Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - BIG 10 SQUAD - Iowa Hawkeyes MUST WIN on the Road vs Maryland

Episode Date: November 21, 2024

Welcome to Big 10 Squad! In this Week Thirteen preview episode, host Craig Shemon of Locked On Big 10 is joined by experts from Locked On podcasts to break down all the key Big Ten football matchups as the season heads into its final stretch. This week is packed with critical games that could determine the fate of conference standings and bowl game hopes!🚀 In This Episode:Game Previews: Analyze the most important Week Thirteen matchups 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 Insights: Get predictions and analyses from Locked On hosts, focusing on team strategies, key players, and what to expect from each matchup.Playoff Implications: Discuss how these games will affect conference rankings, the playoff picture, and bowl game possibilities.Why You Should Listen: Whether you're a Big Ten diehard or just following the action, this episode is a must-listen as we enter one of the most exciting and crucial weeks of the season.🔔 Subscribe to Big 10 Squad for weekly previews, expert opinions, and everything you need to stay up-to-date on Big Ten football! Be sure to hit the bell icon to get notified whenever a new episode drops.Join the Discussion: We want to hear from you! Share your predictions for Week Thirteen’s matchups and your thoughts in the comments below.#Big10Squad #Big10Football #LockedOnBig10 #CollegeFootball #WeekThirteenPreview #FootballAnalysis #CraigShemon #LockedOnPodcast #BigTenTeams #NCAA #FootballPredictions #BigTenRoundtable #CollegeFootballPlayoffs

Well, the Oregon Ducks have already punched their ticket for Indianapolis. Who will they play? Well, IU takes on Ohio State. That'll give us a good idea. Plus, Penn State still has a slight chance. Playoff bids are up for grabs and the rest of the Big Ten slate. Let's talk. It's time for the Locked On 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. It's the local experts of the Lockdown 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 Lockdown Big Ten squad. I'm Craig Scheman. Sit back and enjoy as we shoot the breeze and talk some Big Ten Squad. Welcome to the Locked On Big Ten Squad. I'm Craig Scheman. Sit back and enjoy as we shoot the breeze and talk some Big Ten football. By the way, you can start the season with a big return on FanDuel.

New customers can place a $5 bet and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. America's number one sportsbook. Thank you. That was Spencer, by the way. Locked On started. America's number one sports book. Thank you. That was Spencer, by the way. Locked on Ducks.

Locked on college football. Roman from Locked on Huskies. We've got Jay Stephens from Locked on Buckeyes. And Jacob from Locked on Hoosiers. Fellas, welcome to the board. Yeah, we do. Yeah, we do. That's right, Craig.

I'm back. I'm back. I'm back, and we're all worse off because of it. Yes. Hold on. Yeah, I'm taking this over for back. I'm back, and we're all worse off because of it. Yes. I'm taking this over for just a second because, Craig, you've been disrespecting Washington for multiple weeks now. The bowl-eligible Washington Huskies.

We've got to make sure that gets in there right off the top. If you can find a way to get a home game for your bowl game, you're covered. You guys are awesome. I love that. All right. You should just make your own bowl game just create it play it at lumen field and call it the lumen or something don't want to go back there we already tried that why what happened at lumen field that you didn't care for don't worry about it okay all right i won't uh spencer you're actually on a bye week this week with the ducks yeah tough victory against victory against Wisconsin, 16, 13. And now you await to see who you play the big 10 championship game. So congratulations for clinching that your thoughts on that Wisconsin

game. It was a nail biter. You were behind in the fourth quarter. I don't know if it's because it has Johnson. Was it there or what, but what was your assessment? Speaker 3 4, you call that a trap game, 10 week T friends week T. No, not actually. I thought Oregon was going to lose the football game well into the third quarter. Because they just didn't really show up. Like it was never going to be super easy. Wisconsin is solid. They're not great, but they're solid. It's on the road. Oregon is playing their eighth straight game. Wisconsin was at home off a bye. You're crossing a couple of time zones there.

Like it had all the makings of a trap game when you look at this matchup before the season and it played out that way on Saturday night. It didn't need to be that hard. Like I have questions about Oregon going into the bye week. Tez Johnson is back. He's expected to play against Washington next week. That news came earlier this week and that's a big revelation for the offense, especially the passing attack, which has struggled in the two full games without him. They were great against Michigan without him, though, so I think there are other things going on there. But Oregon's offensive line right now is fine.

