Andy & Ari On3 - LATEST on Oregon at USC: How will Ducks & Trojans handle KEY injuries on offense?

Episode Date: September 24, 2026

Before week four in college football kicks off, a number of injury reports were sent out for many conference games: Oregon at USC, Wisconsin at Penn State,Texas A&M at LSU, and Texas at Tennessee. With a number of notable injuries in each game, Andy & Ari first stat out with the most pivotal game of the week in Los Angeles. Battling some receiver injuries for both Oregon and USC, how will the Ducks and Trojans respond? Watch here as Andy & Ari provide the latest out of this notable Big Ten matchup.(0:00) On Today's Episode(0:59) Presenting Sponsor(2:03) Intro: Oregon-USC injuries(9:27) Wisconsin-Penn State injuries(11:12) LSU vs Texas A&M Injuries(11:39) Hollywood Smothers at Tennessee(13:12) Ole Miss-Florida: Kewan Lacy status(15:43) Aaron Philo + Jadan Baugh(20:14) Texas A&M at LSU PREVIEW(21:00) Onit Athlete(21:59) Who wins in Baton Rouge?(26:05) Michigan vs Iowa(34:35) Illinois at Ohio State(41:37) Previewing FAU head coach Zach Kittley(42:31) Kittley joins(44:42) Locker Room speech post FIU win(48:09) How Bailey Zappe winded up at Western Kentucky(54:39) Kittley Rules for Life(56:38) Truck guy?(58:29) Recapping Zach Kittley(59:04) Savannah Bananas + CFB curse?(1:06:43) Thanks for watching!As Andy & Ari conclude the news from the injury reports, the fellas dive deeper into what's ahead in week four. While Texas A&M and LSU suffered their first losses of the season last week, watch here as Andy & Ari explain why the loser may be leaving College Football Playoff town.While Florida prepares for Ole Miss, Andy & Ari tab Aaron Philo and Jadan Baugh as this week's Dynamic Duo, presented by Jack & Coke.It's Thursday, and the guys dive into this week's mailbag. With a question from Arthur, he asks about mulligans from the picks segment. Andy & Ari dive into the matchup in Ann Arbor between Iowa and Michigan.On the flip side, Ohio State hosts Illinois this weekend, and the fellas ponder if the spread on Polymarket is entirely too high or not.Joined by Zach Kittley, watch here as Andy interviews the FAU head coach to discuss his quick rise in the ranks of college football.To close today's show, Chase asks: "Did the Savannah Bananas curse your favorite football team?"Today’s ONIT Matchup Preview segment: Connecting fans and athletes through team collectibles. NIL FOR ALL. ONIT FOR EVERYONE. https://onitathlete.comGrab Jack & Coke before the game. It's the iconic combination you already know, with no mixing required—just crack it open and enjoy. Choose the classic that's already done right—Jack & Coke.Our show is presented by Polymarket!New User Offer: Deposit $10, get $50 upon sign uphttps://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $20 bonus upon sign up.18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirement apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur.Watch our show on YouTube! https://youtu.be/zf94frw8_cY Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River BaileyInterested 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 Annie and Arion 3 presented by Polymark, we update you on the key injuries ahead of the biggest games. USC Oregon affected by wide receiver injuries on both sides. Running backs, will they play or will they not in the Tennessee and Texas game and in the Ole Miss Florida game? Talk about that. Plus, a dynamic duo for the Gators as they face Ole Miss. We break down Texas A&M against LSU.

plus Michigan, Iowa, one of the more intriguing games on the Big Ten Slate, and your questions answered, are the Savannah bananas cursing your favorite college football team? Plus, it's a pack show, man. An interview with Florida Atlantic coach, Zach Kittley, former college basketball player, son of a great track coach,

who somehow became a quarterback whisper. We'll talk to Zach Kittley, all on today's Andy Naurian 3, presented by Polymarket. We are sponsored by Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market. Got something fun before you coming this week. Polymarket squads,

our On3 squad will be debuting. You can get in our squad group chat, follow along with our picks. My picks will be there, Ari's, J.D. Pichels, the crane and cone guys. You'll be able to follow along. You'll be able to follow or fade. I mean, you definitely want to fade Ari,

I think, at this rate. but I mean, I'm doing okay so far. So maybe you want to follow me. You make your trades just as you always have, but it's even easier if you want to follow or fade us. So download the Polymarket app. Use the code on three and get $50 when you deposit $10 upon signup. That's Polymarket.

Download that app. Deposit $10. Get $50 with the code on three. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. Welcome to Annie and Ari on 3 presented by Polly Market. Huge college football weekend coming up.

Ari is already in Los Angeles. He is headed to the Oregon USC game and that is where we start because the availability reports are out. The initial availability reports and listen, we already knew there was going to be bad news on the Oregon one. because we learned earlier in this week that Jeremiah McClellan, their receiver, is out for the season. But interesting news, and this is not unexpected, on the USC side of this report, Trent Mosley, the freshman wide receiver,

who's been spectacular so far, is listed as doubtful to play against the ducks. Do I just go home? Like, isn't that one of the main events of watching USC this year? It sucks. It does. But listen, they have players that we haven't really gotten to see yet.

And there's some that they've also broken out early in those first three games. Now, granted, they were not playing the best competition. But you've seen some guys who have flashed. Then you've got Terrell Anderson, the NC State transfer, who had been injured, who we think at some point is going to make a big impact on this team. And also, I mean, point out Jakeem Stewart, the defensive tackles, questionable for them, but at least questionable. So that means he could be a game time decision.

So these things could play a pretty big role in a game that we've talked about a lot, Ari, is going to go a long way toward defining the Big Ten race. You know, Andy, I spent a little bit of time on the USC message board earlier in the week. And I don't know if it's just because they, I said something that they don't like or, you know, they were upset. But my understanding is that a lot of the people on that board, and I don't know if this is, universal thought process across the board for USC is that this isn't like a make or break year for Lincoln, that they are understanding that he was handcuffed from an NIL standpoint, that they were late to the party, and that next year is the weird that they expect to be really, really good once this freshman class is going into year two.

And I was kind of surprised by the tenor of the conversation on there. Yeah, I don't think that's representative of the entire fan base. And I don't think that's representative the way the administration feels. I think they don't want to see this happening pretty soon. Yeah, I was just, I was kind of blown away because there were a lot of people saying a lot of the same thing. So, you know, I think that obviously the thing that I like the most about USC this year is the fact that they brought back a bunch of players from last year and then mixed in a bunch of really exciting freshmen. Freshmen that could change the game. And of all the freshmen that have been changing games, obviously we know about Luke Waifle, the defensive end.

But Trent Mosley, I mean, looked like one of the most electric receivers in the entire country. Some of the catches these guys were making right out of the gate are like, not freshman catches, you know? So, I don't know what this means. Maybe it's, it's fair because Oregon lost one of their best players, but, you know, Oregon's is out for the year. But think about it this way, are you? I mean, Trent Mosley didn't play against Rutgers.

