Andy & Ari On3 - Washington RISES, Florida State DROPS in new CFP rankings | Ohio State's Ryan Day UNDER PRESSURE

Episode Date: November 22, 2023

The College Football Playoff Rankings have been updated and there's been some movement! Of course, we discuss.This episode is sponsored by Rhoback, makers of the most comfortable hoodies, Q-zips and polos on the planet. In fact, Andy is wearing the green performance hoodie that allowed him to make a one-handed catch in the 2022 Texas A&M-Alabama game. Visit Rhoback.com and use the code STAPLES for 20 percent off your first order.This episode is also sponsored by Factor Meals. Head on over to FactorMeals.com/Andy50 for 50% off your order! Fresh meals delivered straight to your door!(0:00-24:09) Andy and Jesse Instantly React to the new College Football Playoffs and pose a very interesting hypothetical(24:10-36:06) Deion Sanders sounds off in his presser, Is he the new Dabo?(36:07-53:43) Spencer Holbrook of LettermanRow joins to talk The Game for Ohio State(53:44-1:10:33) Justin Hopkins of ScoopDuck joins to discuss Oregon heading into the Civil War1:10:34 Conclusion, Dear Andy Tomorrow!For all your up-to-date information on the Ohio State Buckeyes, head on over to Letterman Row!https://www.on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/For all your up-to-date information on the Oregon Ducks, head on over to ScoopDuck!https://www.on3.com/teams/oregon-ducks/Want to watch the show instead? Head on over to YouTube and don't forget to subscribe!https://youtube.com/live/61tFuq_9TpoAndy and On3's Jesse Simonton break down the College Football Playoff committee's latest rankings. How much will the injury to quarterback Jordan Travis affect Florida State's CFP hopes?Later, Andy dives into a surprising quote from Deion Sanders that makes Coach Prime sound like ... Dabo Swinney?Spencer Holbrook of On3's Lettermen Row joins to discuss Ohio State as the Buckeyes head into The Game against Michigan. How bad does Ryan Day need a win? What happens if he doesn't get one?Next, Justin Hopkins of On3's ScoopDuck talks Oregon as the Ducks prepare for a must-win against Oregon State at Autzen Stadium. Justin explains how last year's Civil War helped build this Oregon team, and he also discusses why Jonathan Smith is such a pain to deal with on the other side of a rivalry.

Welcome to Andy Staples on three. It's a Tuesday night in November, which means we've got new college football playoff selection committee rankings. And we have one particular move in those rankings that I think is very, very interesting. We bring in Jesse Simonton on three national writer. Jesse, Washington moves up to four florida state moves down to five jordan travis injured do you think it's because of the jordan travis injury or were they going to move washington up regardless after they beat oregon state the words of andy bernard nailed it uh you know i made my uh you know i do these weekly projections based on what I think the committee is going to do. I thought they were going to move them up, and I think you teased it. I think it's completely independent of the Jordan Travis injury, Andy. I think this is solely a resume deal. The fact

that Washington beat Oregon State, that gives them another impressive win, another ranked win, top 15 win. Florida State's resume just doesn't quite measure up. And I also wrote, this is a teaser. I got a mailbag question about it. It comes out tomorrow at on three, but if Florida State wins, wins out, they're in. Reese Davis seemed to want to push back on that a little bit, but Boo Corrigan said the same thing you and I had texted about earlier. Tate Rodermaker is going to have two more data points to prove what he can do, but I think even if he struggles, even if the offense doesn't look as good, Sands, their leader, the guy, Jordan Travis, with all the intangibles,

the star talent talent they're going to get in if they're an undefeated power five team because you're going to lose a Michigan or Ohio State so naturally somebody's going to get to slide up Booger's right they're in a pretty good spot so here's the thing there is some scenario we can get into where it's not that cut and dried and we'll get to that. But I do want to talk about Washington's resume versus Florida State's resume before we get into that. Because, yes, Florida State folks, don't get too mad because, like Jesse said, there are two more games. You win those.

I think you're probably in. The Tate-Rodemaker thing, we can go back to 2014 when they needed that big 10 championship game with Cardell Jones to see, okay, what does Ohio state look like with Cardell Jones? Oh, they crushed Wisconsin. Okay, great. So if Tate Rodemaker comes in and they beat Florida and they beat Louisville, I don't think you have anything to worry about with the exception of again, one scenario we'll get to, but I do think this move would have happened independent of the Jordan Travis injury. If he hadn't been hurt, if he were perfectly healthy today, I think Washington would still be ahead of Florida State, and I'll tell you why. So Washington's best win is Oregon.

That is better than any win Florida State has. Washington's second best win is at Oregon State. That's probably on par with Florida State's LSU win. That is Florida State's best win. Washington also has a win at Arizona, Jesse, which at the time didn't seem all that big of a deal. But you look at it now, especially the way Arizona's playing, and the fact that that was a seven-point game, we should have known Arizona's pretty good. Now we know Arizona's really good. And in fact, Arizona is not out of the Pac-12 title race.

Like if Oregon were to lose to Oregon State and Arizona beats Arizona State, they're in the championship game. And that was a game too that there's been some rumblings that, you know, Washington was dealing with the flu during that game. So you struggle a little bit. I think the resumes kind of speak for themselves. And, yes, you know, the guys on ESPN were kind of arguing about, well, if Washington's resume is so good, why aren't they at two or three? Again, that's going to take care of itself next week, too.

You know, they will move up if they win the Apple Cup and one of these Big Ten teams is going to lose. Now, we can get into the other scenarios of Florida State. I do want to ask you a question, though, Andy. have they seen the movie rookie of the year they have never seen that movie but i saw it in the theater okay so i love that movie obviously that that's more of obviously my time versus now i do mix up rookie of the year and little big league rookie of the year is the kid who his arm heals in a weird way and he can throw a million miles an hour that was his name his yes and the reason i bring that up is because every time i hear now tate rotamaker i think of henry rowan gardner yes rowan gardner yeah rowan gardner

so like this whole the last three days i can't get that name out of my head because it's like – it's such a funny name that it's like – all the pressure is now, just like it was on Little Henry with the Cubs, now it's on Little Tate and the Knowles because we're going to see in Gainesville here on Saturday, this is a bad Florida team, but I think Austin Armstrong is going to still throw the house at them. And then Louisville's defense is pretty good.

So we're going to get two more data points, two more games to see if he's capable of leading this, you know, Noel's offense. Yeah, and Florida's defense is its worst unit. So, like, if you can't score a bunch on Florida's defense, that's a problem. But I'm not exactly worried about that. I just don't see how they cover Keon Coleman and, and Johnny Wilson and Jaheim Bell when they haven't been able to cover anybody else. No. Yeah. Luther Burton, fourth and 17 running wide open.

Thank you very much. There was that. Thank you very much. Well, let's, let's look at the rest of these rankings. One thing I thought was interesting is Liberty now in striking distance of that highest ranked group of five team. Because remember, Tulane has to play UTSA this weekend. If Tulane loses to UTSA and Liberty just wins out, Jamie Chadwell's crew is going to that New Year's Six Bowl. And doesn't Liberty have to play

those feisty fight and Jerry kills? Yes, they do. The ones that just whipped up on Auburn, New Mexico State and Liberty. I believe that's your Conference USA championship game. So that is going to be fun for sure. But it is interesting because that's, we've been kind of trying to figure out who's getting that spot. And Tulane had been living dangerously for a while. Now, I think if they beat UTSA and then win the American championship game, then sure, they're going to get it.

