The Locker Room - 2026 College Football Season Predictions With Josh Pate, Will Compton & Taylor Lewan

Ladies and gentlemen, it has been eight grueling months. We've gone through the winter. We've gone through tornado season, which is Josh Payton's favorite season in the year. But now it is finally time to get back to the game that makes America so great. And that is college football. My name is Taylor LeWan. I am with Will Compton in the Commissioner of College Football, Josh paid himself. I got a fan double sign, which we are presented by sliding behind me. And today we are hitting the locker room, college football futures. Do me a favor. If you love college football, go and subscribe to this. If you love it so much, there's a fun show that's taking place on ESPN on Fridays between two and three Eastern on campus. That show is called Bustin on campus with Paked. Bustin and Pate on campus. Bustin and Pate. We had a hell of a show for your day. Tell 'em the skip school and join us. Take a mental health day. Take a mental, there's no reason to do school on Fridays anyway. All right, that's just the man wants you to think. Let's have fun watching ball and gesting some ball. Big hugs, tiny kisses. - This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed human. - I am talking to a felon right now with face tattoos, and I cannot decide if I like him or not. - That was a caller from my podcast, Therapy Gecko, where I speak with anonymous callers about their problems, relationships, and anything else in the depths of their mind. It all happens on my show Therapy Gecko. So if you're trying to get out of your own head and into someone else's, this is the podcast for you. Listen to Therapy Gecko on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - College football will hijack your weekend, ruin your sleep, and break your heart. And that's why we make the solid verbal college football show. I'm Ty Hildenbrand, he's Dan Rubenstein. 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And whatever happened to the power couple of my dreams, Mariah Carey and Luis Miguel, I'm Maria Garcia. You may remember me from my podcast, Anything for Selena, or My Devil. And now I'm back to unpack more stories from the present and the past. Listen to "Muy Excited" with Maria Garcia on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. (upbeat music) - The boys are back, welcome to another season of the locker room with the fellas right here. As always, and there we go. Let's get a round of applause. And just hype in, round of applause in the comments section. Today we're gonna be romanticizing about college football 'cause that's all we've done. - That's all we've done. - For the entire world, what'd you say last eight months? - Last eight months. - When the football season ended, yeah, from there it was just a straight shot of being sad with no good weather, and just cannot wait for September to take place. - Yeah, but today we're gonna be talking futures. We're gonna be talking conference champions. We're gonna be talking conference championship games. We're gonna be talking about the final four in the college world playoff. We're gonna be picking national champions. We're gonna be picking Heisman winners. And if you hold us to these picks, shame on you. 'Cause we're changing our mind all season long. - Say it again though. - Say it again to the understanding. - Shame on you if you hold us to these picks because we are changing our mind all season long because romanticizing about college football is the best part about college football. There's gonna be a lot of chaos, but as always, we are presented by the number one sports book in America, the Fandall sports book. I need the card. Damn it. (all laughing) Fandall always has your back with tons of resources and tools to make sure you're playing with the plan. Check out fandall.com/playwiththeplan or the responsible gaming section in the app to learn more about staying in control. - Still in the, okay. Get the Kings out, Precy. - Get the Kings out, Precy. - Precy. - Staying in control of your game. There are all sorts of futures for you to tap into on fandall right now, a few of which that we're gonna dive into today. But don't forget, you can parlay eligible futures together for even bigger payouts. And there's nothing better than getting in early and riding your picks all season long. Head to fandall.com/busson to download the number one sports book in America. Fandall.com/busson to start your most rewarding season of college football. Ever, ever. And ever 'cause we get to give away, we get to give away bonus bet. - We're giving up bonus bets every single week of the college football season. And on the other locker room show the NFL, we're doing every single week that week as well. - All people have to do is what, Clump? Start commenting right now. - They engage in the YouTube. - Well, now it's next week. - This is where the best stars we've ever had to the locker room. - You will, you will comment on the YouTube. We will tell you what to do when you will comment and we will take away something bonus bet. - There we go. We're giving away money all year long. - Before we get into the futures, you guys ask a quick question. - Please. There's a lot of stuff going on in college football. I think we can all use the word broken and feel very comfortable about that word. Josh, when you're seeing Cleveland Brown players, transferring to LSU and players now after this 2022 thing has taken place, what is your brain go with the state of college football? How bad do we need you now more than ever? - You see the index finger? - I see it moving. - Nervous. - I saw when Will was getting through whatever he was getting through. You just peering at the ground and to just deep thought. And I thought he's got to be thinking about these kids going from the NFL back to college football. - Very much so. Everyone's been paying attention to some degree. To this thing, over the last 24 hours is the three of us are talking here, which is Wednesday morning, mid morning, and I only preface it that way 'cause news may break in the afternoon. The SEC and the big 10 have swung a sledgehammer back in the SEC's case at some of their own member institutions. So what you have here essentially for those of you who haven't been keeping up and God bless you if you have a life and you have not been able to keep up with this, the NCAA did the five for five rule. So there is no more players randomly playing six or seven years for injuries and all this different kind of stuff. You just got five years to play. But then they said, however, it's not gonna count for the class of 2022. You guys are the last class that doesn't get to benefit from this. Then there were courts that struck that down. And then there were guys who had already gone to the NFL who were on practice squad training camp that were gonna get cut. Who said, well, if we would have known that, we may have not gone to the NFL. We may have stuck around a college. So we're filing lawsuits too. And then judge decided with the players because the NCAA is over their life in court cases. And then everybody said, hold up. Does that mean NFL players can be on the field in the NFL one week and then come back to play college? And programs like LSU said, less the way we understand it. And then leagues like the SEC and the big 10 said, that's not the way we are going to do business. And so over the last 24 hours, the big 10 came out and said, that's not happening. We got a policy against that. Then the SEC came out Tuesday evening and said, that's not the way we're going to do it either. And if you do do it and this is language this morning, I'm literally looking at a tweet as of this morning, schools that violate the SEC's professional sports rule will result in 50% season suspension for the head coach. So if you play a pro player, you, the head coach at LSU or Auburn or Georgia or wherever, you're suspended 50% of your season, 50% of that sports annual operating budget is stripped. That's tens of millions of dollars and your SEC voting privileges on business matters are revoked. So what you have to ask yourself is, will there be lawsuits countering this? Yes, but it will be players presumably suing the SEC. And I'm looking at it and I'm saying, but if Will wants to go back and play at LSU, but I'm the SEC and I tell you, Lane Kiffin that, no, I'm holding you responsible. Doesn't matter if he sues me because I'm not taking action against him. I'm threatening action against you. And I, it feels like a workaround. Famously, I don't have a law degree as many people have pointed out, but it feels like the SEC and the big 10 are really comfortable that, yeah, we can flex in this way. And then the follow up question, even if all that was moot, is it really worth it for you to stick your entire program's neck out on the line to get some defensive tackled up, to get some tight end up? My answer would be a quick no. We're going to see what LSU's answer is and what other programs answers are. Yeah, because the SEC comes out with their statement. The big 10 comes out there. Multiple coaches in the big 10 have already commented on this. And Lane's sitting there and I kind of like Lane's approach, because it's Lane Kiffin saying these things. Everyone's like, this has got to be wrong. But in the world of college football, we live in with all the gray area that's taking place. It's like, if there's a way to work around a rule, it's a results based business. Let me ask you this. And you have a question. I got a question. Which you raised your hands while calling. So legally, it is fair for these players to go back. But the conferences are saying, here is how we will impose our policies by punishing you, the head coach and the team. Even if the player is like, hey, we can sue or do all these things. You know what I mean? How Lane's like in this unique situation for this class, they're allowed to come back for another year. And it should be noted, it is a unique situation. This won't be a story next year, so it is just right now, continue. So even legally that is the case, the conferences can still say, here's how we will punish you and your team through our system because they can't just overthrow what the court was saying, right? That's like the court had it. If we had a weight limit on the show, no one can do the show above 350 pounds. And then you came into work way in 365. And you tried to say, I'm free to eat whatever I want to. Right. Our boss is here, whoever that is could say, well, yeah, you're free to live however you want to, but their consequence is that our place of business. But that kind of works because you're an employee. Whereas the players are saying, hey, we're student athletes, can you do this to us? And then the league's saying, we're not even looking at you. We're not even telling the player they can or can't do something. We're telling the school, hey, do you play that kid who's legally allowed to play? According to some court, we're going to punish you. That's kind of what they're doing. And the conference is able to do that. Fully able to do that. And they're also not here because the battle that's taking places, the SEC and the Bay 10 release statements that we are not going to do this. The penalties are going to come out. The coach will be suspended for 50% of the year. All the things that Josh Peter said. But then there's like the state of Louisiana, which is its own constitutional republic, where there's 50 of them that make up the umbrella of the United States. They're like, well, we have our own state laws that we can get a judge to go sign that say these kids can play. Because one back to the one of things you said was in June, they said you can now do five for five. You have five years to play five years in college football. That is how this is now going to work. We're not going to have 25, 26 year old football players in college football anymore. This is how it's going to work. So I lost my train of thought. You got it. No, I won. Hold on. Give them time. Yep. Five for five. So, yes, 2022, the class of 22, these kids before that ruling that happened in June, they're like, my only option now is to go try and make it in the NFL. So these guys go. They declare for the NFL. They do the combat of the pro days. They're either drafted, laid or undrafted. And it's like, this is the only avenue I had. Now, this thing takes place where like, hey, this is the only rule. 2022 is when guys can have that extra year. This is the last year we're going to deal with it. Now all these guys who have had to make decisions when these rules didn't exist or like, what? I want to go back to college football, get my drafts.gov. You could probably make more money if you go to LSU or some of these bigger schools. And so they're coming back like, yeah, if I'm allowed to do this, Josh Payne. Great question here would be they did this in June. The NCAA did this in June. Why didn't they just do it on October where everyone could have a fully fleshed out plan? Great question, Josh. The answer is nobody knows what they're doing. Yeah, that is nobody knows what they're doing. In the world of college football, no one knows what they're doing, because you see like Dan landing. Dan is like, we're not going to do that. There's no place for that in college football. If you declare for the draft that you're done and college football is for college football players. High character, principled individual. Oh, very much so, Ryan Day, he's in it's like, we, okay, this is the way college football is moving. We have to evaluate that and do what's best for how I say, I actually take the side of Ryan Day. You were your newly found friend Ryan Day. My newly found respect for Ryan Day. You'll make eye contact with him now. You'll do all the things you would do with someone. And it's a side camera on the bus. Anyway, if you are a college football coach of a major program that's trying to win championships, and this is a possibility to get another player for another year, why wouldn't you take advantage of that? And it was us because the real still state you can. Yeah. Morally, I'm with the leaning on like, no, like college football should be for college football players. And then once you're done, you should go to the NFL or get a regular job. So watch this. So here's what I was going to say like five minutes ago. You played left tackle for a long time. Pretty high level, right? The highest. What if what if a court ruled that holding was legal? What would you do every play? I would hold. And if someone said, even though it's legal, you should feel bad about that. You shouldn't do that. That's against the spirit of the game. You would say what? I would say make it illegal then. And I won't do it. That is why I haven't shamed Link if in or any of these dudes. You cannot count on a competitor to voluntarily adhere to some made up moral code. First off, everyone's moral code's different. Firstly, secondly, if you're a competitor, you're not worried about that. A competitor's job is to test every possible boundary of the competitive arena. And then if something can't be done, we have things called rules and then penalties for breaking those rules. But in college football, what's messed up about our world is most rules are just found to be illegal in a court of law because they're not collectively bargained. And that's this whole other thing that we don't have time to get into today. And so the conferences have known for a while. Ultimately, it's going to have to be us that steps up and polices us instead of counting on Congress. And that ship hasn't sailed yet. They're still trying to effort that. But it's the SEC and the big 10 who have finally done over the past 24 hours what they've sort of threatened to do. And they've internalized the idea of doing for a long time. And this is like a test pilot run. And everyone's kind of waiting to see, all right, we talked really big. What's going to happen here? Yeah, they keep the door open. Now it happens this quickly. Anything that comes up, it's going to be like, well, now we see that some of these rule changes can happen and get made. We just need to get all these people in a room when voices get loud enough. Yeah. Because as everything was unfolding yesterday, and I saw the SEC come out, I saw the big 10 come out. And it does seem like they're able to impose these penalties and fines or whatever the case may be for the coaches. Right. Now I'm thinking like, okay, when you think about all the things that we talked about last year, whether it's scheduling in the college for a while, play off the super conference, all this stuff. It's like it seems like if you guys just have some urgency and get your asses off the chair and everybody getting a room, we can figure out some of these rules that are living in the gray area right now. A little bit faster because you were now proving it with this example right here. Yeah, it all goes back to like multiple dramatic dominoes have to fall in the college for a basketball landscape or actual change to happen. And it just happens to be one that actions finally taking place. Hey, I was going to happen with Sores B. Yeah. Like the Sores B situation in Texas tech. And it's like, I don't fall Texas tech the way they handled it. Because all the stuff that. Outside of their 20 minute video. Well, there's 20 minutes. Just all the talking heads in the room, breaking down how they handled Sores B. Yeah, but like Sores B comes, he transfers in and they're like, hey, by the way, Sores B's been doing this, making bets and doing all the things that he shouldn't have been doing while I explain college athletics. If I'm Texas tech and I just paid a kid $3 million and he didn't do any of those things wrong in my program. It's like, hey, by you shouldn't, by the way, that's stupid for you to do that. You need to have different people in your life. However, we're going to go to bat for you because you didn't do any of those wrong things here. Like we're going to we're going to fight for you. I thought that's when a lot of changes going to happen. And then just a couple months later now, this is taking place. It's like how much more has to happen before we really realize how broken the system is. Two different instances have happened over the past five months in college football. Some say the most divided time in our society's history. Two different