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 Now, get ready to roll, Shoals, Decatur, Athens and all of Northwest Alabama and Southern Tennessee.

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 It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.

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 The Boomo Bugg Show.

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 Your exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee and the rest of the SEC.

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 Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score.

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 Good afternoon and welcome here to the Boomo Bugg Show.

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 I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.

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 Thank you so much for giving us free ride around the Tennessee Valley.

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 Brett Beaird, welcome in where we now know next year's big slate of dates in football.

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 But do we have to wait that long to get a big date in the state when it comes to basketball?

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 Good afternoon, welcome in and how are you?

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 Happy Friday to you and the listeners.

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 No, we do not.

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 As you've alluded to, 2026 SEC football schedules were in bail last night on the SEC Network.

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 And we'll look at some of the teams, including Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee.

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 Blake Lovell and Mike Huguenen will preview the SEC teams in the college football playoff next weekend.

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 And BP is here right now to preview the CM Mutant Classic in Birmingham featuring number one, Arizona, versus number 12, Alabama.

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 And there's two kinds of people when it comes to that, depending on which side of the Mason-Dixon line you're on.

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 Up north, they're fired up.

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 Down here, we're far down.

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 Brian Passick is probably both.

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 He's going to be on the call there.

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 He's got one of the best seats in the house.

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 The number 12 takes on number one of the Alabama Crimson Tide Network.

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 Brian Passick, welcome in.

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 Brian Passick, how are you?

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 I'm doing great, guys.

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 How are y'all?

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 Hey, buddy.

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 Yeah, we're doing all right.

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 You know, Brian, here's the deal.

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 People don't realize what a treat this is.

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 We had on yesterday CM's son, who's now up at Sanford.

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 And he was talking about this, what it means to his family.

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 But not only is it something that's meaningful to the Newton family, my goodness gracious,

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 how many times do you get to have the number one team in your backyard?

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 This has to be – all dates are special, but this one has to be some extra frosting on it.

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 It does.

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 And to answer your question, pretty often, actually, because Nate Oates, year in and year out,

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 plays the toughest schedule in the country.

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 And this will be the second time in the early part of the season that Alabama has hosted the number one team in the country.

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 Hopefully, it goes a little better than it did in Coleman Coliseum last month against Purdue.

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 But hopefully, Alabama's a little healthier than they've been this season.

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 And I think that'll play a big part in what happens tomorrow night in Birmingham.

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 Let's talk about that, because I saw the show the other day, the game, and it looked like the MASH unit.

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 I think Alabama had as many people over there hobbling as they did, suited up to play.

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 But what's the latest that you can tell us, Brian, as far as the MASH report?

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 Well, it sounds like it's getting better and better.

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 And the good news is, this is a really deep Alabama team.

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 And they've been able to weather the storm for the most part.

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 And there have been a bunch of good wins over the course of the early season.

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 And there have been some losses.

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 I would have loved to see Alabama at full strength against some of these teams that they lost to,

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 and even some of the teams that they beat, but still been able to weather the storm.

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 And I'm not so sure that the injury situation that this team has gone through will not ultimately make them a better basketball team in the future,

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 because we've seen the emergence of all three of these freshmen.

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 They've played great.

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 They've gotten opportunities, you know, specifically London Jemison, who was not playing a ton in the early part of the season,

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 got an opportunity out in Las Vegas.

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 And I think he's now four or five straight games in double figures.

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 And he was someone that I wasn't sure was ready to help this team, and he clearly is.

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 And as guys get healthy, I think he's earned playing time.

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 I think all of a sudden this is a deeper basketball team.

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 And Davion Hanna, another freshman, same way.

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 Amari Allen, doesn't matter who's healthy or who's not, he's one of the best freshmen in college basketball,

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 back-to-back SEC Freshman of the Week honors the last couple of weeks.

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 So this freshman class has really stepped up when they've been needed because of the injury situation.

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 But to answer your question, it sounds like Keaton Bristow will be available in the game tomorrow.

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 And, of course, Littrell Reitzel will be back.

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 And, you know, he played some in Alabama's last game.

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 Aiden Holloway hopefully will play.

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 One of the best shooters in college basketball, one of the most improved players in the country, in my opinion, when healthy.

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 So hopefully he's back.

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 And, gosh, who else is out?

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 It's hard to keep up with the injury situation for Alabama.

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 But, again, thankfully this is a deep team and they've been able to overcome a lot of those obstacles.

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 You look at one of the preseason favorites for the SEC and everybody's kind of saying, hey, what's going on with Kentucky?

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 You know, why haven't they played?

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 Well, they've got three starters out, you know, and that's a legitimate thing.

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 And I'm thinking, so does Alabama.

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 You know, there's been three starter-level players out the majority of the season, but they've been able to overcome it.

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 And I really believe it's going to make them a better team down the line.

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 I agree with you.

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 Amari Allen has really impressed me, not only in Las Vegas, but I know against Clemson, a double-double, 20 points and 11 rebounds.

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 I'm like you, London Jimmison seems to be getting better every day.

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 And one more, Jalil Bethea, the transfer from Miami, went off with 20 points against Texas San Antonio.

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 And I know you've mentioned this to us a couple of times.

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 It is, Alabama may have the best backcourt when they're all healthy.

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 They may have the best backcourt in basketball.

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 Yeah, I agree.

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 And the player that I was forgetting is Taylor Bulbowen, who was out with back spasms against UTSA, should be available and ready to go tomorrow night against number one, Arizona.

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 But, yeah, I thought coming into the season, on paper, this is the best backcourt in the country.

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 And now that I've seen some of these guys play, I think without question it is, especially with what we've seen in limited action from Jalil Bethea.

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 He's a former five-star recruit, McDonald's All-American, one of the top ten players coming into college basketball a year ago.

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 And had a solid year at Miami, but not a great year in terms of what was expected.

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 But a lot like Aidan Holloway, he has found his home in a system and a comfort level with the freedom that Aidan Oates gives his players.

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 And I think he is going to have a breakout year once he's fully healthy and gets the rust off.

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 The rust appeared to be off against UTSA with the numbers that you mentioned.

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 He was great in that game and just gives Alabama more talent, more depth, and an already loaded backcourt.

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 How many players don't want to come to a coach who gets on you for not shooting a three, huh?

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 That's kind of rare out there.

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 Brian Pastic on the Alabama Crimson Tide Network.

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 We know the straw that serves the drink.

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 Mr. Feiline, I think you made a wise decision coming back.

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 He has been on fire and he's been consistent.

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 He's been so good.

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 One of the best players in college basketball.

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 I thought he would be great this year.

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 He's exceeded my expectations so far, especially on the offensive end.

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 He looks so good, so comfortable, shooting the ball better from the three-point line.

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 One of the best finishers around the basket.

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 He's quick.

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 He's athletic, explosive, crafty.

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 All those things.

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 Nate Oates has challenged him to become the best two-way player in the country.

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 He's shown what he can do on the defensive end.

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 He's gotten better in those areas, and I think this can be a great backcourt, obviously, on the offensive end.

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 But I think they have the potential to be even better defensively.

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 Let me ask you about the improvement of Aiden Sherell.

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 He has turned into a real rim protector.

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 He's not going to score 20 points a game.

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 They've got plenty of other guys who can do that.

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 But against Clemson, he had eight blocks, ten rebounds.

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 I think he had seven blocks all of last season.

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 And he's not afraid to put up a three himself.

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 But I have really been impressed with his improvement.

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 Yeah, I have as well.

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 He was, over the course of the season last year, one of the most improved players on the team.

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 I think a reason for that is he started off the year banged up a little bit

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 and just got better and better as the year went on,

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 which is something that you hope to see out of freshmen, but you don't always

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 because a lot of times around midseason, a lot of freshmen can hit that wall

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 because of playing with the intensity and number of games.

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 He didn't at all.

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 He got better and better.

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 And this offseason has really worked on his body.

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 He's got a lot stronger.

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 He's lost weight in some areas he needed to.

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 He's gained weight, strength, muscle.

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 I think overall he's a little heavier but more athletic, moves better.

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 And his improvement on the defensive end has been one of the big surprises for me on this team.

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 I knew what he could do on the offensive end.

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 He fits Nate Oates' system offensively as well as anybody with his ability at 6'11

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 to stretch the floor and knock down threes.

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 He can roll in the basket.

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 He's got great hands, great feet.

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 But what he's done defensively as a rim protector, I really didn't anticipate.

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 And I think as this team gets healthy, as these guards get better defensively,

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 to have a guy like Adriel behind you that is playing the way he is on that end of the floor,

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 I think, is one reason why you look at this Alabama team who's been really good,

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 number 11 in the country, playing the nation's toughest schedule.

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 This team, I think, could get even better as the year goes on.

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 It's always hard to crack the top 10, but one thing that would do it,

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 and that's knocking off number one.

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 Talk to us about number one, Arizona.

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 It's all about matchups.

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 Your thoughts about how Alabama matches up with Arizona.

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 Yeah, Arizona's a great team, obviously.

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 I think Arizona, Michigan, and Purdue are the three best teams in the country.

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 I think Alabama has a chance to get there.

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 I don't think they're there right now, but not necessarily at home,

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 but in Birmingham, in Sweet Home, Alabama, in the BJCC, obviously.

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 It's going to be a partisan crimson and white crowd.

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 Alabama has a great chance to beat maybe probably the best team in college basketball right now in Arizona,

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 and I'm really looking forward to the matchup because it is a contrast in styles.

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 One of the teams in the country who shoots the least amount of threes,

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 they're old school.

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 In Arizona, they bang it inside.

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 They've got an old Alabama point guard in Jay Bradley,

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 one of the best point guards in the country who's played great,

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 but can not down the three and has, but prefers to drive it inside.

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 Great with a pick and roll.

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 They're huge on the inside.

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 Co-op Pete is one of the best freshmen in the country.

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 They've got a seven-foot-two center.

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 They're huge.

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 They attack the glass.

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 They're going to pound it inside.

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 They're not going to shoot a ton of threes.

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 They're big.

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 They're strong.

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 They're physical.

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 But they also play fast.

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 So you kind of look at them and you think, okay, well, they're going to grind you out and kind of play slow.

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 But they actually play fast.

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 They're big, strong, and pound it inside, but do it with speed.

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 It'll be interesting to see if those big guys can chase around the guards for Alabama

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 because Nate Oates is going to put five guys on the court at one time who could knock down threes.

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 So can those big guys get out and defend the three-point line?

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 I think LeBaron Phylon has loved the personnel that Nate Oates has surrounded him with because you've got five guys that can shoot.

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 It's hard to clog the lane with shot blockers, but if anybody can do it, it's Arizona with their size and length.

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 So it's going to be a fun game, great atmosphere, contrasting styles, the best team currently in the country

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 and a team that wants to at some point this season and hopefully late in the season be one of the best teams in college basketball.

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 So I can't wait to get down the road to the BJCC tomorrow night for a great one.

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 Let me ask you about the VBC in Huntsville, Alabama a week from Sunday.

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 Now, there's a rumor going around that the VBC officials have asked for extra security

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 because they know when you travel with this team to Huntsville, they're going to be hordes.

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 They're going to be legions of autographs, wanting Brian Passing's autograph.

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 Now, can you confirm that?

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 Because I hear that's a hot rumor in Huntsville.

201
00:13:14,460 --> 00:13:22,320
 Yeah, no, I'm in charge of autographs, but I'm kind of security for Chris Stewart.

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 I'm kind of his security slash intern.

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 So I'll be trying to help him out with that.

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 But no, you've heard it.

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 You've misheard it.

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 It's Chris's entourage.

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 Thank you for clearing that.

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 Well, we were close.

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 We were close.

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 And I'll be helping.

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 I'll be helping.

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 Okay.

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 You're the other end, right?

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 Hadn't that worked out for the other guy who was the other end.

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 Pretty well in Tuscaloosa.

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 Oh, man.

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 Well, listen, we look forward to seeing you and Chris a week from Sunday.

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 But that should be fun.

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 When we talked to Martin Newton yesterday, he said the lower bowl is sold out.

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 We've still got some tickets remaining in the upper deck.

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 But I'm also glad, again, that this is a game that honors C.M. Newton, who meant so much to the University of Alabama.

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 I know we've talked with you about your relationship with Wilt, but so many people appreciate and love C.M. Newton for what he did at Alabama, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and the SEC overall.

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 And I'm still glad that they're able to do this for him.

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 Yeah, absolutely.

225
00:14:32,740 --> 00:14:53,320
 One of the absolute legends of the game and proud that he is a major part of Alabama basketball and made such an impact for Alabama, college basketball, college athletics, on the floor, obviously, but more importantly, off the floor with some of the things he did back in those days when it wasn't necessarily easy to do those things.

226
00:14:53,620 --> 00:15:00,040
 So a great tribute to someone who is well-deserving, that's for sure.

227
00:15:00,980 --> 00:15:02,800
 Brian, it's always good to catch you with you.

228
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:04,020
 Safe travels to and from.

229
00:15:04,140 --> 00:15:07,000
 Pick up a big W, and thank you so much for your time today.

230
00:15:07,060 --> 00:15:10,020
 Good luck holding off the fan club there for Chris, okay?

231
00:15:11,180 --> 00:15:12,200
 I'll do my best.

232
00:15:12,260 --> 00:15:13,260
 Always enjoy, guys.

233
00:15:13,340 --> 00:15:13,840
 Appreciate it.

234
00:15:13,860 --> 00:15:14,560
 Thank you, man.

235
00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:15,520
 Brian, pass it.

236
00:15:15,540 --> 00:15:17,240
 By the way, they've got South Florida coming up.

237
00:15:17,580 --> 00:15:22,220
 And then you mentioned Huntsville, a chance to go see them without having traveled to Tuscaloosa.

238
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,320
 That's the 21st, taking on Kennesaw State.

239
00:15:24,780 --> 00:15:27,920
 There's a reason, BB, they're taking on Kennesaw State, a former Alabama.

240
00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:29,120
 Yes, and one pit boy.

241
00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:30,360
 Yeah, exactly right.

242
00:15:30,700 --> 00:15:35,340
 Coming up, what's going on across the SEC, hopefully quieter than the Big Ten.

243
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:36,520
 Blake Lovell on Tech.

244
00:15:36,620 --> 00:15:37,160
 Stay with us.

245
00:15:41,380 --> 00:15:46,480
 The staff at First Southern Bank wishes a fantastic holiday season to you this Christmas.

246
00:15:47,100 --> 00:15:51,120
 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the staff at First Southern Bank.

247
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 This football season, bring the flavor that wins every time.

248
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249
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250
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252
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253
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254
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255
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256
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257
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258
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 You took the elevator to the 48th floor and handed him the briefing.

259
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260
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261
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262
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298
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299
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 Welcome back to Fansville's Cheers and Tears.

300
00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:38,760
 Okay, so like everybody deals with losing, right?

301
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:40,700
 To a rival on a last-second field goal.

302
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:41,620
 Whatever, it's fine.

303
00:18:41,660 --> 00:18:42,280
 I'm totally fine.

304
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 But I cope with losing with an ice-cold Dr. Pepper.

305
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 Mmm, those 23 flavors are like so delicious.

306
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 They totally wash away the pain of your college football team taking a big fat L.

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312
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316
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317
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 Yeah, but how often does that happen?

318
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319
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320
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332
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 The Score.

333
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:34,440
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

334
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,180
 Welcome back in. It is a pleasure for us to welcome you to the Huddle Blade level.

335
00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:45,040
 He's got it all covered there at Southeastern 16, and also his podcast is called Establish the Past.

336
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:49,240
 You can read all about it when it comes to checking out the Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

337
00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:52,040
 Blade level, welcome in. Happy Friday to you. How are you?

338
00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:54,680
 Yeah, I'm doing well, guys. Good to talk to you as always.

339
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:55,080
 Hey, bud.

340
00:20:55,360 --> 00:21:00,080
 You too. One week from tonight, Alabama and Oklahoma get down to business.

341
00:21:00,180 --> 00:21:02,840
 They take the lid off the playoff party.

342
00:21:03,060 --> 00:21:09,920
 Your thoughts on that, and what will the topic be regarding Coach DeBoer one week from today, in your opinion, Blade?

343
00:21:10,660 --> 00:21:13,100
 Yeah, there will still be plenty of tennis guys, I'm sure.

344
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:18,400
 You know, it's just we know how it works, especially with kind of how the dominoes have fallen.

345
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:22,640
 And that's like we say, like these are the ones with Michigan and others we've seen before.

346
00:21:22,740 --> 00:21:29,520
 Like you just can't, you know, kind of throw in there in terms of just looking at all the wild possibilities that could play out

347
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,260
 and what that could mean for everyone else.

348
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,100
 So, yeah, I think it's still going to be a talking point.

349
00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:41,060
 I think this is a game that certainly, you know, when you look at this, this is the one that felt like the missed opportunity for Alabama.

350
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:47,540
 I mean, among, you know, probably all of them this season, this is just the one that felt like, you know, they were set up for a lot of success.

351
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:54,140
 Oklahoma comes in, wins 23-21, now you flip it and see if Alabama can kind of do the same.

352
00:21:54,400 --> 00:22:01,120
 And I think, yeah, like this is one that I think when you just look at this matchup, you know, it's, sometimes it can be pretty simple.

353
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:05,880
 When it comes down to really just the consistency of the two quarterbacks, I think that's going to be the real story here.

354
00:22:06,380 --> 00:22:10,820
 Because we're talking about two guys, think about early in the season, we're talking right there in the Heisman race

355
00:22:10,820 --> 00:22:15,720
 and thinking about going to be there with a shot and then kind of the way it's there, it hasn't been the case.

356
00:22:15,860 --> 00:22:24,220
 And so, yeah, it's a fascinating matchup for many reasons, but I think this is one that's still, statistically, I think Alabama's better.

357
00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,460
 And it's a matter of can they go win the game? Easier said than done.

358
00:22:28,500 --> 00:22:34,480
 Your thoughts about everybody's had an opinion, get yours about, obviously, the national media took about a nanosecond

359
00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:36,420
 and put DeBoer in a mix to go to Michigan.

360
00:22:38,140 --> 00:22:40,200
 You know, it's had a little time to breathe now.

361
00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:41,500
 I can see the pros and cons.

362
00:22:41,620 --> 00:22:44,920
 If it's all about money, okay, then it's pretty much a shut deal.

363
00:22:45,140 --> 00:22:49,620
 If it's about other things, like who's going to be your boss, can the AD survive up there?

364
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:50,560
 What does that mean?

365
00:22:50,940 --> 00:22:52,420
 How will his system work there?

366
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:54,500
 He already lost Justice Haynes out of Alabama.

367
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:55,800
 Where'd he go? To Michigan.

368
00:22:55,940 --> 00:22:58,960
 We know he's a junior, so he's probably going to come out and go to the next level.

369
00:22:59,300 --> 00:23:01,100
 But it was a statement on his style.

370
00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:07,640
 If you're going to look at it, taking the emotion out, and let's face it, a lot of these national guys, they won't click bait, so I get it.

