Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Say Something Positive about Iowa football, the anatomy of a huge upset, Degenerate Picks

Episode Date: October 19, 2022

Trent and Biz are back for the latest Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast. After the idle week, the guys try to find some positives about the Iowa football program. After a look at the positives, it's time to talk about the huge mountain to scale in Ohio State. Does Iowa have any chance in this foot all game? Stat Boy thinks he may have some ideas. Wrapping up with Degenerate Picks presented by Bet Online and Biz's BeatSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!SweatBlockIf you or someone you love is experiencing embarrassing sweat or odor try Sweatblock. Save 20% with promo codeLocked On at sweatblock.com. Also available on Amazon.LinkedInLinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!UpsideDownload the FREE Upside App and use promo code Locked to get $5 or more cash back on your first purchase of $10 or more.Underdog FantasySign up on underdogfantasy.com with the promo code LOCKED ON and get your first deposit doubled up to $100!SimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnCollege to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coming up on today's Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, Trent and Biz back together. We talk about the positives. That's right. There's been so much negativity lately. We go on the plus side and try to find something nice to say about this Iowa Hawkeye team after a disappointing 3-3 start to the season. We look ahead to Ohio State. Do the Hawkeyes have any chance?

We're being positive. We're going to find a way to do that. And we'll make our picks today presented by BetOnline. It's the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Our Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Trent Conant back with you alongside Biz. This is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen each and every day.

Available on YouTube. Hit the subscribe button while you're there and wherever you get podcasts. Today's episode is brought to you by Sweat Block. If you or someone you love is experiencing embarrassing sweat or odor, try Sweat Block. Save 20% with promo code LOCKEDON at sweatblock.com. Also available on Amazon. Biz, a bye week, idle.

You know, we used to use that term a lot more, right? Idle was the terminology. It's not a bye. I mean, you don't advance to anything. It's not a tournament. Why do we call it a bye week idol you know we used to use that term a lot more right idol was the terminology it's not a bye I mean you don't advance to anything it's not a tournament why do we call it a bye week I have no idea Trent but that's some deep deep thoughts by you so bye week I had a week whatever whatever you call it I was happy to have a week off from Iowa football and man just watching college football on Saturday it's like watching a different sport. It was a fun week, a lot of entertaining football games, but I guess I'm a glutton for punishment because I'm happy and ready for the Hawks to be back and ready to watch them again.

You know, I originally actually planned to be out in Columbus this weekend. My sister lives in Cleveland now, so that was the plan. Her fiancé, he's an Ohio State grad, so we're going to go together. And it just didn't work out weeks-wise. And because of that, I'm kind of happy. I've been to Columbus a couple of different times. Have a fun time. It's not the greatest road environment.

I've been there for big games. I've been there for blowouts. I've seen both sides of it. I don't know. Of all the Big Ten places we've been, and I think you and I have been to everywhere, except for the newbies. I don't know if you've been to Maryland or Rutgers. I haven't.

But it's down the list for me, Columbus, for the people heading out there. There's fun things to do. It's just it doesn't have that same kind of college feel, I guess, because Columbus is just so big. Yeah, I mean, it definitely pales in comparison to Happy Valley in my book. Part of that might be just because of the games we went to also. The Penn State game we went to was College Game Day and Iowa wins on the Claiborne block punt. Both Ohio State games I've been to have been pretty lopsided affairs where Ohio

State, the outcome was never in doubt. Maybe if you're there in a game that's, you know, a night game with a true, a true four quarter battle, maybe it'd be a little different. So, but, you know, as we'll talk about a little bit, I don't think we're probably in for a true four quarter battle this week either. Well, yeah, we're going to get to that. We're going to break things down with the Buckeyes. But before that, it's been by week. I've been talking a lot of negatives, a lot of frustrations, and kind of that boiling point that you continue to hit. So let's talk about some positives.

Find some positives about this Iowa football team. There's a couple of different directions you can go. I'm interested to see if you can find anything on the offensive side to be positive about. But let's just start an overall general view. What do you got positives? Look at us bringing these optimistic, these positive about, but let's just start an overall general view. What do you got positives? Look at us being, bringing these optimistic, these positive people, you and me.

