It's time for Coffee and Company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day. Now, here's Nick coffee.
All right, let's get it started. Hour number two here on a what is it Tuesday?
It's Tuesday. I think it's Tuesday. Yes it is.
It's a Tuesday edition of Coffee and Company Hour number two here we are fueled by Thornton's. If you've not signed up yet to become a member of the Refreshment Awards program, you can easily do it. You'll start saving money at the gas pump, and you'll take advantage of all the perks that come of being a member. So go to Refreshment Awards dot com or download their app on your Android or your iPhone, and I think that
you'll be happy that you did. All right, So, if there is any silver lining as you get set for the Boston College matchup on Friday, is that you potentially only have to sit on that loss for for six days, meaning the loss to Miami, because you've got a quick turnaround.
Now.
I'm sure there are coaches, maybe even players who don't like the idea of that quick turnaround, not as much time to rest. But from a fan, standpoint. You know, I like the Friday night games for a variety of reasons. One it gives me a Saturday to you know, to to not have to you know, not have to work, although it doesn't you know, really feel like work. But you know, Friday nights are are fun for me, you know,
makes it a little easier. And for what it's worth, you do have an opportunity if you play well, to probably reach some more people. You know, you're not you know, not many. I mean, I'm sure for the most part those who love college football really think of Saturday as the day, which I'm the same way. But on Friday, you've got, you know, a standalone opportunity. There's not many games that are going to be played at the same time, so you know, maybe it is a chance for.
Louisville to get right, get rid of that bad taste out.
Of their mouth from that Miami loss, and hopefully bounce back. And there's not as I said before we ended the three o'clock hour, there's really not a whole lot to gain by winning, other than, of course, you know, getting another acc win and avoiding a second straight loss. But as far as what's to lose, I mean, you'd no longer be able to say that every team that has beaten you at this point is clearly a good team,
And I don't really like saying that. I mean, it's true, I think every team that has beat Louisville so far is at least a good team. Maybe Miami's a really really good team. But as I've made clear throughout the last I don't know a month or so ever since they lost a Notre Dame. Losing, I mean, that result itself is always a super negative thing. There's no good qualit I mean, there's no good that comes with a loss.
You can maybe find, you know, a loss that isn't as bad as another one, but like losing is always the result you want to avoid. But man, I found it to be so frustrating knowing that Louisville has lost games to teams and they didn't even really play that well, and yet if they just tightened some things up a little bit here and there, then they they might have been able to win. And it's all would it, could have, should have, But because you know, at the end of
the day, it's, you know, still a loss. So again, Boston College on Friday night, seven thirties when it's gonna kick off, which means our pregame show is going to start at six thirty The Louisville Football Pregame Show present about Pellow Windows and Doors of Central Kentucky and Jefferson in him the hospital and then as soon as it ends,
it'll be a late night, but that's okay. We will react to whatever it is that happens on the Louisville Football Postgame Show presented by Alex R. White Lawyers Sue Distracted Driver dot Com. We're also going to be doing the show live from the offices of Alex R. White Lawyers, so looking forward to that on Friday afternoon. And as we get you set for for a Friday night kickoff,
all right, let's go to the phone line. Five X two five seven one seventy nine hundred is the number if you guys would like to uh to give us.
A call and we will welcome in. Robert. Robert Youreon sports Stock seven ninety.
What's up, Good morning, Good afternoon.
I hadn't called them all, Nick. I don't think I've talked to.
You since they hired to coach first about him, and I wasn't to be on him because I like me, I'm thinking we're top by program, which you have at least, uh top tier.
Cod anyhow, so far, so good, Uh, I predict hell when twice the games that Kenny Wan played, you know, one in two years. But uh, just like I said, those football all man, those games getting beat like that been horrible. I mean, like, and I've been listening to your postgame. I was listening to the other day and uh, it's just.
Uh, it's just frustration.
It is.
It is because you know, we're not bad. We're not a bad team. And I don't think the coaching, well not all the coaching, but the deep into backs. You know, we've always been. Now no one's deep into Dick in terms of them at Minifield and all these guys that played in the NFL. But see last year I thought we had decent defense back the years before that they stump and this year it's just they can't cover anybody.
