The Carla and Crappy Show

Carla and Crappy Show: The National Title Edition

Well, friends, here we are again. There’s just one final game remaining in the college football season, which means that this is the final show of the 13th season of this here little pod.
One of us is still feeling the agony of defeat in the semifinals. One of us is feeling anxious over the chance of winning a national title. And one of us is in a hotel room already excited about Week 0 next season. Yep. That seems about right.
We begin, per usual, with an extensive look back at the Orange and Cotton bowls. Discussion points include Drew Allar’s fixation with Tyler Warren, Andy Kotelnicki’s end-of-game plan, Sark’s inexplicable goal-line playcalling and Jack Sawyer’s monster play that has already gone down in Buckeye lore.
And then … the game at hand.
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (7:30 ET Monday, ESPN): We’ll be honest – we underestimated Notre Dame this postseason. (Remember how we all picked them to lose to Indiana? Yeah. That.) But after pulling out a win against Penn State, the Irish have proven to be a formidable foe. They’ll likely be able to give the Ohio State ground game fits. But do they have the horses to keep up with the Buckeye receiving corps? We’re not so sure. And thus, we’re predicting a win for Crappy’s beloved … with a whole bunch of complicated feelings for that one pesky loss.
We wrap up our 2024-25 season by announcing our Bowlapalooza champion (and revealing the epic bobblehead trophy, which may or may not require burritos). We are grateful to our Bowlapalooza participants — Steve Cavendish, Dan Eschenfelder, Braden Gall and Jake Rose — for participating in the most ridiculous bowl preview show on the internet, and to Andrew Maraniss for joining us earlier this season after Vandy’s epic win. (Also of note, Diego Pavia will be back next season, and Auburn’s coming to Nashville. Anchor down!)
But most of all, we’re grateful to you — our listeners, readers, and viewers — who continue to tolerate us rambling on about college football for more than an hour each week. This show, quite frankly, wouldn’t exist without you. So, thank you.
And so … on to Season 14? We sure think so. Carla, Crappy and AJ will be back sometime in August (if not before!) to start the rollercoaster all over again. Cheers, friends.

Carla and Crappy Show: The B1G Semifinal Edition

A new year is upon us, and as this new era of college football continues, there are many important questions still to be answered.
How rich can the lore and canon of the Pop-Tarts Bowl truly become? What happened to Alabama? How good is the Big Ten? (We’re looking you squarely in the eyes, SEC.) And, most importantly, is it a valid marriage if a Cheez-It officiates the wedding?
Yes, we’re being just a bit ridiculous here, but that’s the nature of both bowl season and The Carla and Crappy Show. (You knew that already.)
The four College Football Playoff quarterfinal games were not ridiculous, however, unless you’re referencing Cam Skattebo’s MVP effort in the Peach Bowl. The New Year’s Four bowls certainly did not disappoint, and they’ve caused us to set our sights on something somewhat unthinkable at the beginning of it all: An all-Big Ten national title game. But before we get ahead of ourselves (OK, who are we kidding? We’re definitely getting ahead of ourselves.), there are two semifinal games to sort out which teams will be the final two standing.
Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (7:30 ET Thursday, ESPN): The Penn State ground game stood out in the Fiesta Bowl, although Ashton Jeanty still got his 100-yard game. The creativity on offense (minus a couple of dumb decisions) must continue in the semis. (Also, yes, keep hitting that Tyler Warren button.) While Notre Dame’s offense was not spectacular against Georgia, its defense held Travis Etienne to 30 yards rushing. That’s … not a lot. Combine that with the Irish’s return game, and the Nits will have their hands full.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 5 Texas vs. No. 8 Ohio State (7:30 ET Friday, ESPN): Ohio State has looked like a team possessed in the playoff. They’ve steamrolled Tennessee and Oregon and now take on a Texas team that nearly (and maybe should have) lost to Arizona State. It’s essentially a home game for the Horns, but do they have what it takes to slow down that Bucks offensive right now? Texas has not played a complete game yet this season.
We conclude with a reminder of the other national title games happening this week, including the DIII Stagg Bowl: Mount Union vs. North Central (8 ET Sunday, ESPN) and the FCS national title game between No. 2 North Dakota State and No. 1 Montana State (7 ET Monday, ESPN).
And so, yes, if the all-Big Ten national championship becomes a thing, you can expect to hear AJ as the host of our final playoff show next week … because Carla and Crappy may not be speaking to each other. (We kid. Kind of.) Enjoy all of the college football you can, boys and girls. The season is coming to an end. Cheers.

