Jets Are Not Super Bowl Contenders (Hour 1)

Live from the play show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of the Infinity Sports Network here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor, 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a very busy Monday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, the free Odyssey app, and of course, streaming live on YouTube. 855-212-4227 is the number to jump on in. That's 855-212-4222. You can always get at me on Instagram, where I'm straight flexin' or via the good old cesspool of Twitter X at Zach Gelb.

That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. We got a whole lot to get to today. We're going to be joined by Aaron Murray, the former Georgia quarterback coming up at the top of the hour. Big Poppy, David Ortiz is also going to join us as well, the Baseball Hall of Famer and the three-time World Series champion. And we should be joined at some point today, I don't have the time yet, but by the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide in Kalen DeBoer.

So a whole lot to cook and to serve up to you today, and we'll take you all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific time. Alrighty, let me start off as we have just chaos in the sports world right now, as you have the Atlanta Braves going up against the Mets in what is a doubleheader. Whoever wins this first game, and right now we're in the bottom of the seventh and the Braves are up 3-0, they get into the postseason. And then it creates a very compelling game number two on the second game, the back end of the doubleheader, because if the Braves win, they're already in, but then if they win game two, that means the Mets end up going home and the Diamondbacks get in. However, if this is a split, and let's say the Braves hold on here in game one, and then the Mets win game two, then you have the Braves going out to San Diego, and that would start tomorrow evening and the Mets would be going to Milwaukee. So as you guys know, I am a Mets fan, and I am just sitting here and trying to pave out the road how my team ends up getting screwed and how they end up letting me down.

Like quite frankly, I look up today and go, oh, they'll find a way to get one. I definitely thought they would get one game, and their bats are lifeless so far as they're down 3-0. Now I would assume the approach by the Braves would be, let me just throw my worst people out there, especially on the mound because you have to navigate a wildcard series coming up tomorrow. But you never know if there's a way for the Mets to mess it up, the Mets could find a way to mess it up.

Now, with that being said, we also have two football games tonight as well to conclude week four of the NFL season, Tennessee and Miami, and then Seattle and Detroit. But talking about the Mets messing something up and a New York team messing something up, how about the New York Jets? And you know, it's kind of funny as I got Stuart Kovacs and Michael Samter here with me today.

Let me just take you back to when we got a chance to see Samter coming into work last week on Friday. And that was coming off a Jet Thursday night victory to open up week three where the Jets fans were celebrating like they've never won a game before in their life. And I get it, the Patriots dominated them for 20 years, but the Patriots suck now. So when you blow out the Patriots, I'm not saying don't celebrate it, but Samter wearing his jet jersey, walking into work and just kind of finding a way to try to attempt to get under my skin and mock me. That's kind of karma what happened yesterday to the Jets fan that thought a week three game up against a dreadful Patriot team. When your team was ass up against the 49ers, your team barely beat Tennessee. You know, the highlight should not be blowing out the New England Patriots.

But I will say this. My biggest takeaway from that jet game in week three was that, hey, I thought the Jets in week three showed me one thing, and that was Aaron Rodgers. His mobility is back.

That's what I thought. And that was the most encouraging thing. But then you look at what happened in week four up against the Denver Broncos team, where at one point Bo Nix had negative seven passing yards. I was watching the game.

I had it on one of my TVs. I knew that things weren't going well for Bo Nix and the Broncos on offense. But when they put up on the screen that Bo Nix had negative seven passing yards, I thought someone on the broadcast had a fat finger moment where they put a minus sign next to the seven. Because I could believe seven passing yards. I didn't believe negative seven passing yards.

So think about that. Only the Jets can lose a game where at one point the quarterback for the other team had negative seven passing yards. And Bo Nix finished the game with 60 passing yards. Like, I don't know about you, Stu, if I would have told you before the game that Bo Nix would complete 12 passes for 60 yards and have a touchdown, a passing touchdown. And Aaron Rodgers would have 24 completions for 225 yards, but no touchdowns. You would still think, oh, then the Jets had a big day on the ground or the Jets, they were moving the ball and then they at least punched the ball in with their running backs.