371
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:07,940
 It's money.

372
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,660
 But objectively, where are you with this DeBoer to Michigan stuff?

373
00:23:12,660 --> 00:23:14,660
 Yeah, I think you would turn it down.

374
00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:19,980
 But I say that with what we know now versus maybe where we are a week from now.

375
00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:26,300
 And I think that's the big key to me is, you know, you're trading expectations for expectations.

376
00:23:26,300 --> 00:23:28,980
 Like, you know that it's the same at both places.

377
00:23:29,180 --> 00:23:30,620
 There are differences, obviously.

378
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:35,980
 And like you said, I think there's a bit more chaos involved at Michigan now for many reasons.

379
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,700
 And I think that's what you have to sort of decide.

380
00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:50,420
 Now, again, it's going to be the pressure of if you lose this game to Oklahoma and you kind of know this is how it's gone in terms of your postseason success these first couple years,

381
00:23:50,540 --> 00:23:58,100
 then I think, you know, you obviously have the opportunity, if presented to you, to say maybe this just was not the right choice,

382
00:23:58,260 --> 00:24:03,760
 and maybe this is the best path forward, that could obviously play out that way, right?

383
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:09,660
 But I think if he is the person making the choice here and, you know, if things are where they are right now,

384
00:24:09,740 --> 00:24:13,620
 which, again, it's all going to depend on in the heat of the moment of what happens next week,

385
00:24:14,020 --> 00:24:15,900
 I don't think he would leave for Michigan.

386
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,580
 But, again, stranger things have happened.

387
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:24,340
 If you go there and get beat by, you know, 10 or double, if that happens, then I think anything's on the table.

388
00:24:24,340 --> 00:24:34,780
 Miami and Texas A&M, interesting matchup with Marcel Reed and Carson Beck, the respective quarterbacks.

389
00:24:35,140 --> 00:24:38,280
 We're going to find out a little bit more about Texas A&M.

390
00:24:38,420 --> 00:24:41,680
 They lost to a much-improved Texas team.

391
00:24:42,300 --> 00:24:49,580
 And during the course of the season, A&M did not play Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, or Oklahoma.

392
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,240
 I don't know how you get through a season.

393
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,680
 You're not going to be able to do that moving forward.

394
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,760
 Your thoughts on Miami and Texas A&M in the college station?

395
00:24:59,660 --> 00:25:00,800
 Yeah, and that's the thing.

396
00:25:00,900 --> 00:25:04,120
 It's like I know people are kind of picking on Texas A&M.

397
00:25:04,300 --> 00:25:07,460
 And, again, when you look at the schedule, like, you play who's in front of you,

398
00:25:07,540 --> 00:25:11,760
 but at the same time you can be realistic and understand that their schedule could have been tougher.

399
00:25:12,140 --> 00:25:13,240
 There's no question about it.

400
00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:21,240
 And the toughest game of the bunch, you know, arguably the first or second toughest game, they go in and lose 27-17 at Texas.

401
00:25:21,460 --> 00:25:26,640
 And so it's interesting because, you know, we can have that argument for Texas A&M.

402
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:33,460
 We can have the same argument for Miami in that you look at their body of work and, I mean, let's call it what it is.

403
00:25:33,460 --> 00:25:36,140
 How many of us were just shocked that Miami was in this thing?

404
00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:37,540
 And I was one of the people.

405
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,400
 Like, I just did not give them a chance to get in.

406
00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:44,400
 And that's a discussion for another day when it comes to why they hopped Notre Dame.

407
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:53,120
 But I think, you know, from that standpoint, I think you've got two teams that come out here with something they feel like they have to prove

408
00:25:53,120 --> 00:26:00,100
 because both have kind of been classified in a similar vein this season, I think, in terms of like, all right, show me who you really are.

409
00:26:00,100 --> 00:26:08,660
 And it seemed like each time Texas A&M had a chance to do that, they kept finding ways to win, but they'd have some of those head-scratching-type sequences.

410
00:26:08,820 --> 00:26:14,320
 South Carolina, they'd have the Texas game, you know, ones like that where you just question them a little bit.

411
00:26:14,620 --> 00:26:17,020
 And then Miami, it's like, all right, show me who you are.

412
00:26:17,100 --> 00:26:22,720
 We have a great start to the season, 5-0, Notre Dame, South Florida, Florida State, and then you lose to Louisville.

413
00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:27,140
 Then you lose at SMU, and nothing against those two, but it's like, you know, who are you?

414
00:26:27,140 --> 00:26:30,900
 Like, that's really what it comes down to, and I think we're going to figure out the answer finally with these two.

415
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,980
 Blake Lovell, Southeastern 16, he is in Nashville.

416
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:44,640
 Everybody loves to go to Nashville, it seems, Blake, but Tennessee football fans, they're coming to see you here shortly again in the Music City Bowls.

417
00:26:44,740 --> 00:26:47,260
 Something tells me that's not good enough for Tennessee fans.

418
00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,840
 Nothing against the Music City Bowl, but they have higher expectations.

419
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:51,840
 Your thoughts on that?

420
00:26:52,420 --> 00:27:01,820
 And the latest way to kind of fix that, bringing in Jim Knowles, he's respected across the country, Ohio State, Penn State, and now at UT.

421
00:27:02,340 --> 00:27:04,240
 Blake, your thoughts about Tennessee?

422
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:11,620
 Yeah, I think it's pretty, you know, for Tennessee fans, they're like, hey, can we just watch the defense practice?

423
00:27:11,820 --> 00:27:13,600
 We don't care about this game against Illinois.

424
00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,740
 Can we get an early look at the defense next year?

425
00:27:16,860 --> 00:27:20,120
 Like, that's all we're worried about right now, but you can't blame them for that.

426
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,180
 But yeah, I mean, it's not where they want it to be.

427
00:27:22,260 --> 00:27:23,320
 There's no question about it.

428
00:27:23,380 --> 00:27:30,200
 I think, you know, again, for a lot of different reasons, you know, this is just one where they had to fix some things.

429
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:35,620
 This was the number one starting point is you had to make sure, you know, you get your defense kind of shored up for the future.

430
00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:42,640
 Otherwise, you're going to be playing the same types of games that we've seen them play to where there's just no room for error offensively.

431
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,660
 And I think, you know, it kind of came down to it.

432
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:45,620
 They had to make a move.

433
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,300
 And so, yeah, I mean, there's plenty of optimism now, I think, for Tennessee.

434
00:27:49,540 --> 00:27:54,280
 And honestly, I'm half joking when I say I don't even know how much they care about the bowl game.

435
00:27:54,280 --> 00:28:03,000
 And they just want to start looking at what kind of moves they're going to make defensively and see what kind of players they're going to bring in to kind of feel the system better and all those things.

436
00:28:03,100 --> 00:28:05,420
 And I think that's really where their attention is turned to.

437
00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:08,560
 And so, yeah, I think a disappointing season.

438
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,080
 But at the same time, you can say that for a team that's still won quite a few games.

439
00:28:13,300 --> 00:28:17,620
 And, you know, but the expectation is that you were to make the playoff every year.

440
00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:24,020
 And I think by making this upgrade defensively, that they will have every opportunity to do that next season.

441
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:35,460
 Yeah, Jim Knowles started today officially making $2 million a year as the new defensive coordinator coming from Penn State and then previously Ohio State.

442
00:28:35,660 --> 00:28:36,400
 I think you're right.

443
00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,040
 Tennessee fans want to see a big improvement there.

444
00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:46,020
 We just finished talking to Brian Passing of the Alabama Basketball Radio Network, Sports Network.

445
00:28:46,420 --> 00:28:52,620
 And we were looking at Alabama against number one Arizona tomorrow night at 730.

446
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,900
 And you mentioned this in a couple of your articles.

447
00:28:56,300 --> 00:29:00,540
 When this team's healthy, they're shooting the ball, playing defense, and rebounding.

448
00:29:01,220 --> 00:29:03,640
 They're certainly a top-ten team.

449
00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:06,020
 Arizona's got a big front line.

450
00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:11,720
 It's always the question when Alabama plays trees in the middle, it can rebound and block shots.

451
00:29:11,820 --> 00:29:17,500
 Can they match the physicality of, again, a number one team that played Purdue earlier?

452
00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,840
 And does Alabama match up with Arizona tomorrow night?

453
00:29:21,820 --> 00:29:27,300
 Yeah, I think, obviously, I mean, Arizona has just been excellent to this point of the season.

454
00:29:27,460 --> 00:29:30,900
 I mean, they have, look, they've looked the part outside of Michigan.

455
00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,020
 I just don't think you've seen a better team than Arizona.

456
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:38,880
 And I feel like when you look at just what they can do, Jaden Bradley, obviously, former Alabama player.

457
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,160
 I mean, he has been, I mean, he's playing the best basketball of his career right now.

458
00:29:42,740 --> 00:29:48,020
 He's just kind of been the guy that seems like he just closes out games for them in all these tough spots they've had.

459
00:29:48,460 --> 00:29:50,880
 If you look at Arizona's frontcourt, I mean, good luck.

460
00:29:51,060 --> 00:29:56,180
 Like, it's going to feel like you're playing, you know, Gonzaga, but maybe even to a different level.

461
00:29:56,340 --> 00:30:00,880
 And I think that's another thing that, you know, keep in mind, Alabama, one of the things is the rebounding.

462
00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:05,780
 Like, they have given up a lot of offensive rebounds in some of these games against, you know, big-time opponents.

463
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:11,240
 But they've also been, you know, having a mix and match so many different rotations because of guys being injured.

464
00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,480
 And now it seems like they're finally almost all the way back.

465
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,300
 And so I think, you know, I wish this game was in Tuscaloosa.

466
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,460
 That's my only thing is, like, this feels like one of those.

467
00:30:20,540 --> 00:30:22,840
 And that thing against Birmingham, obviously, you're playing it there.

468
00:30:23,460 --> 00:30:27,480
 But I just, this is the kind of game, if you're Alabama, you'd probably love for this to be in your building

469
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:31,860
 because I think it would be such a tough road game for Purdue.

470
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:33,100
 You know, it was for Purdue.

471
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:34,080
 They came in and won the game.

472
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,860
 But I think for Arizona kind of in this setting, this would be a real true test.

473
00:30:38,860 --> 00:30:41,720
 And I think, honestly, there are a lot of things I like about Alabama in this game

474
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,520
 because Arizona can only kind of get their points from two.

475
00:30:45,020 --> 00:30:47,400
 Alabama gets a lot of their points from three in the fifth row line.

476
00:30:48,100 --> 00:30:53,200
 If Alabama comes out making shots early, I think that they've got as good a chance as anybody right now

477
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:54,000
 of knocking off Arizona.

478
00:30:55,180 --> 00:30:57,200
 Well, it's certainly going to be interesting.

479
00:30:58,180 --> 00:31:03,120
 Great job as far as your articles and certainly the podcast.

480
00:31:03,940 --> 00:31:06,500
 A lot of football, a lot of basketball going on.

481
00:31:06,500 --> 00:31:08,920
 Where can we get online and get all the great stuff?

482
00:31:09,660 --> 00:31:10,680
 Yeah, I always appreciate it, guys.

483
00:31:10,780 --> 00:31:13,920
 Southeastern 16, find all of our stuff there, yeah, for the college football playoff

484
00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:17,020
 and all these coaching moves and everything in the offseason.

485
00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:20,400
 And, yeah, we'll have you covered with SEC basketball coming up this weekend as well.

486
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:22,400
 It's always, Blake.

487
00:31:22,460 --> 00:31:23,280
 Good to hook up with you.

488
00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:24,060
 Thank you so much.

489
00:31:24,100 --> 00:31:27,380
 Have a great and as warm as you can, especially Sunday weekend, okay?

490
00:31:28,220 --> 00:31:28,820
 Thanks, guys.

491
00:31:28,860 --> 00:31:29,200
 You too.

492
00:31:29,620 --> 00:31:30,160
 Thank you, bud.

493
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:36,280
 Play level Southeastern 16 just keeps on getting worse for Jerome Moore, now the ex-Michigan head

494
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:37,140
 football coach.

495
00:31:37,460 --> 00:31:42,060
 He's now been charged formally with home invasions, stalking and breaking and entering.

496
00:31:42,220 --> 00:31:44,500
 Not a good week for Jerome Moore, BB.

497
00:31:45,300 --> 00:31:46,760
 No, no, that's a mess.

498
00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:50,420
 Let's hope it's a better week for the one and the only, Bill Schenks.

499
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:51,080
 He's on deck.

500
00:31:51,140 --> 00:31:51,620
 Stay with us.

501
00:31:56,620 --> 00:32:01,460
 Wishing you a beautiful holiday season and a new year of peace and happiness, warmest

502
00:32:01,460 --> 00:32:04,760
 greetings of the season, and best wishes for happiness in the new year.

503
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:09,660
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504
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506
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512
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514
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515
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516
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517
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518
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519
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520
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524
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525
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528
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554
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555
00:35:15,500 --> 00:35:20,160
 Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93-9, the score.

556
00:35:20,460 --> 00:35:23,580
 The Atlanta Falcons rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit.

557
00:35:23,740 --> 00:35:27,160
 The Falcons beat the Buccaneers in Tampa yesterday, 29-28.

558
00:35:27,540 --> 00:35:30,840
 Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns in the victory.

559
00:35:30,980 --> 00:35:34,800
 All three went to Kyle Pitts, who had 166 yards receiving.

560
00:35:35,180 --> 00:35:38,200
 Falcons are now 5-9 on the season.

561
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:41,980
 Tune in tonight for High School Hoops as Florence entertains Austin.

562
00:35:42,180 --> 00:35:43,440
 Pre-game at 7-15.

563
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:45,380
 Tip-off at 7-30.

564
00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:47,560
 Hear all of the action right here.

565
00:35:47,740 --> 00:35:51,940
 Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive.

566
00:35:51,940 --> 00:35:57,520
 I'm John Thayer with the Sports Flash, presented by Progressive on 93-9, the score.

567
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 If you've been diagnosed with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,

568
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 With Trimphaya, clearer skin is possible.

574
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 In clinical trials, at least 70% of patients saw at least 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks.

575
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 Results may vary.

576
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 Trimphaya is also indicated for adults with active psoriatic arthritis.

577
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 Serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections and liver problems may occur.

578
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 Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis.

579
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 Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or if you need a vaccine.

580
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581
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 Call 1-800-526-7736 or visit Trimphaya.com.

582
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:05,860
 The score.

583
00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:11,120
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9, the score.

584
00:37:11,660 --> 00:37:11,780
 The score.

585
00:37:11,780 --> 00:37:12,520
 Welcome back to NBB.

586
00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:15,180
 I'm just going to go ahead and go out on a limb right now and say,

587
00:37:15,340 --> 00:37:19,240
 in my mind, Bill Shanks has had a better week than Jerome Moore at Michigan.

588
00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:19,820
 Would you agree?

589
00:37:19,820 --> 00:37:27,580
 I was looking at Twitter, and there are 20 consecutive Twitter posts about the charges,

590
00:37:27,740 --> 00:37:33,500
 home invasion in the third degree, stalking, breaking, and entering, et cetera, et cetera.

591
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:37,280
 Yes, I would think that our beloved Bill Shanks has had a better week.

592
00:37:37,540 --> 00:37:38,440
 Well, let's hope so anyway.

593
00:37:38,540 --> 00:37:42,760
 When he's not busy, there's host of the Bill Shanks Show at 93.1 FM in Macon,

594
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:47,920
 online at thesesuperstations.com, and on the tube at 41NBC.

595
00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:49,100
 Bill Shanks, welcome in.

596
00:37:49,140 --> 00:37:49,680
 How are you?

597
00:37:50,220 --> 00:37:55,360
 I was just watching those Twitter posts about Moore's court appearance.

598
00:37:55,540 --> 00:37:57,600
 I thought I was watching an Auburn team meeting.

599
00:37:59,780 --> 00:38:00,640
 Oh, no.

600
00:38:03,020 --> 00:38:03,460
 Touché.

601
00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:06,540
 Bill, obviously, we know the story on this side of the state line.

602
00:38:06,660 --> 00:38:09,400
 DeBoer has been mentioned to be a replacement.

603
00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:10,880
 Did you see the other?

604
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:14,540
 Was it a Twitter feed, or where was it, that this guy named Kirby Smart,

605
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:16,940
 he's red hot, may leave Georgia for Michigan.

606
00:38:16,940 --> 00:38:18,480
 Can you confirm or deny that?

607
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:20,780
 Kirby's got his own blonde in Athens.

608
00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:21,520
 It's his wife.

609
00:38:22,220 --> 00:38:22,620
 Yep.

610
00:38:23,740 --> 00:38:24,020
 Yep.

611
00:38:25,220 --> 00:38:26,020
 All right, Bill.

612
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:27,860
 How does it feel to be the king of the heel?

613
00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:29,860
 Right now, Kirby got it rocking and rolling.

614
00:38:30,020 --> 00:38:31,280
 He's checked all the boxes.

615
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:35,200
 Let's face it, to the king belongs the credit.

616
00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:37,740
 Your thoughts about this program right now?

617
00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:41,020
 Well, it's what Alabama used to be.

618
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:45,180
 What happened, Bill, outside of Nick Saban leaving?

619
00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:52,860
 Well, you know, look, they needed to win the game to show that it was not just a Nick Saban thing,

620
00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:55,020
 because it was not.

621
00:38:55,140 --> 00:39:00,180
 I mean, Kalen DeBoer had won the first two games against Kirby Smart, and you couldn't deny that.

622
00:39:00,180 --> 00:39:05,640
 And so, they needed to kind of break that, and they dominated Alabama.

623
00:39:06,020 --> 00:39:08,900
 And both teams were knocked around and injured.

624
00:39:09,580 --> 00:39:14,280
 Georgia had a ton of injuries, some that played and some that did not.

625
00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:17,680
 And, you know, it was just a domination.

626
00:39:18,180 --> 00:39:23,980
 And Georgia is a different team now than it was in late September when Alabama won by three points in Athens.

627
00:39:24,140 --> 00:39:25,160
 A much different team.

628
00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:26,220
 A much better team.

629
00:39:26,660 --> 00:39:34,760
 A team that we can – I mean, we didn't know, even coming out of that Tennessee win and the win after that,

630
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,460
 going into the Alabama game, we didn't know how good Georgia was.

631
00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:40,640
 We were still questioning how good Georgia was.

632
00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:45,680
 And then when Alabama won by three points, we were like, well, all right, now we got questions again.

633
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:49,940
 And now – I mean, there were people calling my show saying they may lose three or four games.

634
00:39:50,060 --> 00:39:52,460
 I'm like, hold the phone here now.

635
00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:53,380
 Let's don't panic.

636
00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:59,700
 Because they lost by three lousy points, and they really screwed up and made the wrong coaching decision,

637
00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:05,140
 which, I mean, I don't know about y'all, but I kind of went to domain.com and got Fire Kirby Smart just in case.

