Boomo Bugg Show 121925

[0:00] Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The 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 free ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in where the question of the day is, are you ready to take the lid off the playoff party? Good afternoon. Welcome in and how are you?

Happy football Friday. I think everybody is ready to take the lid off and we'll analyze every college football playoff game this weekend throughout the show. The one and only Bill Shanks gives us his model to fix college football playoff issues. Jimmy is here right now to talk about his keys for Alabama to beat Oklahoma tonight. And I would imagine back to Bill, he's got a thing or two to say why Georgia fans have even more reasons to hate Texas. We'll get into that a little bit later on, but you mentioned the one and only Jimmy Stein.

He's co-host of Locked On Bama, part of the Locked On Network. Jimmy Stein, welcome in. How does it sound? An Alabama football game on a Friday night. If I got that right, how are you? It does feel a little strange, doesn't it? On top of the strangeness in terms of how it feels playing such a huge game on a Friday night is, this is the college football playoff, but it also feels like any other road game in Norman, Oklahoma. There's nothing neutral about the field tonight.

Make no mistake, this is an SEC road game. Everyone knows how hard those are to win. The fact that this is a playoff game doesn't change that. So, Jimmy, obviously we know the mission. Remember the old TV show, Mission Impossible. Should you accept, and this tape will self-destruct in so many seconds, but where do you start in breaking down the secrets to success for the Crimson Tide to get revenge like Georgia did on Alabama earlier this season? Well, it's a broken record when it comes to breaking down this game, but everyone thought the first time they played, the turnovers decided it.

If Alabama had only turned it over twice instead of three times, just one less turnover, they would have won the game. If they had turned it over only once, they might have won by two scores. Turnovers decided the first game, as did special teams' disasters. I think that's something to watch tonight, is turnovers and special teams. That's how Alabama lost the first time around. They sort of won the matchup, I think, on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively. The offense moved the ball, Ty Simpson threw for over 300 yards against this great Oklahoma defense.

They had 400 yards of total offense. They had four drives over 60 yards. Defensively, they held Oklahoma to the point that Oklahoma's longest scoring drive of the whole night was like 41 yards. So, offensively and defensively, you played good enough. You showed you can beat this team, but you can't turn over the ball three times, and you can't have special teams' disasters. Alabama doesn't need to go out and win this game on special teams. I don't think it's a situation where you're looking to get a huge advantage there with long, tauty field goals or booming Blake Dowd punts or big returns.

No, all you have to do is be solid in special teams. Don't give anything away. Don't lose field position because of poor special teams' play. Just be solid there. Don't turn over the ball, and you really have to like Alabama's chances, even though it's going to be a very difficult atmosphere and it's an elite defense you're going up against. Jimmy, it does appear Alabama is much healthier for this game than coming out of the Georgia game. We've seen John Miller running around the practice field. Kim Dewberry, I know Zabian Brown, Justin Jefferson, they were hurt in the game and came out.

We know L.T. Overton is not going to play. Josh Cuavers is huge. And, quote, the comments have been, he will be available. I'm guessing he's going to be on a pitch count. We don't know if that's going to be 15 plays or 50. But one thing we do know, the overall health of this team is much better than it was two weeks ago. Yeah, I'm not going to use the word healthy to describe this Alabama team. They're not healthy in too many spots. But they are healthier than they were in Atlanta against Georgia.

The health situation has improved pretty much across the board. Everyone who has banged up feels a little bit better. You're even getting a couple guys back who couldn't play at all against the Georgia Bulldogs. So the health situation is better. This isn't a healthy Alabama football team. And you'd probably assume the same about Oklahoma. You play 12 college football games, eight of them in the SEC. They're going to be banged up, too. And, of course, they famously have a quarterback who underwent surgery during the season. I think what we haven't talked about enough, guys, is this three-week break that Oklahoma's got where they didn't have to prepare for an SEC championship game at all and then got the two-week break from the SEC championship.

[5:44] So that's three weeks for John Mateer's hand to improve. That's right. Anyone that saw him play in September and then saw him play after the hand surgery, those are two different football players. You're probably going to be dealing with a much healthier Mateer than you saw in the game in Tuscaloosa in November. Jimmy's time to get up with us, Locked on Bama. Not only that, but Bama and, like a lot of teams, in third and long situations, how many times do you see a quarterback get loose and pick up a first down, flip the field, and or score?

Your thoughts about that part of it? Because everybody's talking about his hand. He's also got some legs that he can hurt you with, too, if you don't bird dog him enough. The first game, Mateer scored a touchdown, I think, on about a 20-yard touchdown run. That was probably Mateer's biggest play of the game. And, you know, his legs weren't, you know, when he had the hand problem, it didn't affect his legs. He's had a couple of big games with his legs. I know up at Tennessee he had a pretty nice night statistically.

Again, he hurt Alabama with the 20-yard touchdown run. Alabama has famously struggled a bit dealing with these athletic quarterbacks. That's right. You absolutely have to be concerned with Mateer's legs as much as his arm. But Alabama's got a pretty good, healthy linebacking core for tonight. You can anticipate them using a spot on Mateer most of the night. That could be Justin Jefferson. It might be Deontay Lawson. Alabama's just sort of well-suited personnel-wise to deal with that. But, gosh, containing a quarterback's legs is really tough. I also think, even though he's banged up a little bit, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Ty Simpson a little more aggressive in the run game tonight.

This is sort of a game where you fire all the bullets you got, right, because it's win or go home. And I think Alabama will be a little more aggressive with QB runs. Not a lot of them, but even two or three is more than you usually see. What we're talking about, Ty, your thoughts, obviously people have been questioning the physical part with the back, et cetera, and they know the extent. But psychologically, it just seemed like at some point, particularly after the Missouri game, Ty went from being Superman when it came to confidence to maybe second-guessing and holding on a second or two too long, too many strips.

From just a psychological, mental standpoint, what do you think Ty is now that he's had a little bit of a NASCAR pit stop here to think things and put them in perspective? Yeah, I think there's a couple things that have affected Ty. And, number one, you know, a lot of speculation about the second half of that Missouri game and a big hit he took in the second half of that game and how he's been a little bit of a different player since. That's very fair. I'm not disputing that.

It's a fair observation. But there's also this. After that bye week, look who Alabama's played defensively. Look who Ty has matched wits with at the line of scrimmage. People talk about how good Ty is at changing plays of the line of scrimmage and how good he is pre-snap. Well, coming out of the bye week, you play Blake Baker in LSU and then Brent Venables in Oklahoma and then DJ Durkin at Auburn and then Kirby Smart, Glenn Schumann at Georgia. Ty has faced a litany of some of the best defensive minds in all of college football.

These aren't just the best defenses in the SEC. These are the best defenses and some of the best defensive coordinators in the sport. And Alabama played them all in a row, all after the bye week, all with Ty clearly a little banged up. To say nothing of Ty's supporting cast also being banged up. So you add it all up. And Alabama's almost fortunate to be where they are tonight, you know, in Norman, in the college football playoff, but healthier than they've been. And they've seen this Oklahoma defense before.

And I think those are all nice advantages for Alabama. But Oklahoma knows Alabama's personnel, too. Jimmy, giving Ty Simpson a cleaner pocket is going to be key tonight. Alabama matched Georgia's physicality in September. Tennessee was leading the nation in sacks and tackles for a loss. And he did not get sacked. Obviously, we know what's happened since then. Oklahoma leads the SEC in sacks with 41. TFLs with 115. Do you think they may roll Ty out a little bit more? It's going to be so key to get production on first down.

Get four yards. Get five yards to have more manageable second and thirds. Again, some of these offensive linemen are healthier. Again, Parker Bralsford with the high ankle sprain. Kim, do you, Barry, who missed all or most of the Georgia game in Atlanta? How does Alabama have a cleaner pocket for Ty tonight? Well, you have to be creative. You have to be creative. You're not just going to whip them straight up. They're way too good for that. Plus, you didn't have to deal with R. Mason Thomas the first time around.

[10:46] He's the best player in the front seven. He didn't even play in the first game. Now you've got him tonight. But it is his first game, I think, in seven weeks. Probably a little rust there. But what a great football player he is. He's going to be a handful for Proctor, Caden Proctor, or Michael Carroll when they get matched up against him. Whenever I look at a game or do an analysis of a game that looks like it's me close, I always start with this. If it doesn't go well for Alabama, why didn't it go well?

And the answer is inability to handle the pressures. Oklahoma is very good at it. They're highly disruptive. They've sacked a quarterback. They'll tackle you for loss. They're very disruptive and aggressive. The fact of the matter is, if Alabama can't handle that, you really don't have much of a chance. They're as good as it gets. You have to be healthier than they were in Atlanta. And I think they are. You have to get… It's not just tackle-to-tackle, guys. I think a huge part of Ty's protection tonight is going to come from the tight end position and just running back.

