Boomo Bugg Show 112825 93.9 The Score WYTK - November 28, 2025 https://www.939thescore.com/boomo-bugg-show-112825/ This transcript was generated automatically from the broadcast audio. Names and some words may be misspelt; the audio is the official record. ------------------------------------------------------------ Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score. 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 street ride around the Tennessee Valley. Brett Beaird, welcome in. Are you ready for the biggest date in the state? Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you? Happy Blank Friday and happy Football Friday. In fact, a lot of the games have already started. Ole Miss leading at Mississippi State 14-7 early in the second quarter. We'll be giving you some updates of the games throughout the show. Alabama wide receivers coach Marcus Shepard has landed his first head coaching job at Oregon State. Zach Pounders of the Shoals Sports Report will preview Morris Hill and Muscle Shoals games in the semifinals. And Jimmy is here right now to preview what else, the Iron Bowl. Jimmy Stein's busy there. He's co-host of Locked On, Bema, part of the Locked On Network. Jimmy, welcome in. Free Iron Bowl Eve. How are you? Oh, doing great, guys. Just looking forward to Iron Bowl weekend. What would trying to win a game be like without first losing a coach? It seems like Alabama, you can count on this this time of the year. There's always going to be some drama. Normally, they'll stay and do their thing. And then, you know, as we get closer to January, they'll jump on and do their thing. Jimmy, let's start with that. Your thoughts about the move, Shepard leaving. You can't turn down a head coaching job. That's a pretty good, serious coin there. But your thoughts about that and the impact it has on this game and wherever Alabama goes from here this season. I don't think it will have much of an impact at all on this weekend. I doubt the news to his receivers in particular. I'm sure we're aware of Oregon State's interest in him and vice versa. I'm sure they're, you know, happy for him, obviously. It's a pretty big promotion to go from wide receiver coach to head coach. Because what kind of engaging personality he has. It'll be a loss for Alabama, no doubt. Because Jamarcus Shepard does an outstanding job with the receivers. But, hey, you know, the other side of this is do you want a staff that no one's interested in? Or do you want a staff that other teams are trying to pluck your guys for promotion? So, a giant promotion for Jamarcus Shepard, I don't think it'll have any effect at all on Alabama against Auburn. Or even against the SEC championship game, assuming Alabama gets that far. The expectation is that Shepard will remain with coaching his receivers until the season plays out. Jimmy, before we jump into the game, let's talk about something else that it might or might not. It's obviously very late in the recruiting process. Wednesday is the National Signing Day. They've got some pretty elite receivers on board waiting to flick the BIC. Your thoughts about any impact whatsoever, if any at all, on Wednesday's signing day? Well, Alabama is trying to sign one more wide receiver. That is an addition that they're trying to make. Samson Gash from the state of Michigan. He's committed to Michigan State. Alabama's working to flip him from his Michigan State commitment. He has not done so publicly. I think it's possible this is a factor because, obviously, Jamarcus Shepard was recruiting Gash to Alabama. But in the end, my understanding of that situation is the big decision for Samson is, does he want to leave home? I think that's kind of been the thing with him is staying close to home. So, I doubt Jamarcus Shepard, you know, himself is a major factor in his recruitment. We'll have to see. I think if they get closer to signing day, I'm more of the opinion that Michigan State is likely to be the destination for him. The closer he gets to signing day without hearing from him. Because, again, Alabama's trying to pull him away, and it hasn't happened yet. So, we'll see. But I doubt the Shepard seems to much of a factor. You know, could be. Jimmy, win the turnover battle. Alabama was plus 10 a couple weeks ago, and now they're plus 6 after a couple of rough games. Give Ty Simpson time to operate in the offense. Alabama did a marvelous job of not allowing Georgia or Tennessee to sack Ty Simpson. But Auburn has a strong defensive front. Limit the explosive quarterback runs. Countervise running out of the pocket. Auburn's got two quarterbacks who can run all day. What's Jimmy Stein's keys to Alabama beating Auburn in the Iron Bowl? I had to pick one stat going into the game that Alabama fans should want to be on the good end of. It's turnovers. And I know that that's probably oversaid, overplayed, kind of a trite thing to say. But I don't think it's ever been more important than a game that I fully expect to be close. I think when it's close in the fourth quarter and it's a one-possession game, extra possessions may be all that it takes. I think looking back at Alabama's last loss against Oklahoma, you know, you outplay them in so many ways. You know, you double up their yardage, you know, over 400 to 200. Oklahoma only has one. Oklahoma, their longest drive of the day is 41 yards. Alabama has four drives over 60 yards. The reason Alabama loses the game is because of turnovers. That can only happen in Jordan-Hare. It's going to be loud. It's going to be an insane environment. Auburn's very aggressive defensively. I think, to me, the key to the whole game is ending it, positive giveaway, takeaway. It doesn't have to be a lot. You don't have to be plus three. You don't even have to be plus two. It might only take being plus one. And as much as when you say turnovers, the focus is on Alabama turning over the ball. And there has been too many turnovers lately. You know, Todd Simpson went five games in a row with a fumble. Two interceptions in the last game. There's been too many turnovers. But I would look at the other side of the ball, too. I think it's on Kane Womack's defense to force some turnovers in this game. Ashton Daniels will only be making his, what, his third start of this season. He was turnover-prone at Stanford. He threw 20 interceptions in his career at Stanford. This might be a good weekend for Kane Womack's group to come up with the turnovers that make the difference in the game. Jimmy's down hooking it with us. It's called Locked on Bama. This is crazy, isn't it, Jimmy? You look at it. Alabama will be facing a team with an interim head coach and backup quarterbacks with an S compared to just a month ago. But here's what's ironic about it. You look at the stat game. This would be a shoe-in for Alabama. They dominate just about every major stat. Total offense, total defense, go on and on and on. Pass and defense certainly is a difference there. But that's just it. This team, under these interims, the stats are skewed because about 80 or 90 percent of those bad numbers for Auburn came under the guy just got fired. And all of a sudden, Auburn fans are sitting here and saying they're Lazarus. They've got a new life. Jimmy, your thoughts just about how crazy this is. If you look at the numbers, it's a no-brainer, except the fact that this new blood has breathed new life into this team. Well, Auburn's last two games have been impressive offensively. There's no doubt they look different on offense. What we'll find out on Saturday, how much of that due to opponents and how much of this is due to actual improvements since they've made the changes. Because you can't tell too much against Mercer. You can't make too much of it. But on the other hand, it did happen. And I don't think anyone out there believes that Auburn would have looked the same or looked as explosive with Jackson Arnold at quarterback versus Mercer as they were with Deuce Knight. So I do believe the changes have made some level of impact. We'll find out exactly how much. Even up in Nashville against Vanderbilt, where Auburn was pretty good offensively, Vanderbilt's a good team. They're on the cusp of the playoffs themselves. But Vanderbilt's doing it really offensively. Their defense is pretty average relative to the rest of the league. Jimmy, Josh Cuevas is a big hole in that offense out with a foot injury. We'll see if he can return in the postseason. Danny Lewis will not be playing against Auburn. But it's going to be huge. Caleb Edwards, Marshall Pritchett with a real opportunity to step up as far as checkdowns. Travis Cuevas had really, by midseason, turned into a major weapon for Ty Simpson. Jimmy, how much can the tight end step up against Auburn? I actually look for them to step up more in the run game. You know, interestingly, I know it's just one snap. It was the first snap of the game. Just one snap. But Alabama started the last game against Eastern Illinois in 12th personnel. Two tight ends with both Jay Lindsay and Caleb Edwards on the field together. I would look for that look to happen quite a bit this upcoming week. Two tight ends in an attempt to kind of create more of a run game, which is going to be vital for Alabama's chances this Saturday. Let me ask you this, Jimmy. We don't know this. Just speculating. Where is Ty psychologically? Because he looks like two different guys the first half of the season and certainly over the last few games. And this is going to be, I promise you, if you've ever been to a game at Auburn, certainly an Iron Bowl, you know this is probably the most challenging atmosphere. I don't care about Ohio State and Michigan. It may be as bad, but it certainly is no worse for an opposing quarterback to go in that environment. Your thoughts just about where he is between the ears compared, obviously we know he's done a good job between the hash marks, but where is he between the ears coming into this game? I don't really think his confidence has been deemed by anything that's happened the last couple of weeks, even Eastern Illinois. I get that, you know, there's those two interceptions. I don't think he even holds one of them against himself. You know, the Hail Mary at the end. Right, that's a wash. Yeah, and there's been fumbles, and the Oklahoma game was sort of rough, but Oklahoma has the best defense in this league. I think psychologically he's fine. What I'd worry more about is the fact that we're in game 12. He's been out there for every game, playing most of the game every week. There's not a college football player that's played 12 football games that feels perfectly fine physically. So, you know, how beat up is he after, you know, enduring the season as a whole? I think how he's holding up physically is maybe even more important. I don't believe his confidence has been affected at all over the last two weeks because it really hasn't been that bad. I think we're going to see a typical Ty Simpson performance at Auburn. Nothing extraordinary would be my guess, but I think it'll be a typical Ty Simpson performance, and a typical Ty Simpson performance that's been pretty good. Yeah, and overall, the health of how the two teams compare as far as the match report coming in, as far as key positions, and as far as the running game, he's got a tremendous fan club out there. A.K. Deer and, of course, Daniel Hill, they've got their fan club. They like some of the guys on this team, but they'd love to see more from Deer and Hill. What would be the mix? If you took a pie chart, how much of it's going to go to Deer, how much of it's going to go to Hill or others? That's a great question. Kevin Riley out this week, he's Alabama's third. He's been basically RB-free for quite a while, and they've used him to some extent. So I think it's fair to expect A.K. Deer to get at least as much run as Kevin Riley had been getting. I think that's fair. So I think maybe a quick look at A.K. Deer is something I'm expecting to see Saturday, but largely the run game, as usual, is going to come