The Drive with Jack
Ep 2719 Tuesday Live
This is it right here. Combining a team of reporters, columnists, and commentators... Don't you ever talk about me! Are you serious? Jack Ebbling has brought thought-provoking discussion... What are you doing? That's a day in coaching mistakes! Opinion... A customer at the one who decides when the future gets here. Oh, no! The shit is on fire! You have to check to report. Are you kidding me? That game was fixed! And overall, infotainment... How could Jeremiah be? Wouldn't he have seen that? Great! Is it good to come and ask you? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Quietly is, and exactly 15 seconds will be on the air. Thanks, big fella. Don't you ever come back here again? No arguments. Those are called ass children. So buckle up. You talking to me? Whoa! It's time for "The Drive" with Jack Eblin. Happy New Year, Mid-Michigan and Beyond, and welcome to "The Drive with Jack the Spotlight Radio Network." Jack Eblin' here with my producer today, Boston Rob, our final show of 2024, 34 degrees, and a little snowfall here in Mid-Michigan. The Rob, it was beautiful weather last night at Van Andel Arena, thinking about Michigan State and a big victory over Western Michigan in the Great Lakes Invitational, but in a while, since 2009, that Michigan State had carried the beginner's trophy around the rink. And beat a very good Western Michigan team, let's not forget that. Just out of the top five, I believe they're sixth in the country, so a really big-time matchup for a non-conference game, for sure. Well, they'd actually moved up yesterday in the poll from 6 to 4. Okay, there you go. So they were fourth in the poll when Michigan State got ahold of them. And want to welcome in Michigan State assistant coach Mike Townes and the hero of the week, goalkeeper, goaltender, I should say, Luca Depasquo, gentlemen, congratulations. Okay, thank you, thank you for having us. Mike, when you think about Michigan State in a top five matchup at this point of the season, what does a win like that say? A lot of teams are without players, yours without two in the world juniors, but you get someone like Luca step up, and you wouldn't know that. Yeah, obviously, we've talked before, Jack, about our team depth, and I think that the huge strength of our team is we feel like we have great depth on board on D and especially in that. So, Luca was pretty and certainly didn't skip a beat and was super happy for him, but also for our teams to get it done and come home with the July trophy. Luca, how did it feel? I know how happy your teammates were for you. There's no one that they wanted to see be the MVP of the tournament any more than you and for you to do what you did, pressed into service like that. It's not like you hadn't already had a shutout this year, but hey, now you got two of them. Yeah, I mean, with the group we have, we have such a close group, obviously, it's so special to bring something like that home, especially after 15 years, so it's a great feeling. It's awesome. It's a lot of hard work coming off. It was great to get it done with the boys. So you played four games this season, right? Yep, four games. Two shutouts and the other two you allowed one goal in each game? That's correct. Yeah. So, Mike, I'm not much with math, but I'm guessing his goals against average is 0.50. Is that right? That's a great question, Jack. I'm not as in tune to some of the goalie numbers as probably I should be, but no question that when Luca's name's been called, he's been more than ready, and that's pretty impressive for sure. And I think for our team and team defense to be where it is right now, that's a good indicator of how competitive we are and that we're clearly getting better and more detailed. And then when we do have breakdowns, like we said, we're lucky to have Trey and Luca back there that can help stop the puck and bail us out. Luca, so if you're allowing an average of a half a goal, a game, it's hard to imagine your team losing very often, but you got a couple more opportunities coming up against Wisconsin, home games Thursday night, and then you go to Chicago, and you get both the outdoor game there. These games, even though Wisconsin isn't ranked where Western Michigan is, probably mean even more being big 10 play, right? Yeah. You know, I think you go every game is just important as the next one game at a time, but with it being in conference and the circumstances of a home game, and then on the road in the winter classic, and we learned that Wisconsin is a really good team, obviously. Yeah. So yeah, two very big games for myself and for the team. Mike, when you think that you played Wisconsin, and you know how good Wisconsin is, you saw them in Madison, does this keep your team focused now, not that they've had many chances this year to slip, but they know exactly what they're up against? No question, yeah, I think we just played them, you know, whatever, three or four weeks ago. Yeah. And we're familiar with their team, and you know, I think they didn't have a great start, you know, and I think in their last 10 or 11 games, they might have lost one or two. I think they have points in the last nine or 10 games, so they're definitely like super quality opponent. We're going to have our hands full, it'll be a great test, and I think they're super competitive team. And so for us, you know, coming out of break, we're going to have to make sure our competitors this is as high as theirs at our compete level is high, and we're ready to go, so it's an exciting weekend for us, it should be a great opportunity. Mike, a lot of people have said Michigan State has the best goalie in the country. Can we say that Michigan State has the best goalies plural in the country? For sure. No, I think, you know, we've, like I said, we've talked about that before, that our job is definitely one of our strengths, and to have two guys like Trey and Luca that are competitive and help each other get better and push each other every day, that as a coach, like there's nothing better. And I think too, our team has unreal confidence in both guys, so, you know, I've been on teams before, or maybe, you know, you have a little more confidence in one goalie than the other, and I think for our team to have that type of confidence in both guys is huge credit to both Trey and Luca and the work that they do, and I think too, you know, Jared DeMichael works much closer with the goalies than I do, but he's not a great job helping both guys get better and developing them and making sure that obviously Luca is prepared for these moments. He's obviously done the work, but he steps it right in and has a skill to beat. Luca, what did Coach DeMichael tell you going into these two games? Did he have a special message for you? No, not really, you know what, at the end of the day, it's my job to go in there and stop the puck. Yeah. It's a message across the board. In fact, they got to Michigan State, so it's, yeah, it's just another game at the end of the day, and there's nothing, no drastic changes or anything crazy that has to happen. It has to go up there and perform, you know? Business as usual, right? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So, Mike, a lot of times we see this, and you find it in football when a quarterback is injured and someone steps in or pitchers pulled and someone comes in at baseball and does something and you go, "Whoa, the teammates respond to a situation like this, does your defense score say, 'Hey, we got to do a little bit more tonight, or do they just play Michigan State hockey?'" I think for us, we just play Michigan State hockey, and like I said, I think our team has unreal confidence in both goalies, and we're obviously super lucky. Like, that's a really good problem to have, is a great depth at every position and makes our lineup decisions tough, but I don't think, you know, I don't think there's any situation worth like, "Hey, we got to step up, we have a new, like, there's nothing like that." I think our team is super, super confident in Luca, and he's played great when he's got the chance to get in there, and obviously we have two big games coming up with a big ten opponent in Wisconsin, and he'll be ready to rock for those as well. Was there a moment in either one of these games, Luca, where you said, "We got this, and I got this." Try and have fun up in Canada. I mean, yeah, I mean, during the game, like, you got to have confidence in the team that they're going to take care of business up front, and you'll take care of the rest, you know, in the back end. So, I mean, you can't worry too much about the outcome, right, so it's a lot of emphasis on the process. But going into the weekend, I had full confidence that we could get it done as a group. Western scored the first goal last night, correct? Yep. One up, one nothing, and then you kept Michigan State in it until the offense could get going, but it was 1-1 into the third period. At that point, did you think, "Hey, next goal probably wins this?" Yeah, obviously, it's, you know, one period left in a tie game, it's ever in trying to get that next one, right? That's a big momentum swing, and we're able to get a pop a couple. So, that really helped, yeah. Rob, what did you make of what you saw last night with the games we're televised here, which don't always get with tournament like the GLI, but we've had it the last couple of years. Any questions do you have for Luca or Mike? Yeah, I got a question for both. Luca, first, congratulations. Another honor just to announce to you are the first, in case you haven't heard, you're the first star of the Big Ten this week with your MVP performance, so congratulations on that. Beautiful. And we've talked about your competitiveness. We've heard from coaches about the practices that you and Trey have, but your friendship as well. Can you talk about the friendship you've developed with Trey, and what does Trey do that makes you better as a goaltender? Yeah, you know, I've been so fortunate to be going to partner to Trey the last two years. You know, not even going to partner, but roommates too. So we've really developed a friendship more than just, you know, as teammates. So it's been great to learn from him and to be able to push each other. And I think that, you know, the mentality and the effort he brings every day to practice his competitive manner, every day on the ice, you know, he's pushing guys to be the best to create themselves. And that, at the end of the day, it forces me to be a better goal. And to try to compete with him, and he pushed him in practice as well. And coach, real quick, looking forward now, I want to talk about the special teams of this team, both penalty kill and power play, obviously very important in the aspect of game planning and whatnot, what has been the key on both ends and especially on the penalty kill, whereas the Spartans are a real threat to score short-handed goals. Yeah, interesting point there for sure, you know, Coach D. Mike does our penalty kill and does a great job. And I think our guys are definitely bought into the system and willing to sacrifice and put the team first, and I think too, you know, penalty kill, it's an interesting thing where a lot of the time the other team's power is going to have, you know, they're trying to score. They have a lot of times four-fours on the ice and more offensive minded guys, and a lot of times there is some opportunity to jump. So definitely done a great job killing penalties and also getting short-handed goals. And I think on the power play, definitely getting better. We didn't love the start that we had for the first few weeks, but definitely showing improvement over the last few games here on our power play and we'll continue to chip away and get better at it. What's the key to a really good power play? Obviously a couple of things I would imagine, but if you had to tell someone just getting into the hockey, what is the key to a good power play? Well, there's a lot, I think one thing is getting the zone, you know, like if you try to get the zone and you don't, and in terms of like your power play breakout, it's exhausting. You've got to go all the way back, break it out, get organized, and try again. So by the time, you know, if it's your second time in, by the time you get in, you're running it off a little bit. So getting the zone would be one, and then I think once you're in the zone, having an attack mentality, trying to put the penalty kill on their heels by playing fast, attacking, and then getting pucks back is a big one too, like it, you know, there's a lot of people about what happened, but especially, especially on the power play, so try to get those pucks back as much as you can. Mike is the key to a good penalty kill, not to give it to so many penalties and not to be out there, especially in situations where it can really cost you, we've seen some major penalties, some five minute infractions, and that really puts your goalkeeper in strong stress, right? 