1-2-25 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1
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Here we are. We're back together again. Many of you may still be out of your typical routines, and this may be unfamiliar to you. It's a little bit unfamiliar to me still because I am not back in studio. I'm still in the after-hours super secret room.

Home base slash pillow fort. For those of you who were listening, over the last week, we turned my mom's spare bedroom into a bit of a pillow fort with pillows lining the walls to deaden the sound and hopefully prevent me from waking up the rest of the house. But a bunch of you told me last week that it sounds like I'm talking more quietly than what I normally would be in the studio. But that's okay. A show is a show. And producer Pete is back. And he's going to be talking about

After his holiday sojourn. So it's good for us to be able to work together again. I will be back in studio come Sunday night. Following week 18 of the NFL season. Of course we have a lot to talk about. But between now and then...

We've also got 1,700 miles to drive to get back to the New York City area. So I will not be with you tomorrow night only because we've got to make the drive over the course of three days. And this was the best opportunity to do it and not miss a ton of football. I know that's kind of crazy, right? This time of the year, got to plan your life and your schedule around football.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You can find me online at ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. And many of you did connect with me over the holidays. Just want to tell you how much I appreciate all of your kind words. So many of you sent me messages on social. Just a lot of you, many,

sending Christmas or New Year's messages and also welcoming flower to the family. Producer Pete, have you heard about flower yet? Yes, I have. Congratulations. All in order.

She is a trip. At some point during this show, these four hours, we'll have time. I'll have to tell you about her great escape. Oh, my gosh. I was freaking out a little bit. She scared herself half to death on a walk, managed to wriggle out of her collar twice

and took off and it was pretty scary. Oh no. Yeah, right. She's a shelter adoption and so she's got a lot of fears of loud noises. If you can imagine after three months in a shelter where dogs are constantly barking and where she just, yeah, she was in a cage for most of that time. And so this was a bit of a scary moment. Thankfully, Flower did come back after much calling and walking in the woods behind my mom's house.

Anyway, so we're still getting adjusted to each other. Also, I found out day three with Flower, she does not like fireworks. I would bet the majority of dog owners and dog lovers out there can certainly understand how

How frustrating that can be on a New Year's Eve or a July 4th. So we've discovered quickly that fireworks are not her favorite thing, but she is laying next to me. She's decided after two shows in which she slept in the crate behind me, door open, but she decided to go in the crate and

She is now laying next to me on the rug. So I think she's decided that she wants to be up close and personal on tonight's radio show. So thank you so many of you sending sweet messages for Flower. If you haven't seen her photo, there's a bunch of them up at ALawRadio or on our Facebook page. And tonight's show will be a little bit different. Of course, we're going to talk about the college football playoff.

But there were only two games on Wednesday instead of the three that were scheduled. The Sugar Bowl in New Orleans is postponed after what is a deadly terror attack. And we're going to hear from some of the authorities that are investigating. Even in the last hour, more details have come out about the suspect who is now deceased.

He died in a shootout with police who were there on the scenes in the French Quarter right away after this man drove his truck into a crowd of people early, early morning on New Year's Day. And what they're finding out is that he did not act alone. There was an extensive plan that was put together and there may have been other people

tragedies or other attacks that were planned that would have resulted in severe loss of life. As it is, there's a lot to mourn. The horrific video, if you've seen it, the photos that are out there, they're gut-wrenching. And we now know that 35 people were injured and according to authorities, at least 15 people were killed.

And this was around 3.15 Central Time. This is in the morning, 3.15 Central Time on January 1st. So you're talking about a bunch of people out celebrating 2025. And if you've ever been to the French Quarter, if you've ever been on Bourbon Street, usually it's, at least in my experience, it is gobs of people, especially on a night like this one where people are celebrating a particular event. It's wall-to-wall bodies everywhere.

and into one of those crowds of people. This man allegedly drove his truck. It's hard to say allegedly for me anyway, because it's pretty clear after seeing the video and the photos and the suspect has been identified, but trying to maintain the journalistic integrity.

Some of the information about the victims is now coming out. You may have heard that there was a former college football player who was a Princeton star. He was killed just 27 years old. He was an all-Ivy League kick returner who played for the Tigers from 2016 to 2018. His name was Tiger Beck.