Right. That's what you would have thought when I tell you that Bo Nix only had 60 total passing yards in this game. Yes, I would have assumed it would be like a 24 to 7 win for the Jets. I would never imagine him losing to the Broncos. I thought for a second you were going to say the Nets, but the Jets and the Nets are kind of very similar.

Where Kevin Durant walked in, you know, I am God, I run the organization, I am the president, I am the coach, I am the star player, I do whatever I want. Same thing is being said with Aaron Rodgers. And we know that the Brooklyn Nets era for Kevin Durant was a disaster. And the Jets era with Aaron Rodgers, you know, nothing you could do going back to last year. The guy got hurt three or four plays into the season. But to start off this year, that is a game yesterday where if you were a fan of the New York Jets and you could ask, how did this happen? The only reasonable and logical answer is it's the same old Jets.

That's all you could say. You look at this roster and you look at the talent on this roster, there is no reason why when Bo Nix has 60 yards passing and at one point at negative seven passing yards that you lose that game. And you look at the coaching part of it, because the easy pinata to slam if you're a Jets fan is Robert Salah has to go. Nathaniel Hackett has to go. You got to fire both Salah and Nathaniel Hackett.

Let me just say this. We all know Robert Salah should not be the head coach of this team. We all know that if it wasn't for the fact that Nathaniel Hackett was best friends with Aaron Rodgers, Nathaniel Hackett wouldn't be the offensive coordinator for this team. With all that being said, you could only smack the coaches around so much. And I think a lot of Jets fans today, because of what they think this roster is and what they told us all season long this roster is, I believe a lot of Jets fans are giving the players a pass and just using the coaching as a scapegoat. And don't get me wrong. The coaching is embarrassing.

And I'll be the first one to say it. I had Breece Hall yesterday anytime touchdown. I was happy to hand it in the ball down at the one yard line twice. But when you have Braylon Allen, who's just a bigger back, he's got to get the touches.

So I'm not dismissing the coaching being a problem for the Jets. But how does Aaron Rodgers only score nine points at home? How does your offensive line when this was a revamped offensive line look this poor yesterday? How does Breece Hall? You know, my buddy Jake Asman, right, who does a Jet podcast and does shows on Sirius, he told me, I'll never forget this before game one against the Niners that Breece Hall is going to have a monster season, which I would get. But then he followed it up by saying, Breece Hall is going to be the best player on the field in that Jet 49er game.

Now, we know that wasn't the case up against the Jets 49ers. But I think the most unbelievable number yesterday in that Jets Broncos game is that Breece Hall only had four rushing yards and his longest carry was for three yards. So he had 10 carries for four yards and on one of those carries, it was for three yards.

How does this happen? How does Aaron Rodgers only score nine lousy points at home? How does Breece Hall only have four rushing yards? I don't care if the game was at home on the road or if it was played on Mars. Four rushing yards for a running back like Breece Hall?

Embarrassing. And then defensively, I know it's tough to get on the Jets defense yesterday because they only allowed 10 points in the game and they held Bo Nix to 60 yards. But this team, they can't defend the run. And not only that, they can't get a pass rush. You know, it's one thing to abuse the Patriots offensive line. The Patriots offensive line is a turnstile in Penn Station pre-COVID. But when you look yesterday, all I heard from the Jet fan, all we need is competent quarterback play and this defense is going to be great and this defense is going to put the Jets in places they've never been before.

Really? That Jet defense had a big goose egg yesterday in the sack department. Zero sacks against a rookie quarterback.

And it wasn't even like Sean Payton dialed up the pass and was unbelievable and had this prolific passing offense. Heck, at halftime I tweeted out, why the heck is Sean Payton coaching the Denver Broncos? This guy wanted the Chargers job. They kept Brandon Staley and then he took the Broncos job because he's addicted to coaching. He didn't want Russell Wilson. And his master plan, his master plan is to draft Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick and Bo Nix is no good. He's a good college quarterback.

He's not going to be a good pro. And I have Broncos fans yesterday in my mentions. I'm not saying you shouldn't be happy, but thinking you actually have a good team because they're two and two. So yesterday for the Jets is a disaster. And yesterday for the Jets, quite frankly, it's the end of their season. And I know people are going to say, oh, how could you say it's the end of their season, Zach?