Well, at some point, Trent, you're just beating a dead horse when it comes to the negatives of Iowa football because it's some pretty low-hanging fruit right now. You don't have to dig very deep to find the negatives of Iowa's offense and of some of the coaching staff complaints as well. So time to turn the page. Let's be positive today and let's focus on what I tried to do,

at least try to find some areas that this team can get better on the offensive side of the ball the second half. What are some areas that we can look at and say, hey, the offense can improve in these areas. And to me, number one, the first thing that kept popping up on offense is Caleb Johnson. I just think he's somebody that, you know, I think he needs to become the workhorse the second half of the year.

You know, if you look at Braylon Allen last year for Wisconsin, you know, halfway through the year, he was a good, but, you know, still emerging running back. And then the second half of the year, he was unbelievable. And they just kept feeding him more and more. Not saying Caleb Johnson is anywhere near Braylon Allen, but he's averaging 4.6 yards a carry. He's shown that burst.

He's shown he's very decisive. He hits the hole with some authority. I can easily see him putting up, I don't know, 400-plus yards in the last six games. I just think it's time to make him the workhorse and to give him the ball 15, 20 times a game down the stretch here. So I think he's got a chance to be somewhat special as a running back for the Hawks.

That's a great one, and that's one that I certainly also had on my list. I've maintained, I think going back to certainly the Iowa State game, before we even saw his breakout performance against Nevada when he had the two long touchdown runs, he feels like he's one of the few playmakers that this offense has, and I'm right there with you. You've got to find a way to get him involved. There are so few difference makers.

You've got to get him the ball, be it 18, 20 touches a game, and just do different things with him and learn on the job. Because, frankly, you look forward and where I'm going to go next is the offensive line. It has not been pretty. I've talked about this on yesterday's podcast, just how bad the numbers are offensive line rank-wise. A couple of numbers, if you missed it yesterday, with this offensive line stuff rate, which measures hit at the line of scrimmage or behind the line of scrimmage. Iowa is one of the worst in the country this year.

Their stuff rate. That's not a positive. Come on. Well, we're going there. We're getting there. It's this offense is right. One 31. It takes a while to get here.

It took you like two minutes to veer into the negative trend. Positives only today. Come on. The positive is they're young there is there you go and we have seen this so many times in the past and we've seen Iowa offensive lines starting early in the Kirk era you go back to 2008 when they were hitting another downturn they played a lot a lot of young offensive linemen and eventually they got there so maybe it's more hope than optimism or positivity but this young offensive line has a chance to get better.

Now, can George Barnett do that? That's another question. We'll leave that one aside for right now, but there's a positive right now. Hey, the offensive line is not very good, but at least it's young. Well, you can make the argument, Trent, they have nowhere to go but up on the offensive line, so they have to get better. Right.

Got another one. All right. Positivity. What do you got? All right. Number two on my list of positives is that we are starting to get some playmakers back and we're starting to get healthier in the wide receiver core.

Nico is getting healthier. He's got 11 catches the last two games. You know, I think he's somebody you can, you can use as a, as an offensive weapon. And obviously at times he's shown you can use as an offensive weapon. And obviously, at times, he's shown flashes of being a better-than-average wide receiver.

Sounds like Vines is going to be back this week. I'm excited to just see if he can contribute or help at all to the wide receiver core. And then this is the ultimate positive or trying to look at the glass half full. At some point in the second half, Keegan Johnson has to make an appearance, doesn't he? I mean, is it just literally going to be every week soft tissue injury? Like, I don't know. I'm still holding out that glimpse of hope that he will play at some point this year and that his career is not already –

we've not already seen the last of Keegan Johnson. But in general, are we going to have a big group of dynamic playmakers the second half of the year? No. But can we at least get a little more options from the wide receiver core? Yes, it looks like it. I'm excited to see what Vines can do. Bostic traveled.

Maybe you put him in down the last six games and he plays a little bit. There's at least some hope. It's not like that first game of the year when we were like, good Lord, who do you throw to, Jack Johnson or Alec Wick? There's a few more options, a few more. Well, my next positive is speaking of receivers, the tight end position. We've seen Sam Laporta now play for three years and you know I I thought he was a good player I wasn't sure if he was a great player I don't know if he's at the great category he's not Dallas Clark he's not Noah Fahey he's not

TJ Hawkinson but in that next tier he's right up there and he continues to move up and in a team where there aren't a whole lot of options he has been really really good at times this season we've seen him make tough catches in traffic do Do you want more? Absolutely. But the tight end position, Laporta for me went from just another solid tight end to a step above that at the very least. And I think Luke Lachey has a big chance of really taking a step forward. So the tight end position, that's definitely a positivity offensively. And are we done with the offense now? We're ready to talk about the other thing, the positivity of that defense.

