Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: W VUA FM Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Fourth and Goal Podcast, WVa 90.7, the Captain Capstone's number one podcast for all things college football. I'm your host, Kaden Johnson, joined with Lincoln Burke Holder, Joe Schottz and our producer Nick Gaddis. Today and as always, we're going to start right in with the Alabama recap. Week seven. Alabama hosted Arkansas in their homecoming game. The Tide won after a tough second half 24 21. Jalen Milro ten for 21, 238 yards, two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, but only completed two passes in the second half. Alabama struggled big time in the half, trailing to Arkansas, got outscored by Arkansas. Sorry, I couldn't get the words out 15 to three in the second half. As far as Millro's performance, guys, how are we feeling?
[00:01:04] Speaker C: The first half was actually pretty great. The second quarter especially was fantastic, but, I mean, it took a little bit of time to get going. I remember we went three and out, I think, on the first two or three drives. The first two, and it was Arkansas was driving all the way down the field, and then our defense, like normal, was letting them get within field goal range and then remembering that they have to play defense. So they were up six nothing with two minutes to go in the first quarter. And then it was the Kobe Prentice 79 yard bomb, which was an absolute seed from Millro, to be honest. But then you got into the second quarter and he had a rushing touchdown. He also had another passing touchdown, which pushed Will Rikerd over the SEC record, I believe the second touchdown or the third touchdown did, but, yeah, I mean, the second half was bad. It was very bad.
I won't put it all on Milro, though. Our receivers dropped more passes than I can recap right now.
But Millro wasn't extremely accurate for the entire second half either. There were a lot of overthrows, there were a lot of underthrows on screen passes and RPO stuff.
And the problem with that is we needed to win this. If we win this game by double digit points, we're number ten in the country right now. We're ahead of UNC, who got ranked ahead of us because they had a resounding win against Miami, who is a tougher team than Arkansas, granted, I think people are looking at we beat a two and five Arkansas team by three points. Arkansas is a lot better than their record shows. They're not a bad football team. They're not a poorly coached football team. I know a lot of Arkansas fans want Pittman fired, but I really don't think it's I mean, he's not been great, but the team itself also has been underperforming a lot. But Milro was the topic of conversation and he, for the first half was everything I could ask for him. Second half was just a disaster all around on offense. So I'm not going to put it all on.
[00:03:02] Speaker D: I mean, the play calling was really.
[00:03:04] Speaker C: Bad in the second half.
[00:03:06] Speaker D: You know, if you really look at it like Millro, it wasn't his best game, but never turned the ball over, didn't really make any mistakes that cost Alabama in the long run.
I think in that second half you kind of see he realized it was going to be a lot tougher moving the ball and throwing the ball, which is why Alabama used all four running backs essentially on the ground.
You know, for him it was just they couldn't really get much going and receivers weren't there. And he did have a couple of overshoot, kind of overthrows and mistakes. But overall, I wouldn't say I'm not as upset about him as maybe the stat sheet would indicate how bad or how good he played, but it was a tough second half on all cylinders. And like you said, Lincoln Arkansas has had, I believe they're owing foreign the SEC, but they've had three point loss to LSU, touchdown loss to Ole Miss. Now they beat or they lost to us by three A and M. They only lost by twelve. So, I mean, they could very well have been a four and two team or five and two team as opposed to a two and five team.
They played really good and Alabama just really couldn't handle anything offensively in the second half, whether it was coaching or Millro or what.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I wouldn't put this one all on Milro either. I wouldn't even put it like, majority on him. There was countless drops in the second half. I mean, you name a receiver on the team and they probably had a dropped pass. Yeah, exactly.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: Arkansas as a team had a combined five sacks.
[00:04:54] Speaker C: O line was bad.
[00:04:55] Speaker D: O line was bad.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: Millrow was pressured for almost the entire game. We can't put the whole thing on him.
[00:05:00] Speaker C: There was no push in the run game at all the entirety of that game.
[00:05:04] Speaker D: Yeah, I think it's four games in a row that he's been, I think, hit at least five times.
Yeah, and I mean that's the crazy thing too, is normally Miller was pressured a lot because the pass protection isn't great, but normally Alabama can get something in the running game. Like normally McClellan or Rodeo Williams or whoever can have a nice game on the ground and kind of balance it out. But that wasn't really happening, especially in the second half. I mean, McClellan had a pretty good game worked out. Williams had a couple of nice.
[00:05:36] Speaker C: Milro.
[00:05:37] Speaker D: It was essentially Milro had to do or tried to do everything. And when your receivers don't catch it, you're not going to really want to throw it to them. So it was just a tough day for him and the offense in general.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: But even though he only had ten catches for his 21 attempts, he still ended the day with 240 yards and he averaged a first time every time he put the ball in the air or a first down every time the ball was caught. So, I mean, I can't be too mad at that. Two touchdowns.
Yeah. Jalen Miller did his best.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. My only critiques from a quarterback standpoint for Milro, I think he's a little bit too dependent on the think, especially.
[00:06:17] Speaker C: For a guy as athletic.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: Exactly. And I don't think he really thinks a lot of the time that he's the most athletic player on the field, and he normally is. I'd like to see KJ Jeff. I'd like, good thing they're not on the field. At the same time, Milro could be a little bit more decisive, especially getting out of the pocket. I know obviously the O line's not great. They're not doing him any favors, but he could help them out a little bit by escaping, buying himself some time. I know he's not the best thrower on the run either. That's something that he's going to have to improve on, especially for someone that uses his legs like he does. But, yeah, I'd like to see more design runs for Milro, and I'd like to see him on his own, make some plays. I want to say he got a big third down run. That was about the only time I can think of that he had like a positive gain on the ground.
[00:07:10] Speaker C: Yeah, it was a huge one, though.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: Yeah, it was. It was a big third down quarter, so hats off to him there. But he kind of is slow going through those progressions, which is normal from a young quarterback. But all in all, I think when he does have time in the pocket, he can deliver. Obviously, as we all know, he's got one of the best D balls of probably anyone in the country.
He's got great arm strength. It's just the mental side of things that I think he could improve.
[00:07:40] Speaker D: Know, and I noticed this a lot yesterday. Arkansas was able to send people to his blindside and he just would never be able to see it. And obviously some of it is on the O line, like picking it up, but some of it's also in the quarterback, like, know, a running back or a tight end over to pick it up. And there were times in which it was pretty clear Arkansas, or at least they were showing, they were going to blitz from that side, from the left side of the line, and he really didn't do anything or didn't change anything. And again, I don't know if that's on him or a coaching decision of, hey, we're not changing, but was I think his awareness was a little lackluster yesterday.
[00:08:21] Speaker C: Yeah. Especially when Kaden Proctor, who actually has been relatively decent over the last like three games, four games prior to this, had a really rough game yesterday against Arkansas.