down to Jan Miller and Daniel Hill sharing those responsibilities. I think each week Jan Miller gets more removed from his early season concussion, the healthier it will be. Daniel Hill's looked sort of impressive. You know, I thought against Oklahoma, Daniel Hill was easily Alabama's best back. He only got two carries versus Eastern Illinois, so I'm sure they wanted to look at some other guys. Right. If I had to guess, if we were just all throwing a dollar and a hat, I would go with Daniel Hill being the most productive of Alabama's backs on Saturday. Jimmy, one of the biggest matchups in this game is going to be the Alabama secondary against the talented Auburn receivers. Eric Singleton, Kim Coleman, and friends. De'John Leesman, everything that a lot of people thought the five-star was going to be. Keyon Sale, Bray Hubbard, Zabian Brown, Zay Mincy, Damonte Jackson, on and on and on. How do you see the matchup? I think one of the best games within the game Saturday, on the snaps that happens, guys, is De'John Lees versus Cam Coleman. I think that's fascinating. Cam Coleman's one of the best wide receivers in the sport. Not just in the SEC, regardless of class. He's just one of the best of the best. And then if you're an Auburn fan, you've got to be excited about, hey, some of these snaps, they're going to match up Cam with a true freshman. I love that matchup. And I get that if you're an Auburn fan. But if you're an Alabama fan, you're excited to see exactly how De'John Lee measures up against such an elite player. And I don't think Alabama fans are worried the way De'John Lee has played, especially after game one, where he gave up a big play against Florida State. But he's been pretty lights out since then. I think that's one of the better, more fun matchups. And I can assure you one group of people are going to be interested in that matchup this Saturday, and that's NFL scouts. Neither one of those kids are going to be taken in this upcoming draft. But I bet they are both prominently featured in future drafts. Absolutely. Jimmy, Alabama basketball rebounds after losing a tough match to Gonzaga. And they run Maryland and UNLV off the court, 105-72 and 115-76. Much better job of distributing the ball in team basketball in the last two wins. They play Clemson next week. But the Iron Bowl is in front of us. Jimmy, you and Luke Robinson have been previewing it all week long. You're also on Crimson coverage. Where can we get online, Jimmy, and get the best podcast about Alabama sports on the planet? Hey, thanks. Locked on Bama, seven days a week. We're actually doing extra shows last week and next week, National Signing Day. We did a Signing Day special show today. There's going to be another one next week. And then, of course, Signing Day coverage. We bring extra coverage for all the extra stuff that's happening just around the game. So, say nothing of the Iron Bowl and potentially an exciting postseason. So, locked on Bama, seven days a week this time of the year. And I appreciate you guys having me on. You, too. You might want to bring out an extra pair of woolies. There should be extra frost on the pumpkin if there's any pumpkin left from Thanksgiving. Jimmy, enjoy the weekend. Thanks so much for your time today. Hey, really appreciate it, guys. Thanks. Thank you, bud. Jimmy's time is called Locked on Bama. Happening even as we speak. The Egg Bowl and a lot of big dates in the SEC. It's rivalry week around the league. Late level with the latest on deck. There will be more Buck Show. Stay with us. Mugshot's Grill and Bar has a winning fall lineup with their limited-time offers. 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Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, The Score. The Falcons are on the road on Sunday when Atlanta travels to East Rutherford, New Jersey, and MetLife Stadium as they take on the New York Jets. The Jets are currently 2-9 on the season, just 1-5 at home, while the Falcons come into the matchup at 4-7. Atlanta coming off a win last week that snapped a 5-game skid. Progressive is helping veterans drive their lives forward with its Keys to Progress program. Online at keystoprogress.com. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash, presented by Progressive on 93-9, The Score. Honey, look, four calling birds. Do they have cell phones? Well, yeah. They're called calling birds because they have four lines of Cricut 5G. Uh, how do they pay? Oh, easy. Each line is only $25 a month. Why are they calling? It's me. One sec, gotta take this. Call! Call! Join Cricut Nation and get four lines for $25 per month each. Smile, you're on Cricut. Cricut may temporarily slow data speeds. If the network is busy, new lines only. All lines must be selected. Unlimited plan fees. Terms and restrictions apply. Cricut 5G requires a compatible device. It's not available everywhere. See CricutWireList.com for details. Hi, I'm Kylie. I'm John. And I'm Garrison. And a little thing we love about the 30-count Chick-fil-A nuggets. Is sharing it in the car during the holidays. I do love that. We will pack the car with gifts. And, of course, we go and pick up our family's favorite nuggets. Every nugget is tasty times quad billion. And we get all the sides. Yeah, the ooey-gooey mac and cheese is a big hit. Everyone from 1 to 116 would love Chick-fil-A's chicken nuggets. Share the nuggets. Share the joy. Order the 30-count Chick-fil-A nuggets on the Chick-fil-A app. Real guests paid for their testimonials. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. Is he watching live SEC rivals go toe-to-toe? Or is he on the Boomo Bugg show? Or is he doing a lot of multitasking? We'll ask Blake Lovell that and more. He has got the entire SEC covered there at Southeastern 16. Also, the Blue Ribbon Yearbook. And his podcast is Established to Pass. Blake, only you know for sure. Are you watching that Egg Bowl? Are you talking to us? Or are you just a Swiss Army knife and doing several things at once? How are you? Yeah, I'm doing well. You know, the ultimate multitasker over here when it comes to keeping an eye on everything. You know, there's basketball games to be played today of importance. And it's just, yeah, a lot going on for sure. Let's talk about the Lane Bowl. Right now, Ole Miss over State. And if you go ball the talk this week, it should be about 200 to nothing because Lane Kiffin's walking on water. But right now, State says, not so fast, my friend. 14-7 there on the short end is near the end of the first half. Your thoughts so far? Yeah, I mean, I think the expectation coming into this, you know, whether it was the off-the-field stuff or whatever, I just never really maybe envisioned this being a game where Ole Miss just going to run away with it. I mean, again, Mississippi State's 5-6 or 1-6 in the SEC. But I think everyone would agree. I mean, the program is headed in the right direction. Under Jeff Levy, I think they overachieved this year in terms of just the amount they've improved. Again, it hasn't led to a ton of wins. But still, you're going to take where they're at this year versus where they're at last year. And so, I think you've kind of seen that so far. You can see kind of the upside moving forward with the program. And then, of course, you know, for Ole Miss, it's been kind of the same story. It's been the same guys with Chambliss and Lacey, you know, making plays so far. And I think they came out early, obviously, with something to prove. And things have gotten a little stagnant since then. A lot of fireworks in the first quarter, not so much in the second quarter. But, yeah, this game should be tight, I would think, at the end. Well, it's crazy about it. They've already had an arrest in the game. Shock, shock. Some MSU fan reportedly broke into the Ole Miss locker room and stole a jersey. Somehow, folks are not shocked by that. But let me ask you this, Blake. The question is, what happens after the game with Lane? He's held everybody in suspense. And here's what I like about the situation down the road from you and in Columbia, Missouri. When I see these reports, these coaches getting upset, please do what Drinkwitz did in Missouri. Do what your buddy there did there to Clark Lee in Vanderbilt. If you're not going to go somewhere, just say, I'm not going in. Give me the piece of paper. I'm signing extensions. Shut up. Let's get down to business. Your thoughts about the strategy of what happened, which to me is smart on Vandy's part and Missouri's part. The burden of hands sometimes is better than two in the bush. But your thoughts just about that and once he does unveil the envelope and open it up, where's Lane going to be coaching next year? Yeah, so I think, like you said, it's interesting because, you know, there was plenty of rumors swirling with Drinkwitz and Clark Lee. And obviously, they were seen as coveted candidates elsewhere. But like you said, I mean, they got the distraction out of the way. The decision has been made. And now you move on to more important things. I mean, especially for Vanderbilt, who, you know, could still be playing for a playoff spot tomorrow. I'll tell you a text I got a little while ago on this whole Lane Kiffin fiasco. And sometimes I'm like, it can't be this black and white here in terms of it playing out this way. But then I said, you know what? This is Lane Kiffin. And this is the scenario we've been put in. And the text simply read, if Ole Miss wins today, I think, according to people I've talked to, Lane Kiffin will be back at Ole Miss. And the text also said, if Lane Kiffin loses today, I think Lane Kiffin has to find another job. And so I'm like, well, if that's the way this thing plays out. And listen, this is from someone who, I'm going to be honest with you guys, he's been pretty good in these coaching searches. If this is where we've gotten to, where Lane is basically in a situation where he's got to win today to stay at Ole Miss, if he wants to, or maybe he's just, you know, who knows? And so, what a fiasco. I'll be honest. What a marriage. I do still, yeah, yeah, there you go. I do still think there's a chance he stays because I think it's all about the playoff. But I also think that the scenario is still in play where he winds up at LSU. I just, with him, there's no way I can say with any confidence which way it'll play out. The Iron Bowl in Texas is going to be played tonight. Texas A&M, a two-and-a-half-point favorite. If they win tonight, they're going to Atlanta to face either Alabama, Ole Miss, or Georgia. It would be A&M's first 12-0 regular season since 92. They haven't won a national championship since 1939. A&M's played really well. The big difference to me have been their receivers, KC Concepcion, Mario Craver from Clay Chalkville, ironically, playing one of our local teams tonight. Cassius Howell's turned into a star. Marcel Reed. Manning has improved. He's looking more like the player a lot of people thought we'd seen the preseason. What an intense game tonight. And, Austin, your thoughts, can Texas pull the upset? Yeah, it should be a fantastic game. Obviously, the atmosphere will play into it. I think the one thing for me is, you know, I do think there is a chance for this Texas team to find a bit of a groove offensively. And, you know, that's something where throughout the year that was kind of the discussion was, was that going to be something they could do? Well, hey, congratulations. You got to play Arkansas. That gives you a little confidence in doing that because, of course, they just scored 52 against the Hogs. You know, and then again, did the same thing against teams like Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, not so much Georgia. But we kind of understand why in that scenario. But I do think they'll be able to score. And I would expect this to be a game where you see some points on the board because that's the thing. If you're looking at it from, you know, kind of Texas A&M standpoint, the talk early in the season about Texas, even when the offense