WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Bleacher Boys: Baseball History, MLB Wild Card, and College Football Update

Episode Date: October 3, 2024

The boys talk about the historical White Sox joined by a real fan of the team and then dive into the Tigers and MLB Wild Card Round. They also discuss the biggest college football games of Week 5 then make their picks for week 7.

Fly ball, right center, field. You're listening to Bleacher Boys, where Paul, George, and Matthew break down the biggest stories in sports, from the cheap seats, I guess, on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Welcome into the Bleacher Boys. I'm your host, Paul Marquetti, and as always, joining me is Matthew Carton.

What is up, everybody? And George Ackala. Holding down the booth. And we are joined by a very special guest. Welcome in Thomas Scher. How are we doing? Good. And the reason we have Thomas is here is to have a little bit of a...

A celebration, if you will. Yeah, exactly, as the song is telling us. We have a new record in the world of baseball. The infamous White Sox have broken history, and they have lost 121 games, setting the record for the most losses in a single season in the modern era. Gentlemen, they beat the New York Mets, who had the previous record for 120 losses from the 1962 season. And the reason we have Thomas in here is he is a loyal White Sox fan.

So Thomas, what the heck happened down there in the South Side? Well, it's accumulation of stuff that happened. I grew up in a middle class family. Oh, good old. Well, this is just the result of a tailspin over the last few years. I mean, I thought we were going to be a franchise. like a legit dynasty back in 2021. That's the year we went 93 and 69.

Tim Anderson hit a walkoff in one of the greatest games of all time, the Field of Dreams game against the Yankees. And now we know what happened after that. Tailspin next year, 81, 81, then in 2023, 61, 101, and then this year, obviously, the worst team of all time. I know this other guy who's a White Sox fan, and he was saying that he was mad that they wouldn't even lose their last game to break the record, because why are you?

even losing all these games if you're not going to break the record. So are you happy? I am as happy as anyone could be in this situation. I am in the same boat, both with the record and I was reading for the all-time record for the longest losing streak ever. I was a little disappointed when they won against the A's, but you know, you can't have everything, so we'll take the worst record of all-time. Isn't that called Stockholm Syndrome? I guess so at this point. When you grow to love the cause of your misery? I guess so. Well, I mean, that's the life of a Chicago sports fan with the Cubs. and well Thomas I've got to ask you so also being a Bears fan you know the bears do very poorly

at least they get the number one overall pick how does it work in baseball I know the prospect thing is a little different are the White Sox guaranteed that number one slot no they are not due to the new lottery rules both the A's and the White Sox cannot get a top 10 pick I think the highest they can get is the 10th pick but they cannot get anything above number 10 because they are quote unquote a big market team, which obviously Jerry Rinesdorf is yet to acknowledge, as we spend no money in free agency, as Andrew Benintendi at $75 million is our biggest free agent signing ever. Well, this was quite the year for the White Sox. Their winning percentage was 253, and they had a negative 306 run differential to sit at the very bottom of the AL standings and the MLB standings

this year. Thomas, I just want to ask you a question. Do you think... How do you get out of the situation? Like, how do you make it better? Can it get any worse? I think it cannot. I don't think it could get worse. I think it could plateau a little bit. We might be in here for a year or two,

but we have a lot of good young prospects, mainly pitching prospects. If you were shown this year, they didn't really do too well, but I think given the right situation and the right atmosphere, they'll be able to succeed. Noah Schultz, he showed some stuff this year.

He's a big prospect we got in the Jake Burger trade, with the Marlins. And then we also just drafted Hagen Smith. I think that. What a name. Jake Burger, man. I'm missing.

I'm missing. I mean, on the White Sox, he's a, he's a nothing burger. So here's the deal, though. I mean, this isn't new for the White Sox.

I want to use my powers as running the control panel to talk about a rant that a fan went on in 2023. Let's just listen to a little bit of this rant, which actually took place in, Interestingly enough, when compared to now, the White Sox were actually an elite franchise, you know, nowhere close to those 121 losses. Let's take a listen, not a live listening, but a listen in nonetheless. AAA team. Our right fielders are hitting 180 with a weighted run created plus of 28.

I don't even need to tell you about the pitching staff. Catch is got to go. Moncada, T.A. Eloy, yes, Joe Kelly, it's week four. They've all already been hurt. tens of millions of dollars on replacement level players while stars go elsewhere. We're 11 games under 500. The Bears needed six months to get 11 games under 500. So what do you think about that?

