WEBVTT - National Championship Review (1/10/2017) 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:06.880 Welcome to the Solid Verbal. I'm that for me. I'm 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:08.160 a man, I'm forty. 0:00:08.280 --> 0:00:10.119 I've heard so many players say, well, I want to 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:10.639 be happy. 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:13.000 You want to be happy for Dake Ado State? 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:14.480 Is that? Woo woom? 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:16.520 And Dan and. 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:21.560 Tie welcome back to the Solid Verbal boys and girls. 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:25.919 Ty hilde Brand over here, Dan Rubinstein over there. Solid 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:30.360 Verbal at gmail dot com as always is our email address. 0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:30.960 Don't forget. 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:35.559 You can subscribe at iTunes dot com, slash solid Verbal, 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:40.879 or wherever your favorite college football podcasts are sold. 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:44.480 Sir, how are you old? Can we be making money 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:47.479 off of this from people? What is that a thing? Maybe? 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:50.440 I don't know where available? I am. 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:52.720 I sound sick, but I'm feeling better. I just have 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:56.800 just gunk in my head at this point. I'm good. 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:00.560 We have a national champion. We had a a rates 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:03.760 albeit very long, national championship game that I think you 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:08.840 can probably speak to specifically, and I couldn't be happier 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:10.679 that we had a back and forth, and we have 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:13.640 a national champion whose fan base has not been in 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:15.720 this space in quite some time. 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:23.000 Let's jump right in, Dan, Yeah, we have breaking new 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:32.720 your twenty sixteen to seventeen national champion is officially the 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:38.119 Clemson Tigers. Clemson wins by a thirty five to thirty 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:41.880 one score. As you mentioned, a back and forth game, 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:45.200 an epic showdown, perhaps the best game of the year, 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:49.120 maybe the best national championship game that we've seen since 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:52.280 that epic USC Texas game in the Rose Bowl about 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:56.440 ten years ago. What was your take watching this football game, Dan? 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:58.960 What were the key points that jumped out to you? 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:02.520 Other than the fact that this was a great football 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:07.880 game between two awesome teams and a fantastic singular performance 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:08.840 by de Sean Watson. 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:12.560 My takeaway is I hope Deshaun Watson has access to 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.160 a hot tub for like the next week. I hope 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:20.520 that he has access to massage therapy and cold tubs 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:25.280 and hot tubs and naps and more napping and sixteen 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:29.320 hour nights of sleep because he took so much abuse 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:33.840 to get and pull Clemson past the finish line for 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:37.280 the National championship. And which is also to say the 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:41.440 Clemson defense did as well, standing up to Alabama's offense, 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:45.440 namely the rushing attack, with or without both Scarborough that 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:48.960 there was there was nothing easy, and this is something 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:50.600 I talked about in the postgame show I did with 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:52.720 our pal Ryan Nanny at the day job at Espanation 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:57.400 is that we've seen national championships in which there are breakdowns, 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.120 and certainly there was a breakdown for Clemson's defense on 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:04.040 that long Oj Howard touchdown. But for Clemson to win 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:08.480 this game, there wasn't a single play that was taking 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:12.520 advantage of an Alabama breakdown. They earned every single inch 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:18.040 and that is an incredible feat against what I still 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:19.960 think and what I would still consider to be the 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:24.680 best college football thing, which is Alabama's front seven, their 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:26.840 rush defense particularly, and the way that they get to 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:30.359 a quarterback in the passing game. The fact that Clemson 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:33.120 was able to defeat them while they were playing at 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.400 an extraordinarily high level. We're talking about a senior laid 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:38.600 in front seven as well, We're not just talking about 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:43.920 pure talent, talent and experience and age and intelligence. That 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:47.120 to me is the incredibly impressive thing that they were 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:52.000 able to weather that sort of just extreme success. 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:52.840 Absolutely. 