was struggling, it was, well, the defense has been so good. Well, you look at the numbers they've given up in the past four games. It's not been that good. So I think A&M, to me, is the tougher team. And they've shown that they have been able to kind of have their backs against the wall multiple times this season. And I think it's a product of their head coach. I think it's just the way Mike Elko handles this team and what he's done this season. He has just been masterful, whether it's the South Carolina comeback, whether it's, you know, some of these other games that they found themselves in. So I'm going to keep giving that nod to A&M. I just think, again, that to me, they are the tougher team at the end of the day. And I think they've found enough plays to win this one. Play level, Southeastern 16. There's a game tomorrow. They call it the Iron Bowl in our state, Blake. The one thing they have in common, they both play, amongst other things, Vanderbilt. Alabama won at home. Auburn lost on the road in the shootout. Blake, your thoughts about a different team than a month ago for the Auburn Tigers that Alabama will be facing. What's going to give tomorrow night on the Plains? Yeah, I mean, you guys know how this goes. This is just one where it seems like it's kind of one of those games you write off based on the records, but you just can never do it. Because it's Alabama and Auburn and, you know, Vegas knows something as always. And any time you've got a game like this against a 9-2 team, against a 5-6 team, and, you know, if that spreads under a touchdown, that tells you. It's the Iron Bowl. It's not just another game. And so, yeah, I mean, look, I still think Alabama is in a good position to win this game. But like you said, I mean, look at the way Auburn has sort of built some momentum up, and I think it's one where you've got a team that's clearly, you know, going into this with something to prove. And I think that does matter a little bit, you know, whether it's, you know, the way the Vanderbilt game played out where you just felt like, hey, I know it's a loss. But at the same time, we know where things were a couple weeks prior, and we feel like we've kind of turned a corner a bit. I know Mercer is Mercer, but, I mean, come on, right? I mean, you scored 62. That game was tied at one point. Mercer, you know, was a 9-1 team heading into it. I just, I think that's the thing, is I feel like it's a program that has a lot more momentum and confidence right now. We'll see if they hire their head coach. But I think, yeah, it's going to be a challenge for Alabama. And obviously, there's been their own distractions at times with everyone, you know, talking about the Kayla DeBoer stuff and all that. And so, yeah, like, I just, I think it's one where I would not be shocked at all if Auburn won this game. But I still think Alabama finds a way to win it. I'll tell you what, one of the more entertaining games this weekend is going to be in Knoxville, number 12, Vandy going to number 18, Tennessee. Everybody wants to talk about Pavia and the offense, but the Vandy defense is only giving up 105 yards rushing a game. Deshaun Bishop and Star Thomas at Tennessee wanted to do something about that. But Vandy's got a lot more to play for. They're on the cusp. I know in their opinion of getting into the college football playoff, they may be stoked knowing Clark Lee is going to be coming back. This is going to be one of the more interesting games tomorrow. Yeah, it will be for sure. I think, again, knowing kind of what's at stake for Vanderbilt and what a wild world it is when we're talking about Tennessee playing a spoiler for Vanderbilt to make the playoff. I mean, that's where we are. And, yeah, I mean, I think it's clearly one that, you know, just from a technical standpoint, like it does feel like Vanderbilt is just simply the better team. But I think it's a tough spot for them going into this game and feeling like it's one where, again, you know what you're getting in a Tennessee team that just got the monkey off its back, winning in games full. And, again, understanding that they don't have the exact same thing to play for here, but it would be nice to be able to pretty much dash any hope that Vanderbilt had of making the playoff. And they've heard it all year long about Pavia and the story of Vanderbilt and all this. And I think just, you know, I always say Josh Heupel and the offensive wizardry this guy can put together at times. I think this is your last game of the season. I think you will pull out all the stops. You will see some of those, you know, just trick plays. You'll see all that kind of stuff in this game, I think, from Tennessee. So I do kind of give Tennessee the edge in this one. I just think, again, it's kind of a tough spot for Vanderbilt to go on the road and win this game. There's obviously a lot more pressure on them in this matchup. And so I'm going to give Tennessee the advantage in this one. We'll be talking with you in more detail about SEC basketball. They've been quite impressed in the last week. The tournament in Las Vegas, both Alabama and Auburn go two out of three. Alabama loses to Gonzaga, but route Maryland and UNLV. Auburn comes back in the second half and beats St. John's 85-74. Michigan routed them. Michigan's probably the best team in the country right now outside of Purdue. Noticed Arkansas gave Duke everything they wanted last night. SEC looking more and more, at least the top five or six teams are going to be something else this year. I know you've got everything covered, basketball, football, pregame, postgame, all of your great podcasts. Be a busy time tomorrow. Where can we get online and get all the good stuff? Yeah, I always appreciate it, guys. Yeah, check out all of our SEC football stuff, of course, today, tomorrow. Lots of stuff. Any coaching things that come up, all these games, yeah, you can find us, Southeastern 16 on YouTube. And, yeah, as you mentioned, Brad, SEC basketball in full effect right now. So, yeah, you can find that there as well. Blaine, listen, man, thanks so much. Have a great, safe, and warm weekend, all right? Thanks, guys. You too. Thank you, bud. Blaine, level hookin' with us. Bees you there at Southeastern 16, 14-7. The two-minute timeout in the Egg Bowl. Ole Miss up on state. The latest on that and more with Bill Bender from the Sporting News. All straight ahead. Stay with us. Music Start your day the Turbo way at Turbo Coffee in downtown Florence. Whether you're craving a handcrafted latte, a refreshing smoothie, an energizing acai bowl, or our famous house-made pastries, we've got something to fuel every part of your day. Proudly located right in the heart of downtown Florence, Turbo Coffee is more than just your neighborhood coffee shop. We're a community. 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Hey, I'm Mike Slater. My dad passed away at the age of 63. He's out of nowhere. Had a stroke. Super hard, obviously, for the whole family. But my dad had life insurance. This is why I have life insurance for my family, for my wife and four kids. And the best place to get life insurance is ethos.com because you can do it in 10 minutes. And there's no medical exam and no blood test. Just a few health questions. Get life insurance in 10 minutes so your family is protected. Ethos. E-T-H-O-S. Ethos.com slash play. The Score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. The Score. Welcome back in. Time to say hi to the man who's from Ohio. He's Bill Bender, the National Voice with East Sporting News. Bill, welcome in. Are you still stuffed from all the stuffing on Thanksgiving? How are you? I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm on my way up to Ann Arbor. I'll be staying in Toledo tonight and get to the game at noon tomorrow. So, exciting times. The weather, there might be some snow tomorrow. We haven't hit it yet, but we'll see what happens. That's a four-letter word that we don't know a whole lot about down here. Let's talk about that showdown. Obviously, on paper, I think a lot of folks are saying it's already written in. Ohio State's going to beat Michigan. Will they, Bill? Is it going to be that easy? Because Michigan, all of a sudden, seems to have a pulse. Your thoughts about the showdown? Well, you never take anything for granted. You guys know that with the Iron Bull. It's the same concept. You know, when these two teams get on the field, it's special. And just like it's special down there for you guys. You know, this will be the tenth one I cover. And you always kind of take a moment in the press box to kind of scan the field and say, man, this is pretty cool. I do think Ohio State's defense will be the difference in this game. That, you know, everything that could happen, happened last year. But this defense is nasty. They're really going to test Bryce Underwood, freshman quarterback. He's got a lot on his – speaking of having a lot on his plate, Underwood will have that tomorrow. Here's the deal. It's kind of like the Iron Bulls, if not. The underdog has the home cooking. And to me, the T-word is the X factor here. Crimp is the wrong, Bill. Usually in a rivalry game like this, whoever loses the turnover battle usually loses the ball game, especially if it's more than two. Your thoughts about the factor both there with that showdown and the one tomorrow night on the Plains? Well, running the football. It starts there. Any huge matchup. And Auburn does have a good run defense. So, you know, Alabama will have to – they can't abandon the run in a game like that. A turnover can put the momentum. I'm listening to Ole Miss, Mississippi State right now. Even like a missed field goal or something like that can put the momentum. So, yeah. I mean, you always look at those things in the big game. And it just seems like – and you guys know this. In the Iron Bull, it seems like the fun ones, maybe not so fun for Alabama because they're stressful, are the ones that Jordan Hare, just like the ones that you remember more seem to be the ones at Michigan Stadium. Yeah, you're right. Let me ask you about the one tonight. I always look for your upset of the week. And I think I have found it. The Yankees, a two-and-a-half-point favorite at Texas. Texas is playing better. And, again, you say, well, Texas scored 52 against Arkansas, big deal. But I think it is a big deal that he, in the last three or four weeks, continues to seem to improve week by week. You know, all of the preseason chatter about him, he's beginning to live up some of that. We know how good A&M is. Their offense gets on the headlines, but Cassius Howell and their defense are very good, too. This will be incredible atmosphere in Austin tonight, 6-30 on ABC. Bill Bender predicts the Texas Longhorns to upset Texas A&M and end that undefeated streak 28-25. And if it's the Iron Bull in the game, this is the other one that I always love watching. And I'm so glad they're playing again because of the heat. And, you know, I don't – is it an upset in Austin? Yeah. But are these teams pretty even? Yeah. I mean, you know, how does Marcel Reed attack that Texas pass defense that ranks 12th in the SEC? How does Arch Manning – you know, he's put up good numbers, but it hasn't been up against a defense like the Aggies. So, it is back and forth. And all of those things Harold just mentioned, the running game, the turnovers, the special team, if they fall Texas' way, I think they can pull this upset. Three things that Alabama fans can verify going back to the Oklahoma game, what you just mentioned there, Bill. Let's circle back to the Iron Bowl. We love having you at the table. You've got the national voice. If you ask most Alabama fans, they'll tell you who's going to win. If you ask most Auburn fans, they'll tell you who's going to win. You have the neutral card here, Bill. Who is going to win the Iron Bowl? Well, when I saw that opening spread, it just – it looked like, okay, why wouldn't you just take Alabama? What am I not seeing here? And I get