Andy & Ari On3 - Washington is Soaring, but Oregon isn't Done | Is Penn State ready for Ohio State?

Episode Date: October 16, 2023

Today's show is brought to you by PrizePicks, the easiest way to play daily fantasy. All first time users that deposit and use the promo code ANDY will receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100. If you deposit $100, PrizePicks will give you $100. If you deposit $50, PrizePicks will give you $50.Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/ANDY0:00 Intro and Bo Nix Comments11:40 Week 8 Resume Rankings22:53 Week 8 New Years Six Bowl Projections31:30 Sean Fitz (Blue White Illustrated) on Penn State-Ohio State54:58 Week 8 Opening Lines1:01:27 Tim Watts (BamaOnline) on Tennessee-Alabama1:19:20 Conclusion/Dear Andy TomorrowWant to watch the show instead? Head on over to YouTube, don't forget to subscribe!https://youtube.com/live/KQ0atw0nPMMThe best quote you'll hear coming out of the weekend is Oregon QB Bo Nix after the Ducks lost to Washington. In fact, it may remind you of something someone said 15 years ago.Sunday night means resume rankings. We know Washington moved up, but who else joined the top 10?It's also time to project the College Football Playoff semifinals and New Year's Six bowls. How did the Huskies' win change that?Next, Sean Fitz of Blue White Illustrated joins to talk about Penn State as the Nittany Lions prepare to face Ohio State in Columbus. This is the next game that will define the national title race, and it's a huge one if James Franklin and company want to make the CFP before it expands.After that, Andy goes over some interesting opening lines. Vegas doesn't believe in Duke against Florida State, and gamblers don't seem to believe in Tennessee against Alabama.Speaking of the Crimson Tide, Tim Watts of Bama Online joins to discuss Alabama's escape against Arkansas and whether this version of the Tide will ever be able to string together four -- or even three -- good quarters.

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. Big weekend in college football just concluded. Big weekend coming up. We're bouncing off the Oregon-Washington game, going right into Penn State at Ohio State. Also, Tennessee at Alabama. There's a lot going on. Lot going on.

USC-Notre Dame just concluded. That was an eye-opener for the Trojans. The Pac-12 race looks like the most interesting, most exciting one. And I think that's what the drama was in Seattle on Saturday because Oregon-Washington, very close. Obviously, if Oregon makes that field goal they go to overtime perhaps the the winner is different if Oregon makes the fourth down that it went for maybe the winner is different now there are three three fourths that four thousand question I'm talking about the last one but the best thing you might hear out of this weekend is Bo Nix. So Brenna Green, who's a reporter for a Portland TV station,

asked him a question at the end of his press conference, and the answer he gave, let's just say it's going to remind you of something somebody said 15 years ago. So here is Brenna's question and Bo's answer. Two more questions, Brenna, then Jill. The answer two more questions Brenna then Joe the margins in this conference are so razor thin this year I'm just knowing that you're not in full control of where you guys want to be at the end of the season how does that feel now um I mean we are in control we can go out and out and win out and put ourselves in a really good spot.

And that's all we can control, and that's all we really have to control. I mean, that's, like I said, it's frustrating to lose a game like this. It's no fun to be on this side. It's easy to go back and, well, yeah, we should have done this and we should have done that. But point blank period, there's only one person in that position, that's Coach Lanning. And there's one group of, there's an offense and a defense, and that's who went out there and played today.

And sometimes you put it all out there and it's not enough and it's frustrating. That's part of life. Sometimes in life you're going to get knocked down. You may get fired from a job. You may lose a sale, but I hope that doesn't stop you from going out there and trying to sell something else. So this is a great learning lesson for us. There's a lot more to life than football games. I know that for sure.

And tomorrow the sun will come up, God is still good and I'm just here to be an influence to other people, be a light around me. And if I got to use football to do that, then I'm going to do the best I can with it. And a lot of people, they want to see how we respond and I'm excited for that. I think that's the challenge that I can't wait for. And this group is going to be able to write its own story, write its own journey. And I think if it was easy, everybody would do it.

If there was no failures, then everybody would be playing football. So I think that it's part of it. You win and lose. You go out there and play your best. You go out there and enjoy the process. And even though I hated the outcome of today, it was one heck of a football game that I loved playing.

And I'll lose with those guys any day because I know what they've put into it. And I know everybody can nitpick it all they want. But y'all don't see us on Tuesday and Wednesday practicing either. And y'all don't see what kind of passion and fire we play with. And so I think it's definitely unfair to critique and nitpick those guys in that locker room and even our coaches who do an incredible job of preparing us each and every week and getting us ready to play. And you go out there and you do your best to win the game.

Sometimes you lose, and that's part of it. And I'm proud to be there. What an answer from Bo Nix. Great question, by the way, from Brenna Green as well. And thanks to her for letting us use that clip. This is a great answer from a guy who's been through it all in college football. He's been the hyped freshman. Remember, first game, freshman year at Auburn, he throws that incredible pass at the end of the game to beat Oregon. And then you

have the good Bo, bad Bo. You have Gus Malzahn getting fired. You have the year he spends with Brian Harsin, where Mike Bobo was the offensive coordinator. You have things going sideways at Auburn, him going to Oregon. He's been through all of this, and he's saying this is one game. We can still control our destiny. It's not entirely true. You can't totally control it because of the way the Pac-12 system works. But realistically speaking, you probably can. If we're talking about how things are probably going to shake out, Oregon probably can.

If Oregon wins the rest of its games, and that's a huge if, Oregon probably plays Washington again for the Pac-12 title. It's a tough schedule. They've got Washington State this week. That's not going to be easy. Washington State coming off a loss to Arizona, but has looked really good most of the rest of the way. This is going to be a lot of fun. And the way he answered that question, you're going to get fired from a job. You may not make a sale. I hope he doesn't keep you from trying to make another sale. I know Bo's an old college football player, but that's wisdom that most of us don't get until long, long after we get out of college. It reminded me of something, though.

Reminded me of something I heard 15 years ago after a loss that was not like this loss. This loss was two superpowers, two bulls just charging at each other. The loss I'm thinking about was when we already had a team that was supposed to win a national title and a team that was pretty good but wasn't supposed to be competitive with the team that was supposed to win the national title.

Well, the pretty good team went to the house of the team that was supposed to win the national title and beat them. And the best player on the team that was supposed to win the national title, they ran his signature play and got stuffed and they them. And the best player on the team that was supposed to win the national title, they ran his signature play and got stuffed and they lost. I think we know which game I'm talking about. That would be the 2008 Ole Miss at Florida game. Remember, Ole Miss wasn't even

supposed to be competitive in that game. And they stuffed Tim Tebow on short yardage. They win that game. And after that game, Tim Tebow says this. And I just want to say one thing to the fans and everybody in Gator Nation. I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry. You know, we were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal. Something the floor has never done here.

But I promise you one thing. A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. And you never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. And you never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless. Tim Tebow, his answer, a lot more intense. His speech was pretty high key.

Bo Nix, a little more low-key, a little more old soul wisdom. But tell me that those Oregon players aren't going to follow Bo Nix wherever he goes. Tell me that Dan Lanning isn't going to have Bo Nix's back, because Bo Nix had Dan Lanning's back. That was pretty spectacular. Great answer. Now comes the hard part. They've got to keep winning. They have to come back from this and they have to win everything else. And that is the problem. That's where it gets hard because if you're Oregon, you got to play Washington State, you got to play Utah, you got to play USC, and you got to play Washington State. You got to play Utah. You got to play USC. And you got to play Oregon State. All of those are losable games.

