Too Old To Be A Night Owl

[00:00:00] I would rather take projection. Welcome everybody to Takin' On Sports, IMTD. That is Greg Bosworth Bosworth. Greg Bosworth Bosworth, how you doing man? I am pretty good. Been a long week, but going on vacation myself, that'll be good.

[00:00:25] One final time out before school starts for the kids. My daughter's turning 18 in the week, which is crazy. So we're making a quick trip to Texas. Until 18. See my parents and see some other stuff. Hang out. Should be a good time. Where are your folks at in Texas these days? Still around Fort Worth, Dallas?

[00:00:54] Yeah, they live in Fort Worth. That's good, man. It has been a long week, man. A long week in the world of sports, too. Of course, this is our Big Ten preview episode. We'll get to that in a second. Lots of things going on this week. Kind of mostly off-field stuff. But Major League Baseball trade deadline finished up today. Of course, the big one.

[00:01:23] Scoogle to the Dodgers. Of course, the Dodgers got them. The Dodgers. We're rich. Braves fans not happy because we didn't do shit. I don't understand it at all. But whatever. Your Yanks got, who'd they get? Garcia kid at second baseman? Yeah. Yep. Solid pick up there. Another big one.

[00:01:50] Adley Rutschman going from Baltimore to Boston for a solid, like a better Hall of Picks than Scoogle got. And he's hurt, you know? So. Well, yeah. A busy deadline. Those were the major, major ones. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of other good, solid players. Philly got Louisa Rays. That's a good bat added to their lineup.

[00:02:21] Padres made a last-minute. Got the other Detroit pitcher, Mize. As they try to make it run. Detroit just sold everything. They did. And it's crazy. If you look, they're not that far out. The Central is far out. Yeah. It's not. It's not. It's feasible. I mean, it's not anybody basically besides the Royals could win the division. Yeah. And I guess with Scoogle, I get, you know, with him being a free agent after the season,

[00:02:50] if you don't think you can resign him, although a lot of stuff out there says that he wanted to stay in Detroit, so who knows? You know, unless you think you got a legit shot at the series, then, you know, it's smart to try to get what you can for him. But, man, that haul did not seem all that great that the Tigers didn't return. For your number one? Yeah, for the running side of your own best pitcher in baseball. Yeah. I don't know.

[00:03:21] I mean, I get it. You don't want him in the American League, but damn, you had to give him to the Dodgers. Yeah, right. Out of all the teams. I mean, I get it as far as, like, you're not facing him a lot. It's not like you moved him into Central or something like that, but still. It's just like, wow. Yeah. Yeah, and it's just crazy how much it changed over the past couple weeks, too.

[00:03:49] You know, the Red Sox and their surge. If, you know, they hadn't done that, you know, they might have traded a guy like Sonny Gray or maybe a couple players. Or the Marlins. You know, Sandy Alcantara might have gone somewhere. But, you know, they're in the thick of it in a wild card race. So, baseball's always a crazy deadline. And, of course, the big winner, the Dodgers getting Scooble. You know, like you said, Rich get richer.

[00:04:18] And that's just another deadly weapon in that rotation there. You know, then you look at teams like the Brewers didn't get a lot better. The Braves, like you said, Braves fans are hot today.

[00:04:41] I mean, they got a back starter in Tyler Mall, whatever you say. He's got a 513 ERA this year. Like, he hasn't been. I mean, he'll eat up innings at the back of your rotation, but you need a number two behind Chris Sale in the playoffs. And they didn't go get it. Right.

[00:05:04] Unless they got some magic, you know, deer antler spray for, you know, Spencer Strider's arm or Schwellenbeck's arm or Lopez's arm or any of the guys that are hurt right now. Anybody, right? But it's crazy. But anyway. Anyway, and then you'll see elsewhere, SEC and the Big Ten basically agreed to sign off on that bill. And we'll see what happens with that.

[00:05:34] See it, Dave. FIFA. And now it's a race against time, more or less, before they go on break. I feel like Congress is always on break. They get nothing done. So why do they need a month? I don't know. Out of session or shutting down. Yeah, it's bullshit. It's like, bro, y'all been working like 30 days and shit. And it's weird, too, because it never ended changing landscape of college sports right now.

[00:06:02] It's like, it's hard for me. Like, obviously, I paid attention, but it's hard for me to take anything too seriously right now. Too serious? Yeah. Yeah, because you feel like someone's going to sue. It is. Someone's going to become an injunction and something's going to get held up. Yeah. They're going to find some loophole to steal that so-and-so get through.

[00:06:27] The weirdest thing, though, was that late thing on Friday with the 2022 people who couldn't get a fifth year. But now they can get a fifth year. But most are either gone to the league or... Yeah. I don't know, man. Like, all this stuff. And then, like, yeah, it's hard to take it seriously because, like you said, it's going to get tied up at court and appeals and injunctions. And then we're going to have something different next summer.

[00:06:55] And then, like, just hurry up and get kicked the ball off already because that way it'll just be about football for at least a few months. I mean, you know, and it sucks, too, because then that's all you hear about, like, you know, SEC media days, big team media days are talking about that. And then the big talks about expansion. And, man, let's just talk about this season. We're less than a month away from the season.

[00:07:23] I feel like so little talk about the season from the name, you know. Yeah. Like, let's just talk football. Worry about that other shit some other time. The other kind of football was in the news last week, too. FIFA president, oh, Gigi. Yeah, Infantino, of course, he wanted to sell 20% of FIFA to private equity.

[00:07:53] That just sounds like corruption. Yeah, it was just a deal. Basically did it in a backroom deal with Jared Kushner's brother. Just this weird, of course, who's with the Saudis. And, you know, they got the World Cup in 2034 under shady circumstances. And so UEFA straight up called his bluff, said they would boycott any and all future FIFA events, which includes the World Cup.

[00:08:25] Unless, you know, if they went through that deal. And they were the ones who officially boycott. Yeah, but others, CONCACAF even backed up and said, yeah, they stand with UEFA. Yeah. And Infantino backed off. And now what looked like a surefire re-election as FIFA president in March, I think, is what it is. Because it's not coming under question, which hopefully, because, yeah, that dude.

[00:08:53] They went from Seth Blatter, the guy that literally got indicted, right? Yeah, like he got charged by the FBI and indicted. And then they get this guy. And he's just a whole different level of corruption. Actually makes American sports look pretty clean. Right. Man. Oh, boy. Yeah. Let's see some other big off the court. The NBA announced that the Kawhi investigation might go into next year.

[00:09:22] So, like, what about his trade that they held up? Does that not go through? I guess. But the big thing with that is, we had talked about it. Like, does anybody really care? Who cares? How he got paid. How was on the books? Obviously, it didn't benefit the Clippers any way on court. They won nothing. Barely made the playoffs. Yeah.

[00:09:52] And no one said about the Clippers since that bubble when they almost played the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals for the most part. And when Denver knocked them off. Yeah. They know. It's like they presented. Some of these stories they present, it's like they try to make a big deal. But, like, literally, I don't think the average sports fan does not care. It's like I said, I think, in their episode.

[00:10:20] I think what I said was basically, does this not happen? I kind of assume this happened all the time anyway. Like, a club, you know, an owner, a franchise, whatever, in any sport, especially the ones in a big city, would be like, hey, this is our offer. But my buddy Jimmy runs this Fortune 500 company over here, and he'll sign you to an endorsement deal that's X amount. And they go, all right, cool. And, like, to me, that's fair.

[00:10:51] Like, I don't care. It is. I mean, it is what it is. It's not a big deal. Like, because you got to think about it. I mean, it almost seems like cheating whenever the, like, oh, so-and-so signed a $500 million contract, but we're going to put $400 on the back end. So, basically, they're only going to pay, like, a million dollars for, like, 10 years. So, it saves on the cap. Yeah. I don't know.

[00:11:19] It's like, but you would think that that would be more worrisome than, you know, just because that's kind of, you know, like, these quarterbacks sign these massive deals, and they're like, oh, you know, they're not going to start paying until, like, 2040 on the big part of the money. It's like, what? So, we can just kind of have a whole bunch of Bobby Bonilla contracts. Right. And as, you know, co-founder of the Alabama Take, Caleb Johnson has said often,

[00:11:47] specifically in regards to Alabama's basketball arena that still is yet to be built, at that point, money is just made up anyway. It's all numbers on a page because you got it tied up in stocks and shares and this and that. You know, it's why billionaires actually don't really pay their fair share in taxes because they don't have just straight cash. They got it tied up.

[00:12:14] And that's what always gets me with, like, all these things. It's just, it's rich people shit that I don't care about. I mean, really, a lot of these rich people are super in debt. But they just have so much wealth in other ways, but it's not liquid at all. Yeah, it's wild. Stuff that I guess we'll never really have to worry about. Let's see. That's why I want to power ball tonight. Probably unlikely.

[00:12:48] Yeah, exactly. All right. I might say. Dude. Man. It's funny because the only quote-unquote on the field, the proverbial field thing that really happened this week in sports, SummerSlam. Sports entertainment, man.

[00:13:17] Of course, I love the... What did you think overall? What was your favorite match? I think everybody liked the Roman-Seth match. You know, just the history. The history. And, you know, just, you know, they played into it. You know, the history at the end there. They kind of showed, you know, a feud's over with. I did get to watch that live. It was a great, you know, entertaining match. You know, of course, the over-Brock match was a big thing night one.

[00:13:47] Just because, you know, this time it feels like Brock... Well, we thought he was done at WrestleMania, but I guess he's actually done now. You know, he said, I'm the past year, the future. So that's kind of like the passing of the torch for sure. You know, he went out in his home state. Hell in a cell. You know, so... You know, we're all... I'd be much better than WrestleMania.

[00:14:23] KO, yes. That was... Hmm. Yeah. Number one contender. Yeah, that's a big moment. My boy KO came back. That's awesome. Then with that, boy, that boy Sammy screwed again. Number one contender now. So maybe we get a little Kevin Owens, CM Punk coming up. Which, yeah, sign me up for that. Oh, yeah. Nah, and that's going to play... Oh, absolutely.

[00:14:53] That's one of those wrestling storylines that you know exactly where it's going. He was so happy to tell Sammy. Because it's going to lead to KO and Sammy at some point. And one of them turn it on the other. Oh, man. And we've seen it... He played it so well. Like, he didn't know that KO was there. Oh, man. Sammy's face is great, too. He played it in all that. But just...

[00:15:20] And also, another shout out for... I can't remember who it was who was making their music at the time now. But whoever made KO's theme, man. Yeah. That opening note. That little guitar. That is... That's like a great wrestling. Oh, you know. You got Stone Cold's Glass Break. You got The Rock. You know. Quote whatever his quote. Dude, man. As soon as... Yeah. As soon as it came out. Oh, shit. You know.

