Bengals Shut Out by Ravens & Mendoza Wins Heisman Trophy

Nick (00:11)
Alright, let's do it. It's the high differential. We're back. That's the 660. I'm the 410 Nick.

We are recovered from our whatever that was yesterday.

Neil (00:23)
Did you thaw out? Did did you de-ice yourself when you got home ⁓ last night after the game?

Nick (00:28)
I definitely got in the hot tub. Not a hot tub, because I don't have a hot tub. Just got in the tub with hot water.

Neil (00:38)
I mean, how good did it feel to take off those eight layers of clothes we all day?

Nick (00:41)
Well, I will say, like, it's tough to get some of those clothes off. ⁓ I mean, I had a pair of socks on and then I had my long johns and then I had socks on over top that. So the long johns are wrapped in between the two pairs of socks.

Neil (00:58)
And my feet still got cold even after wearing all this.

Nick (01:01)
That was the, I'll be honest, that was the only thing that was really cold to me was my feet. I mean, those electronic hand warmers are super clutch. I mean, they're really good. mean, but I had what? I a long john, I had a t-shirt, another long john, what? A hoodie, a jacket, like the layers were crazy, but it was needed. And...

Neil (01:04)
Me too. I agree. Same for me.

They were layered, layers on layers. They

layered up like a wedding cake.

Nick (01:29)
Yeah, I I said it. I'm going to look like the little buddy on Christmas Story where I can't put my arms down. I'm just glad I never fell down because they didn't clean the ice so I could have slipped on the ice and somebody would have had to help me pick me up because I don't think I could have done it.

But yeah, we'll talk about yesterday as we weathered the elements. Not much tailgating, but we figured out a way to tailgate at the Plum Street Cafe. Got us some chili and some grilled cheese and a couple of bruskies. And then our bruskies at the game turned into slushies before we could finish them.

Neil (01:55)
Sounds good.

He couldn't even drink

it. I drank half of it and I couldn't get any more out of that game.

Nick (02:05)
But we'll talk Bengals, we'll talk the rest of the NFL, we'll talk the Heisman ceremony which happened on Saturday. Won't go too much into college football because I don't know if you've watched the down of any of these bowl games that have happened already, but I have not.

Neil (02:20)
Nope, I saw Washington had a rather large victory over Boise State and that was about it. And Navy beat Army in a very, very close game. So I saw that.

Nick (02:26)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. And then did you see how our president does the coin flip?

Neil (02:35)
Not miss the coin flip, no.

Nick (02:37)
When you do a coin flip, do you use your thumb to flick it in the air?

Dude just puts it in the palm of his hand and just throws it straight up in the air. Well, just went straight up in air. Like, have you never flipped a coin before? ⁓ But yeah, and then we'll talk some college hoops and then 6'7 keeps dominating our world and one restaurant is trying to put it to a stop. And we'll close with that. But I guess since there's really not much college football to talk about this week, we can talk about.

Neil (02:44)
Did it flip at all?

They've had enough. They've had enough.

Nick (03:11)
Start off with our experience yesterday and whatever that was that we braved the elements to watch, it wasn't much.

Neil (03:19)
No, I mean it was a I could be honest with you. It was absolutely miserable most miserable football game I've ever been to and not we start out because it's freezing cold. I think what it was nine degrees eight degrees the Five yeah Yeah, and the feels like to be sure so the windchill I think was even in the negatives maybe negative one negative two So right off the bat you're already miserable miserable because it's cold. So then

Nick (03:33)
Well, I think when we walked from Plum Street it was like five. When we got there, when we got there, like 11?

Neil (03:49)
You're walking to the game and none of the plaza is cleared. It's just ice and snow all around the stadium, all around the concourses. You know, like, all right, get through that. The good news, the escalator was working. That's, you know, usually about a 70 % chance that it's not, but they had that working for us yesterday and we get to the seats and to your surprise, the seats were not clear.

Nick (04:15)
No,

it's ridiculous!

Neil (04:17)
Ice and snow covered on every seat, which, ⁓ you know, we'll get into it, apparently violated the NFL's league policy on stadium conditions or playing conditions. But everybody for the first 10 minutes of being at their seat is just scraping snow and ice off the seat. The national anthem is playing. Everybody's silent. And what do you hear, Nick? Give me the sound.

Nick (04:41)
(the sound of people cleaning their seat) like Every person is it work that word it wasn't packed So it's not every person there, but every person in the stadium that is on our side of the stadium because Sun doesn't hit our side of the stadium at all I Mean everybody's doing if anything they can using credit cards using gloves to try to clean their seats and

Neil (04:48)
You're open-eyes.

No, it does not.

Yeah, Volodog,

it was absolutely embarrassing that the Bengals put fans in that position to even have to do that. I mean, they said that was easily, seats are easily wiped off and ⁓ there's ushers to help you and both are just absolutely false. There was no ushers at all in our section nor any of the other sections that I saw and it was not easily cleared off because it was a sheet of ice.

Nick (05:14)
I mean.

No.

It was, mean, and look, dude, I've seen a lot of people talking about this on social because, mean, it was just an utter failure, but we care more about the team than they care about their fans. Like, but it just, brings it into re like, it just makes it real. I mean,

Neil (05:38)
Yeah.

But we've known that. I mean, that's nothing new. It's just another piece

of the puzzle. It's just another example. But yeah, no, you're right.

Nick (05:59)
Yet their full statement, it's all just a lie. Like, no, you did not do any of this stuff. What was the statement? Seat aisles were prioritized and are in good shape. I mean, the aisles actually in the stadium, they were still slushy and full of snow. They didn't do anything.

Neil (06:04)
Yes.

It was slush, wasn't- I- it was slush, but yeah.

Right.

Nick (06:24)
And

seats are really wiped off, you said, and ushers are there. That was their official statement.

Neil (06:29)
And there was no ushers.

Nick (06:30)
I don't I Mean the getting on the escalator. There's a usher there saying hey, we didn't do anything don't We'd be careful. Don't don't slip like there was at least a usher before you got on the escalator But yeah, you're right the whole walk-in nothing was clear seats just I mean they were still icy at the end of the game because There was no Sun on that side of the field never got warm enough for even

Neil (06:46)
Yeah.

Nick (06:58)
them to think about Melting. I don't know, just an absolute and utter failure. like I get an email from the Bengals that they asked me about my experience. I'm going to be responding to that. I'm going to be responding to that. But I mean, it's just like I get tired of it because and I defend them over and over and over again. But it's it's a poverty franchise and

Neil (07:00)
No. No.

As you should. I think a lot of other fans will be too.

Nick (07:28)
It's the ownership. Like it wasn't like the snow and this ice stopped at 10 o'clock in the morning or 11 o'clock in the morning. It stopped by 10 o'clock the previous night. So get your crew there at five o'clock in the morning, work on the stadium, clear the aisleways, make sure that somebody had to fall. And then you're going to get sued. You know, you have these guidelines by the NFL where you just ignore them like that.

Neil (07:34)
No, no, it's well.

Correct.

I would think so.

They did.

Nick (07:58)
Just paying this fine is going to cost less than you know, taking care of this.

Neil (08:02)
I mean, yeah, that's exactly what they did. They just ignored it.

Nick (08:05)
Just... And... You know how...

Neil (08:07)
I mean they have this

reputation, the Bengals have the reputation of cutting corners and being cheap and doing this kind of thing and it's just another example. I mean it's why they're the laughing stock franchise of the NFL.

Nick (08:20)
And I'm wearing this hat because of Ted Carrison. I want you to be man of the year. I ain't wearing it. I'm off of the Bengals right now.

Neil (08:27)
But the music was good. We did agree the DJ was at...

Nick (08:28)
Music was good. The cheerleaders

didn't even wear pants out there in that cold weather. They deserve a gold star for that. So the three good things yesterday were the cheerleaders, the music, and Ted Karras' videos on the video were proponent him as man of the year. Everything else.

Neil (08:35)
You

Yeah, yeah,

fan experience, F, terrible. The game, F-, if you can even go below an F, absolutely abysmal performance by the Bengals. Abysmal performance by Joe Burrow. I mean, it was just all around, like we froze our butts off, scraped our seats, and we didn't even get to sing the touchdown song because we put up zero points.

