Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: WVUAFM Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: Welcome back to the student section college football. We are reviewing some games from this past week, and we gotta talk about Florida State. They are, their season's over there.
In terms of playoff hopes, their season is done. What did you see from them against Boston College the other night?
[00:00:36] Speaker A: We came into the season thinking that Florida State, they brought over some new transfers. They were just going to replenish their defensive line that they had lost last year, including Braden Fisk and Jared Verse, to the NFL. We thought they're just going to get some new guys, bring them in, and they're going to be another great defensive line. And if it has been just the opposite for that team, whether it's the Georgia Tech game or the Boston College game, this defensive line of Florida State has got absolutely bullied. They have got outrushed by a wide margin in both contests so far this season. It's been really straight up pathetic. It's been awful by Florida State watching them just get dominated. And then on the other side of the football, they were supposed to bring in Dguyungele as a guy that could hand the football off behind a strong offensive line, a strong rushing attack, and then simply just run some play action and take the load off of those guys. And it's been quite the opposite. They haven't been able to run the football and in tune, in turn, they've had to put pressure on DJU. That's not his game. That's never what he's been. That's not what he was brought to Florida State to do. And while his play has not been great, I'm not putting all of their offensive struggles on him. You're taking a quarterback and putting them outside of how they are supposed to play the game. This is Dju is not Patrick Holmes. He's not putting a team on his back ever. That's never what he's going to be after. We've seen how he's played in college and without our strong rushing attack, this team may not score more than 30 points the entirety of the season. Their offense might not be able to win a game this year. They have to be able to run the football. They have one of the most experienced offensive lines in the ACC and they still just have not been able to find a way to run the football. And also, their wide receivers are not that strong either. Malik Benson transferred over there. He's had some okay times, but they don't have Keon Coleman, they don't have Johnny Wilson anymore. There are so many factors into why Florida State has just been putrid so far this year. And it starts on the trenches. It starts in the line of scrimmage, whether it's the offensive line or the defensive line. Both of them have had their struggles.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, losing them is tragic. It has proven to be absolutely devastating for the offense. And I'll be honest, I've never been a big dj, you believer? And to be honest, it's. He's proving. He's proven it to me right now. I mean, and you look at that game against Boston College, he had open receivers in the end zone and he missed them wide open. When they could have, they could have turned the game around. It was two times that they had first and gone a six yard line. Both times they said they had to settle for a field goal. So that is, that could have been 14 points. Instead, they got six points. That left a lot of offense on the table and could have turned the momentum in the tide of the game completely around. And, yeah, just, it's like the offense has just looked terrible, but thinking about it going back to the Georgia tech game that, remember that very first drive they had, it's like they ran right down the field and you might be thinking, oh, boy, Florida State actually is looking pretty, pretty good here. And immediately the game turned from attract me into a game in the Trent in the trenches where Georgia Tech controlled it and Boston College did the same thing in the trenches to him. They just flat out dominated. And we also have to give credit to Thomas Castellanos. I mean, that dude for the quarterback for Boston college played amazing for the Eagles. I mean, let's, let's read off his stats here. Yeah, he didn't, you know, throw for that much. He had 106 yards. He. But he did pass for two touchdowns, but he ran for 73 yards, 14 attempts, had a rushing touchdown. So he was an mvp of the Boston College offense. He kept drives alive on third, on third and second and long situations. And, yeah, Florida State, let's look at their schedule. So they have a by this week, which I bet you they're thinking. They are just so thankful they have a buy this week. But after the buy, they play Memphis. We can't forget Memphis is not like a chump team. They are the preseason pick to win the american conference. That is not an easy win. They also have Clemson. That's not an easy win at Miami. That is almost certainly a loss at this point. I would say at Notre Dame. I think that's almost certainly a loss at this point. And then they end the season with Florida. Yeah, Florida didn't look all that great, but Florida State hasn't looked any better than Florida has. So that's going to be a very tough game. So that's five more games. I already have two losses, so I think it is not out of the realm of possibility. Florida State is going to miss the bowl game, and they could easily go five and seven with their schedule. And they still have to. Okay, look, they asked to play at SMU two. SMU's offense, Preston Stone, they can put up some points. So that's another game right there where you. Where you offense, they have to be on their a game or else they're going to get ran over.
