Episode summary
This episode focused on Alabama and Auburn's recent exhibition games, with detailed analysis of their upcoming matchups against Texas A&M and LSU. The discussion included concerns about Alabama's offensive struggles, pass rush depth, and injury issues, while also highlighting Auburn's surprising win over Georgia and its implications for the SEC season.
Highlights
- Alabama and Auburn had a chaotic exhibition basketball game last night with shoving matches and coaches arguing, resulting in an 85-87 win for Alabama in front of 13,000 fans in Birmingham.
- Jimmy from Locked On Bama discusses Alabama's upcoming homecoming game against Texas A&M, noting that Texas A&M's offensive line and overall offense are weaker compared to previous seasons.
- The discussion touches on Alabama's pass rush depth, with Xavier Griffin mentioned as a potential second pass rusher, though his effectiveness has been limited by match-up issues.
- Blake Lovell discusses Tennessee's upcoming game against South Carolina, noting it feels like a trap game for Tennessee due to South Carolina's rested team.
- Bill Shanks discusses his recent loss to Auburn, suggesting it may have been influenced by artificial intelligence, though he acknowledges Auburn played better and credits their quarterback.
- The hosts debate the role of officiating in game outcomes, with the host criticizing referees and suggesting they are not performing well.
- Mike discusses Auburn's 21-point underdog win over Georgia, highlighting Byron Brown's performance and the impact of turnovers by Stockton.
- Zach Pounders, founder of Shoals Sports Report, is interviewed about key high school games, particularly in 5A division, highlighting Austin vs. Russell as a pivotal matchup.
Full show transcript (text version of the audio, for readers who are deaf or hard of hearing)
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[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 Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9. The Sports. Good afternoon and welcome in to 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. Brett Beaird, welcome in. Well, the big question of the day is, is this chaotic weekend eve again?
Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you? Happy Football Friday to you and the listeners. Alabama beats Auburn last night, 85-87, in an exhibition basketball game last night, in front of 13,000 fans in Birmingham. And that included two shoving matches and the coaches getting into a shouting match. It's a mission. Zach Pounders of the show's sports report previews tonight's top high school action in region races. But Jimmy's here right now to preview the keys for an Alabama win over Texas A&M on homecoming. Jimmy is co-host of Locked On Bama, part of the Locked On Network.
Jimmy, welcome in. How are you? Oh, doing great, guys. Wait a minute. Before we get into this football stuff, did Brett say that Alabama and Auburn got into a shoving contest in an exhibition game? I'm starting to think these guys don't listen to their mama. They don't like each other, do they? Gosh, what's crazy is they play two more times. That's right. They play two more times. What's that going to look like? It just goes to show you that I think Nate Oates and Steven Pearl got exactly what they wanted.
I agree. An exhibition game that has the feel of a real game that counts. Because when Alabama and Auburn play, it counts. Who won last night really mattered. It didn't matter. Now, it didn't matter in terms of your RPI. Yes. But it mattered. And both teams played like it. And frankly, despite the fact that it lived up to the name The Feud. It lived up to that. Or I should say lived down to that. It was an exciting, excellent game. And I think both teams should be applauded for participating in that.
And I think it's going to help both teams are better off for it. I think this preseason has been exactly what these coaches wanted as far as layups. They've been testing these games. That's good. It's chopping some metal there. But, Jimmy, we know where the bread's buttered right now. It's football. Where do you want to start? What happened last week? Or what lessons they took from last week going into this weekend for Alabama? Well, playing on the road in this league is just absolutely brutal. I think Alabama once again taught that lesson.
They had won six or seven road games in a row, which is unbelievable, really. Showed how impressive that streak is when it came to an end. Tennessee is very good up front. I think Tennessee took full advantage of what they're good at, and Alabama did not. Tennessee's very good up front on defense, and they won that matchup handily. Tennessee can run the football. They won that matchup handily in the second half. Alabama just failed offensively to get anything going. There's a lot of criticism about the play calling, and I get it.
I would like to have seen a bigger commitment to the run, especially in the early series. So I agree, but at the same time, we have to admit that, hey, look, when you did run the ball, it wasn't super effective. As a matter of fact, nothing Alabama did was effective. And when you're doing nothing efficiently or effectively, I don't really know how the play calling can be at fault. It was just, you were just out-executed and out-physicaled by Tennessee. And the lesson just has, just play better.
They played better the week before against Georgia. Let's not forget, this is still the same team that started out 5-0 with a couple of impressive road wins and a team that played for 60 minutes with Georgia when I felt both teams were playing really well. So Alabama's still that team, and hopefully they'll remind everyone of that Saturday against Texas A&M. Jimmy, Alabama's played two elite defenses the last two weeks, and when you look at Texas A&M, at least on paper, they are not. Their rush defense is giving up 141 yards per game, which is ranked 71st.
They've registered only five sacks in seven games, which is 134th. Marcel Reed is one more touchdown, seven, than he does interception, six. And again, you don't play the game on paper, but this might be a little more favorable matchup for Alabama. Well, games are one up front, and that's the Aggies problem, right? I mean, a year ago, they made the playoffs, and their offensive line was outstanding, their defensive line was outstanding, and they lost all those guys. So, obviously, they went to the portal, best they could.
[5:29] They went to the portal to fix a lot of these holes, and the thing about the portal is, you know, the portal sort of gives us, and the portal takes us away, too. Sometimes your answers are not to be found in the portal, because maybe sometimes you're not getting what you think you're getting. But I do think A&M, the biggest difference between them being a playoff team a year ago and being probably, you know, in the bottom half of the SEC this season is the line of scrimmage.
They're not good in the offensive line, and they're not that great in the defensive line, or really their front seven, which has been a program strength for years. They've been very good in the front seven, not so much this year. But the offense has been the bigger problem for A&M. Just offensively, they've been challenged. They don't run it well. They don't throw it well. Marcel Reed is clearly, you know, he hasn't had a good year at all. They changed the O.C. I know a lot of Aggie fans blame it on the O.C. change, and maybe there's something to that.
Obviously, Marcel Reed hasn't responded well to it in terms of his performance. But he is a dangerous athletic player. I would warn Alabama and Alabama fans not to take Marcel Reed lightly. I know what the numbers are this year, and I know that you can paint the numbers out to say, hey, Marcel Reed's been bad. And that may continue, particularly against Alabama's pretty solid defense. But he is dangerous. He's clearly got talent because we've seen him play really well before, just not in 2026. Reminds me of Sellers in South Carolina.
Looks like Tarzan sometimes plays like Gene. Let me ask, speaking of quarterbacks, Jimmy, your thoughts. We said this two weeks ago before they faced Georgia. We said at the time, watch this young man named Russell, and let's come out of the Tennessee game and see where he is after facing back-to-back probably two of the best defensive minds, but Kirby and Knowles in the entire country. I think we now have the answer to that question. Your thoughts, what has he learned in those two games? And tomorrow he'll have the home crowd on his side, at least at the beginning of the game.
Your thoughts about Russell, where he is, especially after going to school the last two weeks. I'm sure he's better for it, guys. I'm sure this has helped him in ways he probably doesn't even realize yet. I think the thing, as you're gaining experience, you have to bank it. You know, you have to, okay, learn some things, and then it's banked. And I think Keelan is that type of player. He's that type of guy. And I think he's going to grow from these rough experiences. Look, if you describe Keelan Russell as a talented redshirt freshman, we saw the talented part in the first five games, and we've seen the redshirt freshman part in the last two games.
That's right, yeah. And I think once you named a redshirt freshman as the starting quarterback, I'm sure on the show that week, I probably said, hey, you know, if you have a redshirt freshman quarterback, there's going to be some rough patches. It's going to happen. Well, now we've seen it happen. It stinks for the fans as it's happening, but it's pretty inevitable when you have a 19-year-old quarterback. Jimmy, you brought up a good point. You do a podcast, certainly with Luke Robinson, but also Travis Ryer, our good friend.
And you simply made a statement I think is very correct. Alabama has not developed a second pass rusher. Yonse Pierre certainly gets back to the quarterback. And you've got some other guys here, Jimmy. And, again, I know you've had injuries with a lot of these players. Who could be Alabama's second pass rusher? Well, Devin Tompkins got off to a pretty good start rushing the passer. Hasn't been too productive lately as the pass rusher. But, frankly, do you really want your second pass rusher to be a guy that weighs 310 pounds?
I mean, that's not ideal unless he is an interior freak like the Gilliam kid at Tennessee. But he's sort of one of one in college football. I think Alabama's second-best pass rusher might be Xavier Griffin. Now, we haven't seen too much of Griffin the last couple of weeks. Been a little bit of a match-up issue. They don't love Griffin out there against physical teams that run the ball because he's only 220 pounds. They like him out there. Hey, he gets these spread teams where he can get outside and rush the passer in space.
He's outstanding. But they're a little hesitant to play him a lot of snaps against physical teams that run the ball right at people because, again, he just got to Alabama and is playing his freshman year around 225 when he's 245. I don't know that he'll ever come off the field, but you're probably a year or so away from that. But developing a second pass rusher has been an issue for Alabama. Then throw in the fact that Yonsei Pierre, he's playing and hasn't missed time, but everyone around the program knows he's banged up.
[10:30] He's in a walking boot during the week, or he has been. I'm not sure about this week. But Yonsei Pierre has been banged up and not at 100% from missing practice time. So the Alabama pass rush has suffered as a result of it, guys. And I know a lot of people talk about the secondary and Dijon Lee and all that. A lot of times when the secondary is struggling, the root cause of it is a lack of pass rush. Good point. Yeah. Jimmy, speaking of that, I mean, if you look at this match report, it seems like every week, oh, boy, here we go again.
