Andy & Ari On3 - Which undefeated teams will FALL this week? | A King of the North thinks the SEC stinks

Episode Date: October 23, 2024

Wendy’s New Saucy Nuggs take the Crispy and Spicy Nuggs you love and turn them up to 11.Choose between flavors like Buffalo. Honey BBQ. Garlic Parm. Or, if you’re a real heat seeker,try Spicy Ghost Pepper, only on Wendy’s signature Spicy Nuggs.  This show is sponsored by PrizePicks, America’s most fun daily fantasy game. Use the code STAPLES to play $5 and get $50 instantly. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/STAPLES We’re also sponsored by Rhoback, the makers of the most comfortable and stylish hoodies, polos, q-zips, shorts and joggers. Use the code ANDY on Rhoback.com for 20 percent off for all new customers. That’s RHOBACK.com. That’s 20 percent off all performance hoodies, polos and shorts with code ANDY. JLAB is gearing up for college football with some of the top talent in the game – from Travis Hunter to Ohio State’s Will Howard and QuinshonJudkins. These football stars embody JLab’s core values of innovation, performance, and excellence. Just as JLab pushes the boundaries of audiotech, these athletes redefine their sport with skill and dedication. Whether you’re traveling to watch your favorite team, or streaming the game on your mobile device, JLAB has you covered. Find the blue box at retailers near you or visit jlab.com. This show is brought to you by Panini America, makers of the most collectible sports cards on the planet. The Luminance football card series features NIL autographed cards from players including Arch Manning, Quinn Ewers, Cam Ward, Jalen Milroe, Dylan Raiola, DJ Lagway, and Luther Burden. To start collecting, visit PaniniAmerica.net. It’s a Wendy’s Saucy Take Wednesday, and this show is loaded with extra sauce.(0:00-0:30) Visiti PaniniAmerica(0:31-3:44) Intro, Saucy Take Wednesday(3:45-16:00) Colorado Will Make a bowl game, previewing Cincinnati(16:01-16:45) JLAB Headphones(16:46-22:40) Can Auburn get an SEC win? Previewing Kentucky(22:41-23:51) Rhoback(23:52-31:59) 2 Undefeated Teams Losing this week?(32:00-37:49) Ashton Jeanty vs UNLV, Presented by PrizePicks(37:50-1:18:40) Doug Lesmerises from Kings of the North joins(1:18:41-1:20:57) Conclusion, Dear Andy & Ari tomorrow! [e-mail] First, Andy reveals his three sauciest takes of the week: Colorado will get bowl eligible this week. Auburn will get its first SEC win this week. At least two undefeated teams will lose this week. Ari will rank those takes from garlic parmesan to spicy ghost pepper. Next, the guys talk Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty as the Boise State tailback prepares for a huge game Friday at UNLV. We stay incredibly saucy with a visit from Doug Lesmerises, one of the hosts of the Kings Of The North podcast. Doug thinks the SEC stinks, and he’s convinced that this is the year northern teams prove NIL and the transfer portal have shifted the balance of power away from southern teams. Andy tries to claim BYU for the south, but Doug shuts him down. Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River Bailey

All right. This show is brought to you by Panini America. Bigger than most collectible sports cards on the planet. The Luminous Football Card Series. Got a box right here. Features NIL autograph cards from players including Arch Manning, Quinn Ewers, Cam Ward, Jalen Milroad, Dylan Raiola, DJ Lagway, and Luther Burden. We're going to actually start ripping some packs here over the next few days

on the show. So just stay tuned for that. But to start collecting, visit paniniamerica.net. Welcome to Andy and Ari on 3, presented by Wendy's. And of course, it is a Wendy's Saucy Take Wednesday. I've got takes for you. We've got maybe the sauciest takes coming up later in the show from our guest, Doug LaMaurice, one of Ari's former co-workers and one of the kings of the North. I got to tell you, man, I don't know what you have in store for me for takes today. I don't even know what direction they're coming from, who they're going to be about, what the thought's going to be.

I don't know if it's going to get spicier than the segment we had with Doug, but I thought that was pretty interesting because you do have a season right now where Northern teams are doing quite well. And the way that the sport is set up and the fact that they're able to assemble rosters in a different way than maybe they could five six seven years ago has has made for quite the exciting season and I'm excited to hear uh what Doug has to say about that yeah I I am too because this is a different year like everything is different we I have a feeling we're gonna get some dear Andy

questions about Alabama and then we're gonna probably talk about that on, on tomorrow's show. A lot of, you know, would this have happened under Saban and how, how, how different are they? And like, this is existential crisis stuff, but I think North, South, everywhere. It's like big cats the the sport has flattened quite a bit and it's made for some unpredictable results it's it's helping us with the saucy takes i'll tell you that so let us get right to the saucy takes presented by wendy's these are of course, presented by Wendy's Saucy Nugs. You know the flavors. Garlic Parm, Honey Barbecue, Buffalo, and the hot variations of all of those.

And I highly recommend the hot variations of all those. They also have the Spicy Ghost Pepper, which is amazing. So grab some extra napkins. Pick your favorite flavor. Prepare to nug like you've never dug before the wendy's saucy nugs that's probably what i'm having for lunch today ari uh but we've got we got three takes i don't know i i think one of them you're gonna find to be very bland i think two of them you're gonna like like quite a bit. You're going to think are pretty spicy. I am curious where you think it's going to land on one of these takes because

it requires you to pick a few different teams. And I'm curious to see which teams you pick. But we'll start with this one. And I think reading your column today on on three i think i know how you're going to feel about this i think you're probably going to agree with me and i don't know that it's going to be that spicy to take but i think there's gonna be a lot of people in the chat a lot of people listening watching who are gonna be like what are you talking about? This is no, absolutely not. And that is Colorado will get bowl eligible this week. Colorado will beat Cincinnati, which is having a very good season, and get bowl eligible this week. Yeah, I think that that's probably something I would agree with.

Cincinnati is also 5-2 and 3-1 in the Big 12, and it's kind something I would agree with. Cincinnati is also five and two and three and one in the big 12. And it's kind of a tough matchup, but you know, we, the thing that I find interesting about Colorado and it's true is that, you know, for as much as we spent talking about them. And when I say we, I mean, literally everyone spent talking about them in the off season and in the first year of Deion, this little run that they're on right now has gone relatively quiet, right? Like we're not really speaking about them as much. And I don't know why that's the case.

Maybe if they would have beaten Kansas State and Travis Hunter wouldn't have gotten hurt a few weeks ago, this would be a different story. But I thought after the first two weeks of this season, Andy, that this was just going to be a repeat of last year, a team that, you know, has some exciting players and talks a lot and is entertaining from like a tabloid standpoint, but not very good at football. And I have to say in the Colorado that I went back and watched and, you know, watch some of the games on YouTube the last few days like I actually think that this team is quite good in comparison to what I thought they were going to be now that doesn't mean I think they're going to go beat Oregon or win a national championship but given the fact that Deion Sanders has flipped his roster with 100 players almost in the two-year period

you know we always say you can't build a defensive line. You can't build an offensive line that way. Yes, offensive line is their number one deficiency, but they lead the Big 12 in sacks right now. They've got really good... They built a defensive line that way. They got some good edge rushers. BJ Green came from

Arizona State. Okunlola and line. The other pitch transfer. Yes, Dayon Hayes. Yes. came from arizona state okanola and and um line oh the other transfer yes day on hayes yes sorry they they they did a very good yeah they did a very good job didn't i but the edge guys out of out of the portal and i think again this will be another test. Every Big 12 game, the minus three and a half, it's actually a five and a half point spread in this game. Expecting Travis Hunter to play.

