Andy & Ari On3 - Minnesota beats Nebraska on a walkoff | Florida slops it up at Utah | Picking the rest of Week 1 with Ari Wasserman

Episode Date: September 1, 2023

Andy’s former tag team partner Ari Wasserman drops in for this season’s first picks show. It’ll be Andy against a different guest every week.Today's show is brought to you by PrizePicks, where they make daily fantasy sports easy. Use the promo code ANDY to get a 100 percent instant deposit match up to $100. If you deposit $100, PrizePicks will give you $100. If you deposit $50, PrizePicks will give you $50.Download the PrizePicks app or visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/ANDYSubscribe to On3! ⬇️ youtube.com/on3sports/Welcome to On3 | The best of college football and recruiting https://www.on3.com/Listen to Andy Staples On3 on podcast! Spotify 🎧 : https://open.spotify.com/show/5AhQ4d2m5TQu5Q2vkwtxjt?si=uLK1rMW7QOmLHcZK9URbOwApple🍎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/andy-staples-on3/id1695325427Follow Andy Staples on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Andy_StaplesFollow Andy Staples on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andy_staplesFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/on3sportsFollow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/on3/?hl=en Like/Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/On3Sports/ Shop On3 https://shop.outsider.com/Before we get to the picks, Andy breaks down Minnesota's walk-off win against Nebraska and Utah's 24-11 win against Florida. For Nebraska, it's yet another one-score loss. For Florida, it was a litany of mistakes that kept the Gators from being competitive against an excellent team -- that was playing without its starting QB.After those reactions, Andy and Ari will tackle a bunch of upcoming games...FridayMiami (OH) at Miami (Miami -16.5, Total: 45)Louisville vs Georgia Tech (Louisville -7, Total 48.5)Saturday East Carolina at Michigan (Michigan -36, Total: 51.5)Virginia vs. Tennessee (Tennessee -28, Total: 56)Colorado at TCU (TCU -20.5, Total 63.5)Utah State at Iowa (Iowa -24, Total: 43)Rice at Texas (Texas -35, Total: 59)Ohio State at Indiana (Ohio State -30, Total: 59)Boise State at Washington (Washington -14, Total: 58.5)UTSA at Houston (UTSA -2, Total: 60)West Virginia at Penn State (Penn State -20.5, Total: 50)North Carolina vs. South Carolina (UNC -2.5, Total: 64.5)SundayLSU vs. Florida State (LSU -2.5, Total: 56)

Hey everybody, it's Andy. Doing things a little differently for today's show, and it's just because of that first night of week one, that Thursday of week one, just the way the timing works out. Our video show ended at 8 p.m. Eastern time, right when Florida, Utah, and Nebraska, Minnesota kicked off. But I know that you already know who won those games. So we're not going to keep you in suspense. Instead, we'll start this show with my instant reaction show that came out last night after those games ended. And yeah, there were a lot of things to talk about. After the instant reaction show, we'll then move on to a show featuring a familiar face, familiar voice. One Ari Wasserman of The Athletic joined me

to pick the games of Friday and Saturday. So you'll get all of that after the instant reaction show. But right now, let's talk about a walk-off field goal in Minneapolis and a stomping in Salt Lake City. Welcome to Andy Staples on 3, your instant reaction show and instantly, oh man, there are two fan bases that are in bad, bad shape, down bad. If you are listening to this immediately after these games, if you are a Florida fan, if you are a Nebraska fan,

you are beside yourself right now. Nebraska, stop me if you've heard of this before, another one score loss after two crippling turnovers in the fourth quarter crippling I thought I was going to lead this thing off with Florida with Florida looking so bad against Utah but no no we got to start in Minneapolis because this is exactly what happened to Nebraska throughout the entirety of the Scott Frost era. This was supposed to be the past. This was supposed to be over with, but no. Every single time it seems Nebraska gets close and then lucy yanks the football away in this case it was aethan kalliak monis with a dime of a touchdown pass incredible toe drag

by daniel jackson to catch that final well only touchdown for minnesota and then dragan kessich the lefty kicker wearing number 99. He missed a 54 yarder earlier. He hits a 47 yard game winner as time expired. And there you go. So Nebraska people, how are we feeling? We're probably not feeling great about Jeff Sims right now. Georgia Tech transfer, six yards per attempt through the air. He did gain 91 yards on the ground, but horrific interception in the end zone right before halftime. Horrific interception over the middle as they're trying to run out the clock. Now, there also was a fumble by Anthony Grant when they were trying to run out the clock as well, really wasting a great performance by Tony White's defense. This was a great job by that 3-3-5 defense.

And this has just got to be a killer for Nebraska fans because it was right there, and it felt like they were in position to run out the clock. It felt like they had not even momentum. That doesn't even matter. They were playing such good defense. Even when Minnesota would make a somewhat positive play, Nebraska would get some pressure

and either force a bad throw or sack Kaliak Manas. And it just seemed like Minnesota was never going to figure it out. And then really once Minnesota started hurrying up, now it's a weird thing for Minnesota because they are so used to being able to move the ball at will on the ground. That's not what happened. They averaged 2.2 yards a carry, 25 carries for 55 yards.

They threw the ball 44 times. But when they were hurrying up and throwing it underneath, Kaliak-Montas was getting it done. So it worked. They just may have to figure out how to do things a little bit differently, or maybe Nebraska's defense is that good. This is the problem with limited sample size. We just don't know yet,

but Nebraska's got to get the Jeff Sims of it all figured out before they go play Colorado because they've got to get more out of their passing game than what they got on Thursday night. There were occasional moments of brilliance, but even the trick play was a good throw. Jeff Sims didn't catch the ball. That almost turned into a disaster. If he doesn't pick that ball up, there's no touchdown. Like Nebraska doesn't even score a touchdown in this game.

So a lot needs to get cleaned up. Matt Rule is going to have to answer a lot of questions about quarterback play. Remember, they started with five quarterbacks in the spring and were deciding between them. I'm not saying bench Jeff Sims right now. I'm saying let's see what he does against Colorado. And then if this happens again, if it's more of the same, then you probably need to start thinking about opening up the competition.

So let's not throw it out right now. It's a narrow loss. They were right there. But the defense played great. So that is a good sign. The question now is how does Mount Rule and company bounce back from this? Because we know what happened with Scott Frost is they just kept losing games like this. So if that keeps happening, I don't know what to tell you, Nebraska fans, because, well, we were sure Scott Frost was going to work, and we're pretty sure Matt Rule's going to work.

But this is where Rule will have to earn his money because he's got to get this team rallied. He's got to get them ready to play Colorado. And he, listen, you had a division game in your pocket. You had it won. There is positive that can be taken from that, but I know if you're a Nebraska fan, there's no positive you're going to take from that because you've seen this so often.

You just see it over and over and over and over and over again. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to sit through that again. I'm sorry it happened again. But hey, Minnesota, that was gutsy because the Gophers could have quit. Let's be perfectly honest. After that big sack by 330-pound number zero Mr. Hutmaker for Nebraska, Calhoun could have been like, nope, I'm done. Let's just try to throw a few more passes and get out of here. Instead, he almost threw one touchdown pass to Daniel Jackson. It was just slightly overthrown out of the back of the end zone.

And then an incredible catch by Jackson dragging that toe. And then Sean Tyler, the big run to set up the field goal try on third down. That's another play. That'll probably get lost to history. But that was a phenomenal play because they were not in a great spot to kick that field goal. And they had almost turned that into a disaster. Because remember, Cali at Monash had dropped back to throw. He gets hit, loses yardage, clock's running.

Then they jump. That's a 10-second runoff. You can't use your only timeout. You got to let that time run. And then Sean Tyler, I think he gained about nine yards on that play. And suddenly it's a 47-yarder. It's makeable. And Dragan Kesich comes in and nails it.

