Alrighty, hour number two of our radio program.
It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. One of my favorite partnerships that we have are with the fine folks with the Gridiron Grates Association and also Southern Recipe Pork Rinds. Mark Singleton does a phenomenal job and the Korean BBQ Pork Rinds are some of my favorites.
And then Gridiron Grates, I've been going to their Super Bowl party each and every year and they do a great job for former players in the NFL. We have the Southern Recipe Pork Rinds group once again and we are all celebrating Pork Rinds Appreciation Day this year with the It's Crunch Time Sweepstakes. From now until Pork Rind Appreciation Day, which is on February 9th right here in the year of 2025, fans can engage on porkrinds.com where they can enter to win the grand prize of two tickets as well as airfare and hotel to the 2026 Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California and a year's supply of pork rinds. Don't miss out. Visit porkrinds.com to enter to get a chance to win.
Get in on the action and it's crunch time. Enter to win at porkrinds.com. And quite frankly, if you win, you know, maybe if you're listening to this show and that's how you end up winning, you should be sending me some pork rinds. I don't care about the Super Bowl tickets.
I care about the pork rinds. And now joining us to talk about this and so much more is a Bills legend, an NFL legend. He's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He's been an NFL MVP. And that is Thurman Thomas. Thurman, appreciate the time. How you been, my friend? I've been friend. You know what? You're making me get ready to go back in there and grab my barbecue pork rinds. You talked about it so well.
It was unbelievable. And you know what? You couldn't, you could be a sponsor for them. I can tell you that right now. It is great to be here with you and great to be here in honor of, you know, Gridiron Grace and pork rinds and giving away tickets to the Super Bowl next year in Santa Clara. I mean, it has been, it's been a wonderful couple of weeks as I've been with the pork rinds. Well, it's great to see that you're on their team now. We'll talk more about that in just a bit.
But I have a serious question for you right out of the gate because this is near and dear to my heart. Blue cheese or ranch when it comes to your Buffalo wings? Oh, man, you shouldn't even mention ranch. Don't even mention ranch.
Thank you. It's a big character flaw with me. Like when we do these interviews with draft prospects on this show, we'll have people that will say ranch and I go, you're off my draft board.
I can't take you. I don't understand anyone that wants to dunk a beautiful Buffalo wing in ranch. It's disgusting. Smother that bad boy with blue cheese.
It really is. And you know what? I tell you what, it has really taken off throughout kind of the country when you're talking about wings and blue, blue cheese and ranch. I mean, you hear some of the stories that have come out of Buffalo with players like players who have never been here before. They don't know what to say. I mean, they probably from down south on the West Coast and they like ranch. They had no idea what blue cheese is. So they would automatically say, yes, I want ranch. And the fans here were crucified.
They would tear up and down for not knowing the difference. Jonathan Taylor once brought that to my attention as well. When I asked him that, he said, if you're from down south, it's ranch. But us East Coast guys were all over blue cheese, obviously. And, you know, with the Buffalo conversation, I don't know what your favorite wing spot is. But for years, mine was dust whenever I go to Buffalo. And then one of my college buddies, Dion Dawkins, who still plays for the Bills.
Tyler Medica, which is now with the Steelers. They sent me to Bar Bill. Bar Bill is phenomenal in Buffalo. Yes. You know what?
There's a lot. And I'm not going to get into what bar makes the best ways. I would just say this. My wife of 30 years makes the best wings. You know what? That's a great answer. Happy wife, happy life.
And when we see you in person at the Super Bowl, I'm expecting you to bring me some wings this year and they're going to be covered in blue cheese. All right. Absolutely.
Absolutely. So you have won an NFL MVP before. There's a big debate this year. For a while, Saquon Barkley was getting talked about. But now it feels as if the MVP debate with the regular season is over is down between Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. What are your thoughts on the MVP conversation this year?
Well, you know what? It's one of those years where you look at Lamar and what he's done. I mean, he's actually raised his game to another level.
And that's with adding guys like Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers coming to the forefront. He's always had Mark Andrews. But, you know, on the other hand, you know, Josh lost his number one receiver this year. And people were saying that he don't have a number one.
So how could this absolutely how could this work? And I think he's done a phenomenal job. I think we've had like 12 or 13 guys that scored touchdowns this year.
