Latest / College Football Nobodies / Week 7 Picks and Preview, Entire College Football Landscape

Transcript

Week 7 Picks and Preview, Entire College Football Landscape · College Football Nobodies

• Kevin: Welcome back, everyone. College football and nobody's Kevin and Eric are here with you again. Eric, we are in the full swing of the season, mid-October. The leaves are beautiful. That crunchy sound under your feet fall in the air, the crisp weather. It's phenomenal in every way. You're doing this show on the road this week on the other side of the country, out there in Boston. Kudos to you. Play like a champion. You certainly are. And with that said, what a week it was last weekend as we talked about. This weekend as a chance to upstage it. There is just a smorgasbord of incredible games on the College Football Week 7 slate. Eric and I are fired up to get into it. So let's get into it, Eric. The big noon game, the rematch of the Big Ten Championship taking place in Indiana. The Buckeys come calling on the Hoosiers. It's number five versus number seven. It's the noon Eastern game, of course. The Buckeys are laying three and a half as of now on the road. What are your initial thoughts on Ohio State, Indiana, Eric? Erich: Well, my initial thoughts are emotional because I picked against Indiana last week and it felt like it was all right there. So now I'm afraid to get picked against them this week. So I'm I'm unable to separate the emotions here, which is fine. My head says Ohio State will probably win this game, but my heart says there's still also something missing from Ohio State's team, and that's the run game is just not consistent. It still f feels like it's just Jeremiah Smith or nothing. And Julian Sane just isn't a dual threat at QB. I'm going Indiana. Yeah, I I think they win this game. They're the home team. you know, had they lost last week, I don't know. I would have felt like, okay, now that's gonna be, you know, pins and needles for them. But they got it done. They showed their toughness. This is by far and away, other than maybe Texas, the toughest road game Ohio State's gonna have all year. I'm going to Indiana. I think it's gonna be tight like it was last year. Give me Indiana twenty, Ohio State. seventeen. Kevin: I'm on the other side in this one. I just like Ohio State in this game, nothing has really swayed me from that. Indiana's very good. I just don't think they're as good as their national championship team, which isn't crazy to say. I think a lot of people know that. You could make the same case for Ohio State, that they're not as good as last year. I just really trust Ryan Day in revenge spots. When somebody gets them the year before, generally outside of Michigan in their streak that they had going, I like Ohio State in these spots. They also know their backs are up against the wall with their loss to Texas, which I think still has them burning a little bit, knowing that Texas was a bit flawed, but they didn't finish that game. They understand the pressure of this game. And don't kid yourself, Ryan Day is the type of personality that has this game circled. He knows the attention that Kurt Signetti gets nationally now and well deserved. And he has immense respect for Signetti, but he wants this one because he knows how damn good of a coach he is. And this is a chance for him to get one back from the Big Ten championship last year. and they scored 10 points in that game. Ryan Day's teams do not score 10 points. That was a frustrating night for him in Lucas Oil Stadium. I think the Buckeys have enough offense. I I do worry about their run game in this game. Indiana is really stout up front, but Nebraska was able to rush for about 130 yards on them and have some moments. I think the Jackson Twins, or whatever you want to call them, in the backfield for the Buckeys, I think Bo Jackson and Jacoby Jackson can get going a little bit in this game. And sure, will Curtin Signetti, as everyone does. They have to have a plan for Jeremiah Smith. He will have a great plan, but I don't really know if there is a plan for Jeremiah Smith. And the one key part missing for Indiana this year is D'Angelo Pons is not in that secondary. He was incredibly talented. So I think that sways the favor in the passing game to Ohio State. I think Pons was that good. And I think the Buckeyes make enough plays in this game. Tough physical game. I'm really shocked with the total being at 50 and a half or 14 and a half as it's come down to now. I would have it at 43, 44. I'll go Buckeyes 24, Indiana 17. Close game. One stat I didn't love doing a little research on this game was Indiana is a hundred and twenty-seventh the nation in explosive plays allowed. I think Ohio State's able to get a few down the field as they most often do in most games. That's the difference. Ryan Day and the Scarlet and Gray get out of Bloomington with their revenge win and give Indiana their first loss. Erich: Will they also give Indiana their first interception? Because Josh Huber has not thrown one yet. So we'll see if that presents itself and maybe makes a difference in the game one way or another, because you're gonna throw one at some point. So we'll see if it's that Kevin: Yeah. Erich: game. Let's go to the two teams coming off losses, but still a fun matchup game, Kevin. Florida at Texas. This one's hard to choose. I think everyone. And when I say hard to choose, where are both these teams at coming off those losses, I think is what I mean. I still think Texas is a better team than Florida because Texas can play defense. And this is at home. I think Texas wins this game. I think they cover. It's they're they're favored by nine and a half. Rightfully so. I'm with Florida now at a point where until they show me they can play a little defense, the meat of their SEC schedule, it's gonna be really hard for me to pick them to win when they're on the road. And yes, Texas has some weird things going on. Their offense is sloppy, but let's remember after they kind of went through their losses on the road last year, they put it together and played pretty well the rest of the way. We might see that here with them. Are they gonna get it together? And is is Arch gonna then kind of do what he did in the back half of the season last year? This year, my my head tells me yes, that's probably gonna happen. So give me Texas 31, Florida 17. Kevin: I agree, Eric. This is a tough game to call. I would stay away from the spread on this one because I I don't feel great about it either way, especially with Tech Texas showing some of their warts that I thought they had going into the Red River game last week. Florida now to really make this a turnaround season. This is an important spot after two really, really tough weeks for John Sumerall. Where is the confidence of this Gators group? I'm sure it's shaken. I don't love some of the matchups in this game for Florida, so that's why I lean Texas here. Not sure if they cover, but I think it's right around that line. Maybe it's an eight or ten or twelve point win somewhere in there. Can they get Jaden Ball going? Florida, that is. That's tough for Texas's front. Oklahoma did it without a running game, but they got a blocked punt. They got a pick six, another interception. Arch Manning, he has his issues. Is he gonna do that again at home? I I don't know. I think I'm not high on him, but I I think he rebounds. I worry about Florida's young corners in this game, too. This is a game where Cam Coleman and and Ryan Wingo could really get loose downfield, so Come on, Texas, with that roster, you can't lose two weeks in a row. This would be a major problem if you lost at home for Florida. You gotta get up off the mat. It's gonna should be a tough week of practice and and back to the drawing board, hmm maybe we're humbled and and we're not as good as we as we thought. Hopefully that's what the Oklahoma did. Oklahoma loss did for them, and so I I do think they take care of business, but i interesting game. I don't feel confident either way. So Texas is my pick. Erich: Let's stay in the SEC here. Mississippi State coming off their bye week, looking to rebound and get back in the win column. But they gotta go to US LSU. Death Valley, tough, tough place to play. I mean, really tough. Another one where LSU hasn't been consistent on defense, but they've at least shown the ability to play defense in spots. I trust their pass r their pass rush. There's more to trust on LSU's def team side defensively versus Mississippi State. Can Super Camario carry them though against LSU? I I don't know. This one is interesting, Kevin, because there's a lot I didn't like that I saw last week for LSU at Kentucky. And we have to remember if Kentucky doesn't miss those field goals, there's no overtime. You know, they win by, you know, a touchdown basically. So Kevin: Mm-hmm. Erich: where's I