Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - BIG 10 SQUAD - Are Iowa Hawkeyes Legit Conference Contenders?

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

Welcome back to Big 10 Squad! In this Week Eight preview episode, host Craig Shemon of Locked On Big 10 is joined by a panel of experts from various Locked On podcasts to break down the upcoming Big T...en football matchups. Get ready for another week of thrilling games and intense competition!🚀 In This Episode:Upcoming Game Previews: Delve into the key matchups on the schedule, featuring teams like the Illinois Fighting Illini, Indiana Hoosiers, Iowa Hawkeyes, Maryland Terrapins, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Nebraska Huskers, Northwestern Wildcats, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions, Purdue Boilermakers, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans, Washington Huskies, and Wisconsin Badgers.Expert Analysis: Gain insights from Locked On hosts as they discuss strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of each team heading into their games.Players to Watch: Discover the key players who could make a game-changing impact this week.Why You Should Listen: Whether you're a die-hard Big Ten fan or just love college football, this episode provides essential insights and expert commentary to prepare you for the games ahead.🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe to Big 10 Squad for your weekly previews and analyses of all things Big Ten football! Click the bell icon to stay updated on new episodes.Join the Discussion: We want to hear your thoughts! Share your predictions for the upcoming games and your favorite moments in the comments below.#Big10Squad #Big10Football #LockedOnBig10 #CollegeFootball #WeekEightPreview #FootballAnalysis #CraigShemon #LockedOnPodcast #BigTenTeams #NCAA #FootballPredictions #BigTenRoundtable

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Well, Oregon showed what they can do in front of the whole country, and now a short week. We'll talk about them, plus Illinois battling Michigan. The winner stays in the top 25, and the loser is out of there. Plus, can Nebraska hang with the mighty Indiana Hoosiers? Let's talk. It's time for the Big Ten Squad. You're talking ball with the Big Ten Squad. From USC to Ohio State, from Michigan to Oregon, from Nebraska to Washington,
Starting point is 00:00:24 it's the local experts of the Locked On Podcast Network, bringing you scoops, breakdowns, and the most comprehensive preview of the upcoming Big Ten weekend. Know her feelings and thin skin aloud. Squad up. You're part of the Big Ten squad. Welcome to the Locked On Big Ten squad. Just sit back, enjoy. Let's talk some football.
Starting point is 00:00:43 I'm Craig Schumann from Lockdown Big Ten. By the way, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Today's episode, again, with FanDuel. Have them at your hand, right in your favorite devices. You're watching
Starting point is 00:00:54 your favorite football games, your first $5 bet, and you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets, guaranteed. Visit FanDuel.com and get started. All right, around the room,
Starting point is 00:01:04 Matt Sheehan from Lockdown Spartans. I missed you, Craig. I missed you. I heard things team visit fanduel.com and get started all right around the room matt sheehan from locked on spartan i missed you craig i missed you i heard i heard things got out of control i don't know what you're talking about i thought last week's show was the best one that this this idea has ever come up with can we get a mute on spencer already that's great that's okay you mute me if you like i'll just sit here and hold the O for the number of losses that Oregon has this year. How many of you got up there in Seattle? Hey, man, that doesn't matter. We were in the national championship last season.
Starting point is 00:01:32 You can do, oh, living in the past. That's Washington specialty. All right. If you pardon me, we're two minutes in. I haven't introduced everybody. Roman from Lockdown Huskies. Yeah, that's Spencerencer from lockdown ducks lockdown college i even saw him on lockdown big 12 the other day how many shows do you do way too many like honestly even i think it's excessive at this point but i'm never going to stop uh jacob from lockdown hoosiers the real undefeated team in the big 10 and also jay stevens good for him to be here today. Locked on Buckeyes.
Starting point is 00:02:05 All right. Against my better judgment, I'm going to open this up with Spencer and the Ducks and Jay with the Buckeyes before we look ahead to this week. Gentlemen, the floor is yours. I'd like to make a genuine statement off the top that I don't think anybody in the Big Ten is as good as Oregon or Ohio State. And if anyone would like to challenge me on that notion, he's probably sitting in that chair there because Indiana is 6-0.
