Andy & Ari On3 - College Football’s version of the New York Knicks INSANE comeback vs the Spurs in the NBA Finals

Episode Date: June 11, 2026

As the entire world watched the Knicks vs Spurs in awe last night, Andy & Ari try to find the equivalent in college football to last night’s incredible spectacle in Madison Square Garden. Watch here as Andy & Ari dive into their top moments in college football history to see if they compare to what the world saw in New York City last night.   (0:00) On Today’s Episode (0:58) Presenting Sponsor (2:32) Intro: New York’s WILD comeback (16:56) Who Am I? (22:15) Texas Tech vs the World (32:54) Big Ten: Full List (35:38) Should Oregon be #1? (40:38) Indiana’s Rank at 3 (44:00) USC - #4 (49:22) Washington at  7 (54:38) Iowa at 8 (56:50) Minnesota & Illinois (59:55) Rest of Big Ten’s list (1:06:09) Tomorrow’s show (1:08:25) Thanks for watching!   After the guys discuss the NBA Finals in relation to college football, the guys shift gears to this week's version of "Who Am I?" Watch here as Ari takes a crack at this week's game.   Next up, the fellas dive into the Big Ten power rankings that Ari released earlier this week. With Oregon as his top team, is this ranking warranted? The guys dive into the entire conference.   Our show is also presented by BetMGM!   If you haven’t signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code CFB and you will get up to a $1500 First Bet Offer on your first wager with BetMGM! Here’s how it works:   1. Download the BetMGM app and sign-up using bonus code CFB. 2. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game. 3. You will receive up to $1500 in bonus bets if your bet loses! Just make sure you use bonus code CFB when you sign up!   Make this college football season one for the history books. Make it legendary.   See BetMGM.com for Terms. 21+ only. This promotional offer is not available in DC, Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET (Available in the US) . 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR). First Bet Offer for new customers only (if applicable). Subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 7 days. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel   Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/join   Watch our show on YouTube! https://youtu.be/o7mHoRsJxwg   Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman Producer: River Bailey   Interested in partnering with the show? Email [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today's Andy Naurian 3 presented by BetMGM. What is the college football equivalent of the Knicks comeback in game for the NBA finals on Wednesday night? A couple of games I attended in the past, I think are candidates for this. But it is, it's tough to decide. It is tough to decide. This thing was magic. So we're going to walk down memory lane with some great college football comebacks and finishes. plus Texas Tech versus everybody still going on.

We'll break it down. And Ari Wasserman, our guy, power ranked the Big Ten, heading into the 2026 season. I'm sure you'll agree with every single pick one through 18. I don't. I'm going to yell at him. All on today's Andy Norent three presented by BetMGM. This show is brought to you by BetMGM.

All the lines and totals we use. from BetMGM. And if you'd like to sign up, download the BetMGM app. Use the bonus code CFB when you sign up and get up to $1,500 in bonus bets. If you're already signed up, it's a huge sports week. We've got the NBA Finals set. We have the NHL, Stanley Cup Finals, set.

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not available in DC, Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem call 1-800 Gambler or 1-800 My Reset, available in the U.S. 87788-N-Y or text Hope-N-Y 4-4-6-7-369 in New York, 1-800-5-0 in Massachusetts, 1-800-1-800-1-800-1-8-0-23 in Puerto Rico. First bet offer for new customers only, if applicable, subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in seven days in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Welcome to Andy and Ari on 3, presented by BetMGM. And Ari, I have a confession.

Yeah. I fell asleep. The sports were up 17. I was like, they got this. I fell asleep. I woke up to my phone buzzing off of my nightstand with texts from you. Yeah. I probably should have cut it out a little bit

because once you didn't respond in like a minute, I should have figured you were sleeping. But it was, I keep using the same word, not because I don't have a pretty good vocabulary, but because I can't think of a better one. The single most iconic thing I think I've ever seen in sports. And I am the most prisoner of the moment human being ever, and you can yell at me for the next 10 minutes about it. But when you think about the combination of the fact that it was the largest deficit

overcame in an NBA finals game, the fact that they were at home, the people who are court side, the drought that the NICS have currently been experiencing as a franchise, how much it means to the people of New York City. The circumstances of the final 15 seconds are insane. And then that's only, and that doesn't even take into account what actually happened in the final 15 seconds of the game,

not to mention you rarely see somebody win a game-winning shot, that's a tip-in, that's that difficult. Like it was just, I just, I texted you guys immediately. What is the college football equivalent to this? Yeah. And I think there have been obviously crazy things that happen. College football is the most insane sport that exists. And like things like this, you know, tend to happen more often in college football just because there's more games and there's like more variance in the way things go.

But in sports, that I like, my jaw was, I had no money on it. I have no allegiance to either team. My wife was sleeping next to me, and I'm watching this, and I just, like, my jaw hit the floor, dude. Like, and it felt like it was happening for five full minutes of real, of real gameplay. Yeah.

Like, you kind of knew where it was going. I'm going to, I'm going to make a point that I've made a bunch of times regarding the college football playoff, but I will make it again. What you saw in the garden last night, and I get in football you want to do a neutral site championship game, that's fine.

Do a neutral site championship game. what you saw in the garden last night is the best argument I can give you for why you want to be on campus for the other playoff rounds. You want that home field, home court advantage. You want that environment. Like when Jalen Brunson hits the three over Wimby, the cameras were shaking. Yeah. Madison Square Garden was exploding. Like imagine that in a...

semi-final CFP game at Bryant-Dinney Stadium or at Tiger Stadium or at Penn State. Like, imagine that. Now, you don't probably get the star power on the sideline. Because that's the other part of it. Like the funniest cutaway shot to me, and then they did it multiple times, was to coach Cal sitting next to Adam Sandler. Okay. That was the funniest cutaway to me every time.

My favorite cutaway was the Jerry Seinfeld. Larry David once. Well, Larry David, but it was Jerry, it wasn't Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David most of the time. It's usually Larry David and John McEnroe. Yeah. And then Jerry Seinfeld and some other guys. Seinfeld was like, well, let me ask you this.

Just from a spectator standpoint, is there a sporting event on Earth that could draw more stars to a game than like a finals game in Madison Square Garden? No. That is the, I mean, they call it the mecca of a basketball. Center of the universe, dude. Yeah. It was unbelievable.

So that part of it, I don't think you can recreate in college football, but you can recreate the home. Because no sport has crazier home atmospheres than college football does. No question. So what you saw, like that is the pinnacle of a pro sports atmosphere. There's no better pro sports atmosphere than what you saw Wednesday night at MSG. college football atmospheres do that in the regular season. Tiger Stadium is like that in the regular season.