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:57.480 Deshaun Watson, I think cemented his legacy, is probably the 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.560 best player in the history of Clemson Football's clearly one 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.600 of the best big game players of all time. Dan 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.800 that final drive last night was the kind of thing 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:09.880 that every kid envisions when you're playing around in the backyard. 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.160 I didn't even play organized football, but when I was eight, 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:17.240 even sometimes in the holidays, when I'm like thirty, we'll 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:19.880 go out in the backyard. We'll pretend we're running that 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:22.800 two minute drill to try and win something big. Yep, 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.000 the moment never seems too big. 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.599 For Deshaun Watson. No, absolutely not. 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:29.680 And that's the one thing that comes up time and 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:32.520 time again when you see in these situations, even if 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.800 he's in that dream scenario that you plan for, that 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:38.280 you hope for when you're a little kid, even when 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:40.919 he's getting crushed on every play, as you eluded a 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:46.320 few minutes ago, no interceptions last night, twenty one carries 0:04:46.360 --> 0:04:49.120 for forty three big yards, a big rushing touchdown, almost 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:52.080 had a second rushing touchdown when he tried to superman 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.640 in from the five yard line. Thirty six of fifty 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:59.480 six passing, four to twenty through the air, three. 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:00.920 Touchdowns through the air. 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:03.880 The guy has a quiet confidence to him, and when 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:06.359 his team needs him the most, that's when he steps up. 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:08.919 It's what we talked about in all of the preview 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:11.800 shows we had done leading up to the National Championship. 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:15.039 This game was going to be a function of what 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.680 Deshaun Watson could do on his own. Now he had 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:19.760 plenty of help, and we'll talk about what his receiving 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.040 corps did and how it rose to the occasion. Deshaun Watson, 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:26.480 I thought, the best singular entity in this game. We 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:29.919 knew it going in. If he had this kind of game, 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.920 Clemson clearly had a shot to win. He pulled it off. 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.320 They pulled it off. Now, the th the National champs. 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:38.240 Throwing the ball fifty six times no less. If that 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:41.560 is a number that you're hearing against Alabama, that's generally 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:44.800 a bad thing because it indicates the rush is not there. 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:47.359 And the rush was one hundred percent not there for 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:50.359 Clemson by Deshaun Watson, by Wayne Gollman, Buye, whoever. So 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:53.240 Clemson loses the rushing battle in a big way. I 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:55.120 think they're out gained on the ground two twenty one 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:58.200 to ninety one, and it was it was like six 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:00.800 and a half yards per carry it to to whatever. Yeah, 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:02.520 it's for Kerry. Clemson could not move the ball on 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.559 the ground at all, and they lose the turnover battle, 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.159 and Clemson moves to something like fifteen and one or 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:10.640 something when they have two turnovers or more. 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.160 They're just so good at overcoming. 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:16.080 And I think it's pretty clearly a reflection of Davioswinny 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.640 and the coaching staff that Clemson just sort of has 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:22.280 singular focus and has unwavering confidence in their ability even 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:26.279 with setbacks like turnovers. But for Alabama, the story was 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:31.720 clearly offensive struggles. Uh not willing to really open the 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:34.880 playbook up with Jalen Hurtz throw the ball downfield a ton. 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:36.760 They had a little bit of success, we had that 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:40.279 broken play that not broken play but the great sort 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:43.800 of screen fake, and then Oj Howard running unimpeded down 0:06:43.800 --> 0:06:47.839 the sideline. But beyond that, it was a one dimensional 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:51.119 attack in that it was like like a twelve yard 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.599 field that Alabama was playing with on offense, and once 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:59.039 both Scarborough went down and yes, huge factor, but he's 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:00.720 not their only running back and he's not their only 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:04.720 running back that can turn out chunks of yardage. It 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:09.240 was it was a different story for Alabama's offense, and I. 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:10.520 Would have liked to see that. 