The Kevin Sheehan Show - Jayden Talks In London

Episode Date: October 2, 2026

Kevin opened with his reaction to Jayden Daniels' unexpected press conference in London today. Some David Blough and Daronte Jones on the show as well along with Bryce Harper's wild Game 2 in Atlanta. VsIN's Tim Murray jumped on to talk College Football, NFL, and to provide some potential head coaching candidates for Maryland. Exclusive High Roller bonus designed for bettors who want more firepower for this season. Double your money all the way up to $5000. Minimum deposit $1500. Use my promo code “DCVIP” at https://www.mybookie.ag/signup/?affid=3910. Download the app today and use code SHEEHAN to get $150 instantly in Lineups if you win your first $5 Lineup! “PrizePicks. Run Your Game.” Join the millions who are already banking fee free with America’s #1 Choice forBanking. Head to Chime.com/sheehan. Get 20% off your first order at www.FastGrowingTrees.com with code [Sheehan]. Download Cash App today and make your money work for you. Click here to get started: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/z9p9ggd5 #CashAppPartnerCash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card (https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement), Sutton debit flex card (https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/debit-flex-card-agreement-sutton), and Bancorp debit flex card (https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/debit-flex-card-agreement-bancorp). Savings provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Parents and legal guardians can open a sponsored account for teens 13-17. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. One guest on today's show. We'll go out to Vegas and talk to my good friend Tim Murray from Visa. Tim's got some ideas on what Maryland should do about their next football coach, assuming Mike Loxley isn't back next year, and I think that is a safe assumption.

We'll talk other college football and maybe some NFL. as well. The show's presenting sponsor, as always, Windonation, 86690 Nation or WindowNation.com, if you need new windows. Two things real quickly before I get started with what turned out to be an unexpected press conference today over in London. Jaden Daniels spoke to the media. I will get to that here shortly. But two other things quickly. smell test pick tonight. That's number one. Nothing on the Pittsburgh Cleveland game or any of the college games. There is some public action on Pittsburgh a little bit more than on Cleveland, but the sharp action is totally split based on the information I have. So no pick tonight. Tonight, by the way, hell of a sports night. You've got the Cleveland Pittsburgh Thursday night game.

Cleveland will be amped for that one coming off two wins, playing their arch rival or certainly one of their two arch rivals. I guess Baltimore is probably a third rival, but a big game for Browns fans this early in the season, they haven't had one of these in a while. Pittsburgh is a two and a half point favorite, super low total on the game at 38, 38.5. but you've also got Philadelphia and Atlanta game three more on game two coming up in the next segment. Bryce Harper, man. What redemption yesterday after a major error in the seventh to come back with a homer in the eighth to tie the game. We'll do some of that. But also tonight, also tonight, and I am actually interested in at least paying attention to it,

but in the WNBA, sorry Mystics, they were eliminated last night in two straight games by Atlanta. But tonight it's Indiana and Las Vegas in a deciding game three in Las Vegas. That is Caitlin Clark against Asia Wilson. I bet you that game does a pretty decent number, even though it's up against the NFL. It's the NFL on Amazon. and then the baseball game is on NBC, but a pretty good Thursday night sports menu. Yes, I am going to pay attention to the WNBA playoff game tonight.

There's only that team and that player that I'm interested in. And I think that, you know, she's brought a lot of new eyeballs and new interests to the sport. She had 27, 15, and 7 the other night to stave off a little. elimination. 27 points, 15 assists, and seven rebounds in the game to win over Vegas. The other thing that I wanted to touch on real quickly, and I am sorry that I haven't mentioned it this week. And that is, for those who have asked, wondered, and worried, Tommy is fine. He's in Germany for a family wedding. We talked about this last week. He did a show last Tuesday. And then, that was his last show for a while because he's in Germany for a family wedding. And then when he gets back from Germany, he's got to head out west for a family event as well. He is a world traveler.

We all know that by now. He's very important, just ask him. And I just feel fortunate that when he's not traveling the globe, he's got some time and some availability for us. I think he's going to be back either late next week or a week from Tuesday. I have to check the email that he sent to me. But I know he is not back this coming Tuesday. It might be a week from Tuesday or next Thursday.

I can't wait until he's back so we can listen to him recap three games because he will have missed three Washington games. I can't wait to hear him recap the three games that he didn't see. He'll come up with something to say and write when he gets back. So today in London, it was supposed to be a day of coordinator press conferences. That's what Thursday is for NFL teams. You know, Monday is the coach with the beat reporters, usually not together, but by Zoom, as the day after follow up to a game on Sunday.

Tuesdays nobody speaks. Players are off. Wednesdays, head coach and quarterback. Thursdays, the two coordinators, and then Friday, the head coach again. We got Quinn and we got Marcus Mariotta yesterday. Today we did get David Blow and we got Durante Jones, but there was one more. They trotted Jaden Daniels out for a press conference. I'm not sure there was a requirement to do so. In fact, I know there wasn't a requirement to do so. Although, just to be fair to the team, any player not on injured reserve who practices, and that's Jaden Daniels, is supposed to be available to media typically in the locker room, but never in a press conference setup. But perhaps the accessibility over there is different, and they just wanted to make it easier for the media

to talk to him since he was going to be available anyway. I don't know. I'm half serious on that, meaning that, you know, that may be the actual reason they did it was to accommodate the media who were going to look for him anyway since he practiced and would be somewhat required to be available. The other half that isn't so serious is that I was super surprised, as well, was everybody that he was available to talk as much as he did today. Quarterback day was yesterday.

Marcus Mariotas spoke yesterday. And then Jaden did today. It was unexpected, but it was interesting. I'm going to play for you a few of the questions and answers that I found to be interesting. And then after I play these for you, I'll give you my reaction and I'll tell you if I've changed my mind on Marcus Mariotta being the starter on Sunday, because that's what I've said all week. My hunch is it's going to be Marioita this week, Jaden Daniels against the Giants.

Did anything Jaden say changed my mind? Stay tuned. So the press conference began with elder statesman John Kime asking Jaden how he was feeling and if he's surprised that he's back and possibly ready to play. First of all, how does the elbow feel and how do you feel being back out there? It feels good. It's good to be back and, you know, it's taking a day by day. Are you surprised at all, any part that you're able to possibly be back out there this soon?

What you think? No. I don't think so. Nah, I'm not surprised. No, everything I went through. You know, everybody said it would be good to go if I'm able to go out there on Sunday. But again, just taking a day by day. So if you haven't watched the Jaden Daniels press conference and why would you?