How healthy is this team overall coming in? I saw a bit of good news. I saw it right on the defensive side of the ball. But overall, how is it looking coming into the game? They'll be glad that bye week gets here. Oh, yes. Yeah. You know, they're banged up to the point that that bye week looks like salvation, you know, to them. Now, I don't want to overplay it. I don't think Alabama's injury situation is vastly different from most teams. I think, you know, you play seven, this will be Alabama's eighth game in a row without a bye.
Boy, sometimes that should put you on upset alert. I know, I think it was a factor in Georgia-Auburn last week with Georgia playing seven consecutive weeks and Auburn coming off a bye. They say they're not coming off a bye, but heck, they sort of are coming after an FCS opponent. So that should make Alabama fans a little nervous, frankly. But, yeah, they need the bye week. One little thing to throw out there that I don't think a lot of people understand about that availability report is that is exactly what it is.
It's an availability report, the thing that's publicly released by the team. That has to do with availability to play in the game. For instance, I just said Yonsei Pierre's been playing banged up. You haven't seen him on any of those reports. That's because they 100% have expected Yonsei to be available to play in the games. It doesn't mean he's not hurt. And what I'm saying is an availability report is far different than an injury report. Alabama's injury report is much longer than that availability report. It's just not made public and the fans don't see it.
But, yeah, a lot of guys on the team are banged up. But that's pretty, you know, you're going to see that across college football. I noticed Indiana, I think, had no one on their availability report. They issued it for their game in advance of Michigan, not one player. And people are like, wow, that's the healthiest football team. And I thought, well, we don't really know that. All we know is, as of now, they expect all their players to be available to play in the game. But there's a very, very good bet that a lot of Indiana players are in the training room during the week.
That's just the nature of football. Absolutely. Jimmy, give us your prediction for homecoming for Alabama and Texas A&M. And I know you and Luke Robinson, seven days a week with podcasts. By the way, happy birthday, Luke Robinson. I believe he's got one. I saw it on Facebook. And also with Travis Reier. Jimmy, where can we get online to get the best Alabama podcast on the planet? Yeah, thanks for that. Locked on Bama. You can find us on YouTube or wherever you get your audio podcast.
And I'm on with Travis on Cover Crimson. You can find that on YouTube or wherever you get your audio podcast. I like Alabama to win 27-17. That might sound closer than a lot of people expect or think. But my angle here is that Alabama is banged up and probably not at their best. But I think Alabama is going to look pretty good Saturday. I know a 10-point win over struggling A&M doesn't sound that good. But I think Alabama plays pretty well. A&M can fix a lot of what's gone wrong this year for them.
They know what a win in Tuscaloosa can do to erase their nightmare start to the season. I'm expecting A&M to play well. But I think Alabama is going to play well, too. It's going to be a 10-point, 14-point type win. But Alabama fans will be pleased, I believe, with both the offense and the defense. At this point, take the W. Let's hope the game is as good as the weather forecast coming in. Jimmy, enjoy it. Thanks so much for your time today. Hey, appreciate it, guys.
Thank you, Jimmy. Jimmy Stein, locked on Bama. He's locked on the entire SEC. But at level with Southeastern 16 next here is the Bumbo Buck Show. This football season, bring the flavor that wins every time. Champy's world-famous fried chicken. Tailgate like a champ with our legendary fried chicken, award-winning smoked hot wings, and don't forget those Mississippi Delta hot tamales that will light up your taste buds. Feed your whole crew with a Champy's tailgate pack. Packed, stacked, and ready for kickoff. Champy's chicken, East 2nd Street and Muscle Shoals.
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Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back here. Quick reminder. You and A are getting ready for some history this weekend. The first homecoming football game hosted directly on campus. They're on Bobby Wallace Field inside Bank Independence Stadium. The theme this year, 1831st and always. They'll be taking on Austin Peay in that game. More details on that in a sec. But first, time to say hello to the man who's got, not the sec, but the, I guess you could call it the sec. The SEC covered A to Z, Southeastern 16's Guru Blake Lovell.
[21:29] Hooking up with us, he is busy also with his podcast, Establish the Past. Blake, welcome in. Happy Friday to you. How are you? Yeah, doing well, guys. Good to talk to you. Hey, buddy. Now, you're in the state of Tennessee. Are they still celebrating in the state of Tennessee? Are they getting their half-million-dollar benefit from last weekend's rush in the field in Knoxville, Blake? Yeah. You know, sometimes I'd say these places, they don't mind paying up a little money when it comes to, if they get the result they want.
But there's no doubt, as you guys know, I mean, it's a pretty substantial win for this team. I think when you look at, you know, the schedule so far and the remaining schedule and just trying to stay in the thick of things and what we all know has just been an absolute chaotic SEC so far this season. And when you look at the teams that are sitting there right now with two losses versus teams that are sitting there with one loss, the gap feels kind of large when you, again, look at the rest of the schedule for everyone and realize that at this point, I don't think we can look at any game and feel like it's a given for anybody.
No, you're exactly right. Tennessee going to Columbia. This is another one of those games where you're saying to yourself, South Carolina had a bye after having their best game of the year against Florida. Lenore Sellers looks like what a lot of people thought he would two years ago. Tennessee's coming off a big emotional win. And South Carolina's rested and ready. Oh, by the way, Tennessee's 1-6. In the last seven trips to Columbia, is this a little bit of a trap game for Tennessee? Yeah, it certainly feels like it, doesn't it?
I mean, I think just when you look at, like you said, if you kind of shape it as though what happened at this game where South Carolina didn't have a bye, I think maybe it feels a little bit different given it felt like they saved their season in Florida. But, you know, now I think you just look at the setup and I don't know if you're South Carolina, if you could ask for anything better. You get a break and now Tennessee's coming off of this highly emotional win.
And, you know, still, I think for Tennessee, there are things that they feel like they've got to fix if they are going to be a team, you know, that can potentially get to an SEC title game or get to the playoff. And so, I think it's a great spot for South Carolina. And you mentioned it, Brad. I mean, it feels like another one of those games like we've seen all season where one team's ranked here, one team's not ranked. But if you look at the setup, everything feels like it's in the favor of the team.
It's not ranked and it's had a worse season. So, I would tend to lean towards that because that's been the trend this year. And, yeah, I think that's probably how we're going to see it play out. To your point, Blake, the number one team over the last two weekends lost both back-to-back, number ones to unranked teams. That's your point. If you don't believe in what Blake Lovell is saying, ask Auburn and Georgia. Auburn had an off week. Georgia went into Alabama and won one of those emotional games.
We put all your eggs in the basket. The difference between Carolina and Georgia, Carolina's at home. Georgia lost at home to Auburn. Your thoughts about the Tigers and the Dogs now? Yeah, I mean, again, like we said, I think for Georgia, at least, you know, you feel like you have a little bit of worm to work with just given kind of your opponents around you right now. And, I mean, obviously that game that I think we really circle with Georgia, you know, could be Florida coming up next week.
Or it could be that one against Ole Miss, which I think will probably be the one that carries the most weight for them. And so, you know, it's not one you want to have, but at least I think if you're Georgia, you're like, hey, we did have a little bit more to work with. And then let's say a team like Texas, who's sitting here, and, of course, Alabama, kind of in the same spot when it comes to teams. It's like they kind of have their back against the wall.
It's really, you know, a lot to prove. And so, yeah, I mean, for Auburn, though, I mean, look, you're playing an LSU team by no means. They felt invincible at this point. I think you're looking at LSU, you know, as a team that certainly is beatable. You know, and I think when you, again, we talk about the hangover effect, and I think that's just a hard thing to figure out with these teams. And, you know, again, that's the good thing is Auburn gets the home game versus the Tennessee having to go on the road in these kind of situations.
And so, yeah, I really like Auburn in terms of the matchup against LSU. I think it's just a matter of, you know, can you get enough on Sam Levitt and can you do some things? And, I mean, you guys know, too, I mean, you've heard the reaction. Like, I think it's, I don't know what the expectation is for Auburn the rest of the season, but just by getting that win against Georgia, you have something to lean on if you're Alex Gulch when it comes to just kind of pitching the future of your program.
And so, I think that's the biggest thing. You want a, you know, you want a respectable result this weekend at LSU. You don't want to go out there and get blown out. But I think at least, you know, that's pretty substantial progress with that. I'll tell you what, if you think Alabama fans are in a bad mood, ask Texas. They've got Ole Miss coming in and a healthy Chambliss and Keywon Lacey. Is this literally, just past midseason, a must win for Texas? Yeah, I mean, this is it for Texas.
I don't think there's any other way to put it. I mean, they have to win this game. If they don't, I think the season's done. And, I mean, I think some Texas fans would already tell you they think they're done. And so, yeah, I think it's one where it is a, you know, just a gigantic game for the team. And the problem is, I mean, when we get into games like this, it's always a matter of, well, who has the best quarterback? I mean, you have a lot of position players that feel like they are even.
[26:55] And, I mean, there's such a gap there right now when it comes to what Trinidad Chambliss has done. And then, of course, you look at the Arch situation and Texas' whole situation there. And so, yeah, I think that this is one where, you know, again, we have seen Texas rise to the occasion, whether it was that Ohio State game, you know, and a couple other spots as well. But now is the time, right? I mean, you're basically feeling like you're in a must win scenario the rest of the way.
And, you know, this would obviously be a big step forward if you can win a game against a team like Ole Miss, who I think right now, you know, certainly can make the argument that maybe it's the second best team in the SEC. And so, I think from that perspective, yeah, it's all on the line. And, boy, you guys know what that conversation is going to look like if Texas loses these games. It ain't just going to be about ours. It's going to be about who's going to be our next coach because that's going to be a trouble thing.