100%, yeah, I know I think if you're killing one, two, and you know, you're setting yourself up for success, if you're, if you're killing four or five, six penalties a game, you're asking for, for trouble. So that's a great recipe for a great penalty kill is, is they out of the box, you know what I mean? Like it's, if you're only given the power play one or two opportunities to score, you know, you're, you're definitely helping chances of having a great penalty kill. So you're spot on there, and I think, SharePoint 2, five minute majors, they're, they're actually pretty common in college hockey, especially with all the reviews and the different angles and the cameras and stuff that we have now. So definitely, you know, avoid all the costs that you're really putting a ton of stress on your, on your penalty killers and your goalie to, to hang in there for five minutes straight. Look, have you talked to Trey this week? I know he's got a lot of things to take care of up in Ottawa, but have you had much communication since he left? Yeah. I mean, we've, we've talked every day since, since he's been up in Canada, um, you know, nothing crazy. Just keeping a light, but, you know, wishing each other the best to walk in, you know, talking about games and how things are going, you know, just chit chatting. How would you say your style is different from his? I know that what the results are here, but in terms of the way you play skaters coming in on you, do you approach it pretty much the same? Um, I mean, there's definitely some similarities. We definitely have our differences as well. He's such a calm and athletic goal in where as he, as he likes to say, I'm more of a meatball in that, um, but I think the big part of my game is, is my puck playing too. Right? That's one of my favorite parts of hockey is helping the defense out, you know, breaking the puck out, hard off the glass, whatever. Um, Jack, I'd follow up on that and just say to, um, you know, their opposite hand. So Trey would catch with his, with his, with his left and Luke would catch with his right. So, um, it's something that you don't often see with, with goalies where you're catch with your right. So that might give Luke a little bit of advantage where shooters aren't as used to that. And, um, that for, you know, for me as a righty, it's, it's a big, it's a big advantage for me in practice. I get to come down and shoot low blocker on Luca, but, uh, I don't have a lot of success on him. So. So you catch with your right hand, uh, must be in your throw with your left hand, right? No. So it's actually kind of funny, I, the hockey, I catch with my right hand in baseball, I catch with my left hand because I throw with my right hand. So it's. Amazing. It's kind of, kind of weird, but I've always been that way. I don't know. It's, it's what works for me. How did you start that way? I would think that if you're used to having, uh, glove on your left hand in terms of catching a baseball that when they handed you a hockey glove, you would put it on the same hand that do you only have a right handed glove? No, to be honest, I probably had a goalie glove in my hand before baseball meant, but the whole thing was, I put the pads on for the first time and they had me in the stick. I was like left handed stick, I can't shoot the puck with this. So that was kind of what started the whole opposite hand ordeal. What do you think you proved this week, Luca, people who didn't know you or weren't aware of exactly what you could do, uh, the old argument that, well, hey, if Michigan State gets an injury to Trey Augustine, they're dead, I guess we can put that one aside, right? Yeah, I mean, I think it's just, you know, it's all the work we, not only myself and the team, like all the work we put in this season, last season too, like being able to prove yourself out there is awesome, but at the end of the day, like I believe in myself and I think the boys believe in me too and that gives me a lot of confidence in myself. Did you feel when it was one one in the third period that it was just a matter of time? And like Michigan State was putting on a lot of pressure and with the goal score as you have, eventually the dam was going to break. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you definitely hope it comes sooner than later, but we were, we were buzzing and I had a good feeling that something was going to give it some point and, uh, it was great to see Joey, Joey get one there. Have you ever played in an outdoor game before? Yeah, I actually played that soldier field in Chicago. I think I was, I was like 13 or 12. Um, I played there with Bell and Tyre a long time ago, but that's the extent of my outdoor history. You get extra juice for a game like that or is that just another game? As much as you want to say, it's just another game. It's something super special, you know, it's, it's finding a way to prepare for the game and play your best, but also take in such a special moment. Right. There's not too many opportunities like this, so it's, it's definitely special. Mike, when we think about outdoor hockey on the collegiate level, hey, it all started here in East Lansing with the Cold War game and I think back to that tie with the Michigan and Michigan State and Jimmy Slater scoring at the end of the game, um, but it's become such a thing now that, hey, there's outdoor hockey every year. Still a little bit special though, isn't it? It is for sure. Yeah. I think, um, on a tearpoint, you know, we, we talked about that and recruiting with first ever outdoor game, Michigan State, you know, in 2001 and crazy the game then was, was played on October 6th. So, um, I think it was pretty warm out of, she brought, brought, brought fast played on the game and, um, you know, I think he said it was about 45, you know, 45 degree day before. We're really worried about the ice and stuff like that. So, don't think too many more of those games in October. I think they have figured out that they're usually December or January now, but, um, like Lucas said, it's, uh, unique opportunity. Not everyone gets the chance to do this. Um, you know, obviously it happens in the NHL feels like once a year, but, um, even then there's lots of guys that never get the chance to play outdoors and especially in a city like Chicago and a place like Wrigley Field, um, just a historic ballpark and, um, that's going to be, be a pretty fun experience, but I think to, you know, to Lucas Point, you got to enjoy it and soak it in, but also kind of stay focused on the, on the task at hand. There's, there's obviously critical points, um, that we want to, we get and so definitely enjoy it, but, uh, but also go on their leisure focus trend, turning it away. Guys, kind of an interesting story with that Cold War game. It was a cold snap that rolled in that really allowed it to be perfect weather for hockey. And before that, it had been so warm, unseasonably warm, and at that point, the commitment had been made and I was standing next to then, uh, athletic director, Mark Hollis, uh, day before and he was just shaking his head and I said, you can have a hockey game or a swim meet here. There were puddles all over the place and, uh, no one was sure what was going to happen and then the weather was perfect and enrolled Gordy Howe to drop the first puck and it was one of the most memorable nights I think in the history of Spartan Stadium and, uh, one that didn't have anything to do with football. So, uh, I guess you can, if you can do that, then, uh, you can certainly play hockey in, in a baseball stadium, uh, place like Wrigley Field. Guys, congratulations again, uh, terrific performance. Mike, that's 15 wins now for the Spartans? I think so, yep. 15 wins, uh, before the calendar flips and a lot more to come. Gentlemen, congratulations on the first GLI title for Michigan State since 2009 and, uh, don't make that the last trophy you carry around, okay? Sounds good, Jack. Thanks for having us on. All right. I just got a final score here. I was going to say, I want to switch real quick before we went to break, Jack, a huge score for the Michigan Wolverines football team, 19 to 13 winners over Alabama. Yeah, well, Alabama in its first four possessions, uh, they had a turnover on downs and then two fumbles and an interception and Michigan got 16 points. One more field goal, Bama couldn't get out of its own way, you didn't know, uh, what Jalen Milro was doing and some of the plays that Nick Sheridan was calling, but congratulations to the Wolverines, uh, wind up as an eight and five football team. And I guess we can put to rest the silly notion that Alabama was robbed of a birth in the college football player. So in a nine and four record for Alabama with this law, wow, nine and four, who would have thought of that? Who would have thought of that coming into the season? Yeah. And how would you like to be kaolin de boar right now in Tuscaloosa? We talked about Ryan Day's hot seat, but boy, yeah, pretty tough. We will be back in just a minute and, uh, our final show of 2024, uh, we're going to talk with Chase Michelson from circa in Las Vegas and then Jim Gumb will be with us. We'll preview all of the college football player of quarter finals and talk a little bit about today's game as well. We'll be right back on the drive with Jack. To everyone who craves a sweet treat with a little something special, let us tell you about our concrete mixers at Culver's. There's so many reasons I love fresh frozen custard. It's so rich, so creamy. It's the perfect treat, but when I handcraft it with all of your favorite mix ins and see your smiles after every spoonful, it's clear what makes our concrete mixers so special to me is making them just for you. In Wisconsin with love, welcome to delicious. Hey Spartan fans, when you want the largest and best selection of Spartan gear, Alumni Hall is your ultimate shopping destination. Come get your officially licensed gear, Nike, Champion, Columbia, Yeti, new era hats, tailgating gear and more. MSU students, faculty and military receive 10% off in store every day and you can earn cash back with their haul pass rewards. Alumni Hall, located in Eastwood Town Center near the Apple store or shop anytime at AlumniHall.com for the ultimate Spartan shopping experience, it's Alumni Hall. Jack Evelyn here with my good friend Matt Sloane is a graph of ochemists, lots of excitement at the two dealerships. What's new with Chevy and Nissan? Well Jack, great question. 