just I don't know what to think of this LSU team right now. And I a lot of the SEC teams fall into this category. It's like the only two teams I really feel sure about right now are Georgia and Alabama. Outside of everyone else, it's just there's either suspect defense or no offense. There's just not a lot of complete teams outside of that. So I don't know, Kevin. I I'm gonna be cheap here and go with the home team. I just think they have too much on their roster. And I think they get this done. I don't know if they cover though. Ten and a half might be a lot when you're going against Super Camario and you haven't been consistent at all times for LSU. So give me San Levitt getting a score late, whether it be a field goal or touchdown, and I'll take LSU. I think there's gonna be points. Give me LSU thirty four, Mississippi State twenty seven. Kevin: Okay. Yeah, this one's quite the spread in this game. It started off with LSU laying ten and a half, and Sharps immediately steamed this up to LSU laying two touchdowns. Seems like a sucker bet. Mississippi State, good football team. Getting two touchdowns. I know it's in Death Valley, but yikes. Maybe that's something we don't know. Maybe it's a sucker bet. Who knows? Great uni combo. Old school SEC West game. Which what time is this one at again? er early game in Tiger Stadium. You don't see a lot of those. Erich: Early game and ESPN. Kevin: Yep. So Gitch gits here. Maybe it's a morning cup of gumbo and jambalaya, but the occasion folks down there gotta get fired up for their by you bangles and this one to make it tough on Mississippi State. I have no doubt they will. I'll go LSU here as well. I don't want to touch the spread. I I don't know what to think really of that number. Mississippi State's gonna feel disrespected for. For sure by that. Jeff Levy's gonna talk about that. The reason I worry about Mississippi State in this game is they'll they'll put up some points, and I think they have some similarities to Kentucky's offense and Kamario Taylor can make plays. Fluff Bothwell absolutely has to get going in the ground game for Mississippi State to have a chance. You've a strong running game on the road, always travels well. If they can do that and keep the ball away from Lane Kiffin's offense and Sam Levitt and their playmakers. That gives them a chance to hang around. It's hard to get the Alabama game, though, out of my head, Eric, because Mississippi State was at home and Alabama rolled in there with all their athletes and did whatever they wanted to do on the ground game and in the air. And do I think Alabama's a better team than LSU? Yes. But LSU has similar athletes than Bama, and I think they can really put up some points on Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have come a long way under Jeff Levy. But across the board, their defensive talent and depth is lacking a bit, and they're susceptible to giving up some big plays. So, with all that said, I've thought about it. I do think it is a sucker bet. I'm gonna lay the 14 with LSU. I think they win by 17. I'll go 38 21 Bayou Bengals. Fun game. Love a good morning SEC game. Erich: Well, Kevin, it's gonna be an interesting game either way. Always tough for me emotionally right now to pick against the Bulldogs, but looks like we're both doing it. And we'll see if they prove us wrong. Gonna be one of those games I'm not gonna be mad if they do, because I love me some Super Camario. Let's go to the Big 12. The Sunflower Showdown, Kevin. And boy, do I not know what to do with this game. I you and I both love Lance Lipold, but it looks a little rough for them in Kansas this year, and they just they're so streaky for a quarter, they'll look like this great team on offense, and then they'll look horrific. Turnover city. They haven't been great defensively against a lot of teams they've played. And then there you got Kansas State, the super senior at quarterback. You don't know what to do with him. And you know, la we thought maybe they'd get a good win last week. They kind of let us down. Kansas State, I believe, is favored in this one. Kevin: Mm-hmm. Erich: It feels right with the home game, but I don't know. Like I I really don't know what to do with this one, Kevin. I'm gonna go give me Lance Lipold here pulling one out because if he doesn't Kevin: Mm. Erich: hear, it looks like it's gonna be a long season for Kansas. So I'm just going with the emotional heartstrings here. Give me Kansas with the upset over Kansas State. Kevin: Okay. Yeah, this one's really tough. The old sunflower showdown, early game, FS1 kick, noon Eastern, and the little apple. I'll go back to the well here. So I'll spoil the pick right away. K-State really let me down last week with an absolute egg of a performance versus Houston, but credit to the Koogs. I think they rebound. This week, not sure if they cover. Probably gonna be a close game. Avery Johnson scares me for Kansas State. He's he's gotta get going. He has to be consistent. Cause, you know, to your point, Kansas with Daniels is probably the better quarterback in this game. And if he plays how he did last week and the plays he made out at Utah, then the advantage flips to Kansas. I just think Kansas State is better in the trenches. If they can control the line of scrimmage, establish the run game, and force Daniels into obvious passing situations, that's where he struggles. So I think Colin Klein will bounce bounce back with a good game plan here for the Purple Cats. Fun game. Score, what is this? 54 and a half. I'll go under. I've kind of been doing that lately. I'll say. Twenty-eight twenty-two Kansas State, excuse me, twenty-eight twenty-two Kansas State, the Wildcats. A Freudian slip, not a good sign here. Erich: Another tough one to pick. Back in the SEC. And I think this to me is gonna say one of two things. I don't think we're gonna learn two things. Alabama at Tennessee, afternoon game. I mean, you know, that's God, you gotta love Rocky Top when that's just rocking there. down in Tennessee. And to me, I think we learn that Alabama actually is a top 10 team, like I think people think they are, just based on how they've played and how it went under the wire against Georgia, or we learn. Tennessee is a top actual top 20 team here. I don't think it's both. I think this to me feels like Bama could really kind of put Tennessee in their place. I think Tennessee is being ranked the way they are without really having done anything other than like the close game against Texas. We know how sloppy Texas has been all year. Yes, Tennessee does have a good run game. They don't have much else though. And I think Alabama's gonna be able to stop the run. So to me, if if I'm a gambler, Alabama being favored by six and a half, I'm eating that up. Yes, it's a road game, and I understand that, but I just think at every level, to me, Bama is a better team. You can maybe give the running back advantage to Tennessee, but outside of that, I'm I'm giving the advantage everywhere else to Alabama. What say you, Kevin? Kevin: Yeah, I like Alabama pretty big here with a statement going into Neeland on the Tennessee River. This Erich: Yeah. Kevin: is a phenomenal rivalry. Third Saturday in October. It's had some classic games in the afternoon. It's gonna be a great setting as always. Bama's laying eight and a half. A lot of people I think will be like, wow, Tennessee at home getting that. I just think this is a bit of a fraud. Tennessee at at 15. And I know that may be harsh to say with one loss on their ledger to Texas by three. Erich: Yeah. Kevin: But I think this is where the rubber meets the road for them. And a team that is trending in the right direction is super talented, and a team that's going to be pissed off coming into Knoxville this week. Questionable call last week. Kalen DeBore and the Tide aren't happy. This is a quality team, a national title contender. And Just a game within the game. Tennessee needs to make Alabama uncomfortable up front. And there's a path to do that. Xavier Gilliam has been outstanding the Penn State transfer up front. But Jim Knowles likes to send a lot of extra defenders, and that could be an issue versus Keelan Russell. So I'm I'm anxious to see how that plays out. But Bama's talented enough on the perimeter and really good in the backfield with their improvement this year, where I think they can slow down. Those blitzes. And then where I worry about Tennessee is just the quarterback play. I don't think they're going to be able to keep up in this game, Eric. and and whether it's Faison Brandon who plays or McIntyre, I don't have a ton of trust in either of those guys. And the thing with Josh Heipel's offenses sometimes, and especially this year, when he doesn't have the talent or the experience at quarterback yet. They need explosive plays in this game, and Tennessee's gonna play fast, but if