Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - BIG 10 SQUAD: Why isn't the Big 10 dominating college basketball anymore?
Episode Date: January 30, 2025Can the Ohio State Buckeyes maintain their dominance in college football amidst coaching shake-ups and fierce recruitment battles? Dive into the latest buzz surrounding the Big Ten conference as we ex...plore the impact of Jim Knowles' move to Penn State and the high-stakes world of NIL deals. Join Craig Shemon and guests like Jay Stephens and Spencer McLaughlin as they dissect the evolving strategies of top teams, including the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans. The conversation heats up with a spirited comparison of Big Ten and SEC basketball, featuring insights from Zach Seyko. Plus, get the inside scoop on Super Bowl LVIII predictions, with a focus on the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Turbo TaxReady for stress-free taxes and the most money back, guaranteed? Head over to TurboTax.com today and get matched with your Expert. Only available with TurboTax Live Full Service. Real-time updates only in the iOS mobile app. See guarantee details at TurboTax.com/guarantees.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelSuper Bowl 59 is here, And there’s no better way to make every play more exciting than with FanDuel Sportsbook. New customers can bet just FIVE DOLLARS, and if you win, you’ll score TWO HUNDRED BUCKS in Bonus Bets. Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of Super Bowl Fifty-Nine.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Well, the Ohio State Buckeye is one of the championship, of course.
Now they're getting poached.
I want to talk about that a little bit.
Of course, SCC basketball is going to be getting my attention here.
What happened to Big Ten Hoops and all of its domination?
It's time for the lockdown Big Ten Squad.
You're talking ball with the Big Ten Squad sponsored by Game Time
from USC to Ohio State, from Michigan to Oregon, from Nebraska to Washington.
It's the l
locked on podcasts network
breakdowns and the most c
of the upcoming Big 10 we
and thin skin allowed squ
of the Big 10 squad. Welc
Big 10 squad. I'm Craig S
and enjoy as we mix it up a little bit.
Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an
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Alright, we got Jay Stevens, Lockdown Buckeyes, National Champions. We got Mark from Lockdown
Trojans. We've got Zach Zecco. Oh, he just popped in from Lockdown Nittany Lions. Zach
Anderson-Yaksmeyer from Lockdown UCLA and Spencer McLaughlin from Locked on Ducks from Lockdown and Indy Lions, Zach Anderson-Yaksmeyer from Lockdown UCLA
and Spencer McLaughlin from Lockdown Ducks
and Lockdown College Football.
Gentlemen, good to have you here.
I wanna start off by talking about
all this poaching going on here, Jay.
When you win, people want you.
I wanna tell you about the movie.
Yeah, you're a thief, Zach.
I see you in the corner, you're a thief.
What's up, Jay?
Yeah, what's up?
You took the D's coordinator.
You took the guy who wanted to stay on staff. You're a thief. What's up, Jay? Yeah, what's up? Coordinator. You took the guy wanted to stay on staff.
You're a thief.
So, you know, we we got the best
defensive coordinator in college
football. You stole him outbid
Ohio State outbid Oklahoma and
created the best of best
coordinator duo in the entire
country between Andy Codel Nicky
and it
locked on Sooners is probably sick and tired of Penn State at this point because that's the two
coordinators that they wanted in each of the past two off seasons and they lose out to the Nittany
Lions. So
yeah,
as a head coach, though, right?
Well, yeah,
he beat Lincoln Riley.
So, hey, Jay, Well, yeah, he beat Lincoln Riley.
So, hey, Jay, Jay, Jay, let me ask you.
Jay, I want to ask you about
this. So so they paid him
three point one million
dollars a year.
I believe Ohio State also made
him an offer. But was this just
a case of a guy just wanting
to go back to his roots in
Philadelphia, go back to the
state of Pennsylvania?
Is that why is that why you
lost nose? It seemed like there was some more outside of that being his home state that kind of pulled to go back to his roots in Philadelphia, go back to the state of Pennsylvania. Is that why, is that why you lost Knowles?
It seemed like there was some more outside
of that being his home state that kind of pulled him to
Penn State just a year ago, actually.