And so he graduated from high school in Lafayette, Louisiana, likely was home there celebrating New Year's. There was also an 18 year old, an aspiring nurse who was in the crowd, which is just it's heartbreaking. One of her friends who was with her.

Provided this quote to the Associated Press. A truck hit the corner and comes barreling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air. Again, this is her friend Zion Parsons talking about the 18-year-old Nakira Dedeau. It hit her and flung her at least 30 feet. And I was just lucky to be alive.

She, this 18 year old victim had a job at a hospital and she was set to start college and she will never get that opportunity. And then another victim who's been identified of the 15, at least 15 who've passed away, Nicole Perez, 28 years old, a single mother to a four year old son. And she was the manager of a deli and others are talking about what a great,

Mom, she was Reggie Hunter, 37 years old. He had just gotten off work. He was on Bourbon Street to help his cousin ring in 2025. And I guess it wasn't planned. He he his cousin reached out to him and he decided to go on a whim.

So these are just some of the stories that are coming out of New Orleans after this attack on New Year's Eve. And for that reason, of course, the right decision was made to postpone the Sugar Bowl. It will take place on Thursday afternoon, four o'clock.

Eastern time, I believe. Don't quote me on that, though, because sometimes when I'm looking at times here on the computer, because I'm still in Houston, the times do appear as central. So I've been confused a couple of times, but it is kicking off on Thursday afternoon. And it's hard to think about playing football in Houston.

The wake of such a tragedy. Of course, it needs to go on. And for those of you who've thought about it right away, my thoughts jump to Super Bowl in New Orleans in not even six weeks and how the NFL no doubt is already on extremely high alert. Now, they're pretty meticulous about their security protocols, their safety measures.

The Super Bowl I attended in Houston. There were five levels of metal detectors and security gates that I had to go through as a member of the media to get into NRG Stadium for the Super Bowl in Houston.

You can imagine that the NFL is going to be even more vigilant after what happened, especially considering that this was not a one-off, that there, according to the FBI, were likely other attacks planned and that there were other people involved. The...

The suspect, I'll continue to say that. Again, he's deceased. He died in a shootout with police. But he is identified as a U.S. citizen. He was born here in the United States, an Army veteran who served for over a decade in the military, which is, yeah, just it's such a confluence of emotions as I think about that. But they've raided his home. He actually...

had a home in the Houston area in Harris County, which is not far from where I am. And they're finding out that he and others rented vehicles online and that that truck can be tracked driving from the Harris County area to New Orleans. And so this was a coordinated attack. It was a, an attack that took a lot of meticulous planning, uh,

And just brutal to see the video and the photos. But also, I think it's important to understand still that there are people in our own country, people who are U.S. citizens who still wish to do us harm. And a lot of times major crowds and major events, sporting events are the targets.

In this case, people out enjoying New Year's Eve. And we're going to hear from some of the members of the sports world. Darren Rizzi, he had some real poignant and emotional comments in the wake of this attack, as did other members of the Saints. And of course, Notre Dame and Georgia, who are set to play in this game and end up seeing it postponed. I appreciate that some of the coaches were concerned.

not only thinking about their teams and about playing in this atmosphere, but also about the victims and recognizing that football becomes secondary in a situation like this. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Some of the...

State and local authorities that spoke out on Wednesday included the governor of New Orleans, understanding how important sporting events are to the city of New Orleans. And remember, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, sports played such a major role in bringing people together in the healing process there in New Orleans.

And so he's already understanding how critical it is to make sure that these events can go on. Governor Jeff Landry speaking on Wednesday. We recognize we've got a problem right here, right? We're going to fix it. It is going to be a top priority as we go into the Super Bowl in Mardi Gras. And the solution that we're going to come up with is going to be a permanent one. It's going to be placed into the standard operating procedure of having major events and securing that quarter.

Yeah, it's maybe considered callous to think about sporting events and the Super Bowl, but there are going to be a lot of people there. As you can imagine, there were extra people already in town for not just the Sugar Bowl, but for the occasion of New Year's Eve. And then the Super Bowl, which is...