And USC still scored a bunch of points, but that game was, was close. Now, look, Trent Manil, Mosley doesn't play defense, but would the game have been easier for USC if he played? Probably, yeah. So that's, I don't know. It's interesting to see where they're at without him. And look,

injuries are our part of the game. But like Caden Dixon Wyatt, also a freshman, he's now leading in receiving yards, probably because Mosley didn't play against Rikers. But he's also looked very good. So far, Mark Bowen, the tight end, another freshman, he looks very good. So it's possible that some of these young guys just keep getting better every week. How rational do you think it is? for a team that's in a do or die mode to expect freshmen to get them over the hump. Do you think it's a fair ask or do you think it's a no it's a completely unfair it's a completely unfair ask but if they pull it off it means they are going to be really good going forward. Yeah, because it feels like on one hand it is an unfair ask and I feel like it's like we're going

to judge Lincoln Riley on Saturday the bottom line can he do it or can he not do it. It's like based on whether an 18-year-old kid. But again, that's also on him. Yeah. Yeah. Like here's the thing. They spent on this freshman class. They started spending on this freshman class not this year.

So they had money. They chose to distribute it the way they did. They could have chosen different. Now, that's not all Lincoln Riley. Chad Bowden, their GM, obviously has an effect on all this. But you don't buy that they didn't have the NIL resources at the beginning of his tenure even a little bit? Oh, I think as a part of that's B.

I think a lot of that's BS. A lot of that's an excuse. Like, were they, were they as situated as Oregon or Ohio State? No, they absolutely weren't. Were they what they,

what he made them out to be? No. Yeah. I bet you there were probably teams that spent similarly to them that were better. Yeah. Indiana spent less than them and were better. So again,

at some point, accountability must be demanded. This is probably that point. We've probably reached that point. Yeah, and tough blow because this is the biggest. I've been calling this game Judgment Day. I don't know if it's a little too bad. I think you're right.

No, I think you're right. And I think once Oregon lost Oklahoma State, it became Judgment Day for both teams. Yeah. Now, Oregon's Judgment Day doesn't end with an administration potentially being out on the coach. No, they're fine on the coach. You know, Oregon has to win up.

obviously to keep, you know, their playoff hopes alive. You don't want to go into October with two losses already, but the USC aspect of it, like the feelings aspect of it, the narrative aspect of it, what are they going to do with their coach aspect of it? I feel like the pressure is on them, especially considering the fact that they are at home. And, you know, I think Oregon losing makes it even worse, because if Oregon lose, you know, continues to lose this year but beat you,

that loss doesn't age well. It's so much easier to swallow losing to a team that's in the playoff race or in the national championship race. it's harder to lose to your rival when they're not very good. You can ask Brian Day about that. Well, and the thing is, let's not assume, like if Oregon can beat USC, let's not assume they're going to lose a bunch of games. They may be fine.

Right. Oklahoma State may have been a hiccup. Yeah. We don't know if they had an extended September hiccups. I mean, they started off slow a few years ago and went undefeated. But I think that the Oklahoma State game is a lot more alarming than some of the close calls that they've had in the past. I would agree with that.

And you combine it with the boys. State game. Yeah, you combine it with the Boise State game and the way they move the ball in Oregon. It's a no-win scenario for USC, because if they beat Oregon, people are going to be like, Oregon's down this year.

And if they lose the Oregon, they'll be like, how could you lose the Oregon? See, no, I think if USC beats Oregon, all the pressures on Oregon, I think USC should be feeling great. Like, they can look at that because they play Washington next week. Like, it doesn't get easier for them. They play Washington,

then they play Penn State. Like, USC's road is hard. But if they can beat Oregon, they can play with all these teams that are on their schedule. Let's move. to, well, let's stay in the Big Ten, another wide receiver injury. Kobe Howard at Penn State is out for the Wisconsin game.

It could be out for a significant amount of time. That is a big blow for the Nittany Lions because I was watching the game the other day and saw Kobe Howard make a catch and thought, man, have not seen that from receiver in a Penn State uniform in a while. And now I do think they have the personnel to over. overcome this, but it's just, it just sucks because they were, you know, they, they were doing well. And Kobe Howard looked really good so far. Yeah.

And, you know, the good news is that it's not a season ending injury. Yeah. It might be extended time, but I don't know how long. It doesn't seem like it's going to be. Can I just take that conversation to, you know, 75 degrees to the left here? Doesn't it suck when your best players get injured against overmatched opponents? Yes. Yes.

And look, injuries can happen anytime, but it does feel like, oh, okay. We didn't need him to beat Buffalo, so why was he even in the game? But you got to play them at some point. I mean, people have gotten injured, like tripping over a curve going into a grocery store. So I know that there's no way to fully avoid it. But, you know, in this conversation of schedule better games, if it's one of the pluses of that is my best player won't get injured for an extended period of time because he hurt himself against a team that we beat by 30, you know. I think it makes it at least taste better. It's better palate.

You know, I don't know. Yeah. It just bothers me whenever that happens. And Howard, Howard got hurt scoring a 70-yard touchdown, by the way. Yeah. So, oh, that, it's frustrating. It's frustrating. All right, let's move to the SEC.

No Sam Levitt on LSU's available to report. They're playing Texas A&M. Not really anything of note on that one. But, yeah, I just, I was curious to see. if they would throw Sam Levin on there again just for just for fungies so is the Hollywood was that a troll job for sure probably probably yeah let's let's let's move to to Tennessee and Texas though because Hollywood Smothers list is questionable for Texas the running back and that one I think would be pretty significant if he can't play now

questionable means you you can play like there's a good chance you will play, probably 50-50. We need to hire some math nerd who can crunch numbers, and maybe that's just Claude, the AI guy. How many players who were listed as questionable on the final injury report going into the weekend on a percentage basis actually playing the game? Yeah. I bet you is the initial.

This is the initial I would point out. This is not the final. Yeah. But I wonder if, because questionable to me always means they're going to play. I feel like it's more than likely. and the thing is they're probably going to need him against this defense. So John Sumerall at Florida uses a term that I've heard him use multiple times this season already called dumb tough. Like you don't want to be dumb tough, which is basically you don't want to play a guy who's kind of on the borderline if it will cost him more time on the back end if it reoccur.

So you got to be you got to be careful about that. So Texas is a long season, so they probably don't want to be dumb, tough with Hollywood Smothers. But they also have another running back. That's pretty good. So I don't know if this is di-rown. It would be at other places. But we'll see. It's a big game for them.

Yes, yes. And so Elton the SEC, also questionable at running back, Kiwan Lacey for Ole Miss. And they're at Florida. We talked about what Summerall said about Florida being favored by three and a half. that spread hasn't really moved since he said that. I think it's an interesting one because that's one where it seems like a lot of people are on Ole Miss, like the public on Ole Miss and the folks who maybe do this for a living are on it or are on Florida. But Lacey, whether he plays or not, I feel like changes the math on this game quite a bit.

