It's time for coffee and company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now here's Nick Coffee.
I'm not sure how many times Teddy Bridgewater has been back in Louisville since he left many years ago, but this will be I think his second trip back to Louisville, and about a six week time frame he was inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame whenever they had their annual induction. I think it was towards the end of the summer, and he came back and his mother was here, and I heard a little bit of the interview he did following the awards ceremony, and now he's
going to be back. Maybe he's here as we speak, maybe he's listening right now. So welcome back to Louisville, Teddy, and I'm happy that you're going to be honored tomorrow, and certainly as deserve as anybody in my opinion, considering the great career he had, the timing of him showing up and dare I say putting Louisville on the map. I mean, obviously Charlie Strong had had a couple of really special seasons at a time where it was really important to bounce back following a failed stint that was
Steve Kragthorpe. But you know, I don't see it this way, but I know a lot of people do, and I get it. I think it was a It was a collective effort from Charlie and his entire staff, a lot of players that came to Louisville and believed in Charlie
and Clint Hurt and what those guys were selling. But there are some people that, you know, look at it and say, hey, when you've got a special talented quarterback and you can really pull off some special seasons during his time there, that can you know, that can elevate you. So clearly Teddy was a huge factor. Some people think Charlie Strong would have never had any success at any level as a head coach if it wouldn't have been for Teddy Bridgewater. Clearly, he hasn't had much success or
really any success as a coach without Teddy. But it was a special era, no doubt, and it's nice to see him getting honored tomorrow, gonna have his He's one of the many Louisville legends that you'll see up there across the stadium. And he's bringing some recruits with him. So he is, of course the head coach at his alma mater. He is at Miami Northwestern where he went to school, and he's one of many players that have
come to Louisville from Miami Northwestern. And I don't know how good they are, but I would imagine, you know, they're probably still one of the better teams in South Florida. And Teddy's their head coach. So two visitors and I say he's bringing them with them. I don't know, maybe they aren't traveling together, but then again, I mean, it would be convenient, I would assume for these for everybody
to just travel together. But Calvin Russell, he's the third ranked wide receiver from the twenty twenty sixth class and he plays for Teddy, and he'll be there as one of the visitors this weekend. And then also Javari Flowers is another kid who is a top one hundred recruit from the twenty twenty sixth class. He's going to be making the trip as well. So there's a lot of visitors that are going to be on campus tomorrow. Maybe they're here today, and it's the big weekend to do it.
I mean, I think it's actually set up. I mean, the one thing that you wish was in a better situation is Louisville having two losses. I mean, in a perfect world, you'd be six and zero. But you know, it's not as if you're two and four. You're four and two and you've got a chance to pull off a win that could really send your season in a positive direction, maybe at a high rate of speed, and you'll also be doing it in front of a big
crowd and some big time visitors. So I'm sure the staff if they were thinking, hey, which game on this schedule as far as the home slate would make the most sense to really try to sell what we have here as far as atmosphere, environment, that kind of stuff, And it was this game, and here we are and Miami. Look, they're undefeated, they're the number sixteam in the country, and that makes it a tougher challenge, right, there's no doubt about it. But it also gives you a bigger opportunity
to make the most of this entire situation. So big game tomorrow and I am certainly looking forward to. It's coffee and company. That's us hour number two here on Sports Talk seven ninety We are feel about Thornton's. My name is Nick Coffee. The company man John all on alongside today as he is every day, and if you want to join us on the show, you can. We've got a guest coming up here in about twenty minutes. We're going to be joined by Brian Edwards, a Vegas insider,
and get his thoughts on this weekend's matchups. And then later on in the show, Jean and I are going to give you which picks we're really hot on when it comes to college football this weekend. So looking forward to that if you are just now joining us. Obviously, we talked a little bit about the Tony Bennett press conference today, and I really don't have any I mean, to be honest with It's not because I'm saying he's such a great guy and I love him so much
to where I would never criticize him. I just don't really care that he's retiring. So it's not like I'm sad for his players or anybody like. I just don't care. But he is certainly proving to be a guy that has a lot of good will built up. But just about everybody, I mean, i'd say, the only people that are being pretty openly critical about the timing of his decision to retire are you know, probably people who don't like Virginia because you know, they're boring and they're lame.
But they're good, or at least they were. But I think both things can be true, right, Like, I don't think he's a scumback. I don't think, you know, he did something unthinkable that will tarnish his legacy. I mean, it's not that, but it's also true that you know, timming is not ideal, and he clearly without saying it directly. I mean, he didn't even have to say, we know he put his man in place here, meaning he maybe didn't plan this out. I'm going to assume that when
he signed. I mean, this is something I didn't even realize, but he did. You know, he signed a contract extension in June.
John, I think I heard somebody say that yesterday at some point.