He was trying to go back out East to Duke.
He was trying to be their head coach out there.
He didn't end up getting that job.
And so Jim Knowles is a guy that I think there were things
behind the scenes between him and a position
coach and then him and Ryan Day that kind of led to this happening at the
end of the season there were reports that he reached out to Penn State there
was a report I don't know if it's been confirmed but I did hear rumblings that
he even reached out to another school prior to the national championship game
thank you Jim Knowles is a guy that was looking to get out.
Now maybe the Duke thing was,
you maybe want to go back to Duke
and be a head coach again.
Maybe that's why he entertained that a year ago.
But it definitely seemed like this year,
there was some stuff that happened after the Oregon loss.
Ryan Day took a bigger,
really more control of the defense
and trying to call some things
and make some changes that needed to happen because he didn't want that massive wall or that loss where the defense gave up a lot of points in a lot of yards to happen again.
And I don't blame Ryan Day. I told Zach this early on the crossover we did. I don't blame Ryan Day for going in that room and saying, no, we're changing this right now. You're the head coach. You run everything. If you have to change things, do it now. I don't care if you hurt anybody's feelings because you're here to win.
You're not here to make friends.
And I think that maybe her Jim Knowles, maybe we're up here in the wrong way.
We all know there was some stuff going on with him and Larry Johnson in regards to
behind the scenes how they were going to use the D line and not be going the same page.
Financially, I think Ohio State could have come up with the money and made him the highest paid
event coordinator.
But I think the stuff behind the scenes is what truly led to
Gymnast being stolen by Penn State
Interesting and mark, you know downtown Lynn was part of this mix to a former Penn State player
He got a big raise out of this too
because I think he had a conversation with Penn State before they went in the direction they did but obviously
USC seems to be pretty happy with him in the defense there.
Oh, they're ecstatic. He was the one coach that Lincoln Riley could not afford to lose off of the staff.
The turnaround from 2023 to 2024 on that side of the ball, it's not insignificant.
You look at just about every metric USC improved dramatically.
And that's why it was so disappointing last year to see,
you know, the head coach who was supposed to be,
you know, offensive guru, genius quarterback guru,
to finally have one bad year on offense
when he finally had a defense
that he's never seen before in his life.
Yeah.
That's why it made last year so disappointing.
And absolutely.
The fact that Penn State went and took paid whatever
how you want to describe Jim Knowles from the Buckeyes to come back to Pennsylvania he's what
from Philadelphia I believe. If I'm Ohio State now I'm concerned with do we keep Larry Johnson?
Does he want to you know ride off in the sunset go back to Penn State where he was before?
Does he want to, you know, right off in the sunset, go back to Penn State where he was before?
These are the type, these are the domino effects that can start happening.
And when you start looking at Ohio State's apparently 37 million in the red, the athletic department, maybe you're starting to see that some of the financial blowback is coming back to haunch.
Very interesting. Spencer, speaking of poaching, you know, there was a story
that, you know, Jeremiah Smith was offered four and a half million dollars to leave. He didn't,
but I heard, is it true that Oregon was trying to get Carnell Tate for about a million bucks?
Is that true? They were, they were poking around. I don't think anyone knows what the exact numbers
were. I do know that it was in the millions of dollars, which is about what the going rate is in NIL nowadays for a guy of that caliber.
And, you know, Danny Cannell posted a video that was flying around Twitter last week saying that, you know, agents are throwing these numbers out.
They're goosing them up and it's over exaggerated.
I can really see that being the case because there are so many actors behind the scenes in this NIL portal world that no one really thinks about, knows it.
No one even knows what their names are.
Yeah, but yeah, they're not accountable to anything.
And it's why this is all such a mess because another thing I don't know that everyone understands is being an agent is a licensed business.
You have to have a license. You have to get training. You have to get so like you have to be a CPA, right? You have to take a series of tests in order to be an accountant. So those might have been over over juiced a little bit, but I don't know that they're two, three, 400% over because I mean, if you had if you're one of the top tier NIL programs in all of college football, and let's say you had $20 million,
just as an example number,
how much of that would you give to Jeremiah Smith?
