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Speaker 1: Welcome to the solid verbal hull. That for me, I'm

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Speaker 1: a man, I'm forty. I've heard so many players say, well,

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Speaker 1: I want to be happy. You want to be happy

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Speaker 1: for day Ato steak? Is that whoo whoo? And no

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Speaker 1: Dan and Tye Dan Rubinstein, welcome back. Today is the

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Speaker 1: day let's talk some Big ten. My friend, how are

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Speaker 1: you who? I'm good, ty I'm very good. I am

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Speaker 1: quite excited to talk about the Big ten. I know

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Speaker 1: you are excited because you were just like, I want

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Speaker 1: more teams. Gimme them twenty two Big ten teams. Give

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Speaker 1: me twenty seven Big ten teams. Maybe Memphis has four

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Speaker 1: hundred million dollars they have lying around that they can

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Speaker 1: offer to the Big ten. You love.

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Speaker 2: This is quantity in quantity right, this is this is

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Speaker 2: the Creatine conference. This is the I don't remember which

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Speaker 2: reality show it was, maybe like The Bachelor or one

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Speaker 2: guy was just eating turkey slices.

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Speaker 1: He's like the most efficient way to get protein in.

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Speaker 1: This is bulk for bulks. Welcome to the Big ten.

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Speaker 1: This is bulk for frustration's sake. I don't know if

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Speaker 1: you felt this way going through it. It's the second

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Speaker 1: year of course, now that we have all these teams

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Speaker 1: eighteen in the Big Ten. I felt this palpable sense

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Speaker 1: of frustration going through putting together my notes on all

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Speaker 1: of these teams. There are so many damn teams in

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Speaker 1: this conference. There are so many damn teams. It's gonna

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Speaker 1: be a fun conference. We're excited about. We're going to

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Speaker 1: talk through all of that here as we get into

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Speaker 1: our tiers and some of the storylines and things like

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Speaker 1: that on this episode. So we're excited about the Big Ten.

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Speaker 1: But man, they almost are at the point where they

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Speaker 1: do need to add two more teams and then break

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Speaker 1: it apart and have an East and a West, you know,

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Speaker 1: like create a new Pac ten now that they're branching

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Speaker 1: off and creating another Pac twelve, the Pacific division of

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Speaker 1: the Big Ten. Yeah, we need to have some sort

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Speaker 1: of setup to make this a little bit more digestible.

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Speaker 1: Perhaps that is the reason for today's show, my friend,

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Speaker 1: welcome back to you, Welcome back to all of the

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Speaker 1: overballer hood. Go back. Can listen to the G five

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Speaker 1: previews we did, the ACC previews we did, the Big

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Speaker 1: twelve previews that we did today is part one of

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Speaker 1: our three part Big Ten previews series on Today's show.

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Speaker 1: It's the higher level stuff, the big talking points, the

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Speaker 1: water cooler moments that you know you want to have

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Speaker 1: at the ready if you're at the office or just

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Speaker 1: out and about the town. Something that you can kick

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Speaker 1: around with the boys, m M, contender tiers, you name it.

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Speaker 1: That's Today's show. As we get into part two and three,

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Speaker 1: that's where we're aready get into team previews. So hit follow,

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Speaker 1: hit subscribe, you don't want to miss those episodes. Verbalers

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Speaker 1: dot com v E R B A L L e

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Speaker 1: r s dot com. That's where you get the ad

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Speaker 1: free episodes, the bonus content. You get everything. A little

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Speaker 1: bit early. Games are going to be spinning up as

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Speaker 1: we get a little bit closer to the season. I

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Speaker 1: will shut up now. That is too long of a diatribe. Dance, Okay.

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Speaker 2: I just want to know your thoughts about the Big

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Speaker 2: Ten in general. So this was a terrific year for

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Speaker 2: the Big Ten last season in that they were another

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Speaker 2: conference in which a new team at the very least

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Speaker 2: competed for the Conference Crown Oregon ended up winning it

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Speaker 2: as a new team. Of course, SMU was seconds away

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Speaker 2: in the acc ASU won the Big twelve and Texas

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Speaker 2: was seconds away in the SEC, and so it was

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Speaker 2: a novel year, of course, in adding LA schools, Washington

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Speaker 2: and Oregon officially on the field last year, and the

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Speaker 2: Big Ten had emerging teams like Indiana and Illinois that

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Speaker 2: they seemed to be the premium conference nationally after the

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Speaker 2: SEC seemed to take a step back both in terms

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Speaker 2: of teams who did and didn't make the playoff. And

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Speaker 2: this is always going to change, you know, one year

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Speaker 2: does not affect the next necessarily, but it did seem

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Speaker 2: like twenty twenty four via those stories that Northwestern had

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Speaker 2: the waste management open stadium on the water like it

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Speaker 2: was just a good year for Big Ten weirdness, narrative

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Speaker 2: and in some cases excellence. And so I want to

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Speaker 2: know how you feel in the shadow of that.

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Speaker 1: Well, and not to mention a Big Ten team won

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Speaker 1: the title for the second straight Big Ten, of course

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Speaker 1: won the title, and you know, reversed, you know, a

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Speaker 1: pretty terrible end of the year given the loss to

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Speaker 1: Michigan that Ohio State suffered at home, and it was

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Speaker 1: you know, not just Big Ten, but Midwest having Notre Dame,

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Speaker 1: Penn State and Ohio State.

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Speaker 2: You know, represent in the semi finals of the College

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Speaker 2: Football Playoff. So there was just there's just a lot

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Speaker 2: of meat on that specific boat.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think in the shadow of last season, you

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Speaker 1: have a couple different schools of thought. Obviously we've got

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Speaker 1: teams at the top. If you paid any attention to

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Speaker 1: college football this offseason, you know there's been a lot

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Speaker 1: of steam on Penn State. Sure, I got my Penn

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Speaker 1: State shirt on now, I probably could have worn the

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Speaker 1: hat trying to be a little bit unbiased. It's much

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Speaker 1: you have a shirt and a hat, continue trying to

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Speaker 1: be unbiased. But clearly that has been a hw talking

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Speaker 1: point in Big Ten circles about what Penn State has

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Speaker 1: coming back and reasons to be excited about what twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty five could mean for them for a while. It

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Speaker 1: doesn't have coming back, yeah, right, But I feel like

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Speaker 1: there is one whole lane of thinking that we almost

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Speaker 1: had to devote to the contenders. Sure, the contenders here,

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Speaker 1: which we'll talk through here. That's interesting in its own right.

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Speaker 1: Where I really find this conference to be most interesting

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Speaker 1: though going into twenty twenty five is the race for

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Speaker 1: fourth place and the collection of teams that I feel

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Speaker 1: like are on the fringe of bowl eligibility. And because

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Speaker 1: we're going to talk so much about the teams at

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Speaker 1: the top and to some extent some of the teams

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Speaker 1: at the very bottom and the challenges that they've got,

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Speaker 1: there's a big grouping of teams in between those two

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Speaker 1: poles that I think are really going to give this

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Speaker 1: conference some flavor. So for me, I found a lot

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Speaker 1: of interesting tidbits going through that collection of ten to

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Speaker 1: twelve teams, figuring out where are the movers and shakers,

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Speaker 1: who are the new names to be aware of, and furthermore,

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Speaker 1: where do I think I can add something that's actually

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Speaker 1: useful for people out there, Because again, eighteen teams is

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Speaker 1: a lot. As we're doing a show like this, we're

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Speaker 1: going to talk through all of them, if only for

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Speaker 1: a few minutes here and there. It's important to give

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Speaker 1: people a little hook that they can grab onto. Yes,

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Speaker 1: and I found more of those in the middle than

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Speaker 1: I think I did at the top and the bottom. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I think that's right.

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Speaker 2: When we started getting into tiers, the second, third, fourth,

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Speaker 2: I don't even know how many tiers do you even

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Speaker 2: have with your eighteen teams.

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Speaker 1: I've got a contender tier at the very top. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: then I've got the battle for fourth. Okay, I've got

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Speaker 1: another class that I'm calling in your honor, weird little stinkers. Okay,

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Speaker 1: teams that are probably missing bowl and then bottom dwellers.

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Speaker 1: So what is that five? Five five as well? Yep,

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Speaker 1: how did you break yours up?

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Speaker 2: I have contenders, I have have shown enough to beat

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Speaker 2: any of the contenders and possibly vault themselves into that

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Speaker 2: class of team. I then have definitely quality teams but

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Speaker 2: clearly flawed. I have aching for more, but it's going

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Speaker 2: to take a minute. And then I have teams that

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Speaker 2: it's it's sort of tough to even squint and see

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Speaker 2: how they get into another tier, if that makes any sense.

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Speaker 2: But it was actually the second tier, which I guess

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Speaker 2: you said was the the race for four, that was

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Speaker 2: very difficult, not just in who belongs there, but how

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Speaker 2: do you order those specific teams and what.

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Speaker 1: Do you take into account?

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Speaker 2: Like is it just I mean this, we do that

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Speaker 2: for all of our preview, you know, the part one

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Speaker 2: of the previous when we're breaking these into tiers, it's

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Speaker 2: just like, do you think they're better or do you

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Speaker 2: think by the fact that their schedule is what it

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Speaker 2: is Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I had the same problem, dude. I went back and

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Speaker 1: forth so many times on the grouping of teams that

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Speaker 1: I have.

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Speaker 2: And where are these two teams playing each other? Are

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Speaker 2: these two teams playing each other?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Case in point. I will talk a little bit,

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Speaker 1: maybe not so much on this episode about Illinois and Indiana,

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Speaker 1: two teams that I think are crazy interesting this year

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Speaker 1: for different reasons, but same page. Very very interested in

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Speaker 1: that game because they do play earlier in the season

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Speaker 1: at that Indiana correct, I believe so, And it's not

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Speaker 1: the kind of game that I think is necessarily going

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Speaker 1: to get the national highlights, but I think in the

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Speaker 1: Big ten world it's obviously very meaningful. These are teams

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Speaker 1: that are both very very good in this conference, and

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Speaker 1: to your point, yes, if all things fall correctly, could

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Speaker 1: challenge at the very top or at least make things

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Speaker 1: interesting for some of those teams in the contender tier.

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Speaker 1: It's games like that that I look at and I

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Speaker 1: just really struggle because there is that group again, my

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Speaker 1: battle for fourth. I've got six teams in there that

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Speaker 1: all kind of feel the same to me. Putting them

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Speaker 1: in any kind of logical order, I'm sure we'll have

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Speaker 1: people chime in and dispute the logic here, and that's fine.

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Speaker 1: That's like, I get that I'm disputing the logic here.

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Speaker 1: But that's really where I think this gets super interesting

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Speaker 1: and difficult in our chairs anyway to try and put

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Speaker 1: these things in a real order that makes sense.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you're also dealing with with a conference this big.

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Speaker 2: You're dealing with a scheduling issue of everybody's kind of

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Speaker 2: seems like they have maybe two of the three perceived

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Speaker 2: powers or two of the four. I don't know if

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Speaker 2: anybody has three of the four or all four of

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Speaker 2: these superpowers quote unquote within this conference, or you know,

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Speaker 2: maybe they have three of the four perceived worst teams

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Speaker 2: or three of the five worst teams. But you get

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Speaker 2: scheduling quirks like you did with Indiana last year. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: where you're like, I'm positive this team is really good,

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Speaker 2: but it also helps that their schedule is what it

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Speaker 2: was or was what it was. And some teams are

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Speaker 2: just loaded up because it's just got bad luck, or

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Speaker 2: it doesn't seem like they're loaded up, but all of

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Speaker 2: a sudden, they have a team that everybody thought was

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Speaker 2: going to be okay, starts five and oh or six

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Speaker 2: and oh or seven and one or something like that.

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Speaker 2: And so the variance of schedules, because it's probably not

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Speaker 2: going to be a conference with two great teams, two

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Speaker 2: bad teams, and fourteen OK teams, right that you're just

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Speaker 2: going to have some wacky schedules in retrospect, and so

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Speaker 2: trying to figure that out in mid to late July tricky.

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Speaker 1: It's tricky, man. I had to take you can ask

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Speaker 1: Kate several walks around the block to try and Oh,

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Speaker 1: I thought you're gonna say, aohuasca? No, well that might

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Speaker 1: have helped. Why aahuasca? That might have helped. Maybe that's

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Speaker 1: the next step here vision. Yeah, but I tried several

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Speaker 1: walks around the block to clear my head and get

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Speaker 1: more of a sense for how I was feeling about

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Speaker 1: these teams. I'm not sure I got any closer to it.

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Speaker 1: I was changing this around just before we hit record here.

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Speaker 1: So this is all a very long way of saying

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Speaker 1: that the Big Ten is large. There are eighteen teams.

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Speaker 1: Putting these teams in any sort of logical order, I

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Speaker 1: think outside the top and the bottom is difficult. But

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Speaker 1: if you've listened to our previous episodes, you know We're

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Speaker 1: going to try our darnedest here. Yeah, to make the

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Speaker 1: very best of this. Just say the D word on

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Speaker 1: this show, ty, Is that what you just went with? Darness? Yes,

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Speaker 1: very scandalous. I am asking you here and now calling

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Speaker 1: you out onto the carpet. Please, you have to pick

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Speaker 1: one team, one team in the big ten, not to

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Speaker 1: win it all, not to finish last, but one team

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Speaker 1: sort of in that middle that you identify the most

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Speaker 1: with the word sleeper. Who is it?

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Speaker 2: So somebody who could emerge and be much more than

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Speaker 2: I or the consensus whatever conventional wisdom is saying that's

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Speaker 2: what you're going to have to be a contender. No, no, no,

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Speaker 2: but somebody emerging from a perceived tier to another tier.

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Speaker 1: I think so. I think it might be Washington, Oh, Dan,

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Speaker 1: Washington is my team too.

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Speaker 2: If you're talking two tier leaps though, right, I like Iowa,

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Speaker 2: but I don't think they have much upward mobility because

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Speaker 2: they're already a quality team.

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Speaker 1: And the schedule sucks. I mean right, it's harder. It

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Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily suck, but Iowa's schedules harder. I think Washington

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Speaker 1: is the obvious answer for me, and I've got a

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Speaker 1: couple other ones that we'll talk through right now. I've

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Speaker 1: got Washington in the weird little stinker tier, but feisty

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Speaker 1: team a year ago. I love Demon Williams taking over

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Speaker 1: at quarterback. Needs a line in front of him, but

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Speaker 1: that's a line. I like. The hire of Ryan Walters

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Speaker 1: obviously did not work out in his time at Purdue,

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Speaker 1: but before he got to Purdue, he was pretty damn

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Speaker 1: good at being a defensive coordinator at Illinois. That's how

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Speaker 1: he got the job. I like the roster. I think

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Speaker 1: it's better. The schedule is tougher, but I think we

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Speaker 1: saw a lot of fight out of the Washington Huskies

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Speaker 1: last year, and it would not surprise me if they

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Speaker 1: end up taking somebody big down. I'm not against that pick.

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Speaker 2: I kind of like Minnesota here, but that's it's a

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Speaker 2: weird schedule and you say.

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Speaker 1: This, here are my three weird little stinkers. Okay, okay,

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Speaker 1: so what tier number is this? Are we not going

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Speaker 1: in order? Uh? Not right now? Or not? Well? Okay,

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Speaker 1: jump around. This is sort of right in the middle. Okay,

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Speaker 1: I've got five tiers. This is my third tier down.

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Speaker 1: I've got Washington at the top. I've got Minnesota just

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Speaker 1: under Washington, and then I've got Michigan State as my

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Speaker 1: three stinker teams. Okay, I am with you on Minnesota

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Speaker 1: as well. I think I think it's probably going to

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Speaker 1: be another four or five lost season for Minnesota. I

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Speaker 1: am calling them my butt also team this year because weirdly,

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Speaker 1: I found that every good point and every bad point

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Speaker 1: had a qualifier. You could sort of temper every single point,

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Speaker 1: whether good or bad, with something else that is going

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Speaker 1: on with this team. So it's really in the eye

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Speaker 1: of the beholder to determine what Minnesota means to you

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty five. Sure, and then with Michigan State,

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Speaker 1: I'm sort of intoxicated by the combination of Aidan Chiles

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Speaker 1: and Nick marsh Okay, I think they'll be fun. I

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Speaker 1: think the defense will be better and formidable. I think

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Speaker 1: the path to a Bowl game is very challenging, and

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure they get there. But I do think

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Speaker 1: they'll be plucky. They were plucky last year. I think

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Speaker 1: they'll be plucky again this year, and with a better

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Speaker 1: roster again. If we're talking in terms of stinkers or

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Speaker 1: sleepers or whatever your nomenclature, yeah, you're looking for teams

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Speaker 1: like this that you know are going to come out

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Speaker 1: there with a lot of fight, that have improved in

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Speaker 1: some way, shape or form, and have a schedule that

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Speaker 1: sets them up, sets them up, excuse me, in some

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Speaker 1: interesting situations. Okay, I'm with you.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know who, Like last year is a

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Speaker 2: weird little stinker would have been in like maybe UCLA

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Speaker 2: within the Big ten. The way they started out losing

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Speaker 2: whatever there was five or six straight and then beating

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Speaker 2: what Iowa and Nebraska being right there with USC. I

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Speaker 2: think they beat Rutgers as well. I want to say

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Speaker 2: on the road, Rutgers might have been that stinker. Wisconsin

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Speaker 2: was almost that stinker, taking Oregon to the the full

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Speaker 2: four quarters, also looking terrible at times. In that tier.