So great job by Minnesota. Great comeback. Great resilience. And Nebraska, you're going to have to – you've got to start winning some of these. We can't count the Iowa game. That was the interim staff. You've got to start winning some of these. There's just no other way around it. This cannot continue. So Matt Rule, you're getting paid a lot

of money. You got to figure it out. If the quarterback play doesn't get better, you're going to have to make a decision on that. Or you're going to have to get Marcus Satterfield to make Jeff Sims better. And I saw a lot tonight about, hey, quarterbacks don't become different people when they go in the transfer portal. And it's true. There's a lot of reasons why quarterbacks transfer.

Most of them are not Caleb Williams type reasons, transferring from Oklahoma to USC. Most of them are, they probably weren't going to start where they were. And that's why they're transferring. So let's move on to Salt Lake City. Oh my. Utah 24, Florida 11. Let me run through some plays by the Gators in this game

you have a blown coverage on the first play from scrimmage for your defense that results in a long touchdown I'm actually going to forgive that one because that is that'll happen it's the first play of the season for the defense. Bunch of new starters. That stuff will happen. But here's where it runs off the rails. Red zone false start. Forces field goal attempt that gets missed.

Two number threes on the field with Utah punting. Freshman Eugene Wilson, Trey Wilson, catches a punt while running backward. Sets them up back against their own end zone. And then a Ricky Pearsall drop causes an interception that sets up Utah in the red zone. Into the third quarter, an illegal formation on a third and one run that would have converted the play. They end up getting stuffed on fourth down. The next offensive possession coming out of a commercial break,

they false start. This is all coaching. All of this is coaching. This is the part you get paid for, Billy Napier. You have a million people on your staff. How do you not notice you have two number threes on the field? This game could have been close. I don't know if Florida would have won this game, but this game could have been very close. Could have been a one possession game in the fourth quarter, if not for all of those things I mentioned. They took points off the board for

Florida. They gave points to Utah. It was very telling when Holly Rowe was doing her sideline report right after halftime, she had talked to Billy Napier and she said, Billy Napier says that they can run the ball. They just need to call more runs. The moment she says that, Florida shifts to an empty backfield. That was the series where they had the interception that set up utah in the red zone most of that is coaching you just practice for a month and you were that sloppy your players

couldn't get lined up you sent two number threes out on the field that's coaching that's not talent so you cannot blame dan mullen for this. There's no more, well, Dan Mullen didn't leave us any players. Well, he left you the number four pick in the draft. That was one player. But also, these are mostly your players. And they couldn't get lined up. That's not Dan Mullen's fault. That's this staff's fault. So that part needs to get cleaned up. Now, I will say, for Florida, the defense played very well in the second half.

The players did not give up. That is a good sign. That also reflects on the coaching staff. so if they can build upon that they've got another they've got a warm-up game against McNeese State next week and then they play Tennessee they need to be less sloppy against Tennessee it's at home no excuses for the false starts once you get home Utah is very loud I get. This happened to Utah last year in Gainesville where they had a bunch of false starts. But it's just, it's not acceptable. You get paid far too much money

and there are far too many people on that staff to have this level of sloppiness. There are way too many people in polo shirts on the Gators sideline and at the Gators practices to have two number threes on the field at the same time. Just facts. Now, moving on to Utah. I don't know how much this tells you about Utah.

I don't know how much this tells you about whether Utah can be a three-time Pac-12 champion. Because I'm not sure how good Florida is. I don't know that that was much of a test for you, to be honest. But you didn't have your starting quarterback. The Utes were starting a walk-on in bryson barns and then sprinkling in nate johnson and bryson barns looked awesome he operated the offense very confidently and look we saw that when he beat washington state last year we saw it when he had to go in the rose bowl

against ohio state when cam rising got hurt that game but was, this was very impressive. Nate Johnson needs to take care of the ball a little bit better, but I feel like Barnes can keep them going until rising is ready. Now, if rising and played in this game, it's probably not even close because he's because he's so in command of that offense. And I think it probably would have been much worse for Florida. But the Utes, they got to go play Baylor. So it doesn't get actually a whole lot easier because they're going to Baylor and then they get Weber State and then it's UCLA and Oregon State, which those two teams can beat anybody in the Pac-12. So Utah is going to be challenged. But man, Utah's D-line looked impressive. Impressive.

Five sacks and Utah's O-line did not give up a single sack. This was, look, we've seen Kyle Whittingham do this over and over and over and over again, and we probably should just start giving him enough credit. But this team looked very competent. Everybody was where they needed to be. And look, I bet last year there was a lot of people yelling after Utah lost in Gainesville about sloppiness, because they had some sloppiness. They had some mistakes

when they lost that season opener. So it's not the end of the world to lose your season opener, Gators. It's not that damning, but it's not great. And your mission now is do what Utah did last year. You lose this game, you could have been a lot better, just like Utah could have been a lot better in Gainesville. Now Utah turned it around and had a great season. Florida's got to do that too, but Florida, more than anything, needs to look respectable, needs to figure out how to get rid of the sloppiness, one, and also be a little more creative offensively, be a little more crisp offensively.

Listen, if you're going to take forever to send a play in, it better be a hell of a play. That it takes the operation of the offense seems to take forever. So I don't know where the solutions are, but they're going to need to find them pretty soon. And part of it is just getting rid of the sloppiness. Perhaps being at home keeps you from false starting. Lining up, that's a practice thing.

Two number threes on the field at the same time, that's your Friday walkthrough. When you're seeing who's on every special team and making sure you don't put two number threes on the field at the same time? That's your Friday walkthrough when you're seeing who's on every special team and making sure you don't put two number threes on the field. But that is where Florida has to clean up. And they have to be competitive. Because here's the thing. All offseason, we heard a couple things. One, Dan Mullen didn't leave us any players two when the 2024 class comes that's when it'll really start

parking up well guess what DJ Lagway can't play quarterback for you next week all of those coaches that are recruiting all of those players, and they're still recruiting the players committed to Florida, are going to say, are you sure you want to go there? Are you sure you want to be part of that? So Florida has to show better than that when it's on national TV and everybody's watching. It will have more opportunities to do that. But the Gators need to be better.

They need to be less sloppy. Here's the thing. A less sloppy team would have had a chance in Salt Lake City on Thursday. That's a good team they played. They would have had a chance. So, it's not over. It's not the end of the season because they lost one game.

These are mistakes that can be corrected. But if they show up again, then you start wondering, is it ever going to get corrected? So, that's Billy Napier's job. That's the staff's job. They have a McNeese State tune-up, and they better look good against Tennessee, or then the pressure is really, really going to be on. Thanks so much for the instant reaction, for coming. This was so much fun. We got more games on Friday. We got even more games on Saturday. So what we're going to do on Saturday

is after the noon window of games, we're going to have one of these. After the 3.30 slash 4 Eastern window of games, we're going to have one of these. After the primetime window of games, we're going to have one of these. So this is where you come to talk about everything you saw and this is going to be a fun fun season we had a walk-off to start the season walk-off field goal in a Big Ten conference game, division game. What a way to start it. What a fun first night. Guys, this weekend is just beginning.

That's it for the instant reaction. Now, let's listen to me and Ari picking this weekend's games and feel free to laugh at what we thought would happen on Thursday night. Welcome to Andy Staples on three. It is the first night of week one. We are an hour away from kickoff in Salt Lake City and in Minneapolis. And I don't think I could have this moment without bringing on someone very special, someone near and dear to my heart, someone who's going to help me pick games because he's the biggest degenerate. I know. Ladies and gentlemen, Ari Wasserman of the athletic until Saturday.

What's up? I'm the biggest degenerate, you know? I mean, probably. Yeah. So, hey, buddy, let me tell you, I'm happy to be on and let the grab ass commence. You know, it's really the most wonderful time of the year. We're talking about football. We've got a game on right after this, and I'm ready to get after it.

And also, too, you know, there might not be a lot of, you know, marquee games in terms of, you know, five or six matchups, but there's a lot of really, really interesting games this week just in terms of, like, getting answers to questions that we've had all offseason, and I'm excited to get those answers absolutely i mean because that's like alabama middle tennessee on its face is not interesting at all but we're going to get answers on alabama's quarterback situation which we've been talking about all offseason uh texas rice i think we know it's going to happen but we just want to see that Texas team on the field. Yeah, I do, especially because I picked them to make the playoff this year.