[00:08:31] Speaker D: He was kind of getting so when.
[00:08:32] Speaker C: You know that your left tackle on your blind side is struggling to keep up with the speed off the edge. You have to be ready to take that and just immediately run to your right.
[00:08:41] Speaker D: You have to feel that he's a bouncer at rounders. Everyone's getting in.
[00:08:49] Speaker C: It was a really undisciplined game in general, first half and second, it felt like the game was summed up by the false start from Jason McClellan when we were kneeling the football.
[00:09:02] Speaker D: Yeah, that was weird. That was wasn't I mean, it wasn't too many terrible penalties. I mean, obviously I want to say.
[00:09:09] Speaker B: We only had four or five.
[00:09:10] Speaker D: There were only four or five that essentially gave Arkansas the one touchdown.
[00:09:15] Speaker C: Caleb Downs pi.
[00:09:16] Speaker D: The caleb downs pi. And earlier in that drive I forgot who exactly it was a face mask on. I think it was Jalen Key on like a third down that Arkansas wasn't going to get.
Essentially continued that drive. And we almost had a really bad one too.
[00:09:34] Speaker C: Turner got a jump on yeah, he had a horse collar, but KJ Jefferson didn't go down and it was I think it was Tim Smith who finished it and he didn't get a flag on it. But if he went down on the Turner hook it would have been a flag.
[00:09:51] Speaker D: Yeah, but overall, I mean compare it to last weekend, especially against A m. Just like night and day difference from penalties. So at know that's the one positive. Alabama didn't turn the ball over. It didn't really commit them any. You know, I'd like to think that if they just played a little better this game really wouldn't have been close. So maybe they can kind of combine the two problems of playing really good and not having penalties.
[00:10:17] Speaker C: They're going to it's gauntlet time. Tennessee and LSU, back to back for sure.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: No easy games from this point on. Other know Chattanooga because even playing at Auburn, at Kentucky road games against conference opponents, not easy games. But I like what you said a lot, Joe, about his blindside yesterday it was Landon Jackson, the edge rusher from Arkansas had three and a half sacks and then weeks ago it was the DB that South Florida would bring down. Yes. Which granted Millrow didn't play that game. But as far as for o line goes, it seems pretty clear that a good game plan against us is just to attack our left tackle with speed and speed kills us, especially when we have the size that we do on our offensive line. Everybody's big. There's not really a lot of quickness or athleticism, which is why I don't.
[00:11:09] Speaker C: Mind the two running back sets when they throw Roydell on Millro's left side and they throw Jace on his right side. Jace goes out for a pass and Roydell chips whoever is possibly beating Kaden Proctor. I like that game plan a lot. We didn't use it in the second half at all.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: And teams will run these types of stunts with linebackers and stuff like that. And there is just so many plays, especially on sacks, where if you watch a replay, there's two, maybe three players on our O line that just miss their assignment completely. Like they're just standing there in position, blocking, literally nobody. But moving on to the defense a little bit.
Kind of weakened up in the second half, but it felt like they were on the field for the entirety of that half. So it was just three and out. Three and out. Three and out. Guys are going to get worn down a little bit, but all in all, I thought the defense made plays when they needed to. I would have liked a turnover. That would have been cool. But in the end, it came down to Dallas Turner making a big play on a third down, and he did that.
Trez Marshall had a great game. He got hurt, though, towards the end of the game. I'm not sure what his status is moving forward, but he had a good game. I know Terry on Arnold got chewed out, missed the sack, too, but got to give some credit to KJ there. That was a great play. Terry on Arnold all around, played pretty good. And another guy point mean, I know everybody talks about Kool Aid draft wise, but sometimes I feel like his performances can go unnoticed for us. And he had a great game. He had a pass breakup in the.
[00:12:43] Speaker C: End zone, and he was men on end with Andrew Armstrong for the entire day. And Andrew Armstrong is no joke. That guy is a really good receiver. And he was pretty much invisible for the entire game. He didn't have a touchdown, I don't believe.
I'd have to double check that. Granted, but I don't think he did. No, he did not. He had four catches for 48 yards. That's a guy who's averaging, like, 90 yards a game up to this point.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Obviously next weekend. Alabama's got the big revenge game against Tennessee this year at home.
Third Saturday in October.
[00:13:18] Speaker A: That's my Christmas.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: Yeah. There you go.
[00:13:20] Speaker C: Unless we lose.
[00:13:22] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: Then it's not Christmas.
[00:13:25] Speaker C: It's just a disaster.
[00:13:26] Speaker D: Yeah. Then Christmas becomes my Christmas.
[00:13:28] Speaker C: If we lose, there will be no podcast on Sunday.
I will not be here.
[00:13:33] Speaker B: That's valid. It's hard enough getting here after the Texas game.
[00:13:37] Speaker C: I didn't get here after.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: But we'll move over to a Player of the Week segment. Segment we started last week. We're just each going to highlight one guy that we thought had a huge performance over the weekend. I'm going to start. I got tez Walker from UNC was just recently reinstated. I want to say this was his second game.
Huge game, too. UNC took down Miami and Tez had six catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns.
[00:14:05] Speaker C: Joe, you can go real quick. I got it.
[00:14:06] Speaker D: I'm going to go ashton Daniels, he's the Stanford quarterback. Obviously, Stanford had a thrilling comeback against Colorado, down 29 to nothing at halftime and ended up winning in double overtime. I mean, to be honest, Shador Sanders also played really good.
But I'm not going to give the player of the week to a guy who lost. So I'm going to go Ashton Daniels. He was 27 to 45, 396 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, ran for 40 yards, was actually Stanford's leading rusher. But, I mean, just a great day from him. A lot of that is Eric IO manor, I believe, is how you say it. He had almost 300 yards receiving, which was incredible. But Ashton Daniels, especially in that second half after Stanford, looked like they were going to lose by 50.
For them to come back.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: Even get.
[00:15:05] Speaker D: Into that game and then ending up winning the game is kind of miraculous in itself and he played a big factor in that for my player.
[00:15:14] Speaker A: I'm going to go with Xavier Watts. He's the safety for Notre Dame. I honestly think he single handedly ended Caleb Williams. Heisman run for the season. He had two interceptions against him. He also picked up or he forced one fumble and then picked up a fumble for a touchdown. Just an insane performance from him that honestly helped seal the deal against USC.