638
00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:07,120
 FireKirbySmart.com.

639
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:12,180
 But, you know, look, it's a different team now, and they're better, and they're showing it.

640
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:14,300
 Talk to us about that defense.

641
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:21,860
 If you look at the stats, I mean, since the first half of that game, I mean, you look at the number of points scored.

642
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:24,520
 Let's go ahead and repeat ourselves.

643
00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:31,460
 Who does a better job than sitting here taking a punch in the face and adjusting down the stretch than Kirby and the staff?

644
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:33,060
 Kirby's not the only one on that staff.

645
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,480
 Your thoughts just about the defensive play.

646
00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:38,820
 Well, the defensive play's been unbelievable.

647
00:40:40,780 --> 00:40:43,800
 I'm almost shocked at the defensive play.

648
00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:48,120
 First of all, Ellis Robinson was a cornerback.

649
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:52,420
 Two years ago, he was the number one overall prospect coming out of high school in one of the recruiting services.

650
00:40:52,980 --> 00:40:56,920
 I want to say it was 2-4-7 sports, but one of them had him as number one overall.

651
00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:08,140
 And he hadn't really showed it until about midseason, where he flipped the switch, and it's been all-American level play at cornerback.

652
00:41:08,380 --> 00:41:09,580
 I mean, unbelievable.

653
00:41:10,260 --> 00:41:18,320
 He played that way last week against Alabama, and I was sitting next to a kid, a young kid from the Georgia student radio station.

654
00:41:18,980 --> 00:41:22,580
 And I said, well, I want you to watch the replay of this kid right here, Ellis Robinson.

655
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:24,800
 He just absolutely dominated that receiver.

656
00:41:25,260 --> 00:41:31,500
 I mean, he's playing all-American-type ball all of a sudden and living up to his potential as their number one overall prospect.

657
00:41:31,740 --> 00:41:38,120
 You've got a defensive line, and this is the stat that I've harped on all week, guys, that kind of blows me away.

658
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:44,300
 And I know defenses, especially Georgia and Alabama, those elite-type defenses, they want to rotate people in and out of there.

659
00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:54,780
 Georgia did not have one single defensive lineman that had 50% or more of the defensive snaps the entire game.

660
00:41:54,780 --> 00:42:05,060
 The leader, the highest number was Joseph Janier, who was at 49%, so just under 50%.

661
00:42:05,060 --> 00:42:09,460
 And that shows you the depth that they have and that they've created.

662
00:42:10,140 --> 00:42:12,140
 Like, they had an injury.

663
00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:16,680
 I don't remember the game he got hurt, but Jordan Hall was the starting defensive lineman.

664
00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:27,660
 He got hurt, and people were a little panicky about that because, you know, again, you don't know how an injury that he's probably going to miss the rest of the season is going to impact your team.

665
00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:30,580
 And people are like, oh, Lord, what's going to happen now?

666
00:42:30,780 --> 00:42:35,520
 Well, it's almost like people are calling up and saying they've been better since he got hurt.

667
00:42:36,140 --> 00:42:42,880
 And that is a development that is an in-season development that we don't see all the time.

668
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:51,320
 So it has been quite a story of how that defense has absolutely emerged as elite here in the last release.

669
00:42:51,860 --> 00:43:06,460
 My co-host on my midday post, Jeff Dantzler, said that, you know, they had two fourth-down stops on Florida in the game in Jacksonville in late October, and they've been a different team ever since that.

670
00:43:07,420 --> 00:43:10,920
 Well, that's the key to a lot of this stuff is when do you peak.

671
00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:19,020
 Obviously, Alabama peaked in October after beating four top 25 teams, a lot of the injuries and other issues.

672
00:43:19,420 --> 00:43:23,540
 But the coaching, it's just like the block punt I mentioned to you yesterday.

673
00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:27,680
 L.T. Overton is normally on the punt team.

674
00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:30,460
 Well, he was out because of health issues.

675
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:38,360
 Georgia knew that a freshman was in his place, and they filled that gap and came in and blocked the punt.

676
00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:41,920
 Again, Georgia out-coached, now played Alabama.

677
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:43,280
 That's a great example.

678
00:43:44,100 --> 00:43:50,660
 Again, and you're right, players who are much better in November than they are in September.

679
00:43:50,660 --> 00:44:00,100
 I know we've talked about expanding the roster and some of the other issues, but there are a lot of teams that are not nearly as good in November as they are September.

680
00:44:00,720 --> 00:44:02,360
 Georgia's been able to do both.

681
00:44:03,540 --> 00:44:06,120
 Well, they have overcome injuries.

682
00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:10,120
 They had their center go out a couple of weeks ago.

683
00:44:10,540 --> 00:44:11,800
 That panic, everybody.

684
00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:12,720
 Yeah.

685
00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:19,480
 And the replacement, Malachi Tolliver, was tremendous last week against Alabama.

686
00:44:20,220 --> 00:44:30,560
 The number one, you know, Georgia had two players who accounted for more than 50% of their offense against Alabama, Colby Young Jr. and Chauncey Bowens.

687
00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:38,820
 Young may return for the game on January the 1st, may not, but that's the rumor, and he's missed half the season.

688
00:44:39,700 --> 00:44:48,540
 Bowens had the primary reason why we were competitive in the Alabama game, because you may remember Nate Frazier fumbled early on,

689
00:44:48,780 --> 00:44:59,220
 and they put him in Whitney's protection for the rest of the night, and Chauncey Bowens came in, and it was unbelievable, and he's barely played since then, and he had four snaps the other day.

690
00:45:00,020 --> 00:45:10,360
 So they've done this in spite of their injuries, and they have overcome that with depth and with solid play, and again, with players growing up.

691
00:45:10,540 --> 00:45:19,700
 You know, young players who are thrust into the action, by the time they get to this point of the season, they're not young players anymore.

692
00:45:20,240 --> 00:45:20,400
 No.

693
00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:22,620
 I mean, they don't have much choice, right?

694
00:45:22,700 --> 00:45:23,800
 They've got to step up.

695
00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:30,020
 It's kind of like, put or get off the pot, and these guys have just done so well with that, and that's why they are where they are.

696
00:45:30,380 --> 00:45:31,220
 Well, let's face it.

697
00:45:31,260 --> 00:45:39,460
 If you're a good coaching staff, you better have that voice, Scott, and you be prepared, because at the end of the season, you're going to have to go to your B, C, sometimes all the way down to the Z plan.

698
00:45:40,040 --> 00:45:41,280
 Bill, you've seen a lot of football.

699
00:45:41,500 --> 00:45:44,380
 Bill, you've seen this matchup that you just mentioned twice this year.

700
00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:50,040
 In your opinion, first of all, did you ever think you see an Alabama team rushing for a whopping minus six yards total?

701
00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:56,780
 And in your opinion, your thoughts on this Alabama team now compared to the first time you saw them this season?

702
00:45:57,080 --> 00:46:03,140
 Well, look, I said all last week that if Alabama didn't have a running game, they were not going to win that game.

703
00:46:03,620 --> 00:46:09,860
 And I did it by asking the question, okay, I think I asked Brett the question when he came on my show.

704
00:46:09,860 --> 00:46:16,560
 All right, if Alabama does not have a running game, or if it's not a productive running game, how are they going to win the game?

705
00:46:17,020 --> 00:46:26,000
 Well, you know, obviously, and we talked about this several weeks ago, and I think I said, and I formed the question then, I said,

706
00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:32,880
 how much pressure does that put on Ty Simpson, who is struggling right now, comparatively, compared to the early part of the season,

707
00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:35,520
 if there's no running game for him to turn to?

708
00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:38,780
 And obviously, it put a tremendous amount of pressure on that young man.

709
00:46:39,620 --> 00:46:44,540
 And so, you know, you can't win without a running game.

710
00:46:44,960 --> 00:46:51,360
 And whether it's Jam Miller being hurt, or those other guys not stepping up, or they just not having the room they usually have,

711
00:46:52,060 --> 00:46:54,740
 they're not going to beat Oklahoma if they don't have a running game.

712
00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:56,980
 I mean, it's just, I don't know how it could happen.

713
00:46:57,420 --> 00:47:06,740
 And you've got to have, look, Georgia last year, Georgia last year was 15th in the conference in rushing yards per game.

714
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:07,400
 Yeah.

715
00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:09,340
 And they still won the SEC.

716
00:47:09,700 --> 00:47:11,620
 I don't know how, to be honest with you.

717
00:47:11,620 --> 00:47:12,980
 I really don't know how.

718
00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:16,160
 I mean, look back on that, like, how the heck did they do that?

719
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:17,540
 Well, they did.

720
00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:23,440
 But, you know, it hurt them in the end, because they couldn't do it against Notre Dame at all, and it killed them.

721
00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:28,780
 You just can't have that type of lackluster run game in today's sport.

722
00:47:28,980 --> 00:47:35,580
 And look, you know, we cover teams, whether it's Georgia, Auburn, or Alabama, that are built on running the football.

723
00:47:36,100 --> 00:47:41,840
 People gripe over here about Mike Boba all the time, and I'm like, you know, you guys need to understand something.

724
00:47:42,380 --> 00:47:48,560
 We've got a defensive head coach here who was under Nick Saban for 12 years, or whatever it was,

725
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:55,240
 and he has the same philosophy that Nick Saban had, and that is, I'm going to run that football,

726
00:47:55,240 --> 00:48:01,720
 because if I go out there and don't run the football and have a quarterback throwing, you know, 70-yard passes

727
00:48:01,720 --> 00:48:09,120
 and having three-and-a-half-minute drives seven times a game, my defense is going to be gassed in the fourth quarter.

728
00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:09,260
 Thank you.

729
00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:12,240
 And so I'm not going to do that.

730
00:48:12,340 --> 00:48:15,880
 And so these people over here gripe about Mike not as much anymore, right?

731
00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:17,300
 They're quieting down a little bit.

732
00:48:17,660 --> 00:48:21,260
 But it's like you could gripe about whoever's the offensive coordinator.

733
00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:23,000
 Steve Spurrier could come in here.

734
00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:30,940
 But if Kirby's the coach, he wants that defense, even if it's rotating in and out like they're doing or talented as h***,

735
00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:36,260
 he wants them fresh as a daisy in the midway part of the fourth quarter.

736
00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:42,460
 Because these people, Nick Saban and Kirby Smart have simplified football.

737
00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:47,620
 We're going to be more physical than you, and we're going to outlast you.

738
00:48:47,620 --> 00:48:54,200
 And outlasting you means we're not going to blow our wad in the first quarter by having the defense out there

739
00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:56,060
 and having the time of possession in your favor.

740
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:58,580
 We're going to have the time of possession in our favor.

741
00:48:58,740 --> 00:49:01,160
 And if you don't have a running game, you're not going to do that.

742
00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:04,460
 Let me ask you a couple of Braves questions.

743
00:49:04,660 --> 00:49:07,180
 They've had an interesting week with two signees.

744
00:49:07,340 --> 00:49:12,060
 Mike Derskrimski is, of course, the grandson of iconic Coral.

745
00:49:13,380 --> 00:49:17,540
 And I know he can play multiple positions.

746
00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:21,960
 They signed him for a two-year deal for $23 million.

747
00:49:21,960 --> 00:49:31,240
 And one that actually gets me even more excited than that is reliever Robert Suarez to a three-year, $45 million.

748
00:49:32,040 --> 00:49:40,860
 A setup guy, but he can certainly help Iggy as far as Rachel Iglesias as far as closing.

749
00:49:41,260 --> 00:49:49,660
 Now, again, I still think they need to get a pitcher and a couple other players, but I thought those were two good additions this week.

750
00:49:50,320 --> 00:49:51,420
 Very good additions.

751
00:49:52,460 --> 00:50:00,320
 Derskrimski is a 35-year-old left-handed hitter who has good power potential, especially away from San Francisco,

752
00:50:00,560 --> 00:50:04,440
 where he spent the majority of his career until he got traded to Kansas City late last summer.

753
00:50:05,280 --> 00:50:07,760
 And, you know, he is a very good fielder.

754
00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:12,160
 I think it's going to mean that Profar goes to DH spot more often than not.

755
00:50:12,300 --> 00:50:12,460
 Yeah.

756
00:50:12,700 --> 00:50:15,680
 And that they, you know, have a little bit of versatility there.

757
00:50:15,840 --> 00:50:21,020
 Profar, the right-handed, rather the switch hitter, Derskrimski, a left-handed hitter.

758
00:50:21,420 --> 00:50:24,860
 He's very good against right-handed pitchers, better against right-handed pitchers, obviously.

759
00:50:25,460 --> 00:50:27,740
 And, you know, you can mix it around a little bit.

760
00:50:27,740 --> 00:50:33,740
 But I think this also kills the narrative of we're going to split Sean Murphy and Greg Baldwin with the DH spot,

761
00:50:33,920 --> 00:50:39,840
 which was stupid because Sean Murphy, for the last two seasons, has not hit .200.

762
00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:43,300
 H***, he's the one who needs a designated hitter, not the pitcher.

763
00:50:43,620 --> 00:50:44,740
 You got that right.

764
00:50:45,620 --> 00:50:48,700
 So, I mean, I never understood that and don't get it.

765
00:50:48,800 --> 00:50:51,260
 And I hope this kills that narrative.

766
00:50:52,160 --> 00:50:53,840
 Suarez is a very good pitcher.

767
00:50:53,980 --> 00:50:54,940
 He throws gas.

768
00:50:55,060 --> 00:50:56,940
 He's got a lot of electric stuff.

769
00:50:57,320 --> 00:51:02,180
 And, you know, to have that quality guy there to set up Iggy,

770
00:51:02,180 --> 00:51:05,220
 to get some save opportunities and then to take over.

771
00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:07,400
 And Iglesias only wants to pitch one more year.

772
00:51:07,520 --> 00:51:08,380
 That's why he did this.

773
00:51:08,660 --> 00:51:13,460
 I mean, he said to the team pretty much when he signed that contract a few weeks ago,

774
00:51:13,600 --> 00:51:16,600
 I just want to play really for one more year and then retire.

775
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:22,920
 And so, therefore, this is the perfect scenario where he's paid 13 this year to be a set-up man,

776
00:51:23,000 --> 00:51:28,320
 and then he gets to take over the same price that Iggy was at this year for the next two seasons.

777
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:31,120
 So, yes, two very good signings for the Braves.

778
00:51:31,120 --> 00:51:34,260
 And you're right, they need – look, they've got to figure out the shortstop stuff,

779
00:51:34,380 --> 00:51:36,700
 and they've got to have another starting pitcher.

780
00:51:37,240 --> 00:51:41,980
 And because if Bryce Elder is in the rotation again, I'm going to start drinking straight boxes.

781
00:51:42,820 --> 00:51:48,520
 Well, that's what I was going to mention, and I keep using the word veteran, durable starting pitcher,

782
00:51:48,840 --> 00:51:53,500
 and those don't come cheap, but they still need another one.

783
00:51:53,580 --> 00:52:02,780
 By the way, the Bulldogs schedule out for 2026 looks fairly manageable except for that October 10th game in Tuscaloosa.

784
00:52:03,100 --> 00:52:05,800
 We'll discuss that as we get closer to it.

785
00:52:06,300 --> 00:52:16,740
 If Tim or Jay or any of our loyal listeners will like to get on this afternoon and listen to Bryce talk, SEC talk,

786
00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:22,580
 I'm sure you've got some comments about Notre Dame and their whining all week long, where can they get on line?

787
00:52:23,180 --> 00:52:24,280
 Well, let me tell you something.

788
00:52:24,400 --> 00:52:29,540
 I haven't heard from Jay and Tim and Pastor Tommy from Alabama all week long.

789
00:52:29,660 --> 00:52:31,080
 I don't know why not.

790
00:52:31,280 --> 00:52:32,120
 It's a coincidence.

791
00:52:32,760 --> 00:52:40,980
 They were quick to call my butt last Friday and offer a little opinion on what was going to happen in that game,

792
00:52:41,020 --> 00:52:44,080
 and all of a sudden they're in the freaking witness protection program.

793
00:52:44,180 --> 00:52:47,780
 You think they've got a white girlfriend in another town away from their lives, man?

794
00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:49,600
 Nah, they're one of thin as h***.

795
00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:50,440
 They're busy in the North.

796
00:52:50,440 --> 00:52:51,180
 Oh, man.

797
00:52:51,260 --> 00:52:52,680
 I mean, my word.

798
00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:54,360
 Where are those guys?

799
00:52:54,360 --> 00:53:03,920
 Because I need them to call up today and let me know that they're okay so I won't be feeling like they're being held hostage by somebody.

800
00:53:04,600 --> 00:53:10,940
 We're actually going to have a show today about cards, baseball cards, sports cards, about your favorite sports cards,

801
00:53:11,260 --> 00:53:17,080
 and maybe Jay and Tim and Pastor Tommy can call me up and give me a little insight as their favorite card

802
00:53:17,080 --> 00:53:21,240
 and apologize for their errant prediction last Friday afternoon.

803
00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:27,320
 Well, if they got the famous card right now, it would be from the Boston Red Sox back in the 60s,

804
00:53:27,380 --> 00:53:32,920
 the guy by the name of Carl Yastrzemski, the grandpapa, proud grandpapa, the newest brave.

805
00:53:33,080 --> 00:53:34,720
 He was a pretty good one back in the day, BB.

806
00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:36,800
 Bill changed back up in Boston.

807
00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:38,940
 He was good.

808
00:53:38,940 --> 00:53:45,700
 You know, somebody scared me the other day because when they signed Yastrzemski, my buddy just texted me Yastrzemski.

809
00:53:45,780 --> 00:53:47,000
 I thought Carl would die.

810
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:50,180
 No, no, no, no, no.

811
00:53:50,680 --> 00:54:01,980
 By the way, tell the Hall of Fame committee to take a long walk off a short pier when it comes to Dale Murphy

812
00:54:01,980 --> 00:54:09,760
 and one of the greatest broadcasting, radio broadcasting and TV in history, Skip, Ernie and Pete.

813
00:54:10,920 --> 00:54:15,140
 Well, it's been a hard week for me because I'm crushed.

814
00:54:15,300 --> 00:54:17,000
 I hate it for Dale Murphy.

815
00:54:18,480 --> 00:54:19,880
 I don't know what we're missing.

816
00:54:20,280 --> 00:54:22,240
 I keep on saying I don't know what they're missing.

817
00:54:22,340 --> 00:54:28,360
 Maybe we're missing something, but I don't know what it is because if you factor contribution to the game

818
00:54:28,360 --> 00:54:31,640
 and you're leaving him out, you're nuts.

819
00:54:32,640 --> 00:54:33,740
 It's called 2025.

820
00:54:34,120 --> 00:54:36,360
 It's a crazy, wild, wild world out there.

821
00:54:36,420 --> 00:54:37,520
 Bill, listen, man, thanks so much.

822
00:54:37,580 --> 00:54:38,640
 Have a great weekend, okay?

823
00:54:39,480 --> 00:54:40,140
 You too, guys.