I 100% agree, even though that is when we were in a much better situation. 11 games under 500 sounds pretty good for the White Sox. I would take that any day. But that rant still stands, even though that was when we were frustrated, when we weren't getting up to expectations and being a playoff team and leading the division when we were supposed to. But I think everything still stands.

Our players are underperforming all across the charts. Everybody from pitchers... To ballboy. Ball boys, yeah, of course. Well, don't just the ball boy. We don't know. But, I mean, when you have a team that starts the year with Martine Maldonado as catcher,

there's only so much you can do. Wait, didn't the Houston Astros start the year previously with Martin? Yeah, we don't have to talk about that. But Martin Maldonado hit what? Yeah, he was nine in the Astros lineup for a reason, and he was there defensively because he was a pitcher's favorite. But when you have a roster like the White Sox with no other bats to hide him or, you know, cover up that woe, you've got big problems. Especially when your one bat, meaning Luis Robert, starts to tailspin also in the second half. Just like last year, he hit three home runs of the second half last year. That shrank continued this year, as he only hit 14 home runs when he was supposed to be a generational star. I can just imagine right now people are tuning in, and they're expecting to hear some, you know, great expose about the Detroit Tigers finally making the playoffs, their hometown team. And yet they're getting talk about the White Sox. So can we shift a little bit in talk about the tigers and the incredible run that they went on to finish the season, which they actually won more games in the second half of the season than the White Sox won during the entirety of the season.

Oh, no. So let that sink in. I would just like to acknowledge the fact that no AL Central team, would be where it is without the White Sox and granting them every single win that they could ever wish for. Well, I also like the memes that it's like, today's Chicago showed that no team beats the White Sox 122 times in a season.

Hey, we finished season five for our last six, so I'll take that. Yeah, the Detroit Tigers finished their season against the lowly White Sox, and they got the one win necessary to lock up that playoff spot. As George mentioned, is their first time in 10 years, I believe, making the playoffs. And man, they've got a tough one lined up for them in the Houston Astros. They're going down to Houston to play the juggernaut that is the Astros organization.

Guys, what do we think about this upcoming playoff series, the hometown Tigers versus the bad guy Astros? Yeah, I'll tell you what, as a Royals fan, I was really glad that we didn't end up playing Houston. I was really, really not looking forward to that. But, yeah, I think the, I think Terrick Scoobel can work wonders. I think the Tigers come away with game one. I got the Astros in game two,

and then game three deciding games. You've seen it all, anything can happen. I don't know. I feel like it's pretty much a toss up there, so I don't think the Tigers' odds are as bad as they might seem. So I've got the Astros winning the series in three games after school takes game one, but then the Astros bounce back.

But the Tigers, obviously, they're on fire. They're the hottest team in baseball going 17 and 8 in September, but the Astros just have experience. It's like playing Tom Brady in the playoffs. Like, no matter how they do in the regular season, they're always going to be contenders. Especially when you get Yordaun Alvarez. I mean, the guy hit, he hit 12 postseason home runs in the last four years alone.

Yeah. And the Astros have made seven straight ALCSs. I will say the Astros franchise does have one concern on their mind, and that is Yordaun Alvarez. He is apparently 50-50 for this upcoming wildcard series. and they haven't yet listed whether he's going to be on their wildcard roster. That'll be something to watch for tomorrow morning. Three and a half hours before game time is when they release the official wildcard rosters.

So if he's off that roster, that's a huge win for the Tigers, because that is the biggest bat in that Astros lineup. And yeah, to our audience listening on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM, like to remind you that by the time we're recording what will game one already be done by that point? Oh, yeah. Or by the time it airs. So you'll be able to see our predictions, whether they're right or wrong in real time.

We all have the Tigers in game one, right? Yeah. Yeah, that's probably safe to say. You've got the presumptive AL-Sai Young. He's the Triple Crown. You know, what a great season for Scoobel. It's crazy to think that at the trade deadline, there was talks of the Tigers trying to trade him away.

They're glad that they didn't now, as they've got the best ace in the game right now, on the mound for them against a perennial contender in the Astros. You talked about them potentially trading away, but they did trade away Jack Flaherty, who would have been their game two starter, but now it's Reese Olson. And I think that's where the Astros have the edge, because Ronell Blanco, who's probably going to be the Astros game two starter, pitched seven innings of no-hit baseball against the Tigers. That was a while ago. That was before the Tigers turned it around. But we've already

seen that Blanco has what it takes to shut them down. So is game two is that in Detroit or is it game three in Detroit? How is it? They're all in Houston. All wild card games will be at the host City's stadium. Ronelle Blanco, Thomas mentioned, is a stud for the Astros. He's had a better ERA than Framber Valdez, their ace for the past few years at 2.80. And he's a scary guy to face, considering that they signed him for $5,000 in 2022 out of the $5,000. $5,000? I believe so. That was his signing bonus. Man, we could start a baseball team. If you've got that kind of cash laying around George, hey, maybe. I was thinking if we pulled all our money together.