That's how I'd assess it. It's not great. It's not terrible. It's fine, and I wonder if they can get back to being great. All right, and, of course, you'll take on the person to your left, screen right, Roman. great it's not terrible it's fine and i wonder if they can get back to being great all right and of course you'll take on the person to your left screen right roman got you both have a week off to get ready for this game um i don't correct me if i'm wrong only dan lanning in oregon has ever beaten washington is that true he is owen he's owen three thanks for the reminder appreciate that

roman pick it up from there that's all i'm gonna say on that matter because i am the world's largest jinx so i'm gonna leave that one right where it is but yeah for uh for anybody who is not yet indoctrinated into what the oregon washington matchup is just open that that twitter app for the next couple of weeks and you're going to see the most nonsensical hatred going back and forth from both sides i will post things about washington that have nothing to do with the game and my comments are just flooded with oh oregon this oregon that because they need to find them to sides. I will post things about Washington that have nothing to do with the game. And my comments are just flooded with, Oh, Oregon, this Oregon, that, because they need to find them to just insert themselves into any and every conversation. But no Washington's riding high coming off a

victory over the, uh, mighty UCLA Bruins. That's something that Jacob was on this show, uh, just praising earlier this season. So, you know, I'm just going to take that and keep on rolling with it. And we praise everyone over here. I don't know, I'm just going to take that and keep on rolling with it. And we praise everyone over here. I don't know what you're talking about. We praise everyone. Because there were so few and far between before this season. I'm just really excited.

We finally got a glimpse into the future at DeMond Williams, who took over midway through the third quarter. Big 10 freshman of the week. Respect him. Love to see that. And Jetfish is not named a starting quarterback going into the Oregon game game so that's something that we're gonna be spending a lot of time on over the next couple of weeks i wouldn't be surprised either way at this point demand's playmaking ability is just so electric so much fun to watch but at the same point a 50th senior will rogers in that game also wouldn't necessarily be surprising so i'm really curious to see what

happens there yeah you. You and I, we talked about that last week a little bit last week squad. All right. Down below. We got Jay Stevens from lockdown, but guys locked on Hoosiers, Jacob guys, it's the big one.

I think for Indiana, they've had this one circled the entire season. Ohio state was like, we'll get to it when we get to it. It's here. And a spot on the big 10 championship game likely off of this winter uh jay i'll start with you um wasn't exactly a buy but you've had two good easy manageable games with northwestern purdue getting ready for now

indiana and then michigan yeah those two games back to back were a couple things that ohio state needed to kind of have because not only are they able to kind of sleepwalk through wins, but also getting some guys some rest. I think Ty Lake Williams missed, I think, the Purdue game. Could have played, but it's like, hey, let's get him healthy. Let's rest him during the regular season if we can. And Ryan Day's done that during the season for a couple of guys that have been injured. But yeah, I mean, Wrigley Field was cool seeing a game there, but the Buckeyes nearly scored 31 unanswered points in a very easy fashion. A couple of guys scored a couple of touchdowns apiece.

But it was kind of weird to have the game. I thought, literally, Jacob, I thought it was going to be three easy games. Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana. Yeah. First time in my life, in everyone's lives, I think that IU is a team that Ohio State legitimately has to respect, not just because of the ranking, but because they have dudes out there on the football field.

And look, it would be a lie for me to sit here and say, oh, yeah, we've had Ohio State circled since the beginning. Absolutely not. We were like, look, the schedule's very manageable other than having to go to Columbus and Ohio State. I mean, that was a game where in the preseason, you don't normally say, oh yeah, what a great opportunity that is for Indiana, but here we are, right? And a top five matchup that everybody had predicted at the start of the season. And as Craig said, most likely winner goes to the Big Ten championship game as long as we don't screw up against a mediocre Michigan team that Indiana struggled

with because they're good defensively and possibly the worst team in college football in Purdue. So looking forward to a top five matchup in Columbus. Florida State would like a word. I would hate to see those two teams play. It would be horrific. I wouldn't. I wouldn't want you couldn't me to watch. You could fly me out first class to wherever that game is. Put me up at a five-star hotel. Give me a free round of golf at a really nice spot with fancy dinners and meals all the way across the board. I still wouldn't watch Purdue play Florida State.

