Latest / Unicorn Football Talk / College teams to root for (and a few not to root for)
Transcript
- Emily: Hi Hillary, guess what? Football season is here. Hilary: Emily, I am so excited. The college game is kicking off in full force this weekend. Last weekend was week zero and there were a few games already in the books, but let's get started talking about college. I love it. Emily: Yeah, I couldn't be more excited. we started this podcast during the off season when there was no football. And now football season here and we get to talk about it. So what we're doing for today is, you know, a little fun. This is all in fun, right? Like we're gonna be talking about teams that we suggest you root for or root against. And I just wanna remind everybody sports hate is not real hate. We don't like a team or a coach or fans. It's not real. But to me it's what makes sports and football so fun as a fan is to have a rooting interest. Hilary: Yeah, I really enjoy a game more when I have kind of placed a stake on one team or the other. Emily: Yeah, in every game I watch, I pick a rooting interest and it could be because of a coach I like or don't like, or a player, or a fan base, or if a team has had too much success or too little. Hilary: Okay, so you're gonna cheer against the favorites, is that what you're saying? Emily: Yeah, well, you'll just have to wait. So let's start. We're we each picked four teams to root for and against. I really hope if you're listening that I didn't pick your team as a team to root against. That's my hope. Hilary: Okay. Emily: Let's start. Let's let's start with the negative, okay? Or the the rooting against lists. So I'll list out a couple and then I'll see what you've got to say. number one on my list is Ohio State. I always root against the number one team. I don't want to see any team dominate too much. I hate the dynasty schools that just kind of roll along. The coach is not super likable to me. Ohio State's just been rolling for a while. I just don't think we need to continue that tradition. Hilary: Can I just chime in here? That would be the Ohio State. And that's another reason to just kind of not like them. Emily: Yeah, good one. That's right. The Ohio State. No, I'm not calling them that. They're Ohio State. Or as Michigan fans will call sometimes just Ohio. They don't even add the state on, apparently. Hilary: Yeah, or those guys down south, right? Yeah. Emily: South. Right. So I think we're in agreement there. I don't think Ohio State's on your list of teams to root for. Hilary: It is not on my list, no. Emily: Okay. All right. Moving along for your consideration, LSU, which I think will make many people's list this year. This is not a school or a team that would have made my list last year or the year before. I've never really had a problem with LSU, but I think most of you listening, if you like if you listen to college football, know why I picked this. Lane Kiffin. my most hated coach of all hated coaches, coaches for LSU. He coached for Tennessee many years ago, and he honestly is the reason I think that set Tennessee back for the number of years that we've been out. because he bolted our program after one year for USC. He he's just a grifter. There's just no low that's too low for him. He left. Old Miss last year when they were in the playoffs to go to LSU. He's just the most unlikable coach in in college. Hilary: I agree with that wholeheartedly. I think that he represents right now almost everything that's wrong with college football. Emily: Yeah. And I don't think I have to push too hard for other people to agree with me. I don't think there's anybody out there unless you're an LSU fan that will be rooting for LSU. All right. Who do you have on your list? Hilary: So it's funny that you bring up Lane Kiffin and USC because USC, the University of Spoiled Children, tops one of my team to not root for lists. I hate their fight song and they play it over and over and over, and I it just grates on me. I don't like the LA media bias. I think they get way too much TV coverage, whether they're good or not. And, you know, that media coverage and the strong LA media market is why they bolted and blindsided everybody to join the Big Ten. And they just kind of announced they were leaving. It decimated the Pac 12, which is the conference that the University of Washington, my team, belong to. And I just don't like them. Their fans only show up if they're winning. they've been whining about the rivalry with Notre Dame. And of course, if you're a USC fan or a Notre Dame fan, you're gonna point fingers at the other team for quote pausing that rivalry. But that's gonna restart in twenty thirty, but it's been pushed to the first week of the season. And really, it's all about neither team wants to take a late season loss and hurt their CFP chances. So Yeah, just can't get behind those guys. And another quick side note, I guess personal, is that right after USC bolted to the Big Ten, the UW had to come up with something to do. University of Washington had to come up with something else to do. And as soon as they joined the Big Ten, the athletic