1,000% 1,000% Now I always just think back to You know some of the conversations that I have with people who are better at you know Making these plays than I am And the best players on the team sometimes even quarterbacks only would have moved spreads with theoretical injuries or being out by a point or two not as much you actually think But you know anytime you lose your

Heisman can't running back when you're going on the road to a team that's super enthusiastic about the way things have started. It definitely changes the math, especially when the team that you're facing has one of the best running backs in the country too. And this game might be decided by who can control the ball a little bit more. Well, Trinidad Shameless does account for some of that because he can run around. He can extend plays. So it's not, it's not required that you have a great run game to make the passing game work. Like the passing game can still, work because Trinidad Chamble's is so good.

But when Keywater and Lacey is running well, when he is running the way he normally runs, it is very difficult to stop this offense because how do you, how do you account for if you throw that extra man in the box, you load up the box, like now you've got one-on-ones on the outside and Trinidad Chamble is going to pick you apart. But if you try to drop more into coverage, they're just going to hand it to Key one Lacey. Like, that's how this offense is designed to work. Like, the second you lighten up the box, they go to Key One Lacey. If they don't have someone like Key One Lacey who excels at running through first contact,

who always breaks one tackle and gets extra yardage. Like, if they don't have that, it does limit them a little bit. And that actually brings us to our next topic. We're going to talk about the Gators a little bit. We're going to talk about a dynamic duo. and that's Jaden Baugh, the running back, who's a star for the Gators, and Aaron Filo, the quarterback. I wrote a story about Aaron Filo this week, and it was interesting, he was telling me about how calm he was sitting there in the tunnel at Auburn, getting ready, the fireworks are going off. Auburn's running under the field.

He's like, ah, I feel pretty good. This is where I need to be. And that's just, that's his mentality. That's who he is. And I would say, though, that what would calm me down a lot as a quarterback, is knowing I got a guy I can hand the ball to who can get tough yardage, but also who can break a 50 yarder on fourth down,

which is what Jaden Baugh did on fourth down against Auburn. So our dynamic duo of the week sponsored by our friends at Jack and Coke, Jack and Coke, the most dynamic duo that anybody has ever seen. But Jaden Baugh and Aaron Philo, that's a pretty darn good duo too. I'm very excited to see them against Ole Miss. Ari, you've been a Jadenball fan for quite some time. But looking at what he can do now with the home run capability that we saw in Auburn game,

how much does that change how you feel about him? I feel like with really good college players, Andy, this is my philosophy. It always has been. You can tell when somebody has it from the second they got on the field for the first time. And I felt that way about him. I am very curious about the home run expansion to his game because I don't really know how you do that. What does that mean? Like, get faster?

Like, what are the actual tools that you have to employ to do that? What I do know is that he is somebody that I've been impressed with because there aren't a lot of players that have the combination of elusiveness, power, and just, you know, can beat you in both types of ways the way that he does. And I'm like really excited about this game because, you know, the one thing is that when everybody is expecting Florida to be in it, or I mean, Ole Miss to be the better team and then Florida's in it. Like this is how a team, how a program, how a duo really shows up. Everybody's going to be watching this game on Saturday. And I don't know if he's more of a niche, you know, player for fans. I don't know if I always like to say like, does an Arizona state fan know who Jaden Baugh?

I think that everybody in the country is going to know who he is on Saturday. Run the damn ball! Those signs are up all over Gainesville. But I think Filo enhances what Jaden Ball can be because Fylo is a great distributor of the ball. And I don't know if Aaron Fylo is going to be a superstar quarterback. Like we're going to, they haven't asked him to be that yet. They haven't needed him to be that yet, but they might. They've got such good receivers when it comes to Dallas Wilson, Renele Brown the 3rd.

They haven't gotten to use Eric Singleton yet because he's been hurt, but he may come back at some point. Maybe this week, he's questionable this week, but he may be back, and that's elite speed. And Philo is great at getting them the ball on time and letting them cook. And so the Philo ball combination is potentially something that can take Florida to the playoff if they can win a game like this. That's the thing.

We don't know. I use the P word. I could use the P word. Careful with the P word. It's careful. But the thing is, it's realistic if you can win a game like this. And we're going to find out. The Ole Miss defense will be a great test for our dynamic duo here.

This dynamic duo, though, Jack and Coke, passes every test. So grab it wherever you go, wherever you're tailgating. Make sure it's in your cooler. It is perfectly mixed every time it is the, iconic Jack, the iconic Coke, the iconic mix, the iconic duo. You've known about Jack and Coke forever. Now get it in that one beautiful can. Make life easy. Pick up a Jack and Coke today. All right. People don't talk enough about how the can is the boast superior vessel for beverages. This is a beautiful can. In general. This particular can is gorgeous. It's like art.

So I love it. Let's stay in the SEC, though. The game I think we may be talking about all Saturday night and into Sunday. And I know everybody's like, well, Texas and Tennessee, why are they playing at noon? Florida Ole Miss are in the afternoon. Why would ESPN put Texas A&M and LSU on at night? Well, the reason is because it might be the thing that dominates the conversation, because this is a playoff elimination game.

Texas A&M lost to Kentucky. LSU lost to Ole Miss. They are in deep trouble if they lose this game. Whoever is in loses this game is in deep, deep trouble because it means they have to be perfect the rest of the way to win birth in the college football playoff. So this is our On-It matchup of the week. On It, the home of the best college football trading cards.

Go to Onitathlet.com. You can get your team sets, LSU, Texas A&M are on at teams. I got a Texas A&M pack right here. I'm going to rip this open. Let's see if we can find somebody who is going to make a difference in this game. Because Texas A&M has won the last two against LSU. Hey, look at that.

There's Ruben Owens. Ruben Owens is going to be a very important player in this game. That is going to be, oh boy, it's, it's, this is a fun, fun game. and I can't wait. Oh, got a Des Ricks auto. Oh, you pulled an auto. Yeah. Des Ricks.

He will be trying to intercept Sam Levitt in this game. And Ari. This one, I think because we, and maybe this is our fault, because we keep talking about Lane Kiff in LSU. And so the idea is if they lose, it's an utter disaster. And it is, Think about how the A&M people are going to feel.

Like the A&M people made the playoff last year. They expect that to happen again. So you got to win this game. Last year we came up with a term pre-eimination, right? Like this is the game that eliminates you in the sense that you have to go undefeated like it's 2009 again to get in. Because I don't know if the loser, I would say, is 100% out. They would have to run the table. But, you know, you can't say someone's eliminated if they still can run the table.

Realistically speaking, they're out. realistically speaking, they're probably out. Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, I think the thing that's interesting here is that, and I always come back to this because, you know, my entire career, everything with coaches was year over year growth, right? How do you do in year one versus year two, first year three? And are you getting incrementally better? And I almost feel like there's a little bit of that discourse in the USC discussion, you know, although it hasn't been up and down, it's been up and down, but we're like in year five. But like, like, like now it's like if Texas A&M does lose three times this year, does that mean that they're not on the right trajectory? Is it just over? Because like even if you go down the up the highway a little bit or out west a little bit to their rival, like Texas isn't on the same trajectory, right? Like last year that they came in with a bunch of high expectations,

missed the playoff, and then now they're back in a position to maybe. Well, if Texas had lost Ohio State, we might be having that conversation about Texas right now. We're not. They won that game. they have that chip in their pocket, which is a huge ship to have. But if you go back to two years ago, Texas is in the playoff and playing Ohio State down basically to the final drive in the Cotton Bowl.

