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Speaker 1: Welcome to the solid verbal hell that for me, I'm

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Speaker 1: a man.

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Speaker 2: I've heard so many players say, well, I want to

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Speaker 2: be happy. You want to be happy for a day

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Speaker 2: at a steak?

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Speaker 3: Is that woo woom.

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Speaker 4: And then and tie?

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Speaker 3: So, Dan, have you fully recovered from your Memorial Day weekend?

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Speaker 3: That's the question everybody wants to know as they tune

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Speaker 3: into this podcast.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I had a great time in the great state of

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Speaker 2: Wisconsin on a lake. I ate a ton of food,

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Speaker 2: I got plenty of sunshine. I got on a boat,

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Speaker 2: like a big long pontoon boat, like a great Memorial

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Speaker 2: Day weekend.

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Speaker 1: How about you.

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Speaker 3: I'm on an incredible run right now of my hot

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Speaker 3: water heater springing a gigantic leak, the best having a

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Speaker 3: gigantic family picnic over here on the weekend that we

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Speaker 3: have to prepare.

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Speaker 4: For your family spring a leak. You're good there, I.

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Speaker 3: Think we're okay there, okay, and then my air conditioning

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Speaker 3: breaking yesterday, so we're through the woods on that.

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Speaker 2: Hold on, is this is this your way to transition

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Speaker 2: into talking about Kentucky football by things that have collapsed

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Speaker 2: and broken and been a financial disaster for you.

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Speaker 3: I jotted down on my note sheet. I kid you not,

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Speaker 3: I kid you not. Quote. Nothing relieves the stress quite

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Speaker 3: like talking about Kentucky football. Dan there it is.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's a lot kinder and more diplomatic than saying,

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Speaker 2: like speaking of things that blobbedy, blobby black.

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Speaker 3: I don't want to do that.

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Speaker 4: We have, I didn't want you to do that.

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Speaker 3: Tuning into this, we're going to be joined today by

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Speaker 3: Nick Rousch of Kentucky Sports Radio. Suggested by our loyal

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Speaker 3: overballer Chaka, who listens to program and has been listening

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Speaker 3: to all these episodes and suggested Nick. I've been reading Nick.

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Speaker 3: I've been reading KSR forever and I thought that was

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Speaker 3: a great suggestion. So we reached out to Nick. He

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Speaker 3: was kind enough with his time. He's going to be

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Speaker 3: by momentarily here. You know, I've done these sec East

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Speaker 3: previews now for the last couple of seasons, and I

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Speaker 3: feel like whenever I get to Kentucky my voice goes

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Speaker 3: up in octave right, because I so desperately want this

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Speaker 3: to be the year or years in the past who

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Speaker 3: have been the year, And each of the last two

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Speaker 3: I've come away disappointed. I felt like there was more

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Speaker 3: out there. I want to talk to Nick about that.

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Speaker 3: What is holding this team back? What does it mean

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Speaker 3: now that they got this big transfer in Brock vander Griff.

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Speaker 3: Is he a Vanda grifter like you and I a

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Speaker 3: lot of questions about Kentucky football, Like we had the

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Speaker 3: comments from Mark Stoops last year on his radio show

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Speaker 3: that Mark Soops almost left. There's certainly a lot going

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Speaker 3: on right now with the athletic department and a new

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Speaker 3: basketball coach, like a very very interesting program that we

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Speaker 3: always find interesting, but I think there's even more intrigue

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Speaker 3: this season.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, can I tell you why you want it so badly?

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Speaker 2: For Kentucky, They've had a run of players, especially like

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Speaker 2: the weird do multiple things players with well Randall Cobb

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Speaker 2: and Lynn Bowden, Wandale Robinson was used in a bunch

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Speaker 2: of different ways. And you just have a type tie,

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Speaker 2: That's what it is I do. And when you see

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Speaker 2: that school that has that type, And I don't know

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Speaker 2: if this is true for Ole Miss TCU. You know

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Speaker 2: different schools that you've fallen in love with that you're

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Speaker 2: just like, I want you to be everything in my

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Speaker 2: heart and the best of Kentucky. Oh Will Evis You've

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Speaker 2: always had a soft spot for us.

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Speaker 3: No, I don't no, no, no, don't go there.

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Speaker 1: No great.

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Speaker 3: I've had Wandale on my fantasy football team for the

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Speaker 3: last three years now. I'm still waiting for Wandale to

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Speaker 3: become Wandale that he was at Kentucky may not happen

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Speaker 3: if Daniel Jones is the quarterback. But nonetheless, yeah, I

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Speaker 3: guess I do, and I've I've been a fan of

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Speaker 3: this program. I want this program to kind of turn

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Speaker 3: into something more. I want to find out today for

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Speaker 3: Nick what it'll take to get there because times are

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Speaker 3: different now, the SEC doesn't have the divisions, the playoff

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Speaker 3: has expanded, It's about to expand again in two seasons.

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Speaker 3: Like as is the case from many of these teams

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Speaker 3: that we've done as part of this Will It Ever Happen? Series,

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Speaker 3: it seems as if that's a turn of good fortune.

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Speaker 3: There may be fewer roadblocks. The path is wider now

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Speaker 3: to getting into meaningful postseason action. I hope Kentucky is

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Speaker 3: one of those teams.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, Kentucky's also one of those.

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Speaker 2: Just I'm talking historically the last whatever ten fifteen years,

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Speaker 2: and I'm always willing to be corrected. It seems like

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Speaker 2: most schools accidentally happened into a really good quarterback for

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Speaker 2: a stretch, and Will Levis, I wouldn't say it's a stretch.

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Speaker 2: He had a really good year followed up by a

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Speaker 2: disappointing year. Part of that on him, part of that

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Speaker 2: just you know, forces outside of his control. Eight bananas,

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Speaker 2: weird and Mayo and his coffee and was like the

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Speaker 2: Will Levis experience at Kentucky was very fun and the

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Speaker 2: connection he had with Londe Robinson was great. But Kentucky's

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Speaker 2: one of those schools that just never even accidentally had

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Speaker 2: a quarterback pop and whether you know, three thousand and

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Speaker 2: four thousand, whatever yards, the ceiling of Brock Vandergriff is

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Speaker 2: super interesting to me. The receivers there, the experience along

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Speaker 2: the offensive line was Tip Trainam is the one who

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Speaker 2: back who transferred in from Ohio State. At least from

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Speaker 2: a talent perspective, Vandergriff also has the like externally like

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Speaker 2: with the belt clip and the hair and everything like that.

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Speaker 2: He could be that folk hero guy for Kentucky. Once again,

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Speaker 2: it's just a little bit odd that since I don't

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Speaker 2: know Jared Lorenzen, whoever it is where they don't have

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Speaker 2: that like big figurehead quarterback for like an extended stretch,

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Speaker 2: and like you look across the SEC they've all had that.

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Speaker 2: You look across the country at major programs, they've all

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Speaker 2: had like that guy, where like I can't.

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Speaker 4: Believe this guy plays bros.

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Speaker 2: And I don't you know you look at the Terry

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Speaker 2: Wilson experience and like there's just Devin Leary last year,

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Speaker 2: Like Kentucky just can't find that like folk hero, I

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Speaker 2: can't believe this is our guy for two or three

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Speaker 2: years kind of situation. And I just for them in

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Speaker 2: the same way that you do, Like I just want

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Speaker 2: it to happen.

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Speaker 3: I do. I do every year, and it's gonna be

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Speaker 3: the same this year. Now, the schedule is not exciting

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Speaker 3: for Kentucky. We can talk about that a little bit

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Speaker 3: later on. But I think there's a lot of talent

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Speaker 3: on this team. I need to do the full deep dive.

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Speaker 3: I'm sure our guest of honor today has done much

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Speaker 3: more of that than you and I. But lo and behold,

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Speaker 3: when we get to preview season, you can rest assured

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Speaker 3: that I will be high on Kentucky every year. So look,

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Speaker 3: we've got I'm sure a lot of new folks tuning

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Speaker 3: into this episode. As we have all of the episodes

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Speaker 3: we've done in this series, hit follow, hit subscribe on

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Speaker 3: your chosen platforms so you don't miss any of our episodes.

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Speaker 3: We have the enthusiasm of a small child when it

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Speaker 3: comes to college football, so despite the sport's many flaws,

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Speaker 3: we love it. That's the reason we've been doing this

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Speaker 3: since two thousand and eight.

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Speaker 2: I think it's just sex appeal. Could I think that's

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Speaker 2: what that's what's responsible for our staying power. Could be that,

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Speaker 2: you know, maybe I'm wrong.

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Speaker 3: If you're one of the real ones. If you want

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Speaker 3: to join our growing community of college football fans, you

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Speaker 3: can hit follow, you can hit subscribe. You can also

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Speaker 3: going out to Verballers dot com, v E R B

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Speaker 3: A L L E r s dot com. That's our

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Speaker 3: patreon where you can get ad free episodes, the bonus stuff,

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Speaker 3: and much much more. Joining us now is Nick Roush

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Speaker 3: from Kentucky Sports Radio, the absolute gold standard for Kentucky

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Speaker 3: sports coverage. Nick, Welcome to the show. We're thrilled to

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Speaker 3: have you.

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Speaker 5: Thank you, thank you, happy to be here. We've had

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Speaker 5: an eventful few months in the Bloygrass for other reasons.

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Speaker 5: But I'm excited because now Memorial Day hits. We turned

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Speaker 5: the page to summer, and you know, some people they

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Speaker 5: say summer radio. It's like, man, this is talking season

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Speaker 5: is where we thrive. This is right in the wheelhouse.

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Speaker 5: So only six weeks, I think till SEC Media Days

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Speaker 5: and then six weeks and then football's here.

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Speaker 1: It'll be here before, you.

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Speaker 3: Know, how do you cover SEC Media Days? Just out

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Speaker 3: of curiosity, like what's your strategy? Because it's a bunch

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Speaker 3: of guys at a microphone meetings. It's sort of like

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Speaker 3: one of the content creator holidays in our little corner

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Speaker 3: of the universe. What is your approach to that type

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Speaker 3: of thing?

