Andy & Ari On3 - Picking the Week of DISCOVERY | USC at Michigan | Tennessee at Oklahoma | Utah at Oklahoma State

Episode Date: September 16, 2024

Wendy’s New Saucy Nuggs take the Crispy and Spicy Nuggs you love and turn them up to 11. Choose between flavors like Buffalo. Honey BBQ. Garlic Parm. Or, if you’re a real heat seeker, try Spicy Gh...ost Pepper, only on Wendy’s signature Spicy Nuggs. The Money Game is a compelling six-part docuseries that chronicles the introduction of the groundbreaking decision by the NCAA to grant NIL (name, image and likeness) rights to student-athletes, permitting them—for the first time ever—to earn endorsement compensation while maintaining their amateur athletic status. The Money Game features inside access to LSU stars Jayden Daniels, Angel Reese and Livvy Dunne through last year. See the world of NIL through their eyes. Watch The Money Game on Prime Video. https://www.amazon.com/The-Money-Game/dp/B0D9KQWC97?tag=on302-20 (https://www.amazon.com/The-Money-Game/dp/B0D9KQWC97?tag=on302-20) Thank you to Gametime for sponsoring today's episode! Planning your college football travel for this season? Gametime has tickets to every game. (And every concert and comedy show.) Download the Gametime App and enter code: STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Last Minute Tickets, Lowest Prices, Guaranteed. This show is also sponsored by PrizePicks, America’s most fun daily fantasy game. Use the code STAPLES to play $5 and get $50 instantly. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/STAPLES (https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/STAPLES) Happy Monday! Andy and Ari are picking the games of week four. (0:00-0:35) Wendy's Saucy Nuggs(0:36-3:08) Intro of Week 4(3:09-11:06) #24 Illinois at #22 Nebraska (-8.5, O/U: 44.5)(11:07-11:59) Gametime Ad(12:00-17:12) NC State at #21 Clemson (-16.5, O/U: 48.5)(17:13-19:11) Watch the Money Game on Amazon Prime(19:12-27:46) Florida at Mississippi State (+4.5, O/U: 56.5)(27:47-30:04) PrizePicks(30:05-36:32) Arkansas at Auburn (-3.5, O/U: 58.5)(36:33-40:44) Georgia Tech at Louisville (-10.5, O/U 57.5)(40:45-52:16) #11 USC at #18 Michigan (+5.5,  O/U: 47.5)(52:17-58:21) #12 Utah at #14 Oklahoma St (-2.5, O/U: 52.5)(58:22-59:22) Cal at Florida State (-2.5, O/U: 44.5)(59:23-1:00:51) Iowa at Minnesota (+2.5, O/U: 36.5)(1:00:52-1:06:58) #6 Tennessee at #15 Oklahoma (+7.5, O/U: 58.5)(1:06:59-1:07:33) Conclusion Watch us on YouTube instead! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnfUCo9oAKUbqgjfmdrxGWTl55VtBQNR5 Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River Bailey

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Starting point is 00:00:30 For a whole new way to nug, it's got to be Wendy's at Participating U.S. Wendy's. Welcome to Andy and Ari on 3 presented by Wendy's. It's a Monday. It's a pick show. We're back. We were on the road for a long time, Ari. It's good to see your face again. What's it like just not being in my presence for the first time in 10 days? Are you doing okay?
Starting point is 00:00:57 Debilitating. I feel like just a light has gone out in the world. And I like my family too, but you know but it's just not the same without you. My wife asked me when I returned home if I felt single, and I said, no, I'm in a relationship with Andy. Exactly. Oh my goodness. We have a whole other week to get into, and
Starting point is 00:01:19 around and around we go forever. It is crazy because I feel like we're still digesting what happened last week and we're going to start making picks for the games this week. But I kind of like this. I like just plunging into the next week because if we didn't stop talking about last week, we never would. We'd still be going, oh, I see Arch Manning.
Starting point is 00:01:43 But now it's time to just move on. And spoiler, we're actually not picking Texas ULM. That may be a mistake. No general booty Arch Manning picks. But I do feel like we've got a really interesting slate of games here, Ari. The headliners, obviously, Tennessee going to Oklahoma, USC going to Michigan. But there are some very intriguing games this week. Some teams that really haven't played anybody yet that we're
Starting point is 00:02:16 going to see playing against a challenging opponent for the first time, or some teams that we've seen look kind of different in a couple of games. Like, look terrible one game and great one game and now we're going to see them playing against a challenging opponent and we're going to have to figure out which team are you yeah and and once again andy we got a really awesome game on a friday night too uh we're going to get a little bit of what we uh uh really think of this nebraska team when they play illinois uh we are going to find out a lot about the Big 12 race right out of the gate. There's a lot on the bone here.
Starting point is 00:02:50 And even if there aren't a lot of sexy games, I've learned time and time again in my life that that means it's a chaotic weekend in store. So I'm looking forward to it, and I'm excited to get into the games. Yeah, some of these things that you might consider weird may be the sexy games. Some of these are really intriguing to pick. And I think, well, let's start Friday night
Starting point is 00:03:10 because that is one of the more fascinating ones. Illinois at Nebraska. Nebraska is an eight and a half point favorite. And I feel like given what we've seen from Illinois so far, that feels high. It does, yeah. I mean, I've been in the camp that Nebraska is probably going to be – sorry about that, 7-0 going into the Ohio State game,
Starting point is 00:03:38 and you're kind of in the camp of like they're probably going to slip up. And when I look at the spread, Andy, I think that that kind of shows me that I might be onto something here. I mean, that's a pretty big number. Illinois isn't a bad team. So if you think they're going to get tripped up, this is one of the spots
Starting point is 00:03:53 that you might think that could happen. It is one of those spots. And, you know, it's just, Illinois has been good on defense so far. Now we look at the Illinois-Kansas game and now we've gotten to see another full game of Jalen Daniels. We got to see him against UNLV. I'm not sure Jalen Daniels is as great of a quarterback as we maybe thought, so I'm not sure what to take from how Illinois played him. him because I would have said right after that game, oh, watch out Dylan Raiola because this is going to make things very difficult for you. I don't know that.
