9.16: Gonna Be Tested - Hour 1

A lot of football really from start to finish. And I, you know, selfishly, although I don't think it's selfish, you know, want to spend time with your family, but I selfishly because I got some heat Friday for talking about how I was actually looking forward to Louisville not having a game, not because I was anti Louisville football and I didn't want to watch them play, but you know what the schedule set up to where they have a rare Saturday

off in September, which I chose to embrace and think, Okay, you know, let's I don't I don't have to work, I can just watch football have fun. So I did exactly that. So hopefully you guys had a good weekend as well. But it all changes this week because Louisville back in action and they're going to be tested for

the first time, and that alone has me excited. Now, they didn't play this weekend, as you know, but Kentucky did among many other teams in college football, and we certainly have to discuss what happened there because like that that had to suck, and I mean, like that had

to really really suck. Because I think if you take no way, everything you know about both programs historically, both programs this season, everything, recruiting rankings, talent brand like everything, and you just watched those two teams play, you would say that they were very comparable, Like you would think that those are You know, if somebody just told you, well, hey, these are the two best teams in the country. I don't know if anybody would just believe it without knowing

any information. But like if you'd just said these teams are neck and neck historically and are expected to be both in the hunt to win the whole thing this year. Again, if you knew nothing other than that, you probably believe it. But Kentucky ends up coming up short. And I actually think in a weird way that was the most Marked Stoops thing ever. And I'll get into it later, but I think what Mark Stoops did is is I think he really put Kentucky without trying. I'm sure because obviously

he wanted to win. And I'll give to Kentucky credit. They were as good as Georgia for just about that entire game, and they came ready to play. They were bullies. I mean, they were impressive. Atmosphere, looked insane in Lexington, so tip of the cab. But like losing and then giving the whole well, I'm not into anytime somebody says, well not to be you know, not to be a jerk,

They're about to be a jerk. Anytime somebody says, well, you know, I don't want to sound racist, they might be towing the line of saying something racist, and they're giving you a heads up, Like my favorite is, with all due respect, as I'm about to say something very disrespectful. That's what Kentucky fans.

was actually a beautiful thing from my view. Of course, somebody who you know is a Louisville fan that doesn't want to Tucky to win. But then also this notion that like, well, now we know we're good. Yeah, maybe, or you could be like the last two teams that did the exact same thing against Georgia, the exact same thing that ended up both having losing seasons. So anyways, we'll get into that. A lot to get to from

the overall weekend of college football. Certainly usually there is on a Monday, but I feel like today it's even more so the case just because Florida State, I mean, are they gonna get a new coach? Like? Is Florida and Florida State gonna be looking for a new coach in the same offseason? Could anybody have ever and this could not have played out at this point any worse

for Florida State. And I'm telling you, if you felt like everybody was sitting back collectively enjoying the misery of Florida State when they went to Ireland and lost on a last second, you'll go to to Tech if you've not taken in the beatdown they took on a standalone game on national television on Memorial Day or was it Labor Day like at those tabs Labor Day to Boston College and then you see them just lose in a game to Memphis where like Memphis didn't even really play good,

went into Tallahassee and still one with without really a lot of trouble, Like we're all enjoying it and it makes me I kind of feel like an a hole. But then again, like you know, when you behave the way you behave, you sue your conferences if you are superior and you can't beat Memphis at home and you've lost to two teams in the league that a lot of people think are below average for acc teams, Like it is, the satisfaction is there and I'm really enjoying it.

And then also another NFL Sunday, we need to recap, and we got a game tonight, so I am excited for these next three hours. And I hope you guys stick with us at is Coffee and Company. And we are fueled by Thornton's here on Sports Talk seven ninety has mentioned taken you up till six o'clock, so take us with you wherever you go. You can listen live on the iHeartRadio app listen live at seven ninety Louisville

dot com. We have no guest schedule today, so that means you guys can be a part of the show. You can give us a call five oot two, five to seven one seventy nine hundred, or you can text in on the L and N Federal Credit Union Text line at five O two six five three zero seven ninety. My name is Nick Coffee. I hope you guys knew that. If not, now you do. The man I'm looking at through a high definition monitor here is the one and only company Man, mister John Aldman. I can just tell

that's a man that likes his football team. That's a man who's coming off of a three and oh start to the season for Indiana football. I was gonna say for the first time in like a long time, but it probably isn't that.