So when he said at the beginning of the year, everybody eats, he means that. I mean, because he's spreading the ball around and guys are making play. It is not just one guy. It's a collective team. Obviously, look, I would love to have a number one, but we've gotten this far with the number two seed and we haven't got that. So but I do give credit to the offensive line. They've done an outstanding job in protecting Josh.
So, hey, you know, it's a hard decision. You know, I'm a Buffalo guy, so I want Josh Allen to win. I am not going to even, you know, I want Josh Allen to win. I want Saquon Barkley to come in second because he's a running back. We don't get this much. We don't get this much love a lot these days. So but you know what?
It's it's not in my control. So I'm going to stick with Josh. Yeah, I don't think you could go wrong here. And I know what Lamar is doing this year. Sensational Saquon too. But what you said, like you look at Lamar, he has Derek Henry. You look at Josh Allen.
I would argue his next best offensive players. James Cook. James Cook is a good running back, but he's not Derek Henry, you know?
Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree with that. But, you know, when you look at these two different type of offense, James Cook's fits our office perfectly and Derek Henry fits Baltimore's office perfectly.
So if they switch, I don't know which one would have a better day. I mean, James Cook has been a phenomenal guy coming out of the backfield, catching a while. I think we got really three really good running backs. Ray Davis and Ty Johnson.
I think all three of those guys, whenever they're on the football field, they make plays all the time. So I'm glad that I'm not in that decision to make that final say of who is going to be the MVP. But I know if it's one or the other, we're going to hear this debate for a couple of years. And I think where it really comes out to which one of these guys can beat Patrick Mahomes. Yeah.
And you know what? I know that the MVP is a regular season award. I don't get that fired up, even though we're talking about it right now. But the MVP, because we've seen Josh be really good for a while.
We've seen Lamar be obviously elite for a while. We're already two MVPs. It's now go time. You're in the postseason.
Who gives a rat's ass? Thurman Thomas, who wins the MVP? Go beat the other because we'll probably see Ravens and Bills division around if everything goes to according to plan. And then you got the Chiefs waiting and you could win an MVP if you don't beat Mahomes when it matters. What does it actually mean this year? I agree with your point.
You know what? It's not about, you know, winning MVP in a regular season. It's about beating Patrick Mahomes and the number one seed Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead. And I know it's going to be a tough ride for both because these teams have to win four games in order to win a Super Bowl. Kansas City only has to win three. And I think that's really kind of what's separating these teams. And they got an extra week of rest, Kansas City. And I think them getting a home field advantage. You've seen this with New England for 20 years. They were even the one or two seed.
And that's how they made all those Super Bowls, you know, because they were right there at the end. So Lamar, obviously, people want him to do better in the playoffs. But I think Josh has been pretty good in the playoffs.
I think Josh has been toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the quarterbacks in the National Football League in the playoffs. He just haven't gotten over to hump to get to the AFC Championship game and get to the Super Bowl. And the Bills have had some devastating losses.
You know this as well, right? Being on great teams that be so close. There's a narrative that forms that even when you have a really successful season, it's Yeah, but can you get the job run? Do you feel like this team this year is equipped to get past that mental hurt or is it until you do it, man? It's easy to say, but you got to actually put action on the field. I think this team is mentally ready to do that.
I've watched them throughout the entire year. You know, they went 13 and 4. They beat, you know, they beat the number one seed in the AFC.
They beat Detroit in the NFC. So I think this team is ready to take that next step. And I put a lot of that on Sean McDermott. You know, he's had to endure like for the last couple of years with, you know, the 13 seconds or why didn't you call a timeout here? You know, he's actually endure all of that.
Let me tell you something. It took any read a while to get his first Super Bowl win and he just happened to get it with Patrick Mahomes. And I think some McDermott is in the same boat. I think he has a team that he was obviously I think some players could be better.
Like we miss Jordan for you, miss Michael Hyde and guys like that. But we've had guys that have filled in and done a great job for us. And I think, you know, they're confident over there and one Bill's drive that this could be our year. But we need to get off to a great start against the Broncos.
Yeah. And you look at the Broncos, they got nothing to lose in this one. They've already had a successful season.
Those guys have no pressure. No one's expecting them to win this game coming up on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern time. So I'll be curious to see what the Broncos are out of the gate, but even more so what the bills are out of the gate. If they could just kind of squash them right from the jump and not make this a game in the fourth quarter.