Because they are going to bring blitzers. They are going to have some free rushers. There are going to be times when an offensive lineman's beat and they need help. The tight ends on the back have to have a good night helping keep Ty clean. And if you do that, maybe one of those playmaking receivers can wiggle free and make a big play. I think big plays tonight are more likely than long, sustained drives. You mentioned the tight ends with the nest. We know Cuevas is back.

At least there's some light in the tunnel. As far as blocking, I saw… You can correct us if we're wrong on this, Jimmy. Danny Lewis looks like he is closer to seeing some meaningful action tonight. And his reputation is just that, blocking. And I guarantee you, if you're Ty Simpson, that's news to your ears. What are you hearing about Danny Lewis and his availability tonight? Well, he hasn't been available much, but I do hear, and take this with a grain of salt, he's probably as healthy as he's been all year.

Keep in mind, when I say that, you're talking about a guy who missed all of spring practice, all of fall camp, and has only been able to play in about four games. So when I say he's healthier, he's been all year, I'm not saying much. It's all relative. But it is helpful. And this is why, when the game is as complicated and complex, particularly as Brent Venables wants to make it on defense, it's not that you can get an Oklahoma player blocked, which is hard enough.

It's who to block. And I think someone like Danny Lewis, a senior like Josh Quavers, it's not that they're dominant first-round type NFL blockers. It's that they know better who to block than a freshman like Caleb Edwards or a freshman like Marshall Pritchett or a redshirt freshman like Jay Lindsey. I think having Quavers and Danny Lewis out there is huge for Alabama because maybe they're not dominant blockers, but they know who to block, and they can at least get in the way. Your thoughts about huge, how huge would it be if Ryan Williams returned to the glory days of Georgia last year with his speed, three, five yards, forget about the bomb, just get him and get him a step on a defender and let what happens happens there.

Your thoughts about the re-emergence of perhaps Ryan Williams tonight? Well, if there was one good thing that came out of Atlanta in terms of what my eyeballs saw. Now, it didn't really show up in the stat sheet, but Ryan looked a little bouncier to me in Atlanta than he had most of the year. He got banged up, you know, really in fall camp. And I don't know. We'll have to ask Ryan when the season's over. I don't know if there's ever been a week he's been 100% all year long.

He's little. But he looked bouncier to me in Atlanta. He was getting some of that quickness and twitch back. And, yeah, I think 2025 owes Ryan Williams some big plays. And tonight will be a great time to cash those in. He's probably as healthy as he's been. You know he's determined this is a big stage. That never seems to scare him. I won't be surprised at all to see it happen. But at the same time, when you look over the course of the first 13 games, we shouldn't be too surprised when it doesn't.

But he's due. He's due. There's no question he's due. And, again, to my eye, he looked a little quicker in Atlanta than we've seen him look lately. Yeah, Jimmy, I thought you did too. Give us your prediction for the score tonight. And where can we get online and get the best Alabama sports podcast? What can you do on the planet? Well, it can go either way. One of the things that really worries me about Oklahoma and their advantage in the home field, they also have a significant advantage, a kicker.

[15:49] Tate Sandell was the best place kicker in college football. So, one advantage Oklahoma has, guys, is they are in scoring position on a part of the field that Alabama is not. That's right. So, I think that is to their advantage. And in a close game, it would be nice to have the best kicker in college football on your team. And they've got that. But, despite that, and despite playing in Norman, I think if Alabama cuts the turnovers down and wins the turnover battle, they don't even have to win it 3-1.

They just have to turn it over no more than Oklahoma does. If they do that, I think Alabama wins tonight 21-20 with a fourth-quarter touchdown. Maybe a big play in the fourth quarter from one of the wideouts like Ryan or Jeremy. And Alabama makes the one play in the fourth quarter that wins the game 21-20. We will have a post-game reaction show at some insane hour tonight live on the YouTube channel. And, of course, we'll have new content all week on Locked On Bama. You can find us on YouTube or wherever you get your audio podcasts.

If it's 21-20, that show will be brought to you by your local cardiologist, I guarantee you. It's a heart stopper. Enjoy the game. Thanks so much. Football, Alabama football on a Friday night. It must be 2025 or something like that. Thanks so much for your time. Enjoy, okay? Appreciate it, guys. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. You too, Jimmy. You too. Jimmy Stein, again, with us, co-host of Locked On Bama, part of the Locked On Network. Coming up, he's seen a few big games over the years with Alabama.

Doug Segrist on deck on the Boomo Bugg Show. Stay with us. This Christmas, if you're hearing things like, you don't bring me flowers, you don't bring me anything. Relax. There's a fix. Head to Lola's Gifts and Flowers, 214 Montgomery Avenue in Sheffield. Holiday bouquets, perfect gifts, and zero drama. Save Christmas, maybe even your sanity. Lola's. Bring the flowers. Avoid the meltdown. Hello, folks. Mark Humphrey, new car sales manager at Ray Miller GMC, where we treat you like family. We understand that buying an automobile is the second largest purchase you'll do in your lifetime.

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BB, your thoughts. Everybody's talking about Alabama's health now compared to where it was just a few weeks ago on the other side of the coin. Oklahoma basically saying that we're going to match you with that because the big one there is Mason. How much has matured's hand healed as well, BB? Well, we'll find out tonight. It's got to be better than what it was, and particularly in November. Now, Oklahoma's center, I believe, is having some issues, but they've had another week to heal up from a rugged regular season.

And there's no question as far as you look at the roster for both teams and go down it, Oklahoma's going to be healthier than Alabama is, even though I think that's going to be one of the big keys to the game. This Alabama team will be much healthier than they were two weeks ago. Well, you know, we were talking earlier about the score and all this, that, and the other. And to me, the thing that's not getting enough love, everybody talks about the defense, the offense.

I think we need to focus a lot on that special teams because I thought that Jimmy Stein brought up a good point. Once they cross the 50, certainly once they get inside the 35, barring America, they almost guarantee three points, BB, if history's on their side. And here's, I think, something that I think could be, I'm looking at some of the numbers here. When this game was first announced, everybody said, oh, my gosh. You remember when the format was first announced? They said, this home field advantage is going to be huge for the home team because if you're in an area where it's prone to have bad weather, cold weather, et cetera, that's a plus.

Well, initially, everybody thought it's going to be in Oklahoma. It's going to be like just a few days before Christmas. It's going to be awful. I checked the numbers, and the numbers are kind of deceiving because the high today is about like it is here. It's going to be in the 60s. At least that's the forecast. And then by game time, it's going to dip into football weather, upper 40s. That's not going to be the issue because I think football players, they relish that. It's just like a marathon or some runner.

They love the 40s because by the time they get out there and work up a sweat, that's just about right. The problem is going to be the wind. It's out in Oklahoma. Anyone who's ever been west of the Mississippi knows the wind out there is different than wind over here. And I saw, as satirical as some fans are, they said that might be a good thing for Alabama because if he pushes it to the right, maybe the wind will blow it back over. But your thoughts just about the conditions out there and the elephant in the room, the home field advantage.

Well, Harold, first of all, they've got a proud tradition. That fan base is as passionate as anybody's, BB. Well, I've got reports there are not many Alabama fans there. Again, Harold, think about this for a second. This is the weekend before Christmas. A lot of people have got plans. Now, the Rose Bowl would be a different matter. I think there would be a lot of Alabama fans. They're fortunate enough to win tonight. But let's take the home field advantage for Oklahoma. I go back to this again.

Alabama won four games, Harold, this year on the road. You beat Georgia and Athens and snap a 33-game winning streak. You're going to be able to walk in to Norman. They also beat South Carolina, Auburn, and Missouri on the road. They're not going to be afraid to walk into a hostile environment. But the special teams is a concern. They've got the best field goal kicker. In fact, he won the Lou Groves Award, Tate Sundell. Grayson Miller is first-team All-SEC punter. And Isaiah Sintega is a tremendous receiver.

[26:37] But Alabama doesn't need to be better than Oklahoma. They just need to match them. Harold, as far as field position is concerned, they'll have a much better chance to win the game. Well, look who just walked in here, Doug Segrist. He's a legend when it comes to covering sports, whether it's with the Birmingham News or getting his hair done and dutered up to face the cameras at the zone ABC 3340. Doug, welcome in. How are you? I am great, and I am so sorry I'm late. Well, it's a 15-yard penalty, but it's offsetting because we're late sometimes, too, Doug.

