Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - BIG 10 SQUAD - Iowa Hawkeyes Scrape DISRESPECTFUL Win vs Nebraska

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

Welcome to a special Big Ten Championship episode of Big 10 Squad! Hosted by Craig Shemon from Locked On Big 10, this episode is your ultimate preview for the Big Ten Championship game. Craig and a pa...nel of experts from Locked On podcasts break down everything you need to know about the showdown for conference supremacy, featuring top teams from across the Big Ten.🚀 In This Episode:Championship Game Breakdown: Get the lowdown on the teams vying for the Big Ten title, including 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 Predictions: Hear Locked On hosts share their thoughts on how the teams match up, what to expect from key players, and who has the edge in the championship battle.Playoff Implications: Discover the impact the Big Ten Championship will have on the College Football Playoff race, bowl games, and postseason opportunities for Big Ten teams.Why You Should Listen: Whether you're rooting for your favorite Big Ten team or just want to know what’s at stake, this episode delivers all the essential insights and analyses to get you ready for the biggest game of the season.🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe to Big 10 Squad for expert commentary and comprehensive coverage of Big Ten football all season long! Hit the bell icon to be notified when new episodes drop.Join the Conversation: Share your thoughts and predictions for the Big Ten Championship game in the comments below!#Big10Squad #Big10Football #BigTenChampionship #LockedOnBig10 #CollegeFootball #FootballAnalysis #CraigShemon #LockedOnPodcast #BigTenTeams #NCAA #CollegeFootballPlayoffs #FootballPredictions #BigTenTitleGame

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Well, it's Oregon versus Penn State Saturday for the Big Ten Championship. We'll have bold takes and predictions. Spencer's wearing a suit. We'll figure this out. We're not done talking about Michigan and Ohio State or Flaggate and Indiana's 66-point blowout of Purdue. Are they in? We'll talk about all of that.
Starting point is 00:00:17 It's time for the Lockdown Big Ten Squad. You're talking ball with the Big Ten Squad, 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 10 weekend know her feelings and thin skin allowed. Squad up. You're part of the Big Ten Squad. Welcome to the Lockdown Big Ten Squad. I'm Craig Scheman. Just sit back, enjoy. We're going to have a good time, at least most of us, and we're brought to you by FanDuel. You can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. Now customers can place a $5 bet
Starting point is 00:00:59 and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets. If you win your first $5 bet, visit FanDuel.com to get started. We've got Spencer from Locked On Ducks and Locked On College Football. We've got Zach from Locked On Nittany Lions. Those two face each other for the Big Ten Championship on Saturday. Jay Stevens is in mourning from Locked On Buckeyes. We've got Roman from Locked On Huskies and Zach from Locked On UCLA. Gentlemen, welcome.
Starting point is 00:01:25 As a host, this is a perplexing situation. I don't know whether to go right into Spencer wearing a suit and tie and Zach with the Big Ten Championship, or if we start with Jay, who is a guy. He's so bummed out about this Ohio State-Michigan thing. Where do we start today, fellas? Jay, look at the bright side. We start with the championship game.
Starting point is 00:01:50 Those guys aren't playing football this weekend. Zach makes a compelling argument, by the way. I think we start with the suit because Craig put that in the intro. We've got to follow through. That is true. Time crunch. I've got a Southern Utah basketball game against Park University in Arizona later tonight on ESPN+. true time crunch I've got a southern Utah basketball game against Park
Starting point is 00:02:05 University in Arizona later tonight on ESPN plus so once I wrap up here with you fine gentlemen all of whom my team is beaten by the way I'll just kind of throw that out there I mean Penn State not till Saturday but we'll get there and so I got a I got to be able to literally go from here to the car in order to get there on time and get ready pregame so that's why why the suit and tie, but it's also representative Craig that Oregon has come into the big 10 and just strictly business. Yeah. Week in week out 49 21. Hi Roman. Wow. Hi. Uh, so can we like, I know Jay, we're going gonna get to the whole we gotta get to the game well hold on i just i want to talk about the the spencer nobody's nobody's here for washington losing by 20 whatever 30 28 28 let's get specific with our numbers here i mean
Starting point is 00:02:58 hey that is true nobody really cares nobody cares i just want to say that it's really soft that that dan lanning finally decides to do this Washington helmet smashing thing against a rebuilding UW team when last year when Oregon was touted as the best team ever, they lost twice. Look at that, guys. It didn't even take him 30 seconds to bring up last year. Not even 30 seconds. The amount of people in the audience that just clicked off of this. The algorithm hates us now.
