Andy & Ari On3 - Does Las Vegas expect MORE from Auburn than Hugh Freeze?

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

Andy and Ari are breaking down season win totals, and they’re starting with one of the many, many teams at 7.5. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze went on The Next Round Live last week and suggested Auburn merely needed to make a bowl game to have a successful season. That rubbed a lot of Auburn fans the wrong way.(0:00-1:03) Intro: Win Totals(1:04-18:05) Auburn's Win Total: 7.5(18:06-24:54) Wrapping up Hugh Freeze, Auburn(24:55-28:46) Utah's Win Total: 7.5(28:47-35:13) Big 12 Projections(35:14-46:18) Illinois' Win Total: 7.5(46:19-50:35) Wake Forest Win Total at 4.5(50:36-51:51) SEC Win Totals(51:52-1:01:21) LSU's Win Total: 8.5(1:01:22-1:02:03) Wrapping up Win Totals(1:02:04-1:09:20) Previewing tomorrow's show So what should Auburn expect? Is it eight wins or more? Andy and Ari also discuss win totals at Nebraska, Illinois, South Carolina, Utah and more. Watch us live, Monday-Friday at 9:30 am et! https://youtube.com/live/IJiEcQPvF8A Want to partner with the show? E-mail [e-mail]

Welcome to Andy and Ari on three. Happy Monday. We got win totals today. Sportsbook to drop a fresh batch of win totals on us last week and already we have a lot to talk about. And of course we had a coach that made our jobs even easier by just serving up this conversation on a platter This is a coach that does this quite frequently I think He does doesn't he we're talking about Hugh Fries, of course, and you know, it's coaches don't talk about wind totals They're not worried about wind totals, but you freeze sort of unprompted Let us into the win total conversation.

For Auburn, which by the way that the books have set it at seven and a half. If you followed Ari and I over the last few months, you know, we're pretty high on Auburn this year. So that one actually feels a tad low for us, but apparently not low for Hugh Freeze. Here's what he said when he's visiting with the guys from the next round live on Friday.

Going into this season, does it feel a little bit different? Do you feel like, hey, I've got to win X amount of games? I'm not a fool. I think we've got to go to ball game, you know? And I think our administration understands. Look, I inherited a program that to go to a bowl game. You know, and I think our administration understands. Look, I inherited a program that didn't have a top 25 recruiting class for four years. You're not gonna win in this league.

We've had now two full recruiting classes, both top 10. I think one more than your roster looks complete. But I'm still not naive. And we should have won some games last year that we could have won some games. I shouldn't say we should. We could have won some games last year and we've got to find a way to make sure we're excellent in those areas that cost us those that put us in a position to be at least bowl eligible if not more. And I see no reason why we shouldn't do that. And I

think that's an expectations that our people should expect. And I don't add like, I don't sit around feeling like that puts a lot of pressure on me. Look, I'm blessed. And I'm blessed to be at one of the greatest universities, to live in one of the greatest towns, to work for some of the greatest people and our administration's awesome.

My family, I have my all three daughters there and grandkids. So whatever the outcome of all that is, that will be okay. Obviously, I'm a competitor and I wanna deliver to the Auburn people and it's time for us to start doing that. Bowl eligible at least is not what the Auburn people want. You freeze. They want a little more than that.

Yeah, uh, I was like on board with everything he said. And then when he said bowl eligible, it was like the, uh, you know, like in those old Western movies, when somebody walks into the bar, that isn't supposed to be there. And the like piano stops. Like, that's kind of how, uh uh that's what went on in my brain when he said that um yeah so the thing that is interesting about auburn and you know it's a perfect way to to start talking about it is i actually think that he was right uh when he was

talking about last year um and part of the reason why i i believe that auburn is going to be a pretty good football team this year is that they were pretty non functional at the quarterback position last year and they still were in the position to win some games in the SEC that you would have and they were in the game with Vanderbilt and they were in the game to a certain extent with Alabama. Maybe not so much on the scores closer maybe than that game was, but when you think about the fact that they also were able to beat A&M, they were able to beat Kentucky. I don't know, I thought that like we said last year that they were the best bad team in college football. And it looks like to me that he has done a pretty good job of addressing the issues. I think that they're gonna have a pretty explosive offensive, their quarterback, whoever they land on. I think it'll be Jackson Arnold, but whoever they land on has a good year.

Now, there's a lot to unpack about the past because when you do say it out loud, it is pretty crazy to think that Auburn went four years without signing a top 25 class like in that con. That's not true that's the thing that that that is not true at all they actually the four years he's talking about they had a top 25 class every year. Did they really? Yes that's the part that made people so mad was that is just not true. I thought that they went a few years without even like recruiting high end or five star players. Well, no, they had bad classes for the SEC under Harson, but not like a number 19 class

means you're like number 11 in the SEC. But he's not wrong. Their talent level was not anywhere near where it's not. But this is the transfer portal era and you don't get to whine about that in year three. If I'm going to plan a clobber. This brings me to the next point is that Hugh Frees made the decision on his own to not overpay

a transfer quarterback last year. And quarterback turned out to be the biggest weakness on their roster. So like to a certain extent, yeah, you inherited a team that expects to compete for a national championship and was nowhere near that talent wise, whether it was, however he phrased it, that happens to me all the time. I'll say something and then somebody will go, well, actually, but it's like what he's trying to say is true, which is he inherited a team that didn't have any good players on it.

But don't, don't, don't use easily looked up facts if you're going to use them wrong. Yeah. I think he probably cause then people think you're just lying. But like, here's the thing, Andy, I didn't want to go back and look it up. You did. And I guess that's what happens if you lie and you don't look it up. But like,

I thought that sounded reasonable. Like from what I remember when I was like covering Auburn recruiting at the athletic, like, and I was doing this this piece every week called this week in recruiting, where I kind of, you know, did a every Wednesday, a whole like overview of what happened in the previous week in recruiting, like Auburn for two years, like was not even in it. Like they weren't even like Brian Harson did not attempt to recruit the way you're supposed to recruit as Auburn for two years like was not even in it like they weren't even like. No, because Brian Harson did not attempt to recruit the way you're supposed to recruit as Auburn's head coach. So hearing that they even had a top 25 class now sounds bizarre to me because they weren't recruiting at that level. So but but at the same time, he could have done himself a huge favor by using the portal in his first offseason in a way that he did not do. huge favor by using the portal in his first off season in a way that he did not do. And he had a, there are quotes on him. We wrote about this last year saying, well, I'm not overpaying for a quarterback.

It's like, are you sure about that? You like, are you sure that's the right? And then it turned out that it was the wrong decision. Yeah. And it's funny because the overpaying for a quarterback, like last, so the, the quarterback market went up so much this year because rev shares coming in, the whole pay scale for everybody went up.

Like we're talking about not paying 1.5 million for somebody. Like what would two more wins have been worth to Auburn last year? More than 1.5 million guaranteed. But I also think too that like they're up there at seven and a half, which seems like a low number, but I think that's probably a pretty like I think if they go eight and four this year, then that might be in line with how I view them.