you're playing fast and not getting yardage and you're still in second and third and long, well then that just plays right into Alabama's hands. They need to be able to control the clock in this game. I think they almost need to slow this down a little bit and keep the tide off the field. That's gonna be something I'm watching in this game because that's easier said than done. When you're a certain type coach like Josh Heipel is, you're you sometimes are are stubborn in those regards. So I think they need to run the ball with Bishop who's coming off some really strong performances recently, but I th I think they are flawed offensively and they have some holes defensively and I I I'll go Alabama. I think they roll in there and put it on I'm gonna go thirty four seventeen tied statement. Erich: I like it. I think we're in agreement there on that one, sounds like. let's do one more SEC game, Kevin, before we go to some of the other conferences and dive in further throughout the landscape here. Mizzou on the road at Ole Miss. Incredible jersey color combos here in this one. the it's another one of the afternoon games on the SEC network. And this one's tricky, Kevin, because if you really look at the body of work. Between these two teams, you could you could make the argument that Missouri is more battle tested and has more, I guess I don't know, you want to say wins on their resume, but at the same time, maybe not. But then there's also two, if it's gonna come down to the best quarterback, this one's an easy pack. You're gonna say Ole Miss, it's at home. But Ole Miss has looked bad just downright bad at times on defense. Missouri has looked downright good. At times on defense, especially with their front four. Kevin: Yeah. Erich: That travels. And if this was Missouri's first big road game, then I don't know if I would go the direction I'm going here. And I can't believe I'm picking against Trinidad Jambliss. You know, my rule best quarterback normally wins. But there's a big mismatch here on the defensive line for me. And Missouri to me has shown me enough this year with what they can do consistently with the running game. And their passing game, Austin Simmons, has been pretty darn good for most of the season. Give me Missouri. Missouri goes into Ole Miss and upsets them. I don't know how many points they're gonna have to score to do it because I just don't know how long you can contain Trinidad and Tamblis or if you can really get them to score less than 24. So give me Mizzou 34. Ole Miss twenty eight. Kevin: 2428. That's I like it. Going with the road dog here. And if you and if that happens, how happy will Austin Simmons be? I mean, Erich: my goodness, can you imagine? Kevin: coming home to Vaud Hemingway Stadium to the team that replaced him with Trinidad Chambless. Erich: Yeah. Kevin: What what a storyline that would be. Curious to see how he plays in this game. Those emotions. Is he too overhyped, but that's that's gonna be really interesting to see. It was interesting to use that, I should come up with a different different word. It was intriguing, I'll say, to see the line at Ole Miss Lane six and a half. I am with you. Mizoo is more battle tested. I'm gonna talk through this first and kind of try to find who I'm picking here, just on the spot. Erich: Ha ha. This is a tough one. Kevin: There it really is. I I'm trying to do the math with Ole Miss 'cause some of the fans have been on me 'cause I've had at seven and five or eight and four this year. So where they come in they come in with one loss, right? and they they got this game, they got at Texas. You know, if they win this game, if I have losing to Texas and Georgia, and I think I had losing Oklahoma before the year, then then that would be eight and four, but and they still got Mississippi State at home. I don't know. This is really a swing game for how Ole Miss's season's gonna go, I think. And and can Mizzou continue the momentum? The best formula for Mizzou in this game is they gotta keep Ole Miss from dictating pace. When they're dictating pace with Trinidad Chambless, it is hard to slow the rebels down. a reliable running game and manageable third downs keep Austin Simmons out of obvious passing situations or Pete Golding's defense. Can get after you, lean on Jamal Roberts in this game. Ole Miss got gashed by Florida and Jaden Baugh. So there's your path for the Tigers winning. Can Ole Miss man up defensively? Because Mizzou's front, we know, is pretty darn good. They completely stuffed Florida in that game. Texas AM's a mess, but they didn't allow anything in that game. Yeah, I gosh, I this one. It's playing out in real time. Red zone's gonna be key. Both teams are gonna move the ball. Who who's scoring touchdowns? Who's not kicking field goals? That's always important. This is a feel. It's almost like against what my heart's telling me, because I think there's a real path for Mizzou to control the game with their ground game and their front four defensively. But I'm gonna go with what Vegas thinks here. There's a reason that old miss is laying six and a half. Something's up with this. I just don't I don't love Something with Mizzou, I know those are good wins, but Florida as it turns out, there's a lot of issues there still they gotta fix. AM is just not a good football team. So how good are you? If Eli Drinkwitz wins this one, I I'll I'll apologize to Tiger fans. I'm going rebels. Close game. Give me the rebs, not sure if they cover. Erich: Okay. Well Kevin: Didn't give a score. I gotta give a score fifty nine and a half. thirty twenty six olmus. Erich: Okay. I like it. Well let's let's jump out of the SEC for a while here now, Kevin. an interesting game because you and I have been against this team all year, but and that's Texas Tech. We just haven't believed in them. But here they are sitting undefeated. And here comes Arizona State, who we thought early, well wow, this team looks like they could be pretty good, and now they've stumbled a little bit. Texas Tech Favored by thirteen and a half at home. It's in Lubbock. Yeah, I have a hard time picking Arizona State to win a road game at this point. At this point, Kevin. They just they seem to be their own worst enemy in a lot of spots. At times it looks like they're magic, the way they can throw the ball. I don't know if that's a good recipe for success here. gimme Texas Tech. I just I just think they have a they're two they're just much more talented everywhere else. I mean, maybe Arizona State's a little better throwing the ball, but that's about it. so give me Texas Tac. I think this is actually at ATT Stadium. let's say I don't think it's gonna be a ton of points just because Texas Tech hasn't really gotten any shootouts yet. So let's do Texas Tech 24, Arizona State 17. Kevin: Yeah, I'll keep this very brief. I've been piling on Texas Tech this year, but ASU has their own issues. Erich: Yeah. Kevin: Kenny Dillingham talked about after that complete debacle versus Baylor, losing fifty-five nineteen, which Baylor is a an all right team this year, maybe pretty good, but you should not be losing fifty five nineteen to that team. And he called it the most embarrassing performance under his leadership. And so they come home last week in verse Hawaii. They're incredibly sloppy. They don't cover thousands of penalties. They're ranked like they're one of the absolute worst teams in the country in penalties. They're undisciplined this year. I I I just don't I just don't see a path for them in this game. 27 6 Texas Tech. Not close. Sun Devils. They got a lot of things, a lot of issues. Ugly game, but tech's tech's good enough for this. Erich: Yeah, I agree. let's keep moving here. And again, I I'll make the joke I always make. We'll we'll keep Kevin on a pitch count for this next one, I promise. Penn State at Michigan. What do we call this game? I mean, I don't I don't feel like the get off the mat game is good enough. I think we call this the Which of the ugly s ugly girlfriends here is the least ugly game of the week? Kevin: Yeah. Erich: Kevin, early on I was like, okay, like look at Michigan. Kevin, you guys should win this game. I don't love this game for you guys. I don't love it at all. I think it's actually just this perfect spot for Michigan to you got use you guys to kind of get something going here. I just Michigan's defense is good. That's been the only thing between these two teams that has been consistent is even when Michigan loses, it's just because they're ugly in offense and they're turning over the ball. Penn State just loses no matter what. It's regardless of what they do. And nothing just seems to go right. Could they get it right against a a pretty elite defense? I don't know. I don't see it. I also don't see Michigan scoring a lot of points, but if they are gonna score 30, it's it's unfortunately probably against Penn