Boomo Bugg Show 110525

[0:00] Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the tie, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9. The Sports. Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in where the year's first big poll is in.

Agree, disagree. Also, UNA football is getting ready to welcome back an old friend. And UNA basketball is getting ready for their opening date tonight at Mississippi State. Good afternoon, welcome in, and how are you? Happy Wednesday to you. Hopefully, the trip to the dentist will not impact the show too much. Hey, hey, hey, I'm not responsible for my actions today. Yeah, you got that right. Alabama's ranked number four in the first college football playoff poll. Because they've beaten four ranked teams, which is the most of anyone in the poll.

Quite a few of the first-round high school football games have been moved to Thursday night because of predicted rain for Friday night. We'll go over those a little bit later in the show. And as you mentioned, UNA basketball on the SEC Network tonight, 7 o'clock from the hump facing Mississippi State. And, of course, we're going to be checking in with Coach Pujo a little bit later on. But first, let's talk a little bit more about the poll. Any surprises? I don't think anybody was surprised, certainly with the top four.

Maybe after that, there was a one here or there. What I thought was interesting, the premise anyway, was we're going to, this year, unlike years past, start putting more emphasis on strength of schedule. Did they live up? Did they practice what they've been preaching, baby, in your view? Harold, I'm like you, when you look at this compared to the Associated Press poll that came out Sunday, there's really not a lot of changes. Ohio State won, Indiana 2. Now, there was some scuttlebutt that maybe the committee would put Indiana over Ohio State.

That did not happen. Texas A&M 3, Alabama 4, Georgia 5. There's some beef. Again, Miami beat Notre Dame. Notre Dame's eight places above. Miami, there's a little bit of beef there. Georgia 5, Ole Miss 6. BYU 7, still undefeated. Texas Tech 8, Oregon 9. Notre Dame 10. Texas 11, Oklahoma 12. Now, to answer your question, at least, Harold, I think for the first week that they pretty much got all this right. I think the big argument last night was the panel wanted Texas A&M to be number one based on what we just said, according to their original analytics.

But here's the problem line is, obviously, that loss in Florida State still is bittersweet for Alabama because if you strictly vote on the strength of schedule, look at the poll last night. This is not somebody rooting for or against a team. Alabama, I saw at least three, if not four, teams. In other words, they've got, what, seven wins? I think four of those wins are against top 25 teams. So who has a tougher strength of schedule than Alabama? They're not going to put a once-beaten team in, no matter what the records are.

But Alabama right now, here's where they are. They control their destiny. They don't need to worry about this team or that team. They control their destiny. And I thought one thing that was interesting about that quickly, BB, is if this holds to par here, Alabama would get an opening round by, and then they would face, in their opening round, the winner of, get this, Georgia and Memphis. Well, yeah, we'll see where that goes. Just to reiterate your point, Alabama is ranked fourth. Again, why? Because they've beaten four top 25 teams.

Number five, Georgia. Number 15, Vanderbilt. Number 19, Missouri. Number 23, Tennessee. And there are Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, and North Carolina State have beaten two. Somebody else who's faced a tough schedule is UNA head football coach, Brent Dierman. Coach, welcome in. Would you agree with that assessment? How are you? I'm doing fantastic, guys. I'll tell you what. I know that all those teams you just named are all really good football teams. And the benefit we have nowadays is having a 16-team playoff. They get to decide it. Where it used to be, if you were sitting at number four, you were outside looking in, hoping somebody would lose.

So I think the playoffs has helped that. I don't get to watch enough other college football teams with how busy I am to really give you much of an assessment on them, though. I know that. Well, you got an excuse, Coach. I guarantee you that. Let's talk a little bit about something I think a lot of long-time UNA fans are looking forward to this weekend, and that's West Georgia. They don't like West Georgia, of course, but this is a flash in the past, back in the OGSC days.

[5:23] Your thoughts about being able to welcome back, and I put this in parentheses, an old friend to Braille this weekend. Yes, I think my historians over here let me know this is the 37th meeting between UNA and West Georgia, and that turns into a good little rivalry. There's been a lot of Gulf South Conference championships between these two teams. There's been some battles between these two teams. There's been some lopsided wins between these two. So reuniting with an old foe is going to be really nice this weekend, especially to be at home.

Think about this, guys. We've played nine football games this year. Three of them have been at home. Wow. So we have went through our road adversities, and to be able to come back and play in the confines of Braille Stadium, where we're 2-1 this year, it's going to be really nice this weekend. Brent, West Georgia's had an interesting season. I was looking at their schedule this morning. They won their first five games, beating among the five, Samford and Eastern Kentucky. Then they lost three consecutive games.

They lost to Austin Peay, Abilene Christian, and number three, Tarlington State, and they won last week. But, again, we've talked with you about that throughout. You need to look past just the numbers, who they played, what was the game on the road. David Widener, their quarterback's thrown for nearly 1,200 yards. Latrell Murrell has ran for 664. West Georgia's had an interesting season. Yeah, they have. They're a very talented football team that has had some struggles in the last few weeks, but they come out hot 5-0 early. They got the top.

They were in the top 20 in the country in the FCS polls. And then they have three tough games. They're the three tough game stretch where two of them were on the road. They have to go to Austin Peay, and Austin Peay's undefeated at home this year. And it's a tough place to play. They play a tough Tarleton team. They play a tough – I mean, Tarleton's number two in the country. So they have to go there and play them, and then they lose one at home to Abilene Christian, who is in the top 15 as well.

So they've played three really tough teams and played them all really good. And then we're able to get back on the winning streak against UCA. But our league is a very, very talented football league. It kind of reminds me of the old SEC West where you had to bring it every single week. And if you play your B game, you're going to suffer a loss, especially if it's a road game. So they're a good team. They've got a great recruiting base right outside of Atlanta. They're probably going to have more team speed than most of the teams that we play.

So we've got to play well. You and A head football coach, Jerry. Coach, talk to us about the road factor. You look at – until recently, DeBoer at Alabama had his critics. You go to – we talk to a lot of folks from Tennessee, and they're saying Tennessee is Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde. They're great. Play like Tarzan at home. Play like Jane on the road. Talk to us about that. As you mentioned, nine games, six on the road. Talk to us about what makes going on the road so tough, obvious having to face opposing fans.

Man, it's just leaving home. I mean, the travel you put on your body, to not have support behind you, to not have your home crowd, not have friends and family in the stadium a lot of times, not have your band there. You're sleeping in a hotel instead of your own bed. There's so many different things. So home field advantage is a real thing. I bet if you look all the time at home teams versus visiting teams, home teams are probably 65% of winning. So it's tough to go on the road, but we've got to find a way in two weeks when we go back on the road.

We've got to find a way to win a game on the road. We're 0-6 on the road. We're 2-1 at home. We've had some good wins in my three years here of being at home. I think we're really good at homecoming with two big wins over the last two years of homecoming. When you just get to stay in front of your home crowd, you just play a little bit better in front of your home crowd. Let me ask you about some of the guys who played well against Utah Tech.

Destin Wade, 303 combined yards. Your sophomore quarterback rushed 16 times 100 yards. Passed 14-32 for a little bit over 200. Boy, Tenech, that's gone. Had a great game. 36 yards, caught in a 91-yard, had a 91-yard play. Juice Allen, his second 100-yard rushing game. And then I don't know how many times this year I've mentioned, Seth Hampton, nine tackles on defense. Your junior, Brian Dilworth, with a key interception. Quite a few of the guys had a good game. We did. We did. And you've got to find the highlights in losses sometimes, especially in tough losses.

[10:34] You suffer a one-point loss on the road. In overtime. It's tough. So you've got to highlight the special moments. Destin Wade's coming into his own. He's only had five career starts in college football. And in his fifth career start in college football, he had 300 yards of offense and four touchdowns. So we're really excited about the future with him. You look at Juice Allen. We had two 100-yard rushes, I think, for the first time since 2017 here at UNA. So our quarterback and start and tailback both for us for 100 was a big day for us up front.

And then Tanaka Scott, I think he made SportsCenter top five. Yeah, he did. We ran a trick play back up for a 91-yard touchdown. And him being a senior, I recruited him to Kansas and was able to get him down here with me. So me and him have a special relationship with all our relationships we've had through the years. And then defensively, Seth Hansen's a captain on our team for a reason. And when you see your captains playing well, it just helps your football team even more.

So really excited about all those guys, but Tanaka Scott are going to be back in that UNA Lions uniform next year. So really excited about the direction we're heading. Music two years, I guarantee you. Coach, obviously the sentimental, bittersweet tour continues this weekend. Gramey, if I'm wrong, it's the next to last home game ever at Brawley Stadium. You move into some brand new digs. I know you're excited about that. But first things first, the last of one of two last home games at Brawley coming up this weekend.

