WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Bleacher Boys: Wild Upsets, Wild Card Baseball, and Wild Guest

Episode Date: October 11, 2024

The boys discuss the week of upset during Week 6 of College Football. Then, they talk some Wild Card Baseball. As always, the boys pick several games from the upcoming week of College Football, but they have a one-of-a-kind guest who brings a special challenge for the guys.

Is this real life? You bet. Fanderbilt beats Alabama for the first time in a generation. The greatest moment in Vanderbilt football history. Tonight's at First Bank Stadium. 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 back to the Bleacher Boys. and this week we are recapping a massive week for upsets in the college football world. Man, we had the top 10 teams falling left and right this week. So if you look on the Twitter feed, you'll see my like posts. A lot of them are, oh, this is a bad weekend if you're a dude and you had to take your girlfriend to an apple orchard because he didn't think there'd be any good football.

Obviously, we know that's not me, but Paul and I, we did go to a baseball game. If I would have known all the upsets in college football, that would have definitely changed the calculation. there. Yeah, you got all the blue bloods losing. You got Alabama losing to Vanderbilt. You got Tennessee going down and you got Kansas losing also. So a big, big football school is right there. Speaking of upset, Carton was very upset after Kansas loses by four to the powerhouse that is Arizona State. Yeah, you know, it's just the same thing every week at this point. And honestly, it's been worse. You know, it sucks. We have a plus 15 point differential and we're one in five. I've been here

before I can take it. I'm going to start us off with the Friday night game of Syracuse at UNLV. Technically an upset as UNLV was the favorite in that game, I believe I was the only one in this room to get that game predicted correctly. And I'll just say predicting a game that goes into overtime really takes no skill. It's a total toss-up at this point. And speaking of toss-up, doesn't that make it harder to predict if it's a toss-up? So speaking of toss-up, We got an email from Dan in Coldwater. Dan writes to the show and he says, first time emailer, long time listener,

I think that a coin could pick better than Moneyline Matt and George. So in honor of Dan from Coldwater. Hey, shout out to Dan. Thank you for listening to the show. I really appreciate your support. And also, I really appreciate the fact that you respect my picks and that both George and Matt are the ones you called out for their bad picks.

There was also a PS in the email. He said, P.S. George and Matthew carry the show. I don't know who that other guy is. Dan, you're too kind. I need to speak up more and I just don't. Well, at least I have one of the bases covered and that's picking college football games. But that will come later on in the show and our guest picker will be, in fact, a coin. We'll see how that goes for all of us. But in the meantime, the Syracuse game was back and forth. It was quite the slugfest. Kyle McCord, he just tore it up. You probably didn't even being optimistic think that he was going to put the ball in the air

63 times. The guy's got to ice his shoulder after the game. That is an impressive performance to only throw a one-pick three touchdowns against UNLV defense that has been relatively tough throughout the season. Yeah, that UNLV defense did not hold up against Kyle McCord and the Syracuse Orange. As George mentioned, 63 passing attempts. 40 of those were completed for 355 yards. UNLV, as we mentioned in our last episode, they did not have their quarterback Sluka as he is redshirting and sitting out due to an NIL disagreement with the school. Still, the offense kind of showed out for UNLV. They scored 41 total points in five periods of football.

So that's not really a concern, but going up against the powerhouse on the offensive side of the ball like Syracuse with the former Ohio State quarterback, quite an impressive performance. And now we'll get to the big game that everybody has been talking about this week. Number one, Alabama, they lost to the lowly Vanderbilt Commodores. Bama fell to the Commodores, and everybody went wild in Nashville. I don't know if you've looked at the dates or how far it's been. The last time that Alabama came to Nashville and lost was in 1969. People, that's like when the moon landing was in the news. Yeah, that's a good and long. time ago. Yeah, how about that play call on fourth and, was it fourth and one, fourth and two?