I know we have them like fringe top 10, but then at the same time too, like I just feel like it's impossible for everybody to reverse. Here's the thing. If you're eight and four with Auburn schedule and you're close in a couple of your tough games, then you're probably actually fairly close to the playoff. It's early. I'm going to that that Baylor game the Friday night, August 29. Like I like that is a good game. Oh, that is a very underrated interesting

good game. It says the 30th on the graphic. It says the 29th online. I don't know what it's on Friday. We gotta fix that. It's on it's a friend. I'm going to that because I've never been to a game. Are you gonna get to Columbus at noon the next day? Is it the no it's like early.

Oh, it's the 30th. God, no, I don't know. Yeah, Friday. See, you're getting confused. Most of the time Saturday comes right after Friday. Oh no, I thought that the Friday, I thought the Saturday was the 31st for some reason. Yeah, no, no, no, that's okay. But so maybe I won't go. But I think we're going to find out a lot about we'll find out a lot about both of those teams. Because I think that there's some

sneaky Baylor hype before the year. Oh, if Auburn goes on the road and beats Baylor in week one, then you might be setting the table for a pretty successful season. Cause if you look at their schedule, they have Baylor ball state, south Alabama. If they go three and Oh, in the non-conference, then I think that they could probably, I don't know, they got a pretty brutal schedule. I don't know how closely you've looked at this one, but at Oklahoma, at Texas A&M in Georgia to open up the SEC is kind of a tough three games.

They got to win the Baylor game. I think to go over they got to win the Baylor game. Yeah. Then they got. I also think they can they can beat it like they beat A&M last year. They beat A&M again. What the Oklahoma game is a big swing game for both teams. Yeah, here's the story in Alabama at home. Here's the stretch that's going to tell you everything you need to know.

Mizzou, Arkansas, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Mercer. I think that it's very, very likely or very possible for them to go 5-0 in that stretch. So if they go 3-0 in the non-conference and 5-0 in that stretch, then that's the Auburn team I'm expecting. I don't know if I'm expecting them to beat A&M on the road, although I think it's possible that they do. We don't know exactly what Oklahoma is going to be, but I'm drinking him to beat A&M on the road, although I think it's possible that they do. We don't know exactly what Oklahoma is gonna be, but I'm drinking Oklahoma off season tea. I think they're gonna be much better than people think they're gonna be.

But I do think that they've got a pretty manageable schedule in terms of that five game chunk right in the middle of October into the late November. And then who knows about the Alabama game? That game's weird. So- So, civilian development group, which maybe Hugh Freeze's burner, I don't get the Freeze backlash about the Alabama game, you know, that game's weird. So, so civilian development group, which may be a few freezes

burner, I don't get the freeze backlash outside of young immature emotional idiots who take soundbites. Are we young? That's nice. We're old. I'm young. Justin hokison from our Auburn live site at on three, he took quite a bit of offense to this. And it was interesting reading the debate on the message boards at Auburn live cited on three he took quite a bit of offense to this and it was interesting reading the debate on the message boards at Auburn live because. We need to like it it I don't say I don't think it's split 5050. I think a lot of the fans agreed with Justin on this like you don't need to poor mouth here because you were fairly close in a lot of games last year and last year's over,

and you did a lot of the things that you need to do to correct that. And you did really the things you need to do to have a competitive roster now. And and and he freeze has been doing that since he got there other than the quarterback decision last offseason. There's no need to poor mouth here. Just say we expect to compete for championships and leave it at that. Yeah, that is the expectation at Auburn.

Well, the thing that I'm afraid of here, Andy. Is that he is setting the expectation for us? Like he is telling us we need to make it to a bowl game, because maybe in his own mind he doesn't think that this is a 10 win team. You know how sometimes coaches will give away little little Easter eggs in the off season to tell you how they're feeling without actually coming out and saying it. And I thought that him that might have been a reattempt at at redefining what he believes. Let me let me throw this out there. He does not need to be managing expectations in this way. And I get that he maybe he thinks that they're not that good and

he'd be pleasantly surprised if they were but Auburn fans are not gonna be happy with six and six. They're probably not being happy with seven and five. The six and six get him fired. That's what I was about to get to. He's the cheapest SDC coach who isn't like everybody's so happy with him. He's the cheapest one to fire. I guess buyouts 14 something at the end of this year. Yeah, everybody else is more expensive to fire because everybody else venables, maybe all of them more stoops way more expensive.

Okay. So this is a podcast. Let's get to the uncomfortable conversation. Okay. Um, the uncomfortable conversation here is does Hugh Francis history make his leash shorter or does he have a clean sec coach slate? His history makes his leash shorter because they gave him a lower buyout. He doesn't know. As you go into that experiment saying we take on the baggage, but we better win and we're not.

We're not doing the baggage thing. If we're not winning like he didn't get a giant buyout because of his history, therefore I understand that. But what I'm saying is is does Auburn pull the cord faster because they don't have a. Obviously the financial thing is the financial thing. Everybody wishes they could get out easier. Does Auburn pull the cord faster because they don't have a? Obviously the financial thing is the financial thing. Everybody wishes they could get out easier financially, but I'm saying do you think they're more likely to fire him sooner as a result of

his history? I think they're more likely to fire him sooner because it's cheaper. Because here's the conundrum that I have and they made it cheaper because of his history. Yeah, I I don't. I guess it's semantics here. I'm trying to say, does he come into his Auburn tenure with a shorter on-ramp to success than he otherwise would have?

Is it only just a financial thing? I don't think so. I think you take a job like Auburn and it is a tough job and the demands are high and you have to satisfy those demands or they will fire you regardless of your history. The fact of the matter is they've made it easier to fire him because of his history because he didn't have a huge buyout because he didn't have as much leverage going in. So it's all interrelated but the fact of the

matter is... I've been trying to get this out, I need to say it. He seems to be doing everything right off the field to get them where they need to be. So you and I have always had this debate in this new era of Transfer Portal of how long do you get, but I feel like if you're an Auburn fan and you lived through the Harsin years and then you see the way that he's accumulated talent which has been quite well. If he affords himself another year after this even if it doesn't go that well because that will give him a chance to stack three consecutive recruiting classes in the top 10 that also

you know coincides with a pretty good well that's what he's trying to say so you you've apparent did you write his talking points for him. No no but this is how I feel. I have a hard time because I think he has a bad history and I think they've lost a lot of games that they wouldn't have lost if it wasn't for his decision-making like so I think that there's a negative aspect on the other side. You have a lot of things that are like we're headed in the right direction. It's like if you're on a road trip and you're kind of lost, but you no you're headed in the right direction do you just turn around like because turning around messes it all up if you're set if you're seven and five but competitive in the losses then I don't think he's getting fired over that. I believe that six and six might not be good enough though. Just going

to bowl game might not be good enough. I truly believe that Auburn if they stick with him will have a good year in the next three years. Like I think that you're gonna have a good year this year. I do too. Because like here's the thing. A lot of times people's reputations also distract you from the fact that he's a very good football coach. Right? Like we agree on that. Like do you think that he's a good coach? I think he knows that he's a very good football coach, right? Like we agree on that. Like do you think that he's a really good coach? I think he knows that.

