# INSTANT REACTION: Ohio State DOMINATES Michigan, Scrap Conference Championships? Lane Kiffin’s Future, Should Texas Get In?

An episode of [The Colin Cowherd Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1551365571), 29 Nov 2025, 18 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/arttrk.com/p/D5CA5/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/4013d28e-5f67-4885-bff1-ae3300346830/c9f53342-26aa-492c-a51e-b3a4015c6cbe/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=e829cf60-fc06-4d61-8691-ae330034683e

Colin gives his instant reaction to Ohio State blowing out Michigan, and Ryan Day & the Buckeyes snapping their losing streak to the Wolverines. He credits Ohio State’s physical play, incredible secondary play and lauds quarterback Julian Sayin. He wonders if the conference championship games need to be scrapped in their era of the college football playoff and discusses the future of Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. Finally, he debates whether Texas should be allowed into the playoff with 3 losses after beating previously undefeated Texas A&M. All lines provided by hardrock.bet (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

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[1:29] Speaker 1: All Right, I thought I would have an immediate reaction
[1:33] Speaker 1: to Ohio State's win over Michigan. I had said, I
[1:39] Speaker 1: knew Ohio State would come out a little tight as
[1:42] Speaker 1: a heavy favorite, and I thought, you saw that in
[1:47] Speaker 1: the first drive of the second half and had a
[1:49] Speaker 1: fourth and two and have really been able to pick
[1:52] Speaker 1: up yards when they need him today and they punted.
[1:56] Speaker 1: I thought that was a moment to go for it.
[1:58] Speaker 1: Whether it was analytically or not. It felt like a
[2:01] Speaker 1: moment between Jackson and Julian Sayan. Their tight end play
[2:06] Speaker 1: has been good today. Ohio State's got better people right now.
[2:10] Speaker 1: I think they have the better coaching staff, and they
[2:12] Speaker 1: have better players. I know everybody thinks I love Sam Darnold.
[2:19] Speaker 1: I think Julian sand as the best footwork and release
[2:24] Speaker 1: an accuracy I have ever seen from any twenty year
[2:28] Speaker 1: old college quarterback. Ever. I text two people today, one
[2:32] Speaker 1: a quarterback coach and somebody else who had seen him
[2:36] Speaker 1: play in high school in southern California, and their takeaway
[2:41] Speaker 1: was always been smart, keeps it head on straight, keeps
[2:46] Speaker 1: the thing the thing, always had a good arm, can
[2:49] Speaker 1: just let it rip. Accuracies always been pretty effortless. So
[2:54] Speaker 1: I didn't see anything other than YouTube stuff. I never
[2:57] Speaker 1: watched one of his high school games live in southern California.
[3:01] Speaker 1: But he is he is a remarkably gifted college quarterback.
[3:06] Speaker 1: And two things can be true. He's not Tom Brady
[3:09] Speaker 1: and never will be. And his footwork and release and
[3:12] Speaker 1: accuracy remind me of Tom Brady, and it just jumps
[3:15] Speaker 1: through the television Listen. Underwood is big time as well,
[3:20] Speaker 1: But I'm talking about what professional gms are looking for
[3:24] Speaker 1: and coaches Julian Sand. And I know he's only twenty,
[3:27] Speaker 1: He's still got some college time. He is as good
[3:31] Speaker 1: at college quarterback poise, accuracy, footwork, release, He is really
[3:37] Speaker 1: something else and he has been all a year. And
[3:39] Speaker 1: remember that Texas game. We were all talking about arch Manning.
[3:42] Speaker 1: Arch Manning looked nervous. Julian Sand did not, and that
[3:48] Speaker 1: was one of the biggest openers in the history of
[3:51] Speaker 1: college football. So listen, I think Ryan Day deserves a
[3:56] Speaker 1: lot of credit. First it's Chip Kelly and then it's
[3:59] Speaker 1: Matt Patricia and to be able to bring those guys
[4:05] Speaker 1: in and you know, let them coach speaks volumes of
[4:10] Speaker 1: Ryan Day. Listen. I thought last year Ohio State was
[4:15] Speaker 1: the much better team. Obviously they won the national championship,
[4:17] Speaker 1: but I thought the game. I thought Ryan let the
[4:22] Speaker 1: game get into his head. And I thought they played
[4:26] Speaker 1: very conservatively early in this game. And I think that's
[4:29] Speaker 1: because they felt like, listen, we got better players, better team,
[4:33] Speaker 1: We're gonna wear them down over our twelve thirteen possessions.