Carla and Crappy Show: The 2024-25 Quarterfinal Edition

We’ve reached the time of the year when, as the meme suggests, “we don’t know what day it is, what we should be doing, and we’re full of cheese.” While that list is nearly perfect, it doesn’t include that you can turn on your TV at almost any time and find a college football bowl game to watch.
 
Hi, friends. We hope you’re enjoying your holiday and Bowlapalooza seasons and basking in their glory. AJ, Carla, and Crappy certainly have been, and there’s even more consequential football in the next several days that require additional discussion, even if we’re all distracted by the Holiday Bowl.
We begin with a recap of the good and ridiculous stuff that we’ve seen thus far in bowl games, including the incredible FCS semifinals, bowl games that got unexpectedly chippy, and a quote for the ages from Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
We also look back at the first-round games of the College Football Playoff and dip our toes into the discourse on the lopsided openers and the validity of the playoff format and seedings. (Spoiler alert: Yes, SMU and Indiana deserved to be there.)
And then, before digging into the playoff quarterfinal games, we take a brief look at the lead-in bowl games on New Year’s Eve:
ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan (Noon ET Tuesday, ESPN): Even Crappy is pulling for the B1G in this one because, no, Bama didn’t deserve a playoff spot. We’re sorry. (Not really.)
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Louisville vs. Washington (2 ET Tuesday, CBS): It’s second only to the Rose Bowl in aesthetics and should be a good game to boot. (Also, shout out to the 2008 Sun Bowl.)
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 20 Illinois (3 ET Tuesday, ABC): We covered this game during Bowlapalooza, but have your snacking crackers at the ready.
Kinder’s Texas Bowl: Baylor vs. LSU (3:30 ET Tuesday, ESPN): This should be points on points on points on … well, you get the idea.
With the frivolity behind us, it’s time to get down to it. The field of eight will be narrowed to four in the … New Year’s Four bowls? (Is that what we’re calling them now?)
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Boise State (7:30 ET Tuesday, ESPN): The Nittany Lions went beast mode defensively in the first round. They will need that kind of effort again – without the help of the comfy confines of Beaver Stadium – to slow down Ashton Jeanty and the Boise offensive attack.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Arizona State (1 ET Wednesday, ESPN): Cam Skattebo is a delight … unless you’re trying to defend him. We’re all still somewhat confused about Texas. Which version of the Horns will we get here? And will they be good enough to shut down the Sun Devils?
Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon (5 ET Wednesday, ESPN): Oregon is fast and talented on offense, but if Ohio State can put together the same effort on both sides of the ball as it did against Tennessee in the first round, this rematch could play out differently than it did on October 12.
Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia (8:45 ET Wednesday, ESPN): No Carson Beck for Georgia. No Rylie Mills for Notre Dame. This game is going to be an absolute slugfest in the trenches. Hammer the under.
With friendly reminders about the end of Bowlapalooza (which continues on past New Year’s Day, friends!) and the DIII title game, we wish you all a continued happy holiday season. Enjoy that cheese … and all of the college football. Cheers, yinz.