Jordan Hare Stadium is like that in the regular season. Beaver Stadium is like that in the regular season. Yeah. And frankly speaking, it's just because part of the reason why I'm so wary of playoff expansion is that the games mean a lot. The passion exists not just because there's a lot of people there, but because every single game matters a lot. But imagine putting a quarter.

final or semi-final game in those stadiums I just mentioned and having a finish like this. Yeah. Like who are some of the famous people that you've seen on the sideline of an NFL or I mean of a college game? Like I've seen LeBron James at Ohio State game before. LeBron James was when Ohio State beat Oregon for the national title, LeBron was on the sideline. Yeah.

Think of all the star power on the sideline at the Miami-Indiana national title game last year. Yeah, Lou Louie Zerbert was there. Well, is you going to college. Like, it was, there were quite a few people. Actually, I think that you, I would venture to say that maybe Miami would be the team. Like, I don't know which college football team before we has the most stars who root for it. Miami's up there. It has to be Miami, right?

Yeah. And Miami probably has the most dedicated guys who were NFL Hall of Famers who played there, who come back for games and stand on the sideline. I think Miami because of the location and also, the cultural significance of their runs in the 80s and in late 90s and 2000s is probably you know the team

but I just think that when you amass all the things location setting comeback point total the circumstances of the last 15 minutes the fact that we probably have a generational player who is going to be in this setting on the other team for quite some time

in Victor Wenbimianna like there's a so much like I just thought like there was it was almost like sensory overload of like what I was watching on TV. So trying to come up with college football comp, I think second and 26, the Alabama winning against Georgia in the national title game, is the closest comp because Georgia dominated the first half.

You had to do something crazy, which was Nick Saban putting in to a tongue of Iloa. And then like the, the closest comparison I can make is the sack on first down and overtime that created second and 26. the 16-yard loss, is the Josh Hart miss layup. Just think about what we're, if the Knicks lose and Josh Hart misses that layup like he did, Josh Hart is sitting in the deer in Fox chair right now.

Yeah. And Tua could have been, because that sacks on Tua, it was on Alex Leatherwood, who was a freshman at the time, who got put in the game because somebody got hurt. Like, so it was, you would have had the, you know, goat, and I mean in the traditional sense, not in the greatest of all time sense, like they would have been the scapegoats had they lost. Josh Hart would have been the scapegoat. And then you have two at a Devante Smith, which is the OG Annanobie last two-play,

you know, last sequence where he chases down and blocks to Aaron Fox, and then he has the tip-in. Now, I think the OGN-A-N-Nobie last 15 seconds, if we're doing a college football comp, is Chris Davis in the kick six. Yeah. It is the weirdest of circumstances, things you thought you never see, things you probably will never see again at the end of the game. They're going to paint the tip-in on,

like they're going to make murals of that on the side of buildings, right? Yes. Though I say the chase-down blocks bigger than the tip-in. It's the more impossible feat because, one, Deer and Fox is one of the fastest players in the NBA. O.G. Annobe was, flat-footed and going the other direction when he realized Deer and Fox had the ball. And Deer & Fox makes one of the dumbest basketball plays you can ever make by trying to lay it up.

But he said it after the game. I didn't think he could catch me. Yeah. And this is the same thing. Like, this is Nick Sabin sending out the field goal team going, what are they going to do? Run it back for a touchdown? The thing that is so nuts to me, too, is that, like, the Tippin exists in a realm, where there was a human being who is seven foot five on the floor.

And he's nowhere in the paint. But, and we were talking about college football comparisons. Let me give you a college basketball comparison. What is the most famous play in college basketball where someone didn't guard the endbounder? Yeah. That's the Christian Leitner shot Duke, Kentucky, 1992. O.G. and Ninobe scored on the tip in because they didn't guard the endbounder.

He had a free run to the rim because there was nobody on him. If you have somebody on the inbound, then he doesn't get passed so easily and he's not there. You had boneheaded plays. You had remarkable single individual or individual efforts. You had one of the most iconic ends to a game ever. Madison Square Garden is like, I mean, the thing that college football will never be able to duplicate and it's okay is that this was in freaking MSG. like this was in New York City. I would say this is where the kick six comes in

because the kick six was at Jordan Hare, which is a crazy environment for a big game. The fans didn't storm the court at MSG because that doesn't really happen in the pros. That happened at Jordan Hare. And I just, yeah, nobody's running over Adam Sandler and Taylor Swift. Yeah.

You're not letting that happen. What's Taylor Swift deal with the Knicks? Is she like a New York fan? She grew up in Pennsylvania, So I'm not entirely sure how that works. And I lived in New York for a while, so maybe. But Ann Hathaway, giant Nix fan. Giant OG and Obie fan.

Timothy Salome is a big fan. I understand that like Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld would be, given their histories. Ben Stiller is a huge fan. We saw him shown a lot last night. Did you see the video of Tracy Morgan in his car crying? I have not seen that, no. It's spectacular.

It's spectacular. Yeah, because it's the drought of it, too. It's the drought of it. Like, it's been so long since that team has been good, and they've been actually terrible for most of that drought. Yeah. As someone who doesn't care who wins this series, that has no rooting interest.

I'd love to see this go seven games. I don't think it will because the way the Knicks have played and the way the Spurs have played like a team where the average age is 22. Yeah. But. first we'll be back. Like if they don't win this, I'm sure they'll be back.

Yeah, they're going to be back a lot. But yeah, so this is, but this is so much fun to walk down memory lane in college football. We talked about the Boise State Oklahoma game, which I also attended. The thing about that game that's different from this game, and I think a lot of this has been forgotten because of the Boise State comeback, Boise State led that game 28 to 10 in the third quarter. Yeah. We were dominating that game. And Oklahoma had an incredible comeback to even get to the point where it was in the lead. And so that one had a little more swings.

And again, it was in Glendale, Arizona. It wasn't the crazy crowd like at MSG. But in terms of improbability of the final sequences, I think it's up there. I think it's up there. Another game that crossed my mind was a game that I wasn't at, but you were, was the greatest Rose Bowl of all time, the Vince Young's Parkdown, because Texas had also ended like a 35-year national title drop when they won that game, too. And I remember the circumstances of the previous drive and the stop and all that were pretty remarkable.

The fourth down stop of Lindell White. Now, I think the way Vince had been playing in that game, I don't speak for everyone. who's in that stadium, but I do, like, the vibe to me watching that was when they stopped Lendale White, the game was over. Texas was going to win, even though Texas was losing. And the craziest thing is the touchdown came on fourth and five. So there are lots of times when Texas still could have lost, but it never felt like they would because of the way Vince was playing. Yeah. But I remember watching that. I was, you know, 18 years old, and I remember, holy crap. that is the so you know forgive me for being hyperbolic but last night yeah it was cool you watch a lot

of sports you do this for a living you go to a lot of games i just remember thinking in my bed i don't think i've ever seen anything like this before yeah i i thought it was very cool and hey i hope we get a college football game that rivals it this year we know i can't wait we'll get grab ass i can guarantee you that 100% somebody somebody will make a deer in fox i can lay this up no problem I don't need to dribble this out. Yeah. I feel bad for the guy. I always feel bad for people that are in that position,

especially considering the fact that there is this narrative out there that if you would have just dribbled the ball out at the end, that they would have just won. It's no guarantee. You're going to get fouled with 12 seconds to go. You might make both free throws. You might not. And even if you make both free throws,

they can still tie with a three. So, yeah, it doesn't guarantee you win the game. But it would have made a lot more likely you win the game. Ari, speaking of games, it is time for the game that is sweeping the nation last week, I got it on the first clue. Now, I have determined to write clues so that Ari can never get it on the first clue. But how will our man Ari Wasserman Fair in the latest edition of Who Am I? Thank you, Derrits.

