Boomo Bugg Show 110425

[0:00] Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. New exclusive inside track to the Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. It's been an interesting process. You know, I think, um, I'm very excited once, uh, Snit stepped away and, and, and I became a part of this. Um, it was something I was, I got really excited about. So, you know, my, my history here, my, my last eight years, I think, um, you know, I'm hoping it'll be a seamless transition here because of the relationships, not only with the players, but, uh, the front office, you know, there's the support staff, there's, there's, there's respect and trust that, that's, that flows up and down the chain of command. And so I think, um, you know, for that reason, we can, we, we can hit the ground running.

Hey, Walt Wise is that speaker, the new Braves manager, familiar with the Braves, Braves fans in the organization, former bench coach for Brian Snitker. Now the, and a lot of people thought the Braves might be going in a different direction, Harold Buck, but Walt Wise, the former bench coach for the Braves. And also, uh, the manager for the Colorado Rockies is the new manager of the Atlanta Braves. And he's also a guy that makes some of us in this conversation feel old. I interviewed Walt Wise way back in the day when he was a shortstop with a Huntsville stars. And here's what's trivia about it.

He was an MVP. I should say a rookie of the year in the America league. First was a guy named Jose Canseco, then Mark McGuire, and the third Huntsville star to be a star. Walt Wise, he was the third one off that original team of the Huntsville stars. So thanks Walt for making us feel a little bit old. BB, it is a day of brand new stuff last night, a brand new basketball season tipping off in the college world tonight, a brand new college football poll.

And are you ready for the, uh, the rock star of ESPN telecast last night for Alabama and North Dakota? Are you ready for one Roger Hoover? Uh, listen, we know how multi-talented Roger Hoover is. It was, it was on clear display last night for the women's and men's basketball games. Busy boy himself, Roger on the mic and on the call there in the Alabama Crimson Tide Network. Roger, welcome in. I'm surprised you still got enough energy, but we're so gracious that you do. How are you?

Hey guys, I'm doing really well. Yeah. I barely have a voice left after all that last night. And my biggest test is happening right now. We'll try to get through this interview without my five-month-old son Carson crying in the middle of it. So I've got him in my left hand, the phone in my right, and I'm going to be connecting with my fancy friends from North Alabama. Just another reason to love Roger Hoover. Right, Roger. Game one is in the house. Carly Weathers, an outstanding night. The pride of Loretto with the Alabama.

Women, a very stubborn bunch of girls from Stetson, then Alabama taking care of business, as you expect against North Dakota. Your thoughts about Alabama men and women in basketball now that they're off and rolling? Yeah, I think both teams are trying to figure out, really, the case will be in the month of November, just who they are. Especially, I think, the women's basketball team. Anytime you lose three players that had such key roles, like Sarah Ashley Barker, Aaliyah Nye, Dave Green, that's going to be tough.

But these weren't just any three players. These were all three WNBA draft picks. Obviously, Aaliyah Nye, WNBA champion this past year with the Las Vegas Aces. Those are hard players to really replace. And I think Alabama's trying to do that a bit by committee. But somebody like Carly Weathers, like you mentioned, really turned on her scoring late in the fourth quarter of that ballgame. Really looked good when Alabama had to have some key baskets from her. So I think it's a bit of an identity shift for this team. They no longer have some of those stars to rely on. So for the returners, they got to play with them. They know they have to step up a little bit more. For these newcomers, they realize that their role is going to be completely different from what they've ever played in basketball before.

So I thought that was a good showing for the women's team, and especially coming from behind like they did against the Setzen team that brought back a lot of returning talent. I thought it was a good test in game number one. For the men's team, LeBaron Pylon. Man, he is fun to watch. 22 points, setting a new career high. And then all of these freshmen. Alabama was a little shorthanded with some recent injuries. The guys like Aiden Holloway, Littrell Wright's a lot playing. And then Keaton Bristow out as well. So these youngsters, Davion Hanna and Amari Allen, really impressive.

[5:09] Their first time getting to wear the Crimson at Coleman Coliseum. And I think everybody's pretty excited about the direction that Nate Oates' team is going in. Good win against North Dakota, but it gets so much tougher coming up on Saturday in St. John's and Madison Square Garden. Roger, that's what I was going to say. Nate Oates was Nate Oates last night. He got on Taylor Bowen for not getting it off its rebound. And he didn't like 15 turnovers, but I think he liked a lot of other things.

And you kind of alluded to a lot of those. This is a very good team. It's going to take a while for everyone to jail. But they did beat North Dakota 91-62. Houston Millette added 15 points. And as you also mentioned, St. John's, I believe, pregame 10 a.m. Tip-off at 11 Saturday. And oh, by the way, they've only got number one Purdue, Illinois, Gonzaga, and Nevada, Las Vegas on the docket coming up in the next two or three weeks. Yeah. Alabama's had the toughest strength to schedule in college basketball the last few years.

I'd be shocked if it's not top five again this year with that gauntlet that is coming up. So it's definitely exciting to see what this group can be. And it sounds like there's some real positive news heading towards that St. John's game, getting some of these players back, especially Holloway and Reitzel. So I think that's a good sign for this group. But I can't wait to be tuned in to that one coming up on Saturday as we wait for football. Oh, yeah, there's still football going on.

I mean, can you imagine Alabama LSU seems like such an afterthought on Saturday after basketball between St. John's and Alabama. I mean, what year is it? Roger, since you brought up that other sport down there, your thoughts heading into what has to be one of the more intriguing Alabama-LSU matchups with the obvious. Anytime you have the I-Coach interim, that is, it's always going to be, let's face it, a box of chocolates. You don't know exactly what you're going to get. But your thoughts about the mood, LSU's got to be what LSU is.

Alabama's got to take care of business because, let's face it, the night's first big poll comes out. I would assume they're going to be at the number four spot. That's important because you get that first round by. There's a big difference between being four and five in that poll at the end. But your thoughts, first things first, the mindset and your thoughts coming into this matchup, which has always been, in a way, a heck of a matchup with LSU. Well, I think the mindset's been good for this group, even going back to some of the early weeks after the loss to Florida State.

I think there's nothing that got that group focused on winning each and every week and doing what it takes and kind of emptying the bucket every single week in order to get a win. Nothing's done that like that loss against FSU. So I think this group is really motivated, not just for college football playoff. I think this group's really motivated to get to Atlanta. I think they realized they had a great chance to get to that SEC championship game last year and missed out on it and then, as a result, missed out on the playoff because of not taking care of business against Oklahoma.

So I think, first and foremost, kind of like the old days, we always kept saying you just got to win the West and then, really, everything goes from there. This group knows they've got to keep winning games in order to make it to that SEC championship game. And at LSU, it's not hard to get motivated for them. And like you mentioned, LSU is an interim coach. You don't know how they're going to respond. It doesn't seem like Brian Kelly was the most popular person with a lot of these players in that locker room.

So I imagine they are trying to show a statement to him, regardless of the fact that they're playing Alabama. I think they want to show him and the rest of that coaching staff that's changed that, you know what, we are really good players. We are worth the money we were paid in the NIL, and we are going to go out and make some noise the rest of the way. So I think Alabama is going to take on a highly motivated team, and I think that's going to only help Alabama in its preparation for this Saturday.

Roger, I always get amused from Alabama fans and even some of the media. It's great. They've won seven consecutive games, ranked number four. We'll see what it is, as Harold mentioned. Tonight, they had an absolute gauntlet in football in October, and I thought then if they could get through unscathed in the month of October, this is a playoff team. And, Roger, here comes the but. But they need to run the ball more effectively. Yes, yes, they do. Again, Alabama's motto is run the dadgum ball, and in particularly the traditional run to the running backs.

Now, do they need to go outside a little bit more instead of off tackle? Yes, and some offensive linemen were kind of banged up against South Carolina. But I still like the fact that Ryan Grubb has stayed committed to running the ball, and I still believe that the running game is going to help balance a very good passing attack. But, Roger, we know from all Alabama fans, you've got to run that dadgum ball. You certainly do, and especially you've got to make this LSU defense work because when they've had to be on the field too much in the last few weeks against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, that's led to really poor performances from this LSU defense.

[10:19] That started the year really good with the way they played against Clemson and Florida. So I think running the football is going to be important. And Alabama's run the football pretty well kind of late in games. We've had good balance on some of those key drives late against Missouri and get South Carolina and even Tennessee at times. But maybe to do it earlier in the ballgame would really be a boost for the football team. I still think this group can be counted on to get key yards when they run.

