Andy & Ari On3 - Brian Kelly is ANGRY | Can Michigan beat Texas? | Coach Prime goes to Lincoln

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

Welcome to Andy and Ari On3, presented by Wendy’s!Wendy’s New Saucy Nuggs take the Crispy and Spicy Nuggs you love and turn them up to 11.Choose between flavors like Buffalo. Honey BBQ. Garlic Parm. Or, if you’re a real heat seeker, try Spicy Ghost Pepper, only on Wendy’s signature Spicy Nuggs. Thank you to Gametime for sponsoring today's episode! Planning your college football travel for this season? Gametime has tickets to every game. (And every concert and comedy show.) Download the Gametime App and enter code: STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Last Minute Tickets, Lowest Prices, Guaranteed. This show is also sponsored by PrizePicks, America’s most fun daily fantasy game. Use the code STAPLES to play $5 and get $50 instantly.(0:00-0:39) Thank you to Wendy's(0:40-1:39) Intro(1:40-13:59) Brian Kelly's Press Conference(14:00-15:10) Get to every game with Gametime!(15:11-19:10) Week 2 Picks Intro(19:11-30:19) Texas at Michigan(30:20-32:48) PrizePicks ad(32:49-40:16) Iowa State at Iowa (40:17-44:41) Cal at Auburn(44:42-49:00) South Carolina at Kentucky(49:01-52:18) Kansas at Illinois(52:19-56:34) Tennessee vs NC State in Charlotte, NC(56:34-1:00:40) App State at Clemson(1:00:41-1:03:44) Boise State at Oregon(1:03:45-1:16:30) Colorado at Nebraska(1:16:31-1:20:54) Wrapping Up; ConclusionAndy and Ari break down an angry Brian Kelly press conference after LSU’s loss to USC in Las Vegas, and then it’s time to make some picks for this week’s games. We’re picking… Texas (-6.5) at Michigan (Total: 44.5)Colorado (+7) at Nebraska (Total: 57.5)Tennessee (-7.5) vs. NC State (Total: 59.5)Boise State (+18.5) at Oregon (Total: 60.5) Want to watch the show instead? Head on over to YouTube and join us live, M-Th, at 9:30 am et! https://youtube.com/live/TBAmfAfH3Ac Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River Bailey

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Pick a flavor, grab some extra napkins, and prepare to nug like you've never nugged before. For a whole new way to nug, it's got to be Wendy's at Participating U.S. Wendy's. Welcome to Andy and Ari on 3. Happy Monday. It is Labor Day. We work on Labor Day, Ari, because we're coming off week one. We're coming off LSU-USC. We got to pick games for week two.

It just never stops. Yeah, you know, it feels like full season form right now, Andy, and it's like, we have to work on Labor Day, but what a blessing that is to be able to do it today. I'm super excited and pumped up to be here. I got a rare good night's sleep last night. Baby was at mother in-law's house and I'm ready to ride. And I got to tell you this, this Monday picks situation has really, really going to work for me because it's like that, that hangover from Sunday to Monday with the season being over or the weekend being over the games, being over,

being able to hop in and just kind of start living. What's we're going to get to live through next weekend is going to be a nice little joy for me. Oh, it's going to be spectacular. Now you got a good night's sleep. Somebody who did not get a good night's sleep was Brian Kelly and before we get to the picks we have to talk about this Brian Kelly press conference we did not get to talk about in our reaction show last night we were busy reacting to the game as Brian Kelly was answering questions from the reporters in Las Vegas and he uh he just gave He gives us one of these in every post-game press conference after these weird standalone games that he, for whatever reason, can't seem to win at LSU.

I don't understand why these particular games are so vexing for him because he wins most of the other ones. But these just, it doesn't work, and you get stuff like they're disappointing when those guys perform and you don't get a victory hell yes hell yes i mean and that's what i said to the team i said we had some guys played their butts off tonight and and we're sitting here again we're sitting here again talking about the same things about not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put him away. But what we're doing on the sideline

is feeling like the game's over. And I'm so angry about it that I got to do something about it. I'm not doing a good enough job as a coach. And I got to coach him better because it's unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. It's ridiculous. And it's crazy.

I think he's still in favor of executing his team. By the way, that came after one of those games, too. That was a game he won at Notre Dame against Florida State on labor day. Like he just, maybe it needs to come down with the flu before he talks to the reporters after games like this. Andy, this is how I feel when I watch Brian Kelly have an episode.

It looks like to me that he has to tell himself, how am I supposed to be feeling right now? And then he acts like that. Like that was anger, right? And it just always seems manufactured to me. And I don't know what it is. I think he obviously is a very good coach who has won a lot of games and has done things at multiple programs.

But I think the reason why he gets mocked so much is because whenever he, he illustrates a emotion of any kind, it just doesn't seem real to me. Like, did that look like he was actually seething angry or did it look like he had to perform that he was angry to you? Most people who are angry do not have to say i'm so angry the the the anger just shines through in your words and your actions and your demeanor yeah you don't have to say it and and yes the the fist pound did seem performative i must say though the professionalism of whoever was holding that channel two microphone that thing did not move didn't move a centimeter also the water bottle what were the odds that water bottle was going to land upright that was impressive it seemed like uh something that we'd be analyzing on the history channel 50 years from now if we ever had if that was like a more controversial situation i don't

know i think that brian Brian Kelly understands the job that he took. Obviously, I think he knows the importance of winning these games. I think that he came into the game expecting that his team does that. And then when it comes up short in year three, and you put yourself in a position where you're heading into a very difficult SEC schedule to not finish a game that they had basically won, that they had one more drive finished, I can understand why he would be very frustrated. LSU did make strides. We spent 15, 20 minutes last night talking about how much USC's defense improved. And we really didn't spend that much time talking about how much LSU's defense improved.

And they had a really bad defense last year, and they got some stops, and they were playing against an offense that, by and large, has a really good quarterback and a bunch of insanely good skilled position talent players, and they had a chance to win. They were one drive away in the fourth quarter from going down the field, scoring a touchdown, and putting the game away, and they didn't. So we know the standard at LSU. We know what the LSU fans are expecting from their coach, from their team. They fell short, but it just – the anger is reasonable.

It just doesn't seem like real anger to me. I don't know what it is about him, but that's just how I feel every time he elicits any sort of emotion. Well, and he talked about how the personal fouls killed them, how he's got to do a better job coaching. He also said that Miller Moss outplayed Garrett Nussmeier, which may be true, but I don't know that I hang this one on Garrett Nussmeier, who played about as well as any LSU player played last night.

Yeah, and actually came came away thinking that could be one of the two best quarterbacks that LSU has had since 2000. Obviously, no one's surpassing Joe Burrow. I would say one of the three since two of them won Heisman trophies. Yeah, Jaden Daniels did win a Heisman trophy. We don't need to go down the Jaden Daniels road. But that, to me, was a very encouraging performance,

both from there. I think that like it is funny, Andy, because I had this thought after we hung up the stream last night. But if LSU would have won the football game, I think we would have had very similar conversation about LSU that we had about USC. Like and that's what happens in these close games when it comes comes down to the final minute, whoever wins gets the focus. But imagine if LSU would have won. We would be talking about their new quarterback who looks primed for stardom. We'd be talking about their highly improved defense that got a stop at the end of the game that they absolutely needed. And instead, we talked about USC and all of their improvements. But I think

that LSU certainly made strides, especially on defense during the offseason. It just gets overshadowed when you don't finish a game against a team that, frankly, they could have beaten. Yeah. And we had somebody in the chat last night say, hey, you know, you could have just watched the Texas's back game you don't know if you did or not and and he's right about that and that's another brian kelly loss there that was texas beating notre dame in 2016 and we thought hey these are two good teams texas finally got over the hump and notre dame was four and eight and texas was five and seven so we don't know what we saw last night.

