Latest / In The Pocket / Ep. 6: All things Sparty-Irish, plus picks and previews

Transcript

Ep. 6: All things Sparty-Irish, plus picks and previews · In The Pocket

• speaker-0: Hello and welcome to another episode of In the Pocket. I am Andrew Graham, your host for this college football whirlwind through the mid FBS teams every week or twice weekly nowadays. ⁓ I'm joined, of course, by Connor Irgood on this fine Thursday morning. Connor, how are you doing? speaker-1: Doing good. It's ⁓ it's a nice rainy morning, just like it was earlier this week, so I'm kinda stoked. I love rainy weather, I love the fall and ⁓ it's gonna be a good weekend of fall. speaker-0: Fall vibe has fully fully hit. I made meatloaf for dinner last night. I think chili's on the docket soon, so like we're we're getting in. I make a good meatloaf. I use like the full like meatball panade technique, but we'll thank that that'll be an off season podcast So we got a lot of games to get through this week. five in total. It's a full five game slate. We got Eastern at Wisconsin early. Central Wyoming's also that's a one o'clock start. Michigan Utah will be three thirty, and then we two primetime games, Western Michigan at Rice, which will be seven PM, and then the big one. One that I'm really excited about, just kind of as like a neutral fan of college football. Grew up in Michigan loving kind of all college football in Michigan, and that's Michigan State Notre Dame, which for my money is probably one of the five best like history packed sort of fabric of the smore rivalries. ⁓ that really gets overlooked. So speaker-1: the ⁓ the the spaghetti and meatball contract shut out. Cutting deals and then eating a big old plate. As the Catholics did. speaker-0: Exactly that and that and like I mean Get into Notre Dame's history of when the time all their student body fought off a clan rally, but that's that's U on football road. so this game is obviously it's And it's a rivalry that was regularly played and then has been on the shelf for what, nine years? Was seventeen? Seventeen the last game played. Yeah. ⁓ and so it's been a while, but I think a lot of people are really excited to have this back and I'm I'm taking a slight detour from the show dock here just before we get into the game. But just for you Connor and like the MSU beat and obviously like fans and people and I think Notre Dame people are pretty excited about this game being back, but just like the vibe around this game being back. I think the coaches and players are pretty like go to play in Notre Dame's cool. It's a good team. Like there's a lot to be excited about in this game. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah, I mean it's a premier opponent. Like it doesn't get much much larger of a brand of a a you know conference list like think of the schools that can survive without a conference. Like Army, Navy and ⁓ Notre Dame. It's a pretty thin list. And it's you know, the you see how much, you know, people care about Notre Dame football and how na you know international the spread is. ⁓ and Michigan State has that too, maybe not to the same degree, but ⁓ there's a deep history here going back to obviously the spaghetti mood block. contract what got Michigan State into the Big Ten was Notre Dame helping beef up its schedule. So there's a lot of like friendly rivalry routes. And then there's flag planting in the game of the century when R. Sagian decided, ⁓ we're gonna run the clock out and just take a tie and then everyone's gonna vote us the national champion solely except for the MacArthur bowl. which is still insane to me. Of like let's just take a knee and everyone will like us for it. ⁓ speaker-0: That Raiders Chargers game twelve like twenty twenty two. speaker-1: Yeah. Pretty much, pretty much. And so we'll you know, I I I think it's gonna be a a a good game. Well we'll get into the analysis, but ⁓ for Michigan State fans to get a a really good road environment, it's super close. It's two hours, you know. And it's it's kind of a cathedral of of college football. So ⁓ it's gonna be a big weekend. I hope they do this yearly. Michigan State also needs a second game on its schedule that's not Michigan. Yes. ⁓ in terms of just I think fan sentiment and also the ability to keep an attention span. Like we see it as writers in the amount of reads that our stories get. As soon as the Michigan game speaker-0: And I well I do think the two rivalry nature of it is kind of meaningful because MSU has other rivals in the Big Ten outside of Michigan, like Penn State's arrival, Indiana's arrivals, but I don't think anyone is gonna look you in a straight face and tell you that like they're risable to the level of Michigan or Notre Dame are. like I those are the two biggest rivals for Michigan State football historically. I don't think it's really debatable. ⁓ so having that game of Like they should honestly made the spittoon a basketball thing, I wouldn't second guess it. Like that would make sense. Although I suppose you probably actually if you think about it, a spittoon is more needed indoors than out of doors. Just my random thought there. You can on the football field and get away with it. speaker-1: I think you're cooking. I think we need to fix this. speaker-0: Yeah, the Scott Dolson, Dan Bartholomew, listen to us please. but to that point, like I do think it makes sense and it's a nice early season, like it's gonna be a thing in September that everyone could get excited about. And like with the way the sport is headed in nine conference games and most people being incentivized to schedule wins, having something out there that that anchor, that stake and as the CFB expands and it's less damaging to take an early loss, like I think both parties, I hope, are incentivized. To have this game be a thing. Because think about like even just modern little giants, you have Golden Tate jumping into the Michigan State band. Like, there's just been all sorts of fun, exciting, like memorable college football stuff that has happened around this game. So like I think it's all the rains. It's like a one in one in three chance it rains at this game every time it gets played. Including this weekend. Yeah. Which probably should take us into the game before we come up with rivalry rivalry reapportionment and whatnot. So the game itself is Rivalry realignment. The game itself is maybe I I at risk of maybe making some of my neighbors in East Lansing annoyed here the not most interesting part of this, 'cause I think relatively speaking, Notre Dame should probably win. Maybe not comfortably, but like Notre Dame should win this game. Am I am I off base for that, Connor? speaker-1: I I'm with you on that. I like it's it's it's a roster that's trying to contend for a a college football playoff and and a national championship versus a roster that's trying to be respectable and and certainly has those as goals, but I think everyone in that building understands it's an unrealistic goal, but it's still something to strive for. It's like a ⁓ more of a d ⁓ pie in the sky type of thing. Like there's just levels to this. ⁓ that's college football these days. speaker-0: MSU's thoughts of winning are appropriately aspirational, I would say, where it's probably not gonna happen, but you have every reason to think you should and could and why wouldn't you try? But I think the place this starts when I look at this game is MSU's defense having to slow down a Notre Dame offense that has looked pretty good without Jadarian Price and Jeremiah Love, who were both first round draft picks in Notre Dame starting and backup running backs l Love was the starter price of the backup. CJ Car looks pretty good. ⁓ they have some receivers they like. Obviously, like their offensive line is just gonna be good because it's been good, is good. They get good guys, they develop them, like no worries there. I guess as you look at this game, where can MSU affect car or the passing game. Like is it gonna be pressure? Are they gonna maybe try and t create takeaways? I know those things kinda get related obviously, but like wait what's the pathway for MSU's defense here? speaker-1: I I I think it's pressure. When when the run game for Notre Dame is is so unproductive and maybe they're still talented but they just haven't been able to prove it because when you have CJ Carr like four speaker-0: He's com he's completed like seventy one percent of his passes. speaker-1: And and the miles that you put on a running back you have to be mindful of. So maybe we haven't seen the full breadth of Notre Dame's run game. ⁓ and and maybe it'll take some maturation to get there. Maybe this is a game we see a breakout for them, who knows? ⁓ but I do think that that's sort of Michigan State's path here is when you can put ⁓ you know, a Kenny Sores and another Lafayela on the you know, the edge rusher positions. Eli Kunin in the s the middle is just bendy, twisty, maybe not as good against the run, but he is going to get to the quarterback and he has three sacks up to this point. speaker-0: He kinda sacrifices run stoutness with that interior pass rush that's just like really devastating for quarterbacks. speaker-1: I was gonna say, and and that's where you see Michigan State's path of like get ⁓ off schedule, get a couple stops early. Alessio Milovoivic probably has to deliver ⁓ offensively and and throw against some pretty darn good corners ⁓ and and make it useful. ⁓ but you like Michigan State's run game and going into this. You know, there's there's peace, there's elements that will make this a football game and not a