Are you ready for Christmas, Doug? Are you going to be late like the rest of us for Christmas? Yeah, it gets easier for me at this age. You know, kids are grown, grandkids, you know, a lot of that stuff's plotted in advance. So, I'm in pretty good shape. There you go. Doug, is Alabama in pretty good shape to rebound against Oklahoma tonight at Oklahoma? Are we talking October, Alabama, or are we talking December, Alabama? Yeah, I would imagine a lot of folks would like for it to be the October, but let's talk about the December, Alabama.

You've got to play the Cods you dealt now. Yeah, listen, I think they'll be healthier. But, you know, the offense is digressed. Quarterback players digressed. The running backs, I'm not sure they were ever, you know, playing well enough to digress. Receiving is digressed. I just worry about the offense. Defense has been spectacular. I think the defense can hold its own tonight. You know, can Ty Simpson kind of reclaim his confidence? And don't get me wrong, I think it would be hard for any quarterback to have confidence.

The way he's getting hit on, really, pummeled on a regular basis. They've had two weeks, two weeks to heal wounds, two weeks to kind of figure this out. And, you know, let's not forget that the first time, I mean, Alabama outgained them nearly two to one. It was just all about field position and turnovers. Yeah, that's exactly what we've talked about. And, again, the same issue Alabama had with Georgia and Atlanta is the same one in Tuscaloosa. They gave Oklahoma short fields. And, Doug, we just got through talking about the special teams.

There is no question Oklahoma's got the advantage over Alabama in special teams. They've got Lou Groza award winner, one of the top punters in the SEC, Centega. Their receiver can return punts. Alabama doesn't need to beat Oklahoma in special teams, but they've got to match them. They can't fumble the ball, give up a 40-yard return, and miss a 26-yard field goal. Yeah, and let's be honest. Oklahoma may have the advantage in special teams over everybody in the playoffs. I mean, they're just not good. Yeah, I agree with that.

And that's part of the problem. If you do give them field position, you do get a stop, they can still score 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 points because the kicker's so good. So that's a big part of it. You know, in October, Alabama was controlling the tempo. They were controlling the field position and not necessarily with special teams. It was more or less just with sustained drives, and if they can get back to that. You know, you don't have to run for 150 yards. But if you can run for 75 and just buy you a little time to throw the ball, it makes a big difference.

If you can use your running backs in the flat as receivers, again, that can kind of get this defense to back off. Brent Vettelbulls just seems to have Alabama's number, whether Kaelin DeVores on the sideline or Nick Saban of late. So it's just – he's just such a mastermind on defense. But let's be honest, their offense has been worse than Alabama's. Yes. No, you're exactly right. Let me ask you real quick. Miami at Texas A&M. This is going to be the 11 a.m. game tomorrow on TNT.

Battle of two quarterbacks with Marcel Reed and Carson Beck. Miami's a really good team. They've got a good pass rush with Reuben Bain and Mesidor. Your thoughts on this game? The home field advantage certainly is an advantage for Texas A&M. Your thoughts? I like Texas A&M. Here's the weird dichotomy. I feel – I have a better feeling that Carson Beck can have an A game than Marcel Reed. But I also have a stronger feeling that Carson Beck can throw three interceptions. And, you know, and Marcel Reed, I just feel, is more consistent.

[31:37] You know, he can beat you running the ball. He can throw the ball. They've got the two best wide receivers to be on the field. And their defense has been really solid all year. So, I just think A&M is the more complete team and really has kind of gone under the radar. So, I like A&M to advance. I think that's what a lot of people feel like. Listen, we've got to run to our next guest. But we will give you a call again hopefully in the next week or so and look at the rest of the playoffs.

Always enjoy the conversation with you. But Merry Christmas to you and your family. And let's do this again real soon. Merry Christmas. Always love being around you guys. Anytime. Doug's right back at you. Hope you've been a good boy this year. Going to find out less than a week from today. Doug Segers, the legend down in Beham. Coming up, just what Georgia fans need. Another reason to hate Texas. The one, the only Bill Shanks. The details next. Stay with us. The season's in full swing. And there's no better place to watch football than Sam's Sports Grill in Florence.

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And we hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday season. Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9 The Score. Sunday, the Falcons head to Arizona. They'll take on the Cardinals. Atlanta is currently 5-9, while the Cardinals enter the matchup with a 3-11 record. College football playoff gets underway tonight as Alabama plays at Oklahoma. Both teams have 10 wins on the season. The Tide, the 9-seed. Oklahoma, the 8-seed. Tomorrow, the first round continues as Miami plays at Texas A&M. Ole Miss will host Tulane, and Oregon entertains James Madison.

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Welcome back in. He is the Mount Rush Morris Sports Talk in the Peachtree State of Georgia. He's Bill Shanks, host of the Bill Shanks Show on 93.1 FM in Macon, Georgia, online, theesuperstations.com, and on the tube at 41 NBC. In fact, his team is so good, they don't play until next year. Bill Shanks, welcome in. How are you? Great. Merry Christmas to you, Huckleberry. Well, thank you so much. Listen, our addresses are the same, so we'll be looking for that package. But what kind of package are you going to send the folks in Texas?

Just what you need, another reason to hate Texas. Bill, what the heck has happened with Bill Muschamp? Well, it was a surprise, no question. It was, I guess, expected, maybe assumed, which is always dangerous, that at some point, Glenn Schumann would get a head coaching job. And when that happened, that Bill Muschamp would fly back into the D.C. role at UGA. Bill didn't take a time off to follow his son around and watch him a little bit, so that's why he backed off. But, you know, he got an opportunity, reportedly $4 million, so h***, that'll make a lot of people make some money.

$4 million defensive coordinator. Somewhere Joe Kind just p***** off, you know that? Think about that, Bill, for a second, remember when Amal Moore just got him saving $4 million? What a scandal that was to be the head coach at Bama. Yeah, and he was overpaid because he didn't turn out to be so good. That's right. That's right. What are we going to do now with defensive coordinators getting $4 million if you don't think? And, you know, the other thing is, I tell you, while you mention money, I'm going to bring this up.

One of the stories here in the state of Georgia this week has been the fact that Aaron Filo, the backup quarterback at Georgia Tech, who had seen action in all of eight games in his first two years at Georgia Tech, is going to follow his offensive coordinator, Buster Faulkner, down to Gainesville for a reported $3 million. Wow. And Georgia Tech was ready to match the offer of $3 million. And I'm like, you know what, we thought Carson Beck going to Miami for $4 million or $5 million, whatever it turned out to be, was a lot of money.

Well, Carson Beck had two full years as a starter at one of the premier programs in the country, and Aaron Filo's had eight games played in two years. He's getting $3 million bucks. Unbelievable. Oh, gosh. P.T. Barnum was right. Bill, your thoughts, obviously, you're in a good spot there. Every team wants to make the playoffs, but they also want to have that chance to rest and rest and rest. Your thoughts where Georgia is, not only making the playoffs, but where they are, being able to kick back and watch, get game film, and stay healthy as possible.

Well, I tell you, I was, you know, concerned because of the time off that it was just too d*** long. And I think it is. I think these games tonight and tomorrow should have been played a week ago. I don't know why there's an extra week because, you know, it's just difficult. It's difficult to wonder and worry about having three-plus weeks off. For this situation, for Georgia, because of the fact they've played 13 games, nine games against SEC opponents, and unlike Texas A&M, they just played the bottom of the conference.

They're beat up. I mean, they were already beat up going into the Alabama game, missing a pretty good number of players, and still overcame that. And then to walk off the field, you know, the quarterback, I don't think Gunnar Stockton was hurt. I think he was just beat up. I mean, he was kind of walking like Terry Bradshaw in 1978 or something like that. But it's just the schedule of playing tough physicality, you know. And so for that reason, I'm glad Georgia's got the time off to be able to get healthy.

And, you know, I don't know if Colby Young's going to be back or not, the wide receiver. He may be back more if they reach the semifinals or finals, which would be a tremendous addition. He was their leading receiver when he went down with an injury in midseason. And Ethan Barbour, the tight end who only played one game before he was hurt, he's got a chance to come back. But it's really just getting healthy. And I, to be honest with you, I'm kind of going against what I used to believe.

[42:17] But I think that's as important as worrying about whether the long layoff will cause you to not play well at the end of that time period. Yeah, you referred to the college football schedule. They have got to take a long look at this. I wanted to give you some time to go over the, quote, Shanks model on how to fix college football. Now, a lot of this pertains to the college football playoff. And let me preface this by saying this is, a lot of this is common sense, reasonable suggestions, which are very rare in today's world now.

On and off the field, you know, such as power four conferences, all playing nine conference games, be it large bids. Notre Dame either picks a conference or gets out. I think everybody agrees with that now. And you wrote this in a very short period of time, once again, telling us what a genius and savant that you are. But tell us about the Shanks model to fix college football. Well, I literally was at a Mexican restaurant that I'm looking at right now as I go to my other restaurant to do the shows.