Jay, if you were given $20 million to last year's roster,
how much you give him Jeremiah Smith?
It's not under $2 million.
No, no, close to a quarter, honestly.
Just, he's worth that much money.
Yeah, and so like, I saw that and eh, it might be a little bit high.
But I mean, the idea that teams would poke around and try to get guys of that caliber.
No, I'm not surprised at all.
I think Oregon's interest in Carnell Tate was real, but I'm not surprised that he was,
you know, he ultimately decided to stay there because who wouldn't want to be the number two
to Jeremiah Smith? How much attention is that guy going to attract on a weekly basis?
He's going to be getting if you basis? He's gonna be getting,
if you have a single high safety defensive play call,
in what world is that safety not getting rolled
to Jeremiah Smith and leaving everybody else one-on-one?
Yeah.
Zach Anderson, Yaksmar,
I wanna get you in on this conversation.
I know UCLA is at a different level.
In fact, I actually know personally one of your guys
that are in charge of your name, image,
and likeness collective over there,
but I don't know
if you guys try to poach anybody.
Any good rumors out there in UCLA?
I mean, the only stealing that's happened, let's see,
Jay Stoller, head coach, Mark,
you took our defensive coordinator.
I forgot about that.
You took our quarterback from last year.
Zach, while you're stealing my first name.
So I got beat the whole show.
So.
Zach's staff shops at Walmart.
That was classic.
All right.
Hey, believe it or not, we got a signing day coming up.
I want to just do a rapid fire around the clock here.
Any guys that you guys are looking in, any big news breakers, any news coming for that
first week in February with which was the original true signing day
before we had two signing days.
And it should be, it should be.
I don't know why we did this.
I don't know who asked for it or why we got rid of it.
But I think all of us
in the year round content creation business
would much rather have signing day in February.
Yes.
Figure it, it's also better for college football as a whole.
But most importantly, it's better for college football as a whole.
But most importantly, it's better for the six of us
and everyone else at our network.
So figure it out.
No question.
Well, Spencer, since you're rolling here,
who's Oregon looking at?
Any high schoolers in the state of Oregon?
No, I think there are 25 classes done.
They're on to the 26th class.
And they're off to a really strong start there.
But there are a lot of different names.
You know, Ryder Lyons is a guy, a quarterback
that they're looking at who's a mission kid,
might not be on campus till 27, but I mean, you're just,
you're all, I also saw a tweet the other day
from someone over at 24 seven that Oregon is either scouting
or has offered a scholarship to a 20 27 recruit.
Like this is just the way that the way that it goes.
And I mean, you start building the 2026 recruiting class
right now for the most part, because 25 is basically done.
You could have I think there were, you know, post February last year.
I think there have been over the last couple of seasons.
There have been a couple of kids that Oregon has added, but really,
they've done it mostly on the early signing window.
And then they've used thi
the recruiting shutdown t
groundwork and they're sw
2026. Zach Anderson is U
state of California or th
elsewhere outside the sta
been pictures of their go
in the state of florida.
downfall of you know know, Florida a little bit, if Billy Napier falls down,
if Miami, who knows what's going to happen in the state of Florida with all those close
football teams right now.
But the Bruins are hitting Florida pretty hard right now and Florida State's Brady Schmiegel
decommit maybe UCLA gets in all that action as a 2026 quarterback.
Who knows?
Zach Zyko, how about Penn State?
Were you guys zeroing in your efforts for next week?
If I had to throw out a name, just to talk about something,
Zaheer Mathis is still a player of interest.
He was committed to Ohio State once upon a time.
Not sure what fell apart there.
I think other schools were interested in his recruitment,
and Ohio State started pursuing some other defensive linemen.
Penn State is at least in contact with him.
I think he's down to five or six schools.
He's probably going to go to the ACC or the SEC,
but it's kind of a don't count out Penn State.
I think if Penn State is here,
Mathis can come to some common terms.
He very well might sign with the Nittany Lions,
but I'd say that's kind of, you know,
more unlikely than it is unlikely at that point
for the defensive end.