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Speaker 2: Do you want me to give you that tier? You

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Speaker 2: my weird little stinker?

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Speaker 1: I think so.

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Speaker 2: Washington's in my definitely quality tier. Yeah, with Minnesota, Rutgers

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Speaker 2: in Nebraska.

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Speaker 1: Okay, wow, Rutgers, Yes, wow, Nebraska. That seems low for Nebraska.

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Speaker 2: You think that's low for Nebraska. I do you have

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Speaker 2: Nebraska on a could beat a contender?

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Speaker 1: Tier? Yes? Oh man, okay, I do. I'm going to

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Speaker 1: jot these down side by side and that we'll we'll

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Speaker 1: go through them later. Yeah, why don't we do this.

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Speaker 1: Let's jump all the way to the very top and

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Speaker 1: work our way. Let's start there. That was a tease.

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Speaker 1: Who is in your contentier? The obvious four? Who's the

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Speaker 1: fourth Michigan? Really? Yes? You like Michigan in the same

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Speaker 1: tier as Penn State, Ohio State in Oregon. Yes? Why?

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Speaker 2: Because I think they're a tier above. I mean, if

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Speaker 2: you wanted to say that, I can go those three teams,

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Speaker 2: Michigan in its own tier and then the next tier down,

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Speaker 2: I'll consider it.

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Speaker 1: That gives me six tiers, which is so many tiers, toy,

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Speaker 1: It's way too many tiers.

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Speaker 2: So Michigan is flimsy on the end of that. But

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Speaker 2: I think their defense could. Look, they didn't have an

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Speaker 2: offense last year period. They did not have an offense.

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Speaker 2: They didn't have interesting skill talent beyond Colson Loveland, and

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Speaker 2: they didn't have quarterback play. They didn't have receivers who

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Speaker 2: could stretch anything, and the running backs were good but

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Speaker 2: reliant on, you know, somehow forcing their way.

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Speaker 1: Through stacked boxes.

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Speaker 2: So the offense just did not exist last year, and

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Speaker 2: they beat the National champion, They beat the best team

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Speaker 2: in college football. They return some of those playmakers on defense,

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Speaker 2: and the offense should be better this year just because

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Speaker 2: of the transfers brought in a better offensive coordinator and

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Speaker 2: at least more experience in that quarterback room. We'll see

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Speaker 2: how long it takes for them to start a true freshman,

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Speaker 2: but there is something about Michigan that they can ugly

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Speaker 2: their way to beating a really good team.

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Speaker 1: I think.

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Speaker 2: I think this programs has recruited well enough that they

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Speaker 2: can fill in the gaps up front. And we'll get

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Speaker 2: it more into this with the Michigan specific preview, But

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Speaker 2: because of the defense, I think they're going to play

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Speaker 2: defense as well as anybody will in this conference at

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Speaker 2: time of recording. If you play defense as well as anybody,

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Speaker 2: I think that grants you permission to get behind the

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Speaker 2: velvet rope of Dan Rubinstein's top tier.

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Speaker 1: I had Michigan in my contender tier, and I moved

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Speaker 1: them down, okay, And the reason for that was, as

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Speaker 1: I went through and studied every team in this conference,

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Speaker 1: I kept finding other teams that I liked a little

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Speaker 1: bit more than them for one reason or another. Maybe schedule, Okay,

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Speaker 1: maybe offense, not so much on the defense side, because

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Speaker 1: you're right, their defense, especially the front seven, is going

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Speaker 1: to be the meat of this team's going to take

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Speaker 1: The offense I think a little while to develop. I

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Speaker 1: think it will, but I think it's going to take

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Speaker 1: a minute for it to get there. Yeah, and so

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Speaker 1: that was my main point of hesitation with Michigan. But

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Speaker 1: they should be very formidable, and they are clearly in

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Speaker 1: the battle for fourth I think we would agree that

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Speaker 1: they're probably not one of our top three contenders. They're

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Speaker 1: not number three. If you were to tell me at

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Speaker 1: the end of the area Michigan finished fourth in the

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Speaker 1: Big Ten, I'd be like, yeah, that absolutely makes sense.

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Speaker 1: That's why I've got them in the battle for fourth tier. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I think they've recruited on a level that's superior to

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Speaker 2: the teams that you may be comparing them against. I

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Speaker 2: think they will be able to again defend on a

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Speaker 2: level that I'm not positive the teams you might be

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Speaker 2: comparing them against can. And there's a certain amount of

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Speaker 2: seasoning to Michigan and obviously Sharon Moore when he's on

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Speaker 2: the field. You also have to look at maybe specific Illinois,

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Speaker 2: but also Indiana Indiana got a lot of the sort

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Speaker 2: of criticism and finger wagging about who they didn't beat

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Speaker 2: last year. Do we want to review what Illinois did

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Speaker 2: last year? Impressively, not through any fault of their own,

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Speaker 2: but they sort of stacked wins against a schedule and

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Speaker 2: were fully, fully uncompetitive against the best of the conference

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Speaker 2: last year.

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Speaker 1: Right, if you go back and look at our friend

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Speaker 1: Bill Connolly's second order wins, which again takes the stat

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Speaker 1: line from any given game, runs it through the stimulator,

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Speaker 1: tells you how many times out of one hundred they're

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Speaker 1: winning that game, he had Illinois at about two fewer

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Speaker 1: wins and they finished with the last season because even

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Speaker 1: some of those games that they won, it wasn't necessarily

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Speaker 1: a stellar performance. And so there's definitely some school of

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Speaker 1: thought out there that even though they had a great season,

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Speaker 1: for sure, they were not as good as the record

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Speaker 1: would have indicated.

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Speaker 2: But they bring back a lot and we'll get into

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Speaker 2: that a lot Illinois specific one.

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Speaker 1: But yes, continue so contender tier, then we're in agreement.

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Speaker 2: Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon. I have Michigan in that

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Speaker 2: tier as well, and Michigan, but yes, I and my order.

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Speaker 2: Do you want to know my order there. Yeah, sure,

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Speaker 2: My order as of right now is Ohio State, then

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Speaker 2: Penn State, then Oregon, then Michigan. I don't know if

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Speaker 2: you have Penn State and Ohio State flipped. I presume

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Speaker 2: you may.

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Speaker 1: I have Penn State one. Okay. This is one of

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Speaker 1: those walks that I took around the block. All the

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Speaker 1: pieces are in place for a title run for Penn State.

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Speaker 1: There are two big games on the schedule. It's a

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Speaker 1: very advantageous schedule. They've got the home game against Oregon

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Speaker 1: that I think we're still trying to go to. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and then they've got the road game a little bit

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Speaker 1: later in the year against Ohio State. Those two games

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Speaker 1: will determine ultimately whether the regular season is a success.

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Speaker 1: But it's really hard to find a universe in which

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Speaker 1: Penn State completely whiffs on the playoff. If they completely

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Speaker 1: whiff on the playoff with this roster, that's going to

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Speaker 1: be a reckoning in state college because everything, everything in

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Speaker 1: James Franklin's career as a Penn State coach has pointed

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Speaker 1: to this moment where he's got this roster back, this schedule,

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Speaker 1: this I guess now format throughout college football that allows

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Speaker 1: him to get in even if he's got two losses.

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Speaker 1: There is a lot building towards this moment for Penn State,

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Speaker 1: and sooner or later they have been knocking on the

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Speaker 1: door for a good long time against Ohio State. Sooner

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Speaker 1: or later they got to get another win against them.

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Speaker 1: So games in Columbus. They don't like that setup. But

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Speaker 1: nonetheless I like Penn State. Maybe I'm a homer, I'm

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Speaker 1: a grad, but I've got Penn State one, I've got

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Speaker 1: Ohio State two. What's interesting about Ohio State? And this

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Speaker 1: I'm sure will come as no shock to any buddy

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Speaker 1: who listens to the show, despite the fact they've got

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Speaker 1: a ton of new faces. Still your national title favorite

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Speaker 1: at five to one now Still the net like Vegas

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Speaker 1: saw that and committed it to memory and said, there's

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Speaker 1: still the favorite to win, right plus five hundred. So

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Speaker 1: I think we need to know a little bit more

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Speaker 1: about the buck Eyes. There's a ton new there, and

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Speaker 1: it just happens to be a year in which Ohio

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Speaker 1: State and Michigan and Oregon and Alabama and Georgia and

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Speaker 1: Texas and take your pick, Miami are all working in

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Speaker 1: new starting quarterbacks. Miami's obviously Carson Beck is not a

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Speaker 1: new starting quarterback, but he's a new starting quarterback there

434
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,280
Speaker 1: with a newly rebuilt elbow. And Clemson is that one

435
00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 1: team where they're like, oh, yeah, we know what this

436
00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:48,560
Speaker 1: quarterback is for Clemson. But when you look at the

437
00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,280
Speaker 1: national title contenders and whoever I may have left out,

438
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,560
Speaker 1: Notre Dame new starting quarterback. Of course, that's.

439
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:56,400
Speaker 2: Why you can look at Ohio State and say like, oh,

440
00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,080
Speaker 2: they replace a bunch of full time guys on the

441
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:03,880
Speaker 2: offensive line, defensive line, in the secondary, at running back,

442
00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,080
Speaker 2: and yet.

443
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,120
Speaker 1: I think it was at more favorite right. Yes, it's

444
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,679
Speaker 1: just that kind of year, and it speaks to the

445
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,200
Speaker 1: job they have done assembling talent. Yeah, which is again

446
00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,680
Speaker 1: an embarrassment of riches. I've got Oregon next. I think

447
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:23,119
Speaker 1: Oregon's going to be incredible upfront on defense, completely Nils Okay,

448
00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:25,159
Speaker 1: a lot of new faces, a lot of new faces,

449
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:27,320
Speaker 1: but I think they're gonna be really good. I really

450
00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:30,440
Speaker 1: like Dante more. I think Dante Moore ultimately has a

451
00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:34,879
Speaker 1: higher ceiling than we saw it. A Dylan Gabriel okay,

452
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,760
Speaker 1: but we're not going to get Dylan Gabriel production right away.

453
00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:41,400
Speaker 1: I think that's unrealistic.

454
00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,560
Speaker 2: No, and he has time the schedule. You know, absolutely

455
00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:46,560
Speaker 2: think about Oklahoma State, but yes.

456
00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:48,880
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And even if you take a team like Ohio State,

457
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,199
Speaker 1: Ohio State didn't get its seasoning until arguably after the

458
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,520
Speaker 1: Michigan game, and they kind of snapped out of whatever

459
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:57,359
Speaker 1: funk that was and went on this incredible tear to

460
00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,560
Speaker 1: win the national championship. Oregon, I think fans to be

461
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,760
Speaker 1: another one of these playoff teams. All three of these

462
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,840
Speaker 1: teams should be in that playoff barring any kind of disaster. Sure,

463
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,119
Speaker 1: but for me, it was working in the new quarterback.

464
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:13,680
Speaker 1: For me, it was maybe not having the same level

465
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,000
Speaker 1: of production as we've seen the last year or two

466
00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:20,200
Speaker 1: out of that offense that I think held me down

467
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:22,840
Speaker 1: a little bit on the Oregon front. But I'm still

468
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:24,679
Speaker 1: pretty high on the Ducks. There's no reason not to be.

469
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:27,199
Speaker 2: No, We've talked about it, and maybe this is just

470
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:29,919
Speaker 2: like a slot receiver thing, but we talked about it

471
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,560
Speaker 2: with Xavier Ristreppo and Miami. We talked about it with

472
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,120
Speaker 2: Lad McConkey and Brock Bauers a couple of years ago.

473
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,720
Speaker 2: The Tes Johnson factor is extremely real that for two

474
00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:43,160
Speaker 2: years he transferred in from Troy, and he was such

475
00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,359
Speaker 2: a sure thing when healthy. He was out for a

476
00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:50,399
Speaker 2: little bit last year that we all may collectively be

477
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,119
Speaker 2: saying like, oh, yeah, they're going to just continue to

478
00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:55,959
Speaker 2: be good and continue to find receivers, which sort of

479
00:24:56,560 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 2: under sells how dependably excellent he was for that offense.

480
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,359
Speaker 2: It's on third and seven or in the red zone,

481
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,480
Speaker 2: or you know, generating generating an explosive play. Oregon, of

482
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:10,760
Speaker 2: these teams they have to me, so I guess of

483
00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:13,639
Speaker 2: Ohio State, Penn State, and Oregon, and this is why

484
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,639
Speaker 2: they're third to me, is they have a lower floor

485
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,480
Speaker 2: because of the number guys that have to hit for

486
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:23,240
Speaker 2: this team to be excellent. Not saying they can't. They've

487
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,760
Speaker 2: recruited and you know, portaled in guys who absolutely could

488
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:31,560
Speaker 2: have a hugely high ceiling, but they need hits at

489
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:36,800
Speaker 2: so many position groups receiver, secondary, defensive line, offensive line.

490
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,359
Speaker 2: Not worried about running back with Mkai Hughes, but like

491
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:43,200
Speaker 2: and most of all quarterback that I think you have

492
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,560
Speaker 2: to you can't in earnest say that like they feel

493
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,160
Speaker 2: like an Indianapolis team, like Penn State, has the clear

494
00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,639
Speaker 2: highest floor because of what they return. Ohio State has

495
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:54,800
Speaker 2: the clear highest ceiling because of the playmakers on both

496
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:56,600
Speaker 2: sides of the ball are just better than what Penn

497
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,080
Speaker 2: State and Oregon have with Jeremiah Smith and Caleb down

498
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,639
Speaker 2: Sunny styles like there's just too many of those types

499
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:06,600
Speaker 2: of guys, but Oregon just needs more of those mysteries

500
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:08,560
Speaker 2: to unfold in their favor.

501
00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,560
Speaker 1: Now on the Penn State side, some of the questions

502
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 1: are pretty obvious. And by the way, as we're putting

503
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:19,200
Speaker 1: these tiers together, that tends to be the tell because

504
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,840
Speaker 1: as you're studying eighteen teams and at some point it

505
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,720
Speaker 1: all sort of runs together, you tend to find that

506
00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:27,639
Speaker 1: the teams with the fewest questions are the most obvious questions,

507
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,000
Speaker 1: let's say, are the ones that bubble up to the

508
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:32,480
Speaker 1: surface of cup your contenders. And that's true for sure

509
00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,600
Speaker 1: with Penn State, with Oregon, with Ohio State. In some

510
00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:38,280
Speaker 1: cases they have some of the same questions. There just

511
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,200
Speaker 1: aren't a whole lot of them, which is why they're

512
00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:44,200
Speaker 1: here obviously. Penn State. To your point of playmakers, Penn

513
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,880
Speaker 1: State's got to figure out something out wide, and they

514
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,280
Speaker 1: tried in earnest to make that position group better. They

515
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:50,840
Speaker 1: had a bunch of guys leave. They brought a bunch

516
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,040
Speaker 1: of guys in. As we talk through our Penn State

517
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,119
Speaker 1: specific team preview, maybe on the next episode we can

518
00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,720
Speaker 1: get into that and what I think is realistic versus

519
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:04,919
Speaker 1: what is't. But clearly each school has a question like

520
00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:06,480
Speaker 1: that that you can point to and say that's the

521
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,840
Speaker 1: one thing. Sure, that's the one thing. I tend to agree.

522
00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,479
Speaker 1: You know, Oregon's got a lot of upside with the

523
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,000
Speaker 1: talent that they've got coming in, but they got to

524
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:14,760
Speaker 1: hit on a lot of it.

525
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:16,679
Speaker 2: Yeah, who am I talking about right now? In the

526
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,879
Speaker 2: Big ten When I say got some pretty big questions

527
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,199
Speaker 2: about what this past game looks like? Who am I

528
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:23,400
Speaker 2: not talking about?