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Come get your officially licensed gear, Nike, Champion, Columbia, Yeti, new era hats, tailgating gear and more. MSU students, faculty and military receive 10% off in store every day. You can earn cash back with their haul pass rewards. Alumni Hall, located in Eastwood Town Center near the Apple Store or shop anytime at AlumniHall.com for the ultimate Spartan shopping experience, it's Alumni Hall. Welcome back, it is a drive with Jack, Spotlight Radio Network. I want to welcome in Chase Mickelson from circa in downtown Las Vegas. Chase, Happy New Year. Happy New Year, Jack. I'm just trying to get out of the garage tonight. Well, lots of road closures. Alright, well, Alabama is trying to get out of the garage right now and after a 1913 loss to Michigan, Wolverines have got this down. And to a science, they gained 234 yards in some Albedo, Ohio State. Today, they won gaining 190. Yeah, I wanted to ask you or talk about this a little bit. Sharon Moore has been heavily criticized for this. Yeah. And clearly Michigan took a step back, particularly on the offensive end. They didn't have really a big 10-level quarterback, they had a first round pick last season. But they're going to end this season with wins over Michigan State, Ohio State, and Alabama. And next year, they're getting Bryce Underwood. So it would be the first of his three Heisman Trophy seasons next year. And I think having a win over Michigan State right now would not be something they'd be bragging about. I understand, but I'm saying, they're winning the rivalry games at my point. They won the rivalry game. And they beat Alabama. I understand Michigan State is not a great thing, I understand that. But I'm saying, if you start the season, you said it's going to be a disaster season for Michigan. You know, they're going to look like they're not, they haven't embraced the forward pass, which was legalized in 1906. But they're still going to go to and out rivalry games and beat Alabama. Yeah. I think they would take that. And I think that the way, and I think that the way that Cerro Dmore has been talked about this season, and I want to go too far outside of football or whatever, but like, I've been very surprising and I think pretty unfair. I understand it was taken over a team that wore the same jerseys as the team that won the national championship last season, but it was not the same team, it was never going to be the same team. And considering that, I think that Michigan fans can live with us. Yeah, because it's what happens last, what you remember, and they don't all count one, as you say, when in a rivalry game beating Ohio State, beating Alabama, or I should say not losing to Ohio State and Alabama, I think they had a lot of help in both cases. I think if you look at Cerro Dmore and really put a magnifying glass on it, he has had so many coaching blunders, including the timeout at the end of the first half today, which handed Alabama what looked like a critical three points, but you know, you can go back to the way that they handled the quarterback situation coming in. Why did they not get a quarterback out of the portal? Why did they have a team that has four or five first round draft choices and might have five first round draft choices and five losses? I don't think you see that very often. Congratulations to Michigan and Cerro and Moore for holding it together. And you would think that it's going to be brighter future there, recruiting is picked up now. I think that the landscape of college football with the money that's being thrown around can only help Michigan. But I think if you look at what the Wolverines did, if you had asked any Michigan fan going into the season, how would you like to finish with five losses and be playing in Tampa? They would have considered that to be an abject failure. That's fine. And I don't disagree with that, but I think that expectations change. And I also think that you're right, there were mistakes made in the off season in game situations. I'm not denying any of that. But what I'm saying is when you have a first year head coach that as far as I know does not have a previous head coach experience, is that correct at any lower level? Okay. So you're hiring a young guy, you're probably not paying him what you would have if you would gone out and tried to hire Kayla DeBore, for example. And you're trying to, I'm serious, you're trying to concentrate. In the new college football, you're trying to concentrate your resources less on the coaching staff. When you saw what Mike Norville did at Florida State and for people that are unaware, it actually gave back a portion of the huge extension he got last year to basically help pay the players, which, whether you think that's right or wrong or whatever, is the reality. And so I'm not saying that Sharon Moore is a perfect coach or that he even did an amazing job this season. What I'm saying is I think that the criticism and the like, oh, this is it, this is the app. They'll never be able to get back because as long as this guy's in charge, like I don't never said that. I don't get the Brady hoke feeling. Yeah I would never say Michigan is down for the count because it's down for a minute. But I would expect Michigan football to be back, it has too many things going for it. And I've said many times that trained chimp could win eight games coaching the Michigan Wolverines. So in terms of where we are with a game like this, this was a 16 and a half point spread coming in. Is that right? Yeah it kept going up because Michigan was having lots of hop down and it looked like Alabama was going more full strike, which big bigs this, you know, from the Alabama perspective. Yeah. Yes, it's a bowl game and yes, their exhibition game, but Alabama was relatively, relatively full strike and Michigan was not. And that's how you had, you know, a pretty significant point spread there. So yes, in a vacuum losing this game, I don't think it's a big deal for Alabama, but along with everything else going on with Alabama this year and the expectations that they have and Caitlyn DeBore struggling in year one, struggling away from Brian, any stadium in particular, it's, I'll just say this. He could have stayed in Seattle because I promise you, I promise you that this kind of season in Seattle coming off of the National Championship appearance would not be viewed the same way it's being viewed at Tuscaloosa, I promise you that. Rob, these are the kinds of questions that I would have given Chase Michelson when he was a terrific intern for us and a lead researcher. Do you think Jalen Millrow is the first quarterback from a non-conference team to lose to Michigan twice in one calendar year? And can you imagine another head coach losing to the Wolverines twice in 2024 with two different schools? It's a good question, but different schools thing has to be, right? Because you had to have somebody who like jumped from the back to the big ten or something. So that probably has happened, the quarterback thing that's probably less likely, you threw in the calendar year, that's not fair, it's a very tight window. That's right, three hundred and six, four days. Start on January 1st and you end on December 31st, so, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it. I remember when, I remember when Rodney Pete lost to Michigan State twice in three months. It was tough to do, but USC managed to do that. Alright, let's talk a little bit more about the reaction now to the college football playoff and Chase when these teams were seated. There was a predictable fuhrer, you knew someone was going to be unhappy, and a lot of people saying that there was anti-SCC bias, first time I've heard that one, and that the big schools were not getting the fair shake. And Lane Kiffin was going on and on about this, when Indiana lost the Notre Dame and SMU lost to Penn State in the pretty non-competitive games. But since Tennessee lost in Columbus and with Alabama's loss today, can we put this idea to rest? Yeah, I do think that the SEC had a bit of a down season this year, I was just talking to somebody about this briefly before I came on the show, I do agree with that. I don't really want to re-litigate who should have it in again. I'll just say this, from our perspective in the sports book, obviously we're rooting for the bigger programs to be it, and we're rooting for the bigger programs to play each other. Those closer points spreads, closer points spreads mean more two-way action. Tonight we're going to have to root for Penn State, even though it means we're going to lose today, because the alternative is Boise State getting closer to the Tuesday scenario that we don't want. So it's not a good situation for us, really, when these teams get in, and certainly when they have 5s and when they only need to break. You know, I care about your well-being, but you know, I'm also rooting for a Boise State Arizona State Championship game. Of course, that would be not good for circus sports, but it'd be good for you. All right, what do you make of the games, the quarterfinals? Are we going to see an upset? Well, when you say upset, are you referring to, like, I mean, Oregon is a matter of not. But like, of course, Oregon could win that game. That's a toss-up game, right? What is the number on it right now? That's a toss. Two and a half. Yeah. Anything, three points are under. I don't consider being upset. Right. I'm talking about something. Talk points are more. You're asking Texas Arizona State, you're asking, can Arizona State be Texas, or can Boise State be Penn State? Yeah, basically. What do you think? Probably not. I think Boise has a better chance than Arizona State does. I think Texas is better than Penn State. So I think even though I think Arizona State's probably a little bit better than Boise, I think... Yeah. And what's the line on Notre Dame and Georgia right now? Two, Georgia Two. So that's not really an upset either. No. Okay. So... There's a lot of people who think Notre Dame could be savored back in. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, one of them, in fact. When you think about what the Detroit Lions did last night, and there were a lot of people who were upset with Dan Campbell for playing all of his guys and saying, "This is just like another game. We're going to go out there. We're going to play to win." And it's kind of like the Lions' mindset all year long. So they were going to deviate, they were going to take their foot off the gas, and they trailed much of the game, but came from behind, got it done, and here they are. Chase, we're going to see a 14-win team as a five-seat. Yeah, that is, that is, uh... Yeah, they've never had a 14-in-three team, they've never had a team with 14 wins, not host a playoff game. Yeah, it's a different era, we're going to have to get used to it. I don't really know what else is going to say. Well, here's what I don't understand with this, Chase. You know, there's so much now about, they've got to redo the College Football playoff so that the conference champions can get in, but they don't get a first round by, they can't be the three-seed or the four-seed. They're going to have to be the 11 or the 12, wherever they are slotted in this. Isn't the same thing true with the National Football League? I mean, you could have division champs and weak divisions, and they get home games. For sure, and that's how it's always been in the NFL. Yeah. You know, I understand that argument, if you're going to go with this sort of professionalization of College Football, the difference is that in the NFL, all the teams are theoretically equal. Obviously, you have bigger markets, but like when the, you know, Carolina Panthers have two Super Bowl appearances, I'm sure that those games were heavily, heavily watched. Right. You know, the NFL kind of is its own thing, the teams that are playing is less important than the product itself, that is not the case for College Football. It is not an even playing field, and what the SEC wants, and what the Big Ten wants, is what's the line from Animal Farm? You know, like, there's equal, but then there's more equal. So, Arizona State and Boise State, wow, they've had great seasons, and look, they're in the situation they're in, and they're playing by the current rules. What I'm saying is when the rules don't suit the power players, the rules