The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Building the Beast: The NFL Draft prospects with the most at stake in the CFP quarterfinals

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

The CFP quarterfinals take place on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and the eight teams remaining are absolutely loaded with NFL talent. So, who among the draft prospects as the most at stake in the quarters? Dane Brugler and Dave Helman dive into that question on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast.Rundown (timestamps are approximate)3:00 Miami-Ohio State27:30 Texas Tech-Oregon46:33 Alabama-Indiana59:24 Georgia-MississippiConnect with The Athletic Football ShowYT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShowPodcasts: https://podfollow.com/the-athletic-football-show/viewX: https://x.com/TA_FootballShowIG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshowDiscord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshowCall us: 847-448-0701Email us: [e-mail]: Dave HelmanCo-Host: Dane BruglerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerVideo Producer: Katy DuffyAudio Producer: Michael BellerSocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Follow Dane on X: @dpbruglerTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another episode of Building the Beast. I am your host, Dave Hellman, and this is a show that needs no introduction. It is the quarterfinals of the college football playoffs. Should be scintillating football all day, New Year's Day, as well as New Year's Eve. Plenty of games to watch. More importantly, for our purposes, plenty of prospects to evaluate these four games absolutely loaded with guys who are going to hear their names called in the 2026 NFL draft. So without further ado, let's get to.

it. Dane Bruegler and myself breaking down the college football playoff quarters. Let's go. Well, Dane, it's about to be a new year. It's about to really ramp up in the draft cycle as the 2026 draft comes into, begins to come into focus. And before we dive into this preview show, can you hear that sound? Because I think I hear the sound of scores of Raiders and giants and Jets fans, Cardinals fans, maybe even Chiefs fans, oddly enough, downloading our show as they start to get ready for the draft that perhaps they weren't paying as close attention to in September or October. The frequency of tweets and downloads and all that kind of,

it starts to ramp up this time either. There's no question about that. And, you know, it's a fun part of the year because the draft order is coming into focus. you know, who's going to have the number one overall pick. Certainly it looks like the Raiders are dead set on getting that number one overall pick, which, you know, we've talked about a long time, probably Fernando Mendoza, the favorite to be that pick. But then after that, it's still plenty is up in the air, as Dante Moore going to declare, is how, you know, who's going to be the first non-quarterback drafted?

And so there's a lot that we're going to figure out here the next few months. But I think there's a lot we're going to learn from these. especially this, what is it, the quarterfinals of this playoff? Like these are four really good games with some real NFL prospects that can make some money, can help themselves, can really make it, make some waves with how scouts and teams look at them. So this is going to be a lot of fun. Shout out to you if you're a draft Nick like us who has been along for the ride since August. We really appreciate that.

But if you're newish to the show, if you're just starting to get. get into your draft prep. We're very happy to have you here. And your timing couldn't be better because New Year's Eve and New Year's Day is just loaded with good college football and major college draft prospects. So we're going to dive into all four of these quarterfinal games. We're going to preview all of them starting chronologically. We're just going to start with the first game on New Year's Eve. Let's get into it, Dane. And I think we said this about Miami's last game as well when they beat Texas A&M at Kyle Field, this might be pound for pound the most NFL talent on the field in the quarter finals of this game. It's number 10 Miami in the bracket,

number two Ohio State, Wednesday night, New Year's Eve at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Fort Worth. So again, if you're new to the draft process, I'm just, I'm going to lay these games out. If you're coming to the process now, let's just give you a primer as we go. So Ohio, State defending national champions, number two in the country, did not lose until the Big Ten title game. And you're going to see why when you turn this game on. Just looking over this day, and I count as many as seven big time draft prospects on Ohio State's defense alone. If you pay attention to the draft process, you've probably heard the names Arvel Reese. You've definitely heard the name Caleb Downs by now. Sunny Stiles, another guy that looks like he's going to be a big time

pick, but we'll get into it. There's plenty more, whether it's Caden Curry, Caden McDonald, Kenyatta Jackson, Davis and Igbenosa. I mean, the entire Ohio State defense is worth knowing if you care about the draft. Throw in one of the top two or three receivers in the class in Carnell Tate. It makes a lot of sense why Ohio State is where they are. Miami, plenty of NFL talent of their own, particularly on the lines of scrimmage. The offensive line features Francis Maui Noah, who's one of the best tackle.

in this class. Annes Cooper is another offensive lineman worth knowing. And then obviously you got two of the best pass rushers in the class in Rubin Bain and Akeem Mezzadour who are going to be challenging this Ohio State offensive line. So those are the basics. But let's dive into it, Dane. Where would you like to start here? Because I know you wrote a story this week for the athletic about the five prospects with the most to gain on both sides of each matchup. We're going to do everything. But where would you like to start? I mean, I think that there was a really good way to kind of jump off because, you know, when I think of Miami, Ohio State, I immediately go back to the 2003 national title game

when, you know, Maurice Claret and how loaded those Miami teams were. And so that game alone, that national title game, there were 20 combined first round picks on the field that night, 20. This year, and that was over, you know, like two or three years after. after that game was played. This game, it might come close to that. I don't think it's going to reach quite 20, but it could come close to that,

which says a lot about the talent on both sides of this one, with Ohio State and Miami. But I think that if Miami is going to win this game, they're nine and a half point underdogs. If they're going to win this game, it's about the pass rush, exactly how you set it up. And, you know, we watch,

everyone watched that A&M game in their first round, and it was the past rush. getting after the quarterback, shutting down that offense. Ruben Bain, Akima Mesidor, on the edges. They combined for 19 pressures against the Aggies. And the recipe will be similar in this one. Ohio State quarterback Julian saying he was sacked just eight times in 12 regular season games. And then in the Big Ten title game, Indiana cranked up the pressure.

They turned 12 pressures into five sacks in that game alone. And Ohio State had just 10 points. So if you're Miami, the recipe is right there for you. You get after the quarterback. You don't give the quarterback enough time to go make plays down the field and use all the weapons at his disposal. And so Julian's saying he's still a young player. He's a true sophomore, redshirt freshmen.

So young player, can they do that? And this will be a big test for Ohio State's offensive line, which is a, they've done a nice job this year, but they are mostly underclassmen, almost all underclassmen. and I wouldn't say that any of them are first or second round picks. They're not that type of guys. You know, no Josh Simmons, no Donovan Jackson, those types. They're good, though.

I don't want to say that it's a weak part of this Buckeyes offense. But it's obviously a different animal going up against these two guys with Bain and Medsdor on the edges. Bain, obviously, we talked about it last show where I kind of got the ball rolling on the, hey, guys, like he's not this consensus top 10 pick that most, like a lot of people think that he is. And that's mostly because of the body type, you know, 6-2, 277, under 31-inch arms.