And we won't know until we've seen these two teams against some other people. But I do get the sense that USC's defense looked better. But you're right. We would have said the same thing about LSU's defense because it did look better. It did look better. Now, it looked like they were blitzing a lot to make up for some issues they have in coverage. And Miller Moss handled that. My question is, are all the quarterbacks they play going to be able to handle that?

Like, I think Jackson Dart probably will be able to. I think Jalen Milrow, we don't know yet. I think they're going to be able to heat some people up. And it may work. Yeah. The thing that I think is interesting about that we just watched two, eight, and four teams play is I do think that through the years of covering the sport, you do get a sense of teams that have pieces that are going to translate into other games. We don't know if USC is going to go out and lose four or five games this year, but I can tell you right now that I'd be surprised if they did. And you know, it's not

always so much about the opponent and how good your opponent's going to be. It's what you illustrate you have on your roster and whether or not you think that can be effective. Like USC's players that were getting open last night, Zach Branch is not good because they were playing LSU. Miller Moss didn't look very effective because they're playing LSU. They have pieces in place that will perform and translate very well into the Big Ten, especially if half their schedule is former Big Ten West teams that are just no longer in a side of the conference. So I do think that it was very easy to assume that USC could be a 7-5, 8-4-ish type team coming into the year because if you can't stop anybody again,

then you're in a situation where the Big Ten is just going to wear you down and beat you. But I am so much more confident that USC can get stops. I'm even more confident that LSU can get stops. Why? Because I'm very confident in the quarterback play that we saw. I mean, how many games did we watch on Saturday where it was a Power 5, Power 4-type national championship contender go an entire half against an

FCS or a MA Mac team and not look that good like you you can't be like oh well both of these games are eight or teams are eight and four and we didn't really learn anything it's like okay well then do we not learn anything from Oregon going into the fourth quarter with Idaho like I mean I do think that it is opponent based to a certain extent but it's also the look about it, I do think that both of these teams had a look about them that made me feel like, to borrow your word, will travel to further games in the future because I don't think Garrett Nussmeyer stinks.

I don't think Miller Moss stinks. I think the skill position, like Harold Perkins is one of the best defenders in college football. Hopefully he'll be able to be unleashed a little bit more this year. Like, I do think both of these teams are going to be competitive against anybody they play this year. Well, and, and competent quarterback play has a look to it. And you certainly saw that from Miller Moss and Garrett Nussmeyer. Like you can tell, like there are teams that are good that have less than competent quarterback play, but, but the talent around them makes up for it. This was not

that case. This was a case where these guys both clearly are very comfortable in that offense and great at running it. Deltona Doug with an interesting comment here. Sad LSU fan here. Kelly is a high floor, low ceiling guy, eight and four, nine and three. The bigger problem is his refusal to accept responsibility. Tired of him blaming players. Play calling fell apart in the second half. You know, I don't know that the play calling fell apart I think they they realized John Emery is their best back I'm assuming he was not allowed to play in the first half and that's why he didn't play in the first half that I think that changed some stuff I do wonder if John Emery had played the whole game is it called differently? Yeah.

You know what struck me in that game? And I think we probably should have talked about this last night, but the good news is that we get to talk about it every day. I get to see your beautiful face. Talk about it tomorrow too. There was a sequence after LSU went up by four. They got a stop. Remember that bad possession that USC had offensively where they had the penalty? They were backed up, and I think it was third and 23

from inside their own 20. Then they punt the ball back. LSU gets the ball back, and they're facing a third and one. And I'm not 100% sure, but I'm fairly certain that Emery was the ball carrier on this play, and USC stuffed them on the third and one. Like, that to me, I think, was the most critical sequence of the entire game because a USC is not supposed to stop a sec team on third and one,

um, two LSU supposed to be able to gain a yard against anybody on third and one. And then it kind of flipped the game and allowed USC to get back into it. So like I, the thing that I think is most interesting about Brian Kelly's, um, The thing that I think is most interesting about Brian Kelly's postgame isn't that he slammed his fist in a performative way to illustrate anger. I think it's some of the comments that he made that would rub me the wrong way if I played for him. I do not think that Garrett Nussmeier is the reason they lost that game yesterday.

Yeah, and he's going to have to deal with that in his own locker room. And maybe that's a reason why his teams never seem to get over the hump. And we're going to find out. We were going to find out exactly what we saw as these teams transition to play in other teams. We need to transition to making some picks because there are some big games this weekend. But first, I want to tell you how to get to those big games.

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But they have tickets to everything. They also have this new GT picks feature. And if you're looking on the screen, you see me using it on my game time app, which shows you the best deals relative to the rest of the market for that game. So you can get into the Michigan, Texas game. You can get into Colorado, Nebraska, and Lincoln. You hit that GT picks feature. It's going to tell you what the best seat is for the money right now. They got tickets to everything at game time. Download the app. Use the code staples.

$20 off your first purchase. Terms apply, of course. But every game you want to go to, last minute, doesn't matter. Of course, these games have been sold out for months. But you can get tickets on GameTime. So download it now and use that code STAPLES. All right. Let's make some picks.

Andy, if they want to see me next weekend too, I think they need to get the GameTime app and download the app for sure, see us at the game. But if you want to really see me, get me in the casinos on Friday night because I'm going to be buzzing. That's right. That's right. Greek town. We'll be playing poker until 4 in the casinos on Friday night because I'm going to be buzzing. That's right. That's right. Greek town.

We'll be playing poker until four in the morning, and then I'm going to pick you up from the airport. That's my plan. I'm not going to bed. Yeah, I got a high school football game on Friday night, so I'm swooping in day of. We need private jet travel. We're going to put that in our next contract.

How do you get on three nil private jet like sponsorships like we make this we make this the biggest show in the universe that's how we do it let's do it and we're gonna do it by making these picks and and remember are you are not here for this but of course you know about it i did have that perfect week last year where they put the graphic out with eight picks and I went 0 for 8. Which is just as impressive as going as 8-0 in my opinion, like mathematically speaking. And it is funny because like whenever I have a weekend like that, there was one time during the NCAA tournament, Andy, in like 2015 or 16 where I went like 0 and 20. And I was like, I have never gone 20 and 0 ever.

And it's still mathematically the same odds. It's like I hit a 20-team parlay by betting incorrectly 20 times in a row. Do you know how impossible? You could be the most ignorant person in the world. I could get my daughter to circle random teams on a sheet and she wouldn't go 0-20. So you know what? I think that's a badge of honor, and you should carry that. You hit an eight-team situation there. That's really, really good. And I appreciate the folks who picked those because we actually made,

I think we made 13 picks that week in that show, and I actually went four and one on the other five. So the 0 and 8 is great because here's the thing. You got to develop a brand. And if I can go 8-0, that's great. But most people don't go 8-0. But if I go 0 and 8, then you know you just fade me. It's still attractive.

You still want to see, oh, what did Andy pick this week? So I can go against it. Have you ever gotten so on tilt where you had the thought that you should start fading yourself? Like if you think something, then just pick the other side just on purpose because you just know you're going to be wrong. I've had some pretty dark times in my apartment. I'll tell you back in the, back in the single Ari twenties. Every day of my life.

It's like the George Costanza opposite thing. It's just like everything that you think or everything that you think you would want to do, just do the absolute opposite thing and it's going to work out for you. But I do think we could start a Fade Andy trend here if you don't. But you're pretty good. Producer River from the On3Sports YouTube handle in the chat. They have it in the group chat. They have a trend, Fade Andy.