I mean that that makes it even more surprising, because you know, he didn't have to sign a new contract, but he did. And you would think that anybody signing a new deal, well I don't know again, coaches have it, I mean their contracts or whatever. Right, because they are really built to only benefit the coach and not the
school or protect them financially at all. But you know, I think he did, maybe in the back of his mind, know that the game had changed a lot, the job had changed a lot, and he wasn't comfortable and him maybe not having the belief that he could really, you know, succeed at a high level given the new world. Maybe it just slowly built up to where he hit He hit the point of like, yeah, you know what, I can't lie to myself anymore. You know, I'm gonna have
to move on. But either way, like he wanted to give Ron Sanchez, his top assistant, the opportunity to at least show what he can do with a full year to coach this team, and without him doing it at this time, he probably would not have been able to do that. I mean, I don't know, you never know. Maybe they were always going to give the job to a Tony Bennett successor, because again, Tony Bennett brought Virginia basketball relevance they'd never really had before, and you know,
won a national championship. And when he won a national championship at really any program, I don't care who you are. Obviously, Duke's only had one guy that's done it there, Kentucky's had multiple guys win championships there, louisvill'sd two guys win championships. So I think even if you've got multiple coaches or one coach you win a title somewhere, you're going to be all always somebody that is treated differently than guys
who coached there that didn't do it. I mean, maybe Kevin Olly's the exception, but I mean what we're saying, John, if.
This was more so about making sure Ron Sanchez takes over, what do you think the odds are that this was kind of in the works behind the scenes for a while now, and they just kept.
It really really hush hush so that I could worry.
And I'm not saying the Virginia administration, but more so really between Tony Bennet and Ron Sanchez.
I mean, it would I would think it would have to be those two guys if it was something that they felt they were gonna implement here, like Tony stepping down and Sanchez, you know, clearly just being the guy because of timing, I think they would have had to have kept it from the administration just guessing here. I don't know, but I would feel like if I mean, again, it's not a good look for anybody that he did it this at this time, and I mean it's not
a crime. And again I don't think it should change sort of how people view his legacy. But I mean if the administration knew all along and they were just waiting, I mean that that would be I think they'd look foolish. Now I think they can, you know, with a straight face, say yeah, it's not ideal. We wish we weren't in this situation where our guys leaving three weeks before the season starts. But you know, we understand and we respect
his decision. We're forever grateful for him. But if they knew and they were just like, yeah, whenever you're ready, we'll just you know, we'll call a press conference, I mean, that would surprise me. But you never know. I mean there are conversations. I'm sure that that coaches are having thoughts that they're having that they've never had before because
their job is different. There's no way around that. And I just have you know, this Bennett news has really not made me mad at him, but you know, just whatever these guys are saying behind the scenes to Jeff Goodman, Andy Katz, those that cover the sport at the highest level to get you know, those guys meaning those that cover the sport, the reporters, the big the talking heads to you know, speak on their behalf indirectly as if
they're going through something that nobody would ever understand and it's so hard and it's just so tragic. Like that makes me want to pew because again, what I mean, think about this, let me just be a smart ass about it early quickly here, poor college basketball and college football coaches. I mean, clearly, they're the only job that is out there in any profession that the role changes, right. Businesses, industries evolve, The job changes over time for just about everybody.
You think people are teaching school right now the same way they did back in nineteen sixty. No, they're not. I mean things like, it's not uncommon in any way to have a career and whatever that career is, whatever that job title is, whatever the responsibilities are in your role, they can fluctuate, it can change, right, I mean, that's life. Life evolves. So for it to happen to them and them be the biggest whiny complainers and cry about it.
It's just it makes me sick. I mean not to the point where I'm you know, throwing up, but like it's just it's gross. These guys have no self awareness
when it comes to how privileged they are. And it's not to say that they don't work their ass off, and it's not to say that they're not entitled to a really high paying job, because you know what, the sport that they coach, high level college basketball and college football, they those jobs produce a lot of money, right They're putting the product on the field, on the field, in the court that brings in a lot of money. So if the schools want to pay them that, then that's
what they're going to do. But spare me with the I'm just gonna have to walk away. It's just it's just so hard. It's unfair, like get over yourself, like shut the hell up, Like you sound ridiculous to complain, and you know, and I don't believe by the way that every coach is fine with players getting paid. I think they don't like it. I think they realize that now these guys can go get a new job at a new school if they don't like the way you know you are as their boss. I mean, that's really
what it is. So, you know, I just these guys again, they've got nearly all of them. If you are coaching college football or college basketball, doesn't even have to be a doesn't even have to be a top tier job. It could be like mid major. You can be awful at your job, which you know it's a results based business. You can have terrible results where ninety nine percent of the population would get fired for those bad results, and they wouldn't be entitled to more paychecks after being fired
forgiving that employer bad results. These dudes can walk off and collect millions upon millions of dollars for being terrible at their job. So like they've already got I think a situation that is it is you can't compare it to really any other profession in America that I could think of, And yet they're the ones that, like people like Jeff Goodman and Andy Katz are just distraught for
like gosh, it's just you. You can't minimize the how much the game and how much the job has changed, Like get over yourself, Like if you don't like it, go do something else. Nobody's forcing you to do this. So again, like I have no simp and I think coaches that do play the poor me are ridiculous, but I can also acknowledge that they are correct in the fact that it's changed. But again, you don't like it, go do something else, which clearly that's what some of
them are doing. That's what Tony Bennett is doing.