[00:15:35] Speaker C: Yeah, I found and I want to give my shout out to two players, the combination of Michael Pennix Jr. And Romeo. Of course, they lit up a fantastic Oregon defense on Saturday. They ended up obviously winning the game 36 33 on a questionable two point conversion attempt from Oregon. But they played fantastic. Pennix had 20. He was 22 for 37. That's not fantastic, but he had 302 yards, four touchdowns and one pick. Like you really can't ask for anything else, especially when he was getting pressured for the large majority of that game. Oduns, eight catches, 128 and two touchdowns. I mean, Oduns will be a top ten pick, most likely at least top 15. He's probably a top three wide receiver in this class. Pennics, just because he's a little bit older, probably won't be. But he played fantastic on Saturday and he gave the Huskies a serious shot to be a playoff team this season.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Yeah, 100% agree. Moving on to our next segment, we've got high risers and free fallers. Going to start off with our riser. I'm going with the Air Force.
How about the falcons?
Air Force and Wyoming played in probably what was a battle of two of the best or two of the top three or so, maybe the best group of five teams in college football. Air Force was able to get the win 34 27. They're Six and O on the year they're ranked now. I think they just got ranked 22nd in the AP poll and looking for at Air Force's schedule. They've got Navy, Colorado State, Army, Hawaii, UNLV as their next five that's all looking like as of right now, what should be five straight wins, and then they go to Boise State for their last game of the season. This is an Air Force team that is looking like the lead candidate to play their way into the group of five bowl spot for New Year's Six. So hats off to the Falcons. They don't throw the ball a lot, but they're getting it done on the ground. And they're six and o.
[00:17:35] Speaker C: My riser this week is they're looking.
[00:17:38] Speaker D: For a ball game.
[00:17:39] Speaker C: It's always not a playoff team, but it's the Arizona Wildcats. Man, they went into Washington State and beat them 44 to six. Like, it was over from the second the game started. Fafita, the backup quarterback that we mentioned last week, 34 for 43 for 342 yards, no turnovers. He didn't throw a touchdown because they were running the ball for basically the entire game, but they looked great. The running game was fantastic. Rayshawn Luke for them, ten for 71 and a touchdown. But it was Jonah Coleman. Eleven for 73 touchdowns for Arizona on Saturday. DJ. Williams got in the end zone as well. I mean, it was an obliteration of a top 20 football team from an Arizona team that played USC tight last week.
They've looked a lot better this year, obviously, than they have in the past. I think they've got a bright future ahead of them in Arizona.
[00:18:28] Speaker D: Yeah, my biggest riser, it's going to be a little obvious just because it was one of the biggest games, but it's going to be like they played USC. I wasn't really I wasn't really expecting them to win because Notre Dame has had a lot of lackluster time. They've been in a lot of big games, really the past probably like 20 years and have lost a lot of them.
It just hasn't been their time when the lights are the brightest, but they're able to essentially make Caleb Williams look like a complete joke of a quarterback. Almost three picks in the first half, they were all pretty bad picks.
Marshawn Lloyd on the ground, couldn't really get anything going.
And then on the other side, Notre Dame just, I mean, Sam Hartman didn't have to throw it a lot, but was pretty efficient when he did 13 to 20, had two touchdowns, 126 yards, and then Audrick estimate two touchdowns on the ground, almost had a he had 95 yards rushing. And yeah, I thought Notre Dame just I mean, it was it was easily their best game that they've played of the year, especially when you look at they lost to Ohio State, lost to Louisville, barely beat Duke. For them to go out and wallop USC 48 to 20 was kind of miraculous. So that's how I'm going to put them as my biggest riser, even though especially they're definitely not going to make.
[00:20:02] Speaker C: The playoffs after two tough games, two tough losses.
[00:20:06] Speaker D: Yeah. And they're set up for pretty good success. I'll just end with this. I mean, they have Pitt next week at Clemson is the toughest game they got left. Then wake Forest. And at Stanford.
[00:20:15] Speaker C: Speaking of riser, shout out Pitt.
[00:20:17] Speaker D: Yeah. Honestly, my riser of the week.
No, you go for it.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Okay. I got the Green Wave, I got Tulane. It's always a good week whenever they're ranked. Let's see, last time they beat Memphis at Memphis was what you said 1990, 819 98. Yeah.
As Tennessee was saying last year, it's starting to feel like 1998 again. Tuan had a good run that year.
Let's hope they could keep it up, baby.
[00:20:42] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:20:43] Speaker B: Moving on to our fallers of the week. I'm going to start I know Joe, someone just talked about this game for a little bit, but Louisville, they're the biggest follower of the week for me. They're down to six and one now in the year. They dropped from 14th in the country and a serious playoff contender to 21st in the country. And with how they're playing now, they'll be lucky to get back into ACC contention. I think they don't have the toughest schedule ahead of them, but this Pittsburgh team is so bad.
This loss for Louisville is really bad.
[00:21:19] Speaker C: They can't fill out that stadium.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: Pittsburgh going into this game was one in four with their only win being against Watford.
And then on top of that, just to keep adding insult to injury, pittsburgh's quarterback Phil Djokovich, former Boston College quarterback, has 800 passing yards on the year.
Not a great look for Louisville. That's got to be like one of the worst teams that a top 15 team has lost to this year. Maybe the worst team a top 15 team has lost to this year.
[00:21:48] Speaker C: Dude.
[00:21:48] Speaker D: Phil Djerkovic. Sorry, I just wanted to mention this. He has been at Notre Dame, Boston College and Alpet.
[00:21:54] Speaker B: I didn't even know that he was at Notre Dame. I remember him at Boston College. I did not know he was at Notre Dame.
[00:22:00] Speaker C: He backed up. Ian book, I think.
[00:22:02] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah, he was good at Boston College.
[00:22:05] Speaker D: So that's the level of quarterback we got going on.
[00:22:09] Speaker C: Yeah.
I'm going to stay in the same game. That my biggest risers and the biggest follower is Washington State. They were the 19th ranked team in the country coming into this week.
They're out of the top 25, and they were the fourth team out. They received eleven votes to be ranked at all.
An unranked Arizona team came into their house and actually just beat them into submission. It was awful. It was a really bad football game from Washington State. And when you're a program that's in a Pac Twelve, that's very good this season, and you were looked at as one of those top almost an upper echelon Pac Twelve team for the beginning of this year.
To get beat like that in your home stadium from an Arizona team that is inferior to you. That's unacceptable. And they have paid the consequences. They're no longer ranked.
[00:23:03] Speaker D: Yeah, my biggest faller, I'm going to go in the Big Ten, go to the Maryland Terrapins. They lost to Ohio State last week, which shouldn't have shocked anybody, it was at Ohio State. But this week they had maybe one of the easiest definitions of a bounce back game you could have. They had Illinois at home.
The closing betting line was 13 and a half for Maryland and it was a really weird game. I mean, Talia Tongawai loa to his younger brother who transferred there a couple of years ago. He actually had a pretty solid game, 27 to 39 with two touchdowns, but Maryland just really could not they ended this game terribly.