change. We've seen this before, the whole idea of the expansion of the playoffs in the first place was to make sure that teams like, for example, Ohio State that lost to Michigan at the end of the season, it's okay if they'll get it, it's fine. Right? You had four Big Ten teams, it's three SEC teams, and that was the goal, and if the goal was more SEC teams, if the goal was probably four, and they said- Originally, I think their goal was five, right? They wanted five, the Big Ten would have four, and then the other conferences could fool around with the other three. Yeah, sure, but they said you guys can have your little first round by, it's fine, and then they saw what the CD actually looked like this year, and they didn't like it. Right. And, again, the SEC and the Big Ten, they have their voice travels. It matters more than others. And so I think that this will change. I think eventually you will have it closer to the basketball model where it's very simple at the highest seats, get the seats, and that's how it is. I think there's a chance, a chance, that we could go to a on-campus model for the second round. I'm not sure about that, but I think that that's possible, particularly if the playoffs have expanded to 14 or 16, I think you could see that. But basically people are not happy, like they're not happy that Ohio State and Texas didn't get by and Arizona State and Boise State did, and that's really what it comes down to. And Ohio State and Texas, did you think of two programs with more money than Ohio State and Texas? No, no. What they want, Matt, that's how it is. Yeah, yeah. And I think it's great that we're going to get that Ohio State Oregon rematch. I thought we were going to get it in Indianapolis in the Big Ten Championship game, but we'll have to wait a few more weeks. And we're going to get it here. Do you think the Rose Bowl will be any different than the game in Seattle? I mean, I think the teams are in different places than they were at that point. I think Oregon was still figuring things out from the offensive line at that point. I don't think Oregon was as good as they are now. Yeah. Obviously, what Ohio State showed last week against Tennessee, terrifying, but if they play like that, they'll win. There's nothing Oregon could do if Ohio State plays like that. I don't necessarily think they will. But no disrespect to Lucas Oil Stadium, but I think I'd rather have this rematch in the Rose Bowl. Right. Well, it would have been possible for these teams to play three times, right? Yeah. That's possible, probably not this early, maybe out of the night, it'd be probably not because I think Ohio State. It seems like the one thing they didn't do was punish teams for losing in the Copper Championship game. So I think if Ohio State had made it, it would have probably been the five or the six, would have ended up probably meeting next week instead of this one, but it doesn't matter. This is a game that is massive. We will have tremendous right on this game. We have tremendous two-way on this game. I can't tell you who we're rooting for yet because the big bets haven't come in yet. But they will. I know that there's liability on Oregon. It took a really big Oregon championship bet in the recent weeks, so that's changed our position to win. What do you think is what? What do you consider really big when you throw that term around? It means that we're losing a lot more money than I make in a year, if Oregon wins the championship. Like several times, at this point, I think we are rooting for not Oregon. We're really rooting for not Boyu Peter Arizona State, but then behind that, we're rooting for not Oregon. So as usual, the sports picks are rooting for the boring outcome that no one wants. Is that also true in the NFL playoffs? The teams that would be popular, I think Kansas City is usually popular, right? I got to say Detroit is probably popular now. For sure. Would you say that that's a bad outcome for the books? I know Kansas City is not good. We've had an exact all year where you can bet this team to beat this team. So I know Chiefs Packers Super Bowl would be really bad, like really, really bad. So we don't want that. But yeah, in the NFL, people bet favorites. And look, I mean, not just on the Monday line, the favorites are on an incredible streak against the spread in the last two months, really, that we haven't seen since I bet it is a sound that I don't think in a long time before that either. So that's bad for us and good for the betters, and they will be emboldened by that, continue to bet favorites, I'm sure. So we'll need some upset in the NFL playoffs, I'm sure. We'll be rooting for probably basically every road team, I would imagine, except for I guess in the first round, like the loser that Minnesota Detroit game, whether they're playing in, it sounds like it'll be LA, right, the Rams are trying to lose this week, didn't care. So the loser of that game, we'll probably play the Rams, I imagine it will be the Rams that game, but other than that, it's going to be, yeah, it's just underdogs. We need underdogs to get there in the playoffs, and then as a Super Bowl, a lot of times, it's the perfect situation is the underdog covers that doesn't win, because people either bet the favorite on the spread or the underdog on the Moneyline. That's typically how they-- I'm going to have a couple of underdogs for you. How about the Broncos and the Sun Devils, they're underdogs, right? They're underdogs, but that's, again, technically just today, or December 31, 2024 result, it would be better for Boise State to win this game, I'm sure, but if you look at it in the long term, I think we'll work OK with just taking a loss today, Penn State winning, getting Boise State out of there. Is this also true, Chase, with the NCAA tournament, you have first-round upsets, and that's cute, but when you move on, you don't want Kentucky out of the tournament, right? No, the first-round upsets are great. The first-round upsets in basketball are good for the house because it breaks up all the parlays because people just go down the board. They've been every favorite on the Thursday and Friday, so that's good, but for the championship pool, it's, you know, yeah, we're typically rooting for the better teams, although it's a little bit different because people don't have time really to bet the St. Peters of the world. Like, nobody's betting St. Peters to win the championship before they beat Kentucky. You know what I'm saying? So, like, it's a little bit different, whereas Boise's been in this position all year, so people have been betting them even at high-offs. All right, the last thing for you, individual bets, and I don't know if you could have gotten a bet on Cam Ward getting the touchdown pass record. Was that something that was out there you could bet on? I'm sure it was offered. We didn't offer any props on any non-play-off game because we didn't want to deal with this foolishness. Trying to think of a guy playing the first half. Yeah. Play the first half, and I'd say thank you. Enjoy the rest of the game, guys. I mean, it's a little odd, but at the same time, if you take the standpoint that it's somewhat of an exhibition game, then it is what it is. I do think it's funny that people think this will have a negative effect on Cam Ward's draft stock. That's definitely not true. The NFL does not care at all. If you play in one quarter, two quarters, quick quarters of the pop-tarts goal, I know what would have a negative effect on Cam Ward's draft stock. Getting injured, for sure. That would hurt. Yeah. Like Carson Beck's draft stock, lower than it was three weeks ago. Well, speaking of... It's a risk you take every time, I understand that, but I don't have a huge problem with it. It is odd. We needed Iowa State massive in that game. So when they showed him warming up before the... When there was a minute left, we were like, "If you're going to come back in the game, and, you know, Fs over, we were getting a little concerned." So we were glad to see Emery Williams go out there. Good luck, Emery Williams, next year. When you talk about injuries, Nick Sirianni said that he doesn't know what he's going to do. They're locked in the... I don't believe it. ...to spot. You think he does know? Well, I don't know what he's going to do, but what do you mean he does it now? He's just going to... He's going to... He's going to pray on it the night before. The team. And he's going to... Yeah, he's going to kind of take a poll it sounds like. He said he's got to talk to a lot of people, he makes up his mind on whether he's going to play Saquon Barkley, Saquon's going for this rushing record, which would be important, and it's against the New York Giants, the team that he would love to stick it down their throat. I understand all of that, but I don't know what they're going to do. I truly don't know, but this idea is that they don't know. I don't buy that. Like, what do you mean they don't know? They're game-planning this week to beat the Giants, and they're like, "We don't know who's going to play well," but they're like, "Oh, it's like it ain't matted." And I was like, "Go out there with whoever," that's the point that Dan Campbell was making about why they went full strength last night was they prepared all week with the starters and then Minnesota wins, and they say, "Oh, well, this game doesn't matter," but it's like you couldn't know that going in, so you can't have a one-day install for Hendon Hooker. That's not realistic. So I don't think the Eagles don't know what they're going to do. They may play Saquon for a portion of the game or whatever, but they know what they're going to... I don't buy that. Do you think he'll play the whole game if it's competitive? No. Do you think they'll try to get that rushing record for him? I don't think he'll play, but if he does play, he will be to try to get the rushing record and that's the only thing. That's the only thing. They don't care about winning the game. All right. So Michael from circa, "Hey, have a great time, happy new year, and we'll talk to you in 2025." Happy new year, Jack. We'll be right back, and we're going to talk a lot of college football with Jim Gumb from the Blitz, and then Steve Waite will join us from Mississippi. And he is down in SEC Country, but he wants to talk to Michigan State Hockey and basketball and lots of things about what's happening up here. No one lives further from Lansing and cares more than Steve Waite. We'll be right back on the drive with Jack. To everyone who wants a meal made just for you, let our team member Arish share what makes Culver special. We know the best meals are the ones shared with the people you love, like our cook to order butter burgers and our real Wisconsin cheese curds and our creamy, fresh, frozen custard. I'll put the same care into your meal that I went from my own family. Order ahead on the app or Culver's.com for a meal made in Wisconsin Way. From Wisconsin with Love, welcome to Delicious. And you can earn cash back with their Hall Pass Rewards. Alumni Hall, located at Eastwood Town Center near the Apple Store, or shop anytime at AlumniHall.com for the ultimate Spartan shopping experience, it's Alumni Hall. Jack, I've been here with my good friend Matt Sloane at Graph of Alchemist, lots of excitement at the two dealerships. What's new with Chevy and Nissan? Well, Jack, great question. At Nissan, everybody seems to be talking about interest rates. We're offering 0% financing on new vehicles, and we have the all-new completely redesigned 2025 kicks on the lot and ready for delivery. It is fantastic. At Chevy, same thing, people are talking about interest rates. Guess what? We have 0% financing on new, and as low as 1.99 used, you've got to come check it out. Great time to get a car and great place to do it, Graph of Open. Time for a career change. Looking to make a difference, Dean Transportation is looking for compassionate people to join our dedicated