Last year, they missed the playoff entirely. So it's not incremental growth like you're just going up and up and up and up. Like I think now in this new era, when rosters are so transient and it's harder to hold on to your players and things are less sturdy, it's, you know, up, down, up down, up down. and then maybe through the roof. So, like, I don't know that I view A&M as, like, some sort of epic failure if they lose this game, especially considering the fact that, you know, going on the road to play in a night game in Tiger Stadium

is probably a game you're supposed to lose, even if you're doing well. It's the Kentucky game that will kind of gnaw you a little bit. But, but you've got to make up for the Kentucky game. Like this, so you slacked against Kentucky. Now you have to pick up the slack against L.S. You have to do extra. LSU, same thing.

You slacked off against Ole Miss. You got to make up for that loss now. You could survive losing one of these two. You can't survive losing both. And the scary part for both of these teams is one of them is not going to make it through this stretch one-in-one. So this game-in-this horror movie, in this horror movie of the loser, I think that A&M is probably rated PG-13. LSU losing is like rated R. Absolutely.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, this is, this is going to be a bloodbath, probably. It's not, it's Perusa River is asking it's a loser leaves town. It's not loser leaves town. Like nobody's getting fired over this, but yeah, they're leaving playoff town. Is that, is that like Fansville or Playoff Town and Fansville related? Lane Kiffin's been in Fansville, but he might not be in playoff town. We'll find out.

But that is your on it game of the week. get your Onit cards at Onitathlet.com. LSU, Texas A&M, you buy your team set, collect all your favorite players, and we'll see who will be the star. Maybe you are going to have the card of somebody who is a star in this game. For example, like let's say Desricz gets pick six.

I got his autograph. Ari, it's Thursday. That means a little dear Andy, dear Ari. We got a question from our friend Arthur. And Arthur is one of our most dedicated listeners, pays attention to everything we say. Love you, Arthur. Georgia fan, but this is not about Georgia right now.

This is more about being a dedicated and loyal listener and remembering something we did that we haven't done yet this season. And it's really because we haven't, the opportunity hasn't presented itself, I don't feel like. But let's go to Arthur's question. are y'all considering bringing back the deal on Thursdays where you can go back and update a pick from Monday if a line has moved or something else is changing your thinking?

I always thought that was pretty cool last fall and it's also a great way to be able to mention polymarketing. And I appreciate Arthur thinking of the sponsors. I agree, Arthur. It's a great A listener right there. That's what that is. Absolutely. Absolutely. So we did have the Mulligan concept last year.

And really it's just because the first three weeks we didn't have a situation where the line changed in any meaningful way that we thought, okay, we need to open this back up and see if somebody wants to change it. This one, the line hasn't moved, the spread has not moved that much on polymarket, but it's only moved a point in this particular game. But this is a game that may have so few points that every single one matters. So I want to revisit Michigan, Iowa. When we picked it, it was Michigan,

by four and a half. It is now Michigan by five and a half, and it's stayed there enough that I think we need to talk about it, that we need to maybe open up the possibility if you would like to change your pick on this game. I have Michigan covering four and a half on our Monday picks.

You have Iowa covering the four and a half. Would you like to take that extra point? Of course, who would, who would say no to that? It's like, would you like to hit on 10? Yeah, I would. All right. So Ari will take the extra point and he, do I get to keep four and a half or do I have to go to five and a half too? You can keep it because that's how it works.

If you invest early on polymarket, you get to keep the number that you got. But you also could be like, well, I could take the five and a half if it changes your mind. Yes. I don't know why it would because this didn't cross any key numbers. But still, you know, that's your prerogative if you decided you want to join. Yeah. You can. The tricky part is just that every point is so precious in this particular game.

And, you know, I, so I was thinking about this. Ari, Michigan started slow against UTEP, but there was a couple fumbles that gave UTEP some opportunities to score. They scored on some play action stuff that Oklahoma maybe didn't try. But then Michigan settled down and blew them out. do we think Michigan's fine like as because fine I yeah fine I think fine is good enough for Michigan to win this game um you mean like fine like just like I figured some stuff out like we said after the game that that we we thought they call a really good they called a good game for Bryce Underwood in the Oklahoma game because they they took into account what he's good at

maybe where he's limited and leaned into what he's good at. Do we think they've figured out how to call games for Rice Underway? Yeah, I think that if you go into the game knowing what your confines are, like the thing that I never stopped forgetting about when it comes to Michigan, Andy, is that they had some pretty bad offenses long before Kyle Whittingham got there and they've found ways to win. I mean, they beat Ohio State on the road with one of the worst offensive outfits I've ever seen in my entire life. So, like, this isn't like new for them.

What I think is interesting is that Bryce Underwood was supposed to be the person who delivered them from having to win games like this. And now the conversation has changed to can they win like this? And I think that's the frustrating part. So when you say, is it fine, I never thought that Michigan was going to be a, you know, four and 18 this year. I always thought that they would be a, you know, hovering around eight, nine wins with this offense. Right. Can they be a 10 win team is the question? Yes.

The question is they're not paying him to win 13 to 9. Like, that's not what they're doing here. So, you know, that's a misfire. You know, that said, the thing that has surprised me the most about this game, Andy, is that you of anybody in the national media, I think, have been pretty high on Iowa. And last year, you were very complimentary of what you saw from them. And I'm just surprised that, you know, from your standpoint, like, are we 100% sure that Michigan has a better defense than Iowa? And if it doesn't, how much better is Michigan's offense in Iowa?

Is it negligible? Maybe it's a little bit better. But five and a half is a lot of points, man. So we'll see. Here's my, here's my other question. 17 to 7 or something and you might win. But like, yeah, you know, I don't know. If they beat Iowa 17 to 7, like if Iowa is what they were last year,

if you beat Iowa 17 to 7 in a big game, that means you're probably a playoff contender. Like that's what that's what Oregon did. That's what Indiana did. Like that and they didn't beat them by that much last year. I think that's really difficult is that I feel like I have my thumb on the pulse of what Michigan is. Like I think I have a general idea of who. they are. I don't know how good Iowa is. I don't know if we don't know. We don't know offensively because they've looked good against lesser opponents. They only scored 16 against Iowa State.

I'm not sure how good Iowa State is. Like Iowa State got decimated by Matt Campbell leaving. So the fact that you only scored 16 against them is a red flag to me. Now, on the Michigan sign, could JJ Buchanan be a difference maker? Because it feels like he is the type of of playmaking wide receiver that Michigan lacks the last two years. Is he the kind of difference making it? He obviously came from Utah with Kyle Whittingham. He also seems to be the person who catches the ball every time Michigan needs a big play, whether it be the biggest of big plays or first downs.