You just, you're down two, you need two yards to get the first down and you just take a deep shot, get your receiver down there, score a touchdown. That was, that was gutsy, but it sometimes takes that to win. Well, conversely, Alabama at the end of the game, when they did that little reverse play to the running back whenever an expected, fourth and, I think it was fourth and one. It was a two-yard rush play. Yeah, it was a two-yard rush play is fourth and goal from the two-yard line. To me, I think that kind of like showed how far the game progressed that Alabama, you have a bunch of five-star recruits on the offensive line. Maybe it's a good play call me. I don't know, but if you're the number one team in the nation, you should be able to run it up the middle and get a

touchdown six days a week and twice on Sunday. And to see a Vanderbilt team kind of out physical Alabama in a lot of ways was just no one could have expected, not even Vanderbilt fans. Yeah, as you were mentioning, Georgia, that reverse play kind of shows a little bit of a desperation. And that's even with a road game that you have more fans present in the stadium. But I don't know if you guys saw the story. Alabama head coach Kalin DeBoer tried to warn his team about this matchup by placing mousetraps around the Alabama facilities, similar to what Nick Saban did prior.

But I guess Bama hit that mousetrap this week. It doesn't surprise me. I mean, credit to Vanderbilt, they've been playing a lot of teams close. They've been looking better than what they have been in years past. But yeah, to take down number one Alabama is quite a feat. And the fans, of course, stormed the field, which is a well-deserved field storming. In a very orderly fashion, though, and that was also going viral, how, you know, Vanderbilt, very well-known academic school, they were going, like, one by one down the stairwell to get on the field.

It was quite a thing of beauty to watch, I will say. But that celebration was not very orderly as they marched the goalpost out down Main Street in downtown Nashville. Imagine being out there on your bachelor or bachelorette party. enjoying the sights and sounds of Nashville's nightlife, and there come the goalposts from the Alabama Vanderbilt game. Yeah, they broke through a police blockade, too. Cudos to them, honestly. No, and it was really impressive. They walked three miles to the Cumberland River in about almost exactly an hour, which is 20-minute miles for walking a goalpost, is actually very impressive. Vanderbilt can stick with the best as far as playing football as well as marching the goalposts. Hey, we might see some of them in the seal program

and carry those logs on the beach, you know. Someone's got to carry the boats. Yeah. So all that cost Vanderbilt $100,000 in fines from the SEC, and that is payable to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Well, Vanderbilt also has a lot of very notable alumni. And I think instilling pride, beating Alabama, whatever they lost in fines,

they're going to 100-fold make back in donations from, you know, people who are proud to be Commodores. Just like we are proud to be part of Radio Free Hillsdale, 1.7 FM as we continue with Bleacher Boys. How about Arkansas beating old Rocky Top? It was a tough day for me on Saturday. Yeah, quite the game. It was low scoring. Both teams have very good defenses, very stout. But Tennessee's offense just didn't click and Arkansas did what they had to do to get it done. Sadly, Hills Dozone, Isaac Tesla did not get a reception in that game, which is surprising that they even won the game despite his lack of production in it.

Did you guys expect to see the Arkansas Razorbacks? I mean, this team has been known for collapsing at the end, despite playing close with all these great teams. They just lost to Texas A&M in a very close game. They lost to Oklahoma State in double overtime, and now they finally pull out an upset and get the big win. It's hard to say you weren't rooting for them, coming so close and then finally being able to finish it out.

I am a little bit biased. I got my cousins and friends that go down to Arkansas for college. I'm sure it was a great weekend for them. Arkansas has the type of talent that I think keeps you in a lot of games, and they were finally able to finish it out. But yeah, I mean, to say that I was expecting this in any way, shape, or form would be a complete lie. Very disappointed in the boys in Tennessee, and it doesn't get easier for them going forward. Yeah, you definitely weren't expecting it as reflected in your poor performance in picks this week, George. Things are looking rocky on rocky top, I will say.

Nico I'm Aleva. Their quarterback only had 158 passing yards with zero. touchdowns and that's kind of looking like an Iowa quarterback stat line over there. This is a little bit disappointing for me because the Florida Gators are going to play Tennessee this week and that's not going to be great for us after Tennessee just had such a big upset loss. Yeah, it doesn't bode well for sure. That was not the only two SEC teams in the top 10 to drop this past Saturday. We also had Texas A&M, the number 21 ranked team in the nation, just drubbing number nine, Mizzou in a college station. Despite your pick for Mizzou, Mizzou does lose.

I'll tell you what, I cursed them. I picked them and they lost. It's just natural at this point. Yeah, you can definitely use this to your advantage, I guess, now that you realize this power. I think it was very impressive for Texas A&M. I think they're clearly better than the Missouri Tigers. Absolutely. I'd have to say Missouri did not look like a top 10 team in that game.

