Boomo Bugg Show 092126

[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 tie, Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. I think you walk into a storm, you know, like that's what happens a lot of times in these games. You see it all the time. We call him Buzz. It's how you walk in. It's a buildup.

You know, the stadium was full, you know, an hour early. So, I guess I had to leave to get him to do that. So, you're welcome. There you have it. The man still carrying a red butt in red stands. Good afternoon. I'm Harold Bugg. That's Brett Beaird. Welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. Proud to have you on board. And it's out here on the antenna and also across the world on the 93.9 The Score app. Brett Beaird, welcome in. Good to see Lane graduating from the 6th grade to the 7th grade again, is it not?

Happy Football Monday and Overreaction Monday. It's still all about Lane, isn't it, Harold? Yeah, it is. It never amazed me. Alabama and Tennessee win. And John Summerall proves he may have been the right choice for the Florida Gajers head coaching job. Matt St. Charles will summarize a huge night for UNA football. But Adam is here right now to recap a wild weekend in the SEC. Where in the world do you start? Well, maybe Adam Spencer can answer that and a whole lot more. He's busy there at Saturday Down South, Saturday Tradition and Sports Betting Dime.

Adam, welcome in. What a weekend, huh? How are you? I'm doing great, guys. How are you? I'm doing good. Well, at least they didn't overhype that game, and Oxford did it not. I think it lived up to it. I'd love to see the numbers on that game. Would you not, Adam? I haven't seen them yet. Have you? I haven't yet, but, yeah, I'm sure that that was quite well viewed, even though it was going head-to-head with the Florida-Auburn game, which ultimately did quite a game. So, yeah, I mean, there was some quality football around, but that was the star of the show there, just the way Lane Kiffin liked it.

Adam, let's talk a little bit about what that game said besides the obvious. Ole Miss shows they can go toe-to-toe with Lane's old regime there. Does it also not say in some ways where we are in 2026? Because when Lane left, I mean, he's never going to say this. Maybe he will if he gets some attention and clicks, he would. But 10 years ago, you leave Ole Miss for LSU because that's Ole Miss and that's LSU. But in the modern era, if you look at the numbers, Ole Miss wins big.

And what I'm trying to say is you go back to what Indiana did last year, is it no longer a logo-only team that can pull off these kind of outcomes? I think it starts with coaching and, you know, the Indiana example. You've got to make the right hire, and they definitely did with Kurt Cignetti. I mean, that was a home run hire there. Yeah. And, you know, I think that Ole Miss did the same when they just put Pete Golding in instead of doing an outside hire.

I mean, he proved himself in the playoff last year, and, you know, he's said all the right things this offseason. He's been engaging and entertaining, and, you know, he can coach a little ball, too. So, I mean, you start there, and then to keep Lacy and Chambliss and some of those guys around, you know, Perkins on defense, to keep some of those guys around was huge for him. So, yeah, I mean, I thought maybe they'd take a step back offensively with a new play caller in there because losing Charlie White Jr. certainly hurts, but they haven't really taken a step back, and, you know, I credit Chambliss for that.

He's, you know, in my opinion right now, the best quarterback in the country. Absolutely. Adam, you alluded to the Florida Gators. Auburn fans were saying, now, did we hire the right coach between Alex Golich and John Summerall? Now, some text me over the weekend and said, wait and see. Very impressive performance by Florida at the line of scrimmage. Jaden Ball runs for 162 yards. Auburn, in their credit, scores late to close the game, but what a performance by John Summerall in the Gators. Yeah, I mean, that was, you know, yeah, they held on there at the end, but that was, you know, Jaden Ball is a heck of a player.

You know, they've been saying for the last couple years with Billy Napier, it's like, why are we not hitting this guy's ball? And John Summerall, maybe his interview with the Florida administration was like, here's this guy, we have him on the roster, I'm going to have my quarterback turn around and hand him the ball. And, you know, that might have been enough to get him hired. And, you know, that's, you know, he's doing a heck of a job there. 3-0 Gators, I mean, they've looked really good.

[5:09] The offense is just clicking on all cylinders. You know, speaking of hires, you know, we mentioned Zignetti, we mentioned Pete Golding. I mean, getting Buster Faulkner from Georgia Tech was a really key part of that in this offseason. And it's paying dividends, the defense is flying around, and the offense is looking better than it has in years. Adam, Spencer, Saturday down south. Adam, your thoughts, if you're an Auburn fan, how concerned are you? You put all your eggs on the defensive side of the ball. You thought, well, we're okay there.

Let's not worry so much about that. Let's see how these guys do coming in on offense in South Florida. Well, so far, I don't think Auburn fans are impressed. And not only that, I mean, you start looking at the running game, a lot of criticism that maybe Gullish wants to speed things up, whereas defense out maybe needs a decision to be more realistic. That was against competition back in the day. This is a little bit different situation here. It's hot in the south. Not only that, you look at the missed tackles for this Auburn team.

I mean, where do you start breaking down the holes to fill so far? Yeah, I've been a little disappointed in the defense, like you said. You know, I thought I was a bit lower on the offense coming into the season. I mean, it was the best that they were going to get. Like, you know, Byron Brown's a good quarterback. Some of these guys are good pass catchers. But, like, if you're bringing in a group of six offense, basically, because that's basically what they brought in. It's just going to be tough to withstand a full power four schedule.

Like, these guys were not at that level. Like, if you brought in, like, a quarterback and then had a bunch of, you know, guys with power four experience, you know, that would be different. But, you know, the offense, I'm not surprised, hasn't been as high-flying as people anticipated. This is the SEC. The best defenders are on the other side of the ball there. So I'm a little disappointed with the defense so far. But the offense is, like, right about what I expected it to be. And, you know, it's just going to be moving forward for goalish.

It's going to be about, well, how can you keep this going? Because, like, you've got to get some better players in a key position. You know, it's a one-year contract, basically. So you just have to hit the portal hard this offseason. And I'm curious to see how he does that. Adam, after a one-hour and 40-minute lightning delay, we looked like we were revisiting the 2025 FSU-Alabama game. They came out, hit Alabama in the nose, got ahead 21-6. And then Alabama scored on nine consecutive drives. You can see the potential of Keylon Russell.

He gets better every game. Ran for 250 yards. Florida State got ahead because they were 9-15 on third down. Alabama's really got to work on the secondary, which, once again, got beat on many occasions. But your thoughts? Alabama wins 50-36. Yeah, they've got to start games better. They've got to figure out what they're doing wrong in the first quarter, the first half. Let's not forget that just last week they were down at halftime to Kentucky as well. So they've just got to figure out how to start games better because they've really figured out how to finish games.

So I mean, that's the important part. You'd rather start slow than finish slow. So, you know, they're winning the games, and that's all that matters. But, yeah, I mean, I think it comes with the territory offensively with a young quarterback. He's got to learn. Maybe he's got to tweak his pregame prep or something like that. Maybe Grubb needs to call some plays that he's more comfortable with early in the first quarter here to get him some confidence. But, yeah, I mean, he's playing really well. You know, the mistakes that he's making are typical for a young quarterback.

And then he turns it on. So, you know, I've been really impressed with him so far. And, yeah, I've been like the second half, Alabama might be a top five team in the country. First half is probably like 25. Can you text them a schedule and tell them what time the game starts this weekend? I think they're not getting a memo that the game actually starts here. Don't wait until you have to get their coffee going. They take on South Carolina, and from all indications, the offense should be getting even stronger.

It's Monday. The pressure comes down from the boss, Mr. DeBoer. And he says, look out for Mr. Deere and Mr. Rogers. They are available, it looks like, this weekend. South Carolina is going to come in in a bad mood. Your thoughts about this weekend's matchup with the Gamecocks? Yeah, this is going to be one of those games that, you know, is going to be a defining moment for the Shane Beamer era either way. If they come in and they just get the doors blown off and leave with, like, a 40-point loss, then that's probably the writing on the wall for Shane Beamer.

And, you know, there's been some weird vibes there this season so far. Beamer's getting snippy with the media. So, you know, that's never a good sign. But there are times here, there are times where he's in these situations, his teams have come out and, you know, played some of the best games of his tenure. So, you know, this is a definite, you know, be careful with this one from Alabama. And if Alabama starts slow, things can spiral here. But, you know, I think that more trending the other way, I think that this is going to be just another step in what is becoming a very, very long season in the other Columbia.

[10:43] Adam, have you ever seen a more improbable ending to a football game? North Carolina State looks like they've got Vandy beat. Now, Curtis comes in and plays really well. I know he threw a couple of picks. All they need to do is to fall on the ball, get a safety. CJ Bailey's running around trying to run out the clock. And, oh, by the way, don't forget the football. He fumbles, Vandy recovers it, and wins the game as time expires. Adam, can you explain that last play for North Carolina State?