They can't tackle arm tackle.
It's been a big I mean, that was embarrassing for those guys on Saturday. I know they're better than that, but man, that's a tough It was a national televised game and some of those guys just got trucked.
Well or I and they probably hadn't getten frustrated because they did a great man. I couldn't ask for better, I don't think. I mean they keep containment. I mean they you know, they do what they're supposed to do and people in the back end of it.
And then that was a great.
Call that they made on that the turn for fumble to return that uh that didn't beat us. But one more thing, real quick, Lamar, I love Lamar. Couldn't ask for a greater representative for the world him. You'll never win anything low. She just he and I think mostly he makes mistakes out of trying too hard as effort, you get him a close game or.
He will hell drop the ball on man.
Literally and figuratively. But he's doing.
Great and I'm for him and I hope he munch another MBT.
Thank you for the call, Robert.
I'll start with the the football comments when it comes to this team, and you know, I I guess it would be worse if I said here and said, you know, this team, this team's really bad, like they're not like we got sold something that is just nowhere near legit. But I don't think that's the case. And that's why that's why the best, you know, the best way to describe I think how a lot of fans myself included
her feeling is that it's just frustrating. I mean, it would be worse if we stunk and you felt like they were potentially gonna, you know, have a losing record or something like that. And I guess that's still like it, you know, technically possible. I doubt that that happens, but it's just frustrating because you should be better than you are, and I can't really pinpoint one specific thing that is. You know, clearly the defense has not been as good as we thought it would be, and the criticism for
them is fair. Right when you or forty five points and put up you know, nearly five hundred yards or whatever it was against Miami, that should be enough. But the defense also has made some timely plays. There's been games where they got off to poor starts or they had you know, a couple of bone headed plays, but then they settled in. Like, if you look at the numbers,
the defense isn't that bad. And in fact, if you go back and look at the numbers compared to last year, as far as you know, the amount of rushing yards you're giving up, the amount of passing yards you're giving up. I mean, I don't have it in front of me, but it's really not that far off. Meaning it's not like you're you're not exactly the same, but it's not as far off as you might expect given the fact
that you know you're seeing these teams. You know, I mean, clearly you're giving up more points than you typically did last year. But I don't know, it's just they should have they should not have those three losses they do, and you know, at the end of the day, you're you're evaluated by doing what winning or losing. So maybe I just wish I had a better explanation as to why they've lost these games. And the one that I've come up with that isn't a good thing, but it's
I think it's valid. They've made a lot of crucial mistakes in games that yes, we know are avoidable, it happens, but their mistakes seem to come at really, really, really bad times. And even when they do that, though, they find themselves late with a chance to potentially tie it up towards the end of the game, or maybe they've got the ball with a chance to take the lead because it's tied or something like that. I mean, I think those scenarios have all presented themselves in these losses.
So they've overcome some big mistakes to again give themselves a chance to win, but they come up short. And you got to think, if you avoid you know, twenty five percent of the crucial mistakes that you've made, one that doesn't make you perfect. You still are a team that has flaws, but you might have been able to like that might have been enough to where you could
make those mistakes and still be to win. I think now you're making you know, especially against SMU and against Notre Dame, against Miami, you just lost to a team that's really good. And I think most would say, hey, against this Miami team with cam Ward who you know, good luck anybody to anybody who wants to get in
a shootout with with with Miami. But like I think, if you, I mean, I guess you could say this about any opponent, like having a scenario like they did against Miami on Saturday, where on the kickoff return you end up getting a penalty that moves you to what your three four yard line, whatever it was, and then the first play you fumble it in the end zone,
they scoop it and score. I mean, that's not ideal no matter who you're playing, but especially when you're playing a good team like Miami, you don't want to give them seven in a situation like that. And that was really the one crucial like, just man, what do you do?