Yes, he put together good teams at Ole Miss, good teams at Liberty. Yes, so I know what he's doing. Maybe that's why you and I are drinking the tea a little bit this off season. I actually think that nine wins is on the table here. But I think even more than nine wins is on the table. This is an odd year, which means they get Alabama George at home. Like they can be a very competitive team at the top of the sport. This is not a charity case here. Like Auburn can be really good. sets up. It's not brutal. But. It's difficult so.

Yeah, I'm I'm like this. This is the thing that this is the emotion that you freeze draws out of me. I get very conflicted because I think that he says things that he shouldn't say and I think that he acts in a way that he shouldn't act at times. Like last year I thought that his his

repeated decisions to throw the quarterback under the bus when he was the one who trotted them out there and knew what he was doing, I thought was absolutely asinine. I also don't love what he just said with the clip that we just played, but at the same time too, I like the ingredients of what he's putting together there.

And I really don't know how to feel about the guy. Yeah, I don't either. And he's been like this since Ole Miss. Like he says stuff that he probably shouldn't say. But the fact of the matter is he has done what he needs to do to build this roster to a point where it's competitive. And I got all over Lincoln Riley last year. I got all over Billy Napier last year because you don't

get to make excuses in year three in the transfer portal era about your roster you don't get to say the guy before me sucked and This roster is no good. Yeah, that's what they were doing before they went seven and five in year three and the other Now Andy is that he He said that another Top ten class which would be three in a row would make his roster look more complete which in 2017 was exactly true but mm-hmm I don't know if that's true now like how many recruiting classes of your own do you need for your roster to look complete in 2025 like I think that

the distance to that is shorter than three years. So by the way, if you're watching on Twitter right now, we got more win totals to talk about. There's a lot of seven and a halfs that we just we have to get into the entire big 12. Join us on YouTube and we will talk more when totals. We're not done with this Auburn conversation yet, though. Join us on YouTube. Hop in the chat. The chat is amazing. It. Join us on YouTube, hop in the chat.

The chat is amazing. It's more fun on YouTube than it is on Twitter. So the link is just below the one you're watching on Twitter. So let's all come on over to YouTube and we're gonna watch on YouTube. All right. So here's the thing, seven and a half for Auburn.

It's not easy to go over this. That said, I think they have done the things they need to do to have the roster to be competitive now. Because like you said, back in 2017, what Hugh Free said about building the roster, needing to have another full recruiting class would have been completely right. This roster that Auburn has,

while not perfect, is one of the better ones in the country. Because it is very difficult to stack top 10 recruiting classes and have everybody stick around. So this might be as good as you can get right now in this era of college football. Are you talking to me? He's done a good job building it. Yeah, I think he's done a really good job building it and you and I have always clashed about process first results and like I guess just in the SEC results have to come fast even if process is good. Whereas like I've always like even like back in like 2010 to 20, like I was very fixated on process

and results in the process. And I think that his process has been very, very good. But if he stinks this year or his team goes six and six, then I guess the results of the season have to take precedent over the process, even though the process has been good. The thing is at that level, and this is like, this is the highest level.

If you want to win at Auburn, if you want to be successful at Auburn, because Auburn, they expect national championships. They won national championships. They won a national championship this century. They played for another one three years later. They went undefeated in 2004. So it's not like this is a program that never gets there. Like Auburn can do this,

but to do this, you got to do both. You can't just stack talent. You have to be able to coach it on the field once you get there. So it's a hard job. It's not saying if you get fired from Auburn, that you're a failure of a coach and you're terrible coach and don't know what you're doing. Gus Malzahn was a good coach. Brian Harson has been a good college coach. You freeze. We know he's been a good college coach. So it's just, it's the expert level Heisman level, whatever we're calling the difficulty level. It is the highest difficulty level and not everybody's

going to be stressful at that. Yeah, what's interesting about Auburn to me is always that you don't have to be in the national championship conversation every year, which is what I think is the expert Heisman level. I think it's a rung below it, but I think you have to be able to be in that conversation once every four years. Like if Auburn has got a badass ass team that could win a national title once every four to five years, is that enough?

Like if they have. Yes, I think that I think that works. You've been more like this than any of the other elite. They are the SEC Shorts Auburn roller coaster is probably the most true thing. SEC Shorts has ever done like the Auburn fan experience is, you know, these incredible highs and these super low lows. But I just I like this team. Like, Kendrick Fogg is the best defensive players in the country. The offensive line coming back is better than what we're used to seeing at Auburn over the last 10 years.

Like, second best receiving core in the country. There's so many things to like about this team. Second best receiving core in the country. Second best receiving core in the country. I don't know if I'm ready to go there yet, but I love the duo of cam Coleman and Eric Singleton jr because I think you saw cam Coleman coming into his own at the end of last season. The Texas A&M game was a good good example of that, but also Eric Singleton jr didn't have that help at Georgia Tech that he's going to have with Cam Coleman on the outside.

So you know, both those guys together, like that'll make the quarterback play better. Andy Cam Coleman will be a top three receiver in college football this year. Okay, he didn't just quit. He is he is. We kind of know who the other two are going to be. So that's recruiting class. Cam Coleman was a little bit later to the party, but this year he arrives. He is a stud muffin. Is that a weird thing to say?

He's a stud. No, he's fantastic. I mean, look, those videos we were playing during his recruitment of some of the things he could do were just obscene and again, you saw that toward the end of last season, you saw it manifest itself on the field. So frankly, they're fortunate to have them still. After how last year Ryan and chat says, do you have to see how hunters replace it running back? Not really. Like they'll have a good running back. Auburn's going to have a good running game. Not worried about that. Yeah, they ran the ball really well last year and their offensive

line was mid. I thought. I it was better than most Auburn offensive lines at that. That has been a very weak point for this program for a while and I think it was better than than expected. So again, I'm very high on this team. I think they could be a fringe playoff contender. I say over on the seven and a half because even if you're 8 and four, you're going to cash this ticket. It's not going to be as good as I'm predicting, but

you are still still good enough to cash your ticket. So I just picture me and you at one of my old Tinder date spots on Friday night. August 29th and you and I just watching this game puts a few shackles on it and just get ready for the are are we going live after the Sawyer Robertson Jackson Arnold matchup or not?

I think we have to, don't we? Live from Columbus High Street. We can set up my old apartment. We'll go knock on the door. Exactly. First time I ever did a podcast was in that living room. It's a Lady's Song.

