9.18: Brain Fart - Hour 3

anybody will the rest of the way this year. Like I'm not gonna be shocked at all if the closest game Georgia has the rest of the season after they potentially win the National Championship is that game against Kentucky because it was that close. But you gotta worry, like, is there as much attention on Kentucky really coming to play or is it more about how their coach wouldn't

go for it? And I think as of now, you know, and it's all the Kentucky fans are going to decide which way they want to view it, right, are they gonna be optimistic or are they going to be like, damn, Mark Stoops, your conservative play calling. That's why we're never gonna be an elite program. Like again, you do what

you want to do. But there's there's so much attention on that close game that I feel like Georgia, I mean, they're not even getting their fair criticism that you would get for a team that's supposed to be a lot better than what they showed Saturday, because it's all about Mark Stoops not going foot on fourth down. I mentioned Chris mad Dog Russo losing his mind having a rant about it on.

most listened to sports podcast out there. I guess outside of I guess maybe I shouldn't say this anymore because I don't know if it is still number one, but pardon my take with Big Cat PFT. It's been a dominant podcast in the sports landscape for many, many years, but now you've got the Kelsey Brothers who have a really popular podcast, and I think there's another one out

there that's that's massively successful. But one of the guys I might have been PFT that said that if I was a Kentucky fan, I'd be so heartbroken because Mark Stoop's his decision to punt it eliminated the opportunity for a core moment as a sport, as a Kentucky fan, And that's a little much, but you think about it, it's kind of true because I'd be willing to bet that had they somehow pulled off the upset by going for me going forward, and because again that's another thing

that gets lost here about that decision is that you're you are super conservative, and that is why you were in that position. But by going for it, because he's he's since taken criticism and he's I think handled it pretty professionally meeting Stoops like, I think he's dealing with it about as best as a coach can understanding that, like, yeah, I mean, people are crushing him he's still he's kind of doubling down on his decision, but he's at least handling it, I think without arrogance.

into this team that can go downfield with Georgia. So had they got the first down, killed as much clock as possible before hitting a game winning field goal, I bet every Kentucky football fan would remember that for the rest of their life. You'll beat number one very often. And I know you did it against LSU and that was a big moment. They actually showed highlights of that during that game. But LSU at that time is not

what Georgy is now. I mean, like, let's be real, Georgia could win the next three National championships and nobody would be shocked. That's you know, never happened before. But they're on pace right now to be better than everybody, especially with that news yesterday where they had some legislation pass that makes it to where every Georgia university is allowed to pay players directly within IL. So like they're already ahead of people now again, it'll eventually everybody's gonna

be there, I feel like. But anyways, just not just you know, not to pile on here, but like if I was a Kentucky fan, I would because I don't want to be miserable. I would try to find some positives which aren't hard to find, because you know, if you can play that well against Georgia, you should be able to beat a lot of teams on your schedule.

I mean you probably won't, but like, you know, you feel like you could compete, give yourself a chance to win and still have a special season despite being one and two right now, but you're getting national attention like you really never get. And it's not because damn, how about that Kentucky team. It's because can you believe their coach didn't didn't go for it on fourth and eight midfield. Three minutes left against Georgia, so kind of kind of salt to the wound a little bit. All right, it's

coffee and company. We are fueled by Thornton's and this is Sports Talk seven ninety nit coffee. That's me, the company man, mister John Alden is alongside. We got about fifty minutes left.

and I'm not acting. I'm not going to try to build them up as some big team that you know, like is way better than they really are.

them no longer ranked. And if they were ranked in this then this game would have a little bit more juice to it. But nonetheless, it's Louisville's first test and they will be tested in a major way compared to what they were tested in the first two games against Jacksonville State and Austin p I have no clue really what to expect. Like I think Louisville will win, I don't know if they'll cover. That's one thing than in the last twenty four hours. It's not that I'm losing,

you know, confidence in Louisville as a team. It's not that I'm thinking they're on upset alert, but ten and a half is a lot of points, and Georgia Tech is a pretty good team. Our man for Vegas Insider, Brian Edwards, who joins us each and every week, will join us tomorrow. He did mention this to earlier when he and I were chatting, and this is I mean again, this is you know, I'm not as big on trends, but I feel like with Brent Key being in what his second year there, I mean this is this is

a notable, notable stat. He is thirteen and three against the spread with with ten outright wins as an underdog.