They're two and two. And the AFC is really not as good as advertised with what we've been seeing through the first four weeks of the season. Because you have a limited amount of time with Aaron Rodgers and some Jets fans thought this team was going to an AFC championship game this year. Some Jets fans thought this team was going to a Super Bowl this year and maybe holding up the Lombardi Trophy. There is a zero point zero percent chance or maybe a negative seven percent chance of the Jets going to a Super Bowl this year. I said it from the start of the season, if everything goes right for the Jets, they maybe win a playoff game this year.

I think this was a wildcard team entering this season that could win a playoff game. But enough with telling me that this team is great because the defense isn't as great as advertised. The offensive line is still problematic. Bryce Hall is a heck of a player, but he's had two dud of a game, two dud games against the Niners and then up against the Broncos.

It's clear. And this one shocks me the most that Garrett Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, they can't get on the same page. And the coaching is terrible. So how is this team outside of just delusion from the Jets fan going to turn it around where they actually make you believe, believe that this team is going to be just so successful and be in a spot where we're going to look at them as a great team at the end of the year?

I just don't see it. And Rodgers got banged up yesterday. So I don't even know where he's going to be out from a health standpoint. He was wincing in pain late in that game. As the kids would say, the Jets are just mid.

That's what they are. Against the great forty Niners, they got blown out. They barely won against Tennessee. They smashed the Pats. If you can't smash the Pats this year, you're just not good. And then. You play the Broncos with a rookie quarterback who at one point had negative seven, negative seven passing yards.

He finished with 60 yards passing in the game. And even when you got gifted opportunities at the end, you miss a kick. And even if you won that game, what am I going to have my pom poms on the air saying, oh, wow, here comes the Jets.

And I get it. I would rather win a game than lose a game. But this team is just mid. And now here is the problem to their next two games. The New York Jets.

They're going across the pond. And I don't even know if they'll let Robert Salah back on the plane if they lose this one. But they're going up against Sam Darnold, who I will raise my right hand and say this. I was wrong on Sam Darnold. I never thought there was going to be significant moments of praise this year for Sam Darnold in the Minnesota Vikings. They're undefeated.

Honestly, I don't know, even though I think the players deserve a lot of blame. I don't know how you continue to employ Robert Salah as the head coach if they lose this game to the Minnesota Vikings. And even if they win that game, the following week, they go up against the Buffalo Bills. And I know the Bills just got embarrassed by the Baltimore Ravens, but I'll trust the Bills up against the Jets in that matchup. The Jets are just mid. The Jets, I think it's 50-50 if they make the playoffs.

I really do. Like if you tell me this team is eight and nine, I could believe it. If you tell me this team goes 10 and seven, I could believe it as well. But yesterday's performance just shows you all this false hope that like Mike Greenberg was spewing on the ESPN and a bunch of other media members that are Jets fans as well. You could change the players. You could change the quarterback.

You could change the coach. It's still the same old Jets. Because a loss like yesterday happened last year. It was not supposed to happen this year, and it did happen this year. A team, by the way, that you beat pretty good last year in the Denver Broncos.

Disaster, disaster, disaster. To me, the Jets are just a mid-team. 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. 8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. What's your evaluation through four games about the J-E-T-S?

Jets, Jets, Jets. Mets have first and third, and this is in the top of the eighth. Lindor is up in a 3-1 game in favor of the Braves. And there are no out. So the Mets are sucking me back in.

That's what's happening. 40 comeback wins this season for the Mets. Francisco Lindor, you better get a base hit here.

That's all I'm going to say. Mets have the top of the order, obviously, with Lindor up as he is their leadoff hitter. Zach Gelb Show, Infinity Sports Network.

Alright, it is the Infinity Sports Network, and it is the Zach Gelb Show. It is 3-3 now between the Mets and the Braves. Let's see what's going to happen here at play at the plate. And the Mets have taken the lead. Mark freakin' Vientos.

Oh, my God. Unbelievable. A sacrifice fly to center field. The Mets' bats were just dead. They were down 3-0 in this one, and they have had a four-run eighth inning.