But they're not playing in a way that gives you a ton of confidence that they're going to win those two. Liberty has been. And they still, and honestly, they may have to play UTSA twice. Right, right. They may have to turn around and play them again.

Yeah, they may have. Even if UTSA loses, they may have to ultimately play them twice. So is Willie Fritz, you know, is he kind of distracted because his name is in the – Well, Jamie Chadwell's name is in the mix for jamie chadwell's name's in the in the mix for the same job that's true that's a fair point they're they're both heavily mentioned in that mississippi state search which is is very spider-man meme the spider-man meme real time yes yeah so maybe zach selman will decide zach selman's Mississippi state's first year athletic record.

Maybe he'll decide who's less, less distracted this week, but yeah, Liberty's got UTEP this week and then they'll play New Mexico state and the, the fighting Jerry kills in the conference USA championship game. You know, the rest of the rankings I'm looking at this and, and I think, Jesse, I look at this now even more in the vein of

if we had a 12 team playoff, how would this look? And like one thing that's interesting to me is they got Penn State at number 11. So because the highest ranked group five team would get a 12, that 12th playoff spot, like Penn State would get in the playoff over Ole Miss and Oklahoma. Oklahoma's beaten Texas. Like who has Penn State beaten other than Iowa? Yeah, and even Ole Miss, whether, you know, I don't think. Ole Miss beat LSU. Right, they beat LSU, which is 14.

Yep. And when you look at these other things i will say clemson sneaking in the back half is another kind of little small you know thing that florida state fans can hang their hat on that hey yeah we did move back tonight but we're gonna have that in you know that carrot dangling beneath us as well well but i i do wonder like are they taking as much care as they need to with that part of the ranking? Because they better do it next year. Like, it's going to be a lot more scrutinized next year. I don't think it matters right now.

Like, although it does, because this puts Penn State in the New Year's Six Bowl and Oklahoma and Ole Miss aren't. And that, I think if you're Oklahoma or Ole Miss, is going to piss you off. Yeah. I mean, especially, I think Ole Miss especially has a gripe here. Well, and that's the thing. Like, the Penn State, their Iowa win is very impressive. It's a 31-0 win against the Big Ten West champ that only has two losses. But nothing else Penn State has is that impressive.

No. And, I mean, like, even last weekend, we talked about it on Saturday night. It was, you know, that you lose your starting quarterback, but the offense, even after making the firing Mike Yursich, it really didn't look any differently. And, you know, that offensive line has been disappointing all season, Andy, and I think that's held them back. And obviously their lack of perimeter playmakers. Penn State's going to be one of these teams that I think a lot of folks have, you know, an eye on for the transfer portal when it opens up in a week.

What are they doing and who are they attacking? All right, let's talk nightmare scenarios because we said Florida State is winning in. And I believe that to be true, except in one potential case. And that one potential case creates a lot of havoc and a lot to figure out. So that is, what if Alabama beats Georgia in the SEC championship game? So let's say Alabama beats Auburn, Georgia beats Georgia Tech, and then Alabama beats Georgia a la 2021 in the SEC championship game. What else happens?

Everybody else wins. Texas wins as a one-loss Big 12 champ. Who wins the Pac-12? Washington at 13 and 0 so let's say undefeated big 10 undefeated pack 12 undefeated ACC and then Texas and then it's Texas versus Bama and Georgia has one loss the team that everybody agrees is the best team. So we're, all right, I'll give you that. We know what number one's going to be in that scenario.

Number one is the Big Ten champ. So Michigan or Ohio State, whoever wins the game, that's number one. Number two is Washington in that scenario. But now what? Yeah, you make a good point. I do think that Florida State probably gets in being undefeated power five. But hypothetically, I think you know how the committee could just talk their way around the problem of Texas versus Alabama. Because remember, they'll both be 12-1 and Texas will have beaten Alabama.

But are you going to leave Georgia out is the other part of the equation. Right, and I have settled, you know, one of my preseason predictions was that Georgia was going to lose to Alabama in the SEC championship game, get into the playoff a la Ohio State last year, and then win the whole day. Or Georgia in 2021. Or Georgia in 2021, right, and win the whole thing. I think they probably still put in Florida State,

and then it becomes this huge argument between Texas and Alabama and Georgia, even though we all agree that the best team would get left out. I think the other crazy scenario, Greg McIlroy was talking about this on the broadcast broadcast tonight and i disagreed with him he he you know has been adamant and he's probably not wrong i do think that you know resume wise alabama is more has a stronger case than oregon but he his thing was oh if oregon beats washington to win the pac-12 they're a shoo-in over al if Alabama beats Georgia. I don't think that's true. The committee, they are leaving themselves open to change their minds.

Yes, right now Oregon is the best one-loss team, but if Alabama is the team that snaps Georgia's 30-game winning streak, I think they leap from it. John, where does Oregon's quality win? How did Oregon get ranked above Texas? Texas beat Alabama in T-Town. Where does Oregon's quality win? How did Oregon get ranked above Texas? Texas beat Alabama in T-Town. Where's Oregon's win in the lion's den? John, we've been saying this on this show for three weeks now. You're exactly right. Oregon's best win is Utah. Utah's dropped out of

the top 25. They got shelled the other day. So there is no way Oregon should be ahead of them right now. I think Oregon is preemptively getting credit for a win in Vegas against Washington that hasn't happened yet. That's what I think, Jesse. Or they're getting the Michigan bump of game control. Right. That they're just destroying teams that they're beating. Yeah.

But when they played a really good team, they lost. Right. And that's the thing. Like, I like Oregon. I think played a really good team, they lost. Right. And that's the thing. Like, I like Oregon. I think Oregon's really good. I'm debating. I was going to pick Oregon if they rematch against Washington. After the Washington-Oregon State game, now I'm kind of debating it.

I think I might go Washington that game. But Vegas has been adamant about this. Like, the line on that game right now is seven and a half Oregon by seven and a half. So I do think there's a little bit of, we just think they're better, which is fine. If you're going to do that for everybody,

but you're not. And getting back to our nightmare scenario, if you're going to do, we just think they're better. Guess what? 12 and one Georgia that just lost to Alabama in the SEC title game is getting in the playoff over somebody else. They should.

We'll see if it happens. Here's a scenario for you, Andy. What if, let's talk, let's just go by the Vegas spreads. Georgia beats Bama. Stay the one seed they're in. Pick your Big Ten winner, but they went, whoever wins,

whoever wins the game on Saturday, undefeated, they're the two seed. Oregon beats Washington. Yes. Florida State does win the ACC. Okay. Texas wins the Big 12.

Mm-hmm. Which two teams get in? Who gets left out? Oh, boy. Because as we just said, Texas would have had to win over Alabama. Right. So that's going to be the better win. But Oregon would have just beaten Washington.

So do you think that's a better win? Alabama would be a better win than Oregon over Washington at that point? Because in your scenario, Alabama lost. Alabama's lost to Georgia, so they're a two-loss team. Right. It's a great argument, but is a neutral site in Vegas when you're basically— Right, where Oregon went on the road and lost that game to Washington. Right.

It's a better win than Texas going to Alabama and winning. And then Alabama losing to, you know, the number one team in the country. That's going to be, that will be an interesting debate as well. That is a great question. And yeah, Texas finishing 12 and one and Florida State winning out. That's kind of the key to this getting a little bit messy. And then you add those two things to Alabama beating Georgia, the sec championship game.

