Transcript of REACTION: University of Miami Made The Catch... Or Maybe It Didn't | Local Hour

I don't actually know what any of your opinions are on this, but I feel like I can guess. Zazlow, I walked into a very spirited room where a whole lot of people were talking about whether it was a catch or whether it was not a catch, and I checked out before realizing whether anybody in the room thought it was not a catch. Did anyone in the room think it just simply wasn't a catch, or all our emotional biases are on display here?

I mean, I think the only one you could look at would be Jeremy. Like, that has to be the only one who would say that it's not a catch.

No, he's not the only one. I didn't think it was a catch.

Well, you also called the Carson-Beck interception.

I'm down the middle on this one.

I was right, though.

I'm not sure. I've been on both sides of it, kind of teetering back and forth.

Well, I think that's the fairest and most accurate answer. Like, I think that that is the— it is right on the line. I remember many, many, many years ago the University of Miami lost a national championship before replay because Cleveland Gary clearly did not fumble at the goal line.

They mentioned it in the broadcast.

But clearly and obviously did not fumble, but it was before replay. Now I have replay. I've seen it plenty of times. I still don't know. Like, I know I'm supposed to have some sort of firm opinion on this, but my opinion on this is: many years ago I thought that was obviously a catch, and now I've been indoctrinated over the last few years of brainwashing where you've got to complete a catch in the NFL and I'm confused about what a catch is. I've looked at the pro rule book. I was on page 11 of the NFL rule book. I was on page 42 of the collegiate rule book.

Where do you keep them in your house?

I still don't know whether that was a catch or not, and the collegiate rule book has a great little thing at the end that I want you to see and hear because of how funny it is, okay? At the very end of how the collegiate rule book examines this, there's a sort of an editor's note at the end, Zazlow, where it says, "When in doubt, it's incomplete."

What?

Yes. If there's doubt, the ruling has to be an incomplete.

I mean, I think that makes sense.

So no tie goes to the runner in this situation.

The opposite.

We have different rule books.

What's the rule book that you have?

The one that says it was a touchdown.

Well, no, it's— like, Dan, hasn't the most common— the most common, I guess, complaint after the game hasn't been people saying, "That's a catch." It's been, "How is that not a catch?" Right? Those are two different things. Like, that has been— that's been what I've been saying for the last two days is not, "That's a catch. That's a touchdown." It's, "How is that not a catch?"

I— when I first saw it live, my initial reaction was, "That's not—" My entire life, you've had to complete the play. Like, that just did not look like a catch. But then as you dissect the film, I've come around to where my stance is now: if it's not, it should be.

My initial feeling was that it was a catch. I even tweeted as such, and then I woke up the next morning feeling sort of like a bad night out in college where I was like, "What did I do last night?"

The fact that the rule book— Rule 234, okay— says that if it's doubtful, it's got to be an incompletion. That was doubtful. Like, there was doubt there.

He did get two feet down, and then he gets a foot out of bounds.

Yeah, the crux of the argument that it's not a touchdown comes like, "Oh, he bobbled." But he bobbled after he stepped out.

I don't even think he bobbled it.

No, he doesn't.

I'm talking about—

That's another thing.

What are you talking about?

No, no, no. That's another thing because in the NFL, you know that, like, the ball can move after you have control, and I don't know how you display that you have control more than moving a ball back from behind your head down to your midsection, then stepping out of bounds. Yeah, sure, bobble. Yeah, sure, hit out of his hands. All that stuff happened after the play was dead.

Evidently not.

Football, football, football. Football is back, Jack. Oh my, we've waited for so long. We're so damn excited that we put it in a song. Don't need no checkdowns. Give me big hits and quarterbacks. Keep your fantasy team from falling off the track. Football is back, Jack. Whether on the ground or through the air, when the chips are down and you throw a prayer, when your team is primed and on the hunt, it's 4th and 10 you refuse to punt.