You know, the thing that I've – And I told you last year I would never do it again, and I didn't even last one year. If they don't do it this year, I am 100% out, but there's just too much to like about their path and what they have on the field this year to ignore that. But, yeah, so I'm also really excited just to see, like, what Colorado is. You know, it's like this amorphous image that's, like, out into the universe, and you don't, like, really know what to expect.

And, you know, Andy, I was looking at the composite rankings. Oh, you almost said the competition name. I almost said it. Yeah, I know. You caught me slipping. I've been 45 seconds on the show, and I'm already screwing it up. But they moved up 35 spots, like in total team talent ranking, and that was way higher than I thought it would be, even with the flip.

So what we're going to get from them, I think, is a super interesting dynamic. And really, I'm just excited to plop my butt down on the couch and really get into these sort of things. So, yep, wore a resort hat for you the winds you know you know i appreciate that uh and uh yeah as much as things change they all stay the same so let's let's get after it oh it's beautiful i got elon wake forest on my tv that's that's the appetizer but hopefully we are your second screen getting you ready for utah and flor for Minnesota and Nebraska and Ari. So let's explain to the folks how this show is going to work.

So you and I are going to pick games against the spread, but it'll be the games that will be played Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We're not picking the Thursday games because if you listen in podcast form, the first thing you're going to hear is me talking about the results of the Thursday games because I'm going to do a live reaction show when they're over. So if you guys are not busy in three and a half hours, we'll talk to you then. But this is so exciting for me. I can't wait. Do we want to just, as a bonus, throw some Florida, Utah, Nebraska, Minnesota picks out there just to see how dumb

we look when you've already heard who won the games? Sure. I don't know where you'd want to place it in the show. What we did was we did it at the end of the show so that the people listening on Friday morning didn't get spoiled at the beginning. But listen, you're the host, man. Oh, no, no, no. They'll get it because they'll already know.

They'll have watched the game. So the first thing they hear is me going, oh, my God, did you see that Minnesota Nebraska game so right now you tell me on the spot are you rowing the boat does Matt Rule have a saying I don't think he has a saying that's what I love about what are we doing absolutely no grab ass at a place that's just been inundated with hilarious you know Ralph Wiggum haha whatever grab ass I like Nebraska in this game because I'm just gonna say it like it's the first time in how many years that this pro this program has just had consistent competence across the board

like the way that he is going to do everything with this program whether it's recruiting and you know how they how they manage the quarterback situation that they had with Dylan Rayola while he was still uncommitted, or how he has been a steady builder of programs. The landmark of what Nebraska football has been is sneaky talented when you look at the way that they've recruited despite the dysfunction, and then losing in hilarious close games by doing really crazy things like onside kicks when they're not warranted and, you know, weird turnovers on special teams and all that stuff. Like just picture a world where Nebraska just isn't that anymore. They're just a team that plays hard, doesn't make stupid mistakes, isn't an embarrassment.

And it's just like painfully competent. And then you might have a team that is in every game in the big 10 west and might be there at the end of the year and i'm super excited to see what jeff sims brings to the table when coached by um you know a coach that is uh incessantly competent at a place that has some pretty good talent because you know we saw some flashes of him at georgia tech and we all know they're not playing with the full deck there so uh you know give me nebraska and give me more of them and and listen a lot's changed in a year year. Last year, Nebraska was the butt of every joke. But I just like am I'm ready to see competent Nebraska.

I picked Nebraska, too, but it was more of a steal a win because Minnesota has no film on what you're going to be. Sort of the same way Florida stole a win against Utah last year. But you said it better than me about Matt Rule. We're both taking Nebraska in that one, which they're the underdog. So I'm taking them to win straight up. Florida-Utah, I picked Florida in this game before the line dropped. Still picking Florida, even though the line has moved toward Florida. I understand why they're not playing Cam Rising.

I get it. I also just, the total here is 44, Ari. I'm saying under. I'm thinking this is a slog. Yeah, and I've noticed here in the last half hour that the line has moved back to five and a half from four. So, you know, this is a really, really interesting game because I think that both teams are going to want to probably play pretty conservatively, try to take what the defense gives them, run the ball as much as they can, try not to have like if Florida is going to have a pulse this year. And I know that they're flying across the country.

They're playing in a really tough stadium. The altitude thing is happening here. Also, what the hell is Graham Mertz going to be? Is he going to be a player that's never thrown for 300 yards in his entire career and has been very inaccurate. And, you know,

at times been in games where I felt bad for him, or is he going to actually be surrounded by that sec talent? That wasn't, you know, quite as abundant in Wisconsin and be surrounded by that sec talent that wasn't you know quite as abundant in wisconsin and be a player that we don't think that he can be um you know i we did a show on until saturday earlier in the year of like five most intriguing quarterbacks that you're just curious to watch and graham mertz made my list because i just can't look away from this whole thing oh yeah all right guys so you're either listening to that going if you're listening in, guys. So you're either listening to that going, if you're listening in the Friday podcast,

you're either listening to that going, man, these guys are smart, or man, these guys are dumb. So whatever that energy you're getting right now, based on what you saw last night, apply it to what you're about to hear. Ari, it's time to pick some games for Friday and for Saturday.

I want to start with the battle for Miami. And first, we need Brett Gabbert to lead us into this one. I think this plays off the same question, but the real Miami is where? In Coral Gables or here in Oxford? No, Oxford, Ohio. Because you're around longer, you're just... No, I just think we'll show them September 1st. Blaine Gabbert's little brother's got some trash talk,

some bulletin board material. Yeah, that's my favorite type of bulletin board material too. Poor guy shows up ready to have an innocent press conference. Reporter asks him a question that he can only answer one way. And then after he answers it that only way that he can, it's viewed as trash talk. Yeah, but, you know, if I were to take my family on a vacation, it would definitely be to Oxford, Ohio over South Florida for sure. So you don't want to Norman Los Angeles argument all over. Yeah, I didn't want to know if we want to go down that road of which beachfront property house you want to buy but you know i am interesting uh interested a lot in what miami

brings to the table this year because which one uh let's talk about the one that most people care about um you know last year tyler van dyke didn't really have that great of a year i think that's saying it nicely um you know the offensive line that Miami brings back should be a little bit improved. I love some true freshman five-star action getting onto the field. And I just, like, don't know when it is a reasonable thought process for Miami to turn the page and become a very good football team. Like, I look at other coaches that are in Mario Cristobal's situation,

you know, second-year coaches. I mean, if you think about just Mario Cristobal's situation, you know, second year coaches. I mean, if you think about just like the difference between like the seat that Billy Napier is on in Florida in the same state and the way that we view Cristobal, like it's like I feel like he's kind of sidestepped the rage of the impending hot seat. I don't know how that's happened. And maybe it's because if Mario can't do it in Miami nobody can um but like Miami was a really really big disappointment last year and I don't know how much more of a disappointment that can be this year before people start getting

impatient he's gonna get the rage if they're not good like if they fart around against Miami of Ohio and don't cover this 16 and a half point spread or if they get dominated by Texas A&M where I mean they've got really good athletes Texas A&M where, I mean, they've got really good athletes, Texas A&M, but Francis Malinoa, Samson Okunola, let's see how they do. It looks like those two true freshmen will be starting for Miami at tackle. So maybe they'll pull a, a Will Campbell, Emery Jones from LSU last year. Maybe that's, that's what happens. They get better on the line of scrimmage and they just get better. But yeah,

I'm taking Miami to cover in this one, but I want to see how do those young guys look going into a game against some absolute aliens against Texas A&M. But I guess when you're in this situation too, it's like what other options do you have but play freshman? Oh, yeah. The whole thing is just like we're rebuilding this from ground floor. That was your pitch to them is you can you can come in here

and play right away you know and it kind of makes you in a less advantageous position to maybe win big in the second year but you know it's like the number one question here andy isn't just a miami question it's it's just a general question of you know when it comes to florida when it comes to miami when it comes to places that um you know, have some talent on their roster, but also are in really fertile recruiting areas and are very sexy transfer destinations, what is a reasonable expectation for how long it should take the coach to flip the roster and be good? You know, we're not talking about a Deion Sanders one year, 80 players gone scenario.