Yes, it is. It's kind of bittersweet. This kind of last hoorah trip that we're having at Brawley. I think our players being two and one at home has really showed our home crowd how much it means to play in that stadium. We're honoring the 2010s era. So we're bringing back the old UNA logo with the lion head in the middle of it for this game. We've taught our players what the significance of that logo and how many great players and teams wore that logo. So our guys are going to be a little bit extra fired up and excited to play for that 2010s era team that played at Brawley.

Yeah, and a lot of former UNA fans really like that logo. They've told me that over the years. We always appreciate the visit with you. Have a great week of practice. Certainly good luck. This game means a lot to UNA fans. Good luck on Saturday. Thank you guys. And like always, Roy Lions. Roy Lions, coach. We appreciate it. Get to sleep in his own bed before getting ready for their old nemesis from West Georgia this weekend out at Brawley. Coming up, what's going on in Big T country?

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The Score. Welcome back in. You can knock him down, but you can't knock him out. He gets right back up on his feet. The V-Man, Vince Ferrara. He is mornings on the radio at 99.1. The Sports Animal in Knoxville, also on the Ball Radio Network. Vince Ferrara, welcome back from surgery. Hope all went well. How are you? Appreciate it, guys, hanging in there. Yeah, hip replacement surgery number two. So, yeah, a lot smoother the day of. Still, you know, a little bit of pain in day two and day three.

That's the peak pain, they say, but, you know, it'll get better quick, and, yeah, we're on the road to being able to walk and be normal again. So, I'm doing good. Good to be on with you. Good to hear. By the way, I'm going to go in a limb here and say you will not have hip surgery number three. Otherwise, you're going to be in the circus to make a lot of money, V-Man. Yeah, we don't want to redo either of these other two. No, and that won't happen either, but I appreciate you guys.

You're more than welcome, V-Man. Good to hear you back in the saddle. Let's talk a little bit about that other thing that's going on these days, and that's football. Tennessee, I won a game with Oklahoma. Last year, it was a little happier ending. Where do you start in the takeaways from the L by UT to Oklahoma? Yeah, Oklahoma made less mistakes. You know, they didn't have as many of those self-inflicted wounds. Tennessee turned the ball over three times in the first half, including a scoop and score, by their best pass rusher in our Mason Thomas.

You know, you had a breakdown in protection over right tackle, and then you leave their best pass rusher, you know, free and clear to strip your quarterback to Joey Aguilar and then take it to the house. And then, you know, two more interceptions cost you. That's something that overall Tennessee has not, you know, done this year, but, you know, they've just made too costly, too many costly mistakes in their losses, and we saw that obviously against Alabama as well. So, you know, it's certainly frustrating for fans because the defense finally played a little bit better in the first half, holding Oklahoma to 99 yards, but, you know, they had all the turnovers, so they weren't able to reflect it on the score.

And then Oklahoma got going offensively, and then Oklahoma held down Tennessee's run game. And Tennessee just could not be balanced on offense and, you know, just not enough of the explosives because Oklahoma's secondary was so much better than what we saw from Kentucky, so there weren't open receivers, and Aguilar tried to force it, excuse me, a couple of times. So it definitely was a frustrating game for Tennessee. B, I'm sure a lot of Tennessee fans and some of the media are moaning, well, Tennessee's lost three years, three games this year.

I just don't know about Josh Heifel. Let's see here. They've lost to number four, Georgia. They've lost to number five, Alabama, and number 11 or 12, Oklahoma. I would call that significant, and you're right. Tennessee have gained Oklahoma 255-99, 17 first downs to five in the first half, but when you include two interceptions, a missed field goal, and a scoop and score for a touchdown, kind of tough to overcome that. Yeah, 13 points off turnovers in the first half, plus the missed field goal. Like you mentioned, that's 16 points that you're giving Oklahoma, you know, a good team with an outstanding high-level defense.

[21:32] So you're just not going to be good teams that way. And so, you know, yeah, nobody has better losses probably than Tennessee, but, you know, ultimately that doesn't matter. The percentage chance of getting in the college football playoff is so slim. You know, being at 25, I guess you can say, well, they're the only three-loss team in there, but, you know, they're not going to be able to hop up over all the teams they would need to, and, you know, they have New Mexico, Florida, and then Vanderbilt.

They could, you know, they could get some traction off of beating Vanderbilt, but right now, you know, it's moving the needle and moving up, just not the opportunity there. Oklahoma is just on the outside looking in, and they have tough games remaining. So they can move the needle if they continue to win. Tennessee largely cannot, but honestly, as I think we mentioned it last week, the Tennessee fans overall had not been talking about the college football playoff because, you know, until they cleaned some things up and got better in some areas, it didn't matter.

And they also had to beat Oklahoma for anything else to set up potentially for them, and they did not. So, you know, fans are pretty frustrated right now. It's not, it's not like the overwhelming, you know, majority or anything like that, wanting hypo-fired, nothing like that. You get your small little fringe that feel that way, but, you know, a lot of fans are just disappointed that you got better quarterback play and the defense regret to where you couldn't take advantage of it. And then they've just been, you know, too inconsistent in some other areas.

The run game was so good on them, that kind of went away. But yeah, the playoff, not much of a conversation to think around here right now. I agree with you. It's this point of season where basically a lot of things would have to happen just so to get back in. It's not impossible. It's just a lot of things have had to happen outside of your control. But, B-Man, Vince Ferraro, by the way, 99-1, the sports animal in Knoxville. You've seen Alabama. You've seen Oklahoma. Obviously, first things first, Alabama, they've got to get by LSU this weekend.

And then, that's a pretty good one-two challenge there. LSU, I don't care who's coaching, for those athletes. And then Oklahoma. Let's fast forward if we can, since the coaches down in Tuscaloosa are probably busy right now. They're not listening. They don't like you talking about the game after that. But what do you see with Alabama and Oklahoma, since you've seen both teams? I think the pass defense of Oklahoma, I think, has the potential to give Alabama as much of a challenge with their phenomenal passing game and receivers and quarterback play as anyone.

I mean, they did a great job of defending Tennessee's receivers. They were on them. Plus, they can get after the quarterback. And really, I don't know that Alabama has faced anyone that has been elite in those areas. Georgia traditionally is. I don't think Georgia has the ready-made NFL studs at the moment on that defense. I don't think they're as deep. And they have bodies there, but they're just younger. So, I think Oklahoma's combo of those two things makes them a threat. And then the wild card is what you get from John Mateer.

He played better against Tennessee. He didn't have to carry them necessarily. But he made plays with his legs. But you know what? Tennessee was undisciplined in defending him. You know you've got to spy that guy. But they'd have linebackers go wide to try to get to him and would absolutely open up the middle of the field. And he smartly and quickly took it. So, will Alabama be more disciplined in defending him? Oklahoma, I think, can be a threat because those things you bring to the table, the defense, and then the upside of Mateer if he's playing really well.

V, we know about the negatives of Joey Aguilar in the Oklahoma game. But the positives, 29-45, 393, three touchdowns. Aguilar becomes the fifth Tennessee quarterback to record at least four 300-yard passing games in a season. He joins the company of Peyton Manning, Tyler Bray, Hendon Hooker, Andy Kelly. V, I think that's pretty good. It is good company, for sure. And different eras, obviously, different styles. And, you know, but he's about the wins and losses. So, he's not too interested in talking about those individual stats. He's very thankful of his opportunity that he's gotten.

[26:43] So, I think that's where he gets his perspective in that, you know, everyone is very fortunate to be able to, you know, to play that game. And for having to do that at the University of Tennessee, he's very thankful and appreciative. But, you know, he has largely played very, very well this year. Just unfortunately, against the best team, we haven't necessarily seen his best moments. The bye week comes at a good time. Anytime you get one in November, it's a blessing. Jermon McCoy, I've asked you this two or three times, and probably Ryan Callahan every other week.

Right. A question brought up again in the telephone conference today. Do you believe Jermon McCoy could return by the new Mexico game after the bye week? You know, I guess it's possible based on the reporting that has been done on it. Austin Price on our station said that, excuse me, that he thought that Jermon McCoy, that he, that McCoy was doing more in practice, and that he wasn't going to play against Oklahoma, but there was a possibility of after the open week, which would be New Mexico State.