team of school bus professionals. Dean Transportation has immediate openings and offers paid training to obtain a commercial driver's license. With increased starting pay, benefit packages, flexible scheduling with weekday hours and more, Dean Transportation may be the career choice for you. No experience needed, apply now and train all summer. Head to DeanJobs.com and learn more about your business. Thank you. Welcome back. It is a drive with Jack, Spotlight Radio Network, playing motoring, not because we were talking about Motor City Bowl or Music City Bowl or anything else going on with that. We were talking about the college football playoff with Jim Gump, the brains behind the blitz newsletter. Jim, how are you? I'm doing good. How are you doing, Jack? Are you ready for tonight? I'm ready, man. I am so ready to get the semifinals going and we'll just see how it all plays out. I'm looking here and I must be missing something. Who does Alabama play in the quarterfinals? Yeah, they get embarrassed today. They did not play well at all, especially in that first quarter. They just simply don't look like a Nick Saban Alabama team. This is the first time Alabama has won 10 games since 2007 and they will not be ranked in the top 10 in the final poll for the first time since 2007 as well. Yeah, that's a big, a big letdown if you're an Alabama fan, that's for sure. Well you're living in Tennessee and that's another team that had an in glorious exit in the college football playoff, at least they got there. What do you think the last two games I mentioned say about the strength of the conference or is it ludicrous to try to read into that? Well, I think it shows that there's a lot more parity between the southeastern conference and the big 10 than what it used to be. If you look at the rosters Jack, you look at a lot of the kids, they're from all over. All these schools recruit nationally and they go to the portal nationally so it's not like you get a bunch of Midwestern kids versus Southern kids. You get kids from California, kids from Texas, on all these teams all over the country, they're everywhere. So you don't see the geographical differences and the rosters that you once did. I mean, I know there's a lot of California quarterbacks playing all over the country these days and I think that's the reality, that's the world of college football 2024. Do you think we could see an upset this week with Boise State against Penn State or Arizona State against Texas? I think if Penn State and Texas play their B game, yes, if they both play their A game, I like their odds of winning, but I'm telling you, I think that Boise State is going to have some success running the football. My thing is, can Boise State to stop Penn State running game? I don't know, I think that game has to make a 35, 31 final score, now that I said that it will probably, 13 just like the Alabama Michigan game, but to me, I see a lot of scoring in that game, I really do, but I could see an upset, but the favorite team has to be off their game a little bit. I went back when we were talking about the Heisman Trophy candidates and watched the Boise State Oregon game again, Jim. And I don't want to say that the better team didn't win, but Boise State really acquitted itself well and lost on that field goal at the end. You're talking about one snap being the difference between Boise State being the only unbeaten team. Yeah, absolutely, you know, and here's the thing, Jack, let's say Boise State was the only defeated team, where would they be ranked? I don't think they'd be number one. No, probably wouldn't. I don't mind. I just think that that's the reality of a team coming out of the American Athletic Conference or the Mountain West Conference or, you know, the Sun Belt, you're not going to ever elevate to the number one slot. I remember back in '84, back in 1984 when BYU won the National Championship, and there were so many people who were like, "There's no way that's the best team in this country. There's just no way." But they were, and I think that stuff like that could always keep teams from smaller leagues down. I do. Yeah. Well, the second seed in the 12-team playoff, Georgia has two losses, right? Correct. So, if Boise had beaten Oregon, and your candidates for the number one seed were 13-0 Boise, 13-1 Oregon, which had a loss, head-to-head, on its own field to Boise, or to Los Georgia, the SEC champ, who do you think the number one seed would have been? Nothing had been Notre Dame. Oh. Yeah, I think it had been Notre Dame. I really do. Yeah. That comes out of nowhere. Yeah, I think Oregon would have been sitting there at 12-1, Notre Dame 11-1, and you're not going to put the team head-to-head ahead of the team. I think you see Notre Dame-- But you can't go to name because they're not a conference champion, right? Yeah. You're probably right. Well, it would have been interesting. Obviously-- Those first four seeds have to go to conference champions. That's right. Yeah. They would have had to have been a-- could that-- they can't be in the top four. There are five-- that's the high-thinking these are five seeds. That's right. And they agreed to that. They knew that because they don't have the risk of going into a conference championship game. And that's the reason they-- you know, they had no choice but to accept that. So, yeah, you're right. Yeah. So I agree with you about Notre Dame, the quality of the team. But if they are prohibited from being one of the top four seeds, I'll ask again, who do you think the one seed would have been? Oh, I think there's no-- well, based on this year's rules, I think we probably had-- the top four teams would have been the same. But I think we'd have seen Boise State maybe number one in Oregon, number two. Oh, OK. But I think Georgia would have made three and probably Arizona State four. Yeah. I think that's how they would have done it. But there again, it's all speculation. Right. You know? Right. So, how would you like to be-- Kalen DeBor, this winner in Tuscaloosa, Alabama? Yeah, I think there's a lot of pressure on him. You know, isn't it crazy, I mean, nine and four, and people are already ready to run him out of town? Yeah. What-- but Brian Day's been going through for the last couple of years at Ohio State. I mean, it's just one of those things where the expectations are so high. Right. And, you know, you always hear the old ad is you don't want to be the guy that replaces the guy, you want to be the guy that replaces the guy that replaces the guy. And you know, Kalen DeBor, obviously, he's getting paid handsomely, and he's going to, you know, hear a lot of pundits talk about what a terrible job he did this year. But listen, they're trying to, you know, build up some N.I.L. money for Alabama, so I think Alabama's going to be just fine. I do too. Yeah. There's going to be-- there's always pressure when you're the head coach at Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan. You name the school. There's pressure on these guys, and it's-- sometimes it's-- well, most of the time, it's unrealistic expectations. It's a little bit like Kentucky basketball. Exactly. Exactly. Kentucky basketball. North Carolina basketball. Kansas basketball. Duke basketball. I mean, those guys are always feeling the heat when they lose a game. You know what else? Ryan Day and Kalen DeBor have in common, Jim? Mm-hmm. They both lost to a Michigan team that couldn't gain 240 yards. In that equation. Today, Michigan had 190 and what? Yeah. I mean, the best thing that happened to Michigan was the first of that game when it was just coming down like crazy, and Alabama couldn't hold on to the ball. Michigan took a day to-- listen, you've got to play in the elements, and it's the same when it's real cold and windy, real wet and rainy. You know, ball, you've got to take care of that football. And Alabama didn't, and Alabama, they lost the game basically in the first five, ten minutes of that football game. I don't think I've ever seen the team slip more. It's like they had ball bearings on the bottom of their shoes, and it was Milro and Ryan Williams, and they were just flying everywhere. Everyone would look like some sort of a comedy routine that they'd set up, but I thought it was a stat I'd never seen before, Jim. The first four possessions for Alabama started at the Alabama 25 on four touchbacks. The first four possessions for Michigan started at the Alabama 21, that was the average. So four yards closer to the goal for the team defending, and they only got 16 points out of it. Yeah, you're right. I mean, you got to-- I actually got to take your hat to the Alabama defense that it could have been a lot worse, could have been a lot worse. So you know, yeah, but Alabama's defense was put in a no-win situation. They only gave up that one touchdown when there was a turnover, but the other ones, they, you know, limited them field goals, but I thought Alabama's defense looked terrific today. But the offense, and you're right, yeah, they were slipping a lot, and of course they did change their cleats at halftime, at least Milro did, and I think a few others did, but you know, too little, too late. Yeah. So much has been made about James Franklin and his ability to win big games. Is he part of this club? Should the Nittany Lions lose the Boise State? Oh, boy, I'll tell you what. You know, I know that that was a nice win for him over SMU, but still SMU was not even a top 10 ranked team. Yeah, I think if he loses this game, the heat's back on there in the Happy Valley. I think this is a very important game for Penn State to win. Like I said, I think they're going to win that game tonight, but I think Boise State's going to put points on the board, I do. I think it's going to be, like I said, I think it's going to be a nice, fun, high school and game tonight. At least I hope it's... Jim, what do you want to see in the National Championship if they said you pick the teams that make it all the way through? Who do you want to see play for the title? I want to see Ohio State play Notre Dame. Ooh, I like that. And, you know, Marcus Freeman, former Ohio State guy, and, you know, I think that would be fun. Obviously, George has been there, and the reason I say that, because I don't like guys being having all the heat on them all the time. I want Ryan Day to be successful because I'm tired of hearing people want to, you know, get fired, and, you know, Kirby Smart Safe, Kirby Smart Safe, either Ohio State versus Penn State or Ohio State versus Notre Dame, because I think James Franklin takes a lot of heat. And frankly, I'm just a real fan of Marcus Freeman and the way they turn this team around after that Northern Illinois law. So I'm just kind of rooting for guys to get the heat off of them, you know? Yeah, I think Notre Dame and Ohio State, that would be, say, a lot about Midwest. Football for a change, but I'm kind of pulling for Arizona State and Boise State, because I'd like to see Ash and Jenny and Cam Scataboo. It would be amazing. Well, then, Jack, if that comes true, people are going to be clamoring for, you know, a 16-team playoff field like now. Oh, my gosh, that would be, that's got to be the highest odds out there of those two teams advancing all the way. Hey, I want to talk about the National Football League, and what has happened now? We've got a game here Sunday night at Ford Field Gym, Minnesota, and I don't think anyone saw the Vikings doing what they have done, and the Lions who have been incredible with all these injuries rallying last night to win in Santa Clara, their personal house of horrors from last January, and you're going to have one team, 15 and two, the other's 14 and three. You're going to be a five-seat. Yeah. It kind of mimics what the, yeah, cause football, uh, brackets like, yes, but you know, oh man, that would be rough. That would be rough. The team that loses this game drops all the way to a five-seat and they're playing on the road. Yeah. That