things have happened. There was a civil war to get exactly right to get 95% of people singing the same song. In this case, even the conferences who have been at each other's throats, even the conferences coalesced under the same umbrella. So really in a roundabout way, if you want to talk American heroes, if you want to talk uniders, people who can bring us together, who's brought America together more than Lane Kiffin recently. That's beautiful. If you really think about it, you're not wrong. The big 10 in the SD is holding the hands 95% of America just echoing the same tune and it's all because of Lane Kiffin. It's happened so much recently that a piece of me is like this was his goal all along is to bring the people together. He just needs to put out two words. He quit Twitter, but he needs to come back and put out two words. Three, if you count the contraction, you're welcome. Yeah, maybe he is playing 3D chess. He's playing 3D chess. And now we have this 95% of the population that loves college football all coming together right before the seasons. Almost like it was planned. And we know how nasty it's about to get in the streets once the season does kick off. Because I'm going to be honest, I've changed my mind. I don't know how many times over the last several weeks trying to figure out who's going to be in the playoff, how many national champion chip contenders are there. I go back and forth all the time in the SEC. I go back and forth a few different times in the big 10. ACC feels like it's clear and away Miami. Big 12 feels like it's clear and away. Texas Tech. Let's start since we do have Josh is forcing us to do the SEC first because SEC paid us. Yep. Let's start with the SEC conference. How many teams do you see being able to win the national championship? That's a great first question. It's phenomenal. Talent-wise, I see two. Really? I see two. Talent-wise coaching staff together. I see there's two and they're not the normal ones. And it's going to be LSU in Texas. You hang on. Georgia? The goal of me saying LSU in Texas is not for Georgia Bulldogs. You're getting the Bulldogs fans barking. Taylor hates Kirby smart and Georgia. I love Kirby smart. I love Gunner Stockton. I love the culture of that school and everything. My only knock on them is if I look at the SEC and the talent level, there's two teams Texas and LSU that are that answered a lot of questions they had going into the offseason. You know with Georgia they're going to have a great offensive line. They got Nate Frazier returning and they have a solid defense that runs similar to a quarterback with if they're on. They're on cadence. They're they're looking at everything the way and things these don't break down, they're very successful. But last year they had, what, 26? Hold on. a year, as it from an entire defense, like Oregon's returning two, two players that meet that already. And that's, they're not even in the SEC. They don't have a, a massive rush. They lost Zachariah Branch to the draft to head up 81 receptions and set a, a record for the school. You don't have any proven guys out there. You're, you don't have proven guys in, in the perimeter for them, for them to be true. So when I look at like Gunner Stockton, you don't bet against Gunner Stockton, Kirby Smart. I get that. I understand that. I'm just saying, if there is a year for the last 10, nine of the last 10 SEC champions have been Alabama or Georgia, other than that one 19 LSU. This is just one of those years where I can see two teams have more talent and have more ability to beat that school in the SEC. That is my thought. And I think if Kirby Smart and he's a great coach, he's good enough coach. An evolution needs to take place. An evolution needs to take place in what are next seven. So right now, you're in Fandall, you're hammering LSU plus 900 in Texas. Well, is this, is this a conference or for national championship winning this conference? That's, that's, that's Fandall having no idea that Georgia's not talented enough and LSU has surpassed them. No, see, you're already taking my words. You look at Georgia. They have every right to be at the top right there because of what they've done over the last decade. That's like a lifetime achievement kind of a war. That's like, we had to put him there so someone could take it right. Okay. I'm just and all I'm saying about Georgia is very talented. They're going to be the mix probably will be in the SEC championship based on their schedule. However, LSU in Texas, to me, is by far and away a more talented football team. That's all I'm saying by far and away, by far and away. You know that Kirby Smart, this is the most ever he's had returning of the guys out there that started last year. There's, there's some thought to where it's like they, you could have seen that there's like a, there's a thought for how slow they started for most of the season. Yeah. They were down in the second half for seven out of eight of their SEC games. They come out winning seven, there's seven and one in conference play. Well documented last year. They were very slow starting to slow starting team. So it's urgency, right? Like we got to get going faster. We got to have better first quarters. We got to put stuff together more in the first half. We have to get our asses going if we're going to Pete, going to compete. They, to your 20 sack point that eight in the first eight games, 12 in the last five. So the defense comes along. They returned 17 guys and this is, if I'm thinking, is this the year where you're thinking of banging against Kirby smart, where he's got the most ever that he has returned and even turnovers. They did not create a lot of turnovers last year. Kirby smarts lowest ever in the era of Kirby smart. So in the all season all year long, yeah, they don't get talked, even though they're at the top of the fan, at Fandall, they haven't been talked about because people talk about Texas. They talk about LSU. People have been talking a lot more about Oklahoma. Ole Miss is going to have a very talented roster, but Kirby smart. This is essentially the same team question mark is on the perimeter, but they had a lot of drop issues last year. And I'm sure they've been top five in recruiting the last five years. They're going to have somebody show up. I believe that they're going to have somebody show. I need Bobo. I need coach Bobo out there to show up a little bit with some play calling. That is the only question mark is who's going to show up on the perimeter, but this is essentially the same team that we know is battle tested from what we saw last year held Alabama's head under the water for the SEC championship game. And this is going to be the year where we kind of like, you know, doubt Kirby smart a little bit, not your boy. I got him one in the SEC. I'm taking the Georgia Bulldogs to win the SEC over a Texas, but I do think SEC in totality bullish on a LSU, bullish even on Ole Miss. They have a gauntlet of a schedule Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia. There's five in my brain that truly could just miss the top of those right there. Everything you just said is absolutely correct. We're going to turn a lot of guys. They got better on the defense side of the ball, but the play calling on the opposite side of the ball got way more conservative towards the end of the gunner stocked in. I think it was like five air yards per pass per 10th, the last six games of the year, 49% of those passes went behind the line of scrimmage. Most of those passes went to Zachariah Branch. You're probably going to get three with most guys. He gets you 15. So when I talk about the evolution of what needs to take place, I'm not saying they can't do it. I'm just saying if you were a one-dimensional football team, which they are going to be able to run the ball, six of their seven starting guys are all SEC guys that they're returning for them are on the office side of the ball on the off the line. They're going to have a great offensive line. They're going to lean and push guys and be able to do that. When you get into a shootout, when you play a Trinidad Chambers or a Sam Levitt or an archman, a guy that can extend plays when it breaks down, which is what Georgia's defense had the most issue with last year. When everything was going and they dropped back to five step drop and routes are going the way they get the ball, that's when Georgia's defense is at their best. When you had Trinidad Chambers in that second game in the playoffs and he's running all the field, things break down and that's how that's how where Georgia's Achilles heal us. If Kirby smart and Mike Bobo want to be better, they need to go through an evolution process similar like Nick Saban. When Kirby smart was there, they were the same that great defense, great offensive line and a good run game. Then they go through a drought and a drought for Alabama as they go two years. Two years of that. But somewhere along the lines, Nick Saban decides I need to be more prolific on the off the side of the ball. Enter in a guy like Lane Kiffon. Now they're throwing it all over the yard with a strong run game and they go on their second stint, their second run. Kirby smart means them to take that evolution to the next level. If they're going to play with this new era of NIL and how LSU has spent over $50 million in the roster, the way Archmating played in the last 16 seasons, getting Cam Coleman as well. They have three guys on their team that would be a wide receiver one for probably most of college football. So when you look at all of these schools, I have so much respect for Kirby smart. I think there's a reason why they're at the top right now. There's just so much talent and it plays against what Georgia's Achilles heel is. So for that reason, everything else. I think if Georgia played LSU in week one that run for 300 on them, agreed. I would feel totally confident saying that that would probably continue throughout the year. I want to ask you this because you put Texas in the lead class, which I don't disagree with you on that. But you were very comfortable putting Texas and I thought you were going to go Georgia, but you put LSU up there as like in a different classification talent wise than Georgia. Let's even grant that you're right, which Texas is a very talented team. So let's grant that you're right. When people say things like styles make fights and we've seen that fight three times in the last two years and Texas has been the butter and Georgia's been the knife and I know that that defense improved in overall returning production this year. I really trust Georgia's secondary about as much as any secondary in the country. So like I don't think you're going to shoot out on them unless you really can do what Trinidad Chambers can do. I don't know that you're going to shoot out on them. Love them at linebacker. Pass rush. I'll grant you, but love the defense of front overall. Supremely trust their offensive line. Supremely trust their ability to run the ball. All that stuff that steamrolled Texas three times. Why would anyone think that would fundamentally change this year? Is my question. I think the biggest reason is archmaning in the second half of the season. We sat here a year ago this time and talked about archmaning. Everybody had archmaning when the husband hadn't even been a full-time starter of Texas yet and he came in against against Ohio State and looked bad and continued to do so throughout the first half of the season. Somewhere in the third quarter of Mississippi State it started to click for him. Where he started to use his legs a little bit more. You making making better decisions with the ball and being a manning that we all kind of expect him to be in week one where the playbook you can see from Sark opened up a whole lot more. Cam Coleman, a guy who was rated very similar to a Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams coming out of high school. He goes to Auburn. He's got an absolutely revolving door of who's still in the ball at quarterback. He is now coming and I think at the end of this year we're going to see him put in the same category of those two players especially Jeremiah Smith like he to me is the best wide receiver out there like the second coming. So with those two guys you bring in two running backs. You have Brown and Smothers. Both guys rush for over a thousand yards. One ASU and one North Carolina, North Carolina State. Those guys already know they're sharing the load this year and they've been public about how the fact that they love it. They've regrouped on their offensive line. They have a Guzby who's going to be a first round drive pick at left tackle. They're they got a transfer from a wake forest at the right tackle position and then returning guys in the interior and brought in a couple more as well. So you turn on the film and watch Texas's offensive line last year. It was an absolute sit. They were a strainer. They looked terrible. There was no push. There was no even when they tried to use creativity whether it's running a open side power with the Y coming out and they're dumping off the Y. Well, there's so much leakage that they're not able to get that playoff. When if that play would have been able to get off, they're 88 and out the gate. They have the whole entire field. So by revamping the offensive line, not near as good as Georgia. And I'm not arguing this to be like I'm anti Georgia. I just think that these two teams, what they've been able to bring in, they've identified their issues. That's where I see like I can see these two teams out doing Georgia. Still, if they win and I respect the hell out of Kirby smart. But when I see the addition of the Cam Coleman, I see the addition of the two running backs. There is a intentional move in the transfer portal to help the offensive line be better for archmanning. And the same thing goes for else. You see they they brought in seat and they brought in eight other transfers for the offside because I'm kind of fighting for both these teams right now. So I'm jumping around. Sam Levitt's another guy. So you put any of the film on last year, like I think it was like the second series of the Mississippi State game. He will rolls out to the left. Guys are just absolutely coming at him. He throws a dot 30 yards down the field and gets absolutely destroyed. Every third and five or more that Sam Levitt had, if he didn't get the ball at in like 2.5, he's running for his life. So he's got a great offensive lot. Both guys have improved offensive line. They have weapons absolutely everywhere on the perimeter. So if they do get in the studio and they have to keep up with the team that's gonna eat up a bunch of clock out of Georgia, they have the capability. For else you, it's keeping, was it Blake Baker, their David's corner, top five in the SEC last year. They bring in a bunch of transfer guys as well. And Lane's done it. You brought this point up to me a couple of weeks ago. It's, Lane's done this year over year where he has just a slew of transfer portal guys and gets him to play their best ball. They're always gonna have a great run game. There are, and the creativity, like, Lane's creativity needs to be studied from an offensive college standpoint. 'Cause he can make the most basic plays, the most creative thing in the world. And it's just like one or two little things. So when I see both these teams, I'm like, yeah. Like, Georgia is the big bad wolf. And listen, no one loves to get defense in a run game better than I used to be off its alignment. But I look at these two guys and what they have the ability, the potential to do. It's like, I'm willing to put my neck out there a little bit, but one of those two teams are coming out. I just happen to side with LSU when it comes to this. - I'm with you, I'm just surprised. You don't have Georgia in the crop of a team who could win the national title. - Yeah, but that's where you get to, like, look at Miami. Like, they're built so much, so very similar to Georgia. And they can, but they have a better perimeter game. You look at, I guess, like, Tech will see with Hammond. I mean, we'll jump into all those conferences, but if I look at the SEC, like, I can see Georgia making it in the playoffs, I probably will, based on their schedule, but like, I can see LSU or Texas actually winning the conference. - Here's the really weird place I'm in. We'll talk about the playoff picks later. I'm in a place where, I think Georgia's the worst nightmare matchup that's existed for a couple of years for Texas. So I've got him go into Atlanta, and I got Georgia beaten Texas in Atlanta. So I've got Georgia winning the SEC again. However, I think Texas has more potential to make a national championship run than Georgia, as long as they don't run into literal Georgia in the playoffs. So it's that weird kind of thing where if you just think there's a specific matchup problem for someone, cool. And if you run into him in Atlanta, you lose, but you can still make the playoff. As long as you avoid them, you could make a run, and they could be one and done. 'Cause I do agree, their aspects of Georgia's offense that probably limit the upside, whereas Texas has a little higher upside, as just if they run into Georgia in Atlanta, which I think they will, I would give the edge to Georgia until proven otherwise. I do think Texas actually probably goes deeper this year if they make the playoff. - All right, and I think that's the safer bet. Like, just sit there and be like, the team that's done it, the most really for the longest time, and have the most ability at coaching. Like, you should take them in the SEC. I just sit there, and then I look at Texas, if we'll use the Texas example, it's like, I agree with everything you just said. It's very similar. That could be in an Ohio State situation where they go to the big team championship, they lose, and they just set the world on fire. 