Illinois kind of got out to a decent it was 1414 a halftime and Maryland kind of had to claw back in the second half a couple of times. But Illinois marched down the field and with 3 seconds left, the kicker Caleb Griffin for Illinois knocked a 43 yard field goal in to be the Terps 27 to 24. And now for Maryland, you went from potentially having a really good season to now obviously they have at Northwestern, which should I mean, that should be a win.
[00:24:22] Speaker C: Illinois game should have been a win.
[00:24:23] Speaker D: So the Illinois game should have been a win as well. So I'm not going to discount, especially at Northwestern, but you still got Penn State Nebraska, or sorry, not Nebraska, michigan. You have Penn State, Michigan at home at Nebraska, which is a tough place to play at Rutgers.
This is all after they go to Northwestern. So what was looking into a potential good season for them and know an eight win season, they might really bottom out here.
[00:24:50] Speaker B: Yeah, it's kind of a hater point for me just adding on to this, but keep in mind that Maryland is unarguably still the third best team that Michigan plays this year.
[00:25:01] Speaker C: Yeah, like 100%. The third by a mile too, actually. Yeah, I guess Michigan plays Illinois and.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: They just beat I don't even know if Michigan I don't think they might play Illinois. Either way, it doesn't matter. Illinois is terrible. Illinois is not a good don't play Illinois.
[00:25:18] Speaker D: Yeah, well, I mean, they're in the different division and stuff, so I don't know.
[00:25:25] Speaker B: Either way.
[00:25:25] Speaker A: Go fighting li nine.
[00:25:27] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:25:27] Speaker A: For my follower of the week, it's an obvious one, but it's my favorite one. Of course. I woke up kicking my feet this morning. I've got USC.
I just want to read off this headline real quick. It says number 21 notre Dame harasses Kaylee Williams and hands. Number ten, USC. First loss and 48 to 20, Drubbing.
[00:25:48] Speaker C: Somebody had a lot of fun.
[00:25:50] Speaker A: I couldn't explain a game better in my own words, really.
[00:25:55] Speaker B: Just spreading that hater.
[00:25:57] Speaker C: Just I woke up it's Tennessee. I woke up feeling like a hater.
[00:26:01] Speaker D: I woke up early so I could hate more.
[00:26:03] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:26:05] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's all I wanted to say for my follower. But real quick, I want to give out our shout out of the week.
I want to give it out to James Burnett, baby. Alabama punter.
[00:26:16] Speaker C: I mean, come on. Will Riker wrote the SEC points.
[00:26:20] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, he's an obvious shout out.
[00:26:23] Speaker D: I want to give it to give yeah, special teams as a whole was honestly great. The Arkansas kicker is incredible. He was nailing field. It was even happening in Warmups, too.
Arkansas had a couple of really good punts as well. But, yeah, I mean, real. Riker becoming the SEC all time points leader, and James Burnham coming back from.
[00:26:42] Speaker B: Injury and passing Daniel Carlson. Yeah, that's awesome.
[00:26:45] Speaker A: Just shout out to Alabama special teams in and of itself.
[00:26:49] Speaker C: My shout out of the week is Grayson Wilhelm, the student at Washington who.
[00:26:53] Speaker D: Drilled a 30, and then their kicker missed.
[00:27:00] Speaker B: Okay, so fourth and Gold shout out of the week goes to not just college special teams, but college student kickers as well.
[00:27:10] Speaker C: Wilhelm missed the first one, but he smoked that thing, like, 50 yards past.
[00:27:15] Speaker B: Yeah, the Purdue point is really good. Purdue had a kicker come out against Ohio State or, sorry, had a student come out against Ohio State and drill a 40 yard field goal. I don't know what he got as a prize, but either way that a 40 yard field goal is tough. That's pretty serious. But I want to say maybe, like, the ensuing drive was a missed 39 yarder from the from the scholarship.
[00:27:39] Speaker D: Yeah, from it was a backup kicker.
[00:27:41] Speaker B: But still, it's a division from a player in a uniform.
[00:27:48] Speaker C: First player to make the field goal for tuition.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:27:50] Speaker D: I also got to give a quick shout out on the completely other side of the spectrum, just Iowa. So Iowa beat Wisconsin 15 to six. Their quarterback, Deacon Hill, he's who I give the shout out to six of 14 for 37 yards. That's your winning quarterback stat that's magnamar hired me backup. Yeah, absolutely. He has 311 yards in the year. He's only started or I think played a couple of three games, actually. Yeah, never mind. So he's played three games, has not had over 50% completion percentage. In fact, last week against Purdue, he was at 28%.
So I guess technically, you could say he's getting better at six or 14. But, yeah, on the other side, you guys were all positive about special teams. I'm like, give me that might be the worst quarterback stat line to ever.
[00:28:46] Speaker B: Win a football game.
[00:28:48] Speaker D: That takes some serious with doing.
And now Illinois, or I should say Iowa did win because of the running game.
There was only one touchdown scored in this.
[00:28:58] Speaker B: Iowa was kind of long touchdown, too.
[00:29:00] Speaker D: Wasn'T, if you want to watch, essentially, Epitome of big, bad epitome of the Big Ten West.
[00:29:09] Speaker B: Football.
[00:29:10] Speaker D: Football.
That's the game. Because now Iowa is in the driver's seat to win the big.
[00:29:17] Speaker B: I was also six and one. I'd like to point that out, too. They are back in the top 25.
[00:29:21] Speaker C: They're a six and one football team. We're a six and one football team.
[00:29:27] Speaker D: It's funny, too, because the offensive coordinator, Brian Ference, is the head coach, Kirk Ferraris's son, and he has a clause in his contract that if Iowa doesn't average 25 points a game, they can fire him with cause, which means they don't have to pay him out.
He's getting fired. Well, it's not like an automatic like they don't do it. He's fired. But there are certain games Iowa has played where it's been, like, I believe, like Utah State, they scored 24.
Penn State was obviously zero. Purdue was 20. They've had a couple of low scoring games, and I don't know how they're going to hit that number, but when they get to Indianapolis and get their brains beat in by Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State, godspeed to them.
[00:30:16] Speaker B: Yeah, seriously, that's just a joke of a situation they have at Iowa. But it's also a joke that people want to make fun of the Big Ten West and stuff, but it just keeps getting proven true.
Big Ten West. Watching Big Ten West games is an absolute joke.
[00:30:34] Speaker D: It's like how I imagine really, football was played in the 20s when it was just Harvard and when there were still zero to zero ties. Six of 14 was probably a hall of Famer.
[00:30:47] Speaker B: Here's a fun way to make Big Ten West football fun.
Let's bring ties back, but just for interdivision Big Ten West games. I mean, I'm kind of feeling that.
[00:30:59] Speaker C: Every game that doesn't involve Penn State.
[00:31:03] Speaker B: We give the Big Ten West the Conference USA Mac treatment of like, Tuesday. So Big Ten West inner division games have to be played on Monday or Tuesday. And they can end into tie. They can end.