It may be redundant to say, "Get me that video of a pissed-off Mario Cristobal because he's always a degree of pissed off," but I want to listen to this sounds as, and I thought this was as strategic as it was emotional. You have a sport with judges. I want you to imagine if the NFL had those. After every Sunday, if you could just go to the judges and make a bunch of complaints, and at the end of the season, they'll decide whether you're in the playoffs or not. Mario Cristobal, I thought, did a very smart thing because the entire news stream was filled on Sunday morning.

Really, really disappointed that they negated Elijah Lofton's touchdown with two hands on the ball and two feet in bounce. But like we told our team before we left Miami, do not leave it in the hands of the officials because that's what you're going to get out here. So aside from that, a very hard-fought game. Congratulations to Notre Dame for winning the game, and very disappointed in the way that was called with the game on the line and clear possession of a football in bounce. So anyways, questions, please.

Did the referees give you any explanation?

Zero.

Zero.

Did they even come over?

Zero.

He said zero!

Explanation. Zero.

She's asking again. She said zero.

The losing side in this case falls to number five, falls from number one to number five, and I do believe that Miami can lose two times and will still get into the playoffs. That this loss, the way that it was lost, if it had kept going down the path it was going when it was 24 to 3, I would not be able to say what I'm saying now, which is I believe that that didn't actually cost Miami very much, all things considered, okay?

I actually— obviously, I didn't like the Canes losing, but I came out of that game feeling better with a loss than I think I would have felt if you told me before, "Hey, they're going to lose this game." Like, I would have figured that they may not be as competitive as they were, like as if the game was going to continue to go the route of 24 to 3, not that they came back and they had a chance to win in the end. Because I leave that game saying, "You know what? They're going to be fine these final three games of the regular season.

No, I still have that.

Was that they wouldn't be good the remainder of the season.

I still have that fear. You still had that fear in the first half. You still had that fear. They could lose to Duke. They could lose to Virginia Tech. They cannot lose.

But I feel better now than I did before.

To Boston College. You can feel better if you want. You didn't in the first half. It's one half of football that ended up making you feel better, and it was one half of football that ended up making you feel bad. Look, this is what happened in that game. Could have been decided by a face mask. Could have been decided by a pass interference. What it was decided by is Miami's quarterback threw the interception that Notre Dame's quarterback did not. Notre Dame's defense made the play that Miami's defense did not. Miami cannot get pressure on the quarterback. They stink at getting pressure on the quarterback.

CJ Carter did make that throw. It was the first pass of the game. But we've been obsessing over tackling, that we didn't even make a play on the ball, but that was a pick six. Did you see the sideline? We were celebrating. Like, that— there were so many parallels to the national championship game and that Miami was just chasing the game the entire time. At halftime, you feel like you're dead in the water and you're proud that you fought, but down to the Ethan O'Connor should have had a pick six, it was the natty all over again.

So this is the fourth number one AP team to lose by the first week of November. That has not happened in 36 years, where you just keep getting the number one team dropping this way. There wasn't much of a difference between those two teams. Whatever— neither team could run the ball. Both of the teams were throwing the ball very well. Mensah in the second half.

I thought both the teams ran the ball, like, pretty— like, 100 yards in 91. Like, I think the argument is they probably should have ran more.

Mike, short-yarded situations, Miami was a disaster in that game.

Yeah. Well, that first half was really telling. On the rewatch, I felt a little bit better about it. I think both teams are kind of close.

You rewatched that?

Yeah, because I thought we got our asses kicked at the line of scrimmage by a team that had a bunch of backups along the defensive line.

You kind of did. 34 pressures on 45 dropbacks. 34 pressures.

I thought Mensah did well with the pressure there. Only two sacks. We grew into that game, and I think Miami kind of figured stuff out by the end. I think both teams are really fortunate that it's become about the catch/non-catch thing because, number one, Miami came out and they were filled with self-doubt. They don't know what their identity is without Malachi Tony. They called a scared game, and it looked really, really bad. And I was saying in the group chat, I think the best thing for us is to be down multiple scores here because at that point, you have to start throwing. You have to trust your Heisman quarterback to just shake some of that stuff off.