And then it gets really messy. Right. And then they're like, why didn't we start the 12th team this year? Why, why did we let the Alliance talk us out of this? TV. Can we rewrite the TV contracts?

That's what they're wondering. Like right now. They're on the phone with Jimmy Pataro right now. Yeah. Like calling up state, excuse me, folks in Louisville, can you open the stadium? You've got time to put together a game real quick. Like we're going to need a game at your place.

So it's incredible because if you got that, you would have people so mad. Now what the committee would do, like Boo Corrigan would stand up that Sunday and be like, well, we're going to a 12 team next year. So this won't happen again. Peace out. I'm done.

The other thing is Boo Corrigan going up that you're talking about the Florida state hypothetical to them getting left out. Is he going to go up there and just be like ring the neck of an acc school no a school that wants to leave the acc by the way right well yeah that all of the that's what's interesting about this is all of this realignment angst and drama can come flooding back that's the scary part like oh yeah well they will like like what if texas loses on a controversial call on friday against texas tech it doesn't make the big 12 championship no no you're you're not 100 what what if texas what if you act you know everyone keeps waiting every week, Andy, every week.

Are we going to have a chaos week? Are we going to have a chaos week? What if we finally have it? Yeah. And Texas loses to Texas Tech. Oregon, let's say, whether they win or lose on Saturday, they have a second loss this season. Mm-hmm. Washington loses.

To Washington State. or to Oregon. Yeah. What if Oregon loses to Oregon state, but they still lose to Oregon state. Then Washington plays Arizona. What, what if we don't, but we're Arizona has to beat Arizona state. You know what I'm saying?

What if this is the whole chaos thing? Could be, you know, you know, the most unbelievable one you just said was arizona state beating arizona that's that's where i i i could not wrap my brain around it hey dillingham dillingham pulled off a big one a couple weeks ago that he did against ucla uh my whole thing is what if there's x amount of craziness could the loser of the game on sat, if it's like a game-winning field goal, actually back their way in again?

It would take, obviously, a ton. And that's the thing. I was talking about that with Joel Klatt on the show yesterday. Like, when that game ended last year, when Michigan beat Ohio State, it did not feel like Ohio State was going to make the playoff. No. And it took what happened the rest of that saturday and then the

following saturday for that to come to fruition right and it helped a year ago that alabama had two losses already and even though nick saban you know went on and he did his usual politicking yeah his politic and it was like well the vape i don't know what normally i don't know what the vegas spreads are andy but today I have heard. Today I'm quite versed on them. Today I heard that we would be favored over every team except for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. It's going to be fascinating.

The next two weeks are going to be fascinating. The committee is either going to have a layup because it's going to take care of itself or it's going to be a lot of consternation and concerning and sleepless nights in a Dallas hotel in two weeks. I'm not sure what I want more because I kind of, you know, with this being over, I kind of wouldn't mind a clean one. And then you play the semifinal games and play the championship and that's it.

But just to prove how stupid it was to have a four-team playoff with five power conferences it might be fun to just watch them squirm it would be i do think though that like i and i'm not rooting against florida state but i i if you know if they went out and they have to go play with a backup quarterback. Now, maybe if Tate, again, maybe he can be Henry Rowan Gardner and throw a thousand miles an hour and he can, you know, show that he can get it. I'm not worried. I'm actually not worried about Tate Rodemaker. I'm not.

I think he's going to be fine. I really do. So you don't think they're going to miss a beat without Travis? I think having the Florida game first helps. Like you flip those two games and you get Louisville's defense and, and Krieger and, and July, like you get those guys coming after Tate Rodemaker right off the bat.

I don't, I don't like that much. You and I are big foodies. It's like in a moose boosh before a nice, before like a fancy meal. Exactly. Exactly. This is, you know, this is just a little thing to whet the appetite and they should be able

to win the game. They should be able to score points. Now, if they can't, then it answers the question. Right. Like if you got to lose to Florida, you don't really have a leg to stand on with your argument that you should be in the college football playoff. Like just like Louisville, if they went out you lost they lost a pit like they're screwed so they would need that chaos that you talked about that would be their best shot i'm hoping i'm hoping that we get you

know well yeah obviously it's it's all subjective but the four best teams i think in my mind are georgia whoever wins this game on saturday between michigan uh and ohio state whoever wins between washington and oregon and oregon and then and then texas yeah i i think alabama's playing its way into that group. They are, and they're so talented. They're obviously capable enough to beat Georgia. I can't wait to see what happens, Jesse. I just can't.

This is going to be so much fun this weekend and next. So let's enjoy Thanksgiving. Absolutely. Let's get to these games jesse thank you so much thanks for having me andy that is on three national writer jesse simonton you'll hear him again we do some post game shows remember this week's schedule a little bit different we do not have a thursday show because it's thanksgiving everybody gets to spend some time with their families but we have a bonus show on Friday.

We don't normally have a show on Friday, but we'll have a post game show for all the black Friday games. And then another post game show on Saturday night as well, because there's a lot that could happen on either day. And there's gonna be a lot to talk about on either day. But before we move on to something interesting that Deion Sanders said, I know what you're thinking. Deion Sanders said something interesting. He sure did. I want to tell you about Roebuck. The most comfortable, stylish, perfect hoodies in the world. I'm wearing one right now. I'm

wearing the navy blue and I love the Roebuck performance hoodie so much. If it were socially acceptable, it is the only garment I would ever wear. There are certain weddings and funerals I probably could not wear it to. Though, I will say watching Andrew Whitworth rock the hoodie under the suit on Thursday night football gives me confidence that I might be able to wear my Roebuck performance hoodie everywhere. But they also have Performance Cruise. They have joggers. They have shorts. They have shirts.

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Because Dion's recruiting is not going the way I think most of us thought it would. I looked at what Dion did at Jackson State, where he had some recruiting koozie, did some good work in the transfer portal, and thought at Colorado, especially given the platform that he's proven he can give you at Colorado based on the viewership, based on all the celebrities coming in. I thought that high school recruits would be flocking to the Buffaloes. It's not happening that way. Right now, in the on three rankings, they're ranked number 54 in the country

in the class of 2024. They just had a decommit last week. One of their few offensive linemen that they had committed. Now remember, offensive line is their greatest position of need. So Talon Chandler, who's an offensive lineman from Nevada, not Nevada, Nevada, Missouri, he flipped to Missouri. Well, the story behind this is actually pretty easy. This is not a

cloak and dagger thing. When Talon Chandler got an offer from Missouri last week, he took it. He didn't have an offer before he got one and he took it. And then he posted a picture of himself as like a six-year-old standing with Truman, the tiger at a game, hugging Truman, the tiger. Like this is a dude who's always wanted to play for Missouri. He got a Missouri offer. He took it. So there's nothing cloak and dagger about that. Nothing strange about that at all, but it obviously has produced some questions with Deion Sanders. And, you know, one of the questions he got was about decommits. Another, another player decommitted Winston Watkins, who's a class of 2025 receiver from Fort Myers, which is Deion's

hometown. He decommitted as well. And so Deion got a question in his press conference about decommitments. It seems like pretty much no team in the country right now is immune to decommits. Is that kind of also something that you plan for in the back of your head? I'm trying to figure out how to frame this. A kid ain't even faithful to his girlfriend. You think he going to be faithful to a school? Like, come on, man. Like, that's like an emotional thing.

You know, what I wish the NCAA would do, honestly, if you're committed to somewhere, you can't go to no other visits. I wish that would be. Like, if you're committed, that means you're committed. You can't go on no other visit. So why would you be committed but you still let kids go to other places? That don't make sense. So that means they just playing.