Carla and Crappy Show: The First First-Round Edition

Hi, friends. We interrupt your Bowlapalooza viewing (and we do hope you’re enjoying the early bowl games!) for, well, something that we’ve never done before on The Carla & Crappy Show. And that’s because these games have never been played before … in some cases, literally in multiple ways.
Welcome to our first-ever #CnCShow CFP First Round preview.
Because we have just four games to evaluate, Carla, Crappy, and AJ take some time to recap a few of the interesting happenings since the end of the regular season, including Navy’s impressive win over Army, Marshall’s forfeiture of its bowl spot, and how Louisiana Tech found its way into a bowl game (AJ breaks this down and it’s wildly entertaining). We also look at other portal and coaching news and how we think Bill Belichick will adapt to the college game.
But then, it’s time to get down to business.
No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame (8 ET Friday, ABC/ESPN): The knock against both of these teams has been that they haven’t played anyone. But Notre Dame tends to get the benefit of the doubt, while Indiana gets questioned. Do the Hoosiers have a chip on their shoulder? We’ll see.
No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State (Noon ET, TNT): The game that should have been Friday night gets the Noon treatment. Penn State will have its hands full with Brashard Smith and the SMU offense. Look for heavy doses of Tyler Warren, especially without the services of Beau Pribula, who entered the portal.
No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas (4 ET, TNT): Believe it or not, this is the first-ever meeting between these two teams, and boy, do we have questions. Does Clemson have enough to topple the Horns in Austin? Which version of Texas do we get in this game?
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State (8 ET, ABC/ESPN): Speaking of questions, we have lots of them for Ohio State. Can a patched-up offensive line fend off a stellar Tennessee front seven? Can the Bucks put that huge season-ending loss behind them? The Vols would love to capitalize on the road.
With reminders about the FCS semifinals and DII and DIII playoff schedules (because you absolutely should watch those, too!), we wish you all a very merry and happy holiday. We’ll be back just before the new year to break down the CFP quarterfinals … which are four of the New Year’s Six bowl games. (Yeah, we know. It’s confusing. But it’s going to be a fun ride.) Cheers, yinz.

Carla and Crappy Show: The 2024 Bowlapalooza Edition

The conference championships have been decided. The College Football Playoff field is set. And so that can mean only one thing: It’s time to debate which coach we’d like to see get doused in mayonnaise.
Yes, friends, it’s time for the 11.5th Annual Carla & Crappy Show Bowlapalooza.
This year, in addition to being joined by long-time Bowlapalooza staples Jake Rose and Braden Gall, we add two newcomers to the frivolity: Steve Cavendish, editor of the Nashville Banner and college football aficionado, and Dan Eschenfelder, instructor in the MTSU School of Journalism & Strategic Media and the person responsible for Carla’s live guest picking appearance on Blue Raider Extra Point earlier this season.
The raucous conversation that follows may result in audible laughter and occasional bleeping. Consider yourselves warned.
In chronological order of kickoffs, the official Bowlapalooza 2024 game selections are:
The Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk - Cal vs. No. 24 UNLV (9 ET Dec. 18, ESPN): Steve’s pick gives us all the opportunity to learn what Art of Sport is. Also, it’s an excuse to talk about the Calgorithm and Barry Odom’s career trajectory.
StaffDNA Cure Bowl - Ohio vs. Jacksonville State (Noon ET Dec. 20, ESPN): Crappy (obviously) takes this game for his Bobcats, but this is yet another interim coaching situation … possibly for both teams by the time this game kicks off. Also, what’s StaffDNA?
DirectTV Holiday Bowl - No. 21 Syracuse vs. Washington State (8 ET Dec. 27, FOX): Carla takes this one because the Holiday Bowl is the gift that keeps on giving every year. Do you like points? Watch this game.
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop - Miami (OH) vs. Colorado State (4:30 ET Dec. 28, The CW): Jake takes this game because … well, sometimes the jokes write themselves. It’s on The CW. It’s Colorado. It’s southwest Ohio. It’s Snoop. It’s … just so much bowl goodness.
Valero Alamo Bowl - No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado (7:30 ET Dec. 28, ABC): The Big 12 buffet continues in a bowl game, and Braden is all over this one. Will Travis and Shedeur play? Deion says they will; we’re not so sure about that. Also, what’s fun to do in San Antonio?
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl - Marshall vs. No. 22 Army (9:15 ET Dec. 28, ESPN): Army veteran Dan takes this game as we know two things for certain: The Army roster won’t be changing and Bryson Daily is a delight. As for Marshall? What. A. Mess. #Understatement
ServPro First Responder Bowl - North Texas vs. Texas State (4 ET Jan. 3, ESPN): This game has AJ written all over it: A Fun Index in the upper 60s being played in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday. Just let this game wash over you.
Just for funsies, we talk about other Bowlapalooza staples and ponder some very important questions:
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State (2:30 ET Dec. 23, ESPN): Are waffle fries fries?
Pop-Tarts Bowl - No. 18 Iowa State vs. No. 13 Miami (3:30 ET Dec. 28, ABC): What’s your favorite Pop-Tart flavor?
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl - No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 20 Illinois (3 ET Dec. 31, ABC): Which Cheez-It commercial is the most annoying?
Duke’s Mayo Bowl - Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech (7:30 ET Jan. 3, ESPN): Other than PJ Fleck, what coach would you like to see get a mayo bath?
And then, because we’d be absolutely remiss if we didn’t include this one …
Birmingham Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt (3:30 ET Dec. 27, ESPN): We’re all legit excited about this one. The QB duel between Diego Pavia and Haynes King should be worth the price of admission. Which team caps a really good season with a bowl win … in a game without a sponsor?
Of course, we mention a whole bunch of other games in passing as well because that’s what Bowlapalooza is all about.
So, enjoy the silliness of it all and bask in this year’s bowl season. We certainly will. As always, we are grateful to our guest analysts for joining us. Carla, Crappy, and AJ will be back next week to preview the first round of the playoff. Cheers, yinz and y’all.