Oh, boy. Like that. Come on. No fake. But that's fine. If that's my brand, I'll take it. Because if you want to feel like I'm more accurate being wrong, I'm okay with that. And, yes,

there have definitely been times in my life where my thought waking up in the morning, and I'm not talking about picking games, I'm talking about making life choices, are just go against your instincts. Andy, all this show is a resource. If you listen to the show for picks, you use it to gain information that you think is going to give you an edge. And if we're wrong all the time, that is an incredible resource for the listener still to make informed decisions about what they want to do with their hard-earned money. So I think that regardless of how correct you are, you are providing a important and valuable service, which is to inform people

what the wrong thing is, which then if they're smart, will turn into winners. So either way, we got you covered here. Let's give some people some red meat. We're going to start out with the game that we're going to. I don't know if it's the biggest game of the week, because I think... The Brian Kelly... Oh, yeah.

What would somebody who's excited do? I am excited. I am angry. I am angry i'm angry see i my camera's on a tripod so when i hit the table nothing shakes it's it's it's terrible amazing stuff is jumping off this this desk i promise all right texas michigan we're going to this game, Ari. We watched Texas look flawless on offense. It was Colorado State. We don't yet know if Texas' defense is having any trouble replacing Tavondre Sweat and Byron Murphy

because we haven't seen them against a better opponent. We're going to see that. Michigan chose Davis Warren as the starting quarterback, which means they chose that type of offense. Instead of the Alex Orji starting, kind of doing what Alabama did with Jalen Milrow last season, they're going Davis Warren, more traditional pocket passer. They'll bring in Orgy at times, but they're hoping that that line's going to open holes for the backs, that Davis Warren's going to hit the receivers in the flow of the offense.

I don't know that that's going to be the best way to beat Texas here. Yeah. So here's the question that I have back for you. And we were at another game on Saturday, but I did my best to keep tabs on this Michigan game. I was watching it on my iPad for a little bit. And the question that I have is at what point does it go from what are the Michigan quarterbacks going to look like this year? Or what are they going to get out of the

quarterback position this year to, Oh no, they might have a quarterback problem. Like one week, definitely don't want to overreact, but I am on high alert that Michigan is not going to get high level quarterback play this year, regardless of who's on the field. And I think the reason for that is just taking JJ McCarthy a little bit for granted. I mean, last year I used to go on rants about JJ McCarthy and how Michigan never asked him to do anything and he never made plays with the game on the line for the majority of his career and then it turned out to be that he was the vessel that elevated the play of his teammates and I think there was something about having a person that confident that that talented and that ability that really helped Michigan run the ball as well as they did.

So, like, I don't know if I'm on board with, well, they didn't ask J.J. McCarthy to do a lot last year, and they still won a ton of games. They ran the ball really well. Obviously, they still have Donovan Edwards. Their offensive line is usually good no matter who it is. They do have a lot of important pieces on the defensive line, obviously, and one of the best corners in the country. But if Michigan doesn't get medium-level to high-level quarterback play,

then I think we need to reconfigure what our expectations are for this team. And I think we're going to find out on Saturday against a very talented Texas team whether or not Michigan's going to be able to produce or squeeze value out of the quarterback position, not just somebody who's going to operate and the ball off and not turn it over, but are they going to make plays that help Michigan win games? Because even though J.J. McCarthy didn't run up the stats last year, Andy, he did make plays that helped Michigan win the game.

He was very efficient in times. He always had one jaw-dropping play a game. The man was drafted in the top 15. So, like, that is a huge drop-off. So, we'll see what it goes. But I do really, really feel like I'm concerned about the quarterback position for Michigan going into the year. The truth. Does Ari know what a pro-style offense is?

It's all about the power run game with some throws, not about throwing the ball over the yard. The truth doesn't watch a lot of the NFL anymore. The pros do it differently now. You're talking about the 90s and the early 2000s, what they ran in the NFL. And yes, it's great when you can run the ball. We don't know that they're going to be able to run the ball

as effectively as they were last year, and that's going to be the issue. Will you teach me? Go ahead. Because I want you to teach me about football right now. Okay, Ari. Well, there's this thing called 21 personnel. Okay.

And so 21 personnel is two backs and one tight end end and that's what a lot of the nfl teams did in the late 90s and early 2000s you might see the eye formation you might see the backs does the eye formation look like an eye is that why it does and there was a thing called a full back which hardly anybody uses anymore in fact michigan barely uses it anymore. No, it is funny that everybody just thinks that's what pro style, like go watch the Dolphins play. That's a pro team. They don't do that anymore. And I just drafted the Tua Tyreek stack for my fantasy team,

so I'm happy you brought them up. They chuck it. And let me tell you, in football nowadays, if you do not have a quarterback who can go out and make you a play, being one-dimensional as a running team is not going to get you where you need to go. Now, Michigan ran the ball very effectively last year. They had the best running back duo in the country. I watched them play every game they played last year. I do think that J.J. McCarthy was dangerous and it allowed opponents to not completely sell out for the run every play

because they knew if they did, McCarthy would get out of the pocket. He would make a play. He would throw it downfield. They had, I think, better receivers a year ago than they do now. I know they have Colston Loveland, who's a great target, but I don't think it's controversial to say that if they have subpar quarterback play, that's a problem for them. Is that a weird thing to think? No, it is not. Okay.

Here's what I think has to happen for Michigan to be in this game. Their defense has to be so good that it makes Texas' offense look average. Which is possible, by the way. Uh, it is possible. Yeah, it is. Cause this is, this is a great defense. You know, you, we talked about Texas last year with those two defensive tackles and how good they were and what a difference they made. Michigan has two better ones in Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. Like they don't, they may not both go both go higher than Byron Murphy did last year, but they're both going to go very high in the draft.

It's going to be very similar to Murphy and to Vondre Sweat. And Michigan is better at linebacker. Michigan is better in the secondary than that. But I do feel like Texas in the receiver room, especially with who they brought in, they might be too loaded to hold back. That's the part I'm trying to figure out is as good as Michigan is in the secondary, are the Texas receivers good enough to just be able to make plays on even this group?

It's kind of crazy to think that Texas lost like AD Mitchell and Xavier Worthy and, uh, Whittington and are just like, Oh, and JT Sanders. And it's just like, they're got a lot of really, really good receivers. Like, I think that like, to me is just the hallmark of what recruiting well does for you and doing very good in the portal. I mean, like just having like Isaiah bond, just fall out of the sky and be on your team the next year is an important thing. That said, I think it's possible if you did a draft of the two best players in this game that they would both be on Michigan.

Yes, agreed. Maybe the best three. I think Mason Graham and Will Johnson would be pick one and two. Kenneth Grant is my favorite player in college football. Kenneth Grant is probably not far behind those guys. So like the thing that is also wrong, because I did start this by not being too high up on Michigan is, is that I think the perception too, is that Jim Harbaugh left, their entire team is gone and they're just a fraud now.

And it's like, if you really open your eyes and look, they have a lot of dudes in important places, and they still have the potential to be a very good football team, a team that contends for the Big Ten title. But I do think, going back to the initial point, that they are going to have to squeeze out value from their quarterback position if they're going to reach levels that are dangerous to Oregon and Ohio State and Penn State in this league this year. Can Michigan's defense make Quinn Ewers make mistakes? Because I think that's another thing that could change this. Because if you give your offense short fields, even if your offense is struggling, you're going to come away with points a lot of the time. So can they make Quinn Ewers throw picks?

Can they make Quinn Ewers do things that he wouldn't normally do? Because I do think that's probably the way Michigan would win this game. Yeah. Uh, I do think that's possible. I do think that you're looking at a over under here, a 45 and a half, which I think kind of implies that that's what the expectation is,

that this is the low scoring 24, 20 type game. Um, and if it gets into that type of situation, then Michigan absolutely has a chance to win. That said, I do think that Texas has a lot of firepower. And in college football, a good defensive performance against a very explosive offense is holding them to 30. We're not in the days anymore of like, we're going to hold you to 17 because our defense is awesome.