That's Jim Miller, Daniel Hill, who's really emerged, in addition to Kevin Riley. I like the talent Alabama has in that position. I like the talent Alabama has in the offensive line. And I think a week like this may be where it comes together because LSU is very good in the secondary. I don't think people realize how they have shut down some good SEC quarterbacks. Even in some losses, they have looked good slowing down some passing attacks. So I think it's going to be really important to, number one, run the football effectively like you mentioned.

And then I think only good things can happen from there. Roger Hoover, Alabama Crimson Tide Network. You mentioned the receiving core. Based on what we're hearing anyway, Roger, you're closer to obviously the epicenter that we are. Some good news looks like the posse is on the way regarding Mr. Brooks and Horton. I think Alabama fans, last game or two out, they realized what Mr. Brooks means to this receiving core. Yeah, certainly. And Isaiah Horton has been key in getting some touchdowns for the Crimson Tide, especially in SEC play.

So I think the bye week came at a perfect time for guys like that. And even on the defensive side of the ball as well, I think this group is getting healthier and getting closer to being its best self. Absolutely. Listen, we didn't let you go. We didn't get back to Dan. Crimson Drive, Daniel Hill just won today. By the way, I think the Alabama women are playing, as we speak, in the next round of the SEC soccer tournament. Certainly good luck to them. You've got a busy week, obviously, basketball versus St. John's in the Garden, football with Alabama at home in Tuscaloosa.

Tell us about your week. Yeah, really focused on this football game coming up on Saturday. I won't be making the trip, unfortunately, to New York City, but I wish Brian Passing and Kerr Bloom is going to fill in for Chris on the network. All the best to the Big Apple coming up on Saturday. But we've got Crimson Drive Tuesday and Thursday coming up on the network at 2 o'clock on all of our social media platforms. And then, of course, women's basketball Thursday night as well against McNeese State.

And then all the coverage starts at 3.30 coming up on Saturday for football against LSU. Hopefully a very winning week for Alabama athletics before we turn our attention to some more great matchups next week. Like you mentioned, Purdue and men's basketball at home, football against Oklahoma, who just beat Tennessee. So it only gets tougher from here on out, and we're looking forward to starting the month of November with some wins. Roger, let's hope that Alabama is as good as your baby there. Very good job by the babe.

Give him an extra cookie, okay? Yeah, that sounds good. We're going to do that right now. Well, thank you guys for having me on. Thank you, buddy. Going to hold you to it. Roger Hoover on the Alabama Crimson Tide Network. Coming up, postseason high school football. We'll take you to the big gag himself. Coach Evan Shipp down at Hamilton High on deck. Stay with us. Carbine Construction is honored to be a part of building projects with the Florence City School System. We're also glad to cheer on the Falcons as they celebrate milestone achievements as well.

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Call Thanksgiving. Coach Evanship, then at Hamilton High. Coach, welcome in. How's life in Hamilton today? Going pretty good, just getting ready for the game. We actually moved our game to Thursday just now, so we're a little closer than we planned, but hopefully get everything lined up and get to go on Thursday. Talk to us about this, team coach. Obviously, when you come in, you look at things and say, oh my goodness, I've got to take the wrecking ball and go to work. Correct us if we're wrong.

You went from being, that is a program, went anyway, from being 1-9 two years ago to 10-0 this season. What is the secret of the sauce, coach? Well, I mean, the main thing is maturity. Actually, we're actually starting pretty much the same guys we were two years ago. And so we started a lot of freshmen and sophomores that first year. We went 1-9, and those guys are still starting for the majority of them. So, you know, just the maturity, learning the game, getting bigger and stronger.

And so, you know, those years in the program of, you know, learning why we do what we do and how to do it and all those things have just really, you know, kind of come together. And they've had a good year and played well. And so, you know, they're starting to see the fruits of all those things that we've been doing over the past couple years. Coach, I think one of the great examples of that leadership, Harold and I talk about Trent Seaborne a lot at Hoover.

[20:44] But we joke that he's been a quarterback 10 years down there. Commitment to Alabama. You have got a junior quarterback by the name of Mason Holloway who's in his fourth year as quarterback. I was reading some of the Times Daily articles three years ago. He was a seventh grader. He was five feet, five inches tall. Now he's six foot two. He's grown seven inches since then. Man, what a season. He had a very good season last year throwing for 2,951 yards, 37 touchdowns. Well, he's followed up that this year he's a deal threat quarterback, runs the ball well, 57 carries, 527 yards, 10 touchdowns.

He's nearly thrown for 2,000 yards in 10 games, 91 to 142, 1,948 yards, 26 touchdowns, and four interceptions. You've got a lot of players, and we can talk about them. But, again, when you've got that leadership at quarterback and he's been behind center four years, that's huge. Oh, definitely. You know, just having that, you know, over the years, having players, especially at the quarterback position, that are multi-year starters, you know, they just continuously get better and better. And, you know, he's done that. And, you know, there's not a whole lot that defenses can throw at him that he hasn't seen over the years.

And so, just his comfort within the system and, you know, him understanding why I call what I call and being able to execute it on the field is, you know, a tremendous asset. And he's pretty accurate with the ball. He runs the ball well. So, you know, he's definitely a good player, and we're glad to have him. In the huddle with Coach Evanship down at Hamilton High. Coach, obviously, it's good to get this far. But then when you get to, as I say, to this part of the schedule, everybody starts from 0-0.

Your thoughts about your opening opponent in 4A, the team from Asheville? They've got a good squad. You know, they're kind of in the situation we were in, you know, last year. I hadn't made the playoffs in a few years, but had a, you know, a good core group of players. And so, they're definitely a dangerous team. They've got some guys that can run. They've got some size. So, they, a quarterback's a dual-threat guy, a lot like ours, which brings its own challenges defensively. So, you know, they've got a good squad, and, you know, we've been preparing.

Luckily, we had our bye week last week, so we've got a little extra time to work on them. But, you know, we're just excited for the challenge, and hopefully we can play well. Mason has some help, obviously, as every quarterback does. Your receiver, Houston Tibbs, 32 for 732 yards, 11 touchdowns. Christian Silt, and I bet he has dinner with you occasionally. 18 catches for 568. Trip Summers left of 243. You've got some very talented skill people, but every time I look at the Times Daily Preview of Hamilton, I see a lot of big dudes on the offensive line.

When you win the line of scrimmage, I don't care what level of football it is. If you're going to win games, Dylan Humphries, Jason, Sam Moore, Jerry Corrado, Colby Lackey, Luke Johnson, just some of your linemen. Talk about, again, these guys can't do what they're doing unless you're winning the line of scrimmage, running and throwing the ball. Talk about winning the line of scrimmage and some of the guys you've got there. Oh, no doubt. I mean, as much as people want to talk about, you know, these big, fast-paced offenses, throwing the ball around, football is still a one in the trenches.

And so, you know, luckily, we've got a lot of experience there as well. We've got five seniors starting on the offensive line. Four of them are multi-year starters on the offensive line. So, you know, just the experience there as well has been huge. Most of them started my first year here, so they're three-plus within the system as well. So, you know, it's definitely great to have that experience. They're also big guys, and they're all smart, and, you know, so it's good to have that core group that, you know, has played together a lot of games together.

So there's continuity there. So it all just builds upon having, you know, a special team like we've had this year so far. And, you know, all the pieces just kind of fit together. Coach, obviously, I'm sure you can't say enough about your fans. I've got a long history with Hamilton Highs. Covering an Alabama game one day, and the quarterback was named Gary Hollinsworth. We know the story there. Comes out of Hamilton. He goes on a walk-on starter, takes Alabama to the cusp of the national championship.

[26:00] I'm covering him. One day I'm walking back up the stands after a game, and I see this young man there, and I ask him his name. And his name is Clay Dyer. He's obviously a legendary. And what makes Clay unique is he was born with no arms and no legs. And I said, who's your favorite player? He said, Gary Hollinsworth. I said, why? He says, I'm from Hamilton. We do a story. He plays football. One of those little footballs that cheerleaders throw out with his kids, with his friends there on the football field at Hamilton.

And I forgot about the story. And years later, I get a phone call. He said, Harold, I do something else. I said, what's that? He says, I am professional fisherman. He is on the Bassmasters Classic Open. You've got a heck of a fan base there at Hamilton. Between Gary, by the way, who's also won the biggest battle of all, and that's with a C word. And, of course, Clay Dyer. What a community of fans there for you. Oh, yeah. The community is great here. We've got a lot of support.