[00:15:50] A lot of great wrestling songs are made by that first note. And I think KO's is up there with the best of them. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. That crowd erupted. I saw it again. I really only got to watch a few matches on Sunday live. And then, you know, they kept it... I mean, you know, Roman didn't have anybody interfere. The bloodline stayed out of it. I mean, it was just one-on-one, mano-a-mano.

[00:16:31] You know, they pretty much just went mano-a-mano. You know, hit each other with each other's finishers. Too much, which they have done a lot with this, especially with Roman and the bloodline. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly, yeah. And so, pretty much tells me they're going to put a pause on this one for a while. And then, it'll definitely come back at some point. You know. That's one of those forever feuds. Mm-hmm.

[00:17:01] But did you see... So, you know, I had the moment at the end of the match where Seth and Roman did the little sheer fist bump. Did you see Kurt Angle? He made, like, an Instagram or tweet or some social media post about it. Or he said the caption... Hilarious. The caption was something like, it's nice of you to remember me, fellas. And he, like, imposed himself when that one weird time when he joined the Shield for that one match.

[00:17:31] Hilarious. Back in his comeback. But he was in the back, like, doing this behind him. But he looked like a ghost. You know, like, he had it faded. So, he was, like, see-through like a ghost. I was, like, cursed. You got 48, I swear. All right. I did my notes and I was, like, my God. Am I done yet? That's good. Let's get to this Big Ten preview this week. Because Lord knows they got enough teams. They're like Thanos. They're just... Big Ten collects teams like the Dodgers collect five.

[00:18:01] I was, like... You know, Star Wars. Yeah, I started and I was, like, my goodness. Like, I'm just writing a little line for everybody. But by the end, I'm like... Jeez. Just collecting stuff. But, um... Yeah. Yeah. What is going on? Right? I kept going down and, like, yeah, making my little tears here. I mean, like... Finally, I was just like, let me look at the standings. Let me look at the standings and make sure I got it. I still don't even know if I got them all in my family.

[00:18:31] Three, four, five, six, seven... If I was just like, this is crazy. I don't even think I got them all. I don't even think I did finish right in the mouth. What's that, 18 now? Let's see. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, eight, eleven, twelve. That's a ridiculous amount of teams. Fifteen, sixteen. I'm missing two teams. Oh, wait. Let's see.

[00:19:01] There's one of them. Oh, okay. It's like we got... The thing with the Big Ten is you realize, dude, there's a lot of teams that are just very mid. In that middle tier, you're just like... It's a huge section because it's like, dude, half the conference is like... Very. They could be good. They could be terrible. They could be somewhere in the middle. That wild card is in the biggest section here.

[00:19:40] Oh, I see who I forgot. Okay. All right. I got my notes straight. Let's start with this contender. So let's... Hey, only one place to start. Defending national champs, unbeaten Big Ten champs. Indiana Hoosiers. Still feels really weird to say that. They're back. Target's on their back. And now the story with the Hoosiers is, you know, as the saying goes, it's one thing to get to the top. It's a whole different thing to stay on top.

[00:20:11] Nobody's going to be surprised by it now. Yeah. You're not catching anybody off guard now. Some roster turnover there. Of course, bringing in Josh Hoover from TCU is the big storyline. You know, that's a big ask. Because honestly, you know, I follow a lot of TCU just because my dad went there and turned something that we stand. Connection with him. Pretty much the big story of their season. The dude at TCU who would throw for 400 yards in the game, look amazing for three and a half

[00:20:38] quarters, and then throw the dumbest pick at the end of the game for the TCU to lose by like six. That was like his MO in Fort Worth. I don't know. But, you know, if anybody could fix him, you would think it's Kirk Signetti. Because, I mean, you got to look. Two years. I mean, you got when Fernando Mendoza was a cow, he was the average quarterback. No one was thinking about.

[00:21:07] And now he's, you know, gone from where he was average a cow to the number one draft pick in the NFL. So, I mean, Kirk Signetti obviously has some magic. And on paper, I mean, Josh Hoover is better coming in than anybody he's had a quarterback in my mind. I don't know. So, if anybody's going to fix the problem, you would think it's Signetti. Because he has a track record of what he's done.

[00:21:35] I mean, Curtis Rourke that first year. You know, who was Curtis Rourke? We don't know. You know, most people didn't know who Fernando Mendoza was last year. Unless you're a Super Bowl fan, no one was watching cow like that. That man lost to Tallahassee. He was one of the few wins for Florida State in 24. Yeah.

[00:22:02] So, I mean, so nothing too impressive. And yet, you know, so on paper, Josh Hoover is the best he's had. But, yeah, it's just a matter of, you know, can he become a disciplined quarterback that Signetti needs, you know.

[00:22:32] And can, you know, can all those transfers. The big thing with that wide receiver went from Michigan State. Step up and Joe quickly. The good news for them, because they got, what, like seven new starters. Marsh, right? Yeah. Charlie Becker comes back, too. That is one of the returners. So, yeah, they mesh and the defense replaces what they lost, which is significant.

[00:23:00] But they should still be a tough team. And schedule-wise, it really sets up my score. Of course, they would have North Texas after North Texas. I went to Oklahoma State. North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky. And then you start. Yeah. Yeah, right. Yeah. They start Big Ten play with Northwestern at home. Go on the road to Rutgers.

[00:23:26] And then maybe the first kind of test, we'll see. You know, that'll be October 10th then. I mean, it is a little bit dangerous. But I think it's something like Nebraska has not won a ranked game since, like, 2018 or something. It's been a long time. And it's one of those things, until they do it, it sounds good.

[00:23:55] But if you follow it, I mean, let me think about their recent history. But you just can't count it until the clock runs out. Yeah. Yeah, but that's a little... But, yeah, like I said, then the Buckeyes come to Bloomington the next week. And the week after that, they go to the big house.

[00:24:24] Play Michigan. That's it. Tough little stretch there in October for the Hoosiers. Their schedule's a lot tougher than what it has been in the last couple years, honestly. By USC at home at Washington, which, again, we'll see. That road, those three road games, Nebraska, Michigan, Washington, those are... Yeah.

[00:24:50] Could be really bad for them if, you know, Hoover is turning the ball over, if things aren't gelling perfectly. Who knows? Or, they could kick the shit out of them, because who knows what Nebraska, if they'll ever get back over the hump. And then Washington, maybe by that time, but they're kind of in their own world where they'll play tough against the best teams that they won't ultimately really challenge them. And then into Purdue.

[00:25:18] I don't know if they win the Big Ten this year, just because that's a tougher schedule than... In the second straight title. And, you know, the two wild cards on their schedule, to me, is USC and Washington, because those are two teams I'm high on this year. And if we get the best USC and the best Washington, those are two tough games in a row. They have some tough games in a row.

[00:25:46] They play Ohio State and Michigan in back-to-back weeks, and USC and Washington in back-to-back weeks. Yeah, that's... If they run this table this year, I mean, it's way tougher than what the last two years have been, honestly. So, yeah. Ooh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then, like, throwing that Nebraska game, that could be, like you said, a brutal three-game stretch.

[00:26:16] If Matt Rule has the Huskers playing well, and... Or, you know, it could just be, like we said, a trap game right before Ohio State. But, speaking of the Buckeyes, of course, they are in the contender tier as well. And speaking of tough road schedule, man, their road games this year. Texas, Iowa, Indiana, USC, and Nebraska. That's no easy trips. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:26:46] Home schedule is much more forgiving. Ball State, Kent State, Illinois, Maryland. Michigan will be... Oregon, the big one, November 7th. Then Northwestern and Michigan comes to the horseshoe this year. You would think so. But Ohio State, like Indiana, they should both cruise into that October 10th matchup unbeaten. Or, excuse me, October 17th matchup. But, two weeks before...

[00:27:14] Yeah, I mean, I was always a tough... Two weeks before Ohio State does have to go to the team. Just because Iowa's... And, of course, that week too... Played good at home. You know, they've actually given Indiana some of their toughest games recently. Really, I would say that Iowa game, it all depends on what time that game is. If it's a night game, watch out. If it's a day game, not as scary.

[00:27:41] But if it happens to be like, you know, 6.30, 7 o'clock game in Iowa City, we've seen some weird things happen in Iowa City. Purdue, when they beat the hell out of... Was it... No, it was Purdue, I'm thinking of, in 2017. Yeah. Yeah, with a... Iowa beat Ohio State once.

[00:28:10] I forget what year that was. Rondale? Yeah, they knocked him off as well. Yeah, he ran off. But didn't Iowa get... But Iowa's tough at home, but if it were the night game, watch out. They hooked up on them too. And, of course, yeah, that week too, man. Texas in Austin. The main thing with that game, it's going to be hot as hell in Austin. And, yeah. But, man.

[00:28:38] But we know Ohio State is damn good. I mean, obviously, you know, they... The main thing with them is they got a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, replacing Hartline Winsick, UCF coach. The one down thing you see with Arthur Smith is he was the Steelers OC in 24 and 25. It was like, ew.

[00:29:08] But, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's been... He, of course, took the Falcons to the Super Bowl at one time, of course. Also blew a 28-3 lead. I mean, obviously, he has a lot of talent there. I mean, he has... So, you know, a lot of zone run, play action off of that power run. I mean, he has maybe the best player in America in Jeremiah Smith.

[00:29:36] I was about to say, but he's got maybe the most talented offense in the country. The reason to hate him right there. But hell of a run of it. And, of course, I mean, Julian Sand, I mean... Yeah. Maybe the most boring season last year, but he was productive as hell. Like his namesake. Like, I guess the main thing with him is can he take the... Yeah. Mm-hmm. I would say the main thing with him is... Yeah, quiet, but 36...

[00:30:06] When he gets put in a pressure situation... Yeah. ...against the likes of, you know, Indiana game on the line, Oregon game on the line. And, you know, he really hadn't been in that situation, per se. You know, we saw him struggle in the Big Ten title game a little bit against Indiana. You know, didn't have his best game against Miami. But, you know, in those big-time games, I guess that's the biggest thing. Just, you know, can he...

[00:30:38] If the game's on him, can he be that guy? Yeah. He hadn't had that many opportunities. Right. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah, can he... He's a young guy, but, you know, that's the only thing you can really say. Can he go out? Because, I mean, you look at his stats. His stats are ridiculous. And, you know, he was a freshman last year, so... His numbers are crazy. Exactly. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:31:07] Yeah, exactly. So, and, you know, much like Indiana, they'll have... Yeah, actually, I keep overlooking that Texas game. They won't have... Yeah, they get Ball State to start, and then week two, we'll know a lot about this year's Buckeyes. Third team I have in my contender tier, the Oregon Ducks. They've come right in. Biggest thing is replacing both coordinators. Dante Moore back.

[00:31:35] OC and DC, but they're brought in-house guys. I mean, the offensive coordinator, Drew Moringa. Yeah. I mean, he's been like the assistant OC. So, he knows the system well. Same with their defensive coordinator, Chris Hampton, now replacing Tasha Poi. I mean, obviously, he's been in the Oregon system, so he understands what Dan Lennon wants.