They just playing. And one thing about it, we're not an ATM. That's not going to happen here. If you come to Colorado to play football for me and the Colorado Buffaloes because you really want to play football and receive a wonderful education and all the business stuff is going to be handled on the back end, if that's the case. But we are not an ATM.

You're not coming here to get rich unless you really come here with a plan to go to the NFL and get your degree. Not to come here and be money bag yo. Okay? Is that a rapper, right? is that a rapper right i got that one right i don't even know him but that was a good good timing of it moneybag yo definitely a rapper when did dabo sweeney show up in boulder dion sounds like dabo but dabo sounds like that because he's inflexible and stubborn and doesn't want to change. Dion just started doing this. He doesn't need to sound like Dabo because the things that Dabo is saying, we're not working for Dabo. They're not as good as they were

anymore because Dabo is not keeping up with the times. So Dion talking about the NCAA should change the rules on commitments. There are no rules on commitments. Commitments don't officially exist. Verbal commitments don't exist in the NCAA rule book. You can sign when you can sign. And once you sign, you can't take other visits. But when you're committed, you're just a recruit. You're a recruitable athlete who can take visits whenever they want.

Now, if Deion would like, he can have a rule that says, if you take other visits while you're committed, you are no longer committed to us. Dabo Sweeney has that rule. Brent Venables, who used to work for Dabo Sweeney, has established that rule in Oklahoma. You can have that rule. Now you better be good enough as a program that if you enforce that rule, you can still get good players. Clemson can do that. Oklahoma can do that. I don't think Colorado can do that right now. They don't have good enough players. And here's the other problem. The ATM quote, that's the one that got all the headlines. That's what coaches whose collectives don't have any money say. That's what coaches who have no NIL money to use say. That's what

coaches who are not going to get top 100 recruits and not going to get the best players in the transfer portal say. Because what does Colorado need? Colorado needs offensive linemen and defensive linemen. Do you know how many good offensive linemen and defensive linemen go in the transfer portal? Not many. Lowest percentage of any position groups, especially offensive line.

So guess what? You better have the ATM ready if you want to get somebody who can block. You better have some money because the supply curve meets the demand curve where it does for a guy who can actually block at the level you play at. And if you don't try to meet that person where the supply curve meets the demand curve,

well, you're going to find another intersection of two curves, the F around and the find out curves. That's going to be the problem. It's interesting listening to Dion. It's a little discouraging because here I thought Dion was looking at this like a professional coach because that's what you are now. You are a professional coach in the college ranks. All of them are. You do not hear coaches who have good collectives complaining about how much money they don't have.

You don't hear them saying, you don't come here to make money. Even Nick Saban, who has publicly complained about NIL because he looks at the demographics of the state of Alabama and looks at the demographics of the state of, oh, I don't know, Texas, and realizes there are more rich people in Texas than in Alabama. But even he makes sure to slip in

there how much money Bryce Young made playing for Alabama. Like that's part of the game now. You do go to these places to get rich. You get richer by being a first round draft pick, but you do go to get rich if you're good. I'm not sure that Dion is gonna make it. I'm starting to worry now. And it's interesting here in the rest of that press conference because Dion keeps saying, we had a plan, this is all part of the plan.

And it's sort of like the emperor in Return of the Jedi saying everything is proceeding as I have foretold. And it's sort of like the emperor in Return of the Jedi saying, everything is proceeding as I have foretold. Like, okay, but it's not. You're about to go into the Big 12. Utah's going with you. Utah's giving every player a Ram truck. Not Utah specifically, because the university can't do that,

but somebody affiliated. TCU's got money. TCU's got money. Baylor's got money. Houston's going to have money. UCF's going to have money. You got to deal with all of those. Kansas State is doing good with the NIL. They understand how it works.

You think, okay, smaller schools, smaller alumni base, but they've figured it out. You don't hear Chris Kleiman complaining about this stuff. They had a five-star quarterback in their state, Navery Johnson. They went and got him. The Colorado 54th in the class of 2024. And maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe I'm completely off. Deion, we know, famously flipped Travis Hunter from Florida State to Jackson State. If you can get the number one recruit in the whole damn country to come play for you in the FCS, you're a hell of a recruiter. But unless Deion has a bunch of flips in his back pocket that we don't know about. I don't know. I really don't know. This is the first time that I've started to worry because what happened this year? Well, proceeding as I have foretold. I thought they'd be better, but I thought it'd be great, like the best coaching job ever if you got them to a bowl game. Why? Because there aren't really good linemen available in the transfer portal, and I didn't think they'd be able to block.

Well, guess what? They can't block. And Deion's the one talking about, you go go get better linemen. Well, if you want to go get better linemen, you better turn yourself into an ATM real quick, because this strategy will not work in the long term. End of rant.

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All right. Now we're going to talk about the game. We've talked a lot about the Michigan side. Obviously the sign stealing story has been massive. Jim Harbaugh suspension, massive, but there's another side to this and it's one of the biggest programs in the country. Ohio State enters this game having lost two in a row to Michigan. Ryan Day, lots of pressure on him, maybe even more pressure now that he's playing his acting coach, Sharon Moore, and not Jim Harbaugh. We talked to Spencer Holbrook of Letterman Row about the Ohio State side of the game. We are joined now by Spencer Holbrook of Letterman Row, our Ohio State site at On3. And the first question I have to ask you, Spencer, do you respect the Wolverine, the Michigan site?

Answer the question! I will say this, the rivalry is something that you have to respect you have to work in every day you you you have respect for the history uh yeah that's basically what ryan day and and uh jim harbaugh have both said you know they were each asked the same exact question in a way uh do you respect the other one and you know jim harbaugh was like well we're preparing for ohio state we're he said ohio we're preparing for Ohio state. We're, he said, Ohio, we're preparing for Ohio. And Ryan Day said a lot of the same things. Well, it goes to the preparation. It goes to how you prepare for it every day.

Neither one had much of an answer in the way of, do you respect Jim Harbaugh or do you respect Ryan Day? And that's adding to the new flavors of this rivalry where these two head coaches just simply do not like each other. What would you say is your respect level for Ryan Day and their staff? It's all about our preparation for Ohio. You know, the days, the minutes, the hours, everything leading up to this game. You know, that's where our focus is, preparing ourselves and planning, kind of practice and then execute. So, I mean, anything else is irrelevant when you get into this kind of big game week.