We're talking about like, like if Florida is a five to seven loss team this year is that acceptable like like that to me is so interesting because in this new world of portal um you know we talk about how quickly coaches can re-jigger the offense or you know get guys into the fold that can help them get better in year one or year two um doesn't that also speed up the timeline of when you're expected to have a good football team? Yeah, I think you get two years. And now, look, this is a little different situation because Mario Cristobal, they can't afford to fire him after two years.

So even if it's a disaster, he's fine. Napier, they're not going to pay his buyout after two years either. So he's fine too. But two years probably should be for a program that – because Miami didn't stink when Mario got there. Like Manny Diaz was not doing the greatest job in the world, but it wasn't like they stunk. So, yeah, two years is a reasonable expectation.

You know what's funny, though? It kind of reminds me of the Nebraska scenario a little bit too. It's like at the time when Scott Frost was the head coach, he came back and everybody thought this is exactly what this program needs a person that understands how to win big here who gets the culture who understands what it is to be a corn husker and then when that didn't work you know got this feeling of like impending doom it's like if this guy can't figure it out then who's going to figure it out i kind of get that feeling with mario cristobal a little bit because they've tried every single you know miami takeover type personality

that they have to try to get in there and actually you know turn that place around and if it's like year three or year four and they still stink it's like what do you turn to like and granted matt rule fell out of the sky and it kind of gives you some stability there but it's like if mario can't do it i literally do not know who could do it there somebody always falls out of the sky if you have enough money speaking of if this guy can't do it here another acc game this time an actual conference game friday night louisville georgia tech louisville is a seven point favorite jeff braum the this you know the prodigal son returns meanwhile you got brent key who was the interim last year after Jeff Collins got fired he takes over and gets to kind of put his own stamp on the program uh Jack Plummer reunited

at QB with with Brom they were together at Purdue and then Plummer left and now now they're back together uh meanwhile Haynes King the starting quarterback for Georgia Tech and and Ari if you've completed a pass to me in your career yeah it hasn't gone as well as you hoped. I think we can agree on that. I was standing right next to you, but never will forget it. Yeah, that's going to be an interesting dynamic when it comes to, you know, Haynes King and Georgia Tech. And it's like, to me, like, I had a call with Jeff Brom in the middle of the offseason working on a recruiting story.

And it's just like my number one fascination with Louisville is just like what the plan is it's like uh do you go into Florida and just hope to stumble upon the next Lamar Jackson or do you try to push back at Kentucky a little bit in your own state do you go more regional and try to attack the Midwest it's like you know Jeff Brom did a really good job at Purdue uh and building something out of nothing there and making them an entertaining team and they had some really bigets, a few of which I've been at. But I, the whole program building thing in this new, in 2023, the year of our Lord, like, I don't know if like program plans are just different, you know, and I'm going to, I'm very excited to see, you know, what that

rebuild looks like. And, you know, I kind of feel like, you know, with'm gonna I'm very excited to see you know what that rebuild looks like and you know I kind of feel like you know with all these people returning home it's just a fascinating era yeah and listen I'm gonna pick Virginia I'm sorry I'm gonna pick Louisville in this game I think that Jeff Braum is gonna be great there I don't know that they're gonna be particularly great this season although this is the easiest their schedule is going to get this is the the first year of the new acc schedule they missed the toughest opponents so they should be probably better record wise than than maybe their talent would suggest but i actually think braum's going to do very well if you can get purdue to the big 10 title game you can definitely win at louisville so that's that that's where i'm going with that and i'm with you on that. I'm with you on that.

The recruiting statistics of how terrible Georgia Tech has been, despite being located in Atlanta, just keep me up at night. It's like those space videos of just how far away Earth is from the longest point in the galaxy, like 23 million light years away. It's that and what the hell is going on at Georgia Tech. As far as the point in the galaxy, I was like like it's 93 million miles from the sun are you that's no no 23 million light years from the known universe do you know how far that is and yet somehow georgia tech has still managed to be further away from signing a good recruiting class cold man but but hey as you say they had like three four star prospects in like a 10-year period, and they're in Atlanta.

It's awful. Paul Johnson didn't really want them. No, I know. And you had to win without them. It's so staggering to look at it on paper. It is incredible. All right, all right. We will be right back with more picks for Saturday.

But first, we got to talk about PrizePix. PrizePix is one of our favorite sponsors and it's daily fantasy that you can play just about anywhere 31 states and a lot of the states you can play prize picks in the states that you can't necessarily play anything else in so if you're in florida if you're in texas if you're in georgia you have some fun with prize picks and here's how it works it's you know it's daily fantasy and so you're taking different squares with a player that has it'll have a stat line and you pick more than or less than and you you pick two to six players and you stack them up and you see what you're going to do here's my my season pick at prize pick. So I've got Wisconsin running back

Braylon Allen, more than 1,075 and a half rushing yards. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, more than 23 and a half touchdowns. Bo Nix, the Oregon quarterback, more than 23 and a half touchdowns. And Brock Bowers, the Georgia Titan, more than seven and a half touchdown catches. Now, I know what you're saying, Andy, how come you didn't do any less thans? Because I like rooting for people. I don't like rooting against people. It makes me happy. So that's my season-long quest on prize picks.

I've got one for this weekend as well, though. And it's definitely going to make a couple games. One game I think is going to be really interesting anyway. One game, I don't know how interesting it's going to be. But I've got Michael Pennix Jr., the Washington quarterback. This is the one I feel probably most risky about. I pick more than three 10 and a half passing yards. They're playing Boise State.

Boise State's defense is going to be pretty good. But I love watching Michael Pennix play throws, maybe the prettiest ball in all the college football he's got great receivers so I'm gonna go more than 310.5 also when Texas plays Rice now I know what you're thinking you're not going with with JT Daniels making his third start for a third different team against Texas remember Georgia's the only team that he hasn't played for against Texas. No, I'm going with Xavier Worthy, the Texas receiver, more than 63.5.

And if you remember that Oklahoma game when Xavier Worthy was a freshman, I think he got more than that on the first play. So he's a huge play threat. And against this defense, I do think he's going to have a chance to do pretty well. So download that prize picks app, use the referral code, Andy. It's a up to a $100 deposit match.

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We're going to be tracking it all season. We're going to be tracking it week by week, day by day, because they're loading new squares in there every single day. And by the way, you can do every sport. They've got the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball. I think they've got disc golf. Basically, anything they play, you can play. And there's a free square that they're giving out

until the NFL season begins, until the first week of the NFL season. And it is a Dak Prescott free square. So if Dak Prescott throws for more than half a yard in the season opener for the Cowboys, you win. So get to PrizeP picks, download the app, referral code Andy, and get playing. Now it's back to the picks with me and Ari, and we are moving on to Saturday, Ari, and we've got East Carolina at Michigan you have Michigan interim coach Jesse Mentor

this game is on Peacock how many people are going to be going nuts at noon on Saturday because they're looking for the Michigan game and they can't find it on Peacock you know what I was thinking when it was on Peacock I was just like imagining uh Jim Harbaugh fiddling with a remote at his house trying to figure out what channel it's on. You know when he does the thing with the glasses and then he puts it down like half the way. Help! Help! I mean, it's just a... I have Peacock and I'm not necessarily sure how to find it still.

I just hope he gets bored because Michigan's crushing East Carolina and starts watching like Twists His Metal. And he's like, he comes back to the TV. He's like, great job guys. But man, that's sweet tooth. Like one of the best villains I've ever seen. He he is probably going to have an easy Saturday. I think that Michigan is going to steamroll. I love that he's playing games with who he's going to start at or give an opportunity to be the interim head coach. He did the same thing last year.

