Episode summary
This episode of the Boomo Bugg Show focused heavily on Alabama's recent performance following their loss to Oklahoma, with discussions on rankings, defensive improvements, and future matchups. It also covered high school football talent in Alabama and speculated on potential coaching moves, particularly Lane Kiffin's possible departure from Ole Miss.
Highlights
- Harold Bugg and Brett Beaird discuss Alabama's drop in rankings after losing to Oklahoma, noting they fell from 4th to 10th.
- Roger Hoover praises Alabama's defense against Oklahoma but criticizes costly turnovers and missed opportunities.
- Jim Gomm speculates that Texas may upset Texas A&M in the Iron Bowl, leading to a potential Alabama vs. Georgia SEC Championship Game.
- Bruce Marshall debates the College Football Playoff committee's use of strength of schedule, questioning its consistency and noting Alabama's current 10th ranking.
- Randy Kennedy highlights Muscle Shoals High's defensive duo and Parker High's nose guard Vonnie Cleveland, who committed to Texas.
- Joe Cox discusses the Iron Bowl, noting Alabama is favored by five and a half points despite Auburn's competitiveness.
- The transcript mentions Oklahoma's upset win over Alabama and Missouri's reliance on Ahmaud Hardy's rushing ability.
Full show transcript (text version of the audio, for readers who are deaf or hard of hearing)
This transcript was generated automatically from the broadcast audio. Names and some words may be misspelt; the audio is the official record.
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[0:00] Now, get ready to roll Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's Exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. New Exclusive Inside Track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Good afternoon and welcome in to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in where James Franklin gets a new job, Lane Kiffin gets an ultimatum according to the report, and Alabama's going to find out where they get their new spot in the big pole coming up tonight.
Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you? Happy Tuesday to you and the listeners. Yes, will the Tide be 10, 9, or 8 tonight? That's going to be a big help if there are 8 or 9 in the polls. James Franklin, according to multiple media reports, is the new coach at Virginia Tech. Lane Kiffin supposedly received an ultimatum from Ole Miss, but he's denied it on the Pat McAfee show. We'll talk about that. Las Vegas insider Bruce Marshall previews the top college football games this week. And Roger is here right now to recap a tough homecoming day and talk about some men's and women's basketball.
Roger Hoover, Alabama fans, just want to hear some good news after a rough weekend. Roger on the call time, but let me go ahead and say this, BB. Roger had nothing to do with it. There we go. On the Crimson Tide Network. Roger, welcome in. We've done our best to bail you out, buddy. How are you? Boom, boom, bug. I mean, I'm doing all right. You know, this past Friday night in our only postseason event we've had so far with Alabama athletics, Alabama soccer, got a big win against Northwestern.
I'm going to be on the call for that. They're going to take on number one seed Stanford coming up this week. But, hey, that was a good story from this past week. Kind of mixed in with the men's basketball and the football losses that, unfortunately, we have. Roger, where do we begin? It's easy to say, well, it's hard to beat a top 11 team and give them three turnovers. And you miss a makeable kick there at the end of the first half. But, Roger, obviously, a lot of folks asking questions.
It's always, in hindsight, easy to look back and say you should have done this, you should not have done that. But, Roger, you had the best seat in the house. What is your breakdown on Alabama's weekend with Oklahoma? I did a lot of things well in that football game, especially the defense, given the short field they had to deal with so much in that ball game, made some key stops, only allowing one touchdown to John Matera. And that offense is usually pretty good. Holding them to field goals is, again, usually pretty good.
But, unfortunately, just the mistakes were costly, and there were costly times, whether it was special teams or the offensive turnovers that Alabama had in this game. It was just kind of an out-of-character game at times for Alabama. And yet, you're still in two points of tying it or three points if that field goal goes in the end of the first half, you win the ball game. So, again, I don't think it's reason for panic for any reason at all. And just now with today's college football, this just kind of reminds me of a loss the Philadelphia Eagles or the Kansas City Chiefs would have in November or December.
It's like, that's tough. But we know once it's time for the playoffs, we'll be in good shape. And those teams find their way to the Super Bowl, it seems like, every year. So, again, I didn't think it was a cataclysmic loss, nothing to the levels of what we had against Florida State week one. It was just a hard-fought football game. And, unfortunately, this great eight-game winning streak is over. But it almost makes you look back and say, you know what, if you had told us going into the season that we'd be going in eight and two to the final two weeks of the season, getting ready for the Iron Bowl with an interim coach, I think we would all sign up for it.
Maybe we didn't think the losses would be to Florida State and Oklahoma, maybe Tennessee-Georgia or LSU, some combination of that. But that's just how the season's gone. And there's still so much to play for that's in Alabama's control. I think that's also the key thing about us moving forward. Absolutely. Oklahoma's drives, by the way, 23-yard drive after starting on Alabama's 30-yard line, a pick six, a 30-yard drive that started on Alabama's 31-yard line after a fumble, a 41-yard drive, and a 22-yard drive. Again, Alabama gave up points.
They've got a supersonic kicker to their credit. But, Roger, every time you look at the drives, you just scratch your head. Most of these were less than 40-yard drives for a score. Yeah, and most of the time, Oklahoma was not having big plays in any of these drives. So, again, I give the defense a lot of credit. Made a lot of winning plays outside of forcing a turnover. And there were just some near misses there. Justin Jefferson with a chance at a great interception where he would have had a pick six.
[5:15] Tim Keenan batting a ball away. The Yonsei Pierre probably would have picked off as well. So, for this defense, I think one of the things you want to see against Eastern Illinois this week is how do we find a way to force turnovers, whether it's forcing more fumbles like we've seen. You know, Nakai Hill Green punching the football a week ago was certainly great. Or for the secondary to continue to get interceptions. And John Mater was a quarterback who had thrown a lot of interceptions this season.
But Alabama didn't put him in dangerous enough spots to throw a pick in this ballgame. And that's not just on the secondary, but on the D-line as well with the pressure. So, those things have to be worked on as you get ready for it. Not just this game against Eastern Illinois, but, you know, Auburn is in a very shaky spot at quarterback. Regardless of who they play, you've got to be able to apply pressure and make whoever is the signal caller for the Tigers throw some interceptions.
Because those are key momentum plays. Unfortunately, the tie with the pick six was a huge momentum play in this game that really changed everything. If you listen to Crimson Tide, just about any sport, you recognize the voice. Roger Hoover there on the Crimson Tide Network. Roger, was this the game where we started seeing maybe the changing of the guard as far as who's going to get the most totes at running back? It looked like, from all gathering, that, yes, everything looks good. But let's face it, Daniel Hill, he passed the eye test.
He passed the eye test. The one thing he's got to continue to do is block, because Jan Miller is so good at pass protection. And, you know, a few of the issues that Ty ran into were both with Daniel Hill and Jam out there. But that's a key part of it. But in terms of running the football, I mean, he runs extremely hard, hits the hole fearlessly. And for Jam, I think, going back to the collarbone injury, it's just not been quite the same burst that we heard about in preseason camp or have seen throughout his time when healthy at Alabama.
Now, that may continue to improve as time goes on, from not only the collarbone injury, but the concussion that he suffered against Missouri as well. And we're hoping this is a very long season, still so much football to be played. But for these two immediate games that are coming up, I think you're dead on. I think Daniel Hill has got to get a very strong look at what he can do. And I love the Wildcat package with him, too. You know, those are similar plays to what Jeremy Bernard ran.
But inside the five-yard line, I mean, it's really hard to slow him down. So, I think Alabama's in good shape there if they continue handing the ball to number four. Roger, we talked about a lot of the young guys. The defensive coaches play a lot of players. One guy that is really coming into his own is Red Morgan. Four tackles, one went for a loss, forced to fumble, only gave up three catches, three receptions, four, eight yards. He's improving daily, and my goodness. I know a lot of people say, well, Josh Quavis is your check down guy.
Yes, he is. He's also a playmaker. Six catches, 80 yards. Sixty-four of those came after the catch. Those two caught my eye. Yeah, absolutely. Career game. For Josh Quavis continues to be a great option. For Ty Simpson, you wish he would have gone to him a couple more times, especially on that final drive in the fourth quarter. He could have made some huge plays and maybe have turned that game Alabama's way. But he's somebody that continues to be, you know, he was so undervalued, you know, playing small college football to begin his career, and making his way to Washington, and now what he's doing now is just remarkable, and I think NFL teams are taking notice.
And then Red Morgan, living up to the hype that he had as a very highly proud recruit coming out of central Phoenix City and, you know, starts right away as a freshman but then didn't see the field as much towards the end of last year and the beginning of this season. But kind of that young man, he keeps working, and even with so much depth around him and talented older players around him, he's forcing Alabama's hand to make him play in this game. So I think he's been out there and really been fast and physical, and that's what Alabama needs in that position.
Roger, obviously tonight's a pivotal night going forward. The AP and the coaches' poll have already indicated they're not for Alabama, but let's face it at the end of the day, that's just eye candy. Tonight is the one that is the measurement stick. You've got to get inside the 12 and stay there to make the playoffs. Alabama right now dropped from 4th to 10th in the conventional polls. The question is, where will they land tonight? And your thoughts, what is fair, as objectively as we can talk about it here, you look and ranked ahead of them are Oregon and Notre Dame.
