Tradition's Finest Episode 114 - "The Woody Bowl Episode"

Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 114 - The "Woody Bowl Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Football Week Fifteen aka "Championship Week" Analysis & Review: In this week's episode, JD & Spencer will discuss the major topics/storylines, analyze & review the in-game stats & each provide their individual takeaway's for the Week 15 or "Championship Week" slate of College Football games from across the country - - Be sure to tune in for an in-depth recap, and discussion of the following games & topics which are included in this week's College Football Analysis & Review segment: Sun Belt Conference Championship: No.25 James Madison Dukes vs. Troy Trojans American Athletic Conference Championship: Tulane Green Wave vs. North Texas Mean Green Big 12 Conference Championship: No.11 BYU Cougars vs. No.4 Texas Tech Red Raiders SEC Conference Championship: No.3 Georgia Bulldogs vs. No.9 Alabama Crimson Tide Big Ten Conference Championship: No.2 Indiana Hoosiers vs. No.1 Ohio State Buckeyes ACC Conference Championship: No.17 Virginia Cavaliers vs. Duke Blue Devils - NCAA College Football Week Sixteen + Bowl Week #1 Preview & Predictions: In this episode's 'preview and predictions' segment, JD & Spencer (a) preview the weekly matchup between Army-Navy as well as the slate of games from the first week of Bowl season; and, (b) provide their individual predictions for each of these matchups - as well as an in-depth evaluation of this year's bowl schedule: **Be Sure to Share Your Picks with Us via Twitter/X - - @TraditionFinest OR Send Us an Email at [email protected]!! Week Sixteen: Army Black Knights vs. Navy Midshipmen(-6)                    O/U38.5 **NOTE: Navy leads the all-time series with a record of 63-55-7/ Game played in Baltimore Heights, MD Bowl Week #1: "Cricket Celebration Bowl:" South Carolina State (9-3) vs. Prairie View A&M (10-3) **NOTE: Game played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA "Bucked Up LA Bowl:" Boise State vs. Washington(-8.5)               O/U51.5 **NOTE: Game played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA "IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl:" Troy (-4) vs. Jacksonville State        O/U46.5 **NOTE: Game played at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, AL "StaffDNA Cure Bowl:" Old Dominion vs. USF (-6.5)   O/U57.5 **NOTE: Game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL '68 Ventures Bowl:" Louisiana (-3) vs. Delaware               O/U58.5 **NOTE: Game played at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, AL - NCAA: News & Storylines (cont'd) - - 2025 College Football Playoff Bracket Reveal: The full 12-team College Football Playoff was revealed by ESPN on Sunday, with the top four seeds earning first-round byes, and eight "at-large" teams scheduled to play in first-round matchups at campus sites across the country - - The twelve (12) teams, in their exact order of their CFP seeding are: (1) Indiana, (2) Ohio State, (3) Georgia, (4) Texas Tech, (5) Oregon, (6) Ole Miss, (7) Texas A&M, (8) Oklahoma, (9) Alabama, (10) Miami, (11) Tulane, and (12) James Madison (JMU) - - **In next week's episode, we will preview, breakdown & present our independent predictions for each of the first-round matchups of this year's College Football Playoff. . .The College Football Postseason is here, and what's the best side dish to serve alongside the main 'entree that we refer to as the College Football Playoff/Bowl season: A nice slice of Drama: Despite finishing off the college football regular season with eight consecutive victories, and compiling a 10-2 record, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a postseason mainstay, will be notably absent this bowl season: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish announced in a statement posted to social media on Dec. 7 that they have decided as a team to withdraw their name from bowl consideration following the 2025 college football regular season. . .but Why? The decision came after Notre Dame was left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff field, despite closing out the season with a 10-2 record - - Prior to their withdrawal from bowl consideration, Notre Dame was projected to play in this year's Pop-Tart Bowl, which is scheduled to occur on Dec. 27th at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL - - Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua told ESPN that the program was in utter disbelief and shock after being left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket/field, and he also expressed frustration with the process, stating that any rankings ahead of the final ones are a "farce and total waste of time," - - While HC Marcus Freeman & the Fighting Irish were clearly shocked, and therefore reacted unfavorably to the College Football Playoff committee's decision regarding the playoff field, it's not