And you can't do that. That's the only time I feel like that happened of a than you know, whenever they would take a play that might have you know, needed only be for a few yards that they ended up getting twelve or thirteen, you know, one hundred and fifty five yards on the ground for Miami after contact is embarrassing. But again, as far as just the one real, big crucial mistake that can flip the momentum in a major way, it was that penalty on special teams and
then the fumble that gave them the touchdown. So you know, maybe you did get better and you instead of making three of those kind of mistakes, you made just one of them. But you just can't do it against a team like Miami and still feel like you're going to
have a great shot at winning. And that's why I guess the culmination of it was just such a frustrating thing for me, is because you could have lost in Miami the same exact way that you did, and it wouldn't have been such a punch to the gut if you already hadn't lost two games that, you know, I feel like we're avoidable. But at the end of the day, you win or you lose, and there's certainly a lot in between there that that you can take. And you know,
context always matters. But you've played three good teams and you've lost all three of them, and that's that's not what fans were expecting this year. And you still have a chance to play, you know, one, maybe two good teams the rest of the way, and here's the hoping that they can, you know, finish strong. All right, Let's see here five O two six five three zero seven ninety is the LLN N Federal Credit Union text line
two of you have sent this in today. I don't know if you're trying to just get me to say something that that maybe I'm not supposed to say on the radio. But apparently there's a running back who plays for Boston College and his name is uh Turbo Richard. Are you familiar with Turbo Richard?
Gone?
But I love the name.
Turbo Richard's a freshman running back for Boston College. He's got two hitter and seventy one yards on the season, And I mean, Turbo Dick. Is that what you guys are trying to be funny about, because obviously Richard is you know, people people you know, people use the word use the name Dick instead of Richard, Like that is a hell of a name, Turbo Dick. I mean that that is his real name, by the way, Yeah, Turbo
Richard is his real name, not to Dick. But like, obviously Dick can be used in place of Richard, and it often is like I don't know many Richards that go by dick, but there are many of them, meaning I don't know any personally clearly, there's all kinds of them. And sometimes, like you know, I feel like since maybe I don't know, like the fifties or something, maybe even before the fifties, it was a known thing that if
your name is Richard, you might go by Dick. And some people chose to name their kids Richard, and they just set him up to be made fun of the rest of their life, because if you name your kid Richard, you have to consider what your your last name is like. And the one that always stands out to me is there's a there's a guy who uh who. He might still be an assistant coach for the Clemson basketball program, but his name is his name.
Is Richard Bender, Dick Bender.
Like that's a hell of a name, like his his parents like have to have known that, like he was gonna be Dick Bender, and like, if your name's Dick Bender, you probably hurt you probably, you know, probably get a lot of looks when you tell people your name.
There's also a race car driver called Dick Trickle.
Oh yeah, that's another one, Like if his name is Richard Trickle, Like his parents should have been aware that. Like now, maybe if it's you're one of like eight, like you're one in eight of the same name from your family, like you are, John. I don't know if there's eight, but I know there's at least three of you. Three, Yeah,
there's three, So like maybe it's just inevitable. Maybe it started with you know, Richard something, and eventually it became like you know, I don't know when it was implemented that people who are named Richard go by Dick. But you know there's many names that I questioned the parents for set, for setting their kids up to be, you know, made fun of for their name. So yes, thank you all on the text line for letting me know that there's a Turbo Dick on the Boston College roster and
we got to be prepared for him. I mean, with the way Miami was able to carry or just run over Louisville's defenders at times, you got to think Turbo Dick's gonna be coming ready to play on Friday Night defense.
Better have plan b ready.
Yeah, look at that. Look at that.
Now we're getting real immature here, which is which is really our safe space. Let's go to the phone lines. Whoever's up next, good luck following that looks like it's Cody. Cody, you're joining us here on Sports Talk seven ninety Welcome into our immature radio show.
Here's that's my type of show, buddy, No reason to act like an adult exactly, So I got into radio absolutely never. Nick. Let me ask you a question here, buddy. If I set the over under at one and a half games, that louis will win for the rest of the season if you were, if you're not strictly not as a fan, what would you take there? I think, honestly, I might lean the under myself because I think they're
gonna lose. Honestly, I think they're gonna lose to Boston College and after that the only game that they I mean, you never know what's how this team can play, but the only game they should win is Stanford. I still remember when they played Boston College and AJ Dillon ran for about four hundred and thirteen miles against the defense, and louis will struggle so bad with a running quarterback.