Oh, okay. But, yeah, that bullpen for the Astros is legit. You've got Ryan Presley, back as always. He's a little bit older, but he's no longer their closer because they had the addition of Josh Hader this past off season. If they have the lead at the end of games, it's kind of hard to believe that there's much hope, though the gritty tigues, man. People have been talking about how these tigers keep scrapping away games and winning

them close. That's all they need. So we'll definitely have to keep an eye on this series. as it is the most important series in the state of Michigan. This is also the AJ Hinch Revenge Series. Yeah. I always like when AJ's Hinch plays the Astros. I remember when he was their manager,

and he's a solid manager. He's been managing this team well, especially with that turnaround. But who knows? Dusty Baker is still the Astros manager? Joe Espada. Okay. Did he retire?

He retired last year? He retired last year. Okay. The Texas Range is. Rangers retired, Dusty Baker. Anyways, I personally, I'm going to have to go with, this is a great step forward for the Tigers. You made the playoffs.

You ended the drought. But I think that the Astros are going to win this series. You've got a ton of talent on the Astros. You have a ton of guys who have been there in the postseason. They've got an eight straight streak of making the LCS for the American League. so it's hard to bet against a team with that kind of dynastic run. So I personally am going to stick with the team that's been there and done that. All right, next up, we've got to get to this other series in the AL Wildcard.

Yeah. The Kansas City Royals, Cartons Royals, are taking on the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. I got the Orioles in two of Carton's betting on. He's probably right. He's probably right. Yeah, after those college football picks last week, yeah, I pick the Royals here. They're in big trouble.

The Royals, their offense hasn't been great of late, but people forget, you know, they were in first place in the AL Central, and then Vinnie Pasquantino got injured. Now, Vinny Pasquantino, he very well might be back in the lineup for this wildcard series. So that's big news for the offense if he is. Additionally, you know, the Orioles back end hasn't looked great as of late. Kind of not getting it done for him down the stretch. And, you know, looking at the Royals' scoring records in the seventh inning or later, I mean, that's when they score a lot of their runs. I think they were first in the majors with runs scored in the seventh inning or later.

So we get to bullpins when you need to. And if their bullpen isn't looking great, I think I like our chances. Well, the Orioles have been 33 and 33 since the All-Star break have really not been dominant. And so I think that works well in the favor of the Royals. Another huge thing is that the Orioles are very, very injured. You've got Grayson Rodriguez just shut down for the postseason, and guys like John Means, who have been on that roster not available, Kyle Braddish.

I mean, they still have Corbyn Burns, but very depleted starting rotation. Royals definitely have a shot there on offense. And if not for the existence of Aaron Judge this year, Bobby Witt Jr. might have been the AL MVP, and he is the engine that keeps. that offense going. And let's not forget, you know, 2014 Royals, 22 chiefs, 2022, three chiefs, all beat Baltimore teams on their way to the World Series or the Super Bowl. So Baltimore does not like to see us coming. They're kind of scared, I think. So game one, we've got

Cole Reagan's on the bump versus Corbyn Burns. I think that the Royals have underrated starting pitching. They've been pretty solid all year there. You've got Seth Lugo going game two. I would look for the royals to win the series. I know they've been struggling, kind of limping to the stretch, but, you know, last year you had the Texas Rangers. They barely got into the playoffs. They were that last wildcard spot. And they just went on a heater and tore up their opponents. They tore up teams like the Orioles on their way to their first world series. I expect something similar from the Kansas City Royals. Those bats are going to go. Now it's time. The games matter. Yeah, that's why I was high on the Tigers earlier. Like, all that matters at the end of the

after you're into the playoffs is if you're on a role or not. And the Tigers, obviously they are. And if they can keep that going, I like their chances. You just need to get hot the right time. Yeah, absolutely. That's what we, this history shows us. So I've got the Royals in three. I have the Reagan's Burns matchup in game one being an absolute pitcher's duel to the end.