And they still have a man on first with one out, I believe. Huh. This is just crazy. We went from, in this game in the newsroom, discussing. Alright, they're down 3-0. Just get through this game.

You know, get as much as you could out of McGill, right? Put you ever in the bullpen. Don't use your relievers. To then this team has so much fight.

Whenever you think they're done, they find a way to come on back. And now the Mets are up 4-3, and they still got to go get six more outs. And they're going to be six very tough outs. But it just shows you how baseball, it could change in a snap of a finger. Where now the Mets are doing whatever they can to win. And then it creates an interesting scenario, because the Mets have been awful against the Brewers. So if the Mets win this game, if, if, if, big if, the Mets win this game, if they want to avoid the Brewers, they win the second game. Braves are then out. Diamondbacks actually go to Milwaukee, and the Mets would go to San Diego. Now, let me just be fair here.

I think the second game, if the Mets do win this game, and it's still a long ways to go with this Mets bullpen. Hold on. Oh, my goodness gracious. Brandon Nemo! Two-run home run!

Six-three Mets, a six-run eighth! Oh, my God. I can't believe this. I'm going to pinch myself. Ow! It's real!

Oh, my God. I can't believe it. Stu, this real? This spectacular?

Confirm I'm actually seeing this. This is unbelievable, but yes. This team was dead in this game. Dead! They better close this out. If they end up losing this game, I'm taking the rest of the show off.

Like, I am out for the rest of the show. Oh, my God. This is awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So what I'm saying was, for the next game of the Mets win this one, pitch Adam Audovino for nine innings. Get that bum out there for nine innings so the Mets don't have to use him in a potential wildcard series.

It's kind of crazy, Stu, and it's kind of a sad but also a crazy and true sentence. This Met team is the third most fun team in my lifetime. 06, 2015.

Those are the two. And then this one. Like the 2022 team became so unlikable in September because they were good, really good. And they were just lifeless, lifeless down the stretch. This team, I don't know how they're this good.

And they always find a way. Oh, this is awesome. Really awesome.

Alrighty. We got a lot of craziness going on down behind the scenes. So we got on the air with two scheduled guests. Aaron Murray at 4 p.m. Eastern Time and then David Ortiz at 5.20 p.m. Eastern Time. Since then, we have booked Kalen DeBoer, the head coach at Alabama, who is going to stop by at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. And I just got confirmation that Mark Stoops, the head coach of Kentucky, is going to join us coming up at 3.40 p.m. Eastern Time.

So in about 15 minutes. So let me quickly move away from the baseball and get to the college football from over the weekend. I'll give you five quick college football takes. Mark Stoops is the most underrated coach in the country. And A&M fans, I know you won over the weekend.

I was hoping that you were going to lose because A&M fans wanted no part of Mark Stoops as their head football coach. This man has had two 10-win seasons at Kentucky. He is a fine football coach and I think he's the most underrated football coach in the country. Now, two weeks ago, he had a great approach for about 58 minutes against Georgia. And he lost to Georgia by one point. I did not like his decision to punt the football in that game.

I thought you needed to be aggressive. But to follow that up two weeks later up against Ole Miss and to make Ole Miss's offense just look average and pedestrian was unbelievable. So that's a heck of a win for Kentucky. It's a heck of a win for Mark Stoops. And Ole Miss, there's still a road for them to get the college football playoff. They only have one loss.

We'll see now if they miss the playoffs. Does that mean Lane Kiffin's back in play for Florida? But it's just one of those scenarios where we need to praise, praise, praise Mark Stoops. Next point, the Big 12, what we're seeing this year is what we saw for years in the Pac-12. The Pac-12, whenever somebody would fall in love with one team, they would lose in the next two weeks. And Utah, right, was the team that, originally before the season started, they were the favorite to win the Big 12.

And then Arizona, who lost to Kansas State a few weeks ago after scoring the first touchdown and then they allowed like 31 unanswered points. I walked in, I said this on Friday, I liked Arizona win the game because that's just what the Big 12 has now become. There's a bunch of good teams in the Big 12. I don't know how many great teams there are, but they're going to beat up on one another and it reminds me a lot like the Pac-12. Next one, Ashton Gente and Travis Hunter, if this continues and those two are not in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation, something is severely wrong with the Heisman Trophy process.