Starting point is 00:02:33 And you know what? Western Illinois is a tough team, and that's one of their wins. But, yeah, I think Oregon and Ohio State showed what a lot of people thought coming into the year that these are the two best teams in the conference and you know Michigan could be in that category if they could I don't know complete a forward pass with any amount of regularity and they can't do that so it was an awesome game probably the biggest win ever in Autzen's history along along with 2018 against Washington. This one probably bigger on a national scale. But, yeah, it is a good time to be a fan in Eugene.
Starting point is 00:03:13 Wow, Roman, he's taking shots already, man. Craig said Ohio State and Oregon, and he's throwing Washington into this. But this is what Oregon fans do, no matter what. Like, I have people in my comments after losing to Iowa, and they're just sending the duck emoji. It's like, okay. But this is what Oregon fans do no matter what. Like, I have people in my comments after losing to Iowa, and they're like, and they're just like, send in the duck emoji. It's like, okay, here you are. You're still thinking about Washington.
Starting point is 00:03:36 I didn't even bring up giving up 40 points to Iowa on the road. I didn't mention that. Like, I wouldn't bring that up. Why would anyone bring that up? No, I'm just kidding. Yeah. No, I liked where that thought was going, Jacob. I liked that thought very much jay jay let's boil it down what happened the last 10 seconds six seconds the confusion and then we'll move on from that game um good coaching by one guy on the other
Starting point is 00:03:57 side of the field not saying his name um confusion dan lanning his name is dan lanning all right whatever nobody cares um for some reason will how Howard doesn't know that with six seconds, you got to speed up your clock. No matter what you think six seconds is, you have to move a little bit faster and say, oh, slide by with three seconds left or two seconds, preferably so there's still time left on the clock for Ryan Day and the refs to call a timeout to get the field goal team on the field.
Starting point is 00:04:23 It's just a mess up. It was a mishap. It was something that Ryan Day's teams have done in big games. They have had mistakes, and ultimately they haven't overcome them in some of those games. But unfortunately, I have to agree with something Spencer said. These are the best two teams in the Big Ten. And honestly, it's possible. I know Ohio State has one loss, but there's a chance down the road they could be one and two in the country.
Starting point is 00:04:49 Ohio State has to go to Happy Valley. That'll probably be a Buckeyes win. It wouldn't shock me if down the road it's Oregon one, it's Ohio State two. I like it. I like it. Me too. I like that interpretation.
Starting point is 00:05:02 I don't like it, but that's fine. Sorry, Jacob. Did you want to chime in? Is this going to be the year where Indiana was 6-0 and won a game in the Rose Bowl? Hey, wait a minute now. Let me jump in because if Indiana gets by Nebraska, there's a likelihood better than zero that they could face Ohio State at 10-0. Am I right, Jacob?
Starting point is 00:05:24 Absolutely. Roman, we're coming for you. Roman, we're coming for you. Matt, we're coming for you. But we got to take care of Nebraska first. I'm not overlooking them, but it is in Bloomington, thankfully. So, no, it's an exciting time. We're coming off a bye week, and now we can talk about the Indiana Hoosiers again now that we play football.
Starting point is 00:05:40 But the schedule not being overly difficult, i'm taking i am admitting it to have since the beginning i'm not trying to hide it we got cupcakes like the spartans who have already moved on to basketball season i'm just standing here hold on i'm supposed to be enjoying today all right i'm surprised you came back i really was over the weekend you know came back i'm surprised he's still alive. Wow. Look, what happened exactly last week? I was just a lot of madness.
Starting point is 00:06:10 First of all, a lot of darts to be thrown at Matt last week. It was pretty, there was, there was a Kirk cousin stray. And I think that sent Matt to the breaking point. I looked up Spencer's home address. No,
Starting point is 00:06:23 last week I spent the hour after the show, wondering if we had an HR department here at Locked On. I had a few complaints to file, but nothing. But no, here I am. Gosh, I hope we don't. Minding my own business. And now Jacob wants to come after the Spartans, which we're going to be your first road game in a few weeks here. I don't know how you guys have skated by eight straight home games to start the season. Does that give you any pause even with nebraska coming to town
Starting point is 00:06:46 no no we're not worried about it okay no wait a minute matt and jake you're all forgetting indiana did have a road game at northwestern in that little band box stadium and ucla yeah speaking of road environments that don't count, the UCLA Bruins. There are more people on this call than at that game. More people on this call. All right, Matt, just to follow up now, you've got the mighty Iowa Hawkeyes who in their four wins are averaging 37 points a game. It used to be like take the under in the Army-Navy game
Starting point is 00:07:26 in any Iowa game. That's not true anymore. Roman, talk to me. How did that happen? How did 40 points happen? I don't even mean this disrespectfully. No, no, no, no, I get it. No, you didn't mean it that way.