The tight end, I think you're going to see the last two times we played at Ohio State or against Ohio State, tight ends were a major, major portion of our game plan. Back in 2013 they were there and in 2017 with the Woodshed game. I think you're going to see that again this week.

We're going to have to use our tight ends. I mean, the only hope we have against them is to out-muscle them because we're certainly not going to out-athlete them. So you're going to see the tight ends, for good or for bad, they're going to put up some decent numbers, I think, this week. And so, yeah, but I don't know. One last, those are the only two offensive ones. I will say before we move to defense, there's one more positive,

and that's for the special teams. I do think – we haven't talked much about this, but it certainly seems like we've found our kicker for the next four years as well. I mean, Drew Stevens, he's 6-7. Yeah, he missed one against Illinois, but he has shown, A, that he's got a cannon for a leg, and B, he's six for seven on field goals, so he's got some accuracy as well. So that's, you know, going into this year, kicker was a major, major question mark,

and so I think you have to look at that as a huge positive. It certainly seems like we've got a kicker for the next three and a half years. Yep, that's a good one, and one I actually had on my list, and I think a good one to mention because it was a huge question, and the way Iowa plays, you've got to have a kicker, and it feels like they have that, and have it hopefully for the next four seasons, as you said. Defensively, got to start just watching Jack Campbell. You know, sometimes you get guys that are veterans,

and you know they're good, and you almost forget about them. But watching him out there, he's just so big and rangy, and he's different than most middle linebackers in today's both college football and the NFL because of the size that he has at 6'5", the sideline-to-sideline ability that he has. So it's just more than anything just a love of Jack Campbell and some kinds that we just take him for granted just how good he is, but that's definitely a positive.

Seeing him out there, the big guy from Cedar Falls out there making plays. Well, I mean, the defense in general is just a positive and i mean i think after this saturday trip we're going to be able to make a pretty clear argument that we've lost to the three best teams in the big tent i mean i think illinois right now has a good argument that they're the third right now these are the third best team behind ohio state and michigan and then you look at our schedule the last five our defense is going to keep us in all five of those last five games. Are we going to win all five? Probably not.

But the defense is just good enough that you look at those last five games, we're going to be in all five. And, you know, you just can't say enough about our defense in general, just year in and year out. We talked about it all the time. And fill your trust. You know, it's hard to out. We talk about it all the time. In Philly, you trust. It's hard to even pick out a single category on the defense. So when you talk positives, I'll just say Phil Parker. I mean, he is the ultimate positive for this program right now. We rip on the offensive coordinator and the offensive coaching staff in

general, but the ultimate positive for this program is Phil Parker. I think that's a good way to put it. Anything else on the list? Because we the buckeyes looming and i think our positivities might be taken off the take it off the screen when we get to that point no no we get there well there's a tease for after your whatever your commercial break is but stat boy's got the ultimate positive for the ohio state game is also trend so all. We're continuing with positives. That's right. We'll talk about that.

Ohio State and Stat Boy, he's got a little something for us here today. I'm excited about that. This is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast here with Biz and Trent. Well, we got a new one here today to talk about. And if you have something, embarrassing sweat, odor, those kind of things, maybe it's somebody in your family. Biz, you've got a couple of young kids at home. I'm sure at time to time, athletes, those kind of things, things get a little stinky.

Well, you know, one way that you can do that is with Sweat Block. It was created by a doctor to help with his own excessive sweating. Might have been Dr. Casey. It is doctor created and doctor recommended. If you or someone you love is experiencing embarrassing sweater odor, try sweat block, save 20% with promo code locked on at sweat block.com. It is also available on Amazon.

That's locked on for 20% off at sweat block.com business. We continue here. Let's talk about once again, hold on, we can't just let that go by. Okay. Once again, our on, Trent. We can't just let that go by. Okay. You love that. Once again, our sponsors get us, Trent.

