Boomo Bugg Show 111725
93.9 The Score WYTK - November 17, 2025
https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-111725/

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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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 here 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 the Crimson Tide rolls in the wrong direction and the pride of Florence picks up the big prize on the PGA Tour. Good afternoon. Welcome in and how are you?
Happy Monday to you and the listeners. Alabama gets tripped up by Oklahoma with a tremendous defensive effort, even though Alabama dominated the game.
But the Tides still have a clear path to the SEC championship game and the CFE playoffs if they can beat Auburn.
BenThomasOfAL.com recaps round two of the high school playoffs and previews the quarterfinals, including three teams from the Shoals.
Most of the Shoals, Mars Hill, and Deshler.
Adam is here right now to review his SEC hour rankings.
Adam is the man. He is all over it when it comes to talking sports and everything else.
Adam Spencer, he's busy there at Saturday down south.
Adam, welcome in.
We had this script written on Friday because everybody told us what was the right script.
And boy, have we done some editing since Friday.
Welcome in. How was your weekend?
Hey, guys. How are you?
It's a great weekend for me. A busy one. Lots of hoops. Lots of football. So, it's a great time of year.
It is, Adam.
Obviously, you know where we need to start.
Everybody had Alabama pretty much already in the W column over the weekend.
But then what Brent Venable's defense does, Gus Malzahn does to offense when it comes to Alabama.
You know, and we say that, Adam, but you look at the stats, and Alabama's offense piled up the yards against that Oklahoma defense.
But that's not the whole story.
Adam, where do you start in breaking down what many consider to be a big shock over the weekend, Oklahoma taking down Alabama?
Yeah, I mean, when you say sometimes, you know, there's the old saying, you know, we beat ourselves.
You know, sometimes that's disrespectful to the opponent.
And, yes, like, Oklahoma took care of business, but this Alabama team beat itself on Saturday.
You know, there's just too many mistakes in key spots.
Because you're right, the offense played well enough to win.
It's just, you know, fifth straight game with a fumble for Ty Simpson.
You know, some drops, some missed opportunities.
You know, this was a classic case of just a team beating itself and committing too many critical errors.
And, you know, if even just one of them didn't happen, you know, it was only a two-point game because the defense played really well.
And, you know, you can't fault the defense for being put in bad situations over and over and over again.
So I just thought that this was, you know, something, you know, there's only so often that you can flirt with disaster
before disaster starts to flirt back a little bit.
And there's another element called the special teams, the not-so-special teams in that game.
Not only was it a bad kick from John Talti there near the end of the first half, which would have proven to be the winning difference,
but a bad look for him in how he responded to it.
Your thoughts about a problem that anybody who's followed Alabama knows holds your breath when Talti takes the field for a kick?
Yeah, Connor Talti, I think John probably would, you know, say he wasn't anywhere near that kick.
So, yeah, I thought Connor, you know, that was a poor way to handle it.
You know, you don't want to publicly, like, call out your teammates like that.
You know, but, yeah, it was not the best snap.
The punter did a great job of getting it down, though, and, you know, if you're that flustered by one tiny thing going wrong
in the mechanisms of a kick, then, you know, maybe kicking isn't for you.
I mean, I just thought that that was a really bad look by Talti there, and, you know,
I'm glad that Kalen DeBoer kind of hinted at that after the game, you know, saying that, yeah,
it was a bad snap, but we can still make that kick, and he's absolutely right.
Adam, Kalen DeBoer's killed Brent Venables employed at Oklahoma now for two consecutive seasons.
The bi-week help, the Oklahoma defense, for the most part, played well in key spots,
even with Mason Thomas out.
Brent Venables is still questionable as how good of a CEO he is with the team,
but as far as a defensive coordinator, he may be the best in the SEC.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, taking over play calling was absolutely the right thing.
You know, sometimes it goes the other way, you know, with Eli Drinkwitz at Mizzou,
it was, you know, giving up play calling that really helped turn things around.
Well, taking it back for Venables really helped turn this thing around.
Yeah, he's one of the best defensive minds in the game.
You give him an extra week to prepare, he's going to, you know,
put his team in positions to do things that you haven't really seen before.
So, yeah, I mean, I think that that guy is always going to have a paycheck
in the football world with at least being a defensive coordinator,
but for now he's, you know, locking himself in as a fixture in Norman too,
especially if they can take care of business against Mizzou and LSU these next two weeks
and get to the playoffs.
Speaking of that, Adam, your thoughts about Alabama's path now.
Obviously, they used up their big mulligan over the weekend.
They were pretty much assured if they won that,
they had stamped their ticket to the SEC championship game.
But now, obviously, they are number 10 in the traditional polls.
We'll have to wait and see about the only poll that matters coming out tomorrow night.
But assuming they're at number 10, then they have got very little wiggle rooms.
Let's just say, hypothetically, they obviously get through this weekend with Eastern Illinois,
and then let's say they get through Auburn, they go to the SEC championship game,
and they lose that.
That means Alabama for the second straight year will have lost at least three games.
And your thoughts, regardless of that tough schedule, what's realistic as far as the playoff for Bama?
Yeah, I think if they take care of business in these last two games,
I mean, you know, the Auburn game is never a guinea, especially in dirt and air.
But if they do take care of business in those games and win like they're capable of winning,
I think they're in.
Regardless of if they go to the SEC championship game,
then they're going to be playing a top five opponent.
You know, Ole Miss, Georgia, or Texas A&M.
If they make it to Atlanta, one of those teams is going to be waiting.
If any of those teams slip, then they're not going to go to Atlanta.
But, you know, you're going to be playing a top five team there,
and I just don't think that the committee would hammer the tide for that loss.
So I think it comes down to the Auburn game.
Win that game, and you're in and lose,
and you're going to be sitting at home for a second year at nine and three in the regular season
and, you know, people questioning DeBoer all over again.
So, yeah, you're right that they used up that mulligan,
and, you know, we'll see what happens moving forward.
Adam, Texas A&M was on their way in the first half to having the best season.
They've had since 1939, and then they looked like anything but,
trailing amazingly 30-3 to South Carolina, who can play when they want to.
And then it was a teller to ask, Texas A&M couldn't do anything right in the first half.
They couldn't do anything wrong in the second half.
Came back and hold on to beat South Carolina 31-30,
which now if they can beat Texas Thanksgiving weekend,
they will be in the SEC championship game for the first time ever.
Adam, they looked absolutely horrendous in the first half.
They looked absolutely incredible in the second.
Yeah, I think that, you know,
it sort of looked like the pressure was getting to them a little bit there in the first half.
But, you know, I kind of need, you know, on these Mondays here when, you know,
work's kind of a slog.
I just kind of want to see what Mike Elko said at halftime
because clearly it fired up his guys.
Maybe it could work for me when I'm, you know, tied to my stories too.
So, you know, that must have been a heck of a halftime speech.
They made the adjustments and, you know, really came out and looked like a championship caliber team
in that second half.
And I do think that that is the Texas A&M that we will see more often this year.
I just think that, you know, that first half was a little bit fluky
with some of the things that went wrong.
Adam's just safe to say, Kirby's got his boys peaking at the right time.
Georgia's in on all eight cylinders.
Your thoughts about Georgia and if you think things are hot elsewhere,
how hot are the britches getting to be for Steve Sarkeesian in Austin?
Yeah, I think that you're right.
Georgia is certainly the team that, you know, nobody wants to play anymore.
And, you know, I think they've figured some stuff out on defense.
They're, you know, they're in a good position.
You know, they're in the clubhouse with a 7-1 record here in the SEC
because they play, you know, a lesser opponent next week
and then they, you know, finish the year with Georgia Tech.
So, you know, they're in a good spot with where you want to be
with, you know, just watching and hoping somebody else flips up.
You know, if Texas A&M loses to Texas, which I don't see happening,
you know, now they have, you know, they're just waiting on Alabama
and Ole Miss to kind of figure out what they're going to be down the stretch.
So that's not a bad position to be in.
And I think that they'll continue to look really good
as we approach the SEC championship game.
And, yeah, on the flip side, you know, there was all those rumors
about, you know, Sarkisian maybe being interested in the NFL.
I think we might hear those start to fire up a little bit here.
And, you know, if they lose to Texas A&M to close out the regular season,
that's when things could get really interesting since that game's in Austin.
Adam, three weeks ago, the biggest conversation in Lexington was who was going
to be replacing Mark Stoops since the Cats were two and five.
Three weeks later, after Kentucky beat an undefeated Tennessee Tech team,
42 to 10, their one win over Vandy or a fading Louisville
from getting to becoming bowl eligibility.
And Stoops probably staying for another year.