Starting point is 00:07:37 It just came off that way. That's how I talk. That's how I sound. Hey, Matt, you and I have done a show before. I know where you're coming from. It's coming from Spencerencer i know it's a jab so i i get it uh but no so two things short fields and that that man in the backfield named caleb johnson where i yeah i i legitimately believe that if ashton gt wasn't doing what he was doing that caleb johnson might be declared the best running back in the country.
Starting point is 00:08:07 Watching that guy play was an absolute treat. I got to take my hat off to him. 188 total yards in that game, three touchdowns. And yeah, watching that guy play, that's a handful to defend. He's averaging nine yards per carry with eight guys in the box. He's out of this world good. Yeah, Jay was leaning in to make a comment there on that one. How did y'all let that happen?
Starting point is 00:08:26 How? Oh, I thought you were about to step in and defend Quinshawn Judkins and Tremion Henderson. I'm not that stupid. I did that performance. Absolutely not. I am not going down that road. One guy got the ball ripped out of his hands,
Starting point is 00:08:38 and the other one was dancing on a short yard situation. I'm not doing that. No. Sounds like we are doing that. Well, and and roman let's talk about it you guys had a really impressive you had a really impressive win against michigan too i thought we were trending in the right direction before the iowa game craig so did i it all looked good it felt like things were heading in the right direction and then all of a sudden
Starting point is 00:09:00 it's just because i i felt good about the game going into it. And then Iowa just did Iowa things after talking to our buddy Trent Condon and some other people. It was just, yeah, this is a pissed off Iowa team. Did they do Iowa things? Because they scored 40 points. And statistically, that's not an Iowa thing. Not at all. Yes, Spencer. They ran the ball on basically every play.
Starting point is 00:09:21 Kate McNamara threw 14 passes. So, yes, they did Iowa thing. Did anyone see the greatest graphic in college football from the weekend? Sure did. Did everybody see it? Jacob hasn't seen it. There's a graphic that goes up when Cade McNamara throws a touchdown to the aforementioned Iowa running back. And it is his first power four touchdown pass since 2021.
Starting point is 00:09:47 Against Iowa, by the way you're on the wrong side of history man that's brutal yeah you're you're just shaping up for next week we're we're gonna this is gonna be a different conversation next week it's gonna be really embarrassing when Oregon loses to Purdue on Friday. Oh, I can't wait for that either. 47-13. You heard it here first. Trap game. It is a trap game, 100%.
Starting point is 00:10:15 Yep. All right. We are just getting warmed up here on the Big Ten squad. This is what we do. It just goes in this direction more and more every single week. Unfortunately. We will take a look at some other matchups. Half these guys are on bye week this week anyway.
Starting point is 00:10:32 So we'll talk about other games like Michigan and Illinois and USC and Maryland, among some others. We'll get into all of it right here as we continue with the squad on Locked on Big Ten. Hey, NFL fans, I want to tell you about FanDuel. It's exciting enough watching games, but it's even better with FanDuel for the rest of the NFL season. You get a big return on FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook.
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Starting point is 00:11:20 The number there is 37.5. I might go Scotiabank over there. But that's all at Fanduel.com. Check it out, Fanduel.com. All right, we're returning on Lockdown Big Ten Squad here, getting ready for the big weekend. But some other games I want to talk to our guests about. First of all, Michigan and Illinois.
Starting point is 00:11:41 Michigan's on its third starting quarterback already going into Illinois. This is the 100-year anniversary of the red-grain six-touchdown game, leather helmets. In fact, cool tip here for this game. Illinois is going to have some artists hand-paint all their helmets. They're going to actually look like leather helmets. Meanwhile, Michigan will be playing like it does with the passing game.
