Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - BIG 10 SQUAD - How the College Football Playoff can Impact the Iowa Hawkeyes
Episode Date: May 15, 2025Is the college football landscape on the brink of a seismic shift? With talks of expanding the College Football Playoff to 16 teams, the debate heats up as experts weigh in on the implications for the... Big Ten and SEC. Craig Sheeman and Trent Condon offer contrasting views on whether this expansion dilutes competition or provides new opportunities for teams like the Iowa Hawkeyes.The discussion also explores the potential role of Nick Saban in a federal commission examining college football, sparking mixed reactions. As the Michigan Wolverines' upcoming season is dissected, Isaiah Hull predicts an overachieving performance, despite defensive losses. Key figures like Jim Harbaugh and Bryce Underwood are spotlighted, adding depth to the analysis.Tune in for a comprehensive breakdown of these pivotal topics and discover how they could reshape college football's future.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Well, the playoff might be set to expand.
What does that mean for the Big 10?
Should we be upset that Nick Saban is on a potential federal commission
assessing college football and Michigan?
Eight and a half wins. A lot of people like the under.
That is all on today's Locked on Big 10 Squad.
You're talking ball with the Big 10 Squad sponsored by Game Time from USC to Ohio
State, from Michigan to Oregon, from Nebraska to Washington.
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.
No hurt feelings and thin skin allowed.
Squad up, you're part of the Big Ten Squad.
We are squatted up indeed.
Happy Thursday, everybody.
I'm Spencer McLaughlin hosting today. Schieman locked on big ten is here
Mark Colkin locked on USC Trent Condon locked on Hawkeyes
Isaiah whole of locked on Wolverines two years later in Michigan's finally having camera issues
Jay Stevens of locked on Buckeyes is here Jacob Goins locked on Hoosiers and Roman Tomashoff of locked on Huskies that be the squad
For today a full full eight man graphic.
I mean, if Craig showed up, who isn't here?
Sheehan, that's who.
So Craig, I'll start with you for the big picture look
at what has been pretty widely reported at this point,
an expectation, nothing official,
that starting in 2026,
we'll have a 16 team college football playoff
and the Big Ten in SEC would get four spots each. starting in twenty twenty six will have a sixteen team college football playoff and
the big ten SEC would get four spots each so all all good news for the big ten right.
I'm livid about this I I'm old I want fewer teams in the playoff I the sixty nine man
team of the playoffs is not going to win a national championship. And then if you read
in between the lines of the meeting the the sec a big 10, we're actually talking about had having third,
fourth, fifth and sixth teams playing play in games to get the
third and fourth guaranteed spots.
It's really a 20 team playoff.
It's ridiculous.
I'm old school.
I liked it at four.
I know I'm the old man in the room with that, but it too many that these guys
aren't winning championships and we're watering it down.
We're getting a lot of blowouts and their answer to everything is expand, expand, expand. It's it's too many. These guys aren't winning championships and we're watering it down. We're getting a lot of blowouts and their answer to everything is expand, expand,
expand. It's too much. It's too much. I don't like it.
And maybe I'm the only one in this bunch. I'd be curious to hear you guys.
No, I'm, I'm, I'm with you there. I love that you said you were livid,
but you said it with the energy of a distraught old man burning pasta water.
But yeah, that was, that yeah, that was well taken,
at least from my vantage point.
Mark, is this the best way for USC
to finally get into the playoff under Lincoln Riley?
This might be the best way
to save the USC Notre Dame series.
That's as far as I'll take it.
I'm with Craig, too many teams.
We talked about this a little bit last week
on the last show we did.
The more teams you add, you're watering it down.
And like I said, the sixth seed should they
get in from the big conference, they're
not going to win the national championship.
You don't need the play-in game.
That's why they went from 64 to 68 teams
with the NCAA tournament.
It's just a money grab.
Let's just get back to some traditional college football. I do agree. will say with the play in teams. There's been a lot more success
I think basketball and football are just very different
I mean we had a first four team go to the final four of you know, a traditional Big Ten power in UCLA, but
Trent your take on the potential expansion to you know, kind of the NBA model where it's like,
ah, you're in the play and turn,
are you really a playoff team?
I guess you're a playoff team.
You got a chance.