So Florida State, they're in. It is past panic time. It is bad right now.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: I mean, it's time to pack it in for the 2024 season. Time to start moving on to 2025. And that's what they're trying to do. And they're trying to make some momentum. We'll see if they can do that against Memphis. But to talk about some other top 25 teams that didn't play all too well either last week, we've got Oregon beating Idaho 24 to 14 and Michigan sneaking by Fresno State 30 to ten. Some late touchdowns made that score a little bit of wider of a margin than it was.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: Looked like a bigger blowout than it actually was. It was.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: It was 16 to ten. Yeah.
[00:06:19] Speaker B: In the fourth quarter. 1610. And it was also. It was 23 to ten. Also Fresno State was. Had it. What? First and goal. They're somewhere inside the 1015 yard line. And then they were going in for a touchdown. Then they threw the pick six. That was a 14 point. It could have easily been 23 to 17. Very late in the game. Michigan, a lot of concern, which, by the way, did you see Sharon Moore today? I think it was announced. He's like coaching without like a signed contract.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: Hasn't signed a contract with Michigan.
[00:06:46] Speaker B: That is so strange to me. Yeah, but talking about Oregon, though, I mean, you look at the stats and you're thinking, how in the world was this game so close, 496 yards to 217 yards. You had Dylan Gabriel 41 for 49, 380 yards, two touchdowns. No picks at all. So you look at that and you're like, how in the world do they score 24 points?
It made no sense. It was quite literally the most fascinating game of the weekend. I would say that Oregon, playing Idaho, only beat him by ten. They were favored 49 and a half. So essentially favored by 50 points.
But what I think about it is I trust in Dan Laning. I have faith in Dan Lennon and his coaching. Just after seeing what he did with Bo Nix in that offense all last year, I think he is gonna really put him in shape. I think I'm not worried about Oregon. If, if you're handic, if you are hitting the panic button on Oregon, stop. Don't do it. Now. It's week one. Yeah, they only beat Idaho by ten, but Dan Lang is a fantastic coach and he is going to make sure that offense gets in shape very quickly, probably starting this weekend. So if you're an Oregon fan out there, don't panic. They're going to be just fine.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: Yeah. And I side with you majority of the way. Id has scored two touchdowns. Both of them were trick plays most of the game. Oregon's defense played it super well. And then offensively I am worried in one circumstance and that's how can they manufacture touchdowns if they are not getting the big play right now? Idaho they said we're gonna put two safeties back and we're gonna make you drive the length of the field. And multiple times Oregon did that and it took them multiple fourth downs to score a touchdown on their final drive to extend it from 1714 to 20 414. I don't they stopped them on fourth down, would have the ball down three. So Oregon has to find a way to get the ball in the end zone. As you talked about, nearly 500 yards of offense. Dylan Gabriel 41 of 49 so many of those passes were dink and dunks. They have to find a way to get explosive plays, get into the end zone. That red zone offense is going to be a worry for the rest of the season for Oregon if they can't figure it out and it starts with the offensive line. They were unable to run the football in that game right around three yards of carry. So you can't just hand the ball off to your back when you're in the red zone and bully them. Especially when it's an FCS team like Idaho, you have to be able to do that and put that game away. And they just didn't. And then second thing is their kicking game missed two field goals. That really turned the game around as well. And it goes back to not being able to finish strides. They had to settle for those field goals and then they missed them. So those are things that you can really say for the overarching part of the season. Obviously, this game being as close as it was, not worried if is Oregon a good team but when you're trying to win a national championship, you gotta be able to put the ball in the end zone when you get red zone opportunities. Cause when you play Ohio state, when you play Georgia, when you play Texas, whoever it may be, those teams are gonna put the ball in the end zone, and they're gonna have much better athletes on the field than Idaho. So if you're looking at that as an Oregon fan, don't say your big ten hopes, your playoff hopes are over. Say, we gotta make some progress if we wanna be as good as we thought we were gonna be coming into this season.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: I think that was what was so confusing is we were used to Dylan Gabriel over at Oklahoma, throwing it around the yard, making up all these big plays. And that's what the Oregon offense was all about last year with Bo Nicks. They were slinging it right down the field, coming up with these long touchdowns, these long touchdown drives as well. And yeah, that's just what was so confusing to me. But they played Boise State this week, which, by the way, that Boise state running back Janti, six touchdowns. Boy, he, that dude was a beast. But I think preparing for this week, I think Dan Lanning really got that point across in the locker room of, hey, we have to finish the offensive drives. And if you don't, it's going to put us at a huge risk of losing great games, especially later in the season, against teams like Ohio State and against teams like at Michigan and at Wisconsin late in the year. So I think because it's week one, I really am not worried. Now, if they do, if they go out there against Boise State this weekend and they do the same thing, yeah, there's some real cause for concern there, like why you have Dylan Gabriel, one of the most talked about transfer quarterbacks and one of the best transfer quarterbacks coming into the season. Why are you not finishing touchdown drives with such an offensive minded player at the helm?