Starting point is 00:04:31 I think Dylan Raiola might have already passed where Jalen Daniels is. And so perhaps I'm not as worried about him against Illinois' defense. But again, Illinois, they've been able to score points in these games. They scored 23 against Kansas. That's probably about what you'd expect Nebraska to be able to do against Illinois. So the question is, how much better is Nebraska's defense than Kansas' defense? Can they keep Illinois down, keep Illinois from scoring? I think they can. So even though this spread seems a little high, Ari,
Starting point is 00:05:07 I am tempted to take Nebraska to cover here, especially given it's the showcase game. Everybody in the country is going to be watching it. You know, Fox Friday night. This is going to be the one that the whole country watches. This is really, you know, we've seen Delorello a few times, and obviously a lot of people watch the Colorado game, that the whole country watches this is really you know we've seen delarello a few times and obviously a lot of people watch the colorado game but i would venture that as many or more may watch
Starting point is 00:05:30 this game yeah it is just a funny sport because when illinois played kansas i thought they were going to get run off the field like they did last year and then when they didn't with my thought process of what Kansas was or was supposed to be I was like holy crap Illinois might be really good and then the following week we watched Kansas again and they looked awful so it makes you second guess where you stood it makes you rethink what you thought Illinois was so for me I absolutely doubt myself in the sense of like, Illinois is a team that can win seven, eight, nine games still. Like I, I'm not saying they can't, but I'm not as certain of that as I was. Um, like I'm been certain that Nebraska is a very good football team. Their talent level, I think is pretty good. They're coached pretty well it seems
Starting point is 00:06:25 like they've put behind I don't want to like say it too soon but have they put behind the decade of complete and utter grab ass in every single game and just played good solid defense with a star quarterback and you're playing at home with the I mean that crowd is as juiced as it's probably been in a long time like eight and a half seems like a lot, but a 10-point Nebraska win in like a 31-21 type game totally seems like it's reasonable. And, you know, Illinois is just a tricky team to bet on. Like, I was certain that that Kansas line was wrong two weeks ago, and then they went outright.
Starting point is 00:07:00 Then you might want to overreact to that and be like, well, I thought Illinois was a fraud or that this was a weird line two weeks ago and I got burned by it. Then you want to overcorrect it and go on Illinois side. But my gut was with Nebraska when I saw this number. And my gut is that Nebraska is a hell of a lot better than even we give them credit for right now. I think we're going to find out about Nebraska's defense here. I think Nebraska's defense is the key to this. Luke Altmyer has been a very efficient quarterback for Illinois so far. He's completed 69% of his passes.
Starting point is 00:07:32 He's averaging 8.3 yards per attempt. That's about all you can ask for at Illinois. And then they've been running the ball. He's having a better year than Rayola. Right. And they've been running the ball well. They're 4.4 yards to carry that you you might want a little more than that but that's fine especially given the efficiency of the
Starting point is 00:07:49 quarterback play the question is can you run the ball at all against Nebraska and how much will Nebraska's pass rush affect Luke Altmyer because he hasn't had to deal with anything like that we think yet so that's what we're going to find out. Because if Nebraska's defense is what we think it is, Nebraska's going to cover this. If it's not, this is going to be a fight to the very end. Yeah, I also think, too, that you can make the case that Illinois is even more battle-tested than Nebraska is because we are really reactionary
Starting point is 00:08:20 when it comes to making Colorado look bad. But I think a lot of teams are going to make Colorado look bad. That said, I still think that Kansas is probably a better all-around football team than Colorado is this year, and Illinois handled their business against them. So it kind of feels like the context bowl a little bit of like, we're going to find out a lot of information here, and I'm pretty high on Nebraska. I think that they have a lot of really good pieces. I think they've got more talent on the field than Illinois does. They're at home. The line is big enough to scare you, but it's actually not that big if a team gets rolling in college. I think I look at this and I'm
Starting point is 00:08:55 really leaning Nebraska here. I am too. I'm going to take Nebraska to cover and we'll all convene on Friday night. I'll be coming off a high school game and uh i'll be watching the rest of that one and and that's a great while you're at your son's game so you can have please do keep me updated yeah keep me updated and listen i can't i just loved starting a weekend this way i love starting a weekend with a good game i thought last last week was ideal because you had a great Thursday night game with Texas state, Arizona state,
Starting point is 00:09:25 and you had two great Friday night games. I love this. Keep this up. College football, keep scheduling this way. This is how it should be done. Every single meal on earth is better with an appetizer. And when the appetizer sucks,
Starting point is 00:09:39 it kind of derails the meal a little bit. So I'm all for interesting, entertaining games. like i don't know if we're just so deep into the college football bubble andy but do you think like the general public gets juiced to watch this game or is it just college football nerds like i i am i think it's i think it's sickos and people who are fans of the two teams that's that's who it is like the texas state arizona state was very much a friends and family like we are all sickos here now i will say the gambling sickos probably joined us in that game
Starting point is 00:10:12 because the nfl game got so out of hand the bills were killing the dolphins and that's you know there was no reason to watch anymore so just so you guys know andy and i went to outback steakhouse i got a french onion stoop and some wings and we were back at the hotel time of both of those games and i laid in a room that was 41 degrees i had uh the party bowl on the ipad in the nfl game on the big tv and i will tell you outside of the birth of my child and my wedding day, that might've been the best night of my life. Yeah. I was on the, I was on the elliptical.
Starting point is 00:10:49 I was on the elliptical with the party bowl on my iPad and the NFL game on my phone. So that, that was, that was pretty perfect night for me too. It was amazing. Shout out to, well,
Starting point is 00:11:00 Outback's not a sponsor, but you know, they always could be, you know, who is a sponsor? Game Time. You want to go to Norman to watch Tennessee play Oklahoma? Do you want to go to Ann Arbor to watch USC Michigan in a conference game? No less, a conference game.
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Starting point is 00:12:02 And this is a weird one because we have seen Clemson look god-awful against Georgia and now the Kentucky Georgia game adds even more context that makes it more confusing we have seen Clemson look amazing against Appalachian State I don't know what to think going in now NC State we saw look really bad against Tennessee. They got blown out, but it might be that Tennessee's just really good. And also, Grayson McCall got knocked out of their game on Saturday in the second quarter. Dave Doran plans to update us on that injury later Monday.
Starting point is 00:12:38 The way he described it Saturday, the way he talked about it Saturday, he said he didn't want to speculate, but he also pointed out that Grayson McCall was just kind of celebrating with his teammates at the end of the game on the sideline so it sounded like he wasn't particularly worried about it I think obviously that's going to have a huge impact on whether you think Clemson can cover this 16 and a half point spread in this game well you also did you mention that the Georgia blowout loss also feels a little different? Yeah, a lot. Because we said, oh, it must be just because Georgia's awesome.
Starting point is 00:13:16 And that's why Clemson gave up that many points and scored that few points. But Kentucky, we didn't think was as good as Clemson and certainly played Georgia a lot better than Clemson did. You know, Andy, in the first month or five weeks of the season, we're all just detectives and we're trying to figure out who's booty cheeks and who's not. You know, like it's it's it's kind of a hard thing to do because sometimes games have a look about it and then you turn around and you watch another game and it's like, wow. So, yeah, there are Jekyll and Hyde teams out there. I think Penn State's another one where it's like, are they good or are they bad?