Yeah. Broken to the old apartment to go live on YouTube. Yeah, let's get effort in Columbus on Friday night. That'll be fun. I, I am excited for that game. Now here's the thing. I kind of think Auburn has to win that game to hit this over. So I may, I may do the thing of, of just bailing on a team in week one, which is always stupid, but that may be me. I don't know what the way to early spread on this one is,

but I think Auburn is gonna, I mean, like, I don't know, but let's get into the other win totals. Baylor's an interesting thing that you're- What other seven and a half win total would you like to discuss? Cause there's so many seven and a half. I just want to start on the big 12 and just like look at it and just not say anything for five minutes

while everybody internalizes how much of a disaster this conference can we pull out our three and a half point coin what is that i don't i didn't like study all of them but like how how often is it where there are there's a variation of four win totals for an entire conference it's amazing and how often is is the top only three different than the bottom? Three games separated. I don't know. Pull up another one, River. I just want to just compare that. Yeah, in the ACC. Six games difference in the ACC. Yeah, let's see the SEC. Six games difference. Big 10. Seven games difference. Yeah.

Yeah. Wow. But I think that that like is interesting because I actually had BYU as my big 12 favorite going into the year. I do worry a little bit about their defensive line and you know, they've got some holes to fill. But I like that team a lot. How you would handicap because like Utah too is a very undervalued team. Can we talk about Utah? Sure. Let's talk about Utah right now. I do want to talk about Utah. Do we need to be the podcast that actually prepares its audience for Devon Dan Peir?

I want to plant the flag now for Utah over seven and a half. Can we just plant the flag? We're a Utah over seven and a half. I just, can we just plant the flag? We're a Utah over seven and a half podcast because Devon Dampier gives them an element at quarterback that they haven't had since they last had a healthy camera rising. The last time they had a healthy camera rising was the 2022 season.

Think about that. Think about that. And really what we're asking here is do you trust? Yeah, I know that was exactly. But do you trust Kyle Whittingham? And I think I think last season was a complete anomaly. Their quarterback situation really was messed up from the injury to camera rising on, which was the Rose Bowl after the 2022 season. So the 23 and 24 seasons got mucked up because the injury to Cam Rising on, which was the Rose Bowl after the 2022 season.

So the 23 and 24 seasons got mucked up because I don't, in 23 I think they knew they weren't gonna have Rising, but they kept trying to act like he might show up. That didn't make any sense. And then 24, they thought they had him back, he gets hurt, and then you're just scrambling. This feels like now they know what they've got offensively. They've got Spencer Faneu, who's one of the best offensive tackles in the

country, like probably a first-round draft pick. Devin Dampierre, I realize he's leveling up competition-wise, but the support around him is going to be spectacular. I just want people to go watch his highlight tape from last year It's crazy, oh wait, I've got a win totals column coming out at on three and I definitely Pasted a Devon dampier highlight video in there. Okay, you started writing it yet Yeah, okay. I want to know like your so you like this is interesting. I want you to plant your flag again. I want to know what like which ones really moved you. I have another one to to plant the flag on. Let's finish talking about Utah in the Big 12. We can plan it. We can plan a flag later too. You're looking at.

Seven different teams that could conceivably win the conference on the left side here. Um? different teams that could conceivably win the conference on the left side here. Um, and if I look at the quarterbacks and the TCU six and a half, I feel like is a little low too. If TCU goes into Chapel Hill, beats North Carolina to start this season. This is, this is tough.

Yeah. Because here's the thing. Let's, let's just go by returning starting quarterbacks that everybody's very comfortable with and likes Sam Levitt at Arizona state. Obviously Avery Johnson at Kansas state, Baron Morton at Texas tech. Now Baron Morton's numbers, probably the least of the guys we're talking about here. Jake Retzliff at B Tech. Now, Baron Morton's number is probably the least of the guys we're talking about here. Jake Retzliff at BYU, everybody loves him. Soyer Robertson at Baylor, everybody loves him. Rocco Beck at Iowa State, everybody loves him. Jalen Daniels at Kansas, everybody

loves him. Josh Hoover at TCU, everybody loves him. I mean, come on. Tennessee really loved him. Yes, it did. Good race. Yeah did you say Caden Salter? I didn't mention Caden Salter and I didn't mention Devon Dampier because they're coming from other places but what about Noah? Yeah how about Noah? How about Connor Wegman at Houston? There's a lot of there's a lot of I also too I don't know if he's gonna be the starting quarterback But the house Haiti kid at Oklahoma State I saw at a camp or two during his senior year

And I wrote an entire column about how if he were a little bit taller He'd be a five-star player and I compared him to like why does the star ratings? And why do heights matter so much for the star ratings of who's gonna be a really good college player. Oh, well our guy Cody Biller would tell you they don't matter as much anymore. Well, they mattered in his, because he was a three star, and he ended up committing to TCU out of the gate

and then transferred to Oklahoma State. I wanna tell you, I thought he was gonna be a star at TCU. I don't know exactly what happened that caused him to leave, because his family's a TCU family, but I'm on high alert to be a star at TCU. I don't know exactly what happened that caused him to leave because his family is a TCU family, but I'm on high alert to watch this kid because I've been excited to see him play because I think he's going to be a college football dog.

I don't know if he'll be an NFL player because of height restrictions, but I think that he's a very fast, smart kid with a big arm. And Oklahoma State too at five and a half means that they're probably going to win nine games because that's how they usually go. Exactly, exactly. when everybody doubts Gundy, that's when he wins 10. So, oh, by the way, Brendan Soresby at Cincinnati, as we mentioned, are returning QBs who like Cincinnati is expected to be better that that'll be Thursday night opener against Nebraska and Kansas City will be an interesting one for Cincinnati and for Nebraska. So because remember it's a mostly revamped Nebraska defense and

Cincinnati does bring back Sworsby. I cannot wait for this season, man. It's like doing this is just killing me. This is the deepest year at quarterback I think we've had in a decade in terms of quarterback talent spread out starting at all these places like so at TCU makes you want to turn the TV on Devin Danpere at Utah makes you want to turn the TV on if Jaylen Daniels can stay healthy Kansas. I mean everybody has a quarterback that makes you want to turn the TV on. So if we go down the left side of that list, everybody's seven and a half or eight and a half in the big 12. Safe to say that half

those will go over and half those will go under. I think that's how the math usually shakes out. That's terrifying. Because I have no idea. Like, like the Utah one is the only one I feel confident in. And we only want to play each other. They're all going to be in games that are decided by three points. So in my Utah pick though kind of needs them to beat Nico in UCLA in the non conference. Yeah. Well, I mean, like the thing about it is, is it's like which team on that list do you think

actually is income in a game that decides whether they go to the big 12 championship. There's I bet you there's a team. I mean if I had to I don't know if I would bet on this because it's such a deep and crazy conference but like I would you be surprised if a team from the right side of this was in the big 12 championship game not one does not like let's say Cain Salters awesome at Colorado or Josh Hoover has great year at TCU now I wouldn't be shocked at Arizona State was picked to finish last last year

and they won the conference. So here's what I, this is why, I'm gonna go back to my Utah flag planting because I think the teams that came from the Pac-12 have a little bit of an advantage roster wise over the ones that were already in the Big 12. Like Utah was building rosters to win a pack 12 that included Washington and USC and Oregon.