Now.
If you're if you're really old, like Roy Williams and Mike Kozhewsky and even Nick Saban who walked away like you've got nothing to prove, you have nothing, like you know, you're not chasing something that you've been chasing for forty years.
You know, I'm sure you want more than one. But if you've coached and you got a national championship or multiple of them, or a bunch of final fours, and you're and you and you kind of know that you're you know, your best days are probably in the rear view, then yeah, you would walk away because it turns into a job that you don't even want to do, Like you know, you're not that driven anymore to win at the highest level because you've got nothing to prove, and
because the job is changed, you just don't like it. That's that's fine. But like Tony Bennett is somebody that you know, he's young, and I mean he's young for a for a I mean I don't think he's it's fifty five. Ye, Like if so, then I'm a baby, but like in that profession and really professionally, like if you're retiring at fifty five in any gig, any any role, unless you're like an athlete, where you clearly need to be young and spry and you know, in good, in
great shape to play. But most jobs, I think retiring at fifty five would be looked at as an early retirement.
I mean, Dan Hurley's fifty one, gosh, I kind of consider him as the new guard of legendary head coaches.
Did you think that that Bennett was older or younger than fifty five, because I've never once thought about his age, but I would have guessed older. But it's just because he's been around a long time and he's always looked the same. But yeah, he's he's I mean, fifty five is young. I mean it's not as young as the guys that Louisville and Kentucky is tired, but you know, it's certainly not old, and well, it's young to retire. I wouldn't call him a young coach. It's a young coach.
It's it's it When I say young, I just mean it's young for him to walk away at that age. All right, It's coffee and company, feel abou Thorton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Don't forget we're gonna be talking. Coming up here in about eight minutes or so, oh with the one and only mister Brian Edwards from Vegas Insider dot com. Will get his thoughts on some of the big matchups this weekend, as far as the wagering
aspect of it. But real quick, before we do that, there's a text that just came in, and there's also a call that I'm going to take in just a second here if you want to join us, U CAN five oh two five to seven one seventy nine hundred is the number to give us a call, and you can also text in on the Ellen and Federal Credit Union text line five O two sixty five three zero
seven ninety. So when it comes to and this is a good question, it says Nick, you love putting people on the spot and asking them, asking them to predict the future. If Louisville basketball ends up being the eighty something the best team in the country, like Matt Noorlanders says they're going to be, how did we get there?
I'm gonna I don't have a whole lot of time to give you, like a long winded answer, but I would say if Louisville ends up being a team that at the end of the year you say was like in the eighties, I would say that certainly means they're not a tournament team and they were very underwhelming. And by the way, no offense to Matt in Orlander. I
like him, but I don't. You know, everybody's guessing when it comes to these rosters now that are mostly built with portal guys, But I mean it's the ultimate guess with Louisville's roster in their situation, and that's why you see so many different results as far as where you think they're going to come in. Some people think they're top three, top four in the ACC. Some don't even
think they're top ten. So you know, only time will tell as far as which of those two sides is more is more correct, But I would say if they're there, my guess would be that the system and the style, although I think it can work and I'm a big fan of it, Like maybe it was just a big adjustment for a lot of the new guys on this roster that had never played in that kind of a system before. Now I actually think Pat's done a good job of finding personnel that fits really well with what
he wants to do. But I would say that and maybe an injury could have also been a factor as to why they were there. And this is something that you know, it didn't worry me as far as you know, like could this keep Louisville from winning a national championship? Because I'm not sure that that's realistic at this point. But they've got, I think a lot of good players,
but I don't know who's gonna be the guy. And that's such a cliche And at times you don't really need somebody to be like I mean, you can make deep runs in the tournament without a guy on your roster that's gonna be a drafted in the NBA, But I do think you would need somebody to kind of emerge to where you feel like, more often than not, we're gonna go, We're gonna be going out there against some really good teams and every team in the ACC, and we've got a guy or maybe two that you
feel like is as good as anybody they have. Now, again, you're gonna play Duke, You're gonna play Carolina, and that's gonna be a different conversation. I mean, you can't beat him, But like, can Casein Pryor be a top tier guy in this league? Can Chucky Hepburn be one of the better, you know, quarterbacks essentially in the ACC? And I know
he doesn't play quarterback. I know that he's a basketball player, But you know what I mean, a floor general, a guy that can run your team, and can you make up for you know, you've got some good bigs that can stretch the floor, you can play five out, But if you play against a bollow for Indiana, that's a big, girthy guy. That's a guy who's gonna push people around. Like, do you have a physical presence that can match up
with that? Like, So those are some things. Again, I don't want to act as if I'm totally worried about all those things I just mentioned, But your question was if we get to the end of the year and they are you know, closer to being a top one hundred team than a top twenty five team. Those are some potential scenarios I could see that got us there. All let's go to the phone lines five two, five,
seven seventy nine hundred is the number. Let's welcome in, Jerry, Jerry, you're on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Thanks Nick.