I run into people all the time that are from here that still keep up with the program. And, you know, so we have a wide fan base and a lot of excitement, a lot of support. And so, you know, we can't do everything we do without that support. And so we're really appreciative to our community for everything that they do for us. And, you know, if you come to Sargent Stadium for a home game now, it gets pretty loud. And that definitely helps as well, that little home field advantage.

Evan, you know this because you play it every day. But Class 4A, I've always had a special feel for them. It's one of the most competitive classes in the state of Alabama. West Morgan at 10-0, they're hosting Randolph, by the way. They moved their game to Thursday, too. Brooks in Plainview. Brooks has won, I believe, six out of their last seven games. Plainview's undefeated. Madison Academy at Hatton. We've talked about Hatton all season. We've talked about you a lot. As you mentioned, Asheville. Class 4A, Dessler's in there, a lot of other teams.

Class 4A, Cherokee County, some of the other ones. It is a very, very competitive class. This year especially, we start talking about the playoff teams. Cherokee County's gone to the championship game the past two years. There are three seeds in that region this year, and they're still good. It's not like they're not a good football team. And the Shoals region's always competitive as well. And so, there's a lot of good football teams in 4A. And, you know, that's what we talked about with our kids. Like, you know, now everybody's good.

It doesn't matter if you're first, second, third round. You know, every team you play is going to be a quality football team. So, that's kind of where we're at in 4A right now, which is great from a competitive standpoint. Just excited to be a part of it right now. Well, congratulations. It's special to go undefeated in the regular season. This is something that you and your players, staff, and the Hamilton family will never forget. Now, I believe it's been 10 years. It's been way too long since Hamilton has won and had a playoff win, another playoff win.

Hopefully, that will change Wednesday night. Listen, thank you for your time. We know y'all busy. God bless you, the coaches and the players. Good luck. And hopefully, Hamilton is going to be playing. Here I mentioned the brown grass. Maybe it'll be frozen in about three or four weeks and you're still playing. I hope so. You know, that's always something to be excited about and making a run. And so, hopefully, we can play well and keep things rolling. As I say, go Aggies. Coach, thanks so much and stay safe out there, okay?

All right. Thank you. Thank you, Coach. Coach, having a shift, we're going to be with us there at Hamilton and I have a quick story about Clay Dyer. We go fishing. He says, come over here and keep in mind now, he has no legs and no arms. He launches his boat. We're over at Wheeler. It was a hot day and he said, excuse me, I'm going to go swimming. He jumps in the water. He's incredible. He is an incredible human being. Coming up, time to go to Vegas and check in with the master, Bruce Marshall, on deck of the Bumol Buck Show.

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Zip Intro. Post jobs today. Talk to qualified candidates tomorrow. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. He is the king of Las Vegas. His name is Bruce Marshall. He's busy there for the Las Vegas Insider. TomSports.net, CBS Sportsline, Winners and Whiners, Picks and Parlays, his podcast, Bet Rivers, and Vegas Insider. Bruce Marshall, older birdie, tells me you may be in the Bay Area. You can confirm or deny, and if so, are you meeting with Tony Vitello, Nancy Pelosi, or Jimmy Sexton?

Hello. How are you? Not the former two, although Vitello, I'll talk to him at some point. Pelosi, no. But I'm moving quickly up here, and discreetly, let's put it like that. By the way, the one thing I think we have to mention today, citing the great philosopher from Memphis, Brett Norsworthy, who told me at an SEC media day, God, this was in Hoover several years ago, very prescient words. He said, in the SEC, he said, someone has to lose. Not everyone can win. Or every year, we're going to be having half the coaches fired before the end of the season.

[36:46] Never, never, never doubt the modern-day Confucius from Elvis' backyard in Memphis, Tennessee. Where do you start with this, Bruce? Obviously, is it one of those deals where, gee whiz, it's like living in a neighborhood where somebody puts up this tacky Halloween stuff in your front yard. Next thing you know, the neighbor next door is doing it. Then the one down the street is doing it. What's going on? Is it one of those deals where people need to do this, or they're saying, if I don't do it now, we're going to get lost in sweepstakes to get our man.

What's going on with this, Bruce? Yeah, a little bit of everything you say there, Harold. It's almost like, you know, this is Jimmy Sexton's world, and we live in it. That's right. Everything is sort of falling into his hands here. He controls so many coaches. But it would just seem, we keep thinking this is going to slow down. And it did to an extent after last season in the SEC when you didn't have any coaching changes. But that was just sort of a timing thing, and it's not like those, I mean, you had all these guys still in the hot seat, and half of them seem to be gone before this season is over.

They were still moving coaches in college football. Last year, I think the American had six changes from last year. So it was just like a brief pause in the SEC. But you can see where this is going now. I mean, if you don't win immediately, I mean, you're fired. And, you know, Hugh Freeze, we sort of saw the handwriting on the wall. This would have happened the previous week if they didn't rally to beat Arkansas. And we'll see what D.J. Durkin can do these last few weeks.

But I kind of, I was thinking the whole year they're going to give Freeze a chance all the way to the end if they can, to see if he can finally knock off Alabama. But he just couldn't last that long. Well, to expand on that, but you say if you don't win, you're going to move. What happens if you do win? Back to our original friend, Brett Norsworthy. What is he saying about Lane Kiffin, who is on the other end of the spectrum? He's literally in the catbird seat.

He is winning, and everybody is sitting here, and Lane's just up in the ante, I'm sure, if he wants to leave Oxford. Yeah, that is true, Harold, and he's sitting in the catbird seat, you know, and because he's Jimmy's client, he's going to milk that for everything it's worth. But I think there's something else evolving in college football now. We haven't seen it yet in the SEC, but Lane could really deliver the message if he decides to stay at Ole Miss, which I think there's a possibility he could.

I hear he likes it there very much. He can win there, and, I mean, they can pay him a lot. Maybe they'll pay him a little more at LSU or Ole Miss, but he doesn't have a fan base while it's demanding. They don't need him to win a national title like they do at Florida or LSU. There's two developments recently, or three if you want to include Matt Rule, but I'm not sure we should put him in this list, but Cignetti at Indiana, and then Red Lashley at SMU last week.

Both those guys re-upped. And especially in Lashley's case, and it's like, what more could I want? I live where I want. My family's in a good spot here in Dallas. I'm making all the money I could want. I've got all the support from the boosters and the administration I could dream of here, and the facilities are great. And why am I going to leave for some pressure cooker somewhere else? I've got it pretty good here. Cignetti really did the same thing at Indiana. We'll see if Lane does the same thing at Ole Miss.

But if he doesn't, then this carousel is going to start spinning more because we haven't seen guys leave a school for another job yet because when they leave, that job opens up, and then that's going to be filled by another one. So we haven't even started to spin on this carousel yet. All right. Let me ask you about a game kind of off on a lot of people's radar, but there's a double meaning here. Memphis, six-and-a-point favorite traveling to Tulane. Both these teams have had pretty good years.

I read two things today that Ryan Sanderfield, the coach at Memphis, who's a very good coach, has continued that program after Mike Norvell went to Florida State. Ryan Sanderfield may be one of the leaders on a short list for Arkansas. Now, we've talked with you about Jon Sumrall most of the season. He's done a really good job at Tulane everywhere he's gone, and particularly at Troy. Now that he freezes out, I know there are a lot of Auburn boosters, donors, who are very interested in Sumrall, but a lot of other openings are interested too.

What are you hearing about Ryan Sanderfield at Memphis and Jon Sumrall at Tulane? Yeah, well, they're both Sexton guys, first of all. Second, and this is now the carousel's going to hit the American at the top end, too, if these guys move, and they're both prime candidates to do that. Silverfield has really moved up here in the last year and a half or two because Memphis has had such great success. The one thing you want to watch for him, I think he'll wait if you can play the waiting game here a little bit, and it's sort of hard now.

[41:58] His old AD at Memphis, Veach, is now at Mizzou, and he was there at Memphis when Norvell left and they promoted Silverfield. So there's a relationship there, and if Eli should move on from Mizzou, the thought seems to be that would be a natural landing spot for Silverfield if somebody else doesn't beat the Mizzou to the punch, and who knows if Eli's going to leave, too. So that puts Arkansas right there. Now you throw Auburn into the mix, and that's, you know, Sumrall there. Sumrall could be Arkansas.