Every single one of them. And so they have to be close to perfect. And Washington doesn't. Washington can lose one. And they're probably okay. So that's where they're at. Now, it's interesting because you contrast that with what Lincoln Riley and the USC guys were saying after the Notre Dame game, and it was a fairly similar message, and it's not wrong. As bad as it looked for USC at Notre Dame,

that game was not a Pac-12 game. Everything they have as a goal for their team remains in front of them. Now, I will say they play Utah this week. What do the three interceptions that Caleb Williams threw in the first half have? Well, there's two things that they have in common. One of the things is Notre Dame cashed every one of them in for a touchdown. The other thing is he had a guy in his face, at least one, every single time. Guess what? Utah is going to have somebody in their face every single time. That's where they've got to improve. They have got to be better on the offensive line, or they're not going to be able to be competitive in that Pac-12 race. And I think most of us have probably kind of written USC off. And I didn't, I wasn't even thinking about it until I was rewatching that

Lincoln Riley press conference after the game. And he was talking about the opportunity still in front of them. He's not wrong, but they better look like a very different team or they are not going to have a chance in the Pac-12 because if they can get past Utah in LA this week they have a back-to-back in November with Oregon and Washington if they play anywhere near the way they played against Notre Dame they will get run by Oregon Washington they will just get thrashed so this is going to be a fascinating race though, because Washington has to play those four teams I mentioned that Oregon has to play. Washington State, Oregon State, Utah, USC. Again, those are losable games, especially

when you've been through a ringer like you're going through now. And so Washington has the tougher closing kick. Oregon's spreads out a little differently. But they're both going to be challenged. And I cannot wait to watch this race. It's sad that this is how it ends for the Pac-12. But it's going to go out with a freaking bang. Because this is what we signed up for. This is the deepest that league has been. And if that Oregon-Washington game is

representative of what we're going to get the rest of the season, give me that. I can't wait. I cannot wait. That probably is a good segue into our resume rankings. We've got two Pac-12 teams in this week's resume rankings. We're doing the top 10. Now remember, this is the ranking that does not take into account preseason hype. It is only what you've done in the 2023 season. So that's why it took until last week for Georgia to get in. Georgia's still in, by the way.

The Vandy game didn't knock Georgia out, but it did knock Georgia down a little bit. But let's start at number 10. We got Texas at number 10, one of two teams with a loss in this week's top 10 resume rankings. Texas, they've got a pretty clear path to a rematch with Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game. If they don't lose again, they will play Oklahoma. The Big 12 title will be on the line and a playoff berth could be on the line, probably will be on the line. So this is really the test coming up. Is Texas different this year than it was the last 10 or so years? Because the Texas of the last 10 or so years would drop one or two of these games. This version of Texas, if it doesn't, that's proof. That's different.

One that I think is really interesting, and I mentioned this with Jesse Simonson when we were going through the games on Saturday, November 4th against Kansas State. Kansas State sure looked like they handed the offense over to Avery Johnson against Texas Tech. Perhaps Chris Kleiman goes back and Will Howard resumes his normal role, but Avery Johnson played all but one series in the second half against Texas Tech. He ran for five touchdowns in that game. He's super fast. He's a five-star true freshman quarterback.

He changes the math a little bit. So watch that one. Because I really think Texas should roll through this. I think they're good enough to roll through this. They're at Houston this week, which is Houston's coming off that crazy Hail Mary win against West Virginia. This is a huge game for Houston because Texas has to come to their stadium.

It's the only time they'll meet his Big 12 opponents, but Texas is a lot better. So all Texas has to do is keep winning games. Number nine, the Oregon Ducks. I appreciate, I looked at the AP poll this week and I really, I appreciated what the voters did because it drives me nuts when you have a matchup of two really good teams and the lower ranked team loses and then plummets in the polls. Because it doesn't make sense to me. If they were ranked lower in the first place, they shouldn't drop very much because all they did was reinforce

what you thought. Especially in this case, it was a three-point loss. So the AP poll voters did not drop Oregon very much. They dropped one spot, basically. They dropped to nine. Texas is eight. So thank you, AP poll voters, for doing that because they had Washington and Oregon one spot apart. They moved Washington up with the win, but they did not drop Oregon out of the top 10. So good for them. We talked a lot about the Ducks. The road ahead is hard. But who knows? Bo Nix seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Dan Lanning, I think we know what his philosophy is going to be. They're going to be aggressive.

They're going to go down swinging if they're going down. We'll see what happens. Number eight, the North Carolina Tar Heels. These guys are a complete team. That came in Rucker interview last week. If you didn't watch that one, go back and watch it. Go to the YouTube channel. The whole thing's on there. He's awesome no matter what, but he was great against Miami. I got a text from somebody in Chapel Hill on Sunday that said, what a game for the guy you interviewed. Two and a half sacks and 45 uncalled holding penalties.

He was spectacular against Miami. But that whole defense has looked very good all season, and it makes them feel like a more complete team. Obviously, Tez Walker was the big story on Saturday night because he's ineligible, he's ineligible, he's ineligible. The NCAA finally rules him eligible, but it was on a Thursday. So we didn't really get to see the full Tez Walker experience against Syracuse. We definitely got to see it against Miami.

I'm really rooting for a North Carolina, Florida State ACC championship game with a playoff berth on the line because I think that could be a great game. That matchup could be so much fun. Jordan Travis, Drake, May, Tez Walker, Keon Coleman. Come on. Jared Verse, Kamen Rucker. That's going to be a good one. I think that's your ACC championship game. I'm pretty sure it is, but I'd like it to be between two undefeated teams. We'll see if that can happen. Be the best ACC championship game ever. Be everything they envisioned, I think, when they went to divisions. This is not divisions, but when they instituted

the championship game, everything they envisioned but never actually got. Number seven, Penn State. That 31-0 domination of Iowa looks better and better every week. West Virginia win obviously looks nice still, even though West Virginia lost on a Hail Mary the other night. Doesn't really matter. None of it really matters. They're going to Columbus. Can they beat Ohio State?

Can Drew Aller throw it deep, or will he check it down, or does it matter? Will Penn State's defense harass Kyle McCord, force him to make mistakes? This is where Penn State has to perform. This game, the Michigan game. Because this is big. We're going to talk to Sean Fitz from Blue Eyed Illustrated later in the show. And he's been banging the drum that this is the difference. These games are the difference between whether

Penn State is a good team that is a notch below the Ohio States and the Michigans of the world, or whether they belong with the Ohio States and the Michigans of the world. We'll see what happens. Number six, that's Ohio State. The Notre Dame win looks much better with Notre Dame whipping USC like that. But again, with Ohio State, it doesn't mean anything because they got to play Penn State. They beat Penn State, then it's get through to Michigan. They don't beat Penn State, then it's also get through to Michigan, and you got to beat Michigan. But this is going to be a really fun one. Penn State and Ohio State play close. It's not like Penn State and Michigan, where if the game's

in Ann Arbor, Penn State doesn't seem to ever have a chance. This has been close everywhere it's been played. These teams feel pretty close. And it really will come down to probably who forces the first time starting quarterback to make more mistakes. But it's going to be a big one. Number five, the Georgia Bulldogs. Sleepwalking at Vanderbilt, 11 a.m. local kickoff. I get it, it happens.

Brock Bowers left with an ankle injury. They said that the x-rays are negative. Probably could have him back, they hope, by the time they play Florida. Remember, they're off this week, and they play Florida on the 28th. So we will see what happens there. But Georgia, they have the Kentucky win, which looked good. Looks less good after Missouri went out and beat Kentucky. But here's the thing.

Florida's 4-2. We know Florida isn't expected to win many more games this season because the schedule gets very hard. But they're 4-2 right now. It's a rivalry game. Both teams coming off an open date. And then they've got Ole Miss, which has been good this season. Missouri, which has been very good this season. So Georgia is going to have a chance to get some better wins

than it has on the resume right now. They can obviously move back up. And here's the thing, as long as Georgia can play the way it played against Kentucky when it matters, Georgia's fine. Georgia will three-peat if they do that. But the sleepwalking thing, the slow start thing, it's real, and they've got to be careful with that. Number four, Florida State. Seminoles just rolled through Syracuse. The only drama was Jordan Travis getting hurt right at the end of the first half, but he came back and played in the second half.

It looked like he did something to his left arm. The only drama was Jordan Travis getting hurt right at the end of the first half, but he came back and played in the second half. Looked like he did something to his left arm. This team seems to be firing on all cylinders. They've got Duke this week. We'll see if they wind up playing against Riley Leonard. Vegas didn't have a lot of faith in Duke, as you'll see. We're going to talk about some of the juicy early lines later in the show, but Vegas was not optimistic about Duke. Number three, Michigan.