of people listening that know about Chad. He used to cover WKU back for WBKO down there in Bowling Green. Then he spent some time in Atlanta, I'm sorry, not Atlanta, Nashville. He worked for the sports information department at Vanderbilt, and now he's down in the AA as they say, covering Georgia Tech for one of the bigger newspapers in the country. So looking forward to catching up with Chad. All right,

let's see here. Let me remind you, speaking of Saturday, we've got you covered for all the game day coverage. The Louisville Football pre game Show percent about Pellow Windows and Doors of Central Kentucky and Jefferson Animal Hospital, is gonna start at two thirty, an hour before kickoff, and then as soon as the game ends, we'll go live right here reacting to whatever it is that happens in the Louislle Football postgame show, presented by Alex R.

it to piss people off. But I used to be somebody that would catch myself because but now, like you know, look, you bring Jeff brom home, I'm gonna say we because he's one of us. So if Louisville does win big, we're probably gonna celebrate in a way that makes the win seem like it actually is worth more than what it is. I mean, it's a conference win, right, and

it'll be your biggest win up to this point. But because this is a rare late September matchup where you haven't been tested yet and you've already had a bye week, like I think, a big time performance from the Cards and they cover or win big even, I think we're gonna be We're gonna be partying on that postgame show, and I hope you guys will well join us for that.

He was on site for the event and he got some clips that I wanted to play with you guys, because I think a lot of times when it comes to coaches being asked about a rivalry or a coach of the rival, or just the rival in general. And by the way, those all three different things, right, what you think about the coach who is your rival, who coaches the rival school, the rivalry itself meaning like fans,

and then of course you know the rival program. So I think this is a really genuine and genuine answer for Pat, which not to say he's been not giving us genuine answers when asked questions, and he's even been on this show, so I think he's genuine. But like right now, there's no animosity between these two and I think just not that I know them personally, but I think both of them, like put it this way, this

is the best way to describe it. I think they would actually be good buddies, and they might be good buddies like legitimately and just know that, Hey, we have to act like we hate each other so our fans get excited. And maybe they won't be able to do that because it'll be very hard to force that. But let's just say Pat Kelsey is coaching at Cincinnati and Mark Pope is coaching at Purdue, and they became they crossed paths and recruiting, they networked, and they ended up

meeting each other. Like from what I get when I can gather, I can see these two dudes being pretty good friends. I mean, I think Mark Post probably gonna be a little more boring than Pat Kelcey, but you know, other than that, I think they they clearly respect one another at this point. And I just have a hard time seeing anything happening or transpiring where there's really genuine

animosity between the two coaches. And we got spoiled because there'll never be that level of animosity like there was with Beatino and Cal that's a personal rivalry that was very heated and contentious with some pretty deep rooted history between those two individuals. And then you could you throw and now they're leading two different fan bases, two different programs that hate each other, that have a lot of history, and it is the best rivalry in my opinion, in

college basketball, and yes I'm biased in that opinion. But here's what he had to say when asked about When asked about that, he did kind of play play dumb a little bit, like, oh, wait a second, you're saying we got a we got a big rivalry. I gotta I gotta make sure remember that.

It's nasty. But and those are two nasty competitive dudes, but they they had a good relationship, right, there can be honor among thieves, like can we say so? I'm just excited to be a part of it. It is. I think rivalries are what makes college sports great. And you know, they stop being rivalries if you don't win one every once in a while. So let's let's think and go, let's go, let's go.

they just have been upset in the tournament. But they are both in their first year at a new school. Neither would have ever been on a list of ten like if you'd ask people a year ago today, give me ten names most likely to take over if these guys aren't here next year, Caliperry, and Pain. I don't think either of these guys would have been on the list.

