Hour 4: Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports

0:01 [music] The pride, passion, and pageantry of college football lives here.

0:09 [music] This is the Paul Finebomb Show, our Ford podcast.

0:15 This might be college football.

0:18 [music]

0:19 Paul Finebomb Show.

0:21 Final hour of the show today and we'll take your calls.

0:24 855242 Paul 8552427285 traditions inside the SEC Southeastern

0:34 Conference voices that sort of shaped our opinions

0:38 our thoughts maybe made us fans of different

0:42 SEC teams Larry Mson Jim Feick Hubert we

0:45 talked all those earlier in the show different

0:48 SEC teams and the level of talent we talked great players on SEC rosters how How

0:53 many great players does each Southeastern Conference roster has?

0:59 Now, some of this is going to kind of turn into Major League

1:03 Baseball Hall of Fame voting where it's become the Hall of Really good.

1:06 I'm not talking really good.

1:07 I'm talking great players.

1:10 Players that every other team in the league wish they had.

1:14 Every other team in the league looks at and says, "Boy,

1:16 I wish we could have that dude on our roster." I'll tell

1:18 you one that I think has more than people think is Florida.

1:21 I think the Florida Gator have more players

1:24 that I would reference as great than a lot

1:28 of other people in the league that are sort

1:30 of observing Florida from a distance would agree with.

1:33 Eric Singleton Jr.

1:34 I think is great.

1:35 Eric Singleton Jr.

1:36 was misused last year.

1:38 Eric Singleton Jr.

1:39 played with an offensive line that didn't have a lot of success blocking people,

1:43 had people calling plays that weren't necessarily dialed in at times,

1:46 and a quarterback that for a lot of the year couldn't let go of the football.

1:50 Then you go back and watch him at Georgia Tech, different dude.

1:52 Now he's back with that offensive coordinator.

1:54 Jaden Ball, great great player, great running back in the SEC.

2:00 Dallas Wilson, because he hasn't done it as long as some of the others

2:05 I will say I think is going to be great this year,

2:08 but a lot of people already have him in that category.

2:10 And I wouldn't push back on it if they did.

2:12 Would not push back on that if they did.

2:15 Let's go to Eddie in Georgia.

2:17 Wants to chime in on the phones here on the Paul Finebomb Show.

2:19 Eddie, how are you today?

2:23 Hey, I'm feeling great, Cole.

2:24 Great to be on with you.

2:25 Um, I heard your interview yesterday.

2:28 It was outstanding, especially when you talked about Georgia.

2:32 Um, I totally agree as far as um wide receiver really not being

2:38 a uh that big of a deal for the way that George football.

2:43 I think that um a wide receiver being able

2:46 to block is probably more of a impact on the offense.

2:52 And um I love what you were saying,

2:55 the sacking and the line and the the line backers.

2:59 If you may, could you kind of tell tell me and tell

3:04 the people out here um about Georgia's tight end room and the depth there?

3:09 And um do you see any shades of Brock

3:12 Bowers and Darnell Washington in that tight end room?

3:15 Not Darnell Washington because you're just not going

3:17 to get a lot of 68, 265, 275.

3:21 I don't even know how much he weighed in college,

3:23 but I remember the first time I saw him

3:24 at the spring game when he was a freshman and I thought,

3:26 good lord, they got a tackle at tight end.

3:28 Um and just physically, you're not going to find a guy like that.

3:32 But Lice Williams, a guy that with length,

3:35 specifically down the red zone, is going to be a massive matchup problem.

3:38 67 255.

3:40 Does not look 255.

3:42 Does not play 255.

3:43 Plays like he's 225.

3:45 Uh, and I love the fact that he's not afraid to get

3:47 in there and mix it up at the line of scrimmage.

3:49 He'll put his face mask in there, shoot his hands, he'll try to block you.

3:51 Not a devastating blocker, not a dominant blocker,

3:54 but he'll give you the effort.

3:55 Lucky Lawson is going to be very similar.

3:57 Maybe a little bit tweaked up Oscar Delp, but just kind of B+ across the board.

4:01 Doesn't have a real minus in his game.

4:04 Super solid tight end.

4:05 Ethan Barber's going to help him a little bit.