The reason I bring that up, correct me if I'm wrong, Notre Dame has two losses. They faced one top 25 team. Oregon is ahead of Alabama. They haven't faced any top 25 teams, and maybe one out there. Is the committee going to live up to what they've been preaching? We are going to take strength of schedule into consideration. You surely hope so, especially the way they've continued to have SEC teams toward the top of the rankings. You know what, the last week, five teams would have made the playoff out of the SEC, and Alabama is certainly still one of the best five teams in this conference, if you want to still use similar metrics.
[10:16] So I hope the committee really rewards Alabama and everything they've done so far this season because, look, that Georgia win continues looking better and better as time goes on. And then it's just been interesting how the schedule has gone, that some of these power teams you've fought going into the season, the South Carolina, the LSU, as they know, unfortunately, that doesn't look as strong. And then the Vanderbilt win continues to look better as well. And certainly we need Vanderbilt to beat Kentucky. I'll sing Dynamite, their fight song if they do that coming up on Saturday to help us toward the SEC championship game.
But, no, we're continuing to kind of monitor all of that, and still so much can change. And I think a lot of it is going to depend on, too, you know, if Alabama does make it to Atlanta for the SEC championship, are you going to be a high enough seed to be able to withstand a loss and not be bumped out completely? I still don't think that's going to happen. I think they'll always take the best two teams from the SEC. But it's going to be interesting down the stretch.
That's the one tough thing about this loss this past week. We were kind of hopeful for a stress-free November, and now it's getting a little more stressful by the day and the week as we play football. Let me ask you about basketball. The women are playing well. 4-0 beat Alabama. And, you know, Essence Cody, 13.7 rebounds. Jessica Timmons, 13. Diana Collins shipped in 10. And then the women, they beat number five, St. John's, in the Garden. And then they play number two, now number one, Purdue, down to the wire.
And tomorrow night, they've got number eight, Illinois, who went up six spots in the Associated Press to number eight. And then I believe they got Gonzaga on Monday night. Boy, I tell you one thing, Nate Oates, Sam's, we're playing a tough preseason schedule. He's not kidding. No, he's not kidding at all. And I think you learned a lot about this group this past week against Purdue. You know, played really well at times, like you mentioned the game. Went down to the wire. Just, unfortunately, Alabama couldn't close out a game where they really didn't play great at times, getting out-rebounded as much as they were, allowing a talented player like Braden Smith to get off as many shots as he was able to, as many three-pointers.
And that was a huge point of emphasis for Coach Oates. So it's going to get tough again this week, especially in the post. Alabama's going to have a really tough matchup coming up tomorrow night in Chicago with how good Illinois is and how great their size they have. It's another top-ten team, number eight in the country. So great challenge coming up. And I'm just looking forward to making the trip. I'll be on the call filling in for Chris Stewart, who has a coach here in Tuscaloosa.
Brian Fasting and I are heading to Chicago here in just a little bit with the men's team getting ready for Chicago and the United Center and getting to see the Crimson Tide again on a huge stage nationally before we have all the festivities next week in Las Vegas. Listen, thank you for coming on again. We kid you about it sometimes, but you've got a lot more things to do than to talk to us. Number one, about catching a plane. Now, I know Brian Pansy will entertain you throughout the flight.
Bring back A.W. with you, and I know you will be ready Saturday for Senior Day. It's going to be tough to see some of these guys play their last regular season game. Oh, wait a minute. They may be playing one in the playoffs. We see how that unfolds. Where can we get online to get your great stuff and everything else? And also, tell us about Crimson Drive. Yeah, Crimson Drive will be first up this afternoon at 2 o'clock. Jordan Renaud, a great profile of him, getting to learn about his story, how he made his way through elite high school football in Florida and Texas before signing the dotted line with the Crimson Tide.
Look forward to catching up with him. And then later in the week, we'll have, I believe, we're going to have QB Reese join us on Thursday. So I get to know him after he made a huge tackle on that kickoff that set up a final play against South Carolina just a few weeks ago. So we look forward to catching up with these student-athletes. That's Crimson Drive driven by NASCAR at 2 o'clock on all of our CTSN social media platforms at UA underscore CTSN. And then, yeah, the men's basketball game coming up tomorrow night.
And then our football coverage will start at 10 o'clock across the network on Saturday before we head out to Las Vegas and get ready for what should hopefully be a great week for Alabama basketball there. I don't think I need to tell you, Roger, but Chicago has some pretty good pizza. Take advantage of it, okay? Yeah, deep dish for me. I know tavern style is what the locals like, but give me that touristy deep dish and I'll be just fine. Thanks so much. Have a great call and safe travels to and from, Roger.
All right, thank you guys for all time. Thank you, buddy. With our Roger, Roger Hoover and the Crimson Tide Sports Network. All over the SEC with Jim Gomm on deck on the Boomo Bugg Show. Stay with us. Hey, Shoals. 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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The Score. Now, back with Boomobug on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. If you love college football and you don't want to have to go all over the world to find out what's going on, I highly recommend joining the huddle with Jim Gumm as owner and publisher of TheBlitzSports.com. Jim, welcome in. How are you? Good. How are you guys? Hey, Jim. We're doing all right, Jim. We appreciate you taking time out. Obviously, tonight is going to be a very interesting poll from the only folks that count.
Jim, your reflections to what happened over the weekend relative to our zip code with Bama and Oklahoma and what's going to be the consequence tonight when the poll comes out. Yeah, that one, you know, it's so funny because I've actually been on a couple shows prior to this one. And I contend the better team doesn't win every game, okay? Things happen. We all know what happened in that Alabama-Oklahoma game. Alabama is a better team than Oklahoma, but they didn't win on the scoreboard. And that's, you know, that's just an unfortunate thing that happened there.
Oklahoma's got a really good defense, and I think we all acknowledge that. But offensively, they're challenged. And Alabama helped them out quite a bit. But I think we're going to see, you know, I think we're going to see Oklahoma rise up. But I'm curious as to where they're going to put Alabama. To me, that is the biggest question. How far down will they drop Alabama? Will Alabama be behind Notre Dame? Will they be ahead of Notre Dame? And where will BYU be? You know, so I'm curious about where Oklahoma, BYU, and Alabama are going to land.
Tim, your thoughts about, to me, it comes down to this. Are they going to preach and practice what they've been doing? That is, we're going to take strength of schedule into consideration. Because you look at Oregon, they played absolutely nobody relative to the field. Notre Dame has played one ranked team. Alabama's played four. How serious are they going to practice what they've been preaching? And where would you put Bama relative to, particularly Notre Dame and Oregon? Well, I mean, it is difficult. Listen, do I think Oregon's a really good team?
[20:50] Yes, I do. I know their schedule isn't the greatest. And we're all, though, these next two weeks for Oregon's going to show what they're made of. They've got USC coming up this week, and then they've got Washington the week after that. So we'll find out just about how good Oregon's going to be. As far as Alabama and their schedule, yeah, there's no question that Alabama's played a very, very difficult schedule. But you're right. They haven't practiced what they've preached. They're doing what they've always done. They're going strictly off of one.
They're looking strictly at one loss record. And I'll tell you, and I keep hearing people say, well, you know, Texas, they got that third loss. But one of their losses was to Ohio State. Well, if Texas had scheduled Ohio University instead of Ohio State, they'd be sitting there with two losses right now. Thank you. And they'd be looking at a lot better. So we're not getting what everyone said. And it makes you wonder, why in the world would you schedule a good non-conference opponent? Thank you.
If you lose it, it's only going to hurt you. But it really doesn't help you if you win it. No. Jim, who's going to Atlanta? It appears that if Alabama wins the Iron Bowl and beats Auburn, Texas A&M beats Texas, it's pretty cut and dry. It's going to be Alabama and Texas A&M. But in this year, nothing is cut and dry. If Texas upsets Texas A&M Black Friday that night and Alabama beats Auburn, then it would be Alabama and Georgia. And we haven't even gotten into Auburn up since Alabama.
Who goes to Atlanta, Jim? You know, I have a sneaky suspicion that Texas is going to bite Texas A&M on that Friday night. I don't know why. I guess it's because we all know that Texas A&M made a heck of a comeback. But, man, they were getting slaughtered by South Carolina. South Carolina is not that good of a deal. I think Texas is better than South Carolina. And Texas has them in Austin. I have a feeling that Texas A&M is going to suffer a loss there in Austin.
And I think we're going to see Georgia and Alabama. I just have that sneaky suspicion. And I just have that. The more things change, the more they remain the same, right? I know. And, you know, I think Kirby Smart, honestly, I think Kirby Smart would prefer not to be in Atlanta. I think he would rather not play that game. But I think they're going to end up being in it. And if they get in there, they're going to play to win. You're not going to see, you know, Georgia or Alabama sitting anybody.
They're going to play to win. But I think Kirby Smart would prefer not to be in that game, to be honest with you. And, you know, it's kind of sad that we've reached that point. You know, it's kind of sad we've reached the point where some guys, some teams would be better or they'd prefer not to play in the conference championship game. To me, if that's where we're at, then there's something wrong, you know. Because maybe it's just old school in me. Well, we say with the ACC baseball teams, the tournament, you don't always want to win it.
You want to keep your staff together. And I agree with you, G.L. I hear fans right on the cage. They want to play a tough schedule, except when they lose that game, then they start complaining, why are we not going to the playoffs? Well, that's because you didn't play a cake, Walt, like Oregon. Some of these other teams, it's a cake and eat it, too. Let me ask you this, Jim. By the way, the BlitzSports.com is the place to get the latest with Jim, Jim Gomm.