[00:32:04] So, I don't know if it's really a drop, per se, because they know the system. But, you know, sometimes. So, I would think that it should be good, but you never know. But, yeah, you would think Oregon... I mean, Dan Lennon, that man has done everything but pretty much won a national title at this point. I mean, you know, two years ago, he won the Big Ten regular season, went undefeated, won the Big Ten championship game,

[00:32:34] and then got totally screwed in the first playoff game playing an Ohio State team. I mean, everybody sees, oh, that's the eighth-ranked Ohio State team, but, goddammit, that's the best eighth-ranked of all time. Yeah, right. Dude, they got ugly click. And then last year, I mean, he ran into the losers. Yeah, and they were fired on the same.

[00:32:59] So, I guess the biggest thing with him is he keeps running into his biggest Big Ten foes in the biggest playoff games, and he's got his head knocked out twice. He's... Yeah, he's becoming a little bit James Franklin-y, where he consistently... He has everything in his...

[00:33:27] I mean, he has Nike money. He's in a playoff game. The NIL's strong in Eugene. We know that. So, I mean, they get what they want. He recruits well. They play good 95% of the time. They're an amazing team. We talked about how he's changed the culture of Oregon football. Nobody thinks we're soft anymore. But, yeah.

[00:33:56] But you got to be careful what you ask for, because, I mean, we see, man. And I think Penn State might have a rude awakening. Maybe they... I mean, and we'll talk about them. But, you know, people are so... We got to get rid of them. We got to get somebody who can get over the hump. But you got to be careful, because if you got a guy that's consistently getting you to the playoff,

[00:34:21] consistently winning 10 games, you know, every couple years winning the conference, sometimes you got to chill out. No, not at all. But, you know, eventually people started going, like, well, why haven't we won yet? I don't think. You know, we're not saying... And really, that's the... That's the... It's on Dan Landon, yeah. Yeah.

[00:34:47] That Kirk Cignetti effect now is the worst thing for teams now. Because everybody's like, this dude came and won at the worst college football program in two years in America. Why haven't we won? Why... It's complete knowing, you know, the ins and outs of it, way different. And, of course, a different time. And he, you know, able to do a lot. All right. But, man, that's killing coaches these days. There's no excuses now, because Kirk Cignetti won in Indiana, so why the hell haven't we won?

[00:35:24] Yeah, that is gonna... It's, you know, Nick Saban had that effect. But compared to what Kirk Cignetti's done, that's nothing. In year two, you know, getting to the SEC title game unbeaten. And then you got... Yeah. Yeah. Exactly, yeah. But it just showed... Yeah. It just showed you that NIL, they really... Itching to throw money at a coach. Changed the, you know, the transfer point of NIL. And that is people want to say, oh, it's ruined everything. Yeah.

[00:35:52] Man, it's made the Cray one of the most... Like, a team that nobody ever thought would win a national title. Yeah. I mean, if... Yeah. And if you're a younger fan, you really don't... You have an idea, because they were mad. But you don't... It's been that way forever. Dude, we like... I mean, Indiana would get like eight wins.

[00:36:21] Like, before Kirk Cignetti got there. Hey, all right, man. Good job, guys. My memories of Indiana football was when Antoine Rondell was there, because he did damn everything. So, he was, you know, he was a highlight reel. They'd get their head knocked out, but he would do everything. He would pump, pass, kick. He was the highlight machine. And then... Yeah. What's his name? Started his career there. Yeah.

[00:36:49] They were having a hell of a season until Michael Penix got hurt that year. They were like... Michael Penix. Yeah. I think so. Mm-hmm. Did he get hurt in the Ohio State game or something? It was a big game he got hurt in. In Bloomington. But they were having a hell of a season. But, yeah. Yeah. I can't remember. I think so, yeah. Yeah. They were, yeah.

[00:37:20] But, yeah, back to Oregon. Like I said, we know they're going to be talented. I know they're going to have explosive ball fans. Like you said, Dan Laney's changed. Yeah. They're a tough team. They play hard-nosed defense now, too. Dante Moore coming back. I mean, that's the... That's the... Dylan Rowe. You know, actually one of the... Probably the most under-talked about things in college sport, football these days. So few programs have any type of backup with experience.

[00:37:48] You know, because you can't keep guys anymore. Right. Yeah. They lose the... Yeah. At least with the new one portal, at least I guess a guy stays for the season. Although, if he doesn't want to get hurt, there's nothing stopping a guy. Yeah. But, like, you look at quarterback battles. Yeah. But Rayola knew that he was coming in to possibly back up more. So... No.

[00:38:17] I mean, Dante Moore did it. Dylan Gabriel, yeah. Behind... But, I mean... Let's see, behind Bonick. This, what... No. Dylan Gabriel. Oregon schedule. I mean... Yeah. It is tough. First of all, I saw it for Boise State. I mean, Boise State, new comp, you know. A little tough. Always going to be a tough game. It'll be interesting to see what happens with that. Obviously, Oklahoma State. We know that they're...

[00:38:47] Brought everybody from North Texas. But, you would think they're still nowhere near ready for a game against Oregon. So, that should probably get ugly. Like, last... Maybe not as bad as last year, but it would be ugly. I think. Yeah. Portland State, obviously. And then, business really picks up on the 26. Tough to get as bad as... Going to USC. You know, the... You know, they've had a rivalry.

[00:39:17] Time and again. Still weird that it's a Big Ten game. But, anyway. You know, they're going there. That, you know. Then they... You know, USC. Then they come... Then they have a week off. UCLA. Nebraska. Illinois. Northwestern. Not the tough... Like... It's not the easiest.

[00:39:44] But, those are all games that you would think Oregon should win. No problem. I mean, UCLA is rebuilding. Nebraska. They don't be ranked teams. So, until they do, I don't count that. Illinois is going to be not nearly as good on paper as they have been. And then, Northwestern. I don't... They're rebuilding. They got that nice new stadium, though. But, they're still...

[00:40:13] And then, they go to the Horseshoe. It's one of those games. They're November... Oregon's November as hell. Mm-hmm. Ohio State. Big late season game. And then, Michigan. Back-to-back weeks. At Michigan State. Mm-hmm. Which is a tricky game because Luke... No, I'm sorry. Not Luke Fickle. Mm-hmm. Pat Fitzgerald.

[00:40:41] That was a sneaky hell great hire by the Spartans, honestly. I would say a trap game. No, no. Maybe that late in the year. Because, I mean, you're coming off two big games in a row against the... Between... Between... Yeah. Then, you think... You know, you play your...

[00:41:09] Probably your biggest rival in Washington at the end of the season. You're going to East Lansing at a... Probably maybe a horrible time, depending... November 20th could be ugly. Snowy. It could be wind. It might... It could be cold. We know it's probably gonna be cold. Maybe snowy. Uh...

[00:41:37] That's the type of thing that they used to do all the time. Michigan State ain't been shit for a while, but they love to win this type of game, man. For some... Something. Mm-hmm. You know... They were good about once... They did. ...season, maybe once every other season. So... If you had... Knocking off a team they had no business of beating. And then they'd have that one season every, like, seven years or so... They really haven't been sensitive to be... Shut them on the playoff. Wait, look. Michigan State's in the playoff. Like...

[00:42:08] Yeah. You know... Mel Tucker... Got them paid and then... Yeah, Mel had his... Put the team on his back. And got Mel Tucker paid. Pat Fitzgerald is a great hire. And honestly, man, he had some solid years in Northwestern. I feel like you can have a couple of good years in Northwestern. You can find ways to win anywhere. I think he'll have Michigan State at least looking...

[00:42:37] I don't know if they'll ever be a contender in the Big Ten. But they'll be... They'll get to where you got to respect them again. Mm-mm. Yeah. Yeah. Who was the... Who was the coach? Michigan State, you know, they were a solid bowl team every year. Who was... I forget. What was the coach's name? He was there for a while, man. He was a solid coach. Once a decade, maybe twice a decade, challenged the Big Ten title. And then...

[00:43:06] Yeah, Mark D'Antonio. Yeah. He was actually a very solid coach. Shit. Was it D'Antonio? And then... Before him was... John L. Smith had... He had some crazy half-time quotes. John L. Smith was there? I'm thinking way back, maybe. Yeah. But... Mark D'Antonio... Mm-hmm. And, of course, Nick Saban there. Late 90s.

[00:43:35] But Mark D'Antonio probably overall... He got one of those upsets. He beat number one Ohio State. He beat number one Ohio State. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I would think so. Maybe some guy back in the 60s that we don't know. But... But, yeah. Next... Let's keep rolling. Next on my contender list. I'm not sure how... You said... I think you did mention your high on them. But the USC Trojans, man.

[00:44:07] I think... Man, I like their quarterback. I like Jordan Maivia. I like him. I think he's a great quarterback. Lincoln Riley's an offensive mind. We know that. And the biggest thing... You know, they lost their D.C. to Penn State. And he actually had a good year last year. And he brought in an OG defensive guy in Gary Patterson. And I like that hire. Doesn't have to worry about anything.

[00:44:36] Except call defenses. And that's when he was elite. You know, obviously, you know, he had a great run at TCU. At the end, it kind of looked like the game is... You know, just everything new going on at... Old school dude who looked lost in a new world. But as a defensive coordinator, man, he's in his element. So, I think... Mm-hmm.

[00:45:06] I guess that's your worry. Is... If you're a USC fan, are you getting that Gary Patterson? Or is it a couple years off? I think he's a dude that just has to worry about X's and O's and nothing else. And I think that's... For the love of the X's and O's. I think you're getting the Gary Patterson that we think of for that long time. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. And then schedule. Definitely got some tough ones.

[00:45:35] But nothing terrible. I mean, out of conference slates, pretty easy. San Jose State, Fresno State, Louisiana. That is tough. But you do get both those at home. They should beat them. Then you get Oregon and Washington back-to-back at home. And then... Yeah. Exactly. At home, that's a big thing. And then... Basic plan Iowa State. And we'll see with them. That could be tricky, too, now. Yeah. Or, you know...

[00:46:03] They've been on those at some place. Oh, yeah. And then Iowa State's a tricky, tricky team. Yeah. And then the back half... I'll tell you this. It's kind of like two schedules here, man. That front half... Yeah. Even though... With the two tough games in Oregon and Washington, you're like, all right, well, they're at home. Yeah. Like, you can do something with that. And then at Penn State. And then you got this bye. And then it's at Wisconsin, which... Yeah. You think so?

[00:46:32] That's going to go... They haven't been much. But, you know, Luke Fickle might be in now or never mode. Yeah. Or he should be if he wants to keep his job. Yeah. Ohio State then comes out to Los Angeles. They should have a week between those. They should get them there. And then you got to go at Indiana. Who... I think is coming. Yeah. Yeah. Who I think Indiana's coming. Actually... Well, they do have a bye. You have a week... Extra week in between. Are you ready?