would be, that would be almost unfair, but that's the way the NFL has said it. It's been like that for a long time in the NFL. It felt like this is something new, uh, but no, I'm telling you what, what a, what a tremendous game. Two 14 and two teams playing each other, um, that, uh, who would have ever thought you'd see two 14 and two teams playing each other in the regular season. Right. Right. You know, I mean, we've seen stuff like that happen in the Super Bowl, but not in a regular season. That's unbelievable. Yeah. You would assume you got a 14 and two team that you got Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen or someone like that quarterbacking him. I don't think many people would have thought, well, yeah, of course you're going to be good. You got Jared Goff and Sam Darnold, uh, the big question, the, the big question also does Minnesota sign Sam Darnold, um, because I mean, he's free agent and listen, we all know that Sam Darnold has not had a great NFL career up until this year. So is this an anomaly or is this the real Sam Darnold? I guess that's what the Vikings have got to kind of figure out. Well, they're paying JJ McCarthy and, uh, I think they think he is the future. I don't know that many teams that can pay to, uh, marquee quarterbacks and they're going to have to pay Darnold a boatload of money unless, uh, they want to move him or they want to say, okay, well, thanks, appreciate your year, uh, but I could see Sam Darnold making money somewhere else, right? Yeah. And boy, if you're a Vikings fan, let's say the Vikings go on and go to a Super Bowl, you know, I mean, do you want a guy that he's shown he can win 14, 15 games or a guy that you think can maybe win 14, 15 games? We know that Sam Darnold can. We don't know. How many first round bus we see in the quarterback realm in the NFL in the last 10, 15 years, guys, you think, oh, this is a no doubt is the guy that can't miss guy any misses. No, I don't know, man, it's a, that's a hard thing for what's going on there with the Vikings in the, you know, after the season, but right now, boy, what an amazing year. A lot of people had high hopes for the Lions. Nobody had high hopes for the Vikings. No, no. I'll give you another team, it's going to be in the playoffs, Jim, that no one had any hopes for. In fact, most people are thinking, well, they pick first, second or third in the draft is a Washington commanders. Yeah. Yeah. Jayden Daniels has been a real spark for that team, but they've got weapons. I mean, they've got some real weapons on that offense and the defense is pretty good. They could be better, but that's a pretty darn exciting football team. They have their, in the nation's capital, that's for sure. So much of the coach of the year conversation around here was focused on Dan Campbell for much of the season. And now you're hearing about, well, you know, what about Minnesota? What about the job of, O'Connell's done up there and then you have to think about Washington, right? It wouldn't Quinn be in that discussion too? Yeah, but I think, man, O'Connell, I have to give to him. I mean, I love Dan Campbell, don't get me wrong. I think he's a, he's just, I love the way this guy is, but like I said, Minnesota, nobody was picking them to even sniff playoffs. And here they are, they could be 15 and two, 14 and three, it's the very worst, you know? So I think he's has done an amazing job there in Minnesota. And yeah, I bet two I would give it to. Well, you could have a guy there tie the NFL record for most wins in the season. That's 18, right? With the Patriots. Yeah, when they went 18 and more. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They lost that championship game to the Giants trying to go 19 and O, but hey, if you're 14 and three and you win out, you win four playoff games, you got 18 wins and no one's ever done better than that. So it'd be awful hard to argue with that along the way. Would they play four? Would they play three playoff games? Well, they would. They're going to buy. If they went and they got to buy, they wouldn't have to play in the wildcard round. They would know if they got to buy, then they'd be 15 and two to get the buy. Yeah, right. 14 right now. Yeah, you're right. They would have 15 regular season and three playoff wins or if they lose, 14 regular season and four playoff. That's right. You're right. I was thinking of the other second. Yeah, you're right. You're right. That would be 18. Unbelievable. Jim, what are the big plans for the blitz in 2025? I'm so glad that you are extending the coverage now. All the NFL stuff you're doing with it that is available. People want that option. Can you tell us a little bit about that and for people who are missing out? I always tell them, "Hey, you want to be smart? You want to make people think you know more than you know?" Or you just want to have that information at your side to really enjoy the postseason. What should they do? Yeah, obviously we'll be trying to redo what we did again this year and come up with some more stats to make everyone go, "Oh, I didn't know that." So I work on that stuff over the summer, but the blitz is a publication that's designed for businesses. It's a customer service tool for the most part and any businesses out there that does this, last year we had 100% renewal rate because the customers that businesses give it to, they love it. But no, anyone can reach out to me and I'll give you all the information. It is the most addicting information source because once you get hooked on it, every week you look for it and you say, "I wonder what it came up with this week?" And you never cease to be amazed by some name that pops up or some stat that you say that can't be right. But of course you've done all the research and it is, you've worked hard to compile all this stuff. So congratulations on that and all the issues we've received so far and I look forward to all your hard work in 2025. You got it, Jack. Appreciate it, partner. Jim Gum, the Blitz. Jim Gum.Blitz, Yahoo.com. Just let him know and he'll get you a free issue. After that, you're on your own. All right. We have our next guest on the line, Rob. We most certainly do. Want to bring in Steve Waite. He is in Mississippi, believe it or not. You listen to him, you think, "Well, he can't be in Mississippi. He's got to be in Mississippi." No, he is in Mississippi. He just spends most of his time thinking about Michigan. And all the time, that's right, whether it's Ferris State or whether it's the high schools around here or MSU women's basketball, Rob, Spartan women are playing and I'm working on the television show, but I don't have to watch the game because I'm getting updates from Steve about every four minutes on what is happening in this game. And same thing with the Spartans in the GLI or whatever, and you are watching today with some interest as SEC representative went down to one of the strangest defeats that we've seen in a bowl game. They allowed 190 yards and lost. Yeah. Well, at one point during the game, Alabama had three turnovers and two total yards of offense, and that kind of explains what happened in this. What really tweaked me is that Alabama didn't appear ready for the conditions today. Rain was in the forecast. That's right. And they didn't have the proper cleats on, and so their first offensive, not just their first offensive series, but their first quarter series, they were slipping and sliding all over the place. They finally changed cleats, and that made a difference, but by then Michigan's up six to sixteen nothing, and Michigan's defense is still stout, and to come back from that hole. Yeah. And I'm wondering in SEC country what the reaction is now, knowing that Tennessee got boat race by the Buckeyes, and Alabama, mighty Alabama that thought it should be in the college football playoff, lost to a five-lost Michigan team. It's not good for Kalen to board, because Alabama fans expect much more than that. Just in game press, and you could even question some of the play calling in that game. So between that, the big 10 is three and one against the SEC right now, and Illinois's I believe in South Carolina 7-3, so that could be four and one, and two of the three wins right now were dominating victories. Michigan, Alabama ended up in 1913, but Michigan really controlled the whole game. Yeah. Well, and South Carolina was another pretender who thought it should be in the playoff, right? Correct. Correct. Michigan's defense is doing a well of a job on them right now, so it's kind of fun to watch. What I'm really more surprised by than anything is the ACC being one in nine in the poll, well, in the postseason. It's called the poll season, with three more chances to lose, and they very well could lose all three. Washington and Louisville right now are 21 all. I'm wondering if any conference has ever lost double-digit bowl games, and the ACC could lose 12 of them. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Easily. Because Ole Miss should win this game against Virginia Tech. How many conferences even get 12 teams in a bowl game? Exactly, exactly. So Steve, I was thinking about this the other day, Georgia, the number two seed as the SEC champion, right? And that's a two-loss team, lost to Alabama. But Georgia could have been in the college football playoff as a four-loss team. Do you realize that? Yeah. Yeah. If it lost to Georgia Tech, right, which it took them, what, eight over times to figure out how to win it. That could have been a loss. And even though the game was a blowout, let's say Clemson had won that game. They could have still won the SEC, and been in the four losses. That's right. That's right. A lot of the, well, I was going to say, in the NFL, the playoff strategy has to change, because there shouldn't be two 14-win teams, or one 15, one 14, and one have to, one not get a buy, right, and in college football, I guess, you know, when you're giving automatic births to the conference champions, at least the Power 4 conference champions, you know, you can run into this, where you're going to get a four-loss team. I don't think that will ever, a four-loss team will ever win the Big 10, but Ohio State, with their first two games next year, could happen. All right, give me the four winners in the console playoff quarterfinals. What do you have tonight? Ohio State, Ohio State, Arizona State. Whoa. Okay. I love that. Yeah. I love that team, and they're playing with no fear. Yeah. Huh? Yeah. They're playing with no fear. Yeah, I think he's just an excellent running back, and so difficult to stop. Yeah. I like Boise, and I like Notre Dame, and I like Notre Dame, and then I like Ohio State over Arizona State, Notre Dame over Boise, and Ohio State, and Notre Dame for the National Championship. So you have the four lower seats, you have the eight over the one, the seven over the two, oh no, you don't have the lower seats because Boise and Arizona State are the three and the four, but those are significant, those will be significant Vegas upsets. Correct. Correct. Okay. Okay. Gotcha. All right. Very interesting. As far as where the Lions are right now, Steve, if you had to guess, did they lose next week to the Vikings? Do they lose in the playoffs? Do they win the Super Bowl and not lose again until 2025 in regular season? They beat the Vikings, and they win it all. And of course, this is a long-time Lions fan who has PTSD, but there's just something about this team that they figure out how to win. You know, Kirby Joseph is the first Lions safety to have nine or more interceptions and a pick six in the same season since Jack Christensen in 1957, and we know what happened in 1957, so to me, that's a great omen, so. I love that stat, and that's the kind of thing that Steve Waite specializes in. Hey, how far is your place from New Orleans? I can get to New Orleans in two, two and three quarters hours, under three. So would you go to the Super Bowl? If I could afford a ticket, yes, but