When it was— you know, you're right about the way that they called the game. I guess I think it was 10-nothing at the time, right, when the Canes got stuffed on the goal line. And they made the point on second down how the Canes have not run a QB sneak the entire season. And on second down, they run a QB sneak, he gets stuffed, and then on third down, they run a QB off tackle, which, of course, he also gets stuffed again. Like, they haven't called that play all year.

No, no. And then, though, and then they kick a field goal. And the thing that I wanted to talk about is you can be pleased with their running game. They didn't trust it, Mike.

No, they didn't. And I don't think they— I think they would have got stuffed on fourth down. The issues were the play calling. Everybody wanted to see Fletcher four times.

It was weird.

And the math suggests Fletcher four times. Whatever. Considering the push that Notre Dame was getting there, I didn't like it. I actually liked the off tackle look. Mensah had a hole. He's just not that type of runner.

Right. I thought he had a hole, and he ended up getting nothing.

No, because he, like many on our team, were surprised by the athleticism and power and the closing speed of.

I thought they were going to go for fourth down. And of course, you can look at it two ways. You know, Mario kicking the field goal there as opposed to going for fourth down and getting stuffed gave them a chance at the end of the game to tie it. Or if you go forward and pick it up, you know, you get to kick a field goal.

I get the frustration, but in that first half, we did not know who we were without Malachi Tony, except we knew that we were scared. And in a drive that starts at your own 16, you're like, "I can't not come away with this here."

I do know who they were in that game. They're a team that didn't trust its running game, couldn't do anything in short-yarded situations. It's the first time they've allowed 20-plus pressures since Cristobal took over, and they allowed 34. Not 20. They allowed 34. All they could do is ask their Heisman Trophy winner to drop back. And every single time he did, he had to make a play with limited receiving weapons that usually Malachi Tony ends up bailing him out because he was under pressure all game. He was spectacular.

Yeah. And by the way, the short-yarded stuff, that's all impacted because of Malachi being out there because they know that they can totally sell out for it. You're bad in the goal line situation because Mali is such a weapon down there. You don't have your tall receiver anymore in Josh Moore, so that takes away fade options. So you can totally sell out on short yardage, and we saw that play out. I grew encouraged by that because there's no reason whatsoever that Miami should have had the opportunity that it had, that Mensah had the opportunity to make the throw that he did at the end of that game because in that first half, that was a thorough ass kicking.

Here's one of the things, though, that I couldn't help but notice because the last couple of years, I have argued, Jazz, that Cam Ward and Carson Beck have been allowed to play a different form of football than most quarterbacks. And you know who got to play that Saturday? CJ Carter. He's unbothered. Like, they don't have a pass rush. They cannot get pressure on the quarterback, and so everyone throws for 300 yards and multiple touchdowns against them. It doesn't matter who it is. Doesn't matter if it's North Carolina. Doesn't matter if it's FSU.

Yeah. The experienced guys have been torching us. And flatly, the edge rush was pretty pathetic. Damon Wilson is, you know.

He hadn't done anything.

Everyone's really complaining. Knudson's Clemson. Everyone's really complaining. Funny enough, I think he has more sacks than Bane had at this point in the year.

No, he's only got three and a half sacks. He had nine and a half at Missouri last year.

Yeah, but like Bane wasn't— everyone thinks that Bane was this crazy sack artist. That's not how he impacted the game. But he would get pressure off the edge, and right now, Miami is severely lacking there. The edge from Notre Dame— Miami had one mismatch on that field. One mismatch. And it was Lofton, who looked incredible and got banged up in that game, and we'll see because he's a type of player that gets severely impacted when he has any type of injury. But dude, the fact that Miami had that throw and essentially tied the game.

That's what I'm saying. I felt encouraged.

It's crazy.

I felt encouraged. I did. I felt encouraged. I feel good about these final three games when I was going to be really worried without Malachi Tony. Can they lose one or maybe two of these final ACC games, not even make the ACC title game now? And I don't feel that way now. Like, I think they're going to be fine, and they're going to get to the ACC title game. And you know what? If Tony's not available on December 5th and the ACC Championship game ends up being their second loss, then guess what? The ACC is going to get two teams into the playoff.