I look at this a lot different than you guys
because I look at the Iowa program and know
we're never winning a national championship in football.
We're just not, we don't have the money.
We don't have that attitude.
It's just not gonna happen.
Look, we don't got Phil Knight.
We don't have things like that.
I live in reality.
I'm not a USC fan. I'm not a fan of UCLA that think that it not gonna happen. Look, we don't got Phil Knight. We don't have things like that. I live in reality I'm not a USC fan. I'm not a fan of UCLA that think that it's gonna happen
I know it's not gonna happen for my program, but
We are going to
Actually make a plan that is something to shoot for that is something realistic to shoot for and there's a lot of programs out
There that this is something that is attainable in today's environment
We go into every single year for the past 15 years, and we know there are three, four,
maybe five teams that can really win
a national championship.
I was never amongst those teams.
We can play, win a game of the playoff.
That's what we're shooting for there.
For us, this is a good thing.
Okay, I've got a couple of things here
for our newest Clemson Tiger fan over there on the screen.
Trent, did you just put UCLA
in a national championship expectation sentence with USC,
which is still fighting to get back to where they were
two decades ago when I was like seven years old?
Did you throw UCLA in there by accident?
Was it a Freudian slip?
Explain yourself.
Well, I mean, we talk about Nebraska, right?
They are about as relevant as UCLA is.
There's so many programs that the relevancy
is completely different than the reality of the situation.
How many teams can win a national championship this year?
Three, four, maybe five?
Really, it's been a full thing.
No, it's harder than that.
It's like- Is it really?
I just don't think it is.
We see it every single year.
The cream rises to the top.
We don't have dark horses that win in college football.
National championships, I agree with that, Ron.
The fact that the state is the bell cow of the conference
right now because they have the returning quarterback,
all that returning talent, that tells you
that there's a lot of teams out there
that have a chance at the national championship
this year.
Trent, what I think you're getting at is by the end of every year,
we do see, ah, they're like four teams, you know, like, ah, they're four, maybe,
maybe five. Everybody else is just kind of good. Isaiah Hall of lockdown,
Wolverines. Welcome to the show. It's nice to, it's nice to have you,
but you know what it takes to win a national championship cameras included or
not. You think we're just incorporating too many teams too much of a muddy
grab what you think.
Well the first thing you have to do to win a national
championship is got to send your mom to the Purdue game
okay. He does that then you know you can actually win one.
I number one I don't think that handing out participation
trophies is a way to make the sport and any better honestly
and that's what it felt like I was on a plane coming home from the Reliaquest Bowl
watching Penn State versus random Mountain West team.
It was boring.
And on New Year's Eve,
there's no reason to be watching that.
This is one of the places where I disagree with,
because all of Jim Harbaugh's little things,
his little boondoggles that he came up with
when he was the head coach,
this was one of the things that he proposed.
Like the transfer portal was something that he proposed.
The, what was the other thing?
The NIL of it all.
Everything that he wanted to have happen has happened.
And the only other thing that is missing is 16 teams.
Got to 12.
I think it's just much more spectacular at four. I'm with everyone else.
Well, at least Craig and Mark here because having been a part
of that beginning to cover the 14 playoff for three straight
years, there's it's a different deal. And even just watching
this last year with 12, it just felt like, hey, do you want to
get me in a playoff? Do you want to be in a playoff?
You can be in the playoff too.
If you just pay enough players to make it here,
then you as well can make it.
It just doesn't feel like college football to me.
Jay, nobody loves playoff expansion more than Ohio State.
In the two years it's been expanded,
they've won the national championship
the first year it happened.
And we can pretty definitively say
they wouldn't have even had the chance
if it had been one year sooner.
So does that mean Ohio State is locked into a Natty in 2026?
I would like to say yes.
I don't want to go that far.
I'm not a fan of expansion at all.
I've never been a fan of it.
I had a hard time going from the old BCS
at two games to four.
I wanted to keep things as exclusive
as the old school system did.
Old school as that even sounds, it's not that old.
But I think 16 is stupid.
I think 12 is dumb.
I'd be cool with eight, but they're not going backwards.
They're going to follow the money.
They're going to follow wherever the TV networks
want them to go.
That's where they're going to go.