'Cause they were right and high, they felt good. They get punched in the mouth, and they're like, oh, no, I'm not handling them. We're not doing like this. And that's when archmaning just goes demon mode on everybody. So I could see that also coming out. Like, the SEC to me, and the Bay 10 obviously, there's three or four teams in there that are just like, yeah, anybody can win it. I just like, I love the chaos aspect of when we're fantasizing about ball, and seeing that the LSU logo or the Texas logo, like hoisting the SEC trophy. I can see it, and they have the caliber of players to do it. Like, start to me, like, start to know weird possible A gap scenario, coming down if they don't make at least a massive push into the playoffs. Like, see, we just need Texas to do it. You're always the pretty. - We're still hung up on Texas quite a bit. My pick is LSU. Like, I'm going, LSU's 1A. It's truly like, all right, I got George in the SEC championship. They will play in that game. I believe that their schedule says it. They'll be able to do all the things they did last year, even if they start slow, gunner stocked in. He's gonna find a way to get themselves into Atlanta. Then it's like, okay, who fits in the next little part? You've got Texas fit in that other part. I got LSU fitting in that other part. I just have LSU coming out of the SEC. - How much do you have to love this show so far if you're Oklahoma? 'Cause you haven't been mentioned. Oklahoma hasn't been mentioned. You know you get Texas and Dallas. You're going to Athens to play Georgia. You were doubted by people like me on the road twice last year. And you go into Nielin and Wynn. You going to Bryant Denny and Wynn. You end up making the playoff, even though you couldn't run the ball. So you believe in yourself and your ability to run the ball this year. You got a Brent Vennible's defense. You know that the SEC in your mind has to come through you just as much as everyone else believes it's Georgia penciled in, Texas penciled in. Not to mention, I think Brent Vennible's bottles up a whole lot of that dabbo-climbs and energy of wanting to be doubted, loving to be kept in the shadows until you eventually got a line up against them. I think Oklahoma's gonna be a tough out. See, I'm different. I don't think there's this immense separation in the SEC. So if you told me, Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, A&M, Alabama, LSU Ole Miss, S7, any of 'em when the SEC nothing shocks me this year. A&M, I'll mention A&M, I think. Trinidad Chamblis, maybe the best player in the league, and we haven't, we've barely mentioned Ole Miss. We just assume that the year two thing, peak-golding, first time around the merry-go-round fully, the league gets to adjust to Trinidad Chamblis, ridiculous schedule. You just kind of assume that'll chew them up, but what if they smoke Louisville and then take down LSU two weeks later in their 3-0 going to Florida? - Then the game's completely changed. - Yeah. - Yeah, and then we come back on this show the following Wednesday after the LSU game, we go, "Hey, we're re-ranking our futures again." - The kids screwed up. - The season futures are starting right now, fellas. - I screwed it up. - I got a Ole Miss. I mean, yeah, that's-- - In the way that goling two is invested in on the defensive side, especially hitting the portal, like they're gonna be a damn tough team. They just have a brutal schedule. A lot of teams do in the SEC. And back on the Oklahoma, in my brain, it's like, you run the ball well. They're going to the college football play. 'Cause they're gonna have an elite defense. Like last year they had, there's nothing but underclassments trying to run the football. Three freshmen, the running back was a freshman. Everybody returns, they get pieces in to fill out the old line. But a healthy John Matier, you gotta figure out what their past game and everything else is gonna be like, but who was, 'cause Matier came over with his former coach. - Ben Arbuckle. - Yeah. Them getting in year two in John Matier being healthy, like Oklahoma is gonna be tough. - How far off it's gonna be improved? - I love how much chaos could take place in the SEC. And this is without even talking about the masters of chaos. - I was able to-- - Of a Tennessee, of a South Carolina shout out J.P. Hovey. Who else do we have? - Talktopers are real thing. - Talktopers? - 'Cause they went winless last year. - Yeah, but that was a fluke. They also had, they were beating Alabama. They were beating Alabama in the fourth quarter. They were beating Texas A&M at half of them was like, 28 to 331 to 3 something like that. They were, talktoper was alive. It was real. It just the result wasn't what we wanted. But it's out there. It's out there, and they got another gauntlet as well. - Briles, that RPO system. - One thing you brought up too, just to give Oklahoma more flowers. Like, yeah, healthy John Matier, we all know what he can do. And when I was trying to give you my heavy Michigan bias to like, this is why I think week two's gonna go this way. They can't run the ball. And I was like, they're not gonna be that much better. If anything, they might be the same. And you're like, I tend to believe that a team that was really bad can only get better. And the more you look at Oklahoma, it's like, fuck. - Yeah. - You're right. Especially with the coach, the culture guy like Venables, who is gonna identify a serious issue you have in your team. And he's going to do everything in can. He's like, we're fixing this problem. Practice is gonna be harder. Trump's support is gonna come in. We're making sure that we're gonna handle the run game. The run game will be improved. - Yeah, I was like, you know, Venables, he's the type that's banging his head against the wall. They're probably having to wear wristbands all off season on running the football. - Right, they have stuff that they walk through. Just watching TFLs get taken on them over and over again in their facility. - Yeah, and I think too. Like that's like Kirby Smart when you think about takeaways and urgency, like starting fast. I just think these are, these are themes that are being yelled at to these guys. And when you have a lot of vets coming back, it's your urgency. You know how you carry yourself as a junior and senior compared to when you were a freshman or more. Walking in the building, knowing who captains are, like how much it's a player, rain, locker room, and how much you have to take care of on the field. - Are you Texas over LSU? Is that what you're picking in LSU? - LSU over Texas. - LSU over Texas. - Wow, what a, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's. - We're aligned, I'm Georgia over Texas. I do like Texas, I think Texas spent the right way in the off season handling the run game. 'Cause again, they have interior guys coming back. They added some pieces around them. You got Hollywood smothers. They're gonna have a run game, which is what they need. You get Archmaning, which I think we're gonna get Archmaning growing on the back half of the season last year. Like they are gonna be damn good, too. - That linebacker of miles. - You just need nice, Collins Simmons. - You also just need him to, we need him to show us. 'Cause we get excited about, we get excited about Texas every year. It's like, it should be exciting. - It's like going to the gym in January. It's packed, we're all excited. - We're back. - Why didn't Jim Zimtian march? - Oh, wow. Oh, Jim, oh, here we go. January gym theory. It's my theory. I just out theory Josh already. First episode of the work season. - Nice. - Right now it's 1-0, but the show's not even halfway over. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Can I get something off my chest? 'Cause there's some wind totals that I was going over. I'm going under on Texas A&M and 8 1/2. - I don't hate it. - Okay. I'm going under. I just want people to know that. - No, it's already guy. - No, no, no, no, no, I'm not saying that. - So let me just get this straight. - Hold on, hold on, hold on. We just worry about it. to be so respectful to all the SEC schools. Josh brings up seven schools. - Yep. - Now we can all be like not surprised by it. Where we all kind of cement and go, "All right, other than maybe in Amara, Alabama, "we're gonna watch the show and be like, "All right, that wasn't too bad what they said." Even I had an issue with quarter zip guy at Oklahoma, and I'm thinking to myself, like, yeah. - Coach Elko, I like-- - Coach Elko, friend of the show. - Friend of the show, Coach Elko, friend of the show. So we're-- - Love Coach Elko. - We've pretty, pretty much put a bow on the SEC, and we're like, everyone kind of feels good. People who that weren't pick, probably feel okay about it, and you're like, "Hey, just so you know, I think Texas A&M." - Dumpster. - They're not gonna do it. - Yeah, solo. - The 12th man, that's weird. All right, the midnight yell, that's weird. Those guys are weird out there. - And by the way, it's-- - But Elko, friend of the show. - Friend of the show. - Is Amara Sori-- - No, it's got nothing to do with the quarterbacks. - Yeah, yeah. - Nothing to do at home with the quarterbacks. - The players, the OC, I think all of them are really great. I just think they're gonna suck. - I hate 'em. - Coach Klein went up to Kansas State, the first time play caller, and again, it's like you look at their schedule. They're at LSU, what do you got them doing in Death Valley? - I haven't lose it. - At Alabama. - It's awesome. - At South Carolina. - Can I give a quick note, since we're gonna be nasty? If we're gonna be nasty. - No, I'm gonna be nasty. - You're like, "I'm just-- - This is key. - I'm gonna show two it. I want people to know. I got a couple of unders on here. - You're shooting at your shooter. Nash, you just brought up Alabama. I'm not high on Alabama this year onward. - I'm not either. - Okay. - Is that an under? - Is that an under? - What's their win total? - Win total is eight nests. - What's Alabama's win total? - Oh, here we go. - Alabama's is eight and a half, but Texas A&M, eight and a half, they're at LSU, they're at Alabama, they're at South Carolina. They host Texas, they're at OU, and then they also host Tennessee. - Let me see that again. - Take a look, take a look, dive in. - Could you note here? - They're recourse very sneaky on the table. - This guy's Stanford. - I like the NLSU for this year. I don't want to do any spoilers for one of the damn ACC. - I can see him win that game. - This feels like an attack on intern Chris. - At South Carolina. - What month? - Win is that game, yeah, exactly. - Win is the South Carolina game. - Can I get my paper? - In a second. - 'Cause I also, I also like under on Vandy. - All right, hey, I'll let you have this year back. I just wanted to look at that, 'cause-- - There's a few overs and unders here. - Okay. - LSU is at eight and a half right now. - Okay. - I like him over. Tennessee, over seven and a half. Texas A&M, I cleared that under eight and a half, and I also like the under on Vandy at five and a half. Just for people out there following, you want to place some bets over over some win totals? - Texas A&M just missed, October. - But you need to be hammering LSU, 'cause right now they're sitting at eight and a half. - It's on Halloween, it's hammer, consider it hammer. - It's on Halloween. November 7th? - You said A&M at South Carolina, right? - Oh yeah, I looked to the right side. - Oh, that's all October 31st. - Yeah, I saw that. - Oh, okay, yeah, you didn't see the bar. - Yeah, that's two touchdown win, never mind. (all laughing) - And we tried to be nice, we tried to be nice on this show. Bring it up here, so just on clear. Georgia, Georgia, LSU. - Correct. - All right, you guys are gonna have LSU in it. - I got LSU. - Here we are talking about Lane Kiffin, who's literally bringing the world together. - Time out, time out, time out, time out. I have LSU going 10 and 2 this year. I haven't been making the College of Old Playoff, but as far as the SEC Championship, I got Georgia over Texas. - Yeah. - Just to be clear, I know we're gonna talk College of Old Playoff in a little bit. I'm not an entire LSU. - I guess as long as you keep getting defeated out of September, they're living nice. - You just don't strike me as a guy that walks in off the street, ready to start the season pounding under. You seem like a glass half full. - I am. - I'm a happy person. I'm happy with my life. I'm happy with the way things are going in my life. You don't seem like an under guy early in the year. - I'm not. - Last year did something to you. - It did. - Hey, yeah, it did. (all laughing) - To bring that up though. - Well, I'm sitting there with Cody and, you know, my guy Cody Graves, we're trying to enter the graveyard on like, hey, you got some munders on here. Are you got some overs on here? Are there any unders you like? And I'm like, oh, let me dive in and see, you know, I guess, yeah, betting against the team. (all laughing) And so, you know, being on a gambling show right now, I'm like, let me cause a little bit of chaos and give some people the unders. 'Cause I don't wanna be optimistic willy all the time. - No. - Sometimes you gotta live for real. You can't just run up here all the time and you get burned out. - Yeah, yeah. - I'm trying to see the board. - He changed after one half a month's year. - You and I had the same hairstyle three weeks into the season last year. Because of your beliefs. - Do we wanna go, obviously we're big thin guys. - We wanna talk some ACC. Do we wanna talk some big 12? - Dude, I'll jump into the ACC. - Is that what we thought was about? - I guarantee you. - Can we all say our ACC champion on three? - You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room groans. Because they wanted that player. Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in prime time. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football. I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast. Before your draft are players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers and the mail back, data-driven, quick hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. College football will hijack your weekend, ruin your sleep and break your heart. How's it going? Every week we preview the games that matter, sort through the biggest storylines and tell you what to watch before kickoff. There's a lot to keep track of. Who's for real? Which upset is hiding in plain sight and which storyline is about to take over your group chat? And when the games are over, join us in the aftermath, too. We're gonna react to what happened, talk about the biggest results. Of course, we'll cover the playoff picture and all the little details you might have missed while flipping between like 12 games at once. Whether you know every coach and coordinator or just wanna understand why everybody is yelling, we're here to help make sense of the madness. Listen to the Solid Verbal College Football Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Hi, I'm Michael and Perioli. I wanna tell you about my new podcast, Underground Zero. I'm on the plane, honey. Something's wrong. - It's about what happened in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. - We're looking at the opportunity of a lifetime for us and the other families. - While the world was mourning, five powerful New York family saw an opportunity. - The debris supposed to go to the city on salvage, and some of it will. (laughing) - They would go on to make millions of dollars. - What's in the tunnels? - Gold bars, silver ingots. It could be worth half a billion. And they would have made more if it hadn't been for one courageous cop. - Dad, don't. - You're gonna need all of us. I'll call you when I can. - Frank, be careful. - Underground Zero, starring Steve Sherippa, Reya Brutsel, and me, Michael and Perioli. - Would you be willing to see your family go to pieces? - Some ways it already has. Listen to Underground Zero starting on September 1st on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - I'm Jake Brennan, and on my podcast, Hollywood Land, I revisit some of the biggest stories from Hollywood history. Separating the myths people want to believe from the reality underneath them. Like how the story of Marilyn Monroe isn't just the story of a Hollywood icon. Marilyn Monroe has become so iconic that her death can only be explained through conspiracy theories. And for some fans who can't let go, these stories have metastasized from conjecture to accepted fact. So on August 4th, 1962, Marilyn Monroe died. Then the rumors started, and she died again. And now, we're going to set the record straight, and learn about the way Marilyn Monroe actually died. The third way. Learn more about what happens when fame, media obsession, and conspiracy collide. Listen to Hollywood Land on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Yes. - One, two, three, Miami. Okay, so we're good. - What a preview. - That was nice. - What a preview. - Right. - Hey, that's a death. - Yeah, love right lastly. - Okay, that's a death for the week. - Welcome to Virginia Tech, James Franklin. - Debo Swinney, we'll see you next week. - Yeah, we'll see you next week. - What is your kind of thought, like Clemson? - Clemson? - I think they've handled the offseason. The best way they can handle it. Not ranked in the top 25 for the first time since what, 2011, and they win the ACC? - Well, they kind of are depending on who's top 25, but point taken, they don't know who their starter is. Probably Chris Vazina. I'm shocked that that's gone this long. I don't think they feel really confident about the production aspect at quarterback to start the year. I think they love the leadership aspect and the team galvanization aspect at quarterback, but that stuff sounds good in spring and summer in fall camp. But when your guy can't get you wins, it doesn't really matter what the locker room dynamic is so much anymore. And so like my big fear is it's 16 to nothing at halftime of that week one game and then it's like, we're dead on arrival. Like everything about last year's just compounded this year. However, that's not fun to talk about. - That's not. - What's fun to talk about is all the conversation around LSU right now is external. It's all the off the field stuff. [BLANK_AUDIO] Lane Kiff and dominating the headlines and no one saying a word about Clemson. And they're nine and a half ten and a half point dogs, depending on when you've looked at Fandall. And I don't know anybody that'll pick them to win outright. I mean, not a single soul on this planet will pick them to win outright. And you and you and I know this is the most unpredictable era of college football that we've ever experienced. Clemson happens to be playing a team that has disproportionately been put together via portal. So if ever LSU is going to be able to be rattled early, external distractions, a