Nick (09:09)
No, and you're going straight down the field on the first drive. They were inside the 35 four times, didn't score. Fewest offensive plays ran by Bengals opponents in franchise history. The Ravens ran 40 plays yesterday, which is the third least plays ran by a Bengals opponent. In the first two, the Oilers ran 35 and got beat 30 to 7 in 1972. The Browns ran 38.

in 2014 and lost 30 to nothing. Let's put this one out there. Ravens run 40 plays and they shut out the Bengals 24 to nothing.

Neil (09:44)
Yeah. Yup.

Nick (09:47)
It doesn't even, mean, just too many mistakes. The Bengals had the ball for 39 minutes and 19 seconds. The most of any team to get shut out in the last 42 years. We've done defensive stats all year that are just, just incredulous. And now we get these and it's just like the season from hell will just not end. what

Neil (10:13)
And there was no, I

mean, what contributes to that number and the time of possession and the offense was on the field a lot, but there was no urgency. When you're down 17-0, you're down three scores in the third and fourth quarter, you'd think you want to maybe go a little bit up tempo. No, they're driving the ball and then they're taking all 40 seconds off the play clock.

Nick (10:35)
I thought we got to delay a game at one point.

Neil (10:37)
Yeah, mean fans are booing, in the stands knows you're down 17 to nothing. You might want to hurry it up a little bit. We get it first and goal and we're still huddling up with seven and a half minutes left. Down three scores. Yeah, no, think that's actually probably true. Yeah, it's...

Nick (10:47)
It's like they wanted to go home as bad as we did.

But

you're right, absolutely no urgency. It's like, well, we can't win this game. Why even try? Why even try? I mean, you get that touchdown with seven minutes, even after running an eight minute drive when you're down by 17 in the fourth quarter.

Neil (11:09)
And you have all three timeouts. It's all

three timeouts and the two, but yeah, like you get that touchdown. You're down 17-7 with seven and a half to go. You have a chance, but they didn't care. They quit. Like you said, they wanted to get back to that locker room and warm up more than they wanted to win the game.

Nick (11:26)
Look, Joe's been great and rushed back from his injury to get back way sooner than people thought he could. Was awesome in the first Ravens game, was really good last week, just made some mistakes late. Do you think it was just the bitter cold? Because he was missing throws that we haven't seen him miss. Maybe his rookie career, maybe ever yesterday. He didn't look in sync the entire game.

Neil (11:53)
I mean, yeah, he had

Chase wide open on the slant early in the game when it was zero, zero, we were driving and he missed it. He threw it behind him and it was incomplete. He had another one where Chase was open over the middle on the second drive we were driving or third drive and throws it high. Chase goes off, it goes off his fingers and it's a pick. So yeah, Burrow.

Burrow looked like not Joe Burrow. I don't know. And I don't know if it's mental. last week a lot was made of him saying how much he's not having fun playing football and he's got a lot going on. so it just might be a whole mental thing going on with him. And he just did not look good yesterday. And he admitted it. I he was his harshest critic. After the game, he said, there's not a team in the NFL that if I was their quarterback today, they would have won. So he knew he played bad. He played bad.

Nick (12:16)
Amen.

No, it's... Yeah.

Neil (12:43)
I don't know what you do now, like we're out of playoff contention.

Nick (12:47)
mean, just be real. This is gonna, like it's been a joke that

we're still talking playoffs the last couple of weeks. Like this team, it's a losing football team. just because you're, but you know, Jamar Chase says some things post game and you know, it's like Joe's always there for me when I need him, but I've never, he's never really in my life. I felt like needed somebody. What are you reacting to?

Neil (12:53)
I agree. But it's mathematically impossible now.

DK MedCaf touchdown. ⁓ I just lost the Shirley Squirrels.

Nick (13:18)
God. But Joe Burrow is like, well, Jamar is like, you know, Joe's always been there for me when I've been down, but it's never really been the other way. And I think maybe it's my turn to kind of check in on Joe, make sure, everything's right. And maybe he's just exhausted from the injury recoveries from the losing and it's just all kind of compiled. And I mean, that'll get to you mentally and, but

Neil (13:45)
Yeah.

Nick (13:46)
The only way you fix this is if you put a better product on the field and give him a chance to win and he deserves that. And this franchise and this organization better figure out a way to do that in the off season because you are wasting a Hall of Fame quarterbacks career.

Neil (14:02)
Yeah, no, absolutely right. And a Hall of Fame wide receivers career too. I mean, you got to want to.

Nick (14:06)
mean, last year you

had it, he could have been the MVP and you had the triple crown winner and you somehow didn't even make the play.

Like if that doesn't sum it up and then you don't do anything but bring in two rookie linebackers to try to fix that defense or add a new defensive coordinator. Like it's the same thing as with the seats. It's the same damn thing. You know there's a problem, you chose not to fix it.

Neil (14:25)
Yeah, no it is.

Yep, you're spot on, 100%.

Nick (14:33)
But I guess I'm done talking about the game. I'm done talking about the season. Do you have anything to add? With the national media all this crap like Joe he's He's going to trade he good at Andrew Luckett. He's gonna retire Can we stop with all this? Like why does the national media always pounce on this stuff? Like they did the same thing when he was being drafted. He's gonna refuse to play for the Bengals made that big old

Neil (14:50)
Yeah.

Nick (14:59)
Storylines that he ain't gonna play he's gonna pull an Eli Manny like can we stop with this? He they just did everything they he the organization did everything that he asked them to do and now he's just gonna be like I'm going to the jet. you later Jamar Like it doesn't even make sense

Neil (15:13)
Except for me,

they did what he asked him to do. And I don't know if he asked him to improve the defense or not, but maybe he needs to ask that and he also used it and maybe he'll get that. I think it's time, we've said it week after week, I'm tired of talking about it. It's time for a change. Taylor's gotta go, Tobin's gotta go, and Al Golden's gotta go. Get some fresh faces in here around the team. Like I said, give me Joe Brady. That's Joe Burrow's guy and Jermar Chase's guy from college.

Nick (15:24)
I hope so.

it.

Neil (15:42)
And let's switch it up. That's it.

Nick (15:44)
I mean, but look, the bottom

line is you need an actual real live general manager who's able to make decisions. that's what, yeah, I'm fine. I will take a new head coach. I will take new coordinators. That's great. But the bottom line is you need a live GM.

And I mean, if you're able to draft for Keely Smith and keep your job for 20 something more years, probably gonna keep it for another one. So, but like keep Duke Tobin, but just bring in a real GM over top of you. But they're not going to, they're not going to. Now I agree with get rid of him, but I just don't think it's gonna happen.

Neil (16:12)
get rid of Duke Tobin and bring in real GM over top.

Nick (16:21)
But Stephen Hay and all these Dan Orlovski, you gotta stop. He ain't going to the Vikings. He ain't retiring. Stop with this clickbait.

Neil (16:21)
make if you want.

I That's what it is. People click on it. That's what they want.

Nick (16:36)
And then I get texts and it's just, no, it's not happening. Stop feeding into this national media that doesn't have a clue.

Neil (16:42)
Mm-mm.

Nick (16:45)
He's just, is that a tough year? Is that a tough couple of years? You lose, you get hurt, you get frustrated and he wants to win. think more than, I mean, look, everybody in NFL wants to win, but I don't think anybody wants to win more than he does. And it just, it just beats you down. And, but I don't know if I take, I wouldn't take another quarterback.

Neil (16:52)
you

No, I agree. He's one of the... He's a competitor.

Nick (17:12)
But I guess the only other quarterback right now that I would consider taking is Josh Allen.

Neil (17:19)
What a comeback by them yesterday.

Nick (17:20)
What is up with this HymnPuke and stuff?

Neil (17:23)
I have not seen that. You texted me about that. What's going on there? Like on purpose?

Nick (17:26)
He pukes every game,

like pregame. And he's like, if I don't get it all out, there's going to be more that come out during the game.

Neil (17:34)
Hmm. Does this got those nerves, those butterflies going?

Nick (17:38)
I don't, I mean, he's bad. I don't see his quote.

Neil (17:39)
Is it superstition? what?

Like does he make himself throw up on purpose? Or is it just natural? Like he naturally just gets that nervous feeling.

Nick (17:45)
I think he makes himself

do it because he's like, if I don't, then it's gonna come up during the game if I don't get it all out of my system. Does that make you kind of like, I don't wanna be an athlete if I'm puking every week. I got a pretty good.

Neil (18:00)
It works for him clearly.