Please. No, I cannot explain it. And if I was the NC State administration, I think that's probably a fireable offense right there. I don't know if you even – Don't be able to close the door and have a seat. Yeah, that might be you don't let the coach get back on the plane. After that one. Because, I mean, how do you not – Like, that's what – Like, you have to have your quarterback know exactly what the situation is there. You know, if he tried to go rogue, then you bench him.

But, like, I don't know what he was trying to do there. And that's just – To me, that was, like, bad coaching. It's like, why would you not coach him to make sure, like, just take the safety, man? Like, the only thing – The only thing you cannot do is – You can even take the – That's what he needs. Hold on to the ball. Exactly. Exactly. The only thing you cannot do in that situation is go down without the football. And that's what he did. So, like, if I was an NC State administrator, there would be consequences.

But, you know, we'll see how they play it. Adam, we talked about South Carolina. They lost to Mississippi State in what's becoming the hottest new name at the quarterback spot across the country. Can you remind us who State plays this weekend? Yeah, I mean, that's the sneaky matchup of the weekend here. It's a good weekend. We've got Texas and Tennessee. We've got Oklahoma at Georgia. We've got Ole Miss at Florida. South Carolina at Alabama. Texas A&M at LSU. But don't sleep on that Missouri at Mississippi State game.

Because, I mean, you know, Missouri did not look very good this past week. That was a very frustrating game for me to watch when there was some better football being played on the other TV with Ole Miss and LSU. But, you know, I did my duty, and I had to have at least one eye on my Tigers. If they play like that in Starkville, they're going to get blown out because Mario Taylor is doing everything for this team. And he's looked really good in the process.

And, you know, if he keeps playing like that, then Jeff Levy is going to rack up a few SEC wins this year. I'll tell you what, Adam, in closing, let's give a tip of the hat to Kentucky. They just whipped Texas A&M. Well, Marcel Reed had a terrible day. Will Stein saying, yeah, I told you so. I told you so. But that was an incredible win for Kentucky. We'll see how they go, do going on. Adam, great stuff. I know you've got your power rankings coming out.

Joe Conks, our good friend, has got some stuff later this week looking at the records, projected records for the rest of the year. Where can we get online and get your stuff and the teams? Yeah, SaturdayDownSouth.com. We'll have some power rankings coming out. We've got three newsletters this week. So, you know, find us at SaturdayDownSouth.com. We've got you covered. Get some ear muffins. You're going to need them. Cowbells are ringing for your Tigers this weekend at Stark Vegas. Good luck, Adam, and thanks so much for your time today.

Yeah, thanks a lot, guys. Thank you, bud. Adam Spencer, busy there at Saturday Down South. Could Norman Rockwell have painted a better picture for historic weekend in the shows? Matt St. Charles on that and more. Straight ahead, stay with us. Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance. Whether you are looking for a Medicare health plan or you are under 65 and exploring individual health care options, Alabama Health Guidance can help you find the plan that fits your needs. Our local agents make it simple, so stop by our office at 885 Florence Boulevard or give us a call at 256-648-5710.

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Terms and conditions apply. From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today. It's a daily update on Bama sports and it's brought to you by Alabama Professional Services. Protect your home from the ground up with APS. From pest and termite protection to lawn care, foundation repair, and waterproofing, APS covers your whole home. Hello again, everybody. I'm Roger Huber. Here are thoughts from Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer following Alabama's win on Saturday against Florida State. Yeah, just a different type of day when you look at the delays before the game, close to halftime.

Just, you know, kind of choppy a little bit, but our guys, you know, continue to stay the course. Just keep working, keep trying to improve, and a lot of things we can work on, a lot of things we need to get better at. But, you know, showing that we can continue to play, not panic, and find a way to win. I'm proud of these guys, and so a lot of moments that we'll be able to watch on film, that we'll be able to learn from, that we can take, and know we can't continue to make these mistakes, but also a lot of things that we are getting better at when it comes to execution.

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You can listen on our full radio network and the Varsity Network app. Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by APS. Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield. The Alabama defensive line isn't the only one with skills. Ask your Amazon Alexa devices to tune in to 93.9 The Score. Listen to The Score streaming live anywhere on Alexa-enabled devices. All of your favorite shows and teams are waiting. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Here's hoping that if you're checking in now that you were one of the 11,000 plus to go out and experience a piece of living history in the shows over the weekend.

I'm sure Matt St. Charles was amongst that number. He's busy covering UNA there with the Times Daily. Matt, welcome in. How are you? Hey, thanks for having me, man. I'm good. How's it going? Man, I'll tell you what, we were just coming into this, Matt, kind of trying to draw a parallel here with Norman Rockwell. Could he have painted a better picture for Historic Weekend for UNA, the community, and this program? Yeah, it was certainly a monumental one. There was, you know, they came out with a lot of energy.

[21:16] You could definitely feel it in the stadium. I mean, at kickoff, there was still a line, you know, way, way out the door to get in. So, there was definitely a lot of excitement. You could feel it from the jump. Bit of a lull there in the middle. But they found a way to kind of get the energy back up and make the most of, you know, one that will definitely go down in history. Let's talk about, before we talk about the game, for all the folks who helped make this a reality.

We were talking coming into the game, Matt, that this school was founded in 1830. First football team was in 1912. And this weekend was the first true, in bold letters, home game. For all the folks who made this all possible to have a facility like that, they deserve a shout-out. Yeah. Don't know that I have a whole list of those people prepared for you. Yes, but from what I can tell in the short time I've been here, this has really been Josh Looney and President Kitts' baby that has come to life here in the past few years.

And, you know, they'll point back to the 1973 media guide where they announced, you know, those plans that never really came to fruition. And this one certainly came to fruition pretty fast. So, yeah, big shout-out to those guys and everybody involved that was able to kind of make this happen. Man, I enjoy your grades. You grade each unit coaching and overall, and also three things. One of the three things was the defense getting back on track after a tough second half, and particularly in southeast Louisiana. Elkhorn State, as Harold and I talked about, they're a good team.

And they gained 702 yards in a double overtime win over Arkansas Pine Bluff. They've got a good quarterback and a running back. And as you mentioned in the middle of the game, they scored 17 points on three consecutive drives. But I thought the defense played much better. Clint Bowen and the defense bowed up, and particularly early and late. Your thoughts on an improved defensive effort? Yeah, I mean, they certainly had to sort of rebound twice, I guess, in the last week or so. One being coming off a tough Southeastern game in which, you know, Clint Bowen and Brent Dierman made them do live tackling in the middle of the week, you know, during the regular season, which is pretty unheard of.

So that was certainly better. They were swarming to the ball a lot. And you definitely felt the energy as they kind of went up 14-0. And then both teams were scoreless for a while. And then Elkhorn did start to figure it out there. Like I said, scored 17 points on those three drives, kind of in that middle eight there. And Bowen and that defense kind of had to adjust or rebound again to get back on track and then didn't allow another touchdown. Certainly it was closer to the Sanford performance that they kind of, that's kind of their North Star in a way.

But certainly still some things to fix up, but definitely a better performance when you compare it to Southeastern last week. Matt, obviously you look at it still early in the season, Matt St. Charles over the times daily. They've already reached and matched their total win total from last year. It's a disappointing 2-10 record. So right now you've reached the number two mark. Your thoughts about two things coming up this weekend to take on Western Illinois back in the friendly confines there on Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium.

Your thoughts about that matchup. And everybody says, wait a minute, it's a 3 o'clock game. It's going to be hot. Well, not if the forecasters finally get one right. It's supposed to feel like football this weekend. Yeah, thank God it's supposed to cool down a little bit. It was, even at a 6 p.m. kickoff before the sun went down, it was pretty hot down there. But Western Illinois is a good team, man. I talked to some of the coaching staff this morning. They were giving them a lot of credit.

Clint Bowen said their quarterback is a dude. So I haven't had the chance to cut on the tape on Western Illinois. But, you know, Clint told me they're big on quarterback run, which obviously can provide some problems for really any defense when you get the extra blocker with a running back. So something to look out for, especially if they're running outside the tackles, like Southeastern was able to do against them. Could definitely be a problem. But I would expect Clint and this defense to be prepared for that.

Matt, is there any chance the United Athletic Conference renames the freshman of the week, the Xavier Johnson freshman of the week, a trifecta, 75-yard reverse, 161 yards? Matt, just go ahead and change the name of the award. Yeah, my goodness, man. He was a get for this program in so many ways. The way that he's developed throughout spring practice and fall camp, he went from being, you know, somewhat of just a vertical threat to doing really everything for this group. You know, we saw some of the end-round stuff against Southeastern, and they pulled it out again against Alcorn and really got some downfield blocking.