Nope. Would not do it. By the way, speaking of the Big Ten championship game, where Oregon's going to be, can we talk about the hilariousness of three days' time passing between Oregon beating Wisconsin and the official announcement that Oregon would make the Big Ten championship game? That's one of the funniest things from a conference level I have ever seen.

Are we surprised, though? I don't know. I was told this league is the greatest thing since sliced bread. And yet here we are. It takes 72 hours to figure out, hey, I think they're going to be the championship game, guys. I think we had to double and triple check the nine tiebreaker scenarios. How long does that take? It was just so random.

Like Tuesday, I just rolled along and all of a sudden I see a graphic organ clinched. I'm like, they played three days ago. What is happening here? Well, we talked about that on our show. If you would have seen Monday's lockdown, big town, that was the headline. We got to

cover. We talked about that on lockdown Huskies too. And we had somebody reply in the middle of the afternoon, be like, Oh, because it would have been a hilarious if the way that it all played out, if Washington beats Oregon to somehow see like Ohio State, Penn State, get into that game, would have just been absolutely hilarious.

Just a chef's kiss on this Husky season. But we had somebody reply in the middle of the afternoon and be like, Oregon's already in. Yeah, we recorded this on Monday night. Like it was not announced yet. It didn't make any sense. Like how are you not ready for that going in? How was Locked On Big

Ten ahead of the Big Ten conference? Tony Petitti, what are you doing, man? Come on. You realize that Spencer during the media days about how weird the Big Ten is because you called me and we talked about some of the weird stuff the Big Ten does compared to the SEC and it's just

the conference is weird, man. It doesn't make sense. Yeah. Weird, doesn't make sense. Are we talking about Indiana or the Big Ten? Both. Both. Making sure we're on the same page. When we come back, I believe we're going to be joined by Zach from Locked On Nittany Lines.

They got like this much chance of making it in. And Jacob, I want you to explain to me how a guy coaches 10 games and gets an eight-year contract extension. We'll get into all that. Some big news out of Bloomington as well as we continue with the squad here on Locked On Big Ten. Let me tell you about Skylight Frames.

This is a cool gift idea. You need ideas for the holidays. If you're missing someone over the holiday season, you can't be part of their festivities because you live far away. Maybe you've got a big family, and it's hard to find the right gift for somebody. Well, check this out. We've got the perfect gift for you.

It's Skylight Frame. It's a touchscreen digital photo frame that your family will love. You can upload thousands of photos from your phone and watch them appear in seconds. The setup takes less than 60 seconds. You can invite friends and family to easy to share photos via the free Skylight mobile app. You can all contribute to this thing. No account or subscription is required. It only takes a tap of your phone to make it work. And now as a special limited time offer for our listeners, get $20 off your purchase of Skylight, of a Skylight Frame when you go to skylightframe.com slash college.

That's Skylight Frame, S-K-Y-L-I-G-H-T-F-R-A-M-E dot com slash college. Get $20 off your purchase now at skylightframe.com slash college. And FanDuel. They make the games more exciting no matter what. Games are exciting already, but you add FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, and it gets even more exciting. Check out NFL Action, for example. Right now, new customers get $5, bet $5, and win, get $150 in bonus bets if you win.

The FanDuel Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets in the NFL all in one place. So if you get a hunch in the middle of the game, want to look up some stats, check out some scores, all on the same page that you place your bets. Just visit FanDuel.com and join today. You'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. Just visit FanDuel.com and join today. You'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. That's FanDuel.com. Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with

FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. All right, let's continue with the Lockdown Big Ten squad. And we got Zach Asako joining us from Lockdown Nittany Lions as well. We'll get to that. But going into the break, I talked about how Jacob, the Hoosiers, Kurt Cignetti is 10-0. Now he's got a new eight-year contract extension, $9 million a year

if you add his retention bonus of $1 million. And I'm thinking they didn't just whip this up this week. The announcement was made this week. So this tells me maybe a week or two ago, you got to go to the president, the board, lawyers, back and forth. Did they decide after like six games that we're just going to double the guy's salary? Three. Yeah, we went to UCLA and they said, good enough for us.