[00:31:16] Speaker C: And they have to be late night. They've got to be like 09:00 P.m. Games.
[00:31:19] Speaker B: Yeah, no games.
[00:31:22] Speaker D: Getting kicked off in the sunlight. No, you can't do that. I did want to make this point. I'm looking up the stats now. And Iowa does have a problem. Like Cade McNamara, who's going to start he got hurt. But just to compare it a little bit, the 1920 NFL season, the Dayton Triangles had the most points per game with 15, essentially 16 points per game. Iowa is at about 20.
And they just put up I don't think this I mean, they're probably not going to score a whole lot more against Minnesota. Rockeries is good.
So I'd like to see if they can hang on and beat the Triangles at points per game.
[00:32:07] Speaker B: Will Iowa beat the Triangle? The Dayton Triangles.
[00:32:10] Speaker D: Right. Yeah, exactly.
I should say. You know what? Let's make it cleaner. The 1923 100 years ago, the Canton Bulldogs had 20.5 points per game. That's essentially what Iowa is at now.
So if you ever want to watch or see what it's like to watch football from 100 years ago, just watch Iowa. Watch Iowa run the ball and punt.
[00:32:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Or you could take a trip to a museum, one or the other. It'd be about the same thing.
[00:32:37] Speaker D: It would be we're going to move.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: On to talking about a little bit more fun football. I know we touched on it earlier, but we got to give this game the props it deserves. Washington over Oregon, 36 33 on Saturday. Epic game, epic performances. Bo Nicks had a big game. Bucky Irving had a big game. Troy Franklin had a good game. Then on the other side, you had Pinix with a big game. Dylan Johnson at running back.
[00:33:03] Speaker C: Roman, passer.
[00:33:05] Speaker B: Jalen Polk, receiver. Yep, Jalen Polk. And then Washington's edge rush was solid as well, putting pressure. I think they only had one sack, but they did get BoNix on the run out, moving his feet, having to create his own plays a lot. As for Oregon, would we chalk this one up to a Dan landing loss?
[00:33:23] Speaker D: I was going to say I was about to ask you guys, because they obviously, I mean, they had a couple I think they were over four, and.
[00:33:31] Speaker B: They were questionable fourth down attempts, too. They weren't like a lot of them were at the goal or like five or six yards out from the goal line.
[00:33:39] Speaker D: There was one that they did right before halftime. They went for a fourth, and I believe it was like 18 to 20.
I forgot what the exact score was going into the half, but it was like Iowa sorry, I'm still affixated on Iowa. Oregon, like a field goal would have made it a one possession game, and they tried to go for it on fourth and goal from, like, the I don't even know, they were like, at the five or something. It wasn't even that close.
[00:34:08] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. It's just questionable decisions like that.
[00:34:11] Speaker D: It was weird. And I didn't really hate a whole, like, if you're at midfield and you go for it on like, a fourth and like, that's one thing, they just.
[00:34:17] Speaker B: Couldn'T but then there was the one at the end of the game, though, that led to the Washington game winning touchdown.
[00:34:23] Speaker D: Yeah, that one was questionable, too, because.
[00:34:26] Speaker B: It was like fourth and four, maybe fourth and three.
[00:34:28] Speaker D: Yeah. And I do sort of hear the point of, like, if they got it, Oregon would have won.
I don't know the exact timeout, situation and clock.
[00:34:37] Speaker B: Yeah, they would have. Yeah, they would have won.
[00:34:40] Speaker D: I'm pretty sure they would have won.
But I just don't get why you wouldn't, especially with how you're giving Pinnocks.
[00:34:47] Speaker B: The ball at midfield.
[00:34:48] Speaker D: Exactly. Especially with how good Washington's offense was and how good Pennics was. I don't know why you wouldn't make him go like, 90 yards or even if it's a touchback 80 or 75 or whatever, wherever it gets brought out to.
[00:35:04] Speaker C: Oregon had a game tying attempt. They just didn't.
[00:35:07] Speaker D: They did. Yeah, they did.
To be fair, if that goes in, maybe it's a different I mean, Dane Lending seemed a genius, but just like.
[00:35:18] Speaker C: I've always been a big proponent of when you're in the other team stadium, you have to try and end the game.
[00:35:24] Speaker D: Yeah, I get that.
[00:35:25] Speaker B: I get that, too. But you got to think you've got literally the best QB wide receiver duo in the country and you're already over three on fourth down. And you can either take a risk, go for it on fourth and three in the game, or punt and make them go 90 yards in two and a half, three minutes, whatever it was, instead of 40.
[00:35:51] Speaker D: I really wouldn't have hated the decision to go for it if they weren't at the 50.
[00:35:57] Speaker B: And the play was bad, too. It's like a rollout pass where Bo Nick's closest target was probably 1015 yards down the field.
[00:36:06] Speaker D: And I've never loved if you're going to go for on a fourth down, why would you shrink the field and roll out from that avenue or from that angle? But just like yeah, it was weird. And again, I thought that if it was on the 30 kind of deeper into Washington territory, then going for it, I wouldn't have hated because maybe you don't really trust your kicker there. And like you said, Lincoln, I'm all for ending the game, but just midfield.
I thought that was an OD decision.
I mean, obviously Hindsight is 2020 and maybe it wasn't the decision, maybe it was the play call that I'm more upset about. But yeah, it was a bizarre game and it was something that Dan landing, I mean, he's probably going to learn from a little bit, but he's a very aggressive coach, so I don't know if he'll really change his ways. But much like Miami not kneeling the ball, you might have to reconsider some things, some of your philosophy.
[00:37:10] Speaker B: Yeah, because there was a really questionable one, too. I think probably the worst decision was they had the ball on maybe the six yard line late in the third. It was fourth and three, they're down eleven and they went for it and missed it. And so obviously they were able to come back and take a lead after that point, but still just in that moment, there was passed up points. He just left a lot of points.
[00:37:34] Speaker D: On the board, to be fair. Washington also Oregon's defense, stopped a fourth and goal in the fourth quarter that at that time looked like it might have sealed the game. I think Washington was down by four or five and they kind of needed to go for it, in a sense with I think it was like seven minutes left. But yeah, it was kind of a crazy game and I think college football is more of like an entertainment sport than it is than say, like the NFL, which is all about just, you know, I think Oregon and know, if you're going to say it's an entertainment sport, they kind of played their roles perfectly.
[00:38:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I think so.
[00:38:14] Speaker D: In that sense, this was a great game to watch. If you really don't love watching if you don't like watching Iowa, Wisconsin, just watch offense. It was a really fun game.
A lot of casual college football people or sports people were talking about this game just because of that entertainment value.