[00:47:02] I'd be brutal to have that back-to-back. Yeah. So, that's the 14th of November. So, they do have a bye in between Ohio State and Indiana. Yeah. The rivalry. Yeah. Oof. That's brutal. And I think eventually Bob Chesney will get it together. Maryland at home and then Crosstown. Seems like a good coach. James Madison. Guy Robertson do well in the Big Ten. I mean, Kirk's in any heavy. So, obviously, Big Shoes, you know, continue that tradition with Bob Chesney. But, yeah.

[00:47:32] This year, really... Yeah. I mean... Geez. The only thing is, man, they might lose three of those games. I was about to say, they could either... Finally, you know... USC Finn's been waiting for that just absolutely dominant offense under Lincoln Riley.

[00:48:01] And I guess they kind of got it with Kayla Williams there. Absolutely. But... There's 12 teams in the playoffs. Honestly, if they... It's time for USC to finally make a playoff appearance. If you have... Troja fans are thinking. Yeah. Yeah. I mean... If you get 10 wins, you're in the Big Ten. They get 10 wins. They should... They should plan some of the best teams in the Big Ten. On paper, anyway. I don't see why you wouldn't get in. Unless... There's somehow...

[00:48:31] Three or four Big Ten teams that are also at that and they beat you. I don't know. So... But you would think 10-2 would definitely get the Trojans in. Not only... I mean, we're looking at the name USC. I mean, it's kind of... It carries weight in itself. The Big Ten, 10-2 carries weight. So... You would think that they're in. But... If they're 9-3, that's a tough road. That's a tricky road. That's a tricky road.

[00:49:02] Yeah. Really, I mean... I think right now with 9-3... I'm hoping that there's a lot of other 9-3 teams. Well, not... I don't think you're going to get that third loss in the record season. Only if you get that third loss is like Bama did last year in your championship game. If you're playing like someone great. Because... You would really get... Like, for example, if they somehow played Ohio State in the Big Ten title game.

[00:49:30] And there was a really good game. I mean, do you punish them for losing that? That's a tough road. They kind of set the standard. They're... So, if they're changing now... And people are going to cry. Yeah. They changed. They changed. They changed. They don't... They changed. Yeah. They will. I mean... They've changed stuff like that before. So, yeah. Yeah. Got a long way to go. Yeah. But that...

[00:50:00] Yeah. That's a talk for December. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Let's go on. So, that was actually all the... Those are the only teams I had in my contender tier. Like, sure, I'm confident that they can all contend. Yeah. The next one I would have... I have Michigan. They're kind of at the top of the wild card. It was different though. Just because new coach. Even though it's Kyle Whittenham. Great coach. You know, when he did Utah for a couple decades now. But... Yeah. Yeah.

[00:50:30] It's different. New place. And then Bryce Underwood. A talented five-star recruit last year. But at the same time, I feel like... Was he putting good spots to be good? Like, what were they doing at the time? That's the thing we're going to find out. Because if anything... Now that's the question, right? Yeah. That's the question. He brought... You know, he brought his OC with him. What's his name? Jason Beck. Who...

[00:51:00] Last year changed the Utah... From the previous year. From 115th to 4th in the nation in yards per game. So... They had a big turnaround for the Utah offensively last year. And it was actually a very good season. Whether their only losses were to BYU and Texas Tech. So no fault... No shame in that, per se. But... Really, I mean... The biggest thing is... You bring in a dude...

[00:51:26] Who is completely different than what you've had. He's not going to... I mean... He's not going to have the weird stuff that Harbaugh had. That... He's not going to be... You know... He's pretty much the exact opposite. He's going to be... Well, we thought Sherron Moore was clean cut. It may be his stuff for him. That shit on field. But... You know... Kyle Whittingham's not going to have any type of scandal. Whether it be cheating. Whether it be anything.

[00:51:58] He's about football. He loves football. He's about football. He may have obsessed with people. He said he doesn't hate Ohio State. But why would he hate Ohio State right now? You know... He's not been involved in that rivalry at all. Yes... You know... So he got a little flack from that. But he wins. The biggest thing, though, man... Is what was... Considered successful... At Utah.

[00:52:27] And that they were happy with. May not... May not be good enough for the... Michigan in the long run. That's the only thing. And yeah... He's an older dude. It's interesting, too. Because he is... What? Late 60s? Early 70s? Like, he's... Right. I feel like he's just... The stability guy to put the pieces back together a little bit. Because it's been a rough...

[00:52:56] I mean, obviously, Harbaugh brought you a title. But at what cost? I mean, obviously, it's a lot of fishy stuff that happened. Yeah. And then the whole Sherron Moore situation. Like, honestly... Mm-hmm. Sherron Moore was more or less made the coach because... Everybody liked him and they wanted to keep as much as they could. Juju... Good juju after winning the national title as they could. You could tell Michigan obviously really did not want Sherron Moore as the coach. Mm-hmm.

[00:53:26] I didn't think it. You know, it's not like... Hmm. Yeah. No, that's a... Yeah, definitely one of those emotional hires where you hire based on your heart. You know, obviously, he didn't do himself any help with after the season. But... And they made it easy to fire him. Um... But you always felt like after last year, just off the season itself, that Michigan was going to be looking.

[00:53:57] And then he made it easy for them to get rid of him. But... Uh... Yeah. But, um... Of course, the loss of Justice Haynes, that hurts because he was having an outstanding season. Yeah. We talked about in our ACC preview with him going to Georgia Tech. Yeah. But, um... It's just a matter of... You know, they reload their Michigan. I'm sorry. The main thing is unlock and Bryce underwood. So, that would be interesting. We know how... Yeah.

[00:54:26] Turn them into the star that everybody's expecting to be. What... Yeah, exactly. Yeah. What a shitload of money for... To... A shitload of money to outdo... 10 million or something like that. Yeah. If you can figure that out, you'll be fine. Snatching from LSU. Yeah. But it's a... I mean, he fits the Big Ten persona. Yeah, we know Cal winning 18 is going to be tough. Hard-nosed. You know, they... You know.

[00:54:56] Exactly. Yeah. They're going to... Yeah, they are not going to get pushed around. It's just about, like you said, unlocking that talent that is Bryce Underwood. And kind of a under... And kind of a... Make some throws, make some plays. To put some points... Because, I mean... And he's, you know... Because he's not going to need a lot with... Kind of an underrated hire as well was... He brought Jay Hill, the BYU defensive coordinator, with him. And BYU's had a great defense the last couple years. That's a sneaky good hire. Mm-hmm. So...

[00:55:25] Yeah, that was a good one. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know how long he's at Michigan. But I think... I think they'll... I think they'll enjoy the time with him. I mean... You cut... He is. He will. He's going to get... Week two. He's going to get put to it early. Tough schedule. Gets Oklahoma week two. They do come to the big house. But... Gets Iowa and Ann Arbor. Gets Penn State and Indiana.

[00:55:55] A lot of them come in Penn State, Indiana. They both come to Ann Arbor. Michigan State, the rivalry comes to Ann Arbor. But... Toward the end of the season... That's the... And at Ohio State, of course, to end it. That's... So two really tough... We go to Eugene and Columbus... Columbus in the same season. Yeah, that is tough. And then, you know, we have some wild cards in there. Who knows if Michigan State will be, like we said. Yes, that's what it is. Who knows if UCLA will be, per se.

[00:56:24] Penn State could be... Mm-hmm. ...a tough game as well. You know, Matt Campbell... In his first year. Iowa. Yeah, right? Yeah, Iowa. Yeah. Yeah, Iowa always tough. Oklahoma, John Matilda. That'll test your defense early in the season. Let's just say that. Real tough. But... You know, you expect them to... Yeah. But, man...

[00:56:55] Off top, I mean, I don't... I see the best that they could be right now is 9-3. And it might be more... But I don't... As of right now... I can't say they could beat Indiana, Oregon, or Ohio State. No matter what. Even at home in the big house with Indiana, I don't see it right now. So... No, I tend to agree with that. Yeah.

[00:57:25] That's three right there. Like you said, Bryce Underwood's got to show us more this year. That's three losses right there. On top of that, the Oklahoma game... That's a tough one. John Matilda. Is healthy and... And... The John Matilda that we got at the beginning of the year was elite. Can we see that, John Matilda? Mm-hmm. Yeah. If they're... Yeah.

[00:57:51] If Oklahoma comes in slinging it and forces Michigan into a shootout, that's... You know, we'll have to see if Bryce Underwood can... Yeah. If he can hold up. But, yeah, let's go... Let's move along. Another team that I have kind of toward the top of this wildcard tier, the Washington... I mean... I like DeMar Williams last year. I still like DeMar Williams. I think he's... You know, obviously, he had the little thing there where he... Wanted out.

[00:58:21] And then they said, no. Much better than you are your contract. Good for them. You know, they held on. They held up. They said, wait a minute. We signed a dotted line. We gave you a shitload of cash. But, really, their coach handled it pretty well. I mean, Jeb Fish basically said, hey, you see it in the NFL all the time. Dudes ask for a trade. It doesn't happen. They come back. They go to work. I don't think that anybody in-house will have hard feelings for DeMar Williams. Their fans... Some fans might.

[00:58:51] Just because fans, you know, don't think. But players these days are, I think, a real understanding of other players. Coaches, they have to be because they'll lose their team if they're not. But it's a big year for Jeb Fish. You know, he's been okay. But, you know, I think you have DeMar Williams, one of the better quarterbacks in the Big Ten in the country.

[00:59:18] And I think, you know, people are kind of expecting a big year from the Huskies. You know. Yeah, and another one with an easier schedule to start. Weirdly, this will be a weird one to see. Weird. Yeah, the Apple Cup started off. But week one, yeah. And then it's... But it's in home. But really, there's no reason why you don't go undefeated.

[00:59:47] Utah State, Eastern Washington, Minnesota. Undefeated into the U.S. Yeah. You have to... If you're a contender this year, you go into that U.S.C. game undefeated. You have to. No doubt about it. But, you know, the best thing with them, they don't see Ohio State. But, man, that back... But that back game, boy, they're... Don't see Michigan. Yeah.

[01:00:16] Good God. Indiana, Oregon, back-to-back. Nebraska could be a tough game. At Nebraska. Nebraska. So, yeah, that... I'm talking the past... Even the last five games, after their bye, on Halloween, at Nebraska. Then come back home for Penn State. Then at Michigan State, which we said could be tricky. It's not. Basically, from Halloween on, watch out. That's brutal.

[01:00:47] Golly. That's a stretch of games. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you... If you're a Washington fan, you're really pulling to upset USC and Los Angeles. And going to that last stretch... You're not... Really, you want to... Realistically, you would... You're still probably in shape at 6-1. It's 6-1, but... Yeah. To give you...