We go from Nugenics to Sweat Block. The old sweaty guy, that pretty much fits us to a tee. When it's humid out, Trent, I sweat more than any human I know. Yes, you do. Send me some, I don't know if I call it embarrassing. It's just sweaty. Send me a free product. I'll test it out. All embarrassing. It's just sweating. But send me a free product. I'll test it out.

All right. We'll get it for you. We'll help you out. And, yeah, you're right. I forgot how much. We haven't played athletics outside of Can Jam and bags at tailgate in a long time together. Just with humidity.

I don't do well in humidity, Trent. Those early, early games, September, it can be a little bit of a battle. No doubt. Well, it's Ohio State this week. Not going to be hot out there. It is, you mentioned Woodshed a little bit earlier. Look, I'm concerned about the game. I think most everybody is.

Do you have any hope for this team? So we're playing positives today. Any hope for Iowa coming off the bye and getting ready for this Buckeye team? Not only are they great offensively, that defense under Jim Knowles is playing really well this season too. Well, sticking with the positive theme, Trent, I am absolutely positive that we do not have a chance on Saturday. In a word, no, we do not have a chance. I mean, you know what, Trent, I thought kind of thinking back, this is the first time in 22 years that we're going to go into a game with no hope.

And, you know, I think you need to take a step back as an Iowa fan and appreciate that. I mean, you look around the nation. I mean, Tennessee is celebrating right now, you know, their biggest win in 20 years ever. Tennessee has gone into plenty of games in the last 10-15 years with no hope and look around very few programs can say what we can which is that for 22 straight years we went into every game with a chance to win it in fact only once in 22 years and we've been

underdogs by by more than three touchdowns and we won that game I mean the only time you can make an argument that we went into a game with no hope was that 2016 game against Michigan. But obviously we won it. And I remember way back five, six years ago, we talked about kind of a path to victory in that game, and there was some hope in that game for a couple reasons. The main reason being the Kinnick Stadium atmosphere

and the home game atmosphere, and that Jim Harbaugh's Michigan teams at that time were pretty conservative and weren't exactly a juggernaut offensively and so I think we thought you know we can slow them down and make it a four-quarter game and see what happens and that's exactly what happened but this Saturday feels totally different to me for three reasons. One, it's on the road. Two, the absolute explosiveness of Ohio State's offense. And three, you know, several of the negatives, but you have to at least mention it, the absolute ineptitude of our offense. When you combine those three factors, I think you're fooling yourself if you think we

got a chance on Saturday. So, you know, miracles happen happen but I I just don't I don't see the miracle happening this Saturday I think go into this game thinking hey let's let's let's battle let's see what we can do let's keep it close and uh hopefully we come out of the game with more positives than negatives you know and one other thing let's say Iowa hangs around The defense plays the game of the season. They are incredibly good. They get a defensive score. Iowa gets a couple of first downs, moves the ball a couple of times. Say they lose it, I don't know, 24-13. You know, they're kind of hanging around. The defense just plays as well as you can possibly hope against this team. In a a way because they need wholesale changes offensively I don't I don't even know if that's a good thing I mean even when I try to bring something positive

and come up with this scheme of this way that could happen I'm concerned that person say hey look how close we are I guess that's just where I am maybe a little bit as a fan is I think they're going to get blown out and even when I go hey maybe they'll hang around and they can do this I don't even see that as a positive. You know, I was there about a week ago, Trent. It's kind of what I was thinking also is that maybe we just need to hit rock bottom and make sure the changes are going to happen. But I just can't think that way as an Iowa fan.

We've got half a season left. Let's see what happens. You know, like I said, we're going to lose on Saturday. But those last five games, they're all going to be a touchdown or less, one way or the other, spread-wise, I think. They're all going to be games where we're going to have a chance to win them. So let's go out and win the damn games. And we'll deal with the aftermath at the end of the year.

But I'm not ready to just throw the season in the garbage yet. Iowa football, as we know over the years, has always been a team that battles. Just when you think things are at their worst, they usually battle back. I'm ready for that again this year. I've moved past my full pouting stage, ready to, again, back to the positive theme, Trent.

I'm ready to give this team a second chance the second half of the year. It's not going to be pretty, but it's got to get better. Well, and you got Statboy to work this week and trying to find some positives. So Statboy was texting me this morning. What do you guys got up your sleeve here? I'm very intrigued by this one. Well, this isn't us. This is Statboy on his own.