[26:56] And that was just an incredible individual effort on that run. I mean, he should have been tackled at least three times and found a way to score. I mean, he's having an incredible season, and he's such a weapon for this offense, especially for Destin Wade to have at his disposal. You cover high school, too, and first of all, congratulations to a lot of teams in the Shoals. There are three 5-0 undefeated teams, Lexington, Florence, Hatton, and Red Bay. And then there are three 4-0 teams, Rogers, Central, and Heckelberg.

And you covered Rogers in what must have been a very entertaining game. They beat Colbert Heights 48-24. C.J. Davis, Rogers' quarterback, had a big game. The dude ran for 200 yards. That must have been quite an entertaining game. Yeah, it definitely was. It felt like Colbert Heights struggled at a lot of times offensively. But then when they found something offensively, it was always like a 50-yard touchdown to some extent. But I can't say enough about C.J. Davis and the performance that he put on on Friday night.

You could tell he was comfortable out there and was probably far and away the best player on the field and showed that in a lot of ways. It was definitely a fun one to cover. And I know Coach Garrett over there at Rogers would like to fix up some of those defensive holes. But he's got to be happy with his offense. Absolutely. First time Lexington has been 5-0 since 1982. Incredible for Brett Mask. And then Florence, I think the first time ever for 5-0. A lot of the high school teams have a bye this weekend.

In fact, I think about half the teams in the state have got a bye. Listen, great stuff. Always enjoy your work with UNA in high school. Where can we get online to get all the good stuff? You can find all my stuff at timesdaily.com or on my Twitter page, Matt underscore St. Charles. Matt, it's always good to catch up with you. Thanks for your time, Dan. Have a great week. Okay? All right. Thanks, guys. Thank you, bud. Matt St. Charles, the E-Times dealer. From Matt to the Max.

The tales straight ahead. Stay with us. Let's go. It's Friday Night Football. I'm John Saylor, your local lawyer. And I'm proud to sponsor this year's Scoreboard and Coach's Breakfast. Because there's nothing like high school football in North Alabama. It's our schools, our teams, our bands, our cheerleaders, and everybody in the stands. It's good times, and that's what Friday Night Football is all about. Remember, neighbors, when you need a lawyer, call me, John Saylor, your local lawyer at 256-740-3131, or visit johnsaylorlaw.com. Get comfortable. Football season is back at the carriage.

There are a few things we love more than a good Saturday in the South, and football season is officially back at the carriage. All season long, we'll have the games rolling with plenty of cold drinks, good food, and a comfortable spot to settle in for a quarter, a game, or the better part of the day. Game day Saturdays get $5 craft drafts, $2 off wine slushies, perhaps some mimosas, and game day bites from the kitchen. Stock up in our markets before kickoff with plenty of snacks, dips, cheeses, something sweet, and all the good stuff for your game day spread.

Football season looks pretty good from the carriage on East Mobile Street in historic downtown Florence. At First Metro Bank, we're more than just a place to keep your money. We're a proud part of this community, committed to helping you achieve your dreams. Whether you need a mortgage, a car loan, or just some sound advice, we're here to offer a friendly face and a helping hand. Come see us at First Metro Bank, where your neighbors are your bankers. First Metro Bank, member FDIC. We all have those house projects we've been avoiding, and cleaning out gutters is usually last on the list.

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Tickets are $100 and reserved tables are $1,000 with eight tickets included. For more information, call Coach Brian Pounders at 205-246-0644. That's Dinner in the Dome at Dishler High School on Saturday, October 17th. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, the score. The Atlanta Falcons couldn't get things going yesterday. The Falcons lost at home to the Panthers 34-3. Falcons are 0-2. Saints went on the road, got a big win in Baltimore. They beat the Ravens 24-17. Saints are now 1-1 on the season. Atlanta Braves yesterday. Winners in Houston.

They beat the Astros 4-2. The Braves are now 92-64. The Braves have clinched the division title. Braves are back home tomorrow to start a series with Cincinnati. On the NASCAR Cup Series Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Joey Logano was the winner, while Kyle Larson was second, and Carson Josevar was third. Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top five. Tonight, catch Monday Night Football as the Rams host the Giants, joined in progress after UNA Football Night. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash, presented by Progressive on 93-9, the score.

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The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back, Ken. I guess Max is still picking up garbage from the Grove. He'll join us as soon as he gets it all in his hefty BB. In the meantime, your thoughts about Alabama and Auburn over the weekend. Where do you start in breaking down the Monday after good, bad, and ugly show from the respective camps? Well, Harold, as far as Auburn is concerned, Florida just came out and hit them in the mouth, and they did respond later.

Harold, again, we were nearly making light of, and I've heard this for a week, of course, all summer, too, about, well, did we hire the right coach with Alice Gullich? I think Alice Gullich is a good coach. But, again, they've still got to work out. Their offensive line has got issues. There's no question. We're going to talk with our good friend Charlie Trotman about this at 1 o'clock. But, quite frankly, I think Florida won the game more than Auburn lost the game. They won the line of scrimmage.

Jayden Ball is the best running back right now in the SEC. The Florida defense was very aggressive. They've got playmakers. Philo is really good. Adam Spencer had a good point. Philo, I mean, Buster Faulkner coming over, the offensive coordinator, has made a tremendous difference. Believe me, I heard from quite a few Florida fans over the weekend. They are real happy with Jon Sumrall right now. Well, he brings an edge. He and Stein at Kentucky right now, they are full of hormones. Let the love flow, if you will.

[37:40] But, if you're Auburn, to me, they've got to start doing some basic stuff. It's called tackling. So many missed tackles. If you don't clear that up, it doesn't really matter what else happens. It's still basic football. You can bring all this fancy stuff you want to the table, but it's still pretty much block, throw, catch, and all that good stuff. Play good special teams. And, I think, right now, that's a big concern. Quickly, as far as Alabama, will they get the memo? The game starts at what?

It's this weekend. Have you shared that with the coaching staff, bro? Well, they're going to have to get the memo, Harold. Again, I give credit to Florida State. They utilize their bi-week well. In fact, we talked to several of the Florida State media after the game. And they said, look, they did some things in this game I haven't seen Florida State do in two years, which was an interesting comment. And, again, they got out. They hit Alabama in the mouth. They didn't respond. But, once this team responds, they're one of the better teams in the country.

The offensive line got better. But, really, to me, Harold, Helen Russell's progression. Now, again, he was a little bit hesitant. Once he starts what I call letting it rip, you can see the potential. The other thing, Alabama ran for 247 yards. And they just took over. The offensive line, the four-yard touchdown, we're going to talk to William Redfish Barger at 135. I guarantee you one of his favorite plays. When Alabama got on the four-yard line, they ran student body right. They had three tight ends in front of Crowell.

And he walked into the end zone. Now, the defense, the secondary's got some issues, communication issues. They have got that worked out. Harold, I give Ashton Daniels credit. Now, Alabama started getting after him as the game progressed. But when he had a clean pocket, he hurt Alabama pretty bad in the secondary. And, of course, that's against Florida State. The question is, you start getting into the judges and others, what would be the case there? But, quickly, you mentioned Crowell. He came up hobbling a little bit there on his latest run.

Have you heard anything on the Monday after as far as his situation? Yeah, I was looking at Kalen DeBoer's press conference. He said by the weekend, by this Saturday, he should be good. He said Daniel Hill is fine. He also said, look for Noah Rogers. Look for Noah Rogers and AK Beer to possibly play some against South Carolina. Well, and that's the thing about it. I think a lot of fans, obviously, they read all this hype about this kid's a five-star and he can't miss. But I don't care how good the grapes are.

It takes time for it turning to good wine. And he's learning as he goes. His pre-snap decisions, he's starting to read defenses better. So, you've got to take them baby steps. I don't care if you win a gold medal in the Olympics, you start out crawling, right? Then you start running and then you start polishing. And I think that's where Russell is in his progression. I see a lot of potential there. The running game, a lot of folks saying, is this a credit of the coaching staff?

Or could it be that maybe this room of running backs is just flat out better? And to me, it's easy to sit here and offer criticism. That's the nature of fans. Remember, fan is short for fanatics. So, everybody is smart and coaches are dumb across the board. That's the fans at NC State right now. But when you look at maybe the silent plus year, it's Mr. Clem coaching that offensive line. Maybe that has something to do with it as well. I don't think there's any question about that.