They haven't played anybody yet, but they beat everybody the same way. They just pound them. Indiana goes up seven, nothing. We're like, okay, maybe this is the time somebody challenges them. Nope. Michigan scores the next 52 points. Until they show a vulnerability, who they've played doesn't even matter because they just keep doing this over and over again. Obviously, it comes down to the Penn State

game and the Ohio State game. You're sensing a theme here in the Big Ten. But if they keep doing this, it won't matter. They'll do that to everybody. Maybe not win by as much against Penn State and Ohio State, but the way they're playing, it's going to be very hard for anybody to beat them. Number two, the Washington Huskies, second best win of the season. Still think the Oklahoma winning against Texas is number one,

but beating Oregon was spectacular. Michael Penix Jr. rose to the occasion when he got the ball back, brought him down the field very quickly. It was a lot of fun to watch, and I can't wait to watch them the rest of the way. As we just talked about, the rest of the Pac-12 race is going to be bonkers. Number one, still Oklahoma. Oklahoma in the very good position of having the best win also should be favored the rest of the way in the regular season. Now, as far as the resume ranking goes, this actually probably puts them in a position to get hopped because I just mentioned Michigan's going to play tougher games. I just mentioned Georgia's going to play tougher games and Washington is going to play tougher games. I just mentioned Georgia's going to play tougher games. And Washington is going to play tougher games. So all of them could potentially hop Oklahoma

because Oklahoma has not had to play anybody really good but Texas. So we'll see how they do the rest of the year. But they have been beating people in a similar fashion pretty much every time. And obviously Texas was tougher because Texas is a much better team, but they have been absolutely fine. So that is your resume ranking. Now let us move on to the projected college football playoff and new year six. Now this is more forward looking. This is not all, what have you done for me lately? This is we're, we're, we're predicting what might happen. The Big Ten

prediction on a lot of you disagree with, I know. A lot of you are very angry when I say this every time. But I may be saying something different next week. We'll see. Or I may be doubling down. Sugar Bowl. Number one, Georgia versus number four Oklahoma. That would be a fun game. I think the last time they played the playoff game was pretty good. Maybe one of the best games ever. So I would love to see that. It would be a great gauge as Oklahoma heads into the SEC to see how they stack up against the best of the SEC.

The Rose Bowl, another CFP semifinal. Number two, Penn State versus number three, Washington. Yes, this is me predicting Penn State will win the Big Ten. I realize many of you disagree. I realize the Ohio State Buckeyes probably disagree. And if I'm wrong, then they'll prove me wrong this week. And then I'll say something different next week. That's the beauty of this stuff. But I've got Washington in here now. Now you notice I didn't have Florida State and I didn't have North Carolina.

This is, again, the primary problem with a 14 playoff and five power conferences. You can't get them all in. Now they're not all gonna finish undefeated. The champs of each league, they could conceivably finish undefeated, but I don't think that's going to happen. So it's going to be a little bit easier.

It's all going to shake out in the end, I think. But that is one of the frustrating things, and it will take care of itself next year because it's going to 12. And effectively, there will only be two power conferences, the SEC and the Big Ten. But right now we're still in the old system. And so somebody's got to get left out right now, and Washington has the best wins,

so I put them in, and I left the ACC champ out, which could be wrong. But again, it'll work itself out. I've got North Carolina and Alabama in the Peach Bowl if North Carolina keeps playing this way if they were to lose in the ACC championship game to Florida State they would still wind up in a really nice game in the Orange Bowl Florida State and Michigan this is the only one where a contract comes into play the ACC champ has to be in this game if they're

not in the playoff or the highest ranked ACC team that isn't in the play champ has to be in this game if they're not in the playoff or the highest ranked ACC team that isn't in the playoff has to be in this game. So I've got Florida State there, Michigan, the highest ranked Big Ten team that didn't make the playoff, they go to that one. The Fiesta Bowl, I've got Air Force versus Oregon. Remember, the highest ranked group of five champ goes to one of these games. Air Force is undefeated now. They just beat Wyoming, which beat Fresno State. So Air Force in control of the Mountain West at the moment. It doesn't mean they're going to stay there. And you've got Tulane sitting out there in the American. They just beat Memphis. Tulane's only loss is to Ole Miss. So they're probably coming

down to the Air Force champ or Tulane, or the Mountain West Champ or Tulane. But we don't know. Got them against Oregon and the Cotton Bowl, Texas and Ohio State. That'd be a fun one. That would be an absolute delight to watch at Jerry World. So I'd rather these games be playoff games. Tomorrow night, we'll project it as if it were the 12 team playoffs starting this year. We do that every Monday night.

But I do think this is one of those times when it's potentially going to be really hard for the committee to decide between four and five, because I don't, like I said, I don't think they're all going to finish undefeated. I don't think every power five champ will be undefeated, but I think there's gonna be enough one loss champs that they're going to have to make a decision to take one and drop one. And I don't envy that because I think the ACC at the top is better this year. The PAC 12 is as deep as it's ever been. Do you do it to Oklahoma or Texas if they have one loss? It really is going to be difficult for that committee to decide. And the explanation is probably not going to be great.

It's probably not going to satisfy you or anybody else. In fact, I think if I'm on the committee and I get pinned into that situation, I'm probably just saying, you know what? That's why we expanded at 12. So we don't have to make stupid decisions like this, but we'll find out. We will find out. Folks, tonight's show is brought to you by PrizePix, the easiest way to do daily fantasy. So much fun available in most of the country, including Texas, Florida, and California. So I have to apologize. The prize picks folks asked me and JD Piquel to put together a custom play for you guys this year or this week. And so my half of that custom play, and I played it

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So this was, I love the combo pass rush receiving TDs. And these are usually quarterbacks you're gonna pick with this. So I had Jaden Daniels more than three, Jordan Travis more than two and a half, and then a combination of George's Carson Beck and Alabama's Jalen Milrow at more than five. So I was feeling really good during that early window because Jordan Travis got the three and he had two rushing touchdowns. Beck and Milrow had five by the second quarter. In the second quarter of their games, they had combined for five touchdowns produced. I was like, this is going to be easy. Nope. They didn't get over five. They managed to stick at five and Jane Daniels got three. But the good news is because I did match the projections on those,

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for some great games this week, including one that we've been looking forward to all season that will help define the Big Ten. It will help define where Penn State is in the world. It will help define where Ohio State and Ryan Day are. That's right. The Nittany Lions are headed to Columbus on Saturday. Sean Fitz of on three's

blue white illustrated joined us to break down that game now by Sean Fitz of blue white illustrated Penn State has reached the regular season as the message board posters like to call it the preseason is now over Ohio State awaits in Columbus this is going to be a fun one Sean and they're coming off winning against UMass we don't really need to talk much about that although I thought it was interesting hearing James Franklin talk about Daquan Hardy earning a job as the punt returner because he returned two punts for touchdowns which was a school record in a game where special teams may turn it. How big of a deal is that having somebody that may be able to break one?