I'm not saying winning, but they have to be finalists in New York. And what Gente did the other night was just crazy. And don't tell me, oh, it's up against Washington State, oh, you know, look at the lack of teams that they're playing, the great teams. He was unbelievable up against Oregon, sensational up against Oregon. But what he did the other night, 26 carries for 259 yards and four touchdowns and you can't tackle the guy.

Through four games, Ashton Gente has 82 carries for 845 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. And on the flip side for Travis Hunter, huge win. I think the most, even more impressive than the TCU win from last year, I thought that was the most impressive win for Coach Prime in Colorado. Double-digit underdog going to UCF, Malzahn we know is a good coach and they smacked him. And Travis Hunter had an interception in the game and also had a touchdown in the game as well receiving.

Hunter and Gente both need to be in New York as Heisman Trophy finalists. The Miami Virginia Tech ending. I thought that game was going to be closer.

Miami would just squeak out with the victory. That's what happened. I don't like that that was officiated. Now let me be clear. I never thought that was a touchdown at the end of the game. But the fact they called it a touchdown and when you watch it, you're like, oh, I really don't know. Like you can't see that it's clear and obvious. I don't know how they overturn it.

But it's weird. I didn't think it was a touchdown. But when they called it a touchdown on the field, I don't get how you overturn it.

But that's one of those 50-50 things the way that it goes. And then finally, how about Alabama? Alabama. So all week long, you heard me Monday through Thursday said I love Alabama in the game. And then Friday happened and I was like, huh, everyone likes Alabama. I'm starting to like Georgia. Here is the bet that I made on that game. I ended up going Alabama plus one and a half.

I purposely stayed away from Alabama money line because I had a thought that this could be a one point game. And Alabama gets out to this ferocious start where that you could just sense when they came out of the locker room. They wanted to show Georgia who's boss and who's the real kings of college football. And they were smacking, absolutely smacking and embarrassing the number one team or, you know, one of the top teams in college football to the last three national championship winners in Georgia in that first half. And then Georgia said, no, we're going to start the punch back.

And I give Georgia credit for the way that they punch back. Beck was God awful in the first half. And then in the second half, he played really well.

But when Georgia takes that lead and misses the two point conversion and it's a one point lead in favor of Georgia, I'm like, thank God I plus one and a half points with Alabama in this one. But then the response right away and the aggressive response, Mill wrote a Ryan Williams who we talked about. He was born in 2007. He's 17 years old. And what he's doing as a freshman is just flat out stupid.

And I mean that in a good way. So Alabama answers back. They get the two point conversion. They go back up by seven. And when Carson Beck and George is driving, I'm thinking they're putting the ball in the end zone and it's going to be, oh, does Georgia go for two or not?

Or do you play for overtime? And then the first half, Carson Beck showed up in the second half. And you had the interception. Alabama wins the game.

Here's the takeaway from that one. Jalen Milro is better under Kalen DeBoer than he was under Nick Saban. And that, to me, shows that Alabama football is in great hands. Now, I'm not dismissing, obviously, when Nick Saban did. He's the greatest college football coach of all time.

He is the standard. He is the king at Alabama. But there is this fear of what Kalen DeBoer was going to be.

And I never got that. Because everywhere Kalen DeBoer has gone, he's had success. And he's an offensive wizard. So four games into his tenure at Alabama. And who knows what Alabama does this year? I had them lose in the national championship game before the season started up against Georgia. And I want to see Georgia, Alabama again. And then maybe another time. I'm good seeing that in the SEC championship game, which I don't know if we'll see it.

And then another time in the playoff. If we get three games between Georgia and Alabama, it's sensational. But it only took four games for Kalen DeBoer to have Alabama back on top being number one in the AP poll. And also everyone talking about Jalen Milro as the Heisman Trophy potential winner this year. That shows that Milro is in a great spot under DeBoer. And Alabama clearly found the right guy to replace Nick Saban.