A lot of teams look at him as a three-technique. Regardless, he's still a really good player. And this happens with a lot of, you know, good players where you put them under the first round microscope. And it's, you know, we pick these guys apart. That's, no one's immune to that. And Bain is certainly, you know, that's what's going on right now with Bain.

And it's better that it happens now than in March, to be honest. But that's just what NFL teams are talking about with him. He's still a really good player. And I will say watching that tape back, the A&M tape, Mesa door is the better player in that game on that tape. He put more pressure. I know Bain had three sacks. Two of those were clean up sacks.

He had one really good rep against, I think it was against Crown over the right tackle. But this one, the A&M game, that was Mezador just wrecking house. And can he do that again? And Mezzador is an interesting guy. He's been in, he's a super senior. He had foot issues that kind of derailed his 03 season, his 04 season. Canadian native. He's playing his best ball right now.

23 season, 24 season. He wasn't on the field for this last Miami, Ohio State game. Yes, thank you. He's an older guy. He'll be a 25-year-old rookie. He's not that old. Goodness gracious. 23, 24 seasons.

Thank you. But he's coming into the year who's kind of thought of as, more of a he teased the talent but you just didn't see it enough and that's why he was kind of a later round pick now it's hard to see him not going in the early rounds just because of as long as the medicals

are clean he's going to go because he's a more diverse pass rusher than Bain is but both of these guys can get after you and so if you're Ohio State you better have a plan and that's we're going to see Ohio State runs more multiple tight end sets than almost anybody in the country

I think they're number two in all of FBS, which is like 56, 57%, where they have two or three tight ends on the field. They better be using those guys to help block the edges because that's going to be the key for Ohio State giving quarterback enough time to go make those plays down the field. This sets up a few questions for me. Let's start with Ruben Bain. We talked about that on the last show we did before the holidays, where maybe he's not seen as the consensus top 10 pick that a lot of people assumed he was heading.

into or during the course of the regular season. The fun part about that for me is how much can he sway those concerns if he keeps putting together performances like this where already played well against Texas A&M, now you get a shot against Ohio State. And potentially, if you were to get this upset, you could go on and on and on. How much does that type of performance sway people that, okay, this is closer to what the hype says than maybe we thought? The other question is Mesodore.

How high could his ceiling be? And I get that is, that's a difficult question to answer when you factor in medicals and things like that. And then lastly, this is a mouthful. But I am so intrigued by this Ohio State offensive line. We've talked about it. And look, I already outlined for you the talent in this game. I know Ohio State is a really good team. But is this a situation where this Ohio State offensive line just has not been tested?

by a pass rush like this on any sort of consistent basis. And is that a matchup that could swing this game a lot more than the 10-point spread might indicate? Yeah, I mean, I think that you look at Ohio State and who they've played this year, you know, going up against Penn State and their defensive line, going up against Indiana and their defensive line. You know, Texas has a pretty good defensive line. They have, for the most part, done a really nice job. but it is fair to say that they have not seen a pass rush duo like this on the edges.

And so, and I would say that this Ohio State offensive line is stronger probably on the interior, maybe the exception of right guard than on the edges. And so this will be a big test for, you know, Philip Daniels's right tackle, Sarah Feld at left tackle. Can they hold up? And especially when they're put out there on an island one on one to, you know, when we talk about Ruben Bain, I think if he's going to, help himself in this game.

It's not just about the sack numbers. Like he had three sacks against Texas A&M. Great. The tape wasn't as convincing. Like I said, two of those were cleanup sacks. Mezzador, I thought, had the better overall game. For me and for, I think for for scouts, you just want to see him win in more ways. You want to see him be more diverse as a pass rusher.

Yeah, he has a good getoff. He has really strong hands. He will go through you. He can work around you. But it's more about can you set up the blockers to win in just multiple ways, whether that's breaking out different moves, you're stringing together, you're setting guys up. Like there's just a lot of different ways to do it. And that's because once you get to the NFL, that's what it separates, unless you're just

Vaughn Miller or just a truly elite speed guy or, you know, you just have one really good way to win. You know, that's kind of what separates the good pass rushers from the great pass rushers. And so I think that's what NFL teams want to see more than anything. Yeah, you're a shorter armed guy. Can you? we know you can do the speed the power. Can you use that to set up other moves off of that?

And so, you know, I think that in a game like this, it's just you rely on your bread and butter. And so, you know, but if you can do that enough times, can you win over? Especially because this is the time of year when, like, I'm sure a lot of coaches in the NFL have seen a lot of these players. But for some of them, like, there's seasons over at this point.

So for a lot of these coaches, they're going to be turning on the tape and these games for the first time and really focusing on, okay, I need to watch these Miami pass rushers. Okay, I'm going to focus on them. So first impressions mean a lot. And so for for Bain, for Mezador, it's kind of like just do what you do. And, you know, just go put pressure on the quarterback, create that disruption. And both these guys can do it.

So I'm very eager to see what Ohio State, what kind of plan they have in place to kind of even the score a little bit in terms of how they block them up. you talked about the first round microscope that's on a guy like reuben bain let's flip it over to the buck eye defense and i'm i'm really interested in this topic and i've been thinking about it since the big 10 championship game when we've talked about arvel reese on this show and like the guy is undeniably talented he is an incredibly fun player he jumped onto the radar this season in a big way but i feel like a lot of our conversation has been framed around the idea of like doesn't this guy whip ass can't like he just he just kind of wrecks shop he can rush the passer he's incredibly explosive he's incredibly big but when you talk about like a microscope what do you think games

like this mean to a guy like arvel reese who you know we've talked about as one of the best non-quarterback prospects in this class but i hate to call him a tweener because he's this enormous dude but you're still talking about a dude who flexes between linebacker and rushing the passer and a guy that you've got to have a plan for if you're going to use top 10, top five draft capital on him. I'm very curious how teams might view that. And you talk about picking a guy apart. Is he a guy where when you get down to brass tacks, it's like, yeah, he's awesome,

but can we use a top three pick on this? Or is he so talented that it's like, yeah, whatever. We'll figure that out and we'll be happy about it. I think that is, that's what I'm starting to wonder about. a guy like Arvel Reese. Yeah, and I think that's going to be a topic throughout the process is, well, why wasn't his sack production better? Why wasn't it?