4:07 I think that tight end room with the flexibility that's

4:09 going to give Mike Boowbo to be able to utilize formations,

4:13 use a lot of motion, use some movement,

4:15 find some matchups, it's going to be a big help.

4:17 And then I think there I think the offensive

4:19 line has a chance to be much better this year.

4:21 We got Gaston Glover hopefully can stay in one place each individually.

4:26 Bobo back at center.

4:28 And if you can get Ernest Green back to two years ago,

4:30 Ernest Green, I know that's not a given.

4:32 I know that's not a a definite,

4:34 but if you can get him back to what he was two years ago,

4:38 you could be talking about one of the best offensive lines in the SEC, maybe,

4:42 so maybe one of the best offensive lines in college football cuz

4:45 that that's what's become most difficult to project right now is whose offensive

4:48 lines have a chance to be great because we just you got

4:51 to operate well together if you're going to be a great offensive line.

4:54 We hadn't seen a lot of these groups do it.

4:56 Hey, definitely got to be one unit.

4:58 And kind of speaking, what goes right along with that, would

5:01 you still consider Georgia to be tailback university?

5:07 Who's overtaking them?

5:09 I mean, LSU's got to be in the mix, right?

5:14 They might they might be up there.

5:15 Hey, Cole.

5:16 All that right there,

5:17 that's for the Paul Finebone fan base cuz they didn't want to hear any of that.

5:21 I totally agree.

5:22 I love it.

5:23 And and on to what I really want to talk about.

5:25 I want to talk about Auburn and Alabama real quick.

5:28 I I apologize.

5:30 I I didn't mean to cut you off.

5:31 Um I think Cayman Leo is a good coach.

5:34 Um but I think that that scheme that they run um I think that they're looking

5:40 to get different results from the run game

5:43 when that opportunity is not going to be there.

5:45 I think when you're offensive lineman,

5:47 would you rather uh play in today's era in in um a a pass heavy

5:54 array offense or would you rather be

5:57 in more of a a mauling uh smashmouth football?

6:01 Yeah.

6:01 Give me pro style.

6:03 Give me old school every day of the week.

6:06 I mean, that's why you play the position.

6:07 You don't play the position to finesse

6:09 and sift block and hinge back and, you know, turn block on people.

6:14 you play the position to move people against their will.

6:16 That's what you that's what you sign up for.

6:18 You know, I I and I think it'd be

6:20 I think it's kind of the reverse for defensive linemen.

6:22 If you ask most defensive linemen,

6:24 would you rather play today or back when I played when it was sit there,

6:27 hold the point of attack, take on double teams?

6:29 Now, they're shooting gabs, they're twisting, they're moving, they're stunting,

6:33 they're slanting on every single play, literally every play.

6:36 So, that would almost be in reverse.

6:38 But you I want to do what I signed up to do.

6:42 I I don't want to be in a two-point stance all the time, you know?

6:45 I don't want to be taking quick pass sets and slide protection on every play,

6:48 throwing the ball quick.

6:49 I I don't want that.

6:51 I want to move people against their will if I'm an offensive lineman.

6:55 That's what I want to do.

6:56 And there's not a lot of groups that do that anymore.

6:58 There's not.

6:58 I I'm going to follow this call up and I appreciate it, Daddy.

7:01 It's great stuff.

7:02 855242, Paul 8552427285.

7:08 This is what I like about Georgia right now.

7:11 And I asked Kirby at the at the region's tradition on Wednesday,

7:14 I said, "What are you able to gauge your teams differently?

7:17 Do you like more teams in different ways at this point in the calendar

7:21 year than in other years?" And I think the main thing he said was,

7:23 "Listen, I don't have to worry about

7:24 spring portal." Every coach that came through there,

7:26 by the way, said that, "Hey, no spring portal.

7:28 I'm great.

7:28 I'm good." I talked with Jeff Lebby earlier today uh for my podcast Cube show,

7:33 and it was the first thing he said.

7:34 He goes, "Hey, man.

7:34 I'm doing great.

7:35 You know why?

7:35 We got no spring portal to worry about." So, we're all doing good.