There's that twitter that's I'm sure you've seen.
It's called Phony Bennett.
I don't think I have seen it, but I'm not surprised that there's a phony beIN int account.
Okay, I always called him phony Tony because here here's the way I look. I'm you're spot on with the way I feel. I didn't realize it until today. Did you realize that his job that he got at Washington State, his dad did this exact same thing and handed him the keys.
I do not know that. I knew that. I knew that he was there because of his dad, but I didn't know that his dad sort of finessed his son in.
There equipped mid season, equip mid season and handed him the keys.
So it's it's a key, you know.
It's a play out of their playbook. The other thing is this I've always his interviews that he's had at halftime after games, et cetera. That always made me sick because I've always told all my buddies, I said, nobody's that nice.
That guy's a phony. I've always felt.
That way, and then I've heard people say that it had really good seats that are down on the sideline, that he you know, through all that all that nice guy cramp, that he's brutal on the rest, just like every other coach.
Well, let me tell you, Jerry, Jerry, let me let me tell you this about that, because I remember I know exactly what you were talking about. He does it in a different way. He's he's always on him and he's working them, but he's doing it almost as if like he's a disappointed dad in them, which is a really weird thing to see, but like that's kind of his nature, is like he's he's not going to curse at him, but he's going to be you know, I'm
really disappointed in you, Teddy. Like that's sort of like he's that guy, right, he like he kind of shames them more than just yells at him.
Yeah, that doesn't surprise me, but you know, yeah, he's kicked art, but I hate his style of ball's it's horrible and I'm glad he's going. But I'm glad that you see through it all and you're telling it because I feel like I feel exact same way. Like I said, he just that guy kills me.
Mister nice guy. He's so full of it.
Man, that's all I got.
Brother, Go cars, Go cars. Thank you for the call, Jerry not not not terribly surprised that that's the way Jerry, That's the way he sees it. So yeah, I mean he can mean. And that's the thing is I think there would be again, I guess the best way and he might have set me up here, meaning Jerry to to really articulate, like Bennet's geting the benefit of the out more than most would because people think he's a great dude, like those who cover it and those who
know him. But if it was any other coach, maybe they wouldn't be getting crushed, but they certainly others would be calling out the fact that he clearly timed this out so his guy Sanchez could get an opportunity, which isn't you know, it's not like it's never been done before. Like Greg Gard he got an opportunity at Wisconsin because in fact, didn't Tony Bennett's dad like come from Wisconsin.
Like maybe that's the whiskey. Maybe it's a playbook from that coaching tree because Bo Ryan quit so Greg Guard could get a chance, and Greg Guard's still their coach and last that check, they're still pretty underwhelmed with that. All right, quick break, We'll talk to Brian Edwards on the other side as we get you set for a big time college football weekend. And that makes me very happy. I'm very excited. It's a Friday, We're feeling good. It's
coffee and company. Feel bout Thorden's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. It's right, coffee and company. We're about halfway through here. In fact, we are exactly halfway through here on a Friday afternoon. It's four thirty, but we're taking you up till six o'clock. So don't go anywhere, don't move stay exactly where you are. In fact, you can move around. You can actually do a lot of things as long as you have some type of connectivity,
whether it be sell service or internet. You can listen live on the iHeartRadio app or listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot Com are joining us now to talk some of the big matchups this weekend, not only in the NFL and college football Slate. It's the one and only mister Brian Edwards from Vegas Insider. Brian, how we doing on a beautiful Friday? My man doing great? Nick?
Thanks for having me.
So.
I don't know if it's on your card or if it's a game that you're going to wager on, but I know you've got some interest because you are a Florida Gator fan. Just some quick thoughts. Again, you don't even have to talk with me or anything like that or total, but this Gators in Wildcats matchup. I feel like whatever happens here could send both teams in a
different direction this season. Obviously, Florida has not had a whole lot of momentum, but I think at this point they've probably been a little dare I say, better than maybe some we're expecting, certainly after that lost to Miami, Kentucky beat Old Miss, but then turn around lost to Andy. So what do you think happens tomorrow in this game?