529
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,840
Speaker 1: I know that's true. All right. So we got Penn State,

530
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:31,640
Speaker 1: Ohio State, Oregon. You mentioned Michigan. Yeah, I've got Michigan

531
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:36,359
Speaker 1: in my next tier down in which I have a

532
00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:39,320
Speaker 1: grouping of five other teams. This is my battle for fourth.

533
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:44,720
Speaker 1: I've got Michigan in the same grouping as Illinois, as Indiana,

534
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:52,560
Speaker 1: as Nebraska, as USC and Iowa. Okay, in total, six teams,

535
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,840
Speaker 1: and I've got them in that order, by the way. Okay,

536
00:27:56,080 --> 00:28:03,560
Speaker 1: I've got Illinois over Indiana, Nebraska over Michigan, over USC

537
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,399
Speaker 1: over Iowa. Again, there are too many damn teams in

538
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,440
Speaker 1: this conference, but that is how I list out those

539
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:14,119
Speaker 1: six teams. I like Michigan. I do like Michigan. My

540
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,320
Speaker 1: point of hesitation here is with the offense taking a

541
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:20,200
Speaker 1: little bit of time to develop, they are clearly better

542
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,119
Speaker 1: on that side of the ball, if only because they

543
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:26,520
Speaker 1: now have an actual quarterback. Right. But like you lose

544
00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,800
Speaker 1: Colston Lovelin, you lose your starting running backs from a

545
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 1: year ago. Like what they've got, I think they'll be okay.

546
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean the guys replacing them, the guys coming

547
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 2: in from the portal.

548
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,480
Speaker 1: This isn't gonna bottom out good. Yeah. Again, There's just

549
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:42,680
Speaker 1: there are moving pieces there that may take a little

550
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,720
Speaker 1: bit of time to develop, and maybe Bryce Underwood turns

551
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,320
Speaker 1: into Vince Young. I don't know. That seems to be

552
00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,560
Speaker 1: the comparison that everybody's making. That would be incredible for Michigan.

553
00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:54,360
Speaker 1: I would have loved to see that, absolutely love to

554
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,480
Speaker 1: see that. That would be friggin' awesome. Just don't know,

555
00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:00,760
Speaker 1: don't know yet. I don't feel confident enough saying that,

556
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,160
Speaker 1: even though you see the pictures of him, he looks

557
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,680
Speaker 1: like a god among insects on the sidelines next to

558
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:12,480
Speaker 1: his teammate. He looks like he's six foot seven Thomas Castellanos.

559
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,320
Speaker 1: You're also nearly thirty years older than him, Ty, He's

560
00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:19,920
Speaker 1: a young dude. Yeah, so I like Michigan, but I

561
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,800
Speaker 1: had to temper my excitement a little bit. I've got

562
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,040
Speaker 1: Illinois with nine or ten wins this year, okay, and

563
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:28,800
Speaker 1: I think this is probably Beelma's best team since he

564
00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:31,400
Speaker 1: got here. I think they're held back by their wide

565
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,960
Speaker 1: receiver room. I think they're held back by their defensive line.

566
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,400
Speaker 1: They had no pass rush pass rush last year at all.

567
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 1: And there is definitely some element of how good is

568
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 1: this team really given what we saw a year ago

569
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:46,920
Speaker 1: and given that second order win stat that I trotted

570
00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,360
Speaker 1: out earlier. But I still like this team. This team's

571
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,920
Speaker 1: got a ton back, an absolute ton back from last season,

572
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,040
Speaker 1: and it seems to set up pretty well for them

573
00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:59,520
Speaker 1: to have a real, honestly goodness shot at fourth place here. Yeah.

574
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,640
Speaker 2: The sturm with Illinois is what I just laid out,

575
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,960
Speaker 2: that they beat up on a bunch of down teams

576
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,760
Speaker 2: last year and weren't at all competitive with the best teams,

577
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,600
Speaker 2: Whereas at least Indiana, it wasn't a great second half

578
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:15,080
Speaker 2: against Michigan, but they won that game and they acquitted

579
00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:20,480
Speaker 2: themselves okay. Against Ohio State not great, okay, Whereas Illinois

580
00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:22,800
Speaker 2: was down like thirty one to nothing at halftime to Oregon.

581
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,200
Speaker 2: Illinois was never competitive. I think it was Penn State, right,

582
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,400
Speaker 2: oh No, twenty one to seven was the Penn State game.

583
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,280
Speaker 1: It wasn't a super competitive game, no, right, it really wasn't.

584
00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:33,880
Speaker 2: And they lost to Minnesota, which I didn't love. I mean,

585
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,840
Speaker 2: I think Minnesota's fine. This is also an Illinois team

586
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,160
Speaker 2: who I think do they barely beat Purdue, one of

587
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:42,560
Speaker 2: the worst Power conference teams of the modern era? Okay,

588
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:43,200
Speaker 2: just making.

589
00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,040
Speaker 1: Sure, where do you have Illinois on your side of this?

590
00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:48,880
Speaker 1: I'm assuming they're one tier down, so.

591
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,920
Speaker 2: I have Indiana ahead of Illinois the game. I think

592
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:57,920
Speaker 2: Indiana's schedule, while definitely more difficult, is okay. And Illinois

593
00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,160
Speaker 2: goes to Indiana, I think I think I like the

594
00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:05,440
Speaker 2: upside of Indiana's offense a little bit more than Illinois.

595
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:08,720
Speaker 1: At this point, they should be loaded on offense. They should.

596
00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,720
Speaker 1: I have some defensive questions, and I do think the

597
00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,520
Speaker 1: Indiana schedule is harder. It's not hard to be harder

598
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:18,200
Speaker 1: given where they came from a year ago, but Indiana

599
00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:21,600
Speaker 1: has ascended to this point now very quickly under Kurt Signetti,

600
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,520
Speaker 1: where they're no longer just trying to get the small

601
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,840
Speaker 1: school guys to come up and play for Indiana football

602
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: because there's a slot a lot more let's say, power

603
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:37,480
Speaker 1: for starters signing up for Indiana football. Now, it seems

604
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:41,640
Speaker 1: as if their activity in the transfer portal has definitely

605
00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 1: stepped up a notch because of the success that we

606
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:47,120
Speaker 1: saw in year one, with them obviously getting the playoff,

607
00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,760
Speaker 1: having a really good year. They are building on that

608
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,560
Speaker 1: rather quickly, so I think they'll be fine on offense.

609
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,400
Speaker 1: Defense to me, Lingers and we can get into that more.

610
00:31:55,440 --> 00:32:00,480
Speaker 1: But all things considered, I've got Illinois and Indiana kind

611
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,440
Speaker 1: of like one to two in that next tier down.

612
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:07,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess for me it is Indiana blew the friggin'

613
00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:10,320
Speaker 2: doors off of its competition last year, and even with

614
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:12,520
Speaker 2: the changes, I think Fernando Mendoz and by the way,

615
00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:14,640
Speaker 2: they blew the doors off with a quarterback with a

616
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,520
Speaker 2: torn acl right, that's right, Yep, Indiana now down Tino

617
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:20,840
Speaker 2: Senseiri who moves on to I think it was quarterbacks

618
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 2: coach moving on to UCLA to run their offense. Very

619
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,360
Speaker 2: strange to say out loud that we are old enough

620
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,840
Speaker 2: for Tino Senseiri is now a coveted coordinator mind, but

621
00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:30,120
Speaker 2: alas it's a good hire.

622
00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:31,760
Speaker 1: I like Tino Sincere I do too.

623
00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:34,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, so, this is what's also happening with

624
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:37,240
Speaker 2: Indiana is you're you're not only losing impact players, but

625
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,680
Speaker 2: you're like, Okay, how do you backfill this coaching loss?

626
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:43,880
Speaker 2: Whereas Illinois, I think the replacement of Ryan Walters a

627
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:47,360
Speaker 2: couple of years ago has worked out for Illinois somewhat

628
00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 2: Illinois last year. Not to belabor this point, because I

629
00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:52,800
Speaker 2: do feel like Illinois is a quality good team that

630
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,320
Speaker 2: returns a lot of quality, good players in terms of

631
00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:59,720
Speaker 2: the Big Ten. They barely get by Nebraska late correct

632
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 2: all time bad Purdue team. They sneak by in a shootout,

633
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,400
Speaker 2: the worst Michigan team of the modern era, basically well,

634
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:09,920
Speaker 2: the worst offense of the modern era, it seems. They

635
00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:12,360
Speaker 2: win comfortably twenty one to seven. They get blown out

636
00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:15,520
Speaker 2: by Oregon, they lose to Minnesota. Comfortable win against Michigan

637
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:19,960
Speaker 2: State miracle against Rutgers ten point win against Northwestern Illinois

638
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 2: is a good story. They are a good team. I'm

639
00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:24,520
Speaker 2: just not there in terms of how close they can

640
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:27,920
Speaker 2: be to a murder machine. A really disappointing as you

641
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,760
Speaker 2: mentioned run defense, So I'm not there yet. I think

642
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,520
Speaker 2: Indiana is closer to murder machine than Illinois, so I

643
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:34,440
Speaker 2: have them ahead.

644
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:36,960
Speaker 1: But we are in agreement. They're a run down. They're

645
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:41,320
Speaker 1: a good team, and on some level it required a

646
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,560
Speaker 1: little bit of rumination to figure out who you're putting

647
00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:49,880
Speaker 1: where totally. Now, we definitely disagree on some of the

648
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:54,880
Speaker 1: other teams in this class. Yes, you have USC under Illinois.

649
00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:59,160
Speaker 1: I do. I also have USC in my battle for fourth,

650
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:05,120
Speaker 1: not under Indiana. Oh, I've got Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Michigan,

651
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,440
Speaker 1: and then USC. Okay, I kind of feel like this

652
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:14,040
Speaker 1: team got worse. Okay, I found that I liked USC

653
00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:18,080
Speaker 1: far less than I expected, and I'm wondering if you

654
00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:20,879
Speaker 1: had a similar reaction to what you read. I don't.

655
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:24,240
Speaker 2: I don't think USC got worse, Okay. I think USC's

656
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:30,200
Speaker 2: starting point is intriguing, and I think what ales SC

657
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,080
Speaker 2: is more fixable than not.

658
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:35,799
Speaker 1: What do you think ails them. If you're pointing to

659
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,040
Speaker 1: one thing that ails them, what is it? Four four

660
00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:40,880
Speaker 1: quarters of football? Four quarters of football? Okay, how do

661
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,959
Speaker 1: you fix that? Because look, we've had that conversation about

662
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:44,839
Speaker 1: a bunch of teams down.

663
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,480
Speaker 2: Well, they benched the guy who was playing quarterback for

664
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,600
Speaker 2: a lot of those losses. So that was a starting point. Yeah, okay,

665
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:54,000
Speaker 2: and he's gone, yep, how do you fix that? You

666
00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:57,880
Speaker 2: get deeper on defense so legs aren't as exhausted in

667
00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:01,400
Speaker 2: October November. I think they've gotten little bit deeper on defense.

668
00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:03,920
Speaker 2: You need talent, but I think they've built up the

669
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,440
Speaker 2: depth there, especially upfront, but really on all three levels.

670
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:10,719
Speaker 2: I have concerns about their offensive line. I think their

671
00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:14,000
Speaker 2: skill talent should be fine. I think their quarterback should

672
00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:18,000
Speaker 2: be fine. But if we're just talking about can USC

673
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:22,839
Speaker 2: ascend to a level where they are unquestionably better than

674
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,319
Speaker 2: and beat inferior opponents, they're not far off.

675
00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:27,799
Speaker 1: No, I would agree with that part.

676
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, the way that the games ended against take

677
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,640
Speaker 2: your pick, Maryland, Minnesota, Washington. Look they almost lost to

678
00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:36,160
Speaker 2: UCLA as well, so you got to take the good

679
00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:39,839
Speaker 2: with the bad. But in terms of how far off

680
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:42,920
Speaker 2: they are with the starting point of intriguing skill talents.

681
00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:46,840
Speaker 2: A quality defense I think definitely a good defensive coordinator,

682
00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:50,760
Speaker 2: Definitely a good offensive mind who sometimes struggles to call

683
00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:54,560
Speaker 2: a game with more runs and you know, figure out

684
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:57,720
Speaker 2: ways to drive down the field late against clearly inferior teams.

685
00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,560
Speaker 2: I think it's more fixable than some like not having

686
00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:03,960
Speaker 2: the guys good enough to win these games. And I

687
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:08,319
Speaker 2: think you see, USC has the guys and they can

688
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:09,240
Speaker 2: win these games.

689
00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:11,480
Speaker 1: I just look at USC and I want to be

690
00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,120
Speaker 1: I want to be tickled. I know you want to

691
00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:17,360
Speaker 1: be seduced, you want to have your ear nibbled. I

692
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:19,680
Speaker 1: know I want to look at this roster and I

693
00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:22,120
Speaker 1: want to say, these are the obvious go to guys.

694
00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:25,239
Speaker 1: These are the playmakers, sure, and that's not to say

695
00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:27,520
Speaker 1: they don't have them. I think the receivers are good

696
00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:30,040
Speaker 1: Jacobe Lane, McKayle, Lemon, I think the receivers are really good.

697
00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:33,399
Speaker 1: I think Jade Mayaba can be really good. He needs

698
00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,640
Speaker 1: more seasoning, But you like what you have there. I

699
00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:39,759
Speaker 1: agree with that. I get a little bit leary when

700
00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,759
Speaker 1: suddenly we're taking in transfers from New Mexico to be

701
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,480
Speaker 1: the starting running back. No disrespect to New Mexico. They

702
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:47,800
Speaker 1: had a pretty good offense a year ago. But yeah,

703
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,360
Speaker 1: I want to find more of those gravitational players, especially

704
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,040
Speaker 1: on offense, because I think USC ultimately is going to

705
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:55,919
Speaker 1: be driven by offense. It's a Lincoln Riley team, after all.

706
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,120
Speaker 1: And I was coming up short trying to find those guys,

707
00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:02,200
Speaker 1: those grab vitational players, those winter wonders as we call

708
00:37:02,239 --> 00:37:05,040
Speaker 1: them here, that jumped off the page to me, and

709
00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:08,320
Speaker 1: I said, that's that guy's going to be a problem.

710
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:11,160
Speaker 1: They just weren't enough of those for me. I hear you.

711
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:13,239
Speaker 2: I don't know their schedule as such, where they just

712
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:14,759
Speaker 2: need to win a bunch of these games thirty to

713
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,960
Speaker 2: twenty four. Can you score thirty points with Jade Mayovn

714
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:21,759
Speaker 2: not throwing interceptions, bombing the ball downfield to good receivers,

715
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:25,560
Speaker 2: having emerging tight ends, and hopefully having a solid offensive line.

716
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:27,200
Speaker 2: It's probably not going to be an incredible one. I

717
00:37:27,239 --> 00:37:29,839
Speaker 2: don't know that USC has had an incredible offensive line

718
00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,000
Speaker 2: under Lincoln Riley. Last year was definitely a step forward.

719
00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:35,120
Speaker 1: Can they do that? Yeah, they can do that. They're

720
00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:36,600
Speaker 1: gonna put up four hundred yards a game. It's a

721
00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:38,239
Speaker 1: Lincoln Riley offense, so.

722
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,200
Speaker 2: Got to generate some turnovers, got to get off the field.

723
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:45,400
Speaker 2: They were good on third down last year, right, Dan Lynn, Yeah,

724
00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,480
Speaker 2: I think they were really good. I just if you're

725
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 2: going to look, if you're going to compare USC against

726
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:57,520
Speaker 2: Nebraska or Michigan, I think their starting point is pretty good. Okay,

727
00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:00,120
Speaker 2: And I have Michigan ahead of USC because I think

728
00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:02,560
Speaker 2: Michigan will defend better than USC does anything.

729
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:03,640
Speaker 1: I just think.

730
00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:07,400
Speaker 2: USC is a complete enough team to go nine and

731
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:11,160
Speaker 2: three against this schedule. They can again. They lose to

732
00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,360
Speaker 2: Maryland last year. Everything's on the table. But I'm saying,

733
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:19,120
Speaker 2: you know, a pulley here, a chain there. I think

734
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:21,480
Speaker 2: they can win more games. They're not far off. They

735
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:23,840
Speaker 2: were not in the way that Illinois was not competitive

736
00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:26,920
Speaker 2: against the best of this conference. USC was right there

737
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:28,200
Speaker 2: against Michigan last year.

738
00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:29,920
Speaker 1: I don't know.