7:39 But I didn't I wanted to know if Kirby felt in a different way

7:42 about this team because I feel a little bit different about this Georgia team.

7:46 We were talking a little bit earlier about great players on each roster.

7:49 And if you take Florida, Bama, Texas, A&M, Arkansas,

7:54 whoever you want to take and you want to go

7:55 through and some of us might be one or two,

7:57 a different person might have the same team three and four.

8:00 That's fine.

8:00 There's going to be fringe players that we

8:02 think are great or good or dominant, whatever elite.

8:06 I think if you look at Georgia's roster right now

8:09 and you took the guys that collectively people would say,

8:11 "Oh yeah, a great football player, elite football player,

8:14 dominant football player," they would have a bigger group than anybody

8:18 else in the league of guys that I would have confidence,

8:21 real confidence now that could turn into those great

8:24 players than anybody else in the league.

8:27 I think they got a bunch of dudes that are

8:28 on the fringe of being great players in this league.

8:31 Nobody talking about Elijah Griffin.

8:33 Nobody's talking about Quintavius Johnson.

8:36 Nobody's talking about Railen Wilson.

8:39 Hell, I think London Humphre could be a great receiver in this league.

8:43 I've seen him do it.

8:44 I've seen him make big plays at Vandy.

8:46 He's shown up at certain times in a Georgia uniform,

8:50 just not as consistently as some of the others have.

8:54 Juan Gassing, Darnell, Dantrell Glover, could they be great, but yes.

8:58 Nate Fraser, yes.

9:01 I think Gunnar Stockton already is a great player in this league.

9:03 Just because he doesn't project out like

9:06 some other quarterbacks in college football do

9:08 right out of the NFL does not mean he's not a great college football player.

9:12 And that's what we're talking about.

9:14 I mentioned earlier in the show there has been some breaking

9:18 news from Ross Dinger as it pertains to the college football playoff.

9:23 He's going to join us when we come back to tell us what it is,

9:26 what we need to know right after this on the Paul Finebomb Show.

9:29 [music] You're listening to the Paul Finebomb Show podcast,

9:35 [music] Paul Finebomb Show.

9:45 Little bit of a detour here as we're going to welcome in Ross Dinger.

9:48 Cole Cubic filling in for Paul.

9:50 And Ross had some breaking news that he shared via Twitter a little while ago.

9:54 Ross Delinger.

9:55 You can follow him there.

9:56 And Ross, um, I don't know,

9:59 some people probably gonna say this is alarming news.

10:01 I actually don't think that the majority of the college football world is

10:03 going to be excited about the news that you recently shared on social media,

10:08 uh, because it looks like we may be

10:09 staring down the barrel of 2014 College Football Playoff.

10:11 Give us the latest on what, uh, decisions have been agreed upon by coaches

10:18 as it pertains to the College Football Playoff.

10:21 Yeah.

10:22 Well, you know, I should preface it um that the AFCA,

10:27 the American Football Coaches Association, which their board is is made up

10:32 of very high high-profile coaches, many in the SEC,

10:36 Brent Bibles and Clark Lee and Brett Bumma and the Big

10:39 10 and Joey Mu Maguire and the Big 12, some pretty big names,

10:44 but they don't have any sort of governance power as far as changing rules.

10:51 in changing the playoffs.

10:53 So, that should be known, but they certainly have influential power.

10:56 And when a group of coaches get together like they did last

10:59 week and decide some of these things that I wrote about today,

11:03 it it yeah, it should be uh taken pretty seriously.

11:06 Um and so I'll go through a few of them.

11:08 Uh obviously, they they want they want the maximum amount of teams

11:13 in the playoff of of the current proposals, which would be 24.

11:18 So they've they've kind of thrown their support behind a 2014 playoff.

11:22 Um they've also um and this might be even the bigger one uh Cole

11:27 is is they thrown their support behind

11:30 the discontinuation of the conference championship games.

11:36 Um and there's some other things too uh in there.

11:41 Uh, one of them being ending the ending the playoff in the second

11:46 week of January and not going beyond that that second Monday in January.

11:51 Um, and just condensing the whole calendar, right?

11:55 Um, being able to start the playoffs sooner, just moving up all the playoffs.

12:00 So, that's sort of their recommendations.

