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Jimbo 2022: Balls To The Face


Neonmoon

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20 minutes ago, texifornia said:

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5stages.jpg

We've blown through "Denial" and "Anger" and, now we're entered "Bargaining" I guess. I just hope they don't rush "Depression".

Edited by UncleSonny
just realized I used a stages of grief chart for a divorce. Oh well, still sort of works
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2 hours ago, texifornia said:

E66_lCcXoAMDY6R?format=jpg&name=900x900

Everybody hates Texas and doesn’t want to be in a conference with them. Also their current conference mates will fight like hell to keep them from leaving. 
 

someone should ask billy what it means when you leave and nobody asks you to stay.  
 

this all pairs well with Texas is leaving their old conference to wither and die, says fans of a school that left the conference to wither and die 10 years ago. 

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I am an old fart. Half if not more of these gomers were not around in the 60's and 70's to begin with. I watched James Street and a few others constantly kick the snot out of the gomers on a regular basis. To see these new wave fightin farmers talk about days past, they better crack a history book and discover who their daddy was and is. Lets wipe out the cheating years under bear, r.c. and fed-ex jackie and see what their real record is. Not to mention modern day johnny crackhead.

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Spoiler

Billy Liucci: So we're going to do this, take as many questions as we can get here before we head out. Jamie is working on the computer — (I’ll be) trying to get a little writing done on the plane, be a nice hour and a half, be able to spit something out. But everything's been pretty crazy, obviously the last few hours here, last almost 24 hours now. But things are happening all over the two states right now, between here and Birmingham, the SEC's presidents are meeting today that was already scheduled. But now obviously we know what the topic is. It wouldn't surprise me if there is a knock-down, drag-out fight or two in there before that thing's done. And then in Texas, you see in legislation being drawn up today, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU lawmakers, Texas A&M obviously is going to be helping out that. There's this thing, guys, of everyone being... the Longhorns and Sooners think A&M is worried about the move.

They're not worried about it. Texas A&M has been better than Texas on the football field seven out of the last 10 years. Those other three, they're probably coin flip games. This is a different A&M than it was when they joined the conference, and it's also a very different Texas. The fan base in Austin is unaware of that. For Oklahoma, I find it fascinating because they're going to be fine, they'll be fine in any league, but they probably have the most cakewalk path to the College Football Playoff of anybody. And now that this thing's going to 12 teams, then I feel like Texas and OU should be going virtually every year coming out of the Big 12. But it's not about that for them. It's not about on the football field. This is entirely money-driven. It is a financially driven situation, and they saw what the money looked like and that next deal with FOX, and they immediately started calling around. The ACC reached out to them.

Look, if Texas and OU are going somewhere, then Greg Sankey is going to say, "Wait a second." He's going to pursue going to 16 and adding, in my opinion, rather than having them go to the Big Ten, rather than having them go to the ACC and have to compete with stronger conferences or more money. So, I know Aggies get worked up about it and rightfully so, but this isn't entirely an A&M decision. This is an SEC decision. And when A&M joined the league, it was, I wouldn't say a wink, wink, nod, nod. Commissioner Slive verbally told several people that I've talked to all the time, board of regents, Bowen Loftin I believe can vouch for this, that Commissioner Slive, there was a verbal agreement that they were not going to add another team from the state. Times change, commissioners change. Again, none of that was in writing.

And if they're going to go to four 16-team superconferences one day, and if Sankey and company believe that's what's happening, then you do have to act accordingly. So understand that, but also know at the same time that A&M's going to vehemently oppose this, both behind closed doors and publicly, and it has nothing to do with what goes on on the field. It has everything to do with protecting the brand and protecting the sovereignty of being that Texas team in the (conference). Because you would lose an advantage that you currently have, without question. It was a big part of making the move. And A&M, you guys looking at it can clearly see that they benefited.

Nuño, hit me with some questions, and we'll tackle whatever everybody's got.

David Nuño: All right, this first one is coming from Agthatbuilds. This is happening, isn't it? And how long have you known?

Billy Liucci: I haven't known since about an hour before it all came out yesterday. It was the absolute very first I heard of it. It was presented to me as kind of already out there. I think SEC Rag, maybe they were talking about it. That was the site that I was told it was on. We were about to interview Sankey. I went downstairs and kinda showed the message to someone that would have been actively involved in that. And they kind of told me, "Yeah, this has been going on. They're trying to. Of course they are. And we've known about it, but it's not going to happen." So from that standpoint, I think A&M was, is, has been a little blindsided by how far maybe down the road this thing has gotten. If you made me bet money, I would say, "Yeah, it's going to happen," if I had to bet one way or the other, but far from a guarantee, far from a guarantee.