824
00:54:40,240 --> 00:54:40,900
 Thank you so much.

825
00:54:40,920 --> 00:54:41,140
 Thank you, buddy.

826
00:54:41,680 --> 00:54:45,380
 The one and the only, Bill Shanks, the Superstations.com.

827
00:54:45,460 --> 00:54:47,840
 Coming up the next hour, a lot of shuffling down to the plains.

828
00:54:47,980 --> 00:54:49,280
 Justin Ferguson talking to Auburn.

829
00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:52,580
 Mark McCloud says get ready for the Huntsville boy in Mike Hugen.

830
00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:54,680
 He's got it all covered straight ahead.

831
00:54:54,780 --> 00:54:55,300
 Stay with us.

832
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 Hey, I'm Mike Slater.

876
00:57:16,060 --> 00:57:17,860
 My dad passed away at the age of 63.

877
00:57:18,040 --> 00:57:18,580
 It's out of nowhere.

878
00:57:18,960 --> 00:57:19,340
 I had a stroke.

879
00:57:19,560 --> 00:57:21,540
 Super hard, obviously, for the whole family.

880
00:57:21,640 --> 00:57:23,580
 But my dad had life insurance.

881
00:57:23,680 --> 00:57:27,840
 This is why I have life insurance for my family, for my wife and four kids.

882
00:57:28,120 --> 00:57:33,060
 And the best place to get life insurance is ethos.com because you can do it in 10 minutes.

883
00:57:33,220 --> 00:57:35,260
 And there's no medical exam and no blood test.

884
00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:36,440
 Just a few health questions.

885
00:57:36,840 --> 00:57:39,880
 Get life insurance in 10 minutes so your family is protected.

886
00:57:40,300 --> 00:57:42,120
 Ethos, E-T-H-O-S.

887
00:57:42,520 --> 00:57:44,440
 Ethos.com slash play.

888
00:57:45,240 --> 00:57:46,120
 Rich Eisen here.

889
00:57:46,240 --> 00:57:49,940
 As you all know, I care deeply about pediatric cancer research and awareness.

890
00:57:49,940 --> 00:57:52,520
 That's why I'm proud to talk about Hyundai Hope on Wheels.

891
00:57:52,780 --> 00:57:57,900
 For over 27 years, every Hyundai Sold has helped fund life-saving pediatric cancer research.

892
00:57:58,120 --> 00:58:07,620
 Together with over 850 dealers nationwide, they've raised more than $277 million, supporting over 25,000 kids in their fight against cancer.

893
00:58:07,860 --> 00:58:09,440
 At Hyundai, hope isn't optional.

894
00:58:09,720 --> 00:58:10,460
 It comes standard.

895
00:58:10,740 --> 00:58:14,500
 Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more.

896
00:58:15,140 --> 00:58:18,240
 Tim collects bobbleheads.

897
00:58:18,600 --> 00:58:19,980
 A lot of bobbleheads.

898
00:58:20,380 --> 00:58:21,440
 Baseball bobbleheads.

899
00:58:21,740 --> 00:58:23,060
 Race car bobbleheads.

900
00:58:23,300 --> 00:58:24,780
 Little chihuahua bobbleheads.

901
00:58:24,860 --> 00:58:27,820
 He's got an entire room strictly for bobbleheads.

902
00:58:28,240 --> 00:58:28,980
 Does he need them?

903
00:58:29,160 --> 00:58:29,460
 No.

904
00:58:29,700 --> 00:58:30,800
 Is his wife mad about it?

905
00:58:30,880 --> 00:58:31,580
 A little.

906
00:58:31,800 --> 00:58:34,420
 But Tim works with Empower and he got good at money.

907
00:58:34,700 --> 00:58:36,040
 So he can be a little bad.

908
00:58:36,340 --> 00:58:37,840
 Ooh, horse bobblehead.

909
00:58:38,160 --> 00:58:39,020
 Classy, Tim.

910
00:58:39,700 --> 00:58:40,180
 Empower.

911
00:58:40,500 --> 00:58:41,220
 Invest well.

912
00:58:41,480 --> 00:58:41,900
 Live a little.

913
00:58:42,200 --> 00:58:43,920
 Start today at Empower.com.

914
00:58:46,380 --> 00:58:47,700
 1819 News.

915
00:58:48,120 --> 00:58:53,160
 Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth is criticizing the director of the Alabama Department of Transportation

916
00:58:53,160 --> 00:58:57,920
 after news came out earlier this week that bonds are being sold for the West Alabama Corridor.

917
00:58:58,120 --> 00:59:05,080
 On social media, Ainsworth took ALDOT Director John Cooper to task, saying that Cooper should be embarrassed for embarking on this project

918
00:59:05,080 --> 00:59:11,560
 without having secured any pledged matching federal funds to help alleviate the cost of this project.

919
00:59:11,720 --> 00:59:17,440
 Ainsworth says the boondoggle of a plan will cause ALDOT money to be diverted to the construction of the highway

920
00:59:17,440 --> 00:59:21,180
 and cause other existing roads that are in disarray to get even worse.

921
00:59:21,180 --> 00:59:28,420
 Former State Senator Gerald Dial responded to Ainsworth disagreeing, saying that this north to south highway in western Alabama

922
00:59:28,420 --> 00:59:32,160
 is important for developing that area and improving the entire state.

923
00:59:32,600 --> 00:59:34,920
 I'll be back with more Alabama stories after this.

924
00:59:35,080 --> 00:59:37,900
 Where I was living was not a great place to live anymore.

925
00:59:38,240 --> 00:59:42,960
 I began to pray for a place to go, praying for all of these things that a nine-year-old would want.

926
00:59:43,140 --> 00:59:46,700
 I wanted horses, big house with a bunch of people my age.

927
00:59:46,840 --> 00:59:47,640
 I wanted parents.

928
00:59:47,740 --> 00:59:48,760
 I wanted a mom and a dad.

929
00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:52,980
 Before I even prayed it, the Lord had already answered my prayer with the Big Oak Ranch.

930
00:59:53,160 --> 00:59:56,260
 Who would that nine-year-old be if she never came to the Big Oak Ranch?

931
00:59:56,440 --> 01:00:01,380
 I would be trying to fight for survival instead of fighting to break a cycle.

932
01:00:01,620 --> 01:00:05,060
 Big Oak Ranch, a Christian home for children needing a chance.

933
01:00:05,080 --> 01:00:11,600
 Baldwin County authorities arrested two men who were found on a gaming app for children soliciting the children for sex.

934
01:00:11,760 --> 01:00:15,220
 Undercover police posed as 14-year-old minors on the gaming app,

935
01:00:15,340 --> 01:00:19,360
 with the sting operation resulting in the arrest of Antoine Watts and Jeremy Wendel.

936
01:00:19,500 --> 01:00:24,140
 Both men apparently drove to Baldwin County with the expectation of meeting a minor for sex.

937
01:00:24,520 --> 01:00:29,900
 A woman in Florence had to be hospitalized after being hit by a vehicle during the Christmas parade that occurred this past Thursday night.

938
01:00:29,900 --> 01:00:31,660
 A woman had injuries to her leg.

939
01:00:31,760 --> 01:00:33,500
 She was taken to a Huntsville hospital.

940
01:00:33,980 --> 01:00:34,720
 I'm Andrea Tice.

941
01:00:35,420 --> 01:00:39,780
 For more news affecting Alabamians, go to 1819news.com.

942
01:00:39,960 --> 01:00:42,880
 And while you're there, subscribe to the daily newsletter.

943
01:00:46,140 --> 01:00:53,880
 Valley Broadcasting Corporation, WITK-FM, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, The Shore, Sports Radio 93.9, The Score.

944
01:00:56,160 --> 01:00:57,680
 Scott Graham here from Westwood One.

945
01:00:58,000 --> 01:01:04,060
 Don't miss any of our exclusive NFL action all season long until a new champion is crowned at Super Bowl 60.

946
01:01:04,520 --> 01:01:06,700
 Of course, each week begins with Thursday night football.

947
01:01:07,260 --> 01:01:10,760
 I'll get it started with a preview and a look ahead at the big weekend games.

948
01:01:11,040 --> 01:01:13,780
 Then it's to the stadium for the play-by-play of all the action.

949
01:01:14,220 --> 01:01:16,840
 Join us all season long on Thursday night football.

950
01:01:16,840 --> 01:01:29,700
 Ryan Rankin here from Sunday Night Football on Westwood One.

951
01:01:29,860 --> 01:01:34,580
 Join Mike Golick and me every Sunday for a marquee primetime NFL matchup.

952
01:01:34,580 --> 01:01:40,920
 Scott Graham gets things started with a pregame show from the studio with exclusive player interviews and the latest league news.

953
01:01:41,360 --> 01:01:45,440
 Then from the stadium, Mike and I bring you the exclusive play-by-play call of the action.

954
01:01:45,980 --> 01:01:48,240
 Join us every week for Sunday Night Football.

955
01:01:56,820 --> 01:01:59,000
 93.9, The Score weather.

956
01:01:59,540 --> 01:02:01,380
 Today, sunny with a high around 16.

957
01:02:02,020 --> 01:02:04,100
 Tonight, mostly clear with a low near 35.

958
01:02:04,860 --> 01:02:06,840
 Tomorrow, sunny with a high around 55.

959
01:02:07,600 --> 01:02:11,660
 Tomorrow night, mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers overnight and a low near 25.

960
01:02:12,420 --> 01:02:14,660
 And for your Sunday, sunny with a high around 30.

961
01:02:15,040 --> 01:02:17,700
 Your weather from 93.9, The Score.

962
01:02:22,420 --> 01:02:25,040
 Now, get ready to roll.

963
01:02:25,260 --> 01:02:31,340
 Shoals, Decatur, Athens, and all of northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee.

964
01:02:31,980 --> 01:02:35,300
 It's time for the Valley's exclusive FM Sports Voice.

965
01:02:38,360 --> 01:02:40,640
 The Boomo Bugg Show.

966
01:02:40,640 --> 01:02:40,880
 The Boomo Bugg Show.

967
01:02:40,880 --> 01:02:46,400
 New exclusive inside track to the Tide, Tigers, Tennessee, and the rest of the SEC.

968
01:02:47,200 --> 01:02:52,620
 Now, your host, Harold Bugg on 93.9, The Score.

969
01:02:53,340 --> 01:02:54,080
 Welcome back in.

970
01:02:54,080 --> 01:02:55,240
 Welcome back to the Boomo Bugg Show.

971
01:02:55,340 --> 01:02:56,800
 I'm Harold Bugg alongside Brett Beaird.

972
01:02:56,900 --> 01:02:59,720
 Thank you so much for giving us a free ride around the Tennessee Valley.

973
01:03:00,020 --> 01:03:05,500
 And for Mike, who can undertake time out of his schedule as national college football slash basketball analyst.

974
01:03:06,060 --> 01:03:14,860
 And maybe an analyst with a couch this week after a crazy rock and roll world out there will come college football, certainly from Michigan.

975
01:03:15,060 --> 01:03:16,040
 Mike, welcome in.

976
01:03:16,120 --> 01:03:16,840
 How are you?

977
01:03:18,440 --> 01:03:23,000
 Yeah, the Michigan situation has sort of overshadowed everything else.

978
01:03:23,120 --> 01:03:32,600
 You had the college football playoff announced, then you had the national team about that, then all of a sudden, boom, the Michigan situation happens with Jerome Moore.

979
01:03:33,820 --> 01:03:38,800
 And now you're hearing that, you know, this is far more than a coach being fired.

980
01:03:41,020 --> 01:03:45,520
 Yeah, it's a sobering aspect of college football.

981
01:03:46,400 --> 01:03:56,760
 But I also will say this, you know, Michigan, for decades, I'm in my 60s, and ever since I've started following college football in the early 70s,

982
01:03:57,340 --> 01:04:02,740
 the Michigan sort of held itself up above the fray.

983
01:04:02,740 --> 01:04:08,520
 Yes, we're in major college athletics, but we don't associate with the riffraff.

984
01:04:08,920 --> 01:04:10,820
 We're better than everybody else.

985
01:04:11,020 --> 01:04:13,160
 The Michigan man ethos.

986
01:04:13,820 --> 01:04:22,520
 And I'll be honest, the last four or five years, the Michigan man ethos, he has moved from the penthouse to sort of the gutter.

987
01:04:23,260 --> 01:04:27,080
 Because the school has had controversy after controversy.

988
01:04:27,300 --> 01:04:28,760
 They cheated on the field.

989
01:04:29,340 --> 01:04:35,320
 You had the basketball coach getting into a brouhaha with another team's assistant.

990
01:04:36,400 --> 01:04:42,380
 You had Michigan breaking NCAA rules with Harbaugh, and now this.

991
01:04:42,980 --> 01:04:49,800
 So I think that, you know, college athletics is a lot different than when I started following it in the 70s.

992
01:04:49,800 --> 01:04:58,680
 But I think college football, you know, don't hold it up as some kind of beacon of amateurism or anything like that.

993
01:04:59,360 --> 01:05:11,700
 It's a pro league, and this is unfortunately – this is not an example of that, but my point is that controversies and ugly things happen in pro sports.

994
01:05:12,140 --> 01:05:14,840
 Controversies and ugly things happen in college sports as well.

995
01:05:15,080 --> 01:05:19,260
 Well, you know, and you get too much money and too much power, sometimes crazy things can happen.

996
01:05:19,440 --> 01:05:21,240
 Mike, you stated it well.

997
01:05:22,240 --> 01:05:25,620
 Obviously, Michigan is going to wave a lot of big bucks under somebody's nose.

998
01:05:25,740 --> 01:05:28,700
 It's going to be, quote, a great career opportunity for somebody.

999
01:05:29,620 --> 01:05:31,540
 But let's bring it down to our zip code.

1000
01:05:31,620 --> 01:05:37,160
 If you are killing DeBoer and you're at Alabama, you've already shown what kind of ads you've got.

1001
01:05:37,580 --> 01:05:41,940
 He came to Alabama post Nick Saban, so the man ain't afraid of a challenge.

1002
01:05:42,640 --> 01:05:46,820
 Your thoughts, where are you with all this blowing back and forth with DeBoer to Michigan?

1003
01:05:46,940 --> 01:05:49,640
 And if it's not DeBoer, then where does Michigan go from here?

1004
01:05:49,660 --> 01:05:54,360
 And if you're DeBoer, why would you leave Alabama when you really don't even know yet who's going to be your boss up there?

1005
01:05:54,380 --> 01:05:56,180
 Because this thing hasn't settled down completely.

1006
01:05:56,180 --> 01:05:59,140
 You don't know what they're going to do with the AD going forward.

1007
01:05:59,360 --> 01:06:01,300
 He's already got a black eye, you know.

1008
01:06:02,100 --> 01:06:09,720
 I think that, you know, the following Saban, yeah, the guy doesn't lack for intestinal fortitude, let's put it that way.

1009
01:06:11,360 --> 01:06:14,320
 But there's also, is Alabama a better job than Michigan?

1010
01:06:14,420 --> 01:06:15,080
 Of course it is.

1011
01:06:17,400 --> 01:06:23,200
 I don't know, maybe DeBoer, again, Alabama's a better job, hands down, unquestionably.

1012
01:06:23,380 --> 01:06:28,660
 Maybe DeBoer's like, yes, I knew what this was going to be like following Saban.

1013
01:06:29,240 --> 01:06:32,080
 But I really didn't know what it was going to be like.

1014
01:06:32,400 --> 01:06:33,620
 Nobody, unless you're here.

1015
01:06:34,120 --> 01:06:34,480
 Right.

1016
01:06:34,600 --> 01:06:41,860
 And I think if Alabama loses to Oklahoma next week, a lot of folks are like, fine, Lee, we don't care.

1017
01:06:42,260 --> 01:06:44,820
 Which, obviously, would be an overreaction.

1018
01:06:45,040 --> 01:06:48,200
 But I think this all comes down to Kalen DeBoer's mindset.

1019
01:06:48,980 --> 01:06:50,620
 He can win big at Alabama.

1020
01:06:50,740 --> 01:06:51,900
 He can win big at Michigan.

1021
01:06:52,060 --> 01:06:53,180
 Where is he more comfortable?

1022
01:06:54,180 --> 01:06:56,200
 Because Alabama is a better job.

1023
01:06:56,340 --> 01:06:57,460
 It's in a better league.

1024
01:06:58,120 --> 01:07:06,100
 And some of the stuff that Michigan was able to sell before, that would be, oh, yeah, we are above the fray.

1025
01:07:06,360 --> 01:07:07,340
 No, you're not.

1026
01:07:07,900 --> 01:07:15,360
 And you're right, the idea that you might go to work for a school that, in another three months, fires its athletic director.

1027
01:07:15,440 --> 01:07:16,280
 Who are you going to be working for?

1028
01:07:16,720 --> 01:07:17,320
 Thank you.

1029
01:07:18,400 --> 01:07:28,700
 Mike, let me ask you about the other story this week that got overshadowed by the Michigan Mass was the Notre Dame athletic director b******* for three days,

1030
01:07:28,820 --> 01:07:35,760
 trying to tell everybody that they had the most demanding 10-week schedule in history.

1031
01:07:36,800 --> 01:07:43,440
 And they played three, two, and ten teams, one, three, and nine, and one, four, and eight.

1032
01:07:44,340 --> 01:07:49,260
 They lost their first two games, certainly to two good teams.

1033
01:07:49,780 --> 01:07:55,960
 I thought the committee actually righted some wrongs as far as looking at the head-to-head.

1034
01:07:57,000 --> 01:07:58,860
 Then he jumped on the athlete.

1035
01:07:59,120 --> 01:08:03,520
 The AD, Notre Dame, jumped on the ACC for, quote, not supporting them.

1036
01:08:04,280 --> 01:08:06,460
 Notre Dame's had a long week, too, Mike.

1037
01:08:06,800 --> 01:08:07,520
 Yeah, they have.

1038
01:08:07,680 --> 01:08:17,900
 And if you're the ACC office, do we pump up a full-fledged member, or do we pump up a team that doesn't even belong in our football league?

1039
01:08:18,180 --> 01:08:20,140
 We have a scheduling thing.

1040
01:08:20,920 --> 01:08:24,260
 You know, I think Notre Dame is one of the ten best teams in the country.

1041
01:08:25,280 --> 01:08:29,960
 That said, the best team they beat was USC.

1042
01:08:30,400 --> 01:08:35,360
 The schedule wasn't all that difficult, ironically, because they played a lot of garbage teams from the ACC.

1043
01:08:36,800 --> 01:08:53,520
 But, you know, what they bring to the ACC in football, yeah, if Notre Dame goes to Virginia, if Notre Dame goes to Georgia Tech, if Notre Dame plays at Boston College or Virginia Tech, yeah, it's a big deal.

1044
01:08:54,400 --> 01:08:57,700
 Notre Dame needs a place for its other sports, though.