Now, Mal Walter did not play in the game. Will Sanders, I thought, played really well in the game. The tight ends, the tight end blocking, we'll talk to Redfish a little bit later. But they've been phenomenal, Harold, as far as Lindsey and Josh Ford and company. They have been and also incorporated the tight ends more in the passing game. Now, again, Ryan Williams did his thing. I'm telling you, I'll tell you one thing, though, Harold. Lonnie Brooks is one of the best receivers in the SEC.

Yeah, and I think the coaches did a good thing there. Because last year, Ryan was never happy being in that slot. He wanted to move outside. And since they moved Brooks, to me, that's a good coaching move. Don't be sitting here full of ego and all that stuff. Just listen a little bit. But, B, B, all summer long, people have been sitting here and pumping up this secondary. It was the best in the country, perhaps. That was in July and August. And now that the ball is rolling, your overall critique of maybe not living up to those expectations.

And let's face it, Womack, during the first two games, relative to the competition, could get away with rolling the dice, doing more blitzing, playing man-to-man. Do you see maybe going forward, after Saturday's performance, maybe less blitzing, pick your poison, and maybe mixing more zone in with the man-to-man coverage in the secondary? Harold, I think they're going to have to do that. Again, I'm the one who beefed up the secondary, promoted them during the summer, and they just haven't lived up to it. Now, again, they're going to force turnovers.

[42:54] Another three, they got three sacks. That's certainly going in the right direction. But there's no question about it. The communication in the secondary is going to have to improve because, as you alluded to, they got a lot of real good quarterbacks coming up on the schedule. Well, and let's face it, Sellers is not a bad quarterback, and we know what happens after that. I mean, if you think about it, Alabama played at home this past weekend. They play at home this coming weekend. And then they take probably the shortest drive in the SEC down 82 to the state.

Plenty of time to talk about that. But, B.B., first of all, the big concerning thing right now is I've always said when you look at a final score, let's just say you were out all weekend doing this or that, and you came home and you saw the score, and Alabama wins by two touchdowns, and you say, I can't believe Alabama fans are upset. We'll get into the reasons why. Sometimes it's not the final score, it's how you get to it. In other words, if Alabama jumped out to a 50-0 lead and then lit up a little bit and they got to 36, it would be one thing.

But the fact that they're starting so cotton-picking late, quickly, Max, I know, is ready, but quickly, your thoughts about that? Harold, I think there were really two plays that upset Alabama fans more. Florida State had third and 14. They were about to turn the ball over and Alabama was going to take over, and they let Florida State loose on a 60-yard pass and run. And then that touchdown to get within seven midway through the fourth quarter. And then that they were literally walking in the end zone for the two-point conversion.

Those are the two that you've got to keep from happening. And I'm guessing Max Howell's got an opinion about that. Absolutely. He's the pioneer in the cause of sports talk of the entire southeastern part of the USA. Max Howell, also a former assistant at Florida State and Ole Miss. What a coincidence. Max, welcome in. Is it true that the Guinness Book of World Records added a page this weekend? I saw a report where there was the most birds through a middle finger for a top tiger in the history of mankind.

Can you concur that? I can. I wasn't there. That was by design. I've been in a lot of crowds before, but that's one I didn't want to do it. I'll be honest with you. And let's talk about that Alabama situation. What bothers me, guys, is they're bringing it together, but they're going to run into somebody and they're going to get too far behind for me. Thank you. I'm telling you. And that's the concern I think everybody's got with them. I don't think there's any doubt about the talent level.

Maybe I question sometimes a little bit of the coaching thing, but that's not my job. But the bottom line is they've won the ball game. They came from behind. But I will say this. When I was at Florida State, we'd have had a lead that played like that at the first, and Alabama played like that. We'd have won about four then. I will tell you. Well, Matt, what is it? I mean, this is not the first time this has happened. If you go back, this is kind of the boring.

If you go back to his days at Washington, and even before that, he won a lot of ball games, but a lot of one-score games. What goes on during the week? I mean, I'm assuming he's got the same schedule as us this weekend at 6. Why not get ready going into the game, and that puts so much pressure on you as far as, like you said, you go back to Indiana last year. Indiana got out, and they just threw more gasoline on the fire. As a coach, what is it during the week that keeps this on a consistent level?

The deal is you start on Sunday afternoon. You can't wait until Thursday or Friday to try to put in the rest of your game plan. I mean, to me, I hate to be critical about it, but having been there for as many years as I did, I saw all this stuff in action. And the fact is, if you don't start, you get that with over on Saturday, you take a little time, Sunday, you look at the tape, and that's gold. You start with the team. With the team, the coaches better be starting on Saturday morning, Saturday morning, rather.

But it's a delay. I don't know. It's almost like delayed gratification with him. There's nothing to say between urging about what he's trying to do. I know that must fit his personality, but you guys have been around a long time. That doesn't fit the fans' personality at all. Max, I saw a way too early Hasbro Trophy ballot this morning. And the top two players on this guy's Hasbro Trophy ballot, Trinidad Chambliss, who I think will eventually win it, and Camario Taylor. Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the top two players in the nation, Max, they had impressive wins.

They did. I don't think it was any doubt. The only thing Mississippi State's got to worry about, you know, they had two wins two years ago, four wins last year. I knew they had to do six about this year to keep his job. But I'm going to tell you, keeping his job is going to be keeping his quarterback. That guy is, I mean, he's for real. And I guarantee there's some folks who lose in, I'll count the booty right now to see how they can get it to LSU.

[48:08] I promise you that. And Teos. And that in Texas. Max, Al, hooking it with us. Max, obviously, the game that was overshadowed, you almost felt sorry for Auburn and Florida because they had, just face it, I mean, it's big in this neck of the woods, but across the country, we know the headliner. It was Tom Cruise there in Oxford. What is your critique coming out of the game of the Plains? Oh, here we go again. They already did through seven seasons. They're not having a winter season.

It looks like they headed down that path again. I don't know what's going on over there. I know that historically, when programs that operate that have been at the top for many years, in fault of history, there's some kind of other influence going on behind the scene that we don't know about. I don't know where it is. I'm not about to call names or anything like that, but I can guarantee you that's what's happening in Auburn. And that goes for the selection of players, that goes for the selection of coaches, that goes for the whole composite that makes up a football program at a university, particularly if they've had great success before.

You don't just fall off a cliff, you know, and go to where this program is. And here's what's ironic about it. How many losing seasons are they going to have before that 95,000 quips coming to the ball game? That's what is not pushing the right button right now. You let 50,000 show up on Good Saturday, or you look like they did in Arkansas this past weekend with bags over their heads. I guarantee you, somebody's going to lose a job right off the bat. But I don't, you know, I don't know how they can continue to do that way.

When you fathers going to be better, I mean, I don't think anybody doubted that. If you watch it, John Summerall, if you look at his track record, they're going to be better. Erotically enough, they're favored over Ole Miss this weekend. You see that? That's right. Yeah. So, you know, I know the game's changing right before I talked about that before. And, you know, the teams that have been there before, I think they have to work twice as hard to stay there. I really do. Particularly the conference with bad ball games.

And I don't think that, you know, I don't think there was any. Now, for instance, it would be good at the conference games because it actually increases the cash flow for the individual schools during the season. But it certainly weakens your chance to get to the playoffs. And I don't know whether that was even considered at that particular time or not. Max, you've had an incredible coaching career, and you've seen a lot of things. Have you ever seen anything like the last play of the North Carolina State-Vandy game to where C.J. Bailey, the North Carolina State quarterback, is trying to run out the clock.

Oh, he forgot the ball. Vandy recovers and wins the game. Max, how can you explain that? I don't think you can. But, you know, you go back and look at things that have been at NC State with the leadership that they're supposed to have. I mean, we can afford to some other things. It's just that bad. I mean, of course, that was on national TV. That was another thing I think that really, you know, really emphasized that. But the fact, I don't know. What do they do all week?

They don't work on drills like that all week. You've got to have the ball. I mean, after all, that's what it's all about. I don't know. I'm completely, completely lost at how that happened. And I'm sure when they looked at the tape, North Carolina, when they tried to break it down to find out what was going on, I don't know. I don't know where you have it. Just the bird, the enthusiasm just got to you. I don't know what could happen to you. But it sure put a wrinkle in their program.

Let's put it that way. Max, we always enjoy the conversation. By the way, Will Stein said during the summer, Kentucky's going to win because of me. Well, they did in College Station. They just whipped Texas A&M 31-21. Listen, we always enjoy beginning the week with you to break down the games. I know you're busy on the road. We can't tell you how much we enjoy it. Let's do this again next Monday. I'd do it, and I'm sure I was a little late today, but I promise you that won't happen again.