What's your take on what's coming out of Oxford? We've seen the narrative all week long about Lane getting the ultimatum. He now denies that. There's Florida. There's LSU. We've got some pretty good sources, and they're not saying this in stone, but they're dropping hints that Lane ain't going anywhere. He's just going to Memphis, talking to his buddy Jimmy Sexton, saying, how much more money can we get out of Oxford to stay in Oxford? What is your take on the situation there in Oxford? Yeah, and listen, I think Lane's got it made in Oxford because he can have an eight and four season there, and they're not going to try to run him out of time.
That's right. You know, recent history at Ole Miss, it is what it is, but they're throwing to death what he's doing right now. Don't get me wrong. They're throwing to death. At LSU or Florida, you know, they're going to welcome you with open arms, but the first time you have a nine and three and eight and four seasons back-to-back, it's going to be like, we need to get rid of this guy. And so, in a way, I think that his future is more secure in Oxford, but I think the potential to win national championships is greater in Gainesville and Baton Rouge.
So, what do you feel strong? Do you feel like, I want to be in competition for the national championship year after year after year? If that's what you want, then Baton Rouge and Gainesville is a better landing spot for you. So, if you want a more leisurely lifestyle and not as much pressure, I think staying at Ole Miss would be the best option. I think he's going to stay at Ole Miss. I think he's going to get a hefty raise out of it. But if he does get a hefty raise, I think the expectations will be higher for him on an annual basis because now they're going to be going, hey, we're paying you $11.5 million.
[26:11] We want to see 10-2, 11-1, and 12-0 season coming up shortly. Jim, let me ask you about one of the more intriguing games this weekend. It may not be the greatest slate of SEC games, but there are some important games. Kentucky in number 12, Vanderbilt. Vandy still has aspirations. If they can beat Kentucky and Tennessee, they may actually sneak in the back door and get a playoff berth. We'll see how that goes. Mark Stoops, three weeks ago, was 2-5. Now he's won three games. He's got the cats rolling with Cutter Bowley, their quarterback.
This is a big game for both teams. Vandy's a 10-point favorite. Jim, your thoughts? Well, you know what, when I saw a couple weeks ago when Kentucky beat Florida 38-7, that one opened my eyes. I didn't think they had it in them. I did not think Kentucky had that in them. Because I think, there's no question, Florida's got talent. They just weren't coached very well. So, if I'm Vanderbilt, I'm a little bit nervous. But it is in Nashville, okay? So, that's a big plus. But if Vanderbilt doesn't play their A game and they come with just a lackadaisical attitude, Kentucky could sneak up and beat those guys.
So, I think this is the makings of an upset. I think that's a good one that you brought out to everyone's attention. Because everyone just looks at Kentucky. Oh, it's the same old Kentucky. They're getting killed. Vanderbilt, they better be ready. Because I think Kentucky's going to be, and like you said, they're playing with a lot of confidence right now. Listen, they're just one win away from bowl eligibility. That's what I mean. You know, Vanderbilt, Louisville, back-to-back. So, yeah, they'd love to get to that sixth win.
And I think they're going to play really good at Vanderbilt. Tell us about the blitz. I'm a big fan of it. Biggest games of the week, football tidbits, predicting the 12-team playoff, bragging rights. I know you've had the all-time winningest coach by victories was interesting. Conference standings, NFL schedule, results. Jim, tell us a little more about it and where can we get it? The best way to get it, and I love to give out issues free to people that are interested, is just to email me directly and say you heard me on your show, and I'll shoot them this current issue, and they can take a look at it for themselves and see if it's something that they'd be interested in subscribing to.
We're in our 15th year doing this. It's bigger than it's ever been, and the price is very, very low. So, yeah, any of your listeners out there that are interested, just email me, direct jimgum.blitz at yahoo.com. That's j-i-m-g-u-m-m dot blitz, b-l-i-t-z, at yahoo.com, and I'll shoot you issue number 13 for free. And that is a great word free. Jim, listen, man, keep up the good work. Thanks so much, and let's do it again soon, okay? All right. You guys have a great day. You too, Jim.
Jim Gomb, again, is called theblitzsport.com. So, where's Vegas on the Tuesday after a wild weekend in Tuscaloosa? Bruce Marshall and that and more straight ahead. Stay with us. Hey, Falcon fans, this is Keith at Cypress Creek Indoor Range. Like Walt Barrett excels at safety, at Cypress Creek Indoor Range, we prepare you to provide your own safety. Barrett stops ball carriers through his knowledge of the game and preparation and having the right equipment. Cypress Creek Indoor Range team provides you with the knowledge and the right equipment to defend yourself and family.
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I am pretty good, Harold. A couple of topics that I'll be throwing to the table, and we'll just pick them up as we go. One, you and Brett were spot on last week talking about Bama and this imbalanced offense. Came back to roost last week, although I'll tell you that Oklahoma defense, those turnovers are a big deal. Oklahoma's defense, this is the college version of the Denver Broncos defense that can make plays and turn games around. So, keep that in mind. Two, I knew there was a reason why I didn't like Ryan Day.
Last week, confirmed it against UCLA, jamming in that last touchdown, under two minutes to play. Even Lane Kiffin took a knee last week. Ryan Day, no such thing against UCLA, jamming in that last score, and why not? Three, Haynes King for the Heisman. This is my new Heisman guy now. I'm kind of on Pavia, though. He'd be my second vote, Haynes King for the Heisman. And four, last note, we got the schedule this week, and I know we got Eastern Illinois playing Bama, and we got Mercer playing Auburn.
Oh, by the way, Ashton Janiels will sit out this game and play the Bama game to save his redshirt. But, the schedule, remember a little while ago, this is, you know, the reason the SEC, one of the reasons up to nine games scheduled, is because of these games like this week. Eastern Illinois, Bama, Mercer, Auburn last week, Tennessee Tech, which isn't bad to play Kentucky. There's no reason to play these sorts of games anymore, and that's one of the reasons why these teams that kept doing it, that's one of the reasons why they changed that schedule.
[36:29] A quick note, I go back in the 70s, and I know Alabama, look at some of the teams. They didn't play lower division teams back then. 1973, California, Steve Barkowski, a quarterback, Virginia Tech, a game they won 77-6. Miami, before Miami was great, look who they're playing. Next year, 74, Maryland, that was a bowl team. Jerry Claiborne playing them. TCU, Miami, they go on and on. You didn't see these sorts of games in the old days, and that's one of the reasons, I think, and ESPN pushing it too, why, you know, they went to a nine-game schedule.
We don't need to see these sorts of games like this week coming up for Alabama and Auburn. You know, and the thing is, Bruce, if they were going to continue what they should have already done, if you're going to play a game like that, why not put the money right down the street at North Alabama, UNA or a place like that, let them take the thumping and cash a check, you know, at least keep the money in the state. That's just Alabama, that's any state. But, Bruce, let's fast forward to tonight.
We've seen what the committee from their pulpit have been saying. We're going to go by strength of schedule. Your thoughts, we don't have the national seat at the table. Your thoughts about if they use that to measure things, where do you put Alabama relative to us, particularly Notre Dame, which is a brand. We know we don't have to go there. We know that's sales. Oregon sales, they've got big bucks, big boosters in their name, brand, all that stuff. But will the committee preach what they practice?
And in your opinion, we saw what the traditional polls did over the weekend. Where do you put Alabama tonight? Right about where they sit in the coaches' poll, in the AP poll, which is 10th coming into this week. That puts them right at the edge. So they are in some jeopardy here. The committee, you know, guys, you, me, Brad Norsworthy, Jimmy out down in Baton Rouge, Ryan Fowler, Tuscaloosa, I think we could do as good a job as the committee or better. Couldn't do any worse.
You're right. Couldn't do any worse. And when I hear them talking about, okay, the committee's impressed, the committee's impressed. Who are these guys? Listen, we don't know. This is still very subjective, and they still go by straight-up record more than anything. I think this is going to get really interesting when we get to the group of five rep. There's a chance that James Madison could be in the playoff. I think he's winning because these teams from the American keep knocking each other off. But is going through a Sunbelt schedule the same?
I mean, the American isn't the SEC, but it's better than a Sunbelt. And, you know, North Texas and Tulane and all the Navy, who have lost some games in the league, that's a tougher schedule they've played than James Madison. But this is still subjective. They can say all they want about, you know, okay, we've figured out this formula and all. No, they go back to record, and that's why SMU got in there last year, and they really shouldn't have. So I don't trust the committee any more than I do in the basketball committee because I don't think they're any smarter than anybody else either.
We'll see. Bruce, is that not like going to church and hearing a sermon about stealing and then leave church and go stealing a pizza? I mean, is that not an analogy to that? It is. That's a good analogy, yeah. Yeah, it definitely is. Let me ask you about the SEC championship game. We've still got a lot of games to play, but we want to talk with you about some of these. But right now, it appears there's still a lot of football to be played that if Texas A&M beats Texas, like Friday night, and Alabama beats Auburn Saturday, that Texas A&M is going to be playing Alabama in Atlanta.
But if Texas plays the game of the year and Auburn upsets Alabama, it may be a free-for-all. Also, if Texas upsets Texas A&M, it may be Alabama and Georgia again. Who's playing in Atlanta? I would still say there's a better chance that Texas A&M will be one of the teams there. Even though, you know, they've got to go to, by the way, throw A&M in that boat, too, playing Sam Ford this week from Birmingham. Yeah. They're playing FTS, too. But the way Texas, even though they've got to go to Austin, I wouldn't bank on Texas beating that Texas A&M, although it's possible they've cut it close.