I know he's got a big buyout, but what a turnaround in Lexington with Stoops.
Kentucky now, Cutter Bowley playing very well.
Their defense has improved drastically.
What a turnaround for Kentucky.
Yeah, I think that, yeah, we were, you know, talking last week about how that Tennessee Tech game was no gimme.
Well, they made it look like a gimme because that was a dominant performance,
and so they deserve a lot of credit for that.
You know, I just think that, you know, at this point, he's calmed the hot seat talks,
and I think he'll be back next year.
I think he's, you know, probably quieted some of the louder fans that, you know,
have been calling for him to get bought out.
And now, you know, it's going to come down to next year.
If they, you know, struggle and they can't get the offense going until the second half of the season,
and, you know, they're just kind of fighting for a bowl berth
instead of, you know, fighting for, you know, a few more wins in the SEC,
I think, you know, the buyout's going to be lower, and, you know, we'll see what happens next year.
But he's going to be on the hot seat next year.
He's got to, you know, have a better year.
But credit to his team for not, you know, completely giving up on this season
and looking good in this three-game winning streak.
Speaking of this season, Adam, your thoughts about Tennessee and the way they closed.
They are at Florida this weekend, where they haven't won since Noah got off the boat,
and then they closed with Vanderbilt.
Your thoughts about Tennessee's final two games starting this weekend
at a place where wins are about as scarce as chicken teeth.
Yeah, I mean, you know, Florida's already, you know, they're a tough team.
You know, they battled Ole Miss hard on the road.
They, you know, pulled off an upset earlier this year at home.
So, you know, I think that that's going to be a tough game.
But if you're Tennessee, you know, you still have a lot to play for.
Like, there is going to be a year when a three-loss team during the regular season,
a nine-and-three team in the regular season gets into the college football playoff.
And, you know, it could be this year if, you know, some of the favorites hold serve,
like Oregon beats USC this weekend, if, you know, Vanderbilt loses to Kentucky or something.
You know, there's some avenues where Tennessee, with wins to close out the year at Florida
and against Vanderbilt, could potentially be there as the top-rated three-loss SEC team
and have a puncher's chance of getting into the playoff.
So, you know, it looked dire when they lost their third game to Oklahoma,
but they still have a lot to play for there on Rocky Top.
Yeah, I think that three-loss team either gets in this year or certainly next year
when the SEC adds a ninth conference game.
The Missouri Tigers figured out something.
Adam, all you need to do is turn around and hand the ball to Ahmaud Hardy and get out of his way
and let him run for over 300 yards.
They finally figured that out again after about a month as they beat Mississippi State 49-27.
If Pribola comes back, which some reports indicate there is a chance that he could return against Oklahoma Norman,
that should be an interesting game.
Yeah, I agree.
I mean, he was out there doing some warm-ups before the game this weekend,
and obviously it didn't end up playing.
But, yeah, like you said, if he's healthy enough to turn around and hand the ball to Ahmaud Hardy,
then, you know, why not?
Because, I mean, it's just bizarre that that kind of game plan kind of went away there for a month.
Like you said, just give him the ball, get out of his way.
The offensive line, you know, has a bunch of road graders on it in the front.
So, you know, just, yeah, I was really impressed by him.
And, you know, hopefully he continues to run his way to the SEC rushing title here.
Well, Adam, we're always impressed with your SEC power rankings.
I know there are a lot of stuff going on pre- and post-game as far as looking ahead to this weekend.
Adam, where can we get your great stuff in the teams?
Yeah, log on to SaturdayDownSouth.com.
We've got you covered with some football power rankings.
We've got plenty of basketball stuff coming up here as we prepare for Feast Week.
So, yeah, all over the place.
Sounds great, Adam.
Listen, man, thanks so much.
Have a great week, okay?
Yeah, sounds good, guys.
Talk to you next week.
Thank you, bud.
Adam Spencer, SaturdayDownSouth.
Quickly, BB, we alluded to it.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
It'd be hard for us to find someone who knows what it's like
to be behind the microphone of a big-time sports talk show
and on the sidelines as assistant coach at Troy State,
Florida State, and Ole Miss.
Max Howell, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing great.
Good.
Kind of a late fall temperature over here today.
Not really cold.
Sunshine, no rain.
So, I hope good practice sessions are going on around the SEC
to try to help us solve some of these problems we're going to face.
Max, you think maybe the practice in Alabama country
is to hold on to the ball.
Where do you start breaking down a game like that?
First of all, the field goal kicker needs to get his out of the ball first.
I don't mean more than anything else, a kicking game.
And, you know, all of us, though, Harold, from time to time, you know,
our expectations are created.
And bottom line, Lane Kiffin said it best.
He said, you know, we play sloppy sometimes as long as we win.
And that's, I think that's the bottom line.
We all get caught up in the game itself, don't get me wrong.
But the fact is, the ones that win, we've got three right now,
quarter, quarter, five for the playoff.
We've got probably three more that could get in.
If Vanderbilt eases out, it stays where they are.
I think the conference will get six teams in the playoffs.
Well, half, in other words, half.
The what now?
You would get half the, the playoffs would be made up of half of the SEC.
Oh, yeah.
No doubt.
It would be.
You're absolutely right.
Now, the SEC people would be happy for me.
Some other conference will be standing on their head, though.
And that's what bothers me about the select, not just this selection committee,
in any selection committee, because the history's already proven.
They're going to take a couple of teams from some smaller conferences
that, you know, go get wiped out in the first ball game.
That, to me, that does not tell me we're getting the 12 best teams in the country
in the playoffs.
And I thought that was what the whole situation was decided to do.
Max, if Alabama only has two turnovers, they win that game.
When you look at the stance of 4-0-6 to 2-12, Alabama only had two penalties
for 25 yards, you would think, my Lord, Alabama won this game by 17.
But the turnovers were killers in this game.
And as you alluded to, the missed field goal.
And, Max, again, I'll give credit where credit is due.
I wonder about Brent Venables as the CEO, but as far as having a bye week
and some time to prepare for an Alabama offense, and you say, well,
they got 406 yards, but they did slow down Alabama,
and particularly in the red zone, Ty Simpson rushed some passes
and some open receivers.
But I give Brent Venables a lot of credit.
His team did not have their best player, played extremely well.
They had a good game plan.
Brent Venables is a good defensive coordinator.
Yeah, I don't disagree with that at all.
But I'm just telling you, I think if we could see it and look it back
and see what Simpson's doing up to now.
Last week wasn't a great game, but it was adequate.
But this week, he's missing way more than, as a viewer,
that we kind of expected that he overthrew some of the passes
that wide receiver dual may have caught.
And the Williams kid have dropped a couple.
I've not seen that in him.
And I don't know whether that's giving the defense full credit for that.
The coverage is going to be questionable.
We know that.
What they call it, you know, pass interference or not on almost every snap.
But at the level of those kids' athletic ability, I'd hate to be a defensive back
called a secondary on a team that really all eyes are old there
because the deep ball is going to be thrown, what, eight or ten times a ball game at least.
You've got to run with them for 30, 40 yards.
And those guys I know at practice have been taught, you know,
we'll take a chance on a holding call if, you know, people can beat you deep.
Because if they catch the ball two steps ahead of you, it's all over.
But they know that.
So I think, I really, I hate to say this week after week,
but we still see more of an evolution in the game itself now.
We know all the outside stuff with the buddy and the NIL and the portal.
We understand all of that, basically.
But we see a change there, particularly this part of the country,
with the passing game by everybody.
I mean, there's not a team out there that's not winning over the passing game.
Go back to Texas A&M.
Look what they did over the weekend.
That's just where we are in college football.
There ain't no givens right now.
Let me ask you this, Max.
We just found out moments ago, thanks to mega producer James,
the Iron Bowl is now at 6.30.
All the eggs are in the basket for Alabama to keep their playoff hopes alive.
They've got to win that game.
What's on the mind of Auburn?
What's going to be the atmosphere?
Is under the lights, on the plans, Max, go.
Well, Alabama knows what it's all about as well.
I'm betting on Alabama because of the confusion that's continually going on at Auburn.
You know, they've got a defensive coordinator up at this observation.
The defensive coordinator that wins the game on offense last week.
So, I mean, think about that.
Where's all his history's been?
Where's his emphasis been?
Where basically all the people that evaluate programs have said Auburn's defense was as good
as most of them in the country.
And yet, look at that.
They had to score, what, 38 against Kentucky to win it, but they did.
Now, how did they translate all that into this, you know, into the next, not just, this could
be week after, but the Alabama-Auburn game.
Alabama cannot, you know, they've got to go to Auburn, they've got to kick a field goal,
they can't turn it over.