[4:37] Speaker 1: We're just going to beat this team up physically. And
[4:39] Speaker 1: you saw in that fourth quarter, middle of the fourth
[4:42] Speaker 1: quarter drive by Ohio State running the football, you know,
[4:46] Speaker 1: they were just picking up junk yardage. They were moving
[4:49] Speaker 1: fairly effortlessly down the field. I don't think there's a
[4:53] Speaker 1: better college football team at Ohio State. I think this
[4:57] Speaker 1: Ohio State team is better than last year's Ohio State eighteen.
[5:04] Speaker 1: Not at running back, although Jackson's really slippery, really good.
[5:10] Speaker 1: You know Judkins and Trevon Henderson are you know, that's
[5:15] Speaker 1: like Sony Michelle Nick Chubb for Georgia years ago. That's
[5:17] Speaker 1: pretty unprecedented. They have two backs that good. But the receivers,
[5:24] Speaker 1: the quarterback, the linebacking group, the secondary, they're really good.
[5:31] Speaker 1: They just don't give you Everybody was critical of Underwood
[5:34] Speaker 1: at half. You know he'd only produced twenty five yards.
[5:37] Speaker 1: Ohio State doesn't give you any openings. I've been saying
[5:39] Speaker 1: this all year. I know it's not a pro secondary,
[5:43] Speaker 1: but it the openings Ohio State allows you are tiny,
[5:49] Speaker 1: little football sized boxes. There's just when you hit that
[5:53] Speaker 1: camera angle from you know, the quarterback view for Michigan
[5:57] Speaker 1: or anybody that's played Ohio State this year, I couldn't
[6:00] Speaker 1: tay the last time I saw a secondary with smaller
[6:03] Speaker 1: windows for a college quarterback to throw into. So it's
[6:06] Speaker 1: it's not a game plan, it's not Underwood. It's and
[6:09] Speaker 1: marsh is a huge talent. Michigan's got really good wide
[6:12] Speaker 1: receiving talent. They didn't most of Jim Harbaugh's reign. You know, Harbor,
[6:17] Speaker 1: I've said this before his entire career, whether it was
[6:20] Speaker 1: the Niners, whether it was Michigan, whether it was Stanford.
[6:25] Speaker 1: You know, I've never thought he's had an amazing receiving core.
[6:28] Speaker 1: O line, D DOT O line, D line, quarterback play, toughness, physicality, smart,
[6:34] Speaker 1: all those things that Harbaugh brings to the table. But
[6:37] Speaker 1: I thought during his Michigan run, they were not you know,
[6:40] Speaker 1: they were not special at wide receiver. Michigan now has
[6:43] Speaker 1: got some really good perimeter players. There's just not a
[6:46] Speaker 1: lot of openings. I mean, Ohio State's got three or
[6:49] Speaker 1: four guys defensively that are going to walk into the
[6:51] Speaker 1: NFL and be stars as rookies. It's a really special group.
[6:55] Speaker 1: And I think Ohio State to me feels a little
[6:57] Speaker 1: bit like Alabama before Kirby Smart took the job at Georgia,
[7:03] Speaker 1: where he just kind of felt like in a big game.
[7:06] Speaker 1: You know, Obama Ohio State. They look a little faster,
[7:10] Speaker 1: They look a little bigger, look a little faster. The
[7:13] Speaker 1: difference is Julian sand I mean, listen, he's not eligible
[7:19] Speaker 1: for the draft, but when he is, there's nothing about
[7:25] Speaker 1: him I don't like. I mean, the game now has
[7:27] Speaker 1: a couple of minutes left in it. He's sitting there,
[7:30] Speaker 1: snow everywhere on the road. Twenty seven to nine. Lead,
[7:37] Speaker 1: Look at just change to play at the line of scrimmage.