739
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:32,680
Speaker 2: I think that's something, right, walk before you jog, before

740
00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:34,160
Speaker 2: you run, before you sprint.

741
00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:38,120
Speaker 1: I've got you mentioned Nebraska. I've gotten Nebraska right under

742
00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:42,040
Speaker 1: Illinois and Indiana and above Michigan, above USC and above

743
00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:46,600
Speaker 1: Iowa in the battle for fourth. Okay, And my thinking

744
00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:50,719
Speaker 1: here was a it's year three under Matt rule, which

745
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,759
Speaker 1: is usually a pretty good indication that it's going to work.

746
00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:57,040
Speaker 1: He just has that track record. I think the offense

747
00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:00,719
Speaker 1: is much improved. I think the defense, especially up front,

748
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:04,600
Speaker 1: sort of an open question for me, So you know,

749
00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,759
Speaker 1: you can't be two too high. But I like that

750
00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:10,759
Speaker 1: Dana Holgerson is going to get the full year now

751
00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:14,200
Speaker 1: to run the offense. They've had such issues along their

752
00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:16,960
Speaker 1: offensive line. I think their offensive line should be better.

753
00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:21,960
Speaker 1: So I just think incrementally when Matt Rule has done

754
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:26,239
Speaker 1: with this roster, he has made it better. And the

755
00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:29,360
Speaker 1: way that the schedule sets up, at least in the

756
00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:32,200
Speaker 1: early part of the year, they've got, i want to say,

757
00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:35,719
Speaker 1: in their first eight games, five of which look to

758
00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:39,760
Speaker 1: be very winnable, and then it gets tougher the final

759
00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:43,000
Speaker 1: four games, three of which could be losable. So the

760
00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:46,200
Speaker 1: variance for Nebraska feels much higher to me, Like you

761
00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:48,960
Speaker 1: could talk me into anything from six and six all

762
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:51,000
Speaker 1: the way up to ten and two. I think like

763
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,080
Speaker 1: nine to three ish for Nebraska this season. I like

764
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:56,360
Speaker 1: what I saw. I really like what they did in

765
00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:59,920
Speaker 1: the receiver room, okay via the portal, So I'm pretty

766
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:02,560
Speaker 1: optimistic that this is another big step forward as we've

767
00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:04,319
Speaker 1: seen time and again with rule when he takes over

768
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:05,080
Speaker 1: these programs.

769
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:08,560
Speaker 2: Also should be noted year three, when he was with

770
00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:12,080
Speaker 2: the Carolina Panthers after starting where's my button?

771
00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:14,600
Speaker 1: Hold on? Not talking about this?

772
00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:19,960
Speaker 2: This is I mean, coaches go through different eras and

773
00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:23,799
Speaker 2: here's what I want. I like Dana Holgerson stepping in.

774
00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:27,120
Speaker 2: I like that they it seems like they upgraded at receiver.

775
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:30,480
Speaker 2: They've been led by their defense. They lose I think

776
00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:33,359
Speaker 2: everybody up front and their defensive coordinator, which is why

777
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:37,080
Speaker 2: you're talking about the wide variants. To your credit, they

778
00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:39,920
Speaker 2: lost five of six to finish the year last.

779
00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:42,040
Speaker 1: Year, wasn't it? Or where's my button again? Holding?

780
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:46,919
Speaker 2: We're not talking about something clicking and like, oh, they're

781
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:50,640
Speaker 2: going to keep this going on offense now, Dylan Royl

782
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:52,759
Speaker 2: is a freshman. You're going to take freshman lumps. All

783
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:55,439
Speaker 2: of that is clear. He's going to be better this year. Yes,

784
00:40:55,840 --> 00:40:56,920
Speaker 2: and he is very good.

785
00:40:57,120 --> 00:40:59,399
Speaker 1: I mean, you could clearly see why everybody's excited about

786
00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:02,719
Speaker 1: Diylan Royl. He needed more of a sporting cast, but

787
00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:06,360
Speaker 1: clearly you could see on display why he was so

788
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:07,239
Speaker 1: highly recruited.

789
00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:14,000
Speaker 2: Sure, fourteen points against Rutgers, seven points against Indiana ten

790
00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:17,080
Speaker 2: points in a loss to Iowa. I don't want to

791
00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:21,720
Speaker 2: heap too much credit on a Matt Rule team Capitol

792
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:25,239
Speaker 2: MRT while also looking at year two was not all

793
00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:28,920
Speaker 2: that fun to be a Nebraska fan. No, like that

794
00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:32,560
Speaker 2: Rutgers game against Nebraska was one of the worst TV

795
00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:34,319
Speaker 2: shows of twenty twenty four.

796
00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:38,239
Speaker 1: Right, it was horrible. It was absolutely horrible. Here's the thing, though,

797
00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:42,319
Speaker 1: they have gotten no line play, but it's never been

798
00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,640
Speaker 1: easier to bring in new linemen. I think it's going

799
00:41:45,719 --> 00:41:48,400
Speaker 1: to be better this year. I think it finally rounds

800
00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:51,080
Speaker 1: into form enough this season that it's not going to

801
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,120
Speaker 1: drive down the offense, okay, and so I'm hoping that

802
00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:57,759
Speaker 1: the combination of the better line play, another year of

803
00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:01,840
Speaker 1: Riola in a Holger Sam and bringing in Dane Keene

804
00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:05,680
Speaker 1: Isaiah Hunter via the portal out wide. I'm hoping all

805
00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:08,799
Speaker 1: of these factors kind of work together and that's what

806
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:10,080
Speaker 1: propels Nebraska forward.

807
00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:12,359
Speaker 2: I just how many coaches is it going to take

808
00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:16,920
Speaker 2: at a specific school that don't succeed for to be like, oh,

809
00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:18,719
Speaker 2: maybe this is just like a six to seven win

810
00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:20,759
Speaker 2: program right now in college.

811
00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:22,719
Speaker 1: Foot Well, well that's possible too, but they have gotten better,

812
00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:26,879
Speaker 1: like they have gotten better in each of his two

813
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,440
Speaker 1: seasons in Lincoln.

814
00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:31,560
Speaker 2: Well, it was a low starting point from where Scott

815
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:35,160
Speaker 2: Frost left the program. It's just there are They're in

816
00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:39,680
Speaker 2: a very difficult conference right now to get too much better,

817
00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:40,560
Speaker 2: it seems.

818
00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:46,800
Speaker 1: I think Nebraska, Michigan USC are probably like my hottest

819
00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:51,239
Speaker 1: takes Okay into Big ten. And I'd be lying if

820
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:54,279
Speaker 1: I said I were comfortable speaking from my chest on

821
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:56,719
Speaker 1: any of those points, because I'm not. I'm just not.

822
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,440
Speaker 1: I've all got them in the same tier. I think

823
00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:03,680
Speaker 1: a lot of these are interchangeable. But I just upon

824
00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:05,719
Speaker 1: doing the reading, maybe it was the mood I was in,

825
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,480
Speaker 1: or the thing I was eating for dinner, but I

826
00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:13,319
Speaker 1: ranked them Nebraska over Michigan, over USC, and that next

827
00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:15,799
Speaker 1: tier down the battle for fourth, and then the other

828
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:17,439
Speaker 1: team that I had in that. I think you also

829
00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:19,600
Speaker 1: said you have in this one tier down is Iowa.

830
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:23,160
Speaker 1: I do I want to know why you felt is

831
00:43:23,160 --> 00:43:24,680
Speaker 1: optimistic on Iowa.

832
00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:29,680
Speaker 2: Why Because we have twenty five years of footage of

833
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:34,200
Speaker 2: Kirk Farren's teams that tells us that they're going to

834
00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:36,799
Speaker 2: continue to find and develop defensive players, which I think

835
00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:38,279
Speaker 2: they're going to continue to do this year, even though

836
00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:42,360
Speaker 2: they're replacing a lot on defense, that things have opened

837
00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:44,640
Speaker 2: up a little bit on offense, even with the guys

838
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:47,600
Speaker 2: they lose. Caleb Johnson was great for the Hawkeyes last year,

839
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:51,320
Speaker 2: even with the guys they lose, even with a big question.

840
00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:54,439
Speaker 2: There was Mark Gonrowski from South Kota State.

841
00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:58,760
Speaker 1: Mark Ronowski man, oh, he has a surgically repaired shoulder

842
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:02,520
Speaker 1: as well, dance. I watched two hours of Markronowski highlights.

843
00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:08,240
Speaker 1: Jeez in the dark alone, where's this set talking about this? Listen?

844
00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:12,239
Speaker 1: I am all in on Mark Kronowski. Okay, I think

845
00:44:12,239 --> 00:44:14,040
Speaker 1: he's the real deal. You know how I am about

846
00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:15,000
Speaker 1: these FCS transfers.

847
00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:17,440
Speaker 2: I was gonna say, there's no Max Brosmer led the

848
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:21,880
Speaker 2: literal least explosive offense in America last year and to

849
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:24,440
Speaker 2: this day. We'll tell you if ty happens to be

850
00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:27,120
Speaker 2: in Minneapolis and people start talking about Gopher football back.

851
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:28,839
Speaker 1: Oh, I love Max Boroughs. I was right on cam

852
00:44:28,880 --> 00:44:30,600
Speaker 1: Ward though, you know, I was right on cam Erard,

853
00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:32,960
Speaker 1: right on cam Ward. Absolutely, I was like two years

854
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:36,279
Speaker 1: too early on cam Ward. But I did the same

855
00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:43,239
Speaker 1: level of research on Mark Kronowski, and I'm in I'm in.

856
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:46,799
Speaker 1: I liked Iowa way more than I expected, way more

857
00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:48,919
Speaker 1: than I expected, because we've been talking for like two

858
00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:52,600
Speaker 1: years now about how listen, the schedule's gonna get tougher.

859
00:44:52,719 --> 00:44:55,000
Speaker 1: They can't hide behind the Big ten West and that

860
00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:58,480
Speaker 1: whole scheduling set up anymore. It's gonna you know, they're

861
00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:00,440
Speaker 1: gonna have to make some change. They are going to

862
00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:04,800
Speaker 1: kirk Farnces. I think they're an eight or nine win team.

863
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:06,839
Speaker 1: The schedule is definitely hard. That's how to take at

864
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:12,080
Speaker 1: all there always are. The schedule is definitely harder. Yeah,

865
00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:14,239
Speaker 1: if Gronowski hits, I think this is going to be

866
00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:15,840
Speaker 1: a team that sneaks up on a lot of people,

867
00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:18,799
Speaker 1: especially on the offensive side of the ball, which we're not,

868
00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:21,439
Speaker 1: at least recently used to talking about Iowa as any

869
00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:22,480
Speaker 1: kind of offensive threat.

870
00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:25,400
Speaker 2: Well, which one of these teams definitively has a good

871
00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:29,120
Speaker 2: enough offense to score twenty four points without turning the

872
00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:32,400
Speaker 2: ball over a catastrophic number of times on their schedule

873
00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:37,960
Speaker 2: Penn State and Oregon, I guess, yeah, so if you

874
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:40,200
Speaker 2: even pencil in losses to Penn State and Oregon, which,

875
00:45:40,239 --> 00:45:41,360
Speaker 2: by the way, where are those games?

876
00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:44,200
Speaker 1: Both those in Iowa City. Both those games are at home.

877
00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:47,600
Speaker 2: Do you have any scar tissue in trauma regarding games

878
00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:49,239
Speaker 2: with Penn State traveling to Iowa City?

879
00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:51,239
Speaker 1: Where's my button? Let me see if I can find this.

880
00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:53,840
Speaker 1: I'm talking about this. The game was in State College,

881
00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:57,040
Speaker 1: but just that get that matchup in general, the six

882
00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:58,040
Speaker 1: or four to one yet, well.

883
00:45:57,920 --> 00:45:59,480
Speaker 2: I'm not talking about six or four. I'm just talking

884
00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:03,279
Speaker 2: in gam Even when Penn State wins, was it was

885
00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:04,959
Speaker 2: it fun? Leading up to the point?

886
00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:07,120
Speaker 1: Where was it Trace McSorley who found somebody in the

887
00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:07,960
Speaker 1: back of the end zone.

888
00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:11,759
Speaker 2: It's never Fiaway City in Iowa City. Never I can

889
00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:14,759
Speaker 2: drive to this Iowa Oregon game. Do you think I'm

890
00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:19,400
Speaker 2: even considering driving whatever it is four hours each way

891
00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:22,759
Speaker 2: to watch them lose a game seventeen to fourteen. Absolutely

892
00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:27,279
Speaker 2: not one hundred percent. No, I don't blame you one

893
00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:27,960
Speaker 2: hundred percent.

894
00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:28,120
Speaker 1: No.

895
00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:33,600
Speaker 2: So Iowa has Phil Parker calling their defense. They have

896
00:46:34,080 --> 00:46:36,759
Speaker 2: a more inventive offensive coordinator than they've had over the

897
00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:40,400
Speaker 2: past few years, starting with last season. Their schedule is

898
00:46:40,440 --> 00:46:43,680
Speaker 2: not amazing. They get their two toughest games at home.

899
00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:46,680
Speaker 2: They get a revenge spot in the Saihawk game on

900
00:46:46,719 --> 00:46:49,480
Speaker 2: the road, but that's after Iowa State comes back from Doblin.

901
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:54,000
Speaker 1: Correct, correct? I like, how you at a Doblin emphasis? Yeah,

902
00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:54,479
Speaker 1: they both.

903
00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:57,440
Speaker 2: They travel to both New Jersey and Los Angeles this season,

904
00:46:58,440 --> 00:47:02,000
Speaker 2: and that's at Los Angeles trip after all Oregon in

905
00:47:02,040 --> 00:47:05,120
Speaker 2: a New Jersey trip before they play Indiana, which should

906
00:47:05,120 --> 00:47:08,280
Speaker 2: be a tough game. Sure, the schedule is not amazing.

907
00:47:08,400 --> 00:47:10,560
Speaker 2: Minnesota is going to be tough this year. Wisconsin should

908
00:47:10,560 --> 00:47:12,200
Speaker 2: be improved this year, and that's on the road. I'lbe

909
00:47:12,239 --> 00:47:15,319
Speaker 2: it after a bye. But I still think on a

910
00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:18,480
Speaker 2: certain level, Iowa was the one who knocks go ahead

911
00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:20,279
Speaker 2: and throw it into the teeth of this defense. Do it,

912
00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:21,880
Speaker 2: do it, see what happens.

913
00:47:22,880 --> 00:47:25,800
Speaker 1: I kind of think it would be an incredible story

914
00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:29,239
Speaker 1: if Iowa ended up being the fourth place finisher in

915
00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:33,640
Speaker 1: this conference, just because Kirk Farns has proved any you know,

916
00:47:33,680 --> 00:47:35,400
Speaker 1: it's been a rough go here on offense. I'm not

917
00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:39,520
Speaker 1: going to sugarcoat this right, but longest tenured coach in

918
00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:44,439
Speaker 1: college football, he's been at this forever. He clearly knows

919
00:47:44,480 --> 00:47:46,919
Speaker 1: what he's doing, just on the surface level as a coach,

920
00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:49,319
Speaker 1: even if some elements of this have passed him by

921
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:51,760
Speaker 1: I think it would be a great story for Iowa

922
00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:54,640
Speaker 1: to bubble up and become the fourth place team the conference,

923
00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:57,759
Speaker 1: and I think it's there. I think the possibility does exist.

924
00:47:57,800 --> 00:47:59,440
Speaker 1: I'm not banking on that now.

925
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:03,319
Speaker 2: Could they go four and eight against this schedule, Yes,

926
00:48:03,680 --> 00:48:07,120
Speaker 2: if things don't work out with your precious FCS quarterback,

927
00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:10,880
Speaker 2: if the defensive line doesn't come together as previous defensive

928
00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:14,000
Speaker 2: lines have. I think linebacker's a big question after last

929
00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:16,840
Speaker 2: season as well, because they had a ton of experience

930
00:48:16,880 --> 00:48:20,480
Speaker 2: there that's now gone at linebacker if memory serves. Obviously,

931
00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:24,839
Speaker 2: talent in the secondary a lot of it's gone. But yeah,

932
00:48:24,880 --> 00:48:27,560
Speaker 2: you can have quality Iowa State quality, Rutgers on the road,

933
00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:31,759
Speaker 2: quality Indiana, maybe quality, Wisconsin on the road, obvious, Penn State,

934
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:37,360
Speaker 2: Minnesota quality obvious, Oregon USC quality, probable improve, Michigan State probable,

935
00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:40,920
Speaker 2: decent Nebraska. Yeah, it's listen, it works until it doesn't.