Starting point is 00:03:26 We got to get to the championship game. We got to get the Calgar rhythm going. All right. Well, so already, I mean, if we want to talk about the championship game, we got Spencer, by the way, wearing Ducks colors, and Zach in a t-shirt, a We Are t-shirt. I'll give him that. But, you know, I'll let you guys have at it.
Starting point is 00:03:44 The Ducks are three and a half point favorites saturday night yeah i i think that's probably about right penn state's been playing really good football as of late i know the narrative around the nittany lions is well they don't win the big games they don't they don't get blown out in in the big games they lost was it last year to michigan by nine this year to Ohio state by seven. Like I think any Oregon fan that's looking at Penn state and say, Oh man, they're just going to absolutely crush and roll. Like I think Oregon is going to win the football game. I don't think it's going to be some, some cakewalk, you know,
Starting point is 00:04:16 like whatever Washington put on the field last week. All right. That's the last one. That's the last one. I just, I want to say you literally open this with, Oh, I beat all your teams already. So let's, let's, let's just make sure that's out there as well. Well, that's why the three of us are up here on top and you guys are down there. But like, it's all right. I was kind of waiting for that one. Brandon Olsen with the assist. Thank you. The audio listeners have no idea what's going on right now. No idea.
Starting point is 00:04:47 That's why they need to go subscribe on YouTube. I was not expecting the friendly. Is that almost like this is a rug pull here? Because I thought you were going to dunk on Penn State for that exact reason. So, no, I'm glad you're looking at this objectively. Penn State and Oregon did not get hit by – they didn't get hit by accident. This is the number one and number three teams respectively. And Penn State had a chance to beat Ohio State. They just couldn't punch it in from inside the five, not once, but twice.
Starting point is 00:05:15 That's why they lost that game. So is there a gap between Oregon and Penn State? Yes, there is. But Penn State is in this game and has just as much of a chance to win it. I think that three and a half point spread is fair. I think this is a one score type of game. It's a neutral site game. Penn State doesn't have to go on the road to Oregon. Oregon doesn't have to go to Beaver Stadium. And I think we're going to see a lot of good defense. Now, don't get me wrong. Both teams are going to put up points. But in my mind, the defenses have all the say in this game. Oregon's got an elite defense, Penn State, a defense that needs to make some plays to keep them in it. Zach, I know you did not mean this in a malicious way, but earlier when you said,
Starting point is 00:05:55 I love that you're being objective about it, it was like a just gentle slide. It like, wow, Spencer, I'm glad you're able to be a working professional. It's just a moment. It's the suit. It is the suit. That is the suit. I want to check in on our friend Jay. I hope he's doing all right. Jay, you read my mind.
Starting point is 00:06:13 Jay, let's talk. Thank you. Therapy, whatever. The floor is yours. Listen to what Ryan Day has done to this man's voice. Oh, you mean Ryan Day or Chip Kelly? Which one is it? I don't know who called the plays on Saturday, but that was bad. Chip Kelly, hey, let's go. That was really, really bad.
Starting point is 00:06:29 I don't normally get on Chip Kelly. Say it again, Craig. I say, why run into the strength of the Michigan defense time after time and try and get that going? Do you use any of your skill players? That's what amazed me. I don't get it. You got the Big Ten Receiver of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and he was what? Not a big focus of the game plan? I have no idea what they were doing. I have none whatsoever. Caleb Downs and Jack Sawyer had big interceptions, helping Ohio State to get the ball when Michigan's about to score. All of a sudden, Ohio State's like, oh, well, we'll just not do what we came here to do, which is win the game. Or maybe they didn't want to win the game. Maybe they wanted to lose the game.