Let me just say the reaction and the look on his face when John asked him if he's surprised at how quickly he's been able to possibly return to play. It was a good one when he said, what do you think? Also, I would just say this about Jaden today, Marcus Mariotta. yesterday, Dan Quinn yesterday, and David Blow today. There were no real tells or clues about what they're planning on doing on Sunday. I think you'd really have to reach to come up with something where somebody slipped and gave a very strong clue one way or the other about who the starter is going to be on Sunday. I think we're going to find out tomorrow, and I'll tell you whether or not my week-long hunch that it's going to be Marcus Mariotta.

has changed here in a moment. But after Jaden kind of talked about how he was doing, a lot of the conversation turned towards the brace that he's wearing. I'm going to play a few of these in a row where you'll hear several questions and follow-up questions about him and whether or not this brace is comfortable, whether or not it prevents him from full range of motion, et cetera. here's a run of questions about the brace. How is it working with that brace?

Where in the brace? Does that affect you at all? I mean, I'm sure it's not ideal, but... Nah, not really. It's just getting used to it. It's pretty much it. Do you have full range of motion in that, and does that matter for that?

In the brace? Yeah. I mean, no, I mean, I mean, full range, like all the way in flexion, not extension. just for part of doctors, but flexion for sure. Does it, do you have to change how you throw the ball at all? Is there any kind of differences?

How about handing the ball off? Nope. Nope. It's all doesn't make a difference? Nope. For this brace, is it any different than the one you wore last year? And what was, is this rehab process any different than last year's? Um, the outside is different because I have an opportunity to come back quick sooner than I did last year.

And the brace is different because I can't extend my arm all the way. So, yeah. And anything in the back of your head in terms of, like, falling, awkwardly getting hit on the elbow, concerns that are getting injured? No, that's what the brace is for. So if I have that concerns, then I've only got surgery. So some of the answers that he gave to all of the brace questions, I thought were interesting. And I'll start with Nikki Javala, you know, asked him about.

the range of motion that he had with the brace. He actually paused, looked over to somebody, I'm assuming one of the PR people, just to make sure it was okay to describe the range of motion with the brace. And he said that he does not have full extension. And this is something that I've actually talked about going back to last week. Because Washington runs a lot of outside zone, and in fact, I saw somebody tweet out that Washington right now has the fourth highest rate of outside zone runs in the league.

And those outside zone runs are typically handoffs with the quarterback reaching out to the running back to hand the ball off. Now, there's no issue when the running back's going to the left because he can reach out and hand the ball off with his right arm and right hand. A run that goes to the right, however, would require a handoff and a full extension of the left arm. So maybe on those runs, even though he answered Mitch Tishler's question with, there are no limitations on anything, you know, when he said, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, on all of those answers about throwing the ball, handing the ball off, changing his play in any way, I will be interested to see on an outside zone going to the right if when he comes back, if he pitches those instead of hands the ball off. Now, when you pitch, you then aren't nearly as effective on a playfake or a bootleg.

You can pitch hard and sell the pitch, and that can work as play action, but not as successfully as reaching out and then literally coming back turning your back on the defense and coming back for play action or a bootleg. I also thought the answer related to the concerns. He said, you know, I don't have concerns. That's what the brace is for. If I had concerns and the brace wasn't there to make sure that it doesn't happen again, I would have gotten the surgery.

So clearly they have said to him, this brace will prevent another dislocation. Now, the orthopedic surgeon that I had on my radio show a couple of times last week did say that while it definitely is protective, especially if he doesn't have full extension and they set the brace so he can't fully extend, he said that it is very protective from another dislocated elbow, but it's not a guarantee. You know, things happen. And then when he compared it to last year saying, you know, the difference is he can come back sooner. So clearly the injury itself was different.

The result of the injury was different. Last year, four weeks, three games. This year, perhaps as quickly as one game, two weeks. but I think perhaps the worst case would be three weeks, two games, meaning Seattle, Indy, back for the giant game. Then he was asked about whether or not, regardless of how this season goes, if surgery in the off season is something that's being contemplated, I think Ben Standing asked him that question. Here's what he said. Hey, Jayden, are you under the impression that whether it's after the season or that you will have to be? to have surgery on that elbow?

I mean, I got to wait until after the season and see, you know, with the doctors stay and everything and make the decision as best for me. That answer from Jaden to me indicates that the medical advice that he's gotten and that he's obviously taking is, hey, if you wear a brace and you wear a brace that restricts a full extension of the arm, you can go ahead and play. You're going to be protected from another elbow. dislocation, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't consider surgery when the season's over. That's what I think they've arrived at as it relates to the elbow.

There was one more question that I pulled and answered from Jaden that I wanted to play for you. And it had to do with the overall sort of long-term concerns about the elbow injury. Again, he'll come back to the brace here, but I thought this was an interesting question and answer. And Jaden, you've mentioned why you wanted to come back, partly just your football player, this is what you do. But in speaking with the specialist, whether either this season or last year, did they speak to you about what the long-term impact can be if you continue to dislocate that elbow? And why is that, is that, I guess, a concern for you once you get past, you know, coming back this year?

That's what the brace is for. And then, you know, obviously, you have those conversations and, you know, people that I need to have those conversations with and, you know, if the surgery needed to be ASAP, then you got to do what's best for me. But obviously we have those conversations. I'm blessed enough to go back out there on the practice field, but that's most definitely what the braces for. So, no really concerned at this moment. So clearly they have said to him and the team, there's no reason to be concerned long term if you wear the brace, and I'm assuming

wear the brace at a certain fitting so that he can't extend the arm completely. That's what the orthopedic surgeon who came on with me said. He'd recommend that, yes, a brace, but the key would be not to let the arm extend fully. And he told you that

if surgery had been recommended ASAP, then he would have done what was best for him. But that's not what the recommendation was four. So have I changed my mind on the hunch that I've had all week long that Marcus Marioo is going to be the starter Sunday against the Colts? No, I haven't changed my mind.

It's still my hunch. It's not based on anything that I've heard. It's just a belief that another week probably was going to be better for him and that they'd love to see him practice multiple times and maybe for two weeks with the brace so that he's super comfortable with it. I think those are probably the reasons. Is it possible they came over to London

and it truly was a possibility that he could practice this week and be named starter tomorrow? It may be, but it's not what I think's going to happen. I think that Mariotta is starting on Sunday. Jaden actually said something today that wasn't necessarily a hint at all. But it made me think about something.

He was asked about the difference in the fields internationally when they play on soccer fields versus NFL fields. I'm not going to play the soundbite for you because it's long, but he said something in the middle of his answer that I will relate to you. But for those that don't know, if you've never been on the field at an NFL game or a college game, fields are crowned in the middle. There's a subtle slope. in the middle of the field

that is there for water to drain towards the sidelines so it doesn't puddle up in the middle of the field. I don't know if you guys knew that. I know some of you know that, but that is an American football field at the college and at the NFL

level. The subtle slope is a grade that isn't significant enough to cause players to lose balance or be injured, obviously not, but it's there. And soccer, pitches in international games are flat fields. There is no crown.