But I have the Orioles one in that one. But I believe Seth Lugo and Michael Walker, both who have been surprising this year. Yeah. I think they'll bring it home. I think Seth Lugo is definitely one of the most underrated free agent signings in the offseason. If he's on, he's got like something crazy, like eight or nine pitches. He throws all of them really evenly. And it's just, it's got to be a hitter's nightmare.

I didn't play baseball past middle school, so I didn't see 90 mile an hour fast balls, varied with 70 mile an hour curve balls. But it's got to be rough for your timing if you're a hitter. I believe it'll also come down to which catcher shows up. Salvador Perez, the veteran, versus Adley Rushman, the relatively new guy on the block, even though Adley, as George said earlier, the Orioles have been slumping, relatively slumping in the second half, and Adley has been hitting 207 with only three home runs in the second half.

So we'll see if he turns it up in front of the home crowd and the playoffs, but he's going to have to if they want to survive fast first round. Definitely something to watch too is Freddie Fermin behind the plate for the Royals. You know, Salvador has been playing first base a little bit just for load management and things. But Freddie Fermin has by far the best caught stealing rate in the MLB. If, you know, you've got runners on the bases and Fermin's behind the plate, better watch out. Can we talk about the Brewers, please? Okay, fine.

All right, so as George has kindly requested us, we'll jump over to the National League. And Monday, there was an interesting double-header to determine who the brewers would be playing in that first round. And the two AL East teams behind the Phillies, the Mets and the Braves, split the games, and that ends up putting the New York Mets against the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card series. And, man, the Mets are red-hot, but the brewers, they just go back to their old winning ways. Nobody thinks they're going to be a good team. And then they take that division, the NL Central, despite, you know, fiery teams like the Reds and then classics like the Cubs.

Yeah, I think a lot of people were really shocked that losing Craig Counsel, he was thought to be kind of the money ball guy, the secret sauce. He goes to Chicago with a much bigger budget and really doesn't do a lot. Obviously, the jury is still out. You can't really turn around a baseball team in a year necessarily. But I really like the Brewers' chances. They recently played the Mets and they took two out of three. they swept them in the opening series of the 2024 season.

And I don't really have much more analysis than that. It's a gut feeling. It's a heart feeling. But I think they make it to the second round. I think you just can't beat consistency. The viewers were leading that division the whole year, the whole stretch of the way. The Mets, they were streaky this year.

I think the big question here is whether or not Grimmis travels with the team. I mean, the Mets have not been the same since, you know, Grimus blessed them with his presence and the first pitch. and watching the games on Monday night, you saw Grimmis on that first game when the Mets pulled it out. Francisco Lindor's 2-Run home run. And man, if Grimus inspires the team from New York, they might not be stopped at all this year. But all jokes aside, the Brewers have a great staff and their bats are much improved. I know George, you're a Brewers fan and you've been watching the Brewers have kind of weak offenses

combined with a dominant pitching staff. But now they've got a little bit of a pop to their bats. Well, another thing is the home run rate is significantly down in the postseason. People have talked about that. And a lot of the Brewers' offense in the past has been live and die by the long ball. And when pitchers are better in the postseason, more locked in, I think you have to win small ball. And hopefully they're better positioned for that this year. So I've got the Brewers taking this series.

I have the Brewers also taking this series in two games. I think it's going to be a clean sweep. The Brewers can hold that lead into the eighth of the ninth inning. It's over. Devin Williams is not going to blow a lead. Right. Cleveland's got the best, but we'll talk about that later. I myself am going to have to go with the Brewers, but I'm going to take them in three.

I think it's hard to put down the Mets. But as Thomas mentioned, the pitching staff, the consistency. Pat Murphy's done an amazing job in his first year as manager over with the Brewers. And we don't have much more time left for this episode, but Braves Padres, what's the predictions on this series? What should people be watching for? Padres, they've got a great overall team, like I mentioned on an earlier episode. They've got stars on stars.

You've got names like Arias, Tatis, Machado, and then on the bump, you've got Darvish and Joe Musgrove, who have been in the playoffs before. I think that the Padres are going to take it. Yeah, I mean, I've got the Padres going all the way to the World Series from the National League. They're kind of underseated at four. Paul was saying a lot of pieces, and it's all kind of coming together for them right now. So I've got them making a deep run.

Yeah, I think this is the Padres year to break out that slump of what happened to this team. Why didn't they succeed? their offense is star-studded. They are built for the playoffs. Dylan C's at the front of that rotation. Yeah, you don't get much playoff experience when you're on the Chicago White Sox roster. Good point.