Starting point is 00:07:06 The coaches, I don't think the players did. The players played and did what they were supposed to do as far as, well, following the game plan. I don't know what's going on, man. Like a lot of us are done with Ryan Day. Got to figure out some stuff for the offense. The playoff is still out there, but that loss still stings. You lose to that team four years in a row.
Starting point is 00:07:25 It sucks. It really sucks. And then at the end of the game, I'll go ahead and say it, Spencer. They planted the flag on the field. I am not a fan of that at all. I said it on Locked on Buckeyes either after the game on Saturday or on Monday's show. I would be upset if Ohio State did that at another school stadium.
Starting point is 00:07:41 You just don't do stuff like that at all. And so here we are um whatever day this is talking about ohio state and trying to put the pieces together when you got national signing day i think ohio state's gonna lose one of the top recruits too it's just not going well jay sounds like a prisoner in his cell keeping track of the days on the wall with chalk he's like it's it's been. I don't even know anymore. Can Ryan Day even salvage anything? He can win the national championship. If he wins the national championship, does he stay or are they still firing him?
Starting point is 00:08:14 That would be the greatest storyline. Ryan Day wins national championship, breaking. Ryan Day fired his Ohio State head coach. Ross Bjork, the new AD, said that he believes in Ryan day and he has full support of Ryan day. Why? I don't know how much of that I truly want to buy into. I think you got to have some playoff success to keep his job. At some point,
Starting point is 00:08:35 the boosters are going to say, look, we're dumping all this money into the football team and we're not getting this success that we, we should have. Dang inflation. And then you got to start paying players. The schools might have to pay out more.
Starting point is 00:08:48 I don't know, man. Seriously. I know they come on here and have all the thoughts. My mind right now is just Ryan Day has to figure things out. And do I trust him to do that in the playoff against four really good football teams? No, I don't. I don't trust him to do that. By the way, I have a question for Roman and Anderson Yoxheimer down there.
Starting point is 00:09:07 Why? Has there been – bear me out, Seiko. Bear me out. Has there been a more glorious time than the last two weeks of college football for you guys to hate watch other programs? Absolutely. When has it been better like when was it better i just love it that all these new teams went to new conferences and are in the conference
Starting point is 00:09:33 championship game texas sec got oregon in the big 10 so it just kind of is like a perfect storm for all those people that say sec and big 10 are better okay zach is either asleep or his audio is not picking up the question I asked. But Roman, same to you. I personally have enjoyed the hate watching. Obviously, things didn't go the way that I personally hoped they would this past weekend. But yeah, I know that the hate watching
Starting point is 00:09:56 has been just off the charts. Like, just hate watching that Michigan-Ohio State game was absolutely tremendous for me. Like, that's one where I really didn't care who won and who lost. But just watching the way that played out was absolutely tremendous for me like that that's one where i really didn't care who who won and who lost but just watching the way that played out was absolutely hilarious oh i think you're i think you're wrong it wasn't hilarious at all no no part of my body believes that was hilarious seeing that team do that absolutely of course there's pain by the way roll this nonsense no
Starting point is 00:10:22 for those of you watching on YouTube, you can see the darkness in Jay's eyes that is stemming from this perennial sadness at this point. Let me assure you, it's not even one-tenth of the energy that was brought as we started this recording. By the way, I'll point out, Spencer's doing an awesome job hosting this show, and I don't have a problem with it.
Starting point is 00:10:48 That's great. I'm just here so I won't get fined. I thought you guys planned to change places today. I didn't know anybody. Well, he's in the middle and he's got the suit. Let's just keep rolling. We got more of this coming up. But not more of me.