So he was asked about whether or not, you know, he notices a difference or if, you know, now he had, he didn't play in the game in Madrid. And he said he didn't really notice the difference or they're practicing on, you know, a soccer pitch right now. But in the answer, he said about the fields over there, they're. slick, as in slippery. If you've watched all these games in London in particular, Wembley, Tottenham over the years,

it seems more often than not that the fields are a little bit damp, a little bit slick. We've seen that. We've seen the international games be compromised with some bad fields. Brazil was supposed to be a mess last week. Actually, it turned out to be okay. but do you think that if the field is slick and the weather right now is forecasted to be cloudy

and in the 60s, but that the first game back, they're going to put them out on a slick field? So Mario-Ota Sunday is still a strong hunch. All right. Durante Jones said something today that I'm going to play for you, and so did David Blow. I'll get to those after these words from a few.

of our sponsors. What's the one money lesson you wished you had learned earlier when you were younger, and how are you trying to communicate that to your kids? For all the parents out there with teenagers, we know you're already trying to keep a million different things under control. Well, Cash App is here to help make sure your teen's money and their spending isn't adding to that craziness. With the Cash App card available to teens 13 to 17, with sponsorship by an eligible parent or goals,

guardian, every transaction triggers a real-time notification for you to see. Empowering your teen to practice independence while giving you peace of mind by keeping track of their spending. You can also manage everything directly from your own cash app account without having to switch between the two, making it simple to stay connected to your teen's financial activity in a way that's both efficient and empowering. Finally, no one wants unnecessary surprises. With Cash App, there are no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirements, and no hidden charges when sending or receiving money.

With the Cash App card, you and your teen's balances receive 24-7 fraud monitoring, and if the card ever gets lost, you have the ability to lock their card right from your phone in just one tap. New Cash App customers can earn $10 if they use code Family 10 in their profile at sign-up and send $5. to a friend within 14 days. Terms apply. Download cash app today and open a managed account for your child. Visit our link in bio. Fall is my favorite time of the year, but fall spending can really add up. Weekend getaways, dinners with friends, tickets to football games.

That's where Chime comes in. Chime is changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional old banks who charge fees and gatekeep perks and rewards. Chime offers the most rewarding fee-free banking all with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees. You get 5% cash back on a Chime card in a category of choice like gas or groceries, all the while building credit through regular everyday spending with no credit check. My younger self would have definitely benefited from Chime. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com slash sheen.

That's chime.com slash sheen. Sign up now. It only takes a few minutes. Hey, Coach Marshall Cramski, WSA-9. Are you game planning for Jaden Daniels or Marcus Marioata to start? It is certainly fluid, and we, you know, we've liked Jaden's progression, but, you know, the system, the process of the week, it's just, We're in a different place.

That's the only difference this week as we get ready to play indie. The situation is fluid, said David Blow earlier today in London. A rather vague answer to a very direct question about whether or not he is preparing for Daniels or Marioada on Sunday. This segment of the show is brought to you by Window Nation. If you've been thinking about new windows because you've got older windows and you want your home to look nicer

and you want to lower your utility bills, your heating bills during the wintertime, your air conditioning bills during the summer and even into early fall. All I ask is give wind donation a chance, a chance to come out to your home at a time convenient for you to give you a free in-home estimate. It'll take an hour or less.

You'll actually find out which windows need to be replaced in your home versus those that don't. They'll leave you with a quote, and then they'll leave you alone. If you move forward with Window Nation, know this. They've got over 1,500 window styles to choose from. And they were recently rated number one by Forbes Magazine among all window installation companies in America. They've got over 45,000 five-star reviews on social media, and 96% of their installs require no follow-up service.

They'll actually leave your home looking nicer than when they arrived when they come to install. the windows, which they'll do in a day or less. All I ask again is if this is something that you've been thinking about, just give Windonation a chance to come out and give you that free in-home estimate. Call them at 86690 Nation or head to Window Nation.com. There was a really short answer that I loved from Durante Jones. Here was the question. Here was his answer. And you mentioned a couple of times overall with the secondary, you want to see that improvement. What do you think are some of the specific areas that you need to get better at? Keeping the chunks off the tape.

Keep the chunks off the tape. Keep the explosive plays off the tape. Please, no more big chunk yardage plays against my pitiful secondary. Yeah, he was asked earlier in the press conference about what part of the defensive puzzle he wants to see work better. and he said, obviously, the coverage aspect. A lot of short answers from Durante Jones. He was asked by, I think, one of the British reporters in attendance

about the defensive play that he gets excited about the most that fans may not necessarily notice. And he said, no touchdowns. That is the answer from a defensive coordinator. Durante Jones and David Blow today and Jaden Daniels today. We gave you a lot of it. Before I get to Tim Murray, I wanted to take a moment to talk about yesterday's playoff game between Atlanta and Philadelphia. It was absolutely thrilling.

I've said this before, but I think playoff baseball is riveting, especially the close games, especially the games in which one team can be eliminated. You know, Game 7, of course, is two of the best words put side by side in all of sports conversation. And we love Game 7s. We're in a best of three wild card round right now. And of the four wild card series, only one is going the distance. And that's because of what happened yesterday in Atlanta.

Bryce Harper had an unbelievable 20 minutes. In the outfield playing right field in the seventh inning, he let a fly ball go over his head that gave Atlanta the lead. And then he came back in the next inning and had a chance at redemption. If you missed it yesterday, this is how both of those plays were called on NBC. This is Bryce's opportunity to make up for that misplay with one run down, guys. Wall and a strike to Harper. This game, this game, it'll humble you and hero you.

Bryce with one of those big moments. Retribution never, never comes this quickly in Major League Baseball. Bryce makes up for him. That's a good feeling for him. He's a superstar for a reason. What an unbelievable pair of moments from Bryce Harper yesterday in a playoff game. that was do or die for Philadelphia. They were in the seventh inning, and he's in right field,

and he lets a ball fly over his head. It is a routine fly ball. He should have easily taken care of it. It was shocking in the moment because he's been such a clutch performer. I think one of the best clutch performers in team sports over the last 14 to 15 years. And to see it, and then to see the close-up of him, where it's like, oh my God, this guy's delivered over and over again, and now he's the choker in a big spot.

Well, there was more game left. And in the next inning, he came up to the plate in a three to two game after allowing essentially two Atlanta runs and a two-run deficit, and he went yard over the right field fence to tie it. It was so Harper that part of it. The first part wasn't. I've really enjoyed watching Bryce Harper over the years. I'm not one of those Nats fans that turned on Harper.

