This Is It (2/22/2017)

Welcome to the solid verbal coll that for me, I'm a.

Man, I'm forty. I've heard so many players say, well I want to be happy.

You want to be happy for dake Edo State? Is that? Woo whoom?

And Dan and Tye.

Welcome back to the solid Purple boys and girls. My name is ty hilden Brand. I am joined as always buy my trusted co host over there in beautiful New York City. A gentleman we know well as Dan Rubinstein, sir, how are you?

I'm good, Ty, I am in the audio mausoleum in it is not well, that would I guess imply that there are multiple bodies in here, which I really hope not. Life is good, Tie, life is good at least if you are a Mississippi State fan. Yeah, you are Mississippi State fan. Life is glorious. What is a mausoleum?

By it? I mean I know what a mausoleum is, right, What is an audio mausoleum?

Well, I'm not in the audio coffin anymore? Ty, So I'm trying out names for this. It almost is like a room at an insane asylum, Okay, because it's the walls are pad they are padded hESC audio purposes.

Mine are two, so we've got something in common. Love it.

So I am in here. There is a rug. It is real warm. It feels like the walls are closing in on me like the garbage compactor. And is it Star Wars? The Empire strikes back one of them, the first one. Yeah, yeah, And I'm feeling good. I'm my brain's gonna get loopy. We have a game to play too. Yeah, you came up with the game, and I'm actually excited.

This is going to go on.

This is gonna be me on.

Display, thinking on my feet because I don't know what's coming. I have a general sense for what you're gonna what you're gonna do here, but I don't know any of the topics in advance.

Name of the game is this is it? And we determine whether or not one of I believe I have eight different college football teams and situations, and we are going to figure out between us. We can disagree, we can agree or disagree, agree and figure out whether or not the current city situation, the current homeostasis is it.

If it is the.

Current the current thing is a thing that will continue to trend, or if twenty sixteen was just an aberration, and of course, of course we have it Kenny Loggins themed.

We have to. So I'm a little worried. M a little worried. I'm gonna be honest here please. By the way, the feedback on the fantasy thing scoring was that I need to push back more on you. Really you took a lot of a bit abuse. Many people are like, why are you so passive? So I guess they want me to strike back. I actually can. I've got that.

We're I've got that in the quiver. I just don't usually you were the Oklahoma state safety to my Jeremiah Soli in the hot exactly.

That's what I'm sa. You got audio trucked Tye, and I hate to be the one to break it to you. So I'm a little worried that this is going to be like the next Who's Now? Remember that Who's Now? That of course they did in ESPN was kind of chintzy, right. If I have more trust in you than I than I did in them, we know it's not going to

Yeah, before we get to that, though, Ty, we do have.

A little bit of news.

We do a little bit of news.

We do have a little bit of housekeeping, which I want to get to first.

Okay, Oh, sorry, because I was expecting a sound and I was expecting to boot boot a dupe and I didn't get to So continue, hold on to the boots and the dupes. Oh. I got a tweet that somebody didn't like that. I said, continue. That's that's how dedicated our listeners are. We have great listeners. They are the best and they take exception with commands. Commands, okay, yeah, all right, well, housekeeping, then the boops and dupes, and then the game.

Yes, we need to mention it. We do it once a year. We are doing a listener survey. Hm. We have great advertisers on the show. They support the show so that you don't have to pay us any money. But in order to keep doing that, we need input from people out there. Yes, we need some input. You need to find out a little bit more about you anonymously, of course. Go to podsurvey dot com, slash Solid Dash Verbal pod Survey PO D s U R ve e y dot com slash solid dash verbal. Take a quick

And we're gonna need some specifics. If your name is Darren, if it is Lisa, if it is Janice, Kevin Scott, if it's Frank, or if it is Melissa, we're gonna need your social numbers. Solid verbal at gmail dot com. That's why I've been s O L I D verbal at gmail dot com. Just throw ahead, go ahead and throw us your eight digits. So if your name is David, you're fine, But yeah, Dave's, we need them from Dave's absolutely so.

Podsurvey dot com slash solid dash verbal is again the ur L, and we do appreciate your help on that front. The only other tidbit that I will throw out there is that I am entering the final weeks of my own personal pledge drive, which you can find out more about.

I am selling beauty products and I need people to help.

Me sell them.

Is that what people do?

I guess I don't know.

Oh man, my cause is much different than that one, much different your cause is. I did not mean to denigrate your cause. Help out tie in his cause if you can. It is a very pressing matter, and we hope we can raise money for a great cause.

All right, now, get the boots and tubes ready, Dan, Yes, because.

We have backing news. Boo boo, boo boo.

All right, this one actually broke. It's very rare that this happens where we can actually do news, the breaking news and sort of real time here. But it just came across on the Twitter sphere and via the old Miss YouTube channel. Weirdly enough that ole Miss is now self imposing a one year postseason ban for the twenty seventeen college football season. Per Bruce Felban quote, Old Miss has been charged with the dreaded lack of institutional control

Right, this is not good. If you're an Old Mis fan, Dan, you freeze Contrary to the allegations, I have strong record of promoting compliance and monitoring my staff. Ole Miss will also forfeit its annual postseason money, which is approximately seven point eight million.