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Speaker 5: It certainly is morphed over the years. When I was

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Speaker 5: a twenty three year old, I just thought you just

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Speaker 5: wrote about what I said. But I quickly realized it's

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Speaker 5: more fun to ask other people what they have to

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Speaker 5: think about Kentucky. So I just I like to kind

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Speaker 5: of yuck it up with the other media hacks like myself,

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Speaker 5: get some takes, speak to those people so you can

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Speaker 5: get a little bit of both worlds. You know, maybe

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Speaker 5: you know Benny Snell shows up and makes some headlines

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Speaker 5: One year. But for the most part it's media days, right,

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Speaker 5: They're trying to trying to keep it in between the lines,

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Speaker 5: so you do your normal due diligence. But I enjoy

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Speaker 5: just talking to other people and then stirring the pot

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Speaker 5: elsewhere as well, because you know, there's nothing like to

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Speaker 5: find folks in the volunteer state who when you say

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Speaker 5: things about them, they really like to what their opinions

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Speaker 5: be known. So you know, we go back and forth.

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Speaker 5: It's a lot of fun.

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Speaker 3: So we've been doing these episodes now for a couple

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Speaker 3: of weeks. We're titling them. Will it ever happen? For

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Speaker 3: Dot Dot Dot? We did Tennessee and Penn State and

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Speaker 3: Oklahoma State. It of course is relative depending on the program.

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Speaker 3: Will it ever happen for Kentucky? When I ask you

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Speaker 3: that question, what does it mean? When are they gonna

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Speaker 3: get there? What is holding them back from getting there?

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Speaker 5: The original it was get to Atlanta and play in

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Speaker 5: an SEC championship game, which was very close to happening

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Speaker 5: a couple of times. I mean they in twenty eighteen,

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Speaker 5: they're hosting Georgia. The winner of that game is going

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Speaker 5: to Atlanta. So that used to be the it now

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Speaker 5: in the new edition of the SEC. It's a much

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Speaker 5: different equation to get there, right when you're just looking

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Speaker 5: this year. You know, if this was a traditional SEC

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Speaker 5: media days and I wanted to come in with some takes,

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Speaker 5: I would say, ooh, Missouri, that's a fun team in

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Speaker 5: the East to knock off Georgia, And hey, Nick, Saban's gone,

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Speaker 5: Maybe Ole miss does it.

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Speaker 1: In the West.

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Speaker 5: You can't. You can't do that anymore, right, And those

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Speaker 5: those might be three four five, I mean, they might

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Speaker 5: not even get a crack at Atlanta. So the it

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Speaker 5: has changed, and oddly enough it is now more attainable,

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Speaker 5: and that it is the College Football Playoff, So I

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Speaker 5: think that's the it. And ultimately it's been on the

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Speaker 5: table before, just in a different fashion, and I think

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Speaker 5: Kentucky can get there in this new world where you know,

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Speaker 5: a nine in three SEC team has every bit of

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Speaker 5: a good of a resume to make it into the

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Speaker 5: College Rootball Playoff than any other team out there.

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Speaker 3: One thing I found interesting, Nick, just in investigating Kentucky

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Speaker 3: before this conversation, almost every publication seems to have different

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Speaker 3: questions going into twenty twenty four. And I don't know

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Speaker 3: if that's good or bad, but it's definitely different. Usually

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Speaker 3: there's at least some overlap, and I guess in this

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Speaker 3: case that overlap is the schedule, because there are plenty

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Speaker 3: of landmines on an SEC schedule. Maybe we can talk

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Speaker 3: about that. But in terms of position groups, I've seen

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Speaker 3: concerns about quarterback, running back, offensive line, defensive line, cornerback,

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Speaker 3: even the punter. If you had to narrow it down,

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Speaker 3: what are your questions for this team?

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Speaker 5: I love the punter being thrown in there, that that

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Speaker 5: was an issue, but you know, you can always go

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Speaker 5: find somebody in the portal, and they did for me.

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Speaker 5: It it's kind of wame to go back to the quarterback,

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Speaker 5: but it's such a crapshoot, and when you talk about that,

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Speaker 5: it in getting to where you want to go to

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Speaker 5: do things you've never done before. One thing that Mark

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Speaker 5: Stoops has never done is deploy a three thousand yard passer.

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Speaker 5: I mean, Will Levis was great, and Wandell Robinson broke

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Speaker 5: air raid receiving records. Levis uses likes as well. I

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Speaker 5: mean they still have never had a three thousand yard passer.

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Speaker 5: There's a lot of uncertainty with offensive coordinator because I

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Speaker 5: think for on the defensive side of things, they're going

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Speaker 5: to like those issues can be mitigated. I mean, Dion

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Speaker 5: Walker is a preseason All American. They had a great

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Speaker 5: run stuffer already and de Eric Jackson, and they bring

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Speaker 5: in Jamon Dumas Johnson, who was an All American at

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Speaker 5: Georgia to play a linebacker. And you know at cornerback

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Speaker 5: they had a guy who led the SEC in interceptions

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Speaker 5: last year. They got to break in another new guy.

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Speaker 5: But that's doable. So I think a lot of this

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Speaker 5: when you just look at the depth chart and you see, well,

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Speaker 5: red shirt juniors, red shirt senior super seniors, four out

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Speaker 5: of five starters returning on the offensive line, of receivers

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Speaker 5: with a ton of production, there's a lot there. But

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Speaker 5: that quarterback position is a mystery. Brock Vandergriff he appears to.

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Speaker 5: It's so hard for Kentucky fans because you thought going

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Speaker 5: into last year, Devin Leary best player in the one

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Speaker 5: of the best quarterbacks on the transfer porter Liam cohen

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Speaker 5: nfl Off, it's courted. I think you've got the right

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Speaker 5: stuff and that combination didn't work. You think Brock Vandergriff

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Speaker 5: has the right stuff he's a former five star. He

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Speaker 5: can run it a little bit better. He can add

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Speaker 5: the quarterback run game. But how's this marriage with Bush

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Speaker 5: Hampden who's been solid, but he's only got a very

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Speaker 5: minimal experience in the SEC. And this schedule is not

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Speaker 5: for the faint of heart. So I do think the

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Speaker 5: quarterback running back combo how much like what's the production

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Speaker 5: going to be? And that's such a kind of a

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Speaker 5: lame broad cop out, but you know, you get used

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Speaker 5: a thousand yard rushers in Lexington and then what happens

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Speaker 5: if you finally got an injury and then you're stuck

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Speaker 5: playing a freshman you know, or you're you're stuck going

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Speaker 5: down the line like that. That is the real issue

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Speaker 5: is can this offense? Can it raise it? Like the

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Speaker 5: four is high because the defense is good, but how

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Speaker 5: how big is the ceiling? With Rock Vandergriff and Chip

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Speaker 5: training from Ohio State at running back?

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Speaker 2: I want to pull back for a second just because

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Speaker 2: there is one name that everything flows through with this

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Speaker 2: Kentucky football team, and that's Mark Stoops. Mark Stoops had

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Speaker 2: a chaotic twenty four to forty eight hours following the

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Speaker 2: Louisville win and I'm just curious how the vibes are within,

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Speaker 2: you know, the the locker room with in the program,

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Speaker 2: you know, money, behind the scenes, whatever. When you have

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Speaker 2: a coach who starts telling people he's leaving, and then

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Speaker 2: some combination of the school he's leaving for, and perhaps

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Speaker 2: the coach himself decide maybe not and he's coming back

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Speaker 2: and he loves everybody, and how could he leave? But

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Speaker 2: a few hours earlier he was telling people, He's like,

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Speaker 2: I'm leaving. How does that manifest itself vibes wise with

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Speaker 2: a program that has an annual uphill battle winning a

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Speaker 2: bunch of games in a tough conference.

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Speaker 5: Oddly enough, it's a very small select few in the

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Speaker 5: fan base who hold that against him, though I thought

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Speaker 5: there might be more of that, but you really, you

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Speaker 5: really didn't get much of it, because he's been through

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Speaker 5: similar stuff before, never to this extent right where you

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Speaker 5: were that close and you know you're expecting to wake

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Speaker 5: up and he's the head coach at Texas A and M.

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Speaker 5: But that obviously didn't have any and I don't I

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Speaker 5: don't think the the players it really affected the locker

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Speaker 5: room that much either, because I mean, this is a

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Speaker 5: pretty transaction it's it's pretty clearly transactional and the nil

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Speaker 5: world in the transfer portal world. But what I do

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Speaker 5: think it's done from a personal level. For Mark Stoops.

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Speaker 5: I saw him African Kentucky boss at South Carolina and

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Speaker 5: he was sitting on the stoop.

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Speaker 1: No pun intended, No, it was fully intended.

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Speaker 4: I could sense that.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, but he and he was talking to Eddie Grant,

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Speaker 5: who's close confident off the field guy, and Stoop just

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Speaker 5: looked he like beat to hell.

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Speaker 1: Man like that. That was that.

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Speaker 5: That was one of those he never thought in one

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Speaker 5: hundred thousand years. I know he's on it's on the road,

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Speaker 5: but like they should have won that football game, and

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Speaker 5: it took a lot out of him.

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Speaker 1: I think.

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Speaker 5: That loss, the kind of chaos around it, I think

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Speaker 5: he had a very hard reset this offseason from a

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Speaker 5: all right, I tried some other stuff. We tried, you know,

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Speaker 5: throwing the ball a bunch of go balls to barry

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Speaker 5: On Brown. We tried to do this pass heavy stuff

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Speaker 5: like no, we're getting back to hard ass Youngstown football,

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Speaker 5: blue collar, We're gonna buy you and the trenches. Do

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Speaker 5: they have the personnel to do all this? But I

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Speaker 5: don't know. But at least from a mentality and mindset standpoint.

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Speaker 5: You know, there's a couple of times where they were

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Speaker 5: showing up to SEC media days and you know, maybe

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Speaker 5: they thought a little too highly of themselves. I think

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Speaker 5: this entire offseason since that moment has been about laying low,

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Speaker 5: having a chip on your shoulders. Let all these guys

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Speaker 5: not talk about us, let them doubt us, because that's

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Speaker 5: that's when we're at our best, is when when we

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Speaker 5: are being doubted, when we are this it's us against

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Speaker 5: the world mentality. And I think Stoops is trying to

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Speaker 5: get back to what made him successful when they had

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Speaker 5: that run with two nine win seasons in four years.

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Speaker 2: So what's been behind the sort of instability on offense?

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Speaker 2: I think if you count Liam Cullen two different tenures,

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Speaker 2: it's five offensive coordinating ten years in as many years.