Let us let's get into the clues. This is a really good one. terrified. I've always. Clue number one. Yep. I am one of four brothers who all played college football. Okay.

My oldest brother played linebacker at Nevada. Okay. My family moved to the United States from American Samoa in 2012. Okay. Did this person, did one of the brothers play at Florida? No. Okay. I'm going to tell you.

where all the brothers played eventually. Okay. Next clue. My other older brother played at Utah. Well, that doesn't help me. You told me where they were from. I figured one played at Utah. Rivals ranked me as the number one recruit in my state

and the number 50 overall recruit in the country in the class of 2018. Okay, this is a Sewell brother. Is it Pena Sewell? Yes. Yeah. Good job, Ari. That is excellent. Yeah. We're doing the Big Ten power rankings, Big Ten Legend Penae Seul. Well, no, but Oregon's in the Big Ten now. So, all right, let me give you the rest of the clues. My younger brother played linebacker at Oregon. I was the first true freshman offensive linemen to start the season opener at my school since 1997.

As a sophomore in 2019, I was the top-graded college offensive lineman in pro football-focused history. I also won the Outland Trophy as a sophomore. And the final clue with Taylor Decker leaving, I'm shifting from right tackle to left tackle for the Detroit Lions this season. Yeah. Very nice. I'm impressed. That's awesome. I mean, when you started telling me that they had brothers and then the schools and then I knew it was you had to pick, you were going to have to pick the most prominent brother.

Yes, yes. And I was going to do it. So three of the brothers currently play in the NFL. The oldest brother played in the NFL, the one who played in Nevada, played in the NFL. And they do have a sister, by the way. She ran track. So this is great, though.

I love Penae Soel so much. He's one of my favorite players. I love watching him in the NFL today. But this was a fun one because I remember going to Eugene for a story. story his freshman year and Mario Cristobal I saw him before I went down to practice that first day I was out there and he said you're going to want to see our freshman left out you're going to enjoy this and I went down to practice and there he was and it's like oh my god this guy looks like he's playing the NFL for 10 years yeah and by the way it's going pretty well in the NFL too for him

So, you know, they have had a lot of storylines about that. I, you know, I was warned that this was very difficult. I understand because it's an offensive lineman, someone might, but like those clues at the beginning because, I mean, I just know that stuff. So. Yeah, no, I figured you do well. We tested on producer River last night and he got stumped. But J.D. Pekyll's producer, Caden Smith, got it on Clue 7.

So I thought, okay, I think I'm, I think I've made the difficulty level correct. The question that where my brain was wandering, at first I thought it was one of the Pouncy twins, but I didn't know if they had other brothers that played or not. They're not from American Samoa. Yeah, yeah. They're from Lakeland, Florida. Shout out Polk County. Yeah.

But once you told me the UNR one, that was. Yeah, because I wasn't going to say the family moved to Salt Lake City because I think you would have gotten it pretty quickly at that point. Because they probably were the most prominent football playing family. Like dad is the head coach at a really good high school in Salt Lake City. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm happy I'm not stumped. How many clues was it?

Was it four or five? Five? Okay, I'll take it. Anything. I don't have to be smart. I just don't want to look dumb. You know, like the next clue was going to be Noah Sewell,

is my younger brother played linebacker at Oregon. I figured if you didn't get it with the rival ranking, it was going to be on that one. Yeah. Well, that was fun. At least I think the game went the way it was supposed to. So good job on functional clues. and I'm never making the same mistake I did last week again.

Oh, I'm getting it first time next week. We're on vacation next week. So two weeks for now. I will get it first try. All right. All right, we've got to talk a little bit about Texas Tech versus the world because the fallout for the Brennan's Horsby ruling. Still happening.

A fascinating thing that I am noticing. And look, I get the Texas Tech fans don't like that they are the target. Their school is the target of all the vitriol in college football. right now. But part of that's because it's June and nothing else is going on. But part of it's also whatever school this happened at was going to be a target. But Cody Campbell, their chairman of their board of trustees, the guy who's funding the roster.

We've talked about Cody Campbell a lot. He went on with Dan Dockich on Wednesday. And he said, if this was happening at LSU, no one would say boo. and I laughed out loud. This is the interesting thing. So Texas Tech, we talked about this a lot. Texas Tech wants to be big time. They want to be a national title contender.

They want to be one of the best programs in college football. If you want to be that, you need to understand that when stuff like this happens, you're going to get a lot of attention and it's going to be a lot of negative attention. So the choice of saying if this happened at LSU, is laughable. If this happened at LSU, if Brendan Sorsby had gone to LSU and had gotten

in trouble in the same way, and LSU had had the same situation where Brennan Sorsby got a lawyer, went to a judge in Louisiana, and judge said you can play. This would be a hundred times the story it is now. Especially if you mix in the Lane Kiffin of it all. Right. Lane Kiffin multiplies everything.

Yeah. Because Joey McGuire, I think, is generally likable, right? Yeah. Yeah. Like, who doesn't like that guy? He's a great guy. The thing that... So I've done a lot of radio hits the last 48 hours,

I'm sure you've done a few too. Yeah. And I got asked a... I don't remember what city it was. They kind of glommed together. But the radio host said, because this is happening at Texas Tech, this seems to be a bigger deal than if

this were happening somewhere that was like lower key. And I think I fundamentally disagree with that. Like this is going to be no matter where it happened. This was the quarterback at Arizona or the quarterback at North Carolina. Yeah. But what I'm saying is Texas Tech, they seem to fundamentally misunderstand like this would be a much bigger deal at LSU or Michigan, much bigger deal. Yeah.

And you brought us up before the show, Andy, but like, were they around during the Spygate stuff? Yeah. And the thing of Michigan person, what it's like to be part of the biggest story in college football. Like Michigan, the thing is, Michigan's used to getting covered. These guys aren't used to actually being covered. Yeah. Like what you want is for us to notice you. We've noticed.

Yeah. Part of that is you also get negative attention. So like when SpyGate was happening, Connor Stallions became a household name. What would happen with Jim Harbaugh was debated vigorously on. every show every day for months. Yeah. Andy, it was months. The entire season was Michigan coverage.