And he's from Pennsylvania. J
Stevens Buckeyes another top five class. Yeah, the top five
class of class is pretty much wrapped up. They're not doing
anything with the 2025 cycle. They're out recruiting right
now while they can chip Kelly the coach that was told from
UCLA. He was actually out in California recruiting and look
at a couple quarterbacks. He was it's weird. Kelly was
recruiting. I need photographic weird. Kelly was recruiting.
I need photographic evidence.
I need photographic evidence.
It's weird man.
He was recruiting.
He wasn't out at the national championship at the national
championship celebration.
So when you know, Noles wasn't there, you know, there's rumblings
that he may not be there in 2025 with Chip Kelly not being there
either.
I was thinking well, maybe both coordinators are gone, but there have been pictures of Chip Kelly in Cali,
in Illinois on the recruiting trail.
And I'm surprised at everybody else.
I thought Chip Kelly didn't recruit, but here we are.
Picks are, it didn't happen.
And he flipped a quarterback at Florida
that was going to Florida State too.
I know he was recruiting in Florida too.
Mark Trojans, where are they zeroing in on?
Well, I'm just wondering if Chip Kelly's in those states,
do any of those professional NFL teams
have offensive coordinator positions open?
Just saying.
Yeah.
There's one guy that USC is looking to add
to their 2025 class linebacker, AJ Tuateli.
He was originally committed to Wazoo,
the Washington State Cougars.
That looks like to be the the
name that you will see you bring in on February signing day. Other than that,
they're pretty much focused on 2026 right now. On Saturday, they're
they're looking to host a gang of 2026 prospects. So we'll see how that how
that turns out. It's going to give their new general manager a chance to kind of dip his toes in the water and see how good he is at his job.
Well, that's fair enough there.
All right. I want to switch tables just a little bit.
We'll come back in one minute.
I want to talk about basketball.
Seems like the SEC is grabbing all the headlines with college hoops.
We'll talk about that as the Lockdown Big Ten squad continues.
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Back on the Big 10 squad here. Let's I'm gonna switch gears.
We talk a lot of football here.
We will always talk a lot of football here, but you know, March
Madness is right around the corner and I was actually just for fun.
Just cruising around standings and all that kind of stuff and kind
of getting boned up for for March Madness.
I'm looking at the SEC standings guys and their first 10 teams are all ranked in the
top 25.
I mean it definitely is their year.
You know Auburn and Alabama are great.
The Big 10 not so much been a bit of a championship drought as well.
Kind of like your thoughts on all of that as well.
I know Michigan State's kind of red hot right now, but when I was growing up, Big Ten basketball
was a big deal.
Jay, I'll start with you.
What's the difference?
It seems like the SEC made a concerted effort to not just be a football conference.
Now they're everything.
And their basketball is sky high right now.
The basketball is sky high.
This has been a trend for the Big Ten for a few years now, not just the national championship drought, which I think goes back to Michigan State in 99 or 2000. I think it goes back
20 or 25 years. This is the last time a Big 10 team has actually won a national championship in
basketball, which is right rare. A lot of it's coaching. I know to me, if I want to go and play
basketball in the Big 10, I'm going to Michigan State first.
I'm an Indiana guy.
I wouldn't try to go to IU to play basketball.
I like Matt Painter.
My grades couldn't get me in a school at Purdue.
And so I have to try to figure out where things are there,
but it's weird.
A lot of it's coaching.
A lot of it's guys wanting to play with their friends.
But big kid basketball is falling off.
I don't have like a finger. I can't put a finger on it outside of, they're getting it done with their friends. But big kid basketball is falling off. I don't have a finger.
I can't put a finger on it outside of
they're getting it done with the coaching.
I mean, Bruce Pearl's done a great job over there.
And he's not the only coach down there in the South
that's been pushing all the right buttons.
Mark, how about a West Coast perspective
from what you see here, the difference between the Big Ten,
not quite up to the SEC standards right now.
Yeah, how often do you talk about SEC basketball
and Kentucky's like maybe the third or fourth name
that you're bringing up?
Yeah.
That's how odd it is.