Like teams are going to score. Offenses have inherent advantages based on the rules of the game. And, you know, Will Johnson is there, but he's not the only person that's going to, you know, cover people. So I do think that Texas is going to win this game by a touchdown. Well, all right. So we got your pick. Texas covers six and a half.

I'm going to say almost a touchdown is too tantalizing to not take. So I am going to take Michigan to cover. I don't know if they're going to win this game, but I think that the atmosphere, the fact that this is their first big home game after the national title game, this is what everybody's been waiting for. They're going to come out fired up. That defense is going to make some plays. I don't know if it's going to be enough,

but I think it's going to be enough to keep them close enough to cover. So I will take Michigan plus six and a half. You know, this spread was three and a half all summer. I do. And then they played the games and Michigan did not, did not inspire confidence, but look, Fresno state is not terrible. And this was the first time Davis Warren started a game. We always talk about the improvement from one to two,

whether it's season one to season two, game one to game two. Well, now we know who the starting quarterback is. Now we know what they're going to do. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt here. I still don't know if they're going to win the game, but if you're going to give me almost a touchdown, I will take it. Now, my other question is, will we see Quinn Ewers the entire game?

Because Quinn Ewers getting pulled very early for Arch Manning against Colorado State kind of killed me on Saturday. Let's talk about PrizePix. PrizePix is the best daily fantasy game in America. Use that code STAPLES. Play $5. Get $50 instantly. And so let's, let's take us back to Saturday. I was using a demon square with Quinn Ewers and Sam Leavitt. So Quinn Ewers was playing his Colorado state. I knew he was going to have a good game. My question was, will it be

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Use the code STAPLES. Ari, let us go to the great state of Iowa because as you know, on this show, we always pick the Iowa total, but this time we're also picking the Iowa spread. The Cy Hawk game, Iowa State at Iowa. Iowa is a two and a half point favorite. The total on this sucker is 36 and a half.

Iowa scored 40 against Illinois state. Are you, are you pumped? Are you jazzed? Are, are, are you ready for an Iowaowa explosive offense where they they hit receivers for touchdowns they had three receiving touchdowns two receivers scored

touchdowns they tied last year's total for touchdowns by wide receivers that stat just does not ever stop being like hilarious. I cannot even believe that's a real stat. So let me ask you this. Where are you with Iowa? Like you, you feel good about like things being fixed or do you think that they are marginally better and we're playing against a team that physically couldn't just handle what the athletes like? Do you think that they are going to be functional on offense this year probably not i think they're probably the same team they were last year yeah they were playing illinois state they're playing fcs team like no i am not confident in this offense because it took a whole half to

get going this game was six to nothing at halftime but yes Reese Vander Zee who we're going to call the ice cream man because his family runs an ice cream business in in extreme northern Iowa he had two touchdown catches maybe maybe he's the savior of the offense I have no idea but I do not feel supremely confident that Iowa's going to be any different than they were last year. That said being the same as they were last year still might win them nine or 10 games. Yeah. I mean, I don't know if I'm ready for them to be fixed because I enjoy like kind of

watching the misery. It's very compelling to me, but I do think that Iowa state might actually be a lot better than people are giving them credit for cheer too. So like, I feel like the spread of this game has been Iowa minus two and a half for like the last 30 years. It just like seems to be the same spread every single year.

But like laying points, I just, I'm not in a position where I'm comfortable with Iowa laying points against a power five opponent that actually has very good skill position players. Well, Iowa State, I feel like it's felt different since they went and beat Kansas State at the end of last season. And Rocco Beck, you know, he's been there. Because remember this time last year, Rocco Beck was not the guy they had planned to start and they had to deal with the the fallout of of the gambling investigation and Deckers was out so Rocco Beck now full year under his belt as a starter I am I'm excited about this game I don't know that I'm as confident about Iowa State's offense against Iowa's defense as you are. So I am going to take Iowa to cover, and

I'm going to take the under. I'm going to take the under, but I think Iowa State's going to win the football game. Okay. I like Iowa State's pieces. I mean, they're running back. Abu

Sama is one of the best running backs in the country. I saw some people reaching for him in Dynasty fantasy football leagues. I think he's really, really talented. And then Jalen Noel at the receiver position is a guy who can get you over 100 yards receiving every week. And Rocco Becht has been pretty impressive to me. I think that if this game is 13 to 10 at the end of the road, that might just mean like that Iowa had a special teams touchdown or something.

I mean, I just like, it's like the Jesse Pinkman meme. You can't keep getting away with this. Like, I don't know. Like last year, last year, Iowa won nine. How many games did they win last year? They got to almost 10, I think. I think they won nine games last year. They had a really good year.

They can keep getting away with this, year they can keep getting away with this re they keep getting away with this so yeah the thing with iowa is they score an inordinate amount of special teams and defensive touchdowns and a lot of those types of touchdowns were the difference in the games that they won um is that a you know you always like to say something travels like the offensive line travels those like do defensive touchdowns travel do special teams touchdowns travel like i don't know how much you rely on that year year after year like it's like but they scored like i think there was like two or three times more special teams and defensive touchdowns than receivers caught touchdown passes.

That's not a sustainable thing that's going to lead you to success. It is when you keep doing it. It is. Do you think they can keep doing it is what I'm asking you because I do think there's an element of randomness to special teams and defensive touchdowns. Against not Ohio State and not Penn State, yes, I do think they can keep doing it.

Because it's not the points you're getting directly from special team scores or defensive scores. It's the fact that you have elite special teams and defense, which are going to win you most games. Yeah, but I do think that Iowa, in many situations last year year needed the points they got from those things. And I think you can have an elite defense and elite special teams without generating as many points as they did last year. I think it's one of the biggest statistical anomalies. I mean, Iowa last year is a, if you like show people their statistics and record and some of the play-by-play from last year and 100 years from now, like they'll like do archaeology studies on like how that was even possible. Like I still don't even know how you can feel the football team that won as many games they did last year while being that

incompetent on offense. And I just don't know that I think year over year, it's something that I anticipate is, is reliable. Like I think it's random and good defense isn't random but scoring on it is um i don't i don't think it's random because if it were random they would have gone four and eight at some point and they didn't yeah now maybe that's a product of the big 10 west and with it gone but they still got the easier schedule draw in the big 10 so i don't even know that let me ask you it this way then andy if i told you that iowa would not score special teams or defensive touchdown um in this game would you still pick them to win like if i said that that cannot happen it won't happen yeah yeah because they would still have a situation where they pinned iowa state on the two with a punt iowa state gets stuffed

goes three and out punts from their own five, and Iowa gets the ball on offense on the Iowa State 45, and they score a field goal. They gain 20 yards and score a field goal. I think that will happen. But that always happens. That's how this works. Yeah.

But I think that getting the ball at the 45 and hoping that it results in a field goal is the problem all right so Iowa State spread or money line you want the two and a half points you want to just say they would say it's going to win the football game all right we go from Iowa State's going to win the football game to is Auburn going to win the football game Cal at Auburn Auburn 12 and a half point favorite with the Golden Bears coming in. The ACC opponent, Golden Bears. Now these two teams played last year in Berkeley. This is, we think, a different Auburn team. We think Hugh Freeze has got some stuff

figured out. We saw Cam Coleman score his first touchdown as a college receiver. But also, Jadon Ott for Cal. One of the best backs that Auburn is going to see all year. Is this a different Auburn, Ari? Can they come in? They should be able to cover this. They should be able to do what they want to do, which is win. I think, obviously, they want to make the playoff.