director at University of Washington, Jen Cohn, announced she would be taking that same job at USC. So another reason for me personally. Not those guys. I Emily: yeah, I'm I'm with you. I'm with you. I didn't have them on my list, but I easily could have Hilary: Yeah. another knot to root for for me with some pretty strong feelings is Texas Tech. And I think this just goes hand in hand with LSU right now, in that I think what they're doing with their program is just such a negative look for college football. They've got a mega booster, Cody Campbell, and he is basically buying them a roster down there. He's their chairman of their board of regents. They've got the whole Brendan Soresby gambling. Let's support this kid anyway. And when we don't like how the NCAA tried to handle that, we're just gonna take it to court. it's just a bad look and I can't support them. Emily: Yeah, I'm with you. Well, I guess I'll give you a couple more and then I'll bounce back to you. Hey, Hilary: Okay, yeah, sure. Emily: I forgot to say up top that I asked AI. I was just curious what AI would say. I asked AI, give me four teams to root against and four teams to root for. They, whoever AI is, said Ohio State, Michigan, Colorado, and Alabama. So, yes, yeah, it was Hilary: Ooh, is that the Deion Sanders factor? Okay. Emily: basically the other three are pretty obvious. and Deion Sanders was for Colorado. So that goes right into Alabama, it was my number three. This is obvious reasons. I don't think a lot of people like Alabama. the main thing that jumps out for me is they've just had too much success for too long. And I just don't like to see domination kind of like Ohio State. I think their fans need to experience some down years like I have. they need a break, okay? And we need a break. Also, I Hilary: Are you saying there should be a little suffering in Tuscaloosa? Emily: Yes. Yes. They need to suffer like I've suffered. also the coach of the University of Washington left the University of Washington, Kalen De Boer for Alabama. And I support you dub. I'm not a a husky. but he had a really good life here. It was a great program. Seattle's such a wonderful place to to live, and he bolted For Alabama, so I root against him now. but I don't think I need to say anything more about Alabama, right? Hilary: I think that pretty much sums it up. Other than their stupid slogan, roll tide, can't get behind Emily: Yeah. Hilary: that either. No. Emily: No. It's just time. They need a bad year. I'm I'm hoping for it. All right. My number four final team for your consideration. Notre Dame, my hatred of Y Notre Dame has been my whole college fan career. my major gripe against them is just that they're special. They refuse to join a conference. They've been asked, they've been courted, they can get their own media deal. So they haven't, they just want to have the easiest path to a postseason. And I'm just kind of tired of it. And then it just it was all capped last year. They were left out of the 12 team playoff and they were so bothered and ticked off about it, they declined to play in a bowl game. Hilary: Yeah, I remember that, that they declined to play in the bowl game. And I think that's a disservice actually to the players and the fans who they did have a good season, you know, and they didn't celebrate that at the end. Emily: Yeah, it was just beneath them, apparently. So that's my fourth and final. Who else do you have? Hilary: I've got Oregon on my list, of course. That's the University of Washington main rival. I've talked about them in prior podcasts. that's all I'm gonna say about them. I'm not gonna give the ducks any more of my time. And Emily: I'm sorry, I think they're gonna have a good year. Hilary: I do too, and that's even more reason not to cheer for them. Emily: Yeah. I just wanna say it might be tough for you to see them succeed this year 'cause I think they're gonna do well. Hilary: It it might be tough for me. Right. And then my last on my list is Texas. And that's really not against the Texas program itself. That's mostly directed at Steve Sarkeesian. And my dislike for him is long running and personal. Also, he was the coach at Washington from 2009 to 2013. And he did rebuild the program from a and twelve season, I believe, to three seasons in a row of seven wins, but he could never get beyond that. And so up in Seattle, he got the nickname of Seven Win Sark. And in January of 2013, he bailed for USC when that job came open. And his departure from Seattle was really kind of ugly. He departed before the bowl game and he said he was going to take his dream job. And it just it didn't sit well here. Turned out okay for us because we ended up with Chris Peterson, but it was still a really kind of ugly exit. And I actually just saw that I think it was yesterday, that he held a press conference and he criticized teams. And he wasn't specific, but he was calling out LSU about the morality in connection with bringing back. Players that had been on NFL rosters. And to hear him talk about morality was just kind of wild to me. I yeah. Emily: Yeah. Yeah. Hilary: yeah, Texas