I think they lose one more before the ACC title game.

Well, then— okay, if they lose one more.

They can. They can.

No, but then you lose the ACC title game and you're a three-loss team. What happens?

You get what you deserve.

I mean, there's precedent losing a championship game and as a third loss and getting in.

And the ACC is, in all likelihood, based on what the committee has done so far, only going to get one team in the tournament. But I would say to you that what Cristobal did strategically and emotionally in complaining about this is the thing that gets you in at number 12 because people start factoring in, "Was that a real loss? Can I explain the loss? Is it a game that I can look at and say, 'Yeah, Miami's got three losses, but that one on the road against Notre Dame isn't a disqualifier.'"

Is that fair?

Yeah. The guys' linebackers are what they are at this point. They're bad at pass coverage. They're experienced. They're going to hit you really hard. I don't think we're using Toore to the best of his ability. I think we should use him against the pass because he was exceptional. I think 13 and a half sacks at Rutgers, and I think it could probably help some of the other issues. But like you mentioned, Dan, flawed team. They're flawed teams everywhere. There are four defenses in the nation that I think could make Miami very uncomfortable, even with Mali out there. Indiana, Texas, Georgia, and the one that we just played.

Dan Le Batard.

What is the worst part of the life?

Jonathan Sassolo.

The worst part of the life of what?

This is the Dan Le Batard Show.

Where do we guess they'll fall tomorrow night?

I don't know. I don't know. I think they're still top 10. I don't think they fall down to 11.

I think it's 7 or 8.

Yeah, probably.

But Notre Dame jumping ahead of them.

I'm interested to see what they do with Wake. I'm surprised that Wake is favored by two and a half at SMU.

I don't think that they're going to fall very far, and I believe— I will say it again just because I think it's worth noting. I want you to imagine, after that Sunday game of football, Sunday, all of Sunday in the NFL, I want you to imagine us now going to a committee and saying, "Should Carolina have won that game against Denver? Do you think that we should elevate Carolina because they had the game won and it was a fluky challenge call that altered that game?" Going to judges for a scorecard on whether or not you are as good as you think you are, I thought that's the reason that Cristobal did what— I didn't think that was just a hissing radiator.

That's all I was thinking about that entire drive was, "Is he going to go for two?"

You guys mentioned that. Like, I was a little frustrated when we were down 14 that we didn't go for two. That's how math works.

That's not a college thing, though. They never do that in college. It is a math thing, but they never do that in college.

Considering the struggles in short yardage there and the fact that they didn't go for two when they were down 14, I don't think he goes for two in that situation.

I think you try and stick— like, at that team, Notre Dame.

Mario Cristobal is not going for two there. I don't think.

At that team, I think he considers it strongly.

I think he considers it, but it's— you know, he kicks it for two.

I would have liked anyone to have the bravery to ask him, but everyone was afraid of how hissing he was afterwards.

I'm with Dan. I do think that he did that with intent, and it's a good deflection. Look, as much as I think that was a catch because everything that— every single argument that people make about why it wasn't happen after the play is dead, it just boggles my mind. But the better, more physical team won that game, and it's not often that Miami gets out physicaled. And yeah, there was no Malachi Tony. Notre Dame had a ton of injuries on that defensive end. So I think that this is about— I do agree that this was the best result for college football, especially if these two teams meet again and especially if Malachi Tony is on that field.

Well, isn't that why you have to— isn't that why you have to have some type of hope that the committee is going to allow Miami in the playoff because, man, who doesn't want to see that game again?

Well, I'm telling you that they're going to get in even if they have multiple losses because of how that played out. I'm going to keep saying to you guys, "That's as well as a loss could have gone for Miami. If you're going to lose, lose by a play that's controversial that has everyone complaining about whether it was a catch or it wasn't." But I'm going to repeat what I said during the Shadow Show because I think this is the way that many people listening to this who don't have a bias experienced everything that happened there.