Yeah, they're facing three losses in a row, and so is the team in Tuscaloosa without a win tomorrow. Your thoughts about that game? Vegas had Bama favored against Georgia and Tennessee. We saw how that turned out. They got them favored tomorrow against Texas A&M. Blake, what do you say about this game? Yeah, I just, boy, we talk about teams that you feel like the trajectory of the program has changed pretty dramatically. And it just happens to be in the state of Texas, right? I mean, it's like Texas A&M is just, man.
And I think, you know, as always, there's not a week that we don't talk about. I think just the overall kind of nature of NIL and how much money these teams are spending. I mean, you look at it. When you look at, yeah, and you look at Texas A&M and you're just kind of looking at it and saying, man, here's where these two teams are at right now. And I think, you know, A&M obviously in a much, I think, worse situation when it comes to just the overall profile on the field.
And, you know, obviously the quarterback situation there has not been great. And so I think Alabama is going to come out and win this game pretty handily. That sounds sort of definitive. And obviously, if the SEC, anything can happen. But I just have no confidence in Texas A&M right now to do anything offensively. And I think Alabama, you know, even again, in what happened last week against Tennessee, let's call it what it is, Tennessee defense, probably one of the biggest, I don't know, surprise, too strong of a word.
But they've been one of the best position groups out there in the country this year. And so I think from that perspective, I think Alabama will be able to get back on track offensively. Your favorite time of the year gets started in about two weeks. We got a little taste of it last night at the feud, as they call the Alabama and Auburn exhibition game in Birmingham in front of 13,000. Two scuffles. The coaches had a shouting match. Alabama won 87 to 85. Are you ready for the regular season games between Alabama and Auburn?
I was going to say, well, I see if the season's begun. Like, it's time. Like, I like this. You know, we get started two weeks earlier now with all these exhibition games. But now, I mean, it's, you know, we saw Alabama, of course, play Ole Miss. And now playing Auburn, like, I like this. I mean, I know it's going to be some pushback on, well, man, I mean, you got these guys out here in a rivalry game going 100% in an exhibition that doesn't mean anything. And, you know, there's always going to be those kind of questions.
Of course, there were guys out on both sides last night. So you didn't get the full picture of what Alabama and Auburn are going to be. But you did get the intensity. And I think that's what you wanted, you know, and why you're playing these kind of games. And, you know, it does give college basketball, too. I know it's kind of a different discussion. But it gives college basketball a little bit of momentum in a season where it's always hard to, I think, gather that when it's this time of year in football.
And so, you know, playing these type of games, you're going to get a little more attention before the ones that really matter, you know, starting in a week and a half. And so, yeah, I mean, I like some of the things I saw from both teams. But, you know, still, it's a pretty incomplete grade just because, you know, Alabama was missing in Aiden Holloway. And, look, guys, I mean, we wound up in our preseason rankings putting Alabama at two in the SEC. And we got Auburn in the double digits.
And so it didn't look like that gap existed last night between those two teams. But, you know, we'll see once the games are played. Nobody covers basketball better than Blake Lovell. I can tell you that. And the SEC is loaded, absolutely loaded this year. And we look forward to breaking down a lot of the teams and the games with you. Where can we get on line? Delighted to have you back, by the way. Wanted to give you a break. Where can we get on line and get all the football, basketball, and eventually baseball?
Yeah, I always appreciate it, guys. Yeah, you can find us over at Southeastern 16. Of course, daily stuff going on over there, football and baseball or basketball right now and baseball to come. So, yeah, check us out, Southeastern 16 on YouTube. Sounds great, Blake. Listen, man, have a great weekend, okay? Thanks, guys. You too. Thank you, buddy. Blake Lovell, Southeastern 16. Well, Brett, do you have anything even more in common with Bill Shanks this week? Well, I think we're going to talk to a more humbled Bill Shanks in a few minutes.
The big dog next. Stay with us. Bush Light is cold and smooth. I'm waiting for you to get out there. Everyone knows that the classic taste of Bush Light is brewed for the outdoors. So before cracking open your next adventure, grab a case of Bush Light. Because nature is even cooler. With Bush Light in your cooler. Head for the mountains of Bush. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026, Sennheiser Bush, Bush Light Beer, St. Louis, Missouri. Well, the days are getting cooler and the smell of fall is in the air.
[32:27] What a perfect time to go explore the great outdoors. And Longshore Cycle Center has what you need. Stop in today and take advantage of the huge discounts that are available from the top five brands that they carry. Longshore has the 2025 Honda Pioneer 1000s with close to $3,000 discounts and the 2026 Pioneer 1000s with 10% discounts to business owners through October 2026. Longshore Cycle also has great deals on new CF Moto Highlands with their fully enclosed cabs with heat and air for those that like to explore in ultimate comfort. But if the open road is your pleasure, Longshore has one of the biggest selection of pre-owned street bikes in the southeast.
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Subject to underwriting guidelines and approval. All sports, all the time. Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. Many people's first serious relationship didn't start with a kiss. It started with a kickoff. Or perhaps it was love at first hike. But unfortunately, many of these football lovers don't live in the same city as their team. Which is why Marriott Bonvoy has hotels close to nearly every NFL stadium. Bringing fans closer to the teams they love with over 30 different hotel brands. So, if you want to stay closer to your team, check in for game day with Marriott Bonvoy, the official sponsor of the NFL.
We'll see you there. Rich Eisen here. At Hyundai, the SUV trophy shelf is getting a little out of hand. Because U.S. News and World Report named Hyundai the best SUV brand. That's five out of six years with hybrid SUVs. Like the premium and capable Palisade, the adventure-built Santa Fe, and the tech-infused Tucson. Which means, at this point, the shelf will need its own structural support system. And a dedicated construction crew. Probably need those little visitor hardhats, too. Visit U.S. News Best Cars at cars.usnews.com.
And visit HyundaiUSA.com for more details. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9. The score. Alabama's back at home tomorrow. The Crimson Tide will host Texas A&M. 13th ranked Alabama. 5-2 on the year. 3-2 in the SEC. Aggies are 1-3 in the SEC. Auburn will host No. 18 LSU. Both teams are 2-2 in the SEC. Auburn 4-2 overall. LSU is 5-2 on the season. Troy will host U.L. Monroe. U.L. Monroe searching for its first win. Troy is 3-3 on the year and 1-1 in the Sun Belt.
North Alabama will host Austin Peay. Both teams have one loss in conference play. In the NFL on Sunday, the New Orleans Saints are set to play the Steelers in Paris. The Saints are 2-4, while the Steelers are 4-2. In high school football action tonight, Florence will host Heart Soul. Pre-game coverage at 6 o'clock. Kickoff at 7. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash. Presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score. There's something about wearing a uniform that makes people stand a little taller, work a little harder, maybe even throw a little farther.
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That means no small talk. Crazy weather we're having. No, it's not. It's just weather. It is an introvert's dream. Visit MintMobile.com forward slash radio. Upfront payment of $45 for three-month plan. $15 per month equivalent required. New customer offer first three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See MintMobile.com. This is Roger Huber with the Crimson Tide Sports Network. Join me and Tyler Watts this fall on Monday nights at 6 p.m. for Crimson Tide Rewind. Live from Baumhauer's Victory Grill in Vestavia Hills and on this great station.
Tune in and roll tide. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. It's an absolutely pleasure for us to welcome in the big dog, Bill Shanks. He's host of the Bill Shanks Show on 93.1 FM in Macon, Georgia, online at thesesuperstations.com and on the tube at 41NBC. Bill, welcome in to Shocktober. How are you? Well, I'm a little disturbed because last week after beating Alabama, I was not in my regular time period, but now that I've lost to Auburn, I'm back on the show.
I don't think I like it. Well, we'll talk to the folks above our pay grade if we can work that out, Bill. But I guess the message is, is it the NFL and the SEC, the days of that goose egg and the L column at the regular season, or they've gone the way of the 8-track? What were you with what happened last weekend against those boys from Auburn? Well, the whole thing was a lie, Harold. I think, you know, when we really look into it, it was a mirage.
And, you know, we just, I mean, you know. We'll look into that, too. AI is honestly controlling everything. That's it. And it had to be artificial intelligence to have Auburn finally win for the first time in 10 years. No, you know what? It was Auburn playing better. And their quarterback, you know, hey, look, seriously. Week before, I had said, all right, what are the questions you ask about the Georgia-Alabama game? And my answers, maybe not Brett's answers, my answers were all about Georgia. Well, I asked the same questions about the Auburn game, and all the answers were about Auburn.
Which quarterback played better? Which running game played better? Which offensive line played better? Which defense played better? And, yes, Georgia had two interceptions and a fumble, and there's no question if they may not have done that, that they probably would have won the game. Heck, even if it was the two interceptions, if they had simply not fumbled, if Gunnar had not fumbled on the last drive, they still might have gotten out of there with a win, even though they played like c***. But, you know, they didn't, and Auburn deserves a lot of credit.
And Georgia fans, I think one of the Georgia fans has actually petitioned the university to get my degree taken away from me, because I've said, I've given Auburn so much credit this week, but they deserve it. Well, Bill, here's the deal. I mean, this game is literally a game of bounces. You go back to Bama, Georgia gave Alabama at least four opportunities, zero. Alabama took advantage of zeros of those, and then you go to the Auburn game, again, Georgia sits here and says, here it is, and Auburn got it.
So, sometimes we sit here and analyze these things as far as stats and this, that, and the other, but it comes down so often to who gets the breaks and the calls in the game. Well, it can. I mean, I think you can have situations where you get breaks and calls. But I want to tell you this, Harold, referees suck. You don't need to sit here and convince Alabama fans of that, Bill. Or Notre Dame. I mean, you know, the referees are just not any d*** good, and I don't know why.
I don't know why that is. I don't know why it's gotten so bad. But it's, I mean, you know, Alabama fans are sitting there and complaining about that one play, but then, you know, if you can accumulate different other plays, it's like, well, then you have to come to the conclusion that the refereeing just sucks. It's not good. And it's not, like, I had somebody get on my Twitter account and said, well, you know, you can tell that Kirby's, you know, paying the SEC office in bricks.