And I am amused because even though we do a daily show in the off season, which in college football is very rare, we only talked about it for two days straight. And then we already moved on to the SEC. Yeah, we made the SEC power rankings. Like days. With Michigan, we were in season and stuff was going on. We did like covering games then.

Two weeks in a row of those. And like it kept, part of the Michigan thing too was that like, the story kept expanding. Like it wasn't just like the thing happened and then everyone's analyzing the thing. Like the vacuum stuff happened and then the LLB stuff. In this case,

if it was LSU, like the Lane Kiffin of it all. Like, do these people not remember when LSU hired Lane Kiffin? Yeah. It was kind of a, big deal. Yeah, so part of it is like, yeah, Texas Tech, you probably should get like tougher skin if you want to be in this world. And I agree with that. But like Cody Campbell said something yesterday. And Cody has been gracious to us. He's been on our show. He's been very nice. And, you know, I do think that there's a part of him, if not a large part of him, that really does care

about college sports in general. That said, his number one motive, in my opinion, is obviously, obviously to enrich and protect Texas Tech football. Get Texas Tech in the club. And he went on Dan Dachach's show yesterday and insinuated that the only reason why this is becoming as big of a deal as it is, is because people don't want Texas Tech to succeed. Yeah, people don't really care that much either way if Texas Tech succeeds. In fact, people like you and me who have a national show and talk about. about major brands all the time have been very welcoming of Texas Tech.

Yeah, we like having another school to talk about. It's good for us. It's good for the sport. If there's our offseason is better because Texas Tech and Texas got into a fight last week. Yes. The sport is better because Texas Tech and Texas got into a fight last week. But if you're going to level up and come into the major leagues of this level, you're going to start maneuvering in ways that big time pro.

programs maneuver, you're obviously going to get better. You made the playoff last year, but you're also going to be in the eye of the storm more. You don't get to be really good and a disruptor and take pride in being a disruptor and then get upset when people react to something. And this isn't just a Texas tech thing, Andy. This is a unprecedented ruling. This is something that we all fear is incredibly serious as it pertains to the sanctity and the integrity of the results of the games. And this is also coming at a time in which the NCAA is like falling apart and can't enforce anything. Yeah. It's not just a Texas tech story.

This is like a college football is fundamentally different today. And it would have would have been a big story no matter what school. Yeah. So. And I think that it was going to be. You guys drew the card. So. Yeah.

And and you drew the card. I think part of it to Andy. I don't know if you agree with this or not. But I don't think that Texas tech realized. before the ruling came that this was going to happen. So I will go one step further. I don't think the folks at Texas Tech thought the source was going to win. Yeah.

And I wonder if you asked them with TrueC theorem if they would have wanted him to win and if the answer would still be yes. I think it would be because they still get to have him play. And the thing is like, I understand why they wanted to play. Like you have these other ADs saying, well, if this will play around my team, we'd kick him off team. No, you wouldn't. You wouldn't.

So I'm not going to moralize on Texas Tech like that. Because none of you would. Yeah. You'd all play the guy. But so I'd say the same thing that Kirby Hokka said, well, a judge said he can play. So we're going to play him. Let's throw Texas Tech fans in all of French. Because you know what?

I'm sick and I read all my Twitter mentions and I've been getting this a lot. And I don't think it's totally. insane. What did Texas Tech the entity do wrong? Well, they decided to keep him on the team, which meant he was still getting paid, which meant he could afford Jeffrey Kessler, which meant he could sue. They could have stopped it a long time ago. Yeah. They could have said, but from a rule standpoint, hey, look what we found. They could be like, oh, geez, gosh, I'm sorry. Brendan, it's been nice knowing you, but, uh, in terms of. the supplemental draft. They didn't say that. That's my opinion. I wrote a comment saying what you just

said two days ago. But in terms of where the infractions occurred, who funded the lawsuit, although I still think they technically funded it, even though they didn't. And Texas Tech, as far as we know, is not on the hook for anything right now. Now, the Big 12 could sanction Texas Tech. I seriously doubt that will happen in any severe way. If they do sanction them, I bet it's more in words or maybe a fine, which Texas Tech will just pay, and that'll be that. If they were to try to do something, which they can, the bylaws do allow it. And we're recording this, I'm going to timestamp this, recording this at 11 a.m. Eastern on Thursday. Big 12 presidents are meeting today.

Their full board meets on Tuesday. So it's possible we could see in the next few days some sort of sanctions. And the bylaws do leave it open where they could say you can't play in the conference title game or we don't want you on. We're going to take you off TV. I don't think they'll do that. I doubt very seriously they do that. We also know that Texas Tech is very willing to go to court to protect itself in this situation. So you might even see a preemptive lawsuit from Texas Tech if they think serious sanctions are going to be.

hand it down. So we may be popping in, who knows, we may be popping in with an update later today. I don't think that Texas Tech is an inherently evil outfit. I think that they are doing what they can to, to. I think everybody would do this because I'm really cynical. So it's, you happen to pick the guy who got into this Texas Tech. It was going to be somebody. Yeah. And this is, this is part of it. This is what happens when you, I mean, it's just like you are at the eye of the storm in like nine different story angles here. But you wanted our attention and you have it. You wanted the smoke.

You have it. This is part of being a nationally relevant college football program. It's the least fun part, but it's part of it. So congratulations. You're nationally relevant just like you wanted to be. I'm stealing him out. You're welcome. Ari.

Now. we head to the Big Ten, where, look, if Texas Tech fans were mad at us, there are going to be some fan bases mad at you. I'm just going to put this all on you because you're going to work this. You know, I'm already in the midst of two different fan base avalanches right now, right? Oh, yeah. I've got Texas Tech avalanche going on, but our little clip about Texas v. Georgia has gone a little viral on Twitter today, too. So, and I'm getting avalanched by George.

Oh, I walked you in the, I dog walked you into that one. I knew what's going to happen. Yeah, that's okay. You dog walked me into it. But, you know, I'll take playoff wins. I think those are important. No, listen, you did the Big Ten Power Rankings. Like, we talked about Texas Tech drew that straw.

You drew the Big Ten Power Ranking straw. I have the ACC. We can talk about those tomorrow. But the most team, too, by the way. Yeah, this is a tough one. Yeah. So yesterday we had a spirited debate that led to one of the avalanches I was just referring to about who should be number one in the SEC. Doing the Big Ten, I sent you guys a version of what I was going to do. I wrote a version of what I was going to do and then I changed what I was going to do. And I tell you this because I think you could make an argument for three different teams to be number one instead of two.

And the thing that is very difficult about this is, is that you have to balance what you know about the coaches and what you know about the past and what you expect about the future while also trying to block some of that out by trying to pick which roster you think is the best and which team is going to be the best. And I know that coaching acumen and results have to play into part of the calculus of who you think is going to be able to succeed.