Okay? That's what Lane says. You're left off. Yeah. That's what he said. You're right. The difference is he's got nearly $1 million by the year. Exactly. Max H*** hooking up with us. And then what's the final question, BB? What will $102 million get you for LSU and old-fashioned buck whipping in North Mississippi over the weekend? Coming up, it's the Redfish and more straight ahead. Stay with us. Built upon a solid foundation of cast iron and steel, the Kubota L01 Series is part of the number one selling compact tractor lineup in the U.S.

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The Board's executive officer told 1819 News that some of the systems and services have been restored to online activity, but a full restoration will take additional time. The source of that cyber attack has yet to be disclosed by either the nursing board or forensic investigators. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Brian Dawson here, CEO of 1819 News. I'm also the host of 1819 News, the podcast, and we'd love for you to join us by listening to our weekly show on all the top podcast apps, both in audio and video format.

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It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the tie. 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 the free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And who better to know about the Auburn Tigers than the man who has been there and done that as a Tiger quarterback. Charlie Trotman in the huddle with us.

Also busy as radio analyst for Auburn football. Radio co-host with Doug Amos. And I would imagine a fellow with an opinion or two after the latest game of the plains. Charlie Trotman, welcome in. How are you? Doing good, Harold. Doing good, Brett. I appreciate you guys having me. Man, we appreciate you because, Charlie, on the Monday compared to where this fan base was on a Friday, I would imagine there's a lot of head-scratching because you just assume this is obviously one of those games. You've changed the coaches.

It's a new mindset. This is a team like Auburn. Florida's trying to come and get back to the glory days. Now that we've seen the two teams in action, Charlie, where do you start in breaking down the Auburn game with Florida over the weekend? Well, Harold, I think, number one, we couldn't get off the field on defense. Auburn, you know, started the game off very poorly on offense by throwing the interception and getting down 7-0. But as far as trying to stop Florida's offense, they were 7 out of 15 on third downs, and they were 3 out of 3 on fourth downs.

Wow. And one of their fourth downs, a fourth and one, went 53 yards for a touchdown. So, you know, it was a situation where our defense, we would hold them for a couple of plays. It would be third down, and we just could not keep Florida from converting and keeping the offensive drive going. And they were very effective. Philo, the quarterback, threw the ball extremely well. His receivers seemed to get open. You know, our defensive line had a hard time trying to contain what's probably the best running back in the nation in ball.

[1:03:29] Yeah, and then, you know, offensively, I felt good about Auburn coming back in the first half and tying the ball game at 17, and we were down by a field goal at halftime. But, you know, the second half was really more of Florida's offensive juggernaut because we just couldn't stop them. I mean, they're very well coached. I think, you know, John does a really nice job with his team. He's an outstanding coach. He was at Troy, he was at Tulane, and he's going to be at Florida.

So, you know, I'm not completely discouraged because I like the way we fought until the end of the game. I like the way we didn't give up on offense or defense. We kept, you know, going out there and doing what we could. We just were outmanned. I mean, I saw a couple of times our left tackle and our left, excuse me, our right guard were just completely overwhelmed and panicked backwards, you know, by their defensive line. And on both occasions, Brown got sad. So, you know, it was a game where if Auburn had started out a little differently and maybe we go and score on that first drive, then the game may be a little different.

But we gave, you know, Florida's away from home. We encouraged them right off the bat by throwing the interception. We didn't stop them and make them kick a field goal and, you know, keep ourselves in the game. We gave them the touchdown. And it just seemed to snowball from there, really, honestly. I didn't think Byron Brown had a bad game. He ran the ball pretty effectively and he threw the ball pretty effectively. He had three touchdown passes. Now, one of them came on the jump ball at the end, but still he threw, you know, for 250-some-odd yards and three scores.

So, it wasn't a terrible game that he had, but we didn't run the ball very well either, guys. You know, offensive line just couldn't create a lot of movement on that Florida front. Charlie, obviously, this is going to be one of those games. Regardless of the outcome, fans are going to say, we had a chance to get some raw. In this case, it's like, wow. And if it lost, Florida fans say, why didn't you take Jon Sumrall? Because that was going to be inevitable. But critiquing it, and let's face it, you've been there.

This is one of the toughest environments to win any time, especially a night game when both teams are here. And not only that, you look at Auburn's schedule. Is it safe to say this is one of those games that, boy, it's going to be tough to get it back, given the schedule to get back to that seven- or eight-game win total at the end of the year? Well, it appears that way. I think it's going to depend on how the guys react to this loss. Because, you know, a Vanderbilt team coming in, you know, Vanderbilt had this huge win, a very emotional win at the end of their game.

And, you know, Auburn, you know, has lost, you know, to Vanderbilt a couple years in a row. And so, you know, that's a game that Auburn should win. Now, if Auburn doesn't win that game, then you're talking about a tough year and probably, you know, not going to a bowl game. But if Auburn can get back on the horse, you know, when you get knocked down, you've got to get back up. So, I think it's going to depend on the leadership in the locker room. I know Coach Golesh feels good about that.

He likes his leaders. He thinks that he's got some guys in there that are dogs and are going to play to the end of the game no matter what. And so, you know, with the guys coming up like Georgia and Tennessee, you know, and LSU and Ole Miss, I mean, it's tough. I mean, it's a tough road to hoe. So, and Auburn's going to have to be at their best to win, you know, a couple of those games, if any. So, yeah, it was disappointing. It kind of makes you, you know, scratch your head a little bit.

But I will tell you this. I think this team has the people in the locker room that are going to keep it together. And they're not going to, you know, be bickering among themselves and pointing fingers and that kind of thing. I think they'll keep it together. And I think Coach Golesh will be good at that. Charlie, I mentioned this earlier, and it's very easy to second-guess coaches, and particularly after a loss like this. I thought Florida won the game more than Auburn lost it. Running the ball, the running backs had a total of 12 carries.

[1:08:47] I would think Jeremiah Cole would have 15 carries in the game. I know they got behind. Did they go away from the run a little bit too soon? And do you anticipate more changes on the offensive line? Well, Brett, that's a great question. Number one, I think that Auburn would have stayed with the running game had it been a 10-point or less game. When they got down by 17, they almost had it just from a clock standpoint. They almost had to go away from the running game. They had to try to get big chunk yards and put some points on the board pretty quickly.

So I think from that standpoint, Florida just took them out of the running game. And then the other thing I think is that when you've got offensive linemen that are being beaten pretty badly, you've got to look for an alternative. So I think we will probably see some new faces in the offensive line, at least some different combinations. Now, the guys that I was talking about getting pancaked, they didn't do that the whole game. They just did it on a play or two. But still, it looked pretty bad and caused a sack.

And, you know, that's something that, you know, is a drive killer. So, you know, if you're going to let your quarterback get pressured and sacked as many times as Auburn has this year in three games, you know, it's a concern. Former Auburn quarterback Charlie Trotman. Something else I think that's concerning for a lot of Auburn fans, and this comes back to football 101, missed tackles. I assume you agree with the masses out there in Auburn Nation. There are just too many missed tackles so far. Well, there have been.

And, you know, I tell you what, this ball kid, we had three or four opportunities to tackle him for a full five-yard loss. We only made one tackle on him for a loss, and I remember he just either stiff-armed or just ran away from or dodged or did whatever he had to do to get away from the people that were the cornerbacks, especially that in linebackers that had him in the backfield. And this guy's a tremendous running back. I don't know that anybody else that I've seen could do that time and time again.

So, he made Auburn look bad. And that's not – Auburn won't be the first team that he makes look bad. He's a tremendous running back. There were – I saw a list of 40 running backs in the country, the top 40, and he was number one. So, you know, he's a pretty strong runner. Charlie, this D.J. Durkin defense is really good. In fact, a lot of people don't know this. When Nick Saban retired, he advised Greg Byrne for a defensive coordinator was D.J. Durkin to go hire him.

And, of course, obviously it didn't work out. Pro football focus said Auburn missed 24 tackles, the most since 2013. Florida had nine explosive plays of 20 yards or more. Yeah, it was – I mean, it was devastating. Florida's offense and their chunk yards were devastating. I mean, even the double pass that they ran, you know, was a dagger. I mean, when you get a team and they're on their own 47-yard line is fourth and one and you're stacked on the line of scrimmage and you know they're going to run the football, you know Bob's going to run the football, and they run it for 53 yards and a touchdown, you know, it breaks you emotionally.