So I'm like, well, if he is, then they're screwing him on a couple of plays every week. Without a kiss. All right. Let me ask you about something we talked about yesterday. In fact, Brad Crawford to CBS Sports actually did this. But you looked at the remaining schedules, I believe, for five or six teams, and he came up with the conclusion that seven teams in the SEC could finish nine and three. Now, as we talked about yesterday, I don't know if it's going to be seven, but it is very logical.
[42:56] It could be four or five. Talk about what you did. You sat down with some teams, looked at what's remaining, but what did you come up with? Well, I came to the conclusion that it's very likely that both teams that will play in Atlanta for the SEC championship game are probably going to have two losses. Yes. I mean, look, there are four teams right now in the conference with one loss. One conference loss. Georgia, Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Tennessee. I mean, I could be optimistic and, you know, bleed red and black and say, well, Georgia ain't losing again.
And they might not. I mean, they might not. They may come back with a vengeance next week and say, okay, we learned from our loss. We're going to buckle down. We're not going to have turnovers. We're going to go to Ole Miss and beat them there. And we're going to control Trinidad Chandlis. We're going to not let Jaden Ball or Jamal Roberts or Lenore Sellers beat us in our four remaining games. I mean, I'm sure that might happen. But, I mean, I could see all four of those teams losing one more game.
And so, you know, the funny thing is if the two teams in Atlanta do have two losses, then, boy, the SEC coaches aren't going to say, see what you did to us by having that ninth game? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, and I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing because here's the deal. If the SEC champion, whomever it might be, gets out of there with a championship and a two-loss season, you've got to feel like it's going to make them better in December and January in the playoffs, don't you?
Yep, you do. Well, I mean, look at any team in the SEC. You're facing a playoff-type team every weekend, this league here. Bill, your thoughts now. You can say what you want. If every fan wants to go unbeaten, it ain't going to happen probably in the modern era. There'll be some exceptions out there, of course. But, by and large, you're going to suffer the big gale. The question now, what did you learn? What are your thoughts coming out of that game as far as the loss?
And let's face it, who can figure out this Florida team? One week they're Tars and the next weekend they're Jane. Your thoughts about the next test? Well, I mean, I've said for a while that I do not think going undefeated is realistic. It's not now. It's not. Well, and you know what? It never has been, Harold. And when it's happened, when Georgia won a few years ago, 15-0, and Alabama's done it, I mean, sure. But you have to have a lot of luck for that to happen.
You have to have things roll your way, like you were mentioning earlier. But I don't think it's not right. Why should any sport consider perfection to be the norm, even to pick a champion? I don't think that's expected in any other sport in the country, other than what college football now, you did feel like to a certain extent, especially years ago, even more so, I think. Well, if you lose early, you're screwed. And now I think the fact that that's not the case, that you can lose the game.
I mean, there's no Georgia fan that thinks after last week they're done and everything's over with. So that's good, right? That's a great thing that you can have a – because here's the thing, and I've always said this, look, there's no way that a team can be up for 12 regular season games at the same level. Right. Do you really think, for example, that Georgia, going into the game in Tuscaloosa, was it the same type of mindset when they started against Auburn last week? Heck no! No way, absolutely not.
I mean, because, look, right or wrong, even those players, even though those players haven't been there for nine years, although that may be possible now in college football, but those players haven't been there to win nine games in a row. The program has, but those players all knew that if they beat Auburn that game that it was going to be the tenth in a row. And the funniest thing that we've been asking about all questions, hold on, Georgia got two touchdowns and there were six minutes left to go in the first quarter.
I was texting my buddies down in the stands from the press box, y'all about ready to go, and all of a sudden the game turned on the dime and something happened. Well, you can't tell me that part of that was the fact that Georgia had not gotten up for that game against an unranked opponent who they had lost – who they had beaten. That program had beaten nine straight times. You can't tell me that there wasn't a little bit of a, well, we're going to put it in neutral here.
And then all of a sudden when the game was tight, it was like, oh, h***, we better buckle down here. And you know what? That's not always easy to get out of when you're playing a team that's trying to beat your butt. That's exactly right. Let me ask you another question you asked me yesterday, and I had a real scientific answer when you asked me who's the number one team in the nation right now. And I said, I don't know. Asked Notre Dame about officiating, by the way.
Who's the number one team in the nation right now? Well, I mean, look, when I answer that question, I am going to bleed red and black and say, okay, if I had to put money on anybody, I would put money on the team I know the best. I cannot sit here and say Miami. And, you know, when you say, all right, well, who's the best team in the country right now, to a point you have to say that because they are ranked number one. But then you say, all right, well, and there's two different questions.
[48:27] It's like, well, who's the best team in the country right now? And who do you think right now has the best chance to win three months from now? Right? There's a couple of different kind of questions. I think the answer to that second question is open-ended. I mean, you can make it for seven teams right now, right? I don't think that Miami is going to go to South Bend and beat Notre Dame and then win the conference and still convince me they're the best team in the country.
Might they be? Yes. But I don't know if I'd buy that right now. I'm not buying any team in the Big 12. So there you go. I'm not just being anti-Mormon. I'm being anti-Big 12. Forget that. And then you say, okay, Notre Dame. Well, no, I'm not going to sit here and say that Notre Dame is the best team in the country or that they are slammed up for a national championship. Might they get the right draw and the right matchup and get there? Yes, they might. But, I mean, h***, here's the thing that I think last week proved to us more than anything, Brett, is, okay, these teams are having trouble with the Big 12 teams or the ACC teams like Miami having trouble with Florida State.
What the h*** do you think those teams would do in the SEC? Yeah. We can, we can. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, so, you know, that's what makes it difficult to answer the question right now, I think. I know. Bill, here's to your point back to, forget about the unbeaten seasons. As great as Nick Saban was, trivia buffs, get this. In all of his seasons at Alabama, he had exactly two undefeated seasons when he could control the bench and depth and everything else. That was 09. And 2020, what happened in 2020, you didn't have to worry about a road game because it was the COVID year.
So, it illustrates to me how tough it is. Even when Nick had everything going his way, he only pulled it off twice. Sure. Absolutely. It's not easy. And it's, you know, I, I, I, now, I did say last week after the Alabama win, somebody called up and said, well, you think Georgia can run the table? I said, yes, I do, but I don't know if I want them to. Yeah. Because do you really want to go into the playoffs knowing that you're going to have to play a conference championship game?
You're going to have to then get into do or die situations as a playoff and you haven't lost yet. Because I do think, even though this may be, you know, coach talk or whatever, or, or, or whatever you want to call it, that Georgia's got to, look, Georgia's got to play Florida. Ole Miss, Missouri, and South Carolina. And so, you're talking about a couple of running quarterbacks, the Trinidad and Chambliss and Lenora Sellers. And you're talking about the two players who lead the league in rushing with Jaden Vaugh and Jamal Roberts.
So, coming off a game where you just let that slippery sucker from Auburn run all over the field on you, you better figure out what the h*** you did wrong last week so you can be there for these next four games. And so, if they had gotten away with that game last week and won in spite of their three turnovers and poorly played game, they may not be feeling that urgency to prepare for the first stretch of the season, which is going to be tough. And a lot of these, that's the thing, all four of those teams with one loss in the conference have a tough road with four more games left.
No question about it. I'll tell you what, I wish I had to put some money down on Milwaukee and Tampa Bay being in the World Series back in March. I have a lot of money right now. Listen, enjoy the bye week. I know you're going to watch a lot of college football and probably a little bit of World Series after you get through doing the scoreboard show tonight. Who have you got on the show this afternoon and where can our listeners who love the Bill Shanks show tune in?
Well, they can hear me on thesesuperstations.com and I'm planning my off week about going to an Atlanta Hawks game. If they're so good, we're going to be having an Atlanta Hawks segment on the Boom Up Bunk show by December. You just wait. It's coming. It's coming. We can hardly wait. Listen, safe travels to and from and thanks for your time, Dave, Bill. All right, guys. Thank you. See you, buddy. Bill Shanks there with thesesuperstations.com. Again, reminder, you in a homecoming. Have you got your suit pressed and ready to go, BB?
I knew I forgot to do something this week. Thank you for the reminder. Hold on one more hour. That's when we go into the huddle and check in with Justin Ferguson, talking to the Auburn Tigers. Zach Pounders, next, the last week of the regular season on the High School of Gridirons in our neck of the woods. We're going coast to coast with Mike Hugen and it's all straight ahead here with the Boom Up Bunk show. I've always felt that sports imitate life, and in both arenas, everyone loves a good comeback story.
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[53:41] Don't call it a comeback. We'll be here for years. At First Southern Bank, we always cheer for the home team. We are homegrown with deep roots, and we're invested in this community. With checking and savings accounts, mobile and online banking, and a mortgage department to help you with the home of your dreams, First Southern Bank is your neighborhood bank. Sometimes a local financial institution with deep roots and a commitment to the community can provide just the banking services you need. We always root for the home team, because we are the home team.
First Southern Bank. Equal housing lender member FDIC. Listen to ESPN Radio all night on Sports Radio 93.9. The Soar. I've always wanted to learn French, but the app I tried didn't help. If you want to memorize words in another language, there's an app for that. But if you want to really learn another language, there's Babbel. Babbel was designed by over 200 language learning experts to be the most effective way to learn another language. With other language learning apps, I was just playing games. I wasn't really learning. Babbel's different.
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That's Babbel.com to save up to 50%. B-A-B-B-E-L dot com. Strong communities are built in the places where life happens, where families build their lives, where students build their futures, where businesses create opportunity. Bloom Energy provides reliable power for the places communities depend on every day. From hospitals and college campuses to stores and factories, clean, quiet power that uses little water right where it's needed, so communities can keep moving forward. Bloom Energy, power America relies on. Chris Kennedy here to tell you about sugar-free fall treats straight from the orchard.