Well, before we go, I really enjoy this time of the year. This is playoff baseball, and we'll look forward to recapping these on future episodes. With that being said, thank you for listening to Bleacher Boys on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Welcome back to the Bleacher Boys, and now we've got to cover some college football.

we had an exciting week five with some controversial games to start off the week. Miami escapes Virginia Tech on a Friday night game after a controversial call by the refs. I don't know if you guys caught this game late that night, but there was a catch that was overturned after review and ended up handing Miami the victory. If you spend that long on a call, there's obviously not clear and convincing evidence, or enough clear and convincing evidence needed to overturn it. Yeah, I think Virginia Tech had this one stolen from them, honestly. Look, I'm as much of a fan of the last second Hail Mary Desperation play, especially for the upset against a ranked team.

But I believe that the refs made the right call. From what I saw, the ball was moving, it never touched the ground. But he maintained possession of it only after the Miami player was also out of bounds, while also touching the ball. I think the refs got it right. I thought it was, obviously, it was not the clearest play, but I think they made the right call. I personally believe the way they should do reviews

is that you have to review it in real time. Because of the slow motion, everything just looks so obvious to us, but if you can't make a call in just normal real time, let the call on the field stand and just move forward. Yeah, very frustrating for Virginia Tech fans. It also would have given credence to the fact that Vanderbilt should be a top 10 team, based on the fact that they destroyed Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech should have beat Miami. So the Commodore really were the ones who got the bad end of that deal right there. Well, George, it sounds like you're taking the side of the SEC here. I personally thought it was one of those things that nobody's going to be happy on either way you call it. I tend to agree with Thomas. It didn't look like a great catch.

But because you called it a touchdown in the first place, it's a little bit of a tough call to reverse, just because fans can be very, very moody about those things. There was another controversial ending this week in the big house. The Michigan Wolverines barely got out of there after a shocker from the Minnesota Golden Gophers. George, I think we had someone on the ground there. Yeah, so I actually attended that game. And I love watching live football.

It's honestly amazing. The one thing, though, is sometimes it's hard to get the full story, especially when you're in the big house. They're obviously favoring the Michigan Wolverines. So most of us just assume that the Minnesota player was clearly off sides on the onside kick that Minnesota recovered. They're not going to show a replay on the Jumbotron. Come to find out later, that wasn't because it was an obvious off sides, but rather because, well, he wasn't off sides at all. Minnesota had a ton of momentum scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Their passing attack was just carving up Michigan's defense. All I have to say is it's good for the Big Blue that the call went their way because I don't know if they come out with a win in that scenario, and that'd be a huge blow as Michigan looks to make the trip next week to Washington. I think it was an egregious call. I thought that there was no indication that the Minnesota player was off sides. It was close. I don't think it was close enough to make that call, especially in real time. Everyone's moving at the same time. The guy was not two or three yards past the line. He was on the line. As George said, that spoiled the comeback. Minnesota was down 24 to 3 at the start of the 4th, and they marched all the way back. They were rolling the perfect onside kick to

set up the game winning drive. It was taken away. Hey, maybe the solution to this is to adopt a kickoff similar to the NFL, you know, with a landing zone and guys already on the other side of the field. But in all seriousness, games like these are what constantly shake my face in the Michigan Wolverines. This is why I picked USC earlier on. They play these teams that they should be pretty easily or handily, and they make them close, and it raises serious questions about their playoff viability. Next, we got to talk about the biggest upset of the week. You had Ole Miss losing at home to the Kentucky Wildcats in a shocking 20 to 17 game. I thought it was, you know, Kentucky needed that one after that close game against Georgia. Their fans, they needed something

therapeutic like that and they got it. I don't think Jackson Dart looked terrible in that game. He just didn't have Heisman stats. Well, I think it's honestly a game that's going to stick in people's heads too as far as his as far as his Hysman aspirations go. It's a huge blow for Jackson Dart, especially when you have a guy like Jalen Milro with an incredible game. And we'll talk about those guys later. Ole Miss, they just couldn't stop the pass rush. Kentucky, I think they've clearly proved at this point that they've got an amazing defense. They shut down. Georgia on offense and they've shut down Ole Miss on offense. Two of the greatest offenses coming into this season. And I mean, Ole Miss has shown it in games against their earlier opponents,

albeit they were pretty weak, but they've lit up the other team on the scoreboard and Kentucky just shut him down. They got to Jackson Dart. He couldn't throw. He got sacked multiple times. And Kentucky finally comes out on top. This is the benefit of the 12-team playoff. There is no doubt that when the 14th playoff was around, we would be talking about Ole Miss throwing away their playoff chances. But they're still alive, especially when they lost against a good SEC team. They are still alive, even though people thought they had a chance to win the SEC and be a top four team.