at least as of now. I mean, obviously we'll see that it's still early, but I mean you can just tell Indiana football is not carrying themselves like Indiana football anymore. And they get a big ten win in California, which just sounds weird, but here we are, so I mean, weird or not, it's got to feel good, John about them. Hoosier's baby, I'm bricked up.

of the most respected analytic guys in sports. So I mean Indiana again, starting three and zero, if you wanted to be like a Debbie downer, like, if you wanted to be a hater, you could say, well, look who they beat.

that type of things exactly. I mean last year almost lost to overtime against Akron. Yeah, so you can tell. And I do feel just because it was a late night game UCLA on national television, national television, it's not that people are realistically out here claiming that Signette's gonna take Indiana to the Big Ten championship. But it does

feel as if now like people are on notice. This guy may may make Indiana not a football school to where they're gonna, you know, pass their basketball passion or anything like that. But Indiana's weird.

sounds dumb because I don't haven't listened to him. But it's not like anything crazy he's saying. He just carries himself. And man, this is getting a little too deep into the weeds. Inside baseball, as they say, you can really tell a lot about a team's demeanor, like they're a reflection of their coach. I say that all the time, and at times I feel like it does. I don't articulate exactly what I mean by that, but like the best example I can give you is when Kenny Payne

put his team out there against Leanne Rimes. You know, they should have never lost the game regardless, But like I felt like what I was seeing from the players on the floor, the look of confusion, the lack of intensity, just not really dialed in. I felt like, man, that's kind of concerning. I kind of get the same vibe from the guy that's over there on the sideline, right Pat Kelsey's playing a team you know, in the Bahamas. Pat hadn't coached real game yet, But I'm just using

you as an example. I saw dudes diving on the floor, giving more effort in a game that didn't really matter in the Bahamas when they're up forty. Like again, doesn't mean he's gonna be a great coach, but like I can tell that his energy, his demeanor, his brand, his DNA essentially has has certainly been injected as a part of the overall culture of the program and the players on the floor with Signetty, I mean again, you can just tell this guy has a lot of confidence, a

lot of belief in himself. He has a plan, he has won everywhere he has gone, and he's not overthinking it. He's look, I know I'm a ball coach, right, I know how to win. I'm gonna go to Indiana. I'm gonna do what I've been doing my whole career. And the question always is does it translate? And way too early to know, like if he's going to be a

winner in the Big ten long term. But I don't know how Indiana fans can't be over the moon about where they are three games in with this guy who I don't really remember the higher getting a lot of attention. Not to say Indiana fans were down on it, but like Signetti should have been a bigger attraction elsewhere, I believe.

he's been at, he's been the proven winner. Every other guy they as a head coach, every other guy they've gone with is somebody that was either a first time head coach, they were a coordinator somewhere else, and there's some kind of connection, right, And it was somebody who was more of looking at Indiana as a stepping stone and they were never able to take that next step to whatever it is their actual goal was Signetti's sixty two. He may end up using this as a stepping stone.

Only time will tell with that. But with him being at the age that he is and him already knowing exactly what he wants to do, this is something that Indiana could be or act. He can make this something long term for him for the rest of his career, however long that may be.

But Indiana is a program that has resources like for example, Indiana where even if Signetty was there three years and was winning and consistently you know, five and four in league play something like that, that's his average record in three years. And let's say I can't even think like Virginia Tech opens up, Virginia Tech's a good job. It's a better job than Indiana when it comes to just football. Every aspect of how you would evaluate what is and

what is not a good job. Everybody would say you, Virginia takes a way better job. But this day and age, with the money and you already being in the Big ten, Like why would he leave? You know what I mean?