All new Caramel Apple 5-Hour Energy shots are available now. Fall is back, which means those sugary fall treats are too. Thankfully, 5-Hour Energy just dropped their new Caramel Apple flavor so you can get that fall flavor fix without the sugar. Enjoy refreshing Apple and sweet caramel comfort in every sip. Use promo code CANTEE for 15% off any energy shot at 5hourenergy.com. 1819 News. Good afternoon. I'm Carl Brady for Andrea Tice. Alabama drivers will soon be able to show their support for children's literacy with a new license plate honoring country music icon Dolly Parton.
The Alabama Department of Revenue says the plates will be available beginning November 1st. Pre-numbered tags have been ordered and will be shipped to counties based on pre-registration numbers. The plates support Parton's Imagination Library, a program she founded in 1995 that provides free age-appropriate books each month to children from birth through age 5. Proceeds from the specialty tags will help cover the cost of books delivered to children in the county where each plate is registered. Parton died August 25th at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer.
More Alabama news after this. Did you know that 70% of people experience a potentially traumatic event in their lifetime and that 6 out of every 100 adults face PTSD every day? Help us bring hope to these survivors by signing up for your Alabama Distinctive PTSD Awareness License Plate today. The great thing is you can sign up no matter when your current plate renews and the first year is complimentary. All you need is your VIN number on hand. Drive awareness, drive hope, and customize your plate today at atease.org.
That's A-T-E-A-S-E dot O-R-G. Citronelle officials say a police officer who died in a patrol car crash in May died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before the wreck. Mayor Jason Stringer says the officer's family was informed the following day. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has completed its investigation and the report is now under review. A 22-year-old man is under arrest after shots were fired into an occupied daycare in Selma. Police say Jekyll Neely faces charges of firing into an occupied building and an unoccupied vehicle. No injuries were reported.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores. Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. Last Friday night, the Florence Falcons battled to the end. Mahan throws it to the end zone. Has a man out there. Cough, touchdown. Julesby brings it in. That's a clock. Hit zero. Now the Falcons turn their attention to the Hartzell Tigers on senior night at Brawley Stadium this Friday night. Join me, Kevin Johnson, along with Mike Albertson, Jeffrey Jones, and John McDaniel as we bring you Florence and Hartzell from Brawley Stadium.
[58:54] The TNT fireworks pregame begins at 6, kickoff at 7. On your home for Florence Falcons football, 93.9, The Score. Florence Falcons football is brought to you by Florence Utilities, Florence City Schools, the law firm of Johnson Peshire, Medley, and Burchill, the North Alabama Boney Joint Clinic, TNT Fireworks, Yogurt Mountain, Whataburger, Singing River Dentistry, Village Discount Drugs, Hugo's Mexican Restaurant, Irons Electric, Cypress Creek Indoor Range, Lost Pizza, Hedeker Johnson & Layton Insurance, Carbine Construction, First Southern Bank, and Warehouse Tackle. 93.9, The Score weather. Today's sunny with a high around 80. Tonight, clear with a low near 45.
Tomorrow's sunny with a light breeze and a high around 75. Tomorrow night, mostly clear with a low near 45. And for your Sunday, sunny with a high around 75. Your weather from 93.9, The Score. Now, get ready to roll Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score. Welcome back in. Hour 2 to the Boomo Bugg Show.
I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And finally, Brett Beaird, is it safe to say, according to the folks in the Chamber of Commerce, we almost have weather as good as the state of Florida, folks. It is football weather, Harold Bugg, yes. Speaking of Florida, let's take you there. Mike, you can get it all covered there in the great city of Orlando when it comes to college football and basketball. Mike, welcome in. How are you?
Doing quite well. Mike, what did we do this weekend for an encore after the last two weekends? Did we ever think they would have two number one teams go down back-to-back against unranked teams? Welcome to college football, Mike. Yeah, I was shocked that Auburn won, especially as a 21-point underdog. Georgia, I think, had a little bit of a hangover from the Alabama win at the same time. Byron Brown played the best game of the season. The Auburn defense did just enough. I mean, they played really badly in the first quarter and then sort of found themselves.
But Byron Brown was the key. Georgia had all sorts of problems with him. It did not help UGA that Stockton turned it over three times. The first multi-pick game of his career. But, yeah, Auburn deserves a ton of credit. It's a tough one Saturday for Auburn. But winning at Georgia as a 21-point underdog in the man run, which they won. They basically slugged it out with Georgia, and they knocked him down. Let's talk about what that means for the program sometimes. I mean, these things happen, and fans, they're downed and they're up.
And I think one of the measuring sticks for that, I remember way back in the day, a team called Ole Miss knocked off Notre Dame. By the way, Joe Montana was on the bench in that game in Jackson, Mississippi. And Notre Dame went on to win a national championship. Ole Miss lost the very next week to Southern Miss at home. Your thoughts on what this means for Auburn and also what it means for the Tigers coming to this game this weekend against LSU. Yeah, LSU's a better team, but Georgia was a better team.
This team, obviously, being at home is a gigantic positive for Auburn. LSU's a little irritated. Back-to-back weeks, 11 a.m. local time kickoff. They're used to playing night games. LSU, Sam Levitt's going to make some big plays. He's also going to make at least one big mistake. The question is, can Auburn force him into two or three mistakes? Byron Brown, if you can do that against Georgia, you can do that against LSU. I do wonder about a hangover for Auburn a little bit because that was a big win, the biggest by far, obviously, of the season.
Byron Brown looking like he did last year at USF in terms of this is what the offense is supposed to look like. I think LSU wins, but again, if you're Auburn, the idea that we can do that on the road against the number one team in the country, you've got to have a lot more confidence going forward. I just think LSU's a better team, and I think LSU's going to win, but again, Sam Levitt makes mistakes. LSU has struggled to run the ball the past two games, under 100 yards each time.
[1:03:56] Ken Auburn, Elijah Melendez is playing out of his mind. Xavier Atkins being booted, I'm not sure that's going to hurt Auburn all that much, I'll be honest. I think that LSU wins. I think it will be a close game, and I think Auburn's going to play with a renewed confidence now the rest of the season. Let me ask you about another potential hangover game. That BYU-Notre Dame game was something else coming down. Notre Dame not very happy with a non-pass interference call at the end, and then there was one second remaining on the clock before the field storm.
They travel across country to central Florida. Now, Alonzo Barnett, I believe, might possibly be coming back from a hamstring injury. Mike, we all know BYU is a better team, but they're traveling cross country. They're coming off that big emotional win over Notre Dame. Could this game be much closer than a lot of people believe? Yeah, you mentioned the BYU officiating, and there also was the Miami officiating. Yes. If you're a conspiracy theorist, you're like, oh, look, ACC refs keeping Miami unbeaten. Oh, look, BYU, Big 12 refs keeping BYU unbeaten.
You're right, this is a dangerous game for BYU because UCF, weirdly for a Scott Frost team, this team is really good defensively. Now, offensively, maybe Barnett comes back. They weren't playing very good offense even when Barnett was there. But UCF, it will be a sellout crowd. UCF fans can be raucous. It's called the bounce house for a reason. The stadium actually does move. If UCF can get out to an early lead, I think that makes things far more interesting. If BYU comes in and goes right down the field twice, you know, it's up 10-0 or 14-0, you can close the book, it's over.
But I think UCF has a puncher's chance because of the defense, because of the long cross-country trip for BYU, and the BYU hangover. That said, I think BYU wins, but would not be shocked if this game is close into the fourth quarter. And that game is about a good two-iron shot from Mike Higgins' backyard there in Orlando. Mike, talk to us about homecoming in Tuscaloosa. Alabama comes into homecoming riding a streak, a two-game losing streak. They've lost two of the best defensive minds in the country.
And now they take on Texas A&M. We know what the backstory is with the Aggies coming in. Mike, your thoughts overall on what's going to happen tomorrow in T-Town? Well, they've lost to Georgia and Tennessee, two teams that are pretty darn good, two teams that play really good defense. Texas A&M is not good, and they don't play good defense. So if Alabama were to lose tomorrow, something is really wrong. Keelan Russell is a Texas kid, obviously, playing against a school from Texas. A&M is just not a very good team.
I still think Elko's a really good coach. I think that people underestimated the departures off that team, especially along the lines. And it's obvious last year that Marcel Reed reached his ceiling and has sort of now fallen back to what he really is, which is he's an average competent quarterback at best. I would assume that Alabama is going to play angry. You have to play angry if you want to keep your playoff hopes alive. So I think Alabama bounces back. I think it's a big positive for them that the team they're playing is not very good.
Mike, I think the two college football folks that have gotten the most pressure on them tomorrow is Arch Manning and Steve Sarkeesian. This is an absolute must-win for Texas for many reasons. Ole Miss, Chambl has only been sacked five times this year, which is a credit to the O-line and his elusiveness. Keelan Lacy is healthy. Is this an absolute must-win for Texas? Yeah, I think you can look at Texas. They were number one. They beat Ohio State. Okay, we're, you know, what's, the only question about the playoff is where we're going to be seeded.
And now the question is, do they even make the playoff? I don't think they, I think they lose tomorrow. Arch Manning is not very good. You know, I mentioned Marcel Reed being an average competent SEC quarterback. I think that's what Arch Manning is. But one thing about, you know, Texas losing at home to Florida. Arch Manning's been at Texas. This is his fourth year. He's been in the same offense all four years. He's been with Sarkeesian for four years. Florida started, Trammell Jones making his first college start.
