The longtime face of ESPN’s College Gameday, Kirk Herbstreit, joins Scott & Chris this week. Plus, a preview of the AFC & NFC West.
Welcome to the full video episodes of the “No Off Days with Scott Smith” podcast! FOX 13 News Tampa Bay’s Sports Director Scott Smith is joined by news anchor and part time funny man Chris Cato, plus producer Brian King, to talk about the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, and Tampa Bay Rowdies. The guys interview sports legends and major players from FOX Sports, plus discuss the state of play in everything from golf to goalies. #nodpod #nooffdays #sports
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In sports, if you want to be the best, there are no off days. Welcome into another rousing edition of the No Off Days podcast. He is Chris Ko. I am Scott Smith. We got BK Brian King in the booth, producer extraordinaire. I brought props with me this week. Got a little football. Here we go. Oh, this this feels good. You know what? It’s not time to break out the pigs. Oh, we already got nickel bleed pass. Patrick Mahomes. I’m not. And I broke his glasses. That’s okay. They already broken. Um, yeah. Welcome on in to the Nod Pod. We are going to be breaking down some football today and a football ccentric show. So, we’re pumped about it. Uh, you know, we do this every year where we do the countdown to the to the season ahead in the NFL. And so, we take we try to go week by week where we’re breaking down each division each week. Uh, but, you know, time creeps up on you. It does. So, we’re going to have to do some uh double dipping here, and we will do that on this week’s episode. Uh, but before we get into football, let’s reflect back on golf and what a weekend of golf we had. I know you rolled out of bed nice and early and you were able to watch still in your pajamas some of the open championship and uh I thought it was a fantastic championship. I mean really you had some really great scoring, some great shot making. The stars were out there. Uh but we you know we had a wager last week and we had our little we had a little little open championship pool. So yeah, without further ado, I guess we have to crown our champion. And with that we bring in the Brian King. Brian, congratulations. you know, you really just rode the coattails of Scotty Sheffller, which I, you know, even though I had the first pick and I kicked myself as soon as I saw, you know, Thursday, he he gets out there on Thursday. Yeah. Yep. He’s probably going to win it. Yep. There we go. So, but congratulations because Hey, thank you cuz you you uh you did it. You got it done. Well, first thanks does go to you for leaving Sheffler and I picked Rory. I thought it was going to be this nostalgic return home and and doing it, you know, right down the road from where he grew up, but too much pressure. It was the Sheffler Schoffley combination that BK rode to victory. Those are usually your two guys and and he had him on his team there. It’s okay. I you know I did I thought he was he had some type of existential crisis before the open championship. So I was like well you know he’s kind of contemplating whether any of this stuff matters anymore and you know maybe maybe this is not the week. But he knew what he was doing. He got the flight stick figured out. Yeah. Yeah. He’s he’s so good. I mean, there’s just he can’t be shaken and it’s almost boring when he gets a lead like he had going into Sun. I knew Sunday was going to be a snoozer, so I didn’t worry about getting up with the eggs and bacon and watching it, but you’re right. He just puts his keeps his uh foot down on the gas and there’s no catching him. Yeah. I mean, they said it all throughout the coverage, but there there are shades of him that are very tiger, and once he does get a lead, you’re not taking it from him. He’s not going to give it up, that’s for sure. But I I just think every shot he made was like nearly ideal, you know? It was just from every vantage point he, you know, it was like he’s his approach is always going to land in the most ideal spot to to line up a birdie putt attempt and like I don’t know, he’s just very good. And so, uh, congrats. That’s his first, uh, Clarit Jug. And it’s the first Clarit Jug for you, BK, because as the winner of our of our little pool here, uh, you have received your bounty. Can you share it with the good people of Nodville? Here is the uh, what is this? The Ko cleric judge. That’s the Ko family stein. This is grandmother’s old urinal. Grandma, grandma’s spatoon. Actually, it still has hints of skull in there. No, that we we gave that to Scott last year when he won the the open our our little pool here and uh he drank some fine beverage out of it. And so I believe Scott provided you a beverage to put in the KO family. Already put it in there. What do we have? Can we watch the Mountain Dew? Is that what it is? It’s the best. It’s the best. It has been washed before since last year, right, KO? I think Scott washed it. Yes. M it’s going in spit. Is that a good vintage Mountain Dew? The yellow lightning. Yeah. But the real the real prize here is because they were playing in Northern Ireland. We we sought out the finest shepherd’s pie for you in Tampa. And so from our friends at Irish 31. Show them what you have there. It’s like a 8 lb baby. It is insanely heavy. It’s heavier than that that mug. Look at that. Let me get my fork out of the way. Lift that thing up. Yes. Look at all that. Ooh, that looks like a serving for about a family. Yeah, it is. He could feed us. I think he could share. Do you know what what is in a shepherd’s pie? Well, you have a beef element, ground beef. You have vegetables, usually potatoes, uh, peas, carrots. Potato is the top layer, right? You have carrots, peas, and some other type of root vegetable. I believe that looks good. Uh, and then I think they cover theirs with the the white cheddar cheese. Am I correct, BK? Are you getting notes of white cheddar there? Just dig in. Give me a big Can I Full disclosure? Mhm. When I was 10 years old, my aunt Vicki made me shepherd’s pie. Made the family shephardd’s pie. I got insanely sick from that. I have not touched shepherd’s pie since. Well, that’s because Aunt Vicki made it out of an actual shephardd. This one is just ground beef. You’ll be fine. Give it a taste. I will, man. It smells great. Ryan’s quickly going to go on the IIL here. He’s going in. Is it hot? Let’s see if it burns his mouth on it. Dude, that’s awesome. Okay. Very good. And some mashed potatoes. Yeah, there we go. While you got a mouth full of ters, uh, why don’t you tell us what you got on the big program? Hey, we got a good show today. You know, it’s I mean, you got the football out. Choking on carrots right now. Chris Heimlet. Quick, it’s Aunt Vicki, the ghost of Ant. There he is. Look at We’re going to have Curb Street. How about that? Joining the program. Curb Street, voice of college. Don’t be a ball hog over there. Okay, here we go. Here we go. I’m going to try to redeem myself from my last path. I’ll go high with Oh, no. Got it. All right. Kirk Herb Street. That’s awesome. Yeah. Talk Kirk Herb Street. Talk a little football. And then at the end of the show, we’re going to kind of keep with that college football theme and kind of test your knowledge on college mascots. It’s kind of like a primer to get you season. See how well you know these college mascots. All right. Okay. Sounds good. Okay. Enjoy that shepherd’s pie. I want to see you polishing that off by the end of the show. It better be gone. It’s not going to be gone. All right. If you’re listening and you want to watch, go to fox13news.com/nodpot. If you’re watching, want to listen or subscribe, take out your phones, tap the QR code on the screen, and head to our show page. Feel free to leave your comment on the YouTube channel as well as a fivestar on iTunes, please subscribe, fox13news.com/nodpot. All right, so as we mentioned off the top of the show, we’re doing division breakdowns leading you up to the kickoff of the NFL season. We will end in the NFC South because that is, of course, where we reside. Uh, but we’re going to start out west, and this is in the AFC. We’re going to break down the AFC West. Of course, uh, last year it was the Kansas City Chiefs that ran away with it. Uh, and Chris, dare I say, one of the more competitive divisions that we’re going to have this year in in the NFL. Uh, you had three playoff teams last year, and you could be sizing up three more teams coming out of that division this year. But look at the coaching just in that division alone. You got Andy Reid, you got Harbaugh, uh, you got Payton, and and you got, uh, now Pete Carol. So, how about that? I mean, that’s like uh Mount Rushmore of coaches right there just in one division. Division was already tough and now Carol’s part of it. So, yeah. All right. So, we want to go reverse order. We’ll go from the team that we think is going to stank it up to the team that you think is going to win it up. So, do you want me to take the honors first? I’ll go first. No, Scott. I want me to do it. I I We’ll see how much we match here. Let’s go bottom up. Let’s go Raiders bottom. Although, I think with Pete Carol there now, it will be an improved Raiders team. they just have uh to still answer some questions, you know, and Gino Smith really doesn’t move the needle very much for me at quarterback there, but um I think that they are going to to play better and so I’ve got them bottom of the league around seven and 10. Okay. Yeah. Um I’m starting with Vegas as well and and I actually have the same exact record. I think they’re going to be three wins better uh than last year. Seven and 10. Uh their offense was not very good last year and I think that they the addition of Ashton Genty, you know, a running back comes in out of college and I think you can those are just kind of plug-and-play guys. So he’s going to be an instant upgrade to that offense. You got Brock Bower, so you do have weapons offensively. Uh you know, Gino Smith, to your point, yeah, does he move the needle? I mean, he’s not he’s not a huge a huge name, but I think he’s he’s a good consistent uh take, you know, manager of the football, right? And I think he’s going to do uh some some good things there in Vegas. And uh I you know how long it takes to really get this thing cooking, I’m not sure. You know, Chip Kelly, by the way, is your new offensive coordinator. So, they’re going to try some dynamic things. Uh this is part two for him in the NFL. Well, well, let’s see. No, he he he did NerS, right? And then he did he was head coach in Philly and uh that didn’t really work out too well, right? So, now he’s getting another opportunity here. And I, you know, I think they have some good pieces. Jacobe Myers, wide receiver. You know, defensively, to me, it’s really all about Max Crosby. Their defense was stay healthy. Yeah, it was okay. They actually kept their defensive staff from last year, but yeah, I see them coming in at seven and 10. Uh, they’ll at least get one or two. They had no division wins last year. Uh, so I think against the division, even though it’s tough, I think maybe they get one or two in this division. All right, to our third place team, Chris, this is where it gets hard because I think we have three team. You mentioned this division produced three playoff teams last year. I think it’s going to produce three playoff teams again this year. So, I’m going Chargers in that third place. And this will really come down to a tiebreaker between them and my second place team. But, um, Chargers, yes, Jim Harbo, Jim Harbaugh, year two. I think they’re going to take some big steps. Still have questions along the offensive line. Um, and the defense. I think the defense was the unit that held them back the most last year. Justin Herbert, look, one of the elite quarterbacks, but again, uh, just doesn’t always come up big in playoff games or big games, which we saw again at the end of last season. So, I’m going to go with a 10-7 record, the Chargers there in third. Okay. Um, I, you know, we don’t like to agree, but we so far are in complete agreement. I got the Chargers as my third place team with the exact same record of 10 and seven. Uh, you know, their offense kind of middle of the pack last year. You know, 20 a little over 20 points a game, 23 points a game. It’s that’s not huge. I I do like I’m a big fan of Justin Herbert and he he took great care of the football last year. Three interceptions on the entire season. Uh about 3,800 yards passing, not too shabby. Year two with Harbaugh as they match up. I I think that Harbaugh’s always going to lean towards having a like more of a kind of a grittier, grinded out type of offensive philosophy. So, it’s not going to be I don’t know if we’re going to see, you know, Herbert I think in year two he threw for 5,000 yards. I’m not sure we’re going to see that with Harbaugh uh on the watch there. Uh but they do have a a nice receiver there in Lad Maki showed a lot of really good things in season number one, but still I just don’t love their offensive weapons around him. Um the offensive line is a little bit of a weakness for that team. Uh defensively they had the best scoring defense in the NFL. So 17 points a game. Yeah, I was way off on that one. You’re right. Their defense was stout last year. Yeah, it it was it was okay. Yeah, I mean, at least when it came to points, uh they have Derwin James. They have a couple great pieces back there in their secondary and Elijah Molden and uh and Derwin James. So, but yeah, in this division, I’d like to see them. I don’t think it’s they’re going to be a worse football team, but I do think the record is going to reflect just a slight step down. So, I have them finishing third at a record of 10 and seven. Do you care to tell people who you have for second place? reveal the giant mystery. Will you and I differ here? Um, so it comes down to do I think the Broncos are going to win this division or is the team that is always winning this division, the Chiefs got nine nine years in a row. Yeah, nine years in a row. I’m going to Here’s my number two team. I tried to think of a way I’m picking the Broncos to finish second. Okay. I do think they’re going to be very good. In fact, that’s one of my favorite futures bets is Broncos over win total. Vegas has them at nine and a half. I think this is a 10 or 11 win team depending off on how things go. And I think the strength is in the trenches there offensive and defensive lines. Some of the best two units in the league there. That defense was really stout last year. I expect them to be just as good. Does Bo Knicks have some regression? I don’t know. Not I don’t think so. With Shawn Payeyton with some weapons they brought in. Uh but again, tough division. I think they’re going to take I’ve got them right now at 11 and six. Okay. Um, I see your trajectory there for the Denver Broncos and I think you’re undershooting it just a touch. My second place team is the Kansas City Chiefs. Oh, there we go. Um, now here there’s a there’s a little bit of a trick. Uh, so I have them finishing with the exact same record and a tiebreaker. I’m going to give it to the Broncos. But I got Kansas City sliding down to second uh on a tiebreaker there uh with a record of 12 and five. I think it’s hard to sustain the success. And don’t get me wrong, they still have the talent, but it’s it’s a little bit aging. You know, it’s not that Patrick Mahomes is getting old, but you got Kelsey, uh, the treads getting a little thin on those tires. Um, but I think that their biggest offense, their be biggest weakness we saw last year in the Super Bowl, and that’s that offensive line. So, how can teams exploit that? I don’t think they really addressed it. I mean, they did go out and I think they addressed it through the draft. Um, but that’s not really an immediate fix. Uh, they get Rashi Rice should be back for a full season. So, that’s that’s going to help have having another option there. Uh, but yeah, and their defense is good. Spags is one of the best defensive coordinators in the game. Chris Jones is a stud on that line. But I just think that just a little bit of a step back and a lot of that’s going to be dictated by a really difficult schedule. They’re playing another first place schedule, but what that means is now they got games against Baltimore, Detroit, uh they got Washington, who’s obviously going to be, you know, one of the better teams in the NFC again this year. Buffalo, I think Houston’s going to be be back. So, I mean, it’s a tough schedule. Do they let a couple of those slide? They had I mean, they had I think Oh, man. What was they had 10 wins by fewer than by a possession last year. Six of those wins by three points or less. Can you do that again? I mean, that’s the clutch, right? That’s the clutch gene that you’re getting from some of these guys. But I don’t know. I think that maybe maybe they fall on the other side of some of those this season. So with number one, you got the Kansas City Chiefs. Take it away. I you really used up all my bullets there, but I I do believe that we’re foolish if we think that Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are going anywhere. I mean, they again I know a lot of close wins last year. We all remember that narrative of how how lucky is this team? But as you said, it’s the clutch gene there. And I think until someone knocks these guys off the pedestal, will they win 15 games like they did last season, no, I don’t see that happening. But they’re still good enough in spite of those questions that you enumerated, uh, they’re still good enough at the talent position with Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy, Rashi Rice, and Jaylen Royals, who they drafted, and Patrick Mahomes distributing the ball to get 12 wins here. And that’s where I see them in finishing first again at top the AFC West. I think it’s partially wishful thinking on my end. Maybe that’s what it is. I just want to see somebody else like not picking Scotty Sheffler. Yeah. Yeah, maybe that’s what it is. I’m going to be looking like a fool with my pants on the ground. But, uh, I got I got the Denver Broncos, uh, winning with the same record of 12 and five, but winning on a tiebreaker. Um, I just see I I saw so much improvement last year and and really I I as an Oregon fan, I watched a lot of Bo Knicks and he was always a solid quarterback, right? And and very mature, uh, a little bit older in the college game, but I I saw like a seamless transition, a guy that was ready to step into the challenge. I think a year two under Shawn Payeyton. Uh, and again, we always talk about the trajectory of a good coach as when you’re in doubt, like lean on the fact that your coach has been there before and and Shawn Payeyton’s one of the great ones. And so, I think that they’re going to pull even more. I saw some a a lot of growth out of Marvin Mims in the receiving core last year. Um, you know, they add uh RJ Harvey to their running back room. The running backs changed a little bit. They got JK Dobbins in there. Uh, they add tight end of Evan Ingram. I think he’s going to be a big outlet for Knicks in that offense. So, the offense I think will be a little bit better, but really that defense is uh it was the best defense in the division last year and I think they got better. They added a couple pieces from the 49ers and linebacker Dre Greenlaw and then Talenoa Huanga. Uh he comes over as a safety. They address it in the draft too. They add a quarterback in Texas’s Jade Baron. So, they’re they’re doing all the right things and the fact that they don’t have they do have challenging games. I think they got, you know, they they got the Eagles early on in the season, but you know, you don’t have that first place schedule that uh that that the Chiefs have to go up against. So, I think they might take advantage of that. So, I got the Denver Broncos winning the division and uh we don’t see 10 years of the Chiefs. That doesn’t mean that they’re not going to make a run and win the Super Bowl. I’m not going to say that. Uh but yeah, I think that maybe they don’t win the division. So, there you go. That’s how we see the AFC West breaking down. And because we’re double dipping in this week’s episode, we have more to come on the other side. If you are a fan of the NFC West, we are going to break down that division straight ahead on the Off Day podcast. I didn’t know we were doing that. Let me do some research here. Welcome back to the No Off Days podcast. Chris, I’m just playing catch uh during the break by myself. And look how high I could get this ball. You That’s a light, Scott. You just Scott, that’s a light. You just took out a light. I grew up uh that’s how I would waste time. Okay, set. Here we go. Hi. Oh, boy. Okay, that could have been disastrous. I snapped it like a log snapper. Oh, boy. Yeah, you’re fired. Um, no. I I grew up that’s how I would kill time. I would just I would lie on my bed and I’d throw the football up and so uh it’s like didn’t have any friends to throw it. I would sometimes prefer that to hanging out with friends. It’s very soothing uh actually. All right, speaking of soothing, talking football, that’s what we’re doing here as we continue our countdown to the start of the NFL season. And each week we’re going to be breaking down NFL divisions. Last block we gave you the AFC West and this block we are going to jump into the NFC West. Uh and this uh you know last year was an interesting division. You know the the win totals weren’t real high up there and it was really anyone’s up for the gra up for the taken. Uh San Francisco was a team that many people thought hey they’ve been dominant. They’re just going to continue to do that. Uh but yeah injury played a factor in their season last year and they ended up finishing dead last. So how do we reshuffle the deck this year? Uh Chris, do you want to do the honors of kicking it off or do you want me to start this? I would love for you to start. Okay, let me start off please. So, we start with the the affforementioned San Francisco 49ers. I think they’re going to be your last place team in the NFC West. Oh, wait. No, sorry. I need to read my own Wait a minute. Let me start out again. Rewind. And we’re going to start off with the Seattle Seahawks. They take a a four-ame tumble uh in the standings. And you know, a lot of this has to do with the fact that yeah, there there’s a change at quarterback. You go with Sam Darnold. how much are you going to be banking on him to be able to do what he did last year with the number one receiver in all of football and Justin Jefferson as one of his targets. Um, and it’s a new system. So, there’s he got paid, there’s pressure with that and it’s new pieces around him. So, I think that there’s going to be an adjustment period. Not that he’s a bad quarterback, but I think that, you know, some of what we saw last year, he was a little bit of a product of the system. Um, and you know, but he also could be one of those quarterbacks that as you get older and more experienced, you know, you’ve you’ve seen the game, it slows down a little bit more. You’re getting more opportunities and you take advantage of it. But I think the offense there takes a little bit of a step back. Um, so Sam Darnold, the guy, no Gino. Uh, there’s no DK Metaf. So, you know, like what? No locket either, right? No locket. What kind of So, what are your weapons? I think Cooper Cup is up there in Seattle. Jackson Smith and Jigma is probably Yeah, Smith and Jiggma. That’s your best target. So, um, you know, the the run game last year, um, you know, it should be improved this year. It wasn’t great last year. Their defense really is kind of the the marking of their team. Uh, but how much can that really I don’t know. To me, there’s not enough marquee pieces on that defense to to really uh push you beyond fourth place in the NFC West. So, I got Seattle coming in at six and 11, rounding out the bottom of the NFC West. Okay. I also have them in the bottom. I’ve got I think I had a little more faith than you. I don’t know why. And Mike McDaniel in year two to show some progress and with Sam Darnold install some concepts on offense. You mentioned kind of a lack of weapons, but I think they’ll figure some things out. I think this is going to be a competitive division uh in much in the way that the AFC West is, but just some teams are going to carry some more losses in the loss column there. And I think the Seahawks good enough to get to about eight and nine. That’s where I’ve got them, but they’re still in fourth place in the NFC West. Okay. Um, coming in at number three, uh, we have your San Francisco 49ers coming in with a record of eight and nine this year. So, it it’s a it’s a twoame improvement. You know, Brock Py got paid in the offseason. So, he’s got his cash, but no Debo Samuel, so you’re missing some pieces there. Uh, I Brandon Aayuk, I I don’t think he’s going to be ready for training camp. That’s a problem as well. uh your offensive line, you know, it’s it was okay. They’re returning, I think, four of their five starters. You still got Trent Williams, but he’s he’s one of the, you know, issues where you’re like, he he’s been great for so long. He’s an aging star. You know, you got him, you know, Christian McCaffrey is I think he’s still in the prime of his career. I’m not too worried about him. Uh you got George KD. So, I think they’re going to be a better team offensively. Uh but uh you know defense man they I feel like they’ve lost a lot there. You still got Nick Bosa but you you’re missing four starters on that side of the ball. Uh you do bring back Robert Salah. So their former defensive coordinator turned Jets head coach is back with the team. But I I don’t know when you don’t have the groceries really in the cabinet. It’s hard to make you know some type of gourmet meal out of that. And so I just don’t know that I love their defense and I I just like some of these other teams in the division a little bit better. So, I got the the 49ers coming in third in the NFC West with a record of uh eight and nine. Okay, you got them eight and nine. I have in third um not the Niners, I have the Cardinals uh in third place at nine and eight. I do think this will be an improved Well, they went eight and nine last year. So, not big improvement, I guess, but we saw towards the end of the season the old Kyler Murray kind of coming through developing some rhythm. Still waiting on Marvin Harrison Jr. to really take off and hit that elite level that we think he’s capable of. Maybe that happens this season. I don’t know. Still some questions though on defense with the with the Cardinals there. And again, very competitive division. So, I’ve got the Cardinals in third place at 9 and 8. And I’ll just roll into my second place team then because you mentioned it. It’s the Niners at 10 and seven. Uh, I still think even though they lost a lot, as you pointed out, they’re going to have to rely on some young defensive players on the defensive line, especially especially if Bosa goes down with injury again, as he often does, but they’ve still got enough talent there to be uh very tough, a tough out when you’ve you Christian McCaffrey. Uh, we don’t know really when we’ll see Brandon IU, but you still got KD, you got Fred Warner on the other side of the ball, and you’ve got Kyle Shanahan. He always has them in contention for a playoff spot, and I think they will be right there at the end of the season. I’ve got them at 10 and seven, the Niners, finishing second in the West. That’s a nice bounceback season. Um, so rounding out second place, I have the Arizona Cardinals. I’m actually kind of bullish on them. I think they’re going to be a good squad. I I think Kyler Murray showed a lot last year and his ability to uh bounce back from injury. I think we’re going to see a little bit more even more running out of him this year. I think the the chemistry with him and Marvin Harrison is going to be a-ok. Okay. Um, they, you know, they finished seventh offensively last year in in terms of yards per play. So, the offense was good. The defense was really the question mark, but I think they hit the defense hard in the offseason. They especially through the draft. So, they add guys that I think are going to be plug and play uh in defensive tackle Walter Nolan. And then quarterback Will Johnson. So, I think those guys going to be able to step right in. They add veteran and Josh Sweat. He comes over from the Rams. Uh was that the Rams last year? I think he was with the Rams. Oh, no. Maybe he was with the Eagles. He was with the Eagles last year. Uh yeah, he was a key cog in that Eagle defense. So, I think that um they’re going to be an improved team this year and and I have the Arizona Cardinals finishing in second place with a record of 10 and seven flirting with the playoffs. And since you rolled, I’ll roll with this one. My number one team in the NFC West this coming season is going to be your Los Angeles Rams. I know Matthew Stafford’s getting getting up there in age, but again, he’s one of those guys I’m just not too worried about. I think that they can keep him upright and keep him healthy, and if they do that, then they’re going to be just fine. uh 37 years old. Um you know, last year I still feel like he has it. You know, you got Puka Nakua that’s going to step into an even bigger role. Uh Cooper Cup is obviously moving on. Uh they add Devonte Adams. Now, he didn’t have a great season last year with Vegas, but um I still think the I’m looking at Shawn McVey bringing him in and thinking he still thinks that there’s something there. And you know, I have confidence in in his ability to to kind of read that. And so I think that Devonte Adams is going to he’s not going to be he doesn’t have to be the number one receiver. Uh but he could step into this offense that I think is going to, you know, I think they’re going to move the ball pretty well. I I don’t have any worries about that. You know, last year defensively, I think they struggled to try to fill that void, that massive void left by Aaron Donald, and and what team wouldn’t? Uh so they struggled uh against the run, but man, I still think they got some really good pieces, young players on that defense. And I look at the two FSU guys in uh Frisk Fisk and um and Jared Verse and I think those guys are going to continue to climb. They had great rookie seasons last year and I think they’ll continue to improve even better. Um so I think that the team’s going to improve a little bit from last year record-wise and take the NFC West with a record of 11 and six. I like it. I agree with you. I think the Rams are your division champions in the NFC West. I have them at 12 and five. I’m really bullish on this team this year. This is a team that was toe-to-toe with the Eagles right there in the playoffs. A ball in hand, a chance to win it or bleed the clock and win it there and they couldn’t get it done. And they’ve retained most of their key players and added some guys as you pointed out there. And I trusted Matthew Stafford and Shawn McVey to get it done. So, I think it’s going to be the Rams. What is this shirt doing? This collar is just awful. It’s the See, I have to clip this earpiece onto it and it just drags the whole It ruins the It ruins the whole frame of the shirt. See the chest? Here, let’s just button it up. Give me a tie. Anyway, uh I like the Rams to get it done. Okay, very good. All right, so there we go. We got the AFC West and the NFC West taken care of. What do you say next week we talk about the East? Yes. So, we’ll get into the AFC East next week. Uh coming up in the next block, you know, you can’t throw a football very well. But some guy that can is going to be joining us next. Former Ohio State quarter, better better known as the voice of college football for what the last three decades now. Kirk Herbstreet, the legend, joins us on our podcast next. Welcome back to the North Days podcast. A very special guest this week. I know that uh between between us, we have grown up watching College Game Day on ESPN and it’s been such a part of, you know, I think it started, you know, back in the early 90s. Yes. And you know, Kirk Herbstreet joins the group in 1996, I want to say. Uh he has been the voice and he, you know, he’s obviously the soundtrack to all your your football your college football games that you play on the video games, the games itself. Uh he has transitioned now to do some NFL games in recent years on the Thursday night package. Uh but he is just uh he is a a wealth of college football information and how he’s able to retain all the information week to week on that show I don’t know. Uh but we got to spend a few minutes with Kirk Herbstreet this week on the nod. Hey, thanks for hopping on here. Uh let’s get Kurt. Great with us. Uh football season right around the corner. Is this is this your 30th year of College Game Day? Yeah. Yeah. Crazy. Unbelievable. I mean, from from the early years to now, what’s it been like to be a part of that journey? Man, it’s changed so much. Uh when I when I first started, uh we we might have a few hundred people around the set. Uh half of which were probably wondering what’s going on here. That was in 1996. And to go from that point to I don’t know there’s probably 15 or 20,000 people around the set uh now and has been really for the last 15 years or so. Uh it’s been a game changer, you know, and I think the other thing is when I started it was Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and myself. And um obviously that that’s changed quite a bit over the years now with coach Sabin there, Pat McAfee there. It’s just very very different. Um and a and both were good. It’s just different. You know, you evolve, you change, and um you 30 years that’s going to happen. And uh coach Corso will be doing his last show uh August 30th, week one. Uh the Texas at Ohio State game will be his last show, which will be a very emotional uh day for the show, for me personally, for coach obviously. Uh we love him so much and it’s going to be very sad to see him go, but um you know, he’s at peace with that decision, but uh yeah. Yeah, it’s it’s uh I’m blessed to do something I love and every single year it’s like a blank canvas. It’s like starting all over again. Well, today we’re talking about your new project that you’re a part of. And here come here here. Come here. This is the big the big time. This is showtime for you. All right. So, new project you’re a part of. Fueled by uh that gives folks a glimpse of elite athletes and their love for their pups. So, I got my guy Calvin here. He’s just out of f I just woke him up from his slumber, but there he is. There’s the guy we’ve been looking. Uh oh, I love it. uh you know, can you just tell us about about this project, how it came about and uh and what we’re going to expect to see? Yeah, Scott, like like you and Calvin, so many of us can relate to that relationship that you enjoy, right? And uh ProPlan approached me about partnering up for this uh this fall um and telling my story about uh me and and my dogs, my four golden retrievers that I I’m lucky enough to have and that special bond that I have with them. the fueled by series uh kind of goes a little bit further. We we visit with George KD of the 49ers. Talk with him about about his two dogs. We we visit with uh a couple of the uh women’s US uh national players, soccer players, Rose Label and Sophia Wilson, and get to know them a little bit and and their unique relationship with their dogs, how passionate they are about uh those relationships. And I think more than anything that’s really what we can all relate to um you know in in some way or another is how important uh that relationship is that and and dogs the love that they give us and uh and our job is to kind of take care of them and that’s why uh we’re we’re telling these stories and and uh and talking about the importance of nutrition and taking good care of our dogs. Well, we are looking forward to that series. And right before you had hopped on, Calvin and I were were talking about we were breaking down the in-state Florida teams and he had it power ranking. Uh, but I was curious what you thought of our in-state teams and how you might rank the likes of FSU and Florida and USF and Miami. Well, I I’d love to get Calvin’s input on on that because uh love to, you know, love to hear his uh his local bias because um I I think Miami, first of all, I think has a chance to be special uh with Carson Beck coming in at quarterback from Georgia. You know, that anymore it’s really about the transfer portal and the quarterback, right? Uh I think DJ Lagway of Florida has a chance to have a monster year. The way Billy Napier went from being on the hot seat to starting slow, looking like he may get fired to to really catching fire late last year should have a lot of Gators fans excited about what they can do. The NLES obviously need to rebound after a disappointing year last year. Um, you know, we’ll see if their their quarterback transfer can do a good job. They open up with Alabama. M Miami, by the way, opens up with Notre Dame. Uh, USF, I think you got a great head coach. Uh there’s a lot of excitement I think building around that program and there should be. Um to me that that’s a program that’s really up and coming. Uh so yeah there there’s a lot to be thrilled about uh in that in that uh state and we’ll find out who would who ends up being the top dog not just in that state but maybe somebody can make a national title run. Well his his ears just perked up when you said top dog. I think he’s bullish on the Gator actually to be honest with you. Um, no, you know, I it’s been fun to watch your own journey with your pop being able to take, you know, both Ben and and now Peter on to your travels with you. It’s really cool to be a part of. I They They probably get a bigger ovation than you do, I would assume. Oh my gosh. I’m I’m just a dog handler. I I uh I I don’t have any you know it it that’s probably the best part about taking uh you know Ben and now Peter with me is when I walk out onto the field and and Peter’s with me all the camera phones. I mean there must be when he first walks out there 50 phones uh on top of him uh and I just kind of sitting there enjoying just kind of being in the in the uh the background. It’s been uh a lot of fun for me. But yeah, Peter has become I call him the Taylor Swift of football. It’s it’s amazing how how popular he’s become. So, where can folks find Fueled by? Uh if you go it’s real real easy right now. If you go to YouTube and search uh you search Pro Plan and all the videos will pop up. Uh it’s a chance to again see each individual stories. Each week a new video will come up so you can learn more about ProPlan and how it can and help your dog uh with with their nutrients and also learn about each of these athletes and their journey and the relationship that they enjoy with their dogs. Well, we appreciate it. Uh Kirk, great to meet you. Thanks for coming on and uh and we’ll be looking forward to this new series and have a great football. All right, Scott, take care, man. Calvin, see you buddy. Take care. I wanted to ask him about Nick Saven. Chris, we just didn’t have time and we we got caught up talking puppies. His co-host possibly getting back into coaching. Yeah, I think Miss Terry already shot that down anyway. I think there are I could have sat there and and chatted with him for, you know, an hour and it would have been great and he would have been exhausted. But, uh, no, he’s a busy man obviously. So, um, but look for his stuff and of course the the new series that they’ve got kicking off. It should be a lot of fun. We remember his uh you know having his dog you know Ben with him then and then Ben passed and now it’s Peter. Uh but those big fluffy golden retrievers and and now Calvin’s going to be getting some facetime there getting a little he you know he can’t he always likes to sneak in the background of my interviews anyway. So there we go front and center. All right coming up on the other side we’re going to get into our fun block. BK is going to put us to the test. How well do we know our mascot names now? Shepherds. Are there any shepherd mascots? I don’t know. That’s next on. What a great show so far. Enjoyed it. It’s time for our fun block. It’s Some say uh and you know who say this uh the King family that all Brian’s two daughters and his wife, they love the fun block. This is their favorite part of the show. This is their favorite part. So, my mom, Cookiey’s favorite part of the show, does she? They all fast forward to this. So, without further ado, let’s bring in the man of the hour, Mr. Fun, Brian King. All right, BK. That’s not entirely true. They love the way Ko and you two, you know, joke against each other. I don’t I’ve got not gotten any positive feedback on us. Mostly your antics. How is the shepherd’s pie? How are we doing there? Very good. I’m still working. Yeah. It’s off camera. He hasn’t touched it since the first block. He doesn’t like it. It tastes like Aunt Vicky’s. No. Rude a bad guy in there. All right. Here’s what we’re going to do is going to test college mascots, right? These are all like major college teams, but it’s not like we say Miami and you say Hurricanes, you know, it’s the actual fuzzy kind of character mascot. What that guy’s name is Big. Yeah. So like Big Al or Sebastian Ibis for Miami. Those are the two I got. So now, okay, now you’re off. So, I’ll give you a couple clues through it and then whoever knows it first, just kind of yell it out and we’ll give you the point to do that way. Okay. These are fairly easy. You phone a friend if we get Yeah, sure. Why not? You ready? Yep. Ready? Okay. The first one, pork chop. Pork chop. Pork chop. Pork chop. This is one of the five costume mascots for this school. They have five costume mascots. Five different costume mascots. I can’t even think I can’t think of who that might be. Pork chop. This was uh introduced in 1998. Pork chop was Is this I mean it sounds like a bulldog. I I don’t know if I think it’s a pig. Is that is Yeah, it’s not the razor back though. Is I Is it the razor back? It’s the razor back. Oh, there he is. His number is Wait, there’s five different ones. There’s five different ones names. There’s uh Big Red. That’s the main one. Then they thought, well, they look kind of scary, so let’s come up with one that’s smaller. And that’s where Pork Chop came up. Then they got some guy walking around in the inflatable suit. Then they got I think Sue E pig or something like that. It’s the female version. So yeah. All right. Pork chop. So KO’s on the board. Good job. All right. Okay. You ready for the next one? Yeah. Riptide the pelican. Riptide the pelican. Uh is that too lane? Go Scott. How’d you get that? Well the pelican. Yeah. He’s near the New Orleans. Think of New Orleans Pelicans. Oh, wow. Okay. I don’t know. All right. I know that the green wave, but I I have never seen a I’ve never seen Riptide at a game, but then again, I’ve never seen a guy in a wave costume either, so I think it’s easier to dress one that look like a little bit like a Gumby kind of mascot. All right. Well, we’re tied 1-1. Sigh the Cardinal. Sigh the Cardinal. Uh, is that Stanford? That is not Stanford. Is it Louisville? It is not Louisville. Is it Ball State? It is not Ball State. Cardinal mascots. I will say that the cardinal is not the school’s mascot. Ah, okay. Okay. So, is this Catholic? Is this that that kind of cardinal? No, it’s not. It’s not like that. That Wait, isn’t he that isn’t that the name of the first time? No, no, no. Robert. Okay. Uh, I’m going to say S the Cardinal. Oh, boy. You give gave us a tough one here, but not the mascot. Give us a conference. How about Big 12? Okay. Oh, is this the Iowa State Cyclone Cyclone? Oh, yeah. Good. There he is. They came up with the cardinal mask. I never I’ve always wondered why do they have a bird when they cyclones. They could not make a mascot costume. It look like a little cyclone. How uncreative. I know. Yeah. You know, so was it uh I think there was a Tanya Tucker song. Uh two sparrows in a hurricane. Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah. Two dogs. I don’t know. Something like that. All right, KO21. All right, let’s go. Here we go. Chip. Simply chip. Chip. Chip. Okay, this is going to be like a a wood chip. So, lumberjacks. Um, this was in 1980. It was introduced. The central Michigan chip was no. Um, I’ll say the inside of his head is like a hockey helmet and it weighs seven seven pounds. The inside of his head? Yeah. That’s kind of formed around a hockey helmet. Is he the um golden gopher? No. Minnesota. No. Chip. My last clue is that this chip is not a poser like his same relative at the school who goes by the nickname Ralphie. Oh, is this is the Buffalo Colorado? Yes. Ralphie is not a buffalo actually. No, he’s Ralphiey’s a bison. He’s a bison. That’s right. So, there’s Chip. Oh, okay. How about that? Yeah, Chip. Yeah. 7B head. How about that? That’s a big head. Almost as big as death on this. How about this one? This is one of three schools that has this nickname. Oklahoma State. Okay. Uh Scott’s got it right out of the gate. All right. Pistol Peak. There he is. He’s got He’s They took his real guns away from him because during cancel season, but now he’s still got his six shooter out there. Just That head looks like it’s really heavy, by the way. That head weighs 35 lbs. No. Yeah. And it’s based on an actual guy. I got a picture of the actual guy. And tell me how much this guy looks like it. Okay. Okay. Oh, he said he had a substantial mustache. I like I like the real Frank there. Um his name is not Pete, but I like the mustache. What’s his backstory? He was a sheriff, a cowboy, and a marshall. Had a faster draw, they said, than Buffalo Bill. Oh, I bet he did. There’s only one way to prove that. He’s got some stuff hanging from his waist there. That is pistol right there. Is that Is that Mike Gundy? Look at him. How much do you think it would cost to get pistol feet to show up like at a wedding or your birthday party? How much does it cost? Yeah, that guy. Look at him. All you got to do is offer him. Not Frank. Not Frank, but pistol feet. No. Offer him open bar. That’s it. That’s what you show up at your wedding. Offer him open bar. I would say to lug that head around, you got to pay me at least $1,000. Wow. 100 bucks, man. The podcast. Yeah. Well, that’s very Oh, we should do that. We should a mascot podcast where we just dedicate it to If we buy his flight out here, I’m sure that would be just as good as a hundred bucks, right? $100 and then I saw is $1.40 per mile. So, that that made it kind of I could tell I’ll tell him to his oversized face that the the mascot costumes that are the worst are where they just put a human head on top of a human. That’s No, he’s great. Who are the others like that? Uh the Demon Deacon. Um cartoonish. That’s right. And The Boiler Maker, right? Isn’t it produced? Yeah. Yeah. They Cuz that’s got to scare kids. It’s creepy. One of my favorite mascot stories was when I worked in Phoenix and uh we were in the the Cardinals locker room and they were in the middle of a losing streak and like the the feeling in the locker room was just like very der and like there was some people in that room. Uh Joey Porter I believe was on that team. Like they were um they were not a happy locker room at all. And in comes Big Red, the Cardinal mascot in his big in the locker room. And he’s like in the back. He’s like coming in on the interviews and he’s like, “Hey, hey, like it was Did anyone punch him?” Oh, there. No, there was um Yeah, there was one player was like he just went seamlessly with it. I forget his name. Um but he was like, you know, anyway, yeah, we we’re not messing around in the locker room anymore. I had told Big Red I didn’t want to do this anymore. And um so he kind of played it off as Big Red’s in the background doing his pantomime thing, but I think you have to pick your spots. I bet there was a different person in the Big Red costume the next week. You’re out of here. All right. Very good. Hey, that was a lot of fun. Yeah. All right. Enjoy that shepherd’s pie. I will, my friend. I was talking to Chris. I was talking to Chris Griffin cuz we know that he’s in it. Um All right. Hey, much thanks to our very special guest, Kirk Herbstreet, uh, and our studio crew as well. Uh, we have Rochelle over here on the jib. We got Chris on the ones and twos, BK back in the booth. As Chris is stretching out his hamstrings, we’re going to Well, those are more of your quads. I don’t have I don’t have quads. Quads. All right, go deep until the next time we are on. There are no off stone hands. Come on. We got to work on that.