[7:41] Speaker 1: Here we go. I'll do it live. I mean, this
[7:43] Speaker 1: kid is really yep ottled into a run on third
[7:49] Speaker 1: and six and they got within a football of getting it.
[7:53] Speaker 1: I mean, windy, snowy, I mean through that touchdown pass
[7:58] Speaker 1: to Tait that was blowing side ways. So you know,
[8:03] Speaker 1: it's just really impressive. And Ohio State since that lost
[8:08] Speaker 1: to Michigan last year, has just been a different program.
[8:13] Speaker 1: They have galvanized everything, didn't make a ton of mistakes,
[8:18] Speaker 1: the coverage doesn't break down. This is sort of what
[8:23] Speaker 1: I thought we were going to get today. I think
[8:27] Speaker 1: I said I thought it was going to be thirty
[8:28] Speaker 1: to thirteen, and right now, fourth and one for Ohio
[8:32] Speaker 1: State at their thirty eight yard line. Time out called
[8:39] Speaker 1: so the Big Ten championship will be Ohio State one
[8:44] Speaker 1: against Indiana two. I don't know how long conference championships
[8:48] Speaker 1: are going to last. What's the point? Like, what is
[8:53] Speaker 1: the point? It's just playing another great opponent. I mean,
[8:56] Speaker 1: if I was Ohio State, I would want to face
[8:59] Speaker 1: Indiana once. I wouldn't want to face them the conference
[9:01] Speaker 1: championship game, beat him by fourteen points and then have
[9:04] Speaker 1: to face him again. Kurt Signetti and that staff are excellent. Like,
[9:08] Speaker 1: I wonder about the viability of conference championships games. I mean,
[9:12] Speaker 1: I just do you want to have another seventy plays
[9:15] Speaker 1: for guys to get hurt? I don't. I mean the
[9:17] Speaker 1: playoff is so grueling. I mean, you've got your big
[9:20] Speaker 1: rivalry games at the end, then you have the playoff
[9:23] Speaker 1: can be up to three four games. Do I need
[9:25] Speaker 1: another game lodged in there? Ohio State picks up with
[9:31] Speaker 1: four minutes to go, a first down, leading twenty seven
[9:34] Speaker 1: to nine, that will make it official. Yeah, those conference
[9:41] Speaker 1: championship games doesn't feel like they'll be around forever. And
[9:46] Speaker 1: what's scary if you're going to face Ohio State is
[9:49] Speaker 1: this weather was built for Michigan because in terms of
[9:55] Speaker 1: perimeter players. Ohio State has no peer in college football,
[9:59] Speaker 1: So I mean this, what could get in the way
[10:02] Speaker 1: of a really slick offense is bad weather and it's
[10:07] Speaker 1: snowing and it's windy and it's cold and you're on
[10:09] Speaker 1: the road. No effect. The only thing that's kept points
[10:14] Speaker 1: off the board for Ohio State today because in this
[10:16] Speaker 1: fourth quarter they're picking up yards when they need to.
[10:20] Speaker 1: They've worn down Michigan A. Michigan's defense is been on
[10:23] Speaker 1: the field too long. The only thing you worry about
[10:26] Speaker 1: with the better team and the better passing team, you
[10:32] Speaker 1: worry about weather, no effect. You worry about going on
[10:36] Speaker 1: the road and not be able to hear communication, no
[10:40] Speaker 1: effect at all. So congratulations to Ohio State. Julian saying
[10:48] Speaker 1: nineteen of twenty six three touchdowns two hundred and thirty
[10:51] Speaker 1: three yards also impressive early pick unfazed. One of the
[10:55] Speaker 1: sources I talked to today text said he just said,
[11:01] Speaker 1: Unfhazed really likes the big stage, keeps things simple, doesn't
[11:08] Speaker 1: get distracted, clearly, clearly. An update on Lane Kiffen as
[11:15] Speaker 1: we all wait with painted breath for the decision by Kiffin.
[11:20] Speaker 1: I've said before, I think with nil I'd stay an
[11:24] Speaker 1: ole Miss or go pro if the Titans called, or
[11:28] Speaker 1: like the New York Jets or the New York Giants called,
[11:31] Speaker 1: who knows. I don't think you need to bounce around
[11:34] Speaker 1: anymore for two reasons. One, ole Miss has money. You
[11:37] Speaker 1: can win almost anywhere, and it was different if you left.