Most have. And I've taken some heat from some Nats fans about coming on this show and the radio show and talking about how much I like Bryce Harper. There's something about the way he is delivered over and over again in the biggest moments. He did it here before he went to Philadelphia. He's done it in international play, world baseball classic, etc. I just like Bryce Harper. I love players

that deliver over and over in meaningful moments like he has. And that was an incredible couple of moments last night. Game three is tonight and if they go on to win the series, that back to back

yesterday afternoon will be remembered by baseball fans, certainly Philly fans for years to come. You know, the other day, and I didn't talk about this on the podcast. If Tommy had been on, we may have talked about it a little bit, but I talked about it on radio a little bit. Dan Quinn was asked a question in his Wednesday press conference. It was not specific to the game. He was asked by, I think his name is David Harrison

from Channel 9. He asked him if the clutch gene is innate or developed. And Quinn described it as something that really is developed, that it isn't necessarily innate, that it's typically a player who's been placed in those situations time and time again and delivered a few times so that they had a belief that they would do it every time thereafter. And Bryce Harper was asked after the game last night, how were you able to flush what happened in the seventh inning and then come back and do what you did in the eighth inning. Here's what he said. I grew up playing a lot of big games and playing huge games that people are counting on

you from the time you were 10 years old all the way till now. I don't think people understand what that feels like or looks like because when you guys were 10 years old, you probably weren't playing in front of 3,000 people, you know, yelling and screaming at you, wondering why you're not the player you want to be or anything else. So I've been through a lot of situations to get me to this point. And, you know, you make a play like that and I'm hearing it out there, obviously. But how quickly can I turn the page and just get past that moment knowing that I'm still coming up to plate to hit? And knowing that in the postseason, it doesn't matter what you did, the bat before, the inning before. It's what you do in that

moment. So for me, everybody's going to make mistakes at some point. But it's how you come through in the next situations. I love that answer from Bryce Harper. A 10-year-old playing in front of 3,000 people. What was the setting for that? Was it high school baseball? Was he a high school baseball player at the age of 10 years old? I certainly remember him being on the cover of Sports Illustrated, being called the Chosen One at 16 years old. He was a a true prodigy, a true baseball prodigy. And, you know, his explanation really sinks up with what Dan Quinn said the other day, that this is something that is developed. You know, you're put in these pressure cooker situations over and over again. And in his case, at a very young age,

and he had some success. And it just created the belief and the lack of any sort of hesitation or fear, you know, in those situations. But what a day yesterday. That was really, really exciting to watch, I think incredibly compelling in terms of just sports theater. Baseball in October is phenomenal. Can't wait to watch tonight. I'm going to have that one on the main screen, the football on the other. All right, Tim Murray will join me next after these words from a few of our sponsors. Isn't it nice that football's finally back and prize picks knows it? They've brought out their best offer yet. New users who sign up will get $150 in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup.

That's right. If you win your first $5 lineup, you'll get $150 in lineups. Prize picks has been and is my go-to Daily Fantasy Sports app, and it's the most entertaining way to watch a game, especially those games. in stand-alone prime time when you may not have an interest one way or the other. Well, prize picks gives you an opportunity to have some interest. It's very easy to use. You simply pick between two and six players and their projected stats,

either going more or less than that projected number. Like tonight, when I'm going more than 72 and a half rushing yards for Sequin Barclay, A bit of a contrarian play, you know me, because he's coming off that injury that he suffered last week in Nashville against Tennessee. And I think more people are thinking less than 72 and a half yards. Last week, I was less on Cam Scataboo's yards on Monday night football against the Rams. It hit this particular time I'm going more than 72 and a half rushing yards for Saquan Barkley. You can follow the result of this. watching the game tonight or if you're hearing this later in the week, you can go back and see

if I was right or wrong. Prize picks is now available nationwide. So what are you waiting for? Lock in for kickoff because everyone and everything is on prize picks. Download the app today and use code Sheehan to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. Again, download the app today. use code Sheehan to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, run your game. You've heard me talk about them as fast-growing trees, but now they're Trees.com, the same trusted online nursery with a simpler name. Trees.com is America's largest and most trusted online nursery,

with thousands of trees and plants, and over 3 million happy cups. customers. They have all the plants your yard or home needs, including fruit trees, privacy trees, flowering trees, shrubs, and house plants, all grown with care and guaranteed to arrive healthy. Whatever you're looking for, Trees.com helps you find options that actually work for your climate, space, and lifestyle. They're alive and thrive guarantee promises that your plants arrive happy and healthy. No green thumb required. Just, quality plants you can count on. Trees.com has their fall annuals out.

Yellow Belgian mums arrived at our home, picked out by my wife. They were beautiful. Right now, they have great deals on planting essentials, up to half off on select plants. And listeners to this show get 20% off their purchase when using the code Sheehan at checkout. That's an additional 20% off, better plants and better growing at Trees.com using the code. Sheehan at checkout. Trees.com code Sheehan. Now's the perfect time to plant.

Let's grow together. Use Sheehan to save today. Offer is valid for limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. All right. Joining me right now, my good friend, Tim Murray. Tim is the host of Veezen's college football tailgate show Saturday mornings at 9 a.m.

Eastern, you can actually watch Tim do that show on Masson. He also has a very good college football betting podcast. It's called the Veezen College Football Betting Podcast. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts at one Tim Murray on X. Tim and I are actually partners in a college football betting contest. We're not off to the best of starts, but we've got a long way to go. It's not how you start. It's how you finish, baby.

and we're hovering around 500, you know. You've got to make seven picks every week in this contest. So it's challenging, right? So you and I, we put out our favorite plays together. We come to a collaboration. Usually, this is how it works. I send a text to Kevin with the sheet of the game. You send me like four plays, and then you go, whatever you like.

And I decided the other three. Yeah. Well, I mean, you and I, I mean, we do it the same way, so it's typically a lot of the same teams. Last week was an absolute bloodbath for me, and it was the worst day I've had so far this season. I kind of felt like it was coming because everything had been working. And by the way, the NFL, just real quickly, I mean, the NFL, the last two weekends for the books have been absolute gold, right? So I do a radio show, a game day show in D.C. on the flagship, Big 100, and I have on an oddsmaker every week. And he told me flat out, Washington is the biggest need of the house last weekend. And I texted you and our buddy Steve Sands. And I know what the interesting thing for us was, it wasn't a sharp side coming in on Washington. It was just everybody was on Seattle. And lo and behold, Seattle or Washington wins the game outright. The one that really, I think, upset me last weekend from the NFL standpoint was the Chargers.

You and I, and a lot of people I trust, love the Chargers there, got seven and a half, and you couldn't have asked for more, and they still couldn't find a way to cover that game. No, that was literally early in the week, I said, if you're looking for the stupid NFL result that everybody's going to say, well, I didn't see that one coming, it was the O&2, chargers against the two and no bills. And the chargers were up 13 to 10 driving late third quarter. This week for me real quickly, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to have it tomorrow in the smell test. I don't think anybody's going to give the Patriots a chance. It's the same venue

at Buffalo. And so we're going against the bills again. But I'm going to be on the Patriots, I think, for big-time size on Sunday. Yeah. So I'll give you a quick show. I was watching. My wife is a Bill fan. And I'm sitting. there last Sunday and she hears me doing my hits from my office all the time. And, you know, she's giving me crap all week because I was, I kept going on these radio shows and be like, I'm on the chargers. I'm on the chargers. And she looked at me early on in that game and she goes, how did you know? And I'm like, I don't know. And then Flood and Beal and we don't get there for the cover. But back to Buffalo. Yeah, I'm on, I'm on New England. New England plus seven.

there are a couple sports books out there that still have seven a bunch from at six and a half but yes I am on and I'll say this one last thing I do a radio show in Milwaukee the Bob and Brian morning show I've been on it for eight or nine years and we always do picks on Thursday

and Bob bless his heart I love Bob to death he's my guy but as square as square could be and he is all over the bills this week yeah of course for what you will and by the way it could certainly not come through like the Chargers did.