Penn State special teams this year has been up and down. You know, they've been good at covering things, but the return game has not had a spark at all. Nick Singleton was the guy last year at kick return, a punt return. They put Caden Saunders back there this year and just not a, not a ton of initiative. Really. You could say Daquan Hardy went back there. He's returned three punts now this season for 129 yards, 43 yard average. Nice job. If you can get it two touchdowns this weekend against UMass, but to add that element to your special teams or to add the threat of that element to your special teams, it can change things. I mean,

you look at a game in Columbus. That is a game that so many things are going to be slanted to Ohio State just because the home field advantage is one of the best in college football. And, you know, you can break one of those plays. You look at 2017, Saquon Barkley takes the opening kickoff back, and that set the stage for what should have been a win. Penn State kind of vomited all over themselves there at the end and lost it. But it's really a different element that you can add to this special teams unit. And Penn State

needs points any way they can get them. And if they can get them through punt return, they're going to need it. So you bring up 17, which you're exactly right. They were in control. They should have won that game last year. They were hanging with Ohio State until right right there at the end the JT2M has you know one of the best quarters and a half that you're ever going to see they seem to be kind of right there with the Buckeyes not in the same way like when they play Michigan it kind of depends on where they play. But with Ohio State, they seem right there, but they have not broken through since 2016. It's really remarkable because Penn State's played them. I know that other teams have beaten them since that 2016 season, but Penn State has played Ohio State as

well as anybody. Michigan's got the two wins in the last two seasons, but from a schematic standpoint, you could come away from that game last year and say, Hey, James Franklin, I'll coach Ryan day, which, you know, it doesn't matter because the scoreboard said otherwise. Um, but they've really played it close. And I think they're similar styles. Um, the big play has been a big part of those games over the last decade. And, uh, you know, sometimes things like the, like a punt return would swing it like the block kick in 2016 would swing it. So I think that they're similar built programs where you you you know you you'd like to say if you're on the penn state side that they've kept it close enough now it hasn't been close enough for penn state fans because they want that w understandably so but to play them as consistently as they have they haven't

gotten blown out of the water really uh very much so i think that that's been something that it's a feather in the cap of james franklin that really doesn't matter in the end of the day when when the scoreboard says what it does i i was at ohio state's game against notre dame and watching kyle mccord carve up notre dame's defense on that last drive and it was basically when when notre dame could get a little pressure on him it didn't go go so well. But when he had time, he was pretty surgical. How important is it for Abdul Carter, for Chop Robinson, for those guys to be able to affect him in the pass game? Very important. First time starter. I think that's the

number one obvious thing. And he has been battle tested with that Notre Dame game, which is something you probably can't say on the Penn State side of things in terms of comparing schedules. But at the same time, this pass rush, you mentioned Chop Robinson, Abdul Carter somewhat. I think he has one sack this year, but Adisa Isaac is Penn State's, has been their top sack guy so far. Danai Dennis Sutton has been. And then that second wave of pressure, Cam Miller had a couple of sacks this weekend. Johnny Dixon's gotten the quarterback. Manny Diaz is going to try to mess with the head of the first-time starter, which is what anybody would do. It's what Ohio State's defense is going to try and do to Drew Aller. So I think bringing waves of pressure, bringing pressure off of different angles is going to be

something that, yes, it will have an effect on Kyle McCord this weekend. And just start with the four up front. I think Penn State can get pressure there. Zane Durant has been very good for Penn State on the interior, smaller guy, but very quick to the quarterback. And really, you look at these sacks over the last couple of weeks. Yes, guys are getting the numbers, but there's three, four guys hitting the quarterback at the same time. Tyson Pumichan from UMass, he was done with it.

I mean, he was over it by the second quarter. So Penn State has done a really nice job of getting to the quarterback, putting hits on the quarterback, whether they turn into sacks or not, putting hits on the quarterback. And we all know what kind of effect that can have. I was going to say, how important is it to be able to get there with four when you've got to cover Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Abuka and Cade Stover and that whole group i mean it's of paramount importance i mean you you go on the road any coach goes on the road they get a little bit more conservative whether it's offense whether it's defense so does that mean pulling back another blitzer does that mean keeping a guy in the secondary that you wouldn't ordinarily do that i don't know what

manny diaz is going to do but i think that that's that that's where i would lean at this point but getting home and four with those guys that we mentioned a little bit earlier, those ends, I mean, they got five defensive ends that could really play and, you know, whether it's sacks, whether it's hits, pressures,

whatever that can lead to good things on the defensive side of the ball. So I think that that's, that is to me, the matchup. And I think that this defensive line probably has, is matching up with Ohio state's offensive line better than it has in quite some time. So we all had our fun with the question that James Franklin got last week about

how come you don't just tell Drew to throw it deep? And that is an interesting one to me because Drew Aller is completing 65% of his passes. He's averaging 6.9 yards per attempt. It was not a great number, but he certainly looks like he has the skill set to uncork it when he needs to is this a case of them being strategically conservative saving stuff or is this a case of he's not going to put the ball in danger because that is his nature i think they've been strategically conservative to not put the ball in danger because he's a first-time quarterback and i think that any any coach j James Franklin especially, wants to avoid that big

turnover, especially, I mean, you're building up for a game like this. You're not building up for Northwestern, Illinois, no disrespect intended, but you're building up for a game like this and keeping him safe is really what they've done. They did throw it a little bit more down the field. Penn State came out in the first play of the game and it looked like it was good. They were going to uncork it. Drew checked down. He sees the field very well. So I think there are times when you look in the past and it looks like guys are chucking the ball up just for the hell of it. But you know, I think he sees it pretty well.

I also think it's a little bit of an indictment on what Penn State has on the outside. You look at the difference in matchups this weekend and Ohio State's receivers among the best in the country, That group year in and year out. Brian Hartline has done a magnificent job building and sustaining that group. Penn State's been up and down. Keiondre Lambert-Smith has star potential, but he has been on a roller coaster at times. Trey Wallace has missed several games.

He came back this weekend, opened up things a little bit, but you look at the difference in playmakers on the outside, and that's been a consistent part of this for the last couple of years. Parker Washington had a great year last year. Jahan Dodson's been great. Penn State's had good receivers, but in terms of a threat all around, I think this team is actually a step behind of where some prior Penn State teams have been. Yeah, and there's been one know, with Ohio State, there's usually three guys, four guys. And that's, that's part of the secrets. It's not really a secret sauce, but part of why they're so tough to stop. So with the run game for Penn State, how do they decide who carries the ball? Because it seems like they've mixed that up fairly well

and done a fairly good job of, of going with the hot hand rather than just saying, we're going to give Nick Singleton his carries and then we'll see what happens. They really haven't done anything by design in terms of taking a guy and sort of shoving the round peg in the square hole or square peg round hole, whatever. I think it's been interesting to watch them play the same offense with both guys and i don't know that they're going to do that this weekend because of the stakes being so much higher like katron allen came into the game late in the first quarter against umass and of course it's umass but really just kind of ran things like he came in i think he had an 18 yard carry on his first uh on his first carry it he just looks so much more natural by the end of the game nick singleton had i think seven more carries than

him you know they kind of put him back in it looks like they're trying to re-coach re-teach do all the things that you know you probably build up and i think we said on our show over coached a little bit and he's i think he's overcompensated a little bit so you haven't seen the explosion from Nick Singleton um so but but I don't think you you coach these guys much different I mean you want to compare and contrast what they do well and Katron Allen's the down to down guy Nick Singleton's the big play guy but at the same time like they're the same size like they're they're guys that both really can both or really can help out your offense in multiple ways so I don't think you change much I just think that the way that Katron Allen is playing right now and the way that Nick Singleton is playing right now,

I think that's going to bring the hot hand element into it. And I think Allen should be the guy this weekend against Ohio State. Is this offense a good complement for this defense? Because we just talked about checking down. We talked about grinding it out in the run game. That seems like something you do when you are very confident that your defense can hold other teams down. Well, you look at the Iowa game, and they've started slow quite a bit.

No touchdowns on the opening drive in the last four games, and it's been a sticking point, really, because I think they do have some weapons. They just haven't turned to it, and it's taken some time to get into the flow of things. It took a punt return against UMass to get them into the flow of what they needed to do and but then they started to open up it's physical offensive line they've done some really nice things in terms of i mean they pummeled iowa up front on both sides of the ball and and how

often do you hear that right with an iowa team uh regardless of how many points they can score they i think that that's what they want to do um They were down J.B. Nelson, of course, lost Landon Tangwall before the season. So getting into some of that reserve depth on the offensive line, especially in the interior, so that might change some things. But I think that's what Penn State wants to do. They want to hold the ball. They want to run the ball. They want to be more efficient by keeping that clock going and letting their defense sort of do what their defense does.