Like Kurt Signetti has to be a part of the calculus of what you think Indiana is going to be. If Kurtzignetti wasn't the coach anymore, I don't think Indiana would be even three on. this but our podcast listeners let me let me read what before we get into this let me read what your rankings are so these are a big 10 power rankings number one oregon number two ohio state number three indiana number four usc number five penn state number six michigan number seven washington number eight iowa number nine illinois number 10 minnesota number 11

nebraska number 12 ucela 13 northwestern 14 wisconsin 15 rutgers 16 Maryland, 17 Michigan State, 18 Purdue. So you were talking about the top three, which is one Oregon, two Ohio State, three, Indiana. And the initial thing I sent you guys was Indiana should be number one. And then I put Ohio State number one. And then I was like, that's not probably true. So then I put Oregon number one, which is what I think you guys might agree with. I don't know.

I can't remember what you told me. I would say Oregon has the deepest roster. the thing with Oregon, and I was at Oregon's loss to Indiana in the Peach Bowl, and it was interesting hearing Dan Langing and Dante Moore talk about that, because each of the last two years, Oregon's had a really good year and then gotten smoked in the game. It got knocked out of the playoffs. And I think it colors the way we look at that program, the way those, the Ohio State Rose Bowl went and the Indiana Peach Bowl went. Now, the Indiana Peach Bowl, I think they're more extenuating circumstances than the Ohio State Rose Bowl. The Ohio State Rose Bowl, they just got their asses beat by the team that won the national title. They also got their ass beat by the team that won the national title in the Peach Bowl, but Oregon had zero healthy running backs in that game.

And essentially had to stitch together an offensive game playing with chicken wire and coat hangers. So they had no chance to win that game. They were never going to win that game under. I think a lot of people's faces melt it off when they saw this, Andy, because they're like, oh, wow, you put Dan Lannning, the postseason show. Like he's the new guy now, the postseason show artist. But he keeps putting together good rosters.

And I remember we were talking to Justin Hopkins last year from Scoop Duck. And he was talking about the roster at Oregon, the build, the way they've recruited. This was the year it was pointing toward. Like, 2024 was actually them arriving a little early. 2025.

They thought they'd be really good. but they weren't, they weren't sure it was the best version of their roster. They do think this is the best version of their roster. So, like, in this case, if they make it to the quarterfinals of the semis and get smoked, then pile on them all you want. Well, I mean, the other thing, too, is if you get smoked by the eventual national champions, that doesn't mean that you stink or that you're a choke artist. That means you happen to play teams that were better than you and the best.

I would argue already that this version of Oregon should be able to win the national championship. So you should not, even if you lose to the team that eventually wins the national championship, you should not be smoked by them with what you have now. The thing that we have always said, and I wrote a column in the LAX airport the day after they lost Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, and I kind of felt the same way about what happened with Indiana, though last year's running back situation certainly exacerbated that a little bit, is that eventually Oregon will be very well built the way that they were the last two years. years and eventually there there won't be a wagon that they have to get through.

And like eventually their roster, which is very good, is going, they're going to be the wagon. And like, I think this is the year that's supposed to be the wagon, Ari. It would be like if you look at where they're at in terms of personnel, the age of said personnel, the quarterback. Now, Dante Moore actually does have another year of eligibility after this if he wants it. But he could have been the number two picking the draft last year. I would back. I would, I would be, I would be. venture to guess that if he's healthy through this year, he's probably going to the NFL next year. So your window is wide open right now if you're Oregon. Now, that doesn't mean

it's going to be easy because as you've mentioned, you've got Ohio State, you got Indiana, USC, Penn State, Michigan, like all of these teams are going to be good. And Oregon plays USC, Ohio State, Michigan. They have to play Washington at the end of the season. They're going to Illinois. Like, that's not going to be easy either. This is going. going to be a challenging Big Ten schedule for them. For sure. And I feel pretty comfortable putting them number one. Again, I think when people consume these lists, they always think backward and I always think

forward, you know? And like, that's just kind of what I try to do because that's the point of like information. I said, try to look at, you don't need a Wikipedia page of what to tell you what already happened. I'm aware that Dan Lanning has lost embarrassingly. the last two years in the playoff. I'm aware that Indiana and Ohio State are national champions the last two years. Like, you don't have to remind me of this.

It's about trying to project forward. And I think that pound for pound, Oregon probably has the most diverse and most intriguing roster in the entire conference. Now, that doesn't mean that they can't lose or that teams like Ohio State or Indiana won't pop back up and be awesome again. I mean, listen, Ohio State has the best play. in college football and a season quarterback that was a Heisman finalist returning. So it's not like the teams behind them are chopped liver, but I don't think that Ohio State or Indiana will be as good this year as either of them were the last two years, which means that Oregon has a window of opportunity to be that good this year and actually

break through and maybe win the title. All right. Let's talk about Indiana, though, because this feels to me, and you had Indiana number one, which that's a pure don't bet against Signetti play. But that you have Indiana number three, which would put them very safely in the college football playoff for the third straight year. Yeah.

Is a don't bet against Signetti. I like the moves that they made. The reason why I put Indiana behind Oregon and Ohio State is I don't think I'm taking Josh Hoover over Julian San or Dante Mori yet. Now that doesn't mean he can't turn into Fernando. Mendoza over every quarterback in the country last year, though. Would not happen.

But I don't know. So is that like the just assumption? Like we just assume that everyone comes into the number one overall draft. Was Mendoza just ready to level up? Or was it something that Indiana did to make him level up where they can do the same thing with Josh Hoover? And I'm sure it's probably a combination of both. Yeah. I'm sure it's a combination of both.

And this isn't to say that I don't think that Josh Hoover won't be very good or that Indiana is going to all of a sudden stink. Like if I'm if I'm insulting them by putting them number three in one of the two deepest conferences in the country, which makes you in my opinion probably a top six team in the country, then like I'm sorry for offending you. But like it is the quarterbacks that, I mean, just let me ask you this because you, if you had to do it too, like what are your power rankings in quarterbacks of those three? How would you rank them? It would be more saying Hoover, right? At this point, yeah. So that's the list.

I'm not really sure that any of them would be my number one QB in the Big Ten. Because Jaden Maiava is up there and DeMond Williams is up there. Like, those are really good quarterbacks. Yeah. Yeah, don't forget about Anthony Calandria. That number 11. That's going to be slinging bullets this year. But I also, listen, I had so much fun watching him at Virginia and UNLV.

So, yeah, I can't wait to see him in Nebraska. Ohio State also has Jeremiah Smith, which that's like, just like they have Jeremiah Smith on their team. They've got Chris Henry. And I'm assuming, obviously you know who it is. But if you're, if you're listening to the show and you don't know who it is, get excited because there's another one. Like, it's like they've got a lot of really good players. Chris Henry Jr.