Starting point is 00:13:44 Like, I don't know. On one hand, you blow out West Virginia. On the other hand, you almost lose to Bowling Green. I have no idea how to rank that team or feel good about it moving forward without getting more context. But NC State's another one. And here's my actual gut feeling when it comes to Clemson, Andy. It's an above average to pretty good football team that'll probably win 10 games this year without
Starting point is 00:14:07 scaring anybody in the process and that doesn't mean that I don't think that they could beat NC State by 17 I think they're going to have good games I think they're going to look really good on defense they still have a lot of really good players especially on defense you know just because I'm out on them as a national champion contender doesn't mean that I think they're going to stink in regular games. So I think being at home and feeling good about the way the App State game went, anytime you hang 66, you probably come into the off week with some confidence. You iron some stuff out. We don't know how healthy Grayson McCall is going to be for this game. I don't
Starting point is 00:14:47 know that there's a lot to convince me that NC State's going to hang here. You know what? You know what convinces me? This is a conference game. This matters. Everybody feels like they still have a chance to win the conference. The champion of the ACC goes to the playoff. I think Clemson will get NC State's absolute best shot. The absolute best shot NC State can give. Now, if this were in Raleigh, I'd be very confident about NC State being able to cover this number, but it is not. So I'm not super confident, but I don't think I'm going out on a limb if I say Clemson wins, but NC State covers. I think NC State's going to give them a fight. And let me tell you, because I like throwing stuff out there. I think that I could probably excuse NC State's 51-10 loss to Tennessee
Starting point is 00:15:41 more than I could excuse Clemson's blowout loss to Georgia right now. Like I think that NC State ran into a buzzsaw and we're finding out week by week that Tennessee is going to be very good and we're going to pick this game later. I'm going up to Norman like I am drinking Tennessee Kool-Aid so I don't know how much I look at that loss and go wow NC State's just a bad football team. I think that they probably ran into the buzzsaw more so even than Clemson did this year. And also too, and I'm kind of talking myself out of it a little bit, Andy, I don't know if we're completely out of the woods of just another offensive no-show for Clemson. That's always in the cards here. You could go an entire half of football and they that's where that's where i'm
Starting point is 00:16:25 coming from like if they have a half like that they could still win this game but they won't cover yeah um but i'm gonna give clemson the benefit of the doubt i think that you did make some good points you made me switch my thought process i hope i'm not watching this game and just feeling like uh i did while watching Florida state. And it's just like, can this team get a first down? It kind of felt that way a little bit in the Georgia game,
Starting point is 00:16:51 but I really do think that Clemson's a pretty good football team and winning like 38 to 21 or something seems like the pick here. All right. That this is going to be fun because we're now getting into conference play and it feels like it's been a kind of a delayed entry into conference we've seen a couple really interesting sec games already but the other leagues really haven't gotten fully into conference play and some leagues are playing conference games that aren't conference games at all exactly exactly arizona kansas state game wasn't a conference game.
Starting point is 00:17:25 But now we're getting the ones that really count, and I think that matters quite a bit because, again, if you win your league in the power leagues, you are probably going to make the playoff. Where in past years losing in the non-conference was really demoralizing, and now it's like, well, we're zero and zero still where it matters. And, you know, you could get a re-energized program that's like okay here we go it's go time like i buy into that that like mental aspect of it yeah i i think it's it's going to be very very interesting
Starting point is 00:17:56 also very interesting the money game on prime video this is the documentary series six parts following lsu athletes last year. So we're talking Jaden Daniels, we're talking Livvy Dunn, Angel Reese, really interesting stories going deep inside the world of NIL. So this is obviously very much aimed at the audience of this show. This is the kind of stuff you guys ask us questions about all the time. And sometimes we don't have the answers. This documentary series will give you a lot of the answers. And there's a lot of just great insidery stuff. I've been binging it.
Starting point is 00:18:29 It's awesome. If you are a prime video subscriber, click that link in the show description of the YouTube video that you are currently watching. It'll take you right to the money game and you can watch it. If you are not a prime video subscriber, well hit that link and get signed up. Cause what are you doing? You got the rings of
Starting point is 00:18:45 power you got roadhouse you got nfl football on thursday nights you got to be subscribed to prime video so hit that link watch the money game you're gonna love it because it is again it's right up our alley it's exactly what we're interested in so hit the the link, sign up for prime video. Thank me later. Ari, we got to go to a weird game. This is, this is going to be a strange game. Florida at Mississippi state.
Starting point is 00:19:14 So full disclosure, we are pre-recording this pick show on Sunday night. I've got some family stuff to take care of on Monday morning. Can't do the show live. So if something has happened, we will talk about that later in the day, I promise. But I don't know that something's going to happen. It sounds like things calmed down a little bit on Sunday. And it's probably status quo for Florida going into this game. But it is a noonish kickoff, a noon Eastern, 11 a.m. Central kickoff in Starkville. And I got to tell you, Ari, the Gators don't have a great history in such games.
Starting point is 00:20:00 There was a Steve Spurrier team that had a horrible, horrible one of those. Ron Zook got croomed in one of those. I was right there in the stadium. Didn't even have to watch it on Jefferson Pilot. It has been a house of horrors for the Gators. That said, Davis-Dwight Stadium was a house of horrors for Mississippi State last week because Toledo came in and just beat the crap out of them. I have no idea what to think.
Starting point is 00:20:26 And now that we're all in the trust tree here. Yeah. Andy and I had a lot on our plate on Saturday. I did not get a chance to watch the Toledo Mississippi State game. And it's actually on my YouTube saved to catch up on that because I'm very fascinated by what the hell is going on there. I look at this number and it's like, I can't not pick Florida, right? I know things are bad. I know the team looked like they weren't really passionate in the first portion of the game, but I will say that
Starting point is 00:21:00 Florida did seem to find some things or fight a little bit harder at the end of that game the A&M game I you know at the end there uh that maybe they go into the week feeling like they they've got some confidence they're going to fight for their coach they know the position that he's in like I they're not going to not win by five right like what Ari I have no? I have no idea. I have no idea because here's the thing. Whether it's happened or not, by the time they play on Saturday, the decision on Billy Napier has pretty much been made. I don't think there's a way out for him. So rallying the troops beating Mississippi State. Well, Jimbo Fisher will tell you what what what can happen after you beat Mississippi State because he got fired after he beat Mississippi State last year.
Starting point is 00:21:47 So I don't know that it matters. They have an open date coming up. I can't tell you what will happen here. Because this Mississippi State team didn't look great against Arizona State. They have some athletes. You know, Jeff Levy did a decent job flipping the roster in terms of getting some athletes on the roster. Blake Chapin, we've seen him be good at quarterback at Baylor. We've seen him be mediocre at quarterback at Baylor.
Starting point is 00:22:14 But they got absolutely dump trucked by a very well-coached Toledo team. Jason Candle does a very good job there. I just don't know what to think of this one. I, yes, Florida should cover this. Because while they are not good and probably not capable of winning against most of their schedule, they should be good enough to out-talent Mississippi State here one would think at this point in in Jeff Lebby's roster flip one would think Andy we've talked a lot about Florida the last 48 hours we've thought a lot about Florida we've had some personal conversations
Starting point is 00:23:01 about Florida in the car when you talk about Florida and where they are right now and the situation that Billy Napier finds himself in, you're doing it in the context of the discussions in the context of comparing what Florida fans expect. We talk a lot about Georgia. We talk a lot about Alabama. We talk about the teams that we perceive to be on their tier. The fact that Georgia and Alabama outclassed them in every way talent-wise is the reason why Billy Napier is getting fired.