Carla and Crappy Show: The 2024 Champinchip Edition

It’s Week … oh, you know what? Who cares what week it is? We only care about one thing: It’s Champinchip Week, friends.
The dust has finally settled. (We’re looking at you, Big 12.) The matchups are set … and some are unexpected. And at least five of this weekend’s nine games have playoff implications. It’s gonna be a fun one.
But before we get into breaking down every title game this weekend, we take a look back … which is easier for some of us than others. AJ noted the feistiness of the weekend in general, but in a rare twist of fate, the Big 12 got the simplest possible outcome to its multiverse of options. (Go figure.) Carla learned that her Nittany Lions would be playing the B1G title game … at an IKEA. And Crappy? He has some thoughts about The Game.
After a review of the playoff rankings, we’re off to the races. And we start, naturally, with the Group of 5.
CUSA: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State (7 ET Friday, CBSSN): It’s a home-and-home for the CUSA title. The Toppers won this game last weekend on their home turf. Can they go to Alabama and win two weeks in a row? Or will the Gamecocks win their first conference title in FBS?
Mountain West: No. 20 UNLV at No. 10 Boise State (8 ET Friday, FOX): You want serious playoff implications on Friday night? This game’s for you. Boise’s looking to punch their ticket to the playoff and a first-round bye, but the Rebs may have something to say about that. The first matchup between these teams this season was a banger; we expect nothing less here.
American: Tulane at No. 24 Army (8 ET Friday, ABC): The Waves have done bad things to the troops this season. Can Army weather the storm? If they can, there’s a (really small) outside chance that they could sneak into the playoff.
MAC: Ohio vs. Miami (Noon ET Saturday, ESPN): A Battle of the Bricks rematch in Detroit has Crappy fired up. Can the Bobcats win their first conference title since 1968? We’re pulling for you, green.
Sun Belt: Marshall at Louisiana (7:30 ET Saturday, ESPN): The Cajuns have been rolling, but Marshall is a formidable foe.
And then, on to the Big Boy games. (But let’s be real; all of this week’s games are Big Boy games.)
Big 12: No. 16 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Arizona State (Noon ET Saturday, ABC): The simplest outcome in the buffet leads to a matchup that we’re pretty convinced will result in #ForksUp and a playoff berth for the Devils. Just as we all predicted at the beginning of the season.
SEC: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 2 Texas (4 ET Saturday, ABC): The Dawgs won the first meeting between these two convincingly. Has Texas learned anything since then? What we know for sure: Georgia has a lot of work to do to recover from 8 OTs last weekend.
Big Ten: No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 1 Oregon (8 ET Saturday, CBS): The Ducks have been dominant all season. Can James Franklin win a big game that isn’t against Ohio State or Michigan? Carla’s going to be there to find out. (Also, smash that Tyler Warren button, Nits.)
ACC: No. 17 Clemson vs. No. 8 SMU (8 ET Saturday, ABC): This title game could cause the most chaos in the playoff. A Tigers win – and an automatic berth – could wreak havoc on the seedings. While we typically root for chaos, we’re all in on the Show Ponies.
And finally, we throw in one last game for good measure:
Navy vs. No. 24 Army (3 ET Dec. 14, CBS): An interesting wrinkle is that Army is playing for a conference title. They’ve been the stronger academy all year, but with the additional game, does that level the playing field for Navy? (You already know how we all picked in this game.)
There you have it. The 2024 conference season will be in the books by Sunday, and we’ll turn our attention to the most wonderful time of the year: Bowlapalooza. We’ll be back soon with that frivolity … as well as all of the playoff discussion that you can handle. Enjoy the big games this weekend, yinz. Cheers.