Now, he has missed time in each of the last two games with a shoulder injury. I don't know if this is, you know, like they got the word out there that they expect him to play. That's for the Heisman candidacy. I think the more Travisvis hunter plays obviously the better colorado has a chance of winning because he's such a dominant force on both sides of the field but you know this is one if they win this one there is a path for them into the big 12 championship game yeah i here's the thing like and i'm seeing it in the chat too um like who have they played and again this is always what people say and i don't understand it you guys realize that colorado used to be the joke that people would say they haven't played

anybody like this like you have to compare them to the metric of what they were not who is the best right like i don't think that andy and i are sitting here telling you that colorado compare them to the metric of what they were, not who is the best, right? Like, I don't think that Andy and I are sitting here telling you that Colorado is a top 10 team right now. But what we are saying is that the improvement in the actual product on the field, not the hype, not the attendance, not the business sales in Boulder, the actual production of the football team on the field on Saturday, I think we can both agree is a lot further along than we anticipated,

especially after week two's 28-10 loss to Nebraska. Yeah, they have improved dramatically over the team that we saw against Nebraska. And I think that's the key here. And remember, we had all the blazing takes after the Nebraska game. This is daddy ball. Is Deion here? And I don't know if Deion's there for the long haul or not. It sounds like he's still trying to flip Julian Lewis from USC,

but then so is our guy Coach Sig. So that's going to be quite the battle. But, you know, watching them play, they've gotten better at times at running the ball. Now, they didn't against Kansas State, and that's probably why they lost. But against Arizona, they ran the ball 39 times for 148 yards. That's not Navy or Army numbers on the ground. But for a team that couldn't run the ball at all last year,

it's a big improvement. And Arizona was supposed to be pretty good this year. Now, obviously, that's not going as well as people in Tucson would have hoped. And, you know, I think expectations were tempered a little bit after they lost their coach and half their roster, you know, last year, Jed Fish going to Washington. But, like, I'm trying to keep it, like, just even keel with Colorado because it's very easy to get carried away with them. And I will say, you know, and it's important to me that if I'm going to be critical and point out things that I don't think are going well at Colorado when they're not going well, I wrote the column today because I think it's important to be there as an impartial person to compliment the man when he's doing well.

Now, I will tell you, and I'm sure this will get clipped, but the reason why I have been so critical of Dion, and I've said it every single time I've ever been critical of him, is that the potential for him when approaching and doing the job the way everybody else does it with his superpower is pretty limitless. And Big Cat on the show the other day said that Florida state can't be that down in the dumps because no matter what happens this year with Mike Norvell, they always have the magic bullet with Deon Sanders.

And I think there's a lot of people who think that, but like is Deon Sanders, what he's done at Colorado and the turnaround, I guess all that matters is what you see on the field, but is he qualified for a job like that? If he's going to remain or is disinterested in high school football recruiting because that's the problem florida state has now so i don't know that that that's just because it's on his alma mater like that specific school i i don't think qualified but i do think one thing we need to think about and this is something i didn't i still think

if you want to compete for national championships you have to have a base of recruited out of high school talent we're not talking about competing for national championships at colorado we're talking about competing for a big 12 championship which i think they can do now. Like if they win this game, their path to the big 12 championship there is not crazy. Like they play Texas tech, Utah, Kansas,

Oklahoma state. They can win all those games. It's not crazy. You can do that. Absolutely. Could go to the big 12 championship, but you can build raw. What I'm saying is you can build rosters to the big 12 championship, but you can build raw. I,

what I'm saying is you can build rosters in the big 12 this way and win the big 12. I think if you want to win, that's what makes it so painful to me. Like I understand, like they're not playing, uh, Penn state,

Oregon, Alabama, and Georgia every week. So it's a lot easier for them to, to get by with the deficiencies because with those offensive line deficiencies, you just cannot play with teams that are capable of winning playoff games. And I don't think there's anything that any coach can do to fix that,

as we've talked about with Oklahoma all year, that isn't some portal supplementation, but also signing classes of five or six linemen that you can develop every year. But here's the thing, Andy, and I want you to tell me that I'm nuts because I am nuts. Okay. But when he took the job at Colorado, and I'm taking you back,

I've peeled back the curtain on how I felt when Lincoln Riley went to USC, right? Yep. And that's proven to be wrong. But when he went to Colorado and Colorado was still in the Pac-12, a conference that mind you had Oregon and USC in it it had some problems that even in Washington yeah in Washington like that that was a much harder proposition than this but I thought that Deion Sanders would use his number one qualification as a coach and to be a coach which is superstardom fame and the ability

to attract talent and I legitimately thought the man was going to be a coach which is superstardom fame and the ability to attract talent and i legitimately thought the man was going to be able to sign top 15 classes every year like and i don't know if you think i'm nuts for thinking that no i thought the same thing i felt exactly the same way so now you're talking about and this is what makes it painful for me and like i think people think it's hate but it's actually disappointment because if he were successful because like Colorado's got a lot to sell I mean if you go play like when Colorado is good and fun like they attract an audience they're a talking point you can go have an amazing college football experience at Colorado especially if he's going to have his team prepared the way that he has

so like he's passed certain tests that like a lot of people thought that he would fail like the ability to make a staff like even with the Sean Lewis stuff last year, like I was like, oh boy, this is going off the rails. But the staff that he's put together at Colorado this year has been very good. And I think that we can say that they're a pretty well-coached team, right? Those were the tests that everybody thought he was going to fail. I never worried about, or I thought that those were the tests that he might fail. The thing that I literally never worried about was his ability to attract talent. And that's the thing that I literally never worried about was his ability to attract talent. And that's the thing that's deficient right now. So if you were to, you know, and that

sounds crazy to say, because they have two of the best players in college football and Travis Hunter and his son, Shador Sanders, and Colorado's level of athlete is certainly higher than it was before he started. But could you imagine if he matched his portal ability to get the flashy skill position players that he's gotten with top 15 classes in the Big 12 for four straight years, how good this freaking team would be? At a certain point, and I'm sure that Deion Sanders himself would appreciate this, do you want to be held to the standard of the Colorado from 2020, or do you want to be held to the coach prime standard?

Because the coach prime standard, this is pretty good, but I don't know that this is like right off into the sunset saying, I told you so good. So like, I think that like on one hand, I want to be like, awesome job. There's no question that Colorado was a completely different place now than it was when he got there. There's no question that that's something to celebrate and to applaud and to acknowledge, right? But on the other hand, I do know in my gut

that if Deion Sanders woke up with the fire that Kirby Smart does when it comes to high school football recruiting, he legitimately could build a program at Colorado, and I still believe this, that could win the Big 12 for like five years in a row and like maybe win playoff games. Like I think that in the car they could easily have the the most talented roster now and you look at jordan seaton this year who was the number one offensive line recruit who did

go to colorado and he's gotten better and better every game so it is very interesting we're going to keep an eye on this seven jordan seaton's on the team. I got you. I got you. And there could be. I really legitimately think there could be. If he went to high schools and he recruited his ass off, like Deion Sanders is a very charismatic, handsome, charming, really somebody that could sell anything. Like I would believe. And now that he has some proof of concept, right?

Like that, to me, go sign a top 10 class now and let's roll. But maybe that's just never going to happen. Maybe that's not what's in the cards for him. But for him to be qualified to take over at a Florida State

or a program on that level with the expectations that they have, I don't know that you can do that by flipping 100 players in two years. But again, he's proven me wrong already, so maybe he'll do it again.

We shall see. But that's going to be a fun game. I'm telling you right now, because Cincinnati's been good. Everybody was down on Scott Satterfield before this season. Well, guess what? They've had a good year already.

Brennan Sorsby has been a surprise, the transfer from Indiana. That's going to be a fun game because it's one of Colorado's toughest games left. And if they can win it, again, the path to the Big 12 title remains open. But they will be bowl eligible, which is something that I think a lot of people didn't think Deion was going to be able to do. Your take is naked because Colorado is like a six-point favorite in this game.

I know. So they're probably going to win. Let's move. We're going to move to the next take. But first, I want to tell you about J-Lab. Great headphones. They've got the luxe over-the-ear ones. They've got the J-Lab Sport that go around the ear,

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All right. Next saucy take. I don't know how saucy you're going to think this one is, but Auburn is going to win its first SEC game this week. Auburn will go to Kentucky and get its first SEC win. The Tigers are a two and a half point dog at the Wildcats. I'm going to play you a clip from Mark Stoops. And it's so interesting because it's one that some Kentucky fans have kind of latched onto and it's bothered them. And it's really kind of out of context. It's actually more about Auburn, what he's talking about on his coach's show from Monday.