We need him to hang around. And so, yeah, I mean, it's been in the works for quite some time. And it's funny because when Signetti got here, yeah, I mean, it's been in the works for quite some time. And it's funny because when Cignetti got here, right, he talked about how he wanted this to be his final stop. I mean, he's an older gentleman in terms of a head coach in college football with all the changes that we see. And so it's not like somebody like him to say, all right, let's take another jump or another jump or whatever.

And I've made it very clear. On Locked on Hoosiers. There are programs that could pay more, offer more, have better facilities. Like we're not, I mean, we're not hiding gold in Bloomington. Like it's no secret there, but what Indiana was able to offer him was a competitive pay raise, a competitive salary and offer him the upgrades that he asked for when he got here. And with that, you allowed him to hang around and hopefully continue to build on something that he's already literally built from the ground up in just 10 games. And so, yeah, it all came together.

You had the bye week before Ohio State to get it out of the way. He talked about how it's a relief. You can focus on the Buckeyes. And I think this was, yes, an extension and a move to keep him in Bloomington because of how good of a coach he is. But this was also a, we don't want to see him go anywhere else and win anywhere else, so let's just pay him to keep him right here.

Hey, Roman, is Washington still working on that contract extension for Kalen DeBoer? Yeah, I hear it's getting finalized in a day now. I'd heard the same. I just wanted to confirm from the Huskies guy. Ouch. Can't wait for Kalen to go west and coach the Dallas Cowboys. I'd heard the same I just wanted to confirm from the Huskies guy I'm terrified Zach, before we got here We were talking about how Indiana and Ohio State

Are playing most likely for the second spot In the Big Ten Championship Penn State's got just a Scotiabank challenge Let's see if Indiana Loses State, but Ohio State loses to Michigan, then I think Penn State wins the fourth tiebreaker. All right, Craig, let's deal with realistic hypotheticals. How is Ohio State going to lose to Michigan?

Yeah, that's the correct answer. There is no answer to that question. The panel is stunned. By the way, Zach, I wanted to welcome you. You guys are still alive. The silence is deafening. Hey, Zach. Hey, everyone.

There's also another scenario, Washington beating Oregon. That's the other scenario. And Oregon's still in the Big Ten title game. No, Ohio. So, no, it would be Ohio State and Penn State. Ohio State has to beat. zach is late to the party late late to the party i've i read it i read the report is there a reason that the big 10 on uh fox tweeted out that oregon clinched a spot in the big 10 title game

i guess i'm dead wrong huh yeah yeah that was the point we were getting to he missed that whole part of the conversation there was some question the big 10 didn't announce it till like what tuesday i can't something like that so there was some gray area well you know oregon played on saturday so what's the rush yeah i mean let's just i mean we'll just let it play out then we'll decide who we want to put in the big 10 championship game it's fine you know what was actually happening was they they realized that oregon in their first year in the conference Ten Championship game. It's fine. You know what was actually happening was they realized that Oregon, in their first year in the conference,

was going to make the conference championship game, and they were just desperately looking for a way to either kick them out or leave them out of the Big Ten Championship game. They were searching through every little nook and cranny, thinking this can't be right. We have to figure out a way to undo this, and they couldn't do it. Yeah, but didn't we all say in our podcast in June and July and August that it was probably most likely going to be Oregon and Ohio State,

maybe even three times, regular season, Big Ten championship, and then playoffs, right? I mean, I had Indiana in my Big Ten title game. I don't know about you guys. They were my Oregon, Ohio State. I had to toss up with a regular season game, but Indiana, sharpie, baby. Hey, I want a question for all of you guys here because of all the big 10 players dylan gabriel has the best chance to win the heisman i don't know if he

does or not uh but since zach's here um tyler warren gets the hero run and this guy does everything everything catches throws everything and he's he's not getting any run. And I think he should. What do you think? I mean, he's definitely in the Heisman conversation. Look, it's going to be impossible for him to win as much as I want to say, yeah, hurrah, it's Tyler Warren's award to lose. But honestly, it's down to two people for me personally. Ashton Gentry of Boise state and not Travis

Hunter. No Bryson Daly over at army army, the quarterback who's doing it both on the ground and through the air. And if army can look, I'm not saying they upset Notre Dame, but at least it boosts, it potentially boosts the Heisman campaign. So Tyler Warren would probably be fourth or fifth in a realistic list, but that's saying something for a tight end period. It doesn't matter what school they're at. If the network knows what they're doing here, and Locked On tends to know what they're doing, they will clip that segment of not Travis Hunter as a top two in the Heisman and put it everywhere.