Starting point is 00:11:00 On the Lockdown Big Ten. I'll go get my suit. Let me tell you about FanDuel. FanDuel makes the excitement of watching games even more exciting. The FanDuel Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL. And it's all in one place where you put your bets, live betting, stats, scores. It's all right there. You can check a hunch out in the middle of the game and place an in-game live bet anytime you want as well.
Starting point is 00:11:26 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 at FanDuel.com. Never waste a hunch. Make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Check it out. FanDuel, the official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Check it out. FanDuel, the official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Back on the Lockdown Big Ten squad.
Starting point is 00:11:50 All right, Zach. Well, I got two Zacks and a Roman. Jay ran, man. Well, you know, he said his piece and he was out. Peace out. We lost somebody out. Now Zach disappears. I was just going to ask him because I think he was doing this from Madison Square Garden right now.
Starting point is 00:12:08 That is a dedication. Being in a car, being in a car is one thing. Being at a professional basketball game is another thing. And when your team is where it is with UCLA. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's that's probably true. All right.
Starting point is 00:12:22 Well, now, Zach, could um tell me more about this game without spencer interrupting you so i was interrupting spencer man it was the the suit got me fired up i did not get the memo or anything it was fired up um i look at this game in a couple of ways both teams are super strong at quarterback both have great running games um both will put pressure on the quarterbacks from the defensive front. I think where you can look in different directions with this team, these teams, is I think Oregon has a great trio of wide receivers, and yet Penn State's advantage will be at their tight end,
Starting point is 00:12:59 who is their key receiver, who I liken Ty Warren as. If Tim Tebow had played tight end instead of quarterback, I think this is what you would see. That is a really good comparison. I actually like that. And I'll use that in my, uh, in my tool bag, but it's it and Penn state relies on Tyler Warren because to, to be that do everything player, because the ground game is not where it should be. And for the wide receivers, I mean, that's an even bigger liability on Penn State's offense. So the offensive line, the running backs have been okay. And they still have Nicholas Singleton, right? That's not to come down on Singleton and Allen. They are trying to do the best that they can. It's more so a critique
Starting point is 00:13:41 of Penn State's offensive line. So my two biggest concerns for Penn State are because this matchup is eerily similar to Ohio State. And Jay honestly should have stuck around for nothing against him, but he could have helped because he's actually played Oregon. His team actually played against Oregon. And I look at this matchup. I, and I, yeah, I, well, that's true. That's true, but it was close. It was close. Um, it was close. No, I'm, I'm eager. No, I'm eager to get your analysis. I forgive me, Roman. That's not a jab at you. But my, my point being that Oregon, Oregon and Ohio state are actually a very similar team, which is why this was a one point game.
Starting point is 00:14:23 These are two defenses that are top five in the country, objectively, whether you look at the analytics, whether you look at your baseline statistics. The eye test, if you just watch the games, the talent is off the charts. A lot of NFL talent. And they also have three wide receivers, as you mentioned, Craig. Tez Johnson and Holden, as well as Evan Stewart from Texas A&M. Penn State, when they were in crunch time with Ohio State, every single time, first down or a big chunk of yardage,
Starting point is 00:14:54 they would lose those one-on-one battles more often than not to Emeka Buka, Jeremiah Smith, and Carnell Tate. They could not cover all three of them simultaneously. So how does Penn State do that again when their defense even is, I don't know if they're as strong as they were against Ohio State, and that's saying something. They lost Alonzo Ford, who's not every college football spectator is going to know that name, but that is a valuable piece to the defensive line. And what that means is when you lose that depth, then your starters aren't 100% all the time. That's just me logically speaking here,
Starting point is 00:15:24 and everybody understands that's not rocket science, but then your starters can't be as effective and you lose players that are difference makers. So Oregon is a similar matchup to Penn state. And I don't like it. I don't, I don't like Penn state's matchup with the ducks. Now, Roman, uh, you can look at the film. You just, you're fresh off of Oregon. What's that? Ten sacks. Do I want to look at the film? So you're fresh off the Oregon game, and you've done a whiteout against Penn State,
Starting point is 00:15:54 so you have a pretty good idea, as much as anybody, as you look at this matchup Saturday, what to expect. I mean, yeah, unfortunately, you know, it hasn't necessarily gone the way anybody hoped it would this year but i it's really interesting where the number one thing that i look at in this game that was the most overwhelming thing to me when watching the the oregon game this past weekend was the pressure they're able to get from the defensive tackles where that rotation that they have up there in the middle is just absolutely overwhelming. And it's something, I mean, obviously, you know, Zach, as you know, very well, Penn State's
Starting point is 00:16:29 defensive line also had its way with Washington, but I look at on the other side of the ball, this Oregon offensive line at the same point, Washington's defensive line got no push. There was no pressure at all where I think it's one of those things where if you're able to get a little pressure on Dylan Gabriel, I wasn't, and this is something that goes back to the Ohio State game at the beginning of the season. I haven't been the biggest fan of him. When he moves off his spot, when there's pressure in his face, there have been a couple of bad throws there.