There's other teams that are in very similar situations than us that are very good football teams. Again, we're about to play one. People, if you just want to look at the win-loss column, you really don't know football. Watch the games. And I saw that with Florida. We saw it with Florida, Tennessee. So that's Mark Stoops talking about how Auburn has been right there. Right there.

You and I thought Auburn was going to beat Missouri, and it looked for three-and-a-half quarters like they would. They should have beaten Oklahoma. They think they should have beaten Arkansas. I thought Arkansas handled them in that game. But this is a team that is on the precipice of something disastrous if they do not get some conference wins. this week against Kentucky next week against Vanderbilt their best shot because after that it's A&M and Alabama but Ari do you think this is the week that Auburn finally breaks through you know what would be even even saucier take because I think what's that Auburn's going to get an SEC win in the next month but like what if it's like one of the next two or not the or like the what if it's A&M or Bama

yeah like I think that I might get on board with that I think if they lose these next two it's Katie bar the door if they lose these next two it's it's awful and and look ulm which is between vandy and texas a&m everybody's like oh it's ulm ulm is good this year ulm's five and one right now like brian vincent is doing an incredible job at you know at ulm remember brian vincent was the uh the interim coach at uab a few years ago when when Bill Clark stepped down he was the New Mexico OC last year so he brought one of his quarterbacks Aiden Armenta from New Mexico they're good too so like if I'm Auburn I'm sitting here going we gotta win we gotta win now because I think that this probably feels like the most likely win right like so and they're a two and a half yeah because Vandy

actually seems harder than this one. Because Kentucky, I don't know about you, Ari. You tell me. Kentucky feels like they were in this mode of they'll play great, then they'll play poorly, then they'll play great, then they'll play poorly. The loss to Vanderbilt and then followed up by the loss to Florida, they just look bad against Florida.

They look unprepared. DJ Lagway hit five throws of 40 yards or more on them last week. They had a freshman quarterback making his first SEC start, and he averaged 18.5 yards per attempt. It was one of the weirdest stat lines you've ever seen, 7 of 14 for 259 yards. It's crazy. If you're going to sit there and our guy Clark Brooks, the SEC stat cat, broke down why it happened. If you're going to sit there

in a cover three shell and let a freshman tear you apart, I'm not sure how creative you're going to be. Auburn is in a situation, Ari, where last week we saw them doing the thing that we said they need to do, just run the ball. They tried that. It did not get them enough first downs to win the game, but they did not have the crippling interception. So can they combine the good things from last week with the lack of crippling interception and then just make a couple more plays and win a damn game? Well, Andy, I'll tell you the truth. Like, I watch Auburn play, and when I watch Auburn play,

I don't get this overwhelming feeling of like, yeah, this team's dog shit. Like, that's not how I feel when I watch. Never. So, like, there are certain times where you just, like, watch a team and it's just like, oh, my God, this is terrible football. And it's like Auburn makes five plays a game maybe or four plays a game that make you feel that way but like overall the product is not that far off from winning football than than you think now obviously if you have a quarterback or quarterbacks that are prone to

crippling turnovers that's a very hard thing because you say clean up the turnovers but you can't clean up the quarterback. So like that to me is a nice step in the right direction last week. So like, if you want me to get on board with a two and a half point underdog winning against a team, that's also struggling quite a bit. Like,

I think I could do that with you. Now we're probably going to, if Auburn does win this game, we're probably gonna have other conversations nexturn does win this game, we're probably going to have other conversations next week about Mark Stoops and Kentucky, because they're going to be just pitchforks and torches, and there's nothing you can do about it, because Kentucky would owe him a billion dollars.

I mean, it's funny to think how many teams in the SEC right now are actually just kind of in this weird, once they lose, we're going live. We got to talk about what this means. There's a lot of this happening in the conference right now. But yes, I agree. All right. So I don't know if that was that spicy, but I think you might think this next one is.

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Last saucy take, and I think this will be the sauciest but i want your input on on exactly who we're talking about here at least two undefeated teams are going down this week okay notice i said weekend weekend yeah we're now we're talking uh the first two were like nugs dipped into sauce. Now we're going to get covered a little bit here, right? We're pouring the ghost pepper sauce on right now. Okay, so I think BYU is one. And it's not because I don't think that BYU is good. I think that the line is fishy as hell.

And now I think that UCF is a two-point favorite. So if you're going to give me a layup, like I'll take one of the teams that's undefeated, that's an underdog. And the second one is really difficult because I'm trying to figure out who's actually playing in a losable game this weekend. You know, Miami's playing Florida State,

so that's probably not going to go well, right? Or I mean, not going to, you know, be in in that situation like probably not so obviously the ones that would like we're going live immediately after after it happens if it happens are florida state miami and illinois oregon those are the ones that we were that boom it is going to be an absolute wild day. And we haven't had a result like that. Have we? I mean, Vandy, Alabama. Vandy, Alabama was that this season. So we've had that with that level of point spread.

But that was a road game. These are home games. That's the harder part with those. Well, did you find one that jumped out to you that I'm missing here? Well, I'll tell you which two I think it'll be. Because I think your BYU-UCF one is a possibility as well. That's why I said at least two.

Because it could be more. But I think Pitt is going to lose to Syracuse. In fact, I picked that game when we picked it on monday i picked syracuse to win that game i think navy's gonna lose to notre dame as excited as i am to see navy against notre dame and even though i picked navy against the spread because i do think they're gonna be able to keep it close i think notre dame is probably going to beat Navy. And so that'll, that'll be another one. I actually forgot about Navy. So now that you mentioned it, like I think the Syracuse pit games is going to be a banger.

I can't wait to watch it. You have multiple spots here with undefeated teams where a loss wouldn't be like an earthquake. So I think that you have a pathway. Like if you came into a weekend and all the undefeated teams were 12 point favorites or better, I'd be like, okay. So I think that you have a pathway. Like if you came into a weekend and all the undefeated teams were 12 point favorites or better, I'd be like, okay,

I don't know about this. But you have one that's an underdog and you've got two teams. Like Navy could be winning this game in the second half. Like I think that's definitely within the realm of possibility. So they also could be losing 40 to nothing

depending on how things go. I think the two that I feel the best about, Andy, would be BYU losing to UCF and also Pitt losing to Cuse, because I think Cuse is actually pretty good, and they're playing a team that's 5-1. Let me throw one more at you,, the undefeated team is favored, but the underdog is less than a touchdown spread. Penn State, Wisconsin, this is this is the undefeated team on the road. This is this is the one where we've got that team on the road. And so I don't know. I don't think Wisconsin can beat Penn State,

but I'm not sure Penn State is that athletically superior to Wisconsin to be able to just pound on them. In fact, what I'd like to see from Penn State is them go to a place like Wisconsin and win a game by four touchdowns. We haven't seen that yet. Yeah. I'll go win the game in a way that makes you feel like Ohio state better be, you know,

watching its back the following weekend, like do something that makes me actually believe that Penn state can win the Ohio state game. Cause at this point in my, in my, my analysis, the season, I don't,

I don't see that happening. So I don't think that Penn State's going to lose this game. I think they might win by seven. They might win by 10. I don't know that they're going to win by 28, but I do not think they're going to lose. I like the other options better. What about Liberty against Kennesaw State on Wednesday night?

Are you going to throw some love over there to the Flames, or what, they're 26-point favorites? You want to really get it? Well, I'd be throwing some love to the Owls Flames or what? They're 26-point favorites. You want to really get it? Well, I'd be throwing some love to the Owls to win that one. You know, Liberty has not been as dominant as it was last year, but I think they're probably okay here. Yeah, they probably are okay here. By the way, incredible weekday football.