If the guys, you know, if the defensive back is really a yard of the wide receiver,
the quarterback turns it and runs.
I think that's the way they're going to be.
They really need to put in some draw plays or short screens and all to slow the rush down
from Auburn's defense.
They've got to win the ball game if you're going to, I mean, they've got to, you know,
if they lose the ball game, they're out of the playoffs.
I think that's the whole overall picture that they've got to preach that for the next two weeks.
Max, Texas draws within 14-10 to Georgia, and then Kirby turns into Lane Kiffin going for
an onside kick, had a couple of fourth down calls.
Glenn Schumann, the defensive coordinator, comes up with some pressure packages they haven't done
all year.
Then they hold Texas to a grand total of 23 yards rushing.
Now, Arch Manning had some moments, but Georgia pulls away, and if Texas beat Texas A&M,
it'll be a rematch if Alabama beats Auburn in Atlanta between Alabama and Georgia.
Well, wasn't that really under the line when we first started back 15 weeks ago?
That was who everybody thought would probably end up being there.
And really, in all fairness, that probably could work out very well for what's going on this year.
I mean, you look at it right now, Alabama's got a win to get to the playoff.
Oklahoma's got a win to get to the playoff.
If we had to pick them today, Texas would be out completely.
So, I mean, it's hard to draw what if.
You know, what if they do this?
I mean, because who ever thought that South Carolina couldn't have won that football game Saturday night?
I mean, come on.
They were 30 points up.
They didn't get up getting beat there to win 30.
I mean, that's almost impossible in today's football.
Unless you're in South Carolina.
Yeah, I'm just saying, you know, I certainly enjoy watching every week, but I coach long enough to try to project the way a team's playing as to what I think the outcome may be.
Well, that's about to drive me crazy.
I mean, I'm just sitting here by myself, charting the ball game.
But I still get emotionally involved in the thing.
So, you know, I'm not here as a procrastinator or whatever.
I'm just sitting here to say that we got some really good football left in this conference play before the choosing of who's going to make the tournament.
Max, you're exactly right.
Again, people look at there's only two games left.
Well, there's a lot going on.
And I'm like you.
Texas A&M outgamed them 371-76 and outscored them 28-0 in the second half.
That was just unbelievable.
If South Carolina makes two plays in the second half, they probably win that game.
It's just absolutely amazing.
Well, so is Max Howell and his breakdown and insight into SEC games.
Max, I know Alabama and Auburn, some of the other teams have gotten on conference games, but still a lot of stuff going on, buddy.
Have a great week.
Have a great day.
Look forward to doing this with you again next Monday.
Always proud to be with you guys.
Thank you so much.
Maybe some of these coaching jobs will start to come in line.
That's the biggest talk in Mississippi right now, as you could guess.
I bet.
We'll give Jimmy a second to call and see when that might be, right?
Yeah, please do.
Please do.
But Lee told him we don't worry about the buddy.
Jimmy said, I worry about the buddy.
Yeah, exactly.
Remember that.
Must be nice.
Where do I pick up my millions next year?
Hey, Max, listen, have a great week and thanks so much for your time today.
Thank you, guys, too.
See you next week.
Bye-bye.
Max Howell hooking up with us.
I don't think Lane's any pain when it comes to money game, BB.
No.
Coming up, what a weekend.
No football, but what a shootout on the hardwoods.
Brian Matthews on Auburn and more straight ahead.
Stay with us.
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The score.
Zane Gonzalez hit a 45-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game at 27.
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The Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons yesterday 30-27.
B. John Robinson ran for 104 and two touchdowns in the loss for the Falcons.
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The score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93-9 The Score.
Welcome back to NU with the football team off.
Brian Matthews would have had an easy weekend, but not so fast, my friends, I would assume.
Brian is busy there as a senior editor for AuburnSports.com.
Brian, welcome in.
How are you?
I'm doing great, guys.
Thanks for having me on.
You're good.
Is it an early Christmas present for Auburn?
The news just in moments ago, Iron Bowl, 630, under the lights.
Is that an early Christmas present for Auburn's perspective of the Iron Bowl coming up, Brian?
I think that's how Auburn would like it to be, you know, if you had to draw it up.
And obviously, this is not, you know, two great teams, you know, battling for a spot in the playoff or the SEC championship game.
But Alabama is certainly that team right now.
And Auburn is a hungry team, needing a win over a good team really, really bad.
So, it'll be an electric atmosphere.
Auburn's sold out 20 straight games.
This will be the 21st or 22nd, I guess.
And, you know, I think Auburn will throw everything they've got into this game to try to come up with a win.
B-Man, before we get into the coaching search with the latest, pretty good basketball game yesterday, legacy ring to Birmingham.
Keyshawn Hall, who is impressed.
Pretty much everybody, been averaging 23 points, 11 rebounds.
Pettiford, Keyshawn Murphy, the two Keyshawns have played well.
That Freeman's dunk was quite impressive.
Anytime you can stay within six or seven points of Houston in the game with their physicality, even though you lose, B-Man, you played well.
Yeah, I think that's fair to say.
And I thought Auburn competed well, played really hard and physical, played defense, rebounded against a team that's just known for being a great rebounding team.
And just really got after it.
It was a really good game.
Came down to the final 15 seconds there.
Auburn had a couple opportunities to win it and couldn't quite finish there and credit to Houston.
But two good teams, it looks like to me.
You know, you look at Houston, those freshmen are special, and they're going to get so much better as the season goes on.
And you can look at Auburn and see players like Elijah Freeman and some of the freshmen, Caden Magwood and Sebastian Williams-Adams.
I know those guys are going to get a lot better, too.
So, I think there's reason to be pleased if you're Auburn because this team with 10 newcomers were able to go there on neutral floor and compete to that level.
I think that's a really good sign.
They've got five or six more high-level non-conference games coming up for us to see play starts.
They're going to keep on getting tested, and we're going to see if they can improve and build on this game.
By the way, Auburn cost in Houston the top spot in the latest polls.
They had a cup of coffee.
They go from one to two.
They replaced by Purdue, who was number one, then went to number two.
And after that win against Alabama, now they're back at number one.
Brad, your thoughts going forward about, obviously, it's a brand-new era.
A lot of eyes, not only on the players, but on this coaching staff.
Your impressions so far?
I'm overall really impressed.
I think Steven, in some ways, was put into a good spot with the roster.
But in other ways, it is 10 newcomers.
He is trying to follow in his dad's footsteps, which is not very easy.
So, I think he's handled it really well.
I think it was great he was able to keep the staff together.
And it seems like they're all working really well together right now,
which I think is a great sign.
Monday Musings was good as usual.
You certainly touched on basketball, but you bring up a good point.
Whoever comes in for Auburn, good luck next year.
They've got road games in Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.
Welcome to the SEC, if it's not an SEC coach.
The NIL, you touched on that, will be perked up with that game against Baylor in Atlanta.
But there's no question about it.
Auburn fans are going to have to have some patience.
That is a gauntlet of the schedule, B, Matt.
And if somebody comes in there next year and they go 7-5 with that schedule, they've actually had a good year.
Yeah, I don't think Auburn fans have a lot of patience.
So, I think that's going to be something they're going to have to deal with.
You know?
Yeah.
Despite, you know, being a new coach, despite the schedule, and everybody knows how tough it is, I think Auburn fans are fed up.
They know that this roster is still good.
We don't know what the roster is going to look like.
You know, two months from now, we'll see.
Money talks, right?
So, people making assumptions one way or the other are probably not right because it's a different era of college football.
So, we'll see how that works out.
Go ahead.
Brian, your thoughts about the big question a lot of folks are asking, and that is, DJ Durkin's call.
What a spot to be in for an interim coach.
Will he or will he not redshirt Ashton Daniels at quarterback, which means that could influence the next two games.
Mercer, I mean, let's face it, it's Mercer, but they've got a decent slate to date relative to their competition.
Of course, in the Iron Bowl.
What are you hearing about the latest on Daniels' status?
Yeah, he just has to sit out one game, which would be the Mercer game, and then he can still redshirt.
He can play in the Iron Bowl.
If Auburn wants to win the next two, he can play in a bowl game, too.
I think he will elect to do that.
He has not said that officially yet, but we can speak to him in 45 more minutes, and maybe he'll be ready to talk on the record about that.
But it makes a lot of sense to me.
Ashton Daniels, you know, his last time he was on the,
on the football field, he had, I think it was 424 yards of total offense, which is third most in Auburn's football history.
You think if you're the Auburn coaching staff or administration, whether you're returning or not,
that you would want to do everything in your power to have that quarterback back next year.
So that's what Auburn needs to do.
Anything else will be a mistake.