Like again, we're getting way ahead of ourselves here, but like to your point, it's the kind of higher that, yeah, this guy may not be the rock star of college football, like a young up and coming coordinator who gets an opportunity to be a head coach and kills it like Josh hypeled it at Central Florida gets the job at Tennessee. Tennessee's kicking everybody's ass. Like that's not the path you would get from this guy just because of his age's background,

But you know what, the guy can win. And it reminded me with Pat Kelsey a little bit. Not to make the comparisons Pat Kelsey in Signetti, but it's the same. It really is the same thing as far as Okay, yeah, not Pat Kelcey, to be fair, he wasn't a candidate for any of the jobs that open up that I know of. Maybe his agent behind the scenes, like maybe Pat Kelsey was in fact trying to get out of Charleston and he had some options. Then Lorsll of course

came involved, and they were much better option. I don't believe that to be the case, but either way, that's a guy who's won everywhere he's been. He has a system in place, worked at Winthrop, worked at Charleston, and you know, now the question is will it work at a higher level. And I feel like that's clearly still a big question mark with Pack because he hadn't coached

a game yet here. But when you have the portal and nil, like you have resources at places like Louisville that make it to where yeah, you know, even if there is a transition there, like he's gonna be swimming in different waters when it comes to the personnel he has to work with, is transfers or even high school kids because he's now at Louisville, So you know there's something.

You know, as a traditionalist, I guess like I Signette's not a flashy name as far as you know, Like he wasn't somebody that everybody was out there trying to hire. Even when James Madison was kicking ass, nobody was out there saying, wow, just wait until somebody goes and plucks James Madison's coach. But you know what, he wins and

he's showing here like that. That's why when whenever he got the job, I just kept thinking to myself, you know what, like in the end, has never like consistently been really really good in football or really ever honestly, but asking this guy who has won everywhere he's been to get them to be where they are more respectable and they're at least getting too Bowl games every year. Like I'm sitting here thinking he should be able to do that, and I don't have any concern that he

won't be able to. Now getting to that next step totally different conversation and we'll see how it goes. But I was thinking of you on Saturday, man, because I know that had to be great for you in the Hoo's your nation.

And I want him to try to find songs today that have chorus or maybe just you know, a clear message within the context of the song about a test getting tested, getting ready you know for a test, passing a test, COVID tests, that's kidding, yeah, you know, just test because Louisville is gonna be tested against Georgia Tech

on Saturday, and I can't wait. Like I'm not kidding you, this is this is in a game that at any point that I look at of the twelve games on the schedule and think, man, when Georgia Tech comes to town, you better you better cancel Christmas because the city's gonna show. It's gonna it's gonna be an all. Like no, clearly

in Louisville right now, it's double digit favorites. But just because of how this season is shaped up, I mean, all you can do is take care of business against the bums you've played, and then you have the week off. Because of that, there's already been you know, most teams have played three games at this point, right, so you're just kind of sitting back. Not to say these guys don't know where they stand, because I'm sure they feel

great about their ability this year. And this is this is strictly from me talking as a fan, but I just want to see where they stand. And again, beating Georgia Tech in covering wouldn't really mean that here we go louis was about to potentially win the ACC or anything like that. But it's just I mean let's put it this way. Georgia Tech, we know is just so much better than who they've played up to this point. So I always say this, the games against FCS teams

and G five teams, I hate them. I do because it's just, you know, to me, it's honestly, it's a waste of time. Now, you can find value within the circumstance, right like with Jeff Brom having a brand new roster with a lot of transfers on offense, especially an injury to one of your guys you were expected to rely on, and calling Lacy like you really did get some valuable reps for a lot of guys in those first two games. And you could do that without the game in Jeopardy.

You could do that without thinking, Okay, can we put this back up in or? Or is it gonna blow our lead and we may put ourselves in a dangerous situation. So there's value in it from like that aspect, but as a selfish fan, and I don't think it makes me selfish, but like I know, I'm not. I know a lot of people don't agree with me on this. I want to know where my team stands every time

I get to see them play. They only get twelve games in the regular season, and to me, like maybe it's just the basketball nerd, and me like, twelve is not enough for me. You could actually get through a twelve game season and beat the teams you're supposed to beat, lose to the teams you're supposed to lose to, and in a twelve game sample size, you don't even know if you're any good or not, you know what I'm saying, Like that's happened before, so I'm not saying that's what's

gonna happen this year. And again, Georgia Tech is not some big tests to where hey, you beat them, let's go ahead and get ready to go back to Charlotte. But it's such a humongous step from where you've been as far as who you've played up to this point.