We got to see J.P. Pickles play last night. Yeah. If you guys weren't watching the utep la tech game our guy jp pickles the freshman quarterback for utep from tallahassee florida whose name is jp pickles for god's sake jp pickles got in the game now they didn't let him throw very much they did not win he was not supposed to be in the game it was a that their starting quarterback is out for the season their backup got just demolished on a pretty dirty targeting hit and jp pickles had to come to the game you clearly that that was not the plan uh they did not do a lot of throwing with

him but i think that they're probably dealing with jples going forward here. So we'll see if he gets to diversify his offerings as they go forward. But La Tech did wind up winning that game. We work with a man named JD Piquel, and I think it's too similar for my liking. Well, I need JD Piquel to have JP Pickles on his show. Like, JD Piquel's got Dylan Gabriel on his show this week, which is a nice get. Like, it's Oregon's quarterback. He might win the Heisman Trophy. Blah, blah, blah.

But when you are named J.D. Piquel and you can get a starting quarterback, who is probably a starting quarterback as of this week, named J.P. Pickles on your show, by God, you get J.P. Pickles on your show. I got to say, I love El Paso. I love the town. I feel like I could... I don't know if you ever get these romantic feelings of like, oh, I could live somewhere and be happy.

I feel like I could live in El Paso and be happy. With your Mexican food tastes? Good God, no. I know. No, no, I know. I like the area of the country. I like how it's in the Southwest. Ari, I'm going to go Pitt, Navy, maybe BYU as our undefeated team is going down.

Who you got? I think I'm going to go with BYU going down and Pitt would be my two most likely ones. But I think this is clearly the spiciest take of the three. Well, and what you just said, because you didn't say Navy. If Navy beats Notre Dame, that's a result that will kind of shake the sport as well. I think if Navy beats Notre Dame, that's like we're going live for this. We are definitely going live if Navy beats Notre Dame. It's like, and you want to know what's crazy about it, Andy?

Is that I don't know if the takeaway from that result would be notre dame stinks i think it would be navy is for real like that's then that's a little bit different right like 100 you know a lot of times when we go live it's like holy crap a team just lost a game they never thought we never thought in a million years they could lose and it's like sometimes when that's yeah and i will say i I doubt very seriously Notre Dame is going into this game not taking. I think Notre Dame is probably taking Navy very seriously in this game. Oh, sure, sure. Yeah, because if you watch, when you turn on that tape of Navy's offense, it's scary looking.

So now, as one of the commenters pointed out in the chat earlier, they have not played a defense anywhere near Notre Dame's level, anywhere near the level of athletes on defense that they're going to see this week. So it will be the biggest challenge they've had so far. But I'm very excited. And like I said, at least two undefeated teams going down this week. All right, all right. One more thing before we get to Doug LaMaurice and the sauciest of sauce takes uh his his take

that the sec stinks uh we will talk about ashton genti because ashton genti who it's interesting because like if you look at on three where we have you know who we like for the heisman trophy we all like ashton genti right now but he know, who we like for the Heisman Trophy. We all like Ashton Gentry right now. But he's not the betting favorite for the Heisman. But he's been the most dominant player in college football. The Travis Hunter's been hurt. I think that that has taken away from his candidacy somewhat. But Ashton Gentry has been incredible.

We have not seen him play since the Hawaii game. And now we get to see him Friday night at UNLV in a game that could help decide the Mountain West race. Or could be the first of two between these two teams. Ari, let us look at it through the lens of our friends at PrizePix. And if you're not playing PrizePix already, what are you doing? Download the app. Use the code Staples. Play $5.

Get $50 instantly to play. And one of the squares you might want to play is an Ashton Gentry square. And so let's look at what Ashton Gentry is expected to do this week. So Ashton Gentry's rushing number for the UNLV game is 193.5. And you can decide if you think he's going to go for less than that or more than that. 193.5 already. That's almost 200 yards for one human being. And they set this level as this is the kind of average expected number of yards for him. It's almost 200 yards.

I mean, I just feel like, and I don't want to sound like a hater, but you just have to go auto less than because it's just such a high number. I don't know. It's like a situation where it's like even if he rushes for 185 yards, that's a monster game. Which is an incredible game. I'm not saying he's not going to have a good game.

I don't know. I guess maybe it's time to start questioning. Like, do you think he's going to break Barry Sanders record this year? I think there's a good chance. And what's amazing to me is that the carries are going to be so good because people are going to say, well, they only played 11 regular season games back then. Post-season game stats didn't count. Okay. But Barry Sanders carried 300, I want to say like 360 times that season

ashton gentry's on pace for about 265 and he still may gain 2600 something yards they're gonna change it's crazy we gotta keep him in the game you know what i mean like if you're a coach you gotta protect your your most valuable asset, but you know, uh, I would run him into the ground and to get him that record. And, you know, I don't know if like,

you also have to like protect your body if you're a running back, because in the NFL, they, they care about tread. Uh, it's been incredible. He's a cyborg. Like the last running back who won the Heisman trophy,

Derek Henry, uh, last scene going for 81 yards on one carry in a carry in a Monday night football game the other night. So at 30 years old. So it's not, if you're a complete freak, which Ashton Gentry may be a complete freak. Because the thing about Ashton Gentry that I love is that he's not doing this behind a bulldozing offensive line of like five NFL first round picks. He's doing this where he's getting hit and he's just breaking every tackle. Wise words here in the chat says Ashton Gentry is good, but not the best back.

I'd be very curious to know who you would use better. I don't even know where to begin with that. I don't even know where to begin with that um i don't know that is who's one of the most incredible statements that's like that's like if we did an nfl show and someone's like patrick mahomes is good but he's not the best quarterback in the league like who dylan sampson and amari and hampton well Well, listen, we love Dylan Sampson. We are a Dylan Sampson podcast. He taught us how to dance.

But I think even Dylan Sampson looks at Ashton Gentry's numbers and goes, damn, wise words might have brought the spiciest take of the show. I mean, I don't know. We haven't gotten to Doug yet. But, yeah, I cannot wait. And also, if he goes more than that number on friday night in a game that starts at like 10 p.m my time that i'm gonna be staying up to watch and they beat unlv like it just keeps getting more and more impressive so um he is a freak of

nature in the best possible way and i'm excited to watch him cook on friday night yeah and what do you think on the prize picks? Because you could go, you'd also go with the, the goblin square of 1.5 rushing. I love it. The goblin square is supposed to be the easy one to get. The demon square is the hard one.

His demon square for touchdowns is two and a half. His goblin square, the easy one is one and a half, which it's an automatic more, which means you think he's going to score at least two. So that that's The easy one is one and a half, which it's an automatic more, which means you think he's going to score at least two. So that's the easy one. Two touchdowns, which by the way,

he's done in four of the last five games. Yeah, I think he's probably going to get there. But I think UNLV is going to give him a game, guys. I'm telling you right now. UNLV's defense is probably the best he's played since Oregon's, but he shredded Oregon's defense too. Yeah.

So, oh boy, this is going to be so much fun. But yes, download the PrizePix app, use the code Staples, play $5, get $50 instantly. Ari, I hope the people have braced themselves. Turn your volume down. They're about to witness a force of nature. Ladies and gentlemen, Doug LaMaurice. There is nothing scary

happening down there. And what's happening at Oregon? And what's happening at Ohio State? And what's happening at Penn State? And what's happening at Iowa State? And what's happening at Kansas State? And what's happening at Pitt? And what's happening at iowa state and what's happening at kansas state and what's happening at pitt and what's happening at indiana and all over the north you should be scared of us so we're ready for it we welcome it and let's freaking go curb letb. Let's go. Are you scared?

Who's scared? If you're in the chat, tell us if you're scared or tell us if you're not scared of the South anymore because the worm has turned. So the world better get used to it because this is the new reality. And if you are out there making, when you're trying to make fun of a crappy Southern game like Alabama-Tennessee, you're making jokes about, like, it fun of a crappy southern game like Alabama Tennessee you're making jokes about like it feels like a big 10 game get out the SEC stinks on its own

and the north is ready so this is the new world so you know what Kirby you're lucky because you get to hang out in the south right now but we'll see you in December brother and nobody's scared that voice you hear is douglay maurice and if if i am ari's stepdad and bob wasserman is ari's birth father doug is ari's daddy he's got his sword he's one of the kings of the north he's ready for all of you you are that doug you after we played that clip because you said the SEC stinks about 50 times on your your game recap show on Saturday night you are now the gift of that one guy standing with the sword as the horde approaches from the other side yeah yeah no I want that we just don't want to get sued by Game of Thrones but other than that yeah I'm john snow like bring it yeah because hold on do it someone's got to do it

ari doesn't know anything about game of thrones oh but i assume you do i know the theme the king in the north was rob stark you remember what happened to him yeah don't go to any weddings doug no i i would i would i would give it up for the north i would give my life for the north i'm okay we're good hold on a second all right let's do it beautiful beautiful so you think the sec stinks tell us why the sec stinks doug because they're propped up and puffed up and they were wait hold up let me check are they're propped up by by all the NFL GMs that keep picking more of their players than every other league? Are we playing like name that NFL draft pick? Are we talking about football on the field?