Starting point is 00:16:54 Things get a little bit errant, but it's really hard to do that. Like I'm not, you know, especially as the Washington guy, I'm sure there are plenty of Oregon fans like, oh, this is just the Washington guy saying these things. But no, like that was the biggest problem that I had with watching Oregon this season, but they're such a balanced offense. They run the ball so well, that offensive line has done its job really, really well for the majority of the season. And just the more that I look at this, I do believe Oregon has an advantage in this game, but Zach, I think this might be closer than you think, because if you're able to find a way to
Starting point is 00:17:26 you know protect because I was really impressed with Penn State's offensive line especially when in terms of pass protection and in the Washington game where I mean after watching this past weekend that might not be saying very much but I think they did a really good job they were really disciplined and if you're able to just hold up and give Drowler a little bit of time I think there are some spots where you can make plays against the secondary. And that's it. The offense, this game is won and lost in the trenches on both sides. I don't, I don't think this is a blowout. So there's the crowd, whether that's the general spectator or the Penn state doubter or the Oregon diehard that, that believes that Penn state has no chance because big game, James can't, can't win. Drew Aller is the same quarterback
Starting point is 00:18:06 that he was in 2023. And none of that's true. That's what everybody's basing that off of. I have gone on the record. I will continue to go on the record that I think this is a one score game, but I don't necessarily like Penn State's chances to win in the close game. Again, they had multiple opportunities to punch it inside from the five-yard line against Ohio State at the end of the first half and then late in the fourth quarter and could not do it. And that is to be put on Penn State's offensive line. When it comes to pass protection, they are either average or above average. They have been pretty good at protecting Drew Aller. But in run blocking, that's where it's a liability.
Starting point is 00:18:43 And they just lost Anthony Donko, who was turning into Penn State's best overall offensive lineman. And now they have Nolan Rucci against Oregon's defensive end, trio, quadruple, punch, whatever. All of those guys can rush after the passer. Not just the first guy, the second guy, the third guy, the fourth guy. They probably got a fifth guy, too. Not just the first guy, the second guy, the third guy, the fourth guy. They probably got a fifth guy, too. There are five different players that have at least five sacks for Oregon's defense,
Starting point is 00:19:12 and some of them didn't even play a full season. So Oregon's pass rush, if Penn State's offensive, and those two guys in the middle that you mentioned, Harmon, and I'm blanking on the other defensive tackle, unfortunately, but Oregon's defensive line might be better than Ohio States and Penn State struggled. That was the difference maker, Ohio State's defensive line and Ohio State's wide receivers. It's going to be the same thing here with Oregon's defensive line and Oregon's wide receivers in the Big Ten Championship. Now, we had a bunch of chaos at the beginning talking about with Jay and the,
Starting point is 00:19:45 and the planning of the flag. We'll, we'll, uh, we'll Penn state plant a flag there in Indianapolis and claim their big 10 championship if they win the game. And do you two think that's okay? I think it's okay. If you've earned a victory on somebody else's turf, you can plant the flag. There's no need to fight. Obviously some people disagree with that. Oh, Zach, we'll start with you. Yeah. Uh, so James Franklin's actually anti-flag planting. Penn State was going to do it. There were a couple of players that were waving the flag at USC and were ready to plant it. And James Franklin, a nice jog came over and took the flag away and said, we don't do that. So Penn State will not be planting any flags.