Yeah, I think so. I think the bills need to get off to a fast start. I think the one factor that I'm really afraid of is that you have Sean Payton on the other side. He's known to do a couple of things that could really disrupt your offense and your defense. Vance Johnson, I think he's done a great job being a defensive coordinator there. They led the league in sacks and with 63. And so that's a big point coming in.
Like, do you do you bliss Josh Allen or do you rush for? Because they haven't seen a quarterback like this before. I mean, they visited. They came here last year and they beat us. But a guy like Josh Allen, you just don't see a guy like this all the time and very often.
So hopefully, you know, Josh could be that guy that Superman that we need. But this needs to be a collective group with offense, defense and special teams. Thurman Thomas here with us in a few more moments. We'll get back to gridiron greats and also Southern recipe pork rinds in just a moment. So obviously Bill's fans have been talking about when the Super Bowl for a long time. Same with the Detroit Lions. Can you imagine what that Super Bowl would be like with those two fan bases? If you get Bill's Mafia and all the crazy Lions fans in the big game coming up in New Orleans. I don't even know if those fan bases would get through it.
Dude, I have I have thought about that and I have talked to Barry Sanders about that. I'm talking about it will be a Lake Erie showdown, you know, you know, obviously, you know, we've been before having one one in Detroit has never been to one. So, I mean, it'll be one team or another coming out with their first victory. But they have Dan Campbell and those guys have done an outstanding job down there. I'm sure you and everybody else can remember when they were all at 16, but they just kept getting better and better. Can get better draft draft picks and trap choices. And they built that team. And I tell you what, Jared Goff is really turned into a nice quarterback.
He's not under the pressure of McVeigh out in California. He's with a guy, Dan Campbell, who's going to be like, yeah, this is a guy who can go out and have a beer with, you know, and that's the type of players that, you know, coaches that players really love. Yeah, it's kind of funny because when I was at the Super Bowl a few years ago, when the Rams were in it at their home stadium, I left the game afterwards. And you wouldn't even be able to tell that it was a home team Super Bowl, you know, going to a Super Bowl neutral site with all the money that they spend.
Bills play the lines in the Super Bowl. You will know who everyone's rooting for after the game because whoever wins will be having the greatest party ever. And whoever loses, man, they're going to walk out of the stadium like they don't even know what actually hit them.
Like they don't even know what hit somebody. Like I said, like you said, it would be interesting to see because I know exactly how the Buffalo Bills fans are going to celebrate. I mean, we already know that.
I mean, it's going to be a year round thing where they're going to be celebrating. So we waited. I mean, we haven't been there since 1993. It's been a while. It's been a while. You know, we went through the 17 years where we didn't even go to the playoffs. And now we had a chance and got one of the best quarterbacks, not the best player in the National Football League. And they're ready.
We're ready. And man, I just hope because now I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the Buffalo Bills, not a former player. I'm a fan. And I see what these fans go through. And let me tell you something.
It's not fun at times, but it is great at times. And if they win the Super Bowl, man, it's you guys have never seen anything like this before. All right. Before we get to an ad up here, I'll ask you about Gridiron Grates and also Southern Recipe Pork Rinds. But I have a great running back, a Hall of Fame running back on the show. The running back position the last few years took a hit, right? You could only win running back by committee.
You don't need to overpay these bell cow backs. This year that's changed with Derrick Henry joining the Ravens. Ravens. Boom.
Right again. Once a Super Bowl contender when a lot of people are out of them. Eagles. Problems in the locker room last year. They had Saquon Barkley. Boom. Everyone's thinking they could win a Super Bowl again to see what Saquon and Derrick Henry has done for the running back position.
What are kind of your thoughts on that? I love it. I love it.
I love it. Now, they're probably not going to pay us the big bucks, but we're in a situation now where you know what? For years, it was a passing league and you were going out. You were getting these defensive back. You were getting guys who could get to the who could get to the quarterback. Now, with this running game, you're going to have to maybe devise something a little bit differently now. Because we're not just going to be getting toward the running, toward the quarterback. We're going to be running the football and we're going to have guys that are 300 to 315 pounds that are going to be hitting on these guys who are 250, 260. Who are trying to get to the quarterback.