Alrighty, this is that Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We got a lot on the table today. Mark Stoops, the head football coach of Kentucky. After their huge victory up against Ole Miss, he's going to join us on the other side. Aaron Murray is going to join us in hour number two. And we will also have in the third hour of the show.

How about this one? Kalen DeBoer, the head football coach at Alabama. And then big poppy David Ortiz will stop by as well. Now, you heard me freak out and lose my mind in a positive way about the Mets. Well, we're going to hear that probably again as Marco Valletti is going to update you on this game and so much more. Here is El Capitan Marco Valletti with the Sports Flash. Alrighty, this is that Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. And it's time to ask the pros where you, the listener, get to ask us a question. It's brought to you by O'Reilly Auto Parts. Simply tweet your question at infsportsnet or at Zach Gelb using the hashtag Ask the Pros.

Be listening later in the show where we might answer your question. Think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all your car care needs. Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people. At O'Reilly Auto Parts.

O'Reilly Auto Parts. Let's head out to the guest line right now. Very happy for my next guest. They had a huge victory over the weekend on Saturday, taken down number six at the time Ole Miss by a final score of 20 to 17. And that is the head football coach of the Kentucky Wildcats in Mark Stoops. Coach, first and foremost, congratulations.

I would ask you how you're doing. But after Saturday, I think I know the answer to that one. So thank you for stopping on by. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me, obviously. Yeah, it definitely feels a little different on a Monday after a victory like that. So very proud of our team, proud of the effort. I think we've gotten better and better, you know, since week two and we've needed to.

So it's been fun to see the team grow. You look at the end of that game. You guys take the lead.

You're up 20 to 17. You know what Ole Miss can do on offense. They're coming down the field and they have to settle for a field goal attempt. You know what's on the line when the kick was no good. Just kind of take me through how you process that one, knowing what you guys were able to accomplish on Saturday.

Yeah, it was, you know, it's always dramatic fashion, right? For us, it was interesting because they, you know, during during that drive, we had them on a third and long and they called a completion on the field that was ultimately overturned. And so they converted a kind of a wild fourth and 11 off a scramble, broken, you know, broken play off schedule play, completed a fourth and 11.

And so, you know, yeah, you're thinking yourself, here we go again. We've got to stop this dynamic offense for another three, four plays. And we were able to do that. It just, you know, is a testament to our defensive coaches, the plan that they have and our players seeing it all the way through. Just a couple of plays earlier, you know, late in the game, you know, we had a defensive end, J.J. Weaver, you know, run down, you know, Jackson Dart on the far side of the field for, you know, three or four yard loss. But those yards were very critical in this game, very critical to the field goal and what it came down to. So I thought our guys really played extremely hard and relentless throughout the game. So, you know, hats off to our team for playing so hard. It's a tremendous effort with that high octane offense that Ole Miss has to hold them to 17 points. What did you sense from your guys defensively during the week and what was kind of your message to them defensively during the week?

Well, you know, we knew and have great respect for Ole Miss. You know, Lane is a tremendous coach and they're always hard to defend. And especially at third place, they start extremely fast. They did once again in our game, they scored on the first possession.

But it's hard once you get your cleats in the ground, kind of get a little bit of a handle on that tempo. So, you know, we knew we had to weather the storm early and we told them that our players did that. But, you know, we had to win up front. We had to be disruptive and try to get them a little bit off schedule. But it's hard.

They make it hard. They're very balanced team. They know how to run the ball and make you play with numbers. And then they have some dynamic playmakers outside that you have to be able to win some one-on-one. So I think so that was the big thing was trying to be disruptive up front, you know, be strong in the run game and not let them, you know, be able to run and throw. You know, so, you know, for the most part, you know, we handled the run game, you know, pretty effectively, which gave us the opportunity to mix up some coverages. And our players just played. They made plays and they were competitive. And, you know, Coach Brad White and our staff had a great plan and the players played relentless.

Mark Stoops here with us after Kentucky's huge victory taken down at the time, number six Ole Miss. You guys had that game up against Georgia where you lost by one. And when you lose a game like that, I wonder how a team is going to bounce back. We know what you guys did up against Ohio beating them 41 to 6.