I believe when they were doing things with the quarterback so you know Jim Harbaugh is always going to be Jim Harbaugh unapologetically and they have a really really good football team I think that you and I could coach this team offensive defensive coordinator I think we could still cover the spread I don't have any doubt in my mind that Michigan's going to come out firing and you know he's just going to physically manhandle East Carolina. I'm just calling inside zone and power over and over again, just changing left to right. That's all I do.

If you've got to hit the 36-point spread with the new clock rules, though, you better start putting the ball in the air. I don't even know if I have to. They're going to be able to run the ball on people. That whole line's going to be awesome. I just feel like in order to cover a 36-point spread, you have to hit an 80-yard touchdown here and there. It can't just be drives.

I mean, I don't think that Michigan would have to throw the ball to win the game, so I'm with you from that dynamic. And, of course, we'd probably be more concerned about not losing than covering. But, listen, if I were a coach in college football, I'd know what the number is. I'd know exactly what it was, and I'd try to hit it every time for my glorious fans that support me every Saturday you know these coaches do they do they adopt the the philosophy of the interim

coach because you've got the defensive coordinator as the interim coach in this game and then uh Jay Harbaugh and Mike Hart have the UNLV game next week so are they going to be more aggressive because they're offensive coaches and like Sharon Morris he's going to try to run the ball more because he's an O-line well he's he's also the OC, so he throws too. But I am curious, like will Minter's personality take over? And how much will the interim coach try to put his stamp on the game because this is an audition for these guys to be a head coach? Yeah, and I think that's kind of the idea here, right?

Like let a few guys on your staff get an opportunity to feel what it's like to sit in the big chair and you know hopefully they have a good opportunity to kind of showcase their skills their leadership abilities and you know maybe that'll lead to you know some more staff continuity and uh or chemistry and then maybe it might lead to somebody getting a job so you know i think we kind of have an idea of if jim harbaugh were to leave for an nfl job which i think is a distinct possibility considering what he's built there, who's going to be right on deck to take over there. But, you know, it is cool to see some other guys get an opportunity to do so.

And, you know, I don't know if it's just me, but, you know, I've covered a lot of games in my time with interim coaches, and it just, you know, if the opponent stinks, then you're fine. Like, it's not that interesting. Like, it's just going to be an easy game. Like, when you fire a guy, you might get the dead cat bounce off of that, too. Or you might get the interim coach who's just a motivational genius like Cardinal Williams last year with Auburn.

Well, the interim coach that's just in place for a suspension, I mean. It's like there's no intrigue of who's going to be the next coach or what's this going to mean for the team once they lost their coach. It's like Jim Harbaugh is probably going to go get the same cheeseburger he bought and just sit on his couch with some tots and watch the game. Had to go with the little brown jug reference. Yeah. Had to.

Yeah. Well, I ate there a few weeks ago, and it was legitimately good. Well, there you go. Did you send the receipts to the ncaa i did yeah they needed don't they need some receipts you gotta have a few all right let us move to nashville where virginia will be taking on tennessee uh this is a musket versus a bazooka so i make that joke because tony Musket is the starter at quarterback for your Virginia Cavaliers. The bazooka, of course, belongs to Joe Milton. And Ari, I'm fascinated about this game.

J.D. Piquel and I, we envision nightmare scenarios for various fan bases. And we're trying to figure out situations where even if your team wins, your message board melts down. And J.D. had, if milton air mails three potential touchdown passes ball quest just goes ballistic it doesn't even matter what the score is if that happens like they could win 56 to nothing and yeah so like he also is one of the most interesting you know quarterbacks coming into the season to watch right it? It's like you talk all the time about accuracy and whether or not you're able to improve that or if being erratic is an innate trait that stays with you.

But I kind of get the same feeling about Bazooka Joe as I did last year with Anthony Richardson. We both were talking about Anthony Richardson a year ago about how he could play his way into being a top five pick, and lo and behold, it happened. And why? And they went six and six! And by the way, I hate to say it, and I don't know if it's rude,

but it wasn't very good at all in college in terms of what you would expect from a production standpoint for a top five pick at the quarterback position. And I kind of feel like Joe Milton is kind of in that same place because he has a cannon for an arm. He's a big kid. He's been around the block a lot, you know, like how does he have to perform for Tennessee to make the playoff or to be

in playoff contention come late October, November. And what does he have to do to be in contention to be a top 10 pick are two very different things. And the question I have is if he does one, will he do the other? And he's got to be as good or better than hendon hooker if they want to be in playoff contingent and that's saying a lot he doesn't have to be that good to be a top 10 pick yeah um but do you believe that you can

fix accuracy problems i believe that in the orange bowl against a really good clemson defense he looked like a different person that said he wasn't particularly accurate against vanderbilt the week before or the the game before so i have no idea i really don't but i can't wait to watch and if he does airmail a couple touchdown pass or what should be touchdown passes then i can't wait to see the uh the push for nico because it's gonna come you know the thing about that is that like i don't even know if nico is physically equipped to play it i mean i stood next to him six months ago and i mean that he's a very thin kid you know and i know that that's not his dad i have but he doesn't look like his dad. He's going to look more like his dad.

And when he does, he's going to be a 6'6", 235-pound monster. Yeah, but right now, if you had to throw that kid into the game, is he physically able to do so? I think it's an interesting question. And for him to get into a game this year, I think that Joe would have to get injured or miss time for something because i don't i think the leash is very very long here and you know i think that you also too kind of have to live with the with the erratic nature of his ability you know like that's just kind of what it is and when you pick him to be your

starting quarterback i think you have to go into it understanding that you know there are going to be times where he might throw a ball in the second second row of the state it's got it reminds me of that which uh mighty ducks character used to slap shot and like it like never went in um but when it yeah fulton fulton yeah it's like you know what a shot and you know every now and then it breaks some glass but when it goes through it goes through just you have to like live with it like joe milton is fulton um and it's not a comparison i expected but that's why i brought you on but isn't that it makes sense though right like it's like you know when he when he when he slaps the ball uh the puck you don't know where it's going to go and you know hopefully milton will be a little bit more accurate than that but there

will be times where he misses throws or you know has issues and tennessee just has to be a good enough team to withstand those things because when you put your trust in somebody like this, you have to anticipate that what their negative marks on their resume would be are going to show up. So do we think they cover a four-touchdown spread? I do, yeah. I think that Tennessee is going to be a really exciting

offensive football team this year. I think it's going to look a lot like it did a year ago. I mean, I think the quarterbacks are very different, but I think that Tennessee has a coach that knows how to drop some offense, and I don't really know if Virginia has the athletes to keep up. And listen, if you're going to throw a deep ball with Joe Milton, just make sure his heels are in his own 20. And even if he underthrows it,

maybe you'll get a receiver that can run under it, you know? Jalen Hyatt's not walking through that door, although Squirrel White is very, very fast. Yeah, very yeah isn't he fast yeah they've got some speed it's not really a concern all right ari big noon saturday you ready coach prime leading the colorado buffaloes to amon g carter stadium to face a team that played for the national title last year so yeah like have we ever been less certain of what a football team is going to look like coming into a year than we are for this colorado team i was trying to think of like any other team except yeah got some some really good players in the expansion draft. They have. So, like, here's the thing that I think is really interesting about Colorado.

Their secondary looks like it just got off a high school bus or, you know, was in the extras in the Friday Night Lights show. Dylan Panthers. You mean the one with Travis Hunter? No, but the rest of it. The rest of it. The rest of it. But I was going to say that Travis Hunter is going to be the best player on the field in all but one game they play this year. Except for Caleb Williams? That's it?

That's it, right? I mean, Oregon's got some good players. No, but Travis Hunter is legitimately a very, very good player. He's like walk in and start at Alabama and Georgia right away any program yeah yes yes and I don't know how much we're going to get of him on both sides of the ball that's really interesting I would don't know how good Shador Sanders is going to be I don't know whether or not their offensive line can block anybody Colorado's that is I don't know if their defensive line can get pressure.