Sitting there in case, you know, Bama loses to Auburn, which I think is possible if Daniel's plays in that game. I don't think Bama can rest. He's going to, according to reports. Yes. And it looks like he will play. Ole Miss is sitting there. And all Ole Miss has got is the, well, they've got the, you know, the egg bowl. They've got to buy in the egg bowl. Yeah. So, I mean, they're sitting there, too. So, you could see Ole Miss in Atlanta. What I wonder is, and we'll talk about this morning, three weeks before the SEC title game.
You know, these conference title games are getting sort of taboo now. I mean, what do you do when you have two teams probably in there? And so, one of the teams is going to have maybe three losses after you get into the SEC title game. Does that knock them? If Alabama's there and loses to, you know, to A&M, does that knock, would that knock Bama out of the whole playoff thing? I don't know. I think they've got to, we've got to really look at, we'll talk about this more in a couple weeks, but the use of conference time.
[42:00] Now that you've got a playoff and you're expanding the playoff, these conference title games are kind of redundant, especially in the big leagues there. And they've lost a lot of their appeal. They certainly did last year. I mean, they're playing, you know, this ACC and then the Big Ten, they're just playing for a bye in the first round. It's not enough to keep the interest in this thing. They're better off just expanding the playoff, which they're talking about doing. Bruce, Marshall, Vegas, and Saturday, amongst other places, I totally agree with you.
Bruce, you're connected to Ole Miss. We're connected to Ole Miss, too. We've seen what all has been going on back and forth. I call it verbal tennis. Lane's a smart guy. Jimmy Sexton's even smarter when it comes to money. You know the LSU, the Florida narrative, but at the end of the day, would anybody be surprised to see Lane stay right where he is and get a boost to stay there, a rebel in Oxford? No, I don't think a lot of people would be surprised. For what it's worth, the sage of Memphis, Brett Norsworth, who's pretty plugged in there.
He's on the radio crew. He kind of thinks Lane's going to stay, though he's qualifying that. He's got a great gig there. They're going to pay him as much as he can win big there, and he doesn't have to win a national title there, at least yet, for them, not like LSU or Florida. I think he's going to stay, although I don't know. Now, this creates some very interesting things. Ole Miss apparently doesn't want to play this game with Jimmy Sexton, you know, into December, and they kind of show this.
Although they could move that line in the sand, they could move that from November 30th, always. But I think this is a – let's just say Lane doesn't sign that extension by the 30th. Is Ole Miss going to – would they pull the plug up? No, they can't. Or would they? Would Lane, if he takes the Florida job or LSU, would they let him stay at Ole Miss coaching through December? See, this is something that is – Well, Lane has the leverage, in my opinion, there. I mean, Ole Miss, I see what they're doing there at the poker table, but I think Lane holds the cards right now.
He does hold the cards because Ole Miss can't really do that, and I think Lane may just call their bluff and say, I'm not signing until I want to sign him. Go ahead and fire me if you want, and I don't think Ole Miss will do that. But this is another issue in college football. I mean, you can't have – and this might be – I brought up James Madison a minute ago. I mean, Bob Chesney is going to probably get hired somewhere. What if Madison, James Madison, is the 12th team in the playoff, and their coach takes another job before then?
Are they going to do it? Central Florida did with Scott Frost eight years ago and let him coach for the playoffs. I mean, this is one of these things college football has got to somehow address. You don't see NFL coaches in the playoffs, you know, saying, I'm going to leave – you don't see Sean Payton saying, I'm going to leave the Broncos and go coach the Titans, you know, in the middle of the playoffs. That doesn't happen in the NFL. And this, you know, college football, they don't have any rules to prevent that, but that is one stain on the sport, I think.
Absolutely. Let's talk about some games. One that's important in the SEC for several reasons, Kentucky at Vandy, you went – you've seen Ole Miss and Kentucky. Connor Boldy's come in and breathed some life into this offense. Kentucky's won three consecutive games, beating an undefeated Tennessee Tech team last week. Vandy's a 10-point favorite. They haven't beaten Kentucky in 10 years, which is amazing. Vandy's still holding out, you know, can they sneak in the back door of the playoffs. They're number 12 in the Associated Press. Boldy's – Kentucky's got some momentum.
Vandy's had a bye week. Vandy's a 10-point favorite. Do they win in cover? I'm not sure, Brett, for a couple reasons. One, Vandy did have a bye last week, and you're right. They're sort of right on the cusp here. But we saw last year in November Vandy start to lose some altitude. They've had a lot of big games, and frankly, they were fortunate to escape versus Auburn. They could have lost that game really easy. And probably has taken a season's worth of hits. You know, can they sustain us through November?
They really couldn't last year. Kentucky is playing better. And I give Mark Stoops credit, because there was talk about a month ago that this thing might end for Stoops there. Well, he shut that up with these wins. And Bully is starting to look like, like you said, he's starting to look like a real SEC quarterback now. And that was a Tennessee tackle. Like you said, one of the better FCS teams are 10-0, and Kentucky took them apart after destroying Florida the week before and shutting Auburn down.
This defense, we've always known Stoops' defense is good. And even when Vandy has beaten Kentucky a couple times in recent years, they've been close games. Kentucky has generally held the advantage in this series. This is one of my bets this week of taking Kentucky plus. I think they've got a shot to win this thing. And the way Bully's playing and the way this defense is going, this is not going to be easy for Vanderbilt on Saturday. Yeah, knowing that and what's going on in Clark Lee's world there, too, you know, as far as other opportunities out there.
[47:16] Bruce, your thoughts about talking about a stone in the shoe of Tennessee. That's when they use those shoes and walk to Florida. The swamp has not been kind to the Big Orange. Florida has the image of being down, but we saw over the weekend, not so fast, my friend, what happens this time around when Florida entertains, and that's the key word, they're friends from Tennessee. Yeah, God, I remember when this game was like the highlight of the calendar in the SEC. They used to play in September and CBS.
Yes. I mean, it was so many years it was big, and I guess this will be an ABC game, night game on Saturday. Tennessee is one of these teams, they are almost assuredly out of the playoff, but I guess there's a wild set of circumstances they can get back in it. And Josh Heupel, they're kicking themselves. A couple of those losses, the Oklahoma loss and the Georgia loss, those are games they probably should have won, and they got those teams at home and couldn't do it.
So this is, you know, Tennessee's a very frustrated team. Generally, I'm not sure I trust Tennessee to go out on the road and handle a spread over three against what should be a decent Florida team. I mean, I can always continue to put up good numbers. This defense is not great for Tennessee, though. My question here is, can Florida come up with another big effort like that? Remember, for Gonzalez, he's had three games in charge now, he's owned three, but two of those, the Georgia and the Ole Miss game, they put up great fights.
The one they didn't was the one, the Kentucky game, after Georgia, they just didn't show up at all. And so I'm a little leery about trusting Florida in this spot. So that's why I'm going to make a light vote on Tennessee. They still got something to play for here. Florida, I mean, most of this roster's got to be looking at the portal now. There's all this talk about is Lane coming, is Eli coming, what's going to happen. Everybody's a free agent at Florida there now. So I'm going to lean a little bit to Tennessee, but it's not my favorite on the card.
Let me ask you about a big game for a lot of teams. Number 17, USC at number 6, Oregon. I know a lot of Alabama fans saying, yeah, if number 6, Oregon loses, hmm, Alabama may move up. You've seen USC in person. Mabias had a good year. He's got two Cracker Jack receivers in Jacoby Lane and Lemon. In fact, Lemon may win the Belindicoff Award. Dante Moore, still good. USC, 503 yards per game and they're on life support to get in the playoffs. Oregon, nine and a half. Do they win and cover or could USC spring it up, Sam?
I don't put it beyond USC to make this really close. Lane's, I mean, Lincoln Riley's offense, I'm getting my SC coaches confused. Listen, and they've, the impressive thing to me about what Riley has done this year, I mean, they've had some of, I mean, several injuries, especially their running back core. And the kid who's running big now, King Miller, is like a, like a walk-on, I think, a freshman. I mean, he's running big and so the offense is so well designed. And Maverick is having a really good year.
And the receivers are Cracker Jack there and the defense seems to come up with big plays. I do think they've been fortunate in recent weeks, though. I don't think they win the Nebraska game if Rayola doesn't get hurt. And last week, by goodness, Kirk Ferentz, you know, the play call in there, Iowa should have won that game at the Coliseum last week, I think for sure. So I think SC probably falls a bit short here. But I think Oregon's at some risk. I'm still not sure how dominant they really are.
We saw Indiana come up there and beat them. I know Dante Moore, people like him a lot. But they've had a couple struggles. The Wisconsin game was a struggle. They certainly could have lost the Iowa game. And two years ago when Bo Nix was still at Oregon and Caleb was at SC, Oregon won the game, but it wasn't quite as easy as people thought. SC covered that spread. So I'm thinking this thing is within a touchdown, and SC makes it interesting. But you're right. If Oregon loses, that's two losses for them.
On the other side, if USC wins, then you've got to start thinking about them at the edge of the 12-team field. So this is sort of the playoff start for USC right now, maybe for Oregon too. So Oregon to win it, I'm going to say a 34-31 to win, not cover. SC keeps us close. Exciting, though, on Saturday. Bruce Marshall fans want to know Bruce Marshall's under-the-radar game of the week. How about this one? The battle of I-10, all right? How about this? People don't realize how New Mexico State and UTEP, there's only like 45 minutes between those two schools, Los Cruces and El Paso.