And then you had this tremendous effort on Saturday. What does that say about your team's resilience? Because after the game and how it finished up against Georgia, I was really wondering how you guys were going to respond and how tough a football team you guys ended up having. Yeah, yeah, I think, you know, what you probably hear and people outside of our conference probably get tired of hearing about it. But, you know, when you play within our league, you have to play so hard each and every week.

It's just so physical, so challenging in different ways each week. And, you know, we had to pour an awful lot into that Georgia game, but we needed to improve. You know, you go back to the week two and, you know, and didn't play very good and credit South Carolina for playing well and dictating how we played. But we needed to improve and our players have poured an awful lot into that. I felt like we went into the Georgia game and our players left it on the field.

I thought we had a good plan. It came down to a couple of plays that we didn't make. We improved, you know, with Ohio and then we had another challenge of going to Oxford and playing Ole Miss and, you know, another top five team on the road. And our players responded once again. They played, they prepared very well. I felt like we needed to continue to improve just that much more.

We certainly did that going into Oxford. And then, you know, it came down to making those critical plays. You know, there's going to be a lot of one score games in our league and certainly for us.

And our players made some plays in critical moments and that was the difference. Mark Stoops here with us. Coach, I'll be honest with you. And I'm not always a go for it, go for it guy. But I didn't like the decision to punt it up against Georgia.

I know I'm not the first one to say that to you. But then when you're down 17 to 13 to Ole Miss with a little under four minutes to go on fourth and seven, you're backed up at your own 20. You guys get the big conversion but kind of take me through that decision.

And was there maybe any carryover from the decision to not to go for it two weeks ago up against Georgia? Well, you know, there's always the instincts in your gut to feel, you know, what you need to do. You know, every game is a little bit different. Every situation is a little bit different. I don't strictly listen to analytics.

I know what they say at the moment because I have somebody feeding it to me at all times. So I knew very clearly where I was at in both circumstances. In the Georgia game, we were in that game because of field position, because of defense. Yards were very hard to come by if you didn't notice that.

You know what I mean? Because we kicked field goals. You know, and so field position and defense was the entire way we were in that game. There was three minutes and 50 seconds left and we had an opportunity to pin them. There was plenty of time. And I thought field position was a premium.

And here's the big difference. A field goal beats Georgia in that moment. You know, if we get the stop and gets it. In this game, if I go for it right there, time was going to be a premium. And so if we held them to three, it really didn't matter because we needed to score a touchdown anyway.

We were down four. There's a big difference there. So I don't understand where people don't put that all together. You know what I mean? And what they don't understand all those things, you know what I mean?

But I mean, it doesn't matter to me if there's no outside influence. But if you really think it through in the Ole Miss game, we needed a touchdown either way. You know what I mean? So it was worth going for it right there. And time would have been in my favor then if we didn't make it. Mark Stoops here with us. Hey, by the way, were you guys surprised you weren't in the top 25 this week? I know you have two losses on the season, but you lose to Georgia by one and then you beat a top six team at the time in Ole Miss. Did it surprise you guys you weren't in the top 25? Yeah. You know, I don't know.

I really, you know, don't even look at any of that stuff. I know our team's been playing very hard and I think most people don't give South Carolina enough credit. I think when they saw, you know, that they think, you know, that we, you know, you know, I think people don't give South Carolina enough credit. That's a good football team.

They took care of business and and we didn't play very good and they did give them credit. But most people were banking everything on that because everybody had these preconceived notion of what teams should and shouldn't be. And so, you know, I think, you know, we play an extremely brutal schedule. We got to be ready each and every week. And that's just a fact.

Yeah. And you don't want just this game to define your season and then the rest of it get away from you guys. You know, you're off this week before you have Vanderbilt. But just where do you think your team is at with what you've seen so far through the first five games of the season?

Well, I think that's the big thing after week two. I just mentioned this South Carolina game. I've seen a very resilient team.

I mean, we bounce back and have to have to reload and play Georgia. We did that. You know, I thought we improved a great deal, even though we didn't win. Our team knew that that we went toe to toe with a great team and improved.