And, like, I was impressed by the notion that, you know, they went up from number 63 to number 35 in the team talent rankings. Like, that's a huge jump. That's not a one-win team on paper. But now you have also a coach that's competing at this level at the highest point in his career for the first time. And it's just kind of like you have all these moving parts together and they kind of like you know piecemeal the the roster together with a bunch of players from all over the place and some of whom were really really

good at lower levels some of whom were didn't reach their potential as highly rated recruits at other places that are coming in so it's like even that the math on that is probably going to be off so it's like even if shador sanders is probably going to be off. So it's like even if Shador Sanders is awesome and Travis Hunter is awesome. Like what if TCU just runs for seven yards of carry in this game? And that's just that. I just worry about Colorado's big people. That's that's where I'm concerned because big people are hard to get out of the portal. Good big people are hard to find in the transfer portal.

And so you got to deal with that. Also, I just think this TCU team could be pretty good. You know, Chandler Morris was the day one starter last year. He gets hurt. Max Duggan never gives the job back, but Chandler Morris is probably the higher physical ceiling quarterback. Of the two.

And then you've also got, I mean, some of these guys, they brought in Trey Sanders, John Paul Richardson. Like they got guys who've played, you know what they're doing. And so, yes, like they got guys who've played, who know what they're doing. And so yes, they lost seven draft picks and it will look different. I think they're

still going to be pretty good. I think TCU covers this game. Yeah. I'm with you on this based on, on not knowing exactly what we're getting. Um, you know, and it's possible. It's like, what if Travis Hunter comes out and has four touchdown catches like that, like is on the table because he's that good. But when you're looking at a team that is going to struggle to cover outside of Travis Hunter and has really undersized lines, TCU is a team that is built for contact. I mean, they're a very hard-nosed team.

They're disciplined. They obviously know how to work their way around the portal pretty well themselves. It's not just the Deion show in that regard and if TCU can just run over them and physically manhandle them is Colorado going to have the temperament to you know be competitive you know like that's the thing it's like Deion Sanders is you know kind of preached about being hard on his team and putting him through hell through the first offseason that he's had there and you know trying to equip them for these types of challenges. But going on the road to a team that wasn't one of the four best teams

in college football last year but was certainly coached like one, that's not an easy thing to open at. So on the road and all that stuff, like TCU is going to be coming out firing, I really, really have a hard time picturing a scenario where Colorado covers the spread. And if they do, it'll be the story of the week. What's success to you? What's success to you for them in this game?

In this game, keep it within two touchdowns. And have it be competitive late in the third quarter. I think that would represent success to me. And if it's better than that, then that's all we're going to be talking about because we'll be very excited to see them play Nebraska. 38-24, 38-27 type of game, I think that would be a raging success for them. Absolutely. Because I don't think he has to make a bowl game for this to be a successful season.

I think if they win three or four, given what they've tried to do, that's enough. But there is a major disconnect from casual fans andy who don't understand like i think there's a lot of people like i was in the gym today believe it or not and uh somebody i was working out with was talking about you know god i can't wait to watch coach prime on saturday they're gonna they're gonna get the natty this year and it's like like there is a major major disconnect between what what Colorado is and what like general low-level college football fan perception is. And I am also too very curious to see how Deion Sanders behaves in loss

because he's been winning and he's been the show all offseason. His quotes are funny. He likes to say what's on his mind, and he says it in a funny, charismatic way. But, you know, he doesn't talk to the media very much that's not his own well-off media and he's gonna have to walk into a press conference after a game and if they get pumped um it'll be very interesting to see how he and his team can handle that moving forward absolutely all right another game that back when we were together we talked about this team all the time and i'm excited to begin the drive for 325

utah state at iowa iowa is a 24 point favorite meaning unless they're pitching a shutout they're gonna have to be on pace for brian ferentz to keep his job to win this to cover this spread so this is it right this is like where they score 48 points and kind of give them some breathing room if they can if they can do that you know an upgraded quarterback you can do that well we don't know if Cade McNamara is going to play Kirk Ferentz has gotten less and less optimistic about that as we've gone so it may be Deacon Hill but because Spencer Petras isn't even on the team anymore no no no I I think this offense will be better given the parts they had and I was at Big Ten media days and listening to Kirk Ferentz talk

about how banged up their offensive line was and all the issues they went through last year and and how it's just in a better place now I think Iowa's gonna be fine I actually think Iowa's gonna compete for the Big Ten West title but we we got to get off our jokes before they're averaging 32 points a game and we can't get them off anymore. Yeah. We are going to get the jokes off, okay? I mean, I think that, like, the fact that the number is there is always going to be funny.

And even if they're on pace, like, they're still, like, a 7-3 win away from getting back off pace. That's the thing about this. That would be the score of their first game last year yeah yeah against a team that was an fcs team if i remember correctly that was the fcs national champion south dakota state yeah okay so what are you what are they like bottom bottom half of the power five good or are they an fcs probably probably at bottom of the power five good yeah you think so yeah oh yeah yeah they were good they beat the buys i mean here's the thing too is like i've seen a lot of predictions of like iowa representing the big 10 west in the big 10 title game this year like you know their

offense isn't supposed to be awesome too uh it's supposed to be somewhat functional in order to set up ugly disgusting wins that make you want to pull your hair out while you're watching it. It's like Kirk Ferren said in a press conference today that his favorite score or his favorite win at Iowa was like a 7-4 game or 6-4 game or something. It's like the antithesis of what we find entertaining as sports fans. That's the thing. It's like Iowa, for how much we made fun of the situation that they were in last year, in October, early November was still alive in the hunt.

They don't lose to Nebraska. They win the West. It's unbelievable. Yeah. So, yeah, I, I think,

I think they're gonna be fine. I actually think they're gonna cover this spread. I don't think the drive to three 25 is going to be all that dramatic at all. But I mean, right now, especially if McNamara can can't play maybe there's some drama i don't think there will be any drama in austin i know you recently visited austin you

you and max olson sent me barbecue pictures i was very jealous you've never been to terry blacks before i haven't i i'm not it's one of the newer ones now it's the family they they had a place in lockhart i believe for for the longest time but i have not it looked amazing the trays were uh it was my best barbecue experience of my life it looked it looked incredible so everything hit um so let me ask you this we're not going to pick this game i mean i guess texas minus 35 you know texas covers there you go but do you think that the play that the playoff thought process is just like, you think I'm crazy again? Or like, we haven't had to talk about it.

No, I don't think you're crazy. I think Texas is more talented legitimately than it has been in years. And I'm not talking about recruiting stars. I'm talking about what NFL people think. Like, they want to draft Kelvin Banks when he's eligible in 2025. They love the secondary. They love the receivers. They love Jatavian Sanders.

So they've got guys that they just did not have. That said, I need to see them win the games they're supposed to win. I need to see them, you know, like they should beat TCU, even though TCU is, I just got done saying they're very good. That's a team Texas should be able to beat. You know, they should be able to beat Kansas State, even though I think Kansas State is an excellent team and potential repeat as Big 12 champ.

They should be able to beat them. The thing that's interesting to me is that they've got better lines than they've ever had or i guess in the recent past their office of skill talent jumps off the page i expect quinn ewers to be better um and both big time matchups that they have this year are against teams that we believe to not be peak versions of themselves um like oklahoma isn't the oklahoma that they've had to play every year for most part of the last decade and alabama you know which i think we're going to get to here, has an offense that has a lot of question marks who are the quarterbacks going to be,

and they also don't have any dynamic proven skill players that can go win them a football game. So even if they go one-on-one in those games, the main question to the season, and I guess it's the same question it always is for Texas, is can Sark coach this team in a way that helps them avoid losing to teams that they shouldn't lose to? Because if you look at the teams that they should beat, they're only going to be dogs in one game all year.