There's just too many miscues. I think there are maybe a couple calls, maybe in the first half that didn't go quite their way. But just to give absolutely trounced by a Texas A&M team that's ranked 21st. And you're in the top 10. That's not top 10 stuff. And I got a quote from a listener in Missouri, Katie. She said, quote, I'm disappointed but not really surprised in Mazu's performance. So even down there in, I guess it would be.

Columbia, Missouri. They tampered their expectations a little, and maybe that's part of the reason that Texas A&M did not storm the field. Of the upsets, there was five in the top 15. Four of them stormed the field. Texas A&M did not. They acted like they've been there before, and they took care of business. Well, Texas A&M has definitely been there before, and I think they know it as a program. They expect the big wins. They fire their coach for not beating Alabama every year, it seems like. If they can't beat Alabama in three years, then the coach is fired. It's definitely a program that expects success, and they really showed out Connor Weigman, 276 yards. Meanwhile, Brady Cook kind of struggled.

The Missouri Tigers' offense didn't score until the second half. They almost lost to Vandy several weeks back, and that Vandy team is looking pretty good. Yeah, let's move on to another field storming that hits close to home. Washington beats number 10 Michigan, and fans take the field in Seattle. I feel like we've had a lot of big teams lose this year, and it's, definitely feeling more chaotic. Rankings have been just in constant state of turmoil.

You got Florida State that was preseason number 10. Yeah. Yeah, they're... Are they one in four or two and three now? I don't know. They only have one win and that's against Cal. Okay. Which Cal? Hey, they almost beat Miami and they're looking to bounce back

this week. Lots of gripes about the referees saving the game for Miami in that one. And then finally we got Minnesota beating you USC in St. Paul. I've got to tell a little story. My friend Bryce, he is a big Minnesota fan. He goes there for college. But he was back home this weekend, and I think part of that was he did not expect it to be a close game. I don't know. I mean, it's an upset, yes, but USC might not be even in the top 25 once the season is over. I think Lincoln Riley has consistently underperformed there and not having

Caleb Williams. They were hoping that Miller Moss was going to be able to fill those shoes, and he's been unable to do so as of late. I don't know if you guys know this. Minnesota has the best passing defense in terms of opponent's yards per game, and they really shut down Miller Moss this game. He only threw for 200 yards and threw for two interceptions. Yeah, and I think looking at that stat, you were wondering if that was legit in previous weeks because they played Iowa and Michigan, which they just got dominated so much on the ground game.

You didn't have to put the ball on the hands of Orgy or Maconamara. and Miller Moss has been very efficient, consistently throwing for over 300 yards for USC, and yeah, they really, really shut them down. Yeah, what a game by the gophers. It was great all the way around and took it to USC. They didn't even have that many sacks, only one sack in the game, so the pressure wasn't super hot like it was for USC against Michigan. That passing defense just locked it up and got that interception at the very end to really seal the fate of the Trojans at the end. Well, we mentioned him last week, and I want to do a real quick check-in on our friend at Boise State, Ashton Jeanty. Well, I heard he only played one half of football, so I can't imagine he rushed for that many yards.

Oh, wait a second. Didn't he have like three touchdowns or something? Yeah, so he had 13 carries for 186 yards and three touchdown. The average rush per carry was 14.3 yards with a long of 75 yards. Yeah, this season I saw he's averaging almost. 11 yards per carry. And that's not just on a few carries. That's on close to 100 now we're approaching. So, I mean, this guy could be the real deal. I think with Jalen Millerill, having a pretty poor performance, maybe not in statistic terms, but losing to Vanderbilt, same with Ryan Williams.

And then Colorado having an off week, he really did everything he could to propel himself up in the Heisman rankings. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if I looked down on my phone and I saw Ashton Gene T, 687 yards, six touchdowns, I'd just be like, dang, that's a really good game. But, I mean, that's an insane stat line. It just goes to show how good this guy is. So on the season, he's only played five games. And at that, some of those games, he hasn't even played a full game. But he already has 1,031 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. And he has tied the record for fastest to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a single season. And he's just dominating college football.