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Speaker 2: And I think a lot of people look at Mark

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Speaker 2: Stoops as sort of a beacon of stability with how

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Speaker 2: long he's been at Kentucky, and I imagine not many

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Speaker 2: people would question that he's the most successful Kentucky football

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Speaker 2: coach ever. I mean, Bear Bryant go back to like

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Speaker 2: the fifties or whatever, had a couple big years, but

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Speaker 2: in the modern era, nobody I don't think has come

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Speaker 2: close to Mark Stoops. What was behind that sort of

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Speaker 2: instability and always looking and always you know, trying to

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Speaker 2: figure out what to change on offense and different transfer quarterbacks?

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Speaker 2: Like what is it that led to Kentucky's offense being

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Speaker 2: on such weird ground?

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Speaker 1: It is? Uh?

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Speaker 5: I mean, Brad White's been the defensive coordinator for I

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Speaker 5: think this might be year seven, which just you know,

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Speaker 5: no way of those guys either get another job, like

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Speaker 5: they get a promotion, or go elsewhere. Vince Marrow, the

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Speaker 5: associate head coach, is big recruiting guy. He's been there

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Speaker 5: since day one, but offensive coordinator has like the offense

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Speaker 5: in general, because it's just it's Stoops's biggest short coming

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Speaker 5: as a coach. I mean, it just has been. And

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Speaker 5: he initially tried and it was kind of foisted upon him,

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Speaker 5: but he went the same route as brother Bob one.

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Speaker 5: He went with an air Ray guy and Neil Brown,

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Speaker 5: who you know did well for what he had moved on,

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Speaker 5: quickly rose up the runks down he was at West Virginia.

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Speaker 5: But it he just he's he's always struggled finding an

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Speaker 5: identity they found one when grand was hired to be

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Speaker 5: the offensive coordinator and they're like, Hey, we're gonna run

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Speaker 5: the damn ball. This is gonna be us. And then

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Speaker 5: they just hit a hard ceiling that it wasn't good

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Speaker 5: enough as a passer. So Soup said, what, how do

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Speaker 5: I find a guy who can give me just enough

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Speaker 5: passing to reach the ceiling but still incorporate the run stuff.

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Speaker 5: And when he hired Liam Cohen, that was all of

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Speaker 5: the talking points. It was we're marrying the run in

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Speaker 5: the past, We're going to do pro style. And it

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Speaker 5: helped them get over this I don't know, misconception is

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Speaker 5: not the right word, but it helped them get things

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Speaker 5: right on the recruiting path, and it helped them kind

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Speaker 5: of find an identity. The problem is is they were

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Speaker 5: a victim of their own success. They were just a

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Speaker 5: victim of their own success. Cohen bounces and then you're

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Speaker 5: kind of stuck in February. Do I get another NFL guy?

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Speaker 5: How do these guys figure it out? And now Colin

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Speaker 5: leaves him again. They've built it up to where they

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Speaker 5: got a guy now in Bush Hampden who he does

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Speaker 5: the pro style, but he's primarily in college. He only

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Speaker 5: dabbled in pro style in the NFL for a year,

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Speaker 5: and they financially kind of locked him in to where

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Speaker 5: the buyout is so large that now if he can't

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Speaker 5: afford it, I mean, his contract, it's worth more if

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Speaker 5: he leaves early than actually he's getting paid. I think

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Speaker 5: it's a two million dollar buyo and one point seven

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Speaker 5: just per year. So financially they're trying to walk him in.

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Speaker 5: And if Hampden is the right guy to find this

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Speaker 5: right combination, then he might finally get on track. But

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Speaker 5: that goes back to the biggest question we talked about earlier.

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Speaker 5: Is this guy the real deal? Can he provide the

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Speaker 5: answers that this Kentucky offense so desperately needs?

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Speaker 2: And so last year you talk about the consistency of

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Speaker 2: Brad White and the consistency of this defense and producing

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Speaker 2: NFL level talent. Last year, the defense takes a pretty

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Speaker 2: major step back. With the benefit of hindsight, with the

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Speaker 2: benefit of you know, putting everything into context, injuries, talent,

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Speaker 2: level coaching, opponents. Is this something that Kentucky fans should

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Speaker 2: be sort of scared of moving forward with. You know,

408
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Speaker 2: obviously the offense doesn't hold up its end of the bargain,

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Speaker 2: which can play a huge role in the defense. Right,

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Speaker 2: how do you diagnose that step back from last season?

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Speaker 5: It's it's difficult and it's one of kind of pet projects.

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Speaker 5: And the more I dig in, the less answers I get.

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Speaker 5: I mean, even you know Drew Phillips, dude's a Day

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Speaker 5: two selection in the NFL draft at one cornerback, the

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Speaker 5: other corner back like mix Harrison leads the sec in interceptions.

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Speaker 5: How was the past defense as bad as it is?

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Speaker 5: Some of it you can just say, hey, you know,

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Speaker 5: the safety position, they had some good momentum going into

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Speaker 5: the year. Injuries happen, They're playing a freshman, you know,

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Speaker 5: like that, that sort of stuff happens. I think the

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Speaker 5: bigger picture issue is maybe more so of a hey,

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Speaker 5: they've been playing this sort of style for a while.

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Speaker 5: Other offenses are catching up to what they were doing,

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Speaker 5: so I think there's some legit scheme issues that they

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Speaker 5: have to figure out. But if I'm a Kentucky fan,

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Speaker 5: I'm not as concerned about it because Brad White is

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Speaker 5: a smart guy. He's been doing this job for a

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Speaker 5: long time. He's got a ton of experienced guys and

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Speaker 5: the biggest.

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Speaker 1: Issue of them all.

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Speaker 5: You know, I think there was a it's hard to

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Speaker 5: have your most vocal leader be a guy who knows

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Speaker 5: tackle and Dian Walker who will play some three tech

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Speaker 5: and you know, he does a bunch of different stuff,

435
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,200
Speaker 5: but you really need that to be an inside linebacker

436
00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:07,960
Speaker 5: and Pop Doomis Johnson.

437
00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:09,440
Speaker 1: That dude looks thirty five.

438
00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,320
Speaker 5: He he, He commands a room when he comes into it.

439
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:18,240
Speaker 5: That's that's going to be invaluable. Having that experience there,

440
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,199
Speaker 5: playing in national championship games like that, that's going to

441
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:25,080
Speaker 5: be invaluable. So you know, it's definitely going to be

442
00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,600
Speaker 5: a talking point that we got to address. But I

443
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,920
Speaker 5: ultimately I do think that that Brad White can figure out,

444
00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,760
Speaker 5: We'll figure it out. But I don't think he's going

445
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:37,800
Speaker 5: to be able to figure out Tennessee because that's that's

446
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,919
Speaker 5: that isn't one opponent where they just can't can't seem

447
00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,200
Speaker 5: to figure out, much to the chagrin of Kentucky football fans.

448
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 3: Nick, let me go back for a second to Brock

449
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:50,360
Speaker 3: vandergriff mm hmm. Stop me if this is too personal

450
00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:53,280
Speaker 3: a question, but I just have to ask it, ask away.

451
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,359
Speaker 3: I get the sense from watching your content that you

452
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,359
Speaker 3: are equally as excited about Brock Vandergriff as Dan and

453
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,840
Speaker 3: I are, but maybe a bit tentative about going all

454
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,000
Speaker 3: in given the Devin Leary thing didn't really go as expected.

455
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:09,600
Speaker 3: Is that a fair assessment of where you stand on

456
00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,320
Speaker 3: Brock Vandergriff, Okay.

457
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,439
Speaker 5: I mean from the belt clip with the cell phone

458
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,879
Speaker 5: on it to the hunting pictures. I did find it

459
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,920
Speaker 5: odd that he got rid of the flow, but apparently

460
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,600
Speaker 5: it was because he respects David Cutcliffe, and David Cutcliffe said,

461
00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,160
Speaker 5: if you want to be a winning SEC quarterback, you can't.

462
00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,120
Speaker 1: Have hair like that. He's he's a coachable guy.

463
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,959
Speaker 5: I have nothing else. I am very excited about it,

464
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:42,720
Speaker 5: and it sounds so that they weren't showing us a

465
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,920
Speaker 5: ton this spring, right Like, I don't know how accurate

466
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,520
Speaker 5: he is throwing the ball deep down the field, but

467
00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,520
Speaker 5: I do know that he's been very coachable. He grew

468
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:56,000
Speaker 5: up in an environment where his dad's coaching, and so

469
00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,639
Speaker 5: I think all of this is kind of set up

470
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:00,680
Speaker 5: where he has all the tools, and the biggest one

471
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,680
Speaker 5: is just having that quarterback run game we're third and five,

472
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:06,480
Speaker 5: all of else fails just go move the sticks and

473
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,840
Speaker 5: let de fight another day. Whereas last year Kentucky was

474
00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,040
Speaker 5: just incredibly boom or bust. Their explosive play rate was

475
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,720
Speaker 5: off the charts, but from a down to down distance

476
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,359
Speaker 5: and efficiency standpoint, they were playing in third on eleven

477
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,480
Speaker 5: all the time. And that's just you're playing with dynamite, right.

478
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,320
Speaker 5: So I think Kentucky's going to be a lot more

479
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:30,000
Speaker 5: efficient with Brock Vandergriff under center, and a lot of

480
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,560
Speaker 5: it just comes down to that's a big dude who

481
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:36,119
Speaker 5: can run well and that can really really aggravate opposing defenses.

482
00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,199
Speaker 3: It sounds like we've got another Vandergrifter, Dan, That's what

483
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,280
Speaker 3: it sounds like to me, We've got another Vanda Grifter

484
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:43,520
Speaker 3: here on the solid verbal, we appreciate that.

485
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,280
Speaker 4: It sounds like Nick is ready to be hurt again.

486
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:45,720
Speaker 1: That's what.

487
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:50,960
Speaker 5: Oh that's college football, baby, that's me a Kentucky football fan.

488
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:52,600
Speaker 4: No doubt about it.

489
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,920
Speaker 3: Does he have the receivers to help support him though

490
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:57,159
Speaker 3: in the passing game, Dan and I did kind of

491
00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,440
Speaker 3: a deep dive on Kentucky football last season at some

492
00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:03,520
Speaker 3: point around the midway mark, and you know, I want

493
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:05,240
Speaker 3: to say it was drops I want to say it

494
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,400
Speaker 3: just it kind of had the hallmark of a receiving

495
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,440
Speaker 3: corps that was still a little bit green and trying

496
00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:13,119
Speaker 3: to figure itself out where do things stand on that front.