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:12.320 I would have liked to see them get maybe more 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:15.200 creative with their rushing attack, you know, spread the ball 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:17.960 out a little more, look for like some more tossy, 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:22.360 reedy option e things that they could almost play action 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:25.720 off of. But adjusting on the fly to losing Bo 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:29.680 Scarborough probably is much more easy in theory than it 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:33.840 is an execution, especially with a first game offensive coordinator 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:36.840 in Steve Sarkasian. So that, to me was the story 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:40.640 Alabama's inability to adjust to a great defensive performance from 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:45.080 Clemson and having a what seemed like a very small 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.080 playbook for Jalen Hurts downfield. 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:47.760 I would agree. 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:52.160 I think the final stanza now of Alabama's season is 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.960 that even with the best defense in college football, you 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:59.360 need more balance on offense to win a championship. In 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.880 their two biggest games of this season Dan Washington and Clemson, 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:06.280 Jalen Hurts had his two worst games in terms of 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:09.120 yards per attempt. In the Washington game, he was a 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:13.440 shade under four point one yards per attempt. In this 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:17.440 game against Clemson, a shade over four point two yards 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:21.200 per attempt. So, to your point, not very creative, not 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:24.800 very wide open. There are a bunch of viable reasons 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:27.080 why those numbers are lower. By the way, and it's 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:30.560 not all on Jalen Hurts. Part of that is absolutely 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:35.000 going up against two great pass defenses that definitely plays 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:37.360 a factor. Part of that could also be the game 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:41.200 plan being too conservative or run heavy. Could have something 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.920 to do with a new offensive coordinator. Part of that 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.720 could also be Jalen Hurts needing to mature as a passer. 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:50.440 He's got much more time at Alabama to do that, 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.240 and I suspect that he will. I don't think any 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:56.560 of it reflects poorly on Alabama, and certainly they're not 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:58.800 going to get sympathy from the college football world because 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:03.000 they lost. This game didn't look as pyrotechnic on offense. 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:05.720 But I think it's an important footnote as they now 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.760 try to build this thing in twenty seventeen. If you're 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:11.560 a Bama fan, if you're a college football fan, that's 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.560 what you watch for. You already know that Alabama can 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.600 run the football, both with Hurts or whoever is in 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:21.400 the backfield. The second missing piece now is going to 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:24.520 be passing, because lord knows, they've got plenty of toys 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:27.240 out wide. It's not just oj Howard. Calvin Ridley had 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.959 five catches for what thirty six yards. Plenty of guys 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.160 all around the field who can catch the ball, can 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:34.760 make plays in open space. They just weren't able to 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:37.199 put those guys in a position to really make those plays. 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:39.560 Yeah, I mean they Clems were just sitting on all 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.040 the short stuff for daring Jalen Hurts to throw the 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:45.680 ball downfield and make bigger throws than perhaps he was 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.480 able to against this defense. Are allowed to against this defense, 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.560 And it should also totally be noted with all due 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:55.360 fairness and respect, Jalen Hurts the Alabama offense. If going 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.400 into this game you said, okay, well Alabama has the 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:02.360 Alabama defense, we agree, Alabama has that thing on one 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:06.800 side of the ball that just monstrous entity. Should thirty 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:10.000 one points be enough to beat Clemson? Probably? 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:11.800 Yeah? 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:12.480 Probably. 