State. Just the linebackers are bad. I they're probably going to be susceptible to some rushing yards. But at the same time, like Michigan could be sloppier. So I don't know, maybe you guys could be competitive, but give me Michigan twenty, Penn State thirteen, and a game that you're just happy it's over when it's over. And unfortunately, I think we're looking at more pain. here for Penn State fans in what has already been a painful start to the Big Ten schedule. Kevin: Yeah, more pain is in store for my Nittany Lions, I believe, Eric. I hate the matchup as well. just start with the fact that the big house is a ho house of horrors for the Nittany Lions through the years. Is Michigan a good football team? No. Penn State is a horrible football team. That is a hard sentence to say, but it's the truth. Erich: Yeah. The truth always hurts, Kevin. It always hurts. Kevin: It does it. And Michigan at least has one unit you can rely on this game, as you talked about. They have a great defense. Heck, I mean, they beat Oklahoma. There's no way Penn State could beat Oklahoma this year. And, you know, even if Penn State was pretty good in this game, it always comes down to I brain dyed. I'll start off. The main issue I look at in this game is Penn State has one of the worst rushing offenses in the country. Doesn't matter which back is back there, the offensive line is a mess. I actually blame it more on the running backs. Looking at some of the film this past weekend, gosh, there is holes there. And these backs are just tippy toeing around and missing them. And then other times it is the O-line. So I just see Penn State in second and nine and third and twelve. The entire game. It's the last thing you want to have. And I just see Rocco Beck getting sandwiched by Dom Nichols and John Henry Daly off the edge all game. I could see I could see seven, eight sacks for Michigan in this game. It's going to be ugly. Maybe there's a glimmer of hope if Kobe Howard returns for Penn State in this game, but that that's not going to be enough. Michigan can just bracket coverage them with their talented secondary. And then defensively. Yeah, we'll probably make Michigan look pretty decent this week. They'll target our slow linebackers. They're getting able to they will be able to get just enough push in the ground game. And Bryce Underwood's athleticism, this is a perfect game. He can get out on the edges with some option game or some broken plays and and bother us with his speed. They won't even need to really attack our cornerbacks who are the strength of the team. So they'll be rendered useless, which is Disappointing because when you have great corners like Penn State, that can be a really important asset in big games like this. But yeah, I don't see it. And where's Penn State's head in this game? They threw a lot into that wideout game. You're 0-3, you gotta come on the road to Ann Arbor and and Michigan. They had a buy, able to get healthy, correct some things. You know, I think them watching Minnesota this past week. Hopefully their coaches are telling them yeah, that that was not that great of a team that we lost to. And so they have a lot of work to do themselves, but they're at home enough. I I the numbers five and a half or six. I I do think that they cover avert your eyes. Nineteen ten Wolverines. Bitter, bitter defeat. Erich: Mm. Just a couple historic Big Ten East powers putting up some Big Ten West numbers. in some ways I love that, although I hate the result for you guys. Well, let's Kevin: I mean Erich: talk about a game, Kevin, where there's gonna be points. Let's go south. And when I say there's gonna be points, what I mean by that is one team's gonna score a lot of points, and the other team is not going to score a lot of points. And that other team Their path towards their coach, who you and I talked about early in the year, probably being out of a job by the end of the year, Florida State at Miami. We really want this game to be a top 10 matchup type game at some point in the future. It's just so far from that right now. Miami favored by over 20. I don't know what it's at today. That's probably not enough. Kevin, give me Miami 49, Florida State 10. I don't even want to talk about this for a long time. I'm just more want to rant that it's so frustrating that a game between these two teams and Hard Rock Stadium is looked at as a joke. It would be amazing if Florida State somehow puts something together. It's not happening. Miami is going to destroy them. What say you? Kevin: Yeah, there's nothing to really analyze this game. It's really the frustration, Erich: Yeah. Kevin: like you said. The this was much must watch TV every year for so long. Eighties, nineties, early two thousands. These programs just lately can't seem to get on the same page where they're both good. Miami's finally back. And now Florida State Erich: Yeah. Kevin: is so bad. Miami's going to win huge. Like you said, it'll be a score. Similar. And that's the thing with Florida State is at least with a program like Oklahoma last week in a rivalry, you knew they'd play hard and tough. Maybe you didn't know Erich: Right. Kevin: they were gonna win. You can expect that from Oklahoma. Florida State and Mike Norvell, they're just like a runnerless ship. And I could see them the first sign of adversity in this game, they just quit. And that's I know they had that win over Virginia. I think Virginia's just not very good this year. And then they showed their true colors last week at Louisville. They're up fourteen zero. The Knolls are and soon as Louisville ties it, that that's it. We quit and Erich: Game over. Yeah. Kevin: lay down and and they they have serious locker room issues there and coaching issues. This is the final year for Mike Norvell. The talent disparity in this game is monstrous. Erich: Drastic. Kevin: It's drastic. I gotta give Mario Cristobal a lot of credit. I didn't think he was the guy I poked fun at him and his game management skills, the debacle versus Wake Force a couple of years ago. He has built this program from the inside out. His players respect him. They are tough. The U is back. And yeah, they they are now the team that takes your soul. And for so long, they were just frauds. And so that's what Florida State is. But yeah, I I just missed this game in the orange, old orange bowl with Brent Musberger or Brad Nessler doing the game. And it was you just dialed into an amazing game with like 30 pros on the field at the same time. It was crazy. Erich: Yeah, I agree. And we're gonna mention this game again later. So we're gonna go to the next one. And the next game, Kevin, is also a game we're gonna mention later, mention later in one of our categories. So I'm gonna tee it up for you. a game that if everything goes well, and by mean goes well, I mean there's a couple people dropping the price of their tickets right around game time. I will be at this game in Provo. I'm meeting my best man in my wedding, who's a Notre Dame alumni. he is flying us at Lake City and we are meeting there and going to try to go to the game. Notre Dame goes to BYU. Massive matchup for both these teams. I think before last week, Kevin, before we finally saw Bear Bachmeyer at his full power, we we probably like said, I don't know, man. It's just we haven't seen a ton from BYU yet. But evening game, Notre Dame hasn't faced a team that's like this sound yet. They Notre Dame, I think, has. The athletic advantage a little bit, but not much. I do think the strength of these teams is pretty similar, Kevin, which is in the trenches. So I'm gonna talk about this game later and just leave you to talk about it now before we move to the next game. Kevin: What a game. That's really cool. You're Erich: Yeah. Kevin: gonna be there, Eric. beyond cool. One of the neatest matchups of the college football season. How cool that it played out. That BYU is so good. ND's really good. For them to travel out to Provo is just a game that doesn't happen often. The it's just gonna be on fire, electric. How cool would be to be in Provo this week in that campus and the buildup to this game. You can just Erich: it's gonna be great. Kevin: feel that. So that's amazing. You're going to be there. What a game. What a game. And that setting, too. There's not many better settings. So what a trip, too, for ND fans to get to experience a part of the country that they don't get to be in a lot in the Wasatch Mountains and everything. So this is what college football is all about. For the game. Wow, tough to call. You look at that number. Once again, it's Erich: A lot of points. Kevin: a lot of points. As Vegas knows something we don't. Is it I thought it's come down from twelve and a half. Is it ten and a half now? Let me do a quick check. Either way. Erich: I think it came down, the these spreads are from a day ago, so I believe it's down to ten and a