And then you can understand what it's like to talk to Colorado fans. Craig, you're an Indiana guy. How are you not showing love to our guy, Curtis Rourke? What are we doing? Who? He's going to explode when he wins on Saturday onto the scene. But I do have a memo for all the locked-on Big 12 people and Colorado people.

Travis Hunter, do we have to do the Desmond Howard Heisman pose every time we touch the ball? We get it. You're a candidate dude yes he will he will craig have you ever seen a colorado fan on the internet that's like their entire personality 100 that is the perfect way to summon up get him roman get him five yards first down um hey uh roman um roman i want to ask you um you got rivalry week this week basically you and i lived in la for 10 years so it's always like southern cal and ucla they always play like

they're a long-running history between washington and the bi-week that i'm not familiar with what's that oh i'm sorry yeah i was gonna ask the same question like washington and bi-week what like what happens during the bi-week in seattle you, like if you want to talk USC, UCLA, that's fine with me. Like I was born and raised in LA. Like I'm more than willing to go down that road. Well, I brought it up mistakenly. Let's do it. Let's close that.

Oh, yeah. I don't know why. I mean, I guess USC is going to play Notre Dame or something. I don't know. Yeah, I mean, somebody's playing. I mean, any other game that's not in Columbus this weekend, do we really have to talk about it? Like, let's be real here.

I mean, the optics of Lincoln Riley losing to UCLA again. It's pretty funny. It'd be pretty bad. It'd be pretty bad. With that said, Washington reminded us what we all knew down to our core which is ucla is not very good but somehow they were winning games and washington was like nah this team isn't isn't really that good it was a competitive game i imagine it'll be the same this week against usc because the trojans are just the kings of underperforming

in the big ten conference but the reason you should watch, Jacob, and Indiana can take some notes here, it's the best uniform game of the year, USC-UCLA. It's phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I think Indiana's got a couple decent jerseys, but a little tweaking, a little modernizing, I think could go a long way for the Hoosiers brand. That's fair. That's fair. Jay, do we know what Ohio State's rolling out with? Have they announced what they're going to be wearing on Saturday? Something bland.

Probably the normal jerseys. I don't see them pulling out anything special for Indiana, not this weekend. I don't see that happening. No. Like I said, something bland. Something bland. I mean, I'm ready for a revamp of their jerseys. They've been wearing the same thing for like 20,000 years.

It's time to come with the times. Is that just you or is that the consensus? Are you the only one who says that in Ohio State? There aren't many. A lot of people like the tradition. When I talk about the love of the alternate jerseys in Ohio State, they need to wear black more often and they're like, no, let's keep with what we got.

Someone in a comment one day was like, Alabama doesn't change. I don't care about Alabama. I don't care about them at all. This is Ohio State. You can change. You don't have to follow what they do. Ohio State, Washington, don't wear black enough. Their black unis are gas. I agree.

The black helmets Washington had black unis yes gas i agree the black helmets washington had last week were all gas no brakes run through the barrier on the highway they were so good they were those were one of the best washington helmets i've ever seen we're like 100 i i get all the people who because like jay it's the same thing with with our state right as with most schools spencer we're not talking about oregon for Oregon for the next minute or two because of all, all, all their uniform stuff. But like, I, I don't understand the group of fans are like, Hey, black isn't one of the school colors. Why are you wearing it?

It's like, it doesn't matter. It's fun. No white isn't technically a school color. Why do you wear it? Cause it looks great. Right. It's, it's fun. It's, it's, it's about trying to find something new for these 18, 22-year-old kids that like to do something and wear the same two jerseys every other week. Let's switch it up. Let's get the alternate helmets, alternate jerseys, all that stuff. Absolutely fantastic.