It looks. Yeah. Looks the part. It's like, how do they keep, how do they keep doing this? It's like, well, and the answer was Brian Hartlein, but he's gone now. So it also, they just recruit really well. They also have a five star receiver committed in the 27 class. Like this is like a trend that is, I feel like this kind of insists upon yourself a little bit.

Like it's like it happens and then it happens. And then it's like a five star player is just like automatically calibrated to go there. So, but Chris Henry Jr. is another tall, lanky, fast freak of a receiver. who's on the team, and that doesn't take into account the other ones that they already have on their team like Brandon Innes. So, like, they're going to be, they got Bro Jackson coming back. I know their offensive line might probably be the third best of those three teams. So that maybe that hurts a little bit. But Ohio State's got great players everywhere.

So, can we talk about your number 14? Because I think your number 14 is really interesting because this is you making a bet that USC makes the playoff here, I think. I mean, I guess. I don't know. Throw up that USC schedule, producer. river. Let me see it. Because this is, if you're the fourth best team in the Big Ten, I think you're either making the playoff or you're right on the bubble.

Now, the three teams you have ahead of USC are on their schedule. Yes. Theoretically, they'd be out at nine and three. And I think if we, but I think if we look at this, nine and three USC, has beaten Washington, if it's the three teams you have ahead of them, they beat Washington and Penn State. Yep. So they have it, like, remember Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina,

sitting there at 9 and 3 and 2024? You know, and playing Notre Dame, they sure could actually wind up helping them, by the way. Yeah, but they had that on there to do that. So they have to probably beat one of those, but one of those three teams. I think they probably have to beat one of those three teams to make the playoff. So can I make an admission? I don't think that I would pick USC to win enough to get into the playoff this year.

But you're picking them to win the Penn State game essentially here. I am. Okay. Just do this. Okay. If you are a person who's reading this and going, oh boy, here we are watching this or listening, oh boy, here we go again with the USC offseason hype, do me a favor and look at the three teams ahead of it, which clearly everybody would put ahead of it.

And then look at all the teams behind them and tell me which team has more better players than them behind them. Michigan? Do you think they've got more? Because actually the USC thing was pretty easy for me. The thing that I struggle with is how to order Penn State, Michigan. That was the hardest part. I didn't know which one to put ahead of the other.

But I think that USC with their quarterback returning, like Jaden Maiava and, you know, I think those. Those three are in the same bucket. Okay. I think one of those three can make the playoff. The hardest thing about it is I actually think that I probably have the least amount of confidence in the head coach at USC of those three teams. So like that.

But Jaden Maiava is clearly the best quarterback. And I think that's obviously, right, you're not taking Bryce Underwood or Rocco back over. Yeah, I go with Jane Ma'Aaub in that list, yes. So, and I think their offense is going to be awesome. They're bringing in one of the best recruiting classes, if not the best recruiting class in the country. I don't know how much that that will impact them this year. But Luke Waifle at defensive end, like, they've got a lot of really good players at some pretty interesting spots. Yeah.

And like from top to bottom, I don't know if I think that Michigan or Penn State have better players than them. I don't think they do from top to bottom. Like, I don't think they have definitively better players than USC. I think Oregon and Ohio State probably have definitive, like if we're just talking to NFL scouts, who has better players than everybody else in this conference, it would be working in Ohio State. Indiana, USC Penn State, and Michigan, they all have some guys that the NFL guys really, really like.

So then let me throw up back at you. I did USC Penn State, Michigan, in that order. And Washington also kind of sneaky. I think that Washington... Yeah, that was going to be my next question is Washington. Probably closer to the being a peer of those groups and behind them, but how would you order them if you were doing it? Those four.

I would put Michigan at four. Okay. And then I don't, USC Penn State's tough. That feels like a coin flip to me. And they do play. Like they play in Happy Valley. But some people do power rankings every week, by the way.

Yeah. It's easier to do once you've seen them play. Yeah, once you got a little, little evidence. If I did USC roster versus Penn State roster, I'd probably go with USC. So I think I think I'm with you there putting them ahead of Penn State. Yeah. But it's close, and I do think that's one of those where coaching home field advantage, that sort of thing, can swing the game.

That's why all of these together, like there's a couple games for every one of them that could swing this thing. Yeah. And if you flipped Michigan State, or sorry, Michigan and Penn State, I'd be like, okay, they're very similar teams to me in terms of coaches that are very accomplished at a lower level moving up, places that have, you know, very different reasons, but gone through some turmoil. in the last six months, places that are trying to rebound and get to the top. You know, I think that if you told me Michigan made the playoff, I don't fall out of my chair.

If you tell me Penn State makes the playoff, especially with their schedule, that I'm not allowed to take into account for this. I don't fall out of my chair. So, you know, that's the thing. If we're doing predicted order or finish, like Penn State's schedule probably influences how you do this a lot. We're not doing this based on schedule, though. Predicted order or finish.

Penn State might be in the top three. you. Yes, yes, because that's the easiest schedule draw in the Big Ten. So let's talk Washington. Let's let's talk Huskies. DeMond Williams Jr. That was a very big deal during transfer portal time where he announces he's going to enter the portal and then doesn't actually enter the portal. He is a pure dual threat.

He ran for 611 yards last year. He threw for 3,000 yards last year. Average 8.7 yards per attempt, 25 TDs, 8 interceptions. like this is a potential star. Yeah. The question is, how does it look, you know, no Denzel Boston, no Jonah Coleman, can they replace the skill position talent around him well enough to make themselves a player in the Big Ten? The thing that I like about Washington and Jed Fish talked a lot about this when he came on our show in the last few months was that when he first got to Washington,

their offensive line didn't even have the numbers to field like too deep in camp. And now their offensive line might be one of the backbones of the team. So like I do think it's kind of interesting when it comes to how are you going to replace the offensive skill talent? I think that's an important question because Jonah Coleman was awesome. And Denzel Boston is like lighting up Cleveland Brown's mini camps right now. So like very good players to replace. But if you have a really, really good quarterback and a really good offensive line, line and a coach that I frankly have a lot of confidence in.

Like Jed Fish might have fallen out of favor in terms of one of the sexy names floating around every year after, you know, you know, building Washington. But I do think that, you know, his MO of building up Arizona and what he was able to do there probably tends to be a pretty good situation for Washington heading into year three. And that offensive line, everybody, everybody on that offensive line on the roster last year understands. the scheme knows what they're doing. It's not that there aren't transfers there, but they didn't transfer in just now. Yeah. And it's a deep group. They've got a bunch of guys that have been in the system.

You have to like that. And the other thing about Jed Fish, if we go back to his Arizona tenure, he does a good job of developing players. They recruited and developed well at Arizona. And this is going to be a test of his development. This is year three. I mean, he had to basically do a hard reset at Washington. They were coming off the national title game.