And that part of the country, that's like right around the corner. I don't know if you guys have ever been to El Paso, but there's a strange feeling when you drive in there, and you see that Juarez on the other side. All of a sudden, there's like this metropolis comes out of nowhere, and there's over a million people on the other side. Anyway, UTEP has really fallen apart this year. This has been a, against the Mexico State, road-oriented series. Tony Sanchez actually hasn't done that bad of a job with New Mexico State.
[52:39] They covered that game easily against Tennessee last week. They throw the ball a lot. Speaking of throwing the ball, UTEP had that transfer quarterback from USC, Malachi Nelson, who got benched. Boy, I don't know where he's going to end up next year, but it's been a worse year at UTEP than at New Mexico State. So, in the rivalry game at the Sun Bowl, I'm going to take New Mexico State, plus three and a half. How about that off-the-radar pick this week? There you go. Tell us in about one minute, number 11, BYU, Alabama's number 10 at Cincinnati.
L.J. Martin, their running back's really good for BYU, Bear Backemeyer. Where's number 47 as a quarterback? Can Cincinnati upset BYU, who's a two-and-a-point favorite? They could. I'm just not sure. Cincinnati's up to it right now. It looks like they've lost a little altitude here. They were thinking big at Cincinnati not too long ago, but they've lost a couple games, including that, to Arizona at home. Satterfield's done a pretty decent job, but Soresby's numbers have been diminishing some. I'm not that comfortable with BYU going in somewhere and handling and winning, extending a margin.
But this is a low price, and their defense is better than Cincinnati's and Backemeyer. The only time he's really been stonewall was the Texas Tech game, and it looks like Texas Tech's really the class of that league. So I'm probably thinking BYU gets there. Cincinnati looks like it's lost a little altitude to me, but again, not my favorite pick of the week, but I'd lean to BYU if I have to pick one there. Well, you are our favorite, the gold standard still there, incredible stuff. Love to talk to you.
Where can we get online, the multiple platforms, to get all your great stuff? Yeah, we've got the college hoops going, too, and NBA. Absolutely. It's all happening. NFL, good week in the NFL, so that's all there. Fix, normal spot, the old standby. That's VegasInsider.com for picks up there. Also, CBS Sportsline, sportsline.com. I've got some stories up there, too, some college football stuff. And picks with a different twist up there at picksandparleys.com and winnersandwiners.com. As always, Bruce, great job. Let's talk again next week, football and turkey, if you don't mind, okay?
Okay. Have a good week, boys. Thank you. Thank you, buddy. You did the same. Bruce Marshall, he's a gold standard in a place called Las Vegas, amongst other places, Vegas Insider. Coming up the next hour, we're going to be taking you all over the place. By the way, the line is in for the Iron Bowl. Talk about that more with Joe Cox, Mark McLeod talking to Gators in a Tennessee game, and Randy Kennedy talking about everything in her own neck of the woods from one end of the state of Alabama to the next.
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U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco ruled against the 2021 state senate map and in favor of plaintiffs who were challenging two districts, 25 and 26, arguing that the 2021 district lines violated the Voting Rights Act. Manasco then went on to order a special master to redraw those two districts and now wants the new districts to be used for the 2026 races. State Senate President Pro Tem Garland Gudger responded to the judge's recent order saying that the map simply swaps out the demographics, making one Republican district more likely to become Democratic and a Democratic district to become more likely Republican.
Gudger says this swap out should not take place, especially in light of the landmark redistricting case coming out of Louisiana that is pending within the U.S. Supreme Court. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Brian Dawson here, CEO of 1819 News. I'm also the host of 1819 News, the podcast, and we'd love for you to join us by listening to our weekly show on all the top podcast apps, both in audio and video format. At 1819 News, the podcast, we are in pursuit of a free and flourishing Alabama.
Every week we're having important conversations with guests from across this great state, all with the goal of equipping Alabamians to be in pursuit of a free and flourishing Alabama with us. New episodes are released weekly. I hope you'll join us. A mobile man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the abuse of a child. 33-year-old Christopher Beard entered a guilty plea for striking a child that's under the age of six and then slamming that child onto a bed. The actions of Beard were caught on a home surveillance camera that was installed by the child's mother.
Beard has been given a 10-year split sentence. That means if he violates the terms of his probation after serving 18 months in prison, he'll be sent back to prison for the full sentence. I'm Andrea Tice. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores, Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. Boomo Bugg on 93.9, The Score. Jimmy Lay at AL.com. Last 7A Region 4, we were anticipating at least one might come away with wind.
The last time a Region 4 team won was 2019. Jimmy, when is this going to end? If you go around Huntsville's area, you will find over 100 soccer fields all over the place. You know how many wrecked football fields you got? You got two. It starts in the youth league. Most kids don't start playing football until they're in seventh grade and with the shoulder pads. And by that time, you're playing against kids that have been playing since they were in first grade. That's probably where it's got to start.
Absolutely. The Boomo Bugg Show, weekdays noon to 2 on 93.9, The Score. The Alabama defensive line isn't the only one with skills. Ask your Amazon Alexa devices to tune in to 93.9, The Score. Listen to The Score streaming live anywhere on Alexa-enabled devices. All of your favorite shows and teams are waiting. 93.9, The Score weather. Today, sunny and breezy with a high around 80. Tonight, partly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers overnight and a low near 60. Tomorrow, partly sunny with a high around 80. Tomorrow night, mostly cloudy with a low near 60.
[1:03:34] And for your Thursday, mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of afternoon showers and a high around 80. Your weather from 93.9, The Score. Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score. Welcome back in our Tour of the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley here in North Alabama.
What do you say we head to South Alabama and talk with a king that's out of the state? Randy Kennedy is busy there at AL.com. On the radio at, you guessed it, the Randy Kennedy Show. Afternoons 4 to 6 on 995 Sports Talk in Mobile. And the winner, the Mel Allen Award for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. And named one of the 50 legends of sports writers in Alabama, Randy Kennedy. We may need to be up down at Home Depot. Sounds like you need some more space for your trophy case.
Congratulations. How are you? I am great. Let me straighten my crown here. I'm the king of this part of this state. It's good to be the king, isn't it, Randy? It's good to be the king. I appreciate it. We appreciate you taking time out of that busy schedule. Good job by you and the team coming up with the premier guys across the state when it comes to high school football. I want to run down some of the highlights with you, if you don't mind, Randy. But there's a pair in our neck of the woods that ain't too bad.
That's Misters Johnson and Foster, a pretty good tandem of Trojans out at Muscle Shoals High. You know, it's interesting because when we put together that best in Bama list, you're just looking for individual players, right? It's not about teams when we're doing that. But, obviously, when you have great players, you're going to put together great teams. And you just look at the year that Muscle Shoals has put together. That defense has just been dominant every single week. And you go and you watch the film you can get on them, the tape you can get.
And those guys are just dominant. And so, when you talk about the best players in the state, obviously, those two guys have to be among that top 50. You know, we do that list without regard to what classification you are or what graduating class you are. So, we've got guys all the way from seniors all the way down to eighth graders. And, yeah, if it didn't include those guys from Muscle Shoals, it wouldn't be a legitimate list. Randy, let's talk about a guy that seems to be almost in a class by himself.
We've been around this rodeo a long time. We've seen a lot of good talent come out of high school. Sometimes it works out the next level. Sometimes it doesn't, obviously. It's all relative. Where do you put Mr. Crowell down at Jackson? He's just, his numbers are like almost video games. The latest 350 yards, four TDs in a playoff game, beating Hanley 42-28. How good is Mr. Crowell? And where is he relative to some of the great backs that have come out of this state over the years?
He's the best running back I've ever seen. And I've been covering high school football in Alabama for now almost 40 years. The best running back I've ever seen. He's incredible. And he just, every week I'd look to see, did he score more touchdowns or did he get tackled more times? Because a lot of times he'll have like four touchdowns on six carries or whatever before they take him out. He is just absolutely incredible. And so, he's the best I've ever seen in the state. I'm just telling you.
What makes him so good? I mean, to me, all these guys got talent. They got physical talent. But you've got to have that instinct. You've got to have, I guess, the best way to put it, you've got to have the it factor. See the hole even before the hole opens up. Just have an instinct. What makes him so good in your opinion, Randy? You know, for one thing, he's a track star. So, he's part of the last two years winning the relay state championship. So, you start with that.
It's a bunch of football players, including him. So, he's that. And then the second part of it is, you know, you just watch him jog out for warm-ups. You need to be like, oh, no. I don't want to tackle that guy. So, he doesn't play like he's just a sprinter. He plays like he's a power back. And yet, when he gets an opening, I've never seen anybody catch him. So, he's got the whole package in terms of that as a high school player. Now, look, he's committed to Alabama.
He's going to go play for the Tide. He'll play right away. But, they don't ask him to block much. You know, he's not much of a pass protection sort of thing. So, that's still got to come. But, you know, he just doesn't have to do that much at the high school level. Like I said, he's the best I've ever seen in Alabama. That is quite a compliment coming from you. You mentioned, come on, Maury Johnson at Muscle Shoals. He's number 22 on your list. Foster's number 31. Both of those guys have gone up.
