Just before Abe jets across the Atlantic for a European vacation CIB is sneaking in a preview of Week 5 of the college football season, along with the sports news of the week and a visit from Jimmy Carter in heaven with the Presidential Lock of the Week. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!
Show Rundown
Open — Abe Live Bets the Games!
3:51 — WGAS NewsBag, Sports Edition: Jaxson Dart made Giants starter; Robot strike zone challenge system; Mike Gundy fired; SEC matchups through 2029 revealed
21:48 — The Best Game in Every Time Slot
44:03 — CIB 2025 Football Pick ‘em Contest
50:50 — Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Lock of the Week, Live from Plains
55:28 — Wrap-up!
Relevant Linkage
ESPN: Giants’ Brian Daboll names Jaxson Dart QB1 for rest of season
AP: MLB will use robot umpires in 2026
ESPN: Oklahoma State fires longtime football coach Mike Gundy
ESPN: SEC schedule release for 2026-2029 college football seasons
ESPN: Guardians’ David Fry suffered broken nose, facial fractures
NYT: The ‘rising fastball’ was a tantalizing myth. Then teams started teaching Induced Vertical Break
The Best Game in Every Time Slot
Bonus Friday Night Game
(8) Florida State (-6.5) @ Virginia (O/U 59.5) ESPN (7:00)
(24) TCU (+2.5) @ Arizona State (O/U 55.5) FOX (9:00)
Noon
(22) Notre Dame (-3.5) @ Arkansas (O/U 64.5) ABC
Noon — Second TV
(21) USC (-6.5) @ (23) Illinois (O/U 60.5) FOX
3:30
(4) LSU (+1.5) @ (13) Ole Miss (O/U 51.5) ABC
3:30 — Second TV DOUBLEBOX
Auburn (+6.5) @ (9) Texas A&M (O/U 52.5) ESPN
Ohio State (-8.5) @ Washington (O/U 51.5) CBS
7:30
(17) Alabama (+3.5) @ (5) Georgia (O/U 52.5) ABC
7:00 — Second TV
(6) Oregon (+3.5) @ (3) Penn State (O/U 51.5) NBC
James Franklin is 1-18 against top-5 teams, and 1-15 at Penn State. Oregon, notably, is ranked 6.
10:15
(25) BYU (-6.5) @ Colorado (O/U 47.5) ESPN
Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Lock of the Week, Live from Plains, Heaven
Hello once again to my dear friends at Cast Iron Balls, and also to Abe, who I understand will be travelling internationally this weekend! What a treat! The only thing better than a wedding is a goddamn European destination SECOND wedding. I’ve always thought that a person’s second wedding should not be a lavish affair, but rather a consciously shameful private ceremony that concludes with the happy couple writing long notes of contrition to everyone who attended their first wedding, and acknowledging that this new thing also probably won’t work out in the long run, so please do pray for us, as our inconstancy is about the only thing constant about us. Does that sound bitter? Why don’t you try being married to the same person for eight decades! Bitter and vinegar is the love language of the longest lasting relationships!
Anywhichway, please do be careful in your travels, Abe. While you and I have had our differences through the years, mostly on account of you wishing me dead, and me wishing to stay alive, I’d hate to see anything truly awful happen to you. To that end, be sure to tell every single Italian that you encounter that American pizza is far superior to whatever that nearly cheeseless tomato sauce bread they make is, and ask sincere questions about why the Italian character is so predisposed to organized crime. Also, it is now traditional to address all Italians in the following way: Sweet Bleeding Christ, gimme five! The pope is a goddamn American hero!
But on to the gambling! Boy, it sure was nice to get one in the win column last week! I’ve a long way to go to get back to profitability, but at least I stopped digging that hole. Let’s keep things moving in the right direction with the Arkansas Razorbacks, catching four and a half points at home against the Fighting Irish. That Sam Pittman—he’s about to get hot, hot, hot!
Oh, and one more thing, Abe! When the TSA or customs officer asks you if you packed your own bags, it’s a trick question! Always say, “No! I’ve never seen that bag before five minutes ago!” And then make a sudden move through the magnetometers.
As always, enjoy the games with good food and drink, and most importantly, good company. And be kind to one another, for gosh sakes. Almost nothing matters, besides that. May god bless this great nation, and this great podcast. Until next time, this is Jimmy from Plains for Cast Iron Balls.
The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.
The background music for Jimmy Carter’s Presidential Lock of the Week is “Bama Country” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