But realistically, I think a good want to make the playoff. But realistically, I think a good goal for Auburn is like go nine and three this season. Go eight and four would be would be improving. But I think they'd like to go nine and three. I think they feel like they could they could win nine games this year. Well, actually, that type of team, they could cover this. Well, if they want to win eight or nine games this year, they have to perform in this game. Because you go look at the back half of the middle portion and the back half of their schedule.

Part of their schedule is Oklahoma, Georgia, and Missouri three in a row. And then at Kentucky is the fourth game in that stretch. And then they finish with A&M and at Bama. So, like, they have a marginally tough schedule. I think if they got to eight or nine wins on this schedule, they'd be in a position of great improvement. Now, the thing that I keep clinging to, and as a recruit, Nick, myself, who pays attention to who these studs are, getting Cam Coleman is maybe the first recruiting get for Auburn that turns it around. I think Peyton Thorne probably is who he is at this point. I don't know

that I'm going to come into the season and think, okay, this guy's going to be a completely improved, better version of himself. But I do think when you have a guy like Coleman on your team who can't be covered, who's an instant impact player, that opens up your offense in a way that really drives home success. Think about how many teams last year were so successful because they had a receiver on their team that no one could cover. I do like Auburn's chances of covering this game. I think that Auburn is a more talented team than Cal, and they have improved under a coach that understands how to build a roster. So 12.5 is kind of a scary number. But a team that is feeling good about itself,

maybe found some things offensively, has some new people in the mix to help them be a new version of themselves coming off a 73-3 win. There were some Auburn fans, Andy, that were really upset that we didn't talk about them on Saturday. So give us a reason to talk about them this coming Saturday. They played Alabama A&M. I know, but I just –

We won. Like, we had very important results between big-time teams to talk about. Like, we had a meltdown in Gainesville. We had – You know, the Clemson hot takes wrote themselves. Like, you want us to talk about a game against Alabama A&M? Come on. They scored 70.

They scored 70. They scored 70. Great. Do you know how many yards a carry you would have averaged in that game? Current me, maybe like two. Yeah, I think you could definitely do two. Yeah, if somebody gave you a million dollars, but you had five attempts to rush for a yard in an NFL game right now, would you take that?

Only because I know I can absorb punishment I know how it feels to be hit by an NFL first rounder and if I only have to do it five times and I might make a million here's the problem I'm not getting that yard not getting it yeah but like there's no chance if you had to pay five thousand dollars out of your checking account if you didn't get the yard would you take the risk absolutely not if it's just a free million and somebody might trip and i can nathan in the chat how good's my o-line that is that is a legit question but i don't even think it's brown i don't i don't know it i do i do like Jack Conklin. I guess the punishment would be the punishment physically that you would receive from attempting it.

So you would attempt it if you didn't lose any money. I probably would if I wasn't going to lose any money. If I had to pay my own money, I absolutely wouldn't because I think we know how that story ends. Here's one where we don't know how the story ends. This is a fascinating game to me, Ari. South Carolina goes to Kentucky. Kentucky is a nine and a half point favorite at home. SEC opener for both teams. Kentucky looked very good against Southern Miss in the Brock Vandegrift debut game. South Carolina looked very iffy against Old Dominion in the Lenora sellers debut game.

Yet. I'm not sure anything we saw this past Saturday. We'll inform what we're going to see this Saturday. Yeah. Kentucky was kind of cooking with, with, with jet fuel on Saturday. They, they got,

they won 31 to nothing. And I think basically the entire second half of their game was canceled so um that's really encouraging but like the thing that i always have a hard time with andy is how much can you extrapolate from south carolina's game like do you think south carolina was sleepwalking it was a tough opener they were knocking the rust off they're much much better than they showed. Or do you think, and this is a problem we had when picking the Michigan game, like that the Fresno State game and South Carolina's tough opener tell you anything about what that team is going to be? Like I struggle with that a lot in week two. Like Old Dominion almost beating them. Does that

to you a symptom of a problem that's going to be exposed on Saturday? Or do you think we're going to get a really good SEC game against two teams fired up to take a step forward this year? Also, there may be a little styles make fights in this thing because would you agree that South Carolina probably didn't have a better team than Kentucky the last two years, and yet Shane Beamer a better team than Kentucky the last two years? And yet Shane Beamer beat Mark Stoops the last two years. And then Mark Stoops has that with Billy Napier at Florida, where his style just, they're better than Florida at that style.

But for whatever reason, and Stoops has said some things about Shane Beamer and Shane Beamer has fired back after beating him the last two years so I don't know where to go with this one Ari that well I think I do know where to go with this because nine and a half is so many freaking points yeah I mean I'm taking South Carolina just because it's a pretty big spread and that's the only reason yeah I and I also too like our boy cody belair i really really like lenore sellers i think that he's a person that can create and problem solve and extend drives and do things that you know help your team find some points and i'm not necessarily sure i'm going to overreact to the old dominion game, especially because old dominion over the years has proven that they can hang with, with teams early in the season from the P five P

four and, um, really be a pain in their ass. So like, I think that Kentucky is probably going to win the game. I like Kentucky to win it. I don't know if they're going to win by double digits. Yeah. That's the only reason I'm taking South Carolina is that spread is so high. I do think Kentucky is going to win this. I like their playmakers. I like, I like the, the, the offense they've built around Brock Vandegrift. I think it's going to be a lot of fun to watch these guys this year. And they also strike me as a team that can beat somebody down the road where you're not expecting it it's just that i i really struggle with when you've got conference opponents that have fairly similar talent levels and you have one favorite by almost double digits this almost an automatic pick for me

yeah and kentucky has some pretty big uh stuff coming up down the pike here I mean the the one two punch with Ohio is a spacer there between Georgia and at old miss is kind of a tough situation so you want and they play Georgia right after this game right that's what I'm saying so you want to if you're a Kentucky fan to at least get off to a good start get the two and oh and try to feel good going into the Georgia game. I think that they will win the game. I just don't know if I'm at the point right now where I'm like Kentucky is just going to kick everyone's ass that isn't Georgia and Alabama on their schedule.

You know what I mean? I think that they still have some physical limitations that teams that South Carolina can match up with. All right, let's go quick this next one because this is a game i think we're gonna see one of our favorite coaches do a little cook in kansas at illinois we saw kansas beat illinois the last time they played uh kansas is a five and a half point favorite on the road we love lance leipold here on this show we love brett bielema too but i just i look at the talent difference in illinois like illinois a few years ago had multiple first rounders on

their defense now they have zero first rounders on their defense and by the way kansas is probably a little bit better than kansas was so i i just. So I think Kansas is going to look good in this game. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Can I tell you a quick story? Yes. Last year, I drove from Dallas to Tuscaloosa for the game because by the time I figured out I was going, the flights were like $1,500 because everybody in Texas was going for the Alabama game. And I had a cute

little Friday. I did a little drive. I stopped off in Shreveport, did a little gambling along the way, had a cute little lunch. Just like every now and then a man needs an alone day. A cute little lunch at the Fuddruckers in the casino where the cigarette smoke smell just permeates the burger. Is that still there? Because if the Fuddruckers in the casino where the cigarette smoke smell just permeates the burger. Is that still there? Because if that Fuddrucker is still open, I might drive there for lunch today. I think they all close.

I have seen Fuddruckers multiple times, signs for it, and had just eaten and been upset because I do have a nostalgic desire to go. But then anyway, any guy can, I think, relate to this. You have an alone day, you know, you go get dinner somewhere. I got a burger in Birmingham and it was a delicious burger. And that Friday night, Andy was last year's Kansas, Illinois game. And I was alone in Birmingham. I was going to watch the game in my hotel room, go to bed early before covering the Texas-Alabama game, get a good night's sleep. I throw a few shekels on this game, and somebody convinces me to bet Illinois. And Illinois got absolutely waxed last year. It was to the point where I was starting to feel bad for them.