[01:01:17] I mean, you'd love to go into... That... That 11th game with the man unbeaten. You know... Oh, man. That's tough, though. But you definitely... You definitely want to... You have to go into USC undefeated. You would love to go into Nebraska undefeated. Now, if you go to... Mm-hmm. Now, if you could go into the Indiana game undefeated...

[01:01:46] When Washington is good... Mm-hmm. The Husky Stadium and stuff... Ooh, yeah. Yeah, and that thing, regardless... Unless they're just having a disaster of a year, but that Indiana game is going to be... But... So, I would say... Tricking the Hoosiers, too. But... They're... The ceiling... 10-2.

[01:02:17] The floor could get bad, though. It could. You have to... DeMond Williams saying, you know, if there's some type of... Oh, man. Lack of trust for you, Hinman's teammates after that. I like what they're doing. I like... DeMond a lot. But, man... Yeah, that's a... This is a schedule. Mm-hmm. They've had a...

[01:02:47] They've had a couple weird losses in Jet Fish's tenure so far. Last year, they lost at Wisconsin. A bad Wisconsin team. Yeah. A year before... I remember it was like a Friday night game. It was a weird... It was when Rutgers started off the year... Yeah. They were high at the start of the season. Yeah. Move. Yeah. Yeah. Lost the Apple Cup that year, too. But I guess that was a little more understandable. They did have job mature that year. Yeah, that one.

[01:03:18] So, not the worst ones, but yeah. You want to get it together, man. You gave DeMond Williams a lot of money. Yeah, that's... You know, he came back. Now, obviously, people were high on him. You know, everybody thought LSU was the one that was trying to pull him. Or whatever that's worth. But, yeah. Big season for them. Mm-hmm. You know, Jet Fish also calls all the plays at Washington.

[01:03:45] People haven't been thrilled with his offensive play call in the last couple years. A lot of fans, when I was reading, and I can't say I knew this going in, really wanted him to hire an OC this year. So, that's always an interesting situation. Hmm. Yeah, we'll see how that works out.

[01:04:11] Let's move on to a team that I'm just fascinated by this year. The Iowa State... Oh, sorry. Penn State. Penn State. Of course, Matt Campbell. I'm about to say, yeah, you mentioned it. I believe old Blaine said something on the social I saw, and you mentioned it, man. That schedule. It's as friendly as you can get in the Big Ten. To the Big Ten. You play... Yeah. You're too big of a conference not to play anybody.

[01:04:41] You're going to have to play someone. James Franklin's like, well, no Ohio State on the schedule? It's the only team I lost to. No Oregon. No. No Ohio State. No Oregon. Yeah. No Indiana. Your toughest game is either. Yeah. They do get USC. USC comes to Happy Valley, and then the next week they go to Michigan. Other than that.

[01:05:11] So that's tough. And then at Washington. Other than that, there's not a game that... Nine and three. It really could be nine and three for a season for Matt Campbell. I mean, shit could definitely go all right there. It could happen, but... But if you look at it, and on paper you see... There's really... Just looking at it on paper, there's no reason why they don't go nine and three this year. Unless someone...

[01:05:40] Yeah, bringing over... Matt Campbell's a good coach. Bringing over Rocco Beck, a senior, experienced guy. He's not going to make dumb mistakes. Yeah. Still good. Still good. Still good. Maybe not the... You know, world-beating pass rusher they've had in the past few years. But... Still a solid defense. And... Yeah, I think they could have a better season than people...

[01:06:09] But the biggest... The biggest thing is... It's a jump. It's a... As good as Matt Campbell is, it's a jump. When you go from a place where... Eight and four, nine and three was acceptable, you pull up upset every now and again. You knock off an OU, you know, when he would do that.

[01:06:34] Or now, you know, if you knock off a Texas Tech at Iowa State, you're... It's awesome, you know. If only... You know, they got their first ever 11-win season last year for the first time ever. In program history. So, you know, they're cool. Eight and four, nine and three. You know. That's not going to cut it at Penn State, man. Yeah. And that's the thing. Obviously, he knows...

[01:07:01] I mean, he probably knows that better than anybody. But, you know... It's just hard to change that mindset sometimes. So, man... The expectations and happy value a lot. A lot tougher than Ains. And they're not going to be happy with a bunch of nine and three years. Mm-hmm. No.

[01:07:27] Speaking of a blue chip program that is just yearning to get back over the hump. The Nebraska Cornhuskers. Matt Rule. He's back. Trying to win a ranked game. Trying to stay ranked. That's actually a very great... Brought in Anthony Calandria to run... It was. A good hire for Dana Holgersson's offense. Because that's... That's... Because that was the...

[01:07:56] Yeah, that's really good. That was the biggest issue of what's-his-name's time in Nebraska. Like a... Well... Dude, he looks like he's an athlete. That man cannot move to save his life. He's not mobile at all. And sometimes that offensive line in Nebraska was terrible. So, he's getting his head knocked off. He looked like he would be...

[01:08:25] You know, you see him walk off the bus. You're thinking, man, he... You know, very... He tried to look like Patrick Mahomes. Which I don't know why he would do that. But none of the weird mobility that Patrick Mahomes has. And that was his biggest downfall. Calandria, we know, can run. He's a good passer. Hell of a year last year at UNLV. So, I mean... Probably...

[01:08:57] Honestly... For what Nebraska wants to do with Dana Holgersson's OC... You know... Probably a better option for what they want to do in Calandria. Yeah. And, you know, maybe Matt Rule's most talented roster he's had there. What it... Yeah. What it comes down...

[01:09:24] But really, what it comes down to with Nebraska is... They got to figure out how to win close games. They've had... They're abysmal in close games. And then... How to end seasons. But how to end seasons. Oscar Sands have gotten their hearts broken. They were... Yeah. They were what? Oh, God, yeah. Going into...

[01:09:52] Going into November... They were... Last year... They were 6-2. They lost... Yeah. Three of their... Yeah, they lost three of their last four last year. They lost... Yeah. Five of their last six the year before. Lost their last... Right. So, he doesn't know how... So, they... This is not... It's just regular season. They haven't won a bowl game since...

[01:10:21] Of course, they haven't won a bowl game in... Okay. Oh, wait. No, they got... But overall... They don't know how to close. They don't know how to win late in seasons. And really, it's not much different than... You know... Everybody in this area hates Scott Frost. Lost. And really, what have they changed? Yeah. Yes, they might win a few more games throughout the year... But you still have the same thing. They're losing these close games.

[01:10:51] And then... At the end of the season last year... I know that people got hurt and everything... But dude... Y'all got blasted by Iowa... 40-16. And you got blasted by Penn State... Roughed up. Yeah. I mean... That was the weirdest one, man. Like Penn State... I mean, they were playing a lot better... You know, after they fired Franklin... But it's not like... They were without Drew...

[01:11:20] No, they did... At the end of last year... They did fire their OC... Their DC, excuse me... Because... Nebraska standards... It was a bad... Bad... That's one thing... The defense has actually been... Was decent... When they had Tony White... Who went on to Florida State... So they're... Brought in a new defensive coordinator... First year... So... I think he came from San Diego State... He did... Yeah...

[01:11:50] Good coach... Broyal's nominee last year... I had his name here... Rob Oreck... That's it... Really? So yeah... It's a good team... But yeah... They get Oregon... Ohio State... In Indiana this year... On the road at Oregon... In this season... At Iowa... Yeah... Yeah... Also... Host Washington... And then get... Indiana and Oregon... Back to back to... Indiana on October 10th...

[01:12:19] And at Oregon the next week... But... They should be undefeated... 5-0... It's definitely a possibility... Yeah... Yeah... Ohio... Bowling Green... North Dakota... At Michigan State... Maryland... Yeah... They should be undefeated... When Indiana comes to town... But...

[01:13:04] Honestly... I don't know... I don't know... If it was either... His agent... Is a hell of a storyteller... Or Penn State... Was on drugs... Boy... That was really talked... That people around here... Really thought... Man... What about those... Are coach at Penn State... They didn't understand... Why he was going to Penn State... Because... He hadn't really done anything... To earn that... But... Anyway...

[01:13:34] Yeah... But... Yeah... You have... You continually have to get better... Because he's one of those coaches... Who's now... I mean... He was known for... What he... He rebuilt... Of course... You know... He rebuilt Baylor... Got them... You know... Made them a... A decent team... Before that... He had... Where was he at... Before... On the East Coast... It was Temple... He made Temple decent... And people thought... Well... He... I was...

[01:14:04] He knows how to rebuild... It's a little different in Nebraska... You know... Part of the Big Ten... And... Honestly... The money's been good for Nebraska... In the Big Ten... But... Nothing else has really worked out... For Nebraska... In the Big Ten... Football-wise... It's been bad... I think... Did they... No... I know they made the title... The one year... I think... They didn't win it... Did they? Did they? Yeah... No...

[01:14:36] They should have won it... But Wisconsin beat them... The one... Dude... It was one year against Wisconsin... The average Wisconsin team... I think Nebraska scored like on the first... Now this is a wild bag now... When they first got in there... They scored early... And then Wisconsin beat them like 70 to 10... Yeah... It was rough... I think that's what I'm thinking... Because... And it was like a... It wasn't a good... It wasn't a good... Six...

[01:15:04] Wisconsin team too... Like it wasn't... They had... One of them... Because for a while... Wisconsin had running backs... They were... Amazing... It's amazing... How many good running backs... Wisconsin had... Back to back to back... Maybe it was... Who ran all over Nebraska... If I'm not mistaken... Yeah... But... It's been... It's been abysmal... You know... Scott Frost...

[01:15:34] Those years... Everybody thought he was going to be the one... To bring them back... It didn't happen... You know... Now... Matt Rule... You know... They're a pretty patient fan base... They're a very loyal fan base... They're a great fan base... But... They deserve to get wins... I mean... The fan base deserves wins... You know... Wins don't come easy in the Big Ten... Schedule's not... Schedule's tough...

[01:16:05] But... You know... Again... Eight and four is possible... Based on that schedule... There's a... You know... Several toss-up games... On there... But you could also see it going... Six and six... Five and seven... He's... There is no... Yeah... Exactly... Yeah... Because I mean... You know... They could... You know... You could think... Man... They could be... You know... They could beat Washington at home... They could also get blown out by Washington at home... You know... You know...

[01:16:34] They haven't beaten Iowa... Since like 2013... If I'm not... It's been a long time... I'm good at 22... Okay... 22... But I think... They've been... It's been pretty... Pretty one-sided... For a while there... I do know that... Yeah... A lot of games have been... Painfully close... But that's been Nebraska for the last decade...

[01:17:03] A lot of painfully close losses... Yeah... That was their only win in the series... Since 15... So it's been a pretty one-sided thing... Yeah... Um... Yeah... Yeah... Figure it out... Yeah... Like you mentioned earlier... It's just about... They gotta... They gotta win to close ones... And they gotta close... They gotta learn how to close... Both in games and in the season... Um... Let's talk about those Hawkeyes... You just mentioned... They're another great...