Their defense is going to have them in every game. I firmly believe that. And I think that's good enough to say that even against an awesome offensive team like Ohio State. So where are Penn State fans at, right? How bad do they need this win? Do they need to be in the hunt for the Big Ten title and not just a good team that is somehow a notch below Ohio State and Michigan. Yep. Two game season, man. That is where they're at.

That's where they've been at for a while. That is the knock on James Franklin in terms of his record against Ohio State and Michigan. And really, that's what people are judging them for. And if you have championship aspirations like this team does internally, that's fair. That is how they've really approached it. And I think that that is where the expectations are with the fans. Penn State hasn't been there. They have not made the four team playoff. I think it's, it's of, I don't want to say paramount importance, but it's very important to James Franklin that they get in there before it expands because they

don't want to just be one of those also rams on the outside. That's just getting in because they're a top 12 team. They want to be a top 10. They want to be a top five team. So I think that that's important for them. But yeah, I think there's a bout of frustration there. Everybody knows how good Ohio State is. Everybody knows how good Michigan is. But Penn State wants to believe that they are in that group. And if they can make a few plays, maybe just make one more play.

2017, this has popped up before. They've been close, just haven't been able to get over that mountain i it it does feel like if if they can put some pressure on com accord that there is a way that that's maybe the path more than anything else is turnovers that we you know we talked about their turnover margin that they're they're plus 10 in that stat. But that feels like the most sure way for them to have a chance. Is that possible? It seems like this group is a good matchup for Penn State against Ohio State's offensive line.

I think so. I think that that is possible, and that's got to be the route that Penn State takes. I mean, you you hear defense first and you know, an offense that comes along. That's that's very Penn State. That's what Penn State has been for a long long time. Historically, yeah. So, you think Penn State fans will be in love with this team but here here we are. We're on the internet. So, no, I I think that it's certainly possible. I mean, you you just have guys at every level of this defense

that can make that one play and And it's not even the stars. I mentioned Johnny Dixon before. K.J. Winston is emerging as a very good safety, who's just a sophomore. Some of those defensive linemen that, I mean, Vanover has played very well. Zane Durant, I mentioned a little bit earlier. Those guys are the guys that are going to have to step up and make the play. I think we expect some of the stars to be what they are, and I think Ohio State expects its stars to be.

But it's that when you've got that 1-85, you've got 15-35, and that's going to determine everything. That's going to be what really would put Penn State over the line in this one. It is amazing to hear you talk about them wanting to get into the 14. Had there been a 12-team all along, they would have been in it a bunch of times. I do wonder how we would view James Franklin through that lens because it feels different because Ohio State always gets in. Michigan has now gotten in a couple of times.

It does feel like they need to join the group in some way, shape, or form. But it's hard because it always seems like there's something in this in this Ohio State game. What's the breakdown that they have to avoid? You know, it's interesting, because you look at the breakdown they had in 2017. And that was depth. And I think Penn State has recruited past that you look at the top teams in the Big 10. You know, they're not they're not playing a whole lot of reps because they're you know overwhelming teams that they're playing and then they're you know letting their backups come in cultivating depth through that um to me i think it's still on the offensive line like you look at the types of pressure that jim knolls can

bring and the types of games that his defensive linemen have had. I mean, JTT last year, that entire draft package that he's going to put together next year, whenever it is, is going to be him playing at Penn State last year. You have to avoid, not avoid the superhuman performances and things like that, but you got to avoid the breakdowns there. Timing has been a big issue for this Penn State run game. And if you turn timing into a three-yard loss, that puts them off schedule. That gets them off schedule. And Penn State, I think, is going to have to stay on schedule.

I think Ohio State has the big plays in this game. I think Penn State has the ability to sort of squat on it, sort of sit on the football, be efficient, and do what they've done the entire time. And maybe you hit a big play. Maybe you get a guy shaking loose. We saw Parker Washington do it last year. But in terms of depth, in terms of talent, this is as close as they've been for a long, long time. And I think they have the ability to do so. It's just avoid those lapses.

I think everybody's going to say, well, James Franklin doesn't run the ball or fourth and five or whatever it might be, but it's, it's those things, those little things that they build up through the game. And I think it's going to start with the offensive line well and that's an interesting question because you know you get olufash news there and obviously we know how the draft people feel about him they feel like he would have been maybe the first tackle off the board had he left after last season but how do they stack up in that matchup because this is it feels like a little bit better buckeye's defensive line than last year definitely a better secondary than what they had last year up in that matchup because this is it feels like a little bit better Buckeyes defensive line than last year. Definitely a better secondary than what they had last year. But but that

can they keep those guys off of Drouallard? Yeah, I think I think so. JB Nelson left the Northwestern game did not play this past weekend was not practicing last week. He's the starting left guard and you put in Vega Yane, who is a redshirt freshman. I mean, if you look at the depth charts, you're going to circle the young guys. And that is the guy that you would circle if you're trying to confuse, put pressure on. So I think that you're looking at a gap. You're looking at those interior rushes from the linebackers, what have you.

So I think that that is where you look at it pretty veteran otherwise. Hunter Norzad's had a really good year. He's a former transfer from Cornell's playing center. Sal Wormley has been in there. And Caden Wallace, to me, this is the guy. This is the big matchup. Last year, Bryce Effner was in there, who's a senior. He got eaten up quite a bit.

And I think a lot of people would have been eaten up by the performance by JTT last year. But at right tackle, I think Caden Wallace is an NFL player, probably an NFL guard, but he has struggled with the outside pass rush at times and is having a very good season, but still sticking in the back of Penn State's mind or Penn State fans' minds is the performances that he's had in certain situations this year. So I'll be interested to see how much Penn State uses tight ends to chip, how much help they can give there, how much these running backs who are very good running backs who have improved in past protection can step up against a guy a different breed of athlete than they've seen so far on the schedule blitzing from the second level they can chip and then they can check it down that's it's perfect it's ideal yeah or they can or they could just tell drew aller to throw it up there what could possibly

go that i i do love it and not not to make too much fun of that question but the the look on james franklin's face as he is trying to determine what that all means because it is so foreign to a football coach to think of a past passing concept that contains no check downs. Yeah. I mean, especially for a first year quarterback, I mean, just deflate it all you can by throwing it downfield and getting a pick. The question I think it rooted in some sort of frustration of the fan, you know, really just Penn State has not had the big plays. They've not gone over the top. And as we've mentioned before at times with joe morehead uh even with ricky ronnie was feast or famine a little bit with the big play um and that just has

almost completely gone away you know penn state has not been successful throwing the ball down the field they haven't done it much but even when they've done it they haven't had a ton of success so i think the question rooted in reality um cory cory guy has been covering this team for a long long time uh i think he got on his heels a little bit did a little uh you know just tried to try to turn and run and just wasn't just kept chucking that's what he did it was it was it's what you do yeah i understand that um i think it was rooted in reality but at the same time yeah james franklin does not like it when questions are pointed with the and an answer and expectation in mind he's done that a few times uh this this

season at our local media gatherings where you ask the you ask the answer i guess and it doesn't go over well with college coaches yeah he does not like yeah and they don't nobody tends to like it when they know that your story is already written and you're looking for the quote to go in there. So people can smell that out. But it is interesting. So I'm thinking back to Michigan and Ohio State last year where J.J. McCarthy had really not been asked to do a whole lot before that game. They kind of unleashed him because they had to, because they were not having as much success on the ground early can you imagine a scenario like that where if if they're not moving the ball as well as they they like where they do try to kind of unleash drew aller i i you know watching james rank for

the longest time when he goes on the road like in it's it's any college coach right you want to protect the football etc um but i i have a tough time seeing that but at the same time this kid is so physically gifted like watch him throw a 12 yard out and it does not look like a college quarterback and to me that says you can throw a 12 yard out to trey wallace or if you get the time that you've had in the past with this you know you've got the olu protecting the blind side that turns into a double move real they did that against, actually, Northwestern was kind of sitting on the comebacks because that's all Penn State was throwing. All of a sudden, Dante Cephas runs a double move and there's nobody around him.