it. You know, Auburn does have a good run defense, and Alabama can't turn the ball over. But that Eastern Illinois game was probably the best thing possible in some ways, you know? Tweaking. Yeah, he threw a pick or whatever, but, you know, you do that in that game. You don't do it in this one. And, you know, Alabama was able to put that Oklahoma loss behind. I think they will win the game. And if that scenario unfolds, I believe we would have Alabama, Georgia, and Atlanta next week, which I do think will be the case. And I think a couple people might watch that one. Let me ask you this in that scenario, Bill. I'm proud you brought that up because, obviously, back to what you just said, you're assuming that Texas ain't able to lose, which is set up with an Alabama win, the rematch. And let's say that Alabama gets there and Georgia wins. That would be three losses for Alabama. But one of those wins came against Georgia. What happens in that wild scenario, Bill, as far as the playoffs? Yeah, you know, it's a weird one because if you're an Alabama fan, in some ways, you could be like, well, I just hope Texas A&M wins, right? Like, or is there a way, you know? But I think you go play the games. And I've said a lot, kind of maintained all along two teams that I don't think will get dinged. One, I don't think there's any way Notre Dame gets left out at 10-2. And I'll hold on that. Because they've been in the top 10 the whole time. And I don't think the committee would ding Alabama for playing in an SEC championship game. I'll believe it when I see it that they would leave out a three-loss Alabama that plays in the SEC championship game in favor of a, you know, because the team stack will be like Miami and SMU potentially banished. Michigan if they beat Ohio State. That's who's, yeah, BYU. And I just don't think they would leave Alabama out for putting another game on the line, a data point. It goes to show that this debate about the value of conference championship games is changing. I know how important that SEC game is to you guys down there. It's the most important one of all four. But I still think the value of those games has changed. Who in the world would have thought in August that we'd be having a conversation about if Vanny beats Tennessee tomorrow, they're still on the cusp of getting into the college football playoffs. And I mentioned this earlier. I may want to talk about Stowers, the tight end. They're running the ball. They've got a very solid offensive line. And, of course, Pavia gets all the headlines. But their rush defense is really good. Tennessee is, too, as far as running the ball with Bishop and Thomas. Tennessee's got a six-game winning streak. Vanny fans are stoked because multiple media reporting this morning, Clark Lee, is returning. I know he was kind of on the outside looking in for the Auburn job. We'll see where that goes. Bill Bender's got Tennessee holding on in a high-scoring matchup, 37-31. Yeah, I think it's going to be one of the more entertaining games of the weekend. And I hope it doesn't get lost in the shuffle because, you know, Vanny does have a chance to win 10 games for the first time in school history. And in the news of Clark Lee, that's going to jack them up. What Diego Pavi has done for that program has got to excite them. But Tennessee is still at home. And that rivalry has no love lost in it either. And I think Joey Aguilar and that quick-strike passing game will make a difference. So, give me the balls at home. We'll be surprised if Vanderbilt wins. But I just know that game is going to be up and down both ways. I think both teams will put up a bunch of points. 21-10 now at the half. Ole Miss has a pretty good, comfortable lead. Let's talk about that, what happens after the game as far as will there be any surprises from Lane schedule to make that announcement tomorrow. And we go back to this, Bill. If you don't like people sitting here and speculating, if you get tired of it, just do what Eli Drinkwitz did at Missouri and Clark Lee did at Vanderbilt and others. Signetti there in Indiana. We've got a good thing going here. I'm not going to jeopardize losing prize recruits with all this back and forth. I don't need the attention. I'm just going to go ahead and take the deal in front of me, sign the extension, put this baby to rest. I don't think Lane would do that because he lost the attention, not to mention the potential money. But your thoughts, where does this baby land tomorrow? Any surprises with Lane? No, I don't know. I mean, I found it very interesting. Brett McMurphy pulled a very large pool of writers and personalities. And he sent me a text. And all it said was, where do you think you're going to coach next year? And I put LSU. And, you know, there's a variance of LSU, Ole Miss, a couple of Florida's. And even a couple, Trey Wallace, a good friend of mine, I put Tennessee Titans. That got my attention. You know, what if he does go to the NFL? You know, that would be the most lame-kipping thing ever. So, there's a lot of speculation on all of those places. So, I don't know, Harold. I really don't know. I think he's holding us, not hostage, but he's holding our interest, no question. And we'll see what the question is, the answer to the question is. I just think LSU has given him an offer that he's really going to have to think about because that's the one place where three of the last four guys that have coached there have won one. Isn't it amazing that we have not discussed two games that, as long as we've been blessed to talk to you, this is just a must as far as breakdown. Clemson at South Carolina. Clemson now eligible at 6-5. South Carolina having a miserable year. But this is one game that Shane Beamer's been able to get his guys up for. In fact, the Gamecocks snapped a five-game losing streak beating Coastal Carolina. And the other one that everybody thought, well, at the end of the season, this is going to be one of the more pivotal games in November. A 5-6 Florida State team traveling to a 3-8 Florida team in the world would have thought that would have been the case in August going into the season. Two of the biggest robberies in the country now, pretty much an afterthought tomorrow. Yeah, you know, and for Clemson, you know, there'll probably be some speculation with Davo, but I don't think he's going anywhere. And the same with Beamer. I think they'll probably ride that out. But a fun game, always in the Palmetto State. I know when I lived down that way, it was always fun listening to Clemson and South Carolina fans go back and forth. I kind of like Clemson in that game to win. You know, it'll be fun. And then Florida State, Florida, boy, I mean, that was one, even us in Ohio when we were growing up, you tuned in afterwards. And you knew that was going to be a huge game. And Florida, preseason ranked, but I think they're just fit for a reset no matter who that next coach is. Keep an eye on Kenny Dillingham. And then Florida State, if they lose, keep an eye on, period, because that could be an interesting job opening if they decide to go on from Mike Norvell. So there is still in-state pride and those kind of things on the line in both games. And you can never underestimate the power of a victory in that case. Let me ask you what you're hearing. Missouri and Arkansas tomorrow. Missouri 7-4. I remember they were 5-0 in ranked number 14, undefeated, when they played hosted Alabama back in October. That seems like five years ago. Arkansas is one of the most snake-bit teams I've ever seen. The schedule is brutal year in, year out. You go back to September. What in the world would they have done if they would have been able to win in the final two-minutes games against Ole Miss in Memphis? Now, we're hearing, I've heard this week, there was one report Tuesday that Alex Golich of South Florida, quote, had accepted the job at Arkansas. But he said, no, I want some time to think about this, and we should hear something this weekend. Alabama's defensive coordinator, Kane Womack, who's got a lot of times to Arkansas. He played there as a walk-on years ago. What are you hearing about the Arkansas coaching situation? You know, Dallas should be a good candidate there. I really like what he's done in South Florida, obviously. He started at Ohio State, you know, he's got tied here, but an excellent coach with what they do on both sides. And, you know, Kane's another interesting guy, obviously, with his ties to the school. So, I mean, both of those guys would pick. You know, so we'll see over the next couple of days. I think Golich is probably in that same spot that Lane is in, in some ways. Like, he likes the offer, but he also likes where he's at. So that's what makes those job decisions tight. And then I think Eli Drinkwitz, like you guys mentioned, him saying, I'm staying put in Missouri, took one more piece off the board. They could have moved in this SEC chain reaction. So, you know, Arkansas's got a lot to think about, but I still think that's a really good job. You know, any job in the SEC where you can recruit, they've had NFL players. You could win there. It's just a little bit tougher than some other places. Yeah, absolutely. The real winner for Black Friday is Jimmy Sexton. Yeah. To be able to get these coaches to re-up. For goodness knows how much more money he's going to be making in commissions. Safe travels to watch the game again. I know you're excited about it. Be glad your family had a very good Thanksgiving. Always enjoy the visit with you every week. Where can we get online, get pre-game, post-game? I know you're going to be really busy the next couple of days. Coaching carousel, where can we get all your good stuff? Yeah, it'll be a blur until Monday, but that's why we love this job. You know, and having that time with family was so great yesterday. So, yeah, you check us out at Bill Bender, 92, SportingNews.com. We've got a big piece about the Ohio State-Michigan game up there right now. And best of luck in the Iron Bowl, guys. Enjoy it. It's great. Thank you so much. Safe travels to and from Ann Arbor and Dodge. The abominable snowman up there. Okay, Bill? So much. Take care. Bill Bender with us, the National Voice with the Sporting News. Coming up the next hour, I'm going to be taking it all over the place. Going to be going coast to coast to get the national perspective on the Iron Bowl and more with Mike Kugin. Huge showdowns on the high school grid. Iron Zack counters on that. And what's it like to be a quarterback in the Iron Bowl? Former top Tiger Charlie Trotman and more straight ahead of the Bumult Buck Show. Stay with us. Hey, folks. Don Wessel is back again for Woody Anderson Ford. And let me tell you, if you've been thinking about a new Ford, now really is the best time to buy. It's the Ford year-end sales event, and we're rolling out some of the biggest savings of the year. Right now, drive home a 2025 F-150 with financing as low as 0% for 60 months. And make no payments for 90 days. That's right. 