And did, like did win the pack 12 in 21 and 22. So they're still in the trenches built to win a tougher league. And I think that's what makes me so confident about them. Yeah. Not to mention that they've just been a consistent winner throughout Kyle Winningham's entire career. And I don't know, again, if you get wrapped up with the results from the previous year,

and then that's all you can see. But if you zoom out a little bit, like the ingredients, electric quarterback, best offensive tackle in college football potentially is a pretty good starting point for a team in this conference. It will, yeah, absolutely. I'm just, I'm so interested to see like that UCLA game. I cannot wait to see that game.

And, you know, Utah, look, there are no easy big 12 schedules. But this is probably the hardest one. Yeah, because they play Texas Tech, Arizona State, VYU and Baylor and Kansas State and Kansas. Yeah, and Arizona State, Kansas State.

In tech or at home, so that kind of helps a little bit, but for sure the thing that I think is interesting about this entire conference is that there's a team on the left side that we have a lot of expectations for roster-wise and we're not sure or 100% positive that it's going to come together. Like Texas Tech and what they are is going to go a long way in determining

who hits their win totals and who is competing for the conference championship game. But I also think too that Utah very much can muck this thing up. I think Utah can. I think. I think they all can because BYU look how close they were and I realized they lost some people like they lost Keelan Marion in Miami in the spring portal, but they still bring back quite a bit from a team that was right there. Baylor was right there. Baylor and TCU finished last season hot. So I just, this race is going to be wild. Yeah. Also Rocco Becht, like last we saw Rocco Becht, he was, he was winning the pop tarts bowl against Miami. Like we talked about him. Could he, could he be one

that potentially tried to go to another school, but he stays at Iowa State? And look, when Matt Campbell's got a quarterback he likes, they're good. They're consistently good. Yeah. It's just a truly insane conference, that's all this is. Just like an insane conference. Let's move to the Big 10. I want to look at the Big 10, the 7 and 1 halfs in the Big 10. Because the one that jumps out to me is the team that you and I both have ranked in the top 10 in our post spring top 25.

And that's Illinois. So there are 7 and 1 half. One of us is wrong. Vegas is wrong or me and Ari are wrong. Ari, why are we right? Me and you are wrong and a lot of people that are in our position would be wrong. We're not the only two banging the Illinois drum here. Illinois is ranked in every preseason way too early poll that I've seen. No? I would say yes. They're they're ranked in

the top 15 probably in almost all of them. So that seems a little off to me. Is this your second flag plant? I am I I have another flag plant and it's in the ACC but okay. I feel good about this one though. I I feel very good about Illinois and I'll tell you why. I think their Big 10 schedules easier than last year. Last year they they actually lost the hardest games they played in the Big 10 Oregon, Penn State, Minnesota. They beat Michigan, but that was at a point when Michigan

couldn't complete a Ford Pass, so I'm not counting that one. This year they do have to play Ohio State. They're at Indiana. They play USC, but they could lose all of those games and still go eight and four. So you still cash the over on this thing. Well, here's the thing that is probably the reason why it's not eight and a half,

is they have Duke on the road in the non-conference. And I think that- And Washington's on the road too, which could be tough. I think people are overlooking that that's a coin flip game. Right. Right. That's going to be a hard game. That's a coin flip game and like Indiana and USC are also coin flip games.

Like the Indiana USC Ohio State, those that trio of games, like there's a world where Illinois goes two and one. Yeah. Well, Illinois actually had a coin flip game last year in the non conference and won it. They beat Kansas Kansas, which was, you know, part of the reason why they were able to get to where they got. You know, getting the 10 wins is a nice little season there. But like, here's the thing that I want to

ask you. And I know that this has been like a ongoing debate in college football since the beginning of time, but how much stock do you put in Illinois beating South Carolina in that contentious bowl game? And like if you're going to bring me something, no, but like if you think that means something because they they bring back everybody. How much do you put in that? Because South Carolina is a very Luke Altmeyer, Gabe

Hockus, Xavier Scott, JC Davis, they bring them all back. So as far as the South Carolina game goes, here's how I look at that. South Carolina, which also has some really good young players who are coming back, obviously, the Norris Sellers, Dylan Stewart, Josiah Thompson, like they've got elite young talent on that on that South Carolina team. South Carolina was mostly full strength. Illinois was mostly full strength. Both teams were clearly trying in that game. And Illinois won it. And now South Carolina had a chance to score at the end. So it was a close game, but I thought Illinois. Beat them pretty well in the trenches and South Carolina has really good players in the trenches.

Right as good as most of the teams in Illinois is going to see the Big 10. Yeah, go high states better, but not many of the other Big 10 teams are. but not many of the other big 10 teams are. I I buy I I don't always just discount bowl games. Yeah, I think they have used to take him individually and look at how. You know how how both teams approached the game and I would say both teams approach this game saying this is going to be

the springboard the next season. We're going to bring back all this talent. We're going to. We're going to bring back all this talent. We're going to we're going to win this thing. And yeah, the two coaches almost getting a fight during the game kind of tells you that also Illinois went out and got West Virginia's leading receiver on the portal to that Hudson Clement. They man they needed to because they lost their best receiver. Yeah, so I mean like he yeah, I think that if you put stock in last year and the fact that they were a very

tough team, a very tough team, a very good team, that brings back just about everybody beat South Carolina in a bowl game and has a pretty favorable schedule to get to nine wins. I think that there's a lot there. I don't know, like everybody- They only got to win eight to cash this sucker. Like we don't even have to be right

with our preseason predictions. Illinois could finish this season number 22 at eight and four and this ticket cashes. Andy, I just, they're editing it right now. I don't know if it's going up today or tomorrow, but I did a re, a second attempt, a rehashing of the CFP bracket for the coming year. The 2025 CFP bracket, this coming season.

Illinois is in it, bud. I mean, the schedule sets up nicely for them. I think, I think they have to beat Indiana and USC. I think they have to win those two games. But the schedule sets up for them. If they beat Duke on the road and Duke turns out to be a team similar to what they were last year, and Duke was phantom Lee the most great non conference win. Yeah, it'll be a good conference non-conference win for them if they're able to beat Indiana and USC, which isn't a given ever for Illinois, but I think is very possible, especially considering the fact that USC is at home. They play Ohio State much like they did with Indiana, like the way that Ohio State played Indiana last year, which is still on the table. Although Ohio State isn't the juggernaut that it was a year ago, though still very good. I don't know that there's a game.

At Washington's, one I worry about. I think Washington's going to be really good. I loved them on Williams. And Washington was really good at home last year. Like, they didn't play well on the road, but Washington was really good in Seattle. But if you're putting them in the top 10, Andy, and you've done that, you think that they're a better football team in Washington, right? I do.

I do. I think they're going to probably be favored in that game. You know, I think that they could make the playoff this year at 10 and two with a win over Duke. I think they can make the playoff as a nine or a 10 seed at the same way Indiana did now. I think that a lot like the thing that I struggle with with the playoff projection is how weird the SEC was a year ago and how.