So I guess we're going to see with that. But another power five top 25 game. Georgia, Clemson. It was 60 Georgia at halftime, believe it or not. And then halftime came and halftime went and Georgia stopped playing around. I mean, they absolutely blew the doors off of Clemson. I don't know what in the world Kirby smart said in that locker room, but it certainly worked because Georgia looked like a totally different team in the third and fourth quarter.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: Yeah, they scored on five consecutive drives. There was just nothing that Clemson could do in the second half to stop this Georgia offense. But it all comes down to Clemson's offense. They are just unable to do anything. 23 carries for 46 rushing yards, two yards of carry. And when you have a quarterback like Kade Klubnik, who has shown that he cannot put a team on his back, you have to be able to run the football. And that just did not happen. And it goes back to the same things that we've said for the past three, four seasons for Clemson since they made the College Football Playoff in 2020. Trevor Lawrence's final season is they're just not where they used to be. They used to be a team that was challenging Alabama. They used to be Kirby Smarts, Georgia, whoever they were, the number two team in the country, matching up with Nick Sabans, Alabama. And now they're completely off where they used to be. Are they still a good program? Sure. But they used to be right there at the top knocking off Nick Saban for national championships. And now you're getting blown away by Georgia in game one of the season. And it is Georgia. And sure, Georgia does that to everybody, but Clemson's not supposed to be everybody. They used to be the guy that was doing this to everybody else. So it's just a huge downslope for where this program used to be. And I'm not really sure if there's a way back up.
[00:13:05] Speaker B: I totally agree with you. Kade Klubnik is just not the guy. I mean, we saw him first appear in a game that was at the Orange bowl, is the Orange bowl against Tennessee two seasons ago. And it felt like every time in that game, Clemson got to the 30, 40 yard line of Tennessee. The offense just came to a stall and it just felt, felt like that over this past year and a half, two seasons now, and the offense has not gotten better. Katie Klemnick does not look improved whatsoever, really, that much after being as hyped up as he was. And really Clemson again, they were supposed to be an ACC contender. Many people picked them to win the ACC and get that one of those top four spots in the College football playoff with the buy. I think that's out of the realm of possibility. And I think at this point, I mean, we looked at Clemson, we looked at Florida State, Virginia Tech, by the way, they lost to Vanderbilt. I never thought I would come into the first show today talking about Vanderbilt, but Vanderbilt beat Virginia Tech, who was like, who was one of the other top four teams in the ACC that was supposed to be contending for a championship? Respect to Diego Pavia and that Vanderbilt team, man, they went into Auburn last season, Diego Pavia did with New Mexico State, and they beat the brakes off of Auburn, if you remember.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: And so we as Alabama fans would not forget that.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: Exactly. So you Diego Pavia, I think Invander belt, he's going to help that team a lot. And so we have Vanderbilt lose Clemson, get embarrassed for a state got embarrassed. You know what, I think you could already hand Miami the trophy, the ACC trophy right now.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: I will, I will have to push back on you a little bit with that. I will say Clemson, although they did get beat by Georgia, they are zero in ACC play. I know, just like Miami is zero in ACC play. We saw last year in Miami, they beat Texas A and M in the non conference and then what did they go on to do? They went on to fall apart. They had stumbled to a seven and five regular season, the famous fumble when.