It wouldn't shock me if in 2026 or maybe beyond, I don't know when ESPN's contract is up, but it would shock me if you get a
ESPN or an ABC, a CBS, an NBC, a Fox to do a rotation more like the NFL because you're going
to get more money that way. I don't like this current model. Going to 16 is stupid. Yeah,
expansion did benefit Ohio State in 2014 and 2024.
But I still am not a fan of going even further
because I think it's stupid.
It's very dumb.
Yeah, I'm not a fan.
I've long said they're gonna get to 24
because someone's just gonna start pointing out,
the FCS does it.
Look at what the FCS does.
We should be at that level.
And you have four loss teams regularly in the playoff.
Jacob Gowans locked on Hoosiers.
Is this just music to the ears of Indiana fans
with Kurt Signetti?
Absolutely, man.
Indiana's all about it.
In terms of Indiana making a playoff consistently,
whatever that word means in Bloomington, yeah.
I mean, playoff expansion is good for folks like us.
I will admit that.
But the college football fan and me as a whole,
having a realistic idea that Indiana's probably
not going to be there every year.
No, I don't like this idea.
And you gotta think back to when the BCS was gotten rid of
and we went away from it.
We yelled about it being computers
and teams not playing for national championships
that maybe deserved it.
But we said, oh, the computers can't do it.
So let's let the humans take care of it.
It just didn't make a whole lot of sense.
So why not go back to numbers and formulas and have a set amount of teams?
I don't like 16.
I think it's too much.
I agree 810, whatever the case may be but I want structure I want there to be a certain way to get in just like the NFL every single year
So that way when the committee puts their rankings out or you see the bracket, there's no arguments
There's no debating you made it because you beat this team this team and this team will we ever get that?
No, probably not. But that's where I stand on the whole expansion idea.
Uh, Roman, I make this next comment as neutral arbiter of all things, uh, college football.
Uh, is Washington wanting to go back to the time where they voted on two national champions
in a season? Is that, is that the preferred outcome in Seattle?
I I'm, I'm so shocked that that was the route you want with this. I'm just shocked that
Jacob is, you should be neutral arbiter could have gone in any direction.
Yeah, yeah, sure.
What'd you say, Roman?
What'd you say?
You're pro-Skynet?
Like you're pro-Terminator here?
Is that where you're going with your pro-Terminators?
Technology's taking over the world, man.
It's taking over.
Just be ready.
No, so there are two schools of thought here.
Me, as the Washington guy, where I look at it
and I say, the last time Washington had sustained success
under Chris Peterson because Caleb Naboor only being here
for two years is great two years, a lot of fun,
but you can kind of look at it as a spike, right?
It's great to see from that perspective, but Washington was left out
of the four-team in 2017, 2018 when they were consistently good.
So from that angle, I look at it and I say,
it would be fun to be in the playoff every year.
But I look at this and I think about what Craig said
with the play-in games and all that,
it's getting ridiculous.
As you guys all said, it's sitting here at the end
because Spencer has neutral arbiter of college football,
wanted to put the Washington guy last.
It's getting a little ridiculous and a little exhausting
when it's just becoming a consistent money grab.
And like, I get it, that's what's going to keep happening.
It's why Spencer, Mark, and I are here.
Well, Spencer, again, neutral armament of control,
you are.
But it's why these teams are in the Big Ten.
Because of money.
Thanks for that, Mark, and USC.
But I look at that and I say, it's
just the reality of the situation.
We have to get used to it.
Yeah.
Mark, you ruined everything.
Absolutely everything.
Oh, that you have the audacity to carry that around
sickens me to my core.
Should we feel that way about Nick Saban getting
to decide a lot of things about this sport?
We are discussing that next.
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Alright so recently there was an announcement, another thing that I don't know that has been
officially formalized.
Maybe that's changed by the time you're all listening to or watching this show.
But the idea of a federal commission popped up to examine college football.
Not that there's anything wrong with the sport that could possibly need to be fixed. But Craig Sheeman is Nick Saban the right or wrong guy in your view to be
handling such matters? Where did your glasses go?
athlete? Why did they come off?
Hey, you know, it's serious when the glasses come off. Here
comes Craig Sheeman of lockdown.