ton of newness all over the place, playing a team that has a pedigree about itself historically, entire world doubting them, that would be it. So I say all that to say, they could go in there and pull a shocker and they'd be on everyone's radar. There's a world. There's also a world where Clemson goes in there and get speed up 23 to 16 something like that. And then everyone really forgets about them. And they feel to realize, Oh, that wasn't a conference game. Maybe LSU is really good. And maybe it turns out Clemson fought a really good team down to the wire. And they're super sleepy mode. And then the next time they pop up is week five when Miami comes to town. Don't sleep on the travel out to Cal. I'm not sleeping on the sleep. Oh, the travel out to Cal. Yeah. So what you're saying, it's in Clemson's best interest to quietly lose their first game, strategically, strategically for conference per pie. Yeah. I have got you going beat LSU. There's not a chance. You don't want to do that. I am with you. Yes. You want to sit back, let your veteran quarterback show whether you can or cannot because there's a new freshman quarterbed that's come in. And everyone's getting given like to Sean Watson Trevor Lawrence kind of vibes like this is the next one coming in. But is he ready? So you go through the first couple of games and you pop him out week five or week four to get him tuned up a little bit. I don't hate that take. I still think Miami handles business. Yeah, I do too. Finally win the conference. Yeah. But I'll just to go further so people don't just think I'm throwing stuff out there. I got Clemson in the ACC title game. So that's who Miami plays. Still got Miami winning it. So that means they play twice this year. But I have Clemson putting together strong enough product to make the conference title game this year. What what have to take place for Clemson to beat Miami the second time around in your mind? Just quarterback really, really being better early than you expect. Like I'm not going into this game against LSU expecting like some wow moment. I think they're going to struggle to move the ball through the air. Now here's the tradeoff. If you listen to camp reports out of LSU, they're going to be really young on the interior of the defensive line. That that run game that sucked at LSU last year has had their way in scrimmages. So that either means there've been quantum leaps of improvement in the run game at LSU or they're not quite ready up front defensively yet. And if it's the latter, Clemson could go in there and that quarterback could have a stat line like like nine for 16. But they run the ball for 230 yards. They're plus two turnovers. Everything sloppy for LSU out of the gate. That's how they would pull the upset, I think. Yeah, it would definitely be running the football trying to imagine if you're a young cat in there. How loud it's going to be in Death Valley for that week. We'll know the chaos going on. Coach is young. Everybody young and you're just getting gashed and you can't stop the run. Now that's probably not to take them to the team. That's in their best interest. There's always a game by seven. That's where you can get some of his Ace of Team teams to go. Hey, look, listen, they fought this team down to the wire. But if you usually get blown out, which just seems like the most likely scenario, now you're fully in the waiting. Yeah, that's full channel flush. I do like a dabbo entering the A gap this year on the flip side. We're entering the A gap in the sense that like could be on the flip side. Oh, dabbo could be in all the other situation. Yeah, yeah, performance based business. Yeah, you know, how much Clemson folded last year. If you start off, there is a possibility, a small one. Because again, I believe in the dabbo with Clemson this year. I like how they've handled everything mentally. I haven't picked up the phone yet to call my my good friend Rich Besace, you know, who's now the special teams coordinator at Clemson. We'd love to kind of know, hey, what's your pulse on this team right now? Have not done that yet. Because there is a world where say they quietly lose and maybe they shock Miami and go form one in their first five. There is a world where they could be two and three in their first five. If they get throttled by LSU and I know I've been joking and smiling about Cal, but flying out the cow, what I'm excited to see what Tosh LaPoi is going to do in his first years that had coach there with JKS. Some of the weapons that they have like, yeah, I'm not saying Cal is going to shock a lot of people this year, but it's not a game you sit there and circle as a W. Right. You lose the cow traveling across the coast and then you lose at home to Miami. It'll obviously the national pressure there. It's going to get as loud as ever, probably similar to the likes of like a James Franklin, maybe not as high, but who knows in this world of college football? Do we think anyone else can compete in this league? Like Franklin, you're one Virginia tech. I don't expect him to compete. If I had someone, it would be either Louisville or SMU, they play week three really under the radar game. That's the week. LSU Ole Miss happens. That'll dominate the conversation. But SMU at Louisville week three, if it's not going to be Clemson and Miami, I think the winner of that game and Miami, those are your clear two. I'm just not as sold on SMU. Love Jennings, but as far as their line of scrimmage, young, and then they're like a full rebuild on defense. We're in a ton. Yeah. We're in a ton of guys. So we're going to get a look at at how they're going to do, but I just think there's a little bit more stability at Louisville. And I'm kind of excited to watch his linking kid at quarterback, the backup at Ohio State coming in and they lacked. They ran the football play defense last year, but with Brawm there, pairing up a link in the backup from Ohio State. I'm excited to kind of watch and see what they're going to do. They have a favorable schedule. Yeah. Like I have them going 10 and to be playing in the ACC title game against Miami and losing to Miami. Yeah. You brought your those uners and overs up. You look at the ACC. Who do you think a sneaky team is I think we're all in line that it's like Miami than everybody else. And then it's a slew between like two and six, two and seven and a half lines are tight with the ACC. So I don't have like a sneaky team. Yeah. I like Miami over 10 and a half. The only game I have them losing this year is two Notre Dame. Okay. Louisville is sent at eight and a half right now. I have that. I have that over. Yeah. Over eight and a half. Um, Virginia Tech. They're sitting at six and a half on the books. I have them over. Okay. We're back in the over category. Back in the over. Stanford under three and a half. Okay. I was back. Now new Willie's back. I took it. If you're going to do nasty. Congratulations. Stanford. You beat Hawaii and you beat Elon. Kansas under Kansas under five and a half. Oh, wait. That's that's what we'll talk about. That's big. That's big. That's big. That's big. That's big. I'm still actually pouring it down here. Yeah. Just kind of red. Yeah. The way the whole system works. The team that I like, they're at six and a half right now is Georgia Tech. Yeah. I don't like Georgia Tech. Mendoza's brother. He comes. He just watches both for an entire year. Leaded a team to a Heisman trophy, a national championship in a Heisman trophy after being a part of the worst team in college football history. You got Justice Hayes, who ran for what? 857 yards and seven games and 10 touchdowns was getting into the Heisman type of conversation and they have multiple other backs that can run the ball as well. So they'll have, you know, three, four guys that can get it done. An offensive line that's like, I think top 20 heaviest guys. And they're talking about them being like big boys, big boys dancing bears. Rip it all over the place. Luke Forell. They got their linebacker out of Georgia Tech. Yeah. This is a guy that they like wearing the green dot running around a little bit. So I don't see them being world beaters. We're going to have the conversation of Louis Villesan, who's in or Clemson, who's going to go play Miami. But I do like them over six and a half. You you like see that's where the line was like too tight for me. Like even Cal, like I'm excited and bullish on Cal this year. But then they're like West East that West East. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think to like Cal be a team. I'm assuming this a team that could travel well because Dan landing has a loss when he's traveled. Tosh coming from that. He's going to understand the operation, the urgency that needs to take place. I just, I just like Tosh LaPoi too. One team with JKS when you have a salty quarterback like that, you're always going to have a shot. One thing we haven't brought up Florida State last year shook the world with Alabama to their schedules rough, man. It's not going to happen for them. Their team is rough. Their team is rough. So we're going to be trying to play this now. Like Florida states a team I like to play optimistic with because no real friend of the show fully loved the conversation when we sat down with him. But as I'm going through their entire schedule, like they just have some tough out of conference games. And like, uh, he's entering the A gap. And he might get that chin. Yeah. Yeah. Might wake up to some smelling salt. It's been like, you tell me the months of the year backwards, buddy, if we're really back in this game. Here's the problem. If you were in the hospital and you're on the road to recovery, sometimes if you're on the road to recovery, you're being kept alive mechanically. You got all the tubes hooked up to you. Yeah. You got all that stuff that didn't exist a hundred years ago and it exists now. And you're good. And eventually, hopefully you can detach yourself from all that and you can bring yourself back to full health. The problem is they've removed all that from Florida state. There's virtually no support. The I'm not going to say the powers that be, uh, the financial powers that be down there did not allow them to overspend on a portal class. And it's almost like they've said, we're removing all of these devices and you're on your own. If you survive, - Great, in a perfect world, we'd love to win. We'd love to be behind you. But it feels like something in the middle is the worst outcome for them this year. Either shot the world and win nine games or just have it fall off the cliff and you just rip the bandage off and you start from scratch. Side note, I don't know how great a job this is right now. Like I don't know how the market views the Florida state job. I thought for all the world like they'd make a really, really hard run at James Franklin last year. That would have been exciting. Who knows if slash win this job opens who they can make or run at this year. But my breakdown of FSU is always the same when you just said, it's, man, I love Mike. I hope they get it done. - I know. - And then it's, but look at this roster. - I know. And it's like they got Tony White as DC, former Nebraska cat. - It's a phenomenal point. The phenomenal point. - Yeah. - Former Nebraska, how long have you been recording? - About 50 minutes. - So 50 minutes of recording, and that's the first time Nebraska's been mentioned in the show, right? - Yeah. - That's a new record. You win a part. - Some believe. - I mean, that is incredible. You have grown leaps and bounds. - I had 11 and a half minutes under. I think you took around a push. - Yeah. - And we got 50 minutes in. - I can't tell you guys. - Shock the world, light norvel. - Yeah. - Can't tell you guys something. - Go ahead. - I'm having a great time. - I love the viewers are too. And I hope they're leaving comments about it. 'Cause I'm having a great time. - I love that. - I love that, you guys. - I am as well. - Huskers, I do have over six and a half. - We'll get to the big tent a little bit. You make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room, groans, because they wanted that player. Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in primetime. Before your draft are players to target and players to avoid episodes, tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mail back. Data-driven, quick hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. I'm Ty Hildenbrand. He's Dan Rubenstein. How's it going? Who's for real? Which upset is hiding in plain sight? And which storyline is about to take over your group chat? We're going to react to what happened, talk about the biggest results. Of course, we'll cover the playoff picture. And all the little details you might have missed while flipping between like 12 games at once. Whether you know every coach and coordinator or just want to understand why everybody is yelling, we're here to help make sense of the madness. Listen to the Solid Verbal College football show on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Michael and Perry Oli. I want to tell you about my new podcast, Underground Zero. I'm on the plane, I need something to wrong. It's about what happened in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. We're looking at the opportunity of a lifetime for us and the other families. While the world was mourning, five powerful New York families saw an opportunity. The debris supposed to go to the city on Salva Judd and some of it will. They would go on to make millions of dollars. What's in the tunnels? Gold bars, silver ingots. Dad, don't. You're going to need all of us. Frank, be careful. Underground Zero, starring Steve Sharipa, Ray Abruzzo, and me, Michael and Karen Wilde. 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Other than that, they play BYU in the Bay 12 championship. I think they BYU takes a step back because they lost their defensive coordinator, Jay Hill to the University of Michigan. So wherever the number on that is, let's hit that. It had a bagel under and not as well. Before Jay Hill entered the picture for BYU, they were calling for clonics just off his head. He comes in, there are top 20 defense and all of college football last year. They're in it. There's one of those teams that I think they went 11-1 regular season. Am I correct in that? 11-1 only lost Texas tech. And we're kind of a team that was never spoken about of why they didn't make the playoffs. We're like BYU, you go sit over there. Well, we argue about Notre Dame and Miami and Texas and all those teams. I think this is a one way street similar to the ACC. If there's a team that I like shaking it up a little bit, they're playing week zero. I kind of like TCU. I like, I like, I like, was it Jaden Craig from Harvard, set a all-time passing leader there at the University of Harvard, who played there, Fitsy Baby, a friend of the show. And so he's gonna go in there, six, three, eight, dynamic caddies and get things done with his legs. Other than that, that's what I have for you in the Big 12. I think Arizona can be sneaky. Obviously, there's always Dillingham and Tempe, who's gonna make the most out of whatever he has from an offensive standpoint. Arizona State just got one of the harder schedules when you're looking at the Big 12. Utah, I'm flirting with the over on Utah because schedule. Yeah. I like Texas Tech, I guess, on the over. Love Kansas under five and a half. Love the J-Hawks under five. The amount of premeditated undershots at Kansas. You make Kansas into the ACC preview. That's how bad you hate Kansas. What do you have? This is the one that might be a pound the table 'cause we're gonna be doing confidence meter. When we're doing units, we didn't even break down with the help we're gonna be doing this. Go ahead, break it down for us. 'Cause if I'm being 100%, I'm not fully understanding. Okay, I'll tell you. Explain to me if it's worth to do. Yeah, no one's here. We're gonna have a Ford leaderboard slash here, we talked games, we kept our records, everything else. But we're gonna go ahead. Do you say Ford leaderboard? Ford leaderboard. So Ford is now an official sponsor of the locker room? Are you kidding me? We run a bunch of-- All right. Hey, guys, you guys. Everybody's still tuned in. There'll be a Ford leaderboard. Last year, we kept records for picking spreads and we'd come out a week to week having all of our records. This year, it's all units. So we'll be putting units on there. So Josh Pate, if he feels good about a team winning but doesn't wanna take four and a half, five and a half, he could just go money line. He's gonna place one you and a half. it on whatever his bet is. Obviously it doesn't, it doesn't give you the rewards if you actually take the spread or move the line, you know, against your favorite or more, but we're gonna be going units every week. We're gonna have a confidence meter. Think stadium pulse. You can go up to say five units. - Is that true? - That's the number? - Got it. - Five units, bang the table. We will know what our units are. Like, you know, if we're betting on the game, you're not tied to having to pick the spread. You're gonna spend a unit and you're gonna spend a unit on what you think that game's gonna be. And then every week on the four liter board, we will be able to keep up with our units. Whether it's a straight number, whether it's, was fractional. (laughing) - I think fractional. - I don't even really know what fractional means. - You're doing, like 1.54, some shit like that. - Oh, I don't wanna do that. That sounds very confusing for me. - But we have to just keep, we're keeping record of our units. - So if I am doing a unit, and I'm semi-confident about the game, I can do 2.3. - No, no, no, no, no, no. - No, I messed it up, I messed it up. I messed it up. - It's 1 through 5. - 1 through 5. - Stadium post, the higher the post is, the higher my confidence is. That's where I pound the table and say 5. - Like when Josh comes in and gives us a crowbar theory game, this is gonna be the crowbar theory. And he's pounding the table. He's like, I got five units on this game. That's how confident I am. So he'll put five said units on the game. - Yes. - Whatever the payout is, it's gonna be seen in units. - Got you. But crowbar theory, it's not. That's it, that this could happen. It's like, hey, just in case you put a crowbar through the spokes. - Yes. - So what we're saying, the crowbar theory is not a confidence? - Uh-oh. - Hey, I'm messing with you. - I know, I know, I know. - Don't let's have a worker do this. (laughs) - But it is important. - It's gonna do five. - Yeah. - And if I wanna take a money line, I can take a money line and just put one unit on it. - Yeah. - Okay. - And say, and say, and I have one unit, money line. - Well, we'll do that in the future. - Of course, no care. 