So, I'm loving it. I've been really looking at the draft this year of all the running backs that are coming out. I don't know if there will be any, it might be a couple of first-run draft picks this year. But I can tell you what, whatever running backs coming into the league, they're going to start making a difference here in the next five to six years. Yeah, you got some good running backs. Ollie Gordon, Ashton Gentio I've been a big fan of. Hampton from UNC is also pretty good. There's some good backs coming out of this draft. Yeah, there really is. And so, yeah, I'm really excited about that.
Last thing I'll ask you, the floor is yours, my friend. This has been a tremendous appearance today. Gridiron Grates is very close to my heart. I love the work that the fine folks do each and every year there. And also Southern Recipe Pork Rinds.
Tell me everything that we got cooking. Yeah, you know, it's just, it's a great organization led by Mike Dicker, you know, Roger Waskey and everybody. Actually, Brian Ehrlacher has stepped in for Mike Dicker. I didn't realize Mike Dicker was 85 years old.
I mean, I've seen him a couple of years ago and there's no way he's in his 80s. But they've had Brian Ehrlacher really take his spot. And, you know, it's been a great organization for a long, long time. Not everybody can be a millionaire. Not everybody can pay their bills. This is what a brotherhood does for us. We come and we help our brothers that are in need for financial and medical needs. And that's what we do.
And that's why we're trying to just raise as much money as we possibly can. And make sure that everybody goes to porkrinds.com. Enter your name for February 9th, 2025 Fan Appreciation Day. And yes, so it's going to be great. It's awesome.
Like I said, you win two tickets to next year's Super Bowl in Santa Clara. And yeah, it's great. And I'm so glad to be a part of it.
And once again, for more information, www.porkrinds.com. Are they bringing you back out to Buffalo this year for any of these playoff games? Because I'll admit this to you now. I'm a Patriot fan. I went to that playoff game a few years ago, Patriots and Bills. They had you and Jim Kelly before the game getting the fans all riled up. And I was like, we are cooked. We got no chance. I should leave right now.
Well, you know what? I live here, so I'm going to be on the field. I live here, so I'm going to be on the field getting those guys fired up. Hey look, it's one of those games where it's the playoffs and I want my group to do well. James Cook, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson, Reggie Gilliam. I want all those guys to do well.
But it's going to be an exciting game for Bills Mafia and the fans around. But I just think that we're ready to go and we're going to give this thing a good run this year. Appreciate the time. Thanks so much for doing this. All right. Appreciate you. Go Bills. There you go. Thurman Thomas joining us.
Excellent appearance on the show. Talking about the Buffalo Bills, the state of the running back position and also that MVP debate. Let's take a time out here when we do come on back as I crumpled up my run down there for a second. Ah, James Franklin said something today. And I don't necessarily crush James Franklin for what he said. But I do have one problem with what he said.
So like I give him a little compliment and then I'm going to, of course, say something negative about what James Franklin had to say because James Franklin. Right. One of my best friends in America.
I have to go. I'm going to a national championship game. And last year I was very happy. Michigan, Washington.
I love Caitlin DeBoer. I obviously wanted Michigan to win. And I'm rooting for Michigan in that game. And Michigan won. It was awesome.
I was on the field, you know, after the game, all that stuff. This year I'm going. And if I have to pick between Ryan Day and James Franklin and be with all those Ohio State fans and Penn State fans. Hey, Stu, I may give you my credential and say I ain't going. All right. So we'll come on back.
We'll talk about James Franklin next. It's time to ask the pros, where you the listener gets asked us a question. It's brought to you by O'Reilly Auto Parts. Simply tweet your question at INF Sportsnet or at Zach Gelb using the hashtag. Ask the pros.
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Guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. I feel like still on a play caller right now with this binder up and and having the binder if you're watching us on YouTube. I don't know why.
I looked at the corner out of the corner of my eye and I saw the screen and I go, I feel as if I am offensive coordinator Zach Gelb. Maybe I'll get a virtual interview. I just read that the Bears are doing all virtual interviews for their first round of interviews. And they will not meet with candidates in person, even though there are multiple candidates that can meet in person.
That's from Diana Rossini. The first round of Bears head coaching interviews will all be virtual, even with the multiple candidates they could meet in person. When you get to the Patriots, by the way, we talked about how yesterday they interviewed Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich. They are scheduled to interview Mike Vrabel tomorrow. Ben Johnson on Friday. The Patriots have also reached out to the Lions to interview Aaron Glenn.