I think Cassanos will have his way. But let me ask let me ask you that, Nick one and a half the rest of the year, do you take the over or the under? Love the show, Thank.
You appreciate it, Cody, I would take the over just because I I I mean, I still think Louisville has a pretty good team, you know, I don't.
I mean.
Boston College is right now coming off of two straight losses. They lost to they lost to Virginia and they also got smacked by by Virginia Tech, which, by the way, Virginia Tech seems to be playing some pretty good football
right now. But I mean, I think that's one I know, and you're right, Costallanos is a guy who gave him trouble last year despite Louisville playing maybe their best game of the season against Boston College and Bill O'Brien is is an upgrade for them when it comes to to you know.
Head coach.
So look, they could lose to anybody on the schedule. So like, I'm not telling you that it's crazy to think that they would in fact be under the line you just laid out there of one and a half the rest of the way. But I still think objectively, Again, I'm trying not to look at it as somebody who is, you know, a Louisville fan. I mean I am, but I think objectively the rest of the way. I mean, even though they have these losses to I mean, they got they've they've only mean they were one game about
five hundred or four and three. So at the end of the day, you are who you are. But I feel like especially Boston College Stanford, and we'll see what Pitt's like, although Pitt did beat you last year. So I mean I think I think you're you're you're you're getting to six and six, most likely because you'll beat in my opinion, again, they could lose to anybody, but I think they'll beat Boston College. And I still feel like they're they're even though they're on the road. They
should beat Stanford. So I would take the over, and I don't think I'm you know, doing it from a Homer Homer perspective, because again, to be fair, Louisville has lost three games by a touchdown each two teams that are good. Now, again, if you lose to a bunch of good teams and you only beat bad teams, that leaves you not really knowing where you are. Right by definition, you didn't beat anybody good, but you avoided a loss to a team that you know is undoubtedly a bad team.
So that may be where we are.
Like if they go six and six here and they lose to Clemson and they lose to Kentucky, although right now I mean Kentucky, I mean I still think they present a potential matchup problem for Louisville as far as how big they are upfront, how physical they are, and that's proven to be an issue for Louisville. And you know for many years now, you know, I still don't.
I mean, maybe that would be the one where you feel like you lost to a bad team, because right now, Kentucky they do have that one win against Ole Miss and that counts, but they also have, you know, a bad loss to Florida where they got beat by four touchdowns. They lost to Vandy, who you know, I guess technically that's that's not the same type.
Of life that it usually is. But still it's.
At home and it's to Vandy, and then they got killed by South Carolina. So to answer your question, I would take the over, but I'm also well aware that Louisville could lose to anybody left on the schedule if they don't come ready to play, and losing Jamari Johnson certainly hurts. And as soon as I started trying to answer Cody's question, somebody on the text line mentioned Brahm's
common about injuries. Yesterday we didn't talk about that, and I don't know if that is because somebody is injured that we don't know about, or if he's just referring to guys that have been sidelined a little bit. So he mentioned there'll be more guys out than just Jamari Johnson, who by the way, is out for the rest of the season after that injury he suffered against Miami. But I don't have any and again, we're not going to find out. We'll know probably Friday afternoon or maybe Friday
when this thing kicks off. They're gonna keep injuries, you know, as secretive as possible. So when he said, because that was, you know, towards the end of his press yesterday, he was asked, I believe by Rick Bozic, who you know, do you expect anybody else to be out? And he just said, yeah, I mean, we'll we'll you know, you you'd have to ask me names specifically, but yeah, we'll have guys out, and I don't think they asked any names specifically. So, yeah, you're banged up, I mean, but
so is everybody. I would imagine just about every team in college football right now is dealing with some kind of an injury to somebody that they wish that they had. So I just hate being in this position where, again, you don't have a whole lot to gain here with a win, but a loss I think would be I mean, and I know it sounds so lame to say, well, at this point, at least the teams that have beat you are you know, ranked teams, which is true, Like it's not as if you lost to a team where
you're just flat out embarrassed that they beat you. But Boston College, I think would be a team where okay, yeah, you have to look at every game left on the schedule as as a as a game that you know, heck, if you lose to Boston College, maybe we look at the rest of the schedule and say you'd be lucky
to win any of them. I mean that that sounds a little dramatic, but you know, let's be real, Boston College is not a good team, and the rest of the way you play Clemson and Pittsburgh, who are both ranked. Pittsburgh's on defeated Stanford's not any good. But you know how good would Louisill be if they lose to Boston College and they're coming off of that and I guess potential loss to Clemson at their place. All right, quick break, We'll go back on the other side and get to
more of your phone calls. If you're on hold, stick with us. We'll get to you here when we return. It's Coffee and Company fuel by Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. So a couple of people have, I guess, called me out for not responding to one of our first callers there in the four o'clock hour about what he said about Lamar Jackson, and I did just go to another call and not get to that part of his comment or question.