'Cause this is like a futures one. So every conference champion that we have, we will be placing one unit on that conference. - Got you. All right, understood. - Yes, sir. - Let's say it's week two, and let's say Oklahoma's headed into Michigan, and let's say Oklahoma's, I don't know, one and a half, two point favorite. And let's say, I think Michigan's gonna win the game. I'm supremely confident. And I pound the table for Michigan. Let's hypothetically say that. - Yeah, but yeah, I like everything. - And Oklahoma smokes from 30 to six. Do I lose five units? - You lose, yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Cause you're saying confidence meter, I'm pounding the table on this one. - So you're supremely confident on place in five units on this game. So you can't just run your mouth on this show all year about being confident knowing there are no consequences if you're wrong. You really have to pay a price this year. - Amen. - What's the price? You got something going on in that beautiful brand of years? - No, I just wanna make sure all the rules are established. - I'm with you. - To everyone. So that we all understand. - I'll put the mirror back on. - He's it for everyone. - To everyone, I'm thinking. You're the one that ran out of me when Ohio State Michigan was happening. - But I ran to the right side. - What if it didn't know? - Have you seen the butterfly effect by Ashton Kutcher? - I have. - Okay. - Amy Smartinent movie, yeah. - Louis Laster, can you remember the title? - Maybe you were the problem. Maybe you were the reason why we lost. Think about that, Josh. - You know. - What did I do about being supremely confident last year? 'Cause I was, I think I got second in this. I lost you by one point. - You lost to who? - All right. - This is the same guy that was like, "I'm hammering out a bambler." - Yes, this is the problem. I didn't want you to continue. So it's possible for someone to finish with negative units on this game. - Yes. - It's not just degrees of positive. Someone could finish in the red this year. - I like that. - Yes. - Yes. So you're gonna know, hey, was I fruitful and bountiful and making money even though I lost some big games that were getting clowned over? Or did you just have it such terrible year and you're gonna be seeing if we lost money in the units that we spend? - Is there a punishment for whoever gets third places here? And are we going to follow through with said punishment? - We're gonna shave our heads. I think one of us should have to grud their hair out for a whole year. - How do you know I'm not doing that right now? (laughing) - Sounds like a fun game. - That's good, we got to explain what's gonna happen on the show this year. - Yeah, and just to clarify, you get one pound the table a week for each of them. - That's it. - Yeah, you don't get a pound the table for multiple picks. - Is it like a set amount of ammo or units we have? - Well, it's gonna be depending on the slate five to seven games that you will pick from and a parlay and you can set in between really one in four units but one five unit play or a pound the table. - No, if I'm not supremely confident about any games, can I? - You're one's across the board, I don't want it all. - You're not gonna have to pound the table or if you're semi confident, you're free to do two. - And if you're scared a little more, you just go money lines or move the line to where it's like this is minus three. - The math these methods. - Yeah, the math these. - The odds will matter if you do money line, you will not win as many units. - Yes. - If units won't go up, you're taking easy picks this year. - It sounds like they will if I just take a money line through one unit. - But if I take the spread and you bet a unit, you're not winning and your units will not go up. - So if they're minus 800 and bet five units, what happens then? - You would, you get the payout on those five units and should be minus 800, which wouldn't be a whole lot. - Ah-ha. - Oh, good guess. It's a good question. - I'm just trying to learn the rules of the game. - It's a dangerous game. - Actually, while you guys are explaining to me, I'm still trying to internalize and realize why Josh Payton looked at me that way. If he was talking to Will, if I'm being 100% honest, I'm just trying to figure out what I did last year. (laughing) - I had a question from Mr. Graveyard, but I can't, no, it's fleeting brain. - Well, and with this future, with these futures picks, you'll always be in it because these are, you know, higher odds in one unit for each of these picks. And, you know, so you'll always be in it, even if you're behind and then if your futures come at the end of the year, come into fruition, you can go from number three. Like, if you're negative, say you're a little under zero, and your Heisman hits, you're jumping. You can jump both of us. - That chooses me, I don't think. - What's the punishment? - Well, I don't think we're gonna have. - I don't know yet. - If it's that figured out, we're gonna have the same in it too, it's our fantasy league. - Yeah, but you're trying, you're wanting us to figure out right now in this moment in real time, in my brain, I'm thinking, we can find some time to try and figure this out so that way, we're not talking for another. - We are recording a show as well. - Yeah, yeah. - Gotcha. - So we can figure it out. - We need to have it figured out before next week's. - I just wanna make sure we don't have the same issue, we follow through with punishments. - Yeah, integrity. (laughing) - I do like Kansas under five and a half, just to get it before we were on the wait till day. - We got it, you hate Kansas. I don't hate the J, you need to hate the J. - I'll jog J-Haul. - Basketball school. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Basketball school. - Big 10. - We all feel good about saying who we think is the one that big 10 on three. - I think I got to remember. - Yeah. - Yep. - I don't think we're all in the same page, but do you guys wanna do that, or leave it up to, like, with the odds find out? - I think we can do the one, two, three. - All right, one, two, three. - Ohio State. - Who did you even say? - Oregon. - Oh. - Like, who'd you say? - Ohio State. - Again. - Yeah, we're on the same page. Which I actually hate. - Dispised. - I despise the fact that I am being like, yeah, I think Ohio State's gonna win a big 10 this year. - Do you have Ohio State beating Oregon in the regular season two? - I do. - Oh, wow. - Yeah. - I do. - Oregon semi-splouse. - Oregon's still in it. - But they gotta go two, they gotta go two Columbus. That's very different. - Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, I did it on the road. - Dair and my smish been sub-tweeting every single wide receiver out there. He's talking about, he's putting training day, Denzel Washington. I'm King Kong in this motherfucker type stuff. Julian Sand has been under a squat rack this whole off season. We looked at last year like they have so many pieces, they have to recover and find out after all these guys left at the NFL. And then we quickly found out who our Vell Reese is. They've got five more guys in the linebacker room. They can do that. They have a great defensive line room. They have Chris Henry Jr., who is a freshman. They're already seeing his praises. And there was a name Brock Boyd. Brock Boyd, salty white boy, salty kid. If you haven't seen the video, there's a viral video of guys on the sideline being like, they don't get you white chocolate. Watch out, Ohio, get your ass. And this kid just routes up some poor unsuspecting DB in the middle of the Inzo comes back talking that shit. I was at UFC for the McGregor fight. We'll just call it the Paddy Pimbley fight 'cause that's really what it was. I was at UFC for the Paddy Pimbley fight. And I'm walking through. I'm going to sit in my last feet. The people sit me down and I see two big boys. Oh, I tailor. Oh my God, a couple of hawks. Again, I give them a nice little problem with. And they go, oh, wait, hit me with one of those. Don't clip that. And I get them like, oh, okay, yeah, that's fun. And they're like, no, no, come here, come here. And big friends of the show were seeing Josh praises, seeing if we're loving Josh, Josh Pate. And they're like, I'm like, hey, what's the word on this? This Chris Henry get his, he actually like the truth. They're like, yeah, he's really good. Brock, Brock Boy, this kid is unbelievable. And I kind of just glanced over that they're running back. There was 4,000 yards last year. It's running with the twos right now. Because they have so many guys, they have a hell of a schedule. I just think like they don't make it two years ago. They make it in this year and get dummy, I get losing Indiana. They just, I see them winning the Bay 10. I hate admitting it, but I feel like it's my duty to sit here and look at everything and be like, yeah, Ohio State seems like that team this year. I see them only losing one game. I gave serious thought to Indiana. I gave serious thought to Oregon. I gave thought, not serious thought, to us. because they're kind of periphery to me, I gave, I will give thought to Penn State in as far as they could make the conference title game, but I always came back to Ohio State. I always came back to trust in both lines of scrimmage. I always came back to trusting both coordinators. I kept coming back to really what I think is the entire focal point of this conference. And that is Julian saying leveling up his level of play and also how many different ways they could win a game if they needed to because I think they could go shoot out if they needed to. I think they could run the ball 47 times if they needed to. I'm like you, there's like a certain baseline of defense that I just trust. I'll get from them. They're Georgia, they're Oklahoma in that way that I just, I kind of trust that side of the ball. Only thing that I would question is, all right, if they do that because I feel like I'm describing Georgia and I kind of am who just in the big 10. So I'm picking them to win the conference just like I picked Georgia to win the conference. My only question is, is this the kind of situation where you guys win the league, you get to the playoff and the same thing happens to you this year that happened last year. And your conference title is wonderful, but you're a quick out because that's what I had picked for Georgia. And we'll see what the playoff predictions hold later in the show, but I've got a different team going further from the big 10 in the playoff. Then I do the big 10 champ, who I picked to be Ohio State and you and I are aligned and everything you just, you guys are kind of talking me into a state. Because it's like, we'll get we'll get the playoffs like I they're going to be in the playoffs. They're probably the most equipped to run through their schedule and win the big 10 championship. But I have the same thing. I have a different big 10 team making up. Here's what's crazy, though, Ohio State plays the toughest schedule in this league. So your mind would say, well, they're good enough to make it through that schedule, make it to Indy, win the big 10 title. What's the playoff going to throw at them that they didn't already experience? My answer to that, this is really the part where I just interview myself. The answer to that is anybody who's in the playoff is there cause they, they scaled up at the right time. They're playing their best ball at the right time. They're revving. They're revving the engine at the right time. And like, Ohio State did that two years ago. So Ohio State is facing versions of teams who were doing what they did two years ago. Like, Ohio State played Miami. Well, so did Louisville and SMU and beat him. But Ohio State dealt with a totally different Miami team come playoff time. And that's where I justify at least in my own mind so I can go to sleep at night. I justify picking a team to win a league, but then maybe them not going as far in the playoff tournament as some other teams that even they may have beaten in the regular season. You and I are so aligned right now, dude. I couldn't, I couldn't agree more because you're in Oregon. You guys just were exploiting. Hey, your pick's awesome. I like it. Cause I'm with you like, there's not a lot of certain college football than that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They have so much return Dante more. He's going to be a beast. They get why receive the one back that they lost last year, you know, in training camp. Um, I just, I'm into the idea of Ohio State beating them in the regular season at Ohio State and that vengeance, that blood being there when they meet again in the big bench championship. And not to mention, we're not even talking about it in the end right now. No. Yeah. I got Indian in the playoff. I just want to know, I got him in the playoff. I just haven't met 10 and two. Not, I have Oregon going 11 and one only lost to Ohio State and I just haven't been getting that get back once they get to the big 10 championship. So you got a rematch in it in Indianapolis. I have a rematch in Indian. All right. Now, that probably also means Ohio State goes to the playoff probably, right? Which means they could play a third time if the bracket lines up, right? But I don't think that's the question. The question is, how do we as a show feel like we need to handle Dan landing this year? I'm just, Taylor kind of just kicked him in the teeth. Nope. Not sure. He's a Ryan Day guy. We haven't got to the playoff portion of our stuff. And don't, uh, this is how you're going to get, this is how you're going to get back. I, I think Ohio State is going to win the big 10 championship. You're going to hit like the part of the show right now. You're going to hit laying with him. Okay. I kind of got to drop him both. But don't worry. Check out this. If you watch as the full show, I'm sure he'll be happy with him. I'm sure he'll be happy with him. You look at that. The roster is incredible. Like they're running back, uh, broke a scholar bone. He'll be off for the first couple of weeks and the back up when rush for 8.7 yards for you. More than the starter last year. Dan landing doesn't like the highlight guys, but though why receiver Stewart, he's like, this guy just continues to elevate his game. Back dude. Yeah, he's back. He's back. There are two defensive linemen. And I have messed up their names every single time. But Mateo got that one and then to be OT. I say it right. That's fucking go, Cody. And you're free to use your words, too, if I look at you, um, both those guys, like I think they kind of were 20 sacks last year, the in the middle of their defense. They got bare Alexander. He sticks three, three, 16 more like three, 30 like their demons across the board is absolutely brother. Second. They're back up quarterback has big 10 starts under his belt. It was it was a five star coming out of high school. He's essentially all the way out. Well, you lost some weight, too. Did he? It's not fat anymore. It's okay to say that when someone's lost the weight. Yeah. You can go the opposite. His words. Not mine. Yeah. I'm not found more. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, who else is also trimmed down? Patrick, my home. I digress on that though. Hey, but on their secondary. The coin more hiding brought him up. Yeah. Okay. Go on. I was going to say they have like four five stars, four more top 50 guys, four more top on it. Like they're back in their secondary is loaded or good clump went through the roster yesterday from zero to 10 just the numbers zero to 10. There are seven five stars in there. Yeah. And that's as far as when before like my God, the biggest the biggest hang up is the OC. Well, hold on. What do you mean hang up? Like you don't know much about him? Well, he's been a part of the team. Is what 20? He's been around. He's been around. He's been around for years. Two new quarters. Yeah, but landing defense like you never like to me. It's like you know, the defense is always going to be good. The thing is with the OC is like more set there and he's been like, he's the Albert Einstein of football. Like they they have a great relationship. They're dialed in. So I have extremely, but some might say the highest of expectations for Oregon this year, except for winning the conference, except for winning the conference. Here's what we need to do to make ourselves feel better about that. And especially you, because you're picking them to win the league. I'm taking them to win the league to make yourself feel better about that. We've got to explain a way the blood bath that was the peach bowl last year against Indiana. Because that exists. Like everyone's bringing up that rose bowl, Indiana did it to Alabama, Indiana did worse things to Oregon. Yeah. And yet we're bought right back in. So here's what I'm going to say because Dan won't say this, but he needs an excuse and I'm going to make an excuse. Don't get an excuse, man. No, I'm going to give it. So he doesn't have to. Okay. Not to say it's true, their coaching staff was a disaster in the playoff last year, because they had two guys already checked out one going to Kentucky, one going to Cal. Dan's never been through it before. Really. No one's been through it before because our schedule is stupid and our calendar is stupid right now. And he did the best he could in decision making, but in retrospect, I guarantee you, he looks back on that and says, we would have been better had they just gone. We would have been better if we had just promoted from within for the playoff because I think that was very counterproductive for them. So Indiana won by roughly a hundred points in that game. Water under the bridge. Yeah. Look at the way old mess. Yeah. He's like, I would probably should have done that. Yeah. Also great chip on your shoulder too, because they've been steamrolled both times. Yeah. Yeah. Host they've been by a hundred, Indiana being by a hundred. Buddy, you know Kurt Signetti