Same, man.

I don't know whether that's a catch or not. It used to be, but it's not anymore.

We can agree it should be.

It should be.

It's not.

It's two feet and bounds and the ball in your hand strongly in the end zone. That used to be a catch, but the NFL has done this thing that you got to continue. And this just speaks to how bizarre football is. All right, so if you're a receiver in the end zone, you have to catch the ball, put your feet down and bounce, survive falling to the ground, survive your own weight crashing it while a defender is punching at a ball the entire time and also landing on you. But if you're a running back, you can get a pubic hair over the line and someone punches it out. It doesn't matter. Plays that immediately. If you're on the offensive line, you can't flinch.

Without trying to be funny now, what would have made that a catch? If he got the two feet, he got one foot out of bounds. If he got a second foot out of bounds.

If he chucked the ball.

No, I'm being serious. Like, I'm not even funny.

If he just like established the two feet and then just displayed it.

Well, this is where we are, though, with the microscopic sort of examination of every little thing that happens in football, even though on the replays you're watching it at a slower speed than anyone on the field is watching it at. When you say the phrase, "I don't know what's what," that's what you have that is the fairest commentary about this. And now everyone's taking their extreme positions on that absolutely was a catch or that absolutely was not a catch when "I don't know what's what" is the accurate appraisal, but no one's allowed to sit it out.

I mean, I feel pretty strongly that it was a catch, but I'm a Miami Hurricane, and every self-disclosed hater that was rooting against Miami in that spot seems to think that it wasn't. And I hear their arguments. I see the still.

I don't hear them.

I don't disagree. I don't disagree. It's just, for me, every single thing that they're pointing to happened after the play was dead.

If they called it a catch, would they have overturned it?

No. I don't think so. I think it would have been a help. I listened to what the referees said. They said play of hell. They didn't say play confirmed. I think if that— the rulebook says it's supposed to be called a touchdown.

How? Why? What does the rulebook say?

Well, when you get a foot in bounds and possession of the ball and you make a football move, and he made two. Again, I cannot make a stronger argument for control than when you pull a football back from behind your head and bring it down to your midsection without it moving. I cannot. He got two feet in. He stepped out of bounds. And that player, who had a whale of a game, did a very smart thing to make the referees think about it. And it happened so quickly that Lofton did not even know he caught it. It was a very difficult play.

I don't get it. Whoever the rules expert was in the broadcast was so quick to say that it's incomplete.

You mean the Notre Dame broadcast? Yeah. The Notre Dame broadcast thought that it wasn't a catch.

I mean, it's not a Notre Dame broadcast.

Look, there have been a lot— Mike Pereira was like, "It's not a catch." Gene Serratore is like, "It's subjective."

What do you mean it's not a Notre Dame broadcast? Isn't it a Notre Dame broadcast?

It is a Notre Dame broadcast.

No, but those guys know Eagle and Todd Blacklidge. Like, NBC does other games.

Brother.

Brother. They do other games.

That's their Notre Dame team.

No, I know, but like, they do other games.

NBC has other games. Yes, but that— are you trying to tell me that that's not a Notre Dame broadcast? The Notre Dame broadcast.

No, Eagle and Todd Blacklidge are not Notre Dame's broadcasters.

What are you talking— Notre Dame has been on NBC my entire life.

I know.

That is a Notre Dame broadcast.

If Alabama and Miami were playing on ESPN, it wouldn't be an Alabama broadcast just because they're on ESPN all the time.

Right. Exactly.

What do you— guys, they're partners with those teams in those leagues. I understand. But know what? Eagle is not a Notre Dame broadcaster. I'm not doing this with you. I am not entertaining that the NBC broadcast is not a Notre Dame broadcaster.

Jeremy, he knows where his bread's buttered. They broadcasted Notre Dame games. Those aren't Notre Dame broadcasts.

You should know better. You should know better.

I'm being fair.

Look at me. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person?

Chris, look up the contract Notre Dame has with NBC, please.

We cannot entertain this.