Like he does seem like a really good player. Yeah, we thought that was going to be Andrew Marsh, but he hasn't really been that to this point. So maybe they have that, which is something they didn't have the last two years. They did have it the year they won the national title for sure. But it's just this is such a fascinating game to me because, again, if you can win it by six,

if you win it by seven, you're doing great. Like that's what the national champion did against Iowa last year. It's okay if you don't win by much, but you got to win this. Yeah. Let's still find out game. I'm excited to watch it.

Yeah. And then Iowa, if you can win this, it reframes our conversation about the Hawkeyes. You know, what if Iowa comes in and they can move the ball up front against Michigan? Because the way they win is they run the ball. It's like you're not going to probably dominate Michigan's defensive front, but you run it effectively enough that you can keep running it all game and your defense is good enough that you win.

Then guess what? Other than Ohio State, you can beat everybody else on your schedule. Like, you may not be able to beat Ohio State playing that way, but you can beat everybody else on your schedule. And can I continue to come up with, like, very fortunate turnover forces. You know, like, can they opportune? Hey, Ari, listen, at a certain point, it ain't lucky anymore. Yeah, no, you're right.

Lucky wasn't the right word. Remarkable. It's Phil Parker. It's not magic. It's Phil Parker. It feels like magic when you're watching it. I'm not going to lie to you. It's not magic.

They practice that. They do. I swear. Okay, the special team's touchdowns are the magic. Practice. They practice it. You practice it. All right.

Cannot wait to see that game. So you're sticking with Michigan, though, right? I am sticking with Michigan. Yeah, I do think Michigan will cover. If I've got the four and a half from Monday, I'm happy to stay at the four and a half and then cover that. I think they'll cover five and a half. I'm fine.

I'm comfortable. there too. So let us move elsewhere in the Big Ten. We haven't talked about this game yet, but this was a very fun game last year. The spread on this thing at Polymarket feels enormous. Illinois and Ohio State, this is the Big Ten opener for both schools. Ohio State is a 26 and a half point favorite at Polymarket right now. I know Illinois lost to Duke earlier. Maybe they Duke's very good. I don't know. This feels huge.

This feels like too big of a spread. What do you think it should be? 18.5 maybe. I feel like there's an extra touchdown in here. The thing I can't get out of my head is Illinois's game against Indiana. Indiana last year. I know. That's the problem is it could get so out of hand so quick.

That's the danger. But I feel like Indiana's can. capable of playing four quarters with this team. Illinois, relatively competitively. Because I'm still, like, you could lose my three touchdowns and still cover.

I know. I would have been taking points in this scenario on the road. It does seem like a pretty big spread, but I don't, I don't think it's like automatic take Illinois here. How do we, okay, how do we feel about Ohio State?

You is a seasoned Ohio State watcher. You know, the Ohio State. fans got noticeably out of, you know, understandably out of joint after they blew lead against Texas. The, the thought was you took the pedal off the metal on offense. Like the way, I mean, obviously Ryan Day and Arthur Smith are not thinking about covering a spread. But if you're Ohio State, do you need to just keep the, the pedal down offensively? Because as this schedule goes on and gets harder and you play these better teams that are coming up on your schedule.

Do you need to be able to do that for four quarters? I think the biggest fan criticism of Ryan Day has just been that they don't play fast enough. Last year, you know, most of the fan base thought that the reason why they lost in the playoff against Indiana, I mean, in the Big Ten title game against Indiana and in the playoff against Miami is because they played slow control ball against overmatched opponents that couldn't beat them. And by the time they were playing against teams that were on a level playing field, They couldn't ramp it up enough at the right time to get it going.

So I think that there might be an emphasis on that. Here's what I think about Ohio State. I think it's possible that Ohio State is down this year in comparison to where they've been in the past. That doesn't mean that they're not going to go win 10 games and make the playoff. But in terms of like the top end amazingness that they were the last few years, like it's just very hard to sustain that. And I think that Ohio State fans have to kind of like look in the mirror and go, hey, maybe not even we. can be the best team talent-wise from top to bottom in the country every single year, no matter what. Now, I think the counterpoint is where they spent maybe the most money of anybody in the portal on their roster.

So there's no excuse to not be as good as you were last year. But I just think that eventually even teams like Ohio State are going to miss out on being the best when they lose as much talent to the NFL draft as they did the last year. because it's just, it's impossible for Arvel Reese to hit every single year. Well, okay, here's the thing, though, because what Texas, what Texas did is they stopped with the mistakes. Arch freelanced a little, and I have freelance is probably the wrong word, but Arch, you know, kept, kept some plays alive through downfield, made things happen. Texas's offensive line took over a bit at the end. that's the part that I'm talking about right there. Okay.

But here's the thing. So if you're not going to be able to stop that when you have a three-point lead, the solution is use the things you have that others don't, which is Jeremiah Smith and the skill talent on offense. Andy, you know where they- Make sure you're up by 18 and not three. And so what I'm saying is when you're playing Illinois, maybe you need to just stay, you know, stay as aggressive as possible because you are practicing for when you play at Iowa next week, where you're going to need to be aggressive because they're going to keep your point total down.

When you're playing at Indiana, when you're playing at USC and you might be in a shootout, when you're playing Oregon and you might be in a shootout. Like they are going to have to do that because if they're not capable of holding teams down below 10 points, which is what they were doing most games last year, then just keep scoring. You want to know where they learned it? You know where they might have learned that lesson? On the final drive of the Texas game, when Ohio State was on defense, Texas got the ball down to the goal line.

Ohio State used a timeout or did not use a timeout when they could have used a timeout, let them score and left two and a half minutes for their offense. Which I will take with Julian Sahan and Jeremiah Smith. I'll take that. No, they made a mistake. They did not allow them. I know. I know. You're right. They didn't put their better unit on the field to go win the game. They relied on their weaker unit. And I think that when in Ryan Day was asked about that in his news conference the week after. And I thought that was a really good point because why would you not choose Jeremiah? Why would you choose a defensive line that's been getting pushed around for a goal line stand? Like that was the wrong decision. And I wonder if there was the aha moment where it's like, okay, our defense is going to be fine. It's going to be pretty good.

but we know who we are as a team. We are a team that's going to score a ton of points and we're going to score and score and score until that's not an issue anymore. And I wonder if that manifests in games like this. So in terms of whether this is a big spread, absolutely it is. Whether it's an auto Illinois investment, probably not.

And that's the thing. If Ohio State has figured out its own identity, which like you said, Ryan Day, I think may have figured that out. And I don't know why he didn't figure it out before Texas, but he figured it out. Then you may see them cover this because they kind of have to, if Illinois is a team that they can, that they can score on, they can use those athletic advantages on.

This is like, this is not these Ohio State schedules where it's a two-game season. Like, you better be ready because you're going to play Indiana and USC and Oregon and Michigan. Like you have to be ready for this. You're playing Iowa next week. You have to be ready because these teams can beat you. Indiana, USC, Oregon all in a row. Buckle up, Buckeye fans. That's going to be crazy.