You know it's serious when the glasses come off. Here come Craig Schieman of Lockdown Big Ten.
Yeah.
I've always been fascinated by Nick Saban.
And I know it's fun to hate on him when he was winning championships at Alabama every year,
but now he's not.
I like watching him on TV.
I like listening to him speak.
I see clips that come up on my phone all the time of him giving inspirational speeches.
And I think he has a lot of good ideas about college football.
Obviously, he didn't want to deal with them anymore, all the issues as a coach.
But I think his opinion is as valid as anybody.
I think he's got a resume as valid as anybody to be talking about this stuff.
I'd like to go a step further.
I wish we'd have a commissioner in college football like we do every other sport.
A guy like Nick Saban, I think it'd be good.
Dare I say, Urban Meyer might be good.
The guy that, you know, guys that have been there, done it, done it at a high level,
don't want to do it anymore because of the problems.
I think they know how to fix the problems,
or at least they'll probably have interesting ideas.
So I'm all for it.
I don't know if this commission will have any teeth.
You know, there's talk of presidential executive orders.
I don't know that'll end up in the legal system.
But yeah, we all agree.
We got to do something and we need some smart people
in charge of it.
Good takes from Craig older and therefore wiser
in this instance.
Speaking of older Mark, what do you think?
Oh, Jesus.
So being the second wisest person in the room to Craig.
I'm with him.
Look, I don't know if Nick Saban is the perfect candidate since he's kind of, you know, hypocrite
about the whole thing.
He complains about everything that he kind of helped generate and create, but he wants
to help fix it.
Okay.
You know, I get it.
I think there's better candidates out there. I would
put a guy like Dave Baker out there for commissioner. The other thing that I think will happen
and we're kind of talking about, you can tell by the blank faces, none of us really know
who that is off the top of our heads. Well, he was the commissioner of the NFL Hall of
Fame. Okay. His son Sam Baker, pretty good offensive tackle. Anyways, since you diverted me off
what I was talking about. Oh, is he that giant dude that comes and tells everybody he got
in? Yeah, he's like 6'9", 390 pounds. Okay. But I really like-
I'm on board. That's a force. I like it. Yeah. I'm in.
With the commissioner, and we were talking a little bit about it in the first segment,
is we're talking about, you know, 16-20 team playoffs. Well, take the next step. If you're
going to go that route and try and model the NFL, limit the pool of teams you can play.
And now you've got your structure to what Jacob was talking about. So yeah, let's, let's
get the commission going. Let's get the commissioner going. Let's just cross the bridge already.
Let's jump the shark. Let's make that
transition because that's where we're at right now. We're just
in limbo. They're talking about it. But I don't need talk. I
want action. So let's just let's stop doing this. Let's
start.
Can we just keep the government out of it though? I mean, not not
to be political, but like, why does the government need to be
involved? You know what I mean?
Like, I like I hear you, Jacob, I don't know that that's feasible at this point, because
it's something people care about. It's clearly something people
on all sides of the aisle are telling their elected officials,
hey, I want you to go figure this out.
Which is Tennessee is the one who challenged this whole thing.
They're the ones who've got this, the ball rolling with
everybody saying, oh, paper play, it's okay.
Not Mark, let's go back to usc for all the problems in the world
Clemson fan, what do you think about it? Well?
Saban's a jerk right? He's a jerk
We you don't like him because of the way that he coached or you know like him back at Michigan
Whatever it is, but he cares about college football. It's a guy that cares give him his little debbies every morning a lifetime supply
Fix this sport. I'm all for it Saban, he actually wants the job, let him have it.
Roman, I want to go to you next because this next take from me, Roman, is going to shock
you down to your core.
If we're putting together a commission of people that are kind of in that Saban realm,
you know who I would legitimately suggest that is still around the sport, clearly loves it, big time figure.
I think he's got a good head on his shoulders.
I'd put Chris Peterson on that commission.
I'm not joking.
I think that would be really good.
Skip you do.
I love that.
I see I thought about that while Craig and Mark were talking
about it.
I was like, should I throw that name out there?
Because I think he would have a lot of great ideas.
I don't know how interested he would actually be in doing that, which is one of the reasons he stepped down from coaching.
But one of my big...