[00:38:37] Speaker B: Well, you also had the aspect of you've got a lot of old guys there. You've got a lot of guys that this is their second chance playing Bo, Nicks, Pinnacks, both. You've got guys that aren't your typical NFL prospects. They're more of like your college legends. Like, you would see more so in college basketball with guys that stay four years.
You got, like I said, Pinix second school. He's a fifth year senior maybe.
And then Bo Nix is also fifth.
[00:39:08] Speaker D: Mean, I'm shocked that Indiana ever had Michael Pennix in their like, this dude's like a generation. And I understand, I believe, because he.
[00:39:17] Speaker C: Tore like two ACLs.
[00:39:18] Speaker D: He did tear two ACLs. And the one season he played consistently.
[00:39:22] Speaker B: At Indiana, they were like very good. They beat Penn State that year.
[00:39:26] Speaker D: Yeah, I think it was the COVID year.
I think it might have been the COVID year. And Indiana was like on a roll with him. So he was a really good player, but just like, I can't imagine him in the Big Ten with the numbers.
[00:39:39] Speaker B: He.
[00:39:39] Speaker D: Thank God now.
[00:39:40] Speaker B: Thank God Michael Pinick got out of the big.
[00:39:42] Speaker D: The fact that he left to go to a big time school and a big time I don't want to say big time conference because it's not going.
[00:39:48] Speaker C: To be one, but that's another point I want to talk about, is like three of the best four. Three or four of the best games of the entire week. You got Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, USC, Oregon State, UCLA, and then Arizona and Washington State had another big one. It was a blowout, but it was a huge game.
They all play in a conference that won't exist this time next year.
[00:40:10] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:40:11] Speaker C: Which is an absolute failure from the Pac Twelve leadership perspective.
[00:40:15] Speaker D: Yeah. George Kliakov, their commissioner, he majorly screwed the pooch, just for lack of a better term.
It all kind of boiled down to their TV deal might not have been done in time and he wanted more money.
It's a shame because they are like, I mean, the Pac Twelve after dark and all that. And obviously Oregon Washington wasn't after dark. But it's a real bummer that the Pac Twelve is like, seemingly they're finally having a year in which they could put like, a respectable team in the playoff, maybe not worry, but like, Washington could definitely win a playoff game.
[00:40:57] Speaker C: Washington could win the nationally.
[00:41:00] Speaker D: Yeah, they could.
If USC tackles somebody, maybe they could. I don't think they're going to learn to tackle anybody, but I mean, like, they can. There's a couple of Pac Twelve teams that could go to the playoff this year or at least have a chance to. I'm sure only one will actually do it, but yeah, it's a real sad state over there in the west.
[00:41:22] Speaker B: Yeah. And that kind of brings me to my next point.
Some bright news for Oregon fans, at least. I think that this is a rare year where a one lot team in the Pac Twelve midway through the year controls their own destiny. Oregon has the schedule in front of them. Washington State, Utah, USC, oregon State. Those are wins that are good enough to get them into the playoffs if they win out. And then, of course, a Pac Twelve championship game win would be huge. And I think that luckily there's enough parity in college football for us to finally get a one loss Pac Twelve team in the playoffs this year.
[00:41:56] Speaker C: They're going to need USC to lose a conference game.
[00:41:59] Speaker D: Yeah, and the other side of it, too. Washington plays at Stanford, at USC, at Utah, at Oregon State in the coming weeks, washington State to end the year, arizona State next.
Like, they could very easily slip up against USC or Utah. Oregon State could even probably beat them with like Oregon's definitely not out of it. They just need, like, you like USC needs to lose a conference game. Washington does. But they can still like, Oregon can win out and Oregon plays USC.
Yeah. And I doubt that Washington or even USC is going to finish the Pac Twelve season with an undefeated I don't.
[00:42:44] Speaker B: Think it's crazy to say that we will get a one loss Pac Twelve champion in the playoffs if the champion happens to have one loss.
[00:42:52] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:42:52] Speaker C: Granted, that would require a team like Alabama to not win out and win the SEC title game. Because I feel like if Alabama were.
[00:42:59] Speaker B: To win out and, I don't know.
[00:43:00] Speaker C: Undefeated team in the title, the way that they still view Georgia, then you.
[00:43:05] Speaker B: Have to think, do you put in a one loss Oregon Pac Twelve champ or a one loss Georgia that didn't win the SEC? Yeah, I feel like you go Oregon.
[00:43:16] Speaker C: When Georgia wouldn't have a big win the whole season.
[00:43:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like that's definitely an Oregon or Washington, whichever, but they're not or even USC, they're not supposed to.
[00:43:25] Speaker C: Count the title when they're not like last year TCU.
[00:43:29] Speaker B: Lost the title. They still count the title. It was just a fact, a matter of last year. It was either you put in a one loss TCU. Or you're putting in the first two lost team of all time with Tennessee or Bama going in, or USC. I guess.
[00:43:48] Speaker D: The ACC could have like a one loss champ, too, or an undefeated. It kind of depends.
[00:43:54] Speaker C: I think it depends Megan, or wrong.
[00:43:56] Speaker D: I think it depends on the Pac Twelve. I have a feeling whoever wins the SEC, as long as it's not like Missouri or like Kentucky or someone crazy like that, if it's like Georgia, Alabama, I guess maybe I don't think Tennessee will do it, but maybe them too. If there's a one loss SEC champ, they're getting in undeniably, for sure. No question.
The one loss Big Ten champs probably getting in because they're going to play Iowa.
It's going to be up to the Pac Twelve and the ACC, I think, for those final two spots.
[00:44:31] Speaker B: Because I think this is a little bit off topic, but I think that the Big Ten champ will probably be our number one overall seed just because I think the Big Ten champ will be undefeated. Yeah, probably. Whether no matter who it is, they'll be undefeated.
[00:44:44] Speaker D: And it would depend, especially if it is like Michigan or Ohio State, who's just consistently been two and three in the country, or two and five or whatever Ohio State was.
You can easily make the argument that that's going to be a better win than I don't want to speak this into existence necessarily, but even if Alabama is in the SEC, like if Georgia beats Alabama in the SEC championship, that's probably going to be with how the rankings are looking in that know, six, seven ranked Alabama team when you're probably yeah.
[00:45:17] Speaker B: If we won out and made it to the SEC championship, I would say that we'd probably be tinkering around six.
[00:45:23] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:45:24] Speaker C: That'd be two ranked wins.
[00:45:26] Speaker D: That would yeah, yeah, it would be. But my thing know, that might not look maybe as impressive as a resume if you're looking at like Penn State or Michigan or Ohio State, who's essentially beat like number, you know, four, ohio State, number six. Penn State?
I don't know. But we just got to the halfway mark. That's a long way off, but still, I guess it's still fun to talk about.
[00:45:55] Speaker B: Yeah. Lots of questions. This year is crazy.
