Becoming a Best Ball Bro: An Optimal Lineup?

JJ Zachariason (0:00)

Hey Rich, have you played College Football 25 yet?

Rich Ryan (0:03)

You know what, JJ? I made the mistake of telling myself that I wasn't going to go next gen until the next GTA game comes out. So unfortunately, I won't be playing until my children have children. What about you?

JJ Zachariason (0:14)

Yeah, that's a terrible, terrible idea because GTA is not coming out for another 15 years. Yeah, I have. I booted it up last night.

I am playing as the Bowling Green Falcons. They're going to go to the promised land. Taryon Stewart is their running back and Taryon, I know you're out there maybe becoming a best ball bro yourself.

Let me tell you, you're going to be a Heisman winner this year. I'm JJ, and I've been playing in best ball leagues for years. But there are people out there who play a lot more than I do. And there are people out there who have won a lot more than I have. And I want to learn from them. This season, I'll be documenting my journey of Max entering Underdog's best ball mania contest. And I'll be doing so with guidance from some of the most successful best ball players on the planet. This is the year where things start to change. This is the year where I officially become a best ball bro.

Welcome in to another episode of Becoming a Best Ball Bro. I'm JJ Zachariason, joined as always by my co-host Rich Ryan. Rich, what's going on, man?

Rich Ryan (1:24)

Doing good, man. I have a quick, very good NCAA story. My freshman year in college, one of my very good friends, my guy Mike Dodson, incredibly good at all video games, especially sports-related games. He was also an incredible athlete in Virginia on a state championship football team. He got invited to the high school combine actually, but had never done any lifting before. So he ran in like the low fours, but he didn't do a single bench press, zero, didn't get the bar up. So they were like, all right, that's it, get out of here. But ironically, he was actually living with the Elon football team our freshman year. And there were a lot of guys that started chirping him because he thought he was so good at NCAA, this, that and the third. So one of the football players actually challenged him because he thought he was the best.

So my buddy, Mike Dodson dusted Shane Gillis one night in NCAA football.

Goes on to be one of the biggest comedians. We don't keep in touch with him. He left Elon quite early, but yeah. If you're out there, Shane Gillis, Mike Dodson smoked you.

JJ Zachariason (2:35)

I had no idea that Gillis was an Elon guy.

Rich Ryan (2:38)

Fellow Elon, bro.

JJ Zachariason (2:40)

Man, that's crazy. I'm really interested to see with College Football 25 to see how the players react to fans. I'm gonna become a fan of these random Bowling Green players, and maybe one, I have no clue if any of them are on the prospect radar, right?

Terryon Stewart, I have no idea if he's good or not. He's fun in the game, and I'm using him.

Of course, I have a 90% pass rate so far with my offense. We don't run the ball, but out of the backfield, as a receiver, he's awesome, and that's why I think he might end up winning the Heisman. But it's gonna be really, really interesting to see how all these players are now in the game, and we get to know them that way, and know of them, how that relationship's gonna work with fans and players.

Rich Ryan (3:29)

And Underdog always keeping their fingers on the pulse, dropping best bowl mania today, college football, which, JJ, I will not be partaking. I'm just not good when it comes to unprofessional sports.

I've got enough time on my hand.

Mark Garcia (3:46)

Unprofessional.

Rich Ryan (3:47)

Yeah, I've always called, that's always, anybody who follows me on Twitter, I always see your line. I've always called them unprofessional at the college level, which is now actually not factual because these guys are getting paid as they should be. But yeah, I just, I do not, Saturdays are for the family.

And then Sundays are for consuming an unhealthy amount of professional football.

JJ Zachariason (4:09)

Yeah, that's how I've always been. People ask me if I'm gonna do college football content or what my, Saturdays or family days, it's a choice by me for sure, but I also think that it's only fair and I'm not gonna, it wouldn't be fair to my wife with two small children for me to just be sitting on the couch for both Saturday and Sunday during the fall. That's just bad husbanding, right?