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.400 I mean with what Clemson has done this year with 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:18.640 turning the ball over in in unfortunate spots, you know, 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:20.599 playing a little sloppier, you know, not being able to 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:24.720 generate the rush, especially thirty one points with Clemson not 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:28.160 able to run the ball, that should be enough. Yeah, 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:30.600 And that I think it much more speaks to Clemson's 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:33.160 ability and to Shaun Watson's ability to come through in 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:35.320 the fourth quarter, which, by the way, should also be 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.160 noted our pow Ryan Anny looked this up. How many 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:42.800 points did Alabama give up in the fourth quarter since 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:47.520 the Arkansas game October eighth in the fourth quarter, So 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.880 we're talking about eight straight games I believe since October eighth. Ye, 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:54.640 Alabama before giving up twenty one to Clemson in the 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:57.719 fourth quarter last night, combined in those one hundred and 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:00.960 twenty minutes to give up zero fourth quarter point no, 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:07.360 so thirty one points and knowing that your fourth quarter 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:11.640 defense has been exceptional all things considered, and Jalen Hurts 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.439 had you know, obviously an excellent run on the ground 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:17.040 for a touchdown late. But what came back to haunt 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.360 Alabama was and this was sort of an all season 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:23.040 long thing that didn't seem to matter, but third downs, 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:26.000 which are you know, just as important in and of 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:29.480 itself that it is. I don't know what I'm trying 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:31.360 to say here, that it's a product of first and 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:33.320 second down as well as being a big spot on 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:37.200 offense during drives. Alabama was two of fifteen on third downs. 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.280 And Jalen Hurts this season when you put him in 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:45.080 an obvious passing downs like third and six, third and seven, plus. 0:11:45.240 --> 0:11:47.360 He was not very good. And we hammered on this 0:11:47.440 --> 0:11:48.160 in the pre show. 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:51.280 If they can force those situations, if they can force 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.280 no brainer passing downs where they know they can pressure him, 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.480 then they can blitz and sit on short stuff that 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:01.040 Jalen hurts is going to struggle. Fact that they still 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:05.760 scored thirty one points is sort of a testament to 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:07.840 weathering some obvious deficiencies. 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:11.480 I saw it written somewhere, and forgive me for not 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:14.559 citing properly. It might have been Spencer, not you. Yeah, 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:19.160 definitely not me. The gist of this was that Alabama 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:23.680 saw a lot of meaningful fourth quarter plays in this 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:28.920 game from Clemson. Defensively, that's not something they're accustomed to seeing. 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:31.960 By the time they get to the fourth quarter. In 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:34.520 a lot of the games they play, the plays themselves 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:37.320 don't mean a whole lot in this game, obviously, it 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:40.360 was a fight to the finish, and the implication was 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:43.800 that because Clemson tried to spread out and run to 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:46.000 the perimeter as much as they did early on in 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:49.520 the game, perhaps they wore out Alabama's defensive front, and 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:53.320 the meaningful plays later on in the game Clemson had 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:54.800 worn them down by that point. 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.840 I'm trying to say if Alabama had entered a fourth 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:03.720 quarter not by double digits. I know the Old Miss 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:07.320 game was a back and forth. Looks like I'm looking 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:09.880 at Alabama Arkansas, that did not appear to be the case. 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:15.160 Alabama LSU was ten points obviously in the end, and 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:17.120 all those points were scored in the fourth quarter, so 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:18.200 a scoreless going into it. 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:18.760 So that was. 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:23.679 Probably the only real example of Alabama's defense giving full 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:27.080 attention knowing that a game was in the balance, at 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:33.240 least recently. So you're right, and Alabama's defense is built 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:36.559 to shut down teams for four full quarters. And I 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:39.640 don't think it's a full excuse that Alabama's defense finally 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:44.240 had to play meaningful fourth quarter minutes. But man, Deshaun Watson, 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:46.920 Hunter Renfro, the ability to spread the ball around, Mike 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:50.000 Williams making enormous catches, you know, a presence both he 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:53.080 and Mike Williams and Dion Kane in this game, not 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:57.160 in this game last year, just enormous, just in a 0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:01.480 game where once again, nothing was easy, there was nothing routine, 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:04.520 there was no play. It seemed that like Mike Williams, 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.760 you know, had like a slant that sort of froze 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:11.119 a corner or something like that and took it seventeen yards. 