Dollars as per league rules by the bulban.

Not great. I imagine they are going to vigorously appeal and hope for something. You know that the bulban being enough, but lack of institutional control could have a lot of bearing on who freeze a specific future.

Yeah, it feels a little bit like the NCAA went for the kill shot here, right.

Notice of allegations is just that it is not a ruling of any kind, but I imagine ole Miss is going to try to get out way in front of it, and like other schools have who have received allegations similar or in the same vicinity or tangential to what ole Miss has received, I would imagine the strategy should continue to be open up as much as you possibly can, and do not lie, do not cover anything up at this point, be as forthrights as humanly possible, and hope

If you believe the Internet, it seems like there is more to come, and I would suspect that in this case the Internet is correct, so stay tuned. Secondly, an interesting tidbit. Tommy Tubberville the former coach of like eight teams now but he is running for governor of Alabama. Supposedly. He formerly coached at Auburn, most recently at Cincinnati. He may be trying his hand at politics.

Dan Texas Tech. Yeah, do you know who he'd be replacing? Do you know who the current governor of Alabama is? Current governor of Alabama? No, I'd have to google it. I think I don't know if I've mentioned this on the show before, because it's such an extraordinary piece, I want to say it's GQ. I will confirm this wrote a piece on Robert Bentley, governor of Alabet, is correct.

That's just Robert, okay.

And at one point he had like a separate pickup truck or something for just going to the lake with his second lady and then drove his pickup truck like five hours to like his beach house and forgot his wallet and then asked that state troopers bring him his wallet and they took a helicopter to wow his wallet.

I was so aware of this, But Okay.

Tommy Tupperville, who I would not say is in great standing in terms of his like public Q rating at the moment. He was last seen yelling at a fan who accused him of stealing money from Cincinnati after they lost to BYU.

The bar is low.

But when you think about coaches or former coaches in a state who could presumably win a governorship based on the sort of focusiness, popularity, charm, and you know, the appearance of being able to get things done politically because of success on the football field. Tommy Tupperville's way down.

On my head. Yeah, I was gonna say Tuberville I don't think really qualifies there, but way way down.

But yeah, this was all just an excuse talk about Robert Bentley, who is a what's the headline of the GQ piece, I don't know, like America's horniest governor. I didn't see it. I don't know the affair of Robert Bentley, Alabama's horndog governor. Okay, the love song of Robert Bentley. Excuse me, Alabamas horndog governor. Look it up. It's incredible. It is incredible.

What is happening. We're not even passing judgment. Is just an incredible story.

No, it's a wonderful, wonderful tale. So yeah, So from Ole miss and Hu Frees to Robert Bentley and Tommy

He's Carmen san Diego.

I called him an offensive handyman, just you know, bopping from household to household.

So is he doing Is he doing work with Jim Cheney, because that would make sense. Jim Cheney is living. Jim Chaney'll give you a full year. He's like the offensive O pair. Yes, okay, he is the office.

He will he will hang out and make sure everybody gets off to school. But Matt Lubick, son of Sunny Lubick, a former coach everywhere, especially Colorado State, heading to Seattle to play against and coach against the Orgon Ducks is law. He was there for four years and I is super well regarded. I should add it's just be skipping all over the place as a wide receivers. Coach was the offensive coordinator this past year.

Got to use those frequent flyer miles before they expire. Got to use them.

This is true. This is true, getting those star ward points. That's right, baby, Okay, getting everything? So there we are, tell me when to play me. I've got the music in front of me. Here, okay, play the music. The name of the game, tie, wo is this is it? And basically I'm going to give you a college football situation and you're gonna tell me if this is it, this is what it is, this is this is the reality we live in. Or if twenty sixteen was just an aberration. Wow?

That music?

That music.

Oh hot, here, Dan, I know, not just because I'm drinking like my third cup of coffee the day, could you imagine?

So I believe was Kenny Loggins featuring Michael McDonald. Wow, I mean there are stories Ty they went out. That's a lot of white hair right there, man, It's a lot. So basically, I'm gonna give you eight items, one after the other. We are going to figure out if this is it, this is it, this is just the reality of college football.

You're ready for the first one?

I am.

I'm ready here, lay down that track? All right, here we go? All right?

Is Clemson now after two straight National Championship Game appearances, one win, a perennial ten and a half plus win national Championship game threat is not the reality in which we live?

Is this it? I am gonna say no? Oh interesting? Why I am gonna say no? I am very impressed by what Dabo Sweeney has done on the recruiting trail. Impressed by the program that he's built. It's really tough to get to a perennial ten and a half eleven win program, very difficult to do. I don't think they're too far away from that. But what I need to see is what they're able to do now post Deshaun Watson. Okay, Sean Watson was really good. They're great all across the field.

But I'm not against it. I'm just I want more data. I think that's reasonable, so incoming right now. I mean, they have a quarterback situation.