497
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,120
Speaker 5: It was a case of the sophomore slumps. I don't

498
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:22,400
Speaker 5: think there's any any doubt about that now. And part

499
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,840
Speaker 5: of it too is they had a former quarterback coaching

500
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:27,680
Speaker 5: the receivers. They bring in a guy and die Kill

501
00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:31,600
Speaker 5: Shorts who was all time great at West Virginia. Only

502
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:33,520
Speaker 5: been in the coaching game for four or five years,

503
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,240
Speaker 5: so a little bit more relatable, a little bit more

504
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,359
Speaker 5: of a straight shooter, kind of hard I don't want

505
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:41,960
Speaker 5: to say hard liner, but not going to beat around

506
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,879
Speaker 5: the bush like, hey, this is how you have to

507
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:46,919
Speaker 5: do it, or you're not going to get paid. That's ultimately,

508
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,680
Speaker 5: money is a hell of a motivator. And Dame Key

509
00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:56,000
Speaker 5: and Barryon Brown, those guys set UK receiving and reception records,

510
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,480
Speaker 5: freshman records. They take a step back now. They got

511
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:01,399
Speaker 5: to go make their money right. They don't want to

512
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,640
Speaker 5: be in school for another year. They want to catch

513
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,680
Speaker 5: those nil checks and then they want to catch NFL checks.

514
00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,000
Speaker 5: On Sunday, they got to prove it this year, and

515
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,600
Speaker 5: they got another guy with him and Jamory Macklin, who

516
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 5: he had a crazy explosive play rate last year at

517
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:18,880
Speaker 5: North Texas. He's a little bit of experience in the SEC.

518
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,359
Speaker 5: But it's it's three guys who want to be playing

519
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,600
Speaker 5: on Sundays next year that don't that don't want to

520
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,360
Speaker 5: be back in college football. I think that will serve

521
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:30,800
Speaker 5: as motivation to make sure that they're holding on the balls,

522
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:32,600
Speaker 5: that they don't have one of the worst drop rates

523
00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:34,000
Speaker 5: in the Southeastern Conference.

524
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:37,440
Speaker 3: Back to Stoops for a second, if I could. There,

525
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,320
Speaker 3: there was an exchange, and I'm sure you remember it

526
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,200
Speaker 3: better than me, an exchange on his radio show back

527
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,720
Speaker 3: in October where a distruntled fan called in, Right, you

528
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,919
Speaker 3: know exactly what I'm talking about. A fan calls in

529
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,720
Speaker 3: and Stoops voices, I don't think it's wrong. The called frustration.

530
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,760
Speaker 3: He says, Hey, if you're disgruntled, I'm paraphrasing, if you're disgruntled,

531
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,520
Speaker 3: we can buy players. Now, pony up the cat, give

532
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:04,400
Speaker 3: it to our collective. That's how you can help the program,

533
00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:06,520
Speaker 3: which at the time I remember saying to Dan was

534
00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,720
Speaker 3: like a brilliant marketing pitch because what fan wants to

535
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 3: feel like they're being left behind? That maybe work, maybe

536
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,800
Speaker 3: didn't it? Also, I think raised the question at least

537
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,080
Speaker 3: in our minds of Hey, does Mark Stoops feel this

538
00:27:17,119 --> 00:27:19,800
Speaker 3: way too? Does he feel like Kentucky is being left

539
00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,760
Speaker 3: behind on the NAL front. I'm curious what the status

540
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,440
Speaker 3: is of Kentucky with the money on that side of things,

541
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,359
Speaker 3: with so much competition elsewhere in the SEC, how does

542
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:29,600
Speaker 3: Kentucky stand right now?

543
00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:35,400
Speaker 5: It's good enough, I mean, it's never good enough. They

544
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:39,680
Speaker 5: always want more money. But John Legend is the uncle

545
00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:43,040
Speaker 5: of Anthony Brown Stevens, who would be wide receiver four

546
00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:45,240
Speaker 5: or five, and they got him in for a concert.

547
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,600
Speaker 5: The biggest NILL donors get to go. They're doing the

548
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,840
Speaker 5: things that big SEC programs have to do to just

549
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:55,040
Speaker 5: be competitive. And when you see how they're able to

550
00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 5: get players in the transfer portal, Jerald Minci, an offensive

551
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,600
Speaker 5: tackle from Tennessee. That guy's not cheap. Jamon Dumas Johnson,

552
00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,120
Speaker 5: that guy's not cheap. Rock Vandergrift. Those guys aren't cheap,

553
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:09,400
Speaker 5: so they're competitive enough. I think his frustration is less

554
00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:14,639
Speaker 5: about NIL And you know, maybe where Kentucky stands in

555
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:19,200
Speaker 5: there and is probably more so with just the player's

556
00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,919
Speaker 5: approach to things, right were you know, they kind of

557
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,879
Speaker 5: had some they were really leaning into the mercenaries to

558
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,160
Speaker 5: be the culture guys, and that culture wasn't.

559
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:27,720
Speaker 1: There last year.

560
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,800
Speaker 5: And oddly enough, it had the I mean this, I'm

561
00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:37,040
Speaker 5: telling you guys, the pony up thing did exponentially more

562
00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:40,520
Speaker 5: damage than the A and M thing. I mean, pony up.

563
00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,520
Speaker 5: At any time something bad happens, pony up gets brought up.

564
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,680
Speaker 5: I mean, I'm not like that. It's one of those

565
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:52,200
Speaker 5: things that some people just the cavalier mindset. For many people,

566
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,520
Speaker 5: Stoops was the most relatable millionaire they knew, right, He's

567
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:58,560
Speaker 5: this hard working Youngstown guy. That was the first time

568
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,280
Speaker 5: where he was kind of like, you know, cal Perry

569
00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:02,720
Speaker 5: a little bit where it's like, hey, if you don't

570
00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:07,320
Speaker 5: like it, well, pony up. And to have this wealthy

571
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:12,040
Speaker 5: coach who's underperforming for the second straight year tell you

572
00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,320
Speaker 5: that you need to spend more money for him to

573
00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:18,800
Speaker 5: have success. So not a good marketing pitch really rubbed

574
00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,480
Speaker 5: people the wrong way, even though it's true and a

575
00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:23,840
Speaker 5: lot of people were like, yeah, that's that's how this works.

576
00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 1: Now it just it it.

577
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,800
Speaker 5: It ticked people off, and I have a feeling we're

578
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:29,840
Speaker 5: not going to hear the last of it.

579
00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,120
Speaker 2: What is on that topic? What is the feeling about

580
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,120
Speaker 2: Mark Stoops long term in Lexington? I, you know, Steve

581
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,240
Speaker 2: Spurriyer has talked about, you know, once you get to

582
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:42,720
Speaker 2: about a decade, then it's it's really tough to sustain

583
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,400
Speaker 2: a certain amount of focus, a certain amount of enthusiasm.

584
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:47,040
Speaker 2: Mark Stoops has now been there a little over a

585
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,880
Speaker 2: decade in Lexington. Does it seem like a forever job?

586
00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,560
Speaker 2: Does it seem like he is hitting a frustrating wall?

587
00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:57,160
Speaker 2: Not just isolated to the pony up incident, but is

588
00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:02,120
Speaker 2: there an energy question with with Mark Stoops? And you know,

589
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 2: giving everything he has still to the Kentucky program.

590
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:08,520
Speaker 5: So I'm trying to work shot this take, but I'm

591
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:10,080
Speaker 5: kind of stuck in the middle of let's do this

592
00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:12,800
Speaker 5: work shopping together because on one side of my brain,

593
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:14,840
Speaker 5: I go through the depth chart. A lot of Red

594
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,160
Speaker 5: Shirt sophomores, a lot of Red Shirt excuse me, a

595
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:19,280
Speaker 5: lot of Red Shirt senior super seniors gym yeah, a

596
00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:21,840
Speaker 5: lot of old guys. They lead the SEC in returning production.

597
00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:26,440
Speaker 5: He did this little dance, and I think more importantly,

598
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:29,320
Speaker 5: he's fifty six, which I believe is the same age

599
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:34,720
Speaker 5: that Bob was when Bob kind of surprisingly retired. Maybe

600
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:38,400
Speaker 5: maybe maybe this is the He's trying to tee things

601
00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 5: up for the next guy to have success, and he

602
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,479
Speaker 5: wants to go out with one more bang. But then,

603
00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,360
Speaker 5: on the other hand, if you're willing to go to

604
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:47,720
Speaker 5: Texas A and M, you want to be in this

605
00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,840
Speaker 5: for five more years at least, right, So I'm struggling

606
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,440
Speaker 5: on which which is it the devil or the angel?

607
00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,800
Speaker 5: Is the potential jump to a and m over of

608
00:30:57,840 --> 00:30:58,400
Speaker 5: a sign.

609
00:30:58,240 --> 00:30:59,840
Speaker 1: And he's he's he's.

610
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 5: Got some more fuel and fire to try to give

611
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:06,000
Speaker 5: it one more go. Or is this a let's just

612
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 5: have our house in order so that I can I

613
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:12,719
Speaker 5: can unload this, I can make money off my bourbon company.

614
00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:16,000
Speaker 5: I can retire happily as the winningest coach ever in Lexington.

615
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:17,680
Speaker 1: I'm struggling with this one. Guys.

616
00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,040
Speaker 2: Well, well forgive me for asking the same question I

617
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:25,880
Speaker 2: think for the ten thousandth time within Kentucky football, But like,

618
00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:30,120
Speaker 2: what is the status of oxygen in the Kentucky Athletic

619
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:34,440
Speaker 2: department With John Calipari gone, and obviously so much focus,

620
00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,560
Speaker 2: an overwhelming amount of focus is going to be on

621
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:40,440
Speaker 2: Rump and you have this Kentucky football program that is

622
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:45,000
Speaker 2: outperforming modern history with Mark Stoops. Calipari is gone, so

623
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:48,360
Speaker 2: there's the force of personality, All of the oxygen with

624
00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,840
Speaker 2: that tenure is gone. Is that an opportunity for football?

625
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:57,080
Speaker 2: Is their like renewed interest in basketball because of you know,

626
00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,160
Speaker 2: a new face running things after so much frustration. What

627
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,640
Speaker 2: is the dynamic like after that back and forth? Now

628
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,640
Speaker 2: that Mark Stoops has sort of won that war for

629
00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:08,080
Speaker 2: attention for the time being.