I think fans are sick of hearing about the potential of McCoy coming back every week, because it really is every week in terms of, you know, when he's coming back. And, you know, the later you get into the season, the easier it will be for him to say, you know what, I'm just going to prepare for the draft. I'm not going to risk an injury late. So, I would like to see him put something on tape to show that he's healthy, but my guess is the more time passes, the more it's going to be recommended to him to just shut it down and do everything in terms of the medical and showing how healthy you are in the workout and in the process rather than playing.

So, we'll see if he plays or not, but if he doesn't play this week after the open week, I would be surprised if he, you know, just does it in the last week of the season, because at that point you're so close that, you know, you probably just don't bother, I think, is what you might get the advice to do. Absolutely. Well, listen, we are delighted you've got hip surgery number two behind you, which means 2026, V-Man. It's going to be a much better year than 2024 and 2025.

Being in chronic pain all the time is not fun at all. Hug Daphne Forrest, your incredible dog. I know you get to spend more time with her in the next month. V, where can we get online to get all the good stuff? Yeah, I appreciate it. Only two weeks not being able to drive with the left hip, the right, shut down for like a month. So, hopefully, if we get out and about, but yeah, I'll be here with Daphne a lot. So, you know, losing some weight to 2026 should be good.

Now, if we can just get rid of these stupid hiccups that I apologize for having today, we'll be real set to go. But you can follow me on all the socials, Vince Sports, V-I-N-C-E Sports, and then Sports Digital Network for a lot of the TV work that I do as well. Vince, not a problem, okay? You hang in there, buddy. All right. Thanks, guys. You're the best. See you, buddy. Vince Rorick is up with us. He's busy there at 99.1, the Sports Animal. That's why I love what they call live radio.

Coming up next on live radio is a talk of Tuscaloosa. Rodney Orr on deck on the Bumo Buck Show. Stay with us. Hi, this is Christy with J.C. Hammond Sons. Did you know that J.C. Hammond Sons is the oldest family-owned hitting air business in the Shows area? Over the years, we have helped thousands of customers achieve ideal home comfort. If you need help with your home comfort system, give us a call at 256-764-7386 or stop by our new location at 2536 Florence Boulevard. J.C. Hammond Sons, your comfort professionals, serving the Shows since 1952.

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And that means everything. Ask your doctor about Sky Rizzi, the number one dermatologist prescribed biologic in psoriasis. Visit SkyRizzi.com or call 1-866-SKYRIZZI to learn more. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. The Score. The Western Front of the state of Alabama, but got a fit in the fire where it's about to get cranking again this weekend. I think Rodney Orr would agree with that. Rodney is the founder of DantropTiderInsider.com. His book is called Bigger Than Bama. Rodney Orr, welcome in.

How are you? Doing well, Harold and Brett. How are you guys? I'm doing all right. Off week for Alabama, off week for LSU. There's been some storylines over the years, including, what was it, 14 years ago, coming up on the game of the century. My, oh, my, things have changed. It just feels weird this year, does it not, Rodney, for Alabama getting ready for LSU in your backyard Saturday night. Well, first of all, it seems like time's flown. I mean, it's 14 years ago. 14 years, man. Yeah, I can still see the players walking out.

Trent Richardson leading the captains out that night. It was a, man, what a classic game it was. Unfortunately, it went the wrong way. But fortunately, as you guys remember and know, Alabama got that second shot. And, you know, I think this is a game here coming up where you've got one team that's kind of been in disarray, LSU. They haven't lived up to the expectations they had in the preseason, potential national championship team, and all of that stuff. Now they've got, the coach was fired two weeks ago after they lost to LSU, I mean, to Texas A&M.

And, you know, you've got the other team who's already gone through almost what is equivalent to a playoff gauntlet and came out unscathed there and barely escaped South Carolina. But these are two teams, even though they're kind of going in different directions, this could be another really close game, I think, potentially. Because, listen, LSU is extremely talented. There's no question about that. You know, go ahead, Ronnie. No, I was just going to say, so I don't really think this is a game where I say, you know, that Alabama certainly can't sleepwalk.

[37:32] Yeah, I agree with you. And to me, it's the X factor, because it's easy to go conventional here and say, well, they've got an interim coach, they've got nothing to play for. I go right to the opposite. With these kids, they've got pride. They're competitors by nature. And sometimes it could be that the old coach was not the most liked guy in the world. Maybe they weren't giving it 100% because they simply didn't like him. And now this new guy can come in, fire him up, and let him unleash the beast, so to speak.

Well, I think someone told me the tactic, I guess you'd call it tactic, the motivational tactic that Frank Wilson has used on this team for LSU, the interim coach. And, you know, I thought it was pretty cool, pretty nifty, kind of stole something from Saban a little bit. He, you know, he's told this team that, hey, look, if you're thinking about checking out, you're not really hurting the team as much as you are hurting yourselves. Because even if you don't want to or you don't plan to be back at LSU, you're going to go to the NFL, you're going to hit the portal, whatever it is, this is an opportunity now for you to create value for yourselves.

And I thought that was a really great way to approach that because I think it can be a really good motivational way to reach these players. So we'll see. You know, again, this is a talented LSU team when you look at the offensive side of the ball. Nussmeyer, again, he's had some ups and downs, but he's a quality quarterback. I mean, when he gets hot, that guy can really be good. You know, he's got 12 TDs, I think, this year, five interceptions. Not extremely productive, I guess you could say.

Their offense has not been maybe what people hoped and expected. The run game is only going for barely 100 yards. But, again, you look at all the tools they have. Barry and Brown was a highly touted wide receiver. At one point, it looked like he was coming to Alabama and ended up in Kentucky and then transferred to LSU. And then they've got this tight end, this 6-7, that's because he's a match-up nightmare. Number 14, keep an eye on him. Tradez Green, I mean, he is a match-up nightmare.

And then I think they've been pretty good defensively. They've got a lot of talent on that side of the ball. So it's going to be interesting. And, you know, hopefully Alabama's rested and focused and the mindset's right Saturday night. Ron, something else Frank Wilson mentioned yesterday was they're probably going to play Michael Van Buren a little bit. The backup who came in against Texas A&M was at Mississippi State. He's a veteran. In fact, one description of him I saw was he's Thomas Castellanos of Florida State with a more accurate arm.

Dual-threat quarterback, can pick it up and run. He's going to have to need to spy on him. But Aaron Anderson, who was in Alabama, he's been beat up a little bit. But you're right. This is a very talented team. And I tell you, I know that they prepared for Nesmeyer, but Van Buren is a very good quarterback. Well, they better be prepared for him because he is very elusive. There's no question about that. It would be interesting to see how much they use him. But, you know, I think with the experience that, you know, obviously he played at Mississippi State.

He was a fantastic freshman year. But I think, you know, with Nesmeyer's experience, you know, you really have to kind of stick with that. Now, I don't know what Frank Wilson's got planned. Maybe he runs Van Buren in there, you know, regularly. We'll see. I know that it sounds like they want to try to run the ball more in this game. So, that would be interesting. Why not? I mean, you know, look, Alabama's defensive rushing statistics aren't very good. I mean, they're giving up nearly 150 yards a game rushing.

So, that's an area where Alabama has to get better, I think. So, we'll see. I mean, like I said, it's going to be interesting to see how much they challenge Alabama with the run. And especially this week because it ain't going to get any easy against that Oklahoma defense. They do a pretty good job on trying to cut down the run and the gun, so to speak. But first things first, how healthy is the team? I understand that they're going to get so much needed help and depth back at the wide receiver spot.

Overall, how's the health of the team, Rodney? Sounds like it's good, you know, from what we know. I mean, I think, you know, Isaiah Horton is supposed to be back. Latia Brooks is supposed to be back. I thought those two guys being out were kind of big, you know. I thought that really hurt them against South Carolina because, really, all of a sudden, you're Jeremy Bernard and Ryan Williams. And, you know, I know Quavis made some plays that tied in. But Ryan really wasn't even himself again.

So, you know, hopefully they're back ready to go. And it sounds like, for the most part, it does sound like this team's going to be healthy. Rodney, I've read four articles this week about Alabama needs to run the dadgum ball better. We've heard this on Nauseam the entire season. I do think they've stayed committed to the run. They've ran better at key spots late in games. Do they need to improve? Of course they do. Cam Miller, of course, has been banged up. Richard Young is on the back of a milk carton.

[43:04] We haven't seen him in a while. Daniel Hill showed a lot of promise, in particular on those flat passes, and just ran over people. The offensive lines had a few issues. Ronnie, what's the tighter insider cure for running the ball more effectively? Well, they've got the cure. They'll find the answers on tighter and sider. But, you know, here's the thing, Harold and Brett. I mean, I don't know what they can do about it. I'm talking about, you know, how much improvement they can make with that running game this year.