blew that cell phone up over the off season. Big Nady. You know that. Probably it wasn't Dan cell phone. Big Nady protects him. This off season says how she doing. Yeah. Yeah. No, he texted his wife and said, tell your husband I said hello. That's the worst part, man. Dan knows he can't do anything about it until he just has to walk out on the porch and shake his head. Yeah. Put his hands on his hips. Look at it at the skyline and just. Don't appear high heels and go to work. That's all you can do. You know it's raining up there too. Yeah. Yeah. What am I doing outside? Focus. Big ass porch. But I mean, Oregon's roster is incredible. And the big 10. I mean, are we just going to go into playoff mode or are we going to? No. Hold on. You didn't mention a word about what you think Michigan's going to do this. I got some totals as well. First big 10 total. Yeah. Kansas under. Okay. Well, here's my thought on Michigan. I am so outrageously optimistic of what this season can be that we could be in the big thing. We could win the big thing. Hold on. I'll speak out. Yeah. God. I don't like that for a second. They could win it all. All right. They could win the big 10 or the whole thing. I'm saying, listen, the reports coming out in August, talking to some of the coaches, I won't name names. I will give their job to other quarterback coach. They are over the moon about Bryce Underwood. His feet, his decision making, his work, I think has never been an issue. They absolutely love it. You bring in J.J. Buchanan from Utah. He has been a guy that's like, this kid is, you put a 50/50 ball up to him. It's 90/10. Like a couple of back shoulder throws, no prom, Jason Beck, wildly creative on the offensive side of the ball. You use more personnel than any other coordinator in college football last year. Very creative. It makes you, as a Michigan fan, you're like, it fires you up so much because this team goes 9 and 3 last year with a completely different schedule with like the most vanilla day one install type of offense. And a few things going on behind the scenes. Just a couple of things going on in the scenes that might be a bit of a distraction, right? Thank God for linking. and what it happened, I'll miss, kind of took away from what was going down or going up and Ann Arbor. Jay Hill comes in. We kind of brushed over him with BYU. He runs that 42425 defense. The signaling from Michigan is the defensive line with a lot of the fan bases. We don't know if they're going to be like, that's just that's one of the strengths of our team is how dominant this these guys can be going into this year. You listen to Whittingham talk. The structure of Whittingham. The culture that he is, the no BS type of stuff, the way that they made gains in the weight room. As I sit back as a Michigan fan, you're seeing all the right headlines right now about how Bryce Underwood goes into the second scrimmage and he's, he's lighting things up. You had Savian Heider, who was a five star athlete, number one running back and I said, they're like, this gets as advertised. He's going to get a lot of snaps this year. Yes. Utah. Number two rushing offense in the country last year. Yeah. Continue. Okay. Well, who took over after Justice Hayes got hurt. He was, I think he had eight, what, over 800 yards last year and he played the second half this season. He was splitting some carriers here and there. There is a big fight for who's going to be wide receiver number three. And every guy they talk about was four star or five star JJ French, who was at Texas last year. He comes up. Josh Payne. When's the last time you felt this good about a Michigan wide receiver court? 2012. Been a long time. Yeah. Continue. Okay. There's structure, there's stability and an arbor. Whittingham is the perfect tire for the state of where that university was given all the extra curricula. They were taking place with the last coaching staff and the coaching staff before that. The biggest controversy taking place at the University of Michigan right now is, does the head coach hate Ohio State enough, which is the best place that we could possibly ask to be for after what's all gone on since 2023. So I feel very bullish on Michigan. I mean, you were week zero. We got a long way to go. I know. January. No, no, no, no. I'm making a compliment. Okay, Dodge. You will never more effectively talk me into anything than you just talked me into something I was already into. You didn't watch last night's show. I did not. I'm really high on Michigan. If you told me they're the third best team in this league this year, I wouldn't bat and I at that. I can see that kind of ceiling. Go ahead. Okay. So you, when we first started the big 10 talks, you brought up Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State and then mentioned USC. Yeah. Did you just, I was building towards this because I want to, I just want to know, so I want you to bring your wife to tell you what happened. I just need you to tell me what happened. Yeah, I have a question. Look often. Oh, no. All of that. No, I'm with you. Oh, I like Michigan this year. Yeah. We're like, we're talking about the evolution of old content. Very complementive of Michigan to the last year. Yeah. I like Michigan a lot this year. Where do you have them this year? Like you picking as a Michigan man, like a full blooded. Yeah. Michigan man. Picking Ohio State to win the big 10 championship, yep. Talking about Oregon, the way you just talked about Michigan, like do you have them in your playoff? Like, where are you with Michigan to where you talking like that? Why aren't you sitting there sticking your neck out for them? I've been hurt, man. You've been hurt. How? I've been hurt. Last year. That was wildly optimistic. It's not about adversity, well, it's not about my mental fortitude or anything like that. I sit here and my job in the locker room is to sit here and evaluate all teams, fair and equally. Like Michigan has a top 15 roster. There's no doubt about it. But as it stands, Oregon, Ohio State, USC and Indiana and the big 10 have a better roster. I don't know what's going to come from winning him just yet. I sit back and I'm like, yeah, I'm picking Ohio State. What way do we get to the playoff area? People sound like, oh, Taylor's totally taken the flip. What way do we get to the playoff section? I just sit there. I'm like, I got to be a fan of this team. I got to sit back. Week two, if it goes the way that I am pretty sure it's going to go, we're going to redo our futures in the big 10 at least. Okay. That's where I sit. Where do you have him sitting right now preseason? Like what's the record look like? Are they making the college world a playoff? I think that's a nine and three season. And I think if we go nine and three, we're like, hey, Michigan, like 2027, where we're at, we're talking about a national championship. The thing that gives me pause is the first year head coach. It is like, I'm hearing all the best stuff about Bryce, but it's like, I'm in this position of like, hey, his footwork's gotten better, his decision's making gotten better. A lot of times you hear Jordan Palmer who he worked with in the off season. He was on the Rich Eisen show talking about like, when it comes to like short and intermediate throws, it's not necessary about the accuracy of the ball. It's where your feet are at. So you're throwing that same pitch every single time. He's gotten, I'm hearing all the things where I'm like, dude, I'm buying in to this type, but I want to just sit back and let them do their thing because I get out there and I start betting on the table and Michigan this, Michigan that then it's, you know, you put yourself in a position where it's just like, you don't want to be there. You want to let them, let them be candleflogs right now, let them sit back, let them sneak off with some folks. And then week two will be sitting there being like, I was whispering this to you guys. I was letting you guys know, but I wasn't, I wasn't trying to hold the flag just yet out of respect for the university. So you say they beat Oklahoma, they're going coach for a playoff. We beat Oklahoma. Yeah, you cancel Christmas. But as of right now, it's, it's over. As of right now, you have them at Oklahoma as one of the three losses. I think, look, okay, so you had Ohio State at the top there. You throw records out the window when that, when that game takes place anyway, you saw, you saw it two years ago, and for the first half of the last year's game. So in that situation, it's like, yeah, Ohio State has a better quote roster, but if Michigan's firing all cylinders, you know, I got Michigan 10 and a 10 and not one. Oregon is one where you have to go to Eugene and like, okay, I think that one you take in Alan right there, Indiana Hoover, when you have 42 interceptions and 31 starts, like I know, signate. He's a great coach. He's probably arguably the best coach in college for more and not based on what he's been able to do. But it's like, is that going to be that much better whether you have a turnover of she, like, Mendoza, when he was coming from Cal, like, he was like, there's nothing flashy about him. He was not a risk taking type of quarterback. So you just took that molded it into the RPO with the back shoulder throws. You've taken guy and pulled the reins on him a little bit. This is a different, a little bit of a different look for Siky. So when I look at the schedule, it's like Iowa, Oklahoma, Penn State, Indiana, Ohio State, you have five, six games, you're like, all in the top 25. The only one that truly gives me pause is the one that the curse was over right now, which is Oregon. Now, I'm like, hey, like, you're going to have to come with your best plus a little something that you're going to be that team in Eugene. We've been there. We've been, we've seen that 55,000 sounds like 105,000 that stadium, that talent, impressive nine and three borderline contender. At the end of the day makes you feel like next year's the year. That's where you are right now for the Oklahoma as of right now and will did a great job of the beginning of the show saying we are not to be held by our picks. Yes. Shame on everybody. Shame on everybody if they say, Oh, you guys were really as ready. Listen, we beat Oklahoma in week two. I got Michigan. We're in the big bench. We're in a non-conference game, but you saw enough. Right. Vendible is defense. Yeah. If you don't go to it, they put 28 on Oklahoma and let's say they lose 31, 28. They probably win the bay 10. I can't say I follow you logic at all, but you don't follow that logic. They won't lost to a tough Oklahoma team. And you scored a lot of points. I see where you're building. Yeah, you see what I'm going. I see where your brains are. Yeah. I agree with you. I'm nine and three borderline playoff team. So that's where I am with him before the OU game. And before we started. Because it could be a nine and three versus an Oklahoma nine and three. And then you'd have that. We're about this. How about this? That means maybe your nine and two talked to me going into the last week of the regular season. Oh. And that means you've beat some combination of OU Penn State, Iowa, Oregon, Indiana. You've beaten some combination of those teams. Plus, Bryce Underwood is fully through his second year as a starter by that point. Savian Hyder, maybe 1000 yard rusher. If he's not, it's cause he shared the workload. Yeah, why not? Three. Bryce Kim run. I'm with you, dude. Like everything you're saying. Like I'm so juiced up by all the words you just used and the way you use them. I give him your take on the possibility. I know we're big on Ohio State and you kind of got talked to the Ohio State. Let's put in that conversation. It didn't happen. We're on the plane flying to the Hall of Fame game. You said I could see Ohio State losing three games. Explain that. I think it's where everybody else has probably talked to themselves a little too much about the romanticizing about college football because Ohio State has just got a hell of a schedule. Like I have them losing to Texas at Texas on September 12th. But you look at, you know, going to Iowa is not going to be a walk in the park. Should they win that game? Absolutely. But they go to Iowa, to Texas, to Indiana, to USC. They host Oregon. They go to Nebraska and they finish it off with the game against Michigan. That's a gauntlet of a schedule on high on Ohio State. I think they're an incredible team, but looking at all of these, these battles that they're going to have, especially their away schedule is like there are moments where you sit there. You guys kind of talked to me and then went in the big 10 championship. You guys talking in that moment, I'm like, fuck the right, but I know the minute I would have went back to the ball. to their schedule, I would have talked to myself, man, they could kind of lose some games here if they're not on their stuff, if Coach Patricia doesn't get this revamped defense going. I think he will, because he's a stud, he's a genius, but you don't know. You just believe that this is a top roster in college football always, because they get the best recruits, they get their portal guys, they have it all. But I look at the schedule, man, they have a tough road schedule. And is Nebraska not sitting in the best position possible for that schedule? I just say claim right before the game, and Nebraska is sitting there at, this is what I want to know, six into, well, it's November 21st. So it's the second to last game, 11 games have been played. This will be the 11th game for them, so 10 games. So they're able to, they could be sitting there at 7 and 3, 8 and 2. If they're 8 and 2, then it's, it's over to we're talking for a half, yeah, for Nebraska. Well, Ohio State's going to have to come correct, because of Nebraska's 8 and 2, it's like, hey, this is, this is a college-file contender. Yep. You know, because in theory, it would be, it would be, oh, Ohio State could lose three and make the playoffs. They're that kind of team. That's that kind of schedule. Yeah. Yeah. But if that's case, I was Michigan, I don't know that I agree with that. It depends on what Oklahoma ends up being. You could be right. Difference is Ohio State's going to Texas. True. It's still the same, besides we don't play USC, Ohio State going to USC is a major wrinkle. Yeah. It's a major wrinkle and that'll be a night game. We don't know. That's the big 10 cannot big noon West Coast teams at home. That's what we know. So they can't do the 9 a.m. local kickoff. Yeah, what should be said? So it's normally a 3 30 or something like that, that's one right game. It's all very interesting. 10 the SSCR fascinating this year. Exciting. You want to hear some totals? Yeah. I want to hear some totals. I like it. I like it. I like it. We're fast. What do we have right now? I like work. The thing is too. How are we going to do an hour show? There's no way. There's no way we can do an hour show. Oregon over 10 and a half. I've been Stuart DeCorean more on there because there's studs. Oregon State under 9 and a half under 9 and a half pole Penn State schedule because I think I don't agree. I think I hear the games right here. They host USC at home. They're at Michigan skip right over Wisconsin. You think that's a diala. Time out. Read this. Read this piece of paper right here. This is their swings. They're bigger ones. Right. USC at home at Michigan. They host. Washington. Yeah. That's one of the one you can't just circle as a dub. So four potential loss right there. They're over under 9 and a half. They take her Wisconsin, lose the other three and it's not in three. It's just math at that point. Just math. That's all this shows ever been. It's all I've talked about. Just math. Just math. Again, Ohio State, I have a question mark because I'm not willing to go with the total there because I've talked myself in the various situations with Ohio State schedule. Indiana 10 and a half. A question mark, Ohio State is 9 and a half. I guess I got it. Three doesn't do it. 9 and 3 doesn't do it. Indiana 10 and 2. I have a question mark. So I'm not willing to go over 10 and a half there. Sure. Nebraska over 6 and a half. Break down some Nebraska for me. This is officially your one of Matt rule because we switch our jerseys. That's correct. Yeah. The reason I'm bullish on over 6 and a half with Nebraska this year, I think it is very easy. It is our world right now. It's the pattern and rhythm of Nebraska every year. We win the off season. Man, we're out flying. We're drinking the cool late every year. We all still do. Still do. Still do. What? What off season did you guys win? Like we sat here and what was it January, February, whatever like signing day was and you guys were like, Hey, what's going on in the bread? They have like the 50th best signing class going on. Got Kenny mentioned coming in. Yeah. Yeah. Kenny bitches coming. Yeah. But don't worry. We got Klangria from you and LV. What is that? I like. I'm there right there. What was that because he's going to be a beast. I agree with that. But I'm looking at the framework of we win the off season every single year. It's like so many bad things has happened to Nebraska to wear like an outside beer with look at Klangria and be like, that is a constellation prize. Let's take a place right there. No time. Oh, what just to place is the reality of when the brassin comes up. I say shit like that last take place. You don't know the trenches that we feel like we're in all the time when we do start drinking the cool late. We're much more calm demeanor this entire off season because we're Nebraska fans like we're much lighter yet the podcast last year and ruling all this stuff last off season. We want we went to a bowl game for the first time in what 10 years. We want to a bowl game for the last couple of years. But still it's like I think where we are now as a society of Nebraska football is having a little bit more. All right. Let's wait and see what happens. The rhythm and pattern that I just express and you guys just react to it all the answer is where the Nebraska Huskers are publicly, naturally, globally. But if you take, I think I'm trying not to crack, I'm not trying to do anything. I'm being dead as serious because now I want to take you into the back. I want to take you into the vacuum of why I got us over six and a half. I was going eight and four. Why at all off season, man, well, they