And he did it against an Oregon team that's top 10 in the nation as well. So it's not like this is fluky against, you know, mid-major FBS schools. He's doing this against top-tier competition as well. Yeah, I'm a sucker for good running back play. So I'm rooting for this guy to get the Heisman every day of the week. It looks like it might be the year of the position players with several of those quarterbacks having rough starts and rough games that ultimately end up in defeat. with Jaden Milrose, Alabama, falling to the Commodores of Vanderbilt,

and Jackson Dart, who's also one of the favorites for the Heisman, losing earlier this year to the Kentucky Wildcats. It looks like the path is almost clearing up for guys like Ashton, Gene T, and even Travis Hunter, who is definitely still in that conversation. Nah, I get Travis Hunter out of here. I don't want to discount anything that Travis Hunter is doing at all for Colorado. It's awesome to be able to play both ways like that. but being able to put up three touchdowns in one half in one game and do that consistently

is I don't think there's anything that can top that unless it's four touchdowns in one half of one game. And you talk about most valuable player, I think the best way to look at that is if you take this player away from a certain team, how much are they going to suffer? And I think if you take Travis Hunter away, he's a fantastic player. Don't get me wrong. I don't know how many wins or losses that accounts for. for Colorado, where I will say for Boise State, I think they're nowhere near competing with Oregon or being a top 20

program in the nation without the great running back. Yeah, the same argument can apply for Bobby Wedge, you over Aaron Judge, but that's a conversation for a different day. As George was saying, Gene T brings a lot to his team, but I will, in defense of Travis Hunter, he has accounted for at least one win with that tackle against Baylor that forced the fumble in overtime. So to be fair, that that is at least one that comes right to mind. So let's swing it around to wild card recap and what a wild card it was. Well, I guess if you were rooting for the right team and for me being a Milwaukee Brewers fan, it was tough especially seeing Pete Alonzo's signature moment plastered across social media.

Yeah, definitely not ideal. I'm very sorry for you, George. That was a tough one to lose in that way. It was a great game and then just, yeah. And not to be outdone here. Houston, where our very good friend Paul is from, falls in a very disappointing end of their season to the Detroit Tigers, which have looked like one of the best teams in baseball as of lay it. Gritty tigues, yeah, if you get hot near October, you're a tough team to beat.

The Astros, this breaks their streak of, I believe, seven straight ALCSs. And for those of you who are Tigers fans, this is a huge victory. And to put that in perspective, the Astros have. been in the ALCS almost as many years as the Tigers have not been in the playoffs. So it's been a long dominant run for the Astros. And the team to finally break that is the hot Tiger baseball team. And AJ Hinch just completely dismantled his former team, making the right calls at the right time. Scoobel was dominant, as we all said. But we were all wrong about the Astros. We all saw the Astros pulling out this series and beating the Tigers. But man, were we wrong in that second

game? The Tigers just did what they needed to do to win. A.J. Hinch pulled the right strings, putting in Andy Ibanez for that clutch, bases clearing double, which sealed the victory for the Tigers. How about those AL Central teams? You got three of them in the division series. They're coming for those Yankees, man. My royals have to face them, unfortunately. Yeah, the Royals, their bats didn't look great in the wildcard round versus Baltimore Orioles. But, but they didn't have to be. I mean, when your pitching is doing as good as it is, as good as it was, I think they allowed one run the entire series for both games.

Yeah. That's dominant. And if you can have dominant pitching in October, you're going to go a lot of places regardless of where your bats are. Yeah, and as we record, it looks like both the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals will be effectively playing in a best of three series, which I think if you would have asked any of those fans at the beginning of the season, Whether, you know, they'd want to be two wins away from making the ALCS.

That would have been an emphatic, yes. Man, Detroit versus Kansas City for the ALCS is going to be a matchup for the ages. It'll be awesome. For sure. But the Royals still have to get past the juggernaut that is the New York Yankees this year with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. So as George mentioned, the Brewers lost in devastating fashion in game three after some clutch hitting from the Mets. So while the Tigers are the hottest team in baseball, especially over in the AL, the Mets have

definitely been that in the NL. So they pull out the big win. They're washed. They shouldn't have won. If Devin Williams, let me just say this. If he throws a pitch like I had in my little league arsenal, they're out of that series. In all reality, I think it is very disappointing when you think you have the best closer in the game who really for the last three seasons has been the best close.

in the game, give up three run, four runs actually in the last inning when you were two outs away from everything you hoped and dreamed. Meanwhile, the final NL wild card and the final matchup this first round of the playoffs was the Atlanta Braves facing the San Diego Padres. Went pretty much how I expected the Padres, just the better team this year. Pitching dominated in game one. Michael King shut out. Former reliever turned starter. He's just been great for the Padres with a sub three ERA. And then in game two, the Padres won five to four, thanks to a nice little rally that put the Padres up.