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:14.520 Everything was by three and a half inches something like that. 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:20.440 So an unbelievable performance from Clemson. Everything sort of came 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:24.120 together bite just a hair, and that's that's crazy. 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:27.200 I have a very important question here. Yeah, did you 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:30.600 see the final play, the on side kick? No, no, no, no, no, 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:34.120 the final touchdown? Oh, the final touchdown? Yeah, of course. 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.160 Did you have any problem with that rub play? 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.720 Okay, so this is something that obviously you are going 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:45.080 to feel a particular passion point about as a notre dame. 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:45.520 I don't. 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:47.880 I don't have a problem with it. I think I 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:51.280 think it was fine. I think the officials were calling 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:52.320 the game very loosely. 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:55.520 Yeah. Not the only pick play touchdown in this game, either. 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.920 Not the only not the only rub touchdown shore. Yeah, 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:01.520 I am fine with I thought. But Elliott did a 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:05.360 really good job explaining why it was an offensive pass interference. 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:09.840 Right defender initiated contact. The receiver was doing his best 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:13.480 to at least sell running a passing route. It wasn't 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:16.520 as if he went out there and overtly tried to 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.080 block the defender. So I'm okay with those plays. I'm 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:21.960 sure they're gonna be Alabama fans will feel differently. That 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:24.920 is the main primary difference between what we saw last 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:28.320 night on two separate occasions, mind you, versus what we 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:30.400 saw in the Notre Dame game like two years ago. 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:33.000 That was clearly a different story. 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.360 I don't have a problem with it if receivers are 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:42.480 taught to play within the rules of how officials see 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:46.200 those plays. So the defenders initiating contact and sort of 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:49.280 looking to the quarterback for the ball, you know, putting 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:53.080 your hands out so sort of conceivably running a route. 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:58.160 Clemson's players, to me, to my eyes, ran those routes 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:03.840 plause enough that it was sort of on Alabama. And 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:06.720 you know, there are teams that succeed against those kinds 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.400 of routes, that are able to sort of match up 0:16:09.480 --> 0:16:11.840 and switch and do what is necessarily. I believe that 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:15.240 the Super Bowl ends on one of those with Seattle 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:15.720 and New England. 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:16.440 I believe so. 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:19.520 Yeah, I believe it is so you can stop those 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.080 But good for Clemson four. I think running that play 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:26.440 to the satisfaction of the letter. 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:26.680 Of the law. 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:30.240 On that note, let's go to our first corporate sponsor 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:34.280 this evening, Dan, did you know that for decades, one 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:40.240 big razor company has relentlessly increased prices and reaped immense 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.360 profits at the expense of their customers. 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:46.360 Yeah, this is not a good thing. No, no, no, no. 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:48.640 So Jeff and Andy, two ordinary guys, they were fed 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.800 up with getting ripped off. They decided to start Harry's 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:55.880 to fix shaving because they knew that mark the only 0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:58.800 way to ensure quality was to buy your own factory. 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.760 Talk about taking that into your own hands. They did so, 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:07.639 they bought a factory. 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I haven't shaved since 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:25.800 before our trip down to Tampa, so I'm looking a 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.399 little grizzled right now and probably need to get on 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:30.560 that before the solid wife gets home, otherwise she might 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:31.040 divorce me. 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:32.800 Uh huh. 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:37.200 Harry's razors include everything you need for a close, comfortable shave. 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:42.640 They've got a weighted ergonomic handle, five precision Engineer blades 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:46.560 with a lubricating strip and trim or blade rich lathering 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:51.320 shave gel, and the hidden gem is the travel blade cover. 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:56.119 I at first was uncomfortable with you saying rich lathering, 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:57.800 and now I am fully on board. 0:17:57.880 --> 0:17:58.840 I've come full circle. 