you know, ⁓ a slaughter. but I I I do think, yeah, Notre Dame's probably the favorite in this. But I think if if Michigan State's gonna have a path, it's going to be making Carr uncomfortable. He's only been sacked once this season. Like him in particular, the backup guy. speaker-0: ⁓ that's correct, that's correct. I was gonna say I think Notre Dame's given up speaker-1: And it it it was a smart it was a smart sack too, I I'm pretty sure. It was like ⁓ let's not fumble the ball here. It was like a second and something versus speaker-0: It's just like I'm not gonna kill a drive here by doing something dumb. Like speaker-1: Yeah. And that's where like I he's a a gifted enough quarterback that if he isn't pressured, he's just gonna dot them up. It ⁓ the especially with the receivers he has. Michigan State's corners I don't think are there yet. ⁓ we talked to Chuck Brantley and he's, you know, convinced that this is like the twenty one team and and they just get on each other like that. ⁓ and I think he was talking more in energy and spirit than results, but ⁓ the right pieces are there, but they still have a lot to go. especially like Trey Bell's had some gas. Sprantley's had some gaffs, Tyron Chapel's had some gaffes. Like ⁓ at at corner they're sort of magnified compared to like a dude on the defensive line which they are isn't as consequential. But I I I will say like for a quarterback and receiver group like Notre Dame has that's gonna be dicey. I'll put it that way. Like they're they're gonna have to play way above their speaker-0: And I'm not one who's like I don't think Notre Dame's receivers are like the s they're not like the scariest collection in the world, but they're kind of the perfect like what Joe Rossi said this week about CJ Carr is basically like there's ob like the talent is there. He's he's big, strong, physical, can throw the ball, is accurate, like duh. But what ⁓ separates him is he's got such command and intelligence and It's hard to fool him, it's hard to challenge him, it's hard to show him something he's not gonna have a check for or an answer to. And within that, to get to my point here, the Notre Dame receivers are really like sort of like the New England Patriots, Brady esque where it's like it's not that anything they do is particularly impressive, but they will be in the exact spot their quarterback wants them to be every time, without fail, friendly target, catch the football and just be productive. Like I don't think Notre Dame's gonna be like, yeah, they'll hit shot plays that are there, but like the way that Notre Dame will really kill you is that to your point, Connor, Carr will just he will find the guy who's open. He will get the ball to him accurately. And yeah, you might have this great coverage distribution, but ooh, this tight end leaked out, he's six yards sitting there over the middle with Owen Neoman, and that's a thirteen yard gain, and they like it's those plays are he always makes those because he's sound back there. Lack of a better term. I think he's twelve and two is the starter. His two losses were to Miami and Texas AM to open last season. and so I just think like to your point, I think MSU, if they are not able to disrupt him, could it it could start to get scary hours ⁓ defending that passing game. Just 'cause car's just like he his stats aren't insane. Like it's like nine like seventy one percent completion, six touchdowns, no interceptions, and like two hundred and fifty ish yards a game, but that's also 'cause Northwestern or Northwestern, dear lord. Notre Dame kicked the crap out of rice this past week is a big reason why his numbers are probably not more than they are. speaker-1: Here we got draft. speaker-0: And rice we'll get to later when we talk about Western Michigan. as for speaker-1: The ⁓ I was gonna say I I was gonna say the other part of this too, and I think this is gonna get into to w what you're about to lead us into, is like Michigan State's defense kinda has to, you know, outdo Notre Dame's defense in a way because they have a a ⁓ tremendous unit and Michigan State's gonna be hard pressed to consistently score. Like it's not gonna be five straight scoring drives like the past couple of games. It's it's gonna be tight. ⁓ especially for for OSsio to mature in And he's delivered on a bunch of big downs and I wrote about that, but ⁓ he's gonna have to get ahead of the sticks and ⁓ maybe dot up some some some deeper plays that he's been missing. But ⁓ you still like his progression as a quarterback and and he's the right fit for Michigan State, but this is gonna be a big test. speaker-0: to bridge the gap here. I would think for MSU like the the recipe or the game script that involves MSU winning w requires probably a couple takeaways from the defense, like them really stepping up and making some plays, and we'll get to it now. Alessio Milvoyovic probably making three to five plays or throws that really like shift the game in MSU's favor. ⁓ which he has not had to do yet. So In terms of this Notre Dame defense, I mean it's Marcus Freeman, it's Notre Dame, they're per the athletic spending a lot of money on their roster. ⁓ they're very good. It's Notre like again, there's not a ton to like get into about why Notre Dame is good at defensive football. They have a good defensive coach, they have money, they have good players, their defense is good. Can MSU move the ball against them and score? speaker-1: I mean you're gonna need ⁓ okay. Sorry, I thought you froze for a second. They're gonna need the run game to they're gonna need the they're gonna need the run game to to be like it was in in the second half of Eastern. I know you wrote that in the doc and I agree with you on that on that point. Like running behind the blockers is gonna be key because Cam Edwards as good as he is, is not going to be the level of athletes one v three that Notre Dame has. You can get away with that against Toledo and and a little bit of East like Eastern and and Mac. speaker-0: Two yards out through three guys. speaker-1: The team the team that's number three in the country, like Unless I'm you know, they're seeing something different in the tape than I than I am. good luck doing that. But I I think you saw him take a step running behind his blockers, ⁓ seventy five plus percent efficiency on his runs on on high volume touches, like y he showed a lot of the things you want to see. ⁓ and so did his offensive line, which I think is the thing that should really excite Michigan State people. ⁓ but it's again it's it's like this is the big litmus test, right? Of like, is this team actually taking steps or did they just play a week start at the Don conference. Jonathan Smith had this team 3-0 the past two years. Just saying. So like you don't know what you have until you face that first big test, whether it's on the road, ⁓ you know, whether it's a big ranked matchup like this, they get both of them in in this test. So I I watch for how Michigan State maybe responds in this one and and sort of how Fitzgerald turns the the the the little wind up key on the back of the clapping monkey. Like see how he winds them speaker-0: Yeah. Well and I think too, like on a like super narrow schematic point here, a thing that worked really well for MSU late against Eastern or in the second half really in the run game was kinda any sort of non zone skebe runs where they were getting a ton of pullers and getting out to the perimeter. Cause there were a couple I think on like the long, long Cam Edwards run, like the sixty yarder or whatever he had that set up I think their score to make it thirty five seven. They they had like two pulling linemen kicked out a tight end to the play side and ran like a crack toss to him or something. And it was I mean he had four big bodies in front of him to block smaller bodies and like that can work against Notre Dame. Like I don't care how good Notre Dame's linebackers are, if you can get a pulling lineman to the second level engaged with them, like that is an advantage situation for MSU. So like big if like like you have to get in situations where you can call those plays. Notre Dame's secondary, like their corners, part of the reason they are considered some of the best cornerbacks in the country is the way they will step up and play the run. They are big guys, they are physical guys. Like that is a very impressive aspect to their game, and part of the reason that they will be top 20-ish NFL, like Leonard Moore is a top 20 NFL draft pick, in part because he will stick your running back in the flat on a swing pass or a run play. ⁓ and so I think like there's still a lot of challenges for MSU there, but that is like bottle that up if you can get to that. Like Cam Edwards with blockers in front of him against anyone is a situation that I like for MSU. MSU if you can get there, especially on the perimeter. ⁓ and I think that's like they they tapped into that. It looked really good. It could be the sort of confidence building like You all it takes is a Notre Dame defender knife through and blows it up for like a three yard loss and I look like an idiot, but I do think that's something that is available to them and like there will be ways for this offense to make hay. Can they do it consistently? Can they get to it in creative ways before Notre Dame makes their chess move in response and and covers it up? Because what Notre Dame, I think, will be able to do in this game is respond. MSU might come out and do this thing that works. Okay, do you have counters off that as Notre Dame? Notre Dame figures out how to bottle it