Drew, just a little bit too late on the throw, did not end up converting. But I think that that's what you're looking at in terms of being able to unleash him is to, you know, get Ohio State into a rhythm and then try and stomp on that rhythm and i think that that's the best way to do it and also on top of that thrown to the backs the tight ends have been big uh over the last couple of weeks tyler warren i think has five or six touchdowns this season theo johnson had two touchdowns this weekend um you know you know how comforting it is for a tight end for a running back to be the guy um to those moving the chains college coaches love that.

Quarterbacks love that. And I think those are the key things, especially with as deficient as Penn State has been on the outside in the grand scheme of the talent game that's going to take place this weekend. Well, Dante Cephas, he watched his old teammate, Tez Walker, blow up in his first start at North Carolina. So now it's time for the other Kent State transfer to blow up. So we'll see what happens. Sean, thank you so much. Cannot wait for that game in Columbus. I cannot wait either. Thank you very much for having me on, Andy. It's a pleasure having you on on three.

That's Sean Fitz. I cannot wait for that game. It's going to be so much fun. Again, that one's always close. Now, it seems like Penn State can't seem to get over the hump. The last time it happened, 2016, he had a block kick. It was a big deal. But now it feels like if we compare Penn State to Ohio State, dude for dude, they're much closer. It's not this massive gap of NFL players.

If we're talking first-round talents, yeah, Ohio State probably has the top one in Marvin Harrison Jr., but you've got a little fashion who could be a first-round draft pick. You've got Chop Robinson. Abdul Carter isn't eligible this year for the draft, but might be a first-round draft pick when he's eligible. It is a different look for Penn State. It feels like they are much closer athletically to Ohio State

than they have been in a while. And I think the difference will be that Penn State defensive line slash other pass rushers against the Ohio State offensive line? Can they rattle Kyle McCord? Because you saw Kyle McCord against Notre Dame. When he had time, he just carves you up. When he didn't have time, it was not so easy. So that's really where it comes down to. Can they put pressure on him? Can they make him force something that ends up working out badly for Ohio State? Can they force turnovers? Can they change field position?

That's the way you do it. But it will be a fun game. Let's talk about the lines this week from our friends at FanDuel. I looked up this one. Now, they've had an early line out on this one for a while, but as of Sunday, Ohio state is a five and a half point favorite at home against Penn state. So essentially this means this would be a, Ohio state would be a two and a half point favorite on a neutral field. The total on this game, 48.5. So not necessarily predicting a super high scoring affair, but I think this feels about right, given what we've

seen, because Penn State's got to prove it. But that's not an insurmountable line. It's a one score game. Let's look at some of these other ones. Mississippi State at Arkansas. It opened with Arkansas as a six and a half point favorite. That has been bet up to a seven point favorite. This is an interesting spot for both teams. Arkansas has lost five in a row. There's a lot of consternation about Sam Pittman and the job he's doing. They've been close in those five games. It's not like they've gotten blown out in any of them, but they started out 2-0, they've lost five in a row.

That is a fact, and there's nothing you can change about that. They have to have something good happen for them. They need to win a game. And so Mississippi State comes to town. Now Mississippi State is 3-2. They are in a stretch of games. It's this one at Arkansas, at Auburn, Kentucky, and at Texas A&M. There is a chance they lose all four of those. If they are sitting at three and six at the end of this

stretch going into the Southern Miss game, it's bad news. That's bad news for Zach Arnett. I wrote a column a few weeks ago explaining the buyout situation for Zach Arnett, it is not a huge buyout. It's basically $4.5 million, $1.5 million a year over three years, and there's an offset. So if he were to get a big SEC coordinator job, essentially Mississippi State would owe nothing. So that's what they're looking at.

He's got to win some of these or it's going to be bad. So this is a really interesting game. Both coaches need this very, very badly. We'll talk about Tennessee, Alabama a lot more with Tim Watts from Bama Online, but that game started at Alabama favored by 8.5. It has been bet up to Alabama minus 9.5. So not a lot of confidence in the old Vols from the vetters. And I think what they're probably looking at is Joe Milton's performance against Texas A&M. Tennessee beat Texas A&M. Great defensive performance by the Vols.

They were in Max Johnson's face most of the time. But Joe didn't throw the ball particularly well. Alabama's going to get after him. And Alabama's probably going to be a little harder to run on than Texas A&M was. Plus, I think Alabama's offense will be more functional than Texas A&M's. So that's one where the gamblers are not real confident in the balls. We'll see what happens as the week goes on. Another one with a bunch of points, Washington State at Oregon.

So it feels like too many points here. It's 18 and a half points Oregon is favored by. Washington State did get crushed by Arizona. but Washington state's been pretty good otherwise. So I, I don't know where to go with this one because you know, I don't think Oregon's going to do the let Washington beat you twice thing. And this game is at Autzen, but that is a ton. It's almost three touchdowns in a conference game against a good team. It feels very high. Here's another interesting one. Oklahoma State at West Virginia. So West Virginia coming off that heartbreaking loss to Houston where West Virginia marches down the field, scores. It looks like they've won. Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. They kick off from the 20. One play sets up a Hail Mary. Houston wins,

walks it off. Now West Virginia plays Oklahoma State, which by the way, we were burying Mike Gundy, including me. I was burying him too a couple of weeks ago. He went 2-0 for the state of Kansas. He beat K-State, then he beat Kansas. Oklahoma State seems to have turned things around, but West Virginia is still a favorite in this game. So West Virginia, three-point favorite. And then Minnesota at Iowa. So Iowa's a six-and-a-half-point favorite. That's not the interesting part of this one. The total is 32-and-a-half. Remember last week when we picked the Iowa-Wisconsin game, the total was 36.5. That ended up going down to 34 by the time the game kicked off.

This is starting out at 32.5. Will this go to 30 by kickoff? I think it might. This is unbelievable. think it might it's unbelievable it is going to be a rock fight that will make blood pour out of multiple orifices it just is 32 and a half one more duke at florida state florida state opened as a 14 and5 point favorite. That seemed high. Gamblers jumped on that one. It's now down to 13.5. It doesn't look like Riley Leonard.

I mean, we'll find out. But Riley Leonard's ankle sprain looked pretty serious at the end of the Notre Dame game. I don't know that he's back or not. This seems like Florida State's toughest challenge until the Miami game. But if they play the way they've been playing, it might not be. They just feel like they're rolling at this point. So Florida State, two touchdown favorite against Duke. Those are your very interesting lines. Now we'll talk about

Texas and Alabama again. As I said, didn't look like the gamblers were very confident in Texas. I'm sorry, Tennessee and Alabama. Did not look like the gamblers were very confident in Texas. I'm sorry, Tennessee and Alabama. Did not look like the Gamblers were very confident in Tennessee. But Alabama, most of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter, didn't do a lot to inspire confidence in the Arkansas game. So what Alabama are we going to see?

What version of Alabama shows up when the Vols come to town on the third Saturday in October? We asked Tim Watts of Bama Online. We welcome Tim Watts of Bama Online. The Crimson Tide survived Arkansas. I think that's probably the best way to put it. But looked good at times.

Lots of trouble spots at times. Now Tennessee headed to Tuscaloosa for a game that is pretty huge for both teams because Alabama is still in the driver's seat in the SEC West. Tennessee, not out of anything as long as it can keep winning. Yeah, this season, I mean, I'm not even sure. I mean, you look at that schedule. I'm not sure it's this point of the year. I think it's too early to rule anybody out, honestly. there's so much football left to be played again Michigan and Georgia seem to have

the straightest pass you know Ohio State has the loss but yeah I mean I've never really remembered a time when the game didn't mean something to somebody I know there's been very streaky it's been a very streaky series but I think Alabama fans always wanted to win and Tennessee fans always wanted to win. And you look at Alabama's angle, just speaking from their angle after last year, you know how mad they were. I mean, you know, to lose the game, you saw the celebration, which obviously, you know, is irritating when you're on the other end of it. Plus, to lose in the fashion they did. I mean, that was one of the craziest games I've ever seen in my lifetime. So there's a lot for Alabama. And of course, Tennessee's playing well, and they want to win that game. And regardless if you're in the college football playoffs or

national championship, you want to win every game. You're trying to recruit, trying to get to a good bowl game. I mean, nobody wants to be playing in December 27th. So there's a lot on the line for both these teams. So Alabama has a great second quarter. Beginning of the third quarter, not bad either. It felt like they were moving the ball well on the ground, kind of salting the game the way they're up 24-6. And then it just starts to disintegrate. They allow Arkansas to mount a decent drive, and suddenly Arkansas has got some confidence and they're back

in it. Yeah, I mean, momentum. Football is as much momentum as anything. Getting a quick start, recovering from big plays, producing big plays. And Alabama had that run where they were cruising down the field, third and three, ran up the field. You felt like they had a chance to put it away. Ended up calling a pass play and wasn't successful. Kicked a field goal. Kickoff, come down, three plays, got a punt, get a face mask.