half now. I think you're right. Kevin: Okay, yeah. I'm seeing seeing even ten. E you know, two score game. I could see it. This is where BYU, you know, their program is built by Klani San Sataki with their manhood and physicality and the and the line play and all those things. Well, that's what Marcus Freeman has beat ND on. So it is strength on strength here. I would say my concern is a little bit of the BYU defense. At times they've let lesser teams control the ball, go on drives. The The Cougars are just around 30th in the country in opponent success rate. That's it's solid, but this is a lot of people's national champion pick coming into town. It's not mine. I I do think Notre Dame, like I said, has some issues on the outside with athleticism at the receiver spot and just some of that overall explosiveness. But I think this is a game that is right up ND's alley. A BYU team that's really good. But does not have amazing four and five-star blue tri chip receivers and skilled players on the outside to take advantage and get ND out of their comfort zone. So even if BYU leads, I I don't think it's ever gonna be by a ton. ND's probably gonna be leading a lot or it's tied. So they can, they can play that ground and pound style and CJ Carr can at his check down to the tight ends and the 12-yard curls and They can just methodically move down the field and control this game. I think ND is going to meet their maker, if you will, or the Bill's gonna come do versus Miami. But I think they get out of Provo live. Electric atmosphere, they get it done. I'll say ND24, BYU 18. You know, I love a weird score. BYU covers, they're competitive, but you watch it and ND's the better team. I just think their talent and how Marcus Freeman's a cr recruited a lot along the line of scrimmage is gonna show up in this game. Just a little bit more NFL talent and that BYU, they're they're normally able to just beat you to a pull for fourth quarter as Big 12 teams. I think that tide's gonna turn on them a little bit in this game. LJ Martin has to play in this game for BYU. That's an uncertainty. I can't pick BYU with that. And he's not gonna let Barrett Bachmeyer beat them by himself like he did, like he was able to versus the Cyclones last week. So Irish in a really fun game that is amazing that you are at. Erich: Love it. And like I said, we'll talk more about this game in a second, or I will anyways. let's go to another game at night. Kevin here are we'll be starting just you know a little before sunset and move into the evening at the Rose Bowl. So some beautiful sun hitting the mountains there in Pasadena. Wisconsin throwback to the nineties Rose Bowl games, Kevin, where Wisconsin took a power and turned them into irrelevant for a while after multiple wins there over the course of a five year period. Going back, playing UCLA. I think the first time they've played UCLA there since those Rose Bowl games in the 90s. I don't believe they've played them there since. And UCLA favorite in this game. You and I talked about this before we recorded a little bit. I'm not buying it. I think what you for a few reasons. One, Nico's out for the year. That should matter quite a bit. If anyone who's watched college football, we know most teams, your starting quarterbacks out, especially when that's as dynamic as Nico. That's a tough thing. You don't just replace that overnight. And I don't Kevin: No. Erich: know that UCLA, from what I saw against Oregon, I don't think they have the ability to do that last week when their backup came in. Wisconsin's sneaky, Kevin. No one talking about them. No one's talking about how good their defense is. No one's talking about how good just deadly their pass rush is. And what they do well on defensively is what UCLA wants to do well. You know, Wisconsin stops to run well. And just really gets after the passer. And they do it in a way that's different than other teams, Kevin. And that's what I want to say about this is they just play in their nickel the whole time. And what they say is, good luck getting past the 30-yard line without getting into a third and long that we don't end your drive or force you to kick a really long field goal. And and they don't say we don't need to stop you and get you tackles on the backfield, run, you know, they still do that here and there because they have incredible linebackers, but they have this. Depth at defensive line. They do line changes all the way down the field. So your only option is to really play hurry up offense. And most teams just aren't built to do that for an entire game. That's very, very hard to do from a stamina standpoint to handle that. So I just think this is a matchup problem from BCLA in terms of how they want to play space, you know, not having to deal with a pass rush like that, and so forth. But then you have your backup quarterback. I think it's a challenge. And then the other side of the ball, Colton Joseph has gotten better every week. he had the three interceptions against Penn State, but he comes back and puts it together and gets the win. Then he's fully unleashed against Michigan State. so for me, Kevin, I don't know what the score this one's gonna be, but it's my team. Give me the badgers by a billion. Wisconsin, 35, UCLA, 17. Kevin: Whoa! Eric feeling himself here on college football. Erich: Yeah. Kevin: Nobody's you haven't been able to lay one of those down in a while. So Erich: Ha ha ha. Kevin: yeah, this, for aesthetics, you nailed it right out of the gates. Erich: Fantastic. Kevin: I Wisconsin at UCLA, it's in the Rose Bowl. The only thing you can think about is UCLA's beautiful powder, blue, and gold uniforms. Wisconsin and the white tops and the red britches like they wore in that ninety-nine Rose Bowl. You picture Ron Dane running it. Cade McNown throwing it, Deshaun Foster, Barry Alvarez, Bob Toledo, Danny Farmer at receiver for UCLA. Those were great games. I think it was 38-31 that score. Wow. Erich: Mm-hmm. Kevin: The yes, glory days for both programs renewed all these years later. I'm with you. I do think. Your badgers are gonna find a way to get this done. They're sneaky, they're off a bye. Perfect time to hit the reset button after they had the big Penn State win. They smashed Misch State. And now they get a go out on the West Coast versus a wounded Bruins team. The Nico injury is enough for me to flip it. I would have picked UCLA with him narrowly. I think in a barn burner either way. Eileen, Wisconsin out, they have the more dynamic quarterback with Colton Joseph. If he doesn't turn it over, Wisconsin wins. If he has, I don't know if he can survive another three pick game in this, but I think you guys will continue to move the ball on the ground with Abu Sama and Daring Dupree. I think that's an underrated combo in the Big Ten. And then UCLA, it's it's already emotionally going to be difficult for them with all the pats on the back and Bob Chesney's. The greatest thing ever, which I I love Bob Chesney. He he might be the greatest thing ever, but I'm just saying you gotta deal with that. And now the injury and a sneaky Wisconsin team comes in. It's just one of those feel, one of those situational spots. The path for UCLA in this game would be running the ball, of course, but I don't know if that's as effective without a dynamic quarterback, you know. Wayne Knight, Anthony Woods are exceptional, but Wisconsin, even last year, when you guys were really bad, had a top 20 run defense, which you just didn't know about because the offense was so bad. So, Sebastian Cheeks off the edge versus a young quarterback and Ty Diffenbach. He did his thing last week, but it's different when you're the man for the whole game. So I'll lean Wisconsin here. The only thing I'd pause for concern is I still want to see. How good is this team? Because this would be Wisconsin's win by best win by far, in my opinion. And it's weird to say because you went into Happy Valley, but that's proven to be a really bad team. And without the turnovers, maybe Wisconsin would have won that game pretty easily. And Michigan State's just downright bad. Now, what do you do to bad teams? You beat them 31-3. So take nothing away. This I want to see Wisconsin match up in this game with some of the talent and athleticism out at UCLA. I I think they can and I'll go I'll go Wisconsin twenty four UCLA nineteen. Erich: Quick trivia question for you, Kevin. Which team, it's either an FBS or an all the power four teams, has surrendered the fewest sacks of any team in the country? Kevin: Wisconsin. Two, isn't it? Erich: Correct. Kevin: Two? Erich: Correct. Little known fact. Little known strength there for them. Again, no one's Kevin: Yeah. See? I Erich: talking about but they might be after this week. Well, enough of me gushing over my team because they're four and one for their first time in who knows how long. Let's talk about the