12:02 Um, I'm sure they'll be presented to commissioners and their athletic directors.

12:07 Um, and we'll have to see kind of where they go, where things go from from here.

12:13 Ross Dinger joining us on uh the phones now discussing an AFCA board vote

12:20 that has swung its support behind a playoff

12:23 with the maximum participants, which is likely 24.

12:26 Correct.

12:27 Then if this if this pushes the college football playoff committee to expand,

12:33 this is what the coaches are saying that they want.

12:35 Is that what we should believe is

12:36 that it would be a 2014 College Football Playoff?

12:40 That's what the coaches want.

12:41 Yeah, that is they they've made that uh and a few of them have

12:44 in oneoff interviews have certainly made

12:47 that clear through the course of the last,

12:50 you know, year or so probably and certainly the last four or five months.

12:54 Um but you know, it all comes down really to the SEC and and Greg Sinki.

13:00 uh right he um the way the college football playoff

13:05 format is changed is through a decision basically from two conferences.

13:11 They have to both agree the Big 10 and SEC

13:13 they have to agree for any change to be adopted.

13:17 Um, in right now, as of, you know,

13:21 a week or two ago when the last CFP leaders last met,

13:25 you know, Greg Seni was still in support of a 16 team playoff.

13:31 Tony Patiti, the Big 10 was in support of 24.

13:34 and Tony Patiti.

13:35 Joining Tony Patiti and that support of 24 was not just now the coaches,

13:39 right, but also um Pete Bvakqua,

13:44 Notre Dame athletic director who's on the CFP board

13:47 as well as the Big 12 and ACC commissioners.

13:51 Uh so there does seem to be Cole no doubt

13:54 a growing momentum and push for 24 but Greg sank

14:00 in the SEC would have to agree to that and right

14:04 now they're in um a sort of a they all met about

14:09 two weeks ago actually I think I was on with Finebomb

14:12 from Dallas after the meeting and they decided to do

14:16 an evaluation of the 2014 playoffs to figure out how much

14:20 money uh would they get if they expanded to 24 teams?

14:25 And that will be sort of a determining factor cuz in or in order to go to 24,

14:31 you got to get rid of championship games.

14:32 Everybody has to get rid of their conference championship games basically.

14:36 And that's a $250 million loss.

14:39 So the expanded playoff has got to make up for that loss money.

14:43 Um and we might we may see that happen, right?

14:47 And and or we may not.

14:49 depends on what this kind of valuation is.

14:51 The next time CFD leaders meet in person is in mid June in Denver.

14:57 Ross Dinger joining us on the phones um of Yahoo Sports

15:01 and has shared news that an AFCA board vote has swung its support

15:07 behind a playoff with the max

15:08 participants likely 24 discontinuing conference championship

15:10 games and ending the college football playoff by the second week of January.

15:14 That one I think everybody will be on board for.

15:16 Coaches, fans, all of us.

15:18 We we don't need to see this season uh continue to be

15:21 pushed further and further into a new year as we have been.

15:26 But I want to go back to the conference championship game specifically.

15:29 Let's just say SEC Big 10.

15:31 It's easy to say, Ross,

15:32 that with where this is going, more conference expansion.

15:35 Even now, we've had coaches step out and say we see we didn't need that.

15:39 Why?

15:40 Kirby Smart said a couple years ago, why are we playing in this?

15:43 We're going to have a great standing in the playoff no matter what happens.

15:45 We feel good about what we're going to be.

15:47 we're going to have a home game.

15:48 Like, wh why?

15:49 But you know how much money is tied to those games?

15:52 How how do these leagues, specifically those two SEC Big 10,

15:56 circumvent that part of what those games mean?

16:02 Well, I think you know, Cole,

16:04 as soon as college sports uh decided to go beyond probably eight playoff teams,

16:15 there was going to be you were you

16:16 were going to have a really hard time preserving

16:20 the conference championship games because they lost so much

16:24 value in anything that goes beyond six to eight teams.

16:28 So when you went to that 12 teamer,

16:31 it just felt like you really just they just lost importance.

16:35 Um now Greg Zeny will say and he's certainly right determining a champion

16:42 on the field is still important

16:44 and that's why those games were basically created.