Hey, man, CBS Sports, John Talti and Chris Hummer and a couple of the guys went around the country as far as the coaching searches,
and they mention right now four names for Auburn.
Jon Sumrall, we talked about it.
Hugh Lane, his background, played at Grissom High School, Kentucky, et cetera, et cetera, Troy, et cetera.
DJ Durkin certainly there, and if Auburn were to upset Alabama, I think his main name may even go to the top.
But Eli Drinkwith, in a name that, as they put it, has been flying under the radar,
and a lot of people don't know that he might even be looking as Clark Lee at Vanderbilt.
What job he has done there, we'll see in the next two or three weeks how all this stuff comes out.
Right now, would you kind of rank this, and I know, again, Jimmy Saxon is holding the – well, he's playing the cards.
Lane Kiffin's got all the cards.
Would it be Sumrall one, Durkin two, Eli Drinkwith three, and Clark lead four?
Yeah, that sounds about right.
I'm not sure I would have Durkin number two or not.
I just – my gut tells me he's probably not going to get the job.
Just my gut.
I don't know that.
I'm not putting it as a fact.
It's just the way I kind of read the tea leaves here.
But I think Jon Sumrall is definitely the favorite.
I think the names you mentioned are the main names that John Cohen has talked to,
several of them on multiple occasions.
But you never know.
We still have, you know, around two weeks until a new coach's name, most likely around that.
You know, not exactly.
And that could depend on the coach they want and when his season is done
or if he's in the playoff contention or championship game contention.
So, I still think a lot of things can happen here.
But I felt from the very start that Sumrall was the favorite.
And nothing has happened to change that for me.
So, that is the guy that I would keep the closest eye on.
He's a Tulane coach.
They are in contention to be that group of five team in the playoffs right now.
But they're also in the American, I think, conference,
which is very much up for grabs from about four or five teams.
I'll have one or two losses there.
So, things can go a lot of different ways, too.
So, we'll see how that works out.
I don't think Oliver can make a decision based on, you know,
whether a coach is – whether you've got to wait one or two weeks for it.
I think they've got to get who they think is the best guy for this job at this time.
B-Man, we've all talked about the Iron Bowl coming up in two weeks.
But Mercer beats Chattanooga 63-17 to finish 9-1 and 8-0.
They win their conference.
And, again, I know it's – well, this Mercer, you know, this is going to be 63-10.
Are you and the coaches a little concerned about the Bears coming in with an impressive record?
I think – I think you should be a little bit, right?
Because you just never know.
And while I'm 100% for sitting Ashton Daniels,
because I think it's the best for Auburn football program,
what happens if it's the fourth quarter and you're in a tight ball game?
That's it.
That's it.
9-1-1.
You got it.
You're going to send Ashton to the locker room to change into his football uniform?
I mean, I don't know.
So, yeah, I'd be very, very concerned about this game.
Mercer is a good team.
It's not like Auburn hasn't lost to some teams they're not supposed to lose to
in the last five seasons or so.
Yep.
So, yeah, until Auburn scores 28 points in the first half,
I think there's reason to be concerned, and we'll see how it goes.
Absolutely.
A lot of things on your plate, even with a bye week.
A lot of basketball going on this week.
Recruiting, hard to believe.
We're going to be doing that in about three weeks again.
Baseball there, press conferences, pre-game, post-game.
Where can we get online to get all the good stuff?
Yep.
Even wrapped up fall baseball practice Sunday.
I played that part.
You can get all that and more.
AuburnSports.com.
We'll have – I think we've had three or four separate updates on the coaching
search just in the last two or three days.
But you can get all that at AuburnSports.com.
Sign up for a free trial for just a dollar.
And I think they can sit for the rest of the year or longer.
And then follow me on Twitter, such as XFBMatAU.
Much less than a cup of coffee.
Brian, listen, man, thanks for your time today, and have a good week, okay?
Appreciate you guys.
Thank you.
Thank you, buddy.
Brian Matthews, senior editor, AuburnSports.com.
Coming up, time to talk UNA on the gridirons and on the hardwoods.
Straight ahead of the Boomwell Buck Show.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
No other way to put it to BB.
Rough weekend for UNA on the Gridirons and the Hardwoods.
Well, there's no way to put it in words.
Really, Harold, a 61-0 shutout to one of the better teams in FCS.
Torling State is really good.
UNA's had issues with a quarterback, Dustin Wade.
Goes down with an injury.
Turned to John Austin Wood.
D.C.
Tapscott, they had six turnovers.
And you saw Alabama lose a game with three.
You know UNA's going to lose a game with six.
JB and Allen led UNA rushing with 12 carries for 40 yards.
UNA's final game at Brawley Stadium is going to be this weekend.
A lot of people are going to be covering that Southern Union coming into town.
And you mentioned UNA plays Clemson tonight.
Now, this is at the ACC network.
But they failed to Eastern Tennessee on Saturday in a surprise, 78-74.
But the last two days for UNA on Saturday in particular was a tough day.
As they say, time to rebound.
Coming up in the next hour, going to be ticking all over the place.
Alabama fans, what's it like as a former player to watch that game Saturday?
Special insights from the Redfish Barger coming up.
Also, a big orange talk with Vince Ferrara.
And Ben Thomas says we're inching closer and closer to who's going to bring the big state crown back to town to the high school of grid irons.
Got that and more straight ahead.
Stay with us.
18-19 News.
U.S. Senator Katie Britt is expressing interest in President Trump's recent proposal of tariff dividends to American people.
It was on Fox Business this past weekend when host Maria Bartiromo brought up the $2,000 check that President Trump wants to issue to each American.
So I sure hope we take a look at these types of things and how we can make sure that the American people have more of their hard-earned money back in their pocket.
And if you think about what President Trump has been doing overall, he wants to make sure that we onshore more jobs, that we drive up American wages.
And the results of these negotiations are more money in Americans' pockets.
That's what this has been about all along, leveling the playing field, because President Trump knows that you can put Americans against anyone else in the world.
And if we are on a level playing field, we will always win.
And so being able to show the results to the American people, allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money, I certainly hope that that's something that Congress takes a look at.
And definitely, I think that it would be something that the American people would receive well.
I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.
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If so, consider joining 1819 News as a member.
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90 residents at a retirement home in Homewood had to be evacuated due to a fire that occurred this past Saturday night.
Firefighters were called to the Skyline Village retirement home where the blaze was found on the fourth floor.
Other floors were affected due to the fire sprinkler system being activated.
So far, the cause of that blaze has not been determined.
I'm Andrea Tice.
For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.
And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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At the rodeo, you got eight seconds to see who's who.
Now, AT&T, this ain't our first rodeo.
We can spot a hustle from clear across the arena.
Take T-Mobile.
Or they talk a big game and then get smacked with challenges for deceptive ads.
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Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shores.
Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.
Ryan Radke here from Sunday Night Football on Westwood One.
Coming up this week, it's a big NFC battle when the 7-3 Eagles host Jared Goff.
93.9, The Score weather.
Today, mostly sunny with a high around 70.
Tonight, partly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers overnight and a low near 55.
Tomorrow, mostly sunny with a 30% chance of afternoon showers and a high around 75.
Tomorrow night, mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers overnight and a low near 55.
And for your Wednesday, partly sunny with a high around 75.
Your weather from 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 a win.
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 recs 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.
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Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.
It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.
The Boomo Bugg show.
Your exclusive inside track to the Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.
Now, your host, Harold Bugge on 93.9, The Score.
Welcome back in.
Our tour of the Boomo Bugg show.
I'm Harold Bugge alongside Brett Beaird.
Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley.
And I can't think of a fellow who's more fired up when it comes to high school football than Ben Thomas.
Got it all covered.
And we mean all from one end of the state to the other.
There at AL.com.
BT, welcome in.
How are you?
Pretty good today.
How are you guys doing?
Weather okay out there in the floor?
Yeah, oh man, yeah.
We'll take this over last Monday.
We were fighting to get out of the 20s and 30s last Monday.
So, we have ratted, my friend.
Ben, is it safe to say, speaking of this time of the year, if Tom Turkey is nervous, we're getting close to seeing who's going to be the respective state champions across the end of the state.
Would you agree with that?
I think so, yeah.
I mean, I was looking at the games and all the classes earlier today.
And there's some, man, there's some games that might deserve to be state championship level games by themselves here in the quarterfinals.
And, of course, you know, we're in the semifinals for 7A, which, man, you've got two Mammoth games there.
Thompson and Central Phoenix City, you know, they've played the last two years in the state championship game.
They're playing in the semifinals this year because of the way the brackets broke down.
And then on the other side, Auburn and Opelika, they've played 100 times before in football, the Lee County Rivals.