Carla and Crappy Show: The Rivalry Buffet Edition

It’s the final week of the college football regular season, and you know what that means — it’s rivalry, or, uh wivalwy week. And while of the conference drama has settled down since last weekend, there are still plenty of scenarios — we’re looking at you, Big 12 — to be decided on Friday and Saturday.
 
Week 13? It was utter chaos, and it left Alabama likely out of the playoff picture and cemented Kansas as the scariest 5-6 team in the country. The chaos didn’t catch Carla — whose Nittany Lions escaped Minnesota with the greatest fake punt in the history of college football — or Crappy, whose Bobcats and Buckeyes flew through their penultimate regular season games with flying colors.
 
We begin with the fallout from the weekend, as AJ takes us through the latest CFP rankings — hello, Show Ponies and Sun Devils — before we dip into an expansive look at the title game possibilities across the Group of Five, along with a less-expansive look of what could happen in the Big 12; that was out of necessity, because AJ went went 15 deep and was only scratching the surface. 
 
There were too many fun G5 games to note here, but Crappy will be especially interested in Miami (Ohio) at Bowling Green (noon Friday, ESPNU) and the whole group will be pulling for the Mountaineers as Appalachian State visits Georgia Southern (6 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+).
 
And then we have this week’s slate of big boy games; some of these may look like mismatches on paper, but listen, boys and girls — you know how rivalry games can go.
 
On Friday:
 
Mississippi State at No. 14 Ole Miss (3:30, ABC) The Bulldogs aren’t good, but will the Rebs still be reeling from their upset in Gainesville last week?
 
Georgia Tech at No. 7 Georgia (7:30 p.m., ABC) Georgia is favored in a big way, but Tech has pulled off a couple of big upsets this season — is there one more on the way?
 
On Saturday:
 
Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State (Big Nude, Fox) Will Crappy finally be able to put three years of anguish behind him? The consensus is yes.
 
No. 8 Tennessee at Vanderbilt (noon, ABC) Here’s the sad fact: In spite of it being the home of the Commodores, Nashville is a UT town. Look for Vandy to keep this close, though.
 
No. 15 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson (noon, ESPN) South Carolina is one of the hottest teams in the country, but can they keep up with a solid-but-unspectacular Clemson team in Death Valley?
 
No. 5 Notre Dame at USC (3:30 p.m., CBS) The Irish have cruised since their baffling loss to Northern Illinois. Can the talented Trojans put together the perfect game they’ll need to beat ND in the coliseum?
 
No. 6 Miami at Syracuse (3:30 p.m., ESPN) While this game does have implications for the ACC title game, it’s on the list pretty much for the 67.5-point AJ Fun Index. Pointsy.
 
Auburn at No. 13 Alabama (3:30 p.m., ABC) Alabama is reeling like they haven’t reeled in maybe decades. But they’ll find a way on Saturday.
 