Silverfield could be there, and there's other jobs that are going to be opening up. I've heard Oklahoma State is going to open up the saddlebags and go after somebody, too, and we haven't even gotten around to what if Kentucky, though. I think Stoops might be a little safe now, but that's always seemed to be the landing spot we thought for Sumrall. That's his alma mater. But this is what my point about the carousel is going to really start spinning crazy when guys like Silverfield and Sumrall move, and that is a very good game this week.

And, you know, Memphis' favorite, that was a real blow that Tulane took last week. Retzlaff hasn't quite delivered like they thought it. Tulane's defense is a little bit down this year. I think Memphis probably gets them. But both these guys are certainly on a very short list for a lot of schools. And, like I said, once they leave and then Memphis. Memphis and Tulane are pretty good jobs, by the way. And so somebody's going to move in there, too, and that carousel is going to really start spinning.

Bruce Marshall has always got it going on out in Vegas, busy there amongst other places, Las Vegas and Santa. Bruce, let's circle back to Auburn. In your opinion, two things on that. Did Auburn say, Hugh, we're going to do you a favor? Diego Pavia is not going to beat you this year. Your thoughts about that, and who would be a good fit? Auburn is not for everybody. If you win there, you're the king of the hill. If not, you cash a big buyout check. Who would be a good fit at Auburn?

And what's going to happen this weekend against Vandy? I don't know if there's a good fit at Auburn, the way that goes. Summer would fit there. And, I mean, Silverfield probably would, too. By the way, James Franklin is still out there, as well, wants to get back in. And we've got LSU in Florida, so there's a lot of different. I've heard Urban Meyer's name might even get thrown in the hat of Florida again. So a lot of different ones. Summer would seem to me like he would be sort of a guy for Auburn.

Again, though, last week there's another close loss for Auburn. And Durkin, I don't think Durkin would be a candidate for the head coaching job, but he will be a top defensive coordinator candidate. And whoever comes into Auburn should try to keep him in his defensive coordinator. They might make things difficult on Al Pavia. That defense has not played badly this year. And it's just been the offense. And, you know, last week Daniels couldn't do it. And then, you know, Arnold at the end of the game.

That's just been a total mess for Auburn. Whoever comes in there, you know, they're going to have to fix the offense first and foremost. Because you cannot compete in the SEC if you don't have a state-of-the-art offense these days. They might be able to throw a roadblock in Pavia's way this week. So I'm not sure I want to lay the points with Vanderbilt here. Because Auburn's been close. Every game they've lost has been, like, within one score. So they may hang around this week and keep this thing to a, you know, a 20-17 sort of game.

So I would not be interested in laying points against Auburn. They're still not that bad a team. They just don't have enough offense to win. Let me ask you about LSU and Alabama. We all know the mess that's been going on in Baton Rouge. But Frank Wilson is the interim. They've had a bye week. I hear their healthier quit weeks is one. We can talk to Mike Scarborough a little bit later, Tiger Bate, about that. Alabama is a 10-and-a-half-point favorite. Of course, it's a 6-30 game on ABC.

Alabama hasn't lost to an SEC team in Bryant-Denny since 2019 to LSU and Joe Burrow in that bunch. Alabama wanting to run the ball a little bit more, 1-7 straight. Does Alabama win and cover Saturday night in Bryant-Denny? I think so, Brett, because LSU would probably have to play better than it did in any game this year. That includes the Clemson game they won, and that win is not looking as good opening week. The offense just hasn't picked up the pace, and that's why Brian Kelly has really gone.

They did a little bit more in the A&M game, but everything else collapsed. And this is my major, major disappointment this year. But the offensive design and the sequencing, the play calling, Joe Sloan is not there anymore either now. So that was obviously, handwriting is on the wall there. But, I mean, something is going to have to change dramatically in a very short period of time with an interim coach and a new play caller within two weeks here to go against Alabama and try to win this game.

[47:01] I don't think it can happen. I think Alabama has just got everything rolling in its favor right now. Simpson gets back on track. It's funny because all these speed bumpers we're seeing along the SEC, the one that's working pretty good is Alabama. So I want to take the Crimson side 33-17 and roll tide one more week. Bruce Marshall, if you have one, who would it be, the proverbial Bruce Marshall under-the-radar special of the week? Well, I'll give you two real quick. One is actually in the SEC, and we didn't touch upon it.

I think Mizzou's got a shot at A&M this week. Now, they get them at home, and I know Pergola is out. But I'll tell you, Zoller's the backup quarterback. Listen, there are different categories of backup quarterbacks. If you watch Nebraska after Royola went out last week against SC, Boise after Matson went out against Fresno, you can really struggle if the backup is in it. Not the case of Missouri. Zoller's came in there and started firing away immediately, no fear whatsoever. And you go through the SEC, you know, with an unscathed, like A&M, or I don't know if you can do it.

Tough one on the road here. I think Mizzou, plus the points, is really good there. One of them, way out here in my neck of the woods, I might actually be there even on Saturday. Air Force is at San Jose State. Air Force is just where it was last year. They almost, actually, they're a little worse off last year, but they won their last four down the stretch. This year, if they can win their last four, they'll get more eligible. They should be better than two and six.

Their last three games of four games have all been decided by three points, including both against the Navy and Army. Zarka is a live wire quarterback. San Jose plays games awfully close, and they've blown several games to three-and-a-half, four-point favorite San Jose. Uh-uh. I'm going to take Air Force there. I think they can win the game out, right? Georgia, a seven-and-a-half-point favorite at Mississippi State. And a lot of people say, well, this is going to be named to score for Georgia. Mississippi State should have and could have beaten Tennessee and Texas.

They came back to beat Arkansas, scored late in that game. Georgia has gotten off to slow starts. Florida got a little bit of a bump with the interim coach and played with some energy. A lot of people think this is a foregone conclusion. Is this game closer than, quote, the experts expect? Does Georgia win and cover the seven-and-a-half? Georgia wins, but I don't think Georgia covers, Brad. And that's sort of, you know, the pattern we've seen at Mississippi State. They play everybody tough. Last year, even though they didn't win an SEC game, they were covering point spreads left and right, including this one last year.

And against Georgia last year, that was after Shapen got hurt. That was with Van Buren, the backup. So, you know, and this year it's continued in the same pattern. They should have won a couple of these games. They didn't. They certainly could have beat Tennessee. You know, they could have, practically every game against the A&M game, and that game was a misleading score. Shapen is very good. They've got confidence now. They are one win from bowl eligibility. Good feather in the cap for Jeff Webby.

And Georgia is living, they are flying really close to the flame. And I know Gunnar Stockton is bailing them out, but this sets up as another hair-raiser, I think. And I think Georgia wins it something like 27-24. But I don't think they'll cover Mississippi State. But think about it. There's a lot of leagues this year. Mississippi State, Mississippi State, the American Conference USA, they'd win the league. And this year, yeah, they would. And Levy has really done a good job getting them competitive. And you wonder now, Don, they got a win, and they came back, and they finally won one of those.

Like, Arkansas, great comeback. I think they're going to be tough to beat. Close game. I agree with you. I think State, Jeff Levy has certainly got that program going in the right direction. Blake's shape and has stayed healthy. Flip Bothwell is coming back. He played a little bit against Arkansas. You are still the gold standard, just an appetizer for all the great games. College basketball, starting last night, Alabama and Auburn win. Both got Dickie V. They got some big games on tonight after the college football playoffs.

You've got so many places to follow you on. Where can we get online and still continue to get the gold standard in Las Vegas handicapping? Yeah, thanks, Brett. Yeah, a lot of college hoops. Auburn cut it kind of close last night, though. Yeah, sure did. But, yeah, I actually got one. First, I had a UCLA Eastern Washington over. So we've got another one going tonight. And college hoops is here. NBA's already here. NHL's already here. Baseball's over. But now basketball, full bore, and, of course, all this football.

I got one tonight, by the way. Miami, Ohio. I'm going to take against Ohio U. So take that Tuesday night Mac action. But check me out for all my picks, as usual, the old standbys, Vegasinsider.com. Up there at CBS Sportsline, sportsline.com. Got some stories up there as well. And for picks with a different twist at winnersandwiners.com. The gold standard of Vegas. Listen, enjoy the Golden Gate and stay safe out there in the Bay Area. Okay, Bruce? I'll move discreetly. Don't worry. I'm going to hold you to it.

[52:29] We're going to talk next week, too. Bruce Marshall is, amongst other places, again, there at the Las Vegas Insider. Quickly, in case you missed it, BB the Bray's got a brand new chief. A lot of folks thought that that might be the case. But for the folks who might have missed it, can you refresh our memories? Walt Weiss is the very familiar face of the Braves, the former bench coach. But he has been promoted to manager. A lot of people thought the Braves were going to go outside of the organization.