And I was sitting there before the playoff committee announced their teams. And I'm like, why is this so difficult? And I wrote that in my notes section of my phone. It pretty much says that the power four conferences are split off. All power four conferences have to play the same number of conference games. Are you listening, Big Ten? And the conference championships are relevant as are the winners of the conference championship games because the two teams from the four conferences make the college football playoff field of 16 automatically.

So if you get to your conference championship game, you're in the conference time, you're in the playoff of 16 teams. The winner of the conference championship games will be hosting home games in the playoff, which means you will have the incentive to get to the conference tournament game or championship game and also to win it. And then, you know, I think you have uniformity with the four conferences as far as how many conference games they play. So everybody's on the same on the same wavelength there. You play two games against the other three conference, power four conference opponents.

So you pick two games against teams from, for example, if you're an SEC team, you take two games, probably one home and one away against Big Ten, Big 12 or ACC. The 12th game will be against a, if you want to, if you want to, against a power, rather a group of five conference team, preferably one in your home state. And if you're going to pay money to, you pay it to somebody in your home state. And then that makes that game, that makes that game relevant and more interesting than Georgia playing Austin freaking P who nobody cares about.

If Georgia wasn't playing Georgia Southern or Georgia State, it would be much more relevant and much more of an interesting game compared to some team that, I mean, Charlotte for crying out loud, which God knows that was just dumb as h***. So you do that, and then you have the 16-team playoff. And then with the, so if you've got the two conference championship game opponents from the four conferences, that's half of the 16 teams in the 16-team tournament. The other eight teams are at-large teams. No conference can have more than five at-large teams, which means no conference can have half of the 16 teams, which would mean if the SEC is strong enough, they can have seven teams in the 16-team tournament.

And it's not required that a conference have more than the original two teams that are in the championship game. So if the ACC sucks, the two teams that are in the ACC conference tournament championship game are the only two teams that make it. And the other at-large teams come from the other four. And the group of five is split off, and they do a similar arrangement in a 16-team tournament where there are five champions. Those five are, you know, they somehow work it out. I don't know whether it's the best team out of the five conference tournament champions gets a bye.

I don't know. Work it out. But here's the thing, you know, look, and it is commonsensical. It's not rocket science. I know the money is a little bit more difficult. And, yes, Notre Dame has to put or get off the pot and get into a conference, or you're not going to be involved. You're not going to be allowed to be. And if Notre Dame doesn't want it, they go play in the group of five tournament, and they can do whatever the h*** they want. But they do not need to be given special circumstance in this format.

[47:21] And, look, here's the thing. I mean, I just threw that out there. And, you know, it does make sense. And now I'm becoming even more passionate about it. But the main reason, Harold and Brent, is because I don't understand, and I'm not talking about you two, why people who don't have bigger platforms than the three of us, like bald people and ones who wear tight T-shirts, who have thousands and thousands and thousands of followers on social media, don't come up with something so that we can at least throw poop up against the wall to see what can do.

I spend too much time in gym to do that. And, Bill, I love your idea, but it never worked because it makes too much sense. Let me ask you this, Bill. Your second favorite team is playing tonight, Alabama. Can Alabama do to Oklahoma what Georgia did to Alabama in the SEC championship game? And get revenge, Bill. You know, I played Curley in Oklahoma in high school in a play, so I'm kind of rooting for the Sooners here tonight. Really? You know, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.

Yeah. You know, look, I think the big question for me with Alabama is the same question I had going into the game against Georgia. Can they run the football? If they can't, they're not going to win. And if they can, then I think it's going to be more interesting to see how they do score points and are able to get something done against Oklahoma. But I think it's going to be tough because unless, you know, Derrick Henry's been transferred with NIL money to Alabama here the last couple weeks, I don't know how they're going to do it.

So if Jam's healthy, he's got to play well and go out there and really do the job. And so I'm anxious to see what's going to happen. We'll talk about the Braves more after Christmas. But listen, I have been nearly impressed with Anthopolis with the additions that he has made. Kim is coming back, one-year deal for $20 million at shortstop. We talked about Suarez coming in, is in the bullpen. Now, I'm like you. They've still got to go find, again, a veteran, durable starting pitcher. But I'll be honest with you, I've nearly been impressed with what he's done so far in the preseason.

Well, I think it looks good. I think I like the lineup with Kim coming back and Strimski there in a full year from pro bar. Strimski gets caught again, and hopefully they can stay a little bit more healthy than they had the last two years. That's going to be a big component of it. The bullpen looks good, and I think there are some good options there. I'd still like another one. Look, I'm just crazy about pitching. I don't think you can ever have enough. I just saw a trade, Baltimore just acquired Shane Boz from Tampa Bay, who is a decent pitcher, but I think his ERA last season was above four and a half.

And they just gave up three of their top 30 prospects for it. So, the price for pitching is so high these days, which is why you've got to develop your own, you know. And the Braves have a couple of guys, obviously Hurston Waldrop, who had nine starts late last season. They've got a kid that I love, J.R. Ritchie. I want to keep on saying his name because I want all of your listeners to know about J.R. Ritchie. I think he's going to be a really good pitcher and see some action for Atlanta this year.

But, yeah, I mean, I think it looks good on paper, but I just want more pitchers. Even if it's guys brought in on minor league deals with invites to big league camp, I'd like to have some additional options. Because we've just found out the last two years how many you can run through if you have bad luck. And they can't go through that again, or they're not going to be better than 76 and 86. Well, I'll tell you one thing, Bryce Elder, better not lead the Braves in the number of starts this coming season if he makes the frigging team.

And you brought up a great point. Every one of the Braves' potential starting pitchers has got a health question. And, again, if they all get healthy, it's going to be wonderful. But I know, again, we've talked about that for three years now. You have got to be healthy in September to get to October. And we'll see how that goes. Listen, as much as we enjoy giving you hail, we cherish our friendship with you. Hug your mom and the dogs. Hope everybody has a great Christmas. You and your listeners, advertisers, and staff.

And, listen, we love you and have a great week. We'll pick up again after Christmas. Well, just right back at you. I love you guys. And I always enjoy coming on and saving this show every single Friday. But I'll tell you, I'm really upset. I said this last Friday that my callers, my sloppy second callers I get from you, turd balls, haven't called in the last two weeks. And I don't know why. Where the h*** is Kevin and Shea and all those guys? Well, our pay phones are down.

[52:37] We can't find a quarter, Bill. Oh, man. I mean, my gosh. I thought sure they'd call up and apologize for their errant prediction. And I haven't heard from them. So, maybe they'll call up today and give me a prediction about my Sooners and what's going to happen tonight. Oh, man. I promise you, if Emma wins and that, you will hear from the homeboys. I guarantee you. Bill, I echo those sentiments from Brett Beaird. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Stay safe out there, okay? All right.

Merry Christmas, guys. See you, buddy. The one and the only, Bill Shanks. Check him out online anytime at thesuperstations.com. Coming up in the next hour, help me out with this name. It has the same initials as you. Can you help me out with that name, Brett Beaird? It's a Beard boy who's a Heisman voter. Brett Beaird, Zach Pounders, Mike Hogan and all. Spread ahead. Stay with us. Mugshot's Grill and Bar has a winning fall lineup with their limited-time offers. Choose from the smoky bourbon maple stack with two kid burgers or the pretzel basket with four pretzel sticks sprinkled with kosher salt.

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[58:03] College football. It's a pepper thing. 1819 News. The University of Alabama Systems is returning to standardized testing scores such as the SAT and ACT tests. The university first put in place a test-optional admissions process back during the COVID scare. The proposal to return to standardized testing came during a special board meeting and was offered by Dr. Tanjanita Johnson. Johnson says that standardized testing provides valuable insight into academic success at the university and is also a predictor of the success of incoming students. Johnson's comments are in conjunction with a recent study put out by Dartmouth University that was published in University Business Magazine about test-optional policies.

That study showed that such a policy makes it harder for high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into these top colleges because they misjudge their own scores and their chances of getting in so they don't even bother to submit them. The changes will be implemented for the 2027 to 2028 academic year. The resolution did pass the Board of Trustees with a unanimous vote. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Did you know that 70% of people experience a potentially traumatic event in their lifetime and that 6 out of every 100 adults face PTSD every day?

Help us bring hope to these survivors by signing up for your Alabama Distinctive PTSD Awareness License Plate today. The great thing is you can sign up no matter when your current plate renews and the first year is complimentary. All you need is your FIN number on hand, drive awareness, drive hope, and customize your play today at atease.org. Funeral arrangements have been made for a former sports reporter at WBRC News in Birmingham. Visitation for Christina Chambers will be held in Coleman at the Heritage Funeral Home this Sunday.