Yeah. And what about Fernando Tatis kind of reestablishing himself as a superstar in the league, obviously having that huge suspension, which I think took him out of a lot of fans' radar, but he came back in a big way for that series helping the Padres move ahead. Yeah, the Padres have what it takes this year to come out of the NL. and go to the World Series. I mean, they've got great pitching. They've got a group of guys that can hit when they need to.

Great bullpen. Yeah, it's going to be hard to beat the Padres. Yeah, and now they go on to face their division rivals, so we have an interesting setup over in the NL. We have the Mets Phillies in an L-East rivalry, while an NL-West rivalry is in the other NLD series with the Padres versus the Dodgers. some exciting times over in the NL.

So just because the tigers are hot doesn't mean that the rest of the baseball world is a boring drag. Yeah, in fact, the only interdivisional matchup in the division series is going to be the Royals versus the Yankees because the Cleveland Guardians and the Troy Tigers are obviously

in the AL Central together. Which some might add that. The Royals, Yankees is a battle for the MVP award with Bobby Witt and Aaron Judge. Ground ball softly to second. Keith will charge field and flip. Tigers win. They're moving on.

They pour out of the dugout and mobb each other behind the pitchers mound. 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. Let's update records for the season. This past week, Carton and I did pretty well. We both went four and three on the week. Carton gets a plus 500 performance on the week to help bump up his measly 16 and 19 record on the year.

Yeah, tell you what, it's good to have somebody down on the bottom of the ladder where I usually am. Meanwhile, I improved to 23 and 12, but George had a rough week with a two and five performance for week six, which puts him at 21 and 14. George, did you have anything you wanted to say about your performance? So if you look at Berkshire Hathaway's stock, it has dropped over 50% at three different intervals, and that's where I am. We all say that Warren Buffett is the greatest investor of all time. Maybe I am the greatest picker of all time. We just need more time to understand.

My decision making is long term and not short term, and so that's a philosophy I bring each and every day to Bleacher Boys. Is this guy really talking economics on a sports podcast? actually finance and investing. Oh, my apologies. Forgive me, dear listeners. As I like to do now, I will give you an update on how our guest did. He also went four and three.

So George is definitely the odd ball this week with his poor two and five performance. Womp, womp, womp. Time to get into the picks. First up, we've got Washington going to Iowa to play the Hawkeyes, Matt. Oh, I got Iowa in this one for sure. Iowa's offense. I got them continuing the resurgence. Washington lost to Michigan, and I think Iowa would beat Michigan, hands down. No, Washington beat Michigan. Washington beat Michigan. Okay, cut it. Start it over, run it back. You're still going with Iowa, though. Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I'm going

with Iowa. I got a great offensive resurgence happening. I think they keep rolling, take it to Washington. I don't think Washington has what it takes this year. So now let's move on to our guys. picker, Mr. Coyne, and the way we're doing this is Tails is going to be the home team. Heads is going to be the away team. It picked Tails, so it's going to go with Iowa. It cannot explain its rationale. It is but a coin, but luckily, I am sentient, so I will try to explain its rationale because I, too, am picking Iowa. Out of boy, George. So if I had to guess, it's because Iowa has played only two bad halves of football this season. The Ohio State game was ugly with the final score line being 35 to 7. But if you look,

at the more condensed picture. It was 7 to 0 at the half. They were still competitive for the first two quarters of that game. And then they were up by 13 at the half against what is now currently number 11 in undefeated Iowa State. They played a great half of football.

Their defense is insane. And Michigan should have beat Washington and the running backs, well, not amazing. We're still able to put up 144 yards on 28 carries. I like Iowa's Russia offense even a little better than Michigan. So I'm going Iowa here.

