of young guys there that they're continuing to develop. They like Joe Phillips. They feel like if Joe Phillips can stay healthy, he's a really, really good football player. He just had a hard time staying healthy his first couple seasons.

[1:44:32] So they're not done at edge. I think they need more. They need one or two more guys. And I feel like if they can go pull off one of the bigger names, maybe a guy with SEC experience, that would really, really help what they want to do on the outside this season. Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer, it's Friday. You know a lot of Auburn fans right now hitting the refresh button, looking for the next big fish to be landed in the boat. Where will Auburn be come Sunday night after some of the paperwork is going to be straggling in?

Yeah, I think Auburn's going to come in as a team that lost a lot in the transfer portal, obviously, with the coaching change and all that. But I think they're going to bring in one of the better portal classes when it's all said and done. I think they've addressed a lot of needs. I think they've got to continue to build, and I think they're going to keep picking up guys, you know, for a little while now. Yes, the portal is closed, but you've still got a window to get guys in and enrolled.

So I would expect maybe the next several days, maybe closer to a week, where you'll continue to still hear Auburn bringing in names. You know, I think there was a big – people were pointing out, like, wow, Auburn lost 30-plus players in the portal, and they only brought in 20-something. I would go back and look at some of those guys that left. There were some guys that, you know, weren't playing a whole lot. So I think pretty much every one of the guys they've brought in so far, with the exception of a few, or guys from the portal that they expect to play right away or contribute right away.

And so I think they're getting some instant impact guys and being able to rebuild their roster that way and just kind of having to roll with the punches of the way, you know, the game goes, especially after you make a coaching change. That's something that gets overlooked quite a bit with a lot of these teams. They've got 25 who hit the portal. Well, 12 of them played 10 plays the entire season. Right, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you've got to look at that a little bit more. Steven Pearl may be a prophet because he said, when I looked at these guys' body language the other night before the Missouri game, I could tell we were not going to win.

He said they had a hangover. Auburn played really well, as you well know, against Arkansas. But Missouri got off to a slow start, missed one out of 11, including 10. And then they went on to 12-16 run. Missouri had a big lead. Auburn came back. And I thought they might be able to steal one from them in the last two or three minutes. But, yeah, Steven Pearl was not happy with that effort against Missouri. No, and neither, you know, I don't think anybody was surprised by that. He shouldn't have been.

I mean, I was out in Columbia for that game, and I could tell early on, I was just like, something feels off. This is the same thing that played so hard and played so well against Arkansas. And that's the thing that they said the other day, Steven Pearl saying, you know, after it's like, you play South Carolina on Saturday, you should win that game at home. But it's like, look, you've got to play hard for all 40 minutes. And here's the message, and I think this goes to every team in the SEC.

This SEC is not as elite as it was last year, but, man, in this balance, anybody can compete, anybody. And so that's the message. He said, look, no one's good enough in this conference to just show up and expect a win. He said, we had the best team in Auburn history last year. They couldn't even do that. So why do you think you can do that this season the way this league is? So that's the challenge, right? We've seen this team play with their backs against the wall, with their hair on fire.

They did that against Arkansas last week. They didn't do that against Missouri. They've got to find a way. Steven Pearl's got to find a way to get his team to push the right buttons, to play that way, and for all 40 minutes, right? Everybody they play moving forward. Yes. I think Missouri had a really good game plan of getting the ball out of the hands of Keyshawn Hall. And, you know, they really affected to Hyde Pettiford. I think they really made some good adjustments on the way they attacked Auburn on the offense.

However, if Auburn plays hard for 40 minutes, they have a good shot to win that game, even with Missouri playing well. So that's the message moving forward for this team. If you don't bring your A game every single night in this league, you can lose to anybody. The flip side, though, is if you bring your A game every single night in this league, I think the early results have shown you can pick up some really, really good wins because, you know, no one's safe, no matter who they're playing so far in this conference.

Not only who, but where. Auburn went to Columbia this past week. Now Columbia comes to Auburn. Your thoughts about the team from South Carolina who calls Columbia home as well. What do you see in the matchup tomorrow night on the Plains? It's a favorable one for Auburn, obviously. I think South Carolina is pretty comfortably the worst team in this league right now. You know, kind of statistically, it hasn't been great, but their experience. And they're going to play with a lot of desperation. They got absolutely killed by Arkansas earlier this week.

But what was Arkansas doing? They had just gotten punched in the mouth by Auburn, and so they had to kind of rally. So I think Auburn's going to have to do that again in this game. You've got to run at South Carolina on the three-point line. They take a ton of threes. Meachie Johnson's played about nine years of college basketball at this point, and a lot of it at South Carolina. They've got another guy that's mild student. They've got a big kid from Mongolia who is a great shooter.

[1:49:46] They've got depth. They play a slow, methodical style. They don't force a lot of turnovers, but they don't make a lot of turnovers either. So they're going to really require Auburn to just play a strong, smart game. I think Auburn's more talented. I think Auburn's got home court advantage. I think Auburn's got a lot more to prove in this game with what happened against Missouri earlier in the week. But I will say, before South Carolina got killed this week by Arkansas, their losses this season have all been really competitive.

So, you know, I think that's the thing here is, like, you know, you can't let up against these guys. They've got their backs up against the wall like you do. So, for Auburn, you play hard and focus for 40 minutes. You should be able to win this game at home and see if you can do it. But it's like I said on our podcast today. It's not just a get-right opportunity. You've got to get right and stay right because they've got two road games next week. They're going to be pretty difficult.

Absolutely. 6 a.m. emails on Wednesday and throughout the week, the mailbag on Friday, the podcast, football, basketball, transfer portal, you name it, and you do it. Where can we get online to get all the good stuff? Yep, auburnobserver.com. Check it out there. It's $6 a month or $60 a year to get a full subscription to the Observer. We email everything out to you as soon as it drops, whether it's our newsletters, our written work, or our podcast, which, like you said, you can listen to twice a week.

If you have a subscription, auburnobserver.com. Sign up there. We've got a ton of stuff going on. You know, we've got basketball this weekend. We'll be keeping an eye on everything in the portal. And then hitting the road. Auburn's at Ole Miss and at Florida next week. And we'll be on the road covering all of it. So, auburnobserver.com. A busy one, but make it a safe one. Justin, thanks so much for your time today. Appreciate it, y'all. Thank you. Thank you, buddy. Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer.

If you want some basketball, you have to go too far to get it. UNA with a home cooking tomorrow at the CB&S Bank Arena. They'll take on Jville, Jacksonville. That's a 2 o'clock tip. And then BB Alabama with their own weekend plans as well. Oklahoma in Norman pregame at 11 a.m., 12 o'clock noon, high noon, kickoff, tipoff with that game, which reminds me we'll go over the Miami-Indiana game quite a bit. By the way, our thoughts and prayers are with our illustrious producer, James Moody. His wife had it having a couple of health issues.

God bless both of them. We're very lucky to have two exceptional producers, James and Blair. Blair's done a great job today. Pinch hit last week, and very lucky to have them. But enjoy a basketball and football weekend. Echo those sentiments. Good people. Hope they have a good weekend. I hope you do the same. That's going to take care of business for now. On behalf of BB, Craig, James Blair, the entire crew here. Harold the Bucks, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again Monday.

Buckenship Monday, noon to 2 for the Bumbo Bug Show. Back here on Sports Radio from 93.9 to score.