Starting point is 00:12:02 Why does that not sound as cool as it should? Why do I feel like they're focused on the wrong thing here? Yeah. Let's remind everybody that we're going backward in time. Jacob, we'll start with you. What are your thoughts on this game? The loser's probably out of the top 25, and the winner stays in. Well, the fact that we led with the fact that they're painting leather helmets
Starting point is 00:12:23 tells us all we need to know, I guess. I just I don't know what to think here. Illinois should be better and they are OK, but then they get scared a week ago. And then you've got, like you said, Michigan. I don't know. How am I supposed to feel about this game? I feel like it's one that if whoever wins, you'd be like, yeah, that makes sense. You could tell me right now, team A wins or team B wins.
Starting point is 00:12:47 And it's like, yeah, I totally get it. And you could sell that to me. I don't know. I have no idea how to feel about this game. Jay Stephens, how about you? Your arch rivals here on the third quarterback already. It should be expected. They didn't figure it out in the offseason.
Starting point is 00:13:02 They're still trying to figure it out now. It's just what they're doing in Ann Arborbor and we're all still waiting for some type of punishment to come down from what happened with stallion so i have to throw it in there because i know matt i'm on your side here buddy i know that we're all waiting for we say which one yeah which which penalty i which which uh which uh penalty you're talking about there's there's a there's a few flown out there right all of them just get all of them down at one time. They deserve it. No, this is a game where, like on the football field,
Starting point is 00:13:30 I remember a couple years ago these two teams played in Champaign, and I walked away from that game saying Michigan should have lost that game. Illinois played really good physical ball. Just Michigan made more plays down the stretch. Illinois was not ready for that moment. I think in this game, Michigan should win, but it wouldn't shock me if they lost. I mean, there's a mess up there right now.
Starting point is 00:13:51 What we're seeing on the football field isn't what I think anybody truly expected them to put out there. So it's weird. It's one of those weird games where it's kind of a toss up and kind of a weird feeling too. Matt, you're the other rival for Michigan. How do you view them right now taking on illinois if jack tuttle at the age of 25 years old part of the 2018
Starting point is 00:14:10 recruiting class loses this game it should be mandatory that he goes to the nearest job fair in within a five mile radius of champaign illinois immediately son you should be in your fourth year in the workforce right now there is no reason you should be the third quarterback option and losing games to illinois so that's my take on the whole thing other than that what a bizarre matchup we got here one team's trying to stop their ship from sinking the other one is trying to make sure that they didn't make that overtime game against purdue put them on fraud watch i i don't know this is a fraud bowl of fraud bowls right now and i cannot wait to just eat up this slop. All right.
Starting point is 00:14:46 Roman, what do you think? You got a good look at Michigan a couple of weeks ago? Yeah, I had the great displeasure of watching two of these three quarterbacks that you mentioned play. And it was just somehow even uglier than I thought it was going to be, watching them play quarterback. Also, by the way, Jay, apparently Connor Stallions was in the building to watch Michigan lose to Washington.
Starting point is 00:15:06 So that was kind of beautiful. Appreciate seeing that. That was that was just a really nice touch after having to watch that that real sob story Netflix documentary that. Oh, man. Yeah. I felt so bad for him after that. Yeah. No, I I like what Matt said here. The fraud bull. It really is watching, you know, Illinois give up 49 points to Purdue, what are we doing here? That's tough. I don't care who wins. I don't care who loses after watching that.
Starting point is 00:15:32 We got two votes for fraud bowl. Spencer, your thoughts on this one? Well, here we go. Oh, gosh. Showtime. When I watch Illinois play football, I know they want to be a good team, but I feel like they can't mentally put on their big boy pants and just do it. You know?
Starting point is 00:15:57 Like, did they beat Nebraska, or did Nebraska beat Nebraska? Because when I watched that game, I thought, Nebraska can't get out of its own way. You missed a wide-open 30-yard touchdown on third and then missed a field goal and allowed Illinois to stay around or else Nebraska is undefeated. And I think the Cornhuskers were the better football team, just not all of the time. Now, when I watch Michigan, I know that people say when you drive down the highway and you see a car wreck, it's impossible to look away. This is more like a grease fire in a kitchen at the quarterback position because a dumpster fire implies that it's contained to a specific area.