[1:08:40] By the way, Foster had interception against Parker. Let me ask you about two guys on your list that I've seen. I saw Friday night. I saw the Parker-Muscle Shoals game. Vonnie Cleveland is Parker's big nose guard. He's number eight. I mean, he just looks like a SEC defensive lineman committed to Texas. I didn't know how much Alabama and Auburn got after him because Texas got on him early. Your thoughts on Vonnie Cleveland? And another guy I've seen is number 26, Ezekiel Harris from May Jemison. He was at Auburn, Tennessee, linebacker, plays both sides of the ball.
Very tall kid, very athletic. Randy, tell me a little bit more about Cleveland and Harris. Yeah, with Cleveland, this time last year, he was committed to Alabama. So during his junior year at Parker with that loaded team that they had, he was committed to Alabama. He decommitted from Alabama. People thought he was going to go to Auburn, then he took a visit to Texas, and then that was it. He's been solidly committed to Texas for quite a while. But, you know, he was on that Parker team last year where it was hard to get headlines when they had so many great players.
You know, Jordan Crawford, who's now on the defensive line at Auburn, and the DB was the number one recruit in the state. It went to Oregon. It's hard to get headlines. But Cleveland was that one guy that was left over in the junior class. And he was committed to Alabama as of signing day last year. But flipped, and now he's going to go to Texas. He's big time. There's no question about it. And with Harris, it's interesting as well with, you know, his career commitment. He's another guy who has flipped commitments, you know, so he's been with more than one school.
So we'll see about with him. But that's, again, anybody that makes the top 50 on that list for all classes, you know they are a special player. Randy Kennedy got it going on there with the Randy Kennedy Show, 4-6, 9-9-5, Sports Talk Immobile. Speaking of regardless of everything, to me, one of the more interesting names on the list, Randy, is Hayden Chambers. We don't talk about kickers very much. He's at Fort Payne, committed to Mississippi State. His former Wildcat from Fort Payne, Alex McPherson, is, of course, now at Auburn.
Word out of Tuscaloosa, they need a kicker. Your thoughts about Hayden Chambers' future. You know, it's so interesting that you have certain schools in different sports, really, but we're talking about football. But you have different sports that just produce a whole bunch of guys who can do a certain thing. And certainly at Fort Payne, they've had that great run of kickers, I mean, that I chronicled in the story, where you just go back every year, you're like, okay, who's the star kicker going to be at Fort Payne this year?
And so they've got another great one. There's no doubt about it. He's committed to Mississippi State. I think that's where he's going to end up. But it just seems like every year with Fort Payne, you're like, they're going to have another great one, which is the credit to that program and the fact that, you know, if you can kick, you can get a scholarship playing at Fort Payne High School. Yeah, one of our listeners, Randy, Tim Estes from Athens. Athens played Fort Payne. Fort Payne won in the first round.
He said, I've seen a lot of high school kickers. He may be the best kicker that he had ever seen. And you're right, it's quite a lineage coming out of Fort Payne. Let me ask you about another guy, Emmanuel Ruffin out of Bessemer City, committed to Ohio State. How far is Bessemer from Tuscaloosa? What is it, Randy, about 40 miles? Randy, your thoughts on how good and your thoughts on Emmanuel Ruffin, who is a commitment to Ohio State. Yeah, I think the Fort Payne kicker could kick a ball from Bessemer to Tuscaloosa.
Yeah. With a wind in his face, right? It's interesting because with Ruffin, he was committed to Colorado for a long time. And now he has flipped to Ohio State. His recruitment is interesting because I've never heard much at all with Auburn or Alabama with him. And yet, obviously, he's a big recruit. He's committed to Colorado and now Ohio State. So they certainly see something in him. They just, I think last week, Bessemer just got eliminated from the playoff. So his high school career is over. But if he's going to play for the Buckeyes, you know he's good.
Randy, let me ask you about a name that was all the rage in one window there. And it is Tank Jones, a big D.E. Everybody wants offensive ends. Out of your neck of the woods, down at St. Paul's Air Mobile, committed to Oregon. Is he going to remain a duck or will he change his mind at the end of the day? I don't think he's going to change his mind. I think they made a, as I say, an offer he could not refuse. And he was the only guy in our best in Bama among the top ten who did not make the playoff.
St. Paul's had a disappointing year this year, but he did not. He was great at every position he played. They're recruiting him as an edge rusher, but I've talked to a lot of people who think, and if they put him at tight end, he would be an All-American and be in the NFL. So he had a lot of flexibility. They played him a lot at Wildcat quarterback where he threw some touchdown passes. He definitely ran for a bunch of touchdowns. He was just dominant all over the place.
[1:13:56] But when you watch him play defense, he could line up at safety and you think, yeah, okay, he's a big safety, but yeah, he looks natural there. Or all the way down to playing defensive tackle. He could play anything in between. He's just one of those guys that's just a football player. Randy, Trent Seaborn, 12 of 13, 220, didn't play the entire game. Four touchdowns as Thompson rolled over Mary Montgomery, 54 to nothing. Alabama commitment. I feel like I've watched him for 10 years because he's been starting at Thompson, I think, since the eighth grade.
Still only a junior. I watched a video clip of him. He flipped his wrist and it went about 40 yards and was an absolute dime to the receiver. Tell us a little bit more about Trent Seaborn. You know, it's two discussions when you talk about top recruits and you talk about best players. A lot of times it's the same thing, but not always. Not always. And the thing I like to talk about with Trent Seaborn is just how good of a high school football player he is, regardless of, you know, Alabama's a good recruit too.
But as a high school football player, you mentioned it, you know, starting as an eighth grader at Thompson, he's going to go down as the most accomplished high school football player in the history of Alabama. I mean, that's not a judgment. That's just factual. When you look at the case that he's been in the state championship game every single year, eighth grade, freshman, sophomore, and now he's a junior in the semifinals this week. So, and then you just look at the numbers that he's put up.
MVP of the state championship game as an eighth grader, got a chance to be Mr. Football this year, which would mean he would have a chance to win it again next year. Not for sure he's going to win, but has a chance to be. So, his career at Thompson, when it's over with, is probably going to look better than anybody has ever put up in terms of an entire high school football career. Absolutely amazing. Randy, I always enjoy the conversation. Will you have another update on the best of Bama?
I know that was the regular season last week, but great stuff. And I'm delighted to see talent in the state of Alabama has come a long way in the last 10 to 20 years. And you do a very good job of documenting it. Randy, where can we get online to get your articles and listen to the show? Yeah, we've got AL.com is where you find the best in Bama. We've got the newest update coming up on Thursday. So, check it out on Thursday, and you can find me on the iHeartRadio app.
You can get me there anytime, the Randy Kennedy Show. I appreciate you guys. Always fun to see you. We appreciate it. Thank you so much, Randy. Randy Kennedy, again, check him out there. Host of the Randy Kennedy Show, afternoons 4 to 6 on 995 Sports Talk in Mobile. Coming up, as we mentioned, the line is now in for the Iron Bowl. Talk about that and more with Joe Cox on deck. Stay with us. Start your day at Miller's Place, where French toast, fluffy pancakes, and all your breakfast favorites are served fresh and hot, weekday mornings starting at 6 a.m.
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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. On Tuesday's edition of Crimson Drive, driven by NASCAR, we'll be joined by the voice of the Crimson Tide, Chris Stewart. Yeah, drove the ball well, turned it over, picked six, 87 yards. You know, something else we hadn't allowed is a long punt return, which put them in field goal range for their initial field goal.
Fumble on a punt return, hurt you. A missed field goal, short one. They make three, including one from 52. They forced three turnovers. We have two interceptions in our hands and can't get them picked off. And look, defense was exceptional. So I'm not picking on anybody in any way. Just stating fact of things that any of those, any one of those, go your way. And the result is different. But the reality is Oklahoma made enough plays to win. Alabama didn't. I'll have more in a moment. Tide fans, are you ready for game day in Tuscaloosa?
Don't miss the ultimate pregame experience this season at Vector Security Champions Lane. Opening four hours before each home game, this fan fest has everything you need to get pumps 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! If you missed last night's edition of Crimson Tide Rewind, catch it on demand on the Alabama Insider Podcast, as well as a video replay on the CTSN YouTube page.
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. The Score. Lookal I can really appreciate it for you right around the valley. And for Joe Cox, stay time in his busy schedule there. It's fine columnist with Saturday Down South, the fine author of A Fine Teen Man. Joe, welcome in. Happy Tuesday to you. How are you? Well, trying to dodge thunderstorms here in Kentucky.
It's not so much raining as it is being noisy out there. But, you know, as long as we're hanging in there, I guess we're making it. Joe, this is a piece of cake. In one visit, you survive the dentist. Then you survive going out on a job shadow with your 16-year-old daughter. This will be a piece of cake, Joe. That's true. That's true. This one's out of my hands entirely. So, I just want to sit back and enjoy it. Joe, obviously, they've still got some work to do this weekend.
But, in this zip code, it's never too early to talk about the line or the Iron Bowl. It was released earlier today, just about, I guess, a couple hours or so ago. Your take, we know where it was a month ago. A week and a half away now, Alabama is favored. But, by only five and a half, which they only, that number was much bigger at one time. Your thoughts about the five and a half point line coming into the Iron Bowl? I think it largely is just a reflection on the SEC as a whole.
I was looking through some of the lines earlier this week, and they've probably all changed. But the one that had caught my eye was Arkansas and Texas. And that one was at ten and a half. You know, I thought about other leagues, and I thought, how many conferences are there where the worst team plays at one of the, you know, top half, maybe top third teams, and they're only a ten and a half point dog? I don't think there's another league like it in football. And I think that's what you're getting there.