But this is, you and I don't like necessarily betting based on our own analysis. It's admitting that we don't know anything that is the key to our betting strategy and then just trying to find out who our bookmaker, who the house is going to need. But in this one, the analysis would go like this.

The Patriots have played, going back to last postseason, seven great defensive football teams, which obviously Drake May has struggled against. The bills are not a great defensive team. It'll be the easiest defensive team they have faced since the end of last regular season. So I think they're going to be able to move the football Sunday against Buffalo.

And I'm not a big trends guy because you know, you'll hear all these people in Twitter nowadays. It's full of trends. But, you know, it's kind of like when you went to economics class and the first thing you learned was buy low, sell high, right? well, everyone says the Patriots suck. Everyone loves the bills. You're buying low, you're selling high, you're getting the number at what's considered to be an inflated number.

So, yeah, it's kind of that thought process, but it doesn't always work out. You know, you and I tried to fade Mississippi State two weeks ago when they went to South Carolina, and they were up 16-0-0, the Gamecocks were, and then Super Camaro goes for a 41-7 run. So you're not always right. I thought the stinkiest line last week was Maryland, and it was. because they lost up 51 point. Yeah, yeah. That was not the correct side.

So let's go to that because I do want to ask you. Tim really does a phenomenal job covering and talking about college football and knows all of the key players and the key coaches around the country and talks to a lot of them. So you know that Loxley's gone. We all know that that's going to happen at this point. and it's probably a year or two overdue. Like, Tim, my whole take this week on the Maryland situation was the guy is 32 games under 500 has never in the Big Ten, has never had a winning Big Ten season, and he's in his eighth year in College Park.

Is there any other job in the Power 4 that a coach that's 32 games under 500 in the conference and has never had a winning conference season would still be there. Oh, man, probably not. I mean, before Vanderbilt got good, I guess, maybe Vanderbilt, you know, that they've changed. You know, it's funny because I remember a couple years ago, I was defending Locke. You know, I'm like, look, this team, it was like the 23 season,

and they ended up winning a bowl game. And I'm like, what else are you going to do? Or maybe it was the 24 season when they were down. At this point, it's an embarrassment. And I'm not even a, you're a Maryland alum. I'm having a Maryland fan. I just grew up there. And, you know, watching the last two games, and I know the Virginia Tech game score-wise wasn't as bad.

But that game, it was a bad game. Oh, it was, of course. It was a bad game. They had no shot. You know, and to lose the James Franklin, I know that this is an extra kind of cherry on top. But last Saturday was it. Now, I will say, there is nobody on the planet. is going to bet Maryland this weekend.

Oh, boy. Use that for what you will. Nebraska does have Indiana on deck. I don't know if I can do it. I do have a colleague of mine who did bet Maryland, but after getting burned by them the last two weeks, I don't know if I could do it again. But, yeah, I mean, I know you're going to get into names,

and we have not exchanged names and who we think. I'm going to throw a name to you. This would be number one on my list, and if they could get him, do what you can to get him. I just don't think they'll get him. It's Wake Forest, Jake. Oh, my God. That's my guy. I love Jake Dickard.

He is an amazing coach. Phenomenal coach. He's, look at what he's, so he left for those who do not know, he was at Washington State, had success at Washington State, which was kind of an impossible job. Right. Mike Leach did a good job there for a while, and he's such a unique character. And then he takes the Wake Forest job, and I think a lot of people are like, why would you take the Wake Forest job? Year one goes nine and four. And I'm not just saying this because they beat Louisville last week. He is a damn good football coach.

They were in that game against Miami to a certain degree. I mean, they move the football. If they don't drop a touchdown pass, Kevin, that's maybe a one-score game. So number one, without a doubt, for me, is Jake Dickert. I just don't think they're going to get them. Yeah, so that's crazy because we have not talked about it. So I mentioned that when I talked about Loxley on the show the other day, that I really like the Wake Forest coach.

And I'm not sure he would leave Wake to come to Maryland, which is, again, probably another indictment on the Maryland job. I mean, Wake is in a lesser conference that has a lot of instability. And Maryland's in the Big Ten, which is pretty much the only thing that you can say good about the Maryland football job is that it's in the Big Ten. So that's an interesting, I love Jake Dickert. I love the job he did at Washington State. the job he did last year at wake. This guy's been, and this is what they need, right? And maybe it's not a head coach.

They need to find somebody like this that is able to coach him up and get more out of less against better competition. So after him, do you have other people like that? Because I'm assuming you think that that's the kind of guy Maryland needs to target and can get. Not a name. I'll just say this. Yeah, I'll just say, yeah, absolutely. You need a unique system.

You need a unique style. I think that really is beneficial to get the most out of your players, obviously. You know, Jake Dickert, would he go to South Carolina if they, when that job comes open? Certainly possible. But I think this is a positive here for Maryland. Wisconsin's success is actually good for Maryland because Wisconsin has a massive buyout for Luke Fickle that went over Penn State last week. You and I, by the way, no big deal, on the Badgers. last week.

One of the only winners. But so Jake Dicker, a Wisconsin guy. He didn't go to Wisconsin, but he's from Wisconsin. He went to a D3 school in Wisconsin. Another Wisconsin guy who is an awesome coach is Jason Eck, the head coach in New Mexico. Right. And it would, wouldn't it be ironic? No, no more New Mexico coaches.

No more New Mexico. Loxley was the coach at New Mexico, everybody. Unlike Loxley, he's had actual success coaching at New Mexico. But yeah, I think a guy like Jason Eck, he's going to be very highly coveted, I think, out there. But look, they need a guy. Look at what Bob Chesney is doing at UCLA right now. And think about he went from Holy Cross. He goes to James Madison, and now he's having success.

You know, a guy that, I'll just say this, don't fall for the James Madison Fugazi. Billy Napier to me is not a guy. He failed at Florida. I don't know if he'd be successful at Maryland. Maybe he would. He's crushing it right now at JMU, but I think there's something about that program that they're always going to be an elite,

you know, G6 type of program. So I am not all in on a guy like Billy Napier. Yeah, I was thinking about just the James Madison tree. And Billy Napier, for those of you who don't know, was at Florida as the head coach for three or four years and didn't get it done there. I'm going to ask you about Florida here in a moment. And it just seems like everything that's come, you know, Indiana, Cignetti, Chesney to UCLA.