They make their case to be a top 25 team. All right. I'm going to be the devil's advocate here. I'm going for the Washington Huskies. And I'll tell you why. Iowa, I kind of hyped up their new offense in week one of this show. But let's be honest, it is very similar to the same old, same old Iowa offense we are used to. Kate McNamara, their quarterback, has had three games in which he has passed less than 100 yards.

Meanwhile, Washington has a top passing defense. They are number four in the nation in opponents' total yards through the pass. And they've got a solid enough run defense to limit that one-dimensional offense of Iowa. I think they limit the run and they win the game. And I think Washington has the better strength of schedule. They've lost to a really good Rutgers team. They lost to a Washington State team that is pretty decent. Meanwhile, if you go look at Iowa schedule, the best team on their schedule is Iowa State or rather Ohio State.

Though Iowa State is a close second. And I just think Washington has what it takes to win this game. Next, we are going to the Red River Showdown, Texas versus Oklahoma, at the Texas State Fair. Matt, first off, it's the Red River rivalry. I don't think I've ever heard it called the Red River Showdown. Wait, what? No, it's always the Red River Showdown. No way, bro.

Look it up. It's been in the Big 12 for years. Everybody calls it the Red River rivalry. I'm going to say, I believe he's right. I made a mistake. Yeah, on Wikipedia, it's a lot. the Red River rivalry because it's it's a nice alliteration so my apologies it's okay all mistakes are forgiven red river rivalry yeah it's been a big 12 marquee matchup for years now it's in the

cc Oklahoma and Texas these two teams know each other inside and out so Oklahoma is currently 14 point underdogs versus Texas and I'll tell you right now that game's going to be a lot closer than 14 points ultimately I think Texas is is just a better team this year. I think Texas comes out on top, but I think it'll be a lot closer than people think it'll be. Mr. Coyne, what do we think?

What did we decide? Heads was visitor, Tails was home. Yeah, so if the heads is visitors and it's being played in Texas, the coin is going to go with Oklahoma for some reason. So let's put that down. But I think you have to be. Wait, wait, wait, wait.

It was heads? Yeah. Okay. Well, it is technically a neutral field game. Yeah, but I think that being that it is in Texas, Okay. That we got to give that to Oklahoma. But I'm going to go with Texas.

Oklahoma lacks a convincing win this season. They lost to Tennessee by 10. They almost got upset by both Houston and Auburn. However, as Matt said, in the last 10 regular season, Red River rivalries, nine have been decided by a possession. So these have been close games. I think it's going to be Texas by a lot. I just think that Texas has just,

Georgia on the schedule next week, but it's not going to overlook this game. And I'm most interested to see if Arch gets a chance to show what he's got. Quinn Ewers was named the starter, but if he struggles against Oklahoma's defense, look for them to make the switch. I'm going to agree with both these guys, but not the coin. Texas is just the better team by far. They've already played a top 15 team in Michigan. I think that they dominated that game from start to finish. And I don't think this game is going to be any different. Texas has two quarterbacks who are better than whoever Oklahoma decides is going to be their starter, whether it's Jackson Arnold or the other guy. Sorry, no disrespect. As George said, you've got Arch Manning who's been playing for these past couple of weeks, but you also

have Quinn Ewers coming back who's been on fire this year and just torched the Michigan Wolverines. So I fully expect Texas, they've got a great defense, they've got a good rushing game. Oklahoma, to their credit has a good defense and they kept Tennessee pretty limited on offense. But then again, so did Arkansas. And I just think Texas blows this game out. I think the spread is pretty accurate. Yeah, moving on, we got California at Pitt. George, let's start with you.

Mix things up. Let's start with the coin, actually, who favors Pitt pulling off the game played in Pittsburgh, favored by three and a half. And I'm going to go with the coin on this one. Last week, California put on an absolute clinic how to blow a fourth quarter lead. They were up by, I think, 18. They got outscored by 18 in the fourth quarter anyways. Well, George, to be fair to California, I don't think it was all on them. I think Michael Irving getting down on his hands and knees and barking had a little bit to do with Miami success in late in that game.

They had a third and 20 that they couldn't stop. So I'm going to put all the blame on California. It was a very emotional game, very intense environment with Game Day. And I think coming off that high, they're going to come out flat, especially because it's an East Coast trip, which is always tough. Pitt survived a close call against UNC. Both passing defenses actually rank in the bottom half of passing yards allowed, and they both have pretty good passing offenses.