Purdue at No. 10 Indiana (7 p.m., FS1) The Hoosiers should rebound from the loss in Columbus and beat Purdue to take the Old Oaken Bucket.
 
Washington at No. 1 Oregon (7:30 p.m., NBC) The Huskies beat the Ducks twice in 2023 on the way to the national title game. We’re betting Dan Lanning hasn’t forgotten.
 
No. 3 Texas at No. 20 Texas A&M (7:30 p.m., ABC) Will the Longhorns put to rest the grumbles about its schedule? Or will the Aggies get the home win in this resurrected rivalry?
 
In her parting shots, Carla is sad that 2024 is year without a Land Grant Trophy game but she’s going to dig up no fewer than five screens for the evening slate — along with a big bowl of mashed potatoes. And Crappy reminds us that Carnegie Mellon opens the playoffs on Saturday and has a few more words about Ohio State’s game against the Team Up North.
 
And with that, Carla, AJ and Crappy embark upon their respective Thanksgiving weekends. We hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend as well and we hope you’ll join us next week — because it will be Championship Week.
 
Enjoy the games, yinz — and pass the stuffing.

Carla and Crappy Show: The Math is Hard Edition

It’s Week 13 of the college football season … and AJ is deep into spreadsheets, if/then formulas, and opponent cumulative winning percentages. And that can mean only one thing: Either he’s got way too much time on his hands … or we’re getting close to the end of the season and conference title games. (Hint: It’s the latter. Mostly.)
Hi friends. Yes, believe it or not, there are just two weeks left in the regular season … and approximately 13,000 options and tiebreakers to determine conference championship participants. 
Some of last week’s games helped ease confusion. Ohio State and Penn State picked up expected wins. Oregon escaped Wisconsin, while Indiana rested. So the Big Ten’s pretty straightforward. Same thing with the ACC. (Yes, really.) It’s a three-team race between Miami … and Clemson and SMU, which both found themselves in spicy games last weekend. (Sorry, Pitt fans.)
But the Big 12 is undoubtedly eating itself. (See: Kansas over BYU.) AJ walks us through this week’s buffet options, which, pre-Thanksgiving week, are plentiful, including No. 16 Colorado at Kansas (3:30 ET, FOX) and No. 14 BYU at No. 21 Arizona State (3:30 ET, ESPN).
The SEC? Well, that’s just a hot mess. Maybe even as much so as the Big 12. Georgia remembered how to play football last weekend, South Carolina is indeed peaking at the end of the season again, and Florida knocked off LSU in the Swamp (much to Ellie’s delight). 
The one thing that is clear? There’s a Pac-12 title game this weekend, which AJ is all over: Washington State at Oregon State (7 ET, The CW).
Crappy also poses an interesting question: Which team would you absolutely not want to play right now?
On the #GroupOfFiveAfterDark slate this week, we have some dandies, which AJ is very excited to discuss: No. 24 UNLV at San José State (10 ET Friday, FS1), James Madison at Appalachian State (2:30 ET, ESPN+), Air Force at Nevada (10:30 ET, FS1), Colorado State at Fresno State (10:30 ET, CBSSN), East Carolina at North Texas (3:30 ET, ESPN+) a with good and proper Fun Index of 72.5, Sam Houston at Jacksonville State (Noon ET, CBSSN), and Western Kentucky at Liberty (Noon ET, ESPN+). (Carla’s not super excited about that last one.)
And then, the big boy slate:
No. 5 Indiana at No. 2 Ohio State (Big Nude, FOX): Crappy has all kinds of feels about this game. Can the Hoosiers prove themselves against a top-tier opponent?
No. 9 Ole Miss at Florida (Noon ET, ABC): Yes, the Gators are seemingly on a roll to end the season. But we’re fairly certain that roll stops this weekend. Ole Miss just has too much offense … and a good defense, too.
No. 4 Penn State at Minnesota (3:30 ET, CBS): More Tyler Warren, please. He may be the difference-maker for the Nits in this one.
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 19 Army at Yankee Stadium (7 ET, NBC): Goodness, how much fun would it be for Army to knock the Irish out of the playoff? Do they have the physicality to keep up with Notre Dame?
While AJ continues to do math, Carla offers her honorable mention nods to Vanderbilt at LSU (7:45 ET, SECN) and the home finale for her Blue Raiders, New Mexico State at MTSU (2:30 ET, ESPN+). (Hi, Jake!) Crappy again sends his magical vibes to you regarding Ohio at Toledo on Wednesday evening (Spoiler alert: OU won, 24-7.), and offers a soliloquy to the upcoming playoffs.
Enjoy the football this weekend, kids. It’s been a super fun season (never mind the math thing), and it’s rapidly coming to an end. Cheers.