16:48 Um, but it's become sort of a tentpole event for each league

16:53 and and most notably the SEC and a very valuable event as you mentioned.

16:58 It's estimated anywhere from 80 to $100 million um in value

17:03 and that's that's a lot of that's a lot of money.

17:06 So you got to make up the SEC would have

17:08 to make up that money plus some to make it worth expanding.

17:12 Um, and I think certainly in any kind of Yeah.

17:16 any kind of uh expansion beyond 12,

17:19 the conference championship games would would just be a waste.

17:23 I mean I mean, think about it.

17:24 If you're a coach, you're agreeing to play another conference game.

17:30 So, the SEC is going to nine conference games this year.

17:33 If you play in the conference championship game,

17:35 that's a 10th conference conference game you're playing in.

17:39 Not only that, it's probably a game against a team ranked in the top 10,

17:42 if not the top five.

17:44 So, it it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense anymore.

17:48 Um, and when you when you went beyond six to eight teams in a playoff,

17:52 it was kind of bound to happen.

17:54 Ros Delinger joining us on the phones talking uh AFCA vote on the potential

17:59 future of the playoff and where they

18:00 would place their support with it potentially expanding.

18:03 What conversations have you been made aware of, Ross,

18:06 that surround what the regular season is now and what it

18:11 would maybe have to be if we went to that 2014 playoff?

18:15 Obviously, you referenced too that they're

18:17 behind cancelling conference championship games.

18:20 We know that would have to take place,

18:22 but if you're going to add more playoff games,

18:25 even without the conference title game,

18:27 are we keeping the regular season where it is now?

18:29 Are are there any coaches pushing back on that with this playoff expansion?

18:35 Well, I I think they um I think and you saw it in the uh the AFCA proposal,

18:41 they they want to um shrink the regular season

18:44 as much as possible um and move it up.

18:47 So, um, separate from the AFCA proposal,

18:51 there is a there's a, um, leg there's legislation in the NCA pipeline,

18:58 uh, that will create will basically make week zero the new week one, right?

19:02 We we that passed about 2 or 3 weeks ago.

19:05 So, we know that will happen.

19:07 So, college football season starting in 2027 will start on week zero.

19:12 That'll be the new week one.

19:14 Everybody who wants to play on week one can can play.

19:16 you don't have to, you don't need a waiver.

19:18 Um, and so what coaches want that would create a second by week.

19:23 Coaches don't want that by week, at least according to this proposal.

19:26 So that gives you a week to move up the regular season.

19:31 Um, and then if you eliminate the championship games, it gives you another week.

19:35 So that's two vacant weeks, right,

19:37 that you have to fit in an extra round of the playoff

19:41 and to move up the end of the regular season.

19:44 the end of sort of the end of the postseason to the first week or so of January,

19:48 January 9th, 10th instead of what we see this coming year,

19:52 which I think is like January 22nd or 23rd.

19:55 Um, it's just too late to end the season.

19:58 You infringe on the NFL uh with TV windows and and just uh viewership,

20:04 but you also go over the transfer portal, right?

20:09 you you push push the uh the transfer portals in in mid

20:15 January or so and and so you finish after the transfer portal.

20:18 you want to try to uh coalesce around that.

20:22 And so I think what you'll see eventually is what has sort of coal

20:25 for years now been predicted and that is no more conference championship games,

20:30 a bigger playoff in a regular season that's kind of shifted

20:34 up maybe a week and you finish the regular you

20:37 finish the postseason where it used to finish and I think

20:39 like you said earlier everybody would be on board with that.

20:42 I don't think there's any doubt.

20:43 Ross Dinger joining us on the phones discussing

20:45 this new AFCA board vote that has just taken place

20:48 to where college football coaches now putting their support behind

20:52 a 2014 playoff most likely uh ending conference championship games.

20:57 What is the what is the main push back against

21:02 going to 24 that you hear be it from coaches, administrators,

21:07 um presidents, conference commissioners,

21:11 who who is standing up and saying this is

21:13 why we don't want to go to this and why?

21:17 Well, the ma the main one has been uh the SEC commissioner in I think

21:23 many of the SEC presidents and to a degree some others in in the SEC.