So like when you look at the path, the path is there. The team is there. So it's like, this is it. Like it's like now or like I'm out. Like this is, this is like more analysis that I've given Texas in my entire life. In the past, I've had problems like looking at the composite rankings and being fooled.

But when you actually like look under the hood and see what they have uh on the lines and and the actual team that they're going to be fielding this year i there's really not that much not to like about it so let's talk about middle tennessee and alabama since you mentioned it okay uh 39 and 39.5, no, 39 is the line, is the spread. I actually think if Alabama's farting around at quarterback and trying to figure some stuff out, they might not be able to cover that. Well, do you think they – I mean, it's middle Tennessee state. I think they lost a ton in the offseason. But this is a functional program.

I mean, we're a year removed from – They beat Miami last year the team beating miami so it's not like a rollover but like are is alabama going to take 10 yard uh slants to the house from their own 20 like are they going to like get broken coverages over the top and get easy 80 yard touchdowns um because if they're not like 40 is a really large spread to cover now i don't know if middle tennessee state's going to score because alabama's defense is going to be incredibly good on the jewel of the team in the unit um but i just don't know if alabama has an offense to score 40 points against the best defenses in the country well and also no it doesn't it's not going to play like that anymore but it can't win like that it's not going to play like that anymore. But it can't win like that.

It's not going to be winning like this is 1973 this year. Like, either you figure it out or you're going to lose. There's a midway point between 1973 and 2020. Like, and it's not 1993. I mean, what was the final score of the Ohio State-Georgia game last year? 45, 41-40. So, it's like that's the game you have to be able to win because you're going to be playing in that game eventually.

And I'm not saying that for like Middle Tennessee State, like whatever, they can go score 60 on them. It's like nobody would blink. But when they play Georgia or when they play Ohio State or they play Michigan or one of these teams, you know, that is going to be scoring a ton in that setting. You have to have a dynamic offense that can score against a very good defense and I and that's the reason why I didn't make pick them to make the playoff this year they they are

are the most talented team in college football by far and I still don't see the pathway of how you could pick them over LSU or Georgia to win their own conference I think they will have a defense that's better and that they won't have to win that game 41 40 they'll have to win it 31 30 and i think yeah i i think if they can run the ball well enough they can do that that's that's where i think they they they are improved yeah and i guess there's a lot on the shoulders of jace mcclellan and that offensive line to kind of be that way. Justice Haynes, baby, Justice Haynes. And it's like also, too, it's like are we turning quarterback competition

into who's the best battering ram? It's like just Milrow's going to be the guy who can run the ball the most? I don't think so. I think you want somebody who can throw the ball. I think you want an effective passing game. Now, does Milrow give you enough in the quarterback run that allows you to have guys wide open because people are terrified of him running

or somebody else running? That's fine against everybody except Georgia. Georgia's not going to be scared of that. That doesn't bother Georgia at all. You've got to be able to throw the ball. So they've got to be able to throw the ball. So I just, I, I, they got to figure out that quarterback situation. I don't think they have to figure it out for the Texas game. I think they have to figure it out by the Ole Miss game when the, their real SEC gauntlet

starts, but they got to get it figured out. All right. All right. Another quarterback situation where we're going to see two, we know what order they're going to, they're going to come in Ohio state at Indiana, Kyle McCord. I don't know if you heard. He was Marvin Harrison's high school quarterback. He'll be starting first. Devin Brown, we'll see him later. In the great city of Philly, right?

That's exactly right. Indiana has been really bad the last two years. I don't know if I love the spread while Ohio State is just having their spring game in the first week of the year. Like, how do you do this? 30 in a conference game is a lot. On the road in week one, figuring stuff out and not really knowing who your quarterback is

or like, I'm sure they have a plan, but we don't know what the plan is. Is it every other series? Is it three series and three series? Are these guys going to be amped up to make plays because they know they're having a quarterback competition that's live on television? No, and I understand why you're doing this.

You want to get these guys both reps and ready to pick somebody, in my opinion, for the Notre Dame game, which happens in three weeks. It all makes sense, but 30 points is a lot of points. If Indiana hits a big play or causes a turnover earlier on in the game and it's one of these games where it's 21-7 at halftime, Ohio State probably still would find a way to cover that, but I don't feel really good about it. In the vein of just having to pick one,'d probably take the points with indiana just because i think

um experimental mode ohio state is an ohio state on full cylinders and 30 points is a lot if you're not going on full cylinders against a conference opponent i'm gonna take ohio state to cover they're often gonna be fine yeah i know i don't know but you know how it is sometimes though with these no i've covered a lot of ohio state games in my career where it was just like what's going on out there yeah these these can't all be chalk and here's here's one that that feels like it would might be non-chalky boise state at washington washington's a two touchdown favorite in this game boise state seemed to get better last year uh they figured out that that you know taylon green's their guy at qb but then you've got Michael Pennix and that man can throw targets.

Whenever the balls in the air in slow motion, it's like smooth jazz just plays over the speakers. Like I, it's like the NFL film shot over and over again, just the prettiest spiral. But there are a lot of people out there that actually think that Boise state has a chance to win this football game. I don't know if I buy that, but I think it's going to be a –

I feel like you have to take Washington since your price picture has taken over 310 yards. No, it doesn't. That doesn't mean I have to take them. I think Pennix can throw for more than 311 yards, and they can still only win by 13 points. I mean, I think the points – It's a lot of points to give Boise State.

And Boise State is a 10-win team this year, right? Yeah, I'm going to take Boise State to cover. I think Washington still wins. Well, actually, everybody's taking Boise, including me, which means that Washington's probably going to win 41-10. But you know how that goes. Ari, this is a quick one. I think I still know the answer to this.

UTSA at Houston, I was going to take UTSA to cover. This was a three overtime game last year that Houston barely won. UTSA probably should have won it. Houston is wearing these uniforms. I know. I'm taking Houston because of it. I'm still taking UTSA. But those uniforms are beautiful.

The old Oilers colors. Love it. The Houston Oilers is a Houston thing, not a Tennessee thing. Don't at me. Oh, no, no a Houston thing not a Tennessee thing don't at me oh no no you're right I the Titans don't need to be wearing that and I would love if Houston could put the the oil Derek on the side of the helmet too that would be awesome is there actually has there ever been oil in Tennessee I didn't want to tweet that because I wasn't sure I don't know it's a very long state there's I'm sure somebody's truck oil there somewhere. That's already Google history.

Was that where Jed Clampett and his family lived before they went to Beverly Hills? You're barking up the wrong tree with that question. I don't even know what that means. Maybe they lived in West Virginia. Let's move on to West Virginia at Penn State. 20.5 point favorite the Nittany Lions against Yolo

Neil Brown. What are they going to do? Fire me? Every trick play. run every trick play yeah I I don't know we we got into a lot of discussions over the past year about Drew Aller and like what he's supposed to be this year but you know I mean for the first time in a long time like I come into a season feeling like Penn State is a legit you know threat uh in the Big Ten East and you know it's a tough game, but it being a whiteout, I believe, right? And it's at home. It's at night.

Penn State's fired up to kind of turn the page. I think it's the whiteout. Isn't the whiteout Iowa? It's a night game, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a night game. So even if it's not the whiteout, I don't know. I might have misspoke there.

That place is going to be rocking. I just think Penn State has too much firepower, and you can run the annexation of Puerto Rico if you want. You've got to line up and win the game or win reps, and I just don't think West Virginia is equipped to do that. I do love C.J. Donaldson, though. I really, really like the running back. Yeah, he's a tight end playing running back, and he's really good.

By the way, UConn drove the ball down the field on NC State. I'm not liking my NC State to cover pick, although NC State is right back in score in the red zone. So maybe it's okay. I think Penn State, I don't know. Okay. I think this is the one where Penn State gets scared. I picked them to make the playoff.