[1:09:15] He's a sophomore. He's in his second year with his second offense. And he outplayed Arch Manning. He did. And I think, yes, Manning deserves a ton of criticism. But so does Sarkeesian. Arch Manning is not a drop-back passer. They need to roll him out more, cut the field in half for him, give him one or two reads. If it's not open, run the ball. I don't understand Sarkeesian's coaching. And it's obvious that he doesn't feel very strongly about his backups. Because if he did, I don't know why you wouldn't bench Manning.
Because the last two games, he is gagged in the fourth quarter. And if I'm Ole Miss, I'm feeling extremely confident. My quarterback is so much better than Texas. Texas is missing its best defensive player in Colin Simmons. And Texas is a wounded team, highly paid roster that they're not getting a return on investment. I think if you're an Auburn fan, you know, Cam Coleman, boy, he's making a lot of money to be, eh, not much. And that's sort of humorous to me. Hollywood Smothers is the same.
Or Link Brown is the same. These are just guys in Sarkeesian's offense, which means I think that Sarkeesian has an issue. But I fully expect Ole Miss to win. I don't care if the game's in Austin or not. Yeah. It's like the Manning name is like Secretariat. There's Secretary and Secretary Ponies. Mike, let's talk a little bit about a game that I think is intriguing in so many ways. And that's Tennessee at South Carolina. Tennessee is going to face what a lot of teams are facing.
You have this ultimate high. The question now, can you come off that high, play on the road at South Carolina? And the folks out in Vegas, they answer that question with yes. They got the Gamecocks' favor. What's going to happen there? Yeah, the hangover effect is real. Ole Miss beat LSU, gets crushed at Florida the next week. Florida crushes Ole Miss. The next week they get crushed by Mizzou. Georgia wins on the road at Alabama, come home and lose to Auburn. So there is a hangover effect.
And the Vols, I think, distinctly are going to be feeling it. That said, South Carolina had a nine-game losing streak to power four teams until they beat Florida. Sellers is Mr. Inconsistent. I'm not talking game to game. I'm talking series to series. One series, oh, look, this is the guy we thought he'd be. He looks like a potential first-round pick. And the next series, it's like, this guy won't even get drafted. He is so overrated. South Carolina's run defense, you look at the stats, wow, that's a really good run defense.
Then you realize their secondary is so bad that you don't really have to run against them. So if Tennessee can get an early lead, I think they're going to be in good shape. Deshaun Bishop obviously needs to play a good game. McIntyre was not great last week. He didn't make any mistakes. I'm not saying that George McIntyre, if he plays like he did last week, Tennessee is going to be fine with that. And I also don't think the Norris Sellers is going to be able to light up the Tennessee defense like he did Florida.
Shane Beamer is not a good coach. And I think that should play into this as well. I think Tennessee wins a close game. Defense travels, supposedly. So that's good for the Vols. I think there is a question, though, about, yeah, can McIntyre play mistake-free? Well, the bigger question for me is, can the Norris Sellers play mistake-free? And no, I don't think he can. So I think the Vols will win. Mike, great stuff. As you well know, we really enjoy breaking down games with you. Another very interesting slate on top.
I don't think five of the top seven are going to lose tomorrow again. But it has been a zany season. But enjoy the games. Always enjoy the conversation. Let's do this again next Friday. Excellent. Thanks, guys. Thank you so much, Mike. Mike Kuegan, a national college football slash basketball analyst down in the big goal, Orlando. Coming up. High school football, what a script weather-wise with the games to match up. Zach Pounders with that and more straight ahead. Stay with us. This is Miranda Haddock with the Florence Education Foundation.
We invite you to support our Friends of the Foundation campaign. As a friend of the Foundation, you can contribute any amount to help fund classroom needs in Florence City schools. Please visit our website at FlorenceEducationFoundation.org to explore our new giving levels and the added perks available. We would like to wish Coach Morrison and the entire Falcon football team good luck this season. At North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, our Shoals roots run deep. We provide quick access and familiar friendly faces so you never have to feel just like a number.
[1:14:23] From sports medicine to joint replacement, expert care happens right here at home. As UNA Athletics' choice for orthopedics and the trusted orthopedic team of the show families for over 30 years, North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic is here for you. Learn more at nabjc.com. All sports, all the time. Sports Radio 93.9. The Score. The holidays will be here before you know it. And Aleve is there for all the extra hustle and bustle and the pain that comes along with it. Between cooking, baking, and all those holiday parties, aches and pains can creep in.
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The best pregame fan fest in college football. For more information, visit championslane.com. Hello again, everybody. I'm Roger Hoover. On Thursday's Crimson Drive, we were joined by AL.com's Nick Kelly. Alabama's in the playoff now. They need to win every game. And as the SEC has proven each and every week, you can't overlook anybody. Yeah, A&M is not that good this year. That's putting it kindly. I mean, they just have not been very good. Their resume's not very good. They've struggled mightily on offense. And that's an offense, actually, mind you, Roger, with some familiar faces.
They've got Isaiah Horton, who was a receiver for this team last year. They've got Wilkin Formby, who was on this offensive line last year. And they are run by Holman Wiggins, the former Alabama receivers coach. Are you ready for game day in Tuscaloosa? Don't miss the ultimate pregame experience this season at Vector Security Champions Lane. Opening four hours before each home game, this FanFest has everything. Located next to the Walk of Champions, you'll enjoy live music with our great concert series. Plus, player autographs, food trucks, giant LED video boards to watch games, and ice cold beer at Legends Lounge, where there is never a cover charge.
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Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield. From the heart of the SEC to the national stage, no filters, no fluff. Get the real story and all the hard-hitting analysis on AP as we see it. Saturday mornings at 7 a.m., Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9, The Score. Welcome back in. It's hard to believe. Next to last week of high school football in the entire state. And by the way, get on out if you can.
We're not here to tell you what to do. But if you can, not only for the players, but I've always said, BB, the cheerleaders, the band, all the support group, it's just such a nice gesture. It's the one sport that I think is still an innocent sport and is so community-driven. So if you can, get out there to that, my friend. A man who I know is going to be out there is Zach Pounders. He's the founder and editor of Shoals Sports Report. Zach, welcome in.
[1:19:43] How are you? Doing good. How are y'all? Good. We're almost in disbelief. As I say, the end is near. But, Zach, before we get into some of the particular games, let's talk about something else. A lot of teams, they've already signed their ticket to the postseason. Other teams, this is a huge night and a huge week for them. Where do we start in the Shoals of games that really matter as far as staying alive for the playoffs? Well, if they start to the top with 5A, that's true of all the odds and the reason I think.
5A, Austin, Russell. Russell is homecoming. If Austin wins, they win the region. If Russell wins, then it can create some health scenarios for Florence and the Muscle Shoals. Florence needs a win and Austin lost. Russell needs a win and Florence lost. Austin needs a win to clinch the region. So, Austin needs to win the region this late in the season. Austin has the easiest scenario. Win and they win the region. They're the one seed. Mm-hmm. Florence and Russell need a win and the other one will lose to get the three championship, basically.
Yeah, that's it. Yeah, go ahead. For Austin, if you lose this game, you go from the one seed to the four seed. Wow. Oh, my goodness. Let me ask you about your game of the week. Listen, Austin at Russellville may be the game in North Alabama, but your game of the week in the Shoals is Wilson at Lauderdale County. And we've talked about Wilson a lot this year, and you said during the summer they were going to be much improved. Boy, have they ever been. Wilson, 6-2, 5-1 in the region, Lauderdale County, 5-3, 5-1.
The winner will host a first-round playoff game where the loser will travel. That's why these games are so important. Wilson beat Rodgers last week. Reese Young and Lucas Rich scored two touchdowns. Bryant Clemens ran for 1-15. You're going to see a pretty good game tonight, Wilson and Lauderdale County. Yeah, the way these games play, I feel like I'm going to be dumb at 9 o'clock this game, the way they both play. Yes. But this game is one of those where something has to give. Lauderdale County has scored 40-plus over the last few weeks.
Wilson has not allowed over 20 but twice this season in both their losses. So, if we'll just keep this game in the 20-14, 20-17 range, I think they have a chance. Lauderdale County, I think Lauderdale County is going to get their shootout. If Lauderdale County gets into the 40s, both sides, they have a good chance. It's one of those, though, where both sides are really good eventually. And like the 5-1 scenario, if you win, you get to play at home next week in two weeks. If you lose, it's a two-hour bus ride over towards that gas thing.
Oh, boy. That's a part of the state. And that's a long, long ride. Ask anybody who's been there and done it. Zach Pounder, Shoals Sports Report. Zach, it's interesting to see these two teams come together. And they call it a season slow start for Muscle Shoals. It has something to do with that tough schedule at the front of their schedule. They've caught life of late. They've taken on the Athens-Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles trying to find their identity over the last few games. What happens between Muscle Shoals and Athens tonight?
Yeah, I said all odds are going to be an Austin-Rustle game. Muscle Shoals' odds are going to be two. Because if Muscle Shoals wins and Austin loses, then Muscle Shoals slides to that three-seed with the head-to-head tiebreaker over Austin. Wow. So, for Muscle Shoals, it's Clay Chalville or Oxford first round at this point. But with Muscle Shoals' Athens, this region has been down this year, better than what it has been in the past. But this region and just the power of it, this region has six seasons made the playoffs last year.
And all four of the playoffs hitters from this year are four that made it last year in 7-8 and the L-6-8. Wow. Central at Rogers. Heath Wood has had a tremendous season. I knew he had a burr under his saddle. We talked to him in August. And missing the playoffs for the first time in a long time didn't set well with him too much. Well, they're 7-1 and 6-0. Rogers had a tough loss last week. They're 5-3, 4-2. Lucas Price has been running wild. Four touchdowns, 255 yards against West Limestone last week.