Teams like Illinois might be beholden to how things shake out in other conferences in terms of who the final three spots are but I think Illinois has a good enough team to put itself in a position to to have a very Indiana like season I don't know if I'm gonna say that they're this year's Indiana because we all believe that because they won 10 games last year like they're not surprising anybody when it only shows up this year. Everybody's gonna be strapping up like I'm not comparing they're not catching anybody like Indiana caught people by surprise at the beginning of the season last year. Yeah, I'm not. I'm not talking about catching them by surprise. I just mean having an Indiana like results on their schedule. I just mean having an Indiana like results on their schedule. Like if they go 11 and one or lose to Ohio State and not so close game, but beat everybody else, that will probably be good enough for them to get in. And I think that it's certainly possible that they improve. Now the hardest part with Illinois is that last year, their season was very, very good and it broke in the right direction in a lot of ways. It has to happen again.

And sometimes you think, well, they did lot of ways, it has to happen again. And like sometimes like you think, well, they did it last year, they'll do it again. But it's like, are we a hundred percent sure that they're going to beat Washington? Are we a hundred percent sure that they're not gonna lose a weird game you know, on to Maryland at home? Like they didn't lose games

they weren't supposed to lose last year and they have to do that again. And that's difficult for people. Well, but now here's the thing. Brett Bielema has dealt with this before. We've seen Brett Bielema as a coach at Wisconsin dealing with this sort of expectations, this type. I mean, very similar to this.

Not a national championship expectation, but a pretty good in the Big Ten expectation. And I think he knows how to handle that part. It reminds me of that mailbag question we got a few weeks ago about if you want to give teams credit for close losses, then you have to like acknowledge that they won. Right, for the close wins.

If you go back and you remember the way that Illinois schedule worked out, the Kansas game was a coin flip. They were my sticks. They beat Nebraska on the road in that overtime game by a possession. Then they lost to Penn State. Then they beat Purdue in a crazy 50 to 49 overtime game that they could have lost. They handled Michigan pretty good.

Then they lost back to back games against Oregon and Minnesota. And then they beat Rutgers by seven and Northwestern by 10 at the end of the year. So it's not like they blew through the schedule without having any hard games. What happened was is that the ball bounced their way in close games. And I think that the one thing that gives me pause

about Illinois being a team that goes to the playoff is that the regression to the mean doesn't happen. And in those close contested big 10 games that you're not really seeing coming at the moment that they don't actually win. Does Barry Odom make Purdue that much better and make them a tough, you know? Yeah, but when that jumps up and surprises you. But the thing is that Illinois has better teams than like, I just can't guarantee and like no one can, that they're

going to beat Maryland or that they're going to win. They're not going to lose a weird game in the big 10 that you don't see coming. It's so easy to like isolate a schedule and give a team credit for wins and then to say, well, they have to, you know, not lose to, you know, USC in Indiana and they'll be fine. It's like, okay, but there will be a day in November where we're watching an Illinois game and they're losing to, you know, Maryland or they're losing to someone else in the third quarter. And you go, oh, well, what's going on here? They also have to go on the road at Wisconsin.

That's how do we mess this up in the preseason? Yeah, I know. So, you know, I think that like, I feel really good about my way to really playoff projection. But if there's one team that I'm like kind of nervous about, it's Illinois. Because if we're wrong about this,

there's a chance we could be very wrong. Yeah, I feel better about the over 7 and 1 half than I do with the playoff projection. Because I still get two more games to play with there. Yeah. I think like eight and four, I'm not that worried about 8 and 4 is a disappointment, right? 8 and 4 is a disappointing season for them this year. Yes, so if the overs a disappointment,

that's usually a pretty good benchmark. I think that's exactly now. Can I plan another flag? Yes, I've been waiting for this. Let's move to the ACC River. Okay, let's look at the bottom of the ACC. Not all the way to the bottom, but most of the way to the bottom. So Stanford just fired its coach.

They're in a tough spot. That's at the very bottom of three and a half. Next up is Wake Forest. Wake Forest changed coaches. Dave Claussen retired, resigned, retired. I don't know what we're calling it, but Claussen's still working at Wake Forest. Jake Dickert comes in from Washington State. Now it's interesting because you have Syracuse at five and a half where they lost some talent off a really good team last year. And their schedule flips from one of the hardest in the country to, excuse me, one of the easiest in the country last year

to one of the hardest in the country this year. So that makes sense. Wake Forest sitting there at four and a half doesn't make as much sense and I'll tell you why. So Wake Forest remember played Ole Miss in the non-conference last year and then, well actually I think they were already in the process of bailing on the return date. So they cancel the return date against Ole Miss. They do not have to go to Oxford this year. I believe they replaced that game with Delaware.

That's why they're playing Delaware late in the season. So their non-conference this year is Kennesaw State, Western Carolina. Delaware. in Carolina. Delaware. And then I believe I'm trying to think I believe their North Carolina game is a non conference game. I don't think that's a an ACC game. Because they will schedule North Carolina as a non conference game, just to play them. Because they didn't, you know, in back in the divisional days, they didn't play them in the rotation.

Right. So like, but let's say you go, your total is four and a half. So let's say you beat Kennesaw State, Western Carolina and Delaware. Let's say you go three and oh in those games, you've got to cobble together two wins out of the rest of that schedule. Oh, I'm sorry. Oregon State's the other sorry. Oregon State is their other non-conference game. What am I thinking? Oregon State is the other non-conference game. I'm not giving them a gimme on that one. But if they did go 4-0 in the non-conference, then obviously you just got to win one conference game to go over.

I'm saying they go 3-3-1 in the non-conference, and you have to cobble together two wins against NC State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, SMU, Florida State, Virginia, North Carolina and Duke. It's not the easiest ACC schedule, but I think you can go two and six against that schedule. Oh man. I don't know if I'm planting a flag on this, Andy. No, they beat what they beat NC State last year. NC State lost their defensive coordinator, Tony Gibson.

We don't know what North Carolina is going to be. Jake Dicker imported most of an offensive line from, from Washington State, so that's the, they're building around like, it's not like you even have to have, you know, go recruit and experience often, they already have one. So like, I don't know. I'm telling you. I think you can go two and six or let's say they beat Oregon State and they're 4-0 in the non-conference. You just gotta win one in the ACC.

Georgia Tech's gonna be good. NC State's early on in the season. At Virginia Tech's a tough place to play. SMU is gonna be good, which I don't think Virginia Tech's gonna be that good though. Yeah, I don't know what Virginia is going to be. You only got to win two of these and that's it. You lose to Oregon State in Corvallis. All right, well, Robbie Ashford, by the way. Robbie Ashford blast from the past Oregon, Auburn, South Carolina, and awake forest. That's your that's your QB one right there. Yeah.

Um, they also got the Sean Sean Purdy from Charlotte. Can I ask you another one in the ACC? Yeah. Florida State. Yeah. Seven and a half. I don't want to touch Florida State. I know, but like isn't it kind of funny? Because I don't know what they are! I have no clue what they are!