21:29 Um that's been the main group that's pushed back against it recently

21:34 and I think there are many reasons and and Greg Sanki did uh two

21:38 weeks ago stop and talk to reporters after CFP meetings and he kind

21:42 of went through some of those reasons and I'll I'll list them off.

21:45 Number one, you impact um and devalue the regular season in general.

21:52 Um is what what he mentioned, right?

21:54 The impact on the regular season.

21:55 The SEC SEC football regular season, Cole,

21:59 I think drew 45% of all college football viewership last year.

22:07 It is it is an incredible valuable piece.

22:12 And when you expand the playoff by so much,

22:14 there's a fear that it's going to be negatively

22:17 impacted if you're allowing in three and four lost teams.

22:19 That the games in the regular season don't mean as much then.

22:23 So that's number one.

22:24 Uh you know, number two is the elimination of your conference championship game

22:29 that being that that uh where you crown a champion actually on the field.

22:35 I think you would you would lose that and that's certainly a an impact.

22:39 Um, number three, Greg,

22:41 Seni mentioned this again in Dallas to us a couple weeks ago.

22:44 It is um, uh, you know,

22:47 an extra round in an extra game for a certain group of players.

22:51 And at some, at some point, aren't you playing, you know, too many games?

22:56 Um, isn't there just too many games in general?

22:59 Um, so that that has gotten brought up a little bit.

23:02 Um, and then number four is the money.

23:06 Is it worth it?

23:07 you're doubling the field.

23:10 Um, and you're adding 12 additional games, but for how much more money?

23:15 Most of those games are first round games

23:17 that will pit a three and four loss team.

23:20 So, how much how valuable are they really?

23:24 Wild to think about, Ross, where we may be headed,

23:26 what this could potentially look like.

23:28 But I appreciate you hopping on last minute to share

23:30 this information and uh we'll catch up again soon.

23:32 Thank you.

23:33 All right, Cole.

23:33 Thank you.

23:33 Byebye.

23:34 There you go.

23:34 Ross Dinger, Yahoo Sports.

23:35 Follow him on Twitter at Ross Dellinger.

23:37 Interesting times.

23:39 Feels like the last three years have been like this, right?

23:42 Conference expansion, transfer portal, what players are making,

23:45 what they're getting, conference championship games, conference alignment.

23:50 I mean, it's just it's it this college

23:52 football calendar is the gift that keeps on giving.

23:56 It is now year round.

23:57 It never stops.

23:58 And I don't know what the end is in sight.

24:01 Maybe it is 24 teams.

24:04 I don't even know how much further past that we could go realistically.

24:07 We'll discuss it more next on the Paul Fine Bomb Show.

24:10 You're listening [music] to the Paul Finebomb Show podcast.

24:22 Paul Finebomb Show.

24:23 Cole Cubic filling in for Paul today.

24:26 Be with you tomorrow and Thursday as well.

24:28 Let's keep the phones rolling.

24:30 Great interview with Ross Dinger.

24:31 He just shared with us AFCA board has voted

24:36 its support behind a playoff with the max participants

24:38 likely 24 discontinuing conference championship games and ending

24:43 the college football playoff by the second week of January.

24:45 Your thoughts on those and more.

24:48 Be a part of the show.

24:48 855242 Paul 8552427285.

24:53 Chris in South Carolina wants to chime in.

24:55 Welcome in Chris.

24:58 Hey, I'm I'm surprised you answered my phone call

25:00 since I put you in the locker last time.

25:03 But anyway, found the combination, Chris.

25:06 I worked my way out.

25:10 Keep talking about Georgia pumping them boys up.

25:12 But who else you got over there?

25:14 Before you answer that question, I was going to bring it to everybody.

25:18 If you played college football for the last 50 years,

25:21 it's been about 130 plus teams in the playoffs already.

25:24 It started on week number one.

25:26 You got to win the games in front of you, man.

25:28 If you can't win that even to qualify, why we want 24 teams.

25:32 The only good thing that's going to come out of it is them

25:35 10 or or them eight how many home campus games they going to have.

25:40 Now, that's an atmosphere that you

25:41 that that that college football can benefit from.