630
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:11,800
Speaker 5: Well, and when he's trying to keep a low profile

631
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,960
Speaker 5: of this offseason, it certainly helps that people aren't like,

632
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,520
Speaker 5: why isn't Stoops doing any interviews? It's like, well, nobody

633
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 5: cares because they're one to earn who Mark Pope's going

634
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:23,080
Speaker 5: to get next. So in the immediate it helps them

635
00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:27,760
Speaker 5: in that regard. But I think there was certainly some

636
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:33,200
Speaker 5: exhaling knowing that, Okay, yes, we know that basketball is

637
00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:35,040
Speaker 5: always going to be a big deal here, but we're

638
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:42,840
Speaker 5: not We're not in this ongoing battle over personality. So yeah,

639
00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:45,440
Speaker 5: Stoops is a big guy on campus right now. Mark

640
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,320
Speaker 5: Pope has to prove it and at least from a

641
00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:54,240
Speaker 5: who is in the right ears financially, from boosters to administration.

642
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:59,560
Speaker 5: The football team sitting pretty comfortably, sitting pretty comfortably right now.

643
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:01,280
Speaker 1: But it was.

644
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,640
Speaker 5: But when they had that John Legend concert and Mark

645
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,240
Speaker 5: Pope shows up to kind of say hah and be nice,

646
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,400
Speaker 5: and you're having the football coach and the basketball coach

647
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:11,080
Speaker 5: take a picture together, it's like, well.

648
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:14,880
Speaker 1: You won't find many of the last two sitting together.

649
00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:16,840
Speaker 5: I think you had to go back to twenty seventeen

650
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:20,479
Speaker 5: to find one of those. So it's different. It's it's

651
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:21,280
Speaker 5: certainly different.

652
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:25,040
Speaker 2: So obviously something Calipari knows and obviously all Kentucky fans

653
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:27,040
Speaker 2: know who pay attention to any sport is you're kind

654
00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,200
Speaker 2: of only as good as the talent you bring in.

655
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,440
Speaker 2: The football team has succeeded in some respects and bringing

656
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,040
Speaker 2: in talent via the portal, and I think in some

657
00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:40,280
Speaker 2: years out recruit expectations football wise under Mark Stoops. What

658
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,000
Speaker 2: is the state of recruiting and the portal has obviously

659
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:45,920
Speaker 2: been pretty kind at football wise, What is the status

660
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:49,320
Speaker 2: of high school recruiting for Mark Stoops in Kentucky and

661
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,040
Speaker 2: is that a show of anything positive or negative for

662
00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:53,000
Speaker 2: the near term.

663
00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:58,480
Speaker 5: You know, I don't think it's you're coaching until you

664
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:01,280
Speaker 5: you don't have your job anymore. Like that's part of

665
00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:03,720
Speaker 5: the job. You're going to keep recruiting until they tell

666
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,600
Speaker 5: you not to. But Soups has done well in this

667
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,600
Speaker 5: cycle in particular where the last few we've seen the

668
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,120
Speaker 5: calendar kind of move up, where June is becoming so

669
00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:14,680
Speaker 5: much more important, and the last two years it would

670
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:16,759
Speaker 5: be July fourth, and you're like, hey, a lot of

671
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,520
Speaker 5: these guys have fifteen commitments, twenty commitments already, We're all

672
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,160
Speaker 5: all of our guys. They're ahead of schedule.

673
00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:23,480
Speaker 1: Now.

674
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:27,720
Speaker 5: Martell's Carter top ranked player in the state in some sites.

675
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 1: He committed over the weekend.

676
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:32,760
Speaker 5: Four star guy, third four star he joined pas Davis,

677
00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:37,359
Speaker 5: a top two hundred player from I believe Cleveland, if

678
00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:41,480
Speaker 5: I'm not mistaken, who was Kentucky, Michigan Ohio State Kentucky.

679
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:43,640
Speaker 5: That's a big recruiting win for them. They got a

680
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:46,640
Speaker 5: four star receiver from Ohio. So when the state of

681
00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:49,440
Speaker 5: Ohio has good players, that works well for Vince Marrow.

682
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,960
Speaker 5: He earns that one point two million by getting those guys,

683
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:57,000
Speaker 5: and then the state of Kentucky's got I mean, they've

684
00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:59,560
Speaker 5: struggled to recruit quarterbacks. Well, they got a four star

685
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,520
Speaker 5: that came out last year in Cutter Bowie. So I

686
00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:07,080
Speaker 5: think it's all in all, Like, getting top fifteen classes

687
00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:10,000
Speaker 5: is just not going to happen here, but they're consistently

688
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:14,000
Speaker 5: getting top twenty five classes. Talent acquisition has not it's

689
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:16,920
Speaker 5: not an issue for this program currently.

690
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,520
Speaker 2: So it's sort of full circle. And when you look

691
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:22,520
Speaker 2: at what Kentucky has going for it and you look

692
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:27,200
Speaker 2: around the SEC, who does Kentucky currently measure itself against?

693
00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:30,880
Speaker 2: Who is the the aspirational program that Kentucky said, you know,

694
00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:32,800
Speaker 2: if we can get to wear Ole Misses, if we

695
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:34,880
Speaker 2: can get to where Tennessee is, just in terms of

696
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:41,400
Speaker 2: whatever it is Kentucky consistency, quality, firepower, recruiting, whatever, Like,

697
00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:43,800
Speaker 2: what is that next rung? It's not Georgia. What is

698
00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:46,120
Speaker 2: the next rung for Kentucky to hit?

699
00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:52,080
Speaker 5: A big reason why last year stung so much from

700
00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:56,160
Speaker 5: many Kentucky fans is they watched Missouri do what we

701
00:35:56,239 --> 00:35:59,000
Speaker 5: expected Kentucky to do the previous year. Yeah, where the

702
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,000
Speaker 5: schedules there, They're seventh in the country. They get under

703
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:04,319
Speaker 5: Sooner to throw the game winning touchdown to Barryon Brown,

704
00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 5: they got a penalty right, and then things unravel from

705
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:12,920
Speaker 5: that point forward. That that type of season for Missouri

706
00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:16,279
Speaker 5: where you're you're kind of middling, but then you have

707
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:18,520
Speaker 5: those big flashes where you can go to a New

708
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:20,560
Speaker 5: Year six game and I think, you know, kind of

709
00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:21,359
Speaker 5: lead this whole thing off.

710
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:22,840
Speaker 1: You can go to a college football playoff.

711
00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:26,120
Speaker 5: Now, that's where Kentucky wants to get, that's where they're

712
00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:30,239
Speaker 5: aspiring to be. But there they've been stuffing their toe

713
00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:32,800
Speaker 5: against the Missouri's and the South Carolinas of the world.

714
00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:36,719
Speaker 5: How Kentucky was able to get to that plateau of

715
00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:41,279
Speaker 5: eight nine wins the season here and there it was

716
00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:46,080
Speaker 5: beating Missouri, beating South Carolina, beating Vanderbilt regularly. Now, I

717
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,960
Speaker 5: know it's different equations without divisions and the schedules different,

718
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,560
Speaker 5: but having that plateau, I think it's like you said,

719
00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:58,880
Speaker 5: you're not you can't really become the next Georgia. But

720
00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:01,480
Speaker 5: to your point, like Ole mess and Lane, I mean,

721
00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,920
Speaker 5: I don't think we're expecting Old miss to be national

722
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:08,000
Speaker 5: championship contenders, but they're regular they're gonna be regular playoff contenders.

723
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:11,359
Speaker 5: I don't know if regular playoff contender is there, but

724
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,480
Speaker 5: that one off every three years or so. We've got

725
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:17,400
Speaker 5: a little taste of it as Kentucky fans, and I

726
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:20,120
Speaker 5: think the big fear is that you would have had

727
00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,799
Speaker 5: all of this success in the Mark Stoops era, but

728
00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:25,799
Speaker 5: without that ultimate payoff. The Citrus Bowls are great, but

729
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,640
Speaker 5: it's not the same as New Year six college football playoffs.

730
00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,160
Speaker 2: So to you, is it moments? Is that what Kentucky

731
00:37:32,239 --> 00:37:35,920
Speaker 2: just needs to win more of that? Yes, if if

732
00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,960
Speaker 2: I were to tell you that Kentucky is forty percent

733
00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:42,760
Speaker 2: better in you know, Keith downs in the red zone,

734
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:45,239
Speaker 2: that even though they're not overwhelming, even though it's not

735
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:48,800
Speaker 2: a top ten national offense, that if they're winning four

736
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,000
Speaker 2: of ten moments more often, then I don't know if

737
00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:53,680
Speaker 2: that math checks out. I might have just said something

738
00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:55,239
Speaker 2: that makes no sense, ty, but.

739
00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:56,960
Speaker 5: You know what I you know what I'm saying, Rwand

740
00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:58,680
Speaker 5: to do the math for you and then write in

741
00:37:58,760 --> 00:37:59,440
Speaker 5: to tell you.

742
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:03,239
Speaker 2: Whatever the current rate of big moments success is, you

743
00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:06,520
Speaker 2: up that by about forty percent. You think that complex

744
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:08,520
Speaker 2: I mean that'll change the complexion for most teams but

745
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:11,440
Speaker 2: you think that's what it comes down to for Kentucky.

746
00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:14,680
Speaker 5: It's it's one hundred percent of it. If you look

747
00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:16,920
Speaker 5: at the seven and six seasons in the last two years,

748
00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:21,520
Speaker 5: they're two and six in sec home games. You gotta

749
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,399
Speaker 5: win at home, right like you and you can't make

750
00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:28,080
Speaker 5: mistakes at an inn end of game situations like they

751
00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:30,319
Speaker 5: did against Clemson in the bowl game, like they did

752
00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:34,040
Speaker 5: against Tennessee at South Carolina in that game that wiped

753
00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:36,439
Speaker 5: out stoops. They've got the ball inside the fifty yard

754
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:39,439
Speaker 5: line with a minute twenty left, Just go win the game.

755
00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:42,160
Speaker 5: Don't throw an interception on the very first net like.

756
00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:46,600
Speaker 5: That's just it's those sort of mistakes, the lack of

757
00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:50,080
Speaker 5: execution down the stretch, situational football.