You know, I mean, not only were the fans, I'm sure, you know, so disappointed, but that was a turning point in the game, and had they not scored there, it would have been a better game in the fourth quarter. But I tell you guys, you've got to give Sumrall a lot of credit. Absolutely. That Florida team last year would not have done what they did this year. I mean, this is a well-coached, a fine football team. He's got a lot of talent. Now, you know, he's not playing with guys that you brought in from South Florida.

He's playing with, you know, some really outstanding talent. So, you know, Auburn's got to pick themselves up, and they can do it. I feel confident that they can, you know, be in games. Not everybody is going to be as explosive as Florida is offensively. And you've got to remember, one of their wide receivers, Singleton, who played at Auburn last year, was an excellent wide receiver. He didn't play. So, you know, they're still not at full strength when they played Auburn Saturday night. Boy, I'll tell you one thing, that Ole Miss-Florida game is going to be a Jim Dandy come Saturday.

[1:14:11] Incredible schedule for the SEC. On Saturday, I knew that's what you'd do, is you'd give credit to Sumrall, because he's got that Florida program turned around. We'll see where they go. Charlie, Auburn will get better. I think we all know that. I still think they're going in the right direction. Always enjoy talking with you. It's one of the highlights of the week. Charlie, enjoy the conversation. Have a great week. Let's do this again, hopefully, next Monday, if you can. Okay, guys, let me say one last thing.

Sure. I want to credit Alex Golesh, because just because Jon Sumrall beat Auburn and embarrassed Auburn from a defensive standpoint, I like what Alex Golesh is doing. I think he's doing the right thing at Auburn, and I'm behind him, and, you know, we'll get better. It's easy to be there when they win. It's tough to be there when they lose and still be optimistic. Good job of you, Charlie. Thanks so much, and have a great week, okay? Okay, thanks, guys. Thank you, bud. Former Auburn quarterback, Charlie Trotman, coming up.

It's UT versus UT Week. The V-Man with the tails next. Stay with us. All right, grab some buds and listen up. Grilling season's here. Now we find out what we're made of. Are we going to fold under pressure and overcook the burgers? Or are we going to nail the carne asada and the brisket and pack the coolers with ice-cold Budweiser and Bud Light? Because that's the difference between winning and losing, between flipping burgers and grilling like a pro. This summer, grill like a pro with Bud and Bud Light.

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[1:19:39] Benefiting the Howard Gamble Scholarship for the Red Elephant Club. Monday, September 28th at 2807 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals. There'll be a meet and greet at 530. Dinner at 630 with speaker and Q&A session to follow. Space is limited. Get your tickets early. $25 for coaches and student tickets. $30 for adult tickets. For tickets or more information, call Robert Newton at 256-366-9616. What's happening this week in college football? The Lindy's Football Report has the answers. 30 minutes of college football discussion on the biggest matchups of the week. Concise, engaging, accurate.

With opinions thrown in from some of the most knowledgeable reporters in the business. The Lindy's Football Report. Check it out. The score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Quickly, time's released for not this weekend. It's Monday, so the SEC comes out and talks about the starting times for a week from Saturday. In the case of Alabama, BB, I believe they're getting a break. Anytime you go to start for Pat Dye said this is one of the most underrated home field disadvantages for a visiting team in the SEC.

That is an 11.45 kick. I know that's not exactly your prime time, but if you're Alabama, you don't want to play under the lights there with those cowbells ringing. Yeah, it's okay. On the road, Harold and Bryant-Denny Stadium is where I have a problem with 11 a.m. kickoff. Yeah. Also, Auburn's game that weekend will be at a place called Tennessee. It is a 2.30 kickoff. So, there you have it. A week from Saturday. The V-Man, speaking of Tennessee, is busy there, driving you to work mornings up on 99.1, the Sports Animal and the Ball Radio Network.

V-Man, welcome in. We know about a week from Saturday, does Tennessee have a game this weekend that we can talk about? It's a little underrated and not really being discussed much. There's no star power at quarterback. There's no hype or money behind the program at playing. So, yeah, nothing much. Is Peyton going to come and who's he going to root for, Vince? Well, he said that in the summer at the Manning Passing Academy. His young reporter said, So, Peyton, who are you rooting for when Arch Manning in Texas goes to Knoxville to play your alma mater in Tennessee?

And he said, Well, it's pretty easy. I'm going to side with family. I think some people were taken aback by that. I don't know why you would declare that. I think you could play both sides. And that's how I would anticipate him. Yeah, good luck having him wear a Longhorns Arch Manning jersey into Neyland Stadium. I don't know what he did. He may feel that Lane Kiffin on his homecoming if he does that. But your thoughts about this team today, because let's be honest about it.

Tennessee has a lot of pluses. But what's the old saying? It's all relative to the competition. I look at Georgia, and I don't care what they're playing. Those guys are hitting on all eight cylinders. They're playing the Cowboys right now. But your thoughts about Tennessee as objectively as you can to date. Yeah, I think they've done good things. They're not without questions, which is the case for a lot of people. Texas is clearly more battle-tested because of the Ohio State game. But that also is different because it was at home.

We also haven't been on the road. So it's a big jump in competition for Tennessee, there's no doubt. But there will be some unknowns on Texas' side also. I think Texas is good. I actually don't think they're as good as Georgia. And Georgia has been tested, hasn't been tested like Texas. So you kind of have to look at some of those things as, you know, with a grain of salt. And project, all right, this team's abilities will translate. I don't think Tennessee is like Georgia to where they look unstoppable.

They have some questions. You know, probably the biggest thing that we take calls on and text on, and a lot of us that watch them have the biggest question mark. There's something that seemingly, on paper, they've done really well, and that's the offensive line. You know, when you rush for 299 and 268 in consecutive weeks, you have to be opening up holes. You have to look good. And even Cole Kublaik has been pretty bullish on the Tennessee offensive line. But a lot of us that watch them are like, eh, kind of expected a little bit more.

Not that they've been, you know, terrible or, you know, a massive, massive issue going in, but not quite as stout as we thought. And I don't think they're 100% settled either on the right side of the offensive line. So, it is something that, you know, could be a problem with the front that Texas has with Colin Simmons, who might be a top-five pick. I mean, that's how good in the NFL draft, that's how good and talented he is. So, and they've got big bodies. They've got athletic bodies.

[1:24:57] They've got terrific linebackers that are really good at stopping the run. And so, Tennessee's strength has been the run game, but I think a lot of it has been the running backs creating and then also the tight ends getting better and better and run blocking even without starter Ethan Davis out for the year. So, there's plenty of unknowns about just how good this Tennessee team is. I think they have a shot, but I don't, I don't think it's, well, Texas, you know, is going to Sarkisian their way, you know, into a loss.

I don't, I think they're so talented that, and Arch is better than he was last year that I think some of that you can only go so far with. V, that was the 38th game, if I'm not mistaken, where Tennessee's ran for over 200 yards and Josh Heupel's coaching career at Tennessee. Let me ask you about the running backs. Dwayne Morris runs for 116 in the touchdown, but Deshaun Bishop has an injury in the second quarter. I know Javon Gordon and Justin Baker were not available. V, are these minor injuries to the running backs?

Well, Baker had his hand in the, in the cast. I don't know if that was a precaution or if that's a long-term thing. I mean, he's, he's fourth in the pecking order. Javon Gordon is two slash three, maybe after Morris' performance, maybe the three, but he's, he was terrific and arguably the two going into the year. I, we don't know what his setback is. I think his was a little bit more precautionary than Baker's. And then Deshaun Bishop, it looked like he did, you know, it's a hip injury and he came back in the game and he looked like he was favoring it after he came back in the game in the third quarter.

And then they, they shut him down after that. So, um, Josh Heiper was asked how he's feeling. And he said, I don't know. I hadn't talked to him today. Which, you know, of course, tells you he didn't practice. You had talked to him, you know, that that's, and that's not a, an absolute, but normally he, you know, you would talk to your starting running back if he's at practice, you know, especially coming off of what happened to him. So, but they, Tennessee is very tight lived with the injury info.

Um, I think they need, they need three, three of their backs to be healthy. And they even got good production out of a, their fifth guy was a former walk-on in Hunter Barnes from, from Memphis who hit, you know, scored his first touchdown, but he's not going to be a factor in this game. They need to meet Gordon, a healthy Bishop and Duan Morris. And then the, cause they're all just a slight little bit different, even though their size is very similar. It's 99.1, the sports animal.

It's going to be a zoo game day, bringing their show for the battle of the UT Tangle. Uh, it's going to be a wild atmosphere. Your thoughts about the week in K-Town. Yeah. And they're, they're doing checker kneeling as well, which is always a, an incredible visual. And what they're doing, they say it's by popular demand is they're actually alternating the sections in the colors that fans in those sections where they wanted to freshen it up because they've had the same section and, and color assignment, you know, since they started it.