I don't know. I mean, it's kind of where you're at a point in the season where your identity is pretty well set. And I think this team, this is why I think Ty Simpson, those receivers, this offensive line, they've got to be in a real rhythm. They've got to be a real rhythm in the passing game and kind of mix in the run, whether it's Bernard on the sweeps, to Brian Williams, or, you know, lining them up in the backfield, maybe get the ball to Daniel Hill some more.

You know, they seem set on making Jim Miller their primary ball carrier. So, I don't know how many touches, you know, Hill gets. He's a really valuable receiver. But I think using the pass game maybe as an extension there of the run game. Thank you. Using the receivers and quick throws. Thank you. Maybe getting the ball to Daniel Hill even more as a receiver. Those types of things are tied in. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Cuevas and Caleb Edwards more involved as receivers in this game.

So, just a lot of things that I think they can do. But as far as just lining up and having that run game, I don't know, Harold and Brett. I just don't know that it can happen this year. And people say, well, is it the offensive line? Is it the running backs? And to be honest with you, it's probably a little bit of both. I know that that's what Kalen DeBoer says. But what you hear on the inside is, you know, really so far, and again, we can't judge Daniel Hill.

He just hasn't had enough carries. But Jam has been kind of up and down. And maybe it's the injuries that he's had that's kind of impacted him. But the running back position certainly hasn't really been as productive as I think most had hoped. Yeah, it's kind of like, why am I not buying a BMW? Well, I'm broke. I want the car, but I ain't got it. It's a pretty easy answer. If you ain't got it, you ain't got it. Rodney Orr has always got it there at tighterinsider.com.

Rodney, talk to us about it. Obviously, the poll was out last night. That first poll usually doesn't mean a hole. That's nice if you're in. But that in itself, history shows that's not where you go. What was it? One, your Mississippi State opened up in number one, didn't even make it. So we'll see where it goes. But your thoughts about one of your favorite teams called Texas, about the what if now the stretch here. Talk to us about the what if with Texas and where Bama needs to upgrade.

Yeah, that's a great question, Harold. Look, I just got, I don't know if it's a hunch or if it's something that I, you know, you know how I feel about Texas. But, you know, I've been impressed with their front seven. So impressed. And, you know, they've won some games, close games. Now, Alabama has two. So Georgia's won some close games. These games in the SEC are really close. And I know Texas has kind of got a hard time. You know, they've lost a couple of games and people have been kind of on the arch a little bit.

But they're sneaky to me. I think Georgia's going to beat them in Athens, which could put them out of the playoffs, put Texas out. But listen, if they win that game and they don't trip up somewhere else and they go to Austin, go back home at the end of the season, they beat Texas A&M. Texas would be the hottest, one of the hottest teams heading into the playoffs. And I think Alabama, too. You know, if Alabama wins out here, Alabama and Texas probably going, to me, going as the two of the hottest teams in the country, if not the two hottest teams.

Now, I say that. Now, what you said about upgrade is you look at that Texas defensive front seven, that defensive front group. They're extremely impressive. Extremely. And I think, you know, Alabama's played well together. I'm not complaining about what they've done. I think they've done a nice job with their defensive line, their defensive front. But they don't have the players that you see that Texas has up front. And you kind of have to say, why not? Why don't you have those players? And, you know, there's a lot of questions about that.

There's NIL and all these other things. But I just think that's a position that, as you look to the future, Alabama's really going to have to invest, I think, on the defensive front and especially defensive line. And I know they've got a pretty good class coming in. But you're right. Now, one thing in Womack's arsenal that he's done, he's played a lot of players. And you're beginning to see Keon Keeley, Lennon Simmons has been a pleasant surprise. James Smith is when he's not jumping off sides.

Edrick Hill, Pierre. Even some of the linebackers, I think we may see more of QB Reese, who's turned into a special teams demon, and some of the other guys. But I like how you put it. Their defensive front's been fairly steady. I think that's the best way to describe it. Yeah. Yeah, it's been steady. I mean, they played well together. You know, obviously, they've had some injuries. You know, it certainly hurt them with Jeremiah Beeman, Keenan early in the year. You know, Kelby Collins has flashed when he's had opportunities there.

[48:34] But it's a spot that you just wonder if eventually they're going to run into the wrong matchup, and they're going to expose him with, you know, the run game and this. So we'll see. But, you know, right now, I just think Alabama, the one thing I would say is we kind of end this thing. I would say that I'm going to be interested to see if Alabama can still win the time of possession, turnover margin, you know, play clean football. I think that's all going to be a key in this game, and they have to have that rhythm in the passing game because that's what they do.

And I think as that goes, Alabama goes. And if they do, what's going to be the final score, according to Rodney Orr? Well, I tell you, Harold, listen. I mean, there's so many one-score games out there now. I mean, how do you predict a team? It's the NFL. Yeah, I mean, how do you really predict a team kind of winning handily? But I went 28-20. Who knows, how do you pick these games these days? But I picked it 28-20. Alabama. Yeah, Rodney, I've mentioned this three times.

Alabama, what they're really missing is a war, Daddy. Quinn and Williams just got traded to the Cowboys. Jonathan Allen, Christian Barmore, you're just going down the list. Saban had about two or three of these every year, and that's one of the things. They've got some very good young players that can develop, but you're exactly right. Where can we get online, my friend, and get the absolute latest coverage? Basketball, our good buddy Drew DeArmond with a preview of the season, coaching interviews, player interviews, 24-7, message board.

Where can we get all of it for a nominal price? Right, tighterinsider.com. It's only $48 a year, and you can get instant access with your credit card if you prefer. There is an address there to send you a check. That gives you all our premium information, but also our all-sports forum. That's our community of Alabama fans. We have a lot of exchange there, a lot of exchange there on our forum. And again, it's only $48 a year. And the spice comes free, I guarantee. Listen, Rodney, thanks so much for your time, Dave, and hope the weather's correct this weekend.

Break out the Woolies. Enjoy it, and thanks again for your time, Dave, bud. Okay, guys. Appreciate it. Take care. Thank you, Rodney. Rodney, your founder and editor of Titer and insider.com. Again, his book is called Bigger Than Bama. And a quick reminder, four weeks from today, Brett Beaird, National Signing Day. Are you ready? Hard to believe. I think Alabama will keep most of their class. Again, as we get closer to it, we'll talk more about who's staying and who's going. Well, I'll tell you who's coming, and that's Drew DeArmor to the next hour, along with Florida side top Falcon coach Kenny Morrison.

And you, in a basketball, going to take the lid off that opening date down at State. We'll take you there straight ahead with Coach Tony Fujol and more of the Bumo Buck Show at 93.9 The Score. Start your day at Mila's Place, where French toast, fluffy pancakes, and all your breakfast favorites are served fresh and hot. Weekday mornings starting at 6 a.m. Come back for lunch or dinner and enjoy our meat and three meals cooked with southern flair. Or dig into a juicy burger, crispy chicken tenders, or our popular fried catfish served every day.

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Morning, Zoe. Got donuts. Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage? Well, I dig the mattress, and I want to be in a T-Mobile commercial like you. Teach me, Sildana. Oh, no. I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly. At T-Mobile, get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet, and has the ultimate pro camera system. Wow. Impressive. Let me try. T-Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network. Nice, Jeffrey. You heard them. T-Mobile is the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on us, with eligible trade-in in any condition.

So, what are we having for lunch? Dude, my work here is done. Hey, I'm Mike Slater. My dad passed away at the age of 63, out of nowhere, had a stroke. Super hard, obviously, for the whole family, but my dad had life insurance. This is why I have life insurance for my family. My wife and four kids. And the best place to get life insurance is ethos.com because you can do it in 10 minutes. And there's no medical exam and no blood test. Just a few health questions.

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Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com slash guarantee for full details. The mayor of Orange Beach, Tony Kennan, is expressing his objection to any casinos being brought to coastal Alabama, where tourism is an economic driver to the communities, but it's also family-friendly. Kennan was a guest on FM Talk 106.5 out of Mobile with host Jeff Poore. We'll see what the legislators or the voting public decide on, but they really do need to understand that if you open up the lottery, you can't do it separate from opening up the casino.

They go hand in hand. And I don't care what anybody says, prostitution, domestic violence, predators. I mean, the list goes on. It's well documented. It's research-based. They kill communities. And I spent a good bit of time in beloved Seagullsport during the oil spill, and they're talking to the matriarchs and patriarchs of those two cities. They all, to a man, to a woman, said they wish they had never opened the door to the casinos because it ruined their communities. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.