One of those events that adds millions and millions of dollars because of the influx of people who will be in town, not just to attend the game. And that's a select few, right? Even in large stadiums. But the number of people who are there for games.

media obligations, members of the football world who will be on hand and then vendors who are serving the people who are coming in. Uh, you've got all kinds of marketers and human resource people and, uh,

The number of people who are their corporate partners to be on hand for events. I mean, it's a massive operation. Having attended now more than a decade of Radio Rose and Super Bowl weeks, by the time you get to the game, the number of people still in town has actually decreased significantly.

The week leading up to it is when you see hundreds of thousands of people that make the trip to be there for the business side of football and for the run up to the Super Bowl, which includes so many events and so much media attention. And so, of course, his focus now is on making sure that the city is safe for these events.

Because that's a major part of the New Orleans economy. It's incredible to think about the fact that it's not even six weeks away. Flower, knock it off. What are you doing? Stop making noise. But the dog is making... I don't know if you can hear or not, but I'm trying to make sure that...

She's okay while we're doing the show. But thinking about what they have to do to make sure that this type of thing doesn't happen moving forward. And there were security measures in place, apparently, on this one particular street where the victims were killed, where the truck kind of drove around a barrier. I guess they had removed some barriers. They were in the process of upgrading or replacing the barriers, according to reports.

And so as they were doing that, there was an opportunity and an opening there. And it's, gosh, it's so hard to talk about moving on. Never want to feel like we're not thinking about the victims or honoring them or understanding what a tragedy this was. But yeah, moving forward, there's a massive game in just about 12 hours, just over 12 hours from now. And then many more events to come.

leading up to the Super Bowl. And the New Orleans police chief is Ann Kirkpatrick. And they know they've got a job to do as hard as this is. We are going to get these people. There is a path forward. Very pleased that we will be back to having a wonderful game tomorrow night. New Orleans police have proven their ability to make the city safer.

We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates. That's why we need the public's help. We are asking if anybody has any interactions with Samsud Dim Jabbar in the last 72 hours that you contact us. The FBI is asking the public's help. We're asking anyone who has information, video or pictures to provide it to the FBI.

Alethea Duncan is a special agent with the FBI, and you hear her say the man's name in addition to saying they don't believe he acted alone. They're still in the process of investigating this tragedy on Bourbon Street and trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.

together. Now they are planning to turn over the crime scene to local authorities early on Thursday, but they found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device. So maybe not professionally done, but something that you might see on YouTube or the internet that instructs you how to put this stuff together. If you can believe it, there are certainly videos out there, but that was in the vehicle along with other devices elsewhere in the French quarter. So it's

It's crazy to think about the planning and the ways that this could have been even worse. 15 people are dead and dozens are hurt. And

And as you can imagine, there's fear there in New Orleans. I've read some stories about people, first of all, who can't change their plans now, right? Because they were planning on leaving Thursday, flying out of New Orleans Thursday after the game itself, but also just being afraid because there could have been other attacks or other instances that were planned to hurt people in mass numbers.

I saw the ticket prices, some of them plummeting as people are trying to get rid of them because they're not going to stay for the game. And those are all secondary impacts and ripple effects of this. Mostly, it's just so tragic to think about 15 people who were unsuspecting and life was cut short that quickly. We'll hear from Darren Rizzi, Marcus Freeman, others who were talking about it inside the football world today.

As we get into this first break, though, I just want to say again, thank you for all of your kind words over the past few days. I think they become even more poignant and they mean even more when you think about how life is so fleeting and fragile and it can be cut short in an instant, especially after a day like this one in New Orleans.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence from the After Hours super secret home base here in Houston. Thanks so much for joining us on this first night of January 2025. Glad to be working again with producer Pete. Glad to have you with us on the Infinity Sports Network.

We were scheduled this evening to have a CFP quarterfinal played in the Superdome at 7:45. We have been in consultation with ESPN, with the college football playoff, with the Southeastern Conference, with the University of Georgia, with Notre Dame. All parties and all agree that it's in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours.

Worked as fast about to set up a safe and efficient and fun environment for tomorrow night. There'll be more details on that in the coming hours, but for now, that's the plan. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley as he announces the postponement of the game. And it was a quick domino to drop, even as the...