But I'm going to go with Eli Holstein as the better quarterback over Fernando Mendoza. I'm fully expecting Pitt to walk out with a relatively comfortable win on Saturday. Yeah, who would have guessed? College Game Day went out to California and then all of the. college football games were chaos this week. Maybe it says something about California as a state. So who are you going to pick, Matt? I got California in this one.

California has been playing teams really close. Granted, they had the big fourth quarter meltdown against Miami last week. But California has looked really good this year. They've played well in the Big Ten. I think, you know, even coming off the loss of Miami, they're going to be pretty hungry. I think they're going to take it to Pitt. I'm going to have to go with Pitt on this one. California, they played Miami close, as both of them mentioned. But here's what I got to say about California. If you're losing to FSU this year, then you are not a great team. And Cal did just that. They're the only win on FSU's schedule. They started out undefeated, and then they went into Tallahassee and they couldn't beat the Florida State Seminoles. And everybody can beat the Florida State Seminoles. I'm taking Pitt in this one. I think they're going to do it pretty handily. It'll be.

maybe close most of the game, but in the end, Pitt's going to pull away. Next up, we've got the Arizona Wildcats going to Provo, Utah, to play the BYU Cougars. Matt? Man, another wild cat on other wild cat, technically a cougar, but it is a wild feline. If we're just going purely by mascots, BYU,

I haven't seen Arizona's wildcat mascot yet, but I'll bet you anything that BYU's. Cougar does leaps and bounds over over Arizona's. Mascots aside, though, BYU looked great against Kansas State, who is emerging as a top 10 team in the Big 12. With that, I got to go BYU in this one. Yeah, and don't let the rankings lie in this one as BYU ranked 14, Arizona unranked, but the spread on that game is three and a half points.

So very close, expected to be a tight game. And seeing this, the coin went with the home field advantage, it went with BYU. and I tend to agree, look, I spent a lot of time looking at these stats comparing these teams, and they are very close as far as a lot of different metrics that you would use, whether that's rushing offense, rushing defense, passing offense, passing defense. There's two factors that I think will lead BYU to the win. First is Provo, Utah talked about the home field advantage. It seemed to work against Kansas State.

And then number two, the turnovers. Arizona has been a minus four on the turnover margin, where BYU. has been a plus one. In big games, turnovers often make the difference, and I think BYU comes away with a few more, ends up winning. I've had some problems with Arizona. I've picked them twice this year in our picks, and both times they've failed me, and those are the two losses that Arizona has this year. I find it very hard to trust them, and so I'm not. I'm going to go with BYU. They just have had a better year. They're very consistent, undefeated. All these guys have gone on about it. Arizona's offense started hot to begin the year,

but in the big games, they just don't seem to perform or do what you need to do to win the game, which is outscore the other team. So I'm going to go with BYU. And next, we've got the biggest game of the week. College Game Day is going to Eugene, Oregon for the Ohio State Buckeyes, facing the Oregon Ducks. Yeah, what a game this should be. Both teams looking great this year. Oregon just has been pretty dominant. Ohio State's rolling. Oregon played it close with Boise State, but again, Boise State has that X factor. We mentioned earlier, Aston Gnty. Ultimately, I'm going to have to go with Ohio State in this one. Sorry, Michigan fans, but I think Ohio State's offense will be just enough to overtake this Oregon defense. And the coin is going to

disagree with you, Carton, and go with Oregon. As far as my pick, I've actually gone back and forth on this one a million times. Ohio State has outscored opponents by an average of 39.2 points a game, but if you look at the stats, they're playing Akron, they're playing Marshall, they're not playing great programs, so I don't think you can really use those as comparisons. They've had pretty much all year to prepare for this game. I think in a lot of ways the same could be said about Oregon. They played Oregon State, and as we talked about Boise,