Kailin Dabor left. It was a brand new roster, essentially. Now he's had a chance to make it his own. And we look at the schedule. It's not going to be easy. Yeah. They go to USC. They get Iowa at home.

Their last two games in the year are brutal. Yeah, last two games are Indiana and at Oregon. My number one thing here is that I think that Washington might even have a chance to be undefeated going into the final two games this year. Like they could be one of the darlings of the sport this year. But the number one litmus test that Jed Fish. If they're undefeated going into the final two games, that means they've won at USC, which means USC's probably lost some other games. Yeah. Like the power dynamic, like if Washington is 10 and 0, like you're saying, or even if they're 9 and 1.

Yeah. At that point in the season, the power dynamic. will have shifted pretty dramatically in the conference? First of all, not a prediction. Possibility. Very different. I think that it's within the realm of possibility that Washington claws back into our hearts this year. The one thing that Jed Fish has never really had to do,

and you didn't have to do it at Arizona State, is actually or I'm sorry, at Arizona, but maybe Oregon to a certain extent you would disagree with at this, but like, beating the true top dogs of the sport at their best. Like, I think that how they looked last year against Ohio State, if you're a Washington fan, maybe even more importantly than what your record is or whether you contend for the playoff and all that is,

how does your team look against top tier, elite level, true national championship caliber competition? Well, and you also cannot have games like you had against Wisconsin last year. Like that can't happen. But the thing about that is that we might not know that. And maybe USC is going to be awesome. And they still have like at Arizona, you had USC in Oregon in your conference still.

But maybe we'll get a really good idea of what Washington is when they play USC in week five or six. And then we'll move on from that. But they have a huge runway, too, of getting things going before they have to play their two difficult games. Like I don't even know from your perspective, Andy, if you were a coach, would you rather play your two hardest games at the final two games of the year or like in the middle of the year or the beginning of the year? If I had what I consider to be a fairly deep team, especially on the line of scrimmage, I would want them at the final part of the year.

Yeah. So maybe things are setting up for Washington to be a dark horse college football playoff situation. Which is what you want at seven in a big 10 ranking. Yeah. And I swear I'm not just going down the list, but you're number of number eight. I remember eight's fascinating to me too, because Iowa was the team that played everybody at the top of the league tough last year. They gave everybody hell. Like they gave Indiana hell.

They gave Oregon hell. They gave USC hell. But they didn't win any of those games. Does Iowa break through and win one or two of those games this year? Iowa scares me because I don't know if you know this, but they set a program record last year. with draft picks taken. So you worry this may be a little bit of a down, a rebuild.

So like Iowa was much better than we thought they would be last year, to your credit, you were kind of on the forefront of that. I remember last year you were buying Iowa stock pretty early. I don't know if Iowa is in a position as a developmental program to keep that level of output or that success, especially against the top tier teams. Hell, they almost beat Indiana with a one off-season runway to repair that loss.

That's the thing that scares me. They're a developmental program, and maybe that means that people will be able to step in and take their spots and be much better than we give them credit for, which is the part of the reason why they are where they are on the list. But in terms of like the expectation that Iowa

will somehow be better than they were last year, I would love to know what your calculations are if you think that. Yeah, and it really depends on if the quarterback winds up being good. And that's either Jeremy Hicklinsky or Hank Brown. Those are two guys who transferred in before last season. They were on the roster at Iowa last season backing up Mark Grinowski. And Mark Grinowski didn't put up the greatest of numbers last year,

but he did make the Iowa offense a little more versatile. And I think that- Seven players taken in the draft last year. That's a lot for Iowa, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, clearly it's a record. So, I mean, it's, do you replace that? That's what scares me with them.

Yeah, so we're going to find out about them. But I think you're right. That is the big stat you need to pay attention to. And then, you know, some guys we've had on this show in the last few months, Brett Bilema and PJ Fleck, you've got them at 9-10. And these are teams that they've been consistently good. But now do they win a game against the top of the top of the league? Illinois beat USC last year.

And Tennessee. Sorry, River. They did beat Tennessee. Sorry, remember. But can Minnesota or Illinois beat somebody in the top three of that list? Well,

Minnesota actually was a difficult one to rank because I think, if I remember correctly from what I was reading when I was doing this, that Minnesota has finished in the top half of the Big Ten each of the last three or four years. So they've actually been. PJFlex's been remarkably consistent. And I think kind of an. underrated consistency because I don't think people realize how much they have won really since like 2019.

And Drake Lindsay, the quarterback is somebody that I think might be an undervalued NFL draft prospect. We had a few analysts on earlier in this offseason, Andy, talking about how they love what they've seen from him on tape. And they also return the Big Ten Sack record, Big Ten Sack leader in Anthony Smith, who who I believe had 11 last year, right? Or 9 or something? He's one of the best fast wrestlers in the country.

So they are talented. You know, Illinois is replacing some really good players like Gabe Hockis and Luke Altmyer. But we had Brett Beelman. He feels comfortable with what they've got. Caten Hauser comes in from East Carolina playing quarterback. Big Ten people will remember him as the guy who got thrown in at Michigan State the year that Mel Tucker got fired and he probably wasn't ready to be thrown in at that point. But he will come back to the Big Ten as a much more finished product.

And these are your spoiler teams, I think. These are the ones that you do need to be concerned about. Minnesota, by the way, carrying the flag for the league early in the season, they get Mississippi State at home. Good game. All those arguments about the SEC scheduled Ryan and all that, like if Minnesota pops Mississippi State, then they can be like, what about? What about it?

Yeah. If they lose it home to Mississippi State, the SEC people are like, see, see? Because that might be number 16. Yeah. Well, I think Minnesota has to win that game for any of the Big Ten arguments that are out there because Minnesota is that top 12, top 10 potentially. Right. This is, yeah, Minnesota is not the bottom of the Big Ten by any stretch of the imagination.

They've been good. It's probably a, would still, Chris Lowe had him in the bottom three, right, of the SEC power ranking. So, you know, important game from that standpoint. So, yeah, I think that those, any time you get a Big Ten and an SEC team together on the same field, whether it's Georgia, Ohio State or Purdue, Mississippi State, I think that's important context that we need. So, yeah, and then I got banged over the head a little bit, as you would expect, by Nebraska being so low. But, like, I don't really understand, like, who am I putting them above? What have you seen that suggests,

Now, they could be better. Like, if Anthony Calandria is better than Dylan Raola was, which is entirely possible, then they could be better. But who are you putting them above right now? I think Nebraska's just in a show me. Don't tell me about it. I've heard enough about it in the offseason.

Illinois and Minnesota have shown us. Minnesota is shown us against Nebraska. But like Illinois and Iowa especially, too, if we're talking about that 8, 9, 10 range, like they've all shown us. Yeah. And, you know, I will say, as I was doing these power rankings, there are two additional teams. It was a little bit harder to, you know, write synopsuses of Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State, Purdue, but there is some fascinating storylines.