News was coming out and the death toll was increasing and recognizing the scope of the investigation there in New Orleans, but also understanding that in this particular case, life and the victims and.

making sure that the area is clear and as secure as possible so that this doesn't happen to other people. Those all become their priorities and all become paramount instead of a football game. But of course, it does need to go on for many reasons. And it's not just about the game. It's not just about the college football playoff. It's about the economy there in New Orleans. And I think there's some...

an emotional component to it as well. Not allowing a man or a group, whoever planned this tragedy to prevent people from, from living their lives and to take from these two football teams, Notre Dame and Georgia and the people that work so hard to get them in this place, not allowing this tragedy to steal that tragedy.

and that honor from them. Though again, sports become secondary, but for whatever reason, it's uncanny how sports can...

cross all barriers, can bring us together across all barriers, and how often in the face of tragedy, whether natural disaster or man-made tragedy, sports have the power to unify us and help us on the road to healing. And we've seen that in New Orleans before. So I can't help but think that the history of the city is

especially after Hurricane Katrina, how instrumental the saints were in helping that city to heal and to move forward and to grow, to be reborn in a sense that that history plays in when it comes to dealing with this tragedy of a different sort.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. As you can imagine, this was shocking for both Notre Dame and Georgia as they have to wait a day. But beyond that, just understanding that many of their fans would have been out.

in Bourbon street or out in new Orleans, uh, in the French quarter, uh, on new year's Eve, people who were in town for the game, uh, Notre Dame coach, Marcus Freeman did an interview with ESPN. Uh, and he was just talking about their emotions and, and what this means and his perspective. Uh, we got together this morning as a team. Um, and you know, before I got downstairs, uh, I had gotten a phone call that, uh,

there was a, uh, an incident, obviously some type of tragedy that happened in the middle of the night. Um, and, and I didn't really have the details. And so we were preparing this morning to play a game this evening. And, um, then after our break, when we got the, uh, the news and, uh, we, we learned of the severity of the tragedies that happened, um,

you know, we had to get back together as a team. I think a lot of people would start to hear that the game would be postponed, but we had to get back together and discuss what had happened. And so, you know, what I told the team is, you know, in the toughest moments, the culture –

of any program of a nation is revealed. And I have a lot of faith that this country will rally around New Orleans and support all the victims and families that were affected. Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame speaking on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. You can hear him there in the background and giving you the perspective of him meeting with the team, getting a phone call, even as the situation is unfolding and is...

is ongoing, he's having to keep in touch with his coaching staff and with the administration, the people who were supposed to be part of the game on Wednesday. Now, as of Wednesday night, Marcus Freeman had not spoken with Kirby Smart, but the athletic directors for the two schools, they're in communication. I mean, we're talking about Super Bowl ahead in not even six weeks, but imagine if

how these athletic directors and administrations for these two schools, not to mention the conferences too, you've already got

So much riding on this game, but it is nothing compared to the safety of your students as well as the safety of the people who work for your school and who are ensuring that the game can take place, right? And so there's a lot that they have to do. And I no doubt believe that there will be such heightened security around the game. But it's, yeah, it's in its wake now.

An emotional roller coaster of fear and frustration and anger and anxiety. And you're talking about in the case of the two football rosters, teenagers, young men who are in their early 20s.

There can be all kinds of emotions that they now have to deal with. Forget the fact that your schedule, your routine has been completely thrown into flux. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. It doesn't just affect you.

the guys at the college level who are about to play in this game. This is the home of Darren Rizzi, who is the interim head coach of the New Orleans Saints. And to hear him react to also gives a perspective that I hadn't thought about. On a personal side, you know, this is close to home with me. Number one, I was, you know, close to New York in the 9-11 attacks. I lost some personal friends, lost some high school teammates.

some close family friends. And so that always, anytime anything like this happens, that always resonates and brings back some memories of any type of terrorist attack that happens in our country. You know, I want to say that it hits home with me personally because, you know, I have five children between the ages of 17 and 26.

And I could tell you early this morning, the first thing I thought of was my own son was out last night for New Year's Eve in this community. My daughter was home just last week and was down in the French Quarter. You know, this hits home. You know, this community has welcomed me in for the last six years and my family. And, you know, it's a sad day.