Only one previous time have they played in the playoffs.
And this year, they're going for a chance to go to a state championship game.
I understand that game was already sold out at Duck Sanford Stadium in Auburn.
So, those are just off the top of my head.
But what a week we're going to have, I think.
Ben, quickly, before we move to the obvious here, let's talk about Thompson and the quarterback recently in Alabama commits.
You look at this kid and all he does, in principle, he's like Diego Pavia at Vanderbilt, isn't he?
I mean, he doesn't come out of the mold of a quarterback, but all he does is come up with big plays and big games and just keeps on winning.
Yeah, I guess a mold in the fact that he's not real, you know, he's not a prototypical physical freshman.
Right, right.
You know, like, much like Pavia is.
So, that's probably a pretty good analysis.
But, I mean, his, you know, he's, I think we've talked about before, he's going to leave high school as one of the, maybe the most accomplished player in the state's history in high school football.
Because, you know, he's already started, I think it's up to 42 7A football games he's started now.
He's won, what, two state titles with a chance to win two more, you know, depending on, obviously, what happens this week and next week and next year.
And his stats are, you know, he doesn't seem like, it doesn't seem like we've mentioned his name a ton, but I was looking at his stats today.
He's completed 74% of his passes.
Guys, 74% of your passes is pretty good.
Three out of four.
I mean, I can't, I can't catch that many if I'm out throwing it with my son in the backyard.
So, 3,200 yards and 30 touchdowns.
And then he's rushed for five touchdowns.
So, he's just the guy that your confidence played in every possible big game he can play in.
And, you know, you know, Thompson's got three losses again this year.
But, you know, look who they lost to.
I mean, Grayson Georgia and Clay Chalkwell in a very close game.
And then they lost to Hoover in a little bit of a surprise.
So, I don't know.
You know, it's hard for me to picture him being the starter at Alabama down the road.
But, gosh, I mean, why couldn't he be here with everything he's accomplished in high school?
Absolutely.
I am amazed and happy that there are three Scholes teams remaining in the quarterfinals.
Geraldine, 11-1, coming to play Morris Hill Bible.
Panthers, 12-0 after beating Winfield, 42-7.
Aniston, 12-0, is coming to play Dessler in Tuscumbia.
Dessler's Garrett Reed blocked Hamilton's extra point in overtime to win 31-30 in that game.
And I got a chance to see most of the Scholes and Parker.
Parker's a really good team.
They jumped down to a 14-7 halftime lead.
Vonley Cleveland, the big nose guard, who's a Texas commit, is a handful.
But Scott based and made changes at halftime to the running game.
Most of Scholes intercepted three passes.
Christian Pritcher, too.
And then Foster, the Arkansas commitment.
And most of Scholes held on after a Hail Mary in the end zone.
Now, they're traveling to play Mountain Brook 9-3.
And most Scholes beat them two years ago.
But delighted to see three Scholes teams beat T in the quarterfinals.
Yeah, I like, I'll tell you what, I like most Scholes' chances this week.
Mountain Brook, it's been okay this year.
But they haven't been, you know, what they've really been the last couple of years.
They've kind of gotten hot here late in the regular season and in the postseason.
And Muscle Scholes, their defense has been unbelievable, really, all year.
They've got a bunch of shutouts.
You know, nobody's scored, I don't think, even in the 20s against them.
And, you know, like you said, Brett Parker, you know, they're the reigning,
were the reigning champs.
That's right.
They are the reigning champs.
They're not going to, obviously, not going to defend.
They're the only state champion to be eliminated so far from the playoffs in any class.
You hold that team to 14 points, man.
There's a lot of athletes on that team.
So to do that, that's saying something.
They got to, you know, Muscle's got to go to Mountain Brook, so that'll be tough.
But, you know, I like their chances to get through there.
And Mars Hill, you know, just, you know, they scored over 600 points, I think,
so far this year.
It's one of those teams you think they're not going to lose.
Really, you know, everything's pointing next week to a possible Mars Hill-Piedmont
semifinal matchup, which would be incredible.
What Piedmont did to Fife really surprised me over the, I think it was the first playoff
shutout of Fife since the 1990s.
That's right.
Sometimes.
So that was a surprise.
They're really good.
So that, you know, if both teams win this week, we would see that game next week.
I think it would be at Mars Hill, if I'm not mistaken.
But that'll be, you know, got to get there first, but that'll be a premier matchup if we get that far.
Then thomasal.com.
Let's talk a little bit more in depth about their, you mentioned, we know the folks at Destra.
We know that is a famed place to play football.
And Mars Hill Bible speaks for itself.
Two of those teams with home cooking in the Shoals.
Let's talk a little bit more about Aniston.
They've done pretty good themselves this year.
They're 12 and 0.
And Geraldine, you're familiar with that part of the country.
They got a proud tradition, too.
Your thoughts about more on the opponents, Aniston for Destra and Geraldine for Mars Hill.
Well, Aniston, I feel like we've kind of undersold them a little bit all year.
Yes.
Like you said, they are undefeated.
I know their coach, Rico Jackson, is their coach.
He coached down here at Murphy for several years.
Really good guy.
After he left, Murphy really fell off the cliff.
They are really in a bad place right now.
But they've been good.
I mean, to beat Madison Academy 44-12, I thought they'd win that game.
I picked them to win that game.
By the way, Brett, my picks are, I'm in a draw spell here.
I'm not doing bad.
Oh, man.
I've given up my lead.
I think I went 16-4 last week, but two other guys went 18-2.
Wow, that's not good.
But anyway, I'm trying to hold on there.
But yeah, Aniston, really good team.
Good offensively and defensively in their last six games.
They've only allowed one team to score more than 10 points.
And that was Madison Academy, which scored 12.
So they're going to be a good team.
Tough to handle coming in there.
And then Geraldine, whenever you say Geraldine, the first thing that comes to my mind is Jimmy
Smothers' alma mater.
That's where Jimmy Smothers, the late, great sports editor of the Gadsden Times for four
decades, went to school.
So they play good football there.
I mean, all those DeKalb County schools play good football, but I think probably the run may end for them this week.
B.T., let me mention a couple of teams in our area who lost, but two very good teams.
Coosa Christian and the one and only Rush Probst beat Lexington 49-16.
Brett Mask has done a very good job with that Lexington, but very good offensively there.
And I know you did a story on Brett Mask and his dad, Steve Mask.
Of course, most of our listeners are familiar with him.
He coached in our area.
You know him very, very well.
But Coosa Christian, Rush Probst, advances, and maybe the surprise of Friday night to me.
We have been talking about West Morgan and their run.
Cherokee County, Good Hope beat Cherokee County.
And I'm thinking, well, finally, after three years, West Morgan doesn't have to put up with them.
Maybe they should have played them a fourth time because Good Hope surprised West Morgan 31-7.
West Morgan jumped out 7-0, and then they just got ran over, which surprised me.
Good Hope's going to be facing Plainview, but Rush Probst advances.
Also, Good Hope does over West Morgan.
Yeah, and, you know, Good Hope had not been that great down the stretch.
I mean, they lost to Hamilton by a touchdown, lost to Fairview.
Of course, Fairview's pretty good, you know, in the regular season finale.
And then, but to come back and beat two good teams, Cherokee County, I didn't get to talk to you guys last week,
but Jacob Kelly stepping down as the head coach at Cherokee County after that loss.
Of course, they were in the finals, I think, three years in a row.
He did a great job there.
And then, like, I was surprised by that score as well, West Morgan getting beat 31-7.
So they got to play Plainview this week, Dale Pruitt.
I think we've talked about him, what a job he's done there in his third tenure there, I think.
So, and then I think, look, Rush is, I mean, they're playing Tuscaloosa Academy this week.
They just beat Tuscaloosa Academy, like, in the second-to-last weekend of the season.
So, I mean, the chances are they're going to win that game,
and Rush is going to be two wins away from his eighth state title.
And counting.
Ben, let's talk a little bit about Hartzell.
Well, obviously, a very emotional game down there when you play on a field named after your dad.
You played there as a high school kid.
That's got to be emotional in itself.
But Hartzell comes up short against Homewood, 31-24 in second-round action.
How good is Homewood?
You know, that's another team that really I feel like we hadn't –
it seems like so much in 6A has been about, well, Muscle Shoals,
but also Sarah Land and Clay Chalkville, you know.
So, it seems like maybe we've undersold a couple of those things.
I think Homewood, you know, they lost to Mount Brook in Overtown.
That's their only loss of the year.
And now that, you know, they've come out, they beat a good Hartzell team.
They beat a pretty good Bell City team in the first round.
And they beat James Clemens, obviously, you know, coming up there late in the season.