Because of what's happened, this investigation, it doesn't seem like that now. Does that sadden you or does it energize you? I think I was taught that the way you respect the rivalry is to work it every day, whether it's in the weight room, whether it's game planning, talking to your players, periods in practice during the spring, periods in practice during the spring, periods in practice in the preseason, and that's it. And so we do, we respect the rivalry,

and certainly excited to play here on Saturday. They hate each other. And I mean, the fan base has already hated each other, but I feel like that's been taken up about 100 notches this year. Yeah, for sure. And you talk about the private investigation firm rumors that haven't really come up with anything yet. The Jim Harbaugh suspension, the third base comment from 2021, Josh Gad is calling Ohio State soft right after he left Michigan or before he even left Michigan to go to Maryland. Everything that's gone on in the last two years,

the score 100 on him that was allegedly said during the COVID year with Ryan Day, canceling the game because of COVID when Ohio State doesn't feel like Michigan actually had COVID. Like everything that has happened in the last three years has added new spice to this. And then you bring in the fact that the photos from the connor stallions investigation with uh the sideline at the horseshoe last year and the video of all the players pointing up has added that it just keeps piling up and for ryan day and jim harbaugh you know ryan day was asked today how do you separate the personal feelings in this robbery and ryan day said yeah it's been difficult so he's

even acknowledging that it's pretty personal and the fact that he doesn't get to see jim harbaugh on saturday makes it kind of lose a little bit of that luster and oh by the way they're both 11 and 0. like yeah the winner the winner's going to the big 10 championship game the winner is probably going to college football playoff the loser got to go last year too but i don't i don't think the loser is going to get to go this year no i, I don't think so either because, you know, that would mean that, you know, Florida State takes a loss with Tate Rodemaker. That would mean Texas probably takes a loss. That would mean, you know, Oregon probably loses this week,

but then Oregon State beats Washington, and Washington State probably has to beat. Like there's so many things that have to happen for the loser to get in. I just don't see that happening. So the stakes are as high as they've ever been. I know we said that last year, but last year it still felt like, well, Ohio State would make a case if they lose. And this year Ohio State could make a case if they lose, but the case gets harder when the building blocks around them kind of stack up

against them. And, you know, the players know the stakes. You know, this 2021 recruiting class for Ohio State features Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Ibuka and Kyle McCord and Travion Henderson and JT Tuimoa and Jack Sawyer right on down the line. It's one of the best recruiting classes talent-wise in Ohio State history. They have zero wins against Michigan. They're 0-2, and a lot of those guys are leaving for the NFL.

So they were talking about that today even of, like, the stakes for this for us to leave our legacy at Ohio State are you have to win this game. Because when you get asked by alums, what was your record against Michigan? And you come back with a goose egg, like that's not something you can do. Right. And that's what the Michigan players had to deal with for over a decade. And now they've got class. They've got a class that some of those guys are going to go to the NFL and be like, was I 3-0 against Ohio State?

Yeah, if they win this, yes, they were. So that's a big one, and it's such a big turn. How much pressure is on Ryan Day, not just because of what's happened the last two years, but to beat an acting coach? Like he's not even playing as Jim Harbaugh this week. He's playing as Sharon Moore. Yeah, it's funny because whether Jim Harbaugh coaches or not,

Ryan Day right now has a losing record against Michigan. But the funny thing about it is Jim Harbaugh has a losing record against Ohio State. So both of these guys have just been trying to crawl their way out of this rut that both programs were in and Ohio State's currently in. I think a lot of pressure is on Ryan Day. We've heard all year, are we getting Michigan Ryan Day or Georgia Ryan Day? And that's something that the Ohio State beat has kind of latched onto of like trying to take a temperature of day because against Michigan last year, the entire week, it was

the most tense I've ever seen Ryan Day. And it showed on Saturday when he was out there on the field, when he was coaching in the game, you could see how tense he was. And the players followed suit. Against Georgia, he said, we're going to let it rip. We're going to play loose. We have a second lease on life. He was joking around with some of the media members he saw in the tunnel before the Peach Bowl. And it showed with the creativity and the lack of being tense and the way that he was calling the game. So we've kind of latched onto the Georgia Ryan Day and Michigan Ryan Day. You need

to see Georgia Ryan Day in the Michigan game to untap, to tap into all of that potential that Ohio State has on this roster. Because I know that it doesn't look like it the last two years. Ohio State has more talent than Michigan. And that's probably the thing that's the most difficult for Ryan Day to grasp with, is knowing you have the most talent and still being 0-2 in your last two. Well, one thing that is undeniable is that Ohio State's defense is better than the one that played against Michigan last year. That gave up three huge – the long Cornelius Johnson touchdowns and then the long Edwards touchdown, those were the backbreakers. And it feels like this team just doesn't give up plays like that.

Yeah, they've given up one play of over 40 yards this season. It was a fumble ruski cousin, a tush push cousin by Kyle Menungai at Rutgers. So Rutgers has the longest play on Ohio State this year, 45 yards. Everything else has been under 40 yards, which is remarkable when you think about the plays they gave up last year, not just in the Georgia game and the Michigan game, but to Toledo and a couple of the other opponents on the schedule where you just would not expect that from this Ohio State team with the talent they have. But defensively, they've talked all year. They ran all offseason. If you gave up a pass play more than 20 yards, you ran. If a ball went over your head, you ran. And if you gave up a touchdown on defense, you ran even more. And that instilled this no big plays, everything in front

of us, keep offenses having to snap the ball. And it has really paid off for them. The more that offenses have to snap the ball against this defense, the better the defense is because the defense is talented enough to make up for if they give up a play like that. So the things that they've done with this defense, Jim Knowles' evolution as a coordinator have been remarkable and none of it matters if Saturday doesn't go the way you need it to. Exactly. Well, and we know about Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Bukun, what they could do

in terms of the passing game, but how much does what Travion Henderson's been able to do lately open up the rest of the offense? Yeah, he's been a revelation of sorts and everyone knew who he was, right? As a freshman, he was great. He has the freshman rushing record at Ohio state in a single game. I think it was 270 yards in the games. Like the potential was always there. His first career game, he had a 70 yard touchdown catch and run, but the layer of this offense that was simply missing when he wasn't in the lineup is something that you can't really quantify because it's,

I think it slowed down Kyle McCord's development as quarterback because the way the teams had were able to defend this team, not knowing that the running game wasn't what it should be the way that he had to put a little bit more pressure on himself, knowing the running game wasn't there. The offensive lines development wasn't there since Travian Henderson came back. This has been a completely different offense and they're really starting to hit their stride with 32, you know being the bell cow there you look at 200 yards uh in back-to-back games there and then now he just has the 75 yard run he's got a nine yard touchdown run in three straight games which is an area the only reason i throw that quirky stat out there is because they've really struggled in the red zone

this year 32 comes back you're getting 9 to 15 yard touchdown runs which you just weren't hitting early in the year. He's been the difference for this offense and the reason that they've been able to take that step forward. So how do you see this playing out? Does it look like Ohio State-Notre Dame, which was a grinded out, long drives, 15-play drive type game, where there weren't that many opportunities to score? Or do you think it looks a little more like last year's game against Michigan where there were some big plays, the score did get pretty high. I think there's got to be somewhere

in the middle that I can rest on. I, in my score prediction, I think the total is, is 44, which is right around where I think Vegas is looking at this game. So I do think that they've got it kind of pinned well. I don't think it's going to be as rock fighty as Notre Dame was. It doesn't seem right to me, but also it's not going to look like Washington, Oregon, where you've got two offenses just going at it and throwing haymakers these defenses are going to lead the way for live state of michigan and you know kyle mccord and jj mccarthy the storylines are there for those two guys jj at one time was the highest

trophy candidate this year the running games for both of them are really explosive but when you go against these defenses it is it is so tough to come by yards and ryan day said it best in his press conference on Tuesday, like one yard equals three in a game like this. And so you're going to have to grind some things out, but I do think there's some points to be scored if you can hit the right things at the right moment, especially with the athletes that Ohio State has on offense.