And you know, I'll put it this way, Louisville fans who still think this team has a chance to be really good, and I'm one of those fans myself, Like anybody who still feels really really good about this team, you are justified in looking and you're not just being like a positive fan who's just being a homer. There's I mean, objective people still vote Louisville as a top

twenty team knowing they haven't played anybody yet. Louisville has now looked at as like a potential dark horse playoff team, and everybody who puts them there knows they haven't played anybody yet. So it's not just Louisville fans who still look at things knowing they haven't been tested and feel like they've got a good team. Look, last year, you won ten games. Jeff Brom has proven to be a good coach. And the more we look at Purdue after Jeff Bram, you kidd me, Purdue got their ass kicked

in a way I never expected. I mean, I knew not the name it bounce Back, but man, they could have named the score. So Jeff Brom has proven to be a good coach and he's got a good group of players that he brought back, a great group of players that transferred in. They've got depth like they've never had. On defense, I think his quarterback. I know there's still some folks that want to see what he does against

a real defense. I'm one of those people as well, but I like what I've seen so far from Tyler Shuck. So again, when I talk about being tested, I don't want it to appear as if I'm doubting them and they've got to prove something to me. That's not what it is at all. I think Louisville fans and everybody objectively, I think it makes sense to view them as a top twenty team that could potentially be one of the

best teams in the ACC. I just, you know, I'm feening to see them do something against a team that you know it's pretty good. Like you know, I know, Georgia Tech lost to Syracuse and that knocked them out of the top twenty five. Their win against Florida State, Let's be real, clearly doesn't look like I mean, honestly, the way they beat them doesn't even look good anymore. I mean, I'm not taking it away from them. Still a good win, but like Memphis and Boston College beat

them much worse than Georgia Tech did. But anyways, this is a team that brings back some really good players from a year ago, and that team won nine games. Guys, Like again, I'm telling you, you know, Georgia Tech, I'm sorry, didn't win nine games. They ended up finishing fourth in the ACC and I'm trying to. I don't want to. I don't want to bring too much from last year as far as numbers, because they've now played a few games to where like bringing up last year's numbers may

not make a lot of sense. But again, I use george Tech as an example. After Week one, like they should have, on paper been given a much more realistic chance to beat Florida State because you know, they bring back Haines King, who has you know, throughout his career been pretty good, really took a step forward last year. You know, running back Jamal Haynes has been one of the best running backs in the ACC for the last

couple of years. So, look, they got a bad taste in their mouth, I'm sure after losing a QS, and I'm sure they feel as if they can come in here and beat Louisville. Like I think they're gonna have some confidence, but Louisville's better. I think there's a reason

that they're double digit favorites. But you know, all that is is just basing it off of like like, in a way, this spread for Georgia Tech, it almost kind of feels like what the spread would be if neither team had played a game up to this point, because I think if you're an odds maker, you're setting a line here, how you would you really look at anything?

Like if Louisville was in trouble against these teams they played Austin p and Jacksonville State, then yeah, maybe you would think, Okay, you know they won, but man, they're not any good. But like, this is really the first time anybody's gonna learn anything about Louisville. And I'm expecting a win. I'm expecting to do the postgame show Saturday and be talking about this team sitting with a three and zero record, and I'm hopeful that we'll be talking

about a great atmosphere there. And I'm in fact, I'm a little worried we're going to be talking about on the postgame show, specifically a traffic nightmare because of the Bourbon and Beyond music festival. But hey, Louisville fans will be there and it should be awesome. All right, quick break what we'll do on the other side, We'll we'll let you guys be a part of the show first and foremost, so give us a call five two, five

to seven, one seventy nine hundred. Also text line Ellenn Federal Credit Union text line five h two six five three zero seven ninety and we want to hear from you, so again, film lines are open. We'll get at the text line as well. But with Mark Stoops, it's not even a backhanded compliment when I say this, because again, that was impressive to come off an embarrassing, embarrassing performance against South Carolina and have your team ready to go

against the best team in the country. But the way it all played out is such a Mark Stoops Kentucky kind of thing, which has Kentucky fans not knowing what to think about their coach, not knowing what to think about,

like where are we what's the you know? So anyways, we'll get to that in a lot more certainly a lot to get to from the NFL on Sunday, as we have our first starting quarterback that's been benched, a guy that if his career is not resurrected, maybe you throw him in the conversation as biggest bust of all time.