The bench coach, Danny Lehman at Los Angeles, thought to be possibly getting that job. But when everything said and done, announced last night, Walt Weiss replacing Brian Snitker as manager of the Atlanta Braves. And by the way, thanks to producer James for helping share that info at the top of the hour. Coming up in the second hour, we're going to be taking all over the place. The latest from Alabama's visitors, LSU, with Mike Scarborough, Joe Cox all over the SEC, and Larry Vaults from Kentucky and Morris.

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Here's the thing. They've missed 15 off-ramps. They've absolutely impugned their own integrity in the process, but I still believe that they're trying to bow down to this radical wing. A lot of Democrats are going to leave their party because I'm telling you this is not the Democratic Party of days gone by. This is socialism, Marxism, and now's the time to exit the Democratic Party if you want to save America. I'll be back with more Alabama stories 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 F.I.N. number on hand, drive awareness, drive hope, and customize your plate today at atease.org. Police and Enterprise have arrested one person in connection to a shooting that occurred this past weekend, killing one person. The fatality has been identified as Jakaeva's suite.

He was found shot by gunfire on Gibson Street this past Sunday. Police are now charging Zachary Qualls with murder. The band Toto has announced a concert day here in Alabama. Toto will be performing at the Mark Smith Concert Hall in Huntsville on March 4th of 2026. Tickets to see the band play will go on sale this coming Friday through Ticketmaster or the Vaughn Braun Center box office. I'm Andrea Theis. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.

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Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the tie. Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. UND has their shot attempt blocked away by TB Squared. He'll get a feed in transition. Drives dishes. Phylon spot up three. And, boy, is he red hot to start this one. Hawks lose the handle. Stolen away. Allen, he flips it ahead.

[1:02:54] Jemison, nice catch in traffic. Got fouled, but laid it in anyway. Now, Phylon going to the rim. Changes hands in midair. Got it to drop, and he'll shoot an and-one when we come back to Coleman Coliseum. As the free throw is missed, and the rebound's controlled by the Crimson Tide. Bama hurries the other way. Going in and throwing it down up from the baseline was the Tide. It's Davion Hannah. The golden tones of the voice of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Chris Stewart. Game one in the books.

The Tide off and rolling against North Dakota. Alabama a winner. Auburn a winner overnight. But, B.B., I don't think anybody saw Auburn going to overtime against Bethune Cookman in that one. Well, Bethune Cookman is a good team, Harold, but, yeah, and quite frankly, I think a lot of teams welcome a test, and we're not being critical of opponents, but sometimes when you win by 30, you don't learn as much as you do when you win in overtime. Unless you beat a team like Kentucky. I wonder what's going on.

Does Kentucky still have, after this weekend, do they still have a basketball team? Well, let's ask our next guest that very question. What a coincidence. The pride of the Bluegrass State. Of course, we have that talking. Chief Larry Vaught, he's busy there on Vaught's Views. 30 papers in the state of Kentucky, also there at WPBK-FM, UK Sports. They've got the sports minute there on radio stations throughout the entire Bluegrass State with Edge Media. Larry Vaught, welcome in. How are you? Couldn't be any better, guys. How about yourself?

Hey, boo. Man, we're doing all right. Last time we talked, you were on your way, and you were in a conflict, were you not? I mean, you've got this deal where you've got the grandkids, and some of them want to meet the coach. Some of them can't make it. How did that work out, Larry? Are those kids, the grandkids who didn't make it there, are you back in good graces with them? No. No. And that is not likely to happen. The good thing is that their mothers are in worse graces with them than me, because at least I invite them.

Their mothers are the ones that said no. So I'm not low man on the totem pole, but I'm close. There you go, Ava. We've all been there. Larry, we want to talk about that other sport. But let's talk about, ironically, the road coming to an end for Hugh Freeze, thanks to the Kentucky Wildcat footballers. What an interesting showdown. When's the last time you celebrated a 10-3 win, and could the stakes have been any higher for Mark Stoops in that game? Obviously, we know who rolled the dice and came up on the short end.

It was Hugh Freeze. Your thoughts about that and what the win does now for Mark Stoops heading forward? Well, first, you guys got to remember, at Kentucky, you celebrate any football win. It doesn't matter what's the story. Touche. We're not exactly spoiled by SEC road wins up here. Get a safety to nothing, we'll take it, right? It could be 69, 63. It could be two, that's exactly right. A W is a W. And it was a big deal for Mark. I mean, I think he went into that game knowing this was kind of a must-win game just to keep things hopefully going for him for next year.

If they hadn't played well in this one, I don't know what might have happened. But because they played well enough to win. And now, two of the last three weeks, because their defense was really pretty good against Texas also, that it has collapsed and vanished against Tennessee. But they've got a defense that's played well most of the last three or four weeks. They've got an offense that's getting a little bit better. And at least you can see some potential with Cutter Bowling from those young receivers that are playing right now.

So, not ready to put in the college football playoffs or anything like that. But at least for the first time, I think, in a year and a half, you can see, okay, maybe there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel that Kentucky can get back to where it has a chance to be that 7-8 win type of team. Because, again, the two 10-win seasons Mark Stoops had were great. But I went 50 years in between, or 40 years, whatever it was, in between 10 and 10-win seasons.

They just don't happen here. So, you've got to get a little bit of reality back into the situation. And I think maybe Kentucky's trying to get back to that. One good thing for Florida, they've already fired their coach, so at least Stoops can't get another coach fired this week, I don't think, if he wins. Larry, one of the things that caught my attention after the game, Mitch Barnhart, the athletic director for Kentucky, put a bear hug on Mark Stoops. You could see the relief on both of their faces from this.

Again, I believe the buyout's $36 million. I'll let you confirm that. How much pressure, we talk about Mark Stoops. How much pressure has been on Mitch Barnhart, the athletic director of Kentucky? Well, in my opinion, not enough on Mitch, because he's the one that gave that contract. If you fire him, you have to pay him within 60 days. So, I mean, that's a contract I don't know how anybody would have ever given in this day and age, but he did. So, whatever pressure he's got on him is well-earned, is what I would say.

[1:08:26] I don't blame Mark, because I would have signed something like that, too. Oh, you're going to fire me? You're also going to pay me for five years within two months? Yeah. Well, yeah, I'll go ahead and sign. I'll sign right now to that baby, and if I get another job in three months, I'll give you any money. So, that was, but you did mention Mitch there smiling and hugging, but the more important one, you might want to go to FaultFuse.com and read if you're interested, but there's also a lady by the name of Kelly Craft that was on the field giving Mark Stoops a huge hug after the game, and Kelly and her husband Joe are probably the two biggest financial boosters for UK football and basketball, and they made the trip to Auburn to show their support for Mark Stoops, and don't think Mitch Barnhart doesn't look at that, because if you're thinking of maybe getting rid of Mark Stoops and happened to try to come up with the money to buy him out, and you're looking right there in the biggest financial boosters, they're hugging him.

Well, I don't think she's going to, that they're going to open their pocketbook if you decide to fire him, and what if they decide, no, they're not going to help do that, but they're not going to help the team next year. So, to me, that was the most significant hug after the game. I imagine the old staff meetings back in the day, you get a new boss, and everybody was fussing and fighting, and you found out who the power brokers was, and he was like, yes, sir, no, sir, yes, ma'am, no, ma'am.

I totally agree with you, but let me ask you about a name, Larry. Jon Sumrall, he's known around these parts. He comes out of North Alabama, former Tiger at a Grissom High. He has had a good run at the college ranks. We know his roots to Kentucky, player, assistant, coach. What can you tell us about Jon Sumrall, and Auburn fans are lusting after him. I imagine a lot of Kentucky fans wouldn't mind him being the new top wildcat in Kentucky. What can you tell us about John?

Well, a lot of Kentucky fans would have liked to have had him last year. He was very popular here as a player because of the way he played. He was very popular here as an assistant coach because of just his demeanor and the way he interacted with fans and players. He's just a big, lovable guy who has a lot of friends and connections here in the state of Kentucky. And I really like him. My daughter was a manager on the football team when he played, so I got to know him a little bit then.

I've known him for a long time. He's one of the few coaches that when I text, still answers. And I think that says a lot with the success he's had the last couple of years, because it'd be easy to get busy and forget some of the people you've known. He's not that way. And I think he's really worked hard to get to where he is. I think he's going to have a choice of some jobs. There again, I think he's pretty happy at Tulane. I don't know what kind of money they can throw.