They probably won't be a top four team, but they still have a very good chance of being a top 12 team and making that playoff. Yeah, I concur. I'm a big fan of the 12-team format. I'm really excited for college football playoffs this year. It's going to be good TV over, you know, three weeks. I think it'll be good TV.

unlike the Kansas Jayhawks. Oh, okay. He had to go there. I was disappointed. I think George mentioned earlier. It was like Stockholm syndrome for Thomas loving the white socks. That's where I'm at with Kansas football. It sucks, but at least it's familiar.

At least we've been here before. I can hunker down. And honestly, if it takes 10 years for us to be good again, it takes 10 years. And, yeah, I'll see you then. Speaking of good teams, Bama hosted the Georgia Bulldogs in the most highly anticipated matchup of the week and seemed to dominate, especially that first half. It was close at the end, but Bama really put themselves out there as the best team in college football after that performance. And as George mentioned earlier, there were some crazy standout performances from that game.

Yeah, just the crazy body control by, I forget the receiver's name. Ryan Williams. Ryan Williams, yeah. That play is just quite frankly insane. That's hard to do. You don't see that on the NFL level ever. This game was just, it was just one for the ages. It was a classic Alabama coming out to a strong lead, Georgia coming back, fighting back, making it close at the end. Ultimately, Alabama comes out with a win, but this was a fun game. I agree. It had all the makings of a classic. Carson back for Georgia, starting off having a very rough game. After Georgia made their first defensive stop in the night, Carson Beck goes and throws an interception on the very first play of the next drive. But he shakes it off. And he marches all the way back at one point, almost winning the game for him. It seemed that way after he threw a bomb. But then, of course, Ryan Williams comes back with the play of the night. Well, it's hard to believe this is going to be the last time these two teams see each other. And I think as an audience member,

everyone is just hoping that we get to see another matchup because like you said people knew going in that it was going to be a great game i don't think anyone could have expected how insane of the storylines there was there speaking of another potential playoff or future playoff matchup as we continue with bleacher boys on radio free hillsdale 101.7 fm what about notre dame beating louisville it was a great game we had feet on the ground paul what did you see yeah i i had the privilege to go to south for the first time and watched the Notre Dame fighting Irish in the top 20 matchup against the Louisville Cardinals. That was a fun game. Notre Dame had control of the game probably halfway through the first quarter. Things started out rough when the Louisville Cardinals recovered that

kick return and scored a quick touchdown, but after that it was all Fighting Irish. A great environment there and another signature win for the Fighting Irish as they look to make the first 12-team playoff. And we also had some other notable games that will go over real quick because we want to get to our picks later on in this show. We had Arizona beating Utah after Utah's big win over Oklahoma State 23 to 10 and Penn State beats Illinois. It's a close game, but ultimately the higher-ranked team and the better team wins. Ohio State beats the Spartans from Michigan State in a pretty dominant fashion. and an interesting undefeated team Rutgers beats Washington in a close game in New Jersey. But we've got to talk about some of the top contenders for the Heisman trophy this year.

We've had some outstanding players and Travis Hunter, he had a really good game this past week against UCF in a game that the Colorado Buffaloes won, despite many of us picking against them this previous week. Hunter had 89 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown as well as a very big interception in that game. He's just been showing out, and he seems to be on everyone's highlight reels recently. But as we mentioned in our Alabama-Georgia coverage, Ryan Williams and Jalen Milro have just been outstanding performers. They've been dominating even against teams like Georgia, so they're definitely names to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

And before we get to our picks, I'm a little bit shocked that we have two teams in the top 25. Indiana and UNLV are both undefeated, and I don't think any of us saw this coming, and it'll be fun to watch those teams as they go along in their season. Now it's time to get to some picks. Last week, our records were pretty good, pretty bad, and just all right. George had a 6-1 record to best all of us. Carton himself had a 1-6 record.

I myself was 4 and 3 just above 500. Well, I'll tell you what, it's hard to do much worse than 1-6, so... There's always 0-7. Oh, that was rough. That was rough. What was the one you got right? Oh, I don't remember. Everybody got the Michigan game right. Okay.