So those are some other names. I think we all believe that it's going to be Mike Vrabel with the Patriots, but we'll have to wait and see. Tomorrow we are going to bring back the coaching carousel.
I have done this when I was in the 6 to 10 p.m. Eastern time slot, never the 3 to 6 p.m. Eastern time slot. We will have an insider on or someone associated with every job that's open up and we will have them make their prediction in a draft of who's going to be the next head football coach of their football team. So that will come your way tomorrow on the show. So I've seen the headline.
I have refused to listen to it yet because sometimes you could see a headline and then you listen to the audio and you go, OK, I'm not actually as irate as I thought I was going to be. But I saw a headline today saying James Franklin called out Notre Dame for not being in a conference and he believes that all schools should be in a conference. So let's listen up. James Franklin, head coach of Penn State, plays Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame tomorrow. Winner goes to the college football national championship game.
This is James Franklin talking about how he believes all schools should have to join a conference. I think it should be consistent across college football. Again, this is no knock at coach or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference. I think everybody should play a conference championship game or no one should play a conference championship game.
So I just think things need to be consistent across college football. So he's doing this press conference with Marcus Freeman. It's a joint press conference before you're about to play in a semifinal game tomorrow, which will determine if you go to the national championship game or not. Now, let me give a little context here. You get asked a question, right?
You could either give an answer that actually answers the question or not. A lot of coaches in moments like that do the latter rather than the former. Also, when you're at one of these big national events, you get a lot of national media that ask general big picture questions. You know, when I go to these press conferences, for example, do I cover either the Steelers or the Eagles on a regular basis?
No. When I go to Steelers, Eagles, though, on a credential, I ask Russell Wilson point blank, you guys are stuck on being a good team. That's been the perception with the Steelers even before you got there.
Why do you believe that they could be a great team? But some other people are like, oh, should Notre Dame have to join a conference? Because that's always a conversation with Notre Dame. I want to say I'm surprised that James Franklin would do this, but I'm not. Because James Franklin is very opinionated and he's also kind of tone deaf. Now, I don't think this provides motivation to Notre Dame. I don't think Xavier Watts is saying, how dare that James Franklin say that we should have to play in a conference and we should have to play in a conference championship game. So his opinion may not be wrong.
And I'm not going to crush him for it. But I'll just ask you a question. But before I ask the question, Stu, and before I make a statement, play me that one more time. James Franklin set the stage joint press conference with Marcus Freeman before both these teams play in a semifinal game tomorrow. The winner goes to the national championship game. The loser has their season end.
This is James Franklin. Notre Dame should have to join a conference. I think it should be consistent across college football. Again, this is no knock at coach or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference. I think everybody should play a conference championship game or no one should play a conference championship game. So I just think things need to be consistent across college football. OK, so he wants consistency.
But here's my thing. Why the heck if Notre Dame hasn't joined the conference, why would they join one now? They make more than enough money. They have great access to get their their football program right everywhere nationally. And also there's a 12 team playoff format that down the road is probably going to increase. And right now we know what the standard is for Notre Dame. In most years, you lose two games or less, two games or less. And the regular season, there is a spot reserved for Notre Dame in the college football playoff. Now, this year, I don't think they could have a four to second loss because of the fact that they lost to Northern Illinois. So next year, if you just have two losses to two big programs or semi big programs and not Northern Illinois, where it's like, oh, that's a monumental upset, David versus Goliath, you're in the college football playoff. So why would Notre Dame join a conference now?
That's the point to me. James Franklin, have your opinion. You believe, hey, Notre Dame should have to be in a conference. All schools should have to be in a conference. Either, you know, everyone has the opportunity to play for a conference championship game or you don't have conference championship games at all. That's what James Franklin said. But why would Notre Dame genuflect and bend the knee now to joining a conference?
It makes no sense. They lost to Northern Illinois. There's still a spot reserved for them in the playoff.
Don't lose another game or in futures, don't lose two games or fewer and you're in. Why would Notre Dame bypass that now? Now, as a fam, would I rather see Notre Dame join the Big Ten or Notre Dame join the ACC full time or the SEC full time? Sure, I would much rather have them do that. But if I'm running Notre Dame, do I think Notre Dame, if I'm the AD, if I'm the president, if I'm the chancellor?