At Florida minus one and a half.
So I guess technically I lean to the Gators, but I'm not about to bet on Billy Napier. In fact, I did bet the understanding last week that was just catching a you know, a huge number. Napier's was painting his masterpiece and incompetence in the first half with his short yardage play calls and clock management. I mean, four red zone trips, three combined points, and it cost them a football game, and it's inexcusable.
It's just more of the same. Nothing's getting better for the Florida Gators until a D.
Scott Strickland and Billy Napier are belatedly pink slipped, and hopefully it'll be sooner than later. This one's a pass for me, though, because Kentucky's got its own issues.
I'm stealing that painting his masterpiece of incompetence. That's beautifully said. That is a beautiful way to describe a coach who's in over his head, that does not does not know what he's doing. All Right, we'll get started with tomorrow Nights or Tomorrow's action, not just night which just it is college football all day. But Cincinnati and Arizona State, that's a game that obviously there's not a whole lot
of local connection here with Saturfield anymore. But Cincinnati, I would you know, they their favorites here, but I think at this point, you know, I feel like you've had them on your card, maybe more often than most others have. But what do you like in this matchup here?
Yeah, Cincinnati has been really good to me.
On Sunday morning, I've noticed in recent weeks fan duel has pretty much got their games up for the next week around eight am. And it was the one that really stood out to me on Sunday morning, and I tweeted it out that I thought that, you know, was my favorite play of the week. I got it too two and a half, and so on Tuesday night or late Tuesday afternoon it went to three and a half at a lot of books, and then later that night it was off the board. I knew something was going on.
I was searching Twitter. I couldn't find an injury or anything. And then like mid Wednesday morning, it jumped to five and a half and eventually before launch, ESPN's Tamil tweeted that Levitt, the starting QB for Arizona State, is out, and so Jeff Simms, formerly of Georgia Tech and had a really bad year at Nebraska last season. He's gonna start. So you know, the line actually touched six and a half. It seems to have come back down and settled at five.
I'm not against playing Cincinnati at minus five, but like I said, I'm in at two and a half. I think the way the numbers are right now, what I would recommend to your audience is since he minus three in the first half and or over on their team total, thirteen and a half in the first half, and or over twenty seven and a half on their team total
as for the first half. Since these three home games, they've scored seventeen, twenty four, and twenty eight before halftime, and Arizona State's two road games they gave up twenty one and seventeen in the first half. And Brendan Sowersby is just playing outstanding football. The Indiana transfers has just.
Lit it up for the Bearcats all year long.
He's got got a sixty six point two complete percentage, one thy, seven hundred and twenty two passing yards, thirteen to three TDI and T ratio, and four rushing touchdowns. So I think you've met Cincinnati. You know, any of those ways that I that I just suggested.
I would say there's aun of people who don't typically think of the service academies. Whenever they are, you know, they're putting their their card together, their picks. But you got a couple of good ones, both Army and Navy ranked for the first time collectively nineteen sixty or something like that. So Army's obviously off to a good start. They've got East Carolina tomorrow. What's the play here for Army?
So when it the line was fourteen early in the week, I made a small play on Army, but it's ballooned up to seventeen, So I think the best play is Army's team total over thirty three and a half or thirty four and a half. It seems to be one of the one of those two different odds. So they're scoring out puts this year been forty two, thirty seven, forty two, forty nine, forty four, twenty.
Four was the only outlier.
Uh So, yeah, they've had thirty seven or more and five of six games or number one in the country in rushing yards, whereas East Carolina and a fifty five to twenty four loss at Charlotte it's last time out.
Charlotte killed them on the ground with three hundred.
And eleven rushing yards and Charlotte's only ranked one oh seven of one hundred and thirty four a FBS teams and rushing yards, So I think Army is gonna be able to run for north of three hundred against the Pirates defense this rank seventy six in the country and run defense, so I think Army gets to at least thirty five, probably more team total over.
Brian Edwards, Vegas Insiders, our guest here joining us on Sports Talk seven ninety talking about the college football slate tomorrow. Some really good matchups and you know, no offense to the Indiana Hoosiers. My producer John is a big Indiana Hoosiers fan, but you know, it's it's it's not this is unfamiliar territory for me talking about big matchups that include Indiana, and it's because they're pretty good and they're favored.