the ticket prices are so exorbitant for that. Yeah. It might be fun to drive down and spend a couple of days, and you'd have to get a hotel like in Gulfport or Gulf Shores or Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and driveover. But, yeah, it would be fun to go down and at least experience the atmosphere if you couldn't go to the game. Well, there are a lot of people who go to Final Four's and never go to the game. Yes. They go and they take part in all the hoopla and, you know, everything that goes with it, but they watch the game in the bar. Yeah, and I wouldn't be opposed to that. Again, if you could find a bar where there's just a ton of lion stands, you couldn't get in, because that would just be so much fun. And I know, I think I would have the same emotions I did at the 2013 Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis, sitting in a section with a ton of Spartan fans, and it had been so long and, you know, I'm not, I can admit, I cried. And I wasn't the only one crying in that section when Michigan State won that game. Were you crying because you knew that there was a Rose Bowl trip and all that, all those years of frustration were gone? It was more the relief that all those years of frustration were gone and just the smack that Ohio State fans were talking before the game. And it was interesting because after that game, I was in Columbus in 2015 when Matt Geiger won that game, and the Ohio State fans' attitude towards Spartans then was so much different. They had so much respect. Respect. Yeah, yeah, exactly right. Rob, do you know what the problem with Michigan State football was in 2024? We didn't have Steve Wade at the games. The beat shown up here. Who knows? Spartans might have beat the Buckeyes, right? I got to say that Urban Meyer was 0 and 2 with me in attendance. Wow. Okay. Now, sadly, Jim Tresell was 6-0, 6-0 when I was in attendance. So, I'm not sure how that factors out, but I need to get up for some games. I'm going to come up more regularly. I'll be up in, well, I'll be with you in Los Angeles in early February. I'll be in East Lansing in late February. I'll be back up for the Izzo Run Walk stroll just because not to be a competitive walker or runner, but you get to see so many people and use the walking time to catch up. And it's just a great experience in that. And it's a good, you know, it's a good benefit. Steve, it's always great to talk with you and appreciate all of your support with this show and everything else through 2024. Thank you. Can't wait to see you. And we're going to have a blast on that trip to Southern California. Thank you. And one last thing, Jack, and thanks for having me on. But Andy Katz yesterday said Michigan State men win the big 10th title. Did he really? Yes, he was there in Hawaii. I saw him at the Lahaina Civic Center and when Michigan State beat North Carolina, I think that opened a lot of eyes and Michigan State has been a different team ever since. And I know you had to have a big smile on your face last night when a look at the pass quo who joined us at the beginning of the show came out of nowhere, at least a lot of fans that who the hell is that guy? And he gets a second shout out of the year. He's he's had four games and he's allowed a total of two goals. I couldn't have been more happy for him. Just a great, I mean, a heartwarming story, right? You can't write a script better than that. And so, yes, last night was was huge and they really didn't let themselves get behind like they did in St. Louis last, last, last mark. Right. Right. And you know, I was thinking about this, Steve, no school has hockey, men's basketball, women's basketball teams with as many wins as Michigan State. Now you're talking about, well, the 37 victories between those three teams. Right. Right. And the only, the only school really that could compete there, Michigan's in the running, but you can, right? You can men and women's teams are both strong and they have a decent hockey, yeah, Ohio State could. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep. Not many. Not many. I guess Notre Dame could, right? Yes, they could. They could. But Notre Dame hockey is down this year. Yeah. Yeah. Notre Dame men's basketball is down too. Yeah. Quite a bit. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks so much for joining us. I really appreciate it. Thank you. We'll talk to you in the new year. Happy new year. Steve Waite. He is a proud, proud Sexton High graduates and Michigan State alum and his other school, Rob, Oklahoma. So softball season, he's got someone to cheer for. We'll be back in just a minute. And we always like to talk with fans, okay, and about fans who sacrifice, who pay the price and bring in two of our favorites, the fabulous flying Nessus from Boise, Idaho. And you might see them in MidMichigan more than you can imagine. They now have a place up in Gaylord. So it's going to make their commute to East Lansing a lot shorter. We'll be right back on the drive with Jack. Hey, Spartan fans. When you want the largest and best selection of Spartan gear, Alumni Hall is your ultimate shopping destination. Come get your officially licensed gear, Nike, champion, Columbia, Yeti, new era hats, tailgating gear, and more MSU students, faculty and military receive 10% off in store every day. And you can earn cash back with their Hall Pass rewards, Alumni Hall located in Eastwood Town Center near the Apple Store, or shop anytime at AlumniHall.com. For the ultimate Spartan shopping experience, it's Alumni Hall. To everyone who craves a sweet treat with a little something special, let us tell you about our concrete mixers at Culver's. There's so many reasons I love fresh frozen custard. It's so rich, so creamy. It's the perfect treat. But when I handcraft it with all of your favorite mix ins and see your smiles after every spoonful, it's clear. What makes our concrete mixers so special to me is making them just for you. From Wisconsin with love, welcome to Delicious. Time for a career change. 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We have 0% financing on new and as low as 1.99 used, you've got to come and check it out. Great time to get a car and great place to do it, graph of ochemists. Hey Spartan fans, when you want the largest and best selection of Spartan gear, Alumni Hall is your ultimate shopping destination. Come get your officially licensed gear, Nike, Champion, Columbia, Yeti, new era hats, tailgating gear and more. MSU students, faculty and military receive 10% off in store every day and you can earn cash back with their hall pass rewards. Alumni Hall, located at Eastwood Town Center near the Apple Store or shop anytime at alumnihall.com. For the ultimate Spartan shopping experience, it's Alumni Hall. To everyone who wants a meal made just for you, let our team member, Arish, share what makes Culver special. We know the best meals are the ones shared with the people you love, like our cook to order butter burgers and our real Wisconsin cheese curds and our creamy, fresh, frozen custard. I put the same carrots in your meal that I went from my own family. Order ahead on the app or Culver's.com for a meal made in Wisconsin way. From Wisconsin with love, welcome to Delicious. Welcome back. It is the drive with Jack the Spotlight Radio Network. Jack Eblett here with my producer, Boston Rob. We will be back with you on January 2nd. We will have shows Thursday and Friday and making arrangements to be at Fort Field Sunday night. It's going to mean taping press pass earlier. We couldn't get the result of that game on anyway because it's not going to end until after our show goes on at 11. But we may just go ahead and tape it in the afternoon before I head on to Detroit, Rob. Do we have our final guests of the year with us? We most certainly do. All right. I said that I like to salute fans, especially fans who sacrifice. And I don't know any who accumulate more air miles following their team. Then Brian and Jackie Ness from Boise, Idaho and all of the trips that they make back to Michigan to watch Michigan State and follow sports here. Brian and Jackie, happy New Year. Happy New Year, Jack. Happy New Year. Brian, I want to go through your fan odyssey. And when you moved to Boise, you lived in Michigan for most of much of your life anyway. And then you moved to Boise and became the Idaho Director of Transportation, right? That's correct. Yeah. When you did that, did you know then that you were going to be making all of these trips back? Or did this kind of happen? Oh, I figured we'd be coming back occasionally and it started with maybe a couple of football games a year and a couple basketball games a year and then spilled over to, well, if we're not so go to the Big Ten tournament and then go to the NCAA basketball tournament and then more and more football games and more and more basketball games. So it kind of exploded. Jackie, do you handle all the travel, accommodations, the reservations, all those things? Now you've got your place up in Gaylord. But do you take care of all the travel for this? No, he still does that all, you know, yeah, he wants to take care of it all. Okay. All right. Do you know how many miles it is from Boise to Lansing? As a crow flies? No, because it depends on which airport we go through. We either go through Minneapolis or Salt Lake. It's about 2,000 miles as a crow flies. Roughly 2,000. Okay. So a trip then you're talking about 4,000 around trip, right? Yeah. And how many trips a year, Brian? Oh, probably too many. Four football games roughly this year it looks like will be about six basketball games, but we're trying to combine weekends. We also had, we're headed to the UCLA USC basketball games in Los Angeles and we're already here. Right. You were in Maui. And we were in Maui. That's correct. And we're making our plans for the NCAA tournament. We're starting to book our Marriott rooms right now. So you'll be at the big 10 tournament? We will. Yes. We have our rooms already. How do you handle the NCAA tournament? You just have to wait and see where they are. You're one of those people that gets hotel reservations at every site and then you cancel. That's correct. And sometimes you only have a about a 24 to 48 hour cancellation window after the brackets come out. So as they're rolling the brackets through on CBS and I see we didn't go to Cleveland or we didn't go to Seattle, I'm canceling rooms as they're going through the brackets. You wouldn't want to forget to cancel, right? You have eight hotel bills. That would be bad. That's correct. And they're not very kind. They will charge you. All right. I want to go through the Michigan State year and it was a great year in a lot of ways. You got championships and one memorable night, Michigan State won the Big Ten Women's Gym Classics Championship in Gen. Fieldhouse and then you cross Kalamazoo Street and they win the Big Ten hockey tournament. Women's basketball was good. Men's basketball back in the NCAA tournament for a record setting streak. And this year there's no school in the country right now that has as many wins as Michigan State does in those three sports, two basketball and hockey, it's 37 victories. But so much, Brian, is focused on football and you had concerns about what you have seen from Jonathan Smith, right? I do but I'm not sure it's a Jonathan Smith issue. I think it's the NIL issue and whether we can compete with the Alabama's and the Michigan's and Ohio states of the world. Are you saying that Jackie's going to have to do less shopping and going to have to ratchet up the donations or what? You're so funny, Jack. What did you think of the football season, Jackie? You sat there and you watched it. It wasn't what anybody wanted. No. No, but I don't like the portal. I hate -- I really dislike the portal. I mean, they can, you know, run home to mommy any time they want and I just don't like it. I don't -- how a coach does this day by day when he doesn't know who's going to be around. It's very difficult for him and a school to continue to function as that, you know, portal is open. Hey, Rob, do you know why Jackie is fine with Jonathan Smith and where this program is going? Those are the place kicker who's going to be handling the duties for Michigan State next year. You know Martin Kahn, it's a lot better than any of us. In fact, I think you've had dinner with his family in the last couple of weeks. Do you want to talk about this young man? He is dedicated. He practices every single day. He really, really wants that spot. He is so hungry to be on the team and he is -- he wants it badly. So, he is out there working. How far did he kick the other day, hun? The little video I saw was 72 yard field goal. 72 yard field goal and we know the kickoff went out far. 90 yards. 