We're getting a way ahead of ourselves here, and I can't say I've seen anything from Bryce Young that tells me he's gonna be a okay, But like there's actually been a nice trend in the NFL in recent years, especially this year, of quarterbacks who have in fact, you know, found their way back if you will. Baker Mayfield, Gino Smith, Sam Darnold, all right to go anywhere? Quit ye when we got to get to a break. It's coffee and company. Feel about Thortons right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

So from here on out, we'll see what John can do. Can he deliver songs that have any level of like context about a test? Initially when I thought, hey, that'll be something easy for him to do, I mean, I didn't do any research on my own, but I can't really think of any songs off the top that like are known songs.

going to get to in just a second. But there are a couple of people that got in over the weekend that like felt that Colorado State losing to Colorado was like a statement like I was, like, I mean, that's a game they were still favored to win and was supposed to win, and we'll see what they do

the rest of the year. I mean, but that reaction like doing what you're supposed to do and beating a team you're sposed to beat and then having the type of reaction that Shiitor Sanders had after the game, and the way you know, people I guess are so sensitive Dion to where they think to text in on a Saturday after Colorado wins to this show to like put

it in my face. I mean that it's to me, it's very telling, Like are you saying that, like if they just beat the teams are supposed to beat and lose to the teams that they're clearly not as good at like they're gonna there probably five and seven, and which you still feel as if like that was good.

for the matchup. Our pregame show will start each week one hour before kickoff, so again two thirty start time. It's the louivill Football Pregame Show about Pellow, Windows and doors of Central Kentucky and Jefferson Animal Hospital, and then the postgame show as soon as it ends, folks will go live right here taking your calls reacting to whatever it is that happens between the Cards and the Yellowjackets on the Louisville Football Postgame Show presented by alexro White Lawyers,

suit Distracted Driver dot Com. So looking forward to that. Nice to have a week off, but man, I'm excited. I can't wait to see really just where Louisville stands.

where I feel like you've got a chance. Even though they had their loss to Northern Illinois. I mean that game is a statement opportunity, not quite like it was prior to the Northern Illinois upset, but still, you know, names is a tough place to win in Northern Illinois. Being able to do it doesn't mean that anybody can just go in there and win this year, and it'll be tough for Louisville. So anyways, got to get past

George Tech first though. All Right, So if you listened on Friday when we were doing some Underdog Fantasy play building and you decided to tail, then that means you

won money. I know I was excited to cash that in yesterday on Underdog Fantasy, where the four picks that we made all hit Lamar Jackson over his passing yards, hit it Gardner Minshew through an interception, boom Zay Flowers over however many receiving yards, and he shattered that by the way, and then brock Bowers for the Raiders over three and a half perceptions, So we cashed in and

it was a very, very beautiful thing. So Underdog Fantasy, I'm telling you, guys, if you are someone that is interested in getting in on the action, but you're not necessarily at into just straight up money lines or spreads. You just you like player picks. That's what underdog Fantasy can give you. And I've really been enjoying it so far this football season. You guys should do it as well.

Over one million fans across thirty three states got it on the action last year by competing on Underdog Fantasy. You can went up to one thousand times your money just by choosing high or lower of your favorite player's stats touchdowns, passing, yards, etc. You guys know the drill and making picks on undoff Fantasy is straightforward. It's so easy. I mean, signing up is easy, making the picks is easy. It's an easy experience overall, and it's easy to make money,

at least I think it is. You gotta believe in the power of positivity. So what you need to do head over to Underdog simple to use mobile app or go to Underdog Fantasy dot com sign up with the promo code Nick seven to ninety again Underdog Fantasy promo code Nick seven ninety and Underdog's going to give you a free pick to use on your first Cash Champions entry, plus up to one thousand dollars in bonus cash when

you deposit money. So that's Underdog Fantasy code Nick seven ninety to claim your new customer special of a free pick, and your deposit offer must be at least dating it up and president president where Underdog Fantasy operates. Terms apply. Concerned with your play called win under Gambler, visit NCP Gambling dot org. All right, so what we're doing tonight, We're going back to the four pick play here, and actually a hold.