You know, Chancellor Galvin have a nice ring to it. Would I say, hey, let's go join a conference? Heck no.
Why would I do that? Notre Dame doesn't need to do so. And if you say, oh, well, Zach, yes, they do. Well, they're not in a conference right now. They've won two playoff games and they're two wins away from winning a national championship game after having a all time bad loss to Northern Illinois back in week two. So what would be the benefit for Notre Dame individually? Not what us fans want, not what James Franklin want. What would be the benefit for Notre Dame individually to join a conference now? So I don't think that they should.
855-212-4227, 855-212-4227. And also, I don't think they will. All right. We'll take a time out. We'll come on back. Wildcard weekend pressure next. We'll look at all the matchups. Update time first. Here is the act man, Rich Ackerman. All righty.
Zach Gelbshaw. They just said it right here on the Infinity Sports Network. I got a good question here in the YouTube chat from Dan H. If both Ohio State and Penn State make it to the championship game, does this propel the Big Ten as the leading conference in the country in college football?
And you know what? If that does happen this year, I would think so, because last year Michigan won the national championship. This year has been a down year for the SEC. So if Texas doesn't win it all and you get a double whammy in terms of Ohio State and Penn State in the national championship game and you have it once again. Obviously, if Ohio State or Penn State gets in there, the winner wins the national championship being from the Big Ten, which the winner would in that case.
I would say that, yes, entering next season, we would view the Big Ten as the premier conference in college football heading into next year. I specifically worded that because some people listen and be like, oh, this East Coast guy, he hates the SEC. I love the SEC.
Right. I absolutely love the SEC. I know it will against the SEC. I'm like Hickey, who's going to join us in 20 minutes from now, hates the SEC.
I love the SEC. But right now, it's the Big Ten. If the winner of the national championship game is from the Big Ten. How could you say in a tiebreaker that the Big Ten isn't the best conference in the country right now? It doesn't mean that they'll be so for the next five years. But the way that I look at it currently is out of the four power four conferences, the SEC. And I know we used to have the power five, but with it being the power four, the SEC used to clearly be one. But now the SEC and the Big Ten, they're on level playing ground.
They're as close as if as they've ever been before. And it's not crazy to say that the Big Tens had a better year than the SEC. And if they win the championship, whether it's Penn State or Ohio State.
Yeah. And they've been closing the gap the last few years. Few years ago, we had I only thought in a 14 playoff only SEC would ever be able to get two teams in. A few years ago, we saw Michigan and Ohio State both get into the playoff. Last year, we saw Michigan win the national championship.
This year, you could have Penn State. Yuck. Yuck.
The. Gross. Win a championship or Ohio State. Yikes. Yuck.
Gross. Win a championship. But if they do, how can we say the Big Ten entering 2025 isn't the preeminent conference in college football? Now, could the SEC get that back? Yeah. But it is as close as it's ever been before. And they're equals. It goes Big Ten SEC right there. And then there's a drop off. Big 12, ACC. They're both right there.
And then it's everybody else. So there if you were if you had it in terms of shelving. Right. Big Ten and SEC would be on the same shelf. And then the lower shelf would be the ACC and the Big 12, but on the same shelf. So, yeah, that would be a huge year for the Big Ten.
But wouldn't it really be fitting when so many people have prematurely. Right. Kind of danced on the grave of the SEC this year. If Texas ends up beating Ohio State coming up on Friday. And then Texas ends up winning the national championship game up against either Notre Dame or Penn State. That would be something if Texas, you're one of the SEC wins it all.
Also. I would add to these four teams. I can't ask through this question because I know who Stu's rooting for. That of Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame and Texas.
If you don't have a dog in the fight, like I don't have a dog in the fight. One of the schools I root for. Not there. Who would you like to see win the championship the most? And I'm thinking about it. I would say it's Notre Dame. I would. How awesome of a redemption story would that be for Marcus Freeman, where in week two, everyone goes up. He did the Marshall loss again, this time with Northern Illinois.
Get him out. And then this guy would not only be able to win two playoff games, which Brian Kelly never did, never won. And then you win two more games to win a national championship. And Brian Kelly left you to go to SEC country with LSU because he thought he could win a championship there and he couldn't win one at Notre Dame. That would be an awesome redemption story.