I think it was more of a comment.
And look, I mean, I don't agree that Lamar has proven to be somebody that will always not get it done in a big game, in a big moment, but like I also understand why some people view it that way. I mean, I don't and I will stand corrected if I'm wrong here. But when they played last year against the Chiefs in the postseason, I don't think Lamar had
maybe his best game. But I don't really feel like that being a game where you you know, like there, like, I don't think there was evidence there that supports well, that's just it. He'll put up big numbers and win MVPs, but he's not built to win in the postseason. The Ravens just decided they want to do a band the running game in that matchup, and I don't know why they did it. So look, it's not a playoff game,
but it was prime time last night. They were down what ten to nothing to start that game, and they clawed back and really took over and dominated. So look, Lamar can stop playing football right now, and anybody claiming he wasn't a really good quarterback. That really changed. I mean, maybe not change the game, but obviously like he's different man and he's super successful. But guys who win MVPs, you know, after that, people are going to start saying, Okay, well where's the Super Bowl ring?
And he may never get it. I don't know, but.
I guess this was an exercise for me to remind myself, like there will be people that will always icknowledge the lack of a ring before acknowledging like everything else he's done, that's great, and that's just that's because he has hit a level of professional athlete star that expectations are always going to be super super.
High because he's that, He's that special.
So look, but right now, with the NFL looking the way it looks and the Raven's playing the way they're playing, I mean, maybe it changes in a couple of weeks. Maybe they hit up, maybe they hit some tough times. I'm not sure, but they're playing really really good right now, and Derek Henry just makes them different.
Man.
I mean, they're they're going to be a really really tough team to beat if they keep playing the way they're playing right now. I don't care if it's Kansas City, if it's whoever. I mean, they're they're really really clicking on all cylinders right now. All right, Five O two five seven seventy nine hundred is the number. If you want to jump in and give us a call. Let's go back to the phone lines and welcome in, Matt, Matt, what's happening?
Hey, listen, I want to let you know I don't call often, very rarely at all, but I am listening to you, and I do enjoy you.
Appreciate that, yep.
But anyway, you know, the older I get, I mean, it used to bother me a lot of these losses, you know, when I was young, like you, I would get upset to and just you know, wonder why why why? But then again, you know it's like, Okay, Like I said, the older I get, it's always going to be the top ten guys that are always going to be there. It's always the big boys that are always going to be the winners. And you know, we we only lost three games this year and they're pretty good teams. Sure,
we lost Notre Dame by one point. I guess it was and SMU, who's only was beaten by b YU If I'm correct.
I think yep, that's right.
Why Yeah, and then you got Miami, who's you know, nobody's beat them, and we came really close. And you know, like you said, the defense is not what we had hoped it would be. If it was, we'd be sitting at seven. And oh, I really believe that because I think the offense is really capable. Quarterback is great.
Yeah, he's pretty special.
Yeah, I mean I think he is too. So I don't know. I mean, I know it's it's it's being negative. There's a lot of people being negative right now, But you know, I don't. I don't know. I think this is a pretty good team. Myself, I do.