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[59:46] Welcome back in our tour of the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg, alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. And, B.B., what's the old saying, go big or go home? What about this? Go big and go away from home if you're the UNA men's basketball team. It's going to be fun tonight, taking on Mississippi State at the Hump, 8 o'clock tip-off on the SEC network. Yeah, a lot of folks saying, what in the world can you do after an encore from last year's big show?

Well, how about a big opening date tonight down in Star Vegas? UNA men's basketball coach Tony Pujo joining us today. Coach, thanks so much for your time. We know you're busy, but welcome in. How are you? Harold Brett, great to be here with you guys, I'll tell you that. It's good to hear your voice again. Coach, obviously, UNA, Mississippi State, I can't think of a better way to find out your medal than going on the road and taking on an SEC team. And anybody will tell you, anyone who's ever gone to the Hump, that is a tough venue.

Your thoughts coming into the ballgame tonight? Yeah, we're really familiar with the Hump, obviously. In my days at Alabama, down in Tuscaloosa, played there every year. And we've played here before. I think we played there about three years ago. And I can tell you right now, Rick Jams has really just ignited that community, that fan base to support Mississippi State. He's done a great job with the program. And we expect a packed-out arena tonight, and it's going to be loud. The thing is, Coach, you look at an opening game, and you've got two choices, of course.

You can go out, and in all due respect to the opponent, but the coaches know when they outman their opponent. You can go out and run and get a big score, or you can go and test your medal in a game like this. Obviously, we know the answer to the question, which one you prefer, because after this, you have a management stick for your team. Yeah, no question about it. And I think, you know, if you look at the history since we've been here, which is amazing to me that we are talking for the eighth season together, right?

It's something that is mind-blowing for me. But I can tell you right now, if you look at all our schedules from the past and even today, this is something that we do with our team. I think it's important that we get an idea of where our team is at right now and go up against somebody that, to be honest with you, they're at their best, taking away what we're at our best from an offensive standpoint. So this is going to be a great barometer for me, for our staff, as we continue our season.

Tony, I don't have to tell you, an SEC basketball team's pretty good. Josh Hubbard, considered one of the best guards in the SEC on the Bob Cousy Award watch list and a couple of other ones. They've got a transfer from Georgia, another guard, Jay Nelps, who averaged 16 points a game. Then they've got a big kid, seven-footer from Wichita State, Quincy Ballard, 10 points, 10 rebounds. That reminds me a little bit of Cornelius Williams' stance last year. I don't have to tell you this. It's going to be some interesting match-ups, but Chris Jans does have a very talented team.

Well, you know, Coach Jans has always – you know, I've known Coach Jans now for over 25 years. When I was a high school basketball coach in Miami, Florida, he recruited one of my players. In fact, he played for them when he was a junior college coach in Texas. So I have a lot of admiration and a lot of respect for Coach Jans and what he's done in his career. But I can tell you this, the players that he's assembled for this year, you know, obviously the Hubbard kid is one that's come back.

But he's got a transfer from Georgetown, from Wichita State, from, you know, from a lot of places. And I think they fit exactly what he's trying to build. But like all of us right now, we're trying to figure out our teams, right? Right. That's the thing. And the cool thing about it for us, you know, when you have 10 guys returning on your team, you know, you can still kind of keep some of that continuity. Right. But we're still trying to figure out who's who, right? You've got different guys now that are in different roles.

And they've got to figure out real quick. And like I said, a game like this will definitely give us that type of look that we need to see going forward. When you've got that kind of returning numbers, it's kind of like two old people have been married a long time. You don't even have to say a word. Just give the look and then they'll watch you say it without saying a word. But Coach Jans, that's the Bulldogs. You know what I'm talking about. Coach Jans, that's the Bulldogs.

Let's talk about the Lions. It's last year a dream season right out of a Hollywood script. But every year the script changes. Let's talk about this team this year. That's right. No, this year's team, I'll be honest with you, I'm really excited about this group because, again, you've got guys that, you know, I don't know a lot of people that would have thought that Cornelius Williams would have been back. Right. You're talking about a guy that led the league in rebounding, led the league in doubles in the world of the transfer portal and NIL and all that, I thought for sure.

[1:05:13] But here we go again, you have these anomalies where you've got parents that, you know, especially his mom, right, who saw that he had success, saw that he took steps in the right direction and just basically told her son, what are you looking for? I mean, you're, you're home. And so to me, I'm just very grateful and thankful that he got to stick around. You got Dante Backus back, you know, somebody that came in last year as our sixth man and really came out strong at the end of the year.

You know, you also got a guy like Dallas Howell who tore his ACL, but it's back full tilt. You know, we're, we're kind of working his way back into the, into the lineup. And then Cannon Jefferson, right? Like you've got a lot of these guys that have returned. Kevin Dekovicic, you've got guys like Darkon King, and the list goes on, right, of those 10 guys that returned. So I, I love our, I love our continuity. Okay. Now, like I was telling you before, you know, now you've got Cannon Jefferson, you know, into a different role.

You know, Jakari Lane's transfer to Texas A&M. Now Cannon has a different role. You know, you got Dante Backus, who was a sixth man behind Will Susi, the Iron Lion, right? Now, now he has a different role. Now, how do these guys take these roles on, right? And that's what I'm looking forward to now is how do we assemble and put this group together and really maximize their strengths. And I couldn't ask for a better opponent, a worthy opponent like Mississippi State, because they are going to, they are going to put us, they're going to take us to the break.

There's no question about it. Yeah. And I'm looking forward to that. Tony, it's going to be fun to watch also, again, some of the newer guys, Israel Generate, 7-1, Mitchell Chaffee, 16. Jamal Albritton, and then some of the young guys as we go out, go throughout the season. Some of the guys who can help you and define their roles. Tank Washington, Kader Bode, Braylon Patton, Cortez Graham Howard. Going to be fun to see those guys grow and develop throughout the course of the season. 100%. You know, you've got guys like, like you mentioned, all our bigs, right?

There's a big year for Izzy, Israel Generate, right? He's 7-1. He, you know, and that's the other thing about this team. Probably the biggest team we've ever had here. That's right. I'm going to go out on a limb here. Probably going to be the best defensive team we've ever had. The athleticism that we have, the length that we have, the physicality that we can bring, really lends to just everything that we've been trying to build from a defensive standpoint here. So we're really, truly excited about that.

But, yeah, the newcomers, I can tell you right now, you know, from Katar Bode, you know, from the Juco down in Mobile, Bishop State, to, you know, the other Juco transfer, Tank Washington, original Panama City, Florida. You know, I think those two guys bring a dynamic that really gels with our group. And then you've got the two freshmen, right? I think Cortez Graham is going to have an unbelievable career in college. Just a great mindset, great work ethic, 6'5", can play the point to the three.

And then you've got Braylon Patton, who, you know, I don't like comparing players, but, my gosh, every time he's out on the court, he just kind of gives me that freshman, Jakari Lane, right? He's got that great finisher, you know, just the kid that was completely under-recruited out of Hueytown here in Alabama. I'm really excited about him. So I just think we've got the pieces. It's our job now as a staff to make sure that we put those pieces together and we put them in successful situations.

So we've got our work cut out for us, for sure. When a football coach hears a basketball coach talk about those two words, quick twitch, their ears, I guarantee you, they perk up. They love that as well. Coach, obviously, you're going to find out about your team on the court. But let's face it, this is a win-win-win situation. Business-wise, we know that's a nice thing for you. But also the fact you're on the NCC network. People are hungry for basketball right now. Not only UNA fans, but college basketball fans.

You can't buy that kind of coverage for the school. No, 100%, especially where our school is right now, guys. You know, like, North Alabama is taking leaps and bounds. And there's really, there's a lot of people to thank for that. But there's two leaders that have really kind of kick-started this in this direction. And that's obviously our president, President Kitts, and our athletic director, Dr. Josh Looney, right? Those two guys are the spearheads of what's going on in our university. And now we get to showcase that and we get to show it to the SEC fan base, right?

And the other thing, which is also a first for our program, is Eastern Kentucky. When we play them in league play in the 8th Sun, that game is going to be played on ESPNU, right? And that's another one to showcase our university to the nation. And this is, I think, what, this, I think, validates everything President Kitts did 10 years ago when he started this process of moving this university to the Division I level. And I think you're starting to see all that with all the growth that's been going on off campus, the building of the new stadium, the baseball field, all the housing that's being put up.