936
00:48:41,040 --> 00:48:44,400
Speaker 1: Right. It's five of the projected top seven in the conference, yes,

937
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:48,960
Speaker 1: plus Iowa State, So yeah, it's not e This is

938
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:52,560
Speaker 1: not an easy schedule and it helps to have the defense.

939
00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:56,319
Speaker 1: For what it's worth, I think the defense probably takes

940
00:48:56,360 --> 00:48:58,719
Speaker 1: a little bit of a step back but they did

941
00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:02,719
Speaker 1: last year, but only allowed seventeen points a game last year. Yeah,

942
00:49:02,760 --> 00:49:04,719
Speaker 1: and it was a top fifteen defense. So even if

943
00:49:04,719 --> 00:49:07,239
Speaker 1: it marginally gets worse, it's still pretty damn good. It's

944
00:49:07,239 --> 00:49:09,560
Speaker 1: not going to hold them back from winning eight or

945
00:49:09,640 --> 00:49:11,719
Speaker 1: nine games. But I take your point. I don't think

946
00:49:11,719 --> 00:49:12,359
Speaker 1: you're wrong at all.

947
00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:16,080
Speaker 2: They allowed the same number two decimal places points per

948
00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:18,480
Speaker 2: drive defense as Penn States last year finished in the

949
00:49:18,480 --> 00:49:19,440
Speaker 2: top ten nationally.

950
00:49:20,920 --> 00:49:24,160
Speaker 1: Let's go one tier down. Okay, all right, so Iowa,

951
00:49:24,239 --> 00:49:26,239
Speaker 1: I guess is something we both agree on as kind

952
00:49:26,239 --> 00:49:29,160
Speaker 1: of like the bottom tier or the bottom of the

953
00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:31,680
Speaker 1: second tier, bottom of the second tier? Thank you? Yes?

954
00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:34,400
Speaker 1: What is your next tier down? Mine is the weird

955
00:49:34,400 --> 00:49:37,239
Speaker 1: little stinkers? All right? So for me, if I am

956
00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:39,319
Speaker 1: ordering these teams, and it doesn't matter what we call

957
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:43,280
Speaker 1: these tiers at this point, my next one up after

958
00:49:44,160 --> 00:49:50,640
Speaker 1: Iowa is Washington, is Minnesota, and is Michigan state in

959
00:49:50,680 --> 00:49:57,640
Speaker 1: that order, who are your next batch of teams? Minnesota, Washington, Rutgers, Nebraska.

960
00:49:57,960 --> 00:49:59,839
Speaker 1: You're really low on Nebraska, and we're going to get

961
00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:03,800
Speaker 1: to that in a second. Sure, why Minnesota over Washington

962
00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:06,919
Speaker 1: and why Rutgers in this tier? Because that feels real

963
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:07,400
Speaker 1: high to me.

964
00:50:07,440 --> 00:50:10,839
Speaker 2: For Rutgers, I'm gonna need to see protection from why

965
00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:13,799
Speaker 2: I need an offensive line from Washington. I like the

966
00:50:13,840 --> 00:50:16,600
Speaker 2: defense fine, but I don't know how many non secondary

967
00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:21,239
Speaker 2: playmakers will emerge up front still for Washington right now,

968
00:50:21,280 --> 00:50:24,880
Speaker 2: I think what PJ. Fleck has at Minnesota is a

969
00:50:24,880 --> 00:50:27,759
Speaker 2: little bit more dependable. I think the ceiling might be

970
00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:31,200
Speaker 2: a little bit higher eventually for Jetfish at Washington, But

971
00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:35,319
Speaker 2: right now with Minnesota, I just I think there's too

972
00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:38,440
Speaker 2: much quality and Minnesota's got you a new defensive coordinator

973
00:50:38,480 --> 00:50:41,879
Speaker 2: as well, losing Corey Heatherman to Miami. But I don't

974
00:50:41,920 --> 00:50:44,799
Speaker 2: know there's something a little bit more dependable about Minnesota

975
00:50:44,880 --> 00:50:47,839
Speaker 2: right now. I think they're gonna they can only get

976
00:50:47,840 --> 00:50:50,959
Speaker 2: more explosive on offense. I like the running back room.

977
00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:54,120
Speaker 2: We'll see on It's what Drake lindsay, a young new

978
00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:58,600
Speaker 2: starting quarterback, He's obviously a pretty big mystery. I don't

979
00:50:58,640 --> 00:51:02,640
Speaker 2: know there's a dependability about Minnesota right now. Washington's schedule

980
00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:07,200
Speaker 2: is fine, but they have Ohio State, Michigan, and Oregon,

981
00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:09,600
Speaker 2: and I don't know if any other teams in this

982
00:51:09,680 --> 00:51:12,400
Speaker 2: conference have that. Did you come across any other teams

983
00:51:12,400 --> 00:51:12,680
Speaker 2: with that.

984
00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:15,960
Speaker 1: I don't have that at the ready. Okay, what I'll

985
00:51:15,960 --> 00:51:19,440
Speaker 1: say is this, though, me being high on Minnesota is

986
00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:22,960
Speaker 1: not a new phenomenon on this show, right, I'm always

987
00:51:23,040 --> 00:51:27,280
Speaker 1: high on Minnesota, that's true, and so I look forward

988
00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:32,000
Speaker 1: to commiserating with fellow Minnesotans after anopella, like you're one

989
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:35,440
Speaker 1: of them. Yeah, that's right, honorary. Of course, after another

990
00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:38,120
Speaker 1: four or five loss season. We have a lot of

991
00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:40,360
Speaker 1: Minnesota fans that listen to the show. They all know

992
00:51:40,400 --> 00:51:42,120
Speaker 1: what I'm talking about. It's going to be a four

993
00:51:42,200 --> 00:51:44,920
Speaker 1: or five loss season. It always is. I am so

994
00:51:45,080 --> 00:51:46,839
Speaker 1: confident in this, and I was going to save this

995
00:51:46,840 --> 00:51:50,560
Speaker 1: for one of our next episodes, but I'll unveil it now. Okay.

996
00:51:50,760 --> 00:51:54,160
Speaker 1: I have pre scheduled a Zoom call for December the

997
00:51:54,200 --> 00:52:01,279
Speaker 1: seventeenth at eight pm titled Minnesota Football Support Zoom because

998
00:52:01,280 --> 00:52:03,839
Speaker 1: it's after the season, before the playoffs. Oh, okay, all

999
00:52:03,880 --> 00:52:06,719
Speaker 1: are welcome to attend this. Just email me soliverbal at

1000
00:52:06,719 --> 00:52:08,640
Speaker 1: gmail dot com and I'm gonna send you an invite, Buddy,

1001
00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:11,160
Speaker 1: you might need to do that after week three at

1002
00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:14,959
Speaker 1: cal I'm one hundred percent serious about this, Okay, send

1003
00:52:14,960 --> 00:52:18,080
Speaker 1: me if you are interested at our email address, I

1004
00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:20,680
Speaker 1: will add you to a list. Well, I'll automated or

1005
00:52:20,680 --> 00:52:22,520
Speaker 1: something so it sends it out. But I have scheduled

1006
00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:25,279
Speaker 1: that zoom because I just know what's gonna happen. I

1007
00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:28,120
Speaker 1: know it's gonna happen. I get excited about Minnesota football.

1008
00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:31,480
Speaker 1: They will have a good year, but it still will

1009
00:52:31,560 --> 00:52:34,360
Speaker 1: leave us like wanting for more. So I need to

1010
00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:36,479
Speaker 1: finally talk to somebody about this so it doesn't build

1011
00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:38,080
Speaker 1: up and I make the same mistake next year.

1012
00:52:39,080 --> 00:52:42,879
Speaker 2: I'm looking up notable University of Minnesota people to see

1013
00:52:42,880 --> 00:52:44,680
Speaker 2: if we can get Like, do we could go at

1014
00:52:44,800 --> 00:52:46,880
Speaker 2: Jesse Ventura on this zoom?

1015
00:52:47,040 --> 00:52:47,320
Speaker 1: Okay?

1016
00:52:47,600 --> 00:52:49,120
Speaker 2: Okay, I don't know if we went to Minnesota. Bob

1017
00:52:49,200 --> 00:52:53,320
Speaker 2: Dylan appears to have Okay, can we get notable Minnesotans

1018
00:52:54,239 --> 00:52:58,680
Speaker 2: on I'm looking at arts and entertainment. There's a there's

1019
00:52:58,719 --> 00:53:01,080
Speaker 2: a good long list of people. Ty, we got to

1020
00:53:01,080 --> 00:53:02,239
Speaker 2: get you somebody on this left.

1021
00:53:02,480 --> 00:53:05,360
Speaker 1: We'll find somebody. But that's that's where I'm out with Minnesota.

1022
00:53:05,400 --> 00:53:08,920
Speaker 1: I you've got them above Washington. I've got them one

1023
00:53:09,040 --> 00:53:12,240
Speaker 1: rung below Washington. Why Rutgers though.

1024
00:53:12,760 --> 00:53:16,520
Speaker 2: Man, I am just sick of thinking Rutgers isn't good

1025
00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:19,560
Speaker 2: and then having them beat somebody good that I just

1026
00:53:19,640 --> 00:53:22,719
Speaker 2: am going to include them in a tier of teams

1027
00:53:23,239 --> 00:53:25,480
Speaker 2: that is just going to beat some like I have

1028
00:53:25,520 --> 00:53:30,160
Speaker 2: Rutgers ahead of Nebraska. Yeah, because I'm so terrified annually

1029
00:53:30,480 --> 00:53:32,359
Speaker 2: of what Rutgers is going to do.

1030
00:53:33,120 --> 00:53:36,239
Speaker 1: I think the big theme as you look across all

1031
00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:39,640
Speaker 1: of the previous stuff and try to decipher what Rutgers

1032
00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:42,479
Speaker 1: is going to be this year, it doesn't matter where

1033
00:53:42,520 --> 00:53:47,160
Speaker 1: you look. The team is better, like legit, the roster

1034
00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:51,160
Speaker 1: is better. Yeah, then it's been. They have a better

1035
00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:53,719
Speaker 1: coach than most of these teams one hundred percent, and

1036
00:53:53,800 --> 00:53:57,400
Speaker 1: it just may not show because of the schedule being harder.

1037
00:53:57,440 --> 00:54:00,839
Speaker 1: They were seven and five teen last year, seven to six.

1038
00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:03,040
Speaker 1: They lost the bowl game in the K State. I

1039
00:54:03,080 --> 00:54:05,080
Speaker 1: wanted more last year. We both did. We talked it

1040
00:54:05,080 --> 00:54:09,160
Speaker 1: through in last year's preview. It is slowly getting better.

1041
00:54:10,600 --> 00:54:12,920
Speaker 1: I think they expect to slow build. They're cool with

1042
00:54:12,960 --> 00:54:15,560
Speaker 1: the slow build because Greg Ciano is a good coach

1043
00:54:15,600 --> 00:54:18,920
Speaker 1: and knows what the hell he's doing. There is a

1044
00:54:18,960 --> 00:54:22,759
Speaker 1: good deal of optimism around this team. I think they

1045
00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:25,640
Speaker 1: feel generally pretty good about what they have coming back.

1046
00:54:25,680 --> 00:54:29,879
Speaker 1: Even though there are some losses so over unders five

1047
00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:33,960
Speaker 1: and a half. I think there's a path to get

1048
00:54:33,960 --> 00:54:36,960
Speaker 1: into this tier. And I get where you're coming from.

1049
00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:40,680
Speaker 1: I don't get putting them above Nebraska, though, because I've

1050
00:54:40,680 --> 00:54:42,640
Speaker 1: got Nebraska as a nine win team, and I don't

1051
00:54:42,640 --> 00:54:45,360
Speaker 1: think Rutgers is anywhere close to that. I don't. I

1052
00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:48,439
Speaker 1: don't have Nebraska that high. I have them six seven wins,

1053
00:54:48,440 --> 00:54:51,320
Speaker 1: I have them right around the same record as Rutgers. Wow.

1054
00:54:52,680 --> 00:54:55,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I am not crazy. I mean it's eighthan

1055
00:54:56,000 --> 00:54:56,880
Speaker 2: calliac manus.

1056
00:54:56,640 --> 00:54:58,480
Speaker 1: Again, right, that's for sure.

1057
00:54:58,719 --> 00:55:02,799
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, thirty seven years old, ready to roll out piscataway.

1058
00:55:03,120 --> 00:55:06,120
Speaker 1: I saw a thing that they're gonna maybe try to

1059
00:55:06,160 --> 00:55:09,960
Speaker 1: throw it a little bit more with them. Don't like that.

1060
00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:15,279
Speaker 1: That's my big kid, big kid. I don't know if

1061
00:55:15,280 --> 00:55:19,480
Speaker 1: the body of work necessarily supports an idea like that.

1062
00:55:20,360 --> 00:55:26,360
Speaker 1: So I'm very like, I'm cautiously optimistic about Rutgers bigger picture.

1063
00:55:27,120 --> 00:55:29,160
Speaker 1: Like I said, better roster. I don't think it's going

1064
00:55:29,200 --> 00:55:32,000
Speaker 1: to show up because the schedule's harder. I'm curious to

1065
00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:34,520
Speaker 1: see what they do with this passing thing. If there

1066
00:55:34,560 --> 00:55:36,560
Speaker 1: is a commitment to throw at more, what that looks

1067
00:55:36,640 --> 00:55:39,080
Speaker 1: like because I'm not sold in the quarterback. But I

1068
00:55:39,120 --> 00:55:44,040
Speaker 1: would say generally, generally speaking, I share some optimism with Rutgers,

1069
00:55:44,040 --> 00:55:46,600
Speaker 1: just not putting them in that tier and certainly not

1070
00:55:46,600 --> 00:55:47,440
Speaker 1: above Nebraska.

1071
00:55:48,080 --> 00:55:51,680
Speaker 2: They got a weird travel thing where they travel cross

1072
00:55:51,719 --> 00:55:56,279
Speaker 2: country at Washington before hosting Oregon. That Oregon game is

1073
00:55:56,320 --> 00:55:59,640
Speaker 2: after Oregon plays Indiana at home, Oregon traveling cross country

1074
00:55:59,680 --> 00:56:02,279
Speaker 2: to play. I know a lot of people in New

1075
00:56:02,360 --> 00:56:05,239
Speaker 2: Jersey brag much. I'm not going to that game. I

1076
00:56:05,280 --> 00:56:06,840
Speaker 2: got a lot of couches I can sleep on in

1077
00:56:06,840 --> 00:56:09,239
Speaker 2: the greater you know, and the greater what is that

1078
00:56:10,080 --> 00:56:13,080
Speaker 2: North Jersey area? Yeah, yeah, I'm not going to that game.

1079
00:56:13,120 --> 00:56:15,319
Speaker 2: I'm terrified of that game. Absolutely not.

1080
00:56:16,640 --> 00:56:20,000
Speaker 1: I've also got Michigan State in here, and I talked

1081
00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:22,800
Speaker 1: through a little bit of why earlier. But Aiden childs

1082
00:56:22,920 --> 00:56:25,920
Speaker 1: Nick Marsh that is a tandem that is too much

1083
00:56:25,960 --> 00:56:28,520
Speaker 1: for me to say no too. So I think the

1084
00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:34,560
Speaker 1: combination of those two guys is enough of a starting

1085
00:56:34,600 --> 00:56:38,320
Speaker 1: point for the offense that anything addedive, anything in addition,

1086
00:56:38,360 --> 00:56:40,000
Speaker 1: will give them a nice little boost. I think the

1087
00:56:40,040 --> 00:56:45,040
Speaker 1: defense makes the team interesting. Four their five big tacklers

1088
00:56:45,080 --> 00:56:49,919
Speaker 1: are gone, which hurts But the upside that I see

1089
00:56:49,960 --> 00:56:51,960
Speaker 1: with this team is because they were so nicked up

1090
00:56:51,960 --> 00:56:54,880
Speaker 1: a year ago, a lot more guys got experience. Okay,

1091
00:56:54,960 --> 00:56:56,840
Speaker 1: so there should be better depth across the board, at

1092
00:56:56,920 --> 00:56:59,080
Speaker 1: least on defense. They brought in a bunch of defensive

1093
00:56:59,080 --> 00:57:02,640
Speaker 1: line transfers as well, So there is this question of

1094
00:57:02,760 --> 00:57:05,480
Speaker 1: can they generate a pass rush. They did not have

1095
00:57:05,560 --> 00:57:08,200
Speaker 1: one at all last season. There is this question of

1096
00:57:08,200 --> 00:57:10,920
Speaker 1: the schedule, which I do think is tricky. They're at USC,

1097
00:57:11,080 --> 00:57:14,680
Speaker 1: at Nebraska, at Indiana, at Minnesota, at Iowa. They've also

1098
00:57:14,719 --> 00:57:17,840
Speaker 1: got Michigan and Penn State at home on the schedule.