[01:17:32] The perennial wild card... In the Big Ten... Because they're gonna be... You know it... Somewhere around... Seven... Eight wins... Every few wins... Might jump up to ten... Every few seasons... That man has been in Iowa... For a hundred years... Going into his 28th year... I think... I think he's looking for 30... But I mean... Retire... That's right dude... Has there ever... I know they've had... 30 year mark... Other coaches... But there...

[01:18:01] That man has been a state... Stable... In Iowa City... He's a staple... He's... Like... It's gonna be weird... Once that man is no longer the coach... Um... Yeah... Um... They got... Yeah... One really... Really tough stretch... Yeah... That's brutal... Uh... Kind of early on... Late September... Early October... They go at Michigan... Ohio State... Then at Washington... If they can steal one of those...

[01:18:31] It could be a playoff team... That'd be huge... Because... They could... Yeah... I was about to say... They can certainly win... The rest of their schedule... I mean... Uh... Out of conference... Nothing special... And it's gonna be a bad Iowa State team... Iowa State at home... This year... It's gonna be tough... Uh... Northern Iowa... Yeah... Losing a lot... Yeah... It's a rivalry game... Rebuild there... And Iowa State won some... Iowa State... But... It's been... Iowa dominates it... It's a rivalry... For the most part... Yeah... Even some of the best Iowa State teams... When you know...

[01:18:59] When they were rolling... And had... Uh-huh... NFL talent... Galore... Iowa would still win that game... Yeah... Iowa's win... Uh... The Cyclones did have it... Past the three of the last four... It changed a little bit... So... Um... But yeah... If you would think... It's gonna be... Yeah... They had won six straight... But really... Before that... I believe... Of course... We go into the big house...

[01:19:30] Undefeated... Um... But... I... We know what Iowa's strength is... Is always their defense... They're always tough... Um... You know... They've had the same defense coordinator... Uh... Phil... Parker... For like... Since 2013... And... That's one thing... You can't ever say... Iowa defense sucks... Sometimes they're on the field too long... Because they've... Their offense has been abysmal at times... Um...

[01:19:59] They're one of the few... Big Ten teams... That has a true... Quarterback battle... Um... And... Kirk Ferner said... He doesn't have a clue... They have former... Auburn quarterback... Hank Brown... Uh... Versus Jeremy Holinski... And that sounds like... It's gonna go into the season... And I guess technically... With how the season goes... I mean... You have up until the Michigan game... To kind of figure out... Who your guy is...

[01:20:27] I would think you wanna go into the big house... Knowing who your guy is... Yeah... But at least you have a couple weeks... To kind of figure things out there... So... Right... You would... Yeah... You would hope a guy would separate himself... Yeah... You'd hope... As a media day... I mean... It was... Sounding wide open... Um... Hank Brown... I mean... We've seen him in Auburn... He was... Uh... Not terrible... He's like... Iowa... Not good... Not bad... Yeah...

[01:20:58] But... Yeah... Like we said... He fits... I... He fits... He fits... But... This could easily be a 9-3 team... It could also be a 10-2 team... Maybe a 11-1 team... The only... Maybe... Yeah... They... They are certainly capable of jumping up and beating anybody on any given day... They're not beating... I can't get more Ohio State...

[01:21:28] Can't not get more Ohio State... Maybe not Ohio State this year... Even if it's a night game... It would be fun to see it... But... Their talent is crazy... We've seen it happen before... But... Until you see it actually happen... You can't count that one... The rest of that schedule though... There's not one that you're... I mean... I would see... You wouldn't be shocked if they lost to Michigan... Or Washington... But on my side...

[01:21:56] I'm not shocked if they win those games either... No... Yeah... Like I said... If they steal... Just one of those... Easily 10-2... They could easily have a 10-2 season... If they steal both of those... Watch out... Kirk Ferris... To the playoff... Yeah... At the end of that point... You retire... Sneaking in there... Go out... Yeah... Right... Um... Let's move on to one of their rivals... A guy that's definitely on the hot seat...

[01:22:26] Luke Fickle... Up in Madison... Wisconsin... Um... Burning hot... Burning hot... Gave him... He did... You know... The vote of confidence last year... Said they're bringing him back... Um... He's got... The good news is... They went from like... The hardest Big Ten schedule... To the easiest... Beautiful schedule... Ohio State... It's about... No Oregon... Indiana... Yeah... They do... No... I was just saying... Go ahead... It's about as friendly... As you can get these days... In the...

[01:22:55] In these big ass conferences... Ha... Yeah... Exactly... They do have trips to Happy Valley... In Iowa... Uh... But... And they do have to play USC... But they get them at home... Uh... And then other than that... They play... Notre Dame... To start off... At Lambeau... Um... Yeah... Not a conference... Cool game... But you're... You don't expect them to beat Notre Dame... But if they can... Put up a fight... Yeah... Yeah...

[01:23:25] Make it competitive... At least... You know... Until late... You know... If... You know... Notre Dame pulls away... Wins by a couple schools... We have a ball game going to the fourth quarter... Okay... I think they won today... Yeah... Yeah... Yeah... Exactly... Yeah... There's no such thing as more victories... That's a good sign... If you're a Wisconsin fan... What you don't want is... Uh... Kind of like last year... Who was it? Notre Dame beat the shit out of Arkansas... Uh... Remember... Notre Dame went into Arkansas... Just...

[01:23:55] That was Sam's last game... Decimated... Yeah... Then... Early... Yeah... That was... You had to... After that... You had to... Good... It was like Jeremiah Love had like 200 yards in the first half... Crazy... Crazy... Like they were up... Just killed them... Yeah... Lou... Lou Holtz there and everything... Yeah... He was just like watching his two kids kill each other... Oh boy... Uh... But yeah... The schedule's there for Wisconsin... Yeah... Who knows if Luke Fickle can finally turn it around... He's... Um... Changed his ways...

[01:24:24] I don't know what they were doing with that... Trying to bring the air raid to Wisconsin... I still don't understand... Yeah... Trying to run a more pro style... Uh... With Jeff... We do get a decent quarterback in there... Colton Joseph... The Chancellor from Old Dominion... Uh... Mo... He's a... Uh... Dual threat guy... So that should be good... They've had a boatload of bad luck with quarterbacks... Since he's been there... I mean... Tanner Mordecai... Who was originally coming from SMU... Um...

[01:24:53] When he lost the job... You know... Miami had been perfect for the air raid thing... He broke his thumb... Early in the year... It never was the same... Uh... You know... The next year they brought in Tyler Van Dyke... He tore his ACL against us... Never played again... From Miami... Yeah... Yeah... Against Alabama... Yeah... And then... Uh... Last year that Billy Edwards... And Danny O'Neal... And both got hurt... And didn't play... Yeah... So they could...

[01:25:23] Joseph... It would be... First off... It's a big plus... If you get a whole season... After starting quarterback... That would be the first win... In itself... Yeah... Because he hasn't had it... Since he's been in Madison... Um... You know... He hasn't had a winning season... Since his first year in Madison... And 23... With 7-6... 5-4 in the Big Ten... 24... With 5-7 overall... 3-6 in the Big Ten... And last year was pretty abysmal... 4-8... 2-7 in the Big Ten... Um...

[01:25:53] Mm-hmm... But... You know... I said... This is about as friendly a schedule... As you can get... I don't know what... What he has to do... To keep his job... I don't... You know... I don't know if there's a threshold... You know... If he... Goes 8-4... I would think you keep him... The bad thing for him though... Is they brought in a new... New athletic director... Sean... Sean... Of course... Yeah... Who was a former Nebraska... Uh...

[01:26:22] Athletic director... Recently he's been at Texas... Kind of... As like an assistant to Del Conte... From what I heard... Just from... The radio... Was... Basically he was the guy... Who got the bouchers... And the money people... To give the money at Texas... Um... Which... Might be a good thing for Wisconsin... Because I think that's their biggest downfall... Is they don't have a lot of money...

[01:26:50] The thing that really hurt Wisconsin football... Getting... The big team getting rid of the divisions... Oh God... The biggest... Yeah... NIL and the transfer portal... Have decimated... Wisconsin football... Yeah... And... And kind of the evolution of the offensive game... You can't count... You know... Used to be that... That I-formation power line in Wisconsin... Used to be like you get some big backs... Yeah... You got a whole bunch of farm boy... Offense linemen...

[01:27:19] And you just roll to... You tie them out... They were like... They were like... North Midwestern Arkansas... Just a bunch of big farm boys... And then a big... Fast... Yeah... Hard runner behind them... Because like all those... It actually really is similar programs... In some respects... But they always had running backs... Even the fast ones... Would still love to hit... And Bonti Ball would not kill him... He was fast... But he was great... And even the guy like... Yeah... Monty Ball... Jonathan Taylor...

[01:27:48] They were trying to do it as well... But guys that love to like... Yeah... Exactly... Yeah... And then of course... You know... More famous guys like Ron Dane... Just really running your ass over... Goddamn tank... But... Mm-hmm... Yeah... But... So that's another team... Yeah... I'm interested to see... What the Badgers do this year... We know Luke Fickle's a good coach... We do... Took Cincinnati to playoff... Before even... So we know... Yeah... Yeah... Before the 12 and a group of 6... Then the group of 5... Yeah... Even had a guarantee...

[01:28:18] I mean... What he did was unprecedented at that time... Yeah... To even be considered... For that... Mm-hmm... I did... You know... Get in... Got his head knocked off... But hey... You got there... From the 14 playoff... With the non-power 14... Power 14... Kudos to you... I always thought... Why did he go to... Wisconsin? I've always wondered that... I've thought of being... Yeah... It was an interesting... You know...

[01:28:47] Maybe it was the name at the time... You know... Because... Cincinnati... They went into the Big 12... The next year... Right? Maybe you should have stayed in Cincinnati... Something like that... But... I don't know... Yeah... Maybe... Yeah... It was moving... It was moving to the... You know... Moving up... But... I wish that he has... He's big... I thought he could have held out... For something more enticing... Than Wisconsin... Yeah... No... Yeah... Maybe one more...

[01:29:17] Good year at Cincinnati... Maybe he would have got something... A little bit bigger... Um... But yeah... Let's move to their neighbors... The Minnesota... Uh... A team that's... Kind of like Iowa... You know... P.J. Fleck's gonna have them around... Seven... Eight wins... Nine wins... Uh... I can't believe it... How long... P.J. Fleck's been... At the Minnesota head coach... Yeah... Right... Ten years... I was like... Damn... Really? I still remember... It was at Western Michigan...

[01:29:46] I didn't realize they'd been rowing the boat that long... When I went to the... Yeah... I went to the... Was it the Cotton Bowl? I was gonna say... They played in the New Year's Six Bowl... Didn't they? Yeah... At Western Michigan... Yeah... But that doesn't seem that long... But I'm like... My God... It's been that long... Yeah... He's always... He's kind of... Turned into Iowa... They're always... Eight and four... Seven and five... Biggest thing on for him... He's like...