State earlier on, but have had a couple of easy games to prepare for this game. So I think it really comes down to instinct on this one. We haven't really seen either of these teams play competitive games. Well, the Boise State game was competitive, but really pull out all stops. And so it goes on instinct for the picked with me. The first week of the season, watching Oregon almost lose to Idaho, is just plastered in my mind. And I can't get over that. I theoretically should pick Oregon because I trust Dylan Gabriel more than I do. Will Howard kind of being that unproven, not the best productive as far as like past rating goes at Kansas State, but I can't get that Idaho game out of my mind. Roll Buckeyes. I'm also going to have to go with the Buckeyes. I think that Oregon has a

track record of having really good records thanks to generally the Pact 12's weakness. And then when it comes to the big games against, you know, equivalent talent teams, they just drop the ball. And I think that nothing has changed yet. It's only their first year in the Big Ten. I don't think they've really adjusted to the Big Ten because they haven't played a full season in the Big Ten. And Ohio States just got talents for days. George says he doesn't know if he can trust Will Howard, but I got to say you got to trust them because they've got Jeremiah Smith on the outside and that guy seems to catch anything thrown in his general area. And the Big Ten's wide open. I I think Ryan Day gets his guys going.

This is their chance to take control of the Big Ten and lock up a playoff spot. Next up, we've got the number 11 Iowa State Cyclones going and facing the West Virginia Mountaineers. Big 12 matchup here. I'm the resident Big 12 expert here. I don't really watch much other college football. But Iowa State's been rolling this year.

I got a great quality win versus Iowa. West Virginia, meanwhile, has lost Pittsburgh, and I got Iowa State in this one. They'll keep it rolling. They got a quality win this year in Iowa. Meanwhile, West Virginia has lost to pit. I don't think West Virginia, kind of like Kansas, was supposed to be pretty good this year in the Big 12. But so far, I mean, well, they're doing better than Kansas. But so far, they haven't looked great.

Meanwhile, Iowa State has really shined. so I'm going to stay with Iowa State. I think they're going to keep that going. Yeah, I think Iowa State looks like the best team in the Big 12. As far as the coins pick, it went, again, for the home team for West Virginia. I think you have to pick Iowa State. Not a lot of analysis needed. They've just showed that they are probably the best team in the Big 12.

They're the number 11 team in the nation for good reason. And the fact that they're only favored by three, I think, is a little foolish. I think they're going to go in and get the job done by much more than that. West Virginia's had quite a schedule to start the year, facing teams like Oklahoma State, Kansas. Well, that's pretty easy. Pitt and also Penn State. But I'm going to have to go with all the other guys

and against our friend the coin and go ahead and pick the Iowa State Cyclones. Rocco Becked has just been really good this year, throwing for over 1,100 yards. Look for him to carry his. team to get their next win. And finally, the last game we have is the number nine Ole Miss Rebels take on the number 13 LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. Yeah, what a game this will be. Ole Miss coming off that tough loss a couple of weeks ago. It's really just going to be hungry,

hungry for a win. Kind of lit the fire under him, I think. Meanwhile, LSU, have they played anyone of note? USC first game of the year. They lost that one. Yeah, I think LSU might be a little bit overranked. So for this one, I'm going with Ole Miss. Well, the coin and George disagree with you, Carton. Death Valley has to be, if not the hardest place to play in college football, top five.

And no matter how bad LSU is, they always... seem to play these games really tight. Ole Miss lost a very winnable game a couple weeks back, and I think they lost a little bit of their footing. Jackson Dart is slightly overrated. It hasn't really showed out when he needs to, in my opinion. So I'm going to go with the underdog in LSU here. Well, I'm going to have to side with Carton on this one.

I think Ole Miss takes this game. As Carton mentioned, Ole Miss's only loss is to a hungry Kentucky team. that almost beat a top-tier Georgia Bulldogs team. So they've definitely been around messing with some really good teams. LSU, on the other hand, lost to a now two-loss USC team. George even said that he doesn't foresee this USC team being in the rankings at the end of the year. So it is a tough road game in Death Valley in Baton Rouge.

But I think, as Carton said, Ole Miss is a little bit hungrier. and there's one interesting thing. Both teams have a common opponent that they've already played this year and that is the South Carolina Gamecocks. Both games were on the road, but Ole Miss definitely handled that game much better, winning 27 to 3,

while LSU played much closer with 3633 and a last second win on the road there. So I look for Ole Miss to take that win and just show them why they're the better team in the SEC West. I think that's all. we've got for you today, folks. So thank you for listening. This has been Bleacher Boys on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. But anyways, that's all the time we have for today. So thank you for listening to the Bleacher

Boys on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. As always, enjoy your weekend watching sports, and we'll talk to you next week. Stay classy, Hillsdale.