1099
00:57:17,880 --> 00:57:19,720
Speaker 1: It will be tough sledding if they want to hit

1100
00:57:19,720 --> 00:57:21,440
Speaker 1: the over five and a half and go to a bowl.

1101
00:57:22,200 --> 00:57:26,840
Speaker 1: But if you believe in Jonathan Smith, if you believe

1102
00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:29,160
Speaker 1: some of the glimpses we saw last season where they

1103
00:57:29,160 --> 00:57:31,760
Speaker 1: were inconsistent but they played with a lot of heart,

1104
00:57:33,160 --> 00:57:36,960
Speaker 1: I think there is enough here to at least keep

1105
00:57:36,960 --> 00:57:40,680
Speaker 1: them in that stinker tier, not necessarily to get the

1106
00:57:40,680 --> 00:57:43,040
Speaker 1: eight wins, but just to knock off one of those

1107
00:57:43,080 --> 00:57:45,280
Speaker 1: teams and make the conversation a little bit more interesting

1108
00:57:45,320 --> 00:57:45,840
Speaker 1: in the Big ten.

1109
00:57:46,720 --> 00:57:49,640
Speaker 2: I hear you, and it's hard to fully gauge what

1110
00:57:49,760 --> 00:57:51,840
Speaker 2: kind of improvement a team can have year to year.

1111
00:57:52,800 --> 00:57:55,320
Speaker 2: They finished the season losing by twenty seven to Rutgers.

1112
00:57:55,360 --> 00:57:57,040
Speaker 2: If my math is correct, right.

1113
00:57:56,920 --> 00:57:59,080
Speaker 1: That's a lot of points to Rutgers. There's a lot

1114
00:57:59,080 --> 00:58:01,840
Speaker 1: of points to Rutgers. That was at home. Yeah, I

1115
00:58:01,920 --> 00:58:03,120
Speaker 1: just think it's an uphill battle.

1116
00:58:03,520 --> 00:58:08,600
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, you're right that going five and seven

1117
00:58:08,680 --> 00:58:14,160
Speaker 2: last year, all things considered, decent, I think.

1118
00:58:14,040 --> 00:58:18,560
Speaker 1: So, I really do. I think all things considered, what

1119
00:58:18,640 --> 00:58:22,280
Speaker 1: they did last year was a hell of an opening

1120
00:58:22,280 --> 00:58:23,560
Speaker 1: Stanza for Jonathan Smith.

1121
00:58:23,840 --> 00:58:28,560
Speaker 2: I think they have a brutal schedule this year. Boston

1122
00:58:28,560 --> 00:58:30,040
Speaker 2: College is better than Michigan State.

1123
00:58:30,640 --> 00:58:32,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, I can make that case.

1124
00:58:32,880 --> 00:58:35,560
Speaker 2: The game's at home, so that's nice. But in the

1125
00:58:35,560 --> 00:58:38,920
Speaker 2: Big Ten SC Nebraska Ula, I think UCLA is not

1126
00:58:38,960 --> 00:58:41,760
Speaker 2: as good as Michigan State right now, but we'll get there.

1127
00:58:41,960 --> 00:58:44,120
Speaker 1: UCLA adds a good quarterback.

1128
00:58:44,560 --> 00:58:47,640
Speaker 2: Much better quarterback situation than they had last year, or

1129
00:58:47,680 --> 00:58:51,600
Speaker 2: at least a higher ceiling in Michigan State at Indiana,

1130
00:58:51,640 --> 00:58:54,520
Speaker 2: as you mentioned, Michigan ad minisot it's just quality until

1131
00:58:54,520 --> 00:58:55,360
Speaker 2: that Maryland game.

1132
00:58:55,960 --> 00:58:58,360
Speaker 1: So you don't have Michigan State on this level. You've

1133
00:58:58,360 --> 00:58:59,520
Speaker 1: got Michigan State to run down.

1134
00:58:59,520 --> 00:59:01,960
Speaker 2: I'm assuming I have Michigan State the top of the

1135
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:05,400
Speaker 2: next run Yeah, okay, so we're we're right around the

1136
00:59:05,400 --> 00:59:07,400
Speaker 2: same place, sort of in the same spot. I think

1137
00:59:07,400 --> 00:59:10,840
Speaker 2: they're more of like they could have obviously benefited from

1138
00:59:10,840 --> 00:59:12,800
Speaker 2: a much softer schedule than what they.

1139
00:59:12,720 --> 00:59:15,600
Speaker 1: Were definitely one hundred percent. So if you've got Michigan

1140
00:59:15,640 --> 00:59:17,640
Speaker 1: State at the top of your next tier, that means

1141
00:59:17,640 --> 00:59:20,560
Speaker 1: you've got them above Wisconsin. That means you've got them

1142
00:59:20,600 --> 00:59:24,160
Speaker 1: above UCLA. Correct, that's my next tier, Wisconsin and UCLA

1143
00:59:24,160 --> 00:59:28,360
Speaker 1: in that order. So where are you at with Wisconsin?

1144
00:59:29,040 --> 00:59:32,280
Speaker 1: Because we talk about Michigan State and the tough schedule

1145
00:59:32,320 --> 00:59:35,840
Speaker 1: that they have. Wisconsin might have the toughest schedule in

1146
00:59:35,840 --> 00:59:39,680
Speaker 1: America this year. I mean it's brutal, Yeah, so real bad.

1147
00:59:39,800 --> 00:59:43,560
Speaker 1: How much of this ranking is because of the schedule,

1148
00:59:44,200 --> 00:59:47,360
Speaker 1: and how much of this ranking is because frankly, this

1149
00:59:47,480 --> 00:59:49,640
Speaker 1: is a team that hasn't had an identity in two years.

1150
00:59:50,600 --> 00:59:54,560
Speaker 2: No, they could lose their final eight games and it

1151
00:59:54,600 --> 00:59:56,760
Speaker 2: wouldn't even they won't be favored in any of their

1152
00:59:56,800 --> 01:00:00,720
Speaker 2: final eight games. I don't believe. Depending on what Washington

1153
01:00:00,720 --> 01:00:03,000
Speaker 2: I guess looks like because that game's at home in Illinois.

1154
01:00:04,120 --> 01:00:06,680
Speaker 1: But is it because of the schedule that you've got

1155
01:00:06,680 --> 01:00:08,760
Speaker 1: them ranked here or is it because you just don't

1156
01:00:08,760 --> 01:00:09,600
Speaker 1: think it's a good team.

1157
01:00:10,480 --> 01:00:12,600
Speaker 2: I think it's an improved team against a brutal schedule,

1158
01:00:13,320 --> 01:00:16,440
Speaker 2: and so the improvement I can see is more cohesion

1159
01:00:16,480 --> 01:00:20,360
Speaker 2: on offense. There's definitely like I think their skill position

1160
01:00:20,400 --> 01:00:24,680
Speaker 2: players are decent with no huge amount of upside. They're

1161
01:00:24,720 --> 01:00:30,040
Speaker 2: replacing a ton on defense up front, and they're going

1162
01:00:30,080 --> 01:00:34,800
Speaker 2: to have to score thirty five points a game against

1163
01:00:34,840 --> 01:00:37,240
Speaker 2: this schedule for me to feel decently about them going

1164
01:00:37,240 --> 01:00:38,920
Speaker 2: eight four, nine and three. Should I read this off

1165
01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:41,000
Speaker 2: quick and the pathway to eight and four nine and

1166
01:00:41,040 --> 01:00:43,920
Speaker 2: three are the pathway to thirty five points is foggy.

1167
01:00:44,840 --> 01:00:47,600
Speaker 1: They start off with Miami, Ohio on Thursday, and then

1168
01:00:47,600 --> 01:00:50,960
Speaker 1: Middle Tennessee the following week. That's pretty much the end

1169
01:00:50,960 --> 01:00:54,560
Speaker 1: of the gimmes on this schedule. Okay, Week three at Bama.

1170
01:00:55,320 --> 01:00:57,760
Speaker 1: Week four, maybe I lie home against Maryland. They should

1171
01:00:57,760 --> 01:01:00,880
Speaker 1: be able to win that one. After a bye, it's

1172
01:01:00,960 --> 01:01:07,120
Speaker 1: at Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State at Oregon by home against

1173
01:01:07,160 --> 01:01:10,960
Speaker 1: Washington at Indiana home against Illinois. Closed out the year

1174
01:01:11,040 --> 01:01:17,000
Speaker 1: rivalry game against Minnesota. Yes, you could easily find it

1175
01:01:17,040 --> 01:01:18,880
Speaker 1: within yourself to say this is a three and nine

1176
01:01:18,920 --> 01:01:21,520
Speaker 1: team based on this. I don't think they're going three

1177
01:01:21,520 --> 01:01:23,520
Speaker 1: and nine and then they'll pick up some wins here

1178
01:01:23,520 --> 01:01:25,680
Speaker 1: and there. But I am not betting anything on over

1179
01:01:25,760 --> 01:01:29,200
Speaker 1: five and a half. I don't hate some of what

1180
01:01:29,240 --> 01:01:32,040
Speaker 1: they've done here. I like going out and getting Jeff Grimes.

1181
01:01:32,080 --> 01:01:33,800
Speaker 1: I think that was a smart move. The Phil Longo

1182
01:01:33,840 --> 01:01:36,680
Speaker 1: air raid never clicked, so they're going in a different

1183
01:01:36,720 --> 01:01:40,840
Speaker 1: direction this year. That that works for me. I think

1184
01:01:40,880 --> 01:01:45,800
Speaker 1: that's much better. Not crazy about Billy Edwards, says the quarterback,

1185
01:01:45,840 --> 01:01:47,720
Speaker 1: but I think he's an improvement. I think he's better

1186
01:01:47,720 --> 01:01:50,600
Speaker 1: for the system. Okay, because they have had statues the

1187
01:01:50,640 --> 01:01:53,320
Speaker 1: last couple of years, a little bit with Tanner Mordecai

1188
01:01:53,440 --> 01:01:56,920
Speaker 1: and a cup of coffee with TVD and Braden Lock

1189
01:01:57,040 --> 01:01:58,560
Speaker 1: like none of those guys could move. I thought Tanner

1190
01:01:58,600 --> 01:02:00,560
Speaker 1: Mordecai was pretty good. He got her, but yeah, he

1191
01:02:00,600 --> 01:02:03,160
Speaker 1: got hurt. He got hurt. I don't know if Billy

1192
01:02:03,240 --> 01:02:06,600
Speaker 1: Edwards is a good fit for the offense, but I

1193
01:02:06,640 --> 01:02:10,600
Speaker 1: think he is a better fit for this style offense

1194
01:02:10,640 --> 01:02:12,800
Speaker 1: than any of the guys that I just listened gets

1195
01:02:12,840 --> 01:02:15,600
Speaker 1: listed off because he can move. So I do like

1196
01:02:15,640 --> 01:02:18,000
Speaker 1: that about his game. But I just look at the

1197
01:02:18,040 --> 01:02:20,479
Speaker 1: schedule and I tend to agree. I think the roster

1198
01:02:20,600 --> 01:02:23,880
Speaker 1: is better, but the schedule is just impossible. And I'm

1199
01:02:23,920 --> 01:02:26,560
Speaker 1: curious to see how the Wisconsin community deals with this

1200
01:02:27,480 --> 01:02:30,160
Speaker 1: when we talk, you know, six seven months from now,

1201
01:02:30,600 --> 01:02:32,520
Speaker 1: because it's there's going to be a conversation. I'm not

1202
01:02:32,520 --> 01:02:34,000
Speaker 1: sure this team's making a Bowl with this.

1203
01:02:34,920 --> 01:02:37,440
Speaker 2: No, I mean I think Wisconsin can go seven and

1204
01:02:37,520 --> 01:02:43,280
Speaker 2: five against Penn State schedule. Yeah right, I mean Penn State.

1205
01:02:43,320 --> 01:02:46,880
Speaker 2: By the way, here's another sidebar. If they're an edge

1206
01:02:46,880 --> 01:02:49,560
Speaker 2: playoff team and we start looking at the non conference

1207
01:02:49,600 --> 01:02:53,800
Speaker 2: portion of Penn State schedule, it's not great if they're

1208
01:02:53,840 --> 01:02:58,440
Speaker 2: an edge case with two losses or something. Okay, yeah,

1209
01:02:58,680 --> 01:03:01,360
Speaker 2: you need firepower against this guy on both sides of

1210
01:03:01,360 --> 01:03:04,920
Speaker 2: the ball. You need the Wisconsin defenses of the twenty

1211
01:03:04,960 --> 01:03:11,080
Speaker 2: teams and the dependability of Wisconsin offenses with like an

1212
01:03:11,080 --> 01:03:14,040
Speaker 2: All American caliber with tight end and running back and

1213
01:03:14,080 --> 01:03:17,120
Speaker 2: a steady quarterback even if he's not great, and All

1214
01:03:17,160 --> 01:03:21,640
Speaker 2: American and first round draft pick type offensive lineman. We're

1215
01:03:21,680 --> 01:03:25,560
Speaker 2: just very far removed from that reality. With Wisconsin football,

1216
01:03:26,400 --> 01:03:28,200
Speaker 2: you know, they bring back a couple of offensive linemen

1217
01:03:28,200 --> 01:03:30,520
Speaker 2: but lose the better of the offensive lineman. They don't

1218
01:03:30,560 --> 01:03:33,240
Speaker 2: have even a tight end. It seems who's going to

1219
01:03:33,240 --> 01:03:36,520
Speaker 2: be a major, major weapon like we've come to see

1220
01:03:36,560 --> 01:03:41,400
Speaker 2: out of Wisconsin, and so four and eight that's probably

1221
01:03:41,400 --> 01:03:42,200
Speaker 2: where I'm at with them.

1222
01:03:42,400 --> 01:03:45,800
Speaker 1: And then you've got Ucla in this tier as well.

1223
01:03:45,840 --> 01:03:49,480
Speaker 1: So Ucla seems to be one team that we agree

1224
01:03:49,520 --> 01:03:54,920
Speaker 1: on their precise ranking within the conference, and it's pretty low.

1225
01:03:54,960 --> 01:03:59,200
Speaker 1: We've both got him fourth from the bottom. Ucla is

1226
01:03:59,600 --> 01:04:01,160
Speaker 1: going to get I had a lot of headlines going

1227
01:04:01,200 --> 01:04:04,520
Speaker 1: into this new year because of their quarterback, because Nico

1228
01:04:04,680 --> 01:04:10,600
Speaker 1: iam Aliava decided to transfer from Tennessee go elsewhere, landed

1229
01:04:10,640 --> 01:04:15,840
Speaker 1: at UCLA. What I'll say is this about that the

1230
01:04:15,880 --> 01:04:20,120
Speaker 1: only thing more brutal than UCLA's schedule was Nico's decision

1231
01:04:20,200 --> 01:04:23,439
Speaker 1: to come to UCLA. Because you know, the rumors out there,

1232
01:04:24,280 --> 01:04:26,680
Speaker 1: the rumors out there is that Nico and I can't

1233
01:04:26,720 --> 01:04:28,880
Speaker 1: confirm this, but this is just what I'm seeing online.

1234
01:04:29,560 --> 01:04:33,000
Speaker 1: Nico's dad might have gone to Josh Heipel and said

1235
01:04:33,040 --> 01:04:35,800
Speaker 1: he needed a better supporting cast. Of course, it wasn't

1236
01:04:35,840 --> 01:04:38,160
Speaker 1: about money. We know that, right, But he needs a

1237
01:04:38,160 --> 01:04:44,240
Speaker 1: better supporting cast. This is indisputably a worse supporting cast

1238
01:04:44,560 --> 01:04:48,240
Speaker 1: correct than he had at Tennessee. So I don't know.

1239
01:04:48,240 --> 01:04:50,800
Speaker 1: Maybe they're nicer to him, but I can guarantee they're

1240
01:04:50,800 --> 01:04:53,120
Speaker 1: not paying them more, and I can guarantee that this

1241
01:04:53,200 --> 01:04:55,320
Speaker 1: is not a better situation with a better supporting cast.

1242
01:04:56,160 --> 01:04:57,920
Speaker 1: So you can talk about Nico all we want, but

1243
01:04:58,000 --> 01:05:02,400
Speaker 1: this I I'm not about this UCLA team at all. No.

1244
01:05:02,440 --> 01:05:04,680
Speaker 2: I mean, okay, here's what you have out of UCLA.