The following day, a funeral service will be held at Sacred Heart Church in Coleman. Chambers was the victim of a murder-suicide committed by her husband at their home in Hoover. 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 Shore. Sports Radio 93.9, The Score. The road to the national title starts now. Strike up the band and light them up. The Crimson Tide looks to get revenge on the Oklahoma Sooners in the first round of the college football playoffs this Friday.

Walking, tide, fires, catch, touchdown! First round coverage starts at 4 p.m. On your home for Alabama football, the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield. Alabama football on 93.9, The Score is brought to you locally in part by Nationwide Insurance Agents Michael Noe and Bill Cochran, Garner Pierce Autos, The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Bob's Tire and Alignment, Alpha Insurance Agents David Jordan, Mike Mitchell, and Matt Henry, Fake Independent, Champy's World Famous Fried Chicken, Woody Anderson Ford, Carnet Electric, and Elliott Johnson Insurance. Hi, this is Chris Stewart, and your home for Alabama football is Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.

93.9, The Score weather. Today, sunny and windy with a high around 45. Tonight, mostly clear with a low near 30. Tomorrow, sunny and breezy with a high around 60. Tomorrow night, mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers overnight and a low near 45. And if you're Sunday, mostly sunny with a high around 55. 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 tie.

Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score. Welcome back in, our tour to the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. B.B., what do you say we have a little early Christmas present? By saying hello to Mike Duggan, National College football slash basketball. Down in Orlando, Florida. Mike, welcome in. How are you? Doing well. I'm looking forward to the college football playoff to an extent.

I think two of the games this weekend are going to be not watchable. I think I'll be finishing my Christmas shopping tomorrow night in the second half of the Oregon James-Madison game. Speaking of that, Mike, conversely, from a business standpoint, both Alabama and Oklahoma have got to like this because people are hungry for a decent football game. On paper, this promises to be that. You're going to have a lot of eyes. There's no competition to speak of. So, from a business standpoint, you couldn't ask for a better setup if you're the bean counters at Alabama and Oklahoma and also has to be able to manage a pretty good recruiting boost, too.

[1:03:21] If you're a coach and a player, you're quite familiar with your opponent. And I think that's an advantage as well. You know, Texas A&M and Miami, they played, I believe it was last year or the year before. But at the same time, I mean, this will be the third meeting in two seasons. These teams are used to each other. They know what each other does well and doesn't do well. Both struggle to run the ball. Oklahoma's offense has been hit or miss most of the season.

Alabama's offense has tailed off late in the season because the running game has gotten incrementally worse. But, again, I think the familiarity of the two teams helps you prepare for this kind of game. You know, you're not watching film discovering, oh, my God, you know, this is incredible. No, this is more like, yeah, I remember that. Let's do this. Let's do that. You're familiar with your opponent. Mike, let me ask you this. Obviously, there's been a lot of focus on the health. And let's face it, if you are a team from the SEC, you're going to be banged up.

I don't care who you are or where you are. Your thoughts, obviously, it seems like Alabama is healthier. We got a good quote from earlier. They're not healthy. They're healthier than they were. But so is Oklahoma. They're getting Mason back. You would think Mature's had more time to his hand to heal from surgery. Your thoughts, who has the edge from a health standpoint tonight? Yeah, I think Mature not having taken any hits for three weeks is big. Early in the season, he was a little bit more freewheeling, threw a nice deep ball.

Since he came back from the hand surgery, you know, he really didn't have much rehab. He was thrown right back into the fray. He struggled throwing the deep ball. And I think they've been a little gun-shy in terms of him running the ball. You know, a lot has been made of Alabama's poor rushing attack. Oklahoma has a poor rushing attack as well. But that's where I think, you know, Jim Miller can give them a boost for the tide. And Mature being more, what's the word I want?

I think he'll be more apt to run tonight, whereas maybe in the last month of the season, he was a little bit afraid to run. So, you know, getting R. Mason Thomas back is gigantic. That kid is a really good pass rusher. And better, I think, than people think, setting the eggs, that kind of stuff. But I think McKeer's presumed healthier hand is a huge deal for Oklahoma's offense. Yeah, Mike, Alabama outgained Oklahoma 2-2, nearly 2-1 in November. But the kicking game was abysmal. Ryan Williams fumbled a punt.

Oklahoma recovered for a short touchdown. They had a 42-yard return in the punting game. And Connor Talty missed a chip shot field goal. And Oklahoma's got some of the best. Again, the Luke Groves Award winner. Their punter is very good. Alabama's not going to surpass Oklahoma's special teams. But it can't be the wreck that it was in November. True. And the Oklahoma kicker, Tate Sandell, the dude's 23 of 24, and he's 7 of 7 from beyond 50 yards. How he was not a first-team All-American is beyond comprehension, frankly. He was the Groves Award winner.

He is by far, by far the best kicker in the country. You can count on him up to like 59 or 60 yards. I don't think Alabama feels that confident in Connor Talty. Turnovers are big in every big game. But I think in this game where you have offenses that have been sputtering, that if you turn it over and give the other team an extra possession, and you lose a possession, I think that's the more important aspect here. With offenses that sputter, you need to be on point when you have the ball.

And that's something to watch tonight, the turnover aspect. And you're right, special teams, I've got to think that Alabama's hoping, okay, they have better special teams than us. But like you said, let's not make this a totally one-sided special team battle. Let's hold our own. Yes, they have the better kicker, probably have the better punter, but let's not do stupid stuff on special teams. Pill position going to be huge, I guarantee, with a kicker like that. Mike, by the way, in a huddle with Mike Huguenin, it's almost like this is a NASCAR race.

Back in the days of Earnhardt and Gordon are swapping paint. It opened with Oklahoma, a point-and-a-half favorite. Then went to Bama, the same margin. Then it went back to Oklahoma, a point-and-a-half. Vegas is Oklahoma by a point-and-a-half. What does Mike Huguenin say as far as tonight's outcome? You know, somebody told me today that Alabama has never lost to the same team in one season twice. That's right. Since the 1893, the Birmingham Athletic Club. And my question to him was how often has I played the same team twice, and he did not know that.

[1:08:41] It's not often. And it is hard to beat the same team twice. You see it in basketball, and you see it in the NFL. That said, Oklahoma, I think in the playoff, the home field is gigantic. You know, Oklahoma won in Tuscaloosa in the regular season. Now they're playing at home. Owen Field is a difficult place to play. The fans are going to be revved up. They're going to be well-oiled. I think McKeer is presumed. The fact that he's healthier, I think, gives Oklahoma an edge, along with Tate Sandell and the home field.

So I think Oklahoma will win by three or four points, but no more than that. I expect a relatively low-scoring game. I don't think there's going to be any kind of shootout, because I think both of these are good defenses. You know, that's the one thing. Everybody talks about Oklahoma's defense. Alabama's defense only gives up 11 more yards per game than Oklahoma. It's been overshadowed, I think, a little bit this year. Yes, and they've had some breakdowns in an opportune time. But I think I'm a little bit more confident in Oklahoma with a healthier tier moving the ball on the ground than I am Alabama.

Yeah, Mike, to answer your question, Alabama's played the same team twice, seven times. Now, two or three of those were in the 1890s, 99 with Florida. They won twice. The Georgia a couple of times. Yeah, it's been rare. And also, they've played 58 times on Fridays, but only 14 since 1971. So it's rare for a Friday game. Miami at Texas A&M. Should be a fun game, Miami, with a good pass rush and Mesidor and Reuben Bain. Malachi Tony can turn the game around at any time. A&M did not play during the course of the season.

Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, or Oklahoma. But I know a lot of teams feel like they're going to win with a home field advantage tonight. Does Mike Huganen agree? It is gigantic. You know, Miami, when they play at home, often play in front of crowds of about 40,000. There's going to be 101 or 102 out for blood tonight. Or out for blood tomorrow, rather. I think the biggest difference in these two teams, Marcel Reed is extremely mobile in the pocket. Carson Beck is a lawn chair in the pocket.

You hit Carson Beck, and he has, throughout his career, proven that he will throw the ball to you if you hit him. So, if I'm Cassius Howell, and if I'm Mike Elko, I'm dialing up extra blitz or two that I haven't shown this year. I'm trying to get Cassius Howell into the backfield. Both these teams pride themselves on being good along both lines. Both lines are really good. Texas A&M had an All-American lineman. Miami had an All-American lineman. I think Reuben Bain's an All-American. Cassius Howell's an All-American.

So, there's a lot of similarities up front with these teams. I think both secondaries can be exploited. If Carson Beck has time, he will throw for a heck of a lot of yards. But I think the determining factor in this game will be Marcel Reed's legs. He is a weapon with the ball in his hands running. Carson Beck is a weapon as long as he gets the ball out of his hands. So, I think the home field and Marcel Reed's mobility let A&M escape with a – I'm thinking between four and seven points.