So Napier, though, has a previous big-time job, you know, in the sport and did not succeed. So it would be a bit different. But yeah, all right, anybody else that just comes to mind? Yeah. I mean, I think the hot coordinator right now is Buster Faulkner. He's the offensive coordinator for Florida. he's doing a spectacular job. I would say if you ask around and go ask Stanford, Steve, people who talk to coaches regularly,

he's a guy that is very, very well respected. It's thought to be maybe the brightest, one of the brightest offensive minds out there. So I think a Buster Faulkner, if you wanted to go to coordinator route. And the last name I'll mention, I'm curious to get your thoughts on it, because he is a recently failed head coach. but as a Notre Dame fan, what he did prior to going to LSU, Brian Kelly is desperate to get back. I don't know how he would do at a place like Maryland.

He could be a failure at another big-time program. But what he did at Central Michigan, then to Cincinnati, and at Notre Dame, he reminds me a little bit of James Franklin. And here's what I mean by that. Now, he doesn't love to recruit. I think he's a better football coach than Franklin. I think he's a better football coach, but he's not a recruiter like James Franklin. James Franklin's a used car sale, and he'll go out and sell ice to an Eskimo.

Like, Brian Kelly hates recruiting, so that could be a massive issue. I think Brian Kelly's a really damn good coach. I've actually talked to people who have worked for Brian Kelly. They say he's awesome to work for, believe it or not. He just kind of lets you do your thing. But, you know, James Franklin was really good at Vanderbilt and got Penn State to a sustained level, but couldn't get them over the top. Marcus Freeman is taking Notre Dame to the next level because he loves to recruit,

get to elite players in there. Brian Kelly got Notre Dame to a sustained level of 9-10 wins that Notre Dame did not have since the Lou Holth era. So I don't know if Brian Kelly would really move the needle, but I know that he's itching around and he wants to get back in. So that could be a name certainly on the radar. But look, for me, it's Jake Dickert, number one. I don't think you can, I don't know if they can get them.

But if they could, I think that's the home run higher of all hires. Let me give you one other name, and it's not from the assistant, you know, tradition. He's an assistant right now. He's an OC right now. But Arthur Smith is very familiar with this area. He went to Georgetown Prep. He's the OC at Ohio State after being the OC at Pittsburgh for the Steelers under Tomlin in the last couple years.

He's been a head coach in the NFL with the Falcons after, you know, those years in Tennessee as the OC. He can coach offense. there is no doubt that Arthur Smith can coach offense. I don't know what he would be like as a recruiter. I have no idea. But in terms of what you just said about Brian Kelly, as a Maryland guy, I don't care about the needle mover.

I want the guy that can just coach him up at a high level, look for the guy that just can come in and just get a hell of a lot more out of less. That's why a guy like Jake Dickert is interesting to me, because he is coached up, you know, lesser talent in two different spots now. And I think that's what Maryland needs. Loxley recruited better than any Maryland coach in the history of the program and generated no results, basically. Although, you know, the three years that you talked about are the year or two. They had Leah Tunga Vailoa at quarterback. He was a very good college quarterback.

and they did win eight games and win three bowl games in a row. And for Maryland, that is good. But ultimately, you got to find somebody who every couple of years can win, you know, six games in the Big Ten. You know, go six and three in the Big Ten and actually be a factor and knock off teams that are better than them. That's not something Maryland ever did with Loxley. They didn't beat one team that was better than them. I want to give you two more names real quickly.

Dan Mullen at UNLV. I don't know what if he wants to leave. I don't know if he's looking for a bigger job. He gets pretty well compensated out here. There's no pressure. And I'll tell you one. And if you had told me eight years ago that I'd be saying this name, I would have said, you're crazy.

But this dude, I believe, is an elite coach, Jim Mora Jr. I don't know what the record is going to be this year. Oh, dude, look at what he did at Yukon. Look at what he did with that pool of crap up there in Yukon. He got them the nine wins, multiple years. They were always overachieving. I think he's going to do a pretty good job eventually at Colorado State. And once again, that's if your top choices don't come in.

I think you've got to take outside the box. And if you're looking for a guy that did less with more, I was blown away. I thought Jim Moore Jr. at UCLA was a complete disaster. And then he goes to Yukon with no expectations and gets them the nine wins multiple times. He was finding guys like Skylar Bell, who was a Wisconsin cast off. And he ends up becoming like a Bolitnikov finalist a year ago. He finds the quarterback of Maine, Joey Fagnano, who I think is on the Ravens roster right now. Like he found talent and got him to go to Yukon and won nine games in back-to-back years.

So if you're going a little bit further down the list, I think Mora and Mullen are interesting because, look, Mullen, you know, I thought he got a bad rap at Florida. You look at the numbers, they weren't terrible. And at Mississippi State, I know they're having some success right now, but like he had Mississippi State number one in the country once upon a time. Yeah, he did. I do think Dan Mullen, if he's looking to get out, I don't know if he's looking to get out, but if he's looking to go back to the P4, I think Dan Mullen's a guy who absolutely can coach it up for sure. and he's got tied to the East Coast. He's a Pennsylvania guy. Dak Prescott was his quarterback at Mississippi State in 2015, the year they were actually number one in the country briefly, 2014 or 2015. And had that game against Bama.

They were the first ever number one team in the college football playoff rankings reveal. Oh, yeah. How about that? All right. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back with Tim, talk about, you know, the college football season here through, four or five weeks and then look ahead to Saturday's biggest games. We'll do that after these words from a few of our sponsors. This segment of the show brought to you by MyBooky. My bookies got their lock of the season available this Sunday. It'll take place during the Houston Dallas game

and the lock of the season is an absolute giveaway by My Bookie. All Dak Prescott has to do is complete one pass. in the game and you double your money. This is called a lock of the season. I guess it could lose if he gets hurt after handing the ball off twice to start the game. But one completed pass by Dak Prescott at any point during the game and you double your money.

You have to use my promo code for this one. Kevin D.C. when you sign up at MyBooky and then bet the lock of the season. Get to My Booky by going to My Booky. You can also go to my bookie. When you bet on football this weekend, make my bookie and their lock of the season the choice. My bookie, bet on anything, anytime, anywhere. We continue with Tim Murray.

How good is Florida? Really good. Really, really good. What John Somerall was able to do, which I thought was brilliant, is he goes to Florida, and he basically pinpointed the five players he knew he needed to keep, and he kept them. And Jaden Ball is one of them. Jayden Ball is arguably the best running back in college football. But look, that being said, Florida's really, really good. Are they national championship level

good? I don't think so. I don't think we're there just yet. And that's where, as a better, now I'm starting to think, is this the week that we look to go against them? They went on the road to Auburn and won that game. They beat Old Miss in a great atmosphere and now they have to go on the road to Missou. Mizzou is licking their wounds off of a game against Mississippi State. But just in general, big picture

how good is Florida. I think they're really good, man. They've got a nice one-two punch in the running back, excuse me, in addition to ball. They've got Duke Clark who ran for over 100 yards a week ago. They've got some stud wide receivers. Dallas Wilson is an absolute stud

at the wide receiver position. I don't know yet about their quarterback, Aaron Philo. Like he's good. The numbers are good, but they haven't really asked him to do too much. He was the backup last year at Georgia Tech, but played a bunch because the Haynes King was always injured. But Buster Faulkner, the offensive coordinator that we mentioned, he was at Georgia Tech last year. He brought Philo with him. So good quarterback, I don't know how good of a quarterback he is, but to answer your question,

Florida is really good. And look, their schedule, man. They still have Texas. They still have Georgia. they got Missouri this week. I think they're a playoff team, but they've got some big boys on the schedule still to come. Do you agree with me that the number one team in the country, Texas is going to lose a couple of times this year? Yes.