Nothing.

I believe high blue hip like Deshaun Watson was as a recruit and clearly was as a quarterback himself. Hunter Johnson coming in as the true freshman and the second best pro style quarterback in the country, a five star quarterback coming in. You remember Deshaun Watson started playing as a true freshman, and they've got a what sounds like a Georgia quarterback coming in. He is from Georgia and he does have the you know, the shutdown full cast

Here's Clemson's schedule for the current or I guess coming season. Auburn at home is their game. What second week of the year. They go to Louisville, which will be a tough place to play. They go to Virginia Tech, which, I before Gerard Evans declared his eligibility for the draft, looked like it'd be a tougher game. Still could be pretty tough, but a tough place to play, right Wlayane Stadium. Absolutely got a game here on the road at NC State, which is a game that on rare occasions give them

Yeah, that Auburn Louisville back to back early on, it's gonna be tough. Could see us split there, you know, having Lamar Jackson at the Papa.

I cannot look anything about it at the Papa.

But yes, the back half of their schedule, getting Florida State at home would have been nice to have that after a bye week. But yes, I'm saying this is a Clemson getting to back to back national championship games is such a rare feat outside of basically Alabama that I'm gonna go with that. Being in it ty, I'm gonna I'm gonna stay with this theme.

Give me some music.

It's very there. I suit it's sets a mood. It does is the ACC Atlantic is the best division in college football.

Is this?

It is this just the reality in which we live. ACC Atlantic as the a savision. Yes, in football, Okay, so other contested divisions, I mean, I SEC West, I don't think so, Okay, hear me out. The SEC West certainly has the big name Cachet and LSU just clobbering Louisville in their bowl game certainly is a step back for the ACC Atlantic. But here's what I would add. I'm I'm sure you're about to make a case for

That's it. It's not a great foursome. What's interesting actually about the the ACC Atlantic is that the team that finished last in the ACC Atlantic was Boston College and they actually went seven and six.

Right, they only had one one team with a losing record overall, And I know teams will stack their schedule and obviously the ACC has four non conference schedules non conference games, so that exkews things a bit.

These arguments are always really hard for me because I have a tendency to look at the top and not so much examine the depth.

So the fourth place team was a chip shot field goal away from beating the national champion.

Facts only, ty facts only.

Syracuse went four and eight wake Forest big bounce back year, led by new Notre Dame defensive coordinator. I already forget his name, Mike something, Mike Yelko. Yeah, there it is, thank you, that's why you're here in Boston. College won seven games. Now, I'm not going to it wasn't always presser too much by it, right, They went on to four against ranked teams. You know, the bottom of that division went o seven against ranked teams. I get it,

The only two arguments here that you could counter with would be the Big ten East of the SEC West. The SEC West has historically been way better.

Yeah, I wouldn't. I wouldn't go as far as saying historically, because we've watched a lot of football in the state of Mississippi historically has not been great.

Okay, fair enough, I'm still going SEC West. At least over the last ten years, the SEC West has been far and away better than the Sea Atlantic.

The Big Ten East.

You can't make that same argument for the Big Ten East because I don't think it was until we saw the rise of Penn State that everyone started talking about the Big Ten East is like this goliath. But I do think they're going to have some staying power. We know Michigan has recruited well, They've got Jim Horriball, they're going to be solid. We know Ohio State with Urban Meyer has been playoff quality year in and year out, and they've absolutely reloaded pretty much every single year. So

No, I'm going to agree with you. I don't know who it is though, So I right, I honestly. So the SEC West, You've got the top of the SEC West losing to the top of the Atlantic in Clemson. You've got Michigan near the top of the Big Tennies losing to the ACC Atlantic, and Florida State in their bowl game, Louisville losing to LSU in their bowl game. But the rest, I think it's a nice story, and you can start to talk me into and then I will quickly cut you off the coastal as being sort

Let's leave it at this.

Let's leave it at this.

Please. It's much easier to make the argument for twenty sixteen ACC Atlantic than it is twenty seventeen ACC Atlantic, And I think for that reason, I am inclined to say that this is not it, at least not yet.

You know what I'm reversing, just because I can't find anyone to be conclusively better ACC Atlantic.

This is it.

Wow. You just want to hear that sound, don't you? Of course I do. All right, where we going next? All right, next, We're gonna go group of five.

So we get emails, we get requests like Why don't you guys talk about group of five?

Do some group of five fantasy stuff? I don't know if we're gonna go that far, but held on, Oh yeah, go ahead.

Here it is.

Is the American Athletic Conference the best group of five conference even without Matt rule. Well, Tom Herman and I.

Should add Tommy Tubbervell or Bob Diaco in his beautiful hair. Right.

So we're gonna set some fires with this one, aren't we.

So we have the AAC. So this is talent. This is not an argument we can win. Regardless of how we present our arguments here, we will inevitably get emails about this one. People already be pissed off here no matter what we no matter what we say. So okay, you go first.