They are six and a half point favorites currently against Nebraska. Signetti. I mean, I feel like usually when you see teams they get off to this start with the new coach. There's a lot of people just expecting, well, hey, they'll come back down to earth here pretty soon. You know, they're just taking advantage of a new coach who's pretty good. But their schedule has been favorable. But I don't get the sense there's a lot of people that think they're
going to be slowing down anytime soon. Just to see them as a six and a half point favorite here against Nebraska really is telling to such a great start that they're off to any Any thoughts on this matchup between the Hoosiers and the Huskers.
Yeah, I've had lots of thoughts here.
First, if the Gators don't get Lane Kiffin, even though he's sixty three years old, I am not opposed to Kurt Signetti whatsoever.
This guy is the real deal.
And six and oh straight up five and one ats so Indiana has been playing football.
I looked all this up like three or four weeks ago.
I think since eighteen eighty seven they've won nine twice. I believe it was in nineteen forty five and nineteen sixty seven.
They've never won ten games. They're favored by six and a half here.
Their early line for next week at home against Washington at DraftKings is minus seven. They got a great chance to start eight to oh they could potentially be ten and Ozho with two weeks to prepare for a trip at Ohio State in mid November.
Now you know they're not there yet.
But I'm not as bullished on him this week as I have been in recent weeks. But I'm still taking the minus six and a half Curtis Rourke the Ohio transfer seventy three point eight completion percentage one thy seven hundred and fifty two passing yards fourteen to two TDI and t Ratio.
I think Indiana wins by seven to ten.
Give me the New Years all right? In the SEC. You know, Alabama obviously a couple weeks ago a loss that I never saw, I never thought would happen. I never thought i'd see Andy be Bama. But they pulled off the upset and then turn around and be Kentucky a week later. But then Bama didn't necessarily bounce back. They did in regards to beating South Carolina, but that was a game that easily you know, big play here and there late maybe they don't hold on to win.
What do you think happens here? As Kaylen Debor, who clearly you know, still I don't think anybody's worried that he's going to be terrible there. But they're missing Nick Saban, I think a little more in these last couple of weeks than they anticipated. Do you think they can they can cover his favorites this weekend?
I do.
I think both teams are struggling, but I think Tennessee is struggling more. Look, I don't think there's any shame in Alabama scoring twenty seven against South Carolina. South Carolina's front seven is very legit, especially it's front four with Kyle Kinnard playing like you know, one of the best pass rushers in the country, making himself out a lot of money.
For the future.
But I just trust Alabama's office more than I trust Tennessee's.
I mean, Arkansas and Florida are not elite teams.
Defensively, and the Vaults got bageled in the first half in Fayetteville and in the first half at home to at home against Florida last week. They are really so they ended up with fourteen for the game against Arkansas seventeen against Florida in regulation. My gamors defense has been struggling since twenty twenty, and so anyway, I think that Tennessee is struggling offense might be what the doctor ordered
to get Alabama's defense straight. And I just I trust Jalen mill Road more than I trust Nico.
I like Alabama minus three.
All right, one more in the SEC Arkansas they're taking on LSU, two teams that are at this point seemingly having similar results. But obviously Arkansas and Sam Pittman need this a little need this one a little bit more. Is he's still somebody that despite their big upset a couple of weeks ago, you know, his future is still a little cloudy there in Fayetteville. Any any action here for you?
Yeah, I'm on Arkansas plus the three.
Pittman eight and four ats as a home underdog and has just been really good as an underdog. But regardless of home, away, neutral, what have you? His entire tenure at Arkansas. I think Arkansas is better than its record. Both of its losses.
To A and M in Arlington and Oklahoma State.
And Stillwater, they led those games in the fourth quarter, and I don't think the LSU is as good as this record.
They could have.
Easily lost a couple of those games.
Obviously, the one.
Last week they'd ever led to the last you know, last seconds there. But it's a great spot for Arkansas two weeks to prepare and LSU coming off, you know, a huge win, emotional late night you know game in red stick, and so I like Arkansas plus the three and one more thing.
Arkansas always plays LSU tough. In fact, in the last.
Four games in this rivalry, you have been decided by exactly three points.
Give me the Hogs, all right. The NFL, I mean, I think the first few weeks of the season, it was it was tough to know who's terrible who's good. I mean, you had such a mixed bag of results. A team that looked like that maybe one of the better teams would turn around a week later and lose to a team that you thought was maybe in the bottom tier of the league. It's starting to even out a little bit more. Do you have anything this weekend
on the NFL slate that you feel good about? Any picks that you'd recommend to our listeners.
Yeah, I'm staying on the Commanders. I made them eleven and a half. I got them at seven early in the week, but I still like them at eight or even eight and a half. They've just been They've been fantastic. But I'm usually betting on Washington. This one's fifty to fifty.
I'm betting against Carolina as well.
One in five straight up, one in five ats their losses by margins of eighteen, twenty six, ten, twenty three, and thirty seven.