I think Texas deserves the ranking of number one because of their win over Ohio State and a win at Tennessee. You know, you've got to give him credit for that. Look, Arch Manning, I don't know. I'm not a QB evaluator, but like if he doesn't have the last name Manning, he's not projected to be the number one pick. and I don't think he's going to be the number one pick. There's issues in his game right now, and there are definite flaws with this Texas team.

So they got Red River next weekend. Oklahoma is a disaster offensively, but you still have on that schedule. Texas still has Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, they have to go on the road to Texas A&M, who looks a little bit shaky. But, yeah, this is a team that I do not believe is the best team in college football.

And if you ask any professional better, if any odds maker, they would not have Texas as their number one power-rated team. They probably, I wouldn't say all of them, but most of them probably have Ohio State, even though they lost to Texas as their number one power-rated team. Yeah, I was going to say that I think right now through, you know, the four to five weeks that we've seen college football, and we haven't seen them play anybody yet. I mean, I don't think Oklahoma is a very good team.

And I was not a mature guy last year, and I'm definitely not one. year. But Georgia looks really, really good to me. Yeah, I was high on them preseason. You know, I was doing my podcast over the summer and Georgia was plus 320 to win the SEC. I'm like, they're better than Texas. And the schedule is more manageable than Texas is. Now, next week, they have to go on the road to Alabama. That's going to be a huge game. I think Keelan Russell is the real deal, the quarterback. I do too. For Alabama. I think there's a legitimate shot he can win the the Heisman trophy this year. Look, everyone want the crap on Kalin-Dibor for the struggles that they put up an air quote that no one can

see. But this dude knows that a coach quarterback, you know, Michael Panix Jr. became a top-10 pick because of Kalan DeVore and Ryan Grub being his coach out there in Washington. So that's going to be an incredible game next Saturday night down there in Tuscaloosa. But I think if you ask me right now who is the best team, yeah, I'd say Georgia, but I think every team kind of has a flaw here, Kevin. like Georgia, I need to see more from their playmakers. Look, you know I'm a Notre Dame fan. I think Notre Dame's got the best defense in college football. I really do.

But they have, I think they got to have playmakers emerge at the wide receiver and running back position. Ohio State, they've got some issues defensively. They gave up a bunch of yards last week to Illinois, but they've got four on offense. Jeremiah Smith. He's pound for pound the best player in the sport. So there's some really good teams. I haven't mentioned Miami yet. Indiana looks a little bit flawed.

So I think if you ask me right now to pick it, I guess ever so slightly it'd be Georgia. But to your point, it's like, oh, who have they played? If you look at Jeff Sagan, who puts together, you know, strength of schedule numbers, Georgia right now is based the 76 most difficult schedule. So, you know, we'll learn more come next week for sure. All right. Let's talk and we'll end with a couple of the key games on Saturday. Mississippi State in Starkville against Bama. If Iowa wasn't playing Ohio State off the win over Michigan, I think this is where game day would have been.

But how much of a chance do you give Mississippi State at home against Bama? I mean, they're explosive offensively, so I certainly give them a chance. I mean, they're only, you know, five or six point underdog. I think people will probably look at that line, Kevin, and say that it's a little bit too high, which is maybe an indicator to look at the Alabama side. But look, to this point, Mississippi State has beaten the market. every single week. This is a four and oh against the

spread team in Mississippi State. You know, Camaro Taylor, we talked about him already. He's a superstar in the making, man. He's a true sophomore. I'm getting sick and tired of people talking about where he'll be next year. I think for the good of the sport, hopefully he stays at Mississippi State. But, yeah,

do I give him a shot? Sure, it's a hostile environment. You know, and Keelan Russell's a true freshman, right? He's a stud, or maybe he's a redshirt freshman. But regardless, this is his first year starting at Alabama and you're going down to a place that is very unique with Cal Bell's ringing and all of that. So do I give Mississippi State a chance? Absolutely, I do.

I do think, and this is probably a little square, I think this is a high scoring game. So Alabama's team totals like 33 and a half. I think Alabama should be able to score against Mississippi State. I think that's where they're vulnerable a little bit. And what's interesting to me, Kevin, when you look at this game, you know, Mississippi State is super up-tempo. They want to go, go, go, go, nonstop. Alabama's explosive, but they're not necessarily super up-tempo.

So it's going to be an interesting contrasting styles down there in Stark Vegas. I don't have a bet on this game, but I think Mississippi State certainly has a chance to win it. All right, let's get to the other big game of the day. Ohio State in Iowa City to take on Iowa, a program coached for many, many years now by Kirk Forens. who was so emotional after that last play walk-off win in the big house over Michigan last week. He's been involved in a lot of big games over his career, and I'm sure he's had some really big wins. What did you make of just how emotional he was after that game, tears coming down his face?

He's 71 years old. Sure. You know, and to go on the road in a hostile environment to be down 19 to 13, you kick that field goal that you miss, you know, late in the game, and you think there's no way they can drive the field and they pull it off. So, yeah, you get that emotion. You're hosting game day for the first time in 20 years. It's crazy because of these unbalanced schedules.

Ohio State hasn't been to Kinnick since 2017 when Kirk Farrant and the Iowa Hawkeyes put up 55 points of Urban Meyer. Yeah, Dwayne Haskins was the quarterback. I think it was anyway. I've just always been a big fan of Kirk Forensis. He's done it for 27 years now. He's the longest tenured coach. He's done it in very much an old school way with defense and special teams.