So, they've got to go to Clay Chalkville this week.
I mean, I still think Clay Chalkville is obviously their number one in undefeated.
I still think they're the favorite in 6A.
Sarah Land had a tough game with Spain Park, only won 35-31.
And they've got to go to Pike Road this week.
That'll be a tough matchup for them.
But I think Homewood's done – they've done a great job.
I mean, kind of come out of nowhere, I guess you would say.
Ben Bergeson is their coach.
He's been there for a while.
So, good win for them over Hartzell.
That one surprised me a little bit as well.
I agree with you.
Tip of the count to Priceville.
We talked about their incredible win.
Coming back last week, Moody stopped Seth Parker's run.
Moody wins 60-14.
Moody is a really good football team.
But, again, Seth Parker, Priceville 2-8 last year, 8-4 this year.
And Colbert County, Gordo is 10-1, put up 49 points against Colbert County, 49-29, the tip of the count to them.
BT, what have you got on top this week?
I know tomorrow should be the top games in North Alabama, Central, and also Mobile.
Randy Kennedy, we're three weeks away, what, from National Signing Day.
I know Randy's going to continue to have spotlight the players.
Crowell's going to be – a lot of people are going to follow him.
I think he had another 300-yard game.
But, what have you got basketball included, too?
Another busy, busy week.
It is.
Yeah, we just mentioned in what you – the 5A game, that Priceville game.
I think Moody, they were in the championship game last year.
I think they're going to be back in the championship game.
They're really one of the contenders.
And then you got, on the south side, two good games this week.
Williamson, the number one team, going to Montgomery Catholic, the reigning champ,
and then Central Clay County coming down to play Viger.
So, good games there.
Yeah, we got all that stuff.
We'll have our top games, as you mentioned, tomorrow.
Randy's doing his best in Bama.
We'll keep doing that throughout the season.
And then, eventually, you know, the seniors will be off that list,
and we'll have to kind of refinish it again when everybody moves up.
So, a lot of good stuff we're doing.
We'll have basketball highlights and roundup on Tuesday and Friday,
highlights from the week.
I also believe we're efforting to do a prep basketball,
sports writers prep basketball poll this week for the first time.
That will be on Thursday.
That will come out on Thursday.
So, a lot of stuff going on.
You can check us out at AL.com.
Check me out at BenThomasPreps on Twitter, or X, I guess we call it these days.
And we'll try and keep you updated.
Ben's always good to catch up with you.
Listen, man, we'll call 911 and get you some help there with your picks, okay?
And, man, we need it.
I don't have to consult Brett if it gets so bad.
We do.
There you go.
The door's always open.
BT, BenThomas, CL.com.
Coming up, Big Orange Talk with the V-Man, Vince Ferrara on deck.
Stay with us.
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From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide today.
It's daily update on Bama sports and it's brought to you by Guthrie's, America's original chicken finger restaurant and a proud partner of the Crimson Tide.
Visit online at guthrie'schicken.com.
Hello again, everybody.
I'm Roger Hoover.
Here are thoughts from Alabama football head coach, Kalen DeBoer, following Alabama's two point loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.
Really disappointed in the outcome and, you know, that we played a lot of great snaps out there, but, you know, the turnover battle of obviously got killed there and that, that became the game.
And, you know, we've done a great job of taking care of it.
We've done a good job of taking it off of teams.
And, you know, I think probably 17 points coming off of turnovers and the short field at the beginning where they got a field goal on the punt return.
So, you know, we missed our opportunities for sure.
And that's what hurt so much.
You know, I have no doubt about how to respond, but, you know, the guys are disappointed and frustrated about how this ended up here because that's the moment we're in.
I'll have more in the moments.
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Join us tonight for Crimson Tide Rewind, live from Baumhauer's Victory Grill in Vestavia Hills at 6 p.m.
You can listen to Crimson Tide Rewind across our full radio network, Varsity Network app, as well as catch a video replay on Tuesday on the CTSN YouTube page.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
The Score.
Welcome back in.
It is a privilege.
Trust to open the door and say hello to the V-Man, Vince Ferrara.
He's on the radio there at 99.1, the sports animal in Knoxville on the Vol Radio Network.
V-Man, welcome in.
How are you?
Thank you, didn't there, guys.
How are we doing?
Hey, boo.
And we're just assuming that Tennessee fans had a better outcome and a better feeling after their homecoming date this weekend than Alabama fans on homecoming.
The question is, have you awakened from that 42-9 thumping of mighty New Mexico State, V-Man?
Yeah.
I, you know, staying awake was not the issue.
It's falling asleep during rather than, it really was underwhelming overall.
I mean, I know they won by a considerable margin, but yeah, it just wasn't overly impressive in any particular area.
They took care of business.
They were dominant from the start, but it was kind of much of the same.
You know, a lot of, they were missing even more players on defense.
They had an open week, but they had more guys hurt and out, and then he had the Boo Carter situation, which I know we'll get into in a second.
But yeah, and then on offense, they left their starters in a long time and then, you know, got some guys banged up, including Miles Kitzelman, who, you know, suffered what looked like a significant knee injury.
So, you know, I don't really talk about the injuries much, but yeah, he was in there, you know, when the game was well in hand.
So, offensive line, you know, when they, once they put in their backup quarterbacks who only got, I think, I think between the two of them, they got nine snaps.
So, against New Mexico State, you can't even play your backup quarterbacks more than nine snaps.
Now, granted, they didn't do much with their possessions.
They had a couple of completions, but man, you need to get more of a look from your reserves when you win by that much.
And Josh Heupel and this offensive coaching staff, they're much more reluctant to go to the bench early.
And then what they do is, once you bring in your backup quarterbacks, they're in there with a backup offensive line, they're in there with, you know, backup wide receivers.
So, I don't think you get as good of a true reading of what you've got.
So, I wish they would roll guys in more and let them work with first-teamers around them so you can better evaluate them.
But for whatever reason, they're more willing to do that on defense than they are on offense.
Speaking of defense, B-Man, talk to us about the who, what, when, and where of a defensive back, Boot Carter, and his story.
Well, this really, you know, first, the story cycle for him started when, you know, there were rumors of him going in the transfer portal.
And so, it sounds like they got him more money in NIL, and so he decided to take his name out of the portal and stay.
So, then, when you get, as you get into camp, you hear about how Boot Carter didn't participate in off-season voluntary workouts, which the team leaders, you know, didn't think it was very voluntary.
And he did not show up.
So, they weren't happy about that.
And so, you know, he was basically, had to earn his way back and did so, but in a very, very slow manner.
And so, you know, he didn't end up starting at the star or at, you know, punt returner, but eventually his role grew a little bit, but not much.
He could never get the starting star position back.
And so, you know, it just was clear that he wasn't playing great, wasn't a difference maker like he was last year.
You could tell there was still something there that was holding him back, and that's exactly what ended up happening in, you know, in terms of the end result, because he didn't play great.
And then, you know, something happened in terms of him not being up to the, you know, behaving to the standards.
It sounds like, you know, one report said that he didn't show up to the stadium, you know, to meet with the team like all the other guys that are out end up doing.
And that might have been the last stop, the last straw.
And, you know, when you're getting a last chance, you better do everything you can to be a great teammate and do what you can and not be selfish.
But apparently he did not live up to the standards, and, you know, Tennessee in one report called it dismissal.
He announced he was leaving as a, you know, going into the transfer portal, and it was, some people have put it as a parting of the ways.
But regardless, he did not do everything you need to stay on the team and take best advantage of his best chance to be an NFL player.
And that was starring for the University of Tennessee, which will no longer happen now that he's no longer a part of the team.
V, that will help Josh Heupel down the road because he did not cave in to Nico in his demands and, quite frankly, just finally had enough of putting up with Boo Carter's shenanigans.
That will help him on the recruiting and, overall, in years to come.
Even with Tennessee's defensive efficiencies, V, they scored their sixth defensive touchdown.
William Wright, a six-year senior, picked off a pass for a pick six, returned at 35 yards.
I believe that is Tennessee's 18th, if I'm, yeah, 18th takeaway on the season, leading the SEC.
Yeah, I think their sixth defensive touchdown was as many as Iowa scored on offense last year.
Well, at least maybe just it seems that way.
I don't know if that's true.
I'm just kidding.
It seemed that way, the way they struggled on offense.
But, no, I mean, they, you know, they had to play a lot of guys.
They didn't have two of their three best Leos in Joshua Joseph and Jordan Ross.
They didn't have their starting linebacker in Arian Carter.
They didn't have Boo Carter.
So, yeah, they're missing.
And then that's on top of already missing your two best corners in Gibson and McCoy.
So, no McCoy yet.