up. Cause Notre Dame has all the horses in the world here. Like that is not the question. And so can you be playing with the initiative of offensively, playing a step ahead of them, kinda giving them that rope of dope where hey you run this toss play a bunch and then you fake off it and throw to a backslide tight end and they're just unprepared for it or ⁓ whatever it is, ⁓ can you it basically can the coaching, the offensive play calling exist to give MSU an edge within that offense defense chess match because like personnel wise you are outmatched. Like that is just the nature of the beast here. speaker-1: The interesting part for Michigan State is like they have so many guys that are playing that maybe it's harder to scout. You think of like eight receivers, nine receivers that they like theoretically could play. Two quarterbacks, one of the speaker-0: We saw like a notable series of Cam Francher in the Eastern game. speaker-1: Which I think is like intentional and I think was definitely baiting the hook. But you have very for You have to get the one. speaker-0: You can't ⁓ speaker-1: Yeah, so it's that's the interesting part and especially too because he brings a different look as sort of an option guy. Like Michigan State has options here to to give its offense a chance, ⁓ and and sort of make the defense play honest. you like what you see out of the tight ends, you like what you see out of the offensive line, like they're getting a lot of football out of a lot of different guys, especially in the the backfield. ⁓ so that's where, you know, a matchup maybe Notre Dame doesn't Consider some things in in the tape. Maybe they don't expect a guy like I don't know, Jazen Patterson or or Brandon Tullett to just run really hard on Jaden Savory in space, that too. Like or ⁓ a guy like Braylon Collier, who gets his first career catch and and technically should have had two because the one got called back, but ⁓ because of of Samson Cash hold. But ⁓ you know, there's explosive sorts of athletes in the depth chart that they're just trying to make earn it. ⁓ and so if some of those guys can maybe come ahead of schedule or had a good week of practice, ⁓ maybe there's a chance Michigan State can can get something to go in there as well. But again it's like it's always a chance. And that's why you say Notre Dame's winning this, 'cause it's always like the one team is clearly asserted and and in the sort of driver's speaker-0: And I will say like the Jaden Saver is kind of a useful facsimile here for like MSU right now this year probably has like more players who are on the level of like can be on the field with Notre Dame and hang with them than they did the past couple years just because of what they brought in through the portal. Like a Jaden Savory, like he's big, fast, athletic, strong, like like he will not look out of place on that football field. Like none of MSU's players are gonna like, wow, they're kind of getting away with FCS guys here or whatever. Like they they manage to find guys were on the level, but it's you're not that cogent team. You're not developed into like these are guys who were at the D do and FCS levels not too long ago for a reason versus these Notre Dame guys who were four stars out of high school. so like I think you and like I think you'll see MSU have guys who you you see them against Notre Dame and go, Mm, that looks good. Like but it's just that like speaker-1: Maximize it. Okay. speaker-0: one through ten, one through fifteen on the roster, they can kinda like okay you've got some some hope. It's it's sixteen through fifty on the roster where Notre Dame really starts to separate itself and you kinda lose it speaker-1: Yeah. It it's it's and it's also maximizing versus maximum. Like the five star is just gonna be better than correct three star who's like really done a good job of squeezing everything out of himself. Homie starting from a better spot. Like he has speaker-0: Yeah though. Well that's like I could train my entire you know next ten years and finally be able to dunk a basketball and like probably get there. Just to have some sixteen year old roll out of bed, eat some hot Cheetos and just do it and make it's like it just at a certain point like the the genetic advantage some people have just kind of erases all your hard work, which is just the nature of athletics at a certain degree. ⁓ before we get out of this game, it's I I special teams I think could be a factor in this one, just because one MSU's been very good at it. It's how they've gotten some edge. Like they got a very short field scoring drive against Eastern because of a long punt return. I believe they had a long one against Toledo to set up a short field, if I remember that correctly. Or a long-ish one kick return. That's correct. So I think this could be a real edge, a real place where MSU, like, can MSU steal a short field? Like, that would be huge. Like, you know, you have Notre Dame goes up 14-3 and you get a kickoff and suddenly you only have to go forty-eight yards. It's like, okay, like th you give you you give yourself chances to stay in the game via special teams. And I just think that will be critical for MSU. And also, like, Notre Dame's a team that's tends to be pretty good at it. So like it's not just they're not just gonna give you free yards. and benefits on special teams like some programs do because I just don't care. speaker-1: And also with a guy like Liam Boyd, you know can hit from fifty. Didn't have to bust him out last week but which means his legs rested. But like he's a dude they can hit from from relatively good range and ⁓ you don't know the consistency yet because you know that was sort of the big question. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: The the one field goal he missed was blocked. Weather factor as well, but like if you can shorten the field and put points on the board, like as much as the the saying was like, ⁓ these have to be red zone drives, like yes, against Toledo and Eastern. Against Notre Dame you're taking every point you can get because that's gonna put you way closer to to being able to to you know, bring it into a pressure situation that is the underdog favors you. ⁓ yeah. You're playing with house money if you're Michigan State. Like you're just trying to look good and play as hard as you can. Like this is not the the object of the season. This is just your measuring stick. ⁓ which Pat Fitzgerald had, well, what is a measuring stick? but I I I think for the sort of knowing exactly where they're at, they're gonna learn a lot about it this this week. And I think special teams is an area that's the case. Like third in any PA, yes. ⁓ you know, that that sort of measures things ⁓ speaker-0: Does Pat Fitzgerald know what it is, Connor? speaker-1: Yeah, he he knew. He knew he was just asking Jacob because he we w he was checking him. But I I I do think like as much as that sort of makes it uniform for all the the teams, ⁓ there is the level of competition and the level of play and ⁓ all the things you run into. So this'll be a good test for Lavar's unit as well to see like how detailed can you be against a team that is going to be equally as prepared. speaker-0: This is almost a week for Pat Fitzgerald to kind of lean into his like his northwestern of it all and is like, that dude knows how to take an overmatched team against someone who should beat him and like get them into a meat grinder where it's a one-score game in the fourth quarter like a low scoring one-score game. He has beaten him. speaker-1: Last time he was it in South Bend he beat him in overtime forty three forty. speaker-0: Yeah, like I don't think shootout favors MSU in this one, but if you can turn it into some grinder where it's twenty one thirteen, twenty-one seventeen, something like that, Notre Dame in the late, like yeah, y that's sort of I think the pathway for MSU here. anything else on this game before we s dig in quickly to the speaker-1: Everyone have fun. Like for MSU fans, you've been through hell the past since D'Antonio returned. Like twenty one was a brief reprieve. Even twenty was hard other than beating Michigan. Like you've had a sorry, but shitty run of football. Enjoy this. Like this is gonna be a dope weekend. You get to go to Notre Dame, you get to travel, or or have like a great college football Saturday on the couch until seven. Go have a tailgate with your friends. It's like good fall weather, make some like Buffalo Chicken dip, I don't know, this is like a great weekend for you. Maximize it. This is gonna be this ⁓ speaker-0: There's Correct. And there's a I I I've been to South End once to cover a Syracuse lacrosse game, which is just very fitting for my life. lots of good like good eats, good breweries, good that kind of stuff. It's a very kind of great little quiet midwestern college town. So like yeah, I'm I ⁓ heartily co sign that. if you're really a history buff you can make a quick drive over and see the the the the site of Tippacanoe. Some real deep cut American history. Which also is just the most me thing ever to bring up, but it it's it's definitely a trip worth making and a place like South Bend in Notre Dame is as advertised in terms of like the beauty of the campus and the athletic facilities and like worth it. Go have fun, enjoy it. The game will be the game, whatever happens, happens. But yeah, I I heartily go sign that gonna that is a good shout. Alright, time for the real games that matter. speaker-1: Shall we get in? I got Wisconsin. speaker-0: ⁓ eastern Michigan, Wisconsin. No, not to ⁓ not to denigrate here. Not to