So where are the Ohio State players right now? I know Denzel Burke was pretty emotional talking about this this week. Where are their heads at? They are, I think, exactly where Ohio State wants them, and that is, like, locked in on the moment. That is at hand. I'm impressed by the way they understand the stakes, and that might sound stupid because, like,

for college football nerds around the country, like, we understand the stakes of this game, but sometimes, like, college football players, they don't even pay attention to what's going on. They're just playing. Or they're deliberately kept from the stakes by their coaches. Yeah college football players they don't even pay attention to what's going on they're just playing where they're deliberately kept from the stakes by their coaches like they don't want them to know yeah for sure and like you know uh marvin harrison jr mentioned the rankings today he mentioned the fact that it's for the big 10 he mentioned the fact that you know he hasn't beaten michigan he understands

what this would mean for his legacy uh as auckeye who's probably going to, not probably, but is going to be on his way out the door right after this season. So, like, the stakes are very clear to these players. And Denzel Burke said, we're going to get it done for Ohio. The players have done a good job, even though a lot of them are not from Ohio, of embracing the southern side of the rivalry. They've embraced what it means to go up to Ann Arbor, even though they're winless up there. A lot of those juniors are 0-1.

So, like, the stakes have been made clear to them, and they've latched on to them. They understand what it means. And they even have mentioned a little bit about what this means for Ryan Day and playing for their head coach. Denzel Burke said that as well. We're going to play this game for our head coach, and I think there's something to be said about that. Isn't it strange?

I mean, you've got two 11-0 teams where both of them feel like they are playing for their head coach. And I think there's something to be said about that. Isn't it strange? I mean, you got two 11 and O teams where both of them feel like they are playing for their head coach. Either for the reputation or because one, you know, one suspended or because of how people feel about Ryan Day. Like it is, it's bizarre. Yeah. I mean, Ryan Day's lost six games in his career. Two of them are to Michigan and that's just not good enough. So that's what this is. That's why I think it's the best rivalry in all of sports. Even Nick Saban loses to Auburn sometimes, and people still are like, okay, well, he's won a national championship. Well, Ohio State almost won a national championship

despite losing to Michigan last year, and people still would have questioned Ryan Day because he didn't beat Michigan for the second straight year. You can't lose three straight. You can't lose three straight. You can't lose three straight. And that hasn't happened in the last 30 years in this rivalry for Ohio State. And the ramifications, if they do, I don't even want to start to begin to think because covering that and talking to fans about that would be interesting to say the least. And so Ohio State definitely is playing for Ryan Day. And then the free hardball stuff, it is what it is. I mean, those guys can manufacture

a lot. You know, Kirby Smart tells his team they're going to go seven and five every year, and nobody believes that. So like, if you want to tell yourself that Jim Harbaugh has done nothing wrong, that's completely fine. You can manufacture your own motivation. But like, Ohio State has that, and they don't have to manufacture anything. Well, and the day thing's interesting too too because you've got all the rumors about all the private investigation stuff. If that's anywhere near true and he loses, like that is the definition of the phrase hoisted by your own petard. Like the worst thing that can happen to him is lose without Jim Harbaugh on the other sideline. Yeah, because then the pressure gets rationed up.

He doesn't have a Jim Harbaugh problem. Then he's got a Michigan problem. I think there's a big difference because Jim Harbaugh clearly had a Urban Meyer problem and we've seen that he can beat Ohio State. He can do it against Ohio State. He can get the job done, build the program the way he wants to and beat the Buckeyes, but he couldn't do it against Urban Meyer. Right now, I think Ryan Day a little bit with two straight has a Jim Harbaugh issue. If he loses on Saturday, then you've got a Michigan problem. And nobody in Columbus, you know, Gene Smith, that's the departing athletic director who's going to retire at the end of this year,

he doesn't want to go out with a three-game losing streak to Michigan. This is as important to him as it is to anybody, and he's not even going to be, you know, in the game. He's just going to be up in one of the boxes watching the game. So all of those factors have the pressure squarely on Ohio State. But this is also a team that has already won five games on the road. This program only plays six road games once every like 70 years. And they're playing six road games this year. They call themselves road warriors. They understand the stakes. Everything seems to be lining up for

this team to go do something special. Now they just have to go do it. And that's going to be easier said than done because of how good Michigan is. How does Ryan Day handle the rivalry aspect of, because Urban Meyer, different coaches do things different ways. Some coaches say this is just another week and blah, blah, blah. Urban Meyer always made sure this was never just another week. This was always special, always different. How does Day handle that? Yeah. Urban wouldn't even let you wear blue in the Woody because that was the color of Michigan. So like the intensity that Urban brought to that rivalry showed in his 7-0 record. And maybe people think that Ryan Day should be a little bit more like that. But the way Ryan Day talks

about the rivalry, he respects it by preparing for it. He respects it by working for it. He respects it by doing the things that you're supposed to do to win every game, not just the Michigan game. And that kind of turns a few people off, especially because he's a New Hampshire native. He's not an Ohio guy. Jim Trestle's from Ohio, Urban Meyer from Ohio, Luke Fickle even from Ohio, even though he didn't win the game. Ryan Day just goes about it as he understands the magnitude, he understands the stakes. Last year, I think he made even too big of a deal of it. And that's hard to say because it's the game. But you saw the results of what happened when he poured every single ounce of intensity into it. And it led to a tense game, a decent game plan, not a great game plan, and a 20-point loss. So he's tweaked it a little bit.

He still works it every single day. That clock still keeps ticking 365. When it kicks off on Saturday, it'll, it'll get back to 365 for the next year because that's what they do. But you know, each coach has a different way of doing it, but he did learn under Urban Meyer. So he does bring some of those traits into the game. Well, Ryan Day and Jim Harbaugh may not respect one another, but I respect you, Spencer. And I respect you, Andy. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Thanks, Andy. Appreciate it. I can't wait for that game. It is going to be so intense.

It's going to be incredible. Across the country, Friday night, we'll get some more intensity. Oregon and Oregon State, we don't know when they're going to play again. We heard Washington and Washington State this week say, we're putting this thing together for five more years, which means I think they're going to keep playing it after that too, which is great that the Apple Cup will continue despite them not being the same conference.

Hopefully the Civil War will be the same thing. We're hearing that it's probably going to happen. But for the moment, this is the last one for a while. I cannot wait for this one. This was a crazy game last year. Really, really crazy. Had a lot to do with what Oregon is this year. So let's talk to Justin Hopkins from ScoopDuck about the Ducks

as they prepare for a must-win game against the Beavers. By Justin Hopkins of ScoopDuck.com. That is on 3's Oregon site. Got the Civil War on Friday. Everybody going to be watching primetime Friday night. Got your Bo Nix Heisman watch. But, J-Hop, this game is interesting because it is a must win for Oregon, unless somebody thinks that Arizona State's going to win the Territorial Cup,

but I don't think that. So Oregon's got to win this thing to get that rematch with Washington. Yeah, and who knew Arizona would be nipping at the heels there? I mean, credit to them, that's a heck of a football team, but you're right. Oregon's got to win. You know, they want to win. And, you know, from last year with Oregon in the very same predicament, heading to a battle with Oregon State, the Civil War, needing a win to get to the Pac-12 Conference Championship game. And as we know, Oregon wasn't able to do it last year.

So hopefully those mistakes, hopefully the, I'm sure Dan Lanning has woken up in hot sweats all year thinking about that game and maybe being back in this very moment again. But I have a feeling this one will play out very differently this year. While Lanning has made a few mistakes here and there along the way as a young head coach, he's certainly learned from them. And I got a feeling Oregon will be in a much different mindset this time around. It's going to be a classic. And, you know, as everyone knows, this is the last guaranteed Civil War that we have right now. So I guess we'll hope that it goes out with a bang. Well, and nobody's forgotten that game last year on either side of this. The Oregon State people, it's probably one of their favorite games just because I don't remember ever seeing a comeback like that i

don't remember seeing a team down three touchdowns that just came back running the ball and then oregon obviously they rebuilt their team to make sure that never happens again i mean that it feels like that's why jordan birch is there that's why a lot of those guys that came on defense that they went out and got them. And how different is this Oregon defense than the one last year that gave up all those yards in Corvallis? Yeah, you're exactly right. This was something that really burned in Dan Lanning's mind thinking, I never want to experience that again, right? I never want to see a team line up knowing they're going to run and then run right at us with success.