overtime Kings, Kentucky going to Oklahoma. Good luck picking this one. Oklahoma favored because you know they returned a punt for a touchdown and it's the home game. Kevin, can Kentucky keep doing this? Kevin: The they'll probably go for two and win thirty five, thirty four. that's the safe prediction. Erich: I just, you know, I know we should get excited about Oklahoma, but we should also remember what happened in that game for them to it to get to where it got. And the rivalry and all those other things that play into that. Those things aren't here for this. So both these teams kind of have to get off this emotional mat, but I feel like Oklahoma has to get off it more. Give me Kentucky. I'm I'm not picking against Will Stein. Like Give me Kentucky. He's one sloppy half away against Alabama for potentially being undefeated. I think they're getting better every week. I still think Oklahoma has tons of problems on offense. Kentucky just with Kenny Minchie, he's playing really well. They run the ball well. I think they're gonna get enough points to win. Yes, Oklahoma's defense is really good. Kentucky's already played really good defenses. I don't think it's gonna be a surprise for them, and they're used to it. Give me and little known fact, Kentucky pent spent a ton of money. on their offensive line in the portal this offseason. So they have some guys. The reason they're able to be effective on offense, a lot of it has to do with that. And it shows in their offensive play. So people need to start recognizing that and doing their research on these things. But I'll take Kentucky 24, Oklahoma twelve. Kevin: Twenty four twelve. Okay, big Erich: Yeah. Kevin: all right. I like it. Bold. Getting you're getting bold on this show in week seven. I tough one to pick. I love this game. First of all, I was telling you last week, these matchups are so fun on a week to week basis. That's what's so great about the college football season. Is I always say it, and this is the exact spot, you know, when and where do you play these teams? For both of these teams, you could not be coming off more emotional wins than last week. Who can put that Erich: Yeah. Incredible. Kevin: to the side? I mean These were, of all the stories of the weekend, these two are at the top with Will Stein and the two point conversion again in Oklahoma taking down number one Texas. Who's able to have the better week at practice and focus and put out the outside noise? I'm with you. I actually think it's better for Kentucky to go on the road in this game, get away from that. And it's weird how sometimes playing at home, hear me out on this logic. Can be a little overrated, which is really bizarre to say in college football. But I think sometimes what happens, and what might happen to Oklahoma in this game, is you you almost relax. We had the huge win versus Texas. Now we come home, and so it's automatically a winnable game because we're at home. And I think players sometimes think like that. And I've been guilty of just like, you look at a game like this, and it's like, okay, well, tough to pick even teams, you go Oklahoma at home. Reverse psychology here, Wildcats, Will Stein, CJ Baxter on the ground. I can't believe what he's done with Kenny Minche, who was, like you said, thrown to waste by Notre Dame. The biggest thing though is this is probably the best defense Kentucky has faced in a hostile environment. I I just talked about how It's bad that Oklahoma is at home, maybe in this game, but still a hostile environment. Kentucky Erich: Yeah. Kevin: must protect the football that bothered them versus Alabama. Alabama's got a really good defense. Oklahoma's is probably slightly better. I'll go Kentucky here in a close one. I I I trust a team that they're well coached. They're pretty good on D. They got some issues there. So But if you want to, if you're going to have issues on a side of the ball, you want it to be on defense when you're facing Oklahoma's offense. So Erich: Agreed. Kevin: give me the better offense in this game. And I think Kentucky might create a turnover themselves off of John Mateir. I think after he played okay last week, he he's due for maybe some of the turnovers like he had versus Georgia. I'll go a little closer, though. This is going to be a grinder. The over-under is 43 and a half. I'll say. S seventeen fourteen, Kentucky. Erich: I love it. Let's now go from a grinder to a potential shootout here, Kevin. Your I think your funnest pick of our season preview, Oklahoma State going to Houston. We don't know if anyone from Houston's gonna go watch the game. Probably a great game for Oklahoma State fans to go travel and see tickets are probably five bucks. Even if it's a night game against a a good opponent, Houston fans don't show up. So Come on, Houston fans. Give us a crowd for this one. This should be a fun game. But regardless of that, it's going to be a fun game. There's going to be points. Houston, I think, favored Kevin. Kevin: Yeah, they are. Erich: I refuse to pick against Oklahoma State at this point. Kevin: Yeah. Erich: Give me the best quarterback wins in this game. Going back to my mantra. Massive maker. Lights it up. Runs for 50 to 80 yards. Throws for 300 to 400. Oklahoma State, 42. Houston thirty five. Let's go. Kevin: Eric, you already know where I'm heading with this one. There's no there's no time to to jump away from the pokes here. One and eleven Erich: Ha ha ha. Kevin: to the Big Twelve Championship. This is the type of game that they really might make their mark and announce themselves to the country. I guess Oregon you'd say was that. But to show that that was for real and to continue on this pace, to continue on the road to Arlington, they go into Houston. It probably will be a better crowd just based off the administration at Houston, probably saying, Hey, there's dollar hot dogs or whatever they gotta do to get that crowd to come out. It's not gonna matter. it is gonna be a great game. Don't get me wrong. There's something special with this Oklahoma State team and Eric Morris. I just believe in the three headed monster of Oklahoma State. It I just think it's better. Than what Houston has. Drew Mestermaker, one of my favorite quarterbacks to watch, as is Connor Wegman. that is a matchup. You got over 1,500 yards Erich: It's gonna be a gonna be a shootout. Kevin: for Mestermaker. Wegman's over 1400. They're both efficient. They've combined for 28 touchdowns on the year. Mestermaker at times can throw it away. He's got five picks. Wegman's only got one. I think Mestermaker takes care of the ball in this game. And the sneaky part about Oklahoma State, I think. I think they can keep Houston off the field a little bit more in this game with the ground attack of Caleb Hawkins. I think Wyatt Young gets loose for a touchdown or two in the passing game. It's great that Patrick Overmeyer had four touchdowns last week for Houston. Great. Now Eric Morris can scheme that up. We're gonna take away your tight end in this game. Really, the advantage here is Houston playing at home, but I I don't think that's gonna matter. It's not a great home field advantage. The one thing that scares me, like we talked about, this is not the type of game where you want to have a weak secondary. Oklahoma State does have a weak secondary, and they sometimes struggle to tackle in space. But games are not played on paper. It's a gut feel from what I've seen. I think their offense is a little better than Houston. I just think they've passed the eye test a little bit more. you look at Houston down 17 0. who was that versus a couple weeks ago? Versus UCF? Oklahoma State took care of them pretty easily by 14. It was a ball game, but they were in control. Houston, though, can say, hey, we just went into Manhattan, Kansas, and blasted the Wildcats. Although I I I don't think K State is all that great. So give me the Cowboys here. I think they get a turnover or two off of Connor Wegman in this game. Weird to say, because he's only got one pick. And I think they control it a little bit more on the ground and keep Houston's offense off the field. So the overunder in this game is at 59 and a half, so 60 points essentially. I'll say Oklahoma State 34 and Houston 29 goes a little bit over. Great game. Nothing ridiculously high scoring. I think a little lower than maybe some people will anticipate anticipate. Erich: Okay. Well, it's gonna be points regardless. Let's go to a road game in the ACC. this is a interesting travel for Wake Forest. going to Cal at night. So they gotta go to Berkeley. It's a lot of miles. this was actually a color palette of the week runner-up award, Kevin. This was this one should look great, especially if Cal wears the appropriate attire and doesn't let me down. Can Wake travel They're favored and put this one away. On paper, if you look at the way these teams have played, Wake