Well, but I'm going to—

Jeremy's right. Jeremy's example is a perfect example.

Jeremy's a hate-and-ass hater.

It's a good example.

Whoa.

I said it was a catch.

We've brought out all the hate-and-ass haters. I see Jessica behind Mike Ryan there with the blasphemous upside-down you. I saw that Billy Gill had some commentary. He's emerged after they finally lose. Let's get that sound, please, of Billy Gill. And Chris, what did you locate when you looked that up for me?

Their deal, which runs through 2029, is 50 million annually for Notre Dame.

So just to be clear, the network that you're saying is not broadcasting Notre Dame games is paying 50 million a year to broadcast exclusively Notre Dame games.

Yeah, but they're not Notre Dame broadcasters.

Don't entertain this stupid person.

They're paying $50 million a year to have the exclusive rights outside of a conference to one team on an exclusive arrangement unlike any other in the sport in which Notre Dame's games are broadcast nationally on NBC, which doesn't do a whole lot of college football because Notre Dame pays exclusively $50 million a year for the Notre Dame rights to football.

Okay, if you— we've had no Eagle on the show. The next time we have no Eagle on the show, if we say to him, "What team's games do you broadcast?" You think he's saying that he broadcasts Notre Dame games?

He gets to decide.

He does that every week.

No, he works for NBC. He has NBC games, and he does other games that are not Notre Dame.

I'm not doing this with you.

Good. I'm not doing it either.

I'm not doing this with you.

I made my point.

I'm not. Every week, week in, week out, Notre Dame audience goes to that broadcast. They cater to their audience and have for decades.

So are Sean McDonagh and Greg McIlroy, when they do Alabama versus a team that's out of conference, are they Alabama broadcasters?

No, they're—

You're right. They're not.

They're more impartial because they're more impartial.

What are we doing? Why are we doing this?

I don't—

They're the exclusive broadcast home of Notre Dame football. The exclusive televised broadcast home of Notre Dame football. They're paying $50 million a year to be the exclusive sponsor. You can say they're aspiring to objectivity if you want. You could say that the broadcasters are trying to be professional. You can't say it's not the exclusive home of Notre Dame football.

It is the home of Notre Dame football, but those two broadcasters are not Notre Dame broadcasters.

This is too much time on this.

They do other games.

This is too much time on this.

All right, play the Billy Gill hate-and-ass hater commentary.

Who? This is their first real game this season. Like, get out of here.

Oh my God. Pour Miami.

They played a real schedule. They'd have two losses at least. They almost lost to FSU.

Whoa.

They almost lost to North Carolina.

They almost lost to North Carolina. Like, they haven't played anymore.

The U was back.

They punished Notre Dame for the one loss when they got screwed with the clock, when they still had time on the clock. And they even acknowledged it the next day. And they're like, "Well, they haven't played anyone." So they have to be like, "Your number one team in the country hasn't played anyone either."

All they've got. Such a hard road UM has had to go on this year. It's so unfortunate.

I want to see that.

They're undefeated because they haven't played anyone this year. Get out of here.

Okay. All right. Come on.

Poor UM.

Billy put in a win.

Poor UM. Billy put in a win.

Who are these people?

I mean, they need to stop talking over each other. Can you guys tell me, is that an allegation that you can make at every team in college football they haven't played anybody?

It's a weird one with Miami when you consider the opposing winning percentage of the P4 opponents that they've played is actually one of the better ones in the nation.

But I'm just saying, when it comes to we've had four number ones fall before the first week of November. It's the first time that's happened since 1990. We all know there are flawed teams unless you guys are believing that this is the year that Utah and UCLA win the championship. I believe we all feel like everyone out there is a little bit flawed and that you can say, unless you've got SEC bias.

Except Texas. Texas has played a tough schedule.

You were so eager to say that that I just said, "Unless you have SEC bias," and you didn't even hear it because you were so eager to give me the SEC team that has played other SEC teams that aren't any good. Lane Kiffin can come in to his stadium surrounded by all sorts of VIPs. He's lost half his games.

Are you stupid?