So in this day and age, you never know what somebody's going to do for sure because of the money that can be floated out there. But I think John will be a really good hire for somebody. I think a lot of Kentucky fans would like to have him. But I think, again, depending on how the season finishes out, and you don't know this for sure, I think he may have some better job opportunities than Kentucky if he does want to leave Tulane. Everybody I talk to says he's awfully happy at Tulane, and he's sure saying all the right things now.

But, again, that's just kind of how smart John is. But I do believe that he's focused on his team, like he said. He's probably not paying a whole lot of attention to all this other stuff. Now, his agent probably is, but John is not. But I think a lot of schools would probably like to have Jon Sumrall. He's just a terrific, terrific guy, as you all know. I mean, he'd be a great neighbor. He'd be a good person to have in church with. He'd be a great coach to have leading your team.

Larry, Kenrick Law transferred from Alabama. Alabama's staff really could not find a niche for him. Used a lot of sweeps, reverses, didn't throw the ball to him as much as a lot of people thought. At Kentucky now, he scored the game's only touchdown against Auburn. Is Kenrick Law now beginning to reach some of his vast potential for Kentucky? Well, you kind of told me that the Kentucky staff and Alabama staff are just alike. Because Kentucky couldn't do a very good job of finding a niche for him.

I mean, there was one game he had seven catches, and they were all just kind of those little shuffle passes as he was sweeping across in the backfield. They haven't done a very good job of figuring how to get him out in space and getting the ball enough either. Now, I think some of that is probably on Kendrick. He may not be the best route runner when you send him down the field to try to do that. But if you just give him the ball, give him a chance that he can make plays, and I have kind of figured that out.

They're throwing a lot of shorter balls to him and everything, and then just hoping he can make that first guy miss. And if he does, then watch out. He's by far been their most explosive player, and it's not because you're throwing it 40 yards down the field to him. It's usually because you're throwing it eight yards, and then he's running it 30 more yards to get you that big play. So, he's coming along and being the type of player that they thought they needed. I think the change to Cutter Bowley, a quarterback, helped Kendrick a lot too.

[1:13:41] Absolutely. We're going to talk with you more about basketball at a later date, but if Mo Diabody can focus, he is a double-double machine. I know there are a lot of Alabama fans who hated to see him enter the transfer portal and go to Kentucky. O-Way, we've talked with you about it for years. He's come back. I really think this is a talented Tennessee basketball team. But, yeah, Diabody can get in there and get with the system. I think you're going to be impressed with him.

I know you saw him when he was in Alabama the last couple of years. Larry, as Harold mentioned, there are so many platforms to find, false views, and your stuff. Where can we get online and get all of it? Well, you can follow me on social media at false views, or you can go to either yoursportsedge.com or false views.com, and you can read about Mo, who if I was coached, he'd never come off the floor because he scares me just to watch him. So, if I was playing against him, I know I'd never take him off.

But then, also, just remember, you can also read about the real sport at Kentucky, and that's volleyball. It's always good to hook up with you, man. Good luck with your grandkids. Hopefully, they won't hold it against you forever up there, okay? Well, maybe at Christmas, I can buy my way out. There you go. That's right. Or call Jimmy Sexton if he needs some help. Larry Vaught, again, other places, false views. That's the number one place to catch the beer latest when it comes to talking cats.

Coming up, he talks the entire Southeast and Comforts. Joe Cox on deck. Stay with us. Hey, Scholes. I know you do anything for a win on game day and for an ice-cold Bud Light. Because whether you're tailgating in the parking lot or parked on the couch, sitting on your lucky stool at the bar, or standing in the fan section all game long, a win isn't a win without the clean, crisp taste of Bud Light. And there's nothing easier to enjoy than that. Bud Light. Easy to drink.

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Okay, so like everybody deals with losing, right? To a rival on a last-second field goal. Whatever, it's fine. I'm totally fine. But I cope with losing with an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. Mmm, those 23 flavors are like so delicious. They totally wash away the pain of your college football team taking a big fat L. College football, it's a pepper thing. From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today. It's a daily update on Bama sports, and it's brought to you by Vector Security Champions Lane, the best pregame fan fest in college football.

For more information, visit championslane.com. Hello again, everybody. I'm Roger Hoover. Here are some thoughts from Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer as Alabama prepares for LSU. Coming off the bye week, I think it was very productive. Guys got a chance to get their bodies freshened up and mined as well. Yesterday was a great practice for us, full of energy, and getting that chance to dial in the end of the week and going into yesterday on LSU. And just always focusing on continuing to improve. I think that our guys still really believe that that's the case.

That needs to be the mindset we always have in our program. But heading into this game against LSU, we expect nothing but their best, you know, a high level of energy. It's going to be a great environment. You know, I'll just add that we need our fans to continue to be what they've been and show up and, you know, continue to make Bryant-Denny Stadium the hardest place to play in the country. I'll have more in a moment. Tide fans, are you ready for game day in Tuscaloosa?

[1:19:05] 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 you need to get pumped for kickoff. Located next to the Walk of Champions, you'll enjoy live music, player autographs, the best food trucks from all over Alabama, and ice-cold beer in our Legends Lounge Beer Garden, where there's never a cover charge. Check out championslane.com each week for the latest updates. Roll Tide. Join us this afternoon for Crimson Drive, driven by NASCAR, streaming live at 2 p.m. Central on all CTSN social media platforms at UA underscore CTSN.

Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Vector Security Champions Lane. Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. It is a pleasure for us to say hello to Joe Cox, signed columnist there at Saturday Down South, the fine author of A Fine Teen Man. Joe, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing okay. Now, I'm told you guys have been talking to Larry Vaught, and if you've talked to Larry just next time, tell him I'm going to listen in, and everything he tells you guys, I'm going to tell you guys the opposite of my segment.

general order in it, but no, Larry's a great guy. I'm just buzzing in his chops, but I'm doing all right. What do you know? You got some good folks up there. I guarantee you, Joe, being up there is Kentucky. Joe, first of all, coming up tonight, it's the only poll that really matters. It is a college football playoff poll. Do you anticipate anything being any different than the so-called traditional polls, Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Alabama 1 through 4? And if so, how about this? It could be an all-SEC championship game if things go as a whole serve, or an all-Big Ten championship game.

Your thoughts about any surprises with the first big poll coming out later on tonight? No, I think it's definitely going to be those conferences leading things. One thing I'm going to be watching for, because I thought this was a pretty astute catch, I heard Kirk Herbstreet say they like to be talked about with these ratings. They like to do something a little unconventional. So he said, I wouldn't be surprised if Indiana is number one, just to kind of fly that flag and be like, wow, nobody saw that coming.

So that, I guess, as much as anything, is what I'm going to be watching to see. I think we all know who the likely suspects are, and the SEC's got a couple of teams in great shape and a couple more in pretty good shape and a couple more that are hanging on for dear life. Let's talk about something that could change this weekend. Obviously, it's a week-to-week subscription. We talked earlier with some of our friends out in Vegas, and they say, check out Missouri and Texas A&M.

Not so fast, my friend, Texas A&M right now. If they hold serve, they're in, in all likelihood. It's number three versus number 19, but they've got to show it in the show-me state. They do, and that is one of those games where A&M is in really good shape, and Missouri is not in really good shape. You figure a third loss probably isn't an automatic knockout, but boy, it's going to be hard to lose three games and say we really should be in there. So playing for their lives should be a fun one with two really good running attacks.

But A&M has just kind of steadily improved through the year. I think they're probably the best team that still very few people are really talking about, and at this point, I'm not sure why. Yeah, they've got some tough games. Also, yeah, Texas A&M and Oklahoma coming up. I believe you predicted 8-5 or, I mean, sorry, 8-4 for Missouri. We talked a little bit earlier about Georgia going to Mississippi State. A lot of people look at them and say, oh, ho-hum. Mississippi State could have and should have beaten Tennessee and Texas.

With the cowbells, they're rough out. Georgia, I think, will, again, have a workmanlike win. But, Joe, they have not been dynamic. Florida played them into a fourth-quarter game. I know you've got Georgia going, I believe, 7-1 and 11-1. Texas is going to be interesting. They're surging right now and looked a lot better against Vanderbilt. Georgia Tech, well, to me, I'm like you, is their most dangerous game. Now, Georgia and Mississippi State, is it closer than a lot of people think it will be? I really think it will be.