Starting point is 00:16:41 A grease fire can spread elsewhere rapidly because it's all over the kitchen. And then the joker played by Heath Letcher is coming in and throwing gasoline onto the fire because the Michigan quarterback situation, Speaker 2, 05, 06, 07, 08, 07, 08, 09, 010, 011, 012, 013, 014, 015, 016, 017, 018, 019, 020, 021, 022, 023, 023, 024, 025, 026, 027, 028, 029, 030, 031, 033, 033, 034, 035, 036, 036, 036, 037, 037, 038, 039, 040, 040, 040, 044, 044, 045, 046, 047, 047, 049, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050, 050 Oh man. It's not a shame. It's just, Oh, it's such a bummer to see. Yeah. I know that all three of you guys, four of you probably knowing Jacob as I do are just bummed out to see
Starting point is 00:17:11 Michigan play like this. And like, I'm not, I'm not crushed over it every single day. For me personally, though, I need them to try to find a way to continue to be ranked in the top 25. They're by no means a top 25 team. I need them
Starting point is 00:17:25 to be ranked when they come to Bloomington, when we blast them. So it looks better for us. Speaker 2. Yeah. And I, I don't know if they can do that because it's not possible. It turns out despite Michigan fans telling me otherwise this off season that everyone is just disrespecting them if you don't have a capable quarterback you have problems and Michigan is learning that right now and you know what I respect Dave Portnoy for saying I'll give you three million bucks to go find someone because this crap stinks that's the problem with Michigan not enough available money famously that's gonna that's gonna solve it yeah that's yeah all right spencer i'll start with you since you're kind of a west coast guy but usc gotta go all the way to the east coast to take on maryland usc's having trouble they're losing games late minnesota penn
Starting point is 00:18:18 state michigan um you know i even questioned was that a big win for Penn State going out there? Because I don't, you know, USC is not even ranked anymore. USC is the best bad football team in the land. This is not a bad football team, but they're three and three. So they're kind of a bad football team because situationally they haven't been exceptionally good, which maybe we should have expected more with a new defensive coordinator and a new quarterback. And they can improve going into next year. But it is a cliche for a lot of teams, but I don't think every team. USC is really close.
Starting point is 00:18:59 They are genuinely really close. Michigan? They're a quarterback away at least. They're at least a quarterback away, probably just a quarterback from being a good team again, but they're at least a quarterback away. USC just feels like they haven't been able to find the it factor. You know, like they're a golfer who, when you look at their numbers throughout the course of the season, they're top 30 in every key metric, but they're not top 10 in any of them. So they don't have anything to lean on. Like what does USC lean on to win games? Is it Miller Moss? He has flashes of being really good. He's a little inconsistent sometimes. Is it the defense? They're much improved. They're not quite ready to be great just yet. Are their special teams dynamite?
Starting point is 00:19:45 Obviously not. And then Lincoln Riley didn't handle the clock very well in the end of the game against Penn State. So I do think it was a big win for Penn State. I'm not bullish. I don't know how you guys feel on the Nittany Lions. Like right now, Jay, Ohio State at Penn State, give me the Buckeyes by 14. Yeah, we can follow up on that thought, actually.
Starting point is 00:20:05 One thing I noticed, I think Penn State's defense by 14. Yeah. Yeah. We can follow up on that thought. Actually. Now I, one thing I've noticed, I think Penn state's defense from the first couple of games of the year to now, I think they, I think they're starting to get themselves dialed in. I was a little worried about their secondary after bowling green, when I had two receivers torture for over a hundred yards,
Starting point is 00:20:19 but they're playing a lot better right now. So yeah, I'm way looking forward to that Penn state ohio state game coming up jay yeah i'm looking forward to it too it's another one of those tests where generally most of the time penn state's the toughest game ohio state plays as far as the matchup games and then all of a sudden oregon wants to join the big 10 and they're like oh we're here no but i do think that game is going to be one where ohio state goes in and they take that loss to oregon and they fix their issues there's quite a few issues that ohio state loss to Oregon and they fix their issues.
Starting point is 00:20:48 There's quite a few issues that Ohio State needs to fix if they want to win the conference. Just take him out of here, please. And – Yes! Thank you. Thank you so much. Wow. But Ohio State has things they need to fix.
Starting point is 00:21:01 Ryan, they have to fix some things. Coaching as well. They got to fix some things with the rotations on the defensive line. But they have time to fix them. And you go in there at Happy Valley, it's going to be a loud crowd. And you go in there and win, that's a great way to show that you're fixing the things that were exposed in a big way on the national stage this past weekend. Can I say this about USC, though?