I don't know at this point, you know, with two games left and then the bowl game, I, you know,
honestly, I would kind of be surprised if we see him now at this point.
But, you know, but we'll see.
So, yeah, it's, you know, the guys got opportunities and, you know, they got a lot of hands on balls.
So, you had a pass deflection, which led to that interception.
And Damon Hobbs, man, he's a former five-star and, man, he's playing like it.
And he was dominant, nine tackles, leading tackler at a defensive tackle position.
That's not easy to do.
And, you know, he's playing as well as anybody on that defense.
So, to me, I would start him and then give him more snaps.
I know they'll play multiple guys and rotate out.
But that guy deserves more snaps because he's playing the best right now.
But they still, overall, you know, they still give up yards.
They give up more.
They had more first downs.
You know, I still say they had more first downs than Tennessee did.
You know, Tennessee still turned the ball over a couple of times.
So, even though they won easily on the scoreboard, it does not mean that this team was clean
and they figured out all their issues going into the final two SEC games.
Hey, man, we don't talk about that.
Back to Boo Carter.
Do you think that's symptomatic of the NIL era?
We're making all kinds of money, and I've got to protect myself.
It's a business decision.
Plus, it's human nature to sit here sometimes in the coast when you've got that kind of change in the bank.
Your thoughts about that, and let's face it, on the road, and that's the key phrase here, to Florida.
We know Florida's had a bad black eye this year, but this is Tennessee at Florida where history has not been kind to the Big Orange.
It could be NIL.
I don't know that.
It could be distractions within his personal life.
It could be maturity.
It could be a combination of all those things kind of intertwined.
So, you know, it's hard to say specifically.
But, you know, and look, sometimes it's addition through subtraction, and maybe one player coming out of that locker room might be able to change things.
So, you know, maybe he gets his world together and doesn't have the distractions, but clearly there was other things on his mind besides being a star player for the University of Tennessee.
He said injuries are keeping him from playing.
My guess is that they dismissed him because of standards he didn't meet.
It has nothing to do with injuries.
So, you know, it's just unfortunate that they couldn't make it work because he is a tremendous talent.
But they weren't better, you know, with him.
They didn't see their best version of him on the field.
So, you know, those things certainly happen these days.
And sometimes guys make the best of their extra opportunities, their last straw, like Jawan Jennings did.
And look what he's doing now in the NFL.
He got one last final chance, and he took advantage of it.
Other guys get their final chance, and they can't stay straight.
So, everybody handles it differently.
Yeah, and Tennessee fans are hoping that the Ben Hill Griffin voodoo hacks ends Saturday.
Tennessee has not beaten Florida in Gainesville since 2003.
Hard to believe, V-Man.
Where can we get online to get all your great stuff?
Yeah, and there have been plenty of Florida teams that were not in contention to win the national championship by any means that still beat Tennessee.
They're a home underdog, and they're still beating Tennessee.
So, they're about a three-and-a-half-point dog this time.
So, I think Tennessee is expecting the best version of Florida on Saturday.
Closer to the effort they've given against Ole Miss and Georgia.
This is what they did in the loss to Kentucky.
So, you can follow me on all the socials, Vince Sports, V-I-N-C-E Sports, or on Twitter, on Twitter and all the socials, at Vince Sports, and then all of the video stuff I do for the local ABC station at SportsSource TV.
V-Man is always good to hook up with you.
We know it's been a good week because we haven't asked you one time about your hip recovery on the journey there from the surgery.
So, you must be feeling fine as frog hair.
Keep it up, and thanks so much for your time today.
Got cleared to drive, and, you know, hopefully I won't need the walker soon.
But I appreciate you guys.
Have a great week.
All right, buddy.
You too, bud.
V-Man, Vince Rawrigan with us there at 99.1, the Esports Animal.
Coming up, what in the world happened at Alabama over the weekend?
The man who's been there and done that.
The Redfish is in sight.
Next on the Boom Bowl Bug Show.
Stay with us.
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All-aggressive presents the sports flash on 93-9, the score.
College football action this weekend.
Alabama was knocked off at home.
They lost to Oklahoma 23-21.
Alabama with the loss is now 8-2 on the season and 6-1 in the SEC.
South Alabama was the winner at UL Monroe, 26-14.
The Jaguars are now 3-7 on the year and 2-4 in the Sun Belt.
North Alabama was blasted at Tarleton State, 61-0.
North Alabama is 2-9 on the season.
The Auburn men's basketball team was edged by number one Houston, 73-72 yesterday.
Keyshawn Hall, 20 points, 11 rebounds.
Auburn is 3-1.
North Alabama plays tonight at Clemson.
Lions are 2-2.
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I'm John Thayer with the sports flash presented by Progressive on 93-9, the score.
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The Score.
Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.
Welcome back in.
It is a pleasure for us to say hello to William Redfish Barger, former University of Alabama
offensive lineman and now co-host of BAM's Radio.
William, welcome in.
How are you?
Doing good, guys.
How about y'all?
We're doing all right.
Williams, it's safe to say if you live by the turnover, sometimes you die by the turnover.
This season, Alabama has learned to benefit from it.
You go back and look at their schedule, and the only one that's had fun this season is an
Alabama fan, it seems, for the most part, against a team of the Pulse, and that's the
cardiologists.
They have played a lot of tight games.
They've benefited from the turnovers, but this weekend, the script flipped, and they got
bitten by the turnovers.
William, where do you start breaking down the upset by number 11 over number 4 at the
time?
Well, I mean, I think, you know, the first thing you have to look at is the obvious, is,
you know, despite turning the ball over three times, you know, you're against a, you know,
a top 10, 15 football team.
You're not supposed to even come close to winning that game, and despite the miscues, you know,
they had an opportunity to do it, and, you know, the offense just couldn't execute and
pull it off.
You know, I think the, you know, if you want to start with the positives, I thought the
defense, despite being, you know, putting some bad down and distance situations because
of the turnovers, and a lot of three and outs by the offense, you know, played extremely
well.
But, you know, you have to look at the obvious, and, you know, that was the, you know, the
inefficiency and the, you know, the ability to not handle that pass rush and the blitz,
you know, packages that we all knew Brent Venerables was going to dial up, and, you know,
he won this chess match.
And, you know, there's, there's, you know, a lot of blame to go around, but, you know,
at the end of the day, you know, you had some special teams failures, a lot of offensive
failures.
But, you know, certainly, I think the defense held up their end of the bargain for sure.
William, I agree with you.
I think Brent Venerables is an elite defensive coordinator.
I don't know who he is as head coach, but he knows what he's doing defensively.
The offensive line, Ryan Grubb actually mentioned today in the coordinator media viewing that
he thought the offensive line overall played pretty well.
Well, conformed, he moved inside to right guard.
Michael Carroll started to right tackle.
They rotated a little bit with Kim Newberry at left guard.
Gino Vandermark, four sacks.
Two of those are on running backs.
I know Oklahoma had a pressure, some of them coming through.
Obviously, Browsford, the center.
And, again, I know there were times that Ty Simpson did not have adequate time to make
the connections.
He missed some throws.
He overthrew some, et cetera.
William, as part of those offensive issues, your thoughts on the work of the offensive line?
You know, I mean, I think it was about a C effort.
You know, I can only imagine how much worse it would have been, you know, if their two best
defensive linemen had been healthy.
Yeah.
You know, so, you know, you just got to say that, you know, I mean, I think there was some
baby steps improvement.
You know, they were able to open some holes and Daniel Hill was able to pick up some nice
yards rushing for a change.
So, you know, that was an improvement.
You know, I thought that, you know, a guy that continues to be Mr. Clutch, and we've talked
about on here before, is going to play as long as his body will allow him to on Sundays.
Josh Quavers, you know, is Mr. Dependable.
You know, I mean, the offense, you know, lost some one-on-one matchups, both in run blocking
and in pass protection.
And, you know, there were, you know, I think the thing that really hurt Alabama in this game
more than anything, you know, weren't the incomplete passes that you got to see on the TV screen.
You know, if anybody has access to the wide zone view or if they were at the game,
there were multiple occasions where there were wide receivers that had beat Oklahoma's
secondary in deep zone patterns, and they were, you know, there for the taking.
And, you know, either Ty didn't have the time to get to them or just didn't see them.
So, you know, and I think that's probably the story of the game is, you know, take the sacks
out of the, you know, take the turnovers out.
You know, I really think that Oklahoma won this game, you know, because they generate
those turnovers with their defense.
But also, I think they kept, you know, for the better part of the game, I think they took
Ty out of his rhythm and, you know, had him rattled a little bit.
William, take us inside your mind.
As a former player, let's face it, it's November, you're tired, everybody's been building you up,
you got championship hopes, and then you have a bump in road like this past weekend.