one player on each team in this matchup tonight. I'll have no problem figuring out what I want to do with the Eagles, but with the Falcons, I have no clues. I'll do a little more research before we give those out a little later on in the show. Again, that is tonight's Monday Night Football action. I love Monday Night football, even though I feel like at times the games usually

aren't that great. But hey, it's like the last football you get for two days, so you got to you gotta make sure and really, you know, soak it all in cause you get Tuesday off, Wednesday off, and then of course we're back at it on Thursday and it's and it's a beautiful thing when it's football season, all right. So again, if you are just not joining us, I give Kentucky nothing that it means anything to them, but

I give him credit. You think they feel better knowing that John Mann, we didn't we didn't win, but Man, Nick Coffee gave us some credit, so I can, I can, I can feel better about that. Like I'm aware that me giving credit means nothing, but I just want you to know that that it is sincere. When I say that, I mean I'm happy, like hell, you lost, and I was worried. I was sweating it out, thinking I was gonna have to talk about the biggest upset at Kentucky

football history on the show today. Instead, I'm talking about how you didn't do that, especially the week after we were basically trashing them the entire week. Yeah. But and again, this is not and I told you so because nobody, myself included, predicted that thing to play out the way that he did. But I wanted to be able to tell you that I think Kentucky's lousy, but I couldn't. They have good players, man, like they do. I don't know how good their quarterback because I still think it's

really tough to know. He's a tough kid who'll get up, he'll take off and run. But as far as like his ability to go vertical and really just exploit a defense with his arm, I don't know if he can do that or not. But he is tough. And you know they're down to two scholarship running backs. That kid who came in who is a transfer from NC State, I don't think he got much carries at all last year and now he was thrown in there against Georgia played really well. I mean they're guys on defense. I

mean they got some studs defensively. I mean Deon Walker. I mean that guy's getting double teamed every single play because that's how impactful he is. We know the skill position guys like Dame Key and Barry and Brown have a lot of talent. So you know, I do believe that if they played South Carolina ten times, you probably wouldn't get the result of thirty two or thirty one to six. Again, they'd probably still lose some of those games, but like that was an outlier, but still it's concerning.

And you know, nobody was expecting them to come out. I mean, I thought they might just completely lay down if they got smacked in the mouth early on and they didn't again, Atmosphere and Lexington was insane. I mean, at least it looked like that on TV. I don't even know what the crowd was. I mean, I don't

know if it was a sellout or not. I know on their pregame show, they were discussing on the KASR pregame show that they were a little worried that that maybe forty percent Georgia fans, and they didn't seem to be the case at all. So you know, they came out back against the wall, which really that's that's when they're at their best. Like they Mark Stoops, his team's just always seem to be in the best situation when they are doubted and they truly embrace that nobody's giving

them a chance. And what's weird about some of Stoops's teams, I think, just like their fan base, they also have not really had had a lot of They've never really been able to deal with the success. Right, So, like, wouldn't shock me at all if they come out against Ohio, which, by the way, I don't maybe Ohio's really bad, do you know, John, I'm gonna look it up. I'm sure you've been checking on the MAX standings this year.

to Eastern Kentucky at halftime last year. I think it might have been down in the fourth quarter. Actually maybe I'm wrong about that, but that's just kind of what they do. So when they start to feel themselves, that's when they kind of slip up and lose it home to Vandy. Right, that's happened. But when they are us against the world, chip on the shoulder, nobody's given us their respect. He does put a pretty good team on the field, and that's what happened on Saturday. I mean,

they were physical. Georgia couldn't get anything going offensively at all. And again, if you didn't know a thing about either program historically, or what the expectations are for both of these teams, or what the vibe was surrounding both these teams before this thing kicked off, and you just watched what you saw when these two teams lined up on every snap, you would believe that those are very comparable teams.