Starting point is 00:20:23 Other people have had this take. If you don't want a flag planted at your home field on a rivalry weekend, win the game, especially when you are at home. Understandable when you're on the road. What, are you going to plant your flag at the middle of your home field? No, because you're supposed to defend your home territory. But I actually have no issue with rivalry games when it was, I think, Baker Mayfield did it against Ohio State. That's not a true rivalry game. It's cool, and it's clearly started a trend.
Starting point is 00:20:55 So I don't mind it. The way you prevent that, defend your home territory, because that's what happens in literal war. You raise your flag on the opponent's territory when you win. Roman, are you pro-flag or not? Oh, I'm absolutely pro-flag. Obviously, the fights are one thing, but Zach, you said it perfectly. If you don't like it, stop them. That's what you're there to do. I think about their videos of Ohio State players complaining about it, yelling about it, whatever you've, a lot of you had four
Starting point is 00:21:25 chances to beat Michigan and you did not do that. That's I, I really don't know how to say it in any other fashion other than you did not beat them. Like they get to do what they want, especially this is supposed to be the team that was going to carry you to a national championship. This is supposed to be the team that, you know, I, I, I know there've been comments about $20 million roster where if, if you really are going to invest that much and then you can't beat Michigan in a down year, they're allowed to plant their flag on your field.
Starting point is 00:21:54 I, I honestly don't care where that's one of those things where, you know, I said earlier, Jay, like that's, that's why I find it funny where if you can't beat Michigan in a down year, like why, why are you going to go and cry about it? Yeah, I think it's a great point. All right, I got one question for each of you regarding your programs. Take a quick break. We'll come back with that and wrap this up going into championship week on this version of Locked on Big Ten Squad.
Starting point is 00:22:24 All right, back on the squad. We got Zach from Lockdown Nittany Lions and Roman from Lockdown Huskies. By the way, you listeners and viewers out there, subscribe to these guys. They do a great job each and every day here on Lockdown Big Ten. All right, Roman, in your game against Oregon, I had a sneaky suspicion you were going to do this. You were going to start the freshman quarterback. You and I have talked about this before.
Starting point is 00:22:45 He was kind of a change of pace guy, but he started playing more and more as the season went on. And I thought that was the right move. Maybe you weren't going to beat Oregon with the freshman. I don't know. I like the kid. How about you in the future at quarterback with him? Oh, I am a huge fan of DeMond Williams.
Starting point is 00:23:01 Over on Lockdown Huskies, we were calling him. He's got superstar potential. I don't know if there's any other way to put it. Where he goes 17 to 20 in that game, 85% completion percentage for a freshman in that stadium. Yeah, he took 10 sacks. If you look at the offensive line, honestly, there could have been more, honestly.