We're talking about the aggregate where the people who get paid to pick players or they get fired if they pick the wrong ones, pick more SEC players than everybody else. But go ahead. We haven't had a draft yet this year. And if you want to live in the past but we've had one in the last 20 years and they've all had more SEC players than every other league so if it live in the past that's fine that's your answer because you immediately went to the past because no you know where you didn't go you didn't go on the field this year and Greg Sankey wants five or six playoff teams oh no I I am I am all I am all ready

for Tennessee to go into the cauldron of bloomington indiana i am ready to see that in december tennessee that outscored opponents 191-13 in its first three games and since then beat an oklahoma team that benched his quarterback by 10 lost to arkansas was taken to overtime by a florida team desperate to fire its coach and being saved by a freshman quarterback and beat Alabama by seven in a game when neither quarterback could hit wide open receivers. Like if we're pretending,

and tell me why Tennessee is ranked ahead of Iowa State, BYU, or Indiana right now. Because everybody thinks Tennessee would beat those teams if they played. That's why. But that's not based on reality, Andy. So we're just going to play. Why don't we just have recruiting rankings at the beginning of the year, not play the games and jump straight to the playoffs?

Doug, there's a playoff at the end. Indiana is going to probably host the game as an 11-1 team. I know. And it's probably going to be an SEC team. Yeah, we're ready. Let's go what happens if the sec teams come up north into the cold and do what they usually do when they play north usually in the playoffs let's live in the past are you only going to live in the past or you can acknowledge what's happening on the field tell me who's the

third who's the third best team in the sec right now for real third best team in the sec is either ls lsu or texas a m lsu with the loss to four loss usc who's lost to every midwestern big ten team they've played all year or who is the other option tennessee texas a m texas a m which lost in notre dame who lost another name who lost northern illinois like what what game are we playing how long do you want to play the game andy tenn's adjusted Doug you're living in the past you're living in the past Doug let's let's move on to the future let's let's talk about when they play at the end no now see you don't want to live in the present you don't want to live in right now what has happened on the field this year and you laugh because you know you're wrong and it's changed Andy to pretend what am I going to do argue about the sec winning 17 or whatever it is 18 the last 20 titles i get it but in an nil world in a portal

world when the greatest college football coach of all time is no longer propping up your conference let's live in today but you don't just dislike the conference, though. You dislike the region. So I got to ask you this. Does the ACC put you in a blender? Is Pitt legit, but Clemson and Miami not? I've got no blender, Andy. I've got a path and a plan and a latitude. We've got 28 northern teams.

We don't worry about conferences we worry about north and south we have 28 power four northern teams that we analyze discuss contextualize and talk about on kings of the north that includes syracuse pitt and boston college just get a map andy it's not that hard actually it's just a map so doug i went to an sec school i don't know how to read a map that's that's you said it not me it's just it's just north south we understand north south the acc doesn't make any sense the big 12 doesn't no conferences make sense to you so we're going we're going based on the mason dixon line is that where we're is that what we're doing here it's like 38.5 degrees that's the latitude we found and we we there's a there's a guideline man like we've taken manhattan

kansas and we took both kansas schools but we don't take virginia tech and louisville so i have to i have to say something on this podcast it's around there no you don't i want to i came in hot your guy i know i know i know you didn't even let him i love it i love i love the whole premise because there are so many SEC-centric podcasts and obviously Finebomb. So this is a beautiful premise where you take these people who live in places where it's cold and they never see the sun and the women aren't as pretty and make them feel better about their choices.

It's amazing. I spent a large portion of my life in the North. Okay. There are very very pretty women up there triggered ari oh and you married and you married one that grew up in las vegas and went to texas a and m re so how'd that work out for you i'm both oh on tilt andy doug nobody's ever done this before nobody's ever done this to the south i know it's genius it's brilliant i wish i thought of it. That's the problem.

Doug, I've been wanting to ask you this because you and I have a very long history together. But the program that we covered together for a decade is a program in the north that's most built like the teams in the South traditionally, right? So you know, you're keenly aware of what it looks like because even though I did cover Ohio State for as many years, Ohio State taught me how to understand the South because that's the most Southern team that there is in the North. So when you go through the Northern teams and you look at the teams that you think, like the Iowa States and the pits of the world

that are undefeated and doing really well right now yeah you know at the bottom of your heart that they aren't built the same way as the teams that like Ohio State is built like and that might be different now because of the NIL era in the transfer portal but when you look at the teams in the north how many of them do you actually think will compete at a high level in december and how much has your brain had to change based on the way that we come to understand how ohio state got to where it did under urban meyer so obviously the again like the world has changed a couple years ago Eli Holstein wouldn't be the quarterback at Pitt right he'd be stuck at Alabama yeah he'd be stuck at Alabama and a couple years ago when a coach like Kurt Cignetti came from JMU to Indiana he wouldn't have been able to bring

12 guys with him right so that's part of the whole point of what is happening and you and so the the bottom line is and this is where we all agree, right? Who in the North operates in the same way as the top tier SEC teams? Ohio State and Oregon. And that's it. Like Penn State doesn't, Notre Dame doesn't, Michigan doesn't. But I think the point is that there are more ways to win now. And so if you have great coaching or you develop or you keep guys in il or you add a

quarterback like curtis work in the transfer portal or eli holstein in the transfer portal um like those things a reality where in the past probably a home state kansas guy like avery johnson maybe wouldn't have picked kansas state in this world he does pick kansas state like those kind of things i think there are a lot of things in the way the sport has changed and everybody said that has flattened out this at the sport but i do think has benefited the north because if it all it was before is who's closer to more talent that southern teams and who's maybe doing things on the side a little bit more that southern teams and the rules changed and now the north is even i think the north is even with the south in this world well one one thing we definitely agree on you and your co-host bill

landis we're talking about indiana and i i thought i thought it's funny because we've been getting this all week like indiana doing that to nebraska people tell us means nebraska stinks no nebraska was good going into that game nebraska's defense had been really good the whole season and indiana embarrassed them like indiana is flat out good and i think people have a hard time accepting that and it's a lot of it probably is what you're talking about like the the new world is so different There wasn't that capability to go and get like what Curt C. Nettie did. Obviously there's a core of guys he brought from James Madison.

So they know what he wants. They've also won a bunch of games together, but they also went out and got a bunch of guys like Curtis Rourke who started a bunch of games and won a bunch of games elsewhere. So like those guys are not going to be scared of some five star from Nebraska because he has an in on his heart like he's not going to bother them like a freshman it might bother but these dudes that played all these games they don't care yeah I mean it's it's excellent coaching it is all that transfer portal stuff but but I will say

to your initial point there, Andy, the North has to stop thinking that way. Because I feel like when there's a big game in the North, whoever loses, the instinct is to say the loser stinks of a big Northern game. And the instinct in the South, especially when there's an upset, is to say that the winning team was great and the losing team is great too. So when Kentucky beats Ole Miss, does everybody say Ole Miss stinks? say that the winning team was great and the losing team is great too so when kentucky beats old miss does everybody say old miss stinks or is it i think a lot of people are saying that i think a lot of people are saying that now especially the more we watch kentucky because kentucky stinks

but for three weeks everybody thought kentucky was great until they lost to florida and vanderbilt and by the way vanderbilt was tied with ball state at 14 going into the fourth quarter so this is everybody like that but in the north like that's our instance when a southern team loses they both stink because the team that beat them stinks and now they stink because the team that beat them have you never never watched Feinbaum? Like, they ain't playing nobody, Paul. Tennessee's eighth in the polls, Andy. Why is Tennessee ranked ahead of Iowa State, Indiana, and BYU? BYU has two top 25 wins. Because people think that Tennessee would win if they play.