And Oregon State did that last year. And you're right. I mean, that's the decision to bring Casey Rogers back. Some of the returning defensive linemen, you know, may be trying to really, you know, coerce Brandon Dorlis coming back, who doesn't get the love that he should for actually in the run support that he does do. Yeah, this is it. You're going to hope that you can exercise those demons if you're Dan Lanning. It has so much of a different feel, though. Oregon is better at linebacker. They

were undisciplined at linebacker last year. They are much more of a consistent unit this year. Oregon is better and deeper at defensive line. A lot of folks may not know this, but Oregon is consistently rotating through their defensive line. First quarter, second quarter, third quarter. Those guys get late in the game, your starters, and they're fresh because they haven't been playing the entire game. It's one of the, you know, the secret sauces, if you will, to Oregon's defense. So I think they're tooled. I think they're deeper.

I think they're ready. And I think you'll see Oregon commit to stopping the run game of Oregon State. Probably got Tosh Lupoi screaming at everybody, you know, hey, don't let it happen again this year. So I imagine that's been the emphasis this week. Well, exactly. I mean, they're in better shape if they make DJ Oye Ongole try to beat them through the air because we saw against Washington when Oregon State commits to running the ball, they can move it. Yeah, Oregon State can run the ball. Damian Martinez is a really strong runner, probably doesn't get the love he should nationally just because the Pac-12 has a lot of good running backs.

He's certainly one of them. He can pound the ball pretty well. But, you know, in Oregon's defense and on defense, Utah presented a lot of the same problems there, had a big physical running back, were known for being physical. And we saw how that game played out. Oregon was just absolutely all over Utah. So I expect they will try to do the same against Oregon State and really kind of exude their physical dominance. And that's going to be the key. Making DJU beat you with his arm, beat you deep. I think Oregon's going to take their chances

and try to keep that game short. So you wrote a column on Sunday coming off the Arizona State game that I thought was really interesting. You mentioned that this has been the most enjoyable Oregon football season that you can remember. And I think back because Oregon has had, dating back to the late Mike Belotti era and the Chip Kelly era, some really great seasons in the last 15 years. They've been incredible in some of those years, two national title game appearances. What is it about this team that's a little bit different? You know, those were some special teams and I don't discredit them. I've been doing this a long time. You know, I remember Mike being around. I remember Chip Kelly taking over in 2012,

that battle with Cam Newton in Auburn in Phoenix. You know, that was a tremendous season. That was probably Oregon's most complete team that I can recall in a long, long time, maybe ever. And this team is certainly on par, if not better than that team. You know, you've got Bo Nix out there that, you know, as we've talked about before, he's basically been good Bo Nix all season long, which looks tremendous. He's just had a great game. Oregon's never really been in that much trouble. Of course, the Washington game, which they lost, you know, Texas Tech was a battle, but just seeing this team able to, you know, win in multiple ways

on offense and not being a complete, just absolute, you know, not being totally offensive minded, right? Meaning they can win games with defense and they've been solid on defense. Penalties has been the one thing that we can complain about all year. And they ultimately haven't been a backbreaker. So I just think the way that Oregon's come out composed, you know, in some of those seasons of the past, Oregon would go on the road. And if it was a road game, you were holding on the whole game. Like, oh, this, this could go.

I remember one, I remember one in Tempe when Mario was there that you know it was a it was a sure thing and then all of a sudden you're like what is going on here but yeah there's not been any of that with with this team no and and that's just been the way they've been clean it's the way they've come out focused you know seeing Bo Nix and his mastery of the offense, seeing the defense and the way it's been a really good, strong defense. You know, Duck fans are used to seeing a lot of offense, but when you compliment it with good defense, it's something. And then kind of the cherry on top, you know, last two weeks, Texas A&M opens up. You and I both know they have as much money as any university in the country. Dan Lanning's going to be linked to top jobs.

And Lanning comes out and says, nah, I'm good. I'm staying. I'm sticking. There's no drama. There's no questions. It's just been, if you're a Duck fan, from recruiting, from the football, the quality of football on the field, the quarterback play, the lack of mistakes, no interceptions, no turnovers. It's been really, really enjoyable. Well, and how, how big a relief is that for the Oregon fan base? Because this is, I'm sure the psychological scars are pretty deep when Willie Taggart leaves after a year,

Mario Cristobal leaves after, after four years. And both of those situations are going home situations. You understand that, but I imagine that it's like no no we're not a stepping stone job here no and and what really deepened those wounds for Oregon fans is the fact that this was a school that that really prided itself on so much continuity you had assistants that had been at Oregon several of them for 20 plus years yeah they're almost 30 years in some cases you had that level of continuity and all of a sudden it just went. And like you said, you know, Willie Taggart for your Mark Helfrich, wasn't here long. Mario Cristobal came and it's like, okay. And just when you thought it was steady, you know, he heads to Miami.

So I think there's a feeling Dan Lanning's done everything he can to make people feel like he's going to be here for the long haul said all the right things. And he certainly feels like a genuine person that believes that. So I think Duck fans have that kind of hope. And it's refreshing because just and I wrote I wrote about this and I know it goes unnoticed, but I think that's the new trend in college football. We've seen so much turnover and the contracts have gotten so high and the money's big. And I think you're seeing some of these coaches kind of recognize like, hey,

maybe it's not really advancing my career as much to keep bouncing around. Maybe if I stay here and build something, it's better for my career long-term. And I think we might see that trend of coaches hopping around maybe kind of swing back a little bit. Well, and that's why when Lanning said that, I came up with the two-question test

because Oregon passes the two-question test. Is the job in the Big Ten of the SEC, and Oregon's in the Big Ten starting next year, can you finish in the top three of that league regularly? And I think Oregon can given the circumstances right now. Not every year you know twice every four years i think that's certainly possible and maybe even more frequently so why my question in that circumstance is why would you leave when you have that circumstance and one thing everybody knows phil knight a massive booster for orient okay all right he's done tremendous things for the university there's a lot of joy if you're dan lanning or a head coach that says, look, I kind of only have to answer to one or two or three boosters here. I don't have a hundred guys or a hundred egos all demanding answers from me or demanding my attention or whatnot. It's just

kind of me and Phil and a few guys. That's kind of nice for a head coach. You know, you don't just don't have to have your hand out all the time and shaking hands and doing all these things. It's, I think there's a lot of attraction there. And so I have to also credit Rob Mullins. I don't think he gets enough love as, as one of the best athletic directors in the country. Who's really done a great job of, of being hands-on when needed and very hands-off when he's not needed and let his coaches do what they do. And, and, and like you said, Oregon just kind of has it all right now. And Dan Lanning has been that missing piece. Well, and, and I think back, cause you know, this, this kind of was on a razor's edge a few months ago. Like if Oregon doesn't get that big 10 invite,