[1:10:48] I mean, it just goes to show you that this university is growing and it's heading in the right direction. Now, don't shoot me for asking you about Friday night because I know you're concentrating on the night. But Friday night is a night of champions prior to the Lane College game. Ring presentations, a banner drop, and then officially recognizing the naming of Gary Elliott Court, certainly, certainly advocate all the fans, alum students to come out Friday night for a special night. 100%. And I'll tell you one thing.

That night is going to be special for myself and our staff because we have an opportunity opportunity to just give thanks and just pay homage to the players that won the first team regular season championship at the University of North Alabama in the Division I era. Right? And guys, you know how hard it is to do it in men's basketball. So, for a team that's been three years, now four years, away from the NCAA probation and all that stuff, for us to do that, it just goes to show you that our players, the commitment that they had to just building the type of program that we have.

So, we're really, truly excited about just showcasing them. But this is also a night to just make sure that we honor Coach Gary Elliott. Right? Yeah. Coach Elliott is someone that is very, extremely valuable to me, but is somebody that is adored in our community and definitely with this basketball program. And I can say this about him, it is, it is, this is, this is, this is, should have been done a long time ago. Yes. Because we're talking about one of three men that have, that have won a national championship in basketball in the state of Alabama.

And one thing I would do to kind of put out there, if possible, he's the only one of those three that has not, that has not been inducted into the Alabama Hall of Fame. Wow. That is a travesty because you're talking about, hey, guys, winning a national championship is no easy feat. I don't care what level it is. No. And I think the guy is definitely worthy of not having the, not just having the floor named after him, but he needs to be honored within the state of Alabama as one of the best coaches to ever coach the game.

Yeah. I've got a, I've got a contact for that. My good friend, Greg Panderson, the former Huntsville Crimson Panthers football coach, is on that board. And you ever get a minute, let me know, because I've got his contact number and he put in a good word for that. I couldn't agree with you more. By the way, do one more thing this season. UNA ranked second in the nation in fewest turnovers in Division I, committed only 8.9 per game. If you can do that again, this season, listen, we know you're busy, uh, much success tonight.

It's going to be a fun game to watch. God bless you and the coaches and players bring back a W from starting Vegas. That's the plan, guys. That's the plan. Sounds great. There you have it. UNA men's basketball coach, Tony Pujo, and we're talking about Coach Elliott, who says you can't win with class. I can't see it again. It's been a basketball team at home Friday night against Lane. Coming up, uh, it's all about a place that's busy. Let's go to Florence High. The Falcons flying high these days, getting ready for their playoff party and Coach Kenny Morrison on deck on the Boomo Bugg Show.

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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 Conecuh Sausage. A true Southern flavor since 1947, and the official smoked sausage of the Crimson Tide. Order online at ConecuhSausage.com. Hello again, everybody. I'm Roger Hoover. On yesterday's edition of Crimson Drive, driven by NASCAR, we were joined by Alabama running back Daniel Hill. When I got my offer from Alabama sitting with Nick Saban, it was crazy. Because, I mean, I've always been, like, a fan of Alabama.

I never really seen myself playing for Alabama, but I've always been a fan just seeing Nick Saban, you know, seeing the championships, everything like that. So, when I got the offer from Alabama, it was crazy. I didn't know what to say. He told me I had the offer. I just sat there. I didn't know. Yeah, I mean, I've been coming up here for a while. I've been coming up here since, like, third grade. My dad's been bringing players up here, recruits and everything. And just being around him, being around his injuries, seeing the way he coaches.

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Join us tonight for Hey Coach and the Kalen DeBoer Show, live from Baumhauer's Victory Grill in Tuscaloosa at 6 p.m. Central. Hey Coach and the Kalen DeBoer Show, always presented by Alpha Insurance. You can listen on our full radio network, the Varsity Network app, as well as watch the video stream on all Alabama Athletics' social media platforms. Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by Conecuh Sausage. 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.

The Score. Welcome back in. Really appreciate the free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Obviously, it may be a busy time in the Shoals. Earlier, I talked with Coach Dierman. UNA getting ready for the home day this weekend against West Georgia at Brawley. Next, the last home game ever there for the Lions. Just got done talking with Coach Pujol tonight down at Stark Vegas, opening game for the basketball season. And efforting to hook up with a high-flying Falcon from Florida side, Coach Kenny Morrison. I did some math on this, and we can't wait to get Coach on.

The good news is Florence is in the playoffs. The bad news is this is like a two-tanker to get down there, meaning it's a long way. Do you realize if you put the pencil down in Florence and you did a circle, okay, as far as distance, from Florence to Mobile is basically the equivalent of Florence to St. Louis, Missouri. Baby, it's about the same distance. That's amazing. Well, it's going to cost a lot of money, I know. And one of the questions, will the team spend the night here on Thursday night or go down there for – I mean, it's – again, most people know a trip from the Shoals or North Alabama to Mobile down to the beach is six hours in a passenger car, much less in a school bus.

Or a charter, whichever way they decide to go, unfortunately, did not work out when the Alabama Husky Athletic Association makes up their mind about something. They rarely change it, but I will be curious to see if they streamline this tiebreaker system that they've got instead of going down to nearly the 10th tiebreaker to make it a little bit easier for all of the teams, and particularly in Class 7A. Well, we know what should be done. The question is, BB, how do you do it? I mean, this is – I mean, let's face it.

[1:21:23] This is a lot of money for the school. It's a lot of money for mamas and daddies. What parent, grandparent, et cetera, is not wanting to make that trip? But here we are coming up on the holiday season. What would be the answer? In a case like this, could they not at least say, all right, guys, it's not fair for the North to go to the South, that distance? It's not fair for the South to go to the North in that distance. Could they not maybe join the middle, maybe go to Birmingham, play at UAB or something like that halfway?

I know it. And then split the gate down there. Harold, I really don't know if that will ever happen with – and again, there are two teams in Mobile in that area who come up to play. James Clemens, et cetera. I don't see a neutral side game in the first round coming out because I know the teams want the gate. And again, as Ben Thomas said on Monday, we knew this was going to be a pain in the butt. And particularly if you're traveling from North Alabama to Mobile and it costs a lot of money and we get there.

Now, that might be one thing, Harold, that they could do to help the teams is to subsidize the travel. Now, I know they give a lot of the schools at the beginning of the school year money that they make from the championships and other resources. But I do wonder if that's one area they could come up, for the lack of a better word, in NIL as far as helping with travel expenses. Well, you mentioned they want that gate. But, I mean, here's the other side of the coin.

Let's say you make $10,000 off the game. That's a conservative number. But if it's costing you $20,000 for the other team, how fair is that? So, I'm just – to me, it's just common sense math. The other thing you bring up, I mean, you talk about a home field advantage, that distance. If it is strictly all about money and you get on a bus, anyone who's ever ridden on a bus, they know that's not exactly luxury. Travel, it's a long way. It's a bumpy ride. You travel – it's a minimum, a minimum of six hours.

And that's not counting stops or bathroom and all that other stuff. So, you're looking realistically at seven at the least, and then you hop off the bus and you play a game, and then you drive seven hours back. I mean, how realistic is that to expect a visiting team to be ready for a game under those circumstances? And the other side of the coin is you sit here, and then you have to pay the money to go ahead a night ahead of time. And that's not easy either.

I would imagine that Coach Kenny Morrison would agree with that. He's now joining us in the huddle. Coach, welcome in. What a week it's been. How are you? I'm here. It's been a whirlwind of a week, no doubt. I'm trying to figure out if we have a football game to play or not. Oh, my gosh. Talk to us about it, Coach. We've been sitting here. Yeah, talk to us about the reality. The good news is, first of all, congratulations. Regardless of what happens after that start, you made it to the playoffs.

But then the reality is, the reward is, you've got to try. We were just talking about this, Coach. I don't know if you heard it or not. It's the equivalent of getting on a bus and driving the same distance to go to Mobile as it would to go to St. Louis, Missouri. If that puts it in perspective for you. Yeah. The way the Cardinals played this year, you wouldn't want to go see that either. But talk to us about just the reality of, A, making the playoffs and now having to deal with this reality.

Well, we knew this could be a thing from the beginning, obviously. And, you know, I've had some folks with the state tell me that this is what we wanted and this is what we asked for. I don't know who did the asking and who didn't know, but it sure wasn't this region. But this is the way it fell out, and it is what it is. We knew we needed to be one or two, and, you know, I won't get into it. You know, we're going to end up with two ones playing down at Baker because we feel like we did everything right by the book.

And we feel like we're the 2025 Florence Falcons or region champs. And we lost a few appeals along the way to get the book interpreted the way that we thought it was supposed to be. But at the end of the day, we're traveling there to play, even though we feel like we should be at home. And so the reality of it is, thank goodness, that our community has stepped up for these young men and afforded us an opportunity to go down a day early, not the day of.