People that have listened to us for years know that once or twice a year, Stat Boy goes rogue and just comes up with his own assignment. And that's what he did this week. So ever the optimist, what he did is he went back and looked at one of the, or probably the greatest Power Five upset of all time and found the blueprint. So when you think Power five upsets, Trent, do you know which game we're going to be breaking down? Is this when Stanford beat USC as like a 41-point underdog?

Exactly. 15 years ago, Stanford goes into the Coliseum as 41-point underdogs. And just for a little background real quick, shows you how amazing this really was. USC the three years before, about 13-0, 12-1, 11-2. That year, 2007, they started the year 4-0, and they were ranked number one. Stanford, on the flip side, the year before, about 1-11, fired their coach, had just hired Jim Harbaugh. They were 1-3 to start the year and had lost 41 to three to Arizona state the week before. So truly amazing upset for them to go into the Coliseum and win at the 41

point underdogs. So we're only 29 point underdogs. So it seems easy in comparison, but stat boy dug deep into the box score and he found basically the five keys to success. The five things we've got to do if we're going to go into the shoe and win on Saturday so you're ready for the uh the ultimate positivity the ways we're gonna we're gonna shock the world Saturday morning I'm uh I'm intrigued by this one it feels like we got a lot of work to do all right let's see what he does but when you look at the

five things a couple of them are you know they're kind of the keys for Iowa's success week in, week out. So, number one, you've got to win the turnover battle. Stanford did that. You know, they got a lot of breaks that game. Five to one, USC had five turnovers, Stanford won. So, pretty simple, win the turnover battle. So, there's your number one on the list. Number two, you've got to get off the field on third and fourth down.

That's something that Iowa prides itself in, kind of the bend but don't break. USC was seven for 22 on third and fourth down. So Ohio State's going to put up the yards. They're going to march up and down the field on us. They're going to get to yards, but you've got to stop them. You've got to hold them to field goals. You've got to hold them to – when you get the opportunities on third down, you've got to get them off the yards. They're going to march up and down the field on us. They're going to get to yards, but you got to stop them. You got to hold them to field goals. You got to hold them to, you know, when you get the opportunities on third down, you got to get them off the field. So there's number two, win the turnover battle, be good on third and fourth down. Number three, this is another

Iowa staple, get a defensive touchdown. The game, USC was ahead the whole game against Stanford, and the game turned on a Stanford pick six. So, you know, the one guy that hasn't done much this year, Riley Moss. You know, it feels like maybe a Riley Moss game. Maybe Riley Moss steps in, gets a pick six, and you never know. So there's number three, things that we can, those are three things I think we can potentially do. Win the turnover battle, get off the field, and get a defensive touchdown. Those all rely on the defense to do those things. So, I mean, you look at the game, Stanford was out gained 459 to 235. I mean, we're going to get out gained for sure on Saturday. But if the defense can do what they always do and, you know, get some turnovers, get off the field, and get a touchdown, you never know.

So, the other two, Trent, number four and five that stat boy dug up, these are a little more probably unrealistic but hopeful. So you ready for the more unrealistic options for this game? Oh, boy. All right. What do we got here? All right. Number four, Stanford started their backup quarterback.

First start ever for Tavita Pritchard. Goes into the Coliseum and wins it. So simple solution here, Trent. Start Alex Padilla, we're going to win. So that's – as every good Iowa armchair quarterback knows, the backup quarterback is the key to a win. So if Padilla comes out and wins or comes out and takes the first snap on Saturday,

then all bets are off. We got them where we want them. Yeah, exactly. Last one's even more of a stretch, Trent. Put Xavier Womp at wide receiver. Oh, yes. The reason why Stanford had a young defensive back that they were struggling with.

They needed wide receivers so bad that year that they moved the young defensive back over to wide receiver. He caught three balls that game. You want to guess who that young wide receiver turned D-back was? Richard Sherman. Richard Sherman. Yep, Richard Sherman. Three catches against USC.

So that's it, Trent. You got to play great defense. You got to start Alex Padilla, and you got to put Wampa wide receiver. If those three things happen, Trent, you better sprint to the casino and put in a big bet this Saturday morning because it's a lock at that point. Well, speaking of that, I've seen the money line going down. Must be taking some sharp money on the Hawkeyes money line this weekend. Or I don't know what the reasoning actually would be behind that.