Steven Johnson had a good game. Two, Central at Rogers tonight. Yeah, interesting spot here. We thought this game would be a race championship game or playoff type of game for both. But at this point, both teams are a lot different for both teams. Central at Rogers, the four. So this becomes like a two-note game for playoffs. You can really like a playoff game with the weather and your rotations. But it's not as many states as Wilson, Lardy County has. So you can kind of not take it easy, but like you can be more relaxed, go into the thinking, hey, we're already in the playoffs.
We're already hosting a playoff game. We're already going to our bus ride. Let's get healthy, play our best ball now, and start playing our best ball before the playoffs. Zach, interesting ball game for the Florence High Falcons. They take on Hartzell. Hartzell is one of those. It's a jersey team. They got the brand. It has not been a good season by the Tigers' standards. The Falcons on the other end of the spectrum, they're flying high. I know they had a bump in the road last week.
[1:25:02] But on paper, it favors the Falcons. But I promise you, Coach Kenny Morrison, he's a vet in his business. Hartzell is going to come in. This is going to be the Tigers' Super Bowl. So your thoughts about that matchup? Yeah. Florence has not played Hartzell since 2017. Yeah. But once again, like the game last week with Austin, all the history is against Florence here. Hartzell is 4-2 against Florence. But Florence has won two of the last four. Mm-hmm. And won at home, won on the road. But Florence needs to win this game.
And I've heard they have apparently reached that this week very well. If they have, that's to be seen. But if they can win this game, they have a really good chance to be the one or two seed based on tiebreakers. They have tiebreakers that were restable and muscle shoals, just not over Austin. Mm-hmm. Let me ask you about a game that has actually flown under the radar. I don't know how two undefeated teams could fly under the radar, but this one has. Hackelberg 8-0, 6-0 in the region.
Addison 9-0, 6-0 in the region. Addison's, and you mentioned this a couple weeks ago, Addison has six shutouts this season. Their defense has given up 19 points in nine games. That is incredible when you look at that. This should be a tremendous matchup. Again, quite a challenge for Hackelberg. Hackelberg beat them last year. Listen, your thoughts on an undefeated matchup at Addison? Well, look at the numbers. Both of them are top five offensively, a 1A. Addison, 50 a game, halfway to 44 a game. Defensively, Addison is allowing 2.1 points a game.
Incredible. It was at one point a six last week. Before last week, yeah. Yeah. Hackelberg, though, Averton allowed 14 a game. This is one of those, they're both so good and dominant that it's been an exclusion course game like most of the time of the year, where everybody knew. They can both get to that game, see what happens. Then, okay, the college comparison, I think, will be like a group of five game in the Sunbelt or the MAAC, respectfully. But it's not going to be your Florence, Austin, Russell, Muscle Shoals kind of thing.
It's going to be your small town, guys that play three, four sports in high school, football, basketball, baseball, baseball, track. And those guys are oftentimes better than the five-day, six-day games also. Absolutely. I absolutely love that. All right. Zach, what are they going to do for an encore? Last year, I kid you not, you can correct me if I'm wrong, Brooks knocked off Priceville but a close score of 70-42. I should say last year's in 2023. 70-42. What happens tonight in killing when the Lions and the Dogs get together?
Well, it's not the playoffs yet, but Coach Horton told local media this week, this is our playoff game. Yeah. And that's been the message to the whole locker room. If you lose this game, you're not going to play off. If you win this game, you're in the playoffs. It's that same plan. For Bruins, there is no tomorrow. There is no Saturday, Sunday meeting, Monday meeting because they're off this week. So, for Bruins to get another week, you've got to win this week. Yeah. Priceville, same thing.
You've got to bounce back and beat the team at the top of the region. You have lost to Dashford, West Morgan, and Hamilton to put yourself in the spot after a hot start. I think it started 4-0 and now set to 5-3. But can you bounce back after a rough stretch? Due to scheduling, Buck or Bruins, there is no tomorrow, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Like somebody said, win or basketball. Yeah, you're exactly right. I saw that Brooks-Dassford game last week. Dassford, of course, was rolling. They won 44-7.
Brooks made the playoffs 25 in the last 27 years. So, you're exactly right. Going to be a big crowd tonight at Brooks. Great job. But, listen, you've got all of these scenarios for the regions up on Facebook right now. You do the tail of the tape on, I believe, Monday and Tuesday. But you've got the standings. You'll have the scores. Where can we get on live tonight throughout the weekend to get ready for the playoffs? Facebook, Shoals Sports Report, and on Twitter, at lowercase, S-H-O-A-L-S-B-O-R-T-S. Zach, as always, great job.
Keep it up, and thanks for your time today, bud. Hey, how y'all do? Thank you, buddy. Zach Founders, Shoals Sports Report. Riding on cloud nine. Can they keep it up? Talking about the Auburn Tigers with Justin Ferguson on Dank. Stay with us. Hey, Falcon fans. This is Keith at Cypress Creek Indoor Range. We know great defense starts up front, and the Falcons start with Jaden White, your defensive tackle. Whether it's stopping the run or disrupting that quarterback, Jaden has the right tools, puts in the hard work, and has the right training to stop the offensive threat of opposing teams.
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On the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, they're at Talladega Super Speedway for the Yellowwood 500. Three races remain in the chase. Kyle Larson leads the way. Christopher Bell just five points back, while Chase Briscoe is 24 points behind the leader. Danny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney remain within striking distance. Saints are in Paris on Sunday as they take on the Steelers Sunday morning. The Saints are 2-4. The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently 4-2. In college football this week, No. 13 Alabama will host Texas A&M. Auburn will host No. 18 LSU.
Troyes at home against UL Monroe, while North Alabama is set to entertain Austin Peay. In high school football action tonight, Florence will host Heart Soul. Pre-game coverage at 6 o'clock, kickoff at 7. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash, presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score. The Colonel's cooked up a new $10 Bucket of the Day just for you. Monday, 10 wings for $10. Tuesday, 8-piece fried chicken for $10. Wednesday, 8 tenders for $10. Thursday, 10 wings for $10. Friday, 24 nuggets for… Ooh, you guessed it, didn't you? $10. The $10 Bucket of the Day deal. Every weekday, only at KFC, it's finger-lickin' good.
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[1:35:33] Coming up Monday, we'll recap the first two games of the World Series as well as another NFL weekend. Plus, look ahead to the Cowboys and Eagles on Monday Night Football. It's Unsportsmanlike, 6 a.m. Eastern, right here on ESPN Radio, ESPN2, and ESPNU. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in LSU heading to Auburn this weekend in football, but first, some breaking news concerning LSU and basketball. Sad to report that former legendary LSU men's basketball coach, Dale Brown, passing away at the age of 90.
And this comes just days after LSU acknowledged him as next year's John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award. So, Dale Brown, I can tell you, I covered a region one year in Birmingham with LSU. I sat behind the bench, and Dale had quite the colorful vocabulary, Brett. Yeah, he did, Harold, but I've always thought he was one of the most underrated coaches in the history of college basketball. Speaking of LSU, they're on their way in football to take on the Auburn Tigers. Justin Ferguson got it all covered there with the Auburn Observer.
Justin, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing all right, how are y'all? Hey, man. Well, describe to us the week on this Friday compared to, say, the last few Fridays in the fall at Auburn. Yeah, how about the last few years of Friday? Exactly. I mean, we were talking about this. This is the biggest win I've covered in a very long time. You go on the road to beat number one Georgia as a 20-and-a-half-point underdog. It's a team you hadn't beaten, you know, since 2017. It's a team you hadn't beaten in Athens since 2005.
I mean, you can't underestimate how huge that win was for Auburn. It's just one game. It's just one win, but it's the biggest win you could possibly get. And it's one that could change so much for this program moving forward. And, yeah, remarkable game to go down 14-0 in Athens and then come back and win that game the way they did. Tremendous, tremendous game. And, you know, six games into his tenure, Alex Golesh has a signature win that the last two guys didn't even come close to getting.
It's also illustrated that it happens when two things happen. Your quarterback lives up to their potential, and you get the ball bouncing your way, and you take advantage of it. It's safe to say those are two big factors in a game. Huge. I mean, you're plus three in turnover margin in a game. You win by three points. I mean, that's the game right there. We talked about it heading into it. Georgia, since the start of the 2020 season, Georgia has only lost 10 games, Auburn being the 10th one.
In each of those games, except for one, in nine of those 10 games, they have lost the turnover battle. It's so crucial to do that against a team like Georgia because they don't make a ton of mistakes. So when they come your way, you've got to take advantage of them, and you've got to stay turnover free yourself. I thought Auburn did a great job of weathering the storm from Georgia's offense, putting themselves in a position to make some plays there in the second and third quarters. Then on top of that, Byron Brown played really well.
You know, just took what the defense gave him. I mean, it's not crazy, flashy numbers through the air, but, I mean, he could have had easily 100 more passing yards if it weren't for some drops. But he ran the ball well. He took care of it. He didn't put it in danger. He got the ball out, got away from that pass rush from Georgia, took what the defense gave him. I thought Auburn's tight ends and receivers had a really good game. Backs did as well. It was a total team effort.
But, yeah, Byron Brown, I mean, didn't have to go be Superman. And you sometimes think when you play a team like Georgia, you're like, oh, you've got to go be Superman in order to win. Yeah, no, he didn't. He just had to be himself. He had to be a very clean and very efficient version of himself. And, obviously, was more than enough for Auburn to get that win on Saturday. I'll tell you what, when you beat the number one team in the nation, you've got to have a total buy-in with the team.
I mentioned this a couple of times during the week. Auburn won this game during the bye week. I think Auburn went back and self-scouted. They self-scouted. They probably looked at personnel. They probably looked at some of the run. But they utilized that time. Yes, Georgia helped them. When you beat a number one team, the other team's got to help you with the three turnovers. But Auburn wanted to win the line of scrimmage. They wanted to run the ball. They did that 192-113. I think Auburn won the game the week before.