I think this will be a very close game. I also trust Elko and his staff more than I trust Cristobal and his staff. You know, Texas A&M is coming off a horrible performance. And Texas A&M was known for Clemsoning before Clemson even made it a thing. And I'm sure there's A&M fans who are like, we're Texas A&M, of course we're going to lose. But I think if I'm a Miami player, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking my coach has proven that he can choke with the best of them.

So, I think it's a fan thing versus a player thing. And I think that's another A&M advantage. Mike, you've got a National College football slash basketball analyst. Mike, before we jump off here, who's going to be the new head football coach at Michigan? And what are we going to find out? Situation, obviously. And, you know, not for necessarily good reasons. You still hear a lot of Jet Fish. Oh, he was an assistant here. I'll be honest. I'm not sure you want to bring back anybody associated with Jamar.

Yeah. Yep. Yes, they won a national title with Harbaugh. But, my goodness, it turned out extremely unseemly. Yeah. You know, DeBoer has said, I'm not going. So, I would imagine if Alabama loses tonight, there will be some Tide fans who will pick up Kalen DeBoer at the airport and say, get in. And I'll try to Ann Arbor myself. So, but, no, Michigan, it's still a good job. If Bryce Underwood stays, it's a really good job. But, that's the specter of that situation looming over the playoff.

[1:14:16] But, at least we can focus on on-the-field stuff for the next two days. Yeah. Thank God for that. Mike, I always enjoy the conversation. It's great to have the playoffs finally here, even as many issues as we have with them. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Hope it's a great week. And we'll try to catch up with you before the end of the year. Excellent. Appreciate it. You guys have a nice Christmas as well. Same to your listeners. Thanks. Thank you, Mike. I appreciate that very much.

Mike, you can hook it up with us. National College Football slash Basketball Analyst down in Orlando. Coming up, watch Shaking in the Shoals. Zach Pounder is the latest next. Stay with us. May the spirit of Christmas bring you and your family hope, happiness, and love. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the staff of Parks Mechanical. Hello, Shoals. It's Elmer Pierce from Garner Pierce Autos. Are you tired of being told that it will take two weeks to service your vehicle or even to look at it to tell you what's wrong with it?

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So he can be a little bad. Ooh, horse bobblehead. Classy, Tim. Empower. Invest well. Live a little. Start today at Empower.com. At AT&T, we guarantee our network, so you can talk college football with your BFF while taking Buster to the vet. Hey, yeah, I can't believe he ate the whole thing of chicken wings. And I can't believe we're staging a comeback. Touchdown! Yes! Staying connected matters. That's why in the rare event of a network outage, you'll automatically get a bill credit for a full day service.

For wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers, must be connected to impacted tower at onset of outage. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See ATT.com slash guarantee for full details. Rich Eisen here, and we're brought to you by Sonos. This season, make your home feel alive with Sonos speakers. From cinematic sound that pulls you into every holiday movie, to game day audio that puts you right in the middle of the action, Sonos makes it effortless to fill your home with incredible ambiance.

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I'm Roger Hoover. As we get ready for Alabama against Oklahoma in the college football playoff, here are thoughts from Bama Central's Katie Windham. Some guys that have been dealing with injuries that needed time to just rest and be off their feet for a couple of days that you just can't do in the middle of the grind of an SEC schedule when you're fighting for a playoff spot. You can't really sit out. I think we saw that against Eastern Illinois. Maybe some guys sit out and try and rest that game, but then you're right back in it with Iron Bull.

[1:19:31] You're right back in with SEC title and they can't rest. They've been able to get a little bit of rest, even though Alabama has like the shortest break of any playoff team, just with playing in the conference championship weekend and then playing on Friday. And then I think there also has been a mental reset because it was obviously not the strongest finish to the season. You're coming off probably your worst performance of the season and weren't necessarily playing your best before that. But I think the team has shown us at times this year that they can beat and compete with anyone in the country.

And so I think having that mental and physical reset is going to be good for them. I'll have more in a moment. This is Christian Miller for the Good Feet Store. I know from playing football at Alabama and in the NFL that if you have foot, knee, hip or back pain, it can be a huge challenge. The Good Feet Store is designed to personally fit you with arch supports that alleviate and even eliminate your pain altogether. Try them before you buy them during your free, no obligation, personalized fitting, and you can wear them home the same day.

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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. Put them back in and again, in case you missed it. Let the echo begin. Alabama pregame, 4 o'clock this afternoon, right here on 93.9 The Score with a game. They say it's 7 o'clock, BB. It may be closer to 8 once they get done with all the pregame stuff. Would you agree? I would imagine, Harold, the kickoff will be about 7.20. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, we don't have to wait that long to get the latest to watch shaking in the shows.

That's because Zach Pounder's got it all covered there with the show's sports report. Zach, welcome in. How are you? Good, how are you all? Hey, man. We're doing all right. Great time of the year. Obviously, football's got the playoff thing going on, but as far as high school, it's always a fun time of the year because you get a lot of these holiday tournaments. You see teams that you'll never see again, and some of these tournaments, I'll tell you what, the talent is off the charts.

Zach, before we get into some of that, your thoughts, who's hot and who's not so far as far as the high school basketball scene throughout the shows? First off, I'll piggyback off the football topic. The SEC says it just means more. I think every game in the show, the smartest tonight is playing before 6 o'clock to get the game done before the down game tonight, which is kind of funny, but also true. Good point. Right now, it looks like, on the girls' side, Larder, Coney, Marseille, on a collision course again for Wallace State in the Elite Eight this year, or it could be sub-regional if it's one of them that doesn't win the area.

And then Rodgers has gotten a lot late, had like a 1-5 start, something like that. They're currently 9-5. On the boys' side, Larder County 9-1 off of down here last year, missed the playoffs the first time in like, I think 10 years, maybe, and they're 9-1, Brooks 6-2 after a 1-2 start. Dashler is now 5-2 or something, like 6-3, whatever. But they've played a tough game that's coming out of the ball, and they've got a late start to the football. So right now, it looks like that's the usual tough game.

And Wallace is down this year, and he's losing a lot on the boys' side. And the girls have fought the better tough game as well. Yeah, you actually had a clip of Miles Warren, Brooks, beating Dashler at the buzzer, 57-55. In fact, Miles Warren has been averaging 26 points a game this year. He has just been lighting it up. Brooks now at 6-2. And you mentioned Dashler, and Harold alluded to the holiday tournaments. They're in Gatlinburg for the King of Smokies tournament. I think they've been doing this for two or three consecutive years.

They beat a team in Tennessee called Eagleton, 64-56. Garrett Reed, Mr. All-Everything, just an incredible three-sport athlete. 17, Kendrick Gunn, the running back at Dashler, and then Braylon Warren with 12 each. But talk about Brooks beating Dashler, 57-55. And again, the Tigers in Gatlinburg in the tournament. Yeah, that Brooks-Deshler game looking high. Well, it was going to be a big game in the now and the week it's come as far as the area standings go. And it really put Dashler in a hole now in the area standings at 1-2 for the boys.

And Brooks is now 2-0. Dashler's a game down to Central and Brooks. So, Dashler's almost in at Central. They have to win out in that area schedule to have a chance at the 1-2 seed. But Central, I don't know how Central beat Dashler that night, by like a few points. But Brooks and Dashler, it was a back-and-forth game. I think Dashler was at like 10 at one point. Brooks fought back. This is not the same thing, but it was last year where we had R.J, Miles, Tyler, Ashley, and a few more.

[1:24:53] This is Miles' winning team. And I think they're a year away from where they really can be in this team. But Parker Mertz, with his trustee, Mertz's nephew, can also shoot really well and have a few more high-tech experiments in this team. He had three points. The only three points he had was to tie that game. We're to go ahead in that game Monday before Dashler tied it and before Miles won it. But Brooks is a very young team. Miles will carry them. They'll go as far as Miles can carry them, I think.

Yeah. And if Miles gets hot, good bus, hard to busses. But Monday night, he had 13 to 14 free throws. At one point, he had 12 points, 12 or 12 free throws. I didn't have time. That's what the stat line was. I've watched a ton of sports. I've never seen a stat line like that. I don't think. I've seen NBA players go up to 30 points and 15 free throws, but it's spread out. And it's not your first 12 points for all free throws. In the huddle with Zach Pounder, show sports reports. You've got to love these matchups.

What about Will White out at Lexington? He beats Wilson at the buzzer 65-63 in triple overtime, Zach. Aiden Chambers actually won that game for him at the end. Will had a shot at the end of the video regulation for the second or first overtime. Boy, Will White is one of the more underrated players in the show, I think. He won't have the stat lines of like 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists. He can have a stat line of 10 and 10, 15 and 10. And then Zane Kilburn, freshman at Lexington, and also the quarterback for football, can be one of the best athletes in that field history ever.