Darren Rizzi, who is a father to a son who is out celebrating New Year's Eve and a daughter who was just in the French Quarter last week. And no doubt he and his family have been there countless times. So forget the football aspect for a second. He's a dad and he's got players that may have been out. And so it's a personal perspective beyond the professional and the sports perspective.

Which is, of course, what we deal with on a typical basis on this show. We'd be talking about NFL playoff implications of Week 18. Certainly, we're going to talk about the two games that did go on in the college football playoff and all the excitement, but sometimes held up against...

And I did this all day on Wednesday, watching football, but then reading the updates and held up against this Bourbon Street terror attack and thinking, wow, what a strange dichotomy. And I deal with it a lot. Doing a sports radio show, most of it's lighthearted. Most of it is fun. Most of it's meant to be entertainment. And yet, when you have sports and tragedy that intersect in this way, you're

It's important. It's important to talk about the impacts. It's important to talk about what we know. And so my journalist, my journalist background kicks in and I want to make sure that you all are informed as possible, but also it sometimes feels strange and wrong to be talking about football and a game when we know that at least 15 people have lost their lives in this attack that happened just hours ago. And I,

Now that the FBI have raided the home of the suspect that's in Houston, which is just a few miles down the road from where I'm talking to you right now. So there's more to come more that I want to share with you a reaction out of New Orleans and about this attack in New Orleans and as

And as I have names of victims, I want to make sure that I share them too, because it's important, I think, to remember them, to identify them even more than identifying the name of the suspect. There are safety concerns that have to be addressed now. And for the NFL, it's,

as much as they have gone into international venues where we know that there can be extra safety precautions that are taken. This is something the NFL is equipped to do. It's something that they have to deal with every year when it comes to their Super Bowl. Going back to what Darren Rizzi mentioned, 9-11, going back to 9-11, the atmosphere around major events today.

is so different. And the NFL recognizes that they've got the money and the resources to put behind some of the best security protocols and safety measures that money can buy. No doubt that will be the case. And they do have a little bit of warning to be able to prepare. But that's not the case for the Superdome and New Orleans on New Year's Eve, right? They don't

They can't go back and do it again. They can't go back and somehow figure out where they went wrong and how they missed this or even how the safety barriers weren't in place for what is a major event in their city.

A lot of second guessing, a lot of trying to figure out if this could have been prevented. That's the job of the authorities. But into this football and how about the Pelicans to the New Orleans Pelicans? They were on the road in Miami, so they weren't there, but they were also thinking about it. Right. That's probably a place that some of them frequent or their families do when they come into town. So many different things.

ripple effect, so many dominoes that drop and just the way that this can impact so many people, not just those who are actually there and around that part of Bourbon Street as the truck drove into a crowd. At ALawRadio is where you can find me online. Also on our Facebook page. Yes, there were football games on New Year's Day and I know many of you enjoyed them. Two very different games for the college football playoff that set up a clash between

Ohio State and Texas. That happens a week from Friday. So now they're off. It's kind of interesting, too, to think about the schedules. My husband was looking at the schedule and when Texas would play again since he is a Longhorn fan. And by virtue of that, our...

family here in the Houston area. We were all rooting for the Longhorns on Wednesday. Got a little tense there for a while. So he's looking up the date for the next game and the times and stuff. And I'm realizing, oh my gosh, college football, of course, is scheduling opposite the NFL playoffs, which will also be taking place this weekend. So how about this? The college football playoff goes Thursday, Friday of next week. Okay, so you're talking about January 9th and 10th

of next week. You know that wildcard weekend in the NFL is now a three-day event, right? So it starts on Saturday. It continues on Sunday. And then there's a Monday game as well. So, Producer Pete, my goodness, this is our life coming up next week. January 9th and 10th, college football playoff, the semifinals to get down to the final, then NFL playoffs.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Oh my gosh. The following weekend is divisional weekend, followed by the national championship on the 20th of January. So it's all gas and no brakes from now on as we head into these first few days of January. And it gets really crazy around the expanded college football playoff. And obviously the NFL is the big bad.