Too, And that's I guess that's what makes it frustrating is that you're not losing to teams where you feel like, man, how the heck did that happen? You're losing the teams that, by by this point, everybody's played more than half their schedule, and everybody that you've lost to those three teams, I think everybody would claim they're pretty good. Some would say they would be Miami might be really really good.
So but you know what, I tell you the truth, though, I think you might agree with me. When if Miami does get in the playoffs, which it looks like they probably will, they're going to have a hard time stopping some people. Oh yeah, but their defense is not that good either.
No, I'm with you. Yeah, I think that's clearly where they are vulnerable. But but Matt, I appreciate the phone call. Good to hear from your man, and I appreciate you listening. And something you said there really stood out to me. As far as you've been you know, I don't know, I'm not sure how old you are, how much older you are than me, but you know, the losses are always going to be disappointing for fans because you know, that's part of it, that's part of being a sports fan.
But when you mentioned, you know, it's really the same ten teams every year winning it, maybe that is something that I should remind myself. Maybe others can do the same thing more than we do.
Because there's two ways to look at that.
It's actually pretty demoralizing to think, you know, even if we put together the best team we've ever had, and we have the best season we've ever had as a program, and yet we still probably aren't sniffing a national championship. That's kind of demoralizing, is it not. And that's really college football for the vast majority of programs there are not that. I mean, if you've never won a national championship in college football, do you think you're gonna ever
win one? I mean, it can happen, right, I Mean, there's a season every year and maybe somebody breaks through. But the last first time national champion being Florida when when what's his name was there who's long since retired Spurrier, the old ball coach. I mean, that's pretty telling. As far as you can have special seasons, you can have good seasons, you can feel like you've got a pretty damn good team, but as far as like the very top of the sport, it's an exclusive group and they
don't have new members ever. I mean, again, the last team to play for a national championship for the first time was yeah, TCU, Because if you remember Washington kind of felt like that because they'd never really been in that spot, at least in my lifetime. But they actually can technically because college football.
I love it. But how we've.
Determined national championships for the vast majority of the sports existence is really really stupid. I mean, you got years where three teams can technically pull up a ranking or a formula and claim that they're they're national champs. I mean, Kentucky tried to do it until they got made fun of so much that they pulled that fake trophy they put together out of the case.
Real story too, by the way, you can go look.
It up, so you know, the demoralizing aspect of it is still very real, like, hey, you know, man, we could be really good, we could have the best season ever, and like we're still probably not realistically sniffing an actual national championship. But I guess the way to look at it that's not demoralizing is to know that you, if that's your team, you are, you're in the majority. I mean,
that's the majority of programs. It's a very it's a very exclusive and small group that that that are consistently in the mix and realistically national championship contenders.
Now, I want to weigh in on this. I think part of the fun for the fans is the ride too. I mean, if you get the national championship, that's obviously which you want to have happened. But the majority of the season isn't the national championship. It's getting to that point, and I think having fun with that part of it, which is obviously that's why I'm experiencing right now with Indiana. That's a big majority of the fun for me.
And it's a ride you've never experienced before. Yeah, I mean, and that's got to make it fun. And you know, I'm envious because it would be a whole lot of fun. You know, Louisville last year, I don't know if they had hit this point, but because I think right around now is when they slipped up and lost a pit
and you at that point again. I never last year like I found myself wanting to kind of be in that moment, but the playoff was only at four and even though Louisville was technically in a good spot to potentially get there, it just didn't really seem realistic. And I'm thinking, because I knew maybe they weren't as good as.
The record showed.
I mean, that was a part of it, But you know what, I think another part of it was me knowing, like, no, I can't I can't turn to playoff in national championship like expectations, even if I forced myself to, because it's not really it's never been realistic at any point, maybe other than that special season back in two thousand and six when it just happened to I mean, it happened to line up pretty perfectly for you where there was no team that was that dominant that year, and had
you held on and beat Rutgers, you probably would have ended up playing Ohio State maybe and they you know, and we'll never know. But like a lot of folks, even objective people, think Louisville was a better team than Ohio State that year. So you know, I didn't expect that call to kind of lift my spirits a little bit, but it did because Matt's right. I mean, at the end of the day, you know, you shouldn't be looking
at championship or busting look. Playoff changes it. But let's be real, I don't think the twelve team playoff is going to give us an easier path for a first time ever national championship winner. But what it does is it gives you more inclusion to the big party. It's not just two teams like it used to be forever. It's not for like it was for about a decade.