He's been in the right few years. He already can put up 15 and 9, up to 20 and 9. But Lexington is one of those underrated teams. They're not going to be flashy. They're not going to beat you for threes. They're going to beat you just playing basketball. They're not going to win a ton of games because of their depth and their size. Like last night, the Cater Heritage. The Cater Heritage is one of the longest teams I've seen all season as far as when it goes inside and all that.

So Lexington can beat you just about playing basketball, going position for possession, and scoring. Hunter Killen, the head coach over there, is one of the best in the area as far as getting the best out of those guys and getting those guys fired up very good play. Yeah, that's one of the first things I noticed with Lexington, with Zane Kilburn, who is a very good quarterback. Again, so many of the athletes in the shelves play multiple sports. You mentioned Lauderdale County off to a 9-1 record.

They recently beat Calvert County 69-51. They're ranked number six in Class 6A. Asa Butler scored 14, Calvin Watkins 11, and some of the other guys. As you mentioned, Lauderdale County off to a tremendous start. And that's the key to Lauderdale thing is, is the fact that it doesn't have to be one guy every night. It can be two guys, maybe 10 or 12 each. I can't do how many times I've just looked at a game and saw 10, 10, 12, 12, 11 on the box last year where Charlotte didn't have 35-89 or 20-89, but if you didn't have 20, no problem because you could get 10, 10, 10 from three or four more and get to 50 that way.

But yeah, Lauderdale County, it's going to be Calvin Watkins and David Cedars leading there, I think, and then Eason Hamill, Asa Butler as well as, you know, in a shooting role. But Florida, it's going to be Calvin Watkins, a football player also over there, and Jaden Cedars also carrying them. And they're one of those also, it's not going to be flashy, but they're going to press you to death on the boys' side of the girls. Coach Owens is one of the best in the area as far as tenure goes, and as far as success goes, pro-long success, they're always there in February, they're always in the sub-regionals.

Wallace, having a chance to go Birmingham, and if the Braggots ball is dry, they'll have a really good chance, I think. If they can win that area, or even if they're going to stick it in that area, I like their chance to get into Wallace this year, because the sub-regional pairings this year for 2A and 3A are local. So the Lexington, Southern Christian areas pair up, and the Mar-Till, Arden County areas pair up. So if it's all dry, I'll have to be back to Wallace this year.

Here's the deal, Zach. You bring up a good point. You look at these basketball teams, sometimes the records can be misleading relative to schedule. It's all about getting the postseason. Your thoughts, it's all about the strategy. Your thoughts about the Florence High Falcons so far? With Florence, with the boys, I look at their roster up tonight. I think they're tall to win a 6-3. That's going to be one of those, I think it's going to be a matter of size. Because in 7-8, it's hard to win with a guy that's 6-3 and played in the 5.

Yeah. If you can shoot the lights out, that don't matter. However, I think if Florence is one of those, if they can tread water in a tournament and get to playing their best ball at the right time, I think they have a chance. With the girls, Jordan Riggs is a defensive warrior. Basically, she's had a few games already, like 5 steals, 10 rebounds, or 10 and 5 or whatever, as far as rebounds and steals go. And if you come to give you 10 or 12 points, training them across you on the girls' side can give you 10 or 12 points and 10 rebounds.

[1:30:28] And so for the girls and boys, I think it's going to be something they'll play their best ball at the right time. And their record should be the season when it comes down to the end of the season. Yeah, you're exactly right. A lot of the football players just now in the last week or two. Let's finish up with the girls. Boy, this is a real surprise. Number three, Dastler beating Seymour, Tennessee. And Rich Davis scores 26 points. Dastler ladies now 9-2. Rich Davis is, believe me, is worth the price of admission.

So is Belle Hill. She had 28 points. Mars Hill, number two in Class 3A. They beat Phil Campbell. And then the Lauderdale County girls, 7-2 after beating Convert County. Madison Mobley led the Lauderdale County, I believe they're 7-2. Again, Zach, as the sun comes up in the morning, you can count on Dastler. Morris here, Lauderdale County. Girls to be very good. Yeah, with Dastler though, I think the scariest part with Dastler is, he is not Rich Davis. The scariest one for Dastler is Casey and Chloe Nelson, the twins, number 10-12.

I couldn't tell you which one was Rich right now, but I think Casey is number 10 and Chloe is number 12. I think they're sophomores or juniors. Casey can go out there and get 20 points a night, just like Reece can. And then Chloe can give you 8 or 10 points and 8 or 10 rebounds a night, too. So Reece is really playing in the best situation in the shows, I think, for the girls to get to things to, where she doesn't have to do it all every night. And you can have that kind of lineup to not have to do it all every night.

It's a great match to have. With Mars Hill and Bell Hill, I think you can talk for her, talk about her for three hours, on how athletic she is, and how overpowered she is with everybody. I think somebody had texted you tonight during the Phil County and Mars Hill game and said, Mars slash Bell Hill, 14, Phil County, nothing in the first quarter. She had the first 14 points and went up to 28 points. Could have had 40 if you wanted it. But those two, in Larder County even, they are down on paper this year.

They don't have the flashy score. They have Ramon Thomas, who's an offensive test, who can go get steals, rebounds every night. And then they can get 10 points out of a few girls every night to get to 30 or 40 points. And they're going to press you. Everyone knows it. While we can, we'll press you to death, if they need to. And they will from the jump. And Larder played basketball a few weeks ago. And Larder trail most of the game came back up one. But it was because of the press and our mighty comments getting steals and forcing turnovers on the defensive side.

Absolutely. And also, congratulations to Wilson. They're 10-1. They beat Lakestown 58-31, ranked number eight in Class 4A. Zach, always great. Wanted to catch up before Christmas as far as give our local listeners a little bit of an idea about some of the teams who have gotten out of the block well. And, again, some of these guys are going to continue to make it up with football, and particularly some of the football players coming back. You've got clips. You've got scores. You've got trends. Where can we get online and get all the great stuff?

Facebook is so much for the sports report. Twitter, at lowercase, S-H-O-A-L-S-P-O-R-T-S. And also, this year with basketball, we're adding live standings for area midweek. So, this book increases more as the season gets deeper. But every Wednesday, we have updated area standings from Monday to Tuesday. And every Sunday, we have a post on our Facebook, as well as our website, showofsportsreport.com, same as our Twitter and Facebook name. But a lot of area standings, and we are also in there for Christmas. We are just getting ramped up, basically.

It's a much more time of the year, not for Christmas, but for basketball. Certainly, but it should be a fun season. A lot of hard work. Congratulations, Oni. Keep up the good work, and thank you so much for your time today, Zach. Thank you. Thank you, Bud. Zach Founders, it's called the show's sports reports. He's called Brent Beard to tell us the next day with us. Hey, this is Russell from Medford Jewelers, reminding everyone as we celebrate our 80th Christmas in downtown Florence that we have you covered.

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[1:36:01] Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from your friends at Medford Jewelers in downtown Florence since 1945. The gift of love. The gift of peace. The gift of happiness. May all these be yours at Christmas. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Jerry Crowell, Liberty National Globe Life Insurance. Hey, even now, it's auction time again, and it's the John Wayne Terry Farm and Equipment Auction just outside of Moulton, Alabama. Phillips Brothers Auctions invites you to join us for this live on-site auction, Saturday, December the 20th at 9 a.m.

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Hey, fans. Welcome back to Fansville's Cheers and Tears. Okay, so like everybody deals with losing, right, to a rival on a last-second field goal. Whatever, it's fine. I'm totally fine. But I cope with losing with an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. Those 23 flavors are, like, so delicious. They totally wash away the pain of your college football team taking a big fat L. College football, it's a pepper thing. This holiday season, let Navy Federal Credit Union make moments feel extra special. With the Cash Rewards and Cash Rewards Plus cards, you can earn a $250 cash bonus when you spend $2,500 in the first 90 days.

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Walk in or call 256-383-7007. Avalon Urgent Care. Avalon Urgent Care. The care you trust, the hours you need. Aggressive presents the sports flash on 93-9, the score. Mids basketball action tomorrow. The Auburn Tigers are back in action as they play Purdue in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. 21st-ranked Auburn is 8-3. Number six, Purdue is 10-1 as the two teams enter the Indy Classic. In the Sun Belt tomorrow, Troy is at home. They'll take on Marshall. Both teams are opening up Sun Belt play. Marshall's 7-4. Troy is 7-5.