[00:15:12] Speaker B: They should have need play.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: Exactly. As much as I want to be a Miami believer, I want to believe in this team. I'm just a little bit wary that Clemson is just done and out. They have a tough September, they still play NC State later, they play Appalachian State this weekend, which is a fascinating game at all. No, it is not. So Clemson is still there and Clemson still has the front seven. They still have a great defense. And if Kade Klubnik can just give them something, if they can just get something out of their offense, this defense can do a great job and get them to at least the ACC championship. And then once you get to the AFC championship, one game, never know what can happen. So I would say Clemson, they got a shot. They still have a shot to win the ACC. And what's crazy is that Clemson could do that, go win the ACC, sneak in as the three or four seed. Georgia could lose to Texas and Alabama in their regular season and be a seed below Clemson, a team that they absolutely Molly whipped, wiped them off the floor and they're going to be a lower seed than them. That's just crazy that that's a thing. But it is. But still, Clemson, you cannot say, oh, we just lost to Georgia, our season's over. Your season is nowhere close to over. Who knows how this twelve team bracket can go? Who know what matchup you can get? Heck, you win the ACC, you win one game in the playoff, you're in the dang semifinals, you're two games away from a national title. So they have to bounce back. And I don't know what's going to happen at quarterback. I don't know what's going to happen on wide receiver, but they got to figure that out. And if you look back on the previous season or the previous seasons of Clemson when they were winning those national titles. They had the Sean Watson for a couple years and he took them to the next level. Then what happened? Kelly Bryant came in. Kelly Bryant makes the college football playoff. Are you going to tell me that Kelly Bryant is that much better than Kade Klubnik? No. No, you are not. What in the world happened to this program everywhere else that they can't have a not great quarterback, not top ten pick and still not be a powerhouse program? We've seen Alabama over the years, the different quarterbacks that they've had, that they've made work. Mac Jones, Blake Sims.
[00:17:10] Speaker B: Yes, he was a first round Blake Sims.
[00:17:12] Speaker A: Blake Sims, Jared Coker. I mean, different guys. You gotta figure the heck out. You can't just have a great quarterback, legendary quarterback, and expect to be a national title contender every year. You have to be able to adjust. You have to be able to be versatile, win in different ways. And right now, this Clemson program is just not there. I want to believe it. I want to believe in dabble to do it. I don't know what the answer is. They've got to figure it out. But their season still, there's a lot of progress. There's plenty of games left that they can figure this out and give Miami a run for their money in the ACC.
[00:17:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you're right. There is a lot of time. I don't think Clemson season is over in terms of playoff hopes, but just looking at the way, just the way Cade Klemnick has played, I just can't see him leading the Tigers to an ACC championship, especially in the regular season, you know? Yeah. Anything can happen in one game. Yeah. But in terms of a season long of conference play, I don't see him winning at the enough games to get Clemson to first place in the ACC and going to the title game, maybe they. Maybe they can sneak in at that two spot and challenge Miami in the ACC title game. But I think I would be surprised if Miami is not the one seed in the ACC. I just don't see it.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: And I'm there with you. I'm there with you. I'm just simply trying to give you the clumps inside of it. I agree. Miami is that team in the ACC right now. And until we see something different, there's no reason why we should say even any team in the ACC has a shot at Miami because the way that they look, Miami and everybody else in that ACC, especially after how Virginia Tech looked, how Florida State's looking, how Clemson looked it's just like there's nobody there to compete with them right now, is what it looks like. But you always know it's week one, there's only one game to look at. Who knows how this season can turn around?
[00:18:58] Speaker B: Yes. I mean, see, I always assume, because I never want to predict injuries or anything, so I always assume health, you know, because injuries are the craziest. I understand the part of the game of football, but they are the craziest thing to predict in football. You can't predict them. So I'm assuming that all these teams stay healthy, which is, of course, a big assumption. No, no team will stay weight 100% healthy by the end of the school or by the end of the football season. But the way Miami played against Florida, Cam Ward, I think they found their quarterback because when he was at Washington state, he looks really good and he was playing in the swamp, which is the biggest crowd he has ever played in, and he was wheeling and dealing against the Florida defense.
[00:19:41] Speaker A: Yeah. And then Cam Ward, after the game, he talks about, yeah, this is, this place wasn't anywhere close to any of the Pac twelve programs or stadiums we played at. So hear him say that to see Miami's players go over to the Florida recruits after the game, it's wild. It's wild. And then we talked about it all off season, just how this game was going to create the overreactions out the wazoo. And it's done that. It's done exactly what we predicted because that's how the world works. You know, you see one game, you see absolute domination by Miami and the swamp, and you think the world is absolutely, absolutely over for Florida and they may come back and win the next 1011 games of their season. Now I'm not predicting that, and no one else in the world is. But who says it can't happen? It's college football. Anything could happen, especially when they put in DJ Lagway, the five star quarterback. Who's who, who knows? I mean, I would put the percentage wise probably under 1%, but I mean, crazier things have happened. And we'll see how Miami bounces back. How Florida bounces back. Miami's got a, a tough matchup with Alabama A and M or Florida A and M this week, so that, that could be really tough. That. Sarcasm?