So we're actually bringing our guys in tomorrow at 8 a.m. A big thanks to our administration that's allowing us to lock our guys down at 8 tomorrow. And we'll have them until we drop them back off early Saturday morning at about 4 or 5 a.m. So we're coming all the way back after, but got a lot in between there. I was hoping you were going to be able to do that instead of just driving all day on Friday. Let me ask you about Baker. Obviously, they're good. They're 8-2, 14 in the power rankings of AL.com.

[1:26:45] Tate Graham, their quarterback, 2,100 yards. Marion, their receiver, nearly 800 yards. Speedy Wheeler, that's a name for a running back, 8-65. And we'll talk about your guys who've had a good year, too. When you see Baker on film, what do you see? Well, I didn't appreciate that, all those numbers you threw out there. But, yeah, they're very talented. Speedy, he's speedy, no doubt. They've got tremendous team speed across the board. It'll be the most speed as a whole that we've seen this year. Probably with, you know, the quarterback, he's going to stand in there.

They don't like him to run, but he can really throw it. He's accurate. And he's got some guys that are explosive when he gets it to them. We just can't let him stand in there and try to pick us apart. Again, really talented. But, hey, we've got a talented bunch, too. And we've played some teams throughout this region. And that's why we did the out-of-region games we did, you know, playing Hillcrest, Tuscaloosa, Muscle Shoals, and Oxford. And then within our region, we've seen talent all year long.

We like where our guys are. And our guys are playing extremely hard for us. And we're going to go down there and get after them and see what happens. Coach Kenny Morrison, the huddle with us. Coach, talk to us about this team. Every coach is going to have their special teams. But when you start out with the start you had, then you caught fire. And then, basically, you said just hold the rope until we get to playoffs. Talk to us about how special this team has been this season.

I have been on their page all year long. You know, I went back to – I said it on the radio earlier with a place out of Mobile that we got to Austin. We hit a roadblock there. Didn't handle things very well at Austin. And that was a turning point. That will be probably the game that we as a staff will remember and I'll remember for a long time. It's probably the night that this program turned in the direction it has. And this senior class is a reason for that.

You know, I've told this before. They had a senior meeting on Sunday and said we'd like to talk about some things. And it's probably one of the first senior classes as a head coach I've ever let openly speak. They're very mature. They knew what they wanted to do and needed to do. And we made some adjustments and we put our egos aside as coaches and listened to some young men that were very smart and intelligent about what needed to happen. And we stuck with some things that we felt were right, added a few things, and it just clicked for us.

And this 2025 class will go down in my books as one of the top classes that I've ever been associated with in my 30 years of coaching. These young men have flipped this program in the direction that we wanted it to go in year four. Everybody says it takes three to five years to change some stuff, and this group in year four did it. And I bragged on them to them. On the radio, I bragged to their face. I mean, they're a phenomenal group of young men that will have left their legacy on this place and forever changing.

As long as I'm here anyway. Coach, I was talking about Baker, but you've got some guys who've had very good seasons. Kalon Tripley to 517 yards rushing. Kate Davidson, his development. I don't believe he's thrown the interception since August. 97 and 154. Yeah, 1,300 yards. Amy McDonald. Shh! You've got some dudes, too. We do, we do. This, again, is a talented group, and they're coachable, do everything we have, and they're smart. They're football smart, and that is the key to some really good teams that understand the game of football and high IQ in the game, and that's what they've been for us.

And, again, you've got to be coachable and be willing to adjust and do some stuff that you're asked to do, and this group has bought in 1,000%. And Kay Davis has been phenomenal. He really worked on his accuracy, which is the number one thing, I think, as a quarterback and coaching quarterbacks as well, is I tell them accuracy is it, and he's been really accurate. And he's had some guys to throw it to that are explosive. Jimmy McDonald, Kabonte Green, J.C., John Carter-Goolsby, and J. Shot Pearson.

I mean, we have some talented guys that, as a group, I've told them I've had some really good players at those positions. But as a whole, probably the best skill that I've coached on the field at one time when you add Kalon and A.J. Hines and the Carson Johnson back there. So we've got some guys. Defensively, we have gotten better every week. Coach Wisdom and these guys have gelled, and they play extremely hard over there. And it shows we got better every week, and that's what you want.

[1:32:11] And Oxford, it was a program win for us at Oxford, and our defense wins championships, and they did. Absolutely. Coach, we know you're busy, and it's been a tough week of adversity. But good luck. Safe travels. I'm glad you're going down tomorrow, and the community stepped up. God bless you and the coaches, players, and everybody. Bring back a W for Mobile. That's the plan. And, again, I want to give a shout-out to this community. You know, this trip is a burden on this community cost-wise for everybody to get there.

We understand if we don't feel a stand, we get it. But a $25,000 to $27,000 trip, and we're going there with it fully paid before we leave Florence. That's a lot about our community and them stepping up for these young men, and it's going to be a great experience for them. We're going to go play. What's the old saying, put your money where your mouth is, and they did. And nothing makes that long trip shorter than bringing back a big W. Safe travels to and from, and thanks so much for your time today, Coach.

Thank you. Go, Fountain. Coach Kenny Morrison and Florsi on their way to Mobile to take on the boys from Baker. Coming up, Double D, Drew DeArmond, the latest next. 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.

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South Alabama is set to play at home tomorrow when they take on Alcorn State. Alcorn State is 0-1 to kick off the year, while South Alabama is off to a 1-0 start. The Auburn Tigers are also in action tomorrow night when 20th-ranked Auburn plays host to Merrimack. The Auburn Tigers have opened the season with a victory. They are 1-0. Merrimack is 0-1. They lost the matchup in South Dakota on opening day. Progressive is helping veterans drive their lives forward with its Keys to Progress program. Online at keystoprogress.com.

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It is always a pleasure for us to welcome in D-Squared, Drew DeArmond. He is host, talking ball, and host of 97.7 FM The Zone. Drew DeArmond, welcome in. How are you? I'm doing good, guys. How are y'all? And a lot on the plate. You got, let's see, coaching changes down the plains, Alabama with an off week, getting ready for LSU, Alabama, and Auburn taking the lid off their basketball season. Drew, do you need anything else added to your sports buffet plate? Well, and a lot of rescheduled playoff games so far.

The one I'll be calling on Friday, that'll be Buckhorn at Hartsell. So, that game so far is staying put. But, lots of games being moved around because of the threat of inclement weather on Friday. The first big poll came out last night. Nobody surprised. Alabama, number four. As long as you stay in that one through four slot, you get that opening week off. You can rest up, minimize the possibility of injuries. Your thoughts about Alabama making it. But, first things first, a very interesting matchup. It's always interesting to take on LSU.

But, in some ways, this is unique. Your thoughts about coming in Alabama-LSU Saturday night down at Bryant-Denny. Well, I mean, it's an interesting game because you don't quite know what to expect at LSU. I think they're going to come out and give Alabama their best shot. Yeah. I think it's Frank Wilson, who I think will get them to play hard. They don't have a great offensive line, but they can play well for one game. And that would be all that matters. They certainly have an experienced quarterback in Garrett Nussmeyer, who's won a lot of games, thrown for a lot of yards.

He hasn't had a great year this year. He's been kind of beat up. But, I'm sure the off week certainly helped him. And it really helped both teams, I'm sure. And, you know, they've still got a really good receiver core, led by Aaron Anderson, who is a former Alabama guy who's been banged up to, but who can make plays. Baryon Brown's certainly got big play capability. They've got an outstanding tight end. And, you know, they've got two good young running backs who are very, very capable.

So, it's a very capable offense that hasn't played up to its potential. Blake Baker's defense is certainly, you know, outstanding. Though, they do have some injuries, especially their linebacker core. So, they're not going to be complete. And I think their secondary can be had if Alabama's offensive line can give Tysons some time. That's going to be the key. I mean, that's basically the key to every game because we know what this Alabama team is. But, you know, their strength is their quarterback, you know, their receivers who should be healthier now.

You should get, you know, an Isaiah Horton that's healthy. You should get Lottie Brooks back. Lottie Sears had a good year. And then, of course, you've still got Clavis, Ryan Williams, certainly, and Jeremy Bernard. So, you've got weapons that can hurt them. And then, I think, also, you'll probably have as fresh a, you know, A.J.M. Miller as you've had in a while. But I think Daniel Hill is starting to assert himself. So, Alabama should have all hands on deck as well. Clavis, all those guys.