But the committee may not feel that way. The committee is the one that's... And that's what's going to be interesting to see. Will it... When we get that first committee ranking. It's two weeks, right? Will the polls, yeah, it's election night. Will the polls adjust? And I'm curious about that.

They're smart, aren't they? Aren't they just, they just. I am super fascinated because as you know, and I came on your show last year, Doug, and I've been having kind of an existential crisis because I've always been, if you recruit the best, you are the best, right? So I will admit that when I picture an Indiana versus LSU matchup, like in my head, which could happen one day, or a team like it from the South playing Indiana. It could happen this year.

Yeah, my gut reaction is to assume that Indiana will lose the game. And that isn't right this year. So I do think that there is a – It's not right from now on. In the portal world. Because of the recruiting stuff. So the thing that I think will be really fascinating is when these teams play, like, I think it's a very important year.

Like if you are worried about narrative and what, what people think and how people react to losses and how people are ranked, which I think makes sense. Like this year is a very important year for the North. Is it not? Of course. I mean, so we're just talking now, right? Because we've never had this before. We've never had the matchups that matter. And once, especially once, guys, I used to track all the bowls, right? I used to think the bowls really mattered. SEC and Big Ten would play a lot in bowl season. And I would think that the Capital One Bowl is a referendum on conference superiority. And then guys started opting out and that clearly it wasn't that way anymore so we we've lost that we haven't had that so this is it and again the matchups this year it's like bama wisconsin okay well that's not equal north versus south bama bloom out texas michigan that wasn't equal north versus south texas where is wisconsin ranking the

big ten right now because i'm i i kind of i'm with you on that but yeah because they've won their last three by 20 or more but it feels like that's a function of the schedule more than anything else so but i mean like nobody you know again which is why i think this stuff they're talking about sec big 10 challenge i played that on my my sega genesis in 2007 i played like that would be can, can we do that in the regular season every year in September? It'd be so great. And what I want is them to do it where they say,

you half have a home game, you half have an away game, and then they match it up year by year, one versus one, two versus two. There's no reason they can't do that. It would just light up September. In the past, too, i think there was a thought process uh and maybe still to a certain extent now that the eighth best team in the sec because that was usually a team that had top 25 talent

nationally was much better than the eighth best team in the big 10. And now maybe because of the expansion and some of the teams that have joined it and it pushes down. I kind of like Alabama against Iowa already, but that's what I'm good about that one. That's the matchup right now, right? Like if Alabama seven or eight right now in the big, well,

I don't know if they're that low, Andy. So I don't know if they're that low either. The modern sec dynasty has collapsed inward on itself. And now you're puffing your chest out because they beat iowa congratulations to the sec great job tennessee just beat iowa too then when they played it was 35 to 3 i think so but it was a bowl game opt-outs you know uh so oh wait they didn't have any opt-outs but past i'll count the references of that that Andy has to the past. I do.

So we, but the whole point is that we have to, like we have to shift our thinking. And I have not heard anyone on this show, me included, yet bring up the fact that two Northern teams played for the national title last year. That's the past. Oh, they did. Why did you mention that, Andy?

And Michigan was built in a way that I think is going to be the model now. Great model. Where you are going to have this baseline of talent you got out of high school. You're going to develop your linemen. And then when you need something, you're going to go get it. So for Michigan last year, it was Josiah Stewart. It was Drake Nugent.

It was Ladarius Henderson. Like they needed those spots filled and they they filled them and I think I think that is the more sustainable team building model going forward which some of these SEC schools are going to have to get on board with and figure out but the whole point is there's more than one model. Because in the past, in the last, in the previous 15 years, in the modern era of college football, right? BCS on or whatever, the Saban era, there was one model, which is recruiting cutoff.

Right. And there were only four or five teams at a given time that could do anything. So, you know, in this. And obviously the SEC had an edge there. Of course they did. Of course they did. But I mean, Clemson did it too. Ohio State did it too.

But that's it. I mean, mean it really it was very limited no I this is this is so much better and that's what people are like oh Oregon's just buying all these recruits I don't care how they're going to Oregon I care that Oregon can win and that makes it interesting and I don't care I used to care do you guys think I'll just say it do you guys think previous to this previous to NIL do you think the SEC and the South cheated more than the Big Ten and the North I think they cheated better under the table I think they cheated better like Ohio State was really bad at it they kept getting caught like okay that just means you're not good at it let's say that's like we take in cheating. That's like a very Southern thing to say.

Like we cheated better. Wait, did you think there was a more, you think it was morally wrong to pay people for being good at football? It was against the rules. I don't, I wouldn't say it was morally wrong. The rules were also against, the rules were also against the law.

So I just think it was civil disobedience personally. You are such, you are like, you should run for office down there in the south they would hit you up brother doug doug you know you know your base and i know my base is your base seriously the south your national show is your base is south because that's the whole point too if you're a national show where your base is is the south and not the nation that's why we have to exist i got i got this yankee right here that works with me you got to be a yankee and col yeah you live there for 10 years okay well i think that's the whole thing we've never the north has never tried to claim a culture or a community i think to this at least to the same degree of the south we know what southern college football is i don't know

that you could because you had pro teams that's why like if you live in detroit oh you do exactly like the midwest loves college football just as much as the south the difference is the midwest always had proteins but like if you grew up in alabama you didn't have a protein like i know but that's but let's rally around college college football is the second most popular sport in the country there's there's room for you to like your nfl team and still love your college football team but what happened is that the rules so what what popular sport in the country. There's room for you to like your NFL team and still love your college football team. But what happened is that the rules... So what was happening in the past, Andy,

whether you want to call it cheating more or cheating better, I do think it's... I think people would agree, would probably agree, that the SEC slash the South was doing it better or more than the North. And the North...

They invented it, of course. ...was trying to follow the... The rules were there, and half the North and the they invented it of course trying to follow the the rules were there and half the country and half the sport ignored them and half maybe sort of tried to follow them so what nil does is says okay it's all above board and now that we've got it above board guess what the North can compete now that it's we don't eating we don't actually know that yet though we we kind of need to see it in the playoff i mean we we did see it last year i we we saw it last year i understand so you you will continue to hold on to what happened in 2011. you will like what i'm saying

is the first seven weeks of the season what i'm saying is when when they play each other when the good teams from each league play each other at the end of the year we're going to get a body of work and actually more a larger sample size because there's more games, not just this year, but over the next five years. And we'll actually have an answer. Right. I agree. I agree. I would say based on the fact that two Northern teams played

for a national championship last year, and that right now there are 10 undefeated teams, and eight are in the North and two are in the South, I would say the recent body of work in the modern era using the rules that are currently used, I would say the North's doing pretty good. I would say it's flattened out. It is doing great.

And I'm glad it's flattened out because I am glad there are more than four teams with a chance. Absolutely. I think teams having a chance to compete for national titles makes the whole sport better, makes everybody more engaged, more interested, and it makes it more of a national proposition because like you said,

everything was sort of geared toward these, these certain places. This is one thing we have trouble with as a national show. And I'm curious because you're, you're not a, you've just, you're, you know,

you're still not national as you, and you're proudly not national, but you're still not national and you're proudly not national. Cut off the bottom of the country. You're also not one school focused, which is kind of the business model here or one conference focus, which is also kind of the business model. So I'm curious,

because I think the bigger tent is helpful because I think about five years ago you guys talking about pitt and kansas state like by november it's like okay whether they're out we had the idea for the show and the north rose to the challenge like it is very fortuitous timing for us and coincidental timing but i did think as these things were happening, I did think the North had a better chance, but part of it originally was like, Hey,

listen, okay. Clemson and Georgia and Alabama, and they're all better than the North. But like, we know that can't, we still talk about the ways the North is good. It was much more.