Like, Box score scouts are not going to like Arvel Reese nearly as much as the rest of us. But I think the whole point of Arvel Reese being ranked as highly as he is, is that he could be whatever you want him to be. And for this Ohio State defense and Matt Patricia, the way that they have used him has been as a spy or as an basically a guy that contains the edge because he's so violent at the point of attack that he can take on offensive tackles

he can shut down the edge against Mendoza like the biggest splash play he had in that Big Ten championship game was when he was spying Mendoza and then when Mendoza started to go outside the pocket he closed in a blink of an eye and chased him down for the pressure and so it's just I think a lot of

do people want more flash from him? You know, you think about last year's college football playoffs and what Abdul Carter did against Notre Dame. And it was in a loss, but Abdul Carter was just, and he was playing with one arm. And he was just unblockable in that game. And single-handedly almost kept, uh, got Penn State over the hump. But then I think that's what people want to see from Marvel Reese just because we're talking about him as a potential top five pick.

But that's just not the value that Ohio State sees in him because of, how valuable he is as a spy and as an edge defender. And they have been getting pressure with Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson on the edge. They run a lot of, and they really vary their fronts at Ohio State, penny fronts. And, you know, they will walk guys down and, you know, they'll move the linebackers all over. And so I think that with, you know, it's just a more diverse front seven than I think what you normally see at the college level. And that helps get offenses off kilter because in different ways Matt Patricia will move these guys around. So, yes, I think that we talk about this defense as a whole, top down, Caleb Downs, total package, sunny styles, physical freak.

And he's playing faster and more physical in every single game. And last year, we have to remember first year at linebacker, this year, second year. So he had a full off season. And he just looks like he's seeing things so much better. And we talk about size and length And why does that matter? Sunny Stiles does not have a single mistackle this year Quite literally.

PFF has him as zero mistackle so far 13 games this year. And then on the up front, Caden McDonald at nose tackle. So you have all these dudes, especially in the front seven, they're using Rval Reese to the best that fits what they want to be. And so I think a lot of people will look at that.

Not a lot. Some people will look at that and say, oh well they're just you know he how good of a rusher could he really be pass rusher could he be if they're not using them that way and i think i think we really have to focus on the value that he brings to this defense and not try to think too much about it and say oh well maybe they're hiding something or anything like that i think that's completely fair and i i don't say any of that to disparage rvel rs i'm just trying to anticipate what four and a half months of conversation is going to look like i will just say though one last

on the Ohio State defense. Like, if you're hunting a pure offball linebacker, like if that's what you need, if you are a Cowboys fan or maybe a Colts fan or some of these teams that where that's going to, well, sorry to bring up old wounds, Colts fans, you don't have a first round pick. But if you need a linebacker, if you need a linebacker, watch Sunny Styles play in this game. Please just do it. He might go top 10 because he's just, you just don't. find guys that are that size of that athletes again still you just turn 21 years old the

improvements he has made both mentally and physically the last year playing linebacker i mentioned this in the last show that that indiana ohio state big tent title tape my favorite tape of the entire year that i've watched any single game because of how good both teams were on both sides of the ball and sunny styles was a big part of that so yeah you're exactly right watch number zero and how important he is to, especially when we watched that Miami offense, that run offense, what they did against Texas A&M, Mark Fletcher, who former Ohio State commit, he had, what, 172 rushing yards in that game. And he's averaging, I think, 5.4 yards per carry this year.

Ohio State does not give, they have the number one defense in college football for a reason. They do not give up big plays, especially on the run. I'm very eager to see how that battle plays out because Carson Beck for him to have success through the air, they need to have success on the ground. And we know they're going to do whatever they can to get the ball in the hands of Malachi Tony, who true freshman, we're not going to talk about him too much just yet.

But man, he's electric. If Miami's going to win this game, it's the pass rush on defense and it's Malachi Tony making plays on offense. And so they're going to do whatever they can to get the ball in his hands, manufacture touches. but they need the run game to get going just like they did against Texas A&M. I'm glad you mentioned Mark Fletcher because he balled out against the Aggies. And that's somebody I definitely want to see how he follows that up against such a ferocious defense.

Another guy on Miami side that I want to hit before we get done with this one, Kiante Scott, the nickel for Miami. My God, he had a game against A&M. 10 tackles, two sacks, forced fumble, just was all over the place. I believe he got the pressure on the game deciding interception. Yeah. He had the force fumble too earlier in the game. But yeah, I mean, he was, that closing speed, man, unbelievable.

Like he was disgusting. He looks like he looks like a corner and he plays like a linebacker. Like he, because he is not a big guy, but he plays so fast, so physical. Auburn transfer. He kind of, he was, wasn't sure if he was, even going to play this year because he kind of out of eligibility. He transfers to Miami. They get him on the field and he's been a difference maker.

He like go back if you watch the Louisville tape. That was the tape from me that was like, okay, this number zero is different. He is like him and Caleb Downs, the two most disruptive safeties in college football, period. And they're both going to be playing in this game, which is a lot of fun. So, yeah, I wrote in my preview for the first round game between A&M and Miami that Keontes Scott might be the difference and that's exactly what happened because of how disruptive he is at the line of scrimmage he's so good at making himself small so he avoids blockers and makes tackles he's the closing speed like i mentioned the competitive toughness um yeah he's he's awesome i his draft projection is a

little tricky because he's very like i don't think he has a in terms of his role and what he does best it's very specialized and so only so many teams are going to be looking for that style of nickel Because that's really what he is. But if you were a team looking for that style of player in, you know, the third round, he's definitely a guy that needs to be considered. Him and Jacoby Thomas, the two safeties for Miami, have been, I want to say, revelations. But they've been nice surprises this year. I think both end up getting drafted.

And Keonti, Scott, has really made waves with the way he's improved this year. this is one of those games where wherever your eyes take you during the course of the action, you're going to be looking at NFL prospects. So it should be a fun one. Really looking forward to that. We're going to take a quick break. And on the other side, we're going to talk about one of the biggest dominoes in this draft class who will be playing in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day. Second game of the quarterfinals is number four, Texas Tech against number five, Oregon.

That is on New Year's morning, 11 a.m. time. That's in Miami. Like I said, it's the Orange Bowl. And I mentioned it, Dane, one of the biggest dominoes. I mean, there's, there's NFL talent all over this game, and we can talk about that. But the biggest feature in this game, if you're tuning into the draft process, is Oregon quarterback, Dante Moore. He's had a phenomenal season leading Oregon to a 12 and one record. It's his second season as a college starter. He was briefly at UCLA, transferred into Oregon last year and sat behind Dylan Gabriel. He's had a fantastic year. And what he decides to do from here could say a lot about what this draft class looks like. We know about Fernando Mendoza. Most people agree Dante Moore would

be a big time quarterback prospect if he decides to go. And we just don't know if that's the case yet. It might depend on how well he plays in a situation like this. And what an opportunity to size him up because Texas Tech's defense has plenty of NFL prospects. It's been one of the stories of the year as the Raiders have run to a 12 and one record. I've honestly dominated the vast majority of their competition. Number three in scoring defense across major college football. They've only allowed two opponents to score more than 20 points. Big part of that is their front.