Starting point is 00:23:33 The question I have to you is, are we at a point where we're not sure if Florida is better than Mississippi State? Like, is that how bad it's gotten? Or is it like... I think this is one of the reasons why it's going to happen. Florida's playing a team on Florida's tier this weekend. Mississippi State and Florida are on the same tier. Florida hired
Starting point is 00:23:59 Billy Napier to get them to a much higher tier and he got them on a lower tier. That is why this is happening. If you want to find a reason why to move on from a coach, just play that clip. I mean, just saying that and having to agree with it makes me, like, quiver. I mean, we went to the Miami game, and we perceived them to be on that tier. And now we found that they're on Mississippi State's tier with this number. I understand
Starting point is 00:24:30 they're on the road. I understand that they have a coach that's in a really tough position that might not be salvageable. You're telling me right now, face-to-face on this podcast as we record this, that they are four and a half points better and maybe not four and a half points better than Mississippi State? A team that just got embarrassed by Toledo. Like that's where we're at with this. That's where we're at. That's where we're at. And look,
Starting point is 00:24:54 I don't know what they're going to do at quarterback. We'll, we'll find out really who knows what anything's going to look like because the players aren't dumb. They pay attention to all this stuff. They know what's going on. Now, I do think they've got to worry. It's almost weird.
Starting point is 00:25:13 It's almost like an end-of-the-season NFL situation with a team that's not going to make the playoffs where everybody's kind of playing for their own tape right now. And you have to decide as a player how good you want your tape to look yeah i i always like think like you know me i'm not a big rudy guy you know what i mean right i don't know i'm not a big rah-rah guy i just feel like when players play football they want to play well like if you're on the field and people
Starting point is 00:25:46 are watching you like that's enough motivation your future is enough motivation to try most players most players are exactly like that the vast majority need like a billy napier salvation story for florida to want to win like i think that people right when they play games want to win i get mad when i play ncaa online and someone's kicking my ass like i get like like i think that people right when they play games want to win i get mad when i play ncaa online and someone's kicking my ass like i get like like i like get really mad it's like i'm not trying to play professionally or i mean it's just a pride thing so yeah i am picking florida here because i cannot believe that we're even having this discussion um i knew for a fact that they weren't alabama and georgia i knew for a fact that they weren't Alabama and Georgia. I knew for a fact, even going into the Miami game,
Starting point is 00:26:26 they probably were going to lose that one. Well, knowing for a fact is a little much, but I had a hunch that that was going to happen. I'm not ready to say that their roster is Mississippi State right now, especially because it's not just Mississippi State that has the number 19 overall roster in the country. This is Mississippi State in the middle of a transition. Like this isn't even Mississippi State we're talking about here.
Starting point is 00:26:50 Like I'm not trying to crap on Mississippi State as a program. In fact, I think that they've done a really good job assembling rosters over the years. And I think that they're more talented as the seller dweller of the SEC than a lot of middle-upper-class tier and other power conferences. They also have had terrible luck. Their coach died. They were doing fine with Mike Leach, and he passed away. Now they've had to deal with that.
Starting point is 00:27:16 I think Florida is going to cover this number. It's not going to change anything, but I do think they're going to cover this number i'm with you i'm not ready to i mean if they don't well if they don't free next weekend yeah i i will clear i will clear out my sunday there's no question about that but yeah it's it's i think that players themselves have enough pride in what they do to go out and win this game because they're certainly capable of it. All right.
Starting point is 00:27:50 Before we get to what I think might be the most intriguing game that we're picking, just in terms of I don't know what either of these teams are. I'm going to tell you about prize picks because I had a good night Sunday. Kayla Williams threw for a yard because prize picks, nice enough to give us an almost free Kayla Williams square that I combined with a Jackson Dart square and a Luther Burden square, and it allowed me to win. Play 25, win 125, allowed me to break even on the weekend because, yeah, some of my other plays did not go as well as I'd hoped, but that Caleb Williams Square every Saturday in September.
Starting point is 00:28:35 I'm sorry, every weekend in September. They don't play on Saturdays, but every weekend in September, you get a one-yard, one-win Caleb Williams Square. PrizePix is the most fun daily fantasy game in America. You use the code STAPLES. You play $5, get $50 instantly. How you do it? You pick squares.
Starting point is 00:28:51 So you will say, I think Luther Burden's longest reception will be longer than 28.5 yards or shorter than 28.5 yards. And if you get that correct, you win that square. You pick at least two. you can go up to five the more you pick the higher the potential payout it is a fun fun way to play and man caleb williams hooked me up appreciate it thank you prize picks for that one i felt very confident and well partially because you allowed me to be confident. Andy, you're not the only one that hit a prize, pigs. Oh, you got the Caleb Williams square too.
Starting point is 00:29:28 It helped you. I got it right here. We're recording on Sunday night. Just making sure that yard came through. But yeah, I had four squares and my fourth square was Caleb. So yeah, it was a lot of fun and felt good to come out on top. I took a bad beat over the weekend. I missed a five square one by a half a yard. Travis Hunter, you could have fought for
Starting point is 00:29:53 one more yard for me. That would have been great, but it was super entertaining and it's a new way to watch the games. I had a lot of fun with it. All right. Download price picks. Use the code Staples. Play $5, get $50 instantly. All right, let's talk about this next game. Arkansas at Auburn. I do not know what either of these teams are. We saw Arkansas go to Oklahoma State, play very well for most of the game, but Oklahoma State, being a very good team
Starting point is 00:30:21 and a team that we think is probably capable of winning the Big 12, came back in the second half, wound up taking the lead. Arkansas ties it, goes to overtime. Oklahoma State wins it in double overtime. But I came away from that thinking, you know what? Arkansas is going to be all right. And then Arkansas goes out and plays UAB, which UAB has not been very good. And UAB immediately jumps out to a lead. And it takes Arkansas the entire first half to get back even. Now Arkansas ends up pulling away and winning. But I don't know what Arkansas is.
Starting point is 00:30:54 And then Auburn changes quarterbacks. Kind of struggles with New Mexico for a while, but then gets things figured out. Hank Brown's the quarterback. Now Cam Coleman, the great freshman receiver, did not play in that New Mexico game. We think he's going to play against Arkansas, but Ari, I don't know what to think of either of these teams. Auburn is only a three and a half point favorite. I have no clue here. I love it because I think this is going to be a really entertaining game because I love the way Arkansas plays. They're so much fun to watch. I think that we would have a different perspective of Auburn if
Starting point is 00:31:31 Cam Coleman played on Saturday. I don't want to jump to conclusions there. That said, Arkansas I think is a lot better than people think. I don't think that this is a team that's just going to get their butts kicked in the SEC all year. And considering the fact that Auburn's offense has been really, really difficult to watch. I mean, a large portion of that game on Saturday was, it was awful.