The original idea of the show was much more like not excuse making exactly, but acknowledging Southern superiority and then wanting to talk about northern college football anyway and then this happened and then washington and michigan played for the national championship and now we have all these teams who are having there are literally like 12 programs in the north that are having their best season in x amount of years so i do i mean it's lucky for us but i do think it's worth talking about. Cause part of the point that Andy too, is just like,

we get it. But if you're a fan of the big, the upper half of the big 12 or the big 10, and it's like, you tune into a national show and it's Alabama and it's Georgia and it's Texas. I get it. I understand why that's the conversation,

but I thought maybe you'd want something else. And then it turns out there's really good football up here this year. And I think it will continue I I do too especially like Dan Lanning's not leaving work everybody's trying to come after him and I'm on the clock for Kalen DeBoer I think Kalen DeBoer is a bad fit I might be on the three-year plan with that so let's I don't I don't know I I don't know about Kayla DeBoer I do know, like part of me thinks Nick Saban saw this coming, that this is part of the reason why he ditched when he did. I mean, is the talent that down?

Is the talent that bad? Or are you talking about the flattening of the sport? The flattening part, because Nick Saban was used to winning in a certain way and dominating in a certain way. Like Alabama is a very talented team. Sure. But if you took this team and its talent relative to the other teams it has to play and compared it to the 2012 alabama team and the

talent relative to the teams that it's not even close it's nothing it's not even the same sport so yeah that's that's the part that and alabama fans are gonna have to get used to that and i don't know that that's necessarily all caitlin debor, but, you know, look, Kalen DeBoer did it with, well, I'm not going to say less talent in Washington. Because he had an incredibly talented team last year at Washington. And Roma Dunze and Jalen Pohl. Yeah. And like they, and Michael Penix, that passing offense was better than what Alabama has now. And Roger Rosengarten. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. like they and michael pennix that passing offense was better than what alabama has now and and

roger rosengarten and yeah yeah they heard and yeah yeah yeah they had a lot of really good players jeremy bernard was washington's like fourth best receiver last year he's alabama's second best yes exactly no so the other two are in the pros yeah but what do you mean the the last year yeah yeah i mean we're saying we're saying washington washington last year was pretty loaded oh yeah it wasn't yeah yeah so they were super old too they were even older than michigan was yeah and and go ahead to our fine tooth combing these programs up north um we did a Wendy's saucy nugget hot take from me where I said that no team will make the semifinal that isn't in the Big Ten or the SEC. And that, everybody said,

was like a naked take, like there was no spice to it at all. Are there any programs in your mind that you truthfully believe that aren't in the SEC or the Big Ten that have a legitimate chance or your expectation is that they could make it to the college football playoff semifinal? Expectation is probably too strong. I do think Iowa State is super interesting. I think Iowa State is very fundamentally sound, and they've had a gazillion injuries at linebacker

and have been fighting through that. They have a pretty good secondary. They have a way of doing business with john haycock as the defensive coordinator there but then they're also explosive and when you saw their comeback last week rocco beck to making plays and jaylen noel and jayden higgins as a receiver combo are as good as any receiver combo in the country i would would say at least close. So I do think it is an interesting, like, and Matt Campbell is just like,

boom, right? Culture fundamentals. You've got it nailed. Well, his, his, his clock management at the end of that game was flawless.

Flawless. Chuck it on you too. Like they, they won some of these games because when they get hit with something, they answer with a 75 yard bomb because they have two receivers who are hard to come. That's what they did against Iowa. That's how they won the Iowa game. That's how they won.

I mean, they hit a 25-yard wheel route down the sideline with 30 seconds left against an Iowa All-Big Ten corner. So that combination is super interesting to me, and I am very much looking forward to Farmageddon. Last game of the regular season, Kansas State at Iowa State is going to to me. And I am very much looking forward to Farmageddon. Last game of the regular season, Kansas State at Iowa State is going to be huge. And I do think Kansas State with DJ Giddens is a monster at running back.

And Avery Johnson, as a second-year player, first-year starter at quarterback, who was a big-time recruit. He's the biggest recruit probably in Kansas State modern college football history, and they kept him home. Really dangerous runner runner but is elevating and ascending as a passer and then it's like okay like how good might he be kansas state

interests me too and then byu it's like you end up you do a disservice to byu i've been comparing byu to tcu and that was tcu actually the second best team two years ago. I don't think anybody would say yes. No, they were very talented, but they weren't. What's the point? What's the argument? Is BYU one of the four best teams? No.

I don't know. Have you watched this team? Jake Retzlaff is nuts. They made a ton of plays at the end against Oklahoma State. Kalani Sataki is totally called. I think Provo is too far south to be one of your teams by the way no no it's in the mountains now look at you i realize it's got snow but this is this is way south the sec is so down you are trying to claim byu you're in desperate straits brother i mean if i if i hate i got a lot of good i don't know i need to check that line of

latitude on provo that's really close that's really close. That's really close. You're trying to steal Provo from him. Steal Provo. You want Lincoln Riley? We don't claim USC and UCLA, so you can have Lincoln Riley. We want Jake Ratzel. That's who we want. He's from Riverside, California, Doug.

Well, that's the whole point. You've got to get some players from down there, and you've got to lure them to the north with all the opportunities that are provided up here guess what as you said all the nfl teams are in the north like come up hearing that used to play in football this way our producer river who's in tennessee native would like would like you to to take the whole state of kentucky is requested did you just take the whole state of kentucky we're good doug i'm gonna ask you an honest question, and I'm putting you on the spot.

If Kentucky was good, would you actually – People who are actually from the south think Lexington and Louisville are northern cities. Somebody explain to me from a geographical standpoint how Lexington and Louisville are not northern teams. If you belong to a conference that has the word south eastern in its name we don't want you i mean it's also the conspiracy also i mean we're good would you claim them no we maybe would claim louisville the teams that were on the border for us honestly very close to indiana

or virginia tech louisville and missouri those are like geographically the closest oh you definitely would have taken mizzou that's like St Louis but they've made their they made their bed they picked the Southeast conference so like I don't know what to tell you they chose it already so now if you want to come crawling back Missouri we'll think about it but if they were still in the Big 12 we'd take them but you chose to be in the SEC did you think I I don't know I I think the South should get BYU like you can take Utah because they're a little North why don't you call up kirby and ask him if byu's in the south oh no i think we're taking provo from you today i i i can't i knew you guys were desperate because it's not going so great i just need to draw that i want to see that line of latitude i'm i'm put

me into this i'm an innocent boy i don't know what to tell you man you you are kind of an innocent bystander here this is very hard this is like are you guys claiming colorado are you claiming coach in colorado it's in the mountains andy yes we claim boulder is that if you extend the mason dixon line boulder is actually below it we have a latitude i can send you you can watch the first show i explain this whole thing it really is Geographic we're not like it's not a lot of swerving like there's a line but if it snows I I had the whole thing I had average temperature in November I have guys North Carolina Tennessee and Kentucky all you want oh hey doesn't when you take them when it snows in North Carolina people drive off the road no no and we definitely not taking Texas because we know that if it snows there the whole state Texas isn't even Texas Texas is just you want Texas until

they lose to Georgia that's so SEC I'm not speaking I'm not speaking as someone who went to an SEC school I'm speaking as someone who grew up in the actual like Deep South like it's not it's not Texas is not is a different place we just went like this we took a country we went like this and we cut it in half so we took it with the silver and you can have the bottom yeah that's all oh i i don't know i'm gonna i'm gonna call jake ratzloff and see how it's uh do you feel southern or northern jake just tell us one question don't explain it to him just say it yeah he feels not yeah he would feel neither and and we count california is kind of like it's all its own thing so we don't take cal we don't

take stanford we don't want usc and ucla but also i'm not pretending that usc and ucla have anything in common with lsu and texas you didn't you didn't want cal just a little bit when they beat auburn no i'm over that thing that cal twitter raises the academic profile and everything but no we're we're good on academics andy like the north has it we're fine we don't need cal for that also like we celebrate part of the thing we do here is we celebrate and contextualize northern college football and we tell the south to cram it so we don't have to take cal to enjoy auburn losing we had plenty of fun check his phone that's just a freebie hugh's phone yeah we root for southern chaos at all times that's just a classic acc sec matchup that you never know what's going to happen

all the record books we weren't thrilled with stanford beating syracuse that was a tough one syracuse should be undefeated you got got to cover L.A.K.O. Menor with more than one person. Horrible. When I was growing up, my parents never fought in front of me. Yeah. Like, ever. Like, I had a very sheltered childhood.