They absolutely did. I thought they looked fresher at the line of scrimmage, and they ended up playing better. It wasn't perfect, but they played really well against a Georgia team that's as good at the line of scrimmage on both sides as anybody in the country. I thought they did a great job of self-scouting, like you said. Byron Brown being more of a runner in this game on design runs, the gap scheme stuff they did really worked. And then, you know, was able to use Jeremiah Cobb on some zone reads.
You know, they were able to get him to the outside. They hit the outside, stayed away from that inside of that Georgia line, and then just found the passing stuff that's been working. Did a really, really good job. Joel Gordon, Alex Golesh, the whole offensive staff deserves a ton of credit for just figuring out. We had said it after the Tennessee game. Auburn's got to either change some things, what they do on the offensive line, or change how they play behind that offensive line. They stuck to their guns with the five that they wanted.
[1:40:42] They stuck with them. They played a good game, but they changed how they played behind them, really kind of minimized their weaknesses, lean on their strengths, and won this game. You know, just playing, I think you're right. Like, you know, they come off that off week. They took full advantage of it, and that's what you've got to do to beat a team like Georgia. Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer. One week, the fans love you. The next week, they hate you. It all depends on the win.
I think coaches get a week-to-week subscription on how fans feel about them. I know right now they're loading the box up with that subscription, but what happens this week? I guess another set of Tigers from LSU, and is Lane Kiffin still the head? I mean, in the preseason, that's all you heard. Is he still the head coach at LSU, Justin? Yeah, I know. It's the Lane Show's coming into town, but it's a really interesting Lane Show because the Lane Show has not done a good job rolling into other people's towns.
It's just mostly at home, right? You know, they're 0-2 on the road, losing to Ole Miss, losing to Kentucky. You know, they've blown out the teams they've beaten at home, but can they take that show on the road? Because here's the deal. Like, I wish this game was a night game, but this was decided to be an early game way early in advance this year. But I will say, I firmly believe that this is going to be the most electric 11 o'clock crowd in the history of Georgia State tomorrow.
There is going to be a hornet's nest. It's the history with Lane Kiffin. It's the history with LSU. This is a rivalry that we haven't seen in a couple years. It's back. It's exactly what you want, you know, in this game. So, you know, I think for Auburn, it's just you've got to come in here and just say, hey, do a lot of the same stuff you did against Georgia a week earlier. Take care of the ball. LSU gets loose with it. Sam Levitt is an electric dual-threat quarterback, but he will turn it over if you let him.
You know, and the other thing I think for Auburn is just play clean. Play clean. There are some advantages in taking this game. LSU has not been able to run the ball well the last couple weeks. They have not been able to stop the run in their losses. If Auburn plays a balanced four-quarter game, here's my big take heading into this one. If it's a four-quarter even game and you come down to who makes plays in the clutch, I know that Auburn can win late. They've done it several times this year.
I don't know that about LSU yet. Now, they're very talented and they're very good. They might do it, but, you know, this might be their eighth game they've played this year. And it's kind of unproven, like, okay, what does that look like? Who are they going to look like when the going gets tough, when they face some adversity? Good thing about this Auburn team, especially playing at home, they have swung, you know, through adversity and punched back pretty well. I want to see if they can take LSU to the fourth quarter and what that looks like on Saturday.
Well, and Doreen, you're at your point. I think last year Auburn won score games. They were 0-6. This year they're 3-1 in those games. And you're right. LSU has not run the ball effectively in the last two games. Auburn makes them one-dimensional. They've certainly got a better chance to win. I got amused at some of your Twitter posts last night at the feud, the Auburn-Alabama exhibition basketball game, which was rather spicy to say the least. Listen, where can we get online and get the Wednesday 6 a.m. emails, the mailbag I'm sure was full today, the podcast, pre-game, post-game, basketball, and all that kind of stuff?
AuburnReserver.com. We have got a ton of stuff for you this week on the site, some film breakdowns of Auburn football and Auburn basketball. You can read my story from what I thought was an incredible exhibition game last night between Auburn and Alabama. You can check that out this morning. Our preview podcast heading into the LSU game, mailbag talking all things Auburn-Georgia and moving ahead. And we'll have plenty of coverage this weekend from Auburn-LSU. A ton of stuff going on at the Observer. It's a great time to subscribe.
Just go to AuburnObserver.com, sign up there, and everything we do gets emailed to your inbox. And we're putting out a ton of stuff pretty much every day of the week. So we're keeping you busy, and it's a lot of good stuff because, I mean, you guys know this. Like, you get a big win, it's good for business. So people are happy, people are reading, people are listening, people are listening more to you now. So we're appreciating that. So y'all come on and join us. Should be an interesting ballgame tomorrow with that 11 o'clock kick taking on some semi-LSU sober fans.
That should be instant Justin Ferguson with the Auburn Observer. Coming up, it's time to do some picking and grinning, including what's up? What's up being the stupid $100 pig? Straight ahead, 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. Stock up today. Anheuser-Busch Budweiser and Bud Light Beer, St. Louis, Missouri. Well, the days are getting cooler and the smell of fall is in the air. What a perfect time to go explore the great outdoors. And Longshore Cycle Center has what you need. Stop in today and take advantage of the huge discounts that are available from the top five brands that they carry. Longshore has the 2025 Honda Pioneer 1000s with close to $3,000 discounts and the 2026 Pioneer 1000s with 10% discounts to business owners through October 2026.
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Welcome in to UD time, underdog. Brett Beaird, time for a little underdog trivia. This one for $600, no dollars. It was a very popular cartoon. What was the thinking behind underdog? In other words, why did it come to the TV screen on Saturday morning to you and a lot of us kids back in the day? Question that I don't have an answer for. All right. So, there goes $600, no dollars. It's General Mills. The ad agency for the cereal said, we've got to come up to hook these kids.
So, they came up with underdogs. It was a good idea. And it worked. Two scoops there. All right, BB. Before we get into the underdog sup, that is a stupid underdog pick, where do you start with the other picks of the week? Number nine, Austin Peay at UNA is 602 kickoffs. The Govs, or what used to be the Governors, they've only lost two games. Two to Vanderbilt, and number one in FCS Tarlington State. They're ranked first or second in seven offensive and defensive categories in the FCS.
Chris Parsons, who Brent Dierman actually recruited at one point, maybe the best player in UAC. Avery Howard is now second ranked in the conference in sacks per game. I think UNA plays well, but Austin Peay is a top-10 team. They'll pull away in the second half. Austin Peay, 35. UNA, 24. Woo! There's Rick making the studio again. Hey, Rick! Tennessee and South Carolina. This is a hangover game. This is a tricky game to call. South Carolina actually leads the SEC in rushing. Tennessee's one in six. I've said this this week in their last seven trips.
Two in Columbia, South Carolina. South Carolina coming off a bye. Ran Florida out of their own stadium. But I go back to last week. Defense travels, as we heard a little bit earlier with Mike Huguenin. They're the league's top-scoring defense. A very close game. Tennessee 24, South Carolina 21. Woo! Yeah. Thank you, Rick. LSU, seven-and-a-half-point favorite at Auburn. LSU leads the SEC in offense, total defense, and passing yards. But Auburn has got the momentum. And you know what happens when Auburn gets momentum. Oh. LSU has not won a road SEC game in two years.
[1:51:50] Wow. But I think they play well against Auburn tomorrow. LSU 28, Auburn 17. Woo! Thank you, Rick, again. Texas A&M and Alabama. Uh-huh. Can you play four quarters? This is a get-right game for Alabama, and their playoffs begins tomorrow. Fast start, clean game, run for 150 yards. A&M's giving up 141. Get some sacks. Texas A&M struggled all season. The struggle continues. The tide rolls on homecoming, 34-17. Oh! And the stupid underdog pick is Houston at Utah. This is game day. Utah's six-and-a-half-point favorite. They haven't played anybody.
Houston upsets Utah Utes. Stupid! You're so stupid! The congregation has spoken. UNA, Austin Peay, I like UNA, homecoming day, a great emotional game. But Austin Peay, they've got a, to me, one of the best quarterbacks at that level in the entire country. I agree with you. Hope I'm wrong, but 32-22, you had Austin Peay there. Tennessee and South Carolina, very interesting ballgame. As you mentioned, Tennessee, they're coming off the hangover. But I still think, I know what Vegas is saying. But would you agree, the folks in the congregation, 28-22, Vol.
Yeah, baby! Thank you, all right. And in that case, I'll keep going. Auburn and LSU, the tangle of the Tigers. I think this is going to be a little tight and a lot of folks think. But I think that Lane will finally break that hoax on the road. 28-24 LSU. What do you say, boys? And, of course, Alabama and Texas A&M. Be me until Alabama shows me that they can play four full quarters. I'm not buying Vegas. I think Alabama wins, but I don't think it's going to be like a lot of folks think.
We shall see. Tomorrow, it's going to be one of those turning point games that they do. We'll come back on Monday and talk about it. But Alabama, 32-23 over the Yankees. Yeah, baby! And a stupid underdog pick. We've been talking about it. Ole Miss and Texas. Ole Miss, 28-25 over the boys from Austin at Austin. I don't think a lot of people agree with that. Thank you for that game. What have we got tonight, BB? Parcel at Florence. Pre-game at 6. TNT Fireworks Show. Kickoff at 7 o'clock.
Got the final coaching show in the morning. Alabama pre-game beginning at 11.30. By the way, don't forget the scoreboard with James and Blair. And as you mentioned, perfect weather for watching high school football. Have a fun and safe football weekend. Thank you all those sentiments. This is from FBB, Greg James Blair, the entire career. Harold Bogg, thank you just so much for your time today. Let's do it again Monday, noon to two with a bit more bug show. Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9, the score.