It's not a two-game season anymore. Ari, we've got a treat next. I love when we get the up-and-coming young coaches on the show. Zach Kittley, one of the most interesting ones. as a student at Texas Tech. He worked with Patrick Mahomes. Later, as a very young offensive coordinator, he was one of the first to be the OC who moved

and the quarterback moved with him when that was Bailey Zappy, moving from Houston Baptist to Western Kentucky. So trailblazing, and basically everybody copied that immediately after it happened. He's now a head coach at Florida Atlantic. Just what a game that, as a QB whisperer, who likes to score 60 points a game, well, it's not the way he'd prefer to win.

But as a head coach, whose job is to just win, I think he's enjoying it. Here is Zach Kittley. We're joined by Florida Atlantic coach, Zach Kittley, who just won the Shula Bowl. If you're not from South Florida, that would be the Florida International Florida Atlantic matchup that Howard Schellenberger was very keen on winning

the guy who created the FAU program. Coach, one, congratulations, Two, what does it like to win a game where you had 50 dudes with the flu the week of the game? Yeah, it was, man, whatever it takes to win, first and foremost. So super proud of those guys. We battled all week, like you mentioned. It was an up and down week for us, kind of sloppy throughout the week practice-wise, just because we had all these dudes were running 103 fever and puke in all practice.

And it was a long week. So super proud of our guys to be able to come out and find a way to win the game. Again, it was super sloppy by us on offense, and we found a way to play an elite game on defense. And, man, kudos to coach DuHerson and our defensive coaches and all those guys on defense to help us get that big win and a big rivalry game and bring that trophy back home. Well, let's talk about that defense. So you're up 1610. Your punter pens them at the one. So you got 99 yards to defend.

They make it 83 or 82, I guess. This is a bad at math podcast warning you now. but they get to the 17 and they're just chucking into the end zone. Were you thinking we can't give up a 99-yard drive to lose this? We just can't do that. Absolutely. I mean, man, I was, man, I'm aggressive. I always want the ball in my hands.

And I really pondered going for that fourth down there. And I was like, you know what? Our defense's been playing great all night. And we got a weapon in Reed Chanley at punter. And man, as I expected and put on the one, not necessarily that, but what a punt by him. And then at that point, man, it's just, hey, let's try to let them not go drive all the way down. Let's try to tackle them in bounds, let that clock run a little bit.

And, you know, we gave up two pass interferences on that drive to give them 30 yards. But again, at the end of day, man, it was Ben, Don't Break by those guys. And we played coverage there late. And, you know, I would have been, it would have been a bad deal if we'd let them in the end zone. But I had a total, total faith there in our defense that we'd get it done. Well, I saw your locker room speech. And I want to share it with the people because this is how you celebrate. a win like that.

I'm so proud of y'all. At the end of the day, we found a way as a football team to overcome all that adversity all week tonight to get a huge win. I don't know where he's at. All right. It goes to the entire defense. All right. Got to get so much better off this take.

But hey, guess what? I'll take an ugly win over a beautiful loss. came up to me after the game and said, hey, that Shulabon trophy's back where it's supposed to be here, a vote of Georgia. That is beautiful. Okay, I'll take an ugly win over a beautiful loss.

I want to stitch that into a pillow. I hope you've trademarked it. Like, you've got to sell the T-shirts. But is that an original, or did you get that from somewhere? Man, I really don't know. I maybe heard that, but it just came to me at that moment, you know, And at the end of the game, you know, I am the play caller on offense.

And so I want to score 50 points every game. And man, like from an offensive standpoint, it didn't feel like you won that game. But from a team standpoint, and as the head coach, it felt like we played a really good team game. And, you know, I was talking on my athletic director at the end of the game. And I kind of just mentioned that to him. Like, hey, man, it's all about finding ways to win. And I'll take that, that ugly win over a beautiful, pretty loss, however you want to say it, any day of the week. And it just stuck with me.

And so I let it ride right there with the. guys. But I feel like that's part of the evolution in being a head coach when you go, because you know, for those who don't know your history, you know, you were very prolific offensive coordinator at Houston Baptist, then at Western Kentucky, then at Texas Tech. And your job is to score 50 points or 60 points every game. But you become the head coach and your job is to win by one point every game. And it doesn't matter how. But is it hard to reconcile those things? Yeah. I mean, I think it just, you know, it comes with time. You know, I mean, I, you know, even at my time at Texas Tech, I started just to grow up a little bit more.

And, you know, in 2023, especially, we had a ton of quarterback injuries. And it was at that point where I was like, hey, man, I just got to, I got to do whatever it takes to win football games, you know, for Coach McGuire and for this university there. And so I adapted my ways and we found ways to win. And I think that 2023 season really helped me transition into this head coaching role as far as it goes to how do we find a way to win. So that's what it's all about. Now, again, the aggressive, swagger, offensive coordinator, mine that I have about myself, still is hard to get past that sometimes, but at the end of the day, it's all about winning in this head coach's chair. So for those who also don't know, when you went from Houston Baptist, which is now Houston Christian, by the way,

when you went from Houston Baptist to Western Kentucky, Bailey Zapi followed you. you created a template that a whole lot of programs have now followed of bring the play caller bring the quarterback did you guys know you were blazing a trail then or was that just like hey that guy's really good he can come help me here man you know i didn't you know and and you know also kudos to uh to Tyson helton too for for taking a risk on me and hiring me and you know I'll tell you when he hired me you know that may have been his thought process, but it was not a slam dunk to get Bailey Zappy. Now, again, I felt extremely good about it just because the relationship that him and I had together. But man, he had Texas Tech, Tennessee.

He had some big time programs coming after him. I mean, he got a FaceTime call from Peyton Manning, who is his hero growing up, trying to get him to go to Tennessee. And it was not a slam dunk by any means. And it took a little bit longer than our scouting department there at Western Kentucky, he wanted even at the time too. And I just kept telling him to be patient and let me, let me keep working him and let me let my relationship be the, be the deal here. Because he was a graduate transfer.

And I was kind of foreign to what this transfer portal was even going to look like, you know, and so. Yeah, because it was a new thing at the time. It was going to be new. But he was a graduate. So I was like, hey, this is a slam dunk. And then, you know, Tyson Hilton had the, had the foresight to understand what it was going to be like.

And that's never, we kind of took a few of those other guys, the Stern's brothers and Ben Ratzlaff and some of those. and it just was a slam done for us. So, okay, but when Peyton Manning facetimes him, do you call Coach Elton and say, hey, coach, this might not happen for us? You know what, I did it. You know, I'm telling you, man, I had,

I was very convicted deep down with me. Again, him and I are extremely close. I officiated Bailey Zapi's wedding a couple summers ago. Nice. We are very, very close. And I truly believe that that was going to pay off. because he was comfortable with me. He knew exactly what he was getting with me.