He's an MVP and he's got leading his team to some big wins and it works for him. I don't know.

Nick (18:07)
I think I got

a few 225 I'm trying to wrap up here.

Neil (18:11)
What?

Nick (18:12)
I've got a puke free 25. I'm trying to finish here.

Neil (18:14)
Puke free

25.

Nick (18:17)
But I mean, they were down what? Because we were following it while we were at the game.

Neil (18:22)
Ummm... 24-0 I believe? I think it was 24-0.

Nick (18:28)
And at that point you're like, damn, guess maybe the Patriots are the real deal. we, you know, last week we talked about.

Neil (18:33)
Let's take a look.

Nick (18:36)
You're like, man, maybe they are the real deal. ⁓ Last week we talked about who we believe in.

Neil (18:41)
It was 21-0

with 5.53 left in the first half.

Nick (18:47)
Okay, and then.

Neil (18:48)
So they were down 21-0. And then they were down 31-28 in the fourth and had a touchdown with six and a half to go to win the game.

Nick (18:57)
And really, mean, his numbers aren't crazy. threw for 193 yards, three touchdowns. Only ran for 48. Heck, he did that one play against the Bengals last week, but.

Big win for the Bills and I mean that I think that definitely puts them as one of the favorites to win the AFC Because I was looking for somebody who's been a competitor over the last couple years so you don't have to take the the Patriots the Broncos but When the Broncos the Broncos just keep proving themselves, don't they?

Neil (19:13)
Yeah.

Somehow some way, yeah, I mean that was a big win yesterday. At home, the offense finally decided to show up and put up 34 points on the good Packer team. So yeah, every time I doubt the Broncos, they win big games, they beat the Chiefs, they beat the Eagles, they beat the Packers. They're 12 and 2, they're the number one seed, it's hard to argue.

Nick (19:46)
They're 12 and 2. And we've

said this how many times? They shouldn't have lost that Colts game.

Neil (19:55)
Correct.

Nick (19:56)
So take that away, they're 13 and one. Bo Nicks yesterday, 302 yards, four touchdowns.

Neil (20:04)
Big game for both, probably his best game this season. Yeah.

Nick (20:07)
Yeah, I mean, he might have had a couple that are close to it, but heck of a win for the Broncos at 12 and two. I at some point you gotta recognize that they're really good and we've had a hard time doing that. you beat the Broncos, Micah Parsons gets hurt, look like he's got an ACL so he's done for the year. I guess.

Neil (20:29)
Yep, he's out. Yep.

Nick (20:34)
You gotta talk about Grandpa Rivers getting the start yesterday and almost leading the Colts to victory over the Seahawks team that we both think is one of the better teams in the NFL.

Neil (20:40)
Yeah.

Yeah, I have the Seahawks probably as my top team in the NFL, but Rivers did what he needed to do. They didn't put him in positions to make mistakes. They didn't really allow him to, he didn't throw the ball down the field very far. I mean, he, a lot of dinking and dunking, ⁓ just to kind of control the ball, control the clock. And they almost pulled it out, hit that 60 yard field goal with under a minute left. And you think maybe they're going to pull this off and Colts defense just couldn't get that stop.

when they needed to at the end. Seattle hit the field goal to win it. I mean, Rivers, nothing exciting from him. He's 18 to 27. So mean, 18 completions for 120 yards. That's 4.4 per completion. it's, no, it gives a lot of dinking and dunking, controlling the clock, just not putting them in positions to make mistakes. And I thought it was an excellent game plan by the Colts. They did what they-

Nick (21:25)
I mean, yeah, he just wasn't throwing the ball down field. He was just managing it again.

I was a little

surprised they settled for the six. They pretty much settled for that 60 yard field goal with just under a minute to go. ran the ball with Jonathan Taylor on third down. And I mean, you get a first down there, you get it a little closer and you're able to take off some more clock. So I kind of was confused by Stiken kind of being really conservative on the third down play. I get it. You got Philip Rivers, a guy who hadn't played quarterback in five years and

Neil (21:43)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Run the clock off. Yeah.

Nick (22:05)
You're trying to figure out a win a game, but when you settle for a 60 yarder, dude hits it. But then you're still leaving. I think it was like 47 seconds on the clock. And I mean, the Seahawks were in field goal range and in two plays. And I mean, kicked with just they kicked with 18 seconds left. So it didn't take them long. And Jason Myers nailed the 56 yarder, but

Neil (22:23)
Yeah.

18 seconds left, yeah.

Nick (22:33)
The coach had a 60 yarder the Seahawks. All right, 20, 30 seconds later, we're gonna hit a 56 yarder and we're gonna beat you. But still just seeing Philip Rivers out there. mean, this was kind of breaking last week when we were doing the show. And it was just like, what? They're talking to Philip Rivers and less than a week later, he's on the field.

Neil (22:49)
Yeah.

man's coach in high school football. played in five years. He's out there coaching high school football. He's got a grandkid. And like, yeah, let's get back into this thing. Resets the Hall of Fame clock, the whole thing.

Nick (23:07)
And

almost led your team to victory. Was it all Phil Ghost the entire game or did the Colts have a touchdown? The Colts had to have a touchdown.

Neil (23:11)
Almost.

⁓ The Colts, the Rivers did have a touchdown pass.

The Colts had a touchdown pass from Rivers, but the Seahawks were field goals all game.

Nick (23:23)
The, ⁓ what, Trevor Lawrence has six touchdowns as the Jaguars just.

The Texans continued to, they were 0 and 3 at one point. And now they're what, 9 and 5? As they take care of the Cardinals, the Bears stomp the Browns. The Eagles shut out the Raiders. The Raiders are terrible. ⁓

Neil (23:34)
Yeah.

They are terrible.

Chargers beat the Chiefs. Chiefs eliminated from a playoff contention.

Nick (23:51)
Yeah, which is, I mean, six and eight Chiefs and they've lost how many in a row? Cuz we had them back up as one of the top teams in the NFL and they've lost.

Neil (24:05)
Lost three in

a row and five out of six. Yeah. My home's, my home's Terridge's ACL. So even if they were in playoff contention, I don't think Gardner-Menshu was going to be the answer to put them over the top.

Nick (24:09)
I thought it was 6.

⁓

No, I mean this late in the year that makes you wonder about when he's going to be available next year.

Neil (24:24)
Correct. I yeah, you're looking at normal recovery time of about eight months. So it'll put him back right around the start of the season. Maybe depending on when he has surgery. I'm assuming he'll have surgery as soon as he can so he can get the rehab going. So yeah, I mean, that'll put him back right around the preseason, start of the regular season. So yeah, same with Michael Parsons.

Nick (24:48)
And, you know, it's another

one score loss for the Chiefs after last year not losing any one score games this year, they've pretty much lost them all. So it just kind of balances out there. ⁓

Neil (25:03)
Is that the last we're

gonna see, is this the last we're gonna see of Travis Kelce in the NFL? Getting married over the summer, go live that Swifty life? I think it's very possible. Yeah, mean, there was talks about him retiring at the end of last year. But now that he's getting married and another year older and the Chief seemed to be on the decline, think maybe he hangs it up.

Nick (25:09)
I think it's very possible.

I mean, wouldn't you think it's ⁓

Well, but

that might be one reason why he doesn't want to go out like this potentially, give it one more go.

Neil (25:35)
He's got enough Super Bowl champ,

I mean, he's got enough Super Bowl championships that I think he's fine.

Nick (25:42)
The

Rams after losing to the Panthers last week get back in the win column with a 41-34 win over the Lions. mean, Stafford throws for 370 yards. mean, Puka had 180 yards receiving. I still think the Rams are probably, I think I'd still have them at the top of the NFL.

Neil (25:48)
What, have 41 points yesterday?

Nick (26:10)
just because of the weapons and that young defense that they have. But I mean, you look at the standings and it's just what stands out to me is that how it's just still the Broncos are 12 and two.

Neil (26:10)
Yeah.

wild.

Nick (26:26)
But your division leaders right now are the Patriots, the Steelers, the Jags, the Broncos, the Eagles, the Bears, the Bucks. Actually, the Bucks are tied with the Panthers, and then the Rams and the Seahawks are tied.

Neil (26:40)
And can we give some credit to Tyler Shuck and the New Orleans Saints who have now won back to back games over division leading Tampa Bay and the Panthers I think were tied for their division lead. You know after coming off that win against the Rams last week, know Tyler Shuck since he's taken over as Saints QB has a winning record I think he's three and two. So you know there was talks of they drafted him in the second round for a reason.