So I don't know, maybe it's just one of those cycles
that we're going through right now
where the SEC doesn't own football anymore
because everybody gets to pay players
and it's kind of leveled the playing field. I'm not sure what exactly or why the Big
10s void has happened with national championships in basketball, but I can
tell you this, Big 10 is not going to win one this year. UCLA is not going to win one.
I know USC is not even going to be in the tournament. So it's just another year of,
you know, maybe the SEC will,
you know, get to the final four again.
But, you know, it is what it is.
Yeah.
Zach Seiko, what's your best theory?
What's going on here with Hoops?
I'm more interested and preoccupied
with number one versus number two in wrestling.
Penn State's taking on Iowa.
So that's where my attention is for this week,
besides the Jim Knowles banter. I've gone on rants about men's basketball. There's just not a lot of intrigue intrigue up here. And I guess for a good reason, because there was tournament aspirations. They they absolutely handled Purdue early in the Big Ten slate and then just kind of have progressively fallen off since, which is strange because this is a veteran team
that has played a lot of basketball period,
but also the Nucleus came back for the second season.
So Penn State was supposed to take a step forward,
same coaching staff, same Nucleus, they didn't.
So it's kind of reflective of overall in the Big Ten as well,
why the Big Ten Conference took a step back.
I mean, it's the same thing.
I think that basketball rosters are going to be a lot easier
to manage because it's 14 scholarships
and then a few walk-ons versus, you know,
what's going to be 105 in football, if I'm not mistaken.
So the SEC country just has basketball figured out.
And I'm confident that Michigan State
and Purdue and all those things. I won't count out the big 10 from completely, you know,
all there's no way that they make a final four. But I also think that there's also a
shift with the traveling to UCLA, USC, cross country like that as well. I mean, this is
the first time at football. It's different because you have a whole week to prepare.
Whereas basketball, you're going to have a midweek game
and you might be out there for multiple days.
The way that Penn State's doing it.
They have UCLA and USC coming up.
And so that trip is extended out there.
So I think it's the logistics are different for basketball as well.
I don't know that the SEC doesn't have to travel as far either
cross country like that.
Zach, I'll also tell you, I was going through hundreds of comments on my YouTube page at
Lockdown Big Ten and there was one guy says, Hey, call yourself Lockdown Big Ten.
Why aren't you covering Penn State Wrestling?
I'm sending them to you because I know you do a great job with it.
I see a lot of views and I know it's a big deal there at Penn State.
I'll let you handle it.
You're the expert on that.
If you ever need if you ever need me for a segment, I'm happy to chat Penn State
wrestling on your show.
Craig, you have to walk me through that a little bit.
Zach Anderson, look, UCLA basketball's been a big deal there historically.
What's your view on the Big Ten?
Not quite being up to snub.
Well, it seems like we got a lot of hate on Big 10 basketball.
I'm going to throw some shade on the SEC basketball.
I know the top of the conference is spectacular.
I looked at their latest bracketology from Joe Lennardi.
He had 13 SEC teams in there.
I don't believe in the ultimate depth of the SEC.
I think their depth is over right now.
The top part of the conference really good, but we're, as Zach Seiko mentioned, the travel, right?
UCLA, USC, they gotta go all the way east
to go play the Maryland's and the Rutgers of the world
or Penn State, depending on how the schedules, right?
Or vice versa.
And UCLA saw that early.
They had to go to Nebraska, come play at home
against Michigan, and then go to the East Coast
and then back.
And they've seen in the month of January, a four game winning streak and a four game losing streak.
The Bruins are currently on a heater.
And let's not forget about women's basketball too, because hey, we're waiting till February 13th when
we see Lauren Betts versus Juju Watkins. That could be another debate.
I know we're talking men's basketball right now.
I think the Bruins have figured something out. They have a 7-3 Spaniard.
UCLA have been playing terribly, getting owned in the paint.
I'm a little more optimistic.
I know Mark doesn't like the Bruins
because UCLA just beat USC last night
without UCLA's leading score.
But I could see where the hesitation
for UCLA's deep run potential is there.