[00:20:46] Speaker B: Miami.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, yeah, Florida A and M. That kid. You never know. You never know. But then Florida's got Stamford, so they.
[00:20:52] Speaker B: Should get their first, which, by the way, never forget. I think it was, what, two or three years ago when Sanford went into the swamp. The final score was 70 to 52. Sanford was challenging them for the vast majority of that game. And then Florida ran away in the fourth quarter. But I think it's gonna be very interesting to see how DJ Lagway plays. Not particularly this week, but next week when they play A and M at home, I think that is gonna be a signal of, okay, well, Florida, how many wins can they actually get? And can they actually win at least one or two. And what I call the. Really, I don't even know. It's a gauntlet. All right, well, it's a gauntlet, to say least. At Tennessee, Kentucky, at Georgia, at Texas, LSU, Ole Miss. I mean, that is. Can you ever remember a time where there is a harder schedule than that?
[00:21:42] Speaker A: Well, we have to see the rest of the season because originally we looked at this and we said, wow, this is a crazy schedule. And at the end of it, they get Florida state. Now Florida State's off the radar of everyone who knows where those other teams on that schedule could go. So, yes, 100%, this is the hardest schedule I've ever seen and I would highly doubt that it changes.
Maybe it does. Maybe Ole Miss is, I don't know, off the table. Maybe Tennessee falls apart, LSU falls apart, and you could be looking and saying, okay, this schedule isn't as hard. Maybe Florida can actually do something, or maybe this is just the hardest schedule ever and Florida doesn't win more than two football games.
[00:22:16] Speaker B: It's the exact same thing that I would do on college football 25 when I'm trying to rebuild a bad program and I want to challenge myself and just make myself go through a gauntlet in the non conference and schedule like Georgia and Texas and Alabama, just for fun, just to try to boost my ranking very fast. That's kind of what Florida's schedule is like, except you don't want to have, you don't want that to happen in real life. But speaking of the future, we are going to preview this week and do some predictions on the other side of this break.
Welcome back for the final segment of the student section, college football. And we are going to preview and pick some games. Let's just start with Alabama taking on UCF.
Obviously, everyone likes to talk about last season. It was a very ugly game. Tyler Buckner got the start in that game, but that was ultimately the game that completely turned the season around. But what are you expecting for Saturday night this year?
[00:23:44] Speaker A: I'm expecting a Jalen Milro redemption show. He was benched for this game last year. And if you don't think that Jalen Milro doesn't remember this? You're crazy. This is exactly the type of thing that Jalen Milro will remember and will add fuel to his fire and his motivation. He's going to come out and he's going to sling it, he's going to run it. He's going to do whatever he can. I expect at least five touchdowns from Milro. That's what he had last week. Maybe more than that. We'll see. We'll see how long he's on the field, but at least five. We'll see how much he plays in the second half. I don't expect this game to be close at all. I'm expecting. I'm going to go with a solid 63 to seven score.
[00:24:18] Speaker B: Okay, so basically the same score as last week. Yeah. It's a 31 lines. 31 again. It was last week. Yeah. I'm expecting Alabama to absolutely pummel them on the offensive end if they only score 17 points. And clearly something had to have gone wrong. They will score way more than. They might get more than 17 in the first ten minutes. I mean, I think this, this will be a. Should be an easy win. Alabama should roll and get to 20 very easily. All right, let's move on to the biggest game of the weekend in Ann Arbor, Texas. Going to Michigan. What are your thoughts?
[00:25:02] Speaker A: Everything I have read, everything I have heard tells me that Texas is going to go into the big house and win this football game. Whether it's Isiah bond, Matthew Golden, Ryan Ringo, all the way wide receivers, that Texas has, all the speed that they can put pressure on Michigan's defense. Michigan has Will Johnson, the best cornerback in the. In college football, but they all can't guard all those guys. And then they also can mix it up with the run game. Michigan has a great defensive line with Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham, but Texas has one of the most experienced offensive lines in the country with offensive tackle future first rounder Kelvin Banks. So everything I'm saying, everything I'm looking at, Texas, Texas, Texas. Give me Michigan, really give me marines. Everything says Texas, Texas, Texas. And that's why I'm taking Michigan. They're going to find a way to get it done in the big house. Everyone's talking down on them. Nobody has any belief in Michigan. Texas about to come up here, bring the SEc to the big Ten. Michigan finds a way, goes out there to win it. Davis Warren makes a play. Walk on, makes a play late in this game. I'm gonna go 20 to 17. Wolverines Big Ten shows up, the national champs. They show off for the Texas Longhorns and take down Steve Sarkeesian's team.