1245
01:05:04,720 --> 01:05:08,640
Speaker 2: Here's the case for UCLA. The case for UCLA is

1246
01:05:08,800 --> 01:05:11,720
Speaker 2: it was a kind of year zero situation with Deshan

1247
01:05:11,800 --> 01:05:14,680
Speaker 2: Foster thrust into it late in the process when Chip

1248
01:05:14,760 --> 01:05:18,880
Speaker 2: Kelly decided to leave for Ohio State. He didn't have

1249
01:05:19,080 --> 01:05:23,680
Speaker 2: this kind of head coaching experience, program building experience. He

1250
01:05:23,720 --> 01:05:25,520
Speaker 2: has a full year of seeing what he has and

1251
01:05:25,560 --> 01:05:27,560
Speaker 2: what he doesn't have, full year to hit the portal.

1252
01:05:27,600 --> 01:05:32,400
Speaker 2: And obviously Nico is the big addition here. They could

1253
01:05:32,400 --> 01:05:34,760
Speaker 2: have folded after losing whatever the five or six straight

1254
01:05:34,880 --> 01:05:37,240
Speaker 2: last year, and they showed some fight with a not

1255
01:05:37,360 --> 01:05:42,920
Speaker 2: great roster. So that's what nearly beating USC beating Rutgers,

1256
01:05:43,280 --> 01:05:46,800
Speaker 2: Iowa beat up Iowa and somebody else.

1257
01:05:46,840 --> 01:05:47,120
Speaker 1: I don't know.

1258
01:05:47,120 --> 01:05:48,680
Speaker 2: If you have the schedule in front of you, it

1259
01:05:48,840 --> 01:05:52,640
Speaker 2: was oh Nebraska, Nebraska, You're you're precious Huskers, love the Husks,

1260
01:05:52,680 --> 01:05:54,600
Speaker 2: and that game was in Lincoln. For what it's worth,

1261
01:05:54,600 --> 01:05:56,960
Speaker 2: if you want to write that down, I just don't

1262
01:05:56,960 --> 01:06:00,760
Speaker 2: know that Nico's the guy. Like, forget the the surrounding

1263
01:06:00,800 --> 01:06:03,480
Speaker 2: cast here. His upside seems to be. But how far

1264
01:06:03,600 --> 01:06:07,120
Speaker 2: removed are we from him as a recruit enough to say, like,

1265
01:06:07,400 --> 01:06:09,320
Speaker 2: we know what he is as a college football quarterback

1266
01:06:09,360 --> 01:06:13,840
Speaker 2: and that was for too much time a liability throwing

1267
01:06:13,840 --> 01:06:17,800
Speaker 2: the ball downfield, making quick decisions for Tennessee an offense

1268
01:06:17,800 --> 01:06:20,120
Speaker 2: predicated on making quick decisions, and so if he held

1269
01:06:20,120 --> 01:06:22,520
Speaker 2: onto the ball too long and he played like an

1270
01:06:22,560 --> 01:06:24,919
Speaker 2: absolute warrior against Ohio State with the number of hits

1271
01:06:24,960 --> 01:06:26,880
Speaker 2: he took, like he earned a lot of respect from

1272
01:06:26,880 --> 01:06:29,000
Speaker 2: a lot of people, just like from the toughness angle.

1273
01:06:29,800 --> 01:06:32,919
Speaker 2: But now he's going to have to be spectacularly good

1274
01:06:33,000 --> 01:06:37,600
Speaker 2: and make these receivers great and play behind a questionable

1275
01:06:37,640 --> 01:06:42,000
Speaker 2: offensive line, need to outscore a defense that has a

1276
01:06:42,080 --> 01:06:46,280
Speaker 2: number of issues. They had to make a coaching change

1277
01:06:46,280 --> 01:06:47,920
Speaker 2: and basically the middle of the year last year at

1278
01:06:47,960 --> 01:06:51,560
Speaker 2: offensive coordinator. So now maybe Tino Sensei brings some stability

1279
01:06:51,600 --> 01:06:53,640
Speaker 2: and it's just a better teacher for Nico than what

1280
01:06:53,680 --> 01:06:58,280
Speaker 2: he had in Tennessee. It's possible. Schedule's tough. They have Northwestern,

1281
01:06:58,320 --> 01:06:59,160
Speaker 2: they have Michigan State.

1282
01:06:59,160 --> 01:07:01,720
Speaker 1: Those are both on the road. Listen, there are nine

1283
01:07:01,760 --> 01:07:04,840
Speaker 1: or ten Bowl teams on this schedule, maybe seven top

1284
01:07:04,920 --> 01:07:07,000
Speaker 1: twenty five teams. At the end of the year, they've

1285
01:07:07,040 --> 01:07:10,160
Speaker 1: got Utah. This is not an easy schedule. And here's

1286
01:07:10,200 --> 01:07:12,439
Speaker 1: the other thing. I take your point, and you're not wrong.

1287
01:07:12,480 --> 01:07:14,440
Speaker 1: They had momentum at the end of last year. They did.

1288
01:07:14,480 --> 01:07:17,000
Speaker 1: They had some real momentum, and you know, the hope

1289
01:07:17,040 --> 01:07:19,920
Speaker 1: is now you can add to that momentum by bringing

1290
01:07:20,000 --> 01:07:23,760
Speaker 1: Nico in. He's an upgrade at quarterback over Ethan Garber's. Okay,

1291
01:07:23,800 --> 01:07:28,000
Speaker 1: absolutely an upgrade, I hope. So the problem is what

1292
01:07:28,040 --> 01:07:31,520
Speaker 1: you don't get from any of those headlines, which is

1293
01:07:31,680 --> 01:07:35,680
Speaker 1: they are worse literally everywhere else other than quarterback, they're

1294
01:07:35,720 --> 01:07:39,360
Speaker 1: not better. And so because of the fact that they

1295
01:07:39,400 --> 01:07:42,880
Speaker 1: brought in a bunch of new guys basically thirty five

1296
01:07:42,920 --> 01:07:47,600
Speaker 1: guys left from last season, Yeah, that's a lot. That

1297
01:07:47,640 --> 01:07:50,240
Speaker 1: momentum goes out the window. Man, there's a new team

1298
01:07:50,320 --> 01:07:53,320
Speaker 1: this year. Agree, this is a new team. So I

1299
01:07:53,360 --> 01:07:56,800
Speaker 1: am not picking up what UCLA is putting down. I'm

1300
01:07:56,880 --> 01:07:59,760
Speaker 1: just not The schedule is brutal. I think the upgrade

1301
01:07:59,760 --> 01:08:02,840
Speaker 1: at quarterback is one thing, but I think the downgrade

1302
01:08:02,920 --> 01:08:06,120
Speaker 1: at least marginally so pretty much everywhere else is going

1303
01:08:06,200 --> 01:08:09,120
Speaker 1: to override it. Look, Nico has his reasons. I don't.

1304
01:08:09,160 --> 01:08:11,600
Speaker 1: I don't know the kid. Obviously, we don't know the kid.

1305
01:08:11,840 --> 01:08:13,440
Speaker 1: We don't know his reasons for doing what he did,

1306
01:08:13,560 --> 01:08:16,160
Speaker 1: or his family's reasons for doing what I guess they

1307
01:08:16,200 --> 01:08:18,720
Speaker 1: advised him to help do. But I just I don't

1308
01:08:18,760 --> 01:08:20,840
Speaker 1: get it. I don't. I don't get it. This year,

1309
01:08:20,840 --> 01:08:22,439
Speaker 1: the over unders five and a half. I wouldn't touch

1310
01:08:22,439 --> 01:08:25,719
Speaker 1: out with a ten foot poll. I like Jvian Thomas,

1311
01:08:25,800 --> 01:08:27,439
Speaker 1: by the way, I do like Javian Thomas. I do

1312
01:08:27,560 --> 01:08:30,320
Speaker 1: like him. He's good back, was good for in Jayden

1313
01:08:30,360 --> 01:08:33,960
Speaker 1: Ott's stead at Cal last year. That then brings us

1314
01:08:33,960 --> 01:08:38,040
Speaker 1: a guest to the bottom three, and you can do

1315
01:08:38,600 --> 01:08:41,679
Speaker 1: we it seems to agree in this Yeah, I've got them.

1316
01:08:42,160 --> 01:08:45,280
Speaker 1: Maryland followed by Northwestern followed by Purdue.

1317
01:08:44,880 --> 01:08:48,360
Speaker 2: Which, by the way, anybody's saying anything about Perdue is wrong.

1318
01:08:48,960 --> 01:08:50,080
Speaker 2: They might go six and six.

1319
01:08:50,200 --> 01:08:53,559
Speaker 1: I don't know. Barry Odam's a really good coach. Sixty

1320
01:08:53,640 --> 01:08:56,479
Speaker 1: nine new players Dan, Yeah, what did I call them?

1321
01:08:56,800 --> 01:09:00,280
Speaker 1: We were kicking it back and forth because I said

1322
01:09:01,200 --> 01:09:03,559
Speaker 1: Purdue and name only, and I was trying to workshop

1323
01:09:03,640 --> 01:09:08,320
Speaker 1: some sort of like Pino Griggio Pino Noir thing for that.

1324
01:09:08,920 --> 01:09:13,800
Speaker 1: And you said the broiler makers or the personaries. Yeah,

1325
01:09:13,840 --> 01:09:17,520
Speaker 1: I said broiler makers in need of immediate heat. Yeah.

1326
01:09:17,720 --> 01:09:21,479
Speaker 1: I like personaries better, though personaries has some heat to it,

1327
01:09:21,800 --> 01:09:23,800
Speaker 1: thank you very much. Yeah, who they all knows? I

1328
01:09:23,800 --> 01:09:26,559
Speaker 1: mean sixty nine new players fifty four in the portal

1329
01:09:26,560 --> 01:09:30,160
Speaker 1: fifteen via high school recruiting. I don't think they're going

1330
01:09:30,160 --> 01:09:33,120
Speaker 1: to be good based on the roster that they've assembled.

1331
01:09:33,840 --> 01:09:35,600
Speaker 1: We also didn't think Indiana would be that great a

1332
01:09:35,720 --> 01:09:37,639
Speaker 1: year ago, and they ended up going to the playoffs.

1333
01:09:37,720 --> 01:09:42,200
Speaker 2: So fiery defensive mind brings in a bunch of transfers.

1334
01:09:42,240 --> 01:09:44,960
Speaker 2: It's worked, it has the state of Indiana.

1335
01:09:46,000 --> 01:09:47,920
Speaker 1: It has worked. I don't think it's going to work here.

1336
01:09:48,479 --> 01:09:50,880
Speaker 1: I don't God, how great would it be though? That'd

1337
01:09:50,920 --> 01:09:52,479
Speaker 1: be a cool story. I don't think it's the work either,

1338
01:09:52,520 --> 01:09:56,480
Speaker 1: but we could bring back the spoiler makers. Actually that's true. Northwestern.

1339
01:09:56,520 --> 01:09:58,240
Speaker 1: I think the roster's better. I think the schedule is

1340
01:09:58,360 --> 01:10:03,160
Speaker 1: murder Yes, I'm intrigued by Preston Stone, the transfer coming

1341
01:10:03,200 --> 01:10:06,200
Speaker 1: up from SMU to play quarterback. I am also mindful

1342
01:10:06,240 --> 01:10:09,240
Speaker 1: of the fact that Northwestern has been where transfer quarterbacks

1343
01:10:09,240 --> 01:10:11,960
Speaker 1: go to die. Yeah. Also true. None of their those

1344
01:10:11,960 --> 01:10:15,519
Speaker 1: transfer quarterbacks have ever hit at Northwestern, and so that

1345
01:10:15,600 --> 01:10:19,759
Speaker 1: gives me cause for pause. Defense should be okay, defense

1346
01:10:19,760 --> 01:10:20,280
Speaker 1: will be all right.

1347
01:10:20,400 --> 01:10:22,479
Speaker 2: Defense needs to be way more than all right, though.

1348
01:10:22,520 --> 01:10:24,080
Speaker 2: It needs to be Hankwitz level defense.

1349
01:10:24,160 --> 01:10:25,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, the defense needs to be the eighty five Bears.

1350
01:10:25,960 --> 01:10:27,439
Speaker 2: No, it just needs to be like the twenty. I

1351
01:10:27,520 --> 01:10:29,880
Speaker 2: to forget which year they were at Like the twenty

1352
01:10:29,880 --> 01:10:32,680
Speaker 2: Northwestern defense was that the year they went to Big

1353
01:10:32,720 --> 01:10:34,320
Speaker 2: Ten championship game against Ohio State.

1354
01:10:35,240 --> 01:10:38,240
Speaker 1: I have no idea. It needs to be that level. Yeah,

1355
01:10:38,439 --> 01:10:41,559
Speaker 1: and then Maryland. Maryland's got the best schedule in the

1356
01:10:41,560 --> 01:10:45,479
Speaker 1: Big Ten, and it probably doesn't matter. It probably doesn't matter.

1357
01:10:45,479 --> 01:10:47,519
Speaker 1: But you know what, even though I've got them as

1358
01:10:47,600 --> 01:10:49,880
Speaker 1: the third worst team in this conference, there's a real

1359
01:10:50,040 --> 01:10:53,400
Speaker 1: entertainment factor here with this team because they are crazy young.

1360
01:10:54,240 --> 01:10:58,360
Speaker 1: Because they've got Malik Washington, their four star quarterback from

1361
01:10:58,360 --> 01:11:00,920
Speaker 1: like a half hour up the road, coming in, I

1362
01:11:00,920 --> 01:11:02,920
Speaker 1: would assume we will see him, if not right away,

1363
01:11:02,960 --> 01:11:06,479
Speaker 1: at some point very soon. I think the whole goal

1364
01:11:06,520 --> 01:11:08,800
Speaker 1: of this season for Maryland is not necessarily to win

1365
01:11:08,800 --> 01:11:09,840
Speaker 1: a but I mean, you always want to go to

1366
01:11:09,840 --> 01:11:11,840
Speaker 1: a bowl. You always want to do it best as

1367
01:11:11,840 --> 01:11:13,679
Speaker 1: you can when it comes to the win loss record,

1368
01:11:13,720 --> 01:11:16,760
Speaker 1: I get that. The goal, though, is to see which

1369
01:11:16,800 --> 01:11:19,200
Speaker 1: young guys pop, to find out which guys you can

1370
01:11:19,240 --> 01:11:22,360
Speaker 1: build around moving forward. Next year's schedule, by the way,

1371
01:11:22,479 --> 01:11:25,880
Speaker 1: is friggin torture, so they need some guys that they

1372
01:11:25,960 --> 01:11:30,280
Speaker 1: can build that project around in twenty six Otherwise, in

1373
01:11:31,640 --> 01:11:35,479
Speaker 1: totally different conversation around Maryland, but at least for this season,

1374
01:11:36,800 --> 01:11:39,360
Speaker 1: schedule I think gives them enough wiggle room and I'm

1375
01:11:39,400 --> 01:11:41,000
Speaker 1: curious to see if any of the young guys pop.

1376
01:11:42,040 --> 01:11:44,200
Speaker 2: Well, it's just the wrong year for Maryland to have

1377
01:11:44,240 --> 01:11:46,920
Speaker 2: this schedule. If this were like a Talia team from

1378
01:11:46,960 --> 01:11:50,479
Speaker 2: three or four years ago, this is a nine win team. Yeah,

1379
01:11:50,560 --> 01:11:53,720
Speaker 2: well against this specific schedule because they miss Ohio State,

1380
01:11:53,720 --> 01:11:54,599
Speaker 2: Penn state in Oregon.

1381
01:11:55,520 --> 01:11:57,200
Speaker 1: If they played the schedule last year, they're going to

1382
01:11:57,240 --> 01:12:01,400
Speaker 1: a bowl. Sure it works to their favor. I just

1383
01:12:01,640 --> 01:12:05,479
Speaker 1: you know, this year it's I don't know, Maybe that's

1384
01:12:05,479 --> 01:12:10,280
Speaker 1: good for the youth development type situation, right, Maybe they'll

1385
01:12:10,280 --> 01:12:11,920
Speaker 1: be able to develop guys, they'll be able to get

1386
01:12:11,920 --> 01:12:15,559
Speaker 1: more guys in sure, there'll be a little bit more

1387
01:12:15,600 --> 01:12:18,120
Speaker 1: wiggle room there. I don't know, I'm probably just making

1388
01:12:18,160 --> 01:12:21,559
Speaker 1: that up. But there's real entertainment value, at least for Maryland,

1389
01:12:22,160 --> 01:12:22,920
Speaker 1: so I'm cool with that.