that difficult to understand or sympathize with the program for the following reason: Prior to the CFP bracket reveal, Notre Dame was ranked No.10 - after dropping one spot in the CFP rankings last week, behind Alabama (No.9) - but they ultimately they fell to No.11 in the final CFP rankings in favor of the ACC's Miami Hurricanes, for which CFP Playoff committee chairman Hunter Yurachek, provided an explanation as to why Miami received the playoff nod, and Notre Dame did not, and surprisingly, it's not all that complicated: The CFP playoff committee's decision for including Miami in the field over Notre Dame came down to the "head-to-head" game between the two programs - as HC Mario Cristobal & the Miami Hurricanes opened the 2025-26 college football regular season in August with a resume-building 27-24 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish - - Notre Dame needed to finish in the top 10 of final CFP rankings to earn a spot in this year's playoff field because two of the five conference champions, who are guaranteed spots, were ranked outside of the top 12. . .and once again, Notre Dame does not belong to a Power Five Conference, which in this particular scenario, came back to haunt them in terms of the final CFP rankings. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Notre Dame's decision to decline a bowl game invitation this postseason after being excluded from the 2025 College Football Playoff bracket/rankings? What does this type of decision teach and/or reinforce to the Fighting Irish players, especially those seniors who will not return next season?. . ."The Penn State Effect:" Penn State's prolonged coaching search following James Franklin's departure on October 12th created a market ripple, which essentially triggered massive contract negotiations and raises for other established coaches, such as Curt Cignetti (Indiana) & Kalani Sitake (BYU), as their current programs locked them into a deal for the foreseeable future, thus preventing them from becoming the next head football coach at Penn State University, making several HCs very wealthy in the process while Penn State initially struggled to find a new leader - - **NOTE: Per Thomas Carr of On3 Sports, the Nittany Lions' coaching search has allowed for seven other FBS coaches to earn a combined $370.8 million in contract extensions (aka "The Penn State Effect"). . .but then, it finally happened: Penn State football named & officially introduced Matt Campbell as it's next HC, becoming the 17th in program history, the school announced last Friday - - With Penn State's Board of Trustees' approval, Matt Campbell's contract is reported to be an eight-year deal running through 2033 with $70.5 million in guaranteed salary - - Campbell, the winningest HC in Iowa State program history, is a three-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, and he led the Cyclones for ten seasons (8 winning seasons) & two Big 12 Conference Championship game appearances - - Campbell, 46, went 72-55 throughout the decade he spent with the program, becoming its winningest HC last season - and he also went 35-15 as the HC at University of Toledo from 2011 to 2015 - - **NOTE: Campbell & his coaching staff have developed 15 NFL draft picks over the past seven years, including NFL stars Brock Purdy (QB/49ers), Breece Hall (RB/NYJ) & David Montgomery (RB/Lions). . .Q: What are your thoughts on Penn State AD Patrick Kraft's decision to hire Iowa State's Matt Campbell as the Nittany Lions' next head football coach?. . .Iowa State certainly did not wait around to find Matt Campbell's replacement: Just minutes after multiple sources reported that Campbell was finalizing a deal to become the Nittany Lions' next HC, the Cyclones made their move, announcing that the program was hiring Washington State's Jimmy Rogers - - Ironically, Rogers' hire was officially announced by the school prior to Penn State's official announcement regarding Campbell's hire - - Rogers, 38, signed a six-year contract that initially will pay him approximately $3 million per year, which is roughly double his salary in his one season at Washington State - - Rogers indicated that several members of his Washington State staff will be joining him as ISU - and as a defensive specialist, he indicated that he plans to install a four-man front, which will be a departure from the 3-3-5 alignment for which the Iowa State program has ran for the past decade. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard's decision to hire Washington State's Jimmy Rogers as the Cyclones' next HC?. . .After nearly two months of searching for its next head football coach, UAB (i.e., JD's alma mater) is turning to the option it had all along: The Blazers promoted interim coach Alex Mortensen to a full-time role. . .Mortensen, 40, spent the past three seasons as the Blazers' OC, and following Trent Dilfer's firing on October 12th, he led the Blazers to a 2-4 record, which included a win over then-No.22 Memphis as well as a shorthanded victory at Tulsa this past weekend that snapped the team's 17-game road losing streak. . .Q: What are your thoughts on UAB's promotion of interim coach Alex Mortensen to the permanent HC?. . .The UConn Huskies have announced their successor for Jim Mora: Jason Candle, the HC at Toledo since 2016, has been named the 33rd Husky head football coach after finalizing a six-year deal through the 2031 season - Candle was officially introduced as UConn's next HC at a press conference on Monday - - At Toledo, Candle had compiled an 81-44 record as the Rockets HC, winning the MAC Conference title twice in his ten years with the program. . .Q: What are your thoughts on UConn's hiring of Toledo's Jason Candle as Jim Mora's successor?. . .Memphis has hired Charles Huff as its next head football coach after his one season at Southern Miss - - Memphis AD Ed Scott announced the hire on Monday with Huff replacing Ryan Silverfield, who accepted the head coach position at the University of Arkansas on Nov. 30th - - In his one season at the helm for Southern Miss, Huff went 7-5 after taking over a program that went 1-11 in 2024, which was the program's best overall record since 2019 - - **NOTE: The six-win turnaround was actually one of the most profound improvements at the FBS level this season. . .Q: What are your thoughts on Memphis' hiring of Charles Huff as their next HC and as Ryan Silverfield's succesor?. . .LSU DC Blake Baker is remaining with the program, according to a social media post by Tigers HC Lane Kiffin on Friday afternoon - - Baker, who led the Tigers' defense the past two seasons, interviewed - and was thought to be a "strong candidate" - for the head coaching vacancies at Tulane and Memphis, however, Baker ultimately making the decision to remain in Baton Rouge with Kiffin, who prioritized retaining Baker, who is one of the nation's highest-paid assistants at an average annual salary of $2.5 million per year - - Under Baker, the Tigers ranked 15th in scoring defense & 25th nationally in total defense this fall. . .Q: In pursuit of achieving success at LSU, how important was it for Lane Kiffin to retain DC Blake Baker as a part of his staff?. . .Former Virgina Tech HC Brent Pry - who was fired from the program back in September, is set to return as the Hokies' DC under new HC James Franklin, sources confirmed to ESPN on Sunday - - In a highly unusual move, Pry will re-join the team he led from 2022 up until Sept. 14th of this year, when he was fired after an 0-3 start - - Under Pry, Virginia Tech went 16-24 with bowl appearances the past two seasons. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the highly unusual hire of Brent Pry as the Hokies' DC and/or as a part of HC James Franklin's staff?. . ."A [Really, Really, Really] Day:" Throughout the 2025 college football season, rumors circulated that Michigan Wolverines HC Sherrone Moore was in danger of losing his job - - No credible details surfaced, and Moore continued his duties, completing the regular season with a 9-3 record & participating in a news conference Monday to discuss the Wolverines' upcoming bowl game against Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl - - Two days later, the news came down: Michigan fired the 39-year-old head football coach for cause, following an investigation that found "credible evidence" that he "engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member," which is a violation of U-M's work policy - - This dismissal marked a troubling end to Moore's tenure at Michigan, which began in 2018 when he joined HC Jim Harbaugh's staff as the TEs coach, later becoming the OL coach & leading a group that won the Joe Moore Award (best offensive line) - - Moore's ascent continued as OC, and he stepped in for Harbaugh as acting HC during Harbaugh's Big-Ten imposed suspension late in the 2023 season - as the Wolverines went on to claim their third straight Big Ten title, and their first national title in the CFP era - - Then, Harbaugh returned to the NFL to become the head coach for the Los Angeles Chargers, and Moore was subsequently promoted to HC: His Wolverines stunned rival Ohio State in his first full season as HC, and went 17-8 over two seasons at the helm, but now, he's out - - "Alleged Assault" Probe: Per ESPN's Dan Wetzel, Moore was detained by the City of Saline Police Department and turned over to the Pittsfield Township Police Department - - Later Wednesday night, Wetzel further reported that, just hours after being fired as the head football coach at Michigan, Sherrone Moore was in custody in the Washtenaw (Michigan) County Jail as a suspect in an "alleged assault," yet details remained limited during the ongoing inquiry. . .Q: On a level from "A little" to a "SHIT TON," how shocked were you to hear about the news that Michigan had fired its HC Sherrone Moore? - - "A Michigan Man:" Unfortunately, Michigan is entering the coaching