90 yard kickoff. Think about that. It's like through the end zone, through the goal posts, into the net, if they even had the net up, at the end of the stands and over the top of the top rope. 71 yard field goal, I mean, obviously he didn't have a rush coming at him and it wasn't game conditions and, you know, it was -- He didn't have the gear on and he just had shorts and stuff, you know, agreed, 100%. But if he can kick that far, then get him closer and we don't have a problem. He has got a leg. He really does. Well, that's one of the things that Michigan State had going for it this year. I mean, obviously, Jonathan Kim missed a big chip shot field goal at Michigan that could have made a difference. But he was hitting from long range, 50 plus, on a regular basis and Koniton can do that and more, right? He can. He definitely can. So Brian, how did he get to Michigan State? I believe he was recruited by Jonathan Smith at Oregon State and when Jonathan Smith got the job at East Lansing, Martin followed him to Michigan State. So that tells me that he has a great shot at the job because the coaches obviously believe in him. He's not someone that they inherited, that they found when they got here. They brought him here, right? That's correct, but I believe there is someone ahead of him yet in the pecking order. So it would be interesting to see how that dual shakes out in spring practice. Okay. All right. Well, we're going to pay close attention to that. I want to talk about Tom Izzo's team and where they are, what you saw in Maui and what you think it meant, the win over North Carolina in overtime in that third and fourth place game wasn't a championship game, but it might be a game that makes champions. I would agree with that and remember they did that without Chase Richardson that he was in street clothes that night. That's right. That's right. So Jackie, what's different about this Michigan State basketball team from some of the ones that have been frustrating since Cassius Winston left? Number one is depths. They have a lot of depth and number two is they're playing like a team. That's what I see. Yeah. Brian, it seems like they're getting to the foul line an awful lot again yesterday. They made three more free throws in Western Michigan attempted, outscored the Broncos 20 to 7 at the stripe, but it isn't just the points that you get from free throws. It tells you about your style of play that you are the aggressor and that shows up in rebounding stats. It shows in your ability to run the court and Michigan State, depending on the metric you use, is either number one or number two in tempo and points in transition. So that seems to me like return to Isoball. It does and I think that toughness also is return to Isoball and it's interesting. He has some big this year that you control the ball into them and they can actually catch it, put it up in the basket. Yeah, and I think there's an identity with this team. You can look at it now and say, oh yeah, that looks like a Michigan State team and the last couple of years, even when they had good wins, it was Tyson Walker getting hot from the outside or someone else heating up. But it wasn't what we've come to expect for 30 years, right? That's correct. The one thing I noticed in Maui is when Kohler was sitting out and I think it's because that group was playing very well against North Carolina. He wasn't moping on the bench. He was cheering on his team and talking to Coach Iso and I just see the support for each other that hasn't been there in past the past few years. Jackie, you mentioned the word depth. I think we saw that yesterday when Michigan State got it together in the second half and they built a 20-point lead and I was looking at the box score at the time and Jackson Kohler, Jeremy Fierz and Cohen Carr did not have a basket between him. But it's a different guy each night. I mean, who would have thought that Carson Cooper suddenly would make every shot he took except one and last year, you know, Cooper couldn't make a free throw. Cohen Carr couldn't make a free throw. Cohen Carr hasn't missed a free throw this year. No, it's great to see that everybody's, you know, even if they're not making a basket, they're there under the basket. They're there to help the team. I mean, everybody's putting in something. You are back in Boise for the holidays, right, Jackie? Right. We are. When do you return to the state of Michigan? We are looking at our schedule now. We're not making any airplane flight schedules yet. We're waiting for the first of the year, but we're coming. We're going to be there shortly. Brian, do you have games circled? We do. We have schedules like posted upon the wall there in your place in Boise? We do. The war room is alive and well and I will say that we look at games that are close together so Penn State, Illinois, and January. This is crazy. I thought being retired, you could go any time you wanted to. And I was really looking at that Oregon, Indiana close games together, but doctor appointments get in the way. So I guess that comes with age, but that's all right because we'll be in LA not too long before that, but then I think we'll be there for the Purdue game and we definitely will not miss Michigan for senior night. So I'm going to see you at the USC and UCLA games, correct? Correct, yes. So Steve Wade, who was on just in front of you, is also an MSU diehard, lives in Mississippi, is also going to be there and another guy who I know you're going to want to meet, Rod Bar Mac from the final four is not on the schedule. If you get a chance to listen to that podcast, it's terrific. He's going to be there, along with his broadcast partner. So there's going to be a pretty good contingent of Michigan State people heading out there. And hey, it's the first time that Spartans are going to be playing these teams in a series like that back to back, Oregon and Washington will be coming to East Lansing and then next year it'll flip and Michigan State will go to Seattle and Eugene and the Trojans and the Bruins will come here. So it's going to be a little bit different, but lots of excitement and the Big Ten tournament this year is going to be unbelievable because Brian, there is no clear cut favorite for this championship. There's no Big Ten team in the top nine. And then you have like nine of them who are, you know, just throw a blanket over them. So they're going to be some incredible games at Game Bridge Fieldhouse. And the top two teams are the two West Coast teams that are ranked in the Big Ten in Oregon and UCLA. So yeah, yeah, go figure. Yeah, I think Michigan State will be there at the end and I really think Maryland might be there too. Maryland is a team I've been watching closely, but hey, we'll know a lot more about Michigan State Friday night, Spartans resume Big Ten play in Columbus against an Ohio State team that is truly bipolar and this team lost to Auburn by 38. It lost at Maryland by 25 and then it turns around last week and beats Kentucky by 20. So you never know what you're going to get with this Ohio State team. I mean, they have games where, you know, you're just not going to beat them. And then you have other games where you look and you say, you know, that's not a first division team. So we'll see what Michigan State does on the road and whether all the Ohio State people will be back yet from the Rose Bowl. Wow. I want to give a shout out to our new big coach. I mean, he's doing a hack of a good job because our, our bigs are doing our coming out of their, I want to say shell, but they're really performing this year. So our shout out to our new big coach. Talk about Saudi Washington? Yeah. I am. He is doing a great job. Yeah. Well, I think Tom likes his team. He likes his staff that they didn't like his other staff. He liked Dwayne Stevens and he liked Mark Montgomery and he, he's liked all the coaches he's hired, but I think the staff is really working together well and I think the players like each other. And a lot of times you can recruit players, but it's hard to recruit chemistry and it's hard to find guys picking each other up. I think you saw all you need to know about this Michigan State team. When Cohen Carr hit that three pointer and the way the other players reacted, they came off the bench and lifted him up and the same thing when Nick Sanders hit that shot. I mean, it's kind of like, you know, like the Steven is all past. Yeah. Exactly. Right. All right. You can tell us a secret. What is New Year's Eve like for the Nessus? No. Roward. No, we're going to sit here and watch Boise State get beat and you were Boise State season ticket holders and you went to a lot of Boise State games over the years, right? In basketball. In basketball. We never got into the football here, but we're going to watch them. We're going to watch Penn State beat Boise State. Oh, okay. All right. Well, thanks so much for joining us. I look forward to seeing you when you get here for some basketball and congratulations on being Spartan super fans. Well, Happy New Year, Jack. Thank you. Yeah. Happy New Year and Go Green. The fabulous flying Nessus we call them. Rob, how are you spending New Year's Eve? I take it. You'll be watching some football. Yeah. I plan on watching some football and I'm sure that has some other plans. Yeah. We're working on it. We'll see what we can do. Maybe go out and have some dinner here right after this show and then be back for some football perhaps. And I do want to take a quick second and thank all our listeners and our sponsors and obviously spotlight media as well and you as well, most of all, for letting me be a part of a great ride that has been 2024, looking forward to even a better ride in 2025. I know we got some exciting things coming up. So looking forward to that. But thank you, Jack, for another spectacular year. Well, and I'm not just saying this because I'm talking to you. There is no one I've worked with more dedicated to his craft and to making this show better than Rob. He gets there early. He stays late. You never have to ask him to do something twice. He usually does it before you think of it and is very, very key component to everything we do on the drive with Jack. Well, thank you, my friend. I appreciate that. I'm learning from the best. That's for sure. Yeah. Well, you did. You learned from Earl Robinson. I want to thank all of our guests today. How about Michigan State assistant hockey coach Mike Townes and Great Lakes Invitational MVP, Luca Depasco, Trehu, Luca comes in and allows one goal in two games and Michigan State gets its first GLI title since 2009, but way too long. Well, I thank Chase Michelson from circa in Las Vegas from the risk room there. And he always looks at this and what's best for the house, but I hope he's art broken tonight. The Boise State gets a win. Jim Gumb from the Blitz newsletter, the best source for college and pro football minutiae. How about Steve Wade from the State of Mississippi, Die Hard Lansingite, and he'll be back here soon this winter and we'll be with him in LA as will Brian and Jackie Ness from Idaho. Happy New Year. 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