And one thing that didn't stand out to me, I looked at these numbers and then I looked at them again and I thought, am I seeing this right? Just because I think we've all gotten used to Georgia being brilliant defensively. And they're okay defensively, but they are by far last in the SEC in sacks, last in the SEC in tackles for loss, tied for last in the SEC in turnovers for us. Wow. So it's been very vanilla defensively. And for a team that gets behind a lot and has to play from behind, you write yourself a recipe at some point where you're going to dig a hole that you need a bunch of sacks or a bunch of picks to come back from, and they're just not doing that.

[1:24:28] So it kind of could be the perfect storm here. Joe Cox, looking at it with us Saturday down south. Joe, let's talk about a matchup that has always been. It's gone from the game of the century. It's hard to believe, what's that, 14 years ago until this weekend. And LSU has the interim Tiger in Frank Wilson calling the shots. Put another way, does Alabama know what to expect when they take on the Tigers from LSU this weekend? Well, you would assume what to expect is going to be some kind of crazy game to just survive, to hold on to your seat and just get through.

LSU, even before the crazy circus that had ensued, had been kind of just one of the disappointing teams of the season, just kind of muddling through things. But there's a ton of talent still on that roster. And if the events of the last two weeks are a wake-up call, they could be, you know, the metaphorical Tiger here. They could be really toothsome and dangerous. The good news for Alabama is this seems to be a Bama team that has been above distraction for the most point. They just kind of settle in and do their thing.

And so I think that bodes well for them. But, yeah, I would certainly not look past LSU. Joe, Auburn at number 15, Vanderbilt. And the Povee has been a nemesis for Hugh Freeze and Auburn for years, certainly the state of Alabama, too. They beat Auburn last year 17-7. Texas dominated Vanny for 50 minutes. And, oh, by the way, Vanny came back. If they got the onside kick, that would have been interesting to see how the game would have finished. Will Auburn get a little bit of a bump here now that Freeze is gone?

And that three people are not calling the plays. Just one, Derrick Nix, is going to be calling plays. The defense has held up. And if anybody could stop Vanderbilt's zone read, it may be Auburn. They need a touchdown favorite. Are they going to win in covering this game? You know, the thing for Auburn here with all the chaos and all the craziness is, as you point out, stylistically, it's a pretty good fit. Now, offensively, there is literally nowhere to go but up. That was as embarrassing of a performance as I could have imagined.

And that's what gets your head coach fired. The thing for Vanderbilt, and you really put your finger on it, in that Texas game, they don't play well from behind. That style is fairly deliberate, is fairly built on being in the game, hopefully being ahead in the game for them. But if you can get a couple touchdowns on them, you can kind of bury them. And that's what Texas did and really made them dig out for it. So my key for Auburn is going to be play well early.

If you can get a lead, if you can muddle things up for a quarter or two, you can probably hang around with Vanderbilt and make this interesting. If Vanderbilt comes out and gets the first two scores, the game's over. So you've got to hold up early and just mess it up. You know, another low-scoring, ugly game. They didn't love that last week. They'd probably love that this week. Absolutely. Well, I love reading Joe Cox's articles as far as predicting the final week for SEC teams. And then you'll have watchability one through five as far as the games are concerned.

Joe, where can we get online to get your article as far as predicting the SEC record for every team, watchability, and the team's good stuff? Oh, it's Saturday down south. And, yeah, I'll be predicting until that last week, up until there's nothing left to predict. And, you know, then there is that round ball sport that's sneaking around the corner on all of us. So I'll look forward to that, too. But, you know, we've got you covered at Saturday down south regardless. We'll say hello to your buddy, Larry Vaught.

Next time we talk as well. Joe, listen to me, in the meantime, thanks so much and stay safe out there, okay? All right, you guys take care. Thank you, bud. Joe Cox, Saturday down south. Let's head on way down south to Cajon Country, LSU, and Mike Scarborough on deck. Stay with us. It doesn't matter if you're running grills at the park, playing pickup on a Saturday, or sinking the final putt. When you compete with your friends with Michelob Ultra on the line, competition isn't that friendly.

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Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Not available in all states. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9. The score. In the latest college football top 25 polls, the Alabama Crimson Tide remained at number four. The tide is 7-1. Ohio State, Indiana, and Texas A&M still ahead of Alabama. In college basketball openers last night, number 15, Alabama. Winner over North Dakota, 91-62. Number 20, Auburn. Defeated Bethune-Cookman, 95-90. South Alabama top Toledo, 76-74. And in overtime, Troy beat Kent State, 103-97. Progressive is helping veterans drive their lives forward with its Keys to Progress program online at keys2progress.com.

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The Score. Welcome back in. If you're looking to get the very latest LSU talk, highly recommend checking out Mike Scarborough, publisher and recruiting analyst. At TigerBait.com. Mike, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing good. Glad to be with you guys. It's been a while. Oh my goodness. Isn't it amazing how this thing called college football goes from the last week of August to this first week of November. How would you describe this chapter of LSU football, Mike? Look, man. I was sitting there in the preseason thinking 8-4, 9-3.

I gave a 9-3. Right. They beat Clemson, and I altered my season prediction to 11-1 immediately, and then the floor fell out from underneath the whole thing. Yeah. What happened, Mike? What happened? The fourth, let's face it, it's ironic, because that's the first week, Tuscaloosa, the war cry was up, get rid of that guy. He's not a fit. And now he's the king of the hill. It's amazing how this works. But what happened for LSU from that opening week to now? I think there's a lot of things, most of it on the offensive side of the ball.

Also, you just cannot, you can have what they say is the greatest or the number one transfer portal class, but like Nick Saban says, they're in the portal for a reason. And while I think there's some big hits, Mansoor Delaney is a huge addition, Halsey at safety is a big addition, but, and I think Braylon Moore Center has been a huge addition, but they've got, they've still got major problems, coaches on the offensive side of the ball, and I, you know, I asked Frank Wilson last week, you know, one of the reasons why they say all the national pundits will say why the LSU job is the best job open in maybe number one period or definitely top five is because of being the only power five school in the state of Louisiana and how fertile the recruiting area is.

[1:35:33] Well, when you've only got, for 75% of the game so far this season, on average, LSU has two starters that prepped in Louisiana, you've got a big, big problem. Yeah. Mike, talk about Jeff Landry, the governor. I know you've tweeted out, several other people tweeted out, how in the world can you hire a great quality coach when they know the political backstabbing ongoing, and I know he appoints the board of trustees, LSU calls it something else, but Mike, how is all of the political shenanigans, how will that affect hiring a very good quality coach?

I think we're about to find out. Just about 30 minutes ago, they've got a new university president in Dr. Rouse. Right. From Ramees, which we expected. Now, is there a chance that they have a new athletics director in place in the next week or two? Maybe. You know, but some of the candidates that are there are the athletic director at McNeese, the athletic director at Southeastern Louisiana. That's all fine and good if you're getting LSU ready for the Southland Conference. Yeah, and I'll say this, I've known Virg for a long time, but the other two board of supervisors that were on the dais Friday morning weren't very impressive.

Yeah. But look, you still have a good majority of a good faction of the LSU board of supervisors that were appointed by the previous governor. The terms are not just a couple of years. You know, they've got six-year terms. So, I tell you what, Jeff Landry, you know, I imagine there's going to be a slew of Republicans that are going to line up to run against him the next time, and they probably won't have a difficult time at all because his approval rating is somewhere between scurvy and a venereal disease.

I just heard a lot of sailors in port saying, Mike, Mike Scarborough, look at this there at tigerbait.com. Mike, there's what you want, and realistically, there's what you get. Where are you as far as the obvious question, if you've got an opening, who would you like to see in there, and who realistically do you think would be the new head coach at LSU? Well, look, I mean, I'm getting a kick out of it. I mean, I've got people I know that are highly professional, sane people, highly successful, that are hitting me with Nick Saban rumors every day.

And I told one guy yesterday, man, you send me one more Nick Saban, I'm hearing Nick Saban, and I'm putting you on permanent block. He's 74 and a multi-multi-millionaire, okay? Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, look, probably, you know, the number one guy that's on everybody's list is Lane Kiffin. We'll, you know, but, you know, look, you want to talk about, I mean, I mapped it out last week, and I went and looked them all up, of the guys that you would consider probably the top six candidates.