Now you're talking about twelve and I think you can chalk up a playoff appearance in the college football playoff that is as something that is the equivalent of a Final Four in basketball, and those have a lot of value, and you realistically can get there now.
And look, Indiana can get there this year. You know it's cool.
We can't do it now, but you know it wouldn't be a shocker for a couple of years. Hell maybe next year, maybe they're right there with another opportunity to get there, and that makes it more fun.
Go ahead, Sorry, the first round that has the on campus games, I mean, it won't be the exact same thing, but it's gonna have the same type of feeling as the first weekend of the NCAA tournament because you're gonna have those home crowds, You're gonna have upsets potentially, and it's gonna be something that we haven't seen before because they've never done campus playoff games, but it's gonna add, you know, just another sense of excitement that we haven't seen with college football.
I think the atmosphere and buzz that you're gonna see or experience if you're there in attendance for these home
playoff games, like that's gonna be so awesome. I mean, and I think what it mean again, I know why you play a national championship or even like a Final Four in a neutral site, but like, I don't know, like having these games that take place in the first week of the season that are a lot of neutral site games like the Chick fil A Kickoff Classic and all that, Like, you know, those are fine, but college sports, man, like, the vast majority of games should be held at home
and away situations. I mean, I know in college hoops, you know, there's the champions Classic, which serves as like the you know, the big tip off event for the sport, which you know, usually people aren't in basketball mode by that moment, but at least there's a lot of attention because you put it on ESPN and you feature some of the best brands, the biggest brands in the sport of college hoops and those.
Who love college football.
They're they're gonna be there already because they give you the updated rankings in between those two games. But like, why can't you have the Champions Classic but just have those games be home and away for those teams? Like, I don't understand that. I mean, it's clearly money, and you put it in a big market in an NBA arena. But like, if you're if you've got a chance to give your sport exposure that they typically don't get, don't don't do it on a neutral site.
Do it where you can.
Like people who don't really get into college football or college basketball, what I think would stand out to them in a major way is an insane atmosphere where a home, a home arena, or a home stadium is completely juiced and people are losing their minds. You got a student section that's you know, completely amped. Like that, really, I think is a better selling point to get more people to really want to be in and and and you know, love the sport the way a lot of the diehards do.
But yeah, I was surprised when I saw that that's how they were doing the twelve team playoff, that there would be some games that aren't played in big NFL stadiums and big cities. It'll just be a home game for certain teams who earned that spot. But I'm happy they're doing it, and I think it'll make a lot. I mean, we'll see, because again, money matters more than anything, and I'm sure there's a financial component that has led to there being so many neutral site games in college
sports over the years. But I wouldn't be shocked if you see these environments and people will realize, Okay, this sports at its best when you are on somebody's home quarter, home field, and it seems as if wherever you're at, that whole state, maybe that whole city is completely shut down because everybody is obsessed with this program and it's like their religion and they've got a chance to, you know, win a college football postseason game, playoff game, but like the first time ever.
So it'll be exciting.
And we still have no clue exactly who's going to be there this year, but I have high hopes for the twelve team playoff as far as the entertainment value, our quick break will come back on the other side, wrap up the four o'clock hour, keep this thing rolling along. Maybe talk about last night's exhibition game. We did talk about it a little bit at the being of the show, but some things that stood out to me. You heard a little bit of them last night in the postgame show.
But there's some belated thoughts I want to share as far as what we saw last night, our first glimpse of this this Pat Kelsey team.
Quick break, don't go anywhere. It's Coffee and Company.