So obviously I think they're very good. I think they're finally, in terms of elite talent, close enough to Michiganigan and ohio state to really sniff a big 10 title but i think this is the game where they get scared so yolo neil brown to cover but not to win how's that sound yeah i mean i'm not with you on the penn state the playoff thing oh i know you're not but it'll be interesting to see you know what kind of penn state team we like are we going to get like a really really good penn state team are we going to see a team in state college that's a juggernaut or looks like one i think that depends on how good

your hour is i think that's that's probably it oh by the way matt in the chat the clampets were from tennessee so oil has been struck at least once, at least fictionally, in the state of Tennessee. So there you go. Never seen the Clampets or whatever that's from. You're missing out. What is it? Danny, Jethro, Ellie Mae. No clue.

Now we're back. We're back. All right. We got two more games to talk about, Ari. Okay. The battle for Carolina in Charlotte. I ari okay the battle for carolina in charlotte the i'll call it the battle of carowinds you don't know what that means but that's an amusement park also don't know what that means carolina and part of it is in south carolina how many uh references

do you think you could make if you tried really hard uh to like references that i would never heard of before have no idea of its existence. Like you could get 50 in one. A hundred per show. Yeah. Carowinds would be the place where when I was four years old, we went there and there was a free Jimmy Buffett concert for all who had bought tickets to Carowinds. And so that was my first concert. And I fell asleep promptly. Can't imagine what would have made me sleepy.

That would have been hanging in the air at a Jimmy Buffett concert in 1982. But I'm sure you can imagine. So that's what they call early exposure. Exactly. Exactly. So North Carolina, South Carolina, the Tar Heels are a two and a half point favorite. The total here is 64 and a half over and I'm taking South Carolina straight up because I'm gonna need proof from that North Carolina defense that it is somewhat more functional

I'm taking North Carolina uh I love Drake May. I love everything that he stands for. I think that there's a lot of question marks on both sides of the ball. No Tez Walker news yet. I don't know that they're going to get good news on Tez Walker. It would be nice if they did, but I don't see it coming. Yeah, no, I just like – it's hard because North Carolina always loses or plays embarrassing football when people expect something from them. And kind of this year they do have a little of that.

But I just kind of like the side that they're on. I know that people are waiting for the resurgence of South Carolina football here under Shane Beamer, but I like North Carolina in this one. All right, Ari, last one. Sunday night, the featured game. I will be there live and in person lsu in florida state lsu is a two and a half point favorite i'm interested in the total on this game we have the graphic we have 64 and a half i i had 56 this

morning is am i missing something here what's going on here i'm gonna look this up what are you what is the it's 56 and a half that's what i thought okay 56 and a half is the total i think this hits the over because i think florida state's best position group is its receivers lsu's worst position group is its dbs so they're going to score a bunch that doesn't mean i think lsu is necessarily going to lose i just think it's going to be a track meet yeah i um i've heard a lot of people say that they think that lsu is a team that they think could win a championship this year like win it all right um and i do kind of feel like lsu is kind of still in that alabama ish type territory where it's like I want to see the proven playmakers that can win them a football game I don't know that I'm 100% bought

in either on the ceiling of Jaden Daniels like I think that Florida State has a quarterback advantage in this game I think their offensive line is the best iteration of itself that it's been in in years still not as good as LSU's probably, but yes. Probably not, but Jordan Travis is going to be well-protected. And, of course, Florida State's strength with Keon Coleman and Johnny over there is going to be going right into the teeth of LSU's weakness. And it's very easy to step your foot in the team rankings trap and just go for the talent.

But Florida State's old, they're, they're veteran. You know, they've gotten a lot of good players who have already proven time and time again to be really, really good. And they're getting points, you know? So, uh, both of these teams, I think, um, will be in college football playoff contention. I think it's possible that they could play again down the line. Um, but in a game like this, I just, you know, the one thing here is the X factor is Harold Per line. But in a game like this, I just, you know, the one thing here is the X factor is Harold Perkins. Like, can Harold Perkins just wreck Florida State's entire night by himself?

Because I think he's the best player. I think if Mesa Smith were playing, it'd be easier for him to do it. And that's the other thing. He's not playing. So I know it's the grab-ass suspension of the century, but he's not playing. So, you know, I just kind of feel like in a game that is kind of 50 50 to me that i would lean towards taking the points i think the pendulum swinging towards florida state for me i i take florida state too i i take florida state to win

straight up i i think for the same reasons you said i think brian kelly has been telling us he's telegraphing this all season that he doesn't think LSU is quite there yet depth-wise in terms of of being a title contender and they're going to drop like they're going to win probably something they're not supposed to and they're going to drop something they're not supposed to this is this is the one I think they drop to an older team that is just you know veteran heavy and and very good in certain spots you know Keon, Jared Verse coming off the edge. That's where Florida State has premium talent. They do not have premium talent everywhere.

It's not like Georgia. It's not like Ohio State. But LSU's not there yet either. And I think that's what Brian Kelly's been trying to tell us all summer. Yeah. And, I mean, he's also alluded to depth issues. And they've had to you know get some guys in transfer portal the secondary right to kind of come in and try to bandage some things

up so you know listen i think that florida state and you've kind of been on the florida state bandwagon a little bit longer than the rest of the country in terms of like this is headed in the right direction i wonder if mike norvell is going to be able to teach a master class on how to build a team through the portal. And then, of course, that matriculates down into being a more attractive destination for high school players because it's starting to get momentum with some of these five star guys in the 2024 class. And it's like all of a sudden it's just like, holy, holy crap, like Florida State might be for real in three. I mean, like back. Yeah, it's going to take it's going to take a couple of recruiting classes to get them to that level. But, yes, if they can keep recruiting the way they have been

and this class holds and they have another one or two like it, yeah, it could be pretty good. Ari, this has been amazing. I know you've got to go watch football now for work. Yeah. Tough life we have. For work. Yeah.

No, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm going to go kiss the baby on the forehead uh bruce feldman's coming over to watch the games i'm super excited about that you know we're gonna have a party here if you can get out here just just we could have done this live and we've done a podcast in this room before you know that's good again but you know maybe down the line well yeah paul chris got fired that's the last time we did a podcast in that room that's right that's right well you what? This room is here waiting for you. Let's hope it doesn't require that for that

to happen. But Ari, it's been a pleasure. Thank you so much. Always great linking up with you, Andy. Thanks for having me on. I miss you, bud. What a party that's going to be in Casa de Wasserman tonight. I am jealous. He's next to a location of Heim Barbecue, which if you've not

tried Heim Barbecue, it started in Fort Worth, but they've got, I believe, three locations in the Metroplex now. One of them is very near Ari's house. They do bacon burnt ends. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. It is spectacular barbecue. And if I had it that close to my house, it would be very dangerous. That's all I can say. All right, let's explain how this is going to work. This is a weird night. We're not used to this level of quality game on Thursday.

So we're going to do this every Thursday. But we wanted to make sure that we got off the air, got you out to watch the big games on Thursday night. But here's what's going to happen. I'm going to be back after the games. Instant reaction. And we'll be doing this on Saturdays too. After each window of games, I'm going to be popping on the On3Sports YouTube channel live.

And you can come in, chime in in the comments. You know how we do the Dear Andes where you send me the question. You can send a video to andystapleson3 at gmail.com. You can also send it to me on Twitter or X or whatever we're calling it these days at andy underscore staples. I want your reactions to these games

because we got to talk about all this stuff as it happens. I want the raw uncut stuff when your team has just blown a big lead and lost. Like that's what I, that's what I want to see. I want the pure emotion. So bring it because that's the most fun we have here is right after those games when we're talking and we can't believe what we just saw. That's what's coming. So after Florida and Utah, after Minnesota and Nebraska,

I'll pop on. If you're a podcast listener, you've already heard what I will have done as the instant reaction. You will have listened to it at the beginning of the show. So we'll be doing that from here on out. Thursday nights are going to be us picking games against the spread. It's going to be a different guest picker every week. We'll keep score. We'll see who wins me or the guest pickers. It may be that if I get down, I maybe try to pick a guest picker who I don't think is going to get a lot of games, right? We'll see. Maybe I try to rig it that way, but it is going to be so much fun.

We are here. College football 2023 week one begins now.