All right. By a show of hands, who thinks Indiana will beat Ohio State this weekend? Okay. Look at that. Two hands down in the corner from Jacob. Sorry, Jacob. Was that a vote in the affirmative or was that you surrendering? That was a vote and then a double down on the vote

because I figured nobody else would go with me. So that's okay. That's fine. We're going to be underdogs, big underdogs, and nobody's going to pick us. And that's totally, totally fine. Jay said Ohio State's respecting Indiana. We'll find out, I would say in the first quarter, whether they do or not show a hands who thinks Indiana covers. Oh, absolutely. Okay. Oh yeah. I think,

I think the numbers crazy, but he's going to be a blowout. I haven't checked it lately. I know it was 10 and a at one point. It was 12.5. Oh, yeah. That's too high. Alright, we'll be back for a final word getting ready for this next to last weekend of the regular season as the Lockdown Big Ten squad continues. Let me tell you about

PrizePix. PrizePix are fun. It's the best place to get real money sports action. Over 10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings. Prize picks has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all. You just pick more or less on at least two players grouping together, and you get a shot to win up to 100 times your cash. Run your game all season long with prize picks. So, again, you can win up to 100 times your money with prize picks

with as little as four correct picks. Prize picks invented the Flex Play, which means you can still get cash out of your lineup, even if it isn't perfect. It is a lot of fun. You can sign up today and get $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It's guaranteed. Think of like, for example, I don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It's guaranteed. Think of

like, for example, I don't know, Justin Jefferson will get more than 83 and a half yards next week, and Lamar Jackson will pass more than one and a half touchdowns. Put them together, let it roll, and watch your winnings come in. Download the app today and use the code LOCKDOWNCOLLEGE to get $50

instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Again, price picks. Run your game. All right, here we go. Final word for the weekend. We got Spencer, Lockdown Ducks. I think they can see that it's me.

Yeah. Right there. It's real intimate now. Yeah. We're getting up close and personal. Zach from Lockdown Nittany Lions. All right, let's get a final word on a couple of things. All right, so both of you think Ohio State win this weekend.

Let's talk about Penn State because they got a win with all those scenarios. It's a good thing I'm here, huh? What's that? It's a good thing I'm here then, huh? Absolutely. Minnesota, you got them this weekend. The one challenging – they got like 16 interceptions. Their secondary is really good.

Good thing Drew Allard doesn't throw a lot of interceptions. What are your thoughts on this game? Exactly that, Craig. I'm going to have a preview episode will be up, and it'll explain that I think Penn State wins convincingly. Again, I look at Minnesota, and I compare them to a Washington, a Wisconsin, a Wisconsin, a team that has, Minnesota's the best of the, honestly, Washington's defense is pretty good. Minnesota just forces a lot of turnovers, but they're so dependent on the turnover to do anything. They just lost to a banged up Rutgers team. They have the bye week. Okay. They can get

adjusted and everything, but this is a team that is barely top 100 offensively. They're just as bad as Purdue. So if Penn State doesn't turn the football over, which you pointed out they don't very often, if Drew Allard throws one interception, I think Minnesota would need four or five turnovers to pull off an upset in this game. I think Penn State wins along the lines of 30-6. I think Minnesota will probably hold Penn State to quite a few field goals, not let them sustain as many drives, but Penn State's got a top 10 defense. Minnesota's got a top 25 defense. Penn State's got a top 15 offense. Minnesota has a top 100 offense. Let me defend the Golden Gophers here real quick. The second half of the season,

they're a much different football team. I think they have found their stride in the second half. I don't think they win this game. Penn State against anyone not named, Ohio State or Michigan, the last few years. It's science. It's a science. Yeah, it is quite literally a science. It is not art.

It's just the way that things roll. But Max Brosner has played better football over the second half of the year. I think the passing game has been much more in sync. They found something with Darius Taylor running the football. They're not a great team, but I don't think this is one that Penn State can overlook to the likes of Purdue. I don't think they're in that discussion. I think they're much closer to Wisconsin,

which was a close game in the fourth quarter, or Washington, which wasn't close, but that was at home. This is on the road. I think it's the most losable game that Penn State has on their schedule. They win this game. You can sharpie them into the college football playoff. Yeah, I agree with that. Hey, I wanted to ask you, Spencer, what did you think?