But he's still a TV analyst and that makes me think there's still some level of interest and intrigue in the sport for him personally.
So that's completely fair.
If there's a committee going on, sure, maybe he's going to want to be part of that.
I thought about the commissioner role.
I was like, there's no chance he would ever...
No, I'm thinking like a commission of people like there's
Cody Campbell, the NIL guy from Texas Tech and Nick Saban. Those
names have been thrown around and I'm like if we're gonna put
five or six names on there, I don't think Chris Peterson's a
bag one goings. Would you want a signet? He just retired and
go represent Indiana on there once he retires, which will be
in three decades. Yes, he can go and be a part of the football playoff committee. Yes, but until then he will
remain in Bloomington. Uh, J Urban Meyer, yay or nay. I gotta be honest. I'm
I'm a nay.
I'm a day as well. I don't know if Saban is the right person for it. I
don't really know who the right person is, but my gut tells me just put a
football person in charge of it. If Saban's a guy, great.
I don't think it's Urban Meyer.
I'll go that far with that one.
But make sure it's a football person that's
trying to govern the sport.
Well, we can definitely establish
that Jay Stevens of Lockdown Buckeyes
is not a homer based on what he has said on today's show.
And that we have to respect that, of course.
Isaiah, what about five years down the line?
You know, I don't think there's a commissioner within the next couple of years in college football
Maybe maybe five to eight Jim Harbaugh if he's done coaching the NFL wins a Super Bowl leaves with with Justin Herbert
Oh, here's awesome. By the way, you know goes and does that at some point and then says alright, I'm checked out
I got a national championship. I got a Super Bowl. I'm gonna go run college football.
Crazy idea?
I mean, I'm coughing because it's such a bad idea.
Oh man.
Oh man.
I couldn't even get that out.
All right, fine.
Connor Stallion's for commissioner, I'll say it.
I mean, he would be a much better commissioner.
And actually, I mean, if you talk to Connor,
which I have quite a bit, he would be a much better commissioner. And actually, I mean, if you talk to Connor, which I have quite a bit,
he would be a lot better than Jim.
Jim is, I mean, like I just kind of covered
in the last segment,
a lot of the ideas that we've had,
the problems that we need to fix
are the things that Jim Harbaugh suggested,
which is kind of also why I'm with the Nick Saban of it all,
because he's also in some ways, hot dog guy being like,
we're all trying to find the guy who did this. So he can fix in some ways, you know, hot dog guy being like, we're all trying
to find the guy who did this.
So he can fix everything that way.
Right?
Like he knows the problems because he was a part of the problem.
Okay.
So yeah, that's all I got.
Yeah.
The biggest part of the problem.
Tune in to next week's Lockdown Big Ten Squad.
Why Conor Stallion should be commissioner of college football.
That is, that's going to be our primary discussion.
But to wrap today's show, we are going to Michigan because Isaiah is here.
Everyone's got to take a stand.
Michigan, eight and a half wins.
Over, under, there's going to be a lot of under coming up next.
All right, Isaiah, we can start with you for today's team win total of the day here on
the squad.
Eight and a half for the Wolverines after a seven and five regular season, lose a lot
of guys on defense.
Maybe Bryce Underwood is the starting quarterback.
We'll have to wait and see until Sherone Moore decides to tell us, which will probably happen
on like August 30th or something like that.
But eight and a half wins over under. Where are? I mean I'm going over I think it's a paper tiger
to say they lose a lot on defense yeah they did but you know nine of the 11 guys who were played
against Alabama held them to 13 points their back they got deeper in a lot of ways with by bringing
in Damon Payne and Trey Williams but to to me, the only question is really the cornerback depth.
But I think that they've got guys that can start.
They had the number 10 defense last year.
They took a while to kind of figure things out.
And offensively, they had the worst passing attack
in all of the big 10, the worst passing attack
in the country.
But bringing in Chip Lindsay,
having whether it's Bryce Underwood or Mikey Keene,
as long as the offense is functional,
Michigan can get back to what it tries to be, which is complementary football.
The ideal for Michigan is not to have a high-flying offense as much as it is to
be able to sustain drives and then rely on the defense.
They weren't able to do that last year.