Starting point is 00:31:57 I am very much leaning on Arkansas in this game. I am too. It's been interesting watching Taylon Green run that offense because he's big, 6'6". He's a good thrower, but he's a great runner, and that scares the crap out of people. Plus, Jaquinda Jackson has been awesome at running back. So you don't know which of those guys is going to take the ball
Starting point is 00:32:24 on the read option mesh. And the other guy that I think has, has really broken out and become a really reliable performer for them is Andrew Armstrong. So he's, he transferred before last season from Texas A&M commerce, and he's become a really reliable receiver for them.
Starting point is 00:32:39 You can tell Taylor green and him have a connection. So I can't wait to watch this. If Cam Coleman's playing, I think that definitely makes Auburn a lot tougher to defend. But Ari, am I crazy if I say Arkansas money line here? No, I was going to say the same thing. Do you realize that if Arkansas would have held on against Oklahoma State, we'd be talking about is Arkansas really good this year?
Starting point is 00:33:02 We absolutely would. We watched that game together. We had it on the iPad at the Michigan-Texas game. And we both were just like, Talon Green is special. He's really fun to watch. I don't know how you could lay points. Even if Coleman comes back,
Starting point is 00:33:18 how you could lay points with Auburn's offense right now. I think Arkansas is going to win. And look, maybe the Oklahoma State game was fool's gold because we're going to talk about the Cowboys here in a minute. They've got the gauntlet coming up. They're playing Utah this week and Kansas State next week. We may
Starting point is 00:33:36 have a completely different opinion of them in a couple of weeks, but right now we think they're a Big 12 title contender. Arkansas went into Stillwater, which is a very tough place to play, and was not intimidated in the least. Jordan Hare, obviously a very tough place to play, but I don't think they'll be intimidated.
Starting point is 00:33:54 Yeah, I mean, Arkansas better get this one because they have three consecutive games. Yeah, it gets tough. Texas A&M, Tennessee, and LSUSU then they play Mississippi State and they've got well no you're forgetting Oklahoma they play Oklahoma next week oh you're talking about the Arkansas schedule I'm sorry I was thinking the Auburn schedule I didn't know if I misspoke no that's my fault Arkansas plays Texas A&M Tennessee LSU back to back to back then they play Mississippi State and then they have Ole Miss, Texas,
Starting point is 00:34:27 and Mizzou as three of their last four games. So, like, they are a pretty good football team, and I think they found something with Talon Green, but whoever made their schedule did not like them. Yeah, yeah, get the ones you can win in now because – but I can say the same thing about Auburn because Auburn's got Oklahoma at Georgia, at Missouri, at Kentucky after this. Yeah, I mean, I think it's possible that you're looking at two potential 4-8 teams
Starting point is 00:35:03 that are the best 4-8 teams of all time. Like, it's just like – most talented yeah it's gonna happen a lot in the sec because when you do get the texas oklahoma additions then you got to play alabama and if mizzou is going to be good and tennessee is going to be really good lsu is going to be a tough out like there are some schedules where you know teams are playing legitimate top 15 teams, like four out of six weeks, a lot. Yeah. It is going to be fascinating to watch.
Starting point is 00:35:34 I am so excited to see this game because I just don't – I really don't know what's going to happen. I don't know which team shows up for either team, and it's going to be in an obviously crazy environment. And Andy, as an aside, I know you and I have both been kind of doing postseason projections in different ways. I do the bubble watch. You do the bracketology.
Starting point is 00:35:55 And I've seen a lot of your brackets have been very SEC heavy. Very. And I understand why that's the case because they're all very good I just don't know how many teams are going to be able to make it out in one piece right it's going to get sorted out yeah yeah it's going to get sorted out they're going to play each other it's just tough to parse them right now and I need to see them play against each other more actually well let's clarify. We are both taking the Arkansas money line here. All right. Auburn fans, you can yell at us later, but we might be right.
Starting point is 00:36:34 Who knows? Another game where we kind of don't know about one of these teams at all. Georgia Tech goes to Louisville. And Louisville is a double digit favorite in this game louisville has been very good so far but they have only played austin p and jacksonville state so they beat austin p 62 to nothing beat jacksonville state 49 14 tyler shook looks great in jeff braum's offense but are we sure they're a double-digit favorite against Georgia Tech? Are we sure they're 11 points better than the Yellow Jackets? No, I'm not sure at all about Louisville.
Starting point is 00:37:10 I mean, we keep talking about how they might be the third-best team in the ACC, but I don't know what we've seen that makes you comfortable in saying that. I've been saying it a lot. I don't know if it's true. Yeah. We haven't seen anything yet i i'll try i'll try to sell you on it okay go for it uh the acc is a mess first of all okay so like but let's start with what's around them Clemson's Clemson and Miami looks really good but other than that I'm not sure there are teams that are as as built as
Starting point is 00:37:54 sturdily as this Louisville team we're talking about a team too that played in the conference championship game last year Tyler shook through for 350 yards in the last time out. They have a pretty good running back situation with Maurice Turner. Jacory Brooks is a player that we should all be very familiar with from the recruiting world. I think he was a top 100 player coming out of high school. You know, he is their leading receiver right now. Like they do have offensive pieces to make you think they should be pretty competitive in the ACC. Like,
Starting point is 00:38:27 I don't know if there's other teams that have as many pieces individually or have worked the portal as well as Louisville has. So on paper, they should be. They should be exactly. And I, I've been very excited to see this version of Louisville. I don't think we've gotten a chance to see it yet.
Starting point is 00:38:43 Cause obviously the competition hasn't been there. Now we're going to see it. We saw Georgia Tech beat Florida State early in the season. Do we change our opinion on that now that we know Florida State is just not good? Or does that still count as impressive? And also, they did lose to Syracuse, but that was a heck of a game.
Starting point is 00:39:03 And we think Syracuse is pretty good, right? Well, here's what I'll say beyond the shadow of a doubt. Whether or not Georgia Tech is a profoundly good team or better than we thought, I don't really think matters. You know what I think is going to be the case with them, Andy? I just think they're going to be a supreme pain in everyone's ass. I agree. It's not a rollover game. When you go in there like ains king will be a pain in your ass they were a pain in louisville's ass last year in the season opener so same thing i i'm with you on this i'm gonna take louisville
Starting point is 00:39:38 i think louisville is gonna win this game but i'm gonna take georgia tech to cover yeah i'm with you on that i think that they have a pretty good ability to eat clock and control the football and if they can you know score a few times in the first half like i'm looking at a pretty close game here yeah no it's this is going to be fascinating again this is we have so little data and I think it's part of it is this, this is one of those years where two bye weeks, two open dates, and a lot of teams have taken their open dates early. So like Louisville, I think normally would have had to play somebody of consequence by this point, but now they haven't. And so we just don't know. And I feel
Starting point is 00:40:21 like we're at that point with a lot of these teams we'll start to know and this is the first week of that for louisville so i can't wait to see this game but yeah me and both taking georgia tech to cover because that is a huge number i don't think we have okay we gotta change that we spent too much time together okay well here's the game we all agree if we agree on like all the games or most of these games oh like you guys should we did a okay river river producer river has pointed out we did disagree on nc state clemson i am taking nc state to cover you were taking tigers to cover it's gonna say fade the hell out of that because if we are both thinking the same thing that there's no way it could be true so uh yeah i
Starting point is 00:41:05 now i'm trying now i almost want to bet whether we're going to disagree on this next one because as you can see we don't go over this beforehand we we don't prep ourselves like i'm going to take this and i'm going to take this i'm genuinely interested to hear ari's take in real time. I think that makes the show better. So we now go to Ann Arbor, where USC is a five and a half point favorite on the road at Michigan. Ari, imagine I had told you this four months ago, that USC would go to Ann Arbor as a five and a half point favorite.