leans into the villain role. they thrive on the animosity of other teams. I think that makes them come across as kind of arrogant. And they also are I don't know if people know they were a major contributor to the realignment of the Big Twelve when they moved to join the SEC. They went a year earlier than planned and they had to pay an exit fee to offset the lost revenue for the remaining conferences. But there and Oklahoma's move to the SEC was kind of the start of a lot of the conference realignment. Emily: Yeah, you had a good list. All right. Well, how about let's end this on a positive note and talk about the teams that we are hoping you'll consider rooting for. Sound good? Hilary: Yeah, let's get positive. I've got some great teams on my Route Four list. Emily: All right, I asked again, give me four teams to root for. They said Texas Tech, which made your list of people to root Hilary: Ha ha ha. Emily: against, Indiana, UCLA, and Texas. So two of your four on your list. This is why it's fun, right? Like we all have we Hilary: This is why it's fun, yeah. Emily: all have different rooting interests, but I thought that was interesting. All right, for your consideration, I also had Indiana on my list. And this does go against one of my principles, which is to root against the big dog. But yes, they were perfect and won the national title last year, but let's not forget how impressive that was. They were nobody little guys for so long that I think it would be really cool to see if they can build that program up and keep it rolling. So they are ranked number six going into the season, which is not one. So I feel okay about rooting for them. They have a tall task to replace their Heisman winning quarterback, Mendoza. They have a QB transfer from TCU that I think will be fun to watch. So I don't know how you feel about Indiana. Hilary: Well, I root for Purdue, so I use sucks, but No, I I think that they did a great job building that program and I will cheer for them this year. I like to see someone other than Ohio or Michigan at the top of the pile. No problem. Emily: Same, same. So yeah, So let's pull for Indiana. Old Miss made my number two, so we're gonna keep the Lane Kiffin talk going. Lane Kiffin left Old Miss last year while they were in the playoffs. And I would love to see Ole Miss succeed with Lane Kiffin gone. I just think that would be a great way to stick it to him. So otherwise I would Hilary: Ooh deep Emily: not be rooting for Old Miss. Hilary: Do you have that game circled as a must watch on your calendar? I do. Yeah. Emily: yes I do. That game will be huge. I will be plopped down on my couch watching Old Miss LSU. Hilary: Okay. So I'm gonna shake this up a little bit if for consideration. The first thing I'm gonna say is not a team, but I wanna cheer for the new Pac Twelve Conference. This is their inaugural year after things kind of fell apart in the conference realignments. And I really wanna see this conference succeed. They had a mass exodus of all but two members in twenty twenty four, and Washington State and Oregon State are back as the legacy members. But they have eight members total for football. And this represents a change in conference a lot out of the mountain west, which including Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, and Texas State. Gonzaga's joining as a non football member. I'm excited for all of these teams. I'm excited for them to get some more national coverage. The conference is not a power four conference anymore. It's gonna operate as a group of six, but it's still it retained its name and its identity. And I think it's exciting to see them back in the picture. Emily: that was a great call. I'm with you all the way. That was devastating to see that conference dismantled. And I really felt bad for the teams that were left behind. Hilary: Yeah, and so kind of keeping along with some conferencing shakeup, the other team I'm super excited about is the North Dakota State Bisons. They okay, yeah, Emily: Okay. Hilary: they've got a mascot, costumed mascot named Thunder the Bison, and they are moving up from football championship subdivision, FCS, to the FBS by joining the Mountain West Conference. And in their old subdivision, they have a really dominant history. They've won 10 championships since 2011. And I just really hope that the success of that program translates to the new conference and the new subdivision. And they'll be immediately eligible for postseason play if they make six wins. And they won their first game last Saturday against Jacksonville State. So I'm watching them. I think it's cool. Emily: all right, I guess I'll I'll round out my top four. it was hard for me to pick four schools because I don't really root for a lot of schools. So I did a generic category of just any non top 25 team playing a rag team. It's just because that's what I will be doing. especially in this new era, the NIL era, where we've got teams at the top with so many more resources to pay players, I just like to see upsets. So I'm rooting for the upset every week if I don't have a strong rooting interest. Hilary: Okay. Emily: and then my last pick is a shameless pick of my team, Tennessee. I saw on TikTok. this video of the top ten worst fan bases or the ones you love to hate. And Tennessee was in the top ten. And I get it. Hilary: Really? Emily: I'm not I'm not offended of being in an annoying fan base, but I just want to say we've we're an old proud fan base that have had some really tough years. it's not been easy to be beaten by Alabama year after year. And I feel like we're starting to get momentum and turn things around. Football is everything in Knoxville. The stadium experience is up there with anybody else's, and it's always packed no matter what. We have a lot of passion and we have Rocky Top. So you were talking about USC's annoying song. I Rocky Rocky Top is the best song. Hilary: Ha ha ha ha. Emily: I love singing it. It's great. I think our coach is likable, Josh Heipel. And I will also say, Dolly, rest in peace, East Tennessee girl. They are wearing Dolly stickers on their helmets this year to honor her. So come on, you can't hate against that. Everyone loves Dolly Parton. So let's let's go vol. And I know it's hard to root for an SEC team, but you know, just give us a try. Hilary: Okay, I'll give you a try. Maybe. Maybe. All right. Emily: Maybe. All right. What do you what do you got? What do you got to round this list off? Hilary: to round out my list. I'm gonna call out the Cal Golden Bears. when the Pac 12 got blown apart, Cal joined the ACC. So they're in their third year there. And there's some exciting things happening down there. They they have a GM and it's Ron Rivera with his NFL Emily: Ooh. Hilary: experience, right? So I thought that was kind of interesting. And Ron Rivera went out and he hired a new coach for Cal this year. And the guy he chose is Tosh Lupoy, who, if people know Oregon, they know that he was their very successful defensive coordinator there. So new coach, GM, and they've got some positive things rolling. They had the 14th ranked portal class this year, and they've also got a top 20 ranked high school recruiting class coming in. So I feel like the vibe in Berkeley is changing. And the very most important thing that Coach Lupoy did when he first took the job is he worked really, really hard to keep their young quarterback. His name is Jeron Saga Poteli. I think I got that right. If I didn't, Jeron, I'm sorry. he earned the starting job as a freshman, and people are really, really excited about his potential there. So I just I think good things are happening and I'd like to follow them this year. And then, of course, my fourth team that I would like to root for is the University of Washington Huskies. I bleed purple and I can't wait for our first game on Saturday, which is against our cross-state rivals, Washington State Cougars. They kept that. legacy rivalry alive even though it's at the beginning of the season right now. that stadium is gorgeous on the shores of Lake Washington. You can see the lakes and the mountains from inside the stadium. It's been dubbed the greatest setting in college football. We've had some Yeah. What? I know. Well hey they Emily: Well well, wait, it's been dubbed by the University of Washington the greatest setting in football, so Hilary: said it on game day. I'm I'm going with it. They said it on game day. Your guy Kirk Herbstreet called it out. So Emily: I think it's cause Washington calls it that. But yes, it is a great setting. It's a great setting. I mean, I am partial, Hilary: They do. It is a great setting. Emily: of course, to Knoxville, but it is a beautiful, beautiful stadium. I got to take a boat from the game once. It was amazing. Hilary: Yeah. it's also a cool stadium because it has a cantilevered roof that overhangs the seating sections and it just traps the sound in there and it just can be so crazy loud when the stadium is full. Awesome hostile environment for visiting teams. And I think we rank right up there with the best for tailgating. We've got super dedicated fans and we're pretty nice to everybody, unless you're from Oregon. And we have a super energetic marching band, dance and cheer squads. It's just a s really wonderful game day experience and I'm ready to get started. Emily: I am so ready. This was fun talking with you. I'm like getting very, very excited. And yeah. Hilary: Can I throw in one more thing? One more thing. I am rooting for anybody playing against Texas. Sorry. They're facing a super tough schedule this year. I think they've got one of the most difficult schedules Go ahead. Emily: that means you'll be rooting for Tennessee one week. I'm excited for you to root for Tennessee. Hilary: I will be rooting for Tennessee. Yeah, and old miss and sadly I think I may have to root for Ohio in that one. And boy, I don't know what I'm gonna do when they play L S U, but maybe I just won't watch that one. No no Emily: No, no, no, no, no. We're rooting for Texas over LSU. Come on, that's not even a question. Hilary: Anyway, this is so fun. It's all in good fun and I'm just excited to get the season going. Emily: All right. See ya soon, Hilary. Hilary: All right. See ya soon, Emily.