And then Arkansas just found something that worked. I mean, you can blame, I don't think anybody's blaming the defense, but I give Arkansas credit. KJ Jefferson, that dude is a player. He's going to go in there. He's going to compete. He made some nice throws. Alabama definitely had chances to end that drive. A lot of people talk about the penalty, which kept the drive going, so they should, but they had chances to end that drive and just didn't do it. Then Arkansas executed when they had to, made some nice plays, and ended up putting back-to-back touchdown drives together. And then Alabama

offensively, the left tackle issue, they tried a couple different options. Landon Jackson was just dominating on that side. And Tim, Caden Proctor's the number one guy there, and probably seems like he's going to stay there as the number one, but he's a true freshman, came from Iowa. It feels like maybe you've got to give him a little more help until he – because, I mean, you look at him, he's going to be fine. Like, he's going to be a really good left tackle. But right now, as a true freshman, it feels like you've got to help him a little more.

I mean, you're talking about a learning curve. He was facing Iowa high school defensive ends this time last year, and now he's playing sec defensive ends. I don't care which sec team you are. You've got a guy that can speed rush. You got a guy that can run who's athletic, who can get to the football and they're just sticking that guy over there and letting Proctor work, you know, one-on-one.

I think he does things that are good, but you know, with the lineman, you don't notice the good really, if it's not a pancake block, you know, you never see it. Right. But you notice everything bad they doemen, you don't notice the good, really. If it's not a pancake block, you never see it, right? But you notice everything bad they do because the officials go and tell on you. Hey, false start, hold him. They're calling out your number. They're texting your mom and you did it, you know. And you give up a sack.

I mean, it's pretty obvious, you know, when you get beat on that edge what happens. So I think he's going to be fine. But I agree, maybe somebody to chip over there. I mean, it's a thin line because, you know, you got to run your offense. You can't really tip the help or what's coming and all that. And also Jalen Milbro, he's got to take some blame here too. He's got to stay in that pocket when it's the pocket, because he tends to bounce around a little bit and get himself in trouble. So it's kind of, you know, when the offensive line leaks, you see the quarterback you know starts hearing footsteps

sometimes they're there sometimes they're not you know jalen's an athletic guy kind of bounces on his feet moves around a lot sometimes he works himself in trouble so as a unit i feel the offensive line has got to get better obviously starts with proctor and then as a quarterback you got to have that pocket presence and that's why you say about mac jones is that he's terrible athlete you know he doesn't jump high he doesn't run fast, but he was dead on. He was Justin Timberlake in that pocket. He was always two steps up, one step to the right. He cleared space. He didn't go very far. He just went to that clear space, which is what great quarterbacks do. So I think there's more than just one thing at play. Jalen has to improve. The offensive line has to improve. Some of the play, Colin, needs to be a little bit better attuned to what your

quarterback can do and what your offensive line is capable of. But I think it's all, you know, it's a work in progress. I think that's what the Alabama football team is. You got a first year quarterback starter. You got a first year left tackle. You got a first year offensive coordinator. So I think growing pains were to be expected. Well, and with Milrow, it's interesting because you're right. He bounces around back there. He's not though for a guy who's a very good runner. He's not looking to run most of the time. Like he's not looking to scramble unless it's an absolutely dire situation. And sometimes I think that also gets him in trouble too because he will hang back in there and take sacks where he's fast enough to get out of there but it's it's

it's hard because he's probably been trained his whole life like hey we know you can run hang in there hang in there and he does now that but that passing game is so it's so strange because you know you got the guy asking James Franklin at Penn State last week not giving out or a choice to check down like Jalen Milrow you don't want him to check down like please throw it deep because there's a 50 50 shot that's getting caught and it's a huge play yeah you know with J, with Jalen running, I don't know, you know, there's been talk that he might have some kind of injury. He doesn't seem to have the same gear he did

in earlier in the year. Maybe he's got a tweaked hamstring, but he's definitely, the last couple of games, not looking to take contact. They had the quarterback run, power run to the right. He slid down after eight yards on the third and three, or he did a good job getting the first, but I mean, he just barely got past that first down line, you know, to begin with. So he's definitely avoiding taking

some contact. And I don't think it's because he's scared of contact. I mean, I mean, he literally looks like Adrian Peterson. He's built, he's a monster. He's going to, you know, inflict as much damage as he's going to take. So it's possible he's trying to protect himself and save from injury. But also I know he sees himself as a pocket, you know, passer pro type quarterback. So I think all that kind of factors in, but you're right. His run has been a little different the last couple of weeks. Well, and if he is hurt,

that is something to be very aware of because we have seen Alabama's next two options at quarterback and that that's a bad deal. If that winds up having to be what they have to use so they they probably do need to protect him as much as they can but this Tennessee team coming in uh they seem to have gotten things straight now they they lost to Florida couldn't run the ball in that game but two offensive linemen were hurt they they've run the ball much better you know nine yards of carry against UTSA over five yards of carry against South Carolina, 4.7 against Texas A&M, which may not sound like much, but that's a really good defensive front

to be doing that against. Yeah, I think Alabama's been really good against the run. Tennessee, I think Tennessee, you look at their fans' reaction to some of the games, and it's a little bit similar to Alabama, right? I mean, they're not dropping the same bombs that Jalen Milrow is, but the lack of a consistent passing game at times, they've obviously focused on the run, which you don't really expect after seeing Tennessee last year, where they had just a dynamic passing game. So I think they're going to run the ball, try to run to be successful. If Alabama is able to stop that run, and they've been good so far

this year, I think it's really going to cause a problem for Tennessee. Tennessee's able to run the ball and ground it out. It's going to put Alabama in that position where they're going to have to, you know, try to limit them to field goals, and they're also going to have to score in this game. I thought Tennessee's defense did a good job. They got a little bit of a problem for Alabama coming off that edge. They got some heat coming there, but I think if you can get to that back end,

you got a chance to make plays. But, again, you got to protect your quarterback and give him some time because we've seen when he's got time, he's going to sit back and find one of those guys usually works herself open. We saw that. So it's a good matchup. I think Alabama, you know, I predict Alabama to win this game, but I think Tennessee is a formidable opponent. I think they got a good coaching staff and I think they've got a talented team. Yeah, I thought Tennessee did a great job up the middle against Texas A&M. They were all over Max Johnson from the inside. Now, Alabama's a little bit stronger up the middle on its offensive line. It's the edges that you're more worried about.

But yeah, I can't wait for this game because as exciting as that atmosphere in Tennessee was last year, I'd imagine the Alabama fans probably pretty excited about this. It's interesting because they did not seem particularly pumped up for Arkansas. And I get it. Arkansas comes in on a losing streak, and Alabama jumped all over them. So it is the typical Nick Saban complaining, student section taking off. My guess is they're sticking around for Tennessee because they want to see people smoking cigars afterward if they win. Well, I tell you the difference is, you know, a couple of times over the last few years, they would say, hey, who's our biggest rival?