Bob Chesney at UCLA, I think it's fascinating. They've had a big recruiting uptick there. There seems to be enthusiasm there that we haven't seen in the past. Northwesterns, David Braun has won as many games in his first three seasons as Pat Fitzgerald did. Like, they're not a pushover completely. is their offensive coordinator now. Wisconsin is in a very, very, very interesting cross-section

between, is this their coach, or are they better because they invested more, or is this hopeless? Rutgers has maybe one of the best receivers in the country on their team. Yeah, it's just like, and then you get to Maryland, Michigan State, Pat Fitzgerald's interesting. And then of course, you know, Purdue is on like a 20 game Big 10 losing streak, but, you know,

has a coach. It's not a bad coach. So, yeah. And they were in the Big Ten championship game four years ago. Can I give you the one I think could wind up much higher than where you have them? Sure. But we just don't know. Is UCLA? Yeah, I had that feeling.

Yeah. You know, it's very easy to get caught up in the James Madison, Kurt Signetti, enthusiasm, awesome coach, new hire, new enthusiasm in a program. and over and over expect though. Like, because like that's like what you get in trouble. Like I think but I was fine putting you. Like I, I don't lump him in with Signetti even though he followed Signetti at James Madison

because Chesney's like actually similar to Signetti but kind of in his own way has won at every level. He's won at Division 3, Division 2, FCS and then Group of 6. So he's done it already. He's won everywhere. Now this schedule.

is really hard. People get into trouble, though, is over expecting. Yeah. I think that if he is remarkable, let him show up. They open at Cal in the Calimony Bowl. And so, I mean, they're going to have to defend Jaron Kiavei Songapalel Teli, who's going to be one of the best quarterbacks they see all year, right out of the gate. So, yeah, it's exciting right now.

their recruiting is definitely perked up. But we don't know what they're going to be. But that's the one where because there's so many new players, because Bob Chesney has won so well at different levels, that's the one I'm going to be very intrigued to watch.

Nico, I just wanted to say his name on our show. It's been a while. Yeah. Let's thank Nico again. Hey, thanks, Nico for getting us through last off-season. We appreciate it. We should do like off-season awards.

Nico certainly was the gold medalist last year, and I think that Brendan Sorsby's the gold medalist this year. I don't know who it will be next year, but there will be somebody. Well, I am excited for this Big Ten season because I do think, this is what we've talked about with the SEC and the Big Ten and them yelling at each other. Is the bottom of the Big Ten getting better? Hell yeah, it's getting better. Like we just mentioned, like Wisconsin is investing in ways they weren't before.

will that work or not is the question. But I just mentioned Northwestern just hired Chip Kelly as the offensive coordinator. UCLA is very serious about football with Bob Chesney. Yeah. Very interesting. The bottom's getting better. What Michigan State is,

Pat Fitzgerald, I thought, was a very, very successful coach in terms of getting more out of less when he was at Northwestern. Now, you also have to take into account that he was also doing that at North Western. Northwestern before the NIL era. So I'm very curious with the time off and his ugly departure from Northwestern, and now that he's taking over at a place in a new era.

Also, Michigan State, you don't necessarily have to have that much less. Yeah. You're not going to have as much as Ohio State, but you can have a lot at Michigan State if you do it right. But between how he left Northwestern, the time that's been off since that happened, and the fact that he's reemerging at a new place during a new time, That isn't me saying I don't think he can be good. I think it's interesting. I think it's a fascinating thing to watch.

The storylines throughout this conference are utterly fascinating because like you said, Pat Fitzgerald, I just mentioned the Chip Kelly dynamic at Northwestern. What happens with Luke Fickle at Wisconsin? Matt Ruhl signed that big extension. Now they've got to produce at Nebraska. Illinois has been really good two years in a row. Can they make it a third? The DeMond Williams stuff at Washington.

Washington, do they level up, now or never for Lincoln Riley at USC? Like, it's all happening in the Big Ten this year. Yeah. So very exciting conference, and I do think that, much like the SEC, the top eight, 10 teams maybe can contend for a playoff spot. And, you know, as we go on, Andy, I don't, and we'll share this plan with the listeners here, we're going to be doing a conference a day for the next month of, like, different topics like coaches and

playoff contors and these types of things. So we're going to have a lot of different ways of looking at it outside of just power rankings. Yeah. There's going to be plenty to argue about. In fact, as we say this, Brettman Murphy's Big 12 power rankings just dropped. Tomorrow, we're going to talk about my ACC power rankings, but also get your questions in for dear Andy and dear Ari.

You know where to find us. Andy Stapleson3 at gmail.com. Ari.com. dot wasterman at on three.com we'll also do a little draft action we like doing our drafts what is the topic I don't know yet

we're going to figure it out yeah we'll figure it out but it'll be football already maybe the folks should write in and we can start stocking up on draft topics yeah yeah if you have one let us know I mean in honor of the the next comeback

we could do wildest finishes but I think that's a little too close to you know the one the you know greatest plays we did speaking of um help from the listeners somebody wrote in and wrote in and wrote your next who am i for me oh so i don't know if i'm not but they're like yeah i think we can get them with this okay so let's let's explain this to folks that's a great idea i want your suggestions for who am i but remember if you're going to suggest someone for who am i don't send it to both of us yeah just send it to both of us yeah just send it to

one of us. He just sent it to me and it would be, I think, on the, he wrote the clues too. Like he wrote eight. Oh, wow. He was very bought into it. You can send him a gift card if you use it. I don't know if it's too hard. Depends. I mean, I mean, you would probably, I mean, like I know who it is. You and I based on what we do for a living, should be better at this than the average person.

So if you want to make it hard for me, make it hard. The average person would probably not get this. Okay. we can also qualify it that way too. Yeah, I do want them to be something that by the 10th clue, the average person can get. I think that that this would, you would. Okay, then that's great. That's perfect. Yeah. So, but you guys are smart and we love you. So interact with us. Please. Yeah, we, we love you guys. You guys are the most thoughtful, passionate people. And I, I love you, every single one of you.

And I appreciate every time. And, you know, some folks who write in a lot and maybe haven't had their questions read in a while, like Willie and Lori, love you guys. Love you guys. And we try to make ourselves available as much as we can. And, you know, sometimes we'll just be answering questions off air that we may not be able to get into the show. But yeah, please send that stuff in because. And if we haven't responded, it's not because we're not interested.

It's because there's a lot of them. So if you have ever written in and you didn't get a response, don't let that dissuade you from trying again. We really try our best to keep up with all of them. And just sometimes, Andy, I get like 27 emails on a day. But public service announcement, if you want to help us with who am I, only send it to one of us. Yes.

Just pick who you want to stump. Thank you so much. And we'll see you. We'll talk to you on Friday.