I also see the optimism that the Bruins have found an option
with the 7-3 unicorn in the middle.
You've got some potential with the leading score coming back.
But with all the travel,
is that going to hurt?
Come tournament time will
they be just beaten up?
Specifically the West Coast
schools like the UCLA's,
the Oregon's of the world that
are expected to make the tournament
or that turn into something that
they played so many good teams and
that will just make them much
better and go in a deep run.
Just be glad that USC couldn't
make a free throw and that you
have the Kansas City Chiefs appreciating crew doing that game.
Well, let me tell you, UCLA can't make free throws either.
They finally made them last night.
They did.
They did.
So I was like, you know, but they did go through that stretch where they couldn't make some
and then USC couldn't make them.
And they got outscored in the paint.
It was just whatever.
You guys got the win.
I got you.
All right.
I tell you what, you get the basketball win.
It's funny you mentioned the Chiefs
and I know Zach Seiko is excited about Saquon Barkley
and the Eagles.
We're gonna do something a little different
in just one minute.
I wanna get these guys Super Bowl predictions.
All right, that's coming up next
on the Lockdown Big Ten Squad.
Back on the Lock big 10 squad.
All right, well something different this time here.
We're going to jump in with these guys.
They're sports fans just like everybody else.
We are get some Super Bowl predictions here.
Jay Stevens will start with you Chiefs and Eagles about the way.
I'll argue that for a lot of people.
This is probably the least favorite matchup.
I don't know that are a lot of Eagles fans out of Pennsylvania, and I know people are tired of the Chiefs, but this is probably the least favorite matchup. I don't know that there are a lot of Eagles fans out of Pennsylvania and I know people are tired
of the Chiefs, but this is what we have.
A rematch from the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.
Jay, which way is it gonna go?
It's going, let's go with the Eagles.
I am a person just going away from football right now,
kind of, not no analysis.
I'm tired of seeing the Chiefs in it.
I, it's, to me, it's giving Tom Brady Patriots vibes.
Of course, Tom Brady is a guy that kind of ruined
my childhood as I called it,
cause he kept the Colts out of making playoff runs
when I was a kid.
But I want to see Saquon Barkley win it.
I do like Jaylen Hurts.
I think that team is rolling right now.
They're playing phenomenal football.
And I am going for the Eagles for reasons
that just aren't football reasons.
I just don't want to see the Chiefs win.
That's fair enough. Mark, who's going to win this game?
Better question is Mark, does Mark care who wins the game?
As far as having a ruling, you've got Juju Smith-Truster, who's a wide receiver for the Chiefs who played at USC.
So I'd like to see him put a ring on his finger.
But other than that, like I said, as long as Patrick
Mahomes has his own personal security detail wearing pinstripes. Yeah, I don't know. Philadelphia can play the best game of
their of the season. Yeah. And I just don't know if they have enough to get by. Spencer's back. Spencer's you get done what
you needed to get done in nine minutes. There was a much better way to phrase that, but yes,
I recorded a segment on another show.
Boy, poor audio listeners.
Yeah.
If you were about to ask me about the Super Bowl,
Fly Eagles fly.
I'm not an Eagles fan.
I am a fan of a different bird in the NFC that being the Seahawks
But I kind of go back and forth on the one hand
It would be cool to watch a three-peat happen because it's so
Insanely difficult on the other hand. It doesn't fit the mold for what we would like a three-peat to look like
so
Just in the set like there's there's so much about it.
And I know that on the one hand, yes, it gets overblown.
I know there are data points out there
that people have cited like,
hey, the Chiefs get called for it.
And there are also ones that show, yeah,
their opponents are called for more roughing the passer
and unnecessary roughness penalties
than they are in the playoff run.
I don't think that the NFL is rigged in favor of the Chiefs
I do believe that the officials
Clearly don't want Patrick Mahomes to get hurt
Mm-hmm, and and that has impacted the way they call things and people have allowed
Bad calls I think to stick in their mind more than
You know bad calls that go the
other way against the narrative that people have formed, but they're seeking confirmation
bias.
It just gets harder and harder for me to completely push aside.