So they're, they're flip-flopping everything. So now fans can wear something different to the games in terms of color. Uh, it always looks, looks incredible, you know, in person and on TV. So that's a big part of it. You know, it, it, it's, it's going to be really early. Like, uh, Brian Rice, who hosts the show after me with Eric Gange, he and I do, uh, one of the pregame shows called the SEC notebook. Our pregame show, the first live one of the day starts at 6 a.m. on Saturday.

That's early. So, yeah, it is, it is early. And hopefully someone's serving me breakfast somewhere. Yeah, lots of coffee. At our location. But, um, yeah, it just, you know, it's, it's going to be crazy. And, and there's obviously going to be a ton of people starting at 5 a.m. They're not going to allow fans to camp out like you do for game day at some sites because it's really quick. And they're going to be already strained with security personnel and everything that the one be around game day and then to get inside for, uh, you know, for the actual game.

So, um, but, you know, it will, it will be a circus and, um, you know, lots of the real UT versus the other UT and, you know, uh, the real or orange versus brown, like John Wilkerson, my partner, just call them straight brown. So all that kind of stuff is, is well underway from the fans. Absolutely. A lot of the fans wish this was a six o'clock night game, V-Man. And the bartender. Uh, yeah, yeah. You bet you got that right. Listen, uh, have a great week.

[1:30:10] Should be fun. Once again, the SEC is going to be incredible at the slate of games on Saturday, but where can we get online and get your post-game stuff after Kennesaw State and everything else? Yeah, I appreciate that. And wouldn't you know it, Stephen A. Smith causing problems because he apparently said on some platform, oh yeah, they'll change the kickoff time for Tennessee, Texas. So everyone's like asking us, hey, are they going to change the kickoff time? Is he, is he just full of it? Uh, he's wrong.

They're not changing those kickoff times. Um, so it's called, that is all causing confusion, but anyway, for the real kickoff time in coverage of Tennessee, Texas, the one team coming to town, you can follow me on all the socials. It's at Vince Sports, B-I-N-T-E Sports. I'm disappointed, V-Man. We know you got a lot of muscle. Pull that, use your pull up there. Okay, V-Man, you got to Saturday. All right? Yeah, I guess Stephen A. Smith has more, uh, more something. Yeah, it's pull, but it ain't, it ain't pull.

Hey, listen, V-Man, have a great week and have fun this weekend. All right? You boys are the best. Thank you, buddy. V-Man, 99.1, the sports animal in Knoxville. So what do former Alabama players say through three games for the team in Tuscaloosa? The Redfish next. Stay with us. Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance. Whether you are looking for a Medicare health plan or you are under 65 and exploring individual health care options, Alabama Health Guidance can help you find the plan that fits your needs.

Our local agents make it simple, so stop by our office at 885 Florence Boulevard or give us a call at 256-648-5710. Again, that's 256-648-5710. It's summertime in the shoals, which means sunshine, hot weather, and a lot more bugs. Ants, mosquitoes, termites, they love this time of year just as much as we do. That's why so many homeowners and businesses trust Southern Pride Pest Control, locally owned and operated right here in Muscle Shoals. With years of experience, honest service, and a commitment to doing the job right, our team doesn't walk away until you're completely satisfied.

Let us help you take back your home this summer. Call Southern Pride Pest Control today to schedule an appointment. When you have pests, we have solutions. Get comfortable. Football season is back at the carriage. There are a few things we love more than a good Saturday in the South, and football season is officially back at the carriage. All season long, we'll have the games rolling with plenty of cold drinks, good food, and a comfortable spot to settle in for a quarter, a game, or the better part of the day.

Game day Saturdays get $5 craft drafts, $2 off wine slushies, drafts of mimosas, and game day bites from the kitchen. Stock up in our markets before kickoff with plenty of snacks, dips, cheeses, something sweet, and all the good stuff for your game day spread. Football season looks pretty good from the carriage on East Mobile Street in historic downtown Florence. Hello, I'm Eddie Buckley, president of Certified Alarm. No matter where travels take you, Certified Alarm will help you be worry-free. Our security systems have all the latest technological features.

Certified Alarm has North Alabama's only UL-listed central station. Our halo alarm transmitters give the fastest and most secure monitoring available. Certified Alarm, since 1960, keeping the show secure and in touch. Call 256-383-1225 or online at certified-alarm.com. Harold Bugg inviting you to join Brett Beaird and me for the latest on high school action throughout the entire Shoals area. Noon to two weekdays, the Boomo Bugg show here on 93.9 The Score. There's nothing worse than waking up sick. In this time of year, with the kids back in school surrounded by hundreds of others, yours may bring home a whole new world of viruses and bacteria your family may have no immunity to.

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[1:35:16] Call 256-760-1581 for more information or to register. That's the Women Life and Feeding America Fight Hunger charity golf tournament from Blackberry Trail Golf Course, Monday, October 12th. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, the score. Alabama fell behind early on Saturday, but the Crimson Tide rallied. They dominated after quarter number one as Alabama defeated Florida State 50-36. Alabama is now 3-0 on the season. Auburn Tigers opened up conference play Saturday night. They were outscored at home by Florida, 44-39. Auburn is now 2-1 on the season, 0-1 in SEC play.

North Alabama was the winner at home on Saturday. They beat Elkhorn State in the new stadium, 38-20. North Alabama is now 2-2. South Alabama outscored Ohio 41-36. South Alabama is now 2-1. Troy dropped to 2-1 on the season. They fell on the road at Missouri, 27-17. Tonight, catch Monday Night Football as the Rams host the Giants joined in progress after UNA Football Night. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash presented by Progressive on 93-9, the score. North VPN now comes with a next-gen antivirus. North VPN will warn you about malicious websites and remove infected files as you download them.

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Roll Tide. The score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg. On 93.9, the score. Welcome back in. So, if you're a former Alabama football player, what are you saying about the first three games for this edition of Crimson Tide Football? Nobody knows how to answer that question better than the redfish. William Barger, looking up with us. Former U of AOL offensive lineman, now co-host of BAMS Radio. William, welcome in. Was it the James Spann Bowl game this weekend? How are you? I don't even know how to relate. If there was such a thing as a weather delay or a lightning delay in the early 90s, I never experienced it.

Yep. Well, lightning only strikes now. It didn't back then. You didn't get that memo, did you? I thought the same thing Saturday. I don't think this thing they knew, but… Well, you know, that's back when I was walking barefoot from the Capstone Hill down the street to Brighton. Yeah, in a snowstorm in Arizona, right? So, William, obviously, the first three games. Your thoughts, I got a feeling I know where you start, which is, does this coaching staff know when the game starts? Where do you start breaking it down?

Well, you know, it's, you know, I guess it's a different era and it's kind of hard for me to relate because, you know, when I played, you were kind of shielded because there was no internet, there was no digital media, social media. You know, we didn't really know nor care what the fans were saying. Right. But, you know, a year and a half, two years ago, Alabama fans were p***** off because Alabama would come out of the d*** gate with their hair on fire, score 30 points in the first half, and then go to sleep for the third and half the fourth quarter and, you know, have to hold a team off.

You know, now they come out and they're a little slow to get started. I mean, nobody takes into consideration there's four new starters on the offensive line, a quarterback that just got his third start, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Look, I don't give a d*** how they start. It's how you finish the fourth quarter. Exactly right. And this is two weeks in a row where I've seen the front seven on Kentucky and FSU waving the white flag saying, please don't make my a** quit anymore. But that's, look, people ask for improvement, ask for the run game to get better.

[1:40:20] Yep. That's happened. Be happy with it and hope the progression continues. Here's the deal, Red. The fans, they got something to fuss about. Come on, man. You know that. They got to have something to chew on. But your thoughts about that kidding aside, here's the argument. Is the coaching staff better with the running game or is the fact the room is just better, got more talent? And how much is credited to that new OL head coach at that position? Well, I'll answer them in the way that you asked them.

You know, a wise old man 30 years ago said it's not about the X's and O's. It's about the Jimmys and the Joes. Yep. And they have better Jimmys and Joes right now than they did last year. And, you know, better offensive linemen, certainly ones that are, you know, athletic enough to execute the scheme that they want them to. And, you know, running backs, at least three, maybe we might see the fourth team this weekend for the first time, you know, that can make a player, make a defender miss, you know, can pick up extra yards, you know, one in particular that will run your a** over on the three-yard line and carry you into the end zone with them.