0% and no payments till spring on America's best-selling truck. And Woody Anderson Ford has over 140 F-150s to choose from. Plus, it doesn't stop there. It's got incredible deals across the entire Ford lineup. Explore, Escape, Bronco Sport, Edge, Mustang, even the legendary Bronco. Whether you need capability, comfort, or pure fun behind the wheel, Woody Anderson Ford has the perfect ride waiting for you. It's our year-end sales event with no payments for 90 days on over 140 F-150s. Plus, 0% for 60 months. With approved credit, offer ends January 5th. Come on in to Woody Anderson Ford. I'm Don Wessels, and we hope to see you soon. It all comes down to this, folks. Yep, the entire season is on the line. But my throat has officially thrown in the towel. Sounds like you need Vicks VapoCool Drops. Their max strength and vaporized sore throat pain. VapoCool. Whoa! These VapoCool Drops hit fast! Speaking of fast, did you just see that play? Yeah, he vaporized that ball. That pun should have come with a penalty. Vaporized sore throat pain with Vicks VapoCool Drops. Use as directed. VapoCool. An official message from Medicare. Medicare plans change from one year to the next. And this year, it's important for you to review your current coverage and compare all your options during Medicare open enrollment. Compare health plans, drug coverage, and costs. See if you can save some money, and don't forget to make sure your drugs are covered. Open enrollment ends December 7th. Visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rich Eisen here, and we're brought to you by Sonos. The holidays are all about connection, and Sonos speakers make every moment sound amazing. Imagine your favorite playlist flowing from room to room, movie nights that feel like the theater, or the big game filling your living room with stadium-quality sound. Whether it's a gift for someone you love or a little to-me, from-me moment, Sonos is the perfect gift that brings high-quality sound to every room. Sonos' Black Friday sale is on now through December 1st, 2025 at Sonos.com. Discover how easy it is to bring every room to life with Sonos. Are you ready to unleash the beast? Monster Energy is here to give you the edge this college tailgate season. Loaded with bold flavors, our powerful blend gives you the energy you need to push you beyond your limits. Tune in all season long with Monster, the energy drink of ESPN Radio College Football Tour. Power your performance with a drink that's as hungry for victory as you are. Crack open an ice-cold monster and dominate the competition. Monster Energy, unleash the beast. Grab yours today. The Board of Trustees at Troy University has now initiated a transition plan that will allow their chancellor, Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr., to retire in about two years. Hawkins will remain as the university chancellor until December of 2027. Hawkins tried to retire back in 2024, but his decision created a full-scale effort within the university and the Board of Trustees to keep Hawkins Jr. in place. Hawkins has been the chancellor and chief executive at Troy for over four decades. The president pro tem of the Board of Trustees, Gibson Vance, says the university has reached unprecedented levels in service to the people of Alabama and the world under Hawkins' leadership. Hawkins is already the longest-serving chancellor of a public university in the entire United States. I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this. Where I was living was not a great place to live anymore. I began to pray for a place to go, praying for all of these things that a nine-year-old would want. I wanted horses, big house with a bunch of people my age. I wanted parents. I wanted a mom and a dad. Before I even prayed it, the Lord had already answered my prayer with the Big Oak Ranch. Who would that nine-year-old be if she never came to the Big Oak Ranch? I would be trying to fight for survival instead of fighting to break a cycle. Big Oak Ranch, a Christian home for children needing a chance. The city of Huntsville has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for their transit line. $6 billion has been given to the Rocket City to purchase low- or no-emissions hybrid diesel and electric transit buses. Huntsville has 16 buses on 12th's fixed routes that cover about 100 square miles of the city area. The Purple Marching Machine from Miles College will be defending its title of Band of the Year, which will be covered by ESPN. The Red Lobster HBCU Band of the Year championship will occur in Atlanta, Georgia on December 12th. I'm Andrea Tice. For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com. And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter. You can beat your toughest opponent. You can beat your best time in the mile. You can beat that old largemouth bass. But one thing you should never try and beat is a train. If a train is approaching, don't risk your life trying to beat it. Because beating the train is a deadly game. Drive Safe Alabama. Sponsored by ALDOT. The Alabama Broadcasters Association. In this station. WITK, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, the Shoals. Sports Radio 93.9 The School. Valley Broadcasting Corporation. We are a championship school and school is in session. And the clock's going to run out and Alabama's going to win it. And for the love, let's get out of here. Join us Saturday as the Crimson Tide head to Auburn for the 90th edition of the Iron Bowl. Our coverage begins at 3.30 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 the law firm of Johnson, Pesher, Medley, and Burchill. Page Borden Insurance and MJ Carter and Company Insurance. J.C. Hammond Sons. Lost Pizza. First Metro Bank. Alabama Health Guidance. Story and Lee Furniture. Valley Credit Union. Cypress Creek Indoor Range. Ray Miller GMC. Hittaker Johnson and Layton Insurance. And Mugshots Grill and Bar. Hi, this is Chris Stewart. And your home for Alabama football is Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. 93.9 The Score Weather. For your Black Friday, sunny skies, high around 50. Tonight, becoming cloudier, low near 30. Tomorrow, a 30% chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms, high around 50. Tomorrow night, a 90% chance of showers, low near 40. And Sunday, a 50% chance of afternoon showers, high around 50. Your weather from 93.9 The Score. Now, get ready to roll. Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee. It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice. The Boomo Bugg Show. Your exclusive inside track to the Tide. Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC. Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in our Truth of the Boomo Bugg Show. I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird. Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley. BB, what do you say we kick off this second hour on this post-Turkey day with Mike Huguenen checking in from Orlando, Florida. National College football slash basketball analyst. Mike, welcome in. How are you? Yeah, doing well. Just a little bit despondent that this is the last regular season. Yeah. Oh, man. I think a lot of folks. But there's still a lot of title games and bowl games in the college football playoff. But still, it seems like it just got here. Now it's up basically over. Yeah, I know. It's just one of those. You're right. But it also is another way of saying the end is near totally. Mike, are we about to see the last half of Lang Kiffin coaching an Ole Miss team? Or will he hit the renewal button? They're up 21-10 in the Egg Bowl over buddies from Mississippi State. Again, it's just a half. Mike, your thoughts about Lang Kiffin? Yeah, I think if he was staying at Ole Miss, that already would have been announced. That would have been a gigantic, I think, groundswell of emotion going into the Egg Bowl, going into the playoff. The fact that it hasn't been announced, I think he's obviously leaving. And it appears that LSU is the destination. That will be interesting to see how he handles it there. I think that at Ole Miss, there's a lot of grace in terms of media attention. And what the fans expect, the expectations are vastly more expectations at LSU. I also wonder how LSU can afford all this. They must have boosters that nobody knows about. I mean, they're having to pay Brian Kelly his entire buyout. It appears that Kiffin will make $15 million a year with a $25 million NIL budget. That's $40 million a year before you get to the assistants. I think they're going to fire Matt McMahon, the basketball coach, because I don't expect LSU to finish above 500 in the league. So that will be another buyout needed. So LSU obviously has deeper pockets than people think. And I am wondering where they're getting all this money. Mike, we have broken down the Iron Bowl for weeks now because we knew this was coming. The Auburn quarterbacks have been very impressive the last couple of weeks, but they've only really started one game. Alabama needs to cut down on the turnovers. They were plus 10 about four or five games ago, and that has changed. They're now plus six. Ty Simpson needs to get into a rhythm. This is a very emotional game. Mike, your national perspective on the Iron Bowl. Yeah, I think Auburn's offense, rather, it's not good, though. I would argue that Deuce Knight is interesting, a quarterback. The Auburn defense is bowl-worthy. Let's put it that way. Alabama has rushed for 125 yards against an SEC once this season. In its last three SEC games, Alabama has 208 combined rushing yards, which is about 70 yards a game. So I think that Ty Simpson has to be exceedingly sharp this weekend. Alabama's got 20 rushing touchdowns this year. Eight came last week against Eastern Illinois. So that's a long-winded way of me saying if Ty Simpson struggles throwing the ball, Alabama's in trouble. I don't think much of the Auburn offense. But, again, if Alabama's not moving the ball through the air, they don't have much of an offense either. So I think this is going to be a defense game, a defense-first game. I don't think anybody's going to be surprised if that's the case. I think Alabama does have the potential to throw the ball a heck of a lot better than Auburn. This is going to be a very interesting Iron Bowl, to say the least. The fact that it's at Auburn at night, I think, gives Auburn an edge. But I don't think it's enough of an edge. I think Alabama wins, but I expect an extremely close game. And, again, if Ty Simpson is running for his life, Alabama's in deep, deep trouble. This is not a well-balanced Alabama offense. The offensive line, I think, struggles to run block. I'm not sure the Alabama running backs are all that good anyway. But, man, there's a ton of pressure on Ty Simpson. Yeah. That's tomorrow night. Mike, let's talk about tonight the Iron Bowl, if you will, in the Longhorn State. Texas A&M taking on Texas. Yeah, this is a fascinating game. Texas is another team that its offensive line is not good. But Texas' passing game isn't as good as Alabama's. The Texas rushing attack is not even pedestrian, not even adequate, not even competent. Arch Manning has had a ton of pressure on him this year, has struggled at times. But, again, it's sort of like Simpson as well. If you don't have a running game, you have to be razor sharp. Right. For the most part, Simpson has been, and Arch Manning hasn't been. The one, I think, aspect of this, sort of like the Iron Bowl, Auburn and Texas are, you know, there's no expectations for them to win this game. There's no real expectation. I'm sure, you know, the hardcore fans, oh, yeah, Auburn's winning. Oh, yeah, Texas is winning. But let's get serious. But Texas A&M has, so far this year, avoided the annual meltdown game. They usually have one or even two a season. They melted down in the first half against South Carolina but rebounded. There's a lot of pressure on Marcel Reed. But I think the A&M rushing attack provides a balanced offense. So, to me, the importance in this game is, can A&M run the ball? If they run for 150, they're fine. If they struggle to run, you know, 100 or so, this is going to be a dogfight to the last play. I think A&M wins by at least a touchdown. But, again, teams that, you know, Texas and Auburn, again, playing with house money, you presume they do some offbeat things because what do they have to lose, which makes that interesting. And, again, A&M is known for its meltdowns and has not had one. Maybe Elko has made them meltdown-proof. We're going to know a heck of a lot more tomorrow. Or tonight, right? Tonight. Mike, Ryan Day has an issue with Michigan. They seem to be between the ears with him. He's got tremendous receivers, as we all know, Jeremiah Smith, Cornell Tate, just to name a few. But he seems, when he plays Michigan, we're just going to run the ball and be macho with this. But both Smith and Tate have been a little bit injured. So has Jordan Marshall. We all know the Alabama transfer is out for the game. Bryce Underwood, in two