It's led by defensive end. David Bailey. He leads all of major college football in pressures, according to PFF, with 77 of them. But Ramello Height and Lee Hunter are senior bowl guys on this. this Red Raider front. And if that wasn't fun enough, Oregon's offensive tackles, Isaiah World and Alex Harky are both senior bowl guys as well. So the fronts are going to be fun in this game and how Dante Moore plays with all of that

going on with his NFL future potentially in the balance. I mean, what else do you need? I think it's fair to say that he's definitely leaning one way or the other. You know, like we're speculating. We don't know. But if he was definitely going back, I think he would have announced. by now. But I think it's also fair to assume how these next few games, or just this game, if Texas

Tech is able to win, how these games, this playoff plays out will affect Dante Moore's decision. I mean, it has to, right? How he performs, how he plays. Texas Tech, it's, I think both things can be true. They have been one of the best defenses in college football this year. they have also not played a team as good as Oregon this year. I think both these things are true.

So what is going to be the tipping point here? I mean, there have been times Indiana's defense played really well against Oregon offense. Penn State's defense did a nice job. So it's not like this is an Oregon offense that is impenetrable. I mean, you know, it's not like they are going to just put up 50 points in this game. Like it's that's not what should be expected. But I do think that with Dante Moore, I'm very eager to see how, because we saw it against Penn State. We saw it, you know, a lot of times they just put it all in the quarterback and say, hey, make things right.

Make the right read. Get the run game going. And so I think the key for Texas Tech is can they shut down that run? Jacob Rodriguez, a linebacker won just about every single award this offseason. he's really boosted his draft grade this year, but he still has a ways to go. I mean, he's not a top 100 lock by any means. So I think a lot would depend on how he tests. But if he's able to step up in this game and limit an Oregon running game that is averaging 5.9 yards per carry, which is number two in the FBS.

If he can not shut them down, but just limit them. So it's you're forcing the quarterback to make place through the air. And if he's able to do that, then so be it. But Texas Tech has to, if they're going to win the first. this game have any chance to win the game. They have to slow down the Oregon run game first and foremost. And then that's where you get into those third and nine, third and 11 type of situations where you let David Bailey just tee off and give him the opportunity to pin his ears

back and go. And that's what makes David Bailey. That's what separates him. That's what makes him the most valuable part of this Texas Tech defense. So very, very eager to see if he can do it. Like you mentioned, Isaiah World, Harky, left tackle. right tackle for Oregon. Harky's going to move inside in the NFL. I think he's definitely going to be a guard.

World is super talented. You know, I just don't see a lot of guys that size, that length, who move like he does. That's why we were talking about him as a potential top 50 pick back in, you know, August, September.

But the traits are better than the tape. The tape has been very inconsistent. He can flip the narrative in a game like this going up against David Bailey, Ramello Height. He will for, and it's a time of year in the calendar where scouts have already turned in their grades. You know, that was due early to mid-December.

So you turn in your grades on seniors. So all the grades on Isaiah World are already logged in. But if he's able to, like I said, flip the narrative in a game like this against these pass rushers, that is something that will get the attention of NFL teams and really force them to reevaluate things. I think that is, that's what gets me the most intrigued for this. like with all due respect to Dante Moore is and yeah I was going to say we talked about world in the early going of the season I want to say he was like top 25 top 30 on your preseason big board he was like somewhere 28 something like that yep and he just he didn't have a phenomenal game in that huge Penn State road trip that we talked so much about and not to say that he's had a bad season but yeah we were looking to see if he could jump into that category at the top of the tackle board. And it just doesn't really seem like that's been the case.

But whether it's fair or not, these are the sorts of games that can change all of that. And conversely, you and I have talked about it all season long, too. At the risk of sounding like a hater, the tackles that Texas Tech's pass rushers have been beating up on are just not for the most part up to snuff by NFL caliber. So it could go either way here where, yeah, I mean, if Isaiah World has this phenomenon,

game. What does it say about him? But also, I think a game like this weighs very heavily for somebody like David Bailey, where at this time of year, I think people are, you know, they're checking into the draft and saying, okay, this guy's got 13 and a half sacks and 80 pressures. He's got to be a top 10 pick. Our NFL evaluator is going to feel the same way when you're looking at the body of work and the consistency of tape, especially if it's kind of so-so when you get into these sorts of games where you're playing playoff caliber competition. I think that's incredibly exciting. I mentioned Abdul Carter earlier.

That's what this could be for him. Abdul Carter was already kind of viewed as a top five pick. It's not like he turned himself into the second overall pick based on that game. But, or at the third overall pick. But what Bailey can do, because Bailey is already in that top 15, top 17 conversation, if he's able to go out there and have a statement game, you run out of reasons why he shouldn't be a top 10 pick. You mentioned the 77 pressures.

He's better against a run this year than what he's done in the past. There were points last year where Stanford, they almost tried to hide him as a run defender. Not this year. That's not the way Texas Tech uses him. And he has responded in a big way. And we've talked about this before, but the top 10 is very unsettled right now. Just in terms of who's the first tackle? going to be. How early will that be?

You know, as a running back going to top 10? Like there's just so many questions that we don't have a great feel for. You know, like if if you had to say, you know, bet the mortgage on it, like how many players would you view right now as lock top 10 picks? Like there's just not many.

You know, maybe even like a guy like Caleb Downs, you can't say that because the position he plays. Same thing with Jeremy. I was going to say, we've talked about it all year. Love and Downs just play positions where I get uncomfy trying to lock them in anywhere in the top eight to ten picks. Yeah. And Bailey plays the right position. He's going to test well.

I don't have verified measurements on him, but he looks long. He plays long. So, yeah, this could be a statement game for him. I'm very much looking forward to that one. But just the Texas Tech defense as a whole as well, just what can they do against an Oregon offense that has looked really good at times, then also kind of average at times. You know, Kenyon Sadiq, the tight end for Oregon. Another guy that I think box score scouts aren't going to love because he has like just over 500 receiving yards this year.

But when you watch the tape, it's just you can tell this guy is different. His ability to adjust to the football, beat defenders down the scene. As a blocker, he can seal off the defense or yeah, the defensive end. He can get out on the move. Physical, he executes at a high level. So he's a true mismatch type of tight end. And I think that we'll see that play out in this one. But yeah, and this will be a fun game because as much as we're talking about the Texas Tech defense, Oregon's defense, pretty good as well.