[00:45:58] Speaker A: Anyone's season.
[00:45:59] Speaker C: What a season.
[00:46:00] Speaker B: For sure.
[00:46:01] Speaker D: I mean, realistically, Iowa's only got one loss, guys.
[00:46:04] Speaker B: They can run the table. Run the table.
[00:46:06] Speaker C: Iowa?
[00:46:06] Speaker B: Yeah. Come on.
[00:46:09] Speaker C: One loss. Iowa. Who beats Michigan in the Big Ten?
[00:46:12] Speaker B: I'm not even going to entertain the championship. I'm not even going to entertain the idea of Iowa making the champion.
[00:46:17] Speaker D: Iowa wins the Big Ten six to three.
[00:46:19] Speaker B: But anyways, we'll end off with our top five. This is going to be a fun week to do this. I know the ultimatum is decided. Nick last week had the split decision between Oregon and Washington as his number.
[00:46:33] Speaker A: Five, and I was right, too. Washington's number five.
[00:46:36] Speaker B: You were right that one of those teams would win the game. You were correct.
But anyways, I'll start us off here. We're going to go through these a little quicker than normal. I've got Oklahoma at the number five spot. This is really just because they didn't play last week and Washington beat a top ten team in the country.
[00:46:54] Speaker C: I've got Florida state at my five. They've got a big win but it's not as big as the Washington win. So Florida state didn't lose last week. They're going to stick at five.
[00:47:02] Speaker D: Yeah, same points that I'm going to make out of Florida state at my five.
[00:47:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I've got Oklahoma.
[00:47:08] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:47:09] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:47:10] Speaker B: Number four. I've got Washington. I think that's a fair place for them to jump into. I think they've got a great win against Oregon. Obviously. They've looked good in every game throughout the year except for maybe Arizona. And hats off to Arizona. We know that they're a legit team. That's not a bad team to struggle against. So that made Washington look a lot better. And then obviously beating a top ten team makes you look a lot better, too.
[00:47:32] Speaker C: I've also got Washington at four. I like that Oregon win more than I like Florida State's LSU win. So Washington is my number four team. I'd have them in the playoff if it ended today.
[00:47:43] Speaker D: I'm going to go on a little bit of a limb. I'm going to put Ohio state just because I think the Washington win is really good.
I think it's better than maybe Ohio State beating Notre Dame with how Notre Dame kind of has been.
Well, I shouldn't say has been because they just beat USC, but kind of the aftermath of that game.
So I have Ohio state there just because I think the Washington wins better as of now.
[00:48:11] Speaker A: I think I would also go with Ohio state. I mean, they're a good team, don't get me wrong. But I could see them going in this week and getting upset by Penn State, to be honest.
[00:48:23] Speaker B: It's a huge game that's going to be awesome.
[00:48:25] Speaker A: I'm so excited.
[00:48:26] Speaker C: And I'll be kicking my feet when Ohio state wins by we'll see the.
[00:48:32] Speaker B: Only student on Alabama's campus rooting for Ohio State.
[00:48:34] Speaker C: Look, man, I've ranked them number one like two weeks in a row.
[00:48:37] Speaker A: My Ohio State hatred runs.
[00:48:39] Speaker B: So yeah, you guys do not understand number three. I've got Michigan. I think they have the weakest resume of kind of the three teams that you can debate for the number one spot right now.
And yeah, that's pretty much it. They've looked really good in their wins, but their wins are against the big ten west teams that we have spent countless minutes too much today.
[00:49:01] Speaker C: I've got Michigan at three for the exact same reason. It's all a resume game when you're ranking teams and Michigan does not have a resume at all. So they're a fantastic football team. Don't get me wrong. They could easily beat Ohio state, michigan this year or Ohio state and Penn state. Sorry, but I've got Michigan at three right now for resume reasons.
[00:49:21] Speaker D: This is where I have washington. Just because of the big win over Oregon. Pretty much.
I think it's going to be a really good win because I don't see Oregon losing.
I don't really see either Oregon or Washington. They have tough games, but I don't know if I really see them losing.
[00:49:38] Speaker C: I think they're a substantially better team than all the other teams.
[00:49:41] Speaker D: So that's why I just have Washington at three for that reason.
[00:49:45] Speaker A: I've got the same as Joe. I've got Washington at number three. We don't know exactly where they fit in exactly in the top ten or in the top five until they go in their three game stretch in November against USC and then Utah and then Oregon State. That'll be a true test for them. That'll be a test of their grit and their resilience. But, yeah, my three is Washington number two.
[00:50:05] Speaker B: I've got Ohio State. I know the win against Maryland looks a little less impressive with Maryland losing to Illinois, but Ohio State does have that win against Notre Dame, which looks better after this week. So as far as Ohio State, they're starting to address a lot of those problems offensively. Marvin Harrison Jr. Is getting back into stride, which is not what you want to hear if if you're a fan of any other team in college football. Ohio State is a real threat. I think they're almost the best team in the country. I really had to think about this one this week, but I've got them at two for now.
[00:50:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm not thinking about it. I got Georgia at number 220 points to Vanderbilt. That's not something that the number one team in the country should be doing. Winning by 17 points on the road at the worst team in your conference is not something the number one team in the country should be doing.
They struggled against Auburn on the road. They gave up 21 points to UAB a couple of weeks ago.
I really don't think especially Brock Gowers went out in that game. I don't know what his status is.
[00:51:03] Speaker B: He should be back in time for Florida. They got a buy coming up.
[00:51:07] Speaker C: Well, I hope he is. He's really good, but yeah, I've got Georgia, too, just because they haven't convinced me the same way that Ohio State has.
[00:51:15] Speaker D: Yeah, I for like, one and two is just kind of a toss up because I think the same arguments can be cited about both Michigan and Georgia. They both really haven't played anybody truly great or good.
[00:51:30] Speaker C: Not even good right now.
[00:51:32] Speaker D: Georgia did. I mean, Georgia, they let up 20 to Vanderbilt, but they let up 13 in the fourth quarter when the game was over.
So, I mean, it is a little bit of like they just took the pedal off the gonna I think I'm still just gonna put Michigan at two and what the yeah, it's like one and one A for it. I don't think either team's better. I don't think either team's resume is necessarily better. So I'm just going to keep as I had last week with Michigan, I'm.