[00:26:20] Speaker B: That, I'm gonna be honest, that would stun me. That would surprise me a lot because I really believe Quinn Ewers and I really believe this Texas team is just that good. I think they. If they can beat Georgia later this season and Austin, I think they can prove that, yeah, they have a legit shot to win the national championship, and they have a legit shot to win it now, actually, I think Texas, they will win this game not only when they will they win this game, they will cover. Not only will they cover, they will win by double digits. I think Texas.
I think they're going to win this game.
Let's say 34 to 17.
[00:27:03] Speaker A: I think that's, what, 100% on the table.
[00:27:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I'll say about 34 to 17, I think. I really believe in this Texas team, and I don't believe in this Michigan team at all. After all that, they lost. They lost their coach, they lost JJ McCarthy. I think Michigan is going to get a little dose of reality, and I think just the optics of them taking forever to pull away from Fresno State is a really bad look. And I understand it was week one. I get that. But I'd be surprised if Michigan won this game. I think Texas is going to win this and win it pretty handily.
[00:27:38] Speaker A: I mean, I am going out on a complete limb with this one. You made great points. I also made points for Texas and everything. Everything in my body says Texas. Longhorns go in and get this done. But there is just a little feeling that says all these things we're hearing. They don't matter because Michigan is going to find a way to win it. And that's what I'm going with. And I have no idea why. It's just something in me saying, pick Michigan. And one thing I will say, Michigan's offense did not look good last week.
[00:28:08] Speaker B: No.
[00:28:09] Speaker A: How do we know they just weren't trying to put anything on tape for Texas? Maybe they were just keeping it vanilla as possible. Cause they know, Alex, Fresno State, we'll figure it out, but we don't want to put anything on tape for Texas. And this could just me being trying to be positive with my pick. But realistically, these coaches think about these things. When you've got a great team, Texas, coming in the next week, you can't be throwing your whole kitchen sink out there on week one. You've got to have stuff in the bag. And if you look at it. Donovan Edwards did not play very well. He did not, I think, under 30 yards. And if you're saying he's the star, star running back for this team, maybe they had some special plays dialed up in the playbook waiting for this week to bring him out. Because we know Donovan Edwards, what does he do? He hits home runs. He hits 500 foot bombs, whether it's 70 yard touchdown runs, 80 yard touchdown runs. That's what he does. And that's what he's going to have to do in this game for Michigan to beat the Texas Longhorns.
[00:29:00] Speaker B: Yeah, if Donovan Edwards in Michigan want to win this game, Edwards is going to have to have a performance like he did against Ohio State a couple years ago when he had that huge, actually two huge touchdown runs to defeat the Buckeyes. I just don't see it happening.
Texas, they got to win this game. And I agree with your point on, yeah, they didn't show the poll playbook. They're going to pull out a lot of stuff, a lot of new stuff that Texas has never seen. But I think ultimately Texas is going to pull away in the second half. All right. Saturday night, Tennessee taking on NC State. I believe it is. Yeah. It is in Charlotte. It is in the Panthers Stadium neutral site. What do you think?
[00:29:42] Speaker A: I am absolutely on the Niko Imalava train. I don't know if I said it right, but I hope I did. But that's a Tennessee quarterback, former five star, number one recruit. This is first season starting after the Joe Milton era, which, which didn't go too well for Tennessee. And now this is the time that Josh Hypers offense gets back to what it was in 2022. That was the number one offense in the entire country. Henden Hooker, Heisman Trophy candidate before he got injured. Jalen Hyatt running around all behind everyone. And now they've got Niko Iamaliyava. A lot of people would say that he is better than Henden hooker, much better talent than Henden Hooker. And he can run, he can pass, he can throw it anywhere on the field. He showed it last week against Chattanooga. 69 to three. Victory over 700 yards of offense from Tennessee. This is the type of Tennessee offense that we saw two years ago and everyone was like, wow. Yes. That's what we're seeing right here because of Niko Iyamali Ava, he can do everything that they need him to do in that offense. They've got some receivers, too. I don't see this game being close. It's a nine and a half point spread. I take it every day of the week Tennessee is going to waltz in there and Molly whip NC state this weekend. I didn't like how NC State played against western Carolina last week, and I hear these things about they've got a great coach, he's a great defensive coach, but I just, I don't see how they keep this close at all. Tennessee, roland, I'm going 41 to ten.