That does seem low to me. I mean, I would have thought you'd be hanging around at least that eight-point number somewhere. But, you know, Auburn's been a hard team to get a hold on, and sometimes they've played some really nice games. So it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility that they could make this very, very interesting. Another interesting game. We've talked about this a little bit today. Kentucky, a hot Kentucky team. People were wanting to ship Mark Stoops off anywhere about three weeks ago. Three wins later, Cutter Boldy has really infused some enthusiasm into that offense.
[1:24:33] Banu with hopes. They're number 12. We'll see where they are tonight. On the cusp of the playoffs, if they can beat Kentucky and Tennessee, Joe, has Stoops gotten off the proverbial hot seat with three consecutive wins? And Vandy needs this win badly. Your thoughts on both teams and Kentucky at Vandy? You know, it's going to be really interesting. I would say Stoops is kind of working his way off the hot seat. I don't know that they necessarily have to win one of these last two. But you put yourself in a situation with two, you know, potentially competitive games, this win and then next week, probably even more so with Louisville, where if you manage to sneak one of those out, how on earth can Kentucky fire a coach who's taken them to nine bowl games in ten years?
The public relations, the black eye there would be massive. So I think, like it or don't like it, yeah, he's probably done a pretty good job of getting right up to the precipice of saying, I bought myself some more time. So that's where that is. Vanderbilt, it still blows my mind. Gentlemen, I went to a Vanderbilt football game when I was 18 years old, and they were literally giving tickets away. They beat Duke, and a young man in a Skeletor mask hung from the goalpost as they ripped it out of the ground that day.
So it's different times these days in Nashville. And, you know, I like that team. I like that quarterback. I think Vandy's the better team. That said, Kentucky's on a nice little roll, and much like Auburn and Alabama, I think we know what is expected to happen. But, you know, it's not outside the realm of what could come to pass. Yeah, move what we can do. I think Diego may be the star in the music city these days. Joe Cox, visit there at Saturday down south. Joe, what's going to happen?
Is Tennessee going to get on the right side of the school board this weekend in the swamp called Florida? Yeah, that feels like a pretty good assignment, although Florida certainly made life more interesting for Ole Miss than I think the Rebels expected. Florida's still got a lot of talent, but at the end of the day, this does feel more like a team that's just kind of biting its time and playing out the string. If we have another 100 years to ponder it, I'm not sure I'll get to the bottom of how an offense with DJ Lagway has looked as bad for most of the year as this Florida one has.
But it's certainly a head-scratcher. Still amazes me, Tennessee has beaten Florida and Gainesville in 22 years. Man, number 23, Missouri at number eight, Oklahoma. Obviously, Oklahoma coming off a big, huge, emotional win. Missouri figured out once again that they could just turn around and hand off the ball to Ahmaud Hardy and let him do his thing running for 300 yards. Oklahoma's defense is really, really good. Brent Venables may not be the greatest CEO, but he's a very good defensive coordinator. Missouri with some life again. Interesting game, Joe. Number 23, Missouri at number eight, Oklahoma, coming off a big upset over Alabama.
Yeah, it is really interesting. And a big part of that Oklahoma upset, I've got to tip my hat, that probably should just perpetually be tipped to Nick Saban because he saw it coming in terms of saying what concerned him with his Alabama team with the struggles in the run game. And Oklahoma did a really nice job of working that and making the tide be one-dimensional. Now, the question is, you need to get the best running back in the SEC. So can you do the same thing there?
It's definitely a step up in competition there. But, of course, Missouri, with their starting quarterback gone for injury, you know, they don't have a Ty Simpson to lean on to keep them in the ball game. But it'll very much be, I think, a game of who can get out to a good start because if Missouri can turn around and hand it to Hardy 30 or 35 times, I think they're going to have a very good chance at this. If Oklahoma can get out on a good start and make them throw the ball more and make them uncomfortable, then I think it'll be a good day for the Sooners.
Joe, your thoughts about Dobbin? I don't think anybody's surprised with the news out of Auburn today. He's basically saying, Austin Daniels, you're not going to play this weekend against Mercer. Green Lodge against Alabama, the Iron Bowl the following week, so that the door will be open to come back next year. Your thoughts about the situation, to me, it's the right call. But what are your thoughts about Austin Daniels? At least right now, it's going to be interesting. If for some crazy reason, the game's on the line in the fourth quarter, then what do you do?
Joe, your thoughts about what's going on down in the plains? No, you break up a good point, and I recall it wasn't exactly the same situation, but I know Kentucky a few years ago had an FCS game where they were trying to risk their starting quarterback at the time, it was Steven Johnson, and he wasn't going to play. And then they were down 14-0, and lo and behold, put that helmet on, and in you go, you know, I think Johnson had a separated shoulder or something, but he could, you know, huck it around a little bit and get the win over an FCS team.
[1:29:58] So, yeah, I mean, you set yourself up for some trouble there, but I think it's the right call. I'm glad that they're a little more proactive with this redshirt rule to be able to let guys play a couple games and still keep the year of eligibility. Everybody can remember a horror story of two of the old days when a guy would play one game and would play maybe a series in one game and would lose an entire year because it didn't work that way. It had to be an injury-based decision.
I like the flexibility there, so I probably would do the same thing. But, yeah, it does have a chance to make things a little exciting this week. Joe, Texas A&M had one of the most amazing comebacks I've seen in a couple of years. I don't know what that's going to do with the future of Shane Beamer. I think he does get one more year, but he'll make a lot of changes on the staff. But the most complete team in the SEC right now may be the Georgia Bulldogs.
Texas comes back to 14-10. I was watching some highlights of that game last night. And then Georgia, Kirby turns into Lane Kiffin, and they try an onside kick, get it, go for fourth down twice. Right now, Georgia, you've got them going 11-1, 9-1. They've got Charlotte and finished with Georgia Tech. Georgia playing awfully well right now. Yeah, it's hard to argue with what you've seen from them. You know, and here's a curveball. Everybody's talking about who's going to make the SEC title game. I'm going to throw out a controversial opinion here.
If I'm, you know, Lane Kiffin or Kirby Smart or whomever the relevant party is, I would rather not make the SEC championship game. Thank you. I'd rather take my good record unsullied, have another week of rest for my guys, not risk a slide in the CFP rankings with an ugly loss to, you know, whoever the other team is, Texas A&M or whoever it may be. So, yeah, it's kind of one of those things. I think everybody's done that same calculus, and nobody wants to be the guy to say, thank goodness, we don't have to play in it.
But I think there are a lot of coaches who, in their heart of hearts, would say, yeah, that's fine. Take me right out of that title game. And, Joe, with the playoffs, I think that's where we're going. And I think it's special to win an SEC championship. But, unfortunately, I think that's the road that we're going down. Where can we get online and get watchability and predicting the team's records for the season and also your great book? Yep. Saturday down south for all that. And, unfortunately, only one more time to predict because, you know, after this week, the regular season will be done for the following week.
But I always appreciate it, all the books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, books a million, any of those spots. You know, I occasionally run into one at Ollie's if you guys have that discount chain. I saw some of mine for $1.95, and I thought, hey, all the better. Buy them cheap, boys. Move them like what was wrong back in the day. Move them, move them, move them. Joe, thanks so much for your time today. Hope the weather cooperates. And let's do it again soon, okay? Let's do that.
Take care, guys. Thank you, Boone. Joe Cox, busy there at Saturday down south. Coming up, Tennessee fans, what's going on down in the swamp? Mark McLeod talking gators and more straight ahead. Stay with us on the Boomo Bugg Show. Hey, Scholes. I know you'd 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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The Bulldogs are currently nine and one on the season. Alabama dropped six spots in the AP poll and six spots in the coaches poll. The Crimson Tide now number ten in both polls. Alabama coming off of a loss on Saturday is eight and two on the season. The Alabama men's basketball team dropped a couple of spots in both polls this week. Alabama is now number 11 in both the coaches poll and the AP poll. Crimson Tide is currently two and one. Tonight at 7.30, catch boys basketball as Florence hosts Buckhorn.
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Investment minimums apply. Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC, member NYSE SIPC. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. If you want to keep up with the Gators, we highly recommend checking out the host of The Blitz with Mark McLeod, and the podcast is called The Gator Blitz. Mark McLeod, welcome in. How are you? Hey, doing well, Harold. Good to be on with you and Brett. Hey, man. You too. Mark, are Florida fans saying if this is a horse, they'd shoot it? Or are they saying, Tennessee fans, we got you right where we want you, we're going to lull you into a sleep, and then, boom, come up with a haymaker?
Your thoughts about a very interesting matchup over the past few years, and here's the operative word and way of putting it, Mark. Tennessee at Florida. Yes, and I think this is a year when, right now, Florida fans are saying, I think this could be a very interesting game for us. You know, look, it's going to be a celebration, you guys. I mean, let's face it, Florida could use a celebration of sorts. Right now, you've got Urban Meyer going to be honored, so he and his family will be there.
There'll be a lot of the players from the two national championships teams that Urban Meyer coached down at Florida will be on the sidelines in the stands. So they're going to be there for that recognition. It's going to be a bit of a celebration there, certainly a night game in the swamp. You'll like that. And I'll tell you, guys, it's interesting. Florida, when you go back to the last four coaches in the final year when they were dismissed, Florida's won every one of those games against Tennessee.