denigrate here, but this these are the the less less hyped games this week, I think that's fair to say. ⁓ so Eastern Michigan travels to Wisconsin. That game is a it's an eleven thirty AM local kickoff, twelve thirty p.m. here. That will be a peacock streamer on, as I belovedly call it, the cock. ⁓ because if you're gonna make me if you're gonna pay well the games, I'm gonna call your service something funny. So to me it's kinda like Eastern Michigan gets to face the exact same test, but maybe a slightly better roster. From MSU to Wisconsin. Like, I think Wisconsin's just a little bit better on the lines. Probably the defense is better. And you could have a debate about whether Alessio Milovoyovic or Colton Joseph is better, but I think Colton Joseph has played very well for the first two games at quarterback for Wisconsin. So like I think it's ironically kind of like You get the same test, you look okay against it the first time. Like can you look even better this time if you're eastern Michigan? Like I think that's just sort of where it lies of can your run defense show up again and hold up for more of the game? Like Chris Creighton kinda said, we got worn down. I think that was a little game script of they were on the field a lot in the second half. MSU really committed to running the ball. At a certain point the dam was just gonna break, 'cause talking about speaker-1: And the turnover. speaker-0: That was the game script portion of it where the defense ended up like they ran like five plays on that first drive of the third quarter, fumbled it, MSU gets it back. I think MSU ran the ball like twenty-eight times in the second half against Eastern Michigan, something like that. ⁓ and so they just kind of paved them. And so can you get yourself in a game script against Wisconsin where one, they're not like rushing the ball down your throat or trying to, and so your defense can hold up a little bit better. And I think that comes with the offense playing a little bit better. And I think that just kinda needs to like I'm calling it a semi-funk for Noah Kim. Cause he hasn't been bad against San Jose State or or Michigan State. You couldn't I wouldn't ever go so far as to say that 'cause he was still pretty in control, making good decisions with the football, like never doing anything where you're like, he's this is bad. Like this that cost us like that decision need was bad. Like I don't think there's yeah, been any of those moments, but he held on to it a little much against MSU and took some sacks, which again I partial partially like good coverage from MSU. I think maybe there's a little bit of him playing against MSU wanting to make some big plays. Like that part of it is probably real. ⁓ where you can come to scrambled more. But I think he just There whatever it is, it just feels like he's a little bit gummed up in his decision making, maybe, where it's causing him to be just slightly less decisive about taking some throws or tucking it and running. Yeah. And I think that's it's it's almost a vestige of like you know too much. Like you you understand the offense so well that you're always like, Well eventually this will come open or this guy or this scramble. It's like at a at a certain point you do just have to like cut your losses and throw it away or scramble or whatnot. and I think Eastern could do a little bit better job of helping him out with some easier, simpler, like just get the rhythm going stuff. ⁓ so whatever it is and however that goes about where you get Kim closer to the like seventy percent completion, two hundred plus yards rather than where he's spent the past couple of weeks where it's been closer to like fifty, sixty ballpark and just less productive. Like you just need him to be playing at that like kind of very razors edge clip that he's capable of and speaker-1: Well you need him to not think about it. You need him to not think about it. Like that's the thing. You you need him to just go out and play ball. And I feel like last week, once things got tight in the second half, ⁓ or were still tight out of the halftime, I felt like he thought about it a little much and then the turnover was like I you saw a completely different Noah game than the rest of that game. And it was it was less of the improv, it was less of the I'm gonna take this eleven yard run because they left it open and we're gonna get down the field. Like that was the stuff that I I was expecting. Expecting him to make like for Michigan State. He did it on the touchdown drive. He did it on the start of that second half drive. You saw them move the chains on third because he was I think also like making the right checks another thing. ⁓ speaker-0: Did it on the the touchdown drive too? Yeah, speaker-1: guys delivering and you know, just there's the natural attrition. ⁓ but I I was impressed with him up to that point and then I was like and this is where I see Eastern Michigan having some problems when he's so pivotal to the offense that when he's not firing on every cylinder, there's a lot that Eastern Michigan has to find from other guys that maybe aren't but maybe not equipped isn't the right word, but maybe not used to speaker-0: Built that way. speaker-1: It's not it's not how you're yeah, it's like it's it's like extra care. speaker-0: And I think they're trying to Yeah. They were pretty pleased with their run game, just in general how it looked of they had the one productive drive. It was a generally productive afternoon against a Big Ten team for a Mac team, no matter how you slice it. And the big thing for them is they came away like Both defensively and offensively, like it wasn't like especially for the first forty ish minutes, like the pile was not getting displaced. Like we weren't just lining up and getting blown off the ball by MSU for Eastern Michigan, which was like a very promising sign. And I think they're looking for more of that this week. And if that offensive line can really kind of coalesce into this good run blocking unit, I think that could be the sort of relief valve that helps makes life easier for Noah Kim to play at that like kind of see in the matrix level of things. Which he did week one. Like he's capable of it. We've seen it. ⁓ he's just gotta kinda tap into it again. And it's it's hard to give to to like to not like it's very hard. speaker-1: Y y you know who else? You know who else needs to take a step offensively? Central Michigan. Luke Fickel in Wisconsin too. We can go back to Wisconsin real quick. speaker-0: I was No, I was just making fun of Fluke Fickle in Wisconsin 'cause I thought that's like a bit we have on this podcast already. speaker-1: Yeah, mean we do. I I was gonna say like you know who else has is you know if we're talking Wisconsin, like Luke Fickle coaching for his job already already off to a bad start I feel like did not look great against Notre Dame. Like Eastern I think is a team that is gonna show something against Wisconsin. I'll take Wisconsin, obviously. ⁓ but I still think Noah Kim could put them in a blender here and there. Like if he has the game that we're describing and he's locked in and making speaker-0: Yeah what's speaker-1: the right checks and reads and and improvs and does all the Noah Kim things that make him the little engine that could. I don't know how good Wisconsin actually is. Like I I seeing them early, I think Michigan State's got that one. I I think they're gonna still be a basement dweller in the big ten. so Jason Eck, are you listening? I will continue to campaign for you to be the Wisconsin head coach, mostly 'cause I think you do dope press conferences and that would be great for me as real media. I'll eat speaker-0: So my one weird stat about with Constant DeCare is they have no takeaways this year through two games, which is perhaps just an aberration, but they only had six all of last year. And like they just don't take the ball away. Like and Luke like at Cincinnati when they made the playoff, they led the country in takeaways on defense. They had thirty four. So like I don't like obviously like having Sauce Gardner and Kobe Bryant and a few other guys helps. But I would like to think that Luke Fickle has not like lost the ability to call a defense that can intercept a pass, but evidently that has occurred at Wisconsin, but that's enough about Wisconsin. And after after killing what was your frankly good transition to Central Michigan and it's offense. We will we will get there now. You you kinda hit the nail on the head, Central Michigan's offense has just been bad through two weeks and it was kinda funny. I we talked to Trinkle on Tuesday up in Mount Pleasant and he sits down, there's like a couple of us media, and I started off and I was like 'Cause you don't want to be a dick about it. Like, I know that Matt Dringle is aware as anybody that their offense has been bad. But you also have to be like direct about it too. And so I was just like, Well, obviously the offense hasn't produced through two weeks and he just kinda chuckles. Was like, Yeah. Like so so he's not a I'm I sh I assure you he's like there's that like simmering frustration and that edge to wanting to get it fixed. But he's not like he's he's ⁓ self-mastered enough to be aware of the noise, be annoyed about it, be addressing it, while not like he's not just gonna be walking around every day abjectly miserable because they were bad on offense for two games either, which is I kind of respect that level of self-awareness, if nothing else. But to get back to the central point here, no pun intended. The offense has I had it written