South Alabama is on the road to Texas State. Jaguars 9-3 on the year. 1-0 in the Sun Belt, while Texas State is 0-1 in Sun Belt play. 7-6 on the season. Alabama back in action. They'll take on Kennesaw State in the Rocket City Classic. Both teams are 8-3. Bundle auto and home, renters or condo. And save with Progressive. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash, presented by Progressive on 93.9 The Score. One of Macy's most wonderful holiday perks is happening right now. Macy's Money. It's only once a year, and it's a chance for everyone to earn rewards.

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[1:41:08] Carly Simon was saying, song, nobody does it better than you. The stage is all yours, my friend. Yeah, I was delighted to bring in Brother Brent. Brent Beard, college football analyst for First Coach News. He's a husband trophy voter. In fact, he disclosed last night on Second Helping. Yeah. He voted for Fernando Mendoza for the husband trophy. And as I mentioned, co-host of Second Helping podcast on the SEC with good friend Travis Reiger. Brent, welcome into the show, my friend. I'll have a heck of an intro there.

Let's just jump right into the deep end here and talk about the game tonight. Everybody's talked about it. They've got all these injuries, Alabama's offense, Oklahoma's offense, Alabama's defense, Oklahoma's defense. Brent, where do you start in talking chalk about Bama and Oklahoma Part 2 this season? Well, it's so odd with the game being on a Friday night, and Bama has had some success with Friday night games, i.e. the Southern Cow game in 1971 when they won. People forget that game was actually on a Friday night. Brent and I were about 12 and 13 years old at that point.

And I remember going to bed and finding out Bama had won the next day. It was just amazed, frankly, but that began a long run. I hope that they can get a little bit of that going tonight. I think the interesting thing about this game is, well, there's a bunch of them, frankly, but, number one, having these guys healthy. To me, Jim Miller being back is not even so much his running ability. It's the fact that he can pick up the blitz better than the other running backs can.

Having Josh Quavis back tied in is just, and again, he may be on a pitch count. We don't know. But he would just be invaluable. I mean, Quavis could catch four or five passes for 50 yards and make a huge difference in the game. Ryan Williams, if he decided to show up for this game, that would really be tremendous. And this is the kind of game that he really kind of steps up for also. Guys, I'm going to throw this out, and it's a little bit controversial, but I think it's something they might need to look at.

If Ty struggles at quarterback, I'm not saying for the rest of the game, but sometimes it may not hurt for them to take him out and put one of the backups in for a series, Austin Mack or Keelan Russell, who I think is going to be a superstar, probably sooner than later, and let the game slow down. Thankfully for Alabama, they're playing a team that doesn't score on every other play. And they'll be in the game. But this is going to be fascinating in a lot of ways.

And I can tell you right now, this is a humongous game, guys, for Alabama. If they're able to win this game, even if they lose to Indiana when that game comes up, it would be incredible momentum for Bama going into the offseason. And I agree with you on many points, even back to the quarterback spot. First of all, you know that Oklahoma has to spend some time preparing for that scenario because the program, anyway, has a history of that. Go back to Nick Saban against Georgia.

That workout. We'll see how that pans out. But I agree with you, Brent, on the significance of this game. It doesn't matter what happens as far as going forward to the national championship. But for one thing, hopefully it would quieten the crickets as far as the bore. I mean, because you've got a lot of folks out there saying, just wait, just wait. Alabama loses here. The fans are going to come out of the woodwork. They're going to drive him crazy. Michigan is going to cash in on that.

They're going to lay down some serious cabbage. We've got more money, less flack. Come on up and take over this job. So many points there. And I will say to that, obviously, you're going to be disappointed. But be careful what you wish for. In that scenario, who would come in at this part of the cycle, the coaches, that would not break the bank? Your thoughts just about, if you could elaborate on the significance of this game, aside from just a win. Well, as far as the coaching situation is concerned, look, the bore is going to need a minimum of four or five years in Alabama.

You may not get that. But when you make the transition from what possibly may be the greatest coach in the history of the game, and Nick Saban, you've got to have some time in order for your system to be able to get figured out. Look, I mean, the guys won nine and ten games in consecutive years. How many people have done that? And we know they're arch rivals. Absolutely. And, look, that is not an insignificant situation. When you beat Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, and Auburn in the same year, I mean, that, frankly, is amazing.

[1:46:41] But, yet, there is work to be done. They've got to find a way to run the ball. I mean, their inability to run the ball, frankly, is just mystifying in a lot of ways. A lot of it is because the offensive line is not what it needs to be. We'll be closer next year than you've got right now. But, look, even if I'm a losing night, trying to get rid of DeBoer is not going to answer the problem. It can only compound some things. That's right.

Now, he's got to get rid of some coaches on this staff. There's no question about that because the staff needs an upgrade. But if they hang on to DeBoer, at some point, this thing, I think the training wheels are coming off as far as the fans are concerned. And they will see they've made a really good choice. Let me ask you about Texas A&M and Miami. Let me mention this again. I mentioned it twice this week. When fans turn in tomorrow to watch Miami and Texas A&M, they're going to ABC or ESPN.

Well, it's not going to be there. It's on TNT. You know, this is like watching the college basketball NCAA tournament. TNT, True TV, TBS. Well, this is TNT. And the Ole Miss game is on TNT. The Oregon game set tomorrow night. It's on when on ABC. We've talked about the quarterbacks, Reed and Carson Beck. Mike Hugin has said Beck is a lawn chair in the pocket. A&M has played a weaker SEC schedule. But I think the home field and a dual threat quarterback, Miami's very talented.

And Mario lays an egg. Will A&M, with Reed in the home crowd, beat Miami? Yeah, I do think they will. Now, this is obviously the best Miami team we've seen down here in quite a while. I mean, they're still five hours away from us here in Jacksonville, but we certainly keep up with them. And, look, I think one of the things Mike said was exactly right. This Miami passing attack can be a real strength for them, but it can be a real problem. Also, as far as the interceptions that they have thrown, really, this game is going to be won in the line of scrimmage.

If A&M can block the Miami ends, that's going to make a huge difference for them in this game. And that's Reuben Bain and Akeem Messador. Reuben Bain was hurt last year, got hurt in the Florida game with that, too. But, yeah, this is a – this could be a really great game. It's a shame this is not the night game tomorrow night. That would really draw, I think, more people to this game. But, look, I'm just telling you guys, same thing happened at Georgia, same thing happened at Miami.

Bain's a good quarterback, but Bain can throw a pick at the absolute worst time. And you don't know when he's got that in them. And Miami's – look, Miami's the same way. Miami can just absolutely blow a game. And they have blown a couple of games a year for the last several years just inexplicably and that that would certainly be an A&M's bandage. So, Brent, before you jump off, what's going to be the final score tonight when everybody leaves the house at Norman? I'll tell you, I've struggled with this greatly, to be honest with you.

I mean, and I think it's going to be something like 17-14. I think if they can – if Bama can keep tying up right, then they will be able to win the game. But I'll tell you this, Bama does not need to get behind and have to chase points a whole night. That's how they won the Auburn game, frankly, is they got ahead and quieted the crowd and went on from there. But it's a crucial game for the time, but they – and I know he's going to make some changes, but they need to keep DeBoer and be happy with the progress that he's made.

Absolutely. Always enjoy the conversation. It should be a fun weekend. Where can we get online to get your stuff? Yeah, at Brent Beard on Twitter is probably the easiest way. You guys have mentioned the podcast we do with Travis Reier, which is a lot of fun to be able to do that. Also, in First Coast News here in Jacksonville, guys. But so another tremendous weekend, and that's a great thing about a playoff is we're going to have several of these before it's over. Brent, I'll make sure your brother takes care of you for Christmas next week, okay?

[1:51:47] Good, good. But I appreciate that very much, yes. The other half of the boys, the Brent Beard boys, that's Brent Beard down in Jacksonville. Baby, ask Brent Beard. Let me ask Brent Beard what's going to happen tonight. Yeah, I think the extra week is going to help Alabama tremendously. You can basically give five reasons why Alabama can win or lose this game. Turnovers, they've got to match Oklahoma in the kicking game. Alabama's won on the road all year. When you can win in Athens, you can win in Norman.

Alabama 21, Oklahoma 22. If it's an A game, it's Alabama. You're right. You can't have a Red Cross giving charity and special teams. It's got to be special. In that case, 21-19 Alabama with the heart attack special. And again, catch that game pregame straight ahead about 4 o'clock this afternoon here on 93.9 The Score with the game itself kicking off at 9 o'clock again right here on 93.9 The Score. Enjoy. It's going to take care of us for now. On behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here. Harold LeBlanc, thank you so much for your time today.

Let's do it again Monday, noon to two for the Bumbo Buck Show back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. We'll be right back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. We'll be right back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. We'll be right back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. We'll be right back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. We'll be right back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. We'll be right back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score.