It would almost be comparable. To a 16 seed beating a one when Virginia lost to UMBC, I'm pretty sure. Or ever they lost to Virginia.
It was 216 seats to beat. I think it was UMBC and you had Virginia lose to them in the following year. They go on to win the national championship. That would be that to college basketball, except it happening in one season in football. Where you lose to Northern Illinois. In week two, everyone writes you off and then you get your revenge. You end up winning the championship in the same season.
So I know it's tough for me to separate. Because there there is feelings there against Penn State and against Ohio State. But if I didn't have a dog in the fight, which like one of my teams aren't there, even though there are some schools that I don't like that are there. I would say it's tough to say that the story of Notre Dame wouldn't be the best story.
And you look at the other stories. Hey, Penn State, you could never say again. And jeez, this would stink for us. You could never say again that James Franklin can't win the big game. If James Franklin wins two more games, I will have to finally retire shredding James Franklin. If Ohio State wins two more games, then any of the negative ammunition that you had on Ryan Day, which was you can't beat Michigan, that's still there. But he would win the national championship.
It's tough to really put down Ryan Day. Texas, though, Sark, you know, he's got a lot of credit. But the last two years, you know how many years we asked for? Is Texas back? Remember Sam Ellinger doing that bowl game?
He's like, we're back. I still feel as if Texas doesn't get enough praise for what they've done the last two years. They made the playoff. They won the Big 12. And now their first year in the SEC, they're in the SEC championship game. And now they're the only SEC team remaining and they're two wins away from winning it all. And I think that's really because of the Arch Manning factor where we're all sitting there, we're watching Texas, we're like, oh, yeah, they're good.
Right. But I want to know what happens when Arch Manning is the full time starter there. So I would say, as I try to get as biased as possible, if I could say if I get my pick of any of those four teams winning, I think the best story would be Notre Dame winning a championship.
Alrighty. Getting to this weekend in the NFL. Just the wildcard weekend games. I am going to Philadelphia for Eagles and Packers. So you can follow me social media at Zach Gelb, Twitter and Instagram, Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B.
I guess Rome's no longer on our network, so we don't have to say X anymore. But Twitter, Instagram at Zach Gelb is where you can find me for all the behind the scenes actions at Lincoln Financial Field for Packers and Eagles. Pressure wildcard weekend. Chargers and Texans. I think the most pressure is on C.J. Stroud. Like, yes, I expect the Chargers to win the game, but C.J.
Stroud, he was really the talk of the league last year, one of the guys that we talked about a lot. And we were waiting for the Texans to take that next step. And the Texans just don't look like a team this year that are ready to take that next step. So if you could find a way to salvage this season, win a playoff game and then get your moment of praise up against the Chargers, who are not a great team, but they have an unbelievable coach in Jim Harbaugh, it would be a really good national moment for C.J. Stroud. But if they lose, I think the conversation about C.J.
Stroud is, yeah, you had a great year one, year two, there's reasons why your team didn't get to the level that we thought. But now there's question marks on how great the Texans can be moving forward. Steelers and Ravens.
This is a great question. Is there more pressure on Mike Tomlin or Lamar Jackson? Because when I first saw that, I said, oh, Mike Tomlin, you haven't won a playoff game since 2016. But if the Steelers lose with how the last few weeks have gone, am I really slamming Mike Tomlin on Monday?
No, I'm not. If the Ravens lose this year in the wild card round to the Steelers, we are slamming the Ravens, slamming the Ravens on Monday. So I think Lamar is under more pressure than Mike Tomlin. Broncos and Bills, it's Sean McDermott. McDermott, and even Thurman Thomas said it, Josh Allen has had some great statistical performances in the postseason.
But I look at them gains that they haven't won there. The 13 second game bass last year, missing that that kick. Sean McDermott, if they can't beat the Broncos and the Broncos have nothing to lose, the Bills have everything to lose. I think we're shredding Sean McDermott on Monday. Packers and Eagles. I know that Jalen Hurts returned to the practice field today, which is an encouraging sign.
Jalen Hurts is under the most pressure in that one. Commanders and Bucks. So I think it's Todd Bowles.
I do write the commanders. They're playing with house money. They're in the postseason. The Bucks Baker Mayfield had a really good season. But even though Todd Bowles has done a good job, Post Brady has done a good job with Bruce Arians, no longer being the head coach. And hey, they keep on winning the division if they lose to the commanders at home. I don't think they get crushed. But could some people say, hmm, maybe you can upgrade at the head coach?