[00:52:06] Speaker A: The same way with A, one A and one B. But looking at so like you guys said, Michigan doesn't have a great stat sheet so far, they don't have a great resume. But I said this last week, if you look at their past games, they've let up five touchdowns in seven weeks. Of course, there were teams like UNLV, Rutgers, they played ECU, but at the same time, Georgia played UTM, let up a touchdown, they played South Carolina, let up two, they played Vanderbilt, let up two touchdowns, they played UAB and let them take three. And then you've got Ohio State, they gave up a touchdown to Western Kentucky, they gave up two touchdowns to have, I'd say, just as good resumes as Michigan does, except for Notre Dame playing or except for Ohio State playing Notre Dame, except Michigan just has that standout stat to me that stands above the rest. But still, I think I'm going to put Michigan at two. If Georgia was going to lose Brock Bowers for a few more games, I would put Georgia at two and then Michigan at one. But Brock Bowers is going to be back in Georgia's next game, so Michigan is going to be two.
[00:53:10] Speaker B: My only thing against that is that if you're Michigan, you have to have that standout stat because of how bad the resume to Georgia and Ohio State don't have to play with the mindset of we cannot let up more than seven points.
[00:53:22] Speaker D: Realistically, like and it's essentially comparing pretty close stuff. But South Carolina, Auburn, Kentucky, and even Vanderbilt is arguably better than anybody else that Michigan has played on their entire schedule, especially offensively.
[00:53:39] Speaker B: I would say that Vanderbilt would no joke, be the best offense that Michigan has played against this year or one.
[00:53:44] Speaker D: Of for sure so far at least. Yeah, indiana is not good. Nebraska, Rutgers, Minnesota, Bowling Green. UNLV. ECU. Like, none of them. Michigan Stevens is playing really good.
[00:53:57] Speaker B: Yeah, no, yeah.
[00:54:00] Speaker C: They're playing a schedule that the top Mac team would go undefeated.
[00:54:03] Speaker D: Yeah, like a group of five team tulane beats six against this know Georgia, at least it's know Kentucky is a good team.
[00:54:17] Speaker B: Yeah, the win against Kentucky is a solid that that's going to be a team that finishes eight and four this year.
[00:54:23] Speaker D: I will say, though, that because and Michigan to an extent also has this problem because of the way that they just been able to sleepwalk through the schedule. The games that when Georgia plays like Ole Miss and at Tennessee back to back and even Missouri as part of a three game stretch and back heavy.
[00:54:40] Speaker B: Schedules both of them have very similar.
[00:54:42] Speaker D: So it's like they could easily I wouldn't be shocked if Michigan finishes the year, they could potentially finish the year with two losses because they lose to Penn State last three games of the year.
[00:54:51] Speaker B: Penn State, Maryland, and mean, it's the.
[00:54:55] Speaker D: Same thing with like I wouldn't be shocked if because of how easy the schedule has been, they drop a game to Ole Miss or Tennessee.
[00:55:07] Speaker A: It's just going to be one of those years where we have to see, especially Michigan's defense comes up against those top caliber teams like Penn State and Ohio State.
That top caliber offense in Penn State, that's scoring over 50 points a game.
[00:55:22] Speaker D: Yeah, well, 63 against UMass, is going to help your per game.
[00:55:26] Speaker A: That's true.
[00:55:27] Speaker B: But, yeah, playing the Minutemen in week seven.
But as for my number one, I'll get it started. I've got Georgia. Obviously, I know they had a little bit of a hiccup against Vanderbilt. They had a rough start and then a little bit of a rough finish, but all in all, they lost their best player and still prevailed with a win. Dejan Edwards stepped up. He had his career high in rushing yards. I think he had like 150. And as for them, like I said, Carson Beck. Same goes with Ohio State. There are teams that are getting better throughout the year. They're addressing their problems. It's notable that they're getting better, especially at positions that they need to. And Carson Beck has played substantially better than he was playing at the start of the year. So for that reason, I've got Georgia at one.
[00:56:05] Speaker C: I've got obviously for the third week now, I've got Ohio State at one. I'm going to give a little bit more of a long winded explanation than I have the last couple of weeks. The offense is everything you could ask for. I have not I've been relatively critical of Kyle McCord throughout the season, but at the end of the day, he's got 1651 through the air. He's got eleven touchdowns in one pick and a 165.9 passer rating through seven weeks this season. The running game is everything you could ask for. Trayvon Henderson, one of the best in college football, 295, five touchdowns. Chip Trey Annum right behind him, 235, three touchdowns of his own. The receivers, obviously, nothing needs to be said about Marvin Harrison Jr. He is officially here.
Cade Stover at tight end has been great. Emeka Ibuka, Julian Fleming, I mean, the list goes on and on. And then it's the defense, too. The defensive line at Ohio State with JT. Michael Hall, Jack Sawyer, and then, I mean, it's going to be hard to get anything going against that defensive line. The secondary is fantastic. Josh Proctor at safety for them. I've got him ranked as a first round pick whenever he declares. He's been fantastic this season. On the back half he's got three pass deflections and a pick six.
Jermaine Matthews playing corner, Jordan Hancock, I mean, they've been great on every side of the wall. This season. They've got a good win, great win over Notre Dame. They've got pretty solid win over Maryland. Doesn't look as good now, but Ohio State, in my opinion, is the best team in college football. Right.
[00:57:34] Speaker D: My my team, to be honest, like you said, Lincoln, like you said, Ohio State for a couple weeks in a row, I'll go to what I said last week. My number one team is like Georgia at they're they're dominant at home. It's kind of know outside of the South Carolina game, none of their home games have really been all that close.
They have Florida at home.
[00:57:57] Speaker B: And even South Carolina wasn't.
[00:58:00] Speaker D: Yeah, South Carolina had 14 at halftime and finished with 14.
And to be honest, that point might be proven true just for the sake that Georgia's home schedule for the rest of the year is Florida, Missouri and Ole Miss, which they know very well. Lose to Missouri or Ole Miss or even Florida, I guess. Florida is in Jacksonville that game. So we'll see how they handle they look, it was a weird game against Vanderbilt because they did let up a lot in the end. But yeah, Georgia, if it's at Sanford Stadium, if the Natty ever comes to Athens, then beware yeah, we bet your money there. Yeah.
[00:58:44] Speaker A: I mean, my number one team is Georgia. There's not much to say about that. They lost Brock Bowers, of course, but they still looks great in the second half. Without Brock Bowers, they're just a great team. It's going to be hard to beat.
[00:58:56] Speaker D: Them no matter who plays them 100%.
[00:58:58] Speaker B: And with that being said, that'll wrap up today's episode. We'll be back after the third Saturday in October. A big game against Tennessee, maybe pause. I'm Kaden Johnson. You can find me on Twitter at Kaden l Johnson.
[00:59:10] Speaker C: I'm Lincoln Burke Holder. You can find me on Twitter at link burke.
[00:59:14] Speaker D: I'm joe shots. You can find me on Twitter at joe Shots. 15.
[00:59:17] Speaker A: This is the producer, Nick Gaddis. You can catch me on Twitter at jngatis.
[00:59:21] Speaker B: And with that being said, support and Goal podcast signing off WVUA FM Tuscaloosa.