My goodness do I love college football season. Other than it now meaning two of my three kids are off to college, everything else about this time of year is the best. I feel like people are even just a bit friendlier as we get closer to fall, even in an election year. I saw ESPN Radio announce their ‘Weekend CFB Tailgate Tour’ and figured it would have the pageantry I was looking for, so I eavesdropped in on Amber & Ian: On the Road from ESPN Radio Friday night August 30, live from the University of Florida.
Other than there being no Ian, as in Ian Fitsimmons who co-hosts the show Monday through Thursday with Amber Wilson, everything was exactly what I was expecting. Football overload!
Amber & Ian airs weeknights on ESPN Radio from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with Wilson and Fitzsimmons, however on Fridays during the football season, ESPN Radio is doing a CFB Tailgate Tour, live on the road from a town featuring a big matchup. They broadcast the night before and the day of that particular game. For that, Wilson is joined by former NFL running back Rashad Jennings and veteran South Florida talker Jonathan Zaslow, who Wilson previously teamed with at The Ticket in Miami.
There’s almost like a brother-sister relationship between Wilson and Zaslow which is fun and with this game being at the school both graduated from, it just made this particular broadcast that much more fun. Wilson will tell you, and she did, that while they both went to Florida, their fandom is very much different. As she explained, Zaslow transferred to Florida and grew up a major Miami Hurricanes fan. Wilson let Zaslow have it a little bit when he claimed Florida, but clearly, he was going to win in the battle of Florida and Miami either way.
Now, since I was listening to the podcast of the show two days after it had aired live, it is kind of funny to listen to the show knowing the outcome of the game. If you’re not aware, Miami won the game 41-17. During the show the night before the game, the Florida faithful were perhaps breaking down the matchup with blue- and orange-colored glasses on.
The show wastes little time and especially on this first full weekend of college football, everyone was jacked up. Wilson sounded like a kid in a candy store being back on the Florida campus for such a big matchup and Zaslow brings energy each time he speaks, often sounding like he is about to come through your speakers. Jennings is feeling his way through as the new person, but his football knowledge is tremendous, and he has already correctly predicted one major upset, picking Georgia Tech to beat Florida State, which they did in week 0 by the score of 24-21. He did, however, pick Florida in this matchup.
As the trio did the show, they were live from the University of Florida Journalism School, “Where it all started for me and Jonathan Zaslow,” Wilson said.
“I run this place, that’s right,” Zaslow replied.
“That’s not true at all,” Wilson said back. “You were pretty much just in your dorm room doing things that have been legalized since that time.”
“But I was here,” Zaslow said. “I was a dedicated student, and my life revolved around this place. And so, it’s really cool, 20 years later, to be back.”
They talked plenty about this matchup throughout the show as it was one of the marquee games on the schedule and you have the rivalry of the two in-state teams, even though they don’t play nearly as often as they should. Wilson, Zaslow and Jennings all attempted to make a case for Florida to win the game, mostly having to do with the amount of transfers Miami has on their roster. The thinking being it might take Miami a bit to get settled in with so many new players.
They also talked a lot about the home field advantage and Wilson gave great insight on the way the loud sound holds in a stadium like The Swamp. Again, pointing out that Miami not only has a new quarterback, but that this would be the first game the teams would be communicating through the QB’s helmet, there was a case made that home-filed-advantage could be a major factor in the game, much bigger than usual.
The show had excellent guests on throughout the three hours, each added to the conversation and helped break down various aspects of the main matchups in the Florida-Miami game. Shane Matthews, former Florida and NFL quarterback, who is now a radio analyst for the Gators Radio Network, called the game a “must win” on both sides, mostly noting that Miami could have a tough time getting to the playoffs without winning this game. “There is a lot of love for Miami, nationally,” Matthews said. “I can’t buy it, I don’t see it.” He also added that Miami would be walking into a different type of environment and that Florida “will be fine offensively, we will score points.”
Again, a little humorous to read now that the game wasn’t even close and went exactly how most of that national media predicted.
ESPN’s Marty & McGee co-host Ryan McGee also joined the show. He was excellent as usual and talked about the way Florida coaches have aged like United States Presidents, where they look fresh at the beginning and then look 20 years older eight years later.
Wilson quipped, “In fairness, as a Gators fan, Will Muschamp and Ron Zook aged me as well.”
While McGee was on, the group had a great discussion about all the new things going on with college football that most people may not really understand. The hosts talked about people knowing there is a new playoff system, but most of them not knowing exactly how it works. McGee added it is the same for NIL and the transfer portal. People know they exist, and they are causing problems, but they really don’t understand all that is involved.
Later, as the show went on, they got into other college football stories, such as Colorado nearly falling to North Dakota State and how high we might see a couple of the Colorado superstars get drafted. They also dove into NFL topics and had audio of both Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott talking about Prescott’s contract status which led to good discussion and some funny conversation trying to decipher what it is Jones was saying.
ESPN football analyst Orlando Franklin, who played at Miami and in the NFL, and also works does games for the ACC Network, joined the show as well and offered unique perspective mostly looking at the game from how the teams match up across the lines. In the trenches is where a lot of games are won and lost at this level, and you sensed Franklin saw the advantage here for Miami.
As they promoted the upcoming season for the CFB Tailgate Tour, Wilson, who is a trial attorney during the day, mentioned that she would not be with the team for a bit, saying, “I go have a human pretty soon, so I am not going to join the show for the time being.” After she and Zaslow argued about whether or not Wilson was clear enough that she is pregnant and about to give birth, they highlighted the other cities they will head to, and she said she would “catch back up with you guys.”
Throughout the rest of the show whether they were talking with former Gators tight end Ben Troupe, breaking down which NFL wide receivers are and are not getting paid, arguing about whether or not Jerry Jones has more interest in Shedeur Sanders than he does Dak Prescott, picking games of the week or predicting which Miami or Florida player would have a ‘Monster’ game for a sponsored bit, the trio did so with so much energy, you felt as if you were about to play in a college football game at the end of the show.
It was an enjoyable listen on the first full weekend of college football, and I imagine the group will have a lot of fun traveling around the country this year and getting to take in all of the atmosphere of the big games. Listeners will enjoy being along for that ride.
And congrats to Amber on that whole having a human thing!
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