It was going to be my offense. I was going to let him put the ball in his hands. We're going to throw the ball across the yard. To me, it was just too good of a situation. And, you know, he wanted to go play in the NFL. And as much as he felt like, hey, playing the SEC at that big time school, that could be great. He didn't know what he was getting himself into there.

And he knew what he was getting into with me. And so I felt really, really good about it the whole time. Now, again, I had to tell the coach Helton and the scouting department, hey, y'all just bear with me here. It's going to take some time. And luckily for me, they were patient with me as well. So I got to ask how you, your dad is a legendary track and field coach of Texas Tech, multiple national titles. You left home in Lubbock to go to Abilene Christian to play basketball. How the hell are you in a football coach? Man, so I love football. Football has always been my first love. You know, I played basketball because I'm six, seven. I was better basketball player than I was football,

even though I played receiver and safety at a 4-8 high school in the state of Texas back then whenever that was the second highest classification. I love the team atmosphere. I love the locker room of a football program. And then I tell people this story all the time. My first memories of college football was whenever my dad took the job at Texas Tech in 1999.

And this guy named Mike Leach was the head coach. And he had this quarterback named Cliff Kingsbury. And they were throwing the ball every play. And me as a young, eight, nine-year-old kid, I thought this is the coolest thing ever. They throw at every play. I love this. And so when Cliff Kingsbury got hired back at Texas Tech

to be the head coach, I had followed him his whole career from what he had done with the Patriots and then the Canadian leagues and the European, all that stuff that he did. And then he went on to Houston with Case Keenham. And then he went to Texas A&M with Johnny. I followed his career the whole time. And he was just a guy that I always knew I wanted to coach

and football was what I always wanted to do. But I did think track would be the easier track for me. No pun intended to just get into track and field with my dad's legendary status. But man, when Cliff Kingsbury got hired, I said, you know what? I want to do this, and I'm going to put my nose down and I'm going to go to work if I can get in the door. And thankful for my friendship with now Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie. He got me in the door. And man, from there, I worked for free for two years and put my nose down and developed a great relationship with Cliff Kingsbury and kind of the rest from there's history.

So I had to visit that staff year one for Sports Illustrated. And so if I saw you in the hallway, I'm sorry, I missed you. But that's, I mean, because you mentioned Sunny Cumbie, who's now head coach. Eric Morris, the current Oklahoma State head coach, is the insider receivers coach on that staff. And obviously, Cliff has been an NFL head coach. He's done everything. What were the meetings like there? How much did you learn as a, I mean, because you're still a college student at the time?

I was. Yeah, I mean, I learned so much football and so much about how to be a leader. And, you know, you never really understand what it's like to get in front of 120 dudes. And they're hanging on every word that you say. And I thought that's one thing that I love about Coach Kingsbury, man, is he always had swagger about himself. It didn't matter who we were playing. It didn't matter what our record was. He made you believe that we were going to go play whoever it was and always win. Just his confidence, the swagger that he had, how he approached everything. thing, one of the best human beings on the absolute planet. And he took me under his wing. You know, him and I became so close. And, you know, he moved the staff around where I could come work with quarterbacks because that first year I was working with Sunny Cumbi. And, man, I mean, I soaked up so much knowledge. I was just so fortunate they let me sit in the back corner and make coffee and go grab

lunches for everybody and just be around. And I just soaked up knowledge, man. And I was able to learn from like Eric Morris is one of my dear friends right now. I'm going to see Sunny Cumbie this Friday. We're staying in Ruston, Louisiana, this weekend, and he's going to come by the hotel and see me. So we still keep up. We had an unbelievable staff, and, you know, I'm still great friends with all those guys, and it's really cool to see how their careers have advanced and pretty cool to just have those guys in my corner and guys that I still talk to often.

So we have a couple questions that we ask first-time guests. And so I'm going to hit you with the first one. And you can go any way you want with this. You can be serious. You can be fun. But do you have a rule for life? Like a one, this is my guiding principle rule for life. Yeah.

Never forget where you came from and never forget the people that helped you get to where you're at today. Man, I just, I would not be where I'm at without West Texas and Lubbock, Texas and the blue collar mindset that I grew up in, you know, being around farmers. And, you know, my dad is a track and field coach, but man, he's from rural Texas. And we would go visit there. Him and my mom are from this small. town that has 800 people in it and we'd visit there. And you just work, man. You put your, you put your nose down and you go to work. And so that's where I'm very proud of my roots and

where I was born and where I was raised out there in West Texas because I think that makes me who I am. And then the last part, just never forget the people that got you where you're at today. Again, my dad and my mom, just for how they raised me and my brothers to be just really good people first and foremost. And that's something that I always hang my hat on is being a good person before a coach, always and always taking care of people from the huge. human element versus the football element. And then again, all the coaches, man, I mean, it starts with Cliff Kingsbury. I mean, without him, I would be nothing.

I mean, he took me under his wing and literally let me help him coach Patrick Mahomes. I mean, what an opportunity, you know, that I look back on all the time as a 24, 25 year old. Like, man, I got to coach the best player on the planet, whenever 10 years ago. And so very cool for me. And then you mentioned Eric Morris, Sonny Cumbie, Vic Shealy, the head coach at Houston Baptist, for taking a risk on a 26-year-old kid who had never called a play in his life to come change his offense around. Tyson Helton, Joey McGuire and Debbie McGuire, them as people, Tyson-Helton and April Helton as people. Ben Arbuckle, just a friend of mine, Jared Kaster, Tyler Scovineck,

my special teams coordinator here. Man, guys that have just been in my corner have always helped me out every step along the way. Like, I love everybody. I'm a love person. And I just, I'll never forget all those people that help me get to where. I'm at today. All right. So the other question is much less serious, but I think I know the answer based on where you're from, although with Boka, it's a little bit different. You live in Boka now. Truck guy, car guy, or SUV guy? Truck guy, man. Ford F-150, King Ranch. Beautiful. I bought my dream truck when I got this job here. So I had a car, I had a car deal there in Lubbock, and here I get the stipend. And so I went ahead and bought what I want, man.

I got a blacked out King Ranch, F-150, my dream truck. Did we lift it any? No, no lift, no lift, just normal. But I'm one of the few guys rolling around an F-150 in Boca Raton, but hey, that's all right. People know, people know who it is, I guess. That's luxurious leather. If you've never sat in a King Ranch before, it smells like you are just surrounded by what you are. This very nice leather.

Yeah, no, I am very jealous. But it's interesting because, you know, you work for Joey McGuire. So he helped kind of inspire this one. We saw his corvette that he drives after wins. And I was like, wait, I thought Joey's a truck guy. And I get a DM the next day. And it's Joey's, it's Joey's truck. So he sends me a picture of his truck.

He's like, trust me, truck guy, six days a week. So I just wanted to make sure because we never, we never know. We got to ask. But yeah, so I worried about Chappell. parking because those parking spots in Boe are kind of narrow. So, but appreciate it, Zach. Thank you so much. You got ULM this weekend, staying in Rustin with Sonny and the Louisiana Tech guys.