758
00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:51,440
Speaker 1: I mean e.

759
00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:53,680
Speaker 5: When you're Kentucky, you're playing with a thin margin of error,

760
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,520
Speaker 5: so you cannot have self inflict and mistakes. And they've

761
00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:00,879
Speaker 5: just they've had way too many of those in recent years.

762
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:03,600
Speaker 5: And a lot of it is just as simple as executing.

763
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:07,480
Speaker 5: When you got the hand right, you get dealt a

764
00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:11,680
Speaker 5: pretty good hand, like don't blow this, play your cards right,

765
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:14,680
Speaker 5: win the hand and live to tell, lived to die

766
00:39:14,719 --> 00:39:15,239
Speaker 5: another day.

767
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:17,719
Speaker 2: Yeah, the joke time, and I make is like your

768
00:39:17,719 --> 00:39:20,239
Speaker 2: team either it has or doesn't have excelsior right a

769
00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:22,960
Speaker 2: series of plays in the last four minutes that your

770
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,759
Speaker 2: team is crazy confident in running and executing correctly. And

771
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:30,160
Speaker 2: you watch teams that have that moment and are just

772
00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:33,279
Speaker 2: they don't have an excelsior to turn to. And it

773
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:35,600
Speaker 2: does seem like there are always going to be those

774
00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:38,000
Speaker 2: seven to eight teams in any given conference. There's like, well,

775
00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:39,440
Speaker 2: they didn't have a plan there at all. And that

776
00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:41,520
Speaker 2: does feel like where Kentucky's been, I mean.

777
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:43,680
Speaker 5: Last year in Missouri, they don't they are what they

778
00:39:43,719 --> 00:39:46,640
Speaker 5: are if MeVis doesn't make that kick, if the thicker

779
00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:49,280
Speaker 5: kicker doesn't just bail out, drink and hit a sixty

780
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:52,319
Speaker 5: one yarder, and you need some a little bit of luck.

781
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,480
Speaker 5: But also some of it is just being ready for

782
00:39:56,520 --> 00:40:00,560
Speaker 5: that moment. Kentucky's just been too swappy. And that's why

783
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:03,520
Speaker 5: I go back and you ask about talent acquisition. Now

784
00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,320
Speaker 5: it's on the coaches, right, like you've got the roster,

785
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,640
Speaker 5: you've got the players, they're I don't think fans are

786
00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:11,800
Speaker 5: going to be blaming them if they come up short.

787
00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:15,160
Speaker 5: It's all following on the coaches shoulders this year, and

788
00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:17,239
Speaker 5: that's that goes back to the kind of longevity with

789
00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:19,600
Speaker 5: Stoops thing. This will be the first time in a

790
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,279
Speaker 5: while that he's not going to have as much rope

791
00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:24,080
Speaker 5: from the fan base, the benefit of the doubt. It

792
00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:26,920
Speaker 5: hasn't completely eroded, but people are going to be much

793
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:30,640
Speaker 5: quicker to point the finger at him this fall when

794
00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:31,960
Speaker 5: things don't go according to plan.

795
00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:35,040
Speaker 2: So full circle, if this season is simulated a hundred

796
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,520
Speaker 2: times in how many of those simulations are you leaving

797
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:43,040
Speaker 2: the season saying the coach has figured it out?

798
00:40:44,239 --> 00:40:51,520
Speaker 5: Seventy seventy three of them? Okay, seventy I'm pretty confident

799
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:55,200
Speaker 5: that this is going to be a quality Kentucky football team.

800
00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:58,440
Speaker 5: That's a hard out and you know, if things go

801
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:03,080
Speaker 5: according to plan, I can see the college football playoff

802
00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:05,280
Speaker 5: rankings come out. There's two weeks left in the season

803
00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:07,920
Speaker 5: and Kentucky's a top twenty five team going down to

804
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:11,360
Speaker 5: Texas and people are saying, Texas, it's at the SEC

805
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:13,600
Speaker 5: is there for the taking, but they can't mess slip

806
00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:16,680
Speaker 5: up against Kentucky, right, And so you have a potential

807
00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:21,160
Speaker 5: it'll probably be an eight and four season, where or

808
00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:24,160
Speaker 5: eight and four, seven, and five where they beat a

809
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,359
Speaker 5: team that they shouldn't and maybe it's an Ole miss

810
00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:29,120
Speaker 5: on the road. But then they slip up and stub

811
00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:31,640
Speaker 5: their toe against a team that they shouldn't lose to,

812
00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:34,960
Speaker 5: and that maybe that's an Auburn at home that week

813
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,360
Speaker 5: two game though against South Carolina. That's that's that's the

814
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:39,080
Speaker 5: season right there, if you want to get where you

815
00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:42,200
Speaker 5: want to go. They're breaking in a new quarterback who's

816
00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:44,600
Speaker 5: in his second year, is a primarily running guy. You're

817
00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:47,520
Speaker 5: at home three point thirty kickoff. You've lost two in

818
00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:50,160
Speaker 5: a row to Shane Beemer. I can't stand that guy.

819
00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:52,640
Speaker 5: Meani Kentucky fans cannot stand that guy. When he did

820
00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:56,400
Speaker 5: the sunglasses, Yeah, just rubbed our nose in it. I mean, no,

821
00:41:57,680 --> 00:41:59,960
Speaker 5: you got to win that game. There's there's no excuses.

822
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,399
Speaker 5: So if you win that game, then it opens up

823
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:06,120
Speaker 5: pathways where you know, if you lose some of those

824
00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:08,080
Speaker 5: games on the road. When you lose a Georgia at home,

825
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:12,359
Speaker 5: people aren't going to be too mad. They'll think you've

826
00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:14,440
Speaker 5: got it figured out. As long as you go and

827
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:16,840
Speaker 5: beat one of those teams you shouldn't. Maybe at Tennessee.

828
00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:20,560
Speaker 5: That's that's been so elusive for Stoops throughout his tenure.

829
00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:22,239
Speaker 2: And if you want to beat South Carolina, you know

830
00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:24,839
Speaker 2: what you have to do. Pony up, you always honey

831
00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:29,360
Speaker 2: up up. I'm just that's what I heard. That's what

832
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:33,879
Speaker 2: I've been working. Okay, final question in the next five years,

833
00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:35,839
Speaker 2: this is a yes and an easy yes no question. Well,

834
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:37,560
Speaker 2: it might not be easy, but it's there are only

835
00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:40,719
Speaker 2: two answers here. Do we get a shot of Kentucky

836
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:43,680
Speaker 2: learning that they are one of twelve or four teams

837
00:42:43,719 --> 00:42:45,719
Speaker 2: to make the College Football Playoff and one of those

838
00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:48,959
Speaker 2: live ESPN shots in like a cafeteria.

839
00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:53,080
Speaker 5: Yes, couches will burn. It will be a glorious moment.

840
00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:58,600
Speaker 5: And I think my path to it is Stoops retires

841
00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:05,200
Speaker 5: and three years John Sumrall, who's former player won two

842
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:08,879
Speaker 5: Sun Belts at Troy now he's at Tulane.

843
00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:09,680
Speaker 1: Really goes well enough there.

844
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:12,919
Speaker 5: They bring him home, they keep things relatively simple, yep,

845
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:15,560
Speaker 5: and he brings a lot of pop right away. And

846
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:20,520
Speaker 5: that's how Kentucky gets there. In twenty thirty, twenty twenty nine,

847
00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:23,640
Speaker 5: twenty twenty nine, they'll be the fourteen seed traveling to

848
00:43:23,719 --> 00:43:26,160
Speaker 5: Oregon in the first round of the College with John Sumral.

849
00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:28,279
Speaker 2: So it might not happen for Mark Stoops, but it

850
00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:29,600
Speaker 2: will happen for Kentucky.

851
00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:33,319
Speaker 5: It's in our future, and it's going to be a glorious,

852
00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:37,080
Speaker 5: surreal experience for Kentucky football fans that suffered through so

853
00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:42,560
Speaker 5: many two win seasons that we've seen some stuff. We've

854
00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:45,200
Speaker 5: seen some stuff. We've We've been kicked by Steve Spurrier,

855
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:49,759
Speaker 5: by Phil Fullmer, Kirby Smart. Our time to shine is

856
00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:50,800
Speaker 5: right around the corner.

857
00:43:51,239 --> 00:43:51,399
Speaker 1: Ty.

858
00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:54,120
Speaker 2: I am writing this down May twenty ninth, twenty twenty four.

859
00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,280
Speaker 2: We will go back in twenty twenty nine and review

860
00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:01,160
Speaker 2: this episode as we are all enslaved by AI robots

861
00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:01,880
Speaker 2: of the future.

862
00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:04,760
Speaker 1: But I will still have the receipts.

863
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:08,640
Speaker 2: We'll still have the receipts to show our artificial intelligence

864
00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:12,320
Speaker 2: overlords that Nick new way back when Nick Roush Kentucky

865
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:15,480
Speaker 2: Sports Radio. Thank you so much for all of your time,

866
00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:18,640
Speaker 2: and please follow him, please listen to him for all

867
00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:20,279
Speaker 2: things Kentucky sports.

868
00:44:20,600 --> 00:44:23,359
Speaker 5: It's been a pleasure being on the solid verbal guys.

869
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:24,320
Speaker 5: I appreciate it.

870
00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:27,319
Speaker 3: All right, one more time, Nick Roush, check him out

871
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:31,239
Speaker 3: across really anywhere on the Internet. Kentucky Sports Radio is

872
00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:31,640
Speaker 3: out there.

873
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:31,879
Speaker 1: Man.

874
00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:35,040
Speaker 3: They've been fighting the good fight since like two thousand

875
00:44:35,040 --> 00:44:39,600
Speaker 3: and five. They predate our podcast, and as I said

876
00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:42,040
Speaker 3: at the top, they are the gold standard for all

877
00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:44,319
Speaker 3: things Kentucky. They do an awesome job and Nick is

878
00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:48,120
Speaker 3: of course included on that staff. We're privileged to have

879
00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:51,040
Speaker 3: him on the show. Mark Stoops is getting nine million

880
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:54,120
Speaker 3: a year, Yes he is. Did not mention that in

881
00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:57,520
Speaker 3: our talk with Nick, but nine million dollars a year.

882
00:44:58,600 --> 00:45:00,759
Speaker 3: He took over a program that was not very good.