I'm on Washington lay in.
The points, and I'm also on their team total to go over thirty and one half.
All right, good stuff, Brian. As always, we appreciate you making time for us. Enjoy another great weekend of college football in the NFL, and we will talk to you soon, my man.
Thanks, Tank, have a great weekend.
Take care. That's Brian Edwards from Vegas Inside or always appreciate his insight and appreciate his time. Yeah, it's weird, man. We'll talk more about our picks me and John will in the five o'clock hour, because I've got a handful that you know I'm I mean, I'm already usually you know I know what I'm doing, and I don't actually bet it until a little bit later in the week or maybe even like day of. And I think a lot of people are like that because you never know.
Things can change a last second. Injury or something like that, or maybe you find out somebody's out. But I already placed some of my bets, John, which is rare for me, but it's because I do feel like I've got some momentum that's confidence due.
But I'm the opposite. I've kind of I know what I'm going to bet or want to bet, but I haven't made any actual wagers just yet.
We're gonna speak it into existence. Brother, this is gonna be the weekend where we both come in on Monday and we're like, I mean, do we even need these jobs because we're cleaning out the sports books. I mean, that's again, we'll speak it into existence. I mean, I do want to keep my job because I'm well aware that even if I did have a great weekend, it
would probably not be the same the next weekend. But we'll talk a little more about the action coming up around five thirty, but stick around a lot more to get into. We got to get to a break, but we're taking up till six o'clock. So hang out with us right here on a beautiful Friday afternoon on Sports Talk seven ninety. It's always a good chat with our man Brian Edwards from Vegas Insider and the reason I asked him about this Kentucky and Georgia Kentucky in Florida
matchup tomorrows because he's a big time Gators fan. But he's very honest about his team, very real, and he's made it clear throughout many conversations we've had in the last few months that Lane Kiffin should be the guy, and I'm sure he still thinks that. I think he said that, but he also mentioned Kurt Signetti as the next guy when I asked him about the Indiana Nebraska game, and uh, you know, I could see John's reaction in there.
He was a professional, but there were some people in the text line wondering if you were just gonna hang up on him and just in the interview because you don't want that out there, you know, being spoke about that. I mean we talked about it.
I think like yesterday, two days ago, all is Florida going to one if they don't get Lane Kiffin?
Yeah, I don't know. I mean Florida in this Actually, this is a good time to finish up the four o'clock hour and discuss this because the athletic has put out an updated It's really a mid season check in on the coaches that you assume we're gonna be on a hot seat this year, and there's some coaches that have that have you know, changed the temperature, if you will, of the seat that they're sitting in. And I think Billy Napier is is one that really probably again, I
think they could. I think people could acknowledge and be fair here an objective that their start has probably been a little better than you would have expected. However, it doesn't mean that you should be advocating that you keep doing this. And that was that actually gives me a little PTSD because you know, when people would look at one win or a loss where you weren't as pathetic under the Kinny Payne era, like the easy rebuttal every
time was okay. Like let's say Kenney Payne went from winning four games to winning sixteen and you were sixteen and fifteen and you didn't make the tournament. I mean, he probably would have kept his job, But would anybody realistically, if they were honest with themselves, felt like, Okay, yeah, that's a lot better. We're going to really break through.
Like if you don't think you've got somebody that could win at a really really high level and you just feel like, oh wow, we thought they'd win four games, but they ended up winning seven. Like, you still have to make the decision based off the future. And Florida's a program that is similar to Louisville and basketball, and I don't mean to make the comparison, but as far as accomplishments and foot ball for them and accomplishments in
basketball for them. But what I'm getting at is, you don't just hire a guy who who doesn't suck as bad as you thought he might. You hire somebody that you want to take you to the top, and you have a vision that you know you could mess around and win a few championships during their tenure. Easier said than done, but still like Billy Napier could probably finish the season with with, you know, a record at least and by the way, Florida still has let's see here,
we'll pull it up. Yeah, because in the SEC the two coaches that are currently looking as if they could potentially lose their job after this year is Sam Pittman at Arkansas, who what you know, the way that they describe it here, Bruce Beltman does it the athletic. He describes Sam Pittman from being very hot to now midway through hot but cooling off a bit, which I think is fair. They're four and two. They knocked off Tennessee. That's a huge win for Sam Pittman, Billy Napier. You know,
they're still fighting for him, and they are. You know, they got pounded by Miami and their opener. They played Tennessee really close. Last week. They beat Central Florida in a game that you know, they were underdogs in at home and they beat them bad. They still have really
good teams left on their schedule. But like my point is, he could finish with a record that is, like I don't know, seven and five, and still it would be a no brainer decision to make a move if you're Florida, unless you're just buying time to save some money, unless you're willing to just say, yeah, we'll give it another shot because maybe he does win eight or nine next year, but at that point the bio gets cheaper. But I