is the better team. But you gotta go on the road and show us, show us again. So can they go back to back road games here, Kevin, and continue their path to being that, you know, resolidifying themselves as the number two team in the conference, which they already have shown themselves to be. I think they will. I was hesitant to pick them. You kind of talked me into it. Their front four is drastically underrated. throughout the country compared to other teams. I think that matters and that will travel and serve the serve them well. And Wake will get the stops they need to. Give me the Deks covering. Again, I don't know. I don't see him scoring less than thirty. So give me thirty-one twenty one, Wake Forest. Kevin: Great pick. I'm going with the Deeks here as well. I think they travel. It's one of the longest road trips of the season. You get these now in the new weird ACC matchup. That's still hard to process this game. That it's ACC games, your late night 10:30 Eastern ESPN game. I do think the Deacons move to four and on the road here. I'm not sure if JKS is. Playing in this game for Cal again. I know their backup played really well versus Virginia Tech last week, but I don't think it's gonna matter. Wake is a really good football team. I think Tosh Lapoy and the sturdy Golden Bears are gonna find that out. They'll play with them for a little bit. Too much Gio Lopez, too much Foley and Hernandez in the passing game for Wake. This is a more talented team. They got some major dudes in the line of scrimmage. You mentioned Jake Dickard. He's a phenomenal coach. I love Ezelle, the offensive coordinator from the Saban tree. This is one of the storylines of the season, folks. The Demon Deacons are a real, real team. If you need proof of that, go check them out versus the NFL Leyden talent of Miami and see how they showed up in that game earlier. We keep responding to or keep mentioning that, but it's it's so impressive. And I think they keep the momentum from Raleigh. into Berkeley this week and I got weight covering as well. I'll say thirty-four twenty-four demon deacons. Tash Lepoy still has some things to figure out there for the golden bears. And with Erich: Agreed. He's got the quarterback to do it, but it just seems like they're still missing some pieces. well, let's stay out west, Kevin. Two teams trying to get off the mat after last week. And this one's tough because we don't know Dante Moore's health. So how do we how do we pick this game? We don't know if he's gonna play. Do we just assume he's not gonna play? 'Cause to me this is a big deal. If Dante Moore's not playing, we're talking Nebraska at Oregon here. I I d how do I pick Oregon if Dante Moore's not playing after what we saw last week? But at the same time, Nebraska's got to get off the mat after really letting one slip through their fingers. They could have had the huge win against Indiana at home. Now they got to travel all the way to Eugene at Austin Stadium and try to get off the mat themselves. I I I just don't know. When a normal year Oregon just has the pieces to overcome a QB injury. It doesn't appear like they have that this year. And Nebraska, I again, they lost by three points to Indiana. They've played well in every game they've been in. And Oregon's defense had just hasn't been great this year. I I might regret this. And you know, I reserve the right to change my mind if Dante Moore plays. That's what I'm gonna say. But I'm gonna assume he's not playing. Because we haven't heard otherwise. Gimme Nebby. I think they get it done. They're the healthier team. They've been the more consistent team this year. If if Dante Moore plays, though, I'm switching my pick. So gimme Nebraska twenty seven, Oregon twenty four. Kevin: It literally hinges on Dante Moore. And we're recording Erich: Yeah. Kevin: we're recording the show early in the week. So I I'm with you. how can we in good faith pick this Oregon team after what we just witnessed in Audson with that seven turnover debacle and Dylan Royola? Holy cow. If he's not playing USC, then it's gonna be ugly. And Erich: Ha ha. Kevin: it's gonna look exactly like it did at Nebraska. You got that factor in this game. Does does he start? I I don't think he should. Brock top. Erich: I don't know. Kevin: Brock Thomas gave Oregon life last week. I think he was 11 of 14. He led them to nine points at the end of the game to have Oregon pull off the late comeback versus US or the late comeback that came up short. I think you have to go Brock Thomas. You know, and why would you want, to be honest, Dylan Rayola starting versus old team? I don't think he's mentally strong enough to handle that. And I think he would press and I think Nebraska would be motivated. To get after them. I I think it's gonna be Thomas. Like you said, if it's Dante Moore, then the Ducks win this game. But I'll go Cornhuskers for now early in the week. I really like what they did in the trenches versus Indiana. They held up. When's the last time Erich: Agreed. Kevin: Nebraska was able to hold up in the trenches? Was it always dominant dominant? No, but they were not outclassed. And Kalandria gives them a a dual threat quarterback that Dana Holgerson can roll out. Dual quarterbacks have caused Oregon some issues at times, of course. So I I I think Nebraska is a steady team. It it scares me picking Matt Rule in this type of environment. I yeah. I'll I'll go Huskers, but really, really hard game to handicap. The Dan Lanning has his work cut out for him this week because their season hinges on this game. The national champion pick for so many people. And you Erich: Yeah. Kevin: could end up with your third loss and Erich: I mean th this is they become last year's Clemson if they lose this game this week and they're, you know, more or less out of the playoff for the most part. And it now the the conversation starts to get really wheel of real in terms of boy, how good are you actually look at where the further we've gone on, how Miami's trended up with Crystal Ball, and the further we've gone away. From Crystal Ball in Oregon, where Oregon appears to be today. that's gonna be a real thing. I don't know that it's fair, but that's gonna be a real thing that people start saying is that, okay, this is year four or five or whatever it is for him. And just the further we've gotten away from Crystal Ball's players, the softer we've been in the trenches, which is what Crystal Ball kind of brought to Oregon and has brought with him to Miami. So that there's a lot on the line for Oregon here, regardless of the wounded quarterback situation or not. And while I have sympathy towards that, I'm a Wisconsin fan, so I don't have much sympathy for anyone when it comes to injured quarterbacks like Crimea River at this point. so we'll see. And yeah, you spent all this money on Dylan Royola. So that's a decision you made. You didn't have to do that. There's plenty of other options you could have gone after in the portal, and you chose that guy. So I rest my case there and we'll see what happens, Kevin. Anything else to say in this one before we get into our categories? Kevin: Yeah, well it's you make an interesting point. Dan Lanning came from a Georgia program, which is physicality is obviously emphasized to the nth degree. So that needs to show up in this game. Where is Uyangalale and that dominant front seven and all those guys that came back? Bear Bryant, like instead of making dirty plays like you did on Nico's injury last week and like punching him in the head. Yeah. Erich: Disgusting. He should be suspended, by the way. Kevin: Yeah. How about make some real plays between the whistle and And give your secondary guys like Brandon Finney Jr. opportunities to make plays on the ball because you're getting pressure on Calandria. That's that'd be the only route I could see is if Oregon's talented front seven lived up to their billing and actually dominated Nebraska in the run game and made Calandria a passer, then they could maybe escape with really, really poor quarterback play on offense. But I I can't pick that. not not seeing that. So Huskers here at Oregon, what like what world are we living in where we were picking that in July or August? So unbelievable to think. Erich: And by the way, this would be back to back losses in Eugene. I don't know when the last time that's happened is, but I don't know that those fans are used to noise. Well, if you lose this week, there's gonna be noise and we'll see how you and the team deals with it. but it'll be interesting to see. We're recording this early because of my schedule this week. so we'll see. Obviously, Dante Moore could be announced Friday he's playing, and then you and I will change our picks. Let's get to our categories, Kevin. I'll go first with my commissioner of college football jersey colors, color palette of the week award. You and I were