What is it, Mark? I mean, for Georgia, it's Alabama. For Alabama, it's Oklahoma. Obviously, for Tennessee, it's Florida. What is it about some of these matchups? Yeah, that's a great question. I wish I had to answer. You know, I go back to the 80s, and Florida only played Tennessee three or four times, but they shut them out. And then, of course, you know, they started playing a couple years before, right there when Steve Sprayer came into the University of Florida in 1990. And, of course, those Sprayer matchups were just legendary with Tennessee.
[1:40:26] And, you know, even after Fulmer left, you still saw some amazing games. The Jim McElwain game, his final year at Florida, you know, things were not going well for the Gators. They'd been blown out by Michigan in Dallas, Texas, in one of those preseason openers. And they come back, and it looks like all hope is lost. And on the final play of the game, Felipe Franks throws a Hail Mary 63 yards right in the arms of Tyree Cleveland, and Florida wins the game. And, you know, you just can't explain some of these wins.
Florida won 11 in a row over Tennessee, you know, in the last two decades. And then they have another five-year run. So it has been, as you said, Harold, a very strange matchup. But, Mark, this game was the kickoff of the CBS coverage for years. They would cover the U.S. Open tennis in New York for two or three weeks. And this was mid-September, 6.30 or 7 o'clock. I mean, it was the game to begin CBS's coverage. And Spurrier and Fulmer, and there were some classic games there. It's still hard for me to see this game in November.
You're right. You're right. And you know what? That's a great point, Brett, because Florida fans, I remember some poll back in the spring. And, you know, there was a lot going around about would the SEC go to a nine-game schedule, would they not? If they were, who do you want on the schedule? You know, all that stuff. And, of course, we saw it reemerge here just weeks ago, really, a couple months ago. And you look at this, and all those polls, to your very point, Florida fans are saying, I can't stand the fact that we're going to play this team in November.
We need to play that game the third week of September, just like we had for years. Because, of the very point that you made, it is such a, you know, for so many years, it was such a big game in the SEC East, and not nationally. Many of those years, it was nationally because of the battle of Fulmer and Spurrier. And I just think that that's kind of ingrained in the minds of those of us who are, you know, in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. Keep going.
Mark McLeod. Mark, obviously, like all towns, Gainesville, I'm sure, has their Grey Poupon neighborhoods, and they have their mustard neighborhoods. Is Lane Kiffin going to be living in the Grey Poupon neighborhood of Gainesville next year? In other words, where is he going to be picking up his maze? Is it going to be there in Gainesville, Baton Rouge, or is he just going to stay in Oxford and keep on cashing checks there? Well, you know, if it's Oxford, Harold, he has done an amazing troll job on everybody.
He really has. Or Jimmy Sexton with an assist there. Yeah, exactly. Look, look, Jimmy Sexton right now with everything going on, all these coaches being fired and hired, he is making it rain inside his house right now. And it is just amazing for him. But, yeah, you know, for weeks now I've said it's going to be Gainesville. I really believe there's a lot for Kiffin and Layla and the family to love about Gainesville. And it would be a coming home of sorts because his dad, Monty, spent so many years in Tampa Bay.
Obviously, Layla, her dad is John Reeves. And, you know, the kids, they know the Florida culture. They know the Florida history. They grew up in it. And, you know, look, this is a guy that went down to FAU. And he didn't really seem to mind. You know, he seemed to enjoy his time down there with what he did, reinventing himself. And then, of course, Nick Saban gave him a wonderful opportunity at Alabama. But I think that, you know, to help him along that way. But I think we're seeing a more mature turning of the page for Lane Kiffin.
I'm not going to say he's fully matured, but he certainly has matured in a lot of ways, guys. And, you know, I think, I really believe that a lot of that had to do with, I think we started to see it. But I think, and I think Nick Saban went a long way to helping him. But I think a lot of that, guys, had to do with the passing of his dad, Monty. Yeah. Mark, two things. Number one, we've heard that the offer on the table from Florida is $13.5 million for six years, with $81 million of that guaranteed.
[1:45:26] And number two, I know his staff, some reports have indicated the staff at Ole Miss have told some people that they feel he will eventually accept the job at Florida. Is the offer on the table, Craig, number one? And number two, do you think, again, he eventually goes to Florida? Brett, everything I've heard is precisely what you laid out. That is exactly what I've been hearing from the boosters that I'm talking to and I've talked to for years. So, yeah, yeah, they're, you know, and look, the boosters, I said, you know, he said, I can't believe some of these fans saying Florida can't come up with the money.
He goes, guys, we had the money last year. We had the money last year. We could have made this happen. He said, that's the frustration and the divide in Gainesville with, you know, with Scott Strickland and, you know, that there are some folks on board with him and very much on board. He got the extension he needed as AD in Florida, but then there are a lot of others who are not unhappy with what's going on, you know. Right now they're hiring a soccer coach, looking for a football coach.
Kevin O'Sullivan is MIA right now, involving some issues. We know that, you know, over the past three years he's had to make some other hires. And look, the Napier era, remember all the staff people that Napier was given to help bring this together faster so that Florida could compete at a faster pace. And all those people are still employed. They're still employed by Florida. And this did not work, guys. This did not work. So, really, right now, Drew Darman and I talked about this last night, texting back and forth.
You know, Scott Strickland, if he can't get this deal done with Lane Kiffin, Brent, oh my goodness. This is not going to bode well for Scott Strickland, and it's going to be a big, it'll be egg on the face, guys, for the University of Florida. Yeah, what they need to do is call the governor of Louisiana. He'll work it out. I guarantee you that, Mark. He knows how to fix stuff, does he not? Mark, let's talk about the national championship is already in Gainesville. What do they do for an encore?
We're talking about Florida basketball. What do they do to live up to the expectations? Well, I'll tell you what. The frontcourt is doing what they need to do. We saw Thomas Hopp the other night was just fantastic with his play. We've seen Condon do some really nice things for him. The Boogie Flanning company on the backcourt, that's where they've got a, it's going to take a few weeks, I think, for them, maybe a couple months at the most, for those guys to come together and kind of learn to play together and do what they do.
You don't lose a backcourt like that at Florida, all three guys, and just kind of put new faces in there and replace it. So I thought when the rankings came out, I thought, well, that might be a little rich for Florida. And, you know, I think you want to redo those rankings. Let's see what happens around mid-January, late January, and I think we might be seeing a very different product. But right now, look, the pieces are there, the talent is there, Harold, and the coaching is there, as we all know.
But I'll tell you, I really think there's going to be a bit of development over the next four to six weeks for that backcourt. Okay, yeah, they beat Miami 82-68 Sunday night. Let me ask you this when we let you go, timetable here. Do you expect someone to announce formally that he has accepted the job at Florida maybe the day after the Egg Bowl? Will he stay, if he does do that, will he stay and coach Omius through the playoffs? How would this eventually work out?
That's a fabulous question, and one that I don't have the answer to. Look, right now, you know, I don't blame Ole Miss for being frustrated. I don't blame them one bit. But, guys, I don't blame Florida or LSU either because they're trying to resolve their issues. And with Kiffin, you can't blame him. I mean, every coach goes through this. Every coach goes through the, you know, I get a better job offer or certainly something that looks like a better job offer. I'm going to have to explore it.
And so I don't blame anybody in this. I just think the timing, as you said, you know, what is the timing on this? And, you know, you look at December 3rd, National Signing Day. We know a lot of these kids don't want to get it done in December, and you have a lot of early enrollees now. The transfer portal has been kicked back, so that'll help them. But, you know, it doesn't make it easy. And Ole Miss wants an answer. I think it'll be before the Egg Bowl that we're going to know about Lane Kiffin.
[1:50:35] It could be any day now, in the next several days. But I think that I'm not sure what he does. I don't think he goes on coaching. I think once the announcement's made, I think they're going to want to turn the page and maybe go to Golden or whatever they're going to do. Wouldn't surprise me. I've heard that if he does accept it, that Pete Golden will at least be the interim coach, will, if not named eventually, the head coach. That's going to be very interesting.
To keep up with the absolute latest, my friend, where can we get online and get all of this Gator stuff and Kiffin stuff? I'm writing a piece right now for BlitzSportsRadio.com as they're refreshing the site for the day. And you can catch me on X at McLeod Live, M-C-L-E-O-D Live. Should be a fun night in your backyard. Enjoy it, Mark, and thanks so much for your time today, bud. Always fun to be on with you guys. Thank you. Thank you, buddy. Mark McLeod, host of the Gator Blitz.
Quickly, BB, again, in case you missed it, the Lions on the Iron Bowl. Bama favored by five and a half on that. Your thoughts on that? And are you ready for some four and five basketball tonight here on 93.9 to score? Yeah, you can hear that game against Buckhorn, pregame 7-15, tip-off at 7-30. I'd actually seen a five and a half to six point spread on the Iron Bowl last week. So that kind of validated it. By the way, UNA basketball loses to Clemson last night, 81-61, but it was great experience for Tony and UNA.
Dante Bank is 10 points. Dallas Howell, 8 points. Dark on King played very well. But unfortunately, Clemson, who is a good team in Alabama, plays them a little bit later. Beats UNA 81-61. There you go. Coming up again later on tonight, the big poll is out. Alabama has been four. Wherever they wind up at the time we go to bed tonight, very important question to answer. And, of course, recently, guys, we'll have the answer a little bit later on tonight on ESPN. That's going to take care of business for now.
On behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here. Harold Buck, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again tomorrow, noon to two for the Boomwell Buck Show. Back here on Sports Radio 93.9, the score. We'll see you next time.