So, they have a lot of weapons. This LSU defense is definitely the best it's been in three years. But, at the same time, I think you can still run the football on them. I think they give up about 150, 140, 150 yards a game. And, really, honestly, that should be the benchmark for this Alabama team. Of course, you'd love to have 200, and you certainly did a year ago. But, that's not how this team is built. But, if they can hit that watermark on Saturday, I think they're going to be very difficult to beat inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

D2, that's what I was going to ask you. As far as the final month of the season, what would you like to see this team improve? I know what we here all know is him run the dadgum ball, but their scheme is not that. Now, they've stayed committed to the run. Can they run more effectively? Yes. And, I think they held to control some games, and particularly the Vanderbilt game on that eight-minute drive. The defense better run fits. The special team has been solid. I know Talty has missed a few field goals.

[1:42:35] What would you like to see Alabama improve on in the next four games? Well, I mean, certainly running the ball, you know, more effectively. I don't expect them to become a 200-yard-a-game running team. But, I think situational football, I think they can improve there. Certainly, you'd like to see. I'd like to see them get a little bit more explosive in a kick-return game. You know, maybe even with Ryan Williams, the kick-off returner, and then certainly Cole Adams in the front-return game. I'd like to see them be able to pop a couple of those, no question about it.

Maybe even block a punt, which would kind of change a game. So, in other words, maybe make some more plays in the special teams area. And then, you know, I'd like to see them play cleaner. Certainly, they haven't turned it over at times. But, I just, you know, throwing and catching, they had some big drops against South Carolina that almost came back to bite them. So, certainly, I'd like to see them execute a little bit better there. And, you know, and then I just, overall, defensively, I'd like to see them continue to get pressure on the quarterback.

And then, you know, and maybe even force more turnovers. I know they've been able to generate some, but down the stretch in these last few games, you know, certainly LSU's a tricky game. Then you've got a really good defense and a pass rush with Oklahoma and a healthier John Mateer. Then you've got Eastern Illinois. And then, of course, you've got an Auburn game. We don't really know yet what it's going to be like. It's certainly going to be a difficult environment. But we don't know, you know, what kind of Auburn team we're going to see.

We'll know starting on Saturday when they go to Nashville against an honorary Vanderbilt team. But, certainly, I'd just like to see them in all three phases just clean some things up, maybe take things to the next level. And if they do that, then I think they've got a good job at running the table. And then you get to Atlanta with an 11-1 record, then you're already in the playoff. And, as you guys mentioned, when we started the segment, you're playing to try to get one of those four buys.

Drew Jarman, 97.7 FM, The Zone. We were joking earlier. One thing we guarantee is Hugh Freeze will not lose to Diego Pavia this season for obvious reasons. Your thoughts about the move on the plans, where they go next, and what do you expect in the Music City this weekend? Well, I would expect that, much like LSU, that Auburn would play hard for D.J. Durkin now. The one thing I have no idea about is Derek N***** calling plays, and if this offense is going to look any more, you know, coherent, and is there going to be more energy and juice to it?

Because I'll be honest, I was basically watching two games at once last week, guys, when you're talking about Oklahoma and Tennessee and then Auburn and Kentucky. And Auburn and Kentucky was an ugly football game. I mean, probably one of the ugliest offensive games I've ever watched. And I said, you know, and I believe I had already said on y'all's show as well, I said it on a few and including my own, that Hugh Freeze, of course it was big to beat Arkansas on the road and get off the schneid and get that first SEC win.

But if they gave it back against Kentucky, he would be in big, big trouble. And I'll be honest, that was not what I expected. I had seen Kentucky a couple times. Their defense is not a vintage Mark Stoops unit. It's not very good. You're playing a talented young QB, but he's a freshman. Your offense has been better, but it's still not been great. And as we know, Auburn's defense is championship caliber. You know, they played well, including against Kentucky, well enough to win every game. And so I just felt like Auburn was going to find a way to win.

And I thought they were even going to cover, because I think they were an 11-and-a-half point favorite. I thought, you know, they could force turnovers at that defense. And as long as they played opportunistic football and ran the ball, I felt like they could win a 24-10 game and would be back. But as the game unfolded and it became readily apparent that they were either going to get shut out or lose 10-3, unless Kentucky just gave it away, I was like, you know, I'm not sure if he will get back to the locker room.

And he almost didn't. And so it's just one of those things that I do think that the players are going to benefit without having you there from a standpoint. Maybe it will, you know, maybe, maybe, you know, Derek Nix was handcuffed and he needs to have some freedom. If that's going to be very interesting, you know, I don't think the QB is going to be Deuce Knight. I think it will be, you know, one of the two guys. And they probably, you know, whether it's Ashton Daniels or Jackson Arnold, they probably won't name a starter until right before the game.

[1:47:44] I certainly wouldn't. I wouldn't want, you know, to give Vanderbilt a leg up. But, you know, it's interesting. And then Vandy, they still have college football playoff oaks, but it's on life support and they have to win this game. Yeah. Absolutely. D.D., in a couple of minutes, you're in attendance Monday for the opening season debut of Alabama basketball, which went successfully. 91 to 62 over North Dakota. LeBaron Phylon. The game seems to have slowed down for him. 22, Millett. 15 points. Amari Allen, 12 points. Landon Jimson, 12. Got to telephone with St. John's Monday, Saturday morning.

Your thoughts quickly on Alabama's debut of the season. Well, I thought LeBaron Phylon was typically outstanding, like he was in the two exhibition games. It looked like he spent in a lot of time. It looked like the game slowed down for him. Houston Millett was really good. Great hustle. Able to put 15 on the glass, or excuse me, on the board, pardon me. Amari Allen had a really good freshman debut. He won the hard hat. Very versatile kid. Landon Jimson, very versatile also. And, again, we didn't know until we got to the game that you weren't going to have, you know, Latrell Wright, still Aiden Holloway, and Keaton Bristow.

They'll need all those guys that get to wait for him. The Redstone or the St. John's, because they're going to be ready to roll in the garden. But, certainly, I thought they did a nice job. I thought Aiden Terrell was pretty solid. Even though his bat line wasn't great, I thought Noah Williamson brought some things to the table. Definitely is a passer. He can rebound the ball. You know, he's got some Euro to his game. So, I think he's going to be able to help fit the backup.

No question about it. And then, the kind of the wild card, Davion Hanna. Very good athlete. His offensive game is farther along than I thought. We already know what Nate Oaks thinks of him defensively. And I thought he did a really nice job. And, boy, this is going to be a tough, you know, stretch for Alabama. Like the football team went through. They're fixing to go through a four-game gauntlet. And St. John's and Purdue is about as tough as it gets. And I thought it was a solid debut for Alabama.

No question about it, D2. I'm going to try to read it off in a few minutes today and tomorrow. A lot of games being moved to Thursday night. But where can we listen to you and Scott, the recruiting blitz, and your always entertaining Twitter feed? Sure. They can catch me at DrewD, 9770SPN, also our station at 9770SPN. If you miss Talking Ball, Monday, Friday, 7 to 9, you can catch us on our 97.70SPN, the Zone SoundCloud page, or 9770SPN.com. Sorry we weren't able to connect last week.

I was in a deep conversation with some folks over in Atlanta. But it was great stuff. And it's great to be back with you guys. And certainly we're going to be battling some weather during that Hartzell-Buckhorn game. Hopefully we're going to be under some cover there in the press box. We look forward to bringing the folks to a big-time 6A playoff game on Friday night. The word is long, Johns, at that time of the year. Drew, thanks so much. And stay safe out there, okay? Thanks, guys.

Thank you, brother. Thank you, brother. Good gentleman, 97.7 FM, the Zone. Brett Beaird, do you have a final word today? Yeah, Harold, let me read this real quick. 6A, Mae Jemison at Muscle Shoals, of course, is tomorrow night. That had been said. Athens at Fort Payne moved to Thursday. Priceville at Guntersville moved to Thursday. Randolph-West Morgan moved to Thursday. Brooks at Plainview Thursday. Asheville at Hamilton Thursday. Rogers at Geraldine Thursday. Thanks for a Christian at Mars Hill moved to tomorrow night. Nashville Campbell at Piedmont Thursday. Lauderdale County at Fife Thursday.

Sand Rock at Red Bay tomorrow night. North Sand Mountain at Lexington tomorrow night. And Spring Garden at Hackelberg. All of those games have been moved from Friday to Thursday. And we will update that again tomorrow. Something else, Brett Beaird and Harold Bugg on Thursday, too. We hope that's going to take care of his for now. On behalf of BB, Greg James Blair, the entire crew here. Harold Bugg, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to two, for the Boom and Bug Show.

Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9, the score.