Well, well, well. I said in the studio on Sunday evening that it was certain that Galway and Mayo would be facing off each other in Salthill on Saturday evening. And so it came to pass. It was written.
Both teams have only themselves to blame for winding up in this situation. Joanne certainly seemed to take great joy in informing me on air that Mayo were imploding in the Gaelic Grounds.
Mayo's inability to see out that game with a six-point lead midway through the second half was just extremely disappointing.
From the outside, I can only imagine the mood in that camp after the game was one of utter despair.
Four weeks ago, after Killarney, Mayo were sitting pretty and Kerry were in a quandary. Who's in a better position now?
The fact that we even fell into third position at the end is hard to believe. There's naturally been plenty of head-scratching over Aidan O'Shea choosing to drop that last second free into the square when a point would have delivered us home advantage - and avoided the prospect of Galway in Salthill - and whether he knew the scenario.
I would assume that he didn't. Before the game, I don't think Mayo were in the headspace of considering permutations. They were focused on winning and nailing down top spot and an automatic quarter-final place. There probably wasn't much awareness in the final seconds that Cork had passed out Mayo in the table on points scored.
But I think word should probably have been relayed to Aidan from the sideline that it would be prudent to be putting this over the bar. But then maybe they hadn't twigged it either.
There are far deeper issues arising from the game, though. Cork's gameplan was as you'd expect. They improved their defensive system but their attack is quite limited outside of Brian Hurley and Stephen Sherlock.
When Tommy Conroy powered home the goal to leave it at 1-11 to 0-08 on 56 minutes, you're thinking game over. Even when Cork were handed a very soft penalty, there was still no need to panic.
Cork were aggressive in pushing up on kickouts but that's nothing Mayo haven't encountered before.
Mayo need to understand that you can play boring football sometimes. Our attacking structure is heavily based around our runners from deep. At a certain stage, it seems we get bored and decide they need to have a pot at goal. There's no shot clock, I can't understand why they don't have to shoot.
When they were leading by two points, they didn't need to do anything dramatic. Keep-ball was an acceptable tactic at that point. They had the opportunity to kill that game any way they wanted.
When things started getting hairy late on, they kept on running straight down the central channel and were turned over. We saw that pattern in snippets against Louth, where they got away with it.
You've got to think that the experience of Cillian O'Connor would have been invaluable in the endgame. When the momentum was running hard against Mayo late in the game, he'd have had the sense to win a free or kill time. He'd be good for nabbing a point at a crucial stage.
He played a club game on Saturday night and scored 2-06 in Ballintubber. Why wasn't he in the Mayo panel on Sunday instead? Was his omission a sign that Mayo were taking their eye off Cork to some extent?
A player of his nous and experience, whether he's 50% or 100% fit, he's too important to not be included in a championship panel for a game like that.
On a sobering day for the west - after the heady heights of the league - Mayo weren't the only team who threw their whole season into jeopardy.
For Galway, a lot hinges on the fitness of Damien Comer and Sean Kelly, especially the latter who was a remarkable performer again in Carrick-on-Shannon. At this stage, the Galway full-back needs a dedicated man-marker.
Funnily enough, I thought they looked comfortable and in control in the first half against Armagh. A two-point lead against the wind, with Kelly causing havoc with his runs from deep and Cillian McDaid clipping over points.
But Armagh were re-born in the second half, playing with real energy and adventure. For a change, they played to their strengths. They went direct, kicked more ball than they had all year.
They made use of their target men and took their chances. Rory Grugan, Andrew Murnin and Aidan Forker were all phenomenal.
Now, was it a soft free to win it? We can all acknowledge that Murnin probably conned the referee on that one. But they got what they deserved from their second half approach.
For Galway, the defeat flagged up some chinks in the armour of the team that people had increasingly been tipping to go all the way.
Galway strike me as almost too structured. It's all very deliberate and methodical, sometimes lacking a bit of thrust and unpredictability.
On Sunday, they relied heavily on Kelly and McDaid running from deep, with Peter Cooke pulling strings around the middle.
Outside of that, their attack didn't really catch fire. Ian Burke inside, we forgot he was playing at one stage.
Shane Walsh? A chequered enough display. A poor penalty and a weak equaliser attempt at the end, admittedly under heavy pressure.
After last year's All-Ireland final display, Walsh has been grouped alongside David Clifford and Con O'Callaghan as one of the elite forwards in the game.
But he's not there yet. Clifford and O'Callaghan are cold blooded killers. Compared to those two, there's a lack of consistency and killer instinct.
I can already hear Galway people complaining at me saying this. But if you look at his overall career, he hasn't delivered consistently at the highest level. He does it in flashes but not often enough. His form this season has been patchy.
Based on this year, Shane McGuigan has a stronger claim to being considered on a par with Clifford and Con.
It all means I'll be back in Salthill for RTÉ duty on a weekend I was expecting to be off. The ground is a nightmare logistically although we had a pretty good record there in my time, only losing the 2017 Connacht semi-final.
From a Mayo perspective, I can't say I'm blissfully confident but I believe the group are good enough to win. One argument in Mayo's favour is how strongly they tend to show up when the lifelines and the safety nets are removed. We performed well in the two Covid championships, beating Galway two years running in those circumstances.
Certainly, if Kelly and Comer are out, that swings the pendulum in Mayo's favour. Personally, I hope they're fit. I wouldn't like to win with caveats. Let both teams play their best XV and go toe-to-toe.
I would hesitantly back Mayo by a point or two.
Whether the unwelcome detour and the increasingly attritional nature of their run will damage their credibility as All-Ireland contenders, that's for the following week. It can't help, either way.
Lastly, a word on Colm Collins, who stepped down as Clare manager after a brilliant decade in charge. He maximised what he had at his disposal over the last decade.
We had a particularly close relationship with Clare in Mayo. James Horan, in particular, was obsessed with Clare - and Colm! We played challenge matches against them practically every year.
There's huge respect for Colm and Clare football everywhere. Sad to see him go.
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship quarter-finals, Dublin v Clare and Galway v Tipperary, on Saturday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch Galway v Mayo in the All-Ireland Football Championship on Sunday from 3pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch the Tailteann Cup semi-finals, Down v Laois and Meath v Antrim, on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