You have to understand what would go in. Remember the resistance A&M met to leave, and that was just one team leaving. And the whole pitch was that it was going to crumble the state of Texas. And there was the Perryman Report and what it was going to do to the economy and how it's going to crush these universities. Well, imagine now that A&M is gone and 10 years later, Texas and OU want to leave. It's going to be really difficult. There's a lot of power in Austin, in Oklahoma. They're going to try to keep this thing from happening ... because those teams (left behind) are done. Those teams are basketball schools, they’re Group of Fives, with only a couple of exceptions, if this thing happens. It will be a devastating blow to a lot of universities in Texas and Oklahoma.

David Nuño: All right. So this one is coming from KlinkerAg11. With Texas and OU in the SEC, how does the schedule look in your opinion?

Billy Liucci: Oh, I don't think they'd go eight and eight. I think they go pods that you're seeing and everybody had fun with today. And actually, if you take away the whole concept of letting these fools in that spent 10 years talking about how the SEC was overrated and top-heavy and A&M wasn't benefiting from being in it and yada, yada, yada, while playing in a much lesser league...if you take that out of it, there is some intrigue to it when you look at the way these pods have been drawn up and where the dividing lines are, and there's so many options, even just in the West. No, no, I think it would be a pod format and you'd play your entire pod every year, and probably two teams out of another pod and one team out of all the others. I don't know how they'd work it, but we'll dig into that a little more between now and, let's say, Monday when we come back on after the weekend.

David Nuño: All right, this one's coming in from TheDoctor. Scale of 1-10, confidence the addition or the declination of OU and Texas will be announced before the season starts? Do you think those will be known before the season starts?

Billy Liucci: Yes, I do think it will be known before the season starts. Well, let me put it this way. I think if it's going to be shot down, it will be before the season starts. I don't think this is like a few years ago where it's announced before the season, and then these two teams are playing in the SEC in 2022. I was getting into a discussion with Andy Staples this morning. He's actually going to be on tomorrow with us. If Andy was right, what we were talking about is he doesn't think there could be that much of a dead man walking, lame duck status multiple years in the Big 12 with that two, three years. But I do think there could certainly be a year, but not counting this year because I don't think it's going to start quick enough. I think this year is the struggle is going on and then next year will be the lame duck year. And I think if they come in, I think 2023 is the first season they're in the conference.

David Nuño: All right. This one's coming from Chef Demas2020. Is Texas and OU a package deal? Could one of the two join without the other?

Billy Liucci: I don't think so. I think they're a package deal at this point. I think this is, again, far enough down the road where this is a package deal. And I think that if everything falls through, I was sitting there thinking they could be a package deal to the Big 10 as well. I don't think that's the worst fit. I don't think it's as good a fit as the SEC. I know Aggies hate to hear that, but that would be a natural fit for the Southeastern Conference. If they were going to expand and just add those two teams, the division splits are pretty easy.

If they can't go to the SEC, I think they're stuck there in the Big 12 and they're going to have to make the most of it, and they're going to have to aggressively look to expand and not add a bunch of teams that aren't going to bring much to the table. That was part of what was going on, from what I heard, is Bowlsby was presenting teams that OU and Texas felt like were doing nothing to enhance the brand, nothing to establish an identity or culture, and nothing to bring real money to the table. And again, the feedback they were getting from FOX was really, incredibly discouraging, and that's what's led to all this happening.

David Nuño: Alright. Our next one is from boulderaggie. Is there any unwritten unanimous agreement when it comes to SEC expansion to preserve the conference unity?

Billy Liucci: No, there's not. And the whole idea that South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Florida are all going to be having A&M's back because they didn't want those teams to come in from that side. A&M, there is a real chance that the Aggies could get “new guy’d” in this deal, for lack of a better word. And if that happens, it might be where those schools say, "Yeah, if they add OU and Texas, then we're at 16 and we can be done worrying about the Clemsons and the Florida States and Georgia Techs of the world coming into this league." So that's a possibility as well. So no, you're not protected in any way. There's not a block that's going to always stand by you and vote for you in this deal. It's not going to go that way.

David Nuño: Alright. This one comes from FightinAggie07. If this comes to a vote and it's not unanimous, who are the nos and who are the abstentions?