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:05.399 Is the exclusive offer for Solid Verbal listeners. Harry's is 0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:09.200 so confident Dan in the quality of their blades they 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:11.240 want you to try their shave for free. 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:14.000 For free. I think it's a great deal. 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:15.880 All you gotta do is cover shipping when you sign 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:19.679 up plus plus listen to this as a special offer 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:21.600 to fans of the Verbal. If you go to Harry's 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:25.399 dot com, enter the offer code solid at checkout, you 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:28.959 will get their post shave balm, also free. Again, all 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.600 you gotta do is cover the shipping Harries dot com. 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:34.520 Your code is Solid Solid. 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:35.639 Simple as that. 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:41.119 All right, So on that awkward note where we left off, 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:44.800 what were some other notes that you had while watching 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:46.520 this game? Because it's not all about the game when 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:49.200 you get to this point right in the college football season, 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:52.120 a lot of neat stuff going on around the game. 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:55.680 I thought, the most notable of which was the way 0:18:55.720 --> 0:18:58.760 that ESPN covered it. So obviously on ESPN you've got 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:01.840 Fowler and Herbstreem, who do a bang up job. 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:04.360 Rinaldi ponder on the sideline, Yeah. 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:05.720 Ronaldi ponder on the sideline. 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:06.000 Sure. 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:10.160 You also had the ESPN homer Feed on ESPN two, 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:14.800 which featured Joe Tess and Barrett Jones. 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:19.119 Whoa, whoa, whoa, Adam Amen, That's where I'm going with it. 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:22.159 I was gonna say, on the Clarson side, Wow, okay, 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:26.160 our new best pal adam Aman yep sidled up with 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:29.640 the ToJ Boyd. So they had the ESPN homer Feed. 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:33.199 And then on ESPN News, I want to say it 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:37.240 was the ESPN Film Room. It featured a bunch of coaches. 0:19:37.240 --> 0:19:38.840 Did you have a chance to check out any of 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:40.320 those other broadcasts? 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:41.080 I did. 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:44.639 I watched a little bit of the coaches. The problem 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:48.840 was our office. I guess we don't get ESPN. 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:50.600 News in the sp Nation office. Really, hey for the 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:52.520 full package that includes ESPN News. 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:52.800 Wow. 0:19:52.880 --> 0:19:55.160 So I put it on watch ESPN on my computer 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:56.800 and watched a little bit of that, but it was 0:19:56.840 --> 0:19:59.400 a good like thirty forty seconds behind, so that made 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.359 it a little bit more or difficult to sort of 0:20:01.400 --> 0:20:03.200 pay attention to both because I did want to see 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:04.560 what was happening live on TV. 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:09.480 But Dino Babers was great. Yeah, Matt Rule was really 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:10.720 really good. Matt Rule. 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:13.760 I thought Matt Rule and Dino Babers stole the show. 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:16.560 Yes, I thought those were the two best. And they 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:18.440 got snacks in there, which is yes. 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.000 Kilanie Sataki did not talk. 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:23.880 No, he did not. I did not tell Fridge Mark 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:26.560 Helfrisch was supposed to be in that room. I was 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:28.760 very curious, but he ended up not being there. 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:31.840 Kalanie Sataki did not talk, and I saw that. Somebody 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:35.440 on Twitter noted that the only real notable action from 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:37.720 Klanie Sataki is when they brought the snacks out. 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:40.120 He was the first to jump all over that absolutely. 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:44.760 Otherwise, the coaches feed was sort of difficult to digest. 0:20:45.560 --> 0:20:49.159 There wasn't a whole lot of organization to who was 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:51.600 saying something and when they were saying it, So unless 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:54.800 you were really in the weeds into the x's and 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:58.280 o's and know the keywords to listen for, it was 0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:01.440 difficult to figure out and just what was actually being said. 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:03.239 A lot of guys just yell and stuff and oh 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:06.200 look at that cover two here comes to safety. There 0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:10.119 wasn't much organization around the actual commentary, but Matt Ruhlandino 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:12.680 Baber's I thought, brought a little personality to that side 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:15.120 of the broadcast, which was a lot of fun to watch. 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:18.280 I enjoyed it to the extent I could understand what 0:21:18.320 --> 0:21:18.760