In fact, Pat Kelsey might have been. Pope might have been too, But Pope it would have just been because of the fact that he played there, and Barnhart, like, you know, you can see how he would really like Mark Pope, so you know there are some similarities, but then again there's not. You know, like Pat Kelsey, he

could he could. Like again, if Louisville makes the tournament this year and you know, gets a sixth seed and you feel like, wow, that was you know, like if both schools did that, I think they are going to understand that they are you know, it's the first season in a new era and you know, coming out like gangbusters and making a deep run in the tournament, like, you know, although it could happen, you know, it's expecting that and saying that's the fail or pass, that's the

pass or fail of the season is a little unrealistic, a little bit unreasonable honestly. But like with Pope, if they slip up and lose to teams that, like, you know, here's the thing, Mark Pope, I think you have a much much less likely chance of losing to Saint Peter's

or Oakland with Mark Pope as your coach. But like, will you have a regular season consistently that you can find yourself with the top three four seed that remains to be seen, And like if Pope can't get to that standard, like he's his, he'll I don't want to say a good run out of town, but I just think Louisville fans still are going to have really high standards for their program and want to win at a high level and know that this is a program that if you've got a good coach and here he's got

resources too, where you can win national championships. So like Louisville fans know that, but we we are going to not be able to control ourselves when it comes to getting excited about things that you didn't used to get excited about. It used to be just another day for Louisville. If you play a mid tier ACC team and you beat them by twenty, that was just life for a while. That ain't been life recently, so they're not really in the same situation, but there are some similarities to situations.

I mean, both of them have entirely brand new teams, and you know it's because of the coaching change, and it's because places like Louislle and Kentucky can do that.

They can utilize inile money and utilize their brand and utilize the fact that you know, they are one of the there are two of the top programs ever, and I clear I understand Kentucky's clearly ahead of Louisville in that regard, but they are both in that in that tier to where you can, you know, you can quickly put together a pretty good roster all from scratch and be pretty good, because you know, that's the world we're in now. But again, I think they will like each other.

that they're insane. But I've always had the same stance, and that is that, if you know, I think what makes a rivalry great is fans, not anything else.

There's not Xavier and Cincinnati fans throughout the state. I mean, maybe there are as far as like a lum and maybe there are other random Cincinnati fans that live in you know, Cleveland or something, but the majority of the fans of both of those programs are all in Cincinnati, and that's why it's nasty there and that's just not

as common, you know what I mean. Like and with Duke and Carolina, clearly like they are the best rivalry when it comes to just the success in the history and tradition of the two of those two programs, because those are the two of the best programs of all time. But Duke fans like, there's not that many of them, guys. I mean, you go to a Duke game and Durham I've been to one. It's mostly college students who grew

up in the Northeast. Like n C State is more of a comparable rival to North Carolina than Duke is as far as the Louisville, Kentucky side of things. But again I'm biased. I understand like a lot of people would tune in across the country who like college basketball and say, this guy's an idiot. There there's no debate. Caroline and Duke here are the two best rivals in college basketball, and there's not even a close second. And

you know you have your opinion. I have mine. You got people fighting at a Dallass clinic in their eighties. I don't think so we did, which I think that gives me a chance to play that again, because that was insane.

with you wherever you go. Listen live on the Out Radio web listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot com. And joining us now to discuss the matchup between Georgia Tech and Louisville is Chad Bishop from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He covers Georgia Tech. Chad, how's life down there in Atlanta?

that I predicted the upset. I can't claim that I thought it would be like a super close game, but I do remember kind of not realizing how well Georgia Tech finished the season a year ago, and they had a pretty good season, a really good debut for Brent Key down there, and you know, you guys at the time seem to have shocked the world. Now the wind looks a little bit different, but that has nothing to do with you, guys. You just I mean, you can't

control that. Florida State has kind of fallen apart since that victory. I guess my question is did you feel like going into this season that Georgia Tech was maybe not getting the love that maybe they deserved.