And then you look at the schedule. A lot of these teams that are on the schedule, most of the worst teams in the Big Ten,
road trips to, I mean, here's the weird thing.
It's home away, home away, home away, home away, away home.
That's what the, they don't have two home games in a row.
But as you said at the top,
they're playing teams like Northwestern and Maryland
and Michigan States doesn't really look like
it's gonna be that good under Jonathan Smith
at this moment.
So if they can play just basic offense
and take the defense on the road, I think that they've got a really good shot to have a
surprisingly good season. So I'm definitely going over. Jay, what if it's an eight win Michigan team
that Ohio State has to try and beat and it comes down to that game? Will this be the year the
Buckeyes get back on track
in that rivalry?
I'm not saying yes, I'm not saying no.
I've been doing this too long
and I know that trying to do that now is very, very stupid.
I think Isaiah and I did a crossover at one point
and he was going along with, well, what had happened was
the past couple of years, Michigan's won
and I don't have a reason to go against Michigan.
And that was a really smart thing to say
because Michigan won that year
and they've won four in a row.
I'm going over with this one.
I got seven, maybe eight, at least,
maybe a definite eight wins.
I would have a hard time not believing
that they don't win nine.
So as the Ohio State guy, yeah, I may wanna go under,
but as I look at the schedule, it maps out very well for
Michigan to have nine wins this year. Don't sleep on that
Nebraska game. Just just saying it right, Craig. I'm in my am
I am I nutty? I'm not quite giving them that one here.
Look, Michigan won seven games without a quarterback last
year. All right. I think if Bryce Underwood has any
kind of learning curve and does anything, I think they could be improved on offense, especially in
the second half of the season. I think they can fall out of bed and get eight wins. And then do
they split Oklahoma and Ohio State? Do they split USC Washington? There's 10 wins out there. I'll
put them at nine. I'll take the over and Wink Martindale really got that
defense home in the second half of the season last year. I at
least nine wins for Michigan this year. I think it comes
down to the Oklahoma and USC games. I think if Michigan can
split solid chance to go over. You go oh and two there. I
think you're in uh you're in troublesome territory. So, Mark,
how worried are you about USC and eight and a half over under?
For Michigan for Michigan. Yeah
Look welcome to the conversation
We've noticed I
Look at it this way they've got a brand new quarterback assuming it's gonna be Bryce Underwood
I look at it this way. They've got a brand new quarterback assuming it's going to be Bryce Underwood
Winning at home in front of your home crowd when you're that learning curve. It's easier doing it on the road a little more challenging So those road games USC, Oklahoma, Nebraska
Those are challenges
They'll probably be four and two by the time they get to USC
But there what's what will their record be after that?
That's going to make their schedule.
Goins, last year you guys took care of the Wolverines
and you don't have them this year,
but you have to have an opinion today.
Eight and a half over under.
Yeah, I mean, I'm just happy that Michigan doesn't have to play Indiana again.
No, I don't want that. It's okay.
Look, I look at the schedule and the hardest road game that Michigan makes
is not a conference game.
It's when they go to Norman.
That's the toughest road game they take all year long.
I don't think they win that week too,
but all they have to do is win one of Oklahoma,
Nebraska or USC.
They're definitely gonna beat USC.
They have a chance to beat Nebraska.
They're not gonna beat Oklahoma.
And then just win your home games
and you've got a showdown with Ohio State.
Do I think Michigan's a nine win team right now on paper?
No, maybe not.
But as we've all said, the schedule's there.
The schedule's very manageable
and Michigan will be a threat down the stretch.
So as much as I hate to do it,
I'm taking over eight and a half.
Look at everyone sleeping on Northwestern
and Maryland and back to back weeks.
The disrespect to the bottom of the conference.
Trent, are you going to stand for that?
Because I don't know that I will.
Well, I'm kind of baffled here that we have so many overs.
I thought I was going to be on an island with an over myself.
I look at it this way.
If they can get a split of those first two road games,
win either in Norman or in Lincoln,
I think they're going to get there.
That Michigan State game will be tricky.
I don't think they're winning at USC, though.
I've seen better Michigan teams than this
go out to the West Coast against worst teams
in this USC team and lose.
I know it as an Iowa fan, those travels out there,
the Big Ten historically doesn't go very good.