down. Let me see if I can pull this up quickly here in my handy dandy notebook. There Their statistics from the first six quarters are putrid offensively, just in terms of like plays. Okay, here we go. So in the first half against Colgate, they ran 32 plays for 79 yards. Which is awful. I like you just over two yards of play. That was after against New Mexico they ran, I believe, yes, forty-eight plays for a hundred and forty-nine yards. Which is also not not three at all. just ⁓ yeah, like and then revealing you're in the exact same spot as when the play started. And speaker-1: Just clouds up. Yeah. speaker-0: Th here's there's one ⁓ one specific th I've got like four hundred numbers on this piece of paper, but ⁓ on their two touchdown drives in the second quarter against Colgate when they kind of as Drickle said, things were running at full RPMs, the offensive line kind of found some conviction. They really tapped into, I think, kinda how they want the run game to start to look. Their two touchdown drives were nineteen plays and a hundred and fifty two yards and two touchdowns. That's eight yards a play as opposed to speaker-1: The speaker-0: point eight five yards per play through the first six quarters of the season they were averaging. When it which is just like that just illustrates. And so I think and I think unfortunately like the speaker-1: Well that speaker-0: The conclusion so far is like the passing game just isn't there. Like it's just not functional to a certain degree. I think that's a l like a a all party share the blame deal. ⁓ receivers not getting open, pass blocking not what it needs to be, and quarterbacks very much not seeing and feeling it how it's supposed to sort of distribute and read out. And that's really hamstrung them because teams have been able to kind of stack the box against them and load up and I think they're gonna have to get into a pretty unfortunately like option-y fist bite in a phone booth kind of look where it will still look different from last year's offense. There'll still be a lot of gun ⁓ a lot of like trying to get the ball to the perimeter in the run game, but just like I struggled to see How the passing game does anything more than kind of incrementally get better to maybe by like week eight, it's like, okay, this is like developed into something that's like nice and complimentary to the run game they have. But as of right now, I think they just kinda have to go Occam's razor with it and just like run the ever loving hell out of the ball against Wyoming this weekend, which I think they can probably do and be successful. Like if if nothing else, it makes life simple and easy for your offensive line of like It's the Marsha run through ⁓ F's face, the Marshawn Lynch thing. Like that's just what you're gonna do. and I think the the curious question I have is like I think they need to get the running backs more involved. Like their running backs have very few carries through two games and they're deep and they're good and I know they wanna run the quarterback a bunch, but I think trying to let Vaughn Blue and Jade Clairvo and a few others contribute and share the load and maybe rip off a forty yard play here or there probably needs to be something that gets gotten to more in the central Michigan offense. Like they're just they they they feel like it's just one dimensional in kind of every possible sense. speaker-1: Yeah, I mean you can't be one dimensional as an offense because then you just get keyed on. Like it's it's you know, that that's defensively like it it depends on a play call of the other team and what their strengths are. But offense is you're supposed to be your will against the defenses. And like you you have to be able to mix and match your punches and and throw some combos. If you have to run the ball every single time, they're just gonna stack the box and it's really hard to break out of that, which If your running backs are legit, like you can sometimes overcome and still get, you know, four a carry, ⁓ and and still get something moving. ⁓ granted it gets a little dicey here and there, but I I I d with The way their defense is played, like, do you feel good about the ability to keep it at low scoring where it's you're still playing complimentary football to the point of you're doing enough to score to win? Or do you think that's where things can get out of hand where if the defense has a a bad day it's just you're gone. speaker-0: I do think the defense has that gear to them. I think this is one of the benefits where they're bringing in a bunch of transfers who are like older guys who have played a bunch actually works out in their favor of there's they're they're like, yeah, it's not ideal, but there won't be a bunch of discomfort of having to defend repeatedly like a one possession margin or something like that. ⁓ I think they'll be confident in doing that and like If there's one thing that like I would trust their defensive coordinator Sean Cronin to be able to do, it's like defense is ultimately about kind of failing slow enough that your offense could win to a certain degree in football. Like some defenses can be dominant and like take it to an offense, but by in large defense tends to be about how can we just hold up and bend, not break, and just give our team a chance. And I think that's like the floor for Central Michigan right now. They've kind of done that against Colgate. I mean the game script was just horrendous against New Mexico and they don't feel like they played bad defensively against New Mexico. They just got beat up in some ways and got exposed in a few senses, but like the down to down player to player performance wasn't like, ⁓ God, we're screwed kind of thing. And so I think the floor is that like they can just Be comfortable, make you hang, make you work, make it the close game, create takeaways. Like they they they can just kind of do whatever and get multiple, get to what they want to do. ⁓ and I do think like they do have some upside if the pass rush can kinda click into place of especially against like Mac teams. I do think there is maybe still some upside for that defense of like Ha I we can't move the ball. Like for opposing offenses where it's just like they get on us too quick, their coverage is really good, they fly to the football, and it's just like What do we do? And so when it comes to Central Michigan's defense, I just think like the upside does exist where they're like kind of just shoving opposing back teams in a locker. And I think for this weekend in particular against Wyoming Wyoming's offense has not been very good. They're kind of ironically they look a little bit like Central Michigan did last year offensively. and so I think I just think Central Michigan, at least for this weekend, will have all the ability in the world to shut this down for Wyoming's offense by and large and just give give their offense every chance to have every opportunity to like get it going, get some rhythm, score points, feel good. All that kind of stuff. And it's still probably gonna be low scoring and close, but like you will just give yourself some time and space because of your defense. which is important for Central Michigan at the moment. speaker-1: Yeah, lower pressure percentage. Or like less pressure on you if you're the one. speaker-0: Well 'cause I can tell you what's gonna happen in their week four matchup already, and that is Malachi Tony is gonna have a lot of receiving cards. ⁓ because they have to go play Miami in week four in South Florida. But but we'll get to that next week. ⁓ first up Wyoming and a chance to get to two on one, but we'll pick that later. ⁓ that takes us to U of and UTEP, where Michigan gets to play Oklahoma in week two after Oklahoma played UTEP in week one. And then welcome UTEP. This is one of those little schedule circles. So this is like the very boring analysis, but I think Michigan's just gonna like run the hell out of the ball. speaker-1: The nested skin. speaker-0: defend UTEP to the point where UTEP can't really do anything and win this one pretty boringly. And is there anything there that is there anything you think about otherwise in this game, Connor? speaker-1: I I think this is the you wrote this in the doc and I wrote this in my Detroit News prediction. Michigan wins this, but I think it's gonna be ⁓ a a Bryce Lab. Yeah. ⁓ they're gonna put him and and work out some kinks in the offense and say, Hey, this team is bummy and a team that we just beat smoked ⁓ fifty one nothing. Go figure out what's wrong with you. This is not a great defense. This is like playing the twos. But you get a lot of live reps and you get to play with the ones and actually go hit people and be in game situations and like figure out how to complete a pass on third down. Figure out how to get ahead of the sticks. Like figure out how to not have to tuck it and run every time. All the things you need to see Bryce is a five-star take a step to where he's not just like speaker-0: There's just something speaker-1: I don't know. What's the differen like a a a a three eighths back? Not a quarterback, not a half back, three eighths. speaker-0: The f five sixteenth back. or given metric, he's a he's a point seven millimeter back. but yeah I kinda speaker-1: Don't bring metric into a college football pod. I That's not our thing. speaker-0: But it's a it's a game of millimeters, Connor. I tend to agree with you and I think it's like the the thing that's like it's almost like Underwood like ceases to function When he can get hit as a passer versus like when it just gets blown down like it