883
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,120
Speaker 3: I think he has brought an element of stability to Lexington,

884
00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:07,160
Speaker 3: which is definitely the secret sauce. In this day and

885
00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:09,839
Speaker 3: age of college football. You need stability. If you don't

886
00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:11,480
Speaker 3: have it, it's not going to work long term.

887
00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:12,880
Speaker 4: That's your using my theory.

888
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:14,800
Speaker 3: I am no. I think your theory is correct.

889
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:16,440
Speaker 4: The secret sauces stability.

890
00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:16,719
Speaker 1: Yeah.

891
00:45:16,719 --> 00:45:20,400
Speaker 3: Where it needs to go next is, as Nick described,

892
00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:24,080
Speaker 3: win some of those moments feel a little bit more

893
00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:29,400
Speaker 3: efficient on offense. Despite all of Stoops's success, two to

894
00:45:29,520 --> 00:45:32,120
Speaker 3: ten wins seasons in the decade plus that he's been

895
00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:37,000
Speaker 3: in Lexington and now back to back six loss seasons,

896
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:41,799
Speaker 3: something's got to change. Something's got to change in this

897
00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:44,960
Speaker 3: era where you don't have the divisions, where the path

898
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:47,759
Speaker 3: into the playoff is a little bit wider, just a

899
00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:51,120
Speaker 3: few of those rough edges sand those off, make things

900
00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:54,160
Speaker 3: run a little bit more smoothly. And then we're talking

901
00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:56,520
Speaker 3: now the schedule. I can talk through the schedule if

902
00:45:56,520 --> 00:45:58,360
Speaker 3: you want. The schedule is always going to make that

903
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:00,920
Speaker 3: a bit of an uphill fight. But it seems to me,

904
00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:04,480
Speaker 3: after this conversation with Nick, that some of the stuff

905
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:06,640
Speaker 3: with Kentucky that needs to change is fairly obvious.

906
00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:11,160
Speaker 2: So it's interesting Kentucky and we talked about this a

907
00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:14,160
Speaker 2: little bit, like five different offensive coordinating tenures. That's kind

908
00:46:14,160 --> 00:46:15,920
Speaker 2: of sort of like a weird, stretchy way that I

909
00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:19,839
Speaker 2: put it with, you know, separate Liam Cohen tenures. And

910
00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:23,000
Speaker 2: I thought it was a little bit conflicting when he

911
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:26,120
Speaker 2: mentioned and this isn't like saying something about Nick that

912
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:28,600
Speaker 2: he's not here to defend when he's talking about like

913
00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:31,800
Speaker 2: the the dual threat upside of Brock Vandergriff. But also

914
00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:34,960
Speaker 2: Mark Stoops wants to get back to just like bruising

915
00:46:35,239 --> 00:46:38,279
Speaker 2: running in what worked before, And that gives me some

916
00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:41,640
Speaker 2: pause when a defensive head coach is like, I want

917
00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:44,359
Speaker 2: to get back to how my offense existeds who serve

918
00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:48,600
Speaker 2: the defense and control clock and anytime we hear that,

919
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:52,920
Speaker 2: and it's worked for some teams when that's like the

920
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:55,399
Speaker 2: core ideology, and we saw Jim Harbass sort of get

921
00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:57,960
Speaker 2: back to that at Michigan. But I think with the

922
00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:00,839
Speaker 2: talent level and the Kentucky's had very good offensive lines,

923
00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:02,960
Speaker 2: don't get me wrong, but an overall talent level at

924
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,760
Speaker 2: quarterback and running back, I don't think Kentucky has always had.

925
00:47:07,239 --> 00:47:09,839
Speaker 2: That's concerning to me that there might be this sort

926
00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:12,879
Speaker 2: of conflicting vision that like, well, you're not really taking

927
00:47:12,880 --> 00:47:15,480
Speaker 2: advantage of Brock Vandergriff's strengths and you're going back to

928
00:47:15,520 --> 00:47:17,439
Speaker 2: like serving the defense and like, why are we losing

929
00:47:17,480 --> 00:47:21,400
Speaker 2: this game twenty to seventeen every week? That that gives

930
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:23,200
Speaker 2: me a little bit of you know, your favorite pet

931
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:27,080
Speaker 2: charity cause for pause. So curious to see how Bush

932
00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:30,239
Speaker 2: Hampden plays a role good with Boise for the most

933
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:32,440
Speaker 2: part last year as a Chris Peterson as coach, with

934
00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:36,120
Speaker 2: like I think Sark as well, Miszoo kind of immediately

935
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:39,160
Speaker 2: got better when they moved on from him to Kirby

936
00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:43,920
Speaker 2: Moore as did kind of that entire offense, and so

937
00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:48,880
Speaker 2: I'm I am curious about what the marriage looks like

938
00:47:49,160 --> 00:47:51,480
Speaker 2: on offense for Kentucky because that's the whole thing. That's

939
00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:53,839
Speaker 2: when you have those end of game issues. That's when

940
00:47:53,880 --> 00:47:56,239
Speaker 2: you have sort of confusion with two and a half

941
00:47:56,239 --> 00:47:59,520
Speaker 2: minutes left. And so if they're if they're aligned offensively

942
00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:02,080
Speaker 2: this year and the defense improves, which I think it will,

943
00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:06,640
Speaker 2: they have that chance to be utah ish in the SEC.

944
00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:10,040
Speaker 2: If you're flawed, Kentucky will beat you. If you're pretty good,

945
00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:13,239
Speaker 2: Kentucky might beat you. If you're excellent, Kentucky's going to

946
00:48:13,280 --> 00:48:15,400
Speaker 2: give you fits.

947
00:48:14,920 --> 00:48:17,520
Speaker 4: That I think is the ceiling right now for Kentucky.

948
00:48:17,520 --> 00:48:18,200
Speaker 4: It's a good ceiling.

949
00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:21,480
Speaker 3: There are five very losable games in this schedule that's tough.

950
00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:25,000
Speaker 3: They include Georgia, who they play third week of the

951
00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:27,880
Speaker 3: season at home in Lexington, which is good, but it's

952
00:48:27,920 --> 00:48:31,760
Speaker 3: still Georgia on the road to close out September against

953
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:36,520
Speaker 3: Old Miss. In the month of November, there's a road

954
00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:41,200
Speaker 3: game at Tennessee. There's a road game at DKR against Texas,

955
00:48:41,239 --> 00:48:42,880
Speaker 3: and then they close out the year back home for

956
00:48:42,920 --> 00:48:47,600
Speaker 3: the Governor's Cup against Louisville. That does not include games

957
00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:51,319
Speaker 3: against South Carolina, who he mentioned in the interview they've

958
00:48:51,360 --> 00:48:53,880
Speaker 3: lost their last two. Does not include a road tilt

959
00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:57,760
Speaker 3: in the swamp middle of October. Don't know what version

960
00:48:57,800 --> 00:49:00,439
Speaker 3: of Florida we're going to find, middle of October. Tough

961
00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:03,399
Speaker 3: place to play, loud, place to play Auburn. I think

962
00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:06,879
Speaker 3: Auburn should be improved this season. And that's a game

963
00:49:07,280 --> 00:49:09,520
Speaker 3: maybe in a look ahead spot a week before that

964
00:49:09,560 --> 00:49:12,640
Speaker 3: Tennessee road tilt that I mentioned earlier. So this is

965
00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:15,759
Speaker 3: not easy by any stretch of the imagination. As Nick said,

966
00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:17,040
Speaker 3: you got to try and win as many of these

967
00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:20,320
Speaker 3: home games as you can because the home road splits

968
00:49:20,400 --> 00:49:23,719
Speaker 3: right now at time of recording in late May do

969
00:49:23,840 --> 00:49:24,759
Speaker 3: not look promising.

970
00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:28,239
Speaker 2: And I just assume they're playing an incredibly tough non

971
00:49:28,239 --> 00:49:31,480
Speaker 2: conference schedule like Kentucky. Ohay, I can't get through that sentence.

972
00:49:31,719 --> 00:49:37,960
Speaker 3: Sother miss Ohio State, Murray State, Yeah, and Louisville, right,

973
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:38,640
Speaker 3: they always have that.

974
00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:42,040
Speaker 2: But yeah, that's sort of Kentucky's mo to be like

975
00:49:42,120 --> 00:49:45,560
Speaker 2: the modern day old early Briles Baylor, where it's just

976
00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:50,920
Speaker 2: like they're playing a school called what Kentucky typically does

977
00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:52,880
Speaker 2: not schedule in that way, which I guess you know,

978
00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:53,759
Speaker 2: if you're gonna get to eight.

979
00:49:53,680 --> 00:49:55,719
Speaker 3: And whatever, this is a tough This is a tough

980
00:49:55,719 --> 00:49:56,680
Speaker 3: slate one way or another.

981
00:49:56,719 --> 00:49:59,080
Speaker 2: And the SEC only gets more difficult with Oklahoma Texas.

982
00:49:59,080 --> 00:50:01,080
Speaker 2: They don't have Oklahoma the right they do not know

983
00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:03,600
Speaker 2: they have Texas in Austin, which should be very difficult

984
00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:06,839
Speaker 2: near the end of the year. One of the more

985
00:50:06,880 --> 00:50:10,279
Speaker 2: watchable programs because when you lose in entertaining ways, you

986
00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:10,880
Speaker 2: keep watching.

987
00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:13,720
Speaker 3: I guess you keep watching. And also when I'll close

988
00:50:13,760 --> 00:50:17,760
Speaker 3: on this, yeah, especially in this new era of college football,

989
00:50:17,960 --> 00:50:23,160
Speaker 3: where again top twelve get into the playoff, a lot

990
00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:27,840
Speaker 3: more is decided on the margins. We've had this instance.

991
00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:30,120
Speaker 3: Maybe last year is a bad example, but we've had

992
00:50:30,120 --> 00:50:32,000
Speaker 3: this instance more often than not when it comes to

993
00:50:32,040 --> 00:50:34,719
Speaker 3: talking about the playoff, where it's pretty cut and dry

994
00:50:34,760 --> 00:50:37,680
Speaker 3: who those top four are going to be. There's not

995
00:50:37,719 --> 00:50:39,719
Speaker 3: a whole lot of wiggle room at the top. We

996
00:50:39,800 --> 00:50:42,239
Speaker 3: sort of know going into the weekend, and especially after

997
00:50:42,239 --> 00:50:44,200
Speaker 3: the games have been played, who's getting in and who isn't.