[01:30:14] Undefeated in bowl games... Yeah... He hasn't lost a bowl game yet... Uh... He sometimes... I mean... They're always a... I guess a tough enough out... How... I don't... Gets a... Okay schedule... Does have to go to Indiana... But no Oregon... No Ohio State... Uh... Does have to go out west to Washington... And then the next week... Michigan comes to town... So...

[01:30:44] The second... The second... Interesting out-of-conference game... The second game of the season is weird... Minnesota... Mississippi State... Yeah... That's a weird game... Yeah... Mississippi State... Going up north... That would be a... Interesting game... That is a weird... Little Big Ten... SEC regular season action... Hmm... Yeah... But um... Yeah... We kind of know what we're gonna get... From Minnesota... They should be right around that again... Uh... Yeah...

[01:31:12] And then... Uh... Illinois... Another team that kinda... At least under... Oh... Brett Bilema... Has... Kind of entered that... Uh... We can kind of count on them for seven or so wins... Um... Maybe the most... Of course not last year after... Ten before so... Yeah... But... Last year was... The big... Like I... I said this man is not gonna do what they expected to do... Because last year everybody was like...

[01:31:42] Well this might be a sneaky good... Um... Illinois team... They might make the playoff... They're... They're really good... When Luke Altmyer and... And then... Week two... They went to Duke... And blew them out... And everyone's like... Oh... Okay... And then Indiana said... Uh... Hmm... Yeah... That was like a Friday night game too... Hyped up too... Wasn't it? Like... I believe so... In Indiana...

[01:32:08] But it's been like two years in a row where they got their clock clean by... Um... Yeah... Indiana... Um... Yeah... But this year... I mean they should... I mean... They have a new quarterback... Um... They lost a lot to the draft... They got... Well they got... This dude from East Carolina... Who had a solid... Solid career at East Carolina... But he's coming in...

[01:32:38] Because he was scared of Alabama... No... Um... But... No... But... I mean... He... He... You know... He... Solid enough... You know... Went 8-4 last year as their quarterback... So... I mean... He gets a shot to go to the Big Ten... Why not? It's your final year... Um... But Brett... That dude pisses me off... So bad... I don't... Like he's the most annoying... Big Ten coach of all time to me...

[01:33:06] Because he's always trying to... The thing... He always tries to... Nudge and talk about the SEC... But when he was in the SEC... He was actually trash... Mmm... It was garbage... He was... He had a horrible... He was horrible in the SEC... And... But yeah... He's always talking trash... Last year they were supposed to be so good... They were average at best... Um... What did they have? Like... Five...

[01:33:34] They had five losses last year... But all the... The thing is... Is last year... Every team that they were supposed to lose to... They got annihilated by... Indiana... 63-10... Ohio State... 34-16... I'm... Not terrible... But you know... It's a dominant kind of game... They got smashed by... Washington... 42-25... And he had a terrible loss... At the end of the year... Losing to Wisconsin... 27-10... That was the worst one... Yeah... Because they could have finished... Uh...

[01:34:04] The regular season... I mean... I was happy for them... Winning the Music City Bowl... I mean... Good stuff... Yeah... In Tennessee... Yeah... I mean... That's amazing... Always... This year... I mean... They could have... Obviously... Obviously... They go to the Horseshoe... I would think... Undefeated... Lose there... They'll probably be Purdue... They should be... Really... They should be... Purdue... Michigan State...

[01:34:33] I mean... They host Oregon... That should be a loss too... But other than that... I mean... At Maryland... They can win that... Nebraska at home... They can win that... At UCLA... They can win that... Iowa at home... They could win that... They could... They might not... At Northwestern in the year... Thank you... So... Technically... I mean... They might... All the hype last year... And this might be their better season... I was about to say... Like... They could... There's no... There's no expectation...

[01:35:01] The radar's not on them at all... This year... No one's talking Illinois... There was a lot of Illinois talk last year... And this might be the year... They actually go 9-3... 10-2... I was about to say... Yeah... You know... They lose some experience... You know... So you gotta break some guys in... But yeah... Man... If things bounce right for them... 10-2... Could happen... And then... Yeah... All of a sudden... We're talking about... Wait... Does Illinois deserve an at-large bid? Yeah... Uh... Just at that point... Depends on who else is...

[01:35:31] The at-large 10-2 team... And what have they done... And... They don't know... A little Sandy of those... And then we... Had a whole crazy conversation... That we'll continue to have every year... Um... Yeah... But really... I mean... On paper... The only two... Where you're like... Yeah... There's no chance in hell... Is Ohio State and Oregon... Other than that... You're like... Eh... They could lose... I mean... You're not shocked... They lose... Yeah... I mean... You wouldn't be shocked... If they lost Nebraska... And Iowa...

[01:35:59] But they beat Nebraska and Iowa... If you're not shocked by that either... A lot of toss-up games... Yeah... Exactly... Yeah... And they could lose a dumb game... Here or there too... So yeah... I mean... It could be 6-6... It could be 10-2... Yeah... I'm hoping for 6-6... Because... Screw you... Red Belen... I don't know why... I dislike that guy so much... But I just do... But I guess anybody that has a big Iowa Hawker... On the back of their calf is an ass...

[01:36:29] Because that's where they play ball at... But anyway... But yeah... I mean... The skies... I mean... They definitely have a high potential... And you know... No pressure on this year... No expectations... And... Hey... Then we could wake up... And we're like... Oh shit... Illinois has a chance to get in the playoff... That'd be crazy... But... That's all the teams that had my wild card... For my basement... I had Purdue... Northwestern... UCLA... Michigan State... Maryland... Rutgers...

[01:36:59] Purdue... Definitely... Worst team in the league... Purdue is horrible... Horrible... Very old... I wish they had never left... UNLV... Northwestern... Northwestern... Did finish 7-6 last year... So not terrible... But not a threat to... The most interesting thing with them is... They got... What's his name? The quarterback from Michigan State... Who never really turned into much... But... Aiden Childs... Yeah... Aiden Childs... Aiden Childs with Chip Kelly...

[01:37:29] Could be interesting... But sometimes... If Chip Kelly passes prime... Do we really think Chip Kelly is still a good coach... Or are we just going off the name Chip Kelly? I don't know... It's the weirdest... Yeah... Chip Kelly coming in and... Running the offense for... Northwestern is a weird one... But... Aiden Childs is the type of quarterback... That he likes to work with... Yeah... Skillset... Jerry Newhazel is the QB coach... So... Solid staff here... Solid staff...

[01:37:58] But... You know... Brutal... Brutal schedule... At Indiana... At Oregon... At Ohio State... Sick... Yeah... Good guy... No love him... Yes... And even their... They play an FCS game to start at South Dakota State... Eh... That's... Yeah... Not even a break there... Ooh... Ew... And then they play... Coach Prime in Colorado... Out of Conference 2... Don't know who the hell knows what... Well you know...

[01:38:28] We'll talk about them in a break... Who knows what they'll be like... Yeah... But so... Yeah... It could be a rough year for the Wildcats... Um... UCLA... Bob Chesney... Moving over there... Uh... You... You dropped the line earlier... It's... Maybe... He's a good coach... Maybe in a couple years... Not this year... Uh... Even with Nico there... Uh... Nico... They played with Hart last year... But still finished 3-0... I mean they pulled off some... Yeah... Some... It was a fun little run there... Yeah...

[01:38:57] The biggest thing though is... Yeah... Honestly... Nico is not where anybody hyped him to be... No... Tennessee made the playoff... And it had nothing to do with Nico... Uh... Uh... It was that running game... And their damn defense was good that year... Uh... Uh... Nico was average at best... He got paid a lot of money... And then he ran... Went to UCLA... And it is what it is... You know... There's... You know...

[01:39:27] I think that they'll... Help Bob Chesney... I think that they'll give him some time... I think... I heard that the donors are somewhat excited... And give him a little bit of money... Obviously there's... Rich people... Which is... Went to UCLA... Well... I think I've mentioned it... And we've talked about... You can get some excitement... Yeah... We've talked about it on this show before... But UCLA is... Yeah... To be right up there... With like Texas A&M... As far as most... Under... Uh... Underachieving programs... Man...

[01:39:56] Because you're in LA... You got these classic... Beautiful uniforms... Great color scheme... You play in the Rose Bowl... Uh... If they're just... Honestly... Which is a detriment... I think... I think they should... Yeah... I think if any school... I don't know what the space is like... Out there in Westwood... But I think if any school... Would benefit from an on-campus stadium... Like downgrade to like... 40,000... Something like that... Yeah... Yeah... I think that could do wonders for them... Because A...

[01:40:28] The Rose Bowl is nowhere near a campus... No... And in LA... That's a death sentence man... Trying to get... Which is weird too... When they had that thing... This offseason... About trying to break their contract... In the Rose Bowl... And then go play games at SoFi... I'm like... Well... You just trade in... One place that's not really that close to... It's worse... Yeah... It's worse... I mean... At least I guess... SoFi is a better stadium... But... Yeah... Yeah... Obviously... The Rose Bowl go to sale... Little Isles... And...

[01:40:57] Mm-hmm... But... You would think... Like... Honestly... It's embarrassing... But... UCLA would be better off... Going to a high school stadium... Yeah... No... I really do... Like I said... I don't know... The space they have on their campus... But to me... Man... Just like I said... A little... Like... 35... 40,000 seats... On-campus stadium...

[01:41:26] Hold on... Where is... What is that perennial high school team... Is it... Are they in this... No... They're up north... Never mind... Yeah... Oh... Major D... Or whatever it is... Yeah... They're far up north... Never mind... Well... What's the other... What's the other big... Cali one though... Yeah... No... Something like that... You know... You don't have to go... Super down... But you don't need... Rose Bowl... Uh... You don't need a big ass stadium... Right now... At the UCLA... Uh... But yeah... They're...

[01:41:56] You need to find somewhere... That's... Friendly... Friendly... Track... No... Yeah... Yeah... They're another one... And they're in a bad spot... Because LA... If you're not winning... They don't give a damn... Exactly... Yeah... And... Uh... Been a minute since they... I guess they jumped up and got... UCL... USC in 23... Um... But yeah... Haven't been competitive the last couple years... Uh... Really on...

[01:42:26] On any hand... Yeah... So Bob Chesney... He's coming in to try to figure things out... Uh... At... At Oregon... At Michigan... Yeah... Not... Not a great... Schedule... But... Yeah... A couple years... Um... On the other end of the spectrum... A guy... On the hot seat... Probably... Mike Locksley... At Maryland... Um... Kind of surprised he came back... But they had one of the highest retention rates... Uh... In the country... So they brought back a lot of guys... Including Malik Washington...