I'm gonna make the case here Temple good amount of and some returning talent in uh and I like Jeff Collins. I like that higher. The defense shouldn't take too far, if not any of a step back South Florida. I imagine the defense, which was the issue last year, it will get significantly better with Charlie Strong and bringing back a ton everywhere, including Quintin Flowers. You know, one of the most dynamic playmakers in the country Cincinnati, who knows

Yes, yeah, I agree with you, Dan, Okay, Why I agree with you. I'm looking over the roster of teams in both all right, Now, again, everything's relative. I think over the last couple of years there are more teams in the AAC that I think could knock off a Power five than if I'm looking at the Mountain West. Okay, all right, I feel like South Florida with Charlie Strong can probably do some damage, you know. I feel like Temple could do some damage. East Carolina until recently was

I feel like.

The depth of teams in the AAC is a little bit more ferocious than in the Mountain West, where if you look at it, you have You've always got Boise State right, ten wins again this year, Wyoming had a good season. I don't know if I'm terribly concerned about Wyoming knocking me up.

They bring back Josh Allen right or back, who people thought had NFL ability.

New Mexico had a problem throwing the football. They could do was run decent.

Nine win New Mexico though, Tye.

Okay, that's fine. I'll take a ten and three. Air Force as air Force was dangerous. Colorado State Okay, fine, Utah State.

Eh.

This past season, San Diego State had a down year, sure down year. San Diego State eleven wins. Hawaii wasn't impressed. In Jose State was not impressed. Nevada UNLV Fresno State was not impressed. So I just feel like the depth is there with the AAC. I think it will continue to be there. And that is why I'm saying.

This is it. I think you're not giving them Mountain West enough credit. I think it's a little bit closer. San Diego State went eleve th three and Donnelle Pump forgets the attention and you know, is moving on as like an all time great. Their defense was so damn good. This was as and the improvement. Where was Hawaii two three years ago? There were nothing? Chow drove them into

Where were they? I love the Mountain West. I love the mount West football shout out to Jeremy Moss. Okay, all right, lay down that track for me.

It's very sexy. I know it really is because this item is the Big Twelve continuing to go through.

The state of Oklahoma to win it. Wow, this is the Big Well really coming back to how do we all feel about Texas, isn't it? Well?

How do you feel about Texas? How do you feel about TCU? How do you feel about improving Kansas? How do you feel about the wizardry of get well ozoned? Bill Snyder? Yeah, okay, this is coming back for Kansas. They return a lot Kansas state, all right, So here are your options here? You didn't say Oklahoma sooners, he said, the state of Oklahoma, the state of because there has recently been a ton riding on that Bedlam game.

All right, So let's go through m hm. How many states are involved here in the Big twelve. We've got the great state of Oklahoma, of course, right. We've got the great state of West Virginia, the Mountaineer state borders my state of Pennsylvania. We've got Kansas, great state of Kansas, the Sunflower State, I believe, Okay, capital Topeka between k state and Kansas. We've also got Iowa, yep.

In Iowa State.

And then we've got Texas with TCU Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor. HM, so I think we can start picking teams off right away. It's not gonna be Baylor, it's not gonna be Texas Tech. So that leaves two teams in the great state of Texas. I don't think it's going to run through West Virginia. I don't think it's going to run through Kansas, and I certainly don't think it's going to run through Iowa, which means that it comes down to either Oklahoma or Texas, as it often

It's not as sure a bet.

On the Oklahoma side as I'd like it to be to feel truly comfortable about it.

It runs through the state of Oklahoma, that is. I'm not just saying twenty seventeen. I'm just saying, this is the reality of the Big twelve. Oh reality, Wow, the reality.

This is it. This is where we are in life. I gotta believe Tom Herman is going to build up Texas. But I feel like we've said that the last like eight years about Texas. Oh there's still right. That's been the tagline for me. Texas is still Texas. Oh, don't worry, they'll be back. They haven't been back. Dan, it should be easier.

I realize it should be something to note though Bedlam November fourth this coming year, it is not the final week of the season. I think the state will be hosting. I mean, there's a championship game I believe so technically it will be going through the state of Texas. But in terms of the top of the conference. I like West Virginia a little bit. I like West Virginia. West Virginia has I think country roads taking you home.

Here.

I listen big Bill Greer, okay stepping in in Morgantown at some point, who even knows. But they finished the season in Norman. They've got Texas in West Virginia. I mean, Texas is going to be in Morgantown. They're on the road in Manhattan, which is where good teams go to die. We know that this is fact, but they have Oklahoma State in Morgantown. It's a good year to go to McLean and play Baylor. They have Texas Tech in Morgantown with a new quarterback. They do go to AM and

But do you think it's going to run through West Virginia forever more?

I don't know, that's the question. I think now the question is Oklahoma. It's not West the state of so the state is Oklahoma.

I say, yes, this is the reality. This is it.

I say it's it too.

Yeah, this is me bucking the trend here, by the way, I like it. The trend for me has always been to go pro Texas. So for me to say this represents a turning over, a new, big change. I appreciate it, all.

Right, Dan.