Starting point is 00:41:42 What would you have said? I'd probably start looking for something that I want to spend a thousand dollars on. You know what I would have said? USC's defense has improved and Michigan doesn't have, doesn't have a quarterback. And I think that that's just like what happened, you know, because you would have to extrapolate. Cause I like what happened, you know, because you would have to extrapolate because I had a feeling, you know, I don't think you're going to make a lot of money in this business betting against Lincoln Riley, putting together a very good offense.
Starting point is 00:42:14 And when they brought in Woody Marks at running back, you know what they have at Zach Branch and some of the guys that they have at the skill positions like Miller Moss is in a pretty advantageous situation for a first year starter especially somebody who's stuck around in a program knows the system has earned his coaches respect like I didn't think that USC's offense was going to stink this year you know what I did think though I thought that their defense was going to be really bad again and really bad might have been an improvement from what we saw last year but they are coming off of a shutout and I didn't think that USC would be able to shut out a middle school team. So like we are at a point right now where USC is going to score and they're going to score against everybody they play
Starting point is 00:42:55 because you just can't cover Zach Branch. You just can't do it. So Michigan has a big offense problem. And I don't know who their quarterback's going to be. I don't know if Orgy's going to get the nod. I don't know what's going to happen. But they can't throw the football, Andy. And they do not have a dynamic answer at quarterback
Starting point is 00:43:22 the way they did last year to overcome being one-dimensional. Like Michigan was a very good passing team situationally last year and if you can't throw the ball at all and teams sell out to stop your run like you're gonna have problems especially against teams that have this much talent to skill position so like I don't know where your head's at but I think I am fully out on Michigan I haven't had Michigan in my bubble watch at all, which means that I think that they're going to finish outside of the top. Bad at math show. We got first four out would be 16 and next four out would be 20. So outside of the top 20. Like, I don't think they're a top 20 football team this year. It's sad to say because
Starting point is 00:44:03 they have three of the best players in college football on their defense i think we're going to find out how good of a coach sharon moore is this week because good coaches when faced with a situation where something's not working try something else they try something else that gives them a chance to win bad coaches just keep doing what they're doing keep banging their head against the same brick wall over and over and nothing ever changes we don't know what Sharon Moore is we have not gotten a chance to see him in this situation now this is the first chance we get to see him in this situation is he going to try something I will make a suggestion now I am not a professional college football coach,
Starting point is 00:44:47 so feel free to not follow my suggestion. But here's my suggestion, Ari. We know Michigan is pretty good at running the ball. We know Michigan is pretty good at developing offensive linemen to run block. We know Alex Orji is not a great thrower of the football. We know Davis Warren throws lots of interceptions. Which is more dangerous, the quarterback who throws interceptions or the quarterback who runs the ball really well? And
Starting point is 00:45:10 oh, by the way, you also have good backs. Well, I think you go with the one who runs the ball really well, but you build an offense that works that way. And I think the South Carolina LSU game, or at least the first half of it, was very instructive for that. You notice in the first half of that game, South Carolina essentially was like, you know what? We're running the option with Lenora Sellers now. That's what we're doing.
Starting point is 00:45:35 That's going to be our offense. And LSU was helpless for a half. Lenora Sellers then twists his ankle. Everything's different when Robbie Ashford comes in. But South Carolina would have won that game had Lenora Sellers not gotten hurt. If I'm Sharon Moore, I go to Alex Orji and say, you're QB1, and we are going to run the ball. We will occasionally throw it when they put nine in the box, and it makes it really easy for you to throw but we are going to run the damn ball and we're going to wear teams down and we're going to eat clock and steal possessions because our defense is good enough to occasionally get the ball back for
Starting point is 00:46:15 us that's what i would do because what you're doing isn't working you have to try something else like if you if if sharon moore trots out Davis Warren in the same offense, they've been running, especially Colston Loveland's hurt. Like we know Colston Loveland went out against Arkansas state. We don't know what his situation is for the USC game, but if he can't play, you're not going to have a functional passing offense. So forget it and try to win the game some other way. I am saying Ari that I have faith in Sharon Moore to figure that out.
Starting point is 00:46:54 Because I also think that we've seen USC's offense cut up Utah state and cut up LSU. I don't think LSU's defense is that good. I'm going to go out on a limb. They're improved, but probably not that good. Michigan's defense is better. That doesn't mean they can stop USC every time, but it means they might be able to get some turnovers.
Starting point is 00:47:18 This is me showing some faith in Sharon Moore to figure it out. If he proves me wrong, well, that's on me. But I'm thinking he's going to prove me right. So give me Michigan in this one. So you're probably liking the under here too then. I'm loving the under in this one. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:47:41 Michigan became what it was because it was relentlessly loyal to what it wanted to do. So I have a really hard time of like, okay, we're going to run the option this week. Like I didn't say run. I didn't say run the option. Ari.
Starting point is 00:47:56 No, I know I I'm being, I'm being theatrical. Like, yeah, I don't know if I buy that. I think what you're saying makes sense. I don't know if I'm buying that they're going to do something like that.
Starting point is 00:48:10 I think if Michigan sells out to just run the ball, that doesn't have to be running the triple option. They have read option in the offense. They can run a lot of different read option things in the offense that they currently have that nobody has to learn. Everybody already knows the plays and you just continually run it at USC and try to wear them down because you have what you think are equally talented or more talented players up front and in the process you also make USC have to prove that they really are much better on defense correct because last year's USC team would not be able to contend with that and also
Starting point is 00:48:45 too we have to make a note of this like we all came into the season knowing that donovan edwards was a star running back we saw what he did in the national title game last year but mullings um i think people think is rb1 there now all of a sudden i gotta go back and watch some more of that michigan tape but well listen edwards has been really inconsistent he had a great national championship game but he's inconsistent all of last year too yeah but they have two really good running backs again so like they're they're in a position where they have the goods to get first downs and to move the football um but i think that usc is going to score and i think they're going to score a lot like i'd like to see the over in this game so i'm taking michigan to cover i know i said i'll
Starting point is 00:49:32 i'll take i wasn't saying michigan give me give me my five and a half points please you know a little cushion here because again i might be wrong This is me showing faith in Sharon Moore. He has to reward my faith here. But I'll take Michigan to cover the five and a half. You know what the ironic part of this whole thing is? Is that we are back into the discussion about athletes and whether or not Michigan can keep up. And on the defensive side of the ball, they most certainly can. And that's why I have a little faith.