Lane Kiffin just keeps losing, and you guys are going to tell me he plays a tough schedule because he plays in the SEC because everybody in the SEC has two losses. What happened to that Kentucky team we were saying or I was saying is the best Kentucky team there's ever been? I feel like everyone in college football, you can make the claim they haven't played anybody.

I feel like it's even more asinine than Zaz saying Notre Dame and NBC aren't in cahoots to say that Texas hasn't played a tough schedule.

They cannot entertain this.

You can acknowledge this. You can acknowledge that Texas has played a tougher schedule than Miami. It's okay. It doesn't mean that it's SEC biased to say that playing also Ohio State on top of Tennessee and Oklahoma and Florida and Ole Miss and Missouri, that's a tough schedule.

I didn't make that argument. Texas does play. But people do this thing with Miami. Who have they played? They've played tough teams in terms of winning percentage, and they played Wake Forest, which looks really freaking good right now.

You're welcome to say Texas if you like. My point still stands. Just about every team in the country can say, "Who the hell have they played because of the state of college football?" It's just where it is that we are with all of it that I just saw Notre Dame playing. I'm like, "Eh, man. You won. Congratulations, but not impressed."

I can't believe that Notre Dame allowed Miami back in in that game. And I'm really confused as to how the defense and yeah, frustrating again over 340 yards passing, right? They came up with timely stops though. And you could just see it on the sideline, people getting tight there. And I'm really surprised and kind of grateful that this is the discussion because both for Notre Dame and Miami, it's puzzling as to how we got to that Elijah Lofton moment.

Dan Le Batard.

John, can you rate my Al Pacino from that billiard scene in Carlito's way if I do it for you? I think it's pretty good.

Yeah.

Jonathan Sassolo.

You think you're big time? Well, you're going to die. Big time.

That is on my infamous scale of 1 to 10. That's a 7.6.

Solid. Good job, dude.

Good job, dude.

Good job. That's a Suey nominee right there.

This is the Dan Le Batard Show.

I just want to tell everybody that I put into Google machine who are Notre Dame's television broadcasters. And I want everyone to know I might have had this wrong because it says right here, Noah Eagle and Todd Blacklidge.

This leprechaun that you guys keep showing, and I had this feeling on Saturday night because they like to go to the close-up of the Notre Dame leprechaun. And I don't know whether it's haunting or creepy, but it's not a good time. Like, it's not fun. The Notre Dame leprechaun is not fun. It's got an undercurrent of evil to it. And I know it's a holy school, but that guy, in terms of how it is that he auditioned for that position, he came in and he haunted the hell out of the judges. He does a very good leprechaun. He does a very good sinister leprechaun face that cannot be trusted anywhere.

I have a million jokes I could make. I'm not comfortable with any of them.

What is he holding? Zaz is also kind of wrong. The primary broadcast for Notre Dame is Dan Hicks and Jason Garrett. For the primetime games at night, that's when they pivot to the more neutral broadcasters in Noah Eagle and Todd Blacklidge.

Look, stop being stupid. It's Notre Dame's broadcasters.

What?

Stop being stupid. How did this happen to me?

Do you believe, Zaz Lo, that the grand majority of the honest public listening to this that does not have emotional bias experiences the entirety of that catch the way that I experienced it, which is six years ago, it's a catch. Everything that's happened to my brain in the last six years of Saturdays and Sundays has altered the way that I receive information. And so you have to continue the movement. And I am now used to and have seen enough defensive backs reach in and punch a ball away when a guy's on the floor or when he's done with what used to be a catch in my mind.

Boy, he's got bounce though.

And yes, I know, but I think that that's.

But it's over. But it's over. There is no bobble. There is no more play.

That's not over.

There is no more play. I concede. Yes, the ball, even though it's in his control, it does move. And yes, it's hit out of his hands, but that's after his foot comes down and out of bounds.

You say that, but how many times have you been watching and they're different rule books in the NFL and college. How many times have you been watching a guy in the NFL, the play should be over, his knee is down. He's down. His elbow's down. His forearm's down, but somebody knocks it out so that he doesn't complete the holding of the football or the ball shifts a little bit.