So good luck there. Hey, man. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate you guys and all you all do for college athletics, man, and college football especially. So y'all have a good one. Thank you all so much and go out.

Thank you, Zach. All right, Zach Kittley, truck guy. Definitive answer. Like it. Even in Boca. Look for that King Ranch rolling around in Boca Raton. Love it. All right.

I want to be a truck guy one day. We're going to make you a truck. We're going to turn you into a truck guy. Although you have a very nice SUV. I do like your SUV. But it's a soft SUV. That's for moms, but it's nice. It's still nice.

Ari. One more, Dear Andy DeRari question before we go. And this is, I am highly intrigued. This is what I had not even thought about. and Chase's email came through and I was like, Chase may be on to something. This is from Chase. Dear Andy, I wanted to bring to your attention

a concerning theory that I cannot stop thinking about. The Banana Ball Curse. Started with Clemson last year, one of the first major college football stadium to host the Savannah Banana's baseball team. What happened next? Major expectations going to 225 only to historically underachieve. Clemson started the season one and three

and ultimately finished a mediocre. for seven and six, despite having multiple NFL draft picks. Dabo's downfall began accelerating at an even more rapid pace. This year, Kyle Field, where Texas and I'm just lost to Kentucky, Austin Stadium, Oregon's home field. They lost and still were, but still lost. Joe Campbell Stadium at Florida State,

where they lost to SMU, and then they went to Alabama and lost. And Keenan Stadium, North Carolina. They lost at Clemson, but they probably lose at Keenan Stadium when they played Notre Dame. all marquee stops for the bananas. A&M and Oregon both entered the season with big expectations, have gotten off to nightmare starts,

each suffering a dominating loss as a three-score favorite. FSU and UNC, despite having considerably lower on-field expectations, have somehow fallen victim to the curse. FSU's first marquee game in the season against SMU turned into a national embarrassment when they couldn't even get the stadium lights to turn on for nearly two hours. No doubt the banana ball curse was in play. Oh, and there are already two losses before September is over. and UNC, despite a mildly surprising upset of TCU on the field,

the program has continued to be disaster off at with both Michael Lombardi and Steve Belichick. They weren't fired as the email says they resigned, but yes, agreed. I'm not saying banana ball is responsible, Chase writes. I'm just saying that if your stadium host of Savannah Bananas, maybe don't expect your football program to have a normal season. What say you? Ari, can we bring producer River up? Yes. We sure can. Producer River.

Yep. Did the Savannah bananas maybe play a game at Neeland Stadium? They did. They did play a baseball game in Neeland Stadium this summer. All right. Brother worked it. I picked Texas to cut to, or I picked Tennessee to cover in this game. I think I may be wrong.

Oh, come on. Well, I think the, I think the balls may be cursed. I've got two prevailing thoughts here. One, which is, you don't, Florida State, that doesn't count. Florida State's cursed because of the dog shit. So they're out on the room. Also, if I do buy into the curse, though, because if you bring that type of grab ass into your stadium, you are permeating grab ass throughout the entire building. Like, I don't even know what it is.

It's like the baseball version of the problem. I love banana ball. It's actually really, like if you're in the summer and there's nothing else on, you throw on bananas in the part. You know, bananas playing the party animals. By the way, I might buy a party animals jersey. So this is a baseball version of the Harlem Globetrotters type deal. Yes, and they've got six teams now. They travel around the country, and the bananas are the featured team.

They are the Globetrotters, as it were. But they've got the firefighters and the party animals, and they've got other teams that play as well. It's a hell of a show. They put on a great show. But Chase may be right. They may be cursing your football team. Hope not.

I hope Chase is wrong for Knoxville's purposes for sure I mean if Texas goes into Tennessee and wins by three touchdowns like I would

I would just hang up the phone when the bananas called to book your stadium yeah you can't can't answer they sell out they sell out the stadium which is crazy

every seat is well that that's the other part everybody needs revenue like everybody wants revenue so like Morgan Wall and can't play your stadium every day if the bananas will come

and fill your stadium Every single school in America will take the bananas coming and filling their stadium. They'll be thrilled with that. And the bananas love the odd configurations that these football stadiums bring because it just adds another element to the show. So, like, you, okay, they're going to curse a lot more teams. You ever been in a hotel room that you can tell has been smoked in for years? Banana grab ass never goes away.

You can't. Is that like? like honestly is that the word for it like what they do is grab ass the whole thing is grab ass but but in the best possible way in the most entertaining possible way like yeah it might be entertaining in june it's not entertaining in october for those who have clicked on this video because they saw this van van van an is in the headline and are our banana ball fans and think we are insulting the bananas by calling banana ball grab ass we love grab ass when it happens in college football we love it it's a great thing but the problem is you may not

love it if your team is cursed with perpetual grabass, which is what might happen if you let the bananas into your stadium. Again, I'm not ready to buy into Chase's theory completely yet. I'm not there yet. Look, if Tennessee loses Saturday, there's plenty of other things going on. We can blame it. Are there what other places? What might that be producer river? Game day. President coming to town. It's going to be a Peyton Manning and his rooting interests. It'll be a madhouse in Knoxville. Are there places that banana ball has played that have not lost yet? That's the missing key.

Yes, but that's not interesting for our video. Okay. I'm trying to do my due diligence here. Yeah, no, they are trying to get to the biggest stadiums in the country, and they're all college football stadiums. So, like, I understand what they're doing, and I understand the business model, and I understand the business model from the college teams.

But, yeah, you invite Rabass. Grab ass, begets grab ass. I buy it. I buy it. I don't buy it if Tennessee wins this weekend. If Texas rolls the valls and producer river cries on air, I will buy it. They've also been to Iowa and Nebraska, so.

And they're doing fine. Yeah. So far. I'm in Iowa. You are. Yeah, neither one's really played anybody yet, other than Iowa playing Iowa State, and that was pretty tight. Big weekend for the Savannah Banana Curs.

Yeah. Big hand. If you are the bananas, you are the bananas and you keep getting invited to these stadiums and filling them and making lots of money, you better be rooting for the Vols this weekend. That's all I got to say. The Tennessee Valls are the key to everything,

as they often are on the show. Thank you for watching. Be sure to subscribe the On3 YouTube page. What a week this has been. Ari. This is going to be a spectacular weekend. Listen, it starts with the Jamie Chadwell Bowl, Liberty versus Coastal Carolina on Thursday night. On Friday night, we get Indiana's first Big Ten game, Northwestern coming into Bloomington. We get Davosweeney by the Pacific Ocean in Berkeley at 10.30 a.m. or it's 30 30 p.m. Eastern time, 7.30 Berkeley time. We may be watching that in the middle of the night. And then, of course, Texas, Tennessee. noon Eastern Saturday. The banana ball curse will be put to the test. And then it just gets wilder from there.

What a weekend coming up. Ari, you're going to be in L.A. Cannot wait to see Oregon, USC. Get ready. Buckle up. It's going to be a hell of a weekend.