we're having a very different conversation here. Like, can you imagine what that would have been like? Yeah. Yeah. It wouldn't have been just Texas A&M coming and calling for Dan Lanning. The door would have been open and, and you and I wouldn't have been, or It wouldn't have been just Texas A&M coming and calling for Dan Lanning. The door would have been open and you and I wouldn't have been, or I wouldn't have been writing about this being the most enjoyable season. So, you smith is an oregon state alum who has done wonders in that job like it was a mess when he took over for gary anderson he's done an amazing job and we're talking about him for every job under the sun because if you're him and you don't really know what your conference future is even though it looks like they're they're kind of figuring that out i i mean if a decent big 10 program comes along or a decent sec program comes on why wouldn't you consider that if you're him yeah i think ucla's throwing you know gonna throw the book at him because i think they they really want to target him i know he's been in

talks with michigan state i've read reports that he's had two rounds of interviews with michigan state and to your point i i think if all things were equal, he would never leave Oregon State. I know he loves that program and bleeds for that program, but it's also a point in his career where you have to kind of look out for yourself a little bit. And that uncertainty probably has the door open a little bit. Yeah. That adds another layer, I feel like like to this game because it may be his last last civil war at oregon state and you know lanning i think you're right seems in for the long haul at oregon so it does feel like it's kind of a changing of the guard in the rivalry too so i i mean you got the the must-win piece of it which again I don't think nationally people understand like Arizona

has played so well recently that they are now in striking distance so Oregon has to win and this is not a gimme game right no I'm glad Oregon didn't play Arizona this year in the desert because that would have had disaster written all over it but yeah Arizona is a great game and it's not very often you go and do a rivalry game. This is the 127th meeting of these two teams with a Pac-12 berth on the line. And let's not forget every, I mean, Vegas has Oregon favored in a rematch against Washington in Vegas. So for Oregon, this is, I mean, your path to the playoff is 100% this Friday night. You don't advance if you don't win. So it's it's just it's crazy that people kind of assume Oregon's just going to beat Oregon State but these games will get

wacky on you well and let's talk Bo Nix because he may be the difference in in this game the numbers he's putting up are insane uh right now he's he's completing over 78 of his passes no one's ever done that in FBS history like now I think the Joe Burrow year probably is is the most impressive thing we've ever seen just because of the air yards involved in his completing I think 76 or 77 percent but what Bo's done with this offense has been just incredible yeah it's incredible uh he's done it against good competition you know a know, Utah has been a top 20 team for most of the year, kind of falling around there. He played well against Washington despite the loss.

Texas Tech would be a completely different team if Tyler Shuck doesn't get hurt in the third week of the college football season. So he's done it, and it's just his mastery of the offense, the way he can calmly come up to the line of scrimmage and take a look at the defense. And you're Will Stein standing over the offense, the way he can calmly come up to the line of scrimmage and take a look at the defense. And you're Will Stein standing over the no, and he checks out of whatever play you call. It's like, we're probably good anyways, but we'll figure it out.

But, you know, he doesn't turn the ball over. He doesn't fumble the ball, you know, doesn't throw interceptions. It's just been such a clean game. It's very rare that I'm out here watching an Oregon game, and Oregon gets themselves into third and 12 or third and 13 or something like that. And I'm concerned because somehow, some way they're going to dial up some play to Terrence Ferguson or Troy Franklin and get those needed yards. And if, if they don't get the first down there, you know, they're looking at fourth and

one and fourth and two, and we know they could run the ball. It's just like, if you're a defense going against Oregon, which poison do you pick? That's your problem. You want to stop the ball. It's just like, if you're a defense going against Oregon, which poison do you pick? That's your problem. You want to stop the run? You want to stop the check down game? Do you want to stop Troy Franklin or Tess Johnson or Gary Bryant? Like good luck. The thing that they have so many different options and they also have so many high confidence options, you know, things that aren't high risk, like handing off to Bucky Irving when you ID a light box is a very low risk play that is probably going to get you four or five yards. Dumping it off to Gary Bryant Jeter, we saw, I guess, Arizona State, what can happen. That spin move was insane.

It was, yeah. Yeah. I actually turned away from the game and I'm like, oh crap, he's still up. He's still going. That was. How did he do that? Exactly. That was legendary. Yeah. Yeah, so I just think they have so many weapons. They do, and that was so like D'Anthony Thomas-esque is what I was going to say. That move just kind of reminisces.

But, yeah, they do. It's pick your poison. And even if it's not Bucky Irving back there, you've got Jordan James. You've got three or four running backs back there that can get it done. You've got a couple tight ends. And here's the one thing. And as we enter this point of the season, I expect it becomes more prevalent. Bo Nix can beat you with his legs.

He hasn't had to yet, and they haven't wanted him to because they want to keep him upright for all season. But you're entering the portion of the season now where we might start to see that unfold, adding another dimension to the offense. Well, and Oregon fans probably remember 2019, you know, they didn't really turn Justin Herbert loose on the ground until the Pac-12 title game. Correct. And all of a sudden, it was like, whoa, where was this? So yeah, I think you're right. If you add, if you add some more design Bo Nix runs, all of a sudden that offense opens up even more. Yeah, no, it's crazy to think about. It's been efficient and I was a little concerned. I'm not going to lie. I was, I just wondered what it would

be like going from Kenny Dillingham, who was tremendous last year to Will Stein. It was a little bit of an unknown and he's taken the reins and run with it. I think he might've been a little sluggish the first couple of games, but as we can see these last three or four or five weeks, Oregon is humming on offense. It's just clean offense. And it's just, like I said, it's fun to watch. It's fun to watch them work on offense. And then you don't sit there and go, oh gosh, the defense is coming back out. Now what? Defense comes back out and gets a quick stop and gives it back to the offense. Well, they've been shredding people since they lost to Washington. We will see if that continues because they have a must win in a big rivalry

game. Jay Hop. Thank you so much. Thanks buddy. Ask Justin Hopkins, a scoop duck. Cannot wait for that game. Cannot wait for any of these games this weekend. I just want to point out one. I'll give you one out of context comment from the chat. And you may want to just go back into the chat. If you're listening on podcast form, you may want to go to the YouTube version

just to read the chat. Quite an argument is broken out over Pac-12 football, but Shad McCollum, where is it? There it is, Shad McCollum. I forget who he's arguing with in this one. He says, buddy, you need to quit drinking and stay up and watch some Pac-12 football. Well, I hate to break it to you. Got nine more days and then there's no more Pac-12 football.

Although, I mean, the Pac-12 branding may still exist with whatever Oregon State and Washington State make of it in some sort of scheduling alliance and then ultimately a merger with the Mountain West. But this version of the Pac-12 has nine more days and then it's gone. But hey, it's been a good run this last year. It's been a hell of a fun time watching it. And it will be this weekend as well. I want to point out something bittersweet. If you're watching this show live, then you still have a chance to watch a little

bit more of Buffalo, Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green, Western Michigan. That is the end of your 48 consecutive days of football. That's right. There is no football on Wednesday. There are no football games. Now, granted, we do get the Egg Bowl and three NFL games on Thursday, but the streak we were on of 48 consecutive days of football is now closed. And that's a little sad. That's not sad. The opportunity for you guys to help program this show tomorrow wednesday dear andy show you know we love your questions smartest best looking viewers and listeners in the college football universe you can hit me up andy underscore staples on twitter andy underscore staples on instagram or you can email me andy staples on3atgmail.com with your questions.

I will do my best to answer. Also, I'm going to get a visit from our friend Dan Rubenstein from the Solid Verbal. So fun Wednesday show for you. Then we're off on Thursday. Then Black Friday postgame show. That's the makeup.

And what a makeup it'll be because we'll find out, did Iowa andNebraska go over or come in under 27.5? Talk to you tomorrow.