The guys they have, you know, whether it's rushing off the edge, Uyelaile, Tuo, Tuo, Amari Washington on the interior. Mari Washington is one of those guys that I think has a big NFL decision to make here coming up. He's 330 pounds, one of the better run defenders in this, in college football. football, can he give a little more pass rush in a game like this? That's something that would, I think, answer a lot of questions that scouts have. And then on the back end, Dylan Theanman, he's, and this is really important because Texas Tech, they use the entire field. And so can Thienaman, can he sniff out the place before they happen?

I really like his man coverage skills, but can he anticipate a little bit more so he gets that head start, picks off a pass, makes a big, play. You know, I think he's, he's a guy that's flirting with the top 50, a statement game on a stage like this could certainly help him. A couple things I wanted to ask you before we wrap this one up. Specifically, so we've talked about him, but do you have a line on how the league or how scouts view Ramello height? He's obviously, like he's, he's one B to Bailey. Bailey gets the vast majority of the oxygen, but 58 pressures and eight sacks of his own. And if you watch him, he just plays with a very fun amount of violence to his game. I really like watching him.

But do we know, do we know how we like how the league is seeing him? Like what sort of ceiling should we anticipate for a guy like him? Yeah. I mean, I think that because he is an, he's another older guy. He'll be 25 years old when he's drafted. You know, he was at Auburn. initially, and then USC, Miami for like a quick second, and then Georgia Tech, and now at Texas Tech. Like he has been all over the place. But yeah, to your point, like he just keeps making plays. And it doesn't matter.

And it's kind of like the Mesador conversation where, you know, age plays apart and like it's just not as simple as what the tape says. But sometimes maybe it should be, especially with the way he plays. He's a little bit undersized for a true edge. but the backside speed versus run really jumps off the page he will use a long arm he will use it's not just pure speed

around the corner he has an inside move and what I like about him too is they will drop him in space there are times I think it was the Oregon State tape where he picked up a wheel route and turned ran down the field defended that so not only can he get after the quarterback

but he can't drop in space and be a true off ball type of linebacker I think that he is kind of in that, kind of with Mesidor, where coming into the year, it was like, all right, you know,

probably maybe a late rounder. And then, all right, well, you know, the way he's playing mid-rounder. And now it's like, how do you not take this guy day two?

How do you not take a player that is impacting the game the way he is? Is this type of athlete plays with that type of violence? How do you not take him day two? So I think that that's where he is trending to come off the board somewhere in the second third round. And, And then lastly, Mea Culpa, I should have done this off the rip.

But again, I'd like to think that new listeners are tuning in and people that are just now picking up their draft interests are tuning in. Can you give me just a snapshot of Dante Moore or a thumbnail of Dante Moore and what people should be looking for in a game like this from him? If they, you know, if you're a quarterback needy team that's praying that he's about to go pro, what you should be looking for. The accuracy is what stands out the most with him. And I think it's something that we need to mention too with this game.

Oregon, they lost both their coordinators. Now, they're going to be coaching in this game. But you do wonder, you know, what will the, you know, Will Stein taking over as the head coach of Kentucky. Like, that's a lot to handle both the play calling responsibilities and becoming the head coach at a SEC program. that's a lot for someone to handle. And so very eager to see how that plays out. But Dante Moore, just as a quarterback, when you watch his tape, very, very accurate.

He's very smooth in his operation, the way he moves in his delivery. He avoids the turnover. He avoids the big mistake. He does a really nice job of taking care of the football. I wish you were bigger. Like that's the, you know, he's like, what's he going to weigh you in at? 202? You know, like he just doesn't look.

He's listed at 206, but I don't. know if I completely believe that. I mean, he might get on the Bryce Young diet and get up to, you know, 205, 206 by the time the combine comes. But he looks like he plays around 200 pounds. And, you know, so that's something that you do worry about. But I mean, he's not the biggest guy. But when I read over my notes of Dante Moore, strengths and weaknesses,

it reads very similar to my notes from C.J. Stroud, where especially when you watch C.J. Stroud against Georgia a net playoff game and then you know you watch Dante Moore this year kind of see you see a lot of similarities I don't think it's an apples to apples comparison but you do see a lot of similarities

between these two quarterbacks do you and like I think Dante Moore's arm seems perfectly good to me but I think of C.J. Stroud as having better arm talent am I off base with that? I think that's fair like yeah Moore doesn't have a deficient arm

by any means. Like you said, like it's, it's not like he's lacking. But, and I don't, because he is a guy that accuracy is more the,

what he focuses on. So, you know, how many times has he really tried to, you know, put a little extra heat on it? But, I mean,

I don't know, thinking about some of those seam shots, like, they were frozen ropes, you know, down there to Kenyon Sadiq. So I think it's fair to say give Stroud the edge in that one,

but not to the point where it would be a concern for me with more. I think and you mentioned it with his smoothness, but he just plays with an impressive amount of calm. And he's not, he is not a first year starter. I think it's worth pointing that out. Like it's his first year at Oregon,

but he's played college football before this. But even still, this is easily the biggest stage that he's been on to this point in his career. And I don't think you would know it watching him go into places like Happy Valley. Well, yeah, because he started five games at UCLA as a true freshman. I think it's one of the big reasons that. in NIL while he went to UCLA in the first place was he wanted to get on the field and he did that and it was not a great debut for him. He goes to Oregon and I think he really learned how to play quarterback.

You know, he sat behind Dylan Gabriel and had a chance to really understand what it takes to play the position at a high level. And we're seeing that play out now on the field. So he's got, what, 13 games under his belt now at Oregon. you know, he's just 20 years old, still very young. There will be some things that Texas Tech throws at him that he will see for the first time in this game, very eager to see how we respond to that. All right, we got two more games to preview. We will do the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl on the other side of this break. Second game of the day on New Year's Day.

That's at 3 p.m. Central, the granddaddy of them all. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena features number one undefeated Indiana. still a surreal thing to say. Going against Alabama, fresh off of their first round win against Oklahoma. I think the headliners here are pretty obvious. Indiana, again, speaking of surreal things, favored by seven against the Alabama Crimson Tide in football.

And a big part of that is obviously Fernando Mendoza. He led the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten title in almost 60 years. He's the program's first ever Heisman trophy winner. He is the current betting favorite to be the number one pick in the upcoming draft. Not alone, though. Like this is not Fernando Mendoza and a bunch of scrubs. I mean, Elijah Surratt and Omar Cooper, two wide receivers you should absolutely know if you care about the draft.