25:44 And that's the best thing you can get from expanding these playoffs.

25:47 That's the only good thing because you got to win the games in front of you.

25:51 But but sit there playing in your home stadium for a playoff.

25:56 Look at Miami.

25:57 They got to play for a championship in their home stadium.

26:00 That's the only good thing that came out of it.

26:02 Well, not even that.

26:03 You look at that environment they played in in College Station.

26:05 That that was that was electric.

26:06 It was unbelievable.

26:08 Um you know, you go back and look at when

26:10 Tennessee went to the horseshoe to play against Ohio State.

26:12 Even though a lot of Tennessee fans went is an awesome environment.

26:15 you know, Indiana, Notre Dame two years ago.

26:16 We've seen that happen.

26:18 I wonder, Chris, how many other bowls are going to try to keep

26:22 try to creep into those early rounds if we go to this and say,

26:25 "Listen, we know the Bulls are going away.

26:26 Why don't you put us in quarterfinals?

26:29 Why don't you make us a first round game?" I I

26:31 don't know how many of these home playoff games we'll get,

26:33 but I do agree with you.

26:33 There's a good chance we could it could lead to more.

26:37 So, before I leave here, I just got one thing to say, man.

26:41 A man, kiss my ass.

26:43 Have a nice day.

26:45 Mike in Charleston, welcome into the show, Mike.

26:48 How you doing today?

26:50 Hey, sorry, I'm cleaning some spot tails up here in Charleston,

26:53 but hey, just let you know.

26:54 Um, so I know you're you kind of deal with private equity.

26:57 Just let you know.

26:58 Um, so private, this is my world,

27:01 private equity has lost about $3 trillion the last three years.

27:05 And so that's why they are begging to get into any

27:08 kind of agency that is going to make them money.

27:11 Same thing that happened with the hospital systems.

27:12 That's kind of what I do.

27:14 Um, and then when you see the rural

27:15 systems being taken over by these large corporate hospitals,

27:18 that's private equity.

27:20 And so private equity is just a bunch of investors.

27:22 That's all it is.

27:23 It's be several companies.

27:25 But it's just a dangerous world for the college sports to get into.

27:29 Well, Chris, since this is your world, I'm sorry, Mike, excuse me.

27:33 Um, recently Big 12 has come to an agreement with Redbird Capital

27:39 on a private capital deal where they can opt in to receive around $30 million.

27:44 What would the difference be between private capital, private equity?

27:49 Well, because private equity is,

27:51 but capital means that's just the money they're giving,

27:54 but equity means they want the return back because

27:57 eventually it's all going to turn into private credit.

28:00 Does that make sense?

28:01 Like they're they're going to want their money back.

28:02 They're they're investors.

28:04 They're not like, "Hey, we love college sports.

28:06 That's why we're doing this.

28:08 We're just they're a bunch of investors

28:10 that their portfolio is what matters the most."

28:12 So private capital means they have the money they have capital to put up.

28:17 Basically, they have, you know,

28:18 whatever stocks and they have basically to to secure the loan,

28:22 but eventually all the they're going to get

28:23 their money back one way or the other.

28:25 So, it's just it's it's just a dangerous area for sports

28:29 to go into because I'm more of the hospital and the medical systems.

28:32 So I see it a lot and yeah obviously you see what happens

28:34 in the medical systems but also happened

28:36 to real estate the prison systems private

28:38 equity gets in they're not bad it's it's a great um solution for an immediate

28:43 influx of cash and capital but they're going to want their money back.

28:48 There's always terms like hey we're not just going

28:50 to give it to you that we want this plus interest.

28:52 Does that make sense?

28:53 Yeah it does.

28:54 Yeah.

28:54 And and we know it becomes much more of a of a game of checks and balances.

28:58 They're going to they're going to dot those eyes, cross those tees.

29:01 And has there been irresponsible spending in college sports?

29:04 Absolutely.

29:05 No, no one's debating that.

29:06 I don't think anybody would ever even try to debate that.

29:09 But I I wonder of when you talk about some of the people

29:12 that built these programs that help built

29:14 these athletic departments that are still employed,

29:16 that are still around and the fans,

29:18 the people that have been there, they know the importance of them.