And I don't know if they got better. Like I think Kansas got better. I think you're right. So I saw this spread being less than a touchdown. And I know year to year, last year's results don't matter, but it was such a, it ruined my, my alone day because I didn't even get to enjoy the game. You know, get, get the burger, you know, get to watch the game,

enjoy the sweat of it. Like, it was such a absolute ass-kicking from a schematic standpoint, from an athlete standpoint. Kansas could have scored 100 points in that game, I feel like. I remember it like it was yesterday. There is no possible way in good faith after living through that hell like illinois ruined my alone day that i could pick illinois in this game so i i knew that the story probably sounded weird but we got where we needed to go didn't we we did i yeah can't can't kansas covers be there aloha all right let us go to charlotte normally these games end with somebody getting dunked with mayo that's not

what's going to happen here though dave doran and josh heupel getting dunked with mayo. That's not what's going to happen here, though. Dave Doran and Josh Heupel getting dunked with mayo would be very fun. Tennessee, NC State, NC State, a seven and a half point dog to the balls who looked very sharp in their season opener, but it was Chattanooga. NC State also played an FCS team and survived by the skin of their teeth. They were in a game in the fourth quarter against Western Carolina. Now, Western Carolina, Cole Gonzalez, the Southern Conference preseason player of the year, he can sling it, but he ain't Nico.

And now Nico's coming. Yeah, where are you on the Nico hype train? Like, are you, there's the caboose and there's the captain's chair i'm probably the conductor train yeah like i don't know am i am i driving the can i simultaneously drive the avery johnson and nico iamaliaba hype trains i think i can i think i'm just doing this right now you have a single train garage and you have to pick which train you're you're the captain of which which well i mean also too you're i think you're on the dylan rayola train too so we'll get to that yeah and i and i i'm just like i love what you did in this podcast you know

it's the bookend of the games of the week you know you know it's like you're a pro bro you're a pro well which which train are you picking are you you picking the Nico train or are you picking the Avery Johnson train? I'm picking the Nico train. I'm Nico's the safer bet. Well, cause Nico has more talent around him too. That's, that's the part with Avery Johnson. I'm not entirely sure about the people around him. Nico has lots of talent around him. Good offensive line, Dylan Sampson. The receivers, they feel good about with Brew McCoy, Squirrel White. They went out and got Chris Brazel.

Holden stays the tight end from Notre Dame. They have quite a bit. And then also in defense, they have a deep defensive line. So I do really like Tennessee. This game worried me all off season. And I'm less worried about it after watching both teams play. Now, again,

what happened with NC state and Western Carolina could have been a fluky thing. And NC state's much better than what we saw. But I just think you saw a pretty costly interception from Grayson McCall that changed that game. The pass rush he's going to see is much different this week. It's going to be much tougher to deal with. I think Tennessee looked very competent on offense and last year they didn't. So I'm taking Tennessee to win this thing, Tennessee to cover the spread. I think they're maybe even better than I thought they were going to be.

Yeah, I don't know if we're reliving two years ago again, where it's like Tennessee is sneaky good, and then all of a sudden they become one of the most appointment television teams of the year. Nico is a stud. Uh, I think that his inability, um, I don't know why I said inability, his ability to extend plays, uh, his arm, everything there there's so much to like about him. Um, I actually have been accused a lot of being a Tennessee hater for some reason, even though I don't really think about it that much. Um, and I threw them in the top 10 of my

weekly top 10 that I'm going to be doing on that much. And I threw them in the top 10 of my weekly top 10 that I'm going to be doing on on three after every Saturday. They're number 10. So like I'm already a few spots higher than most people probably have them in the polls right now. And I will move them up again if they win this game handily. Yeah, I think they can do it. We'll see with NC State.

Tony Gibson will try to confuse Nico. And this is a good test because Tony Gibson as the defensive coordinator at NC State throughout his history, he used to be at West Virginia. He will rush seven or eight or he'll drop eight and you don't know which is going to happen on a given play. And it can be very confusing for a young quarterback. So this is going to be quite a test for Nico, but I do think he can pass it. So I'll take Tennessee to cover on that one. Next up, a team we talked about quite a bit over the weekend, the Clemson Tigers. This game, this is interesting.

So Appalachian State coming to Clemson. Clemson is a 16.5 point favorite against Joey Aguiar and the Mountaineers. Appalachian State might be a fringe contender for the group of five playoff spot, the highest ranked group of five champ that will make, well, I shouldn't say that. One of the five highest ranked champs that will make the playoff. Appalachian State could be one of those teams. Could be. But I think they would probably have to win this game to wind up in that spot.

You know what I was thinking when I looked at the week two schedule? Talk about the worst possible opponent that Clemson would have to face coming off of a game like the one that they just came off of like it's a game that they probably should win they're almost three or three score um favorites in this game but if you actually peel back the curtain a little bit App State brought back a ton of talent from last year and they have been a team that is pesky to power five teams and if you are are coming into this week as a Clemson fan, I would be a little scared. I'm not saying that they might not end up winning 41-10 or something

and covering the spread easily, but also, too, if we turn this game on on Saturday and it's the third quarter and it's 17-10 or 10-3 or something, are you going to be surprised by that? I'm not. No, I'm not. Lane three scores is a lot here to me. It is a lot. Here's where I think you can get a little sideways, though,

based on what happened last week. Appalachian State's defense is not Georgia's defense. Of course not. Clemson is going to have some offensive success. They're going to be able to move the ball a little bit. They're going to be able to use some of the clock. their defense is not going to be out on the field the entire time getting worn out by a bunch of five-star athletes they still may struggle to score somewhat but i do think they're the having offensive success will allow clemson's defense

which is the strength of its team to actually function the way it's supposed to. Yeah. I just have been like a big Joey Aguilar fan. I just like think that it's possible that App State is a thorn. And I think that a lot of this is just kind of up to Clemson. Like how are we feeling as a team after that? Are we as demoralized as the fan base? Or are we going to be able to pick ourselves up off the mat,

stay confident in who we are and what we do and just approach this game because it also kind of feels like if you play tight or the first quarter goes in a way that kind of reminds you of a little bit of the things that happened last week if that just mentally perpetually gets more and more troublesome and then it turns into a game that is in question in the late third quarter which I think I think a Clemson blowouts on the table here. And I think a close game going into the fourth quarters on the table here. I just think it's just not a game that Clemson, it's just a tricky game that Clemson is going to have to play coming

off of what it's tricky, right? Is that the right word? It's a tricky game. It's just like rocking a rhyme, a rhyme that's right on time. It's tricky. Yes.

That said, I will take Clemson to cover. I think they bounce back. I stand by everything I said this weekend. They're not a national title contender anymore. They're not going to be a national title contender again until they decide to build rosters the way everybody else does. But they can still win a bunch of games, and they still have an elite defense.

Would a 10-win team that scares nobody that's competing for national championships beat App State by 17? That's the question. On the right day. I wouldn't touch this game in real life with a 10-foot pole, though. I know, that's why I put it in here.