[00:30:59] Speaker B: I watched what Nico Iamali alva did in that bowl game against Iowa in their defense. Holy cow, this guy can ball. And yeah, they beat Chattanooga 69 to three. I'm really interested to see what he does against a power five or I guess, guess power four. We can call it power four at this point.
Opponent, I think. Yeah, I agree with you. This dude is a real deal. And depending on how much Tennessee wins by, they could jump a lot in the rankings.
I think Tennessee is going to win this game. I agree with you. They're going to cover, and I don't think it's going to be particularly close, especially after seeing Grayson McCall, NC State struggle so much with western Carolina, which is also a very confusing thing for me from week one. So, yeah, Tennessee, they're going to win, but all right, next game, Colorado and Nebraska on NBC. This is a very intriguing game, and.
[00:31:58] Speaker A: My pick's going to be straight from the heart. Okay, I'm picking the Buffaloes. Really, I am a massive Deion fan and I'm going to stick with them. I'm going to stick with them. And this goes a little bit back to the Michigan one that I'm just doing it out on a limb because, you know, I just got a feeling. But realistically, you can make a better argument for Colorado than you can for Michigan. They've got Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn, Shadur Sanders. That's all you need to say. That's all you need. Can Nebraska stop them? I really don't know. No one's been able to really put a cover on this offense. They've been phenomenal since Deion arrived last season, and the only thing that's been a struggle is protecting Shadur Sanders. They did better, quote unquote, last week against North Dakota State. I believe it was only one or two sacks, but it was Shadura making magic happen throughout the whole game, whether it was moving around in the pocket, taking hits and still making dimes all around the field. But when you have Travis Hunter and when you have Shadrach Sanders, you're never out of a game. You're never out of a game, and especially when you're playing Nebraska. Nebraska is not overly talented. They are not just a top five recruiting class every single year. That is just so much better than Colorado like Oregon was last year. Oregon was far and away much better than Colorado and that's why they wipe them off the field with ease. That is not Nebraska. This game is going to be closer and if you can't stop them, Nebraska is not going to be able to score with Colorado. Yes, they have Dylan Raiola and he's a better quarterback than what they had last year because last year was maybe the worst quarterback play we've ever seen in college football, but he is not going to be able to keep up with Shadur Sanders. It's going to be a phenomenal game, though. 42 35 of buffaloes in Lincoln.
[00:33:33] Speaker B: I am. You are a big Deon fan. I am the opposite. I am a big Deon fan.
[00:33:39] Speaker A: Isn't that like it is in the whole world? You're either a Dion hater or a Deon lover.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: No, you're absolutely right. And they beat North Dakota State by five points. And quite frankly, they're lucky to get out of it because the Hail Mary feels just a few yards longer they would have lost. Not to mention the horrible clock management that Colorado had before they punted and gave North Dakota State that last chance they threw passes for. I have no idea why they threw passes. They could have wasted a lot of clock time and given North Dakota State no chance.
I really like the steel and Riola kid. I think Nebraska's finally got their quarterback. I really believe that Nebraska, after years of saying, hey, we're finally back to, you know, being relevant, I think this is finally the time. Not saying they're going to go on some run to the playoffs or anything, but in terms of competing in, in the Big Ten, not towards the top, but get it making their way to the top finally. I think it is finally here. I think Nebraska, it's going to be a very high scoring game. I think that offensive Colorado, can they protect Shadur Sanders? You know, he likes, he's running around a lot, but I think this is going to be a very high scoring game. I think it could, it could be a 42 35 game. I'll say a little different. I'll say 42 38 Nebraska. I think it is going to be a close game. I think Dylan Royola is going to lead a drive toward the fourth quarter, end of the fourth quarter to win the game. Game.
And that will do it for today.
We will see you guys next week. Have fun watching college football all next. All tomorrow. Today's Friday. All tomorrow on Saturday.