Starting point is 00:21:20 No. Two things. One, how good does their win over LSU look as they're now a top 10 team in the country that's what i'm saying can we also just stop hyping up lincoln riley you're saying they might be a quarterback away i think usc is a head coach away i think usc is a good is it hold on is that what you said shut your mouth you shut your mouth. Stop it. Turn this around. I'm sorry. Bad connection over here. Okay. So, Jacob, I'd push back on that because I was saying that Michigan is a quarterback away and USC is missing a couple of different things.
Starting point is 00:21:57 But to your point, they went toe-to-toe with LSU on the same field and beat them. Yeah, it was a close game. They could have lost, but they are legitimately three plays away from being unbeaten. Now, all those aren't going to go your way all the time, but they could just as easily be a one loss team as they are currently a three loss team. And yeah, LSU is a pretty good squad. And they did go toe to toe and beat them on a neutral site. So I don't think that Lincoln Riley is a horrible coach all of a sudden.
Starting point is 00:22:29 I don't think he's forgotten how to win football games. I think the first year with Caleb Williams was just kind of all the magic came out and they went 11-1. They were 4-8 the year before. And then he had a blind spot. And that was Alex Grinch. And he set the program back multiple years by bringing him over from Oklahoma. That is a completely legitimate criticism. But he made the right hires on the defensive staff this year.
Starting point is 00:22:57 I think it's going to take a year or two for them to really get that right. All right. Very good. We're going to come back with a final word from our esteemed colleagues in just a moment. All that coming up as we continue with the squad on Lockdown Big Ten. Hey, guys, you ever feel like you need a little boost in the bedroom? It's time to stop worrying about your performance and get HIMSS so you can feel confident whenever you're in the mood. HIMSS is changing men's health care by providing you with access to affordable sexual health treatments
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Starting point is 00:23:46 HIMS dot com slash locked on. Again, that's HIMS dot com slash locked on. As we continue with the Lockdown Big Ten squad, final word, kind of rapid round here, getting ready for week eight. I can't believe it's week eight already. Matt, let's talk with you. You got your Spartans taking on Iowa. We talked about it earlier. Iowa's putting up points.
Starting point is 00:24:08 Aiden Childs, a lot of talent, but also a bit of a turnover machine. That's what needs to get dialed in here. Your thoughts, your final thoughts on this weekend. A little scared, but still somewhat confident. Now, of course, we need Aiden Childs to be so that he has not been all season. That is very secure with the football. But I think what we're going to see more this week is a little bit of quarterback runs. Make this game more 11-on-11.
Starting point is 00:24:31 Handing the ball to the running back is not working. We haven't really used Aiden Childs' legs a lot this season. I think that's to preserve his health. In case of emergency, when you need a must-win homecoming win, break that glass. And, yeah, Childs, 10 carries plus. So, confident. A little scared, though, if that makes any sense. Roman, you got a bye. You got this up and down.
Starting point is 00:24:52 You win against Michigan. You lose against Iowa. You're ready to move forward. Things to work on this week for Washington. And while you're here, why don't you give me your thought on Nebraska and Indiana, the other most interesting game on the schedule, other than the ones we've really talked about? Well, Craig, first thing, things to work on, yes.
Starting point is 00:25:09 It's a little bit of everything. Where the Red Zone offense has just been absolutely brutal. Washington is 99th in the country right now in points scored at just about 24 a game, even though they're top 30 in terms of total offense. So that's been extremely frustrating. Special teams haven't been great. Grady Gross has missed, I believe, seven kicks over the last three or four weeks which is tough you want to see him work on that it seems like it's boy i tell you what with a rate like
Starting point is 00:25:31 that he'll be an oregon duck in no time yes that's i know you you know you know a thing or two about missed kicks in husky stadium yes yes i have a lot of experience with missed kicks in big moments it's not even limited to husky stadium as a matter of fact oh i know i'm just saying that because i was on the field for the one last year it's pretty awesome ah um there goes washington again back to the past you know just you know look at that i had some words that i know I can't say on here. He was iced. He went full Biden.
Starting point is 00:26:08 I'm trying to preserve my own job at this point in time. I want to see the red zone offense work on the special teams. The kick coverage has also been horrible. I'm really excited to watch this Nebraska-Indiana game because I really think that this is the best defense that Indiana will have seen so far this season. And I think despite what happened last week, Spencer, I think that's going to get taken up another level against Washington. That pass defense has been absolutely tremendous, best in the country so far, allowing 123 yards per game.