Of course. It's certainly the best time to be into the sports is right now. Right.

right and the best time for sports radio as well we went on the air exactly 12 years ago today which is crazy right our network began on january 1st 2013 and we jumped into the playoffs that was before they were at 17 games we jumped into the playoffs right away um and it was a

a perfect time to be launching a sports radio network. We talked about college football, of course, and the NFL playoffs really for the first month, six weeks that we were on the air as a network. And it was a great time to get sports fans sucked in. And now here we are on January 1st, 2025. And it's hard to believe it's been 12 years, but wowzers.

Coming up, we'll talk a little bit about some of the games that took place on Wednesday. And also we'll talk about the NFL weekend that's ahead with still so much on the line. At ALawRadio on our Facebook page. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Here's our latest sports update. And here's Peter Schwartz. Infinity Sports Network.

Sports Flash. This report is sponsored by GoodRx. For simple, smart savings on your prescriptions, go to GoodRx.com or download the free GoodRx app.

In the aftermath of the deadly truck attack in New Orleans, the Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia was postponed. Super Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley on that decision. All parties and all agree that it's in the best interest of everybody in public safety that we postpone the game. Work is fast about to set up a safe and efficient and fun environment for tomorrow night. Kickoff on Thursday.

at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Former Princeton football player Tiger Beck was among those killed in the New Orleans tragedy. The college football playoffs quarterfinals...

Rose Bowl, Ohio State over Oregon 41-21. Will Howard threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns. In the Peach Bowl, Texas and Arizona State went to double overtime. Play action. Ewers looking to throw. Steps up. Fires downfield for him. He caught it. Touchdown, Texas. Back-to-back plays.

And this time, Gunnar Helm catches the touchdown pass from Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns are back in front. Texas would tack on the two-point conversion. The call on the Longhorns radio network. Texas over Arizona State in double overtime, 39-31. It'll be Texas and Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl National Semifinal on January the 10th.

From the NFL, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will sit out Sunday's regular season finale against the Giants, so he will not break the NFL single-season rushing record. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will not play in Sunday's regular season finale against the Broncos, so Carson Wentz will get the start in his place. From the NBA, the Knicks win their ninth in a row, beat the Jazz 119-103, Kings over the Sixers 113-107. The

The Nuggets beat the Hawks 139-120. Nikola Jokic, a triple-double, 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 15 assists. I'm Peter Schwartz. Hey, sports fans. Andrew Pearl up here on the Infinity Sports Network. Check us out 24-7 on Sirius XM Channel 158.

Second and 10, Ohio State for the Oregon 45. Howard would toss that one short out to the left side. Jeremiah Smith to the Oregon 35-yard line. To the 30, by defenders to the 20. And he's going to take it to the end zone for a touchdown. Jeremiah Smith, 45 yards to the end zone. Going down the left side of the field in much like the previous game against Tennessee. A quick start for Ohio State. And the Buckeyes lead Oregon 6-0. First down and goal, Ohio State at the 8-yard line. Moving to our left.

Going under center is Will Howard. He's going to pitch it left side. Henderson around to the five. Tries to get him to the end zone. Does touchdown. Travion Henderson, an eight-yard score. His second touchdown rush of the afternoon. And the Buckeyes have hit the 40-point mark. 40-15 over Oregon. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Just a couple of the big moments for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

as they had no trouble at all with Oregon. This was a route in the college football playoff quarterfinals. You hear the calls there with Paul Keels on the Learfield network. And then also the voice of Mark Kestesher, uh, 97 won the fan in Columbus, though. I believe that was the ESPN radio, uh, national feed. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, uh,

Eventually, the Ducks were able to get on the air. It's interesting, too, because my mom's whole side of the family is from Northeast Ohio, and many of them, they're supporting the Bucs in this college football playoff. And he sends me a text. The game is already 30 to nothing, maybe. I'm spitballing. It was in the second quarter, though, and Ohio State had already built a big lead. And he texts me, I got to know, cousin, Bucs or Ducks?

And I was like, well, that's an easy one. Obviously the Bucs, yeah, the Ducks were able to get on the board, but when they got to the end of this one, it was clear that the Ohio State Buckeyes were prepared for this moment. First down, Oregon at their own 20-yard line. Quarterback Dylan Gabriel in what will be his final collegiate game. Hands to Lamar, running right side.