losses to USC and Oklahoma, 50% completion percentage. Now, Ohio State's defense is approved. Bo Jackson's had a very good season. Julian Sang has had one, too. Ohio State, a 10-point favor in going to Ann Arbor. Does Ryan Day finally get the monkey off his back? Yeah, 10 points on paper, that's an easy win. But then, like you said, take a step back. That seems exceedingly high for this game. Because Michigan, they do have Ohio State's number. Michigan last year was a mediocre team, and they beat Ohio State in Columbus. An Ohio State team that won the national title. This Ohio State team is not as good. Sayon has been exceedingly sharp since game one. That was his first start. He struggled. This will be his first start against a road team that can play defense. So, how does he handle the pressure? Michigan has to run to win. Ohio State has not allowed a Big Ten opponent to rush for more than 95 yards. They've held 10 of 11 opponents under 100 yards rushing. The only team that ran for more than 100 was Texas. Ironically, Texas, that was one of its best rushing games of the year. They ran for 166. So, you look at Bryce Underwood. If they have to win the game with his arm, that ain't happening. But the physicality, that had to be in the back of Ryan Day's mind. Are we more physical than Michigan? And I agree with Brett. It seems like in the past couple seasons, Ohio State has been h***-bent to prove that they are more physical and it's cost them. I think that if Ohio State comes out and throws the ball and, you know, throw the ball to set up the run, not the other way around, they'll be fine. But it is in Ohio State's head that this, you know, Michigan, for whatever reason, sort of owns them now. You know, this isn't, you know, oh, yeah, 10 years ago, Michigan had a five-game winning streak. No, this is current. No Ohio State player has beaten Michigan. So, how say in response to the pressure and how Ohio State calls this game offensively will determine it. You know, I would be, I won't be surprised at all if Ohio State wins. I would be shocked if Ohio State wins big. I think this will be a close Ohio State win because I think, for whatever reason, Michigan knows how to push Ohio State's buttons. Good to get there, Mike. Mike, you're going to National College football slash basketball analyst. It must be 2025, and the world's crazy to say this, Mike. But Tennessee is trying to spoil Vanderbilt's season and playoff hopes. Is it 2025? Are we in some type of twilight zone here or what, Mike? Yeah, Vanderbilt never won 10 games. Aguilar's been a good quarterback for Tennessee this year. I think he's been better than people expected. He played better than Nico did last year. But Pavia has been, he's been incredible the last three games. 1,429 yards of offense against Texas, Auburn, and Kentucky. Okay, Kentucky's not good. Texas and Auburn play high-level defense. He has been unstoppable. Eli Stowers, a tight end, has been unstoppable. Tennessee's defense played well last week against Florida. Pop Warner teams can stop Florida's offense. So, that doesn't say much. It'll be a different animal tomorrow. But, yeah, you're right. Diego, Pavia, and Vanderbilt, they have more on the line than Tennessee does. And, you know, Tennessee, in some respects, you're right, playing the spoiler mode. Tennessee wants to get to nine wins. I get that. But, and I think the game being in Knoxville is an advantage for Tennessee. But, you know, I'm at like a 51-49% kind of thing. I think the ball's won because I think they do have more explosive offensive players. And they, I trust they're running no more. But, the more points that are scored tomorrow, I think that actually is better for Vandy. So, this is going to be, yeah. I mean, Tennessee, Vandy, this is sort of like must-watch TV. Yeah. And, which is, I mean, the idea that five years ago, Vandy and Tennessee is must-watch TV. Yeah, can Tennessee get to 70? Yeah. But, tomorrow, heck, it might take 70 tomorrow. I think this will be an extremely high-scoring game. And, again, the more points, the better it is for Vanderbilt, I think. Before we let you go, who's your upset this weekend? Kansas is ahead of Utah now, midway through the third quarter. Some speculation, Miami at Pitt, number 24. The Hurricanes allowed just the 11 points since their second loss. But, Mario, at any time, can lay an egg. Who's your upset today or tomorrow? You know, I'm intrigued by Missouri-Arkansas. I know Drinkwood's got the extension yesterday. But, the one thing that sort of sticks out, this is Bobby Petrino's last chance to get a win as a head coach. That's a good point. And, I don't trust Arkansas' defense because it's garbage. But, the Arkansas offense can score. I would not be shocked if Arkansas wins at home tomorrow against Missouri. Plus, the Hogs are winless in SEC play. Send Petrino out with a win in his last game as a head coach. So, I would take Arkansas on that. Mike, I'm sorry. Before we jump off, speaking of Arkansas, will your friend down the road there in South Florida, Alex Golesh, be the new top hog in Fayetteville next year? Yeah, I think that's within reason. I think Golesh has been very up front with his USF bosses. If I'm Arkansas, I'm excited because his offense is exciting. I'm not excited because his defense is not very good. Whatever Arkansas is, whoever they hire, they've got to spend more money to get better players. That's the bottom line. But, Golesh, I think, would be a fun offense to watch in a different kind of way than the Petrino offense. I'm like you, Mike. I'm despondent, too. But the last regular season of college football, the postseason's great, but the regular season is absolutely incredible. I mean, as much as everything changes off the field, the on-the-field product remains to be very exciting. Glad you and your family. Go ahead, Mike. You know, I was going to say, the on-the-field product, despite what the powers-to-be do, every Saturday is phenomenal, frankly. Absolutely. Glad you and your family had a great Thanksgiving, buddy. Have a good week. Enjoy the games. Let's do this again next week. Excellent. Thank you, guys. Thanks, Tim, and you guys as well. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mike. Mike Kuegan, a national college football-slash-basketball analyst, joining us there in Orlando, Florida. We're going to go that far to get some great high school playoff action. Zach Pounder is setting the stage next. Stay with us. Hey, guys. How long have you been wearing those out-of-date, scratched-up glasses? This is Dr. Hampton Moore with Renaissance Eye Care. Go ahead and do as the woman in your life has been asking and schedule an eye exam. You can go to renaissanceeyecare.com or call 767-5000 to see either Dr. Kathy Werner, Dr. Lisa Campbell, or myself. 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Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, the score. The Falcons are in action on Sunday when they travel to play the New York Jets. Falcons are currently 4-7. Jets come into the matchup with a 2-9 record. Tenth-ranked Alabama and Auburn are set to play at Jordan Air Stadium tomorrow night in the Iron Bowl. Crimson Tide, 9-2 on the year, while Auburn is 5-6. Also tomorrow, South Alabama is on the road to play at Texas State, while Troy is at Southern Miss. Progressive is helping veterans drive their lives forward with its Keys to Progress program. Online at keystoprogress.com. I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash, presented by Progressive on 93-9, the score. Kohl's Black Friday deals are here. Grab your coffee and put on your sneakers, because it's go time. Through Saturday, save up to 50% on everything from toys to beauty faves, winter styles, and more. Plus, earn $15 Kohl's cash for every $50 spent. Yep, that's extra Kohl's cash. So run, don't walk. 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State pulling a little closer. Basically a one-score game now. 21-13. Ole Miss still with a lead. It's now roughly eight minutes to go there in the third quarter. So, again, a one-score game. Got a close eye on that and everything else. And speaking of huge days, we don't have to go that far to get them. Zach Pounder's got it all covered there. Shoals Sports Report. Zach, welcome in. How are you? Doing good. How are y'all? Good, man. We're doing great. It doesn't get any better than this, does it? Let's just go ahead and kick this baby off. The battle of the unbeatens tonight. Muscle Shoals with a dozen wins. They're 12-0. They're taking on CeCe, Clay Chalkfield. They've got a Baker's dozen, 13-and-old. Zach, where do you start breaking down the battle of the Titans tonight here in the Shoals? This game should be defensive on both sides of the field. If it's defensive, I like most of those chances. If it gets in their shootout, I don't know how much Shoals can score and keep up with Clay Chalkfield. And that's just the honest truth. We use it, Clay's offense, Aaron Fry, quarterback, 2,800 total yards on the season, almost 1,000 yards, 35 combined touchdowns, and that's a quarterback. They're running back, 1,000-yard running back. We have, I think, 14 or 15 touchdowns. They have a 1,300-yard receiver. And Corey Barber, who's going to Ole Miss, who's in the netball right now, and he's got 1,000 plus yards, and I think 14 touchdowns. Guys are all over the field, both sides of the ball. But now, most of the Shoals has Kamari and Johnson and Kelly Foster going out there in Arkansas, respectively. So, you never know. I think the key to the game is going to be how does most of the Shoals produce defensively without Christian Richards. And, especially since he had an injury last week, he's out for the season. So, how can most of the Shoals produce without him in the defense this week? And I don't know. And they can have you as close to playing the defense. And we're out of pressure. I like the advantage. I think the key matchup, and you alluded to this, is Corey Barber, the only miscommitment against Foster, who had two interceptions last week against Mountain Brook. In fact, against Parker and Mountain Brook, Muscle Shoals has intercepted three passes. Can they get enough pressure? Here, yeah, with Marty Johnson and friends, again, Clay Chalkville, 608 points on the season. They've only given up 149. Again, can they get pressure on Aaron Frye? And can they win the turnover battle with an interception or two? Here's the thing. I see that with Aaron Frye. When I see Aaron running quarterback nowadays, I go to thinking about, can you contain him in a bubble? You remember Cam Newton back in the day, back 10, 15 years ago, Auburn and Carolina Panthers. If he got out in space in the open field, he could take off 40 yards. Even nowadays, Jalen versus Lamar Jackson, if they get in the open field, they can take off each of the 20 yards in the field. And Aaron Frye has nearly 1,000 yards open this year. He's right under 1,000. If they get pressure, they get in the open field, then the linebackers, and they can want to contain him into a bubble and kind of keep him contained about five yards to carry versus nine, you know, our trunk point. It is the big question. Zach Pounder's got them all covered there. It shows the sports report. Zach, we see the numbers. We know most of the shows has faced a pretty daunting schedule. Talk to us about Clay Chalkville's schedule as well. In other words, how do the two teams stack up as far as the competition to date? They do have common opponents in Mountain Brook and Gatsby City. Most of the shows have opened Gatsby City, beating 24-6. It was really 24-0 until a harder time late in the game. Clay beat Gatsby City 44-7. Mountain Brook, Clay beat them 49-0 on the road. And then most of the shows have beaten last week 24-7 on the road as well. But Clay's strength of schedule is 5-50, win percentage 82-67. And it's a three-game stretch of Clay. I want to highlight Brandon, Mississippi. They're 7-5, but it's 7-8 semifinals in Mississippi tonight. And then Thompson, 