I got that and an L yet even with that,
I still have them at nine and three.
It's not, you know, open up the bank roll here
and we're putting everything on it,
but I'm pretty comfortable here on the over eight and a half.
Am I alone on the under eight and a half here?
No, Mark's got it.
You know what?
I'll take your side here.
You know, I'll be nice to you this time around.
Look at that.
I look at the schedule and it is a lot easier
than I thought.
I got them at eight and four right now.
So it really is teetering on that line
because as you guys have all said,
you put it very nicely.
I'm with Mark here.
I don't think they went at USC.
I think that's going to be a really tough trip.
But the schedule it really does line up very well for them.
My biggest question is if Bryce Underwood is going to be the starting quarterback, what's that going to look like?
I never want to bet on a guy who no matter what he's rumored to be making at NIL has not thrown a pass to college level.
I just can't do that.
Do you feel any confidence that the Huskies can go to Ann
Arbor and win?
Right now, I still have that one as a toss up.
That's one of the games where when we get to Washington
on this segment, I have not made up my mind
where that's one of the ones that I think will decide
their season as well.
Mm. Isaiah, any major pushback on what you just heard? I have not made up my mind where that's one of the ones that I think will decide their season as well.
Isaiah, any major pushback on what you just heard? There's a lot of Michigan love, quite frankly,
but the quarterback situation,
do you expect it to be Bryce Underwood?
Cause I kind of heard it was Mikey Keene
and then all of a sudden it was like,
maybe Keene's not gonna be fully healthy
or something like that.
Keene didn't practice in spring
That kind of opened the door for Bryce and I'll add this so Connor
Had actually been his OC for the playoffs Bryce's OC and he called me up after the first practice and said
Listen, this guy is the LeBron James of football. He's that good. Like he is that style of player where he's
He he just innately gets it and then you look at the spring game and you watch him going through reads, progression, stepping up in the pocket.
I know the 12 for 26 stat line didn't look great,
but he was doing the types of things that we really only saw
from a Michigan quarterback in third year, JJ McCarthy.
I did a show on this earlier today on Lockdown Wolverines
going through the schedule.
I have Michigan going either nine and 3 or 10 and 2 most likely.
Just if you say that they're going under, then you're saying that unlike the last year in particular or last several years where Michigan kind of was able to rise above its station, beat the teams it's supposed to be and beat a couple teams where it's not supposed be like not like Ohio State and Alabama to end the season last year
without a quarterback. I mean Alabama didn't have any of those draft picks not a one of them. So I think that when you look at
what the team has coming back and the schedule I think that Michigan is going to probably split between Oklahoma and
Nebraska. I circled that USC game as being a trouble spot and kind of like what Jay talked about earlier,
until Michigan loses to Ohio State again,
I can't pick them to lose at this point.
We'll wrap with this.
Jay, what are you going to do
if it's another loss to Michigan?
Don't wanna think about that.
I don't wanna think about what I'm gonna do because-
Denial, the first stage.
Four in a row is bad.
You start getting the map in a row, I can tell you.
I've lived through an eight game losing streak
to that school in LA as well.
You start going numb after the fifth one.
Wait, wait, there was an eight game win streak by,
what was that, 1975?
Come on, arbiter of college football, you should know this.
OK, I don't want to come back to that. But Mark, wait, no, wait, legitimately, when was that?
That had to be like.
I was around McCade-McNough and Bob's the legal heir.
I was looking for a year, but OK.
It was an eight year period, Spencer.
It was an eight year period, Spencer. It was a year.
Starting point, middle point, end point, roundabout decade.
You got anything?
Even the 90s.
The 90s.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
There we go.
That is it.
Thank you, Goins, for beautifully articulating what I was failing to do.
Tell them your fear experience you had.
Yeah, okay.
Well, that's as good a spot as any to end the Big Ten squad.
Craig Schieman locked out Big Ten, Mark Kolkin locked out USC,
Trent Condon locked out Hawkeyes, Isaiah Hull locked out Wolverines,
Jay Stevens locked out Buckeyes, Jacob Goins locked out Hoosiers,
Roman Tomashov locked out Huskies, I'm Spencer McLaughlin locked out whatever.
We'll see you next time and until then, hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.