And Jade Lamar is going to be pushed down around the Oregon 43 yard line. And that should do it. With 12 seconds and counting and the two teams will come to shake hands in the middle of the field. And Ohio State knocks off undefeated and number one ranked Oregon to advance to the college football playoff semifinals. The final score 41-21. Ohio State defeats Oregon. Once again, Paul Keels on Learfield.

I appreciate that Ohio State, in its history with the college football playoff, even before the expanded version, which is what we're getting in 2024 and 2025, that...

The Buckeyes are built for situations like this. And I'm not saying Oregon isn't. I mean, we know Oregon went through the schedule there in its first year in the Big Ten and was able to navigate all the changes and win a really difficult conference and remain undefeated. So that's impressive information.

in and of itself. And it's not like the Ducks have had no presence in some of these major college football playoffs or even thinking about the Pac-12 and championship games there.

But Ohio State is built for a stage like this. And the guys who show up at Ohio State, they understand that this is the end game. This is the goal. And of course, the last time we saw them to end the regular season, the Buckeyes were losing to Michigan by three points. Although I suppose there is a

committee there that well misery loves company right so there's a committee of teams and players and coaches who could have their own pity party losing to Michigan the defending national champ but of course not a great season for the Wolverines but how about Alabama and what oh my gosh the reaction to their recent game so Ohio State finishes up 12-2 or is now 12-2

but there was no doubt in this one. And I honestly believe that the time off to get ready for this, uh, the time off to prepare and to kind of reset and to recognize this is our stage. This is why you play at Ohio state. This is one of the things that, uh, Ohio state preaches to its athletes is that we are competing for championships, nationally televised games, um,

this stage, you've got a few schools in the country that I believe are just more equipped for an expanded playoff, any kind of playoff really. And Ohio State is one of those. And Ryan Day has some experience in that as well. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, a

this was a 34 to nothing lead for Ohio State at one point. And I'm not sure how many people were still paying attention at that point. But I do, I do like what we saw from Ryan Day's crew, just because, yeah, a lot of people were talking about how he needed to be replaced, or at the very least, he was coaching for his job. The fact

that they got embarrassed by Michigan and that it's been an ongoing trend for Ryan Day. All of that made this last month pretty excruciating for Ryan, but there they were with no doubt on Wednesday.

This team is resilient, and when you surround yourself with great people, with great character, you find yourself working through difficult times. At the end of the day, we wanted to win a national championship, and the way that we got here wasn't what we expected. It wasn't what we planned for. But nonetheless, we had an opportunity to come back and play Oregon after we'd already played them early in the season, and that's the only thing that mattered.

A kid from Downingtown, PA, who just wanted to play football, is out here at the Rose Bowl, man. It's humbling, and I'm just in shock, and I'm lucky. That's quarterback Will Howard, who had more than 300 passing yards, three touchdowns as well. Travion Henderson ended up with 96 yards, and then the big touchdown scamper that you heard.

The defense was on point too. Eight sacks, the most they've had in any game all year. And holding Oregon to minus 23 rushing yards. Minus 23 rushing yards. Only one guy, one duck, had a run that lasted more than 10 yards. It was impressive to see them do this. And, you know, they...

as Ryan Day said, they played earlier in the year. So much of that gets thrown out the window because you're talking about a game that was more than two months ago, but they played in Eugene. Uh, so not a neutral setting. The Rose Bowl, it's just different, right? I mean, it's one of those settings where, uh, all of the motivation, all the pump, the circumstance, and then now the heightened, uh,

the heightened kind of pressure cooker that is a playoff. But again, this is what Ohio state is built for. Um, so good job by the Oregon ducks this year to maintain that number one scene that, and that, uh, undefeated record. And it's good practice moving forward. Although, you know, the transfer portal, it kicks in, it starts to come into play. If you didn't see that report, uh,

Quinn Ewers, who was the quarterback for Texas on Wednesday, has received a $6 million offer from an unnamed college to transfer after the season is done. We've not even got through the football playoff yet, and he's already getting petitioned. One hour in the books. Thanks for joining us. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on the Infinity Sports Network.