10-3, 7-8 finalists next week in Alabama. Mountain Brook, 9-4. The most of the game of their whole season was Thompson by four points. They beat Brandon by 30-plus and Mountain Brook by 40-plus right at 50. Other than that, it's a lot of like 7-win teams, 8-win teams. Homewood last week, they beat Homewood by 8-team. So, for Clay, it's a very solid schedule. But also being in Birmingham, you're going to play Hueytown, third-round team 6-8. Ramsey was the first-round team 6-4. Pell City, first-round team 7-4. That was on their non-region. But their region was kind of solid. It's kind of annoying. It was at Oxford, East Birmingham region for 6-8. But most of the shows has also played a lot of their better teams later in the season with Jasper, Austin, Austin, May Jemison, Parker, Mountain Brook recently. So, most of the shows is a 5-29, Trent the schedule, Trent the record. But Clay has a better schedule by far. I know it's going to be cold tonight, but it is really an incredible blessing to have two Shulls teams at home tonight in the semifinals. That is very rare. I watched Mars Hill against Geraldine last week. They jumped out 35-0. They scored on three of their first five plays. Piedmont, both of these teams at 13-0. Piedmont, I don't think there's any question, is going to be their toughest matchup of the year. They can put some points on the board. Mars Hill, 52 a game. Piedmont, 48 per game. Both of these teams. Raleigh Pinto, we've talked about him on and off for the last couple of years. Tremendous receiver. I believe he's going to Jacksonville State. Cole Alston is Piedmont's quarterback. Another dual threat, as you alluded to, thrown for 18, run for 451. Nick Mixon is a good running back. But I tell you, Hudson Higgins and Jackson Penn, Higgins, 1,800 yards, 30 touchdowns. Penn, he's going to Troy, nearly 1,528 touchdowns. Cord Pig, at least the offensive line, you can just go on and on. Isaiah Owens is a tremendous receiver. What a game tonight at Mars Hill, undefeated. It's Piedmont at Mars Hill. Well, I'll say this. We've said this the last, what, three weeks about Mars Hill with Scottsboro. With Scottsboro, Winfield, and Geraldine should be their toughest game so far. I've got to see a team slow down Jackson and Hudson before I can affect them. I agree. Because the D1 talent on this field is just as loaded as most of the shots we've played. I believe it's not. In my preview, I highlighted these guys. Jackson Penn, three starters, three starters, Troy. Hudson Higgins, three starters, UAB. Samuel Sweeney on the offensive line, I think offensive line at least, is the UNA commit. Cord Pig has several FBS offers as a junior. And then Matthew McIntyre also on the line has several FBS offers also. So, that's, what, four for Mars Hill, maybe five in the offensive line alone. And Piedmont has Raleigh Pinto. Piedmont last year came up here in the first quarter, and there were two drives in the first quarter for each team. One drive for each team, two drives total. And it was 7-0 after the first quarter. Well, the next four minutes of the game, it turned into 14-7 Mars Hill. And by halftime, it was 21-28-7. And it ballooned into 49-7 in the fourth quarter before he pulled the starters. Well, it's going to be a fascinating game. No question about it. Before I let you go, let me ask you about Aniston and Plainview. Aniston beat Madison Academy, beat Dashiell last week. Plainview is Dale Pruitt. And, of course, the offensive and defensive coordinator is his son, Jeremy Pruitt, of SEC fame. Again, two undefeated 13-0 teams. And I talked to several people who went to the Dashiell-Aniston game. They said those guys are really, really good. Who wins Aniston at Plainview? With this game, I don't know, either, to be honest. But when you have an SEC, former SEC coach, and a five-time national academy who has coached some of the best games with Nick Saban and all of them, there's not a lot he hasn't seen in the football world. So, I think for Plainview, they should be their favorite. I think they're an underdog with the stats and all that. But I think 4A is one of those where the state championship is being played tonight and it's not up north. It's down south with Jackson to take Michael. Great. And I hope it's not above all that was last year, but Jackson, about whoever wins 4A south is going to run through 4A north like a freight train next week. And, I mean, Phillip Rivers, I want to see Plainview, say, Michael next week for the media circus around Phillip Rivers and Junior Pruitt. Right, right. I think it's going to be a 4A, which is still a small school in a sense, a small panel, a small school environment, to have a potential NFL Hall of Fame quarterback versus a five-time national academy college coach. I think it would be a media circus in the best way. Yeah, absolutely. Well, again, it would bring more attention to high school football in a great matchup. I know you've already started covering basketball. We'll get into that with you a little bit more in the coming weeks. But, again, certainly if you can survive the cold, and it's going to be a cold night, it should be fun to have two local teams in the semifinals. If they win, they're advancing to the Super 7. Zach, where can we get online and get basketball, football, pre-game, post-game with these two games? On Facebook, Shoals, Torch Report, three words. On Twitter, at lowercase, at lowercase, S-H-O-A-L-S-P-O-R-T-S. And, also, we have two previews on our website and our Facebook for 3 a.m. It's based on my final time. And this is the first week I've had a basically bundle-up playoff. It's going to be a way to have to bundle-up versus wearing shorts and a hoodie or not last week. Right. Absolutely. It should be fun. Listen, I always appreciate a great breakdown. Hopefully, certainly wish good luck to our two area teams. We'll do this again with you soon to get into a little bit more basketball. But, again, enjoy the games tonight. We'll do this again with you real soon. Thank you. Y'all do. All right, buddy. Zach Pounder's Shoals Sports Report. When we come back, talking the Iron Bowl with somebody who's played in it, Charlie Trumpman, former quarterback with the Auburn Tigers. When we return to the Boom Old Bug Show on 93.9, let's go on. Ready for kickoff. Champion's Chicken, East 2nd Street and Muscle Shoals. World famous for a reason. Let the million-dollar band, including six Muscle Shoals high school grads, get you ready for Champion's Chicken and the game. Hey, Shoals. I know you'd do anything for a win on game day and for an ice-cold Bud Light. Because whether you're tailgating in the parking lot or parked on the couch, sitting on your lucky stool at the bar, or standing in the fan section all game long. A win isn't a win without the clean, crisp taste of Bud Light. And there's nothing easier to enjoy than that. Bud Light. Easy to drink. Easy to enjoy. Enjoy responsibly. I'm Chris Stewart. No one wins without a game plan. Elliott Johnson Insurance can handle your insurance game plan because they don't work for just one company. They shop the best insurance companies and find the best insurance to fit your needs. You'll save money in the process, too. And best of all, Elliott Johnson Insurance has three locations to serve you better. Florence, Loretto, and Lawrenceburg. 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The score. Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score. Welcome back in. A quick update from the Egg Bowl in Stark, Vegas. The Rebs kicking the field goal now 24-13, making it a two-score game. Just over three minutes to go in. Quarter number three, again, that's the Egg Bowl going on in the Magnolia State. Hey, tell us a pretty big battle coming up tomorrow in this state. Nobody knows that better than Charlie Trotman. Been there and done that. Former Auburn quarterback. He's been on the radio. He knows all about this business, all about football and the Iron Bowl. Charlie Trotman, welcome in. As Lane Kiffin, are people knocking down your door to offer you just millions of dollars? It's your choice where you pick it up next year. I wish they were, Harold. That would be a nice early Christmas present, wouldn't it? For many, many Christmases to go forward, unless you're stupid. Charlie, very few people have been there and done that, played in this game. You have, obviously, a different era when it was in Birmingham. But, Charlie, putting on your Auburn helmet, what's it like as a player, and in particular, a quarterback to play in this game, regardless of where it's played? Well, it's such an exciting thing to be able to play in the Auburn-Alabama game. If you're one of the players that has watched that game coming up, you know, through the ranks and you're at high school, you're junior high and high school, and you're going to those games occasionally. You know, I went to a lot of those games as I was coming up, and, you know, I always pictured myself, you know, as an Auburn quarterback playing in those games, but you really don't know if that's going to be reality or not. But it turned out that way for me, and, you know, I played against some unbelievable Alabama teams. I mean, in 77, 78, 79, Alabama won three SEC championships and two national championships. Wow. And so, you know, it was quite an honor to play against Bear Bryant, and I knew a lot of the players on the other team. Matter of fact, one of my offensive linemen at Jeff Davis High School, Mike Brock, who's on the board of trustees now, was an all-SEC guard for Alabama on those championship teams. So we're really good friends, and it was fun to play against Mike, but, you know, he got the best of me in those three years. I was going to ask you about that. We know how our respective fans feel about each other. But given the fact there just seems to be a mutually deal where you guys have a mutual respect going on, you know how tough it is to get there, what's it like going back and seeing some of these old guys who wore that other jersey and vice versa now? Well, you know, you just have that, as you said, mutual respect, but you also have the fact that you played in those games together. And, you know, Stedman Sheely is a good friend of mine. Stedman, you know, outstanding quarterback at Alabama. And he and I went against each other in high school. He played at Dothan High, and I played at Jeff Davis in Montgomery. And so we were going against each other in high school in three different sports. And, you know, Stedman actually played four sports. He was a decathlete in track. So, you know, I just think, you know, knowing a lot of those guys and just watching them, I even played with a few Alabama players when I played for the Birmingham Stallions because, you know, Jackie Klein and, you know, some of the other guys that were on the Alabama roster, you know, played in those games. And Bill Searcy was one of our, one of the, one of the linemen. And, you know, it's just a lot of fun. And you just, you have that, that just common bond that never goes away. Charlie, I will never forget, I was blessed to go see 25 consecutive Iron Bowls at Legion Field that ended in 92. And your three games, I know Alabama won all of them, 48, 21, and 77, 34, 16, and 78. And one of the best games in the history of the ACC was 79. Alabama literally had to score late in the game, 25 to 18. The Auburn offense under you and Brooks and Cribbs, and believe me, Alabama fans held their breath every time Brooks and Cribbs carried the ball or returned a kick. I remember the, it was just so intense and it's worked out well with both, with the robbery going to the campuses. But Charlie, that was so special, 50-50 split, the noise, the white noise were just absolutely incredible. In fact, I remember having a headache after every one of those games. They were so intense and the noise were so, and, but we'll never see that again. And very few teams, maybe Oklahoma, Texas, Army, Navy, those were special times and special games. They really were, Brett. I tell