Yeah, they just wanted the Chiefs to win when the Bills make the first down marker twice
and we all see it and then they aren't given the first down.
It's like, guys, you're just like the NFL is so aware of it.
They had Gene Sterator in the booth the entire game as like a third
member of of the of the primary tandem.
I've never seen that before.
It's like they're aware.
Hey, we're going to show you that these calls are not just going in the
chief's favor and then Gene went out there time after time and said, yeah, no, the chiefs
caught a break there.
Yeah.
It's like, guys, that was bad.
This did not have the effect you were thinking about.
No, believe your lying eyes.
Right.
Well, yeah.
Zach Laco, who's winning the super bowl.
Yeah.
I mean, you're right.
We're talking about this a little more than a week early.
I'd like to see the injury reports.
I'm gonna go with the Eagles because I think the weaknesses
that they had the first time around,
or if there were any, there's not many,
or the lack of strengths, if you will.
They have more options, right?
Saquon Barkley is better than a Miles Sanders.
You have a little bit better chemistry,
and it's crazy to think with all the reports
about how AJ Brown's frustrated. Devontae Smith, Alice Goddard came back from injury, offensive line is in sync.
I got to give the Chiefs credit because they dealt with a fair share of injuries and they still were
able to overcome them. Chris Jones makes a good point about how the reason we're still at the top
of our game, especially on defense, is because NFL franchises refuse to hire away Steve Spagnola, who
arguably is at least
the most consistent defensive coordinator.
I don't know what it is for me personally.
Maybe it's because Penn State made it as far as they did
in the post season, the expanded college football playoff.
There was just more excitement around this season
for college football.
This is the least interested
that I've been in the NFL overall.
Ben Raffesberger retires.
I kind of retire my Steelers fandom with it.
I don't care because they because they they're they're the
definition of insanity right there. But I have no personal ill feelings about the team across the state in the Philadelphia Eagles one
way or another. I'm rooting for Saquon Barkley and Johan Dotson in this case. It's not it's not about the team from
Pennsylvania. It's not about hating Patrick Mahomes. I'd like to there. They are very much like the Patriots of the of the
two thousands 2010s. This is kind of what we're seeing in real time here. So if they can kind of disrupt that I have no
issue with it. But there's I have no rooting interest in it. Period. The NFL the NFL is losing my interest but they keep
gaining viewers so they don't care about me. Zach Anderson I know the game's still another week away. Final word from you.
Well, I got a couple of things.
One, the over-under of Taylor Swift appearances
during the broadcast.
Two, can you retire your fandom, Seiko?
I'm a Raiders fan, so I guess I'm well past that.
Mark, can your boy help me over here in Vegas?
What's going on?
And then three, as a Raiders fan,
you obviously know which way I'm gonna swing.
I don't really want Philadelphia to win.
They blew it two years ago.
And now I'm saying, fly, eagles, fly.
I don't wanna say it, but I don't want the other thing.
I don't want anything to happen.
I just want the Super Bowl to be forgotten about.
All right.
And Roman came in for the last 30 seconds.
Yeah.
I'll give him, you got some breaking news or something.
Yeah. Yeah.
I had no idea that Kai Horton was going to commit to Washington.
I didn't know they wanted at a fifth scholarship quarterback at this point in time.
So I had to run out, had to come back in to say two things.
One, shout out Trent McDuffie, chasing his third straight Super Bowl ring.
I am exhausted by this chief's dynasty, but it's great to know that there are more
Super Bowl rings for Washington than there are Oregon players in this game.
I had to make sure I got that that rent free rent free.
Yeah, that's that's totally what that was.
Is shout just blasting in your headphones is motivation right now to know it.
Is it my mind?
That is literally the one thing I wanted to pop here
pop in here to say
outside of that though riding with the Eagles ESG LES Eagle shout out to them for that.
Just needed to get those two things in there. Shout out to Brandon for let me do it.
What do you think the reaction will be if the Chiefs lose and it's just
Taylor Swift sobbing in Kelsey's arms? That would be awesome.
It'd be my favorite television show of the year.
Yeah.
It'd be great.
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