I guess that's possible. And also, I want to see the game plan that Todd Bowles does devise going up against Jaden Daniels, who's been one of the more electrifying players in the league. Vikings and Rams.
I would actually argue that outside of Lamar Jackson. And you could even argue that there's more pressure on this player this week because I don't think anyone expects the Ravens to lose. I don't believe like, hey, can the Steelers win it's the visual game?
Sure. If you put up a poll, who's more likely to win the Ravens or Steelers? I think it would be like a runaway Ravens. If I ask you who's more likely to win Vikings or Rams?
I think those results are really close. And Sam Donald's been praised all year. He's been wonderful.
And then last week he had a moment where you go, oh, mono Sam and seeing ghost Sam is back. He was really bad in that game up against the line. Jittery, the number one reason why they lost that game. Throwing the ball way too high, missing Hopkinson, missing Addison, missing Jefferson. If Darnell loses this game to the Rams and does not play well.
It goes from a wonderful season to then not a bad season for him. But now there's questions and I think a lot of people would lean, OK, go to J.J. McCarthy next year. Let Sam Darnell go get his contract from somebody else. So that's who I think the pressure is on the most this weekend. Chargers, Texans, C.J. Stroud. And so let me know if you think there's anybody else here that I miss. Steelers, Ravens, Lamar, Broncos, Bills, Sean McDermott, Packers, Eagles, Jalen Hurts.
Commanders, Bucks, Todd Bowles, Vikings, Rams, Sam Darnell. Does anyone that jumps out to you just wonder? Maybe Sirianni. You know what? I went Hurts, Sirianni is a fascinating one.
You actually, you know what? If Hurts loses, maybe he gets the excuse, oh, he missed the last few games because of the concussion. If Sirianni loses this game, he goes from a lot of people thinking he's safe. I don't know if they would fire him, but there would be talks of that. You're 100 percent right, Stu.
There's more pressure on Sirianni than Jalen Hurts. See, that's good checks and balances right there. There'd be some other talk to your host that would get very annoyed there. But I asked a question, Stu gave a better answer, and then boom, that's wonderful. That's phenomenal. That, you know what, Stu? That's why you're Stu. That's why we go to you in those spots.
8-5-5, 2-1-2, 42-27. Jerry in South Carolina got about 90 seconds to 2 minutes here. Jerry, before I got to get to a break, what's happening? Yeah, good talking to you again. I talked to you yesterday, how's it going? Good, how are you?
Go ahead. Yeah, good. Yeah, we'll talk about the Raiders' situation on it. Brady's part-owner with Davis now, well, minority owner now. They got rid of Pierce, so I guess Brady will probably have a say as far as who the next coach is going to be with the Raiders. So I guess Davis will probably refer to Brady on that. What do you think of that? So what was the question? You lost me there for a second. Yeah, what do you think of Brady having a say as far as the head coach being Davis, owner Davis is going to refer to Brady?
Yeah, well, you know what? I'm not saying that Brady's the end-all be-all, but whatever Mark Davis has been doing as of late hasn't been working out well for him. So if you have Tom Brady, and just because you're a great player doesn't mean you make to be a great executive or a great coach or a great owner. Like, we saw what Michael Jordan was as an owner in Charlotte and appreciate the phone call. I got to let you run, Jerry.
Thanks for calling again. Or, you're right, you've seen Wayne Gretzky get opportunities to be a coach. Like, there's all-time great players that don't end up being good coaches, good general managers, good owners.
That happens. But I don't think that's a bad move. I don't think there's anything to lose at this point for Mark Davis. Yeah, I'm not saying Brady gets the end-all be-all call, but have him be involved in these meetings. Evaluate his input because he's not that far removed from the game.
And also, more importantly, use Brady's input for trying to get a quarterback in this draft. So, I have no problem with that. Alrighty, we will take a timeout. We'll come on back. We'll do some college football. And also, you can't miss this clip from Jim Irsay. We'll play you that next. Hot take kick. He's also going to join us in studio. We got his thoughts. He's probably going to pick Penn State by a billion, but we'll get his prediction next.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-01-08 18:12:37 / 2025-01-08 18:31:16 / 19