1045
01:08:58,400 --> 01:09:06,060
 Part of me thinks that the ACC should say, if you don't think we supported you enough for football, see ya, we don't care.

1046
01:09:06,600 --> 01:09:10,580
 Because, again, I don't think, oh, Notre Dame baseball, solid program, who cares?

1047
01:09:11,040 --> 01:09:13,300
 Notre Dame basketball has fallen a long way.

1048
01:09:13,460 --> 01:09:15,080
 Notre Dame has really good women's sports.

1049
01:09:15,540 --> 01:09:16,320
 Nobody cares.

1050
01:09:16,720 --> 01:09:23,560
 And I care about women's sports, but my point is, you know, Notre Dame is not driving anything when it comes to women's athletics.

1051
01:09:23,560 --> 01:09:29,480
 Yeah, great women's basketball program, if they play at Virginia, 3,000 people show up.

1052
01:09:29,520 --> 01:09:30,120
 It's a big deal.

1053
01:09:30,120 --> 01:09:38,820
 So I think the biggest problem I have with the college football playoff selection committee is that Tuesday night show.

1054
01:09:39,760 --> 01:09:46,660
 It's a 30-minute or 15-minute program that makes things vastly, vastly worse.

1055
01:09:48,140 --> 01:09:49,940
 You know, we've talked about this for years now.

1056
01:09:50,040 --> 01:09:59,660
 If you're the committee spokesman, you may be out there arguing for stuff that you don't agree with.

1057
01:10:00,060 --> 01:10:03,020
 Who knows how Notre Dame thinks they picked the right teams?

1058
01:10:03,400 --> 01:10:08,620
 But he has to go out there, put on a brave face, and say, okay, yeah, this is what we looked at.

1059
01:10:08,620 --> 01:10:11,240
 And he might be thinking inside, that's a great question.

1060
01:10:11,400 --> 01:10:15,220
 I wish I knew the real answer, because I don't, because I agree with you.

1061
01:10:15,740 --> 01:10:21,740
 So to me, the idea that this weekly TV show is a month, it's wrong.

1062
01:10:21,940 --> 01:10:22,580
 Get rid of it.

1063
01:10:22,960 --> 01:10:28,120
 The college basketball selection committee does a reveal about a month before the tournament starts.

1064
01:10:28,320 --> 01:10:31,360
 Here are our top 16 teams right now.

1065
01:10:32,040 --> 01:10:35,480
 The selection committee for football could do the exact same thing.

1066
01:10:35,480 --> 01:10:38,100
 They could turn that into an hour-long show.

1067
01:10:38,480 --> 01:10:40,380
 They could also discuss the group of five.

1068
01:10:40,740 --> 01:10:44,520
 And then they could say, we'll see you in four weeks when we unveil the field.

1069
01:10:45,100 --> 01:10:45,700
 That's a good idea.

1070
01:10:46,700 --> 01:10:54,080
 If there had not been a weekly reveal, nobody would have known that Notre Dame was ahead of Miami until the last weekend.

1071
01:10:54,320 --> 01:11:01,160
 And again, Notre Dame and Miami did not play the last weekend of the season, and yet Miami moved ahead of Notre Dame.

1072
01:11:02,260 --> 01:11:03,360
 That's totally illogical.

1073
01:11:03,360 --> 01:11:10,020
 So I think the committee makes it worse by having that stupid weekly reveal.

1074
01:11:10,020 --> 01:11:10,480
 They do.

1075
01:11:10,880 --> 01:11:14,900
 I bet it has something to do with ESPN making a lot of money off that weekly show.

1076
01:11:15,080 --> 01:11:16,600
 I'm just going out on a limb here.

1077
01:11:16,680 --> 01:11:17,620
 All right, let's talk, Chuck.

1078
01:11:17,720 --> 01:11:20,080
 One week from tonight, Alabama takes on Oklahoma.

1079
01:11:21,760 --> 01:11:24,480
 We saw what Georgia did in the rebound game with Bama.

1080
01:11:24,560 --> 01:11:27,560
 What's Bama going to do in their rebound game with Oklahoma differently?

1081
01:11:28,300 --> 01:11:30,500
 Yeah, they have to run the ball.

1082
01:11:31,360 --> 01:11:35,100
 You know, Brent Venables is a great defensive mind.

1083
01:11:36,160 --> 01:11:39,960
 And my presumption is that they, obviously they played him in November.

1084
01:11:41,060 --> 01:11:44,840
 I think Alabama's running game might have actually gotten worse since they played.

1085
01:11:44,960 --> 01:11:48,040
 Now, Jan Miller being healthy would make a difference.

1086
01:11:48,040 --> 01:11:55,780
 But at the same time, Venables and his defensive staff are in there going, if we do a good job of shutting down the run,

1087
01:11:55,940 --> 01:11:58,760
 they become one-dimensional, and we're fine with that.

1088
01:11:59,180 --> 01:12:05,240
 And I think that's what DeBoer and Ryan Grubb have to – I'm sure these guys are smart guys.

1089
01:12:05,320 --> 01:12:08,500
 They know we have to run the ball or we're going to lose again.

1090
01:12:09,660 --> 01:12:15,800
 And the first game was in Tuscaloosa, which is going to be a vastly different crowd in Norman.

1091
01:12:15,800 --> 01:12:20,220
 And so, to me, it all comes down to the Alabama running game.

1092
01:12:20,440 --> 01:12:22,380
 Is there a modicum of a running game?

1093
01:12:22,460 --> 01:12:24,720
 And I don't mean they've got to run for 160.

1094
01:12:25,800 --> 01:12:27,420
 Can they even run for 100?

1095
01:12:28,020 --> 01:12:30,340
 And if they run for 100, they have to –

1096
01:12:30,340 --> 01:12:31,220
 Even that would help.

1097
01:12:31,860 --> 01:12:32,980
 But I don't know if they can.

1098
01:12:34,580 --> 01:12:37,740
 Let me ask you real quick, Miami and Texas A&M.

1099
01:12:38,760 --> 01:12:39,560
 Interesting game.

1100
01:12:39,560 --> 01:12:44,740
 This Saturday at 11 a.m. on TNT, not ABC or ESPN.

1101
01:12:44,960 --> 01:12:48,500
 E&T, and it's Mike Hugen and see that outcome.

1102
01:12:49,080 --> 01:12:50,640
 Yeah, I think that's the best first-round game.

1103
01:12:50,840 --> 01:12:53,580
 Alabama-Oklahoma rematch.

1104
01:12:53,840 --> 01:12:55,580
 Tulane-Ole Miss rematch.

1105
01:12:55,940 --> 01:12:56,740
 I mean, come on.

1106
01:12:57,000 --> 01:12:59,880
 Second round, you could have Alabama – you could have Georgia-Ole Miss.

1107
01:12:59,980 --> 01:13:00,860
 Another rematch.

1108
01:13:01,040 --> 01:13:04,680
 So, to me, Miami-Texas A&M is by far the best first-round game.

1109
01:13:05,240 --> 01:13:09,420
 Two teams that pride themselves on being physical along both lines of scrimmage.

1110
01:13:09,780 --> 01:13:13,760
 Both teams have secondaries that are susceptible to big plays.

1111
01:13:13,940 --> 01:13:17,380
 The biggest difference to me, Marcel Reed is mobile.

1112
01:13:18,260 --> 01:13:20,780
 Carson Beck is a lawn chair in the pocket.

1113
01:13:21,120 --> 01:13:26,400
 So, if I'm Cassius Howell and I'm Mike Elko, I'm looking at Miami tape, realizing,

1114
01:13:26,980 --> 01:13:32,840
 man, if we get in Beck's face, he's going to make two or three mistakes that we can capitalize on.

1115
01:13:32,840 --> 01:13:36,060
 So, I think both teams will want to run the ball.

1116
01:13:36,880 --> 01:13:43,360
 I'm interested in seeing if A&M makes Marcel Reed's legs a focal point of the offensive game plan.

1117
01:13:44,060 --> 01:13:47,620
 To me, the biggest difference in that game is Marcel Reed's legs.

1118
01:13:48,120 --> 01:13:50,720
 I think Texas A&M is going to win.

1119
01:13:51,120 --> 01:13:53,920
 But, you know, it's the earliest game.

1120
01:13:55,540 --> 01:13:57,580
 It confounds me.

1121
01:13:58,200 --> 01:14:00,780
 Oregon-James Madison is in front.

1122
01:14:01,720 --> 01:14:02,800
 Yeah, that's right.

1123
01:14:02,800 --> 01:14:06,100
 Texas A&M-Miami kicks off at 11 local times.

1124
01:14:06,760 --> 01:14:13,660
 I don't, and I know the fact that it's Oregon on the west coast, you know, the TV kickoff.

1125
01:14:13,800 --> 01:14:19,040
 But, I'll be honest, Oregon-James Madison could be over midway through the second quarter,

1126
01:14:19,640 --> 01:14:22,100
 and everybody goes and finishes their Christmas shopping.

1127
01:14:22,660 --> 01:14:22,820
 Yeah.

1128
01:14:22,820 --> 01:14:31,660
 Yeah, well, one fact is, Oregon and James Madison's on ABC, and Texas A&M and Miami's on TNT.

1129
01:14:31,940 --> 01:14:34,300
 But, I'm like you, they should have reversed that.

1130
01:14:34,780 --> 01:14:34,960
 Yeah.

1131
01:14:35,160 --> 01:14:35,960
 Goodness gracious.

1132
01:14:36,700 --> 01:14:41,820
 Yeah, and it's, but, you know, you think, you know, typically the old four-team playoff,

1133
01:14:42,140 --> 01:14:44,660
 oh, we've got to wait three, oh, my God, it's next weekend.

1134
01:14:44,980 --> 01:14:45,740
 So, that's right.

1135
01:14:46,080 --> 01:14:46,480
 That's right.

1136
01:14:46,700 --> 01:14:47,240
 That's good.

1137
01:14:47,320 --> 01:14:50,660
 And, I'll be honest, I think if I'm, any of the teams playing the first weekend,

1138
01:14:50,660 --> 01:14:55,080
 this Michigan situation has sort of sucked all the air out of the room.

1139
01:14:55,540 --> 01:14:59,140
 So, I guess we're in the playoff, but we're sort of under the radar here.

1140
01:14:59,360 --> 01:15:02,740
 So, I think the coaches are liking that aspect.

1141
01:15:02,980 --> 01:15:03,240
 Yes.

1142
01:15:03,760 --> 01:15:04,000
 Yeah.

1143
01:15:04,160 --> 01:15:06,060
 I think they need to reset next week.

1144
01:15:06,640 --> 01:15:10,600
 Some of this off-the-field shenanigans will calm down.

1145
01:15:10,660 --> 01:15:12,380
 Great stuff, as always.

1146
01:15:12,960 --> 01:15:17,820
 Get some good basketball, Arizona and Alabama on tomorrow night, as you probably know.

1147
01:15:17,940 --> 01:15:18,100
 Yep.

1148
01:15:18,360 --> 01:15:19,340
 Have a great week.

1149
01:15:19,700 --> 01:15:20,200
 Arizona's playing great.

1150
01:15:20,260 --> 01:15:20,780
 Go ahead.

1151
01:15:21,560 --> 01:15:23,040
 Yeah, I was going to say, Arizona's playing great.

1152
01:15:24,960 --> 01:15:27,060
 The Pete kid is a freshman.

1153
01:15:27,340 --> 01:15:29,420
 You know, his father and brothers play football.

1154
01:15:30,920 --> 01:15:36,280
 I think Pete made, Coa made the right decision playing hoops, because that dude's going to be rich next year.

1155
01:15:36,440 --> 01:15:40,600
 Yeah, he's not the only one on the court tomorrow night.

1156
01:15:40,660 --> 01:15:41,820
 He's going to make some money.

1157
01:15:42,260 --> 01:15:42,740
 Very good.

1158
01:15:43,660 --> 01:15:43,980
 Absolutely.

1159
01:15:44,220 --> 01:15:45,380
 Listen, have a great weekend.

1160
01:15:45,520 --> 01:15:46,840
 Let's do this again next Friday.

1161
01:15:47,120 --> 01:15:47,400
 Excellent.

1162
01:15:47,580 --> 01:15:48,000
 Thanks, guys.

1163
01:15:48,900 --> 01:15:54,220
 Hey, having the one, the only, Mike Coogan, and checking in, hopefully, from a warmer Orlando, Florida.

1164
01:15:54,840 --> 01:15:59,360
 Speaking of the Sunshine State, Mark McLeod talking about the Huntsville connection.

1165
01:15:59,520 --> 01:16:00,360
 All straight ahead.

1166
01:16:00,480 --> 01:16:01,080
 Stay with us.

1167
01:16:04,740 --> 01:16:05,480
 Hello, everyone.

1168
01:16:05,540 --> 01:16:07,960
 This is Ron Tyler, Mayor of the City of Florence.

1169
01:16:08,080 --> 01:16:12,260
 I would like to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas.

1170
01:16:12,800 --> 01:16:19,780
 During this time, I hope you're able to remember the reason behind the season and can celebrate the virgin birth.

1171
01:16:20,060 --> 01:16:25,220
 Take this opportunity to enjoy the hope, peace, and joy that comes in this season.

1172
01:16:25,720 --> 01:16:26,460
 Merry Christmas.

1173
01:16:27,160 --> 01:16:34,480
 Hey, this is Russell from Medford Jewelers, reminding everyone as we celebrate our 80th Christmas in downtown Florence that we have you covered.

1174
01:16:34,600 --> 01:16:39,880
 If you need a pair of two-carat lab diamond studs, we've got them on sale for $599.

1175
01:16:40,540 --> 01:16:43,600
 We have a two-carat lab tennis bracelet for $995.

1176
01:16:44,120 --> 01:16:51,580
 We have a $35 custom cookbook easel where you can bring in a handwritten recipe of your grandmother's, and we can engrave it for you.

1177
01:16:51,740 --> 01:16:57,160
 If you need our bit-of-me custom ornament with a child's voice on it, we've got you covered.

1178
01:16:57,420 --> 01:16:59,440
 We have Van Cleef bracelets for $125.

1179
01:17:00,260 --> 01:17:04,260
 We have lab-grown station-to-station diamond necklaces starting at $195.

1180
01:17:04,800 --> 01:17:08,620
 And we have two-carat moissanite studs for $49.95.

1181
01:17:09,120 --> 01:17:12,920
 Whatever your needs are for this Christmas season, Medford Jewelers has you covered.

1182
01:17:12,920 --> 01:17:17,960
 Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from your friends at Medford Jewelers in downtown Florence since 1945.

1183
01:17:19,220 --> 01:17:23,360
 Williams Funeral Home is proud to serve families and communities in northwest Alabama.

1184
01:17:23,860 --> 01:17:29,180
 Wishing you and your family an extra measure of comfort, joy, and hope this Christmas.

1185
01:17:29,540 --> 01:17:31,120
 From Williams Funeral Home.

1186
01:17:33,540 --> 01:17:39,600
 At AT&T, we guarantee our network, so you can talk college football with your BFF while taking Buster to the vet.

1187
01:17:41,100 --> 01:17:43,920
 Hey, yeah, I can't believe he ate the whole thing of chicken wings.

1188
01:17:44,040 --> 01:17:46,040
 And I can't believe we're staging a comeback.

1189
01:17:46,600 --> 01:17:47,000
 Touchdown!

1190
01:17:47,340 --> 01:17:47,700
 Yes!

1191
01:17:47,900 --> 01:17:49,040
 Staying connected matters.

1192
01:17:49,300 --> 01:17:54,060
 That's why in the rare event of a network outage, you'll automatically get a bill credit for a full day's service.

1193
01:17:54,220 --> 01:17:57,040
 For wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers,

1194
01:17:57,100 --> 01:17:58,580
 must be connected to impacted tower at onset of outage.

1195
01:17:58,660 --> 01:17:59,480
 Restrictions and exclusions apply.

1196
01:17:59,580 --> 01:18:01,080
 See AT&T.com slash guarantee for full details.

1197
01:18:04,520 --> 01:18:08,000
 Some people just know you can save money on car insurance by checking Allstate first.

1198
01:18:08,200 --> 01:18:12,940
 Like you know to check Kirk Herbstreit's pregame analysis first before talking to your brother-in-law.

1199
01:18:13,200 --> 01:18:15,780
 In this game, the key thing to watch will be the offensive line versus their front seven.

1200
01:18:15,860 --> 01:18:18,000
 If they can get pressure without blitzing, this could be a long night.

1201
01:18:18,500 --> 01:18:19,360
 Okay, Kirk.

1202
01:18:19,720 --> 01:18:20,300
 I know stuff.

1203
01:18:20,520 --> 01:18:21,860
 Ooh, checking first is smart.

1204
01:18:22,180 --> 01:18:24,260
 So check Allstate first and see what you could save.

1205
01:18:24,400 --> 01:18:25,560
 You're in good hands with Allstate.

1206
01:18:27,400 --> 01:18:29,000
 Potential savings vary, including based on how you buy.

1207
01:18:29,060 --> 01:18:30,280
 Subject to terms, conditions, and availability.

1208
01:18:30,480 --> 01:18:32,580
 Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.

1209
01:18:33,340 --> 01:18:34,260
 My name is Whitney Allen.

1210
01:18:34,420 --> 01:18:35,020
 I am a widow.

1211
01:18:35,200 --> 01:18:36,420
 My husband, Ryan, died.

1212
01:18:36,520 --> 01:18:40,120
 We never thought in a million years we'd have to use life insurance.

1213
01:18:40,240 --> 01:18:41,380
 The unexpected happened.

1214
01:18:41,600 --> 01:18:43,820
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1215
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1216
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1217
01:18:49,480 --> 01:18:54,380
 No medical exams, and you can get up to $3 million worth of coverage through Ethos.

1218
01:18:54,520 --> 01:18:57,360
 Get your free quote at ethos.com slash game.

1219
01:18:57,620 --> 01:19:00,480
 That's E-T-H-O-S dot com slash game.

1220
01:19:00,580 --> 01:19:01,620
 Time spent on application may vary.

1221
01:19:01,740 --> 01:19:02,760
 Online health questions required.

1222
01:19:04,020 --> 01:19:05,480
 It's RSV season.

1223
01:19:05,800 --> 01:19:07,220
 Is your baby protected?

1224
01:19:07,880 --> 01:19:12,160
 RSV is the number one cause of hospitalization in all infants.

1225
01:19:12,380 --> 01:19:16,580
 Protect your baby from severe RSV with an immunization.

1226
01:19:17,100 --> 01:19:18,360
 I think he's having trouble breathing.

1227
01:19:19,220 --> 01:19:24,000
 A vaccine during pregnancy or preventive antibody is now available.

1228
01:19:24,220 --> 01:19:26,880
 Help prevent RSV before it happens.

1229
01:19:27,440 --> 01:19:31,020
 Learn more by visiting lung.org slash RSV.

1230
01:19:31,140 --> 01:19:33,220
 Furnished by the American Lung Association.

1231
01:19:38,480 --> 01:19:41,600
 From the University of Alabama, this is Crimson Tide Today.