You want the end result to be a win. But but bottom line is, I want to see our growth. I want to see our team keep on improving.

We did that. And then we took care of business versus Ohio, which we don't always do sometimes, you know. And we knew that was a very good, very well coached team. Team coming off, you know, winning 10 games two years in a row, winning bowl games two years in a row. They know how to win.

They know how to coach. And and our team went out there, took care of business. And then we needed to take it a step further and go on the road and beat a great Ole Miss team. And, you know, we made some we made some improvement right now. It's a time to reflect a little bit on the good things we've done through the season, the areas where we fell short. We've got to get our health right. And we've got to prepare for the middle part of the season. So there's a ton of work to be done as soon as I jump off here with you. I'm going out on the practice field and we're going back to work. The last thing I'll ask you, the state of your program through the years.

I always appreciate you when you come on. I just said before you got on the show, I think you're the most underrated coach in the country. You had 210 win seasons at Kentucky. Things have been really going well for you guys. You know, I know you probably won't comment on this part. I thought what the A&M fans did to this offseason was absolutely disgraceful.

And I just didn't understand what they were seeing. But a win like that and what your program has been the last few years. Just what does it say about not only the president of Kentucky football, but obviously the future? Well, I mean, you know, I I'm very proud of our our team and the work that we've done. You know, everybody wants to win more games, you know, and that's the bottom line. But, you know, our team plays. I've been proud of the way we've responded. Everybody's going to get knocked down. You know what I mean? For the most part, somebody's going to get knocked down through the season. It's not a matter of, you know, when or if or how you get knocked down.

It's about the way you respond. And I've been proud of our coaches, proud of our team. The way we responded, the resilience that we have and to go on the road and beat that team just shows the character. And the toughness of this team. And that's what I'm proud of.

And that's what's able to, you know, for me to have the sustained success that we've had. You know, it's not easy. You know, it's not easy here at Kentucky.

It's not easy at any school in the SEC, you know, and a lot of other places. But we just continue to put our head down, work hard. I feel very blessed to be the head coach of Kentucky for the 12th season. And we're going to continue to try to improve here throughout this year. Coach, happy for you. Happy for your program.

Heck of a win on Saturday. Thanks for doing this. I appreciate you. Thank you. There you go.

Mark Stoops, head football coach at Kentucky. And, you know, just what a win that was. And not only that, you know, I'm doing the interview and then I see what's going on the Mets game out of the corner of my eye. The Mets, they find a way to have this epic comeback. And as coach has given me this answer right about the decision to go for it there and why he didn't two weeks ago, the Mets just choked this game. They choked the game.

Are you kidding me? So it wasn't like I wasn't listening to coach, but I was distracted because the Mets just had this great, great comeback. They were down, down three, nothing. They put up six runs. Six runs up six, three. And as we're in the top of the ninth, the Mets are down by, by a run. I can't believe it. That's what I was like, because I know he was like going, he wasn't going.

I don't think he was being combative, but he was just defending himself and the decision. I'm like, hey, what about not making it in the top twenty five because I'm sitting there and I'm just like, I want to listen to your coach. I want to hear your answer. But out of the corner of my eye, I see my baseball team just, just puking it up. So it's seven, six. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

In favor of the Braves, one out in the top of the ninth. And I saw Coach Stoops. He was hanging around there after the phone call a little bit.

And when I'm explaining that, he's laughing. And I get his point, like they're two different decisions. I still thought he should have elected to go for it up against Georgia. But I don't think he went for it against Ole Miss because he didn't go for it up against Georgia.

They are two totally different situations. Oh, boy. Oh, Santa, I guess we don't need to put out the Brandon Nimmo clip. You could just put that up into a you could just you could just throw that in the the ether.

I was going to say the paper shredder, but it's all digital. Oh, boy. You know, it's kind of tough to do this show today when you love a team so much and you're being a serious talk show host, talking to Mark Stoops after a big victory. I'm sitting there and I'm just I want to yell. I was like, Melton up. Hold on, Mark. They just got to base it. They got one on with one out of the top of the ninth. It isn't over. Aaron Murray decks.