Carla and Crappy Show: The 99 Points on a Tuesday Edition

Have you ever tried to record a podcast while a MAC game is in full-on MACtion mode, resulting in an overtime contest with a combined 99 points? 
Neither had we. Until this week.
Hi, friends. Welcome to Week 12 of the college football season. And if Tuesday night is any indication, we’re in for a wild ride. But that’s what usually happens when the slate appears to be a little lackluster. And guess what we have this week? Yeppers. Buckle up.
We begin, as always, with a look back. Carla recaps her super fun experience as the celebrity guest picker on Blue Raider Extra Point, then questions what the heck happened to Georgia. Crappy was pleased with his Buckeyes and the Army defense. Carnegie Mellon and Ohio picked up big wins as well. Robert Morris and MTSU? Sadly, not so much.
And, of course, of all weeks for AJ not to be joining us live … not only did we get a bunch of points on Tuesday night, but Miami finally FOed in spectacular fashion. He was, however, able to join us through the marvel of audio recording technology from somewhere on the road in the Midwest to offer us this week’s #GroupOfFiveAfterDark report.
Then, we’re on to this week’s big-boy games, including a healthy heaping from the Big 12 buffet.
No. 3 Texas at Arkansas (Noon ET, ABC): We keep calling the Hogs, and they keep letting us down. Is this the week they finally do it again? Or do the Horns keep rolling?
No. 20 Clemson at Pitt (Noon ET, ESPN): Which team do we believe? Based on our analysis of this game … it’s neither team. 
Utah at No. 17 Colorado (Big Nude, FOX): The Utes are still miffed after last week’s Holding War loss to BYU. They’re solid defensively, but the lack of any semblance of offense causes us to give the edge to the Buffs.
No. 23 Missouri at No. 21 South Carolina (4:15 ET, SECN): Uh oh. South Carolina is peaking at the end of the season again. We’ve seen this film before. And we don’t think it’s going to end well for the Tigers.
Arizona St. at No. 16 Kansas St. (7 ET, ESPN): The main course on this week’s Big 12 menu is a doozy. Both of these teams still have a shot at the conference title game with a win here.
No. 7 Tennessee at No. 12 Georgia (7:30 ET, ABC): Insert shoulder shrug emoji here. We can’t get a read on either of these teams. Will Nico be ready to go? Which version of Georgia shows up for this one? If the Vols win, they’re sitting pretty for an SEC title game berth.
Kansas at No. 6 BYU (10:15 ET, ESPN): The Big 12 buffet has a late-night menu this week. The Jayhawks have looked good the last couple of weeks, but we still like the Cougs here.
Carla gives her honorable mentions to No. 4 Penn State at Purdue (3:30 ET, CBS) and No. 22 LSU at Florida (3:30 ET, ABC), with a shoutout to Robert Morris at Central Connecticut State (Noon ET, NEC Front Row) in a battle for second place in the NEC. Crappy, meanwhile, really, REALLY wishes he was going to be at Wrigley on Saturday afternoon for No. 2 Ohio State at Northwestern (Little Nude, BTN), and again sends telepathic signals for you to watch Wednesday night’s Eastern Michigan at Ohio game … which has already happened by the time you’re listening to this pod. And oh, just for AJ, North Texas at UTSA (8 ET Friday, ESPN2) and No. 18 Washington St. at New Mexico (9:30 ET, FS1) both have Fun Indexes of 72.5. So get your eyeballs on those games as well.
Enjoy this week’s college football action, and we’ll see you again next week. Cheers, yinz.