just don't think that's how Florida operates. They want to be really really good in football, and historically speaking, they don't give any coaches anytime like that's why it seems like such a foregone conclusion that Billy Napier's out because Dan Mullen he won twenty nine games in his first three seasons, but he got the boot after going five
and six. Jim mckawayan, there were clearly some other factors at play there, but he won nine in his first seasons and then went three and four in his third year and got fired mid season. Now, they wanted him out clearly, because if they didn't, they would have fought for him. But they used his making up a death threats as a chance to get him out, and they and it worked, I mean much. Champ got four years,
ron Zook didn't even get three. So Billy Napier being eleven and fourteen in his first two seasons and now being three and three, like they're gonna get a new coach. But you're right, John, Like, I don't know, Like who do you? I mean? If they went after a Signetti type guy before he was at Indiana meeting an up and coming guy, that would be them doing what they just did with Billy Napier, and they that didn't work,
you know what I mean? So I don't I don't really know who would be you know, Lane Kiffin, I still think makes the most sense. And with Lane Kiffin already, you know, I think there's still belief that Lane kiffn could be really, really good as a coach, but he's never really won anything of note, And maybe the belief is that at Florida he'd have better resources than he's ever had as a coach to where he'd really break through. But I think Lane Kiffin would clearly be a lot
better than Billy Napier. But is he the guy that Floria mean, maybe Florida will learn that it was it was Urban Meyer and it was the old ball coach Burrier and without those two then like you're just your ceiling is not as high without elite coaches like that, and there's not any league coaches to go higher. So we shall see. But I hadn't really given that much thought.
If you are a power program and you're making a move, you know, as far as guys that you just feel like would make the jump from G five to the higher level, I mean, like there's no there's no Luke Fickle out there right who was at Cincinnati and clearly he did great there and they got to the freaking Playoff, which is crazy to say, but him taking any job in the Big Ten or any job in the SEC can be considered a surprise because Cincinnati was an AAC team.
So you know, I think unfortunately for Indiana fans, And it's really not unfortunate. I mean, it is if he leaves. But anytime somebody's coming after your coach, your coach is being talked about for a job, it usually means that you're doing really well, yes, and your coach has a chance to potentially, you know, kind of change the narrative a little bit and stick around at a job that everybody views as an inferior job compared to who's coming
after him. But like, Signetti is a guy that I feel like any job that will and stuff like if if for some reason, Sam Pittman got canned or I don't know, let's say, in you know, in the Big Ten, I mean, who else is I mean, who's on the hot seat in the Big Ten? Mike Watson?
Maybe James Franklin was, but they're they're six and oh right now I.
Believe yeah, I mean he's James Franklin. Like, I mean, it'd be hard to fire him because yes, he's never won a big game like but he always wins like nine or ten, and that's just hard to see a coach getting fired for that. Ron Walters is a guy that is certainly getting a little warm and only his second year. But Signette would never go from Mediana to PURDUECE. So it's it's a it's a new world here Indiana. One being good but also having to worry about somebody
coming and grabbing their coach. And I would say, just because it's one year, and because I would still say Kiffin will likely go to Florida. I think you're safe, but you know, I hope, so you never know. You never know how some coaches may be comfortable. And then an athletic director out there says, look, I was gonna keep you around, but I feel like I could go
get this guy to Indiana, so you're out. Like again, you know, it's tough to know how any of that's gonna play out, but Signetti is off to such a great start. All right, let's talk about Jefferson Animal Hospital, shall we. They're big events tomorrow again tomorrow from ten am to two pm. If you haven't made plans to make your way out there, make them now. You probably procrastinated it, but that's okay, I do the same thing. But again it's Jeffersonannam Hospital. Tomorrow their event is pines
for paws and people. They will give you demonstrations on how pet blood donation works. They will also have food provided. They will let you donate blood if you like with the American Red Cross. So anytime your pet donates blood or anybody's pet donates blood, you can save up to four to six lives. And if your dog is fifty pounds or more, they could qualify to be a pet blood donor. And if your cat is ten pounds or more, they could qualify. So it's for a good cause. Clearly,
it can help save the lives of pets. And you can also just you know, get your foot on the door essentially over there at Jefferson Animal Hospital and maybe they could become your new provider when it comes to keeping your pets healthy. We obviously know that's important. Pets are like family members. They are family members to a lot of people out there. So again it's a Jeff's Animal Hospital and again tomorrow the event ten to two pm.
Pints for pausing people at the location over their own outer loop, so hopefully you guys get on out there and enjoy yourself. Should be a beautiful day for it. All right, quick break, we'll come back five o'clock hours next Keep it lock right here on Sports Talk seven ninety