seems like he genuinely there's something about getting hit as a passer as he's throwing. Which is funny because he did when he threw the friggin' Hail Berry that won the game against Western Michigan. It was like this perfect throw out his back foot as he's getting hit. It's like, dude, like I think you can survive the hits and still deliver good throws because you're so physically talented. and so I do think like you tap is a good kind of environment for that where you can stand in a pocket and you feel the rush coming, but they're probably not gonna hit ya. and I do wonder like I do wonder if like the running element and taking hits that way and getting that feel can help. Like it it's just very evident to me that like Underwood lacks like to to to make a catch all turn for like the feel of playing quarterback. Because like he kinda never had to develop it in high school, like because again like he was just bigger, better than everyone else and Belleville was like generally more talented than nine of the fourteen teams they play every year. And so I just like to the to the laboratory point, like any chance he can get reps dropping back as a quarterback, feeling and knowing like, hey, this is how it feels when like that backside rusher gets pushed wide behind me. And I'm good. Like I I feel it, but it doesn't I don't have to like get off my footwork or anything. ⁓ and so I'm just I think that it's like that sort of environment to drill that where Okay, you ⁓ you'd throw it incomplete on third down because of it, but you put it back to a defense that's allowed fourteen yards by the third quarter or something like that, and it just doesn't really matter. ⁓ 'cause that Michigan defense, I think my real takeaway from the Oklahoma game, as underwhelming as Oklahoma's offense might ultimately be, like that Michigan defense just has dudes. Like and especially if they like get like the pass rush and lineback in core like really tuned like fine tuned. They have real like top ten, top five defense upside, I think. Like they're they're very, very good and very sound and just like there's no weak length. speaker-1: the it's the classic it's the classic Michigan like yeah maybe this offense can't really score on you but you can't score on us and that's the like that's what gave I feel like most hard teams that chance where it's like I mean he had freaks on the defensive side like Devin Bush, Rashawn Gary, like ⁓ Jabro Pappers is just a a Heisman candidate level athlete over speaker-0: But you can't screw it up. Jibrillo. speaker-1: And play football. Like you don't have a position. Just go play football. Like that was what they always excelled at. So it's interesting that Whittingham, it seems like the athletes he's recruited is very similar, maybe not in scheme, but in intent. And like maybe just like a a a twenty, twenty six version of some of that. But then you need the offense to be able to like actually make use and like the short field that you're gonna get from a good defense. So that's that's the step they need to see against UTEP because the Big Ten, like you're gonna run into a UFC game like last year where ⁓ maybe the defense isn't as good. Oregon that too. Like they don't play UFC this year but I the more so a spiritual example of like that game got away from them because the defense wasn't its stoutest and then the offense, Bryce underwood was like Courage the cowardly dog. Like doing that speaker-0: Yeah, but then he ran back in with his ⁓ sixteen and threw like a long touchdown pass to Andrew Marsh. Like that man is duality in a lot of ways as a quarterback. speaker-1: It kind of, but like it wasn't a consequential one. But they still got speaker-0: Well no, and it's it's just like he has done like twenty-five good things that you point to and go, Okay, if we can get this consistently, he'll be like a top ten quarterback. But it's like it's never been close to consistent. ⁓ and so I think that's part of it too. It's just like hey Bryce, can you have a half where you go ten for thirteen for a hundred and fifty yards and a touchdown and it just like never looks in doubt. Like that would be a big step forward as like like he needs to have some boring passing performances if that makes any sense. Like that's that's sort that's like a good way to think of it of like boringly successful passing performances. 'Cause like that's kind of what JJ McCarthy did when it was good at Michigan, which I you know speaker-1: That's a I'm with I I think that Made him a top ten pink. speaker-0: how the NFL of it all played out for him, but like he would just have these kind of like seventeen for twenty-two for two hundred ten yards and the touchdown and it was just like competently boring. Like it was just like you did what you were supposed to do. You made two kind of impressive throws and everything else was right there for you and you did it. Nothing wrong with that. speaker-1: Yeah. Nein. speaker-0: Alright. speaker-1: Nineteen. Which Bryce does write his Instagram bio is people gave him a bunch of grief for and it's speaker-0: It doesn't That joke was the twelve million dollars got you the Louisiana purchase and now it gets you Bryce Underwood. Like I that is one of the best like college football slanders I've seen in a minute. ⁓ so Western Rice. Speaking of speaker-1: Yeah, I was gonna say speaking of slander, the ⁓ the rules committee coming out after we had already settled this and after this had already been said by the NCAA and the FPS oversight committee is like, you know what? We can overturn it, but we were wrong. And it's like, yeah, you said that a week ago. Multiple people said that a week ago speaker-0: Ridiculous, like lawyerly nature of it all where it's like if we had used the correct protocol, which would have used an incorrect clock via NBC, as we know also after the fact, then we would have adjudicated it properly so Western should have won. But now we're doing it differently, where we're also gonna have the clo it's just like speaker-1: Yeah, it's just root su it's just keep brothers. Yeah. Well and just like let it be You can't change it. You're just cake and western and then speaker-0: Yeah, that's another option. Especially when like all of your like rule clarifications more or less admitted you got it wrong. So Western Michigan travels to Houston. They play at Rice seven PM on Saturday night. ⁓ the most historic thing I know that ever happened at Rice's football stadium was JFK said we're gonna go to the moon there. ⁓ other than that, not a whole lot of not a whole lot going on at that football stadium as far as Rice is concerned. ⁓ that is my dig at Rice. But they beat Houston Christian to open the season. That's an FCS team. Not a ton you can take from that result. They look pretty good. They beat him pretty soundly. How it should look. Then Rice went to Notre Dame, got the brakes beaten off of 52-0. So it's kind of this deeply unrepresentative sample of them through two games where we know it's like You know that Rice is kind of perfectly between Notre Dame and an FCS team, which is meaningless. It's like, okay, like they're not as bad as Colgate, but they're better than Monmouth. To use two teams that played Michigan teams. Yeah. so I just like I genuinely have no read on like how good rice actually is. With that said, I think Western is probably a clear step or two better than them and should win this one fourteen-ish points or so. ⁓ that's kind of my surface level read. speaker-1: Yeah, I mean they moved the ball on Michigan. Like the defense we just talked about, how good it was, they moved the ball better than Oklahoma. And granted Oklahoma's offense is but I love speaker-0: Yes. Well Colm trying to that's what it shouldn't have, and West it knew better. speaker-1: Yeah. And that's like the the the the point with with Western's offense too, especially is like you just have to be able to keep driving. And I feel like that's where I I you see the most like the offenses that can just move this chains. It's not about the scoring so much as it is the routine, like on third downs we are converting seventy percent. Like those are the offenses that like that's what gets me excited. Versus like the ones that have the explosive plays, like that's such a great indicator of success. And I feel like Western, like, to your point, and I think you're gonna get to this, is like if you just show that this week, Boise State is your super not Super Bowl, but that's your big game, right? If you win the Mac and run the table there, like the Boise State game can get you to a playoff and make you the G six standout. You just gotta be able to prove that your offense can do it. And the defense, as you mentioned earlier this week, like maybe there's some warning signs where you let up a couple touchdowns against an a monument team and let ⁓ out gain you and do some things. Some of that is just the drive count and and you know, inevitably you're gonna make up some yards but ⁓ and the hidden yards but if you can defend, like there's a serious you're on schedule. You are on schedule for what you want to attract speaker-0: And I think like the thing I'm waiting to see with, you know, Monmouth moving the ball and scoring on Western is like, okay, I was at November and Boots like, ⁓ Monmouth has nine wins and a very good offense and it's like, All right, maybe it wasn't so big a deal, you gave up some scores. that also came, I believe, against like kind of mix of ones and twos, if not just outright twos. So like that's the other like the scoring at least. And I think this is kind of a really