998
00:50:44,960 --> 00:50:51,080
Speaker 3: But now while we're talking about twelve teams, Kentucky, Kentucky,

999
00:50:51,120 --> 00:50:53,759
Speaker 3: which finds itself in that position to be a pain

1000
00:50:53,840 --> 00:50:57,160
Speaker 3: in the ass worst case scenario. At pain in the

1001
00:50:57,160 --> 00:50:59,560
Speaker 3: ass best case scenario, a team that can knock you off.

1002
00:51:00,480 --> 00:51:02,880
Speaker 3: Teams like Kentucky are the ones that I think hold

1003
00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:07,120
Speaker 3: many other futures yeah in their grasp, and so that

1004
00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:09,920
Speaker 3: will make them even more interesting than they've been. I'm

1005
00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:11,600
Speaker 3: always interested in Kentucky. You know what I said at

1006
00:51:11,640 --> 00:51:14,600
Speaker 3: the top, I'm gonna fully commit to the bit here.

1007
00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:16,960
Speaker 3: I'm certain of it. In July on we do the

1008
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:18,160
Speaker 3: SEC preview.

1009
00:51:18,280 --> 00:51:22,200
Speaker 2: They're one of the all time under Mark Stoops Kentucky.

1010
00:51:22,239 --> 00:51:24,520
Speaker 2: I never thought about this until actually Nick was talking

1011
00:51:24,520 --> 00:51:27,880
Speaker 2: about it. They're a great all time cut in team

1012
00:51:28,280 --> 00:51:32,200
Speaker 2: Oh cut Entucky big right where Kevin Na Gandhi starts

1013
00:51:32,239 --> 00:51:37,400
Speaker 2: with weird finish in the Kentucky Blobbity Blah game. Kentucky

1014
00:51:37,800 --> 00:51:42,040
Speaker 2: all time Na Gandhi squad. That's their identity right now.

1015
00:51:42,040 --> 00:51:45,080
Speaker 2: Weird finish in the Kentucky Miszoo game, which there always is,

1016
00:51:45,080 --> 00:51:48,000
Speaker 2: by the way, weird finish in Kentucky South Carolina, weird

1017
00:51:48,040 --> 00:51:52,879
Speaker 2: finish Kentucky Florida. They're an all time cut in Hall

1018
00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:53,720
Speaker 2: of Fame program.

1019
00:51:53,760 --> 00:51:55,320
Speaker 3: Who are some other Nagandhi teams.

1020
00:51:55,320 --> 00:51:59,040
Speaker 2: That's a grawled Gandhi's That'll be our award show at

1021
00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:00,319
Speaker 2: the end of the year. I don't even know if

1022
00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:02,640
Speaker 2: Kevin de Gandhi does cut ins anymore. Whoever, it used

1023
00:52:02,680 --> 00:52:05,760
Speaker 2: to be like Cassidy Hubberth, who are the all time

1024
00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:10,279
Speaker 2: weird finish teams? Okay, missoo for a stretch. Even last year,

1025
00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:12,359
Speaker 2: Miszoo had some weird like the end of the LSU game,

1026
00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:14,359
Speaker 2: the end of the Kansas State game where like, let's

1027
00:52:14,360 --> 00:52:17,040
Speaker 2: go real quick to Columbia. Weird finish in the Miszou game.

1028
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:20,400
Speaker 2: Maybe perdue on a certain level with some of those.

1029
00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:23,440
Speaker 3: Upsets, perdue being the spoiler makers. Yeah, yeah, I mean

1030
00:52:23,480 --> 00:52:26,440
Speaker 3: they definitely fall into that category. I feel like we

1031
00:52:26,560 --> 00:52:30,640
Speaker 3: have one or two Northwestern related games a year where

1032
00:52:31,440 --> 00:52:35,040
Speaker 3: it's just like it's not necessarily a cut in weird

1033
00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:38,239
Speaker 3: score at halftime, a weird halftime score where you see

1034
00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:42,360
Speaker 3: it on the bottom line and wonder like, hmm, that's interesting.

1035
00:52:42,480 --> 00:52:45,840
Speaker 3: Northwestern giving Penn State all it can handle in Evanston. Yeah,

1036
00:52:45,880 --> 00:52:47,920
Speaker 3: and then Penn s win's forty two to fourteen, but

1037
00:52:47,960 --> 00:52:51,000
Speaker 3: it's ten to nine or something at halftime. Yeah, Yeah,

1038
00:52:51,040 --> 00:52:54,680
Speaker 3: Northwestern fits that Florida State the past few years has

1039
00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:56,759
Speaker 3: played down to a bunch of teams, even though last

1040
00:52:56,840 --> 00:53:00,960
Speaker 3: year was a super successful year. Dude, we gotta throw

1041
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:02,200
Speaker 3: Syracuse in here, right.

1042
00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:05,680
Speaker 2: Syracuse Syracuse's fall time cut in team Oregon State.

1043
00:53:06,000 --> 00:53:06,840
Speaker 4: I would add.

1044
00:53:07,040 --> 00:53:10,080
Speaker 3: Syracuse Oregon State of in the Gandhi teams since the jump,

1045
00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:13,160
Speaker 3: even since before Kevin Na Gandhi got to ESPN, they

1046
00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:15,799
Speaker 3: feel like they're always those kind of teams where they

1047
00:53:15,840 --> 00:53:18,399
Speaker 3: find because it's a weird place to play or who

1048
00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:21,240
Speaker 3: knows what, they're always kind of lurking.

1049
00:53:21,560 --> 00:53:23,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's actually a lot of the teams

1050
00:53:23,560 --> 00:53:25,560
Speaker 2: we've talked about in this series, not to plug our

1051
00:53:25,600 --> 00:53:27,520
Speaker 2: own show. On our own show, we'll do a Hooma

1052
00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:32,840
Speaker 2: State with Spencer Sanders weird ending in stillwater. Like I

1053
00:53:33,040 --> 00:53:35,719
Speaker 2: just I think that's what has kind of kept a

1054
00:53:35,760 --> 00:53:39,319
Speaker 2: lot of these teams away from actually happening, is the

1055
00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:42,640
Speaker 2: inability to close what do we call them the Peter

1056
00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:45,560
Speaker 2: North teams, just you don't have that powerful finish. And

1057
00:53:45,640 --> 00:53:49,600
Speaker 2: so yeah, we're we're actually dealing with in the Gandhi

1058
00:53:49,719 --> 00:53:51,279
Speaker 2: series right now, is what we're doing.

1059
00:53:51,520 --> 00:53:54,239
Speaker 3: Yeah, all right, Well, big thanks to Nick Rausch again,

1060
00:53:54,239 --> 00:53:57,279
Speaker 3: from Kentucky Sports Radio does an awesome job covering all

1061
00:53:57,280 --> 00:54:01,799
Speaker 3: things Kentucky sports. Obviously quite now coledgeible. We'll bring him

1062
00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:03,600
Speaker 3: back on at some point in the future to get

1063
00:54:03,640 --> 00:54:05,880
Speaker 3: his take on where things stand with the Wildcats. In

1064
00:54:05,920 --> 00:54:08,239
Speaker 3: the meantime, make sure you hit follow, make sure you

1065
00:54:08,280 --> 00:54:11,120
Speaker 3: hit subscribe. Wherever it is you're finding us now, be

1066
00:54:11,200 --> 00:54:13,600
Speaker 3: it on any of your podcasting apps or YouTube, you

1067
00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:15,879
Speaker 3: name it, hit the button so that you don't miss

1068
00:54:15,920 --> 00:54:18,560
Speaker 3: any of our stuff. We are going strong twice a

1069
00:54:18,600 --> 00:54:21,520
Speaker 3: week through most of the offseason. At some point in

1070
00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:23,279
Speaker 3: July we'll flip it over to three a week as

1071
00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:26,160
Speaker 3: we get closer to the start of the year. We

1072
00:54:26,280 --> 00:54:28,640
Speaker 3: of course, have much more to discuss over the next

1073
00:54:28,640 --> 00:54:31,880
Speaker 3: few episodes, not the least of which is college football,

1074
00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:36,960
Speaker 3: the structure of which changing fairly rapidly given perhaps an

1075
00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:41,000
Speaker 3: agreement between the power conferences and the NCAA and the

1076
00:54:41,040 --> 00:54:43,719
Speaker 3: students and the student athletes. And there's a lot to

1077
00:54:43,760 --> 00:54:47,200
Speaker 3: talk about on that front. We've got details that are

1078
00:54:47,200 --> 00:54:50,000
Speaker 3: coming out hot and heavy about the upcoming video game

1079
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:51,800
Speaker 3: that I know a lot of people are excited about.

1080
00:54:51,880 --> 00:54:54,719
Speaker 3: So leisure Suit Larry is leisure sularry of course, yeah,

1081
00:54:54,719 --> 00:54:57,600
Speaker 3: the new era. Yeah, this has not been an off

1082
00:54:57,640 --> 00:55:01,640
Speaker 3: season void of content. As we get into June here,

1083
00:55:01,640 --> 00:55:03,920
Speaker 3: we're gonna see things pick up. I've been saying that

1084
00:55:04,040 --> 00:55:05,839
Speaker 3: for a while, So I'm gonna I'm gonna message Kevin

1085
00:55:05,880 --> 00:55:07,000
Speaker 3: Na Gandhi real quick to.

1086
00:55:06,960 --> 00:55:07,760
Speaker 4: Come on the show.

1087
00:55:08,360 --> 00:55:10,879
Speaker 3: Message Kevin, see if you get him one. All right, big,

1088
00:55:10,920 --> 00:55:13,959
Speaker 3: thanks again, Nick, Big, Thanks again to our overbawler hood

1089
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:17,080
Speaker 3: out there. Check us out by hitting follower, subscribe or

1090
00:55:17,080 --> 00:55:20,320
Speaker 3: of course going to overbowlers dot com for our bonus

1091
00:55:20,360 --> 00:55:23,160
Speaker 3: content and ad free episodes. For that guy over there,

1092
00:55:23,200 --> 00:55:26,360
Speaker 3: my good friend Dan Rubinstein, for myself, Tie hilden Brandt.

1093
00:55:26,360 --> 00:55:28,960
Speaker 3: Thank you for downloading, for listening, for supporting the talk

1094
00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:31,040
Speaker 3: Yelso stay saft, Peace,