Not all ingredients are created equally, no no, no, no, no, fresh high quality stuff. It makes a difference, m M makes a difference. So it's important to know where that

Yeah.

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I'm ready?

I think I could do this.

And by the way, I think they're speaking directly to me because now they're now they're including a pronunciation guy, oh wow, which is sort of not fun. But okay, they're paying for this, so we'll give them their due. Absolutely cash you chicken stir fry with tango mandarins and jasmin rice. Gonna have to pass that one up.

Tie the solid fiance deathly allergic to cashews, all right, especially she just got retested, especially allergic to cashews.

But if you're not sounds delicious? Could I interest solid fiance in some oudon noodle soup with miso and soft boiled eggs? See that sounds wonderful?

Okay?

How about some roasted pork with apple walnut and farrow salad and crispy barramundy.

Gonna have to cut you off their tie tree nuts and walnuts, but I can appreciate blue Apron throwing in all of the ingredients, so you know what to go for, what to avoid.

Would it change your mind if I said that it also comes with quenwa and roasted carrot salad. Would that changed the equation at all? Yeah? I think she'd get down with that.

Yeah, absolutely, Okay, maybe just leave out the walnuts then.

Mm hm cood qenwa pronunciation. By the way, thank you. You will love how good it feels and taste to create incredible home cooked meals of blue apron. Don't wait, blue Apron dot com slash solid blue Aprons a better way to cook. Ty, I'm going to ask you a question as it relates to blue apron.

Yes. Please, I'm going to ask you if you have ever heard of and or eaten a food. And we're doing this again, aren't we.

Yes.

I'm not going to ask you to pronounce anything. I'm just going to ask you if you've heard of and or eaten a food. I'm going to say the food into this microphone in front of me, and then I want you to play the drum roll sound.

So I don't know if you have to load that up and drum roll, drum roll, drum roll.

Where is it?

Ty?

Have you ever eaten and or heard of soup dumplings?

Yes?

I have. You've had a soup pumpling or you've heard of a soup dumping both? Where did you have soup dumplings? I'm in PA Dutch country. Dumplings are a thing. M I'm gonna be very specific. Soup dumplings are Asian generally, I believe Chinese. I'm not talking about dumplings in soup. TI. Get ready for your mind to be blown. I am talking about soup inside of dumplings that you can either slurp out with a straw or you put the whole

Yeah. See, I didn't know about that part. Ah, I've had dumplings before. I appreciated the confidence. Obviously, I've heard of dumplings. Yeah, of course, I did not assume the us like. No, No, they are extraordinary. It remind me, are they like those gushers? Remember I used to buy the gushers.

Tight in a lot of what they're like Chinese savory gushers. Okay, right, they're bigger and it's almost like maybe the size of a little bigger than a golf ball. I would say, okay, that's a bigger gusher. Then yeah, But they get like it's in the the broth is very hot because it's it's trapped in there pretty well. It's sealed in by the noodle dumpling noodle. And sometimes you'll see like, you know, a pork broth, a chicken broth, you know, crab broth.

Soup dumplings.

Huh.

Okay, it's a weird sensation. They're wonderful. So the answer is no, it is it is. That's okay.

Next time you're in New York, we're against some soupy dumps. Where are we going next?

Next item? Tie lay down that track.

Ty is the reality in which we live, a reality in which Michigan is the perennial bridesmaid. Is Michigan the perennial bridesmaid? Is Michigan going to continue to come up just short in their own division, conference, and national stage and not compete for huge bowl wins? And yes, the

Okay. I'm not comfortable saying perennially because I do believe that before long, Jim Harbaugh is going to have them, have them perin.

Okay, So I'm saying the reality is right now, they're a bridesmaid of sorts.

The reality in the current moment, though, is yes, and there are a lot of questions about where that team goes. They certainly lose a lot of talent. There are questions, I think more immediately at quarterback wide open battle, I would say.

Yeah, where does the offense go?

So for that reason, I'm inclined to say in the short term anyway, the bridesmaid thing probably holds. But perennially, assuming Jim Harbaughs sticks around for longer than like four years, I would expect that they would be competing at a very high level. So I'm not comfortable calling them a bridesmaid for any period of time beyond twenty seventeen.

I only say bride'smaid in terms of them being very very good, but not great. And this year was a relatively fortunate schedule early on and then tests a little bit later and faltered. They have a bit of a rebuilding project. Yeah, with an open quarterback battle, the offensive line needs to be rebuilt. They lose a ton of big contributors on defense, particularly in the back end Pepper's and Jordan Lewis Jake, but excuse me on offense and

I think in the short term the bride'smaid thing holds. But beyond twenty seventeen, yeah, a lot can go wrong. A lot can go wrong. At some point, Ohio State is going to have to change out their quarterback. Now that's not to say JT. Barrett did them a whole lot of favors in twenty sixteen, but at some point they're going to have some turnover. You just you never know. Penn State, I still feel like seeing things can go south for Trace McSorley, depending on how the composition of

So no, it is nice. And we should note that neither one of us mentioned Michigan state, which is fantasy things points for me twenty seventeen. We've already established that I've won that. But this is true, and take it from me real life experience. I am marrying a perennial Michigan bridesmaid. So she's been a bridesmaid like twelve times, and she found her night in shining plaid. I wear a lot of plaid, so this could be the year.