you, you know, every play, it didn't matter if it was a sack, two-yard game, or whatever, but one of the fan bases went nuts every play. And the bands, it was a battle of the bands about every other play, too. And so, you know, the pageantry of those games, I just, I don't think there'll ever be anything quite like that. And I do know it's important to have the games on campus, but that was a special time. And, you know, I teased Devin Sheely because we were ahead of Alabama in the fourth quarter in 79, 18-17. And Alabama was undefeated and going for a national championship, and we felt good. And Stedman and Alabama, they got the ensuing kickoff after we had gotten ahead, 18-17. And the first play from scrimmage, Stedman made the worst pitch I've ever seen in my life. And it was way out in front of Major Ogilvie. And you remember, it's AstroTurf there, and the ball bounced about three or four times, and, you know, with the oblong shape of the football, happened to bounce right up into Major Ogilvie's hands. It did. It was like 15 yards. And I said, Devin, if that had happened to me, y'all would have picked it up and had a fumble recovery for a touchdown. I said, you're the luckiest guy I've ever met. And the paint would still be peeling off the wall, and the coaches, quote, conversation with you, Charlie Trotman, former Auburn quarterback. Let's fast forward to tomorrow night. Charlie, where do you start in breaking down this year's latest chapter to the saga, and what's the mood of Auburn fans coming in? Well, I think the mood of Auburn fans is twofold. I think one is hoping that we'll play well against a really good Alabama team, but also wondering who the coach is going to be next year. So it's a little bit of both. You know, I think breaking the game down, a lot of it is going to depend on which Alabama team shows up offensively. But if Ty Simpson and the guys that played against Georgia and Tennessee and some of those games show up, it could be a long night for Auburn's defense. Because with Bernard and Williams, I know you're missing your tight end. He's really good. But those two guys can take over games. And Ty Simpson, if he's playing at an elite level like he has at times this year, it's going to be difficult. Now, defensively, I think Auburn can probably, you know, at least stop the running game to some degree. And maybe, you know, put Ty Simpson and Alabama's offense in the third and long situations, which would be very, very instrumental in a win, in my opinion. But, you know, going to the other side of the ball, Auburn's got to do some things offensively. You know, they've had a couple of good games offensively. But for the most part, offense has been the really troublesome part of the team this year. And so, you know, you're playing a good Alabama defense. And, you know, these athletes on defense for Alabama are going to get after the quarterback. And our offensive line has struggled protecting the quarterback. So, one of the things you're going to probably see early in the game is Auburn trying to get the ball out of Ashton Daniels' hands really quickly on some, you know, hitch routes and some slants and things like that. So, you know, you don't give Alabama an opportunity to stack the quarterback because that's been a problem. Charlie, one of the most fascinating matchups to me is going to be Auburn's very talented receivers. Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton against Alabama's five-star freshman talent, Dajon Lee, Keon Sale, Bray Hubbard, Zabian Brown, Mincy, etc. Sandra, Charlie, that's going to be a fascinating one-on-one battle. And who wins the majority of those may win the game. Well, that's true because, you know, I know a lot of times we send Cam Coleman deep and it's a 50-50 ball. And, you know, he's been able to come up with some of those this year and hadn't been able to come up with some. And the quarterbacks have not thrown the ball really in an outstanding fashion to Cam Coleman because he's been very, very open many times deep. And Auburn has not been able to get the ball to him accurately. So, you know, maybe Ashton Daniels has a good game and puts the ball on the money and Cam Coleman can show what he can do and Eric Singleton and some of those guys. But, you know, I think the big, another big thing is going to be, can Auburn run the football against Alabama? Because, you know, Jeremiah Cobb is an outstanding running back. But, you know, sometimes that's the key to a passing game is being able to run the football and then play action. Play action is a defensive nightmare because, you know, your eyes tell you something differently than what the play's doing. And so, you know, I think if Auburn could run the ball successfully against Alabama's front seven, that's going to go a long way toward being successful and giving Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton opportunities. Charlie, it may be 2025, but some things don't change. It comes down to line play. How and what's your evaluation of Auburn's respective lines and, for that matter, Alabama's respective lines? Well, you know, it's kind of an irony because Auburn's offensive line is a very good run-blocking line. Alabama's offensive line is a very good pass-blocking line. Right. And both of them suffer in the opposite way. You know, Alabama doesn't run the ball real well. Auburn doesn't pass-block very well. So, you know, I think defensively both of them have good lines. I think Auburn's a defensive line with Kevin Falk, Kelvin Falk, and some of the guys, Keyshawn, Kieran Crawford. Those guys are good rush-ins, you know, and I think that Auburn, you know, has some good players on the interior of the line. Their linebackers have been good. Maybe Xavier Atkins has a big game. He's capable of doing that. And then on that, you know, Alabama's just chock full of four and five stars on the defensive front seven. And, you know, they're all capable of making big plays. So, you know, this is a – you just – I mean, you almost can flip – look at what happened in 21 and 23. Auburn did not have as good a team as Alabama in either of those years. Right. But have a chance to win both those games. This year, Auburn probably has a better team than they had in 21 and 23. And maybe Alabama's not quite as good as they were in 21 and 23. With no Nick Saban. Yeah, and with no Nick Saban. So, you know, the opportunity is there for Auburn. But, again, a lot of it's going to depend on which Ty Simpson shows up and then, you know, which Auburn offense shows up. Charlie, let me ask you in about a minute. John Summerall has been the leader in the clubhouse to be the next head coach at Auburn, I believe, for nearly a month. Florida, according to some sources, is making another run. It's Summerall and will be throwing a lot of money at him. Who will be Auburn's head football coach come Sunday afternoon or Monday? I think it's going to be John Summerall because the only thing that could keep that from happening is a huge Auburn win. And I mean, you know, a 27-7 win or something like that. And then there's a groundswell of this huge support for D.J. Durkin. I don't think there's anybody else, guys, in the running. I think it's either John Summerall or D.J. Durkin. Well, we'll see, bud. It's going to be fascinating. And we really wanted to talk with you today because nobody can talk about this rivalry the way you can. You've seen it up close and personal. Glad you and your family had a great Thanksgiving, Charlie. Good luck. It's going to be a fun, certainly fun night tomorrow. Let's do this again real soon, bud. We'll do it, guys. I sure appreciate y'all having me. And I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving as well. Thanks so much, Charlie. And stay safe and warm out there. Former Auburn quarterback, Charlie Trotman. BB, obviously, it's hard to believe. You blink and here we are at the end of the regular season. Where would you like to start in making your bold picks for the weekend? Yeah, really only two games, Vaney-Tennessee and, of course, the Iron Bowl. I'll start with the Vaney-Tennessee. We've talked with this game quite a bit. Vaney still on the fringe of getting into the college football playoff. Their defense is much better. The games in Knoxville, I get all that. But I think Vaney's going to play. And particularly now they know Clark Lee is going to be back. They know, Harold, that they can slow down Tennessee. You're not going to stop them. Anguilar, will he throw a couple of picks? I think Vaney is going to upset Tennessee 31-28. And, in fact, I've got them as my stupid underdog pick. I think Vaney is going to win a very close game. We talked about Alabama and Auburn. Harold, four weeks now, we knew this is coming up. I think there are going to be some keys for Alabama to win the game. Score first. Run a more balanced offense. They need better production on first down, four yards or so. They've got to score in the red zone touchdowns. Since a lot of fans have no confidence in Connor Talti, I think they need three explosive plays of 40 yards or more. Sound in the kicking game, if that's possible. Spy the quarterback. Keep the improvised runs to a medium. And hit the tight ends on checkdowns. Throw it to Hill and Miller on wheel routes. And, more importantly, no turnovers and few penalties. I think Alabama is going to be able to do that in an absolutely crazy, insane environment. I've got Alabama beating Auburn in a very close tight game, 28-24. Oh, my gosh. I wish I hadn't said that. B.B., I think we've been cheating on each other's notes here. As far as Tennessee and Vandy, I think it's going to be a high-scoring affair. I don't think either one of them is going to sit here and not trade punches. But, in the end, I do believe Tennessee will take advantage of that home field advantage. Not by much high-scoring, looking at about 38-34. Big Orange with a big win there. As far as Alabama, three things for an Alabama win. They've got to win the turnover battle. They've got to give time to operate. And they've got to limit those explosive quarterback runs. That's been a bugaboo for this defense as it is for a lot of defenses this season. And not only that, there's an X factor. We don't know. They don't have a lot of game film on this particular scheme. And not to mention, if you've ever played at Auburn or been there, you know it's an incredibly tough environment. For Auburn, they've got to sit here and hope that that home field, as I said, in Nick Saban's mind, craziness, can help them with the home cooking. But I do believe at the end of the day, tight fight. But usually the better team does win. What did you say? 28-24? I did. Yeah, I got it. 28-24 as well. And the stupid underdog pick could come tonight in the Old West shootout. Texas over Texas A&M. A&M is due. One of those letdown games. Give it up tonight by the score of 32-28. Setting up an incredibly interesting ACC championship ring. Baby, obviously, are you ready to listen to Alabama and Auburn tomorrow night here on 93.9 The Score? Yeah, that'll be a pregame 3.30 kickoff, approximately 6.30, probably be about 6.45 or so. And good luck to our area teams. Clay Chalkville, 13-0 at most of the shows, 12-0 in Piedmont at Morris Hill. Both teams, 13-0. Hopefully, both will be able to advance to the Super 7. Going to be cold if you get a chance to go out tonight. Bundle up, but more than anything, have a fun and safe college football weekend. The last regular season of the weekend, but have a fun and safe one. Well, it'll be the last game for Melanne Kiffin at Ole Miss. Now, 31-13, about 12 minutes to go, and regulations ribs on top of the dogs in the Egg Bowl. That's going to take care of Beds for now on behalf of B.B., Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here. Harold Boggs, thank you so much for your time today. Let's do it again Monday. New to 2 with a bit more Bug Show back here on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. We'll see you next time on Sports Radio 93.9 The Score.