In bounds.

When it moves on the turf. Yes, in bounds.

In bounds. But I've never seen a player catch a ball and then electively take a step out of bounds and that play continue the way that it did. The play is dead. I don't disagree. But everything that you're saying, according to the rule book, is a dead play after that.

I think you have to still be holding onto the ball when the next series starts.

My official take is it didn't look like a catch, but it should be a catch. There's my take. That's the stance.

Miami got outplayed on offense. Miami got outplayed on defense. Miami got outplayed on special teams. Miami lost their turnover battle. And if Malachy Tony is out there, Miami wins that game.

That is what the committee will have in front of it over the course of the next few weeks. And I believe that while this loss will not come with an asterisk for Miami, it will come with context that allows people to be more gentle with Miami going forward, as well as everybody wants to see Malachy Tony and Mensah in the playoffs. So I believe that Miami's actually in a very good position in a game of the century that didn't actually matter that much to them.

I mean, losing that game last night, what if I told you losing that game last night is the difference between the Canes getting a first-round bye or the Canes getting a home playoff game? Like, that'd be really fun. Canes getting a home playoff game against a team they'll be favored against? I don't know. Isn't that bad?

What? You just peered out there. What happened? You just started on.

It's not bad. That's all I'm saying. I'm trying to spin something positive out of the game the other night. I am. And that's something positive. A Canes home playoff game.

Mike is sitting here saying that the rule is the rule, and he checked the rule book, but I checked the rule book too. And the last item of a catch in the college rule book, which is different than the professional rule book, is if there's doubt, it's incomplete.

The rule off. But there's no doubt that he stepped out of bounds. There's no doubt. Like, had full control, brought the ball from back behind his head down to his midsection, had two feet, not just one. Two feet down in bounds, took a step out of bounds, and then everything that you have to say about what happened after the fact absolutely happened. But it is moot because it happened after the fact.

Let me switch gears here for a second to just something that is a controversy between Giannis and Doc Rivers because Doc Rivers, who is known throughout NBA circles as someone who is charismatically phony and does a lot of things to help Doc Rivers as opposed to anyone else, he says that what happened to him in Milwaukee is the fault of Giannis, not of Doc Rivers, that Giannis was good enough to win a championship without Doc Rivers, but then when Doc Rivers got there, Giannis suddenly wasn't smart enough.

Doc Rivers was on the podcast and said that he felt like you can be not so easy to coach, that it's sometimes difficult to get the best out of you. Just what does it kind of feel like to hear that from Doc from your old coach?

Oh my God. First of all, he's not my uncle. He's not my coach. My coach is Coach Paul. But he's a guy that is a coach that I've worked with in the past. Speechless. He made those comments when? Today?

A couple of days ago.

Yeah, you got to go. You have his number, right? You do. I know you do. You got to go ask him why he thought that. That's on him. That's not on me. I just got to focus on my team and what I got to do and how I can be better and how can I help the team. But God, man, that's crazy. Never let, I don't know, bitterness or pettiness get in front of your goals and dreams, man.

He sounds legitimately surprised there.

He sounds disgusted.

Well, the most disgusting part of it isn't even in there. The question wasn't even in there where he called him basically a low IQ player. They didn't ask him about that. If he had heard that, you might have gotten more commentary from him because of how insulting that is.

I was hoping the reporter would have asked him that, but that's kind of delicate to say to someone's face. You're low IQ.

Nobody. It's Doc saying it. You're relaying the message.

I know. I know.

You can put it on Doc. One of the things that this terrible heat start has uncovered is that Giannis is not the same defender. And it's pretty shocking to hear an NBA coach who coaches a superstar like that say that kind of stuff.

Well, but this sentence, he has this great passing ability, but he doesn't have a super high IQ at the same time. He really has only one way of playing. Every play he wants to force it. I wish he'd learn how to execute better.

I can't believe that guy's in the Hall of Fame. I really can't. I can't.

Yeah.