interesting test for Western's defense 'cause Rice basically runs the triple. ⁓ I don't I don't I don't want to say that like it's for sure the triple, but that's pretty much what it looks like. It's kind of the more modernized like tag a jet sweep onto like a shovel or a reed with then a shovel tagged on it. So it's interesting. Their quarterback is ⁓ Jakuri Brown who began his career at Miami and then went to UCF and is now at Rice. ⁓ so he's like they have at least like some big strong kind of impressive physical guy at quarterback at a minimum. ⁓ and their running backs don't seem bad, but like I just think Western Western's whole thing on defense as like again it's kinda like cliche stuff, but it like it's real when like when you live it, it's real and it like does matter of like be physical, play fast, fly to the football, just like The stuff that it's the stuff that makes your defense good even if like a guy misses an assignment or the call is bad or you know they just the ⁓ an offense player makes a crazy play. Okay, well you still have three dudes who come and shove him out of bounds instead of it being a touchdown, it's just a long gain, or you blow up the run play because some guy just played with incredible effort, even though he like went to the wrong gap or something like that. ⁓ speaker-1: The sis offician defense. Like you're still rolling the ball. speaker-0: Correct. And it's it's it's that mindset I think has been they've done a really good job of encapsulating that and kind of carrying that over from last year, elevating, changing the defensive scheme. So I'm not like worried about it by any stretch, but that was like they gave up like four hundred ish plus yards to Monmouth. But that's like d I'm keeping an eye on that. ⁓ and I think if they're able to just clamp down on the run game and like I would not be afraid of Rice passing myself too much. Like I think it's a game where you can you can let Micah Davis and Joey Pope, the exciting whites at safety, get down into the box a lot, ⁓ like he did against Michigan and just like you're going to be running the ball into seven and eight dudes go ahead and try and pass it. We like our guys in coverage. weed area kind of defense for western Michigan. and just a quick shout here, I'm planning to write about it today. Their linebackers have been playing out of their fucking minds. Like ⁓ I believe so Dylan Moore had the interception and led the team in tackles against Michigan. And then I guess Monmouth, Dominic Moon. These are both those two guys are returners. They've been sort of reserves last year. Dominic Moon had, I think, twelve tackles, a forced fumble, and a tackle for loss against Monmouth, and was incorrect. Like you you're gonna struggle to have a better game than that as a linebacker. ⁓ and so if those guys play at that level, ⁓ I know they really like Justice Betts, this looked really good. He's a JUCO transfer. they like that group has really kind of popped early in the season as like, ⁓ like they've got something that's like not just good and makes their defense better, but can be like difference making, kind of unit defining talents if they play at this level for ten weeks in a row or, you know, for the full season. ⁓ and I think that would be like that would reflect extremely well on like both the job Greer Martini's doing and their transfer, like getting justice bets, some of these guys. So I don't know. I'm not like like I don't have a concern with their their defensive performance out of week two, but it was definitely a keep an eye on the fact that they just gave up that many yards to an FCS team and see if there's problems emerging. But I'm not I'm not I'm I'm confident that there won't be, I guess. speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: I think it's ⁓ I think it's pick style. We'll we'll do the picks. So we've got all five games and then we'll have three fun national games. I think the play's actually pretty good this week. There's gonna be a week where we're gonna have to get into some weird deep cuts and I'm kinda frankly looking forward to it w whenever ⁓ Oregon State N Nevada Reno or whatever and just have no idea what the hell's going on. But alright. speaker-1: That's good. I'm with it. speaker-0: So we'll start off, we'll just go chronological order for the mitten games here. Eastern Michigan at Wisconsin, twelve thirty PM on Peacock. Normally I throw these to you, but I'll give you the chance to counter me this week. ⁓ s I'll try to try to do some equity here. So I guess I'll start it off. I'm gonna take Wisconsin. I think it's probably a bit of a slog. I think they know they don't wanna let Eastern get into like speaker-1: ⁓ speaker-0: a kind of up and down game where like because if you are gonna let Noah Kim th drop back and take deep shots to Harold Mack and Nick Devereau ⁓ Harold Mack may not play. Kinda like that for Eastern Michigan. If you force Eastern Michigan to run the ball a bunch and play in a phone booth and defend your running the ball forty eight times in a game. Kinda like that for Wisconsin. I think Wisconsin has the ability to make it more of the latter give me Wisconsin like twenty seven to seventeen. speaker-1: Yeah. I I I think Wisconsin also wins. I I think it might be it depends on what version of Noah Kim you get, but I I think same twenty seven ish range for Wisconsin and I think that's enough 'cause I think Eastern's tapping at like probably fourteen. I think they can get a couple touchdown drives, but there's just a level of of dude correct that Wisconsin has that Eastern just showed it didn't have and like I would put Wisconsin ahead of MSU's roster. Not coaching but roster. And I think I that's I think that's a a big that's what the Mac is always fighting against in in this portal era is the is the roster. It's Jimmy's and Joe's. speaker-0: Correct. And can you have like one guy on your team just go and do clear to overcome it and maybe. Yeah. ⁓ Central Michigan at Wyoming, that is one PM. That will be at Kelly or Central Michigan hosts Wyoming, not at Wyoming, my apologies. I'll be at Kelly Short Stadium. I will be there for Minton football because I didn't feel like driving to South Bend or covering a blowout in Ann Arbor. just just being honest here. So I'm gonna take Central Michigan. I think this one will be low scoring, it will be a slog, it will be close. ⁓ n I mean I think Central's favored by like a point and a half. Give me Central Michigan twenty Wyoming fourteen. Something like that. Real paint drive. speaker-1: I'm gonna counter, I'm gonna take Wyoming. Ooh. ⁓ and so Josh Allen, obviously, Wyoming legend. I think the l ⁓ one of the Lions or Central Michigan will win. I don't think both. The Lions. I I th this is my thought problem. The state of Michigan can't have nice things in football. speaker-0: Interesting. And I think well no well depends played tonight. speaker-1: So I just I I think spiritually Central's gonna give this one up. But I no, in in all seriousness, I I think the offense you see issues when you can't move the ball. And I think Wyoming playing in in ⁓ I wanna say Big Sky. No, they're they're Mountain West now. Formerly big sky. long time ago actually, I think. I think that might have like twenty twelve. I digress. I I think when you can't consistently pass the ball, even in an option offense, even if you try to maximize it, even if your running backs are doing well, eventually you just get outpaced. And as much as Wyoming has struggled, ⁓ I I do think that there's the warning signs I think make me just think Wyoming has a chance and I feel like being contrary. speaker-0: Wyoming when you get a chance, look up their ⁓ preseason All Mountain West linebacker. His headshot is just like what you want out of a linebacker. That's what I will what I will share with you. that takes us on to University of Michigan hosting UTEP at the big house, three thirty PM CBS. Kind of a perfunctory little week three. We scheduled a win game here, Connor. I will take Michigan a lot, UTEP very little, probably like a thirty five seven type deal where like UTEP s some guy you know, twos bust a coverage or something like that. ⁓ shutouts are hard, but I just think Michigan's in control. Michigan scores a bunch, either on the ground or some passing touchdowns and props perhaps a defensive score, and that's it's just that. speaker-1: I I I have fifty one seven, Michigan. I I think defensive score. I th I I think there's gonna be not a pick, I think there's gonna be a forced fumble. Like Dom Nichols comes across and just sm speaker-0: Yeah. The vanilla gorilla, John Henry Daly takes out the quarterback. Have you seen that? That's his nickname. I'm like, I did not know Kyle Whittingham. I did not know Kyle Whittingham could be that colorful, genuinely. Like ⁓ so I was at least like I learned something about Kyle Whittingham in that. ⁓ Western Michigan at Rice, 7 p.m. That is at I don't know the name of Rice's stadium. I apologize. I do know that JFK once spoke there. speaker-1: I did. Where JFK announced the move. speaker-0: Yeah, well the funny part in that speech is he also basically takes a shot at Rice football. He's like, Why does Rice play Texas? We do these things because they're hardly like, Yeah, you get your ass kicked by Texas when you play ⁓ but it's worth it 'cause it's a challenge. I think Western wins this one. I think it's kind of the classic what we've seen out of Western over the last year and a half where their defense comes and beats you up and makes life hell. The offense also beats you up and makes life hell