Carla and Crappy Show: The Celebrity Guest Picker Edition

It’s Week 11 of the college football season … and nothing makes sense.
Sure, MACtion is back, and we’re as excited about it as ever. And yes, the Big 12 looks like it’s definitely going to enjoy a potential buffet this weekend.
So why, then, is Carla wearing a “Yay Feetball” sweatshirt during the week when she hates college football? What was Penn State’s fourth-quarter goal-line play calling all about? What happened to Clemson? And Texas A&M? And Pitt? And Wisconsin?
Well, friends, we don’t have answers for everything. But we can provide some hope.
And that is, in the midst of all the chaos, the Carla and Crappy Show has finally made the big time. Carla will be the “celebrity” guest picker on Blue Raider Extra Point this weekend, live from the Grove on MTSU’s campus in Murfreesboro prior to the Liberty game. (Right now, the stream is scheduled to begin at 9 ET Saturday morning and will be available on the True Blue TV app on your streaming device or the MTN Sports YouTube channel. We’ll update as we get more details.)
To celebrate, we break down the entirety of the CUSA slate (so that Carla has good notes to take with her), which includes Kennesaw State at UTEP (4 ET, ESPN+), Jacksonville State at Louisiana Tech (4:30 ET, CBSSN), Western Kentucky at New Mexico State (6 ET, ESPN+), and of course, Liberty at MTSU (1 ET, CBSSN). 
But also? We now have Carla and Crappy Show merch. Carla needed something branded to wear on the show, which AJ was all about creating. This means that, yes, friends, very soon, you too will have the ability to have your very own Yay Feetball shirt (once we figure out how to get the shop set up). Stay tuned to carlacrappyshow.com (which is also a thing that works now!) for more details.
And then, oh yeah, right, we still have games to discuss. A lot of games. 
After we break down the initial College Football Playoff rankings (because those, ahem, also happened on Tuesday), AJ gives us a slightly abbreviated #GroupOfFiveAfterDark report, which still includes some dandies: Arkansas State at Louisiana (5 ET, ESPN+), No. 25 Army at North Texas (3:30 ET, ESPN2), and UNLV at Hawaii (9 ET, CBSSN) to name a few.
The big boy slate is pretty stellar as well:
No. 3 Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss (3:30 ET, ABC): No consensus here. This game is loaded with mystery and huge conference implications.
Michigan at No. 8 Indiana (3:30 ET, CBS): Ten Win-diana? Yeppers. And at least one of us thinks it will be a statement win, too.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt (4:15 ET, SECN): Uh oh. The Gamecocks letdown game is in Nashville. Diego, are you ready? (We think it’s possible.)
No. 11 Alabama at No. 15 LSU (7:30 ET, ABC): With Saban no longer on the sideline, can Bama keep its Bedlam-esque streak alive? In Death Valley? Or do we see a purple Brian Kelly?
Washington at No. 6 Penn State (8 ET, Peacock): The forecast calls for a whiteout in Happy Valley. Welcome to the Big Ten, Huskies? We’ll see.
We wrap things up with a quick edition of How Will the Big 12 Eat Itself This Week? (still not trademarked), which features some prime buffet options, including No. 20 Colorado at Texas Tech (4 ET, FOX) and No. 9 BYU at Utah (10:15 ET, ESPN). Also, Crappy has his eye on Purdue at No. 2 Ohio State (Big Nude, FOX), and AJ and Carla are extremely vested in Robert Morris at Duquesne (Noon ET, radio only).
So, there you have it. Nothing makes sense. But we’re hoping we can provide you a bit of levity and hope in the chaos, both in college football and … well, you know. Enjoy the games this weekend, watch Carla on Saturday morning, and we’ll see you back here next week. Cheers, yinz.