Four of them are Jimmy Sexton, and two of them are Trace Armstrong. Yeah. So, and who are you, if you didn't like the 10-year, $9.5 million deal you gave Brian Kelly, of the guys that you think LSU should be able to get, what do you think you're going to get those guys? What do you think the prices and the length of a contract is going to be on them? I mean, that is just the nature of college football. So, look, Dan Lanning, you know, obviously came out last week and said, no, I'm not leaving.

Even the athletics director, who's from Louisiana, Georgia, had to put out a statement that he wasn't leaving there for LSU or anywhere. But what do these denials mean in the first week of November or late October? Yeah. I mean, we've seen this before. So, I think, you know, Lane Kiffin is the obvious number one. But I think when you start saying, okay, what's realistic? If Ole Miss is going to give him $13.5 million or whatever, which one's realistic? And I tend to fall back on the guy that I've been mentioning for three months if something were to happen with BK.

And that's Eli Drinkwitz. Yeah. Would he be a good fit? I mean, Eli's a different bird. Would he be a good fit in Baton Rouge? I think so. I know everybody, I've got fellow media people saying, man, why do you want him? He's a weirdo. Yeah. Well. Like, what makes him weird? He's got a quirky sense of humor. Yeah. To me, he seems like fun. Mike Leach was quirky and weird, too. You couldn't get enough of him. So, I don't know. We're going to see how it plays out.

[1:41:13] The, you know, our hot board's about to, we're about to put out our second version. And then you've got people who will list some NFL guys, Kelvin Shepard, Joe Brady. I just think in this day and age. And maybe that's more realistic with the transfer portal opening up in January rather than December. But you really need to hold on to these high school prospects because there's certainly two great defensive tackles committed. And, you know, ideally, and I think the other positive for Drinkwitz is he's not going to be in the playoffs.

And you could probably roll him out Monday, December 1st. Right. Mike, let me ask you about this LSU team coming to Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Will they get the interim bump? Will they be a little more relaxed? Alex Atkins is going to be calling the plays. Of course, Frank Wilson is the interim coach. Ness Meyer's been a little bit up and down. Of course, again, he's had to deal with the injuries. LSU, like Alabama, has struggled to run the ball some. But what kind of impact would this have on LSU?

How do you think LSU plays Saturday against Alabama? I tend to think maybe they play inspired football for a while. What is the line right now, by the way? It depends on how you look. The 10 and a half, 11 and a half. Yeah, 10 and a half. Yeah, my thought is you could probably take Alabama and give the points. You could probably pay for some very lucrative Christmas gifts for the family. And, you know, look, when they picked this one for ABC in primetime, it was like, man, here's another humiliating defeat on national television in primetime.

But we'll see. I'm real curious to see if Michael Van Buren gets to play a bit at quarterback. I think there was, you know, now that Joe Sloan's no longer, and BK's no longer there, a part of me wonders if we might see Michael Van Buren a bit. Talk to us about interim coach Frank Wilson. Obviously, he's been there and done it. He's had some head coaching jobs, walked back out of Texas, San Antonio. And I believe when he was an assistant at Southern, a fellow by the name of Womack was on that team.

He's now the defensive coordinator at Alabama. These guys, it's like I'm either going to play with you or against you at some point in my coaching career. What are we expecting out of Frank Wilson? I think you're also going to see a real commitment to the running game. I mean, he's been the running back's coach. And you've got to believe he's been beating his head against the wall for quite some time. I mean, his first move was to get rid of Joe Sloan. So, you know, part of the reason why they feel that they haven't been able to run the ball is because they've been too quick to abandon it because you've always had these great wide receivers and quarterbacks that can sling it.

But that's the reason why they've been in trouble. Not being able to run the ball very well. And by the way, they did run the ball pretty well against A&M in the first half. Harlan Perry, the freshman, is going to be fantastic back up as he gets bigger and stronger. I can't wait to see what he looks like next year. That's what I was going to ask you about. I've heard a lot about Perry in his first year. And then Caden Durham, I know he's had some injuries.

LSU's still got some banks. But what's the status on Aaron Anderson? Is he leading? He was the one guy Nick Saban hated to lose in the portal a couple years ago. What kind of years he had? Well, part of the reason why he got injured is because Nussmeyer was hanging him out the drive with late throws and passes that were behind him and passes that were high. And he got hurt and then got finished off by another late throw by Nussmeyer. But after the open date, he's got to be 100% now.

Well, what about Nussmeyer? What's been the book on him? And we've seen all the stories, but you're closer to the epicenter than we are. That, yes, very, very good, but he's been injured or at least playing hurt. There's a difference between injury and playing hurt. Your thoughts on how much will we see of Nussmeyer? You mentioned earlier, maybe they'll go to the bullpen and bring somebody up. But your thoughts about what Alabama will be facing at the quarterback spot Saturday night? It's been very disappointing. And I'll say it's not all his fault, but I kind of got a little bit of hot water on my show about a month ago when I kind of aired it out a little bit.

[1:46:18] There's no way that you can convince me, and I've got enough sources, that Nussmeyer didn't do near the work in the offseason that Joe Burrow did. And I think that's part of the problem. And I don't know if it's because his dad's an offensive coordinator and former quarterback that he didn't feel like he needed to go out to California or wherever and work with a quarterback guru, but he should have done that. I mean, Jaden Daniels did that. I mean, most people thought he was highly inaccurate.

And then look at the Heisman year he had. Yeah. He spent on it with his own money, flew all of his wide receivers out with him to California to work with, you know, a quarterback guy. Wow. Well, talk about the defense. We know and tell that this team can be Whit Weeks, the captain of the defense, has been injured. I know, again, the defense looked terrible, obviously, in the second half against Texas A&M. You mentioned Elaine at corner has had a very good year as far as the transfer.

West Weeks, Harold Perkins, the defensive front. I know I asked you in the preseason if you thought this was going to be a SEC defensive line and you said, well, we'll see. It had some promise. Your thoughts on the LSU defense this year? I think it's performed well for most of the way, but they've really been hampered by injuries. Bernard Gooden on the defensive front has been out. I'm going to be honest with you, I think Harold Perkins has been a very, very big disappointment. Yes.

I mean, people have broken down his film from the A&M game and it looked like he was operating at half speed and very little effort. And so, if that's the case, sit him down because LSU's got some depth at linebacker and some guys that have played that can perform very well. But, you know, I think Halsey and Mansoor Delaney is going to be a high first-round draft pick. So, might be the best cornerback in the country. Mike, I agree with you. I didn't see a lot from Perkins against Texas A&M, but unfortunately that game just got away from them.

Owner, publisher, recruiting analyst for Tiger Baten has been doing a tremendous job. Are you still leading the country in your YouTube – by the way, you've been with Tiger Baten for years. You took it over. It was a gamble. It has paid off. It's a monster site for LSU and SEC fans. Talk about your site. But where can we get online and get all the stuff leading up to the Alabama game? That's it. TigerBait.com and our YouTube channel and our Facebook pages are the biggest in the LSU market.

Over 40,000 subscribers on YouTube. And we just hit 140,000 on Facebook. We stream our shows on both platforms. And we're growing at an unreal rate. We've added 10,000 followers to our Facebook page in a month. So, yeah. In other words, congratulations, Mike. A lot of hard work there. It doesn't help it because you want a lot of hard work. Congratulations on that. One thing about it, it's never boring in your backyard, is it? No, it's not. And it's going to be an interesting next six weeks. You know, I also – you know, when Mokey got hired, I started covering women's basketball.

She didn't show up for the presser after the exhibition Thursday night. And so, I'm going to – and they were – all the athletic department personnel were there because they were nervous about what she might say because she got word during the game that Woodward had been – he was gone. They fired him. And so, I'm interested to see what her postgame is tonight. Like we say, it's never boring. Mike, thank you so much for your time today. Keep up good work. All right. Talk soon. Thank you all.

Thank you, buddy. Mike Scarborough, TigerBait.com. BB, again, needless to say, it's never boring down there. Are you ready for the first big poll of the season coming out tonight, BB? Yeah, Larry Vaughn made a good point. Harold is four. It wouldn't surprise me if they put Indiana at number one. I think Alabama is going to stay at four, Texas A&M three, and Georgia five. But, yeah, once again, with this group, you don't know where they're going. And a thing called social media. They love people talking about them.

They're going to spell their name right this modern day. That may be a stretch, too. They don't care if you spell it right. Just say it. Stay tuned. That's going to take care of us for now. On behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here. Parallel Bug, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again tomorrow. Good afternoon to tune with the Boomo Bugg Show back here on Sports Radio. 93.9 The Score.