They're not, And they're not gonna be this year, but like that's a credit to Kentucky to have all that and still come up shorts. Gotta suck. But again, I'd be a liar if I said I was bummed at the result. Is what it is, what it was. But a couple things here, because again these are there's two there's two takeaways for me that that really stood out as as again a hater, if you will, somebody who was a Louisville fan, and I think I can be honest and be fair, but also like I'm I've never

tried to hide that I'm I'm. I mean, when you're in this rivalry, I'd say nine out of ten of us that are within the rivalry are pretty adamant that they love their team and they love whoever their other,

whoever their rival's playing. But Stoops having his team ready after such a poor performance against South Carolina and then him making the decision to punt it fourth and eight from midfield with three minutes left in the game, down one to Georgia, the number one team in the country, Like that's such a Mark Stoops thing to kind of take away, Like I still think they're doing the moral

victory thing. And honestly, as much as I'd love to make fun of that, and I kind of already have, like most fans would, like that's one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves that we're not into moral victories. Not every loss is the same right now, not every I mean not every win is the same. That every

loss is the same like moral victories. I don't know when it became a thing to where you couldn't accept it, like you can just say, yeah, we lost and it sucked, but I'm choosing to take some positives from it, and I still feel pretty good about my team. I don't think there's anything wrong with doing that. But if you do that, people will point at you and say moral victory,

moral victory, you're a loser, like you know whatever. But him doing that, and it kind of taking a lot of the attention away from the fact that they were right there, toe to toe with the best team in the country, Like that's such a Mark Stoops kind of thing. And also, he didn't play to win. He did not have the a he did not have the balls if you will, to go forward on fourth and eight, and

yet he was fine. And I hate saying this because this is where it does get look like I I know he wanted to win, but I think Mark Stoops is probably dare I say, somewhat content knowing that he made that decision and they're just gonna lose clothes and everybody's gonna be able to sit back and say, damn, good job Kentucky. I mean, you're Kentucky and they're Georgia, and you you almost had a chance to beat them, Like him not having the stones to go for it.

It's almost as if like he's reminding you know, guys, you can cry after the South Carolina loss. I told you to pony up last year and you did. You can claim you want John Summer all in here after we get busted by South Carolina. But here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go out there, put a good team on the field to compete with the number one team in the country, and we're gonna come up shore and you're gonna like it, and you're gonna be okay

with it because we're Kentucky. And I need to remind you that, like, we don't win these games, but if we get close, you should celebrate it. Because before I was here you didn't do this, You didn't win these kind of games. Like I know, deep down he wanted to win, but he's still, I think at times in these situations kind of coaches in a way that Kentucky's always viewed themselves as a fan base and they want

to take the next step forward. They want to I mean, they had literally quite literally nothing to lose, and I get go like, if they would have gone forward on because here's the counter. If they go forward on fourth and eight and they don't get it, who's mad at Stoops? Like, who's mad at Stoops? Honestly? If they go for it and they don't get it, I mean, the game's over. But like you at least tried. I mean, I what was your best case scenario there? Punting in a way

probably what played out, to be honest with you. I mean, I guess they did end up getting that first down because of the fumble that they didn't recovered, which was a bad break for Kentucky, but you know, those kind

of things happen. So it was just a really weak move, and you know, you know, it seemed as far as optics, like just the absolute safest thing for you to do to avoid you know, because if you go for it on fourthen and you don't get it, yeah yeah, Like technically you tried and you came up short, but you didn't even try. You punted it away and just said, look, we'll see what happens here. Hopefully we can get some stops.

And look, your defense was doing the damn thing. But like fourth and eight, midfield down one to Georgia, three minutes left, your kicker's been on fire. You really need one first down to be in go ahead field goal range with that kicker that looked pretty good, stoops, punts it away and gets it back with nine seconds left on his own twenty five, And that was the most likely result. Like if you crunch the numbers, analytics, and I know some coaches fear analytics, they don't want to

have to rely on that kind of stuff. Whatever, Like, everybody's got their own preferences. I don't think if you if you're somebody that does not lean into analytics as much as the coach who's super analytically driven, I don't think that means that you are anti and that you hate it. Just everybody's got their own preference. But still there's no way to crunch that scenario and play it out and think this is the this is the right thing to do. And I mean it just like I could.