Okay. Well, first off, this week, we've got Syracuse at number 25 UNLV on Friday night. Matt? Yeah, UNLV looks pretty legit. I mean, they beat Kansas. Kansas is one and four. They were ranked at the time. That doesn't mean anything now.

even still, UNLV looked pretty good in that game. Syracuse, though, has some good quarterback play. In the end, I think I'm going to go with UNLV in this one. I'm also rolling with UNLV. Got to follow the storyline. Interesting situation revolving around NIL money. Yeah, Analytics Ackla is going to give you a couple stats to watch. So UNLV has the 88th best pass defense in yards given up,

which is obviously concerning, given how Kyle McCourt has been rolling with that Syracuse offense. However, UNLV has been able to get pressure on the quarterback with 13 sacks through three games, four games rather. Syracuse's offensive line hasn't been great giving up 11 sacks through four games. For me, that's the decisive factor. I got to go with UNLV. Well, unlike everybody else in this room,

I'm going to have to go with the Syracuse Orange. You've got a quarterback like Kyle McCord. He does have almost 1,500 yards on the year and 14-10 passing times. touchdowns, and he's just taking that Syracuse offense to the next level. This is going to be UNLV's biggest test by far. Sorry, Kansas. So I'm Syracuse all the way in this one. Yeah, and this was a developing story last week, but Matthew Sluka, the starting quarterback for UNLV, has decided to redshirt for the rest of this season due to an NIL dispute. His agent says that he's owed money that he was promised. The college is holding firm that they now

never actually promise him the money, so it's just, yeah, it's just not a good look. Well, I was reading the Wall Street Journal talking about how with NIL, you can really only do verbal contracts because you're not supposed to have a written contract with the school. You're supposed to get your own outside donors to sponsor you. And this has created this really interesting environment where it's who said what. You're hoping that the person doesn't have the courage, I guess, to stand up to these schools. but I don't think this is the last that we see something like this. Well, next up, interesting here.

We've got number nine Missouri going to College Station to play the, wait, number 25 Texas A&M Aggies. That's right. There are two number 25 teams in the AP poll as they're tied on total points. So interesting little tidbit there. But Matt, who do you got in this game? Man, I hate Missouri. I've said that already. A big Kansas guy still hate Missouri.

Always will hate Missouri. It pains me to say it. I'm going to pick Missouri, and if my results hold from last week and I'm one and six, hopefully this is the game, this is one of the games that I get wrong. I'm going to roll with the Aggies of Texas A&M here, despite the fact that Missouri beat Vanderbilt, which, as George said earlier today, should be top 10. Should be a top 10 team and should be in the conversation for the college football playoffs. In all reality, Missouri just showed that they don't really have the true makings of a top 10 team.

As of now, they'll get there. but I think Texas A&M at home in one of the best college football environments is going to take that one. One unique thing about this game is it's actually the only ranked matchup this week. Hence why college game day is going to UC Berkeley for the Berkeley Miami game, California Miami game. Now, Missouri is the underdog despite being the higher ranked team. And their rush defense has been very, very good. They're coming off of a by week where Texas A&M faced a tough Arkansas team. Isaac Tesla went off for 125 yards, including the first play from scrimmage for Arkansas.

And I think because of their rush defense, A&M, which has been really able to rely on the running attack, they're going to force Marcel Reed, who has a 54% completion percentage. I'm going to move in a row with the Texas A&M. Aggies, just like Thomas, he mentioned the home field advantage. They are favored in this game. I think Missouri struggled mightily when they faced Vanderbilt and kind of the do threat nature of their quarterback there with Pavia. Marcel Reed is similar, very quick on the feet, not the greatest passer, but a sufficient

enough passer to get the job done. I think Texas A&M takes it. Next up, number 10, Michigan goes on the road for the first time this year and faces the Washington Huskies. Yeah, I've got a Washington upset in this one. I think Michigan, you know, making the trip all the way out there is it's a long trip. Also, Michigan, you know, keeps just surviving by the skin of their teeth. and eventually, you know, that's going to run out.

I am actually going to roll with Michigan in this one. I believe that their close calls with Minnesota and USC are actually going to fuel them. They're going to come into Washington, and I think they're going to prove that they're a legit team this year. They're going to answer those questions. They're going to really prove that they have what it takes to be a legit Big Ten threat. Now, I think their defense, which is only allowed 3.75 yards per carry of Washington, is going to make for some really tough sledding where we haven't seen Alex. Orgy or Davis Warren really able to do anything. Like Carton said, I think going to the West Coast is always

a tough environment to play in. And Michigan ultimately needed a lot of help to avoid a fourth quarter collapse. I got to roll with them. I myself, I'm going to go with the Michigan Wolverines. I know I said I find it hard to trust that team earlier on in this show, but they also somehow find a way if the team is not named Texas. And Washington has not looked good. They've lost to Washington State. They've lost to Rutgers. That was a close game, but they just haven't been able to beat competition on their level. Granted, the travel conditions make it more difficult for Michigan, but I think that they take it anyways. Next, we've got number 12 Ole Miss going to face the South Carolina Gamecocks.