Billy Liucci: I think A&M would end up being the only no, I believe. Now, if you think, in theory, who's going to really disagree with it behind the scenes? I think A&M, I think Arkansas. I've actually heard the Mississippi schools, which surprised me. I heard that last night from someone who would know. That surprised me. But these programs are going to voice their displeasure and their disagreements... Missouri obviously would. Their disagreement behind the scenes. But these things have a funny way of working out when you're sitting there and explaining to them what it means 5, 10, 20 years down the road, and in terms of money and also to present like, "Look, this is where college football is heading." Again, it goes beyond Texas A&M not wanting Texas in the conference.

David Nuño: All right, this one is from Landry Clarke. It says, is the goal of the SEC 16 teams or blank teams?

Billy Liucci: I think the goal of the SEC is... I don't think there's a specific set goal. I think it is to expand when necessary, to the point that they think it is optimal. And a few years ago, that was expanding to 14. I think right now, it would be to expand to 16 with an eye on the future. And I don't think they would necessarily stop there. Hell, it might be a 24... We might be where there's two 24 team leagues one day and that's it, and everybody else goes to a different status. And that is like your miniature NFL and they play on Saturdays and the NFL is on Sundays, and college football maybe signs one of those bajillion dollar contracts like the NFL does.

David Nuño: From gtb66, do you have a message for subscribers failing to embrace the change? 

Billy Liucci: I don't think I have a message for anyone failing to embrace the change. It's been 24 hours. You're not supposed to just sit back and be excited about... Look what Aggie fans have had to deal with from Texas fans.

But I would say this, I've said this. I mean this: Texas A&M is a better football program in Texas right now. Texas A&M is a top... I don't know if I want to tag that top 10 program, because to me, that's over time, but they're really close if they're not there yet. They were a top-five team last year. They've been in the final top five twice in nine years since joining the SEC. They're going to start off in the top 10 this year. They've been stacking top six recruiting classes.

Joining this conference, as frustrated as maybe people are today, has been the best thing that's ever happened for Texas A&M football. The best thing. There's nothing close to it. Yeah. There's nothing close. It's been the best thing that's happened to A&M football. And they're in such a better place.

I think Aggie fans, I wish could realize, not to mention Longhorn and Sooner fans, is when we're up here in Birmingham, just how much the league's embraced A&M and the fit culturally and on the field of play in all sports, and the respect that A&M has in this league. They're not thought of as the heavyweight, and they're going now getting mentioned as a team that could be a threat down the road to Alabama, not to become what Alabama is, but to break through a year here, a year there, be their singular biggest threat in the West. So really, I guess, they're in a position now where it's A&M and LSU really battling for that spot for the first time.

But the amount of credit and respect that A&M gets from the teams and coaches and media around this league, it's tremendous, and it's much more so than I think people realize. And they're a fair group too, because they always gave credit, but now as the Aggies have improved, and that's been noted. And they were talking about a lot here this week, pretty glowingly, maybe even in some instances, in my opinion, a little more so for a team that loses virtually their entire offensive line and brings in a new starting quarterback. And they're getting a ton of love, a ton of credit. And the reason why is Jimbo Fisher, the commitment to facilities, what they've done on the field lately, all of that stuff has added up to, again, I think they're right there at establishing themselves as a top 10 program.

So I ask you this: What top 10 program in college football would be overly concerned with a program that's probably, if you take away what the image is and the prestige, what they've actually accomplished in the last decade, a top 20 programs, why do you worry about them coming in? Texas A&M's in a great spot. Texas and OU might arrive in this league when A&M is a top-five team with top-five talent with a national championship head coach. So again, be careful what you wish for if you're the Longhorns.

David Nuño: Alright. We move now to agdoc84. We have been told for years that Texas would never be accepted into the SEC by three-fourths of the voting members. What changed? I know money, but that was known before. Is our new president involved in these discussions? I know in the past, Young and Loftin and we're leading the charge representing A&M. Is our president working behind the scenes, or is she even involved?

Billy Liucci: She's involved. She's here today. She's actually very athletics friendly. I would say more so than President Young, who just left. I think she's going to be a strength for A&M Athletics. She's actually here in Alabama today. And yeah, you can bet your ass she's going to be fighting for A&M in this situation. So is leadership from the top on down. But you got to be careful too, though. You fight this thing to a certain point and you let it be known you’re displeasured and you let it be known that you disagree with the move, but there's a certain limit to push it to when you realize, "Well, it's going to happen."