1232
01:19:42,040 --> 01:19:45,120
 It's a daily update on Bama sports, and it's brought to you by the Good Feet Store.

1233
01:19:45,440 --> 01:19:48,880
 Helping people get back to the life they love without their feet getting in the way.

1234
01:19:49,220 --> 01:19:51,440
 Start your journey today at goodfeet.com.

1235
01:19:51,780 --> 01:19:52,460
 Hello again, everybody.

1236
01:19:52,640 --> 01:19:53,420
 I'm Roger Hoover.

1237
01:19:53,640 --> 01:20:01,560
 On Thursday's edition of Crimson Drive, driven by NASCAR, we were joined by former Alabama basketball standout and SEC network analyst, Richard Hendricks.

1238
01:20:01,700 --> 01:20:02,360
 He's agile.

1239
01:20:02,360 --> 01:20:03,640
 He can score on the block.

1240
01:20:03,840 --> 01:20:08,060
 He's a load on offensive rebounding, and he can even knock down an outside shot.

1241
01:20:08,320 --> 01:20:11,440
 So, I think Alabama's roles have always been this season.

1242
01:20:11,600 --> 01:20:18,140
 It's about what can you do as far as interior play and protecting teams that have the ability to post you up and go inside.

1243
01:20:18,340 --> 01:20:21,560
 We've been able to see that Purdue was able to have some success against Alabama.

1244
01:20:21,720 --> 01:20:22,680
 Gonzaga as well.

1245
01:20:22,960 --> 01:20:26,940
 But I do think that this Alabama team and Nate Oates has his squad motivated.

1246
01:20:27,280 --> 01:20:32,160
 They're playing much better in that level of the game, and they'll have another challenge.

1247
01:20:32,340 --> 01:20:44,900
 And more than anything, a big opportunity for Alabama to pick up a significant win that will bolster their NCAA tournament resume to not go for the number one overall seed and top-ranked team right now in Arizona.

1248
01:20:45,100 --> 01:20:45,980
 I'll have more in a moment.

1249
01:20:46,240 --> 01:20:47,980
 This is Christian Miller for the Good Feet Store.

1250
01:20:47,980 --> 01:20:54,400
 I know from playing football at Alabama and in the NFL that if you have foot, knee, hip, or back pain, it can be a huge challenge.

1251
01:20:54,620 --> 01:20:59,540
 The Good Feet Store is designed to personally fit you with art supports that alleviate and even eliminate your pain altogether.

1252
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 Try them before you buy them during your free, no-obligation, personalized fitting, and you can wear them home the same day.

1253
01:21:05,660 --> 01:21:08,740
 So, if you're looking to improve your game, the Good Feet Store has you covered.

1254
01:21:09,060 --> 01:21:11,440
 Stop in for a free, personalized fitting today.

1255
01:21:11,740 --> 01:21:13,520
 Roll to victory at goodfeet.com.

1256
01:21:13,640 --> 01:21:14,980
 That's goodfeet.com.

1257
01:21:15,160 --> 01:21:15,720
 Roll Tide.

1258
01:21:15,720 --> 01:21:20,800
 Join us on Saturday for Crimson Tide men's basketball against number one Arizona in Birmingham.

1259
01:21:21,340 --> 01:21:26,980
 Tip-off from Legacy Arena is set for 8.30 p.m. Central with our coverage on the network starting at 7.30 p.m.

1260
01:21:27,140 --> 01:21:29,660
 Crimson Tide Today is brought to you by the Good Feet Store.

1261
01:21:29,840 --> 01:21:33,560
 Crimson Tide Today is a production of the Crimson Tide Sports Network from Learfield.

1262
01:21:34,140 --> 01:21:35,280
 The Score.

1263
01:21:35,680 --> 01:21:40,460
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

1264
01:21:41,100 --> 01:21:41,760
 Welcome back in.

1265
01:21:41,800 --> 01:21:48,920
 Word is he's not about to leave the Sunshine State any time soon, maybe by April, whenever the frost gets off the pumpkin.

1266
01:21:49,080 --> 01:21:49,960
 He's Mark McLeod.

1267
01:21:50,060 --> 01:21:55,440
 He's hosted the Blitz with Mark McLeod and the Gator Blitz down in the Sunshine State of Florida.

1268
01:21:55,580 --> 01:21:56,340
 Mark, welcome in.

1269
01:21:56,400 --> 01:21:56,900
 How are you?

1270
01:21:57,560 --> 01:21:58,860
 Hey, good afternoon, gentlemen.

1271
01:21:59,000 --> 01:21:59,800
 Good to be on with you, bud.

1272
01:22:00,160 --> 01:22:00,820
 You too.

1273
01:22:00,900 --> 01:22:08,340
 Is it true Gator fans love the Huntsville boy right now because he has not lost one ball game yet, Mark?

1274
01:22:10,580 --> 01:22:11,700
 Well played, Errol.

1275
01:22:11,900 --> 01:22:12,580
 Well played.

1276
01:22:13,020 --> 01:22:15,960
 They love you to the first hiccup, right?

1277
01:22:16,520 --> 01:22:24,980
 You know, it's interesting, guys, but it's a great point because he was not well loved, as you guys saw from social media.

1278
01:22:25,520 --> 01:22:28,480
 It was not a good situation, but I'll tell you what.

1279
01:22:28,840 --> 01:22:31,340
 The things he said, he won the press conference.

1280
01:22:31,940 --> 01:22:33,400
 He did a fabulous job there.

1281
01:22:33,400 --> 01:22:42,160
 I think the hires that he's made, the rumors of some potential hires that he could make are very well received by the Gator Nation.

1282
01:22:42,720 --> 01:22:48,920
 And I think when you look at him and just really the things he said during the press conference,

1283
01:22:49,040 --> 01:22:58,000
 the more people have been able to dive into his history at Troy, his history at Tulane, what he did as an assistant coach.

1284
01:22:58,100 --> 01:23:04,120
 And I think he is really overwhelmingly now winning over the Gator Nation.

1285
01:23:04,660 --> 01:23:08,200
 Well, here's the bottom line is, what do you want to win, a press conference or games?

1286
01:23:08,300 --> 01:23:09,440
 Look, go back to LSU.

1287
01:23:09,560 --> 01:23:15,700
 When they hired Kelly, they were already polishing up and moving out space in the trophy case for a national championship.

1288
01:23:16,340 --> 01:23:18,260
 You go to Vanderbilt, they hired Clark Lee.

1289
01:23:18,380 --> 01:23:18,660
 Who?

1290
01:23:19,220 --> 01:23:20,980
 And look where he is now.

1291
01:23:21,020 --> 01:23:23,560
 He's the king of Nashville, right there with Merle and the guys.

1292
01:23:24,520 --> 01:23:26,520
 Sometimes don't win the press conference.

1293
01:23:26,520 --> 01:23:29,080
 Hire somebody who's going to win some games.

1294
01:23:29,840 --> 01:23:30,360
 Exactly.

1295
01:23:30,600 --> 01:23:32,380
 And this guy has done just that.

1296
01:23:32,540 --> 01:23:37,920
 You know, as I wrote a piece for Blitz Sports Radio and I really dug into what he did.

1297
01:23:38,100 --> 01:23:44,620
 And, you know, to have to replace 60 players, according to the New Orleans newspaper,

1298
01:23:45,240 --> 01:23:51,160
 and to do the various things that he did, you didn't get your quarterback until July.

1299
01:23:52,660 --> 01:23:58,400
 You go out and you win 11 games, win the conference championship, and you're in the college football playoffs.

1300
01:23:58,520 --> 01:24:01,960
 The first team from Louisiana to be in the college football playoffs.

1301
01:24:03,640 --> 01:24:06,100
 It's just an amazing job, guys.

1302
01:24:06,260 --> 01:24:12,180
 I mean, look at what he did at Troy and how he changed things there.

1303
01:24:12,720 --> 01:24:15,520
 Tulane was really kind of in a bad place when he took over.

1304
01:24:16,300 --> 01:24:21,060
 He turns that program around, and he's just done a fabulous job everywhere he's been.

1305
01:24:21,280 --> 01:24:23,520
 And when you're, yeah, you're only a head coach four years.

1306
01:24:23,580 --> 01:24:24,520
 Okay, that's fine.

1307
01:24:24,760 --> 01:24:28,380
 But you also have won three conference championships.

1308
01:24:29,200 --> 01:24:35,660
 And the other thing that I noted, guys, and I've said this to you guys about Billy Napier in recent years,

1309
01:24:35,840 --> 01:24:37,720
 something that needed to change at Florida.

1310
01:24:38,020 --> 01:24:41,600
 Last year we started to see it change, but then it reverted right back to the old.

1311
01:24:42,220 --> 01:24:48,280
 Look how many players that he put, John Summerall put on the all-conference team.

1312
01:24:48,620 --> 01:24:54,680
 Eighteen players a year ago were on the all-conference team for the Sun Belt.

1313
01:24:54,680 --> 01:24:57,600
 And then this year I believe that number was 11 or 12.

1314
01:24:57,700 --> 01:25:00,280
 But, again, he had to go and find 60 new players.

1315
01:25:01,560 --> 01:25:04,000
 Let me ask you about some of the coaches.

1316
01:25:04,380 --> 01:25:07,540
 And the first one resonates with a lot of Florida fans.

1317
01:25:07,800 --> 01:25:12,480
 There is officially official an offensive coordinator.

1318
01:25:12,720 --> 01:25:17,880
 Unlike Billy Napier, John Summerall believes somebody needs to be called in place.

1319
01:25:18,280 --> 01:25:29,080
 Buster Faulkner, who was at, comes with really an impressive resume, been the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech.

1320
01:25:29,500 --> 01:25:37,880
 We've heard the name Derek Nix, who Hugh Freeze should have let call the plays at Auburn, and he meddled in that too much.

1321
01:25:38,460 --> 01:25:40,220
 Maybe the running back coach.

1322
01:25:40,880 --> 01:25:47,460
 I think that Brad White, coming from Kentucky as the defensive coordinator, was a good choice there.

1323
01:25:47,600 --> 01:25:58,580
 And I'm sure, I know he's added a few more guys there, but your thoughts initially of his hires for offensive, defensive coordinator, and some of the other guys?

1324
01:25:59,400 --> 01:26:01,380
 Yeah, I think they've been spot on, Brad.

1325
01:26:01,460 --> 01:26:02,120
 I really do.

1326
01:26:02,460 --> 01:26:08,420
 But, you know, your point with Derek Nix is well taken.

1327
01:26:08,620 --> 01:26:17,580
 You know, this is a guy who many think is ready to run offenses, and yet here he is coming to Florida as probably a running back coach.

1328
01:26:17,940 --> 01:26:20,280
 Maybe he'll get the co-coordinator title.

1329
01:26:20,400 --> 01:26:21,140
 I have no idea.

1330
01:26:21,700 --> 01:26:30,220
 But, you know, I really, when Jabbar Jaluk was announced he wasn't going to be retained by Florida, that concerned me.

1331
01:26:30,220 --> 01:26:32,960
 That concerned me quite a bit because this guy can flat recruit.

1332
01:26:33,460 --> 01:26:40,120
 And, guys, you've seen what the running back room at Florida has done with Jaden Baugh's development and some of the other guys in recent years as well.

1333
01:26:40,540 --> 01:26:45,260
 You know, but, you know, I thought that was a tough one.

1334
01:26:45,400 --> 01:26:50,580
 And, of course, now guys, we're hearing Phil Troutwein as offensive line coach.

1335
01:26:50,580 --> 01:26:56,880
 I had a conversation with Phil four or five years ago, and he said, he told me I would love to come back to Florida, Mark.

1336
01:26:56,880 --> 01:26:58,940
 I really would, and coach the offensive line.

1337
01:26:59,260 --> 01:27:01,700
 Now, this was just prior to him getting the job at Penn State.

1338
01:27:02,320 --> 01:27:07,360
 But, you know, that is rumored out there now that he's going to be extended that invitation.

1339
01:27:07,580 --> 01:27:11,200
 And then, of course, Brad White, you talked about, look at the job he's done at Kentucky with.

1340
01:27:11,540 --> 01:27:14,940
 Let's face it, they're not recruiting a lot of four- or five-star guys.

1341
01:27:15,220 --> 01:27:17,000
 No, no, not football.

1342
01:27:17,600 --> 01:27:21,560
 Mark McLeod, he's in there with the blitz with Mark McLeod.

1343
01:27:22,000 --> 01:27:25,480
 The schedule is out for next year, and I'm just going to go ahead and say it.

1344
01:27:25,480 --> 01:27:28,240
 I believe Florida will get off to a 2-0 start.

1345
01:27:28,380 --> 01:27:30,760
 Opening game, Florida Atlantic, and then Matty Campbell.

1346
01:27:31,320 --> 01:27:37,420
 The question is, what about game three on the road, first road game in the Battle of the New Kids on the Block,

1347
01:27:38,140 --> 01:27:42,920
 against the guy who beat Florida last year, Alex Gullich, but now he is at Auburn.

1348
01:27:43,100 --> 01:27:47,520
 Florida will be at Auburn the third game of the season, September 19th.

1349
01:27:47,580 --> 01:27:54,000
 Your thoughts about Florida's schedule overall, including what should be a very intriguing game on the Plains,

1350
01:27:54,060 --> 01:27:57,520
 by the way, a school that did want Jon Sumrall, Auburn.

1351
01:27:58,520 --> 01:27:59,840
 Yeah, yeah, exactly.

1352
01:28:00,420 --> 01:28:04,100
 And, you know, finally, Florida gets to play Auburn, Harold.

1353
01:28:04,280 --> 01:28:04,440
 Yeah.

1354
01:28:04,520 --> 01:28:06,000
 Finally, 15 years.

1355
01:28:06,480 --> 01:28:08,420
 Goodness gracious, since we've tripped Auburn.

1356
01:28:08,940 --> 01:28:13,340
 And those two used to play, I don't want to say they played annually,

1357
01:28:13,560 --> 01:28:21,400
 but they played a lot of football games against each other through the years before the conference went into the scheduling,

1358
01:28:21,400 --> 01:28:24,520
 and, of course, you had your annual opponents.

1359
01:28:25,120 --> 01:28:30,340
 I think that it's a tough schedule for Florida, just like it has been the past two years.

1360
01:28:30,440 --> 01:28:32,220
 Everybody else is facing the same thing.

1361
01:28:33,360 --> 01:28:34,700
 It's going to be very interesting.

1362
01:28:34,940 --> 01:28:41,520
 You talk about the 2-0 start, and, yeah, I think Florida fans are eager to finally see something like that.

1363
01:28:41,680 --> 01:28:43,380
 That would be very welcoming game four.

1364
01:28:43,600 --> 01:28:45,400
 How sad is that to say, guys?

1365
01:28:45,540 --> 01:28:49,480
 I mean, goodness gracious, can you get a Christmas present coming to game four?

1366
01:28:49,480 --> 01:28:54,220
 Let me ask you real quick about this recruiting class.

1367
01:28:54,480 --> 01:29:02,760
 This was not his class, be any stretch of the imagination, but Florida somehow ended up finishing it on three, 13th.

1368
01:29:03,640 --> 01:29:13,380
 The Kevin Ford, an edge rusher, McCoy, a defensive lineman, Justin Williams, a wide receiver,

1369
01:29:13,380 --> 01:29:18,360
 along with what many people think is their best when they being gross or grossy.

1370
01:29:19,040 --> 01:29:22,060
 Mark, we'll see what Jon Sumrall can do.

1371
01:29:22,460 --> 01:29:23,940
 He is a recruiter.

1372
01:29:24,420 --> 01:29:27,540
 They did a pretty good job to try to salvage this class.

1373
01:29:28,200 --> 01:29:28,620
 You're right.

1374
01:29:28,700 --> 01:29:32,800
 The staff did a great job, and Florida fans should really tip their hat to all those guys.

1375
01:29:33,600 --> 01:29:36,680
 You know, they did a great job, and that's another hire, Brett.

1376
01:29:36,960 --> 01:29:42,060
 You know, look, the two most important hires, well, the most important hire hasn't happened yet, the strength and conditioning director.

1377
01:29:42,420 --> 01:29:48,500
 We believe he's probably going to bring Witt with him because Witt was with him at Troy, and he took him with him to Tulane.

1378
01:29:48,880 --> 01:29:51,220
 So we think that that might be the case.

1379
01:29:51,560 --> 01:29:58,020
 But he's got to keep Katie Turner, in my opinion, as the director of recruiting because she has done a terrific job for Billy Nathar,

1380
01:29:58,140 --> 01:30:04,440
 despite, look, look, there's a lot of negativity, and to be on your hot seat for the past two years or more,

1381
01:30:04,820 --> 01:30:11,940
 and really two and a half years, and everything they're going through and to reel in the classes they've brought in has been awfully impressive.

1382
01:30:12,060 --> 01:30:12,480
 But you're right.

1383
01:30:12,540 --> 01:30:13,760
 This is a really good class.

1384
01:30:13,760 --> 01:30:15,020
 They filled needs, Brett.

1385
01:30:15,340 --> 01:30:20,260
 They really have a lot of issues on the offensive line in terms of graduation this year.

1386
01:30:21,100 --> 01:30:28,680
 So to get five offensive linemen was big, three tackles, two interior, and then they've got another guy who's going to be a developmental project.

1387
01:30:28,880 --> 01:30:30,920
 So that really six guys on the O-line.

1388
01:30:31,340 --> 01:30:36,680
 And then certainly they were able to bring in some edge rushers and some key defensive linemen,

1389
01:30:36,980 --> 01:30:40,160
 which that was my take on Napier last year, as you guys know.

1390
01:30:40,160 --> 01:30:41,280
 I said he didn't.

1391
01:30:41,400 --> 01:30:43,520
 He fell short of getting one defensive tackle.

1392
01:30:43,640 --> 01:30:44,460
 He thought he had enough.

1393
01:30:44,820 --> 01:30:46,120
 I kept saying, no, he doesn't.

1394
01:30:46,420 --> 01:30:51,060
 And I also thought he needed to go and hit the portal for an elite edge rusher, and he did not.

1395
01:30:51,140 --> 01:30:52,760
 He felt like he had the guys on the roster.

1396
01:30:54,020 --> 01:31:00,460
 Well, I've told quite a few people that I think in five years, Jon Sumrall will be the best hire of the six.

1397
01:31:00,940 --> 01:31:04,420
 We'll see how that pans out, but he's gotten off to a good start.

1398
01:31:05,040 --> 01:31:07,560
 Mark, where can we get on line to get all the Gator stuff?

1399
01:31:08,040 --> 01:31:10,220
 Yeah, Blitz Sports Radio.

1400
01:31:10,360 --> 01:31:11,400
 I'm writing some stuff there.

1401
01:31:12,120 --> 01:31:15,380
 And also certainly at McLeod Live, M-C-L-E-O-D Live.

1402
01:31:16,460 --> 01:31:18,160
 Send us some warm weather, Mark, okay?

1403
01:31:19,200 --> 01:31:19,560
 Absolutely.

1404
01:31:19,860 --> 01:31:21,200
 It's beautiful down here, guys.

1405
01:31:21,460 --> 01:31:22,500
 Chamber of Commerce phase.

1406
01:31:22,860 --> 01:31:23,500
 There you go.

1407
01:31:23,520 --> 01:31:26,320
 Well, it is here today and tomorrow, but Sunday might be a different story.

1408
01:31:26,420 --> 01:31:29,080
 Mark, enjoy the sunshine, and thanks so much for your time today.

1409
01:31:29,580 --> 01:31:30,740
 Always good to be on with you guys.

1410
01:31:30,800 --> 01:31:31,220
 Thanks a lot.

1411
01:31:31,280 --> 01:31:31,680
 Thank you, Bill.

1412
01:31:31,700 --> 01:31:32,020
 You too.

1413
01:31:32,140 --> 01:31:36,220
 Mark McLeod, he's Visionaries, host of The Blitz with, you guessed it, Mark McLeod.

1414
01:31:36,320 --> 01:31:41,920
 Coming up, speaking of Auburn, the latest Tiger talk with Justin Ferguson on deck on the Boomo Bugg Show.

1415
01:31:41,980 --> 01:31:42,480
 Stay with us.

1416
01:31:47,560 --> 01:31:50,200
 Christmas greetings to you from Bigby Steel.

1417
01:31:50,580 --> 01:31:56,420
 Thinking warmly of each of you and wishing your family an extra measure of comfort and hope this Christmas season.

1418
01:31:56,820 --> 01:31:59,920
 Have your best Christmas from your friends at Bigby Steel.

1419
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1420
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 What do all these great music icons have in common?

1421
01:32:12,300 --> 01:32:14,500
 Well, they're all from right here in Sweet Home, Alabama.

1422
01:32:14,880 --> 01:32:23,240
 At the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, they invite you to come take a journey to see all the great music legends and future music makers that make us all so very proud.

1423
01:32:23,240 --> 01:32:27,740
 The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, located on Highway 72 West in Tuscumbia.

1424
01:32:29,780 --> 01:32:32,620
 The holiday season has a way of taking you back in time.

1425
01:32:33,200 --> 01:32:39,720
 For me, the smell of wood burning in the fireplace, my mom filling the house with classic Christmas music from country legends,

1426
01:32:40,140 --> 01:32:44,620
 and the sight of my dad wrapping presents on Christmas Eve bring back the best holiday memories.

1427
01:32:45,280 --> 01:32:50,180
 It's those little memories filled with joy and love that make Christmas the most magical time of the year.

1428
01:32:50,640 --> 01:32:56,180
 I'm John Hazen, CEO at Boot Barn, and we're wishing you a Merry Christmas filled with joyful memories.

1429
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1430
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 For delicious meals, you could go out to eat, or spend hours in the kitchen, or you could just make a Marie Callender's meal.

1431
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1432
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1433
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1434
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1435
01:33:29,200 --> 01:33:36,360
 May the spirit of Christmas bring you and your family hope, happiness, and love.

1436
01:33:36,840 --> 01:33:40,840
 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the staff of Parks Mechanical.

1437
01:33:44,540 --> 01:33:47,220
 Rich Eisen here, and we're brought to you by Sonos.

1438
01:33:47,520 --> 01:33:50,500
 This season, make your home feel alive with Sonos speakers.

1439
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1440
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1441
01:33:56,640 --> 01:33:59,820
 Sonos makes it effortless to fill your home with incredible ambiance.

1442
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1443
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 Sonos' holiday sale is on now through December 28, 2025 at sonos.com.

1444
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 Discover how easy it is to bring every room to life with Sonos.

1445
01:34:13,880 --> 01:34:15,000
 Rich Eisen here.

1446
01:34:15,140 --> 01:34:18,820
 As you all know, I care deeply about pediatric cancer research and awareness.

1447
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 That's why I'm proud to talk about Hyundai Hope on Wheels.

1448
01:34:21,660 --> 01:34:26,780
 For over 27 years, every Hyundai sold has helped fund life-saving pediatric cancer research.

1449
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 Together with over 850 dealers nationwide, they've raised more than $277 million,

1450
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1451
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 At Hyundai, hope isn't optional.

1452
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1453
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 Visit HyundaiUSA.com and search Hyundai Hope on Wheels to learn more.

1454
01:34:44,380 --> 01:34:47,800
 Hi, I'm Jill Bobo with Alabama Land Services.

1455
01:34:48,260 --> 01:34:52,860
 We'd like to wish all of our friends and customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

1456
01:34:53,040 --> 01:34:58,740
 We would also like to thank you for your business, and we look forward to serving your land title and real estate closing needs.

1457
01:34:59,460 --> 01:35:00,100
 Merry Christmas.

1458
01:35:00,860 --> 01:35:04,780
 Progressive presents the Sports Flash on 93.9 The Score.

1459
01:35:05,120 --> 01:35:06,240
 It's basketball election tomorrow.

1460
01:35:06,380 --> 01:35:09,340
 It's holiday hoopsgiving in Atlanta at State Farm Arena.

1461
01:35:09,340 --> 01:35:11,540
 Game number one is Georgia against Cincinnati.

1462
01:35:11,700 --> 01:35:16,040
 The Bearcats are 6-3, while the Bulldogs are 8-1 on the season.

1463
01:35:16,520 --> 01:35:19,340
 The second matchup of the day is 21st-ranked Auburn against Chattanooga.

1464
01:35:20,260 --> 01:35:25,340
 The Mocs come into the matchup at 5-5, while the Auburn Tigers are 7-3.

1465
01:35:25,920 --> 01:35:33,020
 It's a top-15 matchup in Birmingham tomorrow night, as 12th-ranked Alabama will take on number one Arizona.

1466
01:35:33,200 --> 01:35:34,280
 The Wildcats are 8-0.

1467
01:35:34,640 --> 01:35:37,140
 Alabama is 7-2.

1468
01:35:37,600 --> 01:35:41,740
 Tune in tonight for high school basketball as Florence plays host to Austin.

1469
01:35:41,960 --> 01:35:45,240
 Pre-game coverage at 7-15, tip-off at 7-30.

1470
01:35:45,400 --> 01:35:49,660
 Bundle auto and home, renters or condo, and save with Progressive.

1471
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1472
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 Kohl's Customer Appreciation Event is here, right in time for the gift exchange.

1473
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1474
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1475
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1476
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1477
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1478
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1479
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1480
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 See store or Kohl's.com for details.

1481
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1482
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1483
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 Hi, it's Scott again.

1484
01:36:38,940 --> 01:36:39,800
 How's Squeaks doing?

1485
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 You can tell if he's stressed by his eyebrows.

1486
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 Oh, and his breathing should sound like this.

1487
01:36:43,480 --> 01:36:46,820
 Scott, Squeaks is exactly the same as last time you called.

1488
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1489
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1491
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1492
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1493
01:37:02,620 --> 01:37:03,540
 The Score.

1494
01:37:04,160 --> 01:37:08,820
 Now, back with Boomo Bugg on 93.9 The Score.

1495
01:37:09,440 --> 01:37:10,300
 Welcome back in.

1496
01:37:10,340 --> 01:37:12,460
 Time to open the door and say hello to Justin Ferguson.

1497
01:37:12,580 --> 01:37:15,700
 Got the Auburn Tigers cover there with the Auburn Observer.

1498
01:37:15,860 --> 01:37:16,640
 Justin, welcome in.

1499
01:37:16,680 --> 01:37:18,080
 Happy TGIF to you.

1500
01:37:18,120 --> 01:37:18,660
 How are you?

1501
01:37:19,380 --> 01:37:20,240
 I'm doing all right.

1502
01:37:20,280 --> 01:37:20,620
 How are y'all?

1503
01:37:21,000 --> 01:37:22,120
 We're doing okay.

1504
01:37:22,300 --> 01:37:23,560
 Justin, let's just jump right in.

1505
01:37:23,620 --> 01:37:27,780
 The SEC schedule for next year announced a return.

1506
01:37:28,640 --> 01:37:31,200
 Last year, Auburn goes to Baylor.

1507
01:37:31,200 --> 01:37:35,380
 This time, Baylor comes here, but it's not here.

1508
01:37:35,520 --> 01:37:36,800
 It's in Atlanta.

1509
01:37:37,320 --> 01:37:41,060
 Your thoughts about a very intriguing opening game as far as the new schedule.

1510
01:37:41,240 --> 01:37:42,600
 Baylor at the Dome.

1511
01:37:43,640 --> 01:37:49,280
 Yeah, I mean, I thought, you know, Auburn making the decision to, you know, sell that game.

1512
01:37:49,580 --> 01:37:54,720
 That home game to the Atlanta group, you know, for NIL purposes and all that.

1513
01:37:54,720 --> 01:38:00,600
 I feel like that, you know, I think people were pretty upset with that just because there's the amount of home games.

1514
01:38:00,680 --> 01:38:08,280
 But I do think the way the schedule sorts out, like, you know, after that, Auburn does play three straight home games, including two SEC home games to start off.

1515
01:38:08,280 --> 01:38:12,180
 So, it's a little bit easier to swallow knowing that at this point.

1516
01:38:12,780 --> 01:38:14,460
 But, yeah, that Baylor game should be very, very interesting.

1517
01:38:14,640 --> 01:38:21,380
 I think we thought at the beginning of the year, Baylor was going to be a team that, you know, might be a contender in the Big 12.

1518
01:38:21,540 --> 01:38:24,800
 They never really got off the ground this year, but they are bringing Dave Miranda back.

1519
01:38:24,900 --> 01:38:27,500
 They're supposed to be trying to reload their roster this offseason.

1520
01:38:27,700 --> 01:38:29,440
 So, it's going to be very interesting to see.

1521
01:38:29,840 --> 01:38:33,000
 I would expect Auburn to have, you know, the majority of the fans there in Atlanta.

1522
01:38:33,400 --> 01:38:40,220
 And a really interesting way to get, you know, the Alex Golesh era started, you know, against, yeah, for sure.

1523
01:38:41,560 --> 01:38:42,740
 Let's talk about that.

1524
01:38:43,300 --> 01:38:44,640
 Obviously, better is going to be a test.

1525
01:38:44,700 --> 01:38:45,740
 You never know what you're going to get.

1526
01:38:45,840 --> 01:38:47,020
 It's like Forrest Gump.

1527
01:38:47,080 --> 01:38:48,140
 It's a box of chocolate there.

1528
01:38:48,200 --> 01:38:51,440
 But your thoughts overall about the schedule, the new schedules are out.

1529
01:38:51,520 --> 01:38:52,860
 I don't care what team it is.

1530
01:38:52,920 --> 01:38:54,720
 It's going to be challenging now with nine games.

1531
01:38:54,840 --> 01:39:02,520
 Some new faces that were old faces on October 3rd, road trip to Tennessee, but first, September 19th against Florida.

1532
01:39:02,940 --> 01:39:07,340
 And we talked with some of our friends from Florida, Justin, very intriguing matchup.

1533
01:39:07,460 --> 01:39:11,260
 Alex Golesh obviously beat Florida last year over at South Florida.

1534
01:39:11,260 --> 01:39:13,620
 He's now the boss, of course, at Auburn.

1535
01:39:13,820 --> 01:39:19,080
 And the fan favorite to replace Hugh Freeze, John Somerl, now at Florida.

1536
01:39:19,220 --> 01:39:22,500
 Very intriguing matchup, September 19th against the Gators.

1537
01:39:23,220 --> 01:39:26,000
 Yeah, I mean, it's a really good way to get that started, right?

1538
01:39:26,120 --> 01:39:28,680
 You know, first time Florida's been to Auburn since 2011.

1539
01:39:29,160 --> 01:39:31,340
 First time Auburn and Florida have played each other since 2019.

1540
01:39:32,240 --> 01:39:34,920
 So, you know, it's going to be a pretty big game for sure.

1541
01:39:35,180 --> 01:39:38,880
 And I think, you know, obviously it's going to have a lot of intrigue on both sides.

1542
01:39:38,880 --> 01:39:43,640
 First year coaching staffs, obviously, there's a lot of crossover, like you said, between Auburn and Florida and these coaches.

1543
01:39:44,340 --> 01:39:46,400
 So, it should be a really interesting matchup.

1544
01:39:46,540 --> 01:39:54,380
 I think the schedule as a whole for Auburn, you know, turned out fairly well, given that, you know, you knew that you were going to Georgia and you knew you were going to Alabama.

1545
01:39:54,520 --> 01:39:55,660
 It's an even number of years, you know.

1546
01:39:55,800 --> 01:39:58,520
 So, you couldn't avoid that.

1547
01:39:58,600 --> 01:40:01,500
 But I do think it balanced out pretty well.

1548
01:40:01,620 --> 01:40:04,840
 You don't get back-to-back road games all season in terms of weeks.

1549
01:40:05,380 --> 01:40:11,200
 The two back-to-back road games you get this year, Tennessee and Georgia, there is an off week between them.

1550
01:40:11,400 --> 01:40:14,740
 And then it kind of alternates home road, home road, you know, there on out.

1551
01:40:15,160 --> 01:40:21,020
 I think that's a really good, you know, way to balance it out for Auburn because it is a really tough schedule.

1552
01:40:21,660 --> 01:40:25,800
 And then you get, you know, you get that neutral side opener and then you get three straight home games.

1553
01:40:26,080 --> 01:40:30,820
 So, you know, I think for Auburn, there's an ability to get kind of a little bit of momentum early on.

1554
01:40:31,040 --> 01:40:37,120
 If you pick off one of those games, one or two of those games, then hit that October stretch and just kind of grind it out.

1555
01:40:37,460 --> 01:40:46,180
 And then, you know, hit November with a little bit more favorable on your schedule with, you know, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Sanford before you play, you know, Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

1556
01:40:46,360 --> 01:40:54,780
 So, yeah, I mean, I think for an even year schedule for Auburn, I think it was about as balanced as you could ask for.

1557
01:40:55,360 --> 01:41:02,360
 And my thought process has always been with the nine-game SEC schedule, it's not going to make Auburn's life any easier.

1558
01:41:02,360 --> 01:41:08,920
 It's just going to make a lot of other teams' lives harder, you know, because they're going to have to taste kind of what Auburn's having to deal with year in and year out.

1559
01:41:09,000 --> 01:41:11,600
 So, I do think it's a lot more balanced out for everybody.

1560
01:41:12,340 --> 01:41:16,000
 Yeah, and that's the first thing that I noticed was the five road games.

1561
01:41:16,260 --> 01:41:23,240
 And then, again, because the games begin September the 5th, the way the calendar falls, there's only one bye week.

1562
01:41:23,240 --> 01:41:31,280
 And you had one more conference game with only one bye week, and that's going to be a challenge in itself.

1563
01:41:31,820 --> 01:41:42,420
 Updated as far as coaching is concerned, Joel Gordon, it seems to be the offensive coordinator, Cody Burns, the receivers coach,

1564
01:41:43,780 --> 01:41:53,040
 Von Trail King-Williams is going to be staying, Larry Porter seems to be returning as running back coach.

1565
01:41:53,040 --> 01:42:00,820
 Now, is he just about now as far as the top assistant jobs, or most of them now about field?

1566
01:42:01,280 --> 01:42:05,380
 Yeah, there's only one spot left open that we can kind of feel.

1567
01:42:05,540 --> 01:42:11,480
 But, yeah, you're right, Joel Gordon, offensive coordinator, quarterback's coach, Larry Porter coming back as running back coach, Cody Burns, the wide receivers coach,

1568
01:42:12,660 --> 01:42:19,460
 Houdanik, the USF offensive line coach coming over.

1569
01:42:19,460 --> 01:42:27,780
 You mentioned Von Trail King-Williams staying over there, Coleman Hutzler, former Mississippi State defense coordinator, obviously was at Alabama before that.

1570
01:42:28,040 --> 01:42:29,180
 He's the edge rushers coach.

1571
01:42:29,920 --> 01:42:34,780
 You know, they've got DeMarcus Van Dyke coming from USF to be their cornerbacks coach.

1572
01:42:35,020 --> 01:42:38,860
 Tim Banks, who was the defense coordinator at Tennessee last season, is going to come be the safeties coach.

1573
01:42:39,420 --> 01:42:46,440
 And then they've got another kind of floating assistant right there to help out with, coming over from USF to help out with DJ Durkin.

1574
01:42:46,440 --> 01:42:54,940
 So, really, the only – oh, and also on top of that, you've got, you know, Jacob Bronowski coming over as your special teams coordinator from Pitt.

1575
01:42:55,100 --> 01:42:58,900
 He's been one of the best special teams guys in the country the last few years.

1576
01:42:58,980 --> 01:43:00,260
 So, really get hired there.

1577
01:43:00,820 --> 01:43:05,060
 The only, you know, gap on this roster or, you know, coaches right now we see is tight ends.

1578
01:43:05,260 --> 01:43:07,460
 We don't know who the tight ends coach is going to be.

1579
01:43:07,880 --> 01:43:10,160
 So, they're kind of sorting a lot of that out.

1580
01:43:10,280 --> 01:43:12,940
 So, it'd be very interesting to see what they end up doing.

1581
01:43:13,080 --> 01:43:14,680
 But pretty much everything else is filled.

1582
01:43:14,980 --> 01:43:20,700
 And I really do like the way this staff's kind of come together for Auburn because you've got a mix, right?

1583
01:43:20,700 --> 01:43:24,600
 You get a mix of USF guys, you know, that helped Alex Gullish be successful.

1584
01:43:24,760 --> 01:43:26,260
 You've got a mix of guys who know Auburn.

1585
01:43:26,600 --> 01:43:28,080
 You've got a mix of guys who know the SEC.

1586
01:43:28,780 --> 01:43:29,960
 I think it's a pretty good balance.

1587
01:43:30,260 --> 01:43:33,080
 And I think that's kind of what you need with the first-year staff.

1588
01:43:34,220 --> 01:43:37,780
 Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observers, something else that you've got to observe.

1589
01:43:37,880 --> 01:43:40,740
 And that is, in the modern era, you can come, you can go.

1590
01:43:40,940 --> 01:43:48,620
 Where is Auburn with bringing guys in with the new staff and, as always, perhaps losing some because of the new staff?

1591
01:43:49,560 --> 01:43:53,920
 Yeah, no, I mean, they've had a few guys already announce their intentions to go into the transfer portal.

1592
01:43:54,020 --> 01:43:56,680
 None of them are really surprising at this point.

1593
01:43:57,000 --> 01:44:04,220
 You know, Jackson Arnold, Perry Thompson, you know, Raon Strader, who was a backup corner this year.

1594
01:44:04,320 --> 01:44:09,920
 Got a couple other kind of reserves on the defensive side who have announced that they're going to go into the portal as well.

1595
01:44:10,320 --> 01:44:13,220
 Horatio Fields, you know, coming off that injury that he had.

1596
01:44:13,440 --> 01:44:15,200
 So, you know, a handful of guys have already been in.

1597
01:44:15,260 --> 01:44:20,120
 There will be more, you know, over these next few weeks for sure before the portal opens in January.

1598
01:44:20,760 --> 01:44:28,520
 But I was Gullish talking earlier this week saying his top priority was to meet with everybody these first couple weeks and just say, okay, let's sit down.

1599
01:44:28,620 --> 01:44:29,620
 Let's talk to these guys.

1600
01:44:30,040 --> 01:44:31,100
 Let's watch their film.

1601
01:44:31,260 --> 01:44:35,620
 Let's see what they're about and find out, hey, do you fit what we're trying to build here?

1602
01:44:35,720 --> 01:44:38,780
 And do you want to stay here with us and help build it?

1603
01:44:39,120 --> 01:44:40,640
 That's kind of been the priority there.

1604
01:44:40,800 --> 01:44:44,600
 So, you know, I think you'll hear some more, you know, decisions over these next couple weeks.

1605
01:44:44,900 --> 01:44:48,760
 But there is time between the portal opens, between now and when the portal opens in January.

1606
01:44:49,480 --> 01:44:57,840
 So, I do think this calendar benefited Auburn because one transfer portal window, it's in January.

1607
01:44:58,160 --> 01:45:08,240
 So, what you get is, you know, Alex Gullish has had really a whole month to kind of sit, come in, evaluate his team, evaluate his roster, build a staff,

1608
01:45:08,540 --> 01:45:13,280
 and then, you know, know exactly what he needs to hit the portal instead of trying to do it all at one time.

1609
01:45:13,760 --> 01:45:18,560
 Let's face it, I would imagine one of those evaluators, has he called whoever's writing a big check and said,

1610
01:45:18,640 --> 01:45:21,280
 about this guy, Cam Coleman, you know he's going to have options.

1611
01:45:21,380 --> 01:45:23,260
 He is going to be one rich dude.

1612
01:45:24,280 --> 01:45:27,680
 Not that he hasn't already been, but certainly next year, the options are wide open.

1613
01:45:27,840 --> 01:45:28,540
 He's good.

1614
01:45:29,280 --> 01:45:30,680
 He's at a valued position.

1615
01:45:30,920 --> 01:45:33,080
 Your thoughts about the strategy there with double C?

1616
01:45:34,140 --> 01:45:37,440
 Yeah, I think Cam Coleman is going to be one of the top priorities in the portal.

1617
01:45:37,580 --> 01:45:42,100
 I think both him and Malcolm Simmons are going to be two guys that I think you would see Auburn really want to push for

1618
01:45:42,100 --> 01:45:44,040
 at that wide receiver position here.

1619
01:45:44,460 --> 01:45:48,540
 And obviously, you know, when you go get a guy like Alex Gullish and you bring in Cody Burns

1620
01:45:48,540 --> 01:45:53,780
 and you look and say, hey, you know, look at the wider series we've had in this offense,

1621
01:45:54,180 --> 01:45:57,580
 you know, dating back to the time of Tennessee to now with USF.

1622
01:45:57,640 --> 01:45:59,120
 Look at the numbers they've been able to put up.

1623
01:45:59,180 --> 01:46:01,980
 If you stay here, here's what you could probably expect.

1624
01:46:02,180 --> 01:46:04,560
 Here's, you know, here's where we see you kind of fit in.

1625
01:46:04,640 --> 01:46:05,480
 And yeah, you're right.

1626
01:46:05,540 --> 01:46:09,460
 I mean, Cam Coleman, this is probably going to be his last year of college football before he goes to the NFL.

1627
01:46:09,860 --> 01:46:10,920
 So he's got to make a decision.

1628
01:46:11,020 --> 01:46:13,940
 Does he want to stay here or does he want, you know,

1629
01:46:13,940 --> 01:46:17,880
 to go somewhere else and try to maximize, you know, maybe playing on maybe a team

1630
01:46:17,880 --> 01:46:21,260
 that's going to compete for a championship next season right off the bat or, you know,

1631
01:46:21,260 --> 01:46:25,640
 maybe has a little bit more of a track record with producing guys for the NFL wide receiver.

1632
01:46:25,920 --> 01:46:29,840
 I do think the one thing that's in his advantage, though, Auburn's advantage, though,

1633
01:46:30,500 --> 01:46:33,880
 with him and Malcolm Simmons is, you know, their location.

1634
01:46:34,500 --> 01:46:37,300
 Cam Coleman's from right down the road, you know, Phoenix City.

1635
01:46:37,580 --> 01:46:41,020
 Malcolm Simmons from right down the road in Ellic City, you know, Ben Russell.

1636
01:46:41,240 --> 01:46:44,280
 So, I mean, those are two guys that are really, really close to home.

1637
01:46:44,640 --> 01:46:51,600
 And, you know, if that's a priority for them, which I think it was when they picked Auburn to begin with,

1638
01:46:52,000 --> 01:46:55,380
 and, you know, obviously for them to decide to stay for another year,

1639
01:46:55,680 --> 01:47:01,820
 I think Auburn's going to really want to kind of lean on that as well as obviously make sure they're taken care of

1640
01:47:01,820 --> 01:47:03,880
 in the, you know, revenue share in the NIL space.

1641
01:47:04,740 --> 01:47:06,380
 Let me ask you about the portable.

1642
01:47:06,740 --> 01:47:09,420
 It seems like there are some positioning needs.

1643
01:47:09,760 --> 01:47:11,260
 Tied in is one.

1644
01:47:11,400 --> 01:47:15,020
 Brandon Frazier, Johnson are going to be gone.

1645
01:47:15,380 --> 01:47:18,440
 Offensive tackle, what's Xavier Chaplin going to do?

1646
01:47:18,520 --> 01:47:19,460
 Is he going to stay?

1647
01:47:19,460 --> 01:47:24,620
 Or with two Tom Miller and Mason Murphy out of eligibility,

1648
01:47:25,400 --> 01:47:28,260
 certainly going to be one more offensive tackle.

1649
01:47:28,840 --> 01:47:33,280
 And I think even more of a priority for that is the buck linebacker, the defensive line.

1650
01:47:33,680 --> 01:47:39,080
 We all know Kendrick Falk's going to the NFL, Keron Crawford, Chris Murray.

1651
01:47:39,280 --> 01:47:48,940
 I know they've got some young guys there, but tight end, pass rusher, and offensive tackle are those three of the biggest needs.

1652
01:47:49,660 --> 01:47:50,500
 Yeah, absolutely.

1653
01:47:50,660 --> 01:47:53,460
 I think this has got to be a build that's going to be from the inside out.

1654
01:47:54,100 --> 01:47:59,820
 You know, I think Auburn's going to have to get multiple guys on the offensive line in the transfer portal who can play next year.

1655
01:48:00,080 --> 01:48:05,260
 I think even if you bring back a couple, maybe you bring back some young guys that you like for the future,

1656
01:48:05,760 --> 01:48:07,840
 you need to get some dudes that can play right away.

1657
01:48:08,480 --> 01:48:10,380
 And then on the defensive front, kind of the same way.

1658
01:48:10,500 --> 01:48:15,660
 I think if you can retain them a leak block and some of those young guys up front and, you know,

1659
01:48:15,680 --> 01:48:19,420
 a Morris Williams would be big there as well, you know, you're in a really, really good spot.

1660
01:48:19,560 --> 01:48:25,060
 But, yeah, edge rushers, can you find somebody and go get after the quarterback, try to work your magic there again?

1661
01:48:25,320 --> 01:48:28,620
 And then from there, just kind of let it develop out of that, right?

1662
01:48:29,140 --> 01:48:30,660
 Quarterback's obviously going to be the big thing.

1663
01:48:30,980 --> 01:48:33,960
 Everyone knows that that's going to be a big part of it as well.

1664
01:48:33,960 --> 01:48:39,740
 But I do think in terms of volume, the line of scrimmages on both sides of the ball has to be the thing

1665
01:48:39,740 --> 01:48:41,440
 because this is a line of scrimmage league.

1666
01:48:41,640 --> 01:48:43,160
 This is a line of scrimmage sport.

1667
01:48:43,440 --> 01:48:47,340
 And when you hear Alex Golesh talk about his identity, it's like, yeah, you know,

1668
01:48:47,360 --> 01:48:53,500
 this is a team that wants to stretch the field, spread the field, go vertical, go horizontal, do all that stuff.

1669
01:48:53,640 --> 01:48:56,160
 But at its core, it wants to win at the line of scrimmage.

1670
01:48:56,240 --> 01:48:57,560
 It wants to be a physical team.

1671
01:48:57,620 --> 01:49:01,420
 It wants to be, you know, a team that wins at the point of attack.

1672
01:49:01,520 --> 01:49:04,400
 And so you've got to go out there and get the dudes to do it in the portal.

1673
01:49:05,540 --> 01:49:09,480
 Speaking of teams, talk to us, Justin, about the Auburn basketball team.

1674
01:49:09,480 --> 01:49:16,340
 Yeah, I mean, coming off a really tough loss, you know, Arizona last week, that Arizona team, you know,

1675
01:49:16,420 --> 01:49:20,160
 them and Michigan have both played really, really well against Auburn this season.

1676
01:49:20,320 --> 01:49:24,000
 And, you know, those are the two best teams in the country, you know, right now.

1677
01:49:24,040 --> 01:49:29,400
 And I think Auburn looked at their own game from those two games and say, hey, there's a lot of stuff we can work on.

1678
01:49:29,460 --> 01:49:30,320
 We've got to clean up on it.

1679
01:49:30,360 --> 01:49:34,640
 This team's got to do a much better job of, you know, passing the ball, sharing it.

1680
01:49:35,040 --> 01:49:36,880
 And the assist rate's kind of really low right now.

1681
01:49:36,940 --> 01:49:38,540
 They've got some good one-on-one scorers.

1682
01:49:39,220 --> 01:49:41,820
 But, you know, their assist rate's kind of dropped off.

1683
01:49:42,460 --> 01:49:48,480
 And so, you know, when you're not playing that cohesively on offense, it can really hurt you on both ends of the floor.

1684
01:49:48,840 --> 01:49:51,040
 I think we saw that, you know, these last couple games.

1685
01:49:51,340 --> 01:49:53,060
 Or at least those two losses.

1686
01:49:53,340 --> 01:49:56,580
 But, you know, the other thing is, is this team, you know, they come back from Vegas.

1687
01:49:56,840 --> 01:50:03,400
 You know, they win two big ones, including that St. John's game where they came back in the second half and won by double digits.

1688
01:50:03,580 --> 01:50:06,580
 That's a huge win, one of the better wins anybody's got in the SEC this year.

1689
01:50:06,860 --> 01:50:12,380
 So, you know, I think that this team's got potential to keep building and keep growing.

1690
01:50:12,840 --> 01:50:19,740
 And tomorrow they're going to play Chattanooga and Atlanta in a holiday hoopsgiving game that Chattanooga team has banged up.

1691
01:50:20,320 --> 01:50:21,500
 Doesn't have a ton of size.

1692
01:50:21,640 --> 01:50:30,700
 I think it'll be a good opportunity for Auburn to really work on themselves and kind of play a cleaner game before, you know, next Saturday they roll out to play Purdue, Indianapolis.

1693
01:50:30,900 --> 01:50:32,460
 And you know how tough that game's going to be.

1694
01:50:32,740 --> 01:50:40,460
 So, yeah, for Auburn, I think this is a team that's still learning, still growing with one another just because there's so much newness.

1695
01:50:41,280 --> 01:50:51,240
 And I think, you know, the Michigan and Arizona losses were kind of some stiff reminders of, hey, if you don't do everything you need to do, you know, the stuff that you can control,

1696
01:50:51,460 --> 01:50:56,760
 if you don't take care of that first and foremost, really good basketball teams can really put a hurt on you.

1697
01:50:57,440 --> 01:51:02,820
 And so Auburn's got to continue to learn that and tighten up the things that they've got to get better at moving forward.

1698
01:51:03,400 --> 01:51:08,140
 Let me ask you real quick, Alabama's playing Arizona tomorrow night in Birmingham.

1699
01:51:08,460 --> 01:51:11,420
 You actually flew out there to see Arizona.

1700
01:51:12,660 --> 01:51:18,460
 Toby O'Walka, Jaden Bradley, O'Walka's the Tennessee transfer.

1701
01:51:18,700 --> 01:51:20,780
 Bradley the transfer from Alabama.

1702
01:51:21,020 --> 01:51:25,280
 Pete, I've heard a lot about, is their front line their biggest strength?

1703
01:51:26,060 --> 01:51:27,080
 Oh, 100%.

1704
01:51:27,080 --> 01:51:29,420
 I mean, they're gigantic, them and Michigan are.

1705
01:51:30,200 --> 01:51:37,560
 Co-A-P is about as well-built of a true freshman as I've seen since when Paolo Bancaro was at Duke.

1706
01:51:37,780 --> 01:51:41,120
 I mean, this is a kid who's 6'10 and he looks like he's made out of concrete.

1707
01:51:41,820 --> 01:51:43,720
 Just really physically gifted.

1708
01:51:44,320 --> 01:51:45,340
 They rebound the ball well.

1709
01:51:45,420 --> 01:51:46,320
 They've got a 7'2 center.

1710
01:51:46,460 --> 01:51:47,080
 They play through.

1711
01:51:47,580 --> 01:51:48,440
 And their guards are good.

1712
01:51:48,540 --> 01:51:52,740
 I mean, Jaden Bradley, you were mentioning, really good at getting downhill, getting to the basket.

1713
01:51:52,740 --> 01:51:55,700
 They don't take a ton of threes, but they hit them when they do.

1714
01:51:56,520 --> 01:52:02,520
 So, I think, yeah, Alabama tomorrow night, I mean, that's a really rough challenge against anybody with that front line.

1715
01:52:02,760 --> 01:52:05,600
 They had a ton of points in the paint against Auburn.

1716
01:52:06,000 --> 01:52:09,180
 They don't really have to rely on the three to get a lot of points.

1717
01:52:09,740 --> 01:52:14,020
 They're as good at getting to their spots down low and finding and hitting.

1718
01:52:14,200 --> 01:52:15,620
 They hit a lot of tough shots, too.

1719
01:52:15,900 --> 01:52:18,340
 A lot of good mid-range in the paint looks.

1720
01:52:18,340 --> 01:52:22,420
 It's like they're as tough as I've seen, you know, in the front court this game.

1721
01:52:22,640 --> 01:52:27,480
 So, yeah, I mean, it's going to be a real big – that game more than – even more than the Auburn game.

1722
01:52:27,560 --> 01:52:30,420
 I think that's a really big, you know, styles-makes-fights kind of game.

1723
01:52:30,500 --> 01:52:33,420
 You know, Alabama wants to run and gun and shoot the three.

1724
01:52:34,020 --> 01:52:38,520
 Arizona is going to – Arizona is going to play fast, but they're going to do it trying to get into the rim on every possession.

1725
01:52:39,520 --> 01:52:44,700
 Tell us about the 6 a.m. emails, Friday mailbag, the podcast, the whole nine yards.

1726
01:52:45,600 --> 01:52:47,280
 Yeah, auburnobserver.com, check it out.

1727
01:52:47,600 --> 01:52:51,920
 We are running a special right now, 25% off for your first year at the Observer.

1728
01:52:52,060 --> 01:52:55,440
 So, it's just $45 if you subscribe between now and Christmas Day.

1729
01:52:56,060 --> 01:52:58,160
 So, we've got a lot of specials running there.

1730
01:52:58,500 --> 01:52:59,600
 Works for gifts as well.

1731
01:52:59,600 --> 01:53:04,760
 So, yeah, mailbag out today, podcast, talking a lot of football and basketball.

1732
01:53:05,080 --> 01:53:08,340
 I'll be in Atlanta this weekend covering that Auburn-Chattanooga game.

1733
01:53:08,840 --> 01:53:12,000
 A lot of stuff on both sides of football and basketball coming out.

1734
01:53:12,460 --> 01:53:20,400
 And then yesterday, I did a really good interview with Sebastian Williams Adams, Auburn's freshman forward, that you can check out.

1735
01:53:20,500 --> 01:53:21,520
 It's very, very interesting.

1736
01:53:21,620 --> 01:53:23,440
 He's probably the most interesting freshman in the country.

1737
01:53:24,060 --> 01:53:26,160
 So, you just – really, really good stuff from him.

1738
01:53:26,240 --> 01:53:28,860
 So, you can check all that out at auburnobserver.com.

1739
01:53:29,440 --> 01:53:30,240
 We've been teased.

1740
01:53:30,360 --> 01:53:31,980
 Justin, listen, thanks so much for your time today.

1741
01:53:32,100 --> 01:53:33,140
 Safe travels to and from.

1742
01:53:33,200 --> 01:53:34,660
 And, again, thanks for your time today.

1743
01:53:35,320 --> 01:53:35,720
 Absolutely.

1744
01:53:35,800 --> 01:53:36,220
 Appreciate it, y'all.

1745
01:53:36,600 --> 01:53:37,080
 Thank you, bud.

1746
01:53:37,460 --> 01:53:39,040
 Justin Ferguson, the Auburn Observer.

1747
01:53:39,140 --> 01:53:40,620
 BB, we talked about Auburn's schedule.

1748
01:53:40,740 --> 01:53:44,480
 Your thoughts overall about Alabama's schedule next season?

1749
01:53:45,420 --> 01:53:54,620
 Well, I think it's manageable, if you can say that, as far as the SEC is concerned.

1750
01:53:54,620 --> 01:54:01,900
 Auburn, still got a gauntlet in the middle of the season with Georgia at Tennessee, Texas A&M, a bye week.

1751
01:54:02,400 --> 01:54:11,520
 And LSU, Alabama begins with East Carolina at home, travels to Lexington the second week of the season, Florida State, South Carolina.

1752
01:54:11,900 --> 01:54:12,100
 Yeah.

1753
01:54:12,260 --> 01:54:16,280
 Tough in the middle, but I think it's a little more manageable at the beginning and the end.

1754
01:54:16,660 --> 01:54:18,220
 November 14th at Vanderbilt.

1755
01:54:18,600 --> 01:54:20,220
 Is Diego Pavia going to be there, BB?

1756
01:54:20,460 --> 01:54:20,960
 Uh, no.

1757
01:54:21,320 --> 01:54:21,580
 Okay.

1758
01:54:22,820 --> 01:54:23,860
 Maybe, maybe not.

1759
01:54:23,980 --> 01:54:24,500
 Stay tuned.

1760
01:54:24,840 --> 01:54:28,820
 That's going to take your biz for today on behalf of BB, Greg, James Blair, the entire crew here.

1761
01:54:29,180 --> 01:54:31,040
 Harold LeBlanc, thank you so much for your time today.

1762
01:54:31,100 --> 01:54:35,740
 Let's do it again Monday, noon to two for the Boomo Bugg Show, back here on Sports Radio from 93.9 to score.