You know, typically beating teams that are more talented. I don't think Iowa recruits at the same level that Ohio State and Penn State and Michigan recruit at. And I don't know, there's just been something about him that's been very likable from afar. And I had this sense in watching the emotion after the game that that, you know, probably ranks way up there for him in terms of his biggest wins. And he's had a lot. No, and it's cool when you see that. And I know, you know, we go back to Jake Dicker. Jake Dicker was emotional after they.

beat Louisville. He had, you know, just lost his, um, uh, his father-in-law and couldn't be at the, uh, at the funeral. So, you know, there, there was that aspect to it, but going back to the Iowa Michigan game. And, you know, Kevin, I don't know if you ever look at things like this, but I like to look at like postgame win expectancy and things and, and how games played out, uh, just as a tool, not necessarily like this is the be all end all, but Bill Conley does it, and I think he's got some good stuff. Iowa, when you look at the box score and how I played, had a 7% post-game win expectancy. I mean, we were both on Michigan, and I didn't think there was a chance we were going to lose

that. They were clearly the superior team. So that being said, now you go, and I do a hit with former Ohio State player Bobby Carpenter every week. Oh, he's great. And they're worried about it, you know, because it's Iowa. And I'm like, dude, you guys are just so much better. Like there's so much talent. Like, I'm not laying 14 and a half on the road, Kevin, with Ohio State. But I do think that Ryan Day, I'm not the biggest Ryan Day guy, but I do think Ryan Day is going to bring up the fact that the last time they were there.

He was on the staff. He was, I think, co-offensive coordinator when they got blown out. So I think he's going to remind these guys, hey, we went into this stadium and gave up 55 points nine years ago. I think Ohio State's going to be pretty buttoned up for this one. You know, like I said, Ohio State is not perfect, but, you know, I think this defense is slowly going to get better. And you look at Iowa, people are like, they can run the ball well. I mean, they had 93 yards rushing against Iowa State and 58 against Michigan. This is not, you know, your classic ground and pound Iowa type of team.

So I just, I don't know how Iowa has sustained success offensively on Saturday. But once again, I'm not, I don't think it's in my Bible, Kevin, laying north of two touchdowns on the road, it is, it is, thou shall not do that. So I am going to avoid laying in here with Ohio State. All right. Two more, and I'll let you run. Number one, what did you think of the hit on Dante Moore in the USC Oregon game? Bang, bang, or dirty? Well, the aftermath was ridiculous.

Of course. I mean, that's where it got worse. And look, I despise Lincoln Riley. I think he's chicken, you know what. He's the reason that one of the best rivalries in college football is non-existent because he's scared to play Notre Dame in a non-conference. So look, I will never be pulling for Lincoln Riley. I do think it was, oh, it looked really bad.

It was vicious. But there is something to be said about these slides, man. And like, you're running as fast as you can, hit a quarterback, he gets down, you try to get out of the way. I'm not saying this particular linebacker did. It looked really bad. It obviously was a concussion that sent him to the hospital. The thing that just made it so much worse was there was no remorse.

There was no, oh my God, I can't believe I did this. It was, yeah, suck it, you know, it was. Oh, and the reaction was horrendous. Yeah. It hit itself, and I'm curious, I didn't hear your thoughts on it. They hit itself. I'm not going to say because he got hurt, and he got a concussion. I'm not saying that it would take that lightly,

but there is something to be said when you're running, when you're scrambling, and this guy, his job is to hit you, and then you get down and fly. I thought it was, what he's supposed to do. I did not think it was a dirty hit in the moment. I didn't think it was afterwards.

I think Dante Moore, people don't even realize this about Dante Moore. He's a big dude. You know, he's 6.3, you know, whatever, 215, 220. And I thought he was a little bit late in getting down. We see this all the time. It's not like it's a unique play. We see it all the time.

It looked terrible, and the reaction was obviously terrible. All right. Last one. Give me a team right now. Let's just call it outside the top eight in the country, top ten in the country, that you really, really like that nobody's talking about. Utah. I think this team is over, you know, over, well, I guess the couch.

obvious. You know, Mississippi State is obviously playing really well. I'll give you two. So I do like Utah. Utah get me too. Shout out, point break. You know, they've got a really unique system going. And this, these two quarterbacks, and look, I've been in the camp of Devin Dan Pierce since he was at New Mexico. Look, I live out west. I watch a lot of Mountain West games. And this dude's a special talent. And I was his side, and I was his sideline reporter for his bowl game when he went nuts last year against Nebraska. then they bring in Bird Fickland, who's another dual-thread guy. They'll run like the triple option together.

They've got a stud running back in Wayshon Parker. I had a question, right, twofold. You lose Kyle Whittingham. You promote Morgan Scally. There was maybe some heart feelings there between that. You know, Jason Beck, the office of the coordinator, goes with Wittingham to Michigan. So you had some questions there, but I think this Utah team, especially the way Texas Tech is playing, and I'll say this, Kevin.

and maybe this will come back to bite me in the ass when BYU hosts Notre Dame in a couple weeks. I'm not all in on BYU. I think they're good. I just think they're one-dimensional offensively. I don't know if they could throw the ball. They lost their top wide receivers from a year ago. So I think Utah is a team that could win the Big 12. And then I'll give you one more that I think is kind of intriguing.

And it's Oklahoma State, man. I was just going to say, I think that Oklahoma State's got a chance to really shock some people the rest of the year. And by the way, the schedule's not that difficult. They do play Texas Tech, but they play them at home. They don't have Utah on the schedule. They don't have BYU on the schedule. And that quarterback is really good. Mastemaker. Yeah. And look, I was skeptical of this team because, you know, North Texas didn't even win the American a year ago. They opened up the season. They lose the Tulsa. But I think there's something, there's some facts to the matter that they didn't prepare for Tulsa and they were all

in for Oregon. And look, 38 to 30, for those of you listening right now and said, what's the big deal? Okay, they beat Oregon 38 to 30. They had at one point out gained Oregon, 350 to 50. They dominated Oregon in that game. And I'll say this, they went to Morgantown last weekend. Yeah, impressive. They put it on West Virginia. And this is a West Virginia team that I was really impressed by their win against Virginia on a neutral down in Charlotte. Michael Hawkins looks like the perfect quarterback for Rich Rod. And look, Oklahoma State's going to give up yard. There's no doubt. They gave up 335 rushing yards a week ago. They had over 600 against West Virginia last week. But this team can freaking go offensively. So look, I thought coming into this year, Kevin,

I thought it was Texas Tech and everybody else in the Big 12. I bet Texas Tech to win the conference. I think Oklahoma State, I think Utah, I think BYU all have a legitimate shot to win that conference. So Oklahoma State maybe was a little bit overlooked because of the loss of Tulsa, but two of their last wins, Oregon and West Virginia have been super impressive. And they go to Houston in a couple weeks. That'll be a tricky spot against Willie Fritz's squad. But yeah, the two Big 12 teams, I think,

keep an eye on would be Utah and Oklahoma State. I don't think either one of them, Kevin, are national championship caliber teams. But could they make the playoff and maybe win a game? Yeah, I think it's certainly possible. Watch Tim Saturday morning 9 a.m. on Masson as he hosts the Veezen College Football Tailgate Show. Thank you. I'll talk to soon. Let's try to win some more. Let's try to win more games this weekend than lose.

The smell test needs to pick it up in the Westgate Supercontest. Yeah, it really does. All right, I'll talk to you later. Thanks. Tim Murray, everybody. That'll do it for today, back tomorrow with a full football Friday show, previewing Washington Indy, picking the game, smell test picks, Jay Gruden, and a lot more.