You know, I'm watching the game, I'm a recliner, my kids have just fallen asleep, and I'm watching the end of this game. But I feel like I could feel the groaning from Kroger Field because fans were just like, what do we like? What do we do? We got nothing to lose here. I mean, you could get you could get a PI. I mean, heck, that's how the Bengals ended up losing to the Chiefs yesterday, a late

PI that bailed Kansas City out. So it it is such a Mark Stoops way to kind of go about it, because again, I don't want to say that he's always like played scared, but like he's so conservative offensively, and this was a scenario that it wouldn't even be It's not like he decided to let his hair down, unbutton up his shirt. By going forward in that situation. It wouldn't be like, oh, wow, this conservative coach has really decided to go against what he's always done. No, nobody

would have viewed it that way. They would have said, yeah, four it's fourth and a three minute it slept against number one Georgia. You're a first down away from putting this kicker in field goal range, and you didn't have the stones to do it. And even if you did trust your defens which you should, your defense was playing really well. That just was that just no way that

should you know, it's a safer move. But like the likelihood of you actually giving yourself a chance to win was to go forward on fourth down, get in field goal range and win it by putting it back. Technically you could have still given yourself a chance to win. But man, you made it a lot hard. And by the way, you think you're gonna direct like you have a better shot of getting that fourth down then you do even getting back to the position you were at.

You know what I'm saying, Like, what's the chances you even getting that close again if you get the ball back on your own twenty five, which they did. So anyways, we gotta get to a qui break. We'll come back on the other side. It's coffee and company. We are feel about Thornton right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. It's the title of this one, John. The title is fight test by the band The Flaming Lips. Okay, are you familiar with them? I'm familiar with the band.

But I just I have such envy that you haven't really been tested at all, and here we are midway through September. I mean, it's it's kind of crazy thing. When this thing kicks off on Saturday, which will be the twenty first, I mean, you'll be a month end of the season and you know, just fans myself, you know, and maybe people don't care. I mean, it's anything to do about it, you know, I can use players on your schedule, but just not having any test up to

that point. It's just rare. And that's why, you know, I love an opener that is kind of like Georgia Tech like it was last year, just because even though you know it's not the best team you're going to play, it at least gives you some level of takeaway, an opportunity to learn about your team. If there's anybody who hates the bye week in week three as much as Jeff Bram, I'd love to see him because you could tell.

And jeffs con and it wasn't like he was animated or anything like that, but he made it quite clear when asked about it following the win against Jacksonville State, and he reiterated it today that you know, not only does he want to play every week, coaches don't like bye weeks, man, they like rhythm, and that makes total sense, but you know, to have it this early, especially when you've had those kind of games, I'm sure he's eager

to see where his team stands more than anything. But the Bram effect is still in play here, and what I mean by that is, you know, Louisville is getting still Louisville despite it not being tested at all. They're still they're getting respect. I mean, I think that respect can quickly be gone out the window if they don't play well and take care of business against this Georgia Tech team. However, I mean, they're still viewed as a

top twenty team by just about everybody. And you know, I'd say that speaks to the fact of what Jeff did last year in year one, and people just believe that he's a good coach and he's proven that. All right, let me talk to you guys really quickly here before we get to the top of the hour about my friends over at the Jefferson Animal Hospital. They have been helping out folks in this community for a long, long time.

We're talking forty four years, folks. Since nineteen eighty, Jefferson Animal Hospital and Regional Emergency Center has been open twenty four hours a day, that includes all holidays. They've got a doctor on site every night, including Christmas, So any day, any night, any ship. Jefferson Animal Hospitals dedicated doctors and staff have you and your pets covered in the case

of an emergency. So obviously, emergencies aren't planned, right, They just happen and it's scary, But just know you can rely and you can trust the folks at Jefferson Animal Hospital to help you, even if it's middle of the night, even it's a holiday, they're going to be there for you. But you don't have to just, you know, wait till an emergency happens to go see them. You can schedule

an appointment anytime, day or night, walk right in. They save lives every They're passionate about what they do, and they're great at what they do. So again, go check them out. Jefferson Vets dot com is the website. You can give them a call. FABO two nine hundred pets. And again, they're open twenty four hours a day. Jefferson in the hospital right there on outer loop. All right,

we'll get to the top of the hour here. Two more hours to go in, a lot more to get into, certainly a lot more to react to from the weekend with college football, I mean Florida State, I mean I love it. I love it, and I know what most people do as well. Couldn't have worked out worse for him up to this point Florida. We knew Florida was going to be bad this year, but seeing how things have continued to play out for Billy Napier. You gotta wonder if he does actually become the first coach this

year to get to get fired. Wouldn't be a shocker by any means. So again, we'll keep it rolling along. It's coffee and company. We are fueled about Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety