It's time for The Mailbag, presented by Whitney McNutt of Tommy Morgan Inc. Realtors, Edition 198.
I asked for your questions. You delivered. So here we go...
From capitolcityreb: How many games does Texas A&M have to lose this year to fire Jimbo?
Unless some reporter covering Texas finds some really crazy stuff in Fisher's phone records or something like that, he's simply not getting fired. Texas A&M has crazy money, but it's not that crazy. And listen. Texas A&M could lose its next six games -- Miami, Arkansas (in Arlington), at Mississippi State, at Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss -- but it won't. It just won't. It won't win them all, but it won't lose them all.
In all likelihood, the Aggies are going to figure out a way to win seven or eight and it's going to feel like purgatory in College Station. But even in a disaster scenario for the Aggies, Fisher isn't getting fired.
From Gjg23: Do the MLB rule changes help TV ratings or have too many people moved on?
They can't hurt. They should make the games more watchable, but it does really feel like the sport has lost momentum. Maybe that's me being a Cubs fan in a year when the Cubs are very much in development mode, but I don't know. I live with a soon-to-be-16-year-old and his group watches the NFL and college football, play fantasy football, talk about the NBA and all have English Premiere League teams. Now, I'm sure there are others his age who are locked into Major League Baseball, but I do wonder.
From Gjg23: If college football becomes more “professional”, does the NFL start having games on Saturday?
No, the NFL owns Sunday. Owns it. It has a formula. It works.I doubt they'd consider doing anything to it.
From Jgward: Is it just me or are defensive lines causing a lot more disruption on offensive lines this year? I've noticed it at all levels of college and NFL the past couple of weeks. Is there a change in defensive scheme or position that offensive lines haven't adapted to yet?
It's not just you. Defensive linemen and linebackers are just so damned athletic these days. They're like NBA power forwards. They're huge and agile. Throw in faster linebackers and defensive backs who can handle the line of scrimmage and offensive linemen are really stressed. Perhaps it's schematic. I'll ask around a bit.
From Vin Hensel: In your opinion where does Albert Pujols rank as a hitter in all-time MLB history?
All-time? I don't know. It's almost impossible to compare eras. However, in the modern era, he's top 10, maybe even top five, as a hitter. He's in a category with Bonds, Griffey, Trout, etc. He's had an incredible career.
From larryjoe1979: If you were the AD at Nebraska, who are the first 5 coaches you are calling for the job and who is your favorite? Bonus question if I may be so greedy: If one of the answers is Urban Meyers(I think one of them should be), do you keep him on a leash or do you say "Hey, we are not who we want to be so bring on the T*tties and beer and lets see where this wild ride takes us."?
I've never been to Nebraska. I don't have any feel at all for the culture there or the program or anything.
I'd call Dave Aranda at Baylor and make him tell me no. I'd call Lance Leipold at Kansas and I suspect he'd say yes. Honestly, I'd inquire about Lane Kiffin because he's proven he knows how to work the portal, and I suspect that's Nebraska's best path forward. I doubt Kiffin would be interested, for the record. I'd make Mark Stoops and Matt Campbell say no.
And yes, I'd inquire about Urban Meyer, because why not? And if he said yes, I'd just plug my nose and close my eyes and tell him to be him and see what happens.
I bet they end up with Leipold.
From RebGeo08: Building QB depth is essential and challenging these days. Should first time transfer QBs be more valuable both in NIL and to a coaching staff than high school seniors? You get an added year of mental and physical maturity, get an eye into how they handle adversity, and having burned their no-penalty transfer are less of a flight risk. Would the model be to take one transfer and one high school QB each year?
This is going to sound coy, but it's such an important position that you take an impact player however he becomes available -- high school, tampering portal, transfer portal, whatever.
From Salad Thunder: What is your stripper name?(Childhood dog’s name - street you grew up on)mine is Pixie Fang
Beauregard Brookwood.
And dear God, how pathetic would the crowd (or utter lack thereof) be at my strip show? I mean, holy hell, would that not be the largest collection of losers since the latest Yell Practice at Texas A&M?
From Levi275: CFB can be mercurial and the reputations of coaches can sway wildly one year to the next.. who are the best 10 CFB coaches in the sport right now? In no order I have: Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, Lincoln Riley, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Gundy, Chip Kelly, Kyle Whittingham, Mark Stoops, Brian Kelly and Kirby Smart. I understand there are multiple ways to interpret the question so feel free to get creative.
Just off the top of my head, in no order, I'd say:
Saban
Whittingham
Smart
Swinney
Stoops
Campbell
Harbaugh
Clawson
Day
Fickel
Also in the mix, at least in my mind: Mel Tucker, Lane Kiffin, Dave Doeren, Dave Aranda, Chip Kelly
From DrifterReb: Do you think that some of the upsets that have happened this year have anything to do with NIL? Are coaches at the lower level programs using that to motivate their teams? Is it causing complacency with the guys getting these big pay days?
I really don't. If you watch much Sun Belt (I do, for the record), you weren't just shocked Saturday. Those are really good programs and they caught big-name teams still trying to figure things out.
From chattreb: Why does it seem like the NFL officials, maybe I should say the NFL as a whole, has gotten this targeting/roughing the QB rules changes figured out a little compared to the college game (aka the BAMA Texas game). As a fan, I have no idea what is legal or not when it comes to contact with the QB. It seems the reviews are frequent, long, and the result is the games seem to take forever.
The NFL is a superior product in every way except for the emotion and chaos. The players, obviously, are better. So are the officials. They're simply better. I didn't watch Alabama-Texas as closely as some, but I saw some missed calls. I guess I'm just used to it at the college level. The play can be pretty sloppy and they could throw a ton of flags, I suppose. At the NFL level, the play is cleaner, so I just think it's easier to lock in and call a solid game.
From rebattorney: Congress has recently implied, through language included in legislation, that UFO’s have non-human origins. https://thehill.com/opinion/3610916-congress-implies-ufos-have-non-human-origins/amp/This is in follow-up to revelations that the Department of Defense has stepped up its investigation efforts of UFO’s in response to increased observations by military pilots of phenomena that cannot be explained. Do you think we are on the precipice of disclosure of alien existence?
I was listening to Rogan recently and he had a guest on talking about this. I can't remember the guy's name, but yes, I don't think there's much doubt that there is life elsewhere. I mean, go outside on a clear night and look into the sky and just use common sense. The odds that we are the only life anywhere in the galaxies are ridiculously low. That thought, at least to me, is unfathomable.
From cctrey5: Have you and Chase considered getting Ray UGA on the show to discuss Zach Evans?
I hadn't, until now. I mean, it would be funny but I do wonder if the people who aren't on Twitter -- so many more people than you think -- would get it at all.
From Rebel-97: How many wins does Bryan Harsin have to have to survive this season at Auburn?
Gut feeling? Eight wins saves his job, but that place is pretty volatile. Seven wins won't get it done and hell, eight might not, but I kind of think eight would buy him another year.
From North Tampa Rebel: Do you think Ted Lasso will eventually hook up with Rebecca or is their friendship too pure? Will Roy and Kayley make it? Will Nate be redeemed?
I think Ted finding love would be too corny. I don't think he and Rebecca becoming romantic really works. I feel like Roy and Kayley aren't going to work. They don't make a ton of sense anyway. They're very different people. And no, Nate is beyond redemption. He's not a grateful person. I hope they steer him further into the role of the villain. I very much look forward to the new season.
From TenorJohn: What is some of the history behind the MPW digital network. I have only been a subscriber for almost a year and only have been listening to the OEP for three years. Keep up the great work. You and Chase are fantastic journalist.
I did six years of daily sports talk radio in Mobile back in the day, and when I came to Oxford to cover Ole Miss, I really missed it. We started podcasting on a very sporadic basis and that turned into the OEP over time. Over the years, we've just added content to the network and it's become kind of an entity of its own. We have some ideas to further grow it, but those aren't particularly far along at this point. Thank you for the kind words.
From Rascal Reb: Senators Tuberville & Manchun are threatening Federal legislation to fix NIL. In your opinion what exactly can they do to rein this mess in or clean it up through Federal Regulation?
In my opinion, there's nothing that can truly be done. I think it's lip service, with the possible exception of the players becoming employees and unionizing.