and they just end up rolling you over, I I think they win this one thirty one ten, something like that. speaker-1: I I think it might be a little closer 'cause it's on the road and I think you run into some issues. I think it could be like a thirty four, twenty one. Defense lets up some passing chunk plays. Like you know, ⁓ something happens that that makes it that way. I I think it'll be a little closer. I got Ray's covering. Okay. speaker-0: Rice covering that's what happens when you drop some that's rice covering is also what happens when you drop an electronic in the water. Final one here for the slate of Michigan games at least is MSU traveling to Notre Dame. That game is obviously at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, seven thirty PM. It'll be NBC, but not the Big Ten NBC crew. It'll be Notre Dame's NBC crew. So we get to listen to Jason Garrett joys. ⁓ Gimme Notre Dame. Gimme Notre Dame by probably two or three scores. I don't f like twenty one feels like a lot, but it's kinda one of the things where like they get a touchdown late and it makes it look different than it was, so probably Gimme like thirty-eight seventeen Notre Dame, something like that. speaker-1: Thir thirty four thirteen was what I'm I'm saying. Twenty nine and a half was the initial line. Yeah, I I think it's I think Notre Dame is is just gonna the defense is gonna get some takeaways. I I think there's gonna be a pick. and I I I just with Leonard Leonard Moore being as good as he is, ⁓ I think he's gonna force some decisions elsewhere that lead to it. ⁓ it's it's the the the Rebus Island effect. Actually he got thrown at but speaker-0: As Luke Fickel said, we're gonna Yeah. speaker-1: How that work? Like Not not at all. And ⁓ no, I I think if you're looking at similar like Wisconsin hung a little bit with Notre Dame and then they didn't, I think you could see a similar thing here. Especially with like f game tape. But Fitzgerald have ⁓ fired up, going to Notre Dame as he like emphasized every time he said it. Like he said it like every Chicagoan. So that was pretty funny. ⁓ and I yeah, I mean I I could there's a path to an upset, I'll hedge it that way for the ⁓ the Sparty. speaker-0: Given that he was like an assistant coach at Loyola in Chicago for a little bit there, like he was probably just hanging out with those Notre Dame coaches on recruiting visits all the last year, anyways. ⁓ Notre Dame recruits those Chicago Catholics hard, understandably. ⁓ hard. All right, that takes us to our little sampler topas platter of three national games. ⁓ we're starting off actually with a Friday night kickoff, because this game I this might be the best game of the weekend, low-key. Houston and former Aggie Connor Wegman travel to play at Texas Tech on Friday night in Lubbock versus the fighting Cody Campbell. ⁓ I have no idea what to make of this game genuinely. Which is why it's fun to pick. And so I'm just gonna go with Houston because I'm kinda fading Texas Tech this year. I think the vibes are rancid. I think they utterly, utterly torpedoed their season before it even started when they did a bad E fail on a transfer quarterback and it's just been trying to chase a sunk cost ever since. And I'm not doubt I just I'm just off on the vibes in Lubbock. So give me Houston my a field goal on the road in Lubbock. speaker-1: I so for the sake of contrarianism, I'll pick Texas Tech. I did pick Houston for the news. Fair enough. I because they're they're the dogs in this one, I think. ⁓ and they also came out for their opening game with ⁓ with with with the swangers on the car. But I don't know. The Paul Wall of Ital. The the the the Paul Wall of Ital, I'm with Houston. But I will say Texas Tech like has some talent and has some Michigan boys. ⁓ obviously pushing for Gideon Gash, we'll see if that happens. But like they've done a good job of building a talented roster, but it's that Texas A and ⁓ question of like what you gonna do with it? Are you lunch meet? Like that's just really expensive. Who knows? But ⁓ I I'll pick ⁓ in this game. Little Friday night big speaker-0: Joey Boarshead Maguire out here getting it done. So that takes us to another Texas team where SMU, number sixteen SMU, travels to play at I think number twenty-three Louisville. Louisville, like, had that crazy game with Ole Miss and came out on the wrong side. ⁓ SMU speaker-1: Ha ha. speaker-0: probably kept it closer with Florida State than they wanted to last week. ⁓ so some interesting like game here. This game is probably like the decider on who gets to challenge Miami as like the next best team in the ACC. and I think I'm gonna take Louisville here. I ⁓ SMU has been excellent under Rhett Lashley and I'm gonna end up regretting this pick when they win by like two touchdowns convincingly. And Kevin Jennings is very good. But like I just have a hard time picking against Jeff Brown with like a quarterback who can do some stuff. And Lincoln Keenholz can do some stuff and like They had old miss on the ropes. Maybe should have won that game. I just give me Louisville, give me Lincoln Keenholz making it happen. Jeff Brahm having a game plan 'cause he will and pulling the upside. speaker-1: Gimme SMU. Naturally contrarian here. speaker-0: I'm to line it's good again. They've just figured out hey we're in Texas, we can have an elite defensive line, and so they do. And I credit them for that. I nah I've already I already regret that pick. That's ⁓ that's not good. speaker-1: Yeah. that'll be one ⁓ for me. speaker-0: Last one here is I don't even know how to begin to preamble this game. National Guard is not going to be needed. Lane Kiffin is not going to be murdered. If that would have happened, it would have happened well before the season began by an old Miss Fan, if we're being honest with ourselves. ⁓ the opportunities were there. So, like, no, it's not going to be like riots of nineteen sixty six in speaker-1: And neither. speaker-0: Oxford this weekend I don't believe, but it's gonna be crazy. There's going to be things thrown at Lane Kiffin. I've already seen plenty of deeply off color memes about it. And I'm still taking LSU here. I think the Sam Levitt injury report thing is entirely a feint. I think that's frankly something that Kiffen should get in trouble for doing. but I think Sam Levitt is completely fine at going to play. I think that gives LSU the upper hand. And like for as much as Kiffen might bother some of us, myself included, and as much as he's what he is. The dude is really good at coaching football and dialing up offense and like he's gotten pretty good at like winning the big games too. ⁓ and like navigating through them. And so I just like I think LSU's just the better team. I think Kiffin's the slightly better coach, and I think for all that we make fun of him for being this weird emotionally ⁓ like I like w the the the thicket of that man's emotions for whatever it is, I think weirdly equips him to handle these like insane pressure cookers because that's what he makes his life constantly. So give me LSU my whatever on the road. I don't know, a touchdown. speaker-1: Gimme Olmus to win th the the Olmus soul slightly. He's not gonna be back there. I I I think I don't know, Trinidad I I I I I hate is a former Ferris State national champion to pick against. And I just I I think the good guys gotta win one. We've seen too many bad guys win lately. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: I think it's time for ⁓ time for a hero to rise. If you can call Ole Miss, do not look up why they're called that a hero and their and their troubled legacy. But in this case, in the modern sort of sense, we're just limiting in it to the past two years. Nothing about the history, nothing about the sixties. Ignore that for a second. Ole Miss can be the good guys here. Mississippi can be speaker-0: Mascot Providence. Yeah, watch it. Watching Jeff Landry have a bunch of egg on his face, he's the We Louisiana governor who is their de facto athletic director these days. watching him have to wear it after all of this gambit and all of this chest puffing and whatever of LSU just actually like going and losing to Ole Miss, like the Schaden Freud ⁓ would be powerful there. I cannot deny. That would be be a that would be a drug of Schadenfreude for me, I I will admit. But I just I think LSU wins. I just I I think they will they will have you seen Jordan Seaton? That dude is unbelievable at tackle. I speaker-1: Sticking with the evil empire. Sticking with the evil empire. speaker-0: I'm going with the better players, man. Like not that Ole Miss has bad players, but LSU has really good players. Alright, I think that does us. Anything else? Any like scorching hot predictions or are you gonna Do you gonna be onside in Notre Dame Stadium, Connor? speaker-1: But renting a car for this five dollar game. speaker-0: I mean harm. On side. Ozzin Rudy onside. speaker-1: ⁓ Well Rudy's big offsides was the fact that he was like embezzling money or whatever it was. Like notably with a criminal speaker-0: But that's that that speak of offseason podcasts. So that that will ⁓ that will wrap us up for today. Vince Vaughn, maybe a hero. ⁓ speaker-1: Rudy, not a hero. speaker-0: So that's it for this week. I appreciate you all for listening again to another episode of In the Pocket. ⁓ we will be back after this weekend's slate of games to talk about all that happens in South Bend, Ann Arbor, Madison, Houston, and Mount Pleasant. Until then, I appreciate you all for listening on behalf of Connor Irgood and myself, Andrew Graham. Thanks for listening.