Left tackle Carter Smith is another one. And there's plenty of interesting talent on the Indiana defense, which we can get into. Alabama, they have, it's funny, they have all the same amount of talent from a recruiting standpoint as always, but it's a matter of how much has that translated this year and how is it going to continue to translate. Ty Simpson, another huge domino in this draft class. He ate. He bounced back, Dane. He did. He did. He had some moments there against Oklahoma after a little bit of a downturn. But what he decides to do after Alabama's season is over is going to be another variable in the 2026 draft class. And then what? I mean, I looked it up before we did the

the Crimson Tide have seven players that have currently accepted Senior Bowl invites, wide receiver Jeremy Bernard, running back, Jam Miller, defensive lineman LJ Overton is expected back from injury for this game. Caden Proctor, the left tackle is a guy we've talked a lot about as a potential top 20 prospect. So tons of talent for Alabama, even though I think it's fair to say it hasn't delivered the way that you've come to expect from Alabama. but there is no time like the president. So, Dane, where do you want to start with this one?

I mean, it has to be the quarterbacks, just by nature of what they need to do in this game to get the win and how much that could affect their draft status. I mean, like we said, Mendoza is the favorite to be the quarterback one, likely the number one overall pick. But, you know, how he plays, like that could affect, you know, how some teams look at him, you know, good or bad. every game this year where his team has needed him to make a play, especially in the second half, he has delivered. You know, like he,

you look at the passing yards per game and it's not, not going to wow you, it's not going to blow you away. Indiana, they strive to get balanced. They want the run game to, you know, be a big part of what they do.

And then they want Mendoza to, you know, a very Arpio heavy, you know, pick apart the defense. And so can he do that on a consistent level and then in the second half make a big player or two that gets them the separation on the scoreboard that they're looking for.

So that's what you want from Mendoza to kind of check the box for what you expect from a number one overall pick. And then on the other side with Ty Simpson, you're right. The second half of that game against Oklahoma, it looked more like the Simpson we saw, you know, the same Simpson that was getting the first round buzz at Halloween. Like that's the guy that we saw. Now, when we talked about this going into that game, could he overcome the inconsistencies around him?

The blocking, especially pass protection, the lack of consistent run game, the wide receivers being up and down. And it seemed like in the second half, he was able to do that. Now, doing it against a better defense, I want to say better, because I mean, I don't want it.

Oklahoma had a really good defense, but Indiana's defense is awesome. And they bring pressures in a lot of different ways. Ty Simpson has to be able. to account for that. This is a defense that is, I mean, just Indiana. They have the number one ratio in college football in terms of interceptions and passing touchdowns.

They have intercepted 17 passes this year and they have allowed seven passing touchdowns. That type of ratio is why they're number one and have a good chance to win the national championship this year. So what can Ty Simpson do to overcome, especially if the supporting cast is not what it needs to be. If they're not playing at an above average level, which we've seen multiple times this year, can the quarterback do enough

to overcome all of that? And, you know, can he be the difference in this one? And that's, he did that for the most part in the second half against Oklahoma as they pulled away in that game. Can he do it again? That's what scouts want to see.

With respect to the Hoosiers and like we've, we've highlighted their defense at times, on the show. Cornerback DeAngelo Pons is a guy that you wrote about this week. Linebacker Aden Fisher is a ton of fun, just an incredibly cerebral player. But for Indiana to be that good without like a slam dunk sort of blue chip prospect, because correct me if I'm wrong, but they don't have a defender that's going to go in the first round if I had to guess. No, they'll have like one, two, three, four, five, you know, at least

five draft picks probably this year alone off that defense four or five so like the guys are getting it drafted but you're right no guys that are like no doubt about it top 50 type of players so that just I mean a talented defense but also a smart well coached defense that knows where the hell they're supposed to be and that makes me a little nervous for my guy Ty who he's I mean he's not afraid to to rip bold. You could even classify them as risky throws. That makes me nervous that that Indiana might be able to get the better of him in a situation like this.

This is what ties 14th start, you know, in his career. And so like we said, with Dante Moore, there will be things that Indiana throws at him that he's probably never seen before, you know, there's things that he has to find solutions to the problem. And that is hard to do when, you know, you've got a guy closing in on you and, you know, you find your outlet and there's a lurking defender there. And like, there's just so many things that he has to work through in a quick, especially when your past protection has not been able to hold up. And with the way that Indiana, like, they love simulated pressures. They love different blitzes. They do all these different things to get not only the quarterback off balance,

but the protection as a whole, that is something that will play a big part in this game. Can Ty Simpson overcome that? I'm not sure he's going to be able to. And that's why we're talking about Indiana as a touchdown favor in this one. Very eager to see DeAngel Pons the corner just to see how he holds up against Jeremy Bernard or whichever Alabama receiver he's lined up against. We saw against Ohio State how it was a little bit up and down. He got picked on a little bit, especially going up against J.J. Smith.

and you know because he's just he's a smaller guy there's no way around that he's listed at 5-9-1-75 something like that we'll see officially what the verified measurements are at the combine but in terms of instincts compete skills and just understanding how to play the position d'angelo ponds is as good as anyone in this draft at playing the corner position so at what point do you feel comfortable overlooking the lack of size that answer will be different for everybody every team in the draft but I'm very eager to see him bounce back against Alabama's receivers. I'm going to put you on the spot regarding Fernando Mendoza real quick.

Do you think this is a situation where there's not much he could do to let go of his status as like the number one pick? Like is this a situation where I'm obviously, you want the guy to play well, but does this feel like a situation to you where it's almost a four? gone conclusion or is it muddier than that? Whether it's, I mean, whether it's Dante Moore that could creep up or whether this is a situation where the league ultimately decides, yeah, quarterback is really important, but we're just not convinced that there's a quarterback that has to go number one overall in this draft class. Like, because to me, it feels like it's, it's a done deal that Mendoza's the guy. Is that a mistake to just assume that? As long as there's more games to be played, I don't want to put a period or exclamation point at the end of the sentence, right?

Like as long as there is more evidence that we can learn from. Because what you know what the headlines are going to be. If Mendoza goes out there, throws three picks and Indiana loses, oh, well, he faced an SEC defense. And what happened? Like that will be the exact headlines that people talk about. You're so right, but that would make me so angry. Like, you'd be 10% proud, 90% angry. No, because that's like, because like, I mean, there have been SEC defenses that meet that standard, you know?

Like if, if 2012 Alabama did that to Fernando Mendoza, I'd be like, well, yeah, I'm not surprised, but this is not that. So Ohio State's got a better defense than Alabama. Yeah, exactly. He beat a better defense than Alabama has two weeks ago, three weeks ago. Yes. But, I mean, you know, they scored, what, 13 points in that game. So I do think that I don't want to I don't want to make it sound like it is a foregone conclusion, you know, where it's just now like I feel good about where my evaluation is on Mendoza. Like for me, I'm not going to say like all of a sudden this what happens in this one game will drastically change what I do in terms of my grade and how I view him.

But I mean, NFL teams do a lot of silly things. let's be honest. And like the Raiders are probably going to be picking number one overall. You know, I don't want to put a pass to anybody, any team that they could be swayed by what happens on a big stage like this. So if Mendoza throws three picks, Indiana loses.