All right, So here, I think is a cruel reality of college football. It is very difficult to be Alabama or Ohio State. Yeah, Alabama and Ohio State. If you look at what they've done recently, those are the two best teams in college football, right two best programs in college football. Let's say, two healthiest programs right now in terms. Man, I don't know how you leave Clemson two straight National Championship Game appearances.

Clemson's in the discussion for sure.

Man, I just okay, all right, I would put them third personally, not because they didn't get to that game, but because I feel like urban Meyer, Nick Saban, they will outlast everybody. Okay, so they're like, maybe that's a bad argument, but apocalyptic twinkies, that's right, thank you. They're gonna survive.

Thank you, my ealyptic twinkies. Okay.

Yeah, I don't feel like Washington is quite in that discussion yet.

They could get there. They could get there.

Chris Peterson is a very very talented head football coach. He's a brilliant mind. He's won everywhere he's been. I am not ready to commit to them being on that normal rotation. They will definitely be more competitive than we've seen at any point in maybe the last twenty years Washington football, but every three to four years competing for a playoff spot, that to me is a bridge too far.

So I'm going to see no. I'm to see no. I am going to say in terms of development and coaching and identification of talent, I think the parameters are there to do so. I think the first part is true. I don't think the second part is true. The playoff thing is where I have some trouble. I think they're going to be a perennial Pac twelve contender. I think they win ten games more often than not, as long

So I'm going to say this is not it. Is there another conference in college football that presents as varied a threat from week to week as the Pac twelve. That's part of my issue with right really christening anyone in the PAC twelve in this you know, perennial contender category. Sure, you've got a team like Wazoo, which is going to spread you out and go air raid, and you've got a team like Stanford, which is just going to try

But yeah, you get the point.

Just a very threat from week to week that's really tough to prepare for. And so even if you've got the most talent in the world, there's always that threat that if you got someone on the road, after a team like a Stanford, after a team like a Utah, even a USC or an Oregon, some team can jump

Yeah, I would also say in the Pac twelve, I think more than any other conference. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but this is my general feeling. Every team seems too you have, maybe with the exception of Oregon State had a very good recent quarterback, So it feels like you're always going to get some sort of combination of two or three straight games with very good quarterback play year and a year out that I don't see in other conferences necessarily. But maybe it's just a West Coast bias thing.

There are no games that you can sleep on in the PAC twelve, sure, so I think we're in agreement here in No. The only other point that I would add, Dan, if you're looking for the best night's sleep that you've had in a while, always, why don't you look at Casper? Oh, great, call, It's not a ghost. It's a mattress, Dan. It's an obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price, supportive memory foams. They create an award winning sleep surface, just the right sink,

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They'll pick it up, they'll refund you everything because they understand, you know, the importance of really sleeping on a mattress before you commit to it, especially considering you're gonna spend one third of your life on it. Now. I have not done the math. Casper has been with us for

You do the math, that's about That's about right.

Sure that sounds. How's your sleep been recently? Tie?

Awful?

What is going on with you?

Ty? I never sleep?

I'm like mom age, it's the best drug there I need, like a horse tranquilizer or put me to sleep.

You don't look at your phone?

No, I mean I do, but only once I know I'm awake. Okay, you've tried every position.

It doesn't matter.

Yeah, it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

Temperatures doesn't matter.

I'm telling you, a solid wife have temperature preferences that are screwing up yourself.

The solid wife could sleep through a nuclear apocalypse.

Okay, me, it just it's it's not even worth trying. What about like white noise? Have you tried the white noise thing? I know, we've talked about pizziz. The problem is not falling asleep. I can fall asleep. The problem is once I'm up, I'm staying up.

That's my issue. Maybe Casper can solve it. I've not tried Casper yet. We got to get on that Casper train for you. Then, I think it might be a mattress thing. There might be something to you sinking in perfectly, think really finding your zone, your ram zone. I haven't thought about this before, but maybe.

Do you sleep on your back? Do you sleep on your stomach?

Usually on my right shoulder. I'm a side sleeper.

Hold on, I'm gonna picture my I have weird dreams when I sleep on my right shoulder. I'm a left shoulder guy. Yeah, mhmm. You ever noticed that when you face a different direction, your dreams are stranger?

They left side sleepers are the only people in their right minds. Really, I don't know. I just that was that was good.

You had me totally convinced.

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The SEC East will just remain blah and nothing and not interesting and not really improve top to bottom.

By the way, in this soundclip the way here at got, Oh my god, play if you play it clean, I won't talk over it. You can hear it.

There is there, it is there, it is there?

Was you tell no lies?

All right? What was the question again? I'm sorry, I got, I got. The SEC East remains just totally underwhelming.