So, you know, there is obvious progress that's been made. You know, I'm encouraged by the way Alabama, when they get intentional, I wish they'd get a little bit, you know, intentional more often. But, you know, a lot of this stuff that this offense does is by creating a threat of a passing game in the middle of the deep last half of the field. You know, it backs people out of the box. They can't crowd the line of scrimmage, and it makes that run game go easier.

But, you know, I think that between, you know, the new offensive line coach, Adrian Clem, the new tight end coach, Richard Owens, and Ryan Grubb and Kalen DeBoer, that they've really, you know, come up with a scheme. And as Keelan Russell continues to get more comfortable, personally, I'll take what I saw Saturday, every Saturday until he goes to the NFL. You know, you know, it's just going to get better. And, you know, you add, you know, two front-line players back into the mix. If it's not this weekend, it'll be before the Georgia game and A.K. Deer and Noah Rogers.

You know, they've still got plenty of layers of this offense that they can sprinkle in. They're starting to get the tight end involved more in the passing game. Both Pritchett and Edwards had catches on Saturday. So, I like what I'm seeing. I like the direction it's going in. You know, would it make me any happier if, you know, they scored 14 points in the first quarter instead of scoring 27 in the second half? Probably not. When I saw a clip of this play yesterday, I actually thought of you.

Crowell's four-yard run for a touchdown. Student body, tall sweep to the right with three tight ends in front of him, demolishing the Florida State front seven. Was that one of your favorite plays of the game? You know, actually, formation aside, probably the best, my favorite part of the play was Alabama's center, Racine Delgatti. It had kind of overrun the linebacker a little bit and, you know, was athletic enough to be able to slow down and get enough of him to prevent him from, you know, being able to make the tackle.

So, there was a lot of good things going on. You know, but, yeah, I've gotten tickled at Josh Ford and some of the double bicep flexes he's done to some of the people that he's made, you know, eat a dirt sandwich, and you can see him out there giving them the business verbally. So, you know, these kids are starting to feel themselves a little bit. They're gaining confidence. Obviously, they believe in the plan, and, you know, it's a good thing to see versus, you know, I saw a stat, you know, I think it was yesterday, that Alabama has already rushed for the second most rushing yard total through three games in school history.

The second most in school history. So, you know, man, if that's not an improvement, I don't know if they'll ever be pleased. Yeah. Amen and pass the bucket. To me, the other thing, sometimes it's one of those things, what's the old saying back in the day when Hank Aaron was playing, the good ones make it look easy. Some of those throws that Russell was making Saturday, you can't teach that. He was dropping dimes, and that's something that you've got to believe is only going to get better once the timing gets down better between these receivers.

But that's just raw talent. Oh, yeah. And like I said, I mean, you wake up this morning and you see that he's a long shot, you know, you know, after three games, he's already a long shot candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Wow. So, you know, it didn't take long for Vegas to take notice. You know, I doubt it happens this year, but I guarantee you he'll be one of the top three candidates heading into 2027. And, you know, then he can have the Jalen Waddell clone, the five-star true freshman, Osani Gales, to go into the next year as well.

[1:45:58] So, you know, and the other thing that I, I mean, I actually had to basically get into a verbal altercation via text, you know, with some of my ex-teammates, you know, Saturday. And I was like, guys, we all participated in an off-season program that was called the fourth quarter. And historically, that two weeks of 5 a.m. torture was dumped on Alabama players' heads to ingrain in them how important it is to win the fourth quarter. And in the process, possibly make the other team quit. It wasn't called the first quarter.

They expected you to make them quit in the first quarter. It's called the fourth quarter program. Obviously, a lot to clean up, including the secondary. I think the offensive line has exceeded expectations. It's safe to say Saturday's game, many folks say, what about this secondary? Was that a one-off? Redfish, you see, this team, I know that in the off-season, they thought about maybe going to more demand in man. And will they mix it up a little more, a zone with man-to-man, or how do you assess the secondary going forward?

Well, I mean, I definitely think it's a one-off, and it was kind of a perfect storm. You know, some of the passes that were completed, the deep chunks, I mean, they didn't do a great job of affecting the quarterback in certain instances. They, in some of the big chunk running plays, those that will remain nameless, didn't do a good job of setting the edge and the loss containment. And just, you know, probably the biggest glaring change for the negative that I saw was there were just double-digit missed tackles.

And on some of those big plays, you know, double, I mean, missed tackles by multiple players. So, you know, I think it's more of just, you know, chalk it up to, you know, a bad Saturday afternoon. You know, who knows, maybe the weather played up, the weather delays paid up. But, again, I'm always, you know, not happy about having to do it, but, you know, it's the right way to be. I always give credit to the competition. And, you know, FSU did a good job with their off week.

They did. Identified some areas. Yep. And I'll be honest with you, they ended up having better players, you know, than I was expecting them to. I kind of thought they were a six-foot-eight wide receiver and a really great elite running back. And that was it. But it went a little bit deeper than that. Justin Hill, Terrence Green, Tompkins had a sack party. They had three of them. Of course, Alabama had three interceptions. And, again, as you mentioned, not setting the edge, missing tackles. But who on the defense, besides the three dudes who got a sack and a turnover, caught your eye?

Oh. A lot of them caught my eye, but for the wrong reason. Yeah, I know. Exactly. You know, it's – and that might be a little bit of, you know, blame to spread around amongst the coaching staff. You know, I don't have a problem with playing backups and developing depth, especially, you know, when a game's in hand. You know, I think they've got quality depth, you know, along that defensive line. But, you know, I think it was a little quick-triggered with the inside linebackers. Some of the stuff in the secondary was growing pains by, you know, young DBs that were inserted into the game.

I mean, I think Dijon Lee, you know, had a rough day. He did. You know, albeit it was against a 6'7 guy that, you know, had close to 1,200 yards in recessions last year. So, you know, you learn from it. You pack it away and you move on to the next week. But, you know, that guy's going to probably be a late first-round draft pick in the way he's going. So, you know, they've got to, you know, put those struggles behind them. And, you know, they've got an opportunity, you know, Saturday against South Carolina, as good as Alabama has been, their defense through three games at generating turnovers, albeit they're facing a dangerous quarterback, but he's real prone to hop off a Santa's sleigh and start slinging Christmas gifts at the other team multiple times a game.

And so, you know, I think that's kind of affecting my take on how I think this game is going to turn out. I mean, if Sellers does a good job of protecting from the football, which he typically doesn't do, you know, it might be closer to what the point spread says. If he starts, you know, handing out gifts, you know, it could be a, you know, a resounding win. Absolutely. Listen, the apology tour for Connor Talti continues. Three more field goals. The dudes made 13 consecutive ones.

[1:51:10] I think he's put that Oklahoma game in the rearview mirror. Yeah, no, and, you know, I don't even want to bring this up because it's a young kid and I don't have a problem with him being aggressive. In my interpretation of the rules, that was running into the punter instead of roughing the punter. Yeah, I agree. But, you know, that's like the only blemish you've got on the special teams department through three games. You know, the punter, it blew my mind. I didn't realize he's only punted the ball five times this year.

But, yeah, man, the special teams have just been phenomenal. I think, you know, Jay Nunez is probably up there with Adrian Clem right now for, you know, the most improved position group on the team. And so, you know, it's good to see, you know, when you've got an offense that can be explosive and put up points in a hurry in spurts and, you know, a defense that's, you know, typically, you know, giving up less than 30 points a game. You know, having a special team, you know, like that that complements both sides of the ball is a big, big thing to have.

Redfish, it's always good to hook up with you. Maybe the weather will cooperate better this weekend. Listen, man, you have yourself a great week and stay safe and as cool as you can down there, okay? Hey, man, I hate to wish my life away, but Thursday in that cold front, you can't get to show me. It's Santa, the Christmas gifts your way, I guarantee you, the Redfish, William Redfish Barger will get up with us. Maybe right now, I'll bet my favor by about a dozen. Your thoughts, the early concerns and critique of this game this weekend?

Well, again, South Carolina has given Alabama fits the last two years. They had to hold on two years ago and come back last year, but I agree with him. Lenar Sellers has been a husband, quote, candidate. He has approved it on the field. That's going to be key turnovers in this game, no question. That's Saturday tonight. Are you ready for some UNA football and good pizza here on 93.9? Always ready for both of them. And by the way, congratulations to those Atlanta Braves. They sweep the Astros, clinch, clinch the National League Eastern Division.

We'll see. They've got Cincinnati and finished with Miami and then the playoffs beginning next week. Finally, Bill Shanks in a good mood. It took long enough. It's going to take care of business for now. On behalf of BB, Greg, James, Blair, the entire crew here. Peril Buck, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again tomorrow on noon to two for the Boom on Buck Show. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9, the score.