[01:42:56] Very talented quarterback... That was the biggest thing... I think that's why Mike Locksley came back... And honestly... I think he... Malik Washington came back... Because of Mike Locksley... So they... So I think he pretty much saved Mike Locksley's job... They fired Mike Locksley last year... Malik is not there this year... Yeah... And so... There's a special relationship there... You obviously had an up and down freshman year... But we saw some bright spots...

[01:43:24] In a sad season... So... So... With that being said... Malik Washington... They have some talent there... But... Man... It's just... Maryland football... They're... They're like... Nebraska... The money in the Big Ten... Great for them... They haven't been shit... Since they left the ACC... Competitive... Yeah... They need to take their asses back... To the ACC... Um...

[01:43:52] They really haven't done a lot of basketball either... I think they got... Like at least... They lost one title right... And then I think baseball won a title... But... Then Alabama stole their coach... So... Uh... You know... Thank you Rob... You know... Thank you Greg Byrne... For getting Rob Vaughn... They had... Uh... Because they... Uh... Because Maryland... I know Alabama played them twice... In the NCAA tournament... When you slaughtered them both times... Yeah... Right... Yeah... Um... So... So... I mean... They... They have it... They...

[01:44:22] Who was the coach... Also... It just makes more sense... That you're playing... Your rivals... Like Virginia... Yeah... Virginia Tech... And Duke... You know... Yeah... Because... I'm out of... You know... Like... Like you said... Last week... But like... West Virginia... It's cool... For a year or two... In Oklahoma... Texas... And those... Top big... 12 teams come... But after a while... You have no connection with them... You don't talk with them... You have no... Interaction with their fans... Outside of when they come to town...

[01:44:51] There's no shit talking... You don't see them at work... There's no... No connection... Yeah... There's no... And so... There's no... You're not excited... When Illinois comes to town... On... You know... Halloween... There's no excitement... No diss to Illinois... It's just... Yeah... It's not... It's not Duke... It's not Carolina coming to town... It's not even... It's not Virginia... You're down south rival... It's not Virginia Tech... Who they actually do play... Out of conference this year... That might be it... That's actually an interesting game... Yeah... It is...

[01:45:20] The 19th of September... For both teams... Because I mean... We're... You know... Wild Tech trying to... Get back to what... They want... With the new coach... And Mike Loxley... If he can pull that type of game... That's gonna help his case... Yeah... As far as... Staying around... A tough one for... To get back to a bowl... I think it's probably what they... The baseline here... But you gotta go... At Nebraska... At Ohio State... At USC... Back to back weeks... Yeah... Yeah... Back to back weeks...

[01:45:50] You gotta Lincoln and Columbia... Yeah... Yeah... And Columbus... Back to back weeks... Is absolutely ridiculous... And then you end your season... With home... Wisconsin... At USC... Then home Penn State... So... Uh... We'll see... But... So... Obviously you have to beat Hampton... You have to beat UConn... Yeah... UConn without Jim Moore... Wild Tech is a toss-up... Yeah... Then... USC... Or excuse me...

[01:46:19] UCLA... And then you got that... Nebraska... And Ohio State... Um... You know... Looks like Greg is a little... Frozen here... On my screen... Greg... I don't know if you can hear me... Uh... But you're frozen here... But I'm gonna keep going... Uh... Yeah... So we'll see what Mike Locksley has got... In store... Uh... Rutgers... Uh... Whatever... That's...

[01:46:49] Uh... Speaking of a team... That doesn't need to be... In... Uh... This conference at all... No business... Whatsoever... Uh... Five and seven last year... Uh... They do... Avoid... Ohio State... Oregon... And Indiana... So... Uh... Uh... That... Oh wait... No... Sorry...

[01:47:18] Indiana is actually on the schedule... Uh... October 3rd... In Piscataway... Uh... Trips to... Wisconsin and Penn State... Toward the end of the year... It's... I don't know... I don't have a reason to be excited... About... Uh... Rutgers... Uh... Dylan Longarin... That quarterback there... Uh... At least he's in the battle for it... If you're an Alabama fan... You know that name... Uh... Michigan State...

[01:47:48] We kind of talked about them earlier... Pat Fitzgerald... Uh... Maybe get higher... Probably won't pay off... Too early... Um... They got a tough schedule... You know... They got to go at... Notre Dame... At Wisconsin... At Michigan... Uh... They get Washington and Oregon home late too... After that Michigan game... Uh... So... You know... It's... It's tough... Four and eight is what they hit last year... Uh... We'll see if they can... Uh...

[01:48:17] Match that... Uh... And then Purdue... Taking up the rear... Uh... Just... Uh... Yeah... Uh... Tough for Barry Odom... Tough going there... Tough sledding... For the Boilermakers... Uh... It's absolutely rough here... Uh... As I'm trying to kill time... See if Greg will make it back... Uh... But yeah... Uh...

[01:48:46] That's kind of what we got for... Our... Big Ten preview folks... Uh... Uh... Of course we'll come back... We'll come back with our predictions... Episode... Uh... Closer... I think the week before the season kicks off... Is when we have that scheduled... Uh... Next week... I'd say we'll probably come back with the Big 12... Uh... Our favorite conference... Uh... Just cause it's so wild and crazy... Um... And should be wide ass open again... As always...

[01:49:17] Uh... Yeah folks... I do think that does it for our Big Ten preview... Thanks you for bearing with us... To this recording... If we sounded tired... It's cause it is a late one... Uh... The kid... Uh... Decided to take a... Sneak a late nap in... On the babysitter... So he was real late... Getting to bed... And uh... Mama is out of town... For... Work... So I was... Doing the solo dad thing tonight... Uh... Appreciate Greg being the trooper too... Recording late... Uh... Before he goes out of town... Like you said...

[01:49:46] For his vacation tomorrow... Hmm... Snass off... There he is... Mine... Yeah... It looks like my wifi may have went down... I think... Team up with us... Late night updates... Nah... Now it's connecting... Automatically... Looks like it might be coming back... So I'm on my phone... Uh... To finish up... But... You good... I was just... Yeah I was just talking about our spot... Uh...

[01:50:16] I guess we were talking about Maryland... When you got cut off... Right... We're talking about Maryland... You talk about bad football... And the internet goes out... See... You see what happens there? Yeah... So I... I zipped through the rest of it quick... You know... We had uh... Rutgers... Nothing special about them... Uh... Dylan Longren at quarterback... For you Alabama fans... There's a name... They have Dylan... They have a... They say it's a battle... Dylan Longren and A.J. Saran... Uh... Now... The... The craziest part is...

[01:50:45] There's talent at Rutgers... I... They have a 6'6 receiver... K.J. Duff... He's in the top... Top 50... To 75... In the... In pro football... Um... So... He had like... 1,200 yards receiving... He had over 1,000 yards receiving... But he's a 6'6 dude... They like him on... The pro... The pro football... Um... Weekly...

[01:51:15] And then... Um... They had a 1,200 yard rusher... And Antoine Raymond... Both Big Ten... Um... I don't know... If they're first... Probably not the first team... But they're somewhere on the Big Ten teams... So... Uh-huh... Don't know how they got the talent... But they have a little bit of talent there... Um... So who knows... They do... Of course... Greg Sciano... I don't think... He'll ever get fired... Because... He's just... He is Rutgers football... I don't know... Yeah... He is Rutgers football... Yeah... Another team...

[01:51:43] Because that was the Big Ten money... Exactly... Yeah... Another team... Yeah... They get the money... But man... They belong in like the American... Or something... Uh... If they actually wanted to compete... And then honestly... I guess they wanted that New York market for the Big Ten... But... Yeah... But then that was like the last round... Does anybody care? Well... That was like the last round of cable...

[01:52:23] Yeah... You know... It's maybe... Rutgers... Yeah... Yeah... Rutgers and Maryland aren't in the Big Ten... But... No... Uh... After that I moved on... Talked a little bit about Michigan State... Um... Said that... You know... Like you said... Sneaky good hire there... But that's probably not... Like UCLA... That's not gonna pay off for a couple years... Um... Dude... I can't even begin to say their quarterback's name... Ha ha ha... Alyssio... Milo...

[01:52:53] Milo... Milo... Milo... Milo... Milo... It's a doozy... It's a doozy of a name... Let's see... Alyssio... Milo... Milo... Milo... Milojevich... It's a doozy of a name... Yeah... Milojevich... You would... Yeah... I mean... I like to hire... But I think they have a long road ahead of their way... On the East Lansing... But... Yeah... You know... He made... Northwestern somewhat relevant...

[01:53:23] Some decent years... I feel like if you could do it there... You can do it anywhere... Yeah... And he... You know... Who knows... He could coach them up to an upset... But they got two really tough stretches... Uh... First one is they go at Notre Dame... Nebraska... At Wisconsin... Uh... And then... Toward the end of the season... They have at Michigan... Washington and Oregon... Oh God... So that's... That's pretty tough... And then... Um... Purdue... You know... In our basement... Uh... Oh my God... Yeah...

[01:53:51] Not even really worth talking about... Uh... The... And then... On top of how bad they are at football... Not only that... But then your... Bottom... Your basement dwelling buddies in Indiana... Just on the national title... Just to make it even worse... Your rival too... In-state rival... At least you could have said... Hey we're bad... But we're not Indiana bad... And now... Dick's not even a thing anymore... Well... And even that... Before that... You could at least say... You know what... Hey man... But remember those Joe Tiller years...

[01:54:20] And basketball and grass... We had Drew Brees... We had Drew Brees... And... We went to the Rose Bowl... And now Indiana... Let me get you... Win a national title... Yeah... I was like... Yeah... We did too... And then we won a national title... Yeah... I think that wraps it up... For our Big Ten preview... Of course we'll come back... With our predictions... And our prediction episode... 4,800... Big Ten teams... Yeah... Finally done that marathon...

[01:54:49] Oh God... Next week... We'll come back... With the Big 12... Our favorite conference... The Big 12... Wide ass opening game... We don't like America... Or the Big 12... Our card football... The Monster Energy... Big 12... That's a perfect name for it... That's great... It's great... But yeah... Let's... It's late...

[01:55:18] Let's get the hell out of here... It is... It's 2 a.m... I think we're leaving at 5... Oh Lord... Oh no... Yeah... Alright... Let's hit the stop button... So we can upload this... And get on... Alright buddy... I'll see you next... Alright buddy... We'll do it... Thank you once again... For listening folks... As always... Subscribe... Rate... Like us... Do whatever your chosen... Podcast platform... Ask you to do... Tell your friends about us... Tell your rich friends about us...

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[01:56:17] Alabama women's basketball there... And other Alabama athletics... You can follow us on socials... At... Taken On Sports... Of course... Drop that G... And as always folks... Keep it done up... Real good yourselves out there... A lot of... We'll see you in action... We'll have to get back to it... So let's take away... We'll have to get back... And we'll have to get back... We'll have to get back... And there's a lot of time... Thank you.