But, yeah, that thing was like over 20-1 earlier in the week. And I think I saw last night it was down to like 16-1, at least at one betting shop. So somebody must be firing on the Hawkeyes on the money line. Or are people drunk? Maybe insider info, Trent. Maybe they know Padilla's in and Wampa's going to be working on the offensive side? Are people drunk? Maybe they, maybe they, insider info, Trent, maybe they know Padilla, Padilla's in and Wampa's going to be, going to be working

on the offensive side of the ball. So, so there's your, there's your five keys for success. So is it going to happen? I don't think so.

But there's at least a blueprint out there, Trent. Let's hope, let's hope somebody with the coaching staff is listening and they've,

they've got the keys to success now. We can only hope. Well, let's hope they're actually spending their is listening and they've, they've got the keys to success. We can only hope. Well, let's hope they're actually spending their time on something better than listening to you and I talk about things, but here we are. All right, biz,

we're going to wrap things up on the other side of big things. Brian could maybe use the, what was it called? Sweat block or whatever. Sweat block. Yeah. He seems like a sweatier fellow as well on the sidelines. It doesn't mess with his hair though.

Right. Oh, absolutely not. That there's a positive right there. That guy't mess with his hair, though. Right. Oh, absolutely not. There's a positive right there. That guy's still got all his hair. That thing is greased back. You're looking sharp over there on the sideline with the 131st ranked offense in the country.

All right, Biz, you ready to make some picks? I am, Trent. All right. I think I've been one and two like four weeks in a row. So time to get back on the winning track. We'll do that when we come back. It is our picks for the week. Biz tries to get on the positive side, and we will do that as we continue.

We'll pick Iowa, Ohio State, and a couple of other favorite games of the week. This is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high-stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100% certain they have access to the best qualified candidates available. That's why you need to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free. I have a small business. Biz works at a law firm. I don't know if he does the hiring, but LinkedIn Jobs can help him out. And you know what, Biz? You can just tell your bosses, hey, this is the place to go if we're looking for some new lawyers. Add your job and the purple hiring frame to your LinkedIn profile. Spread the word that you're hiring.

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And certainly a lot going on in college football. You mentioned at the top, you know, just watching watching college football last weekend not having to worry about what time the Iowa game starts how ugly is this going to be all these different things it was just it was a nice cleanse right in the middle of the college football season and of course Alabama Tennessee how great that thing was yeah I just I mean there was a stretch literally about the same time as Alabama, Tennessee, Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin-Michigan State were all three either tied or in overtime all in about a two-minute stretch there. And so, yeah, again, I'm ready to get back to the pain of being an Iowa football fan. But it was a good break and couldn't have worked out any better because man there was some good football last week

that there was a good football this week we will see we got Iowa Ohio State but before we get into that one uh let's take a look at our games for the weekend our major matchup of the week it is UCLA against Oregon Biz I'll give you the floor on this one because I've talked myself both ways back and forth with the Bruins and the Ducks. Yeah, I've been wrong on UCLA I think about every week all year. And this spread seems too high to me at 6.5. It seems odd. So I think it's screaming for you to pick UCLA.

So I'm just going to go with the George Costanza and go with the, you know, do the opposite. So give me Oregon minus six and a half. I just think that spread seems odd, but I think Vegas knows. So give me Oregon minus six and a half. I've been, that was kind of the direction that I was heading to, but ultimately Bo Nix, he's been really good since that game against Georgia.

It's still Bo Nix. We've watched this guy for four years now, and it feels like in a big spot, he always finds a way to make a big mistake. And because of that, I'm going to grab the points here. I love what Dorian Thompson Robinson has done with UCLA. Of course,

Chip Kelly going back to Oregon again, you got a lot of storylines here. Yeah. They're begging me to take the Bruins, but I'm going to buy the, I'm going to bite on the hook here and I will take UCLA plus the points. Pick number two, it is our bet of the week. This is one that I have done for years and years. It came up with a win last week. Teams in the rankings for the first time or the first time in a long time getting into the top 25. I faded James Madison

last week. They, of course, got beat outright by Old Dominion. I'm going to do the same here with the green wave of two lane right number 25 this week they take on memphis it was okay but ultimately it just feels like it and you see this happen a lot you get in there you get in the top 25 and then uh you fall out very quickly afterwards so i will grab the points give me the touchdown and the memphis tigers well trump my pick of the week uh i'm gonna call, my pick of the week, I'm going to call this my pick of the year, Trent. Everybody knows Jeff Brom owns Iowa.