Some might say it wasn't a bump, it's more like a crash.
But take us into the clubhouse as a player.
What's going on now?
Because, let's face it, they still control their destiny if they overcome the disappointment.
It takes a lot of maturity.
Obviously, it takes a lot of breaks.
It takes a lot of talent.
But what's going on from the intangible standpoint, putting on your former players' head, what these
guys are talking about, trying to get back and get back on the right track?
Well, I mean, I think that's the best thing, you know, if you take all the negative things
that we just got through talking about, the best news is, you know, you beat Eastern Illinois
Saturday, and you beat Auburn and Auburn in, you know, two weeks, and, you know, you've
still got everything in front of you to play for.
There's still a, you know, potential SEC championship berth, there's still a potential
college football playoff berth, and, you know, that's, you know, and I think as a player,
you know, despite the expanded schedule, I would prefer it because, you know, you take
the, your future, you know, out of the hands of the bowl selection committee, you know, it's,
you know, if you get into that playoff, you know, it's a brand new season, and, you know,
everything starts over from scratch, and, you know, you might see, you know, an Oklahoma
again that you, you know, and you've got the revenge factor, you know, you might get to
see a Georgia again.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and, you know, so, I mean, I think the fact that you're allowed a clean
slate, you know, if you take care of business the next two Saturdays, you know, I would look
at that as a positive.
I mean, yeah, it's more games, but, you know, it's, you know, the biggest of the big stages
every single week, and, you know, you get a taste if you're fortunate enough to ever make
it to play on Sundays, you know, you get a pretty good taste of what it's like, you know,
at that next level, you know, once the playoff starts, you know, it's a wild card game, do
or die, you know, every week.
Absolutely.
William, as you touched on, I thought the defense overall played well.
They held Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer to only 161 yards, including 138 passing.
Now, he obviously hurt Alabama on the, on where there was a quarterback draw.
He just climbed to the pocket and kept going.
They missed two or three tackles on his touchdown run, but I thought Alabama got pressure and
the Sintega, their receiver is pretty good too.
But I thought overall, you hold a team and I know Oklahoma is not a prolific offense, but
to 212 yards, you've done a pretty good day's job.
Oh yeah, absolutely.
And, you know, I think that's probably the, you know, the most painful thing for the players
and coaches to, you know, look at that stat sheet and, you know, outside of the three turnovers,
if you looked at it, you'd think, well, you know, they should have won that game.
And, you know, I think a lot of the success that Oklahoma did have, you know, I don't think
that they were out-schemed.
I don't think they were out-athleted, you know, on the defensive side of the ball, you
know, they missed some tackles, you know, in a lot of cases on those material QB runs.
But, you know, I've seen a lot worse performances, you know, by this Alabama, you know, defense
against some dual threat quarterbacks.
So, you know, well, what you saw and, you know, I think it just, you know, when something
like that happens, if you've, you know, had a, you know, a drive like that on defense and
you, you know, you stop them, you know, you, you, you hold them to a field goal instead
of a touchdown, or you, you know, you make them not convert a third down and you get over
there on the bench and the next thing you know, there's, you know, you know, been a turnover
and you got to run back out there.
I mean, that takes those guys out of the rhythm.
It keeps them, you know, from, for being fresh.
So, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, you know, a kind of a, like baking a cake, man.
There, if, if one, you know, percentage of the recipe that goes into the finished product
is, is removed or taken out of rhythm, you know, it can, it can screw up the whole finished
product.
And in this case it did.
William, your thoughts about Alabama fans.
I got a feeling a lot of them said we got them right where we want them.
We're down by two.
We got the ball.
We got Ryan group calling plays.
You're at home.
You got over seven minutes on the clock.
You, you, you march up down the field.
You don't have to score about a touchdown.
All you got to do is get down under a minute within 15, 20 yards out and you kick a field
goal and you walk away with a win.
Your thoughts about how Alabama handled that last seven minutes on offense.
Well, and I think this is a by-product of, you know, I think people can remember if you
go back to September, you know, specifically in that big game at Georgia, you know, Alabama
looked effortless in making explosive plays and converting third and fourth downs.
You know, they were doing it any way they wanted to either on the, you know, in the air, on the
ground, you know, trick play, whatever.
And now you look at it in mid-November and, you know, it's, it's almost looks like it takes a Herculean effort, you know, just to complete a seven or
eight yard, you know, out or curl pattern, pick up a third, you know, first down.
And it's, it's kind of been trending this way, you know, for the last three or four games.
And, you know, I think they just ran up against a defensive scheme Saturday.
You know, they had dug themselves kind of a big hole there.
They were able to come back from that.
They gave themselves a chance to win, but you could just kind of tell the vibe and the flow of the game that it was just probably not going to work out.
And God help all of our anxiety levels, had it come down to a 30 or 35 yard attempted field goal to get, to get the win.
You know, I don't know who would have been more of a nervous wreck in that situation, me or Talti.
Talk to us about that, because I think a lot of Florence High fans and folks in the shows there said, do we miss Nealon Hibbert, the snapper who's now on in the pros?
Yes, the snap was not adequate, but your thoughts as a player, what happens in a situation like that when on live TV, let's face it, you throw your teammate out of the bus?
Yeah, you know, I don't know in today's society and culture if you could have gotten away with this, like it would have gone down, you know, 30 years ago.
But in my opinion, he deserved to get power bombed in a trash can in the locker room in private.
You know, there was still plenty of time for him to make that kick.
It wasn't like it was a 50-yarder.
But yeah, I was not a big fan of that.
I don't remember, you know, a lot of other, you know, off-kilter snaps throughout the course of the year.
So, you know, I was not a fan of that at all.
You know, if you're going to do something like that, you do it within the confines of the team environment, and you do it behind the four walls of the locker room, not at midfield or national television.
Yeah, and our producer, Blair, made a good point.
All of Oklahoma's touchdown drives were short fields after turnovers.
William, I mentioned Red Morgan.
We talked about him last week.
Four tackles, one for a loss, forced a fumble.
He gave up three receptions for a grand total of eight yards.
Red Morgan is playing pretty well right now.
He is, and, you know, I think we've been talking about him for a couple of weeks now.
And, you know, there's quite a few guys on that defense.
The three inside linebackers, you know, that are playing have done that.
And I think, you know, you've got to give credit to the first-year inside linebacker coach, Chuck Morrell, for that development improvement.
You know, I think 94, Eldrick Hill is starting to be a little bit more of a consistent disruptor.
And so there's, you know, there's a lot of guys that are – and, you know, when you can do that, you know, when you've got that flexibility at multiple positions, it keeps those guys fresh.
It helps them play fast and sudden.
And so, you know, I thought, you know, compared to some of his last, you know, two or three games, I thought Dominic Jackson played with a bit more physicality Saturday than he has been doing.
So, you know, you're seeing that on that side of the football, and it's been a kind of a fascinating, you know, turn of the meter here because now, you know, all the b******* and complaining and, you know, I think it's justified, you know, in certain cases.
You know, take Jam Miller, you know, he's not really running well, he's dropping receiving balls out of the backfield, and he's whiffing and pass pro, you know, and that's not what you'd expect out of a guy that's in his fourth year in the program.
So, but, you know, I think on the defensive side of the football, there's really nothing more that you can critique them on in a negative way.
You know, there's going to be some chunk plays that Kane Womack, you know, gives up, you know, every Saturday, but, you know, at the end of the day, you know, keeping teams from scoring, and when you can limit teams to field goals instead of touchdowns, and I know he didn't do it Saturday, but when you're getting one or two takeaways, you know, every week, it's a hard process for somebody to beat you on.
Unless the other side of the ball's giving it away, like Alabama did Saturday.
Absolutely.
Well, you're right.
Two big games to go, and everything is still right in front of them.
Happy birthday again yesterday.
I know it was yours.
Hopefully, you had a good day and relaxed.
Always enjoy breaking down the game with you on Monday.
Have a great week.
Hopefully, we can do this again with you next Monday.
Hey, I sure appreciate it, guys.
We appreciate you, Redfish.
There you have it.
Former Alabama standout, William Redfish Park.
BB, in case you missed it once again, time for the Iron Bowl now in the house.
It's going to be under the light.
6.30 for the Iron Bowl, BB.
Yeah, first time, Harold, that it's been a night game since 2014.
So, it's, that surprised me.
I thought it would be 2.30.
Stay tuned.
That's going to take care of business for now.
On behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here.
Harold Boggs, thank you just so much for your time today.
Let's do it again tomorrow on Dune, the tube of the Boomwell Bug Show.
Back here on Sports Radio, 93.9, the score.