And when he looked at Georgia Tech's program, not only is Brent keyback for his second year, but so is quarterback Haynes King and running back Jamal Haynes, four of five starting offensive linemen, pretty much every leading wide receiver from a year ago, quarterbacks coach Chris Winki, offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, offensive line coach Jeep Wade, even though they found a new defensive coordinator and Tyler Santucci had a duke, there were a lot of guys back on the defensive

side of the ball. So the point for me there is is like, there's a lot of guys back who understood the expectations, understood what success looked like at the end of twenty twenty three, and then you're going against a Florida State program who's doing things a little bit differently, bringing in a lot of transfers kind of year and year out, and trying to build that way. So in the way that Florida State season ended last year, I

think there was something to be said about that. And then I just got the sense that, you know, I don't know, I just felt like Jeordia Tech was maybe take making that matchup a little bit more seriously than Florida State. Was not to say that the Seminoles maybe took Georgia Tech lightly, but it seemed to be a little bit more of a vacation vibe for Florida State and more of a business trip for Georgia Tech. So yeah, I wasn't surprised that Georgia Tech won. I thought it

would be a close game. Now, you know, I didn't know if they would necessarily, like I said, get out of there with a win, but I thought it would be a four quarter game, and lo and behold, Georgia Tech got out of there with a win. Now, Brent Keya said, often, you know that last field goal goes six inches one way or the other, it goes over time and who knows what happened, So it's a game of benches and then Georgia Tech got the break on that day.

one that could take a big leap. SMU seemed like a team people thought would really do well in this league, and so far that's not gotten off through a good start. And then obviously I think Virginia Tech got a lot of love and then they went and lost to and Andy. So I think Georgia Tech was a little more deserving of it. I can't claim, hey, I told you so,

because it took them. It took them beating Florida State for me to look at him and say, Okay, they didn't lose back to back games at any point last year. They had two ranked wins. They played Georgia within within a one possession there is one possession game of Georgia last year. And then, oh, by the way, let's look at Haynes King, who was one of just four quarterbacks last year to have twenty five or more touchdowns through

the air, ten or more on the ground. The other guys that did that Jaden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Dylan Gabriels. So and then you mentioned Jamal Haynes who was one of the best running backs in the league last year. I think this team has talent, They have a good coaching staff. And before we get to the specific matchup, you've now covered britt Key. This is his second season and you covered him during his debut season a year ago.

What do you think makes him you know the way he is, because what would you say, what would you pinpoint makes him successful? Because I think he's got a bright future even if it isn't in Georgia Tech. Maybe he moves on down the line because he's that successful, but he seems to be a guy that has a bright future. What would you pinpoint that really makes him that guy that you know, people think could be one of the better coaches in this game moving forward?

I think that's number one, number two. I think he's pretty good at self assessment and honest assessment and understanding that, hey, I did this wrong, I did this right. Where can I get better?

year out he studies NFL teams. He talks a lot about roster management and studying teams like the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco forty nine ers and the Kansas City Chiefs in terms of how to build your roster, whether it's through the NFL Draft or free agency, or whether it's college through recruiting and the transfer portal. So I think he's pretty smart. He's pretty bright and understands that college football is an ever changing landscape, but he

doesn't shy away from it, you know, he adapts. And then I think the other thing is is, you know, we mentioned identity a little bit, like he wants to have a team that has an identity sort of ground and pound three yards and a cloud of dust by

the fourth quarter sort of identity tough and physical. Yeah, they can spread the ball around a little bit, and they can throw it a little bit, put some points on the board, but I think when they're really humming, they're gonna be a real physical team that runs the ball down in, then down out. And I think that's what made him successful and I think that's what is going to continue to make him successful in the future.

energized and ready to prove something. I get the sense that and he did it last year in his first season, and just some of the things that have been said so far about this matchup coming up between the Cards and the Yellowjackets, I get the sense that he is a genuine coach, almost like Charlie Strong in a way to where no matter what, he's going to find a way to have these guys fired up to go prove themselves, even if nobody's really doubting them.

twenty five and losing at Syracuse. But but yeah, I think he really relates to the players, I'm sure like Jeff Brahm does with his kids. Like I've walked this campus, I've been in these classrooms.

going to find out where Louisville is on Saturday. They've It's the rare late September game where you really don't mean I think fans here in town feel good about their team coming off of a special season, and they bring back some good players from that special season, but obviously a lot of portal guys as well, and they

looked good in the first two games. They just happened to come against teams Dame, Jacksonville State and Austin p What do you, at least at this point expect to potentially maybe give Georgia Tech some problems in this matchup from the Louisville side of things.

get the high powered offense at Louisville. So which team, you know, is going to prove to their fans that hey we've changed, or hey we are as good as you think we are and as we think we are. You know, Georgia Tech. They you know, some people have thrown around the word special for this team, that they could have a special season. Well you've got to go on the road and win these matchups against ranked teams.