I've got Old Miss in this one. They had a rough game versus Kentucky. Not a rough game, but a game they should have won and they lost. And that's going to put some fire under their butts. Yeah, South Carolina hasn't been all that great this year. So I think Ole Miss takes care of this one pretty handily. I'm also rolling with Ole Miss on this one. I think Jackson Darton, that Ole Miss offense is just too explosive to be restrained for two weeks straight.

I think they're going to break out this week. It will be a bloodbath in South Carolina. Ole Miss will run up that score. Ole Miss has the best rushing defense through four weeks now in college football. And I think playing against the South Carolina team, that leans heavily on the run game. They're going to take care of business, get the job done. I'm also going to have to go with Ole Miss,

bounce back game for them. Like Thomas said, they come out with vengeance and win that game pretty handily. Next, we have a Sunshine State Showdown. The UCF Golden Knights go to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators. And this one, you know, UCFs looked pretty good this year so far. But Florida, with, you know, all of the great teams that they play,

they have played, and then they're going to play. This is a game that they, kind of need to win. And so I'm going to roll with Florida on this one, even though my gut says UCF. I'm also rolling with Florida on this one. Florida's coming off a bye week this week, and they have to win this game to get momentum going into their next game. The big game against current number four ranked Tennessee.

I think they'll be able to show UCF that they just don't belong in the conversation with Florida this year. These are not the Scott Frost days anymore. With all due respect to Mr. Merritt's and his family, he hasn't played well at quarterback. I saw that firsthand when he was at Wisconsin and I'll never bet on him because of it. Also, I want to root against Paul this weekend. I'm picking UCF. Well, as George alluded to, I everyone knows what I'm going to pick.

As a Florida Gators fan, I can't pick against my team, especially not in a game like this where it's very easy for them to win. I think it's very plausible that they win. George has his doubts about Mertz. My counter is that we've got a just as good of a quarterback on the bench, if not a better one on the bench, waiting in the wings to take over. I think Florida finds a way to get it done and gets up a way. win that they really need to make that bowl game. Next, we've got the undefeated Rutgers

Scarlet Knights going to Nebraska to face the Cornhuskers. I'm rolling with the Rutgers. They're getting hot. Nebraska is not. That's really all I got there. I'm rolling with the hot team, hot hand. I'm also rolling with Rutgers. This is going to be the week that's going to push them into the top 25, and they're not leaving after that. They're staying. They're here to stay. I think this is a really compelling matchup. You have Rutgers, which has a very strong. strong pass defense matched up against Nebraska, which has a very strong run defense. Both of those match up well with the run attack of Rutgers in the past game of Dylan Ryola, Patrick Mahomes Mini. They're the hot hand. They're the hot team. They get the job done. Man, there's a lot of

pressure on me. Usually in one of these cases, I would pick Nebraska, but I just can't see them winning this game. Greg Shiano, head coach of Rutgers is defensive genius, defensive-minded coach. As they mentioned, Rutgers defense has been top-notch this year. I got to make my dad happy. Rutgers alum, go Scarlet Nights. And finally, the last game, it's a late game, but we've got the Texas Tech Red Raiders going to face the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona is coming off a win versus Utah, right? Yeah, Arizona just looked great in that game. Thomas, what do you got? I have Texas Tech in this one primarily because of the performance from Arizona against Kansas State. I don't think that their performance against a ranked Utah team actually shows what they have, as Isaac Wilson was a backup

quarterback stepping in for Utah. So this is not Arizona playing a Utah team at its full strength. I think Texas Tech takes this one. I'm going to go Texas Tech with this one. Avery Johnson of Kansas State ran all over Arizona. Texas Tech wins this one pretty handily by controlling the time of possession. Well, I'm going to go with Arizona on this one. I will look for Arizona to dominate them with the past game. They've got Titoa McMillan. He's been a stud this year. I just think the Wildcats take this game. Anyways, thanks for joining us this week. Hope you guys. have a good weekend. Enjoy some college football. Enjoy some playoff baseball. This is the best month of the year, October. With the best show of the year. That's right, George. And thank you for listening

once again. This has been the Bleacher Boys on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.