Like, I really did. They got real for you here, brother. That was brutal for me. Yeah. I was sitting up on the corner. I didn't know what to do. I need a weapon for this show, Ari. Like, I love the sword concept. This is awesome. I don't need a weapon. I didn't know what to do. I need a weapon for this show, Ari. I love the sword concept.

This is awesome. I do have two swords, so you can borrow one, Andy. Ari says a southern weapon, so I'm thinking a bucket of fried chicken is probably the way to go. That's the best weapon we have. I actually will say that I am skeptical. You would be proud of me, me Doug because if you look at my top 10 every week like I have BYU and Iowa State represented like I didn't put LSU ahead of them because I actually think that what those teams have done this year is more impressive than what

LSU has done like I think that like you were the first person who taught me how to vote in the AP poll and I still kind of view it that way that said I would be a liar if I said I was not at least a little skeptical of Iowa State lining up on the same field as an average LSU team and being a guarantee. Well, I'll say this. Look, Iowa State hasn't lost yet, but I saw UCF in person a few weeks ago. You should not be in a game with UCF in the fourth quarter.

UCF is now favorite in the national title. What about Kentucky? Should you be in a game with UCF in the fourth quarter. UCF is now favorite. I'm playing for the national title. What about Kentucky? Should you be in a game with Kentucky in the fourth quarter when it's 13-12? No, absolutely not. Okay, just checking. I'm just checking. We apply it equally. Okay.

You should also punt against Georgia when it's fourth. Every Northern team that's undefeated has played a really close game. Iowa State and BYU just had great compacts. Penn State had to come back on USC and force overtime and win an overtime in that game Pitts had two crazy comebacks against West Virginia and Cincinnati they're not perfect but all I'm saying is we we up it's you were very quick to apply so wait Penn State doesn't stink because they needed overtime to be for a loss USC they don't stink for because of that they didn't lose I'm just saying Tennessee stinks because they actually lost to Arkansas and also needed overtime against Florida so like that's

what I'm talking about so like again are we gonna apply you can if we're gonna apply the close call thing I get it but let's also apply the actually losing thing and let's also apply who'd you beat so that's you realize they're all all of these teams we're talking about well not all of them but a lot of these teams we talk about are going to make the playoff and they're just going to play i know that's why i'm living in today and i'm excited about it so to come on like if so if we want to come on and talk about the past that's fine but yes this is actually andy the best time to talk about it because we're gonna have answers and then next year if you say to me oh well the s the south and north played in the playoff five

times in the south one four i'm gonna have much less to come back with right no you're gonna say i'm living in the past if i say that but but i do think but this is do we not acknowledge that the portal and nil have changed things? And Saban leaving. I told you it would happen. Doug, I was writing it back during the O'Bannon trial. Like, because the economists who were working for the plaintiffs were like, you do realize if you pay the players, it will not benefit just the teams at the top. Like, it'll spread things out better. Yeah.

I think the South underestimated losing nick saban because a lot i mean really if you and it's you can't do it but if you take you think of the south as a monolith which i realize is a great conceit for your show but that's not how it actually works like auburn people were thrilled nick saban left because now he's not at Alabama anymore like Mississippi State people were thrilled Nick Saban is the only conference though that chants the conference's name at games it is it I can tell you exactly when that happened I will tell you exactly when that happened it was in front of Jarvis Moss's locker after Florida beat Ohio

State in the national title game, because nobody remembers this anymore, but that entire year, the run-up to that entire year was Ohio state, Michigan, two best teams in the country. And whoever wins that game is going to win the national title. I know you were, but,

but in the sec, it was like, Oh, there are a bunch of also rands. And so when Jarvis Moss said there were five teams in the SEC better than Ohio State which probably wasn't true but he said it that's when that legend that's what all of that they still do it like for 20 years oh yeah they do it now well now it's become a thing but it's interesting because I feel like it's more like South Carolina, Mississippi State,

those fans that are just kind of clinging to it rather than the ones that actually do the winning of the things. But I don't think Northwestern fans cling to Ohio State's accomplishments. And I think that's the point. Yeah. But I want them to shout. Big Ten is also very tough to chant. It's not very lyrical. How about K-O-T-N?

K-O-T-N. We can do that. K-O-T-N. K-O-T-N. K-O-T-N. We've got a chant for you. You how about k-o-t-n k-o-t-n we can do that k-o-t-n k-o-t-n we've got it we've got a chant for you b1g b1g b1g that would work that would work even that and that's true that's the whole thing right it's like urban meyer son of the north nick saban son of the ohio so you guys want to work i'm sure yes we take west virginia north it's no what was Nick Saban, son of the North. Hashtag below Ohio. Is West Virginia North? Yes, we take West Virginia North. What was West Virginia? West Virginia is North.

West Virginia is North, yeah. We were excited about West Virginia, and that has not worked out very well for them. Is West Virginia geographically in the South in a textbook? No, geographically it's not. Morgantown, West Virginia is probably both, but Morgantown is North. Morgantown morgan west virginia is probably both but the morgantown is north morgantown and west virginia was a border state in the confederate you know in the civil war so it was it was split allegiances but yes morgantown is 45 minutes from pittsburgh nick saban's the son of the north yeah so you guys want to start the saban to wvu hashtag We're trying to get that going. Urban, Urban, Son of Ohio. Jimbo's sitting right there. Come on.

Son of Ohio. So Urban, SEC, burns out, does TV for a year, goes back to coach his home state school. Saban, SEC, does TV for a year. I think you're more likely to get Jimbo. You want Jimbo? If you're going to have a West Virginia native coming back I think that's more likely what washed out SEC team uh coach that's hey Rich Rod's killing it at

Jacksonville State right Brian Harsin back up there Rich Rod to Michigan equals Kalen DeBoer to Alabama that's been my comparison good coach bad fit we shall see Doug it has been a pleasure we're gonna have you back on yes do you actually you enjoyed that absolutely okay I I just I don't did you not it's not I loved it but I love to fight with everybody so I'm I'm sorry if Ari was uncomfortable but I think I'm not a great show hoping that we would talk more but uh yeah i started shouting yeah yeah no this is good i think you guys do a great show and um it is a large college football landscape and we're just trying to get a little slice of the pie here at kotn but you're slicing it with swords and that's the best part yeah that's the bad there's pie on this sword right now i'm gonna lick it off as soon as i leave

the show i i think i want a sword just to cut cake and pie with now we gotta get a we gotta get a weapon we do these are real swords i went to a renaissance fair to a sword store this is not some like strip mall sword to an actual blacksmith who made you a sport an armorer it was an armor the guy who sold me this is wearing chain mail so like this is the real deal that is beautiful all right we are totally good what should the official weapon of the show be oh we're open to suggestion have a slingshot thanks douglay maurice i could argue with him for a solid three four hours and we may actually do that you like that huh You like how smooth that was, that transition? I'm glad. Now, time for your assignment. We got a Dear Andy and Ari show

on Thursday. Your questions drive the show. We love your brilliant minds. We love the way you think and we love when you help guide our discussions on the show so let's send some questions in you know where to find me and you can also send me an email and let us know what do you want to know about what do you want to start we? What do you want to talk about? We've already gotten a few questions earlier. Some of you guys Monday hit me up on Tuesday to make sure I have seen your question. But listen,

I'm here for all the last minute stragglers. So get those questions in. Ari and I will answer them on Thursday's show. We've also got your definitive preview of LSU and Texas A&M on Thursday's show because that is going to be a banger of a game this week. This is Thursday night. We got UNLV and Boise State in Vegas on Friday, plus the Rutgers-USC late night.

You know, it's basically like getting Waffle House after the bars, essentially. That's what that is. And then you've got a full slate on Saturday. It's going to be incredible. Get those questions in to us. At Andy underscore Staples on social media. At Ari Wasserman on social media. Andy Staples on three at gmail.com fire away. We'll talk to you tomorrow.