And meanwhile, Oregon plays really well. Dante Moore goes on and leads Oregon into the national title. Like sure, absolutely. That could, you know, mix things up.

But it's not like Mendoza, I think, has a chance of falling out of the top, you know, three or four picks, anything like that. There are just too many quarterback needy teams that, you know, need an upgrade at the position that would be more than willing to roll the dice on a guy that is the body of work of Fernando Mendoza. So, one, the high has been for a reason.

You know, people will point out, oh, like what Indiana is scheduled this year, like, what big games, has he played? And I would say it's more than having these moments in big games. it's more about having big moments in every game. You go back to the Oregon game. You go back to Penn State game, Ohio State, big time moments in each one of those games where he was able to make a play that led to them getting the win. And, you know, it's so it's something that I don't want to say it's a foregone conclusion, but one game is not going to drastically change what I think a lot of people feel about him. It's also Indiana.

And I say that as a compliment, not an insult. I mean, if we want to pick apart Ohio State's schedule, I think that's different where there's a dozen first round picks and several like top 10 picks playing on that team. There are good players on Indiana's roster, but Fernando Mendoza is the centerpiece of an Indiana team that's done something that's never been done in that program's history. It carries a little more weight for me. I don't care if you beat up on a few cupcakes in September. He's doing things that, yeah, it's rarefied air. for that program. There's no way around that. And it's it just feels like there's there's more to come with the way that they've been playing, the way they're coached. And so this this will be a fun one for sure. And honestly, I'm surprised the line's not even a little bit more than seven. You know, I kind of assumed to be eight, nine, ten. But maybe that's just based on what the what the action is coming in, why it's at seven. Let's get to the night cap real quick on New Year's night in New World. Orleans. It's number three, Georgia against number six, Ole Miss. All SEC matchup in the Sugar Bowl,

the traditionalist in me does appreciate that. Georgia's favored by six and a half. This feels like this is, this is the game with the least amount of slam dunk top 20 prospects. I just, I don't think there's a way around that, but there are plenty of good football players on both sides of the ball. For me, I think it starts with Georgia linebacker, C.J. Allen. just a phenomenal football player. Again, if you're a linebacker, needy team, I should have said the Buccaneers earlier, maybe Tampa Bay,

whether or not you make the playoffs doesn't matter. Maybe you should be looking at offball linebackers. Kristen Miller, also of Georgia is another guy to know. We can get into some of the offensive players as well. Monroe Freeling, their left tackle, Zachariah Branch,

and loss and lucky at tight end. Ole Miss, similar situation, would it be, Dane, who would be there? I guess it would be Xavier and Harris, the defensive tackle probably. What's that?

What about? It's like their biggest prospect, their highest ceiling prospect. Senior, yes. Massive dudes, six, seven, three hundred and thirty pounds. I think it'll be like kind of a rotational three technique. If we're talking a chance to be their highest draft pick this year,

it's probably one of the underst, classman, Sunterine Perkins, the linebacker or. Okay, good shout. Deuce Alexander, the wide receiver. Like, Perkins is tough because he's, he's, is he more than a sub-packaged player in the NFL? That's, that's the question that teams are trying to figure out with him. Outstanding spy, he holds up well in coverage. But on early downs, he looks too much like a tweener, lax polish as a pass rusher.

So, like, what exactly are you doing with him on early downs? So Perkins is really talented and he should test well. And then Deuce Alexander, I mean, he's, old miss goes three, four deep at receiver that are legit guys in terms of being potential draft picks. Alexander, I kind of like the most out of that mix. The way he can make adjustments on the football, he has rackability. So, yeah, a big fan of him. But I think you have to nail on the head.

I think the key on this one is going to be C.J. Allen, the Georgia linebacker. Can he shut down this old miss offense? It's Kwan Lacey, not draft eligible, so that's why we're not talking about him more. But, I mean, he's one of the best running backs in college football, period. Oh, we, we didn't mention any non-draft eligible guys in this preview. I mean, Kwan Lacey's amazing, you know, I'm kind of proud of us for not even mentioning Jeremiah Smith, because what's the point? But, yeah, there's plenty of non-draft eligible guys in all of these games.

No doubt, no doubt. And he's been banged up, but it sounds like, with a shoulder, sounds up like he's going to which is good. Talking about Lacey. But in the first matchout, because this is a rematch. They played in October. Lacey only had 2.6 yards per carry in October

against this Georgia defense. And C.J. Allen was a big, big part of that. So, you know, can they, can he kind of do that again? That's a big storyline of watching this one. I want to see this Georgia offense. What are they,

is it just they're going to rely on the ground game? What are they, what are they going to do when, Gunner Stockton puts the ball in the air. Can they make some plays down the field? Lost and lucky when these two teams met before, he had three touchdowns. Career game.

He had four touchdowns all year and three of them came against the rebels. So can he do something like that again? He's woefully underused. He accounts for 7.1% of all the targets in that offense. That should be double that number, if not triple. That's just how the offense operates. Zachari Branch, who mentions a big part of,

I'm going to say, Zachariah Branch is the only guy they throw the ball to with any kind of consistency. And but they don't even throw it like, okay, what would you guess his A dot is, average depth of target with Zachariah Branch? I know, just I'm putting you on a spot, pure guess. Well, I bet it's going to be surprisingly low because of the amount of like bubbles and stuff that they throw him. Throw me in number. What do you think? Oh, God. I mean six and a half, eight and a half.

I don't know. 3.3. Yes. Your guess is exactly what mine was going when I looked it up. I had the same exact guess as you did. I said surprisingly low and I was, I doubled it. That's great.

Exactly. And that just speaks to the way they use him. And it's like, okay, it works for the most part. But let's, you know, if I'm a scout evaluating him for the next level, it's like, all right, I kind of want to see you down the field. And when they have, because he has like eight catches, I think, beyond 10 yards this year. Like he's done good things. Like he's just not like he drops the ball.

It's not like he has tracking issues. They're not hiding him by just keeping him as an underneath and, you know, screen receiver. It's just that's the way they want to operate. And so it'd just be nice if, is this the game where maybe they throw the defense off by, you know, using him in different ways? I don't have to see. it's it's strange to watch a georgia team that just doesn't have like a guy to zero in on i mean like cj allen is that guy and i really go watch the georgia florida game go watch cj allen in that game like he is an absolute dude but i'm used to georgia teams where you know the whole too deep

is guys that could go in the top 60. And this is a talented team, but it's, it doesn't feel on the caliber as like 2021 and 2022. And even last year. Yeah. Jalen Walker and, you know,

McKell Williams and, I mean, they were loaded and, you know, a lot of them were four or five star guys and Malachi Starks, you know, like all those guys.