So Phil Longo, the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin, got fired before you guys even left the field after that 16-13 win up at Wisconsin this weekend. He came in with Luke Fickle for this air raid attack, but they were built for a running game, and they haven't got quarterback right yet. But anyway, I want to know your thoughts on that move. Yeah, I was surprised.

You know, yeah, you only put up 13 points at home against who? Oh, the number one team in college football that is a defensively oriented team, who didn't have Jordan Burch. Sure, but they have another first round pick on the defensive line and Mateo Uyunglele. They might have another one in Derek Harmon, who's going to be third round at latest, probably get taken in the second. It's still a stacked Oregon defense.

The wind was a factor on Saturday night. I think that caused both quarterbacks to miss a couple of throws they might otherwise hit. I don't know what the problem with the offensive coordinator was. He'd schemed several guys open and then you look up and Braden Locke missed the throws. He's just not a very good quarterback. He's a backup. And again, I watched Penn State play Wisconsin. Wisconsin's receivers would drop passes left and right. So Braden Locke would miss them and that too. And in their three-game winning streak, when they played lower-tier teams in the Big Ten, their offense was great.

They put up a bunch of yards, but you're playing with a backup quarterback. I struggle firing an offensive coordinator. Luke Fickle obviously doesn't, when you don't have your starter in play. That's just, that's asking a lot. It's asking a lot in the NFL. It's asking even more in college football

because the quality that you can get from a backup quarterback in the NFL can be pretty good. Yeah, in college football. How many teams have a backup they feel good about Texas with Arch Manning? Like I mean, is that the list that might that might be the entire Bula Bula Bula led Penn State against was both Bula Penn State. I mean, Demond Williams at Washington belongs in this conversation because he kind of pushed Will Rogers out, but that didn't come until the second half of the season. And you haven't seen him start for a long period of time. Like there are just not a lot of teams that can survive that drop off. So I, I thought he got the short

end of the stick and that he's the boogeyman for a season in Wisconsin that isn't bad. It's not great, but it's not bad by any stretch of the imagination. So I don't understand why they made that move unless Fickle's got somebody really good in mind. Meanwhile, final word, Penn State, got to love the coordinator moves. They made the two new coordinators this year, Andy Kolonicki in offense. That seems to be working. Tom Allen seems to be working with the defense. Everybody should be happy there, right? Well, and I was going to bring it up, but it didn't fit in the conversation at the moment. But Tom Allen, you know, walked so Kurt Cignetti could run because it seems like Indiana reinvented

itself and got with the times because Tom Allen didn't get the same thing. He was losing guys in the transfer portal. He's always a good coach, but he, Indiana realized, oh shoot, we got to actually take the transfer portal in NIL seriously, or we're going to get left behind with Northwestern and Purdue and other schools that would Cal right. That just don't take athletics as seriously besides the point. So yeah, Indiana, Florida state. Yeah. All sorts of programs that are on serious about athletics. Exactly. So Indiana wins and soda and so does Penn State at the end of the day. We'll see what Tom Allen ultimately does

if he wants to get back into being a head coach and everything else. But from what I gathered at the beginning of the preseason, he likes just being a defensive coordinator because he got away from coaching football 90% of the time. It was all it was politics. It was fundraising. It was re recruiting Kelly playersiting your own players so and so Tom Allen was just like I'm just grateful to be coaching football again and he just seems so happy Andy Kotelnicki same thing these are two high energy guys high positive energy guys that I think Andy Kotelnicki eventually does want to be a head coach which is fine then that could

happen sooner rather than later we'll see but he's not going to just jump at the first opportunity. So Penn State might have these two together for the next two, three, four seasons. Maybe Kotelnicki's not there that long, but they're in a really good spot. And James Franklin made the right hire now that he has an athletic director that's backing him, that is helping him because they couldn't, they outbid everybody for Kotelnicki and Tom Allen. That wouldn't have been the case two, three years ago. Well, good luck to Penn State. And Spencer, enjoy your bye weekend.

Everybody follow these guys. They do a great job each and every day. Locked on college football, locked on Ducks, locked on Nittany Lions. Follow and subscribe your favorite Big Ten team. We'll be covering your favorite team every day throughout the season. And don't forget, I got you covered

with the entire conference every day with Lockdown Big Ten, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Craig Scheman. We'll talk to you next time.