Let's go to the SEC. We haven't... Yeah, I just feel like you put Florida State at seven and a half because you don't know what to do with them. Yeah, I have no clue what to do with them. I wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole. South Carolina in the SEC at 7 and 1 half, that's another one where the preseason hype machine is either going to be like preseason hype machine in Vegas or not operating here. This is one of those where we said this would be a disappointing season if they go over, which feels like a good benchmark, but They played they play Clemson in the non-conference I'm not like I am not they play Virginia Tech. I'm not that worried about that one

But Clemson can beat them for sure The question is how does South Carolina do against this schedule, which is very difficult in SEC play? Can I plant the flag? Plant the flag, Ari. LSU, eight and a half is too low, guys. They're going to the playoff this year. They're going to the playoff this year.

Like, I don't know. They may be under eight and a half. The margins are so thin for LSU. I think LSU is going to playoff this year. Like I don't know. They may be under eight and a half. The margins are so thin for LSU. I think LSU is going to be good. I think they're going to be very good. I think that like, Here's the thing. There are a couple of bounces different

between going to the playoff and not cashing the over here. Yeah. I mean, here's the thing too, because like Vegas has Florida at six and a half, which is like, makes your brain hurt. We spent all year pounding two teams. I've pounded the drum for unless DJ language gets hurt, then you're screwed. Then it's under way and Florida and John Matier at Oklahoma are six and a half.

And they're sitting behind teams like Mizzou and South Carolina and Auburn and Auburn's another team that we've been excited about. But like you're telling me that LSU and Tennessee are the same this year. Hold on. Let me let me answer Sharice in the chat. Sharice says, does anyone even care about Wake Forest? Yes. People want to win money. They care about numbers that are that are off kilter. That number does not take into account that they got rid of the Ole Miss game. And my hope is that on this show that They care about numbers that are off kilter. That number does not take into account that they got rid of the Ole Miss game.

And my hope is that on this show that people are watching, you care about everybody. That's the point of the National College Football Show. Yes. It's like we get too much crap talking about Georgia too much and then we get crap for talking about Wake Forest. It's just like, I don't know what to do.

I don't know how to make people happy. But LSU has going to be a what? Either way, a two point favorite or a two point dog on the road against Clemson who I have a team that that might play for a national championship this year, right? LSU does not have to win the Clemson game to go to the playoff. But you're also already putting Clemson and LSU on like the same

sphere. So like at the very least, Clemson is a nine and a half. And their conference schedule is infinitely easier than LSU's. No, I know, but I think that we all agree that Clemson is going to make the playoffs this year, right? Like, is that not a that's a that's just a given.

I think it would be very shocking if they didn't. OK, let's just do LSU real quick. So Clemson's a coin player, Louisiana Tech one, Florida, I would say 70 points of winning because it's at home. Why? We lost Florida last year. They lost to Florida with DJ lagway playing on one leg. And that was when they had a first round offensive tackle and Will Campbell, and they still get up like six sacks. So why? Why are you so sure LSU is winning that game?

I think that LSU is just going to be a much. Uh, why much better team I have because they're recruiting that they've stacked up and I think that they did a really good job in the portal and I actually like I'm obsessed with Harold Perkins. I think that they've got one of the best quarterbacks in the country. I think the running game is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. I think the running game is going to be better. Their offensive line should be better than it was a year ago, even though they lost. The ice their offensive line better when they lost for draft picks.

Tell me tell me why. I know you're right. You're right about that. You're right about that. See, this is this is the issue like and I agree that LSU is going to be good. I have no no argument with you there. I think LSU did a great job in the portal. I think they are going to be a very good team, but I think their margins are super thin because of their schedule.

I feel the same way about Florida like Florida could be really good, but like one of these two teams is going to lose this game. Yeah. Okay. So let's just say do you want to do a half a game for a coin flips ball? If you're not going to give me Florida, then you're not going to give me any of them. So I guess like, well, here's, here's what I won't give you.

I'm not going to give you Florida. I'm not going to give you South Carolina. I'm not going to give you Texas A&M. I'm definitely not going to give you Alabama. Yeah. It's, but I just think that LSU schedule back up again, put the schedule back up again. The difference between LSU and most teams when we do this is when I say I'm not going to give you the win on that one, it doesn't mean I don't think LSU can win.

I think LSU can win every game given the right circumstances. Yeah, right. Yeah, like LSU is at eight and a half and they're one of the few teams at eight and a half that you won't like chalk up a guaranteed loss to anybody on their schedule either. And they also don't have to play Georgia this year. And like I feel like Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina and A&M are all very gettable teams. They're gettable, but they also can get you. That's the problem. Oklahoma's in the same boat. Yeah. This schedule is hard. Like hard, hard. I'm planning my flag still. You don't have to believe me. I think they're gonna be really good.

I understand. You gotta decide who want to ride with for a season. That's an important piece of the preseason. You've decided you're riding with LSU. I'm not riding with LSU. Yeah. Yeah. I'm looking at their 2D here. A&M in Florida, because LSU, A&M in Florida all can't have great seasons.

At once. Yeah. So somebody is and somebody's not. Yeah. It's hard. It's hard. But I feel like LSU also hits the benchmark of nine and three is a disappointment and it hits there over.

I think that's fair. I think that is a fair way to look at it. I just think their schedule is incredibly difficult and the way it maps out like they gotta beat Florida. I was telling you right now they gotta beat Florida. I was telling you right now. They gotta beat Florida if they don't beat Florida. This is this this gets Potentially bad. Yeah that Florida game too was like their worst game of the year last year, right or was Texas A&M I'd say A&M who was worse, but the Florida game wasn't great Yeah, the Florida game sort of all of the things that they did badly Reared their ugly head like abandoning the running game with the play calling You know there was a first time that that Nussmeyer like the first time that really people were getting Nussmeyer on the ground

Like a and M pressured him which caused interceptions Florida got him on the ground but now I think I Think LSU's defense can be better this year, and I think LSU's defense is gonna be better this year. And I think that that's where the Florida game may turn in LSU's direction is if LSU forces some turnovers or if Florida just can't move the ball, which we could see a much better LSU defense this

year. And here's why. Harold Perkins potentially playing in the correct role and obviously being available and healthy because he missed most of the season last year. People like DJ Pickett who's a freshman who resembles the kind of freaks that LSU used to bring in that has not LSU has not brought those guys in in the secondary early in the Brian Kelly era.