talking through some games, and then it was like, okay, this is actually pretty easy. I've been waiting for a spot for this home team to get this award, and this is perfect. The helmets, the jerseys, the logos, the colors, everything hits on this unless someone wears some weird throwback, and then they'll be suspended indefinitely from winning this award going forward. Florida State at Miami. I I mean, two of the best. jerseys and helmets in the game, Kevin. Incredible colors on both sides. I just wish the only thing missing is you this in a in a different era. This could have won color palette of the week and environment of the week. could have been a doozy and has that potential. Just unfortunately Florida State is what they are right now. But give me the nulls going down to the hurricanes and what a beautiful set of colors we're going to see there Hard Rock Stadium. Kevin, who is your environment of the week award? Kevin: I'm glad you gave that game some love. There's not a lot to talk about it from an X's and O's standpoint. So get it on the color palette of the week award. Because there was certainly, as you mentioned before the show, tons of options there. And that was a surprise Erich: Yes. Kevin: surprise to me. So I'm excited to see that was the pick. Environment of the week. You, sir, are gonna be in the environment of the week, Eric. Provo, Utah, the center of the college football universe, college game day, everything in town there. You love college towns like Provo, where it it's all about the Cougars and a brand like Notre Dame coming into town, top ten matchup. I mean, this evokes memories of like the Ty Detmer days for BYU. It's gotta be one of their biggest games since that era in the eighties. And they they've had certainly a lot of big games there. You add in the night atmosphere, the sun setting on the Wasatch Mountains when they're warming up, you're gonna be there. It is going to be electric. BYU wants so bad to get into this upper echelon. They've been there. Knocking on the door. Well, great opportunity. Saturday night. Beautiful colors as well. Speaking of color palettes, old school uniforms. Erich: Yep, some good ones. Kevin: Yeah. Natural grass field. There's going to be a little chill in the air. Everything you need for environment of the week. So there you have it. Erich: I will be at the bookstore that day, Kevin, getting some gear. Told my best man at my wedding who's a Notre Dame alum, I'm going BYU colors for this. I'm a resident of the state of Utah now. I've lived there five years and I've gone to three Notre Dame games with him in the past. I've done my time supporting that team. I'm going Couge Colors this weekend. Kevin: Love it. There's there's nothing better than being at a college bookstore on campus with the whole town abuzz, whether it's on a Friday afternoon when you roll into town or that's Saturday morning, you buy some some gear. yeah. Erich: Yeah. I'm a big fan just in general. if you're traveling somewhere for at a sporting event, I'm gonna buy some gear. I just it's just a fun way to memorialize the the experience Kevin: Yes. Erich: and and so forth. And so it's it's gonna be fun. I've been holding out buying BYU gear because I want to do it at the actual bookstore. hard to get good gear online these days, Kevin. I don't know if you've tried it, it's just not a good experience right now, but that's just the nature of online shopping. But that's a different issue. Let's get to our point spread letdowns of the week. Oklahoma favored by seven over Kentucky. No surprise here for me. That's a point spread letdown because I picked Kentucky to win. So I don't think Oklahoma not only do I think Oklahoma's not covering, I think they're going to lose the game. So that's my pick, Kevin. Who do you have? Kevin: We've decided that even though it's called the point spread let down of the week, we can also do it how I'm doing it, where I have Bama easily covering at Tennessee. So basically something involved with a spread here. So I have Bama laying the eight and a half, covering, winning by 17. I think the vols are overrated. There's a lot of holes on that team. Bama very much for real. They have a great resume. Nearly took out the dogs. And so roll tied big in Nealand. Erich: Upset of the week. Give me BYU over Notre Dame, the Cooks, top 10 win, the home atmosphere, getting it done. something's in the air, Kevin. I'm feeling it early. The air is gonna be crisp. The mountain views are gonna look great. I'm gonna be in some freshly kitted gear from the bookstore looking for tickets still, just waiting for them to drop in price because I refuse to pay over $500 for a nosebleed. But I can tell you this much of the team struggling to fill the seats. BYU's not struggling. Those are sold out every week. In fact, people are so overrating their ticket values. They're selling upper decker seats for like $700 a pop. So this stadium is gonna be electric. Give me BYU. And just a home field driven upset. Notre Dame makes mistakes. And I will say, I think Notre Dame comes out of this for the better. They get their one loss out of the way and it puts them in a better position for when they host Miami. So not the end of the world for either team. Although I think more pressure on ND here because you have like these two games on your schedule, even though in the Wisconsin win is aging better as it goes on, to make yourself like solidify yourself as this power, you need this one. If you lose this game, now there's no margin for error. You you have to beat Miami. And then if you lose that one, because based off talent, regardless where that game is, right now I'm picking Miami. We'll see how the player's health situation looks like when we get there. So way more pressure on Notre Dame than BYU. BYU can lose this game, and it's kind of like whatever. We can still win the rest of our games, go to the conference championship and say we're a playoff team. So a lot of pressure on ND on the road, Pro Vet Knight. The couch getting the upset. Kevin: Eric, I love that. You got all the juju going there with the pick. You're gonna be there, you're waiting on tickets. And I don't think there's a bad seat in Lavelle Edwards Stadium. So it might not be a bad play for you. Upside of the week, you know, this this is a show right up your alley. or right up your alley, as John Hammond used to say. Give me Wisconsin over UCLA. I already picked that earlier. Might not seem like a big upset to a lot of folks because the spread is really close. They seem like even teams, Nico's down, but UCLA is the twelfth ranked team in the country. Wisconsin's got to travel out there. This has been a down trot and program the last number of years under Luke Fickle. So he's gonna get another big one, I think. And your Wisconsin momentum continues on the West Coast and a and a fun flight home for your boys. Getting it done in the Rose Bowl. Erich: let's move to our game of the week here and we'll wrap up. I have Oklahoma State at Houston. I just think it's gonna be a fun game. I hope the crowd at Houston actually shows up for this one. And hopefully some Oklahoma State fans travel. A lot of points, really good quarterback play, really good offenses, and a game that's just really important for the landscape of the the Big Twelve as we go forward for both of these teams. Obviously, Oklahoma State not having a loss in the conference yet. Houston has one, trying to stay alive in it. So Huge game, fun game, great quarterback play, great offense. great contender for game of the week for me. Kevin: I'll go Ohio State, Indiana here. Tons of other options I could have picked from. There are other atmospheres and games I look Erich: There's like ten options you could pick this week. Kevin: Yeah, went went with this one. We talked about it early on the show. So I just wanted to give it a little bit more love. It's the Big Ten championship rematch. It means a ton for the conference, and it's gonna decide right now who's number one or two in the conference. That's up for debate. So what's great is we get to settle that on Saturday. And with that said, Eric, that is our show for the week. And fans out there, I like to call this a thumb workout Saturday. Reason being, Eric, I think you've heard me say this before, is get get your thumb ready to click around to all these games. There's so many games in each window. Get your four slots going on YouTube TV. Get your thumb stretches going because you're gonna be clicking around. This is This is why we love the sport. It's an amazing Saturday on tap. Erich: They're really looking forward to it. Thanks always for those who listen. Thanks to all the new s subscribers we've had on X recently. Really appreciate it. And we will see you all on the recap episode next week. Kevin: Thank you guys. We appreciate everything and have a great rest of your week.