Starting point is 00:26:36 So really curious to see what that looks like and what Kirk Signetti can do, because I've been really impressed with him so far this year. All right, Spencer, since you were not in Illinois last week, if Oregon doesn't score at least 50 on Purdue Friday night, then that's a loss in my book. Wow, that's a pretty high bar to live up to. But is there any more classic emotional letdown trap game spot than this one? Yes. One of the games, where? Where is there a bigger trap game spot than this one. Yes. One of the game, where?
Starting point is 00:27:06 Where is there a bigger trap game spot? In all of college football. Alabama, Georgia, and then losing to Vanderbilt. Okay, okay. That would never happen, though. Like, that's Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt's better than Purdue. Get real.
Starting point is 00:27:17 Okay, valid point. Valid point. The second biggest spot for a letdown is right here because you play one of the biggest regular season games in the history of Oregon football. You win in thrilling fashion. It's a big television audience. Your fans rush the field.
Starting point is 00:27:35 You beat Ohio State. You're now the favorites in the Big Ten. And then you go on a Friday night on the road, short week, no bye beforehand to Purdue, where great teams have gone to die before. Yeah, that's the only thing I'm worried about with Oregon is, do you have the ability to rise above that? Because it sounds simple, but great teams, great teams have gone on the road in spots where they shouldn't struggle and they have done so. So yeah, Oregon can't show me as much as they
Starting point is 00:28:13 did against Ohio State last week, but they can show me something if they go to West Lafayette and have no issues and win, you know, 38 to 10, then I'll feel really good because that'll be a credit to Dan landing a staff for getting the guys ready. All right. And by the way, you must have intimidated Jay with all that Oregon. He's gone. He left. He couldn't handle, he couldn't handle the duck. All right. Wait, can I say, can I say one more, one more thing quickly?
Starting point is 00:28:41 No, boy. Probably not. I talked about this yesterday. That was so good. that was very good that was very good i talked about this on lockdown ducks yesterday dan lanning is changing college football with his analysis of the ncaa rule books and i'm so here for it i'm so here for it it is the funniest thing I have ever talked about on my show. The Dan Lanning rule has now been created. Yes, 100%.
Starting point is 00:29:12 They're going to probably make the change. And guess what? I think they should make the change because you shouldn't be able to do that. But since you were able to, well, yeah, go for it. Are we going to call it the organ rule, the Lanning rule? It's got to be the landing rule. I mean, he was holding back an ear-to-ear grin when he got asked about it in his Monday presser.
Starting point is 00:29:33 And he just kind of has this, like, Mona Lisa smile, but you can see on his face he wants to just go full Belichick smirk. Like, hmm. All right, Jacob, final word. The biggest game of the weekend, as far as I'm concerned, big noon Saturday, Nebraska coming to Bloomington. How do you see it? Really looking forward to it, man.
Starting point is 00:29:52 It's a sellout, which if you know anything about Indiana football, that's not a given. It's not a given. So thank you. Thank you. Appreciate that. Is that the biggest achievement of the year? To this point, yeah, it is.
Starting point is 00:30:05 Yeah. It will still be the case when we play Washington next week, then Michigan State after that, and then Michigan after that. So, no, it's a huge game, huge opportunity. Big noon kickoff. Barstool's in town. Everybody will be watching this game. And so everybody's trying to figure out, okay, is Indiana legit or not?
Starting point is 00:30:23 And while this will be the best team indiana has played so far nebraska it's not like their schedule is crazy they played the wild offenses of illinois and rutgers so do we really know how good that defense is for an indiana offense that has just been kind of chugging right along what fascinates me though both teams coming off bye i love games like this where both teams have had so much time to prepare who comes out looking fresher i'm taking indiana obviously the fact that we were a touchdown favorite though at fan duel in this game little sketchy to me does vegas know something i I don't know. But, yeah, Hoosiers got it in the back. Vegas always knows something we don't know.
Starting point is 00:31:10 From Matt, Roman, Spencer, Jacob, and Jay, who left us, if you're watching out there, catching us for the first time, subscribe to all these guys. They do a fantastic job covering your teams every single day throughout the season. And don't forget, I got you covered with the entire conference on Locked On Big Ten, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Love you, Craig.
Starting point is 00:31:27 Thanks for coming back. Appreciate it. We missed you, Craig. Good to be here.

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