market at a precarious time, as all major openings have been filled and, perhaps more importantly, a number of potential candidates have re-signed lucrative contracts to remain with their existing programs - - Still, Michigan as a program can offer a lot: an iconic American sports brand with deep pockets & a recent run at both regional & national success, and should garner reasonably solid interest for the open head coaching position - - The school clearly needs a replacement with ZERO character concerns - - Beyond the coaching search, though, Moore's firing undoubtedly rocks this Michigan program just weeks prior to the NCAA transfer portal set to open - - JD & Spencer discuss & assess a few of the potential coaching candidates that Michigan AD Warde Manuel could possibly target to replace Moore, and they both provide their prediction as to which of the following candidates would be the "best hire" for the Michigan Wolverines football program moving forward (Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer, Washington HC Jedd Fisch & Los Angeles Chargers DC Jesse Minter). . . - NFL - - NFL Week 14 Review & Recap: In this week's episode, JD & Spencer will discuss, review & recap each of the following NFL games from Week 14 of the regular season - - **Be sure to tune in for an in-depth review, a highlight and discussion of the following game(s) from this past weekend's slate of games: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (**Packers move into first place in the NFC North division) Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (**Two Replay Review prove to be costly for the Ravens) . . .And This Week's Tradition's Finest "Most Badass Celly of the Week" Award goes to. . . .the Tennessee Titans' Defense: After recovering a fumble against the Cleveland Browns, the Titans' defense collectively performed the "Shedeur Celly" (which involves a player holding up their wrist up to their ear like a phone) - - This celebration, popularized in college by then-Colorado & current Browns QB Shedeur Sanders, has become a trend in the NFL, often used by players to "call out" the opposition - - The Titans picked up their second win of the season in a 31-29 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. . . Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills (**QBs combine for a total of 500+ passing yards & 8 TDs) Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs (**Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes finished game with 3 INTs/2025-26 NFL playoffs without Kansas City?!) - NFL (cont'd) - - "River Running Dry:"QB Philip Rivers, 44, who has not played in the NFL since 2020, is signing to the Indianapolis Colts practice squad, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday - - With Colts' starter Daniel Jones out for the season after sustaining a torn right Achilles injury in Week 14, and backup QB Riley Leonard (rookie) dealing with a knee injury, the Colts turned to Rivers as an emergency solution - - Rivers is currently a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2026, and his signing to the Colts' practice squad had no effect on his eligibility, however, if he signs with the Colts' active roster, his eligibility would reset - whether or not he takes a single snap in a game - and in this case, he would not be eligible again until 2031 - - The veteran QB has intimate knowledge of the Colts' offensive scheme and his working relationship with HC Shane Steichen will be seamless - as they worked closely during Steichen's days as the Los Angeles Chargers OC - prior to Rivers' one (and final) season with the Colts. . .Q: What are your thoughts on veteran QB Philip Rivers "unretiring" and signing with the Indianapolis Colts practice squad? Based on Indy's current QB situation and lack of depth at the position, does the 44-year-old Rivers actually line up under center for the Indianapolis Colts with just four weeks remaining in the 2025-26 NFL regular season?. . . - MLB - - First baseman Pete Alonso & the Baltimore Orioles are finalizing a five-year, $155 million contract, sources informed ESPN's Jeff Passan on Wednesday evening - - After failing to acquire the long-term deal that he coveted, Alonso made $30 million with the New York Mets in 2025 and was certainly worth every penny as he rebounded to slash .272/.347/.524 with 38 HRs and 126 RBIs, batting behind Juan Soto for the first time. . .but surprisingly, the Mets did not make the first baseman an offer, sources confirmed to ESPN - - In August, the five-time MLB All-Star became the Mets' all-time leader in HRs, surpassing Darryl Strawberry's previous record of 252 to solidify his place as one of the franchise's top players (Alonso now has a 264 HRs in his career). . .Q: What do you think was the deterring factor for the New York Mets as to why they did not make 1B Pete Alonso an offer, essentially allowing him to walk/sign with the Baltimore Orioles?. . . Thanks for Listening!