Now they're starting to do that. That's how it works. That's how you you go over this and you make the playoff if you're LSU. Yeah, I'm going to ride with them. I'm shaking your confidence. I can tell well the offensive line thing shook my confidence a little bit. Why on earth would you say a line gets better when they lose four freaking drafts,

including your first rounder? Yeah, yeah, it didn't land. But I do think that I look around and I see a team that should be nine and three, at the very least. Should be, but the problem is, and this is the difference between predicting what happens at LSU and predicting what happens at Clemson. Clemson has so many that you're just super

confident that they're going to win that game. No problem. Yeah, LSU has a bunch of ones that you're like, well, if the other team has his best game. that you're like, well, if the other team has his best game. Yeah, Clemson, Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma. Yeah. None of those are guaranteed. Yeah. Okay. Maybe I'll pull the, no, I want to, I want to be the first one that silence you keep the flag where it is Yeah, you were you were saying it with your chest on text the other day, but I also I also I feel like I feel like well I have LSU in the playoff, too I think LSU is gonna be a really really good team

And I also I think I'm Kelly if you have Florida in the playoff you don't have LSU in the playoff and vice versa I don't have Florida in my playoff. Okay, so you've got LSU winning that game Which I think if LSU wins that game, then this all makes very good sense. It's also at home. Yeah. Here's the thing. DJ Lagway may very well be the best player in the country this year, and if he is and he goes out there and has a DJ lag way is the best player in the country game they could win like I'm I can't push back at that. Yeah and look it's at Tiger Stadium, but I actually think that Clemson just said I think the defense is gonna be better

so I I think that Clemson is a team that you should all run to the cage to bet to win the national title at twenty to one right now because they're gonna make the playoff and sitting at any that's why the nine and a half is too low. So they're like Vegas is giving you with Clemson nine and a half Vegas is giving you an LSU in South Carolina loss. It's entirely possible they could lose both those games and go undefeated in the in the middle 10. Yeah, you know, but like also to you go last year just like, oh, they lost to NC State. So they got their butts kicked. So then why wouldn't they lose Clemson? Didn't Clemson get its butt kicked by NC State last year or am I missing remembering?

I believe they lost they lost to Louisville. They got the Rue of all the team. Sorry. Yeah, which was a by the way So it was a good team with a hard schedule like everybody Louisville lost to I think with one exception was very good. So yeah, this is going to be this is gonna be such a fun year. Ari, we got to go over your your playoff projection tomorrow. A lot of rematches from last year and a lot of rematches from the same year. And well, I I'm excited to dig into it because the difference between doing the rankings, which is just I think this team is good

and I think this team is good. Is to do the playoff projection, you kind of have to figure out how the schedules are going to shake out. It will depend on who plays who and when you know I think that makes a difference. The hardest time with. That was kind of separating the preseason top 25 and this exercise are very different.

It's like because like I struggle with like what to do with Penn State. I ranked Penn State number one. But does that mean that I've got to make Penn State my national champion because I think they're number one right now because I did not know. I don't think so because these are really hard games that are stacked in a row. It might mean you should make Penn State your one seed, but I don't know that it means you should make

an international champion. But also seeding those, like the SEC is probably going to, if you have a good team. And we also don't know how they're going to seed it yet. We think they're going to seed it straight, but we don't know. One part about content. I seeded it the way it currently sits. And then if they get it, then I'll read it.

We'll just do it all over again. But yeah, there's a lot of games that you'll get in mind that are rematches of this year. And there are a lot of games on it that you have rematches from last year that happen to happen again. Then I think that that's what people are going to find that in this 12 team playoff, you open the door for more teams, but then at the same time, you're still going to have the same usual suspects,

like, because I think that's what we're going to do. But we had Indiana last year, like Indiana may be back, but this year could be Illinois, it could be South Carolina. It could be somebody else that is not usually in the mix for this sort of thing. So, but like we were just talking about, where you have LSU in, and I think the way that everything shakes out, like I don't know that you can have Florida in if you have LSU in and you only have LSU in,

and that makes sense. Like if you put them both in then we gotta kind of part drill down and figure out how they both get in. Yeah, I have one in over the other but then it's at the same time too. It's like well then you have Alabama and Georgia like you have. There's only a certain amount of SEC teams that you can put in. Can I get a little tease? Get a little little spoiler. Can I ask for one? Sure. How many ACC teams do you have in?

Um, I'm looking at it now. One. Okay, just Clemson. Alright. Yeah. Because I think there's going to be a second ACC team in there this year. Who's that? Just say who it is and then we'll stop it.

I don't know. It's Miami or Louisville probably. Louisville has a potentially better team with an easier schedule than last year. Yeah. The thing is when you start doing this is like if you put Louisville in then who do you kick out is the hard part. Exactly. And it really comes down to probably which S and it's which SEC or big 10 team Because I have four SEC and four big 10 teams both in right so it's proud So you probably have to kick one of those out one of those eight So just matter of which one in like in May. Are you gonna kick Oregon out for them like like I just like that's in May Yeah, yeah, and that's the thing. I I because I have I think I have Louisville in my like

I want to say like 23 Louisville in my like I want to say like 23 or 24 in my top 25, but the more I think about it, the more I look at their schedule. You'll do it too. You have a chance. I know I I've been doing it later this week for early next to run early next week and we can discuss it on the show. But cool I am. We're going to get a lot of of what you have this team ranked here. How can you have them in the playoff and and then it's gonna it's gonna

have to be an explanation of like this is the schedule. Yeah, this is why. Yeah. So, I can't wait. Oh, we're getting there. Ari. We're almost there. I can't wait. No, I know we're in mid May. Mid to late May. No, I know we're in mid May. Mid to late May. Yeah, we're I mean, I'm already starting to think about, you know, Columbus on. Well, you were thinking about doing the Baylor Columbus double, which I thought you could do. I thought not. Theoretically, I'm not. I'm too old for that. I think unless we like the Columbus, but then I'd have to like wake up at 5 in the morning for a game

That's an hour and a 15 minutes back to Dallas you you could sleep in your own bed and then What I do You would come I try to be like four games that weekend and then drive so the game is gonna be a night game So by the time we're done with writing and talking on the- I'm joking. I wanna drink with you in Ohio, in Columbus. I want you to take me in the high street tour. I mean, the thing is it's not a tenable thing.

Like, and we do that kind of stuff for like the playoff, but I don't know if I'm gonna come out of a game. Last year I got that- Well, and also- I got that in Gainesville. Like that was- And we could be together somewhere talking about what happened in the Auburn

Baylor game which we're going to watch very closely, yeah? So. Because I think everybody is going to be so excited that night because we we probably need to go live Thursday night. Thursday, Nebraska, Sancie, yeah, yeah, you always have to go live earlier in the season. More well, yeah, you always have to go live earlier in the season.

More. Well, yeah, you don't know. Yeah, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, Monday night. We have to go live all of those nights. Nebraska loses their opener. You don't think that's a live moment. It's absolutely alive. Listen, I just remember when their opener. That's a live. Remember us going live after Nebraska lost to Northwestern in Ireland? Yeah, that was spectacular. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Guys, this is this we're gonna we're gonna get us through it. We're all gonna get through this together. The off season's tough. Like and now we're in the moments where we have nights where there's like no NBA playoff games and no NHL playoff games.

So it like it becomes even harder. We're going to make it though. That's why we're shifting to a lot of football talk. Like there's a whole lot of rules talk that we could have right now. Like how settlement and all. No. This is more fun. Talking football is way more fun. Charisse in the chat is the Texas Ohio State game at night.

Oh, Charisse, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't think it's going to be at night. Sorry, I think they're there. They're holding out. Ozzy is locked in at noon. They're holding out Ozzy is locked in at noon. They're holding out on it on saying it. But unless some deal gets done,

some backroom deal gets done, that games at noon. That law is not getting passed. I'm afraid the law we talked about the other day is not getting passed, so'm afraid the law we talked about the other day is not getting passed. So we'll find out. But Ari, tomorrow we break down your playoff bracket. Let's go.

Talk to you tomorrow.