Starting point is 00:50:09 So it's not like Will Johnson's not going to be able to cover anybody and that their defensive line isn't going to disturb Miller Moss. We know Michigan has pieces that are going to be high-end NFL draft picks. I think we're going to learn a lot about USC, and I think we're going to find out whether or not you should really start to consider whether you're going to lose this bet. Hey, this is also a bet for my other bet. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:50:38 Yeah, you might need to start hedging later on in the year, but it's too early. Okay, mister, I'll give you $800 to buy out of it in February. Well, that was before the year started. I too it's too okay okay mister i'll give you 800 to buy out of it in february well that was before the year started i mean now they're looking at number 11 here i have as the last four in and bubble watch they have a pretty manageable schedule like this game maybe season this game before the season was supposed to be like one of the hallmarks of the big 10 and now michigan is just like not playing well, doesn't have a quarterback, and we're expecting USC. It's not that, oh, they could win.
Starting point is 00:51:09 I expect them to win. You may be texting me at 8 o'clock Saturday night like, can I buy my way out again? We'll see. We'll see. Well, here's the thing, too. It's like 10-2 USC probably gets into this thing. So I think that we're going to learn a little bit more here in three weeks
Starting point is 00:51:28 when they go – or sorry, not go, host Penn State. We're going to find out a lot about those two teams. But I think they're better than Wisconsin. I think they're better than Minnesota. I think they're better than Maryland. They're better than Rutgers. They're better than Washington. They're probably better than Nebraska.
Starting point is 00:51:42 They're better than UCLA. And right now, people think they'd be favored against Notre Dame. So you look at their schedule, the pathway to the top 12 is a hell of a lot clearer than I thought it was two weeks ago. You don't know that yet. You may have a better idea after this weekend, but you don't know that yet. That's the point I'm trying to make here. But I do know that they're probably better than all those teams I just rattled off. So if they are able to beat Penn State...
Starting point is 00:52:07 I don't think Michigan's that good. So if they can't beat Michigan, you need to reevaluate everybody else too. Touche. All right. Let us go to Stillwater, Oklahoma. Utah heading to Oklahoma state. Oklahoma state is only two and a half point favorite cam rising the Utah
Starting point is 00:52:30 starting quarterback. He warmed up for the Utah state game. He did not play freshman Isaac Wilson played a little shaky at first, but they got through it. I think this is all is cam rising going to play like the, the, this hinges. Because if I said Cam Rising is definitely playing in this game, what do you think happens to the line? Isn't it just a finger issue?
Starting point is 00:52:58 It's a ring finger on his throw. I believe, well, it's, yes, a finger on his throwing hand. Which can affect a lot when your job's to throw the football my fingers hurt now your back's gonna hurt what you just pulled landscaping duty my fingers hurt well now your back's gonna hurt because you just pulled landscape get out there cam come on you've missed too much time with debilitating injuries. I don't doubt that it hurts. But this happened, what, two weeks ago now? Like, he's playing.
Starting point is 00:53:30 He's playing in the game. I'm pretty sure he's playing. I'm pretty sure he would have played if they didn't think they could beat Utah State comfortably without him. And they didn't beat Utah State comfortably without him. That game was a question in the second half. Yeah, they didn't. Anybody else's fingers hurt? stay comfortably without them that game was in the second half yeah they they didn't so now oh my goodness all right um they do so i moved them out of my of the top four this week you did
Starting point is 00:54:01 it's a k-state because k-state was dominant yeah and it was a combination of k-state being dominant and also utah looking shaky and not knowing the status of cameraizing but we are definitely gonna learn a lot about the big 12 starting this week but in the next few weeks because um oklahoma state i believe also plays k Kansas State in the second week, right? Am I – Next week. They play Kansas State next game. It's Utah and Kansas State back-to-back. So you've got three teams that we think are all potential candidates
Starting point is 00:54:34 in the Big 12 to maybe win this thing playing round robin here. So, you know, I think Utah is very built well and well served to compete in this Big 12. I think that the way that this team has won games in the Pac-12, to borrow your term, travels to the Big 12. Laying points, I think, is just who's home here. This is a really difficult game, Andy. I would not play this game. Let me ask you a trivia question.
Starting point is 00:55:11 I'm not good at this. What is Ollie Gordon averaging per carry this season? Oh, wow. Is it like 3.2 yards or something small like that? 3.5. Yeah. It's 3.5. I know it's been a rough start for him yeah
Starting point is 00:55:26 now oklahoma state's passing offense has been very explosive so alan bowman has been pretty efficient completing 67 of his passes deshaun stribling 17.4 yard per catch average shot oh and 17.1 yard per catch average so that's where the the explosiveness has come from for Oklahoma State the question is can Utah limit that while also keeping Ollie Gordon in check because I still think there there's always the possibility because we've seen it too many times that Ollie Gordon just breaks out and and goes wild for sure you know and you have the best player on the field and you're at home and you've been very consistent over the Mike Gundy era. Like I could definitely see Oklahoma State winning this football game and joining the not joining, asserting itself in the conversation with Kansas State as the best team in the Big 12.
Starting point is 00:56:16 You know, this conference is by far of all the conferences, the hardest one to pick a champion out of. And I'm very excited about the notion of being able to get to the bottom of that very soon into the year, because then it makes the playoff race and the conference race a lot clearer and a lot easier to analyze. So, you know, we want big time playoff impacting games in November and October, but I love when we get them in September too who you got I don't know uh you go first and then I'll fail I'll fade you I was gonna say that
Starting point is 00:56:55 you damn it this is a very difficult game for me like this is a very difficult game for everybody yeah this is this would be a do-not-touch game. We're doing it because it's a really interesting game. It's one of the most interesting games of the week. My gut says Oklahoma State, Andy. I'm going to take Utah. My gut said Utah. We were already feigning each other.
Starting point is 00:57:17 Okay. Yeah, also zero confidence whatsoever. Very difficult game. And you know things go off the rails in Stillwater. What time does this game start? Can I do the double dip this weekend? Go to Stillwater for this one and then make it to the double dipper? You're not going to make it. I've done the double dipper.
Starting point is 00:57:34 And the first year of the playoff, I did a TCU Iowa State game in Fort Worth. And then I did Baylor Kansas State in Waco that night. I did the 11 a.m. local kick, 7 p.m. local kick. How long did you get there for the 7 game? I got there at 5.30.
Starting point is 00:57:58 We stopped for Jimmy John's on the way. It was tremendous. It was one of the greatest days of my life. What time is it off of this game i gotta look it up because you can't make it it's 3 p.m central time okay all right you'll never make it make it okay if it was at noon i would have tried it i think oh you would have done it if it was at noon you would have definitely done it but unfortunately you can't so i've got utah ari's got oklahoma state we're gonna go really fast on this next one ari cal at florida state for some ungodly reason florida state is favored in this game give me cal unless at 321 noel shows up and eats poop out of a red
Starting point is 00:58:40 solo cup if he doesn't do that cal's winning the game Andy if we're not talking about three two one eating dog poop in December we failed the podcast and the audience like this guy is not getting away with it like I it's an obsession of mine he cursed his team yes yes find this man he think how bad he's this team went 13 and 0 last year this is his fault do we have this man's contact information? We got to, like, terrorize him in his real life, too. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
Starting point is 00:59:10 Don't do that. Please don't do that. It is kind of funny, though, that they have not won since he went on the lam. I don't know if I would lay points against anybody for Florida State. Give me Cal. Yeah, I'm taking Cal. It's painful to watch. It's painful to watch. It's painful to watch.