Filbouth Thorton's on Sports Talk seven ninety. If you watched last night's exhibition game Louisville and Young Harris, I would hope that if you were a Louisville fan, you were pleased, you were entertained with this team. Twenty four to May three pointers, forty three percent from three point range. I mean they took seventy eight shots in the game as a whole. And that speaks to what Pat Kelsey wants
to do as far as his team's identity. And you know, this is the first year he was, you know, as a coach that he's ever been able to go out and literally pick players one through you know, thirteen, seemingly, and there's not anybody that's been added to this team. Rather it be freshman coming in from the high school ranks, somebody who followed him from Charleston, or like the bulk of the roster is guys that he brought in from
the portal. All these guys fit with the way he wants to play, and I would assume, you know, it's been that way every year for him, right. I mean, I would assume most coaches, if they have a specific philosophy, a specific style of play, which which Pat Kelsey does, that you would always want to go out and get
guys that fit that. But you know, these are guys that have played a lot of college basketball, at least most of them, and you know they're they're twenty one, twenty two, twenty three years old, and they're exactly you know that they you know they're they're a piece to the puzzle that fits perfectly. And that's why you know there's gonna be games where maybe Caseon Pryor just doesn't have it going. And he didn't played great last night.
But you know, I don't think he played terrible. He just wasn't as efficient with when it comes to making shots, didn't shoot it that well.
But overall, I don't think he played bad.
It's not as if I'm worried about well, will will he be good enough to be, you know, a key player for this Louwell team. But if he's if he is off, you know you can you can turn into a waterman who may be able to you know, have a not have a you know, have a big game where he's making four or five three pointers and scoring fifteen points a game. So you definitely have depth, you have the ability to. I mean, you can do the
whole five in in any substitution if you like. Now what I'm curious to see and I don't, it'll it'll It'll take a while before we can see this. I don't think you're gonna see it against Faulding. Hopefully you don't see it against Murray State, but maybe you never see it. I just think there'll be a much thinner rotation whenever you get to you know, games that are
neck and neck throughout. But maybe I'm wrong, like maybe that maybe the formula is Hey, regardless, if we get down big, we're still gonna keep pushing, pushing, and we're gonna keep rotating guys in and got guys in and out, and we're gonna try our best to get stops, create havoc and space the floor. Get as many, you know,
get as many really good looks as you can. And look, I know last night's competition was not much competition at all, but regardless of the score, I just, I mean, this team clearly has an identity, and yeah, it's an identity that can make you vulnerable depending on certain opponents. Right Like, if a team is good at slowing it down and they've got some big physical presence near the rim, you know, you could be in you know, you could you could
be in trouble. Not to say you can't overcome that and you can't scheme around it, but like that, that's that's the obvious that's the obvious potential issue for this team. And I don't want to call it an issue just
yet because we don't know. But if you're looking at this roster and you're looking at even the production from from these guys at their previous school, and you're just looking at him in person, right like watching them play, they do not have a big physical guy that can just you know, not only protect the rim, be a rim runner for you, but just give you a physical
presence down low. I mean, i'd say James Scott is your best bet at that and you know, he's a true sophomore and I think he plays strong, but he's not you know, he's not a Brandon Huntley Hatfield like you had a year ago. And I only mentioned him just because he's you know, I probably shouldn't mention a guy that played here year ago, but he's the first guy that came to mind because last year you had that.
I mean, he he was a guy that more often than not, you weren't going to run into many teams that had a guy that was that was just as big as he was, not only when it comes to you know, height, length, but just a guy that's a big physical presence, a grown ass man if you will. At times, he didn't play like that. We all know that, although he did come on and play really well for the majority of last season. But yeah, I mean that's
that's the one thing that would worry me. Also, I think defensively, you know, you got some guys that I think are good individual defenders. I mean, especially the guys that you started, Chucky Hepburn, Javon Hadley, Trey Olray. I mean I think those are guys that you you know, even James Scott. I think you would say that they're good defenders. But what was, you know, eye opening for me is that they're going to take risks defensively that
we're not used to around here. Rather it be from Patino or Mac with the Pack line like they're going to you know, they're gonna gamble and try to get the game played at a fast paced where they can get up as many shots as they can. And that's that's the formula, and so far it's been effective for Pack. Kelsey, I see no reason why it won't be effective here, but you know, we shall see. All right, we got another hour to go, so don't go anywhere. Keep it
locked right here. It is Coffee and Company, five o'clock hours next on Sports Talk seven ninety