So that would be a huge proving point for them to say, hey, we are going to be player in this ACC title race despite the loss at Louisville, excuse me at Syracuse And then on the flip side, right like if you're Louisville, you're saying, yeah, we hadn't played anybody, but it doesn't matter. We're still this good and we're still going to put up a ton of points and

be a good Georgia Tech team. So it's a it's a very intriguing matchup between what I think is you know, outstanding offense from Louisville and Georgia Tech defense that is suspect. And until they can prove to me that they can stop anybody, that'll be what I'm watching for on Saturday. Can they show up and stop this big time Louisville.

And again it's small sample size. I think Syracuse may be putting up some points this year against a lot of teams.

we're disrespected. I can't believe they said that, And even Brent Key this week, I don't remember saying anything. I'm not quite sure what you guys are talking about.

pm the following week. Then they had to get back on the plane and go up to Syracuse, New York for a noon kickoff against a team who hadn't left its campus.

out more about them. They look like a team that has some talent and has some pieces. It's you know, you know how it is, man, It's sure, Hember, we all think we know, we don't know, but again, Saturday is the day that we will start to find out for sure.

schedule looks like. And if you look at Georgia Tech's schedule, even if the little end up being a team that is you know, borderline top twenty, which is where they are right now. I mean it's still more it's probably viewed as a better chance to win than some of the other games. I mean, you've already played Florida State, knock them off, but you also still have to go play Notre Dame, You've got to play Miami. You have Georgia again, You've got NC State, who still could end

up being pretty good. Like if I'm Georgia Tech, I look at this it is one of the not rare opportunities to get a win left on the schedule. But you know, if you want to have a good season that is not just Bowl eligible, but maybe you know, eight wins, I mean you look at this as a big is a big chance because and that's not to say, you know, Louisville is one of the worst team we're gonna play, we better go win. But you know, you got Georgia, you got Miami.

sort of split those first couple of opportunities. Duke North Carolina looking at the game at Virginia Tech, and like you mentioned Saturday, are games that on paper, Georgia Tech should be in in the fourth quarter and has a chance to steal a win. You don't expect them to beat a notre dame, not necessarily, don't expect them maybe to beat Miami, who's looking like their world beaters right now, and you don't expect them, honestly to go on the

road and beat Georgia at year's end. So you have to get some of these games where the matchup is a little bit more favorable, maybe a little bit more even, where you have a chance again in the fourth quarter to get it done. So yeah, again, like you said, Georgia Tech's not looking down the road saying, hey, we got to get this one, because we're not going to get this one. But you're right, this is a game

I'm sure they're confident about. They're refocused, the retooled, they're refreshed coming off that fifty nine to seven win over VMI where they rested a ton of starters in the second half, and I'm sure they know in the back of the mind that, hey, you already got one loss in conference play, you can't afford another, so you got to go get this one on Saturday.

the state of Kentucky throughout your career. What do you miss the most, if anything, about this this fine place we call Kentucky.

You know, my father in law and my mother in law live up there and still got a ton of friends in the Bowling Green area and the Louisville area, and everybody's always so nice up in the Bluegrass. So looking forward to getting back up there for the weekend.

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Also had a good conversation earlier about them with their team. If you missed it, make sure you check out the podcast. But you can get more information on how your dog or cat can become a pet blood donor by calling five O two nine hundred Pets or visiting pet bloodbank dot com.

guys have a good night. We're back at it tomorrow, and I hope you guys will join us right here on Sports Talk seven ninety the