I think he's done enough thus far to where he should go in the next, the Saints don't need to waste a high round draft picked on a quarterback. They could address some other needs and give Tyler Shuck a chance going into 2026.

Nick (27:21)
Yeah, I mean, this is what you're playing late season games for when your teams got three wins. You're trying to figure out if you've got any pieces for the next year and you're right. Shuck has done that and Chase Young in his post game comments is talking about how well Tyler Shuck is playing. So the teams are rallying behind him a little bit and yeah, it's good to see the former Cardinal doing some things in NFL.

I think there was a lot of optimism with him going into the season and took a little longer than I think a lot of people to see him get a start and he's taken advantage of that.

Neil (27:53)
There was, yeah.

Yeah, he's made the most of the opportunity, absolutely.

Nick (28:03)
Anything else in the NFL?

Neil (28:04)
No, we haven't really done a top 10 list in a while. Do you want to do one real quick or do want to save that for another time?

Nick (28:09)
Ugh, do you wanna... We can try it real quick.

Neil (28:12)
Okay.

Nick (28:14)
You want to just, like, I feel like in the past years this would be so easy. And it's just, yeah, but go.

Neil (28:16)
Yup.

All right, first pick. I mean, I've ignored them all year, but we're gonna go with it. We're gonna go with the 11 or 12 and two Denver Broncos. They keep bringing me wrong.

Nick (28:32)
You're doing it.

I mean, at

some point you would like we got to start putting them higher.

Neil (28:39)
You gotta trust the numbers and the numbers say that they're 12 and 2. So we'll go different Broncos at number 1.

Nick (28:41)
Yeah.

I'll go Rams at two.

Neil (28:48)
Yeah, to go big, I'm gonna go Seahawks right behind them at three, both of them sitting there at 11 and three in the division.

Nick (28:56)
All right, then give me Buffalo.

Neil (29:01)
Let's go pick. Let's go pick. ⁓ What are we, was that your fourth pick?

Nick (29:06)
That was four.

Neil (29:07)
Fifth pick, the Los Angeles Chargers. It'll be my fifth choice.

Nick (29:14)
So right now we're at Broncos, Rams, Seahawks, Bills, Chargers.

Neil (29:19)
Yup.

I mean there's an obvious pick sitting out there. There is an obvious pick out there. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it was tough. The Chargers and Patriots for me was a tough one but yeah Patriots that's a good pick. Hard to ignore those numbers as well they're 11 and 3. Right after that let's go oof. I mean they keep they're playing really good football actually right now and they just put up.

Nick (29:20)
Okay.

I guess I gotta go Patriots.

Good stuff.

Neil (29:46)
Big numbers yesterday, let's go with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nick (29:49)
Ooh,

that's the first love the Jags have gotten all year from us.

Neil (29:54)
I mean, they're sitting there at 10 and four. They are on a W five, five game winning streak, which the Texans are right behind them on a W six, but Liam Cummins got him playing some good ball down there. And they absolutely dominated yesterday.

Nick (30:05)
I yeah, I

mean, the defending Super Bowl champions are still nine and five. I know they've had issues, but I gotta go to the Eagles today.

Neil (30:13)
Okay, nine, I'm gonna go, like I said, the team that's on a W6, they're hot. The Houston Texans started out three and five and are sitting there now at nine and five. And finally, playoff race.

Nick (30:25)
I guess,

I mean, I got two NFC North teams that I'm trying to decide between for 10 and.

I don't know, I would have gone Packers, but Michael Parsons getting hurt maybe makes me lean lions.

Neil (30:40)
⁓ you don't trust the Bears at all? ⁓ no. Not a Bears guy.

Nick (30:42)
I'm not picking the bears.

I mean, Caleb Willis is gonna have to prove it.

Neil (30:49)
Okay.

Nick (30:50)
When I said two NSC North teams, you assumed the Bears were one of them.

Neil (30:53)
I did. I did. But I agree with you on part with Parsons being out. You know, I don't trust it. got, mean the Broncos beat them pretty solidly yesterday. How many picks they got left? One? I have one pick left. was that 10? So leaving out the 10 and 4 San Francisco 49ers. Leaving out the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.

Nick (31:08)
Do what? No, I think that's it. That was 10. That was 10.

Yep.

Yep.

Neil (31:22)
Both

of them with four losses, nine and four and 10 and four. I mean, nobody from the AFC North is worth anything. They shouldn't be on there. The Colts with Old Man Rivers, they're definitely out. So yeah, I don't know, think we got some good picks in there. You the Bears being left out and the Niners being left out is a little controversial, but.

Nick (31:26)
and leaving out all the ASE, which they shouldn't be on there.

Only picking 10 teams. More than 10 teams make the playoffs.

Your boy, Mendoza, won the Heisman.

Neil (31:50)
He did, first Hoosier in program history to do it. Won it pretty convincingly, wasn't really that close of a vote. I think he deserved it. When your team's 13 and 0, you're the number one seed in the college football playoff and you've had the season that you have with the numbers you put up, I mean, think that was the obvious choice.

Nick (32:09)
Yeah, I mean, Diego Pavia steals the spotlight with his actions, which is just...

Neil (32:15)
What he usually does.

Nick (32:19)
Shut up. like, Mendoza, your team's 13 and 0, you won the big 10. You threw for 3000 yards, 33 touchdowns, six picks. Diego Pavia is throwing for 3,200 yards, 27 touchdowns and eight picks. And yeah, I get it. He ran, runs the ball. He ran for 826 yards. But in no world is 11 and what, a 10 and two quarterback.

That numbers are similar, that runs the ball a little more. Should he be complaining about not winning the Heisman over a quarterback who's led his team to an undefeated record and a number one seed in the tournament?

Neil (32:54)
No, and

he took to social media and was blasting the Heisman voters and blasting Mendoza and blasting Indiana and kind of talking a little bit of stuff. mean, Pavia is a great player. There's no doubt he puts up great numbers. mean, the stuff that went on afterward was a little unnecessary, but it's...

Nick (33:16)
Do you lose

respect for him after all this, a little bit? Does it change the way you look at him?

Neil (33:22)
I mean, I think that's just kind of his personality though. mean, he's the flashy, kind of talks a lot. He backs it up on the field. I mean, that's just kind of who he is. It doesn't surprise me that he did it. ⁓ I think he's hurting himself if he's trying to play at the next level by doing it with his antics and with the stuff that he's saying. So I think he needs to watch what he says and the way he acts because there's NFL scouts and GMs that are potentially interested in him that might pass on him.

We saw it kind of with Wushider Sanders and how he dropped so far because of, he didn't do anything like this, he, some of the things that he's.

Nick (33:57)
You do anything like this.

I

think Dion had as much to do with that as anything.

Neil (34:04)
Yeah,

but we saw that your actions off the field can kind of hurt you. know? This is another example of if you want to play on Sundays, you might want to watch what you're doing. And he did issue an apology today. I don't really know if he meant it. I'm pretty sure his agent probably told him to do it. I don't know. But... No, because it doesn't seem like the kind of kid that would apologize.

Nick (34:24)
There's no doubt. Yes. He didn't just come up with that on his own. Yeah.

Neil (34:33)
I don't know. I'm not surprised by it. I'm not saying I lost respect for him. I think he's a great player. I don't know him personally, so I can't say that he's a bad person.

Nick (34:40)
But this

is what we got to base it off of.

Neil (34:43)
Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I would want him quarterbacking my NFL team.

Nick (34:44)
I mean, that's why this is as important as it is.

Right, to me there's a difference between being confident and being an idiot.

Neil (34:55)
Yes.

I mean, he just kind of came on,

it's like, it's that sore loser type of, I know he's a competitor and he wants to win everything he does and winning a Heisman Trophy is, you know, one of the goals, if you, it's like the top of the top of the top, like, you know, like that's one of the biggest things in your football career. So I understand the disappointment in losing, but there's a way to lose the right way.

Nick (35:18)
I do,

but you can get disappointed. And I think that's perfectly normal. But to act like a entitled little brat. I mean, it changes my perception of him a little bit. And like, to me, it screams, I'm a me guy. Like being complaining about your team not being in a playoff, because your team was really good. you know, I mean, weren't really...

Neil (35:22)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Nick (35:45)
on the brink, but they were good enough to win some games. They could have won some games in the playoff, but I don't know. It rubbed me the wrong way. Be happy for the guy next to you that won it that has very similar numbers and went undefeated. And your team lost two games. And that's why you didn't win the Heisman. And that's why it wasn't even close because everybody felt that way. So you're in the minority, Diego.

Neil (35:49)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Nick (36:15)
That's what it is. And maybe it's being around Theo Vaughn and being in this Hollywood mind, like all this kind of stuff. Maybe that plays a role in it. I mean, I don't know much about Theo Vaughn, but I know that he's kind of been hanging around with him and maybe that gets to your head a little bit and maybe it's all moving a little too fast for him. just be a gracious loser. You learn more about somebody when they lose something ever than when they win something.

Neil (36:38)
Well, mean,

especially from where you come from. You went to, what, a D3 school. Where'd he start out? Wasn't a D1 college. Then he goes to where? New Mexico State?

Nick (36:50)
I'm not sure off the top of my head.

Yeah, he was in New Mexico State for two years before coming to Fendi.

Neil (36:55)
And then he comes to

Vandy and just balls out at Vandy, you know, and gets noticed. So it's like, you think he'd be a little more humble just from where he started to where he's been, to where he's gotten, you know? But I don't know. But maybe that would, like the journey, like he would appreciate it more, the journey and be a little more humble, but.

Nick (37:15)
But you're right, I will be interested to see like I haven't really seen him that high on draft boards to begin with was it have you? So it'll be interested to see what how that affects his draft status I Know he's under size too. So that plays a role

Neil (37:22)
Nah, have not.

But if like, if GMs are on the fence, like, let's say you're that late round.

But if you're that projected late round, fifth, sixth, seventh round pick, and you know, GMs might say, nah, it's not, not worth it, we're gonna pass.

Nick (37:41)
Yeah, so I don't know. The story should have been Mendoza and being undefeated. And I feel like it kind of turned in to Pavia still in the story.

Just, I don't know, just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But I did see one set of stats that compared, and this look, I am not taking anything away from Mendoza because Burrows senior year at LSU was just wild. But have you seen their numbers compared to each other? I mean, obviously both Heisman winners. this is, Joe Burrows is gonna be two extra games because they played two games to get to the, when they won the title. But Mendoza 29-8.

80 passing yards, Joe Burrow 56-71. Passing touchdowns, Mendoza leads the nation with 33, Joe Burrow 60, NCAA record. Interceptions both 6, completion percentage 72, Mendoza 76, Joe Burrow. Passer rating 153-9, Joe Burrow is 202. Mendoza did rush for 6.

rushing touchdowns, think Joe only ran for two. I mean, just putting those numbers side by side. Does that say more about like it just says more about the fact that that LSU team was just incredible and and obviously Joe played a big part of that.

Neil (39:02)
I mean that LSU team was historically good. Like not just good, they were historically good. I mean they're up there with that Miami, well the 2000, 2001-ish Miami hurricane team that had all those draft picks on it. Like, yeah, I mean.

Burrow I think is better than Mendoza. That season just speaks for itself, but I he's Joe Burrow. I mean, to be seen what Mendoza will do in the NFL is I think he's projected to be a first round pick. If not the number one, first quarterback taken. ⁓ But he's no Joe Burrow, but he also doesn't have the talent that Joe Burrow has either or had.

Nick (39:36)
Well, I think he is projected.

No, I mean, it's just, it's just so different, comparing those numbers side by side, it's pretty alarming how different they are. ⁓ We haven't talked a ton of college hoops yet.

Neil (39:45)
That's just, it's insane.

Nick (39:54)
So, and last week I wanted to talk about the stat that Matt Norlander put out from CBS. But because we went, I think, almost an hour talking college football alone, we really weren't able to get into any college hoops. But last week's AP Top 25, which was Week 6, every champion since 2004 has been in the top 12 of the Week 6.

Neil (40:17)
again.

Nick (40:24)
AP rankings. So that's every year since 2010. So I'm going to read off the top 10 from last week. Top 12. Do you think there's any teams outside of this top 12 that could potentially win it all and ruin this streak? Arizona, Michigan, Duke, Iowa State, UConn, Purdue, Houston, Gonzaga, Michigan State, BYU, Louisville, Alabama.

Neil (40:25)
Yes.

top 12.

Okay.

Nick (40:51)
mean, obviously you're taking that field, you're taking that against anybody else. But is there anybody that kind of stands out that's not in that top 12 that you think could potentially win it all that you've been impressed with yet?

Neil (40:57)
Yeah.

I mean, there's teams outside of that top 12 that I've been impressed with. But if I'm taking a national championship champion right now, it's going to be one of those top 12 teams. teams that I think are really, really good that aren't in that top 12 yet. I mean, you're looking at the Arkansas Razorbacks who beat a top 10 Louisville team at home, ⁓ was up big on Louisville early in the first half.

You know, they held on late to get that victory. ⁓ They're also coming off another big win over a ranked Texas Tech team. I think Texas Tech was ranked 16th this past weekend in Arkansas, handled their business there. So it was a game. Yeah, like Arkansas, they got off to a slow start. They lost some marquee game. They lost to Michigan State by three, ⁓ lost to Duke by nine in a game that they were, I think, most of the way there.

Nick (41:38)
It was a great game though. was great way to start Saturday.

Neil (41:54)
And then their other loss was... They only lost two? Okay. Yeah. So a three point loss to Michigan State and then a loss to Duke. I think it was in New York City at the Garden. And again, that they were winning for a decent chunk of that and Duke kind of pulled away late. So two good losses. And like I said, they've got a couple of big wins under their belt. So I would say Arkansas is probably one of those teams. ⁓

Nick (41:56)
They've just lost two.

I mean, two of last

three games, beat Louisville in Texas Tech. I mean, it's.

Neil (42:21)
Yeah,

I think Kansas is on that list as long as Peterson can stay healthy. He's been out for a little while when they've lost a couple of these three games that they've lost. But that's a team that has a lot of talent. They could put it together. another team that I'm, two teams I've been very, very impressed with.

that I don't think have a chance to win the national title, but Vanderbilt is playing great basketball, as is Nebraska. Nebraska goes into Illinois this past weekend and gets a big victory. And both of those teams now ranked in the top 15, I believe. Let's see, Nebraska's 15, Vanderbilt's up to 13th. So those two teams I don't think will win the national title, but they're charging and they're off to great, great starts.

Nick (42:54)
Yeah, both on a few.

Yeah,

and Huiberg's kids playing for him there, is kind of cool. Yeah, I think another team that you didn't mention that has already lost four games, but if their guards can figure it out, it's your defending champion, Florida Gators. They still have some of the best bigs in the country. I mean, they're so deep there.

Neil (43:11)
Yeah.

Florida.

Nick (43:33)
Their guards just, I mean, obviously Walter Clayton was so good last year. But this year their guards have kind of struggled. ⁓ they brought in, the kid from Princeton, what's his name? ⁓

Xavier Lee and then they also brought in Boogie Fland and I mean that I don't know if the Yukon game last week was was such a fun game to watch. They just didn't get plays down the stretch from from the guards and Xavier Lee's got a ⁓ lot of slack because his move to Florida was so publicized. But I still think you know they've got the talent back there if those guards can figure it out.

Neil (43:53)
leaflet.

No, they do.

And they've had some close tough losses against really, really good teams. I mean, they've lost that opening game to Arizona by six in a game that was very close. And Arizona is now ranked number one in the country. They have that unexplicable loss to TCU along the way. They lost by four there on a neutral side. But that game that they played in that ACC-SEC challenge at Duke at Cameron was one of the best games of the season. Duke pulled out a one-point victory, but Florida was up late.

They hit a three with under a minute left. Duke came back and answered that three. So that was a back and forth game. They're late. The Florida was right there and had a chance to win it. And then like you said, that game against UConn where they lose by four ⁓ and all three of those teams are ranked in the top five. And then you got that, I got that TCU, you got that, you got that TCU mark on your resume, but your other three games where you're losing by four points here, one point there and six points there, all the top three or four, all the top five teams. That's.

Nick (44:57)
Bobby, your schedule's brutal.

Neil (45:10)
I mean it proves that they can play with the best of the best. So they are, you're right, they have a chance.

Nick (45:16)
We'll see, they gotta get better. And look, anytime you're adding new pieces, sometimes it takes more times of jail than others and they've got the talent. And let's see, I don't think the SECs is strong this year, so lead play, they should be able to get some confidence. Arizona and Michigan, I think have really kind of separated themselves from the pack. I think you could put Duke in that pack as well. Arizona gets a 20 point win against Alabama.

Neil (45:37)
I would put Duke in that. Duke in that conversation.

Nick (45:46)
And they get six points from Co-op, which just proves that, you know, they, mean, they're just, they're a deeper team. then Yaxell ⁓ for Michigan has been, you know, Lindenborg who came over from UAB. mean, not a lot of people were talking about this transfer and now he's in conversation of potentially being maybe in player of year talks.

Neil (46:00)
London Bird, yeah.

I mean, if I had to pick the team that I think has played the best so far this year, it's going to be Michigan. I mean, they're not just beating teams. They're beating ranked teams by 30 and 40 points. When they went out to that play, they won the whole Players' Era tournament. They beat San Diego State in their first game by 40. They beat Auburn by 30, and Auburn was ranked 21st. And then they beat a Gonzaga team by 40, a very good Gonzaga team by 40 points.

Nick (46:22)
I mean, they're just killing everybody.

Neil (46:45)
And then they just keep it up. I mean, I know it was Rutgers. They beat Rutgers by 40. They beat Villanova by 28. Then they beat Maryland by 20. So they're not just winning games. They're winning games convincingly.

Nick (46:56)
Well,

and look, if you want to argue Arizona, mean, they've got five top 25 wins already. They've already beat Florida, they've already beat UCLA, they've already beat UConn, they've already beat Auburn, they've already beat Alabama. So, it's an exciting year for college basketball because I think there are a lot of really good teams. I mean, you talked about Duke, they've already got four top 25 wins with Kansas, Arkansas, Florida, and Michigan State. ⁓

Neil (47:01)
I

Nick (47:26)
Gonna be a fun year for college basketball. And you know, one team we haven't talked about who we probably need to because they're playing in our backyard. But PKs got a really good team.

Neil (47:39)
Yeah, no, they are playing some good ball. ⁓

You know, they had that one tough loss down at Arkansas, which on the road at Arkansas is gonna be tough for really anybody. They got off that slow start, but they turned it around in that second half and came back and made it a game. But yeah, I mean, they come off a huge win over Memphis. They have a tough road matchup tomorrow night at number 20, Tennessee. So that'll give us another kind of benchmark of where this team currently is. But by all case in point, they're playing.

They're playing good basketball. They're playing top 10 quality basketball. With Michael Brown is one of the top freshmen in the country. He's living up to that hype. know, and you've got, what do got, Ryan Conwell leading the way with 19 points per game. And then, you know, it is balanced. know, McNeely, we hit what, 18 threes the other night against Memphis and your best shooter, Isaac McNeely, wasn't even one of them.

Nick (48:25)
They're just so balanced though.

Yeah,

you stole my point that that's what I was going to say.

Neil (48:38)
But then

you got the development of some of the other guy like Sonanda Frew has come such a long way from where he started in those exhibition games and he's playing some great ball. He's averaging 11, he's averaging 10 points per game, 6 points per game, 6 rebounds. got guys like Kobe Rogers that can come in, like again, the Indiana game. He plays great, has 12 points in that Indiana game. So they're 10 deep, all the guys can score.

A lot of guys can shoot it. Kason Pryor looked like he's getting a little bit more healthy. He played well in that Memphis game the other day. Most minutes he's seen, most points he's scored. So as he progresses and gets better, it's just another piece to the puzzle that you can add.

Nick (49:21)
No, I think Cana is playing better. I mean, he had a really good game against Memphis. Wooley comes off the bench and hits five threes. I mean, if he's gonna do that for you, well, mean, obviously he's not gonna hit five threes every game, but he's a weapon off the bench. ⁓ look, I walked away saying, you know what? This team's got, there's the talent to win it all. There's just, there's some really, really good teams this year. ⁓ So to do it.

Neil (49:24)
Yeah.

Well, yeah. Yeah.

End of

Nick (49:50)
you're gonna have to be pretty special.

Neil (49:52)
The way that this roster was constructed perfectly, think it fits everything that PK wants to do with the shooters, the up tempo. He put this roster together, I think, to really fit his system and it looks that way. They look like a team that flows well, the pieces fit together well. They move the ball well. I we had... Let me look up the number and the assist to number of buckets we had the other day, but it was pretty incredible.

Not Memphis game, the number of assists to made field goals.

Nick (50:25)
It was

24 to 30.

Neil (50:27)
Yeah,

24 assist on 30 made buckets. Like, that's pretty damn good. ⁓

Nick (50:30)
Yeah, pretty good percentage. Pretty good percentage. mean,

look, I don't know how good Arkansas is, ⁓ but I mean, they won by 26, but it was a bigger blowout than that.

Neil (50:43)
Right, you mean Memphis? Arkansas.

Nick (50:45)
Yeah, what did I say?

Yeah, I think Arkansas is good. I don't know how good Memphis is. But good win for the cards. I the Cats got a win. I mean, I don't think anybody needed to win more than Mark Pope in Kentucky. And they were able to, I mean, for what, 25, 30 minutes, it looked like they were about to lose another one and then we're able to.

Neil (51:09)
Yeah,

they shut IU down in that second half. I IU scored I think 19 points, if I'm not mistaken, 19 points in the second half on Saturday after being up at halftime. yeah, Kentucky kind of took it to them in that second half and pulled out like you said. It's hard to say it's must win games when it's mid December, but I feel like you're right. That was a kind of a must win game for Kentucky.

Nick (51:34)
I mean,

for that fan base, like...

Neil (51:38)
No, I used score 21 points, sorry, in the second half. They snuck out too late.

Nick (51:41)
Yeah, and

it was looking pretty dire there for a little bit.

Yeah, I mean, and Mark Pope probably needed more than anybody. I mean, just to get the fans and they're not off of him. It's not, they're still on him, but to get a little pushback to get them off of there a little bit was probably was big for him.

So what, to get to the bowl games? The cards playing in the Boca Raton Bowl? The Bush's beans, Boca Raton Bowl? Do you know you can get in there for free? Just bring a can of beans, baby.

Neil (52:07)
Yeah? Bush's beans! Bush's big beans, baby! Can you? I-

Like the smokehouse beans, like the honey bean, like the... I mean, what kind of bushes? They got different flavors. I'm a big Bush's baked beans fan. I like Bush's.

Nick (52:21)
You better bring Bush's beans. So

any kind of Bush's beans, you bring them in and you get a ticket. And they're obviously gonna donate the canned goods.

Neil (52:32)
It's not a bad deal.

That's a pretty good deal. I like that.

Nick (52:38)
It's

not a bad deal. mean, what's the can of bus beans cost? Three bucks, two, three bucks? So you can get in and watch a bowl game for two, three bucks, watch cards play Toledo.

Neil (52:42)
What about two bucks three bucks three bucks? Yeah

I

would hope that fans would bring more than just a can, know, to kind of help out, maybe bring a couple cans, get your free ticket. But yeah, I hope a lot of people do that, know, feed the homeless, feed those in need and come watch a good football team, come watch a good football game. And sunny Boca Raton.

Nick (53:05)
Yeah, did you know, when did-

When did,

did you find out about this today through me or did you already know it?

Neil (53:12)
No, I knew it. I did know it. I saw it earlier.

Nick (53:14)
Okay. But I'm like, is this real? Like I didn't want to get tricked like we did with the waitress. I didn't want to get bush beaned with some AI stuff.

Neil (53:16)
Ahem.

But you gotta, like, the Duke's Mayo Bowl, do the mayonnaise celebration. The Cheez-It bowl, where they dump the mayonnaise out of the Gatorade cooler. And the Cheez-It bowl, you dump the Cheez-It's on the winning coach. And last year, when we went to the Tony Tiger Frosted Flakes Bowl, there was a bowl of Frosted Flakes that was dumped on the winning coach. So, in the Bush's baked bean bowl, are we dumping Bush's baked beans?

Nick (53:50)
I mean, I think you got to. Look, you gotta add elements like this to make these bowl games intriguing because they are becoming less less intriguing with the playoff. if you're tearing the face off of a real live pop tart and then you see his skeleton insides, people look forward to that. You poor mayo on a coach's head.

Neil (53:51)
To me it's a no-brainer. I mean if you don't then what are we even doing?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Nick (54:19)
People look forward to that. So yeah, think, look, Coach Brom, if you're able to, and you probably should win this game, you're gonna get beans on your head, cuz that's what the people want.

Neil (54:20)
Yeah.

I hope so.

I feel like the teams they go down early and they do a lot of different, there's a lot of events that surround a bowl game. There might be a parade or a fan fest here or there. Like the battle of the bands. Let's get a bean eating contest. Let's get the offensive linemen of both teams together a couple days before the game and let's see how many cans of baked beans these big guys can down. What do think?

Nick (54:56)
Oof.

That's fine. I would be so bad.

And what, nothing like I'll eat, like give me a little bit of baked beans on my plate, but I'm not going all in on them.

Neil (55:08)
no, you're not a Big Bean guy? I love Big Beans.

Nick (55:09)
I'll eat them.

I'll eat them. like at a restaurant, they're probably, when you're picking two sides, they're not going to be one of my picks.

Neil (55:17)
depends on the other side. A nice barbecue joint, get the baked beans. Mokhouse beans. I love when you go to ⁓ an Easter or a Christmas or something, like a family get together and everybody has to bring a side dish. I'm going back for seconds on the baked beans. I like the baked beans.

Nick (55:21)
Yeah, I'm probably not going to.

I just look for the noodles and gravy, I bringing the noodles and gravy. No, but I'm at it like a.

Neil (55:37)
I know you do. Let's put a little, what about,

what if we, what if we create a new dish? Can we do noodles and beans?

Nick (55:44)
⁓ no.

No. But if I'm at a barbecue restaurant, I'll get the green beans, maybe some corn on the cob if they've got that. mean, Marks has got really good corn on the cob. Yeah, bro.

Neil (55:58)
Corn on the cob? I

mean, don't get me wrong, I love corn on the cob. If you're at a barbecue restaurant, that side dish is probably fifth or sixth in line. That goes behind the mac and cheese. It goes behind the green beans, behind the baked beans, probably behind the mashed potatoes, because usually they got some good mashed potatoes. I would say most, some of them have those twice baked potatoes.

Nick (56:14)
How many barbecue restaurants have mashed potatoes?

I mean, mostly you get a baked

potato or a sweet potato, but I don't know how many you're gonna get a mashed potatoes. What about potato salad? Would you ever do that?

Neil (56:25)
Who's the restaurant that's around here?

I'm not a potato salad guy, but I would put that in the pecking order of barbecue restaurant popular side dishes. That's going to head a court on the cop.

Nick (56:37)
So is Mark's

just the only barbecue place that has corn on the cob?

Neil (56:41)
guy you can go make your own corn on the cob at home and it'd be good as good as Mark's. Fried corn, you get that you go to a Mexican restaurant and get that like tumbleweed has the fried corn on the cob. Michael Vanover, shout out to Michael Vanover, he gets that tumbleweed. That's his go-to side of tumbleweed is.

Nick (56:44)
No, it's like fraud. It's it's like diff- it's better. Yeah, they fraud it.

This is not a real Mexican restaurant. It's not a real Mexican restaurant.

It's Tex-Mex,

it's Tex-Mex, bro. That ain't Mexican food.

Neil (57:02)
Well,

whatever.

I don't know, coin on the cob is the weird pig. You're not...

Nick (57:06)
I

was going off marks. I do kind of probably agree that that is a odd choice. What about fries? What about fries?

Neil (57:09)
me.

You and your food opinions.

Wedges. Wedges. At a barbecue joint. Yeah, I'm not getting French fries at a barbecue joint.

Nick (57:20)
But again,

I mean, I guess when I'm thinking baked beans, I'm thinking more summer cookout than I am barbecue.

And still, I'm getting a little, little spoonful. Just a little guy. Just a little guy.

Neil (57:31)
That's disappointing to hear.

Nick (57:33)
But hey, if I coached my team in the Boca Raton Bowl presented by Bush Beans, pour them all on me. Let's go. Let's go. ⁓ We talk about 6-7 every single week.

Neil (57:49)
Yup.

Nick (57:49)
One, In-N-Out Burger, they're done with it. They're putting a stop to it. In-N-Out Burger removed the number 6-7 from its ticket system after their viral 6-7 meme reportedly caused mobs of teenagers to flood restaurants. We have taken 6-7 out of our system. So whenever we're taking orders, it goes 66 to 68 because of people like you.

Neil (57:55)
I don't blame them either.

It goes.

Nick (58:18)
one employee told a young man. The employee noted to People, the magazine, that the number 69 was also removed from the system for a similar reason.

Do you agree with In-N-Out?

Neil (58:32)
1000 % agree because these videos that I've seen with these kids taking over the restaurant Just for them to call out number six seven and then basically start a Bob in Celebration like what what's the point? What's the point like they're probably like like these kids aren't Probably ordering anything of substance they might order what a drink just so they can get a number out of the way like no like it's causing chaos It's disrupting the other diners. It's

doesn't even make any ounce of sense whatsoever. I absolutely agree with taking out the 6-7.

Nick (59:07)
It just keeps going too. Like it hasn't lost any steam.

Neil (59:11)
No.

Nick (59:13)
Like you would think at some point it would start losing some steam.

Neil (59:17)
I think it's actually picked up a little steam.

Nick (59:19)
I

100%, it's still rolling downhill.

Neil (59:22)
Well, it doesn't help that college basketball coaches like the Baylor head coach the other day told her player, you better not miss these free throws because you're going to land on 6'7 if you make them.

Nick (59:28)
Thank you Kong.

Well, and we're at the Memphis Louisville game on Saturday and Memphis hits it. And we look around and kids are just, they just love it.

Neil (59:44)
What does it even mean?

Nick (59:46)
It's a rap song, but we still don't really know what it means. A rap song, and then LaMelo Ball talked about his height being 6'7", and then here we are. That's what I know. That's what I know.

Neil (1:00:00)
There's gotta be an end to it at some point.

Nick (1:00:03)
But ⁓ did I tell the story about me seeing Stacey Hoyt, Oklahoma State's coach in the Caymans? Do we even get to that?

Neil (1:00:04)
I mean all it takes to put him into it.

You told me, but I don't think

you've told- you've not mentioned it here on the pod, no.

Nick (1:00:15)
Because last week we talked so much college football, we really kind of ran out of time to talk stuff. But Oklahoma State's in the game.

Neil (1:00:21)
Is this

why you were on vacation in the Caymans? So you were on vacation.

Nick (1:00:24)
Well, I was working the basketball tournament. ⁓

But Oklahoma State's there and they went 2-0, so good on them. But they actually played the first game of the women's side. And Coach Hoyt is sitting opposite of our scores table at halftime of the next game. And yeah, I don't talk to coaches much when I'm working an event like that, but I'll say hi or I'll say good win coach and that's about it.

Neil (1:00:34)
Yep.

Nick (1:00:53)
But I see her and I'm like, I was wondering if you were gonna call Tom out when they hit six seven. And she laughs. And I was like, well, we actually, I host a podcast, nobody listens to it. But we did talk about it on the pod. And she just smiled and said, oh, that's pretty cool. And that was the end of story. But I did make sure that she knew that nobody.

Neil (1:01:14)
Did you

tell her the, did you mention the name of the podcast? Maybe she's a loyal listener now. So she is, shout out to Coach Hoyt.

Nick (1:01:20)
Yeah, I did tell her the name of the pop. But it was, mean, it just continues to build up the whole six, seven, just talking to a coach who called a timeout, once their team scored 67 points and let the whole crowd go nuts. have you started listening to Christmas music yet?

Neil (1:01:24)
She could be listening to us.

Yes. Yes.

Nick (1:01:44)
When do you start listening to Christmas music?

Neil (1:01:47)
I mean, it's acceptable to start listening to Christmas music after Thanksgiving.

Nick (1:01:50)
I'm not asking when it's acceptable. I'm asking

when does Neil start listening to Christmas music?

Neil (1:01:54)
Well, I don't

have it on like 24-7.

Nick (1:01:57)
But like

in your car, like when you're commuting, when do you, are you listening to Christmas music on your commutes? What you have? Okay.

Neil (1:02:03)
Not every day, not every time. Yeah, probably

about three times, four times since Thanksgiving.

Nick (1:02:11)
What are you listening to? Bye.

Neil (1:02:13)
It's a song, 106.9 FM, 24-7 Christmas music that's going on.

Do you have a favorite Christmas song?

Nick (1:02:19)
I mean, Silent Night's beautiful. ⁓ Jingle Bell Rock. ⁓ mean, Christmas in Hollis run DMC.

Neil (1:02:31)
Is that the one you were singing yesterday at the football game?

Nick (1:02:33)
Yes.

Neil (1:02:34)
Okay.

Nick (1:02:35)
I remember as a kid learning that every word and then trying to karaoke it when I was like, eight, nine, 10, I don't know how old I was. I tried to put on a concert for the parents one day singing that song, but I still know every word to it. What do you got?

Neil (1:02:58)
I like some of the classics.

I'm going with like the Frosty the Snowmane type deal.

Nick (1:03:03)
Like, I just can't see myself in my car by myself bumping frosty the snowman or Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

Neil (1:03:09)
God, it's Ike.

Oh, that's a good one too. I actually do like it. I'm a classics guy. You know, give me some of that. 12 days of Christmas is kind of, is not bad. can get a book. It takes a while, but you, I don't know. It takes, takes 12 days to sing 12 days.

Nick (1:03:16)
I mean, obviously, yes, they're-

You're not gonna just sit there and sing 12 days of Christmas. You gotta taste your entire day.

I will like with the Evans family Christmas, we used to all have a line and we would do that every year. It was different every year. It was different every year. I don't remember how we did, but we all like just we all had our one. I did. Dude, I was such a goof as a kid. Yes, I probably did enjoy having the five golden rings and I guarantee you I belted it out every single time.

Neil (1:03:36)
What was yours? Would you like draw it out of a hat?

Like, you pump, you got like the five golden rings, you pull that out of the hat, you're like, yes!

And then like if you got

like the 11 pipers piping or something, you got mad because you only got to say it twice.

Nick (1:04:04)
Well, it's better than being the 12 drummers drumming. 12 drummers drumming, you sit there for 45 minutes and you can stay one day.

Neil (1:04:07)
That's true.

You get to say it one

time. You get to say it one time. That's your big moment.

Nick (1:04:14)
Yep, one time.

I have not turned on the Christmas music yet. I guess I need to do it.

Neil (1:04:25)
Did you and the Evans family, growing up, or maybe even do it now? I don't know, you get all bundled up and you go around the neighborhood singing Christmas carols? Or is that frowned upon in the South End?

Nick (1:04:34)
No, Dude,

I got up in the weather yesterday. I'm done with being out in the weather unless I have to anymore. But now, your family? I thought that was just in the movies.

Neil (1:04:46)
⁓ no, we did not do it as a family.

I did do it once. I remember it was like, might have done it with my church group, to be honest with you. I did go Christmas caroling one time as a kid. I forgot why we did it, but I think it was my church group that did it.

Nick (1:04:58)
I

didn't know that was real. I just thought people did that in the movies. Like, if somebody's, you're sitting at your house, chilling, watching a movie, and it's not Christmas, and it's like somebody knocks on your door and just starts singing, then you gotta stay in there for four minutes with your door open and the code. You gonna be pumped about that?

Neil (1:05:02)
Nah, it's real.

It's Christmas cheer bro, damn! Yes! My god! What kind of Scrooge are you?

Nick (1:05:24)
What if they show up tomorrow night 745 cards are up to vols got the ball

We wished you a Merry Christmas! What are you gonna do?

Neil (1:05:34)
I'd slam the door in their face. ⁓ I'll be like, hold on, can you come back in 20 minutes? That's what I would ask them. I would say, can you come back in 20 minutes and see what they say? But no, I'm not, mean, no, I would be mad in that situation. But no, usually like a nice Christmas carol, you you open the door and they're singing like, holy night or something. It's nice and peaceful and...

Nick (1:05:36)
Yeah

You can't control when the carolers show up!

Neil (1:06:00)
I got Christmas cheer, you don't.

Nick (1:06:02)
I've got Christmas cheer, but I don't like random knocks on the door.

Neil (1:06:07)
Were you showing up with a shotgun to front door?

Nick (1:06:10)
I'll be

honest. I'll look I'll get a knock and I'm going to my ring cam. I'm seeing who it is. We're not we're not answering We're not answering. We're not answering Now if one of them is cute, maybe it'll be a different story

Neil (1:06:18)
it's those carolers again. ⁓ it's the go away. They're going carolers.

You gotta open the door to find out.

Nick (1:06:29)
You do. No, that's what the ring's for. That's what the ring camera's for. You do not have to open the door.

Neil (1:06:33)
She might

be in the back and you can't see her. She said the cute one might be in the back and you won't be able to see her on the ring cane. Yeah.

Nick (1:06:37)
That's true. But I guess then I just lose my opportunity.

But I guess I need to turn the Christmas season gone, start getting a little more in the Christmas spirit. Because what, we're 10 days away?

Neil (1:06:48)
I mean, what you need to do is change your Christmas tree decorations and take that goofy hat off the top.

Nick (1:06:53)
Well, I'm about as close as I've ever been to taking it off after yesterday's experience. I will say that.

And I will be replying to the email from the Cincinnati. ⁓

Neil (1:07:03)
What's your Ted Karras hat on the top?

What's your Ted Karras Cincy hat on the top?

Nick (1:07:08)
Hey, I hope he wins Man of the Year.

Neil (1:07:10)
Yeah, no, he's doing great things.

Nick (1:07:10)
What he's done with the stuff

he had, he's raised a lot of good money for the kid hose and I applaud him for that.

Neil (1:07:14)
If anybody wants to the story,

do they go? CintseyHats.com? Something like that.

Nick (1:07:19)
Yeah, I think that's what it is, yeah.

Neil (1:07:21)
Great story. Great what he's doing for the community. I do need to get me one. You're right. I do.

Nick (1:07:22)
You need to get you one. You need get you one.

I mean, if it's, what does the weather have to be in two weeks against the Arizona Cardinals for to make you walk into Paycore Stadium? Cause I got a number in my head and if it's lower, I ain't going.

Neil (1:07:40)
Your number is probably 75 and sunny. mean, what is your number? Is your number 40 degrees?

Nick (1:07:43)
It ain't that. I mean dude it's 32 today. I felt like it was summer after being in 5 degree weather all day.

Yeah I was gonna say 35.

Neil (1:07:53)
You're going to the game.

Nick (1:07:53)
I think 35 is a fair number.

Neil (1:07:55)
But you're going to the game.

Nick (1:07:57)
If it's five degrees, I am not going. I am not doing that again. yes, I will guarantee it. 35 degrees, if it's 30, I can be talked into it. 25, you're going to be dragging me. 20, I ain't going.

Neil (1:07:59)
I would not go through that again for this team.

No, it's hard to argue. You're right. Bring your snow shovel and scraper next time so maybe we can defrost our seats faster.

Nick (1:08:12)
They don't deserve it!

Well,

at least send a social media message out to your fans telling them to bring their shovels because we didn't do nothing. Oh, and they're telling people, the people are trying to bring in cardboard to sit on and they're telling them no. They're telling you got to throw that cardboard away. Get a clue. And there was a rush to get in too at the last minute.

Neil (1:08:24)
going to

Yeah.

Nick (1:08:44)
Luckily we weren't a part of that or I would have been even more pissed.

Because we went in, about 15 minutes early? I think everybody else came in right at zero. And yeah, the thing.

Neil (1:08:51)
after us.

So well.

Nick (1:08:56)
Yeah, I don't know.

But I think we've talked about.

We've gone on about six, seven minutes too long here.

Neil (1:09:03)
⁓ boy.

Good night.

Nick (1:09:06)
I gotta edit this but if you want to continue to listen to stuff like this make sure you're subscribing on Apple Music, Spotify, however you get your podcast. You can watch the thing on YouTube. Last week we just saw I was wearing a beanie and that's why I was called Beanie Boy in the comments.

Neil (1:09:27)
I'm just glad you got your heat fixed or whatever the issue

was and you're back to wearing normal clothing today instead of looking like you were at the football game in your own house.

Nick (1:09:35)
Well,

we weren't told to do the show today in the same gear we wore yesterday. I could have done it with the little headpiece and the toboggan, but there ain't no way I'm putting on that many glares again for a long time. All right, for the 6'6'' Nail on the 4'10'' Nick, you've listening to the Hi-Hat Differential. We'll talk to you soon.