Yeah. That's why I put it in here. Yeah. So what do you think is going to happen? You got to pick something. I think App State's going to cover the spread. football though i know that's why i put it in here yeah okay i put it in here yeah so what what do you think's gonna happen you got to pick something uh i think app state's gonna cover the spread all right all right all right beautiful beautiful i think clemson will win i don't think they're gonna lose that would be crazy if they lost but i think like clemson might win like 27 17 or something you you ready for the same level of tricky let's go out west Boise State at Oregon Oregon's a 19 and a half point favorite after we just watched them struggle with Idaho

Boise State now struggled somewhat with Georgia Southern as well but Ashton Gentry had a record setting day I wonder if both teams were looking ahead to the second game because I do think that this game has been, this is one of those games that you talk about in July, right? Like, what is Oregon going to be and are they going to run into trouble week two when they face Boise? Like, so I have a hard time

with the week one overreactions in the negative. I think that Oregon is still unquestionably one of the top five teams in the country. I think they have too much firepower to be a team that struggles week in and week out to score. I like Oregon here to bounce back in a big way, and I think they're going to score a ton on Saturday. So here's what happened with this game in Statesboro, Georgia. Oregon allowed, or excuse me, Boise State allowed a lot of yards, a lot of points. JC French threw for 322 yards.

They also ran for a bunch of yards. It was a bad deal. 45 points given up. And Ashton Gentry, fortunately for Oregon, ran for 267 yards. I keep calling Boise State Oregon. I don't know why. I've got that Chip Kelly first game stuck in my head, the Byron Hout, LeGarre blunt punch game. But no, Ash and Jenty runs for six touchdowns, 267 yards for Boise State. That allowed them to pull away at the end. But I'm with you. I think Oregon is going to figure out the offense and it will not be as easy for Boise State to move the ball. I think Oregon does bounce back in this one and looks like the team that we kind of said all offseason they were going to be. If they're not, Ari, we have to really reevaluate what we think about Oregon. If Boise State comes in here, even if Oregon wins,

but if Boise State comes in here and it's a one-score game and it was five minutes to go, I'm not sure Oregon's what we thought. Would you be there that quickly you'd get there yeah yeah i would i'd say uh whatever we know what dylan gabriel is we know what evan stewart is we know what tez johnson is we know who these guys are like how could like i don't i just like in my brain because sometimes when you change things around bring new people in the chemistry is different that's the only reason i'm agreeing with you though i think oregon's going to cover this spread i think they're going to be fine

but i'm saying if they're not we need to reevaluate so i will take oregon to cover 19 and a half even though that is a massively gigantic number yeah i'm with you all right ari let us go to Lincoln, Nebraska. We have indeed bookended this thing. This game is so interesting because it is one that as people who say things on YouTube, this is like a catnip game. Colorado, Nebraska, Coach Prime, the Nebraska fan base, which voraciously consumes everything said and written about their team. So much interest in this game for two teams that didn't make a bowl game last year. You remember how exciting this game was last year, too? I know.

It's just an inherently Colorado had beaten TCU and surprised us. Yeah. And this one's going to be. You add in a few extra pieces here, and one's a five-star quarterback by the name of Dylan Riola. And it is just fascinating. Like the thing that is a little bit disappointing to me, Andy, I don't know if disappointing is the right word, but just kind of disheartening,

is that when I watched Colorado play, and I wasn't here with you able to talk about that game last week, I thought I was just watching another game from last year. It looked very similar to the things that they were able to do a year ago and some of the ailments that haunted them. But Colorado really did look like the better team last year when they played Nebraska. I think that the thing that this game is going to come down to is how much Nebraska is better, not just because they

have a quarterback that's young and exciting and might be the best player in college football next season, but how much are they able to shake off the grab ass that has been incessant within their program for the past four or five years. Because the thing that was most shocking to me about Nebraska's season a year ago was that even though you got a guy like Matt Rule to coach your team, you still saw elements of what hurt them during the Scott Frost era, which was terrible turnovers, bad play calls and weird times, penalties, fumbled snaps, like all these things that just are like, can you just clean it up? And I've been waiting and on high alert for the relentless competence of Matt Rule and his staff to bleed onto the product on the field, because I truly do believe that if Nebraska just cleans up the crap and plays a clean football game,

they might not go win 11 games, but I think they would be a really difficult team to beat for anybody. And if you remember, I don't remember exactly what happened, but I do remember that this Colorado-Nebraska game was before the Alabama-Texas game, and I was watching that in the morning after I woke up from that Illinois nightmare. And I just thought, like, Nebraska should be in this game,

but they're not because everything that they've done is their fault. Like, are they going to have a, their fault game or is Dylan Rayola and Matt rule in year two, the cure for the, for the grab ass. Like, are they,

are they cured? Somebody said it's a disease and that's why I'm saying cured, but like, it does seem like a disease. And that went over coaching regimes in years. This wasn't just like one possession games lost in the most humiliating way over the course of years is just as random to me as iowa's defensive touchdown trend like it's like at what point does that weird stuff stop happening and i think this year could be the year like you were saying when we're talking about Miami over the weekend, nobody believes it until it happens.

People think it's impossible until it happens. This may be the year it happens. Now, I think Nebraska's defense is the key to this thing. If they are as good as we think they are, then Nebraska should win this game because North Dakota State just didn't have the athletes to cover Colorado. Like you, you would see that they had to play zone. They couldn't play man against all those guys. They knew they couldn't cover most of those guys in man coverage and they would lose, you know,

they kept losing Jimmy horn in the zone. He would find these underneath spots and, and be wide open. And then obviously they couldn't cover Travis Hunter one-on-one. I don't know that anybody's going to be able to cover Travis Hunter one-on-one. But if the rest of the Nebraska defense can handle the rest of the Colorado skill guys, then I think Nebraska has a really good chance to win this game. Nebraska should be able to get after Shador Sanders. Remember, North Dakota State didn't really get after Shador Sanders that, that well, they got him down a couple of times. They were in his face a little bit, but when Colorado lost last year, somebody was in Shador

Sanders face every second of every game, Nebraska is good enough to do that defensively. And then if you can do that, you just have to be competent on offense. And I think Dylan Raiola, we're very excited. We watched what he did. We feel good about what he did against UTEP, but I don't know that he's going to be great against a power conference opponent and his first college game against a power conference opponent. We don't know that. We just needed to be competent. Don't do what Jeff Sims did last year and keep handing the other team the ball because that is where Colorado took over last year is right before half. Nebraska was just gifting them points. Don't gift them any points

and you can win this game. That said, this spread is a little high for my taste. I think Nebraska's going to win this game, but I think they're going to win it by like three. So I'm going to take Colorado to cover. I think I'm going to take Nebraska to cover this game. I think that Nebraska's defense should be improved. You're talking about a team that just ran the ball incredibly well. And again, i know they're

playing utep but you had two running backs who had eight carries and averaged seven or more yards a carry basically um and i do think that it's a relative lock that dylan rayola will play better in this game than jeff sims did a year ago like is that a crazy thing to say like i thought it was like a not crazy so not the least i i think that that's not just can Dylan Rayola show up against a Power 5 opponent at home and play well. We're talking about one of the most transcendent athletes coming out of high school that we've had at this position in a long time. This isn't 1996 anymore.

These quarterbacks are ready to play very soon through the Elite 11 things and the personal quarterback coaches and all the training that they're ready to play. And he's a physical freak. So I think that, I think that Nebraska is going to be able to move the ball on Colorado at will. And I think that they are athletic enough to stop Colorado from hitting 80 yard touchdowns two or three times in this game. And I think I could see a 35-23-ish type game. And Colorado, I think, is going to score some points

because I think that Travis Hunter is the best player in college football. But I think that Nebraska is going to score a lot in this game. Yeah, and so Sabizi in the chat saying, is the same defense as last year and Shador shredded him. No, he didn't. The game was 0-0 going into the second quarter. So the first points came after a Nebraska fumble. It was a field goal after a four-play, six-yard Colorado drive.

The next score came after an interception. It was a 30-yard touchdown pass. That was nice. Then Nebraska punts again and they kick a field goal. Like it was 13, nothing in half. The game was over at that point. So I don't think Shador Sanders torched this Nebraska defense last year. I think Nebraska handed them the game. So as long as Nebraska doesn't hand them the game, they're going to be able to win this game. But I do think, like you said, Travis Hunter is going to be able to do some stuff because he's better than everybody else on the field.