29:22 You think about Jeff Allen at Alabama, athletic trainer.

29:25 You think about Kirk Samson at Auburn

29:26 who works in the sports information office.

29:28 private equity going to come in and understand what those people have

29:30 done over time and even if the salary is a little bit inflated,

29:34 understand what those guys do and how important it is to have

29:36 them in house and and have them be a part of the program.

29:40 I I I don't know the answer to that.

29:42 I I I don't know that if you brought a private equity guy into Tennessee,

29:45 he's going to understand what Roger Fraser means to the equipment room.

29:49 He might just look at it from a checks and balances standpoint and say he's got

29:52 to go cuz this is the average salary

29:54 of those people across the board across college football.

29:57 he makes a little bit more, get him out.

29:59 And you and that's to me, college football can't allow people to act that way.

30:03 That's my opinion on it, but I'm not an expert.

30:05 I don't understand how it works top to bottom.

30:07 But I do appreciate the call.

30:08 Appreciate you being a part of the show.

30:10 Old school wants to chime in.

30:11 Old school, welcome in to the Paul Finebomb Show.

30:13 How are you?

30:16 What's going on, my brothers?

30:17 They tell me you're from Auburn.

30:19 You're an Auburn.

30:20 Auburn football player.

30:23 Auburn graduate.

30:23 Auburn letterman.

30:24 Proud.

30:25 Yes, sir.

30:26 Who did you play with?

30:28 Or what was it?

30:29 Uh what year was it?

30:30 Uh Cole, it was 96 to 2000.

30:32 I played for three head coaches.

30:35 People forget that.

30:36 Terry Bowen, Tommy Tubberville, and Bill Oliver.

30:39 Uh so some names you may recognize that I played with.

30:42 Rudy Johnson, Heath Evans, Tequilo Spikes, Victor Riley,

30:46 Damen Craig, Tyrone Goodson, Martavius Houston, Ben Leard.

30:52 Wow.

30:52 That's fantastic, man.

30:53 I I'll tell you I I I've got to give a brief update.

30:56 You don't know anything about this, but I got so many calls about it.

30:59 Uh uh uh the squirrel the baby squirrel is okay.

31:03 My cousin's okay.

31:03 He's got 14 stitches.

31:05 Don't pick up baby squirrels, people.

31:06 If they're about 68 68 in long and they look fluffy and you play with them,

31:11 don't pick pick them up with your bare hands.

31:13 But anyway, I want I want to say this about the about the Auburn Tigers.

31:17 I I really really really think that that new

31:20 coach that they have with his system,

31:23 with his with his enthusiasm and his energy,

31:26 I think they going to be I think they I think they're going to be

31:28 a good team this year and I think they will be a real good team next year.

31:31 Your thoughts?

31:32 I I would agree with that.

31:33 I I don't think it can you can't move a mountain in a day.

31:37 I I think this year they'll be dangerous.

31:39 I think they'll be a tough out this year,

31:41 tougher than last year, but there are pieces that he still needs.

31:44 And you look at the traditional high school recruiting, how it's on the uptick,

31:48 uh what they can maybe do in the portal going into next season as you mentioned.

31:51 Yeah, I'd be on board with you there, old school.

31:55 Okay, one last thing.

31:56 Chris in South Carolina, you know,

31:58 you've got a date with Destiny next year in the ring with me.

32:01 So So lay off the man.

32:03 He he take care of himself, but it's a layoff that that's just pure jealousy.

32:06 And as far as it comes to Dylan, the bad boy,

32:09 the bad the baddie from the baddy from Jasper,

32:11 you don't you don't want none of that, bro.

32:13 He's an Alabama fan.

32:14 You just remember one thing, Chris.

32:16 South Carolina, you're a South Carolina fan, bro.

32:19 You're South Carolina fan and you're a Clemson fan, right?

32:21 You out there, you out there in those those places.

32:24 Don't mess with an Alabama fan, boy.

32:26 You have nothing to stand on.

32:27 Hey, thank you so much, Cole.

32:28 Very nice meeting you and I look forward to the next couple days.

32:31 Yeah, absolutely.

32:34 You're listening [music] to the Paul Finebomb Show podcast.