were winning. This is still quite really talking. You don't have me 12 and 0. You don't have me 10 and 2. You don't have me talking about cultural play off like I have essentially every year going into last year. There was a little doubt flickering in my head. And I think I told it to you at the Cincinnati game. The one thing I was worried about with who we had on staff was a DB coach from the NFL being our defensive coordinator and coach Butler because you got to be able to stop the run. You got gashed all year in the run game, clearly not good. But bringing an orator from San Diego state, him being a linebacker guy himself, what he did at San Diego state having, oh, and Chambers, but he's on the watch list. He's going to be a stud this year, but a man focusing on the run game, being in all of the position groups. Not somebody a DC who sits back and kind of observes, let's assist us do what they want to do. And drills with everybody. This is the Intel. This is the Josh Bait Intel on the Josh Bait College football show. You haven't said it, but you should have an oratory as a run focused defense. There's going to be a shift because there's three things when I want to keep you in this vacuum. Run defense, offensive line play in limited QB play, what we had last year, okay. I don't think people understand Nebraska folks do the drama in the distraction that took place with the rail of family, not from just Dylan, Dylan's dad, coach Rayola, who's the old line coach, who there wasn't a relationship like those two parties didn't really talk. The very bad abysmal, old line play that we had last year, bringing a Jeep weight from Georgia tech to help with our issues. Again, you see him rule, talk about biggest, meanest leanings that we've had since he's been here. He's not saying we're going to win the whole thing, but he's like, he feels insanely good about the roster and where guys's focus is are. But fixing the old line play, protecting Alex Anthony, Calandria, Calandria is going to be a stud. He brings an aspect that we haven't had in Nebraska since what maybe Taylor Martinez days with being able to run around have he's got a gunslinger of an arm and he's just got the sauce and the juice that you already can tell guys are going to feed off of. I've already heard that people feed off of it and or it's focusing defensively and fixing the run game because we were terrible at that last year. Too many explosive runs on us, Michigan. We were at that game. You popped. I don't know how many explosive run plays to where I'm in my head. You eliminate these explosive runs like for the love of God, if we could just punch the guy in the hole. We're just, we're talking about gap assignment football, run defense, old line play and limited quarterback play, having those issues, feeling like this is what we are focused on going into this year. This is why I am bullish on Nebraska over six and a half and we're talking win total because there's five games. Indiana at home, we go out to Oregon, Washington at home, Ohio stated home on the road at Iowa. Five games right there, we're going to have to clip to to go nine to three. Okay. The show ends and you're driving your car and like, wow, those guys really laughed at me. I want you to know the only things I laughed at were one in the off season and when you use the word globally, okay. Everything you just said about Nebraska and identifying the issues and the limited quarterback play and the run defense. Very clear, very addressed. It seems like even the portal with all the minchi issues taking place. I love your approach to Nebraska football this off season. Josh, you have four. I do also want to say when I am driving home, I'm just going to know like this is the reality. But if people want to talk to me one on one about how I feel about Nebraska football, It's the first thing, it's like, I pulled clump one day. I was like, just walk with me. We're in pattern of Nebraska football. I get it. We're all gonna sit there and chuckle and laugh. I get it. But if you zoom in and like, hey, what were, if you had three issues last year, did we handle them in the off season? In my opinion, yes, with Orich, Jeep Wade, and Anthony Clandria. That is where I want us to place focus. 'Cause you improve massively in those areas. Like, we are scrappy. We are scrappy this year in the big time. Who's your running back? Seems like it could be this freshman. Okay. Jamal. Get the stop. Jamal. Alright. We'll go with Jamal. Jamal rule. Yes. Jamal rule. Nice. Clandria, I love. I love the locker room vibes. This is gonna have everybody rally around them. Isaiah Hunter. Zachori Barney. Luke, coming back. A tight end. Go ahead, John. I would like to know you're down to one thing for my own record keeping. You said eight and four, but then you said nine and three. Yes, Josh. In an approach of keeping my expectations at bay. And I'm smiling because I'm also like, well, I'm also saying they're gonna go eight and four. So, again, I understand as we get rolling and we start five and out and we're hosting Indiana for an opportunity to take down the first ring teams in 2016. We will be present for our tailgate tour. Maybe who knows, week six, huge slate, our ESPN show could be anywhere would obviously love for it to be there to witness what could potentially take place and happen. And by that time when the ball is kicked off, I will be at a spot where I'm thinking we could really get in the playoff this year. Just so I'm understanding you. You are on record with two different predictions for Nebraska and reserving the right to adjust to one or the other mid season. I guess I did the same thing, but I want to do that with all my best. Yes. I don't want to put any Baltimore material out there. Globally. Globally. But internally. Listen, internally, I will get there. We start off five and oh, you talk to me then. You know, I'll still try to remain. If you get the sticks now. Going out to Oregon. You don't think I'm gonna get landing said? I think there'll be a massive ban on the Will Compton. Any Will Compton, any part of their facility. Keep me out of there, Dan. Nebraska beats Indiana week five. Six. There's Boston with paid on campus. Go to your gene organ. Bussen and Pete. Bussen and Pete, is it Bussen and Pete? Can I just be real with both of you? The past seven minutes have been some of the most messed up in my life. Why? But it really makes me glad that we're back. We're so back. Yeah. Really makes me glad we're back. You haven't given an opinion on his comments of Nebraska. I wasn't going to cut in on that. No, no, no, I'm saying like now that that's over. Where are you with this guy? But don't look at him when you talk. I never would. I can't do that to him. Yeah. Because last year there was a lot of this. And it ended up with both the most predicting. There was, there was trenches. It ended up with us physically laid out on the field in Lincoln, Nebraska as the stands cleared out. Granted, I went into the Michigan locker room with you to celebrate. But then I came back out on the field to suffer with you. You were laying like rose from Titanic. Yeah. On the 46 yard. Yeah. So how do you feed? Do you always get to leave that alone? That's enough to Nebraska talk. I do want to know where you're at. I want to know. Give, give, give me a couple sentences on what maybe your thoughts were pre that Nebraska talk. And when I brought you into a vacuum where they were after. I was at seven and five before. And I'm at seven and five afterwards. Having said that, we now live in a world where I could make multiple predictions. Because that's apparently something that happens now. Shame on me if I hold you to that. Correct. As part of me was ready to. So I'm predicting. I was ready to cut the course. Seven and five and eight and four. We're going to meet on eight and four. My, my internal prediction is your global prediction. Eight and four. Okay. We feel good. I haven't even talked about Lincoln Riley. Joe. Time out. Top class in 26. How they're going to sneak up on teams this year. Could probably be a playoff team. But yeah, we can move on. We would be moving on to the playoffs anyway. We'll see really quickly if they're a playoff team. Who you, let's go, um, final four. Who's making the semis? Got it. It's so hard to break down. We'll just see it getting right to four, but it's not Notre Dame. Okay. Hey, Cody, can you bring up Josh Payne's College of World Playoff prediction? Because I have a massive question for you. And I think I know what the question is. I'm pulling it up for myself. What's going to be up here in a second? As you know, I did multiple predictions. Which we live in that world now. But this is 2.0. Okay. Yeah. Will there be a 3.0? I'd have to do it next week. All right. Yeah. And I'm a guy with integrity. So I'm probably not going to do that many Thursday. Notre Dame versus Miami in one semi-final. Texas versus Oregon in the other semi-final. That's that spot where I've got two teams there. Neither of whom's to won their conference. Both of whom's go further in the playoff. Then the teams that won their conferences. I have got four coaches. And the final four who have a combined zero national championships. I kind of love that, dude. And a magnitude of Miami and Oregon actually happened. Mario Cristobal behind closed doors. Man, that would be fun. That would be insane. With my little sheet. Who do you have in the final four? I've got semis. LSU. S&C champs. And going blazing in the playoffs. I got Miami. I got Oregon. And I got Notre Dame. Who are your matchups there? My matchups are going to be Miami, LSU and Oregon Notre Dame. All right. Mine are Notre Dame, Texas in Oregon, Georgia. Say it again. Notre Dame, Texas. Oregon, Georgia. We all four have Notre Dame there, right? Yes. Did you have Texas? You don't have Texas, right? Okay. I have LSU instead. I took Notre Dame to win it all. Did you really? Now, to be fair to will, the schedule is nice. Their quarterback is, I think he's the number one in the odds in Fandall right now. Yeah. C.J. Car is going to be a stud this year. He's going to be a monster this year. They're off the lines, him really good. They're probably the best secondary in college football. Notre Dame has the best defense in college football. Okay. Onward drive. You have four. I think when you look at what they have returning, Leonard Moore. I mean, this is a potential top five pick in the NFL draft. You have Tade Johnson and Adon Schuller. Adon, he's the one who gave us a tour at Notre Dame. They are studs at safety. You have Booble Car at end. You both ends return, Bryce Young and Booble Car. Bryce Young, former five star. They laid a top two defensive tackles in the transfer portal in the transfer cycle. This linebacker room is insane with Drake Bowen, Jaylen Sneed, and Kingston. Billiamu Asa. Kingston. You remember him. Yeah, we watched a lot of you watch his film coming off of an ACL. This is a day one day, two potential type cat. Both of them on the butt gets award watch list. This defense is stout top to bottom. I am ready to see what they got going on on the perimeter offensively. But CJ Carr, that line of scrimmage that they have coming back, guys they landed in the portal. I am high on Notre Dame this year. I'm high on Notre Dame this year. Matter of fact, I was reading scripture last night. And this one comes from Freeman, 1526. Do not take revenge, my friends. But leave room for Notre Dame's wrath. For it is written, it is mine to avenge. I will repay, says Marcus Freeman. And you know what he's avenging. What's he avenging? What happened last year in the casual? They got left out of the casual playoff, right? Police show. Squise out. Squise out. Semantics. Yeah, either way. They got that part right, but I understand what you're saying. They ramp up at the right time too with Miami, BYU later in the year. Yup. And this team that's just going to be blood in the water when they finally get in the casual playoff. They're going 12-0 or 12-0 in the regular season. And you're 1.0, you had Notre Dame, correct? I did have Notre Dame. What ended up, was it a mean text from Crystal Ball that ended up getting Miami? It was not that. My opinion on Notre Dame didn't change at all. In fact, I probably, if anything, feel slightly better about Notre Dame than I did when I picked them to win it. What changed is, I feel much more at ease believing in Miami defensively. Now that I've heard some stuff from Fall Camp than maybe I did where I didn't doubt them. I just had question marks. Mm-hmm. So I've got that. I think they're going to be a 40 plus point per game offense. And I think it'll scale in the playoffs because I think they can run the ball effectively. I think they upgraded at quarterback, especially when you consider what Shannon Dawson wants to do offensively. So Darian Mensa, I think he's going to have a phenomenal year and more on that in a second. I also think they're offensive line. The product it is week one will be good. The product that will end up being will remind a lot of people ironically what Notre Dame did two years ago. Now Notre Dame kept getting hurt on the O line and they just kept reloading, reloading, reloading. And it was a strength of the team, whereas people thought it was going to be a weakness coming into the year and then they go into Kyle Field and they beat Texas A&M on the back of an offensive line and you found out while the recipe they have their own O line, it just continues. Even though the names change, it just keeps, it just keeps being good to great. So I think Miami will be that on the O line in time. There's nothing that I really doubt about them. And I think they have a phenomenal wide receiver group quarterbacks a check, running backs a check. O line will be a check. I think Lofton at tight end will be a really good player. I think the secondary will be incredibly upgraded from a ball school perspective this year as opposed to last year. You get Corey Heatherman in his second year as a defensive coordinator. They tasted it. They got really close. They, they were within reach, they touched the belt briefly last year and then fell to the canvas and they had to watch Kurt Signetti grab that thing. And I think it fuels them to go on a run this year. And I think Miami will in the national title. You said something a minute ago to O line will be a check. If there is a question or a doubt that I have, it's understanding the O line is very inexperienced. They're young. And then the question you have to ask yourself is do you believe in crystal ball and crystal ball, which my answer is yes, but that is what I want to see as this year unfolds. The only hesitation because I have them coming in the foreseed when the ACC and being the foreseed, Indiana is still the only team who's had to buy and won off the buy. So that's my, that is, that's my hesitation with all of these top seeds that are going to have a buy. Yeah. That was a big subject competition in the playoffs last year. The team has gotten a buy since it tends to lay an egg. I feel like that by any end of doing that. It's like the first person running for four minute mile, right now a bunch of people are going to start to understand that process. No, I don't get their guys juiced up. It still goes back to the schedule and how shitty it is for a college football right now. I have the same national championship game as you. And all the reasons you've said Miami is the reason why I'm taking Oregon. This to me is a now or never moment for Dan landing. He had everyone wants to talk about Dante Moore who could have left for the NFL and been a top three pick in the NFL this year and decided to stay to college one more year. It's not just him that did that. It's also seven other guys. They probably have the best defense of one and all of college football. We have a running back room of stable running backs. All the things we talked about was steward and decorium more. The tight end hit. I'm forgetting his name right now, but tomorrow Johnson, tomorrow Johnson day, he's another one similar to C.D. class year where he's just going to set the world on fire. I love Oregon winning this. I think also the way I have their season going, dropping once to Ohio State and then a second time to Ohio State is very similar to the way Ohio State went and won a national championship two years ago, where eventually they sit there. They burn the boat. There was enough is enough. We got in the playoffs. It's time to set the world on fire and they go and do that. And they just, they're a team that's like, there's nobody beating them right now. And unfortunately, Miami has to be the last stop for them and that part of it feels like another team coach in the conversation of now or never. It feels like Sark too. I feel like you've got three teams this year that are really truly built to win it all in 2026 and then worry about 2027 later. Yeah. That's Oregon. That's Texas and that's Notre Dame. But Texas, I mean, archmaning could come, let's say it doesn't go the way archmaning could come back. He could. But that team is so clearly built with the express intent to win in, it's like Ohio State two years ago. And they did it crazily, but they did it. Now it turns out they were still really good the next year. And these teams will probably still be really good, but it's, it's the latter. It's all about what wrong on the ladder do you climb to? Those three, presumably, are as high on the ladder as you can go. Now, those still be three or two steps from the top every year, but it'll never be more within reach for them than it will be this year. Agreed. And if archmaning has any type of year that we assume will happen, like this dude will be. I think archmaning is sitting in the, in the perfect position. I last year, every conversation was revolved around him in the Heisman. And after that first game, it just got weirder and weirder from a media perspective. And now he's like as much under the radar as a manning can be in college football and just ready to set it all. Oh, yeah. And that's me saying that I'll have them in the S is a championship. I don't, you know, when you're like archmaning, he could come back next year. I'm like, dude, if he plays, I know, even close to what was going to happen, but Dante more could have been a top five pick as well. Like you never, you just never know. And you know the mannings, their royalty, they might be like, you should stay an extra year. You need to quit break from the episode. You see your boy on the bus, but I am here to shout out Jack Daniels. Shout out Jack Daniels. No free shout outs. You heard of Jack Daniels, but did you know they have multiple flavors of Tennessee whiskey? Jack Honey, Jack by name, honey by nature, bold like Jack smooth like honey, authentically Jack and naturally smooth, a little bit of honey, a whole lot of Jack, Jack Apple, pick boldly, real crisp apples, real Jack Daniels, Jack to the core, how about Jack Blackberry, the only Blackberry bursting with Jack. Just wanted to jump on and say that real quick. Let's get back to the episode of the locker room. You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room groans because they wanted that player. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. And that's why we make the Sullivan-verbal College football show. I'm Ty Hildenbrand, he's Dan Rubenstein, house gone. Every week we preview the games that matter, sort through the biggest storylines and tell you what to watch before kick off. Who's for real? Which upset is hiding in plain sight and which storyline is about to take over your group chat and when the games are over, join us in the aftermath, too. Listen to the Solid Verbal College football show on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Michael and Perioli, I want to tell you about my new podcast Underground Zero. The debris supposed to go to the city on salvage, and some of it will. Gold bars, silver ingots, it could be worth half a billion. Dad, don't. Frank, be careful. Underground Zero, starring Steve Sharipa, Reya Brutsel, and me, Michael and Perioli. I'm Jake Brennan, and on my podcast, Hollywoodland, I revisit some of the biggest stories from Hollywood history, separating the myths people want to believe from the reality underneath them. And for some fans who can't let go, these stories have metastasized from conjecture to accept it fact. So on August 4th, 1962, Marilyn Monroe died, then the rumors started, and she died again. That's the third way. Listen to Hollywoodland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah. Josh. Lot of hype on Archmaning. DJ cars, the heisman favorite, neither of them are my pick, cause riding line with my national champ, I think Darry and mental wins the Heisman this year. I have four. All right. Daley, you do. I'll go, I got Sam Levit. I got to talk to a next high school coach, a high school classmate of mine who happens to reside in Arizona, Tempe to be more specific and I asked him, I was like, hey, how do you think of Sam Levit now that he's left to like the school you love the most? And his response to me was within a minute and he said, that kid is one of the most unbelievable football players ever seen my life, his only issue is injuries. They're LSU. They're going to have an incredible run game, Len Kippins proving that over and over again. We've already talked about all the guys they have in the perimeter. How much they've brought into the offensive line. I brought up how Sam Levit was running for his life the entire season. And was still successful until he got the right injury. The brand, the amount of points are about to be able to put up at Sam, Sam Levitability to run the ball and also throw the ball wherever he wants in the field. If they win the SC championship, like I've said, they're going to, he's going to win the Heisman. It's a great pick too because you get great value right now. Great value. Plus twenty five hundred. Yeah. Like the four that I've sprinkled. Are you in one first? You're like for the show. I don't know if I can't. I have no idea what's that you got we got two predictions record wise you got four Heisman picks. I have no idea what we're doing. He has no section of the show. We just total as well. I know you guys have picked all your teams. Dante Moore. Dante Moore. Great pick. All right. Great pick. But for the hard for this. For the game. I got a unit on archmaning. I got a unit on Dante Moore. Darien Mitz. I have a unit on Sam Levitability. And Kansas Under. You got a unit on that. I haven't I haven't put that in yet and I'm going to before the show airs because once they hear where I'm at, they're going to move. Yeah, but you're putting five units on Kansas Under. I'm putting yeah, I'm I am at the table on that one. You'll know you'll know next week, but that's where that's where I'm at on the Heisman. Great value on Levitability. This this show is a perfect representation of how excited everybody is for College Football because we had a schedule. Right. We're going to talk about carpet champions, playoffs, national champion. Be out of here by noon. Be out here by noon. Yeah. I'm going to talk for two hours and just talked about quite possibly every single football team that has even a this much of a chance and especially the one that doesn't Kansas and will come with us with all the totals to the point where it's like that's that's why College Football is the best. That's it. There's so much good stuff to talk about and all I'm thinking about right now is do I really think Miami's going to lose first game in the Coswell playoffs. You got to live with that. You got to take that home with you. I'm out shame on you. If you're actually big none of us have to live with anything right because everybody on this show will go 100% this year unless kids coaches or officials screw up and let us down. So that anything that happens from here on out is no longer a full pretty much agree. I won't be surprised if any of these scenarios happen. What about this scenario, what if Indiana does it again and they win it all. Shame on us. No, no, no. We cannot we don't have any shame. Where my brain is at it'd be shame on me. Shame on me. How did you not see it right in front of you? Yeah. It was right there. Now, we have in the conversation of possible like goat category because their trenches are coming back. Right. Oh, yeah. It feels a little uncomfortable to say because everyone's like Nick Sabin. No. So you're just getting you do it two times in a row at Indiana in this economy in this economy inflation will at the very least greatest story. You could already call it greatest story of all time. 60 and that was great. That's the story. Can I already move you? What's up? Yeah, true. Can I tell you where my head's at? You said where your head's at. I assume you will say where your head's at. I'll think about it. Where my head's at is I've already written it down here that that's a disaster scenario. Okay. Follow me here. So are you going to disaster scenarios right now? I'm just going to throw one out there. What are you talking about? ACC and Big 12 are going to just ram us in the ass. If I could, is that what you're about to do? Word for word. That's what was written there. No, we were throwing around some of this stuff last night when we were trying to finalize my playoff bracket. And so I am a person who believes there's going to be a whole lot of three lost SEC teams and there's going to be a handful of big 10 teams and there's just this pool and we don't have enough room for them in the playoff. But that would be under normal circumstances. So I was throwing some stuff around last night, SEC champ, Big 10 champ, they're in. That's two spots. Noter names in G 16 has to be in. So that's four spots so far. If Miami were to, let's say go, but they get upset in the ACC title game, Miami still in and your ACC champs in. Yeah, which would be that's six teams already. Climbson. Yeah. In the big 12, if Texas tech just runs the table, but they get upset at 12 and oh in the big 12 championship game, they're still in the playoff. So is Brigham Young if they beat him. That's eight teams. Here's the kicker. If Penn State takes advantage of that schedule and there are 11 and one much less 12 and over. Let's say 11 and one, they sneak into the big 10 title game and they lose, but championship weekend, they're ranked like 6th or 7th in the country. I don't know that the committee is dropping them out. So Penn State's in the playoff. So I got nine fingers up already accounted for and we got three spots left for fill in the blank. LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Ole Miss, Indiana, whoever is left outside that bubble, Michigan, Michigan, Nebraska, et cetera, yeah. I was sort of flirt with that idea too because you just romanticize about the chaos. People say nothing like last year could ever happen again because we're in all these spots too per conference like SEC, Big 10. We're talking about what three lost teams are going to get in the playoff. That does not happen. That does not happen as we sit here and pat Miami and Texas tech on the back and then they sh*t in our hand conference championship weekend. You're absolutely right. God. And it could happen. How you got coming out of the G6? Boise. Got you in LV. I don't care. Go do you in LV? So honest. So honest. And insert a name that's not even in real school. You guys. Can we push up Gorman or what is that school? Sickle more. Sickle more. Sickle more. Put them in. I don't give two sh*ts. Well, they're somebody. One of them, they're going to take up a slot that you're going to be mad about anyway. Like whoever if Boise, UNLV, like, oh, you're going to, you're going to go play Oregon. Former Michigan man, uh, worgy is not an Arnold. They're both at it. You have name Jackson on the starter, probably going to run to Dan Mullen, the head coach, like just take those names and be like, okay, you know, and I can't wait for, I hope it is. I like Dan Mullen. I can't wait for me to get a real job. Probably in Tallahassee. Probably. Probably in Tallahassee, which is, I see, it is like a who cares, do you know what I mean? It really is. I love that you guys have a name for. I said there, I'm psyched. I don't know. Do you know? We got a college football show. We got a, we got to have some a little bit of respect. This is the last time that we're clean all year. What do you mean? This is the last time nothing can't have gone wrong all year with predictions. This is the last time we walk in injury free. No scars on your face. No explanations to be had. No quotes and clips taken out of context and thrown about the internet. This is it. So you need to sit back in your chair. Strike out of a much posture you want to and just breathe for a second. It'll never feel as good as it feels right now. Thank God, Josh is here to kind of point. We know what we haven't done with Josh yet. What? That he got to do with us. What's that? Nebraska, Michigan, Pete State, he's got Alabama in the playoff and I'm sitting there like what? Yeah. Oh, that's my win total over eight and a half for them. What do you have? I assume ten and two. Yeah, ten and two. That's crazy talk. Polish guys, what? Okay, not crazy talk. I won't go that far. You, I mean, you, you were on record as making multiple record predictions for Nebraska. So by all means, tell me what's crazy about it. That is my fault. That is my fault. I take that back. The record last year was ten and two regular season, right? Yeah. And they got housed. They got landed. They're right. They still made the playoff. I just think it's a better team than last year and I think I love Keelan Russell. I love it. I love Keelan Russell too, but they're going to have to be able to run the football, which they will not be able to do. Well, I think they will be able to, hey, if we're going to assume it about LSU in Oklahoma, I'm going to assume it at least a little bit improves with Alabama. Why? They all sucked last year. Yeah. Yeah, but you want to, you want to, you know, the Ryan Grab situation? I was going to tie that in, but I'm thinking the reason it's different in my mind from even throw Texas in that mix. So like Texas, Oklahoma, Texas in Oklahoma, both had, you know, a meet of their offensive line was underclassmen. Like three freshmen were starting for Oklahoma. Like they're going to improve and get better and it's going to be, we got to run the ball. We got to run the ball. Alabama, you would assume as poorly as they ran the football, they were going to have a lot of young cats in there and inexperienced. They lost basically everybody on their line of scrubs. They only have one returning starter and Ryan Grab, the OC. They're not going to be able to run the football because it's part of the design of Ryan Grub. When he was at Washington with the board in 2022, they were 118th in the country at rushing attempts per game. In 2023, they were 125th at rushing attempts per game. When he goes to Seattle as the OC, he had Kenneth Walker and what's the other running backs name for him. Either way, they were 28th in the league at rushing yards per game. Just by design, Ryan Grub is a lean past guy first. And him coming to Bayama, what they put on tape last year, I am all of a sudden he's just going to wake up and think we got to run the football. He's not even built to want to run the football. He just runs football by default to keep defense. He's guessing. Yeah, just to keep him honest. He's not like a run first, the way Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia are going to be mentally. And I want to point something really quick out for you. I know you hear Kenneth Walker, you think Michigan State, Kenneth Walker just won the Super Bowl MVP. So just so you know, he's been, he's really good at NFL. I tuned in. Yeah, sure. Yeah. I know it's kind of a one way straight. Yeah, he even said there's a splattery when Washington, Mississippi, Florida loved the way the run game looked. Love the two true freshmen. What say beyond heighter figures to contribute up there at Michigan is what I would expect to impact wise from EJ Crowell and Alabama. So I like that. But more so than that, I love the RPO element that Keelan Russell gives them that tied it and give them. That's what I love. And I love quantum improvement in their defensive front, too, because like I was, I'm actually more concerned about getting boxes checked over there on defense than I am offensively, which you'll just kind of have to wait and see on that, but they'll be fine there defensively. If they are what I think they can be up front in terms of run stoppage, they got one of the best secondaries in the country. So I actually, I went down there last week and watched them scrimmage with eight and four ceiling nine and three in my head and they're just way better than I thought they are. I thought they would be it. They looked way better than I thought they'd look. So that's what may be by into Alabama. The Bama glasses. No, they're off eight and four and nine and three ceiling. You go to Bama. They hand you a gift basket and put on the tee. You watch. No rewards. You love what you see. We walked into Texas Tech, stores, we used our Heisman trophy winner. We walked into our name. CJ Car became like literally, we understand how to put it up. The only reason I'm off of, I'm off of Car a little while. Yeah, yeah. Why is that? I'm a huge fan of CJ Car. The guys that I'm choosing, I just think have so many more opportunities to win the Heisman throughout the season than CJ Car will. Because if, I mean, maybe even in an element of Mensa, because they're scheduled similar to Notre Dame's, like they don't really play anybody. They could be beaten, they could be beaten the hell out of everybody and they're not throwing the ball. Like Sam Levitt, Archmaning, who's the other one that I had? Dante Moore. Dante Moore. They're going to be in so many situations to have these Heisman moments because of how many teams, big teams they have on the schedule. That's why. The thing about moments is it's, you only need one and Miami and Notre Dame play a week eight and that could come back. That's it. Yeah, yeah. It's a good point. CJ Car off my board because it's like, how many times do you see the favorite going into the season actually win it? I'm like, you know what? I'm going to find somebody else. Yeah. And I, I'm with you. I got to say I'm Levitt and I'm like, it makes too much sense for me. Makes too much sense. The way my brain has worked on the season. We feel good. I know you better. Yeah, I was just going to get the clap. Boy, it's hey. We're good. Phenomenal. What time is it? Good tight two and a half hours today. Tight type of tight. It's way too much. It's 130. The biggest problem. The biggest problem is figuring out how we do 47 minutes on Fridays. You just have to cut someone's mic. You literally just talk and just go to commercial. You just have to go to break. That's what you got to do. And then they'll come back. We'll be in a completely different conversation. You have to find people. That's what you really have to do. Yeah. We might have to have a fine jar similar to a swear jar. Yeah. Hey, see you next week. Big hug signing kiss. Subscribe and drop comments. 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It all happens on my show therapy gecko so if you're trying to get out of your own head and into someone else's this is the podcast for you listen to therapy gecko on the iHeart Radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted there's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharyson host of the award winning late round podcast before your draft are players to target players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off listen to the late round fantasy football podcast and the iHeart Radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. College football will hijack your weekend ruin your sleep and break your heart and that's why we make the solid verbal college football show. I'm Ty Hildenbrand he's Dan Rubenstein every week we preview the games that matter in the storylines that are going to ignite your group chat and you can join us in the aftermath as we react to what happened why it matters and how the sport went completely bonkers yet again listen to the solid verbal college football show on the iHeart Radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Why do some women yearn for Shakira's black hair to make a comeback and whatever happened to the power couple of my dreams Mariah Carey and Luis Miguel I'm Maria Garcia you may remember me for my podcast anything for Selena or my evil and now I'm back to unpack more stories from the present and the past listen to me excited with Maria Garcia on the iHeart Radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human.