I don't even even think about that. Yeah, Oh it's wonderful. Should I go, Max Kellerman? Next topic here? Next topic? All right, Well, let's give this. It's due the teams in the SEC East. For those of you playing along at home, We've got Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vandy.

And Missou. I am Florida.

Finished very strongly on the recruiting trail. There was a lot of doubt about how Florida was going to do in recruiting, and there's a fair amount of internet commentary about how they have underwhelmed on that front. Now, they did close in a very strong fashion, so we'll give them benefit of the doubt. But so far anyway, it seems as if they've had some trouble building up an offense.

Yeah, I'm not getting I'm not getting worked up, especially because I tend to look at quarterback and South Carolina has a promising quarterback situation, so there's upward trajectory. There some upward trajectory from Vandy, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida. I just I'm not feeling too much, even if there's decent enough quarterback play about these teams as a whole. Georgia improving. But we'll see what Jacob E's in, big arm, big talent.

We agree and you just love that sound, but I do. I said it was not it last time. Yeah, okay, here is the bug in the ointment though, Hey me, you said underwhelmed. Underwhelm's a relative term. Life is nothing if not expectation based.

Right.

You go into a movie, you don't know what it's about, you don't have any expectations for it. More often than that, you come out feeling like, yeah, I just saw a good movie. Mm hm.

The question is because the bar has been so low for the.

Sec East, Now, what is your threshold for being underwhelmed.

I want three good teams, Okay, given the talent in the area in the Southeast, given what they bring in, given how much they're paying their coaches and the staffs, I want three good teams, right, that's not too much to ask, no, And also, look at the West right now, you have Alabama great, you have Auburn turnover. You have LSU turnover and underwhelming quarter back play. Auburn with Jared Stidham should be better. Texts A and M totally up

There. It is.

Yeah, Oregon and Notre Dame, oh God, are behind the national pack, period.

And that is the reality in which we live.

Behind the pack. Yes, two teams that went four and eight. In case you missed it, twenty sixteen, Oregon made a change. Notre Dame made many changes on the staff, but not at the top. Oregon and Notre Dame are just behind the National power Pack. After being in the conversation for a good amount of time.

All right, so the National power Pack, are we going to assume that's the top ten team.

I'm gonna say top fifteen to twenty. Okay, So both of these teams bringing in a ton of new faces, Oregon more so on the coaching side, and return a ton on the field, but that also means very bad defense. And even in the short term in the next two three years, it's hard to sort of point to specific relief. Notre Dame maybe more of.

A cultural ment meltdown, a little distrust between the coaches and players and vice versa. Bringing in new quarterback after Deshaun Kaiser declares for the draft, defense takes a big step back, but an infusion of new blood and scheme and culture is what's hoped for in South Bend.

Wow, this is an excellent question, Dan Yea, because as we both know, it doesn't take much to slip it doesn't in college football, it doesn't. So I think we had two different circumstances this year. Oregon had declined.

I don't know if they really caught you by surprise, right, You had kind of been reading the writing on the wall, for we knew the defense a while it was in a We knew the defense was in a very bad place. And you were never sold on Mark Helfrich as a head football coach. He was never like the second coming of Chip Kelly. Correct, So it didn't really catch you by surprise. What happened at Notre Dame caught a lot of folks by surprise, myself included even people that follow

I feel like there is still.

Enough place at Notre Dame talent wise that they can kind of pick up where they left off the year prior and find their way back into the top fifteen this coming season. Oregon, Dan, you got to tell me, Oregon, it feels like, structurally, in terms of talent, in terms of schematics, logistics, you name it, it feels like there might have been more wrong on the Oregon side than on the Notre Dame side, which just kind of went

But this past year, true freshman quarterbacks surrounded by a lot of talent. There's the offense is loaded. Oregon's offense coming back this year. They basically because their starting left tackle got hurt pretty early on. They returned five starting offensive linemen, which is a good place to be in. And it's Mario Crystobal, who is a very very good offensive line coach, you know, a nationally I think associate whatever. They return a ton of skill talent, including Royce Freeman.

This is it. They're behind. I don't feel like Notre Dame is behind quite yet, okay, but there is limitless potential for them to fall behindding how twenty seventeen goes, this is a very discussible situation for Notre Dame. I happen to think they will be okay, and I think they've got the talent to be top fifteen Oregon. I feel like with a new coach to call them top fifteen for twenty seventeen, I'm not feeling that.

Maybe how many confidence games? How many confidence games do you have?

Yeah?

I think Oregon finished like number twenty one or something like that and go eight befour or whatever. How many confidence games do you have about Notre Dame right now? Because I count confidence two and a half three games where I can say with authority Notre Dame one percent should win. And that's Boston College, Miami of Ohio, and some combination of NC State or Wake Forest. All right, read it off to me.

Read the schedule off to me.

In twenty seven. So so we have at home to start the season, Temple and then Georgia.

Okay, Georgia is a tough game.