[11:41] Speaker 1: Let's say you win the Egg Bowl and you're gonna
[11:43] Speaker 1: go to a you know, a good bowl game, but
[11:46] Speaker 1: you're not going to play for the national championship. That's
[11:48] Speaker 1: much easier to leave. I think ole Miss is not
[11:51] Speaker 1: as good as Ohio State, but if they played Ohio State,
[11:54] Speaker 1: they probably be a what seven eight point underdog. Lane
[11:58] Speaker 1: Kiffen would use that to his advantage. They would score,
[12:00] Speaker 1: They would move the ball in Ohio State some and
[12:04] Speaker 1: their quarterback Trinidad Chambliss also can you know he can
[12:08] Speaker 1: run around and move and make plays. I think there's
[12:11] Speaker 1: an argument ole Miss is like the third or fourth
[12:15] Speaker 1: best team in the country, and you may not have
[12:17] Speaker 1: to face the second or the third team because they
[12:21] Speaker 1: get upset in the playoff. So I don't love Kiffen
[12:27] Speaker 1: bouncing to LSU in the nil world or in the
[12:33] Speaker 1: playoff world. It doesn't feel like the play to me,
[12:36] Speaker 1: it's but I will say, you know, men are as
[12:40] Speaker 1: loyal as their options, as comedian Chris Rock once famously said,
[12:44] Speaker 1: and you know it's it's I think he should probably stay,
[12:48] Speaker 1: Ole Miss. It's not for loyalty. Again, America is the
[12:52] Speaker 1: land of opportunity, it's not the land of loyalty. When
[12:54] Speaker 1: you hire Lane Kiffen, you're not going to be shocked
[12:58] Speaker 1: that after success and lots of offense, which is what
[13:02] Speaker 1: he does everywhere he goes, he's probably gonna leave on
[13:04] Speaker 1: his terms. If you're shocked by that, it's a u problem.
[13:09] Speaker 1: His brand has been clearly defined. He is a great recruiter,
[13:12] Speaker 1: he's a great offensive coach. He puts himself out there
[13:16] Speaker 1: in social media. He'll spar with people. Mental clearly defined,
[13:20] Speaker 1: and he leaves strangely abruptly, sometimes his terms, sometimes other
[13:26] Speaker 1: people's terms. That's Lane Kiffen's brand. So you know Ole
[13:30] Speaker 1: Miss saying you know whoa this is? Come on, man,
[13:35] Speaker 1: you come on. That's what Lane Kiffen has done in
[13:37] Speaker 1: his career. When you get involved with Lane Kiffin, it's
[13:43] Speaker 1: not gonna be a thirty year marriage. What you do
[13:46] Speaker 1: hope is that he can turn around your program, stock
[13:50] Speaker 1: it full of recruits, sell tickets, get the ball rolling,
[13:54] Speaker 1: and then eventually you're three four five. You move often
[13:59] Speaker 1: or he moves off. So again, I'd staid, old mister GoPro,
[14:04] Speaker 1: I wouldn't bounce around the SEC. But the SEC has
[14:07] Speaker 1: always been a conference eat or get eaten, and LSU
[14:11] Speaker 1: doesn't care about anybody else in that conference except LSU.
[14:15] Speaker 1: Another topic, Should Texas get into college football playoff, well,
[14:20] Speaker 1: nobody would keep them out. Losing to Ohio State close
[14:24] Speaker 1: and losing to Georgia, it's that loss to Florida that's
[14:27] Speaker 1: more punitive. I tend to give SEC or Big ten
[14:32] Speaker 1: teams a little bit of a break in regards to
[14:34] Speaker 1: a you know, a bad loss just because Florida still
[14:37] Speaker 1: has NFL bodies. Florida's still Florida's much worse now than
[14:41] Speaker 1: they were when Texas played them. But you know, I
[14:45] Speaker 1: tend to think when you play one hundred thousand seed
[14:48] Speaker 1: stadiums NFL bodies, you get dinged up. But you know,
[14:53] Speaker 1: I don't think people are going to let them in.