This year, like they have some of those five stars, but they haven't really established themselves as, first round players just yet. And that's why I think like Monroe Freeling and left tackle is interesting because like a perfect example. If you go back to the, and I went back and I watched the game against Old Miss that tape from October.

If you want to understand why Freeling, why scouts are kind of excited about Freeling as an NFL prospect, watch that tape. It'll explain exactly why they're excited about him in pass protection. But you also watch that game and you understand why there's some concerns about him as a run blocker. So like what will you show in this? one because I think he's kind of on the fence about what he's going to do. So that's definitely one.

And then, you know, going back to Ole Miss. And it's funny, I think a common theme in all of these games has been, they each have a tight end that we need to pay attention to. Ole Miss has one of those guys on offense with Dayquant Wright. You know, he's a guy that has gotten better and better and better every single year. He can, I think Scouts really like him because he can align anywhere all over the formation. You want to be a fullback, an H-back, tight end, slot receiver. Like he can do all of that.

And so Trinidad Chamblis, you know, he's going to be looking for Dayquan Wright quite a bit in this game because he is a, Wright is one of the better yards after catch tight ends in all of college football. So, and honestly, now that I mentioned Chamblez, I think we have to mention him as well because the. Oh, I was going to make you talk about Chambers. Don't worry. The additional season that he has petitioned for has, it sounds like there's doubt about whether or not he's going to get that. whether he's staying at Ole Miss or going to transfer, we don't know, but just will he have another year of eligibility?

It sounds like that is very much up in the air at this point. And so there's a chance this could be his final game. And so go back to his season and the body work you put on tape, he had a really good year. The one game that was kind of the low point was against Georgia. And that defense in Athens. Can this is Chambliss's chance to kind of, you know, flip the narrative and rectify.

things about how that game went and, you know, kind of showing like, okay, you know, I learned from that, that first outing and I was able to make these adjustments. And, you know, because he's, I think Chamble's getting drafted. It's just a matter of will it be this year or a year from now. Selfishly, very interested in the answer to that question, given events that have transpired with the Ole Miss program and where their old coach is working these days. We'll see how that goes but hey even if if if the if if if if trinidad chamberlace's future leads him to the NFL it's really cool to go from d2 to where like i feel confident saying he's he's he's gonna be a day three pick i mean you know we kind of we we laughed about it when we first brought him up on the show

like i guess credit to you credit to you did yeah he he he he's got something man he's 511 190 but there's something there i no doubt you know i I'm excited to watch that. And good shout with Dayquan right as well. Just an enormous football player who always seems to be open. Yeah. All right. I made you do this last week.

You went four and oh. No, I thought I picked A&M to win. I picked, I picked A&M. Okay. I mean, I said that we're the home team.

I think I went two and two because I picked Oklahoma and A&M. I think, yeah, I picked all the home teams, I think. So you went three and one. I went two and two. You're going to make me do this again? Yeah, we're doing it again. Let's go chronological order.

What do you got, Miami, Ohio State. All right, I'll just say this. I don't have the guts. I don't have the guts to pick against Ohio State. They're just so talented, but I'm telling you right now, I think Miami's going to cover. I think that's a huge spread. And I think, like, when you have a good pass rush, you can mitigate that. And I, like I said, I don't have the guts to pick my.

to win, but I think it'll be a tight game, a really tight game. I think this will be stressful for Ohio State. I won't be surprised if it plays out like it did in 18C Stadium last year against Texas, where Ohio State, like, it was pretty tight the entire game. And then, like, oh, that's gross. Oh, I could see, yeah, I could see like a back turnover. Like Carson Beck makes a, you know, a second half interception or so, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if it's, yeah, it is a.

a little bit of a tight game until like the final, you know, fourth quarter or back half of the fourth quarter, something like that. That wouldn't surprise me, but I'll still take Miami to cover. I think Oregon beats Texas Tech. I just, I don't trust Texas Tech's offense enough. I do think they're going to, I think this will be a really good game. I, by no means do I think Oregon is going to win comfortably. But just haven't seen enough from Texas Tech's offense against. Baron Morton quarterback.

Yeah. I mean, in the in the games they've played against good teams, and it's typically a situation where Texas Tech starts pouring it on late in the game when they've just like overwhelmed the other team. So I'll take Oregon. I will take Indiana. This is my scarred LSU psyche, but like some part of me just can't let go of Alabama potentially doing something here. But I'll take Indiana and I'll take Georgia.

So I think I took all, I'm taking all the favorites. Shocker of Shockers, but I do think they're all, they're all better. It is, it is funny though. Like Ohio State, they're going for the repeat. They've been the, you know, they've been in the bull's eye all year. They didn't lose until the Big Ten title game. But of those four, I think Miami has the best chance of the four underdogs. Hmm.

Which I, I'm surprised to hear myself saying that. but having watched these teams all year, that's the matchup. I could see an upset the most. Well, and they've had the long layoff, you know, Ohio State has. You know, you just don't know how some teams don't respond the right way. Not saying that's what's going to happen, but, you know, that's always something you have to ask yourself. Brian Hartline, obviously, taking the head coaching job at South Florida and Ryan Day is going to be the play caller again. So, but you just wonder what that dynamic looks like.

And what a loss is never, You don't ever want to lose a game, but can the Indiana loss be what it was a year again, 13 to 10? They lost in Michigan 13 to 10 a year before, and that's exactly what they needed to go on that run. Can that Indiana loss 13 to 10 be what they need to go on another run this year? Yeah, time we'll tell. We'll find out here next few days.

That's such a good point. And I'm going to feel dumb if Ohio State's up. like 31 10 at half time, but I don't know. I think Miami has the goods to keep it close. They do. Are you with me on all four picks or did you have a different one? No, I am. Not counting spread just straight up.

I would go with the four favorites as well. I would like to see a couple upsets here. It would just be fun to talk about. But yeah, if I had put money on it, I'm taking the four favorites. You know what, though? It's just like the basketball tournament. Like upsets are fun in the early rounds, but the deeper we go, I just want to see good games between the best teams.

So upsets would, I mean, it's fine if they happen, but I'm a okay with chalk if it means we get to see the best go against the best. As long as we don't see any blowouts, I'm fine with that. I don't care. Yeah, the favorites win or what, as long as we have good games in all four of them, that's all we signed up for. Whatever happens, we will be here to break down the games. And whatever else comes our way over the course of the next week,

It's getting, it will be transfer season by the time we do another show. And it's getting close to, you know, bowl game for seniors, senior bowl, shrine bowl. We might get into that. We'll see where it takes us. Either way, we hope you'll have a really happy new year. Enjoy the games. We'll talk to you soon.