Those are I'm not going to confidently say that Temple is, you know, going down to Notre Dame. Temple almost beat Penn State last year. That should be a win. Okay, you're more confident than I am at Boston College, at Michigan State, which Notre Dame barely, not barely, they got by.

They didn't get by in Michigan State.

At North Carolina new quarterback, but Carolina has been a pretty decent program. USC at home, I don't have much confidence there. They're at Miami. It'll be good game. I just the confidence isn't there for me? Navy who can say with confidence about that? And at Stanford I would be shocked if they went ten and two. I would probably be shocked at ten and two as well.

Yeah, but I feel like the talent is there for them to potentially do it here. And like I said, there was less wrong with Notre Dame structurally than there was at Oregon. sEH, I'm the twine to say this is not it. I feel more confident in Notre Dame getting there, not falling behind the pack than I do Oregon.

All Right, this is not it, Dan, we disagreed. Disagree more if I made side before we conclude this episode, unless you want it to add anything. If no, no, no quick post game go ahead.

This is it.

I'd like to I'm not going to change. I'm going to clarify my statements about Cake, a love of heated opinions, A lot of heated opinions.

Okay, Well, before we get to that, I'm just going to throw this out there. Please do please do follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We are going to be posting a link to our audience survey, which I mentioned at the top of the show. We're also going to be posting another survey type thing. Yeah, it's the verbis ah. We're not going to be doing it at Radio City Music Hall the way we did last year.

We trash the place. But Verby's voting is going to go up in short order. We're going to post that.

We're going to have people vote over the next week, week and a half or so. We're going to do the Verby Show tentatively in two weeks. Great, so vote take part in that. It'll be a lot of fun. It's one of the better shows we do all year. We have fuone with it, and we hope you do too. Now talk to me about so.

I mentioned that at my wedding I'll be serving donuts I think from a wall instead of wedding cake because it is my opinion that cake is trash. Cake is for children's birthday parties and uncreative weddings.

That's me. That's what my thought is.

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I will say this about cake. There are certain kinds of cake, especially the ones that are frostingless or limited to sort of glazes, like your kingcake that's found in New Orleans around Marty Grot time, some of your bunts I can get down with where it's just sort of like there's a little bit of icing dripping down, a little maybe TRANSLUCENTI ish, what about cheesecake, sort of a hybrid kind of cake.

Here. A cake hedger right now is what I'm hearing. I'm here, a little bit of a cake, A tea cake, I don't know if you've ever had tea cake, be very good. A crumb cake, coffee cake, that kind of thing I'm down with. So this is like the Bubba scene now in Forrest Gump, where you're listing to all the kinds of cake, but your standard issue wedding cake, supermarket cake, rectanglear circle covered in frosting with things written on top, and your sort of floury icing ribbons surrounding everything.

Okay, so this was only yesterday that I thought about it. I have gotten mostly overwhelming positivity about donuts over cake. I was surprised by that, but I did see that as well.

So I've gotten overwhelming positivity.

But as somebody who wants to remain as honorable and truthful to foods is humanly possible, I wanted to clarify because it's not fair for me to put out there that I don't like cake and to have people out there listening to this show and think.

How does Dan not like kingcake? How does Dan not like crumb cake? How does Dan not like a good bunt that keeps me up at night? Tie? I do not want to project the wrong image of myself. I'm still not totally sold in this donut wall idea. Dan, I got to be How are you not sold? I'm not sold on it? What kind of donuts do you like? It's not about liking donuts, It's more about the sanitary situation. The sanitary I need to see it in action. I'm going to wait to reserve judgment right now. I've seen

Before I're willing to eat cake that's sitting on a table all night.

If you're not willing to eat a donut that's sitting on a peg, cake is sliced up by a designated cake slicer, presumably somebody hands all over your presumably somebody who works at the venue donuts you could be have. You could have people going up their window shopping. Do I want the glazed don't? I'm going to put it back and get the sprinkles. I just need to see you're not your action level with the donut wall before I commit to it.

I imagine the people at my wedding tie. I am an upper crust kind of fella. Food wise, sure we're not going to be having HOI POLOI touch and stuff.

All right. I actually I shouldn't say that. There's all sorts of weird oo's on both. Is there going to be alcohol at your wedding? Because if so, you can't rule it out, you can't hold it out. I'm sorry, Ty, these are all fair points. And I believe we will have an auxiliary dessert table if you don't want to chance it. I believe there will be an auxiliary cookie and fruit. See I should have known better with you, but okay, yes, there will be.

There will be a handheld cookie, brownie fruit kind of table if that. If you have serious concerns, we've got you covered.

All right, that's all fair enough.

Can you play the this is It?

Some one more time?

Now?

Not the song you want to, just the stab? Yeah, there it is.

This is it.

That's the end of the show. That's all we have for that guy over there, my good friend Dan Rubinstein, for myself, Ty holding Brand. Thanks again for tuning in. We'll be back in a week. In the meantime, don't forget to subscribe for free at iTunes dot com, slash Solid Verbal, take our survey, vote for the verbies, and also check out our great sponsors Blue Apron and Casper catch you in a week space solid Peace m