[14:55] Speaker 1: It wouldn't bother me. They beat Oklahoma soundly, They beat
[14:57] Speaker 1: Texas and m which I predicted. They would they beat Vanderbilt.
[15:01] Speaker 1: They've got those teams are all ranked top ten when
[15:03] Speaker 1: they beat them. I don't think anybody else in college
[15:05] Speaker 1: football did that, so I wouldn't have a problem with it.
[15:08] Speaker 1: But you know, it's I'm a believer that if you
[15:14] Speaker 1: schedule massive out of conference games and you're willing to
[15:17] Speaker 1: go to Norman or Athens or Columbus, Ohio or Ann
[15:21] Speaker 1: Arbor or South Bend, Indiana. I mean, you get on
[15:25] Speaker 1: the phone and you're willing to go out of conference
[15:26] Speaker 1: and play Ohio State and you lose close, I don't
[15:30] Speaker 1: to me, I won't bing you for it. Yeah. It's
[15:34] Speaker 1: like if you're in a bar and you're single and
[15:35] Speaker 1: you walk up to the prettiest girl and ask her out.
[15:37] Speaker 1: You know, you're classy, you're gracious, you're respectful, and you
[15:41] Speaker 1: ask her around and she says, no, I don't think
[15:43] Speaker 1: less of you. I think more of you. You took
[15:44] Speaker 1: a swim. I mean, I am always going to defend.
[15:46] Speaker 1: I've been doing this since I got into this business.
[15:48] Speaker 1: I will always defend playing top five programs not on
[15:53] Speaker 1: neutral field. Nick Saban did a lot of neutral field
[15:56] Speaker 1: games on the road, and they were replacing if I
[16:00] Speaker 1: recall four offensive linemen, biggest start in arch Manning's career,
[16:04] Speaker 1: and they didn't play particularly well, most of that because
[16:07] Speaker 1: of Ohio State. But you know, I respect a hell
[16:10] Speaker 1: lot of teams that do that. So I would be
[16:12] Speaker 1: more than comfortable if Texas got voted into the playoff.
[16:15] Speaker 1: I don't think they will, and I would give them
[16:18] Speaker 1: or any SEC or Big ten team, I'll give you
[16:20] Speaker 1: one bad conference loss. I have no problem with Sark
[16:24] Speaker 1: aggressively on social media and after the win over the Aggies,
[16:28] Speaker 1: you know, promoting his team to get in mac Brown
[16:30] Speaker 1: did eight years ago. I mean, that's that's what we're
[16:33] Speaker 1: talking about here. It's not the NFL. I do think
[16:36] Speaker 1: college football has become, and I've said this multiple times,
[16:39] Speaker 1: more like the NFL about thirty thirty five to forty
[16:41] Speaker 1: percent NFL that paid the players. They've got free agency,
[16:45] Speaker 1: and I think the sport itself has to make some rules,
[16:48] Speaker 1: like you can't cherry pick a coach like LSU or
[16:51] Speaker 1: Florida would like to do the Lane Kiffin. I don't
[16:53] Speaker 1: think you should be able to do that as of now,
[16:56] Speaker 1: especially with a playoff. You couldn't poach Andy Reid or
[17:00] Speaker 1: Mike Vrabel from New England in the middle of the season.
[17:03] Speaker 1: So I think the college football has to step up
[17:06] Speaker 1: and recalibrate. And you know, college football feels a little
[17:11] Speaker 1: bit to me like the wild Wild West, like the
[17:12] Speaker 1: early days of UFC. Got to get rid of that
[17:15] Speaker 1: I gouging. You got to get rid of some of
[17:18] Speaker 1: this poaching coaches, and it's just ugly. It's not good
[17:23] Speaker 1: for the sport, it's not good for fan bases. And
[17:26] Speaker 1: Ohio State just picked off Michigan and that'll do it.
[17:33] Speaker 1: Only seven and nine, two and a half minutes left.
[17:35] Speaker 1: The better team won, the better team covered, and the
[17:40] Speaker 1: Buckeyes now go to the Big Ten Championship. See you soon,
[17:43] Speaker 1: see you Monday, See you Sunday Night with John Middlecoff
[17:46] Speaker 1: on The Volume The Volume

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