He's the best player on the field. It really is going to come down to, do they not give it away to them? Do you know the Nebraska schedule off the top of your head or have you looked at it recently? Yes, I have looked at it quite a bit. It is very manageable. If they win this game, they should be 7-0 going into the Ohio State game. I think this team is going to be 7-0 going into the Ohio State game.

And I think that we are going to be like under dylan rayola mania by week six like i'm i i don't do it it's like we were talking about hype trains i'm the conductor of the dylan rayola hype train almost to the point and i'm i'm actually kind of afraid to say this because i don't know how you're going to react, but on three every week, we're going to be doing like a Heisman check-in with our staff, and we have to give 10 candidates. Like, I'm looking at you right now in the face, pal. Dylan Rayola is already on my list. No shame in that.

No shame in that. And you look at the schedule. From everything we were talking about, if Nebraska is seven and oh, and he's playing awesome to be the face of the, the person that brings Nebraska football back. That is a very compelling and inherently interesting Heisman angle. So I'm just going to put that out there.

I'm not saying he's going to win the Heisman. I'm just saying I am really, really, really high on what he can do. Yeah. It's also potentially lucrative because being the guy who brings Nebraska back, like the NCAA always had a true NIL. You get the ultimate and true NIL if you're the dude who brings Nebraska back.

You're going to get so many tractor commercials. It's going to be incredible. Seed commercials. It's going to be awesome. I. Seed commercials. It's going to be awesome. I hope Dylan Riella can act. That's all. That's all I, that's all I know because he's going to be in a lot of commercials.

I don't know if he'll ever be in a cooler, uh, commercial, uh, literally and figuratively than the coldest Crawford, but we'll, we'll get, we'll get there one day.

But unfortunately the coldest Crawford did not get to make his mark on the field. Yeah, no, but we'll live in my heart forever. Yeah. Biddy in the chat. Yeah.

If Dylan Riella gets the runs of the account, it's over. Yeah, it's over. All right. So I can't wait for this game because I, I don't think it's going to be as easy for Nebraska as you think it is, but no matter what happens, everybody's going to have blazing takes off of this game.

Because you've got your Dion haters. You've got your Dion lovers where there can be no middle ground. You can never say, I think Colorado is just okay. Like you have to say they're going to stink or you have to say they're going to win the Big 12. You're not allowed to say anything else. Well, I're going to stink or you have to say they're going to win the big 12 that you're not allowed to say anything else. Well, I'm going to call dibs on this right now, but I believe the Texas Michigan game is at noon.

It is. It is. So which means that you and I will be watching this game together. Dibs on the column after this one, please. Like, let me just let your, your boy cook.

Cause like I'm, this is something that I'm going to want to write about on saturday night after a long day ari you know what the beauty of this is we can both write columns about this is it's not going to be we call it in and the editor goes well andy's already writing that ari so you can't also write about that game that everybody's interested in so maybe maybe you want to do something for Thursday about that? No. No. The takes will blast it into your brains.

Yeah. I already wrote the lead, and the game is eight days away. Or whatever, five days away. I highly recommend against that. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Is it Dylan Raiola is the best, is it Dylan Ryle is the best. I love Dylan Ryle.

Is that, yeah, there's something worth in there somewhere about like how this is the greatest recruit of all time. No, I'm just excited to watch it. And honestly speaking, think that that is the game of next week.

I think it's the game. Everybody's going to be glued to no matter what happens because whether it's a blowout like a blowout either way people are going to be glued to that because people love to bag on nebraska and people love to bag on dion so they're going to love that either way if it's close because Dion's involved and because Nebraska's involved everybody who would have been watching something else is going to gravitate toward this game I think the Michigan Texas game is the most interesting game of the week as it pertains to uh acorns of how the season's going to play out I think this is the most compelling game for the reality television aspect of college football.

Yes. So here's how I'm envisioning how this works. And we'll be in a hotel in the Metro Detroit area, but I'm thinking this on the TV, second screen is App State Clemson. Yeah, we got the iPads charged. I don't ever use my iPad during the off season. It just sits in a drawer somewhere because I don't understand the application of just using a bigger phone because it's harder to type with. But as a second screen, it is my,

it's like attached to me everywhere I go. I cannot wait. I'm super excited to get out to Detroit. and then after we file our colorado nebraska columns we're hitting motor city casino we're running it back we're up i'm not sleeping in detroit detroit very underrated city andy very good food there city great food very very good food there somebody will have to explain to me why there's like 9 000 coney island coney island restaurants there i don't understand how that happened but i'm not i don't hate it well right they call that hot dog a coney a coney island yeah but coney island's in brooklyn it's not in

detroit so why why do you call that a coney why don't you just call it like a detroit dog or something well it's just i think the coney island type restaurant just has like fair food that you So why do you call that a Coney? Why don't you just call it like a Detroit dog or something? Well, it's just I think the Coney Island type restaurant just has like fair food that you get on Coney Island. I don't know why. I don't think I've seen a single restaurant in Dallas or Phoenix or Columbus, the three other cities, or Tucson, the four cities that I've lived in before in my life. But when you go to Detroit, there's one like in every intersection. And like, I would love to know what the story behind that is by eating it. All of them, by the way, also amazing Detroit style pizza. I am a huge fan of Detroit style pizza, which is a, it kind of a deep dish.

It's rectangular. The pieces are square. It's got a great kind of the, the crust chars on the outside. It's pretty spectacular. If you've never had Detroit style pizza, there's a pizza place in Greek town that I don't think is like, there are a few places in Detroit that I think people think are some of the best pizza in America.

This isn't one of them, but that's called pizza populous. And I went there with Landis a few times, a great Greek town pizza. Yeah. Yeah. It was delicious. So I might venture pizza place. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was delicious. So I might venture over there,

like the stress eating after you lose a lot of money that you have to feed to make yourself feel better. Yeah, there you go. We're all going to be best friends. You know all about my traumas. But I think I'm going to swing in there Friday night while I'm waiting for my best friend to show up. Yeah, I cannot wait for this weekend.

It's going to be so much fun. And then Ari and I are road tripping the following week. We're just going to be traveling around. We're going to wind up at Alabama, Wisconsin the following Saturday, but who knows where we might pop up during the week. It's going to be spectacular. This weekend is going to be so much fun.

I'm pumped after picking these games. Like I really, because now I Boise state Oregon, which by the way, we'll be on while we are doing our post game show. Cause that is a 10 PM. Eastern start on Peacock, by the way,

what's the over under on people freaking out because they got to sign up for Peacock to watch that game. Yeah, probably a lot, but I have Peacock and it's actually quality. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Twisted metal. Great show. You'd never watch a show based on watch that game. Yeah, probably a lot, but I have Peacock and it's actually quality. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Twisted Metal. Great show. You'd never watch a show based on a video game. I understand

you're a snob like that. But Twisted Metal is amazing. Poker Face. Also good. Kind of the old like guest star of the week situation. All Twisted Metal was was like running into each other and ruining the other car. Like what's the drama of that they

they've basically made a story about it and sweet tooth as voiced by will arnett is a spectacular villain okay maybe i'll check it out i uh i'll check it out i have i have rants about some of the shows that uh i've watched recently but we can save those for one of the later shows in the week. Well, we got shows. We got shows every day. Monday through Thursday, 9.30 a.m. Eastern Time. That is the new schedule. And then Saturday night, 11.30 p.m. Eastern Time is when we'll be live reacting to all the games. Also watching Oregon and Boise State slug it out. So we got all kinds of fun this week

and we will talk to you tomorrow