1390
01:12:23,560 --> 01:12:26,719
Speaker 2: Yeah, the home road splits are at least somewhat interesting,

1391
01:12:26,720 --> 01:12:29,200
Speaker 2: but they're on the road a ton. Back half of

1392
01:12:29,200 --> 01:12:32,360
Speaker 2: this schedule, they play all their home games or play

1393
01:12:32,400 --> 01:12:35,280
Speaker 2: all their non conference games at home, and then it's

1394
01:12:35,320 --> 01:12:37,960
Speaker 2: a lot of the turfs on the road. They do

1395
01:12:38,000 --> 01:12:41,040
Speaker 2: get Michigan and maybe look Ahead Spot, which is always

1396
01:12:41,080 --> 01:12:42,759
Speaker 2: like seems to be the case that they get Ohio

1397
01:12:42,760 --> 01:12:46,519
Speaker 2: State or Michigan the week before. Yep, but and I

1398
01:12:46,520 --> 01:12:51,240
Speaker 2: think they get with excuse me, Washington after Washington has

1399
01:12:51,240 --> 01:12:53,519
Speaker 2: Ohio State and they have a buye before that week.

1400
01:12:53,600 --> 01:12:56,519
Speaker 2: So it's very trappy for Washington, who struggled going cross

1401
01:12:56,560 --> 01:12:59,120
Speaker 2: country against Rutgers last year. So there's you know, some

1402
01:12:59,160 --> 01:13:04,320
Speaker 2: situational in league, but beyond seeing like some interesting young

1403
01:13:04,360 --> 01:13:07,680
Speaker 2: pop on this offense, I don't know, the lines of

1404
01:13:07,680 --> 01:13:12,080
Speaker 2: scrimmage seem to need a lot of work. And yeah,

1405
01:13:12,200 --> 01:13:14,160
Speaker 2: there's just a not a ton there in terms of

1406
01:13:14,200 --> 01:13:16,559
Speaker 2: like dependable playmaking on both sides of the ball.

1407
01:13:17,800 --> 01:13:20,280
Speaker 1: Who do you have in your title game? Ohio State

1408
01:13:20,280 --> 01:13:27,839
Speaker 1: Penn State rematch rematch? Yes, Ohio State winning. I'm assuming

1409
01:13:27,880 --> 01:13:30,639
Speaker 1: based on the way that you've ranked these teams, Ohio

1410
01:13:30,640 --> 01:13:31,200
Speaker 1: State winning.

1411
01:13:32,040 --> 01:13:34,479
Speaker 2: Just because if you're gonna give me the opportunity to say,

1412
01:13:35,080 --> 01:13:37,200
Speaker 2: James Franklin and Penn State come up just short in

1413
01:13:37,240 --> 01:13:39,599
Speaker 2: a big game, I'm gonna say I believe that.

1414
01:13:39,720 --> 01:13:39,960
Speaker 1: Yep.

1415
01:13:40,479 --> 01:13:43,360
Speaker 2: I think Penn State has a great shot of beating

1416
01:13:43,360 --> 01:13:45,559
Speaker 2: Oregon at home, which they will be favored to do.

1417
01:13:45,720 --> 01:13:48,519
Speaker 2: So that tells me that they're probably gonna win that game.

1418
01:13:48,560 --> 01:13:50,920
Speaker 2: It's a home game, they'll be favored, and I think

1419
01:13:51,120 --> 01:13:55,360
Speaker 2: Oregon has another loss in them based on just like

1420
01:13:55,400 --> 01:13:58,360
Speaker 2: a sloppy Dante More game. I don't know if it's Iowa,

1421
01:13:58,479 --> 01:14:00,240
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's Rutgers. I don't think it's

1422
01:14:00,240 --> 01:14:02,680
Speaker 2: going to be Washington. But there's just I think the

1423
01:14:02,720 --> 01:14:03,519
Speaker 2: Minnesota game.

1424
01:14:03,600 --> 01:14:06,599
Speaker 1: Maybe, Yeah, it's after they play Iowa and before sc

1425
01:14:07,240 --> 01:14:10,400
Speaker 1: that could be weirdly trappy, and Minnesota has a bye

1426
01:14:10,439 --> 01:14:12,080
Speaker 1: before that week. I don't know.

1427
01:14:12,200 --> 01:14:15,680
Speaker 2: There's some weird trap situation for Oregon on here that

1428
01:14:15,760 --> 01:14:18,640
Speaker 2: I don't love. They have a mutual buye before Indiana.

1429
01:14:19,280 --> 01:14:21,680
Speaker 2: But yeah, there's there's enough to scare me about this

1430
01:14:21,720 --> 01:14:24,439
Speaker 2: Oregon schedule. I'm not really terrified of Wisconsin as an

1431
01:14:24,439 --> 01:14:27,439
Speaker 2: Oregon fan, but yeah, something like Penn State and Iowa.

1432
01:14:27,680 --> 01:14:30,439
Speaker 2: They have a bye before the Iowa or Penn State Minnesota.

1433
01:14:31,400 --> 01:14:31,720
Speaker 1: I don't know.

1434
01:14:31,800 --> 01:14:33,599
Speaker 2: Washington's on the road, and if Washington's a pretty good team,

1435
01:14:33,600 --> 01:14:36,040
Speaker 2: that's gonna be very difficult. So maybe that. But no,

1436
01:14:36,160 --> 01:14:36,799
Speaker 2: I think I think.

1437
01:14:36,680 --> 01:14:38,960
Speaker 1: Oregon's baseline ten and two. I don't think they go

1438
01:14:39,040 --> 01:14:41,160
Speaker 1: nine in three, So I have a bit of a

1439
01:14:41,160 --> 01:14:46,320
Speaker 1: wrinkle here. Okay, at the end of the Big Ten season,

1440
01:14:46,800 --> 01:14:49,960
Speaker 1: I'm ready. I've got Ohio State going eleven and one,

1441
01:14:50,479 --> 01:14:52,759
Speaker 1: with that one loss coming in Week one against Texas

1442
01:14:52,800 --> 01:14:56,080
Speaker 1: Texas yep, but I have them beating Penn State on

1443
01:14:56,160 --> 01:14:59,320
Speaker 1: November the first. That game is again in Columbus. It

1444
01:14:59,320 --> 01:15:02,639
Speaker 1: would be a content innuation of a trend, a very

1445
01:15:02,640 --> 01:15:06,120
Speaker 1: painful trend for Penn Stats and James Franklin. But if

1446
01:15:06,200 --> 01:15:09,760
Speaker 1: I told you right now two good teams playing in Columbus,

1447
01:15:09,760 --> 01:15:12,280
Speaker 1: you would pick the team that's at home in Columbus. Right.

1448
01:15:12,760 --> 01:15:15,920
Speaker 1: I've got Ohio State beating Penn State regular season, but

1449
01:15:16,040 --> 01:15:17,960
Speaker 1: I've got a rematch taking place in the Big Ten

1450
01:15:18,000 --> 01:15:20,599
Speaker 1: title game in Indianapolis, and I think that's when Penn

1451
01:15:20,640 --> 01:15:24,679
Speaker 1: State gets Ohio State. Sure, so I think they split

1452
01:15:24,880 --> 01:15:28,280
Speaker 1: their what amounts to two game season series. I think

1453
01:15:28,360 --> 01:15:30,960
Speaker 1: both go into the playoff. I think we've got a

1454
01:15:30,960 --> 01:15:34,559
Speaker 1: couple of playoff teams in this conference. We can talk

1455
01:15:34,600 --> 01:15:37,880
Speaker 1: through what that looks like for us as we get

1456
01:15:37,920 --> 01:15:40,679
Speaker 1: into some of our team previews, as we get into

1457
01:15:40,720 --> 01:15:42,639
Speaker 1: at some point down the road in our prediction special,

1458
01:15:42,640 --> 01:15:44,360
Speaker 1: which we'll do a little bit closer to the season,

1459
01:15:44,600 --> 01:15:47,479
Speaker 1: who's getting in and who isn't. But yeah, it's not

1460
01:15:47,680 --> 01:15:49,800
Speaker 1: just going to be those two teams. I think Oregon's

1461
01:15:50,439 --> 01:15:53,160
Speaker 1: probably going to be in that race as well. And

1462
01:15:53,200 --> 01:15:56,080
Speaker 1: that's when it starts getting interesting, you know, because we're

1463
01:15:56,080 --> 01:15:58,240
Speaker 1: going to start talking about these teams that we both

1464
01:15:58,240 --> 01:16:01,000
Speaker 1: have a wrung down and over the course of the year,

1465
01:16:01,040 --> 01:16:03,280
Speaker 1: it's going to sort that. They're going to sort themselves out,

1466
01:16:04,120 --> 01:16:06,080
Speaker 1: and there's probably gonna be another team that finds sway

1467
01:16:06,120 --> 01:16:11,240
Speaker 1: in agree, so we'll see. I've got Penn State, You've

1468
01:16:11,240 --> 01:16:15,640
Speaker 1: got Ohio State. Would welcome the Verballerhood to chime in

1469
01:16:15,680 --> 01:16:18,439
Speaker 1: as well. Solid Verbal at gmail dot com of course

1470
01:16:18,520 --> 01:16:20,360
Speaker 1: is the email address. Hit us up, let us know

1471
01:16:20,400 --> 01:16:23,160
Speaker 1: what you think. You can also comment out there on YouTube,

1472
01:16:23,160 --> 01:16:26,679
Speaker 1: on Spotify, really anywhere. Leave us a comment. I'd love

1473
01:16:26,680 --> 01:16:28,120
Speaker 1: to hear what your thoughts are. Of course, if you

1474
01:16:28,120 --> 01:16:31,240
Speaker 1: made it this far and you've already hit follow or subscribe,

1475
01:16:31,280 --> 01:16:34,000
Speaker 1: that you don't miss the episodes, a star rating or review.

1476
01:16:34,040 --> 01:16:36,400
Speaker 1: All that stuff goes an awful long way towards helping

1477
01:16:36,439 --> 01:16:38,880
Speaker 1: out Dan and I growing the big tent here, the

1478
01:16:38,960 --> 01:16:42,400
Speaker 1: verballer Hood, and last but not least, Forballers dot com

1479
01:16:42,600 --> 01:16:43,960
Speaker 1: is where you can go if you want to support the.

1480
01:16:43,960 --> 01:16:47,640
Speaker 2: Show directly support the show Verballers dot com keep the

1481
01:16:47,720 --> 01:16:50,840
Speaker 2: lights on. We are always crazy indebted and appreciative to

1482
01:16:50,880 --> 01:16:53,959
Speaker 2: everybody who supports the show. We're with you in the discord.

1483
01:16:54,520 --> 01:16:57,120
Speaker 2: It's a terrific time and this is just like a

1484
01:16:57,840 --> 01:17:01,080
Speaker 2: pre hello to all of the Nebraska fans in the

1485
01:17:01,080 --> 01:17:03,400
Speaker 2: YouTube comments in our inbox.

1486
01:17:05,400 --> 01:17:08,680
Speaker 1: Which of these fan bases is going to email and

1487
01:17:08,720 --> 01:17:13,080
Speaker 1: be the loudest. I mean Nebraska for you for sure. Yeah.

1488
01:17:13,120 --> 01:17:16,880
Speaker 1: We've had several encounters with Michigan faithful over the years.

1489
01:17:17,000 --> 01:17:17,559
Speaker 1: That's fine.

1490
01:17:17,640 --> 01:17:19,599
Speaker 2: I mean, everybody's going to take issue with something. That's

1491
01:17:19,600 --> 01:17:23,519
Speaker 2: the beauty of college football. I should say Nebraska is

1492
01:17:23,520 --> 01:17:26,560
Speaker 2: where we met for the first time in person. Yeah,

1493
01:17:26,840 --> 01:17:30,320
Speaker 2: I've had terrific experiences. I've been to Lincoln three times.

1494
01:17:30,360 --> 01:17:32,479
Speaker 2: I want to say at least three times, and I've

1495
01:17:32,560 --> 01:17:35,840
Speaker 2: enjoyed my time there. I met the one and only

1496
01:17:35,920 --> 01:17:39,320
Speaker 2: Playboy playmate I've ever met in Lincoln, Nebraska at a tailgate.

1497
01:17:39,560 --> 01:17:41,200
Speaker 1: Yep, I have nothing.

1498
01:17:41,840 --> 01:17:45,000
Speaker 2: Bopolini was super nice to me, which is rare, not

1499
01:17:45,040 --> 01:17:46,840
Speaker 2: people being nice to me. But I think Booline like,

1500
01:17:46,920 --> 01:17:48,960
Speaker 2: I don't know, I interviewed him for a video. So

1501
01:17:49,280 --> 01:17:52,519
Speaker 2: I like Nebraska. I just you know, maybe not this.

1502
01:17:52,520 --> 01:17:57,559
Speaker 1: Year, Nebraska, Michigan, and USC. It will be a three

1503
01:17:57,600 --> 01:18:00,639
Speaker 1: horse race to see which fan base is most put

1504
01:18:00,680 --> 01:18:03,320
Speaker 1: off what we had to say about them. I liked

1505
01:18:03,400 --> 01:18:06,440
Speaker 1: SC so I don't know you did well. I like Nebraska,

1506
01:18:06,520 --> 01:18:09,200
Speaker 1: so they won't come at me for Nebraska. I didn't

1507
01:18:09,240 --> 01:18:11,040
Speaker 1: like USC, so I'm going to get the wrath for

1508
01:18:11,080 --> 01:18:13,640
Speaker 1: that one. And I've got Michigan right now seventh in

1509
01:18:13,640 --> 01:18:15,559
Speaker 1: the Big Ten, so I'm going to get the brunt

1510
01:18:15,600 --> 01:18:18,400
Speaker 1: of that one as well. Game is in La Nebraska USC.

1511
01:18:18,640 --> 01:18:22,200
Speaker 1: We'll find out. I've got Michigan beating USC. No, I'm

1512
01:18:22,200 --> 01:18:24,599
Speaker 1: saying Nebraska USC, but also Michigan USC. Is. I've got

1513
01:18:24,600 --> 01:18:27,479
Speaker 1: Michigan beating USC, and I have Nebraska beating USC too.

1514
01:18:27,800 --> 01:18:31,080
Speaker 1: There you go. Wow? All right, so this is part one,

1515
01:18:31,360 --> 01:18:34,320
Speaker 1: Part one, Team specific, Yeah, we go, two more parts

1516
01:18:34,320 --> 01:18:36,800
Speaker 1: coming up. There'll be team specific previews. Will split this

1517
01:18:36,920 --> 01:18:40,880
Speaker 1: up into nine and nine and talk through the remainder

1518
01:18:40,920 --> 01:18:43,559
Speaker 1: of this conference. Again, encourage everybody to weigh in, let

1519
01:18:43,640 --> 01:18:45,559
Speaker 1: us know their thoughts, Tell your friends about the show.

1520
01:18:45,640 --> 01:18:49,559
Speaker 1: We appreciate everybody's ongoing support, a lot of study and

1521
01:18:49,600 --> 01:18:51,920
Speaker 1: trying to get our head around these teams here in

1522
01:18:51,960 --> 01:18:54,080
Speaker 1: the Big Ten. We still have the SEC to go.

1523
01:18:54,200 --> 01:18:57,120
Speaker 1: We still have Notre Dame and Yukon to go. We

1524
01:18:57,240 --> 01:18:59,679
Speaker 1: got to be complete here about all things. We've got

1525
01:19:00,080 --> 01:19:02,439
Speaker 1: some home and homes coming up with some special guests

1526
01:19:02,880 --> 01:19:06,160
Speaker 1: which won veil here in due course. And at some

1527
01:19:06,160 --> 01:19:08,679
Speaker 1: point we'll do our prediction special before the season gets wrong.

1528
01:19:08,760 --> 01:19:10,880
Speaker 1: So a lot more to come here as the season

1529
01:19:10,880 --> 01:19:13,479
Speaker 1: gets a little bit closer. Can't wait for that guy

1530
01:19:13,479 --> 01:19:16,360
Speaker 1: over there, my good friend Dan Rubstein, form myself, tie

1531
01:19:16,400 --> 01:19:19,200
Speaker 1: Hilda Brand. Thank you again for ongoing support for downloading

1532
01:19:19,200 --> 01:19:23,000
Speaker 1: the show, Tell your friends about soliverble dot com or

1533
01:19:23,040 --> 01:19:26,479
Speaker 1: anywhere they get their podcasts in the meantime, until next

1534
01:19:26,520 --> 01:19:30,240
Speaker 1: time in part two. As always, stay solid, peace,