Starting point is 00:59:27 Next up, Floyd of Rosedale. Iowa at Minnesota. There's a pig trophy on the line. We don't pick the Iowa. Well, we occasionally pick the Iowa point spread, but we usually only pick the Iowa total. We're definitely picking the Iowa total here. The number is 36 and a half.
Starting point is 00:59:42 Minnesota's offensive line has been shaky, but Darius Taylor is, is back running the ball. Iowa. Well, they went over last week against Troy. They have scored some points, but Kate McNamara has not exactly endeared himself to the faithful so far.
Starting point is 01:00:03 Ari, I don't think we need to talk too much about this game. Give me the under. Do you think when NBC acquired the Big Ten deal, they were just like that dude in the park hiding behind a tree in a yellow blazer? Just like, I guess, is this like the game? Is this what you're buying? When you acquire the Big Ten, this is what you're buying. This is what you want, and this is what your pride is. This is a pig trophy.
Starting point is 01:00:31 This is a 18-17 game. Yes, that's exactly what this is. Minnesota. I mean, sorry, Iowa's offense is better, and their defense is worse. Give me Minnesota. Well, I don't care who wins the game or covers the spread. What's your pick on the total? Over.
Starting point is 01:00:52 Okay. All right. See, we're differing on a lot of things. I'm under. Ari's over. We both got the overwrite last week. All right. Featured game of the week.
Starting point is 01:01:01 The game you're heading to. You have been guzzling Kool-Aid. That is the color orange of the daisies that grew on the hill of the original Tennessee campus. They are seven and a half point road favorites going to Norman for the first SEC game in Oklahoma history Ari this is going to be a monumentous occasion Josh Heupel former Oklahoma quarterback fired Oklahoma offensive coordinator returns for the first time what do we think is going to happen here well I've been to three games this year and each time the team that has been home has been blown out I think it's going to happen here well i've been to three games this year um and each time the team that has been home has been blown out i think it's going to happen again like i think that's because
Starting point is 01:01:50 of me and i'm not going to be there so i'm are you sure you want to say that andy i'm at the point right now where i'm starting to think that tennessee is going to win the national title like that's like where i'm at like i i don't know like two years ago your blood is gonna explode if you drink any more of that orange kool-aid two years ago um when they were really good with hendon hooker like i never bought in because what happened when they played georgia was what i thought was gonna happen but ge But Georgia is not that Georgia this year. I think Alabama is a gettable team this year. I don't even think that Tennessee plays Georgia in the regular season. They're going to have a chance.
Starting point is 01:02:33 They do. They do play Georgia in the regular season. Do they? Okay. Yes. Fact check. Still. Yeah, but still.
Starting point is 01:02:44 Well, I mean, I think that they're going to get into the playoff and i think a team like this with a quarterback that has this high of a ceiling can get hot at the end too um they have to go to georgia they're playing at home against tennessee like it's it's a tough schedule i thought that they didn't play georgia still not changing my mind like do you think i'm nuts i don't think you're nuts i think tennessee's very good it's certainly not just because of nico i think nico is certainly part of it but i think this is absolutely the most complete team that josh heiple's had at tennessee it's the best defense he's had at tennessee this is a very opportunistic defense they make things happen and then against jackson arnold who has put the ball in harm's way in the starts we've
Starting point is 01:03:27 seen him play going back to the bowl game last year going back to the Tulane game last week I think there's a chance it's a Tennessee defensive play that turns this game yeah I mean that's how I mean they got the best edge rusher in college football um their receivers are really good one of the edge rusher in college football. Their receivers are really good. One of the best running backs in college football and a very exciting quarterback. And a coach that knows how to coach football. I really like Josh Heupel's style. I like the way that he coaches and leads his team.
Starting point is 01:03:57 I like their offensive minds. There is a lot here. What is there not to like about Tennessee? There's nothing not to like about Tennessee. The question is, what do you like about Oklahoma because I do think Oklahoma's defense is also opportunistic I love Billy Bowman I love Danny Stutzman we haven't seen that we we thought NC State would be very good on defense this year I'm not sure if they are and maybe it was just that Tennessee's offense was too good we don't that. This is another case of we're just not sure what we've seen so far. So can Nico handle this defense?
Starting point is 01:04:31 This environment's going to be good, but it's the SEC game. The environments are going to be good pretty much from here on out for these two teams. So I don't know. I'm so excited to see this. Ari, seven and a half points in this situation is so many freaking points. And that's where I get hung up on because I like Tennessee too.
Starting point is 01:04:55 I've been banging that Tennessee's going to make the playoff drum since March, and I'm not stopping that. I'm going to pick Oklahoma to cover here, and I still think Tennessee's going to make the playoff. But I'm going to pick Oklahoma to cover here, and I still think Tennessee's going to make the playoff. But I'm going to pick Oklahoma to cover here because in college football, situations matter. Environment matters.
Starting point is 01:05:14 Circumstances matter. And the circumstances of this game say you cannot make Oklahoma more than a touchdown underdog at home. I think you can. Oklahoma, I think think you can and i think they did and i think i'm taking tennessee all right i think we didn't agree on everything i think this is a game that i think they're going to cover comfortably this is the game fans stop rolling their eyes at tennessee's placements in the rankings like i think this is where we all I think this is where the F around and find out graph meets. Oh, you think the F around axis is going to meet the find out axis?
Starting point is 01:05:54 The F around curve meets the find out curve? Yeah, I do. All right. I'm excited to see it. I think the environment is going to be just amazing. And I think this is a great way to welcome Oklahoma to the SEC. I wish the SEC had set this up for Texas, too, where the first home game in the SEC that Texas got
Starting point is 01:06:16 was going to be something like this. But I just can't wait. It's going to be so much fun. This is when we learned that Oklahoma was coming to the SEC. It's games like this that made us so excited. Another hell of a slate this weekend. A lot of revelatory. It doesn't really have, outside of this Tennessee-Oklahoma game, the sexy
Starting point is 01:06:45 night game between two top 10 teams two top 15 teams but i think there's a lot of revelatory games where we're going to learn a lot that's going to be the baseline of some foundational thought processes heading into the second half of the year we are absolutely going to learn a lot this weekend and i cannot wait you know the only problem with learning a lot is finding out how wrong you were so maybe eating some crow you know jd piquel back at the office has his bag of crow we may need to have him ship us a couple because i think we might find out we were wrong on some things but again i like data i like. I can't wait. Ari, we have picked a lot of games. We did not agree on everything. It's going to be a lot of fun. We'll talk to you tomorrow.

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