Starting point is 00:23:17 And the 85% completion percentage is one thing. The mobility he shows off is another. The arm talent is another thing. And with what Washington is going to do, moving into National Signing Day, moving into the transfer portal, I'm really excited about what this is going to look like going forward. And Craig, yeah, you said it,
Starting point is 00:23:33 where it's been a gradual implementation of Demond over the course of the season, where he really officially took over in the third quarter of the UCLA game. Jed Fish told us after the game that he had told him pretty soon after, I think it was the Monday of the bye week, that it was going to be DeMond. So he's had a couple of weeks to prepare for that game. Obviously went the way it did, but the more I think about it,
Starting point is 00:23:57 just the more excited I am about what this program is going to look like moving forward, because this is a true playmaker that the more you watch him, and especially the way the schedule winds up next year for washington i wouldn't be surprised this is a team that takes a massive leap forward zach i want to ask you i'm a big fan of andy colin nicky i think it's day and night what we see in the creativity with the offense are you gonna lose them is it gonna be one and done and be a head coach somewhere depends uh it's it's kind of the same thing that i just got since early national signing day is here. The recruits need to want to commit to the school. The school needs to want the commitment
Starting point is 00:24:30 from the player. It's a two-sided conversation that I don't think enough people realize. So it's the same thing with coaching. There's going to be tons of schools that would love Andy Kotelnicki as its next head coach, but is Andy Kotelnicki want to go there? Because as we've seen, as its next head coach, but is Andy Kotelnicki want to go there? Because as we've seen, look at Purdue, for example. That is a Big Ten conference team, and they just let go of Ryan Walters after two seasons. I get it. He was abysmal, but clearly there's no commitment.
Starting point is 00:24:55 Does Andy Kotelnicki want to torpedo his upward trend by going to a school that either doesn't have NIL in the right place, is not ready to embrace the transfer portal, for example. I look at an Indiana that, thank goodness that Kirk Cignetti trusted them because they did not do the same things with Tom Allen. Because Tom Allen didn't get as much help as he could have used, but they learned their lesson. So Andy Kotelnicki has to be cautious of what institution is going to give him the best possibility to succeed. It is great that he is interviewing for a job at West Virginia, or at least expected to.
Starting point is 00:25:34 There's a lot of logistics and intricacies. As a program, you have to be patient because Andy Kotelnicki is going to coach until Penn State has done this season. If that's the first round, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, the championship, if you're a team that you think you can compete as soon as next season, are you going to wait for your next head coach to sign? And Penn State's not going to let him go. Penn State is going to say, you are fulfilling your contract, and then we will let you go based on the success of the team. So it depends what college football program is willing
Starting point is 00:26:06 to wait at least until late December here to get next season started. Uh, but Andy Kotelnicki will be a head coach sooner rather than later. If the, if a school is willing to wait for him and Andy Kotelnicki believes that he can succeed there and he's going to get a raise, he's not just going to take some Mac job or whatever. I always talk about Kent state. You don't just take, you just don't take Kent state for whatever. Um, so it would need to be a place that he is going to succeed in a school. That's going to need to be patient with him and give him a raise. I think those are all great points. All right. Let's, uh, speed round for Saturday night. Roman, give me a score for Saturday night, Penn state and Oregon. saturday night roman give me a score for saturday night penn state and oregon oh i i think this is gonna be a really fun game uh because i zach i'm i'm gonna ride with penn state obviously you know
Starting point is 00:26:52 the the flag in the background might be a little bit of an indicator that of course give me 34 31 penn state okay zach bottle score wow i'm the penn state show host and i i because i've seen the nittany lions all season long so i know that oregon the way that they are built is the kryptonite for this penn state team that doesn't change my expectations of them that doesn't change how i look at other matchups because i actually like penn state against a georgia or a tennessee or an alabama but when it comes to oregon and ohio state if they can avoid those two teams in the playoff, they, they might actually make a strong post-season run, not here in the Big Ten Championship. I have Oregon 31, Penn State 24. I just, I, I think Oregon, Oregon is strong in areas that are mismatches for Penn
Starting point is 00:27:38 State. And if they can avoid those two teams in the post-season, in the, in the college football playoff, Penn State could casually wind up, wind in the semi-final and even the championship I really do believe this is the third best team in the country behind Oregon and Ohio State I like a 28-24 score I think it favors Oregon but if it's a lower scoring game I'm gonna hedge and say it's Penn State if it's a grinded out defensive battle so there we have it uh guys. You guys always do a great job. And to all of our listeners and viewers out there, follow and subscribe to your favorite Big Ten team. We're covering every single team, your favorite team every day
Starting point is 00:28:12 throughout the season and the offseason and the other sports as well. And don't forget, I've got you covered with the entire conference every day with Locked on Big Ten, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.