Here's the deal. And we're going to run to catch this flight soon, but this thing's going to die at the state legislation level. If it doesn't happen, it's going to die at that level. I don't think it dies at the SEC level. I think if Texas and OU are hell-bent and allowed to leave the Big 12, I think they end up in the Southeastern Conference. That's it. But if it dies, it's killed at the state level, political pressure, and there's going to be a hell of a lot of it.

David Nuño: Alright. Let me try to get another one in. Farmer Keith. Pete Thamel reported that if some of the East schools, Florida and South Carolina particularly, tell A&M they'll vote yes for admitting tu, A&M is prepared to present an 18 team proposal to the SEC, adding Clemson and Florida State. Is there any truth to the organized counteroffensive?

Billy Liucci: I've heard Thamel. I've heard the reports from Thamel. And not to discredit Pete, because he may be right, I have not heard anything about that. I did hear it suggested to me last night by someone higher up, but not representing Texas A&M, but it was just a suggestion. I don't know if that word got around at all, but I haven't heard anything formal that A&M was going to request adding Clemson or Florida State. I do not see that.

That sounds nice on paper, political play, a move to make. But Clemson and Florida State are not currently looking to leave. So yeah, maybe down the road, A&M says, "Hey, let's do this," and they're going to be all for it, if they decide to go to 18, or like I said, 24. But right now, this is entirely about Oklahoma and Texas and whether they're going to be here. Couple more...

David Nuño: Billy? Okay. Well, Billy, I was going to say that is 10 questions. How about you answer this one for me and give people a little background on what the last 24, 36 hours have been for you? Because you have been non-stop working the phones, getting the information right before it was all out there from our interview with Greg Sankey, to everything you've done. Just help set the tone of what you've been doing.

Billy Liucci: It's been wild. And like I said, we're going to work on writing some stuff on the plane. Between not having internet in the room, and you guys have seen it, it's every fifth step, I feel like... My man, Jordan Rodgers, is over here. We're talking his ear off. He is probably trying to work, but I felt like him at SEC Media Days. As you walked down that radio row, and after that news broke, everybody is trying to grab you. So it was really hard to get any writing done this weekend, more so than even usual, but a great time. I love seeing everybody hanging out with everybody. I had a great dinner last night with our friends from the SEC Network who did a kick-ass job as always for us. I think you guys got to understand how blessed we are to have the friendships we've got with a network like that, to have them come on and take their time all the way to Paul Finebaum this morning, sitting down with you and I, David.

It's been great, but it's been really busy and hectic. I've done a lot of radio interviews, kind of losing my voice here, but did a lot of, again, phone calls, networking going on for you guys to get all the latest in the last day. So if you've been listening to this segment, to David and I on radio, to our deal after at the end of the day yesterday, all our guests, you've gotten plenty. And I'm going to try my best to consolidate that in a written form. And what I don't get done on the plane, that'll be what we end up doing after dinner when I get back in Houston tonight. So be ready for it.

David Nuño: Billy, one more?

Billy Liucci: Yeah, let's do one more.

David Nuño: All right. Maximus, which pod are we most likely in? Obviously this is all-

Billy Liucci: Give me another one, because I don't know the answer to that. And there is no answer to that.

David Nuño: Can we get some updates on targets? I'm tired of hearing about OU and tu. That's from bkdag.

Billy Liucci: Okay. In closing, I've got a recruiting update written for Zane, and I have one final piece to write on it. So that will actually be coming out later tonight as well. It's going to be interesting to watch Texas do the human gymnastics to try to tell recruits now that they've been saying, "Don't need to play in the SEC," to all of a sudden saying, "Hey, we're going to the SEC." And then you're going to have A&M saying, "No, they're not." The recruiting conversations are going to be really interesting over the next couple of weeks between the two in-state powers.

David Nuño: Billy, I'll close with this. As a subscriber for many years and your friend for the last 15 years, watching you work today is part of the reason I came to TexAgs. So it was great from my perspective. And I'm not kissing up to the boss. I'm just telling my buddy the truth.

Billy Liucci: I know you are. And you know how much I appreciate that. And I'm so glad that we had you here doing this. And Olin, he's somewhere around here. He's a veteran of this thing. This is more than his 10th SEC media day, because he did them before TexAgs. Zane and Jamie, guys, for those of you that don't know, the behind-the-scenes crew. Zane has become a little bit of an attention hog lately. He's taken over for Dalton. But Zane and Jamie knocked it out of the park as well. They were incredible.

David Nuño: Alright, the delay is because I'm taking off my mute. Thanks so much, Billy. We'll talk to you guys later.

Billy Liucci: Thanks, guys.

 

 

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