That was the discussion that you really didn't see. And you had people saying that, well, Tennessee wasn't one of them. I bet you ask them now, they feel like that they're back to rivals. I mean, you win, you know, as many games. This game's been streaky. I've been on the other side of it I've seen Tennessee run off some you know and I had a couple brothers that were Tennessee fans and you know I've seen both sides of this but I think Alabama fans definitely being up for this game and I mean Alabama that was a super emotional game in Texas A&M and they were feeling their self and they should that was

a tough win and a tough gets a tough team in a tough place and they were feeling their self, and they should. That was a tough win against a tough team in a tough place, and they also put their self in a hole several times. Then you've got next week, you've got Tennessee coming up, primetime 2.30, and then you've got LSU, and in between that is an 11 a.m. start against Arkansas, and I think most of us know Arkansas. You look at their schedule. They've been super competitive. I know they've lost five in a row now, but they've been in every single one of those games. Other coaches will tell you they were probably, you know, happy and lucky to get out of there with the win. So, you know, it's kind of that mix that you knew it could happen, but it's hard. You know, the average fan's probably looking and going, oh, they've lost four straight, 20-point favorites, it's 11 o'clock, you know, I'm going to miss this one, but obviously it was a much

tougher game than anticipated. Nick Saban just going berserk at the end of the game because it just felt like they were very sloppy, and it was the sort of things that drive him crazy there right at the end. I would imagine that probably allows him to reinforce some things early in the week that may be helpful. But it's weird because I actually thought like the postgame, he was calmer than I thought he'd be. I thought there'd be some lectures. I thought there'd be some very pointed comments, but maybe saving those for the team meeting. I mean, I think that reaction at the end is how in the hell do you get a false start when we're on the kneel down i don't think that

was interesting i mean i've got kids and i've seen them do stuff and you're like how does that happen i think that was more at the end like we can't even kneel it out you know what it's like it's like terry arnold was telling us you know how many times have i told you and that is really that's yeah for nick savin he's he's every dad in america yeah when you've said it four times if you've told your kid to make their bed every morning and then on the eighth morning they don't you're screaming how why you know what i mean that so i think he was like how in the heck did we not be able to take this knee so i I get that. I've enjoyed him being more energetic.

You know what's funny is like the team likes it. I mean, Terry and Arnold had a field day with the fact that Nick Saban was yelling at him. I don't think the majority of those players take it personal. You know, you got that. When you're a coach that loves up, you know, when you've got a lot of good stories to tell, one bad story is never going to override those good stories for the most part. I'm sure they've got a lot of compliments. I'm sure Nick Saban has been super complimentary of a guy like Terry and Arnold.

But if Terry and Arnold can't nail it out, if he jumps off sides, I got a feeling he's getting yelled at. He got an earful. I forget what play it was. It was in the fourth quarter. But he came off and just got ripped to shreds and he but and he will he told us last week we talked to him on the show last week he and kool-aid sit there and crack jokes with nick saban all day in practice because remember

nick is with the dbs and he is he's right there talking to them the entire time and terry on said that their goal usually is try to get him to laugh every time every chance they get so it it seems it actually seems like this team has pretty good chemistry i agree you think about it and and i think maybe that's what's allowed them to overcome some of this sloppiness is they they like each, they work well together, and probably gives them some makeup that allows them to be together where they need to be. Yeah, and you see them mimicking some of the stuff Saban said. I mean, Nick Saban said before Texas A&M,

and I'm glad to see college coaches taking this stand. Like Deion said, it's just a football game, relax. You know, I think Saban said, hey, we come here to play this game. Why would we be – we should want to play. That's why you came to Alabama. You played to go to – you wanted to go to College Station and play in that game. And the kids are repeating that because I think they're taking it as it is a game. And we came to play this game.

There's no anxiety. You know, we heard that word a lot last year, more than I've ever heard it. There's no anxiety. You came here knowing Texas A&M is on our schedule. LSU is on our schedule, Auburn's on our schedule, the whole nine yards. So you hear them mimicking that, you see a maturity. One thing I like about this team, you don't really see them get down. I mean, when they make a mistake, there's not a lot of head pound, you know, dropping their head or pouting or any of that. They all seem to pick each other up pretty good. You know, you see the guys rally around Jalen and all or any of that. They all seem to pick each other up pretty good.

You know, you see the guys rally around Jalen and all that kind of stuff. I've seen them talk to Proctor. That's just got to be rough. Again, the kids, you know, young kid, he's from Iowa. He's a left tackle. Not many guys have done that for Alabama. And he's playing every monster every team's got. So I do think the chemistry's there. I do think they're having fun playing football.

I know that'll make some people mad at me, but I do think they like playing football I do think they're having fun playing football. I know that'll make some people mad at me, but I do think they like playing football. I think they're having fun out there. Well, I wonder if part of that is unlike many other Alabama teams in the last 15 years, they didn't come into this season expected to win the national title. They're not carrying that,

you know, George is carrying that right now. They've got to deal with that every week, but Alabama, especially after they lost to Texas it was like well hey nobody's really counting on us to to win a national title right now why don't we just go have some fun yeah I think there's a burden that comes with being the top team I mean when you're you know when you're Michael Jordan you know with the Bulls or you're

you know whoever's at the top of their game there's everybody's coming just to knock you off. Right. So I think when you don't have that pressure, I mean, you know, Alabama's goals in the past have always started at the national championship. That's not normal behavior. That's why you're a dynasty. You know what I mean? Normal is win the West, you know, you know, win the Auburn game, win the West, win the SEC, go to the playoffs. And then you got like five steps. But Alabama's old team was win the sec go to the playoffs and then you got like five steps but alabama's old team was win the national championship and then if you noticed if you watch the bama dynasty closely winning wasn't even enough if it wasn't like a beautiful win it was still a lot to criticize because you know and again that's what a dynasty is if you just like you know 41 to 13 is not enough because they were up 41 to three and gave up 10 points late.

You know what I mean? That's the kind of thing you face. And you're right. Georgia's dealing with it. And, you know, and every great program has dealt with that. Who's had these kind of runs and franchise in the NFL and the NBA, all those situations. But I do think and, you know, another thing is Alabama, you know, and I said this, Nick Saban's got a loss in like every season, but maybe two. He has a loss every year, it seems like. I think they've had two. I know in Alabama he's had two.

One of them they had to block 18 field goals against Lane Kiffin at Tennessee. 76, you know what I mean? Yeah, 76 team. And the other one, undefeated, they had two NBA All-Star game scores, you know, to out-survive Florida and Ole Miss that year. So it's hard going undefeated they had two nba all-star game scores to you know to out survive florida and old miss that year so it's hard going undefeated it's hard winning football games but i think they're again i think this team likes playing football i think they like each other and i think they feel it's a different field from last year where it was nothing but pressure

the good news is this game in tuscaloosa with Tennessee this week, going to be fun, going to be fun for both teams, and going to be a lot of fun for whichever one of those teams winds up smoking cigars afterwards. So, Tim, thank you so much. No problem, Andy. Anytime, Andy. The great Tim Watts of Bama Online breaking down the Crimson Tide as they get ready to play Tennessee.

This is going to be a fun week, everybody. You know what Monday night is? Monday night is a Dear Andy show. Your questions are the star. You are the stars. We do that one live. So if you want to come and ask me a question in the chat, you feel free, but you can also find me on X, Andy underscore Staples, Instagram, Andy underscore Staples, or you can email me at andystapleson3atgmail.com. You do your question on video, great chance you get on the show. You wear a cool hat while you do it, but you're definitely getting on the show. That's all there is to it. So andystapleson3atgmail.com, or find me on Twitter, Andy underscore Staples.

Find me on Instagram, Andy underscore Staples. We have reached the point in the live chat. Basically, it's devolved into my conference is better than your conference. And Matt, one of our usual

commenters, he's a Georgia fan. He does rep for the SEC. Bo, well, he's signing off with, Matthew, respectfully kiss my ass, you nerd. That's how the chat's going tonight, in case you're wondering. So if you want to come and tell everybody that your conference is way better

than some other conference, then by all means. Although I actually think they're arguing about Texas not being as good as SEC teams, which, Matt, I don't know how to break this to you. Texas is an SEC team in like seven months. So better get used to it. Thanks so much for listening.

Dear Andy Show tomorrow night, can't wait to see your questions. Talk to you tomorrow