Do you know who owns Jeff Brom? No. The Wisconsin Badgers. It's pretty amazing, Trent. Wisconsin has beat Purdue 15 in a row. 13 of those 15, they beat them by more than a touchdown. Bro, 13 of those 15, they beat them by more than a touchdown. Only once in the last 15 years has it been a field goal or less game. So Wisconsin's only favored by two and a half at home versus Purdue.

Purdue's a fun story this year. They're a good team, but you watch them play. They are by no means a great team. So give me the Badgers minus two and a half. I think they, they're not a good Wisconsin team, but they're going to be angry. Purdue's Jeff Brown is owned by, by, by Bucky Badger. So give me Wisconsin minus two and a half and lock it up as my pick of the

year trip. Well, pick of the year. Oh, family play. I got to year. Oh, yeah. Family play. I got to jump aboard with that one. All right. Love it with whiskey. Land the less than a field goal against the Boilermakers. Of course, we wrap things up as we do every week with the Iowa matchup. The Hawkeyes getting north of four touchdowns. Now, how I played this already this week, team total out there at ten and a half. I took the under

on that one for Iowa. That's not how we bet here. I'm going to lay it. It's a square play, I'm sure, but I'm going to lay it with Ohio State. Again, how does the offense move the football? How tired is the defense going to be in the second half? I see this thing, 35-3,

38-7, something in that range. I will lay the points. Give me the Buckeyes minus the 29. Yeah Trent you know only three times since I graduated college has Iowa lost by more than four touchdowns so uh is it going to be pretty on Saturday no do we have a chance of winning no but I do think we have a good chance of staying within 29 points. Honestly, it's a bet that I'm not planning to make myself, but we're forced to make it on this podcast, so give me the Hawks plus 29, and I'll hope for a backdoor cover with a late score to make it 35-10. Maybe it'll be a backup, make a defensive play or special teams will get something that way.

Could be a safety. I don't know. We'll see if we can find a way. I hope you're right on this one. Let's say it is 35-3. Will we see Alex Padilla at any point on Saturday? No. They have dug their heels in so deep there is not a chance.

I had a little birdie tell me there's a better chance that we see joey lavis before we see alex padilla i don't know how much i believe that one but i was told that by somebody that does have some connections very frustrating but this is our reality well i'll take the other side and say we do see the backup quarterback not because of any decision by the coaches but at some point in time with our, our civil and offensive lineman off the line, I think Petras is going to be injured for at least a play or two and have to

go to the game. So he's made out of rubber. Just for people, just for a argument sake, Trent, I'll say, yes, there'll be another quarterback in for at least one play on Saturday.

Well, wrapping things up on the lockdowndown Hawkeyes podcast, let's finish up. It is time for Biz's Beat. Well, Trent, Biz's Beat, we have hit the perfect week for pro sports. It's the few weeks here, the last half of October, where you can watch football, basketball, hockey, and baseball, all in a two-week stretch.

So, you know, NBA basketball started last night. Not that everybody's clamoring to go watch a bunch of NBA regular season games, but it's really, truly some of the greatest TV watching out there for the next couple weeks. You can enjoy Major League Baseball, especially if you enjoy watching 18 straight innings of no runs. I've watched a lot of that game Saturday. Oh, God, Trent, why?

That's a punishment. As a sports nerd, it's a great two weeks coming up. You can enjoy a little of everything these next couple weeks. Stick with the positive theme, Trent. I'm ready to enjoy some Iowa football again. It's weird going into a Saturday with no hope, but that doesn't mean I don't have hope for the rest of the year. I do still think this team has got some fight in them. I think, can they get to

at least bowl eligibility? I'm still, I'm still in the corner that says yes. Again, it's a positive episode. So we're going to end it on a positive, positive note, Trent. Put me down for us making a bowl game still. I like the positivity. That's how we'll finish things up. We'll be back with you later in the week. LaShawn Daniels will stop by. We'll talk about his bye week and what he sees and hope what they do during a bye week. We'll talk to a former Hawkeye football player about that. Also,

we'll make picks, LaShawn and I, as we do each and every Friday here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. For Biz, I'm Trent. We'll talk to you next week, Biz. All right. Go Hawks.